Author Archives: Rhonda Ashurst

New Year Messages from My Redwood Retreat

Sometime last summer, I hit a wall. My Light sputtered and I felt exhausted and depressed. I think it was Pivot Fatigue–a condition caused by too many changes and adaptations brought on by Covid, and then by our relentless wildfire season. Add to that the growing needs of our elders, which had also changed our lives considerably.

In a moment of despair, I was inspired to search for a place to retreat from the world and retore myself. I immediately thought of the California Redwoods and found myself on Airbnb searching for a cabin amongst the trees. I found this gem and booked it immediately for early November.

It was a magical spot in the forest, near the state park and my favorite trails through the majestic giants. I stayed for 5 nights–hiking; meditating; reflecting; journaling; listening to Spirit; napping; practicing yoga, Qigong, Tai Chi; dancing; and playing my wood flute.

I was frightened to go. I had received a very clear message from Spirit that I was not allowed to bring any of my books. I had never done a retreat without my books! What was I going to do with all that time by myself? Would I go mad?

Spirit was relentless. You spend too much time with the words and experiences of others and look to them for your answers. They are within you. Go and listen quietly.

I brought a notebook and pen with me and wrote what came through from the Beyond That is Within (another of my names for Spirit). As we begin this new year, I was led to share the highlights of what I heard and experienced.

As I walked through the forest, I was struck by its beautiful perfection. It is a jumble of new life growing out of death and decay, feeding lovely fungi that eat and transform wood that then grows new trees, ferns, and other plants. It is constantly renewing itself in an endless, intricate dance. Some trees are burned all the way through their centers and yet they still stand strong and vibrant, green boughs reaching for the blue sky and new children sprouting at their feet.

I remember asking for forgiveness for humanity and the destruction we are causing to the natural world and I received this message:

You and your species are as wonderous a creation as this forest.

I was aghast! How could that be true?

You are part of the Creation, unfolding Itself endlessly like this forest. You are a young species with much to learn. You are learning. Be patient with yourselves. Allow yourselves to be taught by Nature, to be transformed.

But we are killing nature, I argued.

You cannot kill Nature. Creation is endlessly resilient, like these redwoods, like you. Everything changes and transforms. Yes, you are changing the biosphere into something new. And you are learning through this process.

But species are dying, landscapes are forever changed!

Look around and within you. Everything is always dying and changing, including yourself. Yet from the decay, new life is born. Always new life. Embrace the changes, learn how to dance with Nature, remember we are all connected and nothing ever really dies. It just changes form.

I realized with sudden clarity how judgmental I have been of myself and all of humanity. As the days went by, my heart softened towards us all. We have a role to play in how creation unfolds on this planet. I determined to return to my life and allow Nature to teach me how to dance with Her, how to care for Her and cherish Her as part of myself. We are all intertwined in this magnificent Creation.

Meditation on the Redwoods

Be rooted in the Earth

Reach for the sky

Open your heartwood

Be fireproof

Create

Decay

Die

Give Birth to New Life

Repeat

I was encouraged to be present in each moment, not elsewhere in my head, to embrace what is so without thinking it “should be” something other than what it is. Along that same line, I was also encouraged to embrace myself as I am, while also honoring that I am continuously growing and changing like all that surrounds me. It is perfectly unfolding. My OCD/Perfectionist self was definitely challenged by Spirit during this retreat!

I heard this message:

BE more; DO less.

I spent time taking stock of what I am doing that dims my Light and feels like a “should”. I resolved to make changes to my schedule and open up more space to BE, to listen deeply more often.

One of the joys I discovered about halfway through the retreat was that I was having fun and it was effortlessly delightful! All this fear I’d had of being stuck with myself for a week, vanished. I realized I still had the same ability I’d had as a child to get lost in nature and keep myself company.

Heaven is right here under your nose, open your eyes and see it.

I have a tendency to look for what I am seeking other than where I am standing and living. Repeatedly, I am directed to grow where I am planted and realize the beauty right here and now. I’m sure these redwoods understand this wisdom and are trying to transmit it to me!

The purpose of your existence is to give and receive LOVE.

I could feel that love was in the forest, connecting all the amazing life forms to each other in a symbiotic dance, and that I was also part of this dance. I was challenged to see that it is the same when I am in the human world.

