![\"CrestBara\"](\"http:\/\/www.hypnoticwishes.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/CrestBara.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSunday August 29, 2010<\/p>\n
A friend came along to the Parc Des Rapides with me, it was her favorite place to go to while growing up, even calling it \u201chome\u201d. As we walked, I confessed to her:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, you\u2019d think that coming to see the Mermaids would get easier with time. I\u2019ve been doing it once a week for 3 months. But it doesn\u2019t. Each time is a leap of faith. Each time I get the nerves, like on a first date, wondering if I\u2019ll spill my drink all over myself and look like a fool, or offend my date. Last week, I was afraid I might fall into the rapids and die, so I wrote my last will, and spent like an hour crying. And then I came, met Bylgja, and it was all fine. Every time, it\u2019s hard, and I get nervous in different ways. But it always works out.\u201c<\/p>\n
We parted and I went to the tip facing the current, the point of greatest erosion. My body felt heavy, like I was sludging through molasses. I practiced Bara\u2019s song as I walked, memorizing the words, until I got to the tip. It was a bit crowded, but I found a nice spot on the rocks near the water. On a whim, I\u2019d brought a blue ribbon, from a cake box my girlfriend had left. Tying one end around my wrist, I let it trail in the water so I could see the currents, and sang Blodughadda\u2019s song. She appeared, and nodded Her approval. I really didn\u2019t feel like hurrying, taking time to really enjoy watching the water, and the gulls who flew above. The wind was strong enough for them to be flapping, yet stay in one spot, and it was fun to watch.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Meeting Bara<\/h1>\n
My lancet ready, I sang Bara\u2019s song. And I noticed two islands. No wait\u2026 one island\u2026 and a head! Wow. Raven wasn\u2019t kidding when he said She was a BIG mermaid!<\/p>\n
She just waited there, as I stared astonished. Then some crazy guy went into the rapids with only a surfboard. Everyone got up to look and follow him, to see if he didn\u2019t kill himself. Perfect time to use the lancet without attracting attention. \u201cBara, I make this offering of blood to you.\u201d A drop fell in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wait,\u201d She said.<\/p>\n
A second drop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wait,\u201d She said again.<\/p>\n
A third. She got closer<\/p>\n
\u201cI wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fourth. Even closer. Crap that\u2019s a big mermaid!<\/p>\n
\u201cI wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fifth. She scooped up some water with a gigantic hand, and drank<\/p>\n
\u201cI wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sixth. Her hair seemed short, auburn blonde, with straight bangs, and straight cut on the sides. She scooped up another drink<\/p>\n
\u201cI wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seventh. Her fingers were mostly flat at the ends, with\u00a0 very short nails. Closer again, to drink up the blood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eight. Her face must have been about 3 meters wide by 4 meters high, rather rectangular. A meter\u2019s about the same as a yard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nine. \u201cGreetings Bara of the Big Wave. Thank you for coming and accepting my offerings. If you would teach me the ways of water, I would be grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She slapped the water with Her huge hand and laughed, \u201cI break things, spiritworker. I break them all apart, so they come back to the sea. Is there something in you that you want broken?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about it: \u201cWell, I break things in people as a therapist \u2026 like their shyness, their inhibitions, their fears\u2026 but I honestly can\u2019t think of something inside me that needs breaking right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded and smiled. \u201cThe big waves are coming you know. The waters will take back big parts of the land. And I will laugh! It all comes back in the end. The waters will rise, you\u2019ll see. And then maybe you will feast with my mother under the sea. Then I will see you, and we will drink together!\u201d She seemed very pleased by the idea. \u201cBut not now. Later.\u201d That sounded like a dangerous prophecy for us humans! Not that rising sea levels aren\u2019t expected, they are. Then again, who knows what Her timetable is?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou humans, you are eroding, just like I am. But you are strange. I erode the land, and bring it to me. You erode the land you need to live on, like an army of ants. Each one insignificant, but working together, the erosion you achieve is truly astounding! It takes time, but I am patient, and I watch. And I wait. Are you patient, spiritworker?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomewhat, I suppose. I guess I\u2019m moderately patient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a trick to being patient, you know.\u201d She smiled. \u201cFirst, you learn to notice the small changes. Look at this rock under water. Look in your mind, for the small changes. What do you see?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see\u2026 very very tiny particles of rock, slowly being taken away from the rock.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery good! The second trick is to pick a rock. I chose this rock. Oh, certainly, I want to bring down the whole shore, the whole continent. But that takes time. Patience means I pick this one rock, and I focus just on that one. I pay attention to the small changes, as my waves constantly batter it. And I enjoy every little grain of that rock I can get away from it.\u201d She grinned good naturedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the third trick is, make it a game, have fun! Yes, I can grind it down to sand, grain by grain. But\u2026 where are the weak spots of this rock? Are there cracks forming? Are there sedimentary veins that will turn to sand more easily? If I can break it in two, it will be easier to grind each of them separately. Look for the cracks! Look for the weak spots! Are there more clever ways to destroy it? I love finding the cracks, and pulling them apart!\u201d<\/p>\n
