AN ALTAR IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN STUFF even if it is made of STUFF!
IT'S A MATTER OF PRIORITY!

I had a problem with a child. My new age, spiritual guru gal pal wrote me, "make an altar." I surveyed the house. Not much space, no empty spots, except over near the cat boxes.  Emailed her a pome "wherein the lady falters making altars" as subject, then told her how I was having a hard time finding a decent space.

She wrote back, "I have a small altar on my kitchen stove area; one next to my bed, one on my bathroom counter; you see...an altar can be wall mount photo..doesn't have to be a table or  shelf.  If you wanted to give it a priority, you would see every possibility within  your property for many altars. When we make room for heaven, Heaven makes room for us!"

So I tried that. I put two altars up on the edges of my bedroom. As one has to walk around the bed turned sideways, it is a limited space. I could maybe sit on the bed if I wanted to pray there. I put a Mexican nativity scene on the bureau, a platter with rocks & flowers.

ON top of a bookshelf on the other side of the bed, a bird's nest with ceramic mother bird and 4 eggs, one for each of my children. Charms of all kinds go in the basket, a golden coin, a wee jug of plenty.

I never found time to light a candle and sit there and pray. I work from dawn to dusk, gardening, writing new age articles, astrologizing, shopping for cat food and I always take time for my two favorite shows, BECKER reruns and JOAN OF ARCADIA re-runs when they come, MEDIUM, DANIEL with AIDAN QUINN. That's a busy day.

I noticed there was a potential phase II to ALTAR TECH 101. I found more and more I had the feeling my many dead pals were with me. And were having fun as doing my life, I was having fun. Spirits were congregating when there was no altar. I could tell as when I sat still, I'd think some special thought and a light would flash in the air in the room.

So I thought, maybe a lively life is fun for some spirits. Maybe not the big guys Jesus and Moses who confer wishes, or Mother Mary but some very friendly, loving ex pals of mine seemed to be hanging around. SO I thought, why can't we make ourself the piece on the altar and keep joy, fun and ecstasy around us no matter what little chores we are doing.

If we are doing them with bliss, passion, joy at home/ or out on the street, that MOMENT can be an altar.  I KNOW that all my passed on pals are with me. Gerry, Eddie, Alicia, Jules, Harry and we have a party all the time.

Tonight, the show JOAN OF ARCADIA hit a high note. Joan has been sent to do onerous community service as punishment for egging a car, which she didn't even egg. She's painting the community center and God shows up every few hours telling her she was doing a good job with all the dysfunctional people. She doesn't see it, and God tells her that she's not supposed to see it, that's not the bench mark of anything. Then, at the show's end, there's this COPPOLA type moving shot with great music on track, a shot which pans across each of the different, dysfuntional lives as if they were all in one building and we were peering in thru windows at each grouping and Lo, all their problems have been solved!

I was totally amazed at how well the show was done. As well as the SHEEN show I used to watch, White House. Never missed one of them for four years until they lost Sorkin their writer to a pot bust.

But JOAN of ARCADIA had given me Gooseflesh which is truly the test of great art.  And --as if in synchronicity to my hormonal surge of an appreciative 'WOW, ' -- suddenly there's a flash of a light up in the air between me and the TV, in the semi dark room. Two hands clapping.

So the AIR became the altar. If that spirit giving me a high five is not an altar what is? I guess I should place another third altar on top of the TV! Or maybe in bed with me and the remote!

I'm not saying that I stay in joy for the benefit of my ghostly chums but I do find that they're always there at pleasant moments. Well, that was how my friends were. In joy, I get a lot of flashes from someone, maybe Moses or my Grand Aunt Margot whom I never met. Or Gandhi whose picture is in my room.   Or who knows, Jesus may be among them. Once the Master Jules brought him to the garden. Late day, busy on knees, planting with trowel when suddenly I have a flash back where I am in the JESUS book my mother gave me at age eight, the scene where he heals someon up on a roof, it's all around me like an acid flash back. I look up. Utter silence in the valley, A roaring pink sunset trailing off into flame gold at the horizon,the kind that happens once a decade, and above it a purple sky and even the birds have stopped their noise and then I notice a presence of some kind. I am accompanied and as the Master Jules had just died a week or two before, and he always wanted to meet Jesus...well I assumed the Master had brought him around.

I know I can count on saints or ghosts knownor unknown,  because I keep a pretty entertaining territory around me full time. I have a low laugh threshold maybe but my life keeps me laughing. Anyone can visit me any time. Even when I'm switching to my nightgown.

ON the distaff side, keeping my various and sundry woes out should be hard but it isn't and I'm not doing shielding or SUPPRESSING pain or NOT seeking not to feel the pain .... I'm just keeping the "CHAMPAGNE MOMENT NOW" party going every second and the rough edges of the world fade out of sight and mind when I do.

So 'the now in all its glory' can be one of your many altars. That's what I wanted to say.