One Beam

 

 

                 what dappled, shining light is

                 this that now floods my heart and soul or

                 has someone just paused the kayaks?

                

                

 

 

 

Two exercises stand out:  one in which we had to choose one word that epitomizes something that really pushes one of our personal deeply painful buttons, and go into a sort of trance with it, moving our bodies through the four archetypes (Serpent--facts--What Is; Jaguar--how one thinks and feels about what is; Hummingbird--how it affects your life/world; and Condor/Eagle--where we can rise above all things and see them from enlightened Spirit). 

 

This one was really tough.  I will not go into my personal push-point Word, but let me tell you, when you close your eyes, start out belly to Mother Earth within the circle of your tribe--yes, it is WILD--and surrender to the death that awaits you there when you go into your fear, listening to your body inform you from each level of awareness.....the word changes with each archetypal viewpoint, and your body clues you in as you shape-shift to elevate your perceptions.  The torque is wrenching, deep inside, and the death you have always felt awaited you here is really the bright surprise of Life, renewed and evolved, when you emerge as Eagle, lifted out of the Jungle on winds of new understanding.  The problem may not be entirely solved, but the shift is dramatic nonetheless.  (on a lighter note, while asking my husband just now about the spelling of the word 'exercise', he wanted to be sure I didn't mean 'exorcize', and really, for most of us, this is what this bit is more like, when we surrender to a blind faith healing of this magnitude)

 

The second exercise was one in which a personal sand-painting is built outdoors, using found objects from the forest floor.  (I use 'forest' loosely here--it's all a jungle out there, in my book)  We place a previously chosen stone to represent each of the above-mentioned archetypes (consciousness levels), then arrange our found objects in relationship to the stone, each found object symbolizing roles or issues we have either left behind (addict, for instance); still identify with (mother, student...); have integrated into our present self (sibling, daughter...); or have transcended entirely (my decision to utterly change my life's dimension/path, though I'm not sure that fit the bill--still a little confused by that category).   We work in this four-ring scenario for some time, seeing what we feel/intuit in each area, then the next day we move the archetypal stones counter-clockwise, to the roles/issues in the area next to the one that represented where we are now in our life.  This has the effect, when one stands in the new consciousness for each role, of changing the actual Energy in one's self, evolving the issues/roles to the next highest consciousness level, and grounding one in on the transcended roles.  I wish I could describe it more satisfactorily.......the effect was magic, wrenching physically and emotionally, for me.   But that's Real Change for ya.

 

I do know I am right where I should be if it went as it should have, and the turning of the medicine wheel stones has done its work, my work. I accept that I do not have to feel OK to be OK.  I am engaging in work that is shifting who I am, molding me into who I am intended to be.  I welcome the discomfort, albeit perhaps warily.  The adventure has just begun.

 

 

We are just back from Hawaii--Oahu Island.  Photo album best viewed with the 'slide show' option. 

 

My favorite thing was the kayaking out on the crystalline aqua waters of Kailua Bay, island to island......bobbing about on that surf, out of Time.......Heaven.  (no pics of that day as the cameras had to be left in the car.)

 

Also, climbed Diamond Head Crater.........Best hike I have done in YEARS.   Seemed to be 'led' to several Hawai'ian sacred spots while driving around in the country.......very big feelings at each of these places, and I am grateful for the guidance, Spirit. 

 

We kept the traditional Hawai'ian music going strong and sweet in the rental car all week, driving out of the dreadful city of Honolulu (Waikiki especially was savaged when white men came and very deviously gained possesion of it--I saw pictures of how it used to look, and could easily imagine the grass huts, beautiful brown-skinned children playing, the laughter and song of voices and surf.......)  Now this area of Hawai'i is smothered with hotels, cars, smog, money, and milling tourists. 

 

 

Aloha.....hello, Spirit in you!

DID ANYONE OUT THERE IN BLOGLAND SEEEEEEEEE THAT RAAAAACE???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WOW!!!! ZOWIE!!!!!!!!  GREAT GODAMITEY!!!!!!!!!  'Mine That Bird' came from dead last place,  SHOT, I'M TELLIN' YA ROCKETED THROUGH ALL THOSE churning million-dollar HORSES, and pulled off an unbelievable win by many, many lengths!!!!!!!!!!!

 

here's a link, if it doesn't work copy and paste into your browser...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjY-rrAoTl8 

 

(Watching these horse races is my favorite thing to watch on TV, but these days I only let myself watch the replay, as I can't handle watching a horse get injured.)

 

SECOND BIGGEST UPSET IN DERBY HISTORY.  THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST RACES EVER ACCOMPLISHED.  

regarding helping others:

 

.......we do what we can and then let go, knowing that each is on their own path, progressing just as they should. 

 

It's a faith. 

