Power of attention and boundaries

I notice several posts with either attacking or repeated comments/images popping up here and there, as in the person(s) demanding attention, or making comments that do not make sense, derailing the conversation in many forums, groups, and comments under articles. 

Two things to keep in mind, when talking with people-

1)  There will be a lot of different opinions- you can't herd all people to go one way.

2) If the person is not familiar to you (not a friend or relative to you), s/he does not have much power over you- so why obsess about him/her?

This is for folks who look to push your buttons- when you get angry or upset, you're telling them that they exist in your life- like flies going around your head, pestering you.  You need to figure- are they that important to you, or to swat them away??

This is something one really needs to think about-  what other folks think of you, it is NOT your business.  They can think what they want to think, however is it truth? NOPE.. Only you know the truth about who you are, and so what other folks think of you, it is all opinion, not fact.

"In order for you..."-  For one to LET you insult him, he'd have to take that your opinion is important to him.  Think on that.

"Try not to take things..." is referring to folks judging about you, what they say about you- really what they say is really defining them, not you.   What they describe about you, is truly describing THEMSELVES.  It's pretty much projection (defense mechanism, putting their own unacceptable feelings, their own undesired thoughts on someone else.)

When you argue with someone, stay to the argument.  When you start to insult, you're losing the argument already-  it shows that you're running out of points backing up your view.  At least, agree to disagree.    Respect that each person has their own opinions, even if it is opposite of what you think.

And another one for arguments-

You do not have to participate in every argument you see-  if it is not related to you, stay out of it.    If you're doing it "just for fun", that's drama-seeking behavior.

and last one,

For things out of your control... LET GO.  It does not mean you are giving up on things.  It means you're NOT giving power to the things that try to control you.  More you fight to control things, you think you're in power?  NOPE- that means you're being controlled and negative folks know that- and you're letting them get under your skin.

So, the bottom line is- As long as the folks are still seeking to continue the argument, insulting, stalking, harassing, they are attention-seekers, thinking they are powerful in your life- AS LONG AS YOU ALLOW THEM.   So, take a deep breath and let go of things.

And by the by, boundaries?  That's what I just described up there.

Updated bucket list for 2011

So far, not so bad checking off the bucket list. I'll update furthermore, when some are completed, and which to be removed (if it's not feasible), and added.. After all, all this is not for 2011 alone. If you see anything that I should do, feel free to toss suggestions my way!

Learning
Ghost Hunting 101 at University of Louisville/Delphi Center ( Completed in May 2011)
Writing/publishing a book. (In process- a nonfiction)
Sand Tray techniques
Learn how to make a tube drum (January 2011)

Self-Care
Write a letter about bad memories to a relative and do a burning/cleansing ritual.
Walk 25 labyrinths. (So far, six so far, in IN, LA, KY, DC, MD)


Stop being the peacekeeper and stand up for myself. (In process)
Make a list of things that make me happy- small, big, profound, simple (March, 2011)
List about what you really like about yourself.
Do an unplugged day. (3 times so far this year)
Ask friends to do compliments about me, (words, artwork, whatever!) and make a poster.


Books
The Happy Book (In process)
Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings
He's a Stud, She's a Slut and 49 Other Double Standards Every Women Should Know
The Feminine Mystique (April, 2011)
Sexual Politics
(the list is long..I'll keep 'em on Goodreads- you can look 'em up.)
Make a list of your favorite childhood books and explain why you love them.

Community
See The Vagina Monologues
Play in Vagina Monologues (If you know V-Day w/ deaf themes in 2011, ring me up!)
AIDS Walk (Will do in September!)
Habitat for Home in New Orleans
Set up a community activity of creating a labyrinth of shoes
Do a cheer-up package for a friend or three. (Done!)

Art
Create a mosaic of a labyrinth.
Paint again. (so far, 11 paintings!)


Start and finish a quilt.
After going to an event of your favorite activity (comic, science fiction, romance convention) and get freebies, do a bulletin board with the collection.
Scrapbook on collection of postcards


Health
Exercise 2-3 times a week.
Go to the park with the dogs once-twice a week.
Make healthy dishes from scratch


Charity
Volunteer for clean-up at a national park (July 2011)
Donate hair for Locks of Love and in honor of my aunt, cancer suvivor. (No luck!)
Drop off clothes at Goodwill (two times so far)
Freecycle listing of the television and entertainment center (May 2011)
Donate money to a non-profit organization fighting domestic violence (February 2011)
Donate money to Green Project- New Orleans
Make cookies and donate to a soup kitchen.

