Tuesday: 23rd January DAY 1 :
Before it started
Before any big journey comes the intention and then the planning.
When did it start? Possibly when good friends returned from swimming with Whales years ago in the Dominican Republic…… back then the $3000 price tag seemed an impossible dream and connection seemed to be happening on the inner planes through the gong…… so I have had a longing for a while to make strong connections to both whales and dolphins, & to swim with them. Each year the dolphin trips have come up and the expense seemed prohibitive to my nicely careful UK brain, brought up in a make-do and mend mentality post the second world war.
The visionary art of Jean-Paul and the smiling face of Joan Ocean have shone through my inbox and shown me that in Hawaii, something amazing has been happening, with communication with these intelligent mammals of the ocean; and seminars were occurring, where not only were Dolphin and Whales represented, but they contributed to the awakened energetic.
This year suddenly there was the possibility, both financially and practically.
In Glastonbury this year, at our Gathering of Elders, I met some Amazing people… I really wanted to spend more time with… particularly in New York, and in LA . The journey to Hawaii, seemingly insurmountable, suddenly seemed possible, physically manageable, and did what I like almost everything I do, to do:- it ticked several boxes at once.
(My father conditioned into me that Time and Motion study suggests: why do one thing if you can make something tick several boxes at the same time? – probably why I have been able to live so many parallel lifetimes simultaneously! But that’s another story).
At our Gathering, I absolutely knew, I had to spend more time with my new-found soul sister in LA –Gloria. I promised and suddenly Hawaii, just a distant dream became possible too! It was happening. After the Gathering… the intention set. One of our co-facilitators –Sam invited me to New York to her beautiful home, and Heather offered her flat close to Central Park.…. so, New York popped into the agenda and then Helen decided to join me. Hooray!
The trip seemed to be making itself!
Helen and I met a year ago today, according to Facebook, -we drink a nifter of Champagne to celebrate! We have in the last year shared so many amazing moments together, in Cornwall & at my home. She has helped me lose some weight and change attitudes towards food, with some amazing health coaching and mentoring; we have been in Ceremony together several times, uniting our consciousness and Healing skills, our passion for Sound, the Land & in particular Wild West Cornwall.
Her plan was to get out of the UK for the winter. She had identified & partly arranged staying in Mexico, which although attractive, did not quite have the same cetacean pull for me (although the possibility of changing my return plans seems also to be unfolding…. watch this space…!)
Sam’s call for a mini regathering of Elders, in New York & the pull of Helen’s own heart, led to us agreeing to travel together. The Journey was on! It had begun to unfold…. We were going to Hawaii together via New York, & Washington, L.A. then she would go on to Mexico & I would come home…. (although plans may yet further unfold!).
At a past life level…this is a family reunion! I am meeting & travelling with soul sisters, recapitulating latent skills and talents of light language and mystery, sharing the light & our wisdoms… who knows what will occur!
At other levels: I will be staying with two amazing Paiste Gongs & their Mysterices, Meeting at least two amazing Crystal Bowl players, and generally going with the flow in Grace & Abundance and seeing what happens!
This blog is your window into a journey we can all make, when one takes charge of ones 3D world, live your dreams, and show up for the Divine in trust, service and opening to Grace!
Welcome to this magical port-hole: Journey to the Heart;
Living our dreams in Grace & Abundance. Anything is possible…just believe it!
Part 1 Planning:
Practically making this all happen, has taken massive Grace & a lot of 3D planning & listening to one’s inner movements into Joy.
Pension planning for me, only really started about three years ago, when I was forced into early retirement following two separate redundancies.
(As I write this I am aware that my first ever redundancy in 2000 also opened the way to an incredible trip to the Himalayan feast of the Kalachakra teachings, & some profound openings in Italy. Just in case any readers are facing redundancy… it can be just the push one needs!)
Developing Cash flow in old age, has led me into taking on some risks & borrowing to enable a flow of dreams unfolding in my elder years… it was that or pension credit. All those Abundance meditations… do actually work… but I have needed to be flexible, take opportunities that have presented, take risks, face fears, show up, let go and trust.
(Feel free to contact me for mentoring on thinking outside the box in old age! But I do charge!)
Much of December & January has been given over to booking rooms and flights, arranging insurance and house-sitting etc, health planning & generally working through a long daily to do list, & of course lots of Skype Calls.
The last few days leading up to a big trip are always fraught for me, with massive panic attacks. “Why am I going away? I must be mad?” The doubts kick in. Not of course helped in this case by: Warnings of a Nuclear War attack in Hawaii, Fires, followed by Mud-Slides in California and in the last few days, warning of a Tsunami all down the West coast following a huge Earthquake in Alaska… Will more follow? I pray not…. Then there was the Huge Snow in New York last week, … thankfully now dispersed, ongoing scandals & ridiculous Presidential tweets, Huge Women’s Marches… oh and then the Shut-down of the Government of the USA in the last few days…. Really this has all happened!