 

I believe in the Grand Harmony, the symphony, working its tune through each and all of us, drawing out the proper notes when each is ready to sing.  The music cannot be pushed, and is unfolding just as it should.  Each of us can nudge a new vibration from others, but it is up to each of us to open our mouths/lives and sing.  What a difference each tone makes as it adds itself to the symphony! 

 

 

Just returned from a weekend of learning about a meditation technique, which for the first time in my life, makes meditation SO EASY, as well as profoundly effective.  I am sworn to secrecy regarding details, however here is what the Ishayas' pamphlet , available publicly, says about it:

"The Ishayas' Ascension is a series of ancient, simple, and effective techniques.  These techniques, called Ascension Attitudes, effortlessly move the mind inward from the surface level to its deepest level, the Source, the Stillness, or what we call the Ascendant.  The techniques are based in Praise, Gratitude and Love.  There is no belief required in Ascension, in fact it works whether one believes in it or not."

 

The teachings originated with Jesus, though they are not included in our modern-day Christianity, and one can come from any belief system (or none) to use them.  The Apostle John gave the secrets to a group of monks, with instructions to keep them alive and pure until the time for them to be released, which was in the 1990's. 

 

Having completed the 'First Sphere', I am urging any and all who are ready (you will know who you are just reading this, I suspect) or curious to look them up, and go to an introduction in your area: www.theishayatradition.org or call 888-474-2921.

 

 

 

Back.  This is the longest I have ever vacationed for--13 days, and all over the map: Kansas to visit Tranquil Sabine, New Hampshire to visit Holly and John, and Florida to visit Jodie and her husband Roger.

 

The pictures above tell the story.  Kansas was so peaceful, walks out in the wide open space that is that state.........the stark countryside so ...........................tranquil, just like my friend.  It was wonderful getting to know Sabine and her environs a little better, and there was a museum there where I was able to view TWO of my favorite artist Albert Bierstadt's original paintings--this was a major highlight.

 

New Hampshire found me at 'America's Stonehenge'--betcha never knew!  It is a stone village and AStrological circle, built around 2500-3000 BC, and is a spectacularly puzzling place.  I'd have more pictures of it but my camera ran out of batteries.......there was a sacrificial slab of stone there--though my feeling was that it was a stone table where they skinned and cut up their hunting kills.  There was a small complex of stacked-stone rooms, with huge stone slab ceilings.  A few petroglyphs there too.  The standing stone markers for sunrises and sunsets had a great deal of energy in them when touched--giving the palm of the hand little pin-prickly sensations--quite remarkable, and several of us felt them.

 

Also I was invited to lead a sort of Incan-style 'despacho fire' on the night of the Spring Equinox--so cold under that New Hampshire sky.  This prayerful event altered each of us who attended, as we gave two or three selected troubles or situations to the fire, and felt the transformative energy take them and begin its work.....there was more to this but I will leave it at that.  It was my first opportunity to do this, and I found it to be transformative for me in that regard.

 

Florida was a delight, where Jodie and I visited the manatees at Homosassa Springs, and meditated at an ancient Native American mound site, where there were also two standing stones, still placed where they had been almost two thousand years ago.....  Her Roger took us out in a marvelous little boat and we putt-putted in amoungst the waterways and small islands of Florida's central west coast, seeing so much wildlife and getting quite sun-drenched.  (after New Hampshire's snow and cold this was fabulous)

 

Mostly though it was a journey of spirit, and as I sat in the airport in Orlando waiting for my plane home, I assimilated all the lessons I had learned from each person visited: from dear Sabine, I learned to recognize my life limits, and then to test them bravely, as she does every day, growing herself anew. 

 

From Jodie, I learned to be the essence of Grace in the line of fire.  She showed me to think and then to think deeper.  From her Roger, I learned how to ask great questions of the new people in our lives.

 

From Holly I learned to refrain from the urge to fix everyone's problems.  When one does this, it can rob them of the opportunity they have to learn and find their own capabilities.  From her John I learned to embrace the moment, whatever that is--even sweeping the floor can be done with happy reverence.  He builds guitars, and he has learned that when he makes a mistake that causes him to have to start over, this is not a frustration, but rather a re-doing of something sacred.  Huge.

 

There was a fountain of more.  Images, insights, friendship from three women I admire greatly.  Each so different, every one of them profoundly strong, and deeply beautiful. 

 

A journey deeper into  my own heart.

 

 

 

 

I will get back to everyone's blog when I get back--out of town for two weeks visiting old friends, and one blog friend I have never met--Tranquil Sabine!!  Hope you will all be well and reasonably happy till I can get back to blogland.

 

 

Speaking with two of my Reiki teachers this chilly morning, we are sitting sheltered in the warm kitchen, fresh fruit and tea, coffee smells so inviting..........

