The Unique, the Odd and the Noteworthy

Taos is a multilayered town - artists, musicians, ex and current hippies, tree huggers, political activists, hispanics, native americans, caucasions(or anglos as they refer to us here). My instinct to relocate to Taos to write has proved to be fruitfull. I'm in a writer's group and I've discovered several more as well as SOMOS(Society of the Muse of the Southwest - an organization totally devoted to writers from all different genres), James Nave's writing salons, Julia Cameron once lived here (and I think still visits - she and James were business partners - or maybe still are?)Natalie Goldberg (of "Writing Down the Bones" fame)lived in Taos for a long time and now lives in Santa Fe. And I'm sure many more that I haven't discovered yet. I just found out yesterday that the writing group instructor has a published book, "Beside the Rio Hondo" (maybe more, too, I don't know...)(Her name is Phaedra Greenwood).

I've already mentioned the plethora of coffee shops (I've found another - Cafe Noula next to the Don Fernando Hotel on the Plaza). On my recent trips to Santa Fe I've discovered that there are six casinos and four wineries on the way - I'm not going to read too much into that ratio. The ride takes an hour and a half so that's about one for every 10 mins. Someday I'll plan on going on a vineyard tour - not as grand as the wine country in California, I'm sure, but the closest I've come so far to wine tasting country.

Here's one of the odd (and frankly disconcerting!)things I've discovered about this area of Northern New Mexico: for all their progressive politics, green friendly construction and percentage of dwellings totally built entirely from recycled materials (earthships)their recycling center is definitely below par. Being an avid recycling enthusiast(I do get a distinct pleasure from my trips to the dump)I loaded up my car on my first visit to Bertha Rd and had seperated all in seperate milk crates (left over from their use of traveling clothes drawers). Although they did have bins for glass(they put all colors in the same one!), cans, and corrugated cardboard - they had none for plastics of any kind or for paper - unless it's white? No area for plastic bags, paper bags, styrofoam, etc. I had to go back home with 3/4 of the now refuse materials in my car - because here's another thing - the location for bagged waste materials is in a totally different location - about 10 miles out of town... Luckily my landlady co-owns a storage facility close by and she has kindly been taking my accumulated bags to her dumpster. Go figure? Upon inquiry I've been told that the nearest place to recycle plastics is in Esplaniola - 45 mins away.... I'm not that dedicated. Although maybe I could plan it on one of my trips to Santa Fe.

A noteworthy observation about the town is the diversity of fences and walls that divide structures. Of course there's some ordinary wrought iron work fences, and I've seen a few stockade type however here's a description of directions somewhere that I recently read: "first you come to an adobe wall fence, then a lattila (thin tree branches(aspen?)wired together fence, then an iron fence with holes at the top - after this take your next right". Several of the museums in town (6 of them) have walled areas surrounding them - historically these were done for protection from either the Natives, Hispanic or Anglos - depending upon who was fighting whom. A guess fences do make good neighbors....

Of course one of the other truely unique aspects of Taos is the fact that all commercial buildings have to be built in adobe style (even Micky D's, Walmart and Wendy's) - many with the ubiquitous turquoise trim seen in many tourist books about Taos. I've noticed that some of the seemingly poorer inhabitants of the town live in more traditional stick built ranches and of course the ever popular mobile home - so I guess it's definitely a sign of class and prosperity to live adobe style. Speaking of which I have yet to visit Taos Pueblo - one of the most famous in New Mexico. I hear there is a spectacular Christmas Eve Lighting service that I'll have to check out.

Lake Tahoe, Phoenix and Sedona

I've just returned from a whirlwind tour of Lake Tahoe, Phoenix and Sedona, AZ. I went to a women's spiritual retreat with singer/songwriter, Karen Drucker at Zephyr Point Cfc Center in Lake Tahoe, right on the lake. It's the first lake I've seen since I've been gone from NE that reminds me of Lake Winnipesauki - clean, clear, mountain fed, deep and expansive. It took 2 1/2 hrs to drive around its perimeter thru the mountains - some of those passes are scary and give a new meaning to switchbacks. There was one on the Northwest side which was particularly challenging - for a stretch of about 2 miles there were cliffs on either side of me and I'm sure the view would have been fantastic if I had had the nerve to take my eyes off the road.... My heart was racing, my hands gripped the steering wheel and I can only imagine trying to drive it if it was winter driving conditions!

The workshop was lovely, restful and inspiring. Karen has a beautiful voice and the group of us(30 or so)did alot of singing, chanting, drumming and sharing. Maggie Cole, her cofacilitator, is a religious science practitioner from Santa Rosa, CA and added her insight and inspiration to the weekend. Many of the women were from the West Coast - CA, NV, OR, CO, and one from Canada and several from Chicago area. Not a one from the Northeast or South - very strange - usually I'm in meetings where the demographics are the reverse. Needless to say Reno and area is full of casinos - in fact this tends to be true of many of the areas I've visited in the West - how can so many casinos be supported by gamblers - there must be alot of them....

