I switched host providers this past month, and in the transfer I lost all the blog posts I’d written in the past month. A few of the shorter ones I rewrote, back-dated, and republished, but it was not worth the energy to rewrite my July end-of-month reflection.
So, I’m going from a blank slate here, with faint memories of what I wrote last month.
Looking Back: August
Q3 Focuses
1. Health Appointments
- My new glasses/prescription arrived this month, and I’ve been enjoying wearing them.
- I’ve had three dentist appointments this month: a tooth cleaning, two fillings, and two wisdom teeth pulled (<< that last one happened on Friday; I’ve been resting all weekend and eating soft things…)
- I did the Sky Lakes appointment (and need to schedule one more).
2. Spirituality
- I learned of the podcast “Why Shamanism Now” this month, and have started listening to some episodes.
- Through the podcast rec, I also learned of Last Mask Center and saw they were running a 7-week Energy Body Mastery course in a couple of weeks. I enrolled, and that started this past week.
- I’ve started practicing Qigong, with a video in the Energy Body course.
3. Ukulele
- “Touch Uke” got a checkmark every week of the month except for the current week.
- On the 15th, I had a pop-up ukulele concert for some family and friends. (In a few weeks I’ll share it here—with a snail mail twist.) The impromptu performance sparked some songwriting and a desire to work on some polished videos.
Other Focuses
Reading Rainbow
I know that I wanted to get back into reading last month—hence my “Reading Rainbow” page in my journal—and I’m happy to report that I feel back into my usual swing/comfort of reading.
I finished “All About Love” by bell hooks, “If All the Seas Were Ink” by Ilana Kurshna, “Comedy Sex God” by Pete Holmes and I’m about a quarter of the way into “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd. (Also slowly reading “A Return to Love” by Marianne Williamson, “Wild Mind” by Natalie Goldberg, and I’m rereading the wonderful poetry collection “The Trees The Trees” by Heather Christle.
Portraits
I only painted two portraits this month. I’ll be out of town next weekend, so my goal is to paint three in September.
Body Flow
Last weekend I did a few Yoga with Adriene videos for the first time. Friends have recommended her for years, but I stuck to my special yoga-for-spinal-fusion videos. I’d been having resistance to those for so long, not sure why, and I also couldn’t tell you why exactly last weekend I tried out Yoga with Adriene. But I did, and I enjoyed it, and I did another one today.
Looking Ahead: September
Goddess Guidance: Aeracura
My goddess card this month is Aeracura – Blossoming. Her message is that you’re just getting started; have patience, don’t rush the process, and don’t give up.
Q3 Focuses
These are concrete actions I can take this month towards my focuses for quarter 3:
1. Health Appointments
- Go to night guard dental appt.
- Schedule Medford appt.
- Drive to Medford appt.
2. Spirituality
- Keep up with Energy Body Mastery course. (Watch the materials the week they come out.)
- Qigong 2x/week.
- Track use of Grounding meditations. (Basically, do the work. Engage with the materials/assignments.)
3. Ukulele
- Continue with aim to touch uke minimally once per week. Track in journal.
- Finish writing “Anne” song / harmony.
- Record “Anne” and make video.
I think making my Energy Body Mastery course the priority of September is focus enough. And finishing up these health appointments is also still up top.
This felt like a quicker sit-down today, but I’m off to watch my Sunday night episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and let my mouth rest some more before I’m back to work tomorrow.
As always, you’re welcome to use this post as an invitation to reflect on the past month as well. What have you been noticing? What’s feeling important these days? How do you want to shift the boat ever so slightly in the coming weeks? What direction do you want to move towards? Gentle reminder, directions can be “resting,” “calm,” or “fewer social engagements,” for example. Giving yourself things to work towards does not need to mean doing “more.”
You’re doing a great job! Sending light and love your way.