 

What can I do to prepare myself for the next level in Reiki Healing?  I feel I am there in some ways, and in others I just plain need more practice.  My work has thus far been with a few clients, who report feeling varying degrees of deep peace and quiet centeredness; some reported their symptoms disappeared for a time.........but mostly I have been practicing Reiki by meditating in the early mornings, and combining what I know about long-distance energy work, with prayer.  What I ask my teachers is, "What else should I be doing to prepare, how can I work on more people?" 

 

I have put cards out in the community.  I have benefited from some word-of-mouth..........but I want to branch out more, and not many people are open to this, even as a possibility in reality......

 

They told me to go to the Veteran's hospital where my husband works, and ask the nurses there if I can volunteer my time to do this work.  Go to Hospice centers and ask the same thing.  Cancer wings of big hospitals.  They said I would soon find that the nurses would start directing me over to the patients who need it the most, once they see that  it works to calm, comfort and facilitate the healing of these patients.  The nurses, many of them, are familiar and even schooled in 'Healing Touch', another form of energy work, similar to Reiki, and are more open to this than some might guess. 

 

My teachers also said that they want me to come and help when they attune the next class of beginning students in Reiki--this is huge to me.  Then this summer, they will come here to our land, in this meadow surrounded by forest, and give me my Master level attunement.  It's the perfect place for this part of the journey, and

 

A River, our river and the river of energy that is life, runs through it all. 

 

 

Incan Medicine Wheel, work of the West......it's a jungle out there.......

 

Our small 'tribe' gathered together this past weekend, to delve headlong into this segment of the wheel.  Under the watchful eyes and hearts of our shaman teachers, Beverly and Ed, we were guided through several exercises designed to take us out of body; through some of our most looming fears; see from behind the eyes of ancestors who have passed away, and gain lessons from other personal lives than the one we are in at this time.  (And all without botanical drugs!--our own intention can take us to places I never thought possible)

 

    I guess for this initiate, the best way to attempt description of what transpired is to go through some of the things we did.

 

At one point we wrote our own Eulogy--our own obituary.  That was pretty weird, to attempt to sum up a life's rocky path.... and a positive result, in a couple paragraphs........then we split into teams, and put ourselves, one at a time, on the floor, with the others around us, kneeling.  When it was my turn, the person right above my head read the eulogy I had written, with all the reverence required for a dead person.  Then each person added a few lines of things they had appreciated about the recently deceased--this was very cool because we all barely know each other, having had only one other weekend with these people--so what was said was a distillation of whatever is most noticable about a person, first impressions. 

 

Then the shaman of the group 'unwound' each of my chakras, and everyone very slowly lifted my light body up, (like the aura, only a little bigger) and held it there, about 4-5 inches above my body.  THIS FELT REALLY ODD; I COULD feel the release of this lightbody.   As I felt it being separated from my earthly body, my breathing instantly slowed to near nothing, and my eyes stopped their previously uncontrollable flutter, both without my intending it so.  Now I am just a beginner at this stuff--but the more practiced or intuitive person can actually feel their consciousness leaving their body--after all, our essence is contained within that lightbody.  I am still pretty caught up in Ego, my earthly persona.

 

After a few silent minutes of personally experiencing this sensation, my lightbody was lowered back around 'me'.  This was palpable as well, though it did take a minute or two to feel I was really present and accounted for.  My chakras were 're-wound' and an effort was made by the others to help me return--gentle touch.  I was very altered when I sat up, and it took a minute or three to focus, get grounded.  It felt very like I had left, and returned.

 

At another time we were guided through a meditation to three other lifetimes: the one in which we had suffered the  most; the one in which we had had much power, but had misused it; and the one in which we had done the most good.  We were told not to worry if it felt as if we were making it up (I did not --it just came as unexpected fleeting pictures and feelings) because all that mattered is that what needed to be worked on was being accessed by our brains.  I found myself as a destitute woman in India, wearing rags and weeping my way through a cholera epidemic, standing in the mud.  In another life, as a man, leading horrific, bloody battles against the indigenous people of the land, and filled with a zealous and twisted love for the job (this was really rough for me to discover); and in a third life as a young man, beloved by my clan, leading an effort to raise standing stone megaliths at sites along major ley lines, using sound and light, and the energy of these lines. 

 

Jeez..............................................   This exercise went on, but I will cut the description short.

 

In another segment, we were asked to step into the shoes/heart of three separate recent ancestors, each difficult in life relation with us, and speak messages from that person, who now is in a place where they know more........This was REALLY HARD, and most all of us, men and women alike, were in tears as we stepped into the ascended persona of people we had had a nearly impossibly difficult time with in life.  To be able to even try to see things from another's perspective--particularly someone who was a huge pain in our life--we had to somehow find a path to see things from their perspective--and this took at least temporary forgiveness, very difficult as these ancestors had caused us much grief.  Our partner helped us to draw out what this ancestor would say to us, by asking a few pointed questions like "What regrets does this person have about thier relationship with you?" and "What does this person see in you now that they could not see while they were alive and in relationship with you?"  "What advice does this person have for you, now that they can see more about the nature of reality?"  

