Gaia Community: Siona's Blog

what is your wish for the new year?

http://siona.gaia.com — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:02:34 GMT

Presence. Attention. Grace.

And Happy New Year, all, to each and every one of you, no matter where on the planet your midnight may lie. May your year ahead be the best and most beautiful and most delightfully surprising yet. :)

Tags: Q&R, year, intention, resolutions

where do you find beauty in your world?

http://siona.gaia.com — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:22:10 GMT

I often wish I were more of an artist, more of a creative, more the sort capable of taking raw materials from the environment and crafting them into something tangible and bright. I often get a twinge of envy toward those who have a great eye for design--whose homes are artfully arranged and whose clothes are aesthetically delightful. I admire those, deeply, whose movement through life and the world comes trailing clouds of beauty.

I am most definitely not one of them. My attempts at artful cooking end up as unidentifable (if delicious) one-pot meals. My flower arrangements look like a floral equivalent of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. My approach to interior design is to methodically strip away all excess, so that only the barest of bare rooms remain. My idea of fashion is monochrome. I have tried my hand at artist pursuits, but always end up disappointed; others seem to be more gifted (or more dedicated) than I. I am not good at creating beauty.

I am good, though, at seeing it everywhere, and discovering it in the sweetest and most surprising of places. There is beauty right now in the tooth-marked and capless Bic pen lying beside me; in the missed smudge on my otherwise clean window; and most of all in you, the dear being reading this, siting somewhere in the world, and thus making it, in your own way, that must more amazing.

Tags: Q&R, beauty, beautiful, life, creativity

what was the most surprising thing you learned this week?

http://siona.gaia.com — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:14:11 GMT

Well, it's not the most surprising thing I learned, but it is to my mind wonderful.

This New Year's will be ushered in by both a blue moon--the second full moon of the month--and a lunar eclipse. And the little girl in me wants to clap her hands with joy and delight at the beauty of this introduction to 2010.

2010! A bright and shining new decade! 2000 feels like just yesterday, in some ways, and an eternity in others. And though my mind can't imagine what the next ten years will bring, my heart, at least, sings in anticipation.

What a great and glorious gift this life is.

Tags: Q&R, learning, discovery, surprise

what was the last game you played?

http://siona.gaia.com — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:19:30 GMT

I loved Jim's answer, so I think I'll just adopt it too. Life! My favorite games are infinite ones.

Tags: Q&R, games, playing, playful

blog action day

http://siona.gaia.com — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:58:23 GMT

This year's topic is climate change. There is so much I could write in response to this, but I think I'd rather just share a picture.

The photo below was taken from Mars. It shows the Earth and the moon.

Home.

The original, in which you can see Jupiter, is here. Do look. It's incredible.

Tags: BAD, blog action day, earth, gaia, home, planet

women on the edge of evolution

http://siona.gaia.com — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:17:34 GMT

I sent an email out about this last week, but wanted to post a more personal note here as well. This coming Saturday marks the first of the fourteen weekly telegatherings that will make up the Women on the Edge of Evolution Summit, an event organized by two of my great female mentors, Claire Zammit and Katherine Woodward Thomas. The event is free (you can call in or listen online, depending on your preferences) and I'd love to invite any and all of you to join.

Gaia Community (for what I hope are obvious reasons!) is helping to sponsor what I have a sense will be a historic gathering of female voices coming together to support each other in collaboration, connection, awareness and change, and I do hope that many of you will be present with us for the conversations that will unfold. I intend to write my own way through the process, and to share my reflections and experience on the calls here, and it'll be a joy to know that others of you will be following along.

I'll write more on this later--about why this topic feels so important to me, and about my own hopes and dreams for the weeks ahead--but for now, if you haven't already, please do come sign up. Saturday will be here soon.

Tags: women, spirituality, gaia, evolution, transformation, awakening, awareness

gaia minute call

http://siona.gaia.com — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:22:42 GMT

This is the first of our weekly Gaia meditations, a project that, allong with the daily Gaia Minute practice, is unfolding in our Gaia Community Vision Group. You're welcome to join us the next time; we meet every Monday morning at 9 am MST (8 am PST / 11 am EST), and the meditation begins at 9:09.

Our circle is located at the following coordinates:

Conference Dial-In: 1-218-862-1300

Conference Code: 855676

Tags: gaia minute, gaia call

what's next?

http://siona.gaia.com — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:23:37 GMT

I love this question.

What's next? What's now?

I love this question because it can always be asked, because life does go on, because something is invariably waiting around the corner to surprise and delight and bemuse and astound us.

What's next? My reaction is generally the same. My heart shudders happily. Oh, just wait! Oh, you'll see! Oh, you can't imagine the world that's bursting into being in every moment!

Or perhaps you can. What's next?

This. And this. And thisandthisandthis.

Isn't it amazing?

I think so.

