Risking Professional Suicide

Open-minded folk risk their careers to talk about the subjects that many of us consider to be odd, bizarre, loopy, freaky, from the Devil, or just plain “out there.”

They risk professional suicide and I admire them for it.

These open-minded, inquisitive types aren’t satisfied with the current conventions. The way it is just isn’t enough. They know we don’t know everything.
Findings and phenomenon aren’t dismissed because they’re different, unusual, or weird. Instead they’re explored, researched, and, at the risk of public ridicule, talked about.

If we didn’t question our beliefs and methods, then modern medicine might still be routinely removing sections of the large intestine as it was apparently once thought to not really do much. (This info came from The Modern Medical Counselor, Sign of the Times Publishing, Oshawa, Ont. Copyright 1944.)

The late John E. Mack was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He wrote several books, two of which concerned clients who believed they’d been abducted by extraterrestrials.
After 15 months of intense scrutiny, his peers ruled that he could pursue any research he wanted.

Dr. Brian Weiss, another psychiatrist, has written several books about the past lives such as the groundbreaking Many Lives, Many Masters.

Dr. Michael Newton, a counseling psychologist and founder of the Society for Spiritual Regression, has written extensively about the between life state including Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls.

Science holds itself up as wanting to learn and explain. Most of the time it wants to hide anything that doesn’t fit pre-conceived notions. Anyone who does is ridiculed, marginalized, or just plain ignored.
These three men have taken the derision and persevered. In doing so they’ve done exactly what science claims it does; they’ve explored, researched, and brought something new and exciting to table.
They’ve got my respect and admiration.
We need more like them.

Roasted Cauliflower

I found a recipe at the Gluten-Free By The Bay blog for Oven Roasted Broccoli With Lemon, Chili-Garlic Oil and Parmesan. It sounded so good I vowed I’d try it.
We had broccoli in the house and I needed something different to do with it. Plain steamed broc is healthy and easy, but it rarely excites the taste buds.

I have issues with recipes. I resent having inanimate objects tell me what to do. We had cauliflower in the house, too, so I decided to use it instead.
With the broc recipe as my guide, I mixed cold pressed extra-virgin olive with lemon juice until it looked like melted butter. I poured it over the chopped cauliflower and tossed it until it was well coated.
Then I sprinkled on a bit of nutmeg and some cayenne pepper, and put it in the oven at 350F. I had some leftover lasagne-esque pasta that I was heating so I put the veggie in with it. One less dish for my husband to wash, and it gave the flavors a chance to commingle.

A half-hour may seem like a long time, but it was just right. The cauliflower browned in places and even though it was cooked it was crunchy.

Gluten-Free By the Bay has some wonderful recipes. Check it out at http://glutenfreebay.blogspot.com/

Passport Panic

I have to shake my head sometimes. We’ve known for months that we’d soon need a passport to fly to the US. It was speculated about for several months and we had plenty of time to prepare. But for the last week people have been lining up overnight at the Edmonton passport office to meet the January 23 deadline.

They waited until the last minute. Surely they must have had some clue that this was a) happening and b) that they were off to the US shortly and really ought to get going on it.
But no. They wait and then complain to the media that the government isn’t doing anything to help them like extend the office hours or bring in more staff.
I got news for you pal. The world does not revolve around you and your procrastination.

It’s bad enough that we extend post office hours at the end of April when our income taxes are due. It’s not like tax time is a surprise. It’s the same time every year. We know it’s coming. Unless you’re ambushed by unforeseen circumstances you’ve got plenty of time to get it done. Yet some of us wait until deadline day afternoon to even start filling out the forms, and then rush off to meet the midnight posting deadline.

Back to passports. Some people are so desperate to get to the front of the line they’re paying good money to claim another’s spot. They’re shelling out hundreds of dollars just to get ahead of the crowd. Still others have hired someone to stand in line all night and hold a spot for them.
Do we really have so much disposable income that we can hire someone to wait for us?

On the good side, the Edmonton library system knows a good opportunity. Staffers came by the line up and gave away books they we’re weeding from the system.
So you can make a few hundred dollars and get free reading material just for spending a cold Canadian winter night in line.

