mermaidcamp

mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

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Gloria and the Virgin of Guadalupe

May 23, 2013 — 2 Comments

I met Gloria on the flight from Chicago to Tucson recently.  I enjoyed her company and invited her to call me.  She is visiting her son who works at the U of A during the week.  She told me she was Catholic and that as a child she walked to mass by herself.  She is now fed up with Vatican politics, and wants the Latin liturgy to return.  I took her yesterday to see Ted DeGrazia’s chapel to the Virgin of Guadalupe.  She had never seen milagros on altars before.  Since I would not be caught dead or alive without some milagros on me, I gave her a tiny jet key from Venezuela to unlock her future. I have more at home, and she had no offering with her.  I explained that our Virgin is pre Christian and that is all right.  She is both Catholic and pre Christian, and we see no conflict with that. She had a good time with this altar and milagro business.  She also enjoyed the art gallery. I always love to go up there, and am happy I had the chance to share it with someone who really found new meaning in an old practice through an ancient design left behind by a great artist.

Dreams of Symptom Exchange

May 22, 2013 — 4 Comments

reflecting

reflecting

Since returning home after ancestry quest I have tracked my dream life.  I think  am digesting centuries of action in my nightly dramatic  interpretations.  My homework assignment to record dreams and notice the archetypes I find in them has not been completed in a very rigorous fashion.  During my weekend with Thomas Moore we talked about dreams and did a group discussion about one lady’s dream that she shared with us.  My guilt about not doing homework as the rebel archetype dominates the teacher in my chart of origin, came into focus.  I fell deeply to sleep that night and did start to notice and record dreams on a regular basis while I was still on the road.  I visited homes and graves, museums and city streets where the specific ancestors lived and died.  I started to have some strong emotions about history and groups of the dead.

Although Mayflower ancestry is highly valued by some, I am much more excited about those who rebeled against the Pilgrims.  The sooner they dissed Plymouth, Salem, and the Pilgrim way of religious fascism the more I liked them.  My special pride in my one Wampanoag ancestor makes me feel entitled to some explanations.  They will not be forthcoming, and I need to understand that I am the sum total of many warring factions going back in time.  While Mary Stuart was burning one ancestor at the stake, another ancestor was defending her in Scotland.  This is how life works.  We do not just have two crazy parents, we have all of karmic history in our collective inheritance.

I  have had a dream now more than once that is symbolic and clear.  I enter a big building, box, loft, kind of structure, where I am joined by all kinds of other beings from past and present..maybe future also.  The place is intended to heal, but the multiple streams of energy mix and collide inside the space.  The beings leave having exchanged symptoms with other people, leaving with new issues, side effects and thoughts.  The desire to dump one’s own faults on others who are handy is at the root of this gift exchange gone so bad.  Common practice is to blame the dead, or the absent for almost everything, trying to leave with only shining and laudable characteristics.  This creates a mighty vortex that fills with neediness and greed once the door to the blame barn has been left ajar.  A boomerang of dreadful feelings never fails to be returned to the sender.  I am no dream interpretation expert, not even a very faithful recorder in the past.  This series of dreams in the warehouse health space is about healing, boundaries, and inevitability.  I haves used the flower essence Mexican Hat recently, which I find to be powerful and freaky. It is blooming in my garden in a few places. Under this hat’s influence the connections to others that we wish to ignore are highlighted.  This flower essence refers to boundaries and healing, exactly like the dreams.   Reflection is imperative to interpret both sides of symptoms, causes, and remedies.

Be Humble

May 22, 2013 — 6 Comments

Last at number ten, but not least, Zappos core value concerning humility is short and sweet. Be Humble.  Humility is tightrope on which to stay centered. This trick is easier said than done, like all the core values of this company.  There must be enough confidence to build self esteem and positive team spirit, and enough gravitas to accomplish intended goals.  Restraint of ego mania in favor of pride in the entire workforce is a major element in delivering happiness.  Hubris hoards potential joy in the corporate executive cafeteria.  Zappos spreads it lavishly all over the company and customer base.

