Fall Excitement

As I sit here, in the cool Monday morning winds of Puget Sound, I feel FALL arrive, slowly. The nights are in the low 50's and tonight it will descend to high 40's. I love Fall, as I am a September 9 baby. Sometimes I think about my mother, in her pregnant, Danise-state, walking next to the Susquehanna River, that summer, awaiting my arrival. 

Susquehanna River

My old, Pennsylvania home is like a compound, as grandparents, aunt and uncles' homes all sit above the river, and behind us is my grandparent's, 400 acre mountain. Every summer, those from afar, gather in their summer homes, as we jump off the dock and water-ski across the river.Some paddling canoes, at morning, to the island, where my father and his cousins  put up the giant rope, that swings out, above the river, jumping and dumping us into the cool waters. I could not get back for our July 4 celebration this year, but next year is on the agenda.

White Pines on the Mountain

It was where, one fine frozen winter, I went over a 50 foot high cliff on a tobaggon, after Eddie S. and my brother, convinced me, to let them give me a Big push, down the side of the mountain. I lost control of the ropes, and flew off across the cliff, airborne, amazed to land in a soft pile of 3 foot snow, on the mountain road below. 

Pure excitement broke from my lungs, as I landed, excited that I had gone off the cliff, landed safely and all my friends above stood with mouths open, and none could claim such an adventure.

It was a great story for a few days, around dinner tables, where parent and relatives' lectures abounded with, "You should be more careful", or "how could you do that to your sister?". Fun was the operative word and no broken bones for the Academy Award of tobogganing.  Perhaps, that is where my fearlessness comes from, whenever I travel around the world. That moment of going over the cliff, led me to believe I would also be taken care of by the great snow-God above, anytime, anywhere.

Copyright 2010 Codekas

My home now is next to a 40 acre mountain, which sits 200 feet above the Puget Sound.  I realize why I like it so much, as it is part of a memory, from a childhood spent roaming the mountains and waters of Pennsylvania.

I know a lot of people don't like to remember their childhood. Bad memories or sad ones are connected to them. Somehow, we all need to find our little piece of heaven on earth. Sometimes, we do. 

I have found a few places to love. Some big cities and some small, like Kaapa, Kauai;

Santa Fe, NM; Oceanside,Ca.; and Eze, France. Someday, I may return to live in Hawaii, as that is where I was living, before I came back to the mainland,to visit my parents and attend my sister's wedding in Seattle. Mount Rainier was shining and the Puget Sound was sparkling, and the trees and mountains reminded me of my Northeastern birth place. 

My Puget Sound View from the House

It felt like home. Wherever you live, be grateful. You have a roof over your head, warmth in the winter, flowers in the summer. Feng-Shui is the Art of Placement and if you have never studied it, you should. It will help align the energies of your apartment, office or home, to what is the most abundant and energetic for you and your family.

Today, I will spend the day divesting myself of old, unused or frivolous objects, accumulated over the past few years. Some of those things, may be hard to release. However, I am assured, by universal principles, that all that I need will be provided me, as long as I am on my path, and pursuing my soul's purpose on earth. Not that, I always do that, as Virgo's, like myself, get distracted easily by miraculous views and enticing subjects, or spend hours reading through old manuscripts.

I am a researcher, if not a writer, and delve into the depths of those things that interest me. Some of those interests take me around the globe, like when I embarked on the quest for Marian spiritual centers, in the Mediterranean, one year. Another interest was gurus in India, and that interest led to a 4 year pursuit, delving into the basics of Eastern spirituality and beliefs, with months spent in India, Thailand and Malaysia.

Today, I await my brother, who decided to return to the East Coast, to visit family there, and looking forward to hearing, about his adventures, from his 2 drives across the country. I am sure, his views on what he saw, in towns and countrysides, will enhance my understanding of what we, as a nation, are experiencing as we let go of precious homes and objects in order to sustain our lives. 

Closed stores, abandoned homes and farms abound, he will reveal as he drives through Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Idaho. Like Robinson Crusoe, he will have tales to tell and challenges along the way. Even, thoughts of turning back, to Williamsburg, at one point, when his truck and trailer encountered a breakdown, somewhere in Missouri. That question, we all ask ourselves, when faced with a change of plans, or our dreams, "shall I continue or is this a sign to stop and go back?" 

Copyright 2010 Codekas

At that point, it is time to sit down and ask yourself what is the purpose of this adventure? What is it I am here to learn? Why do I need to be here, doing this? Why must I continue on? What I am running back to? 

Find that place to sit down, breath, and smile into the day. 

It is not the destination, as we all know, it is the adventure which completes us. Some of us are on the path to find love, some of us are running from it. Some of us hope to find an answer to what we should be doing with our lives, and all of us are seeking peace. 

One day, I came upon this wonderful sculpture, walking the Canyon Road in Santa Fe. I had traveled from Seattle to San Francisco for Christmas and then went out to the Southwest to enjoy New Year's with friends. 

Copyright 2010 Codekas

I had ended a relationship, in my head, about a man,  who had not been very interested in pursuing, any relationships.Gazing upon this horse, into the sky, and breathing that wonderful, crisp mountain air, realized I had not been very much into a relationship, either.It would have been a step back into the past, with someone familiar, comfortable, to me. We do that sometimes. 

Return to old patterns, old loves, because that which we really need, we are afraid to pursue, as they are scary, dangerous to self-worth, and what if that which we find, we really want, does not want us? 

What if they live too far away? What if it could be dangerous because we have been pursued because of our beauty, wealth, position? What if they are the passion which excites our soul? 

