5 April 2022 Feeling Peace

April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 5 April 2022 Tuesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1447098869

Hello to you today. I hope this finds you well. To be honest I’m struggling a bit today. The more it seems that I seek what’s good in the world the more the opposite extreme seems to try to get in my view.

I decided to watch The Chosen yesterday and I am enjoying it so far. The scene when Jesus heals “Lilith” real name Mary really touched me. When he puts his hands on her head and brought her peace she could feel I thought of that scene from the Davinci Code when Sophie touches Robert Langdons head. I thought of all the times Kyle used to do that to me when I was thinking too much. A simple and beautiful gesture…..feeling peace….relief from too many mind. If your curious You can get the Chosen app from the Apple Store. Here is a link: http://www.thechosen.tv/app or search “The Chosen”

Yesterday we got a little bit of rain but it was weird. Our cars all looked like they had been washed in mud! https://idahonews.com/amp/weather/adventure-starts-with-weather/milky-rain-nope-but-cars-in-the-treasure-valley-will-be-especially-dirty-monday –

“Are your cars dirty after the rain? The culprit is strong winds blowing lakebed dust near Summer Lake OR toward the Boise, Nampa, Meridian area,” the NWS wrote on social media.

Message from A Woman’s Spirit today:

My life is filled with the evidence that I am lovable. God has not forgotten me. Everywhere I look today, I’ll see a gift.

I know times are ruff right now but it’s going to be ok! Do what I do and be happy right now. Stop worrying about all that stuff you can’t or won’t do anything about. Be good ok?

John 14:15-31New International Version

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

¹⁵“If you love me, keep my commands.^(A)¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate^(B) to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth.^(C) The world cannot accept him,^(D) because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be^[a] in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans;^(E) I will come to you.^(F)¹⁹Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.^(G) Because I live, you also will live.^(H) ²⁰On that day^(I) you will realize that I am in my Father,^(J) and you are in me, and I am in you.^(K) ²¹Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.^(L) The one who loves me will be loved by my Father,^(M) and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

I Look To You – just the voice in song I needed to hear today. Beautiful Whitney.

4 April 2022 What Do You Want?

April 4, 2022 by saymber, posted in Animal Rights, animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 4 April 2022 Monday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1446211091

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope this finds you well….rested? Are you getting enough rest? I myself am struggling with that. What’s frustrating is as I am getting older I have to rest more frequently than I used to! I don’t know how it is for you but sometimes it feels like the body betrays us leaving us feeling powerless!

My thoughts today are about the question I ask myself and others, “what do you want?” The context of the question is about the world we live in. Your immediate world that you experience each day. Who and what are you giving your personal power to?

What do you want to see more of in the world you live in? Where do you focus most of your mind, body and souls energy? Who and what gets most of your personal power?

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of videos on You tube from animal shelters and rescue agencies. They are finding and rescuing dogs that have been shot and left to die. One dog was shot while she was pregnant. Other dogs covered in oil, left in landfills and dumpsters…old dogs abandoned on a street, sick dogs left to wander. For a time I have been wondering if focusing my attention on such things is giving power to that stuff happening in the first place! I have asked God before if there were no rescue agencies and shelters would this horrible stuff still be happening? The answer is most likely yes and these animals would just suffer.

People take their powerlessness out on each other through horrific abuse and they take it out on animals. Where do people learn to be and do such horrible things? A lot of times they themselves were victims….they were taught and learned that acts of violence were the way to deal with difficult emotions and situations. The chain of this behavior has to be broken. Is that possible? Are we like some breeds of dogs born with a predisposition for certain behaviors? Is it in our DNA? If the right things happen that those violent tendencies in our code get activated?

What do I want? I want to see less activation of the genetic codes in people that make some aspects of this existence so horrible. We need to teach people at a very early age how to deal with difficult emotions and situations so that they don’t take all of that ugly out on the world around them…innocent animals and children.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence – I think this subject should be taught in school

Emotional intelligence (EI) is most often defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. People with high emotional intelligence can recognize their own emotions and those of others, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, and adjust emotions to adapt to environments.^[1] Although the term first appeared in 1964,^[2] it gained popularity in the 1995 best-selling book Emotional Intelligence, written by science journalist Daniel Goleman. Goleman defined EI as the array of skills and characteristics that drive leadership performance.^[3]

A succulent trying to survive in my window

A gift a couple Christmas’s ago still showing signs of life (Amaryllis)

2 April 2022 Helpers

April 2, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Food, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 2 April 2022 Saturday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1444240928

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. If your not well, if some shit is happening in your life, I hope there will be support for you. Remember the power of prayer and meditation. Remember you are not completely powerless no matter how things may seem right now. Even if we can do one small thing….better than nothing.

