Today is the day at 7:00 p.m! 10 Billion Beats!

Today we need to get out our drums, pots and pans, plastic buckets, or whatever we have to drum on and join the world - drumming with intention! This is an intention experiment.

Please visit this site to understand what exactly the intention is about. And watch this video to understand what we are about:

How Long Do You Keep Your Blog?

I've noticed several people closing shop lately. And I started wondering - how long do you keep a blog going? I've now posted 481 times. When does it start to get stale? When does it become more job than passion? When do you run out of worthy things to say?


This has been a wonderful experience for me. In my wildest dreams, I could not have expected to have gained so much from a whim. I've met so many wonderful people, and learned so much from them, I've even had people link some of my posts to their sites. I've had publishers ask me to read their books and post on them. I've even been Blog of Note. But I have to wonder - how long do I do this?

Have you thought about this? How long do you plan on keeping your blog?

Esperanza!

Trish's new book has finally been released - and it is exciting, scary, and full of twists and turns. I'm thinking I may want to keep the lights on tonight...

Visit her site for a very interesting synchro that happened today - the very day Esperanza was released!

You can click on the button on the left of my blog to go to Esperanza's website. Now back to the story...

An Unlikely Guide

Have you ever walked into a book store and just stood there, overwhelmed by the choices? That's how I felt recently while in the San Francisco airport. It was late and I was waiting for a connecting flight to Reno. I wandered through the thriller isle - thinking no - life is scary enough these days, no grisly murders for me, thank you. I ended up in the philosophy isle, which was right next to the science section. My kind of place. But I had a stack of books at home, and more time to kill than a need for a book. So I sent up a question to my spirit guides, guardian angels, the universe, or whatever you want to call that higher source of guidance. What do you want me to read now, I asked? What do I need to know?

No answer.

I found one book that looked interesting - 2013 - Raising the Earth to the Next Vibration by Richard Grossinger. The man has written several books - utilizing a "unique genre - the poetic textbook." Thumbing through the rather large tome, I found his style to be interesting and erudite. Okay, sounds good, I'll add it to my pile.

At the check out counter was a young man that could only be described as interesting - long hair in dreadlocks, a funny hat. He noticed my book and was immediately interested in the title - especially "raising the vibration" part - and asked me if I had noticed another one - The Book of Destiny - Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Mayans and the Prophecy of 2012 by Carlos Barrios? He said I could find my Mayan sign in just a few moments at the back of the book, which was about a unique astrology intended to help you find your destiny. He tried to leave the counter to go get the book for me, but a customer came along right at that moment. He kept pointing though - encouraging me to look at it.

Well, the guides, our angels, or whatever we want to call them often speak to us in mysterious ways. That young man with interesting hair and a beautiful smile knew exactly what I needed to read. The book is hard to put down. I'll do a review when I finish it. But in the meantime - I'm going to start paying closer attention when I ask a question. It's quite possible the universe has been answering me all along. I'm sure that young man had no idea why he felt it so important that the lady with jet lag look at that particular book. I thanked him and mentioned that it was important to listen sometimes - especially when you ask to be guided and someone then offers an opinion. He cheerfully raised a book on how to find joy, suggested by someone, that he said was just what he needed to be reading right now.

Travel Synchronicity

Hi everyone - it's good to be back. I'm looking forward to catching up. I was on a trip that didn't involve much fun, even though it was to a beautiful location.

Trish told me to watch for synchronicities while traveling, and sure enough I had a couple - involving actresses, of all things. 

The night before leaving, I downloaded three movies for the long flights. Chloe, Date Night, and When In Rome.

The first movie I watched was Chloe, with Amanda Seyfried. It was a dark thriller, and had some serious sex scenes, which I had no idea would be part of the plot. As I was watching it, (and hoping the man next to me would remain sleeping, so as to not think me a perv,) I looked up and the same actress was in the movie Letters to Juliet being shown as the in-flight movie. In that movie she appeared to be playing a more demure role. Weird to watch her in a very dark role, only to look up and see her play what appeared to be a very sweet role. Even my husband was amused, and extremely curious about my movie, I might add...

On the way home, I decided to watch Date Night with Tina Fey. Just as I plugged into the movie, I looked up and the in-flight film was with Tina Fey in 30-Rock! So then I noticed in the movie I was watching one of the roles was played by the lead in a Netflix series I had in my bag, of which I had been catching up over the last week, and planned on watching the final episode after Date Night. 

