As the holidays quickly approach, I am reminded of the importance of gathering together. The world is connected through the multi-media in such a way, few things are private. We know what people are doing all over the world. The actions of someone half way around the world are displayed for all of us to see - every detail of people's lives are open for public "critique." Social media sites offer a way to stay connected with people we know, care about, and or simply want to know more about. It is, indeed, a marvelous way to stay abreast with people's lives.
    This holiday season offers each of us the opportunity to get out from in front of our computers and really "see" those individuals. To hear someones voice, see their facial expressions, watch their body language, and hear the intonation of their words, offers so much more than social media. It takes people skills, real human emotions, and strength to talk face to face with people. Writing words is one thing, seeing the reaction of those words is quite another. Good communications that deepens relationships is one in which clarity of the message is known. You cannot tell if someone "heard your real intentions" by only using email, texting, or social networking to communicate. I know of some very sad feelings that were felt by recipients of predominately multi-media forms.
    So, consider the real gift you can give your friends and family this holiday season by taking the time to pick up the phone, or, better yet, arrange a face to face meeting if only for a few moments. Heck, aren't you curious how your friends or family look? I, for one, would like to think other people are showing the signs of age that I am! Life is so very precious, and it seems to be moving at light-speed, so give the gift of your time to those you love and care about and see how it feels to really connect on a personal level. It just might be the best holiday gift you give and receive this season. 

     Yesterday a dear friend called early in the morning to share a teaching she had just received. She is part of an online program organized by Neale Donald Walsch (or maybe he just promotes it?) however, it's called the Master's Series. Various well known inventors, explorers, healers, wisdom keepers, share what they have discovered. Yesterday she heard a teaching on the way men and women approach business endeavors. The lady who spoke (I believe it was Dr. Ellie Drake) had done extensive research study to discover why, overall, men seem to be more successful with new endeavors than women. Now this is a very, very short version of what she heard; however, it seems that overall men excrete more adrenalin which brings excitement and full blown energy to catapult them full-blown into projects. Whereas, women approach such endeavors with a "fight or flight," which causes them to move into the endeavor with some hesitancy. That is to say, they approach it with more caution and at a slower pace, whereas men jump right in and go for it.
      Of course, these are just generalities, and I am giving you a very, very short version. If you are interested in the more in-depth information, let me know and I'll find a link or some reference point for you. Dr. Ellie continued that for a woman to be successful (and she most certainly knows they are!) they generally have to identify with the project like she would a child. That is to say, she needs to "bond" with the project as she would a child. Once this is securely connected, the sky's the limit!
     As I walked yesterday, that teaching came back to me, wrapped in a rainbow colored blanket! What I know from what I heard is the teaching is certainly not gender-related. What the teaching is about is understanding the importance of Love! Whatever word we put on finding excitement in life that will move us to taking action, feeling the thrill of a new adventure, being willing to put all our efforts into something that stirs our heart, requires we listen and respect our heart. While our head also needs engaged to help with the "organizing" of action, it is the project that comes from our heart that becomes the catalyst for action. When we take action according to our heart's dream, we have the energy, tenacity, perseverance, whatever accolade we want to us to put all the blood, sweat and tears into seeing it to completion.
     What an amazing Truth! It does not matter what your gender, what matters is what "passion" you have that waits for your attention. There is a respect that must be maintained between our Head and Heart that allows both to work together with the Spirit of cooperation. If we only have dreams with no support for seeing them through, then it will never manifest. If we are only action oriented we will fill our days with "tasks" that keep us busy checking off our list, and never really hear our heart's dreams. Sorta like the "bucket list," it would be helpful to check in weekly, or even daily, to see what our dreams are and plan accordingly. Like most of us humans, if we are recognized each day by those we love, we're pretty happy. We require less attention when we know we are really "seen" and loved! It's something to think about today. Let us know what you notice, we are here to help you realize your dreams through community! We have a very rich community filled with a plethora of resources!

    Woke from a dream that had Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer reconstructing an old home. They had patched holes in some walls and were painting them a lovely green. Really didn't want to wake up since the "scenery" was so great. However, as all too often happens, despite keeping my eyes closed in hopes of staying with the experience, my brain woke up. I immediately started analyzing the meaning of the dream and before you know it, I was wide awake with my brain fully engaged in all sorts of fact finding activities. Rather than continue lying in bed, I chose to take the thoughts from my head and put them down in print. For me, seeing the words on paper helps my mind release them from my brain. I have such an amazing brain that kicks into gear at a moments notice, regardless of my hearts wishes; it wants to offer it's services.
     My mind is grateful for the quietness of night, since daytime is so busy with other external noises. I have noticed as I get older these noises tend to be more distracting. As I hear faint sounds of the middle of the night traveler, truck driver, or delivery vehicles to the nearby Publix store, I wonder about life. How is it the business of life becomes so focused on doing? And at what point did the doing become more important then just being? Why is it we are driven to find more ways to make money? When did figuring things out become so time consuming? I remember when people just did what was necessary in order to stay up with common chores. That was, of course, when manual labor and self-sustaining activities consumed your time. Back then, you went to sleep as soon as your head hit the pillow from exhaustion. Now days, we have things we need in a box, online, delivered to us, or someone else to do it for us.
    With these conveniences more time is freed up to "think." We think of ways to get, create, obtain, manage our "things," then we spend time figuring out how to use it, keep it, even maintain it, which, of course, requires our mind to figure such things out. Little wonder we get so tired! There's a lot to "think" about. 
     For this moment, I am just going to tell my brain everything is just fine. Things are as perfect as they can be and if it really wants to help me, it can be very still while I return to two delicious men waiting to help renovate an old building. Hmm, what I know of dream analysis is a building represents your spiritual life, so I say let Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer return, I have a hunch they can do a great deal for my soul! Come to think about it, fantasies do make my heart race, and I'll take that form over walking the 'treadmill' anyday!

