A Rose-Is Arbor

Voices of the Angels

2012-01-02T12:50:00.001-08:00

My first ebook is available on Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Angels-Thought-Movement-ebook/dp/B006M254WO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325537502&sr=1-1
This New Thought Reader is a literary home for nine women writers who wrote extensively at the turn of the century. They were active feminists supporting the suffragettes, the abolition of slavery, and changes in the child labor laws. Their writings are inspirational and are timeless guides to self-awareness and empowerment through the practice of spiritual principles. My postulate in the book states that these prolific writers, teachers, and healers of this time were instrumental in heralding in the social changes, and the civil rights for Americans that we all enjoy today. We stand on their shoulders and I honor them in this book. A hard copy book will be available shortly. Enjoy.

2011-08-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

"Trust the one who can see these 3 things in you: Sorrow behind your smile, Love behind your anger, and Meaning behind your silence." ~Author Unknown

The Importance of the "Shadow"

2011-07-31T01:17:00.000-07:00

“The Shadow describes the part of the psyche that an individual would rather not acknowledge. It contains the denied parts of the self. Since the self contains these aspects, they surface in one way or another. Bringing Shadow material into consciousness drains its dark power, and can even recover valuable resources from it. The greatest power, however, comes from having accepted your shadow parts and integrated them as components of your Self. Everyone carries a Shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

- Carl G. Jung

“When you distance yourself from the source of suffering, when you name it as opposite to what you want to be (I assume that you all want to be good, don’t you?), you lose a chance to change it. Because it continues to live inside you, as part of you, making you make many of your choices, but you refuse to recognize it, so you remain in ignorant bliss and you continue to suffer.”

- Olga Kharitidi, “The Master of Lucid Dreams”

There Is Only the One Creator, Goddess

2011-07-16T18:46:00.001-07:00

There is only One Creator. It is the Goddess, the Mother creating Herself as the Universe, as every living and non-living form. Goddess has created the mountains and the oceans, the stars and the planets out of all that She is. She is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent; She knows all there is to know, and gives of Herself unconditionally all the time.

Goddess is alive within me as my very heartbeat, as my very breath. I am made of the essence of Goddess, at the core of who I am is Her Peace, Her Wisdom, the Life that She is. This is true of me and every person breathing within and as Her Creation. Every word I speak, every thought that flows through me is sourced within her Essence.

I, therefore, speak my word with the understanding that I am divinely guided by Her Wisdom in all that I say, and all that I do, and that all is infused with Goddess. I declare that Her divine Love vibrates through every cell of this body temple in such a way that it expands out from my core into the world at large and touches every heart within my circle. This Love of Goddess draws into my Life the power of this Love in return so that I am surrounded by my complements in other people. All of my relationships are rooted in the deep harmony of Goddess so that I am supported, and successful in all activities, in work, in relationship, in prosperity, in health. Nothing is preventing the upleveling of my experience of Goddess, and She shows up in greater and more loving ways not only for myself but for everyone. For there is only One of us here, and I accept this Unity in, through, and as the Mother Goddess right here, right now.

In gratitude and with thanksgiving I let Her do what She does best. For “I can of mine own self do nothing.” (John 5:30) “But the Creator that dwelleth in me, this Creator doeth the work.” (John 14:10)

Amen.

The Soul of Money

2011-06-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

I have been revisiting this book by Lynne Twist. She's been around the world as a fundraiser and activist for World Hunger and many others. She shares a story of a people that live deep in the Amazon rain forest, the Achuar people. This village of people have no culture based in money, have not used currency of any kind that exchanges hands for goods or services. Instead their culture is all inclusive in how it cares for its family and I can't get this image out of my mind. Imagine: When their child gets married both families come together and build the new couple their home. All they will need to begin their lives together is provided by their community. When a hunter brings food back from the jungle all the people gather to feast and share the food. No one is left without support and sustenance. She contrasts this way of life with the life of our modern monetary culture by sharing the experience of a designated native who lived with them in the US and learned our language and the culture of money. Our entire culture, purpose in living, and relationships as a community are based on the accumulation and value of money and consumerism. A person's value is based on their relationship and success with money. If you do not have it, have failed to earn it or succeed in the game of money, you are left to wither away, abandoned. What a contrast! I have been trying on the feeling of what it must be like to live in a community that gives freely of all of its resources with no intention or concept of keeping something for themselves when others are without. I am struck deeply by the inhumanity of our monetary culture and how it has destroyed our capacity to love and care for one another.

"...turn entirely away..."

2011-06-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

"...turn entirely away from the condition, because as long as we look at it, we cannot overcome it. By thinking upon a condition, we tend to animate it with the life of our thought, and thereby it is perpetuated and magnified. To rise above the contemplation of conditions is to enter that field of Causation which makes all things new in our experience." Ernest Holmes
There are those days when I am at peace with my spiritual beliefs and teachings in New Thought/Science of Mind, and then there are those days when I am completely thrown by a statement that stimulates so many questions that I am lost in my faith; when I become so bewildered by a statement that I am thrown into a tailspin and know no peace with the tradition I had just yesterday strongly aligned myself with. I am looking for the Truth in this quote with a capitol T. My mind naturally gravitates toward solving problems, studying a situation in order to understand its parts and effects. I feel I must understand what is my part in facilitating any changes that will benefit and uplift the situation. (Like solving our environmental dilemmas.)I have been trained to never ignore or deny the shadow but to acknowledge its presence as a way of neutralizing the dark effects it can have. To turn entirely away from a situation can also mean to go into denial, to oppress, to disassociate when direct attention is the healing mechanism. Unless Ernest Holmes in this statement is referring to the tendencies sometimes to unnecessarily obsess or perseverate about a situation I am right now in disagreement with him. And I am in deep contemplation about the implications herein. One day inner peace, the next day not as much...Peace is not an easy or passive path.

Heart Intelligence

2011-06-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

It is a universal law that I have been taught—that the more loving you are, the more intelligent you become. If we have been able to create so much using just our minds, imagine what we might create if we were operating from the heart! Mind would not be inactive or unused—it would grow much more powerful, because it would be in right relationship to heart—to the source of being, and to creation. If we stop operating from an ego-driven, mental consciousness, we stop striving for meaningless things that gratify only the smallest part of who we are. We stop wasting our mental energy and can start directing every ounce of our hearts and minds to creating bounty for all beings. We could create a paradise on earth, unlike anything we have seen before. From Kiesha Crowther "Little Grandmother". Full text here http://www.greatmystery.org/nl/glast2011littlegrandmother.html.

