There is so much good still left in this world

As my friend Wilma relayed this story to me, I knew I had to share it with you. Enjoy, and make it a great day for someone!

My son and I went shopping to get him some new shoes and clothes for his birthday and the upcoming school year, to lunch and to run some errands. By the time we got to the store to buy his shirts and jeans I was feeling my budget, so we hit the sales. We got in line and had everything all worked out in our budget. He had picked out this one pair of jeans that was more than I usually pay, but by being frugal in other areas we managed to squeeze them in.

There was a lady in front of us with three little girls aged from around 11-15 with all her finds for school clothes from the clearance and sales who was watching everything ring up and told the clerk to let her know when she got to $200 (I thought to myself what a task to dress 3 girls for school on $200, well she got to her limit and fell short of her items by a little. So the girls and her were trying to figure out what to leave off. My son whispers to me mom I will put back those jeans and you can help her. I started to tell him no, but when I looked at his face and had a flash of my mom go through my mind I just couldn't, so I said okay and we offered up the rest to cover her. It was so worth it!!!! The girls were all smiles and mom hugged us crying. Not the end here.

I took my turn next and told the clerk I was not taking the jeans so she put them under the counter and checked us out. We started walking away and an older woman who had been at the checkout next to us at the counter called to my son, held out a bag and said "Young man you deserve this" as she handed him a bag with the jeans in it. She then proceeded to tell me and my son what a fine young man he was.

There is so much good still left in this world. ♥ I did not even realize she had heard my son and I talking.

I hope you will take a moment to get to know Wilma. You can stop by her facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/AvocadoLanes or visit her at http://www.addoway.com/AvocadoLane/storefront
In love and peace,
Susan

Black Friday Special: Receive a FREE Oshun Spirit Gift Certificate

Today's Early Bird Special!

20% PLUS $10 if you shop before 3pm DST

Checkout between 9 am and 3pm DST at Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Traders and/or Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Goods on Black Friday, November 25, and we'll give you an Oshun Spirit Gift Certificate worth $10 PLUS 20% of your combined purchases over $50! Gift certificates are sent via email so you can print out and send in a card or attach via email. Their code is valid for one year at oshunspirit.net and oshunspirit.com 

So stock up on spa essentials, readings and energy work to be scheduled later, and purchase unique gifts for the special people in your life today, and we'll send you a gift certificate worth 20 % of your purchases... to give or keep. Our 20% gift card offer ends at midnight, 

and no minimum purchase is required.

Remember, you will also receive a beautiful Zebra bangle

with your purchase of $75 or more at Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Goods 

Is your purchase a gift?

Just let us know and we'll artfully wrap it and include a handwritten note. 

We LOVE our customers and your special requests are always welcome!

Let us know how we can help you today.

11 11 11 Sale Event at Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Goods

Where will you be on 11/11/11?

 Well, we hope that you will spend a few minutes of your day at Oshun Spirit enjoying our one day sale!  Just enter code 1111 at checkout at both www.oshunspirit.com and www.oshunspirit.net and take $11.11 off your total purchase of $29 or more! 

(Limit 1 coupon/customer/site.)

Why?

Many Americans, Canadians and Australians have a moment of silence at 11am (11:00) local time on November 11 each year to honor soldiers who fought for their country.

Many people believe 11:11:11 is an opening of a stargate.

Some think a DNA code activation...

Or Angels at play...

If you see 11:11 regularly on clocks and  microwaves no doubt you have experienced coincidences and synchronicities around these numbers and also see purpose in the patterns that perhaps you just can't put your finger on...  an awareness that there is something bigger and you are a part of it - that life itself is communicating with you...

At Oshun Spirit we see this is a ONCE in a lifetime event,

and also a ONES in a lifetime event.
We celebrate to recognize on this date, we are all "1" in our humanity. 

But no matter what you choose to ascribe to the phenomena 11 11 11, it is a moment in life between what was and what will be, where we were and where we are going. 

May you be blessed!

Enjoy the sale.

Enjoy Free Gift Wrapping at Oshun Spirit!

Of course Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Goods will be your first stop for unique and memorable gifts. Please lt us make your gift giving even easier and more beautiful! We'll artfully wrap your gifts using 100% recycled kraft-style wrapping paper, natural fiber ribbons and rafia, and fragrant seasonal delights! And, if you wish, we'll include a handwritten note in each package. Of course, there is no charge for these services... just let us know that your purchase is a gift! 

