I posted the video on my food/nutrition blog. maybe i should just start a feature to combine these two blogs; occupy your body with good nutrition, or something like that.... not today.
Kimchi Demo
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Terrain of the Heart
As I drove away from a farm in upstate New York after sunset Christmas Eve night, I drove through a village center lined with plastic jugs. Shops in the town were open, and when I parked, a man walked out of the church and lit a candle in the first jug. Then the next. When I came out of the natural foods store, lights were shining for half a mile. I smiled when I looked at those candles and the colored lights adorning houses and shops. Though we got lost in the giving of stuff, the holiday never really lost its meaning. Light is still what we celebrate in habitual ritual. We celebrate because we're leaving the darkness and coming to the light.
The woman in the natural foods store was excited to hear about political young people coming in, and farming. She said, "that is just what we need!" Her card points me to a website about the dangers of fracking. Apparently there are a lot of people who want to sell to the fracking industry up there, and she's been trying to illuminate her neighbors to the danger. Let's join her.
Let's grow food. Let's grow community. Let's grow the changes, from the ground up.
"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the wind longs to play with your hair." (Khalil Gibran)
The time has come for us to play this game with life. To dare ourselves to dream big and work in service to those dreams. The earth needs us to play with light hearts, and allow her to nourish us back to health. Our society is sick. We are suffering. The planet suffers with us. The videos and photos of sea life from the gulf coast after the oil spill and the dispersants makes my stomach turn and my tears pool. When the oceans rise, will we be glad we didn't have to wear our winter coats? Andrew Faust said the other day (and probably many times before that) that its a totally encouraging circumstance that our climate change crisis is caused by humans. That means the power to change it is also in our hands. We can change. We must.
So, there I was, in my pre-solstice funk, trying to keep myself from falling apart, when from up on the roof there arose such a clatter.
Something like that. The other day I was faced with a choice. Go to this job that I feel totally misaligned with but am afraid to leave because my income stream is so unsteady and small OR go to a meeting of Occupy Farms, which was just starting to reveal itself to me as something totally in alignment with the visions and goals I have been walking towards for years. With tears running down my face, I walked around lower midtown knowing I had just hit on something true. It was only a tiny hint of a good feeling, but it resonated deeply. Needless to say, I did not go to work. I went to the meeting and today I went to the farm. Thank all that is holy, my heart still tells me what to do. Its been quiet for weeks, while I have been struggling to maintain composure without knowing where to sow the seeds of my life.
When it is winter, I have easy patience with the frozen ground which does not bear fruit. May I learn to have that same patience with my heart when it is quiet.
The farm. The farm is a piece of land. A beautiful piece of land. It is not a productive food farm at this time, although apples and berries most certainly grow there. Horses and dogs roam freely, gracing the earth with the nourishment of their footseps and their manure. They were all rescued by the kind, generous, free-spirited elders on whose land we're plotting to cultivate some serious joy.
I'm excited. So many times I have set off for the sunset with conviction, and this time, there are sundowners before and behind me, ready to walk the path together. This is the time we are upon. This is where we belong. If we are willing to invest the time and energy to this work, be sincere and acknowledge the sacred, the sacred will come forth and delight in our attention.
Let us be good stewards of this place.
do you kill by jackie dandelion
The woman in the natural foods store was excited to hear about political young people coming in, and farming. She said, "that is just what we need!" Her card points me to a website about the dangers of fracking. Apparently there are a lot of people who want to sell to the fracking industry up there, and she's been trying to illuminate her neighbors to the danger. Let's join her.
Let's grow food. Let's grow community. Let's grow the changes, from the ground up.
"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the wind longs to play with your hair." (Khalil Gibran)
The time has come for us to play this game with life. To dare ourselves to dream big and work in service to those dreams. The earth needs us to play with light hearts, and allow her to nourish us back to health. Our society is sick. We are suffering. The planet suffers with us. The videos and photos of sea life from the gulf coast after the oil spill and the dispersants makes my stomach turn and my tears pool. When the oceans rise, will we be glad we didn't have to wear our winter coats? Andrew Faust said the other day (and probably many times before that) that its a totally encouraging circumstance that our climate change crisis is caused by humans. That means the power to change it is also in our hands. We can change. We must.
