mermaidcamp

mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

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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.

Anna Bursell, 9th Great Grandmother

May 13, 2013

Anna Bursell at rest

Anna Bursell at rest

Anna was born in Barnstable, Ma in 1640.  She died a widow in Barnstable in 1724, living through some heavy times.  She married Silas Sears:

Lieut. SILAS SEARS, son of Richard, died Yarmouth, Mass., 13 Jan, 1697/8; married ANNA ??(Bursell??) who died a widow in yarmouth, 4 Mar 1725/6.  They had children:

SILAS, born Yarmouth c. 1661;  RICHARD,  born in Yarmouth; HANNAH, born Eastham(?) Dec 1672, m. 8 Feb 1692/3 Thomas SNOW(son of Mark and Jane(Prence)Snow) she died prior to 30 Sep 1706; JOSEPH, born Yarmouth, c. 1675;  JOSIAH, born Yarmouth c. 1677; ELIZABETH, born Yarmouth, m. there 22 Nov 1705, John COOKE; DORRITY, born yarmouth c. 1687; m. there 8 Feb 1715/6 Joseph STAPLES she died 28 Feb 1753

Lt. Silas Sears lived in that part of Yarmouth known as the East precinct, now East Dennis; was “propounded to take up Freedom,” June 6, 1682; commissioned Ensign, 28 Oct 1681; Liet. 7 July 1682; chosen Representataive to the General Court at Plymouth, 1685-91; Selectman, 1680-94; Juryman, 1680-82.

25 Dec, 1689; “Silace Sears and other fined 20 shillings for not appearing and attending at Court, or disorderly departing therefrom;”–fines remitted latar, “it being first offense of the kind.”

1694; “Lt Silas Sears on Com. to seat men, women and others in the meetinghouse;”  an onerous duty in those days.

1 Nov 1676, Emott Bursell and Silas Sears appointed administrators of the Estate of James Bursell of Yarmouth.  It has been suggested that his wife may have been a daughter of James Bursell, based on the supposition of his being chosen one of the administrators.

Silas Sears left no will, and letters of administration were granted to his widow Anna, 1 May 1698.  The “settlement” of his estate was made 5 May 1698 and mentions sons Silas, Richard, joseph and Josiah; and daughters, Hannah, Elizabeth and Dorrity

Anna Bursell (1640 – 1724)
is my 9th great grandmother
Silas Sears (1661 – 1732)
son of Anna Bursell
Sarah Sears (1697 – 1785)
daughter of Silas Sears
Sarah Hamblin (1721 – 1814)
daughter of Sarah Sears
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Sarah Hamblin
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

William Kirkcaldy of Scotland

May 11, 2013 — 7 Comments

William Kirkcaldy

William Kirkcaldy

My 13th great grandfather lived in Scotland when religion was making life very difficult for all involved.  Mary Stuart reigned as a Catholic.  Life was uneasy and brutal:

Biography from Wikipedia:

“Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange (c. 1520 – 3 August 1573), Scottish politician and general, was the eldest son of Sir James Kirkcaldy of Grange (d. 1556), a member of an old Fife family. The house of the Grange lands was Halyards Palace.

Sir James was lord high treasurer of Scotland from 1537 to 1543 and was a determined opponent of Cardinal Beaton, for whose murder in 1546 he was partly responsible. William Kirkcaldy assisted to compass this murder, and when the castle of St Andrew’s surrendered to the French in July 1547 he was sent as a prisoner to Normandy, whence he escaped in 1550.

He was then employed in France as a secret agent by the advisers of Edward VI, being known in the cyphers as Corax; and later he served in the French army, where he gained a lasting reputation for skill and bravery. The sentence passed on Kirkcaldy for his share in Beaton’s murder was removed in 1556, and returning to Scotland in 1557 he came quickly to the front; as a Protestant he was one of the leaders of the lords of the congregation in their struggle with the regent, Mary of Guise, and he assisted to harass the French troops in Fife. He opposed Queen Mary’s marriage with Darnley, being associated at this time with Moray, and was forced for a short time to seek refuge in England.

Returning to Scotland, he was an accessory to the murder of Rizzio, but he had no share in that of Darnley, and he was one of the lords who banded themselves together to rescue Mary after her marriage with Bothwell. After the fight at Carberry Hill the queen surrendered herself to Kirkcaldy, and his generalship was mainly responsible for her defeat at the Battle of Langside. Kirkcaldy sailed to Orkney as Lord High Admiral of Scotland in pursuit of Bothwell, but his ship, the Lion, ran aground.[1] He seems, however, to have believed that an arrangement with Mary was possible, and coming under the influence of William Maitland of Lethington, whom in September 1569 he released by a stratagem from his confinement in Edinburgh, he was soon vehemently suspected by his fellows.

