The most important part of our lives are the PEOPLE in them

Dear friends,

Today I learned a valuable lesson.  It is a lesson a long time coming.  We all, always need to be willing to change and bend and flex with the wind.  It reminds me of this Folk song from the Quakers that I used to sing in church:

"I will bow and be humble
I will bow and be free
I will bow and be broken
Yea, bend like the willow tree"

Being flexible and adaptable is a survival technique that Lions have trouble grasping.  I don't know what other type of personalities out there have these issues, but I am very territorial and I like structure...my OWN structure, that I have created.  There is a lot of ego attached to this and so I know that I need to recognize this as the destructive form of pride.  This kind of pride and ego is a stumbling block to spiritual growth.  I have had difficulty lately letting go of people, places, structures and patterns that are deeply imbedded.  I have such a strong desire to travel and see new things and be in new places...but at the same time...how many Lions really leave the Savannah and go off travelling?  Unlike Sharks who travel everywhere underwater and explore the vastness of the Liquidy-Blue Ocean, the Lion is territorial, Orderly and Responsible for their subordinates.  And in the Lion's world, everyone is a subordinate. So flexing, changing and releasing attachments have been very difficult.  A Dear friend recently demonstrated to me that it is possible to have all that we love and desire because we carry it on our hearts...in our memories...it is imprinted upon our souls and is part of us and so is never truly gone or separated.  Whatever we LOVE is always with us.

So that being said, this morning I was blessed because I was made humble.  I have had some problems with the "Establishment" lately.  First I gave up my income stream and became dependent on another person for money, resources, and support.  Next my Bank, Admirals, downsized and created confusion and disorder and chaos for me when they decided to revise their Debit card logos and so re-issued cards a year or so prior to the expiration...what should or could have been a slight inconvenience but during a period of other changes became a massive burden for me.  I was frustrated and aggravated and I felt more vulnerable because of the mounting pressures.  Next I could not and still have not found a way to cash my Savings Bonds because apparently the banking industry has restrictions of many sorts about using their bank when you are not a customer...all the while, the bank I AM a customer of does NOT cash bonds.  How does any bank NOT cash a bond?  Hmmm....all I can say is that money is an unstable resource.  I have food, shelter, companionship, electricity, transportation and friendship.  I think cash is becoming obsolete.  That being said, Let's talk about Bank of America.

My friend recently set up an account to help raise charitable funds and her account is with Bank of America.  I went to donate money that my daughter raised and the bank refused to take my money and put it in her account because I could not give them the account number.  I was miffed!  I made a scene in front of the bank manager and left in disgust at their policies.  Banks are Institutions of chaos and cogs in a machine that is quickly breaking down.  But the Machine was not the reason I was there at all, was it?  I was there to help my friend...a person.  So let's see how PEOPLE factored in here.  Here is How the people involved are what matters most:

First, I have this wonderful group of friends who have learned to depend on one another and really share our feelings and experiences and sadnesses and successes.  My Circle is very wide but my Inner Circle, I call them The Flowers, and they are all women.  Anyway, One Flower needed assistance so the suggestion was made to create the account...which they did...and some money was raised.  On my side of things, I had given up my income stream, as you remember and have been struggling with no cash flow.  So I did the only thing I could do...I brought it to my Source one day in meditation and I asked for the means to help...even if I could only come up with $5, it would have meant a lot to me to be a part of helping others in this way.  So that same day...within just a few hours, my daughter had gone out Bike-Riding with her friend Nicolas, and they had for some reason taped a paper reading:  CHARITY DANCE , on her bike and people in the neighborhood asked her to perform her Charity Dance for them.  I guess, unbeknownst to me, she had planned to create a Dance and invite people to see it all at once but most of our neighbors find her charming and they didn't want to commit to a date so they offerred her money for just performing the dance on the spot...which she happily obliged.

So that afternoon...hours after I asked my Source for the means, and only DAYS after a parental lecture about Annika telling me the truth no matter what, I notice my daughter is having trouble sleeping...and the next day...and the next day.  So I ask her, "Annika, what is bothering you?"  She tells me that she needs to talk and then pulls out this wad of money.  She says, "Mommy, people gave me this money for charity but I don't know which Charity needs it and I didn't want to tell you because I thought you would be mad at me for taking people's money."  She went on to tell me that she didn't plan on keeping it but she needed my help to find the right "cause" or Charity to donate it to.  I sat on the edge of her bed and cried.  And then I laughed and thanked her and hugged her.  I told her exactly who needed it and why and she was overjoyed.  See?  There are NO ACCIDENTS.  So everything is attached to a Lesson or a greater purpose.  In order to identify what it is, we MUST collaborate with our fellow man.

So today I went back to the bank..where I had lost my cool...and I deposited that cash.  And I felt proud...not the bad pride but the good kind.  As I stood there, the bank teller and her Trainer were chatting and asking me questions which inevitably led me to open up and share my personal story...and I did so with great vulnerability.  I explained how I had given up my job and I wanted to help a friend in need and that my daughter made it happen and that I was going to take some time to "Find myself" this summer by travelling and I even shared about the Husband difficulties and everything.  I ended that chat by saying, "I don't know why I just told you all of that but perhaps if my sharing my story helps you or someone else, then that is why these things are happening to me".  I left happy. 

I hope you find some happiness today when you share even just a tiny bit of your truth with someone else.

Lilac

Thought-Provoking Questions

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/03/14/365-thought-provoking-questions-to-ask-yourself-this-year/

See what you Love...in ordinary Things.

Seeing is an art Form. Really seeing with your heart and soul is an art form.  I was very touched by the movie, "Because of Winn-Dixie".  The main character is a ten-year old girl named Opal who is searching for a community and for friends and even for family.  Everything comes together when this very special dog finds her.  The dog is the catalyst for introducing her to many people in her community who are just as lonely and disconnected from a community as she is feeling.  Instead of being lonely and separated, they actully start acting like a community and caring for each other by meeting and socializing and sharing their joys and their sadnesses.  It is never easy to share sadnesses with people but it is so necessary for true friends to come to an understanding.  If a person has no idea what made you who you are, they can never really appreciate what and who you are.  Within this cast of characters is a lady named Gloria Dump.  She is blind and tells little Opal that she sees using her heart.  She makes the most endearing request of Opal. 

She says:  "Now go on and tell me everything there is to know about you so that I can see you with my heart".

Opal was eager to share her heart because she had been holding so much inside of her with no one to tell, and so she shared her sadness and her joy.  I think this is the request we have to honor in all of our relationships.  But before we ask a person to tell us everything that there is to know about them, we need to be ready to see them with our hearts and not our Egos.  As Gloria stated, she used to have eyes but could not see. It is like the song Amazing Grace, incidentally a favorite hymn of mine and also the title of a mighty fine movie I happen to love about William Wilburforth and William Pitt and the end of the Slave Trade in England.  I once was lost but now I'm found...was blind but now I see.

