LIFE IN THE SECOND HALF

Touch

2012-01-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ahh, the world works in mysterious ways! My last post was about the young man with autistic tendencies that just happened to be a mathematical genius. Some of our discussion in the comment section revolved around the possibility of these children actually being in the fourth dimension, a step up from our current third dimension, and therefore could not communicate with us past infancy. (If you watch the Carl Sagan video from the last post you will understand why we cannot relate to other dimensions.)

Voila! A new television series - about this very premise. The new series Touch is about:

A drama that blends science and spirituality to explore the hidden connections which bind together all of humanity. At the center of this distinctive new series is a widower and single father whose quest to reach his emotionally challenged 11-year-old son will shape the destiny of the entire planet. Written by Fox Publicity

You can catch up with the pilot here. The series begins Monday, March 19th, at 9:00 p.m., PST.

700th Post & Fourth Dimension

2012-01-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

This is my 700th post! I'm happy to bring good news.

60 minutes did a segment on child prodigy, Jake Barnett. Jake is one in 10,000,000. Diagnosed with autism at age two, it was questionable whether or not he would ever go to college - let alone be a college honors sophomore at age 13! At age ten he taught himself high school math in just two weeks.

His gift is mathematics and science, and he has been attending college-level courses since age 8. What amazed me, from a developmental point of view, is that he came out of his autistic shell when given the opportunity to learn. It was age eight when he came home from school and asked his mother when would he learn something? That is when she started taking him to audit college courses where he would often join the conversations. It wasn't long before his genius became known to the professors and his life changed forever.

It was when he started talking about the Fourth Dimension, (which is what many believe is humanity's evolution - from third dimension to fourth dimension), that I sat up and took notice. Unfortunately, that part of the conversation was short.

The entire episode made me happy. I actually had tears in my eyes watching this beautiful young man get excited about helping people become less fearful of math. He is so fresh and sweet.

He, and others like him, are gifts to mankind.

If you would like to read the entire transcript go here.

Newest Shared-Living Idea!

2012-01-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

I'm currently exploring a new shared living idea. There are many churches on the market as participation in religious services is down. So what about converting a church into condos with community space? The parking areas could be converted to garden space, there would be a shared workout room, maybe a community kitchen, shared outdoor areas, etc.

Churches are found in all kinds of neighborhoods and urban areas. They are often large and have interesting architecture. I watched a Selling New York segment where someone had done this very thing. It was an interesting and beautiful conversion.

On the negative side - my husband. He says I need to find investors up front. That's what I get for marrying a man in finance. Always looking for ways to pop my bubble with the pinprick of reality.

So just as an informal poll - how many of you would be interested in living like this? I'm not asking ANYONE to invest! This is just a beginning point. It may not be a church - it could be some other kind of building. But I'm just curious to know if any of you have ever thought you would like to live with others in a shared-living environment of like-minded people.

I'll put a poll up on the sidebar for a couple of weeks, just for fun.

The Galactic Center

2012-01-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

One of the interesting aspects of this year is the fact that our planet is aligning with the center of our galaxy. In fact, it is supposed to be in perfect alignment on December 21, 2012. This happens every 26,000 years. William James gives his interpretation on what that means. After listening to this first chapter of his new DVD, I had to order it. I'll let you know if it is worthy of the sidebar. Thanks to CMN for posting this interesting video:

Duality Shift

2012-01-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

My cosmology of evolution is that we are learning to shift from thinking through our brains, which are really just antennas, to thinking through our hearts, which is where we are actually connected to each other and to the the field of possibility. This field of possibility, which is my way of explaining the space between matter, is where all thoughts begin to take shape. It is where thoughts and intention begin to morph into reality. It is the fabric that connects us with each other and to all other manifestations in our reality. But it is our hearts that are the actual connectors. That's why our hearts synchronize with those we sleep next to, and why they can be detected in the brain waves of those with whom we are standing near.

We live in a world based on duality. Right - wrong. Good - bad. Love - hate. We judge everything. Our brains are designed to do this in order to help us survive. If we didn't have the mechanism to avoid things that could hurt us, we simply could not survive. So in many ways, we should be grateful for our dualistic view of life. Tiger chasing us - bad. Sweet tasting fruit - good. Cruelty - bad. Forgiveness - good. All of this comes from information our (antenna) brain brings to us. It is the radio that transmits messages to the body.

Now, what if we decide we are good with knowing right from wrong and good from bad and wish to evolve beyond a dualistic view of the world? How can we do this? After all, thinking from the heart is not anything we have been taught to do.

It is pretty basic, actually. It means you have to learn to suspend judgement. How, you say, can we learn to suspend judgement, and why would we want to do that if it is detrimental to survival?

It is because we are evolving beyond mere survival. Maybe we are even in the process of utilizing those other strands of "junk" DNA. Maybe, just maybe, we are in the process of evolution. Not Darwin's view of evolution, where it is survival of the fittest, but a new view of evolution that actually incorporates those "leaps" we don't know what to do with in Darwin's Theory.

Here is an example: Most of us have heard the story about the ship captain that abandoned ship before all the passengers were safely removed from the cruise ship that he was responsible for running aground near Tuscany, Italy. Our antennas are taking in information provided by the media, and we want to jump right into condemnation. After all, he was responsible and then he acted cowardly. Innocent people died. A pristine ecological environment is at risk - dolphins, whales, all at risk because of this man. All true if we are just using our brains to evaluate the situation. We feel anger, frustration, maybe even hate.

Now how would that look if we evaluated the situation through our heart? Maybe we see a man whose life has been shattered. A man full of fear, hurt, shame. He will never be a ship captain again. He will never have the prestige he once enjoyed as a captain of a cruise ship. But most of all - he knows that when put the test - he was unable to deliver as a captain under duress - to make good decisions based on sound judgement and to always put his passengers before his own well being. Not only has he been confronted with his own flaws - but the whole world knows them. Most of us will never have our flaws paraded before the entire world. Most of us will never screw up that badly. Most of us will not be responsible for the deaths of innocent people.

How does he look now? Does it change how you see this man? Do you still hate him? Or do you see a flawed human being, and feel some empathy?

It doesn't change what this man did. It changes you. And that is the only person you are responsible for changing. Suspending judgement is not easy. It takes practice. Last night I was watching Nightline and they had a segment on Casey Anthony - the young woman who was exonerated from killing her two-year-old daughter. It literally took all I had not to judge this woman and have all the corresponding feelings that go with that judgement. In fact, it is the emotions that are projected from feelings of judgement that go out into the world and create duality.

So try it for yourself. See how often you judge, then try to suspend it just once. Just let it be. Take in the information, then let it go. Don't attach emotion to what you are reading, hearing, watching, etc. Don't be manipulated by the media, advertising, politicians, etc.

It's a process, and it's not easy. But the outcome could be worth it.

Groovin

2012-01-16T08:22:00.000-08:00

(Winnie 1994-2006)

I realize that term dates me, but it just seemed to fit here. After having two golden retrievers for their lifespans, this video made me want to go right out and get another one. Thanks to Jayne, for making my day.

Beautiful Hana

2012-01-12T23:49:00.000-08:00

We were fortunate enough to spend a night in beautiful Hana this week. For those of you familiar with the infamous Road to Hana on Maui, you know it is breathtaking scenery and very dramatic driving. It is constant switchbacks reduced to one lane in some parts. Couple that with often impatient, or extremely slow, tourists, and you can see why a relaxing night in Hana might be just the ticket. No need to do that road twice in one day!

We booked spa treatments at the Travass Hotel and proceeded to take our time getting there. It is about a 2.5 hour drive from Paia Town to the little hamlet of Hana. It certainly is reminiscent of "old Hawaii." It is small and sleepy, warm-hearted, and welcoming. The only place to eat, however, is at the hotel or one of the many vendors along the highway that may serve fruit smoothies or BBQ from their little road-side stands. The only restaurant in town was closed for renovation.

Not to worry, the hotel had everything we needed - and then some. The Travel Channel was there filming the hotel, so watch for it to come up if you're interested in Hana.

I came away with three little shell and gemstone necklaces, two of which will make perfect gifts, and my husband was able to have his first lesson on his new ukulele that was his Christmas gift from Santa. I had a wonderful deep moisturizing facial (to help prepare me for my trip home to the "land of dry" on Saturday.) My husband had a massage, and came away happy as a clam, and relaxed for the next leg of our journey.

We proceeded around the back side of the island and found the most beautiful pools and waterfalls right next to the road! The journey ended in very dry country covered in lava. From desert to rain forest - that's Maui.

It was the perfect little get-a-way. We'll miss the ocean and the warm gentle breezes, that's for sure. My husband will miss the kayack.

But Lucy's sweet little furry face has been missed, so there's reason to go home. That is the only bad part about coming to Maui - we can't stuff our lab under the seat to bring along with us.

Thrive's Foster Gamble

2012-01-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Lilou interviewed Foster Gamble on his movie THRIVE, for those of you that are interested. I slipped the DVD into my husband's stocking this year. Apparently, the film is doing well all over the world.

Downtown Abbey

2012-01-07T22:21:00.000-08:00

After reading about the finale of Season Two, on a blog I simply cannot find to give credit, I started watching Season One of Downtown Abbey. It is a Masterpiece Classic series on PBS. I found the first season on Netflix and needless to say - I'm bewitched!

Set in the early part of the century it is about an aristocratic family and the castle-full of servants that keep everything running. The set is stunning and the characters are both endearing and loathsome - the prime ingredients to keep you up late watching reruns.

I have felt for many years an "affinity" for England - particularly the Tudor period. I know I must have had at least one lifetime, if not many, living and dying on the English island. I do know that my family originated in England, with my great-great Grandfather leaving his children in a poorhouse after his wife died in order to come to America. After arriving and making enough money he went back to England to collect his children, marrying again, only to die shortly thereafter. His children were dispersed to other families to be raised. A sad story, I thought. All that effort to keep them together, only to have them raised by strangers.

Anyway, you must do yourself a favor and catch up on this series, if not already a fan.

And a great big thank you to the blogger who posted on Season Two.

VOG!

2012-01-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

My husband has a goofy job that finally allowed for vacation back in November. (His first for the year.) You may remember my posts during that time. Well, we are now back in Hawaii for his 2012 vacation. Only one month apart! Yes, two trips - one month apart.

Not only that, but just as we were leaving I started getting sick again - same thing - upper respiratory, etc. I was well just before Christmas when my darling grandson arrived with a temp of around 104. After a visit to the emergency room, he bounced back and had a nice Christmas. I, on the other hand, was a bit worried I hadn't regained enough immunities to fight off another virus. (Of course I could have caught something else while shopping, etc.)

It seems to be so - as I hit the emergency room the second day I arrived on Maui. This is my third visit in one year - all three times I have been sick with a virus. I wonder what that means? Is the Universe trying to tell me something about Maui? (My husband answers that question with a resounding NO, as if you haven't yet surmised - he loves Maui.)

Anyway, the worst part is the VOG! Yep, I was just starting to feel better and we're socked in with VOG. The water is clear, the weather is gorgeous, the Trade Winds are gentle. We have spied numerous sea turtles right off of our lanai. Perfect for having fun. Except we can barely see our hands in front of us. Okay, well maybe it's not that bad, but we can't see some of the neighboring islands that are usually clearly visible.

In Hawaii, the gas plumes of Kīlauea rise up from three locations: Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, Puʻu ʻŌʻō vent, and from along the coastline where lava flows from the East Rift zone enter the ocean. The plumes create a blanket of vog that can envelop the island. Vog mostly affects the Kona coast on the west side of the Island of Hawaiʻi, where the prevailing trade winds blow the vog to the southwest and southern winds then blow it north up the Kohala coast.

Prolonged periods of southerly Kona winds, however, can cause vog to affect the eastern side of the Island on rare occasions, and affect islands across the entire state as well.^[3] By the time the vog reaches other islands, the sulfur dioxide has largely dissipated, leaving behind ash, smoke, sulfates, and ammonia.^{[4] (Wikipedia)}

I know if you are currently under a foot of snow it's hard to feel sorry for me, but believe me when I say VOG is not good for a respiratory system that has been under attack. I never thought I would be praying for a huge gusting wind - but I am.

I hope you are all having a good start to your new year. I know many people are dealing with this same respiratory infection that seems to go on for months, but I hope it isn't you!

Ben's Story

2011-12-29T07:43:00.000-08:00

My first foray into the world of NDE's (near death experiences) came through such researchers as Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and Raymond Moody as early as the 1970's. Over the years there have been many books and many researchers who have all come to the same conclusion - we survive death with our "selves" intact. We are much more than we think we are - we are immortal beings - who have forgotten who we really are in order to do and learn what it is we came here to do and learn. After all, many of us would lose our courage to continue if we knew we were actually going home when we died.

And every once in a while someone comes back to tell their story and we are reminded, in our heart of hearts, that we have nothing to worry about.

Here is one young man's story - for all of you who may not have heard about him - he passed away a short time after making this U-Tube video. A big thank you to Trish MacGregor for sending me this link:

Rest in peace, Ben.

Thank you, Hilary!

Hooked

2011-12-28T19:30:00.000-08:00

I am currently hooked on the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Has anyone else read this trilogy? My older daughter read them all at once over just a few days.

Soon to be a major motion picture to be released in March, I think.

See you in a few...

Happy Holidays

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that I will have my family home for Christmas after all. I will be able to feed them from my own kitchen. It means catering to one that is vegetarian, one that is gluten free, one that loves beef, one that loves bacon and sausage, and one that is on a diet. I'm not sure what we'll be eating, but it should be interesting.

