Author Archives: Andrea

The past month I’ve been doing mega spring cleaning. It feels like a fresh start. And I’m willing to give Trump a fresh start as well. I’ve had a few realizations and revelations about him. It just clicked for me why DT supporters don’t mind that he’s untruthful. It’s because they honestly believe that no matter what he does, it’s better than a Clinton presidency, period. I didn’t understand it before and now I do. I don’t have to agree with it, but understanding it helps me understand those who think like that. If you accept the premise, the logic follows.

If you’d been told all your life that bunnies would hunt you down to attack and kill you and rape your mother and children, you’d grow up afraid of them, and wanting to get them before they got you, right? You wouldn’t want them in charge of anything, right?

If a person spent the entirety of their life inside of a pitch dark cave being told every day that the sun was a source of evil, how would they feel after being dragged into daylight? Fear isn’t something that appears overnight… It’s all about perception.

When I was about 8 years old, we went to visit some cousins we’d never met. We grew up in the city but they lived out on a remote country road in a ramshackely farmhouse. There were 6 of us playing in the yard at the end of the day and the oldest (about 16) began to tell a story. There was an old woman, legend has it, who was killed walking home from the market at sundown. Her ghost still haunts the road to this day. He and his brothers told stories of people who’d encountered her and the tattered yellow dress she wore with long blue mens’ sweater and men’s work boots, carrying her groceries in a big potato sack. As they spoke, I noticed a stooped figure walking toward us, way down the road. I saw her clear as day, yellow dress, blue sweater, boots, potato sack. The cousins couldn’t see her, they said, but my brother and I did! The closer she came the more afraid I got, since the story was that she came back with a butcher knife to get revenge. She did keep looking in the potato sack, probably checking her knife.

By the time she got 100 feet away I was frantic, crying and afraid, knowing we were all about to be murdered. Thankfully my mom ran out of the house to save me! But instead she walked over and took the potato sack from the killer ghost woman. WTH?? Of course, there as no killer ghost, the woman was merely their grandmother who was walking home from the market as she did every sundown.

Except I wasn’t told, “My grandma visits every sundown.” No, my cousins had carefully set the scene so that when I saw the old woman on the road, I’d think she was the killer ghost of the “legend” they just told me. Had they said nothing, I’d have thought I was watching an old woman walk on the road. But since their advance story was that a killer ghost roamed the road at sundown, that is what I saw.

So if you’d been told all your life that bunnies would hunt you down to attack and kill your children, you’d grow up wanting to get them before they got you, right? And that’s all Trump is doing, trying to protect us from the bunnies he perceives are out there after us.

What we want is someone with our interests at heart, someone we can trust. Someone who will take the job seriously, show strength and do what was promised. He still has time to turn it all around, to educate himself, to jump into the job, surround himself with educated advisors, to do good work. Accountability and responsibility change people. It can cause realizations and awakenings. Someone who is very emotionally reactive is undergoing the deep work of integrating their personality with their soul. Like it or not, if you’re being triggered by him, he’s been placed here for you to do some soul work of your own.

I’ve had several realizations. One is that while I support the efforts of those who march and protest, that is not my way. I’ve been made aware of how many stand ready to do the work of marching and protesting and gathering facts and getting those facts into the proper hands for review. I’ve been made aware that existing policies and laws could use revision. I’ve been made aware there are people working on that. I’m happy to see that people who think injustice is being done are acting quickly to remedy it. Bless the helpers!

I’ve been having hopeful visions. I’m seeing a method to the madness. We are learning a lot. If he’s doing something wrong, he’ll be stopped. My feeling is he is President until he is not and he can do what he wants, until he can’t. It will take more than one election cycle to resolve this. But no matter what chaos is going on around us, there are happier areas of our life we can choose to focus our attention on.

And there’s still time for him to turn it all around, to be a strong, conscious leader and become beloved by the people. I’m hopeful, despite how he’s handling things right now. Right now he’s hypnotized. Give him time. Don’t take score too soon. Hold the vision of his awakening.

