time and guiding lights

I was watching Kaypacha (a.k.a. Tom Lescher) on his weekly Pele Report and he was talking about, amongst other things, the current collective perception of time. How it feels like it's speeding up, whizzing past us, we can't keep up. I'm paraphrasing, here is the video in its entirety if you are interested:






This struck such a chord with me. I've been lamenting time for months now, casually dropping it in with conversations with acquaintances I normally keep things light with because the subject is taking up so much space in my head.

Saturn. Saturn (Capricorn) is the keeper of time. The years. While Mercury (Gemini/Virgo) is more day to day...


I think it's really easy for these feelings to snowball into feeling like a failure, like you haven't done ENOUGH with your time, where has it gone, have I been a good enough partner, parent, person, friend over the years. And it's so easy to see the cracks, your not so great moments, the things you should have done in retrospect, but hindsight is always 20/20...


But, and this is partially for myself, don't let that icky feeling, that blend of nostalgia and reflection and that feeling of that time is gone forever/I can never go back pull you in. As Caroline Casey says in the fabulous book, Making the Gods Work for You, don't fall, but instead, dive. Feel it. Maybe take something from the feelings. Why do you feel that way? Maybe not. Either way. And please don't forget all the amazing things you've done, too. Cherish who and what you love. And maybe these feelings can help to remind us what is really important. Where we wish we would've done more. Maybe this can help to guide us in the present and the future. :)


Are you feeling it?

maine.

autumnal / photos from around

Oh hey! Happy Fall! Autumn is my favorite season. I know in the back of my mind that it is fleeting, but for now I am simply enjoying it, living it. Yes I drink pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin coffee. I'm a sucker for anything pumpkin-related. Sad but true. Anyway, thought I'd share a few photos from my fall obsession. Were/are you feeling the Libra new moon from yesterday? I am. It was about 50% rough for me, 50% productive on an inner level. A bit more tumultuous than Libra normally is, but I think the scales were feeling the tipping pull from Uranus in Aries opposing the Moon and Sun in Libra, and the square from Pluto in Capricorn. (They're all cardinal signs, so all at odds with one another. The technical word for this is t-square).

In between the Harvest Moon and the Hunter's Moon, this new moon asks us what we want to create for ourselves, what we want to bring into our lives, into our consciousness, into our ways of being.

Here's a few photos from lately...

PS I saw something that would have been a really cool photo yesterday while driving (I drove for approximately forever yesterday), and am totally kicking myself for not stopping. Anyway...

sure sign of october

beautiful carved pumpkin from common ground fair 2013
fire flower garden

the marsh at nearly high tide

autumn beach. a dirty secret of mine is that i prefer this version to the summer one.

Thanks for looking. <3 Enjoy your October wherever you are. Feel free to link to/post your fall photos in the comments below!

saturn / zen

I've been really drawn to minimalism lately.

I'm not sure what the driving force behind it is exactly. Most likely a lot of little things wearing on me. Living in a small space (not complaining, just saying), having too much stuff that just looking at gives me bursts of anxiety. Clutter is making me feel claustrophobic.

I went through my clothes last month and earlier this week I went through them again.
I sifted through my son's toys and put the neglected ones in a bin in the laundry room (but now I need to figure out what to do with them next).
I got rid of stuff around the house that was just taking up space (there's still more).


And I got really into it like I tend to do with things and then I started to feel impatient and frustrated with myself because I wasn't getting there fast enough. I keep thinking of the things I have to do to work toward my goal. Which is both motivating and repressive. That mindset is holding me back. In reality, it's a process. The process matters. I'm trying to be more zen but at the same time being totally un-zen with this anxious mindset. The monkey mind is up and running and taking a lot of my attention as usual, but there's more beyond that in our brains. Like breaking through a layer of Earth's atmosphere. I think of it as a clearer place. Not as cluttered.



I have more to say on this topic but the thoughts are currently swirling and not sentences.

What are you drawn to lately?

art on congress st., portland, maine.

The Care and Keeping of You / Living Intentionally

Something that I've been hearing about from multiple people lately is that they're feeling worn down. Tired. They know that they need some mega relaxation and rejuvenation time, but are so overtired they don't know where to begin, so the stress just keeps building. I find myself in that boat, as well. And I'm tired of it. I figure, there's got to be some easy ways to deeply relax so that we can feel better and more clear headed and thus able to move forward in life, instead of circling around in indecision. That's something else I think this chronic tiredness leads to- we can't see things clearly. Our minds are rattled along with our bodies and it keep us trapped.

