Soul Meets World

What's In A Name?

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:52:00 +0000

“Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.”

~Socrates

It Felt Love

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:12:00 +0000

How
Did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
All its Beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its Being
Otherwise,
We all remain
Too
Frightened.

~Hafiz

Today I encourage to go out and feel love. Let it light up the sky and electrify your senses. Take this feeling and spread it through your actions.

The Reality Of Reality TV

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:47:00 +0000

I had a discussion the other day with someone who likes watching reality TV. He says that he thinks it’s funny when people do all sorts of crazy things.

I asked him if he would watch the shows if they were about nice people doing kind deeds instead of mean people doing misdeeds? He looked at me like I said the most insane thing he had ever heard and then said,

“Nice people are too boring to watch!”

Reality TV has gotten to the point of no return. As soon as we think that we have seen the worst, another show crops up that is even worse. This has been going on since the invention of reality TV.

We have become so used to watching the intimate details of strangers that we forget that everyone doesn’t behave in such fashion. Have we really become so intolerant of nice behavior that we prefer bad behavior?

These shows are scripted in such a way that they look real, in the same way that TV wrestling looks real. They exist for entertainment, but mistreating others is no way to entertain. It tears away the inclination to treated others nicely.

We tell children not to tease other children, yet the basis of many reality shows is to ridicule. We see adults ridiculing other adults and we gawk, laugh, judge, and cast insulting remarks.

Though we may not see it on TV, there is a lot to be said about treating people with kindness, respect and tenderness.

Is reality TV corrupting the way we think, behave and display love?

Do you think that people would watch positive TV programming or do you think that we are more likely to watch people at their worst?

Without A Doubt

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:47:00 +0000

A man was about the cross a river, when master Bibhishana came over, wrote a name on a leaf, tied it to the man’s back, and said:

"Don’t be afraid. Your faith will help you walk on the waters. But the minute you lose faith, you will drown."

The man trusted Bibhishana, and began to walk on the waters, without any difficulty. At a certain point, he had an overwhelming desire to know what his master had written on the leaf tied to his back.

He took it and read what was written:

“Oh god Rama, help this man to cross the river.”

“Is that all?” thought the man. “And who is this god Rama, anyway?”

The moment this doubt became lodged in his mind, he was submerged and drowned in the strong current.

~Sri Ramakrishna

Today have faith in your decisions, dreams, and goals. Not only can faith move mountains, it can move water too and whatever else is in your way. Without faith, doubt will rule you.

The Cure

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:25:00 +0000

If you wake up with gratitude, you will give your day a healthy start. A day without gratitude is like a day without sunshine. It leaves a cold chill in your bones and boards up the window of your soul.

“Gratitude is a vaccine,
an antitoxin,
and an antiseptic.”

~John Henry Jowett

Endurance

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:42:00 +0000

“Even his griefs are a joy long after to one that remembers all that he wrought and endured.”

~Homer

Circus Of Change

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:41:00 +0000

As a child, I never knew if my mother was making stories up for their entertainment value. They certainly made good dinner conversation. Maybe it was a ploy to make me and my siblings eat our food.

One such story was that my grandfather used to work in the circus. I imagined that he had giant tattoos, was a strong man with a handlebar mustache, trapeze artist, lion tamer, elephant trainer, clown, contortionist or a million other wild images.

Didn’t every kid want to run away an join the circus? I figured that my grandfather actually made it to that destination known as fantasy.

When I finally met him, he was just normal. I found out that he was just circus barker. My childhood fantasies had come to a crashing halt. What a disappointment.

I wanted him to be larger than life and he was just like the little man behind the screen at the end of The Wizard Of Oz. He had been projected as a giant and he was no more than an ant.

I learned never to put people on a pedestal because they could never live up to it.

As the world turns, we turn with it. We learn truths that were once hidden. We learn how to navigate the turns and piece life’s puzzle together. We go through a circus of change.

We learn that no matter where we are today, tomorrow we will be somewhere else and that is the pleasure of living.

Nothing stays the same and we change right along with it.

How has your perception of life changed as you have evolved?

