Families in Holiday Light

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."
RICHARD BACH, Illusions

As the holidays traditionally bring families together, the provide us with a lovely opportunity to reflect of the meaning of family, love, joy and friendship. The photo is of my "extended family", my college roomate's niece and her children. The baby is Mary Francis who had a rough time coming in but is doing well now.

Fall's Fading Light

Cold, sunny afternoon
Raking large piles of leafs
The English walnut tree let them all go
Hard work with immediate results
Ready now for the snow

Lilies of the Field

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

Watching myself and others worrying about the outcome of a home owner association's election this week and concern about all the other potential problems that might befall the group reminded me of worry is futile and waste of time.

Ferris Wheels in Fall

Watching a football game on TV and the local news brief comes on. Its 80 degrees out. Won't see that again for a good long while. Out to walk in Liberty Park. Picked up shinny chestnuts. Use to love to make bracelets and necklaces from them. Decided to ride on the old Ferris wheel that has been there since I was a child. Up into the fall sky, yellow, orange trees among the pines, what a view! Drumming circle going on. Visited by a friendly squirrel. Perfect.

Autumn Light

Mid-morning walk in Memory Grove

Autumn leaves, pick a few to bring home

Butterflies

Children in strollers or walking with adults

Dogs running, playing in the pond

City Creek tumbling over rock waterfalls

The joy of it all.

Cougar Light

* Using leadership power wisely and without ego
* Balancing power, intention, strength
* Gaining self-confidence
* Freedom from guilt
* Cunning


For the Zunis of Turtle Island (Southwest United States), Cougar was the Master Hunter, known for its high intelligence, its knowledge of other animal and life forms, its physical prowess, its strength of will, and its intuitive ability. Cougar sees the maintenance of its territory as essential for its survival. Poshaiankia, the father of the Medicine Societies, designated Cougar the duty of carrying messages from humans to the higher spirits, because of this animal’s personal power, superior knowledge, strength of will, and steadfastness. Therefore, Cougar represents the link between ourselves and the most powerful spirits in Zuni Mythology: Mother Earth, Father Sky, and the Originator of All.

October's Light

"Crispy air and azure skies,
High above, a white cloud flies,
Bright as newly fallen snow.
Oh the joy to those who know October!

Colors bright on bush and tree.
Over the weedy swamp, we see
A veil of purple and brown and gold.
Thy beauty words have never told. October!

Scolding sparrows on the lawn,
Rabbits frisking home at dawn,
Pheasants midst the sheaves of grain,
All in harmony acclaim, October!

Brown earth freshly turned by plow,
Apples shine on bended bough,
Bins o'erflowed with oats and wheat,
And satisfaction reigns complete. October!

Radiant joy is everywhere.
Spirits in tune to the spicy air,
Thrill in the glory of each day.
Life's worth living when we say, October!"
- Joseph Pullman Porter

More Duck Stories

Yesterday morning, while walking in Mt. Olivet Cemetery (aka Nature Preserve), three adolescent ducks approached to be fed. Have watched them since they were little fluff balls and know that the cemetery manager feeds them bread crumbs... They came up expecting to be fed and I was emptied handed. Two of them tried nibbling on the white toes of my shoes.

Duck's Wisdom Includes:

* Grace on water
* Water energy
* Seeing clearly through emotions
* Spirit helper of mystics and seers

Zoo Magic

For all of you who live in the vicinity of the Salt Lake Hogle Zoo, it is worth visiting NOW. Not only can you see an enchanting baby elephant but three tiger cubs, a snow leopard cub and a baby giraffe. What more can you ask for?

Falcon Magic

Falcon wisdom includes:
Assisting in soul healing
Accompanying the soul back to the soul world
Teaching swiftness
Learning the aerobatics of life
Controlling speed and movement
Understanding magic

Just before sunset a falcon was sitting on the top of a telephone phone appearing to watch the traffic on the street below. What magic to be able to look out your window in the middle of the city and see such a sight.

Impermanence

"Nothing remains the same for two consecutive moments. Heraclitus said we can never bathe twice in the same river. Confucius, while looking at a stream, said, "It is always flowing, day and night." The Buddha implored us not just to talk about impermanence, but to use it as an instrument to help us penetrate deeply into reality and obtain liberating insight. We may be tempted to say that because things are impermanent, there is suffering. But the Buddha encouraged us to look again. Without impermanence, life is not possible. How can we transform our suffering if things are not impermanent? How can our daughter grow up into a beautiful young lady? How can the situation in the world improve? We need impermanence for social justice and for hope.