 

This was alot harder than it sounds--I thought I was going to love it, but putting myself in the shoes of someone I had big issues with was very wrenching.  I learned alot, and released alot of frustration, anger, sadness, confusion--and found alot of Love, previously unrequited.  What a release from the heart's innermost floodgates.  What a re-filling...........................of cleaner Light.

 

There was more to our weekend--volumes more.  Other exercises, many visits to the chilly outdoors, standing with our Ancestors at the stone circle, and our reuniting fire at the close of the day Sunday, all of us shredded and re-formed...........through much fear, a sort of death...................and finally,

 

.........made new in a finer harmony, beyond so much dischord..........thank you, Jaguar, for treading so quietly, beside me all the fearful way. 

 

(picture taken by Beverly)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The photo just added was taken today by my shaman/teacher, Ed (I had no idea he was even there) after one of the exercises in the Incan Medicine Wheel's Work of the West--Jaguar's territory.  I will write more about the very heavy work we did in this direction soon, but for now wanted to explain this picture. 

 

I had just come through a very difficult and emotional segment, working on connecting with ancestors.  I had stepped outside to stand at our ancestor's stone circle, and was gathering my thoughts, heart, and spirit.  I closed my eyes and tipped my head up, silently.  There behind my eyelids was the most spectacular Flower of Life pattern I have ever seen.  Thousands of circles, all overlapping in perfect symetry, alive and dancing--nearly knocked me backwards, as I let out a primal sound "Uh!!" 

 

ALL ABOUT HOZOJI........

 

Friends, here is a link to some wonderful information.  If I have not done it right, and the link doesn't work, copy and paste into your browser.

 

 

 

The home-time for the work of the South (see previous entry), which is all about clearing out--shedding the past the way a serpent sheds its skin-- is to have a 'Serpent Fire' before the next class, which will be the next direction, work of the North. 

 

I am instructed to find pieces of wood for burning, each one to represent something I want to let go of in my past: a relationship gone awry, a hurt still felt, an event that never resolved-- and either never shall or needs a new way to do so........any stagnation or blockages in myself that need to find new growth.  I feel I am evolving quickly now, and loving it.  Becoming more of who I always wanted to be, and then some, many surprises.  Each day proves this works, as I see small improvements every day in my actions and reactions.  Somehow, things are becoming easier, more creative, compassionate, and energetic.

 

I made a list, didn't take too long--there will always be more, and I can burn another fire anytime I want.  25 items.  25 pieces of wood.  Each one will have a purpose, named, before it goes into the fire.  One at a time, under the full moon tomorrow night--can't wait!

 

I will combine this with my Reiki, asking for healing in all directions of time (the great earthly illusion) and will get as far as I can into the way I feel about each thing on the list as I lay it on the fire, then letting it go, letting the fire transform it, send it on to Father Sky and leave the rest for Mother Earth 'Pacha Mama'.  Impeccably trustworthy parents for these things. 

 

Try it.  Simple, effective.  You'll be amazed at how you feel afterwards.

 

 

Now the river gets wider, deeper, and faster........

 

I have just returned from a weekend immersed in a class of 6 people, with Beverly and Ed as our shaman-teachers of the initial class of the four directions in the Peruvian Inca Medicine Wheel.  This is a transmission of knowledge, a quest into the discovery of one's very real personal power, to be used in self healing and ultimately healing others...............and the earth;  assisting in bringing us all to our inheritance: full enlightened Consciousness.

 

The Q'ero shamans from high in the Andes mountains of Peru (see archive entry September 14 of '08, "Q'ero Inca Shaman.....or......Joining the Conscious Dreamers")  have been saving this knowledge for many, many centuries, specifically to bring it to the rest of us--at this time.  It is a mind-blowing honor and happen-stance (thank you, Universe) to have my life be diverted onto this path, learning this ancient, deeply treasured wisdom.  (thank you also don Humberto, dona Bernadina, and all your kin and ancestors for keeping this alive and protected until you could share it--may blessings be showered upon you for entrusting it to any of us......to share also in our turn).   It is intended for use in human transformation, both personal and for the whole human race.......for assisting the evolution to which we are heading rapidly, ready or not.  I hope I can do this.  No.  I know I can do this.  It is in the deepest DNA of all of us.  It is where we have been headed all along. 

 

The Master Plan is coming to fruition, and it's ALL GOOD.