I had the idea 12 years ago when I invented Floatli that my teaching was such an important element of life that I naturally needed to create a teaching dynasty by certifying Floatli professionals.  I was in a spa mentality and was influenced by my work experience.  I became sidetracked by the demands of real life on this journey, and had to clarify my reasons several times for continued expenditure of time and effort on this business.  Since I no longer live at spas I have a new perspective that is much more reasonable.  I have reached the conclusion that Floatli is as obvious as a hula hoop or roller skates.  No instruction is needed.  No certification, no dynasty of teaching will enhance the fun.   It is not a lifesaving device, but it is superior to other aquatic training equipment because it fits the anatomy of the user, no need to grip any thing with the hands to stay above water. It can be used in all bodies of water, but my experience says be super careful in surf or currents.

I want to work with Zappos as my marketing partner because their philosophy and values are dear to me, as is the quality of the merchandise they sell.  I humbly request that the Zappsters share the joy in delivering floating happiness to zillions of customers who will have fun creating their own ways to use Floatli for training and fun.  I sincerely believe we can deliver happiness in several different directions by empowering folks to find  new ways to float.

IRS and Non Profit Status

May 21, 2013 — 2 Comments

Food handling

Food handling

food charity scam in action

food charity scam in action

charity scam

charity scam

donation drop off

donation drop off

operations

food handling

truck of used bread

truck of used bread

food handling

food handling

unload and load

unload and load

IMG_0220

holiday traffic

holiday traffic

The current uproar at the IRS highlights the  much misunderstood function of granting tax exempt status and enforcing it. I have gone through the process of obtaining a 501C3 permit to run a non-profit corporation, and can tell you it is exhaustive and thorough. Like Medicare fraud, there must be pros who go about cheating and defrauding the system from within. Tax exempt status is given to legitimate corporations willing to go through strict accounting documentation to prove that they are satisfying the mission they stated in the original application. By submitting in good faith to this non-profit status scrutiny they are subject to a review of their activities constantly.  Applying for the status is technical and rigorous, as it should be.  Keeping it is equally serious in nature.

Going completely commando, soliciting donations from the public without any IRS permit or reporting of the donations whatsoever is the highly lucrative method that has been used in my neighborhood for many years.  They have begged openly for donations of  food, money, items, and labor.  They ask for public support to store prepare food in a residential condo to be served randomly to presumably homeless people they find in parks. No laws are obeyed, from zoning, to health code, to revenue laws.  They openly ask for donations on the internet, although multiple law enforcement agencies have been informed for many years of the crimes.  This self-appointed charity does not feel the need to obey any laws because no laws are enforced.  The lack of interest of  the government agencies could be seen as negligence.  You might believe, if you love conspiracy theory, that since these charity folks presumably vote liberal democratic tickets, they are allowed with the collusion of our local government, to break all these laws. That is too silly.

I don’t believe there is a conscious effort by government to allow crime to take over the neighborhood.  My impression is that public servants feel resentful about serving the public.  When opportunity arises to feel powerful through corruption, the loyalty of any public servant to act for the benefit of all concerned is questionable. This is where mental illness diagnosis is important.  If only insane and or incompetent people are left to run the government, the government will continue to act against the citizens’ best interests.  I do not think we have good or effective governance.  I do not trust that the money collected by the IRS is well spent.  I have always paid taxes, and benefit from no loopholes.  I pay taxes knowing it must be done.  Waste and corruption are not what I want to buy with my tax dollars, but they are all I see on the menu at the moment.

