It's as Simple as That

All this hoopla these last few weeks about a certain form of intelligence, and why are we surprised?

I've said this here a few times; when the powers-that-be decided years ago to skip over women's intelligence (or more generally, right brain, spontaneous, creative ways of knowing) in favor of the "artificial", the end result was just about guaranteed. The values entered into the system appear to be only left brain, logical, competitive, dualistic and power-over-based, so that is the outcome you are getting. 

On top of that, this is a "yes"-based universe, so when you tell people (or machines) what not to do, they will inevitably (seeing forbidden fruit) say, "Yes, I want to do that!" Lordy, all these billions spent, and poor little old me could have told them this a decade or two ago.

Am I afraid? Basically, no. This is the hyped-up drama of the end of one paradigm meeting the calm, alive, unified love and joy energy of the new paradigm. Whatever happens, the new paradigm is already in place and whatever is an energetic match with its beautiful, positive values will move forward. It's as simple as that.

A New "Minute"?

Referring to my last post, I have not been able to write a new paradigm "Story of a Minute"...and I think this is the problem.

Here are four assumptions I have for the new paradigm.

• All women will be respected for their wisdom and self-sovereignty
• Love will be the "currency"
• The land will not be "owned" by humans -- earth is the body of Gaia, and people will understand this
• We will be "post-duality", so there literally will be little conflict. Indeed, it will energetically not be possible to fight in our current sense of the word

So, current concepts of good literature, great literature, and great entertainment of all kinds, simply won't exist. It has been too based in us vs. them understandings that are evaporating. I think I've mulled this over in one or two past posts -- how will entertainment as we have thought of it up until now even exist? Well, it probably won't. There will be huge challenges dealing with climate and spiritual transformation, and new kinds of literature may rise up around that, but the human-to-human (or human-to-alien) conflicts will fizzle away and certainly won't seem entertaining. 

I feel extremely low energy/coldy (too many new things to deal with!), so over the weekend I'll take better care of myself. If any deep thoughts on this come to me, I'll let you know next week. Meanwhile, take care of yourselves!

The Story of a Minute

Many of you have probably read "The Story of an Hour", the remarkable story by Kate Chopin (and if you haven't, do go find it!). It is about a wealthy woman in 19th century New Orleans who is informed of her husband's death in a train accident. Upon hearing the news, she goes to her room wishing not to be disturbed. At first, she goes through shock and grief. But within a short time, her inner horizon has opened up to the reality that she is now completely free in a way she has never been before (and that few women of that era or any other era have been). Because she is well off, she will be completely independent and able to make her own decisions. Of course, there's a surprise ending to this feminist classic, widening her gamut of emotions.

The other day, I was reading a fictional story in which an 18th century young woman has a serious discussion with her father. Turns out he wishes to give her some property, to deed it over to her because he is concerned for her welfare as an unmarried woman.

The second I read this, I started on my own inner journey. My very first thought was self-pitying, sort of, "Why didn't I ever hear these words? Even in the fictional 1700's, a father had the capacity to care about a daughter's future, and provide for her. At least some women (fictional or otherwise) must experience this kind of love!" And yet reading the next page (which probably took me a minute or two to read), I joined this fictional character in coming step-by-step to the shattering realization that this "gift" was contingent on her marrying a certain man and -- this being two hundred-plus years ago --- the second that happened, the property would revert to her husband. It was all effectively a dishonest lure into a trap that would only enrich the men in her life. 

I inevitably had to take another look at the father-daughter interaction I wrote about a few days ago ("The Black Hole with No White Dress", August 26). Because my father's finances were a disaster in the late '70's, rather than declare that I should never marry, why didn't Dad push me to marry a rich entitled WASP prince, what in ensuing decades would be called a "Master of the Universe"? He would have benefitted far more around the edges of that scenario than in my wandering mystic one! (This is where I sense the possibility that he actually understood me deep, deep, deep down...)

Oh dear. I guess you can only laugh...the strange angels on your path, eh? Human, animal, fictional, and otherwise.

Years ago, I tried to write a futuristic novel. Perhaps today's activity, just for fun, is to write my "Story of a Minute" with the fulfilling and respectful ending I want, on behalf of all of us!!!!

Moving

I guess so far, the takeaway from my latest move is how utterly exhausting it has been. It is a combination of many different things, from having lived so many places over the last two decades, to being over 70, to the physical exertion needed to pick up even limited numbers of boxes. But in my case, there is much, much more. It's like walking backward into the old paradigm at a moment when I can almost physically feel the energies of the new paradigm surging forward. It's returning to owning more things (including heavy things like furniture) when for years most of my belongings have been packed in boxes. It's opening purchases packed in plastic, and being more part of a consumer model that I find hard on so many levels. 

