Hillbilly Mystic

In The Spiral

2011-10-14T03:32:00.000-04:00

PICT0047, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"You are as old as God and as young as the morning." –Hilda Charlton

"There is one river of Truth which receives tributaries from every side." –Clement of Alexandria

"The search for wisdom is a great challenge; to act on wisdom is an even greater challenge." –Siddhaswarupananda

This morning I tried to turn my old posts into a book. The system wasn't going for that, and it. Also, WordPress.com wouldn't let me delete any of my past posts.

God in the Machine it seems...

Something has happened to me that is unexplainable. It is a bit scary, definitely provocative, and a bit whoopy-ti-to-do.

My "about" has changed a bit. Enjoy it as you will.

All Love,
Kim

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2011-10-14T03:05:00.000-04:00

Communal Spiritual Family - A poignant shift at Green Being Studio

2011-10-13T03:17:00.000-04:00

PICT0004, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“Rarely do members of the same family grow up under the same roof.” -- Richard Bach

“Human spirituality is to seek an answer to the question: 'how can you make sense out of a world which does not seem to be intrinsically reasonable?'” -- John D. Morgan

“A man may be the greatest philosopher in the world but a child in RELIGION. When a man has developed a high state of spirituality he can understand that the kingdom of heaven is within him.” -- Swami Vivekananda

At this time my world is brand new. Reading posts before my meeting with the Angelic owl...it seems as if it is from some different person, or a different time.

It doesn't feel as if anything has happened, of that any of the interesting experiences of my life have helped me get here.

Something is just different.

And since my words will not change the way the silence is around my home right now, or here on the internet.

Maybe it was the 30 minutes spent holding my son as he mourned the loss of his treasured "dude" doll (he had named it Dude). Or, it could've been the way my youngest told me that she felt that staying "the baby" forever might just be the best for her.

Most likely the Song of Fall, sung by my lovely husband, was the background music for such a day. Blended into that was the wonderful notes from my older two...off spending time with my mom and step-father.

Something happened - a sacred fire of re-birth, or maybe a...well...who knows. But it was something, and it brings with it a deep contemplative peace.

From the Wikipedia article on the Shakers:
"Shakers lived in "families," each family sharing a large house with separate entrances for women and men. A cluster of families constituted a Shaker village. Every family was designed to be self-supporting with its own farm and businesses, but in times of hardship, other Shaker villages pitched in to help the afflicted.
Shaker religion valued women and men equally in religious leadership. The church was hierarchical, and at each level women and men shared authority. This was reflective of the Shaker belief that God was both female and male. They believed men and women were equal in the sight of God, and should be treated equally on earth, too. Thus two Elders and two Eldresses formed the Ministry at the top of the administrative structure. Two lower-ranking Elders and two Eldresses led each family, women overseeing women and men overseeing men."

And that is all there is...there is nothing more...

I love you! Deeply and truly,
Kim

Not in the scream...in the whisper...

2011-10-12T03:02:00.000-04:00

"If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite." -- William Blake

"The idea of God is the idea of our own spiritual natures enlarged to infinity." -- William E. Channing

Enjoy the silence...

God is an Owl, not a verb or a noun...but an Owl

2011-10-11T03:50:00.000-04:00

Playing around with new apps, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“He respects Owl, because you can't help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right.” -- A. A. Milne

"I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places." -- Psalm 102: 6

Yesterday I engaged, fully, in a spiritual temper tantrum.

As a dear friend says, "Okay, God, I'll do it...but I'm not liking it."

Travel with me here, as I unravel some yarn, and sort of ramble a bit. :)

My "mystical" side comes from a hard background in "logical" things like math, science and so on. Fractals, song, math, equations - they all speak a Divine language in a very special way. Mysticism, for me, was just a very nicely packaged way of making the Unknown easy to understand for those who needed a deeper understanding.

And, with all of this, "science" engaged the Woo Woo fully. Ghosts, spirits, thought forms, all ways of manifesting a tangible reality.

Dreams, portents, way-seeing...and Shamanism...each one had its own set of parameters that were quantifiable.

Well, you get the picture.

However, what happened to me on Sunday, October 9th, 2011 was something totally unexpected (even more so than having morning tea and toast with Jesus yesterday).

For about 24 hours I researched everything about my experience. Not a head injury, not a body issue. Had nothing to do with my physical body at all. Looked up things in medical journals, tried to self-diagnose myself with rare and unusual diseases.

Nothing. No Thing. Nothing.

While doing a few Google searches into "light and song," followed by "Jesus and light," I found some links with stories of others who had the same kind of experience.

Buried deep in message boards, and on websites, there were people, preferring to stay anonymous (and, no, that that creepy organization). After that, many said, their life was just not the same. Some of them had to quit work. Others changed their name, moved to another state and stopped being a part of communities.

However...there was a key element missing in their accounts, that had happened in mine. Those folks were given a message to tell people about some event, or to find a certain person and help them. Instructions were given in a pretty clear manner.

No one wrote that Jesus said, "Tell people you saw me."

Now this doesn't mean that my experience is unique in any way. Unique for me, sure, but it is my firm belief that others have experienced the same moments as I did. However, no one has written about it (that I could find).

So yesterday my human will threw a big, nasty, really horrible, temper tantrum. In fact I actually wrote a note that said, "Dear Jesus and all this weird stuff... Please find another person more willing, able and more open to being publicly ridiculed, harassed, and otherwise put in motion to be considered clinically insane to take your messages. Already my life is busy with talking to the trees, being with the flowers, tending Rosie the rose quartz and so on. Not to mention the fact that I have 4 kids, 2 acres and 1 house in need of care, a lot of it, every day. Trust me when I say that there are about 200 people, some I can vouch for personally, that would love nothing more than to have You talk to them. But for me. Nope. Nada. Move on, get along, and don't let the door hit you on the way out. All the best, Kim."

In the Dreaming last night, Hildegard de Bingen came to me and touched my forehead. From her touch a beam of light came out. Falling to the ground, she picks me up and says, "Dear Child...we do not pick who gets called. You can make this a hard time, or an easy time. Either way you will still be loved and honored, as we all are. However, and this was the case for me, it is the thought of not following through to the end that will get to you. As a child it was obvious my life was for something other than what I intended. If I'd never gone off to look for it, life would have been very boring, 'eh? Do you have enough strength to say, 'I don't want to know'?"

After that an Owl came. It looked much like the little barred owl I'd seen a few days previously (it was dead on the road). It immediately turned into a large winged thing that was like nothing I've seen before. It picked me up, cradled me, and sang with words, but its beak didn't move.

In one of its feathers it held my letter, the one I'd written in the day time, and at the end of the note there was something written in ink...

"Get over it. Love, God"

The Owl kissed me on the spot where Hildegard had touched, and then I woke up.

So, with that, I've no idea what is next. It does have to do with helping people transition - from one place to another, a way of life to another, or from one realm to another. After my meeting with the Spirits, one of whom called me "Azrael of the Crows," and the Dreaming about people waiting to be reborn, and the fact that my old midwifery teacher visited me... Well, it seems that it is time to put away my expectations of who I was, and make ready for who I AM. ;)

And, as Martha Stewart would say, "it's a good thing."

From this site:
"It should be clear that the owl was honored as the keeper of spirits who had passed from one plane to another. Often myth indicates the owl accompanying a spirit to the underworld - winging it's newly freed soul from the physical world into the realm of spirit."

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2011-10-11T02:57:00.000-04:00

That's just the insanity talking to you.... grin

2011-10-10T03:01:00.000-04:00

PICT0020, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd, smiling
Merciless the magistrate turns round, frowning
And who's the fool who wears the crown
No doubt in your own way
And every day is the right day
And as you rise above the fear-lines in his brow
You look down hear the sound of the faces in the crowd" -- "Fearless," Pink Floyd

"The LORD says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'" -- Psalm 32: 8

For lack of having a better description, it would seem that this morning I had a conversation with Jesus.

Saying this in public can bring a lot of flak from all sorts of sides/camps/groups.

Let me just say this...

It was not my prime desire to talk with Jesus, or any other sacred person, before my morning tea. In fact, in the last few days it has been my desire to actively turn off anything that might seem anything near the "woo woo" part of my life.

Normal rural woman in the sticks, of the weird variety that talks to plants and things, but not of the "voice of God" kind of stuff.

While all of this is written in hindsight, and the Amazing Randi would work to find holes in what I'm writing here, it is as it is, and that is all it can be at this time.

Last year I wrote in my journal "big weird energy in mid-September 2011" I didn't really think anything about it until early September brought some of the worst nightmares I've had since being a child.

Chaos, pandemonium, fear and panic. Children being taken from their mothers, elders being taken to camps. Really horrible stuff that left me shaken.

Before that it was obvious in many realms that it was time to stop consulting, teaching and move into a new way. Instead of putting information out, it was time to let information flow to me.

The nightmares continued (and are still happening), and the world seemed to become a bit more chaotic. Through the news there was a brewing sense of "if you are not in our ship, then get off the ship."

Yesterday, after visiting with a dear friend, a great big beam of light bonked into my head. Having seen the movie, "Phenomenon," I thought immediately of John Travolta's character, and how he had to face being so different. Laughing, my mind started picturing him as the character he played in the movie Michael.

Cleaning up, I moved my journal and if fell open to the part where the Dreaming brought a vision of Angel Gabriel in my backyard (and where there now resides a rose and clear quartz spiral).

The day went on, and my husband helped me as I said, "maybe it is time to just truly stop being online...stop trying to connect and start trying to re-member." He hugged me tightly and said, "I love how you look at things."

Again this morning he told me that he supports me, and that he knows me to my heart space.

Then the voice came.

First with Bible scriptures. Various ones from Matthew (my husband's name by the way), some from Psalms, others from Ephesians.

And then, low but very strong, I could hear, "Abwoon....Abwoon....Abwoon."

Once the chanting stopped, there was a clear sense of sitting with someone. Thinking it was a kiddo, I said, "Come in kiddos, let's have breakfast."

No children came forth.

Thinking they were being cheeky, I sneak around the corner to give them hugs.

Still no kiddos.

Instead there is this wild light coming form the back porch. It wasn't the sunrise. Laughing to myself I say, "Oh, look, kitty-cats, it's the Mother Ship. Let's welcome our new alien overloads with hot tea and toast."

Still giggling at my silliness a voice comes and says, "No Mother Ship...I am Jesus."

Huh? No way...Jesus?

You know, Jesus is just alright with me, but having some voice and light tell me that it is Jesus is more than I can handle at this time. Too busy trying to figure out life and my place in it.

Plus, people like to laugh at, hurt, ridicule or harm folks that talk to Jesus and God (which always baffles me, as they were both great storytellers and orators).

Still laughing I say, "Okay, 'Jesus', what do you want. Tea? Toast? Maybe someone to wash your feet?"

Calmly, as if millions of heartbeats came into one place, this sound comes out of the trees. More beautiful than anything imaginable. And with a loud quietness it says, "Tell others you saw me."

So, trying not to sound all crazy like, which after re-reading the top part, it does sound pretty crazy-like, I'm supposed to tell you that I saw Jesus.

There.

Off to start my day.

All love to each of you,
Kim

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Naming yourself - the role of a Medicine Person

2011-10-09T01:57:00.000-04:00

PICT0011, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"The precision of naming takes away from the uniqueness of seeing." -- Pierre Bonnard

"There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be" - John Lennon

My dear friend Rachael Ehrlund over at Birch Nest wrote a post yesterday that went through every fiber of my being. After years of feeling sort of wishy washy about what in the heck to tell people what it is my path is about, she put it all into perspective.

A quote she shares, but that I want to share, too, really sums it up.

"In past times a shaman's sense of self could be so foreign to a tribe or community that a separate teepee or village was erected solely for the medicine people. Shamans are sometimes aloof and hermetic figures who interact less with the tribe and more with solitude and nature. Given their psychic initiations, shamans do not need to identify themselves as just one type of being. As a result shamans can bring balance and harmony to the diversity of dimensions within their life-forms; humans, animals, ecosystems, concepts, pathologies, so forth. Through the initiation and training process, a shaman learns to manipulate the structures of energy/spirit to create new life. A shaman is a self-regenerator. A shaman makes things new. This is why shamans can heal people. Shamans lead people safely through psychic or spiritual death and into a new form of self-identity." -- Adam Elenbaas from Fishers of Men

For years it was my desire to skirt about the whole "shaman" thing. Shaman is a heavily used word for people who want to get some kind of recognition, while at the same time gathering speed in the New Age world of describing oneself.

Years ago (think 16 years ago), a dear friend of mine, a Cherokee medicine woman, told me that the word Shaman was nothing more than a way to understand the role of the Mystical Seeker. She said it was fine to use, but most likely tribal folks wouldn't know what to do with it.

However, the way that Adam writes about Shamanism above, it would seem that my role, and the path before me, is pretty darn shamanic! ♥♥♥

It is also all about ease of description. When asked "what do you do," there is this long pause and I say, "my role is to be the community Medicine Person for my tribe...performing the duties of healer, counselor, spiritual guide and listener." Almost always the person stops listening after "my role..." :)

So yeah...Shaman... This will take some pondering, 'eh? ♥♥♥

The Dreaming last night was full of meeting Elders and those who had passed into other realms of existence. Lots of stairs, lots of old mothers, and a Teacher who was a correspondent for NPR. He was teaching me how to use voice in times of silence.

~ ~

Today you are invited into a wonderful dance of Naming. What is your name? Do the dust bunnies have a particular name? What is the nickname of that old sycamore in your yard?

In the Name of Love,
Kim

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Awakening Authenticity

2011-10-08T02:09:00.000-04:00

PICT0049, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity." -- Coco Chanel

“If every day is an awakening, you will never grow old. You will just keep growing.” -- Gail Sheehy

Sometimes we forget that before something new can come to us, that which has lived brightly, and with love, must give of itself to the All That Is. It was named, had its cycle, and will move into its new incarnation.

How many times to we cling to the old, just in case, because we are unable to move forward in our life?

Well I have...and it is almost certain you have, too. ♥♥♥

Let us think like plants and trees for a moment...

Does the pumpkin fret over giving itself to the All That Is so that it can live on, forever, in the seeds.

It seems that even the best of us have an issue with the transition phase of our life and living.

To work with this, it helps to sit. Sit in the morning, sit in the evening, sit at supper time. Transform your transformation with letting things flow through you -- sitting in the space between.

~~

Today you are invited to sit. That's all. Just sit.

All love to you!
Kim

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All is full of love

2011-10-05T03:18:00.000-04:00

PICT0053, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not." --George Bernard Shaw

"We need time to dream, time to remember, and time to reach the infinite. Time to be." --Gladys Taber

"The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness." --Dalai Lama

Sometimes feels different this morning. Good...just different.

Things seem brighter, a little clearer, and somewhat more intense.

Today you are invited to smile and laugh. Check out your reflection in the mirror and be blinded by your own light!

Much love,
Kim

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So much beauty it makes my heart ache . . .

2011-10-04T02:57:00.000-04:00

PICT0085, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." -- Albert Einstein

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator." -- Mohandas Gandhi

There is a place within me that can see only Beauty. Sometimes it fills up so deeply, that all that can be done to release is to cry.

As I cry, it comes to me that the smallest of things in life - the ones that are almost always overlooked - are the most beautiful.

Today you are invited to stop and stare at small things. See the Beauty they hold. Let your heart fill so richly and wholly that you have no choice but to cry at the sheer magnificence of it all.

The Navajo say:
"In beauty may I walk.
All day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.
With dew about my feet may I walk.
With beauty may I walk.
With beauty before me, may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty below me, may I walk.
With beauty all around me, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty"

In Beauty and Balance,
Kim

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Love is more powerful than we thought . . .

2011-09-30T01:55:00.000-04:00

PICT0008, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Don't be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts." -- Don Talayesva, HOPI

"Love makes everything that is heavy light."
– Thomas a Kempis

"All land is holy, all land is sacred
All shall leave this world completely naked
Completely naked, completely"
-- Trevor Hall, Unity

Today you are invited to fully, wholly, totally and many other -ly words fall in absolute love with your Self.

Not that you needed permission, mind you, but it is nice to be invited.

May this day be the one where you realize your connectedness to all things. Each hug given to yourself is a hug given to others, too.

Hugs to you - you are loved for everything that you are.

♥♥♥♥

(and here is an extra special secret - when we stop "making war" within, we will stop "making war" outside of ourselves...a path to peace is to love ourselves and stop pointing fingers at everyone else...)

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Advanced Shamanism - Staring into the Sun

2011-09-29T02:12:00.000-04:00

"The thought of initiation scared me more than dentists. I pictured shivering naked in dark caves, eating raw meat and insects, stumbling deliriously across miles of scorching desert, hanging from my pierced chest for days on end. “Perhaps it doesn’t have to be so painful,” I mused between drags on a damp Pall Mall while thumbing for a ride in a light mist of rain outside Grosse Tete, Louisiana." -- Sol Luckman

"As we press upon one another with our intentions, From our hearts fly luminous butterflies, That intermingle and crossover to be absorbed. In abeyance our hearts await." -- Lujan Matus

"They wished to flower, and flowering is being beautiful: but we wish to ripen, and that means being dark and taking pains." -- Rainer Maria

When you stare into the sun for some fair amount of time, your vision changes. You can do the same thing by closing your eyes for long periods of time. Or, close your nose and stop smelling. Put cotton balls in your ears...

You get the picture.

If you want an advanced Shamanic experience, be willing to do so without your senses.

Only when we travel into the deepest parts of our inner cave, do the Danse Macabre celebrating the "Death" of our old self to be reborn, are we able to truly see what cannot be seen.

Eyes that look without seeing; ears that hear without listening...

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Today you are invited to hang out on Yggdrasil with me. As the world turns and flows, turns and flows, we will meet each other in the space between for tea and hugs.

As above, so below...

All love to you! ♥♥♥

Into The Mystic

2011-09-28T02:09:00.000-04:00

"Confusion is the welcome mat at the door of creativity." -- Michael J. Gelb

"No one likes to be criticized, but criticism can be something like the desert wind that, in whipping the tender stalks, forces them to strike their roots down deeper for security." -- Polingaysi Qoyawayma, HOPI

"Dark One, hear me, I am mad with visions. Eaten up by separation, I wander from place to place covered in ash and clothed in skins. My body is wasting all because of you. Distraught and desperate, I go from forest to forest. Immortal and Unborn One, visit your beggar. Extinguish her pain with your pleasurable touch. Mira says: 'End this coming and going. Let me forever embrace your sweet feet.'" -- Mirabai

Emerging from an intense soul experience has left me with the deeper desire to help others, connect in a more real-life way, and to be a Student of the Universe once again.

This is me, waving my white flag, giving in to my Soul Spirit and Heart. Quietly on the inside, and a bit dramatically on the outside, there was been this gnashing of teeth, wrangling of will, and a bit of Ego dance.

As of today I've stepped out of my old job (aka "quit"), and am not longer counseling/consulting. At all. Nada. (those last two sentences were added for dramatic effect *wink*). Nine years of college, thousands of continuing education hours, apprenticeships and workshops - all that stuff floating around in there. Sharing it for these past few years have made it difficult to bring anything *new* in - it was all outflow.

Now is the time for stillness and learning. Maybe it is that whole "the student is ready, the teacher appears" kind of thing. Whatever it is, it will be whatever it is.

There is a heart calling, a soul stirring, that says to me "being of service to others, opening your home, and being still will teach you." So that is what is ahead for me. Still service in my open home.

Is it possible to hug everyone it in the world? ♥♥♥ If so, let the hugging begin! ;)

--

Today you are invited to engage your life path fully. We we cross lines, let's have a cup of tea and a bowl of soup.

Lots of happiness, joy and light to you this day...and all days...

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Belief O Matic says . . .

2011-09-25T02:51:00.000-04:00

"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen." -- Muhammad Ali

"Remembering that man is indeed the microcosm, the universe in miniature, the Divine Dance of the future should be able to convey with its slightest gestures some significance of the universe." -- Ruth St. Denis

Each Fall and Spring a part of my ritual is to do the Belief O Matic. Each year I get these wild and strange results. There are a few solid contenders - buddhism, UU-ism and so on. But never anything in the top 5 that covers all the bases.

Until today. :)

I give you my Belief O Matic results for Fall 2011

Mahayana Buddhism (100%)

Neo-Pagan (89%)

Unitarian Universalism

(87%) Hinduism

(85%) Theravada Buddhism (81%)

(I'll post the rest below)

81% or above is what made the cut for the top 5. Interestingly, I would say this is about 100% correct if you ball it all into one place, that part of me that I call, "Kimboism." :)

Hope your Sunday is fantastic - the feeling in the air of our home is joyous and full of giggles.