So, there I was, in my pre-solstice funk, trying to keep myself from falling apart, when from up on the roof there arose such a clatter.
Something like that. The other day I was faced with a choice. Go to this job that I feel totally misaligned with but am afraid to leave because my income stream is so unsteady and small OR go to a meeting of Occupy Farms, which was just starting to reveal itself to me as something totally in alignment with the visions and goals I have been walking towards for years. With tears running down my face, I walked around lower midtown knowing I had just hit on something true. It was only a tiny hint of a good feeling, but it resonated deeply. Needless to say, I did not go to work. I went to the meeting and today I went to the farm. Thank all that is holy, my heart still tells me what to do. Its been quiet for weeks, while I have been struggling to maintain composure without knowing where to sow the seeds of my life.
When it is winter, I have easy patience with the frozen ground which does not bear fruit. May I learn to have that same patience with my heart when it is quiet.
The farm. The farm is a piece of land. A beautiful piece of land. It is not a productive food farm at this time, although apples and berries most certainly grow there. Horses and dogs roam freely, gracing the earth with the nourishment of their footseps and their manure. They were all rescued by the kind, generous, free-spirited elders on whose land we're plotting to cultivate some serious joy.
I'm excited. So many times I have set off for the sunset with conviction, and this time, there are sundowners before and behind me, ready to walk the path together. This is the time we are upon. This is where we belong. If we are willing to invest the time and energy to this work, be sincere and acknowledge the sacred, the sacred will come forth and delight in our attention.
Let us be good stewards of this place.
do you kill by jackie dandelion
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
(personal life) the path of least resistance vs. the path of joy and exaltation
Being stuck upstate wiped the road buzz bliss out of me that had been so nourishing while traveling down the coast, the nice euphoria of meeting like-minded loves every day, and working for good every step of the way- it went away, and the pain and fears of my childhood patterns found their ways back into my psyche. I've been back in NYC for about a week now, and I feel like I'm on very unsteady ground, but gaining a little footing...
The occupy movement is real, and strong, and beautiful. The face of it that I am seeing at the moment, though, is fragmented and elusive. Groups meet constantly, and there are so many of them! As a bodyworker-artist-musician-traveler-farmer, nutritional-healing-enthusiast, environmentalist/sustainability advocate, and as a generally mindful/responsible/caring and individual, I'm finding it hard to choose where to direct my energies.
During my brief time in the park in October, it felt so easy to be freely acting on impulse and finding myself in the right place at the right time to do something worthwhile. It felt easy to find people to click with. I felt magnetized to the things that I was good for, and by chance they happened upon me. So many things I'd like to attend now overlap, and I find my choices being made by means like coin-flipping, or convenience.
Also,
i've been driving myself crazy with worry and doubt since i stopped traveling. maybe its the time of year, or maybe its the time of man, i don't know who i am... (sorry... )
thoughts grow thick around me, and i find myself unsure which way is towards the light.
contemplating:
-throwing myself in fully, letting go
-disbelief in monetary system, but desire for certain things money can buy (living space/home and computer top priorities, plus paying for phone, car/insurance/maintenance, upgrading phone to be a more effective tool, specific food stuff -chocolate-and supplements for physical and mental health, etc...)
-alone/together (i need both. can i have both?)
-safety net (personal/societal)
-trust (process, people, self, ups and downs)
-how to be most effective
- getting my hands on a computer for keeps
seriously. Do i work for the things that made sense to me to work towards before occupy, for myself, or do I work on the things I've been trying to work towards for forever, within occupy? Do i throw away the entire path i felt comfortable with, and trust that a new one will open up? i want to, but so far the path is not clear. my heart does not say jump. nor does it tell me to follow the previous path. i'm in a thicket here, and my next steps are not clear.
I have been trying it both ways while I can, while I have a temporary place to come home to while cat-sitting. I got a job, but so far it don't pay, and it doesn't feel in line with my priorities. I've been to OWS meetings of Wellness/Meditation, Sustainability, Farms, D17 planning, banner/sign-painting, and environmental actions and teach-ins. I taught a quick workshop on making kimchee during the Sustainability group's Holiday Bazaar on sunday, which was great and fun and served me some of those connecting moments i'd been missing, and was inspiring (especially listening to Andrew Faust on permaculture) There were a lot of interesting people teaching and trading lots of beautiful things.
