Working - How Rick Steves Does It

I’ve always enjoyed saying that I like to watch other people work. It’s a sort of a friendly jab at lazy folk everywhere and at myself when I don’t sense I'm in a particularly productive mode. However, I do enjoy watching folks work just for the sheer joy of it. I just finished watching Rick Steves and his camera and production crew of 2 walk through the part you don’t see in an episode of travelogue. It isn’t effortless; though it does appear always as if he is having the best of times doing what he does walking all about Europe visiting the touristy places I just can’t get to. The man, according to his crew, is the Ever Ready Bunny. After a long and tiring day when the crew has retired in exhaustion Rick stays up late in his hotel room re-writing the script they will be using the next day.

So, why am I talking about this now? It’s because I admire the way he works. I admire the tirelessness of it, the way the creative muse he needs is there for him right when he wants it to be. And, of course, I want that for myself too. So, there is a reason I like to watch people work. Though I have to say it was more from amusement than anything else that I watched 5 guys studying another guy digging a hole once. But, I do enjoy also the enthusiasm people show when they are doing something they are interested in, something they are passionate about. That’s my motivation.

Elvis

From Smile Box

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Spiritual Singles

Opening a magazine at random never fails to amuse me. Anyway, I did that to the April, May & June, 2008, issue of Open Exchange Magazine. They call themselves the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area’s healthy living magazine. You can always find something really interesting there. The article on page 76 I saw was about manifesting your mate and was written by Jill Crosby who is the owner and founder of SpiritualSingles.com. You can see the longer version of her article here at OpenExchange.com. But, immediately, I am intrigued. Not that I’m looking for a mate, I’ve already got DeeDude, but I’m thinking of all those dating and singles places that are always wanting to exchange links with me and I rarely do it because I’m not that convinced there are that many great places out there.

I just got a gut feeling about this place. So, I signed up as an affiliate. I’d already determined that I wanted to put a link for them on my sites, but how much even better is it to be an affiliate? Well, they’ve got some pretty banners. And, if anybody buys a membership from them they are very generous to me. Just a win-win situation.

What’s especially cool is they are not limited to the San Francisco Bay Area. They’re all over the place, and serve the internet community…which is all over. But, can you imagine? If you were Wiccan or a channel like me, or just more spiritually minded than you were once upon a time, this could very well be the place for you.

I like what Jill says in the article I read that getting love starts with you. You are the one who creates the flow of love energy moving towards yourself. It doesn’t start from without. It starts from within.

Prayer

When you pray do you have the same prayers that you pray again and again? I love saying the Hail Mary. I’m happy as a clam saying it 10 times in the car coming home from work. One of the guides just said that was a decade. I should get out my rosary and just do that. I find comfort in saying that particular prayer. Sometimes I even imagine Mary and think of her as a sort of intermediary from me to her son Jesus or to God, sort of like in the old days when I was growing up.

Then, there are other times when I whine a lot. Oh, please…oh, please….oh, please. Well, maybe it isn’t whining, but there’s an awful lot of it.

But, have you thought about just having a conversation with God? Or, if you’re more comfortable with a prayer you could make one up yourself rather than saying the same one you’ve been saying for years.

Here’s my method…or, just one that I use. I start by taking a really deep breath. I’m not concerned about anything other than taking that breath. Sometimes I have to do it more than once. Then, I imagine my body getting quiet. There’s always a lot of busy work going on. The body has all of its normal things to do anyway…breathing, blood circulating, digestion going on, filtering things, brain activity…stuff like that. I don’t mind that continuing. What I’m sort of concentrating on is the stress and tension I seem to carry with me no matter what. I sort of make a promise to myself that whatever leaves for now can always come back later again if it needs to. Somehow making that deal with myself enables me to have a few moments of peace. It’s like I trick myself. But, hey, it works. What can I say? So, this is the stage I set.

Now, I remember that Spirit is all around me. God isn’t up there, or out there, or far away from me. God is at my elbow. When I was a kid I always imagined God to be sort of like Santa Claus, except he wasn’t as fat and he didn’t laugh as much, but he was an older, white haired guy. Those memories still sort of come back to me at times, but mostly now when I do this quieting down God at my elbow move I tend to imagine God as being a cloud of peace, a cushiony, enveloping place where when I enter I dissolve into tears of relief. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s like walking into a comforting hug. Getting to this stage in the prayer saying business is almost enough for me sometimes. Sometimes I just stay here for a few moments and then I’m good to go for another while.

But, you can do more.

So, say you’re in the comforting area of Spirit. Now what can you do? Well, just be. Instead of it being you and It you can think along the lines of this is what you are. This is where you came from. This is where you will someday go back to again, this feeling of peace, this feeling of being one with something greater than yourself. Imagine this feeling that is beginning to wash over you as a condition of what life is like all the time for your higher self. This is the part of you that is in charge. It’s the directing traffic part of your being. Same as Spirit, but more a part of you like the freckles on your nose. The same part that was with you when you were a slave in Rome, when you were a soldier in World War I, when you were a tycoon during the dot.com bust.