Athlete Archetype

May 20, 2013 — 2 Comments

At the crossroads of sports performance and fitness training is a special intersection of interest and comparison. We compete with ourselves in many sports. Team sports have an extra dynamic, but freestyle sports played or performed by individuals offer a chance to bend the meaning of sports and scoring. Winter and summer X games are good examples of these evolving sports and athletes. Tricks and styles evolve each year to new heights and dangers.  Extreme sports involve heavy risks, so most folks prefer to watch as fans. Others find sponsors and spend all their time in training or competition. What is the healthiest blend of training, practice, participation, and admiration of others?  What is the best way to avoid injury and stay fit while playing or competing?

I believe prehabilitaion is important, mentally and physically.  Life requires variety, balance, flexibility, and range of motion.  In a healthy athletic training routine personal willpower and strength of spirit are the qualities we admire and aspire to reflect.  The athlete archetype is the symbol of transcending limits.  Physical limits, including handicaps, are frequently overcome in Special Olympics and Senior Olympics through training and competition. Expectations that build esteem for the whole sport and all the players are the healthiest.  Entitlement, either to cheat or misuse athletic ability for selfish ends, is the shadow aspect of this archetype.  Winning at all costs, taking power over others, flexing strength beyond games and into inappropriate settings is the activity of the bully, shadow athlete.   Football thugs in Europe display this kind of trashy sportsmanship.  The false sense of invulnerability and entitlement that lives on the dark side of competition is the enemy of good health and balance.  Games are played on and off the field and the clock.  All or none, win or loose mentality does not belong in every aspect of life.  Check your inner athlete, and how your games are played to learn more about your own beliefs about winning, loosing, and dedication.

Communication Loop

May 16, 2013 — 4 Comments

Butterfly convo

Butterfly convo

“The single biggest problem in communication

is the illusion that it has taken place.” GB Shaw

Are you in communities? Are you a leader? Do you create valuable content?  Does the internet make you compulsive and lonely?  I have read several posts lately about the brains of depressed people, and the effects of loneliness on health. It appears that insomnia, which seems to afflict most Americans now, can be a result of altered and damaged circadian rhythms.  Depression makes the day/night self timer malfunction. Isolation from live social contact proves to be as damaging to overall health as smoking or obesity.  It destroys the self monitoring abilities we learned in elementary school to survive in a social world.  Now that social order has been redefined, healthy relationships are less likely to evolve.  Human lovingkindness is essential for mental and physical health and well being.

Time spent with screens is not without merit, but if life is to be lived fully screen time has to be secondary to real human interaction.  Screen communication increases the chances of faulty assumptions on everyone’s part.  We normally present ourselves in the best light possible, keeping the shadow issues away from the public forums.  We know others must edit along the same favorable lines to give a spin on their life and times that makes them appealing.  How much noise is generated and how much valuable exchange?  The answer is never final.  It is a mix of magical electronic connections and spammy, even dangerous, invasions of privacy.  Caveat emptor, gentle reader.   The internet is what you make of it.

Michael Dalzell for Shiatsu

May 16, 2013 — 3 Comments

Michael Dalzell

Michael Dalzell

Yesterday I returned to Supportive Care for Healing at the U of A Cancer Center where I am the substitute client for last minute cancellations.  I look at the rotating offers I get as sort of a Zen oracle of healing. All of the therapists are very talented, and the room is spacious and comfortable.  I go when I can, and always feel good as a result.  Since shiatsu is an offering that just did not come up for me on the zen cancellation calendar, I decided to book an appointment in advance to try the work of Michael Dalzell.  My neighbor Mindy told me how much she enjoyed her treatment with him, so onto the table I went.  It was an excellent call.  The stretching movements not only loosened me from within, some kinks that had developed while driving, flying, and traveling for two weeks departed. I am now loose as a goose and ready to put the finishing touches on the summer garden this weekend.  Michael does all his work at cancer centers around Tucson because he finds it very rewarding to help this population.  The benefits are well documented for patients undergoing heavy radiation and chemo treatments. He sees a lot of success using shiastsu as a healing modality.  I am going back next week for two hours.  If you want to schedule a treatment with him or the other fine therapists at Supportive Care for Healing call the super  helpful volunteer desk at 520-694-1812.  They will so hook you up.

