the catalyst

Enlightenment

2011-02-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

Another Peter Russell musing on enlightenment....

If being right is your goal,
you will find error in the world,
and seek to correct it.
But do not expect peace of mind.

If peace of mind is your goal,
look for the errors in your beliefs and expectations.
Seek to change them, not the world.
And always be prepared to be wrong.

Being able to experience reality as it is, undistorted by our hopes and fears, is often referred to as “enlightenment.” The reference “light” in this word is usually thought of in the sense of illumination. A mind that is enlightened is said to be an “illumined” mind. It is a mind that has “seen the light,” or sees things in a new light.

There is, however, another sense of the word “enlighten” that is equally appropriate. That is “a lightening of the load.”

The heaviest burdens in this life are not our physical burdens but our mental ones. We are weighed down by our concern for the past, and our worries about the future. This is the load we bear, the weariness that comes from our timefulness.

To en-lighten the mind is to relieve it of this load. An enlightened mind is a mind no longer weighed down by attachments; it is a mind that is free.

Being free, it is a mind that is no longer so serious about things -- it takes things more lightly.

Could this be why enlightened people often laugh and smile more?

A Shift in Perception

From either perspective -- that of illumination or that of lightening the load -- the essence of enlightenment is a shift in perception. It is a shift from seeing the world through the eyes of concern, to seeing without judgment; seeing what is rather than what ought to be or might be.

Enlightenment is waking up to the illusions contained in the belief we have been fed with since birth; the belief that whether or not we are at peace depends upon what we have or do in the material world. It is discovering for oneself, as a personal experience of life, that whether or not we are at peace depends upon our perception and interpretation of events.

This alternative way of seeing is to be found at the core most of the great spiritual traditions. It is, for instance, the very foundation stone of Buddhism. As a prince in a wealthy kingdom, the young Buddha -- Sidhartha, as he was then called -- had everything he could wish for in the material plane. But, like many of us today, he realized that wealth and luxury do not in themselves remove suffering. So he left the palace and set out determined to find a way to end suffering. After six years of studying with various ascetics, yogis and other holy men, and learning many practices and mental disciplines, he was little nearer his goal. Then one day, sitting in meditation, he had a realization that caused him to wake up -- and hence gain the name “Buddha”, which simply means “the awakened one”.

He summarized his insight in “The Four Noble Truths”, which might be paraphrased as:

    1. We all experience suffering in some way or another -- mental, physical, emotional, spiritual.

    2. Suffering is self-created. A consequence of our desiring things to be other than they are.

    3. It need not be this way. We have a choice as to how we perceive the world and live our lives.

    4. There are systematic ways to set about changing how we think and perceive.

Parallel sentiments can be found in Christianity. The phrase, “Sinners repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” is often interpreted as an admonishment to be sorry for the day of judgment is coming. But if we look back to the Greek texts we find another possible interpretation.

The Greek word that we translate as “sin” is amartano. This, as Maurice Nichol pointed out in his book, The Mark, is a term derived from archery and mean to have missed the mark, to have missed the target. The target we are each seeking is inner fulfillment, but, imagining this will come from what we have or do, we aim in the wrong direction, and so “miss the mark.” It is this fundamental error as to how to find happiness and peace of mind that is our “original sin.” The word translated as “repent” is metanoia, which means a transformation of mind. So “sinners repent” can also be translated as “those who have missed their target, and not found happiness in the world around you, change your thinking” for what you are looking for lies very close by, within you.

Nor is it just religious teachers who have proclaimed this truth. The Greek philosopher Epictetus, living in the first century AD, made one of the most succinct and powerful expositions of this wisdom when he wrote, “People are disturbed, not by things, but by the view they take of them.”

Choosing to See

In principle, we can make this shift of perception at any time we choose. Whenever we are caught up in trying to make the future the way we want it to be -- which, in one way or another, is most of the time -- we have the opportunity to look at things differently. Rather than wondering, “How can I get such-and-such so that I can be happy?” we could ask, “Even if I were to get what I want, would I then be at peace?” And, “If I do not get what I want, can I still be at peace?”

If there is a willingness to look at things differently the answers to these questions are nearly always “No” and “Yes” respectively. Then, having let go of our anxiety about the future, our attention is once again free to return to the here and now.

That much is easy. The difficulty comes in remembering to stop and ask. It is in this that we need practice. And for most of us the aspect of life that offers us the most opportunity for practice -- and where we most need help -- is in our personal relationships. For it is here that we come up against some of our deepest conditioning and some of our strongest judgments.

image:http://www.lowdensitylifestyle.com/what-is-enlightenment-2/

Just in time for VD.....;-) Cord Cutting

2011-02-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

Here's to a healthy relationship!!!!!!

Cord Cutting
by Sarah Judith Cole, OBT,

We are always in the process of becoming, giving birth to who we are at this moment. In this process, there are also the little deaths, the letting go of that which no longer serves us. This includes old relationships, old ways of acting, reacting, and interacting. Cord cutting is a way of releasing the energy that we are still clinging to that is outdated. The process of "Cord Cutting" is based on the premise that when we enter into relationship with a person; wether it be romantic, friendship, familial, business, professional or otherwise, an energetic thread or cord is activated. As we move through life, often these relationships are no longer what we need or want them to be. "Cord Cutting" allows for the energetic thread that has been running to be cut. Relationships don't have to end, but this allows for new beginnings instead of being trapped in the past.

Sometimes, we want relationships to end, such as when you are no longer in a relationship with a lover. Every time you enter into such a relationship, particularly one that leads to sexual involvement, an energetic thread is started. If the relationship continues, the thread gets stronger. Often, people can feel this, or have an intuitive sense of what is going on with their partner. This is due to the energetic connection. Even relationships that are ended, years later there still can be a tapping in.

Also, as children of our parents, as we grow we wish to have a more adult relationships with our parents. Cord cutting can help to break that old way of interacting with each other, of being seen as the child and parent and allow the relationship to evolve. As parents, and as our children grow. we need to have different relationships with them, to stop seeing them as little and needing our help. Business partnerships that are no longer valid, also have energetic streams connected with them, that need to be broken.

All these relationships carry an attachment, a stream of energy, and unfortunately it is often a stream that holds us down and saps our energy. From time to time, we all have experienced various "energy vampires" and these definitely need to be broken. When we have helped a friend through a trying situation, or become caregivers, we need to cut the cord. As that person moves through their situation, this allows for the growth of the relationship to enter into a new phase.

Even in happy marriages, from time to time we need to do this. Generally speaking, as we grow older and mature, we become more mentally healthy as we give up old ideas, and expectations, and come into our own definitions of who we are. This is true in marriages as well. The needs and expectations differ, as we come to redefine our idea of marriage, and therefore, cutting cords, can allow for this growth and maturity. It is very important when relationships are ended that we cut the cord. This can even help us with the grieving process of letting go of someone, whether through death, or the ending of the relationship. With relationships that are ongoing, it creates the space for new levels of connection, and can add freshness to the relationship. Where there is discord, it can cut that discord, and allow for new perspectives. It can be particularly useful with co-workers who we have had problems with, and those who tend to "get under our skin" or push our buttons, and grate on our nerves. It can provide the space for us to detach and perhaps see what is really going on.

If you find yourself dreaming about someone, or about things in the past and not getting anywhere, doing a cord cutting can be useful. It can help stop the psychic negativity that may be coming your way from others. Remember, thoughts are energy and like prayers, so the above may not be about someone who is negative, but may actually be well intentioned. This would include those who "worry" about you. These people are often well-intentioned but don't know how to express their love and concern in a more positive way. Cutting cords can help you not to receive their projections, and may help them to also evolve into perceiving you differently.

Worrying about someone is not a measure of someone's love, but a measure of their ability to worry. It is a trap that mothers can often fall into, because we are taught to worry about our children--if we don't worry about them, we don't love them. But you know, generally speaking, when your kids are in their 20's it is no longer necessary to have eyes in the back of your head, and be focused on what your children are doing all the time. It would be useful for all mothers, to do cord cutting concerning their children throughout their growth years with us. If we keep perceiving them as small and helpless, or not capable of making good decisions on their own, they will act that way. At some point, you really do have to let go. This includes the old dysfunctional patterns of interactng that society has taught us. We may not realize it, but often we have illusions about relationships, and our own perceptions about who we think we are and who we think the other person is. Doing this work, will help you to cut through this, and begin to have a new outlook.

Cord cutting requires a certain amount of energy and is not passive, therefore, it is best done when you are well rested, and relaxed. While being active, (as opposed to asking God to do this for you) it is also quite intentional, so being firm in your intent to let go is important. You don't have to enjoy letting go, you just have to be intent on letting go, knowing that this needs to happen for the good of all. Sometimes the letting go is not easy and we want to hold on. Try to remember that you're doing this for the highest good of all involved. It doesn't mean you no longer have a connection, bond or relationship with that person, it's just a healthier connection, one that can help to heal both parties and most often, make the relationship interaction much more enjoyable.

*****As an aside for healers***** We are not here to allow others to suck off of us and every once in a while we will come into contact with someone who wants to do just that. One of the things that a healer does is help hold the balance while someone is going through the process of a healing work. Part of our work as healers is to help in this, and then, as soon as possible, help the person to build their own resources of healing. (Working with essential oils, natural supplements, etc. can help people learn how to become their own healers.) Practicing cord cutting is very important for healers to help break attachments that our clients have formed with us. Even if the relationship continues, it's in everyone's best interest for the relationship to evolve.

It's best to do cord cutting at a time when you can be alone and are assured of not being interrupted. Have yourself in a prayerful meditative state and well grounded. Diffusing or applying oils such as spruce, cedarwood, sage, & lavender can make the process easier, and more complete. Using lavender & geranium on the feet and lemon on the liver can be helpful because we process emotion (particularly anger) through the liver. Also, for relationships in which we may have "unfinished business", applying melissa, frankincense and ravensara on the navel area is helpful.

The energetic streams by which we are attached to others, can run throughout all of our energetic body. Your energetic body surrounds you and even goes into the earth as well as above your head. Cutting cords is a little like pulling weeds. Just as in pulling weeds, you have to get the entire root out; this is true also with cutting cords. Another strong aspect of cutting cords is visualization and breathing; taking long full breaths and strong exhalations, releasing as you exhale.

It's not uncommon to experience a wide range of emotions while doing this and its very important to let these emotions come up. These emotions hold and carry energy and allowing the emotions out is part of the process.

You can change this according to fit your own particular spiritual beliefs. Allow yourself to become centered and grounded, feeling your connection to the earth. Ask your spiritual guides, saints, angels, etc. to help you with this process. You can also ask to have your Higher Self as well. Archangel Michael, specifically, is associated with Cord Cutting. You will be visualizing him using his sword to help you cut the cords, so when you are ready invite him to assist you in the process. The beings you have called on will be lending energy in this ceremony, but it is you who has to cut the cords. No one will do this for you. The beings will help in clearing the energy from your fields, but you must start the process. Even if you are not able to feel anything trust that this process is happening. Allow yourself a few minutes to feel the energies you are calling upon, to feel your lower chakras being grounded in the earth and your top four chakras opening and receiving the sustaining assisting energies of those you have invited and asked for help.

You can say the following to yourself or out loud: "I now cut and release the cords of this relationship with (say the name)". While you are saying this visualize Archangel Michael cutting the cords all around your body with his sword, in every direction; above your head, below your feet, in front of you, behind you and on both sides. You may find as you do this that some cords may be more concentrated in the navel, or heart area. Sexual relationships may be concentrated more in the lower chakras, while relationships that made your stomach churn maybe more in the solar plexus area. Relationships that seem to mentally tax you may be more in the top three chakras. Relationships that have been more joyful, generally are more diffused throughout the whole energetic field, they still need to be cut to allow for new growth. In some ways you are tending your energetic relationship garden, and things have to be cut to allow for energy for new growth. Continue to say the name of the person whom you are cutting cords as you do this. When you feel you are finished with that person/relationship/ pause and let yourself feel it, and scan, get your sense of whether or not you think you are done with this particular relationship, then go on to others. It is best not to overtire yourself and only do a few relationships in one cord cutting ceremony. Start with the ones that are most foreground for you, the ones that seem to occupy your mind and heart the most. This could be someone from your past. Those who have experienced abuse, who have been attacked, raped, mugged, etc, start with that one first, even if you don't know the name, say "the person who stole my purse and knocked me down, and give the date). For some, you may also need to say goodbye, I release and let you go. (remember to say their name or give explanation of the relationship)

When the cords have been cut, surround yourself with a beautiful cocoon of glowing, white light, and state: "I now am willing to connect with my Divine Source of energy, and I allow only the Highest Vibration of Love to connect me to others, and others to me." Allow your heart to really open and feel your connection to yourself and the Divine. In doing this ceremony you have created a void which is replaced by this divine light and more of your higher Self. While you are bringing in and receiving the Highest Light and more of your Higher Self, you can begin to allow yourself to fill up with gratitude and start thanking those who have helped you in this ceremony.

Now is a good time for you to simply relax and rest. Even though you are done with the ceremony, the work is still going on, as the work ripples outwards and the energy streams are dissolved as they go back to the time, person and relationship. I also find it helpful to imagine a divine white light going back to the person on the end of the severed cord. I imagine this light filling them up as it reaches them, helping to heal anything they may need help with regarding our relationship. I like to burn sage or an alternate clearing incense to help clear the energy of the space after you have done a cord cutting.

With relationships that are ongoing, such as with children and spouses, bosses, parents, you might want to do this a couple of times a year. You may find also with old relationships, that something new about them as come up for you that represents another aspect that you weren't aware of before, that also needs to be cleared out. Generally speaking, it's not recommend to do cord cuttings more than once a month. We need time to process and assimilate the work we have done. Cutting Cords is a cleansing and clearing ceremony. Respect the work you have done, honor yourself, and the work, and allow time for yourself to have new perspectives.

http://harusami.com/soul2soul/sara_judith_cole/cordcutting.htm

letting go

2011-02-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

Letting Go and Knowing What We Want

Peter Russell

Letting Go is a mantra of our times. "Just let go," we're advised. "If only I could let go," others complain.

The call to let go lies at the core of humanity's many spiritual traditions. Non-attachment to outcomes, surrendering desires, accepting the present, opening to the guidance of a higher power, relinquishing the ego, forgiveness—they all entail a letting go.

Why is letting go so important? Holding on, these teachings repeatedly affirm, limits perception, makes us tense, and obscures our true nature. Moreover, it lies at the root of most our suffering. Letting go, on the other hand, brings relief, ease, joy, and love.

But if letting go is so valuable, why don't we just do it? The answer, as anyone who has tried can testify, is that it is not as easy as it sounds.

To appreciate why letting go can seem so difficult, we need to understand why we hold on, and what we hold on to. To answer these questions we must delve into a more fundamental question: What is it we really want?

Most of us have become so focused on what it is we think we want, we have forgotten what it is we are really seeking. We seldom ask ourselves “What is it we really want?” When we go deeply into this question we find a common theme behind all our desires. We want to feel better. We may give this inner feeling various different names -- joy, happiness, inner peace, satisfaction, fulfillment, bliss, contentment, ease, well-being -- but however we describe the quality of mind we seek, the underlying motivation is the same. We are looking to avoid pain and suffering, and find a more enjoyable state of consciousness.

This is completely natural, and is as true for every other sentient being on this planet as it is for us. It is the organism’s way of monitoring how it is doing in life. If there is something amiss -- if we need food, for instance -- we feel hungry, which is usually an uncomfortable experience. We don’t feel good and so, quite naturally, we look for something that will relieve our suffering -- in this case food. Having eaten we feel better; our lives are in balance again.

This is one thing that unites us all; we all want to reduce our suffering and find a more comfortable, satisfying state of mind.

I may decide to change jobs because I believe I will be happier. I may choose to play tennis with a friend because I expect to get some pleasure from the game, some good feelings from the exercise, and some satisfaction from winning -- or perhaps from seeing my friend win. I may take up hang-gliding because I find the challenge enjoyable -- or because I get a kick from the release of adrenaline. I may spend time writing a book, foregoing other pleasures, because I gain satisfaction from following my inner drive. If my mind wanders into daydreams, it is probably because they are more entertaining than the task at hand. And I may meditate to feel more at peace within myself.

However, although we may all be looking for a more fulfilling state of mind, our search is not always successful. Sometimes, through short-sightedness or factors beyond our control, we do not achieve our objectives. At other times we may well get the things we desire only to find they have not made us any happier; they may even have led us to suffer more. How many of us have started a new job, a new course of study, or a new relationship, believing it will make them happy, only to discover later they were happier the way things were?

Nor is it always immediate gratification that we are after. We may not enjoy visiting the dentist, but we go in the hope that life will be more enjoyable later. At other times we may worry about the future, creating much discomfort for ourselves, because we unconsciously assume that our worrying will help us avoid future sources of discomfort.

The same principle lies behind our more altruistic actions. We may give up all sense of personal gain and devote time to helping others feel better, perhaps putting ourselves to considerable inconvenience or hardship. But we do it because at some deeper level we feel better for it.

Even the masochist who sets out to cause himself pain does so because he gets pleasure from it -- or imagines he will.

A more pleasant state of consciousness is the mind’s bottom line. It is the fundamental criterion by which, consciously or unconsciously, we make our decisions.

Trying to discourage this drive is to miss the point of life. Our error lies not in seeking inner peace, fulfillment, happiness or joy, but in the ways we set about finding it. Our cultural conditioning has trapped us in a materialist mindset -- a meme that says if we are not happy then something in the world around us needs to change.

This is the “virus” that has infected our minds. This is the bug in our thinking that lies at the root of our malignant attitudes and behaviors.

-http://www.peterrussell.com/SpiritAwake/lgo.php

image: http://latoday.deviantart.com/

Change

2011-02-13T01:26:00.000-08:00

Thought always precedes actions, so it is more important to first change the thought. The details of the information that we are given are not what's important; but those details make you think. As you think, your thought processes change. That is the first step and that is a step of action. Whenever you do not like your reality, you don't need to change the reality, you must first change yourself. That is the first step. And when you take that step you will know naturally the next step to take. You cannot change others. You can only change yourself.

-Germane Through Lyssa Royal

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_etcivilizations.htm

Solar Gazing

2011-02-12T00:40:00.000-08:00

I came across solar gazing about 7 years ago and thought it sounded rather amazing. It was kind of hard to believe at first, but something inside of me aligned with it perfectly. At the time I didn't try to do it as a practice because I was too "bound" to food...I LOVE food....preparing it, being creative with it.....it's just GOOD. But I also understand that our bodies don't actually NEED it to survive. That concept is REALLY difficult for most people to "digest" ;-) (Pun intended) and that's ok.... everyone learns and discovers in their own time when it is right for them. Anyway, the topic of sun gazing found it's way back into my life once again, and this time, I feel more ready to try it out. So..... wish me luck!!!!!! I'll post an update in a few months.

The following is taken from the website: http://solarhealing.com/home/ It seems to be the most comprehensive site for information on solar gazing, but if anyone knows of another, I'd love to hear about it!!!

"We have a super computer in our bodies given to us by the nature, which is our brain. HRM (Hira Ratan Manek) calls it the “brainutor”. The brain is more powerful than the most advanced super computer. Each and every human being is gifted with innumerable talents, and infinite inherent powers by nature. Individuals should never underestimate themselves. Everyone is gifted. If we make use of these powers we can take ourselves to great levels. Unfortunately, these infinite inherent powers are programmed in that part of the brain that is largely dormant and goes unused. Even medical science agrees we hardly make use of the brain but about 5-7% – the most brilliant of humans like Albert Einstein is reported to have used only about 32% of their brains.

If we can activate the human brain and awaken these infinite powers inherent in ourselves then we can raise ourselves to higher levels. We can achieve any results we want. In order to operate the brain effectively, it needs to be activated. Being a holistic entity it needs a holistic power supply. Sun energy is the source that powers the brain, which can enter and leave the human body or the brain only through one organ that is the human eye. Eyes are the Sun Energy’s entry door to the human brain. They are also known as the windows of the soul. Recent research has found out that the eye has many functions other than vision. And more information is continuing to be revealed about the functions of the eye. The eyes are complex organs and they have 5 billion parts much more than a spacecraft that has about 6-7 million parts. By this, you can see the immense capacity of the human eye.

HRM asserts that the rainbow is in the eye not in the sky. The seven colors of the sun is only the reflection of what is in the eye. We can create a rainbow anytime we want – go to the garden, just observe below a source of flowing water as the sun moves above. There you will see the rainbow. Eye can receive the entire spectrum of the sunlight. It’s like having a glass window. Eye is the perfect instrument to receive all the colors of the rainbow. Since eyes are delicate parts of the body, we have to use them in such a way that they serve our purposes without getting damaged. Present day teachings and ideas such as don’t look at the sunlight at all --you will damage your eyesight; never go out in the sun as you will get cancer, are causing needless hysteria and paranoia. The more you are away from the nature, the more there is a cause for illness and you will automatically support global corporations. There are definite foolproof ways of getting the benefits of the nature without exposing ourselves to its adverse effects. It is also as intuitive as when the clouds gather we become gloomy. When we see the sun, we feel energetic."

"Four Great Questions"

2010-09-13T00:07:00.000-07:00

"Who are we?
Where do we come from?
What should we do?
Where are we going?

