Friday, December 30, 2005

All Our Relations: Health, Wealth and Wisdom Is Up to Us

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, speaks as the voice of conscience for America, and offers both penetrating insight and well-researched action to address the many ills in which the U.S. (and, by extension, the world) finds itself.

During this supposed season of peace and goodwill, Kucinich brought it all together: peace, energy dependence, the war in Iraq, the environment, economic power, and our moral obligations to all citizens of the U.S. and the world. This synthesis came in a speech he made Sunday, December 18, as the House debated suspending the rules to speed up passage of a number of bills before close of the 109th Congress's first session.

Referring to the use of House rules to get drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge added onto H.R. 2863, the 2006 Defense Appropriations Act, Kucinich described how drilling would destroy the Gwich'in Tribe, which for more than 20,000 years has lived on their ancestral lands in harmony with the natural world.

It's a sobering thought. I feel that when the rest of us have learned to live in harmony with all our relations for 20,000 years, we will have earned the right to make decisions that affect other peoples' existence -- and at that stage, we will have moved so far beyond the dominator, more-more-more mentality, that such a decision-making structure will be a relic of the ancient past.

Until then, and always, I send up a prayer for Mitayuke Oyasin, a Lakota prayer that means, "All my relations," and honors the sacredness of everyone and everything on Earth.

We are all One. Happy New Year, with love,
Amara

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Women's Hormone Health -- Naturally!

My article on women's hormone health and endocrine disrupters is now online in the January/February 2006 issue of E, the Environmental magazine. Unfortunately, the editor not only altered the title, he deleted key passages that referred to my health adventure as a spiritual quest, so if you'd like a Word copy of the original, just let me know.

As someone who's been affected by chemical toxicity for many years, I feel I'm part of an "advance guard" of sensitives serving as a wake-up call for planetary environmental consciousness. If your health could use a tune-up--or if you want to stay as vibrant as you already are--check it out!

Monday, December 26, 2005

Loving Yourself Free

This is the season of Love - but what goes on in our hearts and minds the rest of the year? Here's a beautiful explanation from Archangel Uriel through Jennifer Hoffman about how we can free ourselves from fear to live large in our lives always:

"Each situation in your life exists for your spiritual growth and evolution, and when you are ready to acknowledge the wisdom with which you organize the scenarios of your life, you will learn to love each situation. Then you can become aware of its lessons, know and learn them and love them free.
 
Once you learn to love the experience, it has fulfilled its mission in your life and can depart from you. But as long as you continue to hate, judge, resent, run away from or ignore it, it will exist and even intensify as it mirrors everything you dislike about it. Is it good or bad, right or wrong, beneficial or harmful, short term or permanent - all of these are judgments that will only result in the continuation of the circumstance.
 
Instead, ask your Self, 'What do I need to learn from this?' and you will take the first step on the path to freedom. Each difficult experience that you have is a mirror of a fear in your life - discover the fear and the reason for its existence and it has no power over you and then ceases to exist unless you allow it to. The more dire the situation, the greater your need to learn and appreciate its lesson and heal that aspect of your belief system.
 
Once you acknowledge that you created the reality, it loses its power because it is the paradigm that you built, not the result of someone else's actions against you. Then you can love it free and move on to create other realities that are more peaceful, joyful and fulfilling. No matter what the circumstance, if you can learn to love it, you can free yourself from it and move forward on your journey."

Friday, December 23, 2005

Gif-ting Gratitude

Today's Go Gratitude is a visual deLight: Go Gratitude poster

Paste it on your heart and let the happiness Glow...

If you haven't yet joined the 42 days to a knew view, check out the Master Key movie and climb aboard the Bliss Train!

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Feminine Gifts of the Solstice

Colorado astrologer Ingrid Jeffries (ijnorthstar@fastmail.fm) offers a complementary viewpoint to Ken Kalb's (see 12/20 entry). She writes:

"Astrologically, the Solstice points are connected to our work in the world. The Sun in Capricorn is when we review our commitments and obligations. Capricorn is a sign that is associated with established orders, business and worldly concerns. We often envision its planetary ruler, Saturn, as an old man with a scythe; symbolic of the reaper, the God of Agriculture, and Father Time. The placement of Saturn in your birth chart indicates where a karmic debt has occurred. This debt will require concentrated effort and discipline to master and overcome its obstacles. Yet, Saturn also points to the aspects of one's life which can become your greatest strength if you are willing to face your fears and difficulties honestly, and work with them patiently. In Capricorn we reap what we have sown in the world, for this reason gift giving has long been an integral aspect of the myriad of festivities associated with the Solstice.

