Slow down

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going to fast -- you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. Eddie Cantor

Birthday

My heart

Is an unset jewel

Upon the tender night

Yearning for its dear old friend

The Moon

Hafiz

My second birthday since moving to Arizona has arrived and I am amazed how quickly time has come and gone. When I moved here a year ago in May, life was as wide open as it can get. And now my life is established here in beautiful Arizona and I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. I am taking the next seven days to finish my book proposal on the Receive material and then will turn my attention to some exciting projects that are in the works.

I am itchy to travel and might even head up to Sedona for a couple of days. And then next month I will go to the east coast for a short visit to see family and friends. Life is good.

The Ribbon Road

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. Confucius

Love

I saw the ultimate chick flick Sex and the City last night. It was wonderful! I was surprised to see so many guys there. I went with Deborah, one of my new friends here in Scottsdale. After the movie, we sat outside at a lovely cafe that is by the movie theater and people-watched. The evening shows were sold out and the lines long. It's the perfect movie to watch with girlfriends. Now if only the love of my life would appear....then I wouldn't have birds as the photographic depiction of love :-)

Originality

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. Judy Garland

Beauty

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
Jawaharlal Nehru

Back Home!

Home is such a relative word. Some of you know that I have been living in furnished rental homes since I arrived in Arizona a year ago.

I just returned home from five days in Denver where I presented a lecture for the United Astrology Conference, which is the international astrology conference that occurs every four years or so. I'm still buzzing from all of the energy -- over 1500 people there! An international event like this is very cool for astrologers. We rarely get to see our colleagues -- such a solo profession. Plus I had the opportunity to see the people from astrology.com for the first time since I have been writing for them -- Linda, Jessica, Runa and Mark. So that was great!

I didn't bring my camera to the conference, so I don't have pictures. I'm going to rummage through my photos and pick one to post for you.

Thanks to everyone who has been emailing me about the photos. It's great to hear that you are enjoying them!

Curiosity

Curiosity is a door opener to the unknown. Instead of doing the same thing, thinking the same thoughts, feeling the familiar -- what would it be like if you approached your day with a curious mind and a willingness to let in the unexpected, the uninvited, the un-thought of?

I have a saying: receive everything; decide later, which reminds me to be open to possibilities instead of closing the doors too quickly before I've had the opportunity to sit with something new.

Today I will remind myself to be curious about what crosses my path. I'll save my assessments for tomorrow.

The Source

I was reading from the I-Ching last night and came across this beautifully worded thought in hexagram 48 titled The Source: This hexagram represents the deep, inexhaustible, divinely centered source of nourishment and meaning for mankind...It receives from the individual's experience and gives to the individual's nature.

What a lovely and inclusive way to think of reciprocity and the givingness of life. Do you ever think of how your personal nature and your experience sends a message that invites a larger universal response, with that response being in sync with you? Hmmm.

Am I being too esoteric here? Simply, I can think about where I would like to be and what I would like to have happen, but life meets me where I am. When you think about it, it is very honoring to meet someone where they are, instead of where you would like them to be or wish they were not.

I'm going to sit with that thought today and see where it leads me.

Back from Vacation

This photograph is taken from one of my favorite hiking trails on Pinnacle Peak. Besides hiking I have moved again recently as I mentioned in a previous posting. And I have been thinking about what to do with my blog (and my life -- but that's another discussion!)

I have received so many compliments about my photos and am thinking of doing something with them. For the time being I am going to put previous blogs postings in rotation while I figure this out.

I hope you continue to enjoy my blog and I want to thank you for letting me know when a particular posting has been meaningful to you. I appreciate the feedback!

Change

I ran across the following poem recently when going through my books as I was unpacking (once again!). I am back in the house I originally moved into when I first arrived in Arizona a year ago. I am very happy to be here! As I was rereading this poem, I reflected once again on how lovely it is to get a fresh start in a new location. There is something about it that helps me make more thoughtful choices.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS
by Portia Nelson

I
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk I fall in. I am lost ... I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes me forever to find a way out.

II
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I am in the same place but, it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

III
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in ... it's a habit. my eyes are open I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

IV
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

V
I walk down another street.

Anniversary

This landscape is so hopeful. In a desert everything blooms with optimism. Just like me.

It was one year ago today that I got in my car in Pennsylvania and headed west to Arizona where I have made my new home. A couple of days ago I hiked Pinnacle Peak, one of the lovely desert mountains around here, which is where I took the above photo. I've been reflecting a lot today on the changes in my life. It's been an incredible year. And here is the poem that has been with me for last several days. It is by one of my favorite poets.

In the Evening

The heads of the roses begin to droop.
The bee who has been hauling his gold
all day finds a hexagon in which to rest.

In the sky, traces of clouds,
the last few darting birds,
watercolors on the horizon.

The white cat sits facing a wall.
The horse in the field is asleep on its feet.

I light a candle on the wood table.
I take another sip of wine.
I pick up an onion and a knife.

And the past and the future?
Nothing but an only child with two different masks.

Billy Collins

Rest

Take a rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.

Ovid

Life

We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.
H. G. Wells

Light

Live in rooms full of light. Cornelius Celsus

Aerial Dancer

Have you ever observed a humming-bird moving about in an aerial dance among the flowers - a living prismatic gem.... it is a creature of such fairy-like loveliness as to mock all description. W.H. Hudson

Sky

Knock on the sky and listen to the sound. Zen Saying

Cactus

A couple of days ago, I visited the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. Being a recent newcomer to this area, it is still so interesting to see the plants that are native to this desert environment. The colors are more muted than those from the east coast and have a particular beauty.

Butterfly

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough. Rabindranath Tagore

Risk

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself.

There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap.

Cynthia Heimel

Doorway

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world. John Muir

Roads

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Illusion

Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.
Ludwig Börne

Peace

In truth, to attain to interior peace, one must be willing to pass through the contrary to peace. Such is the teaching of the Sages. Swami Brahmanada

Love

Love is our true destiny.

We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another. Thomas Merton

Dreams

Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions. Edgar Cayce

Reality

Reality is not only stranger than we suppose but stranger than we can suppose. J. B. S. Haldane

The View

I am presently living in my temporary home (is anything not temporary in my life right now?) in a beautiful part of Scottsdale. This is the view. I have discovered that no matter what I am going through, simply having the opportunity to gaze upon something beautiful makes a huge difference in my state of mind.

Here are some quail I saw when I was out for a walk a couple of days ago.

And some cactus: also so interesting and beautiful.

What a magical, colorful world this place is!

Uncertainty

She had been willing to inhabit uncertainty, to remain on the threshold where she didn't know what the outcome of her journey would be. Sally Kempton

Flowers

It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. Osho

Life

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. Kahlil Gibran