Winter Solstice: Beginning of Winter

"Winter Solstice: At the Crossroads of Light & Darkness.

We stand now at the beginning of winter, when the days are short and the dark closes around us. It's a time for cleansing, for self-reflection and preparation. How do we let go of patterns and choices in our personal lives that have led us down destructive roads? What does it feel like when we choose courage, creativity, compassion?" Starhawk, 2019

As we all are on the brink of existential crisis, are we ready to embrace earth based spirituality and to let go of our self centered consumption?

Record breaking snowfall here in Santa Fe, NM, during Thanksgiving past.

Most mornings we walk along the Santa Fe River. Frenchy's Field has been planted with many crabapple trees. At this time of the year the small crabapples are wizened but stunningly beautiful natural ornaments. I feel these trees are a gift from Mother Earth and a reminder of all she gives us.

As we old people wake up from our sense of entitlement, taking without regard to what is "enough", may we experience the fear and outrage of the teenage movement led by Greta Thunberg and chart a new course. We are facing mass extinction of all living BEings, including us humans, on Mother Earth. Will we individually and collectively embrace once again loving and honoring our home, Planet Earth, now . . . immediately, like on 2019 Winter Solstice?

A reminder of childlike wonder and laughter

As we go deeply into ourselves to reconnect with what really matters, may we experience life altering discharge of held onto emotions in our physical bodies with a good focused belly 

2019 Yule Tree and Deep Connection

Our freshly cut Pinon Pine from the Pecos National Forest
a few days after the record early snow and low
temperatures during Thanksgiving week.
This tree was positioned and secured atop Stella. 
Towards home we drove with our 2019 Yule Tree.

Precious ornaments decorate our Yule Tree

in time for Auntie T's momentous visit.

Years and years ago at a Crusher's game in Sonoma County (Rohnert Park, was the actual location) where I first met Tanis. Their stadium was just a few minutes from my home and tickets were cheap. The team had the best ever mascot!!!! And wonderful, feel good atmosphere for baseball for all who attended to enjoy.. During the first ever Crushers game I experienced, Dwight, my now husband, introduced me to Tanis, a long time Cubs fan. She grew up just a few blocks from Wrigley field and went to games that cost only a quarter. I grew up with a father who coached, brought out the best in his players and scouted for Major League Baseball. Tanis and I clicked right away with our long history with and love of baseball. We frequently went to Crusher's game and began expanding our outings to local plant nurseries, lunching, and soon became fast friends weathering the trials and tribulations of living and growing older. 

Alas, Crusher and his team eventually folded. Not to worry, our love of experiencing baseball moved to Oakland. Tanis bought season tickets and I paid for mine with canned fruit and jams. We were fortunate to qualify for the midweek afternoon games with a senior discount. This season ticket plan is no longer available but Tanis still qualifies: "grandmothered in" so to speak. Sad, sad, sad that I am now in Santa Fe, NM, and no longer able to share this season ticket plan with her.

Celebrating my 67th Birthday at an A's game. 

And so our friendship evolved into a deep connection. When I moved from rural, residential West Sonoma County it was difficult for both of us. Changes in life are inevitable but none the less heart wrenching when two friends are separated by half a country. 

Plans were made to once again share some of the A's home games on Tanis' season ticket plan for 2018 but alas illness prevented it. However, Tanis surprised me, and everyone else who knows her, by recently visiting us here in Santa Fe. Shasta was just so happy to see her dear Auntie T who always brings her toys each time she visits. Of course, this recent visit was no exception.

"I love my Auntie T", says Shasta 
with her favorite holiday toy
she picked out at the Holistic Hound 
in Berkeley, California, oh so many years ago.

What a challenge for a person who cannot eat nightshades to go out to eat here in New Mexico, which is touted as the"chile capital of the world". Tanis was a trooper, however, looking carefully over each menu item for the absence of nightshades at each eatery.

The Museum Hill Cafe had a number of wonderful food choices.
AND Tanis got to BE with a cow that was
exhibited in Chicago a number of years ago.
There were many different cows scattered throughout the city.
This particular cow was bought for $3600 to adorn the entrance to the cafe.

And we visited the Chiaroscuro Gallery so Tanis could see some of Rose B. Simpson's work. She was also able to meet the owner of the gallery and learn of the gallery in San Francisco showing the same artist's work.

