See, Hear, Speak

 

 

Musical Monday for the Chinese New Year - The Dog Days Are Over

The Chinese Dog year ends today. Tomorrow is the New year of the Pig.
This seemed the perfect song to celebrate that fact.

Musical Monday - New Year Party with Electro Swing

Suzy by Caravan Palace.

Musical Monday ~ Letter from Home

I love Ryan Farish. :)

Walking the Path

I recently asked my spirit guardian how best to deal with grief and sadness. He said, "Give grief all the time and space it needs, but don't live in it." 

I understood exactly what he meant. We've all met people who "live in it" in a negative sense. They get into that space of intense grief, anger or bitterness and... they get stuck there. I think people like that are a bit like travellers going through a dark forest. I'm not sure if they get lost or deliberately stop walking, but years pass and there they still are, still sitting in the dark with moss growing over them.

We all face dark forests at some time or another. The path of life can take us through meadows and deserts and forests. Sometimes it's gentle and the scenery is lovely and sometimes it's not, but all of it is a part of the great adventure of living. You have to keep on walking and that can really hurt when someone you love steps off the path to take a different route. 

There's a movie that sums this up most beautifully. It's called The Way.

It's about a grieving father who walks the Camino (ancient pilgrimage journey across Spain) for his dead son. He leaves his son's ashes at each marker along the route. Sounds a gloomy movie, but it's actually very funny in places. In the end, his journey becomes so much more than he expected, just the same as every life story. Farewells are painful, but you have to keep walking. So we find our ways to deal with the sadness as we walk. We give our emotions whatever space and time they need, but we don't stop and live there. 

Thoughtful Thursday... All that we Share

Such a clever video and all the more vital to watch since the tragedy in Pittsburgh this past weekend.

Fear is the Blame Game

I recently read an excellent post by Jeff Gregory​ about hate. I tend to defend the underdog and speak out about things I feel are wrong. A lot of people think that means I hate A or B, but it's not that simple. I do hate injustice and cruelty, but I can still pity the person doing the "act of evil" because so often it is the broken who then go on to break others. As you Jeff says in his post - hate isn't the answer. We need to find more ways to say "no, I don't want this" without making it a word used while carrying weapons and torches. This planet has seen far too many tragedies based on the hate of mass hysteria.

I've come up against this a lot with the recent fear/hate between political parties and against specific religions. Personally, I don't follow either Left or Right in politics (I'm Green first )and I see religions as the ways humanity experience and love creation/creator. I really don't think God cares how we express that love, only that we love. I don't think there is a single Way to God; each path is unique to each person. but sadly, there are two religions that have a history of using extreme force in order to convert others to a single "way": Christianity and Islam.

I have had to defend the rights of my Muslim friends a lot recently, which has led to some people thinking I'm anti-Christianity. Not so! I am depressed and afraid of the levels of hate in BOTH radical versions of these two religions. Yet neither religion was created by a man proposing using cruelty and fear to convert followers...

So how did it all go so wrong and how can we ensure it does not continue into our future? 

It has to begin with letting go of hate and that means facing our fears, because most of the time hate is the way we protect ourselves from things we fear. We fear the different and unknown and we fear things that have hurt us in the past or that we worry will hurt us in the future. Fear is a primal instinct of survival, but it has limitations. It drains your energy and strips away your ability to think clearly. This is why so many brainwashing techniques use tiredness and fear, because you lose all ability to think for yourself. You become a puppet.

And the only way you can ever battle fear is through Love - the type of love that walks with tolerance, understanding and compassion.

Thank you, Jeff, for reminding me of that simple fact. It's so easy to lose sight of what really matters when you're frustrated and scared for the future. I'd like to repay you with a video by a favourite group of mine who say it beautifully in this song.  

If there is grace in this world

If there is light on this earth

Let us use it

Let us see it

Starting right now...

Peace, love, more tolerance

Faith, hope trust in the same god in whose

Name we die for, take an innocent life for

That's not what He means

And it doesn't matter what book you read

Musical Monday ~ Hunger

An awesome one this week. Listen to the lyrics and you'll know what I mean. Video is superb as well.


Florence and The Machine - Hunger

Work for Peace

It's a month before Blog for Peace, so I'm setting the mood with an old song that has been haunting me lately.

"Work For Peace" by Gil Scott-Heron

Americans no longer fight to keep their shores safe,
Just to keep the jobs going in the arms-making workplace.
Then they pretend to be gripped by some sort of political reflex,
But all they're doing is paying dues to the Military Industrial Complex.