"Ultimately Capricorn is an earth sign and as such is feminine. Of all the astrological signs, Capricorn carries the symbolism of the triple Goddess. We often see images of the mother and her child at this time of year with the imagery of the crone/wise women found in the magi. Many of the traditions associated with this time of year are pre-Christian and involved divination, foretelling the future, as the turning of the season was considered a magical time.

Here are a few:

· In Russia, there's a Christmas divination that involves candles. A girl would sit in a darkened room, with two lighted candles and two mirrors, pointed so that one reflects the candlelight into the other. The viewer would seek the seventh reflection, then look until her future would be seen.

· In Spain, there's an old custom that is a holdover from Roman days. The urn of fate is a large bowl containing slips of paper on which are written all the names of those at a family get-together. The slips of paper are drawn out two at a time. Those whose names are so joined are to be devoted friends for the year. Apparently, there's often a little finagling to help matchmaking along, as well.

· In Scandinavia, some families place all their shoes together, as this will cause them to live in harmony throughout the year.

· And in many, many cultures, it's considered bad luck for a fire or a candle to go out on Solstice (or Christmas Day in more recent times.)

Rituals & Traditions for this time of Year:

· Strengthen bonds with family and friends by visiting and/or exchanging gifts and greetings. This is a season of honoring the ancestors.
· Decorate your home with lights, greens, and holiday colors. Bless your home with a Yule wreath on your front door and sprigs of mistletoe inside.
· If you are part of a group, take up a collection of food and/or clothing at your Yule gathering and give what you collected to a social service agency to distribute to the needy.
· Place sunflower seeds outside for wild birds to feast upon.
· Greet the Sun at dawn on Solstice morning by ringing bells.
· Work magic for a more peaceful planet.
· Honor the new solar year with light. Do a Solstice Eve ritual in which you meditate in darkness and then welcome the birth of the sun by lighting candles and singing chants and carols.
· If you have a indoor fireplace or an outdoor fire circle, burn an oak log as a Yule log and save a bit to start next year's fire.
· Volunteer time at a social service agency.
· Put up bird feeders and keep them filled throughout the winter to supplement the diets of wild birds.
· Meditate for world peace.
· Make a pledge to do some form of good works in the new year."

The Earth breathes but one breath each year: from Summer to Winter, a long exhalation, a letting go; at the Winter Solstice, a moment of stillness and emptiness between breaths; then the long inhalation back into the Summer's time of fullness. ~ Miriam Klamkim

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Solstice Wisdom

Ken Kalb, author of Lightshift 2000 and an insightful astrologer, reminds us that tomorrow, as the sun stands still on the shortest day and longest night of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere), it's a potent moment to pause in our frenzied activity and stand in the stillness of our souls. In Winter Solstice - The Pause That Refreshes he writes,

"Winter Solstice is a time to practice the lesson of Sagitarius; to pull the bow string back to its maximum point – sighting the bullseye before releasing your flaming arrow. It is the point between inhale and exhale. This breathless moment of stillpoint on the cusp between dark and light is an opportunity to distill the essence of any dissonant energies and components we wish to release, and embrace those aspects, refreshed and renewed for the new cycle. This is a golden opportunity for us to become aware and explore the deep messages lingering amidst the darkness, awakening with new direction, intention and foresight. The greatest gift we can give and receive is to simply breathe deeply and rhythmically the essence of our inner light on this holyday. It's the pause that refreshes."

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Swimming Into Ecstasy, Part 2

I was blessed to discover Matisha's Song of Home site earlier today. A minstrel in the tradition of Rumi, he weaves joyous poetry, sacred music and dolphin adventures into a rapturous ministry to cradle your awakening heart.

I especially enjoyed this 'trailer' message on one of his pages:

"Living in the past is like chasing your 'tale'...
There is always another 'story' to tell."

It reminds me of another messenger with whom I took a workshop long ago, who said, "If you want to live forever, live NOW!"

Blessings...

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Swimming Into Ecstasy, Part 1

My December e-newsletter, What Shines, focuses on the theme of oneness with all creation. Anyone still skeptical about the intelligence or compassion of our animal kin may be reassured by this heartwarming story about a whale, ensnared in crab pots and lines that were slowing killing it. Divers freed the whale, which then nuzzled each human in gratitude. Talk about making a splash...