The Man Rules

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Are men a women really that different? Do we each have a set of rules in which the other sex must abide?

I asked myself those questions as I read an email that a friend of mine sent to me to get my opinion.

At first I thought, how funny that some men may possibly think like this. Then I thought, that even though humorous, the underlying theme is true - men and women think differently.

Men and women communicate differently. We speak differently. We hear differently. We feel differently. We are different.

As much as I would like to think that we are somehow coming together in the long run, I can’t help to think that we are maintaining separate residences on the way we perceive our differences.

Enclosed are The Man Rules unedited by me.

Please note, these are all numbered 1. ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports, It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be!

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one. Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and Void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something, Or tell us how you want it done; Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colours, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A colour. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say “nothing”, then we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is Fine...Really!

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as Football or Boxing.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a Shape!

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; but did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Are men and women really THAT different. Don’t we all want love, compassion and someone to care about our dreams and passions? What do yo think?

Delight

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:08:00 +0000

“When you are sorrowful
look again in your heart,
and you shall see
that in truth
you are weeping
for that which
has been your delight.”

~Kahlil Gibran

Sudden Death Of Michael Jackson

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:08:00 +0000

The death of Michael Jackson is still a shock. He has affected so many people on so many levels and what he did for the music landscape is nothing short of spectacular.

He has left a legacy of some of the greatest music and dancing in history. A legacy that transcends music, age, color, gender, ethnicity and time.

He had the magic that made us all want to be him or at least be like him. He was a rare talent that gave many of us a time to sing, dance and listen to his voice.

His life was as troubled as it was famous. I could never understand why he distorted his face, twisted his features and changed colors, but his musical genius remained the same.

I am happy that he lived when I did and that his presence will never die.

Music is intimate in that it reaches deep inside of us and carries us through emotional turmoil and elation. He did that. He does that. He IS that.

Everyone has their personal experiences with his music and that’s what he gave us, a personal experience that we could take with us, a little bit of magic that transformed us into the what we saw in him.

I once saw him in person in an unexpected place and he still carried that wand of magic without saying anything.

The sound of his music will forever play in the ears and hearts of the world. To say that Michael Jackson is dead is a misnomer. There is really no death, only life in tangible and intangible contours.

Do you have any Michael Jackson moments?

Peachy Keen

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:18:00 +0000

One of the things that I love about summer are peaches. I love the their red and yellow skin tone, the way the smell fills the room, their velvety texture and exotic taste. They are synonymous with summer.

Peaches take me back to childhood when my neighbor had a peach tree. I used to eat the peaches that had fallen in my backyard. Those days certainly made the summers sweeter and the memories just as sweet.

Isn’t that interesting how an experience can send us back to a moment in time. I found out a few things about peaches that may be of interest.

The peach is a member of the rose family. It was first cultivated in China and revered as a symbol of longevity. The image was placed on pottery and received as a gift with great esteem.

Travelers along caravan routes carried the peach seed to Persia before it was cultivated in Europe.

In the early 1600s Spanish explorers brought it to the New World and by the 1700s missionaries had established peaches in California.

The peach is the state fruit of Georgia and South Carolina. It is also the state flower of Delaware.

Marco Polo supposedly saw peaches that weighed several pounds each.

Peaches were fed to hogs and used for making brandy in colonial America.

The U.S. is the world's largest producer of peaches, accounting for about 20% of the total supply. Other major producers are Italy, France, Greece and Spain.

Though these "Persian apples" had their beginning in China, the were developed in Persia and went from there to Europe and then to America with the colonists.

The nectarine and the peach are so similar that there is only one gene that separates the two to make them distinct. The nectarine has one recessive gene - the one with the fuzz.

There are over 700 varieties of peaches. Cling or clingstone peaches have a pit to which the flesh ‘clings’; freestone peaches have a pit from which the flesh is easily pulled away. Some Chinese varieties even resemble the flat hockey pucks.

The peach blossom is Delaware’s official state flower. Johnston, South Carolina is known as the ‘Peach Capital of the World’.

Peaches were mentioned as early as 79 A.D. in literature.

565 is the foundation year of the first peach orchard in Florida.

