LunarMusings

Wellnes Wednesday: Something I've Been Thinking About

"...No one can advise or help you–no one. There is only one thing you should do. Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: MUST I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet the solemn question with a strong, simple ‘I MUST,’ then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose."

~Rainer Maria Rilke, February 17th, 1903

The denying of my deepest truths and desires have lead to most of my dis-ease physically.  I suppose the same could be stated about my mental restlessness and discontent. 

Hmmm... That's all this Wellness Wednesday.  Just clear quiet awareness.

New Moon In Libra 2009

"The two luminaries (Sun, Moon) are in Libra at this New Moon. That brings a rush of fresh air to clear our minds. It gives us special Libra equilibrium goggles, that show us how we're doing in relationships. It sharpens our vision of what's needed to bring more love, peace and beauty into our lives.

Libra is the sign of balance, but in a world of constant change, we reach that only in brief moments. The New Moon chart shows four cosmic bodies (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus) in Libra. So it's a moment when the lunar light goes out, and in the Void of the Dark Moon, we can have flashes of the way things ought to be. With cardinal Libra, we grow agitated to see our ideas made manifest. The New Moon can be a big moment where these ideas are pulled out of the dark of the spirit and imagination."

~from About.com

Renewal is what I feel in the air and within me.  Slow, gentle renewal that reveals small cracks in doors that seemed closed not to long ago.  With my birthday just having passed and the Fall Season birthing itself deliciously, I am waking up into a sense of possibility and tiny Yeses to that which I had dismissed or cast out of my life out of exhaustion or reaction or fear.  And I feel girlie, feminine, very Libra actually, which I love being. 

I strive for dynamic balance that is birthed from a place of presence, embodiment and continuous checking in with my deeper self.  I long to let my inner guide dictate what needs to happen now, rather then the shoulds that my mind throws at me, which then casts me into a state of rebelliousness and stress.  And I want to do all that with big splashes of pink on while doing it!

How are you feeling this New Moon?

Chain of Women And Fall Reading

"She often told me about other girls or women, linking me time and again into the chain of women.  I began to feel I belonged to an invisible sisterhood that transcended past and future into eternity."

~Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi

I have been really feeling this in the last week or so.  I think its a combination of the Season and how much it invigorates me, but leads me inward as well.  There have been deaths, grieving, gatherings, emails, art, sharings, and all of them seem to take place either in physical circles or in the ritual spaces that women seem to connect through in the ethers.  I'm feeling the red thread that connects each woman, past, present and future to one another, in our intuitive, body wise, soulful core.  I feel cloaked in it, beckoned to it as if the entire Season wants to be dedicated to being immersed in ritual, dancing through the Inbetween places and moving through the portals of time gracefully, but wildly.

I feel the chain of women, that invisible cord of sisterhood that ties us all together, calling.  Do you feel it?  And if so, please share... 

Art Alliance of Idyllwild's 12th Annual Art Walk and Wine Tasting

Idyllwild is having its big art walk of the year tomorrow, and I can't wait!  I will be at the Courtyard Gallery all day showing my journals for the first time there.  I also have work in the Artisan's Gallery if you get a chance to come up and take a peak. 

I'm thrilled about my work being in the Courtyard Gallery, as the journals are the first of a couple of different works I will be showing there as the months pass.  So much fun!

Idyllwild is within driving distance of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Riverside Counties.  Come!

Wellness Wednesday: Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill

I know... a fast food post!  Here!  But I had to. No, really.

A couple of days ago, Jon and I drove down the mountain to drop off the jeep to get fixed, and take care of some errands.  In the middle of what turned into 5 hours of running around, we both got hungry and decided to stop at a Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill for a bite to eat as there was no other really good choice that would suit us both. 

Being that I have begun to be super hyper-vigilant about keeping any trace of gluten out of my diet at any cost, eating out has become challenging at best.  In a place like this, I can't have the rice, the tortillas, even the corn tortillas as they will sometimes have gluten in them, the sauces usually are laden in MSG as most fast food is, and... well.. ordering can be a pain.  But starving, in I went and began looking at the menu, which by the way is really really good! I hadn't really ever been in a Rubio's, so this was all new to me.

