While My Guitar Gently Weeps

What could I possibly add to the description of the Beatles that has not already been verbalized? They started the ball rolling for so many bands that I cannot imagine what the world's music scene would be like had they not bursted into stardom.

One of the best songs, sung by George Harrison from 1971 in the concert for Bangladesh.....

Twisted Thinking

I'm an addictions counselor in the midwest, mostly working with DUI (Driving Under the Influence) offenders.
In our area, the percentage of individuals charged with a DUI for a second time is 80%. That is high.
The reasons can be debated, but obviously the behaviors are not changing. You keep doing the same thing, you're going to keep experiencing the same problems.
Tonight, in group, I'll discuss different ways of thinking. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy. Our thinking becomes distorted and then add alcohol and the distortion in thinking becomes that much worse.

Types of twisted thinking may include:

All-or-nothing thinking: Here's where your perfectionism rears it's ugly head. If it's not THIS way, then it HAS to be THAT way. "If she doesn't love me, she must hate me". "If I eat one bad thing on my diet, I just as well eat the whole cake--I've blown the whole thing." You can see how this makes life situations difficult to handle.

Labeling: This consists of a more extreme form of all-or-nothing thinking. Calling yourself names would be an example-"I'm an ass because I made a mistake". When someone does something that may rub you the wrong way, you may think, "What a jerk!"

Jumping to conclusions: The great fortune teller. Always has everything figured out before the end and boy oh boy is the conclusion more or less a negative one. "I just KNOW I'm going to flunk this test." These individuals are also experts at mind reading: You guest has just informed you that she's a tad cold. You assume this means she thinks you are a cheap person for keeping the thermostat lower.

There are several more examples of twisted thinking and we will approach all of them tonight in our group.

We will tie this into drinking and driving and how our thinking is distorted at that time.

Peace.

Aurora Borealis

Aurora: Roman Goddess of the Dawn.

The beautiful light displays that form in the northern hemisphere near the polar regions defy imagination.
I've yet to see these phenomenons of the sky in person, but it is my plan.

Nature provides for us an array of glorious sights to behold; we just have to seek them out.

Peace for all on this Saturday. Check out more light shows:

The Aurora Page

Back In Black

Back In Black Lyrics

Chuck

This is Charlie. He also goes by Chuck. He is 186lbs. of huge, big baby Great Dane. The absolute best dog I have ever had.

If you are looking for info on these gentle giants, click the link.

Peace.

Margaret Sanger

Woman must not accept; she must challenge.
She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her;
she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression.

~ Margaret Sanger ~

Margaret Sanger founded th American Birth Control League which is now Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc..

Be exactly who you are meant to be. If you struggle with who that is, enjoy the journey to find out.
Own your own power.
Peace.

PTSD

We hear more and more about Post-Tramatic Stress Disorder today, but what exactly is it?

It is defined as an anxiety disorder which can develop after an exposer to a terrifying ordeal. During this event, grave physical harm occured or was threatened. One has a valid belief they will die!
Military combat, personal assaults such as rape or robbery, car or plane crashes, natural disasters such as Katrina or the San Francisco earthquake, or human-caused diasters like 911 fuel this ailment.

Someone suffering from PSTD may develop nightmares, sleep problems and/or feeling emotionally detached or numb.

I found a new website which chronicles a soldier from Iraq and his struggle with PSTD:FIGHT-PTSD.ORG Check it out.

Peace.

Stay Conscious

Have you stopped to look at a storm? You have to pay attention if you are to catch the unique formations of lightening. It forces one to stay in the moment.

Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us to stay conscious:

"One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change.
Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent....But today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change."

This speech rings true for today's society also. Social change continues. Find what you want to change and become passionate. Locally, one can begin to help. Stay awake and act.



Peace.

Buddha

On life's journey
Faith is nourishment,
Virtuous deeds are a shelter,
Wisdom is the light by day and
Right mindfulness is the protection by night.
If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him;
If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.


Buddha

Environmental President

Discussions about the upcoming elections are being voiced everywhere. Issues are being debated; candidates scrutinized.

Now that Al Gore has entered the main spotlight again with his Nobel Peace Prize win, Drafting Al Gore shouts are ringing in the streets and across blogs nationwide.
Head to the website and sign the petition. A man of integrity and character, Al Gore not only cares about the planet(which we cannot live without, by the way!), he seems sincere in his care of our country and the people who reside here.

Ten Commandments That Make Sense

The Indian Ten Commandments have spoken to me from the very first time I read their wise words.
They are as follows:


The Indian Ten Commandments:
_______________________________

Treat the Earth and all that dwell therein with respect


Remain close to the Great Spirit


Show great respect for your fellow beings


Work together for the benefit of all Mankind


Give assistance and kindness wherever needed


Do what you know to be right


Look after the well-being of Mind and Body


Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater Good


Be truthful and honest at all times


Take full responsibility for your actions

Autumn kitties

My cats adore the fall.

Music To Think About

Have you ever truly looked at the words to certain songs--the message?