That one person, from the moment we looked in their eyes, knew that the wonders of the universe were there for the taking, and in taking  we could be lost forever to our old selves, and the safety in the past?Sad, how many walk away from passion and the soul's knowledge, that this is the One. Sad.

I was looking for something, that was more powerful than a man-woman relationship. I was looking for peace with my life, and realized, my life had to find its way back, into daily actions, from the core of my being. My writing and my photography sustain that now, and if it had not been for that crazy jump, into trying to find someone to fill the loneliness,  I could have found balance; we could have remained friends. The power of the horse, the freedom and magnificence of its nature, reminded me of mine. The release of the confusion and anger took place, in that moment, as I sat and gazed at this forceful, commanding work of art. 

I am about to take another trip, into the desert, soon. A place of great power and mystery. A place, that I really do not enjoy, because of the heat of the day. 

It will be somewhere to enjoy the mysteries, of secret power on earth. I will meet new humans, along the way. Be challenged with all types of bodily requirements, and listen to music, see vistas, new food and art along the way. 

Sometimes, we place ourselves in environments, unlike our perfect ones, at home, in order to fulfill a need of the heart, or find answers to questions that spiral the same paths, through our brains, over and over again.

It takes a massive amount of energy to release old patterns, to release beliefs about ourselves that are not serving our higher selves. I push myself away from the safety belts in order to find that piece, of my personal puzzle, which no one else holds. 

Sometimes, I need to go into the desert or walk outside in a rainstorm. It is worse to wonder, quietly in a house, knowing the urge to the quest is being suppressed out of fear, for me. There is only so much time I have in my life. So much time to experience the wonders my soul drives me toward.

Do something different this week, without analysis. Do it only because you thought of doing it, without fear present at the moment you desired it. Erase every thought of hesitation and analysis that arose after your little heart said, let's do this now. 

You are only as strong as your next adventure; 

you become your true self in doing those things 

in which you stop listening to your old, fearful self.

What Does It All Mean?

There seems to be an energy around us all now that prevents the body and the mind from reaching into the darkness without hesitating, as if there was something frightening that could attack all that we are trying to hold onto in our lives. I begin to hesitate when I look around me and see the wonders and abundance that is in my life, since I have lost it all, at one time in my life. Other times, I gave it all away as I headed off to a new place on the planet, like when I moved to D.C., or Hawaii, Santa Barbara, or Washington State.

One time, all my precious goods were destroyed, inside a storage facility in San Francisco, and to this day, years later, there are a few things I remember, that wishes cannot return. A lot of my notebooks, with stories and diaries were there, which represented about 20 years of my life. All gone, all destroyed. Suffering through that loss, of things, of memories, froze my life for about 2 months. Anger arose in the middle of nights, as I remembered treasures lost.

The things, we own, we hold onto, we expect to be there in our homes when we return to our driveways, balance the daily confusion and work we do outside our homes. The things, the plants, the dining room table, are our ballasts against rocky human interactions and frightening futures we create out of nothingness, which are born in those moments of knowing that we are not all-powerful or eternal.

Today, I am walking though a fearful moment which I drew to me for a learning experience. Yet, here I sit, able to do that which I love to do the most: my work, my writing. Somewhere in my past, there was debilitating injuries, life-threatening illnesses, and from them the understanding that health was the most important of all the gifts of the universe, as without it, nothing else could be enjoyed. Not love, not work, not even reading. To be able to walk without pain, as I do now, years after a head on car accident, is a miracle. To be cancer free, 11 years after it waltzed across my life horizon, is also gratefully enjoyed and respected, for what it was: a lesson, an opportunity, a check-in to present time and reality.

Love now, that revolves in me and around me, no matter how I feel or what situation I am entertaining in life. I know who loves me, and am able to love them. I will say, though, even during pain and illness, sometimes thinking about those you love, takes a back seat to pain, prescriptions and nuclear radiology labs.

What is the touchstone? What is it that brings you into a realistic understanding of who you are, and what it is that you should be grateful for, in the days and nights of your life?

People I remember, who made changes in their lives, as I changed mine through theirs are memorable. An elderly woman on a train from Frankfurt to London, who had a nose bleed, as I sat across from her in our compartment, comes to mind. She did not talk to me when I entered and sat across from her. A smile, a head bow to acknowledge my presence was all that took place. Then a few minutes later, blood poured out of her nose, and she became frightened.

I grabbed my tissues from the backpack, and then sat next to her, placing her head back to stop the flow. She shaking, afraid, as I gave her tissues and then water once it stopped. I helped her clean her jacket, and she speaking in German and me, with my English, sat there together, holding hands, as she had become cold, and shaking, across the German landscape of cows and mountains.

Many people helped me, in my travels around the world. People I will never see again, but where there when I needed an angel, or directions. People who went out of their way, gave their time and energy, when I had none, when I was frightened. It all balances out in the end, I think.

The people who gave me their time and advice, like the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, Don Miguel Ruiz, Lama Tharchin, and, even, Roger Daltry. People who looked at me and realized another human was there to ask questions, or needed a little encouragement, even though, sometimes, the advice was unasked. The advice, spectacularly profound, whipping me from my daily thoughts, to the knowledge I am worthy, to be here, on this planet.

Men I married, divorced, dated and ended relationships with all had something to teach me, as I taught them, in the whirls of consciousness. Men who where trying to understand themselves and the life they were in, which included me, for a short time. We were all trying to find the answer to what does IT all mean.

