Inspiration

Do you find yourself shutting out your inner voices because you have no time to  listen, much less do what they ask? Do you see yourself so overwhelmed by ‘helpful technology,’ and the day’s requirements that neither dharma, soul purpose, or spirit can get through? It is time to create space for our Daimon to come home. To the ancient Greek’s, Daimon meant genius, which had to do with one’s potency, not so much smarts.  Plato wrote about it in “The Republic,” calling it a guiding spirit, or a fiery spirit that was not only responsible for our destiny in this life, but carried the soul from life to life as an ‘inner deity.’  Plato’s daimon was pure energy, a beacon to pull us into life’s rich, true purpose, to learn necessary lessons.  There was no judgment about good or bad, moral or immoral.  It was about the drive to dive into the mulch and manure and simply have a living experience. Why do we need our daimon more than ever?  We need lynch pins for our multiple selves, that army of complex voices begging for attention and care.  Multi-tasking is nothing compared to multi-being. We must embrace the paradoxical notion that every truth has a valid opposite. We need all the help we can get to see us to the other side of the many hard-choices big change demands.  We cannot give up a ‘destiny’ to merely survive as a mushroom, can we?  Embarrassed though we may be, most of us would nod ‘yes’ to being a mushroom if it keeps us safe.   It requires so much courage and energy to continually throw ourselves out there, to step up to the plate and risk in new ways…no nets, no bungee cords, only re-newed passion for each experience. The psychologist,……

“Breathe, Believe, Battle.”  This is a perfect mantra for the London Olympics, the arrival of the woman.   The command comes from one of America’s great duo’s, the beach volleyball queens, Kerri Walsh, and Misty May.  Kerri offered it to a microphone when they asked, ‘how do you come back from disappointment, and loss to win?’  Kerri said it was the instruction from her old coach, Terry Tanner. This mantra could be the energetic expression behind every Olympic participant who struggles and works to take it to the next level.  But it is particularly feminine in its word-order.  A man would be more inclined to chant, “Battle, believe, grunt.”  Placing the breath first, as undergarment for belief, and belief as the injunction for battle, puts a different spin on the road to winning. As every true warrior knows, the battle is always over self, not over other, and when we begin with breath, it is the feminine giving instruction to the masculine within so that the masculine can then take correct action. We come into being when we breathe.  Respiration is life force.  Under ‘breathe,’ the fifth meaning in Webster’s New International Dictionary is, ‘to feel desire, aspiration,’ and ‘to express, manifest, to give forth.’  All this takes place within a breath,  when we are conscious.  With breath, we listen, allowing time and space for thought and spirit to manifest.  With life force, we believe…in something: angels, devils, self, others, heaven, hell.   To believe is to have a ‘firm persuasion, faith, and confidence’ that we know we have it right.  This is the courage it takes to carry us into battle. If setting out to win the Olympics seems daunting, think – Joan of Arc.  Every single body that walked through the Olympic gates experienced this transmutation in some way.  It……

“I love to weed.”  There they sit, words I never thought to hear, much less write.  What’s happened?  Have I gone Zen?  What created this complete volte face? The inner vision emerges from:  I used to be a pig-pen, food down the front of  clothes, books everywhere, papers in piles.  Having grown up in a family that generated emotional chaos, and a mother driven to cleanliness, I suspect that the easy way out was to unconsciously refuse any effort for order or structure.  But what is dis-owned must come home. The outer vision grows from:  The confused uncertainty of a world where we thought we might have some control, to the knowledge that we have none. As the random mayhem increases, we reach for life-lines of normalcy and authority. Weeds and dirty dishes fill immediate requirements of not having to make another decision, and not having to learn a new technology in order to proceed.  As cyberspace encroaches into personal space, we may be more electronically connected but we are more emotionally dis-connected, mainly from self. The body is desperate to kneel upon green earth, and swish around in warm waters. The weird pleasure of weeding and doing dishes is still foreign enough to make me laugh at myself…always a bonus.  I pounce on a weed as though it were Easter and I need first prize for the most eggs. Observing the destructive pleasure I feel in having power over those bad weeds, I uproot in the most ridiculous satisfaction and toss them into my bag, which at the end of the hour speaks of my fabulous productivity.  Weeding is my antidote to actually accomplishing something ‘socially worthwhile,’ which requires much more effort and thought.  At the end of the day, with nothing to show for anything, I have a……