After the murder of Moray, Kirkcaldy ranged himself definitely among the friends of the imprisoned queen. About this time he forcibly released one of his supporters from imprisonment, a step which led to an altercation with his former friend John Knox, who called him a murderer and throat-cutter. Defying the regent Lennox, Kirkcaldy began to strengthen the fortifications of Edinburgh castle, of which he was governor, and which he held for Mary, and early in 1573 he refused to come to an agreement with the regent Morton because the terms of peace did not include a section of his friends.

After this some English troops arrived to help the Scots, and in May 1573 the castle surrendered. Strenuous efforts were made to save Kirkcaldy from the vengeance of his foes, but they were unavailing; Knox had prophesied that he would be hanged, and he was hanged on the 3rd of August 1573.”

William Kirkcaldy (1520 – 1573)
is my 13th great grandfather
Janet Kirkcaldy (1520 – 1572)
daughter of William Kirkcaldy
William Carr (1542 – 1655)
son of Janet Kirkcaldy
Benjamin Carr (1592 – 1635)
son of William Carr
Caleb Carr (1623 – 1695)
son of Benjamin Carr
Sarah Carr (1682 – 1765)
daughter of Caleb Carr
John Hammett (1705 – 1752)
son of Sarah Carr
MARGARET HAMMETT (1721 – 1753)
daughter of John Hammett
Benjamin Sweet (1722 – 1789)
son of MARGARET HAMMETT
Paul Sweet (1762 – 1836)
son of Benjamin Sweet
Valentine Sweet (1791 – 1858)
son of Paul Sweet
Sarah LaVina Sweet (1840 – 1923)
daughter of Valentine Sweet
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Sarah LaVina Sweet
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Postindustrial Chic

May 11, 2013 — 3 Comments

NYLO Hotel in Warwick captures history and postindustrial charm by using a repurposed factory as a new kind of guest accommodation.  It is popular with local business groups for meetings and conferences.  I was happy to be near many of my dead ancestors.  The use of the location right next to the Pawtuxet River adjacent to Historic Pontiac Mills makes the setting perfect for all kinds of travelers. It is near the airport, but is not an average airport style place.  The big windows give fantastic light, and the open floor plan is convenient and free of clutter.  I loved the high ceilings and treetop view from my room.  I will stay here again when I visit Rhode Island.  It is like no other hotel.

Extended Spring

May 11, 2013 — 1 Comment

I had the super fine opportunity to extend the season of spring this year in the most pleasant way.  By visiting New England I had the chance to study my ancestors in the places they lived and died.  One of the strongest impressions I have of my visit is of the flowering trees.  The botany of the ancestors reminded them of spring and hope in a way that was dramatic every year.  To witness the return of color, warmth and spring fashion unfold before my eyes was a treat that stays in my memory. Hope is the motto of Rhode Island.  I have a dreamy set of images that express hope through blossoms.  I will not forget how happy all the flowers made me feel.  I am comfortable and at home with all the people I met in Rhode Island.  I love the way Jamestown, an island where my ancestors had dairy farming business in the 1600’s, is still a place for dairy and produce farming.  They are completely rural and close to town at the same time. Hope springs eternal.

Magic Word

May 10, 2013

Carl Jung carved a Latin inscription above the door of his house in Kusnacht, Switzerland: “VOCATUS ATQUE NON VOCATUS DEUS ADERIT.” This means: “Called or not called, the god will be there.” To actively call and later, be still and know is the heart of meditation. The call can be music, nature, yoga, chant, movement, or poetry.  The goal is emptiness gained through insight. This free time beyond the word, beyond the concept, and beyond imagination is free time with no boundaries of space and time. The ultimate reality is unlike the one in which our ego goes and does and consumes all the time. It has infinite qualities, at which words merely take a stab at defining. Words and chants are used to create liturgy and forms of reverence. Group voice has a magical quality that lifts spirit and satisfies the soul. Words and sounds resonate as well as drive the memory deeper, creating more meaningful images of past and dream life as a collage.

Rarely do direct and useful insights arrive like lightning bolts.  I notice that visual cues stimulate my contemplation, but often a single word has great and continued meaning.  Last week I heard the sound of a name I have often read, Hecate.  I noticed that my mental pronunciation had been incorrect.  Perhaps for this reason the name and her meaning came back to me a few times over the weekend.  As we learned discernment between soul and spirit, her name was mentioned as the night goddess of magic.  Her meaning is all about soul, in the living and the dead.  She stands at the crossroads and is a guide to the underworld. At the end of our group’s time together we got to gaze into Tom’s obsidian mirror to stimulate our intuitions.  The small shiny mirror was passed around from student to student as we said our goodbyes to each other.  I moved about with my reflective image,  finally settling on a shot of the ceiling , which was covered with acoustic tile.   I gazed for a few moments and again Hecate came faintly into my mental focus.  Days later I remembered the image of that cross of the intersecting ceiling tiles.  This time the metaphor of my question as a crossroads, and Hecate is the ruler of the place was clearer.

All decisions are not life or death.  I take from this contemplation on my own soul and spirit the idea that life is finite, but the soul is not.  Hecate is a symbol of darkness, death, and magic.  Called or uncalled, she will be there at the crossroads.