Life goes on. It adapts, transforms, changes forms, but it always goes on. You are part of the Creative, Holy Spirit which goes forever on, creating the next manifestation. Rest in that, trust, and then do the next loving thing in the moment, led by the Inner Light which is ever part of the Great Light.

Blessings to you and yours in this new year.

We Put 8 More Panels on the Roof!

We took the plunge and put 8 more panels on our roof! Looking at our anticipated use of electricity with our new systems and our ultimate dream of driving 2 electric cars, we decided to go for it and fill out our bottom row of panels now instead of waiting. They were installed over two days in September and went live on the 8^th, right before the Great Reno Balloon Race. We couldn’t resist taking this photo from our neighbor’s second story window showing the panels with balloons floating in the background! Looking at the data from the SolarEdge inverter, it shows we are producing an average of about 60 kWh per day now vs. the 40 kWh we were generating before the new panels were installed (early September data). The newer panels are generating more power than their 2.5-year-old predecessors.

Cost of 8 Additional Solar Panels

$6,600 ($825 per panel, installed)
-$1716 Less 26% Federal Tax Rebate
=$4,884 Total Net Cost ($610 per panel, installed)

Another big thank you to Great Basin Solar for making this so easy! I called on a Monday and they were installed and operational 8 days later! You guys are amazing! (https://greatbasinsolar.com/)

We are excited to see how all of this year’s changes will affect our energy use vs. generation. Our ultimate goal is to produce enough electricity to power most of the systems in our home, two electric vehicles, and offset our limited natural gas use. Let’s see how we do! Next up is the installation of a new heat pump heater and air conditioning system. We are having some trouble with ordering the unit to go with our high efficiency Bryant natural gas heater. But we are hoping to have it in before winter. Luckily, our 22-year-old A/C condenser has made it through another hot Reno summer, giving us time to make this switch.

Four Years After My First Hip Replacement

X-ray 7-1-2021: Right hip replaced 9-20-17, Left hip replaced 5-16-18

On July 1^st I saw Dr. Shukla and Davis for a checkup on “my girls” as I like to call them. I was relieved to hear that everything looks as good on the X-rays as it feels in my body. Dr. Shukla pointed out that my bones have grown in more around the implants and said, “They are now a part of you.” How comforting to hear him say that! I told them all the things I can do now, and we celebrated with hugs. I thanked them for bringing me BACK. They asked me to return in 3-4 years for another checkup.

I was planning to post this in July, but then got sidetracked by a very busy schedule. I think, in hindsight, that I was meant to post this now. By mid-July, Reno was inundated with smoke from the wildfires in California and I could no longer walk and hike outdoors. Not wanting to lose the gains I’d made in leg strength, I returned to the gym at St. Mary’s Center for Health & Fitness. I had not worked out on the floor in seven years, which is an odd thing for an old gym rat and health club owner to say. I guess I’d come to associate the experience with a lot of pain due to my failing hips.

What a difference! I’ve really increased my leg, glute, back and arm strength by returning to the use of Precor weight machines and 20 minutes on an elliptical trainer. I also warm up and cool down on the walking track (5 minutes each). I’ve found my hiking/walking is easier, my standing stamina is improved, and I can grip and lift things with greater ease. I feel more powerful and balanced in my body, and my posture has improved. My chronic neck and shoulder pain is gone! I’ve also noticed improvements in my cardiovascular fitness. I don’t huff and puff as much hiking and I recover faster. The areas where I found I was weakest from not doing this work was my rear deltoids, quadricep, gluteal and low back muscles.

Now every week I try to swim 2 days for 40 minutes, workout in the gym 2 days for an hour, take a 3-4 mile walk or hike on 1 or 2 days, and practice yoga and mat Pilates on 1 or 2 days. I also continue my morning Qigong/Tai Chi practice and teach 3 classes a month.

I credit this routine with bringing me fully back from two total hip replacements and a third surgery to remove a cable from around my right femur. I can easily do everything I want to do now with ease. When I look back at how disabled I was 4 years ago, it feels like a miracle. I am so grateful!

The First Month with our New Hybrid Electric Water Heater

I compared our mid-April to mid-May NV Energy bills for 2019, 2020 and 2021 to get an idea of how our new hot water heater affected our energy use. The good news is that we used 59% less natural gas! We used an average of 34 therms in 2019 and 2020, and only 14 in 2021! So, it made a huge difference in our natural gas use.

