Hello to you. How are you? My thoughts lately have been about our children. I never had any of my own but have always cared about them. I have cared about the experience Mother’s have to go through to ensure the safe arrival of our children.
In particular my thoughts have turned to those crucially important 9 months (or less) of the journey from a cell dividing with all its complexity to gradually a recognizable fetus and then newborn baby. At the beginning this miracle of creation is more shielded by the mothers body but as the baby grows, the “insulation” from the mothers world gets thinner. All those sounds! What is a baby who was created as a result of violence hearing on their journey? What does crying, gunfire, yelling, the sounds of breaking things, bombs….screaming do to that child’s body and soul? They haven’t even taken their first step or uttered their first word…..seen their mothers face. I feel in my heart more attention needs to be taken about that 9 month journey.
Often children not wanted before they are born don’t fair much better once they leave the womb. Many are neglected, abused, negative energies poured over them. All this an incredible obstacle to ask of a mother and especially a child. I think God has been sending us people to help save our future and despite what God may have planned for these people, they never get a chance even from the beginning. People trying to pass legislation on these matters must have empathy for the circumstances of a mother and the child making the journey. What kind of life is there for so many children right now? Some of the most basic things a child leaving the womb needs are defunded or outright denied in this country. What do our children have to look forward to?
Thinking about this brought to mind a science fictions baby’s journey to “get here:”
Last night I went to the Prayer and Praise service at Grace House. We sang so lovely together. We talked about this: Revelation 4:8-11 New International Version
8 Each of the four living creatures(A) had six wings(B) and was covered with eyes all around,(C) even under its wings. Day and night(D) they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’[a](E) who was, and is, and is to come.”(F)
Hello to you today. How are you? I’m kind of having an allergy kind of day but this will pass. I was out picking up plastic and bags near the canals where I live and probably stirred up some allergens. It was worth it to keep that stuff out of the water. In addition to people and plants, a lot of animals rely on these waters to help them survive the warmer seasons. I read that our plastics have reached even the most remote regions of earth considered pristine like Antarctica:
Researchers gathered samples of snow from 19 different sites in the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica and discovered plastic particles in all of them. Most of the particles were from a type of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, which is found in clothing and water bottles.1 day ago
The following things I’m sharing with you are all connected, at least in my mind. If you look at our world, after all this time, even with incredibly advanced technology, we are still trying to figure out communication with ourselves, each other and all the various species of life we share Earth with. It makes sense that messages coming to us from objects and civilizations beyond our own would appear so complicated. We like to avoid boredom by making everything so complicated:
Hello to you, I hope this post finds you well today. Link and I are doing pretty well which I am so grateful about. So much going on every second we live. I’ve been praying for the world. Yesterday I looked at the Fortune 500 and gun manufacturer list. Found out the Ar-15 is no longer made by Colt but by a Czech company CZG-Ceska Zbrojovka Group. I’ve begun to follow the money, goods and services of the world with my thoughts and prayers.
Yesterdays walks were without Link. I finally found what was bothering his foot – a sharp seed had embedded itself in the fur of his paw. He was so pissed at me for fiddling with and pulling it out! Growling and making faces at me and he was so apologetic about it lol! Kind of like a crabby lion just needing a thorn removed from his paw.
Anyhew what I saw on the walk yesterday reminded me of my Grandma Schmidt and her amazing roses. As I saw, smelled and touched them it was like her saying hello to me…..joining me on the walk. Sometimes when I stayed with her and Grandpa we would go for walks. God and this earth are so comforting with ways like this to remember and experience those we have loved and lost:
This is something I learned about yesterday. It’s called a leaf gall. What is a leaf gall?
Galls are abnormal growths that occur on leaves, twigs, roots, or flowers of many plants. Most galls are caused by irritation and/or stimulation of plant cells due to feeding or egg-laying by insects such as aphids, midges, wasps, or mites. https://mortonarb.org › tree-plant-care Plant Galls | The Morton ArboretumThis rose really reminded me of Grandma Sacred Space by Greg Olsen
I also think often of Saint Therese Lisieux (https://www.littleflower.org/st-therese/frequently-asked-questions/) when I am experiencing the beauty of Gods creation. Learning about her taught me that life isn’t just about “big things” we do and that occur in a lifetime. There are so many little things, seemingly minute details, that if left undone the world is incomplete. We all have a part in Gods plans…..great and small. It’s important to do our part the best we can.
