Last Day 0f Winter 2013

The last day of winter was a beautiful day sunny sparkling cloudless skies, warm enough to work on my allotment and to take time out to  meditate and have a cup of tea or two. The  daffodils and crocuses were flowering, while buds were swelling on the fruit trees and bushes.  There were occasional bumble bees lazing in a daffodil  trumpet or lingering on the open crocus flowers and then visiting the bellis daisies.


The rhubarb crowns were being to produce perfect tiny leaves which will soon be big enough to shade the bed.  The first thing I did when I got to the plot was checked my new apple tree, a one year old maiden James Grieve to see how it was faring in the wet and cold weather.   It is less of a tree more of a stick with lovely shiny bark the colour of  burnt umber brown, but still a stick! The water table has been so high this winter the young roots of the tree could be struggling to grow or even be rotting in the cold, wet and icy earth around them.  Here is hoping the tiny buds will swell and start the transformation from stick to a beautiful tree full of red apples which in a couple of years  will give in September beautiful cookers which if left on the tree will be by November sweet desert apples.. 

It was a perfect day at the plot and in the evening while walking Pops  there was a beautiful half moon in a star studded sky.  The night air was crisp but dry and Winter finished here in Hampshire with the gift of  sunlight and moonlight.

Wednesday was the Spring Equinox and dawn broke with clear skies and sunshine.  However, by late morning there was a chill in the air and growing cloud banking up and eventually obscuring the sun.  All the doors and windows which I had thrown open to welcome Spring were shut tight again  as the cold began to seep through the house.   In the evening on my walk with Pops  we faced icy rain and blustery squalls form a bitter north easting wind. Pops headed for home as soon as she could turn the right corner there was going to be no extended walk for her.  As soon as she came home she wedged herself against the radiator.

crocus flowering in my plot

The Spring Equinox brings equal day and night then gradually the light grows day by day until midsummer's day.   This  years Spring Equinox started  with Sunshine but as I sit at my computer I can hear the wind rumbling done the chimney and it is wet and very chilly outside, there may even be snow showers to come.  A disappointing start after such a long winter period of rain snow chilly winds and dull days. 

On the afternoon of the Equinox  I turned on the lights before sunset tonight as the cloud cover was so dense it obscured the light. Hey ho, sigh Spring will come and the seedlings in the greenhouse will grow straight and tall and not be leggy and weak. Whatever happens I will be growing and planting on my allotment and in the garden.  Today I snatched moments outside  to look at the beautiful daffodils shining through the gloom but  the crocuses were shut tight against the wind

So welcome Spring and the sunny days a head, and...

May the Long Time Sun

Shine upon you

All love surround you

And the pure light

within you

Guide your way home

Rumi

With Reiki blessings

MerryB 

Cooperation and Dissent

Ben, Michael & in the background Jenny
 filling the birds feeders

I haven't been able to get to my plot  for a fortnight due to having a cold, snow, freezing rain, North Easterly gales.

There are soooo  many jobs that need to be done before the start of the new growing season.  I managed to recruit Ben and Michael to help dig the two beds I am going to plant the potatoes in this year.  They were on loan to from my neighbours The Community Plot and they made short work of digging the beds.  Some how the path between the beds disappeared, but hey ho grass grows very well on my plot . All I will need to do is fork it over and  edge the the beds.  It felt so good to see the beds beginning to be prepared for planting.

The Allotments are less relaxing now as the previous Chairman at the allotments retired and the New Chairman is  a City Councillor and has not got his own plot yet!  The waiting list for plots here is over 500 people and the Council is keen to get this down quickly.  In April, May, June, July the number of Dirty Plot Letter quadrupled and anger grew as people whose plots were flooded for weeks on end got letters, Relentless every month these two people from the committee went round inspecting plots and drew up lists of dirty plots for the Allotment Officer to inspect and send out letters.  He  had no knowledge of horticulture and relied on the Committee Members to guide him. He is now assistant Parks Manager.

 The anger also grew amongst people  who worked as they had three months, from April to July  when they could rarely get on to their plots to work on it, because weekend after weekend there was torrential rain. To receive a  a Dirty Plot Letter in the post inflamed many of them.. Everyone had Crops fail because of the low light levels, the water table rising  higher and higher and finally an  army of slugs and snails emerged that ate  many of seedlings and plants that were growing!. A miserable Spring and early Summer seasons compounded by two of the Allotment Committee members not supporting the plot holders but the Councillors and their eagerness to get the waiting list for allotments down.