The Military and the Monetary,
get together whenever they think its necessary,

They turn our brothers and sisters into mercenaries, 

they are turning the planet into a cemetery.
The Military and the Monetary, 

use the media as intermediaries,
they are determined to keep the citizens secondary, 

they make so many decisions that are arbitrary.

The only thing wrong with Peace,
is that you can't make no money from it.

The Military and the Monetary,
they get together whenever they think its necessary,
they've turned our brothers and sisters into mercenaries,
they are turning the planet, into a cemetery.

Got to work for Peace,
Peace ain't coming this way.

We should not allow ourselves to be mislead,
by talk of entering a time of Peace,
Peace is not the absence of war,
it is the absence of the rules of war and the threats of war and the preparation for war.

So this is a song about tomorrow and about how tomorrow can be better. 

If we all,
"Each one reach one, Each one try to teach one".

Nobody can do everything,
but everybody can do something,
everyone must play a part,
everyone got to go to work, Work for Peace.

Spirit Say Work, Work for Peace

Wonder Full

Stunning water sculptures by Malgorzata Chodakowska. You can see the entire collection HERE.

If Books had Soundtracks

If books had soundtracks, this would make up mine for Wisdoms of the Light.

 

I wrote my book to these songs, often repeated over and over for certain chapters or scenes. I don't want to add spoilers, but I think those who've read the book will guess enough if I add a few hints. ;) 

First and foremost... this is Evelah's song. I found the theme for her existence the first time I watched this.

https://youtu.be/V9Wvwl9NQ5g

Large chunks of the story were written to this...

https://youtu.be/tBgboVI42qA 

And this...

https://youtu.be/mAh--lH0H3U

 The South...

https://youtu.be/C3lWwBslWqg

Return to Amyth...

https://youtu.be/Dlr90NLDp-0 

The dark city...

https://youtu.be/vVrsaZGBvk4

Evelah's music...

https://youtu.be/03_ZzsHH2mA

 Love in the city...

https://youtu.be/8fgWs5mFmoM

 Broken hearts...

https://youtu.be/Dddrq61sq4U

... and misunderstandings...

https://youtu.be/myc_RViTHhY

 Fighting the darkness...

https://youtu.be/YDDkCiUhHCc

Idrith finds his power...

https://youtu.be/0Zv8uZ5FEsA 

Revelations, energy waves and endings/beginnings...

https://youtu.be/BaF0W6n0PZE

https://youtu.be/Ah3vTq2ZxYk 

https://youtu.be/y3nCkymyVHI

Hope

A friend sent me a video today. It's been a long time since I watched something that made me cry and yet gave me hope (for our planet) at the same time.Some people make you proud to be human. These are some of them...

What a Year!

I was just looking back through my calendar and thinking what a strange year this has been.

I published a second book (WISDOMS OF THE LIGHT) in December-January and I joined the Visionary Fiction Alliance.

In February I gave an author interview for a book blogger and she kindly made my book covers into bookmarks. :-)

From March I was pretty quiet on my blog, because mid-year was taken up with other people's books. I did a few reviews, I helped a friend by proofing her book for publishing and I helped someone else ghost-write another book. And in between we had another friend come stay with us for a week's holiday! 

In April one of my poems went to LA with a photography exhibition by Katherine Cooper...

In May another lovely lady (Oribel) made one of my poems into an inspirational video...

...and for a brief while the e-book of FIRST LIGHT was number one on amazon.com! 

In June I published a little book of my poetry and blog stories for friends and family. Including all the poems that had a very busy 2015. ;-) In July we dashed about Scotland with our friend, so there are no July blog posts, but loads of August posts of the photos we took that wonderful summer. 

 

September was a whirlwind of emotions and happenings as I took part in the "60 ways to Peace" and Scotland steamed towards the independance referendum. I can sum up both of those events with a poster from the referendum.

September ended with me more active in politics than I have ever been in my life and I'm not the only one. The Scottish referendum set the country on fire and the blaze is still burning. It has led me to new friendships and helped inspire my Blogblast for Peace entry this November 4th.

I made another of my peace poems into a graphic for Facebook and blogs.And in October I lived up to that poem by joining several groups and organisations involved in positive change. :-)

In November I finally finished a video for my second book, WISDOMS OF THE LIGHT. 

Here's a slide from that video...

This year has had some lows as well, including the sudden death of a friend and fellow-blogger's husband. 