Sometimes, there is no answer. Sometimes you meet people, spend time with them, understand yourself better, or simply walk away confused about their actions, your needs. Sometimes there is no answer at the time it all ends or begins. Usually, it was just the next indicated thing the relationship was directing you to as your path converged from theirs.

The one thing I have learned is that until I have fully grieved something, can I let it go completely. There is no time on this one. It is personal for each of us. No timeline lets you know when it is time to end the grief, anger, fear. It happens, though. Eventually, the grief stops and the limbo period begins while the heart and mind suspend action, slowly revolving toward the next indicated thing.

Marianne Williamson said that, "every situation is just a corner of an infinite universe. No corner is really so good or so bad, as it is simply a place the soul is in need of experiencing now. Whatever it is, it will not last. Whatever it is, it is leading to something better. And whatever it is, it is something perfect."

So, my perfect universe which I walk through every day has no answers for me. It is because I am able to play in an infinite universe, where all is possible. I am grateful it will not last, since the new experience will be even more revealing, deeper, clearer, as my soul injects the experience with its needs for my life. There is something larger than me, as I look at the sun and moon and the abundance of life on this planet. I am just part of it and because of my part in it, it exists for all of us.

What does it all mean? I cannot answer for you. Only your actions will tell you when you are happy, when you have screwed up, when you have left behind the fear, the past, the attachments, which no longer are necessary for the next part of your journey.

We are all related already, says Williamson, in her book, Everyday Grace, and with every human encounter we get a chance to re-create our world. I would have to add that with every human, animal, and mountaintop I stand on, I have a chance to re-create my world.

A friend of mine has always said that her current relationship with her boyfriend, is incredible, because he lets her be herself. Free is her favorite ideal. She is free to be herself with him. I asked her once if she had changed because of him, and she said, No. She was still herself, and did not have to change at all. She could do whatever she wanted and he did not influence her into changing.

I have thought about this for a while now. I think she is missing something. She is more fearful of changing because of him. She believes that if she does, she loses something of herself in the changing. I think she would become something grander, if she allowed him to change her. It is a matter of trust. It is not a matter of loss of freedom. She is not free with him. Two together, meld into one, and become a testament to true love and faith, in the relationship. I do not think he is the passionate, love of her life. Once she finds that man, who she allows to touch her soul, drop her fears of loss of her freedom, she will be content.

Strange, so strange to see an old mirror image of myself, in her life. They keep bumping into one another. They were together a few years ago, broke up, and now are back together. Something was not learned, in the past, and now they are both pretending it is perfect again. He sits and waits for her to come to him, ready to change, give up some of the freedom she claims is so precious. He is slowly becoming a ghost of what he could be, but is fearful of the next woman.

The woman who will give up her freedom, to be completely one with him, is what he desires, but is fearful she will never arrive in his lifetime. He does not have to change for her either. It is like watching the stallion and mare, separated by the fence. The fence of freedom, which neither of them can break down, because they are not meant to be together, forever. Their souls are simply trying to teach them that freedom is not the point. Love, is the lesson, and once they let go, walk away from one another, then they will find the deepest, richest love they have desired, always. But the lessons of the soul, take time.

What does it all mean? I don't know right now. I do know if we stop searching for the answer, we will never be content, be loved, be brave. Sometimes the only thing it all means is in understanding our fears, we are able to walk away knowing, hoping, the next indicated thing brings joy and unimaginable love. Freedom to be who we are without fear of being changed. It is the changes that answer the question, What Does IT all mean.

 

Natural Freedom

So much news has come into the ears this past week, along with information about my trip along the Washington Coast. Many of the small villages, along the way,never change. The one thing that does is the destruction of my 200 ft. high lungs, which are dug up by bulldozers, and left to rot along the hillsides, awaiting a developer to buy the land and build some new vacation homes for people who do not have to drive by the stripped land, every day. 

copyright2010 Codekas

There is a lot of that going on along the coast now. In spite of the attempts to colonize the wild Washington mountainsides, there does seem to be some progress, however, in many ways stagnation seems to follow now that the economy is still in a downward spiral.


 Many homes are empty, stores are closed and the same layouts along the coastal roads seem never to change. Some folks have purchased the salt encrusted homes, that stood empty for many years, and their efforts are good ones, in trying to take the old, the forgotten and brighten up the energy around them. 

copyright 2010 Codekas

For a few weeks, the weather is ok, then, like this past week, it is brilliant and perfect. They forget, or maybe they do not know, what wicked weather is like when the North Pacific screams and bellows its crazy anger into the sands and ancient forests standing above the shoreline. Some will never see the ice storms raging against their newly painted beach cottages. 


The incredible energy from a Pacific winter storm is breathtaking and at the same time, so dangerous when swells cross into the fields and roads, and into the homes along the way. And a more magnificent display of nature cannot be imagined with 80 mph winds and angry ocean beating against the earth. I am glad Man has not learned how to control nature. I am even happier he will never be able to do so. 

Of course, the deployment of a nuclear bomb is always a possibility, which would change nature's way, however, that is about the only thing that is man-made, for now, which I would see change it all, in my lifetime.
It would be glaring and in my face, like nothing other during my time.


There are many places around the planet that are built upon ancient cities. Troy is built above 10, at last count. 10 ancient civilizations beneath present day foot falls. The earth has a way of cleansing itself of the past, with little sympathy for the efforts of humankind, across the centuries and millennium. It is always good to know that nature maintains it wild ways, uncontrollably so.

copyright2010 Codekas

Going Crazy

coyright2010 Codekas

The only thing that seems to be moving along this week is the fact the my brain is reaching for something new and has not yet figured out what it is. 