A Project of Self: The Power of Affirmations

2011-05-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

I took an entire day to focus my attention on repeating mentally a well thought out affirmation that would have the power to change the conditions of my life. I repeated this affirmation before I started my day, while driving, while eating, while walking, while reading, while making art, during my entire day in every moment I could remember to practice it. It was like I held the hand of a small child with an unwavering grip as I embedded the truth of this affirmation into my thinking and feeling atmosphere. I was given proof of the impact of my efforts when throughout the night the changes taking place in my soul revealed themselves throughout my dreams. There were dreams of floods, massive floods washing away debris, displacing people, bringing community together for survival. More dreams of packing up, preparing for a trip, saying goodbye to my home town. The best dream of all was standing on top of a flat roof that functioned as a viewing platform with railings and all. The view was of majestic mountains surrounding the small valley of activity where the packing and planning for travel was taking place; tall, green trees covered the peaks and sides of these mounds of earth. I was standing in the middle of a majestic space, a living forest reaching high up into the sky. The wind picked up and blew through the forest with such force that the sound was of a roaring applause. The trees were applauding me. I bowed to them. I sent out a prayer of thanksgiving. Below a few people had set up some chairs and were watching the show. I turned, and hugged the people coming up the stairs to celebrate with me. I am truly in the process of creating a new me, a new life. There is a power at work in me and I hold the door open for Its will through me as I use It for my Good.

"Ideals"

2011-05-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

"You and I are artists. But we are prone to look too long and often at our canvas--the results of our efforts; and too little at our ideals, which are the sources of all effort and power of accomplishment. Let us take time every day for gazing upon our models--our Ideals. The first thing in the morning and the last thing at night should be daily given to special gazing upon what we desire. Then many times a day we should pause in our efforts, for a few moments' study of the Ideal....And remember always that the matter of first importance is to keep sweet. To let a change upset you simply necessitates extra time and effort to get settled again." Elizabeth Towne

A Trick of the Divine

2011-04-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

From Spiritual Letters by Father Jean Paul de Caussade

I would gladly shout out everywhere: Self-abandonment! Self-abandonment! And again self-abandonment. A self-abandonment without limits or reservations, and that for two real reasons:
First because the greatness of God and Its Sovereign dominion over us demand that all should bow, should be as it were beaten down and annihilated before Its supreme majesty. Its infinite greatness is wholly out of proportion with our littleness. It dominates everything, contains everything, swallows up everything in Its immensity….He is He-Who-Is, by whom everything is, in whom everything is and who is All in all Things. Other beings compared with nothingness appear to be something, but compared with God they appear to be nothing. Their being and substance are borrowed, while God exists solely of Itself and is no one’s debtor but Its own.
The second motive of this unreserved self-abandonment is that God has no sooner obtained from His creature the homage due to Its infinite Majesty, than It gives free course to Its infinite goodness…So that in the depths of this act of self-abandonment where she was to find pure nothingness, she finds the infinite. What a bargain from the hands of the Divine Liberality! What ingenuity on the part of Divine Wisdom! What a trick the Divine Goodness has played on the soul!

'What does love mean?

2011-04-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds ,'What does love mean?'

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis , she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.. So my grandfather does it for her all the time , even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you , the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him , to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing , you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they
kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better , you should start with a friend who you hate. '

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt , then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital , I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody , your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7
'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it , you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one...
Upon seeing the man cry , the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard , climbed onto his lap , and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor , the little boy said, 'Nothing , I just helped him cry.

The Earth Breathing

2011-04-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

Prevent Radiation Sickness

2011-03-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

In 5 – 9 days it is expected that the radiation fallout from damage
to Japan’s nuclear power plants will arrive.
There are estimates that 750 RADS (7.5 Gy) may contaminate these areas. That is A
LOT of potential radiation exposure. To put it into perspective, one chest x-ray is
approximately .03 RADS. One CT scan is 1 RAD. Radiation sickness occurs with as
little as 100 RADS.
Urgent: How do I Prevent Radiation Sickness from Japan Fallout?
You must have adequate iodine levels BEFORE this radioactive fallout gets here.
The CDC recommends using iodine to prevent injury from radioactive iodine fallout.
These are the doses for potassium iodide.
• 130 mg for adults and women who are breastfeeding
• 65 mg for children age 3-18. Children who are adult size should take the adult
dose.
• 32 mg for children 1 month – 3 years of age
• 16 mg for newborns from birth – 1 month of age
When should you take this iodine?
• Just before the exposure hits
• Iodine is cleared out of the body within 24 – 72 hours after taking it
DO NOT start the first dose of iodine right now. However, have it on hand so you
are prepared. Follow the news reports and supplement when radiation fallout exposure
is eminent.
• Take iodine within 1 – 2 days of the expected fallout
• If the fallout is expected to continue, you may need to take more than one dose
• Remember iodine only lasts 24 – 72 hours in the body after taking it.

Prayer for Healing Cancer

2011-03-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

The following quote is an excerpt from what is known as a Spiritual Mind Treatment, or affirmative prayer in the New Thought tradition . This particular quote comes from Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, and author of "Science of Mind".

"Every plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Divine Love within me , removes from my consciousness every thought unlike God (Good), In my physical body there is only room for perfection , because that thought which is sustaining and nourishing my body is aware only of perfection , nothing can come into being except from the One Creative Mind , and nothing can flourish unless there is something to nourish it. Accordingly , I know that my thought does not sustain any false growth , either consciously or unconsciously originated . The depression , the misunderstanding , the maladjustment , the frustration which may have taken place in my life , is now eradicated. God is the One Causation back of all manifestation , and there could not be cause for a development of any kind contrary or superfluous to the divine order. Therefore , there cannot remain within my body anything which does not express perfection. God-Life , in and through me , forever cleanses , heals , and renews every organ , and every atom in my body , after the pattern of perfection. False growth is neither person , place or thing; it has no life to sustain it , cannot take root in Truth; it has no vitality , no substance and no power , and cannot be fed nor nurtured by Truth ." Amen.

Art is a Spiritual Practice

2011-03-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

Image above: "Ribbon Dancer" by Sanna
"What we are learning is that for every situation in our lives, there is a thought pattern that both precedes and maintains it. So that our consistent thinking patterns create our experience. By changing our thinking we also change our experience...The basic step is to confront what we actually believe." Suzi Gablik
According to Pat Allen in her book "Art As A WAy of Knowing" Art is a way of knowing what it is that we actually believe. Once we know what our real beliefs are, we can allow them to evolve and change if they do not serve us. Art making is a way to explore our imagination and begin to allow it to be more flexible, to learn how to see more options. Using the image-making process we can explore our many layers, loosen outworn ideas, and try out new images for ourselves. We can create and re-create our world through art making. Pat Allen
Art making is a spiritual practice where the creative process becomes an act of co-creating with the Great Spirit, aligning our awareness with a power within that is greater than we are guiding our hands, informing our imagination with infinite possibilities.

St. Francis of Assisi

2011-02-24T22:53:00.000-08:00

"What we are looking for is what is looking."

“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.”

“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

Obama and Hitler?

