1111 devotion

An Unintended Consequence – Day 289

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Spartacus and Sheila – Photo: L. Weikel

An Unintended Consequence

This is probably going to be TMI for many of you. But that’s what happens when you’re writing blog posts 289 days in a row. Some days you just get stymied for something to write, and stuff gets personal. It’s an unintended consequence of the 1111 Devotion.

Honestly, though? It’s not just the number of consecutive days I’ve written. Another contributing factor to my ‘having to go TMI’ is that Verizon Wireless sporadically, haphazardly and maddeningly sends photos around the world a couple of times before delivering them, via email, to my laptop. This ‘long way home’ for my photos occasionally means that I will send myself one or two that I’d like to include in a post that evening – and they mysteriously do not arrive until 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. the next day!

It’s ridiculous. And there’s neither rhyme nor reason to it (as far as I can tell). It’s happened before – many times – but this is apparently only the second time I’ve mentioned it in a post. I’m surprised by my restraint! Ha ha.

The transfer lag time means that I can’t take advantage of photos I deliberately took during the day so I might share them with you (and by extension, give me something to write about). So…we all lose when VZ Wireless drops the ball.

The Original Premise of This Post

Back to my initial proposed over-share: An unintended consequence of my engaging in this Act of Power, this daily commitment to writing a post every night, is the fact that I have not taken one long, relaxing bath in the evening, even after a really hard day of physical work or even after a massage.

And I have to tell you: it’s been a sacrifice.

I used to love taking a bath before bed. Sinking into a tub of steaming water that’s had Epsom salts generously heaped into it, plus some aromatic oil to indulge the senses… Oh yum. And those hot baths with Epsom salts do work wonders to remove the kinks and soreness of lawn mowing or weeding.

Baths Cannot Be Short-shrifted or Compromised

The reason I’ve had to give it up is precisely linked to the fact that I just glanced at the time and see that it is 12:54 a.m. I will need to go to sleep as soon as I publish this (and ‘share’ it on my FB pages). I will be too tired to take a bath tonight.

And I refuse to take one earlier in the evening because I become completely relaxed when I take a long, hot bath. There is no way I have any desire to fight all of my bodily instincts in order to drag my consciousness back into the requisite hyper-awareness I need to write my posts. (Believe it or not!)

An odd, unintended consequence of my 1111 Devotion indeed.

Oh – and since I didn’t acknowledge the completely fabricated “Dog Day” (or whatever it was called yesterday) by posting a photo of my pups online, I’ll add this one again ‘from the archives.’ Here’s to Spartacus and Sheila!

(T-822)

Yikes…Time  – Day 254

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Yikes…Time                                                          

I originally titled this post “I’m a Dinosaur.” You might wonder just what age-related encounter happened to me today that might have provoked that title.

Well, it was nothing momentous. Just this odd, mustard-yellow slash emblazoned across the top of my Word document as I attempt to eke out a post this evening.

I’ve seen it before, although I could swear it was worded a bit differently. Not quite so ominously. Indeed so benign that I blew it off. Although…I could swear it wasn’t this color before tonight.

A Benign Message? Or a Ticking…

I’m thinking any further blowing off will be at my peril.

It’s a simple enough set of statements: “GET THE NEW OFFICE. Office for Mac 2011 will no longer be updated. Learn more about upgrading Office.”

Ordinarily, I would not even consider mentioning that I need to upgrade my laptop’s software. Mostly, I suppose, as I said above, because I’ve almost certainly not even registered the admonition in my brain for at least a couple years. I think the warnings up until now have consisted of only a vague reference to the software entering some no-man’s land of no further updates ‘soon’ or ‘sometime in the future.’

It’s Been Quite a While

But alas, now we’ve hit do-or-die. And there’s something striking and unsettling about that mustard yellow banner. It blasted into my awareness and made me calculate just how darn old my software is – and I can state unequivocally: I’m a little bit freaked.

I bought this laptop in 2011, and purchased the suite of software ‘Office for Mac’ at the same time. Which means…it’s eight years old?!?! I must’ve purchased it sometime earlier in 2011 – a year, of course, that will always be associated with losing Karl. And that, in all honesty, is the real nub here.

