Have yourself a Happy little Halloween

Have yourself a happy little Halloween,

Let your heart be light,

from now on all our troubles will be miles away....

Ah yes, a Christmas song turned Halloween. I decided on this because lo and behold on my way home from the Halloween Frolic in El Segundo I see candy cane wreaths decorating lamp posts along the main road of Hawthorne Blvd. That sure did not take them long! From here on out it will be Christmas season. The scandles of marketing! I am still listening to "Halloween" music for goodness sakes. Music such as Danse Macbre, Socroceres Apprentice, and Night on Bald Mountain to name a few.

What you see is my invention. I carved a pumpkin tonight. The first time in 25 years. I always had help with the carving... could not be playing with the knifes, you know. I am happy with my creation... free hand style. Simple yet elegant. haha Looking forward to my pumpkin seeds for tomorrow. :)

Here we are as in olden days,

happy golden days of your,

faithful friends who are dear to us

gather near to us once more.

Through the years we all will be together,

If the faith allows

put a burning candle in the pumpkin smile

And have yourself a happy little Halloween now.

Happy Halloween

I have been seeing a lot of Halloween festivities of late. The entire weekend I saw parties going on with lil' children running down streets in costumes while their parents attempt to keep up with them. Carnivals here and there. And the houses even more festive. Some more harvest decorated while some leaning to more Halloween scary. I know there are parties everywhere going on ranging from the local neighborhoods to the advertized clubies. I am attending the local neighborhood party... more wholesome with the kids and families having a hoot. Here is a bit of the scenery while on the Strand that is the row of beach houses on the beach (from Manhattan to Hermosa Beach).

Attack of the giant fury spiders. Ack!However, they look kind of friendly up close. Kind of....So a wee bit of sampling.
I could not find the house that had the lifelike heads. Now that was scary. Maybe a good thing they were not there anymore. Have a spooky Halloween. I am going dressed up as a gipsy kind of gal today for work. The only "costume" I have in my sampling of clothes. And realize I will probably be the only one dressed up. Too bad for the others.

Coastal Sunset

I have been here for eight months and have not viewed an entire sunset until tonight! I have been out at dusk by the coastal beach cities but not viewed a sunset like this one. Many times there are clouds on the horizon so not having the opportunity to see the sun dip down past the horizon. Come to think of all my days living by coastal waters (like the summer out at Kalaloch) I have few memories of the sunsets. Not because I was not there to view them, but some seem to capture hold more than others. And tonight was one. Not sure why. Just beautiful in its own way. A moment. Sometimes those moments stick out more than the others. So here.... enjoy, a glimpse of the moments I saw tonight.

Red October 23

This is what the sky has been looking like pretty much all day, getting redder as the day progressed. Unless one is without TV or newspaper or contact with the media world, this is the result of wildfires gone amok.

Overnight it had gone from a massive windstorm to waking up to find that one part of my world is ablaze. LA in my area is not blazing but I did see the fires from my local beach looking up to Malibu. And now I know several people from work/music therapy whose houses are within a five mile radius to some of the fires in Irvine and Anaheim hills. And the weekend getaway I went to just about a week ago and half ago? Reports of flames about 10 miles away from where I was at. This is the tip of the iceberg. I am not even beginning to mention the devastation in San Diego counties.

I have been pretty much staying indoors today. As a result from a decision when I took the ten minute walk from my house to work and back again. I had come down congested from the soot, smoke, and a bit of ash. And I am thinking gee, if it is bad here.....

Even though this is a natural occurrence of nature (however investigation to the start of the fires are being searched) and we may be awestruck by the power of nature, prayers are much needed. There will be thousands upon thousands of people picking up their lives from the ashes of their homes. Lives are changing right now as the realization of their homes do not exist, their livelihoods may likely not exist to the extent they had lived it. Their lives as they knew it changed forever. Bless them, pray for their safety and health.

