Healing Gardens: Privacy

Four neighbors at crossroads.
My unit is straight ahead behind the fences.

We are four neighbors in proximity who have privacy issues. Two side by side can see into one another’s patios despite a partial fence between them. Most dramatically, two diagonally across from each other can see directly into each other’s patios and living rooms. My issue was neighbors behind me seeing directly into my patio from their second floor windows. 

Solution for Side by Side

A top-of-fence planter was installed to give visual height to the partial fence and distract people’s vision. Unseen are two heat pumps surrounded by plants.

Note planter on top of fence
 between two side by side neighbors.

Solutions for Diagonal Views 

Tp protect her from diagonal neighbor's view, the person behind me built a paver tower in the corner of her patio for a tall plant and surrounded it with other tall plants also on pedestals.

Tall plants on pedestals.

 

The other diagonal neighbor who is next door to me got a tall planter box for the edge of her patio and put plants beneath, inside, and surrounding the box.

Note dark wood planter on stilts to the left
and behind large pink blossoms.

Solution for Seen from Above 

My solution was to plant small trees: one beside my patio, one in a large pot on the patio and one by the fence separating me from the neighbor directly behind me. The trees screen my seating areas from immediate view and provide shade from the direct morning sun. 

Small Dogwood beside my patio
screens view from one neighbor behind me.

Potted Crape Myrtle on patio and second Dogwood to the right
(see branches) screen views from neighbor behind me.

My trees provide 'borrowed scenery' for all my neighbors and a Buddha statue sets an appropriate tone for resolving issues.

Buddha on my patio table establishes peace
 for the neighborhood.

Symbols of the Self

The circle, square, and diamond are symbols of the self or soul. In traditional Tibetan mandalas, one can only get into the central square through portals that are guarded by ogres and angels. Any centering mandala is an invitation to go inward and be refreshed.

Portals to the Heart

Centering Mandala with Square and Portals

• Place the materials in front of yourself on a table.
• Write the date in the upper righthand corner of blank white paper.
• In the upper left corner write, “Beginning this I feel …” 
• Center yourself. Put both feet on the floor, close your eyes, slow down your breathing, center yourself. 

Just remain in the center, watching. And then forget that you are there. Lao Tzu

• Choose a color and draw a circle.

Flower Portals

• Choose another color and draw a square in the center of the circle.

Goddess Portals

• Choose one or more colors and draw four doorways into the square. The doorways are portals, thresholds, and obstacles.

Peaceful Center

• Fill the whole circle with color.
• When finished, write at the bottom, “Completing this I feel …”

If it feels right, share your reflections with a friend.

Four Directions Home

   

LiDoña Wagner, GRAPHITINT & INKTENSE pencils

Radiating Hope

LiDoña Wagner Radiating Flower

Last month I introduced the making of centering mandalas to find peace in the midst of troubling or anxious times. I showed centering mandalas based on the spiral, a shape that focuses on the cyclical movement of time. 

This month's centering mandala is a radiating pattern. We recognize this pattern in flowers whose petals radiate out from a center. It can also be seen in relation to how a tiny seed grows roots that radiate out into the soil. We recognize it when we throw a stone into water and watch ripples flow out from the spot where it hit the water.

Use whatever media with which you are comfortable. I have used Derwent Graphitint and Derwent Inktense pencils and Cretacolor AquaStic Metallic crayons for mandalas shown here. My photographer friend Sandy Brown Jensen generated hers on the computer using her own and free online images. 

 Radiating Pattern Centering Mandala

Place the materials in front of yourself on a table. 

Write the date in the upper righthand corner of blank white paper.

In the upper left corner write, “Beginning this I feel …” 

Example: Beginning this I feel anxious about Covid 19 rampaging around the world. 

LiDoña Wagner Radiating Roots

Just remain in the center, watching. And then forget that you are there. Lao Tzu

Center yourself. Put both feet on the floor. Close your eyes, slow down your breathing, do a body scan relaxing each body part as you move from head to toes. 

Choose a color and draw a circle.

Choose another color and draw a radiating pattern out from the center of the circle.

Fill the whole circle with color.

LiDoña Wagner My Beating Heart

When it feels complete, write at the bottom, “Completing this I feel … ”

 If it feels right, share your reflections with a friend.

