a story about a photo

I started looking at some old photos today, and stumbled across pictures from our trip out west earlier this year. I found this:

We stayed at, like, three different Rodeway Inns during our trek. There were some slight differences. But they were all cheap and not sketchy, so, win-win, really.

This particular Rodeway Inn was where we stayed our first night in Portland, after flying into PDX at midnight local time (three a.m. to us east coasters). They picked us up in the hotel shuttle van, we checked in, and my boyfriend walked to a convenience store for beer. It was good.

The next day marked the beginning of our first full day in Portland. Basically, we instantly fell in love. It's gorgeous. We opened the motel door and saw what you see in the photo. 

We stepped out and made our way to the train tracks (a pedway over the freeway, looking out at mountains). It was spring. Wild roses were in bloom. It smelled so good there. We bought our tickets and waited for the train.

a card for libra

So it's been like... a week and a half! Astrology classes have been taking up most of my online time. :) 

(Which, by the way, I would highly recommend to anyone interested: check it out at moonpluto).

One of the things we've been practicing in class is the use of our cards- I have oracle cards. The Wisdom of Avalon, by Colette Baron-Reid. Most of the others have Tarot. I'd like to buy a Tarot deck in the semi-near future. (Can you share Tarot decks?) Tarot used to freak me out, but since I've had more experience with it, I see how Tarot- and Oracle decks- really just help you tap into the roots of things. Questions, problems, in general. Yourself. Helps cut through to see what's truly there.

Practicing, doing the exercises in class have helped me a lot in working with my deck. Learning to use the cards and Astrology together. I also watched a Doreen Virtue video with my boyfriend's sister, which had some good tips and tricks on clearing your deck. Helping to prevent your own, or others, feelings interfering when pulling cards for yourself or others. 

I'll do an exercise of my own today- the sun just moved into Libra. What does the Libra sun want to show us?

Funny- I drew the wasp. Anger! Retaliation! Jealousy! Looking at my handy book's explanation:

"The wasp has a stinger that hurts with poison when confronted. Be mindful of how you address the world. If you're not careful, you may sting or be stung. The wasp reminds us that pain is a choice, so don't waste your stinger on a petty quarrel.

On the other hand... if you feel the sting of a wasp, be smart and swat it away- defend yourself!"

Really, the wasp is about relating. A lower vibration of doing so. It also has to do with keeping things in perspective, and not overreacting over the little things. "Chances are that whatever comes up today is smaller than you perceive it to be in the grand scheme of things." 

Relating. With acquaintances, close friends, significant others, strangers- all of it. How sometimes, when we are very close to another person, we can get lazy and it can be easy for our stinger to come out. It's a paradox of relationships. The wasp wants us to watch that tendency. Be aware of it within ourselves. 

Libra rules relating, relationships- especially romantic relationships. Strive toward the higher vibrations of Libra, of relating, asks the wasp. :)

superficial

Also... I really wanted to share a couple of, for lack of a better word, "beauty" tricks I have stumbled across (again, thanks, pinterest). Now that I think of it, this will constitute the Friday links. :)

First up is the fact that cornstarch can be used as a mineral veil/powder for your face. I saw this tip a while ago and was like, ehh, I'll try it sometime. I FINALLY remembered to, and omg I am so in love and honestly just really wanted to share because it costs like no money. I have combination skin, and the oily bits definitely get oilier throughout the day. The cornstarch stayed on all day, and it was hot out (i.e. I definitely sweat a lot today). I just put a little bit of the corn starch on its plastic cover (so I didn't get too much- a little goes a long way) and brushed it on with a blush brush. Magic. (realsimple)

Secondly... coconut oil. You can whip it up with a mixer or food processor, and add some essential oil if you'd like, and use it as a night cream (however I may be using it during the day this winter, because my skin gets so dry!). No weird chemicals, smells really good, and super cheap to make. Directions on how to make it at nourishedlife.

being present

"Be Present" is one of those vague sayings I see and hear frequently, from places like bumper stickers, yoga class, and randomly on the internet. I understand the concept- be here now (great book, by the way)- but I never really went beyond that. Today for some reason I had a breakthrough of sorts. My kid and I were throwing a ball back and forth (in the house- I know. It's a really lightweight ball. ;)), and I glanced up to check something on my laptop. For some reason, and I have no idea why, it kind of hit me- you're distracted. you're not being present at all. Those words. I started thinking, well, this same thing probably impacts my ability to blog as well (this happened right after I had written my last post, and was feeling bad about not having written anything all dang week). 

I set out every week intending to blog, even if it's not about much and even if it's only a couple of posts. But beyond that intention, I don't do much. I don't set aside the time to gather the focus I require to blog. I'm distracted. Without any forethought, I expect to just burst out a stream of consciousness about *something,* and I just think that that *something* will appear out of thin air. Without giving myself the time or space to really engross myself in the process. 

It's about pushing myself, too. Pushing out of my self-imposed limits that may possibly be a source of the distraction. The distraction in itself IS limiting. And I've only begun to become conscious of some of the limits and fears I impose upon myself, and have for so long. Not just with blogging, obviously, but in general. 

So I can begin by making space and time for my thoughts, interactions, everything. By valuing my time.  Because it's kind of essential. I want to be present. I don't want to be distracted my whole life and not do the things I really want, connect with the people I really want to connect with. Obviously, I don't have any answers, but honestly, just becoming aware of how profoundly affected I am by these things helps.

