Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A Healing and Rejuvenating Yoga Pose

The Care2 folks had this article up and I'm going to do it for the month of April - no fooling!  Click on the link to view the article in a better way than it transfers on Blogger.


I have done Yoga in the past, but the only thing I really loved was the Sun Salute.  When I discovered Tai Chi, it had the "this is what you are looking for and need" feeling about it.  I want to get back to that practice and still search for classes that don't entail going into NYC...



Viparita Karani


Monday, March 29, 2010

And, now for a little afternoon laugh!!

Earth my body, Earth my soul


This poem was posted over at Medusa's place - I just love it.  The destruction and  desecration of our Earth is our own self destruction, our own desecration of all that is holy within ourselves.  "Saving the Earth" is really about saving ourselves from annihilation as a species.  There is such Beauty here for us to realize that what we behold is what we are...

SPIRIT OF LOVE
—Barbara Deming

Spirit of love
That flows against our flesh
Sets it trembling
Moves across it as across grass
Erasing every boundary that we accept
And swings the doors of our lives wide—
This is a prayer I sing:
Save our perishing earth!

Spirit that cracks our single selves—
Eyes fall down eyes,
Hearts escape through the bars of our ribs
To dart into other bodies—
Save this earth!
The earth is perishing.
This is a prayer I sing.

Spirit that hears each one of us,
Hears all that is—
Listens, listens, hears us out—
Inspire us now!
Our own pulse beats to every stranger's throat,
And also there within the flowered ground beneath our feet,
And—teach us to listen!—
We can hear it in water, in wood, and even in stone.
We are earth of this earth, and we are bone of its bone.
This is a prayer I sing, for we have forgotten this and so
The earth is perishing.

____________________
Image is from here.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

A Sweet Whisper





A SWEET WHISPER
—D.R. Wagner


A sweet whisper clipping the tops of waves.
The humidity changing the colors to pastels,
Opening my eyes in already late morning.


I can hear the birds arguing in the palm
Trees. It seems they have important things
To do. They abandon the yard.


I am working over the lyrics to a song
I can barely remember. It says that heartbreak
Can be overcome if one stops feeling.


I am amazed at the way afternoon
Lopes into the room, recognizing everything
But how my heart understands distance.


I begin to sing my own song. There is a 
Moment where everything that prompted it
Becomes real again. I can hardly continue.
The birds return and gather near my windows,
Silent except for their beaks tapping the glass.


Even more delicious word crafting can be found over at Medusa's Kitchen.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Observations of Spring


Wild Cherry Blossom Fairy, Cicely Mary Barker

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.  
~Charles Dickens

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.  
~Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke

It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, 
you want it so!  
~Mark Twain

Friday, March 26, 2010

This means something...

My friend, Shelly, posted this on Face Book yesterday.  I found it amazing, hypnotic and kept thinking, "This means something."  Like Richard Dreyfus did in Close Encounters when he was mounding up those mashed potatoes.

I am not fluent in the language of mathematics, but after watching this, I wondered how difficult it would be to grasp some understanding of it.  Watching it on YouTube is probably better since the picture will be larger than this embedded one.


Thursday, March 25, 2010

Longing for the warmth of Summer

 

Daisies

It is possible, I suppose that sometime 
we will learn everything 
there is to learn: what the world is, for example, 
and what it means. I think this as I am crossing 
from one field to another, in summer, and the 
mockingbird is mocking me, as one who either 
knows enough already or knows enough to be 
perfectly content not knowing. Song being born 
of quest he knows this: he must turn silent 
were he suddenly assaulted with answers. Instead 
oh hear his wild, caustic, tender warbling ceaselessly 
unanswered. At my feet the white-petalled daisies display 
the small suns of their center piece, their - if you don't 
mind my saying so - their hearts. Of course 
I could be wrong, perhaps their hearts are pale and 
narrow and hidden in the roots. What do I know? 
But this: it is heaven itself to take what is given, 
to see what is plain; what the sun lights up willingly; 
for example - I think this 
as I reach down, not to pick but merely to touch - 
the suitability of the field for the daisies, and the 
daisies for the field.

~Mary Oliver~

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

You taste delicious



From the fertile mind of Rob Brezsny comes this:

YOU TASTE DELICIOUS

You taste delicious
Animals understand you
Your importance is unusual

The funny faces you make are interesting to look at
You fight for power in all the right ways

Ecstatic gratitude is pouring out of you
I see the best in you
Your divine attitude

You have strong feet and a pioneer heart

No one can overflow as well as you can

You are famous with God
You are famous with me
You are famous with the snakes and birds
and roses and pines
and oceans and earth and sky

A lost tribe salutes you from the other side of the veil

You remind me of a star

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Out of the mouths of babes....




Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Doublejointedfinger's 13 year old grandson said this...

Monday, March 22, 2010

Note to self


I have a new laptop and need to have the data from my old Mac transferred over to this one - which means, I have no access to my photos at the moment.  Hoping the transfer will be done this week.

In the meantime, here's a quote from Leo that I like.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Spring morning musings


If you are not a regular reader of Recuerda mi Corazon, Rebecca's post from yesterday is sure to convert you.  I found it funny, poignant and wise - and perfect for experiencing Spring in a new way.  Just as Spring Herself experiences Her seasonal Self in a unique and new way.

I love Sunday mornings - today, the Sun is shining through the window as I type this and the coffee tastes especially good.  No one is up yet - even Millie is being quiet, something I appreciate since we are staying with a friend for awhile until I can sort out my next move.  I moved out from the family home where I cared for both parents since 2003 - an ending and a new beginning - and truly, I don't have any real clarity with respects to where I want to go.

There's a new and surprising relationship simmering and I'm trying not to be swept away by it nor run from it screaming.  Having been divorced for over 20 years, I had assumed that I would live alone for the rest of my life.  Not a bad thing, for I enjoy my solitude.  I'm not a recluse by any means for I do love interacting with people - but I've never felt alone when living by myself, so it wasn't a frightening prospect for me.

We shall see.  I've asked Lyon to help give me some insight and she will be doing a Tarot reading for me later on today.  I've had one from her before and it was very accurate in its scope.  She has a clear way of reading and interpreting the cards, which is important since my readings are done via email.

Well, I hope each of you has a fabulous first full day of Spring, letting Her freshness and newness be absorbed into your hearts and minds!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Happy Spring, Happy Equinox

It's a beautiful morning in New Jersey and a perfect time to resume blogging.  I've missed the blog world and my friends there over the past few months and hope to renew acquaintances in the new Spring season.

The video is from The Silk Road Dance Company.  Laurel Victoria Gray and her dancers are simply fabulous.  I had the chance to see them in San Francisco and even help model some of her antique dance costumes.  That is when I first had the experience of donning a burqua - and I hope it is the last one.  It was both horrifying and infuriating at the same time.

Laurel explained that the outside of this particular burqua was very plain, but the inside was made with materials and embroidered with colorful patterns to reflect the wearer.  She went on to say that the temperatures inside the burqua could reach 110 degrees F.

At least, I could take the shroud off - women in many countries are forced to wear these when outside of their home, accompanied by a male relative.

Navruz Mubarak!!