Many big hugs of love and joy to you, Kim

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*here are the remaining results:

New Age (80%)

Liberal Quakers (77%)

Jainism (71%)

New Thought (64%)

Reform Judaism (60%)

Sikhism (59%)

Taoism (58%)

Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (58%)

Scientology (53%)

Baha'i Faith (50%)

Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (45%)

Secular Humanism (42%)

Orthodox Judaism (38%)

Orthodox Quaker (36%)

Islam (29%)

Nontheist (24%)

Seventh Day Adventist (21%)

Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (19%)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (17%)

Jehovah's Witness (16%)

Eastern Orthodox (6%)

Roman Catholic (6%)

An Awakening . . .

2011-09-24T13:14:00.000-04:00

PICT0013, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Do not try to approach God with your thinking mind. It may only stimulate your intellectual ideas, activities, and beliefs. Try to approach God with your crying heart. It will awaken your soulful, spiritual consciousness." -- Sri Chinmoy

A red Ouroboros appeared to me, in the form of a red road rising up to meet itself in a circle. After that there was a Peacock walking across a tall stone wall. It winked and opened its tail feathers. Instead of the "eye" of the feather, there were red Ouroboros at the tip of each feather.

The Peacock pulled a feather out, dipped it in golden ink and wrote the word, "Remember."

Following the Dreaming, I inspected my PC for little tricky things that can sneak in. After looking and looking at these odd little folders and files, it came to me that they were from Facebook. Yes, my dears, from sweet, sweet Facebook.

These files were all the user images, info and little tidbits here and there that Facebook decides to put on *your* computer so that your usage doesn't eat their servers up.

Google does it, too.

Pretty creepy, 'eh?

Just think - for free we are willingly giving marketing dudes and dude-ettes our information. All of it. Including what is on our hard drive, our cache, which cookies we've eaten and so on.

But this post is not about Facebook, or Google, or even the Inter-webz. It is about Awakening to something within. Feeling connected to everything around me in a new way, electric with a different type of energy. Wild and focused...alive and transparent.

My spiritual life and practice is full of such wild and wonderful things that having an "awakening," or "deeply spirit-filled experience" (think religious event here...), seemed obvious. In fact they happen every day - we all have them - it is just deciding when to notice them.

Right?

Apparently not. At least not in my case.

Instead there was this mind blowing, soul shifting, spirit opening experience where things just clicked. Better stated, it felt as if I should be running down the road yelling, "Eureka! When I sit in the tub the water rises!"