WHAT I CAN DO is live my life with integrity and don’t let my happiness depend on what anyone says or doesn’t say and do. We can get to know our neighbors, we can smile at those we stand in line at the market with. We can recognize that we’ve come a long way baby and we’ll make it thru this as well.

Good things fall apart so better things can fall together but there’s a trick to that

When good things are falling apart, you have to look at them and remind yourself they are falling apart to make room for something better. Then look everywhere for evidence of that “something better.”

If good things fall apart and you start thinking it will only get worse, if you start collecting evidence of that, well, we always find what we look for. So when your world starts crumbling around you, that is merely past momentum catching up with you and making a clean sweep. Then get excited that good things are on the way and better times are to be had. Look for evidence of that everywhere. The best is yet to be.

Why do I bother writing things to make people feel more hopeful about their future in this current climate? Because it is only the ones who are hopeful who will attract thoughts and ideas that help us move easily through the changes.

When people trigger us to an emotional response

There’s a 90 second chemical process that happens in the body and then after that, any remaining emotional response is just the person choosing to stay in that emotional loop. “When you stay stuck in an emotional response, you’re choosing it by choosing to continue thinking the same thoughts that retrigger it. “ — > It’s the power of choice.
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

Enjoy our offering this month.
Hari Om.

February 2017

Welcome to the February 2016 Horizons. Happy Valentine’s! We’ve got a thought provoking article on page 16, The Biology of Love by Dr. Bruce H. Lipton. What does molecular biology have to do with love? Not only does cellular biology have something to tell us about love in our bodies, it also is very revealing about the nature of human connection.

WOW! Women’s March The Biggest Protest In US History As 4+ Million March

And talking about Love, half a million men and women descended onto the national mall in Washington, DC on January 21, 2017 — the day after the Inauguration — to show their support for women’s rights. Marchers and police were civil and participants were reportedly kind to one another. Despite the 500,000 protesters there were no arrests, in contrast to the day before when 230 people were arrested out of the 250,000 attending the Inauguration.

I was delighted to see all the sisters attending the Women’s March. There were record turnouts all across the nation (4+ million) saying “we exist, we have something to say, we have rights we deserve to retain.” We learned a big lesson this election season. A few years from now there will be more record turnouts, it will be on voting day, and we’ll come back into balance. Thanks to DT for being an alarm clock showing us what happens when we sit back and let other people do the thinking and the voting. We’ve been reminded in a big way that there are a lot of us, we’ve got the power and we’ve just been re-inspired to use it.

JESUS IN DISGUISE? HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?

I awoke the day after Inauguration Day with the Christmas song Joy To The World in my head along with the image of Trump’s face saying “Jesus in his most distressing disguise — how do you like me now?” It made me chuckle, bringing me back to reality. Is it not true that YOU might be Jesus in disguise? I might be? Only in treating each other this way in each Now moment will we know for sure.

And, oh, what a grand disguise we’re being presented. It’s like we keep waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and say, “Punked!” I’m not a Trump fan but I’m not taking score just yet. I’ll give him a chance to do what he said he’d do. I know it seems like a rough start with 34 out of 36 promises broken the first day. But — Jesus in disguise, ya’ll. I figure whatever is happening God is permitting to happen for a designed purpose even though we have no idea what that purpose is. I’m staying faithful it will be revealed at the right time.

Until then, Alan Cohen once suggested writing down all your troubles, then holding them in your hands as you pray, “God, let me be wrong about all of this.” I’m saying this powerful prayer and releasing past judgments. I know miracles happen every day and that all things are possible. I’m hopeful.

MORE CLEARING AND RELEASING

After all the election tension in the air, I felt the need to clear out old energy, so I finally cleared out my shed!! It contained 20 years worth of random furniture and furnishings, old computer equipment and tvs, cassette tapes, old stereo equipment, a dozen wooden bifold doors. You get the picture. I put it all out on the street along with a hammock, 3 desks, 17 tables, boxes of books. I took photos of the line of treasures and posted it on Facebook’s group page for Palm Bay Neighbors Watching Out for Neighbors. Within minutes several people stopped by and picked items up. I’d periodically go out and straighten the line back up and take new pics. Each time I posted it to the FB page, more people came to look. “Thank you,” I’d yell out my office window, hidden behind the privacy hedge. “Thank you,” I’d hear back, “you have a cool yard!” (Thank you, yes I do.)

