I have been tagged by Candy Minx
Its a nice easy tag.
1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence
3. Post the text of next 3 sentences on your blog
4. Name of the book and the author
5. Tag three people
The book, "The Presence Process" by Michael Brown has been within reaching distance for over 10 weeks now. So I opened it to page 123 and its at the end of a chapter. Still, here is the next 3 sentences;
"Session One
Our Presence Activating Statement for the next seven days is:
I choose to experience this moment.
Our Inner Presence
From birth we are taught that our identity is that which makes us different from everybody else. In other words, we are taught to believe that our real identity is based on our appearance, our behavior, and our individual life circumstances."
I tag Ruth, Ginnie and Heather!
Not the best photo .....but it was dusk and I was far away, ....I should have used a tripod.
On December 21st at 4:22 pm some friends and I walked down to the Stone Table and lit candles (as seen here).
We said some nice words and sang a beautiful song. We hadn't planned it, it all came together spontaneously and it was wonderful.
Before that we had spent some time discussing Pagans, Yule and Solstice. Then as synchronicity would have it my friend posted this on her blog. (just click on the word, "this")
4 hours later, I went out to feed the horses and the candles were still lit!!
They were twinkling away just like Christmas lights.
Next meeting will be January 2nd and we will be considering:
"Always Do Your Best. Practice makes the master. By doing your best over and over, you can master the art of transformation. By doing your best, the habits of misusing your word, taking things personally,and making assumptions will become weaker and less frequent with time."
The following Thursday, January 4th, we are examining part of the Circle of Fire prayer:
"When the divinity returns to me
when living my free will, and with all the power of my spirit
I decide to live my life in free communion with God
WITH NO EXPECTATIONS"
The moderator this week asked that the emphasis be put on the no expectations part.
On Tuesday evening we will be considering the quote:
"Imagine that the message of love is possible and you will find that it is yours."
For the Topic of the Thursday meeting: December 21 is the Winter Solstice, when the days begin to get longer, the light returns, another cycle of nature begins, another turning of the wheel of time. We look back with gratitude on the joys and challenges of the past year, look forward to new opportunities and awareness in the coming year, and contemplate the coming of the era of the Sixth Sun.
My son comes home on the weekends and rents my bachelor suite at the end of my house.
I feel thoroughly blessed to be able to see him and not feel burdened. He has his own space and I earn an income at the same time. Its a win win.
Even though he is making fun of me in this photo, I love his smile and the fact that he is enjoying himself cancels out any tendency to want to take it personally.
Oh and nice shirt, Caley!
Well, I got to see Joanna! I had an especially good time because I was with my 2 eldest sons.
Bill Callahan (smog) started off the show with some beautiful tunes,
Callahan's voice is an acquired taste, a low baritone croon that recalls Leonard Cohen or a countrified Lou Reed.
I was surprised when cheering in between songs and my sons friends were whistling....that the seats in front of us got upset. They didn't like the whistling and asked her to stop because it "hurt their ears"....I piped up and said "Wait til Joanna comes on!"
(Her singing has been known to hurt ears)
We were seated in the balcony and were showing appreciation at a concert. I have never heard of being asked to stop before. The worst of it was, after every song they would turn around with absolutely disgusted looks on their faces. ( the stinkeye)
During the break, before Joanna came on, my sons friend was so upset that she left and missed the rest of the performance. Then the security gave us a talking too. I was pretty perplexed. Josiah says the crowds are like this in Vancouver. Kind of reserved and prudish.
Joanna's performance is summed up here;
"Structure of the new work, a complex narrative of love and desire eschewing traditional song structures, illuminated a progression in her skills as a songwriter and confidence as a performer. Without the backing of an orchestra, Newsom and her harp were instead augmented by tambura, banjo, glockenspiel and musical saw. The result sounded far more organic and it naturally integrated with Newsom's delicate songwriting. As the only "Ys" song without orchestration, "Sawdust & Diamonds" served the starkest contrast with Newsom's earlier songwriting. Building to a mesmerizing vocal crescendo, it demonstrated Newsom's new songs as bigger in scope, more expansive in range and clearly more ambitious. This material makes significantly higher demands of the aud -- 15-minute complex metaphorical narratives lacking traditional pop structures -- but is all the more rewarding for it.
These days, opener Bill Callahan is better known as Newsom's partner, but under the nom de plume Smog he's been carving his own idiosyncratic niche for some 15 years. Judging by the morals and ethics of their lyrics, Callahan and Newsom clearly share certain philosophies and attitudes but their styles of expression are polar opposites."
--by Alex Romanelli
*
The topic for next Tuesday's 4 Agreement meeting is:
"Don't Make Assumptions.
Learn to ask questions. It is always better to ask questions than to make assumptions. Have the courage to ask questions until you are as clear as you can be. Once you hear the answer to a question, you won't have to make assumptions because you will know the truth."
~Quote from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Next Thursday afternoon's group will be contemplating:
"You no longer have the need to be good enough for anybody, including yourself. You accept what you are, whatever you are, even if you don't know what you are. And you don't care to know anymore. It's not important to know, and that is wisdom."
~Quote from Voice of Knowledge by Don Miguel Ruiz
What a difference a season makes. Here is the view from the deck, overlooking the small orchard and then down into the horse pasture. If you look carefully you can see the rope swing hanging in the maple tree.
I enjoy the contrast. Both seasons have their charm and I embrace them equally.
I love my bathroom. I have an extra deep tub that is slanted just so. I glazed the tiles myself to go around the tub. Its a serpent loosely based on the Toltec mythology of Quetzalcoatl.