Dwight and Tanis have their own history and deep connection, as well. While we lived in California, they along with 2 other female friends would frequently have a full day excursion into San Francisco visiting various galleries and museums. So while Tanis was here they visited a couple of galleries and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, both to Tanis' delight!

We had a day outing to Chimayo, visiting the Santuario de Chimayo where Tanis filled a small wide mouth canning jar with healing dirt to place beneath her bed for health and healing. Then we proceeded for lunch to Rancho de Chimayo, where there are the best ever sopaipillas. 

 

After lunch we stopped in Roxanne Swentzell's Tower Gallery. Luckily Rose and Roxanne were at the gallery so Tanis got to meet both of them. Then we walked around to the entrance of the Poeh Cultural Center at the Pueblo of Pojoaque to see the 100 pieces of ancient pottery returned from the Smithsonian to their native Tewa peoples. 

All in all we experienced over the week lovely togetherness and further deepened our connection. Since Shasta's Auntie T loves to 

,

we all had an enjoyable and frequent 

Thanksgiving 2019

One Seed Juniper covered with berries for the wildlife.
Arroyo Hondo Preserve

Thanksgiving and our anniversary (we met 32 years ago on this day of giving

thanks) is happening "late" this year: on November 28. We honor one another on Thanksgiving each year in spite of the varying date each year. We are thankful that we both took up our individual friend's invitation to join a gathering at the late Helen Ramstad's home.

While pulling up our 30+ year roots in Northern California was by no means easy, we are ever so thankful we are not still living at MuRefuge in West Sonoma, California. Our friends and neighbors still living in the area were not only evacuated during the Kincade Wildfire but were without power since PG& E cut off electricity. Most people living in this area have wells and electricity is necessary for them to function. The nighttime temperatures dipped below freezing and most furnaces are powered also by electricity.  So all in all very primitive living and everyone is considering generators if they already do not have them plus installing solar panels, storing the electricity in batteries which have been much improved in the past twenty years.

Here's what the present steward of MuRefuge had to say about the evacuation: "the collective consciousness of 200,000 people experiencing the same drama is a truly interesting thing to experience - 'the new normal’ they say." Climate change is bringing more raging wildfires not only in California but throughout the West. "The new normal" seems to be a common phrase heard almost daily as erratic weather inundates Mother Earth.

Wide leaf Yucca in front of a local, typical reddish rock covered with beautiful lichen.
The Pinon Pine/Juniper Forest at the Arroyo Hondo Preserve
on the way from Santa Fe to Eldorado, NM, is one
of the most lush we have visited since our initial forays into
and now living in the high mountainous desert.

This year we will have our traditional Thanksgiving/Anniversary dinner of duck (Peking from Lotus Farms who comes to the Santa Fe Farmers Market each Saturday) with dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh cranberry/Satsuma relish, Brussels Sprouts this year and Kabocha custard. Of course, there is always tons of left overs which is great since this year the day after Thanksgiving we are planning an outing to Hopi Pueblo then onto Gallup to visit my very favorite trading post: Richardson's. It is like walking into a museum of mostly Navajo artifacts. The antique jewelry and rugs, among many other items, are stunning. So all the left overs will be our meals on the road and at an Airbnb in Winslow, Arizona: The Haven which is a repurposed old vintage church.

"Eternal Spirit of Justice and Love,

At this time of Thanksgiving we would be aware of our

dependence on the earth and on the sustaining presence of other

human beings both living and gone before us.

As we partake of bread and wine, may we remember that

there are many for whom sufficient bread is a luxury,

or for whom wine, when attainable, is only an escape.

Let our thanksgiving for Life's bounty include

a commitment to changing the world,

that those who are hungry may be filled

and those without hope may be given courage."

Congregation of Abraxas

As we honor Thanksgiving, filling our day giving thanks and feeding those who are hungry, may we also have a good belly

Climate Crisis, Part I

Our planet, Mother Earth, due to humans and how they go about their daily lives, has been deeply violated by her human inhabitants. Here is an Earth based Pueblo woman's view that perhaps would be useful to each of us as we move forward in these perilous times. Roxanne Swentzell shares her Earth based view through one of her sculptures: "This piece is a statement about our relationship with our Mother Earth. Everything comes from the earth. When we forget this pride creeps in. Our Mother holds and nourishes us. She deserves our respect."

