Basking.

After fretting about an audience (both perceived and real) that I was disappointing and "letting down" by not posting regularly about our Huge Life Change, I let myself take a month "blog sabbatical" as I settled in and figured out the internet situation here in our new rural Baja Mexican paradise. Our month anniversary of moving to Lumbini Gardens rolled around on the twelfth (I know! So exciting! Thanks for the congratulations! ;-) ), and by that point I was so blessedly un-connected with the internet, I had barely the tiniest desire to log back on. But reading from other gratefully inspiring bloggers, such as here and here, I am reminded that I do have a story to tell. There are people who want to hear it. It's a story worth telling, and worth reading. And for now, this is my medium.

So what have I been doing during this month since we officially For Real moved to rural Baja California Sur, Mexico, to a permacultural haven-in-the-making? Ha! That's so many stories! So many photos! So many feelings, senses, emotions, movements, victories, and even some loss.

For now I'll tell you something I've been letting myself indulge in: I've been basking in the satisfaction of a HUGE life goal ACCOMPLISHED! Even there, I start to modestly add phrases like, "but I know this is just the beginning," and, "but I know that we have so much work ahead of us, and we just don't even know how it'll turn out." With this, I noticed a pattern of myself for many years: never allowing myself that satisfaction, really, of taking a moment for accepting and enjoying a pat on the back ~ either from loved ones who appreciate me, or even from myself. I immediately set my sights on The Next Thing, and don't look back.

Which brings me to a false belief I had about myself: that of being a lackadaisical flittering non-goal-oriented person (read: slacker). Having so many successful peers and friends ~ whom I'm so proud of(!), and especially so many loved ones who went through some professional school which has such a linear, "this, then that," kind of track with very obvious goals and credentials and then special titles and letters they get to use before and after their name to prove they mastered and accomplished something Important, I have seen myself comparatively as a Late Blooming wanderer and seeker who might just never "make good." Well, if I am a Late Bloomer, I have finally found some rich soil and am ready to thrive (do you see those flowers budding all over me?). And, can I set a goal and reach it?! Since this idea planted its seed deeply in my heart, I have been a woman obsessed about reaching this goal. Driven, determined, with jaw set, not allowing for distractions. AND HERE I AM!

And, wow, does this fruit taste good. It's everything I imagined it to be, and it's just the beginning! Right before I sat down to type this, my love hugged me extra hard before he headed off with our daughter to the playground. He whispered in my ear, "I love you. And I love this. Even more than I thought I would. Life really is better this way."

So, yes, I've been doing a bit of basking. I sat down with my journal at the turn of the new year. The new year is ponderful for me, just as it is for everyone. But my birthday falls just days later ~ on the fourth of January, so I feel like it could be extra ponderful for me sometimes. I was eager to begin playing in my Goddess Guidebook and see just how many goals I could accomplish with her fabulous tools. And that's when it dawned on me, how bout letting yourself soak up some of the magic of this huge life goal accomplished? ...Just let yourself relish it for awhile? What would that feel like? I could barely let myself write down the page before I had already come up with some goal or another, if only a small, general one. Then the page told me, "Live into the satisfaction of Being a dream manifestress. I'm not only a Dreamer, I'm a Visionary Dream Manifestress." Then I illustrated that as best I could with the Sharpies available.

photo of that page, with the shadow of the palapa fronds blowing in the breeze at sunset.

And continued, "How Juicy is that?

What does a dream manifestress look like?

How does she love?

Just like I do. LIVE INTO THAT."

Announcing! La Vida Lumbini

Hello !

I appreciate all of you who have been checking in to see how we're doing here at Lumbini Gardens. I'm still figuring out how exactly to include the internet in my life to achieve the lifestyle I desire. For now, to quench your curiosity, let me send you to my New Blog(!) that will chronicle our journey in more of an informative way than the style I write here. I'm excited about it! :-)

I imagined more of a Grand Unveiling, but this is what it is for now.

Announcing! La Vida Lumbini!

Solstice Smiling

Check out the rest of our photo from December at Lumbini here !

Seeking: Compatriots in Permaculture Bliss in Baja Sur, Mexico

photo: running water in the kitchen!

We are having such fun already, living at Lumbini Gardens in Baja Sur, Mexico.  My love told me yesterday he wants to be here forever, he is just so content.

