Mad Men Casting Call

Our very own Richard Boehmcke, affectionately known as Boomka, is vying for a spot on Mad Men! Granted it is just a walk on, but please - it's MAD MEN. We know this is just the beginning for this very talented young NYC writer who has already written an off Broadway play, and won a video contest that landed him in Miami, all at the ripe old age of 26. He is adorably funny and if you haven't visited his blog do yourself a favor and head on over, but first cast a vote for one of our own to be on MAD MEN!

Thank you Phantsythat!

I won this sweet little watercolor from a give-a-way at Phantsythat. It just returned from the frame shop and I had to show it off! My picture doesn't do it justice, but it turned out beautiful. Thank you so much to Susan, a terrific artist.

Do you believe in afterlife?

Bonnie at Original Art Studio has a great conversation going on right now on whether or not you believe in an afterlife. Hop on over if you have an opinion, or just want to read what others are saying.

By the way, what do you think? Is there an afterlife?

My Button

See my new button? Meeko Fabulous designed this little button so that anyone can copy the code underneath and post my button on their blog. He used the picture from Big Sur posted on the right! I thought how fun to have a row of buttons on my sidebar on the left (which I don't have with this template.) So if enough people get buttons, I may have to finally do something with my blog template in order to showcase your buttons. Here's Meeko's button:

And The Good Cook's:

Isn't Meeko fabulous?

Beautiful Lunch

(winter shot of the dining deck)

My husband and I had lunch today with the lovely Reya of The Gold Puppy. She and her friend, Dave joined us at the Sunnyside Restaurant for a lakeside lunch. It was so wonderful to finally meet her! Of course, not being a great photographer, I forgot my camera in my excitement. So no pictures. But I will say that she is very pretty, in a very wholesome way, exactly as she is on her blog. (Come to think of it all the Aquarius women I have known have been pretty.) She's as nice and as soulful as her blog portrays her to be. I know I will see her again someday, she's that kind of person - you want to see her again.

Difficult Childhoods

Lately I have been reading some blog posts that made me think about psychic energy and difficult childhoods. These particular bloggers, while humans searching for what matters along with the rest of us, also seem to be "tuned in" for a lack of a better phrase. Very sensitive to consciousness, energy, spirituality. Linda Pendelton did a post about psychic spies and remote viewing the other day. And one of the original participants in the CIA program, Joseph McMoneagle, commented that many of the psychic viewers were children of child abuse. Which of course makes sense. Children in dangerous situations need to use their instincts in order to survive, be it physically and/or mentally. These individuals, now grown, could be psychically "charged" in a way that makes them highly sensitive.

This sensitivity is good and bad for these individuals. The good is that they tune in first to all the changes going on in our world and often understand esoteric trains of thought very easily. The bad is that they are very sensitive to everything going on. They have fewer "filters." With the problems in the world, stresses at home and work, the tendency for depression and other anxiety disorders are more common.

Nde's, or near-death-experiences, often have participants returning to their bodies after resuscitation with stories of being told they have a mission to accomplish. That it wasn't their time, and no matter how hard their lives seem to be, they have not finished what they set out to do. Many return to lives spent passionately pursuing different lifestyles. Often seeing things very differently, than before the NDE.

Over the last several months I have watched some blogs go from the depths of despair, to people who seem to be much happier, and very connected to their lives in a fresh way. Much like the NDE experience, they are starting to lead very different lives. Their blogs are artistic, their voices sure and strong. They are talking about what excites them - and we are listening and following and learning in a synergistic manner.

So where am I going with this?

Well, I'm not sure. But I'm studying it. It may be what Trish MacGregor said in my comments section yesterday - we are a group of people who are meant to meet. The blogosphere is creating the venue. We are drawn to each other through intention. Whether to help each other through dark times, or to learn, or to be the first to celebrate good things that happen. To support each other. Maybe we are here to help each other "awaken" to a new way of seeing the world and all the characters in it. An NDE minus the dying part. Without all the pretense, without all the trappings of modern society, just us and the people we connect with.

What do you think?

Being Open

I know that as soon as I start seeking to open my heart and mind, to move forward in spirit, I will draw to me the teachers and information that I need. It has happened time and again. Lately I have read things coming from fellow bloggers that have been life changing for me. One example - a reader of another blog commented that her father told her, upon graduating law school, that having the ability to evoke emotion in writing or in the courtroom, was a gift. Now for the hundreds, possible thousands of readers of that comment it was interesting, but not necessarily meaningful. But it knocked my socks off! Why? Because I had always thought my writing to be too emotional. It never occurred to me it was a gift. It was always something I tried to suppress. I had my husband critique and proof-read one of my first papers in college. I'd worked hard on it and was fairly proud, but insecure. He said it sounded like a Hallmark Card. He was not intending to be hurtful, or mean. He was trying to let me know that my writing needed to step up a notch. He was right. Most of my college papers required a different type of writing.

But what stuck, and I know it happens to everyone, is that my writing is too emotional and therefore not good. My husband is in business, and his writing is geared toward a different audience. The part he was right about, was that you cannot always write to evoke emotion, some things need to be precise. 

But what I needed to hear was that it is okay, in certain forums, to write from the heart. And that's where that comment, made for someone else entirely, was meant for me. I needed to hear that. Because that is where I am most comfortable writing.

So, what I am trying to say, when we open ourselves to new thinking, new ideas, new challenges, stay open to your "teachers". They show up in very obscure places, and odd times. It is being open to them when they show you the way that is important. And from a personal point of view, this bloggyworld is just full of teachers for me. Thanks to every one of you!