These are the four great questions that everybody faces, wether they realize it or not (from the agnostics and atheists to the believers and the pius). And if you don't answer these four great questions, obviously your life is pretty meaningless. And many people just stuff those questions down. They want the answers made for them. They want somebody like Jesus, or Krishna, or Buddha, or someone else to do it for them. It can't be done. It's like wanting someone else to be born for you, or to die for you, or to eat your lunch for you. These things are inescapably personal."

- Miceal Ledwith, PhD.
Former Professor of Systematic Theology, Maynooth College, Ireland
Member of the International Theological Commission
International Lecturer in theology and mysticism
Creator of Deep Deception: The Great Questions in the Hamburger Universe

Tarpana

2010-07-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

Ivonne Nelson is one of the AMAZING healers I see when I'm in Minneapolis. She does all kinds of different energy & body work, including akashic records consultations, level III reiki, ayurvedic counseling and psychotherapy (she has a doctorate in clinical psychology), and she has worked with me using all of these modalities. The one that was most powerful for me however, was something called tarpana.

According to her website, "tarpana is a powerful ayurvedic forgiveness ritual which is extremely beneficial in trauma healing, and interpersonal conflict resolution. It can facilitate healing of relationships, increases inner strength and connection with our true essence. Tarpana can clear relationship blocks and patterns and realign relationships in a graceful and peaceful way. It is also extremely healing for any type of physical, emotional or sexual abuse." http://enliiven.com/

I had 2 different tarpana sessions with her, about 3 years apart, and both times my body intensely purged (somewhat violently) ALOT of toxic crap. After the first one, my body released several pounds of a black, tar-like substance and in the next couple days I got a really severe cold, passed a kidney stone and threw my back out. The second time around I ended up in the emergency room with severe intestinal cramping and everything that was in my digestive system came out one way or the other.... and of course the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. It took me a day or two to realize that I had just done the session with Ivonne and when I remembered what happened the last time, it all made sense.

I realize my personal experience may not be the most ideal "advertisement" for doing this kind of healing work, but not everyone processes and releases the same way. I know that my experiences and emotions tend to manifest more strongly in a physical way in my body, so when it's time to get rid of the "build-up", apparently I need to brace myself and take a few days off;-) Both of these experiences helped me to realize just how important it is to "deal with" the non-physical side of ones' overall wellness and how much one can affect the other. I highly recommend it;-)

The following is an alternative, more traditional definition/interpretation of what tarpana is. It includes instructions on how you can "perform" a healing ceremony yourself, however, I've never done it this way and it is different than how Ivonne does it. I believe it's is a more traditional way to do it that more closely mimics the way ancient cultures practice it. Ivonne facilitates the ritual with a little bit of a modern "edge", incorporating her knowledge of psychotherapy, but still stays true to the ceremony's ayurvedic roots.

TARPANA (Relationship Healing) http://www.ayurvedichealers.com/tarpana.html

A healing ceremony that is used to release constraining thoughts about our relationships to others and to empower ourselves as an active co-creator of our lives. While Ayurvedic practices embrace foods, herbs, oils, and lifestyles as crucial healing modalities, it also acknowledges that our sense of connectedness to all things may be the most powerful factor in our well-being. By freeing us from the power of the negative thoughts that we hold about our relationships to others, Tarpana is a way to experience our true connectedness with all of creation. The ceremony helps us understand that it is possible to change how we view the world and how we feel about ourselves and our connection to others in the universe.

Begin the ceremony alone in a quiet and dimly lighted space. Light candles and incense and begin a form of breathing called the "re-birthing" or "connected" breath by breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Allow the inhalation and exhalation to be connected and don't control the exhalation, allow it to excape at its own pace like a long sigh. When you are in a relaxed frame of mind, begin the unblocking process by first calling forth your ancestors and then anyone you have ever been in a relationship with.

Begin with your mother or father, then continue through each ancestor and other significant people. Visualize them standing before you looking into your eyes. Remember what they looked like, using your own memory or images from photographs. Remember your experiences with them or stories you have heard about them. Visualize them receptive to listening to what you want to say to them. Begin the clearing by saying "What I want you to know is__________." Then tell the ancestor what you have felt about them. Are you grateful for gifts or genetic tendencies that you inherited? Do you feel yourself victimized by them in some way? Discuss with them your role in the co-creation of your relationship. Take this opportunity to forgive yourself and your ancestor. If you truly forgive then you are a ble to leave the experience behind you and no longer carry it with you. With forgiveness comes the ability to turn adversity into a catalyst for growth and a new sense of gratitude for the gifts they have given you.

Conclude your ceremony by symbolically serving your ancestor their favorite food or drink, something they would have enjoyed. In your mind's eye, visualize them taking your offering, consuming it, and smiling. Then look directly into their eyes and see if you can experience them giving you a blessing--wishing you success in life, blessing you as you find your path, freeing you from obligations to them, and freeing you to pursue your own passion and purpose. Accept their blessing and visualize them walking in the light of their own path. Bless their path as they leave.

Conclude the Tarpana session by being centered and repeating positive affirmations: "I am love, I am one with all things, I am peace, I am joy, I am prosperity, I am forgiveness, I am trust, I am fulfillment." And so it is.

The Wounded Healer

2010-04-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

I've been learning a lot about astrology lately and one of the more significant ideas I've come across is that of Chiron. It's called the "wounded healer" because it represents the areas of life and experiences as reflected in the birth chart that can lead to self-discovery and self-healing. These areas and experiences, often called "issues" must be resolved in order to achieve personal growth and are reflected in Chiron's sign, house and aspects to planets and angles. It is also linked to shamanism, an ancient practice of using intuition to heal.

I found all of this very interesting because of the journey I'm on personally in my life. When I started having severe health issues a couple years ago, my whole life was turned upside-down and I was literally forced to reassess just about everything in my life; my values, belief system, friends, ideas about how life "works", etc. The concepts of self-discovery and self-healing have become an every-day occurence in my life, so "figuring out" what my "wounds" are and how to heal them seemed like a really good way to move forward on my journey. I found the following information to be a great overall lesson in dealing with the challenges in my life and you really don't have to know anything about astrology to understand and use them. I found this information on Karyl Jackson's site, Alpha Life trends. She also has a lot of really great information on the planets Uranus and Pluto and how they affect transformation and sudden changes in our lives.

http://www.alphalifetrends.com/index.html

Chiron portrays a forced savings account from our efforts. On our road of life, each of us are given pot holes from one challenging situation or another. The tendency is to blame others for these pot holes, or to blame situations for these deep challenges and scars in our life. The Truth about Chiron is that it points to the type of qualities and the area of our life that is designated to give us the opportunity to understand selfless giving and to grow through our chosen responses to these potholes. Within these challenges, we are given the deep hole of experiencing unfair situations that we must accept, deal with, understand and ultimately bless. This is a very tall order, however, our life, our path is sprinkled with them.

Chiron takes 50 years to make one complete orbit, so that we have to provide 50 years of effort that may not be rewarded until Chiron connects with where it started out in our charts. Chiron is the ultimate of giving us challenges to see how we will respond to them. They usually take the form of unfair situations, being the target of ill-motives, blame, displaced power, etc. It is easy and the most popular response to be angry, to blame the situations or the people involved, something outside of ourselves for creating these pot holes. That may be true, however, the most important part is not the fact that others or outside circumstances created the pot holes unfairly. The important part is the quality with which to fill up these pot holes.

There are five qualities, each of which has its own level of (spiritual) awareness with which to fill up the pot holes of challenges;

First, there is tolerance. We can tolerate the situation with patience and those that have created this pot hole with patience as well.

Second, there is acceptance. Ultimately we have to accept that this is the situation we are given, whether it looks like it was unfairly given to us or not, and not continue to point outside ourselves as an excuse for not seeing the opportunity within the situation. Our inability to look inside and find something to fill up these pot holes with determines that we will continue to point to the unfairness, become angry, and blame others.

Third is understanding. We may not be able to understand why everything had to occur and had to bring us to the depths of our soul. But the reward for having acceptance of the situation, is to bring us understanding.

Fourth is appreciation. To be able to appreciate the situation, to see the positive side of the circumstances. We can see the opportunity to fill up these potholes with something wonderful, finding the Divine Gift of growth. We can look to the new level of understanding and knowing that these potholes have brought us some incredible circumstances.

The fifth is to be able to see situations through love and the ability to see these potholes as something wonderful and good to help us to grow. We have the opportunity to respond to circumstances differently than those individuals who created our potholes and to take action instead of just reacting to the situations. This expands our understanding of the completeness in our Cosmic Savings account and the Divine Plan.

Being Present

2010-04-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

This is the second post in the Peter Russell series of articels. It deal with being present in your life. This is typically a very challenging thing for most people to achieve with our society as it is. There is so much focus on what we're GOING to do, what we're SUPPOSED to do. Everyone want to know what you're plan is for your career and/or future and how you plan on getting there. I'vedefinitely struggled with this one for a LONG time, mostly because I didn't know any better. When I first heard of the concept of "living in the now" it seemed kind of impossible, because what was I supposed to do about the rent being due??? It surely wasn't going to pay itself, along with all the other bills, etc. It took a while before I was really even able to let go of the worry and stress of that kind of situation, but when I did, I was able to see that the less I worried/stressed or thought about how something was going to turn out in the near or even distant future, the more smoothly it actually turned out. That was a giant revelation for me and although being able to implement it into my everyday thought process was akin to pulling teeth for the first few years, it was one of the most integral concepts I learned to bring success into my life.

You can read more about Peter's insights at the link:

http://www.peterrussell.com/SP/3Present.php

***Living for Now versus Living in the Now***

In one sense we are always in the present. Everything we experience is an experience in this moment. Our memories of the past are experiences in the present. So are our thoughts about the future. When people talk about not being present, they are usually referring to the attention not being in the present moment. When our attention is caught up in our thoughts about the past or the future, and we are no longer so aware of what is happening now.

Unfortunately, most of us spend too much of our time thinking about past and future events. We savor past delights, rejoice in past achievements, ponder whether or not we did the right thing, grieve over past losses and disappointments, get angry about the way things turned out. Or we anticipate future delights, plan our best course of action, worry about what might go wrong, fear not being in control of a situation, anguish over how others might respond.

Most of this thinking is unnecessary; a waste of time and energy. Moreover, it makes the mind tense, which is the very opposite of what all this thinking is trying to achieve—an easier, more peaceful state of mind. This is why the wise ones have repeatedly urged us to be more in the present; to be here, now. But what does it mean to be present? There are three principal ways in which people use the term.

1. Living for today. Not worrying about what happened yesterday; nor about what might come tomorrow.

This attitude definitely has its value. It may help us take life as it comes, and not get so caught up in unnecessary fears and concerns. It allows us to enjoy more of what life has to offer. But it does not necessarily lead to a fuller awareness of the present moment. One may still be as caught up in thoughts as before, even if they be thoughts of today rather than yesterday or tomorrow.

2. Awareness of present experience. This is the starting point for a number meditation practices.

Whereas most of our thoughts are about the past or the future, our sensory experience is always "now". Thus many spiritual teachers advocate placing the attention on bodily sensations—points of contact with the physical world, the heartbeat, or the breath. The actual feelings in the body are in the present moment. Then when the mind wanders off into some thought about the past or future—as it surely will—gently return the attention to physical sensations, and so back to the present.

3. Being at ease with everything. This often comes as the result of the long-term practice of meditation.

There is no longer the need to keep the attention to sensory experience. One is present to whatever is—including the arising and passing of thoughts about the past or future. Some call this the witness mode. There is deep ease, and profound relief. There is an inner equanimity in each moment.

It simply is as it is.

Waiting

2010-04-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

This is the first of several posts that I'm planning on doing that highlight some of Peter Russell's amazing insight. This one deals with waiting ;-) You can read more about Peter's work on his website: http://www.peterrussell.com/SP/Waiting.php

"Waiting Is"—a phrase immortalized in Robert Heinlein's celebrated sci-fi novel Stranger in a Strange Land.

For most of us waiting is not easy, often a bore. Waiting for a bus or train, we look for something to do to pass the time. Sitting in a doctor's waiting room, we idle away the minutes thumbing through magazines of no particular interest.

We want the waiting to be over with, so that we can get on with whatever is the next task at hand. Yet in treating waiting this way, we deny ourselves a most valuable opportunity.

Pure waiting, not waiting for any event to happen, just waiting without wanting, can be a profound spiritual practice.

When you simply wait, not waiting for anything in particular, not wishing things were different than than they are, the mind relaxes. And, as you let go of wanting, you will probably find your awareness of the present moment expanding.

Many, from Buddha to Ram Dass and Eckart Tolle, have encouraged us to be more aware of the present, to "be here, now". And numerous practices aim to help us become more aware of the present. Most, however, lead to focussing of the attention on some aspect of the present—the breath, a visual object, a mantra. The focus may be effortless, nevertheless it is there, a very faint directing of the attention.

With pure waiting, on the other hand, there is no attempt to be aware of any particular aspect of the present. Instead, with nothing to do, no particular thing to wait for, there is space for more of the present to reveal itself. We begin to notice aspects of our world we were not aware of before—the sound of a clock, or a distant conversation; a tree gently waving in the breeze; the touch of clothes against the skin. It does not matter what. It will probably be different every time, simply because the present is different from one moment to the next.

As you get the hang of simply waiting, you will find yourself being present in a relaxed, innocent, undirected way.

So the next time you have to wait for something, use the time as an opportunity to become more awake. Instead of waiting for that something, simply wait. No expectations. Simply stopping, and waiting, with an open mind.

Nor do we need to wait for a late bus or be sitting in a "waiting room" before we can practice waiting. Any moment of the day we can choose to pause for a while and simply wait.

Waiting without expectation for whatever is next. Maybe a bird flies past the window. Perhaps the refrigerator starts up. Or we find we have wandered off on some thought. It doesn't matter. Waiting is.

You can start right now. Pause. Take a breath. Relax... And wait...

The Science of Spirituality

2010-04-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

I was raised Catholic and attended a Catholic school from 1st grade to 12th grade. I also went to church twice a week. A large portion of the curiculum at the schools I attended included religion classes, along with all of the other "regular" stuff; math, science, art, history, etc. The religious education I received was primarliy centered around Christianity, so until I went to college, I wasn't exposed to and didn't know very much about any other belief systems, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Occultism, Shamanism, Islamism, or Paganism. I had also never heard of the concept of blending religion with science and throughout most of my life I can more consistently remember hearing about how the two were opposites.

As I began my journey into adulthood, I also began to question the set of beliefs I had been brought up to believe were the only true fact and/or reality and while acknowledging that it takes more than a few years to really understand everything there is to know about any particualr religion, I feel like I was able to get a pretty good grasp of what the main ideas and core values were of most religions. As far as science goes, I have to admit I never really got good grades in my high school chemistry or physics classes, but I really loved learning about it all, especially biology. I'm not sure how it's possbile to get low grades in a subject you really like, but leave it up to me to be the one to do it.

Anyway, my point is that I'm not an expert on religion or science, but I think I know enough to be able to make informed decisions, or at least educated guesses;-) And it turns out that the path I found to be the most true to what I felt in my heart, had to do with spirituality in general. I'm not sure if spirituality is considered to be a religion or if it's just more of a set of beliefs and guidelines to live by. Some might say that IS the definition of religion, which I agree with up to a point. "Religion" DOES require one to follow a specific set of beliefs and guidelines, but most (albiet not ALL of them) also usually tend to hold the belief that all the other ones are "wrong" in some way or another, which is where I disagree.

Throughout my exploration of spirituality I've come across all kinds of very interesting ideas and concepts. Within the concept of spirituality, (in my opinion) there are little bits of almost every religion, including science. All of this has been very fascinating to me and I feel a very genuine calm and kind of reassurance, that what I've found so far has been very right and true, at least for me personally. And I do believe, that that very concept, IS what it's all about; finding what's right for you.

So, back to my original point.... In my journey, I've come across a few different people who discuss the science of spirituality. I was very curious to see how these so-called "opposites" blend together. How does one quantify the spiritual? What is the human spirit? Is it even possible for humanity's scientific parameters to ever really fully grasp something that isn't literally visible? These questions are far from being totally answered, but a dialog is emerging and a community is growing, based on the ideas and principles of how science can apply to religion or spirituality.

I believe that there are quite a few people who are internationally recognized as being "experts" in this field, but a few that I'm more aware of are Lynne McTaggart ,Gregg Braden and Peter Russell. Lynne is "an internationally recognized spokesperson on the science of spirituality" and Gregg is "internationally renowned as a pioneer in bridging science and spirituality"....basicaly the same thing;-) As for Peter, through the description of one of his books, he also describes himself; "As much as the book is a journey of ideas that starts with science and arrives at God, it is also my own personal journey from a physicist with little interest in spiritual matters to an explorer of consciousness who now begins to appreciate what the great spiritual teachings have been trying to show us for thousands of years." I will be posting a series of articles from Peter's website regarding his views on consciousness, that I found to be extremely useful and interesting.

Lynne McTaggart
http://www.theintentionexperiment.com/

"The Intention Experiment" is the first book to provide scientific evidence about human intention. It is also the first to show you how to use this power in your life, individually and collectively according to all the principles that have worked both in the laboratory and among ‘masters’ of intention.

The Intention Experiment (website) is a series of scientifically controlled, web-based experiments testing the power of intention to change the physical world. Thousands of volunteers from 30 countries around the world have participated in Intention Experiments thus far. Lynne is working with leading physicists and psychologists from the University of Arizona, Princeton University, the International Institute of Biophysics, Cambridge University and the Institute of Noetic Sciences.These experiments are being run at her seminars and conferences and on the web, and have produced extraordinary results. This is not about sending intentions to make millions of dollars. The targets are only philanthropic: healing wounds, helping children with attention deficit or patients with Alzheimer’s, counteracting pollution and global warming. Besides the big Intention Experiments, her web site also runs informal "Intentions of the Week" for people or situations with illnesses or problems.

Her book, "The Field" is considered a seminal work about the link between science and spirit by Deepak Chopra, Barbara Marx Hubbard and many other leaders in the field of science, consciousness and spirituality.

Gregg Braden
http://www.greggbraden.com/

Following a successful career as a Computer Geologist for Phillips Petroleum during the 1970s energy crisis, he became a Senior Computer Systems Designer for Martin Marietta Defense Systems during the last year of the Cold War. In 1991 he was appointed the first Technical Operations Manager for Cisco Systems where he led the development of the global support team that assures the reliability of today’s Internet. For more than 22 years, Gregg has searched high mountain villages, remote monasteries, and forgotten texts to uncover their timeless secrets. To date, his work has led to such paradigm-shattering books as The Isaiah Effect, The God Code, The Divine Matrix and his 2008 release, The Spontaneous Healing of Belief: Shattering the Paradigm of False Limits.

Peter Russell
http://www.peterrussell.com/index2.php

http://www.peterrussell.com/SCG/scg.php Direct link to articles, video & audio files on his site.

Peter Russell is a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, of The World Business Academy and of The Findhorn Foundation, and an Honorary Member of The Club of Budapest. At Cambridge University (UK), he studied mathematics and theoretical physics. Then, as he became increasingly fascinated by the mysteries of the human mind he changed to experimental psychology. Pursuing this interest, he traveled to India to study meditation and eastern philosophy, and on his return took up the first research post ever offered in Britain on the psychology of meditation.
He also has a post-graduate degree in computer science, and conducted there some of the early work on 3-dimensional displays, presaging by some twenty years the advent of virtual reality.

In the mid-seventies Peter Russell joined forces with Tony Buzan and helped teach "Mind Maps" and learning methods to a variety of international organizations and educational institutions. Since then his corporate programs have focused increasingly on self-development, creativity, stress management, and sustainable environmental practices. Clients have included IBM, Apple, Digital, American Express, Barclays Bank, Swedish Telecom, ICI, Shell Oil and British Petroleum.

His principal interest is the deeper, spiritual significance of the times we are passing through. He has written several books in this area -- The TM Technique, The Upanishads, The Brain Book, The Global Brain Awakens, The Creative Manager, The Consciousness Revolution, Waking Up in Time, and From Science to God. As one of the more revolutionary futurists Peter Russell has been a keynote speaker at many international conferences, in Europe, Japan and the USA. His multi-image shows and videos, The Global Brain and The White Hole in Time have won praise and prizes from around the world. In 1993 the environmental magazine Buzzworm voted Peter Russell "Eco-Philosopher Extraordinaire" of the year.

Getting to Know You

2010-04-16T23:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite astrologers has a free PDF download on her website that illustrates a bunch of different ideas for mini projects to help take a kind of "inventory" of your life. These mini projects are based on the astrological house system, which if you are not familiar, are the sections on a persons birth chart that show WHERE the energies of the zodiac signs and all the planets manifest themselves. Each of the 12 houses represents a specific area of life, such as money management, communication, and relationships, to name only a few.
A good way to choose which house/project will be appropriate for you is to read the definition of each house listed below. It gives a pretty basic idea of what that house encompasses. When you run across one that resonates with something you may be having challenges with in your life, take a look at the list below it. There you will find the mini projects you can do to help bring about more awareness of that challenge and proactively do something to change it, if necessary.

Check out more of Donna Cunningham's amazing insight on her blog: http://skywriter.wordpress.com/
and her website: http://www.moonmavenpublications.com/

First House: First impressions and first approach to situations, appearance, image,
self-presentation, the basic physical vehicle. The first house is your personal sunrise—
the way you meet the world—and creates a sense memory of you for everyone you meet.