The development of new ideas seems to take a certain amount of patience, on my part, and I hate the waiting. Patience may be a virtue, for some, however I believe patience is an out of control train heading somewhere, that is not on the current train I was just about to board.

In the past few weeks a lot of ways about changing my daily life have popped up, and so far making them operational is still in the cosmic, planning stages. 

Not sure what is going on with the rest of the universe, although the cosmos does seem to be speeding up in the amount of information it is sending our way, since there is so much change going on, in the world now, that we are privy too, due to the elegant communication systems we have in hand. 

Finding the time to think is easy. Thinking through the possibilities takes time. It never fails to amaze me that whenever some important change is about to come take over my life path, everyone, or at least, one other person is having the same experience. Copasetic parallelism is what I call it. Since I am a communications sociologist, earning my stripes at Berkeley, I developed the theory in the past few days, and have decided to include a few lines about it in the current book, which I am still working on.

copyright2010 Codekas

The interesting thing about writing a book comes about when I realize how much the book changes the writer, me, as it goes along. Like sub-atomic physics, or in the Bhagavagita, the interaction of writer and written word, both changes the other, and there is no use trying to think that once the words are all in the book, and the final period or elliptical is placed, on the last sentence of the last chapter, that is where it, the writing or book, ends.

That is where the next word or book begins.

The transforming becomes the transformed, and rises to a new level of evolution, as a writer and a new book begin to observe each other. 

All the little ideas, experiences, and emotions garnered during the nurturing and birthing of a book, become transformed through the paragraphs and edits, as mind meets transformative, cognitive understanding of my life's beliefs and mission(s).

Anyone who writes has a mission. It may not be evident, except, in the fact, that I believe I am a writer, and have since I was a very young child. Not a single doubt in my mind about my life's purpose. There were other dreams I had about my life's path, across the challenging landscape of my time here on earth, however, never, not once, did the label, Writer, ever take second place. 

It might have been subsumed for a while, in order to earn money, however, those adventures are only ever ways for the soul to challenge old beliefs, create new opportunities for change, and embed a teaching into the physical and spirit, that the soul will  imprint across all DNA microbes.

None of it means anything, other than the soul needs to remind me, that there is a purpose for my coming to earth; that there is no one on the planet, who is more or less than I am; and that if love and grace are what makes me a better person, and therefore affect the rest of humanity, then writing is the way to work through the meaning of life and experiences and many relationships for me. 

Some do it through different professions or avocations, however, I think that we all, in some deep part of the soul, know exactly what we were sent here to do, eventually. At least in last breath, I believe everyone does. 

My writing is leading me somewhere, and away from something that no longer is present in current time. Memories, sure, they reside inside my heart and brain, however, being in present time is how I write, isn't it? Even the process of writing, with misplaced commas, misused participles, even the occasionally misapplied word, all have their place, in my development, as a writer.

It is how I learn, and it how you learn who I am. You can criticize, edit, scoff at my thoughts, however, the one thing you can never do is write for me. That I must do alone. In a way, we all do our work alone, don't we? That is how we learn about who we are, what we love or need to correct. 

I had not intended to write about this today, since, when I sat down to begin the blog today, I was pushed by some latent fear, about something, that has no basis other than a slight feeling of a disturbance in my force field. FEAR, false experience appearing real, is such a useless and useful prodder.

It is just life and things that affect me, as yours, do you. That niggling feeling that something needs to get done, something is coming that you were not prepared for, or simply that I have not paid attention to something that needs to be resolved come into play during creating. 

In any case, whatever it was that got me to sit down and write, I feel better now. Maybe it was that I had to write. I get like that sometimes. Just need to get to a keyboard or a pen and a notebook and write.  What do you need to express today? When was the last time you wrote, or drew or sang a song?

The Beach

One of the best things about living here is that I have a couple of great beaches a few blocks from the house. However, the nice thing is that the Pacific Ocean is only 90 minutes away, and this weekend my sister and I are headed to one of the wonderful places on earth.

The area we are headed is quiet and magnificent ,in that ,on one side of us is the ocean and on the other side is the mysterious mountains of the Olympic Peninsula, which reveal their fox and raccoons in the evenings as we sit on our deck and watch the sun set.

There is something incredible about wild mountains that run down into the sea, and knowing that there is only a two lane highway which ends about 30 miles north of our little hide-away.

We are taking bathing suits since there is an indoor heated pool and looking forward to having a little Mai Tai and some red roasted hummus with baked garlic chips, as soon as we unload the car. 2 sisters hanging out together and talking about those things that sisters do, sometime. 

Mom is coming with us and she will have her favorite bedroom that looks across the yard and over the cliffs, and take her favorite walk along the beach to the general store and the great fish restaurant that some old friends of mine now own. They gave up their high tech jobs a few years ago and escaped to the simpler life of wild winds, sandy beaches and wonderful cooking.

The horses are ready to carry us across the sands and there is nothing better then saddling up in the early morning, when there is low laying fog and race up the beach to the wild boulders and crazy seagulls, diving for the last vestiges of the previous nights wave deposits. 

The Tsunami Warning signs will be thought about as we drive along the quiet coast road and the signs of last winter's mud slides will threaten us and our 3,000 lb car, as we negotiate 90 degree turns, with the cd's playing a little Brazilian, some Parrot Head, and probably some jiving Jamaican beats along the way. How else can we ignore the possibility of tsunami and rolling off the edge of the continent?

