Surviving the Circus

I read some poignant words which were posted to FB tonight by Gabby Bernstein , who is one of my favorite inspiring people currently. It's amazing how the universe gives you what you need - if you are paying attention. Thankfully, I was - at least tonight. If, like me, you've ever wondered why you keep repeating the same circumstance with new people, or the same relationships - again, with new people, then this quote may help you. I found it more of a lesson I needed to learn, about a lesson I need to learn, so I found myself setting it up as if for a big screen presentation. Maybe now it will hold my attention and my awareness. I can honestly say I have thought of this concept before, but not quite in this way. I need to move beyond... I love that and I choose today, this Easter Sunday of 2014, to move beyond and I look forward to the next experience with gratitude. Happy Easter! For a list of books available including Warrior of the Light, Please see:  Books by...

Growing up in the 60s and experiencing the assassins of JFK, Robert Kennedy and MLK, obviously had an impact on my view of religion, politics and the world in general. This has become more obvious to me in light of the recent shooting in Tucson, which brought back sad, depressing memories. The lack of respect for the public offices is abominable. You can dislike the politics, and even the politician, but we must get back to a place where we can at least recognize and respect their dedication to service of the community and nation. We seem to be experiencing a time of emotional upheavals on all levels. The spiritually minded are working more diligently to become more spiritual, which is what we truly are -- spiritual beings learning to live as humans, while most of the the religious right are fighting louder than ever to STOP spreading love creating a society where it's every one for him/herself, and the discontented and lost souls of this world are stepping into insanity and com...

In celebration of Earth Day, I thought it would be nice to include a crafty way of recycling all of those 2 liter soda bottles... (NC)—Instead of throwing away plastic soda bottles, repurpose them to make luminaries for all kinds of occasions, from glittery summer gatherings to Halloween socials. To do so: Peel the labels from empty plastic soda bottles. Use adhesive remover and a paper towel to remove any residue. Wash the soda bottles thoroughly and let them dry completely. Using a utility knife or scissors, carefully cut off top of each bottle. But how to start the first cut? Yahoo Answers “best answer” recommends heating a screwdriver on the gas and melting a hole which you then cut with a pair of good scissors. Next, cut a half-circle out of the back, near the bottom. (This will make it easier to add the sand and the candle later.) Draw desired shapes on the sticky-backed, removable adhesive paper and cut them out. Adhere the shapes to the soda bottles, being careful to fi...

A new decade is finally here and hopefully the world will be a much brighter and safer place over the next few years. Sometimes I just like to write my "stuff" and get it off my chest, and that is what I have done below. It feels good to look back and see what changes have taken place in 10 short years. I find myself saying "I survived." I am also grateful for all of the many blessings I have had and the lessons I have learned, not to mention the spiritual growth that took place because of the journey. These events include only those which directly concerned myself and my children, and do not include those of siblings, nephews, nieces and dear friends whom have also had more than their fair share of traumatic events over the past decade. Here are the most prominent events of my life over the past ten years. 1) My first grandchild, a beautiful boy, was born in 2000. 2) His Mother, my oldest daughter, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, also in 2000, and af...

Half of CNN's readers do NOT shop on Black Friday I was checking the news on CNN.com and saw the top 10 deals for Black Friday. I don't shop on Black Friday, and haven't done so in over 15 years. They also have a poll asking how much people will spend on black Friday, with the lowest dollar amount being $0. Amazingly, 52% of CNN's readers (online) will not spend one red cent the day after Thanksgiving, which begs the question, who does choose this day to shop? What type of people are willing to literally fight for a spot in the checkout line to save a few bucks? I'm a thrifty shopper, but the idea of being in a mob does not entice me, even if they're giving merchandise away. By the way, if you are shopping tomorrow, Target has a great deal on an LCD 32 inch HDTV for only $246, which is half price. Be safe shoppers!

Jane Doe is alive, but has no memory. She was found on October 9th, and still no one has shown up to claim her as a relative. Very strange. I can't help but wonder if she might have run away with someone a couple of years ago who later deserted her, and then maybe some awful things happened to her. The kinds of things that caused her mind to "freeze" and protect her from the memories. Here's the link... maybe someone will recognize her soon.

This first part is an update on swine flu from the post I did yesterday. According to "some" experts, NO flu vaccines work anyway, so if you don't usually take the flu vaccine, you probably have nothing to worry about. Here's part of the story: If vaccines really worked to save lives, then the more people you vaccinate, the lower death rates you should see, right? But that's not the case. Back in 1989, only 15 percent of over-65 people got vaccinated against the flu. But today, thanks to the big vaccine push, over 65 percent are vaccinated. And yet, amazingly, death rates among the elderly have not gone down during the flu season. In fact, they've gone up! Read the full story here. (Examiner.com) Yesterday's post on Swine Flu: My daughter and I received word that her great aunt passed away last Friday, from Swine Flu. This is the first person I actually know to have died from it. My grandson has already had it, and a great-niece has had it, a...

