Rattling the Bones

We just returned from Banff and Golden, B.C. We gave a workshop out there and like every weekend or lecture that we give -- it's life changing. Living in the Rockies is so different than living in the city. I've been back for a few weeks already and still I'm dreaming of snow covered mountains and ice cold turquoise rivers. I think that everyone who shared the Golden Weekend with us can vow that there's nothing more beautiful than waking up to the wild... Definitely our worries were different out there. We were thinking of Bears when we went out for walks making sure to double up with partners; and we were more aware of nature because it wasn't unusual to come across Caribou, Deer or Elk on the trails. Where we come across a few Dragon Flies around our parts of the woods, out there -- there were thousands of them. Bats swam with the girls at night. Daniela told us that sometimes they would come so close to her head that she had synchronize with them as to not collid...

          We live in a world where everything is dispensable.   How many times have you heard the statement: “it doesn’t matter it’s just a plate, just a car, just a pair of shoes…” On one hand it’s our way of saying: “there are more meaningful things in life than our belongings.”   And yet, we forget that for everything we break or discard for something else, it means that we are asking the Earth to carry the burden of it.   Lets face it one of these days we’ll run out of space for our garbage.    Our ancestors left behind pottery; old tools for labor and worship but that is far cry from kilometers of dump space with everything from cars, to toys, and appliances.   Will the next generations of humans need that kind of reminder that their ancestors borrowed from their future and literally got buried in debt?   How do we stop a bad habit that has gotten so out of hand that it became contagious all over the planet?   Some people will say, “there’s no use even trying”.   I tend to bel...

I've been looking through old journals and doing a bit of spring cleaning. G refuses to let me get rid of some of my old journals because he says "they are brilliant." I've seen my daughter read some entries especially out of the journals that are closest to her birth date. My son wants me to gather them all together in one big book so it can be some kind of manual on Shamanism, Indigenous Dreaming and the Medicine Wheel. He'd like to learn more on the topics. By the way, he's not the first person to make that request in the last decade. Everyone seems to get something out of those books whereas I get a glimpse of the past and some undeniable need to let go of it. When we went to the Mayan ruins in January of this year, the anthropologist and guide explained to us that the pyramids were built in such a way as to show that every 52 years the past would be returned to the earth and renewal would take its place. The head of a household would literally build over ...

           Have you ever seen this movie?   I’ve seen it quite a few times and each time it’s inspired me.               This movie, the Bucket List, is about two cancer patients who make up a list of things they would love to accomplish before they die, and set out together to make it happen. This story is about the journey into hell that death offers each and every one of us:   A Divine Comedy.   It’s about growing up and realizing what is most important in life – the people we love, the earth that nourishes us, and the wonders of our planet both natural and man-made.   I’ve struggled with chronic illness (diagnosed) for the last 25 years.   During this time I’ve had surgeries, lost organs, died three times and discovered that life and death aren’t separate realities but actually two spinning ribbons within the same spiral.   There were moments where I wished to die; other instances where I feared it; and the rest of the time it’s as if death is just a looming shadow cocooning...

I’d like to be able to leave an entry on my BLOG every day but one thing leads to another and I realize that there are some days where there isn’t enough time.   When my son was little (5-6 years old) he used to say that there was a CT in the past, present and future.   He believed that there were three parts to him living life in three distinct realities.   He would explain to us that a part of him self was actually dashing towards the future and that if somehow he (in the present) changed his mind on what he wanted to do tomorrow, he had to run after this CT (in the future) to stop him before he lived through the next 24hours.   We would giggle at his understanding of time; but at the same time understood quite vividly the impressions that he was describing.   Later on CT (10-13year old) would tell us that when he was happy and full time would move faster.   He would explain to his sister who often had bad days in school that it was a simple matter of controlling personal moods ....

    My daughter needed to get a prescription filled this month (thank Creator – she is not sick); but she couldn’t get to her doctor (specialist).    She has two months left of the medication but the doctor’s appointment isn’t before 6 months.   So we decided to visit a local clinic and see a GP (general practitioner) in order to get a new prescription.   Would you believe that most clinics were full up by 9:00am which means that they couldn’t take in more patients.   They were FULL for the day. I was told that patients line up outside the clinic between 6:00 and 8:00am, rain or shine. The clinic only opens at 8:30. The CLSC will actually refuse you if you are not from the region.   Now let me paint you a picture --- not being from the region implies for these people that you are not from the two towns that they’ve chosen to give services to.   In actuality the region is composed of 5 towns that were recently reunited together by the Government because they thought it would be eas...

              It's raining today.                              Like Eric said this morning with a lot of humor: "The meteorologists lied .  My blackberry predicted only clouds not pouring rain... Those bastards!" I shook my head with the usual retort: "Are you kidding - it was obvious that we  were getting rain today.  All you had to do is look up to the sky rather than the phone..."               I find it amazing how many people completely depend on their computers or blackberry now-a-days.  My children are always texting and my hubby is always reading e-mails (working) with the help of his blackberry.  It's a portable desk and files for him.  Personally, I would find it difficult to always have my mind focused on a small black box that knows everything about anything.   "What ever happened to discovering?"I often tease my technology-dependent family and friends.                   We don't realize how much technology defines us as individuals...