I am extremely interested in how you are responding to the climate crisis. . . changing your daily life, your habits, attitudes, behaviors and way of thinking and acting. And in addition, are you individually involved in supporting policy change of Big Money at the highest level?

In Part I individual alterations will be front and center; while Part II will focus on the bigger picture of policy change.

 

One rocky water catchment below the rear canale of our house
surrounded by native perennials, grasses and shrubs 
here at 6790' MuRefuge.

Here is one example of how one couple, owners of Nut 'n Other, in Dixon, California are living more sustainably: 

"Sustainability Message

We firmly believe that our practices as humans on this earth must be sustainable. As farmers, this means we strive to use our land in a manner that does not deplete its health or its resources. We use processes that are as natural as possible, and do things at rates that are not destructive or depletive.

Put simply, we try to live off of the land where ever possible. Here are some examples:

1) We compost everything that can be composted and use that in lieu of fertilizers or other purchased supplements. Because we have a pond, we get a lot of compost from the algae. Composting is the ultimate in recycling.

2) We use the sun in every way we can. Besides growing vegetables and nuts, which use the sun, we also grow algae, fruits and grains. We also have solar water heating and solar electricity (photovoltaic). We also use the sun for heating and drying.

3) Our chickens and turkeys free range on our farm and eat bugs, as well as grains and vegetables we grow. We minimize feeds that we buy from outside sources.

4) We practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with a focus on natural processes. It's interesting to watch nearby growers spraying their trees regularly. We don't spray them at all and produce plenty of nuts that everyone loves. True, we are more likely to have a worm in one of our nuts, but we have never heard a complaint about that.

5) We hand harvest our walnuts and also ensure that none of our nuts are heated, abused, or otherwise disturbed from their fresh-from-the-tree taste and character. WE DO NOT PASTEURIZE OUR NUTS. This limits our market, but it’s a value we believe in.

6) We recycle everything that we can. This means both re-using things on the farm, as well as sending things to those that can reuse them.

7) We eat from our farm as much as possible. There are many meals we have where we can say "everything on this table came from our farm."

8) We use energy wisely and carefully. This year we added another 6 kilowatts of solar electricity to our farm. We have also instituted energy audits and then have taken action to reduce our annual consumption of electricity.

9) John commutes on Amtrak for his "day job" and we combine vehicle trips to minimize our annual mileage.

10) We hang our clothes on the clothesline to reduce the use of our dryer."

Mondays are wash days with clothes 
drying on the line at 6790' MuRefuge. 
In the background is the smallest hoop house 
where greens,strawberries and herbs thrive.

What we eat seems to be up for a change/make over if we are concerned about the crisis here on Mother Earth. I found this information provided by Dr. Dobbs, a veterinarian in Southern California who has evaluated Shasta's saliva for food allergies and sensitivities, extremely helpful in looking at not only what we as humans eat but our pets as well.

To change how we eat, consume less resources and if necessary recycle, take a solar powered sail boat across "The Pond" as did Greta Thunberg for the U.N.'s Climate Crisis gathering, avoid using any plastic, take public transportation or bike as your means of transportation, grow one's own food, sequester carbon on your property, etc. is not enough. Especially it is not enough when those who can afford to own more than one home go about life as though it is "business as usual." Many are hopeful humans can alter their own self serving course of life on Mother Earth. Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old from Sweden who has led others her age to stage massive rallies to awaken all of us "old folks" to the climate crisis, is now in deep despair as evidenced by her speech before the United Nations. Watching her crying and raging at the attendees for not acting to dramatically alter the climate crisis brought to mind the immense grief I and others in my life have likewise felt when we came to grips with the fact that life as we know it will cease to exist . . . in my lifetime.

Way back in the early 1970's, I heard Bill Mollison, the founder/father of Permaculture, share his belief that humans will not change. He saw the climate crisis then and found few humans who were willing to change their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Humans feel entitled to fulfill all of their greedy wants and wishes; believing if they do not, then they are sacrificing unduly. 

As each of us face the reality of the climate crisis and deal with our intense emotions, and perhaps make huge adjustments in our way of BEing here on Mother Earth, may we 

Samhain: Cross Quarter Day

Bob Haozous

in exhibit at the Wheelwright Museum, 2018-2019.

