Saturday 19 August 2017

the dream

from "the dream that must be interpreted"
by rumi

...
"a man goes to sleep in the town
where he has always lived, and he dreams he's living
in another town.

in the dream, he doesn't remember
the town he's sleeping in his bed in. he believes
the reality of the dream town.

the world is that kind of sleep.

the dust of many crumbled cities
settles over us like a forgetful doze,
but we are older than those cities.

we began as a mineral. we emerged into plant life
and into the animal state, and then into being human.
and always we have forgotten our former states,
except in early spring when we slightly recall
being green again.

that's how a young person leans toward a teacher. that's how a baby
leans toward the breast, without knowing the secret
of its desire, yet turning instinctively.

humankind is being led along an evolving course,
through this migration of intelligence,
and though we seem to be sleeping,
there is an inner wakefulness
that directs the dream,

and that will eventually startle us back
to the truth of who we are. "

Saturday 5 August 2017

Printemps en France

I spent a spontaneous spring in France and a little bit of Belgium this year.
There was a somewhat karmic plane ticket that was purchased by my Dad as a throwaway from a flight to Greece last summer. I wasn't planning to go but at the last minute I felt the chaos of the universe moving through my body and before my body could catch up with the flow of life I found myself on a plane to Paris.
I must say it was spontaneous, and since it was so I was at a loss for where to stay in Paris. I ended up at the ISKCON temple in Sarcelles.
It was a riveting experience which I admit I am still processing
And I will just say that I wound up out of it grateful to be exactly who I am, and grateful for life, and my life. Grateful to be.
Apres ca, je suis visité ma tante Cecile et son partenaire Ray à Normandie, dans la paysage. Avec leurs deux chats.
Woven into a journey through the refugee camps in Calais, camps where I volunteered in a community kitchen, camps that were burned to ashes two weeks after I stepped foot in them.
Found sanctuary in friends and beautiful wooden apartments with square skylight windows and city gardens in Belgium.
Found cleansing and healing and discipline in a Sivananda ashram in the Loire valley, found sacred places with ancient ties to Jeanne D'arc in Orleans.
Through a journey south, into a healing sanctuary for lost damaged beings such as I who wish to put their hands into the earth and into contributing to something good and beautiful. Rana became a dear sister to me as I worked with her on her land where she is creating art and healing space and growing vegetables and herbs.
Deeper into the Pyrenees I traveled shortly to feel deeply the high altitude and fresh cool air. Blessed with a quiet home-stay in the high mountain ranges. Pulled in different directions I felt but settled and satisfied.
Then home pulled and was planned,
And back to my West Coast nest of trees and seas I find myself, trying to cultivate life and healthy routine once again. What a whirlwind.
Thank you life for all the blessings and lessons and twists and turns. I promise I will be good to you and give back.
thank you thank you thank you
(Some moments of this life, it becomes very apparent that life is actually a dream. this episode was a clear vision of that.)




Wednesday 2 August 2017

“To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.
–Wendell Berry

Wednesday 7 June 2017

winds

the winds have changed
a gust comes in
and the sky reveals
what was hidden.
head throbs.
heart pounds.
as the clouds roll over
a haze rolls in around my eyes.
suddenly i become numb
and full of pain
all at once.

open

i'd thought i'd open my heart
completely this time
to the gust of love
carried through the wind
through my body
i thought i'd rip apart
the chains
that keep me locked
down
only to love myself
and the holy earth.
i would have liked to offer
those chains
to earth herself,
to she who lies behind the vines
wrapped around my thighs
preventing me from flying.
"i am keeping you safe"
she whispers,
but will we not always be safe
when carried by love?
for then it is not only
earthly forces
that hold us,
but those, too, from above?
the angels say yes
the stars say of course
but to feel them with us
our faith must not waver -
a heart to heaven
is a brave one
and is never just one.

to have that faith
in another
heavenly body
a star,
that the fire between you
will light the way through the dark,
yet a fire always dims, never lasts.
even to hold torch to torch
for a moment
burns brighter
than not at all.

you know you can dive,
next time,
and you will be carried
by your wings.
we, above, will hold you.

"no one is around
but we will always love you."

Saturday 11 March 2017

noël


jason, gloria, marielle
granddad


siblings

surrey home


festive gaia & green man

two thousand and seventeen


carlee and emilie, new year's day

em bem - revelstoke

revy sunset sky


dhamma surabhi - vipassana centre, merrit

 
saltspring sunrise

my faerie spider tree

Terra, blackburn lake reserve, salt spring


fairen, lions/sisters

chinatown


fairen, sunyat sen garden chinatown

community garden mount pleasant

wilting but still living kale



Friday 10 March 2017

island magic pt 2


claire and tana, kirtanrosehip
hawthornemt maxwell taken by will
wood stove (taken by will) community christmas decoratinganahata windowmophead coupletyler
yema-ji
my cabin, first snowfall

harvest, carnel and briplanting kalemt tuam meditation centre (transported to Nepal...)meditation spot, mt tuam. transported to an exact feeling of being in the himalayan foothills near kathmandu, nepalMt Tuamspace
 
cusheon lake, 23rd birthday
community kitchen
spook
hanuman ji
just magic
sharna
angel-o
neptune farm apple harvest
claire, jona, kalemigrating