Wisdom Group Topic

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

This is the Same Place

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.

Crackerjack Snow!

I stole Steel String Poetry's expression. Cracker Jack! Last post she commented that the snow was cracker jack. I don't think I have heard this expression. That is what is nice about blogs and having access to wordsmiths.
Here is some shots of down in the horse pasture. The stone table is obscured and the trees are bending over from the weight.

Westcoast Snow

I think we have some sort of record snowfall. 2 people came to the last day of the Christmas Artisan Tour as opposed to the 158 people the day before. Because we generally don't have alot of snowfall each year, we have just a handful of snow plows and sand/salt trucks. The back country roads (where we live) may not see a plow for days.

Thank goodness for strong teenagers. He shovelled our walkway to the barn and our neighbours path to her door.
Thankyou son! Schools were closed and many businesses in town were shut down. Even the public transit wasn't running.
Power may go out. We are prepared with a woodstove and candles.
Actually, its amazing that we have power now. Usually a heavy snow will bring down lots of trees on to power lines by now.

Art, Music and thou

The Artisan Tour is on this weekend. Today I counted the people that came into my gallery..........158.
I thought that was awesome.
The kids have been very supportive. My son and his friends played music for hours on Friday. People were treated to live original music.
Bill, our drumming teacher, shared the space with me. He brought his handmade drums and these incredible wood creations. We call them bowls but they are really art.
Tomorrow is the last day. We plan on gathering our drumming circle together for a drumming performance.
Believe it or not, it snowed today! Alot of people on the westcoast are not comfortable driving in snow. So we may not have alot of visitors tomorrow.

There's Nothing Wrong With You

Here is an awesome video that is an assisted meditation.
It might take a bit to download, but it is wonderful.
Click Here

Or check out the website, Be Who You Are

4 Agreements Contemplation

Tuesday Evening, someone suggested we read the Prayer for an Angel from "Book of Prayers" by Don Miguel Ruiz

Today, Creator, help me to remember my real nature,
which is love and happiness. Help me to become what
I really am, and to express what I really am.

Beginning today, help me to recognize every human as
your messenger with a message to deliver. Help me to
see you in the soul of every human, behind the masks,
behind the images we pretend to be. Today, help me to
deliver the message of my integrity to that part of me
that is always judging. Help me, God, to let go of all my
judgements, to let go of all the false messages I deliver to
myself and to everyone around me.

Today, help me to recover the awareness of my own
creation as an angel, and let me use my awareness to
deliver your message of life, your message of joy, your
message of love. Let me express the beauty of my spirit,
the beauty of my heart, in the supreme art of humans:
the dream of my life. Amen."

Thursday afternoon, the next moderator chose a card from the Voice of Knowledge deck:
"The word is pure magic. The power of the word comes directly from God, and faith is the force that directs this power. Everything in our virtual reality is created with the word. We use the word for the creation of our story, to make sense out of everything we experience."

To Brighten Your Day

To gain perspective and to brighten your day
Press Here

Joanna Newsom and Smog

My son got tickets for me! Yah! She is playing in a really nice venue and my 2 oldest sons are going to accompany me. It should be lots of fun. Smog is playing with her. I haven't heard alot of his stuff but I am going to start listening now. Check them out on Youtube.
Truth Serum by Smog
Joanna's Song, "Book of Right On"

She is truly unique. If you haven't encountered Joanna's music before you are in for a treat!..... of Interesting Lyrics, Harp and a voice that is only for some of us.

Topic for the Wisdom Group

On Tuesday evening, the moderator asked us to consider the quote: "Imagine expressing what you want without fear, choosing what you want without doubt, and moving into action with commitment from every part of your being."
Thursday afternoon's group will be comtemplating: "What does it mean to be a Spiritual Warrier?"

New Four Agreement Topic

"Imagine Living without the fear of loving and not being loved in return. You are no longer afraid to be rejected, and you don't have the need to be accepted."