NO ROOM FOR SENTIMENTALITY

Much of the shed contents was just random furniture I’d picked up in my travels. Some I’d refinished and would rotate in and out of the house through the years, but now it all seemed too heavy and dark. Nothing of value but it was hard to let some things go, like my favorite old school heavy wooden drafting table.There’s no room for sentimentality in a 2000 sq.ft. house. I could replace it if I needed to for $150 with something that weighed far less and folded compactly, but I have several others here. I feel a ton of weight has dropped. The older I get, the less stuff I want to be in charge of.

I LOVE RECLAIMING EMPTY SPACE

After several days of physical labor, I was reminded that these bodies we have are amazing things. I wore myself out working in my shed. I awoke later in bed with my muscles vibrating! It felt good to get worn out as I was Clearing Out. Each trip back into the shed from the street revealed more empty space inside. The shed began to feel like a haven again.

It measures 12 x 32, there are shelves and work benches lining the walls and power outlets every 8 feet. Mostly now there is only plywood stored inside but I am going to move many items over from the garage, mostly gardening tools and supplies.A few ooutlets did not work so I had a friend check the wiring. He replaced two broken switches, put in new lights and made all power receptacles work. I look forward to freshening the tables and shelves with some paint and setting up a couple of workshop areas.

I FINALLY CHANGE FROM BANK TO CREDIT UNION

I got so energized clearing out the shed that I checked my To Do List to see what else I could tackle. For a year or more I’ve wanted to make a community credit union my primary financial institution and I finally began steps to move my Wells Fargo bank accounts. I admit I just learned that Wells Fargo helped finance the DAPL pipeline however I was ready to move.

I went to the credit union and opened a business checking account. Back at the office I ordered checks and deposit slips and rubber stamps and began changing all direct deposit info. Next I’ll enter all my bill pay info in, it’s a chore but it feels good to have begun the process. I was thrilled when they built a credit union 2 miles away, I can walk my deposits in now. There are no monthly fees and my dollars support my local community.

FEELING RE-INSPIRED

Feeling so energized after the clearing, I cranked thru the work! It seems the busier I am, the more I tend to take on and burn through. Last year I reached a burnout point when I OVER booked my time, voice and hands. This month I feel I’ve stepped out of the woods. I feel newly inspired.

Which came first, inspiration or uncluttering? I feel the energy moving again. My shed is clear, I’ve got a plan for home projects, I’m transferring from a bank to a credit union, I’ve connected with new authors. Next I’ll price check auto and homeowners insurance. My Social Security check went up, my mortgage payment went down. Life is good.

WHATEVER IS BEORE ME IS A REFLECTION OF ME

Working on final layout of this February magazine, I smiled to see the page on the screen before me is such a reflection of me. The page that the reader will see is organized and formatted, with good white space. In the margins, however — what no one sees but me — is a scramble of notes and articles and images, all crammed together, placed there to remind me what I have waiting to go in next.

My mind is like that sometimes, too, constantly reviewing info filed off to the side that I’ll need shortly, while seemingly focused on what’s in font of me. I recall 20+ years ago when Kristy (Scott) Souto first began Horizons Magazine we’d be sitting at my computer where she was teaching me Pagemaker. She laughed that I kept so many Options windows open since that made the typing/layout screen very small.

“You have this little tiny screen,” she said, pinching fingers together in front of her eye,“but out here are ALL the options!” She was right. That’s still my life but this tiny life is SO fulfilling and yes, I still like to keep all my options easy to find right in front of me 🙂

Enjoy our offering this month.
Hari Om.

