Have a Romping Good Halloween!

"A gypsy fire is on the hearth,
Sign of the carnival of mirth;
Through the dun fields and from the glade
Flash merry folk in masquerade,
For this is Hallowe'en!"

- Author Unknown














On Nov. 5th I'm taking part in the Blogblast For Peace. Won't you join me?


"No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place."

- Zen


Jennifer says You too!! I'm going trick or treating with my dirt faced okie boys.

Nikki says Enjoy yourself!

Akelamalu says Have a good time! :)

Thursday Thirteen - 130 - 13 Costumes I'd Love to Wear For Halloween

- 1

Ballerina

















- 2

Russian Boyarina

or Princess











- 3

CanCan dancer











- 4

Cinderella














- 5

Columbine clown











- 6

Equestrian














- 7

Fairy















- 8

Flamenco dancer














- 9

1920's Flapper














- 10

Gypsy






























- 11

Steampunk pirate















- 12

Radio City Rockette















- 13

Victorian lady










































On Nov. 5th I'm taking part in the Blogblast For Peace. Won't you join me?

"This is how change happens, though. It is a relay race, and we're very conscious of that, that our job really is to do our part of the race, and then we pass it on, and then someone picks it up, and it keeps going. And that is how it is."

- Alice Walker

Marcia @ Joy is My Goal says Fun. Which will you be?

Princess Sarah @ His Unfailing Love says Wow, it's fun and nice costume for Halloween.

Alice Audrey says The cancan could be extra fun.

Wordless Wednesday - 123

On Nov. 5th I'm taking part in the Blogblast For Peace. Won't you join me?

"Action is eloquence"

- William Shakespeare

Nikki says Yummmy yum yum!

Brooke says Oh that looks sinfully yummmmmy...

Joops says Sumptuous!

Through the Opera Glasses - 34 - October Art Show - Spooky

Just in time for Halloween, I draw your attention to the October show I've featured in my Sidebar Art Gallery.

This collection is called Spooky.




















Flying Dutchman illustration - Unknown artist
















Notre Dames gargoyle - Victor-Joseph Pyanet
















Duel after the Masquerade Ball - Jean Leon Gerome




















The Gashlycrumb Tinies - Edward Gorey














The Apotheosis of War - Vasily Vereshchagin




















From Paradise Lost - Gustav Dore



















Macbeth, The Meeting with the Witches on the Heath - Joseph Kronheim

















The Ride of the Valkyries - William T. Maud





















Asmorod - Zdzislaw Beksinski


Happy Haunting...














On Nov. 5th I'm taking part in the Blogblast For Peace. Won't you join me?

"Here in this wondrous way we keep
These haunts of ancient peace.
Let us go there again
When we need some relief
Oh, when I can’t find my feet
When I need rest and sleep."

- Van Morrison

Shelley Munro says I like the one of the Valkyries.

Poetry Train Monday - 124 - Release

As someone dealing with chronic pain from an injury, as well as recurring migraine management, my experience with acupuncture this year has been incredibly fascinating, to say the least.

I began treatment in June. I started with two sessions a week, then moved to one, and now I'm at one session every two weeks.

My rapid response to the treatment owes a lot to the personal work I do while receiving needles, Gua Sha, cupping and moving cupping. I meditate, visualize, invite healing, and release pain and negative energy.

I see a traditional Chinese acupuncturist, Vivian Yuan. Can I tell you how grateful I am that she emigrated to Canada from China? I only speak to her about my current condition. We don't go into any sort of talk therapy.

But I used to see a past life regression therapist when I lived in Toronto. And when the opportunity to see Vivian presented itself, I recognized that I was ready to heal a whole slew of past life trauma.

Sure enough, as soon as I began treatment I started receiving strong images while I lay on the table, after Vivian had placed the needles and left the room. I've been doing a lot of intense work on whatever revealed itself to me - and there has been a lot.

This past week I'd had a five-day migraine before I went for my appointment. Vivian treated my back with the needles, then did a combination Gua Sha and cupping which she'd never done before. I've been documenting all the healing patterns that emerge from my sessions with Vivian. In a future Thursday Thirteen, I'll be sharing these with you. I'm still collecting them.

I was amazed and impressed with the pattern that formed this time. A fan shape of four meridians flowed down my neck and shoulders. Since Saturday's session, I've had pain in my lower left rib/lung section, which mirrors a sensation I had in my right lung after a previous treatment. As an asthmatic since I was born, this is a familiar sensation to me, very like recovering from pneumonia.

