Happy Anniversary to us! It's been a full year plus one month since we have moved from Chicago. That would be a full lunar cycle, which is 13 months. Given that I am strongly effected by the moon, and my sun sign is in Cancer, it seems somehow appropriate that I am writing and reflecting upon it now.
Honestly, these 13 plus months have been pretty challenging. And I am currently in a phase where I am experiencing a lot of anger, and I don't really know why. Often it is with good reason, and often directed at Loic, but sometimes it is not, but always it's been pretty out of proportion. If I didn't have an interest and understanding of astrology, I wouldn't have any perspective on this at all. But just today I read a webpage that talked about the Pluto transit over the past few years, and it gave me an immense sense of relief and understanding, and even tips on how to handle it. See http://www.lynnkoiner.com/astrology-articles/survival-tips-for-the-pluto-transit for your own relief.
Anyway, in order to avoid rambling about it, transiting Pluto brings a lot of intense energy, a feeling of being out of control, overwhelm, emotional upheaval and overreaction (think of volcanic eruptions), and it is important to simplify one's life and stick only to what is absolutely essential, channel the energy with exercise, withdraw from people and situations that are toxic to you, and go within and meditate. It's nice knowing that I am not alone in experiencing these things; it's something which has been effecting everybody.
Of course, we could look at Mayan astrology, and it would probably be describing similar things, leading up to and through 12/12/12.
I can not believe I missed writing through most of Autumn, though I have to say, these last few months have been the busiest of my work life in quite a while, and included our beginning a search for a car. Despite the level of stress, I have to say that having experienced all 4 seasons in New Mexico for the first time, Autumn is my favorite.
At the end of August, I took a weekend workshop called,"Deep Tissue With Ease", which revolutionized the way I work as a Massage Therapist. I will always refer back to the basic principles that the instructor taught us: When working 1) Keep your muscles relaxed 2) Use no more than %50 of your strength (this is very difficult for me!) 3) Change the tools you work with (knuckles, palm, elbow, forearm instead of hands/fingers/thumbs) 4) Listening to, instead of wailing on, the client's body. Listen for resistance, and retreat when this occurs. This last concept is so simple, yet we often forget as bodyworkers that a muscle can never be forced to relax, and that force will more often than not achieve the opposite effect intended. I very soon realized that these principles can also be applied to our lives, too.
We were also introduced to the concept that relaxation of the recipient is our primary goal as a Massage Therapist. I am aware that I still have a while to go until I achieve excellence, though I believe if I am only able to adhere to the practices of staying relaxed when I work, and achieving relaxation in my client, I will go very far indeed.
We visited and picnicked by Pecos River for an afternoon in September, with our new friend and neighbor across the street, Patrick. It was wonderful to yet again be near a body of water, here in desert country.
In the last week in October, my parents, and my brother from Seattle and his girlfriend, came for a visit. This time I was prepared with herbal offerings to help them with high altitude, and it helped. These included chlorophyll, Gingko Biloba extract, and Osha extract, as well as one of my favorite products, Emergen-C, along with reminding them constantly to drink plenty of water. It also helped to bring my parents to the spa for sessions on the oxygen bar. It was really great to have them here. Crazily, my very good friend Danielle was traveling through at the same time, although she was only here for a day and a night. I got a discount card for Ten Thousand Waves Spa, a Japanese style spa with beautiful outdoor baths, and so the two of us went for a soak for a few hours.
The last few days my family was here, Halloween weekend, I ended up doing an imitation of Linda Blair in The Exorcist, with the exception of levitation and head spinning 360 degrees... as I fell victim to my first (and hopefully, only) time of food poisoning. We all shared pretty much every food on the table at a particular restaurant in town, and Loic was the only other one who felt even a bit queasy. I am pretty certain that the reason I got so sick was because I was taking oil of Oregano, a supplement that will kill all microbes in one's body, including the good bacteria in one's digestive tract. I had not fully realized this and had not been very careful about replacing the good bacteria with a lot of regular probiotics throughout the day. I was taking Oregano to kill yeast and mold, and possibly other toxins within my body. I fully realized how powerful an herb can be. I have never vomited so much in my life, and I was bedridden for days. It was a pretty scary situation, and I'm very grateful that I did not have to be hospitalized.
November came around, and I continued to experience a tremendous amount of gratitude as well as a feeling of being more grounded here in Santa Fe. I felt a lot of establishment of routine in my life and in my work. I was celebrating our first year here, and on the 16th, we also celebrated our first year of being married, too. In fact, the entire week around the 16th, I felt so much love and gratitude for Loic, despite my continuing issues with anger around him. We went to dinner at Luminaria, a fine dining restaurant which is part of the Inn and Spa of Loretto downtown. When we walked in to the restaurant, there in front of us was a co-worker of his and her daughter, celebrating their birthdays, and so we ended up sitting with them and doubling our reasons to celebrate. The food was absolutely fantastic; and I have not had a steak like that in many years (organic and grass fed, naturally)!
December has rolled around, and I am now experiencing what it is like to work in the industry of hospitality, in a town centered around tourism, when the town is nearly devoid of tourists. The spa I work at has continued to have drama, and I lost one of the two official shifts I had. I did end up working full time for many weeks, simply because of substituting for other therapists, who were taking vacations. But for the last two weeks I have worked for one massage a week. I've kept busy, although with trading with other colleagues.
Last Wednesday, with free passes that Loic was awarded as a result of his participation in a cake-baking contest at work (that hotel really knows how to treat it's employees, let me tell you), we spent the day at Ojo Caliente mineral springs. We went for a hike in the snow, under the sunny and clear blue sky, got lost and ended up trespassing onto a horse field, and pet a pair of beautiful Palomino horses, then went for a soak in the hot spring baths, under a nearly full moon. We were driven by yet another pair of delightful Couchsurfers, and it was a day of great experiences and great conversation.
Since August, besides searching for a car (no small task when you have a limited budget, you're looking for a used car, and you don't already have one, in a town where you really need one!), I've ended up doing a lot of knitting and reading, and I finally mended a quilt that we use throughout the Winter months. Books that I highly recommend: C'est La Vie by Suzie Gershwin, an ex-patriot who moves to Paris; Dying: A Natural Passage by Denys Cope, a short, quick read that can bring a lot of peace and reassurance about the dying process and death, and Shapeshifters: Shamanic Women in Contemporary Society; a wonderful book that shares brief autobiographies of a number of female healers and their paths.
I also saw a great documentary on the life and work of the artist, Jean Michel Basquiat, who is now for certain one of my favorite artists of all time. Lastly, but certainly not the least, I most highly recommend the documentary, "Thrive", available only online I think. By the time you read this, it may be available on YouTube for free, I do know it's $5 streaming on the website, ThriveMovement.com. Yes, it's conspiracy, and it ties everything together. And yes, it's quite valid and credible, given all the previous investigation on these subjects I have done. If you haven't already, you should see other documentaries such as The Corporation, Inside Job, read up on the terrors of Monsanto, Chemtrails, and then see The Greatest Story Ever Denied, available for free on YouTube (although only in English I think), about UFO and alien contact. Then see Thrive. And let me know what you think!
So I have a few wishes for the coming Winter months. One is that I develop a greater private clientele, at least for a little while. The second is that I learn how to properly channel my anger as well as transform it.
