learning about Sky and Earth, and how plants grow

I’m excited about this moon. :)

I’m not so sure why…but maybe because reflecting on the challenges of the last in a more empowering way (by asking “How can I best serve?” versus looking at said challenges as obstacles/roadblocks) has inspired me to keep on serving…even if admittedly, it is challenging sometimes.

As an update to the last moon…no, I haven’t launched MMV PV yet. :S
It’s all good though! I am getting help in writing an official proposal to the Powers That Be at the Municipal Hall, while I finish the PowerPoint presentation that will go along with it.

As for my Heart of Yoga essay, I am about a third of the way done…so even if I haven't finished writing, all is welll...I am re-reading the parts I remember standing out to me to refresh my memory…so I am seeing things in a new light. I shall start reading the Yoga & Vegetarianism book soon enough though (when essay #1 is done)…it is already here!!! :)

No…no CSC workshop either…I think I have to postpone that one until I actually finish either one of the above-mentioned. Remember: too much going on at the same time never results in anything. :S

The wild-card was about Home-improvement. :) I think I did pretty well in that department! No new furniture etc…just making useful use of the space as we have it now has made me happy + content (having little A’s work area right by the kitchen serves us well in the AMs while I prepare breakfast/snacks/dinner). I love that she gets to do all these artsy/creative/recycle-y activities before going to daycare, while I busy myself with Home-making stuff!

learning about Sky and Earth, and how plants grow (photosynthesis, yo!)...
green thing with red circles is a tree with fruits :)

I still need to improve on my mopping skills though (aka least favorite chore ever) :S

In the meantime, I am feeling highly productive at the office and also creativity-wise...a poem of mine got published here. Yey me! :)

And, since the moon is going to its third quarter and waning (a time for getting clear about what you think + believe, making adjustments as needed)…I shall be doing precisely that.

I believe in Love, yo! <3

Insights on the Third Moon: Electric Moon of Challenge (Sep 20 – Oct 17)

Totem animal: Deer

1. Ask yourself: “How can I best serve?”

2. Pray – Temazcal, yo! <3

3. Balance: | work+play | rest+re-creation | evolution+expansion | – Fall Equinox

4. Love + pamper yourself – salon session :)

5. Recognize your progress, no matter how small

6. Be mindful of your dreams – dreamt about a Medicine Tree

7. Give it your all

8. Rest – took a break from after-job + Home-work activities and slept early :)

9. Appreciate what Life has given you

10. Be present – sweet sun-day afternoon with Lil’A <3 :)

11. Go with The Flow – no-schedule Monday

12. Celebrate your learning, imperfection, triumphs, failures & evolution – last day SBP

13. Put yourself in the shoes of the other, and forgive – especially if you have to deal with it for a while more

14. Indulge – DVD night (saw Inception for the first time)

15. Get turned on

16. If you have to, write yourself to be able to check off your To Do list

17. Right Now, be the person you want to be in the future

18. Get inspired and create! – must’ve created something…just don’t remember what it was! :)

19. Appreciate your peers

20. Be patient and trust that everything is going to be alright – dengue scare

21. Celebrate, even if you’re late – Jo’s birthday :)

22. Pleasure yourself <3

23. Take your time ­– steady saturday with little A

24. Take it easy – happy Sun-day :)

25. Do your Home-work – cleaned house + started essay (finally)

26. Learn from the past – re-read old journals

27. Sleep on major decisions, and meditate on the Moon and its message

28. Get the Warrior mode on!

Urban Shaman-Mom

I was reading a post somewhere on Facebook the other day…and, I honestly don’t remember what the whole thing was about anymore…but what stuck around was a comment on the post asking: “what is an urban-shaman anyway?”

Good question.J

I am under the impression that people think shamans are native/indigenous medicine men/women that heal spaces/people through weird rituals involving strange plants, songs, an invocation of odd deities/the elements/the magic of the unseen etc...

My sound-healer/mentor/Sacred Business coach once said that the word “powwaw” – which is the Narragansett (Native American tribe from Rhode Island) word for medicine man – means someone who has visions, or The One Who Dreams It Into Being.
I like that.J

(Note: "shaman" originally referred to a medicine man from Siberia, but now it applies to medicine people of all cultures.)

I guess when we talk about an "Urban Shaman" what we’re referring to is removing the limit of the shamanism to just the “natives”…because unless you were born in a tribe somewhere in the jungle/mountain that has limited/no contact with modern humanity, nobody is really a "native" anymore. (Although those kind of people still exist as well…and please, God bless them!)
I say...we are all Natives to the Earth. Doesn't matter if you were born in the most modern hospital of the urban jungle, or in a small thatch hut in a rural village high up in the mountains.