Most peaches are cultivated by grafting different combinations of rootstocks to scions.

Peaches are sometimes referred to as “stone” fruit due to their pits.

Peaches do not gain flavor with cooking.

What about you? Is there a food that reminds you of childhood or another time?

Universal Laws

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:05:00 +0000

In the book, The Light Shall Set You Free by Drs. Milanovich and McCune, they explain that there are 12 Universal Laws, and 21 sub-laws, describing the correlation between cause and effect. Once understood, these laws would be able to enhance our life experience and boost our spiritual expansion.

These laws are based on the understanding that everything in the universe is energy, including us, and that energy moves in a circular motion. Looking at energy through a microscope, we see a whirling mass of electrons and energy atoms spinning rapidly and feel a connection to it on a profound level.

Everything we think, feel and say is comprised of energy. Whatever energy we put out boomerangs back to us in whatever form we put it out, thus we have the power to create peace, harmony and abundance.

Following are the Universal Laws

1. The Law of Divine Oneness:

The Law of Divine Oneness helps us to understand that we live in a world where everything is connected to everything else. Everything we do, say, think and believe affects others and the universe around us.

2. The Law of Vibration:

This Universal Law states that everything in the Universe moves, vibrates, and travels in circular patterns. The same principles of vibration in the physical world apply to our thoughts, feelings, desires, and wills in the Etheric world. Each sound, thing, and even thought has its own vibrational frequency, unique unto itself.

3. The Law of Action:

The Law of Action must be applied in order for us to manifest things on earth. Therefore, we must engage in actions that support our thoughts, dreams, emotions and words.

4. The Law of Correspondence:

This Universal Law states that the principles or laws of physics that explain the physical world – energy, Light, vibration, and motion – have their corresponding principles in the etheric or universe. “As above, so below.”

5. The Law of Cause and Effect:

This Universal Law states that nothing happens by chance or outside the Universal Laws. Every action has a reaction or consequence and we “reap what we have sown.”

6. The Law of Compensation:

This Universal Law is the Law of Cause and Effect applied to blessings and abundance that are provided for us. The visible effects of our deeds are given to us in gifts, money, inheritances, friendships, and blessings.

7. The Law of Attraction:

This Universal Law demonstrates how we create the things, events, and people that come into our lives. Our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions produce energies which, in turn, attract like energies. Negative energies attract negative energies and positive energies attract positive energies.

8. The Law of Perpetual Transmutation of Energy:

This Universal Law states that all persons have within them the power to change the conditions in their lives. Higher vibrations consume and transform lower ones; thus, each of us can change the energies in our lives by understanding the Universal Laws and applying the principles in such a way as to effect change.

9. The Law of Relativity:

This Universal Law states that each person will receive a series of problems (Tests of Initiation) for the purpose of strengthening the Light within. We must consider each of these tests to be a challenge and remain connected to our hearts when proceeding to solve the problems. This law also teaches us to compare our problems to others’ problems and put everything into its proper perspective. No matter how bad we perceive our situation to be, there is always someone who is in a worse position. It is all relative.

10. The Law of Polarity:

This Universal Law states that everything is on a continuum and has an opposite. We can suppress and transform undesirable thoughts by concentrating on the opposite pole. It is the law of mental vibrations.

11. The Law of Rhythm:

This Universal Law states that everything vibrates and moves to certain rhythms. These rhythms establish seasons, cycles, stages of development, and patterns. Each cycle reflects the regularity of God’s universe. Masters know how to rise above negative parts of a cycle by never getting too excited or allowing negative things to penetrate their consciousness.

12. The Law of Gender:

This Universal Law states that everything has its masculine (yang) and feminine (yin) principles, and that these are the basis for all creation. We must balance the masculine and feminine energies within ourselves to become a Master.

Sub-laws

In addition to the 12 Universal Laws, Drs. Milanovich and McCune state there are 21 sub-laws of the Universe that are governed by the Higher Self.

