Our entire enculturation over the last several generations has been

to train us to satisfy the needs of a gigantic, all-encompassing,

capitalist-corporate-commercial machine.  From birth, our children

are trained to be "consumers" rather than citizens and the whole

of our education is based on the service of this corporate model.

We’ve all stood by and watched as capitalism has gunned down

democracy.

For years we’ve been encouraged to measure our success or

failure as people, according to our “net worth”, figures on a piece

of paper, or by the size, number and value of our “toys”—until now

we have reached a place where we are faced with a transformation

of the planet itself.  The planet and its chemistry is being altered 

in such a way that current life forms are no longer viable.

What blockages in our own thought systems or worldviews lead 

us not to pay attention to the state of our own habitat?

Nothing would seem more important and yet our consciousness

became so distracted by materialism and other ways of social

development that we deemed  these to be more important.

Let us be clear, we are not just passing into another historical

period, we’re changing the very chemistry of the planet, changing 

the bio-systems, changing the geo-systems of the planet—we are

terminating the last sixty-five million years of life development.

We are at a time of new beginnings and one of the difficulties as

we begin this process may be in convincing ourselves, after all

these lifetimes, that what we thought was important, really

isn’t.  Many of our friends and even family may disagree

with our new path, but how futile has been all our haste and

anxiety to date?

It can be frightening and unnerving to watch all we know 

breaking down around us, but the beginning of any solution

starts with a recognition of the problem, and today, in huge

numbers, people are truly seeing that no matter how hard we

tried, or how much of our personal lives and our health we

sacrificed to the machine, we have never been able to buy or

build our way to happiness.

The natural resources of any country are the sovereign property 

of all of its people, but 

--last year 700,000 children went hungry in the United States 

--the Department of Agriculture's report on Food Security shows

that 36.2 million American adults and children, struggled with

hunger in 2007 

--for thirty years wages in the US have been stagnant (wages

have, in real terms, fallen since 1973) 

--the bottom 90% of Americans hold only 4% of the countries

wealth     

--as state unemployment funds are becoming insolvent, the top

executives of the companies that have benefitted from this 

"bailout" (that might be called the Bush administrations last

pillage of the American people) are still receiving their lavish 

compensation packages. 

It does not take a genius to see that there is clearly something

wrong with this picture.  "Keeping up with the Joneses", that dirty

little driver no one ever wanted to admit to, has lost its glow, and

yet we are still being encouraged, on many levels, by many 

sources, to "buy into the American dream" of having more. 

Keep buying, keep buying we are told.  Most of us already have

far more than we need, and in fact, looking more deeply from

a larger perspective, more than we deserve. 

Not only to America's resources belong to all of us, Africa's    

 resources belong equally to its people.

The resources of the Middle East belong equally to its people,

and on and on......

We are stepping onto the path of healing and there is much

healing (to “make whole”) that must happen.

In this transition we are not giving up something of value to gain  

something that is less. We are in fact, giving up a way of life that

has not brought us happiness (lots of high blood pressure and

ill-health though), for a life that can bring happiness for all.

The decisions we make and the steps we take now will determine

our legacy.  Will future generations regard this as a barbaric time

where people were criminally negligent; when entire species were

being wiped out?–along with our oceans and air?

How will we examine ourselves?

What criteria will be used to judge us?

Will we look back at the human journey through all of the suffering

and see that it was a learning experience to bring us to Wholeness?

Are we beginning to see that what we buy makes us complicit in

the crimes committed against the environment, as well as morally,

in the production of these things?

The movie “Blood Diamonds” brought us awareness of the

violence committed to supply those stones.

Are you aware of the rise in child slave labor?  Many of these

children are being used to break up the rock we use in building

and decorating the new homes many of us have built, or dream 

of building, or those stones with which we adorn our bodies.

The media is more interested in selling our eyeballs to the

highest bidding advertiser than in bringing us the truth. Beware

this very media that beats the drums to war.  Its major

advertisers are many of the biggest players in the

military-industrial complex.  There are alternatives.  We have

access to independent media both online and on TV that

gives us less biased information and allows us to make

better choices.  We are responsible for educating ourselves.