In my case...I would call myself an Urban Shaman-Mom…because, I am – a mom, living in a (relatively small) city.

And…what does an Urban Shaman-Mom think/believe/do, you might ask?

Mmm...a bunch of different made-up stuff, that’s what!J

\ I have an altar where I pray to Great Spirit to - out loud, whenever possible. (No pics of Jesus there...just a bunch of rocks, shells, and images that mean something to me. Jesus & I are pals though!J)

\ At home, we do not watch TV. (We have one, but it is only for educational videos/pre-approved cartoons)

\ I light incense whenever I want to give thanks, ask for help/purification/healing.

\ I sing mantra/sweat lodge songs/Soulful modern music (Incubus/Paula Cole/White Swan freebies etc) to inspire/uplift/calm down me + my daughter whenever needed.

\ I practice Yoga/move my body whenever possible, however I feel called to.

\ I follow the 13-moon calendar. (click on the Nature's Calendar tab)

\ I give thanks - daily, infinitely - for the gift of Mothering a Heaven-sent God-ling named Ananta Malaya.

\ I believe in Evolution (the scientific kind), and that as a human Being in This Day and Age, Now we can (WE MUST!) do it Spiritually and Consciously.

\ I bow down to the God/dess in me, and the God/dess in you. (Namaste, yo!)

\ I know that I am connected to the entire Cosmos, and my existence here on Earth is NOT random at all.

\ I try to make everything I do sacred…from showering, working at the office (aka the 6-hour meditation challenge), to cooking meals and reading bedtime stories, etc.

\ I know the Earth is a living being, and every human is just another cell in her glorious Pachamama body.

\ I trust in the Spirit inside my body (3-dimensional spacesuit)… and that this life is The Mother of All Journeys in all my lifetimes combined. (Sometimes part of it is a bad trip, sometimes its psychedelic/mind-blowing/heaven.)

\ I am grateful that medicine exists all over – in plants, the Sunlight, the mist of the Sea, the food you've prayed over, water you've blessed, a long, full breath, a good night’s sleep, a hug…

\  I teach my daughter to be one with Nature by greeting the Sun when she wakes, talking to the plants as we walk by the garden, being kind to animals + bugs, thanking the Water for the Life it brings, etc.

\  I celebrate rites of passage to mark our Time + Evolution - to honor who were were yesterday, and look forward to our Dreams and who we can be tomorrow.

\  I pray with my daughter at night by saying what we're grateful for that day (she always thanks Spirit for the butterflies and cats, sometimes the worms too).
\  I express mySelf fully as much as I can...Now, hoping that when I pour my Heart & Soul out to you, you’ll one day be inspired to make up your own stuff too.J

\ Namaste   \

We are Oneness

Mexico is my Vienna

Daydream delusion

Limousine eyelash

Oh, baby, with your pretty face

Drop a tear in my wine glass

Look at those big eyes

See what you mean to me

Sweetcakes and milk shakes

I am a delusion angel

I'm a fantasy parade

I want you to know what I think

Don't want you to guess anymore

You have no idea where I came from

We have no idea where we're going

Lodged in life

Like branches in the river

Flowing downstream

Caught in the current

I carry you

You'll carry me

That's how it could be

Don't you know me?

Don't you know me by now?

- Poet in the streets of Vienna, Before Sunrise

∞ ∞ ∞

Oh...what a trip to have seen this movie all over again! (saw it back to back last night)

Before Sunrise, circa 1995

I went to Paris when I was 23...10 days on a December.

(It was cold and beautiful)

When I returned to Mexico I broke free from the man's chains and went off to serve the Mother.
And then I went on an introductory trip to the Magic of Life...

Chamela @ 23

After having been purged of every possible piece of baggage I had
   miles of hitch-hiking,
       and days of walking,
   sitting under the Sun-light,
Our paths crossed.

[ CI & I ]

There, deep in the womb of the desert
Walking in powdery paths under the Moon-light,
   We healed each other.
Beside the Fire, as our coffee & cream dreams spiraled into the Sky
I felt our roots penetrate the ground
Deep into the Earth they went,
   underneath the warmth of our hands holding on to one another's vision.

There was no fear of the Sun rising...
Only
A complete surrender to the Moon
   and the moments of our Hearts beating as One.

