Posted on Thursday, September 5th, 2013

Shortly before going on vacation this summer, I emailed a fellow labyrinth enthusiast and asked her for some ideas about labyrinths that I could quickly put up and take down in my yard. She sent me a picture of one she had just used at a weekend retreat; it was made out of floirst silk tape, anchored with hairpins. Alas, I didn’t have time to make a labyrinth before flying out to visit a friend in MN, but our first evening together she began telling me about a workshop she had just attended which ended with the most beautiful labyrinth made from white florist tape. Of course, it was my other friend’s labyrinth.

To see my portable, quilted finger labyrinths, go to my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/innerlandscaping

Tags: journey, labyrinth, transformation
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Posted on Friday, May 25th, 2012

The Quilt Life article on me and my quilts is now out and on the stands! To the left you see part of the first page – an absolutely stunning overlay of my Yellow Brick Road quilt upon a hedgerow labyrinth. The author, Meg Cox, did a fantastic job of highlighting my quilts and their value to me (in the making of them) and those who end up with them in their homes. If you want the complete article, but can’t find the magazine, please email me and I’ll see what I can do about getting you a pdf file. And, if you are a quilter/fiber artist, or have an interest in creating your own family celebrations, please check out Meg Cox’s website; she’s got a foot in each of those worlds. http://megcox.co

Tags: centering, journey, labyrinth, quilt, sacred geometry, spirit
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Posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

Many years ago I had two black male littermates, Castor and Pollux. Though no one else could tell them apart, I found them as different as night and day: Castor was bigger, more solid, had shorter hair, and was just like Eeyore; Pollux was smaller, rounder, had coarser hair, and was just like Tigger. But they were alike in one respect – when I fed them in the morning, one always finished before the other and asked to go outside. But when the other one finished and asked to go out, he would find his brother waiting for him on the stoop, not willing to go off on his adventures for the day until his brother had joined him. And when Castor died at the age of 16, Pollux did his best to follow him, and would have, if I hadn’t begged him to stay, which he did for another 3 years.
Since then I’ve had several cats join me – briefly – on my journey: Willow, Chiron, Luna, and Clive, none of whom looked or acted like Castor or Pollux. Clive went missing around Thanksgiving last year, leaving a hole in my heart, house, and life. On New Year’s Eve day, I found Trip, who is the spitting image of Castor and Pollux (as kittens), but otherwise resembles them in only 1 way – when I let him outside, he often waits there, hoping I will join him. Once I do, he will head off on his adventures for the day, coming back often during the day to check in with me.

Tags: cats, journey, Joy
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Posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

This is an amazingly fresh take on dreams and their possibilities, both positive and ‘negative.’ The idea is that there is a place, overlaying part of our planet, which only certain people called dreamhunters may enter; other folk just keep seeing the same view of earth, while the dreamhunters enter a completely different land. This Place is not mapped in the same way as we usually map things, by geological entities but, rather, by the type of dream which the dreamhunters can ‘catch’ there and then bring back to share with others in places called dream palaces. While some of these dreams are nightmares, most are at least benign, while many are comforting, exhilarating, and/or healing. There is a second book in this ‘duet’ called ‘Dreamquake’; I’ll review that book when I have finished reading it.

Tags: dream, explore, journey
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Posted on Thursday, January 19th, 2012

My recent experiences (with being released from work, and dreams which pointed me to my new kitten companion) remind me of a client I knew who had an amazing dream that changed her life: I was riding around town in my father’s car. Doesn’t seem like much, but I asked her what kind of car it was: ‘A Chevy Impala’ Knowing that an impala was an animal, I encouraged her to look it up in an encyclopedia: “An animal able to leap great distances to avoid danger, but only if it can see where it is going to land.” This was, basically, her father’s motto: “Never quit one job until you have a new one lined up.”  She had been driving around in this car, this motto, even though her current job was sapping her energy, her strength, her joy for life. As soon as she read about impalas in the encyclopedia, she went and resigned, and within a couple of weeks she had her dream job. May we all be so blessed!

