orbs & para-stuff

A few things have entered my life that simultaneously bring illness, joy, accomplishment, worry, change. I won't go into detail, but I acknowledge that it's just life doing what it always does. I tell myself, get a grip! Since I do tend to read self-help books when things go awry, I'm reading Wayne Dyer. No matter how controversial (he is), and no matter that I consider him to be the Nickolas Sparks of psychology, he does often speak to something we need to hear and has helped many people (including me). I'm currently reading Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting. Positive stuff. But I do have one problem. Orbs. What do you think of orbs? Are they manifestations of spiritual beings or the "convergence of truths?" that bring messages or accompany enlightened ones?

my personal orbs
I took the photograph below on a clear dark November Full Moon night. I did not notice anything near the moon, it was too early for stars, but this is what my digital camera saw.

purple retro-reflections?
Once, with a small invited group, I went to a friend's house for an evening discussion of psychic phenomena. She's a psychic and a best-selling author. A female guest talked about orbs. She said they appear in her photos. I can't remember now what meaning she attributed to them, but she felt she'd captured paranormal phenomena. I nearly suggested she check her lens for smudges or try using a different camera, but I didn't because it would have been rude. A few weeks later, in the woods with my dog Spike, I photographed him and the photo showed an orb in the trees nearby. Spike was an advanced doggie and very smart, but still....at home I cleaned the lens and the orb did not appear in subsequent photos.

I've since learned that orbs appear in low-light instances where a compact or ultra-compact camera is used at night or where a bright light source is near the lens. Something happens called backscatter or near-camera reflection. I'd like to believe that profound messages are being given through my camera but I don't. Do you?

Imagination is more important than knowledge. 
Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
     Albert Einstein

howling at the moon

Well, it's 4:30 am and I've been awake for two hours. Not surprising since I fell asleep at 9:15. And then there's the Wolf Moon's light shining on the snow and into every one of the 51 windows of this tall house. That's a lot of windows and a lot of light. Sorting through photos on my computer (what else can I do at this hour?) I find one that I'd forgotten: the last roses of autumn. Somehow this picture makes me feel nostalgic and sad and happy.

sock it to 'em
Finishing up two pairs of socks that were requested by a writing friend I met at the retreat in December and who lives in the northeast where it's been super-cold, then 60 degrees, then cold again. I know she will love the softness of the aloe vera/jojoba that's infused in the wool. I've loved working with it. And the colors remind me of spring and flowers and maybe that's why I feel nostalgic about the faded roses.

No matter how much wishing we do, spring is a long way off and this is my least favorite month, even though several people I love celebrate their birthdays in January. So here's to you Phyllis, Nat, Kira, James, Frank. Happy Birthdays.

cleansing moon

First, let's get this Full Moon business out of the way. It's a Wolf Moon and I can hear the howling in the darkest night of dreaming. This morning, just before moonset, compelled by yellow, I went out onto the deck, flip flops, PJs, sweater (it was very cold) and using the zoom on my Lumix camera (which seems to have a built-in smudge inside the lens), I was astounded to see craters! How many zillions of pictures of the full moon do we see every month and each time it feels brand new. Which fits what astrologers and others are generally saying about this time and this moon.
     We are entering a new time frame where a different experience is possible.
Apparently this is a transition time. A time to end the old, clean up, clean out, change, reboot.
     Do not drag the experience of the last few weeks into the next few weeks.
My personal horoscope for today tells me to remain focused on the future for a much brighter picture, especially if significant changes are made today. Check out your astrologicals. I tend to be skeptical and try not to take it too seriously, but sometimes I'm astounded by accuracy. Just sayin....

In the spirit of getting rid of the old, I'm finally doing it. Tossing out thirty "working" notebooks that have accumulated over an approximate ten year period. I've wanted to get rid of them for some time but thought I should go through each one first and pull out the brilliant parts to write something new that would win me the Pulitzer for Literature. Uh, yeah. So they've been stacked on my desk for weeks and weeks and after looking through about four notebooks and ripping out one half page of brilliance that I promptly lost, I'm turning it all over to the universe (and the landfill). If there's one exceptional sentence left in my head, I expect it will pop up at some point. But one sentence does not a Pulitzer make. Goodbye to unreliable narratives.

Write in your heart
that every day is
the best day
of the year!
       Wayne Dyer

connections

So many things happened this week. Many were very very good, and some were horrid. There were primary colors and drab skies and I wrote about colors and love and death. Isn't that what all poets write about? Life. Snow still covers most of the ground up here. Four horses graze in the field next door, their coats thick and fuzzy at this time of year. Makes me want to touch their necks and backs, feel the thick coats that somehow keep them warm in the deep freeze of mornings and nights.

Inedible berries and old marigolds persist in spite of the cold. They add a bit of color to this deep freeze month of January when all I can think about is when it will be over. Back east my family and friends are suffering from the cold much more than we are here as the afternoon sun actually makes me remove my hat and scarf when I walk the park paths. We are lucky to live in this beautiful landscape, but I admit it, I miss those back east. And they've all been calling and sending good wishes and energies to Ron who will have surgery in a week or so.

It feels good to have completed the manuscript that has been dogging me for a long time. Now all I have to do is try to focus again on the next one that's already half done. I'm into completing things. What a concept for me! This includes the two pairs of socks that I am working on. A third pair got sent off to its recipient and was a success. There's that kind of joy, too.

When it comes  back to teach you
or you come back to learn
how half alive you've been,
how your ignorance and arrogance
have kept you deprived --
when it comes back to you
or you yourself return,
joy is simple, unassuming.
     (excerpt from "Joy" by Thomas Centolella)

croissants in a sunny room

First day of the new year and it was a strange one. Nice weatherwise, but cold and windy, which prevented me from walking on this sunny afternoon. Because Ron decided to come along (and hates cold wind), we ended up at the only cafe open on this holiday and ate croissants, tea and coffee. The Farm Market Cafe happens to be a couple of doors away from Envison Gallery where his stabiles are being shown. He convinced me to pose with the abstract buffalo and took the picture, his first, using an iPhone (mine). He's not a techie-type and somehow managed to take 95 shots of this photo using the burst mode! Don't ask. I don't know how he did it, but I finally figured out how to get rid of all but this one. It was quite lovely at the Overland Compound and the waterfall melodically flowed down through the ice covered rocks. The sound of flowing water made me think of spring and water rushing down the rivers from the mountains--but the reality of spring snowmelt is still a very long way off and I'd better stop dreaming about it.

I love that place in three seasons and now I have to add winter. Just as long as I don't have to sit outdoors! Tomorrow I get back to work at my desk and will accept no interruptions (I missed a deadline for the first time, perhaps because it was a soft one and I took advantage of it!). There, I've said it! Don't mess with me tomorrow.