For some reason, having my hands in warm running water while looking out my kitchen window at the first signs of spring reminded me of my friend Elizabeth’s house in Bolinas, California. Maybe it was the way the wind was tossing the branches of trees around in the sun, reminding me of that bright, blustery coastline. Maybe that combined with the warm water and reminded me of sitting in her hot tub that looks out over the ocean. I felt a wave of longing to go back and be in that magical place again. And then, a realization dawned. The last time I was there, it didn’t feel magical. It was last Christmas. Had the chill in the air and flat silver light of winter been to blame? I turned my mind back to the mornings curled up warming hands around heavy mugs of tea as we sat in our pjs along her window seat, looking down through rain splattered glass to the roiling waves beneath her cliff. Another surge of longing, loving longing. So why? Why had I been grumpy, slightly annoyed – at best slightly numb – throughout my most recent weeks there, in spite of being surroundedWhen The Magic Is Gone – by Naomi Janzen
Song For A Green Man – by Stephen Fearnley
This month’s Composer’s Choice is… A pentatonic journey through the seasons and back again. A cyclic soundscape invoking nature spirits. Atmospheric changes: light through mist, light through forest canopies, creatures echo and drums unfold. Drums are the sounds that humans make. I see an ancient pathway taking us through a series of brilliant ecosystems: water, sky, rainforest, plain, craggy cliffs and rivers. We all have a very deep memory inside our cells that’s still connected to nature. Its a universal thing and “Song For A Green Man” was made to invoke this connection. You will find the green man everywhere throughout Europe. Faces of a man, sometimes scary-funny, sometimes benign and bi-gendered, found carved all over churches and graves and grottoes and rocks and trees, anywhere a strong message can be sent to remind the observer, a mirror to ourselves via art, that we are the green man – that we are born from nature and that we are directly tied to the fate and fabric of the world. Some folk think the Green Man represents a male counterpart to Gaia – a figure which has appeared throughout history in almost all cultures. In the 16th century church at St-BertrandSong For A Green Man – by Stephen Fearnley
The Purpose Of Spirituality – Pre-Session
This episode was originally broadcast Sep 18, 2015 Naomi Carling kicked us off by telling us how this month of eclipses is aligning us with our true spiritual purpose. And this aligned perfectly with our member Carole from California’s suggestion that we discuss “the purpose of spirituality”. Turns out if you switch the order of the words, those two things means different things entirely. Or do they? Listen in and tell us what you think. About our Pre-Sessions: Every week, for 15 minutes or so before we began our group meditation broadcast, we opened the mics so that our members tuning in for the session could listen in while we talked about what was going on for us personally and spiritually, and what trends we were noticing. It was a fun way to get everyone settled and prepared for the journey to come, as well as a way to connect with us energetically. To listen to the One Mind Live meditation that followed, go to www.onemindlive.com/the-listening-room/