I guess i'm just trying to have patience and find the path of joy. Patience, trust in the universe, and love all the time.
Friday, December 9, 2011
no matter the size of the sea, sometimes two ships meet
This lull of information, currently, is not because I've fallen off the movement, that is certain.
After my travels, I got a little stuck in upstate NY at my parents' house. With a clear vision but a dwindling budget, I've been participating as I can, and working towards sustaining myself, as well as making a home for myself. I've known for months that I need to be in NYC now, but its not easy just to jump in. Even after attending the OWS spokescouncil meeting on wednesday, where respresentatives of each working group come together to share information, I didn't know where to go for housing. OWS housing is still a big issue, so anyone who can help to provide a place for people to sleep, you are very much encouraged to do so. http://www.nycga.net/housing-support/
The meeting I attended was not representative of all the meetings of the spokescouncil that came before, as the council was trying something new by eliminating facilitation. It was a highly charged meeting. Both tension and love were dancing through the space. It was overwhelming and beautiful the way people try to serve peace even while bubbling with chaotic tension. The human beings who have devoted so much time and attention and intention and resources of their own to serve this movement are so inspirational. What a task, changing the world is. Seriously. This group convenes with the total intention of making the world a better place, and the commitment is stirring. I loved it, and I am so excited to be back in NY where I can direct my own energies towards these goals in good company.
The collective power is so beautiful. It is really empowering to be amongst like-minded individuals. All these years of traveling and of being alone have served to provide me with this idea of myself as the solitary bearer of an enormous weight. As an artist, as a healer, as a sensitive and curious observer of the world, I have held a lot of knowledge, both of beauty and suffering. Moving through the world as I have, I have kept myself away from groups especially when I couldn't understand what tied them together. Occupy is the best thing to ever have happened to my social life. Knowing that I can enter a space and find other people who see all the things I also see and who still believe that something greater is possible and are willing to work for it... well, there are no words. There are tears.
I've been up near Poughkeepsie, NY, since Thanksgiving. I've attended Occupy Poughkeepsie, especially as eviction was threatened, and I stood with beautiful people in Hulme Park for 5 nights at 11pm through to wee hours, as 11pm was the time when police were expected. The 6th night, the night with the least attendance, and (guilt) first time I didn't go, was the night police came, near 4am, and dismantled camp, throwing things willy-nilly (yes, I, said that) into pickup trucks, despite Occupiers telling them to preserve these things which could be donated rather than dumped. Its another vision of the illness. Consumer-mind which says everything is junk and can be replaced, without thought to where it comes from and where it will go. It makes me sick.
An interview with some of the OPK loves who were there to witness the dismantling of camp. The video shows the park, empty of tents, canopies, and the yurt which made up the camp since mid-october.
Other things I've been witness to lately involve wellness+healing, as well as Climate Change. I've been in small group meetings and also listened in on the conference call via the Tar Sands Action group and I am so glad there are people willing to devote energy to ideas for winning the fight for the planet. Big oil is a serious monster to contend with and the fight is a real war. Beautiful warriors for peace and equality are everywhere, and it makes my heart so full.
I am excited about moving forward, I am excited by all the potential. This moment is a chaotic one, it is still the beginning, really. We are scattered forces, trying to organize, trying to come together, and really, actually doing it, and trying to do it in a way that hasn't been done before. The organization of the machine which has been in power for so long may appear strong, may even influence us all right now since it HAS been a major source of our knowledge and experience for so long, but it is losing ground to the beauty and truth of the new way, the way of peace and love and honor. I remember reading a horoscope maybe a year ago or so, not an individual horoscope but an overall atmosphere thing, and it talked about balance between aquarius and leo- Leo wanting to be in the spotlight as an individual and Aquarius being the sign of brotherly humanitarian love. I think we are coming to a point of understanding between these things, as a culture and as a movement. We must honor eachother for our uniqueness, and we must use that uniqueness in service to the greater good. And, we are.
Personally, the traveling I've been doing, really for the past 10 years, is coming to a close, and I am working on making myself a place in the world to call home. It is a struggle for me, and a big change, and because its at a head right now, I'm busy trying to birth myself from this coccoon. I hope to be able to write more and be of better service in this way in the coming month. When I am a little more settled, I will be a lot more involved, and able to make time for this in a more disciplined way. For now, I'll continue as I can, and I appreciate your audience. Much love.