 

The work of the South has to do with clearing out old stumbling blocks, personal patterns of behavior that no longer serve us in our forward evolution.   Remembering Serpent, the first of the four archetypes, we shed the skin that may have worked for us in the past, but does not now.   The old stuff contains us too tightly, and keeps us stuck, frustrated in our efforts to break new ground and see the myriad rivers of possibilities.  Peel it away, and there is vast room for new knowledge, unimaginable adventures, quantum-leaps of wisdom, real power. 

 

We used stones, each choosing our own, to assist in accomplishing this seemingly daunting task of releasing old useless patterns.  Each stone represents a 'trouble pattern' in our life, one that we have had coming up time and again, and have not been able to shed, even though we have seen so clearly that it does not serve us.  We breathe the trouble into the stone, and do intense breathwork, with the help of another student-shaman, to get to the bottom of each issue, letting it flow out, breathing through the chakra it has lodged in, through the stone laid there that serves as symbol, and through the second stone placed there also, this one from the 'Mesa Bundle' of the Shamans leading this work.  They have built their Mesa Bundle from their own work: three stones for every direction--South, West, North and East.  Each direction has its own work, its own archetype, its own lessons.  The final stone in anyone's bundle is a stone given by the Shaman to the student, and our teachers each have theirs. 

 

The completed bundle is  a medicine tool.  It has been prayed into, breathed into, sent over the fire of transformation, all so many, many times, in rituals so moving many of us are led to tears and 'Hozoji'-depth joys. (see definition for 'Hozoji' toward top of blog)  It carries within it everything that a person holds dearest, in symbolic metaphor.  Intention being everything, it carries great power. 

 

The Incan shamans, from their ages-hidden home so high in the Andes have kept this knowledge alive, through thick and thin, (mostly thin) treasuring it above all else, from generation to generation--the Greatest Gift a grandfather could pass along to their grandchild--JUST so that we might choose to turn our belief system around and find a way to trust it, to believe it...........encompass it.

 

Because they knew.  Their ancestors wrote about it so very long ago--these days we are entering now.  They knew nothing was more important than our ultimate evolution, this growing into what we have always been intended for................... Bearers of Light, Earth Keepers.............................. dreamers, dreaming the New Reality, manifesting our inheritance...................................... children of Creation itself, coming of age. 

 

(Work of the West starts in two weeks for us.  So much to take in.  So much to master.  This was just the beginning, clearing the way for the rest.  If anyone is interested in finding out more, read Any one of Alberto Villoldo's books......I have read 'The Four Insights', and this might be the best place to start.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The night is clear and very cold.  I am sound asleep and it is the wee hours......

 

I am awakened by the sound of a truck's engine down by our creek, on the county road.  I hear metal grinding, clanking.........I am thinking sleepily, "hmmmmmm sounds like someone dumping scrap metal--sure hope they are not dumping it into our creek " (steelhead trout stream)..........."wonder if I should get up, get dressed, and go check it out..........nah, it's probably just the county guys working on the road damage" (from the recent snows and floods)........."if it's them I don't need to get up......"  and CLUNK I am out again, gone as summer.

 

When I get up this morning, my Don says, "Did you hear the road crew out there last night, working so hard?  Gotta love those guys, they are so good at taking care of us, working in the dead of night and all!"  (in retrospect, I am thinking 'how quaint...')

 

I said, "YES!"  (thinking, isn't he wonderful always thinking the best!  Of course he is right!  It was the road crew!)  But I say, "I DID hear that!  ...but I had a sneaking feeling it was someone dumping scrap metal down into our creek.  Sure hope you are right.  Those road crews ARE wonderful."

 

.................................................we got home this afternoon and discovered that some #*~@** had dumped a whole bunch of scrap metal next to our creek (at least that is better than in it--the pond there is 9 feet deep, and awfully cold right now)...................................I immediately start in with the cursing and the name-calling and the utter disbelief that anyone could DO such a thing--everyone that drives by our place sees me out on the county road often, for years, picking up trash and God knows what (bowling pins, hash pipes, 1/2 full liquor bottles, radios, shoes, baby pacifiers, stuffed animals, fish skeletons, a Goose carcass.....a little bit o' vhat choo tink, and then some....).

 

Well, back up.  I am at present reading a book called 'The Seat of the Soul' by Gary Zukov--fabulous book, and my reading today was about consciously switching anger for forgiveness, because we never know what cosmic balance in a person's soul is being served by someone's bad action--what healing, basically, is taking place in that person's life.....and that ALL life is worthy of compassion because it is all of the creator, and therefore one can see divinity in everything on the planet, in the Universe.......and that if we can remember to approach things that happen to us from an enlightened viewpoint, we greatly enhance our own personal evolution in this life (and all the others, but I will let it go at that)  Basically, we bring Light to our reaction, and we affect what is around us in a positive, profound way.  So I am reading this thinking "YES!  TOO COOL!  I wanna try this!  Lemme at it!" 