This experience has left me wow-ed.

~~~

When I asked the Peacock what I needed to "Remember," it smiled and said...

"Remember there is time for study, time for work, and time for action. You are heading into a new phase -- a time of study and writing. Use your silence wisely. Create and infuse your life with Creation. Remember..."

Indeed, Peacock, I will.

Much love to each of you! As things come down the pike, they will be updated here.

Don't forget that every other Tuesday is prayer/chant/Kirtan night at the Studio/Farm. Along with that, there is a once a month "Sunday go to meetin'" kind of thing, that is a potluck gathering of hearts, souls, minds...

Big hugs,
Kim

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News/Social Media fast - Day 1 into Day 2

2011-09-23T03:19:00.000-04:00

IMG004, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste." ~Laiko Bahrs

"If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn't have given us grandmothers."
~Linda Henley

I can't even tell you how much stuff happened yesterday. Anyone who has fasted before knows that the first day is used to sort of get ready for eating light for a bit. Sometimes fruits and water, other times veggies and water. There are even fasts that start with light breads and tea.

However it is done, the body isn't going to abide, in a nice way, not having something to eat all of a sudden. It would prefer that you love yourself, so slow, and be at one with the process.

So yesterday I did look at Facebook a few times. Mostly, what I saw was several posts about how much people don't like Facebook. Interesting social situation to observe. In fact, until the Internet came to be a large part of our life, people didn't usually gather someplace to complain about the place they were in while *still using it.* This would be like going to McDonald's, eating their fries, and saying, "OH MY GOD these are the worst fries" while stuffing them into your mouth.

The news sites I frequent had the top story as how much the "world wide web" hates Facebook.

People talking in the library yesterday - how much they hate Facebook.

Oh, Mark Zuckerberg. Most likely someone in your soon to be dictatorship will read this post after being paid to "google" your name. And we, your willing servants, will continue feed you, and the rest of the n-tar-webz our life.

Being away from the web for just a few hours is an amazing experience.

I got all the dishes done - twice.

My laundry was put away - twice.

The family ate three really good home-cooked meals.

There was no feeling as if I was "missing something."

I finished a whole book.

The sun shone on my face for quite some time.

The Ego didn't feel the need to tell everyone about itself...

After today...well...to say something so strong would be radical, but let me say it anyway.

Let it be known that my heart and soul wants to be free. And that after reading the Hopi story about the spider's "web" which criss-crossed the land [cough, cough, the world wide WEB], it seems just a little bit uncomfortable to keep using the web.

Know that my path isn't going to work for everyone. And good Lord, I hope it won't. The Creator made us who we are, as we are, and each one of us has a path to follow.

Mine, however, doesn't include the internet.

Much love to each of you.

I hope to meet each one of you in person and offer you a hug. If you need anything, I'll be right here on my back porch. There is always a comfy chair for you, some hummingbirds that will whisper in your ear, and some dragonflies to dance with in the early morning sun.

Hugs and love,
Kim

[youtube=http://youtu.be/37ojuRkQrIM]

News and Social Media Fast(ing)

2011-09-22T01:57:00.000-04:00

PICT0009, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"It's clearly more important to treat one's fellow man well than to be always praying and fasting and touching one's head to a prayer mat." -- Naguib Mahfouz

"Knowing that great and all-pervading Self by which one sees (the objects) both in the sleep and the waking states, the intelligent man grieves no more." -- Katha Upanishad

It has been pretty clear to me over the past weeks (months?), that it is time for a break from social media and news sites. There is far too much beauty to be explored in this world...

Today I invite you to read the words below. Print them up and put them on your fridge. Share them with friends. Whisper them to the wind...

Discourse on good will by the Buddha

May all beings be filled with joy and peace.
May all beings everywhere,
The strong and the weak,
The great and the small,
The mean and the powerful,
The short and the long,
The subtle and the gross:
May all beings everywhere,
Seen and unseen,
Dwelling far off or nearby,
Being or waiting to become:
May all be filled with lasting joy.
Let no one deceive another,
Let no one anywhere despise another,
Let no one out of anger or resentment
Wish suffering on anyone at all.
Just as a mother with her own life
Protects her child, her only child, from harm,
So within yourself let grow
A boundless love for all creatures.
Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth.

Everybody I love you. Everybody I do. ♥♥♥

Hugs,
Kim

Blessed to be a witness . . .

2011-09-21T02:16:00.000-04:00

PICT0026, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. " -- Buddha

"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding." -- Albert Einstein

"Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances." -- Mohandas Gandhi

Today is the International Day of Peace. From Wikipedia:
2011 - on its 30th anniversary - the UN Peace Day’s theme is “Peace and Democracy: make your voice heard”. Global Peace Day events and celebrations will be held on September 21st (as well as the week prior and following 9-21). Each year Peace organizations around the world offer cultural events that include School Activities, Music Concerts, Peace Day Comedy, Prayer Vigils, Peace Doves, live internet streaming video and so much more. Please search Peace Day events on the web for an activity near you. Peace Is Possible! Get involved in a Peace Day Activity near you.

Some sites to check out...

Peace One Day
UN International Day of Peace
International Day of Peace

Today I invite you to find Peace within. When the heart and mind are in balance with the soul and spirit, then Peace prevails. What we find "bad" in ourselves, we seek out in the world to remove - thinking somehow that removing the "bad" in others will heal what we dislike in ourselves.

Instead, on this day, do something so incredible and radical that all the news stations will want to tape your actions!

Stand up, go outside and say...

"I bring peace into the world by loving myself for all that I am, and seeing that I'm made perfectly, and without flaw. As a unit of All That Is, my heart beats with all things. The ability to love myself travels across space time to guide and help others love themselves, too."

Then give yourself a hug...and go hug someone else.

If you happen to be in my neck of the woods, stop by for your hug. And, if you want, you can walk the spiral and declare your peaceful proclamation of authentic self love!!!!

I love you and all that you are!
Hugs,
Kim

[youtube=http://youtu.be/2vJEfU4qCmM]

Tea with the Green Man in Shambhala

2011-09-20T02:41:00.000-04:00

PICT0053, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Remember me, try to remember.
I am that laughing man with eyes like leaves.
When you think that winter will never end,
I will come.
You will feel my breath,
a vine caressing your foot.
I am the blue eye of a crocus,
opening in the snow,
a trickle of water, a calling bird,
a shaft of light among the trees.
You will hear me singing
among the green groves of memory,
and the shining leaves of tomorrow.
I'll come with daisies in my hands -
we'll dance among the sycamores
once more."
- Lauren Raine, The Green Man

“If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.”
― Pema Chödrön

"After tea it's back to painting - a large poplar at dusk with a gathering storm. From time to time instead of this evening painting session I go bowling in one of the neighbouring villages, but not very often." -- Gustav Klimt

In the crazy path of Kim, there are many things that have been experienced. From life in general, to mundane events, to things that defy explanation. There are times when what is being experience is beyond belief...and my grasp for a touchstone is strong.

Last night, while having tea in Shambhala with the Green Man (as the subject says), there was something very odd and transcendent about what was going on. It was just a small dream in the Dreaming, but it was very significant. The dream after that was so strange and bizarre that the Universe say fit to turn on an alarm at exactly 12 midnight (prompting all the denizens of the bedroom to jump up and freak out a bit).

Laying back down, it was my wish to climb back into having tea with the Green Man. For some time I worked at constructing the scene, calling in the proper Dreaming guides, and allowing my mind to drift.

No thing and nothing. Just regular sleep.

My internal alarm goes off at 4:45, and I do my meditations while lounging in bed. Getting up to do more formal prayers and chanting, I move to the couch to sit with the kitties.

Five minutes into the meditation there is a very unsettling sound. Thinking about it now freaks me out a bit. At first it sounded like bone being scraped on metal. The cats and I jumped, looked around, then settled back into the morning routine.

The noise started again, but louder this time. It was as if a large stick was being scraped over and over against the house. Over and over. Over and over. The cats went into straight up *FREAK OUT* mode. They were running around, running into each other, then running at me. All five huddled into this mass of fur, staring out the window, trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

My body was frozen on the couch - my mind went searching for what could be making this precise and rhythmic noise. Thinking it all too much to handle at 5:30am, I started doing my morning "ram, ram, ram" chant.

Scrape, scrape, scrape... In exact time with my "ram."

The cats and I had enough, and we were all pricking our hairs on end. Electrified to the highest intensity, we huddle together on the couch. Finally I say, "What to you want."

"Remember..."

Now for you, the reader, this most likely doesn't make sense. For me, it is a bone chilling reminder of things asked from me. It was also a part of the Dreaming where there was an earthquake and a return of the Wicker Man.

My heart is racing at this point, and it feels like my whole being is going to shoot through the roof. If you run a piece of strong and thick wicker (wood) over aluminum siding, it would accurately represent what the kitties and I heard for about three minutes this morning.

Two hours after the incident, the cats are still looking for the progenitor of the sound. They are beyond spooked. Along with this, the birds have gone a little bit wild, and have not stopped chattering. Coming to the windows and everything. It also sounds like they are saying, "Remember."

So, like a good freaked out woman, I'm holed up in the office with the door mostly shut. Knowing that that will not stop anything that wishes to come visit, and also having a great vantage point for looking out into the yard, it seems just a little less...odd.

So, in the Dreaming, while having tea, the Green Man said to me, "Be the translator, open the channel." I guess that is what is important to remember today, 'eh?

However, what it brings up is an agreement made long ago with the Land. How our small family worked with the critters, beings, entities and such when we first moved here. A dance that brought a union of energies into place - something that allowed us to learn more about All That Is, and God Itself.

"Remember..."

Indeed, I do remember.

That's all for today... Plus, I'm hungry, and it seems okay to walk into the kitchen now. *grin*

All my love,
Kim

[youtube=http://youtu.be/9ka9ysOTulo]

Awakening to Sacred Silence

2011-09-19T02:45:00.000-04:00

, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Treat all things as if they were loaned to you without any ownership -- whether body or soul, sense or strength, external goods or honors, house or hall...everything." --Meister Eckhart

"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck." -- Dalai Lama

Nothing special for today . . . Sitting here with love in my heart for All That Is. Thankful for the blessings of each day.

Today I invite you to enjoy the video below.

I love you!
Kim
[youtube=http://youtu.be/hzLO549DDPU]

My teacher stopped by for a visit yesterday . . .

2011-09-18T02:55:00.000-04:00

PICT0013, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"I am a member of the evolving new species, beyond the humans who know, beyond Homo sapiens. Even beyond Homo relatens (Lloyd DeMause's term for the humans who relate). My spirituality is the human at one with the source -- Homo Divinitus." -- Jeannine Parvati

“Work honestly, meditate every day, meet people without fear, and play.” ― Baba Hari Dass

In the beginning of 2002 my family and I were still getting adjusted to living in a new environment, and in a more natural way. To anyone who thinks that you can just POOF! go off-grid in one day, trying to do so will be an interesting awakening. *grin* ♥♥

During that time, my work was to just Be. Try and see life around me. It was not an easy spot to live, as we were sort of the "outsiders" of this community, and the locals had me pegged as "that witch woman."

What sustained me was a group of women online who also skirted the edge of the dominant cultural paradigm. They were healers, wise women, shaman, sages, moms, wifes, daughters.

Through the Dreaming I was called to study midwifery and deepen my understanding of herbalism. When I shared this with my friends, they quickly responded by sending me quite a few books.

The first one that came was by Susun Weed. After being blown away by such strong feminine energy, and seeing that what is in front of us can sometimes be the illusion (with the reality being so beautiful we often over look it). Looking Susun up online, I found that she offered correspondence courses. The one that drew me in the most was her Green Allies course.

My work with Susun was amazing. With every exercise a little more of "me" opened. She sustained and helped me grow...as if my Being was also part of the plant kingdom. :) ♥♥ Her work engaged me and broadened my mind. It seemed that she was a key part of what was to come...

One very sunny day, when the older two had finally settled into playing, I was able to have some meditation time. For some reason things had been extremely hectic, and there had been no time for anything but chaos. As the sun beamed down on me through the window, there seemed to be another presence with me. This was nothing new for me, so I just let it be, allowing it to do its thing.

Before me stood a woman in a white dress, almost nightgown-ish, she smiled at me and had the most radiantly beautiful white hair. She looked around my home, and smiled at the older two. She bent down, touched my forehead and said, "Hygieia calls you to spiritual midwifery."

That afternoon a book, "Hygieia: A Woman's Herbal" came from one of my online friends. Immediately I read the book from cover to cover. Some of what was inside didn't sit well with me, while other parts blew my mind. Over and over again my mind raced and raced. Who was this person that wrote this book, what did she look like, how could I contact her...

On one of the back pages there was information for Hygieia College - a correspondence course for Spiritual Midwifery and Healing. Of course I called the number listed... *grin* ♥♥

Thinking there would be some apprentice, or even an answering machine, I'd sort of prepared a little speech, "Hi, Jeannine, this is Kim Upton, and I'd like more information on your work, please." That was not to be...

"Hello, this is Jeannine."

My jaw hit the floor, my heart flipped, and a new path began.

When she asked me how I came to find Hygieia, it felt right to share what happened earlier in the day, with seeing the woman. She laughed and told me that her other students had often spoke of seeing the same kind of woman.

That began my co-creative dance with Jeannine Parvati. She taught me so much.

In 2005 she became ill. It tore me apart. When she asked for people to come help her, my first response was to go, and it was supported by Mister The Mister. We had just enough money to get there, and she was going to help cover any other expenses.

When the time came to make the reservations, I couldn't do it. There was too much sadness in my heart. Her students and friends knew she was dying. How could it be possible to see my teacher dying? It was such a hard time for me. What could I do to change Fate?

Instead I ran off to visit a friend down South. Which was a far *worse* decision than going to my loved teacher. But anyway...I'll save that for my life story... ;)

My son was born the January after Jeannine passed away. When I let her know that Mister The Mister and I were with child, she laughed and said, "this is good." After that conversation, we barely spoke again. She was too weak to talk, too tired to type. My last lesson, "Oral Interview - A Personal Evaluative Dialogue the Wise Woman Healer Within and Lesson" was never completed, nor was the chance to engage in Ceremony with her.

So...back to yesterday...

September 15th was a day set in the stars for me to change my path, Journey and "place in space." Having just finished some work with mentors and friends, a grief sort of struck me, as if there was Nothing (different than No Thing *grin* ♥♥) ahead. Working through the mandalas helped at bit, but wasn't giving me what was needed.

Sitting with this, the next mandala in the series was one teaching how to open to possibility, be courageous with your fears, find inspiration and open the heart to more. Listing my fears, writing out the names of those who inspire me and guide me, then listing my wants, needs and desires just followed from my pencil. It was a moment of feeling the Oneness of All That Is, and understanding my thoughts as they work within the bigger whole (The Great Round).

A familiar energy filled my heart, and the woman in the white dress stood next to me. She touched my forehead, as she had done before, and said, "Follow Jeannine's path...look to Parvati...learn from her teachers as if they were your own." After that a whole flutter of birds went wonkers as my son and I sat on the porch watching them. We both just looked at each other and smiled. ♥♥

Interestingly...in the past two years I've had a chance to learn quite a bit about Jewish Theology and the varying Native American belief systems (mostly Navajo and Hopi). Jeannine's parents were from these backgrounds as well. Most recently has been the teachings from Lord Hanuman that have come through the Dreaming and with those who are Devotees. Interestingly, my path has already been much like hers...the Universe just decided to remind me a bit. :) ♥♥♥

Okay, so now I'm rambling... *grin* ♥♥♥

In the Dreaming last night there was guidance to read as much as possible about Baba Hari Dass, and to start my daily yoga practice again (sort of let it slip during the heat of summer). From there then next set of guidelines would be given.

Imagine my surprise to read and study about Baba Hari Dass this morning and see that he has a very large tie to Lord Hanuman...

The Great Round - always working to constantly shower us with blessings.

--

Today I invite you to reconnect with a mentor of yours from the past. A friend, a teacher, a guru - whoever it may be. Set a place for them at the table and honor their spirit and the light they shared with you.

I love you!!!
Hugs,
Kim

[youtube=http://youtu.be/GkKScsOec_4]

Jeannine Parvati

"Mom. Will you teach me how to pray?"

2011-09-16T03:20:00.000-04:00

PICT0030, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them." -- Mahalia Jackson

ओं मणिपद्मे हूं (Om mani padme hum) "Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]" -- HHDL (from Wikipedia's page on Om Mani Padme Hum)

♥♥♥

Yesterday my son asked me how to pray. This struck me as odd, because we "pray" daily. Chanting, dancing, creating, be-ing and so on. Our whole life is a prayer...

That answer wasn't good enough for him. He wanted to know the mechanics of prayer. How do people around the world pray. What are prayers used by others...

So the "teacher" in me starts the spiel - this is how faiths around the world, pray. Short of doing a Power Point presentation, it seemed that all bases were covered. He got out my Angel and Mary of Guadalupe candles, Hanuman and Ganesh, then he asked if he could light the candles.

As he did this, his lips were moving. Clearly he was asking for something...

From there we talked about hand positions, "pre-made" prayers versus prayers from the heart, and what did *he* think about prayer.

He likes the prayers that devotees do with their gurus, and asked if I had a guru.

"Yes, sweetie, I have four."

So he wiggled his feet at me and smiled. That kid doesn't miss a trick. To his impishness I let it be known that most guru have feet that don't smell like pickles. ♥♥♥

Throughout the day he continued to make prayers. When asked what he was saying, he just smiled and ran away.

Finally he let it be known that his main prayer was for there to be "less distractions for mommy and daddy." As his words spilled out, so did his feelings about having a t.v. (not as fun as riding a bike), my computer usage (please log off when he wakes up), and time "looking something up" (checking my e-mail and *cough, cough* Facebook *grin*).

His options were these:
~ have more people come over to hear my stories, play drums, chant and eat.
~ go to the library more and listen to more stories on the radio (books on CD).
~ anytime I feel like "looking something up," I should give him a hug instead.
~ get more art supplies.
~ walk the faery path more.

Then he gave me a back-door way out...

"Mommy, you are a writer, so I know you gotta write. When you feel like writing, get a notebook...that's what I do. One day we [the kids] will be too old for you to play with, and you can write then. Also, if you say 'I just gotta write' then tell me. It is like when I gotta have chocolate, or ice cream."

Every night we chant and pray. Sometimes we mix it up a bit, but we always do the Om Mani Padme Hum chant. After we were done, my son hugged me...

"Hugs are the best way to pray, Mommy."

---

Today I invite you to "pray" with someone by giving them a hug.

Also, find time to log off from time to time and pray (hug) a little more.

Hugs and prayers to you,
Kim

You are a living Medicine Wheel

2011-09-15T03:53:00.000-04:00

PICT0013, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear." - Ram Dass

"Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are." - Pema Chodron

The slenderest knowledge that may be obtained of the highest things is more desirable than the most certain knowledge obtained of lesser things." - Thomas Aquinas

Aren't we beautiful entities? Legs and arms flowing around on a torso that moves through life in a series of interesting challenges. Mixed in this life are moments of pure Beauty and Balance. At times we become conduits for the Divine, allowing our true Self to shine with all the other star-beings next to us.

Sharing this space with us are millions of other entities. They come in all forms - human, plant, spirit, sound and so on. The most wonderful thing about this experience is that we are always in the first chair in the Creational Symphony.

Indeed, we are all Shamans and Faeries. The tree outside your window is most likely a cousin, three or four times removed, and was alive when your energy came into being.

Before your Cousin Tree was born, Uncle Rock held your essence in its cracks and crevices - keeping Sacred Space until it was time for you to Be.

The Old Ones, the people of the tundra, the plains, the deserts, the jungles...they, too, held you in their hands. Each step they made to have a better way, a place of harmony, you were on their mind. They danced for you, created works of art and told stories of your glory and Beauty.

Yesterday, when that child in the park picked a dandelion and made a wish. She, too, knew of you...and your magnificent You-ness.

This is the day, written in big letters on my calendar, that marks my transition from "consultant" to whatever it is that awaits. It will be harder for other people, I think, as where this place is doesn't fit into a specific category. Maybe if a new word was made up, something like HinduShamanStorytellerListenerArtistMamaMysticFaeryHillbilly. Yes, that works, doesn't it. *giggle* However, as a dear friend always says, "Can you use it in a sentence?"

♥♥♥

Long ago some energies passed my way asking me to tell their stories. For years it has brought me quite a bit of concern that what is not always seen by those around me asked me to write their stories.

One of the first pieces sang to me is about how we are always standing in each direction of our own Medicine Wheel. At the center we see into the directions of our own heart -- our own core. In fact, as we reach our arms up to the sky, the sky is lowering down to meet us. The same for touching the ground...the grass rises up to greet us. (there are some great video clips showing this...I'll have to hunt them up *grin*)

This is the day of the Fool's Journey - a place to start a new path, a new way.

As always, there will be time to hug you as Time moves me forward! ♥♥♥

---

Today I invite you to make a Medicine Wheel. Don't spend a ton of money, or try to get all fancy. Draw pictures on paper and color them. Get coins from your penny jar and align them in your living room. Find old branches and twigs from that tree you love and make them into a living mandala...

Then stand in the center and declare your Beauty to the world.

The world will reply back to you on the breeze...and it will say, "I love you for all you are."

♥♥♥

Hugs, hot tea and a bundle-stiff in the corner ready for the next place,
Kim

[youtube=http://youtu.be/xOh4t8ZpzoM]

We have all been here before . . .

2011-09-14T04:22:00.000-04:00

"Listen to all the teachers in the woods. Watch the trees, the animals, and all living things - you'll learn more from them than from books." -- Joe Coyhis, STOCKBRIDGE-MUNSEE

"In dark night live those for whom The world without alone is real; in night Darker still, for whom the world within Alone is real. The first leads to a life Of action, the second to a life of meditation. But those who combine action with meditation Cross the sea of death through action And enter into immortality Through the practice of meditation. So have we heard from the wise." - Isha Upanishad

As I sit typing Jai Uttal is holding virtual Kirtan with me - through the power of a CD. ♥♥♥

My youngest is dancing around me singing "Om Namah Shivaya." With this incredible beauty happening right now...my heart is open wide...

On 9-11 I had a waking Dream (vision). There was a golden Sun Temple, and all around it was shimmering gold and light emanated from the sides. On the top was a Sun symbol. While the origins of it were unclear and there was no indication of any cultural association, you could clearly tell it was a sun.

The symbol popped from the top of the Temple and circled around a moment. It grew large and bright, then entered the doorway of the Temple, leaving everything around it dull and dark.

After that there were people who were standing in line in front of a veil. I asked "who are these people," and a voice told me that these were people who had lost their life on 9-11-2011 who were ready to incarnate.

Then the Dream vision ended.

--

Today I invite you to investigate your past. No need to travel back to the incarnation of humans on this world...just go back 4 or 5 years ago and see who, where and what you were. Let your past self teach you in this present moment, so that your future will be clear and free of unfinished business.

Om Namah Shivaya...

[youtube=http://youtu.be/9WolPmj1-XM]

Come sit a spell . . . this moment's always Holy

2011-09-13T03:58:00.000-04:00

PICT0037, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"A religious awakening which does not awaken the sleeper to love has roused him in vain." -- Jessamyn West

"Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment." -- Lao Tzu

Since 6:45 this morning this post has been brewing in my mind. It was my hope to share something powerful and life-changing for our family. The Universe, through the mouthpiece of a local friend, spoke to me about a family decision.

Not that we were really fretting over the answer, mind you, but that it was just something we needed closure for...in some ways.

Instead of writing about it...the little ones woke up early, the cats found a fly on the window, there were e-mails to reply to...and of course Facebook to read. *grin*

My heart kept going back to the series of moments yesterday...connecting, dancing, singing, be-ing. Laughing with the kids, cooking leftovers, sharing dreams...

Write...must write...

Or not. *grin*

Today feels like one of those days to walk around barefoot and let the grass tickle my toes. It seems to be the kind of day to learn how to sing with the hawks...dance like the dragonflies.

And then there is the sense of not being present enough the world. That by looking up "just one more thing" prevents me from helping one more person, sending one more virtual hug.

Or, just staring into the tall grass, imagining what the critters are doing in there.

--

Today I invite you to do something. Anything you want. However, there is one condition...

That after you read this post (grin), or right in the middle of this sentence, right now, you log off and go Be. ♥♥

Go...off with you! ♥♥

If you chance upon my back porch, come sit a spell. Share a holy moment. We'll have tea and talk about nothing.

Love you,
Kim

You are loved - so are they

2011-09-12T08:06:00.000-04:00

PICT0008, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Do all things with love. " -- Og Mandino

"If you want to be loved, be lovable." -- Ovid

