Sage Woman Chronicles

Quick Post

“How beautiful it is to do nothing and then to rest afterward.” ~ Spanish proverb

“A cheerful frame of mind, reinforced by relaxation … is the medicine that puts all ghosts of fear on the run.” ~ George Matthew Adams

“It is good idea always to do something relaxing prior to making an important decision in your life.” ~ Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage

I’m finishing reading The Razor’s Edge, a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. I won’t write much about the book and movie at this time. I want to finish reading first. However, I will write this. Every once in a while there are books, movies, songs, or other artistic expression where when you come across them, you feel like the artist had you in mind when they created their piece. The Razor’s Edge is that kind of book/movie for me, even though this book was published in 1944 nine years before I was born.

Larry, one of the main characters, has survived WW I. He has a driving need to explore the meaning of life, particularly his own. He does this going against popular conventions of getting a job, marrying and having children. Some of his acquaintances think he’s crazy. To me everything that happens to Larry is poignant, and full of meaning. He is seeking something not many other people even know exists. Because this is true, I’m going to need to think about what his story means for me before I can write anything meaningful about the themes Maugham was trying to get across.

In the mean time, I’m getting some selections from my book, The Space Between Time ready for an open mic night in my home town this coming Friday. I am the featured author at this event. Choosing just the right selections, then cutting them down to fit the allotted time given me is a new experience. The part I love best is practicing reading the selections. It kind of takes me back to my acting days and I’m finding it a fun exercise. It’s good practice since I am planning on doing the reading for the audio version of my book.

In other personal news, I’ve gone back to work on my second novel, Time’s Echo and getting ideas for a couple of other projects. I’m doing this leisurely. I don’t want to be in a yank to get all the projects in my head finished. That always stresses me out. I’m in the mood to take it easy and allow the creative muses to whisper to me when they feel like it. Summer is a time for being lazy and recharging one’s internal batteries. That’s where I am today. I feel like enjoying having time to read, and relax after a very busy spring semester.

I hope you are having a relaxing summer and are catching up on some things you were putting off during the winter months.

Have a lovely hump day. Thanks for reading, liking and commenting. I appreciate it very much.

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards. It’s a historical, time-travel, magical realism, women’s novel, and is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. To join her email list, click here. She will never sell the names on her list.

The Shack

“Pain robs you of joy, and the capacity to love.” ~ Papa in The Shack

“I can have peace of mind only when I forgive rather than judge.” ~ Gerald Jampolsky

“Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” ~ Marianne Williamson

I’ve had some pretty fantastic, unexplainable spiritual experiences happen to me, things many people would think are crazy. Because that’s true, I see the world just a little bit differently than most people. For most of my life I’ve hidden this fact because what I believe about life and the divine isn’t the norm. And when I state my point of view, people look at me as if I had two heads.

The Shack, by William Paul Young almost perfectly expresses my belief system so, of course, I loved every page of it. If you haven’t read this one, you have to know that it begins with heart wrenching tragedy and as Mac, the main character, goes through his personal darkness toward forgiveness and healing, we get to go along for the ride. All I can say is, don’t give up on the story. It gets more joyful as it goes along.

In general, I like to watch a movie first then read the book, but in the case of The Shack, I did it the other way around because the movie was yet to be made. But perhaps that doesn’t matter much because for the most part, the movie is just like the book.

The basic story is this. Mackenzie Allen Phillips had a traumatic beginning in life but he finds happiness with a wonderful woman named Nan, and their three children, Josh, Kate, and Missy. It seems as if his past is forgotten, but though his wife Nan talks to Papa (God) every day, Mac can’t bring himself to forgive Papa for what his father did to him. Mac asks that pervasive question, “Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?”

His life gets worse when on a camping trip alone with his children, Missy is kidnapped. Her blood stained dress is found in a broken down shack not far away. The entire family is plunged into the deepest despair. They are barely able to function, but Mac is in the darkest hole of all.

One day four years later, his family goes away for the weekend to seek help for Kate who blames herself for Missy’s abduction and death. As Mac is clearing the driveway of snow, he notices the mailbox door is open. Inside is an envelop with his name on it. The note invites him to come to the shack and is signed, “Papa.” At first Mac thinks his neighbor friend Will, who also attends the same congregation as the Phillips family, has sent the note. He checks with the Post Office, but no one knows where the note came from. Finally, he asks Will if he can borrow his Jeep to take the trip back to the shack where Missy’s dress was found. Will worries the note is from the killer and doesn’t want him to go. Finally unable to change Mac’s mind, he says he’ll go with him. As they are getting ready to leave, Mac tricks Will into going back to his house for fishing poles, then drives off alone.