The best part of the weekend was that I was inspired to write the prologue to my book while sitting on the shores of Lake Tahoe and read it to the group at the Saturday night talent show. I was really pleased to have gotten it done - at least in first draft and will work on editing it for sharing with my writer's group this coming Monday.

I flew to and from Phoenix, AZ, so that I could visit with two dear friends that I haven't seen for almost 10 years. Both were trained by the same Reiki Master as I was and so we have a deep bond and shared history. I stayed at Rina's house in Sun Lakes after the workshop and had a chance to see some of the sights in Phoenix and "enjoy" the 90 degree weather. It is so dry there that only cactus and certain hardy bush/trees thrive - almost no greenery - or at least not the kind that I am used to. However, I must admit the suaro (large, tall, single stem cactus)are grand and prolific. I had my inaugural trip to IKEA, including a full Swedish breakfast for 1.99, and spent several hours gazing at the swedish inspired furniture and household goods - at very reasonable prices. I also learned that Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the US; the ones that top it in population include NY, Chicago, LA, and Philly.

On my way back to NM I stopped in Sedona and was awestruck by the Red Rock formations and the energy. I had planned to spend the afternoon but didn't want to skim the surface of this interesting area so I'm sure I will be back someday for a much longer visit. They even have a metaphysical subcommittee of the Chamber of Commerce! I've never been in a town which markets alternative health and spirituality as the norm - it was refreshing... I drove thru the mountains near Flagstaff and welcomed the much cooler air as the altitude increased.

As I wound my way back to Taos I noticed that although still desert-like NM is actually much greener than AZ - green sage brush abounds along with aspen trees. The landscape is much more dramatic as well with undulating hills and the Sangre de Christos Mtns (as well as the Sandistas and other mountains I don't know the name of). I noticed that I felt happy to be returning to my earthship in Taos, my view of the mountains from my yard and the small town feel of the area and its inhabitants.

A Town for coffee junkies

Taos is THE town to be in if you're addicted to caffeine - especially the espresso kind... Although it boasts an absence of a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts it does have (at my lastest count)13 privately owned espresso cafes - not even counting the ones in the outlying districts of Questa, Arroyo Seco, Red River, Angel Fire and beyond- or the multitude of restaurants some of which I'm sure serve espresso as well as run of the mill drip coffee. How a town of a little more than 5,000 people (15,000 in the wider county area)can support that many cafes is astounding.... Several have 2 locations: one on Paseo del Pueblo Norte and one on Paseo del Pueblo Sur (how's my Spanish?) - these are: The Bean and Mondo Kultur. Most offer free wifi services as well as well as varying degree of ambiance, culture and comfortable seating. I have frequented 8 of them so far (for research purposes of course) and sampled their Americano's. In order of coffee strength (or the length of a caffeine fix)here are the results: #1: Has to be World Cup on the corner of the Plaza - a tiny and busy place that has limited counter seating and a few outdoor benches where I'm told certain "types" (I haven't figured out what types yet) congregate on a routine basis.
# 2 & 3: Mondo Kultur (both of them) - they have much larger spaces, DVD's for rent and and much larger menu - also the one on the northside (closest to my earthship)shows independent/private/foreign films each week - with freshly made popcorn to boot;
#4: Michelles Livingroom - it is actually set up as a living room with couches, TV, good lighting and side tables for internet users - this made it to the top part of the list based partly on the fact that it was the first place that I frequented in Taos while staying in a motel; #5 Cafe Loka: it's claim to uniqueness is the art gallery that is housed within its square footage and the fact that it uses freshly ground wheat from local farmers for its bakery products; #6 Wired Cyber Cafe: Its unpretentious exterior hides indoor/outdoor patios, a waterfountain and pool, funky gift shop area and a staircase to a loft quiet area for computer users. Plants for sale from its affliate, Blossoms, adds to ambiance and the rarified air; #7 & 8 The Bean: the most traditional coffee shop of the bunch opens for early birds at 6 am - although it's espresso is the most tame so far. Yet to be sampled are Sustaining Cultures, Cafe Tazza and Taos Java.

These will have to wait however until my return from Arizona and Nevada in ten days. I'm leaving on another road trip on Wednesday morning to Phoenix, Arizona, laying over at a friend's overnight and then to the airport for a flight to Reno, Nevada on Thursday for a four day women's empowerment retreat in Lake Tahoe. On my way back I intend to visit in Sedona for a day or two before returning to the "land of enchantment". I wonder what type of espresso cafes they have in Phoenix?

