05.03.07

Return to Blogland

Posted in Musings..., Minnesota at 2:33 pm by Administrator

This is just a short note to bring people up to date on my happenings. 

First, I have successfully located to Minnesota.  Yeah!  I love this state.  I now live in a small progressive college town in southern Minnesota.  Even though the town has only 35,000 residents there is a LOT to do.  I have been here less than two months and have: 1) join the community gardens; 2) meditated with real Buddhist monks; 3) attended a conference on community food security; 4) heard Barbara Ehrenreich (of “Nickel and Dimed” fame) speak; 5) attended a past life regression workshop; 6) seen the pop rock group Ok Go play live; 7) joined a yoga studio; joined a food-coop; 9) attended a march to bring awareness to global warming; and the list goes on and on.  This Saturday, I am planning to attend a dinner where Al Franken will be speaking.  And on Sunday, I am attending an animal communication workshop.

The presentation proposal I submitted on the role of libraries in a post peak oil world, is a no go.  I was disappointed to not be selected, but I think I can use this as an opportunity to tighten my proposal.  I did some research today and have discover lots of library buildings are going green.  I think the greening of libraries would make a good article topic.  Someone actually has written article with that title. 

That’s all for now.

Namaste,
Swan

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01.11.07

My Submission is Almost Finished

Posted in Musings..., Minnesota at 2:29 am by Administrator

Tuesday and Wednesday evening I did some more writing on my submission.  My word count is now up to 804.  Yeah!  And I think I am almost finished with it.  I will go over it again tomorrow and then submit it either Thursday or Friday.

I have to say I am very pleased with what I have come up with.  I just hope the people hosting the conference find it of interest.

Wish me luck,
Swan

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01.08.07

Moving Forward

Posted in Musings..., Minnesota at 9:53 pm by Administrator

Now that I have this new job, I have five years to apply for tenure.  That means I have to start writing NOW.  So this evening I have been working on an abstract to submit to a library conference on The Library in Its Socio-Cultural Context: Issues for Research and Practice.  I know it sounds kind of boring but I am really excited about my submission.  My topic will break new ground in library research.  Plus it is a topic near and dear to my heart. 

I have to come up with a 600 to 800 word abstract and submit it before February 1.  Right now I am at 367 words and am feeling stumped.  Tomorrow should provide more inspiration. 

Time for bed.
Swan

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Big News!

Posted in Hero's Journey, Minnesota at 8:52 pm by Administrator

Salutations to you all, dear readers.  I wish you a happy and productive year in 2007.  It has been a while since my last post but much has been going on behind the scenes here.  I have major big news!

If you had been reading my earlier postings you know that I have been struggling to find a new job.  I can now report that my search is over.  I have accepted a new position as a librarian at a university in Minnesota.  I am so pleased and excited.  I thank the Goddess for this new blessing in my life.

My new job appears to be everything I have been looking for.  The university is progressive.  My coworkers are intelligent and kind.  I will be a member of a union.  And best of all I only have to work nine months out of the year. 

My other big news is that I bought my first house!  It is an amazing house built in 1962.  The sweet people I bought it from are the original owners, who took very good care of it.  Again it is exactly what I was looking for in a house.  

I will be moving to Minnesota in March and starting my new job on March 19.  I feel so much better knowing that I have a wonderful place to live.  My SO will be moving in later in the year.  In the meantime I will be getting the place ready for my four cat children.  This means that I need to install a fence.  I am sure I will have more to say about that later.

I am looking forward to following the principles of permaculture as I landscape my backyard.   Again I will be writing more on that later.

I don’t have the words to describe to you how exicted I am to be moving into my own house in the amazingly wonderful state of Minnesota.  I have been praying and working for this moment for over 10 years.  But I wasn’t ready for it until this year.  Everything fell in place easily because it was the right time for it to happen. 

I thank the Goddess for her guidance in my life.  I lay these blessings at her feet.  For it was through her that I was able to manifest this dream.  All things are possible when we connect to the Divine force that flows within us.  May your dreams also come true this year.

Nameste,
Swan

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10.08.06

A New Posting

Posted in Musings... at 10:34 am by Administrator

It has been awhile since my last entry.  I have been meaning to post something but I have just not been able to sit down and bang something out.  I have been feeling some guilt about this.

I was also feeling guilty yesterday because I had not meditated in the morning.  Instead I chose to do my laundry.  I thought I would do it “later”.  And, of course, I didn’t.  I need to remember that the important thing is to, “put the big rocks in the jar first.”  And meditating has become something that I need to do everyday if I am going to feel balanced through out the day.

As I sat for my morning meditation today, I was feeling ashamed.  Ashamed that I had missed my meditation yesterday, but really feeling ashamed for not writing.  I wanted to work on my writing yesterday.  But instead I spent my limited free time poking through a thrift store. I have come to realize that shopping is one of the distractions I use to avoid writing. 

