Thursday, July 08, 2004
Ripening
High summer is moving along, swindling its golden afternoons to my delight, embracing my skin with a quiet softness. Of course, living in south India is a perpetual summer of sorts and I should say rather, it's mid-mango season, mid-monsoons, mid-pregnancy. Things are indeed ripening both inside and out. Summer solstice has passed, and I gave my offerings to Yemaya, the Goddess of the sea, under a misted morning adorned with a full rainbow at sea. She, Yemaya, is wild and passionate these days, frothing gray blues and greens on windswept crests. Even the hearty fishermen do not dare venture into her wily waves and dangerous currents. The beach has completely disappeared, been sucked out with an oceanic frenzy, leaving the cliff to bear the constant barrage of endless tides. The full moon has passed as well and I sit in my airy studio, looking out at green and yellow jungly mayhem growing before my watchful eyes, hear the eagle's cry, the twitching bats and the crow's cacophony. Inside my womb, the new one, the little one pulses and stirs with eager Life, embracing my heart with Hope as the days, although achingly slow still slip by like sand through fingers, like sunsets over ancient horizons.
The rubybleu foundation continues to grow, thanks to your kind donations, and lead Leon and I on new, unexpected adventures. Through a contact from England, we met an Indian social worker named Subhash Chandra Bose who has started women's self-help groups in several villages south of Varkala, where we live. We went to visit the communities last week and were inspired by the women's active participation and drive to make changes. They live in poverty-stricken environments that lack clean sanitation and water and rely on a very low income from their husbands to get by. In forming these self-help groups, Subhash has inspired the women to learn their rights and find a voice amongst the deafening silence of oppression. These villages are a harsh example of ancient India crashing headlong into the modern age. The women are finding it increasingly hard to get by on their men's wages and have begun looking for their own sources of financial income. The rubybleu foundation will be supporting the group by offering small grants to women that will allow them to take a Windows computer course at a discounted price. Our hope is that the women will use this opportunity to further their education and skills in an ever-increasing modernized world. Other projects are also underway including micro loans for the women, skills development and intentions to bring in health and education volunteers. For more information on this project and others that are happening with the self-help groups, check out our website at www.rubybleu.org
Meanwhile, at the rubybleu house and gardens, we are using this slow time to continue our own projects. The organic gardens are beginning to look amazing, truly gorgeous. Leon uses his plant wisdom to create art with his precious 'babies' as he fondly calls the plants. He is always picking out newer, stranger, more wondrous flowering bushes and plants to fill the earth. We have orchids, Buddha bellies, ferns, hibiscus, papaya and banana trees just to name a few that you might be familiar with. One of the most extraordinary aspects of the garden are the various tropical vines that he has either bought or grown from seed that creep along strings around the house, up to the roof, blooming brilliant pink, purple or white flowers. I have become so inspired that decided to forget the fact that I've killed every plant I've owned and even plant a few seeds myself. Along with taking up reading Organic Gardening by J.I. Rodale, I find myself racing out to my small patch of spinach, lavender and basil to see if any seeds have sprouted yet. Gardening is fun!
My time is also devoted to Yoga, writing and painting these days. I've finished half of my book, tentatively titled The Cancer Chronicles, an autobiography of my journey of chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease when I was nineteen years old. As you may know, thus far Slade has received one big fat rejection and is perched, ready to dive back into the world of submissions once again. I am also working on painting the Major Arcana of the Tarot with a kind of cosmological, feminist bent. Lots of swirls and androgynous beings and brilliant colors. Some of my recent paintings will be showcased on http://spiralmuse.com/art_home.html in the next couple of months. Leon is working on his infamous music collections, avidly turning analogue into digital with a few complaints about the fallibility of music software and the digital sound.
This is a time of expectancy, of waiting. I am waiting for baby. I am waiting for the season to begin. I am waiting for family, friends, and travelers who will again traverse our doorstep, seeking rest and knowledge and joy. After the birth, I plan to resume practicing and teaching Reiki with one or more assistants during the season. I am offering courses in Reiki I and II and may do some individual Yogic teaching as well. Leon and I welcome you to come for a visit in our lovely home, alongside the gorgeous Indian Ocean. If you are interested in any aspect of what we are doing or want information about us and/or the rubybleu foundation, please contact me at katalin@rubybleu.org
Take care this summer, do a wild dance for me and have joyous celebratory affairs, dear ones!