2011-02-21T15:30:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to drop a letter in the mailbox at the post office so it would go out early tomorrow morning after the President's Day Holiday. And then there were two women standing there over a table. They had a poster image of President Obama taped to the side of the table and one of them had drawn a Hitler moustache onto his upper lip. "Do you want to save the country from Obama?" I was stunned. Our country is in need of being saved from our president? Obama no less? It took me a minute to realize the inference they were making and I was overcome by their ignorance and the language they were using. Not to even mention their equating Hitler with Obama. I lamely exclaimed in what I thought was a neutral tone, but was probably in more of a condescending manner: "The office of the president can't act alone, it takes cooperation and the work of many people in office to run our country." One of the women seized the moment to begin a verbal launch into history and how Roosevelt, or a president from the past, was instrumental in doing it alone. I waved and shook my head and left. "Good Luck" I offered. I could feel within me the war, the dictator in me exclaiming how ignorant these women were. How could they make a connection between Hitler and Obama? They needed a reality check. I was so upset by their views and opinions that I had to buy me a piece of chocolate--just to make that raging woman in me calm down, enjoy the moment, let it all go. I want to be politically involved, yet I seem to have little tolerance for such destructive inferences such as these women were engaging in. Spare me these debates. Show me where we agree and what we have in common. Show me where no one is wrong and we are all wanting the same things. I am still working to calm down...breathing is good...chocolate is nice too. I will try a walk as well. Nature is the healer in all things. See you there?

Resolve to Be Tender

2011-01-27T10:51:00.001-08:00

"Resolve to be tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving,
and tolerant with the weak and wrong.
Because sometime in your life
you will have been all of these."

- Bob Goddard

Amish Grace

2010-12-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

I watched a tv movie called Amish Grace. This was a fictional account of a school shooting in the Amish community that resulted in the deaths of 5 children. The main character struggled with forgiveness, found it too difficult for awhile to practice turning the whole affair over to God. Her journey that brought her to peace and forgiveness is a journey that I took with her as I watched the drama. I identified with the main character in so many ways because I harbored feelings of unforgiveness from childhood events, from work situations, from so many interactions that I thought I had come to terms with. I joined this character in surrendering all unforgiveness into a greater power that is in charge of making things right. I let go of being angry, hurt, victimized and found inner peace. The FREEDOM I experienced in my body has stayed with me. I know freedom like never before. I say thank you to the Amish.

Prayers for Everyday Living

2010-12-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

A CD recording of 23 spiritual mind treatments written by licensed spiritual counselors from the Center for Spiritual Living in Santa Rosa Ca. Can be ordered through their bookstore at http://www.steppingstonesbookstore.org/ for $10. All profits support the Center and the valuable work that takes place there.

Elizabeth Towne

2010-12-09T21:41:00.000-08:00

This is a wonderful universe--a one-verse. There is an orbit for every being and a being for every orbit. Every orbit is written on a heart, a soul, and may be found only by consulting that soul.

That is the only difference between the loaf of bread and the man. The loaf of bread has to be raised in spite of itself--it has to be kept at just the right temperature from the outside. But a man has in himself the power to make his own temperature. He can work himself up to the rising point.

The only reason a man does not open his heart to Love and Will, and begin straightway to rise again, is because he does not yet understand that the buffetings of “fate” are no more “against” him than are the kneadings of the housewife against the success of her bread.

Omo Tribe

2010-12-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

My Art

2010-10-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

These framed collages will be for sale at the Center for Spiritual Living "Spirit Expressing Art Show. Begins November 4th. www.cslsr.org.

Bicycle Parts

2010-09-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Colorful monument. The sheer height of this penetrates the sky and the mind. Quite beautiful on Santa Rosa Ave.

This Is Great News!! Hallelujah!!

2010-09-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

It's Time for a Mary Oliver Poem

2010-09-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.

from Sleeping In The Forest by Mary Oliver
© Mary Oliver

Perfect

2010-08-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Let this angel carry you higher.

Try a Little Tenderness

2010-08-08T17:19:00.001-07:00

Rev Marilyn AKA "Mother Goose"

2010-08-06T17:40:00.001-07:00

One day one of Marilyn's cats/kittens was captivated by movement in one of the bushes in her yard. She approached and found hidden there a gosling. She adopted this gosling and raised it. It followed her everywhere. If it was napping and Marilyn moved to the other side of the yard it would wake up and fly directly to where she was. When she would leave her house in her car this goose would fly after her, following the car as far as it could. One year, this grown goose joined a flock of geese fllying overhead, migrating south. A year later on the flock's return migration this goose stopped by Marilyn's yard and brought the whole flock with it. It was to be the last time Marilyn would see him. She was a mother to a gosling that grew into a healthy adult goose. Our Mother Goose! We love you sweet Marilyn. (Relayed to me by Patricia Howard via Marilyn's son Sean Mooney.)

At the Fair

2010-07-31T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Earth laughs in flowers.~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thank You Marilyn

2010-07-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

We come to love not by finding a perfect person,
but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. - Sam Keen

This is Rev Marilyn's legacy to me. She has taught me how to do this by giving her love to me and by watching her love others that I deemed unworthy.
Thank you Marilyn. Thank you. Thank you.

Day Tripping with Friends

2010-07-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

If all the world were apple pie,
And all the sea were ink,
And all the trees were bread-and-cheese
What should we have to drink?

I drank our laughter mixed with Joy
& Michael was there too.
We snacked on forest stillness deep
Then counted fairy rings and things
On a Saturday afternoon.

Can't Get Enough of Trees

2010-07-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

TREES
by Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by people like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Tree Tree Tree

2010-07-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

Blessings of the Goddess

2010-07-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

May the blessings of the Goddess rest upon you,
May her peace abide in you.
May her presence illuminate your heart
Now and forever more.

A Tender Yes

2010-07-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Tender "Yes"
©2003, Melissa Phillippe

As I say a tender "yes"
to everything that comes to me
My heart is open.
I am free.

I open to All That Is.
It brings me to my knees.
I surrender.
I am Peace.

Lotus Blessings

2010-07-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

In Joy, In Beauty...

Playing Tag with God

2010-07-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

God and I are engaged in a glorious little game of tag. I chase God with my words of praise and acknowledgement for a co-worker, a grocery bagger, a wild deer, a flowering plant. God reveals Itself and is tagged when It shares a secret smile, a recognition in deep pools of eyes, a timely rustle among the blossoms. And this personal revelation of Divine Love and Its reciprocal tag is my prize. Again!! I quietly squeal like a child at play. And our game of tag continues way past the end of the day and the setting sun. Where will you reveal yourself again, how may I tag you again, and again? Tag me, tag me!!

Papaji Can you show me God?

