Downtime and choices.

The winds have been Northerly and brining cooler weather with them. The light of day is changing and one can see that Summer is beginning its way out. What a Summer it’s been.

The New Moon in March saw me on my way to a farming project in Western Maryland from South Florida where I left my girlfriend preparing for her adventure on the Appalachian Trail and the ocean. A few short months later I was off that project due to mental blowout from the wake and bake psychosis of the owner and living in my tent on the beautiful property of her sister, Susan. It was perfect, really, for it gave me the time I needed to collect my thoughts and drop the stressful energy of the Distillery Farm project before I bought my house in the burbs of Detroit on the July 29^th. I’ve spent all of August so far doing demolition, moving walls and playing with textured finishes on those walls and ceilings. So far it’s been an artistic month and a fine way to see out the Summer.

The downtime between projects and life phases is important for it allows the process of clearing and centering the self before a new life phase starts and it’s better done alone as not to pick up other people’s energetic “stuff” and steered away from your new self. I’ve had time to go over contracts and plans for a project I’ve been part of for a while and this period has given me the time to reflect and reevaluate priorities and make the choices that come with a radical change in lifestyle. I’ve had to look at some things and people I may need to let go and whether it will be worth it in the long run. Funny how we choose what box of choices we want to choose from. How do we want to be seen? How must we been seen and with or by whom? Are the possibilities of what we can do for others in the bigger picture worth those sacrifices and personal changes? How will we be remembered?

In the meantime I’ll focus on my house and making it a home I may leave just after completion. A home that has also served as an altar from which I worked other projects. Perhaps I’ve been fixing it for someone else all along. Mysteries or are they choices we don’t remember?

Downtime allows the mind to wander to past memories and reevaluate what we got out of those experiences and the people we worked with. It allows us the freedom to observe our new surroundings and play a game of “guess what’s next” to why we are there and what will be the theme of this next phase. The last six months have been hectic in trying to work a farming project, wrap up an apprenticeship, move to a new home and start renovation and review contracts of a huge future project. Now I only have the house and future project. The apprentice is now Shaman and will be someone who makes her mark in a good way. A couple days ago I heard a tornado touched down near the farming project and tore up the garden area. A funny Goddess, isn’t she? I’ve been enjoying the time to be artistic in the interior finishes of my house. The women that have worked on my house with me have been interesting, to say the least, and I found myself being the Shaman again in listening to the things they said they couldn’t tell anyone else, a day after I met them.

Since I’m no longer focused one person others are writing and calling and I wonder if I will be working with someone on a one on one basis so soon or will it be a series of people in short encounters.

It’s been nice to hear from other Shaman I’ve trained and their people as I share the stories of the last six years. I’ve caught up on who the new Shamans are, who have gone to the afterlife and the adventures of the journeys. I love Shamanic life. It can take you to places and occupations that you never imagined you would get to and send you completely on the other side of the spectrum on the next phase. There’s no telling what you’ll see in this life but you can be sure of one thing; it will never be the same at any time, nor will you know how things will work out till the end. We have a saying: “Just do the pictures.” Now my picture is the guy who stays to himself and works on the little white house at the end of that short street in a neighborhood where you practically do whatever you want. Nice picture. I like it.