My daughter finally got to go on a hike... her first since we arrived in Arizona! She's loving it!

It's been a week of rest, work and blessings as we got settled into our new apartment. My daughter and I took off from SC and moved to Arizona with only what would fit inside our SUV... call us crazy... lots of people did. I actually agreed that it was a pretty unusual thing to do, but I was also very excited to be on a new adventure at this time in my life. I feel blessed that my daughter wanted me to join her on this quest. We lived in a motel for a little over 3 weeks, which depleted our money terribly. Finding a place to live was much more of a chore than I had anticipated. But, finally, we found a place and moved our clothes, dishes, tv and computer into it. That's when we discovered that it is not at all unusual for people to just leave all of their belongings behind and start anew somewhere else. The manager here said it happens all the time. Maybe it's unique to Arizona, I don't know. It's a little disappointing in one way, and a relief in another way,...

Today I read a news line from WIS TV in Columbia, SC, (on facebook) reporting that a Mother who was ill with H1N1 (swine flu) had given birth to a healthy baby, and then died. While it was a sad and tragic story, my mind immediately went to the strength of the story. This young Mother, with God's help I'm sure, was somehow able to live long enough to bring her child into this world, before she allowed this terrible virus to consume her life. What a victory! I hope that the child is told of the strength of his/her Mother... the strength that kept her alive long enough to give the world the best gift she could... her child - and what a special child this must be. Sometimes the greatest miracles are born out of tragedy. God bless the child!

My life according to Barry Manilow This was so much fun! It lifted my spirits to read the finished product. Consider Yourself TAGGED! INSTRUCTIONS: Using only song names from ONE BAND OR ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 12 (or a million) people you like. You can't use the band I used. Do not repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Re-post as "My Life According to (BAND NAME)." Are you a male or female? She's A Star Describe yourself: Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again How do you feel: Where Do I Go From Here Describe where you currently live: Somewhere Down The Road If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Copa Cabana Your favorite form of transportation: Ships Your best friend is: Flashy Lady Your favorite color: Blue What's the weather like: I Made It Through The Rain Favorite time of day: Somewhere In The Night If your life was a t.v. show, what would it be called: Friends What is life to you: It's A Miracle Yo...

How do you live with critics? When someone is being critical of you, what quality or virtue do you need to develop to have peace of mind? Tolerance, forgiveness, or assertiveness for defense? I think I vote for tolerance, after trying diplomacy to come to a mutual understanding, which failed. Yet, tolerance doesn't really help one deal with the person in question. Perhaps forgiveness would be the most lofty of choices, but if they continue in their criticisms and attacks, and do not ask for forgiveness, then is it even truly possible to completely forgive someone? How can you forgive an on-going attack? Shouldn't it end before you forgive? Is is even possible to continue forgiveness perpetually while in the process of being attacked? Assertiveness to defend one's self is the most obvious answer for me, but the defense is really useless. Why should you have to defend yourself for your personal views, or for something you did not do?

Could this be another life lesson from the ants? The queen ant is the only ant allowed to reproduce. The others are forced to remain celibate and work for the good of all. All ants that are caught in the act, or even thinking about the act, are attacked by the other ants. It's true! Apparently, an ant that is feeling romantic emits an odor that is easily detectable by the other ants. The scientists that conducted this experiment actually dabbed a bit of the aroma on some unsuspecting ants and then placed them back inside the colony, and they were attacked. The only time the ant colony experiences "free love" is when the queen ant dies. "The idea that social harmony is dependent on strict systems to prevent and punish cheating seems to apply to most successful societies," Liebig explained in a comment released with his paper. Regardless of the genome, in matters of sex, nature still appears to prefer us not to stray. Read the full story at Time.com.

Have you ever dreamed of the country life? You know, a farm, lots of land, chickens, goats, etc. It's a nice life. I lived it for about five years. Sometimes I miss the farm. One of the cool and sometimes not so cool, things about living miles away from town, was that we always had a new supply of pets. People just love to dump their unwanted pets on country roads. We usually found homes for most of the dogs, but we kept almost all of the cats. We already had three dogs, so keeping more just wasn't practical. I had about two dozen cats and kittens at one point, all of whom came running to walk with me down the lane to the mailbox every day. It was such fun. We built a large deck out back and they all ate happily... their own private picnic... as if the deck was built just for them. I am rambling on about this because I read a post over at "Life On a Southern Farm" which brought back all the memories. It's a wonderful post, complete with photos of the hatching chi...