Clearly it is important to have a home and to have a car

(but not a Hummer:>), but you must know that if every human

being on the planet had these things, the entire planet would go

down. It is time for us to realize as well, that it is our very

lifestyles, here in the West that are the root cause of much of 

the violence in the world today.

Who are we that we deserve to destroy the only home that

belongs to all of us? Who are we that we feel deserving to use

some 40% of the entire worlds resources for a minimal

percentage of global population?

We must, as part of our own healing, begin to revise our notions

of what amounts of energy can be expended for every person on

the planet.

And lest you think it can’t be done, let me remind you that we,

in the US, use approximately twice the amount of energy per

capita as one living in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe.

Knowledge is indeed power, and we are all responsible for

educating ourselves and for making decisions that will

enable all people to have respect and to live a sustainable

life.  With awareness comes responsibility.

Healing ourselves and consequently each other and the world of

which we are one part, begins here, within each of us. We are

each and every one a part of the process that we call Life.

If we are to survive, we need to re-imagine, to reinvent the

human.  Together we are all learning new ways to live in the

system, with a new economic model as we come to

understand that our present market system is at the heart of

the destruction.

Perhaps you feel as I did, isolated. I used to feel alone in my

thoughts and values. I used to be afraid that my own personal

“knowing” about our cultural norms and values might be wrong.

Perhaps my ideals about sharing and caring, the place of money

within society and our basic value as human beings, was just

some mythical, mystical hooey. But now, I am thrilled! 

Science, yes that mighty god of the analytical mind (much

like my own), has proven that what we've known in our

hearts to be true and that which the sages have taught, 

has been true all along.

We are composed of the same essential ingredients and

materials as the stars. We are made of stardust.

There is no future for human children if there's no future for the

children of all other life-forms.

It may have taken a crisis, but the facade we've lived in is quickly

falling away.  

We have changed the government and now we must change

the people.  The people have all the power. 

We discuss Obama’s transition team without realizing that 

we are it.

We hired him, it’s our job to direct him. 

We just need to be reminded that we have the power and to 

help each other pick it up.

Despair is dissipated by actions taken by citizens. When we’re in

control we’re not victims.

We can do these things if we commit to it together.  We have at

our disposal all the tools and knowledge that we need.  Be 

careful of smooth transitions.  If you want change you're going 

to hit rocky roads and bumps along the way.  

We can use this crisis to expand democracy.

I often like to say that Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Disaster Capitalism has had the reins for far too long (not just

the past eight years)!

There are simple answers to these questions! One easy step

we can begin today is to lessen our attachments to our

desires and material goods, to understand that in our current

culture our dollars speak more loudly than words to the

powers-that-be.

Instead of hating the people you think are war-mongers, hate the

appetites and disorder in your own soul which are the causes of

war.

If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed, 

but hate these things in yourself, not in another.

Begin to make change in the only place we can–within

ourselves, and then allow those renewed values and ideals to

radiate outward with a different set of behaviors into the

world.

Every dollar we spend is a vote for that product and how it

has been manufactured.  If you are against child labour and

sweat shops, quit supporting the outlets that supply those

products.  If you want better food, support local farmers.  If

you want less dependence on foreign oil, and less CO2

emissions, drive less and buy locally.

It's time to step up to the plate, to be the changes we want

to see.  We must get everyone in this country to come to

recognize the place we are in and to work together to make

the changes we need to make NOW.

Circumstances have aligned in this moment of grace to give

us this window of opportunity.......

 

I've heard that there is a group gathering to "smudge" the

White House before the Obama's move in.  If you're in the

Washington area, please do me a favour and join in:>)

Sandi

Below is a link for a free destress kit that Doc Childre, founder of

Heartmath has given to all of us to help in these challenging

times.  Please take advantage of his offer!!

www.heartmath.com/destresskit

 

 

This subject is not to be taken lightly. 

Let us not fool ourselves into thinking that at the end of this

"financial crisis" life will return to any past image of "normalcy".

It will never be the same.  Global change is not going to reverse.

Fossil fuels, which have been the engine driving our luxurious,

extravagant lifestyles are not going to define our future--not if we

are to survive.  Even if we do discover small pockets of ancient

sunlight remaining underground, we have discovered that it is

poison.  It poisons the earth, the air, the water, and our bodies.