• Write a story about yourself that begins with “I AM…”
• Pull together a photographic retrospective of yourself over the years to see how your style has changed
• Adapt your appearance to accurately reflect the real you in the here and now
• Be an authentic representative of your Sun
• Do a full body scan for health-related issues
• Tone up—your carriage and your muscles
• Train yourself to walk into a room with confidence
• Make direct eye contact when interacting with others

Second House: Money and ways of earning it, money management and attitudes toward
finance, things valued more than money. A valuable long-term project would be to
create an updated spending plan that works, through the following steps:

• Keep track of everything you spend for one month
• Discover where wasted money goes
• List small luxuries that make you feel rich
• List economies that would make you feel poor
• Based on the collected information, draft a spending plan
• Repeat the list from step one on and keep revising the plan realistically
• Set up a small monthly automatic transfer from checking to savings
• Budget your time to include things you value more than money
• Know that your self-worth is more important than your net worth

Third House: Communication, thinking and learning style, siblings and near relatives, neighbors, basic coursework, commuting.

• Get in touch with people you’ve lost track of, including yourself
• Think about what you’re NOT communicating—starting at home
• Write an actual hard-copy letter to someone you’ve missed
• Phone a long-lost relative or neighbor to catch up on the news
• Go to a bookstore for coffee rather than Starbucks. Browse
• Subscribe to a blog or newsgroup on a topic you want to know more about
• Stretch by putting the Word or Quote of the Day on your startup page
• Cancel or transfer subscriptions to magazines you don’t read any more
• Buy a blank book and keep a journal of 2010—we live in interesting times

Fourth House: Home and home life, roots, family ties, heredity, family influence, the nurturing parent, senior years.

• Get to know your family tree even if it’s your adoptive family
• Plant yourself in a nurturing environment, become self-watering
• Create a sacred space that travels with you
• Make peace with your past
• Feed yourself what you need most
• Become a caregiver to yourself as well as others
• Identify your tribe
• Develop sensitivity for what each person needs to thrive
• Create a recipe for emotional growth—a little more of this, a little less of that

Fifth House: Children, romance, creativity, self-expression, performing, leisure activities,
gambling and other forms of risk-taking.

• Put on your clown shoes and have some fun
• Be a lover not a fighter
• Develop generosity of spirit
• Praise someone who needs it
• Applaud those who deserve it
• Be fearless in an adverse situation
• Tell yourself and others that you love them
• Send someone flowers who won’t expect them
• Give someone or something a chance
• Look for joy everywhere

Sixth House: Work and its meaning, work habits, types of jobs, coworkers and employees,
health and health habits.

• Look at each work task and consider how to do it more effectively
• Read David Allen’s Getting Things Done or his Free Articles
• Listen to coworkers’ or employees’ suggestions and priorities
• Spend quality time offsite with coworkers—a non-working lunch
• Devise time-effective ways of getting regular exercise
• Have an annual physical and actually listen to the recommendations
• Read up on your medications on the web
• Research vitamins, supplements, herbs and natural treatments you need
• Evaluate your diet and make it more nutritious
• Stop gritting your teeth—it’s the Virgo house of your chart!

Seventh House: Partnerships—personal and business, close, committed relationships, types
of people we attract, sharing.

• Keep your promises
• Get a really good mirror ~ a looking glass for inner or outer gazing
• Identify the solid relationships in your life and why they do or don’t work
• Find the romantic you that serves the beloved
• Respect yourself and others
• Look for the lopsided and bring balance to it
• Listen to someone else’s story without judgement
• Choose your battles
• Learn to barter so that everyone wins
• See yourself through the eyes of others
• Commit to something or someone
• Turn your enemies into friends
• Set standards for yourself as a role model and seek them in your partners

Eighth House: Sexuality, money you don’t earn (inheritances, grants, etc), taxes, partner’s resources, birth, death, transformation, healing.

• Reveal a secret that will heal a wound
• Get and keep your insurance papers, deeds, and other important documents in order
• Recycle things you no longer need
• Read the Kama Sutra
• Learn the art of intimacy
• Treat the treasures of others as truly valuable
• Resurrect something that longs to live
• Memorialize someone who has passed away
• Let go of lingering resentments
• Have a release ceremony for something you mourn
• Leave a legacy behind

Ninth House: Higher education, advanced studies, religion and philosophy of life, legal
matters, foreign lands, distance travel. (Course work of one kind or another is common
while this house is emphasized, but focus on learning skills that further your career goals.)

• Take a refresher course to update skills for your work
• Take a month to reread those favorite books on your shelves
• Reread an inspirational or self-help author who helped you in a bad time
• Write to or about a teacher who brought out the best in you
• Do a gratitude list each day for a week, a month, or more
• Pick a spiritual practice and do it daily for a week, a month, or more
• List 10 things you firmly believe—then write why they might not be true
• Attend a service for an unfamiliar religion…or one you no longer belong to
• Watch the travel channel or a travelogue about a land you want to visit
• Learn a foreign cuisine, and read best sellers from that country
• Plan for and make a pilgrimage, if only in your mind

Tenth House: Career and long-term goals, how you are remembered, parental authority,
bosses and the type of boss you are.

• Take an inventory of all the goals you’ve achieved
• Find or be a mentor
• List the qualities and standards that make you feel successful
• Analyze your parents as role models for your career
• Consider if you’ve become like your own parents with your kids
• Take your boss to lunch
• Be a good steward
• Get serious about something
• Establish an inner board of directors to make your decisions
• Lead by example

Eleventh House: Friendship, relationship to peer group, the teenage years, group
membership, social consciousness, activism, aspirations.

• Google college or high school pals to see what they’re up to
• Do something thoroughly adolescent and silly—and revel in it
• Have a long phone chat to catch up with one of your dearest friends
• Instead of a present, give a friend the gift of your skills or presence
• Make amends to an estranged friend that you’ve hurt—expect nothing
• Analyze co-dependent ties for how you’re enabling or being enabled
• Make a new internet buddy through a blog or forum with shared interests
• Analyze your groups to see how they enhance or detract from your goals
• Give back to groups that have helped you—volunteer for something
• Question authority—protest an injustice by taking an action

Twelfth House: Things that are repressed or hidden, self-defeating behavior, chronic illness,
chronic illness and care facilities, selfless service, retreats, spiritual quest.

• Take the phone off the hook for a weekend and contemplate your life
• Go on a spiritual retreat—organized or one you create for yourself
• Meditate daily for a week, however you are most comfortable
• Practice Random Acts of Kindness for a week or month
• Court dreamland revelations by journaling your nightly dreams
• Confess your worst secrets to a trustworthy person—in a confessional, perhaps
• List 10 ways you regularly shoot yourself in the foot and figure out why
• Make it a project to stop at least one of them
• Befriend someone who’s suffering as you once suffered and overcame
• Visit someone in a hospital, prison, nursing home, or homeless shelter

The End of Money

2010-04-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

The following is a book review by Tim Jenkin (of realitysandwich.com) The book is called "The End of Money and the Future of Civilization" by Thomas Greco (Chelsea Green Publishing). I thought it was a really interesting view and short history of our money system. I have not read the actual book, but this review seems to give a pretty in-depth account of what's in the book anyway. If anyone HAS read the book disagrees with me in this, I'd LOVE to hear your opinion;-)

Thomas Greco is the most radical writer on money today. The title of the book suggests that the future of civilization depends on abandoning money as we know it. What could be more radical and revolutionary than that? Yet Greco does not come across as some wild revolutionary wanting to turn the world upside down. His style is calm and systematic throughout. He talks us through the historical record and shows how the current financial system has shaped and governs our world. The argument of the book is that if we are to tackle the gigantic issues of our time, we have to understand how money works and adopt a new way of doing money. We do not have to re-invent it entirely, for it has evolved over the centuries and we are now entering a new era where modern technologies allow us to move away from the existing centralized, globalized, monopolized and privatized money system that is a tragic relic of history, and toward a truly modern, democratic money system that belongs to the commons.

Greco is brilliant at exposing the workings of our current money system and explaining how this can evolve into a new system. But all the time there is this feeling that he is holding back, that he is not following his own arguments to their logical conclusion. "Prognostication is a hazardous business -- something that is best avoided," he tells us. He does hint at where new monetary trends might take us but leaves most of it to our imaginations. So if you are hoping to find out what the future of civilization will look like, you will be disappointed. It is only in the epilogue that he touches on the prospects for civilization, and then in only two pages.

This review is neither a critique nor a summary of the book; it is about what it says between the lines and what would result if we were to follow the logic of Greco's arguments. In the same way as he wants to "liberate the exchange process," this is an attempt to liberate some of his ideas to ensure that their full potential is realized.

The first eight chapters set the scene for the main theme of the book, which is that the prevailing money system has brought humanity to the brink of disaster in many different ways. It is the money system that defines how our economies work and has set them on an unsustainable growth-oriented trajectory. Today it is the "money power" that rules the world:

"I have argued that control of money and exchange mechanisms is the key structural element that determines the distribution of power, and that it must be the main focus if any degree of community empowerment and self-determination is to be achieved. A money monopoly, whether in private hands or government controlled, is inimical to freedom and equity."

In order to realize a new monetary paradigm, money-as-we-know-it needs to be "depoliticised." This can only be accomplished by the separation of money and the state. Under the current arrangement the banking cartel creates money as debt and charges interest on it while governments get to spend as much as they want without regard to tax revenues. Legal tender laws and banking regulations endow the banking cartel with the exclusive power to issue money (as debt), which we are forced to use (through legal tender laws). The collusion between political power and financial power is the root cause of the mega-crises facing humanity.

The Evolution of Money

In this chapter we are taken on a journey through history that explains how money evolved as a reaction to the inconveniences of barter. While this is extremely helpful in understanding how the current money system came about and how it can be transcended, Greco could have expressed his proposals more powerfully had he considered the broader concept of the evolution of exchange systems instead of money alone. Money is a sub-set of exchange, a period in the evolution of exchange systems where exchange was mediated by value representations, either in the form of tangible commodities or instruments of various degrees of abstraction. Exchange is not reducible to money and so when the history of money is abstracted from the history of exchange it appears to be linear, starting with commodity money, evolving through symbolic money, credit money and towards some kind of credit clearing system that Greco says is the highest stage of money.

If a history of the evolution of exchange systems had been provided instead, the process would have appeared less linear and more of a Hegelian dialectic, spiralling upwards to higher and higher forms. Certain forms appear to repeat themselves through history. Exchange did not start with barter or with any hard exchange medium that could be identified as money. Exchange is a property of life on earth and not something special or unique to humans. Nature itself provides all sorts of feedback mechanisms to regulate and control exchange but what is unique about human exchange is that humans developed their own systems to regulate and control it. Initially this would have been in the form of mental records of who did or gave what to whom. Various mnemonic devices were introduced to keep a more accurate record. The earliest civilizations learned how to record exchanges on clay tablets; the Incas kept the record by tying knots in pieces of string (quipus); in many places artefacts like notched bones and tally sticks were used. Numeracy and writing arose out of the need to keep records of exchanges (accounting). In a sense "keeping the record" in this way was an earlier form of the mutual credit clearing process that Greco proposes, where today computers replace the primitive mnemonic devices.

After the earlier information-based exchange systems came the era of money-based exchange systems, where exchange was organized by the mediation of "stuff" instead of information. This was inevitable when trading increased both in quantity and in distance. With primitive technologies it was no longer possible to keep the record accurately. Money did that simply by being an abstract and portable representation of the real values that were being exchanged. The problem with "stuff" money is that it can be appropriated. It has to be created, distributed and controlled, and these functions always fell into the hands of the powerful who used it to increase their power over the rest of society. This has come to its apotheosis with the current global money system, which is in the process of morphing into a single world currency. Today the money power is all-powerful, rendering national governments insignificant.

The evolution of exchange systems will not stop with credit clearing, as Greco suggests. It is possible to see another swing back to money-based exchange systems after a brief period of information-based exchange systems. When the energy crisis really begins to bite as we enter the steep downside of peak oil, there may not be enough energy to power the millions of computers that will be needed to run a global credit clearing network. A higher form of tangible money might have to be re-introduced, but hopefully next time we will have learnt that its creation, issuance and control must not fall into private hands and thereby become monopolized.

The Third Evolutionary Stage -- The Emergence of Credit Clearing

In this chapter we are introduced to the concept of credit clearing, comparing the credit clearing process of banks today with mutual credit clearing. In the first instance the economic players use bank-borrowed credit (money) to clear debts between themselves; in the latter mutual credit (self-issued IOUs) is used instead. Where bank credit is used the monetary output has to be greater than the monetary input because interest has to be paid on top of the principal amount borrowed. Since the difference between the output and the input was not created at loan time, the deficit can only come from further borrowing down the line. This means that the system has to continually expand, creating an unstable situation prone to crisis and collapse when output does not meet the requirements. Where mutual credit is used there is no need for interest, for there is no third party providing any service that the traders in the circle can't provide themselves. This keeps the system in equilibrium as the full proceeds of production go to the producers and are not siphoned off by a parasitic class who play no part in the production/distribution process. The removal of interest from the equation not only removes the parasites, it also removes the expansionary imperative.

In removing the need for any third party currency or credit instruments, direct credit clearing makes conventional money and banking obsolete. By freeing themselves from "the limitations by monopolized bank-credit and government money," traders will be creating a "new economy" in which conventional money plays no part. Greco is not talking about a complementary currency here, but an entirely new exchange system that excludes the financial industry as we know it, central banking, fractional-reserve banking, the political money nexus and everything else that flows from removing the concept of interest from the concept of money.

Credit clearing is a truly revolutionary idea which, if it were to be taken up in a big way, would shake the foundations of the prevailing economic, social and political order. Perhaps Greco does not follow through the full implications of his proposals out of fear of turning his book into a manual of revolutionary change!

Ignoring what the monetary elite might do if they felt that "their" money system was under threat, let us take a look at where the widespread implementation of credit clearing circles could take us.

If, as Greco suggests, a network of locally-based "circles" was implemented -- not one giant clearing mechanism to replace the existing one -- these circles would result in an economy consisting of a multitude of discrete, locally-based, mini economies without the huge concentrations of capital that characterize the present global economy. This would reduce the size of production units to a community scale and eliminate the opportunities for globalised mega-corporations. This is precisely what the world needs at this time, but it would also mean the deconstruction of the present globalized economy.

Not only that, by eliminating the political nexus and breaking the economy up into locally administered units, would there be any need for the kind of national governments that now reign the earth? Would it not make more sense for governments to scale down to the size of the economic units? Would these then still be called governments, or should they just be called local administrations responsible for providing public services in the areas where the clearing circles operate?

If 'governments' were to scale down surely politics too would be very different if the focus was local instead of national. There would be no place for nationwide political parties, for the concept of nation would become much more fuzzy. Taking this line of thinking to its ultimate conclusion, would nation states make sense any more? Currently nations map to the areas where their currencies operate, but if money systems were more granular then so too would 'nations'. When reduced to city-sized units or smaller, would these still be nation states, or would we be back to the city states of ancient Greece?

Solving the Money Problem and Credit Clearing

According to Greco the "money problem" can be defined as: Legal tender status for central bank-created currency; the monopolization of credit by the banking cartel; and the lack of an operational measure of value and unit of account that is independent of political currencies. Distilled to its essence it is the concentration of power by the financial elite through its monopolization of money. This has been achieved through a pact with government, which has given the money monopoly such power that today it is not inaccurate to say that governments are the junior partners in this alliance.

Reformers who believe that there is a political solution to this unhealthy arrangement fail to understand that governments are fully tied into and dependent on this system, and are not the primary decision makers about what happens and how it works. Even if governments did have the will and the power to wrest control of the issuance of credit from the banking cartel, the situation would not be a lot different. The historical record suggests that where governments have come out on top their monopolization of credit has led to militarization, wars, expansion and a weakening of democratic processes.

The money problem will not be solved by shifting the issuing power, even if governments are able to do it debt free. What is required is the ending of the money monopoly. This means the decentralization and democratization of the exchange process. Again this can only be achieved through traders establishing their own mutual credit clearing circles and independent private and community currencies.

By creating their own local currencies traders can liberate the exchange process and disperse the money power amongst themselves. It is in fact a lot more than just the exchange process that is liberated when a usury-free exchange system is adopted. Ruling classes have always used control over the exchange system as the basis of their power. Usury (interest) has always been one of the main instruments they have used. Attempts to undermine that basis would result in class warfare in the form of "currency wars." The ruling class would appeal to its allies in government to quash any attempts to "undermine the economy." Widespread adoption of mutual credit clearing would seriously weaken class rule and usher in a period of democracy where for the first time in history power really would belong to the people.

Mutual credit clearing circles fall under the category of information-based exchange systems and are not part of the money-based camp. Where the organizing principle is information and not exchange media, the terminology needs to be quite different. Because the distinction between these two types of exchange systems is seldom made, they are usually conflated and the terminologies merged. Using concepts from the "old" system to explain how the "new" one works can lead to confusion and conceals the potential of the latter.

Although Greco insists that "every piece of currency is a credit obligation -- an IOU of a particular issuer" and "money is nothing more than credit," in information-based exchange systems (such as the mutual credit clearing circles he proposes) the concepts of credit and issuance are outdated, relics of the dominant, money-based exchange system that we are so used to.

Credit, as commonly understood, is an agreement between trading parties and an obligation on the part of the recipient of the credit: I give you something now and you give me something else later (or you borrow from a bank and settle with me now and transfer that obligation to the bank). It is a normal exchange but with a time delay between delivery and settlement, and that time delay is usually represented by some kind of a credit instrument with an interest component. The interest is always explained as the "compensation" or the "penalty" imposed by the giver of the credit for having to wait for settlement.

In an information-based exchange system when there is a transfer of value from a seller to a buyer there is no agreement between the two and no direct obligation on the part of the buyer to the seller. Both the agreement and the obligation are social, and they apply to both sides. Buyers must agree to sell in order to "pay" for their purchases, and sellers must agree to purchase so that buyers can sell. Another way of putting it is that traders must agree to sell in order to buy and buy in order to sell. Everyone has an obligation to the community to keep their mean balance as close to zero as possible. Clearing is the process of ensuring that balances remain at or near to zero.

This could be called community credit but that is stretching the meaning of credit to something else. The community does not "issue" credit; all that happens is that the system records (as a balance debit) the quantity of value received by the buyer. The value received needs to be offset by the provision of goods and services of an equivalent value so that the debit can be cleared. There is no place for interest in this scheme because the community does not require compensation for the delay in settlement. Everyone delays settlement and so if everyone is penalised for doing so, then everyone should benefit from the penalties, but penalties and benefits would cancel each other out and so be pointless.

As there is no credit in an information-based exchange system and certainly no physical currency, the term "issue" has no meaning as well. When money is issued into circulation it implies that it has substance -- it has been "created" -- and that it circulates between trading parties (i.e. it passes from hand to hand). Information can neither be issued nor can it circulate. It is always retrospective -- a record of what has already happened. While the use of the terms "issue" and "circulate" can help us visualize what is happening because we are so used to them, they are best avoided as they add unnecessary complexity and prevent us seeing that information is a better organiser and regulator than "stuff."

Following on from removing the conventional concepts of credit and issuance, the concept of paying (pay, payments etc.) can also be removed from the list of concepts associated with information-based exchange systems, such as clearing circles. To "pay" is normally understood as giving something in return for something received. Most usually to "pay" for something means to give money in exchange for whatever was received.

When the exchange system does not have any tangible or symbolic representations of value (i.e. money) but only keeps records of the transfers of value, the concept of "payment" is rendered meaningless. Nothing "goes" from the buyer to the seller and so there is no "payment." The buyer needs to "pay" for what was received by delivering like value back to the community, but this is a different meaning for the word "pay" than it is commonly understood. The "payment" here is the settlement of a social obligation, not a direct transfer of value to the seller in recompense.

As buyers do not "pay" sellers in information-based exchange systems, the next question that arises is: who enters the transactions into the system (records them on the computer)? This might at first seem like a trivial matter and the intuitive answer is that the buyer should do it, as buyers have always "paid" sellers and by entering the transaction they are in effect "paying" or "settling" with their sellers.

It is the counter-intuitive, however, that is the most meaningful. Vendors would never tolerate a system where the buyers walk off with the goods, trusting that they will go home and enter the transactions into their PCs. It is not in the interest of buyers to enter transactions as that debits their accounts. Sellers would quickly get very frustrated if they had to chase their buyers after every sale.

Sellers entering transactions is about as revolutionary as mutual credit clearing itself, for it turns upside down the normal buyer/seller relationship, in particular the employer/employee relationship. It also streamlines business processes by removing the need for accountants and for the whole rigmarole of sending statements, waiting for cheques, chasing customers to pay, bad debts, cash flow problems, waiting in bank queues to deposit cheques etc.

The great power of the employing class of capitalism (and socialism) derives from the way that money-based exchange systems work. Businesses are in business to make money and the revenue from production accrues to the owners of the business. As buyers of labour, employers are greatly empowered by the fact that they control the supply of money in their businesses. This keeps their workers in thrall as they are in a weak position vis a vis their employers. Their wages and salaries are paid to them by their employers who are in a position to determine, withhold or terminate payments at any time.

Under a credit clearing scenario employees would not be "paid" by their employers. As the sellers of labour they would be in a position to credit themselves against their employers. This turns the normal employer/employee relationship on its head. Employees would be greatly strengthened in relation to their employers as the latter would no longer be in a position to unilaterally withhold or terminate their wages/salaries. The very concepts of wages and salaries, which are associated with the concepts of paying and remuneration, would also become meaningless.

