Orange-Moon/Post-Vacation

As much as I loved escaping from my day job and everyday life to beautiful Cancun for a week long amazing vacation I am also totally thrilled to be back home in DC again. Not just getting back to my son whom I’d missed but really for all of it-back to my job, summer weather in a fab city, inspirational friends everywhere, my iPhone data usage back on track, Facebook and all this stuff that was still in place just as I left it...and of course I'm not taking any of this for granted!

As exhausted as I felt the first week, I managed to get all the unpacking and laundry done on schedule with time to spare even. So lo-and-behold it was time for new adventures. First I went on a ten plus miles hike in Shenandoah with some of my beautiful friends whom I hadn’t seen since winter…giving me everything my soul craves-nature, exercise as well as a chance to catch up with friends. Fun parts of the first hike included butterfly watching in SNP forest and making some more awesome new friends along the way. Then the following weekend got even more exciting…as I did something new…lending towards learning and discovering new fantastic facts about this phenomenal planet we belong in…and this time it was all about horseshoe crabs! Yup! We went to check out the annual horse-shoe crabs spawning on Slaughter Beach in Delaware on a Saturday night.

Mystical forest in Delaware…2+ hrs drive only!

Did you know that horseshoe crabs as a species haven’t evolved in 500 million years and precede dinosaurs? Or that they congregate once a year on the beaches of Delaware (...and apparently some other islands in the Far East..) for spawning under a truly splendid full moon on a gorgeous summer night with high tides?....Or that the high tides totally work in their favor almost like paid security guards....no far better actually....because it's powerful nature doing its thing...- the tides were safeguarding them from our watchful eyes ...more so when we tried to take pictures....it was also working hard to shoo us away from the bay keeping us from getting too close or from interrupting their action- by literally angrily splashing at us! The tides were also giving them a physical lift to the shore conveniently (rather comical sight really!) since they were slow moving like turtles on their own; No time to waste, no small talk, no fore-pay or shyness allowed pre-spawning I guess! The tides literally picked them up and tossed them over to each other... as if they were perhaps destined to land up in specific batches (Yeah...No Disney style mating here for sure! Lol!). Yup! Tides and all of nature in fact conspired in their favor for this evening...and after reading up a bit more since about horseshoe crabs I'm left in awe of it even more! (Although mind you- being there in person certainly set off the creeps inside me too; had to take off before the number of horseshoe crabs rose from hundreds to thousands....which is what happens by dawn I am told! Crazy!! :-/)

Regardless I'm of course left pondering and marveling over nature! Wondering how these ancient creatures pick out the perfect night-with a rare big bright orange moon-(known as ‘honey moon’ apparently...but I'd never seen anything like this before...the moon rose right out of the ocean before our eyes as if it thought it was auditioning for sun-rise...and a friend rightfully called it moon-rise!); Such a clear sky too over us sparkling with stars as we never get to witness in the city…definitely a night to remember…or in this case to celebrate horseshoe-crabs' creation I suppose…but how do these beings pick out such a night so far in advance annually for such a party? Who sends out the invites? -And how do they know where and when to meet exactly? I mean look at us! Even with our weathermen's fancy predictions and all our technology we can’t even plan a BBQ party outdoors a year in advance-without guaranteeing no rain let aside an orange moon!! Right!? And in mid-June to boot!? INCREDIBLE!!

A powerful reminder again that life in all its glory really is an incredible event I'm thinking!-And with some effort on our parts perhaps we can always feel connected to the the bigger picture...the greater network within nature....never forgetting to feel totally alive....or playing out our parts with all we've got....just remembering we're a significant part of something so complex and infinite.…. Just got to tune into the magic around us I guess! Voila!- Here's a big toast to staying tuned in!! 

P.S. Here are some pictures taken from adventures in the days following post-Cancun-vacation (specifically of horseshoe crabs' spawning night...Yikes!! Lol!):  

Picture by Zeynep of the moon-rising from the ocean at 9:45pm-ish...

