Yearly Archives: 2014

The Universe sends me tree cutters and saves me a bundle of $

The spirit oak cut back

Today Asplundh is cutting trees underneath the power lines for Florida Power and Light Co. My giant oak in the back hasn’t been cut for several years, so they need to bring in the machine to do it. My property is very overgrown and wooded but the property next to it has a clearing they can come in through. My mulberry tree branches on the north side are all gone, as well as a few choice loquat branches from the largest tree out back. They actually made some good choices of where to make the cuts, and today is a good day for pruning according to the moon. They are now assessing the giant pines to the west. I asked if they managed to cut any of the smaller bamboo to the east, don’t put them in the chipper but leave for me to pick up so I can use them. They left me a bunch! I figured this was about a $400 job they saved me from. Thank You Syncronicity of the Universe! Bonus: I just noticed that the tree cutters left me a clear view of the north sky out the back sliders. It’s pretty cool being able to sit and see the sky from inside the house, I’ve never been able to do that before.

As the weather cools, time for camping at the firepit

We’re loving the cooler weather in Florida! 72 degree nights mean sitting out at the firepit and camping in my own woods. I love having woods on three sides of me. I can feel completely isolated away from civilization yet the neighborhood is right on the other side of a few lots of oaks and pines. It becomes enchanted here at nightfall, so I enjoy the outdoors when the air turns cool. I began cutting the trails through the woods last night and spent time watching the woodland creatures that I share the property with. Their nightly parade up and down the trails is a never ending source of entertainment and contemplation. Sometimes they get a whiff of the corn and potatoes roasting in the firepit and stop to see if they’ll get a handout. I do not feed them, there are plenty of woods here for them to forage in and their fatness is evidence. Continue reading →

Why do you look so different than I do?

It used to miff Sherrae when someone asked what her heritage was so they could figure out why she is the color she is and has the features she has. “We’re American” was never sufficient. Sometimes she’d say she was adopted and ask them to guess. “Look at my eyes, ” she’d say, “and the shape of my nose, my cheekbones. Look at my hair, my body. What does the cover tell you about the book?”

My experience is that we’re all a mix. I may not be able to tell by their features if a friend is Polynesian or Peruvian or African or English or Scottish. I might guess if someone doesn’t “look like me” then perhaps they have a different cultural background and learning about different cultures is fascinating for me. What they are really curious about is “why do you look so different than I do?”

What Happened When A Biracial Woman Was Photoshopped In 18 Different Countries

A Meditation on Weeds

Oh what a tangled web we weave

I’ve been watching Weeds, a show I discovered in 2012 when I had the Showtime channel for a promotional month. Starring Mary-Louise Parker, I saw a half dozen episodes in 2012 and then forgot about it until I got Netflix and saw it on the lineup. Score! It took me a few months to get to it, but I began watching with Season 1, Episode 1 and watching a few in a row in the midnight hours. It’s the first time I’ve done that, spent hours at a time immersed in a show and I used it as a format for observation, as I would had I stepped into their life with them. I got to know each character and, thanks to excellent production and editing, got to feel I was right there with them during everything they went through. Each day I’d take the events into my meditation, as I would my own real life previous day’s events. Continue reading →

Shiva brings $170 when asked for it

I just checked in with a friend who stood in front of Shiva at the altar this morning and did an invocation for the amount of $170. The bargain was if at the end of the business day there was $170, they’d do 10 minutes of Shiva chants. I just checked and $170 was the exact amount. They are chanting Om Namah Shivaya right now.

I got blessed by 3 angels at the post office today

I much prefer the Love stamp

I went to the post office this morning and there was a long line so I went to the machine to buy stamps. It was my first experience with the machine. The only first class stamps in the machine had a flag on them, so I opted not to buy any. My experience is flags are like bibles, people use them mostly to beat each other up with, so I never want to tap into that energy. On the upside, a mom with a kid on one hip and one tugging at her jeans was at the machine next, with a handful of change. She didn’t have a credit card to buy her stamps so I ran my card for her stamps and didn’t take her change. Moms who care for their kids need every break they can get. The mom and both kids all said thank you in unison as I left. I felt like I’d just been blessed by three angels.

Never appear at my door unannounced. If I didn’t text back, I haven’t seen it yet and am likely unavailable

IF U HAVE MY CELL #: If you text me and I do not text you back, that means I did not see it yet. That means don’t drive an hour and show up at my door unless I’ve acknowledged I know you’re coming and I’m available. Just because my body is in the office doesn’t mean I’m available. I acknowledge every text I see as soon as I see it because everyone deserves acknowledgment. But not everyone who appears at my door unannounced deserves my time. The same with cancelling meetings. If I did not respond to your text cancelling a 9am appointment, I’ll be there on time and may not look at my phone until 9am when I wonder where you are. Sending a second text is a courtesy that gives me an extra chance to hear the text ringtone come in, and would be mucho appreciated.

Drop all pretense, risk being seen in all your glory

You can join the game, fight the wars, play with form all you want, but to find real peace, you have to let the armor fall. Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory. Jim Carrey

From his 2014 commencement address at Maharishi University

Introducing Pele

I’ve never been particularly drawn to Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and the volcano. I’ve never studied the mythology and I’ve only recently looked her up, after it came to me to paint a version of her. I’ve been working on a series of paintings depicting archetypal women as a form of shamanic soul retrieval. It came to me during meditation that I wanted someone who would sit in the coals of the fire and burn up the dross. As gold is heated to burn away impurities so its essential character can be revealed, just so the intent of my soul retrieval project was to do the same with me. I saw someone sitting in the coals of a fire, with fire all around her, laughing. The image of molten lava came to me and a volcano appeared behind her. The name Pele came to me, so I began adding her to the series and researching to learn about her. I’ve learned that Pele’s fires and lava are what builds and rebuilds the island she sits on. Through volcanic activity, it is always being renewed. Just so, this creat-ive force comes into our lives to cleanse, transform and rebuild. Continue reading →

Should Police Wear Body Cameras? Should We All?

Big Brother Is Watching. WHO CARES???

In the news, Reuters reports Police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, have begun wearing body cameras after the shooting death of an unarmed black teen by a white officer and differing accounts of the incident. If you were a police officer, how would you feel about that? Would you feel constricted in not being able to do your job without fear of recrimination or judgment? Or would you be pleased that an accurate record would be made for the record? It would vary according to the individual. An officer who feels confined by their job description would feel differently than an officer who does not. Anyone who feels the need to operate outside the law is a criminal, whether they are wearing a uniform, or sweats and a hoodie. Wear a camera for working with the public? Would you? What if we all acted as though we’ve got a camera on 24/7? What if we all acted as though everything we do is seen by everyone? When there are no secrets, there are no lies. Do we really have to rely on technology in order to act with honesty and integrity, and within the law?

Andrea de Michaelis – Creating my own reality, one thought at a time

THIS IS MY PERSONAL BLOG