You may say I'm a dreamer...

...but I'm not the only One.

I attended "The Blast" last weekend - an Astrology conference in Sedona, AZ.

I made friends, met up with my friend, Diane, and shared a room and car rental with her, and met face-to-face with two people I interviewed on air during my 6 month stint on internet radio; Anne Beversdorf and Steven Forrest.

I saw Anne's name when I was signing into Rob Hand's workshop on dealing with difficult aspects, and looked around for the person I thought she might be. She is a great astrologer. It's been at least a year since I've spoken to her. She has finally published that book of remedies that she was working on. I bought the e-copy and then lost it in a pc crash. She's promised me another copy.

I took Steven's workshop on Evolutionary Astrology. I can only understate how much I enjoyed that. I have a few of his books, and now Jodie's too - "The Ascendant". Evolutionary astrology is a humanistic approach to chart interpretation - using the nodes to help relieve the burdenistic qualities inherent in each chart.

It was very fulfilling to be amongst my kind - walking the walk and talking the talk. I am too often alone in my head - bartending, taking care of hearth and home, and plugging away at my craft. It's been a little lonely lately since Hurricane Katrina came crashing down on Synchronicity and sent me scrambling for ways to make a living. I don't network like I used to when I had a retail store devoted to raising consciousness.

I have this skill of analyzing a chart and verbalizing the strengths and beauty an individual possesses. It is very, very validating to do that in the company of others who do that also. We shared information, and played, and paid close attention to the wiser ones.

It was a lovely and fullfilling time. Sedona is a beautiful place. The artwork that was everywhere made it all the more utopian.

Nature offered up it's greatest works of art in those red hills. My pictures could not capture their majesty. Still..., here.

She is

My beloved daughter...

Last year, it was a parakeet.

Now, where was I?

Ah, yes, beloved outdoors...

Nietzsche

I take back what I said about Nietzsche, hackneyed and uninspiring.

I still don't like all that he wrote. What a harsh and unhappy "free spirit" he seemed to be. Ach!!

Where I wonder if there is an Absolute truth; he seems to know it, and others' have made his wrtiings into bible studies.

He is vastly misogynistic. In this passage: "Will free spirits live with women? In general, I believe that, as the true-thinking, truth-speaking men of the present, they must, like the prophetic birds of ancient times, prefer to fly alone."

There are some pieces that I could relate to, but if he has such a large error in his logic in one place, then it stands to reason that I am better off not reading the rest.

Getting a life.

I am stuck at home today. This is the 2nd day in a row that I have had to miss at work due to inclement weather.

Even though Hurricane Ike is going to hit land in Galveston any minute now, he is swinging his arm at my hometown on his way in. We are experiencing gusts of wind and bands of rain that make driving conditions hazardous. We all know how my little car acts in the wind. I am still dealing with the fallout of Tropical Depression Fay, Hurricane Gustav, and now I will have days of work missed (and therefore loss of pay) from Hurricane Ike.

Business is normally dripping slow in September, but hurricanes are definitely business killers.

I just KNOW that something can be done to slow these things down, diminish them, or stop them altogether. I'd even bet we could steer them if we try. My co-workers and I were discussing ideas for doing so. Now, we are not scientists; nor, do we have any means of testing our theories, but is anybody working on solutions to weather problems? I just want to know.

Yin Yang of politics

In this corner we have republicans. Fighting for their team is a man and a woman polarity.

And in the democratic corner, polarity black and white have on gloves, going the rounds.

Sitting ringside is everyone who ever had a gripe against any of the players representations; blacks, whites, men, women, democrats, or republicans.

It will be an interesting election - bringing out what separates and divides for healing and integration.

My husband and I are on opposite ends of beliefs, yet we come together where we need to. We lean on each other to co-exist, co-parent, and co-operate in mundane matters like putting a meal together for the family, or getting the yard in order.

Unity has been achieved in this household, despite us being on different wave-lengths most of the time. I have jokingly reacted to his Republicanism telling him, "oh, you'd just love it if I wore a burqa!!" I am fiercely independent, and the threat of anyone telling me how things ought to be, like in the olden days, I immediately go on the defense. Humor deflects most serious issues between the husband and myself. It would apply to most situations that are delicate and sensitive, especially politics and beliefs about political figures.

Maybe we all can agree to disagree and still do what's best without liberties being threatened. That would truly be (r)evolutionary.

Words...

I finished reading "The Thirteenth Tale" in two days. It took that long because I had other things to do between page turning.

I was still in the mood for reading, so I devoured "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" in about an hour. I didn't remember that it was so swift a read. It had been at least 20 years since I first ate it.