2010-06-20T21:18:00.001-07:00

My Newest Friends

2010-06-19T23:49:00.002-07:00

"We Are At the End of Civilization"

2010-05-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

AT THE END OF HIS LIFE, the great Indian mystic Aurobindo is said to have said, “If there is to be a future, it will wear the crown of feminine design.” Unless we awaken to the mystery of the sacred feminine, of the feminine as sacred, and allow it to glow into, irradiate, illumine, and penetrate every area of our activity and to create in them all harmony, justice, peace, love, ecstacy, and balance, we will die out and take nature, or a large part of it, with us. Unless we come to know what the sacred feminine really is—its subtlety and flexibility, but also its extraordinarily ruthless, radical power of dissolving all structures and dogmas, all prisons in which we have sought so passionately to imprison ourselves—we will be taken in by patriarchal projections of it. The Divine Mother, the fullness of the revolution that she is preparing, will be lost to us. We must understand that comprehending the sacred feminine is a crucial part of surviving the next terrible stage of humanity....
We are certainly at the end of so-called “civilization,” and we are possibly at the end of the world. The facts of our global crisis, a crisis at once political and economic, psychological and environmental, show us clearly that the human race has no hope of survival unless it chooses to undergo a total transformation, a total change of heart. What is required is a massive and quite unprecedented spiritual transformation. There is no precedent for what we are being asked to do. Only the leap into a new consciousness can engender the vision, the moral passion, the joy and energy necessary to effect change on the scale and with the self-sacrifice that is essential to save the planet in the time we have left.
The message we are being sent by history can be summed up in four words: Transform or die out... Teilhard de Chardin wrote, “Humanity is being taken to the point where it will have to choose between suicide or adoration.” I have no doubt that we are now at that point. Human survival depends on whether we are brave enough to face the full desolation of what we have done to our psyches and the planet, and wise and humble enough to turn to the divine insight inside us to learn what we need to go forward. It is fact. This is where we are, this is what is happening, and it is terrifying. Anyone not in a trance of denial knows it.
What we have to face now is not merely our own death, but the possible death of everything and everyone we love, the holocaust of nature herself, the mother we have ignored and betrayed for so long. If we do not face up to our present danger, in all its horror, without consolation and without illusion, in the full glare of Kali’s terrifying mirror, if we don’t gaze deeply into the mirror of the goddess and see our faces, we will never find in ourselves the passion and courage necessary to change. Catastrophe can become grace, and disaster possibility, only if we transform their energy by accepting what they have to teach us and acting with complete sincerity to transform ourselves.

My Mother

2010-05-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

I am reading a book titled "Shapeshifting" within which the author states that the mayan and other native societies in the Southern hemisphere shapeshifted back to the earth and simply abandoned their cities realizing that the path they were traveling within city life was usurping the Earth's resources in a destructive and doomed way. Just like that. They marched, walked, turned away from the destructive lifestyle that we cling to today. I imagined what it would look like to return back to the Earth, to a relationship with nature that is in harmony with who I am as One with the Earth. We have turned so profoundly away from the Truth of who we are as integral expressions and life forms of Earth. I contemplate this deeply today.

Making a New Path

2010-05-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. ~Henry David Thoreau

500 years of female portraits

2010-05-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

May You Be Blessed

2010-05-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

May you be blessed
with all things good.
May your joys, like the stars at night,
be too numerous to count.

May your victories be more abundant
than all the grains of sand
on all the beaches
on all the oceans
in all the world.

May lack and struggle
only serve to make you stronger
and may beauty order and abundance
be your constant companions.

May every pathway you choose
lead to that which is pure and good and lovely.
May every doubt and fear
be replaced by a deep abiding trust
as you behold evidence of a Higher Power
all around you.

And when there is only darkness
and the storms of life are closing in
May the light at the core of your being
illuminate the world.
From Buddha Blessing

A Lot of Love

2010-04-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

Love is all there is...

Come Alive

2010-04-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

"Don't ask what the world needs; don't ask what others think you should be doing with your life. Instead, ask yourself what makes you come alive--because, more than anything else, what the world truly needs are men and women who have come alive." - Dr. Wayne Dyer

Earth Day Tomorrow

2010-04-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour." ~ W. Blake

My fav Ig Nobel Winners 2009

2010-04-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Ig Nobel Prize awards are given each year in early October — around the time the recipients of the genuine Nobel Prizes are announced — for ten achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think."
In 2009
• Biology: Fumiaki Taguchi, Song Guofu and Zhang Guanglei of Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences in Sagamihara, Japan, for demonstrating that kitchen refuse can be reduced more than 90% in mass by using bacteria extracted from the feces of giant pandas.
• Literature: Ireland's police service for writing and presenting more than 50 traffic tickets to the most frequent driving offender in the country - Prawo Jazdy - whose name in Polish means "Driving License".
• Medicine: Donald L. Unger of Thousand Oaks, California, US, for investigating a possible cause of arthritis of the fingers, by diligently cracking the knuckles of his left hand but not his right hand every day for 50 years.
• Peace: Stephan Bolliger, Steffen Ross, Lars Oesterhelweg, Michael Thali and Beat Kneubuehl of the University of Bern, Switzerland, for determining whether it is better to be smashed over the head with a full bottle of beer or with an empty bottle.
• Physics: Katherine K. Whitcome of the University of Cincinnati, Daniel E Lieberman of Harvard University and Liza J. Shapiro of the University of Texas, all in the US, for analytically determining why pregnant women do not tip over.
• Public Health: Elena N. Bodnar, Raphael C. Lee, and Sandra Marijan of Chicago, US, for inventing a bra that can be quickly converted into a pair of gas masks - one for the wearer and one to be given to a needy bystander.
• Veterinary medicine: Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University, UK, for showing that cows with names give more milk than cows that are nameless.

Believe

2010-04-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Believe in the Hope
that a new day is dawning.
Believe that your dreams will come true...
Believe in the promise of
brighter tomorrows...
Begin by believing in
You!
From "Buddha Blessings" on FB

The Old Wisdom

2010-04-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Old Wisdom by Jane Goodall

When the night wind makes the pine trees creak
And the pale clouds glide across the dark sky,
Go out, my child, go out and seek
Your soul: the eternal I.

For all the grasses rustling at your feet
And every flaming star that glitters high
Above you, close up and meet
In you: the Eternal I.

Yes, my child, go out into the world; walk slow
And silent, comprehending all, and by and by
Your soul, the Universe, will know
Itself: the Eternal I.