The 21 sub-laws are human characteristics that relate to the Universal Laws. These characteristics are:

Aspiration to A Higher Power
Charity, Compassion
Courage, Dedication Faith
Forgiveness
Generosity
Grace
Honesty
Hope
Joy
Kindness
Leadership
Noninterference
Patience
Praise
Responsibility
Self-Love
Thankfulness
Unconditional Love.

What do you think of the universal laws? Do you think they bear truth? Do you think there are many more than listed here?

Soul Happy

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:16:00 +0000

“Try to find a little happiness everyday. Finding a little here and there will add up to many hours over a lifetime. If you try to contain happiness to a time period, it will shortchange your experience. Happiness is the interior decorator of the soul.”

~Alexys Fairfield

Happy Paradise

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:18:00 +0000

“If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years.”

~Bertrand Russell

Mel Gibson: Gladiator And Robin Hood?

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:15:00 +0000

What your favorite actors may have played if they had not passed on it.

It is said that fate is doled out by the keeper of the stars. An irrevocable decree of how we remember them as a part of our lives. Actors are the slice of pop culture in which everybody has an opinion.

Many fans can quote a famous line or a scene where their favorite actor is doing what he does best - making an entertaining home inside our memory.

But not all actors are remembered for what they have done - some are remembered for what they haven't done.

Did you know that Mel Gibson turned down the lead role of Maximus in Gladiator? The same role in which Russell Crowe won the Academy Award. Gibson also turned down the part of Robin Hood in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; that role went to Kevin Costner and Wolverine in X-Men that Hugh Jackman plays so well.

Gibson ended up directing the five time Oscar-winning Braveheart in which he won Best Director after Terry Gilliam turned it down.

Harrison Ford landed the role of Richard Kimball in The Fugitive after Alec Baldwin rejected it.

Leonardo DiCaprio was offered the part of Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights before it was given to Mark Wahlberg.

Mark Wahlberg turned down the role of Linus in Ocean’s Eleven that went to Matt Damon.

Tom Cruise signed on to play Donnie Brasco in the film of the same name before bowing out to Johnny Depp. Tom Cruise was to play the lead role in Footloose that went to Kevin Bacon.

John Travolta, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase may have played Forrest Gump had they not passed it on to Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks turned down the role of Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams, played by Kevin Costner.

Julia Roberts turned down Sharon Stone's role in Basic Instinct; the role of Mary Corleone in Godfather III; the role of Annie in Sleepless in Seattle; the lead in Shakespeare in Love and the role of Lucy in While You Were Sleeping.

Jodie Foster turned down Basic Instinct before it went to Sharon Stone and got the role as Clarice in The Silence Of The Lambs after Michelle Pfeiffer turned it down.

Julia Roberts' role in Pretty Woman was offered to Daryl Hannah, Michelle Pfeiffer and Meg Ryan. Daryl Hannah turned down the role because she felt it was denigrating to women. She later appeared in Dancing at the Blue Iguana as a stripper.

The Richard Gere role was offered to Christopher Reeves and Al Pacino.

Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster were originally cast as Thelma and Louise but had to drop out as preproduction dragged on.

Madonna turned down the role that went to Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys.

Melanie Griffith and Cher both turned down the role of Thelma in Thelma and Louise that went to Geena Davis.

Denzel Washington passed on the role of Curtis in Dreamgirls that went to Jaime Foxx; the lead in I Robot that went to Will Smith, and is rumored to have turned down the role of Ray Charles in Ray that won Jaime Foxx the Academy Award.

James Caan turned down and the role of Superman before it went to Christopher Reeves.

Jim Carrey turned down the role of John Nash (played by Russell Crowe) in A Beautiful Mind and the role of Darrin in Bewitched that went to Will Ferrell.

Sylvester Stallone turned down the role of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop that is synonymous with Eddie Murphy; the Bruce Willis role in Die Hard; and Michael Douglas’ role in Romancing the Stone.

Jack Nicolson won the role in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest when Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Burt Reynolds all turned it down.

Marie Osmond turned it down the lead in Grease that went to Olivia Newton-John.

Shirley Temple had to decline the part of Dorothy when 20th Century Fox wouldn't lend her to MGM. W.C. Fields was to play the wizard.