A Moment

New dawn

Birds symphony jubilee
Sun kissed tree tops

I journey out of doors in the early morning hush. The sky is clear and light from the sun that has not yet risen about the tree line.

I settle down in company of a pine tree softly haven beckoned me come and enjoy this time together. The way has been strewn with pine needles, and I quietly made my way stepping lightly upon Mother Earth.

With warm tea to warm my hands, I breathe in the morning's hush. My mind begins to quiet, to rest and thoughts of my precious loved ones comes to me. I bless them and send them my loving spirit to them for health, safety, and joy. Then my thoughts cease to be.

My senses come to play and my consciousness alters to a different level. I am still of this world but not quite. Words of a haiku are created. The shifting morning is subtle. Time ceases to be in a blink of an eye that is eternity.

The crow's voices rise up in a chorus as they fly to tree top branches preparing for the first moment. Already the sun has reached an adjacent mountain. The mountain is aglow of colors yellow and green.

The moment in nearing. There is anticipation in the voices of the crows. The trees shiver with the slightest tremble but they are much older, wiser, and whisper, "Patience, patience." I breathe in their words. I shift my body's position ever so slightly crouching low. Sip at my tea. The newly sprung haiku speaks again.

Through the forested horizon, sparkles come to view. Rays filter through. Suddenly the golden rod and pine green tree tops are blazing with sun streaked colors. The trees shake gently with unison voices rippling, "Ah!" The crows cry out and fly to the ground in flocks. Tiny sun tipped wings flutter in unison to one tree branch to another across the blue sky. The first melody of the new dawn breaks forth.

During the midst of activity, I stand to full height. Smile. The pine floor finally feels the warmth of the sun rays. There are sparkles, crystals shimmering. The frost is light.

A grey squirrel comes to view moving among a neighbor's tree base, shifting through the pine needles. Then jumps to a branch out of view but his voice is heard chattering pleasantly. The crows that had come to the forest floor now rise up in flock chasing the leader who has scored his morning's treat. Their voices reverberate through the trees fading away, yet the vibrations continue.

The new dawn has arrived. A beginning, created a new with life and rebirth. This moment a timeless eternity stretching, unfolding, becoming.

Stepping lightly, I traverse the pine needle floor of sparkling crystals and continue my journey in footsteps following the way as the Warrior of the Light.

Changing Perspectives

I have been reading a book: Soul Mission * Life Vision by Alan Seale. It is a good book for me because it is helping me gain more insights on this journey of life and of soul mission and quest for the journey of life I am partaking. It is a book that I recommend to anyone to read, especially to ground, find, or enhance one's gifts and mission of life.

I would like to share some insights that I discovered with a recent reading. One of the universal laws of the universe (that was created years and years ago and to which major religions/philosophies incorporate part of their beliefs into their systems of beliefs) talks about the Law of Mentalism (God or a form of God that is representative the greater whole, great Mystery).

The law states that everything exists in the mind of God and the mind of God exists within everything. I think this is a rather powerful statement. Powerful because most of society does not live according to this statement. Most "western" religions or modern day thinkers view God as a separate entity. To think that God is inside me and I am inside God. Hmm... one may think. But I think it makes perfect sense. We go "inside" ourselves for reflection, prayer, meditation, and any forms of spirituality that calls for the recognition of self, spirit, soul and to commune with the God in us.

Greek philosopher Epictetus stated: "You are a distinct portion of the essence of god in yourself. Why, then, are you ignorant of your noble birth? Why do you not consider whence you came? Why do you not remember when you are eating, who you are who eat; and whom you feed: do you not know that it is the divine you feed; the divine you exercise? You carry a God about with you."

I do not know about you but after pondering on the quote of Epictetus, if one is to carry this belief of God within us and Us Within God, it changes one's perspective of life. How we live is changed. It calls for a more whole/holistic way of living. It is not like one has to join a convent or start some special society. It is a way that anyone can partake and live a more balanced life. Be an encouragement to do so! At least it does to me.

