Chaos

One word today...Overwhelmed.

My mind and heart are whirling with the sheer gravity of the amount of stuff to DO. From the big stuff like finding property to buy and figuring out this whole trying to get pregnant thing to the little things like cleaning out my email inbox which has well over 6.8 gb in it. The apartment is completely trashed from having people over for the Superbowl (and there were only 2!), the cats puked on the new rug in the living room, the bedroom and hobby room are turning into chaos jungles, and I have a mountain of work to do.

I know that I should just take one step at a time and it will all eventually get done. But the chaos is driving me to madness. All my organization gets destroyed in minutes. Even when I think I have finally gotten the perfect solution, created the perfect tetris formation, thrown out enough of the excess junk. I just can't seem to do it all fast enough. It takes 24 hours for all my careful work to turn back into chaos. Ergo, Madness. Mounting frustration that just makes me want to kick and hit things. It's so hard to sit at my desk and tune all of it out so that I may actually get my work done. One of the reason I suppose why working from home is not always a blessing. I can't escape from all of this. And I can't take a break and do something about it all right now. Even though I know that doing so would improve my work efficiency. Since I would no longer be regularly distracted by the piles of clothes, miscellaneous boxes, stacks of books, and the massive amounts of odds and ends strewn helter-skelter everywhere.

I may just have to call a halt to all activities that do not include apartment rehab. My husband and I continually got tangled up in our own lives and ignore the place we are living. We both hate the chaos and it only makes us even more disagreeable the longer we let it go on. Lucky for him, he gets to leave the chaos and go to work.

I know there is a solution to this. I just don't seem to have the strength and energy that I know it will take to implement. Ok, now that I have take too much time to write about chaos, back to the work at hand. More work done = less stress. Hope you are having a less overwhelming day!

Burning Bowl Ceremony

My KTG girls and I have been talking for the past month or so about doing a ceremony or ritual to bring in the new year for our first gathering of the year. Something that would signify that we were ready to start anew. Since my apartment was already decorated for just such an occaission I volunteered to host our NewYears Gathering. I appreciate these women on so many levels. They never give up on me, are always there to lend support, and they are enabling me to become a better person.  A more complete and well rounded person. So I wanted to make sure that our new year cleansing meant something for all of us. I scoured the web searching for ceremonies and rituals and finally decided that a Burning Bowl Ceremony was the best choice for us.

The Ceremony consists of writing down regrets from the previous year. Things that you want to let go of and purge from your soul. Once written you can either tear up the paper and add it to a burning pyre or you can burn the full paper which is what we chose to do.

While you are burning your woes you read the following:

Ready! I release and let go, ready to make the most of this present moment.

As I reflect on the events of the past year, I recognize successes and failures, gains and losses. Each event has taught me something and made me wiser. Knowing this, I acknowledge and release the past year in gratitude.

In contemplation of the coming year, whether I am excited or apprehensive, I know [the spirit of God/the spirit of the universe/my spirit] will empower me to meet every situation with confidence and strength. With this in mind, I release any concerns I may have about the future.

Today I am ready to stand tall in this present moment. I appreciate the now, perfectly balanced between the blessings of the past and the promise of the future. This is the moment of power and action. I am ready!

I placed a glass contained candle inside a large beverage tub for the burning portion and had a glass of water on hand in case we had any incidents. But all went according to plan. As an added touch to close the ceremony we read the declaration together and then jointly blew out the candle. Short sweet and definitely to the point. Ready or not 2013 watch out here we come!

As per usual life got in the way for a good percentage of the girls, but the few of us that made it made the most of it. I can't wait to see what this year brings. I can feel it in my bones it's going to be a great one.

Happy New Year to ALL

Happy New Year to you all from Mr Mine and I!

Jessism of the Week: All Things Miyazaki

My first experience with a Hayao Miyazaki movie was actually when Spirited Away came out. But it wasn't until I started dating Mr Mine that the true obsession took hold. You see one of Mr Mine's favorite movies happens to be Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky. Once we started watching them we just couldn't stop. And once I had seen them all I wanted to own them all. I cannot think of money better spent when it comes to movies. My friend's kids love them.

Howl's Moving Castle, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo

Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, The Secret World of Arrietty

Nausicca of the Valley of the Winds, My Neighbor Totoro, The Castle of Cagliostro, Whisper of the Heart

If you have young children (2-3) I highly recommend starting with My Neighbor Totoro and maybe even Ponyo. Even though these are all anime's they are definitely not all geared towards just children. As an adult I find them quite charming. There is new one called From Up on Poppy Hill that came out recently but hasn't yet been released in the USA. I've been reading a lot of positive reviews about it and can't wait to add it to our collection.

Also he is currently working on a new movie called The Wind Rises that at the moment is slated to come out this summer.