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Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Navigating Backwards
December 9, 2012
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sunken treasure of dreamsStudying one’s ancestry one learns history once and for all. Any abstracts become clear when you chart your own pedigree. Any dates memorized come to life when you find out what your own ancestors were doing at those times. I am always a big proponent of being present in the moment, but historical knowledge helps me appreciate the present. The belief in intuition is enhanced when the timeless soul is given room to move. Calendars and clocks are maps of time that match the heavens in a very precise way. The full meaning of the heavens is impossible to capture in a clock. If you can view your life from a higher place time is less relevant than it appears to be in your rear view mirror. Meditation is the path to truth beyond time.
I am all the way a navigator. I have flown many miles in private planes navigating from the air, do very well with driving, or public transportation. Reading maps and finding different kinds of maps has always been a fascination for me. Historical maps and charts of the heavens are of particular interest. I am learning with precision how to navigate backwards by means of the family tree. My study of Sacred Contracts teaches me to align with time in a much broader spiritual sense.
Memory and dreams reconstruct time as well as facts. Often by repeating a story that is highly revised and edited for the ego’s best light we create a strong reality that never existed or has a chance of being true in real time. Our poetic dreamy visions of ourselves and others are the pageant we produce in order to learn our life lessons. Each one of us produces and directs the archetypal dramas in which we live. We act in the dramas of others, as do they in ours, but we only witness tiny segments of other people’s story. In dreams we only see faces we have seen in our waking lives. In dreams we deconstruct and revise the archetypes and their roles in our own big picture.
Looking at the symbolic as well as the scientific meaning of the past I see above and below are forever linked just as the past and the future. They have no meaning without their partners, like the border crossers and the migra. Our lessons are repeated in time, but are not done in a logical worldly sequence. If we believe in divine order it would be wise to honor and make some contact with it. In this way we can avoid swimming against the current , struggling to arrive in a place we have already been. Deep meaning is found by reading the treasure maps in our dreams.
Governor Lost and Found
December 6, 2012
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Gov. Jan Brewer of my home state put on her high-heeled sneakers, and that ever-present wig hat on her head to sneak out to Afghanistan. This was done presumably to brighten the holidays for AZ National Guard troops stationed there…..as IF…..her presence was so exciting it is worth it to all to export it. Troops used to get Bob Hope, Raquel Welch,and lots of A list stars to light up their holidays.
I am politically torn on this one. Although I loathe the Barry Goldwater style move that this seems to be, and as a true conservative deplore the expenditure of public money, I do so want to export her to someplace far from here. I am also fully in favor of her putting herself more in harm’s way than even Phoenix can offer. If she had paid for it herself and used her vacation days I would say, “Vaya con Dios. Stay for a while.” In Spanish la gobernadora is luz de la calle, oscuridad de la casa (light of the street, darkness of the home). We had a lovely Gov Jan Napolitano who was imported to DC for the security of the homeland while we replaced her with a shadow governor.
In this woman’s mind it makes sense to deny hispanic youth dreamers the right to obtain drivers licenses. If they have the nerve to drive they will be doing so without insurance, a very unappealing idea for anyone driving through the state. If we gave them drivers licenses we would not only acknowledge them with some dignity, we would enhance the chances that they might find employment. In Arizona we graduate only 25% of English learner high school students in the state. We have few legal jobs but an abundance of easy fast (read instant) careers in crime that will have a rapid turnover. That turnover feeds our for profit prison system, a big player in the new normal economy of Arizona. It is easy to see how granting the right to legally drive to the dreamer is a slippery slope that could be disruptive to the current crime for profit model we have for growing our economy.
Consumption as Culture
December 3, 2012
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Who is in charge of the decisions you make about consumption? Do your values ever influence what you buy?
Tucson’s Butterfly Jungle
December 3, 2012
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In Tucson we keep a small power packed tropical jungle full of exotic butterflies. We live in a draught filled desert, so besides the regular showing of of our local flora, our Tucson Botanical Gardens provides a little slice of steamy tropical heaven for visitors.
Visiting the tropics
I support the gardens and enjoy visiting at all times of year. The contribution to our botanical heritage is important. This oasis provides a luscious environment in the heart of the city for those who treasure gardens.
strike a pose
The collection of butterflies is seasonal. They arrive in the fall and stay until spring.
Butterfly on stone
We do not mind hanging out for a while in the mist. They even play jungle sounds, Here I am with an antler fern coming out of my head.
sitting in the butterfly jungle
The star attractions are born and die constantly. The butterfly tenders bring out new boxes of babies, born right next door in the nursery every day.
twice as lovely
They are whimsical, friendly, and short lived. They are kind of like a living sand mandala. They brighten the world for a brief time. They invite you to come on down to their jungle for a break from everyday cares. They know the secrets to getting it while you can.
on my head
Hallelujah!!!
December 2, 2012
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Hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, for sure. My holiday dreams have finally come true. Technology has made possible the flash mob Hallelujah Chorus. Be still my heart. Kill the muzak, strike up the choir.
Best Time to Time Travel
December 1, 2012
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Gotham City
Today is the first day of the slowest travel time of the year. For the next two weeks hotels, flights, attractions, and everything related to tourism will be experiencing low season. This will abruptly come to a halt on Dec 15. If there is a place you want to visit but like to have the best service at the lowest price now is your moment. Get while the getting is good. The essential key to happiness in travel is beating the peak. If you fly on Sunday after Thanksgiving in the US you will be accompanied by the largest crowds of the year. Wait a week and a magical thing happens. Along with happier staff in hotels, restaurants, and airports the people know know the secret of hitting the road the first two weeks of December are a far less cranky group than the one that will stand in line for absolutely everything at the end of the month.