How this would actually work in practice is difficult to say because it would depend on the agreements between employees and their employers. Perhaps it would lead to a situation where the concepts of employer and employee would change their meaning, as well as the concepts of employment and jobs. When "employees" are enabled to credit themselves and debit their "employers" they are no longer part of a "workforce" but independent service providers with livelihoods.

We can go on with this train of thought, but it becomes increasingly fuzzy as we are entering the realm of the imaginary here. There are no mutual credit clearing circles out there that we can monitor for trends, apart from numerous LETS groups and other similar exchange systems that are too small and insignificant to provide any meaningful clues.

The Next Big Thing in Business: A Complete Web-Based Trading Platform

"As we've shown, money today is not what it used to be, and tomorrow ... well, tomorrow we won't use money at all."

Although it has a long history, the money system of today was developed and adapted for the industrial age. It has always been able to generate practically unlimited amounts of credit, especially after it was delinked from limited precious metals. It has also been able to produce more credit than is necessary for normal trading in order to cover the interest requirement. This has forced economies based on this money system to be locked onto an endless growth path. Growth has been possible while there has been the energy to power the growth, but as we enter the downward slope of the peak oil bell-shape and growth becomes more difficult, so it will become increasingly difficult to service the interest requirement. Because interest is contingent on growth, you could say that the "production" of credit also has a bell shape and maps on top of the energy production bell shape. We have thus reached "peak credit'"and "peak interest." This is a dangerous contradiction for a money system that can only work on the upward slope of the energy production curve.

We are now supposed to be moving into the post-industrial world, the information age, but with a money system designed for the industrial age. Until the computer revolution and the advent of the Internet it simply was not possible to have a purely information-based exchange system. The complexity of keeping track of each and every trade on a global scale could only be achieved by using a money system where each trading entity kept track of its own supply of money and used banks to clear and settle accounts with other trading entities. While this worked, it was hugely inefficient and labour intensive. It needed interest to finance itself. A new money system based entirely on information can keep track of each and every transaction so efficiently that its running costs are negligible. All that would be required from users is a small service fee to keep the system running. A service fee does not require an underlying economy that is geared to keeping its money system working.

While much of what was done manually by banks is now performed by computers, money today still works in pretty much the same way as it has always done. It is issued into circulation as debt by third parties outside of the trading circuit and even where there is innovation in payment systems, such as PayPal, "it only allows the transfer of the same old bank-created debt-money".

Greco suggests that we can do better than all the existing forms of "electronic" money that are already out there. To become true alternative payment systems they would have to offer interest-free lines of credit to some or all of their account holders. Until this happens there is nothing stopping anyone from setting up a non-political trading platform that is essentially a credit clearing circle. To be successful it requires four basic components:

A marketplace
A social network
A means of payment
A measure of value or pricing unit

Many of these are already available on the Internet but what is required is that they are integrated to form a new "trading space" free of the negative aspects of conventional money and that will "enable the evolution of civilization toward greater peace, prosperity and sustainability."

We are not provided with any clues about how this can be achieved, but it is unlikely to be provided by any of the "big players" today or a new startup until one of them is prepared to provide the service without expecting any reward in conventional money. This will require a huge leap of faith because the provider will have to believe that its rewards will come from providing the service alone and not from extraneous sources.

The End of Money and the Future of Civilization is a powerful book that should be read not only by everyone in the complementary currency movement, but by all those concerned about what is happening on the economic, social, political and environmental fronts. It is almost impossible to understand what is happening in the world today without understanding how our lives are governed by the "politicized global debt-money regime." Greco reminds us that the slide to a despotic materialistic feudalism can only be averted if the processes of exchange and finance are recreated.

The article can be found at this link:
http://www.realitysandwich.com/end_money_future_civilization

I AM ENERGY. HEAR ME ROAR.

2010-04-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE it when my friends introduce me to new artists that bend the time-space continum.....

NIGHTLY HEALING

2010-04-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

Nightly Healing is a REALLY AMAZING, FREE service that anyone can utilize to get in touch with and access the body's unique ability to heal itself. The founder, Victoria Lichtman, created it so that everyone could learn how to participate in their own healing process. I've only called in once, so I'm not sure if the format is always exactly the same, but she uses a format/process similar to how "The Journey" is done. If you're not familiar with "The Journey", I have an older post that talks about it in more depth/detail and joining on one of these calls would be a really great way to experience it without having to do (and pay for) a whole Journey workshop weekend. I believe she also has quite a few guest-speakers that facilitate the calls as well as herself. This telebridge call literally takes place EVERY NIGHT!!!! So, if you're having a crappy day or you just need some help meditating, you can dial in any night at the appropriate time (according to your time zone) and participate in the process or even just listen and participate silently.

Victoria has also recently expanded the call to include a weekly series called "In the Company of Consciousness". Every Monday and Thursday you can tune in live, either by phone or online, to an array of really interesting and informed speakers that will be imparting their unique knowledge to us, for FREE!!! The list of speakers can be found on the website below and include Peter Russell, Colin Tipping, and Kevin Billett, all of whom speak about the changing consciousness of our planet and how we as humans are involved in the process. I listened to the first one today and thought it was great!!! I'm looking forward to the rest;-)

Nightly Healing Call access information link:

http://www.NightlyHealing.com/CallAccess.html

Every night
9 pm Eastern Standard Time
8 pm CST - 7 pm MST - 6 pm PST

Dial: 712-432-0075
When prompted enter pin number 935234#
(Long distance charges may apply)

Please watch your email. You will receive all changes and updates!
The call access number will soon change!!!

In the Company of Consciousness information link:

http://www.inthecompanyofconsciousness.com/calendar.html

Position Your Intuition: A Mini-Workshop

2010-04-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

The following "mini-workshop" was created by Bruce Way in Sydney Australia. It focuses on developing and integrating your own intuition....... which is something that EVERYONE has, but may not know how to utilize, or even be totally aware of.

Bruce is a Reiki & Seichim Master, teacher of psychic development, spiritual medium, intuitive business consultant and playwright. He has written 3 books; Living Intuitively (Lothian Books and Ten Speed Press), How to Interpret a Psychic Reading (Lothian Books and Ten Speed Press – renamed Psychic or Charlatan), and Healing Energies (Simon & Schuster, Australia). He comes from a business background (sales and management) - and now writes stage plays, edits non-fiction works and consults to business. Some have described him as the safe bridge between the pragmatic and the esoteric. He also has a few REALLY amazing articles on karmicecology.com. Here's the link, I HIGHLY recommend them!!!

http://www.karmicecology.com/writers/14/bruce-way

Allow fifteen minutes for this exercise.

Developing your intuition works on two levels. The intellectual, which is contained in my articles and the doing parts, which are primarily meditations and recording your meditations in a journal. Remember that you are the teacher and student of your intuitive school. You may benefit initially by asking a friend to read the instructions to you. Always allow time to write your thoughts and experiences at the end of each sitting. Now, find a quiet, comfortable place where you will remain undisturbed for one hour.

Please consider the following statement:

At this time in your life, everything is right in your world and your prosperity is assured.

Now you may believe this to be a wild and irrational statement. After all, look at all the events and happenings in your life that are completely out of your control. The people around you don't listen to you, they don't give you what you want, you are so full of social conditioning that you act sometimes like a controlled droid and wonder if you really have a say at all.

Please consider the statement again.

At this time in your life, everything is right in your world and your prosperity is assured.

Relax some more, assume a comfortable position and take three deep breaths. Breathe as deeply as you can and then on the exhale let go of all your tension.

Now say it with me.

At this time in my life, everything is right in my world and my prosperity is assured.

Let's say it again.

At this time in my life, everything is right in my world and my prosperity is assured.

Say it again, aloud with real conviction, feeling this statement in every cell of your body.

At this time in my life, everything is right in my world and my prosperity is assured.

While you were repeating this statement to yourself did you notice the thoughts that seemed to come out of nowhere? It doesn't matter exactly what they were. The interesting thing is, that as you made this statement, something happened. As yet we don't know what. This statement did, however, stimulate at least one thought. If we were to consult a neurologist, and ask for a measurement of that thought, chances are she/he would describe it as a brain-wave or an electrical charge or impulse. Now we know and recognise electricity as energy so we could say that this statement created energy. To continue further, we also know that if we use energy in certain ways, it can create specific happenings, phenomena and events.

Go back again to the statement.

At this time in my life, everything is right in my world and my prosperity is assured.

What thoughts and emotions did it produce? Write them down now because they will reveal hidden thought patterns that are effecting your development. Did you feel empowered? Did you believe that everything IS right in your world. Maybe it brought up other feelings and thoughts, that were far from empowering? The point is, that our very thoughts determine who we are, what we are about, and all facets of the situations in which we find ourselves. Ah-ha, you say. This is all about positive thinking. In a way it is. It's a lot more than that too.

During this phase of our development it is necessary to look into our personal storehouses and recognise just what thoughts, beliefs and attitudes live there. When we discover any unwanted thoughts, then we need to learn how to release them. In later workshops we will practise how to lovingly disallow further negative beliefs from entering our existence. We will use the three powerful tools, of forgiveness, release and denial. Before we get to that, let's take a few minutes to relax and work on that positive statement introduced earlier. Can you remember what it is?

The statement is:

At this time in my life, everything is right in my world and my prosperity is assured.

Whenever you feel that life is not treating you fairly. Relax and feel the power in this statement.

Bruce's website is:

http://www.intuitivebrilliance.com

BIO-ENERGETIC HEALING

2010-04-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

Another Healing Alternative to Prescription Medication

Bio-energetic healing therapy is based on bringing the energy body to the ideal state - so called balancing. The energy body - our matrix - points out to the disfunctions much earlier before concrete pathologies appear/manifest themselves in the physical body. The matrix, also known as an aura, our early warning system or immune system, contains in itself all the information on the subject of every our disease, as well as on the subject of our health. When energy in our body is balanced and evenly surrounds our physical body - we are well. But when our energy body surrounds the physical in an irregular, distorted fashion, we begin to be ill. Balancing energy of the body by the therapist is grounded on a basic law of physics - higher potential influences the lower. The therapist does not use his own energy - he is a transmitter of Bioenergy drawn from outside. The energy contains all the information, needed by the body in order to heal itself. In an intelligent manner, the energy is transfered to the places, where it is needed, or the surplus of energy is removed from the places where there potential is to high (infection, pain). This way, the therapist - like a mechanic - provides the body with the tools, contained in Bioenergy, which are necessary for proper functioning of the immune system and the body starts to heal itself.

The Method uses the Energy of Life - also known as Praną or Chi - in order to balance the energy level, stimulate the immune system, eliminate pain, regenerate the body and finally heal. The therapist is helping to bring back the immune system to proper functioning - in such a way that the body would heal itself. The method is designed for alternative medicine practicioners, as well as for persons, who wish to help their family members. A session takes 10-15 minutes and should be continued over 4-5 days. The therapy can be done in groups or individually. Great results are achieved also by distance.

Healing bioenergy (BIOS - from Greek 'life'), means healing with the energy of life and is a fact known for thousands of years, but so far has been reserved only for few. The Method of Zdenko Domancic allows one to practice it with ease and simplicity. In order to becoem a therapist, one does not need to have any special capabilities. In the words of its creator, "it is enough to have more goodness than evil". The Method is safe, noninvasive, painfree, patient-friendly, free from farmaceuticals. It is based on stimulating the immune system for effectively fighting the disease, in such a way that the body starts to heal itself. The effectiveless has been scientifically validated in 1985. At the request of the Ministry of Health of the Former Yugoslavia, Zdenko Domancic treated (with the Method of Bioenergy) 300 persons with advanced damp gagrene (gangrena humida). After the treatments, patients returned to complete health and none of them had their limbs amputated. This medical experiment took place over half a year (due to the large number of the diseased) and has been described in the book "Domancic - the Healer" by D.Jakcina. The method is also used as an effective measure for wellness and disease prevention.

To learn more about the method click on this link:

http://www.domancicmethod.eu/

Water is a Living Entity/Zulu Prophecies

2010-04-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

For all you AVEDA people out there, this is such a great story to go along with Earth Month!!!

"The Return of Mu-sho-sho-no-no"

The Great Grandson of King Shaka Zulu, Baba Sanusi Credo Mutwa, Sangoma and Keeper of the Culture of the Zulu was born on 21 July 1921 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. As Keeper of the Culture, he preserves the oral traditions and material treasures of the Zulu. He is the author of many books, including ‘Song of the Stars: The Lore of a Zulu Shaman’, ‘Indaba, My Children’ and ‘Zulu Shaman: Dreams, Prophecies, and Mysteries’. A similar astrological path is shared with Rain Queen Mother, and he was an instrumental teacher in her long Initiation journey.

On 2 October 1999, Baba Sanusi Credo Mutwa gave a keynote address at the Living Lakes Conference in California which includes the prophecy of the return of the “terrible star” Mu-sho-sho-no-no in 2012. An essay of his speech is reproduced below:

“I stand before you as a man who is stunned and shaken by what he has seen, what he has heard, and what he has experienced. First of all, did you know, you who live around Lake Mono, that your lake joins together Africa and the Native American people? Did you know that the most amazing word I’ve ever heard when I arrived here was the word Inyo. Which is said to mean the dwelling place of the creator, or rather, the place of creation. Did you know that that word occurs in Africa as a reference to the sacred organ of a mother? Did you know that the word Mono is a name for something delicious and nutritious that you eat? Perhaps one day if I return this way I shall share more of these things with you.

“No matter whom we are, no matter in which part of the world we dwell, we are one. We are one with each other. We are one with the earth. We are one with the moon, the sun, the stars. Please, please remember that. It is useless to conserve entities such as water and trees if you have severed yourself away from those entities. You cannot conserve something which you do not feel within you. You cannot conserve something which is not part of you.

“When I was initiated for the first time in 1937 into the mysteries and knowledge of Mother Africa I was ordered by my teacher who was my aunt. She said I should go outside and fill a small clay pot with water. And then she said to me, “Look into the water—what do you see?” I was caught in a trap because an initiate is not supposed to have an ego. An initiate is not supposed to refer to himself. I said, “ Aunt, I see a person in this water.” She said, “Who is that person?” I did not dare say it was me. I said, “It is the person I know who is the son of my mother, the only son.” And she said, “Yes, you are in this water, and the water is in you. Until you know that, that you and the water are one, you must not even drink the water, you must not even think about it, because you have cut yourself off from it.”
Baba Sanusi Credo Mutwa - Zulu leader

“No matter where you go in Africa you will find African people referring to water by very interesting names indeed. And all of these words mean one thing no matter where you go: the fluid of creation, the thing that did something, the thing that caused something to be.

In olden days Africans used to risk their lives in protecting water. In olden days our people used to severely punish anyone they caught urinating into a stream or a river. There are some ants which you find in my country that, when you hold one in your hands, look as fat as myself, and it fights like nobody’s business. And if you were caught, wise guy, making water into the water, one of those babies was made to bite you, closing the hole for several hours, and it will be the biggest lesson you will ever learn.

“Our people believe many strange things regarding water. They believe that water is a living entity. That water has got a mind, that it remembers. The reason why a lake forms where it is, the reason why a river flows through where it flows, is not because it happens to be the right place for water to flow. No! It is because in that place where the river flows, there is an energy, an invisible spirit that moves like a snake, under the ground through the fine sand and which moves in the direction opposite to the one down which the river flows. If this great fire snake, as we call it, this unseen energy, if it dies, then the river dies too.

“In the language of my people, the Zulus, a lake is called icibi. Now this word icibi gave birth to a verb icibella which means “to patch.” If there is a hole in a cloth and you put a patch on it that patch is called icibi and you icibella. Now why do we say that a lake is a repairer? We believe that a lake controls the life forces of all living things around it. A lake controls the life forces of every bird, every fish, every tiny creature that you find in water, and it also controls and stimulates the life forces of bigger animals up to and including human beings. And each time there is an illness in the land, our kings used to prevail upon the tribespeople to go closer to lakes to get into that field. There is an invisible field of power all around a lake. If you take off your clothes and moisten your skin slightly and walk into that field, you will feel a tingling. That is what we call the spirit of the water, the icibi, the repairer of life.
Orange River and South Africa

“Our people believe that there is a music, a sort of communication that goes on between streams, and rivers, and lakes. That if you destroy a lake 20 miles away from another one, this music is cut off and the lake that you have destroyed dies, and so does another lake which has been in communication with it.

“Our people further say that water has got ears. We have a proverb amongst my people that says: he who makes love to another man’s wife on the bank of a river must be careful not to utter loud and stupid noises. Because why? Because of water. If there is a fierce emotion near a stream, that stream somehow records that. And guess what will happen? What you did near the river will be heard by every person in the surrounding villages one day. And you will wonder how they got to hear about it.

“There is much I could share with you. But our people say that he who talks too much makes people tired. So I am not here to make you tired, I am here to tell you this: let us by all means conserve the beautiful song of nature. Let us regard each lake and each river. Not simply as an interesting stretch of water across whose expanse spoiled millionaires will zip around in their powerboats. No! Let us feel the water, let us hear the water, let us be one with the water.

“Please, let us bring back the earth, let us accept one thing which our mothers accepted and our grandfathers knew: that the earth is a living entity where everything is joined to everything else in eternal marriage. And if you destroy something in one part of the world you create a chain of destruction that destroys things somewhere else.

“Let me tell you one last thing: I am told by the great storytellers of our tribes that fresh water is not native to our earth. Once, many thousands of years ago a terrible star, the kind of star with a very long tail, descended very close upon our skies. So close that the earth turned upside down and what had become the sky became down, and what was the heavens became up. The whole world was turned upside down. The sun rose in the south and set in the north. Then came drops of burning black stuff, like molten tar, which burned every living thing on earth that could not escape. After that came a terrible deluge of water accompanied by winds so great that they blew whole mountaintops away. And after that came huge chunks of ice bigger than any mountain and the whole world was covered with ice for many generations. After that the surviving people saw an amazing sight. They saw rivers and streams of water that they could drink, they saw that some of the fishes that escaped from the sea and were now living in these rivers. That is the great story of our forefathers. And we are told that this thing is going to happen again very soon. Because the great star, which is the lava of our sun, is going to return on the day of the year of the red bull, which is in the year 2012.

“Well, I’m glad I won’t be there to see the fun. My wish is th

is: that there may be blessing over everything that you have done, over everything that you are going to do. May whatever power there is beyond the stars strengthen your efforts, because each lake that you bring back to life is a whole world saved.

Thank you.”

You can read more info about the indigenous prophecies at:

http://www.willusurvive2012.com/indigenous-prophecies-2012.html

GEMINI

2010-04-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a really accurate and balanced description of Gemini. Most of the time all you hear about is how fickle and superficial we are and how we can't shut up or actually listen.....which of course, is not true;-) There's a link at the end where you can read about your own sign if you're not a Gemini.

The sun-sign of 'the Twins' takes its name from the two bright stars that dominate the Gemini constellation. Duality is a central feature of its symbolism, and in ancient times the constellation Gemini was seen as a reminder that contradictory forces must be brought together and recognised as mutually dependent upon each other. The two pillars that represent the sign signify the incongruous forces of left and right, black and white, ignorance and understanding, evil and good, death and life.

The myths attached to this sign are characterised by the contradictory aspects of the twins - in the Roman tale they are Pollux, born immortal and possessing great strength, and Castor, born mortal but exceeding in ingenuity and logic. Rather than be parted by death they agree to share immortality by living alternating lives on heaven and earth. The mortal partner turns to intellect to compensate for the immortal vibrancy he does not possess - yet the myth demonstrates the eternal union and mutual reliance of conscious reasoning and unconscious belief in the refusal of the twins to be separated. Thus, this sign can indicate acute polarisation of the spiritual and material, alternation between the extremes of rational logic and instinctive belief, and the quest to reconcile all contradictions in a central threshold where reason and belief, intellect and emotion, masculinity and femininity, merge into one.

How does the Gemini do this? And how do the myths relate to the depiction of the typical Gemini as an individual marked by intellectual leanings and easy communication skills? The fact that Gemini is essentially a sign of polarity which swings rapidly through the realms of the conscious and unconscious, and just as rapidly swings back again, suggests that intellectual propensity is only half of a Geminian's inner motivation. Not enough has been made of the fact that Geminians can suffer from strange and inconsistent moods, that they will demonstrate periods of introverted self reflection in which they need to withdraw from superficial chatterings, just as strongly as they demonstrate the need to engage in it when that period of self-reflection has passed. Geminians do have a rare communicative gift, the basis of it is that their focus is not purely in the world of logic; it also encompasses the domain of the irrational. Geminians have the ability to see both sides of a situation and to communicate between the sides because their dextrous disposition ensures their experience of both extremes. It is less commonly reported that they are often subject to dark irrational broodings, periods of isolation and alienation, materialistic cynicism as well as idealistic inspiration. Yet the flexibility of character that Geminians possess has often been seen as a demonstration of their ability to be two things at once - both the victor and the victim; the healer and the invalid; the teacher and the student; the integration of opposites that never fully separates one partner from the other. This fusion occurs only after independent experience of both extremes has been absorbed, which requires that the antithesis of love, hate; confidence, insecurity; praise and insult; trust and falseness are first encountered as singular incidents before being recognised as two faces of the same coin.

