Sittin' outside Funk 'n' Flash playing my geetar when this dude comes up, tries to give me some money, then shows me his sri yantra. Tells me how it's a gateway to Archangel Metratron and that our paths will cross again. So you know, a typical day in Sebastopol.
"I have seen three ads for Valentine's day and cannabis!"
From my sister: “We decided to play Taboo. You know the whole premise is you're describing an item but you can't use the five words listed on the card to describe it. If you use a word you get buzzed - so someone looks over your shoulder and buzzes you if you mess up. The battery for the electronic buzzer had gone out so I was handed a Tibetan bowl to ding folks who said the wrong word. No one even batted an eye.”
"It's too early in the morning to talk about tantra."
"There is nothing more annoying than being around a person who believes they are enlightened."
"You think with all the planets going direct we could manage to get Trump impeached."
Status update:
"How about a spiritual program to help spiritual people recover from 'spirituality'...?"
Vintage blog vignette:
I was with some friends of friends who were visiting from southern California. The conversation turned to one of them desiring to learn more about the local culture during his week in west Sonoma County. He asked how he could more aptly fit in.
"Well," one women wanted to know, "do you want to be a 'Sebastopol Guy' or a 'Sebastopol Dude?'"
He replied, "I think I am too old to be a dude. So how about Sebastopol Guy?"
"Do you mean a SNAG?" I asked.
Someone wanted to know what a SNAG was. Several of us answered in unison: "Spiritual new age guy."
Troy the aspiring Sebastopolian responded: "I don't think I am a SNAG."
"Well, you will fit right in," I maintained. "Most SNAGs do not think they are SNAGs."
Several members of our little group smiled, nodding their heads. Most everyone had ideas for fitting in as Sebastopol Guy:
Sit in front of Whole Foods chatting for long periods of time.
When you say good-bye to someone add "Blessings" at the end.
Go to a yoga class or two. Or at least carry a yoga mat around.
Consume something that contains green tea.
"Use the word 'conscious' a lot. You know, if you garden or do bookkeeping make sure it is conscious gardening, conscious bookkeeping." (This reminded me of a flier I recently saw for Conscious Housekeeping.)
Buy a dream journal.
Learn three attributes about your astrological sign. Troy is a Libra. He was told at least eight attributes by the people in this little crowd. Because the three attributes ended up being so easy, someone said it would be more impressive if he found out his rising sign and was able to converse about it. "Does everyone have a rising sign?" he asked.
A woman put her arm around him. "Oh, Troy. You have a lot to learn this week."
