Wonder Woman

I've been sitting listening to other people sing Dolly Parton songs on Just Because I'm A Woman, A Cd i got from either Katie or Denise years ago - awesome women - i find it interesting how someone else interprets something and how somehow the song still holds together as a whole, for me, i doubt anyone will better Dolly's rendition of 'i will always love you' ... not even Whitney in the Bodyguard - it's Dolly all the way with that one... anyhow i now have strawberry and spearmint tea infusing in my wonder woman mug - surprisingly good tea and i love the mug, a gift from leti a few weeks ago.. wonderful.

here are a few facts courtesy of Wikepedia

Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superhero created by William Moulton Marston. First appearing in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941), she is one of three characters to have been continuously published by DC Comics since the company's 1944 inception (except for a brief hiatus in 1984).[1]
Wonder Woman is a member of a fictional, all-female tribe of Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) who was created by Marston as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to 'a world torn by the hatred of men.'"[2]
Her powers include super strength, enhanced speed and stamina, and flight. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses an animal-like cunning and a natural rapport with animals, which has in the past been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She also makes use of her Lasso of Truth (which forces those bound by it to tell the truth), a pair of indestructible bracelets, and an invisible plane.

Labyrinth

The Harr had lifted by the time i arrived,
water droplets sat on leaves and flowers nourishing, beautiful,
the odour of cut grass filled the air
the noise of manual labour and power tools sat alongside the quiet
sun, hot and bright shone down
red light rose when i closed my eyes
flowing through time and space into everything
Ancient pattern, part in shade part in sun,
my shade moving, in front, beside behind
the tree shade growing as the sun moved
Stones glowing blue with shiny diamonds of bright light
an enduring path

Helicopters

This winged noise maker was photographed on Monday
and today i've seen two chinooks and a group of four
of these more regular copters from my office window.




The noise that they make is very disconcerting,
not that i believe something will happen but
somehow they are scarey and so loud.

Solstice - Summer Feast For The Soul Day 7

Summer Solstice - yellows, reds, golds, oranges
the longest day - light - love - light - life

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu,?Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen.

Not any religion or cultural system. I am not from the East?or the West,

not out of the ocean or up from the ground, not natural or ethereal,

not?composed of elements at all. I do not exist, am not an entity in this world or the next,?

did not descend from Adam or Eve or any origin story.

My place is placeless, a trace? of the traceless.

Neither body or soul. I belong to the beloved, have seen the two?

worlds as one and that one call to and know,
first, last, outer, inner, only that breath - breathing human being.

Rumi

Human Being..... Human.... BeIng HuMaN

Summer Feast For The Soul Day 6

On a Grey Saturday in Scotland i read today's Rumi and wondered what they were saying to me, i could read them but what was the message?

What Was Said to the Rose
What was said to the rose that made it open was said to me here in my chest,
What was told the cypress that made it strong and straight, what was
Whispered to the jasmine so it is what it is, whatever made Sugarcane sweet, whatever
Was said to the inhabitants of the town of Chigil in Turkestan that makes them
So handsome, whatever lets the pomegranate flower blush Like a human face, that is
Being said to me now. I blush. Whatever put eloquence in Language, that’s happening here. The great warehouse doors open, I fill with gratitude Chewing a piece of sugarcane, In love with the one to whom every that belongs.

Still wondering i went out shopping where i came upon a griffin, (not pictured below) which i brought home, not sure where she'll go but she is beautiful, powerful in golden brass..

I also came across these flowering spikey palm trees which i've seen around town over the past few days, hard to believe they grow and flower in Edinburgh, but apparently they do.

Awesome, enchanting, opening up the warehouse within ....unexpected... looking, being, present,

Summer Feast For The Soul Day 5

Today was a difficult day, i felt tired, sleepy and miserable for a lot of it.
To try and get myself out of this FUNK, a word my American friends use ,
i decided to go to The Mosque Kitchen for lunch and then to the labyrinth,
whilst walking I was reminded of day two's Rumi about symbols and signs,
and consider how these places, objects, tools (in the collage bellow) are indicators of what lies behind, within - of what we can experience
a reminder of experience, our inner experience

Half-Heartedness

Gamble everything for love,

If you are a true human being.

