Shakti Handmade Holiday Fair
Next Saturday, November 14, is the second annual Shakti Handmade Holiday Fair. We have more vendors, and therefore, even more variety than we did last year. To help you prepare for this delightful event, I created a Handy Artisan Reference as well as provided some pro-tips for parking and other day-of-the-event suggestions. Feel free to pass this information along and encourage folks to drop by the fair.
The Shakti Handmade Holiday Fair is not only a great opportunity to find gifts for family and friends – it also is a wonderful way to support local female artisans who benefit from your patronage.
In addition to…
Travel is a wonderful teacher.
I just returned from a trip to Colorado with my partner. We went to Pueblo to celebrate our niece’s wedding and had a wonderful time being with family – both new and old, eating delicious food, finding a cool independent bookstore, visiting an one-of-a-kind castle, and being invited to play with the local jug band. This trip reminded me of why I love to travel: the opportunity to meet new people and experience new things. Travel is a wonderful teacher. It can be challenging, inspiring, thought-provoking, heart-opening, fun, scary, exciting, and also, a reminder of why there is no place like home.
A snapshot of seasonal, slow living.
We had our first frost of the season last Saturday. In my home garden, I picked the last of the peppers and tomatoes, including the green ones that I use to make chutney. Cleo, the head gardener at Shakti, and her nephew dug up the pepper plants and put them in containers to be moved inside. Despite my many years of gardening, I did not learn until this year that you can over-winter peppers, increasing their life span and saving money on new plants. The peppers have taken residence in my basement and require minimal care until next spring.
With the last of this year’s harvest needing to be preserved…
An exploration of the tenets of matriarchy.
I recently read a Substack article written by Sarah Noack entitled From a Matriarchal Perspective, The FacistTech Bros Have Already Lost. Noack begins her argument by defining patriarchy as “a domination-based system [in which] power is measured by how much control you can exert over other people, resources and, ultimately, life itself.” In a word, patriarchy is extractive: taking and taking without any regard to the finiteness of resources. Noack acknowledges the extractive nature of patriarchy and asks: Why do we treat this [fascist tech bros building increasingly powerful AI while casually entertaining the possibility that it could wipe out human civilization in the next three years] as the ultimate expression of technological power?
Great question. Why do we, as a culture, put people who do not care about the consequences of their decisions on a pedestal? Why do we accept the growth of…
Build Resiliency: Two strategies to prevent collapse
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the pain and suffering that you are witnessing in the world, then know that you are not alone. In many of my conversations, I hear people sharing how overwhelmed they feel about the state of the world, their country, their community, and their family. Folks often report they are experiencing so many different emotions, the very definition of overwhelm, that they do not know what to do. Unfortunately, this response is not uncommon. Overwhelm often immobilizes us, making it appear as though we are apathetic.
I know you are not apathetic. What I suspect is that you are…
Gone is the hustle of summer.
As I harvest the last fruits of the growing season and find ways to preserve them, I feel myself shifting gears. Gone is the hustle of summer. With less daylight hours, I move indoors sooner, seeking cozy evenings on the couch surrounded by yarn or thread. The meals I crave and make are warmer and heartier. My attention turns inward. I want to dive deeper into meaningful topics and to listen closely to my ancestors. Just like the plants who move their energy into their roots at this time of year, I too experience my energy moving in and down. Autumn is the season of rootedness.
During Makerspace Open Hours (Wednesdays and Fridays between 2 and 5 pm), there will be opportunities to engage in rooted activities that celebrate the season and prepare us for winter…
Boundary Checklist Guide
Happy Fall! With the new season comes a shift in focus and energy. The Shakti Fall Calendar reflects the change in season with offerings that invite the preservation of what you have grown, practices that encourage you to slow down and reflect, care routines that ground and sustain you, and as always, ways to explore the interconnections among all living beings. Please consider the events listed under “Spotlights,” notice which ones align with your needs, and then register for them. We would love to spend time with you!
One point of reflection that arises for me at the beginning of fall is my boundaries. Similar to walking a fence line that keeps unwanted critters out and wanted critters in, I find that I need to check my boundaries for energy leaks that overextend my resources. Boundary checks are not about making someone bad or wrong. Rather boundary checks simply acknowledge the process of erosion over time and aim to shore up the gaps…
Welcome to September + Shakti Fall Schedule!
Welcome to September! In three weeks we celebrate the Autumn Equinox and enter a new season with a new fall calendar. From herbal remedies for the skin (Autumn Harvest Glow) to sacred release rituals (Take It to the Water) and everything in between, Shakti in the Mountains is building a healthy community by inviting people to share and to learn about practices that are kind, wise, innovative, regenerative, and helpful.
In addition to our monthly staples (Astrology Circle, Food and Tarot, The Red Tent, The Community Clinic, Chronic Pain Support Group, Slow and Low Yoga, and Makerspace Open Hours), we have brought back the monthly Mending Circle and are excited to host the Second Annual Handmade Holiday Fair as well as another Jolabokaflod. I am so very grateful to the facilitator guides who created new offerings for this fall. They are…
“What would Dolly do?”
Like many of you, I am mourning the death of Dolly Parton, who died on August 25 at the age of 80. As one woman wrote on social media, How am I gonna wake up, stumble into the kitchen, and pour myself a cup of ambition in a world without Dolly Parton?
It is hard to believe that she is gone. Her larger than life persona and her incredible generosity fooled a lot of us into thinking that she would live forever. Really, we just wanted to keep her to remind us that there is good in this world. Dolly Parton was the best of us. She taught us to take up space, to believe in ourselves, to look for…
A Recipe for Finding Balance
I’ve been thinking a lot about balance. What does it look like on the daily? How do I feel when I am balanced? What do I have to say “no” to in order to stay in balance?
I find it helpful to consider the state of balance as a recipe for a delicious pot of soup. (Is anyone surprised that I would use a food metaphor?) To make a good-tasting soup, you start with a base, add nutritionally dense food, and then season with herbs and spices. As the soup simmers – slowly cooking the food, an alchemical process happens. Individual ingredients change form. Flavor profiles shift. A bland potato transforms into something richer, more exotic.
Or not. If the soup is not well-attended…