Carnegie in Pittsburgh
Phipps Conservatory
Last year at this time I went to Pittsburgh, where I grew up, but had not been since 1965. I had the best time finding landmarks and taking in the whole Gothic Christmas scene downtown. I went to Phipps Conservatory, a fond memory from youth, to enjoy the holiday botanical show. I enjoyed a superb performance by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and perhaps best of all I was invited to a family home to get down Steeler style. Although I didn’t go out to Oakmont to see my own suburban home with a basement, cheering the Steelers with a family of serious fans in their basement did bring back big memories. Naturally the place has changed since 1965, but since the three rivers made it what it is, the rivers still define the city. Once full of coal barges, lit up by the steel mills running all night, the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers form the mighty Ohio in Pittsburgh. This strategic point, where Fort Pitt is memorialized, made Pittsburgh the gateway to the west. It certainly worked for me. I moved to Venezuela in 1964 to be a petroleum princess, then to Texas in 1966 so my dad could be an Aggie. I never lived in a cold place, or the eastern part of the country again after that departure. I was an ice skating whiz at the age of 10, but I tried it in Zermatt when I was about 47 and found I had truly lost my ability. I decided against the rental skates last year, not wishing to leave the ‘Burgh on crutches. Just watching brought back enough fond memories for me.
Choice and Awareness
November 29, 2012
What choices do you make all the time?
Free will is the ability/responsibility to choose. It is not something that we have or have not, but something that is always there to varying degrees. Choices are realized through awareness. These choices are enabled or hindered by situational variables. These situational variables are very much a product of choices made in the past. The variable that determines the choices made is self awareness. This is because most of what we choose is based on who we believe ourselves to be. Think; “what would I do in any given situation” and you will see that it depends on who you understand yourself to be. Therefore, it matters less to the well being of the situation, how many choices you have to choose from, than it does the ability to discern between those choices. Focusing on self awareness seems to be the optimal way to bring about a collective existence which…
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Superhero, Satyameister, Slayer of Mendacity
November 27, 2012
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The world is full of mythical beings. Some of them are art rendered by comic book or animation experts. Some are created simply by stereotyping everyone and everything. That guy is both mythical and all too real. I notice that some are not attracted to the concept of personal branding, while others embrace the on line chance to portray themselves as much better than they actually are. There are many who use our new digital instant PR machine to broadcast how miserable they are. It all boils down to attracting the kind of attention that you want to attract. The digital world of communication mimics the physical world by the giving and receiving of attention. Attention takes time and shows the quality of the identification that has been made. When an artist creates a new superhero it is imperative to know what kind of attention the character will solicit. For some reason this kind of scrutiny is not given to the image people project of themselves.
Through the clutter and the noise of endless status updates and offers, very few personal brands ring true. I like the joke that says Facebook is where you lie to your friends, and twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers but nobody cares in either case. The imperative to build an image requires that one question be asked. That question is, “What kind of attention do I want?’ The most common attempts are to solicit envy and or pity in an alternating way. These both work very well if one wants to find like-minded personal brands. If you want to stand out and be noticed for a positive attribute, you need to know what that is and honestly live in the reality you claim to be yours. The job requires self examination as well as craft, editing, and artistry.
I entered the wold of social media by listening to the book Trust Agents, a clear mandate to listen more than you propose. I am now reading the sequel, Impact Equation, which amplifies and expands on the original message. The overview and function of the entire communications system is what enlightens us in this latest book. Brother Brogan is my own bodhisattva of digital darshan. Maybe I bonded with him so much as my first teacher who instructed me on how to enter this strange new world. Maybe he is my superhero because I have never played a video game or felt the need to understand why and how people game. He loves tech and gaming in ways will never interest me, but he does not hang his hero hat on the gaming hook. He finds common ground by keeping a very tight relationship with the truth. He models Satya for the cosmic and decidedly digital age in which we live and express ourselves. His avi wears an outfit not unlike Superman’s own, but the S in his case stands for Satya. I know as a teacher myself that all students do not match all instruction. Style is a strong link that can hold attention for a short time. The teaching must contain truth, however, to hold the student’s deep attention. I am completely into the idea of Chris flying through my dreams in his truth suit, fighting sketchy versions of reality. Satyameister has my attention. There is much to learn.
World of Creation
November 18, 2012
Mollie’s prayer shawl
I was in temple yesterday much longer than I might have liked. This time, however, Rabbi Frank rocked the universe with his profound statements about Shabbat. The need to rest and restore is a universal requirement for anyone who wants to attain a spiritually inspired life. The Jewish practice of turning away from the worldly work and habits for 24 hours a week is a basic way to tune in to divine guidance regularly. If this is never done, people become convinced that they are completely at cause for everything that happens, and must work harder to control outcomes. Nothing could be more delusional.
The phrases he used were poetic and charged with symbolism. This is the kind of wording that sticks in the mind of listeners. I paraphrase his message here: For 6 days we live in the world of time, one day we step out of time and live in space. For 6 days we deal with all the creations of the world. For one day we deal with the world of creation. For me, this was a stellar explanation of the need to reverse the flow of that everyday grind to find inner guidance. If you think of God the creator in heaven, or believe you are a creative part of the universe, always guided by eternal grace, the concept is still powerful. Be still and know. Go Rabbi Frank.
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