Tags: delight, dream, journey, Joy, release
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Posted on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Most rainbows look like they are coming to earth far away. A few years ago I saw one in Spring Green, WI, that seemed to be landing just behind the hill right in front of me. Last week (1/11/12) I saw a double rainbow in downtown Asheville; the inner, brightest one looked like it was coming down to earth just yards from me, as though I could step right into it. I feel like, since being ‘released’ from my job, I have stepped into the labyrinth of joy which is leading me directly into that rainbow. I am aware of increased energy, and others are commenting on it:  You’re more animated — You seem happier.  There’s something different about you definitely in a good way. I don’t know what’s next; only what is NOW, and NOW is pretty wonderful.

Tags: delight, journey, Joy, labyrinth, NOW, path
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Posted on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

What promises to be “The Labyrinthine Trip of 2012” actually began somewhere around Thanksgiving of 2011, when Clive, the cat, disappeared, leaving a huge space in my life. Another huge space was created when, on December 26th, I was released from my part-time job at a fabric store. Although I had thought I needed that job (for its salary, and its employee discounts, which fed that part of my life where I’m a fiber artist), in the moments immediately following my release, and ever since, I have felt quite ecstatic and grateful. I immediately took some time to rest and relax, and then think about how I wanted to fill that space which had been created. I’m still working on that, and will be using this blog to write about how this part of my journey develops. The next major development came on New Year’s Eve day, when two friends, separately, emailed me about discounted adoptions at the local humane society. I discovered I had only 2 hours left to take advantage of this and, although I thought that after nearly 2 full days most, if not all, of the cats would already be adopted, I took a shower and drove over. I began by looking for Clive look-alikes, and there were a couple, but both were too stressed out to be able to take them out of their cages. It wasn’t until my 3rd time through that I finally became aware of a 4 month old black male (my favorite type of cat) who was the spitting image of a former cat companion at that age. And his name was Trip! How could I not take him home with me, where he has brought in an energy I haven’t experienced in over 20 years—the kind of playful enthusiasm usually only exhibited by the youthful members of any species. He purrs incessantly, plays constantly, and brings one of his toys over to me when he wants interactive play. To put it succinctly, he is a trip, and I expect I am in for quite a ride this year, with Trip as one of my guides.

Tags: delight, ecstasy, journey, Joy, labyrinth, trip
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Posted on Sunday, January 1st, 2012

Truth be told, this story begins back before Thanksgiving, when my indoor/outcoor cat companion Clive (a very large tabby) went missing. Around that time I had two dreams: I was clearing out a tunnel system which allowed two former black cat companions (Castor and Pollux) to go in and out without me opening a door for them; I was about to leave my house and heard a noise which, when I opened the closet door, turned out to be an emaciated cat who was a different color than Clive.

Eventually I determined that Clive had passed into the spirit realm, and I began my grieving process. I also knew that I would look for another cat, perhaps a reincarnated Clive, very soon. It began to be imperative when my house became overrun by mice. I looked at one shelter and found a cat who was nearly the spitting image of Clive. This cat, named Boogie, came immediately to me the first two times I went to visit, but did not budge on the third visit, and I left him there.
On New Year’s Eve, I got the message from a friend that the Asheville Humane Society was running a special on adoptions—$12. I had about 2 hours to get there before they closed.
Once again there was a cat who looked almost exactly like Clive, but he was unhappy and wouldn’t greet me. Given the lateness of my arrival, most of the cats had already been adopted, and it took several turns through the shelter before I really noticed Trip—the spitting image of my two black cats, Castor and Pollux. And, at age 4 months, he seems very small and emaciated compared to Clive. My two dreams were being played out before my eyes.
Those dreams, his color (my favorite), and his name, all led me to decide to bring him home with me.
It’s quite a change to have kitten energy in the house again after about twenty years with adults. He is lively, playful, energetic, enthusiastic—a true delight; just the kind of Trip I want to be on myself in this new year. And he seems to be quite happy to be a part of it.

Tags: Cat, delight, Dreams, Energy, journey, trip
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