Tags: QaR, next, future, anticipation

what do you expect from life?

http://siona.gaia.com — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:01:42 GMT

I expect to be surprised and amazed and bewildered and overjoyed. I expect to be moved to tears, and to be loved and hurt and devastated and delighted. I expect to be a part of it all, as much as possible, and I expect to play, and I expect to be blessed with so many wonderful companions through it all. There is so, so much to explore.

Tags: Q&R, life, expectation

who around you do you consider wise?

http://siona.gaia.com — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:41:11 GMT

This is one of those questions where I'd rather show you, than tell, my answer.

I'd rather take you by the hand and lead you outside, away from your computer, away from any pressures, away from any troubling stories or news or worries or concerns, and into a more timeless world of seasons and cycles and peace.

I'd rather dance with you to somewhere still and quiet, deep into a sun-dappled forest, weaving through trees, where the only sounds are birdsong, and the rustling of branches and the rhythm of our footsteps.

I'd rather discover with you a lake, still and blue and calm, with a warm and smooth expanse of rock leading out into it.

I'd rather we both make our way out on this natural bridge, to lie on our bellies with our hands trailing into the water, and I'd rather point to your reflection, to you—and not just any you, but you when you feel the most relaxed and trusting and happy and comfortable, and you when you feel most loved.

Tags: Q&R, wisdom, wise

My Life According to Leonard Cohen

http://siona.gaia.com — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:00:22 GMT

From Samme:

Using only song titles from one artist, answer the questions below. Try not to repeat a title. Repost as "My Life According to [ Artist Name].

Are you a male or female?
Everybody Knows

Describe yourself:
You Know Who I Am

How do you feel?
Humbled In Love

Describe where you currently live:
Passing Through

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
Way Down Deep

Your favorite form of transportation:
Undertow

Your best friend is:
Last Year's Man

Your favorite color is:
Iodine

What's the weather like?
Light As The Breeze

Favorite time of day:
Closing Time

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?
In My Secret Life

What is life to you?
God is Alive; Magic is Afoot
or
Improvisation

Your relationship:
Love Itself

Your fear:
One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong

What is the best advice you have to give?
Be For Real

If you could change your name, you would change it to:
The Gypsy's Wife

Thought for the day:
Tonight Will Be Fine

How you would like to die?
A Thousand Kisses Deep

Your soul's present condition:
Waiting for the Miracle

Your motto:
Dance Me To The End of Love

Tags: leonard cohen, game

who would you really like to get to know?

http://siona.gaia.com — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:45:09 GMT

You.

I'd like to get to know you, the creature sitting on the other side of the screen reading these words that were drummed out in haste by some obviously-earlier version of me.

I'd like to know what you're thinking now, and where you'll be going after your online respite is over, and what you're looking forward to. I'd like to know what you're concerned about and what regrets you've suffered in your life. I'd like to know what you need most, and what you want, and what it is you're here to give. I'd like to know where you're sitting as you read this, and what's scattered around you, and I'd like to know what connects you--what shared thread there is--with all the other 'yous' of this entry, past and present and future.

And yes, I suppose it doesn't matter; I'm not sure any human being can fully know another. Still, we can try, and still I suppose there's some delight to be had in this, that the quest for understanding can never be totally complete.

Tags: QaR, friendship, closeness, connection

where do you feel most safe?

http://siona.gaia.com — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:52:06 GMT

This is hard for me to admit, but I so rarely feel safe. I used to think I did, and then tasted, once, and fleetingly, what it was really like to feel utterly secure and at home and relaxed.

I remember nearly crying at how foreign the sensation was, how alien and strange, and at how foolish I’d been to blithely preach my imagined belief in the basic trustworthiness of the world. I realized my regular state is more akin to a child, just given to hold the most delicately ethereal bubble, worried that a forceful breath or unskilled jolt would burst it. This is what the world feels like to me–so beautiful, and so transient, and so gently and briefly entrusted to us, or rather to our briefly-lived experiences. And even though the lack of safety I feel is not some deep insecurity, even though it’s more a breathless anticipatory tension about a certain inevitable loss, it’s still hard.

There are moments, though. I feel safe when I’m held; I have an almost troublesome need for physical human contact, and an equally troublesome inability to relax into embrace. I feel safe when I’m writing; I have an inescapable need to put into words the beauty I see around me, and a parallel worry about my attempts to share being rejected or just misunderstood. I feel safe when I’m present, but this, sometimes, is the hardest thing in this world to be.

Tags: QaR, safety, security

where do you find meaning?

http://siona.gaia.com — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:23:03 GMT

Do I? This was, I'm realizing, a presumptuous question. I'm not sure I find meaning; sometimes I feel more as though I create it, and some days, I feel, I'm better at doing this than others.

And this, I'm realizing, is a presumptuous answer. Create meaning! It's true, though--I weave it from the warp of the world and the woof of experience using the shuttle of language and words, just as you do, and just as human beings have always done.

