Another 30 before 31 update

It's been a few months, and I've knocked a few more things off my 30 before 31 list.  So, I guess that means it's time for another update!

#6 Get a new primary care physician 
#7 Get a rheumatologist

#8 Get back on migraine meds

After months of hemming and hawing, I finally booked an appointment with a new doc for today.  She's really nice (as are her staff), and everything was very efficient.  Bonus - she's right down the street from my house.  The best part was the lack of waiting - I didn't have to wait months for an appointment, and I barely had to wait to see the doctor (at my last doc, I would typically wait 2-3 hours, even with an appointment.  It was ridiculous and disrespectful of my time.)  New doc and I had a chat about my migraines, and she agreed to put me back on Topomax and fiorocet, with a promise that we would revisit if the fiorocet didn't do its job on my emergent headaches. She also tsk-tsk'd that I didn't have a neurologist.

She also asked if I had a rheumatologist, which I don't.  I put #7 on my list since I thought it would be helpful, but after chatting with the new doctor and thinking about it, I think I'm not going to pursue it for now.  There wasn't much my last rheumatologist could do, other than prescribe drugs that didn't work and repeat the same old nonsense about exercise.

And one, and two, and streeeetch!

#17 Look into acupuncture
I found out my health insurance covers it now.  Score!  Now to find an acupuncturist who is in my network.

#27 Grow my hair long again
Well, it's growing.  Slowly.  Right now it's down to about the bottom of my shoulder blades.


#29 Start an indoor herb garden
I got a kit for Christmas, and planted it a couple of months ago.  So technically, I started the garden and completed this goal.  Unfortunately I think my talent for killing plants has struck again.  It's looking very, very sad.  The thyme and rosemary are already dead, and the basil is not too far off.  The parsley is doing okay, but I'm not holding out much hope for the long run.

Monday Music Break: Lisa Thiel

Jack and I saw Brave last week, and to my great delight it was an atypical princess story.  I really enjoyed it! It was also great fun to immerse myself in a fictional depiction of old Scotland.  So in honor of Merida and her super-red, super-curly, super-awesome hair (seriously, I'm jealous), and also in honor of my Scottish ancestry, here's a pretty little instrumental ditty called "Scottish Highlands Song" by Lisa Thiel.

Monday Music Break: Bill Laswell

Image from innerviews.org

This week's music break is a song called "Nothing" by Bill Laswell and featuring Lori Carson, from Bill Laswell's City of Light project.  I just heard this song on the latest A Darker Shade of Pagan podcast and I knew instantly I had to share it.  It is so very mellow, and entrancing.  I feel like it would be amazing to meditate to.  And the intro gave me goosebumps.

There was nothing.  There was nothing at all, either moving or non-moving.  It was dark everywhere.  There was no sun.  There were no planets, no stars, no moon.  There was no day, no night.  There was no sound, no touch, no smell.  There was no form, no taste.  There were no directions.  There was only pure reality.  There was nothing at all.  Not graspable by mind or senses or speech.  There were no planets, no stars, no moon.  There was no day or night.  No sound, no touch, no smell, no form.  Without change.  Only pure reality.

June was filled with beer, penguins... and a sharktopus.

I went to Artomatic a few weeks ago and saw a bunch of really awesome art.  Several of my friends and friends-of-friends were exhibiting their work, including Angela Raincatcher and my good friend Jess.  Also, there was a stuffed sharktopus on the 2nd floor.  It was amazing.

EDIT: Shannon reminded me that the sharktopus is by an artist named Suzannah Eller, who is awesome.

One of my coworkers had a big milestone at work and we celebrated with yummy cake.  Unfortunately, the art of spelling seems to have been lost on the cake decorator.  A candidate for cakewrecks perhaps?

We had some wild storms in Maryland last night!  There were winds in the 60+ mph range, and the rain was pouring down in sheets.  Our power kicked off twice, but it came back on after a minute or two.  And now Montgomery and Prince George's counties are on mandatory water restriction until WSSC can restore power to all of its pump stations and get the system fully charged again.  How did you fare?  Did you lose power?

Monday Music Break: Moving Breath

Happy Monday!  I have a pretty awful migraine today, so I'm in the mood for something on the quieter and more mellow side.  Here's a song I came across via the Keep Music Pagan YouTube channel, called "Spirit of the Wind" by a female group called Moving Breath.