New Plot holders were expected to have a perfect plot in weeks. I blame Joe Swift's  TV program on Allotments, but that is another story, It took me eighteen months to get my plot fully productive after I took it over.  Now there is an expectation that the plots should be 79% productive at all times.  Errr last year I did not achieve that for more than a couple of months. Even the Potatoes had to be dug up early  because of a blight scare, which left three beds empty,

When I saw the dastardly pair approaching  with clipboard at the ready I felt tense and almost held my breathe until they passed without adding my plot to the list for a Dirty Letter. I became acutely aware of all the jobs I hadn't done at my plot and tt was a horrible feeling.  Fortunately the Council has now employed someone who has worked in horticulture and  I hope things will look up  this year. I also hope that  the weather will be much much kinder to all of us.

I love my plot and enjoy being there, surrounded by the fruit trees, bushes, plants,  vegetables.  I love the perennial and annual flowers I grow which draw in bees, and insects and wild life.  It is my haven and retreat,

My daffodils and crocus are flowering, my fruit trees beginning to bud and I enjoyed two sunny, if cold, days at the allotments this week. Happy days - more please Mister God!

With Reiki blessing and Light
Happy Growing

Merry B

Snowed Under But In The Pink

I wrote a notebook entry on my website but decide I would expand on it here,  so hopefully this blog will grow.. Pop back again soon.

snowed under but in the pink

Every day I walk into my garden I notice changes the tight buds of the daffodils are unfurling, Today the buds of the wild daffodils have started to open amongst the snowdrops, one small tulip is flowering.  The days are  creeping forward to the Spring Equinox the beginning of  a new season.

The weather of late Winter has been cold,grey and gloomy.  More rain and even snow lies ahead in the next few days.  But when I see tiny daffodils, snowdrops and crocuses shining through the gloom my spirits lift.  


I had become quite gloomy in February as the weather had restricted my outdoor activity, walking, gardening and my time at my allotment.  I could feel the cold and gloom from outside penetrating my mind and heart space.  I heard myself complaining and muttering about  'Life the World and Universe' and struggled to emerge into the light.  Fortunately on my book shelf is Pema Chodron's teaching on The way of the Bodhisattva.  For three days I immersed  my self in the teachings. 


 On the fourth day I woke up feeling very strange, different, it was only gradually did it dawn on me what the change were, I no longer felt stressed, no longer felt exhausted and my mind had cleared.  All the negative and destructive emotions that had stifled me had evaporated and I felt cheerful and knew any problems that I still faced had solutions or would pass

With Reiki Light and Blessings

Merry B

Spring Messenger

I love seeing in early spring the flowers of the celandines, daffodils and primroses in their shades of yellow. The celandine is nicknamed the spring messenger and is one of the first wild flowers to emerge each New Year.  They only open their brilliant yellow flowers when there is sunshine or bright light. William Wordsworth describes it so beautifully in this poem

from telegraph

There is a Flower, the Lesser Celandine,That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;And, at the first moment that the sun may shine,Bright as the sun itself, 'tis out again!

Despite the cold and wet weather the Celandines in my garden are growing again, the daffodils, tulips and crocus are begining to show above ground, and snowdrops are almost ready to flower.

The blackbirds and robins are singing in the early morning and will soon be joined by all the birds in the dawn chorus.


Nature brings inspiration and beauty.The last few days there have been wonderful
sunrises and even a glimpse of the watery image of the crescent moon blushed by the rising sun

So many treasures to be found just by paying attention to the present moment

Reiki & Mindfulness Meditation

This is an extract from notes  for a talk given at a Reiki Conference in January 2013.

My flooded plot 30th January 2013

 At this time of the year it is easy to slip into bleak moods, the excitement of Christmas is gone and many of us are left worrying about bills. and how to make our money stretch to pay for extra heating in the freezing weather.  Snow,rain and low light can make us feel depressed and frustrated.  Energy can be low and our patience as well.  .There seems no solutions to the winter time  blues.  

However Mindfulness Meditation is a way of finding peace and quiet in our mind and heart. Meditation not only benefits our emotions and spirit but also our physical body.  Medical research has shown that just twenty minutes meditation three or four times a week will benefit our health. 

Yet knowing that will not stop us making excuses about why we cannot meditate.  It maybe

“I am too busy”.

or

“Meditate in my household with all that noise! “

You can meditate where ever you are.  Mindfulness meditation consists of everything that is inside your mind and everything in your environment. You can begin each meditation session just by listening to the sounds around you. Be aware of them but then let them go.   It may be the baby crying, the dog barking, traffic, the ticking of a clock, a petal falling from a flower or birds singing. The Thai meditation Master Ajahn Chah said when noise intruded into his meditation hut

If your mind does not go out to disturb the noise.

