My Personal Mystery has deepened again...watch the Clouds...

Yea, to finish out my fallow fall season, Coyote insisted that we do a little more heavy lifting together. So I did. Now the lion's share of the spiritual Work is done - just in time for me to concentrate on the material work that I need to do (tidying up the house!) to prepare for this weekend which promises to be beyond awesome as I go Dancing in the Desert with my home tribe!

So that is the reason why I've dropped out of cyberspace, Yet Again, and will be scarce for a while...at least, on ze main blog. Here is where Twitter comes in really handy, yo. I can microblog updates on a regular basis so my faithful followers - the dozen or so of you who actually read these missives of mine on a "regular basis" (lol) - will know that a) I'm still alive, b) I haven't been abducted by aliens, and c) I haven't fallen for my soulmate from Sydney, Australia, eloped in Vegas, and will next be blogging from Down Under. Yet. ;-)

(The first two options are given. The third, well, I'm open to that possibility...)

Once again, then, your patience will come in most handy, and will be most appreciated, until I've regathered myself sufficiently to post something coherent, and longer than 140 characters. I'm thinking a week or so, though I've been wrong before...

Getting all touchy-feely...it's a Mystery! ;-)

What's this all about, you ask? Click on the picture and find out - after you read this entry, natch ;-)

Back to exploring the senses on this magickal and mysterious Monday...staying with the instinctual and primal, we come to the sense of touch.
Having pondered the senses over these past few weeks, I now think touch is even more primal than smell. You can take all the other senses away, but touch would remain. It's also the most universal of the senses - where we may disagree on smells and sounds and sights, touch is the one thing that binds us together; without it, it's the one thing that can drive us apart. It is the mother's touch that greets us in this world, and it is the touch of a loved one that guides us across the Great Veil to the other side.

Many of us are starving for touch, and don't even consciously know it. I have felt it come into my awareness - quite keenly this past year, in fact. One of my excellent friends (and fellow blogger) came up with an excellent descriptive for it: skin hunger. So many of us just want to be touched in a gentle, loving way; so many of us are driven, when you get down to it, by a simple need to connect with one another. In our desire to be independent and self-reliant, we are in danger of losing the very thing that makes us whole and human: basic contact. Sharing ourselves with others. Think about that...one of the deep mysteries of our lives.

The key, of course, is right in the descriptive. Touch is so very important to us because of our skin. Not only is it the biggest organ of the body, it's also the biggest receptor of the body. You can't go through life without getting sensory input from your skin. Some of this input, however, is so routine that you take it for granted - and then a mystery arises when you look down and see a new cut or scratch or bruise that wasn't there before! Now how did I do that? you wonder. (which is what I did yesterday when I beheld a pair of small scratches on my right arm. I think it was from one of the pieces of wood I carried over for the bonfire that we lit for our drumming circle on Saturday...)

Within the last two years or so, my horizons of touch have been expanded, in mysterious ways... ;-)
First, I've become a kinesthetic healer. That's fancy talk for being able to feel energetic patterns and currents with my hands. I'm going beyond feeling just "material" things with my hands; I can now feel the ebb and flow of energy, in people, plants, and objects. I can even "see" a color in the energy of a person/plant/thing - very mindblowing to a former "classically educated Western scientist!" (lol)

With this greater awareness of "other" energy comes a greater awareness of "my" energy, and what influences it. Last year I put on a tank top made from organic cotton...and felt my body sigh in relieved pleasure! I kid you not! Since then I've made a concerted effort to get more natural clothing in my closet - cotton and organic cotton - while eliminating everything made of polyester from my closet. I didn't believe my "more enlightened" friends when they told me of the ills of polyester, but I do now! My goal is to be polyester (and nylon) free by forty, and have a completely (organic) cotton wardrobe by fifty. I've got to give myself a little time on the latter goal, because high-quality clothing is not cheap! Why not? Well, that is a mystery unto itself, yes? ;-)

Touch does not have to be literal; it is often metaphoric as well. Our hearts can be touched by a kind gesture. Our minds can be "touched" by alternative thinking. (Yes, to be considered touched in this way is often derogatory, but that changes when you think outside the box.) And many of us feel that we are touched by the Divine, however you envision Him/Her/It. When we are opened up in this way, life can become quite mysterious and magickal, indeed!

I will conclude by saying I hope this exploration has touched you, somehow... ;-)

Napping on a Mysterious Monday...

Yes, it's Monday - so that means 'tis a Mysterious Monday.
No, there's no logo here. No worries. It will pop up now and again as a reminder about what all the fun is.
Right now, it's taking a nap. ;-) Which is what I did before logging on before posting this entry...which is why I'm inspired to write about them.
Naps.

The first mystery is why we humans go through a phase where we believe we don't need them once we're out of kindergarten. Seriously, all the other animals that compose the great Web of Life take naps. Long ones. Some longer than others. I'll put my cat against any other animal to compare how much napping gets done. She's 14, so I cut her a little slack, but still - I've never known any other cat to nap as much as she does...and there have been many cats in my life.

