Terrah's Dawn

My New Site

2008-04-29T11:00:00.003-05:00

Due to blogger having errors - I am having to move this site.
My new blogger site is Forest Green Witch

I am trying to redirect my feedburner blog traffic - but it may not work - if you are still interested in blogs then subscribe to my Forest Green Witch by Email or by RSS please.

The Terrah's Dawn site will remain up [I will not delete it] for reference. I have linked in to my new blog for easy access.

The new site is not yet complete - I am working on adding my favorite links and sites as well as introducing them to the blog groups. I should have this finished within the next couple of days.

I have contacted the Google Blogger Groups for help with the problem this blog is having - but having any luck getting help -- they seem as confused about it as I am LOL...

Anyway, I hope this blog finds you well and that you will subscribe to my new blog

Thanks
Terrah Dawn

Scrying

2008-04-28T07:35:00.005-05:00

Your eyes focus as you enter a darkened room. Noticing the design of the dark wallpaper and have a seat on the overstuffed antique chair. Suddenly you notice a woman. She’s sitting there behind a round table. A silk scarf around her head, large hoop earrings in her ears and way too much makeup. As you stand and walk toward her you notice her hands waving over a clear sphere. “Sit….I have much to tell you!”, she utters as you cautiously follow suit and have a seat across the table.

Is this what you typically think of when you think of divination? Does the image of a mystical Gypsy enter your mind? If so, that is only one small minor aspect of divination and scrying.

WHAT IS A PENDULUM?

A Pendulum, in its strictest definition is an apparatus consisting of an object mounted so it swings freely under the influence of gravity. I, personally, think of a Pendulum as more than just an object that moves under the influence of gravity. I think of it as an object that can assist the Working Witch (or anyone that understands Pendulums or anyone interested in learning about scrying) in finding out about the future or looking for answers. I call this process scrying. However, if you want the literal, and actual, definition of scrying it consists of the following:

Scrying: Gazing into or contemplating a shiny, luminous, or reflective surface with the intent of seeing visions or representations of distant places, things, or times.

Not to say that when I scry with other objects that I’m not following the more “literal” definition; however, I add the following to the definition:

Scrying: Gazing into, watching, observing, or contemplating a shiny, luminous, or reflective surface (or object mounted to swing freely) with the intent of seeing visions, representations of distant places, things or times.

HISTORY AND ANCIENT METHODS OF SCRYING

The ancient Romans were renowned for pendulum scrying and their methods were detailed in the writings of Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus. It is also thought that Nostradamus used the same Roman method of scrying from a basin by means of a pendulum to produce individual letters that formed intelligible prophetic verses.

Historically, the bowl used was made of electrum. That is, an alloy of gold and silver. The worker would then tie a thread to their wand and tie a ring (or another metallic object) to the other end of the thread. Typically, the ring (or metallic object) was engraved upon as well as the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet were engraved into the flange of the basin. The basin was then placed in a tripod which was made of branches of laural.

Another option was to tie the ring to an end of a thin string and display inside a regular water goblet. This method included a typical “yes” or “no” question format whereby the ring would tap the side of the glass once for yes or twice for no. More than two taps indicates the spirit was uncertain of the response and for the questioner to ask again.

MODERN DAY SCRYING

Because this section is called “Modern Day Scrying” does not mean these old methods should be abandoned or that these “newer” methods are better. This section is merely to describe more recent methods aside from using a basin or goblet to get your answers.

In modern times we have become more aware of geomancy and use gems or crystals for our pendulums. However you choose to create your pendulum, you should purify it.

PURIFICATION OF PENDULUMS

Fill a clear bowl with fresh, pure water, light a white candle and light incense. Say a cleansing prayer. An example of which is as follows: “Clarify me, purify me, create in me a pure heart, renew my spirit within”. Imagine the water in the bowl as bright white light. Dip the pendulum into the water and leave it for a few moments. Sprinkle salt into the water and allow the salt to cleanse. Imagine the white light enveloping and filling the pendulum and the salt clarifying as the pendulum sits. After a few moments remove the pendulum from the water and pass thru smoke of your incense (I would recommend sage or hyssop to burn for their cleansing abilities). Say another prayer. Perhaps something like “Sage (or hyssop or whatever incense you are choosing to use) dance over, around and thru this pendulum adding your clarity, your renewal and your vision.” Lastly, pass the pendulum thru the flame of the white candle. Say something like “Candle of white, purity, light and energy add yourself to the pendulum and allow me to find the answers I seek, the clarity I crave and the purity I request.” On the night of a full moon place the pendulum and thread in the moonlight and leave for several hours. NEVER allow your pendulum to be placed in direct sunlight.

HOW TO BEGIN USING PENDULUMS TO SCRY

Once you’ve fashioned and purified your pendulum you’ll probably be quite anxious to begin using it. Sitting in a comfortable chair with your feet planted to the floor with your knees slightly apart, hold your pendulum in your dominant hand (the hand you write with). Dangle the pendulum above your dominant knee and ask for the pendulum to show you “Yes”. Observe the pendulum looking for a “spinning in a circle” motion or a “rocking forward and back” motion. This motion will be labeled in the affirmative. Dangle the pendulum between your knees and ask to be shown the “neutral” (or “unsure…ask again”) motion. NOTE: Typically, this is motionless. Moving neither in a circle nor back-and-forth. Moving the pendulum over your recessive knee ask to be shown “no”. You will observe that this motion is the opposite of the affirmative. Here is your beginning to using a pendulum!! Does this mean you cannot use your pendulum in your recessive hand? Absolutely not; however, to begin with I recommend using your dominant hand. MOST people have an ability to keep their dominant hand more motionless than their recessive hand.

In the next lesson I will include different methods of scrying with a pendulum as well as discuss other scrying methods themselves.

S/HE LOVES ME S/HE LOVES ME NOT

I titled this section this way because it seems to me that a lot of people who are novices to scrying (either with or without a pendulum) are seeking the affairs of the heart. In this section I’m going to provide insight on how to use a pendulum to get those “yes” and “no” answers.

METHOD 1:
Needed: Paper, Writing Instrument, Purified Pendulum
Fold a piece of paper in half and write “YES” and “NO” on opposite sides of the fold. Holding your Pendulum above the fold, ask your question. You can watch for your pendulum to swing toward the “YES” or “NO” side of the fold.

METHOD 2:
Needed: Wheel of Fortune Card, Tower Card, Purified Pendulum
Placing the two Tarot Cards next to each other in front of you, hold the pendulum between them and ask your question. Much the same as the Paper method above, watch for the Pendulum to move toward the Wheel of Fortune Card or the Tower Card. I chose these two cards for their definite opposite nature – even though the Tower Card does not have to have a negative connotation. Feel free to use the two cards that would be “opposites” to you.

There are many other methods to find “Yes” and “No” answers most based on the above principal of one side vs. the other. Try these two methods and invent your own. Most importantly, when you begin scrying you should begin a journal of your experiences. Include in this journal the time you began working with the pendulum, day, date, phase of the moon, any other astronomical anomalies, your feelings, your findings and your interpretation of your task.

MOON/WATER SCRYING

This method of scrying uses water in a bowl. I have found that an earthenware bowl with clear, spring water works the best with this method. Go outside (or if you need to stay in sit at a windowsill) and pour the water into the bowl. Begin relaxing with deep breathing exercises and by decreasing loud music and lights. Best would be to put some light music on and illuminate the area with white candles. Close your eyes, take a deep breath thru your nose, and exhale completely thru your mouth. Allow your body and mind to relax. Once you feel completely at peace you can add a few drops of ink into the water (if you so choose) to turn the water black. Sometimes when you are working with Moon/Water Scrying the darker the water is the more clearly you will see the images. Position the bowl so you can catch the reflection of the moon on the surface of the moon. Ask a question in your head or just gaze into the water looking for random images. The images that you see may appear hazy at first, but then become clearer. The larger the images appear the sooner those images will manifest themselves. Smaller images may take longer to appear, thus take longer to manifest themselves. You will be shown images and hear things (in your head) that day that you are meant to hear at this time.

FIRE SCRYING

This method of scrying is one that has been used by Witches for generations and generations. Fire scrying can be used to see events of the past, present and future. There are various methods whereby you can use fire scrying ranging from extremely elaborate to the most simple. Let us start with the most simple since that is what most will be able to do. In a darkened room, or outside, light a single pillar candle. You can choose to use any color candle; however, I use white candles when scrying just so the images come from a pure source. Light your candle and close your eyes. Use the same deep breathing, relaxing techniques discussed in the water scrying description. Once you feel relaxed open your eyes and look into the flame. Ask a question in your mind and watch for images. With practice and with time these images will appear clearer. The more elaborate method is burning pieces of driftwood by the sea once the sun has gone down. I’ve used this method back home in Scotland quite a few times with tremendous success. Once the driftwood has begun to burn, I throw in cedar chips and various herbs such as rosemary, sage, juniper and sandalwood and sit back watching the smoke and flame. The images here can appear quite large and quite powerfully; however, once the embers have died there is a completely different method of scrying which can be quite magickal. Normally I use a large, long fallen limb from a tree to move around the dying but hot embers and watch. I have had experiences where actual scenes will play out; however, more often there are symbols that appear in the embers that need further examination and interpretation. This method of scrying is more typically called “The Fire of Azrael”.

