https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvZ3j4DQLVk If you have an hour or more sit back and see Joni Mitchell play her music on her guitar, piano, and dulcimer. She has such spirit and sings like a meadowlark.
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Saturday, December 3, 2022
The song "Nellova" is about a birth control pill I had a bad reaction to
https://dianedevillers.bandcamp.com/track/nellova from my cd 'Camas Swale" produced by Craig from Riffraff production. Mark plays lead guitar on most of them.
Friday, November 4, 2022
Sweet Article about Thankfulness
https://www.karengirlfriday.com/8-ingredients-for-a-thankful-heart/ when you are getting ready for thanksgiving this article will make you smile. We all have something or someone to be thankful for
Monday, June 20, 2022
A teacher with a Gun is Like a Cook With Rat Poison
A Teacher With a Gun Is Like a Cook With Rat Poison by Katherine Valentine
Do you like pink and blue AR-15s?
A teacher teaches; a gun kills. Teaching is not killing; killing is not teaching. In fact, one could say that killing is the very opposite of teaching.
We would not be talking about arming teachers if it were not for so many school shootings — 27 so far this year. There would not be so many school shootings each year if it were not for gun manufacturers and distributors and the National Rifle Association. Gun manufacturers and distributors and the NRA would not be big business if there were not big profits to be made by selling guns.
It’s all about selling guns, ammunition, body armor, holsters, concealed carriers, bore sights, cleaner kits, spare magazines and speed loaders, storage cases and gun safes, and ear protection. And more guns.
And lots more profit.
Guns are not like bread. You eat up a loaf of bread in a week or so and then must either forgo sandwiches and toast or buy more bread. Manufacturers of bread are assured of continued profits. Meanwhile, there’s a Winchester 94 .30–30 1899 Lever Action Rifle from 1894 on sale right now that’ll still kill you. (I’m not going to link to the advertisement for safety reasons.) Gun manufacturers don’t mind if you collect an old weapon here and there, but to ensure their profits continue, they have to get you to buy the latest, in-style killing machine. The AR-15 will do it — you know, like the one that kid used on May 24 to kill 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Better yet, two.
Salvador Ramos, the shooter at Robb Elementary, has become an “influencer” in the killing industry! Like any influencer, he encourages people to buy products and thereby create profit for manufacturers and distributors. Like any recent AR-15 influencer, he creates profit for Colt, the manufacturer of this most popular (and profitable) rifle, and for 52,779 gun stores in this country. Ramos and the other AR-15 influencers do this by making us afraid for our safety and the safety of our children. We are now so terrified for our safety that we buy 20 million guns a year and now live in a gun culture.
So now at school, we want to arm teachers.
Think about this for a moment. Which of the teachers you had would you have wanted up in front of your glass in body armor with weapon in holster and gun finger at the ready?
Would it be Miss Summers? Remember her coming into second-grade class that day with a basket of daisies from her garden? She gave a lovely flower to every boy and girl in class. No, Miss Summers loved everybody, probably even if they had an AR-15. She could never shoot anybody.
How about Mr. Frasier? Mr. Frasier once picked up a boy and turned him completely upside down to demonstrate what “invert” means. But when he wasn’t inverting fifth-grade boys and fractions, we could see that Mr. Frasier had this tremor in his hands. He might have shot the wrong person.
Then there was Mrs. Barkley, who really did bark in high-school English class when anybody began a paragraph in an essay with “But.” But Mrs. Barkley once called Abie a “Jewboy,” and she always gave him a bad grade. No, arming Miss Barkley would surely be like giving the cook rat poison.
Think back. Do you remember any teacher you had who would have been capable of protecting students with a gun? I can’t. Besides, the idea of arming teachers so the gun industry can continue to rake in big profits really is the stupidest idea ever.
