Love this Amy! I am not a fan of off-leash dogs in public spaces either and agree that is one charming mug- love to see the photos. My dedicated “sidewalk Oracle” walk involved a furry friend as well. During our time in Alabama, chipmunk sightings have been rare and cherished. In the late fall we noticed one had made a burrow under the sidewall at the top of our street- and we’d only see him occasionally- but it was the most consistent chipmunk we’d ever spotted. Onset of winter, many hard freezes here. Everytime I cross that sidewalk I hope he’s sleeping snuggly and staying warm. So on my walk this week- consciously looking for the sidewalk oracles- on a nice sunny day- who do I spy from so far off? I think surely it’s a leaf or branch, surely it is my willful imagination. It was him! Chipper and upright and having survived the winter so far under his little roof of concrete. It had special meaning for me in the context of the question I had in my heart- namely - can we brave the expense and struggle it will be to move home to California to be near my parents. I’ll tell you the last time my parents visited us here in Alabama in the fall - we went for a walk at the lake and we saw probably three dozen chipmunks out in the woods. I had never seen so many at one time. And with that question in my heart I saw our chipmunk friend right at the top of our street in January no less. Maybe it’s a yarn but I can see the connection between my sidewalk Oracle and the thoughts that weigh my mind.
Wow, Lauren. This is such an amazing story. I got goosebumps as the larger connection with the chipmunks appeared. Even at that time, it must have been amazing — and significant — to have so many in sight. Having your chipmunk show up on your “dedicated” walk this week ….and the ways in which it aligns with the question you are pondering…wonderful. Thank you for sharing this example from your life and your week.
The first game, Sidewalk Oracle, is the only game. I play it every day. The Universe brings me little gifts and helps me frame photos, many of which end up on my own Substack. Illustration is harder, having to juggle pencils or crayons on my lap in the power chair. Not comfortable with that yet.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been remembering my dreams in recent years. I used to keep copious notes, but now I only vaguely recall memes and themes, breaths of memory. Instead of walking with dreams, I move in my own meditative state. Having a clear mind is easy for me, and I am receptive.
Remember that her off-leash dog was a plot point in “Look Again,” by Elizabeth Trembley, which I think you recommended, Amy. I appreciated that set of photos, thanks.
I think it’s wonderful that you spot symbols so frequently, and every day, Fran. Making that connection with your photos, including those you share on your substack, makes perfect sense. Good point about Trembley’s book. (I so loved it.) As for the dreams…. I don’t tend to remember. I’ve been paying more attention to this during this reading. Maybe some of the other games will strike you as interesting. I think we do some of them automatically, but I am finding the mix interesting to think about. Enjoy your looking today.
I needed a bus vignette to fill out a coming posting, so I made an intention before setting out today. And the Universe obliged by sending me a story. A clutch of people, like a dozen, got on at one of those obscure stops where nobody gets on for weeks. And I managed to milk a story out the half of them who were a rag-tag family. Thank you, God.
I had some of the very same thoughts you shared this week. The big one being that I play this first game already. Before even reading about the first game, my daughter and I had seen Stitch (of the Lilo and Stitch Disney movie) in several different stores as we shopped. The movie is one she watched when she was little, but it wasn’t one we’d attached a lot of meaning to. But we’d joked that Stitch was trying to tell me something in the second store. Family? Ohana—no one gets left behind?
About the second game—Dream walking—I immediately think how taking a leisurely stroll after waking and before I hurry to work seems impractical. But I ponder my dreams already. I know that when I’m worried about finances, I dream of my teeth falling out. I’m always embarrassed and anxious, the very things I feel in my waking life.
This morning I dreamed about attending a religious service at a synagogue with my daughter as a young child. We were newcomers and didn’t know what to do. (BTW, I’ve never been to a synagogue!) When I woke, I took it as a sign to check in with my Ancestry account. 😀 My dad and I came out with some Jewish DNA when we tested. He passed some on to me, but not my sister—isn’t that interesting? I suspect that somewhere along his mother’s line, we have a Jewish ancestor but I haven’t been able to puzzle it out yet. Maybe it’s a sign to look again.
I will keep reading along and look forward to something interesting in the coming week.
That's a really interesting Lilo and Stitch moment (or set of them). I love that you are thinking about these things and spotting recurring elements like this. Interesting, too, about the dreams - I think thinking about them and letting them continue to be present in your day is probably more important than the timing of that walk. I don't hold onto dreams, but I am trying to remember to grab them. It sounds like this is a powerful element for you!
I dreamed that Thomas Cromwell painted a silhouette of his hand on a wall like an ancient cave painting. So that feels weirdly significant! I'm on the look out for more hands!
My father was very artistic and good at making things. He did everything from woodworking to handmade knives, painted rocks, woodburning, engraving, etc. At one point he made some canes/walking sticks out of wood that had been shaped by being wrapped in grapevines. He would stain them and paint beautiful pictures on them. His biggest seller was his knives. Very few people have one of his canes.
