Friday, August 4, 2017

30 Days to Add Magic to Every Day, Day 4

"Take a full moon retreat at least once a year to recenter yourself and reconnect with your spirituality."
 Now, I haven't been able to find a DIY full moon retreat, so here's one:

It is possible to have a retreat at your home, without ever leaving it, but it is essential that EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE is in it.
So, if you have a SO who isn't interested, he/she must go somewhere else, or promise to stay in the other end of the home, hidden and not to talk to you, not to disturb you, stay as quiet and unobtrusive as possible. If he/she isn't willing to do this, you should consider why you are having this important relationship with someone who doesn't respect you as much as he/she should...
You should be able to get your kids and pets to stay over at someone else's house.

1. Decide for how long you want to do this.

It is recommended that it lasts at least 6 hours, preferably a whole day, but could take the whole weekend.  (This month is great for this, as the full moon is on Sunday. (Actually, it's on Monday, but it's "full enough" on Sunday for you to reap all the benefits of the magical influence of full moon.) You can start preparing today, do all the work tomorrow, and spend the whole Sunday in your retreat. If you missed this time, next time full moon is on Sunday is in December, December 3rd.)

2. Plan the food.

There are two things to think about with the food. The first is that this is a retreat, which means that your food should be healthy or luxurious or both. What do you imagine people eat at a retreat? What would you want to eat at a retreat? The other one is that after having the yoga session, there is to be a feast under the full moon. What is "feast" to you?

Also, if you start your retreat with breakfast, would you prefer a brunch? And would you like a drink at the brunch, like Mimosa, Kir or Bellini?

See that you have all the dishes and utensils needed to make the food, serve the food and eat the food with. For a weekend retreat, it's possible for you to borrow singles from your friends and relatives, you don't need to buy everything. But it is also possible, that if you plan on doing this by every full moon, you might want to start collecting a Full Moon Retreat Box with all the special dishes for this occasion... or why not treat you with special dishes and such the whole year? You could as well be eating on a good, beautiful plate every day as on a cheap IKEA thing. 

Purchase the ingredients and prepare the meals as much as you can, so that it's practically just mixing the smoothies and whisking together the salad dressing.
This is also one thing you need to consider when choosing the meals. It should be something you can put together quickly so that you can focus on enjoying the food, and the quality of the meal shouldn't suffer because most of it has been prepared before.
Which means that you won't be storing the salad with the dressing, unless the dressing is to be soaked in the salad. You won't be serving freezer meals with rubbery potatoes and sauce all soaked up in the vegetables.
Now, it is possible that you enjoy cooking, and then that could be part of the retreat; the possibility to actually spend the whole day in the kitchen cooking, and then enjoying the food as it is prepared. (You probably need to begin with the dessert and make it ready so that you can just whisk it up and serve after you have enjoyed the main dish.)

3. Plan the clothes

Yeah... :-)
You need clothes to yoga in.
You need clothes to meditate in.
You need clothes to intake your meals. I mean, it's a retreat, treat yourself! Wear the best, softest, coolest, nicest, prettiest clothes you can imagine people wear when they eat breakfast/brunch/lunch/dinner/supper/whatever you plan on eating. :-D
And then you need the clothes when you are dancing in the moonlight. 
Now, it's a private retreat, so you can wear anything. Or nothing. It's totally up to you. But I would dress up. Just saying.

Also, most people want to wear all white at Full Moon Retreats

4. Stage your home
Clean your home - or at least the area where you will be. Create hotel class cleanliness and uncluttered space. Put away all unnecessary things, even when it means moving furniture and packing knick-knacks in boxes, and then you will need to unpack things. It will be worth it.
Create an environment that is what you imagine a top class retreat environment to be.
Add something pleasant and relaxing to see, something pleasant and relaxing to smell, something pleasant and relaxing to hear.

5. Unplug the phones, shut down your mobile phone and unscrew the doorbell. Remember to undo this after the retreat. 
The only time you are allowed to use the computer is if you don't know how to do the moon salutation and need guidance, or if you plan on doing a moon meditation and need someone to lead you. If this is the case, see that you have a good video uploaded and ready to be played, and you won't go anywhere else.

6. Start the day by taking a long walk in a forest (or another kind of natural environment of your liking, like the beach or meadows). Take it as early as you wake up (preferably at sunrise) and as far away from traffic, urban environment and people as you can.

7. Journal.
I suggest mindful art journaling.

8. Self-healing








8. Yoga
Moon salutation
Do it 108 times. Why? Because the moon is worth it, and so are you. Here's "why" to the "New Year 108 Sun Salutations" traditions, and the same reasons go for the Moon Salutations.

9 Full moon meditation
There are several on YouTube. Pick your favorite.


10. Sing
Compose your own song to the moon and sing it to her. It doesn't matter if you sing like a crow and it doesn't matter if most of your song is copies of other songs. What matters is that you sing a song to the Moon, that you tell the moon what she means to you with your own words - or words you have chosen yourself - and that you sing. Singing is very healing.

11. Dance
Dance under the moon. Dance like no-one's watching and you are the most amazing dancer there ever was. .
Dancing is very healing as well.  

Based on The Witch of Lupine Hollow: 30 Ways to Live a More Magickal Life Everyday

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