I Believe

I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract

Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need, there's the key,
Your adventure for today, what do you do
Between the horns of the day?

(chorus)

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and give and take
And foolish said my fool awake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor, on your honor
Trust in your calling, make sure your calling's true
Think of others, the others think of you
Silly rule golden words make, practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and fault lines change

REM – I Believe

Sorry, couldn’t help that. From the moment I knew I had to write an “I believe” statement, this song has been dancing through my incredibly distractible brain. It does, in a melodious manner, describe many things I do believe. I believe in “Silly golden words”, in change, in “time as an abstract” and in the difference between “what you want and what you need”. Committing my many fragmented thoughts into a coherent statement has been challenging – akin to writing the dreams of clouds. Clouds transform themselves constantly, and my beliefs adjust, swirl and modify themselves weekly, daily, and moment to moment. I firmly believe in change, growth and transformation of myself, and the world around me. Change, evolution and wonder are constants for me, and are the sifting bedrock that I am anchored to.

I love quotes. On my ipod I engraved one of my favourites, “I am not young enough to know everything” – by Oscar Wilde. I knew so much more when I was younger. I was certain about many, many things, things that now I consider fleeting.

I believe in questioning, and this is one thing I would like to do till I die. I always want to be open to new ways of thinking. I want always to accept that my thinking will change. In the Buddhist sense, I don’t plan on reaching ‘enlightenment’ any time soon, and I am very happy with that. Descartes said “Except for our own thoughts, there is absolutely nothing in our power”. I believe I determine my own boundaries, my sky, and my limitations. I believe in the transformative power of thought, prayer and meditation. I work on “letting go” of attachments to things and patterns of thought. Sometimes I am successful, sometimes not so much, but it is the process that I think is important, the journey so to speak. Attachment to the outcome is limiting. To continue to grow, I need to remain open.

I believe things happen for a reason. What the reason is, usually is beyond my cognitive development, but I find comfort in the thought of a benevolent universe. I believe the universe to be inherently good. People, as well, are inherently good. I do not believe in evil, at least not in the traditional sense, whether I believe in it at all is something I like to ponder.

I believe I have a responsibility to better myself spiritually, and in all other levels that I am able. This responsibility continues past me and to the world and its inhabitants. I believe I am a caretaker, no more important than the trees, or less important than the sky, not better or worse than any other person. The Dalai Lama said “Kindness is my Religion”, I keep coming back to this when I examine my motivations and actions. Always, I am responsible for my own thoughts and actions, and believe everything I do should be a reflection of my internal values. From not spraying my lawn to only purchasing humanely raised meat, from actively seeking to improve other people’s lives to respecting the divinity of all living creatures. I think my thoughts and actions can be powerful, I believe in karma on an immediate and on a cosmic level. I believe we are born with a karmic footprint that is ours to work from. My thoughts and actions will affect me ultimately, and I have the power to choose what they will be. I believe to live my life without examination would be hypocritical. I try not to apply the values and standards I set for myself to others, and am sporadically successful. Gandhi said, “Be the change the wish to see in the world”, I aspire to be this.

I believe the human race is not as important as we have been lead to believe. I think evolution may eventually empty the planet of my species. Change is constant, adapt, or be left behind. In many ways I am embarrassed about the actions of humanity to life on this planet. I believe the planet is stronger than any of us and will carry on with or without us, and that choice is ours to make. I do not believe nature is something to be dominated and mastered, or managed even.

I believe in learning. That everything is a learning opportunity and everyone a potential teacher. There have been many historically significant teachers like Jesus and Gandhi I can learn from, but ultimately I learn more if I regard everyone as a source of enlightenment. I think there has been enough spiritual commonality between faith traditions to point to some universal truths. Versions of the Golden Rule are found in many faiths. Kindness to one another seems to be basic. Celebration of, and the holiness of life seems universal, although not always universally practiced. Music and poetry are, to me, incredibly spiritual and touch me on a level that nothing else can. Not necessarily spiritual work, but many varied types and genres, from Beethoven to Nirvana, Pablo Neruda to David Whyte to Frantz Wright and on and on and on…. I find words and music give me tremendous insight and inspiration into myself, others, and the world.

