I just finished Michael Pollan’s book on the recent psychedelic research, “How to Change Your Mind,” and one of my key takeaways is that the experience of awe is so good for disintegrating the ego and helping us feel a part of something bigger. And it connects us to each other and to nature. It’s what happens during psychedelic trips and to longtime meditators. There was all that yesterday, drug-free. 😊
I LOVE this that you write Julie, and I replied to your re-stack:
"thank you so much for re-stacking and I ADORE Michael Pollan’s work! I loved his New Yorker article on psilocybin in 20015, and we got to hear him talk live at Harvard university when “How to Change Your Mind,” came out in 2018. Definitely a fan-girl moment for me😂🥰"
I found myself choking up, just like they said I would! Which bothered me to no end, but there you have it. It was a profound experience even here on Long Island, without totality. How is it that two celestial bodies, so different in size, should appear the same to us, that one can cover the other?
I heard some physics expert saying the chances of that perfect match-up are (and here he quoted a very large number that I didn’t remember). But I appreciated him bringing that up because I’d never thought about it before. The two are so vastly different in size and so far apart, and yet ~
this little National Geographic video gives all the astronomical facts - and yes, the sun is 400 times wider than the moon but also 400 times farther away, hence how it looks to us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxrLRbkOwKs
So glad you got to witness the eclipse. And to sense into that impact of so many others joining in at the same time. What a wonder, a profound connection. I did not see this one, never seen a total eclipse, but I have seen partials. A true reminder of impermanence. Nature is the one who always has the final say.
So true Julie✨🌟💖🙏🕊️ and I recommend the totality experience - I heard a talk at our library by a NASA woman and she explained how totality is a completely different experience to 99%. I had not previously understood the difference, but I do now.
I also discovered that Sydney, Australia will be in the path of totality July 22, 2028, so I may need to start saving more frequent flyer miles🤩
I just finished Michael Pollan’s book on the recent psychedelic research, “How to Change Your Mind,” and one of my key takeaways is that the experience of awe is so good for disintegrating the ego and helping us feel a part of something bigger. And it connects us to each other and to nature. It’s what happens during psychedelic trips and to longtime meditators. There was all that yesterday, drug-free. 😊
I LOVE this that you write Julie, and I replied to your re-stack:
"thank you so much for re-stacking and I ADORE Michael Pollan’s work! I loved his New Yorker article on psilocybin in 20015, and we got to hear him talk live at Harvard university when “How to Change Your Mind,” came out in 2018. Definitely a fan-girl moment for me😂🥰"
It was a moving experience and I love the words “baptism by eclipse.”
Thanks so much for reading and supporting my writing, Priya! It's truly meaningful to me that you do✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
I found myself choking up, just like they said I would! Which bothered me to no end, but there you have it. It was a profound experience even here on Long Island, without totality. How is it that two celestial bodies, so different in size, should appear the same to us, that one can cover the other?
it's always fascinating to me how we can have expectations of ourselves, and if we don't live up to our own expectations, we get disappointed.
May you and I both have radical-acceptance, complete love, and compassion for our 'selves'🥰✨🦌✨🧚♀️🤸♀️🌼🌷🌈🌺🪷💕☀️😎✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
and yes to all the mind-blowing aspects of the planets in our solar system including this most spectacular and beautiful planet earth we call home🥰
I heard some physics expert saying the chances of that perfect match-up are (and here he quoted a very large number that I didn’t remember). But I appreciated him bringing that up because I’d never thought about it before. The two are so vastly different in size and so far apart, and yet ~
this little National Geographic video gives all the astronomical facts - and yes, the sun is 400 times wider than the moon but also 400 times farther away, hence how it looks to us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxrLRbkOwKs
oh, that's so good! Thanks for the link.
So glad you got to witness the eclipse. And to sense into that impact of so many others joining in at the same time. What a wonder, a profound connection. I did not see this one, never seen a total eclipse, but I have seen partials. A true reminder of impermanence. Nature is the one who always has the final say.
So true Julie✨🌟💖🙏🕊️ and I recommend the totality experience - I heard a talk at our library by a NASA woman and she explained how totality is a completely different experience to 99%. I had not previously understood the difference, but I do now.
I also discovered that Sydney, Australia will be in the path of totality July 22, 2028, so I may need to start saving more frequent flyer miles🤩