Where do I sign up?

I'm waiting for the moment of grand enlightenment when the good people who paid $500 for a spot at the front of the line realize that if they're not traveling until June, they could have waited until March to apply for their passports.

Six Months Later

Second thought is a wonderful thing. Six months after I sent out my first wave of book proposals I decided to rewrite the overview. I opened the file to take yet another look before printing it out. As I read it, I cringed. It was a load of preamble that didn’t say much about the book.

An overview should say something about the content of the manuscript. Mine seemed to have missed the point. Of course I thought it was brilliant when I wrote it. It gave an idea of the area in which I was writing. I honestly thought that was good enough.

No. No it isn’t. An overview should give the acquisitions editor, more likely her assistant, more than just a hint. I think it should flat out say to expect. And it should be interesting, informative, and well written.

Anyway, I cut out about 100 words and reworked it so it says what it should. I’ll let it cool for a while, then go in and proofread it. I’m going to take my time with this batch. It’ll be a few more days before the packages are sent, but at least I’ll be sending something sensible.

Sunny Sunday Snowshoer

My husband, Mike, took these photos of me. We went snowshoeing at Twin Lakes on a warm and sunny Sunday.

Abundance Cheques

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
-- Shakespeare, from Hamlet (I, v, 166-167)

One of the simplest and most effective ways of calling endless supply to you is invoke the Law of Abundance by writing an abundance cheque.
I’ve heard of a few different methods. Some call for signing your name and filling in the amount and date. Another way calls for leaving the amount and date open and signing it the “Law Of Abundance.”

I favor the open method.
Why?
Because the Universe is unlimited. Trying to limit it is absurd. Remember, the Universe knows best.
Your guides and helpers are in it to help you. If are trying to manifest something you’re not ready to receive, then the Universe will step in and stop you from doing something stupid.

Write the cheque on the new moon. Seeding is done on the new moon as that’s the time for growth and prosperity. This is like seeding your bank account.
You can find out the time of the new moon in your area by going to http://skytonight.com/
You’ve got a 24 hour window to get it done. Say the new moon is at 7:24 p.m. on Thursday. You’ve got until 7:24 p.m. Friday to get it done.

Make the cheque out to you and use your full name. Write “unlimited” or “endless supply” or “paid in full” in the amount line and in the box holding the dollar amount.
Sign it “The Law of Abundance.”
It can also be signed “The Universe” or “The Source” or “All That Is.” The Universal Laws come from All That is, therefore any of these names work. Use whichever signature vibrates with you.
Write “Thank You” in the memo line.
Do not put a date on it. No day, no month, no year. Nothing. Leave the date line blank because dates are limiting.

Put it away and forget about it. Do this every month.
Whether you believe in it or not is academic. It works. See for yourself.

Abundance is one of the Universal Laws. Read more about them at http://www.abundance-and-happiness.com/universal-laws.html

Head Case

I kissed the floor with my forehead the other night. It’s been five days and I’m finally able to get at some of the deeper functions of my mind. I could think and get by, but that was about it. I didn’t feel like I could have any sort of competent, intellectual conversation. Critical thought simply was not available.

I’d gotten up in the night and felt woozy. I “browned out” at least twice and combated it by taking great amounts of air into my tummy to ward off the nausea and pain and directed some air into my brain in a feeble attempt to clear the wooze. The third time it happened I was drying my hands and had to brace myself against the wall for a moment.

It’s only 10 feet back to bed. I can make it, I thought. Then I opened the bathroom door and promptly made a liar out of myself.

After we determined that everything still worked, Mike carried me to bed and got me an ice pack. He thought I ought to go to Emergency. I disagreed.
I held on to a smoky quartz to ease the pain and swelling and asked Archangel Raphael to heal me. I brought green, healing light into my body and held malachite, too.
This combination did wonders. I still had pain, but it eased off beautifully.
At Mike’s suggestion I put Bach Rescue Cream ™ on the swelling to ward off bruising and it’s worked really well. The only discoloration is close to my eye where I didn’t want to put any of the cream. It looks like eye shadow or maybe runny mascara.
I guess I needed the rest. I was unable to write, or think terribly deeply, until mid-evening yesterday. Today I’m much better. Still some swelling and a slight headache, but it’s tolerable.

