Giveaway Love

So there's this nifty giveaway over at Nydia's blog Bringing up Salamanders. You should go check it out.....

Seriously....go...why are you still here ???

*kisses*

Meditation Monday: Not in the Sky

Today I start a new series called Meditation Monday. I recently purchased the Osho Buddha Meditation cards and have fallen in love with them. I haven't really had the chance to delve into them yet...and I figure with it being the week of Imbolc...what better time than now. Basically what I'll do here is pull a card out of the deck (there are 53 total) every Monday. I'll post the explanation of the card here so that all can reap the benefits of it. Feel free to meditate to the sutra off and on during the week....find your inner buddha. So...here we go. Our first Meditation Monday. Feel free to let me know what you think of this idea of mine.

This weeks card is Number 29: Not in the Sky.

Sutra: The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. ~The Dhammapads of Gautama the Buddha. 500 BC~
Don't look upward! When you pray you look upward, as if God is there. Buddha says: Look inward, because God is there.

Look within. Watch how many jealousies, how many angers, how many lustful desires are boiling there. Just watch them!
And this is the greatest contribution of Buddha -- that he has said, and proved beyond doubt because it has worked for thousands of people -- that a deep observation of anything that is wrong in you is enough; you need not do anything else. Just be aware of it and it disappears. It disappears just as you bring light into a room and the darkness disappears.
Become aware, awake. Then you will see that everything comes and goes, all things come and pass. Life is a flux. Your consciousness is the only thing that is immovable, that is eternal. To attain it is freedom. To attain it is the goal of life.

OSHO

Seeing the Light

Well....Imbolc is upon us. Unfortunately, I have to work till close on Wed. so this is going to be my Imbolc post for the year. I also have some new goodies coming up this week (starting tomorrow) so you'll have to stay tuned :)

Imbolc...what shall we say about Imbolc? It's always been a good holiday for me....there's a current of hope that rushes through the air. The promise of spring on the other side of the horizon....warmer days with more and more sun as we approach summer. The first shoots of grass peeking out from the deadened landscape (sometimes even peeking through snow depending on where you are). This Imbolc, however, I think the majority of us will be spending it huddled around our fireplaces (or other heat sources) as we're still buried in snow (or about to be in my case). It's kind of depressing to tell the truth. But...as every cloud has a silver lining...I have decided to look at it as Mother Nature's way of giving us one last good cleaning before setting up shop for the warmer months.

This year Imbolc falls on the New Moon (what others refer to as the Dark Moon). I think this is a very auspicious occasion as the New Moon symbolizes a time for renewal and new beginnings. Well....so does Imbolc. New beginnings, renewal and purification are all themes of this day. It would be a great time to do some meditation on what you hope to accomplish through the rest of the year. You could also do divination to see what might come your way down the road...or ask questions...or see what the coming months could bring to you. I plan on doing a 12 month spread for myself....just to see what has changed between Samhain and now. I know I've changed since then...so I'm gonna go with it. It's also a good time to do a purification ritual/bath of some sort (depending on your individual path). This is the time of year that I start my Spring Cleaning. I start with closets and dressers and get rid of worn clothes, donate what we no longer need/use, etc. I then move to cleaning the house, top to bottom, back to front so that by the time Ostara gets here my house feels and looks amazing. And yes...sometimes it does take me that long. This time of year is also when I replace the broom over my front door. Tradition states that you should burn the old one to purge the negativity so that it doesn't come back....but since I live in a city I can't exactly go out on my patio and have a mini bonfire. So I settle for putting it in a trash bag and closing it tight and tossing it in the trash.

Some correspondences for Imbolc are:

Symbols: Candles, Grain dolls and sun wheels

Colors: White, Yellow, Red and Pink

Animals: Sheep, Robins, Lambs, Deer and Dragons

Stones: Turquoise and Amethyst

Foods: Milk, Honey, Poultry, Pork and Lamb

Plants: Evergreen, Willow, Rosemary and Dill

Oils: Jasmine, Neroli and Olive

Attunement Teas: Chamomile, Red Clover and Blackberry

Goddesses: Arianhrod (Welsh), Athena (Greek), Inanna (Sumerian), Brigid/Brid (Irish), and Kebehut (Egyptian)

Gods: Cupid/Eros (Greco-Roman), Diancecht (Irish), Braggi (Norse), and Dumuzi (Sumerian)

Key Actions of Imbolc are: Plan and Prepare

Imbolc Taboos: Cutting or Picking Plants

Meanings of Imbolc are: Honor of the Virgin (Maiden) Goddess, First Signs of Returning Life, and Festival of Light

Some activities you could do on Imbolc: Burning evergreen boughs that decorated your home during the winter months, Clean your house...discard all useless or unnecessary items either to charity or the trash heap, take a ritual bath, do a light body detox (be safe with this one guys), Cleanse your heart of old anger, pain and fears, Meditate, Clean your altar and ritual tools...reconsecrate them, Make "Brigid's Crosses".

This is by no means a complete list of correspondences for this holiday. I took my favorites out of a couple of books I have in order to share with you. The books are: "Sabbats: A Witch's Approach to Living the Old Ways" by Edain McCoy and "Coven Craft" by Amber K.

I hope you all have a wonderful Imbolc....may the fires burn bright and may Brigid bless you all.

