Happy Imbolc~

Technically, Imbolc is the middle of the winter season, which starts on December 21st, and ends on March 21st.

Traditionally, Imbolc heralds the first signs of life. Lambs are being born and mothers’ milk begins to flow.

Actually, here on the east side of Washington state, we are seeing signs of that life. The crows have returned (though I didn’t realize they were missing.) There have been a few ants, and moths. There are buds on the trees, and the air was warm enough for me to open windows in my car and in my home.

And the real sign of spring coming soon to restless hearts… the grocery store is selling pansies already. In february!

Though the winter here has been mild by local standards, it has been difficult for me because of the gray. Yes, I’d been warned. But the information I found said there were only 20 less days of sunshine here than in Denver. Heck, Spokane means Children of the Sun.

I guess it depends on your definition of day. 3 hours in the afternoon with a chilling humidity does not to me a sunny day make. But I lived in Denver for, what, 30 years? I guess part of my problem is that I expect certain things to happen a certain way and here, well, they don’t.

Happily, whatever the color of the sky, I have had much that is beautiful and bright and fun to be grateful for inside my lovely apartment–gifts or items that lead to lovely memories of my family and friends.

I am surrounded by love, I am connected to you, and that keeps my heart warm.

Thanks to you, I made it through the darkest part of winter. There may still be some storms ahead, but I know that the sun will shine a little more every day. Even if the clouds try to obscure it, I know it’s there. Even when daylight savings comes to muck it all up again, I will feel it there. The memory of its warmth creates that connection.

This video is my little gift of gratitude to everyone who has been a ray of light in my life. Which means you.

May the seeds of your past bring you joyous fruit.

May this spring bring growth in all the best ways.

May what you desire come easily to hand.

And may the sun always shine when you need its rays.

Love & Unicorns
-Lila

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Honoring the past

Hello all: I just need to share.

I published Destiny Foretold this year. It is part of the Destiny Series I am working on. The original, Destiny Unbound, I published over 10 years ago. Destiny Unbound was the beginning of the idea, and the world, but with Destiny Foretold I really created the world. Forms of address, titles, time units, etc.

So, for the last couple of months I’ve been working on rewriting Destiny Unbound so it would mesh with Destiny Foretold, and really be a part of the series, since I’m using both sets of characters in the third book.

This week, as I finished my 15 minutes and didn’t feel good about the work I’d done, didn’t feel like I’d accomplished anything, I realized, I don’t want to change Destiny Unbound. Trying to rewrite it with the brush of today’s worldview feels like I’m dishonoring all the work I did back then, and the reason I wrote the book. So I’m going to do the most difficult thing I’ve every done with my writing – and leave it alone.

I’m going to let the first book stand and just keep writing forward. (Like a good life metaphor.) After all, that book was a big part of me, back then. And I can’t rewrite my life just to make it fit neatly into today’s awesomeness. And every book I’ve written has helped me through some aspect of my life.

So. Destiny Unbound remains unbound. And we will move onto Destiny Revealed.

May we honor all we have done before, no matter how we think of it now. We did our best. Yay us!

Workshops Coming your Way

Hello to you!

Yes, I am doing it. Workshops on Happiness. Yay me!

It will be on zoom, and it will be free, and there will be registration required. Because I will then be able to send access information to the right address. Oh, and it will be recorded.

So I am doing the second hardest part of the workshop process now – trying to figure out how to set it up on Zoom and BrownPaperTicket so everything goes the way I want it to. Which means practice. (yay! practice!)

The current schedule is: Tuesdays at 5:15 pm Pacific Time

• Oct 6 Preliminary Zoom (Tech Rehearsal)
• Oct 13 An Introduction
• Oct 20 A Happy Place
• Oct 27 Perspective
• Nov 3 Core Values & Declarations
• Nov 10 Practices & Exercises
• Nov 17 Conclusion

Registration for the workshops will begin on the 6th, at 6 pm. I hope to have the links on the appropriate and easily accessible web page of this site (insert wry grin here.) If you’re interested in helping with the tech rehearsal, the registration button will hopefully be up tomorrow (Wednesday.)

Take care of you!

-Lila

Happy Equinox

This is the Day the Lord has made!

And the Night the Lady has made!

All things being equal, you know?

Equal day and equal night means that there is the same amount of time in a day as there is in a night, based on when the sun goes down.

But if you’re like me, there is no strict switch from night to day. Because the light from the sun spreads before it, and lingers after. One might say it encroaches on the dark of night.

And daylight can be subdued by the amounts of clouds (or smoke) in the sky.

Nature likes balance, though she’s not a real stickler for exactitude.

