We Share This Planet With Amazing People

I have friends who are traveling around the world with their four children. It is so wonderful to read their various blogs.  But it also expands our mind's eye as to the other people with whom we live on this blue ball.

So I was very happy to see this slide show from BBC photographer Timothy Allen.  This is a joy and also very poignant.  And it reminds me of my friends' adventures which I am enjoying vicariously as well.

 

Vincent, the dad of my friends' family, is also an internationally acclaimed photographer, and he has taken some spectacular shots as well.  I hope he publishes a book.  From his pictures, I now know that this angelic girl has sandalwood paste on her face - a cosmetic, sunscreen, bug spray and so much more.

Happy planet!!

 

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the New Paradigm... LOL

Too funny!!  I love that my most groovy-oovy grilfriends shared this little film clip about the silly things that you hear new age folks say. I have heard (and seen) virtually every moment of this - and just sayin' - sometimes it's all too much.

And on the very very plus side, this was put together by a very interesting group who is starting their own YouTube channel called Elevate.  They apparently live in a beautiful intentional community in Ojai where they are dedicated to crafting creative solutions that unleash human potential.  This nice video uses more humor to explain it.

Meditation Increases Brain Size

This may or may not be of assistance to those who wish to fend off dementia, but there are significantly measurable changes that occur in the brain with repeated meditation practice.  I know it made a significant difference for me in graduate school, especially at the doctoral level.

This recent article from Harvard explores the meaning of one intriguing study.

Abandoned Gothic-Style School Building in East Harlem to be Converted Into Affordable Artist Housing

I have known a number of people who have converted huge old buildings like this.  Just the hardware alone is exciting in these old piles - they truly don't make anything like they used to any more.  My ex-husband Cary and I had some adventures among ruins along these sort of lines, many many years ago.  Anyway - I find this very inspiring that this huge place is going to get a new life sustaining creative people and their creative families, allowing them the basic necessities (and then some!) for contributing culture and fresh ideas to the world.  We need much more of this kind of thinking.  There is so much abandoned and yet useful real estate that could be re-purposed.

A Couple Who Collect Plastic Trash from the Beach and Turn It Into Art

I find this couple very inspiring.  One thing I really like is the very clear limits they have set on what they are and are not doing. They know they are not cleaning the beach.  And yet they do, at the same time.  See for yourself how much clarity in practice can bring about substantial results, one day at a time.

Video of Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang

Wonderful Whispery Guided Visualization

This YouTube video has the most luscious voice and imagery.  I love how she emphasizes the importance of actually being in our physical body while still reaching for ultimate peace and fulfillment for everyone.  It gives me goosebumps!  I actually like her voice even more than the visuals, but the visuals are very nice too.

Give this a whirl if you are having difficulty falling asleep or if you are feeling very stressed.  It will definitely move you into a better energetic state.

new moon in Capricorn on Xmas eve & day

This very nice note arrived in my inbox and I wanted to share with my near & dears.  This is such a potent time for transformation and planting intentions - I have been doing this in various forms of ceremony these past ten days or so, which is marked in the Mayan calendar as an auspicious time as well.  Please read below for some inspirations for your own personal ritual making over the weekend...

xoxoxo, Love Tobey

 

 

Dear friends,

Capricorn New Moon is on the horizon-- this beautiful energy which grounds the spirit into tangible form arrives 1:06 PM Eastern time on December 24th Christmas Eve.  It is positioned beautifully right between the Winter Solstice, which serves as the beginning of the New Year from the point of view of ancient sun cycle- based calendars (exact tomorrow morning 12/22) and the New Year of January first.  Given that this is a Capricorn New Moon, it favors new seeds of intention which are linked with goals, discipline and step- by- step dedication.

A new moon teaches gradualness

and deliberation, and how one gives birth

to oneself slowly. Patience with small details

makes perfect a large work, like the universe.

What nine months of attention does for an embryo

forty early mornings alone will do

for your gradually growing wholeness

--Rumi trans. Coleman Barks

Since the Solstice is falling within the dark of the moon (right before the New Moon), the next few days are an excellent time to clear space for new beginnings.  Even as your home may have all kinds of holiday piles gathered-- take some time to do the vital clearing- out which is going to be essential for the new beginnings en route.  It is like any other kind of seed planting:  first, one clears the land, tills the soil.  Enjoy the loveliness of the dark soil, this dark moment of the year which gives birth to light.

Jupiter stations on Sunday: this is a beautiful generous presence within our lives.  If you've seen a Christmas Carol, Jupiter stationing is exactly like the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Present. Wherever we may have been, we can come back to the here and now-- and accept the gifts of the present moment.  In the words of Fra Giovanni, "No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant." So, let's uncover that together.

Mars will go retrograde late in January but within this cycle,  Jupiter and Saturn are both trining the New Moon-- which is to say the situation is basically good-- we can move forward and build our dreams.  The best time to plant seeds of intention are December 24th at 1:06 PM Eastern time through the 25th.  Just as the wise men saw a star-- look for your star in the sky, and keep it in your heart.