Guest Post: Celebrating Circles

In our classroom at the Living Wisdom School we celebrated the Fall Equinox with one of our specialty teachers, Martia Denniston. I have had the great privilege of collaborating closely with Martia on several large art projects and she has taught me so much about creating extraordinary spiritual art experiences that uplift young children. 
 This month I have asked Martia to be our guest bloggers and describe our ceremony and celebration. 

  Celebrating Cycles

May 2012: A dawning awareness and astonishment appears in the face of a youthful student when he asks me, “Are we really made of stars?” his voice rising upward at “stars”. “Yes,” I reply, “we are made from the elements of the stars.”  In a moment of meaning we experience a meeting of mutual understanding and admiration.

These are the moments I live for.

I am privileged to create celebrations and art with children. Like the 4 & 5 year olds in Chandi's class I started life curious and connected to the world of nature. As I learned to read I became more and more immersed in a world of imagination and less interested in exploring the world outside. At 45, I awoke with a shock at how distanced I was from the natural environment and my Self. Experiencing nature, and ourselves as nature, helps us develop an authentic inner life. We learn who are, where we come from, where we are going...WHY WE ARE HERE.

Why I am here, at Living Wisdom School, is to volunteer my life experience in service and sharing. The teachers, children and I weave shared experiences of gratitude and relationship in ceremonies to celebrate our place in the cycle of the seasons, to honor the Earth as our Mother, to evoke respect for the elemental forms of the Universe, Earth, ourselves...to revere all Life.

I am a Tree

coiled within a seed within the earth. I stretch and grow as I draw the element of water up from the earth into my trunk and branches. I become living earth, growing and unfurling my leaves, feeling the breeze of air whispering through me. Lifting my hungry leaves up and up I capture the fire of the sun. I am water, earth, air, and fire. For many decades I remain here, the center of a world of life, breathing in, breathing out, cycling air and energy. After a long time I become weary with longing to return home. I fold in upon myself and into the earth, returning to the planet water, earth, air, and fire for the future life that will embody the memory of me.

The Circle

We lay out the directions for our circle. West is water (mist & clouds, rivers & oceans, blood & tears, tides without and within cleansing and healing). North is earth (asteroids & moons, mountains & forests, hearts & muscles, skeletons and shells for strength and endurance). East is air (ether, atmosphere, breath, the inhale and the exhale, inspiring and awakening). South is fire (sun, earth's molten core, life's metabolism of energy, creating and transforming). In the Center we become a Unity of Spirit, the Center is here and everywhere. Each of us takes a tiny glass pebble. We silently, secretly say our words of gratitude and slip the stone into a receptacle of water placed at the center of our Center.

Does every child understand it all? Do I? Deep in our being we do. We know what we are doing is significant and sacred. I see it in the glow of respect and reverence in their small faces, in the hallowed hush of their bodies.

    Autumn Appreciation

I read the Greek myth of Persephone, Hades and Demeter. I come to the part where the land is laid waste by the mother's grief for the loss of her daughter. My voice falters and tears find form as I push forward a small blue bowl of water, “these are Demeter's tears.” I am moved by the moment of mystery. We are all touched and talk about Autumn rains and darkening landscapes, what is going and what is coming.

I am a living Autumn, my hair turning and skin weathering like bark on the trees. Like the oldest trees on our planet, I hope I have gained a little wisdom. The children are mere beginnings of Spring, full of joy and enthusiasm. They are helping me to heal the cares of my past. I hope I am helping them to see the possibilities of the future.

Earth, ourselves,

breathe and awaken,

leaves are stirring,

all things moving,

new day coming,

Life renewing.

Pawnee Prayer

To close our ceremony we share in the Blessings of the Fruits of the Earth, calling out the qualities we are about to consume: richness of plum, melody of pear, knowledge of apple, brightness of orange...fruits to sooth our souls, berries of summer to which we say farewell until next year. We use their juice to dye grains of rice. Tomorrow we will arrange bright blue seashells (water), crushed shells of eggs dyed green (earth), light yellow grains (air), and the raspberry red rice (fire) in patterns to make mosaic mandalas ~ circles of elemental forms, our inner feelings and thoughts made visible.

It is a good day.

 

 

 Martia Denniston

Since graduating from the Whole Systems Design program at Antioch University in 2001 Martia has worked with school, community, and spiritual groups in many capacities, including designer, school librarian and storyteller, and art, meditation, and youth group teacher. Martia earned a certificate in Drawing and Painting from the University of Washington in 2008 and is a mixed media artist. She co-creates art and nature experiences with teachers at Living Wisdom School and Gaia's Temple in Seattle. “I have always used nature as our inspiration and teacher for art. I believe that making art can enhance our ability to observe deeply the processes of nature, and that observing the interactions between living systems and their environment will enrich students' art making. My dream is to help nurture in our youth a lifelong relationship with Nature and Mother Earth, one characterized by mutuality, founded in inquiry, exploration and self-expression, with a healthy respect for the awe and mystery of Life.”