Yesterday was a day to get out a little bit. I walked up to Ridleys to pick up my pills and then stopped by The Sunrise Cafe for a yummy breakfast. The people that work there brighten my day and their cook always makes my breakfast just right. On the way there and on the way home I took a few pictures. Spring is so inspiring! All around me Gods creation waking up and reminding me just how beautiful this world is.

This morning my thoughts turned to Mr. Rogers….helpers. Being a helper can be doing big things and it can be doing small things. Sometimes being a helper starts with yourself – self care for example and then expand out into the world you live in as you feel lead. Clear the blockages you make in your head and in your life so that the Spirit can work in you…make it possible for you to be a helper.

1 April 2022 Kindness Matters

April 1, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, history, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 1 April 2022 Friday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1443192148

Hello there! How are you on this first day of April?! For some today is a day for shenanigans lol. I’ve never been real good at it. Today my post is mostly pictures. I decided to pay for a little extra picture storage space on my phone and have been taking more pictures .

My title today is inspired by the phrase in my drawing – saw it on Facebook yesterday on the Positively Abundant co page in my feed. It also reminds me of Burleson Texas where you see the Kindness Matters slogan all over. When I lived in Alvarado going to Burleson was one of my favorite places. I found this video today that talks about a mural that was done in town with the slogan: https://youtu.be/r5m-LLMBiiQ – Kindness Matters Mural Project Burleson TX, the artist is Bernardo Vallarino. Kindness does matter. Remember it doesn’t have to be some big and grand gesture to bring more kindness in this world. Sometimes just saying hello and smiling can turn somebody’s day completely around.

And not just two legged people appreciate kindness!

Clear quartz – doesn’t it look like a glacier?

My neighbor does such a great job with her yard

Just love the purple in these! God is such a master florist

I love hearing the chimes in the breeze as Link and I walk by

Green flower buds – most of our trees are putting on their new dresses for the season

With God’s help today I will know a new level of confidence and peace with each risk I take – A Woman’s Spirit

31 March 2022 Placebo Effect

March 31, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Health, history, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 31 March 2022 Thursday chat (placebo effect) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1442170547

Me pondering the question of the placebo effect….the power of belief.

Hello to you. How are you? After my post yesterday when I shared my experiences with rose quartz it made me think about the placebo effect. To me that term is like belief. There are many things in our world that we believe to be true, believe to exist but there is little to no “peer reviewed scientific evidence.” Intangible things like God and our souls and yet we continue to believe and have positive experiences. Whether or not there hasn’t been a scientific study or there has been one doesn’t matter to me…..doesn’t change what I believe or negate the value of personal experiences I have had. Whether or not science thinks so, crystals help, God and the soul exist. There is great power in belief.

What is the placebo effect? The placebo effect is when a person’s physical or mental health appears to improve after taking a placebo or ‘dummy’ treatment. Placebo is Latin for ‘I will please’ and refers to a treatment that appears real, but is designed to have no therapeutic benefit.

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au › …

Placebo effect – Better Health Channel

Amethyst beads on a bracelet. Holding them sometimes helps me when I feel anxious.

https://www.livescience.com/40347-crystal-healing.html – Crystal healing: Stone-cold facts about gemstone treatments

There is no peer-reviewed scientific evidence that crystal healing has any effect; it is considered a pseudoscience. Alleged successes of crystal healing can be attributed to the placebo effect.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki

Crystal healing – Wikipedia

The messages from A Woman’s Spirit were good today:

Even on a rainy day, I can feel the sunshine. Even when the clouds are gray, I can feel a glow. There’s a little light inside me, just keeps burning. I take it with me, everywhere I go. – Jill Clark

We carry within ourselves the single necessary ingredient for our happiness: a positive attitude. Nothing can ruin our day , unless we let it. No remark can devastate us, unless we let it. No person can have a harmful, lasting impact on us, unless we let him or her. No unhealthy, negative attitude controls our thoughts without our assent.

Feeling good about the experiences we’re having, regardless of their nature, is a decision. Trusting that some good will come out of every one of them is a habit we can form. We can acquire an attitude of hope for growth and positive change.

I will see the sunshine even through the clouds if that’s my choice. Today I have twenty-four hours to practice this.

