Lately, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting a most lovely cricket. For me, the presence of a cricket (inside my house) and right next to me on the couch, is usually a sign. Yes, this has happened to me before, but not exactly in the same way. I have no idea how he got inside, but I did coax him out. I want him to live!

The night he was singing the loudest, I was writing, and I needed the support. I was reaching within myself for my inner voice, feeling for it, digging deep, and really just trying to use words evenly. Crickets are special. This cricket may even be my ancestor.

In China, people have been known to keep crickets as pets.

Watercolor by Qi Baishi (1864–1957)

This morning I awoke at 4:30am.  My body/mind/spirit wants to move deeper into my spiritual practice. I received the message that this is what I am going to be doing now. I’ve been nudged. Now it’s up to me to “go with it.” By 5:00am, I decided to go for a walk, and it was a little bit on the chilly side. Yes, I live in sunny California, so when it’s dark – I get sensitive to the cold.

I turned to head back home, and there it was: the brilliant, large, glowing moon. I felt like I could walk to it… and maybe even hug it.

Also, this morning, I opened a box of special books that were in storage (I was looking for the Secret of the Golden Flower), and I found this poem by Hafiz, that I’d like to share with you:

I Took It as a Sign

Someone sent a band to my house,

And it started playing

At five in the morning.

I took this as a sign

God wanted me to sing!

Then the moon joined in

And a few of the tenor-voiced stars,

And the earth offered its lovely belly

As a drum.

Before I knew it,

I realized

All human beings could be happy

If they just had a few music lessons

From a Sweet Old Maestro

Like Hafiz