Lion and Magic Boy

Yesterday I visited my chiropractor.

I should mention that I always thought of chiropractic as the quintessential quackery, people who willingly take your money on a regular basis to keep you “adjusted”. WTF?? Yes, I realize that this may be slightly ironic given that I am perfectly willing to completely suspend disbelief when I talk to dead people (and accept money for doing it!), but for some reason I never drank the koolaid or got in line behind chiropractic.

I even went to one, years ago, and chose her at random from a local newspaper full of alternative healers. I was already well sold on alternative medicine and was a practicing Reiki healer myself, so I chose someone who did Reiki as well. I was extremely pleased with the results, made a nice contact with the chiropractor who did the session (which included essential oils, very nice, and she managed to really get to the heart of the issues plaguing me at the time), but I just.couldn’t.get.past.the.chiropractic thing.

So when we moved back to Pennsylvania from Colorado last fall, Michael’s back was bothering him greatly from all the moving and lifting and from the horrible torture-truck he was assigned to drive here laden with all our earthly possessions. He wanted a chiropractor, and the one I had been to here before was the only one I knew. He went and was immediately sold. He even talked me into going myself and making a family deal of it. “It’ll change your life,” he said. (It did.) I admit, I was hooked. It could have been the warm and wonderful energy of the place and the people there, or it could have been that there really *was* something to this “adjustment” thing, but either way, I found it really helpful.

Then, when Michael left and moved back to Colorado, I quit going, because I didn’t see how I could afford it.

I still can’t, not on an ongoing basis, but I went back yesterday.

I highly recommend the experience.

Now understand that there are chiropractors and then there are chiropractors. Some really do simply manhandle you into position. That’s not what I experienced here, and I wish that there was a Dr. Lauren near each and every one of you.

She gets right, as usual, to the heart of things, calling my bluff on certain issues, not judging but simply asking. I left there with a bottle of flower essences, crazy-sounding maybe (I have used these for years), but drops of the very essence of plants that when taken internally change your vibration, and can subtly and gently change your perception about things and allow you to relase certain held beliefs ir issues that no longer serve.

I also felt about 4 inches taller. No kidding. My point of view, literally, seemed several inches taller than it had before.

I have said this before, and I am certain to say it again many more times: this is turning out to be an awesome year for me. I hope it is one for you too.

Well! It’s been 2 weeks since we had a Friday Freebie; don’t you think it’s about time for another? Yes? Me too! Although, I have to tell you, I’m not entirely happy with the name. So if you have a suggestion for a different one, please let me know.

Anyway. If you’re new and you haven’t clicked on the links above to see what this is about, I’ll explain. In one of my many “other things” I do besides mull over potential posts to Lion and Magic Boy, I am a channel. Channeling is basically receiving information through me that comes from something/someone who is not-me. I explain more of what I do here, at my other website. For those who think this is in any way special or unusual, it’s not, not really. Everybody has the ability to channel, whether you are channeling your higher self, your guides, whatever. You all do this. You know that “gut feeling” you get at times? Channeled. Intuition? Channeled. You “just know” something, but can’t explain why or how? Channeled. I’ve simply practiced enough and honed the ability to feel confident about having the information come in at my request instead of sporadically.

Oh. One more thing. It’s okay if this seems a bit outlandish to you, I don’t mind a bit. But maybe there will be something for you in the message, no matter the source. Or maybe not! Either way, it’s okay.

So. Enough about that! Let’s see what today’s message is, shall we? Okay, this is for you:

You have noticed, of late, that there is a sense of foreboding, a sense of things to come, have you not? This feeling unsettles you, and you do not quite know what to make of it. We wish to assure you that not only will this feeling pass, but it also signals that you are moving onto another path, a different direction. We see that there is some knowledge of this, yet it frightens you. Change is frightening, yes, do you not think so? Stepping into the unknown requires a leap, if you will, of faith and trust, and if you cannot trust yourself to make sure you are always “okay”, then who can you trust? Many teachers in your world speak of “letting go and letting god”, and to this we say yes, this is a truth, but even more of a truth would be “letting go and letting YOU”. In other words, you are the one to trust and to honor. Are you not an expression of god anyway? Just allow change to come, and know that you are always protected, even through your fear. By letting go of the fear you will see that it is not truly there, did you know this? But by concentrating on it, it will continue to loom ever larger. Letting go will allow it to subside and to let loose its hold on you. So trust, and allow. You will be safe.

