'What does love mean?

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

Prevent Radiation Sickness

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

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

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

"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?

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?