adventures in no-sleep-land

hello!  last night, i did not sleep.  and right now, well i'm feeling.. unsleepy?

so i'm going to post about what i did last night!

'so it started with a uke....'

i am a uke-aholic.  there, i admit it, oh trusted soldier.  i am addicted to the uke! i got this beauty a few weeks ago, discovered it under neath the muck and mud that is my lifestyle (or mounds of brown and mulberry-colored sweaters...), and decided to play it. this was late late friday night. 3 am, uke in hand. Go!

Saturday: I learn my first song.

now when i say 'beginner' people, i really mean it.  now let us begin again-o!

1.) Beirut, "The Penalty" (da da dahhhh)  this is 'gold', by my own currency. by which i mean not really gold, but a beautiful blooming flower, easy to spot, easy to hold, easy to love.  and easy to Learn to do those things.  the penalty is rich, simple.  a 'gold standard'?

here's yours truly, playing a piece of the sweet, golden pie...

and here's the real zinger (click on the pic) :

i then had a dream about fire hydrants and rum, until 'metanoia' came on and shifted my gears....

 

'holy, holy, holy'...

men in tights scare me.

but what doesn't??

saturday night, very very old saturday night, (we're talking 3 am Again people! sense the pattern... sense the pattern...) i picked up my uke.  i'll call her sally for now, at least until the moon keeps...

and i learned a few more...

'sigh no more, no more...'

2. ) "Mumford and Sons"

there are two amazing songs i learned from this talented whisky and rye band.  they also love fish, perhaps?  well, "awake my soul" and "sigh no more" are simple, easy chords to play, and Fun!  the band likes to start some songs (like these two, maties) out in a delicate sort 'a creamy broccoli soup (or somethin') way, and then progress like street bangers to a full-blown crunchy chip, smack in your face, eat them alll over the table, heart pounding, stomping, banjo-grabbing, rive.  it's what i call, 'count me in'!

Side note, (pshhh...) : I'm sharing with you one of the secrets that kept me through finals at the end of fall semester, lasting 2 whole weeks of about 20 hours sleep.  (it was strange, confusing, silly, bonkers, and tiring.  and, yes, i thought a kid's laptop mouse clicker was an alien...)  besides caffeine, bananas and laughs with friends, i watched mumford and sons youtubes to keep me on track.  The one played a million times, (maybe 2 thousand...) is this one:

i actually left a comment, great balderdashes!

the second video?

you guessed it.  'sigh no more'

'Sigh no more' is particularly amazing to play on any stringed instrument, because of the deep watery rifts between 'beginning', and that smashing end.  'Sum said.

Finally, i need to share with you two great resources to learning any new song:

Youtube, and 

Ukulele hunt

i also have to credit this gal

she not only taught me my favorite songs by singing along as she played, but taught me the chord changes as she played, and Then posted the chords and matching lyrics in the info box. whoever said foxes were lame?  (hound didn't...)

after you have your song in mind, i **suggest you learn the chords first, and Then search for youtubers who can show you how to cover the song in either 'uke' style or at least with the chords you now have in your pocket. then the trick of the test: play along! to covers, by yourself, to the original heroes. and hey, film yourself! sing along too.  my floormates now refer to me as 'ukulele' girl, but i just say, 'why not?'

one more quick step (and the most important).  spread the love.  today, a mere few hours after releashing this beastly... thing, i'm going to play for my friends at this lovely/scatter-brained party tonight. obviously i don't 'have balls', so something must have worked.  i call it... guts?  and just livin' like there's no tomorrow.

 like this guy! >>

 now learn something new, be bold, and be ... furry? peace!

your trooper, lauren ☮ 

exploratory measures...

hello everyone!  in this post, i'm gonna do something different.  i'm going to take you on a journey through the mind of... me.  what i do when i'm not carousing the public, in class, at a potluck, in a yoga practice, a joyous celebration, picking up leaves, and hanging around the baristas who patiently pour water in my glass bottle at the coffee shop.  this is what i do when i am bored.


