Snail Rock

This is a rock I painted when I was 12. My mother has kindly packed it through several moves and it always sits in her kitchen window. Looks v. labyrinthian and is a glimpse into my future rock-painting endeavors...finding a rock and looking at the shape and letting that be the guide for how it evolves.

And speaking of turtles, this is a joke I first heard from Paul McCartney (in an interview. It wasn't like we were having tea or anything).

A turtle mugged a snail. At the police station, the police officer says, "Tell me what happened." And the snail replies, "I don't know. It all happened so fast."

Hahahahaha! It's all perspective, innit?

A Serving of Eckhart

One of my favourite diners in WV on Rt. 340--awesome sweet potato fries! Food-related photo explained below because one always thinks of diners when pondering consciousness in the world of Eckhart Tolle.

Last night was Eckhart's last webinar with Oprah. He was talking about being present in whatever you're doing and he used the example of a waiter. It sparked a memory of my first lunch with John Morgan. We were at Applebee's (or Crapplebee's as my brother says) and John asked the waitress for a napkin. When she returned to the table, she tossed the napkin at him and had turned around before it hit the table. He did a v. funny imitation of her, which of course she missed. She did all the waitress things: she took our orders, served our drinks, brought our food. All without any lifeforce behind it. It was a glorious illustration of lack of presence. Conversely, on our way to St. Johnsbury, we stopped at a v. quaint trolley-car-turned-restaurant and had a whole happy dining experience. The food was just regular food, but the waitress was SO nice; we laughed & swapped from-a-big-family stories. She was there.

I see why Eckhart calls it The Power of Now. In our culture of multi-tasking, our attention is divided and our energy dispersed. When you pull your energy from the past and future, you have ALL of it for the present moment. In that moment, you find stillness and are connected to the Source. And then you allow that lifeforce to live through you instead of struggling to force things to happen.

Let's Talk About Death, Baby...

Me & chiro-sister Ruthie basking in the wisteria-infused air. GSF Alaria below:

Yesterday I attended the death midwifery workshop hosted by my friend Paula-of-Overall. She has a BEAUTIFUL home and center. Everything about Paula says WELCOME, and it was the perfect spring day on top of it.

So here are the basics of the seminar:

Just like we birth into the world, we birth out of it. Joellyn didn’t say it exactly like that, but that’s the gist of it. And just as we have a midwife to assist (if you’re lucky, you’d have my mother), we have someone at the end to facilitate our exit. Basically, it’s a matter of being present with the person and honoring whatever spiritual beliefs s/he has.

This class was for the very beginner who has no hospice experience. Chiro-sister Ruthie, Mum & I have all been hospice volunteers and have gone through extensive training. My GSF Alaria actually worked for Elisabeth Kubler-Ross back in the ‘80’s. So we were sort of waiting for the next part, but it didn’t really come. Still, we had fun—mostly at Mum’s expense. We were all gathered around in a circle with Joellyn demonstrating how she works with a client. Have I mentioned just how FUNNY my sister is? And when the 2 of us get together…anyway, Joellyn starts by putting on harp music. Mum turns around and gives us the eye-rolling I hate harp music LOOK. Ruthie gestures back, Oh, you’re totally getting harps on your death bed! [Side note here: ‘member that scene from Friends where Phoebe is leading Monica to her Happy Place and she says, “Just listen to the plinky plunky music…”]

Then Joellyn said that it’s important not to have lyrics in the music. So I started singing to Ruthie, You’re gonna die…and she sings back, It sucks to be you…

Joellyn told a story about working with a gang-banging assassin. She was making the point that it's important not to have judgement towards the person you're working with. Everyone needs someone to be there for them and often times people are alone. She was also pointing out the importance of staying grounded and present in this work. My mother raises her hand and in her most-proper-Queen’s-English says, “What if you don’t want to work with assassins?" Hahahahahaha! Ruthie whispers to me, Oh you’re getting harps and assassins, Mum!