January 2017

Welcome to the January 2017 issue of Horizons Magazine. Don’t you love/hate it when you get a chance to practice faith and trust what you know about law of attraction? A friend and spiritual teacher writes: “Beyond frustrated. Everything current and future life—work & class files, all emails, passwords, new job sites, rental places… All wiped clean. Like they never existed. Not in a cloud. Not on a server. Poof like my life for the last 6 months never happened. The feeling of helplessness & frustration is real.”

I know how she feels. My website and backup files were hacked several years ago and was down for months while my brother recreated it. At first I flipped out, but the fact was there were a lot of things on the old site that were no longer current or even relevant. Computer tech friends told me my website could not be restored. My brother warned me he might not be successful. I understood their concern was based on their own past experience. But my past experience is that things always work out for me. My past experience is that I don’t need to know the details of how something is going to work out. I just need to have faith that it will. And it somehow always miraculously does. Out of 3,977 pages I only had to redo 108 that dropped off.

When it happened, I was forced to rethink who I was and what I was doing. I received valuable insights and lessons I would not have learned otherwise. We’ve all had those situations in life that at first seemed to be negative or unpleasant but later turned out to be a gift or a blessing in disguise. It’s hard to see — when we’re in the midst of upheaval — the good and the fresh beginning that will come on the other side of it once the slate is wiped clean, whether by our choice or not. In the midst of crisis, it helps me to ask myself the question, Why is this happening FOR me? rather than why is this happening TO me?

It’s not always easy to remember that whatever situation I’m in, I’ve gotten there by being a vibrational match to it. It’s not always easy to see how that can be. The only way I can get out of it is to change my thoughts about what I’m living and what I’m seeing. You, too. I’ve made up a list to read when I begin to doubt. I read this whenever I am having continuing thoughts that I want to replace with better feeling thoughts. This is one set of replacement thoughts I use. I read it over to myself until I realize that what it says is true.

MY SELF TALK SCRIPT OF REPLACEMENT THOUGHTS

I know I am in charge of my own wellbeing.

I know that what comes to me is a result of how I think about life and how I react to it.

It helps me stay focused on the good that is happening in my Now if I do not watch the news or listen to other’s people’s complaints and worries and theories and opinions.

I know that I do not need to attract more good into my life, I merely need to release my resistance to the good that is already available to me.

I know that I release resistance whenever I do something that is purely fun and enjoyable to me, when I do something that makes me be in the Now, that lets me be happy and lose time in the doing of it. For me that can be gardening, sewing, sketching, painting, woodworking. Something that requires my complete and focused attention yet is fun and fulfilling.

I know that anytime I look for the positive aspects in any situation, I find them.

I know anytime I sit and make a list of the people I love and the things I appreciate, something in me switches on and I feel better.

I know when I feel better, I suddenly see all sorts of opportunity around me that I didn’t notice before.

When I see more opportunity available to me, I feel excited about the possibilities.

When I feel excited about the possibilities, Life expands around me and good things begin happening.
When I feel happy and excited, I know that’s the time for effective creative visualization, and I begin running the best case scenario “what ifs” through my imagination.

When you use self-talk to remind yourself that you have access to inner guidance that can lead you in the right direction for all decisions, you become very powerful. When you tell yourself that, your mind starts looking for evidence of it and attracting guidance and inspiration to you. And unless you drown out that inner guidance by having your attention on say tv or radio or news reports, you’ll be inspired to action that can change your world — right now, right where you are — for the better.

BEGIN A SNOWBALL OF THOUGHTS TODAY TO HAVE A BETTER TOMORROW

If you spend 51% of your time looking at everything that is going wrong with the world, and everyone that is pissing you off, you can’t be attracting anything else. Just for one day cut the criticism and pessimism and think of all the happy things that ever happened to you, you’ll spend a few minutes vibing in a higher and happier place. And those minutes will lead to more minutes of happier thoughts and you’ll attract even more happier thoughts. Let THAT begin your snowball of thoughts for the morning and your world can change by tomorrow. Trust that you have the power to make it even in challenging times. The state of the economy does not determine your experience. Your conscious thought, expectation and belief does. Trust that you can attract helpful thoughts that inspire you to action. Soon enough you’ll have evidence and your belief will change.