Tucson Farm Report

May 15, 2013 — 2 Comments

My garden grows more important to me all the time.  Growing fruit trees and grape vines is satisfying and tricky too.  We have to keep the birds and pests from consuming too many of the products.  This year we are lucky with a big peach crop.  They are tiny, cling peaches you can pop right into your mouth in one bite. Leaving them on the tree to ripen fully makes for a very full flavored peach.  They are getting ripe this week, and I plan to get more than the birds.  We are eating and sharing globe artichokes now, and starting to have ripe tomatoes.  We make and drink lots of tea and flower essences.  The herbs are used for baths, cooking, and tea mixtures.  The Lakota squash might be a healthy crop, but it and the Jerusalem artichokes are new crops for us this season.  So far, everything looks happy and healthy.

Music, A Family Tradition

May 14, 2013 — 2 Comments

Music is part of many spiritual practices and worship ceremonies. Musical exposure at an early age is a gift.  If parents appreciate and play music for a child, singing and dance will be a natural part of life.  In my household folk music and piano rolls were always being played and sung during my childhood.  I played classical music on the piano, but I absorbed American and English folk music from my parents, who invited friends over to play and sing music.  The Moore-Khalsa home is full of musical talent and knowledge, but of a different sort.  They are more meditative and prayerful ,kind of musical monks. They harmonize well together, making a joyful noise.

We were given an added treat during the Thomas Moore weekend at Kripalu recently.  His wife and daughter gave a special evening program on Saturday night.  The Kundalini yoga session was directed by Hari Kirin Kaur Khalsa, Tom’s wife.  The musical accompaniment was done by their daughter , Ajeet Kaur,  and her band. I sat myself right next to the musicians for max vibrations during the demonstration.  Drum, guitar and harmonium formed the instrumental background for chants.  Sanskrit mantras were used.  These chants have specific meaning and results when repeated.  One specific breathing and mantra round was taught to combat insomnia.  I sleep well normally, but had a profoundly deep sleep that night.  I felt the results of the chanting and movement in my body and mind.  Ajeet’s clear sweet voice carried the group into focused concentration. The twin brothers who played guitar and drum were also accomplished and well rehearsed in this music.  The total package was a pleasant and instructive voyage into the technique of Kundalini yoga. The people in our class all reported a positive experience.  It was fun to be included as her talented parents encourage her musical career by working with her.  She has recorded a CD with her band and is setting out to soothe the planet with her musical talent.  Our group was lucky to meet her as she sets out on this adventure.

Soul and Spirit of History

May 13, 2013 — 5 Comments

Since I study history through my ancestors’ perspective when I can, my dreams have become full of the characters from whom I descend. The way war and conflict are taught in school ,winners and the vanquished   divide spoils and define conquest as history progressed.  Places, however, record, digest, and reflect history on a different level.  Environment and social structure result from human use of land and resources.  If ownership and preservation of historical culture is valued and given high priority, the place is subject to less wasteful development.  Pawtuxet, RI preserves history by keeping homes from the past in tact. Seeing places my ancestors have lived and died brings history to life for me, and fills my dreams with the struggles and joys they experienced.

The  village of Pawtuxet is a place where local residents function as the tourist board.  I was directed by local ladies at the cafe to drive up Post Road and start to look for Malachi Rhode’s home.  I found it right away and saw the current resident in his back yard.  I resisted the temptation to ask him if I could go into his back yard since my family had owned the home in the 1700’s.  I had visited the larger new cemetery with graves that included Rhodes in great number.  The small ancient graveyard on the Post Road was even more peaceful and special.  I found Malachi there, within walking distance of his house. His life is honored and his place in history kept as a treasure that belongs to the place.  Seeing and feeling the place put me in touch with the spirit of all my relations.