September 22, 2004

"Dust of Faraway Lands"
7:29pm

Egyptian vase with Egyptian dust

When I opened the large package that came all the way from Cairo, Egypt, I was amused to find Egyptian dust on the shapely brass vase. I fingered it, thinking of the desert lands there, and how our word for 'desert' must surely have derived from theirs, dshrt, or 'red land'.

Hieroglyph for 'desert'

The dust on the vase does not look of a reddish hue, though many desert lands have that hue, in particular New Mexico. I think also of the red rock of Sedona, Arizona. But this is Cairo dust, and although Cairo is quite close to the Nile river, its eastern edge borders the desert.

I put my finger to the dust thinking, "I am not able to go to Egypt, yet tiny particles of its land have come to me."

Later last night, while perusing articles archived from Ancient Egypt Magazine, I came across a story on Egypt's Gold Country and the modern day jewelers who work with gold. "The two methods the ancient Egyptians used to bond gold together were welding and soldering." The modern craftmen also use these techniques, for as I examine my silver and gold scarabs, I see they are each made of two layers of metal welded together.

Cairo has "one of the world’s most active precious metal markets." As I read of the hundreds of workshops "tucked away in Old Cairo’s winding, dusty alleys," I smiled as I remembered the dust on my vase.

September 23, 2004

"Classifying Sensations"
10:14pm

Today, I did not avoid "classifying everything as pleasant and unpleasant" as Crowley via Webb recommends. It was hot at work. I felt as if I were undergoing thermonuclear meltdown. My young co-workers, seasoned low desert dwellers from birth, were not in the least hot. They were there, in their knit T shirts and thick denim pants, not feeling hot. I was in a thin cotten woven seersucker blouse with lightweight chambray skirt, spraying water on myself and roasting.

Most of my mental energy went into classifying how VERY unpleasant I felt. Then it got worse. One of my tasks was to take the down feathers from one pillow and add it to those within another pillow. I tried to grab the soft fluffy stuff, thinking of all the poor little chilly nekkid ducks, and cram it into the pillow before it could escape. I got most of pillow one's filling into pillow two. However, the rest floated everywhere and required a special heavy industrial vacuum cleaner to remove it. Some of it was caught in my hair and around my neck, twisting into my various necklace strands.

I itched head to toe, and could not stand it. Fortunately, it was near enough to the end of the day, I could quit a half hour early. I rushed home to the bathtub. As I immersed myself in the warm water, it felt wonderful to scrub myself clean. Sometimes it is absolute joy to classify something as 'pleasant' in order that we experience the delightful sensations to their fullest extent.

September 25, 2004

"Degrees Of Heat"
4:41am

I was convinced there was something wrong with the AC unit at work. When I came home Thursday, our unairconditioned apartment which was 86F degrees felt cooler than the work environment. It was better to think the aspect breaking down was not me but a machine. Then I began to have objective proof. Friday, my co-workers noticed an odd smell of burning metal before I did. This odd smell ceased when the AC unit was turned off. It wasn't any hotter with it turned off than turned on.

A repairman was called. It is strange. I was just as hot Friday as I was Thursday. Yet somehow knowing it wasn't my body going strangely thermonuclear enabled me to endure the heat much better. I had been greatly worried this was a new aspect of 'the change of life', and was fearful of its portent. At my age, I have come to expect the occasional heat flash, and know the flushing face and hot neck have an internal cause. So I am quite often hot when others are not.

Yet a little hot is one thing. There's degrees of difference between 'my eyes are melting' heat, baked nearly senseless heat and a little flush. I am relieved.

Relief was followed by happy surprise. I went to the post office yesterday after work, and found two packages waiting for me. The smaller was two books we'd gotten from the library and read thoroughly, but want on hand for reference. Knowing what's in that package, I haven't opened it yet.

The other contained jewelry and the iron dragon I'd ordered. I took some photos, two of which are pleasing:

Julia's new earrings'

Being of iron, he is of substantial weight. I really like this sculpture and of course he is the 'Alpha Draconis'.

September 29, 2004

"Expanding The Mental Horizons"
2:01am

Feeling quietly joyful, I feel a sense of optimism. Earlier this evening, I drew a card out of the THOTH deck on a whim and got the 'Six of Disks':

Six of Disks: Success. Success and gain in material things. Power. Influence. Nobility. Philantropy. Somewhat dreamy and transitory situation.

Egyptian hieroglyph for 'Noble' "The word for 'noble' (spsi/shepsoo) includes a seated man who carries a baton of authority and a folded cloth that is a symbol of prosperity; the word is determined by a roll of papyrus."

I note that the determining factor is 'a roll of papyrus', indicating the learned status of the noble. My pull out of the tarot deck also sounds like the horoscope for today, 'Jupiter conjunct Mercury', if one takes a slightly less 'materialistic' viewpoint and the leaning that 'knowledge is power', or potential power. Of course the expansion of Jupiter is combined with the intellectual capacities of Mercury, and I do see all kinds of opportunities for research. Curiously, the horoscope warns of not 'over-extending' oneself, and it is wise to take one's time.

I like the way a friend worded it on the local pagan group:

The coolest thing about a Search for Truth is, no matter how long you're at it and how much you find, there's always a flash of color right at the edge of your vision; glimpsed movement at the turn of the path; sparks of light on the nighttime horizon; forever reminding you that there's so much more to know.

---------Carli

So I make plans to enjoy the 'moment of discovery', where ever I find it, knowing the next one waits around the bend.

I had such a small moment, while enjoying the images of Utrillo at http://www.rosings.com/cover.html. Looking at them, I could get lost in his worlds. They are scenes of simplicity, yet with an optimistic glow. They make me further ponder what I might find intriguing in my own environment.

Thanks to John Bailey for getting me curious about Utrillo.

September 30, 2004

"Advice For The Ages"
5:52am

As part of advice from Deep Self regarding the aging process, I received the following poem:

Let like water rolling down the back, let fall the troubling worries. You cannot answer them, except in the present. And if you cannot answer them, let them go. Release them. Breathe deeply and often. Inhale the rich essence, take it to anoint the hidden chambers. Smile and Forget Not, Aletheia. JAL, 9-29-04