Ben's Story

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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

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

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?

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

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

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.