The concept of communication is the true quest of the Geminian, and sun sign depictions dwell on their talents as reporters, teachers, messengers, diplomats, interpreters, linguists and writers. Just as their sun-sign symbolises a regular flow between the experience of extremes, their planetary ruler, Mercury, promotes the communication of it.

In Roman mythology Mercury is the winged messenger and communicator between the gods. The Romans focused upon the speed of the planet and emphasized the qualities of swiftness and 'alternation' in the form of trickery, verbal dexterity and flexibility. Hence Mercury is characterized as the god of thieves and liars as well as being the god of commerce, roads, gymnastic exercises and all that entails mental, verbal or physical deftness. By comparison to its Greek counterpart, Hermes, this is a shallow, superficial aspect of the god of learning, and demonstrates little of the profound, spiritual qualities generally attached to the notion of 'intelligence' by the more ancient cultures.

But in the Greek equivalent Hermes, we see the amalgamation of the Egyptian God of knowledge, Thoth, and the Mesopotamian god of wisdom, Nabu. Hermes offers a more sacred face to the aspect of communication and in his manifestation of 'logical knowledge' Hermes acts as a holy personification of the Mind and Intelligence of the Creator. He is the inventor of language, written words, arithmetic and geometry, and his skill in communication is a direct demonstration of his Divine and Sacred powers - since the ability to define concepts in words, both visually and through sound, was considered by the ancient cultures to be a supernatural gift. Words, and the way they were constructed, were perceived as magical symbols, mirrors of the Divine Mind. Spoken with proper intonation and with the correct spiritual approach, they were the means to summon the gods, heal the sick and command obedience. Writing was a priestly study, held in awe by the uneducated and greatly honoured as a magical, mystical art. Only in the alchemical view of Mercury, as Mercurius, symbol of the process of transmutation, integration, synthesis and illumination, do we come close to restoring the Roman god Mercury with the full glory of his spiritual heritage. It is within this process that communication properly sits, and it is the Geminians, with their ability to experience and synthesize, that hold the keys to 'transmutation'.

Gemini is a sign of endless curiosity driven by an instinct to explore. But they are characterised by 'breadth' not 'depth', so their explorations often lack focus and deep penetration. They are better suited to absorbing 'just enough' of a wide variety of topics, which adds to their reputation as fine conversationalists. They are not usually extreme in their views and are always willing to swap and trade their ideas with others, or change their perspective to suit their company. But they have a strong respect for intellectual independence and need to feel a mental rapport to be fully relaxed with others. Their easy ability to enjoy a broad variety of friends from different interests and inclinations has given Gemini a reputation as an easy and sociable sign, tending towards friendliness and optimism. Geminians are more likely to draw a wide circle of friends and associates than just a few close and intimate contacts and for this reason they have excellent networking talents that allow them to exceed in professional areas on the basis of who they know as much as what they know. They are well suited to any career that requires easy negotiation skills or the ability to express knowledge to others in flexible language that can be easily digested - journalism and teaching being particularly notable - or in professions that call for physical dexterity, light movement, and quick-thinking. The 'alternating' elements of Gemini remind us that this is the sign of trade, barter, exchange and swapping resources. Combined with the instinct for deft actions and quick decision making, Geminis make ideal entrepreneurs, renowned for their ability to manage several projects simultaneously. The sign features strongly in the charts of those who are light on their feet or slight of hand, being traditionally associated with athletes and gymnasts, magicians, conjurers, tricksters, conmen and and pickpockets!

As lovers, Geminians are fun, lively, flirtatious and recognised by their youthful appearance or 'spirit of youth'. But they lack emotional intensity and are uncomfortable with deep emotional ties, particularly if they feel restricted in their freedom to chat and flirt with others. They are often capable of falling in love with two or more lovers simultaneously and are naturally curious to explore the sexual sides to their relationships. Hence a Gemini lover can be the source of endless frustration to a more committed and emotionally intense partner.

Geminians are often accused of being trivial, superficial and fickle. Of course, they can be all of these, but a propensity to inconsistency and changeability also offers facets of a virtue when recognized as the ability to remain responsive to one's surroundings and deal with contradictory demands simultaneously. The mark of this sign is mental agility and 'bridge building'. In order to be understanding and responsive to all, they may at times appear to be 'two faced' or to lack in genuine sincerity. This is the price that must be paid by a disposition that moves with its environment. More than anything else Geminians are regarded as quick thinkers, the best of whom don't just 'act first - think later', but have mastered the pull of the extremes of thinking and feeling, and as a result combine their intellect and intuition with lightning speed, allowing them to think on their feet and deliver an instant, appropriate response.

To read about YOUR sign, go to: http://www.skyscript.co.uk/gemini.html and click on "Select Another Sign"

Soul Mates

2010-04-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

Soul Mates. The words evoke a sense of divine partnership, a blessed union where two hearts, two souls, two people, come together as One. The state of Oneness prevails through all of life’s adversities. The couple is melded together through thick and thin, and there is always and throughout pervasive feelings of telepathic connection, unconditional love, and simmering sexual passion.

Ah, bliss. We all share this innate longing for our “other half.” Since the age of romance began, literature has fed us the imagery of such a perfect union. Much is illusory, a fantasy; but still, we crave this perfection.

Our bodies hardly need encouragement. It is the prerogative of the body to seek its “other half,” the yin for its yang, the positive for its negative. Kahlil Gibran said: “Your children are not your children, they are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.” It is this longing of life to reproduce that drives us to seek union with our opposite.

And for our higher selves, our souls, the desire to merge comes from an instinctive “knowing.” Our higher self knows that only through relationship can we bring our “unwholeness” into our conscious awareness, in order to heal—and thus become whole.

We cannot do this on our own. We need another to help us negotiate our gaps and wounds, and to teach us how to open, and keep open, our hearts. There is no healing with a closed heart. We must open and let go. And this we do best when we are loved and loving.

The words “Soul Mates” are a bit like the words “God” or “Love.” We can create any number of interpretations for these words; they are capable of expressing the highest truths, as well as truth’s opposite. From the pain of deception, loss, betrayal, and separation to the joy of profound intimacy and deep merging with another, the Soul Mate relationship can bring us any or all of these.

I use the word Soul, together with the word Mate, tentatively. And for the reason mentioned above—the words are too easily misconstrued. They are minimized, mangled, and mutated, changed from two innocent, singly comforting words to something almost intimidating: Do you have a Soul Mate? Is your partner your Soul Mate, or a watered down version of one? And if he is, why is living with him so difficult? He can’t be. Or: Will you ever find that elusive Soul Mate? Do you even believe in such things? If they’re for real, why hasn’t yours shown up yet? Where IS he? The subject of soul mates seems invariably to be accompanied by feelings of ambivalence and vulnerability.

There is a lot of confusion about Soul Mates (as there is about anything to do with the mysterious Soul), which is why I wanted to talk about them. After forty something years of living and loving, I have come to the conclusion that every significant relationship we enter into is with a Soul Mate. Yes, afraid so. (And when I say significant, I mean a relationship lasting longer than most of the food in your refrigerator). When we give our heart to another—for however short or long the duration—we are entering into the sacred territory of the Soul. This person has then become a Mate of our Soul; our Soul Mate.

Now, we need to qualify the above. Significant relationships are all Soul Mate relationships, but there are soul mates and Soul Mates. There are “dark” Soul Mates and there are “light” Soul Mates.

Some of those with whom we enter into a significant relationship have come into our lives to demonstrate the less attractive side of relating—and to show us the less attractive side of ourselves. You may have known such Soul Mates in your past; your relationship with them would have been marred with darkness, destruction, and desperation. Soul Mates have been known to kill each other!

The Soul has a “knowing” that our conscious selves do not possess. This knowing ineffably, sooner or later, draws us into the orbit of people with whom we have shared a past, a past that is outside of our conscious awareness. We “mates of old” have karma to resolve together; perhaps we have agreed to come back into a relationship to complete something we didn’t finish up in the past, or to do it differently. As an evolutionary astrologer I would add to that: ideally, complete in a positive and integrated way. Sometimes we finish our relationships, but we neglect to complete the work we were in them to do!

These Soul Mate relationships serve the great purpose of assisting us in our awakening. They unerringly dredge up the old karmic patterns, the needs and expectations that we have unconsciously crafted through lifetimes of experiences: pain, fear, disappointment, loss, betrayal. Once our relationships show us—often in glaring Technicolor—where exactly our “issues” are, we may be forced to go through more than a few dark nights as we learn to meet ourselves and transmute our woundedness into something more life giving.

We both signed up for this relationship, we Soul Mates. And however long, short, or in between, this partnership that takes us to the deepest and often most painful places is an agent for the Soul. Always, “darker” Soul Mate connections will end in a parting of the two personalities–one way or another. The karmic contract will expire and then there is no longer a necessity to stay together. Hopefully, the work has been done and each party has healed some wounds and come to a place of greater self-awareness. If not, then there is always the next lifetime…

Light Soul Mates are those are not fueled by the need to complete karmic contracts. They are, rather, about growth. These are two Souls who have come together in a significant relationship, in full consciousness. That is, the personalities have matured emotionally and spiritually to a point where they understand that they are responsible for their realities—in or out of a relationship. They know that life is an ongoing journey of unfolding, learning, and growing—and that this new relationship will bring up a new set of lessons and challenges. This conscious awareness draws partners of a like mind. The couple is concerned with each other’s growth and wellbeing as much as their own. They also know that love is the reason they are together. This is why their relationship is light-filled.

My book Sun Signs & Soul Mates is, primarily, not about your relationship but about you! The term “Sun signs” comes first in the title because this is where we start: with ourselves. We cannot hope to create positive, fulfilling, loving, life-affirming relationships if we are fractured spirits ourselves. No one can rescue us from ourselves. If we understand the deeper significance of the principles of our Sun Sign, if we know about the light and dark expressions of these, then we move to a higher awareness. We are “awakened” to our greater potentials and we can consciously choose to bring them into our lives. When we do, our relationships naturally transform. Our self awareness spills over to become a tolerant, compassionate, benevolent energy in the relationship. We know ourselves and our partners more deeply, because we know our astrology. Tolerance, for both, arises from this acceptance.

All of our relationships of significance are with our Soul Mates, but the more conscious we become, the more we move toward light Soul Mate relationships—and away from the dark, destructive ones. Once we have made friends with ourselves, come to a place of acceptance (self-worth) and celebration for who we are, in the depths of our hearts, then we attract souls who resonate in kind, who love us because we do too! These are the lovers with whom we will grow and evolve. We draw them into our lives to share a divine partnership where two hearts, two souls, two people, come together as One.

Until we do this work to make friends with ourselves, to love ourselves, we will continue to attract relationships that offer us a reflection of what we feel about ourselves. The dark and destructive Soul Mate is simply the mirror showing us how little we are valuing ourselves.

Nothing in this life is more valuable than the journey we make into the center of ourselves. The master keys to creating joyful, loving lives are self-knowledge and an awakening to who we really are.

This article was written by Linda George and borrowed from Llewellyn Worldwide. http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article_topic.php?article_topic=Astrology

Forgiveness

2010-03-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

I read a REALLY profound article about forgiveness yesterday that made me think about all of the people in my life that have "done wrong" to me and all of the people I have "done wrong" to. I think sometimes we don't realize how much of what we knowingly (or unknowingly) do, can hurt people, and it's actually very healing for ourselves (and others) to forgive.
After I read the article, my mind kept going back to Anna Faris singing the "Forgiveness" song from "Just Friends" and I couldn't help but burst out laughing!!!! And I've had it stuck in my head all day today....so I decided that I needed to post both of them. A funny side to forgiveness and a more genuine, serious one;-)

Forgiveness
by William Frank Diedrich

I listened to a radio interview the other day on BBC Radio. A woman told how she had forgiven her daughter's killer. I can think of no worse thing to happen in the world than for someone to take away your child. How could she forgive that? What does it mean to actually forgive? As I listened to her I learned that she had to forgive. She had to move on.

As humans we tend to confuse forgiving with pardoning. To pardon is to let someone off the hook. Pardoning says: "You hurt me or you did bad things, but I'm going to let you off for that." Sub consciously we are saying: "I am better than you, a higher quality human being than you. I'm going to give you a break, even though you don't necessarily deserve it." This is a subtle form of attack justified by our self righteous indignation toward the person in question. If we are still attacking, and thinking someone is bad or thinking that we are better, it is not forgiving.

Forgiveness is to let go completely. It is to live as if the bad stuff never happened. It is to be free of it. Therefore, forgiveness is not something we do for another person. It is something we do for ourselves. Forgiveness is a decision to move on and to be free. Once we make the decision, our emotions may not be ready to follow. That's okay. Make the decision and keep moving toward your goal of freedom.

For example, if you were hurt by others in your childhood, you can hang on to that hurt. We hang onto the hurt because we want those people to be punished. We want them to suffer for what they did. The problem is, we are the ones who are suffering, and we are punishing ourselves. The decision is ours to make: Will you live as an eternal victim still waiting for those people to pay, still waiting for them to make it up to you---or will you choose to be a free and responsible adult? Will you choose to be someone who sets his/her own course? What do you want?

As long as we hold on to hurt and anger, we cripple ourselves. We prevent ourselves from expressing what greatness may be within us. The path of unforgiveness is cluttered with unattainable goals. To wish the past to be different is unattainable. To wish someone else to be different is unattainable. The only way to change the past is to change the way you perceive it. Unforgiveness creates stress, pain, victimization, and feelings of powerlessness. These emotions wear down our physical systems making us more susceptible to disease and injury. The question is: "Would you rather have pain/stress/powerlessness, or would rather be free? It's a simple question. Let's say you choose freedom. How do you get there?

Forgiveness is often a process. We allow ourselves to be angry or to feel hurt for a period of time. We let it run its course. At some point we make the decision. We choose freedom. When we choose freedom we begin to choose different thoughts. When we find ourselves caught up in pain, we think about other things. Tell yourself, "I'm done with this and I am moving on." Stand up and walk away. Consciously choose other thoughts. Consciously involve yourself in different actions and refocus your mind. This is discipline. All new goals require discipline. Forgiveness needs to be practiced.

This is where your spiritual path, whatever it may be, will help you. you can offer up your unforgiving thoughts to a Higher Power and ask for new perceptions--to see things differently. Do this a thousand times if necessary. By doing this you transcend ego thoughts and begin to think with your higher mind. If your intention is true, you will forgive. You will move on and be the free person you desire to be.

Forgiveness is not a "should". Forgiveness is a "want". There are times when I am angry when I don't want to forgive. I want to be right. I want the payoff I get from being the person who has been wronged. Usually I wake up in the middle of this emotion and realize that I'm not getting what I really want. I really want peace. I really want to live joyfully and powerfully. I want to live as an adult taking full responsibility for my thoughts and emotions. I don't want to be a victim. My emotions may still be in anger, but I decide to forgive, to move on. My intention is true and my focus becomes relentless.

Anger and hurt are emotions that pass quickly if you do not feed them. Usually, when I get angry, it flashes through my body for about ninety seconds. When I decide to forgive, I stop feeding the emotion with my thoughts. I can't help it that I feel angry or hurt instantaneously. I can help it whether or not I prolong it. I let the emotion move through me and I let it go. Next, I decide what I will do.

Persistent unforgiveness is the result of feeding the hurt and anger with thoughts--constantly replaying the story. If you do this, you may want to ask yourself: "Wasn't it painful enough when it happened? Is there a good reason to hold on to this story and the pain that it causes?" When you tell yourself your stories of sadness or of pain, who do you become?

The story of your life is being written right now. The past is only as relevant as you choose to make it. The thoughts you nurture today become the basis of your experience tomorrow. You can choose to nurture your hurts, or you can choose forgiveness. You can wallow in victimhood, or you can envision and work toward a joyous and productive life.

To choose forgiveness you must live consciously. To live consciously is to practice awareness of your thoughts and emotions, and to intentionally direct them. This requires mental discipline. It requires that you notice when your thoughts are painful and that you consciously decide what to do with them.

Joy and freedom are available to you. These positive states are only a thought away. The decision to forgive often must be made hundreds of times per day. Each time you forgive you experience a victory. Each time you forgive you reshape your story. The woman I heard on BBC lost her daughter and her own life as she knew it. She decided to start again and to create a new life. She decided to be grateful for the years she had with her daughter and for the love they shared. She let go of thinking about the years she had lost. Those years were nonexistent and unattainable. There is no limitation in this life to the number of times you can start again. As long as you can think, you can forgive--you can begin again--you can envision what you want and take steps toward achieving it.

"Keep your nose to the joy trail." Buffy St.Marie

William Frank Diedrich is a speaker, executive coach, and the author of three books.

Astrology is Fun!!!

2010-03-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

These are a bunch of websites I found where you can plug in your birth info and get a really cool reading about "who you are" astrologically speaking. Some deal with Western Astrology, which is what most people are familiar with, but the others are also really cool too! It's very important to have your EXACT birth time. You can usually find it on your birth certificate, or obviously you can always ask your mom, but I've found that sometimes they only know the estimated time. If you absolutely can't find it then you can use the estimated time, but there may be some inconsistencies.

Traditional Birth Charts and free relationship, forecasts, and personality chart readings:
http://www.astro.com/

Traditional Birth Chart with short description:
http://alabe.com/freechart/

Learn more about what it all means:
http://www.cafeastrology.com/

Another free Traditional Birth Chart with an alternate interpretation of the planet/sign/house relationships:
http://www.chaosastrology.net/

This is one of the Mayan Astrological readings. First, you find your Dreamspell Galactic Signature by clicking on the link and filling in your birthday at the bottom. When you get your signature, go back to the first page and scroll down to the lists of all the signatures and find yours. When you click on it, it will pull up a full description of what your signature means.
http://www.astrodreamadvisor.com/free_mayan_readings.html#

This one is the same as the Dreamspell Galactic Signature except it is considered to be the Classical calendar. If you read the beginning test first, it will explain what the difference is. Then, find your Classical Galactic Signature by clicking on the "Classical Calendar" link. Put your birthday into the Gregorian Date space and then look down to see where it says "Tzolkin". Find the glyph that matches the Tzolkin word, along with the number or tone meaning.
http://www.astrodreamadvisor.com/Mayan_Classical.html

This is another version of the Classical Galactic Signature, but it has a really cool interactive calendar you can use to find your signature. It's a little bit trickier to figure out how to use, but it's worth it;-) There is also an abundance of information about the Mayan Calendar on this site:
http://www.maya-portal.net/flash

This is the Maya/Aztec astrology reading. It's not really very similar to the above readings but I've found it to be pretty accurate and interesting as well:
http://www.onereed.com/cgi-bin/azreport.cgi

This one is called Natal Chakra Activation and deals with the effects the planets had on your chakras at the time you were born. It's definitely takes a bit of work to plug everything in to what the meanings are after they've given you your chart, but when I did it, I found the result to be SO DEAD ON. And if you're into the chakras and balancing them, this is a really good way to see where you may need some balancing.
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/astrology-articles/chakra-system-diagram.php

This is the link that has all the info you can use to translate the Natal Chakra Activation chart.
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/astrology-articles/chakra-system-charts.php

This reading is called Tantric Numerology. In my opinion, it seemed to be the least accurate, but still some of it was ok and when I delved a little further into what all the numbers meant, it got really interesting. I haven't been able to find another site that calculates what all of these numbers are for an individual, so if anyone knows of one I'd LOVE to hear about it;-) Thanks!!
http://www.3ho.org/kundalini-yoga/tantric-numerology/numerology-reading/

This is another link for the interpretations of what the numbers mean:
http://www.sahej.com/Tantric_Numerology.html

This is a link for a free tarot card reading:
http://www.free-tarot-reading.net/readings/choose.php?readingNumber=1

Language of Light

2010-03-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

I believe that the consciousness of our planet and it's inhabitants is shifting. I know I'm not alone in this thought and the belief that there are many people, who, more or less, are helping to usher in "a new age", for lack of a better term;-) When I think back to when I was a little kid and compare it to now and all of the things we (as a human race) can do, where we can go and what we know..... well, it would be quite an understatement to say it's unbelievable. Sometimes I wonder if my parents generation thought the same thing when they were my age or if there actually has been an exponential growth of advancements in our world in the last couple decades. When I also think back on what my beliefs were in high school, or even as recent as college, and compare them to now, I almost can't imagine what I'll be thinking 30 years from now. Being a Gemini, I instinctively yearn for knowledge and understanding and seek it out with the same amount of enthusiasm as kid who has just arrived at the gates of Disneyland. Sometimes it's all a bit overwhelming and I have to force myself to take a step back to just process it all and let my brain balance out and normalize, or the universe will take out my internet so I have no choice but to go outside or call up a friend and hang out.

Anyway, my point is that I come across A LOT of information on a daily basis. Some of which is so interesting and unbelievable, it triggers that response we all have which makes us really start to think about why we are all here on this planet. Whoa!!! Deep.... I know;-) But I'm sure as anyone who knows me well will tell you, it's just in my nature to think about, question and "figure out" these things, and then report back to everyone what I've found;-) That's basically why I started this blog-thingee anyway. So, to get to my actual point, again....I found this woman who speaks the language of light. Hmmmm..... Yah, I didn't know there was such a language, but apparently there is. Being the extremely open-minded individual that I am, I totally went for it, the idea that is, of the possibility that there could be a way to speak light. I felt an immediate connection and more so, just a feeling of knowing and trusting of this woman, even though I've never met her. I'm beginning to trust and understand my intuition on a much greater scale as of late, and am pretty confident that what she's doing is genuine. She also has a link on her page for free downloads and also offers to do readings/consultations for a donation (suggested is $300!!) based on what you can afford or more so, I guess for what you think she is worth, which is, in my opinion, one of the most admirable and respected gifts I've encountered.