In the face of massive obstacles: Is this a Trip of a lifetime, or braving the Jaws of Hell? Or just the drawing of attention to the needs of this part of the planet at this time?
Holding steady, keeping on course & with Massive support from my dear friend Catherine, who has synchronistically showed up to hold my hand, hug me and calm my nerves, help clean & tidy the house…. the panic attack wave became just that …another wave to ride, meeting fears with love and holding each other.
I am so blessed to have so many good friends….
Immediately I am on the train to Gatwick… the fear has gone. Excitement kicks in. The flow of Grace is Amazing.
Helen sprained her ankle badly in January, just as she was en-route to get her new passport, via my house. The Universe stopped her, completely, at a time of needing to complete a massive to do list, as well as booking accommodation, car hire etc. with me, she was grounded…at my house on the living room couch, getting crutches & a boot from two hospitals, keeping her foot elevated. She was only able to leave, once we’d booked the last bit of accommodation. The up side of this is; she booked airport help. We have just traversed two airports being whisked, with her in a wheel chair, to the front of every queue/ passport check. Norwegian Air even gave us an extra seat for her foot. (They are so recommended as a company to fly with.)
As we touched down; The airport tannoy rang with a Southern Drawl “Welcome to JFK, we hope you enjoy your stay!”…. Helen & I smiled at each other as we chanted our mantras of blessing of this Amazing Land. New York feels Amazing. Busy and just getting on with its life, far away from scare stories & other Monsters of the minds creation….
Weds 26th January
We arrived last night with Grace and Ease to be met by Sam’s smiling face.
Here we are 5 hours back in time in her beautiful home in Connect-icut. I have slept deeply in her son’s bed, loved her dogs, met amazing beings and lie in my bed, watching the sun rise over the lake, listening to the ducks.
Grace indeed.
Love to you all from the US of A! (Just imagine the accent!).
Weds 26th January
How did I manage for my cases to be so overweight & I didn’t pack any spare socks?
Winter Lake
I sit
Musing
On the shores of the frozen lake,
Caribou have come to drink
They paw at the ice.
The fire is warming my bones
The skin around me reminds me of my gratitude to these great beings.
The smell is of sage
Transporting drowsy insects to different dimensions.
In the distance, my sisters sing lullabies to their tired children.
Tones of love, of family
They dream of future –past
Joyful communion
I smoke my pipe of peace and send my prayers to the four directions.
The prayers for peace are unchanged.
I sit in centrally heated comfort,
Musing,
The smell of incense wafting
The sounds of crystal vibrating my being,
Rose quartz, Aquamarine, Azuelite, Tanzanite
resonances of higher realms
where time dissolves
where pain is dispelled
where light language whispers blessings.
This is the grace of following hearts longing
Of bringing prayers of peace to the land.
This is the grace of peaceful fellowship
Reaching across worlds of time and space
Eternal.
I sit by the frozen lake of time
Still in winter chill
All time is now.
Peace
Sun-warmed glow,
A view pleasing to the eye,
Gentle sounds of Grace
Glowing Crystal grids
Powerful Love medicine.
A community of friends.
Nature brings its healing.
FRIDAY 26th January
Already we seem to be on the next leg. I lie on a very comfy New York couch on the eighth floor, looking out at high rises! The hum of traffic below. Each minute new lights switch on.
I love the feel of New York. People round here are contained, the streets are clean and clear, and wide. Food is conscious, organic, free range and healthy. Interestingly it is gluten free. People are helpful and kind. The blue sky is appearing behind the high rises.
In the UK we get just a port-hole into a rather mad political vision of it. It omits the feel of the land. It omits the presence of the wide River Hudson, the sense that Manhattan is actually just like so many other cities, its manageable, its glamour is just another world marked by Grammies & financial deals. It omits the feel of so many pilgrim souls who have arrived here with their pasts, their hopes and their dreams and built a place that far from being back in time is actually forward in consciousness in so many ways. This is just a tourist view. I am sure that as we visit the sights: Central Park, Greenwich village, Time Square, the Statue of Liberty, the Museums, Ground Zero, its character & contradictions will arise. But for now, I’m good!
My love of London & Paris echoes in my veins. So much to see…… where to go? .....
It occurs to me, as I think of the London Buzz…. Where would I recommend people to visit in London? There are so many places, so many gems. It’s a treasure chest of experiences. New York is similar….
Is there one word, one sentence that encapsulates these cities in their individuality? ….marking them in memory….what would it be here?
Paris for me is Art –those Monet paintings of the Tuilleries, the Louvre, the Chic of the Fashion world. But then I love the Seine, Notre Dame, even the Eifel Tower, Sacre Coeur!
London for me runs in my veins, I was born there…. I love the Thames, Waterloo Bridge, the parks, the trees, St Pauls & Westminster Abbey, the British Museum…and all the others. It has a buzz that says Home.
