Tales From The Labyrinth

Cascade of Roses...

Sometimes...

There are no words...
Only cascades of rose petals...

buds opening...

bursting into life...

a fountain of beauty...

sighing into the round
of a posy...

a gift for the mother,
I so love...

Photos: Cecil Bruener Roses in our garden...

Into the Garden...

Into the garden this earth day...

every day,
every moment sinking into this body
this matter blossoming...

that moves

touches,
ripples in the breeze...

spiraling,

and casting shadows...

Into the garden this earth day...

the heart beats...

and sap runs

and peonies bud...

open,

and dazzle the sun...

I curl up in the warmth
and watch ladybugs...

unrecognizable...

disguised as they shed primal skins...

becoming red wonder of flight
that defies gravity...

and I breathe beauty...

tiny creature that I am...
nestled on this giant ball spinning
endlessly through space...

stopping for just a moment
to sing of life
incredible,
into the garden this earth day...

Photos: Our front yard meadow.

Connecting A Million and more Hearts on Earth Day
April 22, 2008

A Spiral Garden

The California spring weather has kept me from my computer... and out into the garden...

I planted our vegetable garden in a new area, having composted and turned the soil, after eliminating the bits of remaining lawn... and found that our new garden was just too flat...

So I took a sojourn to the Russian River that winds through the Alexander Valley in search of rocks to make a spiral mound...

This river is the place where I spent, just a little further down stream, every day of my summer youth...

I had the most wonderful chauffeur and guide to the best accessible place for rocks... None other than my father!

He was quite tickled at my simple pleasure of having a pile of rocks...

And finding myself in heaven...

I even found a spiral rock!!!

I loaded up three crates of these beauties into the back of my car...

and used approximately 39 of them for the almost four-foot spiral, not counting the side beds that I am still creating...

I removed all the vegetables that I planted the other day and laid the ground circle,

filling it with a mixture of planting mix and compost,

With  a drip line up through the middle... I then began adding more soil and winding the rocks upwards, creating a spiral and place for the little plants to grow...

Notice that I removed one of the rocks from the outer ring to open up the spiral to the rest of the garden space...

I then placed the plants, and have even more room to add a few more herbs and vegetables...

A cow came to graze the thyme and oregano...

and my flat garden has now transformed into a spiral of wonder and edible delights!!!

Please let me know if you make a spiral garden... For you can make them out of rocks, or bricks, or rocks and bricks, and any other combination that your imagination might come up with!!!

A Friend's Passing...

Holding on...
Life so fragile...
Yet so tenacious and strong...
How could it be
that you were just here,
feasting and sharing friendship,
celebrating your heart's love,
as we gathered
with laughter,
cherishing each other
and the stories we share...
Seventy years of footsteps,
last night
you crossed a threshold
that we can not yet follow...
Your smile
and sweet hug
still wrap around my shoulders
leaving an ache in my heart,
in the space where I grew to love you...

My dear friend Dr. J, lost her sweetheart and partner last night. Some of you know Dr. J personally, and some of you have come to know her through our de-cluttering enterprises that we've been helping each other with. Please hold her and Joe's family in your thoughts, sending them your love. Joe and Dr. J found each other later in life... and shared a very deep and loving relationship. My life has been so enriched in getting to know Joe and his amazing outlook on seeing the positive in life, and making every breath of life, have meaning...

Photo: Newly planted pea vines growing in our garden...

Another Spiral of De-Cluttering...

Two Tuesdays ago
it was my turn for my good friend Dr. J
to come and help me spiral into
decluttering some of my tangled spaces...

There were lots of places in our house to choose from that needed attention, but what I wanted the most was to turn my upstairs office and writing space into a more functional area...

This meant finally getting to THE BOX 
of labyrinth papers and articles
that has been haunting me for eight years...

So we lit a candle of intention and clearing...

And began by rearranging what was in my file drawers...

We wrote out the names of the content of each
of the seven drawers...

This simple act of first rearranging the cards for each drawer, helped me to see how best to rearrange the actual contents of the drawers... I went from seven drawers to six. And now have an empty drawer to grow into... the flow of these drawers, even though they are in three separate groups and areas in my office, make more sense and give better functionality, and makes filing a simple task, instead of being tossed into an ever growing box...

While cleaning out my supply closet...
I rediscovered the full size body drawing that I did in my first year of graduate studies in my expressive arts class... I am going to try and find the original slides that I gave to my professor of my process of making this art piece. The piece I turned in, in 1993, was of my bones, I believe inspired by Frida Kahlo and her portrait of Luther Burbank...

Over the four years of my graduate studies,
I worked on this piece, filling in the flesh,
sometimes with paint, sometimes with wet clay,
and finally draped my body with a scarf in 2002
before rolling it up and putting it away...