I believe suffering has been my best teacher. I am stubborn, and historically it has taken a remarkable amount of pain to motivate me to change. I work to make this less so. If my life had been with out struggles I think I would be a very different person, the type of person I would have been is an interesting speculation to be sure.

I believe heaven and hell are both within us, and it is our thinking that determines where we land. I believe in god. Not as a paternalistic judgmental figure, but as universal energy that exists in everything, as something outside of and greater than me and also something inherent to me. I believe our separateness is an illusion and that all living things are connected on one level. I pray and mediate daily, without petition. I ask my higher self for guidance, acceptance and courage in prayer, and I mediate to listen and to still my chaotic mind, if only for a moment. My self discipline is not the best, and I continue to work on this. Whether we created the gods or they us, is an interesting speculation, one that I have no definitive answer for.

I believe in tolerance. My beliefs are my own, as other’s beliefs are their own. I struggle with my own intolerance, arrogance and bigotry. I believe outer world harmony can be achieved through inner, personal harmony, and not without. If there is not internal harmony, then any outward appearance of it is farcical. I believe harmony is obtainable, and that tolerance of others is key to it.

I do not know what happens to us after we die, and consider it a rather moot point. I try to define my life by the way I live it, and to live only in the moment I am in. I may learn from the past, and occasionally do, and set goals for the future, but I can only live in each moment. I am intermittently successful at this. I am comfortable with not knowing what will happen to me when I die, I think leading a purposeful life is more important and is its own reward.

Finally, I believe life is for living, preferably with a good dose of humour and love.

Cat Juggling

There's this scene in one of the Indiana Jones movies - the one with Sean Connery in it - which is why I watched it, (that and I have secret love of large insects, rats and snakes) - where Indiana is going after the Holy Grail.

He of course is only doing it to save dear old dad (aka Sean Connery, and I mean who WOULDN'T want to save him?). He comes to this cliff which naturally drops straight down about a million feet & is completely un-climbable, and at a completely un-jumpable distance (this is including whip rides) across this bottomless pit is another doorway in a similarly unfriendly cliff face. Here, our hero consults daddy's "Grail Journal" and reads something about "a leap of faith" and there is a drawing of a knight stepping off into nothing. Making a face normally observed in the average Frenchman, he steps out into apparently nothing.

(of course there is an "invisible-until-he-steps-glass-bridge", and our hero walks across it)

What does this have to do with cat juggling? Well nothing really, unless your brain functions along the same stalled neuronic system as mine, but I'll have a go explaining. My life right now, is ... uncertain? ... topsy-turvy? ... insane? ... best described with this image: dancing atop a run-away ferris wheel, juggling flaming cats while the lot of us head towards a steep sea cliff which (of course) ends in jagged rocks (at least the water will put the cats out).

So why Indiana Jones? Well there is this bit of writing that I will ruin now by misphrasing it completely because I am too lazy to get off my duff and look it up.

"When you reach the end of all light and step into the complete darkness, surely you will find solid ground, or grow wings and fly" - by .

Okay nice empowering quote, yes? solid ground or wings, sounds great. NOW I will bring back Indiana Jones on that invisible bridge. So he takes the big "leap of faith" with that first step, but is he done? Noooo, he has to keep walking across a bloody invisible bridge (with NO RAILINGS! aarrgghh, give me snakes, murder, rodents of unusual size, but NOT stairways or bridges with out proper railings...), step after step - each another "leap of faith". That's the thing, once you take that "leap" , don't think you're done, oh no, you have to keep walking (or flying -hopefully not into walls, or walking in the dark on "solid ground" -hopefully finding no more cliffs) .