As I studied the menu, and taking quite a long time, I began to ask the girl behind the counter questions.  There was a sauce that sounded good, but I wanted to know the ingredients.  She didn't know and turned to ask the manager, who listed them for me, but he didn't know what the white sauce base was made of.  So I told him not to worry, that I would get something else, as often times there was flour or gluten in mysterious white sauces, so I would get something else.  

I managed to order something and while I was getting my drink, the manager came out and handed me the label with the listed ingredients from the sauce, which was so nice.  As I read over it, he asked me again what it was that I was allergic to, and I said it was wheat/gluten.  Handing the list back to him, I thanked him and then went out to the patio to sit with Jon.  As we ate, the manager came out again and handed me a 2 page allergen chart!   How cool is that?

The chart listed every single item on their menu and if it contained milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy or wheat.  I was so surprised to see such a list and impressed as well.  I haven't really been to a fast food place in quite a while so even the idea of asking for something like this would have never crossed my mind, but having it handy and able to use it while looking at a menu that can potentially render me sick for a week was like a revelation! Big kudos to Rubio's! This alone makes me want to go back. 

Oh ya... and the food was delicious!

Fall Reading: Grandmother's Secrets

"A woman is the guardian and hostess of the earth.  As the bearer of life, she stands closest to birth and death, thus closest to life and to the earth.  This linking, life itself, is a woman's true space."

These are the first few lines in Grandmother's Secrets: The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing.  I love this book, and the pearls of wisdom and truth that fill each page have me purring.  The quote above is truly the basis for my spirituality and practice, so to read it as the opening of a book that focuses on the alchemy of women's bodies dancing...well lets just say I am home.

I have been practicing the Tantric Dance of Feminine Power, for over 9 years now, and movement and the potency of feminine wisdom it unleashes has been such a guiding revolutionary force in my life.   And when I am not practicing, I have been fortunate to live in a community with a vibrant Belly Dance element thriving here, that lets me savor the beauty and power of an adorned woman moving to the life giving rhythm of her hips.  Finding this book now just seems part of the dance for me.  Another morsel, another crumb along the path of this life, that affirms the truth that lies within.

"As I have suggested, the story of one's life as it is written in to the body can be retold and understood in the intense moment of dancing.  Thus belly dancing becomes a source of inspiration, a means of collecting and strengthening oneself, and a clear and dynamic way of discovering one's wishes and understanding oneself, no matter how insecure and doubtful the future may be."

Indeed.

Full Moon in Aries 2009

Full Moon in Aries.  Can you feel it?  I have been buzzing with the energy of this moon since yesterday.  Last night Luna was shining her big face into every single window of the house. And although I can sleep with light, with sounds and with others around me awake and talking, last night I was just... ON. 

These days, with these posts I am tending to just post what I'm picking up.  We know Aries is a fire sign, the first sign, cardinal, independent, strong willed, intense.  But what about how the moon felt for you?  To you?  For me last night, it was like I could see.  I tried to go to bed around midnight, and then had to get back up.  My eyes were wide open, and although my mind wasn't racing with thoughts, there were still words that needed to be written. 

I quietly made my way back up to the loft and pulled out my journal and just wrote and wrote and wrote.  It feels as if this fiery full Moon is burning the veils that were hanging before my eyes, and things were and are clear.  I have no other way to explain it. 

I'm still buzzing, and awake, and checking in with myself and with the Moon often.  What do I need right now?  What do I know now?  What is wanting to be revealed? What is it I need in order to remain present with what is coming through about my life and the world around me?  How am I experiencing this particular Moon that is different then any other Full Moon before it?

Check in with yourselves.  Make note.  There is much She is broadcasting right now for us to tune in to.

I Bow To Her In Awe

I truly believe and feel in the depth of my bones that Maya is the embodiment of the Goddess Mother.  Wise, potent, nurturing, juicy and commanding.  She gives us the words that call our souls forth as humans, as Women...  This crossed my Facebook page this morning, it gave me chills.  I hope it does for you as well.