3, 2, 1 Meditation

 

Thoughts on Mindfulness 

One of the beauties of mindfulness is that you don’t need to sign up for a class, buy special pants, or chunk out hours in your day. It can start by inviting yourself to be more aware, more present, and live with more intention. Mindfulness starts with awareness, and choosing to focus and simplify. Despite our current tendencies for multitasking, the brain really only likes to be occupied with one thing at a time. Here is a focusing meditation that is super simple and easy to learn. Notice what comes up for you. Allow yourself to enjoy this state for as long as you like. This narrowing of focus while engaging the senses is extremely useful in creating periods of relaxed, focused concentration. It makes for a great walking meditation or game to play while waiting in a restaurant. 

3, 2, 1 Meditation 

•  Begin with the Simple Self Hypnosis Technique from chapter 1, or by simply taking some deep breaths. This meditation can be done with your eyes open or closed. 

• Focusing on 3 things that you can see while taking 3 deep breaths. This can mean either right before you if your eyes are open; patterns of light if your eyes are closed; or anything that you can see in your minds eye. Feel free to use your imagination. 

• Become aware of 3 sounds while taking 3 breaths - in the environment, in your body, or in your inner monologue. As you turn more inward, try to hear your breath or heartbeat. 

• Next, switch to 3 physical sensations with the 3 breaths. Often we begin by noticing what is uncomfortable - an itchy nose, ache in the back. Bring your awareness to pleasant or simply neutral sensations - the weight of a shirt, a breeze on the cheek. 

• Now, repeat the same exercise, this time focus only on: 

• 2 sights with 2 breaths 

• 2 sounds with 2 breaths 

• 2 sensations with 2 breaths 

• Last, go down to: 

• 1 sight with 1 breath 

• 1 sound with 1 breath 

• 1 sensation with 1 breath 

First published in Laphrodite's Guide to Mindful Menopause

Happy Brigid

 

We are at Brigid - the cross-quarter holiday between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Take a moment to enjoy the flickering flames, the melting wax, the promise of Spring's return.

Baby Crone's Tarot Playbook

 Now available in paperback, kindle, or hardcover!

Baby Crone's Tarot Playbook

or Laphrodite's Mini Mindfulness Meditations

Baby Crone's Tarot Playbook offers seventy-eight short practices for that tarot on-the-go feeling. Rich, full-color images accompany the guided meditations to create a synthesis of right-brain and left-brain activity by combining potent imagery with meaningful words. Whether you flip to a random page for a quick hit, spend an hour using an image as a writing prompt in your journal, or dedicate yourself to delving deep into the meaning and symbolism of each piece, this is a treasure trove of accessible wisdom.

My Journey Through the Tarot

Back in November, I went to the Salvador Dali museum in Monterey, California. There were several lithographs of Tarot cards that he had designed for the James Bond movie, Live and Let Die. My husband and I talked about the movie, which I did not remember seeing. I know I read the book as a child, since I read all of Ian Fleming's work, the few available books in English available at the Luxembourg airport, along with Agatha Christie.

I didn't really remember the story or that there was a tarot reader in it, but I do remember being about twelve years old and going to London for the first time. We went to the large department store Harrods, which I had heard had an amazing toy section. I searched and searched for Tarot cards. They had many different playing cards and card games but no oracle decks. In the twelfth grade, I wrote an essay on the tarot, even though I had not yet seen, let alone touched a deck, cobbled from some information in the Random House Encyclopedia.

It was only in my early twenties, the summer I came to Santa Cruz, that I encountered the tarot for the first time. I was at a LBQ-BBQ up at UCSC, and one of the women had brought the Motherpeace Tarot by Vickie Noble. I was enchanted. I went down to Gateway's Bookstore the next day for my own set. About a year later, in 1988, I came across the Daughters of the Moon Deck by Fiona Morgan, which was then just a black and white deck. I spent about a year living in Idaho and during that healing time hand painted the deck with watercolors.

After I returned from the Global Walk for a Livable World, I worked at a metaphysical bookstore called Aries Arts for three years. We carried around seventy different tarot decks. I loved bringing them out from the glass counter showing people the cards, talking about the cards, learning about the cards. Then I owned my own bookstore, the Herland women's book-Cafe, we carried at least three dozen different decks by female artists. When the store across the street, 13 Real Magik, closed, they consigned all their decks to me so now we had around a hundred different oracle card sets. After I closed the bookstore, I began doing reviews for US Game Systems. They would send me decks and I would post on my blog. By now I had a lot of decks, so a few I sold, a few gifted to clients and quite a few given to local metaphysical bookstores.

I moved from retail therapy to hypnotherapy. I finished my PhD in Holistic Health. My thesis was entitled Journey Through the Tarot: An Integrated System for Holistic Healing. A comparison of the traditional Rider Waite Tarot cards to four modern-day decks (Daughter's of the Moon, Tarot of Transformation, Osho Zen Tarot and The Tarot of Transformation) demonstrates how the Tarot is an integrated tool for holistic health that offers insights for personal growth and transcendance through the use of symbols, archetypes, and allegories. It's a sweet little primer, check it out.