I'll be able to play with my grandson on Christmas morning and watch all of the excitement of Santa through the eyes of a four year old. If he is anything like his mother, he'll find it hard to get to sleep on Christmas Eve.

I have much to be grateful for this year, including our goofy tree with the angel that never seems to stand upright.

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy, holiday season. May all of your wishes come true.

Crop Circle Update

2011-12-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

Coast to Coast did an interview with Colin Andrews, the man responsible for coining the term "crop circles" some 30 years ago. Mr. Andrews was an electrical engineer that worked for the government in the UK who just happened to glance off and notice some crop circles on his way to work one day. It ended up changing the course of his life.

You could tell through the course of the interview that it was difficult for him to wrap his mind around the possible implications of what they might be early on in his investigations. Most of the engineers I know are very linear in their thinking. But, he stuck with it and as the crop circles became more and more numerous and complicated he came to some astounding conclusions.

First of all, he believes only 20% of the circles can truly be considered a mystery. But of those 20% that can be proven to be made by something we do not yet understand, he and other researchers have discovered some extremely interesting details. For instance:

The crop formations seem to be advancing in complexity as our understanding of them increases. In other words, some of them are actually responding to focused prayer and/or mediation. It is as if they are communicating with us. He uses a personal example to prove this point.
One crop formation actually refers to another date on the Mayan calendar that ends in 2033.
The designs themselves contain mathematical, astronomical, and things of a natural nature.
These designs may actually be coming from "a higher mind" or God. Or they could be ET in scope.
The date of 12/21/12 has a very rare astronomical alignment, which he discovered through a friend, (a former FBI anti-terrorist agent), who did not believe in crop circles being anything more than man made before doing a chart on this date. (Yes, this FBI agent also does astrology.) He fears there could be a nuclear incident between Iran and Israel.
There have been some unusual encounters with ET-type beings at some crop circles - including one with a police officer and three very tall beings that seemed to float and move in tandem. The police officer has continued to have very strange events occur since this encounter - one that included his wife.

Needless to say, I was fascinated. This man seems totally believable - mostly because he questions everything. One very curious incident happened in 1977. He said he was watching the news on television when the screen seemed to stop action and an odd voice hijacked the program for several minutes. The British network ITN has never been able to totally explain what happened next, mostly because it would have been very difficult to have been able to pull this off in 1977. It was recorded with much interference but the message seems timely. (Try to get past the cheesy introduction and music and just focus on the words - very strange!)

THRIVE

2011-12-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of years this site has discussed many issues. We've looked at how our police are becoming very militaristic, how evil corporations are using our food to genetically engineer seed that cannot reproduce, how a very small percentage of the population owns more than the vast majority, how the pharmaceutical companies are drugging our babies. But it hasn't been until now that I've watched something that put it all together and into perspective.

Most of us do not want to believe in conspiracy theories. We've been taught to laugh at them, to be very suspect of anything that requires secrecy as we've come to believe that it is impossible to keep everyone quiet. But when a few hold all of the cards that the rest of us use to get our information - it can be done.

While we were in Hawaii we visited an art gallery and proceeded to get into a deep discussion with its owner. He asked us if we had seen the movie Thrive, which we had not. He proceeded to tell us that we must watch it - that it was a movement and that most of his friends had not only watched the movie, but were actively using the website.

Well, I finally watched it today and I can honestly say it is very well done. I can see why most of the reviewers on Amazon gave it 5 stars. Not only does it link all the dots about how we've come to find our world in the place it is in, but gives solutions about how to get out of the seemingly impossible quicksand that we've found ourselves.

Our future depends on us waking up and seeing the world for what it is, but more importantly for what it could be. As Einstein reminds us - "we can't solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

This movie at least starts the conversation. You can rent it for $5 for 48 hours directly to your computer, or order the DVD from the Thrive site or Amazon.com. It comes in many languages - this is a world-wide phenomenon.

Bad Mercury Retro

2011-12-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

My friend, Trish MacGregor, has a website that is dedicated to the Omarr series of astrology books - which she writes. This last month has been a Mercury Retro, when Mercury appears to go backwards. She talks about what that means here.

Now, let me talk about what that has meant to me. Last year when we took our vacation to Hawaii we had our whole family there to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. A few days into the vacation, just as all the family was arriving - I got really sick. Seriously sick. I spent most of the vacation in bed as my family enjoyed island life. Mercury was retro for that trip.

This year, same thing. We arrived on Maui on the 16th and by Thanksgiving, I was in Urgent Care. Same illness - serious chest cold. Mercury went retro on the 23rd of November, one day before Thanksgiving. My husband ended up working the entire two weeks. Every day. If not for the view - we could have been at home.

Only this time, I have been sick for a month! The medications did absolutely nothing to hinder the progression of this illness. It steadily got worse. Until today. First day that Mercury went direct - and first day I woke up without coughing. Not much of a voice, but well enough, considering. Trish was right - as soon as Merc went direct, I would start feeling better. (Thanks DJan for the Throat Coat idea.)

But that's not all.

We lost Lilly on November 30th.

My daughter was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. My grandson with pneumonia.

To top it off, my mother-in-law fell and broke her hip last night. (The last day of the retro.) She will be 99 on the 18th. I don't have to spell out the gravity of this event. She either stays bedridden and in pain for the rest of her life - or they attempt a hip replacement. The latter is what she chose to do last night.

So the beautiful Christmas I've been planning all year will probably be different. The party for the 23rd has already been canceled, and we are thinking of driving to Portland to be near his mother for the holiday. The kids won't be skiing, and I won't be cooking wonderful meals in my kitchen with Christmas music and all of my beautiful decorations out of their boxes for the first time in several years. But that's the way things go sometimes. I have my health returning, and my family will be near me. Good enough.

You can bet on one thing - I will never take my vacation during a Mercury Retro again!

Wake Up Interview

2011-12-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

For all of you that watched the movie Wake Up, and might like to hear more about the documentary, Coast to Coast interviewed both Jonas and Steve Hutinksky on December 1st.

The interview was quite interesting as it's been awhile since the documentary was released. Oprah will be showing the film on her network, OWN, as well.

Here is the trailer to the movie if you don't know what I'm talking about:

The Militarization of our Police

2011-12-05T09:34:00.001-08:00

I have been very upset with the escalating violence with which our police are using on its citizens. Have any of you noticed that it appears more and more swat teams are being utilized for what used to be routine police business? That there seems to be an inordinate amount of brute force being used against ordinary citizens that are hardly a threat?

The Department of Education has its own swat team! In fact it raided a home in the middle of the night, rousing a man and his three daughters from bed at gun point because his ex-wife defaulted on student loans. The Department of Education said it was because of embezzlement and fraud. Embezzlement and fraud requires a swat team to terrorize a family in the middle of the night? The fact that his ex-wife hadn't lived there for over a year seemed to matter not.

A grandfather being thrown to the ground and knocked out in front of his grandson for allegedly stealing a video game? He denies stealing the game and said he merely stuck it in the band of his pants while grabbing his grandson to get him out of a Black Friday melee. He wasn't even followed to see if he was trying to leave the store with the item. I can't tell you how many times I've stuck something in my purse, or coat pocket while running after a toddler, only to take it out and pay for it at the check stand. Breaking this man's nose?

And then watching Anthony Bologna of NYPD pepper spray women who were defenseless and penned in by police tape. Or watching a peaceful group of college protesters get pepper sprayed for having a sit-in. Isn't that what our country is all about? Peaceful protest? Isn't that what separates us from all of those countries that are not free to do so??

Something is going on here. Something is not right.

Then we have the routinely used taser. Pregnant women have been tasered, children as young as six, the elderly, an out of control ten year old! People have been tasered at routine traffic stops, or for noncompliance with an officer. I guess if you have the audacity to ask any questions, you can be tasered. A 61-year old man was tasered and killed in North Carolina for not stopping on his bicycle. He had done nothing illegal. His wife said he probably didn't hear the command as he was hard of hearing.

Then there is the increasingly militaristic look to the police uniform. You routinely see the domestic cop dressed in camouflage, or a battle dress uniform, or full-on armour, toting an assault weapon for summits and protests. They drive tanks and military command centers. Then we have the law that is now before Congress that would allow the government to hold American citizens indefinitely, without a trial, if the government can accuse them of terrorism.

This is starting to feel very fascist.

Rest in Peace, Sweet Lilly

2011-12-02T09:58:00.001-08:00

Our little Lilly passed away on Tuesday after a long fight to get better. I first posted about her here, and then here, and lastly here.

The angels are happy to have her home.

David & The Law of One

2011-11-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

Here is an odd synchronicity.

Just as I was struggling with something in my personal life that has to do with forgiveness, I logged onto David Wilcock's website - Divine Cosmos. It just so happens I am in the middle of reading his new book The Source Field Investigations. But I am also in the middle of reading book one of The Law of One.

David just posted a 20-minute video pertaining to The Law of One, which was written in 1984. What are the odds?

Anyway, he talks about personal spirituality, divination through Tarot Cards, and the ultimate responsibility of humans on earth at this time - which is?

Forgiveness.

This supposedly frees us from the wheel of karma and reincarnation, by letting go of the guilt of the past, along with the fear of the future.

Our old traumas, usually early childhood traumas, are the hardest to work through, but give us the best chance of freedom from repetition. Once you have made a commitment to forgive the people who may have hurt you, even inadvertently, you can then remind yourself that you have already forgiven that person when a negative thought or emotion comes along to replay your hurt/anger/resentment, etc.

Negativity bias is when the brain automatically returns to a negative thought five times more often then a positive one. The only way to change that thought is to replace it with positive thoughts. In the case of forgiveness one can say - sorry - can't go there - I've already forgiven that person and myself and anyone else involved - time to move on.

I guess I was meant to hear this information tonight - just after a long-winded rant today on the very person I need to forgive.

You never know where the information you need might come from. I'm not sure that everything David talks about on his website is part of my own personal cosmology - but taking the information you need, when you need it, is part of trusting the Creator. Whether is is from a writer/website or a billboard on the side of the road - when you are open to synchronicity, you find magic.

Here is his video - maybe you were meant to drop by my blog for a reason...

We're Making A Difference!

2011-11-25T09:18:00.001-08:00

I've been getting updates on the petitions I've been signing. There is no doubt we're making a difference! Sometimes we look at these things and think - there is no way I, personally, can make any difference in this world. And maybe one person cannot make a difference with all of the atrocities - such as the dolphin massacre in Japan - but together, we can.

People are joining organizations all over the world. We are starting to organize in ways that is getting the attention of the powers that be. When hundreds of thousands, or millions, of signatures - complete with personal notes, show up on the desk of someone making the decision of whether or not to allow those boats out into the cove to kill dolphins - they know that what they are doing is getting world-wide attention. It is no longer a secret.

Random acts of caring is how we will change the world. By banding together and sending a message to the people who think they are acting in vacuum - we know who you are and we want this activity to stop. We are from all nations from around the world, and we are unified.

That is our message.

Care2 Petion Site - 17,000,000 and growing!
Avaaz.org - 10,000,000 and growing!
Oceana

Do you have one to add? Send me the link and I'll add it here!

The Revolution is Love

2011-11-22T22:45:00.001-08:00

I'm having a great time drinking lemongrass-ginger frosts and soaking up the sun, but came across the trailer for a new movie that is actually a movement, so I thought I would pass it along. I'm hoping to catch up with all of you next week, and hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

My heart goes out to the young people, all over the world, who are willing to put themselves on the line to bring about world-wide change. We can only hope the violence in Cairo will stop, and the police in the US will quit pepper spraying our children.

Fire!

2011-11-19T09:58:00.001-08:00

Nothing like leaving home to go on vacation and then learn that your city is on fire. I don't know if we are lucky or not to be 2,000 miles away from our home this week. We've been in constant contact with our house sitters on whether or not they will need to evacuate. Over 25 homes have burned in Reno over the last two days.

A strange fire. It has moved all over the place, picking out homes in very odd places, not just the ones close to where it started. High winds have made it difficult for fire fighters to get it under control. My heart goes out to all of those that were somehow the recipients of this fickle monster.

It's funny, but when you try to tell someone what they need to save - it really isn't much. I mean, we have a whole house full of stuff, but nothing of real value. The valuable stuff is already out of the house, I guess. When you get right down to it, the only thing that really matters are the living. So now that Lucy is safe, we can enjoy our view:

Time Well Spent

2011-11-15T13:42:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning feeling sick. My husband managed to pass along some kind of virus that seemed to only slow him down, but walloped me - as usual. My children always had that ability - a little runny nose and maybe a small cough for them, would grow horns for me. Since we are off to Hawaii tomorrow, I really needed to find a way to get better fast. Our flight is early and our house sitters would be coming by to get acclimated to the house and Lucy's schedule. (Yes, Lucy has babysitters - don't all Labs?)

So I found myself with time on my hands and needing something that would lift my spirits.

I found just the thing on Coast to Coast. For some of you that might be Coast to Coast listeners, the segment on Transformation and Life Purpose was one of the best segments I've listened to so far. I'm a member, so I can download any show and listen to it in my own time. Coast to Coast has plenty of negative and even some scary stories and guests on occasion, but the one on November 14th was truly delightful.

Jack Canfield, of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, has co-written a new book with William Gladstone that has just been released. The Golden Motorcycle Gang has gone on my Christmas gift list. Jack Canfield is an incredibly good speaker. He is very down to earth and easy to understand. His message is one of hope and joy, and I found myself feeling so much better after listening to them talk about what they believe is the true meaning of 2012 and what is currently going on with current events. They talked about how to use specific skills to manifest those things that we want to see in our lives, especially our life purpose. We are here right now for a reason, and we chose this time for a reason. Every single person on this planet is important to what is happening - and I believe we are birthing a new evolution of mankind. I think that is what the Mayans are saying - it is the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. And we are driving it home.

