September 9, 2014 Rethinking my goals

Making healthy habits sometimes means figuring out what will and won’t work for you.

I’ve been trying (and failing) for weeks, to get back into my gym routine, and am getting more than a little frustrated with myself. But today, I had an epiphany. It’s not that I don’t want to exercise, it’s that I just don’t want to be around more than a couple of people at a time! So I thought about what I could do to get myself motivated to exercise, and realized that the best place to start is my To Do list! Today, I devised a chart which can be added to, amended, varied and changed as I see fit, and have already made my first entry. I’ve also added things which can be done together or while waiting on hold, or watching tv, or anything which takes up time in my day while being basically unproductive.

Here’s my chart so far:
Activity                             Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Squats                                                 25
Planks(seconds)                                   25
Crunches                                             60
Pilates DVD (minutes)

Although the formatting isn’t coming through here, you can probably see that this format might lend itself to other daily activities as well, and, as occurred to me today as well, might simplify my daily activities and make it easier to see and stick to the ones which are either weekly or long-term projects.

Even things which have been working might require change from time to time

Interestingly, the theme for September is “Change” and suddenly, I’m being called upon to change how I’ve been doing things for the last several months. Part of that change is a result of finishing the first edit of my book, and trying to get it to people who can make suggestions and catch things I might have missed. As that project moves to a new phase, I find myself with time I need to fill with other projects which will, ultimately, help me achieve my goals.

As I allowed this to percolate, I realized that it will be easier to track how I’m doing on my goals if I have little charts, allowing me to check things off on the actual days I do them! The logical, numbers person in me sees an opportunity to create charts and metrics from this information so I can eventually see what works in the long-term! (just another case of “you can take the girl out of accounting, but you can’t take the accounting out of the girl!” At least not completely.) Of course, this means moving my To Do list from Word to Excel so I have the charting capabilities. Oy! Is it that I’m really bored, or that I need some serious motivation? Either way, the end justifies the means.

At any rate, the next week or so will definitely be one of adjustment and change. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes out!

My Gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for my logical mind which becomes very useful at times.
2. I am grateful for my willingness to make changes.
3. I am grateful for the flow of ideas, whether it’s for a creative venture, or to get me more organized.
4. I am grateful for a positive start in a new direction.
5. I am grateful for abundance: ideas, motivation, inspiration, harmony, peace, joy, love, health and prosperity.

Namaste

August 31, 2014 At a loss for words

Today, I have no words. My mind is a complete blank. I don’t know if it’s the result of finally finishing the first edit on my book and my mind taking a break before diving into my next project, or if it’s just one of those occasional nights when I just don’t have anything to say. It’s not that my mind isn’t filled with thoughts; so much so, that my meditation was completely lucid today. It’s more like I have so very many thoughts chasing each other around in my head, that nothing stays put long enough for me to grasp it.

Whatever the cause, I have hopes that things will settle by tomorrow so I can decide which of the many projects I’ve had sitting on the back burner will now have it’s turn to have the flame lit under it. Until then, I will, as always, leave you with my gratitudes:

1. I am grateful that I have completed one of my many projects.
2. I am grateful that opportunities are making themselves known now that I’ve cleared the deck a bit.
3. I am grateful for a little down time before the avalanche begins again.
4. I am grateful that the Universe is always showing me that it hears my desires and intentions, and will bring them to me when the time is right, and always, bigger and better than my own imagination can conjure.
5. I am grateful for abundance; inspiration, motivation, opportunities, health, harmony, love, purpose, joy, happiness, peace and prosperity.

Namaste

August 22, 2014 Keep your options open…nothing is going as planned

Some days, it just doesn’t pay to make plans you might be too attached to

I don’t know about you, but every so often, The Universe throws me one of those days that says “if you have anything you’re really attached to doing today, you might as well kiss it good-bye!” Today was definitely one of those days. After another night of really crazy dreams (would you believe, digital timers embedded in peoples’ wrists?) I spent overlong snuggling with the cats, and even Toby decided to behave himself and not be obnoxious about his delayed breakfast! In fact, he was snuggled beside me when I finally decided I’d slept/dozed/dreamed/cuddled long enough. By then, it was after 11!