Then I took a class in Soul Collage at Cabrillo College. I set the intention to make my own deck of 78 cards which I call the Baby Crone's Tarot. About a year later, I wrote poems for each of the images which are now published as a meditation set.

I have been working on two other decks, one called the Tarot of the Banal which is photographs of everyday objects. The other is the Holistic Tarot which is a combination of colored pencils and watercolor focused on universal symbols. I also have a series of portraits. I've only done the Major Arcana but I think the Tarot of Kayla could be a totally fun project. I continue to take classes, most recently with Afefe of Touched By Tarot. It has been a long romance, yet I still feel like I've just begun courting the cards.

Blessed be.

Thoughts on Junk Drawers

The junk drawer is as American as apple pie. Everyone has one. It's the one place where you can throw in anything and (hopefully) find everything. Usually in the kitchen, near a wall where once a landline phone used to hang, so you could grab a pen, scratch paper, etc.

Here is my secret Superpower - Organizing my junk drawer. Believe you me, this has given me solace on many an anxious occasion. Simply dwelling on the amount of order in this relatively tiny space makes me feel in power, in charge, and in control, even if the rest of the world is in shambles.

Start by taking everything out of the junk drawer. Everything. Take the drawer out, shake out the crumbs, line it with fresh contact paper, the marbled one that hides the ubiquitous detritus. Notice the well oiled hinges, remove the fine layer of oily scum off the top brackets with a quick swish of the industrial sanitizer wipes. Put it to the side.

Begin to sort - Notice the appropriation of various tools used once, but too lazy to put back in the garage afterwards, end up here. Ask yourself, would I use it once a week? A month? Keep one screwdriver (the one that reverts between flat and Phillips head), wire cutter/pliers, small hammer, box opener, tape measure, and the big ass flashlight. Check the batteries of said torch.

Find your cache of empty Altoid boxes. These tins are the perfect size for credit cards, business cards, mini helpful people boxes, let alone the assortment now before you. Label them using a label maker if feeling industrious, or find some file folder labels, at least use a sharpie. Fill them - one will actually be Altoids, of course, next is paper clips, staples, rubber bands (but not your husband's hairbands, from experience), push pins, razor blades, twist ties, safety pins, miscellaneous seeds you picked up on walks in the neighborhood, most likely Icelandic or California Poppy.

Use the old greeting card boxes to sort the rest. We are talking not just three sizes, but three colors of post it notes.White glue stick, super glue, gorilla glue, at least one refill for the hot glue. Lighters, matches, birthday candles that must be over twenty years old because they go back to Amber's sixth birthday but, hey, they are still good. A size D battery that might be a part of the new automatic cat feeder.

Dedicate one to keys - spare keys, bike keys, neighbor keys, bike lock keys, padlock keys, fence keys, shed keys, storage shed keys (remember the pass code to get in, write it down, attach to key) keys you have no idea what they go to anymore but can't do be too safe don't throw them out. And of course a plethora of key rings.

Make a space for the scotch tape, duct tape, packing tape - both kinds, clear and tan. Then staples and stapler, too bad the three hole punch won't fit in, good thing the scissors are in the pen cup. As well as an exactoknife because the exacto blades are in the razor blades box. Honor that the toothpicks are in their own container.

Glasses cleaner - cloth, as well as the little packs of photographic lens wipes that Chip bought for his cameras, and the bottle of solution scored at a show in San Francisco presented by Money Magazine on the opportunities to invest in Marijuana products that is still somehow your favorite, maybe because the plastic container is peridot green.

Find a smallish recycled container, one that you've already lost the lid for (well that's true of most) just to throw in all of the remaining ephemera - Plastic bread bag closings you always want to throw away but somehow your husband adores: miscellaneous buttons that maybe match to something in your to-be-sewn pile: clothespins masquerading as clips for bags of frozen spinach or tortilla chips; the weird metal angle with the tiny nail you have no idea what it goes to; Xmas lite bulb fuses; The second knob for the stove because one broke but they're only sold in pairs; The big blue stick of chalk for writing FREE on the sidewalk anytime you have succulent cuttings or an office chair ready to be given away to the whims of the curb; A green felt cat toy that jingles softly.

When it gets cluttered, start again. Notice what piles up, what lingers. The ebb and the flow. The flotsam and the jetsam. Ask yourself the deeper questions, activate your inner Marie Kondo, be brutally honest - Do you really need that many Ikea Allen wrenches?

Close the drawer. Be at peace.

Spiral In, Spiral Out

   

Full Moon in Scorpio

 

Sun in Taurus, Moon in Scorpio, Mercury Retrograde

Taurus - Fixed Earth - what are you fixated on, focused on? Willing to plow through in order to plant those seeds of change?

Scorpio - Fixed Water - where do you feel obsessed or stagnant emotionally? Try some ice cube magic.

Mercury retrograde reminds us to review, review, review. In its natural sign of Gemini, we have the opportunity to reflect upon all we have learned in the last three weeks, and what action steps we will take when Mercury goes direct, particularly in terms of communication, ideas, and to disperse information.. 