During my meditation I asked myself, “How can I be a writer if I don’t write?”  And of course the answer is I can’t. Writers write.  Period.  End of story.

Writing in my journal does not count.  I have to do some external writing.

During my meditation I made a list of what is keeping me from writing:

1) Lack of Time.
2) Numerous Distractions.
3) Lack of Energy.

After I wrote that list I had an insight .  I realized that writing is not going to happen automatically.  I have to set aside time to write.  When I was being productive on my screenplay I set myself a goal to write so many pages a night and I did it.

So my goal tonight is to post a blog entry.  And so now I have done it.  It is not much but it is a start.

None of us are perfect.  Walking the path means sometimes we have to remember where we are going.

Nameste,
Swan

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09.15.06

Further Down the Path I find my Muse

Posted in Hero's Journey, Screenplay at 11:42 pm by Administrator

I have reached a turning point since my last posting.  I am now meditating on a daily basis.  I rise at dawn and begin my day with a grounding and centering meditation exercise.   My intention is to spend about 20 minutes each morning but these sessions tend to actually last 50 minutes to an hour.  I find this pretty amazing because I use to have trouble sitting still for five minutes.

I am using a basic chakra meditation, a modified version that I learned from Kathy Jones’ new book, “Priestess of Avalon, Priestess of the Goddess”.  The exercise starts with bringing your focus to the heart chakra and then traveling down through the lower chakras until you rich the root chakra.  At this point I feel myself sending roots down into the earth then connecting to the plant life on the planet.  I then bring my focus back to my root chakra traveling back up the body to heart chakra and then up through the upper chakras until I connect with the crown chakra.  I send my energy out my crown chakra to the edges of the Universe while at the same time remaining fully connected with the Earth.  In closing I find myself surrounded by a ball of energy and connected to the energy of the planet.  I bring this energy back to my heart chakra and end the exercise.

During these sessions I discovered that I do better feeling the exercise than trying to visualize the exercise.  What I also discovered is that I am starting to feel a strong connection to the plant life on the planet.  I had a realization that all of the plants are connected by their roots and that they communicate and share information between themselves. This is probably going to sound strange, but they are aware of us.  They are watching us and they want us to connect with them.  This is especially true for the trees. They want us both to work together.  They offer shelter to us with their outstretched branches and they ask that we tend to them since they are stationary.  They need our help, especially in the drought ridden areas of the country.

During my meditiations I also have been feeling a call to start working on the screenplay again.  I put it down when I completed the Second Act at page 90.  I felt that I had lost my Muse and was forcing the story forward.  So I have let it sit for almost two months.  But this time has not been unproductive. I have been doing research to recharge my creative batteries.  I read David Korten’s “The Great Turning” and am now reading James Lovelock’s “The Revenge of Gaia,” which is a truly frightening book.  

On a much lighter and more artistic note, I did literally find my Muse.  I stumbled onto a band out of England called Muse.  It was an act of serendipity.  I was playing around with the web site MySpace and found their web page http://www.myspace.com/muse .  So now I am going gaga over a bunch of Brits again.  It has been years, maybe a decade or longer since I went crazy over a rock album but check out these music videos by Muse:

Supermassive Black Hole
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xs1EM2_O3pU

Knights of Cydonia video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YygyHCRrKho

Knights of Cydonia live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myc9aEOxqJk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNJMOY4K7Ro

Is that cool or what?  They remind me of bands like Queen, Styx and Pink Floyd.  How can you not like a band that has lyrics like this?

Don’t be afraid
What your mind conceives
You should make a stand
Stand up for what you believe
And tonight
We can truly say
Together we’re invincible

That was from a song called Invincible from their Black Holes & Revelations CD.  You have got to check them out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hquAGsExAQ

Rock on,
Swan

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09.04.06

Want the Truth? Ask a Comic.

Posted in Musings... at 5:31 pm by Administrator

Since we can’t depend on the mainstream media to tell us the truth, who can we turn to find out what is really going on in the world?  Ask a comic, of course.  Check out this online video to hear what I am talking about.    

George Carlin - Who Really Controls America http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=935607276

Laugh and be educated,
Swan

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09.01.06

When the People Lead, the Leaders will Follow

Posted in Hero's Journey at 4:28 pm by Administrator

Last night I watched this online video of Salt Lake City Mayor Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson giving an address to a rally of 2500 people on August 30, 2006. <http://kutv.com/video/?id=18850@kutv.dayport.com>.  You can read the speech also here. 

Here are some of the things Mayor “Rocky” Anderson had to say:

 “A patriot is a person who loves his or her country.”

“Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism. A patriot does not tell people who are intensely concerned about their country to just sit down and be quiet; to refrain from speaking out in the name of politeness or for the sake of being a good host; to show slavish, blind obedience  and deference to a dishonest, war-mongering, human-rights-violating president.That is not a patriot.