Last week’s Breath was for singing out, FaSoLa style-strong and sure.  This week is for speaking bad French and slouching. La Langueur Summer is for speaking French When long syllables sweetly pull and push The warm taffy of succulent sound  Pouting around soft lips, Word-bits to be kissed off. Even bad French is good French in July. Slouched against a green door jamb, With half-closed eyes you say only, “Oui,” An aperitif to hand Flowers trailing from your hair. Only in warm, liquid langueur are we this sexy Redolente, epanui, réussi. Doing nothing….absolutment rien, L’ agente provocante Of remarkable nonchalance.         Astrological Energies July energies continue shape-shifting our points of view. We are turning inward in order to find a better way out into the world- as more fully realized humans. 
Mercury continues retrograde, (along with Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) so repeat, and triple check the important stuff.  Confusion, mis-interpretation, and accidents are ours for the asking. When you can, pull back, take time out, be French. When Mercury goes direct, August 8, we shall again take up the flag of revolutionary activity in pursuit of meaningful change. (Symbolized by the extreme forces of Pluto and Uranus squaring off.  Their energy is fading a bit but still active.)   Yoga Toolbox for Transformation-  What we do on the mat changes the river of our daily life. If you possibly can, lie on your mat, under a tree, and wrap your lips around a few succulent French words, along with a peach, and then hope you are kissed…perhaps by Spirit, if not your dog. Remember summer is Pitta Dosha, check the website info under Ayurvedic to review all things of Pitta pertinence.  Essentially, use the Retrograde Mercury to pull back and float, don’t push forward now.  Keep a quiet Practice……

Over the 4th of July, we traipsed the Berkshires, to experience all things American.  In Summerland, in a small, hot room, off the side of the road, we happened upon  a ‘Fa So La Sing’ where passionate voices rose in four and six part harmonies for no other reason than the beauty of their song wanted out.  It was an ancient sound, part Southern spiritual, part primitive, part magical chant. It is called ‘shape note singing,’ or Fa So La.  It is also known as ‘The Sacred Harp,’ (harp referring to the voice as instrument,) which is the universal song book used by everyone. The sound is all things American: simple as a Shaker chair, complex as a California Bordeaux, invigorating as Niagra Falls. ‘Fa So La,’ refers to the fact that those are the only notes sung, giving the music a familiar feel of old, southern church hymns. But It is not a religious group. It is not exclusive, au contraire, inclusivity is key.  It is not sophisticated, yet it is incredibly chic in its simplicity and verve. It is not a performance.  There is no clapping, no audience, bar the stranger who wanders in.  No one is a star. There are no microphones, no videos.  There is no leader. Everyone takes a turn, standing in the center of a four-sided box of singers, each section facing off; altos facing sopranos, bass in opposition to contralto. It is a united community come together to create something of profound beauty. Anyone who wished to lead might do so, and everyone wanted to because they could choose their favorite song. One after the other they leaped from chairs to move to the center and direct. Making simple, one-two arm motions, up and down, up and down, their flock followed, rising and……

  White curtains lift, blowing inward The invitation delivered on air redolent Of heavy-headed roses, peach, and cut grass. Rude, and more, to refuse.   Walking barefoot up the hill to the high orchard  Clippers, and the old woven basket to hand With Great-Cat as guide, Every accouterment of heaven- mine.   Under branches drooping in succulence Life fills in peach-ness, Fuzzy skins of dusty heat wrap them in their happiness. And me in my ripe, luscious moment .             Astrology Notes Crossing the Uranus/Pluto threshold, observe everything that happens with attention, for what is not working within us and within society is going to be swept away. Can you feel your electro-magetic field quivering?  Indeed.  Other shifts bringing change are:  Saturn and Venus ending their retrogrades this week, and because Venus is aspect to Uranus and Pluto,it  increases opportunity for transformative consciousness.  Saturn in Libra has been re-constructing our relationships, and All relationships, especially those  that are important to us need looking after. We finally move forward with new information and new boundaries to our relationships.  Neptune, the sea-god all things mysterious, connective, and creative, brings opportunity for deception and yes, more confusion. What is happening at this time may not be immediately obvious, or clear. “It is the best of times, it is the worst of times.”  “These are days of miracle and wonder.”  Time to move on, to keep the faith, to hold hands, and  visualize what the heart dictates.   We shall muddle through to be better than we ever thought possible. Yoga toolbox for transformation Pranayama– What happens to the body when we are frightened?  We stop breathing.  Connecting to specific breath patterns brings us back on track, and when we can combine breathing with positive thoughts & images, it takes us to……