I like John J. Oliver. It's not often that someone tells you that they sit in a walk-in closet with the lights turned off, to see if snippets from future headlines of the New York Times come through.

No sirree. You don't hear that everyday.

And yet, when John makes this statement it is not the ramblings of a madmen. This is the sort of thing one expects a professional medium to say.

I took another workshop with John, this one entitled, "Timing is Everything." We spent the day discussing the moon and how to work with it. Fascinating stuff.

Before class started I asked John if he works with angels, he replied, "Yes. Once a year. Usually the Sunday after Halloween."

I was (almost) aghast but kept my thoughts to myself. Meanwhile I was thinking, "Once a year?!?" That's doesn't strike me as the right way to go about this. So I'm in the process of trying to figure out how my daily practice will include (or incorporate) working with the angels. And I'm not talking about the hard-hitting arch angels. I need to get cosy with the regular work-a-day angels. As far as I can tell, most of them are sitting around drumming their fingers wondering when everyone is going to wake up and give them something real to do.

There was one woman in the workshop who wanted to figure out how to go about selling a house that had been on the market for awhile. Fair enough. Although, in my opinion magick should be used to find a cure for aids or cancer, or poverty alleviation. What's with these middle class people who want more material comfort? If there is a God, and I'm not saying there isn't one, he or she must be pretty darn bored with us by now. I know I would be.

I asked John if he had an explanation for the supprssion of wisdom we're living with. He said, "Yes. There's no more mystery." And this got me to thinking. "Am I really into mystery?" "Am I into the unexplained?" And I concluded, "By golly, I am." I think that religion and science and thought and the intellect, that's all very well and good, except for one thing: look at the shape we're in. So perhaps we've got to shift the balance. Because if we were to believe in mystery then we could believe in miracles and then we might start to get somewhere.

How can a rational person believe in miracles? He or she cannot. It is only those who are willing to go beyond what can be reasoned or rationalized who can access miracles. You want things stuck in a nice little boxes with a labels on them? Yeah. Well good luck with all that.

We need miracles and we need to believe in Things that are bigger and smarter than us. We need to restore compassion and and we need to strengthen our hearts. We need to be brave. And I don't just mean once in while, I mean we need to do this each and everyday, as often as possible.

And I do believe in miracles and I don't believe in coincidence and here's an anecdote to show you why.

I was visiting my favorite Aunt. She and I have been good friends going back at least 20 years. I stopped in for dinner last week and I mentioned the angels. I said, "You know they're everywhere." And her eyes lit up and she said, "Do you know about Findhorn?" I said, "No." She said, "It's my favorite place." Then she stepped (more like dashed) out of the kitchen to get The book about Findhorn, her favorite place. Now keep in mind, as her friend you'd think she would have told me about Findhorn a long time ago. And I have a pretty good memory.

She produces this book on Findhorn and excitedly tells me all about. So much so that I probably don't have to read the book. But it's a cool book so I asked if I could borrow it. She said, "Yes. But take good care of it. " (I Always Take Good Care of Books!)

There was no reason for my Aunt to share Findhorn with me until I brought up angels. It would have been time wasted on both our parts. I probably would have thought, "This is interesting," and forgotten about it. But now? Now, I can say, "Cool. Devas." And I get it.

I'm not sure I'm ready to book a flight to Scotland to visit Findhorn as I'm a bit worried that the place might be a bit played out by now but what I found fascinating was that through daily meditation the founders were able to connect with the devas and they turned a scrappy bit of beach head into a thriving garden and spiritual community. Now that's interesting. (And forgive the run-on sentence.)

Now in my daily wanderings, and I do mean walking around Manhattan, I can think about angels and devas and what I've realized is that I want to connect with powerful unseen forces to elicit positive effects. And it's time to buy a new pair of sneakers.

My letter to Rena Bryant

Dear Rena Bryant,

As a longtime resident of Manhattan I was quite surprised when I learned that the keeping of bees in New York City is illegal. While I fully understand that beekeeping might pose some risks, all the beekeepers I have ever known were quite responsible people who took very good care of their bees and never positioned their hives in such a way so as to inconvenience neighbors.

As a former member of the Liz Christie Garden and an urban gardener, I would like to draw your attention to the most amazing feature of the domesticated and native honey bee: those guys are really hard workers and without the honeybee doing her job many of the foods we eat would not be available to us. It is not hyperbole when I tell you that without the ceaseless effort of the honeybee you would not enjoy: peaches, cherries, apples, and pears.

The Liz Christie Garden features a cherry tree. I think of this tree as the crown jewel of the Liz Christie Garden. How astonished was I when I was offered delicious cherries grown on what had once been a vacant lot in the middle of Manhattan? Very. How life affirming is it to walk along Houston Street and come across the trees in full bloom? Amidst all that concrete, tar, steel, and glass are the many flowers and fruits trees that serve as a wonderful reminder that the natural world is thriving.

I hope that the New York City Council will take into serious consideration revising and/or amending Health Code Article 161.01, so that beekeeping can be done openly, in accord with Mother Nature and man-made law.

Honey bees are champion among the pollinators and it would be great to see the balance restored in this great city so that current and future generations of New York City residents can continue to enjoy beautiful flowers, the few cultivated fruits, and of course, that wonderful golden nectar – honey!