SMOKE SCRYING

Smoke scrying is a technique that can be quite useful and can be added to your Samhain celebrations. Before I discuss this technique, I feel it necessary to describe a scrying mirror or black mirror. This object is a mirror that has had the glass removed and painted black and replaced back into the holder. Often a silver backing is added to the mirror and a round or oval mirror is used; however, I have found that an inexpensive compact mirror with the glass painted black can work just as well. Black mirrors can be traced back over the centuries and were often made of obsidian. You do not want to look directly into the mirror for your scrying, lay it on a table and look from an angle. Spirits can show scenes, images, speak and even touch the scryer with this method. Now, back to smoke scrying. Lower the lights in the room, or better yet light two pillar candles on either side of you. Taking your favorite incense, light and allow it to smoke for a few moments. Position the black mirror so that the smoke dances over the surface easily while the mirror lies on a table. I find stick incense works best this way; however, cones do produce adequate images as well. Loose incense causes you to deflect your attention away from the mirror and the smoke too often to keep placing the powder or resin on the briquette. Once the incense has burned for a few moments, close your eyes to relax. When you feel centered, grounded and relaxed look into the black mirror lying on your table from various angles. Watch and interpret the images you see, hear, smell and feel.

As I said, you can use this technique on Samhain to help summon the ancient spirits or ancestors. I use red candles for this purpose and use sage incense. Once I’m feeling centered I hold my arms into the air and say something like, “O Great Spirit, Great Maiden, Mother, Wise One, you who created all. Bring to us the old ones, the ancient spirits, and the ancestors to celebrate with us, to teach us, to allow us to understand where we came from so we can understand where we are yet to lead the future”.

CRYSTAL BALL SCRYING

I love this method! This is what most people think of when they think of scrying. Crystal ball scrying and its popularity in things ranging from art to literature to television to movies attributes to the fact of the material creating an energy in the reader’s mind’s eye. How big does your crystal ball need to be? Do I have to have one as big as I have seen on televisions that are the size of a small child's head? Absolutely not! The best crystal balls (and easiest to hold, manipulate and work with) range from between 3 to 5 inches in diameter.

Relax, center and ground. Light one or two candles on your working space making sure that the reflections of the candles are not showing in the crystal ball. The ball should be placed on a blue or black cloth so as to assist in hindering the reflection from items in the room to be visible in the ball. You can either hold the ball while working with it, place it on the stand on the cloth or place the ball directly on the cloth itself. My crystal ball is quite heavy! I prefer to keep it on it’s crystal stand on top of the cloth, both because of it’s weight and because I don’t want to run the dropping it or having it roll off the table while I’m working with it.

Center yourself. Gaze into the crystal ball trying not to blink but do not just meaninglessly stare into the ball either. Relax your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and look into the center of the ball. As you begin doing this you should do this task for fifteen minutes each time you practice then increase in increments of 5 minutes until you feel like you have mastered how to look into the crystal ball. Eventually, with practice, you will begin to see a small “fog” in the center of the crystal ball. This is where your visions will appear. Gaze into the fog and watch for pictures, scenes, symbols. Oftentimes you need not even ask a specific question, the crystal ball will lead you to a scene that will greatly assist you.

Colors of objects you see can have specific meanings.
RED – Fire, Passion, Love, Ego, Courage, Strength
GREEN - Nature, Growth, Prosperity, Luck, Fertility, Changes, Envy
BLUE - Emotion, Mental, Calming, Tranquility, Loyalty, Purity, Protection
BROWN - Earth Energy, Grounding, Centering Consciousness, Soil
YELLOW - Thought, Mental, Sun, Sunlight, Memory, Creativity
GRAY - Neutral, Calm, Peace, Darkness with Light
GOLD - Fortune, Rich, Power, Strength, The Sun, Fire
WHITE - Purity, Protection, The Moon
PINK - Emotions, Creativity, Marriage, Friendship, Beauty, Compassion
ORANGE - Mental, Business, Legal, Problems, Ambition
SILVER - Purity, Protection, Ice, Heavenly, Stars, Potential
PURPLE - Justice, Royalty, Psychic, Meditation, Idealism, Divination
BLACK - Absorption, Quiet Power, Self-Control, Restriction, Changes

Shapes you see can be things you recognize or can be symbols of other things connected to yourself or the person your reading.

The larger the image appears the closer in time for it to manifest itself and the more important that information is.

Images can appear stationary or as in a movie. They can be flat or three-dimensional. It’s all in your experience, practice, willingness to see and the ability to try.

Everything you see and hear should be recorded in some manner. Something you may want to try the first few times is to record your sessions and play them back later. I have done this a few times and quite amazingly sometimes, you hear things that you do not recall hearing during your reading.

Scource: WitchSchool.com

Living in Flow

2008-04-24T11:23:00.006-05:00

Adapted from Power, Freedom, and Grace, by Deepak Chopra (Amber Allen, 2006).

When you are conceived, all you are is a double strand of DNA—a speck of information and intelligence that differentiates into a hundred trillion cells, which then become a fully formed baby with eyes, nose, ears, brain, arms, legs, genitals. You didn’t do anything to make that happen, and yet you made it happen. In that blueprint, that speck of information is a plan for when your teeth will grow out, when you will reach puberty, when you will generate sex hormones, so you can produce another human being. It is spontaneity, with effortless ease, with no resistance. The impulse of the universe is coming through you in the form of that double strand of DNA.

Now if you can make a hundred trillion cells without any confusion, if each cell can do its own unique thing and correlate its activity with every other cell without any confusion, it’s because of the intelligence of the universe is flowing through that speck of DNA, which you can’t even see under a microscope. So the best thing you can do is to allow it to happen. It isn’t wise to interfere with it.

And how do you interfere with this intelligence? In spiritual terms, we can say that you interfere when you identify with your self-image and lose your inner self; when you lose your sense of connection with your soul, your source. In more common terms, we can say that you interfere when you start worrying, when you start anticipating problems, when you start thinking, What can go wrong? When you try to control everything, when you are afraid, when you feel isolated—all these things interfere with the flow of nature’s intelligence.

Your inner self is your innate intelligence; it is being becoming. It is your ability to create, to grow, to evolve, to express. Your self-image is the indoctrination by society, by education; it’s the image you have created for yourself based on what other people think of you. As soon as you sacrifice the self for self-image you lose divinity for something that is illusory and doesn’t exist. The self-image is a hallucination; it isn’t even real, but it interferes with the flow of intelligence.

More Information about Deepak Chopra:

Intentblog

Care2 Profile: Deepak Chopra

DeepakChopra.com

Chopra.com

Random House: Deepak Chopra

Watchman: Profiles: Deepak Chopra

How To Plant Your Garden

2008-04-17T19:35:00.000-05:00

First, you Come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses....

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:

1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful

2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:

1. Thyme for each other
2.. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE.

From: penniless fairy

Chinese Green Tea – How An Oriental Beverage Conquer The World

2008-04-12T11:02:00.002-05:00

By now we have all heard about the amazing health benefits of chinese green tea. Long used medicinally in China, it has become increasingly popular around the world.

Is there a difference between tea grown in China, and tea from other places? What are the origins of tea, and how did it become so popular?

How Tea Begin

Tea is thought to have originated in China at least 2,000 years ago. Because of the time that has passed since then, mystery surrounds the actual beginning of tea-drinking.

A legend says that an early Buddhist Master discovered tea. Another legend has it that the Chinese agricultural god Shenong invented it by chewing the leaves and spitting them into a cup of hot water, in order to test the toxicity of the leaves. Still another variation of the same legend says that one day a tea leaf blew into his cup, he looked at, then sipped it, and the result was tea!

China Versus Indi

Biologists have determined that there are two slightly different tea plants. One is native to India, Burma, and the Yunan province of China. The other is found in eastern and southeastern China. The plants are similar enough that they surely have a common ancestor, and the tea they produce is the same.

Tea was cultivated on a massive scale under British rule. Mechanization was introduced, and tea was grown and handled with an eye toward export. From this time on, tea traveled to the corners of the world.

Chinese Green Tea Health Benefits

The purported health benefits of this beverage are almost endless. High levels of antioxidants have led to studies showing that green tea may be a cancer fighter of the first magnitude.

Other benefits of daily consumption of green tea include: lower cholesterol, weight loss aid, soothing, lessening the effects of diabetes.

Green tea is even used in wrinkle creams and moisturizers. The antioxidants it contains are thought to fight aging in the skin.

Chinese Green Tea Versus Others?

In reality, it is most important to drink tea that is grown, picked and processed carefully. Loose tea is always preferable to tea in bags. Tea that has been picked during the right time of year, and has been sun-dried and withered to achieve the proper amount of fermentation, will be your best bet. The Chinese have been doing this longer than anyone else!

Source: The Buddhist Channel

Margaret Murray's Unlikely History

2008-04-08T14:01:00.003-05:00

Much of the nonsense you might hear uttered about the history of Wicca and witchcraft started with an anthropologist named Margaret Murray. She first published a book on the subject of European witchcraft in the 1920s, despite the fact that her entire academic background was in Egyptology. You will see her name in the bibliographies of many, many books on Wicca, particularly older books. I generally take mention of her as a reason NOT to purchase a book. What the Wiccan books that cite her generally fail to mention is that her witchcraft theories were thoroughly discredited several decades ago due to a painful and unprofessional lack of evidence.

Was she a sham?
Murray never claimed to be Wiccan or Pagan or a follower of the Old Religion, so she had nothing to gain from deception. She probably honestly thought she was promoting historical truth, although her research methods ranges from ignorant to outright deceptive. For example, she provides several quotes from witch-trial documents which are taken completely out of context, and at least one in which she removed the middle of a paragraph, running the beginning and end of the paragraph together as if they made one complete thought, completely changing the meaning of the text.

What did she teach?
She believed, in short, that there was an ancient Old Religion in Europe far predating Christianity and that it secretly survived for centuries despite the Church's attempt to destroy it, culminating in the great witch-hunts, which Wiccans have taken to calling the Burning Times.

According to Murray, the witch-cult was the oldest religion in the world and was practiced by Stone-Age people. Her evidence is two cave paintings, neither of which, according to historian Ronald Hutton, depict what Murray claims they depict. Even if they did, the evidence is way too slight to make such a sweeping claim. One image is supposedly a group of people dancing in a circle. The second is supposedly a priest in animal skins with deer antlers on his head.