“I imagine Trump won’t affect me one way or another.” A FB friend asked, “Don’t you feel him stopping EPA laws affects everyone? We all live on a planet that is being affected by global warming and he doesn’t believe in it.” What I meant was I do my best to live my life making the most of every moment I encounter no matter what is in that moment. And so far it’s been my experience that when I do that I’m led to happier and more peaceful and more abundant circumstances then I would have otherwise found myself in had I been focused on a lot of details of the world.

I saw a headline about the Trump/KKK connection and laughed out loud. Laughed? Everyone hating on him is giving him power. I find myself laughing at it because it shocks me into the *BAM* awareness that *everything* is an illusion and that soon enough I’ll be awake and aware in a new incarnation elsewhere before this one becomes unbearable.

In the meantime I’m empowered knowing that EVERYthing I see is an illusion since I also know I’M the one who determines the tone of the people and situations I come in contact with. I determine who and what comes to me by virtue of where I place my thoughts on a daily, hourly, moment by moment basis.

Since the collective consciousness was so focused on Trump — for better AND worst — it gave him the power — the fuel supplied by OUR emotional reaction to him — to be where he is now.

But where he is now is pliable, mind you, and there’s still time to reroute what’s on the way. To do that we have to defuse the anger we feel each time we see ignorance in action. We have to find humor in it at least long enough to lift our emotions up off the anger to a higher place, a place that feels better, so we can attract a different experience.

Because until we can look at stuff like the KKK and Trump and feel better, we are going to keep giving him power. And like gravity, it is working whether you believe in it or not. So, for the sake of mankind, lighten up. You are always just one decision away from a completely different life.

Enjoy our offering this month. Hari Om.

December 2016

Welcome to the December 2016 issue of Horizons Magazine. To anyone who’s disappointed with the presidential election, let’s not take score too soon. I say it’s done so let’s go with the flow. Hillary won the popular vote by more than 2 millions votes, but we made it through when this happened in 2000, remember? 25.6% voted Clinton, 25.5% voted Trump and 46.9% didn’t vote. We must give him a chance as there is work to be done. It’s only four years, he’s not here to stay. Let’s make the best of it. Let’s hope he’s is a good president. Wanting him to fail is like wanting the pilot to crash the plane we are ALL on. Like it or not, it behooves us to cheerlead the pilot on to a safe landing, and hold the vision he can do it.

Some friends are bummed their third party votes let him prevail but we saw it coming. That’s life, people have to find out for themselves. The best is yet to be no matter who’s in office. To think anything is ruined because of one election is short sighted.

Whoever gets elected, my life will still be satisfying and content because I am the one in charge of thinking the thoughts that keep me motivated to make that happen. You, too. I was quick to unfollow Facebook friends who repeated hateful posts before the violence of their anger changed how I felt about them. All my “unfollowing” paid off. My FB feed reverted back to being happy, friends talking about family, pets, what’s for dinner.

That’s the stuff of life, you know, what’s happening right in front of us that we can touch and feel. That’s what life is all about, spending time with people we love. Be patient while this plays out. Don’t lose your mind about something God has already worked out.

Chaos is an integral part of transformation. Germany survived its period of nationalistic fascism and is now one of the most sane countries on the planet. We will survive this. May we meet chaos with grace, understanding, dignity and gratitude

A CALL TO LIGHTWORKERS TO HOLD THE VISION
OF TRUMP’S AWAKENING

Lightworkers, you can help us hold the vision. I am calling out to Lightworkers and Vision Keepers to tap into that huge wave of emotion surrounding us and channel it in a positive direction. I’m asking you to hold the vision with me of an awakened, compassionate President. If you feel someone dangerous just gained political power, pray for his awakening and know that when many minds are gathered together with vision in prayer, miracles happen. It’s been said that when just 1% of the population meditates upon peace and lovingkindness, the effect spreads to the other 99% – and it works even if they don’t believe it.

