Author Archives: Paula Josa-Jones

Mar9

animal house rules

Posted on by

If Ivy is in the studio, be sure to lock the bathroom  because Precious will open the door and go downstairs to dig in the plants.

Obi and Precious can stay in the closet all day when the realtors are here.

At night, Ivy goes in the bathroom because otherwise she will pee on us during the night.

Cho can stay in the bedroom with us overnight, but if he wakes up in the night, he needs to go out otherwise he will pee.

Eli pees and poops on the smooth wood floors.

Eli will only use the clay litter.

Liam will eat the cat food whenever possible, so be sure to lock the bathroom door at night.

Tallulah tries to kill Eli and Ivy, so keep them apart all the time.

Nikita is the only cat that can go out.

Well, actually Eli can go out too, but generally comes in right away.

Guinnie and Jules are perfect.

Guinnie and Jules have to leave the kitchen after they eat because otherwise they will eat Cho’s food.

Ditto for Liam.

Maggie needs to be out of our bedroom at night because she is a talker and a kneader.

If Mamacita is outside in the morning, don’t let Cho out because he goes over the fence to chase her.

If there is snow, Cho doesn’t go over the fence, so disregard the above.

Guests have to leave their shoes in the closet or Liam will pee into them.

Bella will try to get into the living and dining room because she loves to dig in the plants and play with the Matrushka dolls.

Remind everyone not to leave any door open that is closed.

When the realtor comes, Maggia and Talullah go in carriers, Obi and Precious in Paula’s closet, Eli and Nikita in Pam’s studio, and Bella and Ivy in Paula’s studio (be sure to put up the signs to keep the dors closed.  All four dogs go in the cars with us and we leave.

Remember to scoop the litters and rinse the bathtubs before leaving the house.

Remember to burn incense in the dog room and wash the stinky dog beds.

Remember to leave the camera out so we can get a video of the next time Liam (dog) is humping Talullah (cat).

We think that video will go viral and maybe drive more traffic to our blogs.

 

 

 

SHARE & EMAIL
Mar8

she said

Posted on by

People pay Pam White for her wisdom, her humor, her time.  I am blessed to awaken to all of that.  This morning, she said, “I have a download for you.  About what we were talking about last night.”  I am awake.

We were talking about my feeling derailed, discouraged and overwhelmed by the prospects for publishing my book.  She said, “You have to sit deeper in the saddle.  You have to be the rider, not the horse.”  Meaning that I have to be the writer, not the book.  Meaning that I can’t become over-identified with the book.  It isn’t me, I am not it, or at least I am more than just that.

The day before I had listened to Paul Scheele’s wonderful paraliminal recording called “Automatic Pilot.”  It is about getting clear about your goal and getting clear about the steps to take to realize your goal.  After listening, I felt myself back in the river, paddle in hand, boat following the channel, the current.  I spent a couple days making huge strides, and for the first time, seeing the whole of the book, rather than just the parts.  Then I spoke to a friend who is  book and publishing savvy, and suddenly found myself high and dry.  River gone, boat and paddle gone.

Here is what happened.  I forgot to look in the direction of what I want.  I started to focus hard on “reality,” and “the problem,” and then sure enough that problem does get legs and start to run.

And then she said, and this is important, “This will sound radical:  every day, let go of something you aren’t or don’t want.”

I thought about letting go of fear or doubt or ambition. To abstract, too slippery.  last week, I let go of a page on my website that described something that I no longer want to do.  It felt radical.  I pitched into the virtual trash bin.  Today, I am letting go of my schedule.  It is snowy and I am not planning to drive over the mountain to ride.  So my day has a more fluid, amniotic feel to it.

Tomorrow, I could let go of this blog.  Who knows?

 

Mar6

Joe, the poetry angel

Posted on by

Joe Riley has a site called Panhala that posts a daily poem and a photograph.  Some of these are so delicious they must be re-shared, like this one, posted on my birthday, which made me weep. 

You can subscribe here:  Panhala-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  

from Three Books. Copyright © 2002 by Galway Kinnell. All rights reserved, www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com.

Saint Francis and the Sow

By Galway Kinnell

The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don’t flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the sheer blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.

Mar5

birth days

Posted on by

Birth days should be daily.  Meaning that every day should have a birthing – of awareness, connection – some extravagant synaptic cake and candles.

There should be no day in which we do not birth new ideas, passions, hopes, appreciations – as many as possible. My theory is that as we age, there should be more birthing, that our neural plasticity and sensual pleasure should expand in juiciness and glory.

Birthing doesn’t have to be labor.  It can be spontaneous, playful, magical.  Here is one way to find something new:

Following the body (15 minutes)

  • Find a quiet place to lie down on your right or left side.  (Lying on the side makes it easier to move than if you are on your back.)
  • Close your eyes and let your mind settle into the body, noticing the position of the limbs, chest, head, hips.
  • From that stillness, invite the body to move.  Maybe the movement is a small tapping of a finger, or wiggling your nose.  Maybe you shift your body to another position.  Perhaps the movement is more stillness or movement that is full and expansive.
  • The challenge is to wait to be moved, rather than letting the mind think of what to do next.  Let your mind observe the movement without judging or directing.
  • After 10 minutes, open the eyes and notice how you bring the outside in and the inside out.  Move into your day and notice if and how your movement stays with you.