Of course, though, my own little patch of fabric is worthless on its own. What I love is sometimes stepping back to see how it fits in the tapestry of the whole. Where do I find meaning...

... here, I suppose.

Tags: QaR, meaning, life, purpose, direction

what would you like to commit to?

http://siona.gaia.com — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:56:00 GMT

The moment. I somehow seem to forget this too easily.

Tags: QaR, commitment, promise, covenant, vow

friday five of stars.

http://siona.gaia.com — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:29:48 GMT

Thank you, Jessica and Jodi, for another wonderful set of questions.

1) Do you wish on shooting stars?
Yes, though sometimes I get so captivated by their strange and fleeting beauty that I forget to make a wish for something. (This actually applies to quite a bit in my life. Oh well. :)

2) Would you like to travel to outer space?
Of course. But who is to say I don't travel there already?

3) Do you like astrology?
Very much, and for so many reasons. I like the points of comparison it offers; I like the perspective; I like the way it can connect people and point to our common human characteristics; I like how I see glimpses of myself in every sign and how laughably representative my own is.

4) If you could name a new planet, what would you call it?
Gaia.

5) Do you enjoy star-gazing?
Yes. Yes yes yes. I've never been to the Southern hemisphere, and the number one reason I want to go is to see an unfamiliar sky.

And you?

Tags: friday five, stars, astrology, stargazing, planets, space

friday five at home.

http://siona.gaia.com — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:28:30 GMT

And one more Friday Five, this one on the right date. Perhaps I should think about catching up to the rest. ;)

1) What is your favorite room in your house/ apartment?
I'm lucky in that two of my favorite rooms blend into each other—the living room and dining room and kitchen are all part of one large open area, and I can curl happily with a book on the couch while dinner is being made. My favorite rooms, then, are the living room and kitchen, for different reasons... although were I truly honest I would say that my answer changes with my moods and health. When I'm not feeling well, or when it's late, nothing compares to my bedroom.

2) Who do you feel at home with? (friends, a partner, family, a pet)
My Mark. My family. My friends. The earth. You.

3) What colors do you have in your home?
Ooh. Our house, during the day, looks muted and minimal—the walls are an unobtrusive white, with wood floors and stone countertops and black and buckskin leather furniture. At night, though... we've got an outrageous assortment of strangely colored lights tucked and inset, many of which cycle through an otherworldly spectrum, and which leave the whole place feeling like some strange underwater universe. I have all colors, though you'd never know it to look at it during the day.

I should take pictures.

4) If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
I don't know yet. I'm working on discovering the answer. :)

5) Finish this sentence in two to five words: Home is where the .....
Home is where the world is still.

And you?

Tags: friday five, home, houses, lights, family, friends

friday five of movement.

http://siona.gaia.com — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:06:45 GMT

Oh, Jessica. This one is lovely. Thank you. :)

1) Do you like walks?
I love walking. A few years ago, i lived about four miles from the place I was working, and used to walk there and back each day. I don't think I'd ever felt so deeply at peace, or comfortable, or in touch with the world. I walk still (although nowhere near so much), only because of how profoundly happy it makes my body. I think I was made to lope slowly over plains--I am all legs and long limbs and walking is pure pleasure.

2) Do you enjoy dancing? (if yes, what kind?)
Yes, although I'm sure others might laugh to see what my version looks like. Outside from a few years of childhood ballet, and a bit of modern experimentation, I've got no formal training in dance and have no idea how to even differentiate between most styles. My version of dance is informed by authentic movement. I just unleash my body for a while and go along for the ride.

3) What's your favorite thing to do for exercise?
My favorite thing is the sweet fulfillment of mere movement--whatever movement calls me. It might be walking or running or hiking or swimming or clambering or skipping or swinging or dancing. I like just to move.

4) What activities do you like to do outdoors?
Aside from basking in the sun and dancing in puddles, I like walking (again) most of all.

5) How does the sunshine make you feel?
Whole.

Your turn!

Tags: friday five, movement, walking, excerise, body, nature

if you could play any instrument, what would it be?

http://siona.gaia.com — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:24:54 GMT

My body.

I've always wanted to learn to sing; I have such admiration for those who are able to use their ribs and lungs and breath and tongue and lips and ears as some beautiful, powerful, delicate, perfect, and utterly unique instrument. My speaking voice is unobjectionable, but my poor sense of rhythm and harmony and still-present shyness
keep foiling me. One summer I will sign up for lessons. For now I will listen.

Tags: QaR, music, instrument, learning, song

what question would you liked to be asked each day?

http://siona.gaia.com — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:34:52 GMT

I like to ask questions more than I do being asked, I think.

I'd go with "What are you paying attention to?"

Or "What is alive in you?"

Or "How could you make this moment more wonderful?"

Or, best of all, perhaps, "What question would you like to be asked today?"

Something like that.

Tags: QaR, question, values, life, reminders