Actually I have had this thought swimming back in my mind for some time now. Ironically it started after my first meditation sit two years ago. As a result of that experience, I have been slowing evolving, changing. For example, even though I do have an IBS problem that has been existing within me for years, since this time and especially in the last few months, I am changing my diet. Not because I just decided but because something inside me directs me. One may think I am going overboard but when I really sit down to think of what I eat. I do not want to be feeding myself some unhealthy food. And yes, that goes for sugar (cookies, cakes, candy, sweets). Does anyone read the ingredients? Yuck! And food that was not processed in a not so nice way: fast foods? refined sugars, flours, rice and grains? I fortunately have not been much of a sugarholic all of my life so it is an aspect that has been easy to eradicate from my diet. Food then expands to other areas of life including exercise and the likes.

So for me this statement is like hey, wake up! Live a balanced life because you deserve it! A desire to be healthy and happy too. And you know what, when doing this, it does improve how one perspective of life is.

Also, just think because God is in everyone and everyone is in God. Does that not change how we interact with others? Does not that create more love, compassion, empathy, caring for others because we all have God within us? In you? Again, this was another aspect that I thought I came up with after my meditation sit. I changed the way I interact with people. Again it is a slow process but over the two years, have seen some interesting occurrences. Basically when one puts aside the stereotypes, judgements of others, that individual is just like me and you. They have a soul, spirit that is also partaking the journey of life. And think about the valuable lessons and interaction that can occur and how one can help each other build on their experiences of life's lessons of love and living.

It is not easy just because we fall into habits. If we want change it is a process but can be done so. Treat yourself to a walk, to a play, to ramble in the woods, to do a favorite hobby, eat some delicious healthy food. It's amazing how great healthy balanced meals can bring. We still of responsibilities of course but take on responsibilities that are congruent, align with your sense of living a well balanced whole life. One might find a sense of more fulfillment, purpose for life and the journey we are taking.

What if Bush did Yoga?

Ah, what a question indeed!! I saw this on a window in Pasadena back in August. I took the picture because it did intrigued me. It was obvious that the owner was poking fun because it is hard to see but there are pictures of yoga postures and President Bush's head cut out and pasted on.

Seriously, this got me thinking and was thinking about it some more today as it came back to me. What if Bush did yoga? Would our president be any different? Would the last seven years be any different? Hmm.... thinks I.

I do not by any means support the majority of Bush's statements, actions, and behaviors over the last several years, and if that is not enough, voting not for him hopefully would show some indication that I do not prefer such a man of his character in office leading our nation.

And I thought, what if someone were to send a letter in concern for his health and well being. After all, one wonders about stress levels, pressures and such for a person in presidency. Instead of writing to complain about war issues, environmental issues, human rights, oil, etc. etc. etc., perhaps a letter asking how are you doing? I am concerned about your well being. I am not sure from the outcomes we have seen if you are in need of some time out. Have you considered yoga? Send him off to some revered yoga teacher in India or USA. Have you tried meditation? Go to a Vipassana retreat for 10 days. Go take a walkabout in some beautiful wilderness area with the local people of the region to support and guide you on your journey. Have you spent hours volunteering for a local shelter, habitat for humanity, helping out at some other charity?

The true point I am trying to make here is that in order for us as individuals to see change in our society, we need to start practicing more metta, loving-kindness from the heart. Showing true compassion of love. There are many circumstances in this world that do not support such ideology of peace and love. And many people who do not hold to the idea of this concept by their actions and behaviors we see. It is the whole idea of being one. We are not separate from the earth, each other, God, or the greater universe. We are connected.

It is kind of sad if President Bush were to respond and say no I have not done or choose to do such things. What an opportunity he is missing out not just because to build more compassion and understanding for a person of his position to reach out and learn about the different individuals and cultures that are impacted by a person with this form of leadership, but also misses out an opportunity to reach a part of his soul and spirit that may need a little rejuvenating and healing.

So President Bush, why not try some yoga? Might do the world of good.