Category Archives: Books

My Frog Prince 🐸

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If this is a crystal ball vision of 2024, I’m cheerfully apprehensive (or apprehensively cheerful) about what the next twelve months may bring…

Do you remember the Grimm fairytale, The Frog Prince? It’s about a princess who befriends a frog who was really a prince that had been turned into a frog by an evil witch. The princess’s transformative love was the remedy to break the spell.

I’m in the middle of living a real-life version of this story, but I have some basic issues that seem to be obstacles in the way of fulfilling this enchanted experience.

For the last few days, I’ve been hearing a frog croaking in the garden and every time I do, I run outside and try to find him. So far, I’ve been spectacularly unsuccessful.

The croaking seems to emanate from the lower hill that’s covered in a mass of California native plants and I simply can’t locate my frogprince, no matter how hard I try.

Maybe it’s some kind of weird, bizarre twin flame scenario; the more I chase, the more he runs away. Maybe I need to take a deep breath and allow him to come to me. What do you think?

He’s out there right now, beckoning me with his hypnotic, sexy croaking, and I can’t, not for the life of me, track him down.

It’s important to note that this is a highly unusual occurrence; we don’t normally have frogs around this mostly drought-y part of the world and I have heard them so infrequently that I can’t even remember when the last time there WAS a frog around here.

If you could see me running around the garden from one spot to another, you’d have serious doubts about my mental state, and I’d have to nod my head and agree with you.

Why is my prince hiding from me? I am a princess, after all…

While I’m waiting for my frog/prince transformation, here’s what I learned about the spiritual meaning of frogs…

🐸 Frogs symbolize water and land. They help to connect us with the natural world and our intuitive side. They have the power to transform, mature, and renew the soul.

🐸 A frog’s ability to transition from one element to another — depending on its environment — represents change and transformation, rebirth, and evolution.

🐸 Frogs are symbols of new beginnings and creativity because they hatch from eggs and emerge into the world as tiny tadpoles.

🐸 A frog’s spiritual meaning is associated with fertility, good luck, prosperity, money, transformation, new beginnings, love, and the Moon (due to its close connection with water).www.thepeculiarbrunette.com/frog-symbolism-spiritual-meaning/

🐸 Croaking is usually associated with mating and is used by males to attract females, although some frog species croak to mark their territory or indicate their presence. Frogs may also croak because they feel worried or stressed, warning other frogs around them. 

I hope to discover what sort of magic is needed to find and befriend my froggy visitor for our very own happily-ever-after.

If you see me kissing a frog, don’t say a word, OK?

🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

Etidorhpa | Aprhodite

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Have you heard of this novel?

Etidorhpa: The End of Earth (1895) by John Uri Lloyd

Complete subtitle: “The strange history of a mysterious being and the account of a remarkable journey as communicated in manuscript to Llewellyn Drury who promised to print the same, but finally evaded the responsibility which was assumed.”

This is so strange. I can’t remember how or when I scrolled past this title but it reminded me of when I was little, my dad started talking about this book. He read the title to me and, since we both loved wordplay, helped me read it backwards to reveal the mirrored magic.

I can’t remember anything else about our conversation other than that, and I don’t have the book and don’t know what happened to it, so it’s simply an amorphous slip of a memory.

 it was written over a hundred years ago yet it contains absolutely profound theories about electromagnetism and gravity.

Since my dad was an attorney and lived among facts, reality, and documentation, it’s interesting to learn that he was drawn to the esoteric, but he was REALLY smart and loved to read, so maybe he was more complex than I realized.

According to Wiki, Etidorhpa belongs to a subgenre of fiction that shares elements of science fiction, fantasy, utopian fiction, and scientific (or pseudoscientific) speculation. Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth is the most famous book of this type, though many others can be cited. It imagined another world in the center of a hollow earth. Since Lloyd was a pharmacologist, his novel has provoked speculation that drug use may have contributed to its fantastic and visionary nature.

The book is available here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37775/37775-h/37775-h.htm

I started to read the first chapter. For me, it’s not an easy read, not like my romantic chicklit, so it hasn’t really grabbed my interest, other than as a vague but sweet moment in time with my dad.

If you have read it, or intend to, let me know what you think, and WHY Aphrodite is important…

Searching

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“I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.” — Emily Dickinson

Curated from Pinterest. Unknown. Credit to the artist.