That’s it, everyone! I hope you found this helpful. Have a wonderful day!

[tags] channeling, psychic, happiness, joy, love, truth, letting go, trust[/tags]

With just a little applesauce. And crusty eye stuff that I want to reach in and wipe away.  And then……..

Love.

We stayed up until 11:00 last night, playing Monopoly (a 4-hour game, sigh). It was the children’s first time. Nathaniel has already figured out the Secrets Of Becoming A Real Estate Mogul, and drove his own mother to bankruptcy with a touch of glee.

It doesn’t get better than that, does it?

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone.

Nathaniel, showing evidence of some awesome cheekbone development as well as a recent self-inflicted haircut.

Serena’s thinking about King here, the horse she covets back in Colorado. Doesn’t she look happy?

Dark they were, and golden-eyed. (Points if you know the reference). This is Shadow. Isn’t he a beauty?

“I’m in ur fridge, eatin ur foodz”. This is Nacho, who shouldn’t have been given a food name, because he obviously thinks he belongs in here.

I know who you’re waiting for. Yes, those are some tiny little kitty scratches on that cheek.

Eric waves his hands when he’s excited. So does Serena, still. I love that.

P.S. It’s a Nikon D-40. Yay!

2007: I heart you.

Go here and see.

Last week I reported that I had suddenly found the dreaded Sad iPod Icon. What I didn’t report yet was what came of my service request, submitted handily online late last week.

On Tuesday, DHL dropped off a package at my doorstep. Inside were a foam cradle just the right size for my little black beauty, a plastic sleeve to rest it in (in case the package got rained on, I suppose), a small block of tape with which to seal up the package, and instructions.

On Wednesday, I tenderly laid my iPod to rest, sealed the package (with tape left over! a bonus!), and went online to DHL to request a pickup. The package was picked up within a few hours.

LATER THAT DAY, I received an email from Apple stating that my package had been received.

On Thursday, I received an email from Apple stating that my iPod was being diagnosed.

LATER THAT DAY, I received another email stating that a replacement was being sent.

AND TODAY, Friday, I received a brand-new iPod.

This, people, is what Customer Service is all about. Never mind that it was my fault, that I dropped the thing on the asphalt like an idiot. No! It’s still under warranty!

I can hear Steve Jobs now:

I know she dropped the thing, she’s totally a spazz and all (like who drops their $300 piece of electronics? I mean, come ON!), but BILL IS GOING TO TOTALLY FREAK, because we’re just going to replace it! Immediately!

It just means we’ve won yet another convert over from The Dark Side. And that’s what makes my life worthwhile.

And you know? My next computer-thingy is totally going to be a Mac.

Thanks, Steve.

One night Michael and I were talking in bed and he uttered a phrase that had me me laughing for several minutes, so much that my sides hurt.

“Dumber than a bag of hammers”

So what about you, Internet?  What keeps you in stitches?

I was so prepared to write about funny things I saw on our trip to Pennsylvania, and I EVEN TOOK NOTES, DAMMIT! Scribbling some sort of probably unintelligible nonsense while driving! I do know where the notes are, but the pictures I took while driving (is there some sort of law against that? because I took a lot of them. maybe you saw me? that flash-thing in your rear-view mirror? that was not a UFO, that was me.) can’t be uploaded to the computer and then to Flickr and then here, because, I. Can’t. Find. The. (Insert expletive here) Cord. Thingie. That. Connects. The. Camera. To. The. Computer.

It’s….somewhere. In a box.

So.

Instead, I was remembering the other day some TV show or movie or probably some of each, it’s a common theme I think, where a hip-ish couple finds themselves on a cruise maybe or some other situation where they think they will never see those people ever again, so they pretend to be someone else. Making up entirely new lives for themselves.

I have always wanted to try this.

So, we decided, Michael and I, to have a look at the unsold models of the incredibly cheaply-built townhomes one of which we are glad NOT to be a proud owner of, and somehow I had the bright idea of being one of Those Couples. So we made a very (I thought) plausible story explaining why we might be in the neighborhood yet why as well (oh I was so clever) we probably weren’t all that serious, at least not yet, about buying, since we didn’t even know where we’d be living, but we were definitely from Colorado, and (I panicked here) we even used our real names.