Children and nature dancing together

This past month Nitai Deranja was visiting our school. Nitai is the founder of the Living Wisdom Schools and is currently on the faculty at the Ananda College of Living Wisdom in Gaston, Oregon.

 I had asked Nitai to join us, during our afternoon circle time. The children had been practicing a new chant and I wanted to share it with Nitai. 

It was late in our morning and we found the day zooming by.  All the children had not ventured outside yet when I realized we would be concluding our closing circle time outside in the playground  instead.

As a teacher, you try to plan spiritual activities daily for young children to uplift their consciousness and spread joy. Today was one of those times, when  Divine Mother planned her activity for us. We were just a witness to her beauty.

 See the description below written by: Nitai

 We walked out into a beautiful nature area for the close of the preschool session for the day. As we stepped onto the grass, the sun peeked around the clouds to give enough warmth for the children to begin shedding there jackets and sweaters. A slight gust of wind caused one of the trees towering over our heads to shed many of its bright yellow leaves. They came swirling down upon us in great arching circles. The children lifted their hands and began running and laughing in their attempts to catch the leaves. Their faces were lit with a sense of excitement and wonder. When the wind paused, everyone started picking up handfuls of leaves from the ground and tossing them up again over our heads. After about 10 minutes the teacher called everyone over for the closing circle. The children lead a song called “O God Beautiful”, complete with hand motions that emphasized the words, “In the forest, Thou art green. In the mountains Thou art high...” It was the perfect way to acknowledge and celebrate the children’s moment of communion with nature.

We all spotted a Northwest monkey.

 This day will be cherished and etched in my mind for many years to come. The pure joy of children and nature dancing together.

Photo Inspiration: Sing in the Meadows

Sing in the Meadows and everywhere
Sing out the blessings to everyone
Lift up your voices,
Lift your hands on high
Sing and the battle is one. 
Song by: J. Donald Walters

This is an inspiration photo entry today which was taken by one of our parents at the Living Wisdom School.
We had a double blessing in our meadow about a month ago. What an amazing sight for our children and a blessing for our new school location.

We were all singing in the meadows, when we saw this!

Peace gave us the seasons

Peace gave us the morning, Peace gave us the sun,
Bird songs that call us to welcome
Day and fresh labors begun. Amen, Amen
Peace gave us the seasons, Peace gave us the rain,
Cool clouds that gather to bless us,
Mist hands that soothe away pain. Amen, Amen.

"Peace" J. Donald Walters

Beginning a new school year always brings new rhythms, patterns and the challenge of combining an unfamiliar group of children together. At the Living Wisdom School this year another new opportunity arose. We moved our school into a new community, an older building, and for me it added a short distance of driving in rush hour traffic each morning. I was sad to give up my drive to the old school, a back road journey of driving through the local neighborhoods. 

As teachers and parents we often talk about being in a flow or a rhythm within ourselves and keeping our children in a systematic rhythm for the ease of their development. But the question came to me: What is a rhythm? I turned to Wikipedia and found a very inspiring quote: Rhythm is made up of sounds and silences. These sound and silences are put together to form a pattern of sounds which are repeated to create a rhythm.

Now of course this quote is talking about music, but rhythm also is part of our daily life. How often, though, do we really think about it? I know I spent quite a bit of time really concentrating on finding a  new rhythm and flow in driving to the new school. It is important that a Living Wisdom School teacher to be in a magnetic flow at any moment, not only when working in the classroom. 

One morning I was driving and felt a little rushed because I was running a few minutes late. I realized that I had not gotten my rhythm adapted to all the new changes. I felt my body start to become restrictive and tight. As I came to the first stoplight, I thought I would follow the route that others had told me was a faster way to drive to school.  As I was sitting at the light, I found myself beginning to visualize the shorter route. All it had was more cars, strip malls and stoplights. Was it shorter or not? And even if it was shorter, what state would I be in when I ended up in the classroom?  Immediately I realized, this was not a good route for me. I made a sharp turn and stayed on my original route. 

I begin each day with a morning meditation and my ultimate goal is to retain all that loving energy each morning to share with the families and children of Living Wisdom School. How would this stressful route help me? I might arrive a few minutes earlier, perhaps. But was it worth it?, “NO,” I answered mentally.
As I began to drive the longer route, I started to visually notice more around me. The new, slower route was like an extension of my meditation. A driving meditation of sorts.  It  traveled through the bedroom community of  Lake Forest Park,Washington and brought back my childhood memories of growing up in Bellevue, Washington in the 60’s.  It was so sweet to bring these memories into my thoughts. 

The trees were so beautiful, luscious and expansive. These qualities all expanded my thoughts and brought me back to my morning meditations.

How could I ever think of starting my day by driving any other way? I just love it. It adds a melodious rhythm to my morning, the, sounds of the streams, peace, and tranquil memories.. I am so blessed now to have this drive to work each morning and to begin my day with these patterns of light and sounds that bring me into my inner state of rhythm.

Everyone can try it. Let me know how it goes. May we all find that sense of rhythm within our day so we may share our peace with all whom we meet.