Reading is EVERYTHING

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“A child who reads will be an adult who thinks.” Unknown

I always have a book with me, my son always has books with him, and I always have books in the car.

Any time I hear, “I’m bored”, my response is “go read a book.” I said this even before he could actually READ, to encourage the good habit.

Later, I’d tell him to pick out all the sight words he’s learned; it, he, she, the, but…and then we built on those skills by sounding out other words phonetically.

I love functional reading too, and often pretend (lie) that I don’t have my glasses on so I can’t see a recipe or directions and ask him to help me out. He takes the bait every single time and that makes me very happy. To be completely accurate, almost every time. There is that one time he brought my reading glasses to me and that kinda sorta called my bluff, but I simply thanked him for finding them and found a better hiding place next time.

Even his Pokemon cards spark reading skills. “I can read this, Grandma” and I honestly didn’t believe him (there were some big words). Of course I didn’t reveal my skepticism and when he read the back of the cards, truly read them, I gave him a giant hug.

Recently, driving home from the airport with everyone in the car, we heard Angel Boy’s voice in the back seat. He had picked up one of the books I leave on the seat and was reading to his sister.

We all looked at each other in wonderment because this hadn’t happened before. Angel Girl was intently listening to the story and we were speechless with the joy of it, as we’re all big readers who know the importance of learning to read.

When the book was finished, we praised his ability and kindness toward his sister, who asked for the story to be read to her again. And he did. It was a win-win for both of them. And us.

Reading is everything.

“Reading is the gateway for children that makes all other learning possible.” – Barack Obama

The World of Literature Lost a Great One – Cormac McCarthy

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“Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.”
—Cormac McCarthy, The Road

While his raw, savage, and uncompromising style of writing wasn’t REALLY my cup of tea as I’m an unashamed fan of happily-ever-after chick lit, I have read a couple of books by Cormac McCarthy.

MY habit of skipping over sections that contain any sort of violence probably causes me to miss a lot of narrative, but I think I come away with the gist of his message regarding the human affinity for brutality, which I personally abhor.

Even so, I can still be awed by his ability to convey the darkest sides of humanity (inhumanity) and his unflinching bare bones descriptions of people and places I’m happy I never met.

I read that McCarthy was very much influenced by William Faulkner, one of my favorite authors.

I haven’t seen the films adapted from his novels for the same reason I only touched the outer edges of his published works — the dark side doesn’t appeal to me.

Wiki recalls McCarthy this way: “Cormac McCarthy was an American writer who authored twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays, and three short stories, spanning the Western and postapocalyptic genres. He was known for his graphic depictions of violence and his unique writing style, recognizable by a sparse use of punctuation and attribution.”

Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize for The Road. It was recently reported that another of his novels, Blood Meridian, will be made into a feature film directed by John Hillcoat, who directed the film adaptation of The Road.

The Velveteen Rabbit

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I read The Velveteen Rabbit to both Angels and I’m not sure they loved it as much as I did, but it did give us an opportunity to have a chat about my favorite part.

T ran to his bedroom to find his dad’s teddy which now belongs to the kids, so I think they understood the story’s valuable message.

“Like this, Grandma?” “Where Daddy’s puppy chewed on Teddy’s ear?”

“Exactly!” “Teddy’s been loved a lot, hasn’t he?”

T brought Teddy to Dad so he could give him an extra hug. “Hug him, Daddy. He misses you.”

I wish I had a photo of that precious moment, but it’s captured in my heart forever.

“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby.
But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

Margery Williams Bianco – The Velveteen Rabbit, 1923.

Word of the Day: Maitri

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Discovering new words is a constant joy.

Maitri: loving kindness and compassion for oneself, to reveal a profound essence that leads to personal growth, the ultimate self care.

Maitri is one of the four virtues of Buddhism, collectively known as Brahmaviharas or ‘the immeasurables’.

The term maitri can be translated from Sanskrit as loving-kindness or benevolence, The concept is central to the Buddhist practice of loving-kindness meditation and is also referenced in ancient Hindu and Jain scriptures.

Maitri was one of the themes of Buddhist teacher and author, Pema Chodron. In her book How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind, she describes maitri as “unconditional friendliness,” not only towards others but towards oneself.

For maitri toward oneself, try this affirmation: “May I be happy, healthy, safe, and live with ease.”

Positive affirmations + the practice of infinite gratitude are two concepts I incorporate into my daily life.

How about you?