Many alternatives are available to us when we’re sick or injured. Modern medicine is wonderful, but it’s not the only option. The Bach ® flower essence did a great job. I know the smoky quartz gave me a great deal of relief. I even rested my poor swelled head on it. That should have hurt, but it didn’t. Quartz is cold, for one thing, and it was very soothing.
I’d never recommend not seeking proper medical attention. But for me, specific to this incident, the alternatives worked.

Aware, Not Asleep

"I wasn’t really hypnotized."

No one ever thinks he or she was hypnotized. I’ve said it myself.
Clients report they were alert and awake through the session. Because we’re conditioned to equate hypnosis with sleep, we expect to slumber through it not really aware of our surroundings. We expect it because the word hypnosis is from the Greek word hypnos which means sleep.

In reality the relaxed and focused awareness of the proper hypnotic state makes us sharply aware. Our minds are commonly instructed to ignore the surroundings, but we still know exactly what’s going on.

Being able to ignore all the usual distraction, coupled with the suggestion to the subconscious that the deeper doorways of the mind are open, is what let’s us get at those long dormant memories. Everything we’ve experienced in this life is filed away. We use what we need. Generally we don’t need to recall the exact events of our third birthday party, but we if we want to, then we can through hypnosis.
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Let Your God Essence Grow

We’re all God. Never mind the word you use, or what you perceive God to be, we’re all from the same Source.
Think of the All That is as a great blob of light that exploded one day and sent shards of light out. Some of the blob stayed intact and it’s the mission of the shards to experience all they can about the physical world, then bring that info back to the main body.
Prior to the explosion the physical world existed. It needed to be animated. Plants, animals, water, rocks, you name it. If it has a consciousness, then a shard of light can inhabit it and have a life in it. When it’s experienced enough for one go-round the shard goes home for a rest. It determines what should be experienced next, then sets about finding the conditions to meet that need.
Eventually the shard learns all it can and gets re-absorbed into the main blob.
That shard of light inside is our God essence. Everyone’s got a God essence and it’s learning what it needs or wants in order to find its way home someday and stay.

Remembering that we’re all the same inside is difficult. We’re bombarded daily with war, conflict, crime, and a growing sense of entitlement in society.
It’s easy to see the shard of light in someone you love. It’s a challenge to see the God essence of Mr. No-Muffler when he warms his truck up at 4 a.m. But that’s when we need to remember it the most.

Try this exercise. Next time annoyed with someone, say when you’re in the express line behind someone with 20 items instead of ten.
Do you question this shopper’s right to exist? I know I do. But we know nothing about her situation. Is she in a hurry Does she have a sick child at home? Will she lose her job if she comes back from lunch late?

Instead of fuming about being stuck in line, calm yourself. Open your heart and mind your mind. Assess her body language, clothing, speech. Make a game of it. Think about what might be happening in her life.
Then concentrate on the spark of light inside you. Feel it, and let it grow. When you’ve filled your body with light imagine a thread of it growing from you to her. Let your God essence find hers.
Instead of being irritated you’ll likely feel good. When we send out love it comes back to us in many forms. It generates good will in the Universe.
You’ll need that good will someday because to someone else you are the obnoxious lout in the lineup.

Enjoy It Now

We work hard. We worry about tomorrow and how we’re ever going to get by. We fill our time with work and worry and the time slides by quickly.

What have we done?

We’ve socked some cash away for the future. We’re going to spend the glorious years of our retirement traveling and relaxing because then we’ll have the time to do it. But what about now?

What are you doing with your time?

