This is a sequel of sorts to last summer’s post “A Groovy Kind of Day.”
A five-sense star day!
A five-star sense day!
Be Here Now (actually, you can't be any other place...or can you?)
The choice is always...YOURS!
When I do my daily walk I usually don’t listen to music or talk on the phone. Instead, I try to allow my mind to rest a little so I can experience my body’s contact with the earth under my moving feet, feel the summer breeze on my skin, welcome the sunlight into my eyes… allowing its healing rays to travel to my heart and soul.
This last song started son John’s piano career. Eileen and I were at a friend’s home where she invited John to sit next to her at the piano, and showed him his part of a 4-hand version of the song. Lessons followed…then a new and wonderful teacher (Thanks, Merle!) who groomed John for:
…a Carnegie Hall competition winner's performance…
…a career as a piano teacher…
…fun gigging with several bands…and more…
Above - Merle and John reunited during last August’s Duffy family reunion/vacation in Chicago. Merle, words cannot express our gratitude for mentoring our son...
Below - While there I also got to visit a now-retired Avis technician and trainer – Geoff Ciecko. He gave us a local's tour of the city and then we feasted on Chi Town BBQ. Finger lickin' good! Thanks, Geoff! We had a great time...loved your humorous and running commentary...and the delicious food you selected.
Meetin’ G-d in the Hood
A local sugar magnolia greeted me as I strolled...
“Sweet blossom come on, under the willow, we can have high times if you'll abide
We can discover the wonders of nature, rolling in the rushes down by the riverside.”
--“Sugar Magnolia” – Grateful Dead
Body never lies: You (mind) must decrease while I (body) must increase…
G-d comes to us disguised as our lives…all we have to do is pay attention
Instead of walking my usual way (without a phone), I took out my iPhone and selected a favorite song - likely subconsciously chosen because of our current global situation –
As I walked on alone, I went into a dream and here’s what unfolded in the short space of about 30 minutes. I’m still not sure if it was real or an illusion. That’s because…
…We see things as WE are and not as THEY are.
--Anais Nin
I had walked only a few blocks when a wonderful aroma found its way to my air intake device. I smelled them before I saw them. As I walked further (Furthur),
I came upon a child of G-d from the botanical world where it’s known as Hyacinth.
Idolatry? Pantheism? Nope – just an example of how my Franciscan alternative worldview is producing altered states of religious and spiritual consciousness.
Hey, Brother Son, Sister Moon…so, why not Cousin Hyacinth?
The Divine Spark is in all creation!
Wanting a closer walk with the(e) Groovy Gardner and in order to get up close and personal with these children of G-d, I walked onto the neighbor’s lawn and into the garden of olfactory delight, where I got down on my knees to pray. With this, the owner came out concerned that I was sick or something.
“Everything OK?” he asked.
I told him, “Sure. I was just listening to some ‘60’s tunes and wanted a closer experience of your beautiful and aromatic plants. I was (and still am) a hippie…you know, flower power…” He smiled. Walking a little closer and keeping in mind the 6-10 foot minimum distance rules, he looked me over and seemed to be reassured that I wasn’t going to huff and puff and blow his Hyacinth House down with virus breath. Here are some of his other children…
Guardian Garden Angel
Above image from the “Groovy Kind of Day” post…same neighbor's garden...and this reminder, also from that same post...if you do, you're not covered by insurance...
As I walked away from my neighbor’s sacred space, I thought about flower power and how back in the day – YES, THAT DAY – I was sometimes powered by flowers…even had flowered curtains on my VW Bus. Below are 2 pix taken at the beginning of my 1973 odyssey to Callie to find myself. Those are my cousins Billie and Margie. My Dad is riding shotgun – with his weapon of choice – a camera with telephoto lens. Mom is in the back where she’ll write poetry as we travel together across the USA. We were doing the Tittmann family version of...
S&G’s “America.” [I liked this uploader’s version as it evoked imagery of a young Mexican couple trying to come to this country in hopes of finding their dreams.]
“You’re either on the bus or off the bus”
I wrote about some of my 52-HP adventures in my Magic Bus in the following blog posts. There are plenty more...
Who’s [sic] bus is this anyway? Ans: Correct!
Who’s next?
This next one’s for nephew Mike and others Who [sic] are fans of the Doctor.
(8/6/20: Sorry - Uploader cancelled their YouTube account)
Purple Haze…Purple Daze - Playing in the Dirt…while Playin’ in the Band
You can view a photo of a big beautiful flower, even take a photo of “one of the little kids,” but to really GROK it, ya gotta get down and play in the dirt. Nature is meant to be experienced – it’s for our healing…
Here's another version from the Ken Burns movie "The Vietnam War." I added this one because the above and visually-stunning Vimeo version can't be downloaded for inclusion in my YouTube playlist. More exclusionary practice - guess they're NOT EXPERIENCED IN UNITIVE CONSCIOUSNESS...
--below volunteers tend the garden
--an artist’s perspective on this mystical color
--as a child, my favorite lollypop flavors were green and purple – both colors associated with mystical experience
"We become what we eat..."
On Color -
"It's just a pigment [sic] of your imagination..."
--from their 2018 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
--According to this ol’ Brit rocker, Jimi liked the hot British food (huh?) so much, he developed his own strain of chili. Voodoo Chili? How ‘bout…
--born in Seattle…among other jobs, his father was a gardener. This explains the park and the Seattle location.
In case you’re worrying that my tale might be gettin’ a little thread bare (or like there isn’t a thread), fear not. This next section weaves the threads together perfectly…
Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun…
Seeing Jimi in that English garden naturally conjured up the next song…
Homeward Bound...
--a song that can take you in several directions; hopefully, leading you home
--Vimeo uploader has not enabled downloading, so I can't add this wonderful song to my YouTube playlist.
As I got back near my house, with the sun warming my face, to my right I heard a woodpecker’s tap-tap-tap and that was followed on my left by the buzz of a circular saw. Sort of like a call-and-response between one ancient and one modern technology.
Woodpecker…circular saw
Animals and humans sharing the world
And the wheel keeps turning, you can’t slow it down
The Wheel - Grateful Dead
BONUS TRACKS
--includes photos from the Morrison Hotel period – up close, personal
#music #humor #art #senses #CaroleKing #SealsCroft #GratefulDead #Cleftones #Doors #Beatles #MoodyBlues #CrosbyStillsNash #Santana #HiKeyRecords #MamasPapas #SimonGarfunkel #NeilDiamond #TheWho #JimiHendrix #BobDylan #DrWho