Yawn....*stretch*

Well hello again happy shiny people....yes, I know I've been absent from this area for a while. I've been trying to get my other blog up and running (figuring out what I would like to do with it), working my butt off, trying not to kill my husband, contemplating blowing up the house and starting over with housework, catching a few winks here and there (I haven't had a full nights sleep in a long time before last night when I crashed due to sheer exhaustion). So what all have you guys been up to?

Because of the sheer exhaustion I have been unbelievably cranky. I figured it was safer not to come here and spill out my horribleness via blog posts. No, seriously, I was thinking some pretty scary stuff ya'll. For example....a co-worker left a pair of pliers on a cart at work and my brain went into hyper-drive about all the things I could do with this pair of pliers. My hands would have turned into instruments of divine torture. We're talking Hannibal Lecter tendencies. It was safer for me (and you) to stay away. But...I got a good night's sleep last night. The sun is shining, the dusting of snow we got last night/early this morning is in the process of melting away. *While the school's still remain shut...pansies*

So...I've still got at least one post to finish that Reverb10 thing from December. And yes, I'm going to finish it. It's important. And then I have a few things brewing in the brain for you lovelies. My goal is to have Tea Time Tuesday up and running again here in the next week or so. I'm such a slacker, I swear.

Here's a little something for you.....out of my 14,000 things to be happy about book:

Isn't it pretty....I love nature pictures.

Reverb10: Days 26-31

Day 26: Soul Food -- What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth and touched your soul? (Author: Elise Marie Collins)

It was early fall. Two friends of mine and I went downtown in search of a place to eat that we actually had made reservations at. Well, two times around downtown resulted in a frustrated bunch of people that never found the place. One of the two friends knew of another little place downtown and directed me there. We parked and went into one of the most awesome restaurant's I have ever been in. It was a little place called Red. It had one of those modern-post industrial vibes to it. The coolest part were the red halogen tube lights that hung up like curtains down the central walkway that the waitstaff went to the kitchen on. We ordered dessert and drinks and had a blast. I ordered a triple berry compote type dessert and damn near died and went to heaven when I tried it. In fact....I think I have a pic of it. Hold on....

Beautiful isn't it?? Yes...it's in black and white because it was dark at the table and the color shots looked awful. But I loved this dessert and I have some wonderful memories of two very great friends that evening.

Day 27: Ordinary Joy -- Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year? (Author: Brene Brown)

I honestly can't pick one moment of ordinary joy from 2010. It's not that I don't have any, I have a ton of them to choose from. LOL. From poker nights and late nights staying up and playing guitar hero to going on 3am runs to Taco Bell. From full moons at the lake to spending a weekend in New Mexico with my mom. And that's only a few that I thought of off the top of my head. I had a great 2010 and can only hope that I have as much fun in 2011.

Day 28: Achieve -- What's the thing that you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you'll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then brainstorm 10 things you can do, or 10 new thoughts you can think that in order to feel that experience today. (Author: Tara Sophia Mohr)

I'm going to capture my word of the year. "Create". I can imagine a feeling of accomplishment when I finally create something from beginning to end. And as far as 10 things I can think or do to feel accomplished...well, I did that today by cleaning my apartment because I wanted to. Not cause I felt I had to....but the fact that I wanted a nice, clean, comfortable, and inviting home made me happy. And now, I sit with my glass of milk typing this and feel accomplished and that makes me smile.

Day 29: Defining Moment -- Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year. (Author: Kathryn Fitzmaurice)

In 2010 I learned that it's ok to let go. I let go of some of my fears and inhibitions. I let go of the control that I feel I have to maintain at all times. I let go of the departed and wished them a happy journey. I let go of myself a few times in there too. I'm still working on this whole "letting go" process. I'm learning to let go of old hurts and anger. I'm going to be working on the 30 letters project just for myself. I plan on writing them and holding a bonfire to truly let go of all the stuff that has weighed me down. I plan on letting go of even more of my fears....including working on my biggest....my fear of success. Wish me luck :)



Day 30: Gift -- This month, gifts and gift giving can seem inescapable. What's the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year? (Author: Holly Root)

I know it may sound trite and corny but the best gift that I recieved in 2010 was being able to wake up to see the next day. I spent years and years lonely and depressed and wishing I could die. I have tried to end my life on more than one occassion and I can say now, with all honesty, I'm glad that I was too much of a chicken shit to actually succeed in that. I'm glad that my daughter said "Mama" for the first time when I was contemplating swallowing a couple of handfuls of pills with a chaser of vodka. I lost a very good friend way too soon and it woke me up and really made me realize that life is short...no matter how old you are...and you need to be able to enjoy every second of it. You have to revel in the joy, the pain, the hurt, anger, happiness, jealousy, triumph, etc, etc, etc. I, for one, am damn glad to be alive and I intend to live like I am.

Day 31: Core Story -- What central story is at the core of you, and how do you share it with the world? (Bonus: Consider your reflections from this month. Look through them to discover a thread you may not have noticed until today.) *(Author: Molly O'Neill)

I think I can safely say....see above.

**I know this was completed damn near a month after it was "supposed" to be done. But oh well, life got busy...as I'm sure you are all familiar with...and this blog wasn't exactly the first thing I thought of every day. Better late than never though...at least I finished it ;)**