Tiny Adventure Tuesday: Stone Nirvana!

As promised, today I connected with one of my fave co-conspirators & lovely Soul Sisters to visit the Natural History museum. Our mission: to visit the new gemstone exhibit there...Splendor? You Bet Your Bippy! (Balboa Park, 6/10)

I had heard that there might be a separate admission fee to see the exhibit, despite the fact that this was the NH museum's Free Tuesday. Happily, I was wrong, though the bit of money I took with me did come in handy.
The stones are installed in the "basement" of the museum, closest to Grandmother Earth, natch, from whence they've all come.

I can best sum up the experience in three words:
Great.
Mother.
GODDESS!Beautiful Serpentine Slab. (6/10)

It was all SO delicious; I'll try to give you only a few highlights...
~A cache of opals in ironstone, from Australia. Very Primal Earth energy! Numerous images shown to us by the opals!
~A clear crystal quartz cluster that was the total opposite of the opals - very High Frequency Star energy! I could hear them singing!
~An iron meteor that had been sliced in half and polished. This energy was Something Totally Else!
~A picture of Selenite crystals from a cave in Mexico, so large people can STAND upon them! I got a major "hit" from just looking at the image!
~The jade. Oh Gods, the Honking Big JADE! Beautiful green, with the vibration of home. I got a bit verklempt as I tuned in and allowed its energy to flow through me. (Interestingly enough, it came from Northern California. Things to make me go hmm...)
~A massive cut and polished Smokey Quartz, which I think was 13,000 carats or something ridiculous like that. Do you know what Shadows I could exorcise with THAT bad boy! Pass the napkin, please, so I can wipe my drool off the case! (lol)
A nice chunk of Lepidolite. (6/10)

The bad news: the main exhibit prohibited flash photography; alas, I could not take any pix of the lovely things described above. :-(
The good news: there were some stones outside the main exhibit, so I was able to get some pix after all. Obviously. :-)
The best news: I asked how long the exhibit would be in the museum. The answer - "Oh don't worry, it'll be here for several years."
Did you say YEARS?!? :-D
My inner seven-year-old squealed and did a happy dance. ;-)
Raw Malachite. (6/10)

Oh, and the money I brought with me? Part of it went to grab a couple of kyanite stones, which were actually reasonably priced for my part of the world! Let's just say I paid about half as much at the museum as I would have elsewhere. They had some other stones available...which I could get for much cheaper in several metaphysical boutiques in my neck of the woods!

So, my stone-and-crystal-loving friends...should you happen to find yourself in the San Diego area at the beginning of a given month, if you have any affinity at all with the Stone People, GO to this exhibit on the first Tuesday of the month, when the Natural History museum is FREE!
I'll be happy to show you around, too... ;-)

Operation: Clean Ocean

Today I woke up rather early, for me...7am.
I did some journaling, read my daybooks, then checked in quickly online to see if there was anything urgent waiting for me. No? Excellent.

I sat before my altar and took up my heart-stone, as the clock showed 8:10am.
I reached out to the Grid, felt a surge of energy originating from the East Coast - in the neighborhood of Southern Florida, to be exact. I received the energy surge within me, to be carried to the coast very shortly.
First, though, breakfast! Gotta fill up the ol' tank before doing the Work, especially heavy duty Work like I had planned today...

I made it into, and through, downtown Oceanside a bit before 10am; parking was plentiful at this moment, but that would change shortly.
I grabbed my bag and my chair, walked a few short blocks down to the pier. I found my spot, fairly removed from the screaming children, on the side of the pier that was quieter. I unfolded my chair and regarded the jade-green Pacific waters crashing ashore before me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a few moments...

On this day of Remembering (in the US), I chose to Remember something very vital.
I chose to remember the place from which we have ALL come: Grandmother Ocean.
The Waters of Her Living Womb. (Encinitas, 5/10)

I was inspired to create a circle of stones around my space - partly to hold and contain the energy that I would be raising, partly to protect my belongings when I made my way down to the water for my ceremony. I just had to sweep my feet a few times; the stones seemed to rise to the sandy surface of their own accord, eagerly volunteering to assist me!
So I made my circle. I sat and read, and watched the interplay of bodies around me, from the surfers waiting for the perfect wave to the gentleman swinging a metal detector along the beach, looking for buried treasure.