Or maybe you agree with Ted Cruz — you know, that senator who’s been bought by the gun lobby — that the best protection from gun violence is more guns. Well then, after the next school shooting, you’ll probably be talking about arming not only the teachers but all the students, too. I’ll bet Colt will be happy to produce a backpack-sized lighter-weight version of the popular killing machine, in pink for girls and blue for boys. Maybe they’ll call it the MAR-15 (M for mini).
Saturday, May 21, 2022
The 13 characteristics of a Pure Soul
A few of the main characteristics of a Pure Soul are:
- The Soul is full of infinite knowledge and vision. Hence, it can know and see everything. However, due to the deluding karmas sitting over the Soul, we are not able to grasp this infinite knowledge and vision until we attain Self-Realization. Param Pujya Dadashri says, the Pure Soul is in the form of light (of knowledge). On the basis of this light, the Soul is able to know the objects to be known. When all of its light is uncovered (i.e. if all the deluding karmas would be removed from over the Soul), we are able to know everything of the entire Universe i.e. we become Omniscient.
- It is full of infinite energy and strength.
- Further, it is the abode of infinite bliss i.e. permanent happiness. Those who have experienced the full state of the Self, feel constant happiness and joy radiating from within.
- It is detached (asanga).
- It cannot be tainted (nirlep; unsmaerable).
- It is invisible.
- It is formless (amurta).
- It is illuminating and indestructible.
- It is eternal i.e. permanent. The Soul is never born nor does it ever die. It is the physical body that dies and takes rebirth.
- It can expand and contract. For example, it expands in the elephant to the size of the elephant and contracts in an ant and becomes of the size of the ant’s body.
- It is due to Soul that one can feel. The Soul is present throughout the body. Wherever you feel any sensation e.g. the prick of a pin, it is because the Soul is present there.
- It is indivisible.
- It is immiscible. It never mixes with anything and loses its inherent properties. Its original properties always remain intact. For this reason, we are able to separate the Soul and the body and realize the Self.
Only when one understands the properties of the Soul, one can manifest and experience the Soul.
Self-realization
During the process of Self-Realization, we embark on our journey of understanding the properties of the Soul. As this understanding of various properties enhances, we are slowly able to separate the pure Self from the impure body complex; the impurities being in the form of anger, pride, deceit, and greed.
With this separation happening more and more frequently, we harness greater oneness with the real Self (the Pure Soul) and begin to experience its properties to some extent. For instance, you get an inkling of the property of infinite strength of the Soul when you are able to remain cool and untouched amidst adverse situations that are painful. You get the flavor of the detached, permanent and blissful state of the Soul when you observe how the worldly things that bring pain or pleasure in life, come and go away after some time, displaying their temporary nature.
Thus, after Self-Realization, as we remain more and more one with the Self, we slowly but surely begin to experience each characteristic of the Soul in a greater degree. After Self-Realization, with the real vision gained from Gnani, as we start seeing the living beings around us as Pure Souls, our interactions with them start becoming pure. And simultaneously, our awareness of, ‘I am a Pure Soul’ also increases.
From Savana East Dada Bogwan
Friday, April 22, 2022
How to Live in the Moment
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The Art of Living In The Present
After my husband passed, a whirl of past and future danced in my mind. The sad movie of every memory we shared played endlessly: there he was on the night we met, the wildly handsome young man with a heavy mustache. Enchanting. Then we were waltzing on the dance floor of the restaurant he owned, stepping into our new home, toasting across the dinner table, and cradling our baby daughter.
My heart was anywhere but in the present, oscillating between painful “what ifs” and still more painful “if onlys.” Doubt weighed down the hours. With time I realized that I had to release my sadness and reclaim my joy, and that I could do this only by detaching from what happened or might happen and diving into what was happening then and there. Being in tune with time is an art, a true skill. As with anything else, it requires self-mastery. But its rewards are invaluable: peace of mind and greater understanding. After all, you exist in this very moment, not one hour ago or in two weeks.