Murray's theoretical witch-cult worshipped a single horned god which priests emulated by wearing horned headdresses. Christians, trying to exterminate the cult, claimed this horned god was Satan. Stories of witch gatherings in which Satan was present can thus be explained by a priest wearing a headdress. She initially believed that this cult survived until the 17th century, when the witch-trials finally wiped them out, although Gerald Gardner got her to write an introduction for his Witchcraft Today in 1954.

She provided several "facts" about witches that are now embedded within Wicca. For one, she claimed that covens always had thirteen members. For another, she listed the four holidays we now accept as the Major Sabbats. She also linked the word coven specifically to witches, even though the word originally merely meant an assembly, not a witch assembly.

Why did people believe her?
In the 1920s, there simply were very few English-speaking academics who considered the witch-trials a subject deserving of study. The trials had ended in large part because people stopped believing in magic and witchcraft. If there is no witchcraft, then there could have been no witches, and trial victims were accepted to be victims of a hysteria, end of story. Very few people were familiar with the evidence Murray was using. Thus, very few people realized how selective she was being or how badly she abused it.

The English world's ignorance of witchcraft is highlighted by the fact that the Encyclopedia Britannica allowed Murray to write their definition of witchcraft in 1929, even though Murray had published only a single book on the subject. That was Britannica's idea of a witch expert! The definition was published for forty years.

The very bizarre members of Murray's witch-cult
One of Murray's theories was that this secret pagan cult practiced voluntary human sacrifice. Every nine years a believer had to die. She puts forward several such victims, including King William Rufus (William II) of England, Saint Thomas Becket, and Saint Joan of Arc. Yes, note the "Saint" in two of those names.

Rufus was a bore of a man and detested by nearly everyone during his life, so much so that his body was quickly secured and buried before anyone could defile it. He died on a hunting excursion, when a friend "accidentally" shot him with an arrow. Ironically, historians tend to think it really was an accident. Murray suggests that this friend was in fact a fellow pagan carrying out Rufus's wishes: they had already willingly separated from the rest of a hunting party and were therefore alone.

Similarly Becket's murderers were in fact fellow pagans, according to Murray, flying straight into the face of all accepted history of the saint. Becket was a personal friend of King Henry II, and Henry arranged for him to become archbishop of Canterbury, as the politics between Church and State were not at their healthiest at the time. But Becket had a change of heart. Perhaps it was simply a bit of a power trip for him, or perhaps he did indeed experience a religious reverie. Regardless, Becket began opposing the King much as his predecessor had, until one night, while drunk, Henry famously uttered, "Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" Four knights took this to be an order, rode hard to Canterbury, and murdered Becket in his own cathedral. Henry was profoundly wracked by guilt, was censured by the Church, and submitted to a whipping by Church officers in penance.

The only odd fact of this whole story is that Becket had warning of the knights' arrival, and when his subordinates attempted to spirit him away, he refused. But instead of accepting this final act as submission to God's will (and one of the reasons why he was canonized), Murray spins this fantastical and quite illogical tale of secret religions and pagan sacrifice.

Joan of Arc's story is the most bizarre of Murray's fables. Instead of having her fellow pagans slaughter her, she allowed herself to be captured and burned at the stake at the hands of the Christian Church. What religious purpose can possibly be served at the hands of a nonbeliever? If this rather sophomoric religion that Murray depicts merely needed a death, then why did she not simply fall upon her sword, poison herself, even throw herself from a high wall? Instead, she was tortured, humiliated and possibly raped before suffering one of the most horrific and painful methods of execution possible.

To make such claims without a shred of evidence is just plain irresponsible. To take two great heroes of someone else's religion and claim they were, in fact, pagans is outright insulting. And even if this crazy religion did actually exist, why on earth would modern Wiccans want to be associated with it? I've never seen a Wiccan claim Joan or Becket as among our ranks, but the idea that we would associate ourselves at all with Murray's nonsense is depressing.

Source: Wicca: For the Rest of Us

The Ultimate Magic Garden

2008-04-06T15:24:00.005-05:00

The Ultimate Magic Garden
By: Sam Stevens

Spring is the season to start planting seeds for the future. For me,
the ultimate Magic Garden would be planted using the Feng Shui bagua
as a guideline for the boundaries of the plot and incorporate
flowers herbs and plants that correspond to each signifigant
direction..

The first thing I would suggest, is to mark off your garden(or
balcony full of pots) as a square (or as close to a square as you
can get it) and determine the directions -- north, south, east and
west. Then use the rough guideline below, taking into account your
climate and seasons to know what to plant where to bring you health,
wealth, peace, guidance, happiness and protection. You don¹t have to
incorporate all the suggestions below of course -- just a couple of
touches here in there might do wonders.

The SOUTHERN corner of your garden governs recognition and fame. The
flowers you plant there should be predominantly red in colour. Red
and pinks should be main theme, although there well be flowers in
there included for properties besides colour. Flowers that bring you
fame: poppies, roses, bluebells,violets. Trees: Cherry, orange.
Foilage: Holly, hazel, heather and all ferns. Herbs: Star anise,
veviter. Trees: .Produce: strawberries, leeks, chili peppers. This
corner also represents the Fire element so it is a good area to
string up lights, put the barbeque or have a little hearth for fire.

The SOUTHWESTERN corner governs marriage prospects and marital
happiness.The predominant flower colour should be yellow. Flowers
for emotional security: daffodils, lillies, tulips, asters, bleeding
hearts, daisies, roses, gardenia, lavender, orchid, poppy, primrose,
periwinkle, hyacinth, trilliums, violet, geranium. Trees: Magnolia
Fig, Willow, Olive Elm, Plum,Foilage: Myrtle, rye, witch grass,
juniper, chickweed. Herbs: basil, marjoram, dill, mint, rosemary,
thyme. Produce: Ginger, endive, raspberries, tomatoes. This area
represents Big Earth so it is a good place to put a stone statue or
a large rock or boulder.

The WESTERN corner governs children and fertility. The predominant
flowers should be yellow and white. Flowers: Lavender, Cyclamen,
Lily of the Valley, Morning Glory Trees: Oak, olive, banana, apple
pine Foilage; Hawthorne Herbs: Mustard, catnip. Produce: Beans,
carrots, cucumbers, grape, mustard. This area is known as Small
Metal and would benefit from some windchimes or small silvery
objects that catch the sun.

The SOUTHERN corner of your garden governs recognition and fame. The
flowers you plant there should be predominantly red in colour. Red
and pinks should be main theme, although there well be flowers in
there included for properties besides colour. Flowers that bring you
fame: poppies, roses, bluebells,violets. Trees: Cherry, orange.
Foilage: Holly, hazel, heather and all ferns. Herbs: Star anise,
veviter. Trees: .Produce: strawberries, leeks, chili peppers. This
corner also represents the Fire element so it is a good area to
string up lights, put the barbeque or have a little hearth for fire.

The SOUTHWESTERN corner governs marriage prospects and marital
happiness.The predominant flower colour should be yellow. Flowers
for emotional security: daffodils, lillies, tulips, asters, bleeding
hearts, daisies, roses, gardenia, lavender, orchid, poppy, primrose,
periwinkle, hyacinth, trilliums, violet, geranium. Trees: Magnolia
Fig, Willow, Olive Elm, Plum,Foilage: Myrtle, rye, witch grass,
juniper, chickweed. Herbs: basil, marjoram, dill, mint, rosemary,
thyme. Produce: Ginger, endive, raspberries, tomatoes. This area
represents Big Earth so it is a good place to put a stone statue or
a large rock or boulder.

The WESTERN corner governs children and fertility. The predominant
flowers should be yellow and white. Flowers: Lavender, Cyclamen,
Lily of the Valley, Morning Glory Trees: Oak, olive, banana, apple
pine Foilage; Hawthorne Herbs:Mustard, catnip. Produce: Beans,
carrots, cucumbers, grape, mustard. This area is known as Small
Metal and would benefit from some windchimes or small silvery
objects that catch the sun.

The NORTHWESTERN corner governs helpful people or mentors. The
predominamt flower colour should be white yellow and orange.
Flowers: Passion flower, sweetpea, Sunflower, Iris, carnation Trees:
Lemon, peach, beech, walnut Foilage: Rowan, Myrtle, dogwod, clover
Herbs: Pennyroyal, lemon balm, sage Produce: peppers, fennel,
pumpkins, squash. This corner is called "Big Metal" so it is a good
place to put table and chairs to invite the help into your life.

The NORTH corner governs career prospects. The flowers here should be
predominately dark purple or blue. Flowers that boost career:
Camellia,
honeysuckle, jasmine, periwinkle, poppy, trillium, snapdragons,
dandelion.
Trees: Orange, elder, apple, oak, maple, poplar Foilage: bromeliads,
myrtle,
Irish moss (all mosses), ferns Herbs: dill, goldenseal, mint Produce:
cashews rice, grapes, onions, oats,peas, wheat. This direction
represents
water, so it is the ideal place to put a fountain or pool. Add fish
to it
and double your luck.

The NORTHEAST corner governs education and wisdom. The flowers here
should be predominatly yellow and orange. Flowers: jasmine,
marigold, roses, iris , sunflower. Trees: peach, bohdi, acacia
Foilage: bracken, all grasses,flax Herbs: borage, eyebright,
peppermint, saffron, thyme, rosemary, caraway, rue, savory, mint
Produce: celery, onons, grapes. This area is "Small Earth" so it is
good for a rock garden, a small alter or a birdbath.

The EAST governs family relationships and health. The foilage here
should mainly be green and filled with bush or trees. Flowers are:
loosestrife, meadowsweet, morning glory, violet, daisies, hostas
Trees: all trees especially pines and spruces, Magnolia, Elder
Foilage: Witchgrass, purslane, tobacco, hemp, hops Herbs: Lavender,
scullcap, vervain, linden, sage Produce: avocado, rhubarb, rye. This
area is called Big Wood which is why it is good to have at least one
big tree there or a tree house.