1.) "and the water shall flow, with every forgiving day..."

a poem i wrote during holiday break:

"watch the water waves and stare"

the voices laugh and cackle

and mean, mister miser comes by and sails away

the people are laughing

and the children are coughing

where in china the winds are stirring

up hail and dust-bounty storms

the cistern is half-full, clocked open, mounds a' plenty

while she trembles and weeps

and these thorns cloud her curly eyes

the camera talks

seagulls gawk

don't honk at me, please

while i purr gently, hands in prayer

the road is blocked, red rivers runs clear

the sewer is dirty. this isn't Rome, my dear

12.22 1:45 am

2.) "mystical magical markers"

markers color my life.  not just the paper, not just my burrowing hands or curly hairs, or my friends coat.  EVERYWHERE.  like a ghost pouring out of a page, instead of lead bitterly marking it down...a poem i'm creating now, through colors and words..."markers"

Color my swamp, it swirls...

market my treasures and make me whole

bury me at wounded knee. dig my hole  

and take me away where the kindergard'ners go.

i am your warrior, your princess, your caspian desert. i beg, i plead.  make me your treasure.

'these forests of pasture', they don't know no good.  who's to say, i plead,

 

make me your stone.

what are colors, but numbers?

every fractal paints a picture.
let those good bells ring, that wondrous bobby do.

i'm laughing inside.  on the outside, i'm crying. i can't tell the difference.

do you? i'm lying.

Colors, i say, paint the pictures of our soul.  deserts of dreams. marcus and majesty.  'mark us your words. share us your soul.  take us to pastures of plenty and hoe.'  make me your kin, your desert, your bow.

under that awning, i can only stand still, and hope.

3. ) peace of peace.

i say, go.  what's wrong with throwing away paper?  nothing. spring break,

i see i colored you whole.

just take me to wonderland, where peace followers go.

"meditation tip of the day" forlorn, a stare.

4.) "hola"

"alll the pretty people" with nostrils, dirt and hair.

take me to mercy...

where doom's tides, beware.

5. ) and as these dust bowls heap, the dog strides in leaps.  cherries go away.  i stir up and say... "let us not weep.  let us color in and DREAM!"

Namaste!

☮, Lauren

Our mind is a creative wonderland

Hello!  / 'got my mojo workin'!' (oh, you muddy waters...)

    There is so much to tell, so much to tell.  First off, Happy Wednesday! Every day is beautyful.  No, we do not sit on our bums, cramming words and mental pictures to wait for Friday, where we blast our socks off in drunken stupor.  EVERY day should be an adventure.  Every image a mental Blast of fiction and paradise.  every person a friend.  every breath a breath to enlighten all your masses... of cells.    every day is a party.


        Here is a Dogen meditation to get you through those times where 'Wednesday' is only 'Two more days till Friday!' and not 'TGI-W!'...


          ~You must act only for this day and this hour,
                  because tomorrow is unfixed
                  and difficult to know
                  You must meditate without wasting time,
                  thinking that there is only this day
                  and this hour
                      After that it becomes truly easy ~ 

To help when meditating, Be Comfortable.  Don't let any mental blockages or physical pains relieve you from experiencing a truly blessed moment with the world. I like to keep my spine straight, but not tense.  A relaxed straight.  As well as my arms, shoulders, neck, hair, lips, weightless.  blessed, true, truly blessed.  I overheard from a very smart bird.  Delicate, rare, amazing, that keeping that back straight allows 'the subtle winds of energy to flow freely'.  Just like salmon pulling up stream, blocking out mental prisms and getting to that beautyful, peaceful place, or curly hair at its fullest, Grandma's kisses, brownies spreading out as far as they are wide, the flower you see,  those peaceful messages you hum ('Ohmmm!') to yourself inside ("You must act only... and peace!"...).  They will be able to fully spread their roots, kick that soccer ball, flow to Every Cell once you unshrivel your spine!  Oceans spread far and wide, carrying the fish, only trapping sand and dust, (and yes, mental prisms) into their crevices.  Don't let "After that..." get stuck in some neck cell.  

"Blurbs!!" (now to be called... 'Mental shout-outs'...)