Not being the same doesn't spell disaster.  It can as easily

produce a future far grander than we can now imagine.

We have been enculturated into believing that more is better,

bigger is better, that to climb the ladder of success means to

accumulate "stuff" and accolades, and figures on pieces of paper.

Just because society has taught us something does not

necessarily make it so.

Stop a while.  Get quiet.  Go into your heart and listen there.

What is it that we all want?  No, not that nice house or new

dress, or more money.  What do we truly want?  We all want

happiness.  Our error has come in allowing others to determine

for us what happiness looks like.  We all know how quickly the

luster wears off new things.  There is always the "next new

thing"--and its' shine wears off just as quickly.  Stop and look

at one of the "toys" you bought a while ago.  How does that

"feel"?  Inside.

Now recall the smile that lights a childs face when you arrive

home after being gone.  Recall how your dog wags his entire

body in greeting.  Recall that glorious sunshine after days of

rain (we've just had a few:>).  Feel your heart now.  It's

different, isn't it?  Happiness is an inside job.  It comes from

feelings of love and true appreciation and wonder for what is.

I believe there will be a time, in our not-too-distant future, when

goods and products which are produced at large distances will no

longer be available to us.  We will no longer be able to run to

Walmart to replace any small item, regardless how necessary it

may seem to us; when our food will necessarily be what we can

grow and raise locally. 

Do not believe the media.  They have gotten us here.  Their only

job is to sell us to the highest bidder (advertiser).Let us become

independent and think for ourselves.  Let reality and our feelings 

determine what we see and do. 

This future can be filled with wonderful times as we renew our

relationships with both the land and our fellow creatures (we may

eat less meat:>)--and  perhaps even get to know our neighbors.

Any of us who have made any attempt to transform ourselves or

our lives, knows that it is long-term, challenging and ultimately 

truly satisfying.  It is the journey where the fun takes place, and

not an end goal, that is in our sights daily.

I broke my neck in an auto accident ten years ago.  I had been

divorced for one week to the day.  I had no adequate medical

insurance.  But it wasn't the accident or the injuries that brought

my life to an about face.  It was two years later, when I lost the

job I had been doing for the previous fourteen years.  I'd lost my

partner, my health, and my livlihood--my reason for being.......my

Mother used to say that things came in threes!  It was then that

I stopped and questioned myself and my life.  And I learned that....

I have thoughts.  I am not my thoughts.

I have feelings.  I am not my feelings.

I do things.  I am not what I do.

I am the Consciousness in which my thoughts, feelings and

actions show up.

This is lesson number one on our Journey.  It takes constant

remembrance, especially in the beginning.  It gets easier over

time.

Therefore, let us pause here and practice Lesson #1.  It is one of

the most important lessons we will ever learn, and much depends

on it.  It may seem esoteric, yet its' practical implications, as

you shall see, are endless.

"When you are aware that you are the force that is Life,

anything is possible.  Miracles happen all the time, because

those miracles are performed by the heart.  The heart is

in direct communion with the human soul, and when the

heart speaks, even with the resistance of the head,

something inside you changes;  your heart opens another

heart, and true love is possible." 

(Don Miguel Ruiz)

  

***Heartmath takes us to the core of our Being.***

http://www.macarthurparknaturalmedicine.com 

 

One World, One Consciousness--that is Love.

This morning within my morning news was imbedded the following

open letter to Obama by author/activist Alice Walker.  I am so

inspired by the courage and forthrightness that I felt called to

reproduce it here and to expand on the optimism of this moment.

Let me first remind you that "democracy is not a spectator

sport".  While new toys, including our adult toys of cars,

fancy duds et al, lose their luster, their fascination and

satisfaction quickly, new friends and new ways of seeing and

interacting with our world continue to bring love and satisfaction 

into our lives, growing exponentially as time passes.  These are

the true gifts we give to ourselves and to the Whole.  These gifts 

expand the heart.

From Alice Walker:

"Dear Brother President-Elect Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us.

Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You   

think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have

studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many

others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade,

century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the

flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can 

bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for

you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay

runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really

only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that

you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the  

Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday,

was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based

solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the

weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the

disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not

responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary

responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate

happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits

sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and

lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is

large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon  

become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice

their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon

have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This

is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way

of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no  

excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can

model real success, which is all that so many people in the world

really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and

gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely

manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that

success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost

everyone I would further advise you not to take on other people's

enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear,

humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in

those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We   

must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused

adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all

that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn

to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely.

However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I

often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be

no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more

dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has

already happened to people of color, poor people, women,

children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is

presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul

as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet.

Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to

remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul

dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to

mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile,

with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust

characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of

healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free

and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our

way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.


In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker"

Today as we honour and mourn our Veterans, and those still in

service, let us look forward with hope and optimism.  Let us

commit to making this country the country worthy of their lives

and their service.  They have done the larger part, let us each

do ours.

The future is as bright as we commit to making it by focusing on

our interdependence and by learning to live in alliance with our

deepest values, those that are formulated in the heart, the very

core of our Being.

We're sick of it, we're sick of the starving children, the abused

women, the wars.  If Obama starts to go in the wrong direction

it's up to us to turn the boat around.

The world is in such terrible shape that we must all participate

to change it.

Peace Day 2008!!

Well, how are we doing folks??  Peace Day '08--are we all feeling

more peaceful than in '07?

Peace begins at home.  It begins within and radiates outward.  If

there is not peace in your heart--and mind--then you cannot

purport to give, or teach, or share, what you do not have. 

We can only try to understand others by questioning our own

attitudes and feelings!  Understanding is something you reach

for; understanding is a process, it's a great search that we never

fulfill.

Peace, to me is like "being".  It is something one does every day.

I don't think I'm the only one that did not just suddenly wake up

one day infused with nothing but peace and love.  It was, and is

a journey for me.  I am more peaceful and loving than I was ten

years ago--but I'm not there yet.   I'm not even sure that there is

a destination--during this lifetime:>)  So I work on it every day

and every once in a while I actually notice that I am different

than I was previously.  It does take more to "get to me" and I

can sit back and remain calm in circumstances that might at

another time caused me to "lose it" entirely.

I had meditated for a number of years before I really moved from

meditating "in my head", with or without my thoughts, to truly

resting in my heart--where true peace is born and resides.

Learning and studying Heartmath helped me through that

transition.

Now, knowing that we cannot remain "in peace" while living

behind the walls we build to protect our "I's", and knowing that

we are in a dire situation where we must begin to replace those

"me" thoughts with "we" thoughts, I'm going to return to my

rather lengthy--as it's turning out--story about Our Planet.

We have an imperative before us--we're either facing a new

period of enlightenment and it's a new Renaissance, or

we're facing a new Dark Age.  And the choice is up to us and

we've got to hurry--and that means we have to be informed. 

There is a tremendous lot for us to educate ourselves about

however and that takes time and most often words.......

Join me at:

http://www.macarthurparknaturalmedicine.com

for some Heartmath.   Moving from your head to your heart is

without any doubt the very best gift you can give to yourself or

to the world...........and this is

Peace Day 2008!

The Swiss consume the equivalent of 5 global hectares to

maintain their lifestyle.  In the US we use 9.5!!   Do the Swiss

live lives only half as good or nice as ous?  Don't think so, they

just live differently.  It doesn't mean the end of progress or the

end of civilization it just means making some simple, easy to

incorporate lifestyle changes.

Realism in the US needs to change from "how little we can do"

to "what we need to do"........and for all of us to do all the

little things!

--use less plastics

--drive when it's necessary, not "for fun"

--eat less meat, and only good quality, well-raised meats

--buy locally grown and manufactured goods

--keep an eye on your thermostat

--&--change those silly light bulbs!!

I spoke about our furry and scaly friends, now I'll speak about

our food.

Our collective actions have massive impacts.  We have become

completely dependent on high-tech farming, which produces food

of much lower quality.  Our use of artificial fertilizers force feeds

crops to produce rapid growth while the "food" is drowning in

pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

"By the end of the century we are promised a dazzling new world.

A world in which man will be in control of his environment."  (Dow

Chemical ad/promo)

Man has been involved in agriculture for some 11,000 years.  More

than half of that had been done by hand--horses, mules etc.   In

the 1950's we went through the "great acceleration" with

increased nitrogen fertilizer, increased fossil fuel burning, intense

land use changes and globilization of the economy and agriculture.

