I watched 2 movies, very different but with similar premise: Up In The Air with George Clooney and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig. Both begin with a large corporation downsizing, leaving hundreds of employees wondering how they’re going to make it after giving half their life to a company that just let them go. Half the sessions I do are callers in that same situation, asking for guidance, asking for their next step. Here are my thoughts.

It helps to have a few basic goals, skills to qualify you for those goals and to have a Plan B. Not everyone has the time to daydream about Plan B, what another life may look like. They may find themselves working several jobs to support a family with barely time to sleep. But if you’re gonna be successful in being flexible to navigate whatever life throws at you, you gotta get a Plan B.  Continue reading →

“Always look for the helpers,” Mr. Rogers told us. And I do. When a hurricane is off the coast, I make a point to go on Facebook and point out what silver linings I can to those enmeshed in storm prep. I don’t know the technical mechanics of how hurricanes work, I just share my past experiences with a hopeful outlook. I’m usually messaging with FB friends for hours and enjoy it. This time as Hurricane Dorian approached, I was days out of surgery and sleeping a ton. I didn’t have time for much messaging but wouldn’t turn any down. “Give me the energy to respond or guide me otherwise.” Next time I checked my FB news feed, I saw for the first time one of Aah Jim‘s Don’t Panic weather updates.  Woot! Prayers answers at the moment of asking. I sent a friend request and began sharing his posts. Lots of FBF found him and we were all comforted by his REAL FACTS info and explanation of the how and why of the storm itself. I asked if I could Paypal him some $$ and he declined. No one has ever done that. “This is a labor of Love to counter the forces of Fear in our lives,” he said. “This is a private weather service provided to my friends and their friends receiving no government funding and no corporate sponsorship. Be strong against the forces of fear and chaos, and above all Don’t Panic.”
This is sacred work, keeping everyone in the know while helping them keep calm. I was glad to find and share his posts, to learn from an expert in the field what was really happening, since the news and weather always exaggerate every ‘cane into the storm of the century. It greatly cut down on the amount of stress and anxiety I and my friends felt. Yes, I still prepared as if there might be a Florida hit or pass over, but knew right away, according to all the models and info he shared, there wouldn’t be nearly what mainstream media said there’d be. Bless those who take it as a sacred duty to help bring FACTS, a voice of reason, peace and comfort to those in need of it in times of distress. Continue reading →

I hadn’t checked car insurance prices in years. I was stunned when I did. You should really check yours. My Liberty Mutual renewal was going to be $2425/yr.
Geico quoted me $1332 for the exact same coverage.
Progressive quoted me $1210 for the exact same coverage.
AAA south quoted me $1050 for the exact same coverage
— THEN I went to Liberty Mutual online and asked for a quote and it was $1774 for the exact same coverage they want me to renew at $2425.  WTAF?????

AAA south is my new carrier.

Yoga Shakti Mission  Palm Bay is celebrating the Summer Solstice and International Yoga Day this Friday June 21st 2019 with Hatha Yoga from 6 AM to 6 PM. All are invited to join us in the Yogashakti Pavilion for FREE Hatha Yoga classes. Continue reading →

I can keep whining and lamenting the loss of inches of hair or I can enjoy having a wispier cut for the hot summer months and look forward to it growing back before I know it. Which do you think will give me the results I want quickest?

Note to self: next time, go to salon BEFORE picking up scissors. I didn’t realize that evening it up meant losing long strands in the front. This is good for my sadhana, letting me see how identified with my hair I’d become and how vain about it. A good reminder that everything goes away, It all becomes dust in the wind. I should enjoy what I have when I have it.

I’ve been watching Burn Notice on Hulu, set in Miami and Miami Beach. I enjoy seeing how all the old locations look now. It’s fun to recognize many of the neighborhoods, particularly the downtown area where the courthouses were and where I worked since my 20’s as a criminal defense paralegal. The Star Island and Hibiscus Island, Palm Island locations reminded me of several high-profile criminal defendants we had that were in the news at the time. But to tell my story would be telling their story and I don’t have authority to do that. Needless to say I loved my job, I was good at it and every day was a trip.

Watching Burn Notice filmed in Miami, I recognized one of the properties on Star Island as being formerly owned by clients we represented in the 80s: Brother Louv and the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church, known for smoking marijuana as part of its worship services at their mansion on Star Island. I remember for trial we would walk the 4 blocks to the federal courthouse from the law office in a group of like 20, surrounded by reporters and curiosity seekers. I worked for some dynamic attorneys with high profile cases that got lots of media attention. Here’s an article from The Miami Herald August 2, 1981 The Brother Louv Story by staff writer Carl Hiaasen https://www.druglibrary.net/olsen/RASTAFARI/tropic.html

Here’s a Video from Square Grouper – The Zion Coptic Mansion on Star Island. In 1975, the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church purchased a mansion on the exclusive Star Island to serve as their Miami headquarters. They soon fell into conflict with their neighbors, who didn’t appreciate Coptics arriving and leaving all day and night or the thick cloud of marijuana smoke that blanketed the property like a fog. https://vimeo.com/39662748

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Zion_Coptic_Church

A friend mused under a starry sky just how many “stars” in her own life had gone out before her. She wondered what kind of place they were in and if they’d meet again. Then she worried how that would work with several exes who didn’t get along and children she was estranged from.

That didn’t sound like heaven, that sounded like hell. “I already have that now.” Then she worried how she could GO to hell if she’s already IN hell and I told her,

“If you focus on it enuff, you can talk yourself into anything.” She mused it might be a good time to start making peace with her past. She wanted them all to step up and admit their part and apologize to her and mean it.

The full moon tonight is also the Wesak  full moon.  Wesak is the first full Moon in Taurus.  At the Wesak full moon every year, many celebrate Buddha’s Birthday, receiving the love of Buddha and connecting with all humanity.  Wesak is the most holy time in the Buddhist calendar, the Buddha being the expression of the Wisdom of God, the embodiment of light and the indicator of divine purpose. It is a day for meditation and for radiating Loving-Kindness.

At Wesak and during daily puja, we say The Great Invocation: 
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.   Continue reading →

I was pondering a favor a galpal extended, which I graciously declined because I don’t loan or borrow $$ from friends. She offered me an interest free loan for a $5,000 project. $5k for 24 months at the 12.5% my credit union offers would be $676.88 interest. At 4% (I wouldn’t consider zero %,) the interest would be just $210.99, a difference of $465.89. We have the same bank so I could schedule the payments to transfer automatically each month. When I write it all out, it’s just a savings of $19.41 a month and that’s not enough for me to warrant having anything hanging over our friendship.