Kindness to Strangers

Mindfulness comes from the heart of the knowledge that everything we do affects everyone else. Magickally speaking, it follows that whatever that affect may be, it is going to come back to us one way or another. Either three times, or one, after death or in this lifetime. Many of us go about our lives in a mindless way, our actions designed to just get things done in the most efficient way possible with no thought as to how these actions might affect someone else. But those of us who are mindful take those extra few minutes to ensure that by our actions others will benefit, or at least not be harmed.

I heard a story once, a long time ago that illustrated this concept. I can't remember where I heard it, but I seem to recall it came from Japan. It goes like this: "A man was travelling on business. It had been a long day and he and was very thirsty. He came to a place where there was a fountain and hanging next to the fountain was a little cup on a hook. He carefully washed the cup and then drank his fill and hung the cup back on the hook. Then he found a seat nearby to rest while he waited until it was time to go to his next appointment. He watched the people going by as he rested. One of those people was an older woman who also came to the fountain to get a drink. She filled the cup, drank her fill, washed it carefully and hung it on the hook. The man was shamed when he saw this, for he knew that she was mindful and he was mindless."

In this story the man took a reasonably efficient route to a drink, but it was a selfish route. He washed the cup to ensure that he was not infected by someone else's germs, but he did not wash the cup afterward to ensure that his own germs did not infect someone else. The woman, however, showed trust in her fellows by not washing the cup first and was careful to protect her fellows from her own germs by washing it after. Her spirit was pure and his was selfish.

In an act as simple as taking a drink of water we can also demonstrate mindfulness. If everyone did this, the world would indeed be a better place! Here are a few small and simple ways we can be mindful in our everyday lives:

When you clean the snow off of your car, don't just clear off the windows. Remove the snow from the top and back, so that it doesn't fly off while you are driving and obscure someone else's view.

When shoveling your walk, shovel the public walk adjacent to your house too. People will appreciate having a clear spot to walk.

When you go to the store, put the cart back, don't leave it in the parking lot for the employees to fetch. It's extra work for them when they could be helping customers instead and the wind could blow it into someone else's car. Besides, walking is good for you.

If you get mail for someone else, write "Addressee unknown" on the envelope and send it back. It could be important!

When you use the restroom, make sure that the seat is cleaned off when you are finished so that the next person doesn't have to wipe up after you. If you cover the seat, make sure the paper you used is disposed of, not left for the next person.

Don't throw garbage or cigarette butts out your car window. It could fly back and alarm another driver and nobody wants to see your garbage on the side of the road or clean it up out of their yards.

If you've got spare change and there's a jar to put it in, drop it in there. Every little bit helps. An handful of coins might buy you a candy bar, but if everyone gave up their candy bars and their handfuls of coins, think how much that could buy a homeless person, a starving child or a stray animal.

If there is a spill, or the bathroom is out of paper towels, or you see something broken, notify someone.

Smile and be polite. Say hello and wish someone a nice day, even if they're grumpy. You may be the only kind person they encounter today.

These are little habits that nobody thinks about but they do affect other people. As you go through your day, think about how your actions affect the Alli and change your habits accordingly. Remember that you benefit from it too because we are all part of the All and everything we do has a domino effect. If you are thoughtful of others, then others will be thoughtful of you. If you behave in a mindful manner, then perhaps one day someone will see you and, being touched by your behavior, will follow your example and you will have made the world a better place.

Thesmophoria and Composting for Spirit

In ancient times, Athenian women celebrated the harvest season with a 3-day festival dedicated to Demeter known as the Thesmophoria. The first day was called the Anodos and consisted of processions toward the rituali site carrying offerings and other ritual items, the second day, Nesteia, was a day of fasting and mourning in sympathy for Demeter’s loss of her dear daughter Persephone. The third day, Kalligenia is a celebration of birth and rebirth. Offerings of piglets and specially prepared bread that had been placed earlier in a special pit in the Megaron (The temple- sort of) were retrieved and taken home and mixed with seed to ensure that the crops would grow strong the following year. The Megaron was traditionally filled with snakes (sacred to Demeter) and the women sang and clapped their hands to chase away the snakes as they retrieved the decayed matter.

