Nourturing the spirit

Bowl of Wisdom (carefully guarded by my wind up otter)

I thought I'd share a few of the beautiful messages I've been gifted from these little cards. They touch my heart and help me focus on things that I sometimes need reminding... sometimes a cosmic smack upside the head, lovingly - of course! ;)

Remember that what is hard to endure will be sweet to recall. - Tote Yamada

We rise by lifting others. - Robert Green Ingersoll

There is more to life than having everything. - Maurice Sendak

There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. - Lous L'Amour

We had only one simple rule in our home: Live harmlessly. - Sally Browne

The effect of one good-hearted person is incalcuable. - Oscar Arias

You really can change the world if you care enough. - Marian Wright Edelman

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. - Mother Teresa

Treasure each other in the recognition that we do not know how long we shall have each other. - Joshua Loth Liebman

Where there is no love, put love - and you will find love. - Saint John of the Cross

A heart can be broken, but it will keep beating just the same. - Fannie Flagg

The thing always happens that you believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen. - Frank Lloyd Wright

Life is a promise. Fulfil it. - Mother Teresa

Be kind to one another. - Jim Henson

We need heart-to-heart resuscitation. - Ram Dass

"What is life's heaviest burden?" asked the child.
"To have nothing to carry," answered the old man. - Anonymous

How simple is it to see that we can only be happy now, and that there will never be a time when it is not now. - Gerald Jampolsky

Most people don't know how brave they are. - R.E. Chambers

Make your own trail. - Katharine Hepburn

One of the marks of a gift is to have the courage to fulfull it. - Katherine Anne Porter

If I could buy you for what you think you're worth and sell you for what you're really worth - I'd make a fortune. - Unknown

We are boundless creatures. - Kobi Yamada

Within you lies a power greather than what lies before you. - Anonymous

Nature never repeats herself, and the possibilities of one human soul will never be found in another. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton

You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star. - Friedrich Nietzche

Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and we must set off that spark in one another. - Kenny Ausubel

Seek not outside yourself, heaven is within. - Mary Lou Cook



It's Friday.
I've made myself a lucious coconut shake and have a few movies to enjoy and get lost in.
I hope the weekend gifts all of us with moments of silence and "me time." I am feeling winter very strongly and my heart and mind are being pulled inward as well as in many directions. I'm so happy weekend has found me!


This Is Not the House Pain Built
Dar Williams

My house is hard to find, but I'll give you directions,
You can visit sometime, down where all that I built surrounds me
Just make sure your car's got good shocks
There's steep hills, there's potholes, there's rocks
I work in the garden, my son plays around me
Close the gate behind you, there's a horse that can't get out
I will see you first, is that all right
And can you remember, can you remember

This is not the house that pain built
This is not the house that pain built
I was drowning in something, I jumped in the rift
And you knew me back then, when I spat on my gift, but no

It's tough and it's tiring when you go it alone
I learned about wiring, I learned about stone
The building is done but the work's never through
And I won't give up, no how, it reminds me of who I am and where I am now
I remember myself, that's the work that I do
On a spring night when the snow is melting
You'll see two sets of footprints walking
Look at all the stars, and turn around, and walk home,
Slowly walk home.

This is not the house that pain built
That is not a house that pain built
My friends all think that I holed up and hid
But I tell them I didn't, you know I don't think I did, no.

And this is where I let my pain go
This is where I let my pain go
This is where the footprints dance in the snow

Savoury Saturday

Gotta love Take Out...yay!

I kidnapped my Mom this afternoon to wander around Monterey. I found a neat little used bookstore that actually had books in Japanese... she was thrilled which of course made me a happy camper! The weather was sunny with some lovely grey clouds and a crisp breeze... beautiful wintery.
Instead of cooking tonight - opting for take out from New Tokyo... tempura, maguro and unagi and a few tekka rolls!

and I have a pint of Haagen-Dazs' eggnog ice cream...bliss.
Hope everyone is having a beautiful day and moments of stillness.
Jxxx

These Are Days - 10000 Maniacs

These are days you'll remember.
Never before and never since, I promise, will the whole world be warm as this.
And as you feel it, you'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.
These are days you'll remember.
When May is rushing over you with desire to be part of the miracles you see in
every hour.
You'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.
These are days.
These are the days you might fill with laughter until you break.
These days you might feel a shaft of light make its way across your face.
And when you do you'll know how it was meant to be.
See the signs and know their meaning.
It's true, you'll know how it was meant to be.
Hear the signs and know they're speaking to you, to you.