When I finally sat down at my computer, I noticed that the Wireless light on my modem was, once again, dark. Heaving a huge sigh, I mentally prepared myself to sit on hold with AT & T tech support for at least a half hour. Much to my amazement, after punching the requisite number of things into the keypad and answering several yes/no questions, I got a real person. OK, he was probably in India, by his accent, but his English was clear, and better still, when I told him I’d already run the diagnostics and didn’t need to sit on the phone while he ran them again, he immediately determined that the problem was with my modem and arranged for a technician to come by…not in a day or two, but in the next 4 hours! This kind of service from AT & T is utterly unheard of, but incredibly welcome! Even better, my window was 12-4 and the technician was here by 3, did a couple of tests and had the whole thing fixed and reset to my same settings within about 15 minutes! Having come out of my meditation with the tell-tale squirrelly vision of an impending migraine, I couldn’t have been happier, as it gave me time to lay back with my eyes closed and prevent the worst of the headache from materializing.

Of course, the whole thing caused a change in how I’d planned my day as I didn’t dare leave the house until the technician came. Thus, I made my trip to the local farm around 4:30, heading back (and, thankfully, avoiding the freeway) after 5:00. This is not a good thing on any weekday, but today, in particular, it proved rather more than simply difficult. As I tried to avoid hitting all of the signals on a particular section of the main drag, I found my progress blocked, and changed my route three times before finally getting back to the freeway and Trader Joe’s. Shortly after I made the decision to avoid the freeway entrance where I was, the radio announced that there had been a fatal accident right near that on ramp. Not only did it explain the logjam, but it meant that there would be little to no traffic between the next on ramp and my destination.

At any rate, rather later than I’d planned, I came home to restock my larder for another week of home made meals, a little worse for wear after fighting my way through the unusually heavy traffic as people sought alternate routes to get around the accident. I was given reason, yet again, to be thankful for living in a town where people are actually reasonably courteous on the road most of the time. Making a left turn onto my street involved crossing the line of cars trying to avoid the freeway. A pickup truck and a Mini were kind enough to leave the way clear so I could pass.

Even hanging in bed for longer than I’d intended proved interesting as I overheard someone saying that they should just call me to either clean up some kind of mess or deal with a lack of personnel to perform some tasks. Either way, if accurate, it would prove lucrative for me, and allow still more time for me to establish myself as a writer, rather than an accountant. As this one felt really strong, I will be watching to see what the next week or so brings.

The strange, uncomfortable, change charged energy I’ve been feeling all week seems to be in full-swing now. Yet, I find myself needing to sleep longer. Which of course begs the question: Will I be finding myself grateful for stocking up on sleep in the near future?

Remembering to make requests in broad strokes

As I meditated today, I kept cautioning myself to be as unspecific as possible in my requests to the Universe, and, several times, had to do an “Accept, acknowledge, release” when specifics crept into my thoughts. At the risk of a migraine, I think I was, ultimately successful at avoiding trying to guide the Universe’s hand in answering my requests. It’s difficult to keep from saying I want work from this source or that source, but I know that it will be better in the long run to leave those details to Source, who sees more of the big picture than I can. My latest mantra really is “I am exactly where I’m supposed to be right now.” If pressed, I’ll even admit that I’ve had several indications that this is so, even while others might give me temporary cause for concern. In the end, all will definitely be well!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for kind, considerate people.
2. I am grateful for days which don’t turn out as planned.
3. I am grateful for the company of my cats who seem to be about as much as I can take at the moment.
4. I am grateful for my faith in the Universe and its intentions, as it has our best interests at heart, even when things seem dark and scary.
5. I am grateful for abundance: love, health, happiness, lessons, challenges, joy, harmony, peace and prosperity.

Namaste

August 17, 2014 Information overload

I’ve been feeling really drained and tired the last couple of days, and the reason finally became clear.  I’ve been allowing myself to get pulled into stuff I have no business giving my attention to on social media, and realized that it has to stop.  Though I’m honest enough with myself to realize that I won’t avoid social media entirely, I can commit to passing on having it open 24/7, checking in from everywhere I go, and, in general, just being less connected overall.  I still have ways for the people who are important to me to get in touch, so I don’t feel like I’m really going to lose much by being less available.

Meanwhile, the time I’ve been spending monitoring my accounts will be put to much better use on things like writing, studying and the constant battle to keep my environment decluttered.  In fact, I feel as if the energy blocks I’ve been experiencing, both mental and physical, are directly attributable to the direction I’d allowed myself to be pulled.  My initial actions, therefore, have been to remove posts which convey the wrong message, and to apologize for the words I misspoke.