At length, a man announced to his female companion that it was just about 11am. Well and good; time to start building the energy.
I placed my juju bundle around my neck, took my heartstone into my hands, feeling the tingling growing stronger, and stronger, and stronger still - but not overwhelming. A gentle surge of energy starting in my hands, spreading through me from my heart center...

Then I received the signal silently within: Now.
I opened my eyes, rose to my feet, picked my way among ocean rocks down to where earth and water met. My arms fell to my sides, spread slightly apart from my body...I chanted: I am of the Ocean; the Ocean is of me. We are clean, we are clear, we flow in harmony.

With the last (eleventh) repetition of the chant, I took a few steps forward, bringing my heartstone to my belly, just below my ribs. My right hand stretched down and out, touching the water, being immersed in the water.
I breathed in energy in from the stone, the bundle, my being... and out into the sea, again and again. I knew I was finished when I felt a wave brush the cuffs of my capri's legs; I straightened up, stepped out of the crashing waves. I bowed, then spread my arms once more.

Re-centering, I made my way back to my beach chair, then sat down and drank deeply from my water bottle. I would stay awhile longer at the beach in Oceanside before collecting myself and returning home, just as the people really began to come out to soak up some rays and fire up their barbecues.
I hold the Vision of a Clean, Clear Ocean. (Encinitas, 5/10)

My prayer for the Gulf, which inspired Operation: Clean Ocean, and in its turn, this post:
May this "disaster" serve as a turning point, a moment of Great Awakening.
May this serve as a new beginning, to wean ourselves from Power-Over methods of sustenance and move into more harmonious, Power-With, sharing ways.
May we be guided in these conversions by Wind and Water, by Sun and Earth.
...And may the brilliant minds of our time create innovative new technologies to clean up the mess and bring healing where there is now global distress.
Ho.

To join the Operation: Clean Ocean movement online, go here. We've just begun to give the Ocean a Voice.
...and if you'd like to get an idea of what I was reading, go here. Very very juicy! ;-)

(no, I don't get compensation for giving props to my peeps. I give my shout-outs just because.)

Introducing: Tiny Adventure Tuesdays

Something new is blossoming... :-) (Balboa Park, 5/10)

Since I have a little room - okay, a LOT of room - in my schedule these days, I have been looking for ways to bring inspiration into my life, without needing to shell out mucho moolah. I have also been wanting to explore a bit more around me, because I know there are treasures of all sorts in my immediate vicinity. After all, I live in Paradise. ;-)

It started as an inquiry as to when certain museums in Balboa Park had their free admission days, because I love art, and I consider gazing at art to be a primary personal source of inspiration. Not just artwork created by humans, either: Nature is the Supreme Artiste, and the ultimate source of inspiration for said human-created artwork. If you don't believe me, take another look at the flowers above. Aren't they Gorgeous! :-D
I thought the free days would be on Saturdays, but I was wrong. They're actually on Tuesdays. So I printed out the calendar and highlighted the museums I was interested in. Then I thought: it isn't just the museums that I can go to; there are all sorts of places to go! Besides, if I step out on Tuesdays, that would mean less traffic to worry about, since many peeps are still at work during the week, and places would be less crowded on a Tuesday then on a Saturday. Brilliant!

So: here for your enjoyment (and mine), I shall present Tiny Adventure Tuesdays, or TAT's.
Now I can show off my "tats" and not have to actually get a tattoo! (lol) I am a complete wuss when it comes to needles and pain, and I happily embrace and accept my wussiness. Maybe in another life... ;-)

The first Tiny Adventure was actually last week. I reconnected with a most excellent friend and soul-sister to check out a pair of museums: the Mingei and the Japanese Friendship Gardens. (Technically, the latter isn't a museum per se, but it has a building where they show off art, and they do charge admission on the days when it's not their free Tuesday.)
I have taken a gazillion pictures in the JFG, so I'll only show you a few here. Viz...

