Dear Friends,

Sometime after my 2nd or third cup of coffee after catching a bit of news and stumbling towards full consciousness, I breathe. …  In through the nose and out through the mouth.  Drinking in the air, seeking to be as aware of it as a drink of cold water on a hot day.  I draw in breath and send some of that energy and life-force to the back of the crown of my skull… where I feel my connection to The WitchFather…

“I give greetings to the Holy Horned Hunter, to Herne, to The WitchFather, to the Lord of Life, to the Guardian of The Gates…”

I spend a moment or two enjoying a sense of connection with Him.

Then I draw a purposeful and mindful breath again, sending the energy and life-force down through my body and through my feet into the ground.  Grounding myself in Mother Earth, if feels (even when I am seated) as if I am standing on my feet correctly for the first time – in proper balance and stance; it also feels as if I am drawing ‘breath’ of the life energy of the Earth and reconnecting myself to Her as my energies and Hers blend together for a time.

After a moment I draw mindful breath again.  I spend some time breathing through each of my Chakra’s in turn from Base to Crown.

Some form of the above, each day at some point, is a part of my regular practices these days.  I am sticking to them despite having fallen out of keeping my log-book/journal… although I am working on rebuilding that practice…

It is interesting, but lately in a few moments of drama and upset, I found myself breathing and drawing upon those connections and feeling them wrapping themselves together within me… being sources of strength and perseverance in the face of BS….  this happens in the realms of spirit and faith as well as in our everyday…

The move to the new home, the ups and downs of grief and mourning and work and life, assorted drama’s at work and the new home…  I feel as if I have been weathering some sort of storm lately.  I have pulled back from the involvements and activities that do not nourish my spirit or sanity.   Sadly this has meant giving up on two of the local Pagan community groups that I had repeatedly tried to give my time and energy to, neither of which really fed spirit or built much community beyond the narrow self-satisfied cliques running them.

On the other hand I have given myself over to writing and to the Pagan Values event and to the Pagan Values Blogject.  I am also continuing to give of my time and energy to my U.U. Church (note to self-renew annual membership) where I have found a lot of spiritual community, a lot more than I ever found in either of the two local Pagan groups… which is ironic given that they both have close ties to the Church.   But, I am trying to move forward and to focus on the things I can do for myself, for my loved ones, for my beloved community, and for The Holy Powers.

I am also trying to balance time with friends with time in service, and had a nice time hanging out with my friend Gene on his birthday…went to dinner with him and his partner and then to their house for a rousing game of Middle Earth Risk and a movie, The Green Hornet.

Peace,

Pax