Natural Bath and Body at Sweet Water Spa

Intuitive Arts and Healing
Gemstone Oils

Fair Trade Products  

Pandora-style Bracelets and Beads
Tachyon Jewelry and Wellness Products

Pashmina, Silk, Bamboo, and Genuine Mudcloth Scarves

Chinese Blooming Teas • Himalayan Red Salt
Salt Lamps • Meditation Pyramids

Gift Certificates

  
We LOVE our customers and your special requests are always welcome! Let us help you shine this season magical of Light!

In Love and Peace,

Susan and the gang!

Occupy Wall Street by Supporting Independent Merchants in Both your Local and Virtual Communities!

Significantly more money re-circulates in your community when you buy from locally owned, rather than nationally owned, businesses: More money stays in the community because locally owned businesses purchase from other local businesses, service providers, and farms. Purchasing locally helps grow other businesses as well as your community’s revenue base, making upgrades and improvements possible.

Here are ten good reasons to shop at independently owned businesses in your local community:

1. Studies show that for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 stays in the local economy, creating jobs and expanding the city’s tax base. For every $100 spent at a national chain or franchise store, only $14 remains in the community.

2. Local businesses provide most new jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally, and in most communities provide the most new jobs to residents.

3. One-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of a community’s distinctive character: The unique character of any town or region is what people love about it, and what tourists come to visit. Richard Moe, president of the National Historic Preservation Trust, says, “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.”

4. Local business owners invest in community: People who own local businesses live in the community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.

5. Customer service is better: Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service.

6. Competition and diversity lead to more choices: A marketplace of many small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

7. Local businesses have less environmental impact: Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases, requiring less transportation, and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss, and pollution.

Now think of the Addoway marketplace, or your facebook friends, or your networked blogs as a village. Where we shop, where we sell, and hang out—all of it makes our virtual village "home." One-of-a-kind, independent businesses are an integral part of what makes YOUR virtual village a great place to be!

More good reasons to shop from independently owned businesses in your virtual community.

1. On Addoway, the independent businesses are owned by people who are part of this community and are committed to investing in its future.

2. Studies have found that independent businesses contribute more than twice as much of their revenue to charitable causes as corporate chains do. And advocates of charitable causes find that independent business owners are generally much more accessible than executives of large corporations.

3. A marketplace of many small businesses helps to ensure more innovation and competition, and lower prices over the long term. Independent businesses, choosing products based on what their loyal customers need and desire, not a national sales plan, guarantees a more diverse range of product and service choices.

4. Independent business owners and employees often possess a level of expertise and a passion for the products they sell that is unmatched by employees and managers of national chains. They also tend to have a greater interest in getting to know their customers. Simply put, local owners and employees take a special pride in their trade.

5. Entrepreneurship fuels America’s economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class.  The success of independent businesses provides real-life inspiration to our young people, proving that they can prosper on their own terms.

In an increasingly homogenized world, both virtual and local communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character are more likely to attract entrepreneurs and new investment. Addoway merchants place a high value on individuality and consider their homegrown enterprises a source of pride. Buying from locally-owned and operated  and independent online merchants, and not from big box stores, chains, and franchises, keeps more of our money circulating in our  local AND virtual communities.  This holiday season we can either invest in our own community or watch our money leave our community to work elsewhere to enrich others.

BE part of the solution. BE the change you wish to see in the world.

As part of the Alternative Market Movement, our goal at Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Traders is to encourage individual awareness, and individual action by forming and participating in viable trade networks which provide alternatives from the diseased global economy currently in place... so that we may all share in abundance and prosperity.

Who is this talking dog? It's Cool Dog Duke!

Characterized by "talking dogs" a percentage of all Cool Dog Duke sales support organizations that "give animals a voice." See  more fun videos of the lab gang – Duke, Harley, Skooter – and their little friend Hoover (a talking chipmunk) at www.Cool Dog Duke.com! 

Select Cool Dog Duke fun gear is now available at Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Traders. Choose hats, t-shirts, totebags, stickers and decor. Wag More Bark Less,  Cat's Don't Know Sit,  Pack Leader and more!

Share the Love!

Annual Summer Clearance Sale! Save 20% on all products AND services!

 

Annual Summer Clearance at Oshun Spirit!
Enter code SAVE20 at checkout and take 20% off
all products and services thru September.

Stock up now!

 

At Oshun Spirit, our focus is on personal development, health & wellness, and oneness consciousness as paths to global transformation. Since 1994, our mission has been to support those who value a commitment to the well-being of all people and life on our planet, knowing that positive changes must first come from within ourselves.

Shop our selection of Fair Trade handcrafts for inspired, eco-friendly, and socially responsible gift giving. You'll return again and again for our all-natural Sweet Water Spa therapies, salts and mineral muds and our quality Tachyon wellness products. Discover beautiful bio-resonance jewelry that soothes the soul as it adorns the body. Intuitive healing sessions and readings are scheduled by appointment. 