Last week, before I started my downward spiral, I made excellent progress on clearing out Heather’s old room.  What’s left needs to be sorted, either put away, thrown away or re-homed.  I’ll then be ready to pull up the linoleum and do some some serious scrubbing.

I look around my house and yard and think “I need to do such and so”  but never manage to get around to it because I’m putting too much time and energy into things which don’t matter and, in fact, might even be harmful to me and others.

I’m sure I’m not alone in being occasionally drawn into things which really don’t matter in the overall scheme of things.  I do tend to take it too far at times, until I’m mired in a lot of negatively charged topics at the expense of both my ideals and my purpose.

Thankfully, I have friends who have divergent beliefs, ideals and ways of life who remind me, usually unintentionally on their part, to get back to what’s important and leave the cow poop behind me!  Adding to or creating drama on Facebook is a pile of cow poop that would bring tears to the eyes of the Bandini execs!  I therefore will my share to them, that they can make much better use of it than I.    Vegetable garden, anyone?

Speaking of vegetable gardens, I hear that digging in the dirt is good for you on many levels.  As I start to complete those decluttering projects, reinstating the vegetable garden my daughter started a couple of times is high on the list.  I had followed some links to sites which sold organic (non Monsanto screwed with) seeds,  and can see some purchases along with a good book on organic gardening in my future.   Sadly, I failed to maintain the fruit trees I planted, so, as near as I can tell, only one, maybe two have survived.  The plum tree is thriving, though fruitless, as I gave it a good trimming, have done some weed abatement, and now water it regularly (putting the task on my weekly to do list helps!)  I hope to save the citrus tree if I haven’t left it for too long.    If either of the cherry trees, the apricot tree or the pluot tree are salvageable after my years of neglect, I will be incredibly grateful, but frankly, I don’t hold out a lot of hope right now.  I will be thrilled to be proven wrong on this one!

Recipe for growth: One part, setting of intentions, ten parts, gratitude

I’ve learned many useful things over the last few years, but the two which have borne the most fruit have been in publicly setting my intentions and remembering, always, to be grateful. I’ve also learned that as soon as I forget or spend more time complaining than being grateful, my world and everything in it begins to respond contrarily to what I desire. I experience more weird maladies and upset stomachs; clogged throats and headaches, until I wake back up and realize what I’m doing to myself, and, frankly, everyone around me, and stop sabotaging myself.

Although I don’t yet respond to an early warning system when I’ve gone off track, I do, eventually, get it, and redirect my energies. I’d like to believe that I’m getting the message sooner rather than later these days, but as I’m not exactly keeping score, I can’t really say. In the meantime, I am just grateful for an end to this episode of “As the downward spiral spins” and look forward to a long, productive period of gratitude, attention to intentions and productivity.

My gratitudes today are:
1. I am grateful for my friends whose selfless actions remind me when I’ve drifted into territory which conflicts with my goals and desires.
2. I am grateful for periods of negativity which remind me how much I appreciate being positive.
3. I am grateful for projects which would, if all undertaken, keep me busy and out of trouble for years to come.
4. I am grateful for the many opportunities I’m given to improve myself and the world around me.
5. I am grateful for abundance; love, joy, harmony, happiness, peace, productivity, health and prosperity.

Namaste

August 14, 2014 Lessons, lessons and more lessons

The Universe has many ways in which to lead us down the path towards learning the lessons we need.

Before I begin, let me apologize in advance for the dreadful appearance of my posts over the next couple of days. I neglected to bring my codes with me when I wandered away from my normal posting site.

Now that I’ve dispensed with the administrivia, let’s get on to the topic at hand.

Most of the time, when I’ve been given a lesson repeatedly, yet failed to master it, the Universe administers one of its infamous head slaps and makes me pay attention. But there are times when a picture is worth a thousand words, and a demonstration is in order.

Today was one of those times.

“Being angry with someone means letting them live rent-free in your head”

This concept was brought home to me today when I was treated to an example of someone expressing anger over something I said. After watching them fume and storm off, I recognized some of my own, past behavior and I was, to say the least, unimpressed with myself, if only for a moment.

I was very fortunate to have a better than two hour drive ahead of me in which to relax and contemplate my thoughts and feelings. Less than half way through the trip, I reached the conclusion that I didn’t want this person letting me live rent-free in their head, and hoped that they would soon release the anger and move on. While I do understand, on some levels, what spurred the anger, the conversation took the form of a scolding rather than a discussion so there wasn’t any real resolution, at least to the other person, as far as I could see. My only hope, at this point, is to send some happy thoughts their way, and hope that they will see fit to oust me from their head by releasing the anger sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, I’ll hold good thoughts for them and send imaginary heart shaped confetti to help lighten the atmosphere overall.