And that's my life right now, one damn "leap" after another, just when I think I can see the bridge, or have figured out flying or stopped smacking into walls in the dark, I have to do it again! So, one day, soon I hope, the ferris wheel, cats and I are going over that cliff - wish us luck...

my summer

Well looking at the date of my last post, it's been awhile. I posted that one 10 days before I was in an automobile accident that has pretty much occupied me this summer.

Where to start?

Well I was driving my minister's (yes, my minister's) van home from Indianapolis where she was taking a flight from for 3 weeks of vacation. I had taken her down the afternoon before and we had both stayed over at her friend's. I had a good sleep, some lovely green tea with my breakfast, and we said our goodbyes. It was about 9:15am on a bright sunny, lovely day. Roads were clear and dry. I had both hands on the wheel, was not talking on my phone or even listening to the radio or my ipod, going the speed limit. The GPS said drive straight for the next 90 or so miles. It was a rather uneventful driving moment really. I needed gas, and thought I might look for a Starbucks too. I was dressed nicely because I was on my way to a funeral. My friend had died in a roll over car accident and I had timed my departure time to get me to the visitation and service in plenty of time.

I found out later that 2 cars ahead of me was a police detective who witnessed everything and arrived fairly quickly at the scene afterwards. Right ''the scene'' - how did I go from pondering coffee and my friend's funeral to "the scene". Again, it's rather uninteresting. I had steered off to the right shoulder, this quite surprised me and here's where I did something stupid - I overcompensated (worried about EL's van perhaps) and then went back, hit some lovely loose stones (this the detective told me later) I was confused why I kept skidding. The stones and the ditched dropped off, and unfortunately so did I. I remember being aware the van had started flipping over, and I remember telling myself the best way to minimize injury was to relax my body - so I went limp and was this 'rag doll' flipping over and over. At some point I blacked out, perhaps the air bag knocked me out (my very purple face seemed to indicate as much) and I'm fairly certain my left arm is what broke the driver's side window. The next thing I was aware of was a woman screaming from the shoulder on the other side of the highway (4 lanes plus median, she must have had some voice) for me to "GET OUT!" of the van (later I was told it rolled about 4x and caught fire - so I can understand why she would be screaming at me). I was still in my seat (yes, seatbelts do save lives - bruise the hell out of you, and do some fantastic muscle twisting - but mine kept me alive) looking around the upside down windowless van with the deflated air bags in front of me. My head was fairly close to the roof, so there wasn't a fall when I unbuckled myself (the fire went out on it's own - good thing I was low on gas). I crawled out through the passenger's window through much debris, rocks and glass. Once outside some unsuspecting fool at handed me my cell phone (which had been on the passenger's seat and flying loose during the flipping and still works fine).

Shock is a marvelous thing. I took my phone, (being somewhat annoyed at the blood that kept pouring onto it) and made 3 phone calls. Two messages and one very coherent conversation (I was told later, I was so calm and so coherent sounding in the messages that people didn't think the accident was anything major or that I was hurt - I have a very very vague memory of this).

Then I did what every rational accident victim does - I tried to tidy up. (it was quite a mess you see) I had bled on the detective's shoe, so I crawled over to the roll of paper towels, tore two off and while apologizing profusely about his shoe, handed them to him. He, kept saying he thought I should lie down - kind man.

I will write more soon - this is the largest bit of writing I've done since the accident and I'm a little overwhelmed. I promise to add the rest of the "Exciting Adventure" soon.....

(I am alive, and healing, don't worry about that.)

Thanks Gary

thanks Gary, for reminding me of things that are important.





another powerful poem "Moment of Silence"

Monkey Business

Well it's happened - I'm published.... go figure.

Church of the Flying Spagetti Monster

The new gospel...

Strangely Familar....

CUBISTS LAUNCH UNNAVIGABLE WEB SITE
Conceptual Realism Dominates Site No One Will Be Able to Use Anyway

MADRID, SPAIN (SatireWire.com) — The International Society of Cubists officially launched its Web site today, a brilliant rejection of natural form and perspective that metaphysically establishes the implication of movement, analytically redefines spatial relationships, and is an absolute bitch to navigate.

