I have been moved by friends' posts, information flowing through this cyber world that I would never have had contact with if not for Internet, tarot, creativity, and spirituality...
Here's a poem I started working on, not sure if it's done or not. You be the judge.
The sisters know, the sisters flow,
like sea kelp at oceans' edge,
their hearts bound, without sound,
together their tears are shed.
(c) 2009 Kate van Houten
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Mercury Retrograde Blues
My baby doesn't get me,
Can't hear a word I say.
And when he murmurs sweetly,
I swear he says “You’re gay.”
I've got the Mercury Retrograde Blues.
When appointments get mixed up,
Folks are unclear, indirect,
I smile, and keep my chin up.
Where’s my bottle of white out?!
I've got the Mercury Retrograde Blues.
She claims I said “let's write.”
When I tell my boss “it's there,”
I wander through the night.
Alone with a vacant stare.
I've got the Mercury Retrograde Blues
My typing is atrocious,
I'm stuck; it feels like glue.
Tempers are ferocious.
I've got the Mercury Retrograde Blues.
© 2009 Kate van Houten
thanks to www.fanaticattack.com for the photo
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Memories and Organization
I was doing my usual thinking about a blog post in the wee hours before rising; for me, this is an interesting exercise. It is much like trying to remember a dream after having breakfast. Making sure the thoughts are still organized by the time I get past chores and routines and sit down to write can be a heck of a trick. Maybe having a notepad and pen by bedside will help.
Be that as it may, I was thinking about memory this morning. Got up and made a conscious choice to take my day slowly, allowing everything to percolate and settle in my brain as it would, taking time to enjoy the early dawn light, wanting to see the moon set but failing due to clouds. A while later, I realized I still could not remember what I was going to write about, and it was a good one, important and juicy, having to do with memory.
I ended up remembering while I was in the bathroom doing some of the things that makes having a bathroom necessary, and, bingo, just like that, I remembered what it was. Did I make a note? Did I create a mnemonic? Not on your life, nosiree!!
So I went on about my day, which involved eating a lovely crab and cheese egg scramble with toast and lovely raw white organic Big Island honey (https://www.volcanoislandhoney.com/index.htm - Volcano Island Honey Company) we found at the Kula Marketplace (http://www.kulamarketplace.com/) and then again at Bay Crossings in the SF Ferry Building (http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/bay_crossings.php) (enter, turn right, Honey!). The lovely breakfast fortified me enough to begin my dreaded filing and organizing project for which I had to kick my lovely husband out of our very intimate shared office so I can move between: the bedroom, because our super high bed makes a great work surface for filing and sorting, and entertaining the cat, the office closet, home to a two-drawer file cabinet, the rest of the office, which has the lateral file cabinet, computer, printer, labels, file folders, hanging folders, etc.
Took a lunch break and made up a nice light plate of turkey, mozzarella and apple slices, drank another glass of water, and then headed back to work. High Ho, High No. Or is it just Hi Ho, Hi Ho? Then a run at doing other stuff, this time on the computer, and I'm not talking about the fun playing around with photos, organizing pictures, working with iTunes, looking for fun new apps type stuff. Nope. I have to make sure I enter names and contact info into my Outlook so I don't lose names of artists we met in SF who make gorgeous jewelry and folks we encountered in Hawaii,
Okay, the bulk of the really grim organizing and filing finally is done. Hope I can find stuff after moving folders around, but I think what I did will actually work better than before.
I must say that my 2008 commitment to reduce paper waste and use has been very successful. I have made PDFs of all bank and other statements and records and when the final end of year stuff comes through in the accounts, I'll put everything on one CD and it will go in the box,. Instead of three or four inches of paper as in years past (bank statements being the worst offender, wireless bills coming in a close second), I know have about 1/4 inch of paper and one CD. Woo Hoo!!
And as I turned away to do the next thing that needed to be done (label more folders, add stuff to household inventory as I go), I remembered, FINALLY, the post about memory I wanted to write about to begin with – here goes.