This year, 2019, has passed through the seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall with the touches of Winter already felt here in the high mountainous desert. As the nights cool, some downright cold, the next cross quarter day, Samhain, is quickly approaching.

Samhain (aka Halloween) is one of the 4 cross quarter days. These days fall between equinoxes (when the sun sets due West) and solstices (when the sun sets at its most northern or southern point on the horizon). Halloween, the spookiest cross quarter day, is derived from a sacred festival of ancient Celts and Druids in the British Isles known as Samhain. It arrives as days grow short and nights grow long here in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Halloween, celebrated on October 31, occurs more or less midway between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice here in the North Hemisphere. And for our neighbors to our South, Day of the Dead is celebrated around at this time as well. At this time of the year the veil or boundary between the living and the dead is the thinnest allowing us to connect with our dead ancestors and honoring them for their influences on we the living.

 Giant Wing Katydid (Microcentrum rhombifolium)
crawling about on one of our two lamps on either
side of our garage door on a sunny day in early October.

On Samhain, aka All Hallows' Eve and Halloween, and/or Day of the Dead, may we honor all creatures: small and big, living and dead, and

Indigenous People's Celebration

To kick off Indigenous People's Celebration here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Buffy Sainte-Marie, blacklisted in this country by both Lyndon Johnson's and Richard Nixon's administration, performed at the Lensic Performing Arts Center Thursday, October 10, 2019. It was a fundraiser for Indigenous Solutions, Tewa Women United and the Friendship Club.

Painting by Bob Haozous
Exhibit at the Wheelwright Museum, 2018-2019.

"History is not always glorious.

Sometimes our history is melancholy.

We must accept that. 

This life is terrible

and people do terrible things to each other.

If we are to live for the sake of good and strong, 

then we should have as much of the background as possible."

Deng Ming-Dao

Perhaps the time is upon us to really understand the history of our country, the United States of America. For centuries we have celebrated Columbus "discovering the New World."  Well, as we all know, there were indigenous peoples inhabiting the Americas from the Bering Strait separating Russia from Alaska to Cape Horn, the Southern most tip of South America long before Columbus' "discovery."

Indigenous Peoples' Day/Celebration gives us an opportunity to rethink American history. Here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Indigenous Peoples' Day is actually more like four days of celebration with weekend and Monday events on the Plaza downtown. Each day is opened with a blessing followed by Pueblo dance groups. Pojoaque, New Mexico, at its Poeh Cultural Center, is honoring the return of historical Tewa Pueblo pottery from the Smithsonian Institutions's National Museum of American Indian with Tewa Pueblo dances, food, speakers and pottery demonstrations. On Monday in Albuquerque The Red Nation has created a march and rally in the downtown at 1st and Central. As well, at the the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center the day was filled with foods, dancing and celebration.

As the Native Peoples in our country regain their knowing held in their collective genes about caring for and honoring Mother Earth, may we too tap into their knowledge. Mother Earth is in peril because humans have abused our planet, and continue to do so, with our gluttonous consumption. Are we ready for another way to BE on Mother Earth?

Reclamation, 2017-2018
Rose B. Simpson

          "I was born part of this earth.

          My Grandmother Earth.

          I was born part of this earth.

          My Mother all living beings.

          I was born part of this earth.

          My Grandfather, the sky.

          I was born part of this earth.

          The eight Grandfathers.

          I was born part of this earth.

          The four corners of the earth.

          I was born part of this earth.

          The great wind giant of the North.

          I was born part of this earth.

          The red road of the dead.

          I was born part of this earth.

          The blue and black road of destruction.

          I was born part of this earth.

          The old ones say

          the old way's gone,

          the old ones say.

          Still,

          I was born part of this earth.

Daniel Western

Baby,  2010-2014
Rose B. Simpson

The Answer That Ended Creation B, 2011
Rose B. Simpson

As we contemplate the richness of Earth based spirituality exemplified by all of the local Pueblo native peoples, may we reconnect with and deeply care for Mother Earth, and

Water, Part II

Dry Santa Fe River bed after a monsoon rain, 2018

Our most precious and once abundant resource on our planet, water, is in peril, as are so many of Mother Earth's other natural resources and nonhuman inhabitants, because of overpopulation by humans. Too many humans all vying for territory and resources is not a popular issue to discuss. Climate change seems to be a "safer" topic even though our inept President poo poos the idea that there is such an issue.

