 |
| A misty photo I took here in NorCal, not Ireland. |
My maternal grandmother was a hibernophile. She loved all things Irish, including the vile liqueur called Irish Mist that she proudly kept in a Waterford Crystal decanter. Truly vile!
I celebrated many a St Patrick's Day and attended many a Catholic mass with her, but I am far more intrigued by the older Celtic/ Pagan/ Druidic religions that dwelt in the magical mists of Ireland's past. And I think Grandma Peg was strongly influenced by this as well.
My horoscope from the unconventional astrologer, Rob Brezsny* for last week was right on target.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In his book *Whistling in the Dark,* author
Frederick Buechner writes that the ancient Druids took "a special interest in in-between things like mistletoe, which is neither quite a plant nor quite
a tree, and mist, which is neither quite rain nor quite air, and dreams,
which are neither quite waking nor quite sleep." According to my reading
of the astrological omens, in-between phenomena will be your specialty in
the coming weeks. You will also thrive in relationship to anything that lives in two worlds or that has paradoxical qualities. I hope you'll exult in the educational delights that come from your willingness to be teased and
mystified.
I have been totally consumed with the topic of in-between places and paradoxes for some time now, but even more so recently. I am particularly interested in to how to be non-judgmental, compassionate and inclusive and AND have good boundaries with those who inflict harm.)
This escalated to a near obsession just prior to reading this horoscope due to several highly stressful AND ultimately instructive and helpful (for me) life situations involving loved ones engaged in conflicts.
So I decided to use this "magically delicious" ☘️💗🌙 New Moon to share a little bit about the paradoxical new land that I'm adding to the developing game of Sparks & Leaps. I am calling it "The Land of And".
 |
| I recently read that the ampersand is a broken infinity sign ∞ |
In case you have not read any of my previous posts, I have been using the theme of the Hero/ine's Journey (which is the theme of a huge number of our best loved stories from ancient times to popular culture's Blockbuster movies and best-selling books) as a way of exploring those in-between places where an old life or way of life is ending (or recently over) and the new one is still a mystery.
Joseph Campbell called the place in the Hero's Journey after you cross over the threshold from the ordinary world; The Special World. Charles Eisenstein describes what he calls The Space Between Stories (in reference to our world right now). SARK calls it the Marvelous Messy Middle. William Bridges in his enormously popular and practical book Transitions, calls it the Neutral Zone. Lewis Carroll called it Wonderland.
There are other names for it as well, but what is noteworthy is that in all of these places, the usual rules of the "ordinary world" do not apply. Paradoxes are around every turn in the path in this misty, mystical, mysterious and often maddening territory.
I came up with the "The Land of And", because there is usually an "and" (sometimes looks like a "but") between the two seemingly contradictory truths found in paradoxes.
That "and" spot in-between the two truths can be a confusing and uncomfortable tight place AND it is a zone where magic and transformative alchemy can take place.
 |
| Snake making the infinity sign (photographer: Mark Laita) NOT one of the ones St Patrick exiled! |
Transformative alchemy takes us far out of our comfort zone sometimes into excruciating pain. Think about the heat it takes to melt metals, the pressure it takes to form a diamond or the bug soup stage of the caterpillar.🍵🐛
Pain, fear and confusion cause our survival conditioning and consumer culture to warn us frantically of 🚫danger 🛑 AND it is the only way to evolve so that we can reach the miraculous New World that is waiting for us. 🦋
The list of paradoxes in everything from philosophy to quantum physics and many more mundane topics about how to live our day-to-day lives is a long one.
Playing Sparks & Leaps will not solve all of the paradoxical mysteries of life (and I will explain later why this is a good thing), but it will offer alternative ways to find your way when you find yourself in the "The Land of And".
In the meantime, as I am putting the game together, if you find yourself in a confusing time of transition, I invite you to do your best to be present with the discomforts that you find there (rather than trying to figure out how to fix your problems or make the pain go away with your favorite addictive fix) AND to RELAX and soften your resistance--even when that feels impossible.
I promise you will find magic there if you can do this. Don't forget to enlist allies to support you.
 |
| Photo credit: Matthew Harvey |
Saint Patrick was credited with driving to snakes out of Ireland, and some say that those snakes actually were those who followed the old religions.
Whether or not you believe that 🐍, or in the banished Little People🧚♂️, or like to drink green beer 🤢 or think Irish Mist is delicious, or believe St Pats Day is a rebranding of the Vernal Equinox (🌸FIRST DAY OF SPRING ON TUESDAY🌷), I hope you have a fun time celebrating. Wear green and smile 😁 at everyone you see who is similarly attired! A sweet and fun way to connect. 💚
And if you discover a pot of alchemical gold at the end of a rainbow following a perfect life storm; may it bring you richly deserved blessings. 🌈
 |
| Best to be respectful to any little people you might meet. Just in case! |
* Rob Brezsny is also the author of one of my favorite books of all time: Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia, Revised and Expanded: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings
VIDEO VERSION OF BLOG