Grace really is all around us and found in the hearts of every compassionate human being who chooses to see and hear what is NOT being said in the words that people share.  We must learn to use our deep intuitive abilities to discern when we are being told the truth or when we are being deceived and also to know when and to what degree to give ourselves... to trust someone.  Giving our hearts and trusting someone is expected of us.  It is not an optional part of human nature.  We are all connected and therefore it is our calling to act on faith.  This only works through integrity and can only be reliable if it is received with integrity.  Relationships depend upon integrity and confidence and Love.  In my experience it has become important to mentally strengthen my resolve.  A very good friend and a woman who I know lives by her word, advised me yesterday that my choices will pass or fail by my resolve.  No one can be resolved or empowered if they give their power to choose...away to someone else.  So no matter if you are choosing what your heart deeply desires or you are choosing to make a sacrifice of your desire (be it temporary or long term) it must be a choice that you have embraced and resolved to do.  Then you can be Impeccable with Your Word and True to Your Heart.  Throughout history, BRAVE and NOBLE men and women and even children, have found that giving-up something comfortable or desirable was needed in order to protect the Greater Good or Defend the defenseless or just because they needed to act with integrity!  This also goes back to the Christ Consciousness.  I love the movie adaptation of Jesus Christ, Superstar! by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Judas tries to tell Jesus not to die on the cross because they could have so many great things in this world...friends, community, money, women.  He points out all that JC has going for him.  But JC was resolved, wasn't he?  That is the Age we are in in 2012.  It's important to strengthen that resolve...whatever it is on whatever level. 

So how can we tackle these tough situations and keep that positivity about us?  First and foremost, we ought to PRAISE AND GLORIFY each beautiful moment as it comes!  Gratitude! Be grateful that you have what you have and you are what you are because there are many many beautiful gifts all around you.  FIND THE BEAUTY and stare at it long and hard...all day if you have to.  ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT.  Strengthen your resolve by seeing beauty all around you and feeling gratitude for it.  Some situations in life will be so hard to work through, that this will require CONSTANT redirection to this form of self-mastery.  But it can be done and it should be done by every person everyday.  I happen to believe that the results will be priceless.  Seeing the beauty in the flowers and trees and people and buildings and cars we love or tv shows that make us laugh or beautiful superstars that make us feel instantly happier...this is what we need to focus the mental energy upon.  Also, deeper than that, the connections we share with others, like our families and friends and loved ones near and far.  Even a deceased or past love or family member:  A memory is just as powerful as a present situation.  In some cases, the memories we have created are there to give us power and we should use them to make us stronger and better people. 

Don't forget that the people in your daily life need you.  They are there for a reason and cannot be easily discharged.  We all possess the power to create and recreate ...and so we can!  But creation needs to serve the greater good and not the Self alone.  So I will leave you today with that to think about and ponder as you face your challenges and I face mine.  I feel the challenges that others are experiencing and I feel my own too.  I hope that I can inspire people to carry on and push forward and be bold when they can and be calm and faithful in other times.  I am grateful for these words that came to my heart today to share and I hope they help a few others out along their own path too.

Lilac

Love is the Hot Topic (or the Heart Topic)

My readership increases by nearly double anytime I write about Love.  Clearly I am not the only person who desires Love in every form.  In the physical form, Love can be many things.  It can be that we take good care of our bodies...eat healthy and feel good from it, or the physical love can be a manifestation of intimate love as in touching and holding hands, kissing...etc.  Everyone on the planet needs love.  We need the various forms of love.  I always show affection to my children by talking to them, sharing with them, encouraging them and also by hugging and kissing and snuggling with them.  I love to rub their feet and just pamper them!  I want my children growing up knowing how it feels to be shown affection in every form so that they will never struggle to recognize the Truest and most real love when it appears in their lives.  Sadly, some people in my generation and generations before us were not afforded this kind of upbringing.  I like to surprise my children with not just experiences or gifts of things..but I also like to just do out-of-the ordinary things that are unexpected.  I enjoy seeing them react with surprise when I shift gears from being the grown-up to being the silly playmate...Love means staying in touch with your own inner child as you move into adulthood.

Romantic Love is a highly desirable thing in our society and mainly because people want a sex partner that they can count on and have a deep connection with.  No one wants to be hopping around from person to person hoping that whatever "new" feeling they got from being with that person doesn't fade too soon.  Otherwise, they will once again find themselves out there looking for someone new.  It has been very rare for the average man or woman to make true and deep connections these last few decades.  There has been so much planetary involvement and world-related difficulties that most people don't have the tools to properly navigate and make good choices.  Again, we must ask ourselves, "what is the criteria?"  Is it like Match.com and you have to be compatible on certain levels?  Is it determined by questionaire?  I have always wanted to join that dating site just to read that profile questionaire and see what kind of criteria they use to make the perfect love connections.  They seem to understand something about human nature...that we live our lives with the blinders on!  We walk around too afraid of being our true selves and so we hide our innermost passions and desires away from the eyes of the world.  It is hard to be out there...vulnerable.  It IS...I know.  I may have been sheltered from the world of "Being Single" for these last 15 years, but I still understand what people feel...I understand it because I can sense it in other ways.  I know what people need.  They need Love.  Love and companionship are NOT the same things.  On a dating site or in the dating world, or even married...you can have a companion...but having LOVE is something completely different.  The best you can ask for is to receive both companionship and love.  The way to receive it is to give it!  What you send out into the world, by way of giving or sharing, you receive back to you!  So get out there and LOVE EVERYBODY because YOU will be blessed enormously for it.  If you think you are lonely at home feeling sad, then immediately get up...put on shoes and head to the nearest bookstore, cafe or supermarket because I can tell you there are lonelier people than you out there.  A simple word of encouragement from you could make someone else's day.  It could be the very things that stops them from hurting or worse...hurting themselves or others.  Your act of kindness, driven by your desire to overcome your loneliness is the best cure to healing this world!  We are ALL connected.  What I say to you, affects you for better or for worse.  What I do to you...same thing.  Sometimes I don't know how to be around people lately because now I am fully aware of how my words and actions and merely my presence, can affect others.

Today I brought the children to the Impossible Dream Playground.  I think this place is a real treasure and it is simple, well-maintained and beautiful.  Being there today I felt I saw everything through fresh eyes...eyes that do not take for granted the smallest of details.  There are many ways to see the same thing.  On the one hand, this is a playground.  On the other hand, it is a child's Imagination come true.

Thanks for reading today

Lilac

Define Love in your own words.