If the idea of using watersheds to draw state lines were in place, just imagine how different our lives and the valuing of water would BE. Here's a discussion of this idea, that makes perfect sense. Alas, our state lines were arbitrarily drawn, hence all the bickering over the flow of water and water rights. 

 500 gallon barrel + rocky depression 
for harvesting roof water via
 canales at 6798' MuRefuge. 
In the foreground Tufted Evening Primrose (Oenothera Caespitosa),
caterpillar food for a specific hawkmoth (Sphingidae family).
As the leaves are riveted with holes,
there are obviously caterpillars, although I have yet to find one.

This year, unlike last year, the Santa Fe River has been running since March. Abundant snow in the Sangre de Christo Mountains which has melted and filled the reservoirs supplying water to the city of Santa Fe has produced enough water to release from these catchments. It is delightful to see and hear running water making its way from the mountains to our East to the Rio Grande River to our West. 

Rabbits are plentiful in our area. And just the other morning returning from an early morning walk with  Shasta crossing the bridge into Frenchy's Field we saw a very scrawny coyote drinking from the river. The coyote was watchful of Shasta and Shasta was quite interested in her distant relative. 

Shasta amidst our culinary herbs with her favorite ball. 
Shasta is a blackWater Dragon baby and water soothes her Qi.
When she moved here, she asked Sandy, one of her
animal communicators, "what happened to all the water?"
In Northern California she was use to going to the ocean,
to Auntie T's whose property dropped to massive wetlands,
to Mono Lake, plus our backyard flooded when the
Winter rains came. Now she loves to walk across
the bridge over the Santa Fe River when the water
is running and look down at all the water.
She is never in a hurry to leave the bridge.

This Summer is much drier than last with the monsoon rains not as frequent nor delivering much rain when it does thunder and lightening. Already much of New Mexico is returning to "drought" conditions. Fortunately with all of the native vegetation planted here AND all the sheet mulching not much water is required by the plants on our property, except of course newly planted natives. 

Growing vegetables, of course, is a different story. These plants are hand watered deeply every other day with a hose filled with "city water". The 500 gallon barrel on the Northeast side of the house is essentially empty. The water was used mostly on the vegetables. Growing food here in New Mexico is not for the faint of heart. It is laborious work demanding daily attention. The soil needs much amending in spite of using compost. I imagine it is going to be quite a few years before signs of soil restoration occur.

Another stunning design "drawn" in the Santa Fe River bed after the 2018 monsoon rains.

As we are mindful of our water usage and remember from where our water that flows from our households taps originates, may we each

Autumnal Equinox

Center by Rose B. Simpson
now showing at the Wheelwright Museum
in Santa Fe, N.M., through early October.

SUN AND MOON

DAY AND NIGHT

ALL THINGS IN BALANCE

The autumnal equinox – when day and night are in balance – marks the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Santa Fe Botanical Garden "Upcoming Events email"

The word equinox comes from the Latin for “equal night”. 
And that’s exactly what happens at 
the beginning of autumn and spring – 
the days are divided neatly into a 12-hour day and night 
for just two days a year, 
after which they start splitting apart.

Andrew Griffin, Independent 

From the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, Earth is at the center this time of the year, Fall. It reminds us of the turning not only of our planet but of all that is natural. BEing in tune with the cycles is a way to maintain our balance

"Earth came to represent the time and space of transition from one stage to another, particularly the passage between the apex of Yang (Fire) and ascendance of Yin (Metal)...

Earth represents the still point, the balance between the polar movements, when neither one nor the other ascends...

Our Earth phase stabilizes us so that we can handle the gyrations of our oscillating process."

from Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine. 

by Harriet Beinfield and Efrem Korngold (1991)

At this time of another seasonal shift when day and night are in balance, may we too find our center and balance.  In our present day chaotic world, as we strive to do so, let us 

Responsibility

Responsibility is defined as "the state ... of having a duty to deal with something" and "(responsibility to/toward) a moral obligation to behave correctly toward or in respect of." As humans I believe we have a responsibility to fully deal with and heal our individual trauma and/or complete the "life lesson" that is solely ours as a human in our present lifetime. 