Daring rescue of whale off Farallones -- Humpback nuzzled her saviors in thanks

Thursday, December 15, 2005

On the Road to 2012: Activation Maya

The first of seven annual, week-long Solstice celebrations leading up to the great turning of 2012 takes place in Tikal, Guatemala beginning today. 2012 is the end of the Mayan Great Cycle (26,000 years). The date is recognized among indigenous peoples worldwide as a potent moment that we've been building towards for two thousand years, when humanity makes a grand evolutionary leap into a higher dimension of awareness, ushering in Heaven on Earth.

Activation Maya is a full-scale shamanic gathering led by Mayan elders, and includes ancient site tours, sacred ceremonies, sweat lodges, drumming circles, workshops, and visionary music. One of the groups performing will be Kan'Nal, a tribe of Indigo young adults who are creating ritual performance concerts that transcend and transmute existing musical forms.

I plan to get tickets for next year's event! See you there!

Monday, December 12, 2005

12:12 Portal: Time to Release & Reimagine

Following the 11:11:11 activation, we've been living in a super-reality where the facade of the old has been deliquescing, like Dali's famous clocks. Now it' time for Integrating the Re-birth, and as usual, Karen Bishop's words of wisdom smooth the way for the bumps and dips on the path before us. She says,

"Here is a general rule of thumb for residency in the higher realms. Follow your heart and your passion and your joy. If you do what makes you feel good, without trying to analyze and mentally figure out the money aspects, the money simply arrives on its own as a by-product. Don't make it your main focus. And never do anything for the money alone. This certainly does not mean to quit your job and just leave everything...it just means that it is best to find time to follow your joy, even if it doesn't make any sense. This alone will align you with yourself and with Source.
 
"So how does December 12th (12:12) fit in to all of this? 12:12 is the time for integration. November 11th opened the portal to the higher realms for the critical mass and December 12th will serve to integrate these New and higher energies and ways of being. All leading up to January, 2006.

"During this now time of December, we may also find it difficult to make decisions as our circumstances have changed. But know that come January, we will be much more cemented in to the New with the New us and our New lives, and a very new alignment with a New World and New source of support. We are simply in the eye of the storm of a miraculous and enormous transition and have not yet fully arrived, but we will. This state of flux and 'nothingness' in regard to old ways of moving forward is only temporary.
 
"We are also leaving behind the old reality of lack and suffering. You may find that you are simply unwilling to participate in any more feelings of despair over lack and suffering. Like throwing caution to the wind, you may find that you just do not care anymore about any of it. You may want what you want and decide that it is time that you had it. This is because we have had enough and we have had enough because it is finally about to end.
 
"These feelings of not caring and being unwilling to participate in this type of existence anymore also creates a great willingness to 'leave'. This is what will propel you to the higher realms. This very strong desire of being willing to leave and not participate is what precipitated my big ascension leap a few years ago. This is part of the process, and I am having it again. I have been seeing very clearly that I will most certainly be leaving much behind and if I did not know better, I would think that I was about to 'die'. All just part of the process."

So wax those spiritual surfboards, fellow travelers, and let's ride the waves of 12:12 into a brand-new Ocean of Bliss and Oneness! Remember, "Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world!"

Thursday, December 08, 2005

The Wisdom of Water

Today's Go Gratitude reminder (see December 3rd entry for details!) is so wonderful I had to share it:

Crystal Clear

water crystals reveal structural alterations
bent by vibration, being currently
arranged to display Now.

love beats true
within waking waters of time
called You and I.
masterfully guided through Gratitude
this Source force Will create
bodies bent on behaving with
benevolent intentions
designed
to
witness Life as waking Art.

***
Go Gratitude
***

imagine a wake of Gratitude, flowing across every beating
heart, re-connecting our water bodies to Love.
Emoto - grab your microscope.

***

Interview with Masaru Emoto on Gratitude:

REIKO:  Have you come across a particular word or phrase in your research that you have found to be most helpful in cleaning up the natural waters of the world? 

DR. EMOTO:  Yes. There is a special combination that seems to be perfect for this, which is love plus the combination of thanks and appreciation reflected in the English word gratitude. Just one of these is not enough. Love needs to be based in gratitude, and gratitude needs to be based in love. These two words together create the most important vibration. And it is even more important that we understand the value of these words.

For example, we know that water is described as H2O. If we were to look at love and gratitude as a pair, gratitude is the H and love is the O. Water is the basis that not only supports but also allows the existence of life. In my understanding of the concept of yin and yang, in the same way that there is one O and two Hs, we also need one part yang/love to two parts yin/gratitude, in order to come to a place of balance in the equation.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

At Play At Last...Are We Having Fun Yet?