Earth's biosphere is becoming more homogenous making it more

similar and destroying bio-diversity.

We lose relisiance in systems when we make them simpler.

Transorming the surface of the earth to nono-cultures (Freudian

slip?? "no-no cultures?  Of course meant to be "mono-cultures) 

creates extreme vulnerability........and...........

.....half the world's people (about 3 billion) live on less than

$2.00 per day and depend on biodiversity for their survival.

They depend on the services that Nature provides--that we

are destroying.

It is ensuring that these, the poorest, most vulnerable people on

the planet have the right kind of options so that they can have

access to the things that make life better for them--the things

that protect their natural environment.  That's at issue here.

For those who think the world is getting better, go live in a small

remote village in the Amazon, Zambia or Madagascar--then report

back to me.

Third-world poverty is a luxury we can no longer afford.

As the economy expands, we get more houses, cars, boats, and

it costs in terms of tearing up the ecosystem.  We get less

services from forests as we cut down their trees.

This shows us the difference between sustainable and

unsustainable growth.  Take for example, the Aral Sea, or Lake

Chad, the Dead Sea or Jordan River in Israel where the form of

economic development focused on cotton production which

totally destroyed the environment and ultimately also, the cotton

production, and the area is now left with a total desert, a poison

desert filled with pesticides, DDT and so on.  The tragedy that's

occuring at the Dead Sea is that the Dead Sea is disappearing.  In

the last 50 years we've lost one-third of the Dead Sea, we've

diverted the water primarily for agriculture in the belief that we

could turn what is a desert into a "bread basket".

Since 1991 not a drop of water has flowed out of the Sea of

Galilea.  Instead of water flowing into the lower Jordan, what

now flows into the Jordan is sewage.  What used to flow into the

Dead Sea no longer flows.  There has been a drop of 25 meters

in depth to where the Dead Sea is today.

When we lose that habitat, we lose the wildlife, unique

ecosystems and oasis that Nature has given us.  They are being

lost.  You don't need to be Jesus anymore to cross the waters.

The waters have gone!

Two-thirds of all major rivers no longer reach their mouth.

We don't know the number and the interplay between species, or

what really contributes to the Earth's systems.  We don't know

which species or groups of species are the really important ones,

or how many species we can lose before we have really big change

in the functioning of the planet.

So, until we truly understad how ecosystems play together to

make the whole system function, it would be exceedingly

dangerous to identify organisms and to say "gee, that's not

really important".

We don't know which species we can safely lose with regard to

the functioning of the planet, and which ones really matter.  This

is the biggest decision humans have made since we've crawled

out of our caves and begun to alter the face of the Earth in a very

adverse fashion that will persist for millions of years. 

Do we really know what we're doing?  NO!!  But, we're moving

ahead as though we totally know--and we don't.

It is not rocket science.   It has been said that, "the best of

sustainable design is merely the cessation of stupidity"....just

not wasting something when you can avoid it.

Unfortunately, here in the US we've had two decades of stalled

tactics and devisive debate.  In Europe the debate is really just

two sides:  everyone who agrees there's a crisis they really

need to act on--and the people everyone agrees is wrong.

Reflect back to what I said in the beginning about the Swiss vs.

American lifestyles.  The best innovative work is being done in

Northern Europe.  There are a number of places, especially in the

Netherlands and Scandanavia where they're committing all

initiatives for renewable energy, where they're re-inventing their

transportation systems, re-designing their cities, doing truly

remarkable work. 

They are committing themselves to dramatic reductions in their

environmental impact.  Sweden's official goal is to become a

carbon neutral nation--while we're still stuck in denial!

And to leave you on a beautiful thought for Peace Day, 2008, let

me tell you about the "landmine detecting flowers"---in the

presence of some of the nitrogens that come out of landmines as

they decay, their blooms turn from white to red so you know

there's a landmine.  When there are hundreds of millions of

landmines scattered all over the world that we don't know where

they are, blowing people up, killing them....let's have bunches of

bright red, beautiful blossoms instead! 

--how cool is that?  Defeat a really bad, old technology,

landmines, with a really cool, beautiful, natural technology--

flowers!

