Friday, November 25, 2022. It was cold and damp this morning at the marsh, with a raw breeze. We cut our walk a little short, but it was nevertheless good to gather, still warm from holiday dinners the night before. We honor the new month of Kislev, which brings us from darkness into light – the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year – also is the day of turning, when light begins to return to the world. Our holiday Hanukah, which ends the month and overlaps into the coming one, reminds us, as our candlelight steadily grows day by day for eight days, that the world is turning and the light and spring season will return in due time.
Kislev is also known as the “month of dreams”, since the Torah portions read during this month tell stories of our ancestors’ dreams. The dreams of Jacob and Joseph are among the most mystical scenes in our Torah, bringing to mind the subliminal and deep unconscious images and aspirations that thread through human lives. The zodiac sign for the month of Kislev, Sagittarius, is a centaur, half-human, half-animal, reminding us that we are both. Our animal minds, or “limbic brains”, the core at the center of each of our brains, are the center of stress response – “fight, flight or freeze”, often getting us into trouble. But they are also the center of creativity, spontaneity, and the deep source of our dreams. The opportunity given to us by Sagittarius is to honor and welcome our animal selves, while tempering our deep stress response with creativity, joy, and our uniquely human endeavors in philosophy, ethics, morals, religion, the arts, and science. We are both animal and human – may we harness the best of our full selves in serving the divine, the world around us, and each other. —- Kirby
Our next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will honor the month of Tevet, Sunday morning, December 25, 8:30 am. NOTE LATER TIME FOR THIS MONTH!! Contact us for location.
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 