My Mysterious Mondays List...

(And, fyi, the mysteries need not have happened
ON a Monday, we are just designating Mondays
as the day to speak about these awesome, mind-
blowing mysteries, and in the process we might
save the Universe...)


* I have been witnessing miracles this past week. I am coming to life, vital and alive at 55. Very much has changed in my life this year and very much more is going to change in the months ahead. Most of these things are so tender and dear I will hold them very close and protect them under my old, worn shawl from Guatemala, worn softer and softer with time. This shawl is
The shawl is mysterious because when I put it on my world changes. I don't even remember where I got it and in the context of my life it is ancient. When I put it on my pug Sampson who sits with me in my big over-sized chair with the plump, soft arms comes and snuggles into the shawl. He puts his two little paws and face on my shoulder and his puggery face kind of spreads out. I write more, and better with this shawl on. In any case, this shawl is It's a bit tattered now, but I will never get rid of it, and I will never understand why things change when I put on this shawl.



* The last two nights I have been having very alive, sensitive, awake moments under the moon and the stars when I am out with the dogs. On my patio there are tiny frogs everywhere. They look just like the tree frogs that I love so much in the spring, bright green, their three wee little suction cup toes clinging to the outside of the glass on the kitchen windows. I stand mesmerized, washing dishes, and stop with a dripping dish in my hand staring at the tiny frog. For a brief shining moment time stands still and the frog seems to be staring at me as I am at him. Finally, I go back to doing the dishes and every time I look up he is still there, looking in. Perhaps he likes to watch a human do dishes. In any case, I find this Last night was particularly fascinating because when the dogs and I went out for the last time before bed, with the patio light illuminating everything on the white stucco walls, there were three of these tiny frogs and I stared at them for the longest time. These were a kind of brownish grey and I wondered if they were different kind of frogs. I read about them when I came in and if I'm not mistaken what it said was that the color changes as the frog begins to grow and metamorphose into a larger frog. I talked to them and told them that they were beautiful. I had never seen them before these last two nights this year, but we've had a lot of rain of late and the water forms little rivers that stand for a day or two in little gullies, and run-off water stands inside the big concrete tubular supports that go under the road. I wonder if these tadpoles-into-frogs were spawned there? I ran in the house and grabbed my cell phone and used the camera to try to take their picture but no matter how I adjusted the light setting they would not show up. There were just blank pictures. I remembered reading that native people in many tribes and cultures of the world did not like to have their pictures taken because they thought the pictures stole their soul. I wondered if the frogs were protecting their souls when I tried to take their pictures. I turned around and saw a much bigger and very beautiful frog on the glass French doors going into the cottage. I tried to take his picture to to no avail. I came in with the dogs disappointed, but as I believe that there is a reason for everything I thought no more of it. It was the frog's business, not mine after all.

The dogs and I have just come in again from our nightly walk, and there was only one wee frog, so tiny you would have missed him if you blinked. Again, he stared right at me, unafraid, and looked right into my soul. He had a message for me and this time I felt it. I believe in totem animals. The dragonfly has long been mine, but I've felt a new totem coming.

Recently I found a Zuni fetish, a frog, that I had purchased in New Mexico made by a renowned Zuni carver of fetishes some time ago, and brought home. He has lived with my collection of fetishes for many years. I liked him, but he didn't speak to me the way some of the other animals did. But now frogs are coming into my life and I had to know why. My little frog friend hopped off the wall onto the top of the handle of the broom leaning against the wall and then disappeared as the five dogs came trundling in, and I got everyone settled for the night and then looked online to see what I could find out about the frog as totem animal. When I read the information below on this website, my jaw dropped open. Every single word is so true of my present life that I knew I had been given a great gift. The gift is my new totem, friend and guide on the journey ahead. My life is about to undergo such a great transformation that it will be life-changing in a way so huge it is almost inexplicable, something that I have waited for all of my life, and it has been happening since the beginning of the year when I was ordained. I felt it when I married my daughter and son-in-law a week ago Saturday.

And something so extraordinary happened to me just this afternoon I had to call my best friend and tell him right in the middle of the grocery store what had just happened. My new totem is the Pied Piper leading me into my new life just ahead. The frog, as totem, represents Transformation (... not unlike my dragonfly totem which seems to be a theme in my life.). When I saw that I was so startled it took my breath away. That I would find him now, this presence in my life just on the threshold of a whole new life when I will move to a little cottage by the sea to write my books, is just as it should be. Surprising and not surprising at all. Just right. This is what I read...

"The frog is the totem of metamorphosis.
It symbolizes coming into your personal power.
It reminds us not to become bogged down with day-to-day living.

It is the totem of water.
Its voice calls forth the rains.
Emotions are associated with water and
a frog totem may be telling you to get in touch with your feelings.

People with frog medicine give support and energy
where it is needed.
They can cleanse the negativity from an environment."

I found this stunning. I find it
* Finally, just as I was walking out onto the patio with the dogs I saw the most beautiful little spider's web attached to the outer door frame and the patio light. From the inside where the patio light light illuminated the web, the spider's web was luminous, each woven strand shimmered, and at the center was a perfect orb. I am a weaver. I am guided by Grandmother Spiderwoman when I weave. I was always afraid of spiders until I started weaving. Now I feel a kinship with them and a fascination for them. The bright yellow and black Argiope spiders that build their huge webs in the garden in the summer delight me because down the middle of their web it looks like a perfect zipper. I call them Zipper Spiders and I didn't see any this year. I felt sad about it. I so loved to see the eggs and the tiny baby spiders emerge for a brief time before they disappeared. You have witnessed true magic if you get to see this.

There were many minuscule bugs caught in this little spider's web, but no sign of the spider herself who may have run into hiding when the patio light went on and the door opened. I walked out onto the patio with the four pugs and big dog Moe and I tried to see the web from the other side, from behind the light. Looking into the light I saw nothing. I could only see the web when I looked out into the darkness. The dark of night is where the most

things happen. I love the deep dark velvet night.

There is mystery and magic all around if only we have eyes to see. Join us here and share your thoughts and experiences on our Mysterious Mondays thread. Let's enjoy the magic together...