Check out Lenny Kravitz:

Are You Gonna Go My Way


I was born long ago
I am the chosen I'm the one
I have come to save the day
And I won't leave until I'm done
So that's why you've got to try
You've got to breathe and have some fun
Though I'm not paid I play this game
And I won't stop until I'm done

But what I really want to know is
Are you gonna go my way?
And I got to got to know

I don't know why we always cry
This we must leave and get undone
We must engage and rearrange
And turn this planet back to one
So tell me why we got to die
And kill each other one by one
We've got to hug and rub-a-dub
We've got to dance and be in love

But what I really want to know is
Are you gonna go my way?
And I got to got to know

Are you gonna go my way?
'Cause baby I got to know
Yeah


The songs created to rid the earth of war and the songs urging its occupants to replenish it are plenty.......who is listening?

Free Hugs Report

"Free Hugs" signs went up this morning in Madison, Wisconsin at the Capital building downtown during the busy farmers' market.

The weather was a beautiful 70 degrees without a cloud in the sky.





My step-son Eddie and I spent about two hours walking the perimeter of the market while Firecrow played photographer.

Jump for more hugs:

When I first came across the You Tube video:

I cried at the beauty of the idea. Why not? Free hugs. What a great idea to boost everyone's seratonin level.
Firecrow & I discussed organizing an outing and, like with many things, life takes over, responsibilities, etc.....

Then:

I needed to conduct an Experience project for college. I thought about the Free Hugs Campaign immediately. I had always wondered what would happen if we did this. This morning I found out.



We started receiving "customers" right away; our first was this older gay couple who were sitting by a light post resting when we pulled out our signs to begin. Their faces lit up and we got our first hugs.
Eddie & I spent about five minutes talking to them; one of the gentleman has cuts and bruises on his face and explained to us how he had been beaten up the night before. He certainly had needed a hug and he thanked us for sharing ours with him.

As we continued on, we experienced an array of responses, ranging from smiles to laughter to amazement to razed eyebrows.

Interestingly enough, the three of us all had different perceptions of our adventure.

Eddie walked about twenty feet ahead of me and found the students, teenagers and college students, along with the elderly flocked to him the most.




My experience walking just a bit behind Eddie yielded 30, 40 and 50 somethings and people wanting me to hug their babies.



We both found that people seemed very fascinated with the project and wanted their picture taken with us.



Some people wanted group hugs:



Firecrow had a revealing take on the whole process as he played observer the entire time while snapping pics. He saw how many people, intrigued by what we were doing, hesitating....then asking for a hug, while others talked with their companions about us, each prompting the other to "just go ahead".
He also witnessed people who were reluctant while we walked past, suddenly turn around and head towards us. One college student even came full charge across the Capital lawn just to "attack" Eddie. It was great to watch!
There were only a couple incidents that you could catagorize as negative, if not, bizarre.

One man, around 60 years old, while openly wanting and receiving two hugs from me at separate times was pleasant, put up his arm when Eddie came near, not wanting to be touched, doing the same to Firecrow, although he did shake his hand.

One woman exclaimed that she gets "plenty of hugs and doesn't need any more" while another woman demanded to know what "organization" we were with before she would receive a hug. I asked, "What do you mean "organization"?" She demanded, "Why are you doing this?" I retorted, "Why not? She hugged me then.

Some people even asked us if it was a gimmick of some kind or wondering if the free hugs were really free.

All in all it was an awesome experience; my face hurts from smiling, Firecrow is taking a nap and Eddie thanked us for inviting him to come along......he wants to go back and do it again.

Its important to note that doing something like this does raise the other person's seratonin level in the brain, doing it does the same for you and people witnessing the act of kindness and a hug does the same also for someone even if they are mearly observing the act.




Hugging-it makes you feel better.

Peace.

Free Hugs

This morning, in Madison, Wisconsin, I will conduct a Free Hugs campaign at the Capital building where the huge Farmers' Market resides.

Come out & get a hug!

The Idiot Son Of An Asshole

My dog is smarter than Bush; he at least knows when to come in out of the rain. The same tune over and over--"We are not leaving until victory"--there will never be victory. Ever. We lost a long time ago. Now, its just an excuse to sell more body bags for our troops and the citizens of Iraq.
The Dems are selling out also. Where is the fight? Are we all THAT tired? I'm tired. Very tired. Maybe Bush is smarter than I give him credit for.

Personality Test

Personality Test

What Speaks To You?

As a small child, I began being drawn to books. It wasn't something I thought about--why do I love books?--it was automatic. Knowledge, I wanted it. Fictional stories were facinating, yes, but it was the non-fiction....the how to, the research, the fact finding adventures that I enjoyed the most.

Art--Da Vinci, Monet and Van Gogh--Georgia O'Keefe, Jackson Pollack, and Picasso.

Music--classical, Pink Floyd, Rush, The Eagles

So,
What speaks to you?

Why are the rainforests important?

World Rainforest Information Portal - Amazon, South America, Asia, Africa - Rain forest web.org

Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.

Nearly half of the world's species of plants, animals and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter century due to rainforest deforestation.

What can you do to help the rainforest?

RAN.org: Get Involved

What has changed?

The Bush administration will not quit until we throw them out.




Peace Takes Courage