I was going to write about some astrology to this, but it would be WAY too long of a blog post! :) 

How do you feel distracted? (my phone is definitely the biggest one for me). Any tips for overcoming it? Would love to hear your thoughts...

photos by default

where did this week go? friday again... around and round. and i haven't written a thing. attempted a couple of posts, but they didn't really pan out. i need some zen brain time!

here's some pictures i took while walking a trail on an island in southern maine. you know, instead of a real blog post. they're all from a camera phone so don't judge me too harshly! or do, whatever.

awesome tree.

peeking.

fairy houses... a village!

coast.

hello, casco bay. (taken from a really big rock)

sailboats and such.

cheesy self taken photo.

friday links and random things

happy friday! here's a few links for some fun tidbits I've come across...

Theory on how emotions affect your health, and some remedies (enlightenedfeelings)

Gorgeous photo of misty woods by Long Beach Nguyen (500px)

Awesome resource for Sahaja Meditation(works with your chakras and kundalini energy)- love the meditation music :) (freemeditation)

Approaching Fall reminds me that it's time to start taking an elderberry tincture when I remember to- I found out how to make my own (much easier than anticipated) over at (lusaorganics). Elderberry can be used as preventative medicine and also helps to shorten the duration of illness. Good stuff!

Well, that was my first links list and it was pretty random. I need to start linking to more personal blogs instead of websites, I think. Have any to share? I'd love to see them!

If I have time over the weekend I want to write a bit about the moon, but if not, I will on Monday. :) 

beautiful earth

elusive creativity

So I'm taking this amazing astrology class, courtesy of moonpluto (her blog is awesome as well, I highly recommend it), and last night I had a bit of an a-ha moment while learning about one of the asteroids (Vesta). She's in my fifth house- which rules, among other things, creativity, children, and spirituality. Now, I have Jupiter there, so I know that this is a BIG area of my life. But as much as I love each of these things, I do need breaks. I need peace and space from time to time. From them, and with them! Does that make sense?

And last night, I kind of realized- I've been so intellectually focused, like on learning and words and communicating them- that I'd been neglecting the other parts of me! Like, my body (physical self), and doing things like meditation (spiritual)- I had just been totally focused on learning, and it was draining the rest of me! I literally NEED balance or parts of me can't function properly! lol. And I think that *this* also contributes to the creative blocks I am forever experiencing.

Another thing I learned- While I do have a penchant for daily work in life, I have felt a bit lost when trying to apply this concept to my creative life (and I use the word "creative" in a broad sense to encompass inspiration, drive to create, actual creation, etc.), i.e., "scheduling" time to write, art, whatever. This works great with all of my other tasks- I love making lists, completing tasks, feeling busy- but it just doesn't work in this area of life. Scheduling=forcing it. And I say this, in class, and moonpluto says how it's going to come up at odd times- I can be creative at weird times and places. And it's true. I was just over-thinking it, trying to apply to it a concept that just doesn't work, and I didn't realize it at all! 

Seriously, this is why I am obsessed with astrology- there's ALWAYS something new to be learned, a new aspect of yourself to better understand... it's fascinating.

How are you creative? Thoughts on the subject? I'd love to hear.

love in the sand.

on dreams

Good morning. :)

This will be a really short post, just popping in to say hi!

Really thinking that I should start keeping a dream journal (again). To help keep in touch with my brain at night, like what happens there? Lately I haven't been remembering my dreams at all. Or, I do when I first wake up, but then they disappear and the only way I'll remember any of it is if something in real life reminds me of something that happened in my dream. Also, to see if there's any patterns I should be aware of... self-understanding.

I remember reading once, that the more you record your dreams, the better you get at remembering them in general. This was true for me when I kept one before, YEARS ago now!

Do any of you keep a dream journal? Had any crazy dreams lately? Do tell, I'd love to hear about either or both!

Thanks for reading, I do appreciate it! xo!

update: Do any of y'all use a dream analysis book? Which one(s)? Decoding dreams was my first love, before astrology lol, waay back in the day! ;) Haven't done it in a really long time though. Also back when I was into all this, I had more lucid dreams, where you control your dreams, and are very aware of doing so... our minds are awesome. :) I have another book on dreamwork that is calling my name... I just want to dive into my unconscious.

I read my newspaper horoscope while waiting for coffee the other day, and it was talking about my motives, and not being clear of them... and I was like, woah, Maine Sunday Telegram, you're getting a little deep on me. Weird, though, because it's TRUE. I think doing dreamwork will help me to better understand some stuff- it might get icky, though!

[books I'm looking at: The Complete Dream Dictionary by Pamela Ball, and Meditation & Dreamwork by Tara Ward]

somewhere along the columbia gorge in oregon.

thanks, pinterest: feng shui at work link

By request, here is a link for a great article on how to feng shui your work space. 

(wholeliving; couldn't resist sharing the picture that accompanies it)

Just like with your house (and maybe your work space is in your house- mine is!), your work space also has different sectors for health, wealth, etc. It's so easy for desks, or whatever your space happens to be, to get so cluttered- I'm talking about mine right now. :/ Not that there's a lot on it, just that it isn't very big to begin with and I have a toddler who is constantly getting into everything, so I have to keep precious commodities like pens hidden so I can actually sometimes find one when I actually need it (but usually not), so some of my stuff is in weird places, which doesn't help the desk situation. So, challenges! I want to give it a makeover, anyway. Was the point of that tangent. Since my desk is so small, I'm including the window sill in front of and the bookcase next to the desk as well. Because I use it as such. ;)


Also, this might be just me- nothing feng shui about it that I know- but having my desk face a window is really nice. Sometimes I need to take breaks to look outside and it helps. :)



Let me know if you try any aspect of this and if you like the arrangement!