VANCOUVER, B.C. Revisited

We've recently returned from a brief journey to Vancouver, B.C. We went 1) to see Sting and Paul Simon in concert, 2) to visit friends we dearly love, and 3) to renew my impressions of the city, which I had lived in in 1967-68. Our trip was fabulous, albeit challenged by late trains and snow, but that was to be expected. This morning I took time to review that eventful year my first husband and I spent there, fleeing the FBI and anti-war politics of the U.S.

I am currently reading SEVEN WISDOMS OF LIFE, by Shai Tubali, which is the most in depth and compassionate information on our chakra system that I've ever come across. This piece figures into my retrospective.

We landed in B.C. (after being photographed crossing the border by FBI) in August, 1967, and drove to Taylor, B.C., 900 miles north, with our 5-year old son, and a developing fetus safe inside my second chakra.  My husband was hired to principal a 4-room schoolhouse that sat on the Peace River, across from a U.S. oil refinery and a few miles north of extensive U.S. wheat fields. The housing they provided was a challenge for me to beautify; the wasps swarmed like flies, and I wondered if I could survive a winter there. But not for long, because the second month of teaching found my husband fired (for abolishing the strap, having a school newspaper; and because he didn't want the 4th graders to be bussed 50-miles into Dawson Creek and home again every day, but the school board did.) We moved in with draft dodgers from the U.S. that had established themselves in Dawson Creek.

I won't go into my waitressing at the only all-night café in D.C., or my husband coming down with double pneumonia. Sufficeth to say, he headed down to Vancouver eventually to find himself a job, and us housing. I won't describe the VW van ride to Edmonton in a blizzard, carrying along the 19 cartons of books we had schlepped from the U.S. But I will mention that we had taken a 15-year old under our wings, Valerie, who was also pregnant, and she travelled with my son and I. We all we took the train down to Vancouver, the warmest city in Canada.

The first apartment was over the owners of the home, who drank and became violent nearly every weekend. That triggered my own experience of living with violence (although at the time I never made the connection) and led to panic attacks. My husband brought home a puppy who was killed shortly on the street in front of our home. And he also brought home the Abbey Lane (Beattles) album instead of food on Thanksgiving.

We moved to another apartment, where we signed a contract not to have a dog, but alas, he found another one. After she was hit and sported a cast, the landlords told us to leave. On to a fixer-upper farmhouse in Steveson, south of Vancouver, that I adored, and we immediately set to painting (VOC-poisoning, nausea, weakness). We also took in a U.S. draft dodger who played incredible classical guitar. He lived with us for about 6 months.

Our second son was born in the spring, and Valerie's daughter arrived five days later. Apparently this co-incidence was too disturbing for the Children's Aid Society, where my husband worked. They quickly decided he was a bigamist, and fired him, much to his delight, since he was yearning for the States.  In July, having spent the last of our money, he painted "California or Bust" on the car, and we returned to the States. Valerie found friends to live with, and the guitarist moved on as well.

It all made sense at the time. One thing leads to another (especially if through poverty one is unable to plan ahead). But this morning, over my second cup of coffee, I counted the major events in those twelve months: 5 moves, pregnancy, birth and nursing, 2 dogs, a pregnant teen to mother, and then the return to a country I had easily rejected. As I reviewed, I felt my first three chakras activating. Each day was a survival issue, with problem-solving in place of creativity and the need for substantial power over the onslaughts of life. I lived my life primarily from those "low" urgencies, unable to access the wisdom, communication or equanimity of my upper body. Not to say I wasn't wise, or speaking my own truth, but above all I was focused on survival, on external in-my-face situations.

Food needed to be in the cupboards, prepared and served. Going to do laundry meant loading up the red wagon and pulling it (and child) to the laundromat, through West Broadway's traffic, which is still crowded and intense; or using the wringer washer in the yard, and hanging clothes every day. I smoked cigarettes (to offer a moment of "calm") and drank coffee. No alcohol. And no time out. No "dates" with my husband, no afternoon naps. The closest to meditation I came was the dawn feedings of my newborn when the house was quiet and the morning birds began their inquiries into the day. Luckily my inborn love of beauty and children always offered nourishment.

Truly, I marvel that I survived, let alone my two boys. I cannot fathom my inner world, except to make the best of the next challenge that was surely around the corner. Making do, and thinking our lives would get better with each major decision. But we were on a horizontal trajectory instead of  vertical "upward mobility." In fact, we returned to California and lived in a plywood and canvas arrangement on the backside of my husband's family's ranch. Such was the life of a drop-out, fringe family in the sixties.