For your security and convenience we accept all major credit cards through Google Checkout and Paypal. US Postal Money Orders are also accepted as a payment option from our US customers. We ship via domestic and international USPS Priority Mail, and add only $1 per each additional item.

We love our customers and your special requests are always welcome! The coupon code valid only at www.oshunspirit.net BUT we will honor the sale prices at the addoway storefront as well. Just email your combined order from both sites to us and we'll create a custom invoice for you from your choice of paypal or googlecheck out which combines shipping and applies the 20% discount!

David Wilcock: The Source Field Investigations

Oshun Spirit Gift Certificates: The Perfect Gift!

Oshun Spirit is a holistic lifestyle company that focuses on conscious solutions for personal transformation. We offer the resources you need to achieve self-growth, live a healthy lifestyle and to positively transform our world. Our "Earth Friendly Goods" empowers you – and all people – as you shop Fair Trade, earth friendly, and upcycled gifts.

Our selection of Fair Trade handcrafts is especially chosen for inspired, eco-conscious, and socially responsible gift giving. You'll return again and again for our all-natural Sweet Water Spa therapies, salts and mineral muds and our quality Tachyon wellness products. Discover beautiful bio-resonance jewelry that soothes the soul as it adorns the body. Intuitive healing sessions and readings are scheduled by appointment.  

Can't decide? Choose an Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Goods Gift Certificate. Gift certificates are sent to you via email as .pdf documents so you can print them out and tuck them into cards, or attach to email greetings. They are available in $25, $50, and $100 denominations.

Gift Certificates are redeemed by entering the code at checkout. They may be used on our website www.oshunspirit.net or at our Addoway storefront www.oshunspirit.com.

As you create your own personal development path toward the life transformation you seek, remember that every purchase you make at Oshun Spirit Earth Friendly Goods also contributes to the transformation of our world.

 May you be blessed!

How to welcome synchronicity – the rhythm of the cosmos – into your life

Sometimes things go exactly right. You might call it luck, or good karma, or coincidence. You could thank your guardian angel, the spirit of your ancestors, your patron saint, or lucky stars.

We all have our own anecdotal stories of synchronicity appearing in our lives. When we look at these amazing events on their own they are hard to understand, but often we can see an underlying pattern of small and large nudges we get from chance and luck and fate that we paid attention to. If we become conscious of what is happening around us we’ll see such gifts everywhere, and realize that synchronicity is always beckoning to us.


But first, we must trust that there is an energy in the universe that exists, and that "it" has a plan to use us to benefit our world. That trust has to be a deep trust. We must understand our spirituality from the perspective that our contribution expresses and manifests the purpose, the meaning, and the significance of our lives. It is our legacy of love. We must also understand that the answer to the question, "what IS my purpose?" lies not just in our intellect but in our heart.

Second, we must be prepared to notice when this energy gives us help, and be alert to the many ways it can operate. If we’re unaware of its methods we may stop noticing how it comes into our lives. If we’re ignorant we can’t work with what arrives in terms of opportunity. Plenty of people are waiting for their ‘big break’ but it is a waste of time. The big break only ever happens because there were a lot of little breaks first, ones that someone worked at with plenty of energy and trust.

Third, we must expect to be used by this synchronous energy in ways that seem to be counter-logical. The universe has a plan for our lives and we must learn to trust it and do our part. So we have to let go of ego expectations and rewards. There will be rewards, but they probably won’t be what we imagine. They’ll be better.

Deepak Chopra describes a tradition in the Vedanta where they say that you experience synchronicity when you have Ritam Bara Pragyan.  Ritam is the word for rhythm, order of the universe; Bara means ‘full of’; Pragyan means ‘mind’. So Ritam Bara Pragyan means he whose mind, or she whose mind is filled with the rhythm of the cosmos. So when the elements and forces in you and the elements and forces in the cosmos are totally aligned, then in that expression, in that field of almost choiceless awareness, a little subtle intention orchestrates its own fulfillment. That little subtle intention, in that field where the elements and forces are aligned, summon forth the "possibility waves" to cohere together, to collapse into space time events that are synchronized so that the outcome is determined.

Getting into this place – the space of synchronicity – is not as simple as wishing for something and then expecting it to appear. It involves aligning with the energies of the cosmos and seizing our opportunities to grow into compassion. After all it is the compassionate universe that is at the heart of synchronicity.

Seeing our own anger, for example, can lead us to think again about whether anger is even necessary. Usually it isn’t. Thinking in this way will inevitably cause us to have compassion for others’ anger. Noticing our own longing can make us more open and generous to those who are in the grip of greed and desire. Witnessing how we dislike others can lead us back to love, and to loving those who are stuck in the place of hatred. We forgive them, and at the same time we forgive ourselves. Then we can let go of those negative feelings.

