Haunted Shadows

© Photographer: Edd Boyer

We must travel in the direction of our fear.
~ John Berryman

The flickering shadows cast by jack o'lanterns are part of the great fun of Halloween. The gorgeous image above of a local pumpkin carving competition captures the spirit of this wonderful nighttime holiday, where children are suddenly free to explore vast, new spaces in their own neighborhoods. They fan out, intrepid and costumed, finding both treasure and the opportunity for mischief.

As they move through the shadows, there is always the chance that they might encounter a ghost or other supernatural being, or so they might imagine. Whether the shadow might have a substance of its own, they don't consider, which is probably for the best.

But what happens when we brush up against something, or someone, in the dark? Here's a video of a true ghost story, as told by Nathaniel Thomas Powell, who describes the event:



Level-headed Boo's account couldn't be denied - someone met her on the stairs in that darkened house. Unable to depend on her sight, her sense of feeling informed her of another presence.

I think it's the same way when we become aware of the shadow within. Our conscious mind, like our vision, is what we usually rely on, the default method for taking in and processing information. But neither of these methods can help us understand the shadow, a void that we fear, imagining that it contains any number of terrors. But in reality, it holds the parts of ourselves we have rejected and buried. These fragments wait patiently to be acknowledged and brought back into our larger selves as we move, in fits and starts, toward wholeness.

It takes special days like Halloween to remind us of the reality of the shadow. They invite us to explore the dark, holding out an offer of not just tricks and treats, but of a new view of ourselves and reality.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Ane Brun

Well, things have come full circle for our "Lullaby for Grown-Ups" feature. In this video, Norwegian singer/songwriter Ane Brun's song is set to a spacy, fractal visual treat. I love the sound of this, and I think we all can appreciate the lyrics. And the name of the song? Lullaby for Grown-Ups.

Spooky.

Poetry - Antonio Machado

There's something about this time of year that makes me want to post poetry here. I was fortunate to find this video featuring a poem by Antonio Machado, as read by none other than Robert Bly, titled Last Night as I was Sleeping.

Some YouTube commenters took issue with the translation from the Spanish, especially the phrase, "marvelous error," which perhaps would be better translated as "illusion" or "vision." But the heart of the poem is there, I think, and it all works together (images, music, narration) quite beautifully.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Flying Saucer Attack

The mellow, space-rock music of Flying Saucer Attack provides our lullaby this week. The song, Suncatcher, features gentle vocals and a tranquil sound that was the hallmark of this British experimental band. Relax and enjoy this wonderful music!

Diversions for Insomniacs - Two Games

Sometimes the arcade style games are good for blowing off some steam. So here are two to try.

The first one, Nanotube, requires some agility to defend a circular structure from flying colored orbs (see image above). Be quick or you're done! One reviewer called this game "a satisfying treat."


The second game, Sproing, lets you smash the green balls with an anchored blue ball that you swing around. It's crazy fun and the music is great. Have a ball!

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Enya

The ethereal voice of Enya provides a soothing lullaby this week. The song is Evening Falls. I'm always amazed by musicians who stake out new ground, both musically and emotionally, then make it their own.

Enya has sold millions of albums, without regularly touring and sometimes taking years to release the next recording. Her fame even extends to the stars. No kidding - there's a minor planet named after her.

Night, the Beloved at One Year

Night, the Beloved is one year old today! Thanks for coming by to have a look or listen to a lullaby. It's great to have people visiting my blog, so I know I'm not just talking to myself.

To celebrate this anniversary, let me welcome you to the First Annual Night the Beloved Animation Festival! Here are some whimsical nighttime animations, just for fun.



The song is Nighttime by Petracovich. I know, the video just isn't long enough. But you can hear the whole song here.



This one is called Starless Night. Such a sweet little film about friendship. To learn more about the animator, check out his blog.



The Night Visitors, by British animator Richard Ollive, is a child's tale that features a night patrolman and his adventures, including a trip to Neverland. It's a wonderful fantasy, complex and beautifully illustrated.

Thanks again for visiting. May all your night journeys be filled with mystery and magic!

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Autumn Meditation

Apologies for the mid-week lullaby switch. I noticed that the previous lullaby, an audio file from ccmixter.org, had vanished. When I investigated, I got a message that I needed to install some software to even view the ccmixter home page. Too much work for a lullaby (plus, does that mean everyone viewing the blog has to do the same thing?). So we're back to a YouTube video, but it's a very nice one. Autumn Meditation is a traditional Chinese song. The images are of autumn scenery in Japan. Very lovely, and I hope you enjoy it.

Moon Garden

The first time I ever planted white flowers, some small spring bulbs, I was unprepared for the show those little blooms put on every day at twilight. They captured what little light there was and reflected it back with surprising brightness. Only later did I learn about the concept of a moon garden, also called a white garden or moon-viewing garden, where plants with white or pale blossoms are grouped together to create a luminous effect, both at dusk and during the full moon.

With this concept in mind, I planted some containers last spring with flowers I thought would work well in a moon garden. Let's take a look at how this gardening experiment went.