The second mystery is why they are so foreign to American culture. In Europe, for example, there are many place where napping is a national institution. La Siesta, anyone? Two hours of "doing nothing" in the middle of the day? Now that, my friends, is the sign of an advanced civilization! (lol)

Seriously, though, napping has benefits. It's a time where you can carve some solitude and serenity out of what may otherwise be a frentic, frantic day. It's a time when you can regather yourself before moving into the day ahead of you. It's a time to check in, and/or check out, for a little while. And to quote a line from The Princess Bride: "Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something."
So I go into my room, shut the door if I have to, undo my hair, remove my glasses, lie down on my bed, and shut my eyes. My breathing slows. My mind sighs, and will often slow down. My body stills. I go into that wonderous strange, mysterious place between full sleep and full wakefulness. Sensation bends and contorts itself in interesting shapes and patterns. Occasionally, I even dream. Half an hour later (most of the time, unless I'm in the Moon Lodge - then, gods only know), I wake up, oddly and mysteriously refreshed. I'm ready to return to Life.

In a sense, I need this recharging respite during the day, since I work deep into the night, and unfold in my yoga practice when I get home...at least, in theory. In practice, not always, but I'm working on that. ;-) So when I got tired of feeling, well, too tired to do yoga when I got home, I set my intention to bring La Siesta into my life. So far, so good. :-)

I'm not the only one who favors naps. Ask around. Or you can ask SARK. She loves napping so much, she wrote an entire book about it! Check it out on her website if you don't believe me. One of her sayings is, "the more naps you take, the more money you make." My pursestrings are open. :-)

Giving Thanks (pagan style)

It's the fall equinox in my neck of the woods - the Second Harvest. This is when we (as followers of Earth-centered spiritual paths) partake fully and completely in the blessings and the bounty of the Great Mother. We reflect upon what we have harvested so far in this year, and give thanks for it.

Today, I give thanks for...
~my health, which has never been better.

~my chiropractor, who has helped me feel this way.

~my friends, both close and distant, who walk with me on this journey. Thank you SO very much for being a part of my life! :-D

~the roof over my head, the food in my pantry, the money in my bank account. It is enough, and a little bit more. ;-)

~discovering yoga. I'm not practicing it consistently yet, but my body is in bliss after I have moved - and gently reminds me that it's really time to move again. Now. (lol)

~being a citizen of a country where I can BE openly pagan, and not have to look over my shoulder all the time, for fear of my liberty or my life. May that remain the same, even as all else changes!

~being alive, awake, and aware in this very moment, at this very place. It is truly a marvelous time to be alive, during this season of significant Change! :-)

~and lastly, but far from least, to the Changes I see arising in my life in the future, both sooner and later. She changes everything She touches; everything She touches, changes. I am touched, and changed...and changing.

Or, perhaps, to sum it all up simply:
More, Please - and Thank You. :-)

Harvest blessings to all of my friends. Ho.

All in good fun, but not always in good TASTE!

What's this all about, you ask? Click on the picture and find out - after you read this entry, natch ;-)

According to my calendar, it's Monday, so I'm going to return to my romp through the senses. I started out with smell; closely related to that is taste, since the two have a very subtle, yet profound, connection. One will confirm the other, good or bad, in the arena of food - and both can be knocked askew with a strong head cold. Believe me, I know. (lol)

Although one's tastes, both physical and mental, can and do change over time, our taste receptors (aka taste buds) are changing and regenerating constantly. I forget the actual timeline, but I think we have a whole new spectrum on the tongue, ready to mix and match taste, every two weeks or so. This comes in very hand when you take a bite of something scalding hot! (which is the very reason I like the water for my tea just beginning to boil, instead of boiling fast and furiously. This, then, would be an example of "mental" taste.)

To further combine the two tastes: growing up, macaroni and cheese, a traditional staple of childhood, was not only my favorite food, it was my sustenance. Looking back now, sometimes I wonder how I managed to subsist on it and it alone! (lol) I did manage to get of the mac-n-cheese rut in college, but it wasn't until after I'd graduated, and discovered this lovely company called Sunrider, that my taste buds were cleansed, and my preferences exploded. My father's genetic legacy unlocked within me, and I dove headlong into the world of Real Food. The one thing I didn't inherit from him was his love of ultra-spicy food. I prefer to let my taste buds heal naturally, and not to short-circuit them prematurely! (lol)
This year has seen/is seeing a significant shift in the way I'm eating. Although the smell of meat (cooking) still appeals to my olfactory sense, the taste of it is, well, rather "meh." Honestly? I can take it or leave it - and I'd rather leave it. Even tuna fish. Now that's saying something, since tuna fish stayed with me throughout my initial foray into vegetarianism. Sugar, now, is a bigger challenge. I still love sweet stuff, but I have to be way more selective about what, and how much, I ingest these days. The consequences of "overindulgence" are NOT pleasant...and now that I'm thinking about it, are starting to feel more like I did when I ingested alcohol for the first (and only!) time of my life!
As I've doubtless mentioned earlier, my watchwords these days are fresh and organic. Raw? Not really, though I rather enjoyed my raw food diet for a week, I must say. SOLE? Working on it. :-)

Now, as for the other taste, that of personal preference - the title of this little Mysterious Monday missive is my tag line in several of the online forums I frequent. Personal preference is wider ranging, and can be rather hit-and-miss at times; hence, my little "disclaimer." What I want to know is: what has happened to people's personal preferences? On the one hand, so many people seem to get SO bent out of shape over things that are actually quite funny. On the other hand, what people can consider "funny" these days makes me want to roll my eyeballs back into my head, now and again! (For examples of both in action, in the same forum, see Borat. If you dare.)

One final mystery to consider: how on earth can you take such widely, wildly varying and vibrant flavors and break them down into the four "simple" components of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter? Surely there is more to chicken curry and spotted dick, my dear Horatio, than is dreamt of in your kitchen!

With apologies to Shakespeare (and fingers crossed behind my back), I will leave it at that... ;-)