Getting free of all these ego-demands is all we need to do if we are to welcome synchronicity fully into our lives. My gift is my ability to assist awakening people to access the wisdom of their compassionate essence which resides in the heart. Source has given you an awareness, a consciousness within your heart which is your own source of inner wisdom, a knowing when synchronicity is beckoning to you.

This consciousness is not like your intellect. It is not constantly thinking, planning, remembering, imagining, and so forth. It is more of a feeling, an awareness, a state of being connected to everything in the universe. When you get aligned with it and stay with it, and trust it you'll be able to use it.

You can call it luck, or good karma, or coincidence.

I call it the miracle that is our life on Earth.

May you be blessed!

image credit: susangailtaylorgernenz

Headline News

I've decided I am going to choose my own headlines from now on. 

Although I always wake up happy and excited to greet the day, by the time I have scanned the headlines of the morning news, read my emails, and returned a few telephone calls I realize I have  already become negatively affected by the sufferings of the day. Flooding. Fires. War. Recession. Lost Dogs. Sick Children. Insensitive Jerks. Arrogant Bullies.  With just a bit of exposure I can quickly feel tired and drained –  both physically, mentally, and emotionally – even after a good night's sleep. 

We all have a certain amount of chi, or life force energy, that is ours by nature of our karma, our spiritual practices and life habits including diet, exercise and environment. But that life force can get used up pretty quickly if we allow our emotional responses to dictate its stewardship. As an empath, when I get caught up in the drama and illusions of the world stage it is very easy for me to end up without the energy I need to work and play.

We all tend to see the world through the emotion we happen to be feeling. If you are exposed to the feelings of sad, or angry there is a good chance that the world will seem that way to you. Everyone has unhealed emotional wounds that open and weep when the world touches them. And this disease spreads when left untreated.

The cure? Forgiveness.

We really can heal all emotional wounds by forgiveness... of ourselves, our parents, family, friends, our systems and nations, and everyone who has wronged us. When you have forgiven you'll no longer have any emotional reaction to like-persons or to events which trigger the emotions that feed it. Forgive but don't forget, wisdom is learned only by experience.

But the moment anything happens in my life that is challenging to my balance, or generating an emotional response in which I am losing power, moving into fear, I pause and ask, “What did I do to create this opportunity to grow. What is the lesson here. What do I need"?

Knowing that fear is "my needs announced" usually, when I ask that question, the answer comes pretty quickly and easily.  I run down my fears, doubts, concerns... identify my victimization, my open wound, and recenter in forgiveness and gratitude for the lesson. This recharges me. Instantly.

I have learned that I am a co-creative force in the universe, and that when I get clear about what I actively create, I experience harmony and peace. It all comes down to perception. Am I looking at life from the viewpoint of empowerment or victimization? If I see myself as a victim of circumstances, I have decided that someone or something else has the power, and I am helpless.

When I stand in a space of confidence and assuredness, I see everything as an opportunity to learn and expand.

I am willing to take responsibility for my life and stop looking outside of myself for reassurance that everything will be all right. I absolutely knows that I am in charge of my experience, and therefore I can choose to be all right no matter what is happening around me.

I take a deep look at my beliefs around being powerless in the moment and I realize that is a lie. I can always choose to live from a place of deep peace and profound joy.

"I release anything that does not serve my higher good. I focus on what is working in my life. As I do, I draw even more good things into my life."

It's a choice. Spread the news.

May you be blessed!

Installed and Running

Tech Support: Yes Ma'am... how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me though the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart ma'am?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running ma'am?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past/Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past/Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of it's own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ma'am?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - program not run on external components." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry ma'am. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Can you pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey!!! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: I promise to do just that. By the way, what's your name?

Tech Support: Just call me the Divine Cardiologist, also known as the Great Physician, or, just "I AM." Most people feel all they need is an annual checkup to stay heart-healthy; but, the manufacturer (ME) suggests a daily maintenance schedule for maximum Love efficiency.

Thank you for sharing this! (author unknown)

Wake Up Star Seeds

Watch full screen and enjoy!

An Unforgettable Dinner Party

I am planning a party for a small group of friends, and I need a  plan. My friends expect that I will create something unique, something with lasting impact...

... BECAUSE it's going to be another Pay It Forward Party. It was a fabulous Dinner Party, Yes it was!

In a few courses, and the course of a few hours, we'll together create a life-changing event for ourselves and others. I just need to think of the framework...