We live right across the road from world-renowned seed-saving expert, Gabriel Howearth (heard of Seeds of Change seed company? Yeah - he founded that, and more).  We are blessed with the opportunity to learn from and work with/for him daily. Also to consult with him on what to plant where and when at Lumbini Gardens so that one day it, too, can be a wildly diverse and overflowingly abundant tropical jungle just like his at Buena Fortuna.

We play, fish, stroll, and relax at the nearby beach almost daily.  And star- and moon-gazing? A night doesn't feel complete without cozying up to the fire and languidly peering.  Ahhh.  Getting to know the wildlife in our midst is another thrill: coyote, fox, vulture, osprey, hare, and roadrunner are our neighbors - as well as los gallos who crow at first light all around La Ribera. :-)

Our only desire (now that the shower is working!)?  
Families of friends to live this dream with us day-to-day.

I have been advertising to groups of like-minded folks I know, and inviting practically anyone with a dirty, smiling child and kleen kanteen. ;-)  Now I've begun to really get specific with the Universe about our desires. That way it will be easier for her to find us a perfect fit!  I've created an ad of sorts and sent it to some large-audienced bloggers who share my ideals.  Here it is - does this sound like someone you know?  Does it sound like you?  Please do drop me a line. :-)

We have just moved from America to Baja Sur, Mexico, to a piece of land we are beginning to cultivate permaculturally.
The property is owned collectively, however we are the only folks of the group actually living here (mostly) full time, and the only ones with children. Our farm, called Lumbini Gardens, is a mile away from the ocean, in an area with very fertile soil and intense sunlight.  
We are seeking other families to join us.  I know there are folks wanting to do something like this; we just need to connect with them.
We particularly desire families with different-aged children - our daughter is three - who are interested in peace/joy-full-partnership-parenting and un/homeschooling.  And of course have an interest in living on the land and practicing permaculture.  Our diet is an omnivorous one which emphasizes real, nutrient dense foods with strong WAPF-paleo tendencies.  We love making music and dancing, living slowly, playing at the beach and sitting by the fire under the stars.

With an open heart full of confidence in this process, and love -
Tiffanie

Hola from Baja!

firelight snuggling

We're here!

However, due to some confusing bureaucratic rigamarole and wonky work scheduling for Sealion, we will be heading back up to Oregon on the 22nd, and {{{{hopefully!!!}}}} returning here as early as the 5th of January. [AFTER we visit our best friends ARLENE and BRIAN, and NEW BABY due ANY DAY NOW!!!]

I am sitting with an ocean breeze in my hair and waves crashing just a minute's stroll away. So I'm going to make this short. I know that a few of you have probably been wondering, so I wanted to check in.

After several days traveling and running around doing errands, then close to 12 hours of sleep last night(!), our camp is now mostly set up. Just being in the open air, communing with the almost-full-moon for hours by the fire, squatting just anywhere to pee, sleeping and breathing in the uninhibited and cold nighttime desert air, and of course getting some of that intense sun, I am feeling recharged and rejuvenated already. I'm ready to get to work!

Salud!

Plastic is Forever: Awesome Video from Rethinking Plastics

Haven't done a public service announcement in a while.

Saw this video from the folks at Green Sangha and had to share.

Whispered by the Stars Through my Window: a poem

Just got back from a nice long trip to visit with family for Thanksgiving. We had the pleasure of staying at a cabin on a wooded lake in rural North Carolina ~ owned by Sealion's sister. This place is pure, sloooow, Nature-based therapy. We always feel renewed and refreshed there. My mind and heart were so relaxed there that I even channeled a poem:

sunrise through the kitchen window:photo by my mom

There is an essence in you that is wild.
That no hours of computer screen can penetrate.

The hair on your neck
Responds to the call of the owl.
And the deepest cells of your gut are

Tugged
By the moon.
The stars still

Wash their seasonal secrets across your dreams.

So do not fear;
You cannot hide completely nor truly sever ties from your home. You were never even gone.

Surrender to the knowing
That your sweat longs to mingle with the sea.
Spread your sole bare on the earth and feel its healing. It surges with your pulse and reawakens your rhythm.

This is the deepest seduction and truest return.

Know it like the moon knows the moth.