Guiding principles for living and creating ❤️🔥
October 21, 2025
New Moon in Libra 🌚 ♎
Sun in Libra ☀️ ♎
New Moon Greetings, dear Friends❣️
Oftentimes, when I sit down to meditate, I close my eyes and arrive at a place of deep listening. As I settle into practice, I hear the sounds of life around me—the wind, the rain, passing traffic, and the voices of people walking along the sidewalk in front of my home. I hear my heartbeat and my breath. I feel sensations in my body—discomfort, spaciousness, ease—and I witness the endless flow of thoughts entering my awareness: planning, judging, remembering, all at once and one at a time.
In between all of those experiences lies stillness, quietude, and vast openness—little glimpses of pure consciousness and bliss. There is nothing, and there is everything, all at the same time. This is why I meditate. When I sit in the quiet and do nothing, even for just a few moments, I am committing to knowing myself—to exploring what it feels like to be human, and what it feels like to be completely open and receptive to whatever arises, including messages from somewhere—or someone—beyond this realm.
Last week, I celebrated my 56th birthday. I now have both feet firmly planted in the realm of elderhood. I’m still young enough to feel vibrant in body, mind, and spirit, yet old enough to carry the wisdom and knowledge to live more purposefully. Still, I find myself longing for something to guide me—strong principles that align with my values and illuminate how I wish to live the rest of my life.
Recently, I came across a post here on Substack that I thought I had saved, but couldn’t find again. It was about creating a manifesto to guide one’s creative work. I was inspired—and realized this was the perfect time to adopt guiding principles not just for my creative pursuits, but for the life I am meant to live.
So, on this new moon in Libra, in the month of my 56th birthday, I am presenting the first version of my Manifesto for Living and Creating. It feels deeply right to write down my values and use them as a north star—a guidepost for living with purpose. I am moved by what has emerged and plan to revisit it each year in my birth month to keep it alive and relevant. This has been one of the most liberating and inspiring acts I’ve undertaken in a long while, and I feel lighter and more aligned for having brought it into being.
A Closing Blessing: May this new moon invite you inward to listen deeply, to trust the quiet wisdom that rises from within, and to remember that you, too, are a living, breathing human being of purpose, love, and light. May your days unfold with clarity, courage, and grace. ✨
With care + kindness,
Jennifer 💫💖💫
Manifesto for Living and Creating ❤️🔥
Self-care is everything. 🌿
If I’m not taking care of myself, I cannot truly care for anyone or anything else. When I am well and well-resourced, everything around me receives that wellness in return.
My gut, my heart, my ancestors, my spirit guides, and nature are my wisest teachers. 🌕
When I take time to be still and listen, the answers always come.
See beauty everywhere. 🌸
Even in the shadows. Even in the dark and uncertain places. There is beauty there too.
Feel it all. 💧
Every sensation, emotion, and thought carries a message. Take time to feel it all, no matter what arises. I have the tools to care for myself, even when it feels difficult.
Honor the call to create. 🎨
Make time for one creative act each day. Creativity takes many forms—writing, painting, cooking, dressing, decorating. Keep an open mind to what creativity means for me today.
Walk often. 🚶♀️
Take long walks outside. There is nothing more healing and affirming than walking surrounded by beauty— noticing the sky, the plants, the houses, the gardens, my own body in motion. Be present with it all.
Care for the body as a sacred temple. 🕊️
Devote time each day to keep my body strong and supple. I promise to treat my aging body with tenderness and reverence.
Create in service, not for self. 🌍
All that I create and share with the world is done in solidarity with all beings, with the intention to serve the greater good.
Be present with others. 🤝
When I’m with someone, I look them in the eye. I put away distractions. I honor their presence with my full attention.
Offer kindness to strangers. 💞
Meet their eyes. Acknowledge their presence and their humanity with a simple gesture of compassion.
Meditate often. 🧘♀️
I meditate because it works—and because it’s necessary. Meditation is the path of knowing myself wholly, of remembering what it means to be human, and of feeling held in love, kindness, and compassion by the ever-loving universe.
Embrace both awareness and rest. ☯️
There are times to be vigilant and awake to the truth, and times to rest in unknowing—to be blissfully unaware of the world’s noise. Find balance. Embrace both.
Remember: I am not a project to be fixed. 🌼
I am a flawed, imperfect human being—as is everyone I meet. I give myself and others the grace we all deserve.
Acknowledge the shadow within. 🎭
Hatred, fear, and anger exist within me. That is part of being human. What matters is how I meet these emotions—with awareness, care, and non-harm toward myself and others.