If you suffer, it is not because things are impermanent. It is because you believe things are permanent. When a flower dies, you don't suffer much, because you understand that flowers are impermanent. But you cannot accept the impermanence of your beloved one, and you suffer deeply when she passes away.

If you look deeply into impermanence, you will do your best to make her happy right now. Aware of impermanence, you become positive, loving and wise. Impermanence is good news. Without impermanence, nothing would be possible. With impermanence, every door is open for change. Impermanence is an instrument for our liberation."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Woodpecker & Grasshopper Light

Woodpecker/Sapsucker's Wisdom Includes:

Connection to the earth
Ability to find hidden layers
Understands rhythms, cycles and patterns
Warnings
Prophecy
Associated with thunder
The Earth's drummer
Pecks away at deception until the truth is revealed

Grasshopper's Wisdom Includes:

Jumps across space and time
Leaps of faith
Jumping without knowing where you will land
Astral travel
Leaping over obstacles
New leaps forward
Ability to change careers quickly

Ted Kennedy: Reflections & Light

One of my fondest memories is being a "Kennedy Girl". I was too young to vote for JFK but was a campaign volunteer at the Tabernacle when he spoke there. I was invited to a function at the Hotel Utah where I met and talked with Ted and Joan Kennedy. Heady stuff for a nineteen year old. I had other experiences with the family members when I worked at the Cape Cod Hospital. Eunice Shriver, straight out of her garden with an amazing emerald ring and my staff who could only comment on her dirty finger nails. Ethel Kennedy's child having tonsils out and creating a three ring circus on the pediatric ward. Hannisport, what a elegant place. I never could be cynical about them and truly appreciate the contributions of this star crossed family.

The Light of Grace

“You are so weak. Give up to grace.
The ocean takes care of each wave
till it gets to shore.” - Rumi

Flamingos

Walking in Liberty Park this morning, paying a visit to the flamingos, I wondered why I have been so attracted to them for years.


Flamingo's Wisdom Includes:

* Ability to filter soul lessons from emotional waters
* Understanding the language of color
* Ability to maintain soul purpose in group living
* Understanding how to maintain balance

Body Image Light

Whale or Mermaid?

Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tanned woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:

THIS SUMMER, DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans).
They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins - stuffing themselves with shrimp and other delicacies of the sea. They play and swim in the oceans, seeing exotic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia . Whales are excellent singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of psychoanalysts due to an identity crisis. Fish or human? Human or fish? They don't have a sex life, because they kill men that lure close to them. Therefore, they don't have kids. They are purported to be exceedingly vain and capricious. Not only that, who wants to be near a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who still makes me shiver and a coffee with my friends. With time, we gain weight, because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that, when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So, we aren't heavy; we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror, I will think, "Good
gosh! Look how smart I am".

I REST MY CASE.

Hidden Jewels

This is the duck pound on the grounds of the Garden Park Ward. It is located on Yale Avenue just above 11th East. Essentially right in the middle of Salt Lake City. Beautiful place to walk and stop and watch the hummingbirds and ducks.

Global Coherence Initiative

The Global Coherence Initiative is a science-based initiative uniting millions of people in heart-focused care and intention, to shift global consciousness from instability and discord to balance, cooperation and enduring peace.

This project has been launched by the Institute of HeartMath®, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), a recognized global leader in researching emotional physiology, heart-brain interactions and the physiology of optimal health and performance.

The Global Coherence Initiative is designed to help individuals and groups work together, synchronistically and strategically to increase the impact of their efforts to create positive global change.

Together we will:

* Increase personal coherence for the benefit of ourselves and the planet
* Help shift the planetary consciousness baseline from self-centeredness to wholeness care
* Increase connection and social harmony
* Empower our ability to navigate through global changes with less stress and more ease
* Empower environmental responsibility and stewardship of the planet


This project has been initiated because millions of people sense that this is an extraordinary time; that a paradigm shift of human consciousness is now under way; that we are at the crossroads of change and must move toward the healing of ourselves and our planet. Many people are feeling a strong desire to help change our present and future conditions and are looking for ways to use their heart, spirit-aligned wisdom and care to make a meaningful difference.

Choices

We all need to decide whether to "play it safe" in life and worry about the downside, or instead take a chance, by being who we really are and living the life our heart desires.
Which choice are you making?
Charlie Badenhop

Dragon Fly and Moon Day

Today is "moon day" in honor of that remarkable accomplishment 40 years ago. Walk in City Creek Canyon. Butterfly and dragon flies.