This year I'm thinking about a community garden at the Assisted Living Facility, outside the Alzheimers Unit. And I'm thinking bees, worms, seeds, soil, hours of volunteering to turn the soil, pick up trucks full of loam and chicken wire, and a buffet for the hungry gardeners... So maybe I'll do a brunch sweet and savory, not dinner. Crepes, Blueberry Pancakes, Eggs Benedict, Strawberries dipped in Chocolate...

My friends are prepared to give, and I believe my community is too. I need to make some calls... I'm going to ask for some donations. I think I know who'll give us the loam, and the plants... the folding tables for the buffet...

Last summer, when my eight dinner guests arrived, each of the four couples received $50 and instructions written on leaves of a centerpiece cleverly designed as a giving tree. The money was to help others... in the spirit of fun! I won the money in a rubber duck-over-the-waterfall-race, my number fell first.

So, while eating an exquisite dinner overlooking the lake, we gave thanx for our blessings and discussed ways to "spend" the money. At the end of our meal, we all headed out to town with the sole purpose of having some fun, spreading some joy. It's a flat trail, an easy mile walk down abandoned railroad tracks which have been converted into a bike and hiking trail. We were not out of breath due to exertion, yet there was not much talking. Wheels were spinning... we were almost running... in our hearts and minds.

Once we got to town we scattered. One filled up motorist’s gas tank, one took takeout Chinese to the volunteers at our little fire station, we dropped a load of quarters off at the laundrymat. We gave out $10 bills outside the market, on the sidewalk, and bought snacks for kids at the hot dog stand at Little League Field.  I know that some of my dear friends contributed more of their own money but before the night was over my friends had given more than money. The arborist had made arrangements to look at someone's rotten tree hanging over their roof, I volunteered to do an art project at the Town's summer program for kids, and my dear friend with the pick up truck agreed to pick up a free sofa for a young couple who just needed a way to get it to their first apartment.

We felt so good. It was such a gift for us to be able to go around and play Santa thanx to a rubber duck who bobbed along in a straight line. I think we are probably genetically wired to do good and care for others, the traits of generosity, kindness and compassion are certainly necessary for procreation and group survival. But in the modern world we sometimes miss out on the joy of giving...

We felt good as we connected with people amazed at their good fortune. But the best part of the evening was the walk home, we were laughing, screaming, hooting and hollering in anticipation "of the next time", even before we fully savored the experience and felt the deeper feelings that accompanied the evening. In the rush of good feelings, during that brisk walk, a tradition was born..

So tonite, I am planning this years event. Just remembering the joy, a burst of creativity bubbled up.

It will be an unforgettable sandwich.

May you be inspired!

Playing with Light? I LOVE Photons!

According to Willkipedia, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Because the photon has no rest mass; this allows for interactions at long distances...

So naturally, I'd be starry-eyed from the get-go...

But the Photon$ I'm talking about are the free little currency packets of ka-ching-real-cash spendable tidbits on the cool selling venue, yardsellr. You'll get $10 worth just for signing up and if you are like me, with a gazillion seller friends, you'll get $5 more each time a facebook friend joins.  Photon$ can be thought of as reward points for yardsellr members. If you go on a treasure hunt on Yardsellr, you can win Photon$ just by commenting on listings and buying things on yardsellr.com. Yes, you get more when you buy stuff!!! And you can earn up to a million per day LOL!

So, last week when I logged onto yardsellr I discovered this pile of Photon$ I never knew I had.  I spent about $200 in FREE Photon$ and I only paid about $20 in buyer fees called the yardsellr slice (sellers don't pay listing fees) but shipping was free on everything so that was the deal of the century...

There's no minimum purchase or percentage you must use, so if you've got the Photon$ to spend... you don't have to add any cash except the (10%+-) buyer slice.  You do need to use paypal or a major credit card to shop on yardsellr. Photon$ really is a great promotion, and I'm sure it won't last forever...

but there are some really great sellers there and some very cool goodies...

PLUS

If you've got Photon$ to spend, and love Oshun Spirit products and services, just make your wish list from either http://www.oshunspirit.net or http://www.oshunspirit.com  (or combine goodies from both sites) send it to me, and I'll make you a custom listing on yardsellr. Yardsellr pays me with cash, but it's all free for you! And FREE is good!

Seller friends, are you selling on yardsellr? Feel free to drop your user name here in the comments and some links to your goodies. What cool things have you picked up with your Photon$?

It is Spring. The Earth is calling you.

I recently raked my beach and restored my Medicine Wheel after a long winter of storms, and waves and wind. As I raked around it, I noted that the pattern had been pushed to the East. Only those stones were scattered, calling my attention.