When anxiety arises, return to the body. 🌬️
Feel the ground beneath my feet. Place a hand on my heart. Feel it beating. Feel my breath rising and falling. This simple noticing reminds me that in this moment, I am safe. All is well.
Simplify. 🍃
Stop complaining about money. Stop buying what isn’t needed. Save for future adventures. I already have everything I need—a roof, nourishment, and the resources to thrive.
Soothe my own storms. 🌊
Instead of venting outward, calm the waves within using the tools I know—grounding, breath, embodied presence, and self-compassion.
Redefine success. 💫
Success is not measured by money, followers, or numbers. It is measured by connection—by touching another life authentically, by helping someone see a hidden truth within themselves through my own vulnerability.
Honor the value of my work. 🔥
My writing, creating, and meditating hold deep value because they serve the greater good. I do this work because I know it heals, and it matters.
Accept impermanence. 🍂
Nothing lasts forever. Loss is inevitable, and grief is the proof of love. The ache of absence means I have loved deeply. Love is boundless, infinite, and eternal—and I can still love my departed ones across realms.
Remember my essence. ✨
I am a radiant, boundless being of light and vibration—guided by love, compassion, trust, and faith.
Surrender daily. 🌺
Offer my fears, worries, and grievances into the loving care of the Great Mother. Trust her to hold and transform them.
Remember the ripples. ⛲
Every thought, word, and action sends waves into the world—like a pebble dropped in still water. May my ripples be mindful, loving, and wise.
The Planets🪐
- New moon in Libra today, October 21, 2025 🌚 ♎
- Neptune retrograde in Aries moves back into Pisces on October 22, 2025 ♓ 🔙 ♈
- The Sun in Libra moves into Scorpio on October 22, 2025 ♎ ➡️ ♏
- Mercury in Scorpio moves into Sagittarius on October 29, 2025 ♏ ➡️ ♐
- Waxing half moon in Aquarius on October 29, 2025 🌓 ♒
- Full moon in Taurus on November 5, 2025 🌝 ♉
🌄 Sunrise today in Cleveland is at 7:45 am
🌇 Sunset today in Cleveland at 6:35 pm
New moon in Libra intentions: I am invited to restore harmony between my inner knowing and the unseen guidance that surrounds me. I listen to the quiet guidance within and trust the whispers of intuition that rise from stillness, allowing them to lead me toward balance, beauty, and truth. I invite the wisdom of the unseen realms to walk beside me, honoring the guidance of spirit, ancestors, and mystery, knowing that I am never alone on this path of creating and becoming.
Micro Mindfulness Practice: Listening for Guidance 🦉
This brief practice is an invitation to pause and attune to the quiet wisdom that speaks through stillness.
Find a quiet place or pause wherever you are.
Close your eyes, or soften your gaze.
Take a slow, steady breath in through your nose… and exhale gently through your mouth.
Now, bring your awareness to the sounds around you.
Notice each one without naming or judging it—the hum of traffic, birds outside, distant voices, your own breathing.
Let every sound arrive and pass through you like ripples on water.
Then, listen for what lies beneath the noise—the subtle stillness between sounds, the quiet that holds everything.
Rest your awareness there for a few breaths.
Ask silently, What guidance wants to be heard right now?
Listen—not for words, but for a feeling, a knowing, a whisper of direction.
Sit quietly with this awareness for a few more rounds of breathing.
When you’re ready, take one more slow breath and return gently to the present moment.
Current Offerings – Planet Prana Meditation Space 🌿
🎧 Guided Meditation Practice Library on YouTube
Explore a growing private on-demand library of guided meditations designed to nourish your well-being. You’ll find short, supportive practices for grounding, presence, embodied awareness, relaxation, and seasonal practices as well. Plus, a brand-new Midweek Mindfulness Break is added every week to help you reset and recharge.
- Your subscription also includes full access to my signature course, Meditation Demystified—a step-by-step introduction to building a practice that works for you, whether you’re brand new or returning to the cushion.
- Subscribe monthly, semi-annually, or annually—flexible options to meet you where you are.
Not ready to commit? No pressure—head over to my YouTube channel to enjoy a generous selection of free practices and get a feel for what’s inside. 💛
Become a paid Subscriber to the Tides of Being Lunar Almanac Newsletter❤️🔥
Please consider subscribing to this work at a rate of $55 per year. This will demonstrate our belief as creatives that artists and writers can and should earn a living wage and show the world that we value their contributions.
