today I decided to capture some of the beauty that surrounds me
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The Art of Silence Embrace the practice by Jamie Nishi
Weekly Horoscopes
Saturday 2nd May - Saturday 9th May - Saturday 16th May - Saturday 23rd May - Saturday 30th May
For anyone seeking balance and serenity, inviting silence into your life is an important practice. The practice of silence helps you to access your inner stillness, the place from which you renew spiritual strength and uncover your true self.
Depending on your interpretation, it is also the place from which you can connect to the spirit, God or the life force that connects us to everyone and everything. Practicing silence in this day and age requires a certain amount of commitment.
The fast-paced nature of life today makes moments of silence seem less and less apparent. Even when opportunities to experience silence arise, we often choose to fill those spaces with sound or activity - turning on the radio, making a phone call, reading a magazine or surfing the Internet. The next time the opportunity to experience silence arises, notice all the ways you are tempted to fill that space with the noise of activity, and instead, welcome silence and stillness into your life.
From there, you will be able to give both your mind and body a break from the constant chatter, and, with practice, experience peace and rejuvenation. Try these simple ways to create moments of silence in your life - and take advantage of the ones that are already there!
Perfect quiet
Much of the practice of silence is finding quiet in the presence of sound, and then within you. Often, silence is what lies just beneath the layers of sound. Sometimes those layers are thick, such as when you're in a crowded mall. At other times, such as on waking or going to sleep, the sound layers are thin, consisting of ambient noises from the environment. The ambient noise that surrounds you shouldn't deter you from the essence of silence, which really resides within you. In The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra writes, "Practicing silence means making a commitment to just be." So even though you may not be able to find perfect silence in this bustling world, you can experience perfect quiet as a state of mind.
6 ways to practice silence:
1. Day and night
It is a very beneficial practice to begin and end each day in silence. The most natural times of day to experience silence are just before getting up in the morning and just before going to bed at night. In the morning when you wake, don't get out of bed right away. Instead, lie at rest but awake for 10 to 15 minutes and experience the silence of the moment. Inevitably you will discover that silence is really full of sound - the birds chirping, your heartbeat, your stomach rumbling, the rustle of leaves and the sound of distant traffic. When you take the opportunity to experience silence in the morning, you are experiencing your being waking to itself. You become very aware that you are alive and so is the world around you.
You can also take the opportunity to experience silence at night. When everything and everyone seems to have turned in for the night, stop and take in the silence for another 10 to 15 minutes before going to bed yourself. Not only is this activity both relaxing and rejuvenating, it is also the ideal segway into meditation.
2. Silent listening
Many meditation exercises begin with the breath, which helps to focus the mind and center the body. You can just as easily begin a meditation with a focus on silent listening. Just as meditation helps sift thoughts until the mind is clear and fluid, a meditation that involves silent listening enables you to sift through the layers of sound around you until you reach the silence within.
3. Vow of silence
In your practice of silence, you can also make a commitment to refrain from speaking for a couple hours a day, a few days or even a whole week! You might notice that once you stop speaking and begin listening to the inner and outer silence, your mind is still chattering. It will take some time for your mind to cease making its own noise. If you persist, the mind will grow tired of its chatter. Once your thoughts have stopped spinning and swirling, you will experience profound silence. If this is something that appeals to you, there are many groups that offer guided silent retreats lasting anywhere from 3 to 10 days long.
4. Communing with nature
Spending time in nature is a great way to get in touch with the stillness and quiet that resides within you. Walking or sitting by a stream, looking out over a grand vista or just quietly resting on a rock while listening to the silence is one way of connecting with the bliss and creativity that resides in the natural world, and in you.
5. The long commute
Do you have a long commute or does your drive to work usually involve sitting in traffic? Instead of plugging in your iPod, turning on the radio or slipping in a book on CD, allow yourself to sit in silence in your car while driving. You will still have to pay attention to driving, but you can take advantage of your car as a cocoon, and enjoy being protected from the many sounds that surround you. Just by paying attention to the silence around you, you will undoubtedly arrive at work more clear-headed and refreshed than you expected!
6. Unplug
Last, but not least, if you want to invite more silence into your life, it also means freeing yourself from habit-forming gadgets. Two of the main culprits: television and the cell phone. Music, television, phone conversations, movies and radio are all things that bring fun and enjoyment into our lives. Yet once in while, we just need to unplug and tune in, not to the latest reality show on TV, but to our own reality show.
The practice of silence is a simple way to check in with ourselves and with the world around us. Creating moments every day to reconnect with silence and stillness improves state of mind, boosts energy, relaxes the body and promotes spiritual wholeness.