Two things: First thing – what I don't use, I immediately throw away. Memories in particular, and I endeavor endlessly to improve tossing out general "stuff" that just piles up and has to be organized, or discarded, as the case may be. G. bought me a new iTouch this Yule (wasn't that sweet!!) for his favorite geek girl (me), and he inherited my lovely 5G (aka "Classic") iPod that I adored. So there we were, busy geeking out on our way out to SF on Amtrak (the only way to not fly), and he starts asking me questions about the 5G. And I go "Huh?" Or it might of sounded like "Whuuuut?" He did that several times over the course of our vacation and again since we've been back (but less so), and each time I'm astounded by how little I recall of the 5G operations, and, folks, these are things I used to do without even thinking about once, much less twice, since they were just the natural rhythm of working with the device. I would use it more than five or six times each day. But here I was so immersed in learning the iTouch, which is astoundingly new and different from the 5G, that I completely "dumped" all previous iPod knowledge unless it directly related to the new device.
Second thing – All of these considerations of brain dumping led me back, circularly, to this next thought. As a former IT professional advising clients on hardware and software purchases, I always quipped "you can never have too much hard drive space or too much RAM." G. told me about a 1 Terabyte hard drive for sale for under $100. My first response to him about that was: It would take all my time just keeping the danged thing organized. Far cry from the "WOW, 120K!! amazing" days, huh?
Be that as it may, I was thinking about memory this morning. Got up and made a conscious choice to take my day slowly, allowing everything to percolate and settle in my brain as it would, taking time to enjoy the early dawn light, wanting to see the moon set but failing due to clouds. A while later, I realized I still could not remember what I was going to write about, and it was a good one, important and juicy, having to do with memory.
I ended up remembering while I was in the bathroom doing some of the things that makes having a bathroom necessary, and, bingo, just like that, I remembered what it was. Did I make a note? Did I create a mnemonic? Not on your life, nosiree!!
So I went on about my day, which involved eating a lovely crab and cheese egg scramble with toast and lovely raw white organic Big Island honey (https://www.volcanoislandhoney.com/index.htm - Volcano Island Honey Company) we found at the Kula Marketplace (http://www.kulamarketplace.com/) and then again at Bay Crossings in the SF Ferry Building (http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/bay_crossings.php) (enter, turn right, Honey!). The lovely breakfast fortified me enough to begin my dreaded filing and organizing project for which I had to kick my lovely husband out of our very intimate shared office so I can move between: the bedroom, because our super high bed makes a great work surface for filing and sorting, and entertaining the cat, the office closet, home to a two-drawer file cabinet, the rest of the office, which has the lateral file cabinet, computer, printer, labels, file folders, hanging folders, etc.
Took a lunch break and made up a nice light plate of turkey, mozzarella and apple slices, drank another glass of water, and then headed back to work. High Ho, High No. Or is it just Hi Ho, Hi Ho? Then a run at doing other stuff, this time on the computer, and I'm not talking about the fun playing around with photos, organizing pictures, working with iTunes, looking for fun new apps type stuff. Nope. I have to make sure I enter names and contact info into my Outlook so I don't lose names of artists we met in SF who make gorgeous jewelry and folks we encountered in Hawaii,
Okay, the bulk of the really grim organizing and filing finally is done. Hope I can find stuff after moving folders around, but I think what I did will actually work better than before.
I must say that my 2008 commitment to reduce paper waste and use has been very successful. I have made PDFs of all bank and other statements and records and when the final end of year stuff comes through in the accounts, I'll put everything on one CD and it will go in the box,. Instead of three or four inches of paper as in years past (bank statements being the worst offender, wireless bills coming in a close second), I know have about 1/4 inch of paper and one CD. Woo Hoo!!
And as I turned away to do the next thing that needed to be done (label more folders, add stuff to household inventory as I go), I remembered, FINALLY, the post about memory I wanted to write about to begin with – here goes.
