[sunbug]

Shaahayda (beautiful name by the way)

I am humbled by your response to my experience and love of nature. And yes I miss my Mother very deeply but feel her near. In fact your response to me is synchronous in ways, I cannot explain except to just Ahhh…the timing could not be more perfect! Very beautiful!

 

And I give a nod to my Dad as well who also loved nature…walking his own path, when he wasn’t teaching high school math or restoring old VWs. Certified VW mechanic never fully retired. He taught me how to build a wood fire in the stove and there is something beautifully symbolic in that…power outages don’t scare me when the temperament of nature does what it does. Yet I have huge respect for Nature and do not take its wildness for granted. Windstorm will humble a person quickly.
Yes, I am a dancer/poet and occasional musician—that came later,  teaching myself to play guitar and now I love mandolin. Also love playing Native American flute but I imagine the flute picks the person as there are some wooden flutes I cannot play at all! At least found some that are in-tune with me:-)

There is so much you covered here all worth thought!!

Since you mention data collection, you seem to have some background in that knowledge unless I’m mistaken:-)

I absolutely love your reference to the “one size fits all approach” doesn’t necessarily work—seems like that’s a common theme going around a lot of JCF threads…and it touches base with my musing as well!!

The study of NDE is fascinating because both I, my Mother and other friends have had experiences (well one might more categorically put them in terms of  “spirit visitation or sensing something more.”)

One of our friends who has experienced such things is a retired RN. She has some fascinating stories including one of her young patients “visiting her” after he passed but she did not know he had passed until later.
The NDE research is fascinating and it makes sense, that something more “concrete” like data is better suited to make the message accessible to those who work within “data collecting fields of study.”
It is understandable, because in order for the possibility to be wondered upon, there not only has to be communication,  but the communication needs to come in a language which is understood…in this case “data.”

My Mother was a hard one to “pin down.” She was a free spirit who had wonderful experiences. And she shared her knowledge with other people.
My Mother  was interesting: she had respect for people both with degrees like her and also people without degrees, but who had proven themselves with hands-on experience within their fields and hard work. She was very kind, non-judgmental and yes had an abiding love of the planet.
As for data: I can give a few examples.:-)  My Mother worked the computer punch cards at Lockheed back in the day! I wish she could have seen “Hidden Figures,” that reminded me of her! And she met my Dad there, when he was climbing inside the wings of the airplanes (757s?) his job.
As for astronomy data, when she was teaching at Fernbank she loved working on tracking Cepheid Variables—the position of certain stars or objects between one time period and another.

(I may be off in my description or definition so my apologies-may have to recheck that.)

At least I still remember the difference between a reflector and refractor telescope! Heh heh.

My Mother did keep up with the astronomy magazines but the impression I had more and more also emphasized by our Astrophotographer friend who worked with Mother…

…Is that Mother’s greatest love in Astronomy (she also loved art) but her greatest love in astronomy was observational astronomy.
She still knew the data and taught the history/science/physics of astronomy.

Magnitude of stars and Messier objects are always fun!
Somewhere else I mentioned that she used cartoons of Galileo and others to teach her courses. Young people and adults alike loved that!
But at some point, that Joe Campbell moment of just being in awe and transparent to transcendence overtook her. Though I suspect it was always there! She was a passionate and compassionate person.
To be able to share that experience of seeing the heavens (very much as you described so poetically in reference to what I wrote) that was IT for her…to see others have their minds blown in wonder

And yes she was asked plenty of questions wherever she went. And she was glad to answer them.
I have great memories of seeing solar eclipses (carefully with the right tools) and lunar eclipses and Halley’s Comet among a few others. After Mother passed I projected a partial solar eclipse on a sidewalk in Brooklyn  (well projecting on white cardboard)

It was thrilling to do that! Several people stopped and looked. That was before CV. And my local is more “mount Carolinas” :-p

Whenever I remember the constellations, I feel close to her. Or can find the Summer Triangle or see the moons of Saturn through my small telescope it feels wonderful. Even if I don’t remember everything what I do remember is a treasure!

My Mother was a feisty spirit but a peaceful soul. She did enjoy looking at things from a different perspective and sometimes even “questioned the answers,” (never for a religious reason) but that was just her and I would have it no other way for all the path of beauty within my life! I know I was blessed and don’t take it for granted!!

Speaking of paths of Beauty since that is the Navajo or Dineh way…it sounds like you have had and even more so now are having a beautiful journey!
Ah, Canada…one place I missed in my travels though Mother told me about it but I think she went to Quebec? 🙂

I’ll have to ask my ornithologist friend in Vermont if he’s ever seen a golden eagle head down his way!
I loved the book you quoted but I need to recheck your first post as you did mine! Sounds like something right up my alley!
And your friend Pico! That is eerie! Fascinating!
Getting back to the NDE science I had heard of another science called “Noetic Science,” which supposedly through data was trying to prove the existence of the soul…all I remember was that somehow they could measure the weight of the body after death (yes I know there are other messy physical data specific factors that also change the weight) but even with those factors they claimed there was still a significant difference. “Curious” as Spock might say.

But coming back to the poetry…

there are times I just want to be in the moment with no definition of it except the experience (as Campbell says) and something deeper.
And if imagination wanders into my thoughts that’s ok…I’m sure Einstein would approve!
Yes you guessed right…I’m a tree hugger and don’t mind talking to the trees! Or wind! As well as the deer and other denizens.
It’s funny how one can love the sun (and the moon) then be mesmerized by the rain…which is also needed. And very healing…aren’t there studies about the negative ions from waterfalls being beneficial?
Aha! David Abram the Spell of the Sensuous! Yes that’s it! Now I have the name. Poetically right up my path!

Thank you Shaahayda in more ways than one. 🙏

and I’ll imagine a *medicine wheel* emoji as well!

Peace.