no 9

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Welcome. Have you accidentally looked into the sun or bright light, and then looked away, the image burned into your eyelids? That’s an afterimage.

In the last installment of Afterimage, I shared about the deception of sleep and started a new section- In Conversation with You: your questions in my inbox as a prompt for a conversation. Here's what I saw, heard, and sensed that have stayed with me this past week. Let's begin.

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What I saw: Light Drawings

In the late afternoon, I faced the sun. I drove home along the river from the east side of the city. The mountains looked like cut-out shapes in greens and dark slate against the big sky. I wished for traffic so I could take it all in. I'm entering a mature phase of love with these mountains. The initial excitement is gone, but seeing newness in something familiar excites me and keeps me close. Love deepens every day.

The sun leaves emerald pools of light on the mountains at this hour. I rushed to my favorite spot to catch them. There were no pools when I arrived. But the sun left bright strokes of light, glistening along the ridgeline.

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Felt Sense / Messages from my Body: Listening to the Messages

No Salt

It’s day 21 of 28 without salt. Seasoning has meant spices, herbs, vinegar, lemon-- no salt, no soy sauce, no miso, no sugar in the past few weeks. I feel lighter. I retain less water. My palette's been reset. I can taste each ingredient in any dish I have. It’s like learning to listen and isolate each instrument or track in a piece of music. Carrots taste sweeter. On a single carrot, the sweetness varies from tip to tip. The minerals in potato skins are pronounced.

In the absence of added salt, I notice I’m reaching toward celery and spinach at the store. According to my trainer, "They’re both foods that are naturally high in sodium. Your body knows."

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The Body Knows

The body doesn’t really need me. It’s an amazing sorting machine. It rejects anything toxic and eliminates anything it can’t digest. Take the digestive system, a literal example; it doesn’t wait for my instruction. The body is swift, honest, and straightforward that way.

It’s sorted out a few things, and has come up with some weekday rules for me. Here are the first three that come to mind:

1. Saying goodbye to my love of roller coasters as a cortisol/adrenaline delivery system. Raising a teen, navigating a breakup, living in the wilderness, and coming out of the pandemic behind the rest of the world offers plenty of opportunities for stress hormone surges.
2. Choosing films and documentaries over television series. No need for extended exposure to fictional drama to trigger my nervous system into a hyperaroused state.
3. Choosing poetry and short story anthologies over long novels. I can enjoy an idea expand, reach a fullness, then get to denouement, with at least 7.5 hours of sleep.

Rules eliminate the need for hemming, hawing, and deciding– or allocating time and energy toward decision making. I need to listen to my Body. If I didn’t, either Netflix or a great author would hold me hostage, from the deep of night into the pale blue hours of the morning.
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A question for you: What’s holding you hostage today?

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Your thoughts fuel mine.

Tell me what you're thinking about. Dreaming about. And what exactly you're doing about the thing you've been dreaming about.

Capture some images. Savor afterimages.

Have a great weekend,

Akiko

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Thanks for reading!

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