The Biology of Belief

The Taos chapter of IONS(Institute of Noetic Sciences)showed a video by Bruce Lipton, "The Biology of Belief" this past week at the Taos public library. IONS is devoted to the exploration of the intersection between spirituality and science; often revealing the academic explanation for metaphysical phenomena. Bruce Lipton is a renown biologist and demonstrated in this 2 hour video how cellular biology supports what many in the "new age" postulate: that our lives are created by and through our beliefs rather predetermined by our DNA. I can't do justice to his lecture on how cells respond to energy in the environment; however suffice it to say that the all cellular activity is mediated thru the brain. It is our frontal lobe, corpus callosum, that makes judgments, discernments, and perceptions of our environment and this in large measure - except for the color of our eyes, hair, skin color - creates our health, attitude and longevity. As an example he flashed a slide of a half dozen women in the 60's and 70's dancing in a "broadway" style revue - all of whom looked at least 20 years younger than their chronological age. He argued that their vitality and health wss ensured due to their passion for dancing and their belief in their ability to continue to make the same moves they had in their younger years. The old adage, "use it or lose it" is a truism that most people accept. Anyone who has ever suffered from a broken bone or sprain can attest to the muscular atrophy that universally occurs due to lack of use. However, it may be a bigger leap to endorse the notion that we create our health and/or change the course of disease thur our beliefs and attitudes. He didn't of course say that we are guilty of our own cancers, accidents or injuries; however, he did say that we can play a "huge" role in our recovery and dismissed the concept of fate/a doctor's prognosis in determining our lives.

As I mentioned in earlier posts I recently cut my left hand and had subsequent surgery to ostensibly repair the nerve. As it turns out the nerve was fine and the surgery was probably unnecessary. The doctor in the ER impressed upon me the seriousness of the injury and the urgent need to schedule an appt with a hand surgeon - as soon as the surgeon saw me - he recommended surgery with the caveat being that if I didn't have surgery I might never regain full use of my hand. I got caught up in their urgency, fear(of malpractice most likely)and imbued authority and against my inner belief (my intuition told me I would be fine and that it would simply take awhile to have full feeling back in my fingers)and followed their recommendations.... Now I have a much bigger scar on my hand and it is much stiffer and sore than it was previously. I don't blame the doctors; I consciously decided to adopt their beliefs at the time - in contradiction to what my inner self knew.
This lesson seems to keep coming up for me - in costly (both financially and emotionally)ways - the latest one has cost fulfilling the @2000 deductible for my insurance as well as dealing with more impairment than I had originally. Discerning the difference between internal and external beliefs/judgments/opinions will be the subject of another blog.....

How Sweet the Sound

"Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound", is exactly how I felt when I heard the beginning drops of rain last Saturday night - rain that mercifully and graciously lasted thru the night. I went to sleep that night accompanied by the staccato notes of rain falling on my skylights and snuggled into my quilt with a sign of deep contentment. It hasn't rained in Taos (except for brief 30 mins or less of light spit)since I moved here in the beginning of September. The dryness, lack of humidity, dusty roads and endless sun has made me newly appreciate the lush greeness of New England (and England for that matter)and the water which falls from the sky keeping leaves/grasses green, rivers/brooks full and flowing - and not the least - keeps skin from cracking rawness. Surprised by the contrast, longing for rain I was outnumbered by Taosenos who muttered dire predictions of "bad" weather for last weekend. I also recall the scores of comments made by Easterners about how wet a summer they had, flooding on Cape Cod, and laundry remaining damp - headed for the dryer.... It's an issue of balance, I guess, that keeps a line between deprivation and onslaught - however, nature doesn't tend to deliver according to this dictum.

And so you give up one thing in order to get another - more sun here but less rain - this is one of the major reasons I've heard so far for why people flock to Taos - the others being the skiing in the mountains, the abundance of art, artists and their galleries and, of course, the etheral and enchanting quality of light created by the altitude and location. Photographers love it here - I've met several with their cameras in the late afternoon (4 - 6pm) scurrying to set up their tripods to capture the lumious quality of the gloaming.

The 25th annual Wool Festival was held over the weekend at Kit Carson Park; a city of tents housing natural fibers, accessories, leather goods and one or two encampments of sheep, lamas and alpacas. One (actually the only) vendor sold kibbee (aka gyros)sandwiches for lunch; I had one before I went to visit the sheep who were next up for a shearing demonstration. I limited myself to sale items and managed to escape for under $50 - the yarn being used to prduce sweaters for sale at a local craft shop in Bethlehem, NH. Ignoring how little it yields in hourly pay I justify the small retail business by how much it supports my habit in trying out new patterns and the gratfication in seeing a project completed and utilitzed. I did make one splurge from my usual purchase of off white wool for fisherman knit sweaters by buying a teal green dk weight yarn for a scarf or socks - who knows maybe a Xmas present for me or someone else....