The SOUTHEAST governs wealth and prosperity and should be as green
and lush as possible. Flowers that bring wealth: Camelia, golden
rod, helorope, honeysuckle, trillum Trees: all fruit trees, pecan,
walnut, oak, pine Foilage: all bromelaids, mosses and ferns Herbs
basil, clover, dill, mint, vervaine Produce: lettuce, corn, peas,
oats, onions. This area is known as Small Wood and would be
augmented by windmills, a swing or another structure made of wood
(preferably one that moves to circulate energy.)

Part 2:

Planning Your Garden Spell

As days grow warmer and the Earth becomes fertile, our focus turns
toward our summer gardens, window boxes, and patio pots. As you
purchase your herbs and vegetables for planting, infuse each with
magical energy. Herbs contain practical and magical properties;
enhance these with your intention. Plant during the waxing Moon to
support growth and invite the power of each herb to flourish and
expand as you tenderly give it a new home. Add a coin or two to the
soil to invite plenty and to honor the earth element of pentacles.
Plants nurture us and support our growth, both physical and spiritual.
By recog-nizing the mystery within this green gift from Nature, we
become a more intimate part of life's cycle.

~Karri Allrich, Llewellyn

A Witches Cauldron of Chili

2008-04-03T10:06:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd share a fun recipe with you today I found somewhere on the net a few years ago: A Witches Cauldron of Chili! It's still nippy outside in my area and cold in other parts of world... if you like chili then try this one out! :D

A Witches Cauldron of Chili

1 1/4 Pounds ground goblin gizzards (ground beef 15%
fat) *Vegans and Vegetarians leave out the ground goblin gizzards

1 Medium eye of Cyclops (onion)

1 15 Oz. Can soft shelled beetles (kidney beans)

1 28 Oz. Can blood of bat (V-8 juice)

1/8 Teaspoon pureed wasp (prepared mustard)

1/4 Teaspoon common dried weed (oregano)

1 Dash Redtailed hawk toenails (crushed red
pepper)

2 Teaspoons ground sumac blossom (chili powder)

1 Teaspoon hemlock (honey or sugar)

1/2 Cup fresh grubs (sliced celery)

1 Tablespoon eye of Newt (pearled barley)

1 Tablespoon dried maggots (uncooked rice)

Water from a stagnant pond (tap water)

Preparation :

Substitutions are in parenthesis. Best made during the last phase
of the moon, if that is not possible, just do the best you can in a
softly lighted kitchen after dark.

Brown the gizzards in an iron cauldron over a fire made from the
siding off of a haunted house, add chopped eye of cyclops and simmer
until the pieces of eye become translucent again, add blood of bat,
and soft shelled beetles, bring to a slow bubbling boil. At this time,
add the common weed, maggots, toenails, sumac,
grubs, hemlock, eye of newt and the pureed wasp.
As it cooks you may want to adjust the consistency with pond water.
You can tell it is done when the eye of newt swells and the vertical
tan colored 'cats eye' appears on one side.

Something New

2008-04-01T12:35:00.008-05:00

Hello Friends... this is a 'piece mill' blog today - please bear with me:

Today I decided to tell you about my 2 new blogs: Natural Thangs and Wild World.

Natural Thangs is a blog for eco-friendly products and services, petitions, environmental issues, green living and my occasional silly rants. This blog was started on Feb. 23, 2008. I am still linking up to various sites but I think it's ready for the world now.

Wild World is a to help wildlife and pets. Videos, petitions, alerts, etc... are featured. I started this blog on Feb 18, 2008. Again, I am still linking up to important sites and I feel it's now ready for viewing.

With both of my new blogs please look around and check out the websites and weblogs I have linked to.

*I will continue this blog, Terrah's Dawn, as well. I'm not planning on giving it up!

On another note, if you view the top of my blogs now you will find Eco-Safe. I learned about it from a friend. I works great - I have tested it and will use it on all my blogs from now on. Basically it helps to reduce paper waste. Please read all information on their website about the how Eco-Safe helps - it's short and sweet.

I also urge all of you to become a member of Care2, if you are not already - it's free [but you can become a charter member]. You will find all the latest news, petitions, groups, and more.. free email service and ecards. Please learn more about Care2 at this Link: About Us. You can visit me on my Care2 Profile. By joining our Care2 family you will learn more about Spirituality, Animals, the Environment, Science, Astronomy, and more.

I am also one to remind you PLEASE click daily! On my new blogs, you will find a link area entitled: Free: Click or Play to Donate Sites. It only takes me about 10 minutes a day to click all my 'daily clicks' - free, fast, easy and helps. :)

Happy April Fools Day to everyone - wishing you a safe and happy Spring

Jane Goodall Institution

2008-03-30T18:57:00.000-05:00

Below is from the Jane Goodall Institution: Ways You Can Help:

Welcome to JGI’s action center! We’re going to expand this section in coming weeks, but in the meantime we offer a few ideas to help you take positive action for people, animals and the environment.

Note: We know making a positive impact – especially when it comes to the environment – can seem like an impossible job. For that reason we’ve included some meaningful actions that are, well, embarrassingly easy. They're marked with this badge

Live Greener

Shut off the water when brushing your teeth.
This is one of Jane Goodall’s most frequent suggestions to her audiences when she’s on the road. Did you know older faucets release 3 to 7 gallons of water per minute? That could add up to more than 5,000 gallons per year flowing down the drain while you brush!

Wash your clothes in cold or warm water, not hot.
If you wash two loads per week this way, the reduction in carbon dioxide is as high as 500 pounds per year, according to the Greenhouse Network.

Cut down on your meat-eating (or better yet become a vegetarian).
Even cutting out one meal of meat per week can have an impact!

Learn more about solar energy!
The earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than the world uses in a whole year, according to SolarBuzz. Here is a fun resource: http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar/educational_resources.html#science

Join an online community for sustainable living!
This site links to forums on everything from hybrid cars to “tightwadding” to wind power.
http://www.ecoforums.com/

Make an organic flowerbed!
http://pennsylvania.sierraclub.org/northeastern/organic.pdf

For The More Adventurous

Landscape Sustainably!
Learn how to landscape your home to be “Fossil Fuel Free!”
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/greenacres/smithsonian.pdf
http://www.sustland.umn.edu/

Install a compost toilet!
Composting toilets have been an established technology for more than 30 years!
http://www.epa.gov/owm/mtb/comp.pdf

Shop Ethically

Buy fair-trade coffee and other “fair” food.
Fair-trade coffee protocols guarantee farmers a decent price so they can earn a living wage. According to US certifier Transfair, participating farmers can avoid cost-cutting practices that sacrifice quality. Global Exchange offers a list of retailers including Starbucks, Trader Joe’s and Safeway, plus a list of outlets by state (not all states included).

Make Your Voice Heard

Write that letter!
Don’t expect the government to take the lead. Even in sympathetic administrations, governments rarely take the lead. The most innovative and creative ideas come from we, the people. Finding your member of Congress’s contact information is easy. Just click here.

Help Chimpanzees

Spread the word
The number of humans born each day is greater than the number of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos left in the world. Many people aren’t aware that great apes are endangered – so spreading the word is critically important. Tell people that without our intervention, today’s children could come of age in a world without chimpanzees and other great apes living in the wild. But it’s not too late to make a difference. Click here to support JGI’s work on behalf of the endangered chimpanzee.

Branch Out

Turn the tide
Join a remarkable program endorsed by Jane Goodall, “Turning the Tide.” It features nine personal actions to protect the environment -- complete with calculators that tally and track individual and collective impact right away! This program comes from the Center for a New American Dream.

Use RedJellyfish Long Distance

Our partnership with RedJellyfish Long Distance helps you put the environment first! RedJellyfish provides high quality long distance service at a low price, and RedJellyfish donates 8% of its profits every month to the Jane Goodall Institute.

RedJellyfish offers clear, easy to read, monthly statements that are printed on 100% recycled paper, or you can choose their tree-free electronic billing option. The RedJellyfish calling cards are made from recycled plastic, and the RedJellyfish website is completely powered by solar energy! You'll get great rates, friendly customer service, and crystal clear connections, while knowing you are supporting a company with progressive environmental business strategies! Click here to visit RedJellyfish Long Distance

Support JGI

Join Us! A monthly gift of $15 can start three international Roots & Shoots groups, giving them the tools to create positive change in their communities. A gift of $35 provides three days worth of food, shelter, and care for an orphaned chimp in one of our JGI sanctuaries. Click here for more information.

Why Today's Peace Activists Should Not Be Discouraged: An Example from 1958

2008-03-27T08:20:00.004-05:00

Below is an article I found at Nuclear Age Peace Foundation I hope you enjoy it friends.

Why Today's Peace Activists Should Not Be Discouraged: An Example from 1958
By Lawrence S. Wittner

Originally published on History News Network

After nearly five years of bloody, costly war in Iraq, with no end in sight, many peace activists feel discouraged. Protest against the war and the rise of antiwar public opinion seem to have had little effect upon government policy.

But, in fact, it is too early to say. Who really knows what impact peace activism and widespread peace sentiment have had in the past five years or will have in the near future? Certainly not historians, who will spend decades pulling together such information from once secret government records and after-the-fact interviews.

What historians can do, of course, is assess the impact of popular protest on events in the more distant past. And here the record provides numerous intriguing illustrations of the power of protest.

One example along these lines occurred fifty years ago, in 1958, when the Soviet and U.S. governments stopped their nuclear explosions and commenced negotiations for a nuclear test ban treaty.

