The human characteristic of claiming superiority caused people to claim their religion was the only

or best religion and gave leaders a tool to take their people to war.

Lauryn Hill, can you hear this???

This was filmed in Nova Scotia, Canada

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Do you think this is the end of times? Actually it is a boat burning in Key west in 1983

This was written after reading in the paper about a 13 year old youth that stabbed his 18 year old sister when she was beating on him. She did not survive.  Someone wrote, “This shows that we are living in the time of the end of the last days.”

My replay:

Not sure if this shows we are living in end of last days as there has always been violence since man became man.

For my children’s benefit I would not like to make them desperate thinking there is no future for them because this is the end of-times, I would rather think this is the beginning of something wonderful, a new time is around the corner here on earth. A new consciousness, not doom and gloom.

For every dark space there must be the balance of light waiting for us.

If we keep our minds open ready to see this light and not close our eyes tightly and then tell everyone, “Sorry, you are wrong, there was no light around the corner.”

Keep our heart open and our minds (eyes) open. Search and focus on the good in everyone we see. It is there, even if just a drop. Focus on that good, refuse to focus on the bad. What happens is the good grows. Really it does.

It is magic of the heart and mind. It just grows.

And it may be all it takes is for us all to notice and focus on the good in others for the good to overpower the bad. When we focus on the bad it too will grow.

I choose to see the all beautiful in others.

Rejoice!

Now I just have to walk the talk. That is the real struggle.

Life's tranquil moments

Life is short. What is it you really want to do well?

Do you want to be know as the one who could bead a mean bracelet, the one who made really cute baby moccasins, or the mom who was devoted to her children to where there was nothing left of her, she was just shadows of her children.

What is it you want?

A fancy house that is super green, the miss yoga model with all the really cool vibes.

What do you want?

What do you want to do with the years left in your life?

I truly enjoy a good card game, joining in on most any drum circle, chanting, talking with my children when I am really focus.

I like to walk in the city and look at the old architecture next to the new. I like seeing the river run back and forth between the streets. There are many things I enjoy.

I like watching old women watch their families. There is a quiet satisfaction I see in their faces.

I feel little pieces of me moving into this wise sage world. Then the rush of hormones will move through me like an inferno out of control. I want to give the flames less and less material to burn.

Dare to close the eyes?

I keep putting ME back, piece by piece.

Pieces keep falling apart and someone, either me or someone else, keeps putting them back.

What happens on the day they/I can no longer can make it all right? The pieces just no longer fit.

Will I be able to handle it?

Will the physical pain or heartache be something that will make me crazy, or worse; simply pissed off all the time?

I don’t want to find out. I don’t want to know—really.

I know I just asked; but it is a question I want left unanswered.

Pieces of me

Maybe I should get rid of every material item and computer document in my life and start all over.

Get a “real” job. One that pays real money.

I worry that my days would be filled up with nonsense and my pockets would be filled with pennies.

My life has not been a normal life, why try to be normal now, is it even possible to be normal now. What is normal?

My abnormal life is what made it possible not to have to work at all the past five years.

I am wondering how long can I pull this off, this not having to work thing? How long do I want to pull it off?  Will it even be my choice in the very near future?

Maybe I should stop writing, go through all my things and get rid of everything that I am not doing at this time. All my dreams that are saved in little tiny pieces need to be tossed. Clean up all the loose edges and start anew.

Start with reality, my reality. Don’t hold onto all these little pieces of hopes and possibilities. I simply cannot do all the things I have thought of doing. I am burying myself piece by piece. I simply cannot move any longer. I cannot breath. I cannot accomplish anything with all this stuff being held over my head.

Cluttering my life with ‘maybes’ and ‘somedays’ and ‘I can do this’ or ‘I can go there’ along with ‘I can start this business’.

No, I cannot. There are not enough hours in the day even if I did attempt it. I could get it all done if I had a lot of people to organize that worked for me, but then it would not be me doing it.

It is a syndrome, that’s what it is. It is an I-can-do-everything-syndrome. The first step in recovering from it is to eliminate it (meaning stuff) from my surroundings.

I will continue this on tomorrow’s post.

I was fortunate enough a year ago to connect to the festival without even knowing what it was. I was at my month long Teacher Training Course at the Sivananda Yoga Retreat Center in the Bahamas and it fell on one of the nights in the second week, actually March 6^th to be exact.

I was not sure if I would be able to stay up all night. Everyone was talking about it. It was all the buzz with the instructors. I thought I would try to be there as much as I could but I may end up going to my tent and sleeping for a while and then going back to the temple. Well, forget about going to my tent, the energy was so engaging I easily stayed in the temple all night. It’s the one night you can actually lay down in the temple; usually it is a sign of disrespect to lie down or event point your feet in the direction of the alter. I did end up needing about two separate ten-minute naps during the night. Normally if I wake up after only ten minutes, I am groggy and resistant. It is quite different with the sound of chanting and drumming going on all around you. The music gently rocks you awake. Once awake, I was blissfully chanting, drumming and dancing.

Five different times throughout the ceremony the priest performs pujas. Each one is different and each one we all stand up in line to receive our blessings, all the while chanting is going on. “Siva Siva Siva Shambho, Siva Siva Siva Shambho, Mahadeva Shambho, Mahadeva Shambho” we repeat slowly at first till the drumming speeds up and the chant gets faster and faster, climaxing, then once again for the last few rounds or even last round the chanting is very slow. Some songs last 10 minutes, some last 20 minutes or longer. Just as important as the drum is the harmonium, a hand pumped keyboard, a popular instrument in India.

When we finally get up to the priest we bow down to the ground then the priest helps us pour milk to bath the Siva Lingum and toss flower petals at them. This varies every round.

Around 5am we trail behind the priest and Swami’s to circle the Ashram to bless the grounds.

When the sun makes its début to us in the morning, we all go and have a feast outside the temple. Many people were preparing food for a few days before the ceremony and suddenly it all appears on many tables ready to be partaken from; sweetbreads, pastries, candies, puddings, anything sweet with lots of Chi tea to wash it all down. With our bellies full and our heart soaring we retreat to our tents for a few hours sleep before we begin again with more yoga and meditation or if we choose, long walks on the beach.  Remember this Yoga center is in the Bahamas surrounded by the Caribbean seas.

It is said that worshipping of Lord Shiva on Shivaratri bestows one with happiness and prosperity. There are many things that bring happiness and prosperity and I am more than willing to bring more opportunities for that into my life. The fact that I can enjoy something this much and it might bring happiness to me is all the more to love.