The most dramatic plant was the cleome, which grew to about 4 feet and did well in its container. But it was spent by late July, so I cut it back. Still, a nice display from this annual. In the picture above, it's early twilight, so a blue hue has taken over the image (no red sky, because of some clouds on the western horizon).


A long-time favorite of mine is alyssum, which would work well in a moon garden as a low-growing plant. Not much daylight left when this picture was taken, but the alyssum still gives off a soft glow. I also like this plant because it attracts pollinating insects (good if I'm growing vegetables alongside the flowers) and because the house finches in my neighborhood nibble at the little blossoms. That's fun to watch, and the flowers are so small, you can't tell that something's been eating them.


The dianthus did very well, although it crowded out the dusty miller I planted in the same pot. Dusty miller is a lovely foliage plant with silver-gray leaves and is often featured in moon gardens.

The one disappointment was the moonflower vine, which grew very nicely during the summer, but even now hasn't produced a single flower. Since we may have frost tomorrow night, I'm not holding out much hope, so here's a random internet photo of a moonflower, which, I understand, opens only at night and has a marvelous scent.


There it is, then - the sum of my moon gardening efforts. If you have a green thumb and want to try your own moon garden next year, check out this website for more plants to try. Many of these plants are easy to grow and if you're short on room, you can always try my method and just go with a few containers.

Finally, the image at the top of this post comes from this GardenWeb forum, where a talented gardener has posted more images of her lovely moon garden. What a beautiful oasis to create, a sensuous place where the light of the moon is honored and celebrated.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Eva Cassidy

The late Eva Cassidy was known for the emotional depth and honesty she brought to her music. Here, she performs the classic Autumn Leaves. I have to say, I've never heard this song sung like this, with such poignancy and tenderness. Ever since I found this video, I can't stop watching it.

Twilight Time

© Mark Rasmussen | Dreamstime.com

Twilight drops her curtain down, and pins it with a star.
~Lucy Maud Montgomery

I was hoping to write a lovely post this evening, all about twilight, that wonderful and mysterious transition from day to night. But I've fallen victim to the first virus of the fall, so I'm going to make this more about the images than the words.

I will note, however, that the fall equinox took place earlier this week. I think there's something about the lengthening shadows of autumn that make twilight more impressive. Often the light takes on a golden tone, which can be very beautiful.

© Aleksejs Kostins | Dreamstime.com

Photographers aren't the only ones who are enamoured by the fading light of day and the dawn of night. Painters have long used twilight to convey different moods.

Twilight (1820) Caspar David Friedrich

In the image above, a dark and brooding mood accompanies the coming of night, as captured by Dutch artist Caspar Friedrich.

Twilight (1875) George Innes

The twilight of American painter George Innes takes on a more pastoral feeling.

Twilight comes and goes quickly. Often we look outside and it's already dark, especially this time of year. Take some time and see if you can catch of glimpse of this every-day mystery, which beckons us to welcome the night as it comes.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Jose Gonzalez

Singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez provides the lullaby this week with his song Hints. His complex guitar work and low-key vocal style have earned him enough of a following that he has postponed pursuing his PhD in biochemistry to focus on his music. Seems like a good decision to me. Enjoy!

Diversions for Insomniacs - Samorost

Here's a curious game to help keep things interesting during any late-night, drowsy browsing you might be doing at your computer. Samorost 1 is essentially a puzzle game that gained popularity because of its unusual visuals and interesting music. Once you've mastered this game, try the sequel, Samorost 2. Good luck!

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Dead Can Dance

The changing seasons and the forces of nature are beautifully captured in this week's lullaby, which features images from the BBC's Planet Earth and the song Yulunga (Spirit Dance) from the group Dead Can Dance, whose distinctive style continues to occupy a unique place in contemporary music.

Dreamscapes - The Limits of our Dreams

© Leeloomultipass | Dreamstime.com

Our exploration of the dreamscape has come to an end, which is not to say that I won't revisit it at some time. After all these posts, it should be pretty obvious that I believe our dreams are a form of communication with our unconscious minds, which are willing to offer up information if we take the time to divine the meaning.

I used to regard this information as sacrosanct. Then, as sometimes happens, I came across something that challenged that idea. You might remember the Heaven's Gate cult - in 1997, a group of 39 people committed suicide over the course of three days, believing that they were ascending to "the level above human" and that their souls would be taken away in a spaceship. Director Sergio Myers made a film about this event, Heaven's Gate: The Day After. The entire film used to be up on YouTube; now, just the trailer is there. In the film, he interviews a surviving cult member, who says he was convinced to join the group because of a dream he had.

It's hard to think that someone's own unconscious mind would sell him out like that. How would he even know? Of course, this individual did survive the mass suicide, but still, if we can't trust information from our own dreams, where does that leave us?

I believe it leaves us in a place where we need to decide how much weight to give that deep part of ourselves. In a society where the influence of the unconscious is largely discounted, to discover that aspect of ourselves can be exciting and illuminating. But at the same time, those waves can be overwhelming, and it always comes back to finding the balance between the unconscious and conscious, contemplation and action, yin and yang.

Insufficient attention to the unconscious can keep us enslaved to old patterns we're not even aware of. Too much attention and we can find it hard to move forward. Our dreams may guide us, but in the end, our lives are ours to live.