NOT JUST MEMORIES...

My mother’s cousin, Eunice, came for an overnight a few days ago, including a visit to my house in an alumni reunion weekend at her alma mater, Mt. Holyoke class of 1956. Eunice and her mother have been the family historians, compiling genealogy records that reach back into the distant past. She brought along photos to share, as well as a “Birthday” book of her mother’s – a small volume, received as a gift in 1916, but recording birth dates of family members covering about a century. It was strange to see my own birthday recorded here – another thread in the family tapestry.

Feng Shui takes care to acknowledge the importance of the past. Within the Bagua map, a grid resembling a tic-tac-toe board which is laid over the floor plan of a space and used to adjust its energy, there is a section, or gua, devoted to ancestors, family of origin, teachers and mentors. Called Thunder, and found in the middle left section of the bagua, this gua represents the vitality of life that is the feeling of early spring. Our parents gave us life; and they, in turn, were given life in a chain which reaches back to the far depths of the past. In the springtime we feel the full force of this impulse toward life, which after a long winter can be as shocking as a clap of thunder.

Eunice also brought along some stems from her garden – lovely white Siberian irises. These plants are thriving in her garden at home in Scarsdale, New York, and have spread down along a hillside in her backyard. The original plants came from the garden of her Aunt Mildred, in North Adams, MA – my great-aunt, whom I never met. I’ve been using my close-up lens to try to capture the beauty of these gorgeous blossoms – and realizing that the past might be as close as my ability to focus on it.

ARE WE THERE YET?

There was a message on my answering machine yesterday from a friend who asked me to call her as soon as I could – she had had a dream about me, and she thought I should hear it. I thought, “Uh-oh” and felt a wave of dread, but I decided that I needed to hear the message, whatever it might be. At the same time I was curious, because I can’t remember when someone has called to tell me they’ve had a dream that featured me – this was a first.

My friend Sherri told me that she had been on vacation in a tropical setting in her dream. She didn’t know that I was there, too, but ran into me on the beach, where I was relaxing in the sun, celebrating the publication of my new book. I showed her the book (of course, I happened to have a copy in my beach bag), and she said that it was beautiful, creative, and filled with feminine soul energy. I was very happy about it.

What Sherri didn’t know as she picked up the phone to call me, was that I have been working on a book – a beginner’s manual of Feng Shui. It is the pulling together of ten years worth of notes and informational sheets that I use for teaching into one unified and distilled booklet. It’s been going along well and smoothly, and I’ve been having fun with it. But, I reached nearly the halfway point last week -- and I suddenly got an attack of cold feet. It’s almost like I had been swimming in the current, enjoying the ride, and then looked up to see that I’m really far away from that safe place where I started. Uh-oh.

But one thing that I’ve learned in working with the nourishing energy of Feng Shui is that the universe does move in mysterious ways. I think that Sherri’s dream was meant to reassure, and to say, “Go ahead, keep going…you have a green light!” So, that’s what I’m going to do. The next chapters are already there, waiting for arrival. I’m jumping back into the stream and letting the current carry me along. Thanks, Sherri, for having the courage to pick up that phone!

WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT...

A good friend recently told me that after years of trying to write, and being unable to, she’s finally broken through. “What happened?” I asked her. She answered that it’s been a combination of things: someone new coming into her life with wonderful words of encouragement, loving support from people who’ve always been there, and, also – the timing is right. Where there has been frustration in the past, now her words, thoughts, and recollections are fully there and ready to be expressed. When she’s writing she’s in a clear place -- a real and centered and safe space, in which she’s found her voice. And because she’s writing from the heart she knows that her words and experiences will touch others.

According to a very old form of astrology called 9 Star Ki or I Ching, 2011 carries the energy of 7 Lake. This is a perfect time to pick up creative projects that have been waiting on the sidelines, because the essence of the 7 Lake “house” is finding your expression. It is also a time for enjoyment, celebration, reaping the rewards of our efforts, and recognizing achievements. It represents the harvest and the fullness of life. More than ever, we are encouraged to experience and fully appreciate the world through our senses -- tasting, touching, smelling, seeing, and hearing the richness of our lives. Memories, too, may be especially vivid this year.

I am excited that my friend JoDee is clearing the way for her writing to come center stage into her life. It’s uplifting to be around someone who has found her creative expressive self because it encourages me to find that place within myself. Feng Shui teaches us that we all do have a creative and very wise inner being which is looking for expression not only in our homes, but our lives. In fact, maybe there’s a project or two I’ve had on the back burner which can come forward into being. This is a very good year for cooking with some new ingredients!

A TIME FOR SETTING SAIL...

Cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson visited the Odyssey Bookshop last week to speak and read from her latest book, Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom. Ms. Bateson, the daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, is now 71 herself, and has spent the last few years focusing on the stage of life that Baby Boomers are now entering – a stage she calls “Adulthood II.” She says that because people are living longer, enjoying better health, and staying active, the old stereotypes of aging are no longer accurate (and certainly not helpful). She contends that “Adulthood II” is actually a new stage, one in which those of us who have made it this far get to use our accumulated experience to redefine ourselves -- and reshape our lives.

This year, the Chinese Solar New Year, which began on February 4, carries the energy of 7 Lake, according to an ancient form of astrology based on the I Ching, or Book of Changes. A 7 Lake year is a time for enjoyment, celebration, reaping the rewards of our efforts, and recognizing our achievements. It represents the harvest and the fullness of life. More than ever, we are encouraged to experience and fully appreciate the world through our senses -- tasting, touching, smelling, seeing, and hearing the deliciousness of our lives. A 7 Lake year is also all about creativity – finding the joy of our own expression.