I thank you for your time.

Legalize Beekeeping in NYC

If you're interested, you have the opportunity to help legalize beekeeping in New York City. From now until February 3, 2010 the Board of Health will receive testimony regarding the proposed revision to health code Article 161.02.

Right now Article 161.02 reads:

"A beekeeping nuisance shall mean conditions that include, but not be limited to, aggressive or objectionable bee behaviors, hive placement or bee movement that interferes with pedestrian traffic or persons residing on or adjacent to the hive premises; and overcrowded, deceased or abandoned hives."

There are a few ways to share your words:

1. You can send and email to Rena Bryant: resolutioncomments@health.nyc.gov

2. You can go online: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/notice/notice.shtml

3. You can show up in person and let yourself be heard

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

from 10am-12pm at the 3rd Floor Boardroom (Room 330),

125 Worth Street, New York City (Manhattan)

pre-register by calling (212) 788-5010

Be sure to rehearse oral testimony, keep it brief, and bring 15 copies of your remarks.

The following is the revised text that the Department of Health is proposing, which would lift the ban on honey beekeeping, and which you should be responding to in your oral or written testimony --

"All venomous insects, including, but not limited to, bees other than non-aggressive honey bees (Apis mellifera), hornet and wasp. Persons keeping honey bees shall file a notice with the Department, on a form provided or approved by the Department, containing the beekeeper's name, address, telephone, email and fax numbers, emergency contact information, and location of the hive, and they shall notify the Department within ten business days of any changes to such information. Beekeepers shall adhere to appropriate beekeeping practices including maintaining bee colonies in moveable-frame hives that are kept in sound and usable condition; providing a constant and adequate water source; locating hives so that the movement of bees does not become an animal nuisance, as defined in 161.02 of this Article; and shall be able to respond immediately to control bee swarms and to remediate nuisance conditions."

Feeling a bit rusty

Since I moved back to New York City I've been living in the land of fiction. That is to say I've been working on fiction but I might as well be living a fictitious life, and a boring one at that, since all I can seem to do is: go to work (to pay the bills), move the car on Mondays and Thursdays (to conserve money), and go home and write (to feed the soul). Not bad all-in-all but kind of dull.

I've got a wicked case of cabin fever and if I could jet off to the Caribbean I would. And I just read that people aren't supposed to just hop on a plane and go to Haiti to volunteer to help. So I don't feel so bad about going to the Caribbean and not volunteering, although if they needed my help I'd be willing to head out and help on a day's notice. I've been following (as best as one can) what's been going on in Haiti via the New York Times and I've got to say it's kicked me into a whole nuther level of gratitude.

My dreams have been all kinds of intense lately. I meant to blog a month or so ago about a workshop I took with John J. Oliver. Suffice to say, the dude changed my life. For the better so no regrets. The workshop was called Psychic Self Defense. The reason I took the workshop is that I've been dogged by some nasty spirits for many years and I'd just about had it and needed to find a constructive approach to solving this weird-ass problem. John was a champ. If you ever watch Haunting Evidence he seems kind of serious and aloof. In person, he's quite generous and kind and has an odd sense of humor. While I was in the workshop it occurred to me that John is a vegetarian. I also kind of figured he didn't do any drugs. Aside from the practical skills we were taught, I was impressed by the man himself and felt I ought to model myself after him.

So. Now I'm a vegetarian but I say, "I'm a fucking vegetarian," because right now it's the dead of winter and I don't want to have to figure out how to be a vegetarian. But as I've got to eat then I've got to figure this out. I've been doing that although I'm none to happy with my diet right now and plan to get much smarter around this in the months to come.

Then there was the issue of doing drugs. Well. I decided not to do anymore. I'm a huge fan of opiates, mainly because my head is always traveling at the speed of light and I just want to chill the fuck out. So no more opiates.

Needless to say cutting meat and opiates out of my diet changed my head and my heart. My dreams which appear to be a product of my head and my heart, were soon to follow suit.

I usually have at least one extremely intense dream per night and then 2 or 3 fluffy dreams. By fluffy I mean that they aren't as intense as the master dream.

One night, about 2 weeks ago, I had a dream which featured myself and two of my strongest dream companions, my brother and an ex-lover. I was with these two people and an orb of energy entered the dream and knocked me on my butt and then hit the ex-lover. While I hopped to my feet and went to seek out the source of the orb, I looked out the window and noticed an article about angels lying in a snow bank.

When I woke up I started to research, on-line, about angels. It appears that they've been trying to get my attention for some time and I was just too busy being a lunkhead.

This is one of the better websites out there explaining who (?) or perhaps what angels are and how they function. Angels.

I'm stoked to know that angels are surrounding us at all times and not only that, they're here to help and if I ask the right questions, they'll give me the right answers. This is absolutely brilliant.

I'm off to Anahata next weekend. I'm fairly sure I'll find the place knee deep in snow. Not to worry it'll all melt by April. This Friday I'm meeting a man about buying his used bee keeping equipment. And in a couple months time I'll be planting Paw Paw trees. They're hardy to zone 5. Who knew? I can't wait to take a chomp out of one of these.