Just for fun of it
Get a tattoo of triple labyrinth on your shoulder
Get the frog tattoo refreshed/re-colored.
Try something that you had never tried before.
Try a new food each month. (Greek yogurt 1/11, almond milk 2/11, eel sushi 3/11, olives 4/11, cow's tongue 5/11, dill pickles 6/11)
Send beanie dolls to American soldiers (anysoldier.com) (1/11) Take pictures around the town, with quirky things and create artwork from photos.
Write 20 posts for my blog for 2011.
Go naked, fingerpaint/paint the walls (in the shower) and self.
Watch a meteor shower at the wee hours of August (August, 2011)
Attend a Comic book convention.
Go to a Science-fiction con.
Have your 'gnome'(my stuffed Erif Horse) at weird places taken with photos! (In process)
Blow bubbles at your porch and observe visuals through the bubbles.
Play with playdoh- do the 10 things with them (your name, an image of yourself, cupcakes, animals, landscape, and so on.)(January 2011)
Make the perfect kid's day menu and eat the food on the menu- you ARE a kid that day!

As promised.

Vacations/Trips
Wisconsin

3 trips in 2011. (Wisconsin, 1/11 and 6/11, and Louisiana 3/11- so far)


Nashville, TN (country music sightseeing)
Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Star Trek Exhibition/Louisville Science Center (February 2011)
Frazier International Historical Museum
Ventriloquist museum- Fort Mitchell, KY (only museum about ventriloquists in the world)

Yoga and Christianity, they don't mix?

I was quite flabbergasted after I read the article “Yoga can be dangerous to Christians’ faith” says Louisville’s Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler, on his blog, http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/09/20/the-subtle-body-should-christians-practice-yoga/ I want to respectfully discuss his concern about Yoga and its ‘effects’ on Christianity.

“ Syman describes yoga as a varied practice, but she makes clear that yoga cannot be fully extricated from its spiritual roots in Hinduism and Buddhism. She is also straightforward in explaining the role of sexual energy in virtually all forms of yoga and of ritualized sex in some yoga traditions” Mohler was quoted in his blog. He then stressed on how he was concerned about how yoga practices include physical and spiritual exercises, in the goal to connect with the Divine as well as wellness. He responded, “Believers are called to meditate upon the Word of God — an external Word that comes to us by divine revelation — not to meditate by means of incomprehensible syllables.”

Now I have to wonder about that….. After all… praying, meditation and connecting with the Divine can be richly varied in Christianity as well as Buddhism, Islam, Hindu, Paganism, and other religions that could fill up more pages than I could, but you get my meaning. Shall we see what I mean by that?

In process of praying-meditation…. Candles are used in yoga to help focus and become aware of the divine, and so do many religions.


Woman lighting candles at a church in Tbilis, Georgia


Jewish woman says the blessing upon lighting the sabbath candles (2)


A Muslim woman lights a candle at a shrine dedicated to the prophet Elijah (3)

Praying to get closer to the Divine, as Yoga encourages becoming aware of Divine in both physical and spiritual.


Kenyans praying (4)


Christian woman praying (5)


Muslim man praying (6)


A Kneeling Hindu Balinese Woman Prays and Gives Offerings at Sunset (7)


Pagan praying (8)



Meditating on problems/concerns. Yoga does that, to help clear the mind and process the problem… and we seek answers from the Divine, as well, don't we?


Christian meditating (9)


Woman of Sikh (10)

Tools that contribute to meditation/praying…..


Walking the Labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral (11)


Woman meditating- origins of labyrinths come out with 4000 years, from lands such as Egyptian, Indian, Native American, Greek and Northern Europe. (12)


Rosary beads in a Catholic Christian‘s hands- in which types of beads are used by Christians and Muslims (13)


A monk holds prayer beads in McLeod Ganj, India. (14)


Prayers Stones (15)







Scents to help us think of the Divine, as well as at yoga- after all, didn’t Jesus receive frankincense as a gift for one example?


Incense- which can be found in churches, as well as in temples and locations of prayers and residences. (16)


Praying to the Buddha (17)







We can’t go without music in prayer…and yoga


Harp music in church (18)


Signing with Deaf and Deaf/Blind in both preaching and singing in silence (19)


Drumming with shamans (20)


Choir of Southern Baptist Church Praise and Worship Center (21)

Now…. With all that we had seen, how can yoga NOT be a tool for Christians to get closer to the Divine? Meditation can be so different for each of us, but we share the common goal- to get intimate with the Divine in many names that we follow. We also can use meditation for mindfulness, wellness, holistic health and exercise.

After all, I confess to meditating while vaccuming and I do consider feeling closer to Her after the house is clean.