Tricks to Being Patient<\/strong><\/p>\n 1-Learn to notice the small changes<\/p>\n 2-Pick a rock to work on<\/p>\n 3-Make it a game, have fun! Find the weak points.<\/p>\n I thought about how water flows on land, into cracks, breaking things apart. And here in Canada, when water fills a crack, it turns to ice in the winter, and expands. That breaks it apart further, so there will be more water next year in that crack\u2026 and the ice will split it further. She nodded: \u201cThat\u2019s it, exactly!\u201d So interesting! She\u2019s also the erosion on the land, in cracks, by ice! She smiled. It\u2019s not uncommon for Them to comment on things I\u2019d just been musing about, without specifically trying to send the words. So now, when I see cracks in things\u2026 I\u2019ll think of Bara, and her joyous laughter at things being broken down. Neat. Then I had a thought:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026 have a song I think you\u2019d like. My girlfriend taught it to me just yesterday. I don\u2019t know the tune\u2026 but I can make one up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA song? Yes!! Do sing it for me! Make up a tune!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cForget your perfect offering,<\/p>\n Ring the bells that still can ring<\/p>\n There\u2019s a crack in everything,<\/p>\n That\u2019s how the light gets in.\u201d<\/p>\n She laughed and slapped the water: \u201cWonderful! I love it! Thank you little spiritworker!\u201d<\/p>\n I really like those song words, there\u2019s a lot to meditate on in these. I keep trying to make just the right offerings to the gods\u2026 and I fail. I don\u2019t know what the right offering is. But I do something, I ring a bell, I sing\u2026 I try. I\u2019m imperfect, and so are my offerings. But maybe that\u2019s the point\u2026 these cracks, maybe they\u2019re not a flaw. Maybe they\u2019re a feature.<\/p>\n By the way, I just looked those words up. They\u2019re from\u00a0 a song by Leonard Cohen called Anthem. Of all things, it\u2019s a song about war!<\/p>\n Then I sang Bara’s spirit song. I could feel the difference. I had permission to sing it now. Awesome!<\/p>\n I remembered something else: I had forgotten the fruit today. Of all days\u2026 the last of my series, I go and forget the fruit! Doh! But, I had a granola bar, with a yogurt coating. I asked Her if she\u2019d like it, as I didn\u2019t have fruit.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, let me taste this granola bar you have. It is not something we get a lot of.\u201c<\/p>\n I unwrapped it, and let it float into the water. She grabbed it and brought it to Her lips\u2026 but it was tiny in Her hands, with fingers the size of my thighs! She managed a tiny dainty bite, I don\u2019t know how. I can\u2019t imagine She could have tasted much of it, but She chewed pensively, trying to get the flavor. \u201cPerhaps,\u201d I suggested, \u201cyou\u2019d enjoy it more if you were a bit smaller.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood idea!\u201d She exclaimed, and started shrinking from gynormous to merely gigantic. Now the granola bar was only somewhat smaller than one of Her teeth, and She actually seemed to enjoy it!<\/p>\n \u201cYou will have to make me a bigger one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA bigger one?? Umm\u2026\u201d And I started to think of how I might accomplish this with my meager cooking skills, imagining a granola bar the size of a really big loaf of bread. Well, I suppose I could do something with rice crispies, like those rice crispy squares, and add more stuff into it.<\/p>\n \u201cMake me one,\u201d She added, \u201cand I will teach you more.\u201d<\/p>\n Putting aside Her plans to destroy all the continents, She was certainly pleasant company, I\u2019d enjoy seeing Her again. And at least, I knew what to give Her that She\u2019s like! Our meeting at an end, I thanked Her, and made my way back to meet my friend. Wow\u2026 that was a pretty amazing meeting. I felt full, still a bit trancy, but full, like it was somehow bigger inside of me, that some of Her had rubbed off a bit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After writing this down, I realized there was another reason I\u2019d been writing all this down, and making it public. I\u2019ve have many experiences over the years of things that just can\u2019t be explained rationally, not unless you assume magic and spirits are real. But I\u2019ve had an unfortunate tendency to forget these things, as if they were not real. Writing them down, being able to read them, and perhaps people asking me about them, is a sort of guarantee that I won\u2019t be forgetting them anymore. They\u2019re real.<\/p>\n Hail Bara, Mermaid of Joyful Antagonism and Persistence! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note: <\/strong>The next entry is not a mermaid, but rather my attempt to learn more about Fjolvar, the most famous brothel keeper of the Nine World (well, actually, the only one we know about, who had Odin as a customer). He lives with his Ladies on an island called Algr\u00f6n (Evergreen) between Jotunheim and Vanaheim. I commissioned art to contribute for His card of the Giant’s Tarot deck.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \nReflections<\/h1>\n