John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Paul Newman were to play Dirty Harry and when Paul Newman couldn't do it, he suggested Clint Eastwood.

Robert De Niro turned down the role of Jesus in The Last Temptation Of Christ.

Chris O' Donnell turned down the role in Men in Black that made Will Smith a star.

Stanley Kubrick considered both Robert De Niro and Robin Williams to play the part of Jack in The Shining before settling on Jack Nicholson.

Orson Welles and Ernest Borgnine were considered for the role of Vito Corleone but Francis Ford Coppola insisted on Marlon Brando. Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman all turned down the role of Michael Corleone a before it went to Al Pacino.

Al Pacino turned down the role of Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas which went to Robert De Niro; turned down the part of Han Solo in Star Wars; and Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now. The part of Willard was first turned down by Steve McQueen and shooting started with Harvey Keitel in the role before Coppola replaced him two weeks into production with Martin Sheen.

Tom Selleck was cast in the role of Indiana Jones for Raiders of the Lost Ark but pulled out to continue making Magnum P.I.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Nicolas Cage, Val Kilmer, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ewan McGregor all turned down the part of Neo in The Matrix and it eventually went to Keanu Reeves. Sean Connery, Samuel L. Jackson, and Russell Crowe turned down the role of Morpheus before Laurence Fishburne got the part.

When James Cameron was casting for The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally offered the role of Kyle Reese. Eventually Schwarzenegger was the Terminator and Michael Biehn was Reese.

Christopher Walken, Michael Keaton and Jim Carrey almost got the role of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean before it went to Johnny Depp.

Tobey Maquire, Christian Bale, Ewan McGregor and Jude Law were considered for the role of Will Turner before Orlando Bloom took it.

No one wanted the then-unknown Sylvester Stallone for Rocky - except Stallone who had written the script for himself. Other actors who were considered for the part of Rocky Balboa were Gene Hackman, Robert Redford and Burt Reynolds. The producers offered Stallone $150,000 if he would agree to let Ryan O'Neal play the part in the movie, but Stallone refused.

Roger Moore was Ian Fleming’s first choice to play James Bond. Moore almost landed the role ahead of Sean Connery but producers didn't listen to Fleming as they were casting Bond’s 1962 debut Dr. No. Moore eventually replaced the Scottish star and portrayed 007 for in seven films from 1973 to 1985. Cary Grant and David Niven were also considered.

Sean Connery also turned down the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Nicolas Cage turned down the role of Randy The Ram in The Wrestler that went to Mickey Rourke.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton turned down the lead role in American Psycho that went to Christian Bale.

Bruce Willis was the first choice in Ghost before Patrick Swayze took over.

Robin Williams was one of the first choices for Harvey Milk, the movie that won Sean Penn his second Oscar.

Richard Gere almost played Gordon Gecko in Wall Street before Michael Douglas.

Halle Berry turned down the role of Annie, which was later picked up by Sandra Bullock in Speed.

Kate Winslet and Julia Roberts turned down Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar-winning role in Shakespeare In Love.

Philippine actress Lot Deleste turned down the role of Lisa, in Girl Interrupted which later went to Angelina Jolie who went on to win the Oscar.

Tim Curry was director Tim Burton's second choice for the role of the Joker (played by Jack Nicholson) in Batman. Kim Basinger replaced Sean Young for the role of Vicki Vale. Marlon Brando was considered for the role of The Penguin in Batman Returns and Mel Gibson had been considered for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in the original Tim Burton film.

Sometimes we are just not meant to do certain things that lead us into different areas of discovery. What have been yours?

Finding The Buffer Zone

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:16:00 +0000

The other day I witnessed an altercation between two neighbors. One neighbor was sitting on a bench reading a book and the other neighbor’s dog jumped on him.

The dog owner just laughed. She was unapologetic and flippant. This attitude irritated the man who was brushing dog hair and saliva off of his shirt and trousers.

He shouted at the woman, “Control your dog.”

She responded, “You shouldn’t have been sitting there.”

As she walked away, the man followed her telling her that it wasn’t funny. To add insult to injury she aggressively barked,

“If you don’t like it, move out of this community. This place is for dogs. It is not my fault you are afraid, you just hate dogs.”