The big decision is what book to bring. What to read at the beach? A spy thriller, a little murder mystery or something along the lines of 5th Mountain by Coelho, which I just finished reading this afternoon. Maybe, no books will be brought along, since the adventure of running through the waves, and swimming in the pool will more than shore the silence between conversations of a mother with her two daughters. Family issues, secrets and dreams of 3 women will be delved into and laughter over our past lives which we have resolved, escaped or hoped no one remembers.  

 

                                                              In any case, I am looking forward to the road trip and the recollections and the new memories to be made with the two women, in my life, whom I love the most. No matter the weather it will be a refreshing time and one that the three of us will remember, and hopefully repeat again next year, as we do every year.

Enjoy Your Magic Moment Today...

Today the day started slow and early. Drinking coffee, looking across the horizon at the Olympic Mountains which hide Vancouver, B.C. to the North, I opened the Dalai Lama's book, Ethics for the New Millennium,   which had been ingratiating itself, into my life, paragraph by paragraph, this past week. For some reason, to read it from beginning to end has not materialized, yet, and instead I find myself just opening to any page and beginning there. Usually when a question about my Self arises.

It is a book that every few paragraphs, stopping and contemplating the words and ideas,  leads to realizations about my life which are hampering me from moving forward. It also brings realizations about the past and shows me where my actions are blocking me from fulfilling the life I see in my dreams. The life that is mine. A quote from the book which started today's blog:

If you can try not to think of yourself as better than the humblest beggar.You will look the same in your grave.

That simple statement envelopes his actions, daily. It helped me to break through a part of the book I am writing which has given me unnatural fear about completing the book. After I read that comment, the equanimity of my interactions with others on this planet was recalled and jump started me into a new chapter.

As mornings go, I traveled across the internet to my Twitter account and read some Tweets from Paulo Coelho and found the card above. I truly love him, for the writer and human, he has become, and for sharing his wisdom with the world. His new Declaration of Principles can be found here: http://bit.ly/brxAcf

Paulo Coelho, Declaration of Principles

1] All human beings are different. And should do everything possible to continue to be so.
2] Each human being has been granted two courses of action: that of deed and that of contemplation. Both lead to the same place.
3] Each human being has been granted two qualities: power and gift. Power drives a person to meet his/her destiny, his gift obliges that person to share with others which is good in him/her. A human being must know when to use power, and when to use compassion.
4] Each human being has been granted a virtue: the capacity to choose. For he/she who does not use this virtue, it becomes a curse – and others will always choose for him/her.
5] Each human being has the right to two blessings, which are: the blessing to do right, and the blessing to err. In the latter case, there is always a path of learning leading to the right way.
6] Each human being has his own sexual profile, and should exercise it without guilt – provided he does not oblige others to exercise it with him/her.
7] Each human being has his own Personal Legend to be fulfilled, and this is the reason he is in the world. The Personal Legend is manifest in his enthusiasm for what she/he does.
     – the Personal Legend may be abandoned for a certain time, provided one does not forget it and returns as soon as possible.
8] Each man has a feminine side, and each woman has a masculine side. It is necessary to use discipline with intuition, and to use intuition objectively.
9] Each human being must know two languages: the language of society and the language of the omens. The first serves for communication with others. The second serves to interpret messages from God.
10] Each human being has the right to seek out joy, joy being understood as something which makes one content – not necessarily that which makes others content.
11] Each human being must keep alight within him the sacred flame of madness. And must behave like a normal person.
12] The only faults considered grave are the following: not respecting the rights of one’s neighbor, letting oneself be paralyzed by fear, feeling guilty, thinking one does not deserve the good and bad which occurs in life, and being a coward.
      – we shall love our adversaries, but not make alliances with them. They are placed in our way to test our sword, and deserve the respect of our fight.
      – we shall choose our adversaries, not the other way around.
12A] We hereby declare the end to the wall dividing the sacred from the profane: from now on, all is sacred.
14] Everything which is done in the present, affects the future by consequence, and the past by redemption.
15] The impossible is possible  --Paulo Coelho

 

There are many things both these men write about which not only inspires others: it also reveals their souls, their fears and their pasts. That is what writing is about really, for me. A singular act of courage since words, songs, art reveal not only the soul, it also allows others the power to criticize, demean, praise, honor. Any of these actions can imbalance the creator, you and me. It takes courage and compassionate understanding of others to continue sharing one's gifts with the world. Share yours today.

 

Inspired by a Mandala

It rained most of the day today. Finally steady, summer rain and coolness for all the plants and animals in my forest. I forget sometimes that the animals need water, out there in their world, when I am in my air conditioned palace, wrapped up in superficial needs and ego. Nothing worse than being hot and thirsty in the forest.

I realized this afternoon, after moving most of the potted plants into the lovely summer rain showers, the mole hills in the front and side yards disappeared. Then I realized those 6 inch high mole hills disappeared as the moles move further into the earth, as the sun gets hotter daily, since the heat began about 5 weeks ago.

The 3 rabbits were out again, as they are every day in the morning and evening. There is some type of sweetness to my grass and clover and daisies they love to gorge themselves with now. I wonder how long they will be alive, if I will see them again, as the coyotes and deer are now running through the yard, from my forest most evenings.

Hope they live long and happy rabbit years. When they sit outside the house, they exert a calmness on me that I cannot explain, except that in the ancient Chinese Horoscope, I am  the sign of Metal Rabbit. I do know that they have very sharp teeth, which surprises a lot of people when they get bit by them. This is the smallest one of the 3, who let me get pretty close and we had a little rabi-hum communication going on for about 10 minutes.