Our use of electricity was up about 130 kWh from this time last year. The new hot water heater likely made up about 80 kWh of the increase. The other 50 kWh was likely due to a colder May this year and increased travel in our LEAF. It was about 9 degrees colder in May, 2021 than in May, 2020, so we used more of our booster electric heaters this year. Our parents are needing more help these days, so we are traveling more in the LEAF to assist them.

We are loving this new hot water heater! We’ve pretty much left it on the Heat Pump Only setting, which is the most efficient. This gives us the same hot water we are used to having with our old system. It works fine for the two of us, as long as we don’t take back-to-back showers, which we don’t usually do. If we have a higher use day, or have guests, we can set it to Hybrid or Electric mode. If we set it in Electric mode, it will automatically revert to Heat Pump Only in 12 hours.

An extra added bonus as we get into the warmer months is it keeps the garage cooler, because it takes the warm air from the garage to heat the water, expelling cold air out of the tank. It does make a bit of noise when it is in operation, so I can see that you may not want it inside your house. It works great in the garage. So far we haven’t noticed any condensation coming out of the unit in our dry climate.

Our next adventure will be adding a heat pump heater and A/C unit, so stay tuned!

Our New Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater

Isn’t she a beauty? What? You don’t think water heaters are sexy? Oh, but she is hot and super-efficient! I bet you’re wondering what is a “hybrid heat pump water heater”?

NOTE: This post has been updated as of May, 2025. Changes are in red.

A hybrid water heater, or heat pump water heater, uses heat from outside air drawn into the appliance’s evaporator coil. The evaporator coil contains refrigerant, allowing it to absorb heat from the air. Finally, a heat exchanger heats water within the tank to the desired temperature before it passes from the heater tank into your home’s showers, faucets, and large appliances. It’s helpful to think about this process as being like that of your refrigerator, but in reverse. Instead of expelling hot air to cool the contents of a refrigerator or freezer, a heat pump water heater pulls hot air in to heat the water. Because it moves heat, it is over 50% more efficient than a standard electric water heater.

Our water heater is a Bradford White Model #RE2H50S10. It has three settings: heat pump only, hybrid, and electric. The most efficient setting is the heat pump only, which works when the ambient temperature is higher and hot water demand is lower. The hybrid mode will use the heat pump and when it can’t find enough heat to move, it will create heat through heating elements (like a standard electric water heater). That is why it is called a hybrid. The electric mode is useful if you have a lot of people taking showers at one time. This mode uses the heating elements to keep up with the demand. Afterwards, you can reset it to hybrid or heat pump only, or it will default back to hybrid within 12 hours if you forget to reset it. It is expected to use 958 kWh per year of electricity. In our colder climate, we estimate we use about 1500 kWh to power this unit.

Did you know that your water heater is one of the most energy intensive systems in your home? According to the EPA, “If every residential electric water heater in the country were replaced with a heat-pump water heater, 140 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, equivalent to the emissions from more than 13 million vehicles.” Here’s a good article on the subject if you want to learn more: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing/21015567/all-about-heat-pump-water-heaters.

We chose this water heater so we could use more of our solar power and less natural gas to heat our water. This meant replacing our old natural gas system with an electric one. We were waiting until our 20-year-old gas water heater blew up, which it did over the winter. Fortunately, Scott had a backup on hand to get us through until our hybrid could be produced and shipped to us (took about a month due to Covid, but you can get one from another manufacturer at Home Depot or Lowes immediately). Thankfully, Scott was able to install the 220-volt circuit himself and our friend, Brad helped with the installation of the tank. So, our labor costs are less than normal for making this switch.

Brad and Scott celebrating a successful installation – April 2021

This baby is so efficient, she falls off the bottom of the range!

Here are the costs:

$1,428 Bradford White Model #RE2H50S10
+$600 Labor for Installation
=$2,028 Total
-$700 Less Cost to replace with a new gas water heater
-$300 Less Federal Tax Rebate
=$1,028 Additional cost of switching to a hybrid electric water heater

We will add this to our solar installation costs and see how long it takes us to recover our investment. However, our main reason for choosing this system is to reduce our carbon footprint by burning less natural gas to heat our water.