On the serious side (and that was pretty much the tone for the most part, except of course for the Smartass Sisters) I thought about Dave Dobson, and the work he did in hospitals with burn patients and teaching pain alleviation techniques. I could hear him ask me, What would you do if you were in a hospital with a patient? Gain rapport Other-than-consciously and ask what s/he needs. So attending this workshop was a real inspiration to look into volunteering my time at the local hospital…

After we left the seminar, on the way back to Mum’s for tea, we stopped at Skymont where we grew up. She’s just across the road on the east side of it. I’m just across the river on the west side. So we walked around reminiscing. We took a few pictures—GORGEOUS. And I found my first 4-leaf clover of the season. Yay, me! All-in-all, a v. fun day!

Day of Rest: Death Midwifery Workshop

Death whaaaaaat? Death midwifery??? you may v. well be thinking. Well. My friend Paula-of-Overall is hosting this workshop. Having trained with hospice and being a hypnobirthing instructor, it sounded like fun. This is your idea of FUN, Hali??? Yeah, well. Mum has worked both sides of the spectrum and has always said that people die like they're born. Some people have an easy birth; quick and painless. Others are labored and drawn out. So we're off for a day of...um, whatever. My chiro-sister & fellow Ericksonian/hypnobirther Alaria are joining us. Woo-hoo!

Out of Pocket

To: XM Radio Guy
Knoxville Radio Guy
Youngstown Radio Guy
Carmax Computer Guy
My Website Guy

Cc: Purple Cow Guy
Grasshopper Notes Guy

Favourite latest buzzword (from Albany Radio Guy): Out of pocket.

e.g. I've been out of pocket these past two days, I was at a funeral. (direct quote)

Really? Are you back in pocket? What else are your pockets doing?

Re: Out of Pocket
From: Carmax Guy

Ha ha...we say "out of pocket" at CarMax too. We also "spin up" tacticals (small projects). Sometimes I'll say things like,"Sorry Gary, I can't spin up any new tacticals because I'll be in Atlanta and out of pocket all week."I dig corpspeak

Today I'm OOP with many busy's, back tomorrow. ;-) H.

Down My Road

Red bud trees in bloom.

I've been traveling quite a bit down my road. I clocked it: 8 miles of gravel 'n' dirt to the paved road. Then another 7 to the main road. Depending on the weather gods and Farmer Joe on his tractor, it takes about 40 minutes to get into town.

Working for John Morgan has given me the luxury of working from home, so that I don't have to driiiiiiiive everyday. The seminar season is winding down for the summer, and I've been doing massage therapy at the Mimslyn's new spa as well as doing outcalls for the Victorian Inn. I have been to Luray more in the past month than I have in the prior 10 months. With that, I've gotten to become a bit more familiar with my road. Here's the thing about taking a new direction:

It always seems longer in the beginning than it actually is, only because it's new. Once you've traveled it a few times, you get to know what to expect. The road will change according to weather conditions, but you get to choose how to respond. It's OK to delay an outing if the roads are icey--sometimes it's not the right time. Nothing is worth the risk of sliding off the mountain side.

Sometimes you'll meet something unexpected; yesterday there was a v. long black snake in the middle of the road. I didn't want to drive over it, so I got out and got a branch to coax it along. It recoiled and was going to strike. Crikey!!! But it recoiled out of the way so that I could drive past it. I think it attacked my tire as I drove by, but that was my outcome. To drive by without hurting the snake (after all, it was just doing what a snake does) and without getting myself hurt. Perhaps I would not be so brave if it were poisonous.

Sometimes emergencies arise, so you deal with them then and there. Last week there was a horse trotting down the middle of the road, so I called 911. I met Buddy walking down the road who told me that the horses often escape and walk along the road. Good to know. Expect the unexpected.

Through the seasons, there is always the opportunity for stillness and gratitude. It's a GLORIOUS drive down my road. So BEAUTIFUL. Even though I have a perma-frosting of dirt on my car, I am grateful for the nature that surrounds me.

HAPPY May Day!

In the month of May we gather the flowers

to garland in our hair.

We sisters walk hand-in-hand

going to the fair.

Petticoats rustle

in hustle and bustle

as we make it down the lane

We laugh in good cheer

with each other for fun

and merriment for a day.