And to me, that’s kind of what equality means. It means that there is no sharp line that divides one thing from another, easily stuffing them into boxes, waiting to be judged.

Equality means Every thing, Every being, Every moment is its own precious jewel, unable to be compared to any other. Everything bleeds into everything else, always transitioning, always moving forward, always changing season, always going from dark to light to dark again.

And though there may be, on a specific day, the exact equal number of breaths of light shining and visible, and dark spread and visible, it’s more probable that Nature, in her infinite fairness, never has that kind of division at all.

So Happy Equinox. Happy Equality. May we all feel free to live for and by our own happiness, with no categories anywhere. May we know that we are awesome, amazing and, above all, unique beings, able to shine in every moment, without need for category or comparison.  Just the delightful ability to BE, day and night.

This puppy is a no show.

​In accordance with the recommendations of, oh, many government and medical officials, the MUUsical “Dogs” has been postponed until it’s okay to breath and sweat on each other without fear of dastardly repercussions.  (this was a church performance scheduled for tomorrow night.)

Yay team.

Yes, I spent last night bawling and screaming and crying and binging on television and chocolate. My first show in YEARS! My voice was improving. My trust in my body was improving. I even made parts of my costume! So much opened up for me, doing the show was obviously the right decision, even if I never get to perform in front of a live audience. The performing, the camaraderie of theater, the return to self, those are the important things.

But. It was still heart breaking to not only hear it was an option, but to realize it was the best option. (stupid equality for all. Why do other people have to be the center of their own worlds?)

I will admit, I’m relieved that the decision is taken out of my hands. Because now I don’t have to analyze every sniffle and headache to see if it’s allergies, muscle sprain, dehydration, or flu. Because I am one of the people who has been trained that the show must go on. And I expect high risk people to take care of themselves. In fact, I’ve been a little confused as to what all the fuss is about. It’s just another flu.

So I asked the question. And this is the answer I received from a medical professional – and one that makes sense to me.  The closures and restrictions are not in some vain attempt to prevent people from getting the flu, but to help slow the wave of infection and sickness so that everyone can get the care they need. Because otherwise, health care centers will be overrun (and I’ve seen those movies. Health camps are NOT healthy.)

Of course, now I have another question – what do I do?

What can I do?

I’m an entertainer and a listener. I’m a hugger! – which I think is going to be taboo for awhile. I have a few thoughts to explore once I’m finished mourning the abrupt end to the show.  Obviously, the internet will play a part, yes? (Thank Providence for the 21st century!)

Meanwhile, it seems for once the best thing I do for my community and my world, is to NOT show up. Yay! Being an Introvert is FINALLY COOL!

Good health, and easy deep breathing to you.

PS –  Did you know the best place for screaming is in the car? If you’re driving down the road, even if the windows are down, you can scream like your world ended. (remember to support, please. Your throat will thank you.) and even if people hear they won’t actually see you, and, more relevantly, you won’t see them see you. Of course, if you’re stopped at a red light, stare straight forward and keep your mouth shut.

…Imbolc Meanderings (a video)

A video about crisis, processing, transitions, and coming out of winter.

Oh, and about permanence.

A MidWinter’s Wish

Hello, dear ones. Welcome to the beginning of another year.

Thank goodness!

If you’re like me, it has been a heck of a year. I am looking forward to the quiet days when the Holidays are finally over. I rather wish that we followed nature’s example and relaxed more during the cold times, but would we really be human if we didn’t push the limits?

Um, yes. That is going to be one of my hopes for myself this year – to be more in tune with nature, to allow things in their time, to thrive in the moment I am in and the feeling I have.

As for my wish for you…

They say that Mary Poppins came in on the wind. Umbrella in one hand and magic carpet bag in the other; prim and proper, as an English Nanny should be, but open to possibilities. Actually, the opener of possibilities. Despite the sweet smile of Julie Andrews, the literary Mary Poppins was a bit of a snark – and I’m not sure I would have liked her had I met her in person. But oh, the doors she opened. The worlds she was a part of.

This year, I wish the wind to blow your way – not a Mary Poppins. She did enjoy being practically perfect, and that would drive me batty – but a person, an opportunity, an open door. A path to freedom.

For me, freedom is not just about the justice system or the bill of rights. It’s not just about incarceration or oppression.  It’s not even about fairness.

Freedom is about having the ability, the possibility, the moments – many moments – to choose for ourselves. To choose the work place and the work hours and the work itself without fear of starvation. To choose relationships or lack thereof without fear of ridicule, abuse, or compromise that becomes constriction. The freedom to choose between many positive possibilities instead of the lesser of two evils. To choose happiness for self without feeling guilt.