The behavior of others is a mirror for us to recognize what needs improvement in ourselves.

I am grateful for this very vivid demonstration of how pointless it is to express anger over another person’s actions. We might think that by railing at them, we have control of the situation, but nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, we’ve allowed them to control us! I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want is to be under the control of another person, even for a single moment in time.

My intention, now, is that I will, when tempted to respond to something or someone in anger, to pretend that I have to wait a couple of hours before I’m able to respond. In this way, I believe I will find that by the time I can express myself, the reason to be angry has passed peacefully away without any snarky comments or unpleasant voice fluctuations.

In some ways, I can see that this was a very gentle head slap, but one which made me see things more clearly than I normally might.

I can and will control my own actions and reactions. Doing so may or may not help those who have the good fortune or misfortune of crossing my path, but at least I can say that the lesson got through to me.

My gratitudes tonight are:

1. I am grateful for lessons, in whatever form they cone.
2. I am grateful for reasonably light traffic, despite the fact that Google Maps took serious issue with the route I chose to take.
3. I am grateful for my friends who still love me even when they don’t agree with me.
4. I am grateful for a visit with my daughter, son-in-law and grand furries, and the busy, fun-filled weekend we have planned.
5. I am grateful for the abundance we can all enjoy, simply for the asking:joy, health, harmony peace, love and prosperity. In the immortal words of Abraham, Esther and Jerry: “Ask and it is given!”

Namaste

and send

August 13, 2014 Back to the Future

The time has come to switch gears

For the last couple of days, largely influenced by current events, I took a walk through those long ago times when I first started this blog; a little older, a little wiser and hopefully, a little more compassionate. But this evening, I feel that it’s time to lighten the mood once again, if only I could find something which would accomplish that miraculous feat. It’s interesting how a single event can open old wounds you didn’t even know had yet to scar over. The Universe makes sure we get these wake-up calls, both to allow us to finish things, once and for all, and to remind us to avoid being complacent. I’ve learned the hard way that complacence leads to one thing, and one thing only; another Universal head slap.

One man’s head slap…

Despite the virtual pain inflicted, not to mention the laugh the Universe gets at my expense, not all head slaps are created equally. Some tell me that it’s time to wake up, get my head out of the sand and make something of myself. Others say it’s time to make a big change, so I need to put on my big girl panties and take the first step so those who are waiting in the wings can actually start to earn their keep. But the toughest one of all is the one that says: “You know that thing you thought you’d finished? That thing you thought you’d worked all the way through until you felt all healed and warm and fuzzy? Well, I’m here to tell you, nay, show you, that you ain’t even CLOSE!”

Finding our own navigational beacon

A fellow in a Facebook Tarot group I belong to posted something in the last few days about directionals and such, but I couldn’t find it so I’m just going to fake it (I realize that’s incredibly novel in this blog!). We all have to find our way. and a message sent to me will not, despite being identical, mean the same to someone else. The last couple of days have made it very clear that most messages are wide open to misinterpretation. However, I have learned, both the hard way (most of the time) and the easy way (on occasions so rare that a triple lightening strike in the same location probably stands better odds) that the best way to truly understand the messages I’m receiving is to turn off the analytical side of my brain for a moment and just listen to the words, or appreciate the visual I’m given. Thus, I realize that the messages of the last couple of days are telling me two things: 1. Finish the novel and get back to work on the Self Help/Memoir and 2. I have a long way to go before I’ve truly healed from certain life experiences. In a lot of ways, the two are intertwined as the process of researching and writing the Self Help book has, and will continue to be incredibly cathartic.

It occurs to me as I pause to let my brain catch up, that I’ve given you false hope for a lighter post tonight. It seems I still have bits and pieces floating about, the flotsam and jetsam I call my thoughts, which have yet to come to rest where I can actually either make use of them or put them away for good.