"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods." -- Albert Einstein

Yesterday...and into the early morning hours of today...the Universe reminded me of the organic nature of growing community.

As this day moves forward, there is so much that sits freely in my heart and soul.

Most importantly remembering that you are loved, and so are they.

May love be the compost that helps community grow.

Hugs,
Kim

[youtube=http://youtu.be/oHe8NCiE9q4]

Under The Dream Tree (of life)

2011-09-11T03:55:00.000-04:00

Mirror fun with iPod and mister the mister, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!" ~John Muir

"Conversion for me was not a Damascus Road experience. I slowly moved into an intellectual acceptance of what my intuition had always known." -- Madeleine L'Engle

“Sages speak of the immutable Tree of Life, with its tape root above and its branches below.” -- Bhagavad Gita

If there is one constant in my work, my writing and my life, it would be Dreaming and dream work. Everything else sort of falls into place there, as if the Dreaming is one big large tree...

As a child my dreams were like that - as if a branch of the Great Cosmic Tree of Life was wisping over my sleepy eyes to share some knowing with me.

In all the great faith systems there is a reference to the great Tree of Life, that cosmic timekeeper that bridges the above and below parts of our Universe (and self). Along with the tree, there is very often a serpent holding an apple/egg/Universe in its mouth. While some faiths see the serpent in the tree as a harbinger of evil or malevolence, it is nothing more than our own psyche showing us inner treasures.

In the "waistband of weird" that is my life, there are times when the comfort zones that have been established in my work get tested. Yesterday was one of those days.

A few days ago the Dreaming was strong. It was like a dream within a dream within the Dreaming.

Toward the end of the dream, there was a group of people coming together around a round table to eat and share community. In the background was the song "Welcome Home" by the band Radical Face. From that point the Dreaming took a turn into a grocery store where the song Big Country by Big Country was playing. Then the Dreaming came to an end.

However, there was more after that. Until yesterday I'd forgotten that the Dreaming held some more interesting pieces. In fact after that part, there was more Dreaming going on during my morning meditation.

It was a serious of lucid "dreams" where I came in and out of the Dream Tree. Each time I was carrying story after story, trying to save them from some unknowable force. It was a frantic situation, and it was obvious that there were too many for me to save. I screamed, "somebody help me," but the people watching (who just seemed to appear from nowhere) turned their backs and walked away.

The waking world pulled and pulled at me, and eventually my body woke fully. The last thing that happened in the Dreaming state was my voice saying, "Won't someone please help me save the Dreaming?"

Now...there is a lot of dream psychology here, and it is easy to see that as a writer/artist/mom/weird lady down the street, the symbolism of the dream speaks strongly and in an obvious manner.

However, and this is where the weird waistband stretches, last week I watched the movie "Knives Over Forks." At the end of the documentary there was a group of folks, sitting around a round table, with the song "Welcome Home, Son" playing in the background (the same one from the Dreaming). Then, yesterday, as my oldest two and I made our weekly grocery store outing, we walked in to the store while being serenaded with "Big Country." And, lastly (and number three), the book "The Dream Keeper" by Robert Ingpen fell on my foot. One of the kids had picked it up for me at the library some weeks ago.

What is this book about? Why yes...it is about a Dream Keeper and the Dream Tree.

:)

--

Today I invite you to Dream. Without the Dreaming we are nothing...

Love and Dreams,
Kim

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Today I invite you to . . .

2011-09-10T04:12:00.000-04:00

PICT0073, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

Take a break from self reflection and dance, sing, paint, love, hug, Be.

With love and hugs,
Kim

The Spirits of Green Being Farm (and Studio)

2011-09-09T04:20:00.000-04:00

PICT0071, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame."
~William Butler Yeats

"A lady, with whom I was riding in the forest, said to me, that the woods always seemed to her to wait, as if the genii who inhabit them suspended their deeds until the wayfarer has passed onward: a thought which poetry has celebrated in the dance of the fairies, which breaks off on the approach of human feet." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

During our first week here there was a very interesting experience.

Standing on the back porch with some friends there was a sense of something behind us.

My first reaction was, "Can y'all feel that?" Everyone looks at me with this odd look and nods that mean "yes we can."

Right after that a woman comes from the tree line, running and intent on getting away from someone. She comes running up to us and says, "Help me! If he finds me, he will try to hurt me again."

We are all stunned, believing that our new neighborhood is harboring psycho husbands/boyfriends, but I manage to say, "Yeah...come on in."

She *floats* through us and into the house.

"Did anyone else see that?" I say.

The nods this time are more like a half-no, half wishing it hadn't been seen.

About ten minutes later we all hear this rustling sound from the side yard. Thinking it was the Turkey Woman Of Shepherdsville coming back to seek her revenge (a story for next time *grin*), we all get a good laugh at my expense.

However, standing in front of us is a very angry, very out-of-breath man...

"Where is she? I saw her come this way."

I blink. I breath. I tell the man that the woman isn't here. I watch the man disappear.

Later we learned from our neighbors that the land our house is on always seemed "haunted." And, that each couple that lived here would have awful fights and eventually split up, then move out.

Our family has lived here longer than anyone else has...

That was the beginning of what will soon be ten years of living between the realms, dancing with faeries and making friends with ghosts.

Over the years we have come to know many folks who live here. Albert, Ralph, Little Red Cap, Old Oak and now, Feather.

Feather is...well...tough to explain. It is like nothing any of us have experienced. The whole family is encouraged and supported by this wonderful energy. Each one of us gets different messages, wonderful healing messages and small kisses on the cheek.

---

Today I invite you to host a "meet and greet" for those who live with you in your space. You don't have to live in the middle of woods, or have some kind of farm/sanctuary/etc. Hold your hand out and great the "folks" in your apartment building, your local park, or in that tree by your office.

Lots of love and joy to you and yours...
Hugs,
Kim

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May All Be Fed . . .

2011-09-08T03:38:00.000-04:00

, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Worries go down better with soup." --Jewish Proverb

"Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you, and be silent." -- Epictetus

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -- J. R. R. Tolkien

In the Dreaming last night I wrote this post over and over again. Each time it was written, it was hard *not* to see some kind of personal food agenda forming.

So I stopped, chanted, thought...then moved forward. However, the same "agenda" kept coming up. Since it seemed important, it was time for me to Listen...

"Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are." ~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

In our modern world there are people who do not have enough to eat. Even though it is a pressing subject for our global culture, we would rather not think about it.

As this thought kept rising up in my mind, the more super-charged my post became. In fact, it was becoming a bit preachy. In fact, it was going to be all about how we waste food and resources, that we shouldn't use food as divider or to process our political agenda. My segue was going to focus on how we can feed 50 people from one plot of land...

However, none of that seemed right, or fair, or even who I am. Instead it seemed, well, holier than thou. As if *I* was going to end all issues surrounding food.

In the pause between thoughts an old mantra came to mind.

May All Be Fed...

This was taught to me years ago - even before John Robbins wrote his book with the same words. In my merry band of friends, we would chant this before enjoying our midnight repast(s). In those late nights were we would joyfully share our meager food supply to make a grand feast, we were very much aware that many of our friends were able to have such luxuries as home, friends, food.

May All Be Fed...

When you chant this over and over, you begin to let food politics fade away. Eating disorders and health issues seem to fade away. The longer and deeper you chant, the more you feel connected to all that is around you. Yes! May All Be Fed...the trees, the rocks, the sky...

May All Be Fed...

And at some point you begin to see that sometimes potato chips are Manna...

May All Be Fed...

---

Today I invite you to chant with me. Take some time before your favorite meal of the day, and chant "May All Be Fed" ten times.

Along with this, I encourage you to follow along as I participate in the San Francisco Food Back Hunger Challenge. Later this week I will post my proposed menu plan and shopping list.

May All Be Fed...

Love and warm soup,
Kim

Story (telling)

2011-09-06T05:44:00.000-04:00

PICT0047, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"It’s no coincidence that just at this point in our insight into our mysteriousness as human beings struggling towards compassion, we are also moving into an awakened interest in the language of myth and fairy tale. The language of logical arguments, of proofs, is the language of the limited self we know and can manipulate. But the language of parable and poetry, of storytelling, moves from the imprisoned language of the provable into the freed language of what I must, for lack of another word, continue to call faith." —Madeleine L’Engle

"Their story, yours and mine -- it’s what we all carry with us on this trip we take, and we owe it to each other to respect our stories and learn from them." —William Carlos Williams

Today my brain is foggy. This is a wonderful spot of respite for me, even if it is frustrating me a bit. :) ♥♥♥

What I know from past days like this is that the next day will be more full of ideas, dreams, ideas, thoughts...and stories. In these quiet days it is time for me to Listen to sounds from within.

---

Today I invite you to write a story about the photo I've posted. This scene brought tons of laughter from the kids and myself.

What will it bring from you?

All love, joy and stories,
Kim

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"I am a storyteller. The type that went from place to place, gathered people in the square and transported them, inspired them, woke them up, shook their insides around so that they could resettle in a new pattern, a new way of being. It is a tradition that believes that the story speaks to the soul, not the ego... to the heart, not the head. In today’s world, we yearn so to ’understand’, to conquer with our mind, but it is not in the mind that a mythic story dwells." —Donna Jacobs Sife

What The Past Hath Wrought . . . (a creator's tale)

2011-09-05T03:07:00.000-04:00

may01, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"All art requires courage." ~Anne Tucker

"The artist is the opposite of the politically minded individual, the opposite of the reformer, the opposite of the idealist. The artist does not tinker with the universe, he recreates it out of his own experience and understanding of life." ~Henry Miller

"Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted." -- Step 1 in Kurt Vonnegut's "8 Basics on Creative Writing"

Yesterday it was obvious to me that a part of my life needed to be shared. As I sat there, making notes about what to write, funny little emotions would arise. The word "funny" aptly describes them, as they were unfamiliar to me.

So let's start at the beginning, then, shall we? ♥♥♥

In the early 90s, during those "fun college years," it was my goal to learn two things: why religion was so captivating and how to free my creative spirit. While both of these goals were met, they did not happen in the method intended.

My first art installation was in the "yard" in front of my dorm room in 1989. Seeing all the colorful leaves falling around me, it seemed like a fun idea to put them in neat patterns and shapes. Make little golden leaf circles and squares really pleased me.

Then some guy came by and said, "Wow! That's queer," then kicked the leaves away.

After flunking out my Freshman year, it was obvious that being away from home was not such a good idea. There was a satellite of Northwood University operating in my home town, so I signed up for all the liberal arts classes available. One of the teachers was a woman who, in my high school art classes, had ragged on me, made fun of my "simple country art," and sort of ignored me.

However, this time, she had a chance to see me in the light of being an adult - instead of a scared silly high school student. As if by some kind of odd magic, she engaged me fully and helped me bring the artist within out into the big world. In short, she became my first creative mentor.

Time doing what it does, life moved, water fell, I changed. Deciding that being away from home was actually much better for me, back to "faraway" college I went.

And oh the writing and art that was had. My apartment turned into a make-shift model of the Algonquin Hotel, and it was my duty to play the part of Dorothy Parker. On the door of my abode was a sign that read, "If you are half-way there, then you are all the way here." The participants would stay up into the night, drinking coffee, reciting poetry, painting life. And it was good.

Life moved again, and it was time for me to leave. The Divine had a plan for me that involved getting married, having kids and raising a family.

When I got to the Louisville area it was hard to get into the art scene. After going through the ritual of Where Did You Go To School and Where Do You Live, then came the Who Do You Know.

No art. No writing. No thing.

In '01 the whole family moved to our now home, and there was a sense of freedom again. Each day there was time for art and writing. Along with this it was possible for me to teach and share.

In 2006 I hit my stride. My writing was appearing in magazines and websites, which got agents interested in my work. My art was selling, and my work was part of several art shows. The local paper did a feature story on me...in the background, however, was Life...moving a new ebb into my waters.

About the time my son was 8 months old I had won photography awards, sold over 400 pieces of my artwork, and had an agent in my pocket...ready to publish my book about trees.

Then my world crashed down.

(I've tried to type a sentence to start this part ten times, but the tears keep welling up, my chest closes and I stop)

The best way to approach this may be just random streams of thoughts. It is important to share it, as there are many others who have dealt with the same issue(s).

My art, life, creativity, human-ness, parenting skills and more were attacked over and over again. One person in particular would find my work online, contact the owner, and my work would be taken down.

While my life has been tough - tougher than most - nothing prepared me for a repeated and focused attack from a once friend and supporter.

This went on for a year. In survival mode, no art was created and no words were written. When moments of quiet would be provided, nothing creative would come. Any time I grabbed my pencils or journal, all that came out was sadness and pain. Or, horror of horrors, nothing would come out - I was totally blocked.

The Waters of Life flowed again, brining another child, a husband with a near-death surgery mishap and much-too-busy consulting schedule. There were sporadic moments of creativity - enough to keep me sane - but not enough for my Soul to be happy.

Then a voice came across in the Dreaming about a year ago today. "Be You" it would say. Various scenes of me painting, or of me writing would play out. Then an image or story would come up, and the voice would say, "Now do."

Each morning I would wake with the mantra "Be You. Now do." going in my mind. There would be a little art, then a little writing, then a calming meditation or yoga.

Mixed in with a lot of new teachings, some great mentors and just being me each day, I've overcome a 5 year period of creative blockages. When I say "artist and writer," it doesn't feel stale and contrived, as if I'm pushing myself into something unauthentic.

This Labor Day is very special to me this year. Today it will be a celebration of all the hard work done to reach this point, as well as a time of rebirth and renewal.

--

Today I invite you to make a birth plan. What is it that is gestating in your life? Are you growing an idea for community? Maybe you have some thoughts on helping others? Is there some subject you wish to study and fully understand?

Write a poem, take a photo, or make a collage about this idea. Make sure you can see it everyday. Soon it will come to be. ♥♥♥

Looking forward to your delivery...

Hugs and love,
Kim

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Welcome, Spirit! Have a seat . . .

2011-09-04T03:05:00.000-04:00

PICT0010, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”
-- Swami Vivekananda

“A jug fills drop by drop.” -- Buddha

"The man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest." --Henry David Thoreau

Today I invite you to make a place for Spirit. Feel free to have it apply to your current faith system and belief.

Make a big feast and put out a setting for that which you find Divine in your life. Or, have a cupcake party with the faeries.

You could even create a mandala, making it a representation of that which you want to bring into your life, and have it share sacred space with you.

Putting the kettle on for tea with you...

Much love and hugs,
Kim

Coming Home to your own tribe of Elders . . .

2011-09-03T03:59:00.000-04:00

PICT0002, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Acquire a firm will and the utmost patience." – Anandamayi Ma

"The body is a community made up of its innumerable cells or inhabitants." --Thomas A. Edison

"I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will." -- Henry David Thoreau

It was not apparent to me how much courage it would take to come into the community of my Self. All those years of saying, "Oh, solitude is fantastic...it brings you closer to your own be-ing" have come back to teach me.

Because we are simplifying our life, dealing with having one car, focusing on the health and happiness of our tribe of six, we have all been experiencing quite a bit of solitude.

We all rebelled a bit - gnashing our teeth and whining about all the things we didn't have anymore. After that we all had this sort of smug-ness -- you know, "we can live like this with no problem," while still trying to skirt our collective past reality.

When those passed, in came the grief. Why was this happening to *us*? Aren't we good enough to be part of a community? What was wrong that made us so...alone. Clearly the "Mind" was at work here - not the heart.

But then, in the still quiet of morning, the birds would sing, the trees would starting the prayer cycle for the day, and the sun peeked over the trees.

Clearly...not alone. *grin*

In the past week our family has experienced some tremendous changes. Free from the restrictions of what we felt community "was," we now have an understanding of what community is.

And for us...we have come Home.

--

Today I invite you to sit in solitude. Take as much time as you feel comfortable with - making it a time of healing and awareness.

Much love and Beauty to you,
Kim (and the quiet tribe of Elders in the yard *grin*)

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Coming Clean

2011-09-02T03:34:00.000-04:00

PICT0005, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway…
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway." — Mother Teresa

"Always be fearless. Walk like lion, talk like pigeons, live like elephants and love like an infant child." — Santosh Kalwar

This morning I spent time looking at old photos. After many days of dealing with an extraordinary garden variety of Weird, it was nice to ground myself in a truer Reality than what was being given to me.

Since Mister The Mister's 3-month near-death experience (botched surgery that ended in MRSA and a life-long painful foot), my mind set has been that of a woman who feels the need to prepare for the worst. As if, in some bizarre twist of fate, the "other shoe" is always around the corner...waiting to drop.

Since that time it is clear that the only Dreaming going on is between the veils. Instead of creating or writing because it is who is within me, I've been hocking my talents for a false sense of economic security.

I've been marketed, packaged, blogged, hired, coached, led and now, over-worked.

Several times over the last 6 months I've wanted to throw my hands up in the air, grab the family, and just leave. Run away from a life created out of fear and lack. Turning my back on what God has helped me to be - a weird lady down the street with stories and healing medicine and kids and quiet and a knack for Listening.

Grace has always taken care of me. Always. When I had to live in my car due to a bad relationship, Grace provided me safe places to sleep. During the first years of my marriage and dance into Motherhood, Grace held my hand -- assuring me that I was doing a great job. Through three years of drought and a complete loss of Faith, Grace came again and gave me hope.

And...it was Grace that kept us going through those tough times when Mister The Mister was fighting for his life.

Now, as I sit here writing this, it is Grace that is holding and hugging me, assuring me that letting go of fear and worry, not letting what others want for me cloud my own purpose.

So...the photos... In them were some of my award-winning pieces, shots of the kids in candid moments of whimsy and bliss, smiling faces of Mister The Mister and me, pictures of my old 'zine, pictures of my new haiku book, photos of healing mandalas created for friends, smiling faces of flowers and trees, gossiping birds caught in time...and pictures of me enjoying All That Is around me.

After a blurb (and photo) about me was posted on a local business's website, and e-mails, notes and calls started coming in, it was obvious to me that the life I wanted, and the life that was happening, did not match. As a little girl it was my fondest dream to grow up and be a Granny Midwife - oddball lady up in the hills with critters and "potions" and comfy chairs for sitting. It is not my goal to be a guest for some Oprah-like show.

On top of that, writing and art are the way I've supported my learning path to "weird lady-ness." And, sadly, I've not really spent much time on either one. Along with that, there are important things that have been forgotten -- where the hummingbird nest is this year, how many butterflies visited us, where the good berries are...and more...

Over this "labor day" weekend, it is my goal to really sit with my be-ing and let it speak to me of its dreams and wishes. Like Spider, I will bring my web back into my Self...letting it create a new home; a new Reality.

---

Today I invite you to "come clean" with yourself. Are you being real in your Reality? Is "fakin' it 'til you make it" creating a crutch that prevents you from walking? Have you been in survival mode so long that you haven't stopped to smile, laugh...or even cry?

You are not alone. Many others are right were you are. Heck, I'm just coming out of "there," burning up the sky with my glittery rainbow afterglow. As I charge along on my unicorn, lift your hand up for a "high five!"

Much love to each one of you. You are so beautiful and golden - shine that light for all to see!

Hugs,
Kim

[youtube=http://youtu.be/JzNPU3vABxE]

Elephant Power's Unstoppable (MC Yogi)

2011-09-01T04:49:00.000-04:00

, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Arjuna: O Krishna, you have said that knowledge is greater than action; why then do you ask me to wage this terrible war? Your advice seems inconsistent. Give me one path to follow to the supreme god. Sri Krishna: At the beginning of time I declared two paths for the pure heart; jnana yoga, the contemplative path of spiritual wisdom, and karma yoga, the active path of selfless service." - Bhagavad Gita 3:1-3

"IN THE BEGINNING were the Instructions... The Instruction was to live in a good way and be respectful to everybody and everything." -- Vickie Downey, TEWA/Tesuque Pueblo

This morning my feet are bathed in cerulean azure light as my soul spins with the Universe. The sky supports my sole (soul), and my heart is flying around the clouds with golden wings.

After meditating on the teachings given to me this morning, it seems auspicious that today is Lord Ganesha's Birthday. Removing obstacles, bringing intellect, and grounding the first chakra - seating you firmly in the AUM of the Universe, is all par for the course with Ganesh.

With that, I'll be taking a few days rest from writing on the blog. ♥♥♥ Don't worry, however, as there will still be a quote and a piece of art. *grin*

--

Today I invite you to find your root chakra. Ground yourself in the healing power of the AUM, and allow your obstacles to fall away.

I love you!
Kim

Unbelievable Things

2011-08-31T03:31:00.000-04:00

Field grass, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"I know how men in exile feed on dreams." - Aeschylus

"I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires." - Kahlil Gibran

It would be redundant to speak of my Dreaming as it features prominently here on my site.

Today, however, it would be my pleasure to share how two dream cycles came together.

First, let me explain "dream cycle." For me this is when a Dreaming happens within the waking hours, as well as the sleeping ones. In this cycle, there is no separation between realms - all is connected.

The first dream cycle involved a Native American grandmother and her "daughter" (as best as I could tell). Both taught me how to wear my hair in braids, dance the hoop dance, and cook bread in a traditional way. Often times one, or both, would take me to Canyon de Chelly to meet the old Listening Woman who lived there with Hawk. So intense was this Dreaming, that I asked a dear friend to help me. It was his intuition that being in Sweat Lodge would be helpful. And it was. :)

During the sweat, visions of animals came, Grandmother (from the Dreaming) was there, and as I emerged from the sweat, it was given to me that my path is to be like the Listening Woman of the Canyon.

This is where my studies of the Navajo began. The places I've gone in those studies is farther than ever imagined. So many life questions answered...so many more left unanswered. Thinking my path was set in front of me, it upset me when my dreams shifted to something different.

Earlier in this year, the dreams of Lord Hanuman started. Showing me temples, taking me to the marketplace, having me visit the Himalayas. So deep and true these dreams were - so much so that it seemed as if my body were in India. In fact, these dreams were far more intense and real than those of being in Canyon de Chelly. It as if I was an Indian myself.

One night Lord Hanuman took me to meet a Bon woman who lived at the base of the Himalayas. She was also a Listening Woman and a Grandmother. Just as my children began waking me, she passed on a piece of wisdom to me.

"We are all one. We all carry the Truth."

In the last weeks there have been dreams of Indian (as in India) gurus and mystics, and dreams of Indian (as in those native to the Americas) healers and sages.

Last night the two came together...

Right as sleep started, there was the sound of a drum. In the song, it was calling dancers into the canyon to dance what is known as a friendship dance, sometimes known as a round dance.

As the participants came in, there was an otherworldly feeling, as if two worlds were on top of each other. Looking around there are dancers from both sides of the dreaming over the past two years. Navajo dancers are holding hands with Dervishes. Hopi are dancing with Bon. Saris and feathers are flowing into one big festivity of color and magic.

As I stand there in awe, a voice over plays from one of my favorite documentaries on Mammoth Cave that says:

"And we made the connection...bringing two great cave systems into one long cave system."

Writing about it now is difficult, as it was such an intense dreaming.

From the middle of the dancers comes a figure of light. It touches my forehead, bows, then lays flowers at my feet.

In a language I couldn't understand, but could "feel" (for lack of a better description), it "sensed" to me the emotion of coming together, finding home and making peace with all parts of my past.

Then it took my hand and sat me with both Grandmothers-from the East and West. Each one took my hand, and we walked into a grove of dark trees. At the same time each one whispered, "now is the time for quiet...and to let the gifts pick you."

From there the dream turned into a scene with an old friend, where she was telling me about the power of re-using water. Then she pointed me to the desert, where a mattress awaited me in a tree.

(Yes, a mattress in a tree is very deep symbolism for me - as odd as it may sound - along with the desert)

As I stood there, feeling a little bit alone and afraid, the song "Cross Bones Style" by Cat Power played over and over again.