I would like to talk about Love again.  True Love, Real Love, Passionate Love and Love for our fellow man too.  More than a mere definition, I wonder what Love means.  What does it mean to love someone or to be in-love with someone.  How does it differ among those of different cultures?  How does it really feel or what are the signs that affirm Love?  Some people have said that real actual Love is far beyond definition and cannot be put within those types of parameters.  In other words, surpasses any definition.  No one can list the traits and qualities that make Love happen...how it grows or where it comes from.  Love doesn't actually "just happen" does it? Does Love happen in serendipitous events like a movie or in plain moments?  Should people choose a mate based on compatability and friendship or should they jump when they become overwhelmed by a feeling?  Who decides when what they feel is "more than a feeling"?  What makes it more?  What makes it last?  What makes it leave?

I did a bit of research on the internet before I began to write this article tonight.  In fact, I began this article more than 24 hours ago but it is a difficult subject for me to conclusively write about and I am happy to admit that I know next to nothing about love.  The Lion is stumped!  I like to spend as much time as possible lavishing and basking...Love takes work and effort.  I can be somewhat lazy in these areas!  I mean, I like to know I deserve something that I have and that I have earned it...but I dislike getting all sweaty from the work.  I like my furry coat and mane to be relatively untousled from perspiration.  After all, the Lion needs to be the distinct Pillar of Beauty and Majesty at all times.  Anyone who doesn't think so is either NOT a Leo or is wrong...and that is that.  Clearly, in all partnerships there must be compromise in order to keep balance.  But is the same true of Love?  Is there compromise in Love or is the compromise simply a subset of the Relationships which result from love?  This is the real question.  Does Love cause us to have to lose something?  Is it a choice made by the rational mind or is Love something we experience on the outside of choice and it just happens?  Furthermore...is Love an act of the heart or is it a Spirit-guided thing?  How does Love connect with our Souls and how does the Soul and Love connection work?  Does one Soul love another?  Is one Soul destined to be connected with another certain Soul or is it all sort of random and undetermined?  Who knows the answer to these questions?  I would really like to consult a Love Expert.  I think I will perform a Google Search and see if there is such a thing as a Love Expert.  If there is not, I may set out to become the first ever Love Expert so that I can know as much as can possibly be known on the subject and then hopefully use that knowledge to help every person I possibly can to get the most satisfaction humanly and spiritually possible out of all their love relationships.  And by the way, ALL of your relationships are Love relationships.  Whatever you want to call it is up to you but every person you encounter in life...you are supposed to offer them love.  They all need it and so do you.  Practice makes progress.  So in my research I discovered an article that debated whether marriage was outdated or the ultimate demonstration of True Love.  I suppose that article really got me thinking...about where I stand on that and every issue pertaining to Love. 

It would appear that I am on yet another mission in life...to decide where I stand on the matters of the heart and to explore this in my Lioness glory as I travel this summer and spend quality time with Loved ones.  And yes,  ALL are Loved ones.  All are One and that is true.  You are me and I am you.  I even feel like writing Love poetry...the only conclusive evidence I have that Love is real is Poetry!  Poetry can come in many forms.  These days, poetic expressions of Love can come via text messaging!  It's true.  I myself have received lovely and deeply moving expressions of love in the form of text messages so wonderful that it pains me to delete them.  These are the kinds of things that should be chronicled and bound in leather and written in caligraphy for the truly open heart to enjoy and cherish.  That is another fine point...Love appears to us when our hearts are open.  But like a door, we can choose to be open or closed.  We can remain open  if we choose or close people out altogether.  This freedom to choose is our birthright.  But the density of 3 dimensional life covers our eyes and keeps us from seeing the truth and that truth is this:  All are One.  You are me and I am you.  We are all connected.  What you feel, I will feel.  What gives you sorrow, hurts me too.  What causes you joy and laughter, will bring a smile to my face and I will not know why.  We are all connected.

I am seeking to define Love in my own words...on my own terms.  Once I have clarity and definition on this, nothing and no one will ever take it from me or sway my opinion.  I believe I will discover that Love has no energy to it unless it has a Purpose and is driven by that purpose to come to life.  Can Love be a living thing and a dead thing?  I have seen and felt and experienced Love that is alive and Love that is dead.  They both exist and I can say this confidently.  Love can be asleep!  But it becomes Alive when given purpose.  Love does not need a physical manifestation to exist.  Some Lovers never touch..they are not together.  Some Love works from within or is hidden in the hearts of the beloveds.  This kind of Love is Spiritual...it works because two souls are connected and they resonate together.  It is nearly indefinable except among those who have experienced this level of closeness with another person and can attest to it's truth.  Those who have had these experiences are believers and often find it difficult to share the exact experience with people who have never had it.  So how can it be achieved?  What can we advise anyone who is looking for this kind of Love Connection?  That is another important query I would like to explore.

Some of my favorite Real-Life Love Stories are those that begin during childhood and adolescence.  I believe that the couple who have found one another at these tender ages are some of the wisest and purest people alive.  I know of 3 couples that I can conclusively say from my own first-hand experience, have this purity and wisdom in Love.  I do not know for certain if they are Twin Flame Partners but in all three cases, they are at the very least SoulMates.  When I contemplate the marriages of any of these three couples, I feel joy and happiness that I cannot describe.  Their Love is so strong and so real...I can literally feel it.  I can feel how they long for each other and how they desire only good things for each other.  These are the only people in my life who truly inspire me towards Love and increase my Hope for Love in my own life.  I have never had difficulty finding Love...in other words, finding someone to love me.  Sometimes Love lasts and sometimes it has been fleeting...but every relationship from my past has always consisted of Love in some degree...whatever degree my Love was able to share it.  That is all we can ever expect.

So I will continue to define Love and hopefully become an expert.  I should mark this day on the calendar...a very important day since it has taught me so much about the ways we are all interconnected on this Beautiful Gaia, Mother Earth.  This day has increased my faith in myself and my outreach.  I see how my Love heals and refreshes the people to whom I openly give it.  I feel myself resisting Love and failing to share and refusing to be completely open.  This is a scaredy-cat Lion.  Hey, no Lion is perfect.  Wait...scratch that!  Every Lion is perfect.

Lilac

Create Peaceful Spaces

You have probably heard of the ancient practice of Feng Shue.  Many people incorporate the general philosophy of decorating using Feng Shue when they are starting a business or rearranging rooms at home.  I like to consider location and lighting and air flow and all of these things when I choose a place for Yoga and Meditation.  Lions are cats and cats like to settle down for naps in the sun.  I enjoy a daily dose of sunshine as well. It is not difficult to create a small space for yourself to meditate and reflect.  It can be something small like my area pictured above, or you could create vast gardens to explore in!  The only limit is your imagination!