People actually called the show and were crying, they were so touched by the dialog.

Just from listening to these guys speak for a couple of hours I feel that I am doing what I came here to do. I think I came here to write this blog, for one thing - maybe to be someone that points people in directions they may not have considered, giving them the ability to make up their own minds. Maybe to do the research that they may not have time to do. To possibly write a book, maybe on shared-resources living. To be of service - in whatever small way that I can.

So what do you think? Am I on the right track?

Have you found your life purpose? (Hint - it is whatever brings you the most joy.)

ADDENDUM: My brother called during the writing of this post to say that the business he decided to start, after quitting a good-paying job in this job market, is taking off like wild fire. He said for the first time in many, many, years he is having FUN!

Social Media

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Many of you may have noticed that I no longer have a blog roll with all of your blogs on my sidebar. It is something that I miss - it is so easy to keep up when you update your blog with a new post, and I have fallen behind by not having this convenience. However, this was an intentional move to protect my readers. When writers Trish and Rob MacGregor were hacked several months back, a few of their blogging friends were also hacked. It was nasty - they hacked their email accounts, ruined a computer, literally made their lives miserable.

I closed my blog - totally eliminated it, and started a new one which I kept personal until it was clear I was not a target. But I began to worry about my readers. If for some reason I attracted a bad element - I didn't want my readers to also be pulled into the mess. Lucky for me, that has not happened. But for many, social media is becoming intrusive and worrisome.

This article about a mother who found her children were being used in an unauthorized manner makes the case for being very careful about what information you give to social media sites, and especially if you link them. In this case a mother found her children being used on one site, without them ever signing on to that site, just from them being a friend on her Facebook, and leaving a message on her Wall.

This is scary. The idea that information can be swiped and used throughout the internet is of major concern.

So be aware that when you sign on to your blog, twitter, Facebook, etc., that everything you write is public domain - even your children.

Occupy With Aloha

2011-11-13T21:33:00.001-08:00

Photo courtesy of Yes Lab

For many of us who are becoming uneasy with some of the problems associated with Occupy Wall Street, the rapes, the degradation of community parks, the shootings, the fear that it will become a haven for some of society's most violent, what we are most uneasy about is the possibility that the message will be lost. The message - that 99% of our population has been forgotten, left out of the American Dream, while the other .09% has amassed the majority of the wealth of our great nation. That Wall Street used banks like casinos and we are left with the carnage of their greed, an economy on the brink of destruction. What is left for the rest of us is massive debt and jobs that are no longer in our country, but in foreign nations that do not have laws protecting the rights of their workers, thus enabling them to sell us their cheap products, while we borrow from those same countries to pay our teachers and fireman.

Our politicians very often come out of Washington much more wealthy than they were when they took their vows to honor the will of the American people. They often do this with inside information that the rest of the country does not have access to - just as Nancy Pelosi and her husband did with a credit card company. Soft corruption, honest graft. Insider trading in the stock market. Writing the rules so that they do not apply to themselves! Taking information learned in committee meetings and using it to make stock market trades. The rest of us go to prison for doing many of the things our politicians routinely do to line their pockets.

So when I found this post on Synchrosecrets, I asked Trish and Rob if I could repost it in its entirety. Here is one man's very brave stand for the other 99%.

WE ARE THE MANY, NOT THE FEW

Here’s an interesting twist in the Occupy movement.

Hawaiian recording artist Makana was supposed to play a luau Saturday night – November 12 – at Waikiki Beach for leaders at an annual summit that is putting together plans for a Pacific free-trade pact. The Obamas and leaders of 21 economies from the Asia Pacific were present. Among the attendees were Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Security was apparently tight.

So there they are, these leaders, doing whatever leaders do at a private shindig on Waikiki Beach, and the young man who is supposed to play for the Hawaiian feast opens his jacket to reveal a t-shirt that reads, Occupy for Aloha. The five-minute song in the video is what he sang repeatedly for forty minutes. Here’s the refrain I love:

“We’ll occupy the streets, we’ll occupy the courts, we’ll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few.”

Ripping Off The Masks

2011-11-12T13:43:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before in this space of my belief that we are part of something sweeping the world. One of the outcomes of this new energy is that masks that shroud and camouflage are being ripped away at lightening speed. In the last week alone I've read of a high ranking CDC scientist being arrested for bestiality and child sexual abuse, the horrific Penn State scandal with a coach that put football above the protection of children, and of a documentary made in the mid 1990's that was squashed before it could be viewed on Discovery Channel. All known copies were purchased and destroyed by an unknown entity. The film exposed the organized abuse of children through Boys Town - and was another case of people in the highest echelons of business and government hiding evil proclivities and abusing children that are most vulnerable.

Each day we read about wannabe-be politicians who have sexually harassed women and lie to cover it up, corporate executives that have the highest of incomes cheating their companies and their employees, Ponzi schemes, greedy bankers using the public trust like a casino, priests that abuse young boys being protected by those in power above them. The list goes on and on.

What is happening here?

It's time for humanity to clean up its act. And those that are practicing evil had better watch out, because they are no longer operating in the same system that has protected them for so long.

So each time you hear of a mask being ripped from the face of someone who deserves to be exposed - don't despair in humanity - let out a cheer instead. It's bringing us that much closer to a world that no longer tolerates these activities, or the people that perpetrate them.

Planting the Seeds

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Dr. Kashonia has done a great post on planting the seeds for our future at this sacred time. She says the energy or force is with us over the next few days. In another post she talks about this special date, and what is believed to be happening to our DNA, among other things.

So start thinking about your future. Now is the time to plant the seeds that will grow.

I am continuing to work on my shared-resources communities - in fact I hope to visit one or two in the next year. At least that's my goal. (Thanks for your comment yesterday, Chris!)

Here is one idea that I just loved - a whole apartment building in Berlin of like-minded people. The price for these ten apartments came out to just $146,000 per space. Granted, some of the apartments may be bigger than others, so those would be more expensive, but still - much less than your average condo would cost almost anywhere. The designer said he cannot imagine living any other way. Being able to ring a doorbell, have communal parties, feeling completely safe, made his vision a success.

As mentioned in my last post, my family is exploring business ideas. One daughter is designing the teacher she wants to be, while finishing up graduate work. She will be teaching junior high school-level students, and thinks of them as her little "peaches." I love that, since adolescents are near and dear to my heart as well. Our educational system needs an overhaul - I applaud her desire to be the best she can be.

We are attending a wedding today for some very dear friends who will get married at 11:00 a.m. on 11-11-11 - all without ever paying attention to the date or time! I guess they don't believe in the cosmic prompt.

But for those of us who do believe in the unseen - this date is powerful, so whatever dreams you have, bring them out, dust them off, and lets see what happens. If nothing else, do something today that you enjoy, that makes you happy, and above all - be positive. We live a shared dream, a hologame of sorts, and for everyone that is thinking good thoughts - the rest benefit. Magnify the energy! We can use all the good you can muster.

Entrepreneurship

2011-11-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

Our family is currently exploring the idea of starting a couple of different businesses. Several ideas are being floated, and nothing is firm yet, but the energy is flowing and ideas are popping.

We come into this with a variety of skills and experience in a number of fields - finance, research, investor relations, accounting, management, computer modeling, experience with start-ups, resource development, alternative energy, human development, psychology, human relations, marketing, teaching, cooking, writing.

Surely we can create a business opportunity, don't you think?

If fact, I would bet that you have family and/or friends that come with a variety of skill sets that create something completely different when you put them all together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I would also bet that same set of family/friends have some great ideas - just simmering on the back burner.

New ideas, new businesses, fresh starts. I think we're going to have create our own opportunities in the future. Maybe we can do it the way it should be done - with mindfullness, gratitude, and environmental awareness.

Chemtrails

2011-11-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

I have been following a rather disturbing story for awhile now. Chemical trails are not what we think they are - they are not just contrails from airplanes flying at high altitudes. Needless to say, this is deeply disturbing information - especially because it is being done in secret. CMN has been on this story for some time, and as the mother of an asthmatic daughter, I find this information chilling.

The island of Maui is trying to detour all airplanes from flying over the island because the organic produce being grown on the island is no longer organic.

The following video is short - only 10 minutes - and is one that everyone should watch. It's time to wake up to what is going on around us, and more importantly, to us.

Jade

2011-11-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

I do not care for most precious stones. I wear a simple gold wedding band, eschewing an engagement ring offered, oh so many years ago, and instead look for rocks like some women look for the perfect diamond.

I have moonstone, turquoise, rose agate, moldevite, ammolite, Mexican fire opal, and many more that are basically just rocks. Most of my jewelry is under $500.00. Not a collection that is bound for Southeby's when I die.

My current passion is jade. But when I started researching this stone I found that it can be incredibly expensive, especially for very green pieces with very little occlusions. Jade is actually two different stones - jadeite and nephrite - with jadeite being the most valued. Most gem quality stones are Jadeite Burmese Jade, and the finest are Imperial green Jade. The value of jadeite depends on its degree of transparency and color. The most desired have intensive, even color, honey-like transparency, watery luster, translucency, even texture, and a pure vivid root-like structure.

An understanding of jade should not limited to its technical aspects, however. Jade has as much to do with feeling as gem quality. The people of the Orient have developed an appreciation of the stone beyond anywhere else in the world, desiring it above all others - including gold and ivory. "Gold has value; jade is beyond value." Adding to the inscrutable nature of this precious stone is the knowledge that is locked away in arcane, non-Roman alphabet texts, adding to the mystery. The ancient Chinese believed that jade was a link between the physical and spiritual worlds - The Stone of Heaven - embodying both the yin and yang qualities of Heaven and Earth. Since it is a non-conductor, it feels cool to the touch. This coolness is said to elevate and purify one's thoughts, quieting the mind and inducing a state of contemplation. They also believed powdered jade taken internally, in the right dosage, could cure any ailment. That it could ward off bad luck and misfortune, creating greater health and mentality.

And what about the more modern mystical qualities often attributed to jade?

It is said to help one to attain goals and dreams, identifying limitations so that you might manifest ideas into the physical world, promoting courage, compassion, justice, generosity, humility, wealth and longevity, allowing one to lead a richer and more fulfilling life.

But for me, the most important aspect of jade is that it is a stone of the heart. Related to the fourth, or Heart Chakra (which is the color green), it is said to be beneficial to all related issues. Which is why I would love to have one hanging right on that place around my neck.

What about you? Do you have a stone that you would like to have? Do you want to wear it or look at it? Why do you want that specific stone or jewel?

Prince Charles - The Deep Thinker

2011-11-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Regina, at CMN, has written about Prince Charles's new book - Harmony and the Prince - and I realized how deep, and profoundly spiritual this man can be. He gives practical advice of how to live in harmony with our environment, and many other thoughts about how to see the world and its leaders differently. It has been literally ignored in the UK press, evidently, and most people that she asked did not even know about it.

Of course it's going on my lengthy Amazon book list. Anyone with ideas about how to do things differently is worth my time. It has also been made into a film, and was a documentary on NBC last November. Here is the trailer:

Prince Charles - really? Who knew? But as Regina suggests - never judge a book by its cover.

Earthquake

2011-10-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've felt an earthquake. But last night changed all that. We stayed here, at Lake Tahoe, in order to do so some winterizing, cover the patio furniture, meet with the furnace man to have the furnace serviced, etc.

Sometime after going to bed I felt the bed shaking - I grabbed my husband, thinking he was having some kind of seizure, (although he has never had one), or thought maybe the dog was doing it somehow. It was a pretty good shake. My husband appeared to be fine so I didn't think anything more of it when this morning he mentioned not seeing anything in the news about the earthquake last night. Earthquake? Is that what all the shaking was about?

Living in Reno, we're used to tremblers. I've felt quakes that literally rocked the furniture, but it hasn't happened in many years. We know that earthquakes have been swarming in recent months. I read that there were over 150 small ones right under our house. But we've never felt one at Lake Tahoe. It reminds me of this post on Mountain Tsunamis. They are possible here in the mountains, reminding me to make sure that our emergency plan takes into account that we spend a great deal of time here.

Most of us live in areas that have some kind of danger, lets face it. If Washington DC, and New York City can have an earthquake, despite being in an area of low seismic activity, then they can happen anywhere. Even if you're not sitting on a fault line, you are still residing on the earth's crust, and there is movement going on right underneath.

It reminds me to be thankful, once again, for each day, each minute, each blessing. This warm little house is a gift, and so many are without such luxury. My thoughts are with those in Turkey right now, those who were not so lucky as to just have had their bed shake.

Update: It was a 4.7 located 35 miles west of Reno.

Events

2011-10-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

Whether you are a believer or not, it's obvious the world is amassing some major events. It has been a wild week - especially for Libya, Turkey (earthquake), Thailand (flooding), and of course, here in America with the GOP debates. (Always entertaining in a sad sort of way.) Not to mention Occupy "Everywhere." (I think the sleeping masses are beginning to stir.) We also have a hurricane building as we speak.

So here are a few things I have my eye on:

We have a new moon in Scorpio on the 26th - which is supposed to be great for new beginnings. Or in my case new partnerships. You can read all about that here, and find out what that might mean for you.

The end of the Mayan calendar ends on Friday, if Dr. Calleman is correct, as his date is different from December 21, 2012. You can read about that here.