Yes...I have seen some unbelievable things...but now it is time to to Listen to them, connecting to them in a much different way. ;) ♥♥♥♥

---

Today I invite you to "make the connection" in your life. Even if we feel abandoned or alone, there is something greater than we can understand connecting us to others around us. Different faiths coming together for the purpose of Unity and Compassion. Warriors laying down their weapons to help a child find food. Hunters running wild with the animals.

Humans are growing up. Our inner child is still dancing with us, and we are able to bring our Whole Self to the Universal Table.

With the faith of a mustard seed, I know that you can move mountains!

Connecting with you in Love,
Kim

Where Will You Go . . .

2011-08-30T03:59:00.000-04:00

PICT0004, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"The greater the faith, the greater the result." -- Fools Crow, LAKOTA

‎"Everything depends on your intention. All the time, therefore, check your attitude and motivation. As Patrul Rinpoche said, everyone wants happiness, but the true way to reach perfect happiness is to bring happiness to others." -Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Before the rest of this post forms, it is important to share with you that lentils, toast and juice make one beautiful breakfast. Simple and without ceremony. Just full of peace and grace.

♥♥♥

There is a lyric from the song, "Fixing A Hole," that always gives me pause.

"I'm taking my time for a number of things
that weren't important yesterday
and I still go..."

In essence, the day I stop wandering, or praying, or seeking or finding, will be the day that this mortal coil goes back to the dirt and Universe that formed it.

No matter how far we roam, we are brought quietly back to the Self.

Lately it has been difficult to stay on topic here. Mostly I want to say, "Hey, y'all, come on over and get a hug - let's sit and chant and dance and play!"

As this comes up, more and more of my professional side goes away. Instead the beauty of Life itself calls to me. It says, "get your camera and share the little bugs on the porch." Sometimes it says, "grab that recorder and share the silly songs your family sings."

The same voice cradles me as the clothes gossip and dance on the line. In the cool morning, the essence of God rises in the steam as the Sun kisses the Earth to say, "wake up, m'dear."

Lately my dreams have been about leaving the counselor/professional life for more writing, teaching and art. Because my Dreams mirror what is my heart, I take them seriously. :) ♥♥

Today I invite you to follow your dreams to find your own path. What calls to you, in the deepest reaches of your heart? Do you feel called to help those effected by Irene? Maybe Somalia calls to you, or helping those in Tibet who are working to save their cultural identity.

Maybe you want to open up your back porch so that folks can find a place of peace, offering hugs, tea and cookies.

Whatever it is, know that you have a host of support. The Divine Universe is standing with you...stretch out your hand...you will find another hand waiting to help you.

Big hugs, lots of love, and a hand to hold if you should need it.

♥♥♥
Kim

Working into the Work

2011-08-29T05:49:00.000-04:00

PICT0011, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"There are many going afar to marvel at the heights of mountains, the mighty waves of the sea, the long courses of great rivers, the vastness of the ocean, the movements of the stars, yet they leave themselves unnoticed!"
– Saint Augustine

"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us." --Marcel Proust

Today I invite you to welcome your Shadow home. Share food and conversation.

All aspects of Life teach us.

I'm off today to sew and play with kids. Later we are going to have a picnic. Life at its simplest form.

Much love to each of you!

Hugs! ♥♥♥♥

The Tree Frog of God

2011-08-28T06:22:00.000-04:00

PICT0001, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Guru, God and Self are one." - Ramana Maharshi

"Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher." - William Wordsworth

Yesterday my meditation partner was this beautiful tree frog.

Today my meditation partner(s) will be the kiddos. <3 <3 <3

Much love to each of you,
Kim

Neem Karoli Baba and the Seed Ticks

2011-08-27T02:11:00.000-04:00

Midday haiku: recycled altar/connects to living beings/less in the landfill #recycle #DIY (I made this with my youngest out if recycled things: images cereal box, tape), a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"It is not necessary for you to meet your guru on the physical plane. The guru is not external." - Neem Karoli Baba

"Divine happiness, even the tiniest particle of a grain of it, never leaves one again; and when one attains to the essence of things and finds one's Self--this is supreme happiness. When it is found, nothing else remains to be found; the sense of want will not awaken anymore, and the heart's torment will be stilled forever. Do not be satisfied with fragmentary happiness, which is invariably interrupted by shocks and blows of fate; but become complete, and having attained to perfection, be YOURSELF." - Sri Anandamayi Ma

It is always a Journey when the Dreaming passes information to me. Thankfully my Soul and brain engage in a little sacred dance of whimsy from time to time, so not every night is full of serious seriousness.

As sleep starting sneaking in, my physical body didn't want to cooperate. In fact, my whole body revolted and refused to be still. It felt as if there were 40 or more bites on my body, all working together to create the biggest, oddest, and most mind-bending sensation.

Oh, wait, that was happening. ♥♥♥

Nature is a kind and loving soul that teaches us a deep sense of Beauty and Balance. Along with this there is also a lesson of survival, and how important it is to have compassion for everything around us -- even if we don't understand why it is there.

I remarked to a dear friend this week that ticks were not my friends. In fact, they seemed to be, well, sort of vampiric and not-so-nice. Along with that, what was their purpose?

In the Dreaming last night an answer came. Ticks, and those of their ilk, are much like the Soul Shrinker of Brian Froud's artwork. This character is a Bodhisattva sent to Earth to absorb all the negativity. It is the fondest hope of this entity that we will stop being extraordinarily negative to each other, and see each other's Beauty.

If the ticks hadn't had a field day with me, I would not have stopped to examine my body. Time, and four children, have created a living map of my life. A scar from a bike accident as a child, that silly tattoo from college, stretch marks from each pregnancy...and tiny wrinkles around my eyes that move when I smile.

Thanks to those Bodhisattvas, my physical body came to be known to me. For that my heart gives deep appreciation.

After that came something deeper. A rich experience that shifted my thinking this morning from a "me" based thinking to a "no thing" based compassion.

It seems like only a short time that I've had a certain cycle of dreams, but it has been longer, I'm sure. For those following along here, you've most likely read about the dreams of Lord Hanuman, India, and so on. At least 3-4 times a week, the Dreaming will take me to Lord Hanuman's domain, and we will talk about things going on with me, the world, and the Universe as a whole.

In these dreams clues are given on where to find a teacher, or books to read. Sometimes a funny sounding chant will come across, while other times we just sit and look at Mother Ganges. Recently, however, he has been introducing me to personages unknown to me. Then, out of the blue, something about that person will show up in my waking life.

So let me get to the point here *grin* ♥♥♥ Plus, I might be rambling a bit -- the experience still lingers with me now -- and it is hard to find words to express the experience.

Which is funny for me, as it is rarely difficult to bring the Dreaming here. *grin*

After dealing with the seed ticks, the familiar pattern of Lord Hanuman and I walking down the marketplace street to the Temple where statues of Hanuman, Saraswati and Ganesh reside came to me. He and I take our purchases and give offerings in puja. Usually in the Dreaming we sit there and listen to different teachers - living and passed. At times one or more of my children are in the Dream Temple with me.

After the offerings were given this time, there were no teachers, no chanting...no thing. It was Hanuman and I sitting there, looking at the statues and feeling at peace. It was in Dreaming time, a place where there is all time and no time together. It is a moment that feels as if weeks have gone by, when it has really only been one second.

Feeling it was time to leave, I turn to Lord Hanuman to say goodbye...but he has changed to Neem Karoli Baba. The feeling of shock is still with me as I write this. He kisses my forehead and says, "The rest of the Journey you must take alone. Don't follow the teachings of others because of your perceptions. Follow your heart and it will lead you home."

Then he walked off. Everything in the Dreaming fell over like it was all just an elaborate staged event - like on a movie set - and I stood alone. I yelled out, "This sucks...clearly I'm suffering...someone explain all of this to me!"

Baba turns around and says, "You have been set free. There is no more Illusion. Only Truth remains."

The words of Dr. Martin Lurther King woke me up to my morning alarm, "Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

Indeed...

This Dreaming has me shaken to the core. As I read over my writing above, it doesn't make sense, nor does it convey fully the Dreaming. It wasn't my intention to dream of anything last night, especially after finding peace with the seed ticks.

Instead a relief from suffering, on a different scale, was given to me. Maybe it really was Baba coming to me in the Dreaming. Or, more likely, it was the Baba archetype that resides in my noggin.

Either way - the whole evening awakened me to a new place.

---

There is a quote somewhere from Baba that says something about chanting "Ram" even if it doesn't make sense to you at the time. Eventually, he says, you will understand the reason, and that is when you will walk with God.

Today I invite you to break down your illusions and find your truth. Are you following someone because that is what you "think" you should do? Are you searching for a guru that resided within you? Are you suffering because of a desire?

Whatever it is that is preventing you from seeing your Truth, allow the chaos to fall away...letting your heart breath true and deep.

Kisses on both cheeks to you,
Kim

The Dreaming - Hillbilly Mystic Style

2011-08-26T06:30:00.000-04:00

PICT0006, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Dreams must be heeded and accepted. For a great many of them come true." ~Paracelsus

"A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read." ~The Talmud

"Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you." ~Marsha Norman

We all dream. Some of us work in the Dreaming. There are a few that live there. Many just commute back and forth, making stops for a cup of tea, or to paint a picture.

Then there are the rare few who encompass all of the above dimensions of Being within the Dreaming. As exciting as it might sound on the outside, it is not always easy. In that place where heroes destroy archetypes, and the princess finds a hidden memory, there also awaits a greater energy - a greater source.

Jung refers to this as the Collective Unconsciousness, or "Universal Mind." In this place we are all players in an Archetypal Alchemy. We each dance, yell, create, and discover our own "archaic remnants" within changing scenarios.

My first childhood memory is of dreaming in the Dreaming. I was three, and my experience was intense. This is when I began my lifelong experience of being part of the Dreaming, and understanding the wonderful gift we carry within our dreams.

Now, being a poor child of the city, then the country, "dreaming" was something you did to find a way out of hardship. Sometimes dreaming was seen as perverse, or sourced in a malevolent being. Dreaming didn't help you put up hay or feed the chickens. Dreaming didn't put food on the table, or get crops to grow in drought. Dreaming was for lazy men and fools.

However, Dreaming happened. Looking at the quilts during the local fair, you could tell that there were Dreamers. Pies with ornate decorations and fancy fillings - they held Dreams you could eat. A creative meal out of leftovers, with the best fried bread you could imagine....all part of the Dreaming.

Despite saying otherwise...hillbillies Dream. Not just little dreams, but big beautiful magical dreams. Each one so full of Jung's "remnants," that a whole field couldn't hold them.

Thing is...if the secret of hillbilly Dreaming got out, there would never be another peaceful moment for any of us. Well meaning seekers would come...asking how we got so lucky to dream. Big name folks would want to buy the land, move the people off, and then turn it into an attraction. Hillbillies would have to live in obscurity, retreating to caves and mountains, just to find a way back to the Dreaming.

---

I am on the tail end of a two-month series of dreams that started in a marketplace in India. After much research, I've pinpointed the area to either be in Pune or Mumbai (judging from the photos online). During my Dreaming visit to the marketplace, I met Lord Hanuman there. In the Dreaming I was rather off-put that a giant man/monkey would be telling me how to hold myself in the marketplace, or that my clothing wasn't appropriate.

By the end of the first Dreaming with Lord Hanuman, I was taken to a temple where my youngest children were giving offerings to Saraswati and Ganesh. Just having this dream, and being a participant in its Dreaming, my life has changed so wonderfully. Sometimes the best answers do come from within...and without you... ♥♥♥

Last night my whole family flew to India (in the Dreaming), and we were greeted by Lord Hanuman and a host of his past Devotees. Sri Ma hugged me, welcoming me home, and suggested I have a cup of tea.

Drastically the Dreaming changed, and I was huddled with three of my four children in the middle of our home. A UPS plane had flown too low, and was crashing into the field near us. Frantically crying out for my youngest, I found her hiding behind our garage. We stood together and figured out a plan to help those in the crash.

Another turn. Emergency vehicles from many states were mobilizing.

Yet one more turn, and the morning brought an end to the Dreaming.

Today I invite you to find out what that last "turn" was for yourself. Allow yourself to flow into the Dreaming. I'll be there welcoming you. Most likely I'll create a scene that resembles my back porch, scenery and all, and pour you a cup of tea.

However, I will give you a small hint. It involved a certain "hillbilly mystic" writing stories, having people over for tea, and hugging everyone I met." Now...what did you see there, in the Dreaming?

To the Dreaming!
Much love,
Kim

Illusions

2011-08-25T12:20:00.000-04:00

PICT0098, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"When you've seen beyond yourself
Then you may find
Peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come
When you see we're all one
And life flows on within you and without you"
-- George Harrison/The Beatles

"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live." -- Mark Twain

Yesterday the trees called me into the Spiral.

"Come see this beautiful flower..."

Beautiful flowers are right up my alley, so into the spiral I go.

There it was, beautiful and full of beauty - the showy tick-trefoil in all its glory.

This morning I woke to find about 15 or so "turkey mites" (aka seed ticks) around my waist. Thanks to the patience of my oldest two, another 15 were found and removed.

Is there a lesson here?

Oh, yes! But not the one you might think. ♥♥♥

There are only two things in the non-human animal kingdoms that weird me out: ticks and things with more than 10 legs (those in the -pede family).

So much of what we perceive around us shapes a complex set of illusions we call reality. With this I'm not trying to bend your mind, or shape your thoughts, but, rather, to ask you to sense something outside of who you are.

Why does one need to understand the sounds of a clapping hand? The chicken crossed the road because it was guided by outside forces to do so. A falling tree in the woods does not need to wash dishes.

And so on.

Today I invite you to write a list of your favorite illusions down. Say, oh, about four, and ask them what they have to teach you.

For example:
1) what are the illusionary effects of Benadryl? ;)

Lots of flowery (with no bugs) love to you!
~ Kim

Praying Mantis Medicine

2011-08-22T13:46:00.000-04:00

"In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." -- Deepak Chopra

"I said to my soul, be still, and wait...So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing." -- T.S. Eliot

There is much mystery and magic surrounding this intense personage. Throughout history peoples have told stories about the mantis and its magic. The way it behaves, as if in prayer, and handles situations with movement before attacking. It has the ability to sit on a leaf for hours, contemplating a meal, and no one (especially its predators) are aware.

Indeed there is strong medicine in the mantis.

The dynamic family energy that comes from six people living in one simple house can be overwhelming at times. Each one of us has our gifts, as well as our own quirks. Finding a place of stillness can be very difficult. However, even with a sense of wildness, each one of us finds a time to be still.

My work is taking me to new places each day. More clients, writing assignments, sales of artwork and so on. In that state of "busy," I'd forgotten some key elements of my own mental health. As someone who helps bring income into the home, my personal life was becoming "survive to thrive." This is not a good way to run a business, not is it a good way to run a life.

When these moments pop up in life, for all of us - even the Dalai Lama - we look to the signs that come to us. What is Grace trying to tell us? How can we move past this?

My first sign was a very large grasshopper bouncing around my office window screen. The next sign was a spider making a web from my head to a window. After that came the mantis, flying from the window to my neck (and giving me this wild touch that felt like a kiss). And finally, today, my hummingbird friends flew to the window where I was doing dishes, asking me to come outside and play.

The common part of these signs are nature and windows. Community, bringing things together, joy, being still, gratefulness and creativity are other parts of these signs as well. At the same time, each one of these experiences holds a different meaning for me. It is the Dance of Grace asking me to take the lead on my goals. Grace is asking me to stop hiding behind things, and to remove the distractions that are preventing me from moving forward.

In essence, this kind mantis, who has spent its life on our back porch, is teaching me more than any guru or mentor. Its medicine is strong...and I honor its ways.

Today I invite you to be part of the stillness that mantis teaches us. Move your body into a comfortable position, allowing your pose to be part of the prayer. Bring Grace in if it feels right, and just be in your "you ness" for a bit. Still. Quiet.

In loving still prayer with you....

Garden of the Self

2011-08-19T05:39:00.000-04:00

PICT0022, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple." -- Charles Mingus

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties." -- Erich Fromm

So today you might notice something different...

Yep, no music. It was getting a bit difficult to find something that fit each post. Most likely I will make a post of music/songs I find inspirational and helpful in my daily work. Just keep your eyes open.

This week has been quite busy. A book I worked on came in the mail, this site was featured by a past teacher of mine, and one of my oldest asked if she could illustrate the children's stories I share with them.

On top of that, some very fortunate advice came my way through a wonderful new friend, and I learned that the best way to help others is to stay on one spot. While diversity is wonderful - trying to be diverse around the universe helps no one.

Over the next few weeks all the little pieces of me that were here and there, will come home to rest.

With that, I'm off to have a great Friday. I invite you to do the same.

Much love,
Kim

Only light remains . . .

2011-08-18T05:51:00.000-04:00

PICT0020, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"You have to have confidence in your own ability to be able to go it alone, to go against what the rest of the culture is doing."
-- Eunice Baumann-Nelson, Ph.D., PENOBSCOT

"It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.” -- Ram Dass

While doing other things -- writing, replying to friends, helping others, being mom, and what not, I'd stop to look at this photo.

Mostly my photos and artwork have a story to them. If I listen closely they will tell me about things in life.

The only thing I hear with this photo is this:

"Only light remains..."

Today I invite you to gaze into this photo and let it tell you a story. Write about it. Sing it a song. Come up with a dance.

Chanting your holy name,
Kim

Your "web" of health and wellness

2011-08-17T03:48:00.000-04:00

PICT0012, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they'll ease
Your will they'll mend
And charge you not a shilling."
~Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990

"He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors." ~Chinese Proverb

Why yes, I am going to talk about journaling again! How did you know. ;)

♥♥♥

Very often a client will come to me for a health issue. My first question, after listening, is usually, "can you tell me your health history?"

Each one of us has a health history. And this isn't just what we include as our physical health, but our mental health as well.

Everything that we have done in the past is constantly bringing us to this very minute - the Divine and Ultimate WOW! If you trained daily for athletic events, and are now experiencing joint pain, letting your healthcare provider know your past is important.

Let me tell you something.

Modern health care, even the holistic kind, can only work within the context of what you tell the practitioner that moment. If you come in with headaches, the best a practitioner of any modality can do is look at helping you feel better right now.

However, if you come in with a health journal, your practitioner can work with you to find the root cause of the problem...not just treat the symptom.

Years and years and years ago, the medicine person would come to your home to see what you did in your daily life. If you were always dealing with stomach issues, the medicine person would watch how you ate, how you prepared the food, and if your lifestyle was causing too much stress (effecting the stomach).

Now, when you come in with stomach issues, a quick fix is put in order. Chamomile tea, or maybe antacid. However, if the practitioner knew that you had a history of stomach issues around your monthly cycle, or that an accident as a child wasn't treated properly, or that maybe you sat at a desk not best suited for your body type (where you have to bend over to work), you might get a more accurate healing answer.

Today I invite you to create a web of healing around you. Grab your journal and start writing about all aspects of your health. Don't overlook emotional issues, or things that you feel pertain to mental health -- these are an important part of full body healing.

After that, give yourself a hug from me! ♥♥♥♥

To your health! <3

The Importance Of Rest

2011-08-15T06:17:00.000-04:00

PICT0019, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Sleep is the best meditation." -- Dalai Lama

"I look upon death to be as necessary to our constitution as sleep. We shall rise refreshed in the morning." -- Benjamin Franklin

Those of you familiar with Susun Weed's work will know that her first step of healing, "step 0," is to do nothing. In the "nothing" part of this is included sleep/rest.

Or, easier stated, when things get wonky in any aspect of your life - take a moment to rest. While there is some benefit to plowing through to the other side, with adrenaline and all, it is also good to stop a moment.

But, you might say, if I stop then it will be hard to continue.

And to you my voice would sing out...maybe you are not supposed to push through.

Now with this I don't mean stop doing things that are hard, but rather monitor your rest and self-care time.

Today I invite you to take a look at your rest cycles. Are you sleeping too little/too much? During the day do you stop for a few minutes to reflect and reconnect with your body?

Other than sleep, find 3 things that foster a sense of rest in your life (other than sleeping).

Much love to each of you!
Hugs,
Kim

A Tale of Dreaming

2011-08-13T05:27:00.000-04:00

more on the faerie circle, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

"All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together." -- Jack Kerouac

Dreaming is an important tool of our well-being. For the past two years the Dreaming has supported me through ups, downs and sideways!

Today I invite you to investigate your Dreaming - what is it telling you? Draw a picture with the images you see, or the feelings that come up within you.

And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. :)

Much love,
Kim

P.S. It is so pretty outside, I'm doing work out there instead of inside at the computer! :)

Crystal Clear Eyes . . .

2011-08-12T02:18:00.000-04:00

Early morning #gotham, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage." -- Maya Angelou

"Courage is grace under pressure." -- Ernest Hemingway

The morning here is so beautiful and quiet. No fans running, all the kids are asleep, and the critters aren't pestering.

With that, I will be taking the morning off from blog writing and e-mail replying! :)

Today I invite you to investigate your relationship to the word "courage."

Then go dance in a field of flowers, letting the Grace of Mother Earth hold you in Her arms.

Love you!
Kim

Is home really where the heart is?

2011-08-11T04:04:00.000-04:00

PICT0001, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"I learn something not because I have to, but because I really want to. That's the same view I have for performing. I'm performing because I really want to, not because I have to bring bread back home." -- Yo-Yo Ma

"Home is where one starts from." -- T. S. Eliot

Yesterday I was finishing up some editing on a few books and artwork. After that there were some client calls.

The most important work done around here is of being home-being aware of my surroundings and emotional environment.

So many times you will see inspirational sites, books, people, and so on, that say, "Just be happy - you could be suffering for pete's sake."

It is my thought that no one really wakes up, pours a cup of tea and thinks, "Today is the day where I wish to be totally, and without apology, totally unhappy." In fact, in all my years of seeing clients, even the most unsatisfied and discontent person seeks that which can bring them calm.

In my work thinks like patterns speak to me. In my own life patterns have been an important part of understanding who (and what!) is me underneath the culture costume.

Over the last two weeks there have been more clients calling to find "home," or to get that place of inner rest that is often associated with what we feel is "home."

Those who have worked with me before, or are working with me now, know that my way of learning about patterns, what "home" means, and other events going on in life is to get out a journal and write about it. My personal preference is to do art journaling, but that is not always the right step for everyone.

Also, with all the technology and smart products, you can journal on the go. Blogging, mobile journals and diary apps make it easy to keep track of what is going on in the world - inside you and around you.

With that, today I invite you to journal about what "home" is for you. Is it the place you rest? Maybe home is the soft housecoat your Grandmother gave you last year. When drumming or dancing, does this give you that feeling of being home?

Whatever it is, let Home come from all parts of who you are. Think about replacing the word "home" for "authentic." For example: "when I am home (authentic), my creativity is strong."

:)

Remember, if ever you should wander my way, my home is always open to you. I'll make you some soup, put the water on and listen to your stories and patterns.

♥♥

'tis Mister The Mister's natal return today

2011-08-09T02:43:00.000-04:00

Matt and Isaac play the flute, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."
-- Mignon McLaughlin

"Marrying for love may be a bit risky, but it is so honest that God can't help but smile on it." -- Josh Billings

During a visit with my father many years ago he and I talked about relationships and marriage. Neither of us wanted to talk about the parts of relationships that caused pain, or made us feel bad. Instead we laughed and talked about how much fun it was to find someone who understood us.

In that moment my Dad turned to me and said, "I hope to live long enough to see all my children happily married."

In July of 1997 circumstances manifested for me to move from my current location to a new one. A Dream came that I would be moving to Louisville, Kentucky...and then events came that made it happen.

Being the "nerd girl" I was, my first thought was to learn about the city a bit more through Yahoo! personals.

After slogging through some pretty tiresome e-mails, one popped up that caught my eye. There was something different about this one...

Right after I finished the note, my phone rang. My sister was calling to tell me that Dad had just passed away.