The woman did everything except take responsibility for her dog’s actions. It was on a leash that was at least 12 feet long. She blamed the man for “getting in the way of the dog’s love of jumping on strangers,” just by sitting on a bench enjoying his book.

The man was flabbergasted by her attitude and he was becoming more infuriated. Just then, another woman came from around the corner and saw her friend (the dog owner).

She asked what happened and the dog owner said,

“This guy is afraid of dogs and he’s blaming me.”

The man shouted,

“I am not afraid of dogs. I am sorry that people like you have dogs.“

Before the argument could escalate any further, the dog owner’s friend apologized to the man even though it wasn’t the friend’s dog.

She said, “There is no love here.”

The dog owner stormed off and the man, still fuming began to calm down. He was still shaking his head in disbelief. The dog owner’s friend told the man that she always tells her friend to control her dog but she doesn’t listen.

It was an interesting exchange of energy. The friend of the dog owner put herself in the middle to diffuse the situation before it got any further.

If energy were a color, imagine the man and dog owner with red energy and the dog owner’s friend came in with a white energy that neutralized the red energy.

The dog owner’s friend played the part of a peace negotiator or a buffer zone. In geography, a buffer zone is any zonal area that serves the purpose of keeping two or more other areas (often, but not necessarily, countries) distant from one another.

Buffer zones can be set up to prevent violence, protect the environment, protect residential and commercial zones from industrial accidents or natural disasters, keep prisoners intent on escaping from rapidly acquiring hostages or a hiding place and other reasons.

A buffer zone is meant to separate a potential problem. Fortunately for the neighbors, the dog owner’s friend was placed in that situation to bring it to a halt.

Have you even been in a situation where you felt you were aiding in solving a problem? As spiritual beings having a human experience, we are often placed in circumstances that test our courage and ability to attain peaceful resolutions.

Certain situations may not be able to be solved with peaceful resolutions, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try our best in every situation.

Just because nations are warring doesn’t mean that we have to stop loving and treating those we meet with kindness and consideration.

Don’t we owe it to ourselves to hold on to love in those moments of despair?

How do you hold on to love in those moments when you feel there is no love?

Through Love

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:41:00 +0000

“Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works. For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.”

~Carl Sagan

Watch The Signs

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:15:00 +0000

A local priest and pastor stood by the side of the road holding up a sign that read, "The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!"

They planned to hold up the sign to each passing car.

"Leave us alone you religious nuts!," yelled the first driver as he sped by.

From around the curve they heard a big splash.

One clergy said to the other, "Do you think we should just put up a sign that says Bridge Out instead?"

There are signs everywhere to help us on our paths, but sometimes we just ignore them. Watch the signs in your life and follow them to have the best life possible.

The Tyranny Of Youth

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:36:00 +0000

“Men think highly of those who rise rapidly in the world; whereas nothing rises quicker than dust, straw and feathers.”

~Lord Byron

We live in a society that discards the old and disengages the elderly. A society that celebrates youth and inexperience like it is a victory instead of giving the victory to those who have won trophies of survival.

We turn our backs on anyone over 40 who has an ideal, opinion, or expertise. What happened to respecting knowledge and experience?

Wisdom surpasses the ages.

Are we losing the battle between youth and wisdom? Is youth nothing more than short-lived tyranny? How will the youth of today feel about the youth of tomorrow?

What do you think?

Happy Blogger's Day

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Most people give roses on Valentines Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Mothers Day and now I’d like to start a new tradition -- Bloggers Day.

Whether you are a blogger or a reader of blogs, today is a special day of gratitude.

Gratitude starts with thanking God for the day. When we wake up with gratitude, our whole day is full of love. It’s like God has given us a bouquet of roses. The birds sing louder, the trees stand taller, the sun shines brighter and the flowers are more fragrant.

There was a time when I didn’t like receiving roses because they died so quickly, but over the years I have discovered that it’s not about the flowers. It’s about the gesture and the love in which roses are given -- and that lasts forever.