Omnipresent Spirit

2010-04-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

The world as we see it is factual; the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms are facts. Form is a fact; process is evident. The fact is the temporal; truth is the eternal. The fact is the phenomenon, the thing that is evident; the truth is the meaning back of the phenomenon. We seem to see when we consider only the phenomenon, the beginning and the end of process. Hence, there arises in the individual a peculiar dread of the end of things; the end of what we call the world process seems to us vital. Let us turn the inner eye upon the eternal Process; even though to you and to me there may seem to be a cessation of the process in the visible, so far as we can see with the eyes of the senses. Are we learning to think through facts into truth? Is life in the light of truth made up of phenomena alone, or of the Cause and the phenomenon? There is an answer to this question in the teaching of Omnipresence; for Life is Omnipresent Spirit, and process is God-Expression. Nona Brooks 1924

Oh Divine Universe

2010-04-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

Oh Divine Universe,
gather together to form
one great ball of light
and allow it to come forth
with my Divinity.
Let the power surge of energy
enter my center core
and rejuvenate all that is ailing.
That which I can see and feel
and that which I cannot.
Let it mend cell by cell,
getting rid of what is toxic
to my human form and its tissue.

Let each beam of energy
run fierce through my veins
and purify them,
exiting out of each digit
on my hands and feet.
Let it shine out
through the top of my crown
to the limitless sky.

Allow recharging energy Oh Goddess,
wrap me in your Divinity
and warm glow.

Mother Nature,
grab hold of my ankles
and keep me grounded.

May the trees keep me balanced and steady
and the sky, day or night humble, and dreamy.

by Halijo Webster

Life, Life, Life!

2010-04-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

There is neither youth nor age to the one who knows God as his Life; there is increasingly powerful living. The use of our faculties should not be affected by the addition of years. What are years in themselves? How shall we keep young? How shall we overcome the belief in years? It is all worked from within. The mentality must be kept active and powerful by identifying it with the one Mind which knows neither youth nor age. Let us keep alert; inertia is a sign that we are forgetting to keep close to God. Loss of memory is another one of the ills that we bring upon ourselves by misconception. Divine Mind never forgets; it never overlooks a blade of grass in this Universe of its creating. As we identify with Divine Mind we see that there is no loss of memory possible, for constant activity is the state of Infinite Mind. Do not listen to the race belief that because we have lived on this plane of existence for three score years and ten we must begin to retrograde; there is no truth in it. Listen to the Life Principle speaking always in terms of Life, Life, Life!
By Nona Brooks

What Do You Believe?

2010-03-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

If you believe the noises of the world, rather than the silences of your soul, you will be lost.

Yeild to the Willow

2010-03-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

"Yeild to the willow
All the loathing,
All the desire of your heart."
~Basho

Masters are those who have chosen only love. In every circumstance. Even as they were being killed, they loved their murderers.

Buttercups are blooming

2010-03-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

Slender, so slender
its stalk bends under dew --
little yellow flower
~Basho
HAPPY SPRING!!

Everything

2010-03-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

"Everything you take for granted is a blessing. Everything you fear is a friend in disguise. Everything you want is a part of you. Everything you hate you hate about yourself. Everything you own does not define you. Everything you feel is the only Truth there is to know.

Everything you wish for is already on its way to you. Everything you think creates your life. Everything you seek for you will find. Everything you resist will stick around. Everything you let go of stays if it's supposed to. Everything you need is right where you are.

Every time you bless another your bless yourself. Every time you blame another you lose your power. Every time you think you can, you can. Every time you fall you must get up and try again. Every time you cry you're one tear closer to joy. Every time you ask for forgiveness, all you have to do is forgive yourself.

Everyone you see is your reflection. Everyone you know mirrors you. Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to live in joy. Everyone seeks a higher purpose. Everyone breathes the same breath. Everyone needs love to survive. Everyone has a purpose to fulfill.

Wishing you a week ahead filled with happiness.
Namaste' & Hugs,

The Woman's Bible

2010-03-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

Ursula Gestefeld was a New Thought writer in the early 1900s involved with the work of the Suffrage Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The New Thought Movement was a Woman’s Movement at the turn of the century. Ernest Holmes came into new thought much later after the 19th amendment (voting rights for women passed) in 1920.

[The following is Appendix C in Voices of the Angels, a New Thought Reader, yet to be published.]

The Woman's Bible

is a collection of essays and commentaries on the Bible compiled in 1895 by a committee chaired by Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), one of the organizers of the Seneca Falls Convention (the first Woman's Rights Convention held in 1848) and a founder of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Elizabeth Cady Stantton worked closely and in partnership with Susan B. Anthony during the women’s suffrage movement in the earl 1900s.

Stanton's purpose was to initiate a critical study of biblical texts that are used to degrade and subject women in order to demonstrate that it is not divine will that humiliates women, but human desire for domination. In "denying divine inspiration for demoralizing ideas," Stanton's committee hoped to exemplify a reverence for a higher Christian "Spirit of all Good."

From The Woman’s Bible: The letters and comments are in answer to the questions: 1. Have the teachings of the Bible advanced or retarded theemancipation of women? 2. Have they dignified or degraded the Mothers of the Race? Ursula Gestefeld”s response: Like the shield which was gold on one side and silver on the other,the Bible has two sides or aspects. As travelers approaching theshield from opposite directions quarreled over its nature because eachsaw only that side which he had approached, people have differed intheir view of the Bible and its influence upon mankind because only oneaspect has been visible to them.
Acceptance of the Bible literally tends to retard the development ofboth man and woman, and consequently the establishment of their highest and best relation to each other, a relation upon which depends their usefulness to the community. Both the law of Moses and the teachings of Paul, thus considered, belittle woman more than they exalt her. While words of praise and promises of future place and power are not altogether lacking, this is the impression left upon the mind of the reader who is not able to pass around to the other side andgain another view. Exoterically considered, the Bible offers less of the ethical and the spiritual than of the physical possibilities of woman as the complement to man; but esoterically considered, it is found to exact the spiritual possibilities above the rest--above even the like possibilities of the man. The Bible has been, and will continue to be, a stumbling-block in the way of development of inherent resources, consequently of the truest civilization, in proportion to the strength of its exoteric aspect with the people. It will cease to be a stumbling block and become a powerful impetus in the desired direction instead, when its inner meaning becomes revelator, companion and friend.
In the literal rendering of the Bible, woman appears first and above all as man's subordinate; but this inner meaning shows her first and above all as the individual equal with him, and afterward his complement, or what she is able to be for him. Portrayed as the mother of the Saviour of the world, one woman is exalted above all women when only physical motherhood is seen; and the consequence has been that one woman has been worshiped and the sex has been crucified. This one woman has been lifted above her place; and all women have fallen correspondingly below it.
Not till "the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world" shall pierce with its rays the darkness of the sensuous nature, will woman's spiritual motherhood for the race, be discerned as the way of its redemption from that darkness and its consequences. As that light is uncovered in individual souls the inner meaning of the Bible will appear, woman's nature as the individual and her true relativity to man be seen. Then the mistakes which have been ignorantly made will be rectified, because both sides of the shield will be seen. Men and women will clasp hands as comrades with a common destiny; religion and science will each reveal their destiny and prove that truth which the Bible even exoterically declares that "the woman is the glory of the man." Ursula N. Gestefeld.