"What the hell is this? I can't tell how to get anywhere," one of the site's first visitors told the Cubist Society's Webmaster-Curator, Paulo Cassat. "Is this art, or is this a Web site?"

"Thank you," Cassat responded.

Click image for full view

According to Society President Francisco Bernioz, the group launched the site to bring attention to Cubism, which was founded in the early 20th Century by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. The Society also hopes to establish a scholarship fund for young cubist painters and sculptors. However, at a public showing of the site here in Spain's capital, most initial visitors were clearly uncomfortable with the design, especially the artists the site intends to help.

"This site is going to turn people off," complained one young sculptor. "I mean, how do I get from the home page to, say, the fundraising form?"

"You must be willing to abandon your pre-conceived notions of traditional Web design," replied Bernioz, "and disregard its nefarious standards of foreshortening, modeling, and chiaroscuro (the distribution of light and shade)."

"Uh-huh. But how do I find the link?" the young man persisted.

"You must embrace the idea that the link exists," said Bernioz, "for once that idea is established, form itself can be forgotten."

"You don't know where it is, do you?"

"Not specifically, no," Bernioz conceded. "It's there somewhere. I think on a nonsequential parallel plane right behind the polygonal search box."

The site — digital graphics, text, and HTML on browser — has fared no better with art critics, who immediately accused the cubists of stealing the absurd navigation and layout from MSNBC.com.

Editor's Note: Due to popular inquiry, we are forced to make the following statement: there is no cubist Web site. It is a fictional site review by a real person. For real site reviews by a fictional person, please see Mr. Clickwell.

Copyright © 1999-2002, SatireWire.

mostly evil

Please see Author's Note at bottom. Thank you.

ANGERED BY SNUBBING, LIBYA, CHINA
SYRIA FORM AXIS OF JUST AS EVIL
Cuba, Sudan, Serbia Form Axis of Somewhat Evil; Other Nations Start Own Clubs

Beijing (SatireWire.com) — Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be way eviler than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of his State of the Union address.
Membership closed

Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil... in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil... we're the best."

Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.

"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So you can only have three. And a secret handshake. Ours is wicked cool."

THE AXIS PANDEMIC

International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered.

Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the Axis of Somewhat Evil, forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the Axis of Occasionally Evil, while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable.

With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics; Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Nasty Thoughts About America, while Spain, Scotland, and New Zealand established the Axis of Countries That Sometimes Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick.

"That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.

While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axes, although he rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay denied the charges.

Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, world leaders said that's only because no one asked them.

Copyright © 2002, SatireWire.

Author's note: Strangely enow, this SatireWire story lately has been zipping around the 'Net attributed to John Cleese. That's flattering and funny and all, but now I'm getting so many emails asking who "really" wrote it that it will make my life easier to nip it here. I apologize for any disappoinment, but the story was written by Andrew Marlatt. It first appeared on SatireWire on Feb. 1, 2002, and was subsequently published in several major newspapers, including this version still available at The Washington Post. So that's the deal. All the best -- Andrew.

Say it's Possible - Terra Naomi

Canadian World Domination

Under The Tyranny of The Generals!

MAP OF THE RE-ZONED UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Just think how much fun it would be ....
being Dominated by a Canadian....


first the USA

Under Canadian World Domination we find states to be illogical and prefer provinces. The following zones have been renamed to suit Canuck aims.

ZONE I: Laporte Memorial Park (territory) "LMP"

ZONE II: Land Du Beaver (territory) "LDB"

ZONE III: Molson (province)

ZONE IV: Acadia (province)

ZONE V: Kraftland (province)

ZONE VI: Degrassi Jr. Wasteland (province) "DJW"

ZONE VII: Dief The Chief (province) "DTC"

HORTON BAY: This is our man-made reservoir -- we have flooded several former American states to make this majestic watery area. There was no purpose, just cruelty.

