Quirky

quirky turtle

Quirky- is something not normal but cool is the definition from the Urban dictionary. I have often described myself as quirky and I have been hearing more and more people describing me that way as well.
I like being  somewhat  out on the edge with everything that I do. I moved from California at the end of the 70"s because everyone was out on the edge and we were about to slide into the Pacific together!!

Indigo energy

Crystal bowl used for healing and toning

Who am I ? Sometimes, I really don't know. I know that I have certain threads of excitement in my life. I have always loved anything to do with: fairies, being out of doors, eating in healthy ways, reading historical fiction  about other cultures, focusing upon India, England, and China, alternative healing strategies, watching movies about angels that talk to us, painting animals, recycling and doing things as naturally as possible.

In my practice, I have the amazing fortune to work with teenagers and we have been talking about Indigo energy as a possible explanation  for some of the paths that they have chosen.    So,  I went  on the internet looking for information about Indigo and crystal children.

Sticks and stones can break our bones but the words can really get to us.

I recently picked out a greeting card with the following words on the front " Hear your words before you say them".  We are very used to saying things so quickly  and usually before we have thought about their impact on others. The difficulty is that once the words are heard out loud, it is really hard to take them back.
Have you written something in an email or  text  message and then realized that it could be taken wrong?
Have you ever  said something to a friend and then you don't hear from the friend again?
Do you worry that  your angry words can have a lasting impact on your children or nieces or nephews?

Probably , all of these things have happened to us at some time.

Dreams and the full moon

dream horse painting

There is a full moon coming upon March 19th.It is about 14% bigger than normal due to the moon's closer than normal proximity to the earth. With the  full moon, it is true that people are bit weirder than usual. The intense  stories  that you have heard from  people working in emergency rooms or on   24 hour hot lines are  true.    I feel that there is a thin veil between the physical  and the spiritual  worlds at the time of the full moon. In the NY times book review, there was a review of a book called  Nocturne: A Journey in Search of Moonlight by James Atlee. The author  went on a worldwide journey in  search of the  affects of moon light on our lives and he  found that in Islamic societies "The night becomes a creative space and a source of inspiration rather something to be feared, as it so often has been in Western cultures".

Tow path friendship

butterfly companion on one of our walks

 Gail Caldwell wrote an exceptional book about female friendships called "Let's Take The Long Way Home".Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship
She  intimately describes  her relationship with her close friend Caroline and their dogs. These two women, both writers and dog  lovers, share long walks, phone conversations, vacations and so much more. It is touching to read about an enduring friendship. We live  in a  time where  we are  often rewarded for giving up the fight and not persevering. While reading the book, I was very moved by the story since I have an enduring friendship in my life. My dear friend Marcie and I have been walking on the Delaware and Raritan  tow path for approximately 25 years.The D &R  canal  tow path extends from New Brunswick about 33  miles south to Stockton, NJ.

welcome visitors in my sessions

dragonfly collage

I have been having very  interesting  visitors in my healing sessions. Sometimes, we are sitting quietly and talking and all of a sudden , I feel an intensely cold feeling on the right side of my body. I will then notice whether it is my entire body or just part of it. I  will  check in with myself to see if I need to adust the thermostat or if this is a different kind of cold. Lately, it has been a different kind of cold.

what our grandmothers did not teach us, about wine and other things.

peaceful seascape

Last week , I had the grace to present at a Senior Nutrition site in Manville, NJ. It was a very good day for me to talk since I was the opener for Bingo on Wednesdays . I like doing these informal talks about a variety of topics . This is my favorite , although it is really called what our grandmothers taught us about healing. I love using common household remedies for healing. ie. fresh ginger or  fennel seeds after a big meal,  scallions and ginger at the beginning of a cold, and  aloe vera juice or lavender for burns. I know  that preventative care is amazing helpful if we can do it at the first signs of discomfort. Often we muscle through things and then we do need bigger remedies because the illnesses are more serious.

Parenting, does the worry ever end?

the night sky

We absolutely never stop parenting, do we? I remember the first time that I felt this giant child envy. A close friend was installing a car seat in her car for her soon to be  baby and I went  into utter despair. I remember feeling  that this will never happen to me. I also remember having lots of talks with Therapist friends and colleagues  about the ethics of counseling parenting when you weren't a parent. Of course, there is no clear cut answer but I did know for sure that I did not really know about the truth about parenting. I had never had the heart ache or the heart love of my  own  child. I had never gone through the night waking up every hour because they were sick and you were nervous about sleeping too deeply. I had never had to deal with a real live tantrum in a supermarket where you simply want to disappear through the meat counter and never go shopping again.

Badger energy continues

I have noticed that the badger totem has been a useful symbol for me to use this week. Both in my practice and in my  personal life, we are being called upon to face the messes that we have created. We go day to day and take care of things that are needed but forget the deeper issues. It is easier to just wake up , go to work, eat , go on the  computer, watch TV , sleep  and then begin the schedule all over again.

turtle using charcoal created Sept, 2010

Sometimes, we wait for good things to come in by phone, or email , or text but it seems that we have to take action for things to happen these days. If we want to stop drinking so much then we need to stop buying alcohol, if we want to eat better than we need to buy more fruits and vegetables. We have passed the time   for procrastination and wishing  things would get better. I received an email from my sister in law, Judy the other day.  She is creating an allies list of family and friends to inspire more focused community  activism. I applaud her for taking a stand. ALso, I know someone that does not have a living will and will be calling a lawyer in the next few days to set one up. What is it that you need to do today?