The e-mail note was from the man I lovingly refer to as Mister The Mister. The time stamp was exactly 1 minute before the death of my father.

So, yeah, when the chance came to meet Mister The Mister face to face, I knew we would be married...

There is so much more that can be said, but to do so would just be redundant. The story of how we met is pretty powerful, and speaks volumes of how our relationship has been - full of magic, intuition, healing, growth.

Before we were married, he shared a poem with me.

Your Catfish Friend

If I were to live my life
in catfish forms
in scaffolds of skin and whiskers
at the bottom of a pond
and you were to come by
one evening
when the moon was shining
down into my dark home
and stand there at the edge
of my affection
and think, "It's beautiful
here by this pond.I wish
somebody loved me,"
I'd love you and be your catfish
friend and drive such lonely
thoughts from your mind
and suddenly you would be
at peace,
and ask yourself, "I wonder
if there are any catfish
in this pond?It seems like
a perfect place for them."
-- Richard Brautigan

Purchase Happiness now - no payments until forever!

2011-08-08T03:37:00.000-04:00

PICT0058, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind." -- Buddha

"Never permit a dichotomy to rule your life, a dichotomy in which you hate what you do so you can have pleasure in your spare time. Look for a situation in which your work will give you as much happiness as your spare time." -- Pablo Picasso

When has the world never been in Chaos?

Stop and think about that for just a moment. You are first person, all wet and newly sprouted with your upright body and digits. All around you are sounds and sights that invade the consciousness.

Your first dance with sentience, and your senses are assaulted with all the stimulation they can stand. Most like the first human thought was this: "find a place to hide."

This is something we overlook in our day. When we have to deal with "too much," our systems need a place to run, to seek shelter and calm.

When we come from a place of happiness, of calm and peace, chaotic situations come and go. They may not always be easy, or fade away, but we can approach them from a perspective of contentment.

Forcing happiness is something that will cause ripples in the future. If we don't look at the source of our turmoil, the genesis of our chaos, we might repeat it. No one wants to intentionally go through a troublesome spot, or relive a horrific event.

We just all want to be happy and to get along.

But think of this -- how can we be happy if we don't know what unhappy is. ;)

In this rambling post, in which my youngest helped type with her constant kisses and hugs, my point is something like this...

Happiness is a process. :)

Today I invite you to contemplate what makes you happy. From that point think of the top 5 things that brought you happiness as a child, and the top 5 things that bring you happiness now. Later on we will go back to this topic, and you'll need to know about the past and present tense of happiness. ;)

All love to you! I've got a 3-year-old to hug...

Sending love, hugs and joy to you,
Kim

"...living the charmed life..."

2011-08-07T12:51:00.000-04:00

dry clothes, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"However glorious an action in itself, it ought not to pass for great if it be not the effect of wisdom and intention." -- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

"I may err in judgment, but I hope not in intention." -- Edward Blake

I'm livin' a charmed life. (Charmed life)
Yeah...yeah! Livin' a charmed life. (Charmed life)
Whooo! Yeah! Livin' a charmed life. (Charmed life)

Whoo! Yeah! Livin' a charmed life.
Whoo! Yeah! Livin' a charmed life.

Let's go...
-- Mick Jagger; Charmed Life

There is a great book, "After The Ecstasy, The Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path," that sort of sums up what goes on around these parts.

As a tribe of 6 (two elders; 4 learners), we often have moments of time that seem to be so unbearable it feels as if our skin is being brushed with sticker bushes. At other moments we practice what I've come to call "schizophrenic euphoria" (those extreme bouts of intense happiness that makes unicorns and rainbows appear in the front yard).

With the wildly swinging experiences, it helps to find the fine, thin line of chopping wood and carrying water.

Because everyone knows...what goes up will very often come back down. :)

This late afternoon I invite you to find your happy medium. Where is that place that keeps you grounded and centered daily?

Along with that, how would you define intention? Write a poem about it, or make a piece of art...with intention.

Much love to you!
Hugs and kisses,
Kim

All children are teachers...and we their unknowing students

2011-08-06T02:56:00.000-04:00

Watering the stars.... #picfx #photostudio #iphoneography, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.” ~ Rosaleen Dickson

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” ~ Pablo Casals

One of my oldest daughters sent me a link for a site that shares moment where a child changed the world.

Of course there is much to be written about how my children have taught me, but the Upton Clan is getting ready to go work with some kids - volunteering as a family (spirit into action). ♥♥

Today I invite you to do one thing that will benefit a child (or the child within). Everything we do at this moment will impact the life of a child...

We're all a family under one sky...

Much love,
Kim

When being authentic challenges the culture (the norm)

2011-08-05T02:35:00.000-04:00

Connection gates #web #spider #iphoneography #hd, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"We need to find the courage to say NO to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity. " -- Barbara de Angelis

"There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a person being themselves. Imagine going through your day being unapologetically you." -- Steve Maraboli

Around each corner we are told to "be yourself." Writers, artists, self-help gurus, prophets and folks from the internet all declare, proclaim and demand that they are, in fact, themselves.

In the movie "One Giant Leap," there is a sound byte that says, "I wanna tell everyone about myself." When we tell our story...is it really our story, or the story we think others want to hear?

Along with that, we really want someone to listen and truly hear what we are saying. When it gets to the part of our first heartbreak from a lost love, we want the listener to break down and cry with us. At the comical parts, we expect a laugh.

Let me share something with you...

It is totally okay to want to fit in. And, on top of that, it is okay to try on different aspects of self. Continue working your story, using the writing prompts of others, until you find your own way. In doing so, you co-create a path to authenticity with all that you are.

Authenticity is a slight bit different than "being yourself." Well, at least in my book it is. :)

Being yourself feels forced, contrived, and even a little showy. ("See! I am myself!!") Authenticity is the undeniable YOU! - the essence of what your life is, and how it will play out.

"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." -- C.G. Jung

Truly, our life is a verb - it is always in action. Who we are is always in a state of Becoming. We are becoming full, we are becoming wise, we are becoming old.

So why do we have to BE something? ♥♥♥

Becoming authentic is a simple thought. It is that still quiet voice in our heart-soul that says, "yes, that shirt is hideous on you, but if it makes you happy -- wear it!"

When life spits in your eye, takes your lunch money and runs a key down your car door, have the authenticity to say, "This sucks, but the whole situation won't become a change in my life."

Today I invite you to stop "being yourself" and try being authentic. Yes, it will freak people out around you. And, yes, folks might think you are living out of the back-pocket of your Ego. People may even tell you that you've taken that new-age pseudo-science thought pill that makes you feel good but has not substance.

But see...you will know a secret.

Authenticity has nothing to do with being yourself... Authenticity is the beautiful art of stepping into reality moment by moment on the wings of dreams - letting All That Is shine through you.

Or, as Jonsi says: (see the video above *grin*)
You'll know, when's time to go on
You really want to grow and grow till tall
They all, in the end, will fall
(x3)

Grow till tall, they all, in the end, will fall
They, in the end, will turn and fall

You'll know, you'll fall
You'll know, you'll know
You'll know, you'll know
You'll know

you'll...know (x16)

I love you!
Kim

"the ants are my friends," or communication is key

2011-08-04T06:03:00.000-04:00

PICT0024, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"A world community can exist only with world communication, which means something more than extensive short-wave facilities scattered; about the globe. It means common understanding, a common tradition, common ideas, and common ideals." -- Robert M. Hutchins

"There is a world of communication which is not dependent on words." -- Mary Martin

Well...the Dreaming continued into the realm of communication and how we communicate.

There were ants at typewriters, suggesting that it was time for writing more than posts on websites. A-ha! :) Maybe it is time for that book I've been working on since 1989!

Along with that, there were symbols of rebirth and renewal, and the need for clear and effective communication with all dimensions - all aspects of life.

With that...the rest of the day will be devoted to communication. Especially the listening part of it.

♥♥♥

Much love,
Kim

"The Magical Mystery Tour"

2011-08-03T04:13:00.000-04:00

The thinkin' chair at #greenbeingfarm #HDR #Gotham #iphoneography, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“The eye altering, alters all” -- William Blake

“Great things are done when men and mountains meet” -- William Blake

Some folks think that my capacity for "weird" is pretty stretchy and flexible. While that may be the case for others, it still sort of gives me a pause when something odd happens in my life.

This is most likely a knee-jerk reaction leftover from childhood. When life belonged to children, and all around me were kids, my ability to share parts of myself was much stronger. There were no barriers or boundaries for me. (I now realize this may have been sensory related, as I physically didn't understand the culture socially).

A clear memory from childhood is one where I told a friend about the "little people in the fields." Of course my friend demanded I show this "little people" to her. So, off to the field we went, where the little energies of plants, trees, grass, field critters and so on, sat and welcomed us to their daily routine.

My friend couldn't see them. And, truly, she didn't want to see them. Seeing things in Nature, she said, did not make Jesus happy. My reply was that, yes, being in Nature and loving all of God's creatures and creations does make Jesus happy.

We stopped being friends a few weeks later.

This pattern continued in my life until I learned to just not say anything. Intuitive dream? Best written in a journal. Healing dream for a sick friend? No need to share that information. Messages from loved ones that I picked up as my friends talked of deceased relatives? Yeah, you guessed it, those I totally kept to myself.

The turning point came for me in college when I met a fantastic person who connected me with a Cherokee Medicine Woman. And, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

♥♥♥

Last year I started dreaming of mountains. Then I specifically started dreaming of Chaco Canyon. Each time the Dreaming would take me to the Canyon, there would be a Native American woman dressed in long dress, braids hanging down, with turquoise all over. She preferred I call her Grandmother, and she showed me all around the Native lands and taught me the Navajo cultural faith system.

During that time a friend poured a sweat for me, and a vision came to me that part of my "job" here was to listen.

Time did its thing where it came and went, and Grandmother stopped visiting my dreams so much. At first it felt a little lonely, but it was nice to just have my garden variety Dreams.

Slowly the mountain dreams returned. This time it was the Appalachian mountains. Music, healing and plant medicine was the subject of each dream. A little plant man would take me around trees, over plants and into hollow logs to show me where this elusive glowing plant that would heal all of humanity lived.

As with Grandmother, the plant man disappeared.

Thankfully my "normal" dreaming pattern returned, and I didn't have to trip around the wilds of the Appalachian mountain range.

One night, when I was having a really hard time getting to sleep, there was a point where I felt really lucid. It was that dreamy place where unicorns, fluffy clouds and chocolate fountains flow...

And then I "saw" the mountains. From my memory I knew them to be the Himalayas. My mind takes me closer and closer to the base of the mountains, and there is a woman standing there. She is in a long skirt, one long braid, a head wrap...and lots of turquoise...

The next night I dream of Hanuman. And for 4 nights after the first meeting of Hanuman. the Dreaming consisted of "travels" to India to meet deities, the older woman who lived at the base of the Himalayas and aspects of my childhood...where self-censorship didn't exist.

Which brings me to this spot. Right here. Right now.

"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions." -- Edgar Cayce

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." -- Henry David Thoreau

"You know, Willie Wonka said it best: we are the makers of dreams, the dreamers of dreams." -- Herb Brooks

Dreams, for me, are just a part of life. One of my first clients had intense dreams, and we worked together to understand them. That was 20 years ago.

For healing and wellness, dreams are an important tool we carry in our own medicine bag.

So, yeah, Dreams are what drives me; what teaches me and takes me to deeper parts of my Self and its connection to the world and All That Is.

Last night the Dreaming took me swimming at a public pool. It was a non-specific pool, with no recognizable features. It was very crowded, with very little room to swim. Every person I have ever known in my life started getting into the already crowded pool, and it started to concern me.

The water began to shake and splash. It was as if a tsunami was happening in the pool. Waves and waves of people washed over me until I couldn't find air. My body went under and started to drown.

Immediately my mind shot back to the now. Who would care for my kids? How would the cats get food? Would my family know how to contact my clients? What would my husband do to take care of the family...

And then I drowned. My body was dead and my life went before my eyes. Everything was there, from first steps, to lost memories, to what I ate for dinner last night.

Figures moved toward me in the water, and even though I was"dying" and approaching the Spirit World, my awake, this life self started fighting for air -- fighting to live.

The Chaco Canyon Grandmother, the woman from the base of the Himalyas, the plant man and Hanuman all walked toward me and said in unison, "Let go. Let the water give you what you need. Whatever is not needed, it will die away. Breathe like an infant, letting the water sustain you."

So I let go. Allowing the thought of "death" wash over me. Everything was okay. All was coming to a timely end.

My body floated to the top of the pool, which was empty now, and just as my eyes were about to see daylight, taking a new breath of life, my body awoke.

---

Dreams are important to our life path. What have your dreams being saying to you lately?

Love,
Kim

Lessons From The Past . . .

2011-08-02T04:57:00.000-04:00

PICT0065, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"When you get older and you are ready, your ancestors will show up to guide you."
-- Joe Coyhis, STOCKBRIDGE-MUNSEE

"People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors." -- Edmund Burke

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28yuWPnX33w"]

Ha ha! The toast got burnt as I got sucked into the music of the song posted above.

A little carbon won't hurt anything. ♥♥

Each time I sit down to write today, there is an interruption: phone, cats, kids, thirst.

Some days there just doesn't seem to be enough...time.

It is my thinking that the Elders and those who came before us, our Ancestors, don't worry so much about time.

As the song says, time is on their side.

So, maybe it is time for me to move into a different thought.

(did you notice how many times the word "time" appears?)

Each day we are handed, on a nice plate, or in a fine cup, little pieces of concern over why we must hurry, or work quickly, or not waste a moment.

The way I feel about it is best said by Utah Phillips:
"No, it's not that - that "that's Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Nineties" - that
whole idea of decade packages. Things don't happen that way... No, that, that
packaging of time is a journalistic convenience that they use to trivialize and
to dismiss important events and important ideas. I defy that. Time is an
enormous, long river, and I'm standing in it, just as you're standing in it.
My elders are the tributaries, and everything they thought and every struggle
they went through and everything they gave their lives to, and every song they
created, and every poem that they laid down flows down to me - and if I take
the time to ask, and if I take the time to see, and if I take the time to reach
out, I can build that bridge between my world and theirs. I can reach down
into that river and take out what I need to get through this world."

Or, more quietly stated, "This too shall pass."

One of the questions I ask clients is what they would do if money and time were no object to them. If, by some great chance, money and time rained down from the heavens into their pockets, what would their Soul, their Inner Self do?

Surprisingly, each person gives the same answer.

At the end of our mortal journey, when the last moments of life dance upon our brow, it isn't what we should've done, or what the "have to do" moments that we remember. We seek forgiveness, garner compassion, share stories, worry no more.

Why should we wait until we are almost gone to leave a legacy of what we could be right now?

Today I invite you to think about what you would do with all the money and time in the world. Create some art on that thought, or write a poem...and don't worry about hurrying. Time is always on your side.

With love,
Kim

Meet My Gurus . . .

2011-08-01T02:17:00.000-04:00

PICT0016, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"One does not become a guru by accident." --James Fenton

"Every one of us continues to live, even though our childhood bodies have long disappeared. Your “baby” body and “childhood” body have ceased existing, but you have not ceased existing." --Jagad Guru

Over the weekend one of my mentor-teachers asked me what I thought about being a Guru.

In my mind I'd conjured all these images of sitting on a mountain, saffron robe over my shoulder, chanting Hare Krishna and praying with a set of beads. Monkeys and cows were roaming around and incense filled the space between...

In the best way that could be described, my song was that there is no time to sit on the mountaintop, wearing a sheet and chanting. And me? A guru? Really? Clearly there was some kind of mistake in the translation process. My life is nothing like that - and there is no way my kids would let me sit on a mountain that long by myself anyway.

After saying that to my teacher, my youngest came in asking for a drink.

I excused myself from my teacher's conversation, got up and poured a nice cup of chocolate Silk milk. On the way back to the conversation, I picked up a hairbrush on the floor from one of the oldest, tripped over a toy car from my son - landing on a pair of flip flops from the other oldest - and nearly knocked myself out in the process.

Sitting down, breathless, apologies were given to my teacher...who was smiling from ear to ear.

In this very Cheshire Cat way he says, "What a blessing you have...four gurus to teach you!!"

Huh?

See, the conversation started with working through my dreams, and how they seem to always float into India, with some Hindu deity giving me teachings on finding peace, or gathering an herb, a new healing technique, or passing teachings to others. The dreams also speak of working to help others, creating a place on our land where people can come to just be, experiencing life where they are...instead of where they believe they should be.

Serendipity provided me a way to talk to a "real life" guru, and this person is telling me that my greatest "gurus" are in my own house!!!

*grin*

A smile comes to my lips, too, as I tell my teacher-mentor that I understand what he is teaching. At that point he says, "It has been enjoyable to work with you, and please keep me updated on your path. However, at this time, you are already that which you seek. When you have any doubts, look into the eyes of your children...that is where you will see God reflecting back to you."

There you go . . .

On this day I'd like to share some wisdom from my gurus with you. Trust me when I say this - your life will be forever transformed!

*giggle*

"If food doesn't taste good, don't eat it. It could be yucky."

"When people stop and look at trees, they won't think about fighting."

"What is a 'potty dance' anyway?"

"Music is my belief system...it brings everyone together in fun and happiness."

"We are surrounded by many multiple universes."

"If it is hot, don't touch it."

"Don't worry about what season it is...just enjoy what today gives you."

"Your breath smells like coffee."

"Don't step in cat puke."

"Love is free for all people, not just a few of them."

Look into your own eyes...seeing your own inner guru. Remember the wisdom you gathered as a child...knowing that you are your own guru.

Love and joy,
Kim

The Hillbilly Mystic's Path (and how it feels)

2011-07-31T04:16:00.000-04:00

, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"You want to know who's a real medicine man? He's the one who doesn't say 'I'm a medicine man.' He doesn't ask you to come to him. You've got to go and ask him. And you'll find he's always there among his own people." -- Louis Farmer, ONONDAGA

"To all earth's creatures God has given the broad earth, the springs, the rivers and the forests, giving the air to the birds, and the waters to those who live in water, giving abundantly to all the basic needs of life, not as a private possession, not restricted by law, not divided by boundaries, but as common to all, amply and in rich measure." -- Gregory of Nazianzus

Over the past few months there has been an up-surge of Wonky in my life. It is a good Wonky, but any matter of change will find you in that place of learning.

Last night in the Dreaming all these words came out for today's writing (yesterday was not a good day for writing *grin*). I'd find a critical gap in my thinking that was helpful in moving past a particular set of bug-a-boos.

About 3 times a week an e-mail or note will cross my desk. Fully of wonderful little pieces of another's song, infused with their light and beauty, it makes me happy to hear from others. At least one of those notes will have the question that is very hard for me to answer: "how did you get to be the way you are?"

My answer?

I have no idea how I got to "be this way," it just sort of happened. ♥♥

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

But then my inner self starts to whisper cute little things in my ear. I am reminded that my life has been one authentic experience after another. Sure, I tried other aspects of self, and even imitated others. We all do this - it is no different than trying on clothes or shoes. Part of growing into who we are is finding out who we are not.

Anyway...

Stepping into authenticity has been my preferred path of choice for as long as I can remember. As Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

Each experience in life, from working with teachers, mentors, medicine men and women, to being a mother, to just being me (Kim), has been experienced in true authenticity.

Today I invite you to sit with yourself and give thanks for all the things you have been. Then offer thanks for the things you will become.

Here is a little secret.... The more we are okay with who we are, and how we fit into the world, the more those around us will feel the same. For each awakening we have - so does everything around us.

Much love to you,
Kim

Dancing in a fierce light

2011-07-29T02:46:00.000-04:00

#tinyplanet + #reflection, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue." ~ Buddha

"Organic buildings are the strength and lightness of the spiders' spinning, buildings qualified by light, bred by native character to environment, married to the ground." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

After two days of feeling like the bottom of a birdcage, this morning has a certain kind of light. It is a fierce and healing light, warm and compassionate to the touch.

Sometimes All That Is will hand you a plate full of ARGH. Under all the junk, baggage and things you didn't order, there is a shine to the plate.

"Nothing in the universe can travel at the speed of light, they say, forgetful of the shadow's speed." ~ Howard Nemerov

When you are dancing in a fierce light, you can see your shadow in the most amazing way. At times it will seem to rippling in techni-color hues, with little drops of iridescent whispers. As it dances, it speaks to you of all the things you have overlooked: past issues, current issues, future issues.

In its enticing dance you become enthralled. Yes! Yes! Shadow - sing me your heart's song, bring me into the darkness. Lift me up so I can be born again and again and again.

Then your fever breaks, the joints stop hurting and your head feels like its normal size again.

However, there are all these little cracks, parts of Self and Soul peeling up like the paint on an old house. Little by little you feel a magnificent healing take place. In the heart (hearth) of who you are, there is an alchemical process happening.

You are alive - and the Universe has witnessed your growth.

:)

Yesterday was a pretty hard day for me on many levels. When a hard day comes, as they always do, I have done this "duck and cover" process where I just gloss over it, complain a bit to those around me, then get the "I can do it" attitude. I see what the issue wants to teach me...and move on.

All That Is wasn't going to let me get away that easy yesterday. As soon as I came up for air, another dark streak grabbed my torso. It wasn't trying to hurt me, or be mean, the goal was to pull me back down into the murky depths of my psyche. Over and over again.

In the end, I just let go. Shadow washed over me and whispered incantations to me.

This morning Shadow and I danced together, barefoot in the grass, gleefully celebrating the cracks of growth. As the sun peeked over the trees, we laughed at its light...it was as bright as our own.

Today I invite you to dance with your Shadow in your own fierce light.

Love and Light,
Kim

Walk softly and carry a big crayon.

2011-07-28T05:18:00.000-04:00

Walk softly and carry a big crayon. #toys #artaday, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” ~ Pablo Picasso

"Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease." ~ Hippocrates

Yesterday I started feeling not-so-great. Today I am feeling every-not-so-great.

Why is there a blog post when I should really be resting?

Art. Creativity. Healing. Writing.

Over the years my observation has been that when we are sick, there is often something within us that doesn't want to be there. It can be a virus or a bacteria, a thought or an emotion, or something more intense such as cancer or immunity issues.

When the body can't find a way for these things to leave, it holds on to them, tightly, and for dear life, because releasing even more ick into the body would not be self-sustaining.

Mind you, I am not one of those folks that claims, "you get sick because you want to get sick." The law of attraction doesn't work that way. Sometimes, and for no real apparent reason, people become ill.

Susun Weed suggests that the first step to finding healing is to do nothing. After that, when you are finished with doing nothing, you can start working with being sick and having illness.

After sitting in nothing-ness, I began creating. And not just with photos and words, or pencil and paper, but with ideas and ways of being.

It was so amazingly helpful to me, that I think my body is asking I do it again today.

Without further ado, I'm off to create more health!

*hugs*

Love,
Kim

Cycles and Rhythms

2011-07-27T04:58:00.000-04:00

PICT0034, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"A text of Tibetan Buddhism describes the time of death as a unique opportunity for spiritual liberation from the cycles of death and rebirth and a period that determines our next incarnation." -- Stanislav Grof

The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence." - from the Wikipedia page on Gautama Buddha

There was a long post brewing extolling the virtues of cycles and rhythms...but then I got interrupted. A lot.

When things like that happen, where the Universe says, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" in a manner much like a 3-year-old kid would, it means pay attention.

Over the past week there have been many signs pointing to my need for re-creating balance and harmony in my day.

Today I will be meditating on our cycles and how they work, and inviting family members to share their needs, too. Please feel free to join me in this journey.

There is more on this topic ruminating in my noggin... However, my dear sweet head has a cold, and it isn't thinking too well today. :)

All love to each of you!
Kim

Connected! Connected! We are all connected!

2011-07-26T04:54:00.000-04:00