We have 11-11-11 coming up just around the corner and the Mayan elders have revealed some new information. They have always kept their traditions within their inner circles, but have now been instructed to perform all of their ceremonies in public. The Ceremony of The Thirteen Skulls was last performed 26,000 years ago. They will be traveling with the thirteen Crystal Skulls from New York to Los Angeles for the end ceremony on 11-11-11, with several stops along the way. You can read all about that here, just in case you are like me and had no idea what the Crystal Skulls are all about. Now I wish I was available to watch a ceremony - maybe in Sedona.

Dr. Kashonia has done an in-depth analysis on geomagnetic and total pole reversals, and how they may tie in with 2012 prophecy. You can read about that here, just in case that has been a concern of yours. As you can see - she has been busy. I always like her research because she uses a variety of sources and utilizes critical thinking in her analyses.

We had a major solar flare yesterday, compressing Earth's magnetic field, you can read about that here.

With all that's going on in the world right now, I guess it's time to relax, think good thoughts, make sure you are prepared in case of an emergency, and then hang on, because this roller coaster seems to be picking up speed.

Generational Thinking

2011-10-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Native American populations often looked nine generations ahead in their planning. In the following short video we see how this can be done with a structure that is not only strong but natural. A living bridge! If only we could see that our children are living bridges that connect us to the future. If only our leaders could see beyond the next election. If only our corporations could see beyond the next quarterly report...

The True Seat of Consciousness

2011-10-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

(Alex Grey artwork)

I was recently asked - what is going on in the world? What is happening to people that they seem so out of control and negative? Why are they so unhappy?

The question can be answered with one word - fear. People feel the changes happening in our world and without understanding what those changes might mean, they become fearful that it will mean loss. Loss of everything they have held dear - a way of life, job, house, car, money, security, health.

Their fear is not unfounded. Many people are facing loss. So how do we step outside of fear of loss? After all, everyone will experience it at some point.

I believe the only way to step back from fear is to learn to live from the heart, side stepping the mind - which is where fear lives, learning to live from the true seat of consciousness, which is the heart. (Remember - we grow out of a heart, not a brain.) This is not the sentimental heart in which we are familiar - soft, weak, reactive, feminine, sympathetic, needful. On the contrary, the heart of which I am speaking is empowered by the Creator. It is the vibrational point of equality, the original awareness - the place where individuality and Oneness occurs. It possesses uncommon intelligence, resilience, with the ability to flow and adapt. It is empowered, and is capable of unending compassion and love. This distinction is important.

So how do we access this heart?

First, we must have behavioral intelligence.

The first step is to have humility. Recognizing that we are no better or higher than any other human being. We were all created equal, and in that realization, everything changes.

Learn appreciation. Appreciation begins with recognizing the small things in life that make it full and abundant. That doesn't mean money or prestige, but appreciation of clean water, food, the air we breathe or the birds singing in the tree. It is the recognition of life itself. It is being mindful. Contentment with the mundane.

Practice compassion. Most of us are doing the best we can, although it doesn't always seem so. The best way to avoid being judgemental is to bless the person, place, or thing. It shifts the mind from negative to positive, and keeps you heart-centered.

Forgiveness and Understanding. Sometimes easier said than done. These two take practice. But when we learn to put ourselves in other people's shoes, we get a better understanding of where they may be coming from - which makes it easier to forgive.

And last but not least, we must be valiant in our efforts to do the right thing. Asking ourselves if it is the right thing to do - not always the easiest, or most gratifying, but the right thing can lead to the heart of a lion. Strong and fearless.

(Adapted from James the Wingmaker teachings. For more information go here.)

Secret History of the Global Collapse

2011-10-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how the global financial collapse actually happened? Who exactly are the people behind the scenes? I found this documentary on CMN, and from my personal research - this is how it went down.

With the world coming together and looking at solving these problems, it's a good idea to know the specifics of how it happened - so we can make sure it never happens again. We are lucky enough to be part of something really big. The stunned masses are beginning to stir, and history is being created. It won't happen overnight - but we outnumber the people who have run the show up until now. It's our turn.

Synchrosecrets did a wonderful post today on Indra's Net and how it relates to the Occupy Wall Street movement that is sweeping the world as we speak. One of the people commenting posted "Nine Commandments" that the Occupiers in London are using as their demands (at least some of them). I think they are perfect. What do you think?

1. The current system is unsustainable. It is undemocratic and unjust. We need alternatives; this is where we work towards them.

2. We are of all ethnicities, backgrounds, genders, generations, sexualities dis/abilities and faiths. We stand together with occupations all over the world.

3. We refuse to pay for the banks’ crisis.

4. We do not accept the cuts as either necessary or inevitable. We demand an end to global tax injustice and our democracy representing corporations instead of the people.

5. We want regulators to be genuinely independent of the industries they regulate.

6. We support the strike on the 30th November and the student action on the 9th November, and actions to defend our health services, welfare, education and employment, and to stop wars and arms dealing.

7. We want structural change towards authentic global equality. The world’s resources must go towards caring for people and the planet, not the military, corporate profits or the rich.

8. We stand in solidarity with the global oppressed and we call for an end to the actions of our government and others in causing this oppression.

9. This is what democracy looks like. Come and join us!

Living Fearlessly

2011-10-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

Easier said than done. We are supposed to fear everything these days. The latest fear to hit our house is the vitamin scare. My husband, never a vitamin proponent, thinks I should fear my vitamins. After all, there is a new study somewhere that says vitamins may cause cancer. Well, I think fearing vitamins causing cancer, actually causes the cancer. Instead, I tell him, the pharmaceutical companies actually want to get a bill passed that would outlaw over-the-counter vitamins and require that we have to go to a doctor and get a Rx for our vitamins. Who do you suppose wins with that scenario?

We are being inundated with fear porn. I can't think of anything I'm just supposed to enjoy. So I'm consciously trying to shift my awareness to enjoying absolutely everything I can. If it's an icy cold Maker's Mark Manhattan served at our favorite restaurant, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy it! I know I'm not supposed to drink colored spirits, they're supposed to be bad for you, but I'm choosing instead to focus on what it is I like about that perfectly prepared luxury.

So when I came across this interview, I knew I was getting reinforcement that I'm heading in the right direction. It's time to live fearlessly. As Steve Jobs reminded us in his speech at Stanford University - "you have nothing to lose - you're already naked."

Can You Hear Us Now?

2011-10-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

Dr. Kashonia from Australia has posted on Occupy Wallstreet and the worldwide effects she sees coming. She's posted several videos and does a good job explaining some of the organizations involved. Here is a song that I think speaks to many of us:

Our Little Angel

2011-10-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

You may remember my posts here and here about my great niece, Lilly. She is a very special little girl. She is fighting the fight of her life right now and needs your prayers and positive energy. Please take a moment in your day and send her love and light. We know it makes a difference.

She came off the respirator today, but is still in ICU, so it is still touch and go, minute by minute. Her heart stopped earlier this week, and her mother literally saved her life.

If you can help by becoming a bone-marrow donor, or have a few dollars to send her single mother, here is the website for Team Lillian.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it.

Thank you to Hilary for Post Of The Week:

The Winds of Change

2011-10-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

For anyone who is still in the dark about Occupy Wall Street, or the Arab Spring, here is a great article. This man took many of my thoughts and organized them into a thoughtful and substantive essay. We are in a time of correction. The world is wildly out of balance. We're literally killing ourselves and our planet, and now we need to try and fix it.

We're never going back to an economy driven by insatiable appetites for stuff bought with debt. We're over that. It's time for our economists to start thinking of a new paradigm. We're the 99%'ers, and even if we're doing okay in this economy, all we have to do is look around to confirm the inequity. We're at the end of a monetary system that excludes 99% of its population. One that indebts its children for years, just for an education. Or takes the elderly person's home to pay for healthcare. Our systems are failing us.

Time for our politicians to hop on board, or move aside. After all, they're supposed to be working for us - not the next big corporate donor.

A new wind is blowing. It is the wind of change, and it will not be stopped. It's time to start designing a new world based on unity and fairness, one that supersedes borders and boundaries, having nothing to do with religion, race, culture, or color. Where all people, everywhere, are important and matter. A world that is grateful,appreciative, and respectful of its home planet. Nothing less will do.

So, put on your thinking cap. I think we're going to need it.

Digital Zombies

2011-10-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

Are we becoming desensitized humans because of our attachments to digital outlets? Do we think that because we are so connected digitally that we have no need to be connected in other ways?

Two things have brought this to my attention. The other day my daughter was riding her bike in Portland when she swerved to avoid a construction site that had spilled out into the street, causing her to crash and hurt herself on train tracks. What was so unusual was that there was a man standing three feet from her putting coins in a meter and he didn't even look up. The construction guys laughed and didn't help her up in any way, nor did they ask her if she was alright as she limped by.

The second incident involved a family member willing to cut off two siblings over a slight that was mostly imagined on her part - certainly not something that was intentional on the part of the two siblings.

What is happening here? My daughter feels the men that watched her crash are digitally desensitized. They watch things crash and get hurt through video games, television shows, etc, and it requires a passive response. Have our brains been rewired to not respond when something is happening in real time? Do family members not feel a connection to other family members because their lives are so full of being busy that people that care about them no longer matter?

Our minds are funny things - they tend to gravitate to what is familiar - regardless of whether it is the right thing to do. If passive or irritated reactions to a world that is picking up speed is the accustomed response, then that's where it will go automatically.

For my part, I've noticed a need to disconnect from my blog a bit because of this very issue. Instead of making an effort with friends, it was much easier to communicate on my blog. Admittedly, my blogging friends tend to think more like myself, but that should not stop me from committing time and energy to enjoying others - despite our increasing differences. We learn from differences. We learn tolerance, we learn to care about others besides ourselves, and we learn that flesh and blood hurts when it falls.

Gratitude

2011-09-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Do yourself a favor and find a quiet ten minutes to view this little film. I'm posting the address so you can open your computer to full screen. Enjoy!

TedXSF

Yes!

2011-09-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Warren for President!

This is so strange!

2011-09-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this monument? It is so strange! It is located in northeastern Georgia and appears to be a post-apocalyptic set of instructions. No one knows who commissioned the object, or why, but it also flawlessly tracks the sun. You can read about it here.

It looks a little like Stonehenge.

Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Biology

2011-09-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

I think Dr. Bruce Lipton is one of the true geniuses of our time. He has the ability to take complex material and make it easy to understand. I have his book, Biology of Belief , on my I-Pad but have not read it, as yet. However, I found this interview with Lilou where he talks about the body's ability to change spontaneously. We are literally so powerful that we are able to change our genetics by changing our thoughts.

He also discusses the reason so many of us are incapable of changing the things in our lives that we would like to change - because we are running our subconscious about 95% of the time - which was programmed by the time we were six. We literally run on about 5% of our consciousness that we program. He believes we are not victims of anything more than our belief.

I found so many things about this talk interesting - not the least of which is his view, again through the study of science, that we are actually in heaven, not hell. We are here to experience what it feels like to taste chocolate, to fall in love, to feel heartbreak, to know what it is like to feel happiness. In other words, we are an expression of the Divine Source, (God), experiencing what it feels like to feel.

The media has not jumped on this idea because it goes against the corporate desire to have us doing what they want us to do. If we believe we are in control of our health, why would we buy all those pharmaceuticals, for instance?

This hour is well worth your time.

The Scary Drum

2011-08-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about taking a course that requires a drum, so when I found this one at the Farmer's Market the other day I jumped on it. It was made by a Native American from New Mexico who sets up a booth here at Lake Tahoe during the summer. This booth has beautiful, authentic items, made by the lady and her husband. Anyway, as soon as I got it home I tried it out. This activity absolutely freaked Lucy out ! She not only ran up the stairs, but would not even enter the room that held the drum --- all day! Occasionally she would peek around the corner, but refused to be in the same room as the offending instrument.

Have I mentioned that my dog is neurotic?

On another note, I've decided to take a break from blogging. I'm hoping it will inspire me to finish up a writing project. I will be dropping by and visiting you, however. And I will occassionally post when I feel a topic is interesting or important.

I'm in a funny mood these days. I'm not quite sure what is happening, but it appears other bloggers are feeling the same way as I've noticed several of you are thinking about a blogging break. Is it the Dog Days of Summer or something more? I guess only time will tell. Take care dear blogging friends.

New Favorite Drink

2011-08-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite summer drink - non-alcoholic that is...

Handful of fresh basil
Sliced lemons
Sliced cucumbers

Stick it in the fridge, and drink cold. It is not only refreshing, pretty, but a natural diuretic.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Bright Neighbor

2011-08-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

CMN had this little video on a community farming project. I had to laugh because as I was watching it I realized it was in Portland (OR) - which is where our girls live, and home to a very forward-thinking group mentality. The clip includes ideas on how to start an urban shared-resources community, which you know is near and dear to my heart. The young man's enthusiasm is contagious. I love the hoot he lets out at the end. :-)

I'm also working with a friend on this type of community for women who are trying to kick addiction and take care of their children. It is only in the ideas stage, but I'm excited about the possibilities.

Sharing resources is going to be something we take very seriously in the future. We need to find a way to feed, shelter, and employ people in a way that utilizes our innate skills. Some people love to cook, some love to garden, some love children and are good care-providers, some are good at fixing things. All of these skills are valuable in a shared-resources community.

In his new book, Someplace Like America: Tales From The New Great Depression, writer Dale Maharidge, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and professor at Columbia University, writes:

One thing I’ve discovered in all these years of hearing Americans talk about their lives and dreams is that collectively we are strong. We are survivors. We emerged from hard times in the 1930s. We will do so again and will begin the long process of rebuilding an economy that works for everyone, but this can happen only if we relearn some lessons about caring for and relying on one another. And relearn we will, for we have no other choice.

