Working on career SOULPATH - Christmas Time with Family, 2013

Working on career. Stable at job now – with much goodness within it. Doesn’t make the money for a longterm relationship with a child – in my opinion – with wanting a homestead, solar house, refurbs, a car that works and a mother that can stay home with the child.

Dad puts the heat on me like in the Lodge when the steam hot rock beings breathed their life-giving death into me...

The first thing I think of is teaching ecology with the public schools. The second thing I think of is a counseling track. Then I remember Michael Young and – wanting to make a career that gets me bing payed by what I already do – by bine what I already am. The world of creative art – songs – all this on the side right now, because it is something I already do but am miles behind in making happen.

The Soul Path in Ecology and Teaching with Young Adults and just-turned-men is a path I also think of – workshops and working with Permaculture Institute and the like to guide soul path and direction with people.

That means getting on board with Kaveen and other Teachers-Counselors and making something happen.

It means putting together some poems for the Asheville Poetry Review as well.

And the first things mean getting into courses with RALC – and the Counselling Certification with the State of North Carolina.

But I remember the MESS of energy that I get into with really superficially extroverted things. And I want to avoid that if I can.

And reading Nature and the Soul by Bill Plotkin.

And of course there's learning some carpentry skills with Jen or anyone I can work with. 

Worked on my SoulPath today. I used the Mankind Project "Mission Exercise: Wheel of Life" pie chart to "assess" where I was, developmentally, in different areas of my life. 

Seeing that I felt like I was at a "zero" in the realm of Community Service and Citizenship left me longing to fill up and develop that path. And so I reflected what I felt like would be various layers of development, from my "zero" (or maybe "1") all the way out as far as I could, to "Doing It! and reflecting back — which is what I am doing here — and ultimately publishing some summaries of my quest/path to journals such as Oracle 20/20 or PanGaia or other publications. 

Having this "important but not urgent" chart here is good for my focusing — I have taken a step in their direction today for each Layer I drew-uncovered on my Chart. 

I am exploring a regional journal of spiritual ecology — and my NEXT STEP seems to be having a discussion with Appalachian Voices about the possibility, since they occupy the market sector and range but not the spirit of what I am talking about. (They are activist and informative, but not so artistic or expressive as I am imagining). 

I wrote Chuck Marsh about my desire to give workshops with ecology and permaculture blending with Advising, SoulPath, Mission, and Purpose questions in life — the "reflection" and mentorship, the "samtalspartner" segment that David Issacs named for me in our own discussion; and the same approach that a lot of learning institutes are offering now (due to a real lack of mentorship, guidance, and true Soul Care in our culture of formal education) — Gaia U, Mycelium (perhaps!?); Joy Harmon's approach; probably some of the alternative schools around this asheville region. 

And somehow, learning and doing interviews would be so useful: something that has come to me so many times. Really learning how to do research through multiple interviews. SKILL: Researching questions and uncovering shared collective knowledge through qualitative research processes:  

• The myriad of collective living situations - micro-communitarian communal homesteading in asheville and surrounds

• Eco-Regional Archetypal Stories

• Collective / Psyche Archetypes "where this regional eco-cultural story wants to go" 

Just emailed David Issacs about the above!

Checking out,

Michael

Soul Delivery, Story, and Ecology

FAERIE TROUPE

I'm working with the Faeries of Southern Appalachia - the Whee Ahh Faerie Kin.

I've been asked to help come up with song cycles, stories, narratives, songs, and scripts for performances.

I'm very stimulated and excited, honored, and taking this request very seriously. 


SOUL PATH WORKSHOP WITH PSYCHOLOGIST

I've been asked to help Dr. Bob Hannah create and deliver a soul path workshop coming up in November.

I am honored by this request and look forward to an apprenticeship in a soul-delivery method with ceremony. 


CELTIC VISION QUEST

I have been asked to hold space in a Celtic Vision Quest for a friend of mine this fall as he walks a path all night in search of a deeper authenticity and answers to some questions and life transition.

Tim honors me with this request. I am looking forward to it. 


UPCOMING STORY NIGHT

Am planning on delivering a story at Open Mic Story Night this coming Friday in Asheville.


IMPULSES TO LEARN IPM AND SEASONAL CYCLES

Am still getting impulses to pursue IPM, to learn "plant cycles for flower-nectar provision throughout the seasons" -- building the ability to manifest rich, faerie-laden, eden ecologies for homestead ecoscapes. I am in a spirit relationship with the insect world right now... irridescent, beautiful, lovely, beneficial creatures.

This interesects with the "seasonal calendar" piece I've been so interested in -- from a planting, flowering, ecological provisioning perspective. Fruits throughout the seasons... Flowers throughout the seasons. Next is Habitat...

And then of course there are the individual cycles...

dance of life productions

 “vignettes of the dance of the ecological world told in a lyrical narrative style that informs deeper human truths and potentials as well as awareness of the greater patterns of life...”

I've Come Home.