It’s not the age of the software. Nor is it the age of the laptop. It’s the realization that this November it will be eight years since Karl died, and it’s already been eight and a half years since I last put my arms around him, hugged him, and waved goodbye as he pulled out of the driveway to make his way back across the country.

Strange Connections

It’s weird; times like this. How a random mustard yellow banner across the top of my Word document could lead to the sad realization of just how long it’s been since I last put my arms around my boy. My young man. My eldest.

Sometimes the oddest things act as catalysts to stop our mindless wanderings, our sometimes zombie-like lumbering from one day to the next, to stop us in our tracks and demand that we pay attention.

He was on my mind a lot today. I miss him. And since he’s the whole reason I’m writing these posts every night, maybe he’s getting my attention so I won’t get caught one night soon with software that won’t do what it’s supposed to anymore.

Or maybe it’s just Microsoft demanding that I upgrade.

I prefer the former, even if the latter is definitely more plausible. But as I close this up for the night I’m realizing: perhaps there’s an even deeper message here. Hmm.

(T-857)

Listening (Retreat) Reminder – Day 249

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A Bright Spot Amongst the Gloom – Photo: L. Weikel

Listening (Retreat) Reminder                                                          

Sometimes being a one-woman-band has its downsides, and one of those is paving the road to hell on a regular basis with all my good intentions (and even better ideas).

I know I need to send out a Hoot Alert announcing my upcoming Listening Retreat at Amadell the weekend of August 9-11. I’ve become so used to ‘talking out loud’ to you, my faithful followers of my 1111 Devotion posts (have I mentioned lately how much I love and appreciate you guys?), that I tend to forget I have an entire other mailing list of people who’ve asked to be kept in the loop on my retreats and other offerings.

Need For Silence

The thing is, like pretty much everything else I do that involves writing, my Hoot Alerts require silence for me to create them. And sometimes silence is in short supply.

But lately, even if and when silence arrives on my doorstep, the hour may be so long in the tooth that I fall asleep within its embrace as soon as we connect.

I’ll blame the heat.

Lots of Heat This Coming Weekend

Speaking of the heat, it looks like we’re going to really need to take care not only of ourselves but each other over the next few days. Good grief! The heat index may potentially reach 100 to 105 tomorrow (Friday), 105 to 110 on Saturday, and 100 to 105 on Sunday.

That’s nuts. But it’s also a call to pay attention. If you know you have an elderly neighbor, especially one who lives alone, and they pop into your mind over the weekend – listen to your intuition. Check on them, even if you aren’t one to usually pay a visit.

Listen to the Call to Care

Even if they’re perfectly fine and have hunkered down in their living room with a bowl of popcorn and their tv’s remote in hand to ride out the heat wave, imagine what a ‘cool’ thought it would be to realize somebody cares enough to just check in.

I have a feeling that even the most reclusive among us yearn to know, deep down, that somebody else gives a hoot that we’re ok. That other people think about us occasionally. That people, even if they keep to themselves and don’t intrude on our daily lives beyond the occasional wave or neighborly nod, care that we’re alive and will help if we’re in need.

So yeah. I started this post out with the intention of reminding everyone of the upcoming Listening Retreat. I guess it only makes sense that I end it by suggesting that, if someone pops into your mind this weekend and you wonder if they’re doing ok or might need something, listen to yourself and your intuition. Honor it; and most importantly, act upon it.

You just might make someone’s day.

(T-862)

New Moon/Total Solar Eclipse – Day 233

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Trying to see the forest for the trees – Photo: L. Weikel

New Moon/Total Solar Eclipse                  

Considering what’s been going on in the heavens today, I’m wondering how your day went. I heard from a handful of close friends and it sounds like the day, for them at least, provided opportunities for experiences that completely changed their perceptions and attitudes.

That’s not something you can say every day. And it’s exciting.

I’ve barely had a chance to think about how this eclipse season is impacting me. I suppose I may not have felt any direct effects yet.

I can’t tell you how many sentences, even paragraphs, I’ve written and then deleted. I think I’m over-tired. As a result, pretty much everything I type looks odd to me. For instance, I don’t like the way the words line up when I allow myself to just talk through my fingers. I start second-guessing comma usage. I start doubting word choice.

