Busy Bee

I’ve been a busy bee lately. I’ve got about 1/3 of my novella edited. I’m surprised that its taking this long. I really had thought it would be a speedy thing, but I have yet to pass a day without spending at least 5 hours on it and some times 7. Its longer than I thought. *smiles*

I’m getting ready for my summer ceremony too. Mostly that’s an inward process. And my focus this year will again be tending fire. It puts me in an odd place about writing on the topic of fire for my Elements series too. I’ve not only been away from the fire a great deal in the past year for a large variety of reasons, but its also something that I will be immersed in and have been immersed in years past.

I can feel the post being written though, so its on its way.

I’ve been watching life around me. Friday I was sitting my Adirondack chair that my son made me watching the dragon flies argue over hunting space in my yard. I’ve been watching the butterflies and found some laundry I’d left out over night with a few holes in it because the moths thought my cotton things were tasty. Watching life is good…

Imagination Prompt

What do you think happens when we die?

I think that the “I” part of us lifts out of the physical vessel we’ve inhabited and ascends to another plane of consciousness that the physical doesn’t reach. I think that the vessel that’s left behind is the ‘we’ part and that composts itself for something new. I don’t think life ends with the separation of the soul from the body. I think that its just a separation of soul from body. Life goes on. Its just different…and we wake from this shared dream that we call physical life.

Message from the bushes of my heart:

Seek what brings you real and profound joy. For there lies the fullness of the soul’s purpose.

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Mood: Peaceful

Tea: No tea today, just watered juices

Munching: berry pops

Song: Flavors of Entanglement

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Stuff on my mind this week:

Love

My writing and the goals I want to accomplish

My summer ceremony

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Friday’s Feast

Appetizer

Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?

Depends on the topic. If its about trust where I’ve been let down before. I tend toward emotional pessimism in my ability to trust…but I am over all an optimist, always hoping for more.

Soup

What is your favorite color of ink to write with?

I can see blue the best when I am working with ink.

Salad

How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them?

I don’t use chemicals when I do a manicure or pedicure. So no polishes and such, so no, I don’t go to a salon. I just do my own, using salves and oils I make myself or buy that are relatively healthy. Trimming and filing are the extend of my efforts besides moisturizing my skin.

Main Course

Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it?

I’m told I have done so many times. I never go get any of it because my inbox is just packed with spam if you do that.

Dessert

In which room in your house do you keep your home computer?

In an office on the second floor of my home.

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Today’s Card:

Here…

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Shakti Quotes

Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance,

you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness.

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Favorite moment of the week

Laughing with my husband

I’m grateful for:

Laughing with my husband

I invite you to pick a lily yourself; answer or respond to some part of this weekly meditation

Pickalily

It has been an interesting week. I think I mentioned a long while ago that I have alot of trouble with my menses. Its a very uncomfortable process. It is extremely heavy and so I am usually rather ill with it. Dizzy, disoriented, exhaustion…what you’d expect from blood loss.

At the same time, I’ve been supporting a friend with the death process of his father. I do this occasionally for someone. Just hold him firmly in my consciousness and let energy flow between the sources that power me and the person in my thoughts. I just keep the connection between us as full as I am able to make it. This is a lovely practice for me. I adore doing it. I think that I get as much or more out of it as the person I do it for. This menses has been just a little easier than others as a result.

Generally, I don’t do this during menses. Its the wrong energy for most experiences. The energy of it is downward flowing, deconstructive and purifying….but in this instance, it seems to be what’s needed. Something rooted and that hopefully keeps the grief from becoming stagnant. it is tiring to hospice a loved one. Rooted is just what we need right about then. Even for someone already really rooted, exhaustion can make one more floaty in the emotions of the situation. It helps to have some roots in the water. I’m hoping to help with that.

And I sure love to do it.

I am making steady progress on my goals…and I am laying the groundwork for more success in the future. I have a big ceremony coming up in less than two months now. I’m very excited. I am hoping that it will heal my body and that when I get back my new tantric practice will keep my body healthy.

Imagination Prompt

Name some things you are thankful for.

My husband

My children

My writing

My friends

My spirituality

Message from the bushes of my heart:

Speak well to yourself. You are the only companion for your entire life other than the earth, the Moon and the Sun….so be a good friend to yourself.

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Mood: Introspective

Tea: just plain water right now

Munching: a sandwich and some chips

Song: Yarina

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Stuff on my mind this week:

My friend who is hospicing his father

My writing

My blogs

My friendships

My ceremony

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Friday’s Feast

Appetizer

What is the nearest big city to your home?

Boston

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?

Between 9 and 10. Sometimes I deliberately forget the secret, so that I can never break it. I make a mistake occasionally with secrets. Hence the 9.

Salad

Describe your hair (color, texture, length).