I spent the early morning cutting back my blackberry bushes. You can see part of the house,and the forest my land resides on, which grows closer to me each year, unless we have some agreement as to how huge the blackberry bushes can grow. This morning I was using the sheers to cut back the vines, which are about an inch diameter wide, that have entwined themselves around my apple and plum trees. You can see the forest, the house sits in, and it is so lovely to sit on the decks and drift off into a little solar nap, gazing into the forest, while the birds sing.

You can see the front part of the property is getting dry now, however, I think the summer will begin morphing into early Fall-like weather now, in about 2 or 3 weeks.

Whatever is going on in the world now, as far as earth and weather changes, whatever that process is, that you want to call it, which I refuse to argue over, the energy of the animals, the weather extremes, and just the overall surprises in new earth patterns, here in the Northwest, since I am here this week, a noteworthy, major pattern is here now and we need to pay attention to it. Mama Earth is not giving hints anymore, like little puffs from volcanic silos,. Mama Earth and Father Sky are smashing their cymbals so hard together, the warnings no longer warnings, but significant, volatile, treacherous reprisals against human failure to understand we are nature, also.

The significance of the huge ice island breaking off from Greenland's 2 main glaciers today, is earth shaking, if you think about it. http://bit.ly/aWKthn

You think you and your airline were inconvenienced from Iceland's volcanic eruption this year? You should really think about what happens when that ice island begins blocking shipping routes between the US, Canada, and Europe, and Northern Africa in a few months. You do see the significance of 2 major earth change events emanating from that sector of the globe? Iceland and Greenland?

I do not think a lot of people get it. Get the fact that we are destroying ourselves as we insult and destroy nature outside of our homes, careers, and bank accounts, oh, and love lives too, and addictions. We think too much of what the next thing is that we want, to fulfill the emptiness in our souls, which can only be healed through nature and compassionate understanding of the universal law of balance.

Many people are spinning tops. Spinning away from their center of gravity, health, wisdom, and responsibility for every living creature on the planet, and the planet. I am on a roll tonight and it is almost 3 a.m., PSE. Everything is going nuts right now with this planet, you, and the solar system. Things are getting lined up for bigger changes, that are already in process. If you think about it, what happens when an electric tea pot is boiling, and you click open the little spout, to pour water out? The water, at the surface, cools quickly.

How about this supposition--just play with it. The Greenland Ice Island breaking away, happened because of all the hot gases and oil, the billions of liters of hot liquids, pouring out of the British Petroleum oil spill which displaced the earth's heat, and shot out beneath Greenland?

Think physics, magma movement, air and liquid release, and take a look at ley lines and fault lines under the areas from the Gulf Of Mexico to Greenland. It is all interconnected.

The weather has changed because of 3 big events, that meteorologists do not want to connect.Nothing on the airwaves anyway. The Icelandic Volcanic Eruption, the BP oil spill (no one in jail for it yet!), and the wildfires raging around the US Pacific Coast and Russia. We have red suns now above the Puget Sound. The animals are migrating already. The geese are leaving now, and deer and larger animals are not on their customary feeding trails for the past 2-3 weeks. They know something is going on, and whatever it is, it will be unexpectedly violent, and cause disruption, and hopefully, bring some people back into their bodies from their egoistic fantasies.

I don't know what it is, where it is coming from, meaning a slice of the sun barreling down on us, a piece of a comet, and earthquake, or a dramatic change in the weather so profound, it is frightening. I just know the floods in Pakistan are not common, meaning, nothing like this in decades. You need to look at the patterns. If there are none, then get some food stored up, get your water supplies, bandages, toilet paper, alternative heating source, and a gun and some bullets, alongside your fishing poles and some cash.

Be mindful if you do not know how to get from A to B alone. You just may need to know how to do things, for yourself, for a while. Don't be foolish. Pay attention to what the earth and the animals are telling you.

If you don't know how to do that, then pay attention to the increasing acts of violence among your neighbors, in your state, in the world. A insane impetus takes over because of the disharmony of the earth, which affects you and me, and literally short-circuits our brains, energetically. A lot of humans are going insane, because they are acting mad, and doing cruel, insane things against one another, and anything on this planet that they cannot understand.

Well, just some ramblings from someone sitting about 800 miles from a nuclear power plant; 200 mile range from four of the largest, active volcanoes on earth, and 7 blocks from one of the deadliest, fault lines on the planet, and sitting on tip of the Pacific continental shelf,which is right underneath the chair I am sitting in right now.

So, don't get crazy, don't get lazy,

Just pack up some supplies and take it easy.

Whatever Earthquakes, Volcanoes,

Solar Flares and Floating Ice Islands are transcending into now,

We won't know when, or how,

We will experience the change from their releases.

Preparedness Info: http://standeyo.com/News_Files/Hollys.html

Now, I shall listen to Mozart's Camo Trio in G.

Goodnight, my friends.

Just Bless It and Let It Go

This has been a long few weeks. Weeks in which I had many decisions to make, some of which required instant decisions. I am a Virgo, Moon in Capricorn and Aquarius rising. I tend to take time in making my decisions. Research the variables and see if there is an easier, more fruitful way in which to navigate to a conclusion.

Many of you also had decisions to make in the past few weeks. Surely, some more life-changing vital than mine. These tests and decisions, are equal to the amount of wisdom you currently hold and, many times, thinking there is no answer, no resolution, are usually the ones that drag us from current reality, onto a new path, which we do not see a direction or a road sign on.