Our heat pump water heater has been saving us about 235 therms of gas per year. Our average gas cost is about $0.50 per therm. So we save about $118 per year. That means the system will pay for itself in about 8.5 years. We hope it will last 20 years like the last one did-then we come out way ahead!

You might be wondering what a heat pump water heater can save your household. For a family of four, the Energy Star website estimates you would save around $330 a year on your electric bill, which adds up to a savings of around $3,400 over the life of a typical heat pump water heater. This is assuming you had an electric hot water heater to begin with-we had gas. An average new electric hot water heater costs between $300 and $600. If you already have an electric hot water heater, the additional cost (less the federal tax rebate) is only $500-$800 more. This would be paid for by your savings within 1.5-3 years. Plus, it’s so much better for the environment! (Ours was more expensive because we had to switch from gas to electric.)

Additional Information About Our Hot Water System

We are lucky to have a circulation pump system in our home, which helps us use less water. This system gives us instant hot water, so we don’t have to run a lot of cold water through the pipes, waiting for it to get hot. In our desert climate, where water is so precious, it is nice to have. Depending on your home’s construction, it can be added, but it is easier to do during new home construction. If you are building a new home, this is something worth considering.

Here’s Scott’s explanation and diagrams on how this works:

This is our house if we had a traditional hot water system. The hot water heater (WH) is in the garage and there would be plumbing that extends, one way, from the HWH to wherever hot water is needed. In our case, the master bathroom and the kitchen. (For simplicity forget that we have a laundry room and a guest bathroom.) If we turn the hot water on in either of these locations after not using it for an hour or two, the water coming out is cold, so we have to run the hot water for a minute or two before it becomes warm then hot.

This is how our house was built. There is an extra hot water line (in yellow) that runs from the Master to the Kitchen. This creates a hot water loop. There is a hot water circulation pump next to the WH (red device in this “Circulation Pump” picture):

It continuously circulates the hot water through the loop and then through the WH. Anytime we turn the hot water on in the Master or Kitchen, the hot water is piping hot. We do not have to wait. This system is good in deserts like Nevada where water is not abundant. We don’t want people to let precious water run down the drain waiting for it to get hot.

Scott has the timer set so the pump is off at night when we are not using hot water.

Bottom Line After Four Years of Use

We love this heat pump! It is our favorite heat pump system and has reduced our use of natural gas the most and saved us the most money. It works as well as our old system did to heat our water, and an extra benefit is it cools off our garage in the summer by taking the hot air and putting it into the water. Very cool!

NOTE: This system does make some noise, so it is probably not a great system to have in the house where you can hear it. It works great in the garage.

Second Annual Solar Report for 2020

The String of Pearls: Hybrid Toyota Highlander, American Teardrop Trailer, Nissan LEAF
Our solar panels on the roof

Our Online SolarEdge Panel. Click to see what we are producing with our rooftop solar array!

Reflections on our Second Year of Going Solar & Driving the Cars of the Future

I won’t repeat here all I said in my first annual report, so if you want to read that one, click this link: https://rhondaashurst.com/2020/02/03/1st-annual-solar-report-for-2019/. This post gives information on our initial set up and the purchase of our EV and Hybrid vehicles.

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER! We continue to enjoy the thrill of driving the cars of the future, greatly decreasing our carbon footprint, using the sun to power more of our home and transportation, and watching the savings pile up. Of all our home improvements, going solar has been our best decision.

Our gratitude to Travis and the guys at Great Basin Solar (https://www.greatbasinsolar.com/) for the awesome job they did designing and installing our system!

Here’s the summary for this year with cumulative data:

We produced about 13 megawatts of electricity in 2020, about 1 megawatt more than originally estimated. We saved almost $3,000 between our utility bills and the lower costs of driving electric and hybrid vehicles. At this rate, we will recover our costs in 2.5 more years. We also saved over 22,000 pounds of CO2 from entering our atmosphere, and a total of nearly 45,000 pounds over the 2 years since we installed the system!

This year I added in our CO2 savings from burning less natural gas in our home, due to using electric zone heaters during the winter. Next year we plan to replace our aging water heater and air conditioning unit with super-efficient electric heat pump models. The A/C unit will include a heater that extracts heat from the air to warm our home in the cooler months, reducing even further our use of the gas furnace. It will be fun to see how much more gas we will save in the coming years by making those two simple changes that we need to make anyway.