On Peace Day, 2008 let me leave you with my own challenge.

How should I spend my time on this earth?

Each and every one of you can make a difference.  Do the little

things.

There are 195 countries in this world but there is only ONE

World.

This luxury phase for humanity is now over.

http://www.macarthurparknaturalmedicine.com

--where we maintain our well-being and put that money from

medical costs to better use.

--where we find ways to promote happiness and peace from the

place where it begins, in the heart of every one of us, and let

that love and good health radiate out from us to the world.

Sandi--wishing you a lovely, joyous and peaceful Peace Day '08

How did we forget so much truth as we grew up?

This is a gift from one of my clients.......it's very relevant on today's

anniversary of 9/11.

I hope you feel it and enjoy it as much as I.

Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.

Touching words from the mouths of babes.

What does 'Love' mean?

 A group of professional people posed this question to a

group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does 'love' mean?'

The answers they got were broader and deeper than

anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

----------------------------------------------------------------

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend

over and paint her toenails anymore.

So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even

when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8

---------------------------------------------------------------

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name

is different.

You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

--------------------------------------------------------------

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on

shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5

--------------------------------------------------------------

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most

of your French fries without making them give you any

of theirs.'

Chrissie - age 6

--------------------------------------------------------------

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4

--------------------------------------------------------------

'Love is when my mummy makes coffee for my daddy

and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make

sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7

---------------------------------------------------------------

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get

tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you

talk more.

My Mummy and Daddy are like that. They look gross

when they kiss'

Emily - age 8

---------------------------------------------------------

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if

you stop opening presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

---------------------------------------------------------------

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start

with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

---------------------------------------------------------- 

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he

wears it everyday.'

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who

are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was

scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw

my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8

--------------------------------------------------------------

'My mummy loves me more than anybody

You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6

---------------------------------------------------------------

'Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of

chicken.'

Elaine-age 5

--------------------------------------------------------- 

'Love is when Mummy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and

still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Mary Ann - age 4

------------------------------------------------------------------

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me

all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4

---------------------------------------------------------------

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and

down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7

--------------------------------------------------------------

'Love is when Mummy sees Daddy on the toilet and she

doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - age 6

--------------------------------------------------------------

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it.

But if you mean it, you should say it a lot.. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8

---------------------------------------------------------------

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia

once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring

child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door

neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently

lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the

old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just

sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the

neighbour, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

--------------------------------------------------------------

When there is nothing left,    that is when  you find out

that  love is all you need.

I absolutely love that last one.  I think that often we

would do well to just sit and listen--and "help people

cry" instead of speaking when there's really nothing

to say!

It's about living from the heart folks.  Once again, I

invite you to visit me at:

http://www.macarthurparknaturalmedicine.com

so I can help you learn the most scientifically

researched, validated and documented tools for

reducing stress and allowing us to live with greater

ease in a world that makes it tough!

Love to all,

Sandi

Living from the Heart........

I know I've been hard on everyone recently--at least those of us

living in the in the Western world.  But please understand that I

don't exclude myself from this blasting and that my rants are a

product of my despair.  I feel passionately that when some of us

suffer, we all suffer--whether we realize this or not. 

It is said that the measure of any society is how it treats its'

weakest elements.  How are we doing?

Every day I receive e-mails from people wanting to teach me the

Law of Attraction so I can attract more "abundance" and 

"prosperity" into my life.

It seems that ever since the movie "the Secret" was so widely

received, thousands of Law of Attraction teachers have sprung

up. 

So fine, it's a wonderful thing that some are being introduced--

hundreds, thousands apparently--to the concept that there is an

undeniable, and now scientifically proven, mind/body connection

and that we have tremendous control over our own well-being.

I am offended by all of the emphasis given to "using ancient

wisdom to acquire material goods" as per "the Secret".  This is

kindergarden stuff and how long do we all wish to spend in

kindergarden?  Better yet, how long can we--and survive?

There is no "secret" in "the Secret".  The idea of changing your

mind to change your world is found in numerous scriptures.  The

difference is that these ancient teachings then go on to teach

yogas and all number of mental, physical and emotional trainings

to pattern the brain/body/mind system.  And their emphasis on

these teachings and learning to have this mind/body/Spirit

connection is that we might better serve--not to get a shiny,

new SUV and a bigger house.   Not to help us use more than 

the overtly obnoxious amount of the worlds natural resources

than we already use. 