Ha – just reading that last paragraph makes me laugh.

Planting Seeds on this New Moon

One seed I know I want to plant today/tomorrow is recommitting to my writing. Thanks to my 1111 Devotion to Karl, and the discipline I’ve attempted to bring to my life through this Act of Power, I feel like I’m getting closer to seriously making time for the book. One of the reasons I know this is true is because of the anticipation I feel even when I just write that intention.

Another seed I know I want to plant today/tomorrow is announcing my new “Walk Your Talk” Sessions.

And yet a third seed is announcing a Listening Retreat at Amadell the weekend of August 9-11. I’ll write more about that tomorrow.

There are other Listening Retreats taking shape as well, but I’ve not yet set firm dates. I’ll let you know when I do.

Here’s hoping that any revelations you’re experiencing in your life are rocking your world in a way that will make you smile, maybe even laugh, and will bring you the insight and change you seek deep within.

(T-878)

Poof – Day 181

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Tree Owl – Photo: L. Weikel

Poof   

So, OK.

You guys, my loyal peeps who’ve been sticking with me through 181 days now (even if you did miss a couple few), know that I’ve wondered what would happen if I found myself in a space where I might be compromised in my ability to honor my 1111 Devotion commitment.

Well, this moment is both a challenge and an affirmation.

The night tonight is exquisitely conducive to cocooning. To sleeping. To dreaming. I’m sitting here in my room, the expansive windows thrown wide open despite the rain cascading from the sky. (I checked: No worries, nothing is coming in through the screens.)

It’s almost as if the cavalcade of sounds, textures, voices and images that we just experienced at the hands of the wizardly alchemist Peter May and his sound dakini, Marina, actually rippled out into and through the rainforest, following us as we wound our way to our room.

Indeed, perhaps our journey to the ululating murmerings of the didgeridoo was a mere appetizer to the evening’s main course.

The one that followed us home.

I can only hope.

My Devotion – My Heart

In the meantime, though, in the race to return to my room so I could write these words, I realized just how close to my heart I hold this devotion. It’s as if this time at the close of every day is time actually spent with my eldest son. Even if I don’t write about him (which in fact I rarely do), even if I write about the most mundane of topics. Even if I write a sentence and call it an evening. No detail about any post that I may write has any bearing whatsoever on the heart of the act itself.

There is purpose behind this Act of Power.

I write because I love.

And the love I feel is eternal, expansive, and holds the utmost healing power.

I hope each and every one of you, whether reading this or not, in some way feels the essence of what I felt (and feel) tonight. Whether it was a wisp of a sense, a warm sense, a rustle of your hair. I dropped by. I sent you love. I blew you a kiss. I thought about you.

And because you happen to be reading this at this very moment, know that that thought, that love, is coming to you yet again.

That was my dream earlier. May it continue to manifest.

Photo: L. Weikel

(T-930)

Raven’s Cryptic Message – Day 164

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Raven Grokking – Photo: sciencenordic.com

Raven’s Cryptic Message           

For someone who is genuinely and enthusiastically gung-ho over listening and acting upon the messages we receive, sometimes I can be as thick as two planks.

The frustrating truth is that it is nearly impossible for me to do for myself what I’m pretty good at doing for others: seeing things from a different perspective and intuiting the messages being presented so they can be implemented.

I try to exercise patience with myself, but I assure you, it’s not easy.

Waiting For Clarity

I’ve been on the receiving end of so many messages this year, it’s hard to keep track. But since the start of 2019 in particular, I’ve felt a major shift on my horizon. I’ve sort of been flailing about a little – guessing what some of the ‘signs’ might mean. But it’s also just not felt ‘right’ yet. Sort of like my life is like a brilliant orange-yoked egg sprung from a very happy, free-range hen. This glorious egg is sizzling in butter in a cast-iron pan – but still has a lot of slimy, only slightly opaque, ‘white’ groovin’ around its solar yolk.

It looks so enticing, but you either need to flip it quickly (making it ‘over easy’) or let it fry its course. Congeal a bit more. Don’t want to be too hasty in putting that baby on your plate.

(We had a delicious dinner tonight; I don’t know why I’m writing as if I’m starving and eating vicariously through my words.)