It’s not a difficult stretch to see the sense of such a ritual and adapt it to modern times. Although no one is sure when the offerings were thrown into the pit to be retrieved at the end of the festival, it is certain that the decayed matter offered not only the magical aspect of being charged with energy from the festival, and the spiritual aspect of being blessed by Demeter, but Biologically, it would offer nutrients to the young plants helping to ensure their success once they were planted. This instance of ancient cleverness is certainly one we can emulate in our own practice.

While the Thesmophoria is celebrated at harvest time (the first or second week of October would be ideal, though it could be done at the Autumn Equinox as well) preparing for the ritual should begin early in the year, at planting time with a preparation of the Megaron compost pit. While most folks don’t have space, time or money to create an entire Megaron or ritual area to surround their compost pit, and certainly you wouldn’t want to use just any old compost for this ritual, it may be feasible for some of us to set up a designated compost area just for the ritual.

The pit should be sunk into the Earth. There are some pre-fabricated composting systems that can be sunk into the Earth that would be ideal for this purpose or you could make your own. An old garbage can with holes punched in the bottom and side with the lid intact could be sunk into the Earth near your ritual space for this purpose. Those of us who live in apartments or do not have outside areas suitable to the purpose may find the need met by indoor kitchen composting systems.

Compostable/disposable ritual items could then be placed into the container at the end of each ritual throughout the year to be gathered at the end of the Thesmophoria event, ritually mixed with seeds that are then saved through the winter and planted in the spring. I have not tried this and I’m not sure if the seeds would begin to sprout and die, so perhaps the materials should be gathered and bagged and mixed with seed in the springtime, though storing the mixed seeds in a cold area could solve this problem. Alternatively, the compost could be spread in beds in preparation for Spring at the time they are collected. In ancient Greece, where the climate was much milder than where I currently live, much of the planting may have been done in the Autumn or Winter, so they wouldn’t have had this problem.

The process, as I envision it, would go like this:

At the end of each ritual, the feast would be divided up among the group and an offering set aside for the Divine and other Spiritual guests. Those items leftover from the simple feast can then be placed in the composting pit (or Megaron as I am calling it, though it’s not entirely correct). At the time of the Thesmophoria, the processions, fasting, mourning and ritual abuse of traditioni would then be followed for the first two days, and the third day would consist of the worship group collecting the compost and spreading it on the planting beds (or in flower pots) which would have been cleaned and prepared ahead of time in anticipation of the ritual, or may even be prepared as part of the second day events.

In ancient times, rituals and festivals marked the days that certain tasks had to be managed. I like this idea, but as a modern Pagan it is often difficult to connect with this. As I do not raise cattle, sheep or goats, and have a steady supply of milk and cheese all year regardless, the “true meaning” of Imbolc is somewhat lost for example. I also have wondered in the past what is most appropriate to do with the leftovers of the simple feast (our simple feast tends to be quite large, starting with shared bread and finishing with a potluck dinner). We have eaten it the next day, but this doesn’t seem exactly appropriate. Leaving leftovers outside isn’t appropriate for everyone and can attract unwanted insects and other critters, annoying the neighbors and the occasional landlord. This is a great way to solve this problem while also incorporating spirituality into periodic tasks that we might need to carry out, assuming it is something we do anyway, much as the ancients would have done.

Cleaning Green

We all want our homes to be clean, germ-free havens of fresh-smelling goodness, but many common household cleaners are toxic and a good portion of them eventually end up in our waterways. More immediate is the affect some of their strong smells have on asthmatics and the fact that they are well, toxic! Rather than risk a call to poison control, isn't it better just to not have that stuff around at all?

Oh you could spend a bit of extra money on organic and toxin free cleaners, (If you do decide to go this rout, I just love 7th Generation Products) or you could use my not-so-secret recipe! 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water makes a great spray-on cleaner (get the spray bottles from the dollar store, or reuse an old Windex bottle) and it costs so little (a dollar for 16 ounces at my grocery). This will have your windows shining and kills germs too. Not as much as bleach, granted. For really germy spots, add a drop or two of thyme oil if you've got it- it smells like a hospital, but it works. But what about those tough stains? No problem. Plain old baking soda can be used just like Comet to get those stains up. The cost can't be beat! $1 per pound. These can be used in the laundry too. Vinegar helps set dyes (no more pink briefs, unless you want em.) and gets rid of strong odors and baking soda adds power to bleach to whiten your whites, so you can use much less.
WARNING: Do not use baking soda and vinegar at the same time. They react with each other. Unless of course you have a clogged drain. Then you want that reactions. Pour in a cup of baking soda followed by three cups of boiling water, then add a cup of vinegar and stand back!