Damselfly/Dragonfly's Wisdom Includes:

* Mastery of life on the wing
* Power of flight
* Power to escape a blow
* Understanding dreams
* Power of light
* Breaking down illusions
* Seeing the truth in situations
* Swiftness
* Change
* Connection to Dragon

Light Choices

Went to the gallery stroll intending to buy Summer and ended up with one bird in aspens. How fun is that to have such a lovely painting from such a good friend.

A Day of Windows

“If God were living on earth, people would break His windows”

Yiddish Proverb quotes

Flower Essence-Lady Slipper

Positive qualities: Higher purpose aligned with daily work, integration of spiritual vision with vital forces in the root and creative chakras
Patterns of imbalance: Life purpose and direction not aligned with outer activity; nervous exhaustion or sexual depletion due to inability to access life force in the lower chakras

Cat Wisdom

Gratitude to my cat Sassy, a beautiful Siamese has been my constant comfort and companion as I have been making major changes in my life.

Domestic Cat's Wisdom Includes:

* Independence
* Seeing the unseen
* Protection
* Love
* Allows us to dream its dreams
* Assists in meditation
* Ability to fight when cornered

Deer Wisdom

Walked up to visit the deer in the Mt. Olivet Cemetery. One lone doe, stretching her neck out to eat leaves off of the chestnut tree. What a beautiful creature.

Deer/Hart's Wisdom Includes:

* Gentleness in word, thought and touch
* Ability to listen
* Grace and appreciation for the beauty of balance
* Understanding of what's necessary for survival
* Power of gratitude and giving
* Ability to sacrifice for the higher good
* Connection to the woodland goddess
* Alternative paths to a goal

Bird Song

The vocal ability of birds has inspired poets and musicians, from Chaucer to Wordsworth, from Handel to Respighi. Birdsong can be a natural phenomenon of intense beauty.
And their songs have been shaped by their environment, just as the rap musician of New York delivers a different "tune" to the yodeller in the Swiss mountains. The musical detail would have impressed the great composers. The nightingale, for example, holds up to 300 different love songs in his repertoire. The canary may take 30 mini-breaths a second to replenish its air supply. The cowbird uses 40 different notes, some so high we can't hear them. The chaffinch may sing his song half a million times in a season.

Indeed, British musician David Hindley slowed bird song down and discovered parallels between the skylark's blizzard of notes and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony; between the woodlark's mind-numbingly complex song and J.S.Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues. It changes its tune according to the rules of classical sonata form.


Song allows the bird to "speak" better than and other family of creatures. It is the perfect medium for communicating over long distances, or when it is hard to see the singer - and the audience: for example at night or in dense vegetation.

Whatever the habitat, birds have a way of singing into it. When a bird sings, it can always be heard, even after it has moved out of sight. Sound travels in all directions; it can penetrate through or around objects.

Light Within

"If we wish to understand the nature of the Universe we have an inner hidden advantage: we are ourselves little portions of the universe and so carry the answer within us."
—Jacques Boivin

Walking, Wildflowers, Water

Try Memory Grove and City Creek Canyon for a great refreshing walk or run.

Mouse Totem Brings Light

Quietly creeping,
accomplishing his purpose without attention,
The wise little mouse trusts the Creator.
Help me, small one, to true and find initiative
So that wonderful changes come my way.

Sun Conures

Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park has just erected a new exhibit for the Sun Conures. On this gray rainy morning they took my breath away with their brightness. You can easily see them from the walkway in the middle of the park. By the way the Aviary's annual fundraiser Breakfast with the Birds is on June 20 from 8:30 - 11. It is a fun event with food, music and bird shows. All the information is on their web site.

Reflections

Anna Quindlen:
I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me.

The Light of Clarity

Clarity – the perception of wisdom and the ability to see the soul in action in the physical world; turns pain into suffering and evaporates fear; allows you to see the world of physical matter for what it is – a learning environment that is created jointly by the intentions of the souls that share it.
...Gary Zukav

Purpose and Light

Our true and authentic purposes always call to us, as they invite us in, and many times, they are never even seemingly our own ideas. We are not really consciously at the helm, but our souls always are. They urge us on, whisper in our ears, bring strange and synchronistic events to our doors, and beckon us to step into our soul shoes, even if we may not know exactly what those shoes are. Forcing the issue never works, as it is our ego selves that most times wreak havoc in our process. It is then, not always what “we” want, but what our souls are guiding us towards.
...Karen Bishop

Summer Light

As the seasons change may I approach the changes in life with
acceptance and joy for the diversity in which I live.
-Shirley MacLaine

Rose Light

Lovely June
Roses in Bloom
Color, scent, light

The Light of Giving

"We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers."
Seneca

Our Human Light

"A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive."