If not, leave this gathering.
Half-heartedness does not reach Into majesty.

You set out To find God,

but then you keep Stopping for long periods

At mean-spirited roadhouses.

Rumi

Gamble everything for love - wow

for me that's Leti and our life together

and it's my call to make books,

again today i heard those words in my head

make books, i don't know what images to use,

what format, what type of paper, why,

but i hear make books and i feel excited, invigorated, inspired -

and still i have to start, do something, get organised, work on it

and not remain stuck at make books,

move on, go on, make books.

Message

Gail Love Leti
words on stone, meaning and Mary

Haribo

OH oh what happened here?



what has been going on?

Summer Feast For The Soul Day 4

Rumi

Body Intelligence
There are guides
who can show you the way.
Use them.
But they will not satisfy your longing.
Keep wanting the connection with presence
With all your pulsing energy.
Your throbbing vein
Will take you further
Than any thinking.
Muhammed said,
Do not theorizeAbout Essence.
All speculations
Are just more layers of covering.
Human beings love coverings.
They think the designs on the curtains
Are what is being concealed.
Observe the wonders as they occur around you.
Do not claim them.
Feel the artistry
Moving through and be silent.

So today i have hi-lighted the words that speak most loudly to me...
i found the first line to be a bit of a relief and comforting
there are guides ... and a useful reminder towards the end not to claim the wonders that occur around us but to observe them... experience

and finally today's image is such an experience,
grasses and flowers that i encoutered this morning,
blooming, growing and coming to fruition, spreading
NOW

Summer Feast For The Soul Day 3

This is todays image, water, bottle, vessel, soul...
more words will have to wait until tomorrow
because i'm tired...



The bottle lies crushed on the grass used up for
its initial purpose of carrying, of holding safely,
of maintaining, of keeping what lies within

it lies on the grass crushed and left, no longer
needed, abandoned, given up, thrown away, left.

useless? no... not once it's picked up and
un-crunched to be opended and filled again -
new water, different water, with a purpose,
with life, with motion, beautiful, flowing and connected

- new water, new life - similar yet not the same
- held transparently, open, for all to see.

Rumi ....

Water and the Moon
There is a path from me to you
That I am constantly looking for,
So I try to keep clear and still
As the water does with the moon.

seeking, hoping, longing for connection,
deep longing, desire, to be know and to be known,
inside and out, EVERYTHING, all

Summer Feast For The Soul Day 2

Today as well as a some words from Rumi i have
Lex the Lion who was a half birthday gift and Armadillo.

Lex is very cute and soft -

and having looked up lions on a shamanic site Lion's medicine includes brotherhood, letting go of stress, strong family ties, strength, courage, energy, self fulfilment, feminine energy, co-operation, community, Power of feminine energy, creativity, intuituion, imagination.

Creature of the Sun Lord, beloved of the Lady, Reveal to me the ancient methods of magic. Walk beside me as I grow in strength and courage. Show me when to keep ties strong and when to break them. Help me to understand the times for work and the times for rest. Mighty lion, lend me your energies.

leti's Armadillo also features bringing forth our need for protection and safety to be built in to who we are..

and what does Rumi have to say?

In a fair orchard, full of trees and fruit

And vines and greenery, a Sufi sat withEyes closed,

his head upon his knees,

Sunk deep in meditation, mystical.

“Why,” asked another, “dost thou not behold

These signs of God the merciful displayed Around thee,

which He bids us contemplate?”

“The signs,” he answered, “I behold within;

Without are not but symbols of the Signs.”