The Stone Table Drummers

Here we are: The Stone Table Drummers!
All summer we have been meeting around the Stone Table in my horse pasture to learn African drumming. Now that it is dark and cold in the evening we meet once a week in either my living room (as seen here) or my neighbour's Joanne's. I am not sure if we are "good" or not, but I do know we laugh alot and I always feel better physically and mentally when we are done our 2 hours or so.
I will have to get some more photos as Joanne was at a Farmer's meeting and I was taking the photo (but you can see our drums)
Last month we actually performed on stage! It was a hoot. Our first coffee house. This month we will be giving a small performance during my Artisan's Christmas Sale. I have always been more of a Pagan celebrator than the customary Christmasy thing anyway. Bill is our teacher and he has been a fabulous coach and lender of drums.

The Next Topic for the Wisdom Group

Wow, a week has gone by already.
Next Tuesday evening's meeting we will be sharing about, "Assumptions. What are some of the ways in which we make assumptions."
Next Thursday afternoon, the volunteer moderator picked a card with a quote from the book;

"Don't take anything personally. Everyone lives in their own dream. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind. They are in a completely different world from the one we live in."

love and light

The Four Agreement Topic

Tuesday night's meeting falls on Halloween. A great occasion to reflect on the Angel of Death, and the gifts she brings.
Thursday afternoon's meeting has the topic;
"Don't make Assumptions. Speak openly and honestly. When you speak openly and honestly, you won't have to make assumptions. The day you stop making assumptions, you will communicate cleanly and clearly, and achieve impeccability with your word."

Down by the river..........

This spot on the river is visited by a group of men that have a retreat center within walking distance.

They built this cool fire pit.
I Love the face.

Leah built a fire while I wondered around looking for fire wood.

I ended up finding a bunch of fossils.

I was excited to find one...then another and another. It was a bed of shale that was starting to break apart and there was just a whole mess of them!

Nanaimo is known for its fossils anyway. Now I know why.

The fossils I found were mostly of leaves and ferns.

Another lovely day being blessed in Nature.

peace.

More River Love

I had a wonderful hike with my dear friend down to the river. I was able to capture the fish on the camera this time. The sun was lower and there was less reflection on the water.

We have been experiencing a very dry fall, and the water level is very low. Which made it very easy for me to see the fish.

The females were busy laying eggs and the males were fertilizing them. I could see it all unfold quite clearly from the shore.

If you click on the photos they will get bigger. The fish are Huge!

What an awesome fall we are having , the sun was so warm I was able to comfortably undress and enjoy the rays.

I tried the water and I was ankle deep when I changed my mind.
Ice cold.

The 4 Agreements Topic

The topics this week are:
Tuesday's is "What does living your life with Loyalty mean to you?"
Thursday's is "The ways we play and have fun. How do we bring more joy into our lives?"

Byron Katie Works!

I was introduced to Byron Katie's book,
"Loving What Is", a couple of years ago.
I have since acquired the audiobook,
Which I reccomend above the written
book, because hearing Katie's voice is
transformative in itself! And then her
book, "I Need Your Love, Is That True?"

She has a great website full of free info.
Byron Katie
She has just started a blog with lots of video clips on it. Katie's Blog

I love her. Thankyou, Katie!

On the Stone Table

Hey Mom, these photos are for you.

My daughter and I have been collecting rocks at the river this summer that have holes in them where we can put a candle. "Coincidently" my Mom bought 3 beautiful drilled stones for candle holders at an Arts and Crafts Fair this summer. She has them displayed on her coffee table. I was not able to photograph them as she lives in another town.
Here are the specimens that we found. (The one with the handle we "found" at a Thrift Store.)
I love rocks. They are so ancient.
I know that they are made of the same vibrating atoms as everything is, but the energy seems to be slowed down and gives me sense of What is Enduring.

Thankyou for......

The topic for our discussion group was Gratitude. Today I took my camera around to snap a few
gratitude photos.
The theme is appreciating the amazing October.
I can still go for walks with just sandals on. Its that mild.
I can still pick veggies in my garden.
There are still berries I can gather in my backyard.
Thankyou, All That Is,
I am enjoying life.
Saying thankyou, just feels good.