It is definitely driving the cars of the future that saves the most. For a fun read on what you can save by driving electric or hybrid vs. gas-powered vehicles, check this out: Article on cost and climate savings of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles. It includes information from MIT on a variety of different cars–the cost of driving them and their carbon emissions.

THE DATA

Electricity Production and Accumulated Credits

Our panels produced 12.9 megawatts, almost 1 megawatt over what Travis estimated when he built our system. We only slightly increased our banked electricity with NV Energy to 2.66 megawatts from 2.60, so we used almost all the electricity we generated this year. The difference was caused by (1) using electric zone heaters in the winter to reduce our gas usage, (2) plugging in a second refrigerator for most of the year due to stocking up to weather the pandemic and keep our parents supplied with groceries, and (3) running more A/C at night in the summer.

Averaging our 2017 and 2018 utility bills, we paid $1269 annually for electricity and gas. This year we paid only $614 for a savings of $654! We decided to look at our total utility bill, since we are now using electric heaters to lower our use of natural gas to heat our home in the winter. Next year we expect to use even less gas when we install the new heat pump systems.

The Natural Gas Log is a record of our gas usage in therms. It went down 18% in 2020 for a savings of 110 therms and 1320 pounds of CO2. We are excited to see how much it will change when the new systems are installed!

Above are the SolarEdge graphs showing our total production in 2020 and the comparison of 2019 and 2020. Our system didn’t go online until February 19, 2019. You can see that our lowest production months are November-January, which is when we are using the electric zone heaters and running Christmas lights. It’s during these months that we tap into our banked power with NV Energy. In the higher production months, we send more power into the grid, which is used by other households and increases our banked power.

This is our December NV Energy bill showing our banked credit of $212.71 (line right above Meter Information). Divided by the 8 cents per kWh charge, the bank equals 2.66 megawatts of stored power. We used less electricity this December than last December, because we switched from incandescent to LED Christmas lights for the exterior of our house. We couldn’t believe it when we learned that 1 incandescent bulb uses the equivalent of 2 STRINGS of LED lights! OUCH! So, we ought to use a lot less electricity for the 6 weeks of Christmas lights.

The changes we made this year saved natural gas and used more of our solar power. Once the new systems are installed in 2021, we may start tapping into our bank. We’ve decided to monitor our electric use for a year and if we need to, we will install more solar panels.

2016 Nissan LEAF

We are still loving driving our LEAF! We used BeeBee even more than the Highlander this year, since we didn’t travel long distances as much due to the pandemic. However, the total miles driven (6084) was about the same as last year. We used 1.5 megawatts of electricity to power her. If we didn’t have solar panels, it would’ve only cost us $123! That is a savings of around $713 over my old Subaru! (So, it pays to have an EV whether you have solar or not.) But, because we have solar panels, our savings is actually $836! Plus we saved 5800 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere (290 gallons X 20 lbs/gallon of gas).

We also saved money on repairs and maintenance. I have driven 100,000+ ICE vehicles for most of my life and they have high R&M bills, about $900 per year on average. This year the LEAF had her 30,000 mile check up, which is a big one, but it only cost $410. So the LEAF cost $490 less to maintain than my old vehicles. This brings the total savings of driving the LEAF for a year to $1,323! (NOTE: This will decrease as the car ages and the R&M bills get higher.) In future years, I will keep a running total of savings so you can see how owning an EV plays out over time. Most EV’s cost about 1/3 of an ICE to maintain due to not having engines and transmissions, and saving the brakes with regenerative braking.

We did lose one bar on the battery indicator this year, meaning that the battery pack is beginning to degrade. This is a normal occurrence and actually I’m surprised we haven’t lost more than one bar given that the car is now 4 years old. We have not noticed any change in our range, so that’s the most important thing. Nissan says to expect 10 years of battery life or 100,000 miles. Our LEAF has only about 34,000, so we should be good to go for long time!

The best part for us has been the pure joy of driving this car and knowing we are powering it with Nevada sunshine and emitting zero carbon and no pollution. We use it most of the time, saving the Highlander for when we need two cars or will be traveling out of the LEAF’s 100-mile range, which wasn’t much this year as you’ll see below.