The next day you continued with your journey
The same was true for me...
But from your world to my world 

     - you wrote!
Your words caressed my seeking Soul
   and stirred in me a longing so deep,
that 3 moons in...

With the blessing of Angels, Wizards and the Songs of the Sea
   we drew spirals in the sand of Destiny's garden
        ~ Blessed Union of Souls ~

What happened next is history
What will happen later is a mystery
Lets keep on writing this story...
Dance with me.

How do I expand my Joy & Love?

By filling up your self-love gas-tank, so you are happy and have more love to give...that's how.

Yup! I mean...how else does One expand, right? :D
(you eat more, you get bigger...you love yourself more, you have more love to give! same banana)

I engaged in a lot of self-care/self-love this past moon...

I went to the salon, on dates (the Skype & chai type), checked off stuff from my wishlist from LAST YEAR, went to a Yoga class, etc...
Now I know the things I mentioned are probably pretty normal occurrences for some...but I'm a working co-parent (versus single mom) that lives with her daughter in their own apartment, with no yaya/maid, ok?
Not that I am complaining...I LOVE our life!!! But sometimes scheduling in things like going to the salon or getting a massage can get complicated...

Things got even more interesting when Little A left for Papi-land, and even more so when I took a break from work!
You'd think I would pull my hair out not knowing what to do with all that free time...I almost did. :) But I busied myself with work (before I actually went on vaca)...and then when I finally took a much needed respite...I busied myself with my Work in the World. <3

First things first...go to a gig. :D

I didn't even make it to the bar though. (hahaha!) Half a beer in as I walked down the boardwalk, I was already woozy and decided against going alá 24/7-hardcore-party days. Instead, I just sat by the water's edge, listened to the same old cover band, and when I was done with my drink...hit it home. Definitely not what I imagined my live-music-night would look like...but, very fulfilling all the same.

Next, catch up with homework time.

Aside from being a full-time working momma with no nana, I also have this thing for continuing education (currently enrolled in a Sacred Business program, a Conscious Parenting course, plus all other required reading for Yoga, etc etc).

Suddenly having 2 daughters (+ co-parent) around for a week was fun, but it completely changed the daily routine for a week!
So...a little bit of hustle was in order...but, I was still easy on myself. Performance-level was ideal, but no pressure to be perfect. This is how you ace the University of Life.

Lastly, increase oxytocin levels through self-pampering + girl-bonding moments.

I cannot stress enough how VERY IMPORTANT this is!

Oxytocin is a feel-good hormone in both males and females, and basically it is what your body secretes when you have bonding moments with friends/family, or even with just yourself. (Wiki will tell you more)
I am over-the-moon thankful for my girl-time last month...but giving myself the time + space + resources to tend to just me was so very healing!
Some days I did nothing, other days I sweat it out; some nights I had ice-cream for dinner, a couple of times I bought stuff I wanted (without necessarily needing it)...but whatever my Heart desired at that point - I gave it to myself...and I am so So SO soOOo grateful that I could!!!

I am counting the days till Anantita comes back...first because I miss her so, but also because I know days like these won't last forever.

I hope every mom (dad, and non-parents too) gets to have at least of semblance of what I've been living for the past 21 days...even if it's just by taking a 30-minute hot shower, a 5-minute massage, a long, full breath...

May all beings be happy...may all beings be loved...may all beings be free.

~ Namaste ~

Thirteenth Moon: COSMIC MOON OF PRESENCE

(June 27-July 24)          

Totem animal: Turtle

1. Share your expansive thoughts

2. Spread the Love by pampering yourself first – get a rad new do, look great and feel even better :)

3. Be there for a special someone’s big moment – Kuya’s prepa graduation!!!

4. Tell the world what you’re proud of – posted pics of grad night w/ new look on FB

5. Approach old wounds with reverence, and learn/re-learn the lessons from that experience (NO SHAME/DISDAIN)

6. Now is The Moment of power

7. REMINDER: Tat Tvam Asi (You are That)

8. Ask, and you shall receive

9. Value your alone time

10. Even if it hurt a bit, be grateful you’ve reclaimed your Time & Space

11. Catch up with a SSS (Super Soul Sister) – Skype date with Tala

12. Keep on upping oxytocin levels – chai latte date with a Momma Goddess

13. (just because doors were closed right at your nose)…don’t get snotty…get creative! :)