Why let the day be a bed of thorns when we can bask in the fragrance of the day. I am giving you all a bouquet of your own flowers. These are from my heart. Let them be the fragrance that carries you through your day.

I appreciate all of your stimulating, insightful, profound and compassionate comments. Bloggers are a tight knit family and we share a great deal of our lives with each other. In some cases, more than with our spouses, family and friends.

I just want you all to know that your presence is deeply felt here. You are my roses and you truly make my heart bloom. Thank you for keeping this energy alive with your vital input and love.

Here are a few facts about roses that you may not have known.

Every flower has a hidden meaning known as the flower language. The flower language covers every flower and roses contain the most well known of all statements made in the flower language.
Red roses are the universal symbol of love and passion.
Red roses by themselves symbolizes love and white roses affection, the meaning of red and white roses combined however are unity and eternal friendship.
A black rose is a symbol for death and could be misinterpreted as a threat by some one who knows and believes in the meaning of roses.
An orange symbolizes enthusiasm and eagerness.
A peach rose symbolizes success.
A blue rose symbolizes mystery.
A pink rose symbolizes elegance but can also be appreciation and sympathy.
A green rose symbolizes fertility and fruitfulness.
A yellow rose symbolizes caring.
The world's oldest living rose is 1,000 years old and continues to flourish on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral of Germany.
Romans believed white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell as she mourned the loss of her beloved Adonis. Myth also has it that Venus' son Cupid accidentally shot arrows into the rose garden when a bee stung him, and it was the "sting" of the arrows that caused the roses to grow thorns. When Venus walked through the garden and pricked her foot on a thorn, it was the droplets of her blood which turned the roses red.
In an Arabic legend, all roses were originally white until one night when the nightingale met a beautiful white rose and fell in love. At this stage nightingales were not known for their melodious song — they merely croaked and chirped like any other bird. But now the nightingale's love was so intense that he was inspired to sing for the first time. Eventually his love was such that he pressed himself to the flower and the thorns pierced his heart, coloring the rose red forever.
While the rose may bear no fruit, the rose hips (the part left on the plant after a rose is done blooming) contain more Vitamin C than almost any other fruit or vegetable.
It was in the seventeenth century that French explorer Samuel deChamplain brought the first cultivated roses to North America.
Roses are truly ageless. Recently, archaeologists discovered the fossilized remains of wild roses over 40 million years old.
According to Greek Mythology, Aphrodite gave the rose its name. Ancient Greeks used roses to accessorize. On festive occasions they would adorn themselves with garlands of roses, and splash themselves with rose-scented oil.
Napoleon's wife Josephine so adored roses, she grew more than 250 varieties.
It is said that Cleopatra knew full well the seductive power of roses. When she entertained Mark Antony on her barge, Cleopatra made sure he was surrounded by the fragrance and extravagance of the flower. She had the banquet tables scattered with roses, the floors covered 18 inches deep in petals, the couches lined with rose-filled mattresses, and rose-filled net bags were used as cushions for the two lovers.
In Islam, the rose signifies the blood of Mohammed and his two sons.
In Christianity, the red rose is symbolic of the blood of Christ and a symbol of martyrdom, charity, the passion and resurrection. The white rose is linked to the Virgin Mary — the rose without thorns.
Roses are truly ageless. Recently, archaeologists discovered the fossilized remains of wild roses over 34 million years old.

Light Of Night

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 09:30:00 +0000

"In the dark dreary nights when the storm is at its most fierce, the lighthouse burns bright so the sailors can find their way home again. In life the same light burns. This light is fueled with love, faith, and hope. And through life’s most fierce storms, these three burn their brightest so we also can find our way home again."

~Anonymous

Bad Luck

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Susie's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months. Things looked grim, but she was by his bedside every single day.

One day as he slipped back into consciousness, he motioned for her to come close to him. She pulled the chair close to the bed and leaned her ear close to be able to hear him.

"You know" he whispered, his eyes filling with tears, "You have been with me through all the bad times. When I got fired, you stuck right beside me. When my business went under, there you were. When we lost the house, you were there. When I got shot, you stuck with me. When my health started failing, you were still by my side. And you know what?"