Fast forward to last week when I was feeling torn over a big decision about my childhood home. My parents passed in 2022 and I have been sorting through rooms and memories, planning to move. There's much more to it, but I'll leave it at that. So the question I've had in mind this week was mainly for Dad. He built this house and I've needed to know what he would have me do. I've felt so guilty and heartbroken about moving, but I don't feel I can stay. The answer I received was very unexpected. I was scrolling on Facebook when one of my high school friends posted a memory that showed up in my feed. It was her daughter, much younger then, dancing around their kitchen singing into a makeshift microphone. It was an adorable video that had me smiling... and then I noticed what she was using for a microphone: one of Dad's canes. And the song she was singing was from the Disney movie Frozen: Let It Go. My dad's name was Bernard, but when he was younger he went by his middle name, Lee. My friend's daughter's name is SkyLee. So I guess I heard it through the grapevine from Lee in the Sky.Let it go. lol.
Also, I know this wasn't something I stumbled across while out for a walk, so it doesn't technically folllow the game, but it definitely got my attention. I think Moss' book got most interesting for me through the games and exercises.
Something that did happen while I was out one day was that I'd walked to the store with the general intention of hopefully getting a little sidewalk symbolism along the way. There were a couple of things heavy on my mind and I was disappointed when I got all the way to my destination with nothing unusual standing out. But a couple of things got my attention in the store. One was a parting conversation between two people where the one line I overheard was, "You just have to take it one day at a time." The other was when the cashier slid my ID across the counter as i was leaving and said, "You don't wanna forget THIS." It just stood out to me for some reason. I thought about the information on my driver's license. Name,address. Basically permission to drive. I kind of took it as a "Go ahead, but don't forget who you are and where you came from. "
It was a virtual walk of sorts. I'm not worried about whether things go "to the letter" of the book or not, and you shouldn't be either. You've read the whole book, so you have all the games swirling around now. Whatever you see or hear or gather is a good thing! I hope you continue to move about your days right now attuned to these moments, sights, signs, comments, and more.
Three elements in the moment that all pointed you and went together to give you meaning that made sense to you. That's wonderful, Susan. Seeing all three..... noticing the song and its possible relevance.... that's powerful. I hope you found the answers helpful.
I think that I am too internally distracted of a person to properly play sidewalk oracle. I've tried several times this week to allow myself to listen and notice while out and about in the world and my own inner thoughts intruded upon any pull of any card at all the times. I even gave myself extra time before commenting. The universe will need to, literally, push me over for me to notice, as happened when we saw a man take a really bad fall at a restaurant and then two days later, I was "pushed" over in the driveway upon hitting a patch of ice. I'm still trying to find the hidden message in the falls. I'm leaning towards, "hey, pay more attention to me". I'm really trying!
That said, I have been much, much better at walking dreams and even have one that I have stuffed in my pocket and have been rolling around in my brain - while running errands, I drive by a sportsman's club and see a giant yeti shaped target that dings a shooting gallery like bell whenever it is hit in certain spots by a sharpshooter. There is a boy standing in front of it hitting it in the spots with a giant mallet, making it ding incessently. I've concluded that it means to stop trying to sharp shoot my monster goals (or over thinking them) and just start hammering away at them with the tools that make it easier.
I also started writing things down in my Notes app on my phone, including remembered dreams and any overheards or symbols that I've noticed as soon as we began reading this book. How excited I was to see it was one of the games! It's something I've been enjoying quite a bit.
I have had similar thoughts about being just too in my head…. And I keep trying to stop and refocus more intentionally. So I hear you. But I’m laughing at your description of needing a really big push… And that fall! Wow. I’m glad you found a way to interpret it (and glad you weren’t seriously hurt). The dream, too…. I’m so impressed you have such a vivid one, but I love seeing how you’ve been thinking it through and what it may hold. Sounds like it fits right in with things you are wrestling with.
Great to hear you are making notes. Many more games to come. Maybe some of them will all fit together. (And I’ve had times where I find no cards, too. For now, I think we just keep looking.)
I am a bit behind with posting but I am playing the games. On a walk, I noticed christmas baubles in trees in two different gardens that I had passed quite some times before. I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen them before and I even wonder if they were new which, of course, is highly unlikely.
Regarding the game involving dreams. I can hardly ever remember my dreams and the rare times I can it is very vague and if I don't write down some key things very quickly the memory is already gone. I didn't start a secret book. I have a journal and a sketchbook in which I can jot something down or draw something and for now that seems sufficient.
The story about being photobombed by a fluffy dog made me smile and I love the photos.
