Snakes Alive…just where did those rockin’ sixties go?

Why is this gorgeous serpent challenging us with that wicked look? I’d like to think it’s because—in the mythological consciousness of earth folk—the snake represents both death and rebirth, torment as well as wisdom; wisely, it shucks off its old skin when it’s time for a change, and reveals a strikingly patterned new sheath right beneath. And yet, while this fascinating creature symbolizes the higher wisdom that should naturally arise with the passage of time, how many of us focus on spiritual evolution?

And now 2014 is here, begging the six trillion rupee question: what do you plan to do with me, honey? Don’t watch out, and I’ll be gone in the metaphorical wink of an eye…an evanescent dream, a fistful of fairy dust, a wisp of cirrus…no different than all those other years that have sped past since you slipped out of your mama’s womb.

A Goddess Mandala: Kali, Aghori & Unconditional Love #1/6

During my post-divorce years in Manhattan, I grew close to a band of unusual women ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s. Some were freelancers or regulars at the posh corporate law firm for which I then worked; others I’d bumped into at some cheese-and-wine affair that trendy Manhattanites throw in order to compensate for a crazy work-week; still others I’d encountered through the 12-Step program, whose meetings I attended in order to eradicate the insidious smoking habit slowly but surely draining my life force.

Going to AA to deal with a smoking addiction, you demand incredulously? But AA’s for folks with alcoholic dependency, ain’t it? True, AA was originally designed for the alcoholic, and yet liberal Manhattanites were open to a wider definition of addiction. In those often dark and stuffy spaces where addicts and alcoholics of all ages and backgrounds converged in order to keep each other sober, I found myself welcomed, sponsored and loved—until—as the popular saying goes—I was able to let go of my crutches and begin to love my unique self.