When we are born, as a baby we have no defenses. We are filled with innocence. We are open and connected to Tao, God or whatever we as an individual believes is THE Higher Power. Then in our human body we experience some kind of "rude awakening" from BEing connected to this Higher Power. In addition, as we are born into this world, we bring with us a lesson to learn while living this life. Some of us tackle that lesson, others are asleep to doing so. 

Rose Simpson's sculpture done while studying in Japan
and now on exhibit at the Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe, N.M.
Photo taken by Michael Stoyka . . . thank you!

For me practicing BEing awake has been augmented by the dogs that have come to live with me. For Sun, the last of my four Siberian Huskies, her Work for her lifetime was merging the domesticated and the wild. I cut her life short, and thus her Work, when I had her euthanized prematurely. Her spirit hovered and did not leave her favorite spot at MuRefuge for over a year. Sun was the last dog I had euthanized.

Sun is pictured above standing in the snow wearing
in her sled dog harness that matched her eyes. She loved to
pull me on my skis in the Eastern Sierra snow.

After Star (who came to live with us when we knew we were getting a Siberian Husky puppy, Sun, who would need a grounding presence) experienced a natural death, at which time she morphed into a huge male wolf, I missed having a dog as the time passed. Months later as MuRefuge seemed so empty without a dog, I became obsessed with finding another dog! I spent hours on the internet searching for a young dog about the age Star was when she came to live with us. Then Dwight suggested perhaps searching for a puppy instead of looking for a 1 1/2 to 2 year old dog. Within moments of changing course so to speak, up came a litter of puppies for adoption in Lake County. We drove to see the puppies. Dwight picked up one of the puppies and as soon as I took her into my arms she nuzzled my neck: "Sun"! This puppy possessed Sun's soul. When this puppy was eight weeks old, we brought her home, Rose picking up where Sun left off so to speak. From the day she returned to her familiar home, she lived on the fast track as she seemed to deeply know that this life would be short. And indeed it was short: less than four years in spite of the left leg amputation for "bone cancer" which was done to hopefully extend her life.  For six months Rose ran with her usual lightening, agile speed of a sight hound as though she still had all four legs.

Pictures above and below of
Rose running along Picnic Grounds Road which is located
along the Western side of Mono Lake, California.

Once Rose realized she was without one hind left leg, she fell into a deep, deep place of grieving her loss. Less than eight months after her leg was amputated she succumbing to another cancerous growth in her remaining hind leg and she left her body. She was quite pleased with herself that she was able to complete the Work of merging the wild and the domesticated which Sun was unable to do.


Dwight was none too sure about bringing another dog into our lives since he was still reeling from the death of Rose only a few months prior. Me, I just wanted a healthy FOUR legged dog!

Shasta after her bath during her first full day with us.
As you can see she has a "shell shocked" look about her.

It comes as no surprise to me that our dog, Shasta, who came to live with us
when she was six months old, brought with her a trauma issue to deal with. Her first six months fraught with safety and survival issues. Yet to me there seemed to be more. I was fortunate to hear about Jen Ortman, a stellar animal communicator, who immediately upon seeing Shasta's picture, "saw" her soul was that of little gypsy girl two life times ago when she was used in satanic ritual. Luckily the Marin Humane Society adopter, who had previously placed her in an inappropriate home, chose me to adopt her even though there were almost a hundred people on "the wait list" to adopt her. "From the get go" Shasta was a handful with her guarding behavior she had developed in her previous brief home. Perhaps this behavior was a response to her little gypsy girl's life where she had so few possessions and little or no "control" of her life. It quickly became evident she did not realize she was a dog. With consistency in her now forever home and guidance from several animal communicators, Shasta's guarding behavior markedly decreased and she showed signs of dog behaviors like grooming and "marking." 

 


When we hit a rough spot in the road, this discomfort offers us a path to accepting responsibility to bring forth the trauma and all the emotions held in our bodies. Allowing the emotions to come up and discharging these emotions lays a new foundation to becoming a fully developed sentient BEing. Most abdicate their responsibility by taking what looks like the easy path. However, it is my belief that it takes tremendous energy to keep the memory of our initial trauma at bay thus affording imbalance in our physical form. This imbalance leads to illness and often a arduous death.

"Remember that you are always your own person.... 

never give up responsibility for you own life. 

No one lives your life for you."

Deng Ming-Dao

As we each accept responsibility to complete our life lesson, may we