When Mac gets to the shack, amazing and sometimes disturbing things begin to happen. He meets Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu, or Holy Spirit. Over his visit, he begins to see all the tragic things that have happened not only to him, but others in a new light. For some reason, humans prefer pain to love and joy. We torture ourselves and others because of this pain. The only way to solve this problem is to let go of blame and to forgive. When he does that he’s able to begin the long road to healing.

The movie is almost exactly like the book as I remember it, except that at the end of the book, Mac helps the authorities find the serial killer. We must all face the consequences of our actions after all, but I can see why they didn’t include that in the movie. It’s not the main theme of the story.

The main theme, in my opinion, has to do with all the things we hold onto that cause us so much pain. Our human view of the divine is distorted because we assume the role of God. We hold grudges because we think that’s what God would do. As a result we don’t forgive ourselves or others. Even though I ascribe to all that Mac learns, I fall into those same traps. It takes lots of time and attention to unlearn old conditioning.

I know that esoteric, philosophical movies are sometimes not appreciated. It all depends on how they are packaged. The Matrix, for example, has some of the same themes as The Shack, reality is not what we think it is, but it’s packaged as well done fantasy so it was wildly popular.

The Shack on the other hand, is a story about characters who might live right down the street from us. For some people that brings it a little too close to home for comfort. What if extraordinary, mind bending experiences could really happen to us? That could be a little too weird for some viewers.

One thing for sure about this story is that it shows that spiritual experiences are deeply personal and difficult to convey to others. The only way Nan, Josh, Kate and Will can believe that something significant really did happen to Mac, is by watching him forgive himself and become a completely loving and joyful person. That’s the true evidence of his changed perspective.

If you’re into philosophy, or spirituality, you might be interested in the ideas posited by William Paul Young. I highly recommend both the book and the movie. Neither one is fast paced and I think that’s a good thing. The reader or viewer is given a chance to digest one new concept before moving on to the next.

Thanks for reading, liking and commenting. I hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Arrival/Story of Your Life

“If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?” ~ Louise Banks in the movie Arrival

“Science fiction is very well suited to asking philosophical questions; questions about the nature of reality, what it means to be human, how do we know the things that we think we know.” ~ Ted Chiang

“Despite knowing the journey and where it leads, I embrace it and welcome every moment.” ~ Ted Chiang, “Story of Your Life”.

I’m a big fan of science fiction television and movies. Books and short stories not as much. I’m not sure why that is. Perhaps it has to do with the science jargon. In a movie, I can read body language and facial expressions to see the underlying meaning of the scientific dialogue, and tune out the stuff I don’t understand. By reading the the physicality of the characters, I can tell if the proposed theory has the possibility to get the characters out of their dire situation, or not. That’s all that matters to me.

That’s not to say I hate science. Some of my favorite documentary series are on NATGO, the Science Channel and PBS. There is something so appealing about the abstract nature of science that I love. On the other hand, I’m terrible at math, so a career in science was not an option for me.

However, the true reason I love science fiction movies is because of what Ted Chiang says in the above quote. Science fiction, and even fantasy, allows us to explore philosophical questions at a safe distance. Asking those questions within the context of an exciting story helps the pill go down easier.

In American society, we’re mostly about getting things done and not so much about exploring why we’re doing them. Questions like “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” aren’t usually addressed on the evening news. Oh, there may be the occasional article, or magazine asking those kinds of questions. But in our Puritan/cowboy culture, doing is prized above following some inner guide and searching for meaning. Philosophical and spiritual pursuits are often considered sissy. At least they were for much of our country’s existence. I think that’s starting to change now.

In the last thirty or forty years lots of teachers and institutes have sprung up around the country and the world that encourage us to dig deep, heal our wounds and discover the above questions for ourselves. These new ideas are trickling down to every day society. I use as evidence the highest rated movies of the last few years that have hidden in their battle scenes that destroy New York, or London, those deeper philosophical questions that can’t be answered by a quarterly report or rating on the New York Stock Exchange. The characters of those movies are dealing with existential questions of who they are and how they fit into the world around them.