The reality is that we're on our own. We cannot look to government to fix these problems because our elected officials are nothing more than a function of the money flowing in to Washington, which is not coming from people out of work, destitute, and homeless.

But one thing we do have is each other. And we have American ingenuity, a strong work ethic, and the ability to reinvent ourselves. So don't count us out just yet.

For more on Bright Neighbor go here.

The Rating Agencies

2011-08-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

It seems Moody's and Standard & Poor's are getting a bit of their own medicine. I find it ironic that these two rating agencies are getting some kickback. After all, the banks could not have hidden weapons of mass destruction in their bundles of derivatives had the rating agencies been doing their job.

S&P has one of the worst records for incompetence - they also do not have arms-length relationships with corporations. They give great ratings to private debt and low ratings to public debt. Not to mention sterling ratings for companies that are actually Ponzi schemes (think Maddoff.) In other words - they are putting a nail in the coffin they helped create.

Big sigh.

Is it too early for a drink? No you say - Monday morning is too early for a drink!

How about if I have it with fruit?

Wake Up

2011-08-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

I found this clip on CMN and promptly rented the film to watch on my computer. It is a documentary about one man's reluctant realization that life is not what it appears to be. Especially for him.

I was fascinated by the film. I highly recommend it. You can rent it here, or on I-Tunes.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

ALERT: The You Tube film that pops up after this clip is NOT the movie that you see here. You do have to rent this movie.

Electric Universe & Space Weather

2011-08-03T06:14:00.000-07:00

I found an excellent article at Reality Sandwich by Rak Raszam regarding space weather and how it may be affecting us metaphysically. The interview with Susan Joy Rennison, a physics and geophysics lecturer, and author of the book Tuning the Diamonds: Electromagnetism and Spiritual Evolution, referenced some amazing new discoveries in astrophysics. She believes we are being bombarded by energy from the sun and other cosmic sources on a grand scale.

At a time when our electromagnetic shields are disappearing, a cosmic "cloud" is entering our solar system. Is this the reason NASA recently came out publicly to their employees and their families to make preparations for a possible emergency? FEMA is planning a nationwide test on all systems on November 9th - one day after a somewhat close encounter with asteroid YU55, traveling between the earth and the moon on November 8th & 9th. (You can read more about this event here.) Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

Other topics:

A discussion on the theory of an "electric Universe," plasma, and possibly intelligent plasma beings!
Space weather, charged particles, a weakening electromagnetic field, and what that may mean to us and our power grid in the event of solar flares. The Obama administration has contacted the metaphysical community to get their input, as a matter of fact.
Cataclysmic events driven by changes in the celestial environment. Astrology is taking on a new status...
Changes happening so fast that NASA has admitted that they cannot keep up with them.
How Mayan Elders may have actually known about these changes because they are part of a natural cycle of events occuring every 26,000 years.
The solar wind, which actually protects the earth from galactic cosmic rays is flagging; NASA is charged with communicating this information to the public, but releases it just two weeks before Christmas - when most people are not paying attention.
A quote by Dr. McComas, principal investigator on NASA's IBEX mission who states: "These discoveries about the outer fringe of our solar system come at a time when new NASA revelations have piled up so fast and so frequently that our paradigm is completely changing again and again without the general public even really being aware. [...] It's a whole new ball game in space."
There are specific places where energy concentrates in geometric patterns all over the planet. Could these be portals or vortexes? Energy orbs are often seen around these sites, as are UFOs. These orbs are also seen around crop circles.

The entire article was a good read.

If you are interested in this topic, Dr. Kashonia is hosting a free teleseminar with Wallace Thornhill - a leader in the field of the "Electric Universe," on August 8th.

A Silent Army

2011-08-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

I found this on James Redfield's (The Celestine Prophecy & The Twelfth Insight) website:

A SPIRITUAL CONSPIRACY

On the surface of the world right now there is a war and violence and things seem dark.

But calmly and quietly, at the same time, something else is happening underground.

An inner revolution is taking place and certain individuals are being called to a higher light. It is a silent revolution. From the inside out. From the ground up. This is a Global operation ... A spiritual conspiracy.

Thee are sleeper cells in every nation on the planet. You won't see us on the TV. You won't read about us in the newspaper. You won't hear about us on the radio. We don't seek any glory. We don't wear any uniform. We come in all shapes and sizes, colors and styles.

Most of us work anonymously. We are quietly working behind the scenes in every country and culture of the world. Cities big and small, mountains and valleys, in farms and villages, tribes and remote islands. We go undercover. We remain behind the scenes. It is of no concern to us who takes the final credit. But simply that the work gets done.

Occasionally we spot each other in the street. We give a quiet nod and continue on our way. During the day many of us pretend we have normal jobs. But behind the false storefront at night is where the real work takes place. Some call us the 'Conscious Army'. We are slowly creating a new world with the power of our minds and hearts. We follow, with passion and joy. Our orders are from the Central Spiritual Intelligence. We are dropping soft, secret love bombs when no one is looking.

Poems - Hugs - Music - Photography - Movies - Kind words - Smiles - Meditation and prayer - Dance - Social activism - Websites - Blogs - Random acts of kindness

We each express ourselves in our own unique ways with our own unique gifts and talents. 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' That is the motto that fills our hearts. We know it is the only way real transformation takes place. We know that quietly and humbly we have the power of all the oceans combined.

Our work is slow and meticulous. Like the formation of mountains. It is not even visible at first glance. And yet with it entire tectonic plates shall be moved in the centuries to come.

Love is the new religion of the 21st century. You don't have to be a highly educated person. Or have any exceptional knowledge to understand it. It comes from the intelligence of the heart. Embedded in the timeless evolutionary pulse of all human beings.

Be the change you want to see in the world. Nobody else can do it for you.

We are now recruiting. Perhaps you will join us. Or already have ...All are welcome...The door is open.

Author Unknown

The Sky is Falling!

2011-07-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does all the posturing and drama in Washington just feel a little like theater? There is all the fear that they make sure everyone is feeling - similar to having to buy the banks out or the world would come tumbling down. And then at the last minute they will make the deal hoping they look like avenging heroes saving the world. In the end the only one that will feel the pain is the taxpayer.

Two years after the bank bailout and it is business as usual for the banks, Wall Street, and the politicians.

I'll think I'll pass on this particular Chicken Little scenario and pour myself a little glass of wine, put my feet up, and let them battle it out. I've decided that getting all riled up is just bad for my health and does nothing to change anything in the end.

Cheers!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Staycation

2011-07-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

We're on a staycation this week. Instead of traveling someplace, we have opted to stay home. Luckily we live where many people travel to vacation anyway, so why not just stay home and do what the tourists do? From the picture you can see my husband is not doing anything too rambunctious and my daughter and grandson are happy to soak up the sun after a very cool Pacific Northwest winter. (This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago - but you get the picture...)

Staycations have many advantages:

No X-rays or pat downs by creepy TSA agents.
You can bank the money you save.
You know where the best hamburger for the price is located.
You are comfortable in bed - no need to haul your pillow everywhere you go.
You've already located the best beach.
Going out for a really nice dinner is okay when that is all you're spending for the week.
You have all the right clothes in your closet. Nothing is forgotten.

Now, I realize it doesn't take the place of an exciting two weeks somewhere wonderful, but the way things are going in the world right now, home feels pretty good to me.

Oh, and you can take your dog!

What about you? What are your vacation plans?

The Trickster & Dog Poo

2011-07-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

You may remember me mentioning coyotes and how I keep seeing them hanging around where we live. It is not unusual at certain times of the year to hear them literally in our backyard. It drives Lucy crazy, especially when they find prey and all start yelping at once.

You may also remember me mentioning that I ordered a set of Medicine Cards. Here is an excerpt on the coyote:

"There are thousands of myths and stories about Coyote, the great trickster. Many Native cultures call Coyote the "Medicine Dog." If you have pulled the card, you can be sure that some kind of medicine is on its way - and it may or may not be to your liking. Whatever the medicine is, good or bad, you can be sure it will make you laugh, maybe even painfully. You can be sure that Coyote will teach you a lesson about yourself."

We've been spending plenty of time at Lake Tahoe this summer. It cuts down on the use of air conditioning in Reno, as most places at the Lake don't even have air conditioning, and it adds only an extra 20 minutes to my husband's commute time. I have a perch in my bedroom where I can view the creek, and all that is going on behind the condo. The other day a coyote came loping by, heading upstream. He was all by himself and being home alone, I was the only one to see him.

So now is probably the time to admit to one of my idiosyncrasies. I have a tendency to blame others when I can't find something. I know, I know, not an admirable trait.

Anyway, since seeing the coyote loping by, I have lost two sets of glasses. One set were reading glasses and they just disappeared! I was using them one minute, and the next they were gone. I have looked everywhere. This is a small place - not many places to hide, but they are no where to be found. The next set were my sunglasses. My husband and I have the same ones - his are black, and mine are very dark brown. I always put them in the same place, and was astonished to find they were not there when I was ready for my walk the other day. My first thought was that my husband confused them, and picked up mine instead. In fact, I will admit to accusing him of stealing my sunglasses when he called.

I know - you can see where this is going...

It seems that my sunglasses were not stolen by my husband. In fact they were safe and sound in the paper bag my husband keeps at the bottom of the outside stairs for dog poo. I must have been in such a snit about picking up the stuff that when I dropped it in the bag - I also discarded whatever else was in my hand - which was my sunglasses. My husband found my sunglasses in the bag with dog poo! Luckily, it was in little plastic bags. Thank heavens for bacterial soap.

The Trickster taught me a lesson about myself. If you are going to blame others for taking your stuff, you just might be full of, well, need I say more?

The Trinity Secret

2011-07-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

I listened to an interesting interview last night on CMN with Marie Jones on her new book The Trinity Secret.

Do you ever wonder why some things always seem to come in threes? We even say death "always come in threes." Why most religious texts have elements of threes? (The Father, The Son, The Holy Ghost) Could the Trinity actually be the Law of Attraction? You think a thought, you act on the thought, the thought manifests... Could a simple mathematical equation be the source of creation? Marie Jones makes a case for this possibility.

So how can we make this work for us? Her suggestion is to first discover what may be holding us back. Is our subconscious blocking whatever it is that we wish to have happen? Is it old programming that was instilled in our childhood? Is it a belief within that says we are not worthy?

Start a list of all of your beliefs and give them the stress test. It may be time to reevaluate.

To hear more on this subject go here.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Care2 Petition Site

2011-07-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

One of the ways that I have been trying to make a difference is signing petitions that I feel strongly about. Over the last few months I've signed them for abused animals, women's rights, teachers, the environment, wild horse roundups, and even to have Congress investigate Rupert Murdock here in the United States. There is a petition for every imaginable cause. And if you would like to start a petition - you can do that as well.

We often sit in our living rooms thinking we have no control over our world, but in reality we do have some control - if only to add our voice to the cacophony of voices standing up for the downtrodden and disenfranchised. Adding your name to a petition can actually make a difference. So why not?

You will receive notifications of petitions through email that you can join or not - your choice. It's easy and takes only a minute or two of your time. Click here to get started!

Anthony Synchro

2011-07-18T06:54:00.000-07:00

It seems a woman was attacked by another woman and run off the road, causing her vehicle to roll and almost killing her. The woman that was attacked looks like Casey Anthony, the woman released after being found innocent in the high-profile death of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee.

The other driver was arrested, and was thought to be on drugs when she stated she was trying to "save the children."

Now here is the synchro - not only does this woman resemble Casey Anthony enough to be attacked - she also has a daughter named Caylee!

Love Bomb

2011-07-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

I've posted in the past about Hate Bombs - those emails that you receive that start out funny or interesting and then they drop a Hate Bomb - usually something about Obama.

Well I found a site that does the exact opposite. Every Thursday I receive an email about someone that needs encouragement - maybe they are depressed, or going through a hard time. Then I have the option to go to that person's blog and leave a word of encouragement. It is easy, it is positive, and it just might make a difference in someone's life. If you have someone you would like to nominate for a Love Bomb, you can do that as well.

This week I dropped by a blog written by a mommy whose tiny baby was about to go through open heart surgery. At last count she had 113 commenters.

If you are interested, you can join here. Go ahead - drop a Love Bomb!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sheet Rant

2011-07-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

When did sheets get so expensive? Why are they so complicated? And more importantly - why am I so fussy about sheets?

I know this is a low priority problem compared to some, but what are blogs for if not to occasionally rant about low-priority dumb stuff? It's the mundane that takes up a huge part of our lives.

I've been sheet shopping this week. The bottom sheet seems to have sprung a tear - just when they were the most soft and comfortable. Of course it's that way. Just when something is perfect, we find ourselves in replacement mode.

My first stop was the Internet. Just to remind myself what constitutes a good sheet - softness, durability, sheen, color, price. Of course it must be 100% cotton for maximum comfort, at least for those of us that are hot, not hot, hot, not hot, hot... Egyptian cotton is the most sturdy, with long fibers. So I'm looking for high thread count for softness, Egyptian cotton for durability, sateen finish for comfort, in the color Ivory. (I'm known for my comfortable beds - mine should be no exception!)

Next stop was Macy's, and a very sweet young man who knew his sheets. He steered me to two different ones, and I made my choice. Off to the check stand --- total price - $800. No, that is not a typo! $800 for one set of sheets and (2) extra pillowcases.

