rain

We are getting a steady drizzle of rain today. Molly has wisely retreated into her doghouse. Misty did her most miserable, trembly, big-eyed look to beg to get indoors. She is curled up on my bed as we speak. The damp along with the temperature of only 15 degrees C. is making me feel chilled. The clouds are high and bright, however, tempting one to believe that the sun might break through.

I wonder if the airshow at the CNE did come off? Anybody know?

I wonder how all my garden buddies did along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. where I see in the news the waters got quite high in several places.

Making the rounds of the plants around the house, mostly for my own enjoyment, I snapped this photo of the bay and white sage in the rain on the "back" steps. The white sage brought to mind my thoughts on ceremonies and symbols. Jim here at Juniper Ridge talked a bit about the places where white sage grows and about harvesting it for the "smudging" market (in 2005). Note that white sage occurs naturally in areas where there is increasing pressure from urban sprawl and harvesting it from the wild must be done with knowledge, ethically and legally!

The revival and reworking that some indigenous customs and ceremonies have undergone over the years, that some cynics might label hogwash, are, to my mind beautiful. They appeal not only to the new age seeker, the bohemians, but resonate because we all need rituals in our everyday lives that remind us of the mystical and mythical. And I believe we are all dying for a myth to give our lives more meaning, to add to the reenchantment of everyday life (as the title of one of my favorite books by Thomas Moore goes). While I have never used white sage in ritual, I did use some in attempting to make absinthe (unpalatable).

ha-ha. My absinthe-making-attempt brings me to the observation that I'm not an enthusiastic seeker of altered states of consciousness if the journey there is a torture test -- ie it tastes bad or I have to sear my lungs with smoke, etc! ha ha

On the other hand, I practice yoga nearly every morning. As well as being one great form of exercise, it is also my meditative practice of choice. The practice of yoga allows me to be better aligned physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I benefit from the effects throughout the whole day.