Anyway, my point is that the messages coming to me of impending change have come from all directions. Even son Karl, for whom I engage in this 1111 Devotion every single night, has seen fit to muscle his way back into this Middle World to give me a good push.

Ravens Ravens Everywhere

Something new this year is that Ravens have made a nest high within the crook of a tall evergreen across the road from our house. These birds are incredibly noisy and gregarious. I’m pretty sure these grokking, midnight-feathered, winged ones are Ravens – either that or ‘Fish Crows.’ I know I should be able to tell by their tails, but they’re mostly hopping around a lot lately, building their nests and yakking at each other.

As I’ve written before, Ravens are all about ‘magic.’ I picked it reversed and squared today, which you’ll recall in the ‘Weikel Way’ means it was reversed and the card on the bottom of the deck was a blank. So – extra powerful.

Now this could have freaked me out, since choosing Raven reversed can portend that there’s been an abuse of power, a wishing of ill toward another that’s coming back to haunt the ‘wisher,’  or a general smoky confusion.

When I read my card this morning, I was pretty confident that I’d not been wishing ill on anyone or abusing my power. But I did feel it might in some way be related to my uncertainty how to proceed in the face of all this recent pushing for me to ‘change things up’ and, as another message Karl gave through the three messengers I mentioned the other day, ‘take things to the next level.’

I felt like I was ‘on the brink.’

On the Precipice of Making a Leap

And so it was as the sun started slipping below the horizon this evening that I found myself fleshing out in my own mind some big changes I’m going to implement in the way I’m going to approach my Work and my life.

I started writing out some specific ideas. Then Karl suggested we take a walk and I continued fleshing out my sense of when and how and why I was ready to make some major changes. The sense of excitement and perhaps even of a ‘breakthrough’ in consciousness was flirting with us both.

As we strode along the newer, longer leg of our path (in keeping with my desire to add more mileage to my daily walks), I stopped at one point to take some photos of the clouds that just seemed to resonate with this pervasive sense of delight (and relief).

While the clouds themselves did not so obviously reflect what’s pretty clearly depicted in the following photos, the perspective lent by the iPhone captured the joy and forward movement of a figure, arms raised, skipping happily into the future.

Clearing the Smoky Doubt

My conclusion is that in making the firm decision to move forward with some serious changes in my practice and my life, removing myself from a rut I’ve obviously been reveling in for some time, I cleared away the smoky doubt that Raven reversed was warning me about.

I know I’m being a bit coy about revealing the changes that are coming. But check out these photos. See if you don’t see the joy in the figure running across the sky, breaking free of old habits, mental blocks, and self-imposed doubt and restrictions.

I need to get some sleep. As I’ve been told before, there’s work to be done!

Joyfully running and leaping into the future – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-947)

 

Revisiting Trust – Day 141

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Deer Showing Trust – Photo: L. Weikel

Revisiting Trust

Trust. Again.

One of my favorite topics.

A day doesn’t go by when I’m not asked to exercise it in some capacity or another. It used to be that I would only have to consciously choose to ‘trust’ some days. Not every day. But now that I’ve embarked upon my 1111 Devotion odyssey, I’m faced with the responsibility of choosing to trust every single day or else risk breaching my commitment, my act of devotion, to Karl.

I’m not talking about mundane acts of trust, either, like the ones we all engage in every day simply by choosing to live in society, such as trusting that people are going to obey traffic laws or trusting the food I buy at the grocery store isn’t going to kill me.

No, I’m talking about choices that can be significantly important not only to myself, but to others.

Different Types and Different Levels of Trust

For instance, when I have a session with a client, I never know what’s going to be asked of me. I never know what, exactly, I am going to be asked by that client’s soul to do for that person. So every time I have a session with someone, which is not every day of every week, obviously, I am asked to trust that I will know what to do for my client’s highest and best outcome. And beyond that, I need to trust that the timing is correct.

Some days that means I need to journey to retrieve a lost soul part – an aspect of my client that has taken refuge in a safe place because it no longer felt safe here in this ‘Middle World,’ which in Quechua is known as the ‘Kaypacha.’ Sometimes it means journeying to find an ally, perhaps a power animal or a guide that takes the form of some other life form (not an animal), including perhaps a Being that appears in the form of a person. In all of these situations, I’m asked to trust. Trust what I’m told; trust what I’m shown; trust that even if it makes no sense to me, I am to relay it.