So...getting to the language part......a little bit trickier..... She has audio files (for free) on her website in which you can listen to her speaking this language. To learn more about what she is saying specifically (not really a literal translation, but more an explanation of what it is) and why she is doing it, you have to read the introduction. And I highly recommend reading about what she does BEFORE you listen to anything. This is because when you hear it you may be a little confused or puzzled. I have to admit, when I first heard it I was definitely not prepared. I hadn't read as much as I probably should have and burst out laughing in disbelief. On the other hand, I also had the sensation that I had just stumbled across one of the most interesting and important finds in my "research". Even though one part of my mind was literally laughing, it was also still very certain that what it was hearing was completely true, genuine, right and extremely valid. It took me about a week to finally "come to terms" with what I was hearing, not that I didn't believe it necessarily, but more that I just couldn't grasp the "big-ness" of it and how it would actually affect me. It also crossed my mind that more "un-open-minded" people probably would think that it was literally crazy and just part of some kool-aid-drinking-cult for alien worshipers;-) Not that I really care about what the masses of "zombie people" think, but I actually thought that even the people who are normally as open-minded as I am would think it's a bit "much". Scary.... I know;-)

So, without further adeiu...... Judy Satori http://www.thesoundoflight.com/

Judy has worked in turn with the inner plane ascended masters, St Germain, Jesus Christ, El Morya, Djwhal Khul, Kuthumi, Serapis Bey, Lady Mary, Kuan Yin, Isis and others of the Tibetan and Egyptian lineages. She was trained by Melchizadek, Metatron and Michael, the Elohim and then by representatives of the Christed extraterrestrial races; the Hathors, Arcturians and Siriuns and beings from Lyra. Whilst in Bali in 2002 she spontaneously began to speak the Language of Light. This is an energy language of instruction, which at one time, in the time of Zep Tepi, the ‘first times’ on Earth, we could all speak.

Many people are now consciously remembering this ancient language of the soul. For Judy, speaking Light Language has been part of her training by Spirit for the role she is being guided to play in the unfolding story of Earth‘s ascension. Like the earth on which we live, we too are now being prepared to begin a new cycle of evolution in the higher dimensions of light, free at last from the karmic wheel of third dimensional consciousness.

A Perspective on Awakening

2010-03-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

I found this the other day on a website for alternative healing and spirituality and thought it was interesting;-)

A time comes in your life when you finally get it... when in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out: ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world through new eyes. This is your awakening.

You realize that its time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that he is not Prince Charming and you are not Cinderella and that in the real world there aren't always fairy-tale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you, and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate, or approve of who or what you are... and that's OK. (They are entitled to their own views and opinions.) And you learn the importance of loving and championing yourself, and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval. You stop bitching and blaming other people for the things they did to you (or didn't do for you,) and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say, that not everyone will always be there for you, and that it's not always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself, and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance. You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties, and in the process a sense of peace & contentment is born of forgiveness.

You realize that much of the way you view yourself and the world around you is as a result of all the messages and opinions that have been ingrained into your psyche. You begin to sift through all the crap you've been fed about how you should behave, how you should look, how much you should weigh, what you should wear, where you should shop, what you should drive, how and where you should live, what you should do for a living, who you should sleep with, who you should marry, what you should expect of a marriage, the importance of having and raising children, or what you owe your parents.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. And you begin reassessing and redefining who you are, what you really stand for. You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with, and in the process you learn to go with your instincts. You learn that it is truly in giving that we receive. And that there is power and glory in creating and contributing. You stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" looking for your next fix.

Your learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life. You learn that you don't know everything, that it's not your job to save the world and that you can't teach a pig to sing. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and you learn the importance of setting boundaries and of learning to say NO. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love: Romantic love and familiar love. You learn how to love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving and when to walk away. You learn not to project your needs or your feelings onto a relationship. You learn that you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more loveable or important because of the man or woman on your arm or the child that bears your name. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn that just as people grow and change so it is with love.

And you learn that you don't have the right to demand love on your terms. And, you learn that alone does not mean lonely. And you look in the mirror and come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5 or a perfect 10 and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your head and agonizing over how you "stack up." You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs. You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK and you learn that it is your right to want things and to ask for the things that you want and that sometimes it is necessary to make demands.

You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated with love, kindness, sensitivity and respect and you decide you won't settle for less. And you allow only the hands of a lover who cherishes you to glorify you with his or her touch... and in the process you internalize the meaning of self-respect. And you learn that your body really is your temple. And you begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water and taking more time to exercise. You learn that fatigue diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear. So you take more time to rest. And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that for the most part, in life, you get what you believe you deserve..and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen. More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also learn that no one can do it all alone and that it's OK to risk asking for help.

You learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time: FEAR itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears, because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your terms. And you learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom. You learn that life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes "bad" things happen to unsuspecting, good people. On these occasions you learn not to personalize things. You learn that God isn't punishing you or failing to answer your prayers. It's just life happening. And you learn to deal with evil in its most primal state: the ego.

You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to building bridges instead of walls. You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise never to betray yourself and never, ever to settle for less than your heart's desire. And you hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind. And you make a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

Finally, with courage in your heart, you take a deep breath and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

The Golden Mean and Heart Harmonics

2010-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Dan Winter has done in-depth studies with a special piece of equipment--a Heart/EKG Spectrum Analyzer--to look at the human heartbeat and heart harmonics. What Dan found repeatedly is that when an individual was relaxed and receptive and feeling love, the average distance between frequency peaks (heartbeats) recorded on the machine was 1.618. This number represents the Golden Mean Ratio, the Golden Mean Spiral, which is an infinite, forever spiral. It has no beginning and no end. In addition, when he hooked up two individuals to the machine and they sent love to each other, their waves and peaks lined up at 1.618 -- and so they were, in essence, two hearts beating as one, into Infinity. So, when two people are sharing the emotion of deep, reciprocal love, the average space between their hearts' electrical waves is 1.618, the Golden Mean Spiral--which is, literally, Eternal Love.

On the other hand, what Dan found when the individuals he tested were in a purely mental, logical-mind state, was that the average distance between frequency peaks was 1.0, a static, "motionless" number, revealing to us that at the moment we are fully embedded in logic, we are "containers" of energy. We can hold energy, but we are not reaching out into the Universe as "distributors" of energy--we are not accessing and utilizing our creative power in the way we do when we are feeling and projecting love. And so to create what we want, including self-healing, we must move into our hearts.

Activated Charcoal

2010-03-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Bought at your local pharmacy, activated charcoal is commonly used in emergency treatment for specific kinds of poisonings and drug overdoses to keep the poison from being absorbed from the stomach into the body. Charcoal is also used to cure gas/flatulence and help an upset stomach. A natural deodorant and disinfectant, Activated Charcoal is one of the finest absorptive agents known. Orally administered, these fine black granules have an amazing ability to extract and neutralize many more times their own weight in gases, heavy metals, toxins, poisons and other chemicals. Activated Charcoal is made by heating coconut shells in the absence of air. The partly burned shells are then granulated to a size that provides for optimum absorption. This vegetable form of carbon (an element found in all living matter), is completely safe for human consumption. Long recognized as being particularly helpful in providing relief for trapped gas in the lower intestine, physicians and regulatory agencies also acknowledge charcoal's cleansing properties. Known universally, it is used in hospital emergency rooms to neutralize drugs and poisons.

Since 1813, when a chemist swallowed five grams of arsenic trioxide mixed with charcoal with no adverse effect, charcoal has been commonly used as a household remedy for accidental poisoning. Research has shown that one cubic inch of charcoal has the surface area equivalent to a 150,000-square-foot field! Thus a tiny amount of charcoal can hold adhere to a large number of molecules, ions, and atoms and absorb poison quickly.

How it works:
Activated charcoal keeps the poison from being absorbed from the stomach into the body. Charcoal is most successful if used within the first hour of swallowing poison. In severe poisoning cases, several doses of charcoal might be required. Ordinarily, activated charcoal should not be used to treat the ingestion of corrosive poisons (lye, acids, fuel oil, alcohols, et cetera).

Charcoal can decrease your body's absorption of certain nutrients and also interfere with medications. Because of this, frequent use is not recommended.

Liver/Gallbladder & Kidney Cleansing

2010-03-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

In Chinese medicine, we are taught to stop and re-orient ourselves with each
season. In winter, we have the opportunity to rest and heal our adrenals. Spring is the ideal time to cleanse your liver and gallbladder.

Symptoms like achy joints, eye irritations, weight gain, fatigue, skin problems (like acne, liver spots, dry skin and rashes) are common right now. Still others may be experiencing emotions like anger, guilt or depression. These symptoms are all signs that your liver wants to push out toxins.

Your body is designed to heal and cleanse. This creates symptoms that we’ve
often been taught to see as “bad.” Cleansing is a continuing, step-by-step
phenomenon. It is the natural force that drives impurities from your
body…impurities resulting from the poor quality of our diets, our
environment, stress and our emotional lives. Disease, on the other hand, occurs
when the body loses its ability to cleanse itself and gives up the struggle to
remain pure.

These are three protocols for cleansing the liver and gallbladder. I've done the one with the apple juice and added the castor oil packs everyday for the entire week. At the end of the cleanse I passed over 100 gall stones and definitely felt better. It's recommended to do the cleanse more than once; until you no longer pass any stones.

Cleanse 1  Clark Protocol

Cleanse 2   Jubbs Protocal

Cleanse 3   Edgar Cayces Protocal

Here is also an easy kidney cleanse:

1.) Start at 7 or 8 am in the morning with 8 oz. of fresh organic lemon Juice.

2.) One hour later, drink 8 oz. of water with 1oz. of lemon juice. Do this once an hour for twelve hours straight.

3.) Although fasting for one day during this cleanse would be optimal, you can still perform this cleanse and still eat. Just try to eat as little as possible during the day of the cleanse.

If no stones come out during your flushes that's great!!! Then you know those organs are pretty clean.

Even if you've never had any pain in this area, it's always good to do these types of flushes at least once a year just as a good internal house cleansing for this organ.

Preventing kidney stones with a yearly flush is much better than waiting until you have them.

Healing With Food Instead of Medication?

2010-03-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

I always thought I knew what kinds of foods were "healthy" and which were "bad" because I'd taken several nutrition courses in college and was always aware of and listening to what the "newest" research was on nutrition. However, our society's health-care (and education system regarding health) is based very heavily on the concepts of Western Medicine, which as I'm learning, are becoming very outdated. Don't get me wrong... Western Medicine definitely has its' place, there are a lot of advances and some treatments that are very good and necessary. HOWEVER, the main flaw is that Western Medicine refuses to acknowledge the mind-body connection and only treats the symptoms of disease, instead of working to find out what the root cause of the issue is, and then starting the healing from there. There are no "magic pills" that cure what ails you. Even if a pill makes your pain "go away" or seemingly heals your disease, 9 times out of 10 it's actually just suppressing your symptoms and then causing another imbalance, elsewhere in the body. I can't even count how many times I've had a doctor prescribe me a medication simply to "take care of" the side effects of another medication that was prescribed.

Usually, the side effects of a lot of medications are very slow to manifest, which is how they are approved by the FDA. There isn't enough time to do really long-term research on the effects of most drugs. The long-term test ends up being on the consumer, and then it is usually too late or is contributed to something other than the actual medication. I took birth control pills for 7 years for the extreme PMS symptoms I had early in college, recommended of course by my doctor. As far as everyone knows, birth control pills are very benign. The side effects are very mild and for most people the risks don't outweigh the purpose. Then one day I started having a really sharp pain in my right side, just below my ribcage. After 2 CT scans and an MRI, I found out I had lesions on my liver. The specialist attributed them to the birth control pills. I wondered why no one told about this when they were first prescribed, or why I had never even heard of this risk with taking birth control pills. One of the many reasons is probably because pharmaceuticals are a GIANT business in our country. If the public actually knew what a lot of medications can do to the body, they wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole.

Again, there are times when prescription medication is appropriate and may even be the only thing that works, however, I am a firm believer in the concept; EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. I took anti-depressants for 4 years and truly believe that they helped me to understand what it was like to actually not be depressed. BUT.... taking them forever is NOT a solution, it's avoiding the problem. There is a reason for everything that occurs in the body (and mind). Your body exhibits pain because it's trying to tell you something and listening to what it has to say might not always be the easiest thing and dealing with it is probably going to be very difficult, but in the end/long-term, it will ALWAYS result in the eradication of what is ailing it, or perfect healing.

The methods for utilizing "perfect healing" are very profound, intense and usually ancient and simple. The concepts from my last post about "The Journey" and myofascial release are a giant part of the healing, but food, diet and nutrition are the true key to healing the body long-term and actually preventing disease in the first place. These three doctors taught me a really solid jumping-off point to begin to bring my health back and heal the disease in my body, permanently.

Dr. Craig Jace:  http://www.jacemedical.com/nutrition.html

You eat all the best foods, take only the finest quality supplements, you exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle. Yet you still can't loose the weight or get back the energy you had when you were a kid. You believe in nutrition, but you've given up on it. It's impossible to make sense of the confusing and contradictory information flooding the market.

ONE MAN'S FOOD IS ANOTHER'S POISON!

Your body's biochemical makeup is as unique as your fingerprints! For genetic reasons, we're all very different in the way that our bodies process foods and utilize nutrients. Throughout man's evolutionary history, people all over the world have been forced to adapt to widely varying environmental circumstances—including very different climates and food supplies. The tests Dr. Jace does are based on Biochemistry and Eclectic, ancient concepts. Different people have different nutrient requirements for their body to produce energy efficiently and to perform all its other functions efficiently. Foods play a significant role in health and disease. You are self medicating with foods everyday so it is important to know the foods that will help to correct your condition, not exacerbate it!

Some people don't do too well if they eat too much red meat, yet some become incredibly weak without red meat. Testing the body can tell which is the ideal food for each person. Some people might desperately need a calcium supplement, yet there are others who will take excess calcium and get sick and weak. Some calcium forms (there are nine) will work fine with some and cause more problems for others. For some people calcium can contribute to osteoporosis, not prevent it! Our poor health is a direct result of serious dietary deficiencies and imbalances. These problems persist because we have lacked the technology necessary to evaluate and correct nutritional problems on a case-by-case basis. Dietary solutions need to be tailored to individuals, because what works for one person may have no effect on another person, and may make a third person worse.

OPTIMIZE YOUR HEALTH BY CUSTOMIZING YOUR DIET!

By going through Dr. Jace's two-hour nutritional program, testing blood sugars, urine and saliva pH, blood pressures, urinalysis, indican, and other modalities, he determines what is best for your unique chemistry. The extraordinary technology he uses represents the combined efforts of some of this century's leading medical researchers—people who are well known for pioneering achievements in nutritional science. He will teach you how to select just the right "body fuel,"—foods, food combinations and nutrients—that will enable your body to function at its peak efficiency. Utilizing the dietary technology he offers, you can expect to prevent and reverse chronic illness, optimize your physical energy and your mental clarity, lose weight naturally and maintain your ideal weight, strengthen your immunity, slow down the aging process, enhance your athletic performance and overcome mood swings and depression.

Dr. Warren King: http://warrenking.com/

"There is a divine intelligence in us that continually seeks wholeness. This inner light wants to create in us a healthy body, balanced emotions, clear mind and strong spirit. By utilizing what nature has provided and our inner wisdom, as well as the ancient and modern wisdom of those who have pursued truth, we have all the tools we need to heal ourselves: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually."

Warrens background, Training and Methods:

While I’ve gained knowledge and expertise in many different modalities of healing, a major pillar in the foundation of my practice is a background in Chinese and Oriental Medicine. I have been a licensed acupuncturist since 1991. My training and expertise include methods of Oriental diagnosis such as pulse testing, and tongue and facial diagnosis. I have studied Chinese, Japanese, and Korean forms of acupuncture. I also have extensive training in both Chinese and Western Herbology, as well as homeopathy.

Traditional Oriental Medicine has always recognized the role of substances such as foods and herbs in healing. But, unlike Western medicine, Eastern medicine has also understood the vital role that energy – or qi – plays in creating health. The energy that keeps us alive is also what the body uses to heal and repair itself. When energy flow is disrupted or out of balance, vitality decreases, symptoms appear, and eventually diseases develop.

In my practice, I make effective use of herbs, supplements and homeopathic remedies. When I treat patients with acupuncture, I can opt to use needles, heat or moxibustion, laser, or electrical stimulation, and even tuning forks or gemstones. All of these can be used to favorably alter the flow of energy in the body, creating balance where there are imbalances, and removing blockages that prevent the normal flow of energy. Once the energy is balanced and vital nutrients are provided, the body has a real chance to heal itself.

In addition to the use of these therapies, I also employ a system of healing called “drainage”. This is the use of remedies or techniques that improve the function of or “open up” the organs of elimination – the kidneys, liver, intestines or skin – so that the body can detoxify through the normal channels of elimination. Certain high quality remedies can actually cause elimination of stored toxins at the cellular level. This is essential to get results with normally hard-to-treat cases like autoimmune diseases. The “opening up” of the organs of elimination through the use of drainage therapies greatly reduces the incidence of what is known as a “healing crisis”. When a healing crisis occurs, a patient will feel worse before beginning to feel better. While this is something I normally try to prevent, I do find that, in some cases, a patient will actually benefit from the awareness gained when they consciously experience some of the detoxification as it takes place.

Oriental Medicine has provided a solid foundation for my practice, and drainage therapies have provided a highly effective method for eliminating toxins with a minimum of detoxification symptoms. But it is my specialty in Auricular Therapy that has provided me with an unusual degree of precision and accuracy in both in finding out what is causing health issues and in their treatment.

WATER THE ROOTS AND NOT THE LEAVES

This ancient saying in Chinese Medicine says that we must treat the cause (the root) and the symptoms (the leaves) will resolve themselves. If the warning signs are not heeded, but suppressed, then one day those annoying symptoms may resurface, but this time as more serious illness. Many of the symptoms that we experience are in reality the body’s attempt to keep us balanced, and communicate to us that something needs to be corrected. They are like a smoke alarm, warning of a fire smoldering in the basement. Suppressing symptoms is like rolling out of bed, half asleep and cutting the wires to the alarm, instead of rousing ourselves, going downstairs, and extinguishing the cause. Our bodies have an incredible intelligence with which to keep us healthy. When the life force is allowed to flow without impediment, vibrant health is in evidence. Oriental medicine and true natural healing use many methods to identify and remove the blockages to the body healing itself, supplying all raw materials it needs to get the job done.
Warren King has developed an ability to communicate directly with the innate intelligence of the body, and to use that information to apply the appropriate techniques and remedies for balance and healing to occur. Symptoms are alleviated when the cause is corrected.
Most important of all, you are given the keys to your own health that you might be self-sufficient in the care of your body.

Warren's website is a WEALTH of information on nutrition. There is A LOT of info and it may take a bit of time to get through it all, but I HIGHLY recommend reading all of it. It goes hand in hand with what Dr. Jace and Dr. Grace do/talk about and there are so many resources, recipes and even grocery shopping lists that you can print out and bring with you to the grocery store to help you pick out the most appropriate foods. Warren is also very intuitive and does a lot of his diagnosing and healing according to his intuition. On the "About" page, you will learn all about how he does this and why. It's very interesting!!!

Dr. Grace Hamiester:  http://www.docnextdoor.com/private/index.html
                                    http://www.pitch101.com/

"In this new age of health care, drugless, non-surgical options to optimal health are now the standard, rather than the exception. Dr. Grace believes in, and will provide you with, superior services which focus upon a proactive, rather than reactive approach to your health care. Her knowledge and experience will quickly augment your ability to achieve peak physical performance, experience less stress and pain, and sustain a greater over-all sense of health and well being."

Grace focuses on three main areas in her treatment of patients: detoxification, nutrition, and making sure the body's neurology/alignment is in tip-top shape. My favorite tool is the Percussor;-) which is a portable hand-held mechanical adjustment unit with a unique "Galvanic Wave" action head. It's purpose is to radically release superficial myofascial tissue. It is an amazing tool that can be used to aid in the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions like TMJ and plantar fascitis, adhesions and scar tissue reduction, carpal tunnel syndrome, lymphatic stimulation, trigger point therapy, and much more. It is the only thing I've found that relieves the immense pain I have on a daily basis from my fibromyalgia. She also uses uses a cold laser or low level laser and something called CCT. The laser is used for expediting the healing of wounds, neurology, bones and myofascial tissue. I've gone to see her with a cut on my finger and after using the laser on it, it is usually perfectly healed after 2 or 3 days. The CCT is a gentle detoxifying system that was developed to pull unwanted toxins out of the body. It works via a bioenergetic ionic exchange system that surges positive ions through the body, then negative ions (charged atoms). Depending upon the chemical composition of the impurities that are being stored in one's body, the toxins will be extracted, like iron pulled to a magnet, out of the body's lymphatic system, then the blood stream, and finally from the body, through osmotic pressure at the skin of the feet. Consistent treatment with the CCT will restore the body's energy and balance, create a more cellular-efficient alkaline environment within the body, and aid the body in it's natural detoxification and healing processes.