Two things: First thing – what I don't use, I immediately throw away. Memories in particular, and I endeavor endlessly to improve tossing out general "stuff" that just piles up and has to be organized, or discarded, as the case may be. G. bought me a new iTouch this Yule (wasn't that sweet!!) for his favorite geek girl (me), and he inherited my lovely 5G (aka "Classic") iPod that I adored. So there we were, busy geeking out on our way out to SF on Amtrak (the only way to not fly), and he starts asking me questions about the 5G. And I go "Huh?" Or it might of sounded like "Whuuuut?" He did that several times over the course of our vacation and again since we've been back (but less so), and each time I'm astounded by how little I recall of the 5G operations, and, folks, these are things I used to do without even thinking about once, much less twice, since they were just the natural rhythm of working with the device. I would use it more than five or six times each day. But here I was so immersed in learning the iTouch, which is astoundingly new and different from the 5G, that I completely "dumped" all previous iPod knowledge unless it directly related to the new device.
Second thing – All of these considerations of brain dumping led me back, circularly, to this next thought. As a former IT professional advising clients on hardware and software purchases, I always quipped "you can never have too much hard drive space or too much RAM." G. told me about a 1 Terabyte hard drive for sale for under $100. My first response to him about that was: It would take all my time just keeping the danged thing organized. Far cry from the "WOW, 120K!! amazing" days, huh?
Now for the pitch: Can anybody put together a dynamite indexing and archival system for my brain's hard drive/RAM for pre-dumping and pre-clearing retention? It's not so much of a joke these days as I am at that point in my life when I start to tell someone about something new, and they say, "yeah, you already told me about that." Sigh. Between that and not knowing the names of over 1/2 of the bands that are booking gigs at the local venues, I am really feeling middle aged.
Back to putting labels on file folders and entering data into home inventory. Happy January everyone; be sure to eat some honey now and again ~
Saturday, January 3, 2009
What's up with . . . ?
Some questions have been coming up –
For instance, late last night, I'm wide awake, not exactly tossing and turning, but certainly not falling asleep, and I'm thinking, "Now why couldn't I stay awake until midnight on December 31??" That is so completely confusing – I can't stay awake when I want to, and I can't fall asleep when I need to? Argh.
The other question is what is up with having ideas that I don't do anything with, and someone else runs away with it and makes a fortune (or at least a good living)? I had the idea for the "camelback" (just one example) about five years before I saw one in the store or on someone's back. And now, NOW, we find "Little Miss Matched" non-matching socks FOR SALE, . . IN STORES (plural) (and on-line http://www.littlemissmatched.com/)!! Susan C. and I have been mis-matching our socks for about 3 years now, and along comes this outfit actually doing this as a retail gig, and very well, too, I might add. I have a set of socks that look enormously like the socks in the photo I added (mine are dots, not stars) and like these pajamas - http://www.littlemissmatched.com/Catalog/womenspajamas/flannel-pjs-black-zany.
Sigh.
I think it's a combo of not being good at timing (my timing falls into "buy high, sell low" category), not having startup capital and business plan, and bottom line not really thinking these zany ideas are really worth anything out there in the market. But I can bet you dollars to donuts, I'm NOT going to post about some new great idea I'm having or carrying out, nope, nosiree bob. It's going into my journal where I can REMEMBER the danged thing and maybe cash in on it some way.
For instance, late last night, I'm wide awake, not exactly tossing and turning, but certainly not falling asleep, and I'm thinking, "Now why couldn't I stay awake until midnight on December 31??" That is so completely confusing – I can't stay awake when I want to, and I can't fall asleep when I need to? Argh.
The other question is what is up with having ideas that I don't do anything with, and someone else runs away with it and makes a fortune (or at least a good living)? I had the idea for the "camelback" (just one example) about five years before I saw one in the store or on someone's back. And now, NOW, we find "Little Miss Matched" non-matching socks FOR SALE, . . IN STORES (plural) (and on-line http://www.littlemissmatched.com/)!! Susan C. and I have been mis-matching our socks for about 3 years now, and along comes this outfit actually doing this as a retail gig, and very well, too, I might add. I have a set of socks that look enormously like the socks in the photo I added (mine are dots, not stars) and like these pajamas - http://www.littlemissmatched.com/Catalog/womenspajamas/flannel-pjs-black-zany.