Ever since the first explosion of an atomic bomb, at Alamogordo, in July 1945, the great powers had been engaged in a deadly race to develop, test, and deploy what they considered the ultimate weapon, the final guarantee of their "national security." The United States, of course, had the lead, and used this with devastating effect upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But, in 1949, the U.S. monopoly on nuclear weapons was cracked by the Soviet Union. In 1952, the British also entered the nuclear club. As the nuclear arms race accelerated, all three powers worked on producing a hydrogen bomb--a weapon with a thousand times the destructive power of the bomb that annihilated Hiroshima. Within a short time, all of them were testing H-bombs for their rapidly-growing nuclear arsenals.

The nuclear tests--which, by late 1958, numbered at least 190 (125 by the United States, 44 by the Soviet Union, and 21 by Britain)--were conducted mostly in the atmosphere and, in these cases, were often quite dramatic. Enormous explosions rent the earth, sending vast mushroom clouds aloft that scattered radioactive debris (fallout) around the globe. The H-bomb test of March 1, 1954, for example--which the U.S. government conducted at Bikini atoll in the Marshall Islands, a U.N. trust territory in the Pacific—was so powerful that it overran the danger zone of 50,000 square miles (an area roughly the size of New England). Generating vast quantities of radioactive fallout that landed on inhabited islands and fishermen outside this zone, it forced the evacuation of U.S. weather station personnel and Marshall Islanders (many of whom subsequently suffered a heavy incidence of radiation-linked illnesses, including cancer and leukemia). In addition, the Bikini test overtook a Japanese fishing boat, the Lucky Dragon, which received a heavy dose of radioactive ash that sickened the crew and, eventually, killed one of its members.

Recognizing that these nuclear tests were not only paving the way for mass destruction in the future, but were already beginning to generate sickness and death, large numbers of people around the world began to resist. Prominent intellectuals, such Albert Schweitzer, Bertrand Russell, and Linus Pauling, issued public appeals to halt nuclear testing. Pacifists sailed protest vessels into nuclear test zones in an attempt to disrupt planned weapons explosions. Citizens' antinuclear organizations sprang up, including the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (better known as SANE) in the United States, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in Great Britain, and dozens of others in assorted nations. In the United States, the 1956 Democratic presidential candidate, Adlai Stevenson, made a halt to nuclear testing a key part of his campaign. Antinuclear pressures even developed within Communist dictatorships. In the Soviet Union, top scientists, led by Andrei Sakharov, appealed to Soviet leaders to halt nuclear tests.

Polls during 1957 and 1958 in nations around the globe reported strong public opposition to nuclear testing. In the United States, 63 percent of respondents favored a nuclear test ban; in Japan, 89 percent supported a worldwide ban on the testing and manufacture of nuclear weapons; in Britain, 76 percent backed an agreement to end nuclear tests; and in India (with the survey sample limited to New Delhi), 90 percent thought the United States should unilaterally halt its nuclear tests. In late 1957, pollsters reported that the proportion of the population viewing H-bomb testing as harmful to future generations stood at 64 percent in West Germany, 76 percent in Norway, 65 percent in Sweden, 59 percent in the Netherlands, 60 percent in Belgium, 73 percent in France, 67 percent in Austria, and 55 percent in Brazil.

Within the ranks of the U.S. government, this public aversion to nuclear testing was regarded as bad news, indeed. The Eisenhower administration was firmly committed to nuclear weapons as the central component of its national security strategy. Thus, halting nuclear testing was viewed as disastrous. In early 1956, Lewis Strauss--the chair of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the top figure in setting the administration's nuclear weapons policy--insisted: "This nonsense about ceasing tests (that is tantamount to saying ceasing the development) of our nuclear weapons plays into the hands of the Soviets." The United States, he told Eisenhower, should hold nuclear tests "whenever an idea has been developed which is ready for test."

And yet, other administration officials felt hard-pressed by the force of public opinion. In a memo written in June 1955, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles noted that, although the United States needed a nuclear arsenal, "the frightful destructiveness of modern weapons creates an instinctive abhorrence to them." Indeed, there existed "a popular and diplomatic pressure for limitation of armament that cannot be resisted by the United States without our forfeiting the good will of our allies and the support of a large part of our own people." Consequently, "we must . . . propose or support some plan for the limitation of armaments."

But Dulles equivocated over specific plans, and the administration increasingly felt the heat. In September 1956, with Stevenson's call for an end to nuclear testing now part of the presidential election campaign, Eisenhower ordered an administrative study of a test ban, citing "the rising concern of people everywhere over the effect of radiation from tests, their reaction each time a test was reported, and their extreme nervousness over the prospective consequences of nuclear war." Given opposition from other officials, this study, too, went nowhere. Even so, Eisenhower remained gravely concerned about the unpopularity of nuclear testing. In a meeting with Edward Teller and other nuclear weapons enthusiasts in June 1957, the president told them that "we are . . . up against an extremely difficult world opinion situation," and "the United States could [not] permit itself to be 'crucified on a cross of atoms.' " There was not only "the question of world opinion . . . but an actual division of American opinion . . . as to the harmful effects of testing."

By early 1958, the outside pressures were becoming so powerful that Dulles began a campaign to halt U.S. nuclear tests unilaterally. Having learned, through the CIA, that the Soviet government was about to announce a unilateral suspension of its tests, he called together top administration officials on March 23 and 24 and proposed that Eisenhower issue a statement saying that, after the U.S. government completed its nuclear test series that year, there would be no further U.S. nuclear testing. "It would make a great diplomatic and propaganda sensation to the advantage of the United States," Dulles explained, and "I feel desperately the need for some important gesture in order to gain an effect on world opinion." But Strauss and Defense Department officials fought back ferociously, while Eisenhower, typically, remained indecisive. Testing was "not evil," the president opined, "but the fact is that people have been brought to believe that it is." What should be done in these circumstances? Nothing, it seemed. Eisenhower remained unwilling to challenge the nuclear hawks in his administration.

However, after March 31, 1958, when the Soviet government announced its unilateral testing moratorium, the U.S. hard line could no longer be sustained. With the Soviet halt to nuclear testing, recalled one U.S. arms control official, "the Russians boxed us in." On April 30, Dulles reported that an advisory committee on nuclear testing that he had convened had concluded that, if U.S. nuclear testing continued, "the slight military gains" would "be outweighed by the political losses, which may well culminate in the moral isolation of the United States." The following morning, Eisenhower telephoned Dulles and expressed his agreement.

Thereafter, the president held steady. Meeting on August 12 with Teller and other officials, he reacted skeptically to their enthusiastic reports about recent weapons tests. "The new thermonuclear weapons are tremendously powerful," he observed, but "they are not . . . as powerful as is world opinion today in obliging the United States to follow certain lines of policy. Ten days later, after a showdown with the Defense Department and the AEC, Eisenhower publicly announced that, as of October 31, the United States would suspend nuclear testing and begin negotiations for a test ban treaty.

As a result, U.S., Soviet, and British nuclear explosions came to a halt in the fall of 1958. Although the French government conducted its first nuclear tests in early 1960 and the three earlier nuclear powers resumed nuclear testing in late 1961, these actions proved to be the last gasps of the nuclear hawks before the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963--a measure resulting from years of public protest against nuclear testing. Against this backdrop, the 1958 victory for the peace movement and public opinion should be regarded as an important break in the nuclear arms race and in the Cold War.

Thus, if peace activists feel discouraged today by the continuation of the war in Iraq, they might well take heart at the example of their predecessors, who recognized that making changes in powerful institutions requires great perseverance. They might also consider the consequences of doing nothing. As the great abolitionist leader, Frederick Douglass, put it in 1857: "If there is no struggle, there is no progress."

Lawrence S. Wittner is Professor of History at the State University of New York/Albany.

Emotional intelligence: popular or scientific psychology?

2008-03-21T21:08:00.003-05:00

John D. Mayer, PhD
University of New Hampshire

Emotional intelligence is a product of two worlds. One is the popular culture world of best-selling books, daily newspapers and magazines. The other is the world of scientific journals, book chapters and peer review.

Most people, I suspect, became familiar with emotional intelligence through the popular 1995 book, "Emotional Intelligence," by Dr. Daniel Goleman or through the many mass-market books, articles and television programs that followed in its wake. Attendees of last year's APA Annual Convention heard the popular version of emotional intelligence at the opening session. Others read about it in the APA Monitor.

Emotional intelligence, according to Time magazine, "may be the best predictor of success in life." According to the book "Emotional Intelligence," evidence suggests that it is "as powerful, and at times more powerful, than IQ," and provides "an advantage in any domain of life." Such enthusiasm may lead APA members to wonder what the scientific literature actually says. In this column, I will describe some of the scientific literature, and compare it to the popular accounts.

A scientific account of emotional intelligence

The popular accounts often refer to the 1990 articles on emotional intelligence that I published with my colleague, Dr. Peter Salovey. Those two articles contain the first formal definition of emotional intelligence, and provide a first demonstration that certain ability tasks may serve to measure the concept.

Increasingly, we have viewed emotional intelligence as a potentially standard intelligence (see our 1993 and 1996 articles in the journal Intelligence), and we revised our model accordingly in the 1997 book, "Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence" (Basic Books). There, emotional intelligence is defined as the capacity to reason with emotion in four areas: to perceive emotion, to integrate it in thought, to understand it and to manage it.

My colleagues, Dr. Salovey, Dr. David Caruso and I, have developed a new set of 12 ability tasks that assess this four-branch model. Sample tasks include asking people to identify emotions in faces, and asking people to identify a set of simple emotions which, when combined, match a more complex feeling. Research with these new scales suggests that emotional intelligence can be measured reliably, exists as a unitary ability, and is related to, but independent of, standard intelligence (see our forthcoming 1999 article in Intelligence).

Is the popular version accurate?

My colleagues and I appreciate the popular discussions of the above work. At the same time, the popular treatments have represented our concept in three ways that are cause for concern.

First, the meaning of emotional intelligence has been stretched. Emotional intelligence is now defined by popular authors in dozens of ways--typically as a list of personality characteristics, such as "empathy, motivation, persistence, warmth and social skills." Dr. Salovey, Dr. Caruso and I refer to these definitions as "mixed models" because they mix together diverse parts of personality.