Love this Amy! I am not a fan of off-leash dogs in public spaces either and agree that is one charming mug- love to see the photos. My dedicated “sidewalk Oracle” walk involved a furry friend as well. During our time in Alabama, chipmunk sightings have been rare and cherished. In the late fall we noticed one had made a burrow under the sidewall at the top of our street- and we’d only see him occasionally- but it was the most consistent chipmunk we’d ever spotted. Onset of winter, many hard freezes here. Everytime I cross that sidewalk I hope he’s sleeping snuggly and staying warm. So on my walk this week- consciously looking for the sidewalk oracles- on a nice sunny day- who do I spy from so far off? I think surely it’s a leaf or branch, surely it is my willful imagination. It was him! Chipper and upright and having survived the winter so far under his little roof of concrete. It had special meaning for me in the context of the question I had in my heart- namely - can we brave the expense and struggle it will be to move home to California to be near my parents. I’ll tell you the last time my parents visited us here in Alabama in the fall - we went for a walk at the lake and we saw probably three dozen chipmunks out in the woods. I had never seen so many at one time. And with that question in my heart I saw our chipmunk friend right at the top of our street in January no less. Maybe it’s a yarn but I can see the connection between my sidewalk Oracle and the thoughts that weigh my mind.
Wow, Lauren. This is such an amazing story. I got goosebumps as the larger connection with the chipmunks appeared. Even at that time, it must have been amazing — and significant — to have so many in sight. Having your chipmunk show up on your “dedicated” walk this week ….and the ways in which it aligns with the question you are pondering…wonderful. Thank you for sharing this example from your life and your week.
The first game, Sidewalk Oracle, is the only game. I play it every day. The Universe brings me little gifts and helps me frame photos, many of which end up on my own Substack. Illustration is harder, having to juggle pencils or crayons on my lap in the power chair. Not comfortable with that yet.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been remembering my dreams in recent years. I used to keep copious notes, but now I only vaguely recall memes and themes, breaths of memory. Instead of walking with dreams, I move in my own meditative state. Having a clear mind is easy for me, and I am receptive.
Remember that her off-leash dog was a plot point in “Look Again,” by Elizabeth Trembley, which I think you recommended, Amy. I appreciated that set of photos, thanks.
I think it’s wonderful that you spot symbols so frequently, and every day, Fran. Making that connection with your photos, including those you share on your substack, makes perfect sense. Good point about Trembley’s book. (I so loved it.) As for the dreams…. I don’t tend to remember. I’ve been paying more attention to this during this reading. Maybe some of the other games will strike you as interesting. I think we do some of them automatically, but I am finding the mix interesting to think about. Enjoy your looking today.
I needed a bus vignette to fill out a coming posting, so I made an intention before setting out today. And the Universe obliged by sending me a story. A clutch of people, like a dozen, got on at one of those obscure stops where nobody gets on for weeks. And I managed to milk a story out the half of them who were a rag-tag family. Thank you, God.
I had some of the very same thoughts you shared this week. The big one being that I play this first game already. Before even reading about the first game, my daughter and I had seen Stitch (of the Lilo and Stitch Disney movie) in several different stores as we shopped. The movie is one she watched when she was little, but it wasn’t one we’d attached a lot of meaning to. But we’d joked that Stitch was trying to tell me something in the second store. Family? Ohana—no one gets left behind?
About the second game—Dream walking—I immediately think how taking a leisurely stroll after waking and before I hurry to work seems impractical. But I ponder my dreams already. I know that when I’m worried about finances, I dream of my teeth falling out. I’m always embarrassed and anxious, the very things I feel in my waking life.
This morning I dreamed about attending a religious service at a synagogue with my daughter as a young child. We were newcomers and didn’t know what to do. (BTW, I’ve never been to a synagogue!) When I woke, I took it as a sign to check in with my Ancestry account. 😀 My dad and I came out with some Jewish DNA when we tested. He passed some on to me, but not my sister—isn’t that interesting? I suspect that somewhere along his mother’s line, we have a Jewish ancestor but I haven’t been able to puzzle it out yet. Maybe it’s a sign to look again.
I will keep reading along and look forward to something interesting in the coming week.
That's a really interesting Lilo and Stitch moment (or set of them). I love that you are thinking about these things and spotting recurring elements like this. Interesting, too, about the dreams - I think thinking about them and letting them continue to be present in your day is probably more important than the timing of that walk. I don't hold onto dreams, but I am trying to remember to grab them. It sounds like this is a powerful element for you!
I dreamed that Thomas Cromwell painted a silhouette of his hand on a wall like an ancient cave painting. So that feels weirdly significant! I'm on the look out for more hands!
I can't wait to hear if you find this pattern continues. That's a pretty specific dream! You are reading Wolf Hall?
Yes! I couldn't resist and am really liking it so far.
Great! I am enjoying it as well.