 

Then I get home to the huge pile of crap dumped by my trout stream.   Now, back to the cursing, spitting, and filthy name-calling.     Uh huh.  That's me, unevolved as ever, furious.

 

But all the while, in the under-current, I am at least remembering what I have read, and I am trying, underneath all my angry, furious drama, to just imagine what the higher route might be.......

 

By the time I am back up to the house, hauling a bag of the smaller junk, I am able to say out loud, ( though perhaps through my clenched teeth, but SAID none the less) ,"Universe!  Bless the people who dumped this sh-- on our property!   Please take all my angry words and thoughts straight to the Light, and transmute them for the benefit of all concerned (me and them) !!!!!!!!"

 

 (angels LOVE it when we do this, and they do know exactly what to do with all that stuff, and they have the ability to pull it off)

 

Well, at least I was able to put the lesson to work immediately--that's cool.  I wanna learn this stuff as fast as I can.

At my job, one of the things I do is write thank you letters to people who donate anything to our humanitarian organization.  We usually get gifts of money, but sometimes we get a car, a desk, a computer, a copy machine, a rug, a backpack, a teddy bear, someone's time to paint or do maintenance.  The list is nearly infinite.

 

Lately, I have noticed many more donations of large amounts of money--in spite of the fact that most folks are finding it harder to come by.  This phenomenon has given rise to much hope in my own heart.  People know that others are struggling even more than they are, I guess, and perhaps people are also beginning to understand that sharing creates more abundance for all--including themselves.  Funny how that works........one of those principles of Universal Energy that has yet to be understood by modern science.

 

Also I have noticed many new people's names--I have been at this job for a few years, and notice a new name when it crosses my desk.  The other day, a person donated $10,000.00 online--this is unprecedented in our office.  We called to be sure it was not a mistake, and were assured it was a genuine gift.

 

Hope is alive and growing.  We are reaching out to one another increasingly and with more consciousness than ever before.   LET IT BE....A little more with each passing sunrise......Thank you, people, THANK YOU.

 

 

Hi friends, I have a question:

 

In the above photo, of the water dish which I retrieved from the barn this morning--(I put fresh warm water out there twice a day for the stray Tom, who also has a heated bed, by the way)--and this morning it had this odd formation sticking out of the frozen top.  How did this happen?  It seems that when it expanded from freezing, it would just evenly go up, like it always does, staying level.  But this is a finger sticking straight up.  Any ideas, science buffs?  Seems like something I should know, but it has never done this before.

 

Hats off to Marge, Kenny and Kuskulana for giving me the oomph I needed.   Leaving spaces was not what I wanted to do, but I was having a hard time finding middle ground to stand on.  MSN has ironed out some of the wrinkles, and I am going to find a way to moderate my time spent here.......  My friends have reminded me of the value of this venue.  Never would I have abandoned the finest of you......we all have better lives when we commune, and share what is most real about our realities.  It takes a village.  This much I have figured out.

 

Which leads me to another not so distant topic.  Reaching out of what feels comfortable to share in a new way or two, using this time of celebration for an ascended Master, Jesus.  With my grandkids, I have tried to boil down what sort of stuff I hoped to impart to their living attitudes--what cooked in their hearts and kept 'em interested in the fray.  Several times I have mentioned (to my own grown children's horror) that I wanted to get little Kaia, James and Ben out into the dumpsters as soon as they are old enough to skeedaddle when the Law showed up.  There's real value in those mammoth bins.....and one of the best things I learned in college, living in the Commune, was that dumpsters held much of what is fine in life.  Whole bags of the sweetest grapefruit (with only one in the bag starting to mold), head after head of crunchy lettuce, oranges, apples, lemons, even some perfectly good pet food could be found............. in those halcion days.........ah yes.

 

But the parents of my grand children do not share my less-than-grandiose views.  And to be honest, I have not dived a dumpster in years.  HOWEVER, one thing that I have done for years now at Christmas is bake up a storm, make up an obscene amount of fudge, get some little doo-dad candies, and assemble 8 or 10 Christmas plates.  For my neighbors?  Heck no, they have too much of that stuff--so do I.  No, I gathered the kids (then) or grandkids (now) and we drive around town, hitting all the main freeway exit ramps, where one can find a riffled assortment of people who one might refer to as Bums, bumming.  Just as the light turns green, and I gotta follow the traffic out of there, one of the grandkids rolls down the window and leans an arm out with one of our plates of goodies, hands it off to the fellow human while the car's on the fly...... and I always tell them, "Now get ready, look into their eyes, and tell me what you see!"...........And sure enough, the warm...depths...of another...human's...deep...lost...and found...eyes glows like Jesus's, right there in those slow motion moments of the hand-off, and the kid sees this and it is huge. 