 Sandy Brown Jensen Computer Photo Collage Spring Equinox

Centering Yourself #1

Centering Mandalas are a wonderful way to find peace and calm in the midst of your daily life. 

Just remain in the center, watching. And then forget that you are there. Lao Tzu 

 Beach Stones LiDoña Wagner Feb 2, 2019

I advise persons to do a centering mandala whenever they feel fragmented and desire greater balance. You can do one in twenty minutes. Frequently, after drawing one during a twenty-minute gap in my schedule, I go back later and embellish it. Because it is a symbol of wholeness (circle) time spent embellishing is also centering and calming. All of the examples shared below have been embellished.

Materials

•    Depending on the size of the journal you’ve selected, you may want to do centering mandalas in your journal so you have a record of your inner life.
•    Otherwise, you need a sheet of 8.5” x 8.5” paper. A sheet of copy paper will work but will limit the media you use if you wish to embellish it.
•    At least eight crayons, markers, or colored pencils (Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Violet, Brown, Black and Grey) and a pencil. I like to use Derwent Graphitint (softer earth tones) and Inktense (strong colors) pencils.  

 Dancing Spirals LiDoña Wagner March 24, 2021

Spiral Centering Mandala

• Place the materials in front of you on a table. 
• Write the date in the upper righthand corner of blank white paper.
• In the upper left corner write, “Beginning this I feel …” Example: Beginning this I feel conflicted re letting some things go but wanting to hold on to others – frenetic.
• Center yourself. Put both feet on the floor, close your eyes, slow down your breathing, do a body scan, relaxing each part of your body as you move from head to toes.  
• When you feel balanced, open your eyes, select a color and draw a large spiral on the paper. (If you’re feeling scattered, go from outside into the center, if not, go from the center to the outside.) Put that color down. 
• Fill the entire spiral with color(s).
• When it feels finished, close your eyes and focus your energy. When you are ready, complete the phrase,  "Completing this I feel ... ", writing it in the lower right corner of the paper. Example: Completing this I feel there is some place in the universe where there is wholeness and unity. I am calm.
• If it feels right, share your reflections with a friend. 

 

Earth Jewels LiDoña Wagner
 July 21, 2019

Remember, the important thing is the PROCESS, not the product!

Enlivening America’s Spirit

While I was recovering from breast cancer that had metastasized to my bones, a galaxy of love, hope, expertise, archaic body wisdom, and light guided me toward healing. I am once again experiencing this amazing galaxy, only this time it’s engaged in healing something bigger than me. 

Love

Three events held by the Biden-Harris administration have helped thousands of Americans express their love for over 500,000 people who have died from Covid-19. On the eve of the inauguration, President Biden, First Lady Dr. Biden, Vice President Harris and Second Gentleman Emhoff stood in silence during a ceremony at the Lincoln memorial. Lights reflecting in the pool before Lincoln’s statue were enhanced by sacred music, played and sung.

 

This past week these same four caring persons once again stood in silence during a ceremony at a White House draped in black and surrounded by hundreds of lights. A day later, members of Congress stood in silence on the steps of the capital surrounded by lights as two songs were sung to acknowledge the sorrow of Americans who have lost loved ones to the pandemic. 

Hope 

Last Sunday my friend Aracely drove me to a parking lot at Lane Community College to receive my first Pfizer vaccine shot. As we approached, the white peaks of eight canopies came into view. Orange vested guides directed us to one of four lanes of cars that moved slowly and steadily past the canopies. After providing my appointment confirmation number, papers handed in the car window required me to give related health information to guide the vaccinators. Next, I received my vaccination card. 

 

As we waited in line, Aracely registered on her phone to get a Lane County vaccination appointment. Then she sent messages to family members urging them to register. Surveying  all of the people, each performing one small step in this meticulously executed and documented process, I said, “Can you imagine the amount of planning, negotiating, purchasing, shipping and training of thousands of personnel that went into getting me this vaccination in a safe manner, plus tracking all vaccinations to know when I need to come back for the second shot?”

 

Upon reading my paperwork, the vaccinator went to check with a doctor to be sure it was okey to give me the vaccine. He affirmed that since my oncologist had told me “get either vaccine ASAP” she could vaccinate me but I should wait in the 30-minute lot so they could watch for any adverse reaction. Waiting nearby, I recalled something Elizabeth Warren said during the Democratic primary in 2020, “Hope is not delivered to us; it is created by us.” 