Less than 5% of the worlds population (US residents) use more

than 40% of the earth's natural resources.   These teachings

reduce us to the status of greedy children who have not yet

learned to share!  I don't believe you are that.

The notion in many of these "new" teachings that if you really

want something, just think of it with deep and loving thoughts

and positive feelings and it will manifest.  Personally I don't

believe in magic and I don't believe this was ever the intent of

these incredibly powerful teachings. 

It's suggested not to sweat the big stuff, the Universe is yours

to have, the Law is anxious, willing and just waiting to work for

you.  The Universe is your Servant and it gives you whatever you

want because you are "the most powerful transmission tower in

the world".

It's not food making you fat, it's your thoughts that food is

responsible that is making you fat.  Or as George Bush would say,

carbon emissions will warm the earth only if we worry that they

will.

Pl-ease!!

We are all struggling today.  I am struggling.  We are all

concerned for the future and that of our children but in the past

five decades as our material wealth has continued to increase,

our happiness quotient has continued to fall.   Have we learned

nothing?

What is being handed us fixates on a very limited view of our

lives, houses, cars, vacations--then with a little left over to

devote to our health, relationships and snippets only of being of

service.  In truth we have found that's all upside down and

backwards--real happiness doesn't come from "stuff" it comes

from community, from service.

It's not "all about me" and it's not "all up to me".   We are

inter-dependent beings.  We are immersed in the frequencies

and waves of the world around us.  If a butterfly flaps its' wings

in America it creates a wave in Japan.

We cannot go on treating the Universe as an inexhaustable

treasure trove that we can command and receive.  This is far too

simplistic and my next post will go back to putting the facts of

our living in luxury out in the open for those who aren't fully

aware yet.

Ask, believe, receive--

We are standing at a great transition point.  The time before us

can be one of positive, creative, life-affirming transformation--if

we do the difficult work that Consciousness demands, or it can be

a time of unparalleled disaster such as we have never seen.

Yes, the choice is ours.  The past few decades have presented

tremendous growth in our understandings of the Nature of the

Universe and our places in it.  Our choice is not how to design our

new, bigger house, or how to get that fancy SUV we've had our

eyes on, it's about how to encourage this new humanity that is

emerging.

We are, or can be, Co-Creators in a fantastic new future that will

emphasize our inter-connectedness and care for others--or we

can continue to destroy the one world we know with our greed.

It is indeed a low self-esteem that measures success by material

gain.  When we focus on material abundance in this country we

have an effect on every other living being.

We've made things our Master and our sense of worth is far too

tied to having things. 

"God wants you to be a millionaire..."   Truly??  Are we reducing

the human being to becoming a walking magnet?

As we acquire more we destroy the ecology of the entire world. 

We have become cancers on the Planet. 

One-tenth of one percent owns the majority of the worlds worth.

We must not only understand that it's not just our little local self

that's attracting into our lives.  We are creatures of immense

complexity.  We cannot assume ourselves as Creators of only

what we wish for.

When we really learn the lessons of the Heart and begin to live

using the intuitive guidance of our Heart's wisdom, then we just

may be worthy of the incredible abundance we seem often to

forget we have.

Heartmath is doing a Global Coherence Project.  Lynne McTaggart

is doing a Peace Day Intention.  There are numerous projects out

there that help us to focus on those things that really matter if we

expend the time and energy searching within for our own personal

journey.

I wish you all great love, great peace, great joy--and great

community......and I wish you a wonderful journey.

Sandi

This week I'm going to do a series of posts about the state

of this Planet we call home.

Watch this great video that the folks at Heartmath made for

Earth Day.  Then see the offer at the end of the post and join

me and tens of thousands of others in using the Heartmath

solution to make a difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1aXaMsuWsI 

These posts are based on a documentary series that was

presented on Link TV.   I am reproducing my notes here because 

we are at tipping point.  We must act now. 

We've wasted decades hearing that the science is inconclusive.  It

is not inconclusive and the most knowledgeable minds on the

subject have been kept silent for far too long.