ZONE VIII: Littlest-Hobo-Land (province)

ZONE IX: Bombardier (province)

ZONE X: The Hip (province)

ZONE XI: The Trudeau Compound -- this is our man-made penal colony.

Some have suggested that the United States of America be flooded with nuclear radiation and used for soil experimentation instead of wasting time with colonization attempts. The pro-nuke regiment of Canadian World Domination has made a good case, read their reasoned arguments.

then the world....



of course there will always be those who just will not understand....




just too be sure...

thought for today

I teach that the multitudinousness of objects have no reality in themselves but are only seen of the mind and, therefore, are of the nature of maya and a dream. ...It is true that in one sense they are seen and discriminated by the senses as individualized objects; but in another sense, because of the absence of any characteristic marks of self-nature, they are not seen but are only imagined. In one sense they are graspable, but in another sense, they are not graspable.

-Buddha

Never get too friendly with a poet......

From Ear to Quaternity
(a Ruthless and Toothless Production)

by Leanne Handson
(fabulous poet - and not just because she wrote this)
author of "Odd Verse Effects"


Bow down before the Amazing Callooh
Mistress of misery, goddess of gore
Lady of leg humping fantasies blue
Driving us mad with foot flat on the floor

If you’re disturbed (perhaps sick to the core)
Bow down before the Amazing Callooh
Read and prepare to be struck down with awe
(Some say it feels like a dose of the flu)

If you’ve a parrot to spare (maybe two)
Drop by the Bulldog for cheeses galore
Bow down before the Amazing Callooh
Pay your respects to the nut we adore

Nearly the end now, there’s just one verse more
Then you can go back to peanuts and brew
Make sure you’ve done what I got you here for:
Bow down before the Amazing Callooh




Never, get too friendly with a poet....

vive de Montréal!

vive de Montréal!
c'est tres beau..... (et tres froid)

I Don't Want Health Care If Just Anyone Can Have It

By Jocelyn Chao

March 7, 2007

As a concerned citizen, I must voice my adamant disapproval of the "universal health care" proposals we've been hearing so much about. I don't have any gripes with expanding and improving health coverage, per se. It's the "universal" part that irks me. Providing health care for all would completely undermine the whole idea of health care. If every last one of the 40 million uninsured bozos in this country is going to get access to the vast, virtually unnavigable system of medical care we chosen few now enjoy, then I no longer even want it.

When hospital administrators see me flash my Blue Cross card, it means something. It tells the world, "Hey, look at me: I pay increasingly high monthly premiums, submit to annual exams, and claim any health-related expenditures over seven percent of my yearly income on my taxes, and you can't." But when this bill passes, they'll be handing out insurance cards willy-nilly, and nobody will be able to tell the difference between someone who's had health coverage for 20 years and someone whose boss was compelled by law to provide it to all full-time employees.

Then again, maybe they'll offer some sort of special Platinum Plus medical card. But I can't count on that.

Health care is all about exclusivity, pure and simple. It's for a group of like-minded people bonded by the dream of only having to contribute a portion of their weekly wages to ensure unfettered access to a number of licensed health care professionals. If we change all that, health care will be about as elite as a public restroom, open to any yokel who waltzes into an emergency room and can legally establish California residency.

Mark my words, this will completely destroy the allure of filling out all the necessary-but-time-consuming paperwork, choosing one primary care physician attached to one specific plan, and becoming eligible for prescription medications at a reduced rate.

The only reason this is even being considered is because a majority of voters want it. Well, of course they do—they don't have it! But you don't see 33rd Degree Freemasons letting any old average citizen into their inner sanctum just because he's curious. And you won't catch me sharing my God-given right to affordable lifesaving medical procedures with every bum who's got a jones for another hepatitis vaccination. It's undignified.

After all, how do I know I've made it in this world if I'm not able to enjoy something others can't?

Lack of access to health care is the seventh leading cause of death in the country, and that says something. It doesn't get much more elite than being part of a club other people are literally dying to get into. So what incentive would there be if everyone were guaranteed equal health care, regardless of income, age, or employment status? Who would be left to proudly tell their grandchildren about the glory days of PPOs? That is a future I'd rather not imagine, thank you very much.