Every time I meet with a client I am asked to trust my role as messenger. And that is a role I consider essential and sacred. And sometimes requires the utmost delicacy.

I’m also asked to trust that what I ‘get’ is actually what my client truly needs. For instance, sometimes I’m told/shown or otherwise nudged into awareness that my client may have picked up a ‘hitchhiker.’ (I refer to these instances this way because otherwise, due to cultural prejudices, I might freak people out.) Nevertheless, if I’m shown that a hitchhiker might be present, I have to trust what I’m shown enough to bring the subject up, even if the idea of it might unsettle them at first.

That’s a Lot of Trust

It’s funny. When I did a search of my blog posts to see which ones contained references to ‘trust,’ 29 different entries came up. Wow! I knew I’d discussed trust before, but I honestly didn’t realize just how important this concept is to me – and as I perused them, how varied an array of instances exists in which trust plays a huge part in the way I live my life.

So, I will cut to the chase. Believe it or not, the silly post I wrote yesterday also has to do with trust. Yes, the missive from I.M. Carrot, Emissary of the Kingdom of Vegetable, was a direct result of me exercising trust: specifically, the trust I am now bound to exercise every single night: trusting that I will have something to write about.

I Never Know Where the Next Idea Will Sprout

When I found myself pulling the industrial-sized bag of organic carrots out of our refrigerator Sunday afternoon, I can assure you, I only had peeling a couple and dipping them in Buffalo-style spiced hummus on my mind. I was not thinking about what I would write that evening.

But there I was. Face to face with a carrot worthy of its own back story. Worthy of being christened with its own name, for heaven’s sake!

And I guarantee – as I stated at the end of my post last night – that carrot looks exactly as it did when I pulled it from the bag. I did not augment the appearance of its eyes with a little ‘Sharpie Shadow.’ I did not alter it in any way whatsoever. No. And while I did take a photo of it, I did not think it would end up starring in its own show.

But there you have it. I promise you, every single night is an Act of Trust that a seed of an idea will drop into my mind and sprout a thread for me to weave into something – even a silly fantasy about vegetables– that will entertain you for a few minutes each day.

It’s only because of my devotion to the memory of my eldest son that I’m trusting this process. Every. Single. Night. I love you, Karl.

Karl being Karl

(T-970)

Electricity Restored, Awareness Heightened – Day 113

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Aftermath: Still Ominous – Photo: L.Weikel

Electricity Restored and Awareness Heightened

I’m delighted to report that our electricity was restored at approximately 4:30 this afternoon.

The last time we lost our electricity for any significant amount of time was in 2012, after Hurricane Sandy, when it was out for something like ten days or so. What an awful, deeply uncomfortable ordeal. A tiny, insignificant taste, I realize, of what so many others have endured following tornadoes, wildfires, and hurricanes. But enough of a taste to leave a stark impression.

But during that profoundly uncomfortable and very chilly time, we had guests. Our dear friends, Karen Ward and John Cantwell, founders of Sli an Chroi (Path of the Heart) from Dublin, Ireland, were visiting us and presenting a wonderful retreat on Celtic shamanism and spirituality.

Asking Our Guests to Rough It

Karen and John were troopers throughout that experience in 2012. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, for them to ‘make do’ in our home without heat, lights, or running water. Nor did we yet have our fireplace installed (that came a mere two months later – lesson learned!), so we would sit briefly each night, swapping stories over candlelight before retiring to our respective bedrooms and the comfort of cuddling under piles of comforters!

Friends Come Through In a Big and Generous Way

At first we weren’t even sure if we would be able to follow through with offering the program, for we knew no one personally or commercially who had space that was not impacted by the electricity situation. Finally, one of my closest friends in the world offered to host our retreat in her living room – by the light and warmth of her gas fireplace. Janet and her daughters generously opened their doors and quite literally saved the day for all of us!

What a wonderful retreat it ended up being, too. Filled with magic and playfulness, wisdom and ancient insights, we spent the weekend reconnecting with our ancestors (Irish or not, it didn’t matter) in profound and meaningful ways.