So when you are feeling trapped, frustrated, just ready for a change;  feel the wind upon your face, in your hair, swirling around you. And know:

I wish the winds of change will blow and kiss your cheek,
bring a glow of future bright and path so free,
to be the you you want to be.

Happy Solstice. May this year be amazing, and freeing, for us all.

A MidWinter's Wish

Hello, dear ones. Welcome to the beginning of another year.

Thank goodness!

If you’re like me, it has been a heck of a year. I am looking forward to the quiet days when the Holidays are finally over. I rather wish that we followed nature’s example and relaxed more during the cold times, but would we really be human if we didn’t push the limits?

Um, yes. That is going to be one of my hopes for myself this year – to be more in tune with nature, to allow things in their time, to thrive in the moment I am in and the feeling I have.

As for my wish for you…

They say that Mary Poppins came in on the wind. Umbrella in one hand and magic carpet bag in the other; prim and proper, as an English Nanny should be, but open to possibilities. Actually, the opener of possibilities. Despite the sweet smile of Julie Andrews, the literary Mary Poppins was a bit of a snark – and I’m not sure I would have liked her had I met her in person. But oh, the doors she opened. The worlds she was a part of.

This year, I wish the wind to blow your way – not a Mary Poppins. She did enjoy being practically perfect, and that would drive me batty – but a person, an opportunity, an open door. A path to freedom.

For me, freedom is not just about the justice system or the bill of rights. It’s not just about incarceration or oppression.  It’s not even about fairness.

Freedom is about having the ability, the possibility, the moments – many moments – to choose for ourselves. To choose the work place and the work hours and the work itself without fear of starvation. To choose relationships or lack thereof without fear of ridicule, abuse, or compromise that becomes constriction. The freedom to choose between many positive possibilities instead of the lesser of two evils. To choose happiness for self without feeling guilt.

So when you are feeling trapped, frustrated, just ready for a change;  feel the wind upon your face, in your hair, swirling around you. And know:

I wish the winds of change will blow and kiss your cheek,
bring a glow of future bright and path so free,
to be the you you want to be.

Happy Solstice. May this year be amazing, and freeing, for us all.

…world creation

I’ve felt this delighted before. The “Eureka!” moment. The feeling that I finally have something.

 And after 20 years of readers and advisors saying “You’re on the right path, you’re doing what you’re meant to do” – I finally believe it. I feel everything coalescing. I can feel where this experience weaves into that knowledge, and what a wonderful life it will be since I was in the world. And…

… and honestly, it’s a little annoying. Because it feels like it didn’t have to be so much work! Like I shouldn’t have had to lose myself in order to find myself again. It should be a lot easier to just BE, every day.

And it’s not that LIFE is unfair. Life is totally fair. It is unbiased and unprejudice and very unsentimental. It’s all the twists and turns and challenges we as humans have created in order to feel like we are accomplishing something, or like we are conquering someone?

But I guess if the world were ideal and everyone was happy, I could just tend my garden and lend a listening ear and write and read stories without needing to stand for something. Every one would already be accepting and unique and equal.

You know, I could have lived with that.

Ah well. I guess we have to create that reality in order to live in it.

Wanna change the world with me?

A Different Sea

Water has always fascinated me. Because of the mystery, the power, the worlds hidden in a drop. I am always drawn to sit and stare at the waves. When I was in Wales, my visit to the ocean was pure magic. So, when I had an opportunity to go to Surfside and view the ocean there, I was delighted to continue my mysterious communication with a primal and alien energy.

But Texas water feels nothing like the water by Wales. There was a… tameness. No wildness. No possibilities. No fear. The water was still beautiful – out away from shore. It was fun to watch the waves, and see the birds run around. But in Wales I had to walk away and process. And in Surfside, I just, well, walked away.

But not before I had my realization. (Gotta have the epiphany, right?)

Yes, all the water in the world is connected one way or another. Even the man-made lakes receives water from the sky – which is water that evaporated from somewhere else.  I like to think that there’s always a touch of that Welsh water everywhere.  But if one did follow a drop from one sea to another, by the time it reaches a new shore, that drop will have connected with other waters, different elements, new animals and chemicals and environments. The water that washes from the Welsh shore will not be the water that laps the sand in Texas.

• 

  Wales

• 

  Surfside

Just like water, we are not the same from one moment to the next. Every breath we take changes our chemistry a little. Every step, every connection with other humans, and nature, and emotions and challenges and joys and triumphs brings new elements into our energy. I am not the same water now that I was when I started this post. I’m certainly not the same water that entered the earth 50 plus years ago. I have new feelings, new experiences, new epiphanies. But sometimes the habit of years overpowers the pull of the tide.

How does change flow through your life? Is it a daily drop of new experiences? Or a tidal wave of transformation?