Second, popular models of emotional intelligence imply that we can predict important life outcomes using such a diverse list of variables--which is, of course, correct. But let's be honest about such lists: They contain variables beyond what is meant by the terms "emotion" or "intelligence," or what reasonable people would infer from the phrase "emotional intelligence." Such popular models are using a catchy new name to sell worthy, old-fashioned personality research and prediction.

Third, the popular and scientific concepts of emotional intelligence are separated by a "claim" gap. Our own and others' ongoing research indicates that emotional intelligence may well predict specific, important life outcomes at about the level of other important personality variables (e.g., 2 percent to 25 percent of variance explained). We believe that such predictions are both useful in practical terms, and impressive theoretically. In contrast, the popular literature's implication--that highly emotionally intelligent people possess an unqualified advantage in life--appears overly enthusiastic at present and unsubstantiated by reasonable scientific standards.

Why it all matters

One point on which both the popular and scientific treatments do agree is that emotional intelligence--if substantiated--broadens our understanding of what it means to be smart. It means that within some of us who are labeled "romantics," "highly sensitive" or "bleeding hearts," serious information processing is taking place.

I believe the identification of such emotional processing is new and powerful enough to advance a psychological agenda, without recourse to stretched definitions or sensational claims. For that reason, I invite serious practitioners and researchers to distinguish between popular and scientific approaches, and to take a look at the research in the young field of emotional intelligence.

John (Jack) D. Mayer is a psychology professor in the department of psychology at the University of New Hampshire.

Source: APA Monitor

How Well Are You Doing at Being a Responsible Integral Global Citizen?

2008-03-17T13:09:00.003-05:00

People fight passionately for their human rights, but these rights also have their corresponding and equally important responsibilities. This quiz and article is the responsibility-side companion to the the rights defined in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As you review it, you may find yourself repeatedly surprised by the integral perspectives held within every true global citizen's social and spiritual responsibilities.

Much of its content of the Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities below was written by members and clergy from the world’s spiritual denominations. It is recognized by our organization, Integrative Spirituality, as part of our statement of "good citizen" responsibilities that we encourage our members to embrace in order to better live a congruent spiritual lifestyle in the globalized 21st century. Recently, we have added new responsibilities not seen anywhere else in any other versions of this article.

As you read it, use it as a quiz to see how you are doing.

The Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities

WE PROCLAIM

Fundamental Principles for Humanity:

Article 1
Every person, regardless of gender, ethnic origin, race, social status, political opinion, language, age, nationality, or religion, has a responsibility to treat all people in a humane way.

Article 2
No person should lend support to any form of inhumane behavior, but all people have a responsibility to strive for the dignity and self-esteem of all others.

Article 3
No person, no group or organization, no state, no army or police stands above good and evil; all are subject to ethical standards. Everyone has a responsibility to promote good and to avoid evil in all things.

Article 4
All people, endowed with reason and conscience, must accept a responsibility to each and all, to families and communities, to races, nations, and religions in a spirit of solidarity: What you do not wish to be done to yourself, do not do to others.

Non-Violence and Respect for Life:

Article 5
Every person has a responsibility to respect life. No one has the right to injure, to torture or to kill another human person. This does not exclude the right of justified self-defense of individuals or communities.

Article 6
Every human being is always to be treated as an end, never as a mere means, always as a subject of rights, never as a mere object, whether in business, politics, communication, scientific research or other areas of life. No person or organization has the right to use undue psychological influence, coercive psychological tactics or any form of physical or technological mind control that robs the individual of the meaningful execution of their informed consent or free will.

Article 7
Disputes between states, groups or individuals should be resolved without violence. No government should tolerate or participate in acts of genocide or terrorism, nor should it abuse women, children, or any other civilians as instruments of war. Every citizen and public official has a responsibility to act in a peaceful, non-violent way.

Article 8
Every person is infinitely precious and must be protected unconditionally.

Article 9
The lives of animals and plants which inhabit this planet with us likewise deserve protection, preservation, and care. That is, we humans are a part of nature, not apart from nature. Hence, as beings with the capacity of foresight we bear a special responsibility - especially with a view to future generations - for the air, water, and soil, that is, for the earth, and even the Kosmos.

Justice and Solidarity:

Article 10
Every person has a responsibility to behave with integrity, honesty and fairness. No person or group should rob or arbitrarily deprive any other person or group of their property.

Article 11
Property, limited or large, carries with it an obligation; ownership not only permits the personal use of property but also entails the responsibility to serve the common good.

Article 12
All people, given the necessary tools, have a responsibility to make serious efforts to overcome poverty, malnutrition, ignorance, and inequality. They should promote sustainable development all over the world in order to assure dignity, freedom, security and justice for all people.

Article 13
Economic and political power should not be misused as instruments of domination, but for service to humanity. Therefore mutual respect and the will to mediation should be fostered so as to reach a reasonable balance of interests in a sense of moderation and fairness.

Article 14
Wherever rulers repress the ruled, institutions threaten persons, or might oppresses right, human beings have not only the right but the responsibility to resist - always initially and whenever possible non-violently.

Article 15
All people have a responsibility to develop their talents through diligent endeavor; they should have equal access to education and to meaningful work. Everyone should lend support to the needy, the disadvantaged, the disabled and to the victims of discrimination.

Article 16
All property and wealth must be used responsibly in accordance with justice and for the advancement of the human race. Economic and political power must not be handled as an instrument of domination, but in the service of economic justice and of the social order.

Truthfulness and Tolerance:

Article 17
Every person has a responsibility to speak and act truthfully. No one, however high or mighty, should speak lies. The right to privacy and to personal and professional confidentiality is to be respected.

Article 18
No politicians, public servants, members of the military, intelligence agency members, business leaders, scientists, writers or artists are exempt from general or universal human ethical standards and law, nor are physicians, lawyers and other professionals who have special duties to clients.

Professional and other codes of ethics should reflect the priority of general standards such as those of truthfulness and fairness.

Article 19
The freedom of the media to inform the public and to criticize institutions of society and governmental actions, which is essential for a just society, must be used with responsibility and discretion. Freedom of the media carries a special responsibility for accurate and truthful reporting. Sensational reporting that degrades the human person or dignity must at all times be avoided. The communications media, to whom the freedom to report for the sake of truth is entrusted and to whom the office of guardian granted, do not stand above ethics but have the obligation to respect human dignity, human rights, and fundamental values. They are duty-bound to objectivity, fairness, and humaneness. Hence, they have no right to intrude into individuals' private spheres, manipulate public opinion, or distort reality.

Article 20
While religious freedom must be guaranteed, the representatives of religions have a special responsibility to avoid expressions of prejudice and acts of discrimination toward those of different beliefs. They should not incite or legitimize hatred, fanaticism and religious wars, but should foster tolerance and mutual respect between all people. Nor should the representatives of religions ever physically or mentally harm or abuse their own members or those they deem to be adversarial to their religious beliefs.

Mutual Respect and Partnership:

Article 21
All individuals and groups are obliged not to treat other persons as mere sex objects or disadvantage them because of their sexuality. No one should subject another person to sexual exploitation or dependence. Rather, sexual partners should accept the responsibility of caring for each other's well-being and should treat each other in their sexual and kindred relationships with respect and as equal partners.

Article 22
Marriage, which, despite its cultural and religious variety, should be characterized by love, loyalty, and permanence and guarantee mutual security and support.

Article 23
Sensible family planning is the responsibility of every couple. The relationship between parents and children should reflect mutual love, respect, appreciation and concern. No parents or other adults should exploit, abuse or maltreat children.

Article 24
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any state, secretive government agency, group, corporation or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the responsibilities, rights and freedom set forth in this Declaration and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

Conclusion:

Our world is precious, fragile and beautiful. The earth and her people need to be cherished and nurtured with care and vision. They can survive and flourish only if a shared world ethic is both affirmed and followed.

As women and men who embrace precepts and practices of the spiritual wisdom of the world's religions:

WE ACKNOWLEDGE that we have fallen short of these guidelines and principles. In many places our world is broken and in agony. In many places the suffering is so pervasive that we must urgently recognize the anguish so that the depth of weeping and pain may be made clear. In many places peace and justice is elusive... the planet is being destroyed...neighbors live in fear... women and men are estranged from one another... the young die needlessly.

WE CONFESS our complicity in this tragedy. We have too often failed in the interpretations or the living of our traditions and thus contributed to injustice.. We seek divine and human forgiveness, so that we might begin afresh to live together a global ethic.

A global ethic challenges and helps to heal the abuses of earth's ecosystem; the poverty that stifles life's potential; the hunger that weakens the human body; the economic disparities that threaten so many families and nations with ruin; the social disarray of the nations; the disregard for justice which pushes citizens to the margin; the anarchy overtaking communities; the insane death from violence. In particular, a global ethic helps correct all exploitation, aggression and hatred committed in the name of religion.

WE BELIEVE a global ethic is necessary for healing and celebrating life. This ethic offers the possibility of a better individual and global order, and leads individuals away from dispute and societies away from chaos.

WE PLEDGE ourselves as members of society and the world's religions to implement this global ethic in order to sustain our precious, fragile, and beautiful world; in order to serve and to understand one another better, and in order to hold one another accountable for creating ways that lead to justice and peace.

WE INVITE ALL PEOPLE TO MAKE THIS PLEDGE IN THEIR OWN WORDS AND DEEDS:

- Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world and implies obligations or responsibilities,

- whereas the exclusive insistence on rights can result in conflict, division, and endless dispute, and the neglect of human responsibilities can lead to lawlessness and chaos,

- whereas the rule of law and the promotion of human rights depend on the readiness of men and women to act justly,

- whereas global problems demand global solutions which can only be achieved through ideas, values, and norms respected by all cultures and societies,

- whereas all people, to the best of their knowledge and ability, have a responsibility to foster a better social order, both at home and globally, a goal which cannot be achieved by laws, prescriptions, and conventions alone,

- whereas human aspirations for progress and improvement can only be realized by agreed values and standards applying to all people and institutions at all times,we hereby proclaim our agreement with and action based support for the Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities.