It is light brown. It has grew strands at the temples and sprinkled about. Its got alot of auburn highlights in it. Its fine, thick and heavy hair. I have to keep it layers or it is too heavy to be anything but board straight. It is shoulder length and cut in a bob.

Main Course

What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow?

I drive defensively and for the preservation of my car on these frost heaved, weather battered, pot holed Maine roads. I am generally courteous. I can still drive and blend in with the pack in MA though, so when its called for under traffic conditions, I can drive more aggressively so that I am not causing traffic snarls behind me. I tend to speed when road conditions allow for it though.

Dessert

When was the last time you had a really bad week?

Last week.

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Today’s Card:

Here…

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World Prayers

I shall breathe
the sweet breath
Which comes forth from Thy mouth.
I shall behold
Thy beauty everyday.
It is my desire that I may hear
Thy sweet voice,
Like the North Wind,
That my limbs may be quickened with life
Through love of Thee.
Give me Thy hands,
Holding Thy spirit,
That I may receive it,
And may live by it.
Call Thou upon my name throughout eternity,
And it shall never fail.
for aten the ancient sun god - pharaoh akhenaten

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Favorite moment of the week

I think there are several…

Getting a note from M

Seeing the smile of joy on my husband’s face when I took him to the bed this week

Hearing GD call me his ‘little subby’ and feeling his mental hug all week

Being asked to have an interview from comfy

Having several people say that I teach them much

Taking note that my novella is better than I thought

Spending girl time with a young woman and teaching her about cars, license laws, driving and having loans

I’m grateful for:

I answered that question already when I did the Imagination Prompt, but I’ll add that I am deeply grateful for answered prayers.

I invite you to pick a lily yourself; answer or respond to some part of this weekly meditation

Pickalily: Friendship

I am likely going to find another place to live shortly. Perhaps I’ll even hear from someone about that next address I’ll have tomorrow. I cannot wait to move. I’ve been going through stuff. Getting rid of junk. It feels good to get rid of things i just don’t need and I’ll be paring down to an extent that I’ve not done since I was divorced from my first husband. It will feel good to be so unburdened.

Imagination Prompt

“My three closest friends…?”

I cannot narrow it to only three. My closest friends make me laugh. They stand by me. They tell me the truth even when its not pleasant. They always make me feel better about myself even when I’ve acted badly. They show me the best of myself in their eyes and they make me smile. They bring me the joy of their own happiness and wondering. They have all these amazing talents and ideas. I adore them. I am grateful for them and I dearly hope that I’ll get to grow old with each and every one of them.

Message from the bushes of my heart:

Friendship is so precious…take care of it.

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Mood: Melancholy

Tea: no tea, just cool water

Munching:Key Lime Tofutti Cuties

Song: Jewel: Standing Still

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Stuff on my mind this week:

Friendship. The gaining and loosing of it. The changes that have occurred in some many of my friendships in the past few months. Most of the time I’ve felt so very sad about it.

Moving.

I have 19 years of sobriety as of last month. Just kinda dawned on me in the last few days. I never even think about any of that any more. Feels like it is an issue that belonged to someone else. When I’m stressed, that just never even occurs to me.

Writing and Accomplishments and my Mastery of both.

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Friday’s Feast

Appetizer

Name something you would categorize as weird.

Eating grubs.

Soup

What color was the last piece of food you ate?

Yellow

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy being alone?

10

Main Course

Fill in the blank: I will _________ vote for ___________ in _______.

I never disclose my voting choices prior to making them, only following and there’s nothing to vote for at the moment.

Dessert

Describe your sleeping habits.

I sleep very lightly. If I sleep with someone, I have to be on their left, or I’ll be restless all night long because the sound of their breathing is on the wrong side of me. If I feel comfortable and safe, I fall into such a deep sleep for about five solid hours that my joints dislocate in various places around my body. I normally wake up about five and half hours after I fall asleep and just listen to the night. I go right back to sleep again and sleep much lighter. I dream alot then. I move in my sleep a good deal too…but if I’m feeling very relaxed, I’ll go into another period of very deep sleep and wake refreshed and ready to face the day. If not, I feel tired most of the day because I didn’t get another round of really deep sleep.

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Today’s Card:

Here…

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Inspirational Quotes

It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.

Irish proverb

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Favorite moments of the week

Talking to G. Making strawberry shortcake with my husband. Having dinner with son#2. Hugging my friend and his daughter at the library. Getting a pat on the back from Rosa for getting a chapter completed on my writing project. Talking to my son on the phone and laughing with him and the rest of my family. Playing a question game with a new friend.

I’m grateful for:

Fortitude and Bravery

Knowing that G is okay.

My husband’s love for me.

The rain.

For laughter and sweat lodges.

I invite you to pick a lily yourself; answer or respond to some part of this weekly meditation

Juicy

Getting to stillness is like a dress in the rain….You slowly wet yourself…drop…by drop…by drop.