On queue...starting to arrive.....
 these fascinating most ancient species- in great numbers
for their annual spawning on the most beautiful of nights...

And this is just the beginning…..there are hundreds of them in no time and I'm told if I hang around through the night they congregate by the thousands….yeah….decided it was bit too much nature somehow…besides…good to respect their privacy a bit perhaps…:-p

And this picture is borrowed from D.B..one of the girls who attended this spawning ceremony…and it shows them laying their eggs in the sand when they're done….Creepy Amazing!!!

Another fantastic detail captured by my friend Zeynep…of our little group gathering to watch this ceremonial spawning ritual in nature…with our torch lights and bonfire…all in good company…on a Saturday night I'll never forget…with...Orange Fiery Moon rising out of the ocean...brilliant star gazing... high tides on a mission…. chilly ocean breeze…an incredible summer night on Slaughter Beach in Delaware….& Man! In awe of how much there is to do in our very own local backyards….when we are ready to look….without plane tickets or dipping into our vacation days at work even…Geez! What a magical planet we are privileged to spend our lives in-Right!? <3

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May-Bliss!!

Last month ended with an indulgent yoga retreat in a small fishing village in Cancun, Puerto Morelos.  It was seven days of pure bliss. There was yoga, meditation, creation of new friendships and of course some good old fashioned excitement and adventure along the way as well. My favorite parts included bonding with the girls especially Jojo -another one of my favorite new soul sisters-, swimming in ‘cenotes’- these incredibly mystical waterholes deep inside mother earth believed to have healing properties by the locals and their ancestors… (honestly it was refreshingly fresh and cool waters that felt wonderfully embalming on our itchy-painful bug bitten skin.… not to mention what it does for any ailments of the soul too…so yes my vote is totally in with the Mayans on the healing properties of cenotes… especially the less touristy ones further inside the Mexican jungles)…and then there was the visit to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, one of the seven wonders of the world; Yes-feeling profoundly privileged to make it here!

This vacation I felt all along was to be an extra special gift for me on this journey of life in multitude of soul searching and physically rejuvenating ways and it did not disappoint!-Even with the darned bug bites which were way too abundant somehow…and not just the mosquitoes!... Perhaps we were making blood sacrifices for the ancient Mayan Gods for our blessings!? Who knows! ;-) Lol…And since we came back… in-tact I think it’s all good regardless! 

So what I have learned and come to peace with from this amazing holiday…. I will just have to share in upcoming blogs… for now I am still digesting all the changes inside me since.. (thanks also to this book I’ve been reading along the way that I’m convinced is perfectly timed by destiny…also will share more on this later);  Much like the peeling of an onion…each experience and each year seems to strip me closer to the core, to what’s real and to what matters.….so that my heart is literally bursting at the seams with gratitude and awe for all that is. So many years I had spent self-imprisoned by my fears and thank goodness those are finally behind me now!!! Life is the greatest party and should be celebrated!!

Indulge me please as I wish us ALL these vital gifts…of gratitude, peace and endless love….and of letting go of our un-serving and unrealistic fears! The whole world is our playground and we are all here as friends.…So-Unleash that inner kid! Join in and let’s play!! Namaste! 

Our local beach for the week in Puerto Morelos; Heaven!

The ruins at Chichen Itza-built in 700 A.D

Our first Cenote experience; Commercial but amazing still!

Our Second Cenote…deep inside the Mexican Jungles: Can't begin to capture the experience in words yet...

And the darker cenote inside a cave with bats flying overhead…way Cool!!!


CENOTES ROCK!!!Everyone should add jumping or swimming in one onto their bucket list in my opinion! Love adding on new ones on to my list and glad this one's a check!! YUP! LIFE IS GOOD!!! XOXO

Confusion-Unfused!

I found myself asking: Are some things really simple but that I just don’t want to understand….or is it that some things are just too confusing to ever understand? Do you know what I mean?