From: http://www.integrativespirituality.org/postnuke/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=494&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

This article is derived also in part from the following web documents:
http://www.interactioncouncil.org/udhr/udhr.htmlÂ
http://astro.temple.edu/~dialogue/Antho/unesco.htmÂ
http://users.online.be/interfaith_guidelines/paginas/6andere teksten/global ethic draft text, chicago 1993.htm

Rolling Thunder

2008-03-12T17:52:00.005-05:00

"Scientist will eventually discover what Pagans have always known." ~Rolling Thunder

While working for the Menninger Foundation in 1971, Doug Boyd met Rolling Thunder, a spiritual leader of the Cherokee and Shoshone tribes. About the shaman, Boyd wrote, "Each day it was becoming clearer to me that Rolling Thunder was a teacher who could offer me insights that I could never achieve in the laboratory or discover in the library."

One day during lunch, Rolling Thunder explained the Indian's view of chaos through ecological imbalance.

"When you have pollution in one place, it spreads all over. It spreads just as arthritis or cancer spreads in the body. The earth is sick now because the earth is being mistreated, and some of the problems that may occur, some of the natural disasters that might happen in the near future are only the natural readjustments that have to take place to throw off sickness. A lot of things are on this land that don't belong here. They're foreign objects like viruses or germs. Now, we may not recognize the fact when it happens, but a lot of the things that are going to happen in the future will really be the earth's attempt to throw off some of these sicknesses. This is really going to be like fever or like vomiting, what you might call a physiological adjustment.

"It's very important for people to realize this. The earth is a living organism, the body of a higher individual who has a will and wants to be well, who is at times less healthy or more healthy, physically and mentally. People should treat their own bodies with respect. It's the same thing with the earth. Too many people don't know that when they harm the earth they harm themselves, nor do the realize that when they harm themselves they harm the earth...

"It's not very easy for you people to understand these things because understanding is not knowing the kind of facts that your books and teachers talk about. I can tell you that understanding begins with love and respect. It begins with respect for the Great Spirit, and the Great Spirit is the life that is in all things -- all the creatures and the plants and even the rocks and the minerals. All things -- and I mean all things -- have their own will and their own way, their own purpose; this is what is to be respected.

"Such respect is not a feeling or an attitude only. It's a way of life. Such respect means that we never stop realizing and never neglect to carry out our obligation to ourselves and our environment."

Rolling Thunder offers a philosophical or religious basis for contemporary ecological thought. His view is fundamental to understanding Native American belief systems. Certainly, there are sound scientific reasons supporting the various ecology movements, and for scientific minds that may be enough. However, integrating both views may ultimately prove more reliable and productive than choosing one or the other.

Create Your Own Reality

2008-03-10T15:56:00.003-05:00

Adapted from Power, Freedom, and Grace by Deepak Chopra (Amber-Allen Publishing, 2006).

Our senses tell us that events happen within space and time. There is a past, present and future, and the world operates through linear cause-effect relationships. I have to walk from here to there, from one location to another. This causes a timeline to appear.

That is how our senses experience the world, but in fact the world is not like that. The world is synchronistic, it's coincidental, it's happening simultaneously. Infinite possibilities coexist at the same time. Everything is happening all at once, and everything is correlated and instantly synchronized with everything else. This simultaneity can only happen through what is called infinite correlation. Infinite correlation is the ability to do an infinite number of things and correlate them with one another at the same time.

SIMPLE SOLUTION: Physicists no longer use the word time; they use the term space-time continuum because they know that time is a relative phenomenon; it's not absolute. The movement of planet Earth spinning on its axis and hurling around the sun at thousands of miles per hour creates our experience of time. But time is an illusion; it's an internal dialogue we use to explain our experience or perception of change and relationship.

How does all of this apply to us? Well, the way we interpret the concept of time—how we metabolize our experience of time—brings about distinct physiological changes in the body-mind.

In the present, you can experience the past; in the present, you can anticipate the future. But if you can stay in the present, if you can be with the present, then even the physical changes that normally occur with the passage of time will not occur in your body. There is a saying from a Vedic master: "The only reason people grow old and die is that they see other people growing old and dying."

The 7 Spiritual Laws of Love

2008-03-06T13:06:00.003-06:00

Adapted from Kama Sutra by Deepak Chopra (Virgin Books, 2006).
Within every love story hides the wooing of the gods and goddesses. This is one area of life where the practical meets the mythical. For many people the experience of romantic love is their first experience of spirituality, although they may not know it.

SIMPLE SOLUTION:

The First Stage of Love: Attraction
The Law of Attraction states, "To be attractive, you have to be authentic." What makes a person attractive? The wisdom traditions tell us that attraction first and foremost comes from naturalness. Nothing is more beautiful than naturalness.

The Second Stage of Love: Infatuation
This law states that infatuation exists to open the door to a deeper, transcendent reality. Infatuation happens when the attraction between two people is so intense that it transports them beyond ordinary perception and the ordinary world becomes enchanted.

The Third Stage of Love: Communion
The Law of Communion says that communion is contact of soul with soul. Communion is the sharing of spirit. Therefore, communion is the basis of trust. In this stage, lovers move into territory of the unknown, taking from each other what they did not possess alone.

The Fourth Stage of Love: Intimacy
The law of Intimacy states that in true intimacy flesh merges with flesh, and spirit with spirit. In intimacy, sexual energy and spiritual energy are recognized as one. Sexual energy is seen as the creative energy of the universe.

The Fifth Stage of Love: Surrender and Non-Attachment
The Law of Surrender says that losing yourself in another person is the best way to find your true self. Surrender is the result of relinquishing the ego's last claims to separation. Surrender and non-attachment open the door to the miraculous, because miracles exist outside the realm of I, me, and mine.

The Sixth Stage of Love: Passion
The Law of Passion says that higher reality is experienced in the merging of the masculine and the feminine in one's own being. Passion for life and passion in love are the same thing. This is because life, in its essence, is love.

The Seventh Stage of Love: Ecstasy
The Law of Ecstasy says that ecstasy is our original state. This is where we come from, the Garden of Eden, the state of grace to which we shall one day return. Ecstasy is the final stage of intimacy with spirit that flows through love.

Spirituality and Animals

2008-03-01T12:01:00.006-06:00

Friends, I now have sad news to tell you: The Canadian Seal Hunt is begining soon. It begins each year around the end of March. As of the date of this blog post, we have 26 days until the Harp Seal Hunt begins. I encourage you to sign this year's petition to help end the Canadian Seal Hunt.

http://www.hsus.org/protect_seals.html

Here is a list of 15 things you can do to help stop the cruel deaths of beautiful creatures:

http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/protect_seals/protect_seals_what_you_can_do/

Thank you for your support!

HSUS MySpace Page | Get web badges

Today's blog:

Animals and Spirituality go hand and hand. Since ancient times, animals have been looked upon as sacred. The wise one's has taught us to respect all of mother nature - animals included. Below are a few great philosophies on respect for animals:

George Bernard Shaw:
“When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity.”

Native American:
"Treat the earth and all of her aspects as your mother. Show deep respect for the mineral world, the plant world, and the animal world. Do nothing to pollute our Mother, rise up with wisdom to defend her."

“Every animal knows more than you do.”

Immanuel Kant:
“If man is not to stifle human feelings, he must practice kindness to animals, for He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”

Dalai Lama:
"Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony about peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream but a necessity. We are dependent on each other in so many ways that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening
in those communities."

"Taking care of animals is essential to developing more happiness in human beings"

Abraham Lincoln:
“I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.”

Pope John Paul II:
“Animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren…the fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect…as near to God as men are.” He reminded people that all living beings came into being because of the “breath” of God. He spoke of St. Francis’s love for animals declaring, “We, too, are called to a similar attitude.”

Judaism:
“For all forest creatures are mine already, the animals on the mountains in their thousands. I know every bird in the air, whatever moves in the fields is mine.”

Mahatma Gandhi:
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated… I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by [people] from the cruelty of [human kind]”

Prophet Mohammed:
“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is a bad as an act of cruelty to a human being.”

Pythagoras:
“As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower livings beings, he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.”

Ko Hung:
“Respect the old and cherish the young. Even insects, grass and trees you must not hurt”

Albert Einstein:
“Our task must be to free ourselves— by widening our circle of compassion to embrace
all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”

Hippocrates:
“The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.”

S. Parkes Cadman:
“Personally, I would not give a fig for any man's religion whose horse, cat and dog do not feel its benefits. Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility.”

May Peace be with all of you this weekend.

Compassion is the Gateway to True Love

2008-02-28T05:23:00.013-06:00

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

*Love for your mother, father and siblings is natural and organic. We can have love for our partner if we have one and love for past partners. To have unconditional or true love is to love other beings whether or not they love you or even like you.~dharma teaching.

True love is the answer to all problems, pain and suffering. If you have true love and compassion for your fellow man then you shall inflict no harm. Love is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest in the well-being of the one loved. Yet, at times, you will feel a rage of anger, frustration and wish your fellow man ill not because you hate her but because modern views of compassion has taught us this.

Common definitions of compassion read like the following: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. There is a strong desire to 'get your point across' to the one loved to help them release their pain and problems. These definitions create the idea that compassion requires us to join another in their misery and can lead to you becoming angry and sometimes wishing them ill for making you feel so terrible. Does this really help anyone? We may need a definition of compassion that is more powerful. For true compassion we will have to expand our understanding so we don’t mistakenly create more sorrow from suffering.