The Journey/Mind-Body Connection

2010-03-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

The Journey is the life work of author, speaker and mind-body healing expert Brandon Bays who, in undergoing her own healing journey from a basketball-size tumor in 6½ weeks with no drugs or surgery, pioneered profound, yet simple tools that have helped thousands of people heal from issues like anxiety, depression, stress, chronic pain, anger, low self-esteem, issues relating to abuse, relationships, and physical diseases or illnesses. I haven't met very many people who have heard of "The Journey", but I did have the pleasure of attending a "Journey Intensive" workshop last year in Los Angeles where what Brandon talks about in her book, "The Journey" is taught and practiced. It was definitely an interesting and different experience, that helped to open my mind to a very different way of healing the body.

The basis of it is somewhat similar to the ideas in myofascial release; to find, deal with and release stored cellular memory. The concept behind it is, that when we experience something traumatic in our life, wether it be something we may think is "small" (an emotional situation such as the breakup of a relationship) or something very intense (a near-fatal car accident), the emotions we experience during this event are manifested physically in our body. Quantum physics attempts to explain and describe how this process biologically/physically takes place. The film, "What the Bleep do We Know" gives a good illustration of these biological processes in a movie-like dramatic way and mixes in interviews with quantum physicists, spiritual "gurus" and other "really smart" ;-) people. (Watching the movie is a quick, easy way to get a better grasp on this concept if you don't already know what it's about).

The results of these emotional manifestations can, and usually do, lead to the onset of physical pain, a chain-reaction dysfunction of the organs and finally disease. This process can take years to manifest and because our "modern" medicine doesn't have the appropriate knowledge, mindset or "equipment", to more or less, test the entire pathology of it, the correct diagnosis and treatment (based in the emotional roots/cause) is never implemented.

What "The Journey", as well as John Barns style myofascial release set out to do, is tackle these "emotional-into-physical" issues before they actually become a physical manifestation and "correct" the ones that have already manifested. You are essentially taught a process that, in effect, takes you back to the moment these traumatic feelings/issues/circumstances took place and are given the appropriate tools to deal with them in such a way, that allows your physical being to release the "imprint" the situation had on you, permanently.

And therein lies the beginning of the body's physical healing process. Depending on how "deep" or intense a persons specific "issues" are, there can be an immediate feeling of improvement, or it may take longer for the results to be felt physically. However, there is almost always an immediate emotional response; the feeling of a burden being lifted or being freed in some way. Every individual's experience is different and relates to their own life experience.

The idea that our emotions and feelings play a significant role in the physical health of our bodies is an enlightening concept, but of course, is not the ONLY one. What we put into and ON to our bodies, physically (food, water, medications/drugs, toiletries, environmental pollutants, etc.) is the other giant piece of the puzzle, that must also be handled with careful consideration. Through my research and experience in finding the most ideal nutrition for myself, I've found several doctors, healers and concepts that have opened my mind to ideas about food that are just as "out there" as some people might find the "Journeywork". But that info will be in my next post;-)

Video of testimonials

Myofascial Release with a twist

2010-03-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

John Barnes style myofascial release is somewhat different then traditional myofascial release. The definition of traditional MFR is a form of soft tissue therapy used to treat somatic dysfunction and accompanying pain and restriction of motion. This is accomplished by relaxing contracted muscles, increasing circulation, increasing venous and lymphatic drainage, and stimulating the stretch reflex of muscles and overlying fascia. John Barnes style MFR does all of this as well as focuses on the release of the subconscious tissue memory or "holding pattern". In many instances, the diagnostic tests we are most familiar with, do not show lesions or impairment, however, clients continue to report symptoms, similar to phantom limb symptoms. The treatment is based on the theory that our subconscious mind will hold onto a restriction until it feels we are out of danger. This restriction can be any symptom without any logical reason. The trauma could have occurred decades ago, however the symptom has not yet come to a resolution and thus it continues to report an "error". Commonly, this message is pain. This work accesses the "error report" so that the body can begin to heal. Muscle spasms let go, the "locked" fight or flight response subsides, the body recovers from chronic fatigue without the constant, underlying need to guard or brace and the tissue is rehydrated and heals at the cellular level. This "error report" has shown to be stored predominantly in the fascial system.

Trauma, inflammatory responses, and/or surgical procedures create Myofascial restrictions that can produce tensile pressures of approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch on pain sensitive structures that do not show up in many of the standard tests (x-rays, myelograms, CAT scans, electromyography, etc.) The medical approach is to drug patients so they temporarily are free from pain, but does nothing about the “straight-jacket” of pressure that is causing the pain. Traditional physical, occupational and massage therapy treats the symptoms caused by the pressure of the "straightjacket” of the Myofascial system, but does nothing about the “straightjacket” of pressure that causes and perpetuates the symptoms. This is why so many patients only have temporary results never seeming to get better with traditional therapy. Only Myofascial Release treats the entire Myofascial mind/body complex eliminating the pressure of the restricted Myofascial system (the straightjacket) that causes the symptoms.
Myofascial Release is a safe and very effective hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure into the Myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion. This essential “time element” has to do with the viscous flow and the piezoelectric phenomenon: a low load (gentle pressure) applied slowly will allow a viscoelastic medium (fascia) to elongate.

The fascia is a specialized system of the body that has an appearance similar to a spider's web or a sweater. Fascia is very densely woven, covering and interpenetrating every muscle, bone, nerve, artery and vein, as well as, all of our internal organs including the heart, lungs, brain and spinal cord. The most interesting aspect of the fascial system is that it is not just a system of separate coverings. It is actually one continuous structure that exists from head to toe without interruption. In this way you can begin to see that each part of the entire body is connected to every other part by the fascia, like the yarn in a sweater. In the normal healthy state, the fascia is relaxed and wavy in configuration. It has the ability to stretch and move without restriction. When one experiences physical trauma, emotional trauma, scarring, or inflammation, however, the fascia loses its pliability. It becomes tight, restricted, and a source of tension to the rest of the body. Trauma, such as a fall, car accident, whiplash, surgery or just habitual poor posture and repetitive stress injuries has cumulative effects on the body. The changes trauma causes in the fascial system influences comfort and function of our body. Fascial restrictions can exert excessive pressure causing all kinds of symptoms producing pain, headaches or restriction of motion. Fascial restrictions affect our flexibility and stability, and are a determining factor in our ability to withstand stress and perform daily activities.

Much of what we are taught concerning our health and how to stay that way has been known to be obsolete for close to seventy years! Despite the fact that the information has been known to be outdated, it is still being taught in most medical, dental, and therapeutic schools, leading to the frustration of temporary results and a health care system on the verge of bankruptcy and collapse.
It is time to change and update our paradigm, which is a shared set of assumptions, a model of reality. Our society’s model of reality is logical, but a terribly flawed and incomplete paradigm.

A New Earth

2009-11-09T00:39:00.000-08:00

"The extent of the ego's inability to recognize itself and see what it is doing is staggering and unbelievable. It will do exactly what it condemns others for and not see it. When it is pointed out, it will use angry denial, clever arguments, and self-justifications to distort the facts. People do it, corporations do it, governments do it. When all else fails, the ego will resort to shouting or even to physical violence."

"To end the misery that has afflicted the human condition for thousands of years, you have to start with yourself and take responsibility for your inner state at any given moment. That means now. Ask yourself, 'Is there negativity in me at this moment?' Then, become alert, attentive to your thoughts as well as your emotions."

"The moment you become aware of a negative state within yourself, it does not mean you have failed. It means that you have succeeded. Until that awareness happens, there is identification with inner states, and such identification is ego."

"To become free of the ego is not really a big job but a very small one. All you need to do is be aware of your thoughts and emotions-as they happen. This is not really a 'doing,' but an alert 'seeing.' In that sense, it is true that there is nothing you can do to become free of ego. When that shift happens, which is the shift from thinking to awareness, an intelligence far greater than the ego's cleverness begins to operate in your life."

This excerpt is taken from "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. This book is literally life-changing and awe-inspiring. While you are reading it, you can take "classes" on Oprah.com. There are 10 online classes, where she and Eckhart take you through "A New Earth" chapter by chapter, with amazing insights and answers to viewer questions. Watch the webcasts or download them from iTunes and take them with you.

A New Earth online classes, on Oprah.com

Eckhart Tolle's website

Wheatgrass is AMAZING!!!!!

2009-11-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

Most people think wheatgrass tastes NASTY.... Personally, I think it tastes like green beans and I actually really like it;-) Either way, it is one of the top 5 most beneficial foods you can consume to rid the body of disease and heal just about any health issue you may have.
A few years ago, a friend of mine gave me a $30 gift card for Jamba Juice (not sure why) but when I went in to get my first smoothie, the guy recommended trying a shot of wheatgrass. So, I did. He warned me that a lot of people get nautious after their first shot, so I was kinda questioning why I would take it. I later learned that one of the reasons for this is because of the high enzyme content of the juice. Toxins are broken down immediately and passed into the bloodstream. Lightheadedness and nausea experienced from this cleansing indicates toxicity and the need for regular detoxification. These upsets last only a short time and will decrease with increased juicing. He also recommended an orange juice chaser;-)
After my first shot, I immediately felt like I had more energy, so I decided to come back every day until my gift card was gone. During the 2 weeks that I had my daily wheatgrass shot, my skin cleared up, I lost 10 pounds (your body feels full after drinking it because it has so many nutrients and it clears out any build-up of toxins in the digestive system) and got twice as much done every day because I had so much more energy. The most effective way to consume it is freshly juiced but powders can be more convenient and cost-effective, although there is debate about the efficacy.

Here's a video that explains a little more about the benefits of wheatgrass:
Wheatgrass Made Easier

40 Points about Wheatgrass and its Nutritional Values

1 Wheatgrass Juice is one of the best sources of living chlorophyll available.

2 Chlorophyll is the first product of light and, therefore, contains more light energy than any other element.

3 Wheatgrass juice is a crude chlorophyll and can be taken orally and as a colon implant without toxic side effects.

4 Chlorophyll is the basis of all plant life.

5 Wheatgrass is high in oxygen like all green plants that contain chlorophyll. The brain and all body tissues function at an optimal level in a highly-oxygenated environment.

6 Chlorophyll is anti-bacterial and can be used inside and outside the body as a healer.

7 Dr. Bernard Jensen says that it only takes minutes to digest wheatgrass juice and uses up very little body energy.

8 Science has proven that chlorophyll arrests growth and development of unfriendly bacteria.

9 Chlorophyll (wheatgrass) rebuilds the bloodstream. Studies of various animals have shown chlorophyll to be free of any toxic reaction. The red cell count was returned to normal within 4 to 5 days of the administration of chlorophyll, even in those animals which were known to be extremely anemic or low in red cell count.

10 Farmers in the Midwest who have sterile cows and bulls put them on wheatgrass to restore fertility. (The high magnesium content in chlorophyll builds enzymes that restore the sex hormones.)

11 Chlorophyll can be extracted from many plants, but wheatgrass is superior because it has been found to have over 100 elements needed by man. If grown in organic soil, it absorbs 92 of the known 102 minerals from the soil.

12 Wheatgrass has what is called the grass-juice factor, which has been shown to keep herbivorous animals alive indefinitely.

13 Dr. Ann Wigmore and institutes based on her teachings has been helping people get well from chronic disorders for 30 years using wheatgrass.

14 Liquid chlorophyll gets into the tissues, refines them and makes them over.

15 Wheatgrass Juice is a superior detoxification agent compared to carrot juice and other fruits and vegetables. Dr Earp-Thomas, associate of Ann Wigmore, says that 15 pounds of Wheatgrass is the equivalent of 350 pounds of carrot, lettuce, celery, and so forth.

16 Liquid chlorophyll washes drug deposits from the body.

17 Chlorophyll neutralizes toxins in the body.

18 Chlorophyll helps purify the liver.

19 Chlorophyll improves blood sugar problems.

20 In the American Journal of Surgery (1940), Benjamin Gruskin, M.D. recommends chlorophyll for its antiseptic benefits. The article suggests the following clinical uses for chlorophyll: to clear up foul smelling odors, neutralize Strep infections, heal wounds, hasten skin grafting, cure chronic sinusitis, overcome chronic inner-ear inflammation and infection, reduce varicose veins and heal leg ulcers, eliminate impetigo and other scabby eruptions, heal rectal sores, successfully treat inflammation of the uterine cervix, get rid of parasitic vaginal infections, reduce typhoid fever, and cure advanced pyorrhea in many cases.21 Wheatgrass Juice cures acne and even help to remove scars after it has been ingested for seven to eight months. The diet must be improved at the same time.

22 Wheatgrass juice acts as a detergent in the body and is used as a body deodorant.

23 A small amount of wheatgrass juice in the human diet helps prevents tooth decay.

24 Wheatgrass juice held in the mouth for 5 minutes will help eliminate toothaches. It pulls poisons from the gums.

25 Gargle Wheatgrass Juice for a sore throat.

26 Drink Wheatgrass Juice for skin problems such as eczema or psoriasis.

27 Wheatgrass Juice keeps the hair from graying.

28 Pyorrhea of the mouth: lay pulp of wheatgrass soaked in juice on diseased area in mouth or chew wheatgrass, spitting out the pulp.

29 By taking Wheatgrass Juice, one may feel a difference in strength, endurance, health, and spirituality, and experience a sense of well-being.

30 Wheatgrass juice improves the digestion.

31 Wheatgrass juice is high in enzymes.

32 Wheatgrass juice is an excellent skin cleanser and can be absorbed through the skin for nutrition. Pour green juice over your body in a tub of warm water and soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse off with cold water.

33 Wheatgrass implants (enemas) are great for healing and detoxifying the colon walls. The implants also heal and cleanse the internal organs. After an enema, wait 20 minutes, then implant 4 ounces of wheatgrass juice. Retain for 20 minutes.

34 Wheatgrass juice is great for constipation and keeping the bowels open. It is high in magnesium.

35 Dr. Birscher, a research scientist, called chlorophyll "concentrated sun power." He said, "chlorophyll increases the function of the heart, affects the vascular system, the intestines, the uterus, and the lungs."

36 According to Dr. Birscher, nature uses chlorophyll (wheatgrass) as a body cleanser, rebuilder, and neutralizer of toxins.

37 Wheatgrass juice can dissolve the scars that are formed in the lungs from breathing acid gasses. The effect of carbon monoxide is minimized since chlorophyll increases hemoglobin production.

38 Wheatgrass Juice reduces high blood pressure and enhances the capillaries.

39 Wheatgrass Juice can remove heavy metals from the body.

40 Wheatgrass juice is great for blood disorders of all kinds

(TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT OF CHLOROPHYLL IT MUST BE FROM A LIVING PLANT)

Better World Books/Starting from Zero

2009-11-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

This is without a doubt, THE COOLEST bookstore I have ever heard of....maybe even the coolest store, PERIOD. They collect and sell books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. They have more than two million new and used titles in stock and are a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic and environmental value for all of their stakeholders. All of their books are available with FREE shipping to any location within the United States (or $3.97 worldwide). And in case you’re concerned about your eco-footprint, every order is shipped carbon neutral with offsets from Carbonfund.org. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

This is a copy of the email I received from them confirming the shipment of my order:

Hello Samantha,

(Your book(s) asked to write you a personal note - it seemed unusual, but who are we to say no?)

Holy canasta! It's me... it's me! I can't believe it is actually me! You could have picked any of over 2 million books but you picked me! I've got to get packed! How is the weather where you live? Will I need a dust jacket? I can't believe I'm leaving Mishawaka, Indiana already - the friendly people, the Hummer plant, the Linebacker Lounge - so many memories. I don't have much time to say goodbye to everyone, but it's time to see the world!

I can't wait to meet you! You sound like such a well read person. Although, I have to say, it sure has taken you a while! I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how would you like to spend five months sandwiched between Jane Eyre (drama queen) and Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (pyromaniac)? At least Jane was an upgrade from that stupid book on brewing beer. How many times did the ol' brewmaster have one too many and topple off our shelf at 2am?

I know the trip to meet you will be long and fraught with peril, but after the close calls I've had, I'm ready for anything (besides, some of my best friends are suspense novels). Just five months ago, I thought I was a goner. My owner was moving and couldn't take me with her. I was sure I was landfill bait until I ended up in a Better World Books book drive bin. Thanks to your socially conscious book shopping, I've found a new home. Even better, your book buying dollars are helping kids read from Brazil to Botswana.

Um.....yah. Pretty funny;-) If only everyone did their business with a similar attitude.....

One of the causes they specifically raise money for is called Starting from Zero. Here is what it's all about....... (taken from their website)

Cuttington University in Liberia: Starting from Zero

Posted by Andy on 02.18.2008 at 9:38 pm

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Liberia with others from Better World Books and Books for Africa . Liberia is a small country in West Africa that has been through horrific civil war for 14 years before finally re-establishing peace in 2003. Needless to say, just about every institution in the country is starting from zero, slowly building back up, and that includes their universities.

Cuttington University (map) is a rural 4-year university in Liberia . It is the oldest coed 4-year university in West Africa , considered by many to be the country’s most prestigious institution of higher education. It also happens to be quite close to the farm of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia who is currently on trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague .

So here’s what I mean about “starting from zero”… four years ago, this prestigious university had no roofs on its buildings and no books in its library. The campus was ransacked during the wars… most of the books in the library were burned as fuel for fires.

Our group was able to meet with leaders from the university and hear their needs. Better World Books has committed to funding, through Books for Africa, the shipment of two 40-foot sea containers full of books (that’s 80,000 books) to Liberia for the country’s universities.

Cuttington is in dire need of books, so Liberia ’s brightest minds can be educated to help pull this country out of war-ravaged poverty. I think I speak for everyone at Better World Books when I say that we’re honored to be helping Cuttington.

SO..... the next time you want to buy a book, check this site out!!!! Every book I've bought so far has been under $10!!!!! and FREE shipping!!!! and the money goes for an amazing cause;-)

Better World Books website link

How to stop a cold, DEAD in its' tracks...and other uses for Silver Hydrosol

2009-11-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Whenever I used to feel a cold coming on, I'd take lots of zinc, vitamin C and echinacea. Then one day the store happened to be out of the zinc and echinacea so I asked the person behind the vitamin counter if she knew of anything else that might be comparable. When she told me silver, I thought she was kidding. She showed me the section with all of the silver hydrosol products and explained to me that silver was actually the worlds first intibiotic. It was very effectively used for centuries before penecillin was discovered as an anti-bacterial and anti-viral and is still considered one of the safest and most effective ways to fight infections and viruses.
So, I decided to give it a try. It comes in either a spray or dropper, so you can spray or drop it under your tongue and you can actually use it anywhere on your body; like on a cut, instead of peroxide or alcohol, to keep it from getting infected, or in your ears for an ear infection.
Needless to say I was very surprised when it worked!!! I started using it twice a day when I noticed the first signs that I might be getting sick, and continued using it for about a week. The cold never stood a chance. I've been using it ever since and the only time I've gotten sick was when I stopped using it after two days, instead of going for a whole week. I also supplement it with capsules of oregano oil. It's VERY strong, but also helpful.

Below is a short article I found on silver hydrosol along with some website links that go into it in much more depth.

An in-depth history of silver

Colloidal Silver 101: A Beginners Guide to Colloidal Silver

Sovereign Silver

Oxy Silver Hydrosol

This info can be found at: http://www.aromatherapy-at-home.com/silver-hydrosol.htmlWhat is silver hydrosol?

What is colloidol silver?
It is a colloid of micro-fine silver particles dispersed in ultra-pure water, free of any other ingredient or contaminant.It is a pure water which is process by electrolysis with 99.9% pure silver (Ag)with average of silver concentrate 5-10 ppm(parts per million).
History of colloidal silver
Since the beginning of recorded history, silver has been regarded as a premier preservative and immune tool. First time the colloidal silver was introduced by Crepe, 1897. It was an entirely new field as the infectious disease was opened for the internal use of silver colloidal.
Silver Hydrosol in this era
Now, Silver-hydrosol represents the latest advancement in silver technology because the particle size and active state of silver has been shown to be unmatched against any other forms of silver on the market.
According to Dr. Eric Rentz, a notable doctor who has done extensive research into all forms of supplemental silver and has become an authority onsilver hydrosol: “There is no virus or bacteria on the planet anywhere that can stand up to a silver hydrosol. It doesn’t matter if it’s a DNA virus or an RNA virus. With the virus the silver-hydrosol will create a binding that the virus cannot replicate. Thebacteria, and the majority of bacteria species, it simply kills them, just like penicillin would if they were susceptible to penicillin.”
Silver-hydrosol can be taken sublingually on a daily basis to enhance your immune system for all times of the year. During times of immune challenge it can be taken every 15-30 minutes until symptoms are gone. Using silver-hydrosol in a nasal spray is also effective if you’ve been exposed to the cold or flu in an airborne setting.

RAW

2009-11-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

My mom and good friend have diabetes, so I bought this documentary for them, but after watching it along with the supplemental guide to eating raw, it seemed very obvious that eating a raw diet can actually cure EVERY disease, not just diabetes.

I think most people assume eating a raw diet means only eating cold, raw fruit and veggies, but there's actually SO much more!!! For the last year or so I've slowly incorporated about 40% of completely raw food into my diet, which already consists mostly of foods that correspond with my body's ecology. One of the doctors I see does detailed testing to find out which foods are IDEAL, OK, and NOT RECOMMENDED for each persons body individually, instead of just grouping you into a category. I do "cheat" once in a while, because I don't believe in depriving the body or the mind of what you think you want......however, I 've also found that the cravings I normally have for the "bad" things naturally go away when I'm eating according to my body type. I've lost over 50lbs and feel amazing! I was "diagnosed" with several auto-immune diseases a while ago and believe that the way I'm eating now is contributing to their slow decline.