Be that as it may, I admit that I am a recovering control freak, prone to analyze things into dust, run things into the ground, and otherwise try to force things to happen only as I envision them. But you notice, I said “recovering” and there’s a good reason for that. Quitting my job as I did last December to focus on my first love, which is writing, was the first step in relinquishing control. I told the Universe that I want a career as a writer, as a creative being instead of one who just analyzes other people’s work. I didn’t say how I wanted that career to flesh out, or what direction I wanted to take (though, of course, I did express hope that the novel I began in November might actually see the light of day at some point). Instead, I threw myself on the mercy of the Universe to point me in the direction I needed to go, to give me signs when I needed to make something happen, and to otherwise determine how my intention would materialize. What the Universe gave me in return was dozens of reasons to have Faith in myself even if I don’t have a master plan, numerous signs that I’m on the right path, ideas which flow so fast that many, sadly, get lost in the ether, and head slaps to make sure I’m staying my true path. If you ask me, despite a temporary delay in publishing any of my work, I’m getting the best part of this deal!

My life is freer than it’s ever been. I can do what I did today and drive up the coast to meet a friend for lunch. I can get away to visit my daughter when I feel like it. I can ensure that I meditate every single day, no matter what, though, if you were to ask my cats, they’d insist that I’m simply providing them with a warm place to nap on a fairly regular schedule. But best of all, not only has my stress level shrunk to record lows, I never have to commute again! I’m truly living the dream and don’t, for a second, miss all of the “stuff” or eating out more than in. How many people can truly say that? How many people are loving what they do? This is an incredible gift I’ve given to myself, and I deserve every bit of it! Don’t you?

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for Universal head slaps.
2. I am grateful for a stress free life of doing the things I love.
3. I am grateful for my constant companions; the four footed, pointy eared, feline ones (even one the youngest insists on running across my keyboard when I’m writing!).
4. I am grateful for my hermit days as well as my social days. In other words, I’m grateful for the balance in my life.
5. I am grateful for abundance which is available to all: love, health, joy, harmony, peace, prosperity and balance.

Namaste

August 6, 2014 Knee jerk reactions: Can we control them?

Can it be undone?  August 6, 2014 Knee jerk reactions: Can we control them?.

August 5, 2014 A mundane post for a mundane kind of day

Errands and chores and bills, Oh, my!

We all have those days. You know the kind. When we have to use most of our waking hours doing things which are necessary rather than things which are pleasurable. In my case, it means running errands, paying bills, doing chores I’ve put off for too long…all of that fun stuff; when what I’d rather be doing is playing with my Tarot cards or researching a blog topic or working on my book.

I did allow myself a bit of pleasure, though, and sprang for a very nice foot massage. My poor feet have been called upon to work overtime more often than not these days, between trips to the County Fair, visits with my daughter and errands, errands, errands! So I decided to give them a treat…and then make them run those errands! Aside from the small treat, I promised everyone that I would get up early tomorrow, get my neglected workout in and get some of the fun stuff done afterwards.

Needless to say, I have not yet gotten the information together for the knee jerk post, so I fear, dear readers, that you’ll have to give me another day or so to come through on my promise. In the meantime, I’ll just ramble a bit about the juggling act we all do (some, more than others) with the things we must do vs. the things we want to do!

Back in the days when I had a day job which required me to show my face at an office five days a week, that was the biggest item on my “must do” list. Since I took leave of that particular rat race, though, I’ve created one of my own design which works…sometimes. I have to stay on my single employee to stay focused and refrain from wasting entire days lollygagging and frittering. Which is why I allow said employee a day here and there which is earmarked precisely for lollygagging and frittering. I’ve learned that if I keep my employee happy, the productive days can be amazing. Admittedly, I haven’t seen one of those amazing days in a couple of weeks, but I know it’s coming!

Sometimes, it just takes knocking a few things off of the To Do list to shake the cobwebs loose and get the creative juices flowing. So, with a little bit of butt kicking, I made that day today so that the next few days will see me finishing the last few pages of my book. I’ve given myself a deadline, you see, because I’ll be spending some more time at my daughter’s house since she keeps tempting me with inexpensive concert tickets. At this point, she’ll be luring me down to visit my grand furries in about a week and a half and again, in early September. Sneaky kid! She knows how much I hate to be away from home for very long! I’m beginning to think she’s trying to reprogram me so I’ll be willing to take a longer trip with her one of these days!

Ah, but the little voice in my head reminds me: “Change is good for the soul. Besides, the more places you go, the more story ideas you might find!” I just hate when those darned voices make perfect sense, don’t you?