I took my car in for an oil change and the angels who have worked on it, discovered that my head gasket was shot. So shot, that both engine gaskets were replaced along with the timing chain. It was a first, for me, and my lovely Subaru, which I bought brand new, a few years ago, required instant surgery. I had a choice that day: to drive it home, and let it sit, knowing at any moment it could self-destruct any remaining engine parts, or get it fixed now. Being the, I-change-the-oil-every 3,000 miles, type, of caretaker, my sweet car had surgery. Thousands of dollars worth of surgery. Thousands ;)

Then, a few days later, my new health insurance bill arrived for 900.00. What to do? I thought about living without health insurance for a few months. Writing my book, walking along the beach everyday, the possibility of a major health issue did not seem probable. I have been cancer free now for 11 years. My teeth are in good shape. I am not dating anyone, so I did not foresee any type of complication from intimate relationship snafus. What could go wrong? I could go without it for a while.

The argument for not sending off the money was simple. I had bought a ticket for the 25th August, Hollywood Bowl Concert which Jason Mraz and Nancy Wilson were going to perform for me(and thousands of others). They would entertain me at on a lovely, star-studded evening in LA. It was my birthday present to myself. It was a reward for working on my book all summer. It was a way to escape and enjoy two wonderful performers, dazzling the crowd with Gershwin melodies, in perfect weather, at the Hollywood Bowl, a place I had always wanted to see a concert at in this lifetime. I had bought the ticket months ago.

The Seattle-LA flight would be around 400.00, the hotel-400, parking, cabs, food--well at least 1,000 dollars, for 2 nights of pleasure and release, from current life and work. Being a Virgo, however, sitting at home 2 hours before the insurance payment had to be postmarked, I began to look at the long-term possibilities, of not having health insurance. Thinking about my last surprise operation, which cost 53,000, of which my output was only 500.00, thanks to this insurance policy, I began to weigh the reality of a far-fetched, future, health emergency possibility.

Of course, it all had to do with the fact that I really wanted to go to the concert. Needed to get away for a few nights. I had even decided what I would wear that night, when I left the hotel. How I would go up to the Planetarium and ride along Canyon Road, the day before the concert, looking at the beauty, the palm trees, that California which takes your breath away sometime. Spago's, was also on the list for a  glass of the Hine "Triomphe," Grande Champagne Cognac.  I had not been there since my sister headed to Honduras, years earlier. I was still alive and wanted to celebrate my upcoming birthday on 9/9.

I wanted, wanted, wanted to go see the show. Watch Mraz sing his ever-loving showmanship voice out with Nancy Wilson.

Writing out the insurance check, driving down to the post office, I began to make deals with myself. It was 15 minutes before the PO closed. If I got there and it was closed, then that was a sign. I sat there in the car, holding the envelope, as people came in and out of our little, village post office. Alas, the door never closed. Getting out of the car, I walked in and our post mistress smiled at me, as I hesitated handing her the envelope twice. She said, "Danise, are you sure you want to send this?". I said, "NO. If I don't mail this, I can go to Hollywood and see a great concert in 3 weeks." She looked at the well-known health insurance company's name.

She looked at me and smiled. I knew in that moment, as she did, that sometimes being an adult, doing the wise thing, hurts. I even called my sister and asked her if I did the right thing. Yes, of course it was, but it still sucks. So, the ticket is on eBay now. Here is the link, which still pains me to look at now. http://bit.ly/cpWc6H 

Last night, I asked the universe why my car engine blew up, and why I did that right thing and paid for my health insurance. There was no voice coming through telling me I did the right thing. However, as I gazed across the Puget Sound, the sun was red. It was such a magnificent color, I had to walk off the deck and get closer to it. I had not seen a deep red sun in ages. I remembered that all the smoke from the Canadian wild fires had reached us 2 days earlier.

Hundreds of people had lost land, pets, farm animals, loved ones.

I had only lost a 2 day trip to LA. As I walked across my property, I smiled at the house. It was on a solid piece of granite. The forest and trees were all healthy and my roses were blooming, the apple trees and pear trees were just getting ready to come into their full, fruitful abundance, and my car, was sitting there, happy again, and my roses are so deliciously fragrant. I am blessed and breathing fresh, invigorating, mountain-sea air on my little piece of heaven.

I smiled at it all. I looked up into the evening sky and said a prayer of gratitude and a prayer that those who are in the Hollywood Bowl on August 25th have a glorious, high-spirited time. I blessed all and let go. It was all I could offer for the abundance and beauty before me.

 

Our Strong Voices

I spent, last night, listening to Jerry Brown, ex-gov of CA., talk about the limiting of constitutional rights, and realized how little things have changed since I first met him. He hired me to work on the California Public Broadcasting Commission, while a student at Berkeley, since one of my interests was Satellite Communication Technology.  I forgot about the fact, that if it had not been for him, and the efforts of those he inspired, I would have died in my head on car accident, since there would have been no seat belt, to keep from spiriting out of my body, as I flew through the windshield. 

Every time you drive up to the gas pump, and read the word, Unleaded, you should thank Jerry, for keeping your lungs a little clearer, and your eyes a little brighter. Small efforts of one person, who gathered together other like-minded citizens, and won the argument against multinationals and governments, and the lobbyists that provoke them, deserve at least a thank-you, given that your life is more important than which political group you check off in the ballot box.

Not to get involved, in who did what, however, how they did it, and how they created the energy going, until a lot more people began to realize, that there were dangerous things, like lead, floating through the air, or that there was this little belt, that could be put into a car, that could extend your life, on this planet. Good ideas. Good and true humanitarians, in a sense. Yes?



I call that good citizenship. What side of the political fence you are on, is not of interest to me. What is of interest is people who have good sense, and know when something, like lead, in the air, makes bad sense for all the Republic. 

