Sky!
Our sky is as blue as the bluest tropical ocean. For me, this cloud formation evokes a raft reminiscent of Kon-Tiki or a painting by an Impressionist artist.
Do you see the same shape or am I totally wrong?
At the time I looked up, Blue Bayou was playing in my ears. Synchronicity, anyone?
I know Billie Holliday did it first, but I don’t think it could compare to Linda Ronstadt’s version:
No filters, no editing; simply barren beauty on a winter’s day in SoCal.
As I was looking up at the bluest of blue skies today, I had to add this:
I thought about this: I’m lucky enough to experience a great deal of butterfly interactions; a continual source of joy and delight.
No photographic evidence exists to prove I’m telling the truth, but yesterday, as I was planting a bunch of California natives, a mourning cloak butterfly was fluttering all around me and then sat on my arm for about two minutes.
I tried to get to my phone to document this magic, but I couldn’t, so you’ll have to believe me. I guess she really really approved the locations where I planted the coffee berry and manzanitas!
This planting experience was a team effort: my son was on the phone with me when I was at the nursery having done the research about which specific plants to buy, and he also determined where each one should be planted. It’s not as much fun as having him here in real life. but we had a good time.
She came back today, blocking my way on the steps, so I was able to finally snap a photo.
Me and my shadow and her own shadow!
So far, January has been sending out pretty good vibes. I know we’re only five days in, but things seem to be looking up for sure.
#wordlesswednesday
In keeping with positive intentions and more of that anticipatory vorfreude for this new year, something so strange and wonderful happened!
I had been working in the garden — in my zone of bliss — raking leaves from the ash tree as it finished abscission during last week’s rainy and windy weather. It’s a mystery to me how and when the leaves fall; last year it was before Thanksgiving and this year was much later.
Read about abscission here: https://enchantedseashells.com/2020/11/20/the-process-of-abscission/
When I came inside to freshen my lemony water, I saw what I thought was a piece of paper stuck to the kitchen window, but upon further examination, it was a yellow butterfly!
A yellow butterfly!
I have absolutely no idea how it came to be in the house. I never leave the screen door open ‘cos the rats and squirrels are my constant arch nemeses.
Isn’t this magical? I think so…
I was able to gently coax her into a small plastic container and set her free on the deck. With a joyful heart, I carefully watched her flutter away back to from wherever she came. There was no harm done to her delicate wings.
I wonder if it’s the same butterfly I saw a while ago…that would be SUPER cool.
According to “World of Feng Shui,” a butterfly in the home is always a good omen but…
Maryland lore believes that a butterfly that enters the home and flies around someone foretells one’s death or the death of someone one knows, yet the same sign in Louisiana means that the person will have good luck.
In Japan, they treat a butterfly that enters the home kindly, as the soul of a loved relative or friend might reside in the butterfly and has come to visit them.
I’m going with the good luck and visit from my mom theories. In either case, I am grateful for the visit.
Of all the positive and healthy choices one could implement for 2022, how about becoming #vegan?
A great way to start the process is to visit https://veganuary.com/
There’s a blog along with recipes and a Getting Started eating guide with shopping and nutrition tips.
Do it for yourself, to prevent animal suffering, and the environment.
No human needs to eat the flesh or secretions of a dead creature.
If you choose to join the movement, please let me know so I can give you encouragement, support, and a virtual high five!
Since my DIL is a neuroscientist, anything that relates to the brain and how it works is a topic of conversation around Casa de Enchanted Seashells.
According to Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Health, Happiness, and Wisdom, we can change our mind–to change our brain–to change our mind.
The beauty of self-directed neuroplasticity means we really can teach old dogs new tricks.
Author Rick Hanson’s premise is that if we intentionally choose positive thoughts, we can change our life for the better.
Here’s an excerpt about JOY:
Internalizing the Positive
1. Turn positive facts into positive experiences. Good things keep happening all around us, but much of the time we don’t notice them; even when we do, we often hardly feel them. Someone is nice to you, you see an admirable quality in yourself, a flower is blooming, you finish a difficult project — and it all just rolls by. Instead, actively look for good news, particularly the little stuff of daily life: the faces of children, the smell of an orange, a memory from a happy vacation, a minor success at work, and so on. Whatever positive facts you find, bring a mindful awareness to them — open up to them and let them affect you. It’s like sitting down to a banquet: don’t just look at it — dig in!