But errands are run and chores are done, so tomorrow, dear readers, I can do the research necessary to produce an interesting and intriguing post on knee jerk behavior. Stay tuned!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful that I can mark lots of things off of my To Do list.
2. I am grateful to be able to clear my plate of mundane matters, leaving room for the fun ones.
3. I am grateful for change as it adds new dimension to both my life and my writing.
4. I am grateful for outside influences which are making me think even further outside of the box.
5. I am grateful for abundance which is available to everyone, just for the asking: Joy, Love, Happiness, Harmony, Peace, Health and Prosperity.

Namaste

August 4, 2014 Letting down my hair

A hairy topic…and what’s ahead.  August 4, 2014 Letting down my hair.

August 4, 2014 Letting down my hair

How’s it hangin’?

Sitting here tonight, groping vainly through my brain for a blog topic, a woman in one of my Facebook groups raised a question about long hair and tarot readings. I thought for a minute and realized that when I meditate, I take the scrunchy or clips out and kind of flip it behind me where, inevitably, one of the cats will lay on it. I’ve tried meditating with it tied up, but the pressure on my head annoys me. So I took the scrunchy out of my hair and let it fall onto my shoulders and down my back, in hopes that freeing my hair would also free my brain.

When I was young, my mother kept both mine and my sister’s hair cut in what was then called a “pixie cut”. It looked really cute on my sister, who shared my mom’s stick straight hair, but I shared my dad’s curly locks, and there wasn’t enough Dippity Doo in the world to keep my hair from sticking out in all directions when cut that short! When I was old enough to finally put my foot down, I grew it out and so it’s been ever since. These days, except for the day I wash it, it leans more towards frizz than curls, but I’ve come to the conclusion that the wild and wooly look suits me.

There are, of course, times when I don’t want it hanging down my back. Sweaty ropes of hair are not only unattractive, but decidedly uncomfortable as they slap against the neck and back, holding the heat from any activity one might partake of, damply against already overheated skin. (Not to mention, people tend to take issue with being drenched in someone else’s bodily fluids because the soggy one did a couple of wild spins with dripping hair flying!)

At any rate, as I thought about the woman’s comment, I realized that I’ve been doing my daily Tarot and Angel card readings with my hair up because I put it in a scrunchy as soon as I get out of bed. Conversely, I take it down when I sleep, and have been having some pretty wild dreams lately! Is there a connection?

I did have to chuckle a bit, though. She said that she “fluffs it up” before she does a reading. I got a picture of me fluffing mine up, and nearly laughed myself off of my chair as I visualized my already fluffy locks made even wilder with the help of a little finger combing.

As this is how it looks on a good day, I’d rather avoid creating something which various woodland creatures might consider an inviting place to bear their young. But there are happy mediums (not to be confused with mediums who are happy) so this week will see me experimenting with hairstyles to see if they have any affect on what I read, feel, and otherwise, perceive when I’m “playing with the cards”.

Speaking of playing with the cards, I drew The Sun for the third time in two weeks, but, unlike the last couple of times. it quite literally lit up my world today. I felt an immense joy filling my body as Divine light illuminated my entire world. I felt as if all of the cobwebs I’ve been sweeping were suddenly gone, and my path was clear now. The only challenge left for me now would be keeping the pace at something I can manage without stumbling and breaking something important! I kept picturing a chariot which is another card, and signifies many things, including a fast, nearly uncontrollable pace. Upon further review, I realized that the Sun card contains the Greek god, Helios, who is purported to carry the sun across the sky every day in his…wait for it…Chariot! This idea crosses over into several other belief systems as well, so perhaps my chariot imagery was right on the mark. I do know that the last 18 pages of my novel will be completed by the end of this week, come hell or high water!

Whether we are aware of it or not, imagery plays a large part in how we respond to our world. Images which were formed in our brains throughout our lives will govern reactions in us many years later. Often referred to as “knee jerk reactions” we become conditioned to responding to stimuli pretty consistently unless we make a conscious effort to change. Even with those conscious efforts, we can slip back into old ways when we drop our guard, or in times of stress, just to give a couple of examples. I will be looking at ways we can change those knee jerk responses permanently in a future post or two (or however many it might take!).

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for the constant influx of ideas from the people in my life.
2. I am grateful for quiet days when I just get paperwork and house stuff done.
3. I am grateful for intentions as they give me focus.
4. I am grateful for new ideas to try making what I already do even better.
5. I am grateful for abundance for all: love, happiness, joy, harmony, humor, health and prosperity.

Namaste