20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,(X) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’(Y) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”[c]
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,(Z) but you will not see it.(AA)23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.(AB)24 For the Son of Man in his day[d] will be like the lightning,(AC) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things(AD) and be rejected(AE)by this generation.(AF)
26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah,(AG) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “It was the same in the days of Lot.(AH)People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.(AI)31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.(AJ)32 Remember Lot’s wife!(AK)33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.(AL)34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”(AM)[36] [e]
37 “Where, Lord?” they asked.
He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”(AN)
For some reason recently I was lead in thoughts from Morse Code, the Enigma machine to the Navajo code talkers that saved our behinds at Iwo Jima. All of our communication is some sort of pattern, tone, pitch, code….sound….energy wave. Chester’s message here to fellow Marines resonates on many levels….”come home safe….come home in one piece.”
“Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time.” – Jean-Michel Basquiat(December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988). – my therapist shared this with me today and I just love it! I am a time traveler in my own head when it comes to the multi-sensory experience that music can be. Hearing certain songs takes me to different destinations. Sometimes it’s long ago and sometimes it’s “right now.”
I found a star rose! As is above so it is below!
It’s not just music that can be a multi-sensory experience. This picture of what I’m calling a star rose for example. When I see this picture I remember how the color made me feel when I first saw it. How the roses petals felt on my fingers. How wonderful the rose smelled. So many layers of experience in just capturing the image of a being sharing this existence.
Something fun to share with you about light being able to transmit the message of sound:
I was thinking a lot about this concept yesterday. I was thinking about refraction and other “obstacles” to using a beam of light to send a message….to receiving a message. There was another experiment Mr. Wizard does with timing the speed of a sound. There are several variables to consider with how fast we receive a sound. Think about “dead stars” in space. We see them still shining long after their life cycle has ceased. It takes that long for the message of change to travel to us…. the light and sounds in waves and particles crossing such great distances. I think of what the girl did in the video I’m sharing with you. She was holding the flashlight and sending the signal of light and sound information but all it took was her putting her hand in front of the flashlight to obstruct the signal.
Allium flower – the process this flower has taken to get to this picture has seemed like something from another planet!
Allium, also called Ornamental Onion, is one of the most interesting blooms in the spring and summer garden. With a spherical shape that holds its form throughout the season, it’s one of the longest lasting blooms to be had from a bulb.
I want to take a moment to thank all those who have been praying for me with the pain I’ve been experiencing. It helps! I also wanted to share that there is power in prayer for not just people. Link has been experiencing something with his back foot and I worked through old fears about it, prayed and let God on it. The boy got some rest last night and quit messing with his foot! God seems to care for all of creation not just people.
I have been finding music like this helpful. The varying frequencies of musical energy can reach parts of us that nothing else can:
https://youtu.be/ywPriq-D4J4 – 777 hz angelic code, repairs DNA code, manifest miracles, release negative energy
Hello to you today. How are you? I hope this finds you well. As I look out the windows this morning you would never know we had thunder and lightening yesterday! Beautiful blue skies out there!
Whenever I experience thunder and lightening – especially the lightening part- a word comes to mind: thinking. Seeing all those bands of light flashing about makes me imagine what’s going on inside my own brain….my body. The phrase “as above so below” comes to mind too. Where did the concept of making beings like us come from? What was God’s inspiration to fashion us brains running with electricity? All those flashes of light from one neural path to another right in our own heads! It makes sense to me that before there was science that our ancestors saw thunder and lightening as God speaking to them. Last night I just sat and listened….watched. I could almost hear God saying, “I am God! You are guests here! Everything belongs to me!”
To me the earth is a sentient creation of God…..not just some mere blue marble. Look around you and listen beyond our human activities….despite it all the earth can make a beautiful flower grow in a tiny crack in a driveway. So much meaningful intelligence going on just to keep us all alive even as we continue to harm ourselves, each other and the rest of creation we share life with. What a merciful God! Sometimes the weather patterns seem like expression of emotion. One storm will be gentle and yet another like rage.
