The Ghost of Copernicus

Across the bar at Founding Farmers.

Oh the rain, it does not stop. We've had three or four days of steady, soft, warm rain. I am not complaining. Those of us who suffer from springtime allergies welcome rain. It gathers the pollen and brings it down to the ground, a Very Good Thing.

The rain, along with the mild head cold I'm just recovering from, has provided an excuse to just sit around. I've been watching Carl Sagan videos (of which there are a zillion on the internet) almost obsessively. I am completely fascinated - not so much by the science he describes as by his point of view.

Only thirty years ago, we Americans were still dramatically Europe-centric, human-as-supreme-species-centric. To a fault, we believed our culture to be the center of the world. It kind of blows me away, realizing how much of an effect revisionist history has had not only on the humanities, but on the sciences as well.

Our Ptolemaic view of what western culture is/was, i.e. the center of the world, has completely changed during the last few decades. How did it happen? When did it happen? How was it that we were finally able to admit that there have been many great, complex and interesting cultures in the history of the world, that many species have great intelligence? When did we open our minds? Did the spirit of Copernicus whisper in our collective ears?

What happened to change the paradigm? I have no clue. Do you?


On the Metro train, a great common denominator of humanity.

I love science

Only because I think Brian Cox is the coolest rock star physicist ever, and because he raves about it, I've been watching old episodes of Cosmos with Carl Sagan (on hulu.com). I am so enjoying it.

Cosmos is an icon of its time, (as is all art as well as all science). Though Sagan was the grooviest of groovies, seen through the lens of the decades that have passed since the series was made, his point of view is quaint to my modern sensibility. He speaks repeatedly of the "dominating intelligence" of human beings, and disparages the idiocy of nuclear weapons, for instance. I'm not clear that anyone I know actually sees nuclear war as a real possibility anymore. It was so of that time. Also, since the 1970's when Cosmos was made, we've stopped thinking of ourselves as a dominating intelligence, at least within the realm of popular science shows.

These days, in most science documentaries, we focus on global warming and the loss of so many species on earth. We endlessly blame ourselves for every damn thing. That's one reason I have come to dislike science museums. It's all about how bad we are these days, rather than about science. Such a gloomy way to look at the marvels of our reality, don't you think? (Not to excuse our wastefulness or mindlessness, should say.)

One thing we have now that we didn't have then are incredible special effects. In the 1970's there was no such thing as the Hubbel telescope either, so we didn't have all the stunning pictures of stars and planets, in HD, to work with.

I don't get BBC TV on the cable here in the house on Tennessee Avenue, so I'll have to wait until Brian Cox's The Seven Wonders of the Solar System finds its way onto the internet to see full episodes. I'm content in the meantime to walk down memory lane with Carl Sagan and his essentially psychedelic 1970's worldview of science.

I wonder how Brian Cox will look thirty years from now? Hmmm...

Brother Virus, Small But Mighty

From wikipedia:
A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the cells of other organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea. There are millions of different types. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and these minute structures are the most abundant type of biological entity.

So there really is no contest, no point in even trying to fight it. When the nasty cold virus decides it's time to take a bite out of me, I might as well submit, right? Ahhhhh-choooo!

But even as I engage in typical down-with-a-cold behaviors: you know, drinking tea and leaving a trail of crumpled kleenexes in my wake, I always wonder WHY? Why did I catch this cold? Did the ghosts get to me in some way I was unaware of? Was it the extra-dynamic acupuncture I had this week? Did some early season allergy thing kick it into gear? The WHY ME thought form is no doubt left over from my years on the west coast where I believe it's a cultural imperative to believe that all illness happens for a reason. (Here on the east coast, we don't believe in minor illness. At the first sign of a cold, we swallow some toxic, over the counter medicine and go back to work. End of story.)

Maybe today, while it rains and the virus parties in my sinuses, I should get myself back into what I think of as the midwestern mindset, which is: when you get a cold, get in bed, watch movies, read magazines and sleep a lot.

I love the midwestern sensibility. Ahhh ... common sense! Now excuse me while I blow my nose - again!

The Haunting

No, this isn't the haunted house, just another beautiful Capitol Hill house.

I wanted to take a picture of the haunted house, but as soon as I aimed my camera towards the window where I saw the ghost's face, my trusty camera switched itself off and refused to come back on ... until later, on the Metro train, on my way home. Even though I believe in all kinds of mysteries, incidents like this still surprise me. A minute later the woman who called me about the haunting mentioned that after she and her husband moved in, every one of the kitchen appliances died, one by one, one each day until the whole kitchen was kaput. The night that the last appliance broke down, she heard kitchen cabinets opening and closing all night long. Even her husband heard it, and he is not given to thinking about or believing in psychic phenomena. Poor guy. He is in for one crazy ride.

Even after yesterday, I still maintain that the White House is the most haunted house I have ever encountered, but this house in Alexandria? A very close second. There is so much going on there, indoors and out, that it would take several blog posts to describe all the energy. Briefly, surrounding the house are the remains of a Civil War hospital, adjacent to a Civil War battlefield. On the other side of the house is a new housing development. Land spirits really hate housing developments. And now here she is, rebuilding the foundation of the house which is, itself, completely full of what appears to my inner eye to be a family of ghosts. There are several generations of ghosts there, some it seems, from the "old country" wherever that is, some who lived in the house.

