Nikki Starcat Shields's Blog, page 36

Starcat’s Favorites: The Heart of Summer

Do you feel like summer is just zooming right by? Me too. What can we do to make summer linger a bit more? That’s simple. Make an effort to get outside and enjoy it.

I know, you’re busy. Me too. But let’s face it, the warm weather monthswon’t wait for us to check off all the items on the ever-present to-do list. Take a break. Get outside for a picnic, BBQ, walk, hike, swim, some puttering in the garden, or whatever floats your boat. Enjoy it!

Here are some thought-provoking and fun links to per...

Feminine Energies Are Rising

When we were preparing for my women’s group’s Summer Solstice gathering, one of the women mentioned that this is the time of year when feminine, or yin, energies are on the rise. I hadn’t really thought of it that way before.At the Winter Solstice, we always hear how the light is returning, and everyone is really glad for those lengthening days during the heart of winter. Yet at Summer Solstice, we don’t even want to think about the fact that the days already grow shorter, marching steadily t...

O Beloved Summer!

Hello lovely readers! I hope you’re enjoying the summer thus far. I certainly am. I had the delight of a week-long vacation with Quester, enjoying our favorite Maine places, Ellsworth and Mt. Desert Island. It was a much-needed respite from the busy time that came before it.

Back in late June, Elven Tiger, BlackLion and I got to visit a wildlife refuge and meet lots of amazing big felines. This included seeing the new tiger triplets being fed! They knead their paws in the air so adorably. They...

Lucky 600

So, WordPress tells me that this is my 600th post on this blog! Wow. I started it in 2006, so that means I’ve posted 75 times each year (on average), and 1.5 times per week (again, as an average). That’s pretty neat.

I very much enjoy blogging. I started out doing it as a way to get myself to write more often, and to share those writings with a wider audience. So far, so good. I write much more than I did back then – ditching the full-time day job helped – and I’ve now had 2 books published! W...

Multidimensional Joy

Here’s a quote about joy and its many facets, from oneof my favorite metaphysical authors.

“Let us take a particular feeling and follow it through as it might be expressed at various levels of consciousness. Begin with a feeling of joy. In normal consciousness, the immediate environment will be perceived in a far different manner than it would be, say, if an individual were in a state of depression. The feeling of joy changes the objects themselves, in that the perceiver sees them in a far bri...

Dancing with the Feminine Divine

ElvenTiger – devotee of Brigid, and perhaps Artemis?

After writing the post on feeling mostly gender-neutral, I got thinking about why I’m so drawn to connecting with the Divine as female, as Goddess.

Part of it is because I’m a feminist, and as such I’m not fond of the patriarchy and its stern, imposing monotheistic God. By feminist, I mean that I’m in favor of justice and equal rights for all, no matter their gender or sexual preference. I see human beingsas souls on a learning path, and part...

Summer Solstice and PortCon

What have I been up to lately? Quite the whirlwind of a weekend! Summer is here and we were busy welcoming it and celebrating, creating, and performing.

The main event of the weekend was, of course, the Summer Solstice! We celebrated in several ways. The actual time of the Solstice here in Maine was early Saturday morning. BlackLion and I drummed for an early ritual in the delightful garden of the First Parish UU Church in Portland. ElvenTiger joined us and took part in the ceremony. It was lo...

Starcat’s Favorites: Healthy Living

…or my current best attempt at it, anyway, as I’m still learning. I’m doing yoga five times a week or more. I had a massage this week (thanks, Mom and Dad, for the gift card!). I’ve cut out refined sugar (including alcohol), and have been avoiding fried foods (not that I eat a lot of them, but you know, like corn chips and crackers) and bread. I’m eating some dairy, but keeping it to a minimum. I’ve been indulging my body’s craving for fresh greens, which is easy since our first CSA box was c...

How Female or Male Are You, Anyway?

One of the exercises in a book I’m working through has to do with gender identity, and how “female” or “male” you feel at any given time. I think that often we associate certain traits with one gender or another, when in fact these traits (such as aggressive or passive, logical or emotional) are simply aspects of being human. To me, gender as I’ve experienced it is a continuum. I’m physically a heterosexual female, yet most of the time I feel rather gender-neutral.

Recently, the times I’ve mos...

The Quiet House

It seems like the grass really is greener on the other side. Some of my single friends have said at times that they wished for a lively home like mine, where something is always afoot. They want a full schedule of events and a tribe of loved ones to enjoy it with. Meanwhile, those of us with kids and busy households are often dreaming of being able to decide what’s for dinner without taking into account a complicated formula of who will currently eat what foods. We’d love even a few minutes o...