Do you anxiously wait for the minutes to tick by so you can go home from work? Are you looking forward to the weekend and just want to get the week over with?
Does the day seem short, but the hours really, really long?
This morning is ancient history. Tomorrow is still a dream. But now, right now, this very minute is here and it’s what we’ve got. We’re sure of right now because we’re experiencing it. Do you know for an absolute fact that you’ve got tomorrow, too?
We believe we’ll have it. We have faith that we’ll wake up tomorrow morning and many mornings beyond. That’s the faith that encourages us to start a savings account, make plans for next year, plant a tree. But until tomorrow happens and becomes now we can’t be absolutely sure of anything.
Building for the future is wonderful, but it shouldn’t ever get in the way of enjoying today.

Start by slowing down.
Let’s say it’s your afternoon break and you’re about to eat an apple. Don’t just eat it; experience it. Use all your senses. Tune out everything else around you and look at it. See the different colors in the peel. Inhale the fragrance. You’ve got an orchard in your hand. Is it firm? Round or oval? Does it feel cool or room temperature?
Now take a bite. Did you hear the crunch? Chew slowly and let the flavor slide over your tongue and inhabit your mouth.
Is it sweet, tart, juicy?
Slow down and enjoy your apple and enjoy this moment of your life. It’s what you’ve got right now.

List Your Abundance

We’ve got more than we think. We don’t realize it because we go day to day without giving it much thought. It’s easier to see what we don’t have enough of, like time and money.
It’s common to stack our belongings against our perception of everyone else’s. We dwell on only taking a week’s vacation when the neighbors went for two weeks, or lament that their plasma TV is bigger and newer.
We’re spoiled, shallow, and empty. We’ve bought into the silly notion that bigger and newer is always better. If we can’t afford it, then we’ve failed. We turn to credit to help us fit in with society because that new toy is important to our happiness. Credit exists. Why not use it?
Big new toys make us feel important, successful, and abundant. They fill the hole ripped in our psyches from not taking the time to appreciate what we do have.
What to do?
The first step is to determine what you’ve got. Document your abundance.
Get a pen and paper and make a list. Start with the basics.
Look around your house. You’re indoors, right? Then you’ve got a roof over your head.
Have you got food in the fridge? Cable television? A car?
What else have you got?
If you’ve got food, clothing, and shelter, then you’re leaps and bounds ahead of the millions of homeless and starving people in North America alone.
Write down everything you can think of including the clean air you breathe and the potable water from your kitchen tap.
Funny thing is, when you make this list you begin to understand how much you have.
Include your friends and family on you list, too.
If you immediate wants and needs are met, then you’ve got real abundance. Acknowledge it and be grateful for it. Many people around you and millions more around the world consider you rich.

Reincarnation

How do you know you didn’t live before? Can you prove this is your first and only life?
You’re welcome to believe it. Do what fits your spiritual outlook and your comfort level.
But it you subscribe to the belief that life isn’t a one-shot affair, and you further believe that the people in your life have been with you before, then it’s reasonable to conclude that you’ve got some business with them. Karma maybe. Or maybe they’re offering a lesson that you’ve decided to have in this life.
But whatever it is, if you’re having difficulty understanding your life experiences, then exploring your past lives can give you a whole new set of tools for dealing with these events. Past-life regression can be exhilarating, traumatic, fun, terrifying, enlightening, and life-changing, all in one session. When you see friends and family today as the people they were once it gives you a different perspective on them. You may become more objective, understanding, or even kinder and more accepting in your view of them. And you’ll gain more understanding of your life choices, too.

Redpoll

Finally got a passably adequate photo of a redpoll at the livingroom feeder.

Dear Blog:

I’m sorry to have ignored you so much lately. I’ll try to do better. I really messed up the other day trying to get you an RSS feed. Downloaded the wrong thing and had an awful time trying to kill it off. Computer searches don’t show anything, but a screen for it shows up on start up along with the dialer dialogue box.
Meanwhile, I did find the right thing for RSS, but I’m a wee bit snake bit over the earlier incident. I hope it’s not too late. I applied to BlogBurst so you’d get some more attention. It requires Atom or RSS. Something at the bottom of the posts talks about Atom and subscribing to it. When I click I get some of my posts. I wish I knew more, Blog. You deserve better. I tried Technorati six weeks ago. Nothing.
How is the BlogRoll treating you? I think it’s wonderful. I hope you do, too.
I’d like to get you some more pictures. The bird feeders have been steadily occupied by redpolls since the cold weather and wind started up. The photos have to be taken out the window and as soon as the blinds move they get scared and fly off. The ones facing away from the window stay, but I’d only get a photo of tail feathers. I don’t think you’d like that.
I’m trying, Blog. I’ll look around and see what else I can do for you. I’ll write again soon.