My father was very artistic and good at making things. He did everything from woodworking to handmade knives, painted rocks, woodburning, engraving, etc. At one point he made some canes/walking sticks out of wood that had been shaped by being wrapped in grapevines. He would stain them and paint beautiful pictures on them. His biggest seller was his knives. Very few people have one of his canes.
Fast forward to last week when I was feeling torn over a big decision about my childhood home. My parents passed in 2022 and I have been sorting through rooms and memories, planning to move. There's much more to it, but I'll leave it at that. So the question I've had in mind this week was mainly for Dad. He built this house and I've needed to know what he would have me do. I've felt so guilty and heartbroken about moving, but I don't feel I can stay. The answer I received was very unexpected. I was scrolling on Facebook when one of my high school friends posted a memory that showed up in my feed. It was her daughter, much younger then, dancing around their kitchen singing into a makeshift microphone. It was an adorable video that had me smiling... and then I noticed what she was using for a microphone: one of Dad's canes. And the song she was singing was from the Disney movie Frozen: Let It Go. My dad's name was Bernard, but when he was younger he went by his middle name, Lee. My friend's daughter's name is SkyLee. So I guess I heard it through the grapevine from Lee in the Sky.Let it go. lol.
Also, I know this wasn't something I stumbled across while out for a walk, so it doesn't technically folllow the game, but it definitely got my attention. I think Moss' book got most interesting for me through the games and exercises.
Something that did happen while I was out one day was that I'd walked to the store with the general intention of hopefully getting a little sidewalk symbolism along the way. There were a couple of things heavy on my mind and I was disappointed when I got all the way to my destination with nothing unusual standing out. But a couple of things got my attention in the store. One was a parting conversation between two people where the one line I overheard was, "You just have to take it one day at a time." The other was when the cashier slid my ID across the counter as i was leaving and said, "You don't wanna forget THIS." It just stood out to me for some reason. I thought about the information on my driver's license. Name,address. Basically permission to drive. I kind of took it as a "Go ahead, but don't forget who you are and where you came from. "
It was a virtual walk of sorts. I'm not worried about whether things go "to the letter" of the book or not, and you shouldn't be either. You've read the whole book, so you have all the games swirling around now. Whatever you see or hear or gather is a good thing! I hope you continue to move about your days right now attuned to these moments, sights, signs, comments, and more.
Three elements in the moment that all pointed you and went together to give you meaning that made sense to you. That's wonderful, Susan. Seeing all three..... noticing the song and its possible relevance.... that's powerful. I hope you found the answers helpful.
I think that I am too internally distracted of a person to properly play sidewalk oracle. I've tried several times this week to allow myself to listen and notice while out and about in the world and my own inner thoughts intruded upon any pull of any card at all the times. I even gave myself extra time before commenting. The universe will need to, literally, push me over for me to notice, as happened when we saw a man take a really bad fall at a restaurant and then two days later, I was "pushed" over in the driveway upon hitting a patch of ice. I'm still trying to find the hidden message in the falls. I'm leaning towards, "hey, pay more attention to me". I'm really trying!
That said, I have been much, much better at walking dreams and even have one that I have stuffed in my pocket and have been rolling around in my brain - while running errands, I drive by a sportsman's club and see a giant yeti shaped target that dings a shooting gallery like bell whenever it is hit in certain spots by a sharpshooter. There is a boy standing in front of it hitting it in the spots with a giant mallet, making it ding incessently. I've concluded that it means to stop trying to sharp shoot my monster goals (or over thinking them) and just start hammering away at them with the tools that make it easier.
I also started writing things down in my Notes app on my phone, including remembered dreams and any overheards or symbols that I've noticed as soon as we began reading this book. How excited I was to see it was one of the games! It's something I've been enjoying quite a bit.
Have a great one!
I have had similar thoughts about being just too in my head…. And I keep trying to stop and refocus more intentionally. So I hear you. But I’m laughing at your description of needing a really big push… And that fall! Wow. I’m glad you found a way to interpret it (and glad you weren’t seriously hurt). The dream, too…. I’m so impressed you have such a vivid one, but I love seeing how you’ve been thinking it through and what it may hold. Sounds like it fits right in with things you are wrestling with.
Great to hear you are making notes. Many more games to come. Maybe some of them will all fit together. (And I’ve had times where I find no cards, too. For now, I think we just keep looking.)
I am a bit behind with posting but I am playing the games. On a walk, I noticed christmas baubles in trees in two different gardens that I had passed quite some times before. I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen them before and I even wonder if they were new which, of course, is highly unlikely.
Regarding the game involving dreams. I can hardly ever remember my dreams and the rare times I can it is very vague and if I don't write down some key things very quickly the memory is already gone. I didn't start a secret book. I have a journal and a sketchbook in which I can jot something down or draw something and for now that seems sufficient.
The story about being photobombed by a fluffy dog made me smile and I love the photos.