The movie Arrival, while not ranked in the top ten movies in terms of income, has a meta score of 81 on Internet Movie Database. The audience grew once the movie was on pay-per-view, or the pay channels, which indicates to me that people are connecting with entertainment that asks, “What does it mean to be human? Are there other ways to view existence? Is time linear? Is it possible to change the past or influence the future?”

“Story of Your Life,” (and Arrival) chooses one of these big questions to explore. If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you make different choices?

The basic story is this: The question of whether there is other intelligent life in the universe is answered when several ships appear around the planet. They don’t appear to be hostile, but just why they showed up is a mystery. Linguists and physicists from all over the world are deployed to each sight, along with a huge military presence as well. The big questions the world governments want answered are these: Why did they come? and What do they want from us? The story version doesn’t answer those questions, which I find appealing. The reader gets to decide what the prolonged encounter means and just what effect it will have on the course of humanity when linguists, like Louise begin to see reality in new ways.

But in the world of movie making there needs to be a clear progression of complications, even threat, and the film makers assume the audience wants to know why the aliens showed up. I like the way the screenwriter, Eric Heisserer, took the main questions asked in the short story and ramped up the urgency for Louise and Gary to find out the purpose for this highly unusual visit. Fear is a huge factor in human existence right now, and that juxtaposed with the way Louise begins to understand the aliens and their mission is a great plot device.

I also like the way Heisserer translated the changes in thinking that happen to Louise as she learns the alien language. In the movie, Louise and Gary have a conversation about the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The theory that the language you speak determines how you think, and how you see the world. It’s in Louise’s altered way of seeing all of time happening at once, which is the way the aliens view reality, that helps answer, at least for her the main question. She begins to see all that will happen in her life, and she decides to embrace it. She doesn’t try to change it in any way even though some of it is heart breaking. To show Louise’s experience, the movie is structured in a non-linear way. Another thing I love in books and movies.

I could relate to Louise, because for a very long time, I’ve wanted to learn another language. And just recently, I’ve felt confined by my old patterns of thought. Maybe finally taking the plunge and learning that second language will help me see everything in new ways.

One more thing I love about this movie is that it adds something most alien invasion movies don’t have. The aliens are making contact because thousands of years in what we would call our future, we will help them in some extremely important way. To do that we humans will need to learn to work together. Movies that show a hopeful vision of humanity’s future are always high on my list of favorite stories.

If you haven’t read the story, or seen the movie, I highly recommend both. In my opinion, it’s always good to ask ourselves questions about who we are and what our purpose might be. Sometimes watching movies and reading stories that ask those questions can help us get insights about our lives and the world in which we live.

Thanks so much for reading, liking and commenting. I appreciate it very much.

I’m Back and Ready for a Change

“The thing I love most about going on vacation is that I get to leave behind any kind of schedule. My entire life is scheduled from morning to night, and when I’m on vacation, there is no schedule.” ~ Kelly Clarkson

“Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun.” ~ Randy Pausch

My husband and I got back from Los Alamos, NM the day after Memorial Day. We’ve been wanting to visit that city for a long time, and the cosmic tumblers finally fell into place so we could go. It was fabulous! But our trip was much too short.

I have been feeling restless and ready for a change for quite some time. Since returning from New Mexico, I’ve been having all kinds of aha moments. Well, actually the first aha came before leaving. I was listening to a video and the message was, it’s important to have as much fun as possible. I forget that one all the time. I think life has to be hard that I have to struggle. I believe that because that’s what I was taught. But it’s not true. I can find fun no matter what’s happening. Or I can leave and go someplace that IS fun.

When Barry and I got to Albuquerque, we wanted to stop at DQ for some ice cream. Barry set the GPS on his phone and Siri gave us great directions, until we hit some construction on the street right outside the entrance to the small shopping area where the store was located. Barry followed his nose and we took this circuitous route through a residential area and finally got to the entrance to the parking lot on the opposite side of the little shopping area. It took us fifteen minutes longer than necessary. Barry was a little frazzled. I would be too if I was driving, but I chose to see it as an adventure. That’s what going on vacation is all about, the unexpected, discovering new places, having fun. Soon Barry was laughing too as we told the customer service woman about our adventure and she told us how she had to do the same thing getting to work. We all had a good laugh.