So this morning I am swimming in an ocean of gratitude for moving through, on, beyond, way beyond those intense years. My consciousness has emerged from chaos to stillness, from survival to manifestation of love, service and devotion. Stability feels perfect. My angels worked overtime then, and now I work for them. These are the blessings of retrospect, and of having time to affirm my journey. Somehow through the years my chant has shifted from "may I be well, may I be happy, may I have peace," to "may all beings be well, may all beings be happy, may all beings have peace."

MINDFULNESS IN WINTER

I've been skidding around the web, like a cat on ice, looking at mindfulness websites. There's a lot of them. My heart really picked up when I found one with an 8-week course, on line, in mindfulness for stress reduction! Yes! Good for me, and good for TIME OUT: take the course, then teach the course. And the best part it was a relatively affordable $495.

Being a cautious soul, I continued skating around the site, only to discover the REAL teacher training is $1895, plus travel and weeks at a time an east or west coast locations. Not really what I want do or spend at this point in my life.

Reviewing the syllabus I discovered to my delight that I feel quite qualified to offer Mindfulness in the valley. I have a number of Buddhist retreats under my belt, and a lifetime of delving deeper and deeper into the moment. After all, wasn't the watchword in the seventies BE HERE NOW? Happily, I live with a Tai Chi master, and I've taught breathing for decades.

I would love to share these practices with those who are interested in REMEMBERING, RELEARNING, and again diving into mindfulness...for their hearts, their minds and their bodies.

So let's get together...bring a friend, spouse, family member!

MARCH 3  -  MONDAY --  5:30 - 8:30 pm  (Come already having had dinner.)
     Bring a pillow, a blanket, your open heart and your beautiful breath. 
         Location to be announced!

                                                            SPICY PLUM CHUTNEY
Days in the kitchen preserving foods for some future day when it's blowing cold outside find me humming, grateful and energetic. Weeks or months later I remember that special canned good that's shining on the garage shelf, ready to be opened, tasted and treasured. Such is the Spicy Plum Chutney I made last week. It looks like tomato chutney, but that's because the yellow turmeric blended with the purple plums (fresh picked from our trees). The recipe started from the book "The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking" by Yamuna Devi, a tome of amazing Indian recipes that I've been trying since bringing it home from our New Mexico trip in the spring. Here's how it turned out, given my kitchen supplies, and reluctance to go to town for ingredients!

12 C stewed plums (skins on or off, your choice. No pits!)
6 T fennel seeds
3 T red pepper flakes (or fresh hot chilies, fine cut and sauté)
3 t salt
1 C chopped walnuts
6 T ginger powder (fresh would have been better, about 1-1/2" root, pulverized)
1 big white onion
3 T turmeric
2 T cardamom
1/2 stick butter (organic, don't panic)

Fine cut onion and sauté in olive oil. When slightly soft, add fennel, red pepper, ginger, turmeric, cardamom and butter. Sauté turning frequently to heat the spices until their odor rises from the pan.
Add stewed plums, and mix thoroughly, gently, bringing whole thing to simmer, add salt.

Ladle into 8-oz (Half-pint, a childhood nickname my parents bestowed on me) jars (12), clean top of jars, put sterilized lids and ringers on and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Smile at the little pop that happens when the jars are lifted onto the counter and the cool air sucks the lid in!

Label and give away for the holidays, use on pork, beef, chicken, on chickpeas or white beans, and rice. This chutney will warm you in winter, and the memory will warm your heart!

TIME OUT encourages sensual cooking, delicious meals, long conversations at dinner. Do turn off the television. Try these conversation starters, take turns answering: 

• What was your best memory of high school?
• Do you practice random acts of kindness?
• What three experiences are you grateful for that happened today?

Don't forget to make an appointment: first visit free, after that $30/hour. Looking forward to meeting with you for Rest, Relaxation & Remembrance.  546-5344

TIME OUT (SUMMER) moving to TIME IN (WINTER)

 

       Summer is the joyous bounding of a golden retriever into the cold river, barking, fetching a stick.