So. Where to begin?

This is counter intuitive, but I think scheduling this time, or consciously allowing it is paramount. Allowing time for it shows us that it is a priority, the same way work, or grocery shopping, or the list you have of things to do is. :) Not saying it has to be exactly at the same time every day, but if you make a general time, or even just have the intention after dinner but before bed, or whenever works best for you, this makes it INTENTIONAL. This needs to be an intentional act. No one is going to hand it to you, ya know?

Secondly, you'll need to ignore your phone/computer/iPad/whatever during this time. A mental break from the dings of notifications and rings of phone calls. I'm sure this goes without saying for many of you, but not for me, haha! So I am writing it here. :)

Third, I think music plays a big part in getting into your zone. Again, this is probably a duh one for most of you. But I needed the reminder, so again, writing it  here.

So by the time you've gotten to this point, you're already focusing on yourself and your needs. You've taken away distractions, gotten yourself in your own peaceful space. You should be feeling better already.

The best part is, by this point you have total freedom. You can do whatever you want. What relaxes you? Maybe you take five or ten for a little meditation to clear your head, to get away from the monkey mind and into your elevated consciousness. In fact, I highly recommend this part, and part of the new goals I have for myself is to get into this state nightly. I've been majorly slacking, and when I FINALLY meditated last night, my head felt hot and jittery at first. Not a good state for me. No wonder I was feeling rattled. (Also, if you're interested, here's a post I did a while back on meditating and clearing chakras)

Okay, so now you should be feeling much, much better. What now? Well, what do you love to do but don't have time for during your busy day? Art, some yoga stretching, reading, playing with cards, playing music, doing some photography, doing a foot soak, whatever. Now is the time to sink into it.

I think that these things, intentionally doing things that you love outside of your busy daily life, help to relax and rejuvenate us. It will make you feel better, like you are living your life intentionally, and making time for yourself because you value yourself and know that you can't run around on empty all the time because you'll go crazy.

I'm seeing how this relates to other areas of life too- making little pockets of time in your day for the things that are important to you. So it can expand out, like the veins in a leaf, to living your life the way you want to, a way that nurtures you and empowers you to move you forward.

What do you do to relax? Please share in the comments below!

Rainy day farmhouse and willow in Maine.

The Hanged Man and Homemade Prayer Flags

I've been thinking about the hanged man in tarot lately. For a string of questions about decisions to be made, he would show up somewhere in the spread. This is what he looks like:

My understanding from interpretations I have read is that he is hanging from his own free will. He is voluntarily gaining a new perspective of his surroundings. Things had gotten stale and stuck with the current vision, so he has flipped to see what he's been missing. Gathering information. The halo around his head stands for enlightenment- he has found his way in this pose. Know what else I just thought of? How he is detaching. Asking us to detach from our perspectives and expectations, to find actual truth.

THM is also a paradoxical card- doing the opposite of what seems natural to do. It is not natural to most to flip and do the opposite of your reaction, but sometimes our reactions are simply that, and do not help us to find resolution in our queries and problems.

How I've seen this as a lesson in my own life- when I'm frustrated or irritated with someone close to me, and my reaction is to distance myself, or back away, instead, doing the opposite. Instead of creating more distance, offering up peace. Talking. Putting energy in while stepping away from my emotions.

Not that I'm saying to neglect your intuition in a toxic relationship, or anything. Far from it. Just telling how I have seen THM play out for me. And I know it's only the tip of the iceberg, that there are many other ways I can expand my vision to help me move forward with this decision making process that seems overwhelming to me. :) Sometimes I feel frustrated when I see this card- I AM trying to expand my perspective and get more info! WHY isn't it working? Sometimes I get caught up in and distracted by questions rather than just moving toward what I want.


Oh, and for those of you who were following the post about altars and such, I wanted to share a photo of prayer flags my son and I made together. It was SUPER easy to do, just construction paper with whatever we wanted drawn or painted on them, taped onto string, which is taped to the wall. Easy peasy. :)

I'd love to hear about your thoughts/experiences with The Hanged Man! xo

Mt Blue Meditations

Happy Virgo Season!