Some clouds yesterday that looked promising for rain

I wanted to mention my young friend on Twitch told us about another incident she and a friend experienced with bullying. This time they were coming from church and the boy was after the girls friend who has autism. He tried to punch the person and the girl tried to stop him and got punched in her chest. Whenever she gets on and tells us this stuff I feel powerless. I just want to climb through the wires and walk with her….protect her. I’m not completely powerless though. I can pray for her, lend my support and share her story.

28 March 2022 Looking Up

March 28, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, history, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 28 March 2022 Monday chat (Clouds) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1439323879

Thinking about A Book of Clouds by John A. Day. Lots of geese have been passing through lately.

My friend Beth got this book for me during one of my hospital stays and it brought me so much comfort as I love clouds and couldn’t see them in the hospital

Ten reasons to Look Up (hope you can read the print)

Some of my favorite flowers – dandelions

Some Idahoans doing some spring house shopping. With the drought I’ve been concerned about the animals and plants having enough water.

There was a good message today from A Woman’s Spirit. It speaks to the importance of remembering we are not all experiencing this life in the same way. It’s biologically impossible! Our bodies alone prove this point. All the walks of life with their different bodies. Different levels of vision for example. Some people can see really well and others are blind! Think of a concert and all the different eyes witnessing it. Not everyone will come away from that concert perceiving it… experiencing it the same way. It helps me to remember this when interacting with different people. It helps me be more empathetic….more understanding during times of agreement or disagreement.

The message is so good I want to share the whole thing:

There are many realities. We should member this when we get too caught up in being concerned about the way the rest of the world lives or how we think they live. -Natalie Goldberg

One of the most elusive truths we’ll ever struggle to grasp is that everyone has a unique perspective about every circumstance, a perspective that reflects a personal understanding of the universe. We never doubt that truth for ourselves, of course. We simply fail to acknowledge that it’s true for everyone else too.

There are times we can’t shake the need to be right; our egos depend on it. Unfortunately, we can’t maintain any real peacefulness if we are always in conflict with others who have their own viewpoints. Winning the “battle” then becomes a painful victory. Believing in valid, separate realities is only difficult at first. But like any other opinion or attitude, it can become habit with enough practice. We have nothing to lose by giving it a try.

I don’t need everyone to agree with me today. I only think I do.

27 March 2022 Flowers

March 27, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 27 March 2022 Sunday chat (Flower) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1438376319

Hello to you today. I hope this finds you well. Todays post is going to be mostly pictures. The messages in A Woman’s Spirit will hopefully resonate:

To each particular person the world speaks a different, particular word and calls for a different, particular response. – Mary McDermott Shideler

I am invited to experience particular situations today. My presence is needed if I am called.

Some of the trees start spring with flowers

Thomas’s poem A Flower – spring is a great time to appreciate some of Gods finest work

Do to others what you would want done to you.

24 March 2022 Thursday

March 24, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How’s your week been? I’m tired. I struggled with getting to sleep last night even with the medicine I have to try and help me. It’s comforting I guess to know I’m not alone in my experience!

The messages from A Woman’s Spirit today had to do with letting people in our lives be responsible for their own actions:

My children have a Higher Power, and it’s not me. – Carolyn White

I will focus on my life and my Higher Power today. Others’ actions are not my responsibility.

What’s hard about this message is for parents and authority figures they are put in the position of being responsible for other peoples actions. There are laws in place to help with that for authority figures in our world but not so much for the average parent! There has been a long suffering agreement that children don’t come with a users manual! Sometimes it’s really difficult to know where you end and others begin. We are so interconnected.

This morning I was thinking on last Sundays church message. How the way we deal with difficult people matters to God. This morning I reread the passage in the Bible that was used as the reference for the message. It’s in Romans:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+12:9-21&version=NIV&interface=amp

Romans 12:9-21New International Version

Love in Action

⁹Love must be sincere.^(A) Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.^(B) ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in love.^(C) Honor one another above yourselves.^(D) ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor,^(E) serving the Lord.¹²Be joyful in hope,^(F) patient in affliction,^(G)faithful in prayer.^(H) ¹³Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.^(I) Practice hospitality.^(J)

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you;^(K) bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.^(L) ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another.^(M) Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[a] Do not be conceited.^(N)

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil.^(O) Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.^(P)¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.^(Q) ¹⁹Do not take revenge,^(R) my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[b]^(S) says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”^[c]^(T)

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

———————

It’s hard sometimes not to want to retaliate when we or someone we care about has been harmed in some way. From my own experience the defense mechanism is almost a reflex. It really takes a lot of self awareness and control to be able to stop yourself in difficult situations from reacting from a defensive posture. To “turn the other cheek” versus putting up fists. This message today is difficult when I think about the Ukraine and Russia. When it comes to this sort of situation, a war, how are people suppose to react when being peace loving could cost them their lives? I am praying about this question.