Resources


(1) http://kevinkoski.com/Hobbies%20and%20Interests/Bicycle%20Touring/rtw/photos.html

(2) http://religion.info/english/articles/article_470.shtml
(3) http://www.daylife.com/photo/0eoWf779ETeJg

(4) http://www.thedisplacedafrican.com/2008/01/steps-to-end-the-suffering-and-violence-in-kenya/
(5) www.joyfullyliving.blogspot.com
(6) http://islamiclearningmaterials.com/islam-prayer/
(7) http://www.digitalhit.com/posters/p/4901480
(8) http://witchywonderland.blogspot.com/2010/05/pagan-prayer.html
(9) http://www.spiritrax.com/subcategory.php?id=13
(10) http://www.sikhnet.com/news/naam-japo-meditation-prayer-and-its-purpose
(11) http://yourworldreligions.blogspot.com/2007/06/prayer-of-heart-christian-meditation.html
(12) http://naradashaktisolutions.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/labyrinths-the-upside-of-walking-around-in-circles/
(13) http://www.freshmeditation.com/blog/easy-step-meditation/rosary-meditation/
(14) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/india/739176/India-holy-cows-and-fine-shrines.html
(15) http://prayerfullife.com/2010/05/principle4/
(16) http://stjev.org/prayer-and-a-pint
(17) http://www.thaiworldview.com/bouddha/ceremo15.htm
(18) http://transfigurations.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
(19) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/6406132.html
(20) http://www.dreamingshaman.com/ongoing_events.htm
(21) http://www.1800gospel.com/2008/10/gospel-music-news-how-sweet-the-sound/

Slang, secret words

I know there is so many slangs and code words that one need to catch up on! While on facebook, there is this nifty "Superpoke" application where I can "checkmate," "slap," "trout slap"..waitaminute...WHAT the hell is "trout slap!?" So, after I bugged a friend in defining some of those 'code words', he found me this nifty site. So I thought you can all learn and know what people talk about (and even catch them if they try to call you something and you'd KNOW what it means, instead of going "huh?") Here is the site, urbandictionary.

Thanks, Adam!

My favorite blogs

Hello! I am back from California. Just finished the scapebook about the trip to California. A lot of sights were exhausting for me to deal with! In other words, that tour at Castle Hearst exhausted me to the point that I even elected to stay in for one day! 300 steps, not counting the long walk through the gardens (hilly), guesthouse and the main house...and me with a cane. So for now, I will write about blogs that I enjoy reading and will always check daily to see if there is a new entry.

I like a variety of blogs; political, sarcastic, blunt-but-true, funny, heartwretching, informative and resourceful. There are some blogs that can be two at same time; informative and sarcastic, could be funny and heartwretching; horrific and political. So I thought, "why not let other people learn about those blogs?" After all, it is the readers who inform OTHER readers and hence the blog gets more readers.

I like Violent Arces because the woman here is very blunt- love her for that, yet she is not cruel. She will say what is off her chest.
http://www.violentacres.com/

I enjoy reading Mishka Zena's blog. I can depend on the fact that she will do all her best to get facts and provide them to the readers. If she makes a mistake, she will admit it. You can tell how much she loves the Deaf community and see her passion to ensure that the deaf people have better treatment and best resources one could find. While other bloggers may be more passionate, she keeps her mind and tell from her perceptive neutrally as possible, letting the readers decide for themselves. That's how much I appreciate it.
http://blog.deafread.com/mishkazena

I rode in the Tube when I was in London. What is the Tube? It's their word for the subways. The articles there are quirky; sometimes can be serious, sometimes with tongue in the cheek.
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/

Due to having a parent with NPD (Narcisstic personality disorder), I found this blog recently and I check it daily. From one perception, she may look bitter and blunt; but who could blame her with the upraising she had as a child and a teenager? On the other hand, I feel she is very strong and not afraid to show her vulnerability. That is her strength.
http://narcissists-suck.blogspot.com/

I love to read Postsecret. You could never know what postcards would come in for the writer to post on his blog. Folks expose themselves to reveal their secrets yet stay anonymous. I beleive one deafread article was about this blog, especially with one postcard showing CI pamphets, hearing aids information, etc and a human baby. You can somewhat feel the angst from the parent from that postcard. Emotions are varied for each postcard and it depends on HOW the reader interprets it and if that emotions are exactly what the writers/artists desire.
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

I read this blog "The Gods are Bored" like one would stare at a car accident. You couldn't predict WHAT the writer would write and I believe that's the attraction. For me, I can't help but think "........." at a loss for words when I read articles yet I come off that blog with a grin on my face. Hands up in the air!
http://godsrbored.blogspot.com/

As y'all know that I am interested in mental health counseling. By the way, I'm off to Gallaudet University this fall for graduate school. WHEE! Anyway- one of my interests is DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder, which in past was called "Multiple Personality Disorder.) I have always hoped one day I'd work with deaf people with DID. So far there is one deaf individual that I now and then trade emails with (hope she'd get in hold with me soon- hint, hint!) This is a blog, however the writer converses with her commenters now and then that I read with interest. I find this blog an excellent resource from someone who EXPERIENCES the disorder herself.
http://www.aspenleafhosting.com/cat/?page_id=13

All right, that's it for now. I have more blogs on my blogroll but enough! I hope you, readers will find the blogs either entertaining or challenging your own views.