the dreaming Press.

Seaglass, picnics & whales: Three reasons to take a road trip to Boston

stoke the fires of your *atlas* heart

A couple, {heck a few!} urgent things. I'll get to them most hurriedly, so you don't waste a single precious moment that you could be using to sign on for grand explorations and juicy adventures {that you so deserve}.

First, my friend Debbie wants to extend an invitation for you to go to INDIA.

Second,my beautiful blogging friend Lisa has a deadline to meet, so that she can go to MEXICO.

Third, my friend Tara is hostessing the best life-changing trip {trust me, I've done it}, to JORDAN.

Last,but certainly not least, I am taking a group of women through the Women's Travel Network to MOROCCO.

So, now with all of these updates your way...it's all up to you. Maybe it's time to pay it forward and give a little to see another realize the work of her dreams...or maybe it's that time to pack a suitcase with your camera, your journal and a couple of pairs of undies, sunscreen...and hit the road to realize your own sweeping and vast dreams.

I've prioritized the list according to time deadlines. Lisa will need your help within the next ten days. Debbie has room for you up until tomorrow only.

The other two are very important, but can be discussed in another upcoming post real soon. If I were you I'd head over to see the INDIA and MEXICO links first. Thanks friends, fellow adventurers and loving hearts. You are all cherished, deeply, each of you. xo

p.s. photo of the lovely blue doorway taken from a bumbling yet speeding van in the Middle East while driving along sharing cups of hot nuts and listening to this or something like it...in March 2010

Planting future gratitudes.

 
I'm colouring my hair blonder tonight and I painted my nails blue iguana.  A star studded indigo blue that is reminiscent of cosmic fluidity.   I've asked my eldest little girl to star in  my photography portfolio-she is concerned for just about everyone she has ever met and is so open and wise and I aspire to be like her though she is younger-you know? and we are cooking up the most fabulously fun photo shoots you could dream up this spring!  I'll keep you posted as to that, you can bet.

The lake is rumoured to be coolishly freezingish tomorrow and so we'll dress in layers as we feed our friends the chickadees.  A fresh group of gals is meeting tomorrow and we've formed a tribe of sorts that meets on Sundays to reconnect to each other and the Earth.  We disconnect from our on-line lives and meet in the flesh and in the out-of-doors.  What could be better for the spirit I ask you?

Last but certainly not least, you know how I rave on about my friends & family well here I go again...my good friend Tara Bradford was kind enough to post about the trip to Morocco in October.  Magical Morocco.  Please visit Tara to read her entry about the previous trips we've taken together and about the upcoming trip to Morocco.  You are more than welcome to come with us... there are a few spots left for women travellers. The trip is fully escorted and will be such fun I can hardly wait. 

Give it some thought and if you like you can read more here. I can see us now, wandering the souks...sipping mint tea and snapping photos.  Laughing under the stars in the desert and making new friends.  Trips are the one thing you can keep with you forever...for they are experiences.  Worth their weight in gold and then some.  However if you cannot make it this time, there will always and will always be...future trips. 

Plant with me now the seeds of your future gratitudes...the things that you will look back upon and smile about.

xoxo

 

 

 

Ana bahebik Tara!

A flower in Jordan, for my friend in Paris.  Happy birthday, feliz cumpleanos, ana bahebik and feliz aniversario to Tara; adventurer, writer, photographer and friend based currently in Paris and soon to be Amsterdam!

Tara is a truly gifted writer and photographer, world wide traveller, life adventurer and trip facilitator.  {Of course that is only the tip of the iceberg.}  I was fortunate to have had the pleasure of meeting her online in 2006.  Then in New York City in 2008.  Then again in Jordan in 2010.  Where we meet next is anyone's guess but we will, that is for certain. There are talks of trains, films and Delhi....

Happy birthday Tara, may there be many fun filled trips, many happy returns, beautiful soulful images captured on your many cameras and many wishes come true for you today! Much love to you today and always. xoxo

A smoky & mysterious Jafra

Jafra: Ammanian night life, originally uploaded by the dreaming press.

