morning becomes electric

current favorite drive-to-work song: Graveyard Shift by Uncle Tupelo. Oh Jay Farrar. How I love thee so.

DISCLAIMER: this post more for me and just keeping track of the crystal ball. A way of recognizing the oh shit of the looming future. And/or distraction. Take your pick.

drats

Yeah. I already know I am too direct. Too plain-spoken (with liberal metaphors). Oh, to be a finesser.... From a horoscope (astro.com) with the note that I will be under this influence for 11 months. Eleven frickin' months. Argh.

How you say it

Valid during many months: During this time your determination, your motivation and your ability to assert yourself, but also your inner drives and needs are stronger than is usually the case, and perhaps also particularly tense. You actually have great energy at your disposal, and you will proceed resolutely and single-mindedly.

This, of course, brings with it the danger of confounding or overwhelming others as you are far too direct and plain-spoken. If you want to provoke or challenge people now, you could be very hurtful indeed, without actually wanting to be. If you want to experience this quality of time in a positive way you should, every now and then, quite deliberately use your capacity for understanding, your empathy, and imagine yourself in your counterpart's position. In order to avoid an unwanted lack of consideration you can only try to understand your fellow man better.

and another rzzl frzzl

this one supposedly valid feb through dec. please. shoot me now.

The forces at work

Valid during many months: During this time you will have to withstand severe challenges to your way of life as it is set up now. As we grow up, we structure our lives to a certain degree, and we come to depend upon this structure for predictability and order. Sometimes, however, the structure is repressive rather than expressive of our true selves. But if it is safe, we tend to keep it regardless of whether we are happy with it. Nevertheless, at some point in our lives the internal energies of this arrangement of our world must evolve or be totally destroyed. Now is such a time in your life. You must adapt to the forces at work during this period for your own sake! You may feel like the victim of some massive external force beyond your control that is forcing you to move, but actually the dynamics for change are inherent in your own life structure.

During this time some circumstance or situation will create forces that seem to push against you. You may feel very pressured to do something that you don't want to do at all, and you will probably put up tremendous resistance. If your life structure is a valid expression of who you are, your efforts to resist will probably be successful. Otherwise you will be forced to change. In either case this period will be characterized by enormous expenditure of energy. If you handle it successfully, you will be able to strive forward and reach new heights as an individual.

As this influence begins, you may find that certain resources ­ financial, material or otherwise ­ are no longer available and that you are forced more and more to fall back upon your own devices. This is part of the test of this time. It is not usually a good time to expand your operations in any field of activity, especially business. Nor is it a good time to spend your energies making everything around you as solid and safe as possible. The best course, which you will be least inclined to take, is to openly and honestly examine all aspects of your life and voluntarily give up whatever you don't really need ­ those things that make you feel secure but do not aid your personal evolution.

semi silver lining

Silver or just shiny gray? Tin lining? Tin roof lining? It's a lining dammit and I'll take it. With a side of rzzl and a layer of frzzl as this one says "intense," too. Jan 06 through Oct 07. Why oh why do I buy into this astrlogoy crap?

Your creative energies will be aroused and if you are in any way artistic, you will be able to put deep, feeling energy into your creations as never before. Others will recognize the intensity that has gone into your work, for which you may very well receive considerable recognition.

Art and love will have one element in common during this time; that is, the experience of them will transport you out of the commonplace into the extraordinary, for that is what you are seeking. Art and love should have a considerable impact on your life now and affect your future for many years to come.

mantra's a word we hear a lot, but do you really know what a mantra is? i am here to share...

A meditation technique used a great deal in Tibetan Buddhism is uniting the mind with the sound of a mantra. The definition of mantra is “that which protects the mind.” That which protects the mind from negativity, or which protects you from your own mind, is mantra.

When you are nervous, disoriented, or emotionally fragile, inspired chanting or reciting of a mantra can change the state of your mind completely, by transforming its energy and atmosphere. How is this possible? Mantra is the essence of sound, the embodiment of the truth in the form of sound. Each syllable is impregnated with spiritual power, condenses a deep spiritual truth, and vibrates with the blessing of the speech of the buddhas. It is also said that the mind rides on the subtle energy of the breath, the prana, which moves through and purifies the subtle channels of the body. So when you chant a mantra, you are charging your breath and energy with the energy of the mantra, and so working directly on your mind and your subtle body.

— Sogyal Rinpoche

possible excuses for being late which aren't excuses at all but very real explanations

1. The cat was on my lap.

Seriously. I am being hampered by this at the very moment.

damn you rob brezny

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Happy Valentine Daze, Virgo! To begin our meditation on romance, let's consider psychologist Carl Jung's words: "People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul." Do you fit that description? Have you ever employed tortured logic to explain to yourself why you're not following your heart's promptings? In the past year, did you take a detour that has led you further and further away from your true home? Are you engaging in evasive measures in order to keep yourself from seeing the open secret about love that's right in front of you? I'm just asking, Virgo, not accusing. Only you know the correct answers.

Also today (snipped from email to friend):

today is the anniversary of the beheading of mary queen of scots. beheaded for what? well, the english will tell you for plotting to kill her cousin, elizabeth the first. but i will tell you for being a catholic and the real heir to henry the eighth. i think eliz turned out to be a better queen, but i still feel for poor mary. she was a bit like britney speers -- too young and powerful and making stupid decisions for all to see. or maybe she was like jennifer lopez, tho there is no official word on the shape of her backside.

it is also the birthday of kate chopin. i never did read the awakening, but i'm thinking i might check it out today. and also born today? elizabeth browning. you gotta love the successful poets, whether you enjoy their work or not.

how do i know these things? writer's almanac. garrison keilor is my little friend who reads things outloud to me. :)

overheard

dan: ... or the they nip it in the butt?
jan: bud.
dan: butt.
jan: no, that's what the neighbor dog does.

napkin_08-23-01

napkin_08-23-01, originally uploaded by digihuman.

amen.

digihuman is a new contact of mine and only today did i find his napkin set. check it out. read what he says about the set. look at the photos. then go back and read the set-comments people have left for him.

wow. love is a big, big thing.

utata pays homage

utata pays homage, originally uploaded by emdot.

Utata Pays Homage

I am very proud to be a part of this project. Actually, all of the Utata projects. But there is something really special about this one.

We were asked to make a photograph in homage to a photography master.

I chose two photographers: James Turrell for photos I already had in my stream. And Patrick Tosani as a modern-day master who makes the ordinary extraordinary.

Please go and check out the project. I hope you enjoy it.