Silent Night
Befriending silence & cultivating collaboration
Season: Autumn
Element: Metal
Moon: Quarter
Zodiac: Pisces
Happy Friday!
There will be a quarter moon on Sunday in mystical Pisces. I usually send these posts out the day before the moon event, but I had to send it today since I am off to a silent retreat for the weekend. The retreat, offered by Guiding Owl, provides a “space to sink deeply into sacred silence and hear what wants to emerge.” The self-directed time will be mine to use in whatever way I need. I will be able to unplug quite literally, explore the land, hike the trails, walk the labyrinth, take a plunge in the river, soak in the hot tub, and/or relax in the sauna. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to turn off my phone for 2 whole days, to slow down, to sit by a fire, to not have to make conversation, and to truly learn how to become friends with silence.
In feng shui, yin energy is silent. It is soft, slow, relaxed, diffused, and still. This silent retreat could not be more yin — taking place on this cold, snowy December weekend in a quiet forest near Baldwin, Michigan. My intention going in is to get comfortable with silence. I’ve realized over the last few years that silence often makes me anxious and I find myself filling the space it creates. And if people are silent around me, I often think it is a sign that they are upset or do not like me. But I think there is actually a lot of beauty in silence and if I can get comfortable with it — befriend it — being silent can bring much needed calm and understanding. I want to bring comfortable silence into my day to day life and I think this retreat is going to be the start. I think it is going to be mystical and I promise to write more about it in coming Substacks. If you are interested in doing a retreat that is similar, check out Guiding Owl. Erinn Jacques offers individual and group retreats, as well as vision quests, labyrinth walks, and one-on-one sessions.
Information on upcoming Rest Curations and Rest Walks are at the bottom of the post. And please pass this Substack onto a friend or family member to broaden this amazing CRC community and to give the gift of rest to those who need it. If you don’t live in West Michigan and want to hold a Rest Curation in your local community, please email me at abby@cascadefengshui.com for the script and music information. Or email me if you would like to organize a private Rest Curation for friends, family, or colleagues.
Note: Rest products are still in the works, but I am leaving the paid subscriber Rest Readings, Rest Recipes, Rest Rituals, and Rest Recordings on the newsletter for a month or so. If you want to contribute, consider becoming a paid subscriber through Substack:
REST READING
Check out all of the rest reading recommendations in Resources on my Substack page.
REST RECIPE
Many people who have Christmas trees this time of year have heirloom ornaments passed down from previous generations, but when my husband and I got our tree (it’s fake) we only had a few childhood ornaments. In order to make our tree feel full with decorations, I set out to create salt dough ornaments. They are inexpensive and simple to make. You can use a knife or cookie cutters to cut out the shapes — I picked an envelope and star — and once baked and cooled they are ready to put on the tree. I had grand plans to write Isadora’s Christmas list to Santa on the back of an envelope each year, but that never happened. I still think it a clever idea, so perhaps one day. Here is the recipe for the Salt Dough*:
1 cup all-purpose flour (self-rising flour should not be used as it will cause the ornaments to bubble up while baking)
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water (or more as needed)
Twine or ribbon (for ornament hanging)
Preheat your oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the flour and salt to a medium mixing bowl and stir. Add the water to the mixture and stir until everything is well-combined. Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface and sprinkle it with flour. Knead the dough until it is soft and pliable. If your dough is super sticky, add more flour. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Only roll the dough in one direction, because rolling back and forth can create air pockets that cause the ornaments to puff up while baking. Cut out the ornaments using a knife or cookie cutters. Peel away the dough and lift out the shape. Place it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a straw, create a hole for the twine or ribbon that will hang the ornament. Place the ornaments in the oven and bake for two to three hours, or until completely dry. Flip once while baking, then remove the ornaments from the oven and allow to cool completely. When the ornaments have cooled, thread the twine or ribbon through the hole, tie in a double knot, and hang on the tree. If you want more color, decorate the ornaments with paints and/or glitter. If you want your ornaments to last for years and years, seal them with three to four thin coats of non-toxic acrylic varnish after the decorative paint has fully dried. Make sure to coat the entire surface to prevent moisture from getting in.
*If you do not need any Christmas tree ornaments, you can always use salt dough to make a decorative mobile or a variety of kids’ crafts.
REST RITUAL
As I have mentioned in a couple of my last posts, I think community is one of the most important things to cultivate during these trying times. A critical part of community to me is collaboration. Without collaboration, members of the community can lack direction, can exhibit win-lose behaviors, show a lack of commitment, and often results in poor planning. I also wonder if a lack of collaboration can turn a community into a cult. As T. Hogue writes in the paper Community Based Collaboration: Community Wellness Multiplied, “Effective collaboration results in win-win-win situations. Collaborating partners create flexible working environments where authority is shared, each person is challenged to do his/her best, and all are involved in the process of improving the outcome, the service, and the community condition.”
In our world, I don’t know of many great models of collaborations. So many times I hear of collaborations going sour due to jealousy and ego. I am always on the search for exemplary models for the topics I am ruminating about and I was so pleased when I found a great collaboration model. It was the music group WHAM! I am an eighties kid and I must admit that George Michael was my first crush. That Careless Whisper video made me swoon. Anyways, if you watch the WHAM! Netflix documentary you will see a beautiful story of collaboration between two men that is all about support and creativity. It actually made both my husband and I cry when we watched it, not out of sadness but how amazing Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael’s collaboration was. Check it out and take some time to consider the collaborations in your life!
At the beginning of 2024 I struggled to find people willing to collaborate with me on the Cascade Rest Curation, but as I continued to share my vision of rest / yin to this community people started inviting me in (thank you, Rachel, for being the first!). And over the year, more and more people have shown interest in collaborating to support and enrich the CRC. I am so excited for these upcoming collaborations starting with the first Rest Walk on Saturday, December 21, 2024 from 10:00am - 12:00pm with myself and the brilliant Katelyn. If you have not done so yet, please sign up if you are interested. It is going to be restful and reflective.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope this has been enjoyable. May you have a restful weekend.
Below are the upcoming 2024 - 2025 Cascade Rest Curations (links to Eventbrite are underlined):
REST WALKS
Monthly dynamic walks to bring both energy and relaxation. These guided walks will start with a circle to stretch and to set an intention to ponder based on the element of the season. The first 30 minutes of the walk will be in noble silence and the last 30 minutes will be open to conversation and observation. The walk will finish with a circle to reflect, share, integrate, and finally stretch. If you have been hesitant to join a Rest Curation, please consider signing up for a Rest Walk since this a more active entry into yin energy. All Rest Walks will take place on the Saturday near the full moon at Seidman Park in Ada, Michigan:
Rest Walk - Saturday, December 21, 2024 from 10:00am - 12:00pm
Rest Walk - Saturday, January 18, 2025 from 10:00am - 12:00pm
Rest Walk - Saturday, February 15, 2025 from 10:00am - 12:00pm
Rest Walk - Saturday, March 15, 2025 from 10:00am - 12:00pm
REST CURATIONS
Guided body scan, energy clearing, vagus nerve reset, yoga nidra exercise, rest / sleep, wake up, and meditation over an hour and a half. All Rest Curations will take place on the Sunday near the new moon at the Liebestraum Chalet in Alto, Michigan:
Rest Curation - Sunday, January 5, 2025 from 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Rest Curation - Sunday, February 2, 2025 from 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Rest Curation - Sunday, March 2, 2025 from 1:30pm - 3:00pm
And if you are interested in my feng shui and interior design services, please see my website at www.cascadefengshui.com and contact me at abby@cascadefengshui.com. I’m also on Instagram at cascade.feng.shui.