Summer is time for being away from your home and then having long cool evenings in the back yard filled with neighborhood sounds: kids laughing, lawn mowers, music. It's being outside much of every day. It's the reluctance to bake anything inside the house, and the willingness to break routines, go camping, hike a new trail....but wait! I just saw a leaf fall outside my window. What? Really? It's coming to a close?

 

Fall and Winter bring the opportunity for inward gazes, untangling stories, quiet meditation techniques, reading books. It's a time to de-stress, and that's where "TIME OUT" becomes Time In. Let me help you unravel the knots of emotional holding, let crystals cleanse your field. Let your heart unfold with a compassionate listener who witnesses to the power of Being, the power of Healing and Oneness. Call today. In Hamilton.

 

TIME OUT: Rest. Relax. Remember.   546-5344   $30/hour or Trades Welcome.   Tues-Fridays

 

 

UPLIFTING WITH CRYSTALS

Treat yourself to an evening of pure energetics on JULY 28, SUNDAY, at 7:00.  I have asked my friend Karuna to share her magnificent crystals with us. As you can see they are placed on a copper grid, and we will have the opportunity to clean our auric fields and re-energize our etheric bodies together. Do call me if you have questions. It is $20 for the evening, and well worth it.

VIBATIONAL HEALING

 

How many of us have crystals on our dressers, or hanging around our necks or in our pockets? I confess to all of the above.

 

I became entranced with crystals through O'Shinnah Fastwolf, an Apache Theosophist in the early seventies. She was my mentor, and the first speaker for the crystal kingdom in this country. She taught other crystal healers who then wrote books and popularized crystal healing. I've been hooked on crystals, and other gemstones, a long time.

 

In the early eighties, my life led me to drive to Arizona once or twice a year. I stopped in all the rock shops on the way, as much for the lift in my etheric energy, as to take a break from driving. One shop caught my eye in southern Utah, and I pulled in. It was extremely dusty inside, crowded with numerous rocks and minerals, and a few quartz crystals. I asked the man if he had any "Herkimer Diamonds." Herkimers are from an area in New York (my birth state) and are noted for their clarity. Once you spot one, you'll remember their traits forever.

 

He was amused. "Only folks that ever ask me about crystals around here are Indians!" He said, shaking his head at my blond pony tail and blue eyes.  He rummaged around and eventually came up with a cottage cheese container. Out spilled hundreds of the beautiful small "diamonds," most with sharp terminations at both ends. This was beyond my wildest expectation. "How much?" I asked, certain I wouldn't be able to afford more than one or two. "Well, how would $5 for the whole lot be? I need to clean some of this stuff out." It was my cosmic lucky day apparently, because he could have asked $5 apiece for them. Now they sell for $50 each in Santa Fe.

 

I still have some of those brilliant babies, and have liberally spread them around to friends, in baby-bundles, and some are even buried in special places on the planet I want to return to. I feel protected and nurtured when I wear crystals. I have one specifically for traveling tucked in my "bathroom" bag.

 

I use them for healing as well, holding them in my hands in meditation, passing them through my energetic field when I'm in distress. I recently read the following: "Wearing crystals and using them in healing can shorten your visits to painful places and work through situations so that you can release the toxic vibrations and grow and evolve . Crystal healing reveals to you your greatness, that you are a divine multidimensional being." 

 

The only way to prove this is to experience it, although there is plenty of research about crystals' effects in the human energy field. They literally attract disturbing ions and therefore leave the field charged in a way that is most beneficial to our well being, somewhat like sitting next to a waterfall, or doing tai chi in a pine forest.

 

But don't take my word for it. Experiment with crystals yourself, or come in to see me. If you've been hauling around a lot of gunk, emotionally or physically, crystals might be your new best friend!   

  

                                         TIME OUT

             Always confidential. First session free.  546-5344.

                                Rest. Relax. Remember.

 

 

 

FINDING FORM WITHIN CHAOS

This lovely sculpture rests inside the mausaleum at Forest Lawn Cemetary in Glendale, CA. When I saw it my breath escaped me momentarily; we don't have access to lovely sculpture in my neightborhood. I thought she might move; I had to touch her, and felt as if I was trespassing on an intimate space.

Someone saw her within a block of marble. She was seen relaxing on a rock, her hands at rest, gazing off, perhaps drying out after a quick swim. And then the sculptor began the painstaking process of revealing her.

May your soul be seen. May you be blessed during the lifetime process of revealing her.

TIME OUT: Rest, Relax, Remember   First session, no charge   546-5344