You see I'm blessed with wise friends who give great guidance and I'm also blessed with an inner voice that stumbles upon answers naturally so I can afford to save time and money in therapy. Lol! ;-) Well in this case as I pondered over my situation and dilemma this is the answer self-therapy led to:

So it’s not about if things are simple or not! It’s about a willingness (or lack of) to see things for what they really are….and letting go of what we think we know…..and when something turns out to be other than what was envisioned or desired… it is the disappointment that creates the road block to move past....towards accepting what is. 

Eureka! Like standing in front of a field looking at it from behind a rock but through a tiny little tainted peep-hole drilled through that rock.... our vision is so eschewed by our needs and biases….and our wanting to control the outcome… that when it doesn’t go our way we find a part of us throwing a full blown tantrum like a spoiled child…refusing to accept that the keyhole view did not paint the complete picture but was merely a fragment at best. 

AHA!! But wait a minute!!!! That field is still wide open all around the rock- just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed! So-time to stop mulling over a tainted view that makes no sense! 

Time to play! ;-) 

P.S. I share this hoping it serves someone else well too. Enjoy all that there is!! Namaste!! :-)

EMOTIONS!

Yesterday I went to see my acupuncturist (for those who don’t know what that is it’s a healer and yes it involves getting these tiny needles poked into you but no it doesn’t hurt…..I used to think that it looked unimaginably uncomfortable until I finally tried it-And Man! I have seriously been hooked since!). My acupuncturist is this really cool guy probably half my age yet he has this ageless Buddha like calming all-knowing energy about him……and he kind of looks like a young Bob Marley which always makes me smile in his presence. He is a true healer in every sense of the word. When I sit in that chair and he asks me in his soft soothing voice what do I think I need help with today I inevitably feel like a little kid saying ‘I have a booboo here and a booboo there….’ sitting there all pouty and looking for help and I swear no-matter what the ailment whether I land up saying ‘I haven’t slept in ten days and the insomnia is making me drop things all over the place’….or ‘I am in love with someone I don’t want to be in love with-HELP!!’.…..or ‘my IT band is a wreck and I’ve been having trouble working out….’or ’my neck is stiff and my wrists hurt from my desk-job’…..no-matter what ails me he seems to have the right Band-Aid on hand for it. I always walk away feeling anew -with new perspective, feeling totally refreshed or healed somehow.….it is AMAZING!!

So yesterday I sat there and when he asked me what ails me I struggled for words to explain it…’everything feels off’ I said…’it’s as if all my emotions are trapped in bits and pieces all over the place at different points in my body and I feel totally chaotic inside….’ Is what I came up with finally? So he said ‘ok so if your emotions are all trapped inside what would you like me to do with it?’ ….WHAT!!!? I looked at him so lost as I said ‘I don’t know…’ and he said ‘would you like to feel all those emotions or make them go away?’- OK WOW!!! What a concept!!! Right!!!!? It was too loaded a question for me to even process fast enough to answer so I said ‘you decide for me; what do you think I should do with it?’ He gazed out of the window at the rain which was coming down pretty hard and he said ‘someone I look up to said to me –emotions are there to be felt’ and then he looked back at me quietly and I got it! So simple and so profound! Emotions are there to be felt! Nothing more and nothing less!! WOW!!!

Ah! If you’re wondering what I chose for my ‘Band-Aid’ at this stage….I said ‘Ok! Bring it on! Make me cry it all out or whatever!’ And if you’re still curious to ask how I felt during and after the treatment…..Well! I fell into a deep sleep for half hour after those needles were placed so carefully from head to toe on me….and when I awoke I felt like a brand new person ready to let the big and small waves come crashing at me and knock me down…knowing I’m strong enough for it…..knowing it was going to be ok to feel everything and just let it all in. I felt refreshed and exhausted all at once. Then I found myself crying the next morning but not from sadness or pain….just from an overwhelming sense of energy release; Not a bad feeling…except it came after I’d dabbed on the mascara…but that’s ok….raccoon eyes can be cleaned up and retouched.;-) Lol! 