A lot of non-believers ask where is God? Where was God when _________ was happening to me or someone else? Why does/is God allow horrible things to happen? Sometimes I ask myself the same thing when stuff is going on. How I comfort myself is I can’t see the whole picture of this existence – but God can. God isn’t limited in years and experience like we are. God is the big picture. I think of cause and effect – there are so many pieces and parts to even just one moment….how complicated it must be to answer even the smallest of prayers. I think of saying a prayer to save a person or animals life. How many specific seemingly minute little things have to happen to answer that one prayer. How many other prayers have to go unanswered so that yours can be answered? I don’t envy Gods job!

23 March 2022 Finding Comfort

March 23, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Health, history, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 23 March 2022 Wednesday chat(AA Step 3) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1434295003

I had to talk to God and myself this morning while feeling anxiety

Hello to you. How are you? Today began with one of those anxiety attacks I get once in awhile. I think it has to do with sleep apnea but I’m not sure. I just know I kind of freaked out. I had to pull out some tools from my sanity toolkit to get myself calmed down. I started with talking to God and went to the Bible to try and find comforting messages. I looked through so many chapters….the concordance for anxiety and comfort and just couldn’t find what I was looking for. It came to me to try the “Big Book” from Alcoholics Anonymous, specifically Step 3….made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. I ended up making my Twitch Stream today mostly about this step. When I initially entered into the program this step was hard. My sponsor reassured me that it didn’t have to be just the God of the Bible that I turned my will….surrendered to. It had to be a power that wasn’t me. It was me that got me into the mess I was in. Chances were that it wasn’t going to be my own will that was going to get me free. I just had to acknowledge I was powerless over alcohol (among other things of an addictive nature), admit I had a problem and then, most importantly, be WILLING to ask for help….accept help the way it came. What I realized using this program is if you get to the core of why addiction happens there are fewer what’s. A lot of people I met in AA were self medicating – they had a lot of “why’s” they were covering up with alcohol. They needed therapy and either couldn’t get it or would rather have the stigma of being an alcoholic than the stigma that comes with mental illness. When I look at my own life with help and by myself, there were so many why’s to my addictions. I kept trying to fill voids in my life with people, places and things. Many of those voids were of an intangible nature. You can’t put tangible things in the space where only the intangible dwells.

The messages from A Woman’s Spirit today had to do with friendship. The power we learn through the program is we can choose better friends. Here is a thought provoking part of the message:

“We may not have picked our friends carefully in our youth. Many of us felt pressured to hang out with a crowd that didn’t share our values. We frequently lived up to their expectations of us rather than our own. The internal conflict was painful, and we may still suffer from it.”

My choice of friends today reflects the health of my recovery.

________

It’s pretty easy to tell who are true friends are in life. They are the ones who are still there for you and comfort you as you clean up the mess you’ve made. I consider many members of my family also as dear friends! When we are young it feels like we don’t have a great power of choosing – so much is chosen for us!

Speaking of friendship! Last night Astravert did a wonderful collaboration with some fellow musicians on Twitch:

Check out astravert afishinabirdcage bagelrabbit COLLAB https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1433997448

21 March 2022 Uplifting Things

March 21, 2022March 21, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Home, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 21 March 2022 Monday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1432467449

Each day is another day in Gods Earth School

Yesterday evening Link and I took a walk and I remembered to take my phone. As I am getting more at home here I am spending more time getting to know the neighborhood trees.

Another one of the Willow trees in our neighborhood

Some uplifting words. I want to fill myself with positive spirit food today. I knew I could count on Jesus for that! A light in so much darkness that surrounds us these days. I encourage you to temper all the bad news with uplifting things! Be conscious of who and what you are allowing to feed your soul.

Matthew 5 – The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes^(A)

He said:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.^(B)
⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.^(C)
⁵Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.^(D)
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.^(E)
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.^(F)
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,^(G)
    for they will see God.^(H)
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,^(I)
    for they will be called children of God.^(J)
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,^(K)
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.^(L)

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you,^(M)persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.^(N) ¹²Rejoice and be glad,^(O) because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.^(P)