Category: Uncategorized

August 27, 2021

Story 54: Magic Spells

300 hundred years ago, one of my ancestors sat at his desk at night, in the house in which we both grew up, and copied out strange words and spells and symbols. The many pages show how threatened and insecure people were in their life on earth, though they yearned, as do we,  for assurance and protection. Confidence, optimism and happiness were not  part of the conversation;  people put their faith into religion  and magic spells instead. 

This story is family lore and I remember my grandfather telling us children about the magic book that was kept between the pages of our family bible. In the 1970s, after our family emigrated, a local teacher transcribed the spells and published their account in a small booklet called Zauberspruche, Doktorbucher und andere Schriften.  (See Links 39)

‘Magic Spells’ is part 3 of the Fear series, which also includes: ‘Shadows on the Wall’, ‘Seeds of Doubt’, ‘Potato Bugs’ and ‘Lake Cabonga’.

August 20, 2021

Long Yoga Nidra: Shoreline

Here is a full length Yoga Nidra about midsummer walk along an early evening shoreline, recorded in a canoe on a lake. Listen for the loon.

Coming Soon: Magic Spells

300 hundred years ago, one of my ancestors, a Josep Bill, sat at his desk at night, in the house in which we both grew up, and copied out strange words and spells and symbols. The many pages show how threatened and insecure people were in their life on earth, though they yearned, as do we,  for assurance and protection. Confidence, optimism and happiness were not  part of the conversation;  people put their faith into religion  and magic spells instead. 

This story is family lore and I remember my grandfather telling us children about the magic book that was kept between the pages of our family bible. In the 1970s, after our family emigrated, a local teacher transcribed the spells and published their account in a small booklet called Zauberspruche, Doktorbucher und andere Schriften. 

‘Magic Spells’ is part 3 of the Fear series, which also includes: ‘Shadows on the Wall’, ‘Seeds of Doubt’, ‘Potato Bugs’ and ‘Lake Cabonga’

August 13, 2021

Story 53: Seeds of Doubt

In the middle of the night, I will sometimes wake up in our small  orange tent to listen to my growing seeds of doubt, will trace their shaping forms in my mind, will question the what ifs that lurk nearby. (See Links 37 and 38)

‘Seeds of Doubt is part 2 of the Fear series, which also includes: ‘Shadows on the Wall’, ‘Magic Spells’, ‘Potato Bugs’ and ‘Lake Cabonga’.

July 30, 2021

Story 52: Shadows on the Wall

I have been frightened by a lot of things in life, and given my rather wild imagination, fear of the unknown is one of my favorite ones, keeps me up at night; although of course, there are plenty of other shapely warnings all around,  hinted at and sometimes made explicit. ( See Link 36)

‘Shadows on the wall’ is part 1 of the Fear series, which also includes: ‘Seeds of Doubt’, ‘Magic Spells’ and ‘Potato Bugs’ and ‘Lake Cabonga’.

July 16, 2021

Story 51: InBetween

Photo Credit: Shane Philip

I thought about the message an old high school friend recently sent to me. He’d been trail running through the woods, and found himself  on a bed of feathers. In my imagination I saw hundreds of molting birds, shaking their soft wings. But no, he said,  these weren’t feathers, it was cotton weed, which doesn’t, in my mind, make the scene any less beautiful. (See Links 35)

July 16, 2021

Story 50 : Red-winged Blackbird

We navigated some rough waters, misjudged a jagged edge that left a scar on the bottom of our canoe, adding paint to the rainbow of others who had come before. And all the while we knew full well that we’d have to lead the canoe up these rapids again, at the end of day. 

Red-winged blackbird is about journeys and solace.

Coming Soon: InBetween

I thought about the message an old high school friend recently sent to me. He’d been trail running through the woods, and found himself  on a bed of feathers. In my imagination I saw hundreds of molting birds, shaking their soft wings. But no, he said,  these weren’t feathers, it was cotton weed, which doesn’t, in my mind, make the scene any less beautiful. 