Such an important lesson! I’ve struggled with it repeatedly in life and have to be careful not to forget! Emotions are not there to run away from, to hide away in some dark abyss inside us….when they show up perhaps it’s best to just stop to let them in and acknowledge them. Emotions are there to be felt! Love it!!! Like the heavy rain yesterday and the bright sun shining at us today…..It’s ALL GOOD!!

P.S. My acupuncturist since many of you have asked is: 
Farris Johnson @ OurSpace Acupuncture

www.ourspaceacupuncture.org

Dragonfly Messages!!?

If you had all the time in the world do you wonder how many precious new friends you would make? We meet so many interesting people yet never have sufficient time to really stop and find out more about each other-you know what I mean? -So as I was rushing out of my grueling and refreshing hot yoga class, in my bummy sweats (even as I was already fantasizing about a warm shower at home minutes after),  I landed up instead inviting someone from class impromptu to have tea with me. You see it’s one of those situations where you talk about getting together for a couple of years whenever you bump into each other but just never get around to it and eventually it feels awkward- right?  In that instant as much as I’d prefer to be showered and cleaned up first I decided to compromise-taking advantage of a spare moment -to get to know a new friend!

It was a cold-dark-night and the rain was pouring down with a vengeance as we drove in search of a place locally, then parked as close to one as possible and dashed in as fast as we could-(One of those moments! i.e. From growing up in the Middle East rain has always held some sense of movie scene like magic for me anyways!). The charming little café we stepped into is located middle of nowhere in a very non-happening neighborhood yet it felt as if we were somehow transported off into some sheikh’s fancy tent right out of old Arabian nights’ tales, with beautiful antique looking accents, a dimly lit atmosphere and a cool mix of belly-dancing to random Caribbean type chilling music. We settled ourselves into a cozy corner and started chatting over some especially yummy warm samosas and a steaming hot pot of chai with all the perfect blend of spices mixed into it. Definitely something to be said about doing things without prior planning-right!? Feels like discovering precious stolen time you didn't even know you were missing out on in the first place! A lovely rainy day treat!

The moment felt oddly significant as some moments just do as if it’s conveying a message that you feel you’re about to miss….Well! I found myself staring vaguely at the faux vintage teapot noticing a detailed single dragonfly embedded upon it. Since a butterfly for me has come to symbolize second chances and endless possibilities I thought perhaps dragonflies represent something too so I asked our waitress casually ‘do you have dragonflies on all your teapots?’ and she said ‘no…we have dozens of teapots but that’s the only one with a dragonfly on it’ so risking sounding insane I wondered aloud if there could be any symbolic meaning in it and she responded with ‘Ah! Funny you should ask! I just finished reading a book about symbolism in animals and apparently dragonflies have a ton of them!’ What are the chances!! Wow! Of course I wanted to learn more right away!! She explained that ‘dragonflies shift and move quickly to adapt with the wind….so apparently it means that anything can change anytime in any direction swiftly without notice….’ and then she got frustrated as she couldn't remember more; She said her mind blanked out on the others. For me however this was fitting! Finding only one true message in a pure and perfect moment felt all that much more poignant.  

I have learned that we have the power to change ourselves and everything around us when we put our true intent towards it-so I felt grateful for this new message and the reminder that things outside of us can also shift focus completely at any time and in any direction- and like dragonflies it’s important not to get too comfortable in any one setting but to be ready to adapt to the changing winds. Love that idea and seems worth sharing! There is much apprehension yet comfort in knowing that every moment is a gift; .....Gifts that when opened may instill in us love or hate or fear….but it’s always exciting not knowing what’s next too!

Cheers to renewals- to new beginnings and to the possibilities that each moment holds for us!! 

&- Speaking of just that-Welcome Spring!!!  

Amen to that!!!!<3