Since 11:11, I've been finding it tremendously difficult to concentrate on "work" -- even the work I love, which is guiding others' evolutionary paths. As for the marketing and copywriting which I once adored, it's been like slogging through sludge. All I want to do is walk in the park or be outside, just Be-ing.

Once again, Karen Bishop translates our transition into terminology that makes sense. She writes,

"Part of our natural state of being is in joy, in playing and creating, and in having fun. We want to be done. Time to end the responsibilities. Time to let go of it all. Time to be free. Time to be in the moment. In the higher realms everything is in the now. We always have everything we need. We have no attachments. There are no agendas. There are no 'systems' of the 3D world. There are no hoops to jump through. We are ready to laugh, to be free, and to enjoy. Thank goodness this is the last of the going back. We are now wired for a different reality and way of being.
 
"You may be feeling that you want to get off your computer. Get away from the TV. Get out of the car where you spend too much time running errands. Get off the phone. Get out of your book. Get away from conversations that go around and around, talking about what 'is.'
 
"It is time to get out there and create your life. It is time to move into a New energy and really live in it. It is time to do something physical. Raise your alpacas, start living off the grid, build a new house, plant a garden, become one with nature and the stars, have a farm, move to the land of your dreams, sleep in late with your best friend, be with your animals, create music, dance, paint, sing and simply be present.
 
"We are done. We are ready to create the New. We are ready to have the life of our dreams. We can, we can, we can. No more waiting for the planet to get there. It finally has."

Whooppee! Who wants to come out and play?!!

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Got Gratitude?

I've long trumpeted the power of 42 (which, according to the classic, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," is the answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything.") I wrote an article the year I turned 42 explaining how to stay 42 Forever. Yet the e-mail I received today trumps any previous notions I've held about the power of 42.

What if...in just 42 days...you held the Master Key to:

* feel better instantly
* enjoy supportive, synergistic, exciting relationships
* increase your prosperity and abundance
* experience vibrant health
* know peace of mind
* supercharge your creative juices
* magnetize the realization of your dreams and goals
* make a profound difference in the lives of many people

Go to Give Me the Master Key and become part of the transformative magic. As of 12/2/05, nearly 150,000 people have watched the flash movie and approximately 50,000 have signed up to participate in the 42-day experiment. It's free. It's fun. It's for and about All of Us. Come play!

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Cosmic Sunrise: Coming Home At Last

There's a new moon in the fire sign Sagittarius today, and at the higher dimensional levels the sun is blazing the radiance of an awakening humanity. Archangel Michael through Celia Fenn transmits,

"What a grand month December will be! Waves of cosmic light and radiance from the Great Central Sun will flood the Earth's new crystalline grids. Pluto, the engine of transformation, moves into close conjunction with the Great Central Sun or Galactic Center, providing the powerful surge of transformative energy that will initiate the 'Great Awakening' of the next two years. The Earth is now poised for a great leap in consciousness. Daily the light and radiance on the planet increases.

"We call it a 'Cosmic Sunrise', for the brilliant light from the Great Central Sun rises to illuminate the planet, which is now poised for the great awakening that will be the beginning of the New Earth or the 'Golden Age'. In 2006 and 2007, many millions of people (will be) shifting their consciousness into the Higher Dimensions as they prepare to ground themselves in the crystalline grids of the New Earth."

As the consciousness of the collective rises, you may experience some ascension symptoms, including:

* Extreme fatigue, possibly alternating with periods of high energy.
* A sense of great personal clarity that may be accompanied by greater clarity of physical vision.
* Extreme energy sensations in the body, especially around December 18th and 19th. Buzzing, currents felt in the limbs, "spaciness" in the head, feelings of nausea, etc. This will be your body working to accommodate the increase in Light Radiance.
* Intense emotions and feelings: sadness and depression alternating with great joy and elation. The intense light will cause emotional instability. Do your best to stay centered and focus on the Light. Being centered and grounded will be very important at this time, otherwise you may find yourself "spinning out".
* Time will seem to be moving very fast. New Earth time is clashing with old Earth linear time. Don't try to do everything. Relax and let your Higher Aspect lead. All that needs to be done will be done at the right time. Remember the concept of "Divine Timing".
* Meeting new friends and new people, as the Soul families and Clans continue to come together. Also, letting go of people whose energy no longer aligns with yours.
* Feelings of gratitude, calm and joy...you have made it! It is done!
* Feelings of empowerment and possibility. It's time to create the New Earth...Here we go!