There are thousands of actresses - what are the odds?

Beans & Rice

Slice of Chic posted a recipe for beans and rice that is incredibly good, fast, and easy. Great for a quick meal when you're pressed for time. You can find it here. We had company and they loved it - as did my husband who doesn't always like veggie night. I might add a bit more rice, or figure out a way to use regular brown rice and not Minute Brown Rice, but my husband vetoed that idea and said it was perfect. I used plenty of fresh mozzarella cheese, however. He asked me to copy the recipe for my recipe box, not willing to risk the loss of this recipe, evidently.

What's with men and their beans and rice? She said this was her husband's favorite meal, something his mother made for him. That says it all, I guess. If MOM made it ...

Drugging our Babies

This article in the New York Times was an eye-opener. It is the story of a young boy put on a litany of drugs beginning at age 18 months because of temper tantrums. The cocktail of drugs used on this baby is shocking:

Thus began a troubled toddler’s journey from one doctor to another, from one diagnosis to another, involving even more drugs. Autism, bipolar disorder, hyperactivity, insomnia, oppositional defiant disorder. The boy’s daily pill regimen multiplied: the antipsychotic Risperdal, the antidepressant Prozac, two sleeping medicines and one for attention-deficit disorder. All by the time he was 3.

This little baby became a drooling zombie. His mother stated his eyes were blank.

The side effects of these drugs on a developing human are not completely known, yet doctors continued to prescribe drugs - often to treat the side effects of the drugs already prescribed! Now that he has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Activity Disorder - they state he should never have been prescribed those drugs in the first place. As a developmentalist, I cannot tell you how appalled I am that a baby was put on drugs of this magnitude and in this quantity. There is no way a doctor can know, with any certainty, that this baby suffered from these disorders.

The Legos that the children played with in one psychiatrist's waiting room were stamped with Risperdal, then manufactured by Johnson and Johnson. (The office has since removed them.) Somehow all those sweet smelling lotions manufactured by that company are starting to stink, in my opinion. Here are the side effects of Risperdal:

Anxiety; constipation; cough; diarrhea; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; fatigue; headache; increased appetite; increased saliva production; indigestion; lightheadedness; nausea; restlessness; runny nose; stomach pain or upset; trouble sleeping; vomiting; weight gain.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Risperdal:
Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing or swallowing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; unusual hoarseness); abnormal thoughts; confusion; drooling; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; fever, chills, or persistent sore throat; inability to control urination; increased sweating; new or worsening mental or mood changes (eg, aggression, agitation, depression, severe anxiety); seizures; severe dizziness; stiff or rigid muscles; suicidal thoughts or attempts; symptoms of high blood sugar (eg, increased thirst, hunger, or urination; unusual weakness); tremor; trouble concentrating, speaking, or swallowing; trouble sitting still; trouble walking or standing; uncontrolled muscle movements (eg, arm or leg movements, twitching of the face or tongue, jerking or twisting); unusual bruising; vision changes.


Seriously - can you imagine giving a baby this drug?

Why, you ask? Because it's cheaper and it makes big money for pharmaceutical companies. Low income families are the biggest target of these drugs. I recently read a comment by a fellow blogger talking about the differences in television commercials in Canada and the US. She said Canada's commercials are about home improvement, cleaning supplies and travel. The US is about cars, drugs, and something else that slips my mind - probably because I mute all commercials or fast-forward through them.

Bottom line - if your doctor is prescribing any psychotropic drug for your children or grandchildren, then they absolutely need talk therapy. The number one point made in my abnormal psych classes was that drug therapy, without talk therapy, does not work. Especially for adolescents who have drastic mood swings, mostly caused by increased androgens. These are the hormones which control male sex traits and development, also influencing female sexual behavior. All normal developmental systems! It is only through talking with a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist can you know if your teenager also needs drug therapy. And if it was my child and the psychologist or psychiatrist wanted to use drug therapy, I would be tempted to get another opinion. I think drugs often mask issues that need to be worked on, and sometimes there is no quick fix. Sometimes parents are part of the problem, and what's really needed is Family Therapy. Just saying...

I know I seem to be on a drug rant this month, but drugging babies sent me over the edge.