I am in awe of the care, expertise and dedication that went into saving my life. Since taking office the Biden-Harris administration has organized the largest logistical operation in our nation’s history, creating hope within us of a future without the threat of Covid-19. 

Expertise

Our nation has been in freefall for a long time. Yet we have some of the most experienced and competent leaders in the world. The problem is that they have not been in positions to actualize the changes necessary to get us back on track economically, politically, and culturally. 

 

During the transition from winning on November 3 to being inaugurated January 20, Biden-Harris did an extensive search to find diverse individuals with expertise in economic planning, national and international statecraft, and scientific innovation. It is heart warming to see the grandson of immigrants fleeing anti-Semitic violence nominated as Attorney General; the first Native American nominated as Secretary of the Interior, the body responsible for Native American lands and policy; and the first women to be Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Energy (to name a couple). 

Archaic Body Wisdom

Climate change is real. Previous climate changes ended civilizations such as at Angkor Wat. Earlier peoples possessed an archaic body wisdom that put them in touch with nature and its changing patterns while contemporary humans are often separated from nature and are in denial of changes occurring in our natural environment. Whereas earlier peoples could migrate to more hospitable lands, now over 7 billion people live on planet earth. 

 

Wherever we are, we need to re-connect and re-partner with nature. The amazing thing is that it is precisely in doing so, i.e., getting our energy from sun, wind, waves etc. that we can create good jobs for everyone and handle the extremes of weather that are our new normal. As we stop exploiting and destroying animals, we give nature a chance to regenerate. Any organic gardening we do (rooftop, patio tower, backyard, community, etc.) can bring back the bees and butterflies that pollinate our edible plants. 

 

The pandemic brought a halt to former economic activities, many of which were not moving us into a sustainable future. The American Rescue Plan is about ending the pandemic, recovering from its devastation, and building back better.  

Light 

Light and darkness are a continuum. Each has its place. During periods of darkness, seeds germinate. But when they are ready to grow, they need and move toward light. Light allows us to see what was hidden in darkness. Not all seeds are benevolent. Today’s light has revealed how the seeds of hatred and ignorance have been allowed to grow unchecked. 

 

The gruesome pandemic has shed light on injustices that have existed in our country and world for centuries. Just as worldwide migrations shed light on the way industrialized northern countries have exploited resource-rich southern nations, so have the disproportionate deaths among persons of color revealed the multiple ways that our nation has disadvantaged those brought here as slaves from Africa and those original residents whom Euro-Americans eliminated and pushed aside.

 

It is time to address what light has revealed. 

Welcome A New Future

Energy Glyph by Sandy Brown Jensen

Know Two Things

1. Even at this late hour we still have a choice about our future, and therefore every action we take from this moment forward counts.

2. We are capable of making the right choices about our own destiny. If we act, we are not doomed to a devastating future and humanity is not flawed and incapable of responding to big problems. Our new intentional direction must move us beyond defeatism to optimism, beyond extraction toward regeneration, beyond linear toward circular economies, beyond individual benefit toward the common good, beyond short-term thinking toward long-term thinking and acting.

Awaken to New Mindsets

In The Future We Choose, guides for the UN’s Paris Accord convention, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac suggest three mindsets that are necessary if we are to survive the climate crisis: Stubborn Optimism, Endless Abundance, and Radical Regeneration.

Energy Glyphs by Julie Aston (top)
Tools by Julie Aston and granddaughters (bottom)

Optimism is about being able to intentionally identify and prescribe the desired future so as to actively pull it closer … having steadfast confidence in our ability to solve big challenges … actively proving, through every decision and action, that we are capable of designing a better future. 

Abundance is a mindset shift away from competition and toward shared winning … enhancing collaboration … trusting human creativity, solidarity, innovation … constantly teaching one another.

Regeneration is the self-generated healing process that restores an organism’s injured bodily part from the remaining healthy tissues. It is moving away from extracting and depleting and concentrating on our capacity for supporting regeneration through such activities as meditation and mindfulness practices, gardening, crafting, drawing, playing or listening to music, exercising, meandering in the park, or paddling down a river. 

By cultivating these three mindsets, we give clearer, stronger direction to our lives and to our world, setting the necessary foundation for us to collectively co-create the world we want. 

