Alma Mater

What's your discipline?

I have a series of exercises and rituals that aid in charting and navigating my life. A few weeks ago, I shared my daily journaling practice and template which is one such example. This past week was the new moon, which is a monthly moment I note with intention setting. Monthly moon intentions allow me to chart forward two weeks at a time 🌕 🌚

Additionally:

• I employ solstices for seasonal intention setting specifically to let something go and call something in; behavior or belief wise

• I determine one guiding word for the new year, which I affirm daily as part of my daily journaling. The word is something I want to be and feel.

• I paint a purpose map, which I use as a navigational tool to help me determine my schedule to best align with how I want to experience my life.

• I have a motto that acts as both a wheel and compass

These are part of my Alma Mater discipline. Alma Mater discipline is a new framing for me and one I'd like to share with you.

You first need to know what your Alma Mater is. Alma means nourishment or kind (Latin), soul (Spanish), knowledgeable (Arabic), and Mater means mother (Latin). The Latin phrase Alma Mater therefor means nourishing mother. Alma Mater grew to indicate the school one belonged to and was educated in. This is intrinsically connected with the original meaning of discipline, which meant instruction or body of understanding and from which the word disciple is born. Later, as time went on, discipline adopted punishment as a synonym. I wonder if that change in understanding correlates to when we stopped worshipping a mother god?

As I get older, I am growing out of a question that never suited me. The question was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This question would be OK if an answer of "Joyful" was enough. However, the question implies a profession to be named that is linked with capitalism. Therefore, one should desire and adopt a career valued in dollars to be considered successful. As a child, I didn't know the answer to this question; at best, I could answer "Famous!". Later, I would grow ashamed of that answer, thinking it was shallow, capitalist, etc. But now I think it's a valid, authentic desire for a child. To a child, being famous signifies being appreciated, witnessed, and valued while doing something the person loves and is good at. I still want all of that without the pressure of thousands of people's gazes that come with fame.

In school, the question became, "What do you want to major in?". I rejected a major in school. Luckily I had one teacher that whispered into my year, “It’s ok, you might be one of those people that likes too many things, and that’s ok.” Later, I found a master's program that embraced interdisciplinary praxis which felt like a soul hug.

In my adult life, people ask this question as, "What are you? What's your title? What do you do?". Questions that are seeking an easy-to-classify answer albeit incomplete. I stumble as I have so many dashes. “I’m a mother-woman-wife-daughter-sister-artist-writer-thinker-tinkerer-pie-maker-leader-consultant-designer-founder-educator-stargazer.”

Now, I'm interested in answering, "How do I live in ways that cultivate beauty and joy for myself and others?" To answer this question, I need to know what I LOVE.

Do you know what you LOVE? It can be helpful to refresh your answer with an epic list, or by creating a colossal Pinterest board or collage, looking at old photos, scanning your bookshelf, cruising your kitchen, and playing your playlist that collected all your songs. These are all great tools for remembering what you LOVE.

By knowing what I LOVE in its uniqueness, I can imagine this as my life course. A course to be studied and supported under my Alma Mater, my nourishing soul-mother.

Over the years, I have created a motto that serves as my wheel and compass. In a company, this would be a values statement or the principal bedrock, which can be crafted into a mission and purpose statement. All Alma Maters have a motto. I use my motto as a tool to help work with my intentions, like a modus operandi.

For example, as I prepare for this end of year, I anticipate the winter solstice and new year intention setting. Having tracked the year, I know what my next steps are to level up which become my intentions. It’s important to know what what I mean by leveling up. For me leveling up is increasing my capacity to do and feel more good.

I couple my seasonal intentions with the vision I receive from my updated purpose map. Then, together, I create a strategic plan via a schedule outline that becomes my journey map for the year.

This is the homework I have been up to this past week:)

The solstice is on the 21st this coming week. I invite you to ritualize your intentions for the season by inviting something in, which could mean seeding something or nurturing something. I also invite you to let something go to compost.

Below is a template for a compass wheel and directions for making your own. This tool can help with understanding some ways to work with your intentions in alignment with your cardinal directions. ⬇️

If you would like help charting or creating either your personal or company maps, mottos, or intentions I am available to facilitate how to use the tools I’ve developed either personally or in group workshop settings. Reach out and I will send you details.

Know your life's coursework, your Alma Mater, your motto, your MO, your discipline…it keeps going of course with your mascot, your colors, your song…

PS. Below is my most recent Purpose Map and a few from the past. Purpose maps can only be read by the creator as the creator makes a key that goes along with their map. They are an invaluable tool that I use annually. Purpose mapping is an exercise available on my website and my gift to you with audio download instructions, free with code: SUNDAYCIRCLE when you check out.