Then, someone lent me some books to take with me to Arizona when I go. I've asked several people for suggestions and I hit the jackpot when our hostess at work brought in a bounty for me to choose from.

I first cracked open some Nietzsche and read some passages. The words I read didn't inspire me. I think I've read them before, or variations of the same things many times. It will probably not get picked up again.

Then, I picked up "The Essential Rumi", translations by Coleman Barks with Hohn Moyne. I started in the middle, became intrigued and am now reading it like a storybook.



Rumi's words contain much that comforts and inspires. Just today, I came across this passage and thought of sharing it here.

The Least Figure
I tried to think of some way
to let my face become yours.

"Could I whisper in your ear
a dream I've had? You're the only one
I've told this to."

You tilt your head, laughing,
as if, "I know the trick you're hatching,
but go ahead."

I am an image you stitch with gold thread
on a tapestry, the least figure,
a playful addition.

But nothing you work on is dull.
I am part of the beauty.

(*I don't know if the following lines were meant to be part of it, but it came next with no title, a little leaf in between and then the chapter ended.)

I reach for a piece of wood. It turns into a lute.
I do some meanness. It turns out helpful.
I say one must not travel during the holy month.
Then I start out and wonderful things happen.

Hurricane Ike

Where's that big blow dryer I asked you scientists, flight engineers, and meteorologists to create? I cannot evacuate again. I just can't. These storms shut down our city, our income, and all businesses that support us and make their living off of us.

New Orleans, and other cities affected by hurricanes, depends on tourism and nightlife to generate revenue. So many of us here earn our right living by tips. We don't get paid when we don't work. It is a sad truth that some of us are stuck in that position. This has got to be the hotel/restaurant and tourism capitol of the south. Our position in the economic flow is tenuous.

Last night, Snug Harbor opened the door for business. Only the bar was serving drinks, and we had music - good music - Larry Siebirth and company.

Snug's electricity wsa restored Thursday night. They had to get in there yesterday and clean out freezers and fridges and try to order more food and supplies before serving up their fare. Cash registers had to be put on-line again. There was a bunch of prepping to do just to open the door for limited business. We didn't serve any food, though many came looking. There are plenty of people in the city with no power still. Tonight, we are supposed to be in semi-full swing, depending on who could deliver the goods. I hear it is tough-going for distributors too.

Today, I had to go to several gas stations before finding any to fill my tank. I am nervously awaiting news that Hurricane Ike is going to beat a path this way and am going into survival mode again.

Hurricane dissipation

If I understood meteorologists correctly, Hurricane Gustav became a Category 2 hurricane, instead of the Cat 4 or 5 it was supposed to be, because of hot air on top of it eating away at it. The hot air lessened the intensity.

My wheels have been turning as my attention is drawn inward. The city shut down for a week, and so did I, practically. There was nothing I could do but meditate on the trouble with hurricanes. Can't we get a huge blow-dryer and blast hurricanes with hot air from on top of it? That can't be too hard to do; given our technological advances.

I went a-googlin' and found the following link about a study that was deemed not important, though the findings were promising. The people who decided to stop research on these projects ultimately decided that they were tampering with Mother Nature. That was their thinking in the 60's.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/stormfury.htm

I am not a scientist - though I know that if IT can be imagined, IT can be done.

back from Georgia

My bench before the storm...

We were still forbidden to come back to the city yesterday, yet, I could not resist driving 9 hours to get home again. I had my niece, daughter and son with me as we rode alongside many, many utility trucks heading in the same direction. We came through heavy rain as we approached Mandeville. We had a placard saying we were Tier 2, which meant we were part of the city's infra-structure, in case anyone stopped us and tried to make us turn around. That and fines were what was in store for us we were told along the way.

My sister and her family in Atlanta were so gracious and generous. It was the perfect comfort spot for me and another sister and her family of five as we anxiously waited for words from our communities. I kept in touch with Michael the whole time, waking him from naps on a couple of occasions. He said it was nothing like what was forecasted. I am glad for that, though mad about having to evacuate.

We are safe. The only damage was a tree hitting the bench in my back yard. Downed power lines litter the road I live on. Michael said he was without electricity for about 8 hours. He had a generator to keep him comfortable, and food safe from spoiling in the fridge and freezer.

After Gustav passed...

I want to move. Arizona, New Mexico, or West Texas appeal to me. I think I printed the same thing soon after Hurricane Katrina. The uprooted trees on my property serve as metaphorical reminders that my roots aren't in the ground here anymore. I am ready to be transplanted. How to get the family on the same page, plus find housing and a job that pays me well enough to leave are my challenges now.