And yet...(and this is important)...I need to live alone right now. For so many reasons, the most important of which is so that I can align with the Goddess to the greatest extent possible. The current situation is the best way to do that for the moment. I may face loneliness, boredom, and other aspects of the Void far more acutely than I have done in years, and whether I take up good habits or bad ones remains to be seen. There may be changes to my diet, but whether that means becoming a vegetarian, or eating nothing but junk food, I don't know. Some days it may be easier to get exercise in my new setting, and I will be on a bus line so I'll have more freedom to be spontaneous. That is good.

Overall, this change is "moving". It will change me somehow, I'm not sure how. It will move me somehow. In an era when so many people have less housing security, I am very, very thankful for some of it right now, especially heading into winter. Today is the last push toward getting my belongings in one place. I couldn't sleep last night, so I suspect a lot of sleeping will be part of my immediate future! For the time being, my writing schedule may be somewhat erratic, so bear with me. Thanks!

Acquiring Things

There is no question about it: the most challenging thing right now will be acquiring things. Putting aside every other consideration in my life, the fact is that I have never been comfortable in acquisition mode. This is at least part of why I have not earned money easily, or wanted to own property, or enthusiastically taken part in the structures and institutions that most people take for granted. I truly am wired differently, immune to the siren call of ownership. In addition to that, I am going to want to seriously limit the amount of plastic that I have in my space. Having said that, the two items that I won't be able to put off very long are a small circular area rug for my main room, and a toaster oven. (I am calling it my main room, not "living room", just to free myself from needing it to look like a conventional living room. It may be more like an office or studio, actually. A space in which to write, and further move ahead spiritually.)

Yes, many strange aspects to all this, including the fact I'm convinced that in the not-too-distant future, I'll meet my soulmate! How beautiful it is to be offered space in which to do the final work on getting to know myself. And in order to do that, anything I "acquire" needs to be beautiful to me, on some level.

Maybe if I think of it as "acquiring beautiful things", that will filter out "stuff" -- and it is possible to find beautiful things that aren't expensive. So as my contemporaries pare down their belongings, I'm going just a few footsteps in the other direction. I guess it's OK, as long as I don't become too attached. Life is so paradoxical and wondrous sometimes, isn't it?

A Space of My Own

Over the last four days, I have transitioned from almost 20 years of being a wandering mystic -- virtually always sharing other peoples' spaces, living in an intentional community, or house-or-cat-sitting -- to having a space of my own.

To say that this is freaky would be an understatement. A few pieces of furniture have been donated by friends (a bed, two tiny dressers, and a small table and two chairs) but otherwise the space is quite empty.  Conceptually, I've loved sharing things like vacuums, appliances, etc., and at this moment in history to actually have to purchase a few of these things feels very peculiar. So in order not to stress out, I am going very slowly, and trying to think of this empty space as the womb of my new timeline, a void that I do not need to fill up willy-nilly. As of now, no TV, just an FM radio.

That's all I can say today, but, with a lot of help, I did it! I am so thankful. I think this will be a rich time.

Today...

Today, if I could be a tarot card, I would be "The Fool". That's the major arcana card where the life journey starts, the young person with a tiny sack of belongings on a stick, about to leap off a cliff. In some decks, the child is beset on all sides by challenges, yet has a smile on their face as they take the leap. This starting point is emblematic of the place of total emptiness, total "not knowing". I guess this is the perfect card or persona for the day of a lunar eclipse!

I had hoped to go outside around midnight and see if I could see the eclipse, but unfortunately we were having a series of rolling thunderstorms that kept waking me up. I finally accepted that there would be nothing to see, and fell back asleep. However, this morning, I experienced the strangest feeling of emptiness combined with total acceptance, even lightness and total joy. I mean, even though I rarely use those traditional cards, I immediately thought of the Fool image, and saw it as a self-portrait. I spoke last time about being hollowed out, and there is one benefit to that state right now as we are undergoing this ascension process...weightlessness. I feel like I am about to leap off a cliff, and yet instead of falling "down", I will waft along on the wind. I will, in effect, "fly" for the first time in my life. While none of the events scheduled in upcoming weeks would seem to have that energy, I believe that they are part of my new timeline, leading to a form of soaring that has been rare so far.

Speaking of flying, the other day, I saw the third monarch butterfly of the summer. I just about burst into tears and called him "sweetheart". He actually showed up in the same spot about an hour later, but when I tried to pull out my phone to take a picture, he flew away. It was reassuring nonetheless. And I saw three wrens this morning and a robin yesterday. Again, the wildlife picture is entirely too empty, but I just have to hope that they are ascending too!