The day evolves to reveal windows & portals of time & magical creation, oh and lots of fun with friends…… The light has changed. Rectangles of orange glow towards the top of high rises, expanding to a creamy glow that spreads gently downwards as the day unfolds!
I am breathing into the excitement & the not knowing, the possibilities of being present in this multi-facetted reality.
Night time in New York
The sun sets behind the skyline,
deep magenta hues, flooding shadowy high rises
that light up, window by window,
rooftops & terraces beaming…
so many lifetimes,
so many lives,
living out their dreams.
The wide Hudson river winds to the sea.
This is of course an island
Highly populated.
Its history emerges
Breath by breath,
Traces of memories
Hopes & fears,
Battles & Achievements
Human stories of pride & immigration
Longing & romance
Underlying.
Morning in New York
Shadowy darkness marked by the odd lighted window
slowly gives rise to blue sky
Rectangles of Orange appear near the tops of buildings
Like a pop art picture unfolding in 3D.
The orange fades to Creamy translucence
The rectangles expand.
City Apartment blocks stand proud.
The sun is reflected from a window.
“We are here!
We are proud of our country, our healthy lifestyles,
We love New York,
We love America,”
They whisper the echo, the hopes and dreams of long ago settlers.
The river winds its ways, weaving around the city….
_______________________________________
Reflections on 911
What a shock it must have been!
To have watched those towering blocks collapse.
How could it be possible?
In the shadows of the ruins
As cries echoed eerily and dust filled the heart and lungs
Of crashed hopes and dreams
Echoed now in Syria.
“We are under attack….”
The visuals showed the planes, the flames,
The smoke and fumes….
Those poor people jumping
To a void of hope.
Now we know it was a cynical plot.
The buildings were wired to collapse.
The third building that fell
even though the third plane grounded elsewhere,
brought down by passenger intervention.
Not quite the plan…..
How? Why?
To claim insurance, rebuild on valuable land?
Or was it the Gold Heist of all time?
Did you see that in the newspapers?
As layers of deceit were shrouded by outpouring of grief and loss.
Did they know, those cynical planners
How their imagination would fuel state terrorism far away.
Enslave our lives, restrict our travel….
Or was it all planned?
To steal futures, lives, treasures ….
To fuel an underlying greed of artifacts & money
That could still feed the world,
Preserve the dreams and the ideals
of this sacred place.
The legacy hangs in the airwaves…
High-rise living and working shrouded now in a vague layer of anxiety,
Almost imperceptible…. You just get on with it, welcoming the tourists with gusto,
Accepting the security checks.
Tuesday 30th January
We wake to a dusting of snow, outlining the winter tree forms.
The pigeons stay close to their warm loft
No circling today.
It feels like a blessing to us as we go.
Although we seem to be leaving a blocked plumbing system for a plumber to address within the apartment.
New adventures to come in Washington….
Travelling by train with Ease and Grace is a great way to see the countryside, mainly built up along this busy east coast, we run beside the highway.
I have said goodbye to the beautiful 32 “ Gong, which was lent to me in New York.
Many years ago, I had a vision of gonging the Met and the UN! …Little did I realise that I was to visit those places this trip, and be lent a beautiful gong to send my prayers on, or that I would travel with such great people and offered such a lovely apartment to work from!
A lot of past life karma has come up for transmutation which is personally both interesting and challenging.
In New York one has to dig deep to connect with the Native American Elders and there are layers of Karma, overlaid by lives of immigrants and slaves, their hopes their dreams and their struggles and oppressions.
The respect and inclusion, the love and compassion, the forgiveness we met at the lovely Episcopalian Trinity church on Wall St. model the way to go.
In the financial district, the hopes and dreams of immigrants, anchored through their industry and a collective consciousness, where making money is still rewarded and expected. Modern day norms that pay scant respect to nature, the environment, conserving of resources, fuel a lifestyle of high intensity, high-rise living, where you may never meet your neighbours, and doormen stand guard at many buildings. Yellow cab taxis fly you around the city with the speed of the twenty dollar bills that fly out one’s purse!
Many supermarkets sport amazing exotic Organic foods and fantastic vegetables, packaged in huge containers for ease. But for many New Yorkers, Steak and burgers and fries are the usual fare.
Diners with loud music invite one to brunch with huge portions.
New York is the city that comes alive in the evening. All shops open late to shine bright lights of commerce, along each Avenue. A healthy mix of races from all over, fuel a flourishing economy that continues despite the vagaries of politics, even appearing immune to it. The streets are safe, guns not too much in evidence.
The homeless are less in evidence than in the UK, but sometimes outside a shop, one’s heart is touched by a tragic story written on a torn bit of cardboard. “Veteran- No home, no family, no money, no food – Please help….” A wizened face, old before its years looks up painfully, wrapped in layers of impossible clothing.
By grace we are fed and warm. By grace we are healthy. By grace we have family and friends.