Do you use dryer sheets? You can get rid of those too. Line drying is best, but we don't all have time for that business. Do you use potpourrie? Do you have some old holey panty hose or trouser socks missing a mate? Just throw some potpourrie in the feet of the stockings or socks, tie a not and throw them in your dryer instead of dryer sheets. They'll leave your clothes smelling heavenly and you can reuse them for weeks! Okay, so they don't help with static, but this has never been an issue for me. I'm told if you wad up a ball of aluminum foil and throw it in there, you'll have no worries. If that doesn't work for you, saturate a washcloth with fabric softener diluted with equal parts water and let it dry. Throw that in your wash as you would dryer sheets and use it over and over again!

You can find more recipes than I have in my memory banks in The Naturally Clean Home: 100 Safe and Easy Herbal Formulas for Non-Toxic Cleansers

Green Energy at Home

Walking softly on the Earth goes hand and hand with living Green and living Green takes effort. It can mean shopping around for organic products, going out of your way to recycle and maybe using less-than-convenient means to get from point A to point B. It is, in short, a way of life. One that isn't suited to everyone. But even the laziest among us can take solice in the knowledge that they are reducing their footprint just going about their business by making a few small changes and then forgetting all about it. It's easy once you know how.

You can significantly reduce your ecological footprint by making wise energy choices that continue to make a difference even while you're napping. One option is to visit http://www.green-e.org/base/re_products?cust=r or http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/buying_power.shtml to find an energy company near you that provides a Green energy option. Here in Michigan we have Green Generation. For just a few extra dollars a month on my electric bill, I am assured that a portion of my energy is coming from renewable sources, like Wind and landfill gasses. And if you can't find a Green-e company near you, you can purchase Renewable Energy Certificates or Green Tags.

Okay, so it costs a bit of cash and maybe you're broke. No crime in that. But green living can save money too, if you know how, and in the end, it can balance out. Whether or not you use renewable energy or RECs or Green Tags, you can reduce your environmental impact using these simple tips-

Buy Energy Star Approved Appliances

Okay, so maybe you're not in the market just yet, but one day you may be. If you're looking for a new washer, choose a front-loading model. These are gentler on clothing and spin out more water than toploaders, so you need to use less energy to dry. New dryers are now available with humidity detectors that automatically shut off when clothes are dry, not only saving you energy, but saving wear on your clothing. If you hate shopping for clothes as much as I do, this is a big deal! These machines cost more up front, but the long term savings is worth it.

Air conditioners and heaters are huge energy drains in the house, but depending where you live, one or the other is a necessary evil. Buying energy efficient models is just the first step. Even if you're stuck with the dinosaur that came with the house, you can improve your efficiency by making sure the filters are changed regularly and having your unit inspected at least annually. If you have forced air, making sure your ducts are cleaned regularly will not only improve energy efficiency but also improve air quality in your home, leading to fewer doctors bills and missed worked days from sinus infections and allergy symptoms. Have them check your seals while they're at it. You could be losing heat through poorly sealed ducts and not even know it. You should also adjust the temperature according to your activities. The house needn't be as warm or as cool while you're sleeping or away from home. Take your pets into account when making these adjustments, of course. Modern thermostats make this easy.

Change your bulbs

The new flourescent lightbulbs do cost a bit more, but they last alot longer and they use far less electricity than the traditional light bulb. Some estimates say each bulb saves $100 in electricity bills for the life of the bulb. My flourescents don't last 5 years (as the package says they will) but they do last alot longer than a regular light bulb and they don't get hot like a regular bulb does, that's got to make a difference in my air conditioning situation.

Turn it off

I mean, really turn it off! Not many people realize that alot of your appliances and computing equipment continue drawing energy after they've been turned off. Chargers drain electricity long after they stop charging and DVD players, cable boxes and computers continue to drain too. Plugi them into a power strip so you can turn off the whole lot when you're done with them and save up to 40% of your energy use! That's huge. If you're just stepping away from your computer for a minute, turn off the monitor. Most of the energy drain from computer use comes from your screen.

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