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