A couple messages from A Woman’s Spirit today – sometimes all you can do is laugh at how ridiculous life can be:
“I will not take myself so seriously. I will let laughter heal.” Jan Pishok
“Laughter promotes personal growth and health. I will practice this prescription today. “
God thinking A little boo bear cuteness this morning! I saw a heart in this Despite everything going on in our human world, God and the earth are doing this! Life giving water – a valuable resource that must be managed more carefully! Things doing things…thoughts swirling in the ether
Your brain is made up of networks of small cells called neurons that communicate electrochemically to enable you to think, feel, and interact with the world around you. Because electrical charges are responsible for brain activity, electrical stimulation can in turn be used to change the brain’s functioning.May 15, 2019
Hello to you. How are you doing today? I’m doing better. Just getting sleep, singing and praying more has been helping me. This morning I glanced at the news on my phone and after being mortified at someone suggesting the answer to ending gun violence in American schools is to arm children, I found a message that resonated with me from Pope Francis about discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit:
“The Holy Spirit will never tell you that on your journey everything is going just fine. … No, he corrects you; he makes you weep for your sins; he pushes you to change, to fight against your lies and deceptions, even when that calls for hard work, interior struggle and sacrifice,” Pope Francis said in his homily on June 5.
“Whereas the evil spirit, on the contrary, pushes you to always do what you think and you find pleasing. He makes you think that you have the right to use your freedom any way you want. Then, once you are left feeling empty inside – it is bad, this feeling of emptiness inside, many of us have felt it – and when you are left feeling empty inside, he blames you, becomes the accuser, and throws you down, destroys you.”
Looking at my own personal journey, it has been a struggle at times. It can be very alluring to think about things like revenge and power. It can be easy to try and do and be everything of this life thinking it’s just your own power and attributes propelling you forward. Where does your life force come from? It’s not just eating, drinking, exercising, making love, socializing with family, pets and friends, going to church and praying, meditating, experiencing entertainments the world offers, having a career, doing hobbies, going to school, reading books and going to seminars – least not for me. Underneath all that I am and ever hope to be is a force greater than myself – God. Whatever label, whatever name the inner force is for you I caution you to it’s motives…..the “why.” Why comes before all the what’s!
Some lovely flowers from the walks yesterday- they smell so good!
Christianity. In Christianity, the word may have several meanings. Discernment can describe the process of determining God’s desire in a situation or for one’s life or identifying the true nature of a thing, such as discerning whether a thing is good, evil, or may even transcend the limiting notion of duality.
Walking by the canals yesterday with Link, we were treated with the sight of a wild Iris! I love surprises like this ❤️
Hello to you. How are you? I’m doing pretty good as I write to you today. This morning I had gone back to sleep and had one of those vivid dreams I’ve talked to you about before. It’s like being alive in a parallel world from your own. For a brief moment I saw a dog that looked like a pug, standing by a window much like mine. Coming through the blinds was a single point of light and the dog seemed to be reacting to it. It looked like the lights I see sometimes. It wasn’t a normal light you might expect to see and I startled awake!
Yesterday I spent most of the day singing and exploring music. Doing this helped a lot in trying to lift the depression I’ve been experiencing lately. The other thing about singing and listening to music is it helps with body pain too. Music is an amazing energy in its many forms. It can reach all parts of us and evoke energetic miracles. I think of The Music and Memory Organization saying this (https://musicandmemory.org/)
Here are are a couple sounds in addition to the Tanpura I found yesterday, kind of had angels on my mind:
https://youtu.be/wxgfnEkxkMI – Angels singing caught on tape (Jesus Norway) – it’s up to you as to what you think of this recording. It would be amazing to think angels voices can reach us!
Link cooling his belly on a break during our walk yesterday. He loves the grass! Every time we walk past this rose it’s more lovely!
How are you today? Link and I are doing pretty good. Last night was a bit rough for both of us but eventually Jesus and his team got us some rest. There is so much light and energy going on at night and I’m sensitive to it. Something I’m doing now is trying to get off the phone before bed and do some singing. The Tanpura is great to sing with along with Mei-lan. Just tones varying in range and duration….no words. It’s like prayer.
Today’s message from A Woman’s Spirit is a good reminder about the futility of trying to control others….letting God:
Basically, I have two choices: either accept people and their behavior at face value, or remove myself from the situation. I cannot change other people, but I can control my behavior.
Trying to control other people has been a long- term character defect for most of us. Becoming abstinent didn’t take away the seduction of control. Perhaps for some of us becoming abstinent even heightened the seduction. Minds no longer clouded by alcohol or other drugs see with greater clarity many more invitations to control.
At first glance, it seems unfortunate that becoming free of the obsession to use chemicals didn’t also free us of trying to control the people and events in our lives. But had that been the case, we would have relied less on our Higher Power for help to grow and change. And the greatest gift of this recovery program is learning that we have “One who is all powerful” to help us make decisions, to guide us every step of the way.