"Awake my soul, awake my soul (Marcus Mumford :)"

Trees.  they are beings.  just without arms.  or brains.  (or... i mean, what good did brains ever serve anyway?  their arms are Just as good)  I like climbing trees, but now, the trees on my campus are Branch-less! about 8 feet above our rich, green foresty grass.  towering above my head. stupid, stupid... blind stupor you school academia 'masters' create!!  I say, Jump to the trees.  

Yesterday, March 21: "Spring's official hello"...

p.s., in the very near future you will see this "lauren" (me :) reaching above, curling my toes, laying, in these glorious trees.  far from academia 'masters'...

'dream weaver, weave me this basket'

(people who inspire me, through musical talent, wizardry, fantastic cooking, jokes, dreams, i wish'es..., love, eye brows, Fantastic wizardry, and blurbs.)

 andrew w. danger-powers.. ("sand, you beautiful sand!")

zach condon (rain rain, go away?)

 (i say just let 'im be)

the australian wilderness:

 look inside, (flying mountain squirrel)

'original man, original man. (paint me the days, oh original man...)The Day of the Dead (syncretism, peace)

(bikers say stop.) 

bobby allen z!

top three quotes: (thinkin' on ma feet)

"don't follow leaders, watch the pawkin' meterss!"

"imagination is the key to your soull..." 

"oh marianne, pass me the joint" (and other quirky burks :)

numero #1: "schizophrenia, or shamanism?"

Einstein, steinbeck, tolle of the calmness, vanwyngarden, whoever you are, Iroquois Jackson, all i can say is, sleep peacefully, and don't ever mend your ways.

"hang ten brothaa!!" (final blurbs...)

peace tree: ~

peace tree, forgive us now

let us take

the quakes and

  "smucker them", with love and kisses

breathless, anonymity.

i had to stop and think for a while, 
    'what will my brothers think?
    they must think, of... something.'


nope, a joke, stoke, bloke? (sigh.)


peace tree, forgive us now
let us give
you roots
provide your soils
with fruits and air, Clean from fracking
green from murder
safe from havens
and hopeless in your arms
give us the day
to stay, 
    cherish, weep,
 stay,
      in your arms.
 "giving tree, please rescue me from thus." ~


'LuvAmp'
   ~because all that creative jest needs to go somewhere, people...

Tony Moss, leader of the LuvAmp project, is seeking all creative energies! he is leading this project which brings together community, strength, empowerment, courage through music!  unleashing that 'collective genius' that unites all humans, but sadly is restrained by our own burgeoning worries that 'Sally down the street will just not get it'. In california this june, the LuvAmp peoples will be hosting a benefit to ... benefitt the community through jolly music, ho ho ho. visit the link here and please help out in any way you can.  Shwam.

Life is a circus...

~courtesy of natalie dee

one last thing, all you aliens.  spread the love to 10 great people you see today.  those busy sidewalks.. those crowded meat districts! shout 'happy wednesday!' or offer a joke.  works every time.

Peace! ☮

my first post. joy :)

hello fellow humans!


my name is lauren, and i am currently in my second year at school.  i reside in pittsburgh, love meeting new people, playing instruments, drawing, practicing kundalini yoga, eating healthy plant-y foods, being sporadic.  what else?


spunky
likes giraffes, plants and staring at the earth
my family
learning
being challenged
not focusing
'nowism'
and love....


taking photographs, learning from individuals, communing, climbing trees and eating from bushes, humpback whales, the color brown, green, our algae, ...


reciting poetry, smiling, ice cream, happy cows,  bob dylan, danger, cliffs and beach-biking, living in tents and farming, supercalifragil..., sporadic meet-ups, my dad's humor, just... hugging...


you see there are a BILLION different ways to define lauren, as well as you Molly, or Joe or the man who lives two blocks down from me, or the fellow organic grocer.  we are all very individualized, fitting into our own 'individual culture' by our thoughts, goals, relationships, love of foods, things we already know how to do, things we are afraid of, our inconsistencies, our Name, what we desire, what we are capable of underneath the individual suppressing fears, We Are All Beauty, Unique individuals.
I like to meditate, propel my being's journey to this 'enlightenment' above and beyond our sheltered selves, and giraffes. (giraffes :)


But, why continue?  why SAY what 'lauren' is. that defines me and every time you define a word or person, smeared away from all the beautyful depth... hidden, grand, vast, unknowing and yet to be touched and felt; the forever 'ocean' of life that is our selves.  'lauren' (and molly and joe and the fellow grocer and marty the fellow neighborhood giraffe) is so much more than just an expression of what music, foods, blurbs we all like. that is why my 'spiel' is over.  you can discover what this crazy gal lauren is all about, through the poetry of your own mind.