Next stop - Bed, Bath & Beyond. I found 750 count, 100% Egyptian cotton sheets with a satin sheen in Ivory. Great. Only $199. Much better, I thought. Although spending $200 on sheets should be something that that is off-putting, but after looking at so many sheets, I'm happy to pay it. Off to the check stand.

Okay, so the sheet set was $199 but I needed an extra set of pillowcases. The extra set of pillowcases came to $69. That is $35 per pillowcase! Really??

So there is my consumer rant for the year. I hope not have to buy sheets for several years, but when I do - I plan to go into our 401k to pay for them.

Addendum: The additional pillow cases, once washed, were a different color. Geeze. Back to BBB. Or maybe my old ones will do...

Letting Go

2011-07-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

July is the month for letting go, according to channeler and energy worker, Lee Harris. You can read his energy forecast for July here. He says we may need to surround ourselves with different people. Some of our old relationships may not fit this new energy. He also refers to the nervousness and lack of settling in many people, and that we cannot fail to be affected by these energies.

Yet he reminds us - all is well - no matter how it looks.

I have found this to be true in my own life. Some people are not, shall we say, relaxed? We need to let their stuff move on through. Most of us have enough of our own stuff without taking on their stuff, right? Letting go of the old, especially old wounds and activities that no longer serve, has been part of my personal paradigm for a while now.

Coincidentally, my husband and I have also experienced a renewal of old friendships that have been on the back burner for many years. Friendships that were almost forgotten. In one day we had three sets of old friends call and want to get together.

So what do you think that is about?

Do our friendships serve certain functions at different times in our lives? Maybe circling back around as we enter into new life stages? Could we be looking back to old friendships that may share our value systems, because many that we are around now do not? Or maybe we just want to see if the spark is still there...

You can watch Lee's forecast for 2011 here.

This is just a little reminder that it's okay to let go sometimes.

Hot Town - Summer In The City

2011-07-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

Whew, I guess summer is finally here. It's supposed to be 93 today. I don't know about the rest of you, but all I want to do is lay next to the lake and read novels. I haven't read much of anything of any real value for some time now. But maybe that's what summer is all about - a time to soak up some sun and let your mind wander.

As for me, it's Lake Tahoe time. Cool blue water beckons. The fact that it's icy cold and I will probably only walk out to my waist for another few weeks has not deterred my determination to eventually make the final dive and swim. It's the first one of the season that's always the hardest.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Community Herbalism & Natural Medicine

2011-07-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

There are big things going on in the world of change. We often don't hear about them, and they go unnoticed by most of us, so I would like to pass this along because prescription drugs are a bugaboo with me, as most of you know. We are being prescribed more and more drugs at younger and younger ages, and it is scary how many prescription drugs are now being prescribed to children. My posts here and here talk about this problem.

Secret Notebooks and Wild Pages has done a post on Community Herbalism and Natural Medicine that is well worth your time to read. The Thread is a community based educational program located on the East Coast. Please visit her to see if this might be something you could advocate in your area, or if you live nearby, you may want to stop by for a visit.

It's time to plant the seeds of how we want to see the world change. It will not get done unless everyone decides to do their small part.

I also believe it's time to go back to nature to address many of our present-day illnesses. Mother Nature has always provided for us. We've just been led to believe otherwise.

Revolution/Evolution

2011-07-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Are we beginning to see a youthful revolution? Have they finally had enough of the old ways? War, greed, and out-of-control capitalism have left too many angry and out of the loop. The polarization of the haves and the have nots, the unending consumerism and decimation of our planet, the lack of integrity of our political leaders may have finally come home to roost. And what is interesting is that it appears to be spreading from country to country all over the world.

Coming out of the Fourth of July holiday, I thought this video appropriate for the times:

Grandma Hat

2011-07-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

It's time, once again, to swap my armchair-philosopher hat for my grandma hat.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Happy Fourth of July to all of my American friends!

Movies Worth Watching

2011-06-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've built quite a video library over on my sidebar. All of these movies I can personally vouch for, but one or two stand out in terms of content, how easy they are to understand, and how interesting they are to watch from a visual point of view. Two are made by the same company, Avaiya, and of those two I would like to highlight one of them today.

Leap! Let Your Adventure Begin. I found this film to be interesting, amusing, and perfect for someone who is new to the whole consciousness field of understanding. From the movie jacket:

"Each of us is cast into this amazing Human Game. For many of us, we've created countless situations and storylines to hide our true power and limit our experiences while playing. Ike Allen and Chad Cameron have created Leap! to remind you that you're here to be the main character and hero in this amazing creation and ultimately, uncover your own meaning, totality and True Identity. The only question now is will you take the Leap! or stay asleep?"

Here is the trailer:

I have watched several more that did not make it to the sidebar. They may have been interesting, but not well-made, or vice-versa. In other words, not worth your money. But if you are a visual learner and would like to understand more about how science is on the cutting edge of some really fantastic leaps in understanding, I would highly recommend this film. I can guarantee it will make you feel good!

I'm also open to suggestions from you. Watch any good movies lately?

Meeting Your Mate

2011-06-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

I have an ongoing theory that I haven't been shy about sharing with my family and friends. (With varying enthusiasm on their part, I might add.) Anyhoo, since I consider you to be in this category, I thought it was time to share my "Meeting Your Mate Theory," just in case you're in the market.

I don't believe we can find the right person to share our lives by thinking about the type of person we would like to meet. In other words, finding your mate is not about left-brained analytical theory. You can't decide he needs to have brown hair, blue eyes, stand 6.2", and make a six figure salary. Or in the case of a man - you cannot conjure up the woman who is going to love you through illness, loss of hair, and libido, by deciding she needs to look or act a certain way. The man or woman that will bring you happiness and contentment does not live in your head. They live in your heart.

So I believe the way to find your mate is to concentrate on what it feels like when you are with this person.

You do this by taking time to sit or lie quietly, relaxing deeply. Just before falling asleep is the perfect time.

Then just play with it. Play with the images that come to mind.

What are you feeling when you are with this person? If you like to hike - concentrate on what it feels like to be hiking with this person. Are you laughing? Are you both enjoying the moment? Is the sun shining? Are you relaxed and feeling content to be hiking with this person?

Time time to color in the scene. You are the artist - make it beautiful.

Now, what are you feeling in the next scene? Maybe this time you are having a meal and you are dining outside on your patio. How are you feeling? Are you relaxed and happy to be with this person? Maybe you are talking about something serious and you feel relieved that you have such an understanding person in your life to share this problem. You feel sure that his advice is well-considered as he is the type of person that really cares about you and wants to see you succeed.

The key is to not put a body or face on this person! This is about how you feel, not what you see!

My "Meeting Your Mate Theory" is all about being able to recognize the person you are meant to be with by how you are feeling when you meet them. Does that make sense? Instead of looking at someone and automatically categorizing them into a maybe or a no, you go by what your heart says when you meet someone. You already know what it is like to be with this person because your heart automatically recognizes a maybe when your brain may have automatically said no!

If you try this - make sure you give time for the Universe to organize a meeting. Be honest with yourself about how you want to feel living your life with this person. That's key.

Happy Dog

2011-06-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

I will leave you this week with a dog smiling, and looking strangely like its owner. There is controversy whether or not this is an actual picture, or one that has been photoshopped. However, since our very own Lucy has been showing her teeth lately in toothy grins, I say - real. What do you think?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

The Way

2011-06-23T06:02:00.000-07:00

This video spoke to that young girl from the 1960's that is trapped inside of me. She is really not happy with some of the things going on right now, and this was the perfect release. I found it on a new blog (to me), thewildpomegranate, and thought I would share it with you.

It was in the late 1980's that I first read about the wave of change that would hit humanity. It was said that it would build slowly, and when it reached a certain critical mass it would wash over us like a tsunami. I feel this change is taking place right now in many places and in many ways. This video speaks to a certain aspect of that tsunami.

We are all evolving humans and life as we know it will never be the same.

Are you a Wayseer?

Medicine Cards

2011-06-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

I decided to treat myself to a little gift of Medicine Cards. They arrived today with a beautiful hard-bound book of animal totems. It is suggested that each soul can find its personal pathway through the medicine of animals. The teachings vary from tribe to tribe, so the cards used certain aspects of each animal's medicine to relay life lessons coming from the elders of the Choctaw, Lakota, Seneca, Aztec, Yaqui, Cheyenne, Cherokee, Iroquois, and Mayan traditions.

The term "medicine" is anything that improves one's connection to the Great Mystery and to all life. Mind, body, spirit, personal power, strength, understanding, are all part of the medicine of living life in a way that brings healing to Mother Earth and to all our family, friends, associates, and other creatures. It is a way of life.

The idea is to be in complete harmony with the strength of that creature's essence when calling upon the power of an animal. It must be approached with humility and intuitiveness.

"Small native children know that if they are lost, they can call on the medicine of their parents - which brings to the child the strength of the parents even though they are not physically present. The parents will feel the pull of the child's need, and oftentimes will be able to see psychically through the eyes of their child and determine its location."

In this same way one can call on the power or medicine of an animal when one is in need of specific talents, which is based on the concept of unity - or the law of oneness.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to finding my nine power, or totem, animals. (I hope one of them is an elephant.) After all, they represent my abilities, talents, and challenges that I face in my Earth Walk.

Also, I really want to know why we hear and see so many coyotes!

Cosmic Flow

2011-06-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

We live in interesting times. Everything is hard and nothing is easy.

Or is that really true?

We are definitely going through transformative times, a cultural revolution is on the way. Our old ways of seeing are no longer working. A new holistic world view is emerging from science and mysticism. It's permeating every corner of society.

So maybe we are not paying attention when we are in the flow and things seem effortless, instead we concentrate on trying to force our way through - and not aligning with the creative forces of the cosmos.

Life is a gift. We have nothing to prove. We have no one to blame. Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world, and it is impossible to make a mistake or do anything wrong. Even when life is messy - you are not doing anything wrong. We are not here to be perfect. Whenever we make mistakes it forces us to look within. It makes us ask bigger questions which always yields pearls of wisdom, if we let it. We become bigger people, more loving, compassionate, and certainly wiser.

So why not quit beating ourselves up for what we are not doing right and start concentrating on the things that we are doing right.

So how do we know when what we are doing is the right thing?

By the way we feel.

Take a nap! (It actually helps.) If it seems like hard work, or you feel trapped or stuck, then you are not aligned with the cosmic flow. If your actions feel joyful, if it makes you smile, if you breathe more easily then you are moving in the right direction. If your actions feel heavy, painful, difficult, then you are going against the flow. We live in a loving Universe. It's learning to think with our heart, and not necessarily with our head, that connects us with our feelings. Learning the value of paying attention when things feel good and right, then using the memory of those feelings to shift gears when times are tough may actually be the key to going with the cosmic flow.

Thank you to Hilary at Smitten Image for POTW!

A Re-Write

2011-06-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

I think have been spending too much time alone and on my computer.

Why do I think this, you ask?

Well, I'm starting to communicate better in writing than I am orally.

I noticed this a few weeks ago while we were with friends for the weekend. I found myself stumbling over words, unable to put sentences together in a witty or even interesting manner. I found it difficult to explain what I wanted to say without sounding like a seven-year old doing a book report in front of class. What I really wanted to do was whip out my computer and type it out...

That's when I started to wonder ... am I losing my ability to communicate in person?

I do spend an enormous amount of time reading, researching, surfing, blogging, emailing, texting my daughters who only communicate by text - all of which depends on writing. Easy enough - you can always re-write what you want to say until it comes across as it was intended. (Although I am not always successful in this endeavor.)

In other words, much of my communication allows for a re-write.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Looking For a Job

2011-06-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

I think an important aspect of this new economy is the realization that we can no longer count on having a job beyond our fifties. Men and women over this age are one of the hardest hit in this new economy. They are less likely to lose their job, but once lost, less likely to find a new one. Companies are going long on lower pay and short on experience.

One of the saddest videos I've watched in some time was a man who felt his wife and children no longer loved him. Out of work for most of three years, he's lost his sense of pride, but more importantly he has lost his sense of what it means to be a man; the protector and support of his family.

I can't know what has gone on in this family to make him feel this way, I cannot say he didn't bring it on himself - has he spent too much time on the negative? Has he worn his family down with anger and self-pity?

But I think there is something important for men to know - they are so much more than their career or job! They are husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, nephews, friends, the list goes on. They have so much worth that has nothing to do with money or what they do for a living.

Their family and friends need them to know that. This economy is not their fault.

Longest Lunar Eclipse

2011-06-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

We are having the longest lunar eclipse in a century today and it will last 100 minutes. It will be completely visible from Africa and Central Asia, partly visible from other countries, but not North America. This week's full moon/lunar eclipse is the mid point of a three-point series beginning with the partial solar eclipse on June 1st and ending with another partial solar eclipse on July 1st.

So if you are feeling a little like howling at the moon - you are probably not alone!

See Me!

2011-06-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

I read an article yesterday on Rep. Weiner and why the writer believes he had the compulsion to send pictures of his nether regions to young women he had never met. In the article the writer talks about the invisibility people take on as they age. Women have always known they disappear, but men have a much harder time with no longer being considered attractive and sexually desirable.

I think this extends not just to the aged. I think it extends to people in general. Oh sure, we all see very attractive people when they walk into the room. I think that is instinctual. Beautiful people stand out.

But have you ever noticed how often you really don't look or really acknowledge the person behind the role? Do you make eye contact with the person behind the counter? Beyond just that simple hello to that person making your sandwich, taking your dry cleaning, slicing your cheese - do you really see the person behind the service they are performing for you? Could you even name five features of the person when you turn and walk away?

