Haiku Ellipses...Invitation...Response...

CROWN 2 ROOT from crown to the root colors co-mingle and swirl up and down the spine in qi gong (as taught by master Bruce Frantzis), qi energy flows from the top of the head (the crown) to the bottom of the feet (the root)...it actually begins above the head and extends below the feet into the earth...there are hundreds of "energy gates" within the body between these two points that need to be "open" for the qi to flow properly and energize (give life to) the body...when the qi is blocked, problems begin...when the qi is flowing well, the systems of the body are healthy. to facilitate the flow of chi, start at the crown of the head and FEEL the energy (when blocked, the energy may feel like tension, something not quite right, strength, tightness...) melting like ice to water, sinking down through the neck, arms, torso, hips, legs, and into the feet and earth...do this in a standing posture with the feet comfortably apart, head level, eyes closed, hands just touch...

CROSS CENTER the cross centers us reaches out to all of life light and energy the cross points in the cardinal four directions, sending out energy from its center, reaching all of life with love, light, and energy. the catholic sign of the cross, when repurposed as a native nature sign, can also be thought of as north (father), south (song), and east-west (holy spirit), or as a number of other 4-fold ideas, for example, 1) mother, father, son, and daughter, 2) inside, outside, up and down, 3) mind, body, emotions, and spirit,and 4) self, others, nature, divine... what are the 4 cardinal directions (purposes) of your life...perhaps you have more than 4, but see if you can write down 4--how are you currently fulfilling those purposes...what is it like traveling on those paths...do you have a vision, can you see the end goal, are you enjoying the process of journeying without yet arriving... draw a cross on paper or on a vision board and write a word, or draw an image, to represent each o...

GREEN FIELD PLAY black dots shape a face spiral energy circles play in the green field the face is ghostly with only black dots framed by red hair..the 5 spirals are colorful energy centers...the green dotted aura is the playing field... what features describe your face...your energy centers...what is the color of the field you're playing in?  we may not be able to choose the features of our face, but we can choose what features to focus on and be grateful for our senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch... we may not be able to feel our energy centers, but with practice, we can tune into the body, feeling it's pulsations...energy flowing, energy blocked, energy tight, energy smooth...how many qualities of energy in the body can you be aware of...relax, let the tension go, let the qi disolve like ice to water, flowing down from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet into the earth... we may not know what field we're playing in, but we can choose to create (or pl...

TREE BLOOM rooted in the earth rising through the greenery bloom into color the beginnings of a bloom are in the earth, connected to roots that seek out nutrients...these roots penetrate the ground and rise through the greenery (grass, moss, other plants)...tree stem then trunk and branches rise until they in maturity can support the blooming of flowers...here, in multi-colors we want the color and smell of beautiful blooms and are often unwilling to rest in the darkness of the earth, nurturing the seed, roots, and stalk, allowing time to mature, tending to the growth of stem, trunk, and branches...then, if the conditions are right, BLOOM (reminded of the Audio Adrenalin's album Bloom ). consider your life "in process"...take an inventory...what is beneath the earth that needs nurturing--how will you concretely take action--5 minute minimum--to nurture it today...what is trying to push up from the earth...what needs the tender care of a seedling--what can you do to protec...

GREEN CUP patterns of colors leaking into the green cup filled with Mother Earth the colors could be chakras, rainbows of frequencies, an artist's palette, or different aspects of one's life..."leaking into" implies that we cannot hold onto everything, that things "leak" out of us and into the world, our energies are in continuous interaction with the world beyond our skin, including other people...at a fundamental level, the world (including us) is Mother Earth contained in the green cup, the greenness of earth.  what is leaking out of you? what are you trying to hold on to and need to let go of...perhaps you can create a meditation and/or ceremony to put it in a green cup and offer it to mother earth? as one example, we leak out urine and feces every day...most of us flush it down into the sewer, but what if we gave it back to mother earth , what if we contained it in a compost pile, and returned what the Mother gave us (food and water) back to Her to comp...

SLOPE ebbing and flowing slow, fast...low, high...in and out... the slope of breathing mostly, we don't notice our breathing...it ebbs and flows according to the needs of our body and the state of our mind...sometimes slow, sometimes faster, sometimes low or deep abdominal, sometimes high or shallow chested...in and out the air comes and goes...underneath it all is a pattern...how aware are we of that pattern, the slope of breath, the slope of life... pay conscious attention to the in and out breath for one minute without trying to change it...just watch...what pattern do you notice, what is the slope of your breath...do you see a connection to whatever is going on in your mind and body at the moment...if you want to shift or change, experiment with changing your thoughts, moving (or stilling) your body, or changing the rhythm of the breath (increasing or decreasing)...see how changing one of the three aspects influences the other two...  

DELTA start with small delta observe the delta expand delta vibration a small change designated as "delta" (the mathematical triangular symbol for "change") can lead to other changes that vibrate to infinity (the quantum physics butterfly effect). what do you want to delta (change) in your life? start with a small delta, a small change, something seemingly insignificant, something that takes little time and effort...the intention and the behavior are what count...let the little delta play in the background of your mind and days/nights, sprouting, taking root, pushing up through the soil to grow into a stem with leaves, and eventually bearing fruit without your conscious efforts to direct the growth...all you need do is provide the conditions, metaphorically, the proper amounts of sunlight, water, nutrients in the soil, pull off the insects...the small delta will grow into a bigger delta...try it and see for yourself...

LOLLIPOPPED TIPS christmasy flower red and green lolipopped tips rainbow of flowers red and green are christmas colors...arranged in a circular pattern with multicolored lollipopped tips reminds me of a rainbow flower...something i haven't seen in nature, but something that "appeared" while doodling... "doodle around" for awhile with some low-stakes activity like drawing, doing dishes, dancing, gardening, or making a song...see if you don't surprise yourself by creating something new, something that didn't exist before, giving birth to something that was inside you...have fun and take pleasure in your doodling.

FIREBIRDS fire spirit birds surrounding the hearts of those  confirmed in the faith i recall standing next to my Dad (we call him Grandpa Baesler now that he is in his late 80's) at St. John's Catholic Church in Russellville, Arkansas on a Saturday evening mass...to my surprise about 15 young people were being confirmed int he faith...looking at them as a group standing in front of the Bishop, they seemed so young, so serious, so ready to give and receive love...i recall my own confirmation, how blessed i was to be surrounded by the loving faithful...i prayed for those being confirmed, that the great Fire Bird Spirit of Love would enter them and fly with them throughout their life, that they would find a community of people to give and receive loving support and encouragement to fly with on their life journey, especially a small kindred loving group that many call family...may it be so...Amen can you recall a time when you were "confirmed in the faith" by a community ...

ELEPHANT BALLS psychedelic balls sitting, staring, right at you elephant plays trunk  elephant balls may bring images of a bull elephant charging, but these kinds of elephant balls are quite different...they sit there, staring right at you...at first, you may not even see the elephant playing its trunk like a saxophone, measuring out bluesy notes from low to high and back again...moreover, the colors appear as chakras (or super enlarged molecules) that make up our interconnected bodies. imagine your favorite musical instrument as a series of colored balls...see yourself playing the instrument...what kind of music do you want to create with these colored balls...with your life? if you are able, try to actually play the kind of music you want to hear, or look up on the internet someone playing the kind of music you want to hear with that instrument.