Chief Seattle

2010-03-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

THE WEB OF LIFE

"Humankind has not woven the web of life, we are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."
– Chief Seattle

POINTS OF PERCEPTION

"We find what we look for, nothing more and nothing less."
– Proverbial Wisdom

"We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are."
– The Talmud

Rosary Beads

2010-03-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

I love the rosary beads, so beautiful. There are 54 beads on a rosary, half of 108, which is a sacred number of beads found in the eastern malas, their beaded equivalent to the western rosary. The wholeness of existence is represented in the number 108 as found in the sacred geometry of the Vedic sages. 1+0+8=9 The number 9 also represents wholeness. It is believed that 108 repetitions of a mantra or prayer gives more power to the words and intention. I will look for a rosary to go with my mala beads.

Flow of Life

2010-02-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

Today may we choose to be happy regardless of the ebb and flow of life, for we can only swim or sink and not change the currents! (From the Daily Buddha)

Wildly Seeing

2010-02-25T18:20:00.000-08:00

Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology It's a good time to go in search of "The 13 Perfect Secrets from the Beginning of Time." Do you know any? (Here are possible candidates: 1. If everything is under control, you're probably not moving fast enough. 2. If you're never confused, you may not be ...thinking deeply enough. 3. If you're not constantly amazed, you may not be seeing wildly enough.)

Simplicity

2010-02-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

The secret of life is not to have everything you want, but to want everything you have.

Okie Dokie

2010-02-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

Everything is okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end.

Your Purpose Fulfilled

2010-02-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

In moments
Of my quiet
Loneliness
I walk.
Navigating along trails
Near singing stones in
Rain swollen creeks,
Canopied by the dangling grey
Lichens draped among the
Moss-covered tree limbs.
My wings catch a current-
I am lifted up,
I begin to soar.
A frisky, friendly smile
Acts not unlike a
Sprinkle of fairy dust-
My stride lightens.
Another family-warm
Grin wraps its kindness
Around my aching heart.
My steps quicken;
I breathe a sigh of thanksgiving
For the love of strangers.
Do you know the power of your smile?
The potency of that sparkle in your eye?
You healed someone today
By your gesture of warmth.
Your smile,
Your kindness,
Lifted me up today.
You have fulfilled
Your purpose in a
Single moment.
by Sanna Rose

The First Quality of Love

2010-02-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

“What is love? Take a look at a rose. Is it possible for the rose to say, ‘I shall offer my fragrance to good people and withhold it from bad people?’ Or can you imagine a lamp that withholds its rays from a wicked person who seeks to walk in its light? It could only do that by ceasing to be a lamp. And observe how helplessly and indiscriminately a tree gives its shade to everyone, good and bad, young and old, high and low; to animals and humans and every living creature -- even the one who seeks to cut it down. So this is the first quality of love: its indiscriminate character. ~ Anthony DeMello

Laughing Buddha

2010-02-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

There is an ancient story of a young monk learning from the masters at his temple in China. One day the young monk came across something he did not understand, so he went to ask his teacher about the subject. When the teacher heard the question, he began laughing, then stood up and walked away, still laughing.

The young... monk was very disturbed by this reaction. For the next few days, he could not eat, sleep or think properly. After several days of this, he went back to the master and told the master how disturbed he had felt. When the master heard this, he said, do you know what your issue is? Your problem is that YOU ARE WORSE THAN A CLOWN!"
The monk was shocked to hear that, the young monk whinced how can you say such a thing?! How can I be worse than a clown?"

The teacher explained - A clown enjoys seeing people laugh. You? You feel disturbed because another person laughed. Tell me, is this not not worse than a clown?"
When the monk heard this, he began to laugh.

May we all learn to enjoy the laughter. The person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.
From the "Daily Buddha"

Not Marzipan Babies

2010-01-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

These cuties are made from modeling clay NOT almond paste and egg white. Sorry for the misinformation...

Warm Tootsies

2010-01-28T11:59:00.000-08:00

No, I don't want to go outside, thank you, I am comfy right where I am!

Albert

2010-01-27T17:53:00.000-08:00

I was offered presidency of the new Israeli State in 1952. I declined.
I was married twice. My first wife was, like me, a physicist.
I was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.
I worked for Princeton University in my later years.
I was a sailing fanatic, though I never learned to swim.
Physicist Niels Bohr and I had a lasting dispute about the nature of reality.
I played violin quite well and often donated my talents to charity balls.

I shared this info with some elders this morning and one of them piped up and shared that he had walked in Einstein's footsteps--literally. He was attending Princeton and came out of a building and there was Einstein walking by. There was snow on the ground and this elder promptly stepped into Einstein's footprints that were in the snow and walked in his footsteps. I was so impressed!! I love my work.

The Next Season On Its Way

2010-01-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

Robert Frost (1915)

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

The Lotus Flower

2010-01-20T22:21:00.000-08:00

The lotus rises through the murky waters of ponds and lakes yet, when it blooms, it floats upon the surface, its petals shining and untainted by the mud from which it emerged. In the scriptural language and sacred poetry of Hinduism and Buddhism, the lotus perfectly embodies the soul, rising up through the murkiness of worldly experience until it reaches the surface of the spiritual realm and blooms, vibrant and pure, free from all taint and attachment.

The lotus is so fundamental to the spiritual language of Yoga that it has become a technical term. The word "lotus" is used interchangeably with the word chakra referring to the spinning wheels of spiritual energy located along the spinal axis. While the lotus can refer to any of the chakras, it is most especially associated with the radiant white-gold crown chakra.

Hot YouTube Video

2010-01-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

They shot this whole thing in reverse and had to learn how to sing the lyrics backwards. Creativity blooming.

How Do You Grieve?

2010-01-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

I discovered not too long ago that when I am grieving I get snippy. I snap and get a little bit mean. I seem to lose patience with everything. My tolerance for everyday, superficial expressions disappears. I become like a wounded creature clutching my pain and curling up into my burrow licking the throbbing with stillness and isolation. This becomes an opportunity for others to forgive me for my roughness, shortness, and cruelty, and for me to forgive myself for pushing others away. Sharing becomes quite tender and difficult. How do you grieve? I am looking around to see how we as a community grieve, as a culture grieve. In some cultures grieving rituals and ceremony are a regular practice. The community rallies around the grieving parent or citizen and shares in the expression of distress and pain. Purging grief from the group and from its individuals transmutes the mourning so that the sun can shine in on the morrow. Wise practice I think.

You are being watched...

