Yearly Archives: 2014

America is about everyone living free to be who they are

So let me get this straight. You are from another country and you live in America and you speak your native language and fly the flag of your native country in your own yard. Um, isn’t that what America is all about that we’re allowed to freaking do that? Without being harassed by ignorant haters under the guise of patriotism? I am never offended by an inanimate object like a flag, I am offended by people who use flags like they use Bibles: to beat each other up with.  Jesus’s numero uno message was the Golden Rule, do unto others, so if you tell me you’re a Christian, don’t be hating on anyone.  Period end of story. Don’t get me wrong, I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if they are ignorant and racist. I also believe everyone has a right to peaceful enjoyment, meaning keep your opinions to yourself if they will be considered harassment, hateful or shaming  another.  (Hmmm, is my intent to shame the haters here? Food for thought.)
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The watcher at the window

What does an Aries x5 do while waiting for the faces of previous in-progress paintings to come to me? Begin another! Here’s the under painting for the Watcher at the Window. I’m not sure what colors I’ll use yet but know I wanted these as a base.  I’ve Photoshopped in this pic the moon and a few stars to remind me where I want them to go. The window on the left was initially going to be a painting of Yogananda. We’ll see…  On the left is the picture I am painting from.  I liked the image of sitting alone, gazing out the window but wanted a more open and cozy feel to the scene.  I’ll add pillows and maybe a table with a cup of tea, maybe add a cat and hang a few windchimes.  The man likes the stark look of the source photo with the focus on one window.  So do I, but he and I have a different experience when we look at that image.  It reminds me of looking out my living room window on full moon night at a home I had in Murphy, NC. A chilly night, I had the heater on and set big pillows on the futon next to the big window. The room glowed from the moonlight shining in  I followed the moon across the sky on full moon nights, and watched as it illuminated the woods and mountains.  I had three level wooded acres, 2 acres up on a bluff and the home on an acre at the base. I loved watching the moon come over the treeline of the bluff.  I did some of my best thinking at that window.

The October magazine will be a few days later than usual

Hold a vision with me! For the first time in 22 years, if you receive your magazine at your local store, it will be delivered after the 1st of the month. I didn’t notice until 4:00am that the mailers I ordered August 13 never arrived. The magazines are mailed to areas I don’t have drivers in.  The mailers were reshipped today, fingers crossed for tomorrow or Saturday delivery so I can mail them first thing Monday morning.  I opted not to do the job today using some giant mailers I have on hand.  If I use the giant ones, I’d have to cut them in half and secure them with tape, a four step process, then reweigh and change all the weights on the post office paperwork. Then look up the new postage rates based on the additional weight. The postage isn’t much.  Changing all the paperwork is the hassle.  I opted to deliver magazines to Cassadaga the next day instead.  It’ll be fine.  It always is.

Update: they arrived Saturday!

I find a work habit to break

I have a habit of logging in payments in too many places. When I work on bookkeeping when I’m sleepy, I toss the work back in the IN box to check again to make sure I did it properly. So today I am doing everything left in the IN box the past few months. Grrrr! A habit to break!

A sudden windfall of dollars, do you play with it or pay back?

A friend attracted an amount of money she’d been wanting for a new project.  She considered it a windfall and was excited beyond words she could now make her dream a reality.  She began making plans and went to sleep a happy camper. She called me the next day in a quandry.  As she was making a list of what to buy, she began to call the friends and family who’d supported her vision to tell them the good news.  During their conversations she was reminded that a friend paid her cell phone bill the past year, her mom let her live rent free and her dad loaned her his car. While no one was asking for her to pay them back, she began a tally in her head, deducting those amounts so she could surprise them by repayment.  By the time she added it up, she was left  a far cry from what she needed for her project.  Her question to me was, should she pay everyone back first or do her dream first?   Continue reading

Staying connected

It’s been raining a few days.  It’s 3:00am and I’m sitting in the office with the windows open, listening to a gentle rain drip off the leaves outside.  It’s 71 degrees, the windows are open to the night air and I can smell the jasmine in the courtyard.  I love being awake in the middle of the night time when everyone around me is sound asleep.  It’s a time I sit and contemplate how good my life is.  It’s a time I bring to mind my friends, advertisers and clients as I pray for them as part of my spiritual practice –> here are my altar and healing bench techniques. It’s also a time I daydream about my partner while he sleeps soundly nearby. It’s one way I stay connected to him when we don’t spend waking time together.  Continue reading

Empaths: A turning point is when you stop allowing sociopaths into your life

An excellent article here –> The Dance – The Sociopath and The Empath.  A turning point in our own evolution is when we choose to stop allowing them into our life. I’ve only had the honor of attracting one such troubled individual and gained much wisdom from it. The good news – when you’re being played, you learn the game. When they tell you right away you’re the soul mate they’ve always sought, it’s time to dash. Or at least to step back, reflect and learn the back story.  It may take years. That’s ok.  You’ve got all the time in the world, and not a moment to lose.

RELATED: How to spot a Sociopath
They didn’t know their partner had a secret life
How to spot a sociopath – 10 red flags
Psychopaths: 30 Red Flags
Beware the narcissistic sociopath disguised as your “Soul Mate”

I may scan a friend’s rambling post but I won’t watch his rambling video

I’ve got a friend who I periodically wonder what he’s up to. He no longer makes written posts, they are all on Youtube. In the written word, I can scan over what’s not relevant to me and catch up quickly. But in videos, he rants on and on about political discontent and I just don’t care to sit through that in the hopes of gleaning a gem. A shame, I may miss useful into because I judge the packaging. I usually judge his choice of focus also. This post says everything about me and very little about him, huh?

New Authors: How not to fall for an editing/publishing scam

Self publish? Get an agent? A friend has fallen for “an editor” offering to make her manuscript ready for publication. After a year, all she has is an outlay of dollars, an unfinished draft and the slow realization she didn’t win a contest at all, it was a marketing scheme to get her to pay for hours of “editing and consulting.” Please check everyone out. Not everyone is out to play off your narcissism and rip off your dreams.

General Guidelines & Tips on Avoiding Scams:  There are too many scams out there, so in addition to listing the ones we know about, here are some general guidelines and tips to keep in mind when searching for publishers, agents, artists, contests, editors, etc.:   Continue reading