"Inhale..."
*grumblegrumpygrumble*
"Exhale..."
*grumblegrumpyGRUMBLE*
"Relax into your mat as you feel one with --"
*COMPLAIN*
"-- the universe. Mother Earth, Father Sky."
The universe does not want to feel one with me right now. Mother Earth's equivalent of this much indigestion would be Yellowstone erupting all over America and plunging the world into another ice age. Only the slugs would survive.
Yesterday was spent bunging (Harriet uses this word all the time (nearly as often as I use the word "delightful"). I believe "bunging" is a synonym of "dumping") all the leftovers into a giant pot in hopes that some sort of palatable minestrone would be the end result of the mismatched meals. I prepared a Greek salad to accompany the bunged soup and some brown rice to side dinner's kidney bean curry.
It would taste so much better with lamb. Or beef. *sigh* I'm a yoga teacher. I have to learn how to make veggies work.
*grumble*
Man up.
Harriet blazed in, made herself a cup o’ tea and asked me if I was happy as I mixed the spices.
Darrell blew in, made himself a cup o’ tea and talked to me about his two and a half years of traveling as a permaculturist and eco-builder. As I lit a match to light the stove.
Michael meandered in, made himself a cup o’ tea and gamely answered the questions I asked him about life in South Africa as I glugged olive oil into the frying pan.
Kayla bumbled in, made two cups o’ tea (one for Rosie) and bumbled out before I had time to say anything other than, “How’s the office?”
Stephen creaked in, made himself a cup o’ tea and talked to me about holy mountains as I chop, chop, chopped the onions. According to Mars Jesus belief, there are a few revered hills scattered throughout the globe and one of them happens to be in Aspen, Colorado.
No wonder Aspenites are so pretentious. They’ve got millions of dollars, holy mountains and aliens.
Stewart and Katherine are members of the Aetherius Society, which is “an international spiritual organization dedicated to spreading, and acting upon, the teachings of advanced extraterrestrial intelligences.”
Yes.
This sketchy society was founded in the 1950s by an English bloke named George King. He claims to have had an experience with a highly intelligent E.T. in London and was inspired to create Aetherism. I’m usually quite put off by people who make such claims and kickstart cults because of the incredible amount of power that ends up in their hands. However, this is one of the only spiritual groups I’ve discovered wherein I just don’t feel like power is an issue. I think this is because Aetherists do not claim to have the only answer. They believe that every religion and spirituality is a different expression of the Divine Source.
When we are all capable of discovering our own truth, we are all empowered.
These are a few of the beliefs held by members of the Aetherius Society:
- Oneness and the Divine Spark within all life; God is all
- UFOs and advanced life on other planets
- Prayer as a natural way of invoking and radiating spiritual energy
- Karma and reincarnation
- Yoga philosophy and practice, including yoga breathing and the chanting of mantra
- Kundalini, chakras and auras
- Spiritual energy and spiritual healing
- Psychic powers and intuition
- Enlightenment and cosmic consciousness
- The Mother Earth as a living Goddess
- Holy mountains
- Life at other frequencies of vibration, which are also known as other “planes” or “realms”
- Ascended Masters (Jesus, Buddha, King)
And just like Muslims make their pilgrimage to Mecca to fulfill one of the pillars of Islam, Aetherists take hikes up holy mountains to radiate spiritual energy to those in need. These mountains were charged with spirit power when Cosmic Powers commanded King to climb eighteen hills/mountains around the world so that the Master Jesus could funnel his spiritual goodness through the poor chap and into the earth.
These are the moments where I sit back and think, if “the Master Jesus” was so eager to charge these mountains with positive Jesus energy, did he really need some sort of... conductor? How big can one person’s ego be to feel so necessary in an equation like this?"Jesus cannot fill these mountains with his spirit unless I let him go through me." What is that about?
Anyway. Next time my fellow Coloradans are going for an innocent hike up Castle Peak, keep an eye out for UFOS and hippies wearing white (the color white makes your aura twice as big).
Lunch was served at 13:00. I made myself a cup o’ tea.
This is the most overworked kettle I’ve ever seen.
I’ve learned the recycling scheme, how to light the stove, how to work the dishwasher and have memorized Internet password (even though my laptop can’t seem to get it straight). I’ve learned where to wear my shoes, where to wear my slippers when to be at work and when to relax in the quiet of my dorm room or walk along the crashing coast.
That was so much easier than I thought it would be...I just... sort of slipped into this new life.
I love when life gracefully, effortlessly slips into place.
One of Harriet’s students had just returned from a month-long training in India wherein she had studied Kundalini Ecstatic Dancing. As a rookie teacher, she asked if she could try out her class on us.
This placement is a wonderful exercise of saying yes. Yes to spoons of liver cleanse made of ginger, copious amounts of olive oil, lemon, chili and garlic. Yes to juice made of slug-filled celery, wheatgrass and cucumber. Yes to vegetarianism. Yes to being open-minded about friendly aliens.
Yes to rocking out Kundalini style in the living room.
I haven’t danced since Wales. This is because those damn fine Kenyans and Ugandans made me realize how pathetically awkward my white girl dance really is (and that nobody is particularly interested in an awkward white girl dance).
But when am I going to get another chance to Kundalini Ecstatic Dance?
So I said yes.
We started the routine off by shaking our bodies from the pelvis down to the breath of fire (two short inhalations through the nose followed by a powerful exhalation out the mouth)
I can do this. Up, down, up, down, sniff, sniff, HAH. Up, down, up, down, sniff, sniff, HAH.
Five minutes later.
Am I still doing this? HAH.
Ten minutes later.
Why won’t my knees move? Sniff, sniff, up, down, HAH. If only those sexy Kenyans could see me now...
Twenty minutes later.
Why did I say yes? Never say yes. Never.
The music changed and we were instructed to follow our bodies. To release. To feel the music. To close our eyes and just move.
At least eyes are closed. Accidentally crashing into someone is far less offensive than someone accidentally watching me dance.
So I danced. I wriggled my hands and wove my arms and pretended that I had hips and that they were able to move it, move it.
It’s much easier to pretend when you know all the eyes are closed. Why is my ego so stinkin’ big that I think people are watching me, anyway? Must be all that acting training. I’m ruined.
Twenty minutes later.
Am I still doing this?
Forty minutes later.
I just... don’t have anything left to express. How convoluted do they think my feelings are? This makes me frustrated. Angry. Annoyed. I’m irritated that I have to keep moving when movement seems unnatural. Sniff, sniff, HAH!
Sixty minutes later.
NEVER SAY YES AGAIN.
Sixty-one minutes later.
That was pretty cool.
We finished the shaking/rock-out session by sitting in a circle and squeezing hands. I wore my innocent face and pretended that I had never once opened my eyes to see what everyone else was doing (which was quite a bit better than what I was doing).
Kayla, Rosie and I were bursting with Ecstatic energy, so we bundled up and wandered down to the beach. The tide was out and the stars cast their sparkling reflections on the small pools left in the wet sand. My body tingled with life.
Okay. So I’ll keep saying yes. A little yes never hurt anyone and a little awkwardness keeps me humble. Awkward also seems to be a quintessential aspect of "Aimee". I think I'd feel rather lost without it.
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