The Dangers of Co-sleeping!

Why You Too, Should Hug Trees

Today, my little friend, "Sa-bam-bam" and I went to the park to lunch and play. It was an ordinary visit, except for one moment, which has stayed with me throughout the day. As we were making our way to leave, my tot-friend approached a tall tree and proceeded to explore it's textured bark. This inspired me to hug the tree, to see if he'd follow suit. He did. But this is not the exceptional occurrence, neither is Sam's request to climb said tree. No, the moment was entirely mine, unless Sam experienced the same thing, which I cannot know because he's still too young to convey abstract concepts. When I gently flung my arms about the trunk, I felt an equally gentle energy pull my subtle-self downward with it. I felt myself become embodied and grounded. It was a calming sensation, very nurturing and very connecting. Now, this is not the first time I've hugged a tree, but it is the first time I've been so aware of such a sensation. I felt the feeling I've been searching for through many energetic exercises and visualizations, which have worked for me to varying degrees, but which take a considerable amount of focus and effort. This moment of tree meets beast was blissfully effortless. My experience with the tree is remarkable because feeling grounded in my body is difficult for me. For much of my life, I've felt outside of my body, floating alongside it, but not inside it. Over the past 6 years or so, my body has been begging me to love it better, to energize it with my life force, lest I whither away in heaps of pain and discomfort. It has taken chronic health issues to help me realize the importance of modifying my relationship with this vehicle called body. I've been presented with the option to give into a life of suffering or to rise up to a life of balance. I've chosen the latter. So, here's where tree-hugging comes in. If it's so easy to draw my subtle-self into my physical self and even deeper into Earth, just by embracing a tree, I'm going to make that a routine part of my daily actions. Like many of us born in the US, I am a creature of ease and convenience and let me tell you, to become grounded, snuggling with trees is a lot easier and faster than doing a standing tree meditation. Not only that, by coming into direct contact with another living being, I'm more deeply connecting to myself, as well as the infinite wellsprings of life. So, if you see me around town cuddling the rough skin of our leafy friends, I invite you to join me, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised!

Here's a Little Message From My Friend Jackie...

Current Obsessions and Interests!

A few things I'm into at the moment:

Music: Vashti Bunyan. I'm enamored of her sweet soft voice, a gentle and clear whisper. Listening to the lyrics takes me into a dreamlike UK countryside, a place I desperately yearn for, where my heart is at home. I can't seem to get enough of her album "Just Another Diamond Day". If you like dreamy music, she's your girl! Read her bio here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vashti_Bunyan

Books: "Awkward and Definition" by Ariel Schrag. This book is two graphic novels in one, penned by then high-schooler Ariel in the mid-90's, chronicling her freshman and sophomore years. The art is great, the writing well-done and the story-lines charming. I'm about a year older than Ariel, so it's really a blast from the past for me, a little reminder of my own high school experience with references to bands, fashions and the general teenage weirdness of the day. Ariel, being in the Bay Area, was probably more worldly than I was, well... more infused with booze, sex and drugs anyway, but I can still relate to the questions on sexuality, celebrity crushes (even if she literally worshiped Juliette Lewis and I literally spat on her every visage), and experimentation with "adult" games, substances, and responsibilities. I heartily enjoyed reading "Awkward and Definition" and look forward to reading the third installment in her series of 4, titled "Potential". Here's a little more about Ariel and her work: http://www.arielschrag.com/pages/bio.html

Dance: Butoh. I just saw and amazing Butoh performance last night by a group called Death Posture. They performed at the Fez Ballroom with a live experimental noise group made up of two prepared guitarists and a percussionist. I was lucky to have the chance to chat with the two dancers, Alex and Vanessa, about their work, and learned a lot about the meaning, intent and history of Butoh as well as their personal artistic processes. I have played with the idea of studying this dance of Japanese origins in the past, but am now even more interested, as it applies to work I've already done and to work that I'm in the process of creating. It would be a welcome addition to my artistic pallet for sure. Look here for some more info on Butoh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butoh

Big Adjustments and Harsh Realizations

I'm adjusting.