The noise won’t disturb you. 

When I visited Chalice Wells Glastonbury, a sacred place, full of legend, symbolism and atmosphere it was bursting with many different sounds.The gardens were full of people meandering along the paths talking quietly about the beauty of the gardens or maybe the legend of Chalice Wells.  It was a beautiful and tranquil space.

Even there one young man found neither peace nor harmony. He had settled in a secluded place in the gardens to meditate.  Unfortunately it was just by the well where people were filling bottles with holy water from the spring.  He became incandescent with anger because the noise was intruding on his meditation.   Every time he settled back to his meditations someone would speak or laugh, or walk by and he was disturbed yet again!  He spoke very sharply to people and I could sense his mind and body was filled with rage.  His posture and facial expression suggested he wanted to punch someone on the nose.  We had ruined his meditation, or had we? 

Jarvis Masters is living on Death Row in San Quentin.  A place which The San Francisco Chronicle described as

 “An antiseptic form of hell, nearly devoid of the things, like  intimacy and love that give life value.”  

Yet Jarvis has become a Buddhist and taken the Bodhisattva vows of loving kindness. Before an empowerment ceremony given by the Tibetan Lama Chagdud Rinpoche Jarvis had many doubts:

”Sitting on the floor of my cell trying to meditate, I was scared. The prison echoed the voices of hundreds of prisoners, cursing and arguing all at once.  Would I take vows that would eventually call upon me to sacrifice my life? How would I resist all the violence of the prison?”

But he found the courage to take the vow

“From this day forward I will not hurt or harm other people

  even if it costs my life.” 

Jarvis Masters has taken an extra-ordinary journey after his conviction of  involvement in the stabbing a guard  in San Quentin Prison.    He admits that if he had been released at the end of his original term he may have continued in his life of crime and possibly been killed on the streets or back in prison.  The Death Penalty saved him and led him on process of transformation through meditation  and becoming a buddhist.*

Like Jarvis Masters everyone is inherently good but even in less extreme environments a trivial event can start a war in our hearts.  A friend told us at a Reiki Share that she had gone out the previous evening with a disabled friend and had pre-booked a taxi to take them home.   She was furious because at the end of the evening before she could get to the taxi someone had climbed in to it.  This left them stranded in the pouring rain.  Each minute she waited for another taxi she had more and more thoughts of revenge:  Her anger was reignited with the retelling of the story to us and out spurted the words

 “I should have tripped her up and broken her legs”.

When she realised what she had said she felt terrible.  She felt she shouldn't stay and started to beat herself up about her violent careless words.   As a group we all confessed to being at times irritated, bad tempered, speaking carelessly, and being mean spirited.

We began our Reiki share by Kenyoku Ho, a symbolic brushing off of negative energy and attachments from our mind body and spirit. It also brought us into the present moment. We really slapped off all the accumulated negative energy.  As we did this we began to smile at one another and then began to laugh as all our irritation, anger, and negativity dissolved. Next we meditated on the Reiki principals taking them into our hearts and minds. Reaching out for the one we needed most to help us to release negative states of mind. 

If we use Mindfulness Meditation, follow the Reiki principles, and if we as individual sow seeds of peace in our own hearts Pema Chodron believes

“our present day actions will bear fruit in our children’s future and

grandchildren’s future”.

When you feel yourself starting to tighten your mind in anger and start to erect protective barriers around your heart:

                        “Then pause and breathe with that unsettling energy” 

and as Usui Sensi taught:

“to abide in compassion for ourselves and all living things.

With Reiki light and blessings

Merry B

Kenyoku Ho is explained in  here  Clearing negative energy   

 Here are the Reiki Principals 

*There is evidence that  Jarvis Masters  may have been wrongly convicted of helping with the stabbing of the guard, his case is progressing through the Supreme Court..

Celebrating My Follie

My beautiful Follie Pops has been with me four years now.  She is a fox terrier collie cross and when I rescued her from being tied up  24/7 for most of her first year she was not cross but wild!  She was skinny, sweet alert and had a glint in her eyes that I came to recognise as trouble.  The lady who owned  her had wanted a lap dog and was given as a present a working dog combo of a fox terrier and collie instead. Her folly and my special follie dog.

She came to me just before Christmas on the eve of her first Birthday.  During  her first year She had been walked twice and had been tied up  more and more over the nine months until she was tied up 24/7.

Poppy, now five years old and looking for mischief?