As I was reading more material concerning the law of attraction, ho'oponopono and other inspirational modalities of healing and prospering, I couldn't help but think of the words of Leonard Nimoy's character, Mr. Spock, on Star Trek... "Live long and prosper." Then suddenly I had my own little rhyme. I rather like it, and I can remember it easily. It helps put perspective not only on how we should handle prosperity, but also on how we should handle those not-so-great, stressful periods of life. Flow through prosperity and it will flow through you. Flow through severity and it will be subdued. The most important thing is to love, because love binds everything in perfect harmony. (Paraphrase of Colossians 3.14, New Testament) I plan to shine in '09, how 'bout you?

I love ants, just not in my home. They need to understand that they have altered my universe by intruding on my sacred space and that will not be tolerated. This has been going on for a couple of weeks now, and so I am trying to learn SOMETHING from this. Surely there is a life lesson in there somewhere! Four or five little scout ants appear every day in and around the bathroom sink, apparently to scout the area and see if there is any food available. Persistance - that's an okay lesson. So what if things didn't work out yesterday, let's try the same thing again today. You can't give up - Never give up. But what about the lesson the ants aren't learning? Haven't they noticed that their scouts never return? Why do they keep sending more ants out to the same place when that place is their graveyard? So, maybe my lesson is to learn that you can't find food in a desert, or you can't drink from an empty well. Or... sometimes it's just time to move on ...

My 91 year old aunt was at our Christmas family gathering yesterday. She was frail and couldn't walk, and sometimes forgot who we were or that we had already said hello, but otherwise she was spry and in good humor. As we were talking, she took part in the conversation by stating that her Grandmother was 100 years old. Naturally, we thought she was "lost" somewhere in time, and we didn't think we had an ancestor that lived that long, so there were multiple voices of "Oh really?" and "Wow!" and "How about that!" Then silence. A few seconds passed and suddenly Aunt Ola spoke up and said "I was lying." OMG, the room roared with laughter!! It's such a paradox dealing with the elderly who have tiptoed into senility but don't always stay there. You never know if they are serious or if they are actually trying to make you laugh. My Father was the same way. He had Alzheimer's and he had such a good sense of humor. I remember...

Ice cream - I ate it every night with my Dad. It was one of the few things we did together. My daughter hardly knew him, and the few years she had with him were riddled by Alzheimers. She is 17 now, and we rarely miss a night of ice cream. We only have a bowl though, not a whole pint or anything. My Father liked his ice cream with fruit and/or nuts. I didn't, I only wanted chocolate or vanilla. But that has changed over the years and now I enjoy my ice cream in a "few" flavors. My favorite is Banana Split, folowed closely by vanilla with caramel and almonds. My favorite standby is fudge royal or an ice cream sundae. I just can't seem to give it up, even though I have known for some time that it is an emotional bond to my Father. It's my comfort food and eating it is my comfort time when I am at home in my comfort zone.

Dr. Mojzsis said... “The stage was set for life probably 4.4 billion years ago, but I don’t know if the actors were present.” Well, I don't know either, but personally, I do believe that the PRODUCER was present. I call him God. As it is with any producer or director, it is up to them how much or how little they actually do with their production. They might micromanage it from beginning to end, or they might set the stage, give some preferences, and then let the project develop on its own. Either way, they should still get credit for the implementation and completion of the project. Scientists have again modified their opinion of the formation and habitation of an early earth. I find it comforting to know that they actually do update the public whenever they uncover new information or have new theories. Science A New Picture of the Early Earth By KENNETH CHANG Published: December 2, 2008 Geologists now think the planet soon became a cool place of land, seas and perhaps even life. ...

According to most teens, anything they aren't interested in is "lame." That's the consensus at least among the ones that feel they absolutely must post on every topic under the sun. How can we ever expect to have true tolerance of other races, religions and cultures if our youth have no tolerance of another person's interests? Why do they feel the need to "put down" and mock other people who have different hobbies, interests, etc? While I don't believe we need to go all the way back to the times when children were meant to be seen and not heard, I do think a happy medium is long overdue. Actually, I know a few adults who have the same problem. Their hobbies are outright ridiculous to me, but I never say anything like "grow up already," which is what I'm thinking. Yet they have no problem expressing the "lameness" of other people's hobbies, even being so rude as to laugh at people who are interested in things they don'...