After that, we chose to laugh at seemingly little set backs. For example, we accidentally made a mistake on the reservations for one day less at the B&B than we intended. We could have gone home one day earlier, but we decided to go see the sites we wanted to see that day and then stay in Albuquerque that last night in order to shorten our drive home on Tuesday.

When we got back, I was tempted to stress out again because I am teaching an independent study class this summer. There were lots of things to do to begin the semester. But then I said to myself, I can have fun going back to my daily routine while creating something new. I told myself to follow the fun and stay away from life killing stressful situations. I mean, in this class I’m teaching we watch movies and discuss them. What could be more fun than that?

Finding fun is sometimes as simple as changing the way I look at things. Every time I choose to see a situation as fun, or leave a situation that’s not good, I create more joy in my life.

I asked my sister if I could tell the story of what happened to her this week. She and her husband have been struggling financially for a few years. A few months back my sister renewed her massage license so she could bring in more money. She got a job and thought their lives were going to improve, but no. The owner of the salon, who is very controlling, was making sure Celeste did not get enough clients in a week to make much more than she was making at her previous job. She didn’t want to pay Celeste what her skills are worth. So, after a month or so, Celeste decided to find a new job, which she did easily.

Her first day of work at the new place was this past Tuesday, the day she was supposed to learn all the ins and outs of scheduling clients, writing the reports, and doing the billing. It was an abusive disaster. The receptionist and owner yelled at her for not understanding how to use the computer program after only a two times through the procedures. Well, after getting out of an abusive marriage, and two or three abusive work situations, she was not having it.

I talked to Celeste on the phone later that day. She was able to process what had happened that day with me, a friend and her husband. By Wednesday, Celeste had decided to leave that abusive place and look for a new job. By the end of the day Wednesday, she had a new job at a fabulous chiropractic office. Every time I’ve talked with her since, she has more wonderful things to say about her new place of employment. She’s found her “people” and I’m so happy for her. It was a long haul for her to figure out exactly what she wanted but she just kept looking for a better situation. And now she’s found a fun place to work.

My life has not been as stressful as my sister’s, but I too am ready to make some changes to find more joy in my life. Barry and I have dreamed about living in Los Alamos for a long time. Now that we’ve visited, I know it’s the place for us. We made a friend there, I can’t wait to see how things will unfold for us to be able to move. I’ll keep you posted.

Oh, and today is the one year anniversary of publishing the ebook version of my novel, The Space Between Time. I’m celebrating by being the featured author at the Cochise Writer’s Celebration at the open mic event on June 15 to read from and sell copies of my book. It’s going to be fun.

Thanks for reading, commenting and liking. Have a fun filled weekend.

First Break in Five Years

“As you grow older, you learn a few things. One of them is to actually take the time you’ve allotted for vacation.” ~ John Battle

“The purpose of a vacation is to have the time to rest. But many of us, even when we go on vacation, don’t know how to rest. We may even come back more tired than before we left.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“We will be more successful in all our endeavors if we can let go of the habit of running all the time, and take little pauses to relax and re-center ourselves. And we’ll also have a lot more joy in living.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

I started this blog five years ago this spring, and I think it’s time to take a little break. Coming up with things to write once a week, then twice a week wasn’t hard until just a few days ago. I know it’s been two weeks since my semester ended, but I’m still tired. I want to sit and watch the birds in our back yard and at the bird feeder, not to mention all the other wildlife that wanders past our windows. I want to read books and watch movies. I want to take walks with my husband. I want to sit and have quiet conversations.

My husband and I are taking a little vacation over Memorial Day weekend and I think I’ll give this blog a little rest too. It’s not that I’ve run out of ideas, it’s that I need to take time to just be for awhile.

In the meantime, here is the link for the video of Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare that I directed this spring. The students did a fantastic job of making Shakespeare come to life, even though we didn’t have nearly enough rehearsal time. I hope you will take a look. The themes are surprisingly contemporary.

I’ll see you in a week or two with new movie/book posts as well as things I learned while letting my mind take a vacation.

Thanks for reading, liking and commenting. There are plenty of past posts archived if you want something to read. But, I hope you take time to recharge your internal batteries as well.