a new year, an old year, a now year

the hindu name for capacity is akasha, which is often thought of as the sky, but really can mean everything. everything is part of akasha, and everything is produced by, and will return to akasha.

in meditating on this thought, i have been able to think of this place called the here and now, and how i am part of it all for this very moment, and will be part of the next very moment, as well as i am just as much a part of the last very moment that was had. in all, i am a part of everything, all the time; just as much as i am a part of nothing, nowhere, not at all.


it is funny to me how we choose to only think of the significance of a summary of a year at its turn, such as now,  as the new year is set to unfold in a few short hours. but in reality, time tells us that there is a new moment occurring at every instance, just as older moments happen at every instance. what does this all signify? it means we exist. we are all parts of the whole... the same universal soul that shakes leaves out of trees, causes waves to crash, birds to fly, babies to be born, snow to fall, at men to laugh at it all.


there is nothing that i am that i am not. i am no more here today than i will be tomorrow. my existence now is no different from any other that has been, unless i am willing to accept it as different. this is part of akasha, that i am always part of everything, but only as much as i am capable of realizing. if i am able to open my soul to the world, then the world will be open to me. life has two divisions: one that is accepted, the other that is not. what is accepted can be called substantial, and what is not, we often never call anything.

capacity is matter. it is not merely matter in the everyday sense of the word, but is everything that is perceivable, it is the spirit which flows through life. spirit is in the presence and absense of everything, spirit preludes all being, as well as concludes it. 

there is wisdom in pure being, in complete awareness, in nirvana. the meaning of the word soul is caught up in the essence of innate wisdom, making intelligence integral to the soul. in fact, our being is best understood as only place where intelligence has been captured for an instance, making the body and mind an accommodation for the soul, and its intelligence. the nature of knowing that our soul holds innate and universal intelligence is to have consciousness. the difference between consciousness and the soul is like a mirror, where consciousness is the mirror image of the soul, but the mirror itself is the vehicle of light and knowledge--the soul.

and so, as many of us look forward to a new year, i seek to look differently, to look within. the new year is here, it is our existence of forever and everything. there is plenty to be excited about in the years to come for certain, but let us also remember what there is to be joyous over that is already here, now. what we are is cause enough to celebrate... the magic of life, the pervasive influence of the universal soul, and the weirdness and awesomeness of it all!

the most important thing for me right now is to be present in what is, whatever it may be at the time... to understand that certain circumstances can be more or less preferable, but that true well-being emanates from appreciation of simply being alive in the world... breathing, listening, feeling. there is nothing true for me here that is not true for me there, or anywhere.

that's the real shit, breathe it in.

new years resolution #1: more mountain meditation time

happy 'new' year, may happiness and well-being emanate from your soul in all that you do.

the good news & the great news!

this just in: i have a job and i am moving west!

... in about two months. my new home will be in silver city, new mexico, and i will be serving as an americorps vista coordinator for the gila resource information project, or GRIP. here is their webpage! i am so excited to be continuing on another great adventure west, and this time for a great cause for the development of the western hardrock watershed team, or WHWT, which focuses on environmental and social policy reform for economically challenged mining areas in the western mountains of the united states (learn more here). 

here are some great photos of what i soon will call home!

until then, i hope to share more news as i learn more about my americorps assignment! for all my friends & family out west, mark your calendars for the first few weeks of february, as i am planning my trip for then!

ps. its snowing in silver city as i post this; a very good omen indeed.

claire's 11x11 tunes snapshot

hey remember when npr put out their "listeners pick of their favorite 25 albums of 2011"? i do. every album on there is golden. but then i started to think, why the f is james blake #25? clearly, there are some pretty uneducated npr listeners out there. bon iver could hardly get along with out his buddy james this year, lets not forget the breakout release of 'fall creek boys choir':

if you had forgotten, or maybe were not aware, lest you never forget now. behold the power of james blake and justin vernon. 

so here's my idea: too many greats were missed on this list. so i am going to revise the suggested top 25 albums with my own favorites... just my top 11 for 2011,hence 11x11 (25 is too daunting, choosing favorites is hard to do)! some may be not that new to you, others may be just as good as new, and some are hopefully familiar and well loved. i hope that you find some great tunes regardless, and become much more musically enlightened than your average npr listener.

1. James Blake, James Blake, "Limit to Your Love"

2. Bon Iver, Bon Iver, "Hinnom, TX" 

3. Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, & Chris Thile, The Goat Rodeo Sessions, "Attaboy"

4.  Radiohead, The King of Limbs, "Bloom"

5. Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues, "The Shrine/An Argument"

6. The Head and The Heart, The Head and The Heart, "Rivers and Roads"

7. Jessica Lea Mayfield, Tell Me, "Our Hearts are Wrong"

8. Sufijan Stevens, All Delighted People, "All Delighted People"

9. Eliot Lipp & Jasia 10, How We Do: Moves Made, "Move It"

10. Chikita Violenta, TRE3S, "Roni"

11.  Vetiver, The Errant Charm, "Can't You Tell"

12. Gold Panda, Companion, "Quitters Raga"

Honorable Mentions

*Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, and Dharohar Project

i just learned about this the other day, must have been living under a rock or something. i would be totally into this, i just need some time for it to grow on me...

* Yann Tiersen, Dust Lane, "Dust Lane/Dark Stuff"

yes, its release was october 2010, but it was new to me in 2011

seasons of change

dear friends, family, and followers,
its been a dry run. my blog dropped off worse than the stock market on black friday, 2008 over the last few months. i could blame it partially on those colorado summer sunbeams, sinking deep into my skin, filling my heart with blissful bike rides, healing hikes, and serendipitous concerts on a pile of red rocks that form a perfect amphitheater. but alas, now it is december! summer has faded, although her joys still bring ideal memories to mind.
fall came and went, and i had bunkered down in the foothills of virginia's blue ridge mountains for the season of change...
autumn was accompanied by daily drives to paris, the quitessentially quaint village that is home to the ashby inn. this small but charming bed & breakfast has been my little reprive from unemployment, and kept me happily filling others' glasses with bubbles and bellies with food. all the while, i have occupied myself to dream on bigger dreams than i could before of when i lived a more than contented life in colorado. here, in virginia, everyday is just another chance to reevaluate, recalculate, and rediscover my own potential. the edge of the unknown has kept me motivated, and has pushed me further on towards change. 
and now, as christmas lights blink on, and holiday tunes tell me its time to come home, i have heard the mountains calling me again. almost too metaphorically, the weather forecasts have warned of high-speed winds racing across the plains from the west, bringing colder weather to the east coast this week. the mountains are beckoning. i see friends' pictures of snow and skiing and feel a painful tug at my heart. worse than an old boyfriend's photo or revisit to a lost-love's goodbye letter, when i see snowy-peaks of mountains, an infinite void fills my chest, hollows me out, and grows cold with regret for ever leaving so much beauty...

but i am coming home. i cannot avoid my spiritual destiny. there is change in the air, and a place in my heart for the hearth-lands of the west. after months of waiting and wanting, i have decided that i am perfectly poised here on the edge of unknown to dive strait down into my heart's desire to test its faith, and my own fate. 
thats right, i am coming home to you, colorado.
fingers crossed, its happening, and as a very wise person once told me, shit is real. if i say more, i may jinx my luck, my life's perfect timing, and the hope that everything will work out. but to guarentee the realness of my situation, in two weeks (or less!), i will update my blog again with the whole story of how i may be the luckiest girl on earth.
until then, keep your fingers crossed, your prayers and meditations strong, and stay tuned for great news!

my soul lives in mountains.