2. Savor the experience. It’s delicious! Make it last by staying with it for 5, 10, even 20 seconds; don’t let your attention skitter off to something else. The longer that something is held in awareness and the more emotionally stimulating it is, the more neurons that fire and thus wire together, and the stronger the trace in memory.
“Focus on your emotions and body sensations, since these are the essence of implicit memory. Let the experience fill your body and be as intense as possible. For example, if someone is good to you, let the feeling of being cared about bring warmth to your whole chest.
“Pay particular attention to the rewarding aspects of the experience — for example, how good it feels to get a great big hug from someone you love. Focusing on these rewards increases dopamine release, which makes it easier to keep giving the experience your attention, and strengthens its neural associations in implicit memory. You’re not doing this to cling to the rewards — which would eventually make you suffer — but rather to internalize them so that you carry them inside you and don’t need to reach for them in the outer world.
“You can also intensify an experience by deliberately enriching it. For example, if you are savoring a relationship experience, you could call up other feelings of being loved by others, which will help stimulate oxytocin — the ‘bonding hormone’ — and thus deepen your sense of connection. Or you could strengthen your feelings of satisfaction after completing a demanding project by thinking about some of the challenges you had to overcome.
3. Imagine or feel that the experience is entering deeply into your mind and body, like the sun’s warmth into a T-shirt, water into a sponge, or a jewel placed in a treasure chest in your heart. Keep relaxing your body and absorbing the emotions, sensations, and thoughts of the experience.”
I hope everyone had all their Christmas wishes come true!
Instead of writing about resolutions for 2022, I think it’s more helpful to share info about things that are easier to attain so I’ll share what I learned about seed mantras– bija mantras–to create and enable healthy transformations all year long.
What is a Mantra? A sound, syllable, word, or group of words considered capable of “creating transformation.” The Sanskrit word mantra means “instrument of thought”.
What is Bija Mantra? Bija means seed. Bija mantras are one-syllable seed sounds that, when said aloud, activate the energy of the chakras in order to purify and balance mind/body.
What is a chakra? In Sanskrit, chakra translates into “wheel”. These “wheels” can be thought of as vortexes that both receive and radiate energy. There are seven major energy centers in the human body, from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Emotions, physical health, and mental clarity affect how well each chakra can filter energy. This in turn dictates how pure the energy is that’s emitted from different regions of the body.
Chant the bija mantras, either one at a time or in sequences. Repetition can help you access a meditative state. Try to focus on the different regions of the body associated with each syllable/chakra as you go through the bija mantras.
Option: Choose one sound that really resonates with you and repeat that one several times. I like this brief seven minute chant, but there are literally hundreds of them on YouTube. Search for a voice that feels good.
Some info curated from http://ar-yoga.com/2011/10/bija-mantras-the-sounds-of-the-chakras-lam-vam-ram-yam-ham-om/
Is this a planetary version of the dark night of the soul?
The winter solstice marks the shortest day north of the equator and the longest day in the south. The sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere. This is the southernmost latitude it reaches during the year. After the solstice, it begins moving north again and the days become longer and brighter until the summer solstice in June.
For us in Southern California, the time of the solstice is 7:59 a.m. about the exact time this will be posted.
Light some candles tonight, think happy thoughts, and hope 2022 is a year of good health, love, and abundance in all forms.
A Winter Solstice Blessing
May you find peace in the promise of the solstice night,
That each day forward is blessed with more light.
That the cycle of nature, unbroken and true,
Brings faith to your soul and well-being to you.
Rejoice in the darkness, in the silence find rest,
And may the days that follow be abundantly blessed.’
(Author unknown – if you know the origin, please share so I can link)
Every single time I walk to the lagoon, I’m continually grateful that we saved its beauty and historical significance from being raped by a disgusting LA developer who wanted to build a shopping mall on the south shore.
Only in Carlsbad would a completely out-of-touch city council support a project so harmful to the community and the environment, totally annihilating the significance of this land.
What a travesty that would have been!
Rancho Agua Hedionda was a 13,000 Mexican land grant given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Juan María Marrón. (Wiki)
Before the Spanish plundered their homeland, Agua Hedionda Lagoon and the surrounding lands were once the sites of two densely populated Luiseño villages. The Luiseño people lived and worked along the shores of the lagoon, making tools, preparing food, engaging in ancient ceremonies and holds possible sacred grave sites.
I don’t remember reading this at the time, but in 2005, centuries old remains of two horses and a burro were found on the land on the south side that is now populated by a hotel.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/sdut-centuries-old-bones-of-horses-unearthed-in-2005jul17-story.html
Serenity…
Looking up…
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 