During her talk, Mary Catherine Bateson stopped to adjust her gray turtleneck and pull out a silver necklace that had slipped beneath it. She explained that the lovely, sparkling, and very intricate chain had been made by one of the dozen people she had interviewed for her book, a man who had been a boatyard worker during his working life. After retirement, he and his wife sold their house and possessions, bought an RV, and headed for Arizona. He took a class in silvermaking at the senior RV park where they stopped. He now has a new and even more fulfilling career as a maker of fine jewelry and art objects.

For those of us approaching Adulthood II (and also anyone who can visualize that stage ahead), this is a great year to drop some ballast, feel the wind in our sails, and embark on a new adventure…

THE YIN AND YANG OF IT...

With the weather people forecasting another “monster storm” heading our way, the panic is on. I went to three stores this morning looking for a telescoping roof shovel, something I wouldn’t give a thought to most of the year; but today, they’re all sold out. I was welcome to call back as early as 6 a.m. day after tomorrow to find out if the shipment has arrived.

At this stage of the game, it is truly challenging to believe that spring is around the corner. But it is just now, in the deepest chill of winter that the promise of warmer times begins to assert itself again. The ancient sages perceived that our universe naturally expresses itself in two fundamentally different ways. These two expressions – Yin and Yang – do not exist separately from each other; but, instead, are interdependent and in constant flux. At the moment that either expression reaches its greatest capacity, then it begins to change, perhaps subtly, even invisibly, at first. John Fitzgerald Kennedy stated this principle in another way over half a century ago:

“Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope…

And the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable…”

Yin and Yang are really two sides of the same coin – one does not exist without the other. Hot and cold, dark and light, wet and dry…each shift and dance with the other. In Feng Shui we are working with these seeming opposites, always striving for that place of balance, of hope -- the promise of spring.

MAY THE ROAD RISE UP TO MEET YOU...

We had to say good-bye last week to one of our favorite places, Carried Away Consignment Shop in Greenfield, MA. The store closed on November 27, after three years at 10 Miles Street, just up the hill from Greenfield’s Energy Park.

I have found so many nifty, fun, unusual items at Carried Away over the years – from a vintage egg beater in pristine condition, to glassware from the old Sweetheart Restaurant on the Mohawk Trail, to a solid rock maple sideboard just perfect for storing Feng Shui supplies.

One of the key concepts in Feng Shui is transformation – the idea that something dull, stagnant, unwanted can become lustrous, alive, and nourishing. The proprietor of Carried Away, Mona Minor, had a special gift both for attracting consignors with good “stuff”, and for knowing just how to place those items, so that they became interesting and attractive. I usually had to visit the store at least once a month just to see what was new on the shelves. For me, it was always a refreshing experience, with the promise of fun and surprises around the corner.

There was a sign next to the front door, a quote from Karen Kingston, the godmother of the Clutter Clearing revolution:

“Life is constant change. So when something comes into your life, use it, enjoy it well, and when it is time, let it go.”

We’ve enjoyed our visits to Carried Away; and, even though it’s sad to see the doors close, we want to say Thank You, Mona, for a wonderful and magical three years!

NO TIME TO SAY GOODBYE...

I learned of Ted Andrews’ Animal Speak several years ago, and have referred to it often to add layers of depth and understanding to the moments when the representatives of the animal kingdom touch my own life in some way. I’ve recently thought that it would be great to take a workshop with Mr. Andrews; and when I went to his website to see what his upcoming schedule might be, I read that he had passed away last year on October 24, 2009.

Truly a man of many talents and interests, Ted Andrews was a bestselling author of over forty books which have been translated into more than two dozen languages. Some of his interests included hypnosis and acupressure; healing with sound, music, and voice; study and use of herbs; past life analysis; dreams interpretation; and auras. But he was best known for his work with animals. Mr. Andrews was a long time volunteer at the Brukner Nature Center in Troy, Ohio; and held state and federal permits to work with birds of prey, regularly performing wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. He was a champion of animal rights, conducting animal education and storytelling programs accompanied by his own animals in school classrooms.

One of my most memorable and moving experiences with the animal kingdom was in 2003 when I received word that my cherished position as librarian in a children’s hospital was to be cut in half due to the economic downturn. My assistant’s job was to be eliminated completely. Later that afternoon, upset and angry, I decided to take a walk to a nearby park to clear my head. As I walked along the sun-dappled path watching the leaves of autumn flutter through the air, I was startled by a huge movement just behind me. I turned to see a great swooping of wings not more that five feet away, and then she lifted off – a beautiful and powerful red-tailed hawk! I was shaken but inspired, and felt that there was a message for me in the encounter. Later, when I looked up red-tailed hawk in Animal Speak, I learned that this bird helps us discover our true purpose in life; and shows up to remind us that there is always a bigger picture to consider when things are not going well.

It was certainly no coincidence that only a week before the hospital layoffs, I had completed the final phases of my Feng Shui training, and received my certification. In the intervening years, I have continued to walk this path – learning, growing, and savoring as I visit the homes and businesses of fellow “journeyers”. I often think of that moment in the park as the closing of one door, and the opening of another – with red-tailed hawk showing the way.