Energy Glyphs by Kathy Marshall using lamb's wool and lichen

Transform Existing Mindsets

Essential to transforming our mindset is the intention to see beyond the immediate horizon, have comfort with uncertainty, and commit to: 

    • noticing how and when we are depleted and then support

     ourselves. 

    • reaffirming and strengthening the regenerative capacity we 

    already display with family and friends intentionally and 

    consistently. 

    • engaging those beyond our innermost circle and indeed 

    nature itself through rewilding and conserving and protecting 

    our water.

Energy Glyph Tools by Judy Newman (top)
and Sandy Brown Jensen (bottom)

Design A New Future 

1. Let Go of the Old World

    Let go of the fossil-fuel-dominated past and focus on a 

    sustainable future.

2. Face Your Grief but Hold a Vision of the Future

    Imagination is essential. 

3. Defend the Truth 

    Don’t give up on climate deniers. 

4. See Yourself as a Citizen – Not as a Consumer

    Dematerialize to reclaim your idea of a good life. 

5. Move Beyond Fossil Fuels 

    Stand up for 100% renewable energy. 

6. Reforest the Earth 

    Plant trees, let nature flourish and go plant based. 

7. Invest in a Clean Economy 

    Put your money where it matters. 

8. Use Technology Responsibly 

    Find out if your government, your local community, 

    or the company you work for is investing in AI,

    and what they are using it for. 

9. Build Gender Equality

    If you are a woman, now is the time to consider running 

    for public office or being more assertive about a deserved 

    promotion at work. 

10. Engage in Politics 

    If democracy is to survive and thrive into the 21st century, 

    climate change is the one big test that it cannot fail. 

When considering an action, ask: Does this actively contribute to humans and nature thriving together as one integrated system on this planet? Remember to regularly and intentionally listen to birdsong … engage in forest bathing … explore the flights of butterflies, birds, and dragonflies … 

LiDoña Wagner Kamala Harris Glyph on recycled paper

Living from the Inside Out

Learning to live from the inside out is one of the strange outcomes of isolation brought on by efforts to prevent Covid-19’s spread. And that turns out to be a good thing.

When it became clear that the pandemic would last until this spring, I launched an online dreaming and artful play group as a means of supporting one another through this difficult period. Our first artful play was the creation of a self-box collage, being attentive to what we show on the outside and what is less obvious on the inside. Photos shared here are mostly what's on the inside.

The Fauci Effect
Have you heard of ‘the Fauci effect’? Medical schools across the country report a 30% increase in applications. Apparently, people who might have been distracted by materialism’s bogus promises have instead listened to their hearts and decided they want to help others. I hope that means that we will be able to provide better health care for everyone - regardless of location, income or ethnicity.

Georgia On My Mind
It turns out civics is a state of mind and Georgians like their renewed sense of empowerment. Since electing Biden-Harris (according to three separate ballot counts), voters are now super engaged in a special run-off election for their two federal senators.

During an Atlanta rally for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock the energy of engagement was palpable – from the virtual singing of Georgia On My Mind by Broadway performers to organizer Stacey Abrams, to Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, to Jon and Raphael, to a young Latina student who voted for the first time on November 3, and highlighted by President-elect Joe Biden.

Values Matter
This past week was a windfall for Mother Earth with Biden's nominations of New Mexico Representative Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior, North Carolina environment secretary Michael Regan to head up the Environmental Protection Agency, and former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg for Secretary of Transportation.

Long ignored, Native Americans like Haaland have been steadfast in protecting our natural resources. Regan has already made history in North Carolina with his forward looking envionmental decisions. One of the biggest things on Buttigieg's plate will be construction of hundreds of charging stations across America to service our transition from fossil-fuel-burning vehicles to electric ones. It’s a big step toward reducing carbon emissions but it also represents a popular will to live by our values rather than immediate gratification.

Winter Solstice Magic
With the upcoming Solstice on December 21, here in North America we celebrate that which, hidden from view, is already preparing to be born anew. The bounty of summer and autumn has been harvested giving the appearance of an earth at rest. But under the ground roots are gathering energy for a burst of new life in the spring. To celebrate the solstice is to honor what’s on the inside rather than mourn what appears to be missing.

I predict 2021 will be a wondrous year of multiple ‘inside out’ transformations for you, me, and everyone with an open heart and curious mind.