Pretty, right?  I feel like it would be a great song to use in ritual, maybe as an invocation to air/the east.

"Spirit of the Wind" by Marie Wise:
http://www.mariewise.com/paintings/2007-3/wind-spirit/

Friday giggle

The caption cracks me up the most :)

What plans do ya'll have for the weekend?  Are any DC/Maryland/NoVa locals heading to the OHF's opening reception for the Elements and Elementals art exhibit?  I'll be there - if you go please say hi!

Triumph of the Light

Happy Summer Solstice!  As promised, I am sharing with you all the Litha chant I wrote a couple of years ago.

While doing some research about the sabbat, I came across a passage in a book that mentioned that in one of the presettlement Mesoamerican cultures (I wish I could remember which one - maybe Incan?), the summer solstice is celebrated as the "triumph of the light" over the dark of night.  I was really inspired by that phrase, and this chant is what emerged.  And as always I had a little divine help, this time from Mama Cocha and Inti.

Triumph of the Light

Lyrics:

I am Inti, King of the Day

I walk in the light of the sun

I dance in the heat of the sun

I sing in the strength of the sun

I am the Sun King, Summer Bright

So light the Litha fires,

and tell the tale of the triumph of the light

la la la la la la la la (x2)

I am Mama Quilla, Queen of the Night

I walk in the light of the moon

I dance in the spark of the moon

I sing in the pull of the moon

I am the Moon Queen, Reflecting His Might

So light the Litha fires,

and tell the tale of the triumph of the light

la la la la la la la la (x2)

Please let me know what you think!

© Colleen Beaty.  You are free to share my post and use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not reproduce my chants in any way without permission.

Monday Music Break: Kiva

Wednesday is the Summer Solstice.  How did that arrive so fast?

In honor of the solstice, here's my favorite song by Kiva, "Morning Sun."  It's such a powerful song to celebrate the blessings that the sun bestows upon us daily.

I know, I know - Kiva.  Love 'em or not (personally I love them), they are a mainstay of the pagan music scene, with 20 years of albums and concerts, and a very solid and diverse discography.  I saw their 20th anniversary concert a couple years ago, which was also my introduction to the band.  I was so blown away by the power in their music and the gorgeous blending of harmonies that I fell in love with their music.

Image from kivasong.com

And since Wednesday is the solstice, I'll be sharing my summer solstice chant with you all later in the week :)

Santa Muerte

Source: https://www.facebook.com/SantaMuerte.DiaDeLosMuertos

I know it's not Dia de los Muertos, but Motown Witch shared this awesome photo of Santa Muerte on her Facebook, and I am so in love with it and wanted to share outside of Pinterest.  I am fascinated by the blending of Dia de lost Muertos and Baron Samedi imagery with Santa Muerte.

If you don't know who Santa Muerte is (I didn't before I looked it up), she is the "Mexican Death Saint" or "Holy Death."  Although she has become associated with the drug cartels, her presence is much older than them - probably a blending of Mesoamerican reverence for death, and Roman Catholic saint imagery.  Santa Muerte is usually depicted as a skeleton, often wearing a robe and holding a globe or scythe.

Hope you all are having a great Saturday!

Psychic Development, inspired by YouTube

I've been watching a lot of other folks' videos about understanding and developing your psychic abilities.  I'm feeling particularly inspired by CharlieSaysGo's psychic series and Teal Scott.


Lately I've been pondering how to best start developing my own abilities.  I really feel I need to start by documenting my dreams and psychic visions so that later I can more easily compare the facts to what I experienced, especially when it comes to precognitive experiences.

Source: englisharticles.info/tag/clairsentience-definition/

Maybe an aside is needed here.  Now, when I say "visions" I don't always mean visual psychic phenomena.  I tend to use this term to refer to receiving information when awake (not a dream).  I mostly receive information via dreams, automatic writing, and clairsentience (just "knowing" when something is true), but I also occasionally hear, see, and feel information.  Feeling/empathy is most common when I'm communicating with the departed.

In the spirit of documenting my dreams and visions, last month I started a dreams & visions journal, wrote about a really vivid dream I had... and haven't touched it since.  So now I'm toying with the idea of making videos about these visions instead, and publishing some or all of them on YouTube. 

How about you folks?  In what ways do you receive psychic information, and what do you do with that information?  Please let me know in the comments!