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The Ninth Holy Night

JANUARY 3, 2007

The ninth "Soul Quality" that Lynn Jericho invites us to contemplate is Equanimity.
This is a word that I have not often thought about! Lynn writes, "The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines equanimity as "calm mind....Tonight as we penetrate the soul mystery of equanimity, we will look at what inflames, agitates and disrupts our feelings. Emotions are the inflamers, agitators, and disruptors....We are not to suppress our emotions. And we must never deny them. Emotions educate us. They keep us safe. They, most of all, challenge us to become self-aware and self-compassionate. They are the palette of colors that paint the portrait of our personalities, our relationships and our lifetimes....In my study of emotions, I have recognized four basic ones: **anger, fear, sadness and happiness**....Tonight, revere all four emotions. Love your happiness, your anger, your sadness and your fear. If you reject or resent anger, fear and sadness, you will never know equanimity. Your life will not be a composition of self-love."
As I meditate on equanimity I begin to see images for each of the four emotions. For Anger I see a bolt of lightening...for Fear I see a maze...for Sadness I see tears...and for Happiness I see bubbles. I get out my watercolor pencils s and begin to draw these images and emotions into a mandala.

As I move into the emotions with curiosity and paint, I begin to realize that the symbols I've chosen are the four elements of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air!
I begin a second mandala...

These emotions now have a deeper meaning for me. For example, when angry, looking for where I need more fire-South energy in my life, or where I need to focus that bolt of energy. For sadness, where I need to allow the flow of water, the ways of the West to assist me in releasing, allowing cleansing water, through tears or immersing my body in water, to help me move through all the stages of sadness. For happiness, where I can breathe in the air, and the new beginnings of the East, releasing my laughter and joy. For fear, where the maze that traps my mind opens up to reveal the labyrinth path through the Earth, trusting the wisdom of my body as it explores the terrain of the North.

I found in this journey that anger, fear, saddness, and happieness
became four parts of the whole. A universe of life, breathing new
beginnings...

© Lea Goode-Harris
January 2, 2007

Twenty-Seven Turns Around the Sun

By Lea Goode-Harris • 15 Mar, 2024

twenty-seven turns around and around the sun the moon smiles as well

The Retiring of a Labyrinth

By Lea Goode-Harris • 05 Aug, 2023

Labyrinths provide us with a path to practice change. Some labyrinths have withstood the passage of time for thousands of years. Others are here for just an afternoon, drawn in the sand at the edge of the ocean. Many modern labyrinths were meant to last for years, but because of unforeseen circumstances their time is shorter than intended. And they once again help us to practice letting go and giving thanks for the time they are with us. The Labyrinth of Life at the Sebastopol, California Teen Center reached such place of letting go and is at the end of one chapter and the beginning of another chapter that is yet unknown.

Making A Three Circuit Labyrinth

By Lea Goode-Harris • 05 Aug, 2023

Sometimes... a labyrinth can take years to become a physical reality. In 2018 I met with my friend Deb, to discuss her desire to have a labyrinth on the beautiful land she lives on. Despite our plans and several meetings, listening to the land and finding the right spot, the labyrinth did not come to fruition. Fast-forward five years and in the blink of an eye... it happened!