Recently, I moved out of my roomy, 1 bed apartment into a shared household and a smallish blue room and now, I'm feeling the labor pains of squeezing both my physical self (and all it's various material extensions) and my energetic self into a much smaller space. I'm also having to negotiate my place on the hierarchical rungs of my new home. See, I live with the owners of the house, which in my experience, does not lend itself easily to the egalitarian ideal. No matter how anti-authoritarian and communally minded said owners may be, the cultural concept of ownership usually subverts the best of equalitarian intentions. Just like the territorial spats that are frequenting the lives of my two cats and the other animals of the house, I am acutely feeling the stubborn pressure of people having to create space for me. Space which they occupied previously, and didn't have to share or stretch or compromise on. I sincerely hope that they actually want to share this space, no matter how painful it may be for them to relinquish it, because I sincerely want to feel welcome, cherished, and wanted by those I co-habitate with. I want a home, a place of solitude and sanctuary, a place to freely express myself, my needs, and my ideas, a place to connect with others and feel a part of something real.
Over this first week and a half of living at my new place, I'm finding a mix of feelings ranging from disappointment, uncertainty, self-doubt, defensiveness, joy, relief, and connection.
I've really been enjoying living with kids. I wasn't sure how I'd react to it, but I'm finding that little people bring such a refreshing energy into a living space, a newness and a rawness, which cynical adults can't seem to muster quite so often. I'm interested to see how my relationship with the kids will progress as I continue living in their midst. I'm also finding that simply having others around is making me more productive, and I don't feel so isolated. That's definitely something I missed while living alone, where I cloistered myself from the world, communing with my personal demons and considering various universal conundrums.
Unfortunately, I've also had some harsh realizations. A big one being that I neglected to truly consider the physical creative space that I require to pursue my art. My new house is extremely ill-equipt for the things I want to do. I don't have any real space for messy and/or long term projects like mask-making and costume building. I also feel a little more inhibited when it comes to experimenting musically, especially in the later hours of the evening. While I'm disappointed in myself for not considering my desires more closely, my self-neglect also incites a question about my real needs for space. Looking at myself clearly, in an undeluded and painfully honest sort of way, I can see that I subconsciously ignored my need for creative space because it is a need that is based on the dream of Mlle. Nova as an artist. What I mean is, my desire for a certain type of creative space is based on a vision of my future self, a self which resides in the realm of ideals and dreams, not in current reality. I am not yet the artist I fancy myself to be. I only need specific creative space when I actually commit to doing the work. When that happens, perhaps I will move, or find an art studio or some other arrangement conducive to achieving my goals.
My challenge here is making the best of what I have, by letting the restrictions of the physical and energetic space that I currently occupy, inspire creative action in and of itself. If it is art that I truly need to pursue (and in my best moments, I can honestly say that it absolutely is) then I will find a way to make it happen, in this very moment, against all odds.

The Long Silence

Dear Adoring Fans,

I heartily apologize for the long silence. It's not that I don't love you, it's that my life has simply not been conducive to sitting in front of a computer and imputing various diatribes on one thing or another. I could go into greater detail here, but said current life is preventing it, that and I really have to pee. I do, promise, my lovely friends, that I will be back, in better form, sharing all my misery and joy in the near future. Till then, think of me.... A LOT!!!

Love,
Mlle. Novadawn M.

The Sickly Manifesto

That's me... sickly... I'm sick and tired of being sick!  Being sick has a tendency to put everything on hold.  I don't want everything to be put on hold.  I want to do stuff.... really, I do.  I know I talk a lot about doing things, but now I really want to do them.  I'm serious here, people.  I want to run and play and sing.  I want to enjoy this springtime unpredictability.  I want to drink wine in parks and get kicked out again.  Being sick for three weeks is not allowed.  I hereby banish you, sickness!  I declare myself well!  I declare myself more hearty than I've ever been!  I declare myself invincible against any and all pathogenic micro-organisms that would have me laying about for days on end watching episode after episode of Gilmore Girls, blowing my nose and drinking funky herbal concoctions.  I will watch episode after episode of Gilmore Girls in sparklingly fine health, thank you very much!  So be it!