   Feel free to express any comments, woes, tips or travels in the comment section below. our world is beautyful! let's embrace it together :)

"Blurbs!" (blah blah blah...)

Happy Vernal Equinox!

today marks the beginning of spring.  fresh, sweet corn, a gathering of tribes and smiling doves (oh these pastures of plenty!). on the equinox the sun aligns perfectly with the equator, causing every splendor, every culture on one hemisphere to experience the same length of day, while everyone in the opposite hemisphere experiences their own dark, deafening rich sky. 


Music: (what is this crazy girl listening to??) 

"When I'm Sixty-Four" by the beatles. masterpiece movie. wizards :)

~a daily meditation ~  ohmmmm



every morning, as the leaves tide and the sun wakes up my lashes, i realize not only am i sweating, i am ALIVE, JOYOUS, FRESH.I practice a daily meditation every morning.  it's closing the eyes, whispering nothing, thinking nothing, breathing into your lungs sweet, cool air, and sitting or standing, with the spine straight, hands calm, stomach tame, and voice shut.  it's to seep in a daily anecdote, saying, message, belief.  absorb all you can, believing in its message, through every soul of every cell in your body, and breathing in and out, in and out, until you are done.  then open up, wake up your voice, drink water, fluff your curls, put on your pants, and set out for the day.


   Today's mediation (Osho meditation):
     ' The function of meditation
       is to give you the space,
       to give you the understanding,
       to give you the feel of aloneness,
       and the experience of relating
       without getting into a relationship '


The meditation teaches nothing.  your being Inside will flower.  it is only asking your 'voice inside', your 'teaching self' to remain quiet, unobservant, unopinionated.  to allow your Being to reflect on the world, unjudged, unmasked and open to the vast outside.

part tres...
    A silly, slammy poem:
  ("beatniks, roadside?")

      
    beatniks
      in turtlenecks 
      do they swim?
      or take up ashore?
      take on ashore?
      no, i say they trot to the horses and cows
      and feeds the pastures
      that grow
      to mother earth's sow
      reaping this tiding
      bringing me home,
          sweet home.


      whispering willow-tides
            splendor,
      they weep
      they love cool things
      Dilly on the swing set
      Mary on the toe
      Please, watch over
      sink into my crest
      breath in my wounds
      where frosty pains seep
      let mother like me
      let her know
      that love, dreams and doves
      are all that i know
      I love her
         let her know.


my final soliloquy...

  
  this outside world...
   or, "if not for you (i'd be sad and blue)"


  here are a few brilliant blue, green and white. purple, majestic and tall... landscapes i found.  they are courtesy of Rich2012 on flickr.com.  He has his rights to the photos i will show you, but i am only spreading the love.  they are gorgeous, reflective, wondrous.  i hope in showing you these it will propel you towards viewing his other art. maybe pay him a compliment or reflection on his work.  enjoy!  (and see how beautyful this planet is?  geez!)


PLEASE VIEW.
"misty view" : http://www.flickr.com/photos/rich2012/4720768591/

"dandelion sunset" : http://www.flickr.com/photos/rich2012/4708284363/

"hampshire fields" : http://www.flickr.com/photos/rich2012/4767790610/
(actual photos are copyrighted. can only view them on own respective site)


finally, this beautyful place called 'blue ridge'.  these (and the picture of the hemp field above) aren't from Rich2012, but a display of blogs. look open, mouth ajar, these crests of bounty ~


"bountyful crests"

"art class"

"old tides... look, there's a dinosaur!"

       
                                       Namaste!
                                               Shalom!
                                                       Kwaheri!
                                                                Peace  ☮