Zikr for Istanbul

traveling companions - Ataturk Airport

In empathy with the people of Turkey after the recent bombing of Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Debra led an informal Zikr (prayers of remembrance) service. We saw slides of her 2014 trip to Turkey with a small group of whirling dervishes to visit their teacher and Rumi's tomb.

She gave a short demonstration and explanation of Sufi turning as a way to focus inward on God and cast off one's worldly attachments.

Then we set an intention of peace and healing for the people of Istanbul and used a large circle of prayer beads to "count," and unite us while calling on Allah to open ourselves to these possibilities. Allah is the Arabic name for the Divine. 

More information about turning practice can be found in the book Women Called to the Path of Rumi: The Way of the Whirling Dervish by trip leader and teacher, Shakina Reinhertz.

The Project

Share inspirations and aspirations revolving around The Mother-Daughter Project: How Mothers and Daughters Can Band Together, Beat the Odds, and Thrive Through Adolescence
by SuEllen Hamkins, M.D., and Renée Schultz, M.A.

6:00 p.m. June 27 at Rachel's home

10:30 a.m. July 26 at Debra's

5:00 p.m. Aug. 25 at Rachel's

Good Tymes, Bye Lymes

Preparing "tea."
Whipping cream
reading poetry,
remembering our ancesters,
washing dishes to news from Wisconsin.
A very wiggly isosceles triangle.

Lunar Essence

This month,we celebrated the "birth" of the Hay-Makers Moon with another picnic at Local Farm. Rachel and Darwin went to a Wolfe Clan reunion. Alicia used the dark phase of the moon to draw out the essence of morning glory to add to her growing collection of flower essences. For Alicia, creating flower essences is an intuitive process, connecting her to Life. She plucks a single blossom that "speaks to her," puts it in a clear glass container, pours fresh water over it and sets it out under the night sky. She brought by some of the resulting "stock" the next day us to sip... To preserve her essences for later use, she mixes 1 part brandy to 1 part essence and only uses a few drops at a time for its subtle healing properties.
This year, the July new moon coincided with a full solar eclipse. It was the first evening of Av, the fifth month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year. In New England, this new moon waxes into the Hay Moon or Thunder Moon. Farmers will be mowing, raking, and baling hay in the strong drying days of sun... then hurrying to get it stored under cover before one of the many thundershowers of this time of year.

HELLO DOLLY!

Jean shared copies of her Art of the Book group's paperdoll illustrations of the stanza's from Maya Angelou's Best Poem Ever (see the May 09 post)and we tried to guess which dolls matched which stanzas.