So why the constant desire to guarantee basic yearly screenings and vital operations for all, thus creating some kind of ridiculous, unrealistic safety net? How will people fully appreciate the excellence of the American health care system without the constant threat of it being yanked away at any moment?

If middle-class children are given government-subsidized medical coverage from the beginning, they won't have anything to look forward to when they get older. Though my offspring will never have to worry about desperately trying to scrape together the money for a hospital visit, it doesn't mean we should do away with the millions of other uninsured Americans who show them how privileged they are to have it in the first place.

That's just a simple matter of respect.

I urge all citizens of good sense to reject any universal health care plan that gets put forward. It's time to stand up for what's right, and protect our most respectable institutions. If we don't do it now, what will they tell us next—that everyone deserves a free public education and "the right" to a fair trial?

Sometimes the holidays can be sooo difficult!!!

Area Pagan Dreading Big Family Vernal Equinox Celebration

MEDFORD, OR-"There's always some new Church of the Sacred Pentacle Virgin or a cute single witch who they just have to set me up with," lamented 27-year-old Jeff Birch.

we've come for you liver

MAN: Hello. Uhh, can we have your liver?

MR. BROWN:

My what?

MAN:

Your liver. It's a large, ehh, glandular organ in your abdomen.

ERIC:

[sniff]

MAN:

You know, it's, uh,-- it's reddish-brown. It's sort of, uhh,--

MR. BROWN:

Yeah,-- y-- y-- yeah, I know what it is, but... I'm using it, eh.

ERIC:

Come on, sir.

MR. BROWN:

Hey! Hey! Stop!

ERIC:

Don't muck us about.

MR. BROWN:

Stop! Hey! Hey! Stop it. Hey!

MAN:

Hallo.

MR. BROWN:

Ge-- get off.

MAN:

What's this, then? Mmh.

MR. BROWN:

A liver donor's card.

MAN:

Need we say more?

ERIC:

No!

MR. BROWN:

Listen! I can't give it to you now. It says, 'in the event of death'. Uh. Oh! Ah. Ah. Eh.

MAN:

No one who has ever had their liver taken out by us has survived.

MR. BROWN:

Agh.

ERIC:

Just lie there, sir. It won't take a minute.

so HAVE you signed your liver donor card??

I've just had a lovely time with so many varied and clever medical personal and equipment, just to be told "your liver's pooped out"..... ah modern science! I'm delevoping a healthy paranoia of phlebotomists and large machines that say, not just ping, but utter a cacophony of bangs, whirs, and bangs.

Ah well, hang on for chapter two this week....

Peace

Afrikaans (South Africa) – VREDE * Albanian – PAKE * Arabic – SALAAM * Armenian – HASHDOOTYUN * Bengali – SHANTI * Bulgarian – MIR * Catalan – PAU * Chinese - HE PING * Czech – MIR * Cree – PATUKAYNUMIN * Danish – FRED * Dari Persian (Afghanistan) – SULH * Dutch – VREDE * English - PEACE * Inuit (Greenland) – ERKIGSINEK * Fijiian – BULA * Finnish – RAUHA * French – PAIX * German – FRIEDEN * Greek – IRINI * Hawaiian – ALOHA * Hebrew – SHALOM * Hindi – SHANTI * Hungarian – BÉKE * Icelandic – FRIÐUR * Indonesian – DAMAI * Irish – SÍOCHÁIN * Italian – PACE * Japanese – HEIWA * Kinyarwandu (Rwanda) – AMAHORO * Korean – PHYONGHWA * Lao – SANTIPHAP * Luganda (Uganda) – EMIREMBE * Malay – KEAMANAN * Maltese – PACI * Maori (New Zealand) – RONGO * Nepali – SHANTI * Norwegian – FRED * Persian (Iran) – SULH * Pilipino (Philippines) – KATAHIMIKAN * Pintupi (Australia) – YATANPA * Polish – POKÓJ * Rundi (Burundi) – AMAHORO * Russian – MIR * Sanskrit – SHANTI * Serbo-Croatian – MIR * Shona (Zimbabwe) – RUNYARARO * Spanish – PAZ * Swahili (Kenya, Tanzania) – AMANI * Swedish – FRED * Tamil (Sri Lanka, India, Singapore) – SAMADANAM * Thai – SANTIPHAP * Tibetan – SIDI * Turkish – BARIS * Urdu (Pakistan) – AMAN * Vietnamese - HÒA BÌNH * Welsh - HEDDWICH *Zulu (South Africa) - UKUTHULA