Now, to many people this would not be a cause for celebration. But I know that my body is letting go of cellular trauma. And my lungs hold a lot of that, both from this life and from what I've experienced in previous lifetimes to this.

For my found poem today, I've got an excerpt from an explanation of cellular memory release by two healing practioners who work at the Sedona HeartWalk Center in Arizona.

















Release


Cellular memory stores experience
Not just facts and figures
Experience stored as impressions
Viewed from all senses
Not just the visual

The brain retrieves memory
Shows a picture
A list
A graphic

Cells retrieve a memory
A body sensation
Pain
Tension

You may be ‘frozen with fear’
You may sense a fragrance
The cellular memory of
Physical trauma
Emotional trauma
Mental trauma

Conditioned response
Observed by Pavlov
Ringing a bell produced
Salivation
When initially
Paired with food

Thereafter
Salivation
Happened with only the bell
For association

When trauma is suppressed
Into the cellular memory
Energy is stuck

It takes energy
To hold onto suppressed memories
Conditioned response

Physical trauma
A body response
Accidents
A sensory response
Bruises
A muscle memory
Abuse
A response to an event

Cellular memory release
Shown through body movement
Twitching
Pulsing
Twinges
Tingling

Emotional trauma
Like heartache
Fear
Anger

Cellular memory release
Shown through talking
Crying
Laughing

Mental trauma
Worry
Low self-esteem

Cellular memory release
Shown through verbal processing
Where connections are made
That weren’t visible before


- Phoenix and Leon from the Sedona HeartWalk Center, 2008

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!














On Nov. 5th I'm taking part in the Blogblast For Peace. Won't you join me?

"If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Nikki says Nice poem Julia.

Jill the Acadian says According that I'm studying to go in an alternative treating career, it's nice to see your experience of one...Thanks!

De-abbreviate As You Like says This whole poem was so much enlightening .. it treads on the lines of faith.

Saved - By Save the Cat!

Just in time for NaNo, when I got home from work this evening my mom pulled out this book:





















Quite a few writers from my group have this book, and it was on my wish list. "Happy early Birthday!" Mom said.

Lilly Cain says I borrowed a copy from Donna Alward and loved it so much I had to buy my own copy!

Anne MacFarlane says Just got it from the library.

Travis says Good luck with NNWM this year. I tried it last year but the timing was just off.

Thursday Thirteen - 129 - 13 Reasons Why It's So Much Fun to Go to the Writers' Retreat

- 1











It's somehow come into vogue to deny the glamorous life we romance writers lead. Out here on the east coast, we're straight to the point. Divas rule.


- 2











Dinner out with the ladies from the retreat? Sign me up! This is Kelly Boyce and I enjoying our pinot grigios.


- 3











Lots of fantastic, yummy food. Mmm.


- 4











Watching movies at night with the 'Stacked Librarian'.


- 5











The walk over to the lodge from the cottage where we stayed. We've rented this White Point Beach cottage for four years now and we've already established several traditions, including this beautiful 20-minute walk which weaves onto the rocky beach and over to the resort.


- 6











Once at the lodge, we treat ourselves to dinner at their oceanside restaurant.


- 7











I'm slowly making my way through their tempting menu. This year I had seafood fettucine, with mussels, shrimp, scallops and lobster. Divine.


- 8











The waves were really high over the weekend. Heidi and I went for a walk along the beach on the Friday that we arrived. The energy of the sea was too much of a siren call to resist.


- 9











A retreat is a perfect time to notice details.


- 10











Retreats are great for taking leisurely walks with a writer friend like Annette and talk about gray characters and being drawn to darker storylines.


- 11











This is the view from the cottage, which looks over a protected inlet. The rough sea can be seen on the other side of the water. A strip of land separates the open water from the inlet. I've never seen white caps from the cottage before this year. Click on the picture and look for the white surf in the left center clearing on the horizon.


- 12











This was our first fall retreat, and the woods beside the cottage were brilliant with color.


- 13











We actually did manage to fill many hours with writing. Cheers to everyone's works in progress!

Annette Gallant says LOL I don't even bother to take a camera anymore because I know you'll be taking such good pictures.

Journeywoman says Sounds wonderful!

Apprentice Writer says Insane with jealousy at people who not only go on writer retreats but do so in stunning Nova Scotia, I of course resolved to refuse to look at any of the photos. Lasted about a second.