Nakis' Garden

Greetings,

It has been encouraged that I should use this space in order to communicate, learn from, learn with, and generally keep an open floor and open door to help provide insight, guidance, or for people to putz around and communicate with me.

So, here we are, here you are. If you have questions, comments, concerns, complaints to throw at me (and just to note this is not organizationally speaking, but as an aspect of my learning or what I speak/sermonize/chitter chatter about), please bring them here.

This is an open place to start communications or to read up on stuff.

Thank you!

I wanted to start this with why I'm calling this my "Garden."

If you've ever kept a garden, you'll know that you simply can't grow the flowers yourself. Sure, you water them, you fertilizer them, you sing sweet, sweet Metallica songs to them to inspire them, but overall you simply can't do the growing for them. Everyone around me is the exact same. If I see someone as part of my community, I can't make them grow, but what I can do is provide fertilizer, water, and some sweet tunes to provide the materials for growth. Sometimes the soil is a little barren, sometimes the nutrients are all gone and we are burnt out, so the gardener needs to help the plant out.

This is how I view the role of a clergy person. I'm not here to do religion for you, I'm here to provide insight, wisdom, knowledge, experience, and so much more to you so that you can grow in your own time, and if we're really being honest, a lot of the fertilizer (usually a load of horse manure if you're in a non-receptive mood ) sometimes has to wait awhile before it gets released in your soil. Sometimes we need pruned, sometimes we need a little extra shade, or maybe we have a fruit that's finally ready to drop. Maybe we don't drop fruit, but we invite bees into the garden to help spread pollen.

We all have our purpose in the garden, and even the gardener is a plant in another garden themselves.

Let us photosynthesize together.

I am a fan of nature myself. So many times nature has answered questions that we tend to not ask. Simply put - I dig ya ! I look foward and encourage you as your ministry here in the Temple grows and as you make more connections to return to the beginning and remind yourself why - return . May the Force we share find you as you seek share and serve it! Let’s get digging !

I enjoy coffee. I enjoy coffee so much that I've already had 3 cups before 10:30. I enjoy it for it's flavour (mild coffee simply tastes best to me) and that it keeps me going. If I don't drink coffee, I am grumpy as all hell. And when I mean all hell, I mean that I am the dark lord of grump and please behold my kingdom of loathing, pain, and a DMV. Perhaps when my life settles I can go off the juice some, but today is not that day!

But, this highlights an addiction. It's something that I've done so much that I simply need it to exist on a normal level. I derive the benefit of being myself, as opposed to feeling hyper or alert. To know me without coffee is to be aware that some part of my routine is disrupted, and to know that is to know to push me towards a cup of coffee before talking to me.

Now, let us take something positive, such as exercise or meditation, or even clean eating. Would anyone notice if you didn't do those things? Would you notice?

We often hear people say "I'm addicted to...." and state something, but are they really on that level where it is such a part of their life that to be without is to unbalanced them? We often say to make something good a habit, and part of that is to do it daily. If you didn't meditate this morning, would you notice? Would your coworkers notice? If you don't exercise, will you being grumpy?

Is there something positive in your life that you'd like to make a habit?

I feel ya - some Mornings I miss my morning meditation or my radio focus as I call it and my “ station” (me) plays all the hits or - isnleft to channel surfing as the day goes by. If I don’t tune in some mornings I feel it !

I am just about ready to travel across country. 3000 miles from Virginia to Oregon.

I wanted to drop a line here that I am still available and I also wanted everyone to know that we found a hotel with the most amazing name: the Lakota Lodge in Kadoka, South Dakota. Won't be staying there, but take shelter in the fun name that is hard to say!

Greetings Nakis, and thanks for the update!

Quite an amazing journey, it sounds like, that you are on.
I love that you call this your garden, this too
is a very great theme central to my life.

I recently was a presenter on a webinar
produced as a collaboration between
numerous national organizations dedicated
to mental health success and wellness support.
It was called "Reconnecting with Nature
for Personal and Global Healing."

I did make a brief mention of my view
that Nature, Wellness Support,
and the role of the Jedi are
intrinsically connected.

I could share the slides with you
at some point, and we anticipate
there will be more webinars
in the series, soon to come...

I suspect that we could chat more
about this shared interest of ours,
and many more upon your arrival
here in Oregon. I live in Portland.
Happy trails and I shall follow up
about our Jedi gathering for
the International Day of Peace,
Sept. 21st in our NW Jedi group...

Fare well for now ~

So, I've finally arrived in Portland, OR.

Just so people who may not have realized my life for the past month, I lost my job, moved 3,000 miles away with my wife, 4 cats, and 1 dog in 2 separate cars with all of my stuff being moved by shippers. My son is staying with his grandparents until we buy a house. I'm still looking for a job. We tried to sell and then finally had to rent out our last house. We almost got scammed trying to find the place we're currently renting.

I am also going bald from stress, but now that we've landed, things are going to get better

I look forward to posting more in the future.