Virgo is a mutable Earth sign. So I thought it was fitting that I spent the first weekend of Virgo camping. I got a little Virgo-y a.k.a. organized with the maps at one point too: 

(Side note: I want to start mapping things old-school again. We had no service at our campsite, and I felt like it was a nice reminder to start doing so again.)

On the note of Virgo, I am feeling the shift in signs. My nerves are acting up a bit, and I think that I need to reduce my caffeine intake to help this. I drank SO MUCH COFFEE over the weekend and I think it just flooded me. Back to the Tetley for me, for the time being. That's what I did for breakfast, but made coffee late morning and it didn't agree with me. I also want to devote more time daily to stretching/light yoga. And meditating. And going for more walks. Virgo likes healthy routines.

Anyway, I wanted to share some photos from our weekend, camping in Western Maine. It took me back to being much younger, spending time on the lake. When I wasn't swimming or playing I'd be reading or drawing. The simplicity and also richness of being in nature, unplugged, was something I wasn't even aware of that I desperately needed. And now I am blogging about it. Yay irony.

Driving into the park. Western Maine mountains.

Campfire. Nothing like it. I love that the scent followed us home on our clothing.

Boats.

On the dock at sunset.

Perfect lake.

Taking a dip.

Happy Tuesday. Happy Virgo. Sending peace.

zen homes and altars

I'm in the process of downsizing. Releasing objects from my home that I no longer need is a wonderful feeling. Clutter gives me anxiety to look at. I have a craving for the minimal. 

from lisa congdon

I also have a three year old. And live in a small space. So clutter can, and does, happen quickly. The recycling area and dishes in the kitchen, books and photo prints left on the dining table, and the TOYS- look a lot more offensive in small spaces- it's less forgiving.

Slowly, I am getting there though. The thought of having less stuff is a freeing one. Less holding me down, less visual clutter entering my mental sphere.

While I am for sure no pro on the matter (my home is really messy at this writing), here are some tips that currently work for me in getting my space at least somewhat zen.

1. Do it for the zen.
Your entire living space is not going to be immaculate all the time. You do LIVE there, ya know? Perfection is not the goal here. However. It is very, very possible to have an area or two, away from the reaches of children and high traffic areas, that are simple and clean-looking. For me, it's the top shelf of a changing table turned shelving unit. I have six items on the top shelf (the other two hold toys), and that's it. I make a (small) effort to keep it this way. It's easy because it's so minimal. In a sea of chaos, there is a slice of calm. :)

2. The less you have, the better everything looks.
I used to clean houses for a job. One thing I learned from going into various homes was that the houses that looked the best BEFORE cleaning were the ones that had less stuff. Fewer possessions overall. And the possessions that were there seemed tastefully selected. These would be neater in part because they HAD less to clean up, organize, and so on. Instead of attempting to organize too much crap, there was simply less of it. Once I saw this in person it all seemed so clear to me!

3. Make regular trips to goodwill. 
Or have regular clothing/stuff swaps, or consignment trips, or eBay listings. If you can, designate a basket or bag on a door knob to toss the things you'll be donating. This way it's an ongoing process, and is a much smaller step than attempting to sort through huge piles at a time and then getting overwhelmed and going to do something else!

4. Consider creating an altar.
On the same note as point one, having an altar can be a great way to keep an area free of clutter. Basically, an altar consists of a space- I'm limited in that area so I use the top of my dresser  in our bedroom- where you keep meaningful and inspirational objects to look at as often as you please. Another slice of calm in the chaos.

Ideas for altars: Oracle cards with a card for the day. Stones or crystals you connect with. Written intentions. Inspiring/spiritual figurines. A photo or two that elates you. Artwork. Prayer flags/beads. Flowers. Pine cones. A candle or two. A singing bowl. A chime. Whatever. This space can be as non/multi-denominational or as religious as you wish. Or it can just feature elements that are important to you.

Some inspiration...

From artnlight

simple

from apartment therapy

buddha

botanical altar from ecosalon

from crafty chick's cuppa coffee

love this outdoor altar from hidden hills garden

ganesha teacup altar from leigh's wiccan boutique

I'm so inspired now from cruising photos of altars on pinterest. I'm going to give mine a makeover soon! I'll post a photo after I do.



Well this post certainly took an unexpected tangent! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, and please feel free to share your tips and tricks- or a photo of your altar- in the comments!