All thru December, 2007 and a good part of January, 2008 I was seeing herons everywhere. In every turn of the road, in every field, in every brook there was a heron. They were definitely after me! I even wanted to blog it, and, what's more important, to have a look at Totem Animals to see what the message was, but for some reason I didn't. I did it now. Bummer, shall I ever learn!
http://www.sayahda.com/cyc.html

Quote:
The Heron:
...
Understanding your personal rhythm and responding to it accordingly is imperative for those with this medicine.
...
Those with this medicine have strong emotional natures. They feel things deeply and with passion. The challenge here is to keep passionate thoughts and feelings under control in order to maintain a balanced emotional nature. The advantage of this energy indicates the passion and ambition needed to complete tasks and accomplish goals.
...
Herons stand out in their uniqueness and know how to take advantage of things and events for their own benefit. By observing the heron, its actions and its lack of action we learn how to perfect out personal flight through life. Herons hold a silent power, their grace, agility and majestic presence reflect balance. This balance is the gift they offer to all who choose to receive it.
Unquote

'Understanding your personal rhythm', 'keeping passionate thoughts and feelings under control', and, generally, 'balance' were definitely the name of the game during that period! If only I listened to the wise herons!

Ok, better late than never... If another unusual animal shows up I'll certainly consider what it has to say! (Unusual - I mean, not alley cats).

Recently I translated Earth Chakras Volume 1(Robert Coon) into Russian, and for me, some things do click!

1. Communication centre. Is there any other problem we talk about these days more than about the communication problem? Hardly. So, where's the communication centre? The Middle East! The poor chakra has been being battered for centuries, can it be the reason why there is so much misunderstanding in the world? By the way, Babylon is in that region, too. The prophets have been trying their best but too many words were falling on stony ground... Maybe we all should do some reiki and wish the poor communication centre to get well so that the divine word could be heard loud and clear on this planet?

2. Sexual centre - South America! Well, well, well... passion crime, soap operas... but I don't want to go too far, just look at the way they dance there!

3. The centre of Beauty and Immortality - Mount Fuji, Japan. Is there any other people in the world that have Cherry Blossom Admiration celebrations and The Autumn Full Moon Contemplation festivals? The Centre of Beauty - Japan. Definitely.

To me, it does ring the bell. For more information you are welcome to have a look at http://www.earthchakras.org/

(don't worry, it's in English, not in Russian )

Here I am sitting on the porch and watching the clouds that for all they try don't materialize into the rain... and then suddenly something small comes flying from the neighbour's garden, bounces off the path and ploffs into the pool. Erm?

My first thought: "Is it some unexpected gift?"

There I go to see what has dropped into the garden, literally, out of blue - and find a walnut. Floating in the pool.

I look into the neighbour's garden - nobody. Walnut trees? Nope, not that I can see. Erm... a bird flying over and accidentally dropping the walnut - with almost a scientific precision - on the garden wall which is about 4 inch wide? Well, that's probably the only logical explanation to that. Scientific precision, or pure luck, but I got the walnut! (should I do the jig, I wonder?)

Now... a walnut. A walnut flower is "the remedy for changes" in Bach's flower remedies. There is also a Russian expression "a nut of knowledge" - meaning, if you want to get to the heart of the matter you've got to break thru some barriers - a shell, in this case.

Hm... interesting...

All theories on flying walnuts are welcome!

Hello all

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me and we all could use more calm in our lives.

By following the simple advice I heard on a Medical TV show, I have finally found inner peace.

A Doctor proclaimed the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started.

So I looked around my house to see things I started and hadn't finished and, before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Shhhardonay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of vocka, the last of the whisky, hic, a pockage of Prunglies, tha mainder of bot Prozic and Valum scriptins, the res of the Chesescke an a bax a cholates.

Yu haf no idr who gud I fel.

Peas sen dis orn to dem yu fee ar in ned ov inr pece!

(That reminds me of the "Back in the USSR" tune... gosh, no!
No, The Blogland has nothing to do with the USSR, thanks goodness )

My blogging is in an inverse proportion to my work. The more work - the less blog, and the other way around.

