How to Make Your Flightiness Work for You
PLACE
Facebook was all abuzz earlier last month with a geography/personality test launched by TIME Magazine. You answer a few questions about your philosophy and lifestyle and their website spits out the name of the appropriate state that fits YOU. Although the logarithm is a bit faulty (e.g. Why does this rag suggest I spend my yankee days and nights in Georgia?), the idea is quite fascinating.
Blue Heron at McLaren Park Reservoir
Certain personalities gravitate to certain places. Economist Richard Florida in his new-urbanism, wonkish book "Who's Your City?" explains that one of the most undervalued decisions we make in our lives is the choice of where to live. Think about it: countless books and websites are devoted to vocation and life partner but very little devoted to setting. Consider that we breathe, eat and sleep in our chosen ponds 24 hours a day whereas we only spend 6 to 10 hours a day on the job and a typical 12 hours a day hanging with the sweetheart (I've included sleeping alongside as part of this estimate). But while Richard Florida may think of destinations as places of robust economies and fitting lifestyles, I believe vibrations, frequencies and the number and type of local shamanic spirits can have a great bearing on your comfort level in a particular place.
Some people, especially water signs, are ultra-sensitive to their environs. Ultra-Sensitives can pick up a city's vibration or frequency in just a few seconds of a visit. Here is a quick primer on the vibrations of some of the major North American cities:
Boston's heavy, gothic energy did not work for me and it took me years to look at this squarely. Part of this is its deep sense of history that I respected but found a little oppressive. The white settlement of the Bay State Colony precedes the Golden State by 200 years and with that mileage comes a lot more souls who have passed away. Not only is the number of trapped souls astronomically high on the Shawmut Peninsula but the ones who still roam have intriguing life stories; a case that Sam Baltrusis, a local Beantown author, makes in his recent book "Ghosts of Boston: Haunts of the Hub." It's a lot of psychic conversation for ultra-sensitives to handle.
Zeppe with a flock of brown pelicans
Things in California leans towards the shiny and colorful and away from the macabre. Two West Coast friends of mine recently remarked how chilling it was to witness a graveyard in Boston's city center (the Boylston Street side of the Boston Common features the Central Burying Ground). San Francisco has just two cemeteries that are somewhat hidden or inacessible; a large, well-manicured 28-acre one for military veterans in the woodsy Presidio and a modest plot at Mission Dolores which accomodates around 5,000 Ohlone, Miwok and other First Californians. According to Wikipedia, Boston has seventeen final places of rest.
Baby Great Horned Owl "spotted"
Sometimes, it feels like death is non-existent in California. High-frequency places brush off the spectre of certainty which can make them seem a little callous. At the same time there are many (like myself) who need to exercise their buouancy somewhere with friendlier skies. Winged-beings need places that are well-equipped with lots of air and sunshine. So the first step to making your flightiness work for you is to travel; only then will you find that psychogeographical "fit" that turns into a home.
PRACTICE
Do you not feel like you fit in your hometown? We've established that the easiest thing to do is migrate. Not everyone has the means to do so however. Family and career obligations can also have a status quo pull. This leaves us without our next best method on working with your element or true nature: developing a practice.
Red-Tailed Hawk over Fort Funston cliffs
For those who do not know their element, one of the best methods is to take a shamanic "journey" (see post from Friday, July 26) and discover which animals (or elements) come to you. Another surefire way is to meet with an astrologist and have her explain your astrological chart or read about your planets here. I met with a chart-reader so at age 18 and found that I had very little earth in my makeup (save a Moon in Taurus and my stubbornly strong adoration of creature comforts). People with a lack of Earth need to focus more on tethering. Staying connected is a lifelong practice for these earth-lacking folks; . all too often they are apt to float away like balloons.
Meeting a bird spirit in your "journeys" may ironically be your ticket to staying grounded. Communicate with this spirit and couple it with a daily meditation. Wayne Dyer, author of Manifest Your Destiny, prescribes a great sound meditation that stimulates both your root chakra (for earth and survival) with your third eye chakra (for light and knowledge). This allows for deliberate flightiness, to soar into the world of ideas and to land safely for food and drink. Inadvertent flightiness is the worst. That's when you see people flitting around and expending energy without a destination or goal in sight. You don't have to be stuck in patters that are unhealthy for you.
Lastly, in order for your flightiness to work for you, consider exercise and trying new foods. Go out into the world and meet people. Give your scrutiny-sight a break and detach from your computer screen. Go birdwatching! And above all enjoy your friends and family this holiday.
Facebook was all abuzz earlier last month with a geography/personality test launched by TIME Magazine. You answer a few questions about your philosophy and lifestyle and their website spits out the name of the appropriate state that fits YOU. Although the logarithm is a bit faulty (e.g. Why does this rag suggest I spend my yankee days and nights in Georgia?), the idea is quite fascinating.