2010-01-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

From Peter Philips: Project Censored in California
FYI
Global Censorship Technology used in U.S.
Deep packet inspection technology monitors everything that goes through the internet. It is readily available in the United States and there’s no legislation that prevents the US government from employing it. Deep packet inspection is currently used in Iran. The Iranian Government has the ability to look through everything, land line telephones, mobile telephones, email, websites, looking for keywords and actually monitoring the entire traffic going through one chokepoint in Iran. Deep packet inspection is the use of sophisticated equipment that literally watches the entire internet for every piece of data, voice, and video looking for key words, such as "rebel" or "grenade." It is widely known that since 9/11, AT&T and Verizon were being asked by the Bush administration to deploy this sort of off-the-shelf technology. And they did. Again, Obama came out against the law and said we must punish these carriers for doing this, because it’s illegal, and then he flipped under enormous pressure from the lobbies.

A New Courage

2010-01-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

From Gary Zukav:
Spiritual growth requires becoming aware of everything you are feeling and using your will to change yourself instead of trying to change others. It takes courage to experience your emotions because many of them are painful, and it takes courage to do something you have not tried before or really applied yourself to doing before.

Courage is using your will to face your own fears instead of trying to change everyone else. That is the new courage. It is not the recklessness of a daredevil, or breaking thirty bones in your body while rock climbing (which an acquaintance of ours did), or parachuting at night with combat equipment (which I did). It is the courage to do what you need to do in order to keep your commitment to yourself, especially when your commitment is to experience all of the frightened parts of your personality and challenge and change them instead of indulging them or running from them.

When you are in a power struggle, for example, and you know you are right, you are impatient, judgmental, and angry. Will you continue the struggle until you win or until you and the other are both fatigued and more distant than ever, or will you challenge the part of your personality that does not care about the other and stretch yourself beyond the limited perceptions of the frightened part of your personality that is determined to be victorious? Choosing love at that moment requires more courage than most feats of bravery that you can imagine (such as rock climbing and night parachute jumps).

Multitasking Generation

2010-01-08T20:20:00.000-08:00

There he was. Spoon in his left hand, a cup of oatmeal in his lap, and texting on his blackberry with his right hand. Who was driving? His knees. Where was I? I was sitting in the passenger seat, sinking into mother-worry. "At least give me the spoon!" I whined. I knew that if I, as his mother, were to exert control over his behavior that I would not be in his company for some time. So, I did my best to sit in pray and allow wise words to come out of my mouth in a soothing, reasoned manner. "You know if your car were to have a blow out you would most likely lose control, don't you?" "I just got new tires on it, Mom" Oyyyyyy..........!! I will always give him my words of wisdom, but as a young adult he rides under God's protection and will arrive where he is bound to go. Thank you God!!

Opening the Global Heart

2010-01-06T10:52:00.001-08:00

10,000 Steps

2010-01-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

How many steps do you take in a day? I hiked, then walked, and I still only made it to 5400 steps. What does 10,000 steps look like?

How many steps do you walk each day?

Maybe you have heard the recent guidelines about walking 10,000 steps per day. How far is 10,000 steps anyway? The average person's stride length is approximately 2.5 feet long. That means it takes just over 2,000 steps to walk one mile, and 10,000 steps is close to 5 miles.

A sedentary person may only average 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day. For these people adding steps has many health benefits. I have outlined the basic 10,000 steps program, but also added a commentary below.

A reasonable goal for most people is to increase average daily steps each week by 500 per day until you can easily average 10,000 per day. Example: If you currently average 3000 steps each day, your goal for week one is 3500 each day. Your week 2 goal is 4000 each day. Continue to increase each week and you should be averaging 10,000 steps by the end of 14 weeks.

Time to get it together body!!

The Art of Blessing

2010-01-02T11:35:00.001-08:00

The Miracle of Friendship

2010-01-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

by Anonymous

There is a Miracle called Friendship
that dwells within the heart
and you don't know how it happens
or when it even starts.

But the happiness it brings you
always gives a special lift
and you realize that
Friendship
is God's most precious gift.

2009-12-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

Poetry is wisdom that enchants the heart. Wisdom is poetry that sings in the mind. If we could enchant man's heart and at the same time sing in his mind, Then in truth he would live in the shadow of God. Kahlil Gribran

The Universe is in a Sheet of Paper

2009-12-26T21:59:00.000-08:00

"If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are. "Interbeing" is a combination of "inter-" and the verb "to be", which creates a new verb, inter-be. Without a cloud, we cannot have paper, so we can say that the cloud and the sheet of paper inter-are. If we look closer at the sheet of paper, we can see the sunshine in it that grew the forest, which made the paper. Without "non-paper elements", like mind which is perceiving it, the logger and his parents who made the logger possible, the sun, the rain, etc., there would be no paper. As thin as the sheet of paper is, it contains everything in the universe in it." From Thich Nhat Hanh

A Song of Faith

2009-12-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

A rendering showing some of the 18,000 objects that are being tracked in earth's orbit

A SONG OF FAITH by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1916
My glass of life with its brew of Being,
I lift, with a toast, to the Universe.
Though black guns bellow and mad men curse
And a sick world hurries from bad to worse
I trust in the might of the One All Seeing--
The One All Knowing, to set things right.

Though hate in the heart of the race may thunder,
In rifle and cannon and bursting shell,
And the sea and the air their tales may tell,
Of the minds of mortals that seethe with hell,--
Yet in God's vast plan there can be no blunder--
He is blazing the trail for the Super-man.

The creeds of ages may totter and tumble,
And fall in ruins, but out of the dust,
And out of the wreckage of old things, must
Rise better religion, and stronger trust,
And faith that knows, and knowing is humble.
(Humility ever with knowledge goes.)

This speck in space on its orbit spinning,
Swings safely along without aid from me,
A Mind that can order, an Eye that can see,
Back of, and over it all must be--
And will be--and was from the first beginning,
Not mine to question or doubt the Cause.

But mine to worship the Mighty Master
And Maker of all things; mine to raise
Ever an anthem of love and praise
In the light of the sun or in shadowed ways,--
In the world's bright hour, or in world disaster,
To see His glory and sing His power.

So my glass of life with its brew of Being
I lift, with a song of the One All Seeing--
Of the One All Knowing; though earth seems hurled
Out into chaos, I see it lying
In God's great palm--and my faith undying
Cries, "Lo! He is moulding a better world."

Native American Prayer

2009-12-21T18:03:00.000-08:00

Let there be beauty before me as I wander,
Let there be beauty behind, as I wander,
Let there be beauty above and below me,
Let there be only beauty from this day on.

Napping and the Biological Clock

2009-12-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

I took a nap. I had to quiet that voice within saying no, guilt-trip, too much to do, etc. I felt so wonderful all cozy under the warm blanket, well cared for. Take a nap. Let it all go for a bit of a lazy afternoon. Look what the experts say and don't feel guilty!
Contrary to popular belief, except for insomnia sufferers, a brief afternoon nap does not necessarily interfere with nighttime sleep. In fact, an afternoon nap may be perfectly compatible with a finely-tuned biological clock. For most people, the sleep/wake cycle includes being awake for about 16 hours and then asleep for about eight. But what many people don't realize is that the body's clock is set with two distinct dips in alertness within a 24-hour period: one at about 2:00 am and another at about 2:00 pm, corresponding to the midday dip. Fighting off the urge to sleep during these times is challenging, especially for someone already suffering from sleep deprivation.

