Afternoon Nature Meditations
Guided by Rev. Kelly Dignan
Mondays and Wednesdays 4:30 - 5:00 pm Mountain Time

Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2825582166?pwd=aUpHNlN0eGNydERUTWNnTHNvcTBkUT09

Join with others for a meditation to get grounded, centered in your body and connected to the natural world and all its healing properties. Kelly uses guided visualization to lead you on a journey to a natural setting. Forests, clearings, ponds, ocean beaches are some of the settings we visit in our spiritual imaginations. Once there, we feel the power and energy of earth, sky, elements, animal and plant worlds. We invite that healing power to move over and through our energy bodies (chakras). The circle we create together is sacred and confidential. You'll be invited to name any concerns for yourself and the world so we can shower them with love and the energy of nature. Then you'll be invited to name what brings you joy. There's never any pressure to share. ​We end with gratitude.

Many people come regularly. Others pop in and out. All are welcome; invite your friends. If you can contribute, voluntary offerings are appreciated and can be made here. Most people send something at the beginning of each month.

Missed it? You can listen to some recordings here.

Also, we honor the seasons of the year with a special meditation marking each one (on or around the dates below): 
Winter Solstice - December 21
Spring Equinox - March 21
Summer Solstice - June 21
Autumn Equinox - September 21

There are four other dates to celebrate the natural world. On or near these dates, Kelly describes the celebration, and we honor the time of year.
February 1
May 1
August 1
November 1

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This started as a two week experiment in March 2020 as we "sheltered in place" due to COVID-19. It's working, so we continue on. I'll provide updates here, on Facebook and through email if anything changes. To follow me on Facebook, click here or search for Kelly Groves Dignan. There may come a time when I'll need to give you a password for Zoom. That means I'll need your email address.
​So please subscribe here to receive those emails.  
If I can support you in any other ways, let me know. Much love, ​Kelly
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Here's how to use Zoom:
If you are an Apple user, download the Zoom app to your phone or iPad.
You don't have to create an account. Just download the app; the link is here.
​For Android phones and tablets, here's the app.

Then from your phone or tablet, click on this link: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2825582166?pwd=aUpHNlN0eGNydERUTWNnTHNvcTBkUT09
The app will open up.
This link has a password embedded in it.  But if it prompts you for a password, use: meditation

If you use Chrome as your browser, you don't even need the app. You can just click the Zoom link. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2825582166?pwd=aUpHNlN0eGNydERUTWNnTHNvcTBkUT09
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You can choose to have the video on or off.  Once we get started, I'll invite you to mute yourself. Then when it's time to share, I'll invite you to unmute yourself. Please silence your phones and watches, and try to limit any background noise (you'd be surprised how loudly things come across the microphones when we're unmuted!)  It is best if you use head sets to avoid that background noise, too. 

Recorded Nature Meditations
Found on Kelly's YouTube Channel. These are recordings of the "live" Afternoon Nature Meditations held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30 PM Mountain Time.

Confidentiality of participants is maintained. Therefore, the recordings are paused during personal sharing. Voluntary offerings are appreciated and can be made here. Most people send something at the beginning of each month. 

When and How
November 1, 2021
6:30 - 7:15 pm MST
By Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86905864465?pwd=VDJaR2Rhd0pLYWhYZHR3ZUhQcUJqZz09
Free of charge
Include your household and friends, if you'd like. 

Background
​According to the ancient Northern European Celtic tradition, the new year begins on November 1st. A ceremony and celebration was held for three days (October 31 through November 2) to harvest the crops and livestock. It was a time of change and transition from way of living to another — from Summer to Winter; from sunlit outdoor life to warmth by the hearth. The time was called “Samhain” in Irish Gaelic and “Samhuinn” in Scottish Gaelic. Both are pronounced ‘Sow (as in cow) — in (as in Inn)’.
During these three days, the veil of time is lifted, and we may commune with those gone before us more clearly than at other times of year. It is also a time of connection with nature, as are all the holidays in the Celtic calendar.

Similar celebrations are held in various cultures and traditions:
In Mexico: Dia de Los Muertos translates literally to “day of the dead”
In China: Zhongyuan Festival
In Japan: Bon Festival
In Christianity across the world: Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day

Several years ago, I began to honor all the holidays of my Celtic heritage, including Samhain. The main feature of this ceremony is an invitation to our healthy ancestors, teachers and friends to join the celebration so that we might honor them and ask them for help. (If you are adopted and/or don’t have information about your family history, it’s no problem. We sense into your bloodlines energetically.)

​I will lead us to create an energetic landscape of safety and healing so that we can ask these helpers for assistance to release that which is not serving us and call in something for the new year.

Why? 
Returning to our roots - ancestors, cultures and land - is especially important for white folks. In most cases, when our people came to the U.S., they were cut off from their heritage and asked to assimilate. It's as if they (and as a result, we) were orphaned. In the past few years, it's become clear that if we were raised in the United States, we were raised in a white supremacy culture. If we are to dismantle that, we need something to fall back on so we're not left anchorless. We need a landing pad. Returning to our ancestors, roots and culture can offer that. So can a return to the Earth and natural world. Rituals like this can help us do that. 

To Prepare
Gather

• Two strips of paper per person
• Pens
• One piece of ribbon per person (whatever you have around the house is fine.

Meditate about a burden you’d like to release. Also consider something new you want to call in 1) for yourself and 2) for the world and all of creation. The ancestors will be ready to help you!

​Build an altar with the following (if you don’t have it all handy, just have the paper and pens):

• In the North, a rock or crystal to represent the element of Earth. Mementos of the ancestors in one of your lines (ex: your mother’s father’s line). (Photos, trinkets, pieces of jewelry, symbols, names written on paper, etc. If you don’t have any objects, that’s ok. Just know we’ll be honoring those lines in the ceremony.)
• In the East, a feather, bell or incense to represent the element of Air. Mementos of the ancestors in another line (ex: your father’s father’s lineage).
• In the South, a candle to represent the element of Fire. Mementos of the ancestors in the next line (ex: your father’s mother’s lineage).
• In the West, a bowl of water or a seashell to represent the element of Water. Mementos of the ancestors in the last of your lines (ex: your mother’s mother’s line).
• Imagine empty chairs in each direction, ready to welcome the healthy ones of that line.
• NOTE: There's nothing magical about the direction you pick for each line. You choose. Just give them all a spot on the altar. 
• If you know what kind of offering they would like, place those offerings on the altar, too. (Think food, drink, herbs) Herbs for Samhain are acorn, apple, corn, hazel, mullein, nightshade, pumpkin, sage, turnip, wormwood (A Druid’s Herbal by Ellen Evert Hopman)

Here is a picture of my altar for this year.

​Create a place to burn or bury. At the end of the meditation, you’ll be invited to place a single piece of paper in a container and burn it. So find a safe space indoors or outdoors to burn one small piece of paper at a time. You’ll want to consider smoke alarms inside. And if you plan to be outside, excellent fire safety is essential, especially considering the fires that are spreading throughout our country. In the container, you can add sand or rocks at the bottom. Have a pitcher of water nearby, just in case. If fire doesn’t feel safe, have a trowel and a place in your surroundings so you can bury the piece(s) of paper in the Earth.

Make some treats and collect some libations to enjoy after the ceremony. Consider preparing a family recipe (I love to make my paternal grandma’s brownies!)

We will start right at 6:30. You'll be invited to mute yourself for the ceremony, and have your camera on or off. If you'd like to stay on after the ritual to enjoy some treats and conversation, feel free. But also feel free to drop off. 

For more connection with your ancestors and your culture, see Returning to Roots.