I prefer things simple yet clean.  One of my favorite things about meditating in this spot is the smell of the herbs and flowers and grass that waft under my nose as I breathe deeply.  Setting your intentions for your day and your life is serious business and ought not be taken lightly.  Showing these simple acts of devotion help solidify that what we desire is attainable with effort and with faith.  As we entrust our souls to their mission, we can achieve greater spiritual growth.

A wise friend just shared this thought with me and I honestly appreciate hearing it:  Life is a journey and sometimes we make good choices and other times our choices are not so good.  But either way we learn and grow and experience life.  I find that so insightful.  You see, I am WAY too proud to admit that I make bad choices or uninformed choices or that I can get off the "right" path.  But we all do sometimes and we should all be searching for good things!  They are out there for us to experience and take and share and feel and know.  So thank you Tony for sharing that insight with me because it is so true and we should all be more honest with ourselves.

So back to my day...The kids are having fun and we are about a week away from leaving for the summer.  I have some things organized and packed and meanwhile my house just feels cluttered all over again.  I had simplified things and reduced things and removed unwanted extras and out-dated stuff but for some reason I keep finding more and more of them here all the time.  Clutter can be the beginning of an uphill battle!  A strong woman has to get on top of that!  Being a woman who's job it is to take care of her family (as opposed to earning a living and financially supporting the family) is...or CAN BE...a difficult job.  So few people talk about what that role is like and how to do it with finesse and satisfaction!  I have many Women friends who are moms and housewives.  Very little is shared about what our day consists of and what it is like to do what we do.  How can anyone know how to do it or what to expect from it if no one talks about it?  I would like to hear more from others about their experiences in this lifestyle.  Some of these women have hobbies, side businesses or are very involved with the children's school.  Some women work from home like I used to by running a daycare at their home.  But no matter what they are doing on the "secondary' level...their Children and Home and husbands are their first priority.  This is tough...really tough.

So if you are in that category, know I admire you.  I relate...I understand and I am working on myself too.  I wish you all  Fun-g all the live long Shue...

I hope you all got that little play on words,

Lilac.

11:11 Meditation and the Higher Self

My 11:11 Meditations

Why...What are they?  Why do them?  What does it mean?

My daily 11:11 meditations have been a great success for my overall happiness and feeling of self-control.  Managing my moods and handling changes has always been a struggle for me and a challenge.  Maybe some other people out there can relate to this?  There are many people on mood-enhancing medication and/or anti-anxiety medication.  I would be a candidate for this kind of treatment course, definitely.  And I am not saying that people who need to use them should not...nope.  all I am saying is that, like every condition known to man, there are homeopathic treatments and pharmaceutical treatments.  I am on a path in life that is holistic which is to say that I am considering all the conditions of my life experience to be interconnected, and I am treating each with the same medication.  When I experience constant pain in my right heel (which I do), I feel that pain is connected to my mood, my lifestyle choices, my diet and my environment.  And I would be right.  So when it hurts, I attempt to rebalance my life.  Some of the ways I rebalance are:

1.  Drink extra water.  If I have a headache, backache, foot pain or itchy skin...these are some of my first indicators that my water intake was too low!  I then concentrate on hydrating!  I will sometimes sit and just chug 3 or 4 bottles of water. 

2.  Add vitamins!  I am not a multi-vitamin fan.  I don't think of vitamins as a morning chore.  I think of vitamins as medicine and a cure to what ails you.  Low energy?  I up my Vitamin B's and there are several...or feel a sniffle or sore throat coming on?  Add some vitamin C.  I use a few other favorites too like L-Lysene and Vitamin D.  In case you did not know it, a lot of people are chronically deficient in Vitamin D as adults.  You can have that checked during any routine blood test.  Vitamins make us feel better pretty quickly.

3.  Eat Fresh foods that are organic or alive!  We are what we eat and so we cannot underestimate the power of our foods!  Everytime we eat processed and pre-packaged foods that sit on store shelves we are denying our bodies the sustenance it craves!  If you find it difficult to be satisfied by eating all fresh or raw or organic or meatless...consider adding some of these foods to your existing diet.  It is not hard, I promise!  Go to Trader Joes and just buy a Basil Plant or a Parsley Plant and perch it on your sunny kitchen windowsill.  When you cook, snip some fresh herbs into your food.  This is a good start.  Maybe in the fall you will grow some squash or a pumpkin and when you start tasting and feeling connected to these natural foods and flavors, you will do it more and more. Just remember that NOTHING GOOD COMES EASY.  Potato chips are easy. 

4.  Clear your mind of negative thoughts.  Clear your heart of negative feelings.  Do not hold a grudge and do not take things personally that others do.

So about my 11:11 Meditations.  I have added this meditation time for the sake of channelling my Love and Passions and Desires from my Higher Self.  I want to use this as my fuel and my motivation to accomplish my life goals.  I KNOW that all things and people are connected and that the Universe DESIRES to give us everything we Love and everything we want.  There is no need to spend even one second feeling sad or despondent or excessively lonely.  All things happening are within our control.  All we need to do is Believe in our vision and believe in our Selves.  Yesterday (Thursday), I was at the beach off Nausauket Road/Apponaug Cove during my 11:11 Meditation.  I took my towel and waded out into the water about 10 feet out to a nice rock that I found protruding.  The tide was slowly ebbing out.  The kids were using boogie boards and digging holes nearby but they were pretty self-managed.  I perched myself there upon the rock and got into my cross-legged position.  A few neck and shoulder stretches and then I was peacefully meditating with closed eyes, feeling the water movement and soft breeze.  I let my sore heel freely dangle down in the water and as soon as the cold water was on it, I felt instantly at peace.  The Lion was in Shark territory now.  Feeling oddly connected to both Land and Sea put me instantly at peace and I found myself focusing on getting good deep and even breaths.  My breathing technique is hard for me because I am still learning to allow the breath to be deep while also being slow and even and to maintain that breathing tempo for several minutes.  As I do it, I feel light-headed and almost like I am in a trance...simply from breathing.  Because my children were nearby I was aware of them, but still clear of thoughts and connections to all ideas and feelings.  I felt like I was floating upon the rock.

It is during these 11:11 meditations when I am most clear about my future and my desires.  I can see a vision of myself as I want to be and I put my mind to the details with great care and nurturing.  I truly believe that I am painting this picture of my future and that it is completely real.  I have no idea when I will live it or what I will go through to get to it but one thing is completely certain...it IS REAL. At one point there is a firm but noticeable "skip" in my heartbeat...only one but very hard (almost like a pain).   As long as you can see your vision with clarity and FEEL a connection to it emotionally and FEEL love for it, then you can acquire it and your GOD or YOUR SOURCE wants you to have it as much as you do and even more than you do! 