Part one is titled:

Global Change

Global change is not climate change.

This is the most essential issue of our time.

This is a wake-up call.

People began to think of the earth as a system when we began

flying around it in spaceships and looking back at it.

Edgar Mitchell was so taken with his epiphanies that he began

IONS (the Institute of Noetic Sciences) to study Consciousness

and our inter-relatedness with the Earth when he returned from

his mission to the moon.  The Institute continues to be on the

cutting edge of research in this area.

You can visit IONS at http://www.shiftinaction.com and sign up

for a trial membership.

This is a truly unique time in human history because for almost all

of our history it didn't matter that the earth was a system.  We

lived in small groups that affected only our immediate area.  Now

we live in a completely different situation.

When a group of scientists began to study the world as a whole

and to put their findings from their respective fields together an

entirely new picture of our planet emerged.

When you look at the earth, you get the feeling that it must all

fit together.  The different compartments must work together.

We are living in a very thin skin of the planet and--

--climate change is one of the greatest threats we face today

--global warming is too serious for the world any longer to

ignore its' danger

--global change is not climate change.  There's much more to it

than just climate change:  shrinking forests

                                     expanding desserts

                                     falling water tables

                                     eroding soils

                                     disappearing species

                                     rising temperatures

                                     ice melting

                                     more destructive storms

                                     rising sea levels

This is a long list of physical signs of environmental stress.

There are changes in the chemistry of the oceans, changes to the

chemistry of the atmosphere, population change, changes in

economics, changes in technologies, the fact that most of the

fisheries are now fully exploited, the fact that we're projected to

lose 10-30% of all mammals, birds and amphibians on the

planet this century, and huge changes to the biological fabric of

the planet. 

The signs are very clear that the environment is not very healthy

in many ways.  The signs are now very clear that we are

responsible.  It's due to our activities. 

This is a wake up call.  Every one who wakes up can, and does

make a difference.

When you see a wildlife program on TV you rarely see people.

They present as if there are very huge parts of the planet where

people don't engage and people don't live.

We create the artificial wilderness that was invented on television

by building "animal parks" and this gives a completely misleading

impression of how the world is and of how ecosystems function

and of their relation to human beings--because there are very

few ecosystems anywhere on earth that have not been

profoundly affected by human beings.

It's only on TV folks!

50% of the land surface of the Planet has been transformed

by mankind.

There is a consensus among leading biologists right around the

world that we are in the beginning phase of a mass extinction of

species.  There is no doubt about that.

It's likely that in our lifetimes half of all the organisms, plants

and animals that inhabited the earth when people first came

into force will disappear.

We're destroying tropical forests, and temperate forests too.  We

drain wetlands, we pollute lakes.  All that habitat destruction is

single main cause of extinction.

Until the next asteroid hits the planet, it's people more than any

other force that will dictate the future course of life. 

Over the past 100 years the total weight of wild, land-living

vertebrates has halved.  At the same time humans have

quadrupled.

We humans have become a geological force in our own right 

and we're affecting how the planet operates.

When did we really begin affecting life? Centuries ago when we

began smelting metals?  At the beginning of the Industrial

Revolution?  When we began using fossil fuels?

Now called "the great acceleration", research shows that the

steep incline began in the fifties--in--

population

GDP

water use

fertilizer (and other toxins) 

grain

fisheries

fast food restaurants

telephones

paper

logging

species extinctions

motor vehicles

oil

rising temperatures

natural disasters

emissions of CO2--all begin spiking in the 1950's!

And much of what we have done has been possible only because

we've had this cheap and very powerful energy source--fossil fuels.

Population growth has tripled.  But the economy has grown much

faster than the population.  

This, the economy, is the single most important phenomena

that is changng the global environment. 

Now we (6.3 billion people), are becoming economically more

powerful all the time.  We consume more.  We manufacture more.

We demand more services.

What we do, you and I, now effects people everywhere. 

That makes us responsible for people everywhere.

Each month 2500 tons of e-waste is shipped from the Western

world to Nigeria.

What gives us the right?

Pollution moves across the Planet.  No place is unaffected.

In Greenland, the Inuit have one of the highest concentrations

of toxicity from e-waste in their blood.

While the rest of the world may not be effected for a generation,

those who contaminate