I will protect my serenity today by letting people in my life take charge of themselves. If I begin to falter, my Higher Power will help me.
Drawing I did of my Dad and his Mom Irene many years ago More roses waking up! Just a few pictures – remembering and loving my Dad Probably my favorite picture of Dad in his younger days – so handsome! Still is!
Hello to you. How are you today? I hope you are doing ok. It’s been rough here but I’m doing better. Last night I tried to sleep without extra meds and was doing pretty good until I woke up after a weird dream. It started with seeing my phone and an image on it like from the group Anonymous. Then I was sitting with someone watching tv. The tv flickered and that same image appeared on the tv screen! What woke me up was hearing a scary voice saying, “no need to alert the authorities.” My brain doing weird stuff again lol!
Anyhew…. today is my Dad’s 79th birthday! Wow! It’s hard to believe but he and I used to joke that he was going to live as long as Moses! That’s like 120! If he and I were together today we would be dueling with our forks over Mom’s chocolate pudding dessert. The past couple of years have been hard on him but he is a survivor – something he and Mom always taught me to be! I’m missing him today. I miss his hugs! There is something about a hug from your Dad. I just felt so loved and safe when we hugged….the worlds noise and cares couldn’t reach me for a little bit. I love you Dad! ❤️
Many years ago, when I was still in Junior High, I was in an advanced writing program . They liked analogies I wrote. This one I wrote thinking of my Dad:
“An open window in spring is like the loving arms of a father.”
John 15:9New International Version
9 “As the Father has loved me,(A) so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
This morning I am reflecting on Memorial Day or Veterans day as it is referred to. I’m remembering visiting Arlington National Cemetery several years ago. My husbands father and his family participated in a ceremony of playing taps. Each person positioned at different points in the cemetery and playing at the designated hour:
The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying time off from work for the national holiday. Taps is instantly recognizable as the somber 24-note bugle call played at American military funerals and ceremonies.Apr 29, 2022
This experience was extremely hard for me emotionally and spiritually. As we arrived at one of the places they would be playing we passed fresh graves…..new ones in the process of being dug. Ages on the tombstones were the ages of my husband, his brothers and me. There were people sitting with these stones with children. I looked at the vast field of white stones and was overwhelmed and overcome with sorrow. Today as I think of that experience, what all those people died for…hoping, thinking their sacrifice could make this country….this world a better place. I have to wonder were they mislead or have we betrayed them with the world we’ve created where hating and killing each other is still a common occurrence?
Can’t believe it’s been 2 years since this picture!
As a Veteran speaking only for myself, the best way to thank me for my service is to do whatever is possible to manifest a world where soldiers are no longer needed.
Questions…..”what are we doing?” and “what is all this for?” I hear the phrase “Happy Memorial Day” and my first thought is “what is so happy about it?!” Same thing for Labor Day. I think many people don’t realize how much blood was shed and lives….families destroyed just so we can have a day off of work. Nothing is free especially not our freedom. People long for things to go back to normal and sadly I think, unless drastic steps are taken, this IS normal.
Each time trauma happens to a person, to a world, it’s an infinite drop making ripples that never cease. Once the drop falls the waters never remain still….at peace. Generation after generation endure the stories and the wounds. Each new trauma ripping off the bandage from the last wound….perpetual bleeding of flesh and souls for wounds that don’t get a chance to heal. I read yesterday there was another mass shooting in Chicago: https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2022/5/29/23146412/weekend-roundup-shootings-homicide-chicago-memorial-day?_amp=true – it’s not if another one will happen….it’s when.
You can turn off all the devices that broadcast these shared traumas….put your head in denial but I think we still remain affected. The collective consciousness of God and this earth just know when things are wrong. You can feel it in the air….in your soul. Kind of like what the movie Donnie Darko illustrated. Something or someone is missing but your not sure just what it is until you finally learn another trauma has been inflicted.
I know this song is sad but sometimes sad songs help us clear out the traumas and make a bigger space for God…for inevitable change:
All around me are familiar faces Worn out places, worn out faces Bright and early for the daily races Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses No expression, no expression Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow No tomorrow, no tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I’m dying Are the best I’ve ever had I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take When people run in circles it’s a very, very Mad world, mad world
Children waiting for the day they feel good Happy birthday, happy birthday And I feel the way that every child should Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew me, no one knew me Hello, teacher! Tell me, what’s my lesson? Look right through me, look right through me
And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I’m dying Are the best I’ve ever had I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take When people run in circles it’s a very, very Mad world, mad world
To be 