My meditation lasts for about 15 minutes and then I ease back to reality by focusing on things close by me. My gaze lands on the kids...playing together nicely and exploring.  I love their brightly colored swimsuits and their playful use of flippers, shovels, goggles and boards.  They run and frolic together on the sand in the water...so carefree...so innocent.  I feel a deep love move through my heart.  I take that emotion that came naturally and just deepen it with memories of the older children growing up...and the little one trying to do all the things the older ones are doing.  I love them.  This place has given me so much...this home and this beach and these people in my life.  I am grateful.  How better to end your meditation?

Lilac

Meditation in the morning

New England mornings are always an adventure.  If you are not from New England, I can basically tell you that you could wake up to any number of weather conditions such as sunny and cool, breezy, gusty or even fog.  Yesterday's scorching hot temps left me wondering what kind of morning today would be, but it turned out to be very mild and cool with a gentle breeze and bright sunshine at 7am.
I live in a neighborhood that is surrounded (Literally) by a Cove.  My house is perched on a hill and also is a corner lot.  Down the front of my house...about 3 blocks, you get actual sandy beach access where we swim, fish and boat.  From the opposite side of my house, on my patio, I get a lovely view of the marina.  Not only is there water everywhere but also there are enormous trees.  So I get a bit of nature on a beautiful day like today.  I mention the scenary because these are the details that play a vital role in our overall health and well-being.  Now ..perhaps everyone is not so lucky to walk out their back door and be able to see the Ocean view or walk a short distance to a private beach, but everyone knows a place they can go to see and feel those things and that is the key.  If you are a city-dweller and you need to walk a few blocks or pop in a meditation cd on the laptop with headphones, so be it.  But the point is to become tranquil.  Once tranquil, your meditation practices will become smooth.

Going from Prayer to meditation

I learned to pray at a young age.  Even before anyone taught me about God, I was taught (or learned) to pray.  Meditation is similar to prayer.  Those of us who meditate instead of pray have accepted that WE are actually one with God...as in we ARE our God or we are part of the Universal and collective energy source that the majority of humans call God.  I have plenty of friends who are not going to like what I just said but in order to educate people about the process I have gone through to learn how to achieve inner peace and ultimately happiness...and how to become the creator of my own life, I have to be this specific.  I traded prayer for meditation.  So on a perfect morning such as this, when I catch a break in every possible way, it allows me to finally document what a wonderful morning meditation session feels like.

The children were asleep...so I grabbed a warm coffee and sat out in the back facing the Cove.  The sunlight streaming everywhere made it easy to allow my mind to drift calmly to thoughtlessness.  I chose a comfy seat and assumed my relaxed position.  Usually this will be on a flat surface with legs crossed in front and palms resting on knees but facing to the sky.  Looking out across the water I closed my eyes and focus on colors across a clear sky.  This is when the sounds of everything around you become louder and your awareness of them is heightened.  The birds and the breeze and a passing train all sounded to me as if I was engulfed in them.  They had seemed subtle at first but once the mind becomes quiet, these sounds emerge intensely.  I had to push the sounds away and let them leave my awareness.  Then I felt the sensations and noticed the smells of the plants and flowers and nearby sea water.  I sway slightly as I meditate.  For me, movement is connecting with my surroundings and I often use my hands to draw each breath into my lungs and purify it before sending it out.  I picture my breath carrying wisdom, love and positive energy and so I then use my arms to push it out toward my neighbors...then family and friends...then the world.
After several minutes, thoughts and ideas poke their way through.  My "to do list" emerges.  I remember there is laundry to be brought upstairs from the dryer.  I think about my warm coffee sitting nearby calling my name.  I think about that errand to the bank that keeps plaguing me because I never have the car during the daytime. Awareness allows me the opportunity to dismiss and refocus and so I do.  Now I hear the trees...their conversations with each other.  I almost feel I am intruding but I still turn my ears and my eyes to them to see if I can be welcomed to participate.  I choose to listen.  I am reminded of several recurring themes in my dreams over the last few days.  In my dreams I am in an office job that is menial and no one seems to notice me.  I spend all day making personal phone calls and receiving no input from a supervisor.  No one talks to me or invites me to lunch.  I am clearly bored and unhappy there.  So why do I keep going to this job?  I have had this dream more than once.  Again I turn to the trees for wisdom.  They show me that they are old and strong and that life is built on more than these small worries.  The right job will come.

For now, it is time to start the day.  Once I finish this blog entry I can finally go drink  that coffee and get to the children and their activities.  I love starting my day in meditation.  I have this great chat with myself and I let my subconscious mind be a part of my conversation.  Nothing that can harm me will stay hidden in the dark recesses of the subconscious.  I want it all to come to the surface to be healed and let go.

Good luck with your meditation practices.  I would love to hear about them.

Lilac

Meditation, Fresh Air and Sunshine

We had fun at City Park Beach today.  I brought my kids and Nicolas and Darien.  We saw our friends there too...and it was HOT!  We had frozen lemonade from a truck that turned up moments after I thought of it...literally.  I enjoyed that moment of realizing I manifest things quickly now.  At one point I asked the kids if they had seen any of their friends from school there at the beach.  It turned out that Darien's cousins were there and it also turned out that two friends of the kids' from school were there the whole time!  We did not have to pay to get in and that was a nice break since money is tight with no job of my own.  But all in all, it was a fun day.  Here are some more photos:

We packed a picnic lunch...tuna sandwiches, pbj, fruit and nacho chips.  Later when we got home the children happily devoured some leftover Chinese Food from dinner the night before.  The kids relaxed and watched a movie, Cars 2.  It actually hit 100* by 3pm!  That is very rare for Rhode Island in June.  The playground was a fun time too, but the kids seemed to really enjoy each other's company and the air-conditioned drive to take Darien home!

Another new addition to my day was a simple change I made in my meditation schedule.  Finding a way to create "peace" in the center of all the activity is a challenge and a blessing.  I think finding frequent pockets of time to meditate is essential...so in addition to morning and evening, I have added my 11:11 meditation.  If a person wants different results from their life they MUST do things in a different way from how they have always done things.  By continuing to repeat the same things in the same way, we cannot grow and change.  This is part of the reason why I closed my daycare business.  I need to stop doing the things that are not getting me closer to becoming the person I need and want to be in life.  Sometimes drastic measures are needed.  No matter who you are or what your schedule, you CAN change anything that doesn't work for you.  The hardest things to change are the parts of your life that you do not actually control.  If you have an unpleasant work environment, but you need to support your family financially and you cannot find another job...you may feel that you are trapped.  Ok....that does seem like a hard situation.  So let's consider this:  Everything that is happening to us is actually happening in our minds.  So, we can change our perception or perspective as easily as flipping a switch.  Here is how I do it:

1.  hypothetically....I am in a situation that makes me unhappy, such as finding myself once again taking the blame for the recurring mistake of a co-worker.
2.  I decide NOT to react how I always have by feeling anger, rage or annoyance and then reacting by becoming defensive or distant or moody.
3.  Once I have practiced and mastered NOT reacting, I can deepen my experience by getting ahead of the event that is recurring...such as by being proactive and helping this struggling co-worker before they make the mistake.  If that is not possible and you must take the fall, demonstrate a sense of humor about it and show this other person that no matter how bad a mistake, it can be handled with humor.  Laughing at ourselves is a tool toward self-love that is under-utilized.
4.  when all else fails, get away and clear your mind of the event...do it everyday if you have to.  Fill yourself up in your free time and come back refreshed.

