mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Legos in the Garden
September 10, 2015
— 4 Comments
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- Lego dragonfly
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- Lego dragonfly
Tucson Botanical Gardens has been a favorite place close to home where I enjoy nature. A recent building project has enhanced the garden’s entrance and gift shop space significantly. Tomorrow a special exhibit will open called Nature Connects, Art with Lego Bricks. Sculptural designs made completely with Legos are on display in the gardens. The pieces came assembled and will stay in Tucson until Jan. 3. They depict animals and a flower.
Lego spider
To pay for the exhibit the plan is to charge all members $5 every time we visit during the nearly 4 months that the Legos are installed. We have maintained a couple’s membership for many years. If I decide to renew when my membership comes due in February I will only buy a single. I have in the past felt generous toward the gardens, but now that they are throwing the members out for almost a third of the year that feeling has passed. I have started to think about where I will go to take a walk in nature without any membership fees. I can think of plenty. Nature without Legos works best for me, so perhaps our taste in botany has simply diverged. In my opinion the plastic animals are tacky and belong elsewhere. Poetry in the Gardens has moved to the U of A arboretum this year, yet another reason to drop my membership. The garden is an asset to the neighborhood that I will miss…at least for the next four months. I think they could have thought of a more respectful way to treat loyal members.
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- Lego deer
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- Lego deer eye
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- Lego deer
plastic pansy
Lego peacock
Lego turtle
Saraswati’s Gift
July 9, 2015
— 1 Comment
Saraswati
The Hindu goddess Saraswati represents creativity and artful expression. Her role as an educator in the arts is combined with her inspirational qualities. She once was a river in India, so her fluidity is natural. Art turns emotional states into keen statements. She is a guide to bring artfulness to all aspects of living. Her inventive spirit sheds new light on the creative process. She is popular in India today. I enjoy seeing all the ways she is depicted. She rides a swan and plays music. Her influence is uplifting and encouraging, helping you to locate your muse. You can invite her into your dreams and meditation in subtle ways. I like to use a visualization which is a combination of some of my favorite techniques rolled into one:
- I imagine a hill with a stairway that I climb. The length of the climb varies each time I do the meditation. My stairs are always spiraling around the hill, and I am usually on an island where I can see the surf. Your own details will be different from mine.
- At the top of the stairs is a temple with pillars and special light. It feels like a sanctuary built just for me. I stand in the center of the round temple and observe the doorways through which I can exit. I ask Saraswati to join me in the center.
- When she has arrived she guides me to a door and leads me down a hallway to a room with a skylight made of stained glass. This room is even more personal and specific to my needs than the outer temple. I sit in here to meditate.
- Before leaving I ask Saraswati for a gift to take back to my regular life. This mysterious part of the visualization is the heart of the matter. She gifts me with symbolic items that are designed to spur my intuition, imagination, and creativity. Initially the items may seem to have no pertinence, but if you let the images soak in you will find meaning in them.
- I thank her and start walking back the way I came, back into my waking reality.
This exercise does not need to include Hindu deities if that disturbs your sensibilities. It may be too much for you to think of hanging out with a goddess riding a swan. This same sequence will work well if you go to the temple and choose any entity, alive or dead, to join you and give you a gift. In reality you are both yourself and the gift giver in this program. The insight comes when you grasp the meaning of the gift and are able to use it to be more inventive and artful.
The Dactyls
May 10, 2015
— 1 Comment
copper
The race of spirit men who are attendants to the Goddess Cybele are known as the Dactyls. They are small and phallic, like the fingers of human hands. Cybele is a 5th century Anatolian goddess who became popular in Greece, then Rome in the 3rd century. She is principally a nature goddess, but has responsibility for nations and the welfare of the people. She is merged with various other mother figures in Greece and Rome. The Dactyls discovered metal and metal smithing and taught it to humans. They are skilled musicians and magicians. On Crete they are said to have discovered copper.
In English poetry a dactyl is a foot in poetic meter. The word poetry itself is a dactyl, one long syllable followed by two short. Greek elegiac poetry was written as a line of dactylic hexameter followed by a line of dactylic pentameter. This was done to make the lines easy for the players to remember, since they had to memorize and recite long choruses. This three beat rhythm is a verbal waltz.
Digital now refers to things not crafted by hands, but in cyberspace. These miracles of programming still require fingers to type in the codes. Take some time today to consider the meaning of fingers and the ability to employ them. Prayer position, or namaste, pressing the fingers of both hands together, is significant as a symbol of gratitude and honor. Sensitivity in each finger brings sensory information to us and allows us to reach out and touch others with feeling. Everything we touch nourishes our inner wisdom and feeds our souls. Give some thanks today for everyone who has given you a hand in life. In what ways do you give as well as receive with your hands? Acknowledge the magic in these exchanges of energy and emotion.
Summer Spa
May 3, 2015
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hibiscus
There are beautiful facilities with amazingly talented staff members designed to deliver health and fitness retreats. Destination spas, hot spring thermal spas, or spas within hotels provide environments conducive to relaxation for time spent away from home. Time spent breaking undesirable habits or simply reducing stress for a happier healthier outlook is valuable. It is wonderful to find both time and funds to concentrate on body and mind. The test of healthy resolve occurs when we are once again in our normal day to day setting. This summer I plan to stay home in Tucson. Rather than lament these circumstances I have decided to create summer spa, the staycation that cures what ails you. The trick to good health is balance and reasonable discipline. I can’t spare the time to leave home, but I can arrange my schedule to make daily, weekly and monthly health goals part of my routine.