Katalin
High summer is moving along, swindling its golden afternoons to my delight, embracing my skin with a quiet softness. Of course, living in south India is a perpetual summer of sorts and I should say rather, it's mid-mango season, mid-monsoons, mid-pregnancy. Things are indeed ripening both inside and out. Summer solstice has passed, and I gave my offerings to Yemaya, the Goddess of the sea, under a misted morning adorned with a full rainbow at sea. She, Yemaya, is wild and passionate these days, frothing gray blues and greens on windswept crests. Even the hearty fishermen do not dare venture into her wily waves and dangerous currents. The beach has completely disappeared, been sucked out with an oceanic frenzy, leaving the cliff to bear the constant barrage of endless tides. The full moon has passed as well and I sit in my airy studio, looking out at green and yellow jungly mayhem growing before my watchful eyes, hear the eagle's cry, the twitching bats and the crow's cacophony. Inside my womb, the new one, the little one pulses and stirs with eager Life, embracing my heart with Hope as the days, although achingly slow still slip by like sand through fingers, like sunsets over ancient horizons.
The rubybleu foundation continues to grow, thanks to your kind donations, and lead Leon and I on new, unexpected adventures. Through a contact from England, we met an Indian social worker named Subhash Chandra Bose who has started women's self-help groups in several villages south of Varkala, where we live. We went to visit the communities last week and were inspired by the women's active participation and drive to make changes. They live in poverty-stricken environments that lack clean sanitation and water and rely on a very low income from their husbands to get by. In forming these self-help groups, Subhash has inspired the women to learn their rights and find a voice amongst the deafening silence of oppression. These villages are a harsh example of ancient India crashing headlong into the modern age. The women are finding it increasingly hard to get by on their men's wages and have begun looking for their own sources of financial income. The rubybleu foundation will be supporting the group by offering small grants to women that will allow them to take a Windows computer course at a discounted price. Our hope is that the women will use this opportunity to further their education and skills in an ever-increasing modernized world. Other projects are also underway including micro loans for the women, skills development and intentions to bring in health and education volunteers. For more information on this project and others that are happening with the self-help groups, check out our website at www.rubybleu.org
Meanwhile, at the rubybleu house and gardens, we are using this slow time to continue our own projects. The organic gardens are beginning to look amazing, truly gorgeous. Leon uses his plant wisdom to create art with his precious 'babies' as he fondly calls the plants. He is always picking out newer, stranger, more wondrous flowering bushes and plants to fill the earth. We have orchids, Buddha bellies, ferns, hibiscus, papaya and banana trees just to name a few that you might be familiar with. One of the most extraordinary aspects of the garden are the various tropical vines that he has either bought or grown from seed that creep along strings around the house, up to the roof, blooming brilliant pink, purple or white flowers. I have become so inspired that decided to forget the fact that I've killed every plant I've owned and even plant a few seeds myself. Along with taking up reading Organic Gardening by J.I. Rodale, I find myself racing out to my small patch of spinach, lavender and basil to see if any seeds have sprouted yet. Gardening is fun!
My time is also devoted to Yoga, writing and painting these days. I've finished half of my book, tentatively titled The Cancer Chronicles, an autobiography of my journey of chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease when I was nineteen years old. As you may know, thus far Slade has received one big fat rejection and is perched, ready to dive back into the world of submissions once again. I am also working on painting the Major Arcana of the Tarot with a kind of cosmological, feminist bent. Lots of swirls and androgynous beings and brilliant colors. Some of my recent paintings will be showcased on http://spiralmuse.com/art_home.html in the next couple of months. Leon is working on his infamous music collections, avidly turning analogue into digital with a few complaints about the fallibility of music software and the digital sound.
This is a time of expectancy, of waiting. I am waiting for baby. I am waiting for the season to begin. I am waiting for family, friends, and travelers who will again traverse our doorstep, seeking rest and knowledge and joy. After the birth, I plan to resume practicing and teaching Reiki with one or more assistants during the season. I am offering courses in Reiki I and II and may do some individual Yogic teaching as well. Leon and I welcome you to come for a visit in our lovely home, alongside the gorgeous Indian Ocean. If you are interested in any aspect of what we are doing or want information about us and/or the rubybleu foundation, please contact me at katalin@rubybleu.org
Take care this summer, do a wild dance for me and have joyous celebratory affairs, dear ones!
Katalin
Labels: cancer chronicles, garden, Goddess, India, Kerala, monsoon, ocean, painting, rainbow, Rubybleu Foundation, Rubybleu House, South India, tarot, tropical, Yemaya
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