Dear Moonscriber,
Happy New Moon!
Joanna Macy led a workshop for climate change activists May 10-11, 2005 in Oxford. My description began six weeks ago, so if this is your first issue, you may wish to start there.
Part VI: My New Work; The Future
When I first began MoonLetters (May 2004), I had no idea how many people would sign up or how the Letters would be used. And I didn't even realize there'd be a question of how many Moonscribers are actually reading the Letters! When MoonLetters were solely published on the blog, I could look at the "hits" – and there were only about 30 (of 150) each week... :(
That made me sad because the whole point is getting Letters read, not just getting Moonscribers!
Additionally, from my own experience, I know it's a real pain to read on the computer – especially when it's about Nature and being more fully aware of the "Earth crying within us"... (Thich Nhat Han)
So, due to the above, and while sitting in the Going Forth section of Joanna Macy's workshop, I decided to begin offering a postal delivery service for MoonLetters.
I am only charging for the (recycled) paper and envelopes, the copying, and the postage.
Here's how it'll work:
Each month you'll receive an envelope with two sheets of paper enclosed. On the back of the envelope will be the dates of the upcoming month's New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon and Last Quarter.
And each page inside, corresponding to the four phases of the Moon, will be a Joanna Macy/ecopsychology lesson with a small ritual/exercise you can do related to that lesson.
You'll get an e-mail reminding you when the Moon has entered a new phase, so that you'll go check the 'lesson'.
The difference between the current MoonLetters and these new ones is that the latter will build on one another, much as the last several MoonLetters did – only the information given will be more 'digestible'.
So no matter when you Moonscribe, you'll receive the very first four issues in your first month, the next four in your second month, etc...
Once the cycle of teaching/lessons is completed (24 moon cycles, or two years), MoonLetters will become strictly 'applied', no longer building on one another, but instead using the concepts and activities learned in the lessons to engage with this way of thinking and being and acting day-to-day, dealing with current issues and events. So at that point, once someone has completed the cycle, s/he will receive the same issues of MoonLetters as all other "completers".
I'm very excited about this new venture, much so because of Joanna's enthusiasm about it at the workshop! She loves the part about the Moon phases, as she had recently done a 30-day retreat in Australia with activists, including aboriginals, and they used the Moon as a guide for their work and activities too.
So please see the link on My Moonster about prices and how they were determined.
Currently, prices only apply to US and UK Moonscribers. However, as I use PayPal, people from other countries can still pay in other denominations. Please note that only UK mailing addresses get the UK price. All other Moonscribers should pay with the US link.
For the time being, e-MoonLetters will be on hiatus, but will eventually be offered again – both as a lesson sequence (as above) and for those who have completed that.
If you choose not to Moonscribe to the postal service, and do not tell me otherwise, I will hold onto your e-mail address and let you know when e-MoonLetters are ready to go. (Should be September.)
e-MoonLetters will still be free of charge. And I'll also be offering downloads (PDF files) of the lesson cycles, free of charge, beginning in October. I'll remind you about that, too, if you haven't signed up for postal ones.
So: thanks very much, everyone, for your support thus far. And I hope you like the new service and I look forward to your comments! :)
peace&love&for the planet
heather
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