Blue Heron at McLaren Park ReservoirCertain personalities gravitate to certain places. Economist Richard Florida in his new-urbanism, wonkish book "Who's Your City?" explains that one of the most undervalued decisions we make in our lives is the choice of where to live. Think about it: countless books and websites are devoted to vocation and life partner but very little devoted to setting. Consider that we breathe, eat and sleep in our chosen ponds 24 hours a day whereas we only spend 6 to 10 hours a day on the job and a typical 12 hours a day hanging with the sweetheart (I've included sleeping alongside as part of this estimate). But while Richard Florida may think of destinations as places of robust economies and fitting lifestyles, I believe vibrations, frequencies and the number and type of local shamanic spirits can have a great bearing on your comfort level in a particular place.
Some people, especially water signs, are ultra-sensitive to their environs. Ultra-Sensitives can pick up a city's vibration or frequency in just a few seconds of a visit. Here is a quick primer on the vibrations of some of the major North American cities:
- Cities with a high vibration include Miami, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco; fun places to be sure but not the most restful. These are places with lots of air and fire.
- Mid-vibrations cities include Chicago and Montreal, burgs that produce a nice steady hum that is not too overwhelming. These cities have a strong balance of the four elements.
- Low-vibrations cities include Toronto, Boston and Seattle: watery or earthbound cities that are a bit more subdued but reliable.
Boston's heavy, gothic energy did not work for me and it took me years to look at this squarely. Part of this is its deep sense of history that I respected but found a little oppressive. The white settlement of the Bay State Colony precedes the Golden State by 200 years and with that mileage comes a lot more souls who have passed away. Not only is the number of trapped souls astronomically high on the Shawmut Peninsula but the ones who still roam have intriguing life stories; a case that Sam Baltrusis, a local Beantown author, makes in his recent book "Ghosts of Boston: Haunts of the Hub." It's a lot of psychic conversation for ultra-sensitives to handle.
Zeppe with a flock of brown pelicansThings in California leans towards the shiny and colorful and away from the macabre. Two West Coast friends of mine recently remarked how chilling it was to witness a graveyard in Boston's city center (the Boylston Street side of the Boston Common features the Central Burying Ground). San Francisco has just two cemeteries that are somewhat hidden or inacessible; a large, well-manicured 28-acre one for military veterans in the woodsy Presidio and a modest plot at Mission Dolores which accomodates around 5,000 Ohlone, Miwok and other First Californians. According to Wikipedia, Boston has seventeen final places of rest.
Baby Great Horned Owl "spotted"
at McLaren Park
Sometimes, it feels like death is non-existent in California. High-frequency places brush off the spectre of certainty which can make them seem a little callous. At the same time there are many (like myself) who need to exercise their buouancy somewhere with friendlier skies. Winged-beings need places that are well-equipped with lots of air and sunshine. So the first step to making your flightiness work for you is to travel; only then will you find that psychogeographical "fit" that turns into a home.
PRACTICE
Do you not feel like you fit in your hometown? We've established that the easiest thing to do is migrate. Not everyone has the means to do so however. Family and career obligations can also have a status quo pull. This leaves us without our next best method on working with your element or true nature: developing a practice.
Red-Tailed Hawk over Fort Funston cliffsFor those who do not know their element, one of the best methods is to take a shamanic "journey" (see post from Friday, July 26) and discover which animals (or elements) come to you. Another surefire way is to meet with an astrologist and have her explain your astrological chart or read about your planets here. I met with a chart-reader so at age 18 and found that I had very little earth in my makeup (save a Moon in Taurus and my stubbornly strong adoration of creature comforts). People with a lack of Earth need to focus more on tethering. Staying connected is a lifelong practice for these earth-lacking folks; . all too often they are apt to float away like balloons.
Meeting a bird spirit in your "journeys" may ironically be your ticket to staying grounded. Communicate with this spirit and couple it with a daily meditation. Wayne Dyer, author of Manifest Your Destiny, prescribes a great sound meditation that stimulates both your root chakra (for earth and survival) with your third eye chakra (for light and knowledge). This allows for deliberate flightiness, to soar into the world of ideas and to land safely for food and drink. Inadvertent flightiness is the worst. That's when you see people flitting around and expending energy without a destination or goal in sight. You don't have to be stuck in patters that are unhealthy for you.
Lastly, in order for your flightiness to work for you, consider exercise and trying new foods. Go out into the world and meet people. Give your scrutiny-sight a break and detach from your computer screen. Go birdwatching! And above all enjoy your friends and family this holiday.
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