Think of the modern definition of compassion is not true. Say to yourself: What if compassion does not allow us to feel the suffering or pain of another? What if compassion is simply the active expression of acceptance for the world and people just as they are?

In Buddhist practices sadness, sorrow, and pity are referred to as the near enemies of compassion. Being compassionate involves understanding the suffering of another without feeling sorrow or pity. When there are these emotions, compassion has turned into personal unhappiness and only adds to suffering. Feeling the emotional pain of another doesn’t relieve their suffering. In actuality it adds to the collective field of unconsciousness creating suffering.

An example of Buddhist logic:
If you see a peron suffering and unhappy then you would feel sad for her. Now there are two unhappy people. If two people saw the two unhappy people and took the same approach then there would be four people suffering over frustration and sadness. Four more people could feel saddened and frustrated by our plight and then there would be eight more unhappy.If we keep going in this direction the whole world would end up feeling sorrow and pity because one person was unhappy. As you see, now we have several unhappy people and most will agree that unhappiness is harmful and a form of suffering.

"Just as compassion is a natural effect of true love for just being, so ahimsa or ‘non-harming’ is a natural effect of compassion. If we feel true compassion and tenderness for the feelings of others, we will automatically take care not to do any action that might cause any harm or suffering. Therefore the most important quality that we should strive to cultivate is the true love to subside and rest in our natural state of self-conscious being." [from the Happiness of Being: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana]

A Zen teaching:
Empathy Practice. The first step in cultivating compassion is to develop empathy for your fellow human beings. Many of us believe that we have empathy, and on some level nearly all of us do. But many times we are centered on ourselves (I’m no exception) and we let our sense of empathy get rusty. Try this practice: Imagine that a loved one is suffering. Something terrible has happened to him or her. Now try to imagine the pain they are going through. Imagine the suffering in as much detail as possible. After doing this practice for a couple of weeks, you should try moving on to imagining the suffering of others you know, not just those who are close to you.

A Buddhist teaching:
Compassion can take active forms - helping others who are having difficulties of whatever kind (mental, emotional, physical) - but can also be seen as a broad approach inherent in all that one does. Knowing that all beings are suffering in some way, compassion can become a permanent part of one's mindset. If something practical can't be done, then there is the inner feeling of concern for all beings and a desire for their suffering to be alleviated.

A Jainism teaching:
The teaching of ahimsa (non-violence) refers not only to wars and visible physicalacts of violence but to violence in the hearts and minds of human beings, their lack of concern and compassion for their fellow humans and for any other living being. Ancient Jain texts explain that violence (Himsa) is not defined by actual harm, for this may be unintentional. It is the intention to harm, the absence of compassion that makes action violent. Without violent thought there could be no violent actions.In a positive sense ahimsa means caring for and sharing with all living beings, tending, protecting and serving them. It entrails universal friendliness (maitri), universal forgiveness (kshama)and universalfearlessness (abhaya).

Compassion knows no limits; there are no exceptions. Compassion is continuing learning process. There is never a point when one can say "I'm compassionate enough" or "I'm done being compassionate with you". That way of thinking is not compassion. True compassion is infinite, it knows no boundaries.

Once we learn true empathy we can develop true compassion. Once we learn true compassion we can develop true love for our fellow man as strong as we love those close to us.

Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men. - Confucius

References:
http://zenhabits.net/
http://happinessofbeing.blogspot.com/
http://trueanduseful.eponym.com/blog
http://www.pathwaytohappiness.com/index.htm

Music for the Soul

2008-02-20T08:02:00.013-06:00

Music for your meditations is more than just going to Wal-Mart and picking up a CD of environmental sounds or the latest Yanni tunes. Finding the right music for your meditations is essential to the meditation process. It is about self realization and self expression. It is what guides you into new realms. It is what brings about the images that will carry you to the sacred place. That is the goal of meditation.

I have been asked on numerous occasions about recommended meditation music. I have spent the last 6 hours combing through music to give you my top picks. I have separated the music into 2 categories for easier choosing: Light Ambient and Dark Ambient. The Light Ambient music houses a list of various styles: Native American, Piano, Neo-Classical, Indian, Environmental, Celtic and so on. The Dark Ambient section is a list of darker sounds; a lot of Goths, Pagans, Vampires, Horror Fans and others prefer the dark or heavier sounds to meditate to.

For sampling the music I have recommended, 2 good places: Last.FM and Amazon.com. Most of the music can be bought at Amazon.com or through the artists own websites and scrobbled/sampled at Last.FM.

Most of the artists below have has several CDs to pick from. I have chosen my favorites from each artist to recommend to you for your meditations. This is just a very small list of wonderful meditation music to pick from. I can also tell you that if you are just in the mood for some good chill-out music, relaxing music to sleep by or need good music for your 'tantric connections' then this is a fairly good list of for your listening pleasure.

I have them listed in no particular order:

Light Ambient:

Artist - Album

Anugama - Shamanic Dream II
Dean Evenson - Healing Sanctuary
The World Of Osho - In Wonder: The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Osho Musicians - Ten Thousand Budhas
Pete Namlook - Air
Medwyn Goodall - The Grail Quest
Ben Tavera King & Eric Casillas - Hunting Magic
Dean Evenson & Soundings Ensemble - Soundings Tapestry
Kitaro - An Ancient Journey
David & Steve Gordon - Sacred Spirit Drums
Paul Schwartz - State Of Grace III
Kamal - Mystery Road
Anthony Miles - Even Wolves Dream
Bioshpere - Substrata
Tangerine Dream - Dream Sequence
Acoustic Alchemy - Early Alchemy
Genius Loci - Hortus Sanitatis
Harold Budd - Glyph
Jeffrey Koepper - Etherea
The Sushi Club - Sushidelic
R. Carlos Nakai - Earth Spirit
Chinmaya Dunster - Yoga On Sacred Ground
Tom Barabas - Piano Impressions
Aeoliah - Divinaura
Upanishad - Spiritual Chillout
Green Sun - Non-Complex
Ellis Hadlock - Pyramid Dreams
Rodrigo Rodriguez - Across the East
Sangit Om - The Feng Shui Effect
Palash - On a Gentle Shore
Bahramji & Maneesh de Moor - Call of the Mystic
2002 - River of Stars
Meditation - Food of Love
Thom Brennan - Silver
Sounds that Sooth - Silver Streams
Ravi Shankar - Enchanted Dawn
Al Gromer Khan - Turya
Deva Premal - Embrace
Parijat - Buddha Garden
Vangelis - Antarctica
Enigma - Love Sensuality Devotion

Dark Ambient:

Artist - Album

Paan - Phosphor
Vestigial - Aeon
Abandoned Toys - The Witch's Garden
Rapoon - Cidar
Lull - Continue
Necrophorus - Gathering Composed Thoughts
Atum - Where are you Europe?
Midnight Syndicate - Born of the Night
Bruno Sanfilippo - Visualia
Hans Christian - Phantoms
Nox Arcana - Carnival Of Lost Souls
Arcana - Dark Age of Reason
Robert Rich - Trances / Drones
Lustmord - Heresy
Kevin Braheny - Desert Solitaire
Mathias Grassow - Prophecy
Instincts - The Mystery Visions
Dargaard - Eternity Rites
Funeral Catering Service - Graveyards & Hilltops
Post Scriptvm - Sea Green Series
Coph Nia - Shape Shifter
Dead Voices on Air - Shap
Crassus - These Darkening Days
Steve Roach - Artifacts
Kilvo - Take Me To The Castle In The Sky
Felixdroid - Odd Dots and Squiggles
The Future Sound of London - Cascade
Henri Seroka - Celtic The Music Of The Kells
Project Divinity - Divinity
Dark Sanctuary - De Lumière et d'Obscurité
Mystical Sun - Deeperworlds
Bardoseneticcube - Strange Various
Algol - Searching for Inner and Outer Void
Kammarheit - The Starwheel
Gustaf Hildebrand - Primordial Resonance
Entheogenic - Spontaneous Illumination
Ophelia's Dream - All Beauty Is Sad
Zoviet France - Decriminalisation Of Country Music
Ultra Milkmaids - Music For Dreamachine

Animal Abuse Cases

2008-02-16T13:37:00.028-06:00

Animal cruelty seems to be on the rise. Abuse cases are soaring. Being an activist for animal rights, I decided to provide you some links today to the latest stories and updates. The links are only a small handful of what I receive daily and gives you an idea of what I'm fighting so hard to stop - ANIMAL ABUSE! I realize this isn't much of a blog today... but this needed to be shown here because of the way I feel towards animal abuse. Thank you readers for understanding.

If you would like to help for FREE then please click on these pictures. All it will cost you a minute or two a day to click - no money involved.

Warning: Some of the pictures and videos provided in these links are graphic.

Paris Hilton’s Pets Are Being Monitored By L.A Authorities

Dogs Kicked and Beaten, Caught on Videotape

Video Footage for the above: Dogs Kicked and Beaten

Macao Teenagers Detained for "Barbecuing" Cat

Pet Store Performing Surgery Without Anesthesia

Polar Bears Lose in Big Oil Auction

2 Arrests In Calif. Animal Abuse At Slaughterhouse

Starved Dog Dies in Arms of Rescuer

Musher Charged With Neglecting Dogs

Update: The Owner of a Mt. Pleasant Animal Rescue Shelter Was Charged With Six Dog Law Violations

Update: 2 Charged With Animal Cruelty in Cat Case

Zoo 'Shoot to Kill' Action Out of Order

Horrific Case of Dog Cruelty

Man Accused of Drilling Holes in Dog's Head Pleads Not Guilty

Woman Explains Why She Drowned Her Cat

Plea Bargain for Couple Who Drowned Cat in Bucket

One Of Worst Cases Of Animal Abuse, Humane Society Says

An East Ridge Man Is Charged With Two Counts of Animal Cruelty

Twenty Pit Bulls Neglected, Drugs Seized