The Medicine Wheel teaches that beginnings begin in the East, where the Sun rises to each new dawn. Spring is the season of the East, and the time of change. It is the season of new ideas, and seeing the light. Spring is the season when all things begin to grow and awaken.

Yellow is the color associated with East (and the Goddess Oshun). In the Medicine Wheel, yellow is the color of the Path of Life, to begin the walk as a "warrior", to shine in all that you do. The energy to do and to begin the action of the mind and heart is located in the East. The sun rising in the East empowers each of us. The totems of the East include animals of wings and flight. Our words are given to the east that the smoke in the air or the voices in the air may be carried to Spirit.

I was mindful of this as I replaced the stones, noting I needed to bring down a few more quartz clusters  which had been lost to the sands of time, resting back in the Earth from where they were born. I thought briefly of my own grandchildren, yet unborn, digging the clusters up on some future sunny summer's day. I watched my own boys, now young men, raking leaves and carrying away debris and I intuited, "they are already here." I felt content, and at deep peace with the circle that formed in my consciousness.

Last night had a dream in which the Grandmothers came to my Medicine Wheel and replaced the East stones with glowing blue eggs. Bigger than robin's eggs and deeper blue, I thought about the flock of Robins that had been in the yard yesterday, they caught my attention because they were tweeting so loundly. In my dream I thought, "Oh I am just dreaming this because of all those Robins, I forgot to replace the quartz clusters..." when I got a sharp NO! and was promptly propelled into another dream segment.

I am not going to elaborate on the cast of characters who entered my consciousness, and who rose up from the depths of history to share their wisdom. I will not share what was contained within the blue eggs. But I will tell you that am I am still shaking. And I will also tell you that the Goddess in her many forms stayed with me, changing her face as was required by the incarnations of the messengers, to make sure I "got it."


Our environments have been degraded, climate affected, our life-sustaining resources are being depleted and ruined by human ignorance and human greed. I was shown how politics and even religion itself will be used as weapons of war, as a leverage to separate people and to pit them against one another in a great conflict, not over ideology, but over the resources of the world, and how the conflict will be masked. It will be clothed in the disguise of politics and religion, but in essence it will be a competition for and over access and distribution of resources.

We citizens of the world are entering a time of self-imposed difficulty and environmentally-forced change to balance it. The world’s resources are declining. Populations are growing. And as this is occurring, there will be continued competition, manipulation, and conflict and war. Ancient animosities will be aroused. Prejudices will be played upon and used by those who are ambitious within both governments and religious institutions. Human weakness will be preyed upon, and fear will be pervasive.

The Goddess of My Understanding intends for humanity to become united and self-sufficient within a Universe full of intelligent life. Human strengths will be celebrated, and love will be the way.

I do intuit that there are beings, and systems, both within and beyond this world who are awaiting humanity’s failure to do so. I believe that just as there are human beings awaiting the opportunity to intervene in order to take advantage of a weak and conflicted humanity, there are interdimensional beings also sitting in the front row seats watching the show.

And, I do believe that throughout time, The Goddess has been sent forward into the world for the protection and advancement of humanity. And I believe she has birthed again for the very same reason. To make sure my grandchildren come to dig those crystals out of the beach, that the lake remains pristine and its creatures abundant.

What is threatening our human family and threatening to send it into despair, threatening to undermine the well-being and survival of people everywhere is our own blindness. Our ability to be manipulated. And, our fear.

Humanity’s possibility to navigate these difficult times is very small unless we embrace the collective wisdom of the Divine Feminine. The possibility for humanity to avoid ongoing war, conflict and degradation is very small unless the principles of the Goddess are restored to mass consciousness. The promise for humanity to begin a greater future, a future that will be unlike the past, will be very small if  the masculine principals of control and consumption, coersion and conquer are left in place to guide us forward.

To those who will be tempted to take up arms in the name of religion or political advantage: You must recognize that your thoughts, your intent and your actions go against the Goddess’s will for humanity. They are in violation of what Mother Earth intends for humanity. Of what all Mothers intend for their children.

It is Spring. The Earth is calling you. The Goddess, Divine Mother, is calling you. You must only sit quietly, out in the sunshine, and open your heart to hear. Her voice has never been more clear. Each day is a good new day with a fresh beginning, a new start.

May you be blessed!

Natural Dangers

Eric Stevenson is a health and safety advocate who resides in the Southeastern US. He is very passionate about people's mental and physical health and how people can avoid environmental elements that can lead to chronic and terminal illness. We are pleased to feature Eric as a guest blogger on Oshun Spirit Living Light today!

When we hear something is “natural,” we tend to think of it as something good and healthy, or at the very least benign.  However, just because something occurs in nature does not make it good for humankind – or other life on the earth, for that matter.  The following substances can be found in nature, but should still be avoided.



