Starting to Show

Abundance of flowers just starting to show, to burst out.

Vital, yellow, green ... stamens extending far beyond the petals

and waggling in the wind

shaking with the barest hint of air upon them

profuse and prominent.

Not only does this agave produce

phallic symbol extraordinaire,

the thousands of blossoms shoot forth boldly

like a rush of sperm all striving to survive.

The agave says in its awareness of the

union of sacred masculine and divine feminine energies ...

"Before I die, I am going to sow everything I've got,

producing seeds galore.

For years I've lived a steady life, growing, expanding, building, patient, nurturing.

Now, as I near death, now is the time to give back in profusion.

I feel the need to produce as many seeds of wisdom as possible, 

to spread myself around, to move and be transported elsewhere, everywhere,

my seeds going wherever there is the potential for growth."

Between Rocks and a Hard Place

Desert Blooms

Fairy Duster

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Tohono Chul Park, Tucson

Minoan Messages

now available in print or epub

Ever lost sight of your identity and/or your purpose? Me, too!

Synopsis: 

Darla has been a spiritual eclectic for over fifteen years. She is rooted in her faith and happy in her lifestyle. But when her husband experiences a mid-life crisis and they suddenly move from Maine to Arizona, her grounding is disrupted on more than just the physical level. Darla realizes that somewhere along the way her sense of self and purpose got left behind. Were identity and soul misplaced or totally lost? She is clinging to the possibility that a pilgrimage to Crete can show her the way home to herself. As Darla explores the remarkable sites of the ancient Minoans, she opens to the whispers of priestesses long gone, and absorbs the vibrations of a matrifocal culture wherein its people knew the harmonic oneness of life. Upon returning home, Darla continues to explore the balancing of dark and light, to weigh the merits of cave dwelling and creative expression. Through experiences, reflections, and visions on a journey that was far more than Darla had imagined, she recovers her unique identity, embraces her true nature, and steps forward to manifest her soul-purpose.

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My book expresses perspectives on eclectic earth-based spirituality as well as how earth divinity supports the universal relatedness of women’s journeys and our subsequent healing through those experiences. My paths as spiritual seeker and practitioner of earth-energy healing modalities have merged; this union enhances my ability to not only explore inner and outer landscapes, but to share my perceptions of them in a variety of unique ways that includes metaphor and tales of the ancient past.

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Parakalo (please), hop over to
Lulu for your copy of Minoan Messages
or to
Amazon Kindle !
Efharisto!

Of Oranges and Agave

The oranges continue to drop 

-- thud! plop! -- 

upon the ground, 

some from over-ripening 

and others assisted in the descent 

by a hungry woodpecker poking holes. 

There's one with a hole!

The woodpeckers also fly

from one agave stalk to the other,

pecking away

(alas, I didn't get any photos of the birds).

Merely two weeks ago, 

the agave were barely awake and stretching.

But, the multicolored poles of agave 

are shooting up fast in their race to touch the sun. 

The leader is currently well over six feet tall 

and none of them are giving any hints 

as to how high they intend to reach. 

Spiky spindles 

expand and contract; 

I can almost hear them 

breathing and growing 

at impressive speed. 

Because I don't know what kind of agave live in our yard,
everything they do is a beautiful surprise!

Heard In The Echo

Echo Canyon at Chiracahua National Monument, AZ

Bubble rocks bouncing echoes in the canyon, my heart so light that I could be the echo instead of the voice of origin. I could be the memory instead of the presence that feels the pressures of daily lifestyle; I might become the echo that is soft and faint and that everyone wants to hear. 

In fascination we call out to listen whether an echo will bounce back to us so we can know what we said, what our melody was. Do we not listen to ourselves the first time? Can we not hear our own voice truthfully? Is this why we want the echo to call back to us the wisdom that is held within it? 

Is it merely a copy or do the earth and rock and air and moisture imbue the echo with a resonance of wisdom our voice didn’t previously have? Is our pure self resonating back to us in return for the courage to speak? 

Is the air heard in the echo; does it feel the brush of feather and cloud whisking the sound into a blur of memory, painting it into a clear, light whisper?

Is the rock heard in the echo; does it fill the space with solid truth and allow the weight of our words to be heard and sent on their way as they can never be recalled?

Is the water heard in the echo; does it mirror from puddles in crevices and dew upon leaves, and hold safety within the sap of the juniper and the flesh of yucca, where the fluid moisture can caress and soften the echo to return to our ears as self-love?

Who goes there? Where are the unseen?

Dragons of the watchtowers, holding the elements and directions, their vibrations sing to creation of our universe as they flap their wings, and rain fire, and live in caves, and cry tears of grief and laughter into the rivers that flow to the oceans above and below. They are courage and inspiration, partners in journey and growth, knowing the piercing truth revealed in the fires of transformation that create and dissolve then manifest once more. 

Gaia cradles the beasts who warm our imaginations and keep us safe. She gives birth to the discerning flames riding wings of sheer breathless joy and She lands upon a nest of infinite possibility as their voices rise into space and fall into canyons to be swept away by rivers to the ocean once more. 

Dragons live in Echo Canyon, see them swoop and soar among the magical spires where they epitomize grace and cast shadows we run from until we realize we can never hide---the dragons only want to carry us into awakening. Hear their ancient voices echo ...