Welcome to my Blog!
"For me, and, I am sure, for most of you, to be human is to always be in the process of becoming, to be in quest of openings, of possibilities." ~ Maxine Greene
So, this post moves a little bit to the side of my usual chit-chats about birds on the beach, and walking barefoot in the sand. I want to share the following information about thousands of people around the planet who are joining together to take our planet through its next quantum jump in evolution -- through its current crises of over-population, pollution, political corruption, ethnic cleansing, religious persecution, and educational degradation, to a New World that is sustainable and that is cared for by every human being. If you are willing to get ready with me, and thousands of others around the planet, the time is NOW to pay attention to what is going on in the world at large, in our country, in our neighborhoods, and within our own minds and bodies.
It's time to build a new planet based on love, compassion, and self-empowerment.
There is SO MUCH I could share about what is going on about this evolutionary time, but the gist of it is this: the world cannot continue as it is. Current approaches to govern ourselves and care for the planet are failing en masse. A NEW PARADIGM is needed. And people who think outside-the-box are also needed to carry the vision forward.
Undoubtedly, you have heard some news about the year 2012 -- December 21, 2012, to be exact. That is one date that many anthropologists, scientists, and visionaries the world over have agreed is a date of significance. Unlike some people who think that date signals the end of the world, I have aligned myself with people who believe it will signify the birthing of a new era of the human species--one that focuses on cooperation instead of competition, and on love instead of war.
To be a part of this movement, it is absolutely essential that people cleanse themselves of whatever mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual baggage that could (and will) sabotage their efforts to grow this new world. It's time to turn off the TV and the yucky news, and instead nourish ourselves with uplifting music, books, movies, and conversation. It's time to eat healthy and organic food that our cells know how to use. It's time to get up and outside to breathe fresh air and take care of our bodies so they are as fit as can be. It's time to pay attention to how we nurture ourselves spiritually, and learn mindfulness awareness practices so that we can be more often "present" with each moment as it unfolds. It's time to create rituals that honor children, our elders, and the plants and animals, and do random acts of kindness for ourselves, our family members, and strangers on the street. It is also a time when we urgently need to be more INTENTIONAL about our actions, and understand that every single action we do, and every single thought we entertain, makes an imprint in our minds and actually impacts others and the planet in microscopic ways. There is scientific proof of this phenomenon, which I will share in the days to come.
If this vision of creating a new world resonates with you, I encourage you to go to this website for a slideshow from the Shift Network, which is a network of visionaries, educators, scientists, healers, entrepreneurs, entertainers ... THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE from all walks of life ... who are coming together to create a new planet.
I'M SERIOUS! If we don't do something, someone else undoubtedly will.
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=ddrt3vr7_1cv66n7fz&revision=_latest&start=0&theme=blank&cwj=true&pli=1
I should name these two goats. How about Harold and Maude? Harold can be the one on the left.
Harold and Maude are my "touchstones," whom I pass each time I catch the ferry to work from Fauntleroy, West Seattle, to Southworth on the Kitsap Peninsula. Which is to say, about 3 times every week.
These two little goats provide much joy and anticipation as my Suburu and I unload from the ferry, drive up a short hill, and make a left onto Sedgwick Road. Each time I go by their place, Harold and Maude are doing something just flat out charming or goofy, like standing on their little back hooves and stretching their necks as high as they can to strip the last leaf from one of the small trees in their yard. Their bellies are very round, so they cut quite a figure! On this particular day, they had ambled up a short ramp the owner had placed on their "goat house," and seemed to be surveying their surroundings for the first time. (As I took this photo with my iPhone, Maude let out a little bleat to say Hello. Harold was chewing thoughtfully.)
On other occasions, one of them might be standing on one of the small boulders in the yard, with all four feet pressed together in a clump. Just standing there as if to say, "I'm King (or Queen) of the mountain!" One or the other is always eating eating eating, or standing around and chewing its cud.
There's also a little grubby white sheep who joined Harold and Maude several weeks ago. I'll call her "Shadow" since she doesn't garner as much attention as Harold and Maude, but is still there in the scene, munching away.
The concept of "touchstone" came to mind one day as I drove past Harold and Maude's place, but didn't see either of them, or Shadow. The rest of the drive to work felt very hollow and lonely; I realized then how much I rely on seeing them to "make my day." To put a smile on my face.
A touchstone, in its literal sense, is actually a small tablet of dark stone, such as fieldstone, slate, or lydite. It has a finely grained surface, on which soft metals leave a visible trace; it's used to assay precious metal alloys, such as gold or silver. In the early days, when gold and silver were traded more commonly as currency, people needed a way to find out the degree of purity in the metal being offered. They used a touchstone on which to rub the more precious metal, and then tested the residue left from the mark made on it.
Metaphorically-speaking, a touchstone is a physical or intellectual measure by which the validity of a concept can be tested; in literature, for instance, a critic might determine if a piece of poetry, when compared to the "touchstone" of a recognized great literary "classic," has value or merit.
Harold and Maude are my Touchstones for Goodness and Innocence in this world. They stand for simplicity and humility. They represent a baseline for comic relief. Whenever I am taking myself too seriously, or when I forget my own Basic Goodness or that of others, all I have to do is flash to Harold and Maude standing on their roof, chewing their cud, and nonjudgmentally (I hope) looking down on me.
Do you have a touchstone? If so, please share!
(Information about touchstones retreived from: http://www.reference.com/browse/touchstone)
The photo here (see credit below) shows both irregularly-shaped blood cells (on the left), and healthy blood cells (on the right).
Irregularly-shaped blood cells, according to this website and many others I have researched, could be “an indication of some unhealthy condition or disease,” such as dangerously-high cholesterol, the "presence of yeast cells [not a good thing to be in your blood], or an iron deficiency” … and so forth. In this particular picture on the left, the crystals that look like “elongated triangles” (I see two in the middle) are “solidified uric acid.” The author states, “One way our body protects us from acid is to solidify it. If left go for very long, these uric acid crystals would find their way to the joints and cause pain [i.e. arthritis].”
Of course, just walking barefoot does no good if your body is acidic. You have to eat more vegetables and fruits, drink good water, and cut back on caffeine, fatty and fried foods, and processed foods ~~ you know, the things that tax the liver and other cleansing organs. So, the whole thing works together: healthier eating and more hydration leads to a less acidic body. And using the earth’s energy also helps to replenish the cells, turning them from crooked, misshapen little things into beautiful and happy shapes that carry LIFE. That’s where I am headed.
(Photo from http://alkalinewaterplus.info/blog/2010/01/12/ionized-water-blood-cells-demo-videos)