14. Discharge gracefully…or not :S

15. Be, with Family  - E + Citlali arrive <3

16. Do every little thing from the Heart (THAT is service)

17. Let Love in <3

18. Breathe…Respond…Re-create

19. Be who you were born to be – cumple-kin (red planetary skywalker day)

20. To receive Love & Support, love and support

21. Relish Family time – little A left for Gto with E + Lali

22. Know what makes you ~ turn on ~ tune in ~ drop out ~ (and engage it)

23. Sleep like a baby on its birthday

24. Fill up the well before sharing the water – before you give, you must receive

25. Re-connect, circle in

26. Make time for Momma Goddess bonding moments…it opens your Heart to the flow – chai latte date with S…afterwards, saw an abandoned/almost lifeless kitty and brought it home :)

27. Indulge your desires – hot stone massage from 2012 wishlist…check! (finally!!!)

28. Exert an extra effort to be of Service – 2 Yoga classes in 1 day = sore ass + legs (yey me)

8th Anniversary in PV

8 years ago today, I landed on these shores.

~ 8 ~

I can’t believe it’s been 8 full rings already! A whole double loop of years since I left the land of my birth and flew in to this magical port…

Puerto Vallarta. (Its tag line should be “te atrapa”)

How much has One changed since…

From the clueless, 24/7-partying Uni-grad (UPLB, repreZENt!)

  to the lovestruck maiden-goddess

     then Buddha-flying it (ie. butterfly-ing) to Yogini-Mom…

I honor this journey

- the adventures,

challenges,

milestones,

and moments of silence…

ALL OF IT.

8 years!!!

I think it’s about time to go Home, no?

Pay homage

to The Roots, and The Voyage

Close this cycle and start a new chapter...

I’m curious to see where the next bundle will unfold.J (Lead me to new landscapes, Goddess!)

8 years ago today…

The next day we went to see a movie to celebrate Mavis’ 13^th…we saw the Fantastic Four.

Funny…yesterday they showed it on local TV.

It’s as if things are naturally circling back to where they began and now everything is repeating itself, only this time it’s Level 2 (or watered down by the passing of days, as in the case of silverscreen-to-telly for that fateful movie).

So if I were to do this whole Mexican experience all over again…what would I do?

Ok, so maybe not “do it all over again”

Instead…how would I go about it, now that I am in Level 2?

Coincidentally I scheduled a gyne appointment today…she was happy to see how lovely Yoni is looking these days.J (woohoo!!!)

What a great way to celebrate my 8^th year here!
Because come to think of it, much of this journey has been about discovering my sexuality, my passions, my (He)art, my Self…

I got my first job here

Traveled miles with nothing but the clothes on my back

Found Love

Chose Love

Was born a Mother

Yolked it up with Yoga...

So how would I go about it again?
I would honor the Goddess within, every step of the way.

May It Be So.

How do I dedicate myself to all that lives - 12th moon insights

\

Twelvth Moon: Crystal Moon of Cooperation (May 30-June 26)                                             Totem animal: Rabbit

1. Ask yourself: “How do I dedicate myself to all that lives?”

2. Blog about Mothering in the New Era

3. Express negative emotions positively – its ok to get pissed/be upset…the trick is to know how to express yourself creatively

4. Enjoy exclusive A&a moments+random family times - A&a specialdate aka bday #3 salubong – (dolphin encounter @ Aquaventuras Park) + (lunch w/ PV family less Jo)

5. Make happen a Rite of Passage in any way you can -  cake+mañanitas+piñata @ Club Koala Care…sat in @ Ananta’s last day at preescolar JJJ \\\

6. For all the parts of you…realize where your growing edge lies

7. Re-ignite the Fire of Desire (to go Higher) in your Soul

8. Rest

9. Share Life experiences with a mentor/friend

10. For all the aspects of you, figure out your next step

11. Be dedicated to your Family

12. Have an official identity – officially Mexican again J (next mission – REFILIPINIZE!!!)

13. Energy flows where attention goes…

14. Know your tribe

15. Foresee the days ahead – planned 2 weeks into the future

16. Allow your Self to be appreciated and loved

17. Be open to radical new ideas of how else you can Serve

18. Honor Thy Father – Fathers Day!!! <3 <3 <3

19. Love your life and let others love you

20. Have the power to change negatively charged emotions

21. Believe It IS happening – received first batch of MMV-PV posters!!!

22. See if more can be done

23. Usher in a New Time

24. Dare to be different

25. Keep on dreaming

26. Keeo on loving – themost synchronistic day of my life thus far J<3\

27. Live, and let live

28. Connect with others that are on the same path