    This morning I am considering the differences between "good" and "bad," "right" and "wrong," and what I have discovered is none of them really makes sense. Whatever word I choose to use to describe the polarizing energies, still does not help me understand how such contrasting words can create such havoc in the world. 
    When I was in the very fundamental faith, I was told "good" was God, and "bad" was the devil. Hence I grew up afraid of both. I was fearful if I didn't do certain things God would be disappointed and somehow punish me, and if I listened to the devil I would most certainly be banished to burn in hell for all of eternity. Consequently, I was constantly judging myself, my actions, my words! And, as though that wasn't enough, I judged everyone else in the same manner. It was a very tedious and joyless way to live. 
    This morning it is clear there is much to learn and discern about "good/bad" "right/wrong", ultimately, God and the Devil. It is certainly not my job to convince anyone what is best for them; my job is to discern for myself and take action according to what I know within my heart. And there lies the key to understanding . . . knowing one's heart! 
    Growing up I was told God lives in heaven, watches my actions and has a huge pad of paper on which he keeps track of what I do. I really never knew that God was within me; that God and I could be intimate friends! I am most grateful to have realized that we are, indeed, intimate partners in this life. And that everything I think, say and do is a reflection of the Creator of the Universe! Once I realized this, everything in my life changed. Never again did I feel alone, never did I feel inferior. Instead, I watched my thoughts, words and actions so that they reflected to others the divine. I wanted everyone to know the "peace" and security that comes from having a friend available 24/7. I do watch my thoughts, words and actions, but this time it's because I want others to witness the Creator and all that comes from being intimate with the divine. 
    I have human emotions and reactions to situations that are not uplifting, or loving; however, I know that through the situation something is being "worked out," somehow there will be a deepening of compassion and understanding if I will hold love in my heart knowing it is God that sits within. 
    There are, indeed, varying degrees of positive/negative, good/bad, and yet if we will allow our divine nature to guide our life, we will find our way home to hearts. What an amazing place that is!  

    We had a gathering this other evening and shared what we were "harvesting" in our lives. Sometimes that question can be a bit "daunting" since most of the time we are all so busy we rarely see things growing, let alone actually ripening. Living in the North, allows one to see very clearly what the seasons brings. We can see the ripeness of Fall, stillness of Winter, awakening of Spring, and the fullness of Summer, and yet we often rarely pay attention to how that is "showing up" in our lives. 
    Consider, if you will, the activity of the 2011 summer for you. What sorts of events happened? Did you grow a garden, travel for a holiday, get involved in a more physical "outdoor" activity, or simply bask in the warmth of the hot summer? There are so many things we do every single day that we rarely stop to consider how "full of life" the events are.
    Today, pause for a few moments and list some of the things you have done that you did not do in the Winter or Spring, then consider what effect those activities had on you physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually. Seriously, stop and write them down. Chances are those events were created in the stillness of Winter. They were something you planned, dreamed of, talked about, researched, trained for, whatever the activity is, there was a moment when the idea entered your head. I will wager it was created in the Winter; however, it may have been something you thought about last Fall when Summer concluded. It might have been something you wanted to do, but did not get around to, so you put it on your "list."
    Today is the first day of Fall, you might find it worth taking a few moments to see what you are "harvesting" as a result of your actions this summer. Why do this? Because it helps you actually "see" that you are creating all the time. It just might help you stop and think about what you are "thinking about." Then to realize what a powerful force your mind is. With that realization you can consciously move through the ripeness of Fall, create in the stillness of Winter, witness the awakening or birth of new growth in Spring and see the fullness of those dreams next Summer. If all of us took this action, and we considered seeing more Peace and Harmony, consider how the world would change!
    Here's to a Harvest that fills your cornucopia with the abundance of love, health, and whatever else you dream for your life!  Happy Harvesting!

     As I look out at the barren desert of Nevada, I am reminded Earth Mother gives us "something for everyone." Flying over the state from Las Vegas to Reno, the entire scene below was barren land. The gentleman sitting to my right was from Las Vegas, and his love for the country side was evident. He pointed out the various land formation, where gold was being mined, where Area 51 was located, how the very distinct lines in the land below were where someone was dividing the land into parcels to be sold to people "out east," it was most interesting. When I asked where the trees were, he told me Las Vegas only gets about 1 inch of rain a year; so any foliage they have must be watered by human hands every day. I continued the questions with, "so where does the water come from?" and was told it is piped from the Hoover Dam and there are individuals seeking to have a huge waterline developed that would bring water from the Colorado River.
     It was all very interesting. I told him I was a tree lover and living in the area would be impossible for me. He responded by telling me he wasn't crazy about trees because they block the view of the horizon. He says when you are in the desert you can see for miles and it is a very "expansive" feeling; the sky is visible from horizon to horizon with thousands of stars everywhere. I remember how that looks from a trip my daughter and I made to Wyoming one summer. I recall after setting up the tent looking at the then darkened skies to find stars from horizon to horizon. It was like standing on the edge of the planet (which, of course, we are; however, it doesn't feel that way until you see all the open space.) So I do understand what the gentleman was talking about.
     For me, I love the tender fullness of the trees that surround the lay of the land. It's a protective feeling of being "buffered" (for lack of a better word) from all the elements one may encounter. However, every person has something that brings comfort and security to their hearts. Having such a conversation was most certainly eye opening as yet another opportunity was put in front of me to view life from someone else's perspective.
     Whatever brings YOU comfort, joy, peace, harmony or any other word that can be used to describe what strokes your heart, I'd say all of us on this planet have quite the gift from Creator to find something that brings us a sense of connection to the divine.