tarot readings...

On Wednesday, January 20th, I'll be at Small Planet Trading from 5:00-8:00 reading tarot. Donations for the readings will be going to support local Hood River nurse Amanda Kohlwey's upcoming medical mission to Bolivia. It's girls night out in Hood River -- come by and see what the cards have to tell you!

Monday Morning Chanting

For the next few weeks, we'll be getting together at Anne & Ben's on Monday mornings to chant, from 9-10am. Stop by if you can. Here are the dates:
Monday Morning Chanting Days: 1/18; 1/25; 2/8

Death

I was listening to Terry Gross today on the radio and she was interviewing people who knew Vic Chesnutt. He was a singer/songwriter that committed suicide this Christmas. He was in a car wreck at 18 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Somehow he was still able to write. He had a difficult life and had attempted suicide 3 times before. One of the people being interviewed, and I apologize that I didn't hear who it was, said that Vic Chessnut had lived much closer to death than most of us and that it was his artistic response to death that moved people.

Last night I came across a book called Japanese Death Poems. Apparently, there's a tradition of Japanese Zen and Haiku Masters to write poems at the moment of their death. This book is a compilation of some of these poems.

We live our life trying to ignore our impending death when, in fact, it is our best friend. It focuses us in a way that only it can do. Death may well be the single most important event in our life. We should probably all focus on it and think about it every day. There's really nothing to be afraid of.

Next Resonant Vibration: Sunday January 31

Hi everyone! Here we are, still in the depths of winter. Thanks to everyone that came over to celebrate Mid-Winter at the Solstice. It was really wonderful. OM is still resonating through our house, and I’m thinking about not being afraid to prune off the dead branches and rockin' to the Tara action mantra.
But spring is around the corner, and we are ready to celebrate. The day between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox signals the beginning of Spring, usually around February 3. It’s at this time we begin to notice that, hey, it’s getting lighter outside. So, let’s get together and Greet the Light of Spring.
When: Sunday January 31 at 6:30 pm
Where: Anne and Ben’s house, 2003 Sherman, in Hood River
What to bring: a little food or drink to share, and a music instrument if you are so inclined.
If you’d like to help out with the ritual, please let me know.
Best to you all in this season of Winter -- Anne and Rick