Asbestos



Asbestos, though somewhat unusual and thread-like in appearance, is mined from the earth just like many other minerals.  Records of the use of asbestos go back thousands of years, as far as the ancient Greeks and Romans who knew that this mineral could be woven into cloth that could be thrown into a fire without burning.  However, it wasn’t until the late 1800s that commercial use of asbestos really took off.  It was put in nearly everything you could imagine – insulation, floor and ceiling tiles, wall panels, navy ships, small appliances, protective clothing, and much more.  Its fireproofing capabilities likely saved many lives, but not without dire cost.



The thread-like structure of asbestos is what makes it so dangerous – small, needle-like fibers can break away and float into the air, where they can be breathed in.  Once lodged in the tissues of the body, it is nearly impossible to remove these tiny fibers.  Over time, they can cause lung scarring, asbestosis, and even mesothelioma, a fatal cancer of the lining of the chest. Mesothelioma symptoms like shortness of breath, pain or tightness in the chest, and fluid around the lungs are often confused with other, less serious lung ailments until the cancer has spread throughout the body.  Luckily, asbestos has largely been replaced in most products, but individuals renovating older homes and buildings should take caution and consult a professional if they believe asbestos is present.



Radon Gas



Like asbestos, radon gas comes from beneath the ground, but unlike the mineral, no mining or manufacture is required to bring this substance into the home.  Radon is a product of the breakdown of uranium, a radioactive element in the earth’s crust, and when it sublimates into a gas, it can leak up into the basement or ground floor of a home or other building.  The concentration of radon varies widely according to geographical location, so some people may not need to worry about it.  However, those within radon hotspots need to exercise caution and consider testing the air in their homes to see if they need additional ventilation to keep their homes healthy.  Though smoking is by far the number one cause of lung cancer, according to a National Institutes of Health  report on environmental cancer, radon gas is the second most common cause.



The good news is that, though both of these dangerous substances occur naturally, they can be avoided with a little awareness and planning.  Living a healthy life involves respecting the natural world and understanding what aspects of it we can.  Symptoms of mesothelioma and lung cancer are serious, but can in many cases be avoided by being aware of our surroundings and making healthy choices.

image credit: thelakemathewsnews.com

I got a new IPAD for Christmas... a true story

I had this dream last night: My new Ipad had an app that allowed me to dress a "consciousness" in anything I wanted, like a paperdoll but 3D or actually 4D, and so I spent time with it (her) and then I chose physical attributes so she looked like a princess fairy.

The energy was lovely. I loved her.

She said to me, "thank you but I am not very well suited for your world." So I found these these sharp plastic "legos" that snapped together and had gears and armor and I put them on her and she said, "OK, I'm ready to go."

And then I asked her if she really liked that and she said it was OK except she couldn't raise her arms all the way up and it hurt to talk, something was poking in her mouth. So I took it all off and I said, "just take your chances," and she flew off.

I wasn't afraid for her at all.

I've been thinking about this all day.
Ipads are so much more than they seem, yes?

Wishing You The Spirit of Christmas!

"Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy,

is to have the real spirit of Christmas." 

~Calvin Coolidge, 1927

Today, for me, begins this years Christmas season "moment." Because for me, memories have an energy attached to them which resonates far longer, and far stronger, than the words that were said, the food that was served, the presents under the tree.

Today I get myself centered in the Spirit of Christmas.

"Christmas is that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, 

that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.

It may weave a spell of nostalgia.  Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer,

but always it will be a day of remembrance,

a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved. "

~Augusta E. Rundel

Today, as I wrap the gifts, plan our meals, shop for groceries, begin the baking... as I tidy up and cut some last minute greens to bring in to freshen the arrangements, I will be mindful of the energy I bring to each task.

I will let someone with a larger cart and three tired children go ahead of me in line at the market and I will entertain the children for those five minutes so the mother can catch a break.

I will drop off a few baskets for people I do not know, but do know that they deserve a gesture of love and goodwill.

I will make a few stops to express my gratitude in person to the Wise Women at the Post Office who go the extra mile to keep my business running smoothly, to the Butcher who saves the best bones for the "Lab Gang," and to my Housekeeper who joyfully does the things I don't like to do so I may do the things I do, in a beautiful, clean environment.

"Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself..."
~Norman Wesley Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas," 1976

And I will bring this Spirit home...

First I'll fill my bird feeders and throw corn and peanuts on the ground for the squirrels.

I'll give the dogs big fresh bones and light a fire for them to sit in front of while they feast and I bake.

I will enter this moment with a song in my heart, gratitude for my blessings, and hope for our world.