In conclusion, and perhaps a very important way to recap, is by pointing out that we are manifestors...all of us.  We create the days of our lives in the images in our minds.  What we think about, we create and experience.  Synchronicities occurring hold us in alignment with the universal energy and anytime we feel out of balance we can re-balance by meditation and intention.  It is essential that we desire to do only what is beneficial for ALL and does not cause harm to another living being in as much as possible.  We should always aim to help everyone we can or at the very least not cause them harm in any way.  Keeping our karma clean and clear helps us to manifest from a pure heart and create pure experiences that offer pure hope and blessings.  My daughter has committed herself to eating a vegetarian diet.  I am proud of her decision and I support her.  It is hard to make sacrfices and be disciplined like that.  Very few people try to take the high road but more and more will try if those of us who are awake do our best to set the example and feel the love.

Travel Wheels

2005 Chevy Malibu Maxx

We call him "Maxi"

So these are the wheels we are going to be using for this summer's adventure.  The car is pretty good on gas and a smooth ride with a reasonable amount of interior space for comfort.  The kids have a dvd player and there are front and rear sun/moon roofs.  The hatchback has plenty of space for whatever we decide to lug along with us.

I love driving.  Some people already know that about me and some maybe not, but I love to stop as I am enroute to my destinations and have the freedom to change direction whenever I desire.  So I always prefer to drive instead of fly...although there are times when flying is necessary, and I no longer dislike flying.  In fact...I LOVE IT!  I cannot wait to take my son on his first airplane.  My daughter has flown before but that was when she was 5 years old and we took her to Walt Disney World.

One of my favorite places on earth is Florida.  I love Florida and have always been interested in living there.  I also love Hawaii and California.  I suppose I am drawn to miles and miles of coastline in exotic locales?  I want to explore Myrtle Beach this summer and maybe a Theme Park would be fun.  I definitely want to do a waterpark!  Some intense Nature exploration is very much a vital ingredient for the summer of 2012.

Another place I am fond of are Islands of all types...Bora Bora...Bermuda...Puerto Rico, etc.  Yes, I know Hawaii is an Island so before you start thinking that was lost on me...LOL...don't.  I love Prince Edwards Island and Block Island and Nantucket.  Before my days on this planet are over, I would like to vacation in the beauty of the Banff which is in Sascatchewan Canada.

Aside from places, I am a huge fan of little hotels and motels that deliver great service but are easily overlooked becuase of larger chains.  Along the gorgeous 60-mile Boardwalk Shoreline of Myrtle Beach there are some of the oddest little treasure spots.  I hope I get to try one this summer.  In fact, I would love to pitch a tent on the beach and just wing-it.

If I get to travel to the midwest, I would like to see the Grand Canyon, Vegas and the Coastline of Oregon.  I would love to stand at the foot of a Redwood tree and find any unusual treasures between the East Coast and West Coast of the U.s.  I have an atlas, a Sharpie, and a Highlighter Pen...Let's Go!





My Summer Adventure

As promised, I am journaling about my summer plans.
The theme of my summer will be
Self-Discovery.
With so many options for learning, exploring and developing...how do you plan?  What do you pack?  Where do you go and how long do you stay?

School has ended and I have no business and no job.  The kids and I plan to spend the next 2 weeks playing at the beach and playgrounds nearby.  It is important to offer continuity and structure to children...even if they are not in school.  The last weekend in June, and first day of July will be my last one here for the summer.  After that we will hit the road for a little Coastal Exploration.  We will visit family and just get away from Rhode Island.  I have always lived here and have been working since I was 14.  This summer I will turn 38....it's time to just take a super-long vacation and that is what I am going to do (sort-of).  Vacation meaning "No job" and travelling...but certainly no break in the action because we are all works in progress and we have to allow our spiritual work to continue no matter where we go.

We have already begun to familiarize the kids with new ideas and how to travel and how to leave things behind and go where you need to go.  It is especially hard for my 10-year old daughter who is attached to everything under the sun.  My son who is 4 is much more easy-going and although he likes things structured, and has a few favorite items, he is much more apt to hop in the car and go on an adventure.  My daughter likes to sleep in her own bed and be close to her friends and make her own plans.  These are typical teenager traits, which shows me that my daughter is too settled and growing up too fast.  I want her to develop at least a comfort-level while in transition.  She doesn't have to have the intense wanderlust of her Mother, but at least the ability to release and detach a bit.  I would also love to see her develop a greater connection to nature.  My son is very nature-oriented and will literally stop riding his bike to pick a flower (for himself!).  My daughter just wants to get to the next party and be seen and heard.

It is amazing how different kids can be.  They are related and they can be similar at times....but totally different personalities.  My 10 year old daughter is a Sagittarius and my 4 year old son is a Taurus. So for people who understand astrology, I have an archer/fire-sign and a stubborn ram of an earth sign.  Today we rode bikes to the playground and ate a picnic lunch.  I jogged...and went on the swing...  I even took a few turns around the block on a bike.  I have not ridden a bike in nearly 5 years!  It felt great...very exhilerating!  Tomorrow we are going to try the local public pool and hopefully go to Bank of America where we can make a donation to a friend in need.  Later this week we will probably spend a full day at the beach and then maybe go to the movies!  Some of these things may sound mundane to you because they are common for a lot of people.  But hidden in the smallest moments of our lives are opportunities for bonding and deepening connections that enrich our souls.  Some people just go through the motions of these activities but I like to really Dig down deep,and suck the marrow out of life (to quote Henry David Thoreau).