This is the trailer for the film:

oh!!!....i feel a crush coming on....

2009-11-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Kefir 1

2009-11-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

As most people (that know me) know by now, I have been researching, studying, experimenting, and actively procuring water kefir for the last several months. In order to help other people learn more about how amazing it is for them, I've summarized, documented and posted most of my findings on a group I started on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=194652827192&v=wall

Because you can't purchase kefir grains in any stores, I guess it makes it a little difficult for most people to consume REAL kefir. There are lots of commercial kefir products out there but they only have a fraction of the probiotic benefits. (I've posted an article on my Facebook group that goes into the specifics of why commercial kefir and starter cultures aren't technically REAL kefir.)

I haven't read the "Body Ecology Diet" book yet, but I'm generally aware of its' concepts and they highly endorse the consumption of kefir, however, they also endorse the powdered starter-culture.....which I guess is because consuming the commercially available stuff IS better than not consuming ANY kefir at all. Here is a link to their info on kefir:

http://www.kefir.net/

I also found this short article that briefly describes some of its' health benefits. Because it hasn't been researched very extensively here in the US (by the medical community), not many of its' long-term benefits have been reported, however, there are many. It's also somewhat difficult to find really accurate information on kefir grains and/or non-commercial kefir. Here are a few sites that are good in my opinion:

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

http://www.kefirlady.com/

http://www.timelesshealth.net/kefir/allaboutkefir.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibicos

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/Water-Kefir-c4/

By Kristie Leong MD on April 11th, 2008
The Extraordinary Health Benefits of Kefir

Kefir is a fermented milk product with a sweet, yet tangy taste. It’s also being touted for its amazing health benefits.

As people become more aware of the role foods can play in their quest for better health, the challenge to find healthier alternatives to the traditional Western diet becomes important. One ancient food product that is being embraced for its apparent health benefits is kefir. Kefir is a fermented milk product that originates from the Caucasus Mountains in the former Soviet Union where it was used in ancient times to treat a variety of health related problems ranging from digestive disorders to infectious processes such as tuberculosis. Now, the Western world is starting to discover and embrace the apparent health benefits of kefir.

Kefir is made by adding a complex of yeast and bacteria to milk which are known as grains. These grains multiply as the milk undergoes fermentation which, in turn, creates more grains setting off a sort of self replicating process. It is this self replicating fermentation process that creates the uniquely tangy, carbonated taste of fresh kefir. Some describe its unique taste as similar to that of a fizzy yogurt. Although you can make your own rather kefir easily at home, it can be found at natural food markets such as Whole Foods and even in some supermarket chains.
Just what are the benefits of kefir that make it such a healthy food? Here are some reasons you may want to consider adding kefir to your diet:
It helps the digestion of lactose

With lactose intolerance being so common in this country, kefir can be a healthy alternative to traditional milk and yogurt. kefir contains a variety of bacteria that are thought to break down lactose in the stomach in people who are deficient in the natural lactase enzyme. This allows lactose deficient people to enjoy milk products again.
Promotes healthy immune function

A study published in the Journal of Immunobiology in 2006 showed that kefir has the potential to positively modulate immunity in mice making it more effective at destroying viruses and bacteria that enter the body as well as destroy tumor cells. Although these studies still need to be confirmed in humans, the potential for kefir to be helpful in maintaining a healthy immune system seems likely.
It’s rich in vitamins

Kefir is a rich source of vitamins including the B vitamins, vitamin K, as well as important minerals such as calcium and magnesium. These vitamins and minerals help to regulate almost every organ in the body, making the effects of kefir far reaching when it comes to nutrition.
It aids digestive function

Kefir is a rich source of healthy microorganisms known as probiotics which can help to maintain normal digestive function. It can be helpful in treating traveler’s diarrhea and can reduce gas formation in some people by promoting healthy digestive function. Kefir used during antibiotic treatment may help to cut down on the diarrhea sometimes associated with antibiotic use.
It may help to prevent breast cancer

A study published in the Journal of Medicinal Foods in 2007 showed that kefir extracts have components that specifically target and stop the growth of human breast cancer cells. For this reason, many women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer are adopting kefir as an alternative to milk.

The health benefits of kefir are still being discovered and explored, but it’s a simple and relatively inexpensive way to add vitamins, minerals, as health bacteria to your diet. Why not give this unique drink a try?

Indigo, Crystal and Rainbow children

2009-10-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

Doreen Virtue is a spiritual doctor of psychology and a fourth-generation metaphysician who works with the angelic, elemental, and ascended-master realms in her writings and workshops. Doreen is the author of more than 20 books about angels, chakras, Crystal Children, Indigo Children, health and diet, and other mind-body-spirit issues, including the best-selling Healing with the Angels and Messages from Your Angels books/angel cards. The following exerpt is from her website. I recently found out that I am an Indigo, which was probably one of the most relieving and emotional discoveries in my life so far. As I go even further into "who I am", it's comforting to know that I'm not alone and I've found many answers and also questions, inside the pages of Doreens books.

I wanted to post this brief description of the Indigos, Crystals and Rainbows for anyone else who feels "different" or like they don't belong. You are not alone :-)

Meet the Rainbow Children!
They are the embodiment of our divinity and the example of our potential. The Rainbow Children have never lived on this planet before, and they’re going straight to the Crystal Children as their moms and dads. These children are entirely fearless of everybody. They’re little avatars who are all about service. These are children who are only here to give—Rainbow Children are already at their spiritual peak.

Then, there’s the Crystal Children.
The first thing that most people notice about them is their eyes—large, penetrating and wise beyond their years. The Crystal Children’s eyes lock on and hypnotize you, while you realize your soul is being laid bare for these children to see. Perhaps you've noticed this special new "breed" of children rapidly populating our planet. They are happy, delightful and forgiving. This generation of new lightworkers, roughly ages 0 through 7, are like no previous generation. Ideal in many ways, Crystal Children are the pointers for where humanity is headed . . . and it's a good direction!

The older children (approximately ages 7 through 25), are called "Indigo Children."
They share some characteristics with the Crystal Children. Both generations are highly sensitive and psychic, and have important life purposes. The main difference is their temperament. Indigos have a warrior spirit, because their collective purpose is to mash down old systems that no longer serve us. They are here to quash government, educational and legal systems that lack integrity. To accomplish this end, they need tempers and fiery determination.

Those adults who resist change and who value conformity may misunderstand the Indigos. They are often mislabeled with the psychiatric diagnoses of Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Sadly, when they’re medicated, The Indigos often lose their beautiful sensitivity, spiritual gifts and warrior energy. I wrote about the Indigos at length in my book, The Care and Feeding of Indigo Children. I also recommend The Indigo Children and An Indigo Celebration, two other Hay House books written by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober.

In contrast, the Crystal Children are blissful and even-tempered. Sure, they may have tantrums occasionally, but these children are largely forgiving and easy-going. The Crystals are the generation who benefit from the Indigos' trailblazing. First, the Indigo Children lead with a machete, cutting down anything that lacks integrity. Then the Crystal Children follow the cleared path, into a safer and more secure world. And now, the fearless Rainbow Children are pure givers ready to fulfill our needs.

The terms "Indigo," "Crystal" and “Rainbow” were given to these three generations, because they most accurately describe their aura colors and energy patterns.
Indigo Children have a lot of indigo blue in their auras. This is the color of the "third eye chakra," which is an energy center inside the head located between the two eyebrows. This chakra regulates clairvoyance, or the ability to see energy, visions and spirits.

Many of the Indigo Children are clairvoyant. The Crystal Children have opalescent auras, with beautiful multicolors in pastel hues. This generation also shows a fascination for crystals and rocks. The Rainbow Children radiate rainbow energy, the kind that we were created with, to instill within us health and balance.

Indigo Children can sense dishonesty, like a dog can sense fear. Indigos know when they're being lied to, patronized, or manipulated. And since their collective purpose is to usher us into a new world of integrity, the Indigos' inner lie detectors are integral. As mentioned before, this warrior spirit is threatening to some adults. And the Indigos are unable to conform to dysfunctional situations at home, work, or school.

They don't have the ability to dissociate from their feelings and pretend like everything's okay . . . unless they’re medicated or sedated.

Crystal Children's innate spiritual gifts are also misunderstood.
Specifically, Crystal Children have telepathic abilities that lead them to talk later in life. In the new world, we will all be much more aware of our intuitive thoughts and feelings. We won't rely so much upon the spoken or written word. Communication will be faster, more direct and more honest, because it will be mind-to-mind. Already, increasing numbers of us are getting in touch with our psychic abilities. Our interest in the paranormal is at an all-time high, accompanied by books, television shows and movies on the topic.

So, it's not surprising that the generation following the Indigos are incredibly telepathic. Many of the Crystal Children have delayed speech patterns, and it's not uncommon for them to wait until they're 3 or 4 years old to begin speaking. But parents tell me that they have no trouble communicating with their silent children. Far from it!

The parents engage in mind-to-mind communication with their Crystal Children. And the Crystals use a combination of telepathy, self-fashioned sign language and sounds (including song) to get their point across.

The trouble comes about when the Crystals are judged by medical and educational personnel as having "abnormal" speaking patterns. It's no coincidence that as the number of Crystals are born, the number of diagnoses for autism is at a record high.

It's true that the Crystal Children are different from other generations.
But why do we need to pathologize these differences? If these children are successfully communicating at home, and the parents aren't reporting any problems . . . then why try to make it a problem?

The diagnostic criterion for autism is quite clear. It states that the autistic person lives in his or her own world, and is disconnected from other people. The autistic person doesn't talk because of an indifference to communicating with others.

Crystal Children are quite the opposite. They’re among the most connected, communicative, caring and cuddly of any generation. They are also quite philosophical and spiritually gifted. And they display an unprecedented level of kindness and sensitivity to this world. Crystal Children spontaneously hug and care for people in need. An autistic person wouldn't do that!

In my book, The Care and Feeding of Indigo Children, I wrote that ADHD should stand for Attention Dialed into a Higher Dimension. This would more accurately describe that generation. In the same vein, Crystal Children don't warrant a label of autism. They aren't autistic, they're AWE-tistic!

These children are worthy of awe, not labels of dysfunction. If anything is dysfunctional, it's the systems that aren't accommodating the continuing evolution of the human species. If we shame these children with labels, or medicate them into submission, we will have undermined a heaven-sent gift. We will crush a civilization before it has time to take roots. Fortunately, there are many positive solutions and alternatives. And the same heaven that sent us the Crystal Children can assist those of us who are advocates for these children.

I first began noticing the Crystal Children during my travels around the world, giving workshops about the angels. I noticed their eyes and magnetic personalities. I held mental conversations with the children, and could clearly hear them answer my questions in mind. I’d watch them smile in response to my mentally sent compliments. These kids hear my thoughts! I realized.

Over the next few years, I interviewed children and parents for my book, The Care and Feeding of Indigo Children. I've always been fascinated with finding patterns among human behavior. Although we're all as unique as snowflakes, the snowflakes share commonalities. With the Indigo Children, I found the traits described earlier. With the Crystal Children, my research took even more interesting twists and turns.

Doreens Website

Anastasia and the Ringing Cedars Series

2009-10-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

Wow. Thats about all I can say about this book series. I haven't even read any of them yet, but judging from this interview (of the guy who published the books in English), I have a feeling they will be on Oprah's top 10 ;-)

The actual interview is about 40 min long, but DEF worth it!!!! All I know, is that when it was over I felt an unbelievable sense of calm, peace and knowing. This guy basicly gives a little overview of what the books are about, which I have to say almost made me fall out of my chair!!!!!!

AMAZING!!!!!!

Interview Link

Wrap your head around this.....

2009-10-31T17:08:00.002-07:00

So, I guess I'm going to just dive right in and start with something pretty intense;-) Drunvalo Melchizedek (http://www.drunvalo.net/bio.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunvalo_Melchizedek) has been allowed to directly report from the National Mayan Council of Elders of Guatemala and the head of the Mayan Nation Don Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj on their beliefs of the Mayan Calendar around the date of December 21, 2012, which is different than what the world has been reporting. These video segments are an opinion/interpretation regarding the end of the Mayan calander that I thought was very interesting. There are 14 segments total, each btwn 5 and 10 min long, so I would recommend setting a little time aside to watch all of them.
I'd love to hear anyone's opinions and/or knowledge about this subject and wether they agree, disagree or just think it's interesting as well;-)

UPDATE 4/10/10

I found the following post (by Geoff Stray) on the blog realitysandwich.com and thought it would be appropriate to post here as well. I don't mean to try to disprove what Drunvalo is saying, I just think it's always a good idea to be open to all interpretations of an idea. The main idea or principle of what they are both saying, in my opinion, is the same. Some of Drunvalo's historical facts, according to Geoff, are incorrect. I am not a historian nor an expert on Ancient Mayan culture, so all I can do is trust what other people say about it and use my better judgment and intuition to decide if I want to subscribe to the ideas/opinions they provide. Again, I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions about this topic and if anyone has other resources that they feel are credible, please post them!!!! Thanks;-)

Drunvalo Melchizedek, author of The Flower of Life and The Serpent of Light, has just released a new video, available in 14 parts on Youtube. The Maya of Eternal Time claims to reveal new information about prophecies held by the indigenous Maya of today. Broadcasting from a futuristic-looking set, Melchizedek says he received permission from Don Alejandro Cirilo Perez, the leader of the Mayan council of elders, to disseminate this material. According to this program, somewhere between now and 2015, magnetic pole shift will be followed by a physical one in which we will go blind for thirty hours before all of humanity attains a higher state of consciousness.
In my book Beyond 2012, I sought to separate fact from rumor in regard to the end of the Long Count Calendar of the Classical Maya. Watching Melchizidek's production, I found a number of factual anomalies and points to question. These are enumerated below, and below that, I offer my review of The Serpent of Light, which was similarly riddled with inaccuracies and seeming exaggerations.

The Maya of Eternal Time
1. Melchizidek quotes from the recent book, The Chaos Point, without mentioning its author, Ervin Laszlo.
2. The Aztec Sunstone is not the Mayan calendar; he connects it to the Precession of the Equinoxes, but this is meaningless -- precession may be on the outer dots according to Professor Gordon Brotherston, but not where Melchizidek said.
3. The waffle about Fibonacci didn't connect to evolution or 2012 -- he must have been thinking of Smelyakov's Auric Time Scale, but didn't know enough to make sense.
4. The precession cycle does not have an apogee and perigee -- these are the nearest and furthest parts of an elliptical orbit.
5. If comet Holmes is the Blue Star, why haven't the ceremonies ceased as predicted in the rest of the prophecy? (My friend lived on Hopi reservation last year and witnessed a ceremony in a kiva).
6. Cayce predictions -- there are many errors, not just one. Many sites list them, for example, Fortean Times.
7. He implies that the Maya tracked Milankovitch cycles, but there is no evidence for this.
8. If the stars are not visible at night, this does NOT mean we have all gone blind . . . what about clouds, fog, smoke, volcanic ash??
9. Don Alejandro originally said 60-70 hours of darkness, not 30!
10. Why would Don Alejandro speak of Pachamama, when this is a Peruvian term?
11. He also paraphrased one of my favorite McKenna quotes, (comparing birth side-effects with Earth changes) but of course, he failed to mention its source, as he fails to mention any of his sources, thus impressing the impressionable.

I have a friend who related a detailed story about his meeting with archaeologists in Belize to a woman who was a friend of Drunvalo, and he later saw his story related online by Drunvalo in a publicity spiel for his Serpent of Light book, but the story was told as if Drunvalo was the person who met the archaeologists!
Let's not forget, either, that back in 2003, Drunvalo was saying that 2012 is really 2003,
So why is he now saying 2012 is 2012? Ah yes, his 2012 book....

Serpent of Light
Drunvalo Melechizedek's book Serpent of Light tells the story of the regular movement of the Kundalini earth current -- every 13,000 years it moves to a new location. Having moved from Lemuria to Atlantis, to the Himalayas, it is now moving to the Andes in Chile and Peru, and is governed by the precession of the equinoxes (POE).
On page 9, Drunvalo says that on December 21 2012, the axis of the earth will "be on the edge of" the Aquarius constellation.
What actually happens on December 21 2012 is that on the day of winter solstice, when the sun lies between earth and the dark rift on the galactic equator, the earth's axis will be aligned with the crossing point of the ecliptic and the galactic equator, which lies at 5 degrees sidereal Sagittarius. On spring equinox circa 2012, the vernal point (sunrise on spring equinox) will lie close to the Aquarius boundary (5 degrees sidereal Pisces), but this does not coincide with the alignment of the earth axis. See this page with diagrams and video for a simple explanation.
On page 21, Drunvalo actually says that on 21 December 2012 the equinox will precess into Aquarius ("...change of the POE into Aquarius"). However, this is the winter solstice, so the sentence is nonsense.
On page 17, Drunvalo says the "Troano document" is "an ancient stone document found by archaeologists in the Yucatan, and it is now located in the British Museum. He says it was translated by le Plongeon and is estimated to be 3,500 years old.
The Troano Codex was actually the original name for the Madrid Codex, one of four surviving Maya codices. It is kept in the Museo de América, in Madrid, Spain, and is dated to the 15th century. The version that Drunvalo repeats was quoted on Masonic websites such as this.
It is a piece of disinformation that originates in a 1912 hoax newspaper article in which Paul Schliemann claimed to have read the Troano in the British Museum and translated it -- he actually rehashed Brasseur de Bourbourg's translation, (not realizing the Troano was in Madrid), which was done before anyone understood the glyphs. See the last two paragraphs of this article.
It is not made of stone, not 3,500 years old, and not in the British Museum, though it was mistranslated by le Plongeon.
On pages 23-24, Drunvalo says that "the Serpent of Light was blocked" and "the problem could not be solved until the Ceremony of the Eagle and the Condor was performed." His explanation: "The Mayan calendar said so." This kind of statement is one of the most irritating of all for those of us who want to check facts and are not starry-eyed disciples. The Mayan calendars did not say anything. This statement is presumably meant to mean that there is a Mayan prophecy somewhere that is tied in to a date in the Mayan calendar systems. However, Drunvalo avoids giving the source, so we can check up and see that this is actually not the case. The Eagle and Condor prophecy seems to be primarily an Ecuador prophecy. The Ecuador version says that one day the indigenous people will be liberated when the tears of the condor are united with the tears of the eagle. The Inca version seems to have originated by Alberto Villoldo connecting the Ecuador prophecy with an Inca prophecy of a Pachacuti (earth/time turn-over) every 500 years. The Inca prophecy does independently connect to 2012, but to say that "the Mayan calendar says so" is totally untrue.
On page 219, Drunvalo gives credence to the theory that Lord Pacal's tomb lid shows "a Mayan astronaut," as claimed by von Daniken in 1968, regardless of the fact that it depicts the soul of Pacal journeying up the world tree, according to the Mayan scholars.
Given that the author has shown misunderstandings, repeated a 100-year-old hoax from a website as if it were true, and fudged facts and avoided references, how can he expect us to believe him when he claims that the ancient Anasazi people disappeared into another dimension (page 134); that the driver of the tour bus to Antelope canyon was totally blind, and even his family didn't know (page158); that ancient Maya would deliberately transfer their consciousness into a crystal skull, where it would remain for thousands of years (page 172); that heads of Maya priests appeared out of the ground when crystals were arranged in a circle round an altar, and then they emerged completely (page 206); and other far-fetched stories?
While there are some interesting ideas and anecdotes in the book, it is spoiled by treating the readers as if they are stupid -- even going so far as to inform us that "life is organic" (page 11).

Geoff Stray is the author of Beyond 2012: Catastrophe or Awakening (the original UK edition subtitle was Catastrophe or Ecstasy); 2012 In Your Pocket, and The Mayan and Other Ancient Calendars. They are all available on Amazon. Geoff gives presentations internationally and his website is www.diagnosis2012.co.uk which was one of the first 2012 websites, running from September 2000. Stray has appeared in several documentaries, such as 2012: The Odyssey; Transformation 2013; 2012: An Awakening, and others. He lives in a converted milking parlour in Glastonbury, UK, and makes handmade footwear. He is currently designing some ascension boots.

Welcome

2009-10-31T17:08:00.001-07:00

To describe the last few years of my life with words, would be to do them a great dis-service. The english language doesn't even begin to encompass the range of feelings, emotions, senses, or study I have experienced as of late. So, I guess until everyone learns to express/communicate telepathicly or open their minds to their full potential, traditional human communication will have to do ;-) That being said....I do have A LOT to say ;-) I have to admit that I felt a little silly startintg this blog. I guess my insecurities forced me to believe that no one would actually care about or want to hear/learn about the things I've discovered. Fortunately for you ;-) someone/thing inspired me to not care what anyone else thought and convinced me that my knowledge was worth communicating.

After all of the experiences I've had so far in my life, I can't help but feel like a catalyst for something bigger. This blog is a way for me to share with you all of the amazing, funny, confusing, incredible, serendipitous, spiritual, scientific, unbelievable, and pertinent information that seems to find me on a daily basis. Some of it may require you to expand your mind beyond its' "normal" confines and some of it might be really OLD news;-) But either way and in-between, my intention is only of love, compassion, integrity and our higher good.

So enjoy......