Maybe the writer of the article is right - Rep. Weiner was terrified of no longer being considered "a catch" as he once was in Cosmopolitan Magazine. It was his way of shouting out the words, see me!

The Help

2011-06-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

I just finished the novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The book recounts the lives of maids taking care of white families during the early part of the 1960's in Jackson, Mississippi. Without giving away the plot, and I do think you would enjoy this book, it left me pondering so many issues of race, not only in the South, but also here in the West, and all over the world for that matter. How things have changed so much since I was a small girl and my father went to my elementary school to insist I not play with the little black boy in my class. I guess it was expected that the teachers would just keep us apart during recess. The year was 1958. It feels as though it was another lifetime, another world.

I have often wondered if that little boy might have grown up to be my friend's brother - who himself turned out to be a well-respected judge, and also the class president of my high school. (I don't remember the name of the little boy on the playground.)

The shame I feel for my father's prejudice is coupled with understanding the fear people had during those early years of civil rights. Fear of the unknown. Fear of giving up an established stratification that exists to this day. It does not make it right, however. Not in any stretch of the imagination does it make it right.

My daughters were raised to not look at color, sexual preference, or socioeconomic strata - but what of other prejudices? I cannot always say that I was equitable about everything and everyone. I've looked back and realized I carried many outdated and stupid ideas at differing times throughout my life. In some of those instances it was my daughters that set me straight. I love that they feel free to express those values, unlike the maids and early civil rights workers in Jackson all those years ago.

It's easy to hold negative ideas about people that are different from ourselves. It is only when we see people as absolute equals - sparks of the same divine energy - that all of it disappears.

We're just role playing here in Earth School, helping each other to evolve.

The movie comes out in August:

What Do They Want?

2011-06-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

They want what you do.

They want jobs!

They want peace, prosperity, simple pleasures. They want safety for their children, extended families, friends. They want education and purpose. They want enough.

They want to be free of dictators - all kinds.

They want choice. They want clean water, a roof over their head, food in the pot. They want to be able to travel and experience other cultures. They want stability.

They want what you want.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Angel Speak

2011-06-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

I'm always happy when I look up and see 11:11 or 2:22 on the clock. But what about when we see number sequences on license plates, or billboards, or when we glance up and notice them on the top our computer screens? Is there meaning in the timing?

Well, Dr. Doreen Virtue believes it is the way our angels speak to us.

The angels say: "We can't write our messages to you in the sky. You've got to pay attention and believe when you see any patterns forming in your life especially in response to any questions or prayers you've posed. When you hear the same song repeatedly or see the same number sequence, who do you think is behind this? Your angels, of course!"

An example would be:

111 - Monitor your thoughts carefully, and be sure to only think about what you want, not what you don't want. This sequence is a sign that there is a gate of opportunity opening up, and your thoughts are manifesting into form at record speeds. The 111 is like the bright light of a flash bulb. It means the universe has just taken a snapshot of your thoughts and is manifesting them into form. Are you pleased with what thoughts the universe has captured? If not, correct your thoughts (ask your angels to help you with this if you have difficulty controlling or monitoring your thoughts).

For a complete breakdown on Dr. Virtue's numbers go here.

Dolphins/The Non-Human Human

2011-06-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

At the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi, Kelly the dolphin has built up quite a reputation. All the dolphins at the institute are trained to hold on to any litter that falls into their pools until they see a trainer, when they can trade the litter for fish. In this way, the dolphins help to keep their pools clean.

Kelly has taken this task one step further. When people drop paper into the water she hides it under a rock at the bottom of the pool. The next time a trainer passes, she goes down to the rock and tears off a piece of the paper to give to the trainer. After a fish reward, she goes back down, tears off another piece of paper, gets another fish, and so on. This behavior is interesting because it shows that Kelly has a sense of the future and delays gratification. She has realized that a big piece of paper gets the same reward as a small piece and so delivers only small pieces to keep the extra food coming. She has, in effect, trained the humans.

Her cunning has not stopped there. One day, when a gull flew into her pool, she grabbed it, waited for the trainers and then gave it to them. It was a large bird so the trainers gave her lots of fish. This seemed to give Kelly a new idea. The next time she was fed, instead of eating the last fish, she took it to the bottom of the pool and hid it under the rock where she had been hiding the paper. When no trainers were present, she brought the fish to the surface and used it to lure the gulls, which she would catch and get even more fish. After mastering this lucrative strategy, she taught her calf, who taught other calves, and so gull-baiting has become a hot game among the dolphins.

Dolphins have brains five times larger for their body size, when compared to another animal of similar size, which is a more important indicator of intelligence than size alone. This is second only to the human being, which has a brain seven times larger for their body size, on average. Dolphin brains are intricate, with a neocortex more highly convoluted than our own. Folds increase volume in the cortex and aid in the ability of brain cells to interconnect with each other - strongly linked to human intelligence, and structured to allow for self-awareness and the processing of complex emotions.

Behavioral studies have suggested dolphins, especially Bottlenose dolphins have distinct personalities, a strong sense of self, and can think about the future. They are able to recognize themselves in a mirror and use it to inspect various parts of their bodies - an ability thought only to great apes and humans.

They are cultural animals in that they learn very quickly from each other. Dolphins living off the coast of Western Australia learned to hold sponges over their snouts to protect themselves when searching for spiny fish on the ocean floor.

These are amazingly intelligent creatures worthy of our protection. In fact some scientists are calling for them to be classified as non-human humans. They believe not only should they not be kept in amusement parks or killed for food, but should be afforded extreme protection from fishing - where some 300,000 are killed per year.

And I won't even go into the some of the spiritual beliefs in this post. Suffice it to say these animals may very well be something more than mere humans.

Don't forget to visit Chris to see many other incredible posts - and please, do not miss this one. Also, leave a comment if you have joined in the celebration so we can visit you, too. Thanks, everyone!

World's Oceans Day is Tomorrow

2011-06-07T00:09:00.000-07:00

Chris, our favorite marine biologist from Spain, has reminded me that tomorrow is World's Oceans Day. Please leave a comment here, and on Chris's blog, if you decide to celebrate our magnificient oceans and their inhabitants.

I think I know exactly what I want to post about...

A Little Perspective

2011-06-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Time For a Little Break

2011-05-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

To catch up on a few things...

Blessings, all!

A Little Hug

2011-05-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Focused Prayer

2011-05-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have read in more than one place lately - that prayers, when combined with others praying at the same time for the same thing - turn to a kind of "music" in the cosmos. In Whitley Streiber's book "The Key" the mysterious visitor who visited him in his hotel room in Canada during the 1990's stated that human beings could pray together to help change their world.

There are many places that have popped up on the Internet that bring people together to pray for a certain outcome - usually having to do with world catastrophic events. I was invited to join one the other day through James Redfield - the author of The Twelfth Insight.

In a world of more and more extreme phenomenon, it makes sense to band together - if for no other reason than we feel a communion with fellow world inhabitants. This is the premise behind most of Lynn McTaggart's work with intention and the zero-point field.

Event Temples and James's work takes all of this a step further and attempts to help people learn to develop the ability to see the world differently by utilizing what he terms the "Six Heart Virtues." They are as follows:

Appreciation
Compassion
Forgiveness
Humility
Understanding
Valor

Here is an excerpt from the website:

JAMES: "A new psychology is emerging on the planet, referred to as positive psychology, which focuses on the study of human resilience and emotional strength. Psychologists are beginning to realize, for example, that it is more important to understand how some people have naturally overcome depression, than it is to study the psychopathology of depression itself.

"Reservoirs of resilience and emotional strength are byproducts of emotional self-mastery, the ability to express the six heart virtues and live within a virtuous instead of a vicious cycle. The ability to sustain a virtuous cycle through the energetic and behavioral expression of the six heart virtues is tantamount to empowerment.

"My vision for EventTemples.com is for it to help individuals achieve a new level of empowerment, and from this base, enable them to collectively and individually support people across the globe through energetic transfers from an expanding set of quantum communities."

Of course, all of this is not necessarily easy for us humans to understand and learn. It requires some real effort on our part. Most of the time we are just responding to outside influences. We are a product of our subconscious, our ego, our upbringing, our educations, the media. But if we are going to move forward, if we are going to evolve, we need to learn the tools that help us to focus, to learn, and to transmit with intent.

Learning to think through our heart is a step in the right direction. We can look around us and see the impact of living only within a mechanistic worldview.

James the WingMaker

2011-05-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

(James's artwork)

As many of you know, I have been studying the heart as the next stage of human evolution. From this post, and this post, consecutively, you may know that we evolve from a heart - not a brain. It has a much more dense electromagnetic field than does the brain. This information has come from a variety of sources, but none more mysterious than from James the WingMaker. He is a man of European (Spanish) decent who claims to be from an ancient line of beings who incarnate on earth to help lift our understanding during challenging times. He chooses to remain anonymous so that personality does not interfere with the message.

The message, put simply, is that the human family is a single organism that connects through the heart. This single organism is the savior we have sought; the intermediary we have been told is required to advance spiritually. He believes looking outside of ourselves is the wrong direction, that the heart's wisdom is the gateway to enlightenment, not only for the individual, but for humanity at large. He believes true wisdom does not come until the person is ready, and truth will find them when the time is right.

I've learned over a course of years to listen to messages from a variety of sources, suspending my judgment as to where they come from, and focusing on whether or not they resonate with my innate sense of right and wrong. Let me say, for the most part I tend to be somewhat suspicious by nature. But I've read hundreds of pages of his writings and cannot find anything that would send my spidey sense into overload. The information is free - the only things sold are ancillary musical Cd's and artwork. He has three separate websites - all different in their teaching styles - but all are consistent with his fundamental message - that the heart of empowerment is the point of consciousness written in the individual by the Creator; and is the vibration of equality. It is here that the interface between individuality and Oneness occurs.

In typical Nancy fashion, I started with his latest website, Event Temples, and worked my way backwards. I did the same thing in college - upper division courses first (as many as I could get into) and followed by the lower division courses in order to fulfill requirements. I did this because the latest writings, or courses, usually gives me a perspective of whether or not it is worth my time to pursue. I'm not sure this is how these websites are constructed, however. I think one can visit any of the three to ascertain whether or not they are interested in what James has to say. We all learn differently, and are attracted to differing styles of teaching. I have not read much on the WingMaker's site, having spent most of my time reading the material on the Event Temple and the Lyricus sites.

Tomorrow I'll talk about behavioral intelligence, the cornerstone of James's teachings, and why it is easy to understand intellectually, but harder to practice behaviorally.

Here are his websites in order:
WingMakers
Lyricus
Event Temples

Living The Expat Life

2011-05-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

My daughter sent me an email today from some friends that have relocated to Ecuador. It seems they have leased acreage for a organic farm and are looking for investors to build about eight eco-friendly homes on about 1 acre per household. Sound familiar?

So since this is right up my 'shared-resources' alley, I thought I would see what real estate prices were like in Ecuador. You can get this house for $180,000 in Cuenca:

Under Contract means the realtor has a signed contract to sell the home.

How about this one on acreage outside of town for $370,000? It has six bedrooms and six baths, full maids quarters and the taxes for 2009 was $145. (My older daughter thought the maid's quarters would be perfect for her younger sister. :-) I'm thinking an extended family could live here:

I guess these places are starting to look better and better to me when I realize the opportunities for our children are no longer in the United States. After reading a long article on the "lost generation" of new college graduates today, I realized this country is not what it used to be. Our "economy of war" is leaving me sad and dispirited. The huge shift to corporatism, with it's lack of moral obligation, is going to drive the best and brightest to other places, offering brighter futures.

Maybe it's time to look elsewhere, where we may not have as many amenities, but life can still be good. Maybe we can afford to retire before we're 80 years old. What do you think?

Here is a free handbook for moving to Ecuador.

Live More, Work Less

2011-05-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

Tiny Buddha did a great post on what it means to change your lifestyle to actually enjoy more and work less. She begins by asking the question - how much do you actually need to feel comfortable? If you are without a job right now, doing with less is not something you want to read more about - but you may find some useful information that may be helpful during this stressful time. Links are provided that give practical guidance in finding ways to reduce your spending - and learning to enjoy life in a whole new way. I especially liked the link with thoughts on meaningful and inexpensive gift-giving.

As I look around me each day, I'm startled to realize I'm not as attached to some of these things as I thought I was. If I had to name five things I couldn't live without - it would be hard to come up with five. But I guess that could all change if I were one of the people now living along the Mississippi, or in the way of multiple tornadoes. Having never been in that situation, I have no idea how I would react. But I continue to be amazed at the people who bravely face their worst fears, the one thing standing out to me is the way they are there for each other.

Last night I watched the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" for the second time. I had just finished a new book by Whitley Streiber, (The Key), and remembered that he had written the book (Superstorm) that the movie was based on - anyway - the take-away from the film is that if something catastrophic happens in the world; absolutely nothing I own would mean anything - the only thing I would care about when the chips are down are people. I wouldn't be lamenting my couch or a chair - or even jewelry or art. People, pets, and, well, that's about it - everything else is just not that important.

The New Dry Rose'

2011-05-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Rose' wine has a big stigma to overcome - the infamous White Zinfandel. The new dry rose' wines do just that, however. It was the one thing I brought back from our trip to the Wine Country, rose' will be my new summer wine.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the complexity of some of these wines - yet without the oak flavor that I seem to prefer less and less. Don't get me wrong - a buttery Chardonnay is still appreciated - but I'm leaning towards lighter, steel-barrel wines. For one thing, the heavy reds tend to make me feel hot - and not in a good way. I don't know if it is the tannins, or being in oak barrels longer, but it appears I'm not the only one that feels that way. There has been an explosion of new dry rose' wines - in fact it is easier to find the dry rose' wines than my other favorite - pinot grigio - at the wineries we visited. The best ones are from France and Spain, countries that have been drinking them for years.

