Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The New Age news

I always grab the free New Age newspaper as I wander past the mystic shop. Apart from the money makers of self help seminars, I quite often find a snippet that's worth thinking about.

So taking a small sample from a large article on remembering who we really are before this incarnation. The reason we don't remember who we are before reincarnation, is that our souls are made to drink from Lethe, the river of forgetfulness which prevents us from remembering past lives and the current life purpose. Apparently we are supposed to search for it.

"Modern neuroscience reveals to us that the conscious mind is only able to process about 2000 bits of information per second whereas the total mind - subconscious and unconscious is processing something more like 4 billion.

What this means is that what you perceive reality to be creates your reality. So, the existential philosopher Descartes actually had it wrong I think when he wrote, "Cognito ergo sum" - "I think therefore I am". In fact it should be, " I believe, therefore I am".

By believing reality to be a certain way, your subconscious mind actively filters out anything that doesn't fit. So the 2000 bits of information that your conscious mind gets will neatly reflect your fixed view of the world." (article by A. C. Ping)

I'm not much good at Philosophy or wending my way through a 2000 bit mind but "I believe, therefore I am" seems to fit into our world more than it did in Descartes time. Considering the small educated class at that time, there weren't too many thinkers thinking beyond the next meal. Animals think, therefore they are but do animals believe? Well that's as far as I got when the gin ran out so enlightened commenters, your views are welcome. Which is the correct interpretation?

And my previous incarnation, a Druid Oracle in the far far past, I cheated on drinking the water.

It's not a meteorite until it hits us.





This year's November 18 Leonid meteor shower had to cope with bright moonlight but even that didn't stop the photo of this brilliant meteor fireball. Leonid meteors fall at this time every year as the Earth passes through the particles of dust of the Tempel-Tuttle comet.



The image was taken by Juergen Rendtel in the western skies over the Canary Island Observatorio on Tenerife. The smaller insets show the smoke trail of the meteor.



Leonid meteors usually enter the atmosphere at nearly 70 kilometres per second. In the frame are the stars of the constellations Orion and Taurus and that very bright Moon.


Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Hard to think, it must be Christmas

Yes, stupid Christmas coming right up my bumper.
No problems about where I'll be for the lunch and post lunch will be the local pub.
Now there are a few things before I forget.

One: watch handling the kettle, the same one I haven't cleaned since I set it on fire, but it got its revenge by falling on the floor full of boiling water. No slippers, bare feet, no dressing gown, thin nightdress. Fortunately I jumped back as it hit the floor and only copped some on the foot, a bit up the thigh and my little finger. Threw off the nightie and jumped straight into a warm shower.
I still haven't cleaned the kettle.

Two: Has anyone had an email from a stranger who asks to be your latitude friend? I had 3 of these, the latitude is given as the same as mine and is a google feature. I've never heard of it, is it a facebook thing? He's been thrice deleted.

Three: I going away for the weekend. I'm staying out overnight, in a hotel and it has a bar. Given the price of cocktails these days, I won't be getting wasted. I might even have to smuggle in my own Bombay Sapphire disguised as Evian Water. I finally get to use my overnight luggage with the handle and the wheelies and my travel umbrella. My travel dreams of going to England for a Hindu/English wedding where the guests were being transported to the reception by horse and carriage was bombed by a mother crisis. I must remember to hide diary and journal considering the remarks about family and BOH's girlfriend.

Four: Mother is in a lot of pain in the left arm, mastectomy arm. Doc Marvin has told her it's nerve pain from arthritis but it could be something else. She's not asking, we're not asking or telling if we do ask so she's floating along on a cloud of morphine. She must feel better as she was out to lunch yesterday while I was home eating a baked bean sandwich. Sister wants to bring in a pain expert which is fine by me but she's dismissed Doc Marvin and the D.O.N of the nursing home and says she'll make the arrangements first. Colour me stupid but shouldn't it be discussed with the doc and the d.o.n first? Polite, yes? She actually forbade me to say anything to either of these people who are doing their best for the old girl. And to top it off, she tells me to make a list of when mum's conditions (all of them?) started and what medication she's taking.
Riiiiiight, not a chance, I'm, that's right ME is going to say NO. For a start I don't know what medication she's on because the account from the pharmacy uses the real name of the drugs not the brand name.

