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What Altars Can Tell You About Where You're At

7/16/2015

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by Deborah Globus
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Transition.  

A time that isn’t one thing or the other.  The in between.

 That’s where I’m at, and it’s okay.


 See, it’s been a very busy couple of weeks but you know that because you’ve been along for the ride.  The website (re)launch, then a wonderful 8 days in the Big Easy with my family and then home to plan a Bar Mitzvah – start to finish.

 (I know.  The Bar Mitzvah seems not to fit with the whole non-denominational minister thing, but it really does!)
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Anyway, it’s all been wonderful and rich and very very full.  
And then - just like that - it was done.  The guests all went home, the hard work on those particular projects was finished, and I no longer had a clear-cut to do list. 

I was a bit of a mess, as evidenced by my altar:
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Altars are one of the handy practices I use on a daily basis, for a lot of different reasons. 

There’s the family altar, there’s the altar I keep for courage and one tucked away on my writing desk, keeping the connection to the YA novel I’m writing even though I’m not working on it right now.

Then there’s the altar I created for the launch of the new website:  
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I chose all the symbols on here - from the candles for each of my offerings, to the azaleas for prosperity and abundance.  I loved it!

But time passed and the flowers withered.  The launch was done and all the stuff from planning Jake’s big day had to go somewhere.  

My beautiful altar degraded.

But it was okay.  See, I’ve been doing this practice long enough to understand that an altar is helpful regardless of the state it’s in.

Sometimes an altar is a conscious reflection of an internal intention, like it was when I chose the items for my launch altar.

And sometimes an altar is an unconscious reflection on an internal state.

When I keep an altar up for an extended time, it shifts and adapts.  Eventually it stops being conscious and my subconscious takes over.  

Often that results in something beautiful.  Sometimes it’s a hot mess!

But no matter what it looks like it always has something to teach me about myself.

Not that I really needed an external hint that I was in transition.  But accepting my messy altar for what it is good practice for accepting the mental state it represents.

And accepting the mental state – the transition – means the richness and fullness of the last few weeks will be deeply processed and the unfolding of my next best steps will be gentle and all the more fabulous for taking the time for them to develop fully!
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    Author

    My name is Deborah Globus and I am La Padre.  With me you'll find the support you need to uncover practical, do-able spiritual practices that work for you.  I offer new perspectives on old practices like journaling and ritual, with a side of compassion and a healthy dose of humor, just to keep it down-to-earth and real!

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