Rejected

Life is proceeding normally. Got a rejection from a major Canadian publishing house today. Standard issue. Said it wasn’t right for their list and included an apology for bringing me disappointment.
Not right for the list covers a lot of ground. It can mean anything from your writing is laughable to it’s the wrong subject for what that publisher puts out. Mostly it’s to ward off stalkers.
Plenty of Golden Word Syndrome suffers cannot conceive of a world where their priceless prose could ever be rejected. If they’re turned down it’s a) a mistake, or b) the editor knows what I can do to make it perfect and she’ll tell me if I call and it’ll be accepted on the next try and if I could just talk to her I know she’d realize the error of her ways and offer me a contract.
Everyone gets rejected. I’m in good company. I need to work on my writing. Keep going. Keep learning. Keep sending out queries and proposals.
That’s what I’ll be doing in the next few days. I’ve let the query and proposal for book three collect dust for six months now. I’ve sniffed it over a few times and licked it clean again. It's ready to go. Bring on the rejections. I’m ready.

Invasion of the Giant Grasshoppers

Years ago when the boss was away we had a bit of fun. I ran composite photo of a man posing with his .3030 (I think) rifle in one hand and the giant, three-foot grasshopper he’d bagged with it in the other.
It ran on the front page of the Mountain View County News in late May of 1986. A co-worker in the newspaper’s backshop brought the photo in and we thought it’d make a great joke. The cutline explained how the farmer, fearing for his cattle, shot it while it was having a drink at a water trough.
About a week later we got a call from a nearby agricultural research station wanting more information. The publisher’s wife, just back from their month-long cruise, warned the caller that the ‘hoppers were coming and they’d better be ready.
The photo is two pics put together. The grasshopper pic was enlarged many, many times over while the man with the rifle was from a photo taken sometime in the 1930s.
In the early 1990s I saw this same photo on the cover of a tabloid. Apparently, the giant grasshoppers were taking over the Australian outback. A few years later it graced the front of another tabloid. By this time the ‘hoppers had made it to the US. I curse myself for not buying copies of these newspapers to hold up with pride along with the County News. After all, I broke the giant ‘hopper story.

Daydreaming Is Not Hypnosis

Daydreaming is not hypnosis. It’s like hypnosis. It’s a similar mind-frame, but it’s not the same thing.
It annoys me greatly when I find this used as an example because I think it’s misleading.
Oh, I know why it’s posed this way. There’s no legitimate reason to fear the hypnotic state and this is a way to ease that fear. We can thank the entertainment media for messing with our minds over this. Killer hypnozombies are more interesting than someone who is simply relaxed and aware.
Truth is we lapse into different states of brain wave activity naturally during the day. We get lost in thought. We zone in while painting or reading or fixing the lawn mower. It’s natural and normal.
Generally when this happens we’ve gone into the alpha state. That’s where our brain wave activity has slowed a bit from the normal waking level known as beta.
It happens when we’re concentrating intently on something, but it also happens when we’re doing something routine and we daydream our way through it.
Hypnosis is an induced state of focused relaxation coupled with suggestibility.
Daydreaming doesn’t have much of a focus and doesn't make us susceptible to suggestion. If I’m lost in thought while sweeping my kitchen floor and someone suggests I go screaming into the street, it won’t happen. I’d snap out of the reverie and back into the beta level of consciousness darn quickly. I’d also be annoyed.
After alpha comes theta. It’s an even slower level brain wave activity. That’s the level we're at in proper hypnosis and meditation.
The fourth level is delta. That’s the level of brain wave activity we have in deep sleep and in a coma.
No one would ever suggest that a coma is the very same thing as a deep sleep. And it’s my position that no one should suggest that being lost in thought while we do the dishes is the same as being hypnotized.