 

Words fail all of us, but after one or two more 'speedy deliveries' we are all chattering and can't wait till the next exit...........HERE IT COMES CATCH THAT MOMENT LOOK DEEP.........You'll see yourself way down in there...........we are not so different afterall.

 

This is the stuff memories are made of.  Now my grandkids will never be able to look at a bum without thinking of dear old Granny. 

 

MICROSOFT, LAY OFF!!  Perhaps MS has not finished re-working the blog space........but this is not cool.  Usually I can find my way around the new system, this one is just plain crippling.  If it stays like this, I am outa here. 

 

Opinions, anyone?  How is it over at your space?

 

 

Yesterday, Thanksgiving, was an odd one for me.  Several lessons came up for me, and by the time I lay down to go to bed, I was reeling in the attempt to sort through all the kaleidoscopic feelings, and get to whatever point that I needed to see.  An old friend suggested stillness--choosing not to 'go with the flow' of all the anxiety and confusion--and just remembering that choosing stillness is always an option, was a relief. 

 

I recall this idea from when I was in recovery, and was given the notion that is it OK to not feel OK.  In other words, I can rest with it, look at it calmly, and not panic.  If I do this, I can see my way through.  The old motto, 'Stay calm' is so valuable.

 

After sorting through my options (1) react and feel bad, 2) stuff my feelings and pretend they do not exist and feel bad, 3) blame everyone else for what is really mine to learn and feel bitter, 4) calm my center and look for what I really want, regardless of others' perceived rudeness. 

 

Choosing the last, I was not able to get through to what I truly wanted till morning, when my friend suggested stillness--just waiting through the stillness, open-hearted, not trying to change or sort anything that can't be changed.

 

This morning, in stillness, I came to these stopping points:

Irrational people cannot be reasoned with--let it go.

My path need not be altered by irrational people.  It is up to me to stay my own course, and up to me to choose what bends it.  No choice is a choice.

It is not up to others to comply or even understand.

I am exactly where I need to be, and the timing of the Universe is none of my business.

 

SO.  Perhaps I will get to know me better if I take a road trip in May, all by my marvelous self, and visit one on one with a few good friends.....instead of spending way too much money to go off to wild Peru with someone who understandably does not want to go.   I do not need to see the sunrise over Macchu Piccu to feel Spirit profoundly.  I can keep spirit with me, AS ME, finding it again, everywhere I go, in stillness.  People need not share all my dreams, and that is OK.  People can let others rule their life, but I do not need to feel compelled to go along too.  It's all OK.  And I am back to center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, where to begin.

 

First day in New Mexico, our brother Charlie and sister Laura took us out to Bandelier National Monument, where several ancestral Native American tribes lived, all Pueblo people.  These homes were divided into hundreds of very small rooms, most about the length of a person lying down.  They had more than one level, though the ruins are just the base.  We saw several petroglyphs done high on the rock face, above the 'pole holes' which held the rafters of their roofs, indicating that a person stood on a roof to work their art on the stone. (Sorry, we could not get close enough to these pictures to have them come out clearly in a picture--gotta get me a telephoto, Kuskulana Steve!)  There were hundreds of people living here at many times in history, and one could easily hear the laughter of the grinning children as they once played and climbed these rocks, and ran around the large circular home, built in the peaceful warm meadow area under the tall, incredibly-shaped cliffs. 

 

The next day we visited Sky City, named so because it is on top of a huge mesa, and almost completely invisible from below, the pueblo huts and homes blending in perfectly.  There is no electricity or plumbing here, and as we were shown around by our Native guide, we were able to admire and purchase their pottery, phenomenal pieces painted in the Acoma traditional style--I will make a photo album soon of several we have collected over the years, as well as other styles.  (We collect and display Native paintings and pottery from several traditions--all stunningly perfect in their execution) One is not allowed to photograph these people or their tables of artwork.  The Acoma people were so friendly, offering also their freshly baked pies and flatbreads, baked in their fire ovens.  The silence in this small old village was the richest I have ever sat within.  There was an almost palpable feeling of Spirit there, profound and as real as the mesa stone I was walking on.  Many people notice this.  The Spaniards of course infiltrated long ago-- I will not go into the sordid history of betrayal so common in the Native history, but will say that these people were clever in their ability to tuck secret symbolic codes and meanings into the churches and around the pueblos, in successful attempts to retain their spiritual beliefs and ancient culture.  SUCH intelligent, creative, and subtle people....

 

In the valley in which these mesas stood, there were some of the most unusual rock formations I have ever seen, mammoth boulders as tall as a skyscraper, all bunched together like some natural Stonehenge, only far, far taller.  Some of these larger groupings can be seen in a couple of the photos in the album, taken from atop the mesa, so it is regretably difficult to see just how magnificent they really were.  A couple of other shots do show some of the moderately tall ones, taken from the bus as it flew by on the dusty road.  Did my best, folks.  Note the little sticks that comprise a fence at the base of one of these rocks, creating a corral, and you will get an idea of how tall some of the smaller rocks were.