But I am still on this planet, and glad to have some respite!

Cheers to all

I was in my parent's apartment kitchen all frantic because there was some party about to start, people were about to arrive and I was nowhere near. Then my grandma who is actually long gone appeared, and then the other people start coming in. My uncles - and their daughter who died years ago. When she was here she was a street type, but in my dream she is looked like a real lady, very elegant. I thought "what a change, she got better after she died".

Then some cousins or nieces (whose? mine?) show up and come to me with hugs and kisses saying "Thank you ever so much, you really helped me" - and I have no idea what was that great favour I apparently did to them, and, in fact, who they were, but I was just saying "Oh, I am glad it turned out well..." Then more people come, and somebody comments on the draught of air from my bedroom. I go there - and apart from my ex and somebody's (mine?) "cousin" see even more people (where did they have come from??), between them a kid who died some years ago, too. I ask him where he came from then - did he climb down a rope from his fifth floor or just jumped directly from the sky with a parachute? He starts explaining, and then I see that his brother is there, too, and think "It's not this kid but his brother who got killed in some gang fight". In the end I get tired and say: "Oh, look, I don't know who of you is dead and who is alive, and I am not sure it matters. But would you please help me to close this window because the draught is bothering people?" And the three of us do it somehow.

And then a full blown fiesta was going on, and it didn't matter anymore - alive, dead, undead, not very dead, not really alive... who cares! nobody really knew anybody, but everybody was partying.

The feeling? It was like being inside of some Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel.

this was supposed to be "a little 20-minute walk!" Gosh! Turned out nice actually...

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=WX_JfsWI8ds&feature=related

From Daily OM:

Quote:
Small Steps To Big Change
Making Big Change Easier
When we decide that it's time for big changes in our lives, it is wise to ease into them by starting small. Small changes allow us to grow into a new habit and make it a permanent part of our lives, whereas sudden changes may cause a sense of failure that makes it difficult to go on, and we are more likely to revert to our old ways. Even if we have gone that route and find ourselves contemplating the choice to start over again, we can decide to take it slowly this time, and move forward.

Sometimes the goals we set for ourselves are merely indicators of the need for change and are useful in getting us moving in the right direction. But it is possible that once we try out what seemed so ideal, we may find that it doesn't actually suit us, or make us feel the way we had hoped. By embarking on the path slowly, we have the chance to look around and consider other options as we learn and grow. We have time to examine the underlying values of the desire for change and find ways to manifest those feelings, whether it looks exactly like our initial goal or not. Taking small steps forward gives us time to adjust and find secure footing on our new path.

Life doesn't always give us the opportunity to anticipate or prepare for a big change, and we may find ourselves overwhelmed by what is in front of us. By choosing one thing to work on at a time, we focus our attention on something manageable, and eventually we will look up to see that we have accomplished quite a bit. Forcing change is, in essence, a sign that we do not trust the universe's wisdom. Instead, we can listen to our inner guidance and make changes at a pace that is right for us, ensuring that we do so in alignment with the rhythm of the universe.
Unquote

True for me, definitely...

Curiosier and curiosier!

I found an article on Kenko Hoshi in the Spanish Wikipedia, but not in the English one. Guess what, Kenko Hoshi is not his only name!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshida_Kenk%c5%8d

"Hoshi" actually means "monk", or "the one who teaches dharma (the right way)".

Second, there are several versions of the translation of his book's title!
Quote
Although traditionally translated as "Essays in Idleness," a more accurate translation would be "Notes from Leisure Hours" or "Leisure Hour Notes."
Unquote

I don't think you'll be bored looking for his book(s)

Also, if you have the chance, try to get a compilation of different old Japanese authors - including Sei-Shonagon. Very Japanese! I am reading it now (the same "follow-the-brush", zuihitsu, style) and enjoying it very much! Getting all sensitive to the colours of the leaves and the shapes of the moonlit clouds
Wishing you the same