Magia Bella: bella-magic.com

…Winter Solstice to those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and Summer to the Southern. Be well, all.

photo credit: bandita

Okay, slightly later than first quarter. Work with me here.

It’s the usual refrain: working too much, not enough relaxing and reflecting. I’ve wanted to do some tarot readings for internal clarity; think I’ll go get the cards now while the household is asleep. A little kala would be good, too.

photo credit: much ado about nothing

So, what did I learn?

1. I’m not a spiritual pundit. Not that I ever thought I was.

2. My practice (for lack of a better word) is so internalized and, well, personal that it’s hard to write about it.

3. I strongly believe that each person has their own path to walk, and as such, feel odd writing anything that may resemble markers for others trying to find their path.

4. There was little-to-no humor coming through the posts. That is NOT my usual modus operandi. I need to get past “this is spiritual stuff, we must now put on our serious face.” (Serious Cat is Serious). As I’m writing this on November 26, you’ve probably seen a bit more relaxation and (gasp!) humor in the previous couple of posts.

I may set a reminder to post once a week, even if it’s just to write down the moon phase and what godself is trying to communicate through my thick skull. Oh, and I need to re-engage the sitting practice, but that has nothing to do with this blog. Well, yes it does, but no it doesn’t. Sorta. Nevermind.

I appreciate religion for providing forms in which to express our spiritual selves.

I do not appreciate religion giving us means in which to excuse our ugly behaviors.

Religion is a human-made container, and as such, reflects the best and the worst of who we are.

Let’s work on improving our religions, okay?

photo credit: Cellach

At the time of this posting, the US Thanksgiving holiday is being belched, farted, and slept out. Except, that is, for the midnight-madness shoppers at the outlet malls. I hope all that celebrated had a happy one.
photo credit: David Boyle

One of the many things I’ve learned from observing and celebrating seasonal changes is that not only is there a season to everything (duh), but the internal cycles of expansion and contraction should be honored as well. I’m noticing this as I go through the metric boatload of RSS feeds that I enjoy, but don’t have time to give proper attention. I need to expand personal time, and so need to contract informative yet distracting information sources. Time to distill it down to the most highly useful feeds.

You’d think that the cycle of Fall/Winter would also bring about a time of physically slowing down, but here in south-central Texas, the “winter” months are fantastic for getting work done around the property. It’s the overheated months of late Summer & early Fall that only the bare minimum should be done. Plants don’t like to grow during that time, and even the grass goes brown and dormant. This difference in traditionally observed seasonal activity provides a lesson: what other people or customs might say is a time of contraction or expansion should weighed by your own observations and needs.

I still have trouble allowing the contraction periods of life to work through their natural course. There’s always more to see and do. If I don’t contract and distill, however, the teacup will overfill.

Expand and contract. Lather, rinse, repeat.

photo credit: m0dlx

[Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving, U.S. readers!]

I was going stir crazy on Tuesday, and got out for a bit. Walked around the outlet mall, made a few small purchases. The cane made a clicking sound when I put pressure on it with each step: click… click… click. My steps were slow and measured, and my mind concentrated on working the cane in time with the injured ankle. It was a surprising, nicely meditative experience.

[my foot, my cane]

Waving “hello” from the bedroom. Got my coffee, the laptop, plenty of books and home-improvement/DIY pr0n on the television. Life is good.

[Photo taken via Mac laptop built-in camera and PhotoBooth software. I loves me some Mac.]

My ankle got wing-beat by one of the geese (accident, they were riled up by the dogs), and I’m now getting around by crutches. Surprised the bone wasn’t cracked. Am to stay in bed and foot elevated until the middle of next week. Will get up and post as I can, but all bets are off at the moment. Film at eleven.

Oh, and vicoden is goooood.

photo credit: mellyjean (not my ankle, natch)

Way too little sleep this week. No plans for the daylight hours tomorrow other than animal care, so will sleep as much as I can then. Should be able to get at least seven hours if all goes well. One… more… shift…

photo credit: voteprime