Photo: L.Weikel

There are many aspects of our work together that weekend that I could write about here. And there’s a strong chance, too, that I’ll harvest ideas from those myriad experiences as we wend our way through the next 998 posts in my 1111 Devotion. But the one thing I want to focus upon this evening is yet another example of the power of words.

Naturally, a major focus of many of our conversations (of pretty much everyone, everywhere you went in our community) that long weekend centered upon the status of our electricity. It was not uncommon, if one were to simply grow quiet for a moment, to hear several conversations being carried on at once, each one of which was peppered with the phrases, ”We’ve lost our power;” “I have no power;” “How long will we have to be without power?” “When did you lose your power?” – and innumerable variations on that theme.

We’ve Lost our POWER?

It was our Irish visitors who called our attention to our flagrant disregard for the power of our words. In fact, they didn’t know what Karl and I were talking about when we picked them up at the airport and started babbling about our ‘lost power.’ That’s simply not the way a disruption in electrical service is described in Ireland. Ever. As a result, they were acutely aware of the precise words we were using to describe our situation, for they sounded so odd and curiously out of place.

And they noticed it even more when we gathered at Janet’s home for the retreat. They were astonished by how all these Americans were going on and on about having lost their power. They were appalled at our lack of precision with our vocabulary, and rightly called us out on it.

Precision is Important

Thus, since October of 2012, I know I, and my entire family, have been careful to exercise precision in our language when a situation such as last night’s occurs.

To be clear? Our electricity cut out last night. We did not ‘lose our power.’

Has paying attention to how we describe this situation made a tangible difference in our lives? Who’s to say? One thing I do know, however, is that this was and is a case of walking my talk.

I know the power of words. I have seen how the way we phrase our description of situations can have a remarkable impact upon our perception of experiences. And I have seen words, used often or forcefully enough, wield a great deal of power.

So I pass along this lesson from my Irish brother and sister on to you: Use your power well. And don’t ‘lose’ it indiscriminately!

Aftermath: Brilliant Sky – Photo: L.Weikel

(T- 998)

When We Become Saturated – Day 112

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When We Become Saturated

Earlier today, I was sitting by my Sacred Tohickon, trying to ‘make effective use of my time.’ I’d brought my laptop with me, forgetting that I don’t have access to the internet when I’m at the creek.

How could I forget such an obvious and essential bit of information?

I think sometimes we forget things when we become saturated. At least I do. Saturated with thoughts, feelings, worries, to-do lists; internal chatter that runs the gamut from small anxieties to existential concerns.

And I have to wonder what internal trigger finally needs to get reached that pulls the emergency cord.

Perhaps it isn’t an internal trigger. Maybe it’s external. External – but not visible. Or at least not self-originating. And by that, I mean maybe we have guides or guardians who, when they see us approaching meltdown, pull the emergency cord on our behalf.

I do know that I chose Elk reversed today. So on some level, somebody (perhaps my own soul) was yanking on the cord that triggers the emergency brake. Indeed, I chose Elk reversed with Blue Heron underneath: Self Reflection.

The key word for Elk is “Stamina.” Thus, while Elk reversed can be interpreted a couple of different ways, it usually means (again, for me anyway) I’ve been burning the candle at both ends and I need to stop. I need to stop before circumstances knock me down.

Specifically, the words that jumped out at me from the Medicine Cards® book are:

“If Elk has appeared in the reverse position, you may be stretching the rubber band to the breaking point. Be careful of undue stress levels, or you might just create an illness to force you to take a break.

(…)

In all cases, Elk is telling you to look at how you choose to create your present pathway, and how you intend to perpetuate it to reach your goal. Your best weapon is the same as Elk’s: to stop when you need to, to persist when you need to, and to allow room for change and exchange of energies.”

And as I said above, underneath my Elk reversed was Blue Heron, whose keyword is “Self-Reflection.”

The very first line of Blue Heron is as follows:

“Heron medicine is the power of knowing the self by discovering its gifts and facing its challenges.”