If you’re having trouble remaining present, take these seven actions to help return you to right now:
- Don’t Try to Escape the Moment
- Embrace Your Pain
- Ground Yourself
- Project a Better Future
- Remember what Didn’t Go Wrong
- Welcome New Joys
- Make Necessary Changes
Don’t Try to Escape the Moment
Your present may involve much struggle and confusion, but trying to evade the situation won’t help you resolve it. Accept what’s happening with a calm mind and courageous heart. “Fighting the tide” will cause you to sink. Relinquish your resistance and fear; such emotions prolong your problems. You will be surprised at how powerful you’ll prove to be against the things that scare you the most. Your obligation to be present holds true through both good and bad, so stand tall and face each moment.
Embrace Your Pain
It’s okay to feel pain; it’s as much a part of life as every other emotion. Many people are afraid to hurt because they forget that suffering actually makes them stronger. Let your pain come and go, allowing it to run its course with no hesitation. Cry if you feel like it. Yell and beat a pillow if you’re upset. Pain is your most powerful emotion, in fact, since it strikes more deeply than other feelings. Pain fortifies you, each time with a new coat of endurance. Harness its full force by utilizing the creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness that come along with feeling hurt. After pain subsides, resilience blooms.
Ground Yourself
Refocus on the present when you feel yourself getting carried away by yesterday’s sorrows or tomorrow’s anxieties. Sit or stand with your feet planted firmly into the ground and clear your mind. If possible, stand outside barefoot and allow the energy from the earth to rise through you. Place your hands on something (a table, wall, tree, etc.). Concentrate on how that object feels, its surface, size, and texture. Run your palms across it. Inhale deeply and notice what you smell in the air: plants, food, a candle?
What do you hear: the TV, birds, kids playing? What do you taste on your tongue? Immerse your five senses in your surroundings to reel yourself back into the present. Understand that you need to be in no other place than where you are now.
Project a Better Future
No matter what you’re going through, you can always choose to envision a more positive future. This helps you feel in control of what’s to come instead of feeling anxious about it. Allow yourself to daydream, imagining the best possible outcome for your efforts and the most favorable resolution to your problems. Also, perform actions that are reflective of the good things you’re planning. If you have an upcoming interview, for example, buy yourself a brand new outfit in which you feel sharp and confident. Your mind is a magnet for the outside world, steadily pulling in your thoughts. Preparing for blessings to come increases their likelihood. As I like to say, reality reflects what the mind projects.
Remember what Didn’t Go Wrong
We’re quick to obsess over the bad and hesitant to admit the good. This causes a disproportion in our thoughts, placing emphasis on the heavy, fearful ones. Remind yourself of all the times you were divinely protected and spared from something truly bad. This will break the pattern of fretting over the future. You are the architect of your life and can influence its direction entirely once you’ve learned to calm your mind and control your thoughts.
Welcome New Joys
After my husband passed, I felt guilty when I wasn’t sad; it almost felt wrong to be happy without him. But I reminded myself that he wouldn’t want me to suffer, and slowly I reintegrated new reasons to be content. Allow happiness to return to you in new forms. Never put conditions on being in good spirits or having continued faith. Even if you’re experiencing health issues or financial burdens, you have many other sources of fulfillment. The ability to multiply and expand your happiness is entirely yours because joy is your birthright.
Make Necessary Changes
Change forces you to pay attention, remain present, and take action. There’s no better feeling after a difficult experience than a shift in scenery and environment. Don’t be afraid to make the improvements you’ve been putting off: move to a new location, get a better job, make different friends, and so on. Staying stuck in the same circumstances will leave you constantly reverting to the past. But seeking exciting possibilities and hopeful opportunities will teach you to honor this precious moment in time. Living in the present may not always be easy to do, but it will restore elements of incredible well-being. Integrate my seven tips above to embrace all of life’s moments and rediscover your joy right now.
Saturday, April 16, 2022
Address Global Warming if not for the Children but for all our sakes
We only have so many years before we could make our earth uninhabitable. Let's do it for the children of the world, leave them a world we'd want to live in.
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