Create an altar, focal point, collage, whatever works for you. For me, this meant finding a meaningful cloth, my husband's mother's lace doily will do nicely. I added a centerpiece of fresh flowers from the garden - the Coretta Scott King Roses, deep fuchsia bougainvillea, the last of the orange crocosmia before they go to seed and fade away. If you don't have a garden, splurge on a few blossoms from the farmer's market or your local store, pick wild flowers from the meadows and fields.

Carefully place symbols for the four elements in the four directions. Today I chose a  deep purple sugelite for Earth, a turquoise and gold beeswax candle for Fire, a pale wisp of a shell for Water, and the blue agate athame for Air. Time to let go.

Cast your spell: take a piece of parchment paper on which you have written your intentions in red ink, honoring the blood moon. Roll into a scroll and wrap with red or purple thread, circling it nine times. Bind it by tying nine knots. Sing over it.

Put into your Helpful People Box, bury in your yard, or burn and spread the ashes in running water. Not the ocean, it tends to bring things back. A creek, river, even your toilet - flush and say goodbye.

Open the circle. Bless the moment - This or Something Better Now Occurs for the Highest Good.

So Mote It Be.

Be The Witch

Be The Witch

Softest feathers on the wings of a moth, 

Know how to fly in your mind, 

Dream, transform,

Metamorphose. 

Be the wolf running through the mossy forest, 

The eyes of the ancient redwoods, 

The heart of mother nature. 

Fire crackling, 

A gleam in the lover's eye. 

Know how to channel energy wisely. 

Soft gentle spring rain, 

Violence of the hurricane, 

The storm that sweeps sailors out to sea. 

Combine all of the elements, 

Be the alchemist, 

Co-creator of the universe,

The Witch. 

-excerpt from Laphrodite's Mini Mindfulness Meditations

Speak Your Truth

Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind – even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say. - Maggie Kuhn

   

Is This Me?

A compact mirror 

Graced by a swan 

Reflecting nothing 

Closed in a monastery 

Spread the Wealth

Let Thoughts Drift By

Remember to take a moment to just relax.

Breathe.

Let your thoughts drift by like clouds in the sky...

Trust Your Gut

Day Lily Meditation

Take a moment to relax with this beautiful flower.

Fog Meditation

 Enjoy one minute of experiencing the deep fog at the New Camadoli Monastery in Santa Lucia, California.

Right now you are on your path. It might not seem clear, it could be foggy or hazy, but you do know where you've come from and you can just take a moment, take in the view, absorb the softness, be okay with being at the crossroads, it being a little bit gray, because you know the sun is just beyond the clouds.

Listen to.your Heart Meditation

 

Take a moment to connect with your heart in this mindful meditation.

Alrighty then, and here we are.

 We're right here for right now, 

And we have nothing to do but simply this.

Go ahead and take a gentle breath, just like that, maybe another.

You can notice your hands. 

You can notice your feet. 

You can notice your head sitting on your shoulders. 

And just come into your heart,

 Yeah there it is,

 In the center of your chest,

Protected by your ribs,

Comfortable in your skin .

Because this is your heart,

Your center,

Just take a moment to breathe in:

Relaxation ,peacefulness, calm, 

Deep in your heart .

You can breathe out:

What you are ready to release,

Or  what you're willing to 

It's fine.

Just continue to breathe

Listen to your heart,

What is your heart telling you?

How will you follow through on your heart's desire? 

Because you can trust your heart,

Your heart trusts you,

Because you took this moment

To listen,

To really listen,

To listen to your heart,

 To listen to your self,

Listen to your heart's wisdom. 

You know just what to do .

All is well.

Troll Bridge

 

This might be where the trolls live...

 Underneath the bridge

 They need a pass, 

A secret,

 For you to solve a riddle...

Take a moment and notice 

What is puzzling you 

You have all the time you need 

To figure out how 

To move back on your path 

Easily and effortlessly

You are on our way 

Notice your own rhythm

Your own stride

There is plenty of time

Path Meditation

 

Here you are 

You are on your path

 So slow down 

Take a moment 

You know where you're going 

You know where you've come from

You can just take in the view 

And get some perspective 

More information 

When you're ready 

You'll just continue 

This is your path 

You've made good decisions 

You've made the right choices 

All is well

Purple Flower Meditation

Today I discovered 

This small purple flower 

Growing out from hard rock 

Creating their own way 

With the other plants 

You know, they're really here

To be as purple as possible 

And so ask yourself 

How can you be even more you 

Even more possible 

Remember, I believe in you 

Just like I believe in 

This purple flower

Pomegranate Meditation

 

Someone gave me this beautiful pomegranate, which I split in half and watched the dark crimson puddle spread on my kitchen counter. I thought to myself, who would enjoy this? I brought it outside with the intention for the ravens to come and feast from the seeds, thinking of Demeter, Persephone, and yes, Hades. But who knows, it could be the black squirrels, the common sparrows, or maybe hummingbird will be attracted to that red juicy center and find what they need  in order to flourish, in order to grow.

 

Blessed be.