This art piece was made ready to let go of, as well as with some other pieces of paper that were ready for a ritual fire of transformation...

But first, Dr. J had no idea that part of her assisting me in decluttering entailed shoveling 91 wheelbarrows of mulch that was delivered in the middle of our sorting out my office!

Thank you Dr. J!!!!!

Michelle, Lynnette, and I were most grateful for this extra help!

And so was the meadow!!!

At last, after we let go of so many containers and drawers on wheels that will now find new homes, Dr. J and I lit the ritual fire and let pieces of the past go... (Tesa, do you recognize that candle????)

Dr. J was momentarily distracted by the sounds of birds and the scent of flowers wafting over us from the meadow and the blossoming garden...

But the flames brought our attention back,
and what had been,
transformed...
rising in a spiral prayer to the heavens...

and our task for this time was complete...

Coincidently... this post today, coinsides synchronistically with my dear Kimberly of Ariadne's Thread and her spiral post, Spiralling Onward...

I'll be away until next week and wish you all well, I will be by soon to see what you've been up to and as always, love to receive your comments when you stop by...

Spring 2008

Our meadow,
this first day of spring,
is a sea of budding blooms...

Coastal iris burst into glory...

Flags of joy unfurling in the mid-March sun...

Hidden in the folds of California native plants
are bright blues, yellows, and whites...

and this is only the beginning...

these blooms draw me ever inward...

Into the mystery...

of spring...

and the beauty of life renewing...

I have said this before, but my name and the spelling of my name, Lea, is from Old English and means meadow... To walk into this space that is coming to life in our front yard, is to walk into my name and it is divine and beautiful beyond anything I could have ever imagined...

Thank you so dear friends Lynnette and Michelle,
of Belle Feuille Garden Design,
for seeing into my heart's desire,
and bringing that desire to life...

Joan Champion ~ A Rare Bloom

This past weekend,
we attended the memorial service
for our dear friend Joan Champion who
passed on March 9, 2008.

Joan was a rare bloom...
None could resist her laughter and giggles,
or the light in her eyes
that would inspire you to see through the impossible...
She was an amazing artist,
watercolor being her favorite medium,
but she loved trying any thing that would bring forth
her creativity...
An amazing cook,
we enjoyed many a meal together,
and danced and walked many labyrinths,
as well as building a few!
For Joan was a hub of activity,
with family, friends, art, labyrinths, and was instrumental
in the dowsing community...
At the service, children, grandchildren, and friends
recalled all the ways that she touched people,
near and far,
but it was Alex,
Joan's husband and our friend,
who brought tears to my eyes
with his beautiful words celebrating
the life of his love and best friend companion...

Joan we will miss you greatly,
but will look for you in every bloom of beauty...

Photo: Joan Dempsy Champion, born December 24, 1944, passed March 9, 2008 and a bloom from our meadow...

Santa Rosa Labyrinth ~ Eleven Years Today!

I can hardly believe that the Santa Rosa Labyrinth is eleven years old today... That morning seems like yesterday, and yet so much has happened in the time since those eight concentric circles revealed this beautiful seven~path labyrinth that has now been made all around the world and graces our backyard...

I can not think of a better birth day tribute to the Santa Rosa Labyrinth, than the article in this March issue of the American Psychological Association Journal.

This spring, the APA headquarters in Washington, D.C. is installing a rooftop garden and the Santa Rosa Labyrinth will be the focus of this space and the beginning movement to transform acres of cement rooftops into green environments.

On p. 62, in the section devoted to "Curbing Climate Change," is the following article, written by Sara Martin, Editor of the APA Monitor of the American Psychological Association.

Restoring nature's footprint: APA is installing a rooftop garden that will provide ecological and psychological benefits.

These green rooftops are a collaborative effort to curb and prevent the pollution in local waterways, conserve energy, as well as provide an oasis for visitors and employees.

Sara writes, "For its green roof, APA will use a labyrinth design known as the Santa Rosa Labyrinth, conceived by psychologist Lea Goode-Harris, Ph.D.

Although the origins fo the labyrinth are a mystery- the first is estimated to have been built 3,000 to 5,000 years ago- its social and psychological benefits are clear, says Goode-Harris.

'When you walk in the company of other people from different views, different religions, and different political agendas, you're all on the same path, but you move through seeing different points of views,' she says. 'I can see that as especially important in a city like D.C. where there are so very many factions that can come together.'"

I am so pleased that the heart my doctoral research will be used in this way. It makes me happy beyond belief.

Happy Birth Day Santa Rosa Labyrinth...

You have brought me such joy and have held me oh so well, as I learn each and every day how to step more fully into life, following the path of my heart...