After my travels, I got a little stuck in upstate NY at my parents' house. With a clear vision but a dwindling budget, I've been participating as I can, and working towards sustaining myself, as well as making a home for myself. I've known for months that I need to be in NYC now, but its not easy just to jump in. Even after attending the OWS spokescouncil meeting on wednesday, where respresentatives of each working group come together to share information, I didn't know where to go for housing. OWS housing is still a big issue, so anyone who can help to provide a place for people to sleep, you are very much encouraged to do so. http://www.nycga.net/housing-support/
The meeting I attended was not representative of all the meetings of the spokescouncil that came before, as the council was trying something new by eliminating facilitation. It was a highly charged meeting. Both tension and love were dancing through the space. It was overwhelming and beautiful the way people try to serve peace even while bubbling with chaotic tension. The human beings who have devoted so much time and attention and intention and resources of their own to serve this movement are so inspirational. What a task, changing the world is. Seriously. This group convenes with the total intention of making the world a better place, and the commitment is stirring. I loved it, and I am so excited to be back in NY where I can direct my own energies towards these goals in good company.
The collective power is so beautiful. It is really empowering to be amongst like-minded individuals. All these years of traveling and of being alone have served to provide me with this idea of myself as the solitary bearer of an enormous weight. As an artist, as a healer, as a sensitive and curious observer of the world, I have held a lot of knowledge, both of beauty and suffering. Moving through the world as I have, I have kept myself away from groups especially when I couldn't understand what tied them together. Occupy is the best thing to ever have happened to my social life. Knowing that I can enter a space and find other people who see all the things I also see and who still believe that something greater is possible and are willing to work for it... well, there are no words. There are tears.
I've been up near Poughkeepsie, NY, since Thanksgiving. I've attended Occupy Poughkeepsie, especially as eviction was threatened, and I stood with beautiful people in Hulme Park for 5 nights at 11pm through to wee hours, as 11pm was the time when police were expected. The 6th night, the night with the least attendance, and (guilt) first time I didn't go, was the night police came, near 4am, and dismantled camp, throwing things willy-nilly (yes, I, said that) into pickup trucks, despite Occupiers telling them to preserve these things which could be donated rather than dumped. Its another vision of the illness. Consumer-mind which says everything is junk and can be replaced, without thought to where it comes from and where it will go. It makes me sick.
An interview with some of the OPK loves who were there to witness the dismantling of camp. The video shows the park, empty of tents, canopies, and the yurt which made up the camp since mid-october.
Other things I've been witness to lately involve wellness+healing, as well as Climate Change. I've been in small group meetings and also listened in on the conference call via the Tar Sands Action group and I am so glad there are people willing to devote energy to ideas for winning the fight for the planet. Big oil is a serious monster to contend with and the fight is a real war. Beautiful warriors for peace and equality are everywhere, and it makes my heart so full.
I am excited about moving forward, I am excited by all the potential. This moment is a chaotic one, it is still the beginning, really. We are scattered forces, trying to organize, trying to come together, and really, actually doing it, and trying to do it in a way that hasn't been done before. The organization of the machine which has been in power for so long may appear strong, may even influence us all right now since it HAS been a major source of our knowledge and experience for so long, but it is losing ground to the beauty and truth of the new way, the way of peace and love and honor. I remember reading a horoscope maybe a year ago or so, not an individual horoscope but an overall atmosphere thing, and it talked about balance between aquarius and leo- Leo wanting to be in the spotlight as an individual and Aquarius being the sign of brotherly humanitarian love. I think we are coming to a point of understanding between these things, as a culture and as a movement. We must honor eachother for our uniqueness, and we must use that uniqueness in service to the greater good. And, we are.
Personally, the traveling I've been doing, really for the past 10 years, is coming to a close, and I am working on making myself a place in the world to call home. It is a struggle for me, and a big change, and because its at a head right now, I'm busy trying to birth myself from this coccoon. I hope to be able to write more and be of better service in this way in the coming month. When I am a little more settled, I will be a lot more involved, and able to make time for this in a more disciplined way. For now, I'll continue as I can, and I appreciate your audience. Much love.
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