Nature and Nietzsche

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“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” Friedrich Nietzsche

I like the sensual undulating ribbon dance of this little creek at the lagoon.

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” Friedrich Nietzsche.

I can’t disagree with that!

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” Friedrich Nietzsche ·

For me, nature IS art and I’m grateful for it, especially this lagoon, one of my happy places.

What I’m Reading: The Bowl of Light

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Aloha and mahalo…

Year’s end often brings reflection and this book about light is a gratifying metaphor for ending 2022 and starting fresh with a full bowl of love and light in 2023.

The symbol of a bowl of light holds a relevant message to help us explore our limitations, how we can commit to releasing them, and learn to live in harmony.

I wrote about this book in Giving Thanks and since then, I received it as a thoughtful gift and I’m enjoying it so much that I wanted to share it with everyone.

In 1996, a revered Hawaiian elder befriended an American anthropologist, and from their rare and intimate rapport, something miraculous emerged. Through the words and teachings of the kahuna wisdom-keeper Hale Makua, Dr. Wesselman was gifted with an enhanced perspective into the sacred knowledge of ancient Hawaii.

Author Hank Wesselman, PhD, is a paleoanthropologist and shamanic teacher who has worked with noted anthropologists investigating the mysteries of human origins in Africa.

Before his passing, elder Makua encouraged Dr. Wesselman to convey much of what had passed between them to the wider world, giving him permission to share his spiritual knowledge, including:

The Bowl of Light—how we can restore our natural divine radiance
• The three directives of the spiritual warrior—love with humility, live with reverence, and know with self-discipline
• Rituals for communing with nature, receiving wisdom from the spirit world, purifying our consciousness, and more
• The Ancestral Grand Plan—exploring the path our ancestors set in motion millennia ago, and how the Plan is playing out across the world today

***

Along with the the ancient Hawaiian practice of Ho’oponopono about forgiveness, there’s a lot of wisdom we can gain from native Hawaiian culture.

“I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you.”

***

I started to research more of the island’s ancestral traditions and discovered the Huna Principles from Kauai, one of the most beautiful places on this planet.

Ho’ihi . . . Respect

The seven principles of Huna were passed down as part of another Hawaiian family’s oral tradition – the Kahili family of Kauai and these have been presented in a contemporary form by Serge Kahili King. The story of the Bowl of Light provides an illustration of these Huna principles in action as follows:

Ike: Awareness

The story teaches us to become aware of how the choices we make can affect us for better or worse. It is valuable to become aware of the extent that your own bowl is comprised of stones or light. Awareness provides the starting point for change.

Kala: Freedom

We can limit and constrain ourselves to such a point that it is as though we stop growing, we get stuck. When we experience, and hang onto, emotions such as fear, anger and jealousy, it is like we are dropping another stone into our bowl which means we experience less light. We can also free ourselves from such limitations and flourish. We have the ability to release limitations.

Makia: Focus

We choose where to focus- either towards empowering feelings and behaviours or away from feelings and behaviours that disempower us. The choice is ours in any given moment.

Manawa: Presence

The light is always there, even if at times it seems to be fully obscured by stones. If we so choose, change can be quick and it is never too late to change. We can simply turn the bowl upside down and let go of the all the stones and make room for the light.

Aloha: Love

Love and heart-centered practices increase our strength and well-being. To love is to be happy with – we experience light to the extent that we focus on aloha – light and stone cannot occupy the same space. To the extent that we have light in our bowl, we are connected to our true nature and spirit. We are all connected and our own individual light contributes to lighting the world for everyone.

Mana: Power

We have the power to make changes in our life for the better. It is up to us to take responsibility and be the authority in our own life.

Pono: Effectiveness

The tale is a metaphor for living effectively. It reminds us how we can be pono – in a state of harmony with oneself, others, nature and life itself.

Pete Dalton ©2020.  This article first appeared on Aloha International.

Welcome December in Haiku, Quote, and Song

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Another month, another season, another year gone!
Where did the time go?

I wrote a spur-of-the-moment haiku to celebrate the first of December. While it was sunny and a balmy eighty degrees last week, the weather since turned cold and overcast and I’m freezing. My creative writing professor should be happy that I can still turn out a passable 5-7-5.

On this gloomy day
Slate sky; the clouds heavily
Pregnant with iced rain.

Dr. Seuss wrote this about December, too…

“How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?”

Joni Mitchell and The Circle Game, all about seasons. It’s definitely the mood of the day.