Great novels

I read a lot,  but never the books you'll find in book clubs.  I read romance,  science fiction,  post apocolypse and fantasy.  I read a lot and most of it is pretty good.  Books I'm happy to pass the time with,  books that I smile on rereading.

I read The Space Between Worlds when it first came out and really enjoyed it.  A lot of science fiction has superior writing - think of Ursuala le Guin or Margaret Atwood.  I hold Micaiah Johnson up to those standards.  The writting is excellent,  but what I reallly loved is what she did with the notion of the multiverse and how it works.  

I didn't know she had written a sequel,  I just stumbled across it on amazon.  So I reread The Space Between Worlds - love rereading! - then started the new book - Those Beyond the Wall.   Set in the same universe,  ten or so years later,  with some familiar characters but introducing the amazing Mr Scales.  I loved it even more.  

I don't want to give spoilers,  but I do want people who may be on the fence about science fiction or just buying a new book today a gentle nudge - go get this one.  Or at least read the reviews which are deep and thoughtful and show why you should immerse yourself in this gorgeous writing and fierce ideology today! 

Leonard Cohen

To celebrate Leonard Cohen's 90th Birthday (had he made it that long) we went to see a supremely talented Kletzmer fusion band, Monsieur Camembert perform his songs.  

It was just wonderful!  It was like being in a sound bath of gorgeous music (amazing interpretations!) and extraordinary singing.  And then there were the lyrics and Cohen's web of words that just spin you into another world. 

If you don't know his work,  he's one of a kind. Try this atlantic article for starters - The Anti Rockstar.  Dark, sad,  gorgeous,  self indulgent,  seeking,  pessimistic,  desiring contact and connection to the point of desperation.  Just amazing! 

I consider him a poet as much as a song writer and often love covers of his songs more than his orginals,  but he's a wonder and I'm glad he was in the world,  to give us his light to shine in the dark... 

Observe, don't Absorb

I know, I'm doing  too many catch phrase blogs lately - but catch phrases are so helpful!

I was talking to a woman who was being triggered by her family.  They've been dysfunctional for a long time and keep trying to drag her back into the game.  She is already low contact,  and doesn't want to cut them all off altogether. So I said,  you can observe their behaviours but you don't have to absorb their energy.  An invitation can be declined - they invite you into their dramas,  you observe but not absorb.  

She seemed to really like that,  so I'm offering it to you here - you don't have to absorb everything that is thrown at you.   I'm a great believer in energy work,  and this is a great description of how to deal with energy that is being thrown at you - you can observe it,  but don't take it on board and you definitely don't have to take it personally or feel that only you can fix it! 

Thinking about Loneliness

I came across this article - about an  interview between Elie Weisel and Oprah Winfrey in 2012. 

PROF. WIESEL: Sometimes [students] ask me, "What should we take away from your classes?" And a few times, I came up with a formula, which I'm not sure is always good. I said simply: "Look, whatever you do in life, remember: Think higher and feel deeper. It cannot be bad if you do that."

OPRAH: Mmm... that will be with me for the rest of my life: "Think higher." ...And what is it you most want the world to know?

PROF. WIESEL: That if there is one person on the planet who still is suffering from loneliness and from pain or despair, and we don't know about it, or we don't want to know about it, then something is wrong with the world.

OPRAH: And each of us, through our wanting to know and wanting the other person, whomever that is, to not feel alone.

PROF. WIESEL: That's exactly it. I cannot cure everybody. I cannot help everybody. But to tell the lonely person that I am not far or different from that lonely person, that I am with him or her, that's all I think we can do and we should do.

Here's more from both of them on Oprah's site

Sometimes I do readings for people who feel profoundly lonely and alone in their loneliness.   The tarot is about commonalities,  the threads that tie us all together.  In their readings, I try to emphasize those threads. 

I know that loneliness can lead to despair,  that despair can lead to hopelessness.  It's so important to challenge our feelings of loneliness,  to find where we connect to others,  to reach out.  Yes,  some people may disapoint us,  but not all...  and where there people with the wisdom and stature of Eli Wiesel around,  they can make us brave,  and we can feel that reaching out is worth the risk. 

We all react in our own ways...

 

I was scrolling around and came across this saying, purportedly originally Russian -   The same boiling water that softens the potato will harden the egg. 

Sometimes something happens to us, and the person next to us is a potato,  but we are an egg. Who is repsonding best? There is no answer to that,  we are responding according to our essense.  There is no shame in hardening when you are in a boiling situation if you are egg like;  no shame in softening if you are more potatoish..  What matters is that you don't judge others for their reactions if they differ from yours.  

The one I always look at sideways is when older adults say,  I was hit as a child,  nothing wrong with me,  and so they should be able to hit their grandchidren.  Well, even if it was true,  and we could argue otherwise,  just because you went through bullying or cruelty,  and grew stronger,  doesn't mean that the next person will.  And I like the egg and potato example,  because the situation that was meaningful to you might be devestating to others,  and vica versa. 

So learn about your qualities - what triggers you,  what gives you hope.  And know that others are also triggered and encouraged but it may be by very different events. And neither of you are wrong. 

So then what happened?

I had a reading with a new client.  She found me via this blog.  She read about the woman whose second boyfriend,  while superficially different to the first,  was just the same devil in disguise.  

So what happened with them? she asked.

I don't know.  The woman hasn't come back yet.  

And she was disappointed,  like the tv series had cut short too soon.  (I always change a few details,  to keep anonymity.  People don't even recognise their own stories in the blog!)

I often feel like that too.  People come to a reading,  I see all about their lives,  and then they disappear and I don't get to see what happened next.  That's why I love repeat clients.  Even years later,  they come back and we see how the story continues...