You may find yourself in meditation, seeking meaning in the world. Turning within is the best place to start any search, because it is where all of our answers lie. When we go within, we find we have every possible tool at our disposal. We have a connection to the universal energy that runs the cosmos and every molecule in existence; intuition that guides us from that highest of sources; a heart that knows what truly moves us; and a mind that holds our every experience in its memory. When we use all of these together today, we know who we are and what path to follow.

Connecting our source reminds us that the universe has limitless unformed energy and that we can shape it to fit our desires. We assign meaning to our lives because we are largely responsible for its creation. Every choice we've made in our lives has led us to where we are right now. And we can make new choices in every moment to lead us to our goals and dreams. When we spend time connecting to what makes us who we are as well as to our limitless potential, we can move confidently forward in the world. Though we may meet obstacles and face challenges, we know that we are equipped with the tools that will allow us to work with whatever the universe sends our way. Today you can choose to work from your center to live your most meaningful life.

SaveDarfur.org has a post called "Educate Others" that's worth checking out...

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have responded to the suffering in Darfur by standing up and demanding that their governments take action to end the crisis. However, many individuals still have not heard about the genocide in Darfur. To build the political will necessary to end the genocide it is imperative that more people learn about the security and humanitarian crisis in Darfur and find out how they can help end the genocide. We have created materials to help you teach others about the ongoing genocide in Darfur. These resources include background information on the conflict in Darfur, a PowerPoint presentation, and recommendations for engaging your audience in advocacy activity on behalf of the people of Darfur.

SaveDarfur.org has a post called "Fatima Haroun Responds to State of the Union Address"

I left my home in Philadelphia full of hope Tuesday morning. I carried this hope, and that of my fellow Darfurians, with me to Washington to hear President Bush’s State of the Union address. Congressman Steve Israel from New York invited me to this special occasion. Talking with him during the day, I learned that he also wanted President Bush to use his platform on Tuesday night to lay out a plan to end the genocide that has ravaged my homeland for four years.

President Bush did mention Darfur in his speech, saying that the US will "continue to awaken the conscience of the world to save the people of Darfur.” As I sat in the Capitol gallery, I appreciated his words but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment. I did not see how those words could be more than the promises that Darfurians have heard from the international community over the last four years.

Darfurians have heard the outcry of the American people and the world community who have taken on the responsibility of speaking out for those that are unable to speak for themselves. What they are still waiting for, though, is a tangible solution for the world’s greatest ongoing humanitarian crisis. President Bush and the United States Congress declared the situation in Darfur a genocide over two years ago, and I am still hopeful that they will work together to offer a solution to the crisis before his tenure is complete.

The situation in Darfur is currently at a turning point. On the ground the violence has escalated in recent months and even spilled over the border into Chad and Central African Republic. What we as Darfurians are asking is that President Bush and the international community push for the implementation of an effective international peacekeeping force, already authorized by U.N. Security Council resolution 1706, to protect our friends and family who remain unprotected.

I remain confident that the international community will come to the aid of those still struggling to survive in Darfur, but I don’t know how much longer hope can sustain them.

What you can do

UUSC: Drumbeat for Darfur:
Acting to End Genocide Now
UNICEF - Crisis in Darfur
Wristbands etc
Eyewitness account



or you can do nothing.

MY LOVE

I love this man....!!!