 

On to Los Angeles the next day, to meet up with my beloved brother Chris.  He got us away from the L.A. freeway snarl and out into the wilds of Topanga Canyon right away--I had no idea one could get to the country so readily in that vast metropolis, as there are canyons every mile or two, heading right up from the Pacific Coast Highway straight up from the ocean into the wild hills, and filled with birds, squirrels, bobcats, cougars, bears, lizards, etc etc......lovely land and beautiful colors, green trees, and flowering bushes, in spite of the fact it has not rained there since LAST MARCH.  (take a moment to imagine rain down there, wet and fresh--they may get some, with a little help from their friends--us...) We hiked uphill for about 2 hours, stopping to listen to Chris show us many species of beautiful birds, and listen to their calls.  He is quite a good 'birder', and it made it easier with his frequent stops for me to find my long-ago lost breath as my muscles re-learn what it is to be able to hike distances--what a total THRILL it was to be able to do this once again!!  These new hips are just amazing.

 

He took us down to Malibu Cove the next day, where there are so many birds of all sizes it can be tricky to walk without disturbing them!  We saw dolphins playing just off shore, and pelicans divng 'KER-SPLASH BANG' into the water, when the dolphins showed them where the fish were schooling--quite the frenzy of diving birds, dolphins and flailing fishies, churning water and spray-filled air......surfers hanging out at the perifery to watch the melee...

 

On up to J. Paul Getty Museum to spend an entire day wandering amoung very old paintings and sculptures by any artist you might care to name--all the real thing.  We could never see the whole thing in a day--it would take three at least to see everything there, atop the mountain overlooking greater Los Angeles.  The way up is provided by a sort of short train called a 'Vernicular', which works as the train coming down actually pulls the train coming up, working by gravity with heavy underground cables.  Silent, and free of the use of any fuel whatsoever.  Amazing. 

 

Last day was spent driving around Beverly Hills and up and down a canyon or two, as Chris narrated the history of 'this rock star did this here', and 'that rock star did that there'--all fascinating to hear as these were MY favorite musicians, back in the day.  ...Drove by the 'Troubadour' where so many musicians had their start......including my mentor, Jackson Browne. 

 

There is much more I could say, but want to keep it brief, readable. 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a note to let all my friends know I will be gone till late next week, around the 21st.  We are off to visit New Mexico, a stunningly beautiful state.  Hope to get out to Bandelier, the ruins, and/or the Acoma Pueblo.  Then on to Southern California to visit one of my dear brothers.  Flying Southwest Airlines---because they are SO FUNNY WITH THEIR JOKES and also because they are the least expensive, and still DO NOT CHARGE for either of two bags!  A SW pilot friend of mine tells me it is the airlines that everyone wants to work for in the industry.  They take good care of their employees, and it shows.

 

I so look forward to getting back to each of you when I return, and trust that you will all do well,

and do good...............(honest, I thought of that phrase before Prairie Home Companion did)

 

 

11/11 POWER AND ETHICS

"The Mayan Prophecies speak of the time around November 11th, 2008 as a time of great emergence, of moving into the "Sixth Day". This new day will be a very fruitful time in preparation for the great galactic alignment of 2012. We are currently in the very darkest hour of the night before the breaking of the dawn. We must be vigilant and attentive without engaging the world with drama. Now is the time to heal ourselves and our culture, to reevaluate and reexamine all belief structures, to cull what needs to be shifted and to allow ourselves to be renewed and reborn with this approaching new day."   ~A.V.

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.....................I gotta say, my own perceptions are really changing fast.  I begin to see, to feel very deep in my bones, that nothing is more important than finding the love in everything one does, in every face that crosses my path.  Like when Obama said, "I will listen closely to you, especially when we disagree..." (words to that effect, I hope the exact words...)

Finding commonality.  We ARE all brothers and sisters, walking this ball of life called Earth.  We are One, and it is One Love that created all of it.  No matter what happens in the near future, no matter who crosses my path, I want to find how we are the same, and what new ideas I can glean from each......let me consider your view........

We are each a facet of the grand gem, with a different view of what's out there.  Sharing shows us all of it, and also reveals the truth of our common ground, the jewel.

Nothing, no frustration, no disagreement, no percieved lack.......to sum it up, no drama, should be allowed to override our conscious intent to find commonality, to put love into action in every moment of the path we find ourselves on.  Don't be tricked!  The drama that is material life on Earth sucks me in so often!  Laugh it off, and learn to default to Love.

Time is short.  Love is forever. 

 Let it be and watch it grow.