Sigh.
I think it's a combo of not being good at timing (my timing falls into "buy high, sell low" category), not having startup capital and business plan, and bottom line not really thinking these zany ideas are really worth anything out there in the market. But I can bet you dollars to donuts, I'm NOT going to post about some new great idea I'm having or carrying out, nope, nosiree bob. It's going into my journal where I can REMEMBER the danged thing and maybe cash in on it some way.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Turning of a Wheel is the image that comes to mind. So let's have a Wheel of Fortune card.
My biggest accomplishment in the last two years regarding Tarot (and other divinatory practices) studies is learning how to frame questions. It's similar to techniques used when interviewing someone to elicit stories and detailed information. Since this was an area that completely stumped me for the longest time, it feels good to have "parted" this particular curtain to a certain extent. I am still no where near adept, but I am definitely in this previously hidden room of ability.
I have been highly creative lately, beginning a blog, finding other bloggers, communicating via e-mail with tarot designers/writers, and generally seeing how Tarot has become the hub in the multi-spoked wheel that is my life. I became a subscriber to Joanna Powell Colbert's newsletter. Her most recent issue is informative about what she is doing in her life and with the Gaian Tarot, and includes information about an event in April 2009 called the Readers Studio, hosted annually by The Tarot School. Now, see, probably most of the rest of you already knew about this event, but I'd never heard of it.
Also, I was catching up with some podcasts that I had missed hearing when they were first published, so finally caught up with Leisa ReFalo's Tarot Connection interview with Thalassa (Episode # 89), who began BATS, Bay Area Tarot Symposium. Thalassa is witty, hilarious, dramatic, entertaining and very enjoyable to listen to. In preparing for our trip to SF in December, I found Fields Books, one of the best metaphysical bookstores in the country. As one of those spooky synchronistic events, Thalassa was giving a talk the night of the day I was checking out Fields' event calendar.
So back to the newsletter by Joanna - It was an excellent example of a style to emulate for my own newsletter to be rolled out in 2009. I am gearing up to begin new strategies in marketing my massage practice. I recently read an excellent Massage Magazine article called "Marketing in Tough Economic Times" and checked out the online extra called "6 Tips for Writing Your Own Newsletter." Joanna's newsletter had it all. I have a lot more study and homework to do!!
Spokes on my wheel: Growing my business, learning tarot, magick, creativity, art, writing, healing myself and others, living with love and compassion. I am sure I have a few more (how many spokes can there be on a wheel and it still functions?). To discover that Tarot is central to it all was an interesting and important revelation.
My biggest accomplishment in the last two years regarding Tarot (and other divinatory practices) studies is learning how to frame questions. It's similar to techniques used when interviewing someone to elicit stories and detailed information. Since this was an area that completely stumped me for the longest time, it feels good to have "parted" this particular curtain to a certain extent. I am still no where near adept, but I am definitely in this previously hidden room of ability.I have been highly creative lately, beginning a blog, finding other bloggers, communicating via e-mail with tarot designers/writers, and generally seeing how Tarot has become the hub in the multi-spoked wheel that is my life. I became a subscriber to Joanna Powell Colbert's newsletter. Her most recent issue is informative about what she is doing in her life and with the Gaian Tarot, and includes information about an event in April 2009 called the Readers Studio, hosted annually by The Tarot School. Now, see, probably most of the rest of you already knew about this event, but I'd never heard of it.
Also, I was catching up with some podcasts that I had missed hearing when they were first published, so finally caught up with Leisa ReFalo's Tarot Connection interview with Thalassa (Episode # 89), who began BATS, Bay Area Tarot Symposium. Thalassa is witty, hilarious, dramatic, entertaining and very enjoyable to listen to. In preparing for our trip to SF in December, I found Fields Books, one of the best metaphysical bookstores in the country. As one of those spooky synchronistic events, Thalassa was giving a talk the night of the day I was checking out Fields' event calendar.