The Happy Prince - Oscar Wilde

The Happy Prince

To all the children at heart who may read this,
I remember reading this when I was little and it filled me with so many emotions. It always stuck with me and I happened to stumble over it today. It's downloadable. :)
After all these years, I still needed tissue. It has a message that never gets old or outgrown.
Blessings,
Jon

http://literalsystems.org/litsys/audio/Audio-Book/TheHappyPrince.mp3

AND... I found the animation, on youtube of course!







I don't think I will ever get over the awe that technology pokes me with! :)

7 random/weird facts ...

Bindis! :)

Ohhhh… I’ve been tagged by Beverly ( http://embraceyourgifts.typepad.com/blog/ ). Neat exercise and getting to know people!

Here are the rules of the game: Link to the person’s blog who tagged you. 2. Post these rules on your blog. 3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself 4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. 5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

Here are 7 random/weird facts about me…

1. I am a bit obsessive compulsive with my car radio. I have a digital tuner and when raising or lowering the volume – it must land on an odd number. Little weird? Yep yep yep
2. I’ve always loved music. I started recording my own mixed bunch of songs when I was 3 on my Mom’s reel to reel stereo.
3. On the subject of music, my very first record album was given to me by my mother. It had been one of the first records she bought for herself. It contains, to this day, my favorite song … Seven Daffodils by the Brothers Four.
4. My favorite scent is the "perfumed" air walking in the forest on a crisp autumn day just after rain.
5. I love bellydancing. I think it’s one of the things that snaps me into my body and lets me connect with spirit. Devotional dance, for me, is like speed dial to the universe. It’s about moving and feeling and becoming part of the music… part of the air… and at the same time everything and nothing.
6. Nothing makes me smile more than a furry critter… dogs, cats, cows… love, love, LOVE animals. I find many times, I prefer the company of four leggeds to two…hehehehe.
7. I am a hopeful romantic.

I tagging anyone who would be interested in sharing! :)

Dead Can Dance - Rakim

Sacred Sunday - November 18, 2007

Rowan

I spent a good part of the morning happily snoozing. Funny how your body will decide that you WILL sleep when it's had it's fill. I've been fighting the cold and pushing myself a bit too much and my body was having nothing to do with that today. I feel MUCH better with a full night/morning of rest and time to just be... love that though I find it hard to do much of the time.
I spent the evening in Capitola visiting Rowan. We hadn't been able to spend time together over the past several months due to schedules and all those little things that pop up. It was wonderful catching up, laughing and having dinner at Chili's!
The molten lava cake was the perfect dessert for a delicious day.
I'm very thankful for slowing down, making time and much laughter.

Gypsy
Suzanne Vega

You come from far away
With pictures in your eyes
Of coffeeshops and morning streets
In the blue and silent sunrise
But night is the cathedral
Where we recognized the sign
We strangers know each other now
As part of the whole design
Oh, hold me like a baby
That will not fall asleep
Curl me up inside you
And let me hear you through the heat
You are the jester of this courtyard
With a smile like a girl's
Distracted by the women
With the dimples and the curls
By the pretty and the mischievous
By the timid and the blessed
By the blowing skirts of ladies
Who promise to gather you to their breast
Oh, hold me like a baby
That will not fall asleep
Curl me up inside you
And let me hear you through the heat
You have hands of raining water
And that earring in your ear
The wisdom on your face
Denies the number of your years
With the fingers of the potter
And the laughing tale of the fool
The arranger of disorder
With your strange and simple rules
Yes now I've met me another spinner
Of strange and gauzy threads
With a long and slender body
And a bump upon the head
With a long and slender body
And the sweetest softest hands
And we'll blow away forever soon
And go on to different lands
And please do not ever look for me
But with me you will stay
And you will hear yourself in song
Blowing by one day

Sacred Sunday - November 11, 2007

Always Near

My mom and I usually spend the weekend prior to the anniversary of my father's passing (11/13/89) together to reflect, laugh and celebrate life. We decided to go out for a nice lunch and just enjoy the crispness of the coming winter walking about. Things didn't really go as planned. We had decided on any 1 of 3 of our favorite restaurants... and for one reason or other, all were full or closed. I thought for a moment how funny that was and that my father was probably giggling as he preferred a nice home cooked meal. It flashed that perhaps he might have had a hand in this. So... I decided that if there was halibut (Mom was craving halibut) at the fish market, I would cook a nice dinner and we would just relax at home. .. otherwise may get take out and enjoy dinner at home.
So... we get to the market... and no halibut. I thought, maybe it wasn't dad...
Just as I was about to turn and leave, the owner asked if there was something I was looking for. I answered, halibut steak... and went on to say that I hadn't seen any in the window. Turns out, he just received 2 steaks with a small order that had just arrived. Hmmmm :)
So tonight...
Halibut steak with a buttery sun dried tomato creme sauce
wasabi mashed potatoes
stir fry veggies with homemade teriyaki sauce
baby bok choy with garlic and ginger
and for dinner... my dads fave... deep dish apple pie with caramel sauce
:)
My mom brought my fathers and Spike's urns out for the week and made a little altar with a little potted flowers. water, and an angel which is my Sunday photo.