In the past month we have taken the kids to the Forests of New Hampshire for hiking where they explored waterfalls, wooded mountain paths, swimming and just taking in the breathtaking views of the White Mountains.  We have taken the children to the seashore at night and to late night dinners at restaurants.  This summer I want them to realize they are more than their surroundings and their attachments.  I want them to discover how capable they are.  I want them to gain mastery and confidence with certain life-skills and recreational activities.  I hope they can learn from me as I learn to adapt to living the way I truly want to...in accordance with my heart and soul's true desires and passions.  In time, I hope I can figure out what I want to dedicate myself to as a career.  Perhaps there is a special job awaiting me and perhaps it will turn out to be full-time Motherhood...who knows?  for now, these moments of speculation and writing will suffice.  I hope you enjoyed listening.  Wish me luck!

Lilac



Sharks and Lions see the world differently

Every person who reads my blogs will struggle to attempt and connect with either the Shark or the Lion but the truth is that there are many more varieties of beings out there.  The Shark and the Lion simply exist in my life and in my Reality and perspective and I use my own experiences when I share.  I use the Shark's perspective because of the Duality of this world and it helps me to have a different viewpoint.  Although Shark is different, Lion can see and feel His ideas but cannot own them ...Lion can only understand them as a viable alternative - viable because it can be recognized and admit that Lions who live in the open fields of the Savannah where the sun beats on them and the land is expansive...cannot understand life under water. Occassionally, Lion will venture to the ocean and wade in to meet the Shark where he lives and absorb his knowledge from the watery depths where he sees and guards and hunts and lives.  Then, emerging, will go back to leading the Pride.  She is a very proud Lion.  While there, Shark shares in Lion's warmth and confidence.  But Lions cannot live in the deep blue sea and Sharks cannot breathe in the Savannah.  And so Shark and Lion learn from their environments....separate, but interconnected as we all are on this planet.

Lilac

What makes Meditation Fun? (why should you do it?)

Just like performing this OLD TIME yoga favorite, The Downward-Facing Dog....Meditation can FEEL GOOD!

Yoga is a great way to ease into meditating and if you have never done either before, I recommend trying BOTH together to get started!  Here are some ways to begin:

1.  Check your GYM and see if they offer Yoga classes.  If they do, a one hour yoga class will normally include 10 minutes of cool down meditation.  This means your muscles will be exercised and warmed up and then your mind can relax....this is how I got started meditating and believe me, my mind likes to stay busy so if it can work for me it can work for you.

2.  Choose the best time and place for your regular meditation.  This should be a time of day when you can truly allow your thoughts to be free of worry.  For some, starting the day this way works and for others, they must complete a certain amount of daily activity before they can free their minds.  I like to perform my meditations mid-day...precisely noontime or just after lunch.  In some cases, you may find yourself performing meditation once in the morning and once in the evening. 

3.  Find some peaceful, soothing, vibrationally-elevating music.  One person may like nature sounds while another likes pan-flutes.  A little tip though...to give your brain the best workout you need high-frequency sounds so check out some mixes on youtube and consider creating your own soundtrack or buying one especially for this purpose.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DokpgQJw0BE


I hope these tips can help get you started...but more importantly, you must be MOTIVATED by the desire to do it.  So WHY should you meditate?

Meditation is the word given to the activity of releasing our consciousness from the dream of the WORLD around us.  In doing this, we allow ourselves to connect to our spirit and our divine self which is our Higher Self.  All people will benefit from living life in their Higher Selves and also they will help the Earth to heal and the people of this planet to become healthier and happier.  It will take the combined effort of the majority of inhabitants on this planet to really create the changes needed.  But even if you are just doing it for yourself, you can easily find reasons to keep you going.

Regular meditation lowers your heartrate which is better for your health.  It is known to reduce stress and improve chronic conditions such as headache and backache.  So give it a try for a week or two and let's hear about it here!

Lilac

Mistakes, Opportunities, Failures and the Like.

Everything we experience....everything we encounter...in this lifetime, is simply an Opportunity to Learn and Grow.  So that being said, a Failure or mistake is actually just another opportunity for growth and re-evaluation.  I happen to believe this with my whole heart.  In the past, I played the victim role and now I accept responsibility for wherever I am at in life...good, bad or otherwise.  If I walk around looking upset or being miserable, it is because I am choosing to allow those emotions to run my experience.  If I allow other people's moods, choices or behavior to cause my own mood to change, or cause me to make bad choices or even behave badly, then I would be doing the Opposite of taking personal responsibility.  I would be playing victim.  Earlier this week, I had plans with someone.  I had 2 choices as I made my plans with this person.  Choice number one involved having my own vehicle and meeting them wherever we were going.  Choice number two involved them picking me up.  I made the choice to be picked up...  So when circumstances changed and no one informed me, I was with no vehicle and no plans.  I was unhappy at first and I did let the emotions get to me for a a while.  I am human and so I allowed that human reaction to take over.  Then I felt the difference...because I don't live like this anymore and so it felt really different from my usual feelings of peace and comfort.  I decided to make the most of the changes and enjoy the weather...enjoy my son...enjoy the beach and the sunshine and the serenity of not being out in stores and in traffic and using gasoline.  I sat in the sun and felt the warmth melt away my frustrations and help cure my exzema on my skin.  I talked to a friend on the phone and just let my mind leave my worries as I shared in their thoughts.  I reached out...I snuggled my child.  I smelled the flowers.  I cleaned the house.  These small gestures turned my mood around and I found that time takes away disappointments.  we must release...release them.

My HOPE for the future is to one day live in a world where the SCHOOLS we send our children to do not just incorporate some "character-building" along the way as they pump youngsters full of worldly facts and figures.  I dream that SCHOOL will be FOR the purpose OF building character and instructing people how to BELIEVE THEY ARE THE CREATORS OF THEIR LIVES. 

Until the day when we live in such a society, I will stand on the sidelines and I will say it...I will share and encourage and believe and devote myself to the cause of advancing PERSONAL POWER for every man, woman and child.  I want to end the DREAM of life as we know it now and see every person embrace a NEW DREAM...a dream with no dollar bills, bank institutions, Rich and poor dynamics (duality at it's worst), no hunger and no fear.  There is no need to live in fear as a society.  We truly ARE all connected.  What I think and feel and believe is happening to everyone, not just myself and so I cannot, CANNOT...afford to allow myself to simmer in anger and frustration or WALLOW in self-pity of all sorts!  If I love, then I increase the love vibration on the planet.  If I smile, then I send the ripple of happiness and joy that echoes through the valley and reverberates off the mountains...it causes a wave along the water....it tickles the ear and the breeze blows through the trees...because I smiled.  All because I FELT JOY.  Did you feel it?  Have you ever just felt joy for no reason and with no cause?  Perhaps someone or some group of someones was working very hard to send that LOVE TO YOU!  Send it back!  Return the favor and keep that loving energy flowing around the world.  The fastest way to get out of "stinkin' thinkin' " is to think of OTHERS and what THEY are going through or experiencing.  We are TOO BIASED to help ourselves because we are HARD on ourselves.  It is so much easier to be compassionate on someone else when they are struggling.  Just calmly meditate, relax and visualize that other person smiling and then you will smile.  Feel them healing if they are sick and you will heal.  See unexpected gifts or whatever they need, just spontaneously coming to them and them being happy as they receive.  Feel the sensation of a warm hug.  When you start to feel lifted...send that energy back out to the universe to share in it.  If every person did this, we could heal the world as we know it and end sickness forever.