When she arrived at my house Poppy was given the free run of  it.  At first she stayed in the front room not realising that she was free but then she was off, as she passed the washing machine she pushed the button and the washing got another washing and yet another.  I thought it was my washing machine going wrong - I was wrong it was this skinny black and tan dog I called Poppy. I remembered that her previous owner said she liked watching washing going round!

Then she saw the stairs and  made a dashed for them expecting to be stopped.  She had never climbed stairs before.  She tripped and slipped  as she ran, half way up she met  our ancient cat Tiddles who beat her back down the stairs slashing at  her face.  Pops slithered down whimpering.  Undaunted she charged upstairs again to be slashed and scratched once more.  I took Poppy back down stairs really cross with her for attacking Tiddles, but as I looked up the stairs I could see the blood dripping from the steps and oozing from Poppy's nose.

Christmas day I walked her to St JamesGreen Dog Park, an enclosed area safe for dogs to run and play.  I let Poppy off the lead, she stood still and then she ran like the wind in and out of the trees round and round in circles.  A pack of dogs  was in the centre of the park and Poppy crawled on her belly to them.  She had not been socialised with any dogs since she left her mum.  The dogs gathered round her and she cowered submissively.  A huge Husky, Geo, came over to her and gave her a lick and she slunk to his side.  The other dogs backed off and she had made her first friend.  

.She soon had a small band of friends Bruce a black Labrador adored her, Bessie a collie about the same age became a firm friend, and they would run in circles,chasing each other. Tess and Tia  both terriers bossed her around but would keep rough dogs away from her. then there was Oscar, a tale for another day. I was so pleased for her.  She learnt to play with them, and how to sniff for peemails, for foxes, squirrels and all the myriad of messages left by the living world. The squirrels baited her to chase them and would scramble up a tree before she caught them, pigeons and crows feeding in the park would fly away when she had almost reached them.  She chased a rabbit into the  hedge and there was a scream and Poppy tumbled out of hedge backwards.  The rabbit had used its powerful back feet to kick her away.


I loved to see her enjoying herself  but getting to the park was a different matter.  Poppy is so unsure of people and wanst approval leapt up at people and tried to lick their nose.  She also was afraid of cars, not for Pops cowering  in fear at these monsters, no each one was given a twirl and a howl and then she would leap at them.  A dog trainer showed me how to stops this by getting her to sit before a car passed and I had get her to look at me and I had to say  "Leave it".  then if she did not fling herself at the car  say,"Good Girl."  Living in an urban City even a short walk took a long time!. I spent of lot time bottom up in the street and often heard a chorus of "Leave it! Leave it!" from roofers and other builders.Fortunately she no longer leaps at people and only twirls and leaps at the occasional car.  

Just after she arrived a builder started doing major work on my house, two months early and  which took two months to complete.  So Poppy and the cats never really got to bond as the cats were shut in one room and I was often shut in another with Pops. Happy Days oh sigh.

Pops sleeps for twelve hours, is awake and  is active during the day for twelve hours.. At night she goes  quite happily into the back room to sleep at  at 8.30 pm   At first she had a futon to sleep on until six weeks after she came one night she shredded the futon mattress and I walked into s sea of  filling. The the birds appreciated the cotton stuffing to line their nest and my hanging baskets are lined with the remnants to this day.  Now she has four blankets in winter wedged against the radiator and in summer pulled across the room to catch the morning light. 

 She loves her room and her toys, especially her football, which she has had for four years.  Every morning we play football.   Visitors are expected to play football after a few minutes of being in the house.   She  loves her food. . She came to us at Christmas so she was treated to many new tastes - slices of ham, chicken, beef,  lamb and Turkey.  When we fed her she would look warily at the treat offered and only when she was sure  it was really for her, eat it with relish often running off into her room. (Our dinning room).  

She always comes with me to the plot where she has a group of Poppy fans.  Who come over to give her a cuddle and play with her.  she barks at geese cyclist,  sometimes at cars and  always at my push pull grass mover. She has to be on a long lead but she is happy being fussed over, eating her treats, and getting cuddles from me as I take a break from working on my plot. On the way home we walk to St James Green so she can run free.

Poppy has wriggled her way into my heart, she is a loving, intelligent, dog.  She hectic with a wild side but also gets scared very easily, she wont go into my shed and will bolt for the door in a local  shop which has wooden panelling,  If I pick up the broom and lift  it off the ground she will flinch back, when it is on the floor she will attack it.  She is a wreck if I use the vacuum cleaner. 


I would not be without Poppy, my cats would love to be without her, but accept her with disdain.  We have had many adventures together, a lot of fun.  She is my  beautiful  dog Pops and I am so grateful to she came into my life.