HERE’S HOW WE CAN HELP. THIS IS HOW WE BECOME WORLD SERVERS BEHIND THE SCENES, HOLDING THE THOUGHT OF A HOPEFUL OUTCOME

I know my centered-ness, my vision and my hopeful expectation can hold the space for others around me to tune into. My experience is if even one focused person can contemplate the scene and have faith in a successful outcome, that can entrain the consciousness of everyone, whether they are aware of it or not.

We can help bring that about by how we look at the President, how we look at each newly elected official, how we perceive them, how we perceive what they are doing and how we perceive what grand good they may be capable of. And I mean how we perceive not their physical body and personality self, but how we perceive each at his/her essence. How we perceive each candidate separate from the overlay of any past history, hateful rhetoric and mean spirited jabs.

WHY HOLD A VISION OF AN AWAKENED, COMPASSIONATE TRUMP, FOR INSTANCE?

Because he has the means to make things happen. As this man becomes powerful on the political scene, just imagine the amount of good he could do with a compassionate heart? That’s why lightworkers and visionkeepers can hold a vision of his having an awakening, a softening of his heart due to new understanding dawning in him. Pray for his awakening and know that when many minds are gathered together with vision in prayer, miracles happen. Become a vision keeper with us?

Practice knowing that nothing that happens in the world needs to affect our happiness. It helps to remember that during a storm, the small, slim willow bends in the wind. A storm may rage on all around us, yet we be completely untouched where we are. Entire neighborhoods may be devastated in an earthquake yet one lone house on the cliff remain intact. We can remain upright even while one standing next to us does not if we are flexible to the winds of change.

In 2004, Hurricane Jeanne destroyed 3 mobile homes surrounding one I own in an over-55 park nearby. Mine had one scratch from flying debris and my tenant moved back in the next day. How did we escape damage while the storm raged on around us? Was it the prayers we said as the storm approached? My tenant at the time was a very devout Christian. Was it faith that no matter what storm passed over us, it was possible to be on the other side of it quickly enough, with little or no distress? Was it knowing that if our focus was strong enough to envision weathering the storm with ease and grace, that it would naturally come to pass?

I have learned it’s all about my ability to stay focused on what it is I want to experience. Because what I am focused on can come to pass for me. During Hurricane Jeanne, I felt safe and secure throughout the storm. I awoke to find the oak in the back yard had uprooted and come down on my back porch. Even so, I was not distressed. I didn’t know it had fallen. My neighbor had a chain saw and two sons who had the tree cut away within two hours of me discovering it. Soon after, insurance paid for all repairs including a new roof when I thought only a few shingles had blown off.

So staying focused on the good doesn’t mean you’ll never have anything “bad” happen to you. It means you come to realize the good in whatever happens to you. It means that instead of being broken by the storms in your life, your ability to bend and be flexible will benefit you. In June 2003 fire destroyed acres around me and literally stopped in the shape of my prayer circle. Prayerful intent can be powerful and can stop a storm — any kind of storm — in its tracks, whether a hurricane, a fire or a new political party.

Maybe it’s because of my daily meditation practice the past 40 years but I always feel as though it’s under control — everything. That no matter what the appearance of anything around me, someOne or someThing with a Greater Plan has it under control. And if I have faith that I will come through fine and upgraded on the other side of it, experience tells me I will.

So, to those friends who are suffering right now, unhappy with election results, I know that no matter who is or isn’t in office, I can find happiness. I know that no matter who is or is not in office, I can have a good experience in life, I can find my niche, I can discover my purpose, I can find an ideal job, I can find love and pursue my dreams.

While initially we may see a lot of hate and racism being stirred up, it’s simply bringing to the surface what we have been surrounded with all along and didn’t know it. When you discover a hungry child, you feed it. When you suddenly discover who of the people around you are angry and bigoted and mean spirited – for instance, via their Facebook posts the last few months, you know who to love. That’s all that is happening now, the revealing of the ones who need our love and compassionate caring.

Friends, no matter what happens, we are okay. I promise you, we can love our way out of any situation.

We can help friends find happiness and contentment no matter where they stand by teaching them to seek the good in what is happening around them in every moment. That’s where your value lies. How much suffering can you relieve?

Enjoy our offering this month. Hari Om.