2019 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

We also still love our Highlander–what a luxurious and smooth ride with lots of fun bells and whistles! We drove 4526 miles during 2020, significantly less than 2019, because we didn’t do long trips and used the LEAF more around Reno. We used only 159 gallons of gas, a savings of 124 gallons and $356 over the 4-Runner for the same mileage, and 3180 pounds of carbon emissions (159 gallons X 20 lbs/gallon). This savings does not take into account the fact that we drove less this year because of the pandemic. So, technically there was even more savings than the formulas above show. I think that was true for most of us. I loved all the data coming out this year that showed how much better our air quality was and how much less carbon we produced worldwide. It gave me hope that we can change our habits and have a healthier planet, which in turn makes us (and everything else living on Earth) healthier too.

The Highlander was still on its 2-year free maintenance contract with Dolan Toyota, so we saved the $590 average, inflation-adjusted cost we used to spend maintaining the 4-Runner. This brings the total savings of driving the Highlander to $947! Hybrids cost about 2/3 as much to maintain as regular ICE vehicles, due to the use electric motors and regenerative braking. We will see how this averages out over time.

This is our all-around vehicle and it continues to do everything we need it to. It is way more comfortable and pleasurable to drive than our old 4-Runner. The combo of the Highlander and the LEAF is perfect for us. We saved $2,273 and nearly 9,000 pounds of carbon from entering our atmosphere. We are thrilled with our decision to replace our old internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with the cars of the future!

Stay tuned for updates when we add in our hybrid heat pump systems this year!

2016 Nissan LEAF from 2nd Annual Solar Report for 2020

Bringing Light into the World

I wrote this blog for Reno Friends Meeting for January and decided I wanted to share it with you too. Wishing you all a happy, healthy, peaceful and Light-filled year ahead.

This is the time when sunlight returns to our winter world and a new year begins. 2020 has been a year of retreat for many of us, clouded by uncertainty and anxiety. We spent more time with ourselves than usual. I have seen this year as an opportunity to go the “mountain”, to use a metaphor common to many spiritual traditions. There has been less outward activity and more inward reflection. But now the energy is shifting, and the time is coming to re-engage with the “marketplace”—to bring our inner Light into the world.

I am fond of spiritual metaphors like the ox-herding pictures used in Zen Buddhism to teach about the spiritual path. The seeker wanders a path up the mountain looking for the wild ox, then finds and tames it, rides it back down, comes home and enters the marketplace, bringing spiritual wisdom and helping hands to the community. The ox is a metaphor for taming the unruly aspects of ourselves, including our overactive egos and minds. Other similar metaphors include Moses bringing the ten commandments down from the mountain as instructed by God, Jesus spending 40 days in the desert before giving the Sermon on the Mount, the wandering of the Jews in the desert before coming to the Promised Land, and the vision quests of native peoples. In modern times, we go on retreats, withdrawing from our normal lives and taking time for spiritual reading and inner reflection. We hope to come back wiser, more peaceful and compassionate.

What I usually find is that it is easy for me to be peaceful and compassionate while on retreat; it’s when I return to the world that I have trouble! So, I’ve been reflecting on how this lofty idea might be made more accessible to us everyday folks. My experiment this last year has been to incorporate Retreat Days into my schedule. Sadly, I’m here to report that I was unable to retreat for a whole day despite the best of intentions. I did have success in unplugging from news, but not from life.

Then I started wondering if there might be a more practical way to do this ox-taming business, must be the Quaker in me… My new experiment is taking mini retreats and then re-engaging with the world throughout the day, seeking to bring Light and the Quaker testimonies into the world. I’m finding this approach works much better and is more realistic given the nature of my life. My hope is that over time I will be able to maintain centered-down peace while I’m engaged with the world.

Here are some of my mini retreats:

Silent Worship whether in community or alone—taking 30-60 minutes to sit quietly and listen for that still, small voice within.
Sitting in easy repose and staring out the window for a few minutes, turning off my brain.
Going on a walk or taking a swim and making it a moving meditation, where I focus on the movement and get out of my head.
Doing Qigong, Tai Chi and/or yoga practice with mindful focus. It helps to do this in a room set aside for this purpose or outdoors. If I’m near my desk or the kitchen, I can get endlessly distracted! It also helps to do just one pose or form if I’ve lost my center or need a break.
Taking several deep, belly breaths.
Driving in silence.
Petting the cat.
Breathing and repeating a mantra while waiting.
Observing nature and letting myself become absorbed into it.
Meditating using a mantra or following my breath.
Reading a spiritual book.

