Monday, January 30, 2012

Cycles in My Sustainable World



Gardening is a world of cycles. Even though it is January, our attention now becomes focused on beginning our gardens for the next year. Every year on Super Bowl Sunday, there is a huge gardening chat anyone can follow at #supersowsunday that takes place while the football game is being played. Even though my city is hosting the Super Bowl this year, I don't feel any deep connection with things athletic, so this chat interests me greatly.

I'm not much connected to the out-in-the-yard gardeners, but do choose to participate somewhat in the usual culture of gardening. Starting seeds as a group and planning a garden online is a great way to participate in the larger culture. The BathroomFarm is a year-round venture independent of the calendar seasons, but I can learn much from the out-in-the-yard growers. I also intend to volunteer in gardens this summer to get more experience.

For all of time, gardening has been not only related to the cycles of the seasons, but also to the cycles of the moon. Many ancient sustainable cultures looked to the sky to better organize their time in the fields. In more modern times, growers look to the phases of the moon and one of the best known references, The Old Farmer's Almanac has moon-based planting information. I love all things moon! Astrologically, my sun, moon, ascending sign, and Venus are all in moon-ruled Cancer. Historically, my childhood was spent rapt in watching the goal of America landing on the moon. When my parents and I were watching my hometown hero Frank Borman read from Genesis while orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve 1968, they gave me the tiny gift of a Fisher Space Pen accompanied with the giant announcement that we were going to watch the Apollo 11 launch! One thing that always interested me was that moon cycles were often used to organize time. Everyone's heard that from the new moon phase to the full moon is a great time for beginning new things but what happens for the rest of the lunar cycle?

That mystery was solved when I became acquainted with Rev. Michele McGrew who gave away a simple system for planning time by the phases of the moon in a self-self giveaway. The reality is there is no wrong time to do anything but there are better ways to do everything when moon energy is harnessed. I won a free coaching session with her and was able to discuss these ideas. Do they work? I'll find out! I blocked out one of my planning calendars shown above with the phases of the moon to remind me of time. I have never thought that time was anything but a "made up" parameter, with which now science agrees, so any act of organizing time is personal. My view is to use time and organize time and radiate positive thoughts about time and NEVER, EVER be a victim to it! By using moon phases in BathroomFarming, I can feel attached to a system of cycles. If nothing else, I think people feel soothed by familiarity found in cycles and other patterns.

January 2012 has never been a better time to experiment with moon phase marketing and organization principles! The first new moon phase of the year started on January 23, a Monday. Yeah. I know. I just can't turn off being the oldest living Duran Duran fan. Not real sorry about that either. Enjoy!