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Articles tagged with: 100-day gong

New Format: Three Takes on a Spell

My New Year, New Gong

New Format: Three Takes on a Spell

Yesterday was my birthday, my personal new year. A good time to restart the broken Gong and to learn the lessons from having it break.

The Internet hasn't been available when I've needed it in recent days. An opportunity to go inward and let what's needed for this next phase bubble up spontaneously.

What does that mean for the blog? I'll tell you, and then I'll show you with the first post in the series, tomorrow..

I'll be continuing with the "cycles within cycles" format, including three blog posts in each nine-day period. This one, the introduction, is extra. But now, each of these nine-day periods will have a theme. Each nine-day period will SPELL something.

Broken Gong--Failure, or Wabi Sabi?

fail better

Broken Gong--Failure, or Wabi Sabi?

This afternoon, finally, I was writing. It felt so good. My own thoughts and ideas were emerging and sharpening, and I could see how they would be interesting and useful to other people. I was giving myself the gift of being in flow.

And I was so absorbed in the process, I didn't notice the laptop battery running down, and the computer shut down and I lost every dot of what I'd written!

Things have been kind of like that around here lately. Perhaps it's fitting that something like this happened just as I came clear that I've failed at my Gong and need to start it over. Certain voices are telling me I'm a failure and a disaster magnet. But let's see if there's some phoenix energy to be found here, some seeds that need another spell of sleep in the ground before they venture to sprout.

The Way Out and Back is Not the Same

100-Day Gong Day 51

The Way Out and Back is Not the Same

Today for me is day 51 of the 100-day Gong.  Can you believe we've come that far from Winter Solstice already?

Essentially, we're halfway between solstice and equinox. We've moved out of the still point of midwinter but we're not all the way over to plowing the fields yet. It's time to ask groundhogs for their predictions. In the Celtic calendar, it's Imbolc, where old crone energy is replaced by maiden energy. And in the Jewish calendar, originating farther south, it's Tu b'Shvat (was just last week), which is the New Year of trees!

So, what does it mean to be halfway through a 100-day discipline, halfway between midwinter and spring?

30-Day Review, 100-Day Gong

step creates step, day creates day

30-Day Review, 100-Day Gong

I sure wrote a lot about the concept of the 100-day Gong back in November and December. But I've been pretty silent on the subject since starting my Gong on the winter solstice.

I've been more focused on doing/being/embodying the Gong than on writing about it, although the preponderance of posts in the "Mindfulness" category should attest both to the nature of my Gong and to how much it's in the front of my mind and experience.

Today, though, is day 30, and it's time for an update. 30 is a good number for this Gong's subdivisions: not quite a third of 100, it's also at the three-and-a-third point in my own nine-day-cycle subdivision, so that when my third "nundina" ended on Friday, I was already looking toward this 30-day review point. 

WIth this "buddy system for days," it's fascinating to see how much more comfortable I can be setting goals in the face of the unknown. If one day doesn't bring it, there are days around it to tauten the focus.

Light Ascending; Making Adjustments, Punishment is just a Meme

constantly ascending

Light Ascending; Making Adjustments, Punishment is just a Meme

Happy, peaceful holidays to all. "Solstice" means "sun standing"--the day length changes very little for about four days around the shortest and longest days. Time standing stiller. Good time for looking inward and for family festivities. Thanks to Skype, I visited with family long distance; otherwise, I had quiet, inward time, played with herbs in the kitchen, read books. I did no work, for the first time I can remember except when I've had company (which is work).

Doing no work yesterday felt like the sun "standing still," like ignoring what's always on my shoulders. It felt like I'd left undone something I should have attended to. And turns out, there was a client wanting work urgently today, but I got up early this morning and got it done in time, feeling fresh and clear and focused toward the work.

Starting the Gong--Cycles Within Cycles

a buddy system for days

Starting the Gong--Cycles Within Cycles

When I awoke yesterday morning, it was to a sense of anticipation, a little apprehension, and determination. 

Just by virtue of having woken up, I'd begun to be "on the Gong." More, it was a triple beginning: the beginning of the waxing moon, the beginning of lengthening days as we turn back toward the sun.

It's wise to have interim milestones and checkins during a period as long as 100 days, acknowledging the smaller cycles within that time frame. This time around, I've recognized the importance of that. A buddy system for days!

Memes, Mantras, Mission Statements--Part 2

is it really YOUR goal?

Memes, Mantras, Mission Statements--Part 2

Here's the scary thing about having memes--unconscious mantras--dictating what you do: they can infect your goals!

We list our goals and wishes. We adopt practices for 100 days to build clarity and efficiency. We build clarity and efficiency to know what we want to achieve. With this clarity and efficiency, our goals come in reach.

But if our original goals were built on memes, either we won't choose beneficial practices or, if we do, we'll end up feeling like the naked emperor in his "new suit."

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