A dark & dreamlike video quality. That is the price you pay for art! Also it is the price you pay when you shoot video with a small point & shoot camera. But I digress...it is worth it's weight in gold for me as it is a slice in the memory pie of my Jordan trip. I hope you enjoy it too!

Tea? Why, yes please....

If I invited you in for tea, would you accept?

Would you offer my child a sweet?  Ask him his name?

Would it matter to you that my second floor was absent? Waiting patiently for the second generation to build and move their family in, according to tradition....?

  
Will your children understand the level of patience and calm that our children afford them- in the face of no video games or television to distract them....?

When you stop to breathe in our landscape, will you allow us our space? That in which we have not built up in the name of commerce or gain?  We have precious things to offer the world that don't involve competing with larger cities or countries....!  We hold our own, thank you.

Would you join us for herbal tea?  Perchance in places where famous people were taking steps in their own journeys?  Tea with mint never tasted so nice!  Oh and beautiful Israel is just 15 feet away.  However, do not veer off the provided path, for land mines are located any which way, and cameras are trained on your every step-so going off the path could mean any number of troubles for you!  We are in a military zone, you see. (It is for your own protection, dear friends.)

My goodness the river is cold.  COLD.  See page 157 of the April 2010 National Geographic to see just exactly where a certain group of travellers stood, not three weeks ago.

If you feel enough at home then please accept our hospitality.  We'll be insulted if you do not. 

So-one lump or two? It would seem that in Jordan, sugar in your tea is the norm.  It is expected.  So if this sounds like your kind of place, do visit and stay for tea.  You won't regret a single moment of it.  xo

As usual click to enlarge the photos.  However, the shot of the little girl at Petra was out of focus, but she was so cute I couldn't stand not posting her, so forgive the photographers blunder. :)

Mezze at Lebanese House

Welcome!...of course I have to take you out for lunch..won`t you join me....

Call whoever you need to now, before we start...you won't be getting up from the table until it's time to roll you out... 

I do hope you are hungry.  We are having a typical Middle Eastern meal called a 'mezze' or 'mezzeh'. 

Among the fresh olives, lemon mint drinks & grilled meats, we have hummus, tabouleh & roquette salad...

Of course there are plenty of fresh baked flat breads and things I can't pronounce or remember the names of.

 
 
Oh and just outside is a spectacular view...terraced farming is practiced by the Jordanians due to the many hills and mountains that make up the geography.

Just outside is a bevy of blooms...Jordan seems bursting at the seams with life and we were there to catch it all.

 

Should you happen to look up, you'll notice as I do the many lamps and lanterns the beautify Lebanese House. 

So sorry to distract you from your delicious mezze.  Please, enjoy some more food why don't you...there is plenty...

If you are a tried and true North American and simply can`t get through a meal without it, well....here is your Arabian ketchup.

  

When in Jerash, Jordan visit Lebanese House for the most delicious meal with a stunning view. Perhaps if you are lucky enough to join Ms.Tara Bradford on her next `Journey to Jordan` then you too will eat lunch at this famous restaurant.

Jordan, Jerash
Tel Fax: 00962-2-6351301

 

 

dream sharing & evolutions of the soul

An e-mail conversation today shed some light on the evolution of my soul.  For that I am entirely grateful. You know how when something happens to you in life that you feel is unfair, then later on after the lesson is learned you are clear about the reasons why? Then you can't doubt that it was for the best? I had a moment like that today.  I was explaining a situation to someone and a lightbulb clicked.  I whispered a tiny prayer and shushed it out to the great wide Open.  {I almost burst with glee.} I am healing a deep wound.  It feels great.  We are all in charge of these things.  Repeated mistakes are by grand design-instead of playing victim, turn it around to your advantage.  {Have I told you I'm a warrior? I fight the good fight.}

My daughter had her own soul evolution today.  We worked through it, but she is hurting.  Only time will help her.  After our chat we watched the Olympic women's hockey.  (I explained to her that the USA team were crying because they wanted the gold medal, not the silver.  She thinks they will come to love the silver in time, and she is right.  She states: "Getting to the Olympics period is an achievement! They should be proud!" What a kid.)