A Door in Time

One step,
This threshold crossed...
this place of opening
into memories
long forgotten,
brushed away with time,
the key
lost in folds of lush silk,
pressed deeply
into my heart
where I listen for footsteps
and remember...
Finding the
place of opening
I step through
and time no longer matters,
only the beat of desire
coming to life
in the cradle of the midnight sky,
as the sun marks,
over and over,
these passages in time taken,
finding the heart's desire
in this moment of
opening a door long closed...

Photo: A door in the village of Lacoste. A tumble of stone and wood being reborn beneath the shadow of the ruins of the castle of the Marquis de Sade, Provence, France, October 2007.

For other keys to other doors, please visit our hosts, Elizabeth of "The House in Marrakesh" and Frank of "My Paint Box."

Snow Labyrinths

For the first time ever...
I made a labyrinth in the snow...

My dear brother & sister-in-law's yard in Boston
and Mother Nature,
provided me with the perfect canvas...

and a simple path unfolded beneath my feet...

only to melt the next day...
in a breath of spring...

Phantom snowflakes...
swirling 'round us all the way home...

dusting our own labyrinth
with a flurry of tulip magnolias
and plum blossom snow...

Photos: My brother and sister in-law's yard after a snowstorm, with my footsteps making a simple three-circuit classical labyrinth, and our back yard Santa Rosa Labyrinth dusted in plum blossoms while the tulip magnolia bursts into the sky with song...

Blossoms & My Mother

Mom...

These blossoms are for you...
on this gray, gray day...

Captured when a bit of blue slipped from the sky
in showers of liquid sunshine...

Ice melting... like the day the Ice Queen heard
the sound she'd long forgotten...
The giggles and laughter of a baby...

deep within the green, green, moist forest...

celebrating the blossoming of spring and magic returned...
and celebrating you...

yes...
celebrating all that you are...
and the wonder and beauty you have gifted us with...

Happy Birth Day Mom!
May all your blossoming wishes come true!!!

Celebrating my mom's birth~day
and the sculpture gift from all of us to her
created by the oh so talented artist Stephanie Blythe!

Cyber Hands

On a day of no sun...
gray clouds dust the air,
thick with rain...
and rainbows stir from other hands,
reaching across cyberspace
touching,
illuminating,
creating,
breathing life
into
the smallest of gestures,
"inspiratrice"
says the be-ing of eb...

Cyber hands and "illuminated photo"
inspired by eb, Stephanie, & LK ...

This Duet

I am myself,
moving
ever towards
the center
that is right here...
Time
envelopes us...
away,
together,
the way your hands move,
haunts my heart
and finds movement in my feet...
The shape of
your tears
find the river of my soul
and we are this room,
these duets
of love
in all stages of leaving
and coming together
for the last time
in this breath of beginning
again
and again...
This pearl in the palm of my hand
is our dance,
luminous light
found in the irritation
of being human,
this joy
of matter
opening
into the infinite
space of our bodies,
this duet
of love...

Photo: Pearl found this morning on the hardwood floor at Soul Motion Body Prayer, during the "last dance" with my partner...

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

May love
bloom,
and touch your heart...

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Photo: Amaryllis blooming in the heart of our home; paper cigar gift for my husband with antique cigar band from "Theatre of Dreams."

The Ice Queen & The Bloglandia Polar Festival

Once...
there was an Ice Queen...

Long, long ago
in the silver of the night moon,
she lost her heart
and a sliver of ice nested into the empty space...

and hardened
and grew...

and became colder and colder,
as all the world
went to sleep
beneath a blanket of snow and ice...

Long was her reign
of loneliness...

No sleep,
no waking,
no laughing nor dreaming,
for she had forgotten
all things green,
soft,
and lovely...

Then,
one day,
not so long ago...
The ice queen noticed
that the sky was a different shade of blue,
no longer just indigo,
but shades of cerulean, azure,
and a deepening periwinkle...

And in that moment...
The Ice Queen heard a sound
that she had long forgotten...
The giggles and laughter of a baby,
And she turned towards
this music and the ice in her heart melted

as did her crown of ice...

as she raised her arms in delight...

of all things radiant...
found only in shadows...

And the heavens reached down to the earth
and clothed her in rich fabrics and furs,
for her skin could finally feel the cold of winter...

and for the first time,
in ever so long,
this woman of oh so many experiences,
stepped back into life...

Leaving footprints of spring flowers
in her every step she took...

Photos: Doll, original, vintage Barbie from my childhood collection~ Clothing, hand-made by my maternal grandmother over forty years ago~ Violets and Narcissus from our garden.

Bloglandia Polar Festival Hosted by our beloved Elizabeth Bunsen/eb ~ Be~Dream~Play. Please visit her site for more links to other Snow Queens, Party Animals, Polar Parade and blogs of wonder!!!