Every year I purchase a fresh bottle of laundry detergent and put a bow on it ( meaning Mom's got you covered, just leave it and I'll do it). I know that all three boys will bring mountains of smelly manboy clothes with them as they bound through the door, and head straight for the kitchen. I will wash and dry the loads for them, it's secretly a gift to myself, I can inhale the traces of their luscious being before I toss the piles in the wash. I laugh that I once complained about those socks all thru the house. They are pure joy!

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients
of a truly merry Christmas"

~Peg Bracken

My family is healthy and happy. There won't be a lot of gifts under the tree for everyone is traveling. I  have always preferred to give gifts of experience, of new people and places, rather than things. When the boys were young and we found ourselves in a hotel far from evergreens and our box of ornaments we would decorate a "Christmas chair" with colorful snowflakes cut from folded brochures from the concierge's desk.

Some years we would celebrate a made up-named evening just by being together and grabbing a cheeseburger, once it was Whistlereve... in Cananda, we had burgers but no gifts, and went to bed at around 9pm.  We woke to fresh powder and we caught the first tram to the top of the mountain. My (at the time) eight-year old, gazing down at the tops of snow covered trees, said in awe, to no none in particular, "That's what Christmas looks like to Santa."

Not a single wrapped gift. Grateful for warm hats and mittens. And a new point of view. Forever.

The energy in the gift has always been, "Go for it, think outside the box, work with what you have, it's just perfect, this moment."

And it is still, "Pursue your passion, try something new, travel into the unknown, go!!!"

(They need clean clothes for that.)

Not everything is perfect. Yes, there are things I am concerned about and working toward. The past few months have been intense, and I am a bit exhausted. I am playing with new ideas, weighing interesting opportunities that challenge me to step further into myself and my own gifts. But in all the challenges we face, we can still push the pause button for a moment and freeze frame the experience we are in, and fully enjoy the distinct moment we are in right now as long as the Spirit of Christmas is present and the energy we bring to the moment is Love.

"Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts."

~Janice Maeditere

So take a break. Realize that the best gifts are those of time and of love. Wrap those in the energy of the open heart and you've got Christmas. A moment to cherish. No matter where you are, no matter what you have, or have not... and here, this is how you make snowflakes for Christmas Chairs:

http://www.highhopes.com/snowflakes.html

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. 

In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."

~Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

May you be blessed!

One Good Thing: Laughlines!

I've got 'em and I admit it... I love 'em!

FYI, as we grow older, small crinkles WILL eventually appear around our eyes. It will happen to you, too. Has it already? Is it time for Botox? The knife? Big black Jackie-O glasses?

Breathe. To me they are a map tracing back thru time to the joys of my life. Some call them wrinkles, or crows feet, but I know that they are laugh lines, time lines, moments of clarity and wisdom that erupted in a chuckle and perhaps even bit of spittle and snort!

The prevention and treatment of crows feet and wrinkles is a bazilliongazillion dollar business... but I'm going to have to treat them because I simply cannot prevent them!

I behave badly, wildly and I cannot contain myself sometimes.

Wrinkle Experts warn to avoid sun exposure, but I have two beaches on my property for a reason...  I'm a sunny girl! I wear sunscreen to prevent burning and sunglasses to prevent squinting, but I love to be outdoors all day on the lake, in summer and winter, spring and fall, and I love to laugh!

I might even consider Botox or laser resurfacing treatments before I give up enjoying Bob Marley and a frosty Magarita with friends under the blazing summer sun, or the laughing that accompanies bad golf, tipped kayaks, snowboarding in Tshirts, or big, wet dogs around ladies in brand new designer weekend wear.

Actually, I do use acupuncture to reduce stress (also called a needle facelift) and and the result is a regenerated, fresh face... clusters of tiny needles placed into the skin around my eyes, on my neck, and shoulders are a small inconvenience for the joy of driving with the top down from April to October.

But embracing the crinkles is like looking back in time, like an album of sorts, of wisdom and joy. These lines affirm that I can see that I am more than capable of embracing my life experiences from a powerful place of learning and growth... and a smile.


Some of the lines I really like were born when I discovered

• that I like hot sauce on my eggs
• that I’m an empath
• that even though I am a mother, I actually DON’T know everything, and probably never will
• how to love myself
• that not everybody’s problem is necessarily mine
• that I have the choice to do anything I want
• that I am not forever young, but by growing older I become wiser and there fore more beautiful
• that I can say no and mean it
• that I can say yes and enjoy it
• that those jeans never made me look as fat as I thought I was! 

Your first laughline... one good thing! Your fiftieth.... even better!
May you be blessed!