Tending to the Corn
"I've been standin' on the hillside
in the night
I've singin' 'bout the good things
and the light
There's a new star on the horizon
and it nearly fills the sky"
~ Ozark Mountain Daredevils
The fence meant to keep the rabbits out also kept the sunlight out. My friend Donnie (an 80-something woman who's grandfather ran slaves through shipping in Dutch Guiana in the late 19th century) suggested the diffusion of the sunlight through the hex-wire fence as a probable cause for the corn in that patch being significantly smaller than the corn in the unfenced patch.
I never got to putting up the second fence and it seems the coyotes have kept the rabbits at bay quite effectively. So I took down the fence this morning and weeded both patches. Tiwa musician Robert Mirabal suggests that if you want to live a spiritual life, plant corn. We live in the old rabbit hunting grounds of his people. When I see Robert I always smile, because he reminds me of his selfless efforts to bring the lore and legend of his people into the modern world.
Lately I have been perusing the Shift in Action audio library and listening to some of the presentations. I feel that a lot of the discussion on SIA are sourced in this privileged information, so I took the privilege of listening. It was good to hear Candace Pert and be reminded of the role of emotions in our participation in the web of life. Yet I found the dialogue between Dean Radin and Lynn McTaggart to be somewhat of a turn-off due to the tone of their attitudes toward allopathic medicine.
But the true treat came in listening to the new teleseminar with Elena Avila. It is well worth a listen!! And her grounded curendera approach to healing, along with her knowledge as a psychiatric nurse, gave me a smile. I suspect we tend to admire the source who agrees with us. So much of my worldview has been colored by the Latino folk wisdom of this region, as well as the introduction to it by reading Castaneda's complete works.
Also, I was pleased to see Alan bring notice to the work of Sutapas Bhattacharya. His effort to find a biological component for spiritual connection reminds me of Rick Strassman's work. I saw Rick over at the recycling center the other day, and was reminded that the noetic cares not iffin' it is in a mountain pasture or at the dump. Ya just never know when signs will emerge from enfoldment in the plenum, reminders of our inextricable immersion in the Oren Mor, or the Great Song of Life.
So I have weeded the corn this morning, and am indulging as a micro-sabbatical by writing a blog before I do the dishes, bathe, and go to work.
The moisty morning is a pleasure indeed, as this is the dampest season in many a year. The greenery come to this desert is a blessing with no need of a disguise! The arrival of the magpies, en mass, remains a mystery to us. But I did get to witness a quail who boldly backed a magpie into a corner beneath the pine tree where the finches were born and released into flight. Intimidating a magpie is no small feat!
The death of Michael Jackson really hit me hard, yet in a way which prevails in the gentleness with which such immense creative talent instructs the soul. Jackson, Presley, Lennon, McCartney, Dylan: the beat goes on, and on, and on. Michael had his demons, as we all do. Yet, if the media reporters have it right, he died of excessive palliation. I chose those words carefully, reminded just yesterday that some of the trendy choices and ideological bends we round in life can have such a great and deep impact on the personality. Personality colors expression, without fail.
The thing that reminded me yesterday was seeing an 8-9 year old boy dressed in a lavender chiffon ballerina's gown. He was in the company of a couple who appeared to be old lesbians. They were in a busy public market.
I realize how judgmental I could get in describing this, and how unwelcome it may be on these pages where optimism rules. But I admit to sometimes wishing I could reach out and take reality by the throat, shaking it and asking questions that would border on the profane, yet sourced in a deep love for the beauty of life.
Elena Avila's teleseminar reminded me to revere the miracle of how we conduct an intimate relationship with an impersonal universe. At sunrise this morning I was further reminded by the wordless beauty of the play between light and shadows....
Blessed Be ~ Ken