If I remove my glasses and squint real hard, I can almost believe I'm there... ;-) (7/09)


Beauty of Bamboo (7/09)


Can't have the Japanese vibe without a Bonsai tree. (7/09)


Fusion Bonsai: a bouganvillea tamed! Can you come do that at my house? (5/10)


Koi Polloi (5/10)


Today was the second Tiny Adventure: going to Encinitas on a mission to find a pair of eco-friendly red votive candles for my altar. I did, at one of my fave metaphysical boutiques, Soulscape.
Not too far away is another haven for complete relaxation and replenishing, the SRF Meditation Gardens. I seem to see something new every time I go there. I've gushed about them before, so I won't show off the gazillion pics I've taken there, too - but in case you've missed it, here's a wee sliver of their yummy delights...
By the main entrance (5/10)


Hanging basket at the top of the steps. (5/10)


On a side path. (5/10)


At the Koi Pond. (5/10)


Next Tuesday, it will be a return to Balboa Park and the Natural History museum to salivate over, and commune deeply with, some rocks and gemstones. I'll see if I can figure out how to disable the flash on my camera so I can take decent pix and post them here! :-)

I look forward to the adventures that lie before me, both the small and the large ones. Ho.

Tending the Dreaming Garden

A knot to untangle. (Balboa Park, 7/09)

Between the planting of the seeds and the harvest of the fruit, there is the work to be done to tend the garden, redirecting animals who would be pests and plants who would be weeds to forage and sprout elsewhere. Tending the garden requires patience and care, as I feed my dreams with love and water them with support.

Progress is made. I can see places that are growing. I have spontaneously sorted and filed away images that I use in my collaging. I have found new cyberspaces to play in (Hello Facebook! Badge to manifest eventually). I am micromoving my way through clearing out my little storage shed; though I haven't come to the Really Challenging Part of that adventure yet, with the support of my peeps, I'll get the shed much emptier.

Remember when I mentioned that I'd found I was really good at hiding?
Well, that part of me that Wants to Hide recently resurfaced in my awareness.
I call her the "Kept Woman," because that's what she wants to be: kept safe and secure and hidden, regardless of the cost to herself. She is willing to sacrifice all of her power, dreaming, creativity, and anything that would "turn off" another in order to be loved. Yes, she is all too ready to submit.
Lovely little archetype to Work with, eh?

That's what she is: an archetype that is embedded deeply in the Collective Feminine...an archetype that I have agreed to Work with. My mission is to Love her, myself, into security and safety - so I don't need to submit to anyone else.
Once I am recentered, my movement in the current becomes effortless; as I heal My*Self, so I heal the Collective Feminine. No Working in a vacuum, here!

As this Summer promises to be the Most Radically Transformative Summer ever, damn skippy I'm going to take advantage of the lightning-strike's energy. Make me every dynamic in the evening air...!

From Beltaine, with Love...

Colorful banners welcoming in the Summer. Escondido, 5/10

I refilled my cup & replenished my energy, last weekend at Beltaine.
First was a visit to Questhaven, and a walk in their marvelous labyrinth...
(Labyrinth with a view. Questhaven, 12/09)

From there, I went to the Goddess Temple for their Sabbat ceremony. Suffice to say it was delicious! :-q I luxuriated in my sensory perceptions and jumped a bale-fire to declare my intentions to spread my Light further in the world!

Sunday was another gathering of goddesses, at the Goddess Studio, which is on the property of one of my good friends, Miss Amalya...
She has lots of beautiful statuary like this!

With my sisters, I walked a second labyrinth (on Amalya's property) and welcomed in Summer, as I held a ribbon of the central Maypole.

We hand-painted silk scarves - kata - to wear during ceremony, or just when we want to remember our Goddess Within :-)

I always love attending Amalya's events, because my inner child gets to come out and create.
You can learn more about her and her Sacred Work here. If you look very carefully, you may even find a pic or two of me there! :-)

Every year, I feel myself expand with the return of the long warm days...time to put away the sweaters and break out the skirts - time for lots of fun COLOR in the wardrobe!
The dragon within spreads her wings and emerges from her cave, soaking up the sun's heat before she leaps from the cliff's edge and takes flight! :-)

May Summer bring you many fun playdates and much deep transformation! HO!