I AM..

It's my birthday. Today I'm 47 and as I do every birthday, I reflect. Reflection is part of what has allowed me to move forward in my life, over (yes over) stand and breath. Another part is being aware. Awareness is key because knowledge is power and power, like our sun, promotes growth. Must be aware to reflect, must reflect to grow.

I actually wrote the post below a while ago but never published it. I think it is a great way to "kickstart"* blogging again and is part of a focused reflection on the growth I seek in my life.

It's been 6 months since my last post. A lot has happened, beautiful new grand baby and many great experiences this summer have been great fodder for my blog and direction.

So just in time for the next "Life Class" with Oprah. I submit humbly the following-

Watching Oprah's "Life Class" I learned...

Putting Out Positive Energy: Why Your Life Depends on It!!! Read more -http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/Putting-Out-Positive-Energy-Why-Your-Life-Depends-on-It/2#ixzz1eK6P43nQ

I have always lived by the theory of "getting back" what you put out in the world. I strive to Not live for material growth opting instead for true personal development and deeper more meaningful connections with my life and the people in it. As a follower of people like Deepak, and Dr. Dryer, I have been moved before but...

One of the most moving things I have ever seen was the story of Tom Shadyac on Oprah. That is until I saw his story in his words. "I AM". Changed me.

Tom Shadyac was the hugely successful Hollywood director of such films as Liar Liar, The Nutty Professor, Bruce Almighty and Patch Adams. "I AM" The Film Site Click here

Then in 2007 he moved out of his 17,000-foot mansion and into—surprise!—a mobile home. He began giving away his income.

He participated in Oprah's Lifeclass on "Newton's Third Law,"  and said-

Newton's third law [of motion] or karma—however each of us chooses to name it—is something I've been aware of for years. I call it cause and effect: The energy that you put into the world comes back. In other words, the fruit is in the seed. You can't sow an apple seed and expect to get an avocado tree. The consequences of your life are sown in what you do and how you behave.

Our culture does not teach us this, but what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas. If you cheat in Vegas, it comes right home with you. If you cheat in Vegas, you walk home as a cheater. You lie awake at a night a cheater. You cannot escape it.

The one thing that advances a society is not technology or so-called development; it's love—that one principle.

We are all responsible for our own causes and the energy we put into the world. But our actions and reactions are intertwined, so my greed and selfishness may very well be creating a lack in someone else.

It's not up to us to judge the karma of anyone else. It's up to us to clean up our energy and our own karma and leave the results to the higher power that created this whole flipping thing.

We cannot go on like this, the way we treat each other, the way we look at life, the world economy, the way we think of things. The pain will come because if we sow a seed of separation, division, and disunity and disharmony, that is exactly the fruit we'll get.

When you do a loving thing, when you put out positive energy, you feel happy. This is how human beings are wired. So the goal of karma—if there is a goal—is not to put out positive energy in order to get some positive energy back. The goal is to put out positive energy and feel positive about your life. That's where the work is. That's why the true revolution is a personal revolution.


Viva la revolución yours, mine and ours!

I am here, I am you. I am love ~M

As Spring Brings New Life ~ Renew You

We have the evidence of "Climate Change" with our warm winters passing and Spring has Sprung!

To put you in the mood a little music from her debut solo release " le Fleur" by Minnie Riperton Rudolph. I was five when this album was released. She was Great, and as her daughter remarked for everyone, gone too soon.

le Fleur - Click Here

My winters passing was was made even warmer and brighter watching my grandson grow and learn and love. Thee is no sunny day that can compare to Joy I feel when he smiles and laughs.

As my hibernation ends, a feeling of renewal begins to stir in me and with it returns the passion that served as the spring board for creating this blog. Along with this feeling of renewal, new life has come to our family with the miracle birth of two very precious twin boys born premature on the one really wintry day of the winter season. We are also eagerly expecting the birth of a new grand child in late July. The miracle of life makes my renewed life spirit more meaningful and thought provoking.

Part of the reason for starting this blog was to document my spiritual development and appreciation of the life I have, the life I have lived and inspire a more purposeful and Joy filled future.

Life is for the living, Joy is for the giving and the feeling of Spring makes me want to live better again. I guess that what gets the Birds and the Bees going again too!

So I am shaking off the winter blahs and relishing in the celebration of new life. Babies borning, flowers blooming, trees and grass greening and the birds singing. Only four months into the new year and 2012 is already a really "Big Year".

So instead of just Spring Cleaning, I am springing forward with a renewed Spirit of Joy. While surfing the web, I cam accross some very thought provoking and informatative tips on spirit renewal.

I plan to implement a few of these myself.  enJoy!

• Start the "Generosity Game" in your neighborhood. It all starts with a card inviting you to do a good turn for someone - anonymously. Then you pass on the card, which invites the kindness recipient to perform a random act of kindness for someone else. You can download and print the cards at the Generosity Game website: http://www.generosity.org. The site also provides more information on the game and fosters imagination on creative ways to make the world a little nicer.

• Reduce stress by working on your ability to stay in the present moment. For a few moments at a time, make an effort to become fully conscious of your life and the situation at hand. Concentrate on each of your five senses. Tune out distractions by focusing your awareness only on immediate stimuli. Such mindfulness is meditative and calming.

• Declare an early spring. Treat yourself to a reminder that sunny days are ahead with a new floral body spray, a scented candle, or a bouquet of fresh cut flowers for your dining room table.

•  Bust a friend's blahs. Take her out for coffee or a glass of wine, or offer to take her kids while she enjoys an hour or two alone. Such a simple gesture will brighten your own day as well.

A recent study indicates that a weekly talk with a friend can be as effective against moderate depression as counseling or antidepressants. Even if you're not feeling blue, call a friend who may be having a tough time. Meet them for coffee or a jog through the park. Let them know how much they mean to you.

And always remember to replenish the well, take care of you too. I think I feel a new hair doo is due. And maybe a trip or two.

Family vacation time! Perhaps a trip to New Orleans!

Happy Spring. Be love, be loved, be happy.

A little more Minnie, I mean really is one enough? Inside Me - Click here Loving You - Click here

The ultimate song bird.

love always ~M

Ode to Music part duex

Double Octane Black Surfer Chick Click here

When you push it to the limits and never give up on your dreams, you can fly!


Remember the "Letter To My Brother" post? Well now you can see for yourself. If you missed that post, read it!

Rocks like Whaaaaaa??????????

enJoy!

What I Know For Sure

 I used to be so smart.

No really, I was. 

I knew everything. If  you asked me anything, I would say "I know."

Some may tell you now that I still say that and I do. I love to learn and teach. I love concepts, principles, philosophies, theories etc. What some pedagogist might call "Broad Based Thinking".

I fell in love with books and began a life of pondering beyond my navel. My contemplation of life complies natural concepts and experimentation. "What do we know to be true and what have we seen."

Growing up with strong family beliefs in God and the Nature of all Life, I had a great deal of knowledge passed to me at a very early age.

What I know to be true is that it was not just me. Many of us got it early in life.  And like me, used to be smart.

What makes us forget?

My Mother hipped me to the Kindergarten Theory, first in Kindergarten then again when the theory became public by Robert Fulgham.  Mom gave me and my Brother the best gift a parent can give, a thirst for knowledge, a belief in our life and understanding of our purpose.

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN(a guide for Global Leadership)

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

 [Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum.  See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/  ]


Live, Love, Laugh and Learn!