Gregory Belenky, MD, Research Professor and Director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University, recommends naps as a way to make up for lost nighttime sleep. He says, "The beauty of naps is that they add to total recuperative sleep time," adding that "A large number of the world's people divide their sleep into two blocks (with the afternoon sleep called a siesta in Spanish-speaking countries). It is even possible that divided sleep is more recuperative than sleep taken in a single block."

A Blessing for You

2009-12-17T23:04:00.000-08:00

"May there always be work for your hands to do, may your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine on your windowpane, may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you, may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."
- Irish Blessing

Forgive

2009-12-16T12:25:00.000-08:00

All your images of winter
I see against your sky.
I understand the wounds
That have not healed in you.
They exist because God and love
Have yet to become real enough
To allow you to forgive

Mountain Poems

2009-12-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

You're bound to become a buddha if you practice
If water drips long enough even rocks wear through
It's not true thick skulls can't be pierced
People just imagine their minds are hard.

Standing outside my pointed-roof hut
Who'd guess how spacious it is inside
A galaxy of worlds is there
With room to spare for a zazen cushion.

Becoming a buddha is easy
But ending illusions is hard
So many frosted moonlit nights
I’ve sat and felt
The cold before dawn.

by Shih-wu (1272-1352)

Twelve Days of Christmas

2009-12-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember:
Twelve Days of Christmas
The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,
Gentleness, and Self Control.
The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

A Walk In the Rain

2009-12-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

Take a walk in the rain. Bundle up and bring your umbrella, but walk in the rain. Breathe in the Light and wash away the insideous worms of winter. The dark time brings the challenge of the dark, and walking in the rain brings fire and light back into the realm. I am the Light that is this world. Praises be.

A Prayer for The Little Black Ant

2009-12-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

I reached into the large kitty food bag yesterday to feed the two remaining feral cats and my companion calico, and when I withdrew my arm, filled food container in hand, I was surprised to see my forearm covered in little black ants. My arm was alive with them. I didn’t panic (sort of). I didn’t scream, although I could feel a scream itching to be released. No, I calmly took the food container to the sink, and washed the ants off my arm. With a sigh I knew my cozy abode had been invaded, my space was being violated by these small, quiet, black creatures scurrying out of the rain and into the nearest source of food they could find. I have come to peace with the fact that I cannot live with ants in my space. I will not share my food or space with tiny, crawling, swarming, black ants. So I killed them as quickly as I could with a spray bottle of biodegadable soap. I did my obligatory communication ritual with them and ordered them out of my house if they wanted to live. They refused to go. So, now, I wait patiently as the sweet bait spreads its deathly sleep into the colony so I can return to my creature comforts of a cozy home without little crawling ants. I respect the ant,--outside my boundaries, and I have tried every humane way to establish and maintain an ant free, ant forbidden territory. I bless the death of these black ants, may you know peace and lots of foraging in the next life. Forgive me as I forgive you. Amen!

Purr More

2009-12-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

I saw a bumper sticker today that read: "Wag More, Bark Less". Since I am more of the feline persuasion I decided to transpose this into "Purr More, Claw Less". In ohter words Smile, Breathe, & Go Slowly. Then uncaused joy will bubble to the surface within your heart. The Christ has risen, again.

Have a Chuckle

2009-12-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

Timeless...

Making Clouds With Hands

2009-12-05T23:51:00.001-08:00

I was the first customer at a local garage sale this morning and I scored a Toshiba dvd player for $15.00. My cheap Sony died several weeks ago. I promptly plugged and wired it in and slipped a dvd of my favorite tai chi master into the machine. Then, I became spell bound by the ebb and flow of the tai chi movements. My soul responds to this form of movement in a way I have not experienced in any other form. One movement that captivated me this morning was titled "making clouds with hands", or something like that. And there he was, actually fluffing clouds with his hands. Amazing. Heart opening. Spirit in alignment through every layer.

"A Hummingbird's Delight"

2009-12-02T23:18:00.000-08:00

I finished working on this pressed flower collage today and had it outside on my little porch spraying some sealant on it. I stood there staring at the piece losing myself in the floral imagery when a humming creature joined me, zummed right up next to me and looked at the piece along side me. I didn't even turn my head; we both stood there looking at the picture together--a hummingbird and me. When I realized that I was not alone I turned to look at my companion who shimmered in irredescent green. It looked at me as if disappointed in being tricked into thinking it could sup necture from the color and hummed away in an arc over the lanky cymbidium leaves. It took me awhile to realize what a little messenger of Spirit my friend was to me today. I feel I had a special visitor, a guest, invited by the splendor of Spirit's creativity blooming through me. What an affirmation. I think I might title this piece "A Hummingbird's Delight" or something. By the way that hibiscus bloom in the center is for real! Thank you Patricia!

The Return

2009-12-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Now, we are in those days when many people are talking about 2012: and some of them don’t see the positive side of the Prophecies because they are looking only at the surface of the Prophecies and not at the deeper meaning of the Prophecies.
“The ancient ones said that the Maya Lands are the home of the bird called “T’HO”, a bird with beautiful blue feathers, and these birds are our Grandfathers and they are waiting for the Goddess to come back again” (Waiting for the Awakening of the Sacred Feminine). The Goddess will bring again the Solar-Knowledge to Humankind; and allow them to fly out of their caves. (It means that Human Beings will fly again in spirit out of their bodies (their caves) applying the Solar-Wisdom in order to once again reach the Stars. Now, it is the time to fly out of our own limitations and to see and to experience in our spirit and the spirit of one “Whose Name is Whispered in a Breath” the amazing gift we have to change anything in a positive and creative manifestation of Love and Life. Now, it is the moment to manifest again the Maya within (“to be a chosen one”) because you have the Science (the intellect) and the Spirit (in your Heart) to fulfill the great responsibility facing 2012: to guide Humankind again, through our actions and words, to the balance and harmony that the ancient ones; Hunab-Ku, Itzamana, IxCheel, and K'u-Kuul-Kaan, desired for us.
Miguel Angel Vergara Calleros

I've Got My Eye On You

2009-11-29T19:20:00.000-08:00

I've got my eye on you. Are you paying attention? You funny cat with an almost cheshire grin. And to think your name is Jackie, you little Buddha you...Are you trying to fool me?

On Pause While Breathing

2009-11-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

Today was like a pause between God's breath. There seemed to be a stillness in the ether. I was active in a project and then was compelled to sit down on my little couch. I felt drawn into a cosmic pause. Everything within and without was still, quiet, like in hibernation mode, or poised and pregnant, holding yet not. On pause while breathing. In oneness--on pause, still... hmmmm....