Ma Yoga Shakti
This Sunday 22 January 2012 Mataji (Ma Yogashakti) will give a lecture from 9 – 10 AM on the topic “Neither Grieving nor Craving.” On 29 January the topic will be “Where is Peace?” They will be held in the Temple. All are welcome to come and listen to Mataji’s message. No charge, but donations gratefully accepted. Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I went with a girlfriend who wanted to sell some of her gold jewelry. I had some I hadn’t worn in years but hadn’t thought of selling it,and didn’t need the money for anything. We did some research online to learn how to calculate a fair price for scrap gold and then separated it into 10k, 14k and 18k. We weighed her pieces on my postage scale to get a rough idea of what she had. Then we called around town and asked who paid how much per gram for scrap gold. Many would not say. The price for 14k gold that day was $1604 per ounce and the lowest offer we got was $13 per gram at Sullivan’s Jeweler’s on 192 and the highest was $21 per gram at Kempf’s and Damon’s. Genna in Palm Bay offered $18/gram and Orlando Gold Buyers first offered $496 on a bracelet weighing 32.2 grams, talking in pennyweights, then upped the offer for $700 after testing the gold content. My friend sold her pieces and walked away happy and that was the end of that. Continue reading
It’s hard to — after a lot of years without it — to have deep and meaningful conversations with someone every day for months then to have it stop. And there’s no one else to talk about it with except them. So suddenly after not needing it for years, now I miss it. Life is so fair 🙂 Yes — is — that’s not a typo.
I just got the February Horizons Magazine to the printer Monday so I get to goof off for a day or so. It felt good to work out at Planet Fitness for an hour for the first time in days, then I went to the Palm Bay Road Walmart and found my new fave World Market Brown Rice and Flax Seed crackers, in several flavors and also picked up some ground turkey for picadillo. It was an adventure navigating the store since it has a different floor plan than the one on Malabar Road. I stopped in at electronics and learned a little about iPads, actually it was a customer who was dressed like I was and buying accessories for an iPad which is why I asked her, knowing she was not sales staff. I’m getting urges to buy an iPad and I don’t even know what one is really. Anyway, back in grocery they did not carry the Earth Balance dairy spread I use, and I forgot green olives until I was back in the car. I stopped at Publix on the way home, since I planned to make my low fat Cuban style turkey picadillo for lunch and for me, the green olives are a must. I know I’ve been stressed when I look forward to washing and chopping vegetables. I’ll go outside after lunch and begin picking up all the oak and pine deadfall from the last windy week. Doing that and stacking kindling is a never ending job around here. While I’m out there, I’ll check out the squirrels since that’s their time to dance and play in the tree canopy. Now, into my afternoon. I so dig my life.
No, not mine
I pride myself on letting my facial hair grow and keeping it trimmed so I don’t look like the bearded lady at the circus. Hair is there for a purpose and I like facial hair on me. Not all my friends do and when we’re in person, some are quick to point out I could use a tweeze. I just laugh and let them know I grow it on purpose. Hey, the hair is blonde and smooth and fine, so you have to be right in my face to even see it. A good friend and spiritual brother is going through several austerities right now. An austerity is, among other things, an extreme practice undertaken during an ascetic or monastic period of one’s life. We share a spiritual practice, so when he did a head shaving, I cut my bangs. When he removed his beard, I got out the Nair and removed mine. For a month. I know that sounds like no big deal to most, but I’m very into symbolic practices and sharing this was important. Continue reading
I just found out how to give my hair the perfect long layered cut: Ready comb and scissors. Tilt halo on end and extend halo out as far as you want hair to be long. Cut everything outside the halo.
This is what fanaticism brings about
I posted on Facebook a diagram of a giant hole left by the Christian Dark Ages, with the caption: “Just think, we could have been exploring the galaxy by now. This is what fanaticism brings about.” I got a lot of knee jerk responses and Nick Ribecca chimed in correctly with, “Easy folks, I believe Andrea is talking about “fanaticism” not common everyday Christians. Remember how we are reminded every day that there are millions of decent everyday Muslims who pose no threat to civilization. But, Holy Wars by those calling themselves Christians, and Jihad by those calling themselves Muslims both wreaked horrific havoc on the world. The problem is the fanaticism, not the Religion.”
Have you ever told a white lie? You are going to love this, especially all of the ladies who bake for church events: Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies’ Group in Tuscaloosa , but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack for scout camp. When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, “Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!”
This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church. Being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. She plunked in a roll of toilet paper and covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect. And, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home. Continue reading
What’s your 10 word advice for everyone to make their life better in 2012? Mine would be “Look for the good, be kind to everyone, everywhere. Help.”
Waiting to break free - aren't we all?
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required to get through the tiny opening were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. It would then be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Continue reading