West Coast

6 Dec, 2006 in art pottery by admin

West Coast

West Coast Rainforest - A Spiritual Ecology

Here on the West Coast, the salt of circumspect washes steadily against the sea of verdure. Greening and etheric expansion prevail, the sprouting, moiling flora thrives and reproduces, roots itself into a constant crescendo. Here, none can turn away, because all directions are exposed. And none can hold in check the wheeling force that rises, anymore than the tidal range of the ocean can cease its endless respiration.
Ashore, as the eye and heart grow sated on outward effulgence, and turn within to look across the forest of soulhood, the seeker encounters a buffeting wind, ceaselessly wailing in sonic silence, blowing against all branching forces, delivering wind-in-bough-songs to a wild and vigilant audience.
In this coastal dominion we find a range of dwellers-in-habitat, from the diminutive wren, mouse-bird, in its fern-frond forest, up to old growth tree giants, who, in this ocean-edge environ, have evolved powerful rooting forces to withstand the great winds that prevail from across the waters.

In the morning light, the sea compels me to open my wings over the tide-flat of vision. By day, I will sing you a tree. I will dance you a stream. And when evening falls, I will orate for you a sunset, warmth and color twining into distant measures.
A small melodic bird spreads its wings by the seaweed leavings of the tidal bore. Song sparrow serenade, dulcet phrasing in the salt air, rises as a green-leafing melody beneath usnea whiskers, wildly bearded lichens draped on the lower reaches of conifer boughs.
And I walk slowly, with deliberation, through the sea-edge forest, where the mouse-wren flits furtive, barely sensed, in an under-story of fern and salal, through a storyline, compelling and intricate.
Here, Grandmother nature unfolds her genesis masterwork by the edge of the riffling, over the surface of the sea of allocation. Grandmother nature, in a spirit of prosperity and layers weaving, serves up an authorship penned in ink of confluence and deeply rooting provision.

And late in the night, by the same rapturous sea, but further down-coast, well beyond sunset’s quiet portal into animal dreamtime, the howling of wolves pierces the veils of primordia arranged to keep human knowing at bay.
For nine years they waited, spanning puppy-hood to elder, down through countless alpha moons. And then, as the calendar of inspiration came to wheel in full circle, now through the rain of night, the creative, wolf-born force holds no longer in abeyance.
Now the howling sings into the stirring of sleepers, into the spaces of wakening. Across the sea of freedom and imagination the wolf pack hurls its healing resonance, sound forming into a vessel that sails over the tumult heaving upon the surface of the feral and shore-less pond.

The moon stimulates the waking of our animal nature. This is why, so often at the time of full moon, insomnia is induced in those sensitive to environmental influence. Within the psyche, the moon enhances those qualities peculiar to this coastal landscape - rooting, sprawling, raining, seeping, dripping, climbing wave on wave, rolling across the soul’s beachhead. . . .
I am driven (by self) to be functional and/or creative. However, at this time I am more in need of centering myself. That is, of asking my deeper core for direction. What am I wanting to engage in, at this moment, from my center?

To view the whole article visit Earth Vision at www.evsite.net

About the Author

Jos Graf is the coordinator of Insight21 and Earth Vision - doorways for the 21st Century.

Best places to vacation without a car on the west coast?

I'm from Las Vegas, and I am planning to travel during the summer. I don't have a car right now so I won't be driving. What do you guys think are the best places on the West Coast that have a good and reliable transportation system so travelling without a car is a breeze?

I ask this because here in Vegas, the bus system is really messed up and if I'm a tourist, I wouldn't want to ride the buses to get around.

Thanks.

I can think of several places you can visit on the West Coast where you would not need a car to see quite a bit of the area:

1. San Francisco. In fact, having a car is an advantage there! They have a wonderful public transportation system and the cable cars are fun! But even walking around most of the city is the best way to see it - but wear comfortable walking shoes as there are a lot of hills to walk up and down! Also, in San Francisco there are other things to do, such as take the tour to Alcatraz. You can get there down by Fisherman's Wharf and again don't need a car.

2. Seattle. This city has a lot you can see by walking and taking the monorail system. Also, you can always take a boat to Victoria, Canada, from Seattle and walk around there, too.

3. San Diego. While most people think you need a car there, you don't if you can find things to do downtown - and there are a lot of things to do! You can stay in a hotel downtown and walk to the Gaslamp Quarter, which is a great place for nightlife and restaurants. The big shopping center (Horton Plaza) is downtown and easily within walking distance. One of my favorite places there is Seaside Village - again within walking distance of everything I previously mentioned. You can take the metro trains (small trains that run throughout downtown and nearby communities) to various places, too. San Diego also has many festivals throughout the year, so be sure to check their Chamber of Commerce before/if you go to see what is happening.

4. This place is not quite a large as the other cities I mentioned, but is a wonderful place to visit and not drive - Laguna Beach, California. You can walk around for days in this cute little artist town. It is right on Pacific Coast Highway and there are art galleries, restaurants, bars, shops, theaters, and Main Beach is a great place to either sunbathe, play volleyball, go bodysurfing or boogieboarding or just people watch! I believe there are also places where you can rent beach equipment there so you don't have to bring any - just your bathing suit. One must-see thing in Laguna Beach is the Sawdust Festival - Pageant of the Masters. Both of them can be accessed via walking, so that is not a problem. The Sawdust Festival is open both in the winter and summer and you can get tickets at the gate, but the Pageant of the Masters is always sold out early, so if you want to see it be sure to get your tickets well in advance.

NOTE: The one place I would NOT recommend without a car is Los Angeles as one previous answer suggests. Nothing is close and within walking distance of another place - for example, you could not walk from Hollywood to Beverly Hills easily - nor could you get to the beach easily. Yes, you could take a taxi, but with the traffic as bad as it is in Los Angeles it would take a long time and would cost quite a bit to do often. And there are places I would never want to (or feel safe) walking in Los Angeles. There is no good public transportation system there, although they do have a small subway system now. However, if you do want to visit Los Angeles and are staying somewhere like Laguna Beach or San Diego, you can always rent a car for a day and go to Los Angeles!

Those are my suggestions - if I think of any more, I will add them later!

Coconut Records "West Coast"