Five: I had a night out on the 12th November with her and the BOH and the girlfriend. I was told beforehand that it wasn't going to be an early night which was great for me, I had a ride home, no taxi drama and I knew everyone there. I haven't photos yet but when they lit the bbq, 10 kookaburras lined up along the fence and they don't mind that the place is vegetarian, they'll eat anything and they even endure the human patting that went on, all for food.
So I'm happy in my special chair that doesn't require a crane to haul me out of, enjoying the slide show, not drinking but I really couldn't avoid the maryjane haze from the 3 uni students beside me and up comes sister and says we're leaving. It's 10 p.m. ffs but she's drunk all her cans from the chill bag, bored with the slides, didn't like one of the uni girls who she said was going to get aggressive from the MJ she was smoking and was going NOW. So I was home by 11.30 watching a movie and wondering why in the hell I didn't smack her in the mouth and stay until my usual 2 a.m. departure. It took a damn lot for me to go in the first place, I haven't been anywhere since the last time I was there in March and she ruined it. I really need some assertiveness training. I should have known when she made a snotty remark before I'd even left home. So I 've spent a week cutting out things for ma's Christmas cards and the floor looks like snow, big deal. I'll vac when I'm finished and that includes washing her son's clothes as well.


Six: I don't have depression, at least not enough to take the anti-depressant medication Doc Marvin gave me. It takes 3 weeks for the good times to kick in but 3 days in and I was thinking, if it's this bad to get on them what kind of Hell is it to get off them. I just upped my anti-anxiety tabs to two and I'm feeling better. In fact, I realize just how hard I've been doing life by trying to stay on one tablet. The blood glucose was levelling until sister stress started on me so now it's all over the place again. But I'm not depressed, just a little down from stress eating two blocks of chocolate but at least I didn't drink an entire chill bag of beer.

Seven: So while I was trying to blog and procrastinating by tidying up around the computer (hoping to find a dropped $50 note) I found this, it has a date on the back from last December but I don't remember it at all still an appropriate time to find it.
*I am responsible for the thoughts I think and the things that I choose to pay attention to and my actions that follow..it's only a thought!
* My emotional well-being is more important than everyone else's bad behaviour.
*My emotional well-being depends on remaining true to my deepest core values.

Eight: I will be out of my comfort zone for two days.
Overmedicating on pills and Bombay Sapphire worked for Hemmingway until he shot
himself.
Sometime between now and never, I fully intend to flatten my sister.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Moonbow



This is the waterfall of Skogarfoss in Iceland and it's not the sun that's creating the rainbow but the water droplets from the falls being illuminated by the full moon which is creating a moonbow.

Above the falls you can see an Aurora faintly lighting the sky and look closer to see the stars of the Big Dipper, part of the constellation of The Great Bear or Ursa Major.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

It's a jungle out there but inside I have a garden.

Just pop round the back of the shack. The front's not much, all the action is around the corner.

Mind the climbing rose over the abour and across the pergola, heading for the roof.



Ignore the cat. If you pat its stomach the drama queen will follow you all day.



There's nothing to compare with the scent of red roses in bloom except perhaps Lavender.



I have Terrariums hanging from the shady trees. All very Victorian but no trouble.


Lovely lilac lobelia spreading everywhere and crushing the weeds. I do hate weeding.


Here comes the dog with its bone. He's heading for the Marigold patch. I don't know why he bothers he never finds the bones again. I suppose it's a dog thing.



Don't they look shiny and happy until he lands right in the middle of them.



Why are the chickens hanging off the rotary line? You may well ask and I'll tell you, it's a short cut over the chickenwire to the strawberry patch. Whoever said cluckers were dumb.



Fat and delicious, just ripe for the picking. And shaded by the big tree we're treading softly by.


It's a lovely tree but we don't want to wake the boys before nightfall. They get crabby.








They look a bit dopey in daylight but I haven't had a rat or snake problem for yonks.





And the flitter of dragonflies means we're coming to the fish pond. No pristine water for this garden, a bit of slime and lots of strange life.



Water beetles and swamp flowers galore. I never wonder about what has hatched, I'd rather not know.


I can never tell whether they are funny frogs or salamanders so I just refer to them as wobegongs. They like the slimy end of the pond to hide eggs.


Plenty of bullrushes to hide the fish. I have no idea what they're called, survivors, if they live in my pond.



More fish, more bullrushes, no Moses.



Coming right along now, mind the slime and muck and the wobegongs and take a look at the wonderful fungi.

Nature's brilliant and great fun if you poke the puffy bits with a stick. Probably poisonous.




And the best part of the garden is here. Never mind those poncy 'bottom of the garden fairies', they packed up and left when the dragon arrived. He sort of dropped in one day, landed on his head and decided to stay. Keeps the damned chickens in line.


And there you have it, my garden.

Feel free to visit any time.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Anybody home?

Nearly back to blogging.
Another visit to Doc Marvin tomorrow.
Granddaughter's 18th Birthday tomorrow.
Kim Kardashion, dill.
72 days of marriage and I could tell in 72 hours that I wanted out of mine.
In fact, walking into the church it was 72 seconds.
Cup Day always brings back bad memories.
I dreamt last night that someone was trying to smother me with a pillow.
The night before I dreamt of someone who insisted his hand hadn't been cut off despite the bleeding stump.
I really do need to see Doc Marvin, pronto.