Ah Petra.  I'm on my way. I relish seeing my good friend Tara again.  That globe trotting, head-squarely-on-her-shoulders good friend of mine.  I am fortunate & count my blessings to be able to see her in such a culture rich & beautiful setting.  I'll check my CMB¹ tomorrow for Susanna's *winged messengers*.  I only check my mail once every week or so, it is the height of laziness I assure you.  Tomorrow being the last mail day before I go, I'm hoping they will fly right out of the CMB to greet me with open wings! Pictured above are the wings Susanna sent me before.  I just love how they photograph.  If you follow me on FB², then you will have to check in and see any photos I post for you.  Wishing you well on your own soul journeys, both spiritual & physical.  Navigating this stuff can be challenging.  I know we can do it. {With each others help of course.  For how else can great things be achieved?}

xoxo

¹ community mail box

² Facebook

Is suffering really necessary? Yes and no.

If you had not suffered as you have, there would be no depth to you as a human being, no humility, no compassion. You would not be reading this now. Suffering cracks open the shell of ego, and then comes a point where it has served his purpose.

Suffering is necessary until you realize it is unnecessary.
*Eckhart Tolle*

Poetry in hand as the winged messengers prepare to take off on a journey....

 
Blimey! Look what Tara's posting about.  That's a bloomin' shame really.  Not in a hurry to visit now if my camera isn't welcome...after all, what is the most enjoyable thing about being a tourist?

Check out this movie {who cares if you've seen it a hundred times...) if you want to jazz up your weekend and infuse it with exotic rhythm.  A virtual trip via Spanish guitars.  Sigh. 

Susanna the dahlin'! is shipping off some of her Winged Messengers to me so I may shoot them in Petra, and other various Jordanian locales.  Won't they look beautiful in such an ancient setting?  I think so too!  Thanks Susanna!

Today is all pirate telescopes, frilly blooming flowers & hot chocolat with a hint of cayenne pepper.  Aztec style, why not? Oh, ever think of hosting one of these? Our next spa party is going to combine it with a real live psychic (I guess that is the only kind there are...but just plain "psychic" sounded less dramatic).  How much fun is that???

Enjoy your weekend loves.  Life is short.  Yell less.

xoxo

{p.s. after this morning, I'm going to take my own advice for a change....}

Journey to an exotic land~(you aren't daydreaming)

 

~daydreaming~ by gillian da silva

I want to tell you about an exciting journey.  Do you enjoy travel? Photography? Adventure? Then read on because this applies to you.

This journey is to a most exotic land with a dead sea, a vast Arabian desert, and souks loaded with ceramics, embroidery, jewellery and other handicrafts. 

A place almost as old as time itself.  An ancient place that you could journey to on a photographic safari! Yes YOU!! 

Journey to Jordan, is a photographic safari to Jordan happening March 1-March 8, 2010.  This event has been organized and facilitated in it's entirety by Tara Bradford (Paris Parfait) and Alessandra  de Sousa (Gypsy Girls Guide).

Journey to Jordan will take us on a magic carpet ride through the highlights of an ancient land, with photography instruction led by Jordan's premier photographer Zohrab.

Space is limited, therefore I recommend you sign up for this chance of a lifetime opportunity as soon as you can.  Please visit the Journey to Jordan website for sign up and all other pertinent information-and I'll see you in Jordan in the spring! (Note to self: must practice, practice, practice my landscape photography skills.)

Can you just imagine how very amazing and beautiful this land is going to be? (Insert back flips here.)

***A million *Thank you's* to Tara and Alex for putting together this trip of a lifetime. xoxo