Along the Nile

In our little dahabeya,
we cruised from Aswan to Luxor,
mooring alongshore in relative isolation,
far from the bigger river boats.


We spent a total of eight nights aboard the Afandina
so the daylight hours
(when we weren't at ancient sites or
participating in writing sessions)
afforded us a chance to sit and chat and watch Egypt go by.






The area alongside the river is verdant.
But, as you can see, the desert is never far away.

A Glimpse of Egypt

How do I explain Egypt to you?

It's both the expected

and the unexpected.

I didn't expect, for example,
that traffic in Cairo would make Manhattan cabbies
look like models of civility.

I didn't anticipate
that every place I looked
I'd find a visual feast.


I didn't know
that I'd take a whole series of photos
of beautiful weathered doors
in Esna and Luxor.

I expected to find photo ops
in abundance
and I wasn't disappointed.

I didn't expect that when Egyptians asked
if we were English or Canadian
and found that we were Americans,
they'd burst into grins and flash a thumbs up
and say "Obama! Good man."

But they did.

What a trip!

I'll be showing you more glimpses of Egypt
in days to come.

I hope you won't get bored.

On U.S. Soil

Exhausted. In need of sleep.

Flying home tomorrow.

Talk to you soon.

Have I got photos for you!

(But not quite yet).

Boundless

Out of a shattered open heart
springs a fountain of fiery sacred passion
that will never run dry.
- Rumi

"Shattered" - copyright 2007 Meri Arnett-Kremian.

I have learned not to worry about love
but to honor its coming with all my heart.
- Alice Walker

I'm aiming to be juicy with creative energy,
to express that fiery sacred passion,
to keep my shattered open heart
open.

Why worry about finding love?
Love for another man who makes my heart sing
will come or not, as it chooses.

Right now I'm in love with
infinite possibilities
and manifesting magic.


p.s. I leave today for the photography workshop with Jan Phillips
in the Adirondacks and then head to Egypt for my writing workshop
& Egyptian mysteries tour. I've prepared a few posts to run during
my absence because I don't know whether I'll be able to post
regularly while I'm gone.

Please forgive me if I'm not as chatty as I usually am.

I know I'll have a lot of material on my return.

Blessings to you!

Soul Journey

As I walked outside in the early morning light,
the moon was hanging in the western sky,
full and shiny.

Ah, I thought.
Maybe that's it.

I've been feeling particularly open
the past few days;
feeling tender and raw as if I'm taking on
some secret sadness from unknown sources.

Sensing that I'm wide open psychic-ly
and not particularly well shielded.

Feeling mutable and changeable
as if the slightest breeze
will alter the way things look to me forever.

"Mutable" copyright 2009 Meri Arnett-Kremian.

If, as I've been told,
this wander I'm going on starting in mid-week
will alter me in profound ways I can't anticipate,

the cycles of the moon,
the wind ruffling the water's surface,
the feeling of tenderness for the suffering in the world
and a sense of being on the cusp
of something too big to grasp with my mind

are probably all part of the travel package.

A little preview,
so to speak.

Soul Journey.

All aboard. . . . .

A Favor to Ask

Remember my friend Sarah?

Sarah was one of the intrepid "girlfriends"
in the girlfriends trip to Mexico in September.

Sarah is an amazing woman --
a single mom who, at 40 or so, took on the custody
of a neglected infant who was failing to thrive
in the care of his drug-afflicted mom.
He's made amazing progress and is now
a robust, verbally adept, intelligent preschooler.
Sarah's been granted permanent custody
of this little boy who thinks of her as his Mom.

Sarah is also a physical therapist of great skill
who has developed a sub-speciality in working
with post-mastectomy clients who developed lymphodema.

And given that physical therapy requires a lot of
exertion and being on your feet,
(not to mention the stamina required of
a 40-something mom of a preschooler)
Sarah's body has to be in good working order.

Except that a couple of months ago
she injured her back
and figured she'd grit her teeth and get through it.

It didn't work that way.

Sarah's having surgery on her lower back on Wednesday.

So I'm asking that all of you
keep Sarah in your thoughts
and send healing energy her way.



Blessings for a speedy recovery, my friend.

Dahabeya Afandina

Just thought I'd give you a little preview
of the Nile River portion of my trip to Egypt.

We'll be sailing aboard the Afandina,
a new steel-hulled dahabeya.

One of our group found this You-Tube piece
that explains about the boat.
It was produced by SpiritQuest Tours,
the Egyptian partner of my American tour company
Shamanic Journeys.

So enjoy...............



I know I will!

Clueless

I've got to admit that I'm not a beer drinker.
I think it smells and tastes. . .
well. . . "nasty" comes to mind.

I do, however, brake for art.
Usually.


Just not in this case.

Talk about odd couples. . .

Inner Work

The outward work can never be small
if the inward one is great,
and the outward work can never be great or good
if the inward is small or of little worth.

The inward work always includes in itself
all size, all breadth and all length.

- Meister Eckhart

"Time Travel" copyright 2009 Meri Arnett-Kremian.

So much work to be done
on every level.

Here's a glimpse of my emerging series
called Time Within Time.
That's one facet of the work calling out to me.
Each of the pieces in this new series
includes the iconic sunflower,
which always seeks to face the light
even though it encounters times of darkness and shadow
so deep that the light seems extinguished forever.
Then the light breaks through again.
Pure, clear light.

So many layers to be explored.
So many poems to find.
So many songs to sing.

Come dance with me.