Mindfulness Garden Games
by Joann Calabrese
author of Growing Mindful

New Moon Mindfulness

Happy New Moon – December 23, 2022 It’s the December new moon – and this particular one arrives just two days after winter solstice .These events share many of the same energetic qualities. They both are times of darkness, but also are turn around points for increasing light. Winter solstice is the annual point, but … Read more

Fairy Garden Creation

Fairy Garden

Happy New Moon – September 25 2022 Summer Fairy Garden Project My grand-daughter, Sonya, and I decided to create fairy gardens as a summer project this year. We just wrapped them up the week before autumn equinox – but that still qualifies as a summer project. Our goal was to do something fun together (of … Read more

Dandelions for Resilience

Dandelions for Resilience

Blessings at the Full Moon – March 18, 2022 This Dandelions for Resilience post is part of my lunar blog series featuring one plant and its correspondence each full moon. (Read more details on the lunar mindfulness series. ) Resilience I love dandelions and I’ve written about them often in this blog  and in my book, Growing Mindful. … Read more

Garden Yield – Expanded Definition

“Obtain a yield” is a basic tenet of the sustainable design system permaculture. Many moons ago I took a permaculture design course and incorporate some of those concepts into my backyard sanctuary. One idea is to design for ease of care. This includes focusing on plants that are perennial, disease resistant, and do well naturally … Read more

My Unlikely Garden Project – Flax to Fiber

Flax to Fiber One of my many garden goals for the new year is attempting to create fiber from flax…fiber as in thread, string, or whatever I can manage. I was inspired to explore this idea after reading The Golden Thread, How Fabric Changed History by Clair St. Kasia   Humans have been making fiber from flax … Read more

Connection – Pumpkin Essence

I feel stretched between seasons. Just a few weeks ago I could pop raspberries and tomatoes into my mouth as I walked out the door. But today it is 25 degrees with large white flakes swirling outside my window. The garden exists mostly in my memory. Mostly. Because there are seeds and dried herbs on … Read more

Earth – Mindfulness Focus Words – Week 17

      Earth – the ground we walk on – the only home we have – the place all sustenance springs from.  Earth – a small rock, teeming with life, floating through infinite space.  With Earth Day celebrations throughout the week, it was an easy pick for this week’s mindfulness focus. There are all kinds … Read more

Garden – Mindfulness Focus Word Experiment – Week 15

    I returned to my garden yesterday after a rather challenging work trip.  Last week’s focus on “fascinating”  was extremely helpful while I was away.  But returning home to my garden immediately improved my mood.  It was like coming home to a surprise party of plants.  In seven days, the espalier apple and miniature … Read more

Listening – Mindfulness Focus Words – Week 13

Listening with Intention Listening is the mindfulness focus word this week. It may seem like the easiest thing in the world and at first glance it appears that not much effort is required. Yet mindful listening is not a passive activity. Instead, we are actively participating but in a quiet and intentional way.  Although there … Read more

My Four Point Plan for Dispelling the Darkness – thoughts on the longest night of the year

Winter solstice always carries the symbolism of light dispelling darkness. That image seems particularly comforting right now as we have entered a dark period in which people full of hate and mean intentions have captured the castle.  After weeks of mucking around in the darkness, I am ready to embrace the light.  I’ve written a … Read more

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