Do you need more clarity? Let a psychic guide you in a reading today. Call 1.800.573.4830 or click here now.
Surprise in my Inbox this morning :-)
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wine.com - a gift for MOM
Save 10% on 3, 6 and 12 month wine clubs. Give Mom a wine club membership and you'll save 10%. Use promotion code CLUBMOM at checkout and order before 5/10/09.
May 11th ¿ May 15th, get 1 cent shipping on orders $99 or more. This is our most popular promotion that customers love and come back for every month.
Wine.com can provide personal service to help select and send high-quality gifts from 10 to hundreds at a time. Custom gift baskets available too!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
My tonight´s movie "Elizabethtown"
My comments on it.
nichols1936 - Elizabeth Town-Drew-and-Claire-Almost-Kiss http://tinyurl.com/c9xvx7 Call me a romantic
May Forecast - by Cortney Litwin
Source: California Psychics
Passion is the theme for May 2009 as loving Venus and lusty Mars travel hand-in-hand through rambunctious Aries throughout the month. Not surprising, Fire signs Aries, Leo and Sagittarius will be especially enflamed (and emboldened!) in their relationships.
It's time to get in touch with your desires and go for what you want, be it a person or a project close to your heart. Whatever fuels your passion is where your focus will be. What's more, you may find yourself being a bit more selfish and competitive than usual because Aries is a highly individualistic sign. This "me first" energy can give you the courage to express your true self.
Planets in motion
Trickster Mercury meddles with communications, paperwork and travel when it turns retrograde on May 6 through 30. Be on the lookout for misunderstandings, misplaced documents and travel snafus.
A major turning point this month is Saturn turning direct on May 16. For more than five months, retrograde Saturn has hindered commitments and business activities for individuals and job growth for the rest of the world. Saturn's direct motion can help you feel more secure and confident in the foundation you've built, which will help you realize your ambitions. It will also help the economy move forward (thankfully!).
Just as we get some relief from Saturn, Neptune turns retrograde on May 28 until November 4, 2009. However, Neptune usually has less influence than Saturn over our daily lives. Because Neptune is the planet of spirituality and the unconscious, its influence is more subtle. The retrograde motion encourages introspection, analyzing the past and enhancing your spiritual life. Meditation, dream analysis, heeding your intuition and taking some quiet time each day to become centered, can help you take advantage of Neptune's gifts. Perhaps most important, anything you've been in denial about in your life will likely be in your face so you can deal with it.
Transit tales
Mercury transiting into earthy Taurus on May 13 casts a practical aura over communications, decision-making and agreements. It favors discussions about money, the environment and art. The Sun entering Gemini on May 20 favors communications, travel and multitasking. Then Mars transits into Taurus on May 31, which deepens sensuality while stabilizing desires. It also favors taking practical action on your aspirations.
Lunar magic
The Full Moon in Scorpio on May 8 intensifies intimate trysts. Actually, it will increase your focus on whomever - or whatever - you're deeply involved with. Objectivity will be difficult, especially if you're emotionally invested in the outcome. Then the New Moon in Gemini on May 24 brings a fresh energy to communications and learning.
Planetary highlights
May 2: Venus square Pluto accelerates passion but can also cause jealousy and controlling behavior, especially for Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.
May 5: Sun trine Saturn is a practical influence that can assist you in realizing your creative goals.
May 6 - 30: Retrograde Mercury causes miscommunications, misplaced paperwork and travel delays.
May 8: Full Moon in Scorpio increases passion and focus, but can bring troublesome emotions, like jealousy, fear of rejection, power-plays and secrecy, to the surface, especially for Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius.
May 13: Mercury entering Taurus favors practical thinking and financial agreements.
May 14 - June 14: Jupiter conjunct Neptune in Aquarius is a highly spiritual influence that brings humanitarian issues to light. It also favors technology and encourages ethical, "transparent" solutions.
May 16: Sun square Jupiter and Neptune heightens optimism but can intensify unrealistic desires, especially for Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces.
- Saturn turning direct helps practical matters move forward.
May 18: Sun conjunct Mercury in Taurus favors creative endeavors that have practical applications.
May 20: Sun entering Gemini energizes communications and travel.
- Mercury square Jupiter and Neptune favors spiritual pursuits but can cause unrealistic thinking, especially for Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces.
May 24: New Moon in Gemini can bring opportunities through networking, education and travel.
May 28 - November 4: Retrograde Neptune encourages introspection and emotional healing.
May 30: Mercury turning direct clarifies communications.
May 31: Mars entering Taurus energizes earthy desires. It also favors practical activities and goal-setting.
What do the stars hold for you? Speak with one of our gifted astrologers. Call 1.800.573.4830 or click here now.
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