Here are some of the ways I try to bring Light into the world:

Smile.
Listen with total presence, seeking to understand.
Speak the truth from my heart, with compassion.
Be thoughtful in my actions and words.
Do random acts of kindness.
Practice peace, even when I disagree.
Seek unity; there’s usually some common ground somewhere.
Be patient.
Love my neighbor without exceptions.
Live simply and in harmony with nature and those around me.
Be a good steward.
Share generously.
Shine my Light, encouraging others as my equals, to shine theirs.
Have faith and trust in the good in myself and others, and Life itself.
Stand in my integrity with humble courage.
Be open-minded and non-judgmental.

Like any human, I stumble a lot, miss the mark, make mistakes, get distracted. Then I get back on that ox and try again. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is an ongoing experiment without end. I find that comforting. Oh, and it helps not to take oneself too seriously and have a good sense of humor!

Queries:

What are your ways to retreat from the world and reconnect with the Light?

How do you bring Light into the world?

What distracts you from your highest intentions? Disturbs your peace?

Christmas 2020

We were so blessed to be able to have both my mom and Scott’s dad with us for Christmas dinner. We followed the same protocols as Thanksgiving and had a safe and special evening together filled with love, seafood, champagne, cookies and eggnog! Here’s some of the highlights:

Jim cracking crab legs for our appetizer

Mom and Jim enjoying crab Louie salads, lobster tails and sourdough bread

Sarah, our neighbor, brought us a freshly made loaf of her amazing herbed sourdough!

Retiring to the living room for presents and dessert by the tree

Talking to Aunt Nora and Uncle Harry on FaceTime
This was only the second Christmas in their lives my aunt and mom were not together.

Scott’s delicious cookies and Bruce’s (our neighbor) potent eggnog–a nice combo!

Theo and the lovely Christmas Amaryllis the morning after Christmas

We are grateful that we were able to make this special memory together to mark the end of this crazy year. So far everyone is staying healthy in our family and we pray for that to continue as we do our best to stay connected and protected. We hope you were able to celebrate Christmas in your own meaningful ways. We pray for those who have suffered loss and illness during this pandemic and that it will soon be behind us.

When we began this fateful year, a rainbow appeared on January 1st over our house:

On November 18, another rainbow appeared:

I take this as a good omen that the storm is about to pass and the Light will return soon. In the meantime, take good care and stay connected and protected.

Thanksgiving Update

It is now two weeks after Thanksgiving and none of us have COVID, so I figured it was safe to do an update! We had a wonderful day cooking, visiting and doing our COVID safety dance around the kitchen and dining room. Jimmy showed Scott all the tricks for making his outstanding grilled turkey. It was truly amazing! He also brought his homemade ceviche and porcini spread over crostini for us to nosh on while we worked. We nipped on champagne and caught up with each other, wearing masks except when we were seated 6 feet apart eating. I made mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. Scott made his mother’s stuffing. Mom made a crustless pumpkin pie and Terri made pecan bars, which we topped with cream Scott whipped up in his KitchenAid.

It was a delicious meal! We so enjoyed being together that wearing masks was well worth the minor inconvenience. We ran the Medify air purifier and kept the windows cracked, using electric heaters to keep our parents warm.

Here’s some photos of the day:

Big Jim watches Jimmy do his kitchen magic

I can’t believe I forgot to take dessert pictures! Sorry about that.

Looking back, it was an awesome day and I’m happy we decided to go ahead with our plan to be together while practicing our COVID protocols. As long as we all remain healthy and it is allowed, we plan to have Christmas dinner with Scott and I and both our parents. The menu plan so far: deep fried artichoke appetizers with champagne, crab louies with fresh dungeness crab, broiled lobster tails, and our neighbor’s homemade herbed sourdough. We will finish up with Scott’s Christmas cookie platter. I can’t wait!

Stay tuned for an update in January. In the meantime, take good care, be safe and stay connected to those you love. Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful, Healthy, Happy New Year! (I don’t think any of us will be sad to see this one go.)

Rhonda Ashurst Blog & Writing

Sharing the Journey – Exploring the Mystery