So back to the newsletter by Joanna - It was an excellent example of a style to emulate for my own newsletter to be rolled out in 2009. I am gearing up to begin new strategies in marketing my massage practice. I recently read an excellent Massage Magazine article called "Marketing in Tough Economic Times" and checked out the online extra called "6 Tips for Writing Your Own Newsletter." Joanna's newsletter had it all. I have a lot more study and homework to do!!
Spokes on my wheel: Growing my business, learning tarot, magick, creativity, art, writing, healing myself and others, living with love and compassion. I am sure I have a few more (how many spokes can there be on a wheel and it still functions?). To discover that Tarot is central to it all was an interesting and important revelation.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Archetypes and Notes
For the longest time, I have my best and most interesting thoughts and ruminations when I am otherwise occupied - just waking up from sleep in the morning, in the shower, on the bus, at lunch, working out at the gym. And I have the worst luck with training my mind to remember what the heck I was thinking about so I can continue to work on it, sort it out, meditate on it (if I choose to meditate, that is).
I began a 5-year diary some months ago. It helps. I find if I don't do it daily, the special thoughts and/or notes of the day still get missed. So this leads me to discipline. Which circles me back to the thoughts I woke with this morning. I was continuing my thoughts about discipline, and my decided lack thereof. I have lived in total frustration for years that I have such a difficult time with self-discipline, instead living a profligate, indulgent and hedonistic life. I had done some studying on what I call "The Path of the Warrior" several years ago, and one of the key elements of the Warrior Archetype is self-discipline and focus.
I'm great at routine. But routine is an anathema to the Warrior. Routine allows me to perform mundane daily tasks without having to think about them much. It also helps with finding stuff - if I always put my keys in the same place, my glasses in their case in my backpack, and my bus pass in one particular pocket of same backpack, etc., then I have a better chance of finding these items when they are needed. If I deviate from the routine, I fail, utterly. I hadn't put my Rx glasses in their proper case one day, and they went missing in the house for weeks. Finally found them in the bookshelves in the bedroom - OF COURSE!! Why hadn't I thought of that sooner? (strong inflections of sarcasm with this last!)
I got to thinking about archetypes. Caroline Myss, in Energy Anatomy, discusses various archetypes, as does the father of the archetype discussion as it relates to personal psyche, Carl Jung. I got to thinking, all of this still in bed as I was waking up, about my not exactly fitting the Warrior Archetype, never have, nope, and likely never will. I can see that I have Warrior elements: I have enormous courage, I can be truly focused, I am steadfast and trustworthy, I am responsible and diligent (for others more than for myself).
But I couldn't help thinking, the Warrior is just not me. It's not even that I'm not a martialist, I'm a long-time pacifist. But the whole archetype is not resonant, and I don't think it truly ever will be. I can learn from it, and ask to have the strengths of a Warrior when needed, but I'm natively something else. So that leads me to the next question: What am I?
The first concept, one I've not particularly encountered before, that popped into my head was "Courtesan." Where did THAT come from? My history and lifestyle, my zodiac sun sign, and much about me leads me to think this is a true calling. I am good at making others happy and loved. I am a Mirror, a Reflection Back, and while I do share myself in a true and intimate way, in the past I mainly hid behind a mask. I don't (consciously) hide anymore, but being authentically me is one of my "prime directives" for life. Honest to the best of my knowledge is another.
I started a list of other archetypes (Stephen Covey's 7 Habits had me list out my "roles" and these are part of this structure): Helpmate, Servant, Tyrant, Teacher, Healer, Traveler, Student, Monk, Novice, Priestess, Gardener, Mechanic, and so forth. It felt like I was creating a whole new set of Major Arcana cards for a Tarot deck. That's what the Tarot does: brings into focus certain archetypical characteristics in ourselves or others around us to help us sort out questions, decisions, ideas.
On a final note, this 2008 Thanksgiving Day, I am an enormous gratitude list of and bountifully blessed in so many ways, it's almost embarrassing, and I am rich beyond measure with love, family, friends, health, sanity, emotional well being, meaningful work, opportunities to grow and learn. May all of you enjoy the same.
Happy Thanksgiving World!!
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