- Albert Einstein

Spring Babies

There must be 30 new gosslings around the pond in Liberty Park. How fun is that!

Memorial Day

"Toast to the Flag"
by John Jay Daly


Here's to the red of it -
There's not a thread of it,
No, nor a shred of it
In all the spread of it
From foot to head,
But heroes bled for it,
Faced steel and lead for it,
Precious blood shed for it,
Bathing it red!


Here's to the white of it-
Thrilled by the sight of it,
Who knows the right of it
But feels the might of it
Through day and night?
Womanhood's care for it
Made manhood dare for it,
Purity's prayer for it
Keeps it so white!


Here's to the blue of it -
Beauteous view of it,
Heavenly hue of it,
Star-spangled dew of it
Constant and true;
Diadems gleam for it,
States stand supreme for it,
Liberty's beam for it
Brightens the blue!!


Here's to the whole of it -
Stars, stripes and pole of it,
Body and soul of it,
O, and the roll of it,
Sun shining through;
Hearts in accord for it,
Swear by the sword for it,
Thanking the Lord for it,
Red, White and Blue.

More Light at the End

Hospice affirms the concept of palliative care as an intensive program that enhances comfort and promotes the quality of life for individuals and their families. When cure is no longer possible, hospice recognizes that a peaceful and comfortable death is an essential goal of health care. Hospice believes that death is an integral part of the life cycle and that intensive palliative care focuses on pain relief, comfort and enhanced quality of life as appropriate goals for the terminally ill. Hospice also recognizes the potential for growth that often exists within the dying experience for the individual and his/her family and seeks to protect and nurture this potential.

Hospice care is a Medicare benefit and not only provides care but covers essentially all the costs. Many insurance plans also have hospice benefits. Although it is a program at the end of life, it often is life enhancing and of real comfort and support for families.

Light at the End

"Death is simply a shedding of the physical body like the butterfly shedding its cocoon. It is a transition to a higher state of consciousness where you continue to perceive, to understand, to laugh, and to be able to grow." ..Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross is considered one of the most influential people and important minds of the last century. Her personal grit and determination forever changed how the world treats its dying. Her tireless efforts to assure that those who are dying be treated with compassion and dignity have now become the standard in end of life care. Dr. Ross taught the world that dying was actually about living and that our work here was to learn how to love unconditionally.

I had the privilege of hearing her speak and meeting and talking with her several times. Now that some friends and family members are nearing the end of their lives, I turned to her writings again and was comforted by her like an old friend.

Greetings President Obama

Good afternoon,

You are receiving this email because you signed up at WhiteHouse.gov. My staff and I plan to use these messages as a way to directly communicate about important issues and opportunities, and today I have some encouraging updates about health care reform.

The Vice President and I just met with leaders from the House of Representatives and received their commitment to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill by July 31.

We also have an unprecedented commitment from health care industry leaders, many of whom opposed health reform in the past. Monday, I met with some of these health care stakeholders, and they pledged to do their part to reduce the health care spending growth rate, saving more than two trillion dollars over the next ten years -- around $2,500 for each American family. Then on Tuesday, leaders from some of America's top companies came to the White House to showcase innovative ways to reduce health care costs by improving the health of their workers.

Now the House and Senate are beginning a critical debate that will determine the health of our nation's economy and its families. This process should be transparent and inclusive and its product must drive down costs, assure quality and affordable health care for everyone, and guarantee all of us a choice of doctors and plans.

Reforming health care should also involve you. Think of other people who may want to stay up to date on health care reform and other national issues and tell them to join us here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/EmailUpdates

Health care reform can't come soon enough. We spend more on health care than any country, but families continue to struggle with skyrocketing premiums and nearly 46 million are without insurance entirely. It is a priority for the American people and a pillar of the new foundation we are seeking to build for our economy.

We'll continue to keep you posted about this and other important issues.

Thank you,
Barack Obama

P.S. If you'd like to get more in-depth information about health reform and how you can participate, be sure to visit http://www.HealthReform.gov.








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Light and Filters

The universe as seen from the Hubble Telescope.

“Once we are in the habit of filtering what we want to believe through a sieve, disbelief splashes back in our face”