Well

The blue container is the pressure tank.
The pump is fairly new. Last year, when I had to prime it I turned the nut too hard and ended up cracking the cast iron caseing. So I was extra careful this time.


I lowered a lightbulb down into the well to get this photo.
It looks pretty creepy down there.
The first year I moved on to this property, my dog accidently fell down here.
I didn't know the well then, nor did I have a light.
But since she sounded like she was drowning, I tied a rope around my waist and lowered myself down and was able to get her out. So I have actually been down there. It wasn't so bad.

Well, Well, Well..........

On October 17th, my well ran dry. Which is something that can happen when you live in a rural area.
The well is my responsibility, there is no official that I can ring up and say "Hey, I'm out of water, can you come fix it?"
I have to go into the pumphouse, (this is mine in the photo) lift up the trap door and lower a light down into a blasted rock cavern to see whats up. Yesterday it was below the foot valve of the pump system so it was a matter of waiting for Mother Earth to do her thing.
Hours later I checked again, and the water level had risen 2-3 feet. Which is amazing! I primed the pump and got the water flowing again to the house
I am very grateful for Water. It seems like a miracle that we take for granted so often. It is SO vital. City dwellers have no direct connection to this vital resource. I am so thankful that I am capable of being directly connected to my source of water.

Sufjan Stevens Rocks

The Sufjan Stevens concert was on last night in Vancouver. Unfortunately I did not get to go.

I am waiting for the reveiw in the city papers.

I found a blog where someone talks about their experience with the show last week.

Sufjan's Show


My favourite songs are Chicago (which is in the Movie soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine) Avalanche, Casimir Pukaski Day, All Good Naysayers, Speakup!or Forever Hold Your Peace, Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother!,

The Presence Process

I just started reading a book called "The Presence Process; A Healing Journey into Present Moment Awareness" by Michael Brown.
As synchronicity would have it, his personal story parallels mine.
I have had a debilitating painful condition for years and have been on a healing journey myself which led me to similiar circumstances as he describes in his book.
I am excited about reading it as he now no longer has the dibilitating condition that caused him so much pain.
Reading the book is a Process, it is not just a book. His intention is that doing the process will be enough and therefore it won't be necessary to seek out a teacher ect.
So far, it is a natural progression from where I already am at. Completely complimentary to The Four Agreement work and Power of Now nudges I have received.

The Four Agreement Topic

I host a discussion group twice a week in my home. There are no leaders so we take turns being the facilitator and choosing topics.
I think I am going to post the topics here on my blog and see how that goes.
The discussion group is based around the book, The Four Agreements.
The topic for next week will be "Gratitude" for the Tuesday evening meeting.
And for the Thursday afternoon meeting, "You are here to Play and have Fun. You are the force that plays with your mind and uses your body as its favourite toy to play and have fun with. That is the reason you are here: to play and have fun. You are born with the right to be happy and enjoy life. You are not here to suffer."
As you can see, they are different styles to facilitating and choosing topics. Its so wonderful to have all kinds of points of view.

Full Moon Tonight

A friend emailed me this:
"This is the weather camera at Amphitrite Pt Lighthouse, Ucluelet, BC.
The Moon rise tonight, over Barclay Sound with celestial spider hunting her."

Movie Night

Thanks to the blogging community, I have been recommended movies to go see. I finally went and saw Little Miss Sunshine tonight.
I love movies but I don't get out very often.
Anyway, thanks for the reccomendation, I really enjoyed it.
Did anyone notice the Sufjan Stevens song in the soundtrack? Well , I was thrilled. And no, I did not get to go see him. sniff.
Its my daughter's birthday on Sunday and she is having a bonfire tonight in the front yard with a couple of girlfriends.
The photo was taken in the summer at a beach bonfire and we were taking photos of "fire stick drawing". This is me, drawing a horse head.
PS. The photo looks much better when you click on it.