Letting to of what you don’t need…letting it pour out of you. When it is not in you, it pours out of you, wetting you…giving you a juicy life….Eventually, you soak yourself in a flowing something that is not busy-ness in thought and emotion any more. It is something other. It is contentment wetting you now and that flow swirls around you as you come to a halt in the wetness of the stillness settling in…

Then there you are. Still…and standing in the sweet rain of your inner peace.

Dance. Dance I say. Let the dipping rhythm of it move you too. Watch the peace move toward…something.

Something right.

Follow it I say. Follow your peace.

Photo credit: A Andrew Gonzoles

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Appetizer

What does the color dark green make you think of?

Trees…lots of trees.

Soup

How many cousins do you have?

Just on my maternal side of the family, my grandmother was the eldest of 9 children, my grandfather the eldest of seven. My mother’s only sibling had no children. And that’s as far as I know…there are waaaay too many for me to keep track of and they are scattered all over Maine, Canada, and southern states. I certainly could not begin to guess.

Salad

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

Most days? Probably a nine. I frequently edit myself for diplomacy’s sake. There are other days when I feel truly naughty and its just really best that I not let you in on it….but if you do find your way toward naughty bits of truth, well you might get some fibbing…but only to protect you from blushing. LOL!

Main Course

Name something that is truly free.

Me in moments of deep meditation.

Dessert

Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Soaring, prancing, rolling in numinous glory….

Pickalily: Renewal

I very rarely speak of my shamanic experiences online. It feels to me that it just doesn’t belong here. Shamanic experience is about inner power and what has that really to do with blogging? Now I do read one or two blogs on the topic of shamanic experience. But generally, I just don’t think its something to talk about. It is a doing thing, an experiential thing, not a talking thing.

Now, fact is, much of my inner journey these past months that I’ve been so silent has been lots of shamanic stuff….and as I said, I don’t find that blogging fodder. Not to mention yet, that I am an inspired teacher when I’m in the midst of internal process; especially internal shamanic process. If I’m in that inner process, I feel entirely student-like in perspective. I am fully convinced that I’m not more than a student unless someone asks me for help. I often have the answer. Not always, but frequently enough that I’ve been recognized as a teacher in my community. It is also my training to lead by example, rather than to proselytize, so this form of teaching is frequently awkward for me. I find it easier to journal about my life and my thoughts and let the wisdom I’ve been graced with flow on to a page that is spoken simply from the perspective of hard won strength and perspective. For me, that’s also a comfortable learning style.

I am betwixt just now. I can see the deep need for words to begin to flow….because I need to complete tasks that are really important to me….and because I’ve been taking a day off for long enough in terms of shining my light with the focus I feel is required of me given my many gifts of grace. Yet I feel that sense of awkward in myself because I feel my normal process…to journal my life is too deeply immersed in shamanic experience for a blogging medium….so I feel a need to seek the thoughts of other teachers about this dilemma of teaching. Am I the only one who faces this?

Message from the bushes of my heart:

Emphasize the relationships in your life from which true loving springs

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Mood: Silent

Tea: Arizona + my medicinal mix tea

Munching: Nothing

Song: Stir it Up by Bob Marley

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Stuff on my mind this week:

This Video

A couple friendships that need to be contemplated and decisions made about

My marriage

My work

My writing

My pipe and my summer ceremony

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I’m Grateful For:

My husband

The lessons and loving that M brought me

Friendships

Art

The many answered prayers in my life

The beauty of my Earth Mother

The color Blue

The sound of the sea

Snoopy Dances

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This Week’s Card:

Here

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Friday’s Feast

AppetizerGiven the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

I’m contrary…I want to live on the coast. I could care less how anyone else defines it so long as I can be naked in my yard and not listen to anyone else’s noise so I can hear the sea.

Soup

Who is the cutest kid you know?

Emma and Sabrina

Salad

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

Perhaps I am a bit cynical, but I am rarely surprised by anything I hear about. I am either delighted or disappointed instead.

Main Course

If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

Geez! This week’s feast is hard….I don’t have an answer to many of them that are straightforward. I could care less about most mainstream products because I can’t use most of them….but I suppose that I’d enjoy getting behind something that LL Bean sells. They are a pretty good company with pretty high ethical standards and a rather good product line.

Dessert

What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

I take an omega three oil suppliment that’s made from fish, flax seed and borage seed, a bcomplex, papaya enzyme, milk thistle, a multivitamin, cranberry, elder berry tincture, sacred basil tincture and some tea made with nettles, hibiscus, chamomile, oat straw, scullcap…and I can’t remember what else is in my medicinal mix. But I take those pretty much every day.

 

Pickalily: Yes

A song that I really love that I wanted to share. Hope you like it. I’m busy tomorrow with celebrating Yule with my family. Blessings for the new year!