For Jurgis...

 

 

And for all those loved ones (friends or family) that we remember at this time of year...

Winter Wonder by The Florin Street Band

Merry Christmas!

glitter-graphics.com

My Favourite Time of Year by The Florin Street Band

A new Christmas song to start this December. I really like this one! :)

The Book Promo Video is up!

Almost a year after publication, I finally got the promo video for "Wisdoms of the Light" up on Youtube today. I'm putting it up here on my blog, with some of the artwork slides I made.

Hope you enjoy watching it.

Just in time for Christmas? ;-)

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Dona Nobis Pacem 2014 ~ Sowing the Seeds

  We're sowing the seeds of love

Did you know that the seeds of the gigantic redwood trees are tiny? Each seed is barely bigger than a match head. You could fit a potential forest into a tablespoon.

 

There's something miraculous about that fact; that something so minuscule has the potential to grow into one of the world's tallest trees. A good reminder to never underestimate the small or seemingly fragile.

Sometimes words can feel as small and insignificant as tiny seeds.

That is especially true this Blogblast for Peace, as we come to the final months of a year littered with humanity's failings; tragedies, disclosures, scandals and lies.

 Without love and a promised land

We're fools to the rules of a government plan

I've seen, or been sent, global examples of TV media blackouts on vital issues. Things such as major protests and marches; from Ireland's tens of thousands against water charges and New York's 400,000 marching for global warming to the most recent appalling treatment of peaceful protesters at London's Occupy Democracy. 

 

 As the headline says you're free to choose

One of these days they're gonna call in the ruse
 

There's been disclosures of voting and election fraud in several countries.

Could you be, could you be squeaky clean

And smash any hope of democracy?
 

Pushed through laws and budget cuts that target the most defenceless: the disabled, elderly and poor...  

 Now what does that remind me of?

 

Feel the pain, talk about it,  
 If you're a worried man then shout about it  
 

 Pollution, big business greed and deception, political avarice and the constant push for wars.

 Open hearts, feel about it, 
Open minds, think about it  
 

Everyone read about it, 
 Everyone scream about it

It has been an exceptionally depressing year. One that has left many feeling bitter, despairing or angry as hopes for a better future vanished.

I spy tears in their eyes

They look to the skies 

for some kind of divine intervention

How does hope rise above all that despair? How does peace stand firm when filled with bitterness or anger? The only way is through love, because love has no time to bother with being disappointed, hurt or angry.

When you're sowing the seeds of love

anything is possible  
 

Just like a giant redwood tree, love soars above such trivialities. 

Love understands that we all fall short along the way. None of us is perfect. Love remembers this and is willing to hold out a hand of comfort and sympathy. Love isn't a fool, but it understands the need for reconciliation, determination and persistence.

Love offers seemingly small gifts: patience, protection, empathy, fairplay; little words of encouragement and understanding. Such things may seem pointless and small, but small words in the hands of love are very powerful seeds.

Everyone read about it, read about it

We're sowing the seeds of love. 

We are facing hard times on this planet. There's no use sugar-coating the facts. Things are bad. And tough times need tough love; real Love.

 And I believe in love power 
(open your eyes)
 

 The kind of Love that stands with dignity and calm in the storms, like a redwood tree.

We're sowing the seeds of love
 

Love offers protection to the helpless, compassion to the weak and a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. Love persists and quietly insists on being taken seriously. Love keeps standing up, taking part and speaking out.

Sowing the seeds... 

So we hold onto love and we keep talking about peace...

of love power

We keep writing about peace...

We're sowing the seeds of love
 

And most important of all, regardless of religion, nationality or political affiliation... we hold onto that tough love and we rise above the masses like a forest of redwood trees.

High time we made a stand

And shook up the views of the common man

 We have to be leaders rather than followers. Way showers. Light keepers in the dark. 


As Gandhi put it: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." 

Well...   I've been through the ignored and laughed at. That means I've only got one more stage to get through. I think I can manage that. ;-)

And I believe in love power  (open your eyes)

We're sowing the seeds of love

 

 

 
 Sowing the seeds,
An end to need, 
And the politics of greed 

with Love

Partridges Passing Through

Today, we had some unusual guests in our back yard - Grey Partridges! I took some photos through the kitchen window...

 You can click on the pictures for a bigger view.

They are quite small and very round. Almost... pear shaped? ;-)

 They noticed me here, so I had to stop taking photos.

I found a short video on the RSPB website, so you can see them in action. Very charming little birds.