Facing My Challenges

I readily admit, one of my greatest challenges is learning how to take true quality time for myself. And I think that’s because it’s rarely ‘convenient’ to do so. And by convenient, I don’t necessarily mean ‘easy.’ But I do mean ‘it won’t make me feel like I’m selfishly taking time away from someone who does not have the luxury of choosing what they’re dealing with.’

For all my laughable travails with cars that flash the RT of D, or whose back ends come off in my hands, I feel profoundly grateful for the abundance of love, great health, and opportunity that I enjoy in my life.

And yet…I know I need to stop. I need to take a breather. I need to gather up my energy, consolidate it, and decide where I want to focus it next.

So – here’s the deal. For all that I just wrote above, I’m being challenged once again (quite literally) in this very moment:

The Gifts – and Challenges – of Sticky Wet Snow

I was going to write about how the gorgeous wet snow, which is piling up on all the branches in exquisite outlines of every crook and twig, is reinforcing within m the essential nature of stopping and consolidating myself and my energy. And I was going to include two beautiful photos I just took as I was standing on my porch.

But no. The electricity just went out. I can feel the cold seeping into the house – and this room in particular – already. And I am thwarted from uploading my photos as well as publishing this post in a timely fashion.

So I will take this time to honor my self and my allies. It’s time to step back from the grind and give myself permission to be tired. And as soon as I am able, I will reconnect with you, my precious readers, my fellow devotional travelers.

Wishing you peace – and the gift of self-reflection and understanding.

Night Snowfall -Photo: L.Weikel

(T- 999) P.S.: It’s been almost 13 hours now (1:03 p.m.) and I’m at a Starbucks. We still have no electricity at home. Hoping to have it restored by 8:00 p.m.

Drawing a Blank – Day 104

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Creations by Lois Gallagher at Redpandot.com – Photo by L. Weikel

Drawing a Blank*                

Like my I Got Nothin’ post, I’m drawing a blank. I’m starting this post with a blank mind. I would’ve said a blank page, and in fact I did say that originally, but deleted it because once I wrote that sentence it was no longer true.

That’s kind of fun to ponder, though. When I wrote that first sentence, or at least when I thought I should express how utterly devoid of ideas I was to write about, it was true. The slate was blank, the page was bare.

But by the very act of declaring that truth, its existence was negated.

I’m sure there’s a word or phrase that describes this philosophical condition. And I’m equally sure I don’t know it. Although if you hum a few bars… No seriously – if you tell me what it is, I’m sure I’ll recognize it (and feel like a dumbass for not being able to think of it right now).

Sparking the Need to Pack My Bags

Well, that’s all fine well and good, but it doesn’t change the fact that, in spite of the fact that my page no longer being blank, I’m still finding myself having nothing particularly interesting to share with you.

And the truth of this makes it even more painfully obvious to me that it is time for me to pack my bags; take a trip somewhere. Blow the proverbial dust off. Hit the road.

Quite honestly, I feel it is almost a responsibility I have to you, my readers, my compatriots on this 1111 Devotion journey, to go forth and muster up some adventures.

And while this, too, is true, unlike my statement at the top of the page, it only becomes truer and more urgent the more I write and think about it.

Adventures in Bali/Artistry in Brooklyn

This yearning to travel, which hits me hard every seven years or so (sometimes more frequently), is probably being tweaked by reading the adventures of my niece, Lois, in Bali, as she chronicles them in her blog on redpandot, her website devoted to her artistry with earth and kiln.

Indeed, her pottery is exquisite and I highly recommend you take a look at what she has to offer. You will find amazing pieces that beg to be displayed as art, even though they are designed to be used as housewares. Lois also creates an array of one-of-a-kind, distinctly unique rattles, which many of my clients and students have purchased to use in their own shamanic journeying.

As I mentioned above, though, as I write this, Lois is in Bali, where she is merging and melding her communion with the spirits of that place with the opportunity to work ‘hands on’ with the clay unique to the land of those spirits. All of which makes my own heart yearn for some more direct experiences of other cultures, particularly shamanic ones.

I hear Spirit calling my name…

* As this post ended up taking a turn toward Lois’s work, it makes me smile to consider this allusion to the act of ‘drawing a blank’ rune. I’ve been bugging her for quite a while to create a set of runes for me. For you. For all of us.

 (T-1007)   Rattles by Lois Gallagher – redpandot.com