One of the things that makes bad sense for Danise's Republic, today, is homemade, kit-built, ultra-light planes. This past Thursday, I nearly lost a friend, who went on the maiden voyage of a kit-built plane. His uncle died, on impact, and my friend is in the hospital now, with 2 metal rods for arms, another in his jaw, and a knee cap that should be repaired, forthwith. However, a man is dead, and it was one of those home made airplane kits that the FAA always issues warnings about:http://bit.ly/cXYtO2. 


I nearly lost my brother in this fatality, as he was invited along. Being a pilot, he drove the plane around the airport, to test it out, and he told them he was not going up in it, and they shouldn't either. It all ended tragically, and there is no one to blame except the FAA for allowing these things to go up. http://bit.ly/aVWHsY


In the past year, this kit manufacturer's planes have crashed 7 times with fatalities, and that should be enough. However, money over common sense, still holds the norm, although the funeral will certainly be the heavyweight, which tips the balance on this event, for me. 


I am sure there a many things around your home, your neighborhood that you are aware ofn that are dangerous for the health and well-being of all. Maybe you should speak up. Nader, was saying last night, that a lot of the SLAP lawsuits are now being reversed by the courts. A SLAP lawsuit is when a large corporation or a developer tells a citizen, in a meeting, that their corporation will slap them with a defamation lawsuit, if they make known the issue to the public. 


Now, courts are reversing these lawsuits, since strong-minded people went ahead and did the talking, they were warned not to do, claiming in their lawsuits the SLAP lawsuits are infringements against their free speech rights. 

And, I say, good for them. Did you know that less than 1% of all your tax dollars go for your local court budgets? You need good judges and need to have access to defend your rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You may just have to pursue them in a court one day. 

What I Did Last Night - ooh, Baby

Today the Northwest Sky reminds me of a Florence Sky. I love Florence, and last night's research for my book got me thinking about it again. The fluid walkways and ever-excited tourists, smiling, as they wind their way through cathedrals, art galleries and vendors eating gelato and flirting through shimmering wine glasses.

Every time I saw, THE Clock, above the main door, of the Cathedral, with  portraits of four Prophets and amazing colors, by Paolo Uccello, I would stand gazing at it for a long time.                                                                      

Wikipedia:

[This one-handed liturgical clock shows the 24 hours of the hora italica (Italian time), a period of time ending with sunset at 24 hours. This timetable was used till the 18th century. This is one of the few clocks from that time that still exist and are in working order.]

Last night, I spent hours doing research on Astro-Canonical hours,i.e. astronomer-astrological time, used before the Catholic Church came up with Gregorian calendar changes, and setting a 24 hour timetable,based on solar movement, beginning after midnight for the new day. The new day, in many cultural groups, begins right after sunset, as the moon rises, and based on moon and planet motion, which is why your body doesn't sync with western work-a-day world.

The Canonical hours link in with the motion order of the planets and the rate of motion of those planets. So, the Moon is the fastest mover, followed by Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. A sequence of motion within astronomical circles, taken from Sumerian astronomy. 

I also started studying the astrolabe, last night, which is a word which always tickled my curiosity, since I have seen a number of astrolabe's in my travels around the world, by ship or 2 -4 masted schooners, like the Star Pilot, I used to crew and party on in Santa Barbara, CA.

It was off of Stern's Wharf for about a year, before heading down around Roatan, Honduras, which is where my sister's boyfriend, Mike, got off, then lured her down, from Topanga Canyon, accompanied by Bugger, the Norwegian Elkhound, famed for his love-fête, with the wild beach pigs, for a year, before returning to Seattle, to marry, which is how I ended up in the Northwest, always planning to return to Kona, after the wedding.( It was summer and Mt. Rainier was smiling and I was sailing on Lake Union, every Tuesday night.)  

The astrolabe is able to measure the movement and motion of planets and is still used today by many mariners, researches and even farmers, it is so perfect in its tracking of planetary movements.

An astrolabe watch, which mariners use.

Yes, it was Saturday night, and the mind wanders after eating a lovely Chinese meal, with  a fine, Irish friend, so what is a single girl supposed to do? Nails? 

No, I headed right off for the Internet and began reading about the Astrolabe. Before the Roman Catholic Church got involved with eradicating all ancient, cultural beliefs and activities based on moon-time, and tried to re-arrange time to control human endeavor, by wiping away all use of planetary time, meaning working and planting according to moon and planet cycles, there was the astrolabe used by Sumerian astronomer-astrologers, Egyptians, Babylonians, well, anyway, a lot of folks along the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys. It spread to Scotland, Wales, Crete, Ireland, England, Peru, and China, when Marco Polo took one with him, on his little camping trip, through Asia.

So, while I am still trying to understand Canonical Hours as dictated through the Sumerian astronomers, you can check it all out at http://www.astrolabes.org/ and if any of you are planning to be in Chicago, in the near future, could you get some info on the collection, at the Adler Planetarium, as they have one of the best collections of Astrolabes in the US. You should also check out the Planetarium while you are there.(My B-day is 9/9 and the only place I have been in Chicago is the airport).

A-84. An Eastern astrolabe (with inscriptions in Arabic) from Baghdad, this instrument is signed and dated to the year 525 of the Hegira, which is A.D. 1131 in our calendar. It is the oldest instrument in the Adler's collection.

If you want to check out more about the Canonical Hours, not the ones followed by the Roman Catholic Church, go to my astrologer's webpage, Steve Nelson, who is a well-respected Mythic Astrologer, and educate yourself.

http://www.gaiaastrology.com/canonical-hours/

To find your canonical hours: http://www.bit.ly/aT5KvL