20september05, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within."

-Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

"I found that when I talk to the little flower or to the little peanut they will give up their secrets..."
-George Washington Carver

(the above video is one of my favorites of all time)

Today I invite you to meditate on the connections you have all around you. No cheating, seriously see how your actions work in the web of life.

Draw a picture, paint a masterpiece, write a poem - or, just arrange the silverware in a new way. As you do this, see how your actions merge with all the other actions around you.

Namaste,
Kim

Be a lamp unto yourself - shine your light

2011-07-25T02:21:00.000-04:00

After (playing with some art today-not exactly photos, but loads of #fun), a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“There is nothing lost or wasted in this life.”
-- Bhagavad Gita

"A true believer loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
-- Hadith The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Anas bin Malik

For those of you who don't know, the last stanza of Amazing Grace was added after the original. There was no mention of "God" when it was first written...only Grace appeared.

Lately there has been much in the news about those who have differences in faith systems. Arms create a boundary instead of offering hugs and respite for a weary soul.

When I get up and pray each morning, that is always my question: why do we fight about the Divine?

And so you know, after many mornings of prayer, I have no answer that works for everyone. The answer I get is a glorious sun popping over sleeping evergreens. Sometimes it is a hummingbird buzzing by me to say, "Hey, I'm out of food." If I'm lucky a dragonfly or praying mantis will mistake me for a plant, and engage in morning asanas.

As I make my first cup of tea, the steam often whispers, "Everything is connected, and we are all children of Grace."

Before the kids are fully awake, I sneak in time for reading scriptures of all faiths. Whatever it is that happens to come to me that day marinates with my own inner teachings.

This practice does not elevate me in any way, and is sure doesn't make me have any more knowing about the Divine than anyone else. It means that I've taken the path of the Mystic, a cosmic seeker drawing correlations between my heart and the heart of others.

Today I invite you to be a lamp unto yourself. Do not concern yourself with the faith of others, but instead sit with yourself and find what works for you. Remember, all the religions say, "God and the Kingdom of Heaven are always with you...seek them within."

It is sort of like Dorothy in the movie version of Oz, when Glinda says, "Why, Dorothy, you've had the power to go home all along."

After you have finishing your travels, feel free to stop by the back porch. We can have tea...and look for Grace within.

Much love,
Kim

Your Path Is Calling - How Will You Answer?

2011-07-24T05:07:00.000-04:00

Pastels on black paper, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"I find one vast garden spread out all over the universe.

All plants, all human beings, all higher mind bodies

are about in this garden in various ways ,

each has his own uniqueness and beauty.

Their presence and variety give me great delight.

Every one of you adds with his special feature to the glory of the garden." -- Sri Ananandamayi Ma

"It is all very well to copy what one sees, but it is far better to draw what one now only sees in one's memory. That is a transformation in which imagination collaborates with memory. " -- Edgar Degas

I did this piece after falling in love with Degas's painting, Woman Bathing In A Shallow Tub.

It was during a time in my life when there seemed to be a lack of self-care and mental wellness going on around me. I was trying so hard, as this piece shows, to care for myself in a small space, while feeling all out of proportion.

During that time I dreamed over and over again about Kali Ma. Any little thing I would bring to her, she would destroy. These were not exactly fantastic dreams, and I often woke drenched in sweat and feeling like I'd just run the New York Marathon.

Lately I've been dreaming about India. Specifically about Lord Hanuman, Varanasi, and traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda). As if that isn't enough, vast and expansive libraries and temples present themselves to me so I can sit and learn during the Dreaming.

Into my Journal all of this goes. Along with the Dreams, I post weather, news stories, what the bugs on the back porch are doing, and how I feel overall for that day.

When it comes time to review my entries, there are clear markers for where my path is going. So, if I ever have to take this path again, there will be some kind of map.

Along with this, my Journal lays out a path. In some ways the journal becomes a Guru - offering me direction and help when I need it.

Today I invite you to create your a map of your life path. Use whatever you need, and make sure to invite whimsy and play to the pages.

All love,
Kim

Divinity, Teacher, Soul - spirituality and the senses

2011-07-23T03:51:00.000-04:00

PICT0003, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"There is a subtle principle that resides within all of us, which is unborn and undying. It is a repository of infinite strength, wisdom, abundance and auspiciousness. It is bliss infinite and the giver of supreme happiness. It is the support-less, infinite sky of supreme wisdom. It is the silent witness of everything. It is neither male, nor female. It exists beyond all dualities. It is not bounded by time, space or conditions. This witnessing presence is pure and clear like the sky, luminous like the morning Sun. It is our Inner Guru." -Banani Ray

Can you find the inner stillness in this photo?

Happy Weekend to you!

Much love,
Kim

Green Being Studio - in the morning!

2011-07-22T04:47:00.000-04:00

PICT0020, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us. Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star." -- Henry David Thoreau

"It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It's my partner. " --
Jonas Salk

Morning time around here is full of action. In the summer time, as it is now, this is the best time to be outside. The dew washes your feet clean, the sun touches your shoulders and face, and the birds engage in the most holy of kirtans.

In one of those "if you had told me years ago" moments, my heart was so full of thanks and praise for the beauty around me. My family, the Earth around me, community and Grace - each one a gentle strand of strength in the web of Life.

In the Dreaming last night, two pandas came to me with golden lotus paint. A few google searches later, and I've found nothing about that type of paint. Anyway...the two pandas were painting and giving me guidance on my work and life. It was as if we were old friends speaking of life in the forest. We dines on bamboo and basmati rice, and had green tea.

I said to the bears, "where are we?" They replied, "We are in India, silly."

Back to Google I went. There are red pandas in India, but the panda bears in my dream were Giant Pandas, such as those you see in western China (and what we imagine when someone says, "panda").

After our picnic, and my lesson on ancient Indian painting with golden lotus paint, the pandas asked me to paint a picture for them. As they taught me, the painting came to life.

Then the alarm went off.

In the Dreaming there was other information about the work given to me, my family and the like. It will all be processed as I do the painting.

With that, I encourage you to engage your creative side today. Something simple - a doodle on a napkin, your favorite outfit, cook a new meal - whatever it is put your heart and soul into it!

All my love!
Kim

"An empty belly is the best cook." -- Estonian Proverb

2011-07-21T04:18:00.000-04:00

, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." ~Voltaire

"The greatest delight the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me and I to them." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Discussing the politics of food is a lot like discussing religion. Clearly we all agree, but often we are too short-sighted to see our sameness.

Most surely, we all agree that eating is important to being alive, and that cooking is a spiritual practice that brings alchemy into our lives. "Give us our daily bread" is a theme that rings true for all cultures and all people. It is that sense of, "just give us enough to survive so that we may continue to help others help themselves."

Now, I will say this...

There are things that trouble me in our modern time - guilt over what we eat, and the wasting of what we don't eat.

To break those down into a more simple form, let's look at them in this way.

1) guilt over what we eat

When my husband and I were "organic" farmers, we raised peppers for local businesses. A nice basket (aka bushel) of peppers would fetch about $5. The business would then go on to sell them for 75 cents. There would be about 17-20 peppers in that basket. Where do you think the profit went?

So, we began to sell our stuff at the local flea market - fresh from the farm - and did much better.

During that time I became involved with the "clearly we are more superior in our eating practices than you," and took the oath to be a food snob.

Only organic for us. Pure USDA organic!

Then I learned what USDA organic really meant. Trust me, you don't want to know either.

So then I got on my soapbox about eating whole foods, chanted over by Alchemical Peruvian nuns (from Atlantis), while standing in an Asana, and chanting the 100 names of God.

Then the guilt set it. With each bite I was somehow harming the web of life, and that my Pirate Booty was causing the polar ice caps to melt, making polar bears and whales die in misery.

Yes, it was me and only me, and my desire for french fries from McDonald's that was causing children to die in Africa.

In fact, I, Kim, was single-handedly bringing the world to a crashing halt with my desire for quilted toilet paper.

It was painful to be human - aware of all my horrific actions, yet trying so hard to save everything.

A friend sent me this obscure video on Aryuvedic medicine done by the BBC. If I can ever find it again, I will buy it just for the quote from the old man in the dumps at Delhi. I'll do my best to paraphrase the scene for you here.

You see a man, about 50 or so, using a pick to get food out of the trash pile. He is not the only one, and you see whole families engaging in this practice. The reporter goes over to the man, with a sense of smugness, and asks the man how old he is.

The man, the one who looked about 50, says, "Oh, I am 83 years old." The reporter, somewhat slack-jawed at this point says, "How do you stay so healthy, eating from the dumps?"

The man says, "Everything I get here is a gift from Heaven, from God, and it is blessed. I take that blessing into my body and it heals me. You in the West see your food as poison...always it is 'killing' you with this and that. This food others will not eat feeds so many poor. It is a blessing."

The scene changes to an Aryuvedic physician mixing compounds.

After that I got it - all food is holy. Yes, it is good to eat well, and not sustain oneself on potato chips and cupcakes, but that eating whole foods, cooking with love and honored for their energy, might just be the ticket.

The guilt was gone...

2) wasting what we don't eat.

When you are not guilty about food, there is something that happens. You eat what you have. The amount of food that we wasted during that time of food restrictions and the like was incredible. Sure it went into the compost pile, but the money we spent getting the food would have done us much better.

And because of #2, it sent me back to #1, and this whole weird circle started.

Then, again, I sort of woke up a bit, and came back down to Earth.

I began studying our relationship to food and health. Every article, or study, on food and our body crossed my table or computer screen. What did we need, truly, to be healthy? What was it that our bodies needed to be fit and alive - according to science.

After that the holy books were my guides. Each mention of food was stashed away into my little file. What was restricted, and why. What was good, and why.

It really helped me see that the way I felt about my body, and the food that I put into it, was also how I felt about life. Everything was out of control, and I felt as if my actions were part of the problem in the world.

At that time I started keeping a food journal. When I ate specific foods, the way I felt afterward, emotionally and physically, were recorded. Along with this, I kept record of what the weather was like, and what the older two were doing. Every part of my day went into this journal. Each month I would go back and review my experiences. On days that I ate a lot of bell peppers (a nightshade plant), my arthritis would flare up. When I had too much milk, or milk products, my stomach would hurt. If we ate out somewhere, I would wake with swollen hands, feet and face.

Later, during the pregnancies of my younger two, keeping a journal of this type would prove very beneficial. It proved to be exceptionally beneficial when, after my fourth child, I gained a large amount of weight. Through my food journal I learned that I was letting my food and weight foster a protective wall around me, and that I was deeply sensitive to foods (eggs and meat were the biggies).

Today I invite you to start a food journal. Decorate the front cover with some of your favorite foods - even if you would consider them unhealthy. Remember, this is your journal, your food journey, and what you will learn from this is how your body works best.

Over the next few weeks, to get ready for the Hunger Challenge, I will be getting some menus and things together, as well as talking a bit more about how we relate to food.

Good eating!

Much love to you,
Kim

The Universe is inside of me, and inside you, too...

2011-07-20T04:17:00.000-04:00

As I was working in the garden, I noticed that my hands made a heart around the dirt. Got one of my kiddos to help me get this shot. :) #hands #heart #dirt #lemecam, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"There is no chance and anarchy in the universe. All is system and gradation. Every god is there sitting in his sphere." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders." -- Lao Tzu

When, as a child, I learned that the Universe was larger than what I had in my back yard, it shocked me a bit.

That beautiful realization, that there was more than what I could see and perceive, started my journey as a mystic.

My communion with Nature taught me that everything is connected. If I messed with the spider's web on the little porch we had, then more mosquitoes would come into the house. If I forget to feed the chickens, they would enjoy fresh finds in the garden.

During those moments of beauty and balance, the foundation of personal truth started.

As I got older, and started learning about various faith systems and religions, they all had a similar formula about living a happy and spiritual life. The key ingredient in each loaf of spiritual bread was this: to get a final product, you have to look within first.

We humans are a contrary lot. If someone tells us to go right, we will go left just to prove that left is okay, too. And, sometimes, left is the best option for us. When the holy writings of past mystics and prophets say, "seek the Kingdom of Heaven within," it seems as if we say, "Oh yeah, well I don't think so..."

Maybe it would've worked better if Buddha said, "Don't take my word for it, there is nothing within your own self that could do you a lick of good."

*snerk* :)

This is where wisdom sneaks in. After we run in circles, looking for something here or there, we come back home to find the exact thing we sought elsewhere. It is a "you left the keys in the same spot you did yesterday" philosophy. We have all done this, right? You set your keys down in the same place each day, but one day you can't find them. You look and look, calling everyone you know in a panic, "Have you seen my keys?" Right at the moment you about to totally lose it, you pause a moment.

Clear your mind.

Take a breath.

Walk to your keys.

When you realize they were in that place all along, you sort of chuckle a bit, giving yourself a friendly admonishment ("oh, silly me, I always have my keys there").

This is how we approach our own life. Everything we need is right there.

It is good to have a guide, a teacher or guru that can offer support and compassion as we traverse our own inner landscape. As a caver I learned that you never descend into the insides of the Earth without first telling someone where you are going.

Today I invite you to start creating a map of your inner universe. Use whatever tools are available to you - pencil and paper, recycled items, little pieces of beauty from nature. Or, you could write a poem, sing a song - whatever calls to you.

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes...

"There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self." -- Aldous Huxley

Much love,
Kim

The believer's heart . . .

2011-07-18T06:15:00.000-04:00

PICT0004, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Arguably, no artist grows up: If he sheds the perceptions of childhood, he ceases being an artist." -- Ned Rorem

"Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are." ~Osho

Not much more than this today - got some big projects looming in the background.

Enjoy today!
Love,
Kim

Bee and Flower

2011-07-17T03:31:00.000-04:00

Bee and Flower, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited." -- Ramakrishna

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” -- Buddha

Not a lot to type up today...sort of basking in the afterglow of a magical day.

Just had to share some quotes and a bit of wonderful music with you. ♥♥♥

Much love to each of you,
Kim

All Is Full Of Change

2011-07-16T02:14:00.000-04:00

shot_1309830135487, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Age considers; youth ventures." -- Rabindranath Tagore

"The years teach much which the days never knew." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today is my birthday. I am 40. The morning is cool and relaxed. After this I will chant.

The first memory that come to me from my childhood is interesting. Most of my peers can remember their first bike, or Christmas morning - think you would typically think of as a child. Me? Well...I remember sitting quietly and pondering. One hand on my ear, other hand rested in some sort of concocted mudra pose (although I had no idea what a mudra was then *grin*).

The other thing I remember is more of an emotional feeling memory. Even now, as it comes to mind, that same sort of physical reaction happens - closed throat, sweaty palms - that intensity that comes when you are painfully shy.

And yes, painfully is the exact word I would use.

You could put me in a forest of trees, or let me spend time with my mom listening to the Oak Ridge Boys and Elton John, or hand me a book and a comfy place to sit, and I was okay.

A roomful of people. Not so okay.

But I grew out of it, and went on to speak to large rooms of people, perform in plays, consult a large number of folks, and attend gatherings with my children.

However, within me, there is still that need for quiet and calm -- that place of stillness and quiet to connect to All That Is.

So...the more things change, the more they stay the same. ♥♥♥

:)

Contemplation as a kiddo

Contemplation now . . .

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?" ~Satchel Paige

Much love to you!

Nothing. Nothing. All there is is Nothing. :)

2011-07-15T03:20:00.000-04:00

PICT0024, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

Suddenly the bottom fell out:
No more water:
No more moon in the water:
Emptiness in my hand!
- Chiyono

“See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.” --Mother Teresa

Blessings of the moon to ya!

All around the world there are various events happening. (there are always events happening, yes?!)

Prayers for peace. Honoring those who teach you. Full moon dancing. And much more.

This week I had a powerful experience. Thinking it would be good to share, I wrote it up. The first time it disappeared from my screen, I chalked it up to my clumsy computing. The second time it poofed! into the Ether, I thought - "Okay, this is odd." When it happened again, I started laughing... "Alright," I said, "Nothing it is."

The funny part of this is that I actually sent several blank e-mails to friends, family and clients.

Nothing.

Over the past week I've had several folks say, "How did you get to where you are?"

Simple. I was born. I am living. I will die.

There is some speculation about what Buddha said on his death bed. The gist of it is this:

Everything fades, everything changes - worry about your own Path, and practice with diligence.

(of course this is my interpretation, for your own, as Buddha suggests, Google "Buddha's last words" ♥♥ )

“I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it” -- Albert Einstein

In a few moments the moon will go full. Astrologists, visionaries, dreamers, seekers, lovers, children, trees, nature, the galaxy and All That Is will keep moving. From one state to another. One moment ends; another moment begins.

So, if you think about it, we tiptoe between Nothingness, with each moment being holy change and rebirth.

But I digress . . . ♥

There is no easy way to know how it is I came to be how I am. What is important here is that I am okay with where I am.

(looking at the above paragraph there is this neat little pattern)

For years I looked for answers. Always looking, always seeking. Well meaning advice, heart break, euphoric moods, dark lows, births, deaths, life changes and so on - each moment brought me closer to Now.

There is also one important fact I'm leaving out. It is the thing that makes me, me.

I was born this way. (way before Lady Gaga was born the way she was born, and others will be born the way they are)

On a most interesting day in July, my life started. At the same moment I was born, the veils thinned a bit. Some day they will thin again, and I will pass from this stage of my existence. Everything between my birth and a future death is just a dance between the veils.

With that, the morning is far too beautiful to pass to write about No Thing. ;)

All my love, and much Nothing to you!
♥♥♥
Kim

There's a rational mystic blowing in the wind . . .

2011-07-13T05:02:00.000-04:00

fireinheadfun, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Mysticism and exaggeration go together. A mystic must not fear ridicule if he is to push all the way to the limits of humility or the limits of delight." -- Milan Kundera

"Mysticism is the mistake of an accidental and individual symbol for an universal one. " --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hillbilly - The stereotype of a hillbilly is a person who: Is a White Southerner who owns a shotgun, goes barefoot, wears a worn out floppy hat, drinks moonshine and whiskey which he makes himself, plays the banjo or fiddle, drives old beat up pick up trucks, has bad teeth, is poorly educated, has long a beard, wears worn out clothes and hand me downs, and is happy and content with what they have. (From Urban Dictionary)

Mystic - An individual that has supernatural knowledge or experiences not imposed by outside forces, usually due to an awakened kundalini. More specifically, a mystic is a positive individual, not of the dark side of the force for which the word 'witch' or 'sorcerer' is usually used instead.
Mystics are sometimes marked by a particular kind of experience in which
great physical suffering becomes a supernatural spiritual ecstasy.
Mystics come out of all religious and spiritual backgrounds. (Urban Dictionary)

I self identify with the hillbillies, yokels, clodhoppers and yes, rednecks. My early days were spent in fields, on a farm, with animals and Nature all around me. There are days where my soul CRAVES that little house in Indiana.

In the trees, or playing with cats, that is where I came to understand that there is something in the Universe that is more than we can truly understand. While the church folk seem to have a small clue, it was the clouds themselves that shared profound religious information.

The first time I saw a fractal was in the leaf pattern of a mimosa tree. Its pattern spoke to me in chants with mathematical undertones. There was a song the leaf had that no church choir could ever reproduce.

Along with its own voice, the wind would come along to play, too. Gentle breezes would move the leaves to accompany the unearthly beautiful song...

The night my sister was born, there was a great big storm. My parents had always told me not to go into the outer room (an addition with a concrete floor) during storms because of the water that would come in under the door.

For some reason I just had to have a glass of milk.

A bolt of lightning hit the house (I guess) just as I opened the refrigerator, and I got the shock of my life. My step-dad said I jumped "higher than a jack rabbit." All I remember from that moment is the wonderful colors and smells.

If I were to say that was the day "my life changed," that would be a bit dramatic. For one reason, my childhood experiences, at all ages, was pretty darn intensely weird.

But anyway...

Being a "hillbilly" brought me to a deep sense of mysticism. My place in the vast web of life was just one part, and it was my job to figure it out.

So I started educating myself in the sciences, arts, religions, etc. You name it - I studied it. No book was safe from me. At night I would sneak books off my parent's shelves, read them, then return them before they woke in the morning.

My mind starting putting all these patterns together - fairy tales, ancient religion, 70s -era self help books, classic literature, encyclopedias, mass market paperbacks - and my own branch of mysticism starting coming to life. Needless to say, I was an odd child. ;)

All of this has made a firm Believer out of me. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is something greater than we understand "out there." Along with that, there is an even greater mystery fumbling around in our own body and mind. Every thing on this planet (and beyond) is an extraordinary machine. We are the God we've been waiting for.

Through science and technology we grasp at straws -- trying to find a "reason" for being the way we are. In isn't enough to know that beans give some people gas, we have to know the exact detail of how that gas is formed. (no joke, folks, your tax dollars at work there)

While I don't find the research useful, or financially beneficial, I understand the desire to know - to understand.

If you read ancient texts, and their various translations, you get a sense that all the first great thinkers and peace makers might have had a touch of the "hillbilly" in them...or at least they understand the complex web of nature. Whatever it is, these "ancient" people came up with science before scientists did (SCIENCE!).

Over the years I've come to a series of personal understandings. And those things don't work for everyone. Trust me, I've tried to teach them to my kids - and they just look at me like I'm silly. *grin*

In the quiet moments of morning, even though I know the science behind it, the sunrise always amazes me and makes me feel as if God is watching me. In that moment, watching a spider take down its web, I can physically see that everything connects to everything - faith and science meet in a beautiful dance of life.

Then I ruminate about my place in the Universe. What treasures does my own mind and soul hold? And what will I be able to pass down to future generations? Will old fashioned sky-gazing be replaced with virtual terraforms and such?

It is not in my nature to worry much about the future, except maybe if I'll get any good tomatoes this summer. Instead, I look out at the patterns of trees...and listen to their new songs.

With lots of mystical hillbilly love,
Kim

gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha

2011-07-12T05:01:00.000-04:00

, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"At present, I am mainly observing the physical motion of mountains, water, trees and flowers. One is everywhere reminded of similar movements in the human body, of similar impulses of joy and suffering in plants." -- Egon Schiele

As I sit here typing my post today, I've got Robert Thurman giving me a lecture in the background. It is one that I've heard before, so I'm enjoying the quirky timbre of his voice...which is settling me in to my day.

"By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity." -- Robert A. Heinlein

The closer my life draws me to understanding my environment, the wider my mind goes. It is not as if I am learning everything out there, but that everything within me is becoming known.

As I talk with Feather about this, he says things like: "How said it would be to know everything." His teaching is that knowing all there is to know in the world keeps one from learning about their own place.

Again, Feather says things like: "If you would study this small parcel of land you tend, it would tell you more about the Universe than all the books in your world."

However, my mind has a deep hunger and a deep thirst, so there are moments when I become a bit greedy -- wanting more and more and more. In the need to satiate my demanding curiousness, my plate from the Buffet Of Life is often very full.

But how can you find what you really need when things are piled up so high on your plate? What if the very thing you need is hidden under salad, grilled veggies and bread? How can you get to what your heart truly desires?

Ah, yes...you must take all the things off the plate first. :)

If you read through all the religious texts and holy books, you will find many common threads. Many ideals are repeated from faith system to faith system, changing only to be accepted during the time it was important.

For me it is sort of like this..
1) look within to find peace of self
2) use the peace within to help those around you