Lilac

From the Shark's Perspective

Since Venus recently transitted our Sun, we are officially entering the Age of Aquarius.  This is the dawn of the Feminine and the Divinity of Feminine energy...which quite simply means LOVE and all things of a Loving and Nurturing Nature.  To be fair...neither Shark nor Lion is considered Loving in nature because both can be fierce when it is necessary.  But being the Shark (The Male energy...since Lilac is the Lion), there must be contrast...from the perspective of the Shark, Life must look a bit different.  There is clearly transformation happening.  Some people are waking up to it and realizing that they cannot continue to do things the way they have always done them.  Whether you are a Sea Creature or Queen of the PrideLands, this is a point we may all agree on because we can feel the changes everywhere from Sea to Land.

Now, from the Shark's perspective, it may be hard to accept...to realize that the polarities have shifted and that feminine energy is needed to heal Gaia (the Earth).  The masculine energy which has been in power for all of history as we know it, has caused war and greed and disharmony.  Now understand, I am not saying that MEN overall have done this...just the strong pull of the masculine that tends toward aggression over peace.  There is much more at work behind the scenes...and this can include dark forces and forces of Light which are trying to promote their causes.  With so much going on in the realm of Spirit...how are we to navigate the 3Dimensional Life we are living in? 

Have you ever felt like you are "fighting a losing battle"..in life or with money?  Are Opportunities always "eluding" you?  Do bad things seem to always be happening to you?  Are you feeling depressed and low-energy? 
Most people feel these things.  Actually, all of us do.  BUT...We are in control of this and we can change it at any time.  Since that is true, you may be wondering why no one else has told you this your whole life through.  When you were a child, you were told you were poor...could not afford things...had to do certain things because "that is life".  This is the dream and the "reality" that is perpetuated and taught to us all and trained into us.  But this was the Old Way of things.  If you ever read the book by Rhonda Byrne, The Secret  , you may have heard that people use the Law of Attraction to draw to them all things...both good things and bad things.  In fact, she is right.  We have always had the ability to create the lives we dream of...the trouble is...we were programmed NOT to dream.  And those dreams that did survive, are perpetuated by the very machine that is working to prevent the TRUTH from emerging.  We have been Force-fed the dreams we cling to...the idea of working 40 hours a week for the Big Corporation who gives Life Insurance and Death Benefits and Vacation-Time and Retirement packages.

So I ask you to consider this: 

What would your dream be if you could WIPE the slate clean of all the programming?

To even begin to know how to start to create such a dream...we must first go through the steps of Letting GO...which includes Grieving the Past and our misunderstandings about it.  This will take time...but you must begin right away because you can scarcely spare the time anymore.  Time is one of the things you will come to acknowledge you have been deceived about.  But begin your research now...there is so much information on the Internet...so many people far wiser than I am that can explain so much better than me!

But ask yourself what kind of world you would want to live in, if you could create and choose each and every aspect of it yourself.

Lilac (from the Shark's Perspective)

Time for a New conversation

Welcome!

I will start with some vague introductions about who I am and why I write blogs.  I go by the name Lilac when I write and you can find me on facebook as Lilac Avonlea.  On Blogger, I appear as Ms. A and I currently have about 6 Blogs that I have been writing over about 3 years.  When I have exceeded all I can on a given subject, or when it is time to evolve to a new style of writing, I create a new Blog.  The reason I blog-write, is to affect change, share ideas and reach out to those who may feel deeply lonely in this world.  I like being able to put words to their experiences and assist them in understanding what is happening to them.  You see, I happen to believe that in the future, our marketable talents won't be derived from college education or text books or even religion.  I expect that the changes happening in 2012 will usher in a new Way of Life that doesn't involve money exchange for goods and services but rather an inter-dependency and cooperativeness among men and women.  Sounds slightly Euphoric.  Sounds like I dreamed it up....but did I dream it alone or are others having the same dream as me?  Perhaps all we have ever known in life was merely a dream.  Perhaps all the world is just a stage and we are merely players?  I have been writing for years...since about 2008.  I decided one day that I had forgotten that I loved writing.  I kept working on bits of fiction but the truth is I like to have an impact by using TRUTH and REAL, ACTUAL experiences.  It is so difficult to be vulnerable and open with ourselves and our lives and our ideas.  It is most difficult to be 100% open and real with our feelings..isn't it?  I cannot be alone on that.  So the Lion and The Shark is an idea that has been rattling about in my brain for a while and sort of reverberating in my heart cavity.  I am a LION for sure.  I am born in August and under the Sun Sign of Leo who is a Lion, so I have always associated myself with Kitties and Big Cats for as long as I can recall.  Now, most of the people in my life are as different from me as a Lion is to say...hmmm, I don't know...we'll just say:  A SHARK!  This is why I have created a Community of Words to share thoughts and ideas.

Summer of 2012 will bring with it so much discovery in my life and journaling it will provide me, not only an outlet, but a resource to use in analyzing things that are very hard for me. I am a strong believer that with all the technology we have and we use on a regular basis, it is our purpose to create online communities, and online families and connections to Like-Minded people.  I am determined to do my share...my outreach...and to be a part of people's physical lives as much as being connected with them on the Heart & Soul Level.  Believe me...whatever is in your heart and in your soul:  THAT is what I want to connect with.  So...that being said, I will share my journey with you.  It is sometimes confusing and there are conflicts at every turn, but being REAL and showing the TRUTH is the only way to move forward.  Anything we attempt to conceal will be revealed in the New Way of things as our Spiritual Consciousness begins to evolve on this planet.  We will be unable to continue to labor under the old way of doing things.  So since it is a losing battle...just drop it and let it go.  I am doing that by developing skills that I know I was born to use and that other people will need one day from me. 

Every day ...in fact, every moment...will be the time to write, revise or recreate YOUR story (your life).  For instance:  I can decide today who my family is, and who my friends are and what my career path consists of.  It can be completely different from what it was yesterday.  This change can happen in an instant.  Right now...I am virtually unemployed and slightly directionless, with 2 children...and although I am 37 years old and have a Love in my life (sometimes more than one!)...I am technically unmarried by the legal parameters of this world.  I do not own any property...and I am like a butterfly that flits about on a breeze...new with her wings, having just emerged from the cocoon of her past life.  I am awake.  Are you?

Lilac