Here I am. I’ve made it. I’ve made it home – home to the southern appalachians. 10 years ago, I decided to come home – to make my home – back in the Southeast. here I am. I’m not lost anymore. I’m home.

I have people who should be around as long as life grants them forms. AS long as God gives them bodies, breathing.

I’ve come home to Soul: purposeful personal work. Story-gathering, symbol and archetype gathering, listening, being present with what is. Gardening. Having community. Having people who have know us a number of years and neither of us think the other’s going anywhere.

Celebrating the real truth of the now – whatever form I find it in.

Finding people in my life who desire and celebrate truth and clarity, and clear, loving compassion, purpose, authenticity and joy above all things. These are things I celebrate: presence, deepest truth, inquiry, purposefulness, love and pleasure, compassion, right relationship, right work, clarity, soul, dreams, the dance we share, the stories we share. Ecstatic experience. Authentic “showing up”. Sharing, dialogue, dance. Joy. 

Participatory Ceremonial Performances-Education

Archetypes, mythology, new story, cosmo-ecology, transformation

Long Day Calling in the Directions

LOVER

Working with plants

Having a relationship

Woman, body, lust

Learning slack string

How to express myself better

Finding a mentor in the cultural archetypes field.

WARRIOR

doing:

·      SINGING-SONGWORITING-POETRY-GUITAR

·      PLANTS-EARTH-GARDENING-(BUILDING-CONSTRUCTION)

·      EXPLORING CULTURAL ARCHETYPES – SPIRITUAL ECOLOGY

·      RELATIONSHIPS ... (and) to COMMUNITIES

·      AWARENESS –

WIZARD

I see clouds – over the mountain.

There is a dragon flying around in these clouds.

            (voice to text for iphone)

If the dragon is my Story of E—l?

The dragon is free --- but he is confined to those clouds as well, he cannot leave those clouds

And I stand, from a distance, under the maple tree on the top of a hill, far away –

and I watch those clouds, the dragon’s clouds

and I see how he is bounded, free yet bounded – how this is not as free as the witness

which is itself bounded? created, by the human consciousnesss?

we shall see

There is the Dragon – flying in the clouds –

Now it is stormy ; I see him flying in the storm

the storm of his own story

Then he is gone –

and there are just clouds.

And then he is infused in everything –

Everything drinks

of a piece of the dragon

All leaves of trees,

all grass,

all particles of Air are

infused with this Dragon

.

If I cling

to a story,

it is like my Head

is those clouds – inside a Storm rages,

The story dragon wants out,

wants to infuse into everything.

STORY

is another Coin

KING -- ?

AWARENESS

continually shedding story, being present with what arises.

SUBCONSCIOUS – EGO

worry

anxiety

movement

cleaing

spending time in the cyclic details

organizing the details

feels stifling

but it needs to be done!

I’m avoiding the fact that I don’t want to go to town this eve and be with Em – the dragon has dispersed – the beloved is in things – some speak to me more than others –

fear of holding on to things = diharrea

YES – my ‘drift state” of underground led me to this quote

and seeing again my tendency to excitedly “give away” what is most precious

(diharrea)

CENTER

1)   head and mind communicate

2)   in this case, Yoga was the connector. queen’s pose, then king’s.

3)   feeling of deep communications... led to

the knowing that the heart feeds the mind, literally, and not vice versa;

the mind can feeds the heart by craftting, lovingly, good situations for the Heart, goodwill experiences.. .

1) I will offer to Draw Emmalee – good meditation for the Heart.

2) Offer to adjust my goals – to simply be manifesting a situation where I can support myself living elsewhere for the next two years.

NEED:

income

studio space

access to community interactions

rememberance of benefits of alone time :

ANCESTRAL:

Honoring the slow, quiet connections—

Honoring past connections, foundations, old friends, skills obtained and what I can do with them... Moving in the present-obtained gifts, taking spacetime for those to turn over.

FUTURE CHILDREN:

Do what I KNOW needs to be done ...

DO WHAT I KNOW IN MY HEART NEEDS TO BE DONE – DO IT ... DO IT ---- DO IT

Slack string guitar work-practice

Archetypes –painting – Transformations on Earthculture involving inner-outer work of Art Story

Ecology knowledge of beneficial creatures – feeding-sheltering all my relations in a good way on this little patch of Earth

Workign on the Fable of the creature in the clouds

Continuing to Earn enough money to support myself and uphold my time in a Good way

Design class for kids if needed.

AHO MITAKUYE OYASSIN – I HAVE COME TO A GOOD PLACE. MAY I HONOR THE SPIRIT OF THIS WORK THAT I HAVE DONE TODAY. MAY I POST IT ON MY WALL. MAY I KEEP IT IN MY BONES. MAY I DANCE ITS ACTIONS. MAY I MOVE ITS FULLNESS. MAY I BE SUPPORTED. MAY THE GIFTS I HAVE TO GIVE BE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ALL THINGS.

AHO! 

skybar soul