Rumi, from Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes by Shems Friedlander

Within - the signs are within... outside there are symbols, beautiful, interesting, fascinating, helpful, real symbols but they are not the real thing, not The Devine

Summer Feast For The Soul

Monday's entry on Tuesday? !
i hadn't taken the pictures and didn't find the time to blog!
So....... yesterday leti and i started - summer feast for the soul,
it was my half birthday, hence the reason for the lovely big star shaped baloon
which fits in well with the idea of feast and soul -
as you can see it encourages us to celebrate



and indeed celebrate is what we should/could be doing this week,
if we can find the strength, motivation, space or time,
celebrating light, midsummer is almost upon us,
life as we have it to live and love the greatest of all.

this weeks sayings are from Rumi,

yesterday's was

Those tender words we said to one another

are stored in the secret heart of heaven.

One day, like rain, they will fall and spread

and their mystery will grow green over the world”

Rumi, from Light Upon Light by Andrew Harvey

How wonderful, our words and perhaps our intentions, those words and thoughts and ideas, held and stored before becoming known again, there are no secret's, nothing is lost, what was and is will fall and spread and grow. To become what they will be, known, Divine.

The Thunder Rolls - for two days now we have
had some seriously heavy rain and thunder,
yesterday we even saw lightening,

When i was in Botswana rain was seen as a blessing,
perhaps a concept that should be promoted here in Scotland
where we do seem to get a lot of rain.

Do You Realize?

i saw these posters today when i was
waiting on friends arriving for lunch.
I have no idea what they were or are about.
I just liked them, the phrase, the images,
the rusty skeleton of a warning sign resting
against the wall, the flaking paint...
'Do You Realize?'
what have i to realize? is it important, i wonder..
if it were about me i think i would be saying
'do you realize i'm here, i'm vulnerable, my life is hard
and actually i am sensetive',
but it is not about me and i do not know what it means

~ We worship groves and their very silences ~



An awesome set of words and a beautiful
stand of trees that made me think and gave
me a huge sense of space even in the rain....
later i was at church and wondered
what makes me/us give up the great outdoors
for walls and locked doors.

Armadillo

Armadillo- a harbinger of good news,
bearing witness to the importance of boundaries
and personal safety..... a way of being to grow into,
The Way of Armadillo,
growing and developing strength and safety
on your back, always there, armoured plated ready to act,
to stop & prevent or to allow & pass,
there is a choice to make.
Choose the way of Armadillo, BE SAFE.


This particular Armadillo came back from
The Lone Star state with leti after her REVM trial.

Phoenix of Easterhouse

"The Phoenix will bring Easterhouse back to life"

new beginnings, new day, new life
embodied by the Phoenix
blue sky, warm sun, passers by
i come back to life, reborn anew again

Labyrinth

ancient pattern somewhere new
pathway, journey - a place to play?
orange and blue, made from plasticine
ancient pattern somewhere new

Felt Letters

Letters made into words to indicate meaning
blue, soft, communicating,
candles of light, glory and love
believe,
the earth goddess looks on, encourages
believe

Cerise hawthorn, small strudy tree,
flexible in the wind, beautiful

moon moon in her beautiful cloudy sky,
glorious in the setting light
almost full, expectant, waiting

beautiful bold clouds on the way back from Biggar tonight

Courage

Courage
i feel as if i need some
people say i'm brave

but do they see the rest of it
the tiredness, the anxiety, the fear
brave, courageous, maybe
however they do not come alone

Stone

Memorial, age, time, remaining, still, present, sound, solid, beautiful, wise, alluring, attractive -
standing guard in a graveyard outside a church in Edinburgh, waiting to be dispense their wisdom, to be noticed, considered, recognised, seen, present

All manner of thing shall be well

All manner of thing shall be well
Attributed to Julian of Norwich i think... helpful words to see today when i did not feel that all was well - a reminder that actually all shall be well -

a wonderful banner in a beautiful local church - all manner of thing shall be well x

Labyrinth June 3rd 2009

Walking the labyrinth today in the sunshine, the earth grows and expands, blooms, she breathes through the leaves of the trees, sings in the sky, dances in the light

Moon Moon

moon moon being revealed by the clouds, bright, bold beautiful, ancient , precious, wise