3) sometimes life does, indeed, suck, but it will get better in the end
4) death and birth are part of the same door
5) before you can know any sort of prime creator deity, you must first understand your own place in the chain

Well, okay, there are some more fundamental connections, and you see that in the beautiful writings of each faith systems and religious path. However, in essence, I work it down to something like this.

"As this life is short, worry not about the hard parts. Work to ease the suffering and pain of those around you, so that the community can work together for the greater good. When Death comes to foster change, use this to teach others the importance of living."

Well...okay...there is a bit more there, but you get the picture. :)

Each great teacher says something the same - your life is short, help others, seek inner truth.

And now, a totally random quote that fits in this post. ♥♥

"We cannot avoid missing the point of almost everything we do. But what of it? Life is not a matter of getting something out of everything. Life itself is imperfect. All created beings begin to die as soon as they begin to live, and no one expects any one of them to become absolutely perfect, still less to stay that way. Each individual thing is only a sketch of the specific perfection planned for its kind. Why should we ask it to be anything more?" -- Thomas Merton

Oh, and one more...

"I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee." -- Swami Vivekananda

The supposed definition of the mantra in the subject line is:
"Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone utterly beyond, Enlightenment hail!"

As I wind this post up, I hope you notice that I've taken my piled plate and found, shining and full of goodness, a bright red apple.

In that apple there is a personal truth, one just for me. After my apple is done, I will hand you this plate - and then you can find a way to your own truth.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om

Love and heat-induced, benadryl-ized ramblings,
Kim

"Don't forget to cry. That is how your eyes see clearer." - Feather

2011-07-11T04:38:00.000-04:00

Light and shadow #bw #spiral #lightandshadow, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle."
-- WALT WHITMAN

Yesterday I was on the verge of a gut-wrenching cry. Tears did come, but not to the magnitude I needed them to fall.

In the Dreaming I cried tears of gold inside a temple. While that was cathartic and such, I needed real salty tears to flow.

Sometimes when the "weight" of being human gets to me, I have to stop and evaluate what my part in the chaos might be. Did I forget to feed the cats? Maybe I left the house without the things my kiddos need to feel safe and secure.

What was it?

Hmmm....

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
-- HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Okay, so maybe I wasn't looking at the need to cry in the right (write) way.

I'm in the midst of several projects. One of these projects is bringing up things forgotten, that had been resting on a shelf nicely. Dusty books and pretty things were all around, so I overlooked the little shimmering thing in the corner.

How is it that we do that, I wonder? Overlook the most obvious thing within ourselves? We leave our greatest gifts out in the yard, or put our dirty laundry on top of our golden robes.

So busy, are we, looking around for the lost things we are sure we must have. When, all along, the greatest and most richest gift is already there.

"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit."
-- RALPH WALDO EMERSON

And sometimes we cannot see the forest for the trees...

*tee hee*

Taking that need for tears into my meditation this morning, it came to me that the need to cry was so I could see clearer the path in front of me. And with the ability to see clearer, the little things would be more obvious.

On this warm summery day (for those of you in the northern hemisphere), I invite you to give your eyes a good cleaning. No need to look at negative things to do this, find an uplifting video on youtube. Be entirely silly with your children - until you cry with laughter. Read a poem, or a book, that fosters release.

Handing you a tissue with love,
Kim

Honey & Hibiscus

2011-07-10T04:27:00.000-04:00

shot_1310250397044, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed." -- Buddha

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." — Maya Angelou

A very little known fact, that always seems to surprise folks, is that I have a powerful shyness about me.

From what I can understand, it was just something that came with me as my life bloomed into existence. Even as a very small child I can remember hiding behind things so I didn't have to speak to anyone.

As I got older, folks translated my deep shyness as a form of snobbery. Somehow my inability to speak made folks think I had some kind of "betterness" they didn't have.

This continued into adulthood, and to prevent the miscommunication, I started talking.

In order to hide the shyness, my mind and mouth worked together to just say things. Anything, really, as long as my words made a nice wall to hide behind.

There are tomes of work dedicated to the "neurosis" of being shy. Shy people seem to really worry the modern culture. If you aren't talking about something, or trying to become some part of a group, you must clearly be made of madness!!!

:)

"I never felt comfortable with myself, because I was never part of the majority. I always felt awkward and shy and on the outside of the momentum of my friends' lives. " -- Steven Spielberg

As life moved me forward, it was important to find a voice in my shyness. When I was 20 years old a dream came to me - in the dream I was sitting on a porch listening to people sing me their songs of life. I could smell the air, sense the breezes and hear birds calling to each other.

There was a sense, in the dream, that I was just sitting there, being still, listening to others.

A few days after the dream, Grace handed me an opportunity to do just that - Listen.

The first person that came for some listening work was an older college student who had issues with a professor (who, oddly enough, would be a professor of mine in a few years). After the chit-chat of meeting for the first time, I just sat there...listening.

“So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it.” -- Jiddu Krishnamurti

So, for over 20 years, I've been listening. :) However, in those years I still have to talk, right? How could I use my voice, in a non-nervous, wall making manner, to work things out in my Being.

Why, yes, I could use art and writing! The Journaling work taught to me by my mentors, teachers and gurus! The Internet! *grin*

Each day my heart is glad that listening is a part of my life. Each day my heart is glad that I don't always have to talk. Each day my heart is glad in making connections and hearing the still quiet voice that is all around us.

A new friend dropped by yesterday, bringing honey and hibiscus. This means I have some new tea for you...if ever you should decided to stop by. You may get a bit of a ramble from me, and a tad of mindless mutterings...but your Life Song is a tune I want to hear. You might just have to abide a ramble or two. ;)

Hugs,
Kim

"I have found a way to live" - Krishna Das

2011-07-09T04:34:00.000-04:00

Research for a project - enjoying it so far., a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.” -- Joan of Arc

"All men are my children. What I desire for my own children, and I desire their welfare and happiness both in this world and the next, that I desire for all men. You do not understand to what extent I desire this, and if some of you do understand, you do not understand the full extent of my desire." -- King Ashoka

There is this place on my back porch that gives a deep sense of peace. The chair is placed just so, the table is shining just so, and the way I place my supplies and tools is just so.

However...if one of those things were to get shifted...just even an inch, my time looking at the clouds might seem a little disturbing.

Taking a look at what might be perceived as OCD, but is really more of that place where the Creature Of Habit lives, I see that putting myself in Comfortable Places has kept me from truly living.

While my life is pretty odd and fully of Mystery, it seems as if it has been a safe sense of odd mystery.

Being a good mystical mystic, I've been shaking things up over the past few weeks.

And it has been FUN! :)

It might seem as if I've thrown some wabi sabi into my day, but the truth is my day is moments of wabi sabi to wabi sabit to organized chaos to purely intense, hee haw, whimsy inducing Magic!

There are aspects of religions that will, with the deepest of intentions, put themselves in extreme places of chaos and intensity. By doing this they test their ability to stay true to their own truth: their own path.

Today take a formerly safe place and give it a touch of magical chaotic whimsy. Wear those tie dye pants, eat the last candy in the box, hug a stranger.

And then come by for some tea and bird watching on the back deck. You can even move my drawing pencils around on the table. It won't bother me none at all. ;)

Loads of hugs,
Kim

Don't forget to wash your bowl . . .

2011-07-08T08:31:00.000-04:00

PICT0035, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"Believe nothing on the faith of traditions,
even though they have been held in honor
for many generations and in diverse places. Do not believe a thing because many people speak of it. Do not believe on the faith of the sages of the past. Do not believe what you yourself have imagined, persuading yourself that a God inspires you. Believe nothing on the sole authority of your masters and priests. After examination, believe what you yourself have tested and found to be reasonable, and conform your conduct thereto." --Buddha

This is one of my favorite passages to read when I am starting a new phase of life.

Believe nothing. Do nothing. Have to way but the way ahead.

Every faith system has this sentiment. When in doubt, don't do anything. Then observe what is going on around you. After that, take steps to better understand the situation. From there, figure out what your part in the situation is.

After all of this, if you still are unsure, take action.

Have you ever watched birds sitting on the highway? Even as giant moving cars fly past, they will sit with the greatest amount of calm. They, when faced with a 2-ton vehicle, do nothing. If they sense that a piece of french fry is not worth being squished, they will fly away.

So, if my point here is to "do nothing," why would I suggest washing one's bowl? Doesn't washing go against the thought of "nothing."

Not really.

When taking care of who we are, and how we are in the world, it is important to not leave a mess for others. In essence, we want to provide a sense of "nothing" for those around us. Having rice, then leaving your bowl creates a "something."

Or, what is the sound of one bowl being washed...in the forest...

*tee hee*

The point here is that while we might experience a deep awakening, or have giant moments of clarity, we still have to exist in the world.

And in that existence is where the true lessons begin.

All love,
Kim

Re-entry is always a blast!

2011-07-07T10:18:00.000-04:00

FxCam_1309474931843, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

“When you seek it, you cannot find it.” - Zen Proverb

We all know the phrase, "breakdown brings breakthrough." It is one of those statements that folks say when you are right in the middle of losing it. As if the thought of a future peace will help you in the moment when you are seconds from coming seriously unglued.

My official date of returning to work was July 16th, my 40th birthday. However, after my mind-melting sabbatical, where I tested all my limits, and looked for any truth that made sense, I realized that the process would need to be intuitive and reflective. It wasn't going to work for me if I just said, "la ti da, I can do whatever I want for this sabbatical and then 'fix' everything a few days before the deadline."

So I took some time away form all my social media. Wrote a newsletter to friends and clients. Informed folks that I would be gone...then hit the path in front of me.

Expectations came and went. Goals came and went. Sanity came and went.

The thing about moments like this, is that Grace always provides. Even when, at times, I felt as if the gifts were more work, or that "no one else has it this hard," I pushed on.

“Move and the way will open”
Zen Proverb

When I get to places like this, I go back to my Buddhist teachings. In there there is a simplicity that states eloquently, "get over it and move on."

Being in that place, of moving on, I started having very lucid dreams. Not only were these dreams very precise, they were giving me teachings I'd longed for over the years. For once I had a place. Instead of just being in flux all the time, I had a chance to put a few roots down....spread my branches up to the sky.

And, during the quiet morning meditations and art therapy (mostly just letting my pencils doodle spirals and circles in a journal), I started hearing this small little voice. At first it seemed like one of my younger children's voices, so I would get up to help them greet the day.

However, after getting up for nothing 3 days in a row, I realized that maybe this still small voice was something different. Something more spiritually based.

“Often you have to rely on intuition.” -- Bill Gates

After making a cup of tea to enjoy with the sunrise, I decided to talk back to the small voice. Once the initial surprise of not seeing anyone there, and realizing that talking to this "nothing" was quite alright, everything shifted. An intensity came into my path that really needed to be dealt with.

Scientific folks might call it a catalyst...

:)

The retelling of that experience could fill way too many blog posts (with a fair bit of rambling), so I'll get to the point quickly. ♥♥

Something Feather (the name of the still quiet voice) shared with me the other day seems to fit really nicely here.

"When something is over, let it go. Holding on to a Truth that no longer serves is unhealthy." (Feather)

Oddly I didn't feel as if I was holding on to some kind of "Truth," but it seems that I was. I was clinging desperately to the "I." You know, "*I* am going to," and the "*I* am going to find the answer," and even more the "*I* am about to..."

And that is how I ended my sabbatical. I just washed my bowls, sat with Feather and found some truth.

:)

It feels really good to be back in the swing of things again. During my sabbatical my dear sweet Mister The Mister was working out of town, so I was knee deep in it! Kids, work, ideas, breakthroughs - you name it.

The whole process was a lesson in Balance and Beauty -- and beauty in balance. ;)

So - how have you been?

Rumi and Ruminations

2011-07-05T04:22:00.000-04:00

Happy July 4th!, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

"You are quaffing drink from a hundred fountains: whenever any of these hundred yields less, your pleasure is diminished. But when the sublime fountain gushes from within you, no longer need you steal from the other fountains." – Jalaluddin Rumi

The $20 menu-plan challenge (and GF, too)

2011-06-03T04:13:00.000-04:00

PICT0015, a photo by kimboburly on Flickr.

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. ~Voltaire

A client of mine offered me a challenge...

Client: I bet you can't create a whole 5 day menu plan on only $20.

Me: I'll take that bet. Can I assume a few things?

Client: Like what?

Me: That I have a few things in my pantry and spice cabinet...

Client: I'll give you spices and three food items.

Me: Okay, I'll take salt, pepper, garlic (fresh) and cumin for my spices. In the pantry I want olive oil, tomato sauce and molasses.

Client: Sounds good.

Me: Okay - here I go!

I love things like this - getting challenged in a way that makes my noggin engage several avenues at once (numbers, planning, food, etc.)

:)

With my $20 in hand, I head to the store. I'm not going to make my meal plan until I see what is on sale. Also, the goal is to get certain things into the system: protein, vitamins and minerals.

My list is sparse, and I hope to get everything on it.

Produce: onions, celery, carrots, 1 sweet potato
Dry beans/rice: lentils, pinto beans, long grain rice

At the produce area I measure out the items individually - is it better for bulk or single purchases? Clearly bulk is the better deal, and the red potatoes (my fave!) are on sale.

Produce section, while a bit pricey, proves to be estimated at about 12 dollars

Off to dry goods! Pinto beans and rice on sale, so I pick up a larger bag of rice than anticipated. I toss in my bag of lentils and head to the checkout.

Grand total: $19.78

And now home to menu plan!

First I look at breakfast planning by listing the breakfasts I can make and what can be used as leftovers. Then lunches - and on to dinners (or dinner then supper - depending on where you live *wink*).

Breakfasts:
1) fried taters
2) hot rice cereal
3) sweet potato hash
4) hot rice cereal
5) hot leftover soup

Lunch:
1) lentil soup
2) rice and beans
3) potato wedges with lentils
4) rice soup
5) boiled water soup

Dinner:
1) hash browns
2) leftover hash with beans of choice
3) onion soup
4) lentil stew
5) carrot soup

Ta-Da! :)

Then I measured all the ingredients on hand to make sure I had enough. It seems that I was cutting it close on the rice and beans, so if I had to do it over again I'd try to budget more for rice and beans, and maybe see if I could save some money using frozen carrots and frozen onions.

So, yes, I won the bet - barely. I learned a great deal from the process, and have come to hold a deeper appreciation for cooking and food.

:)

Bon Apetite!
Kim

December 22, 2010

2010-12-22T08:47:00.002-05:00

PICT0002, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"We all have a story to tell. How will you tell yours?" - All That Is

A few days after teaching the kiddos about the Buddha's first "sermon" in the Deer Park, the local deer decided to come find some good grasses. This whole image just fills me with joy.

Today get out a pencil, paper and some nice crayons. Draw a few pictures and then write a story.

Listening to your words,
Kim

December 21, 2010

2010-12-21T08:01:00.002-05:00

PICT0127, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"The Light always returns. Make a wish and see what happens!" - Faery Godmother

As the Light returns, so does the Muse!

Welcome back, dear ones! As I was growing and working on other projects, I had to take some time to feel that space between. On the day of a Full Moon Solstice, I feel it is time to bring my musings back to the virtual page!

On this day I invite you to have tea with the Faeries, make a wish, and bathe in the return of the LIGHT!

Handing you a magic wand,
- Kim

December 1, 2010

2010-12-01T07:23:00.002-05:00

PICT0026, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"Just because you are human doesn't mean you are the same. Everyone has an individuality, a sense of purpose. Finding your purpose is simple: just listen." - Horse

This is not a new message. In fact, it is a message I get often each morning, and am guided to share it. However, how many ways are there to say "listen?" If I change "listen" to "be aware" then I get some pretty neat sentences.

Instead of "listen to me" you have "be aware of me." Wow. How much better could we communicate with each other if only we stopped to be aware?

Today I invite you to practice awareness...

I am aware of you,
Kim

November 30, 2010

2010-12-01T07:17:00.002-05:00

Photo0460.jpeg, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"No information is new, but where you apply it is. Do you think that first humans would've had a need for motivational sayings and products? No, they found simple joy in survival. In our modern time we must be reminded that simplicity can work." - All That Is

This was handed to me during meditation. As my daily readers might notice, this meditation is day late.

It took me a full day of contemplation to figure this one out, but I think I've finally deciphered it...

In short...there are no "new" messages, just "new" ways of perceiving them.

So today, I invite you to take a new look at an old way of thinking, or being, or hearing, or...

Changing the dimensions with you,
Kim

November 29, 2010

2010-11-29T07:44:00.003-05:00

PICT0108, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"You will never know what happens unless you try. Go ahead, throw that pebble into the water." - All That Is

Ha!

Today I invite you to try something new...allowing Grace to bring you to the ripples in the pond.

Finding the choicest rocks,
Kim

November 28, 2010

2010-11-28T08:25:00.002-05:00

PICT0107, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"No matter how caged we are, there is always access to Freedom." - All That Is

Yesterday I realized that I was walking around in a big cage. It was really noticeable, but it was there. As I tried hard to figure out why I had this cage, I didn't stop to notice that the door was open...

Today I want you to investigate your cage for holes...then break free!

Handing you some wire snippers,
Kim

November 27, 2010

2010-11-27T07:49:00.002-05:00

PICT0122, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"Children see everything as Divine." - All That Is

This is a photo of my youngest daughter's holy space. I love the items she has placed upon this altar.

Every holy path and tradition knows that knowing the Divine is knowing children (and, in turn, our own Inner Child). Zen mystics say that the more we become like children, the closer we are to enlightenment.

Today I invite you to engage in Sacred Inner child play. Get out your old toys, play in the snow, go down a slide. Enjoy being a kid!

Getting out the Tinker Toys for you,
Kim

November 26, 2010

2010-11-26T07:29:00.002-05:00

PICT0088, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"Communication is happening all the time...but we are not always listening." - All That Is

What does it mean to actively listen? How can one be fully engaged in what is being communicated to them?

Short answer - I don't know. All the mystics, sages, prophets and holy people don't fully know, either, but they did (and still do) have an idea.

To access the Inner Listener, we must walk with our Self. When we can effectively listen to all that we carry around in our physical shell, then we can learn to listen to everything around us.

On this day, I invite you to listen to what your body and spirit are telling you. Delight in the conversation with Self. Tell jokes and debate modern economy.

Making cakes for your conversation cafe,
Kim

November 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving)

2010-11-25T08:49:00.002-05:00

PICT0129, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"No matter how hard to try to deny it - you are connected to every thing around you." - All That Is

Today I give thanks for my connection to you.

All Love,
Kim

November 24, 2010

2010-11-24T06:46:00.002-05:00

PICT0059, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"Have you checked in with your solar plexus today?" - Lemon Balm

What a funny little meditation I thought to myself this morning. Really? Check in with the Solar Plexus?

But think about it. That is the area that helps us stay upright and moving. If our belly ain't working, then the back ain't working. If the back ain't working...well...ain't nobody working.

Also, if your stomach and digestive system is out of whack, the physical world of food isn't processing as it should. This causes a back up of "stuffs," and one is left feeling bloated and sick.

In the Chakra system, the Solar Plexus (also known as Maripura) is part of a sacred base, and is the initiation gate (so to speak) to your heart chakra (Anahata).

Lemon balm has long been known to bring ease to an upset tummy. (it is in the mint family after all - that sacred trifolium family that includes yummy clover).

So, on this day, I want you to focus on your belly. Give it a rub, feed it your favorite food, chant glories to it...then give it a full on BELLY LAUGH! (being around kids helps).

Telling you a sacred joke of a bowl of yummy soup,
Kim

November 23, 2010

2010-11-23T08:21:00.002-05:00

Photo0232, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"No matter what you believe, or don't believe, we are all surrounded by the Divine." - All That Is

I took this photo at Summer's end of this year. The lens was clear, and nothing had flown in front of the camera.

What is interesting about this photo, is that my heart was full of love for my family, my land, and for everything around me. I took this photo from the Heart and Soul of me. When I looked at it later, only then did I notice the soft and dreamy look of it.

Today I invite you to see things from your heart. This is your Divine center. You don't need to believe in God, or anything in particular for that matter. Just see things from a new perspective...with love and beauty.

Making you a Valentine,
Kim

November 22, 2010

2010-11-22T06:26:00.002-05:00

Tomato cages in winter, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"You very often keep yourselves in a cage because it is easier for you to stay trapped than it is to understand Freedom." - All That Is

This morning as I sat in meditation I kept seeing aspects of myself in a cage. It was a tad unsettling until I heard the above meditation.

Indeed, it easier for me to keep myself caged. In being caged one does not have to experience Freedom, and all that comes with it. The biggest fear, I feel, is that we aren't prepared to meet the emotions and face our own mortality. After that, I think we just get used to being comfortable in our little place, and make the best of what we have...never thinking of what lies beyond.

For me this morning's work helped me realize that there can be many parts to one whole. In thinking this way, everything becomes connected.

Today I invite you to find a hole (whole!) in your cage so you can escape into your Freedom!

Handing you some wire cutters,
Kim

November 21, 2010

2010-11-21T07:27:00.002-05:00

PICT0016, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:
"Through me a Shadow can be seen, or no reflection at all (if you wish). Whichever you choose, understand the ebb and flow of life, learning from whatever is around you...even if it is in the Shadows." - The Moon

Looking into the dark place of our life can be a bit intimidating. Not only is it a cultural fear, but something deep within our genetic selves. We are taught to "beware of the dark."

Through the observation of our environment(s), we started to learn that the dark isn't such a bad place after all. In these places there is the Dreaming, and there are stars and a moon to guide us.

This evening I invite you to play with your moon shadow. Learn what you can and bring it into the light of the Sun.

Singing "me and my shadow" with you,
Kim

November 20, 2010

2010-11-20T08:04:00.002-05:00

Autumn Faery, originally uploaded by kimboburly.

Today's Meditation:

"It is never too late for Whimsy." - The Good People

Well, you heard 'em - go partake in some Whimsy today! ♥

Raking up leaves so you can jump in them,
Kim

Hillbilly Mystic

In The Spiral

Auto Draft

Communal Spiritual Family - A poignant shift at Green Being Studio

Not in the scream...in the whisper...

God is an Owl, not a verb or a noun...but an Owl

Auto Draft

That's just the insanity talking to you.... *grin*

Naming yourself - the role of a Medicine Person

Awakening Authenticity

All is full of love

So much beauty it makes my heart ache . . .

Love is more powerful than we thought . . .

Advanced Shamanism - Staring into the Sun

Into The Mystic

Belief O Matic says . . .

An Awakening . . .

News/Social Media fast - Day 1 into Day 2

News and Social Media Fast(ing)

Blessed to be a witness . . .

Tea with the Green Man in Shambhala

Awakening to Sacred Silence

My teacher stopped by for a visit yesterday . . .

"Mom. Will you teach me how to pray?"

You are a living Medicine Wheel

We have all been here before . . .

Come sit a spell . . . this moment's always Holy

You are loved - so are they

Under The Dream Tree (of life)

Today I invite you to . . .

The Spirits of Green Being Farm (and Studio)

May All Be Fed . . .

Story (telling)

What The Past Hath Wrought . . . (a creator's tale)

Welcome, Spirit! Have a seat . . .

Coming Home to your own tribe of Elders . . .

Coming Clean

Elephant Power's Unstoppable (MC Yogi)

Unbelievable Things

Where Will You Go . . .

Working into the Work

The Tree Frog of God

Neem Karoli Baba and the Seed Ticks

The Dreaming - Hillbilly Mystic Style

Illusions

Praying Mantis Medicine

Garden of the Self

Only light remains . . .

Your "web" of health and wellness

The Importance Of Rest

A Tale of Dreaming

Crystal Clear Eyes . . .

Is home really where the heart is?

'tis Mister The Mister's natal return today

Purchase Happiness now - no payments until forever!

"...living the charmed life..."

All children are teachers...and we their unknowing students

When being authentic challenges the culture (the norm)

"the ants are my friends," or communication is key

"The Magical Mystery Tour"

Lessons From The Past . . .

Meet My Gurus . . .

The Hillbilly Mystic's Path (and how it feels)

Dancing in a fierce light

Walk softly and carry a big crayon.

Cycles and Rhythms

Connected! Connected! We are all connected!

Be a lamp unto yourself - shine your light

Your Path Is Calling - How Will You Answer?

Divinity, Teacher, Soul - spirituality and the senses

Green Being Studio - in the morning!

"An empty belly is the best cook." -- Estonian Proverb

The Universe is inside of me, and inside you, too...

The believer's heart . . .

Bee and Flower

All Is Full Of Change

Nothing. Nothing. All there is is Nothing. :)

There's a rational mystic blowing in the wind . . .

gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha

"Don't forget to cry. That is how your eyes see clearer." - Feather

That's just the insanity talking to you.... grin