It is a red wine for white wine drinkers. It pairs well with picnic foods and anything one would serve with red wine. For me it will be summer BBQs and nights when we have main-dish salads for dinner.

The prices are not bad. The ones we bought in the Wine Country were more on the expensive side - but that was because they were only pouring their more expensive wines. First they charge for the sampling, then they only pour their premium wines. But maybe with people cutting back on extravagances it is the only way to have captive audiences to try their best wines. It takes some of the fun out of visiting wineries, however.

I am currently drinking a Mill Creek rose', which they do not have on their website, but I intend to look for a few more to stock up for the summer season. Here is a site that gives some information on what to look for, and what to expect to pay - it also takes you to the winery or distributor if you would like to order it online.

So what is your favorite summer wine? Or do you prefer a summer cocktail?

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Middle Place

2011-05-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

It was 2:00 a.m. and as I lay there wondering if I had restless-leg syndrome the idea to finally buckle and get out of bed, maybe do something else, popped into my head. I had been reading a first novel by journalist, Kelly Corrigan, and thought what better way to put myself to sleep than reading about that "middle place" most of us reach at some point in our lives?

That middle place between being a mother and wife and being the daughter. The cherished and spoiled daughter who knows the person she loves so dearly is either going to die, or is dying, and that will leave her the one in charge without benefit of being able to also lean into the one man in her life that will always be there for her. Do men realize the importance of that role? Do they have any idea how larger than life they will always be to their little girls - no matter how old they are?

For me it was 1987 and I was pregnant with my youngest. A difficult pregnancy made all the harder (and all the sweeter), because my dearly loved father was succumbing to all of those cigarettes he had smoked and was dying of emphysema. It would be a beautiful year in so many ways. Time to have him all to myself. A man that was larger than life to many people, and especially to me - his cherished and spoiled daughter. A time when I realized that there truly was a God; because without hanging on to that tiny, angelic baby - there was no way I could let go of my father.

Kelly Corrigan weaves this bitter sweet time in her life with style and wit. Without giving away the plot, I found this book very readable. Funny, articulate, witty, soulful. This book would appeal to all women in that middle place, and some men who should read it just to know how special they are to their daughters.

Third Great Awakening

2011-05-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

"In 1976 Tom Wolfe wrote that we are now "seeing the upward role (and not yet the crest, by any means) of the third great religious wave in American history, one that historians will very likely term the Third Great Awakening."

I would posit that this great awakening is happening world-wide.

From the book Chop Wood, Carry Water:

This Third Great Awakening has been called by many names: the consciousness movement, the New Age, the Aquarian Conspiracy - or, as we have come to think of it while working on this book - "the new spirituality."

This "new spirituality" is not really new, of course, but more of a form of something very old, of something that has always been present, if often hidden. Aldous Huxley called it "The Perennial Philosophy," and found it at the center of all the great mystical traditions. The most familiar formulation of The Perennial Philosophy in the West is perhaps the statement that "The kingdom of God is within you."

The writers go on to say the sources from this new spirituality are varied and diverse, and actually are an amalgam of many different wisdoms that encompass all great religions as well as ordinary people. The book was written in 1984, and I read it sometime during the 1980's. Probably during my initial spiritual search that began after a series of difficult personal problems, not the least of which was a brain tumor. I'm now reading it again because it is one of those books that should be read more than once throughout one's lifetime. It is a reminder that the path we have undertaken doesn't have to involve perfection, but the task should include "the challenge, as for the Chinese Zen master a thousand years ago, is to live in such a way that there is no duality, no separation between the spiritual path and its manifestation in everyday life. The real challenge is, so to speak, to bring heaven down to earth, where we all live. It is a question of what Ram Dass has called "applied spirituality."

Always ask yourself - is this word, action, or emotion life diminishing, or life enhancing? (Morning Messages.)

Music & the Brain

2011-05-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

It seems that listening to music does more for our brains than just aesthetics. In fact, a research team from Stanford University showed that music engages the ares of the brain involved with paying attention, memory, and making predictions. High school students that study music have higher grade point averages and develop faster physically. They also develop better listening skills. Children exposed to music before age seven have a greater increase in the size of the corpus callosum. These fibers are instrumental in joining the left and right hemispheres and may increase the processing of information between both sides of the brain. Actively taught students were found to have a greater cerebral cortex activation.

Listening to certain baroque-period music causes the heart beat and pulse rate to relax to the beat of the music and as the body becomes relaxed and alert, the mind is able to concentrate more easily. Mozart's music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activates the left and right side of the brain - this in turn maximizes learning and retention.

Music also affects all living things. Music such as the Blue Danube has shown to aid hens in laying more eggs. Wheat will grow faster when exposed to special ultrasonic and musical sounds. Plants grow well for almost every type of music except rock and acid rock, in fact they withered and died when exposed to those genres. In the 1970's teens would bring raw eggs to a rock concert and put them in front of the stage - by the end of the concert the eggs would be hard boiled by the music and could be eaten. Researchers showed that proteins in a liquid medium were coagulated when subjected to piercing high-pitched sounds.

Music is much more than a distraction. All the more reason to incorporate it into a life well-lived.

Kiddy Botox

2011-05-16T00:05:00.000-07:00

Nightline did a segment Thursday on a woman who routinely injects her 8-year old daughter with botox to mitigate wrinkles. She is in beauty pageants and feels she is much prettier after her Mommy injects her face with one of the most dangerous poisons known to man.

The mother was being investigated by Children's Services after it was aired on one of the morning shows.

From a developmental point of view, this child is going to have problems with how she looks and feels about herself for many years, if not forever. It is during childhood that our sense of self first emerges, and with so much emphasis on outer beauty this little girl has not been given time to explore her world, safe in the knowledge that she is okay just the way she is. I think that was clear when she said she felt better after the treatments. This child is desperate to please her Mommy, and if it means going through painful procedures, then she will do that.

After all, if Mommy feels you need this in order to be prettier - she must be right. Children see themselves through their parent's eyes.

Seriously, if an alien race is watching us - we are freaking them out!

Freaky Friday

2011-05-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, thanks to a comment from California Girl - I found my last post in the "Edit Posts" section, as a draft - so if you are missing your last post it may be there - you can just repost it.

Warning: It will post your post without changes you may have made - check it before you repost.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Look For The Signs

2011-05-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

I believe that when we commit to something - truly commit - the universe starts organizing to make it happen. Even if we don't know the details, we can daydream the perimeters of how we want our lives to look. For example, I have been dreaming of a shared-resources community for some time. I've posted about it more than once on this blog. But the place to form this community has eluded me. I vacillate between Portland, OR and Maui, HI. Portland is where my children reside, and we love the city - well to be honest, I probably love it more than my husband does. In fact, he feels the rainy winters more than I do. We lived there for about 2.5 years, a few years back.

Maui, on the other hand, is where my husband feels he is most comfortable. There is something about the Aloha Spirit that inspires him to be the man he wants to be. Corporate America has not been the place to feel connected to what he feels is important - all those fuzzy things like love, kindness, the environment. So when he sees himself retired - it is not in a city, but much closer to whales - his current obsession.

Which brings me to the gist of this post. When we commit to what we want in our lives - the universe begins organizing, little signs and synchronicities emerge, and the puzzle pieces begin to come together to make it happen.

The other day I had read something that made me feel that I no longer wanted to live in America. I won't go into the details, but it just felt as though the country has been going in the opposite direction from all the things I believe to be important and true. I started looking at New Zealand properties, I looked at Canadian properties - but both felt very far from home. (I know, I just said I wanted to move away from America - but let's face it - it is my home and I do love it in so many ways.) Anyway, one of the other issues that I have been noodling is the fact that there are very few people in my life that share my same belief system, that see consciousness as anything more than having one's eyes open. We have plenty of friends - just none that share my worldview. I feel like such an oddball sometimes.

So I was feeling a bit down about things when I looked down and noticed Maui Vision Magazine on my automan - which is all about holistic living in Maui. Many people advertise alternative business practices in this magazine. I had one of those "light-bulb moments" when I realized that the small island of Maui is where "my" community resides. It is where my husband wants to live, and where at least one of my daughters would like to raise her family.

I had also talked about a school in this post, and my youngest emailed me the other day saying that since her nephew could not find a preschool that didn't require being on a waiting list from birth - maybe she and I could create a preschool if she couldn't find a job with her masters in education - which she begins in June. She was thinking Portland, but why not Maui?

My post from yesterday was written by a man by the name of Mark Sheehan. I mentioned his name in my post. Look what I found in Maui Vision Magazine today:

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE THE FUTURE

There is a growing movement that recognizes how small sustainable communities can make a big difference for the health of the environment and the quality of life for everyone. Even in big cities there are co-operatives forming to share resources and reap the rewards. Maui is the perfect place for new models of community to grow and flourish.

HOW CAN YOU GET STARTED?

Consider making a list of people you know who share your values and have specific skills and resources. Go online and look at types of shared living to get ideas for what you want. Start a list of your needs and resources.

THE RIGHT PROPERTY FOR THE RIGHT COMMUNITY

For the last 25 years I've been helping people locate and buy ideally suited sustainable Maui properties and know what it takes to form a functioning co-operative. If you want help from a realtor with a lot of experience in this realm, give me a call.
Mark Sheehan - Coldwell Properties

I think we are going to give him a call...

Blogger is back!

2011-05-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Yay! - I do hope they find my last post... But since it is missing, I will save today's post for Monday. Maybe by then all of the problems will be resolved. Until then, have a great weekend!

Happy People

2011-05-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

While perusing Maui Vision Magazine, I ran across a short article regarding the book, How We Choose To Be Happy, by Mark Sheehan, a real estate broker and environmental activist living on Maui. It caught my attention and I've downloaded the book to read at a later date, but what really struck me was the study it was based on - unusually happy people! It was written by two psychologists, Rick Foster and Greg Hicks.

Here then are the choices that unusually happy people tend to make:

Intention: Having an active desire to be happy and committing to living that way.
Accountability: Choosing to create the life you want to live, taking full responsibility, refusing to blame others.
Identification: Continually looking into yourself to see what makes you uniquely happy.
Centrality: Making sure that what makes you happy is central in your life.
Recasting: Converting problems into opportunities, transforming trauma into something meaningful.
Options: Approaching life with multiple scenarios, being open to new possibilities, a flexible life script.
Appreciation: The choice to stay in the present, making each experience precious, appreciating deeply.
Giving: Sharing yourself with friends and community.
Truthfulness: The choice to be honest with yourself and others in an accountable manner by not allowing societal, corporate or family demands to violate your internal contract.

I think these need to go on my Intention Board. I especially liked #6/Options - being flexible seems to be very important in this day and age. Realizing we can change our 'story' at any time, no matter what is going on in our lives - in fact the one thing we do have control over is our own story.

Topics of Interest

2011-05-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

I know many of you know that I'm writing a book based on my blog. Recently I decided it needed to be re-written, and to go in another direction. There have been so many blog posts where I have only been able to touch on the subject. Blog posts, almost by definition, are posts, not chapters. It is really hard to fully explore a topic through a blog. Yet there have been some over the last few years that I feel would be worth researching a little further.

The problem is where to begin to find those posts that might be of further interest? I have written 594 posts so far. So with that thought in mind, I intend to start with the topics that have received the most "hits" through Sitemeter. Such as Dolphin vs Human Intelligence - which has received thousands of hits. What was so strange was that it was a post that directed the reader to another site, I didn't actually write anything on the subject. So I was thinking maybe it's time for me to really research this subject, maybe write this book based on those ideas that are actually drawing people to this blog in the first place.

Another interesting thing that has happened is that most of my readers do not comment, which leads me to believe many of you may not have blogs. So with that in mind, I'm going to shut off the comment filter on my blog for this post, (I use it to keep from being spammed,) and allow anonymous comments. So if you have a topic that you have found interesting, and would like to know more about, please let me know.

Now is the time to follow our dreams, help others to achieve theirs, and stay focused on our mission in life. I believe mine is to write in a way that brings my readers the information they need to navigate these interesting and difficult times. We are all evolving humans, and life as we know it will never be the same.

The I-Ching

2011-05-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

I noticed a post on a friend's blog this morning on I-Ching, or The Classic of Change. Since I didn't know much about this ancient divining system, I thought I would check out I-Ching Online, which she suggested as being fairly accurate.

I have a healthy dose of scepticism when it comes to online sites such as this one, but I was amazed! I asked two questions, and both were very accurate. If you try it - remember I-Ching is about the present, not the future. It has been around in written form for about 3,000 years and the Chinese say it has been around another 2,000 years in oral form, making it one of the oldest known written documents. From I-Ching Online:

It takes you past the tunnel vision and gives you a 360 degree view of your situation. It goes beyond the realm of your five senses and picks up the subliminal signals that sailed right past your conscious awareness to become filed away in your subconscious. When you are obsessed with a desire, intent on an outcome, the I-Ching gently nudges you and says, "Yes, but have you considered this ...?

The Wine Country

2011-05-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

We are currently celebrating my husband's birthday by having triple cream brie, a fresh baguette, some tiny gherkins, and more than a tad of a great bottle of wine for lunch - all in the lush California wine country. If ever there is a time to nap after lunch - it is in the wine country. The European cultures that nap after lunch have it right.

I've been thinking about all of those generations where people drank beer and wine throughout the day - how in the world did they ever get anything accomplished?