Mystique of Lapis Lazuli

Wearing my Lapis Lazuli necklace and earings, I thought it would be interesting to investigate this stone. I've never paid much attention to the mystical meaning of stones, but found it quite fascinating. On one occasion I must admit I was guilty of buying a pair of black onyx earings when told they would ward off negativity, an energy I try to remove from my space. Perhaps it's psychological, but if the ancient Egyptians believed it...hmmm.

Lapis lazuli is an ancient gem, and as such, has a storied history. Egyptian cultures made a practice of burying a lapis lazuli scarab with their dead, and believed it to offer protection. The very earliest cultures valued lapis lazuli more highly than gold. Greeks spoke of an ancient sapphire which was included with gold, and this was unmistakenly lapis. Some believed that dreaming of lapis would foretell love that would be forever faithful.
When working or meditating with Lapis Lazuli, it is thought that it can bring matters more clearly to the mind. It is one of the most powerful stones and should be used with care. Wearing Lapis can help you to become a channel. Ancient Egyptians used it as a symbol of Truth.

Lapis Lazuli is also said to heal. I desperately needed some healing after yesterdays toxic experience with fiddleheads! It is used with other stones when parts of the body need to be purified and cleansed and should be only used by a healer. Lapis supposedly has high intensity and can open many of the chakra centres. This must be done only with love in the heart and comprehension in the mind and wisdom in soul.





The colour photos show you the blue stone. I felt they were more dramatic in black and white.

Grotesque Stillness - From the SPoA archives. First pubished January, 2012

CURRENT EXHIBITION @ SPERONE WESTWATER - NEW YORK

Marble Sculpture from 350 B.C. to last week

12 January 2012 through 25 February 2012

A Grotesque Stillness Flirts With Flamboyance

IMAGES:Sperone Westwater, New York

“Marble Sculpture From 350 B.C. to Last Week” at Sperone Westwater includes, from left, “Purity” (2008-11), by Barry X Ball, and older works like the Ionian Greek grave relief, center, from the fourth century B.C., and the late-17th-century bust of a man with a wig.

The tendency of commercial galleries to mount exhibitions of historical material is pushed to rewardingly crazed extremes by the latest offerings at Sperone Westwater. This blue-chip gallery, previously located in SoHo and then Chelsea, has crammed two lavish exhibitions into the four floors of available display space in the narrow, overly hygienic building on the Bowery — commissioned from the British starchitect Norman Foster — to which it moved in 2010.

"The marble show, a wicked romp through a couple of millennia of objects, figures and portrait busts, is riddled with alternating intimations of decadence and purity, the Classical and the grotesque."

FOR MORE INFORMATION CHECK OUT SPERONE WESTWATER HERE.

RESOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES/ART

GREENING UP MARS ON EARTH!

Talking about the moon, I thought it only fair to bring a little science into the "art of moon photography. MARS is going GREEN and University of Guelph profs are going to grow ROSES in SPACE! Meet the hometown boys, Tom Graham and Mike Dixon.

In 2002, the harsh climate and powerful winds of Devon Island, the largest uninhabited island on this planet, made it an unlikely vacation destination for warm-weather, cottage-loving Canadians. But a University of Guelph-Canadian Space Agency collaborative research team was there for the summer for the first phase of a three-year research initiative for advanced life support in space.

Dr. Alain Berinstain and Keegan Boyd of the Canadian Space Agency, along with University of Guelph Prof. Mike Dixon and research assistant Tom Graham, both of the Department of Plant Agriculture, spearheaded the project. Berinstain, Graham and Keegan, were charged with the task of erecting a greenhouse on the island, and establishing the necessary sensory and monitoring systems (during the remaining 46 weeks of the year, the team monitored the greenhouse via the Internet). They were charged with the task of building the greenhouse (which was flown in unassembled and dropped by air), initiating the sensory systems and characterizing the greenhouse. All of these steps were fairly straightforward, but dealing with high winds, harsh temperatures and 24-hour sunlight posed new challenges.
Researchers hoped to identify the ways in which technology needed to be adapted to function in the even harsher conditions of Mars.

They've come full circle BIG NEWS in the city on

May 21 st, 2008

Space florist: U of G prof pilots Gardening for the Moon

Photo: Martin Schwalbe

Vivarium by J.D.McGuire

.......all things considered.


I've recently discovered Vivarium, an excellent blog. I think a few of my subscribers will enjoy reading J.D.McGuire.

I just read the Jelly Bean Analogy and loved it!

The Jelly Bean Analogy 
Posted on February 22, 2015 
by Jaedy 

" If you estimated your life expectancy based on myriad genetic, ethnic and economic criteria and then portioned out a Jelly Bean for every day you are expected to live, you would have a pile of Jelly Beans representing your life expectancy. If you then took away a Jelly Bean for......"

Oolong The Winter Away

Working at my desk, steeping a cup of citrus oolong. see the steam as I lifted off the top. I was struck by beautiful buds and leaves floating in the basket, this becomes a tea ritual. We're all entitled to stop for special moments allowing our creative minds to dance among the 'leaves'...then I saw trees reflecting new buds of spring telling me this cold blast is on it's way, soon gone. mesmerized by beautiful shadowy thoughts today.

The tea is ready, leaves are green.
Soon.

Out her window...

Snow covered branches as seen through the kitchen window, makes winter bearable....for it's the softness of her beauty that one notices from the warmth within.