Rather, that person is a sycophant. That person is a member of a frightening culture of obedience – a culture where falling in line with authority is more important than choosing what is right, even if it is not easy, safe, or popular. And, I suspect, that person is afraid – afraid we are right, afraid of the  truth (even to the point of denying it), afraid he or she has put in with an oppressive, inhumane, regime that does not respect the laws and traditions of our country, and that history will rank as the worst presidency our nation has ever hadto endure.”

This is inspirational stuff!  According to Wikipedia “Anderson has a strong American liberal agenda. Under his mayorship, the city has purchased wind power, increased recycling, and is converting its fleet of city vehicles to alternative fuels. Anderson has supported initial measures to make the city more bicycle-friendly and pedestrian-friendly while opposing “monster” home rebuilding projects” in the historic districts.

Anderson has stated he will not run for another term as Mayor.  Gee maybe would should run this guy for President.  If you think that is a good idea too contact the Mayor’s Office and let him know by sending him an email at mayor@slcgov.com . For more information check out the Mayor Anderson’s official bio and Rocky Anderson’s Wikipedia page.

Peace,
Swan

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08.31.06

I’m Back…

Posted in Musings..., Hero's Journey at 1:06 am by Administrator

I apologize for not posting for awhile.  I had a lot on my plate, including another job interview which it turns out I did not get.  That is fine with me. I do not think it was the right fit, although the town and surrounding countryside were lovely.

On another note things are starting to shift for me. I have finally identified the name of my Goddess.  It is Gaia, the Earth Mother.  Now that I have a name I have a focus.  I want to serve Gaia as her Priestess.

Also in my meditations I realized that I am a leader.  My true nature is to be a loving leader.  I don’t need people to follow me, it is leadership enough just to be myself in the world of Empire.  I believe I have a role to play in the Great Turning.  The difficult part is staying focus and remaining awake. 

Namaste,
Swan

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08.05.06

The Great Turning is Upon Us

Posted in Hero's Journey at 5:40 am by Administrator

I want to bring to your attention an important article that was recently published in Yes! Magazine.  It is by the David C. Korten and is from his new book, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.  Korten is also the author of When Corporations Rule the World. 

You can find the article here: The Great Turning.

The Great Turning article informs us that we have a choice before us.  There are two major ways our civilization can go.  We can choose the path of Empire or of Earth community.  One of these paths has a very unhappy ending. 

The path we are on is the path of Empire.  The people of the planet Earth and the Earth herself have reached their limit of exploitation.  In Korten’s words, “A mounting perfect economic storm born of a convergence of peak oil, climate change, and an imbalanced US economy dependent on debts it can never repay is poised to bring a dramatic restructuring of every aspect of modern life.”

Pretty scary stuff.  And if you have been reading my blog you will know that I posted a similar message in my June 15, 2006 posting The Coming Challenges.

Korten tells us that is time for a Global Awakening.  “The lower, more narcissistic, orders of consciousness are perfectly normal for young children, but become sociopathic in adults and are easily encouraged and manipulated by advertisers and demagogues.  The higher orders of consciousness are a necessary foundation of mature democracy.”  (I.e. If you want to wake up you have to turn off your TV and quite watching the mainstream news.  See my posting, Caught in a Spell.)

The answer to this enormous problem begins in changing the cultural stories that we tell ourselves.  We must create a new story to live if we want the planet and the life on it to live.  “We must infuse the mainstream culture with stories of Earth Community.  As the stories of Empire nurture a culture of domination, the stories of Earth Community nurture a culture of partnership.”

Over 5,000 years ago our ancestors lived within a cultural and institutional frame of the Earth Community.  They met their needs through cooperation instead of domination.  The Bible tells of this story.  It is the story of the Garden of Eden.  But our ancestors turned away “from a reverence for the generative power of life - represented by female gods or nature spirits - to a reverence for hierarchy and the power of the sword - represented by distant, usually male, gods.”  Our ancestors ate from the Tree of Knowledge and learned to dominate the Earth and other people through unsustainable economic growth and warfare.

Korten goes on to say, “Our nation is on the wrong course not because Americans have the wrong values.  It is on the wrong course because of remnant imperial institutions that give unaccountable power to a small alliance of right-wing extremists who call themselves conservative and claim to support family and community values, but who preferred economic and social policies constitute a ruthless war against children, families, communities and the environment.”

But I, like Korten, feel blessed to be living in this turbulent time because this is the “most exciting moment in the whole of the human experience.”  We are the ones who can create the new world.  A world where all life is sacred, from the smallest microbe to the tallest mountain.  A world where all people are respected and treated with compassion.   A world where no child is hungry.  A world without war.  A world filled with art and spiritual meaning.   This is the world I want to live in.  And I know we can create it, if we work together.  For as Korten tells us in his closing statement, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” 

Nameste,
Swan

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