"What, dear?" she asked gently, smiling to herself.

"I think you're bad luck."

Hope you enjoyed a laugh today.

Bulletproof Soul

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:13:00 +0000

Sometimes the mind can trick us into thinking that what we are faced with is insurmountable, but the human psyche is tough enough to withstand anything. Our soul is bulletproof.

If you find yourself going through hell, keep going. No matter what you are dealing with today, tomorrow it will change.

"We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."

~John W. Gardner

“Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.”

~Orison Swett Marden

My First Death

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:20:00 +0000

I was only 12 when I first experienced death. My mother’s friend’s 15 year old son Kevin was shot in the head while riding the new bike he had just gotten for Christmas.

As he rode down the street, a teenage boy ordered him off of his bike, then shot him point-blank. It was hours before his mother would find out about the death of her only son.

Kevin never knew his father. He abandoned him when he was a baby. His mother raised him on her own and gave him everything he wanted, but it didn’t make up for the father he never knew.

I had only seen him on handful of occasions. He was a handsome boy with caramel brown skin, curly black hair and who smiled when he spoke.

He was the kind of boy whose name would be lovingly scrawled with a heart around it in schoolgirl diaries and notebooks. The kind of boy who liked everybody and everybody liked. Even if he didn’t know you well, he made you feel like a part of him.

As my mother hung up the phone that day when she heard the news, her thoughts seemed to be a million miles away. She had that same feeling that I imagine every parent has when someone loses their child; sadness, helplessness, fear and disappointment in not being able to protect them from the harshness of life.

When she told my brothers, sister and about Kevin’s death, she told us like a mother bird telling her fledglings of the danger of flying and to stick together. She didn’t say much of anything else, she just hugged all of us tighter that day. All I could think about was his poor mother and how she had lost her only child.

Two days later we viewed Kevin’s body. Though the natural reaction for a child is somewhere between fear and curiosity, I was on the curious side.

The mortuary had a cool chill to it, like being in a large refrigerator. The mahogany hallway smelled of sandalwood and a smorgasbord of perfumes. Because it was so quiet, every sound was amplified from talking to walking.

There was a small group of people exiting with their heads bowed. As my sister and I entered the room, we saw a beautiful wooden coffin that looked like a massive jewelry box.

As we got closer, we looked inside and saw Kevin’s body. As he reposed in the coffin in his freshly pressed black suit, powder blue shirt and tie, he looked like he was dreaming.

The handsome boy with the caramel brown skin and curly black hair, no longer smiled when he spoke. He no longer looked at you as if he were concerned with what you had to say. He was gone. It was just like a shell.

I noticed the hole in his head that was slightly covered with makeup but still visible, like his soul had slipped out in the middle of the night. I had never seen a dead body before much less someone close to my age.

As I stood there, my mind took snapshots of his face writing it’s own captions at what it saw. It was a resounding reminder of my own mortality. We prepare for death the moment we are born. It’s innate. Encoded in our mortal coil, yet it still shocks our system when we experience it, even if we are used to it.

Death is supposed to be for older people who had lived a long time, not the young who hadn’t begun to live. Though it wasn’t my death, I felt a little part of me had died with Kevin. That’s when it really set it that life wasn’t guaranteed forever. Death could strike anyone at any age and everyone was within striking distance.

Though several years have passed, I still see his face as clearly as ever. I wonder what would have become of him? If he would have married, had kids, what kind of job would he have had, what kind of person he would have become?

The fact is that death is a part of life. Death gives us strength to live. We need it to continue our evolution. Life is motion. When one flame burns out, another one is lit. The inevitability of death doesn’t mean that we should give up on living, it means that we should live as fully as possible. Death is a comma, not a period in life’s continual story.

Have your experiences with death changed you for better or worse?

“To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. For anything that men can tell, death may be the greatest good that can happen to them: but they fear it as if they knew quite well that it was the greatest of evils. And what is this but that shameful ignorance of thinking that we know what we do not know?”

~Socrates

Who Are You?

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 31 May 2009 07:22:00 +0000

“To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are.”

~Tim Menchen