July 1, 2021

Story 49: Field Guide, Day 2

A  symbol’s meaning  lives largely inside our heads, and yet, despite lifelong dedication to its study, it only contains a dimly understood capacity to explain experiences, worries, hopes and dreams.  And here lies its danger: if we are too caught up in meaning making, when we insist and stake our lives on a symbol’s inherent truth, despite little proof, when we stare unblinkingly at a symbol,  allow ourselves to be locked in by its dogma, tradition, lack of imagination, are reassured or frightened by its promises, we might not notice other, more salient ways to navigate the world.

Day 2 of Field guide is about symbols.

Coming Soon: Red-Winged Blackbird

We navigated some rough waters, misjudged a jagged edge that left a scar on the bottom of our canoe, adding paint to the rainbow of others who had come before. And all the while we knew full well that we’d have to lead the canoe up these rapids again, at the end of day. 

Red-winged blackbird is about journeys and solace.

June 25, 2021

Story 48: Field Guide, Day 1

On a moonless, starless night, one of the only signs of an nearing dawn  is whether I can see a hand in front of my face. The other indicator that day is within reach is the beginning of a reel of sounds unrolling. Some clever  trick of unseen light,  a simple click,  releases today’s spool of sound:  the mechanism springs to life, and sends its signal to the player piano.

Day 1 of Field guide is about signs and signals.

Coming Soon: Field Guide, Day 2

A  symbol’s meaning  lives largely inside our heads, and yet, despite lifelong dedication to its study, it only contains a dimly understood capacity to explain experiences, worries, hopes and dreams.  And here lies its danger: if we are too caught up in meaning making, when we insist and stake our lives on a symbol’s inherent truth, despite little proof, when we stare unblinkingly at a symbol,  allow ourselves to be locked in by its dogma, tradition, lack of imagination, are reassured or frightened by its promises, we might not notice other, more salient ways to navigate the world.

Day 2 of Field guide is about symbols.

June 18, 2021

Story 47: Stinging Nettles

At the far end of our own brick walled garden was a wooden gate that opened to a large churchyard. A network of narrow paths wound their way through rows of ancient graves, whose stones had, in some places fallen down and cracked, overgrown by ivy. Large Chestnut trees lent our street its name, and cast their deep shadows.

Stinging Nettles is a story about living in England, playing hide and seek in the graveyard, and about the good women who circled the wagon.

Coming Soon: Field Guide, Day 1 & 2

On a moonless, starless night, one of the only signs of an nearing dawn  is whether I can see a hand in front of my face. The other indicator that day is within reach is the beginning of a reel of sounds unrolling. Some clever  trick of unseen light,  a simple click,  releases today’s spool of sound:  the mechanism springs to life, and sends its signal to the player piano.

Day 1 of Field guide is about signs and signals, and Field Guide Day 2 is about symbols.

June 11, 2021

Story 46 : Corsets and Lotus Feet

The large ‘Reshaping’ cabinet holds, among other things, Burmese neck rings which, I learned, don’t actually lengthen the human neck, but rather push the clavicle and ribs down. The neck stretching is mostly illusory.  Also in the Reshaping cabinet are corsets, worn by many women not that long ago. Come to think of it, my grandmother kept one at the bottom of her closet.

This story is about the Pitt River museum, corsets and other shrinking things. (See Links 34)

Sounds in Nature Meditation: Spring Birds

Birds songs recorded early one spring morning at the cottage, including a yellow bellied sapsucker, hermit thrush, a lot of chickadees and a few others.

Coming Soon: Stinging Nettles

At the far end of our own brick walled garden was a wooden gate that opened to a large churchyard. A network of narrow paths wound their way through rows of ancient graves, whose stones had, in some places fallen down and cracked, overgrown by ivy. Large Chestnut trees lent our street its name, and cast their deep shadows.

Stinging Nettles is a story about living in England, about the good women who circled the wagon, and about playing hide and seek in the graveyard.