The energy is so strong that at one point, wandering around, I mentioned that I was very dizzy. The woman said, "I stay away from that corner." I found many areas of dizzy energy in the house which is laid out like a maze. I wonder who designed it. It's like an Escher house with stairs going up and down, landings everywhere. To get from one end of the house to the other involves following a tremendously circuitous route. Crazy.

I can see why the movers were reluctant to go inside. Believe me, that house is haunted!

So I didn't do anything but ring the Tibetan singing bowl in the dizzy corner. It never hurts to ring the bowl, especially at times when I have no idea where to start.

For the time being, the residents of the house are content to sit with the energy. She said things had calmed down during the past week, so maybe the ghost family has welcomed her.

When I got back to the Hill I took a very long walk, let the breeze and the light of the setting sun clear away all that energy. There are hauntings and there are hauntings. The place I visited yesterday? All I can say is Wow.


Pennsylvania Avenue by the IMF, close to Founding Farmers, my very favorite restaurant in Washington.

I see dead people

On my calendar for today is an appointment to go see about a haunting in Alexandria. I'm looking forward to the experience as I have a special affection for ghosts. They remind me of all the stoners I used to hang out with. What am I saying? They remind me of ME when I was a stoner, kind of fuzzy around the edges, unable to focus most of the time. Ghosts get disoriented, they lose track of time, can't quite remember, most of the time, that they're dead. Sometimes they remember their deaths and freak out for awhile - that's when they moan and shriek and groan. But five minutes later they've forgotten all about it again. I swear ghosts are so stoned!

They don't really get the living, either. I'm pretty sure they can't tell the difference between when we're awake and asleep, which is why they're always trying to talk to us while we're sleeping. We're quiet, not rushing around, when we're asleep. We switch off the lights, tv, computers, ipods, etc. when we sleep. I think they feel we are more approachable without all the noise and distraction.

The people who called me about the haunting just bought a house that's registered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It's close to a Civil War battlefield, but not right on top of it, which could be a factor in the haunting, though the woman who contacted me says she thinks it might be a female. Even the movers, burly dudes (as she described them) thought they saw someone looking out a window on the second floor.

It won't surprise anyone who has known me for awhile that I plan to bring a small hand mirror with me today. I like to walk around haunted houses looking at a reflection of the space. Sometimes I can "see" things in the mirror I wouldn't notice if I was looking directly at them. I'll bring my Tibetan singing bowl and the purbha that Butternut Squash (of the blog Goddess of the Confluence) gave me. Sometimes the clear tone of the bowl is all a spirit needs to snap out of her dreamstate and move along. Sometimes it takes more than that. I also always take a rattle. Ghosts don't really like rattles, which is one reason it's traditional to give rattles to babies - to keep the ghosts away. But it does get them all stirred up, makes them more visible. It's a small annoyance I always apologize for.

And my camera. Of course I'll take my camera. Though dubious that I'll capture the ghost digitally, it's always worth having the camera at the ready, just in case.

The next time I complain about my life, I hope someone will remind me that actually my life is SO interesting! Yes? I say yes.

Re-entry

While one of my housemates is in Spain, I'm in charge of walking his dog. I tend to walk the dogs anyway, whenever it suits me, but I'll admit that since Jake died, I've been a lot lazier than I used to be, sleeping in, reading blogs until 10 a.m. when I finally boost myself out the door.

Tonka is a boisterous, energetic beast, much the way Jake was at the same age (five), so I'm up and out the door early every day, back out midday and once again in the evening. I am becoming reaquainted with the routes I used to take but abandoned after Jake, routes on which there's plenty of grass to provide inspiration, good smells, and easy to scoop locations.

I keep seeing people I haven't seen since last summer, out with their dogs. Walking Tonka has provided access to dog society, synched my rhythms with those of many wonderful neighbors. When Jake died a whole culture disappeared before my very eyes. I'm a part of it again for the time being, which is so nice.

I'm no longer grieving for Jake so it's not hard to explain to these people that no, Tonka is not my new dog. For a long time after Jake died, I choked up anytime anyone mentioned him. I'm asked every morning, after I explain about Tonka, when I'll get a new dog. All I can do is shrug my shoulders and say I don't know. I have no desire to get a new dog. Is that normal? Jake was the only dog I've ever had, perhaps ever will have. Who knows?

One thing I'm re-learning is how much I love to walk around the neighborhood first thing in the morning when the day is fresh, the birds are singing and all seems peaceful and new. I'm grateful for this dog walking gig, I am.

Watch out for the Kryptonite

The weather has completely turned, and though I'm certain we will see more cold, raw, early spring days, winter is definitely done. Today Brother Sun will bring the thermometer up to 65 F. Ahhhh ... that's almost warm!

Naturally I am feeling overambitious, as befits a sparkling early spring day. My to do list goes on and on. And on.

According to the cosmology of Reya, springtime overambitiousness is a natural reaction to the upwards surging energy of spring. It is so strong today that I feel kind of superhero-ish. Where did I put my cape and funny mask? Where are my tights?? TODAY I WILL SAVE THE WORLD! Err ... or ... maybe not. But maybe I'll get the laundry done, the groceries purchased, and my room cleaned. Maybe the dogs will get a super-long walk, maybe I'll take some nice pictures, maybe I'll make a spinach salad after I meet my friend for a martini.

It's probably enough, isn't it? I mean, if I'm only able to "save" my little corner of the world today? It's OK not to be a superhero, right? Yes? I say yes.