- Calculate- Using the Fitbit program I will log food, water, sleep and exercise
- Donate- Fill a large bag of unwanted items to give to charity monthly
- Juice Bar- Monday-Thursday make and drink fresh juice and avoid alcohol
- Body Work- Shiatsu, acupuncture, or lymphatic drainage at least once a week
- Fitness Shuffle-Attempt a new class or active experience twice a month
- At the gym-Daily aerobic activity derived from equipment use or swimming laps
First and foremost my plan for better health will include daily time for art. Poetry writing and creating visual art satisfy a need I have to express myself. I notice that when I am absorbed in thinking about art or music I live in an elevated state. Artfulness gives me great pleasure. I am at my best when I reserve time to appreciate the work of others and be inspired to create something myself. I include cooking in the list of my creative hobbies. It works well for me to shift my attention to new healthy ways to prepare food. The pleasure involved in mixing flavors and savoring the finished meal is essential to my well being. I can add a colorful and delightful juice bar rather than consider giving up alcohol. In the end it is only the sustainable habits that will make a difference. Too much repression or strict diet can make the mind recoil from the entire business. It is best to have a plan, build your foundation, and be a little flexible to account for real life.
What kind of summer are you going to have, gentle reader? Do you include health as a goal when making your plans?
reflection in my pool
Poet Hollow
April 30, 2015
— 1 Comment
orchid
Woods dripping with Spanish moss and voodoo shrines
Down the hill from the oracle cave the hermit still declines
To give you the secret magic word you use to save the day
Find the sorcerer’s manuscripts then interpret what they say
Squandered youth, wild stormy stories, hidden truth of night
Dreams bring colorful vibrant myths, strong psychic insight
The realm inhabited by poetry and poets, invisible to some
Portrays life more intensely, gives clues to why we have come
flora
NaPoWriMo 2015
It has been a real privilege to inhabit the place of the poets this April. Thanks to all who contributed and read.
Positively Charged
April 29, 2015
— 5 Comments
leap
Ancestral chieftain ritually bound to honor natural forces
Protect the seasons, the directions, the winds over the seas
Passing that mastery to students of physical magical realms
Thunderous laughter is carried and amplified on the breeze
Followed by flashing bolts of lightening, blinding light overwhelms
NaPoWriMo 2015
Read, write, recite poetry this April. Meet new poets to enjoy here.
Oil Field Orphans
April 27, 2015
— 5 Comments
Ruby and Her SistersThe Taylor sisters of Humble, Texas met tragedy early in life
Their mother died in childbirth leaving ten children in grief and strife
Their father rode a black horse around the oil field reading gauges
Recording the data from each well in production for very low wages
When their father killed himself at home he was discovered by his son
Who was only 5 years old. The deed could never be undone.
They had no preparation or reserves for this sudden change
Suicide had swept away home and security, memories forever stained
NaPoWriMo 2015
Poetry is the sport of the month in April. Please indulge yourself in all kinds of poetry here.
Electing Apathy
April 26, 2015
— 4 Comments
Thorny issues
The candidates align on left and right with eager well lit faces
Chirping sound bites with sincere well tested spinning phrases
They will sprawl all over the airwaves, call your home and send mail
Proclaiming vague tattered arguments that strike everyone as stale
We will resume campaigns for presidential power through bribery
Lavish spending on election shenanigans supports the corrupt dynasty
To protect yourself from Republicans and Democrats you must be firm
Political parties spend like sailors spreading untruths to make you squirm
As they trot out their make up and their speeches, reject the fallacious
Look at the images they are projecting and recognize the mendacious
After the spending and insincere rhetoric we elect the same jerks
As if nobody has been paying attention to the way this all works
NaPoWriMo 2015
Enjoy poetry this month here. Take time to read and write some poems in April.
Thistles for Dinner
April 25, 2015
— 3 Comments
globe artichoke
I ate my first artichoke in New Orleans in the French Quarter
I was a teenager on the town at Antoine’s, an establishment so fine
It arrived looking exotic, next to a giant bowl of melted butter
I was instructed in the art of thistle consumption, then treated to a sip of wine
I don’t remember the rest of the menu or what else we ate for supper
I decided to adopt flower tasting as a permanent feature of my lifestyle design
globe artichoke
My parents didn’t bother with the labor intensive green gourmet delight
I liked the way it revealed itself, required each leaf to be a separate bite
I have a vivid memory of the atmosphere and the formal setting we had
It was fun to discover a dish I loved to eat, with the bonus that it irritated my dad
globe artichoke
NaPoWriMo 2015
Poetry of all kinds can be found to read and enjoy during the month of April. Ride the poetry train here.
Spylight
April 24, 2015
— 3 Comments
skeleton
Windows of stained glass, gothic arches reaching down from heaven
Contain secret hiding places from which to see the world in procession
Between clouds and stars light years have passed uncounted, forgotten
Pathways of comets, trails of meteors falling to earth, and fools misbegotten
Bright illumination shines through the veils, the curtain, and the hidden door
While multitudes enrolled in rival schools of thought collapse into war
Youth, athletic performance, strength have become the peak obsession,
Playing games is a metaphor when competition is the prize possession
NaPoWriMo 2015
Poets and poetry are celebrated during the month of April here. Enjoy reading writing and reciting!!!
