hanging around the spirit world

Seizing relentlessly upon the good fortune of grandparents, J and I head over to a wine festival in a small mountain town. There were six of us in all, wandering the streets, listening to music, drinking beer. We'd been up and down the length of it when at the far end we noticed a henna/palmist booth.

The three women wandered over, the men trailing with slightly rolled eyes behind. Ten minutes, we say. It'll just take ten minutes.

The gorgeous and aged Indian woman in the booth looked up at us and welcomed us in. She handed us a book of designs and my friends started perusing the options. I plopped down next to her and said just do what inspires you. She looked me in the eye for a long second, reached over and grabbed my hand momentarily and then said conspiratorially I've got it. Yes. And then as she grabbed my foot and gently placed it in her lap.

Oh, she said. Oh no. One toe ring? You only wear one toe ring? You are out of balance. You must fix this right away. She pulls me towards her and whispers this is very, very bad. Do you do this often? Yes, I replied, every single day. But you know, I can fix this right away. She shook her head and said something I didn't understand and also Before you go to sleep tonight, promise me. No problem. I don't know why, but I believe her, and will do as she says.

She paints an extraordinary design on one foot, and then, looking worried, talks again about her concern for my balance and as such, grabs my other foot and creates another masterpiece there. She asks me to wait and begins to tend to my friends.

While I am waiting I start talking to the palmist, an older British woman who has lightening bolts in her ears. She asks if she can look at my hands and as such, I hand them over, palms up.

Oh, she says. Oh. Quite a lot of karmic debt this time around. You work hard, very hard. But you are more than this. You are on this earth to be creative. To do something different than you are doing. And you are not yet listening. J, I call. Come listen to this. He walks over and she glances at him, says are you sure about this? And I momentarily panic. Perhaps she'll point to an affair on the horizon and these things are probably best learned in private. Two husbands? Four? It's endless, the trouble that might rest in my hands.

But no, nothing of the sort. She continues to talk about my lack of self care in my work, of not standing up for what I need. That this is not working for me. That it is time for something new. Quite a few personal items, nothing new, but all mostly right on. It's shiverish, this experience. Then she speaks of travel, of how I will make my home with little possessions wherever I am. And at that point she grabs J's hands briefly, and notes the same. Both of you, she says. You both have this.

I ask her if she shares the bad things she sees, and she tells me yes. That her code of ethics require it. But there is nothing bad to see in my hands, there is nothing bad here. Only opportunity. I smile broadly, as if I've done something to win this karmic lottery. I am proud of my hands, and I gaze at them adoringly. I am nothing if not a total dork.

She then asks what I do for a living and I tell her. She notes that finding people homes is extremely creative, and when I balk she says why do you Americans think the only creativity comes from paint? I laugh, and ask her if my karmic debt meant I was one hell of a slumlord in a previous life. Something like that. But that is for you to discover.

We share a connection, these lovely women and I. For a few moments my friends and our men fade away, I bask in the energy of these women. These women who know things.

Its time to go, my friends are sufficiently hennaed and the men are long out of beer. Those ten minutes have turned into an hour or more, it is time to go. As we say goodbye, hugs and kisses bestowed all around. And I turn back to the Indian woman and ask does the painting represent something? I meant to ask you your inspiration.

Of course it does, my dear. When I touched you I knew immediately what to do. It means it's time for a new beginning. It's time for you to listen.

And I couldn't agree more. Now I just need to learn how to get my brain to step aside and allow my heart to lead for awhile.