With Reiki Blessing to all living creatures

and to you all

Merry B

I

New Year - A reflection on Druidry

When I was tidying up after New Year I found  a card produced by the OBOD about Druidry.  It made me reflect  about the journey I have made over the past three years

I first made a tentative step towards Druidry three years ago it drew me because it fosters a love and respect for the earth for the woods, wild places and  for all t living creatures.  During following years I have developed more intensely my love of nature and the living world.

My Fruit bed with fruit trees  & bushes
herbs and flowers
October 2012

The way I have structured my plot has been influenced  by wanting to create a haven  not only for us but for animals, birds, and insects.  Over the years I have planted eight trees and willow whips on one boundary. I have a cherry tree, plum, apple trees, and a filbert tree, but  being a realist I have not planted an oak tree. I planted  a fruiting quince because of  its shaggy beauty and strange perfumed fruit which are perfect cooked with apples or made into a jelly.  There is also a crab apple which provides fruit for us and for the birds, I have made Crab Apple Jelly, which is tricky because there is so much pectin in the fruit that it quickly goes beyond the boiling point for jam and turns into Toffee.  This was delicious and made a perfect gifts for Christmas in 2011!   Last year I left all the fruit to the birds and animals as they need food after such a poor wet cold summer.

The fruit area of my plot has fruit bushes, herbs and wild flowers growing.  I use the herbs to make herbal teas and for simple healing remedies.  The borage plants growing near my strawberry patch nourished a nest of bumble bees which lived in my cold frame .  In the dreadful wet and cold months of last summer the bees could quickly pop out from the nest collect rich pollen and nectar, and be back safe to the nest before their furry bodies became waterlogged and heavy,  If this happens bumble bees fall from the sky and can die of cold.

I have always loved being near trees, I learnt a lot of my knowledge from my mother who loved the outdoors and nature.  She trained as a herbalist and taught me so much.  What Druidry did was intensify my focus and lead me to learn more about Tree lore and the Ogham.  I have two sets of Ogham cards that I have had for a long time,  One set by Liz and Colin Murry the other by Caitlin Matthews   I used them as a means of reflection, to help in decision and to understand a problem.

There is so much dispute about the origins of the Celtic Ogham and it is doubtful if the full history of how it evolved will ever be clear. I was disappointed to find the Celtic Ogham used as a means of divination was so recent in origin. But I came to feel that The Celtic Tree Ogham distilled from folklore, myths and legends reaching  back far in time and its  links to my Celtic Ancestors had value.  I believe it has a mystical and poetic symbolisms which has a resonance in today's world.. 

My father was a wonderful story teller and historian and instilled in me a love of  going to historic places buildings stone circles, often when I visit an ancient site I can hear his voice telling me the story and legends  of the place,  He taught to feel the importance of history and see the link back to my ancestors and:

The forming power of the past.  (OBOD)

An interest in, and love of, the Sun, Moon,Stars a has always been part of my life.  I like learning about the big picture of the heavens but also seeing the microcosm of my viewpoint.  I like to learn not only facts about our planet and our universe but also Starlore  drawn from the folklore and old stories inspired by cycle of  the  Sun, Moon and The Night Sky.  Druid Starlore:

Embodied in the old stories and the stone circles, teaches a love of the universe.    (OBOD)

The past summer I missed the Sun and Moon and relished being outside on a sunny day with more intensity.  Walking with Pops at night  I felt the absence of the moon during the dismal  evenings of last summer. I like to know the phases of the moon not be reading about it but by seeing it in the night sky and feeling the moonlight as we walk.

Druidry has once again sharpened my focus on the cycle of the sun, moon and stars.  The cycles of the seasons and the cycle of life.

 Love of life of life is part of Druidry it:

Encourages celebration and full commitment to life - it is not a spirituality that wants to escape from life. (OBOD)

I love life and embrace the challenges and joy it brings I feel that my journey into Druidry has shown me away to see the world and its beauty and possibilities from a different standpoint

 People have strange ideas about Druidry and certainly I will not be wearing robes and celebrating the Solstice or Equinox with strange rituals, I won't be found wandering skyclad in the woods.  I am not a Pagan, my Christian heritage is too deep. .I have learnt no magic or spells although I think life and the world can be magical and every day we are given gifts of joy if we pay attention..

Central to my spiritual journey is Reiki and  Mindfulness Meditation.  Druidry has opened my mind to more possibilities and has helped  guided my path.

I am grateful for the journey I have been making in Druidry  I love learning and I will always be a lifelong learner.

With Gratitude to all my Teachers

and Reiki light to you 

MerryB