The models? Small, cheap, about what we expected, and absolutely gave us no ideas about furniture placement or even if they expect us all to go out and buy completely Liliputian furniture judging by the extremely small and very unworkable living rooms. So it was no help at all, but did satisfy my curiosity, which has been plaguing me since we moved here.

End of story?

But wait.

This morning, the sales guy, whose name we of course cannot remember, walked past Michael sunning himself (read: smoking) on the porch, carrying some balloons up to the main road to tie to a sign to attract attention and presumably eventually lure and trap some desperate idiot who can’t tell a plumb wall if it fell over on him and who cares not whether all the wall paint soaked into the drywall and dried in streaks and that the kitchen cabinets won’t even hold a standard dinner plate, AND that there is no storage at all, not even a measly cheap medicine cabinet, in the bathrooms. So Sales Guy, who must have looked quite asinine carrying balloons when he looks more at home with a beer and remote in front of a wide-screen football orgy, said hello to Michael.

And called him by name.

We’re so busted.

technorati tags: lies, things you do while driving

In just a few hours, there will be probably about 25 people here in our home. Plus our five, that makes 30. Or more. And we haven’t even yet met many of them.

Not long ago, this thought would have filled me with such anticipatory anxious dread that I would have been in a state akin to the proverbial chicken. You know, the one missing its head.

My mom tells a story, by the way, about when she was maybe 4 years old. Her family, or maybe the family next door (who happened to be her aunt and uncle) kept chickens. This was during probably the war, which to people my age and older means World War II (which must seem like real ancient history to anyone much younger than me, oh god am I showing my age here?). Anyway, I get the impression that those chickens provided not only amusement and eggs, but also Sunday dinner on occasion. And of course, one time, very vivid to my mom, one unfortunate chicken went to the guillotine and then got up again, missing of course everything from the neck up, and lurched drunkenly (well, wouldn’t you?) around the yard. Me, I’d be swearing off chicken after that for awhile, maybe like ever.

Speaking of swearing off chicken, there was a span of years in which I avoided eggs. It was all due to my biology class and an extra-credit assignment that had to do with observing fertilized eggs at various intervals in their development. Need I say more? To think that the egg you’re about to crack contains not just gooey yellow and clear stuff that we can all ignore and pretend it just “egg stuff”, makings of brownies or cookies or quiche or whatever, but perhaps instead the beginnings of a creature with feathers that may eventually lurch drunkenly around the yard, does make one think twice or maybe even three times before cracking said egg.

Ew.

So I can now neatly segue into another story about my mother, the one in which she’s outside taking down window screens and washing them and the windows under them, and we ask her, “Who’s coming over?”. My own children, in seeing me in the past attempting to declutter the cluttered and definitely un-feng shui’d house that we used to live in, would also ask, “Who’s coming over?”. It used to matter so much that I hated my house, hated that clutter and swirling unattractive energy that was in it despite my every effort to undo it, that I never, repeat NEVER, had anyone come over to my house. Not even my best friends. Which must have seemed strange to them, to say the least, but I was so very embarrassed that I couldn’t possibly let them see where I lived.

So when we moved here to Colorado, minus the source apparently of the swirling dark energy (that would have been, come to find out, the husband I left behind), all of a sudden not only am I not afraid to have people come over and see my house, but I even welcome it*.

So to you, everyone coming today: Welcome. And I really mean it.

* Except I’m finding as the morning progresses I’m becoming nauseated. Hmm. Anxiety? Oh well. Some things never change. But you can still come over.

entertaining,anxiety,phobia,feng shui,chickens

Yesterday I received a forwarded newsletter in my inbox that included the following:

We’re on the verge of Something Big, Something Wonderful this fall. A sequence of planetary alignments will shake things up, throwing open a portal for expanded consciousness to reshape our world.

And this:

The Full Moon rises in Aquarius tonight, illuminating the hopes and dreams of a lifetime.

The Aquarius Moon gains more momentum each year as we continue to transition into the 2,000-year Aquarian Age. What have you come to do in this lifetime? What is your dharma, your path of service?

The energy and tension of this lunation urges us deeper into the subconscious at the same time that we are called to shine our brightest, divine light.

Saturn joins the Sun in Leo, coaxing us forward into our power and purpose. The Moon aligns with Neptune in Aquarius, amplifying the soul’s will to serve the higher good.

This is a magical time. Celebrate. Release doubt and fear. Move forward, guided by the Soul. Follow your dreams.

Do you feel it? Do you? Whew. No wonder.

full moon
astrology