In other news...
Last year, November 06, I had decided to give up meat for 1 year as a devotional. I love food. I love to cook it and eat it. The reason for the devotional was a way to connect with my own spirit as well as the divine. I didn't do it to punish myself or out of obligation.
I wanted to be aware of the herbs that I grow, the fresh veggies and fruits that are so abundant... so much so, that I had taken them for granted. I also wanted to make a promise to my spirit that I would take better care of myself... physically, mentally and spiritually.
The year went by quickly and I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I had to take time to read labels, cook more meals at home, and be disciplined more than I had with my food intake.
So this week... I've incorporated fresh fish... and although I remembered the taste of fish... preparing it now, cooking it, tasting it... has changed. I savour it... slow down... and don't waste food, as last year... I was a bit more careless with waste. My gratitude for the food... for the sacrifice of the fish/meat... it's changed in a very beautiful way. It's hard to explain... but it is an amazing experience.

Eden - 10,000 Maniacs

We are the roses in the garden, beauty with thorns among our leaves.
To pick a rose you ask your hands to bleed.
What is the reason for having roses when your blood is shed carelessly?
It must be for something more than vanity.
Believe me, the truth is we're not honest, not the people that we dream.
We're not as close as we could be.
Willing to grow but rains are shallow.
Barren and wind-scattered seed on stone and dry land, we will be.
Waiting for the light arisen to flood inside the prison.
And in that time kind words alone will teach us, no bitterness will reach us.
Reason will be guided another way.
All in time, but the clock is another demon that devours our time in Eden, in our Paradise.
Will our eyes see well beneath us, flowers all divine?
Is there still time?
If we wake and discover in life a precious love, will that waking become more heavenly?

My Sacred Life Sunday 11/04/07... posted 11/05, day late

Otters - Joy/Cheerfulness

Lately I've been feeling a bit of a disconnect.
My life is full of so much abundance and I know that I am blessed beyond what I can even comprehend... but, I feel heavy and dark these past several weeks.
Things have been hitting me very hard and I find myself completing the "have to's" and struggling to retain balance. I've neglected time in the forest, writing and obviously - my Sacred Sunday blogging. I don't like slacking off on personal commitments... things that I find joy in and growth. Lately, I am just tired. I'm trying not to beat myself up and at the same time, don't want this current state to become a habit.
October was filled with many lessons in life, death, rebirth, spirit/spirituality... so many questions, answers, pokes from the universe and frustration in what to do with everything... holding space and trying to make sense of any of it... not that anything needs to make senes all at once or right now . The lovely quirks of my mind and lack of patience thrown into to the recipe and... wow, instant Mr Cranky Pants.
I guess a part of me feels a bit lost right now. And thought I know it's just what I am experiencing at the moment, it's difficult to see the whole picture.
I'm going through my belongings and sorting outthings to keep, donate, and discard... simplifying and also thinking ahead for the move next year.
I'm surrounding myself with things that bring me joy and remind me to laugh and not take things so seriously.

It Must Have Happened - Mary Chapin Carpenter

Can't remember looking for something
So hard to find
I can't remember talking to myself
Just like I'd lost my mind
I can't remember rowing towards the moon
Upon a single beam
But it must have happened, yeah
It must have happened
Can't remember learning
How to laugh at catastrophe
I can't remember losing track
Of who I was supposed to be
I can't remember riding flying horses
Toward the golden ring
But it must have happened
Yes it must have happened
'Cause after all baby here I am
With a ring in my pocket
And the moon in my hand
After all baby here I am with you
Can't remember seeing all my hopes
Going up in flames
I can't remember reaching
For the closes thing to dull the pain
I can't remember feeling
I could be healed by a stranger's hand
But it must have happened
Yes it must have happened
'Cause after all baby
Here I am in a bed of roses
With a punch drunk grin
After all baby here I am with you
Can't remember looking for omens
Hoping there was going to be a sign
I can't remember figuring out
The secret was inside me all this time
I can't remember walking without fear
Towards the light you shined
But it must have happened
Yeah it must have happened
And I know it happened
Yes it must have happened
Darling look what happened

Video - Good Mother by Jann Arden