� 2001-2006 by Shiloh
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I don't remember my exact path that led me to the Alluvial Mine of Soul Food Cafe. That's part of the wonder of that cafe, you see. You can enter it any number of times and always end up somewhere different. You can unwrap a chocolate, ride on the Magic Writing Tram, sit at the Crime Baron's Table and tell a tale worthy of Hitchcock himself, or you can romance the ruins and much more. (Plus, my path was winding and often retraced itself.)
The very idea, or analogy, to this alluvial mine of my subconscious and inner voices intrigued me when I came upon it. I have felt, for a lil while now, that though I am good at writing my skills haven't been improved upon in quite some time. And it's time. I know I can be better; I want to be better. I want to be the best I can. So I was thrilled, or at least interested, to find this project. I am always interested to learn new facets of myself: to find new strengths, new foibles (in which to overcome), new passions and talents and pet peeves. The alluvial gold then, of course, in this instance is what I come up with when I prepare to mine and then finally dig deep below the surface.
I am excited to begin this project, to see what emerges over time. To see what changes and develops in me. The web mistress of Soul Food Cafe writes of this particular mine, "By far the largest area of the mind, the subconscious, is built up with associated sense impressions and memories dating back to the womb. This submerged area of mentation is the creative part of the mind, a wonderland of mystery. According to Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist, it is the area which contains a summary and reservoir of race, memory and accumulated skills. It is the submerged part which is the powerhouse from which radiates the most illuminating inspirations of artistic genius. It is synonymous with Mnemosyne, goddess of memory and mother of the Muses." She often writes of and refers to the nine Muses who inspire art, science, music, dance and literature. And, as you just read, this project is no different. The Muses are very real to her, and we are advised (those of us who take on a project or follow a suggestion) to follow our instincts, go wherever our whims (or personal Muse) takes us. We are also advised to keep coming back, until we have followed every link and are prepared to go below the surface.
Tomorrow, I will begin my preparation for starting and mining the Shiloh Alluvial Mine. It's too late now and my mind's tired...heck, I'm tired! I wanna be fresh when I do this. Plus, before I did the first exercise, I wanted to be sure I understood the term "alluvial"--me and my inherent curiosity again. * "Alluvial gold occurs as loose particles in the gravel, and is therefore easy to separate because of the high density of the gold... A wide variety of techniques have been tried over time, but all techniques focus on water-washing of the gold-bearing gravel in some way."
* Information on alluvial mining found at Otago University, Geology Department.
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