I am not generally in close contact with my higher self all the time. First time I ever saw it during a meditation it was like 10 feet tall and scared the living daylights out of me. Very strange. Anyway, I know I’ve got one. I haven’t spent a lot of quality time with my higher self lately, but it never hurts to try to try to figure out what the hell it’s got scheduled for you so you don’t get hit with some surprising move out of left field. (One of the guides just said you can tell I haven’t had a lot of practice doing this….hey, I’m trying…I’m evolving…there might be a day when I can speak with more authority on this, but for now? It’s one toe forward into the dark just like everybody else…)

Okay, so you’re in the comforting place. You’ve just shaken hands and done the, “How do you do.” with your higher self. You’re rubbing elbows with God. Enjoy.

How about a bit of well wishing for friends and relatives? How about some healing work? Okay, so here’s where the imagining comes into play again.

Imagine that in this peaceful, Spirit filled, wonderfully calming place it is also filled with light, healing light. It’s everywhere. It’s like the sun coming up over the Smoky Mountains. It’s like the first rays that you see when the day is upon you. That’s the healing light. There might also be sounds associated with this healing energy, but however you imagine the healing part to be allow it to wash over you. Allow it to be in every cell of your being. Enjoy and wallow.

Now, start thinking of the people you generally say prayers for. Think of the folks in your life who are hurting. Think of how much better you feel now and sort of direct it all their way. Now, think of your relatives, your friends, the people who you care about. Now, think of the folks who irritate the hell out of you. Send some their way too. Now, think of the folks you meet on the internet and send some their way too. The idea of the healing energies is that they will use it or not. But, it can’t hurt to send it their way. Sometimes when the number of folks I’ve got grows large I think of them as, “My group”. In my mind they’re all standing together and the healing energy of Spirit, of the Universe just sort of goes their way and maybe it can help them over whatever bumps in the road they’ve got in their lives.

I don’t know if it works. I do it anyway. I do know years ago I was doing it and the next day one of the ladies I was sending energy to called me up complaining that I’d awakened her at four in the morning and don’t do that again. LOL.

By the way, your prayers are always heard. Maybe they aren’t answered quite the way you wanted, but they are always heard.

A very interesting website is World Prayers where you can spin a wheel and find a prayer to say or go in search of one. It's worth while checking it out. Also, I've got a prayer page at Talking to Spirit. And, while I was searching for a picture to illustrate this entry came upon some really wonderful instructions on how to make your own rosary.

UFO Healing - An Email I Received

Here's an email I got yesterday. I thought it was pretty interesting, so I'm posting it here without any identifying info about the writer.

Question: Have you ever contacted a ufo for a physical healing face to face....
is this possible???

Answer: I've never been in contact with a UFO. However, there are some books out there. Look for books channeled by Mary Margaret Moore who channels Bartholomew who says he is an extra terrestrial being and for Bashar who is channeled by Darryl Anka. Have a look at my site at Talking to Spirit and check out their links:

The healing from other beings is possible from what I've heard, though I've not had any experience with it and I've never actually seen an alien face to face (one of the guides just made a rude joke about people I work with...LOL), but I'm thinking the best results will probably come from your own moves. Live with moderation. Remember to laugh and have fun. Try to handle your stress. Pay attention to your diet. Remember to exercise. Keep being interested in things even as you age. When you do get sick immediately visit your doctor. I live in the west and am most attuned with western medical practices. Those are the places I would go to first, but I would not discount healing meditations and emotional and psychological healing work. All of it together will help I think. Miracles? They are hard to come by I think. Instant ones anyway. And, most important are your own life lessons. It could very well be that the best way for a person to learn XYZ is for them to experience a horribly debilitating illness. Some of this you can control. Some of this you can moderate, but some of it is written in the stars.

Here's a funny story for you. In the early days when I'd just started channeling I asked my guide Seth if he'd ever seen an alien. He didn't say anything for a few seconds and then he said to me, "Who do you think you've been talking to all this time?" I was really shocked and then I got to thinking about it. Seth was not of this earth so he would qualify as being an extra terrestrial being.

Funny what happens when you change your point of view.

Entrecard

So, I was farting around at Blog Explosion this morning before work and happened upon a blog that had a neato sort of widget in the sidebar. It had an E on it and when I clicked on it said something about Entrecard. So, this evening when I got home from work I signed up.

Now, here's the funny part. There's a section of the signup where you write a description of your site. I've had the same description for some time and wanted to get a new one.

Here's the one that's been in place forever: The Spirit Moved Me and Look What Happened – the blog. A behind the scenes look at what it’s like to be a psychic. Recipes, channeling by the Guides and Folk in Spirit I talk to. Lots of fun.

So, I start writing. And nothing happens. I mean, I'm tired. I've had a really frustrating week. I'd rather throw rocks than write, but I want to get signed up and you'd think something as simple as a weeny little description wouldn't stump me. I was stumped.

So, I asked for help. And, we all know who I asked help from. I asked for a bit of an assist from Spirit. Hey, I do it all the time. And, generally, if I close my eyes, take a deeper than usual breath everything turns out well and I get the boost I need to move forward under my own steam.

So, here's what resulted. I think this is a lead in to the weekend. It sure made me laugh.

#1: The Spirit Moved Me and Look What Happened. The result of a life lived much like anybody else and what it’s now like to have a daily conversation with God who does not forget.

#2: The Spirit Moved Me and Look What Happened. She’s psychic but you wouldn’t know it. Not by the way she drives in any case. Take a look at what this middle aged psychic has to offer to everybody for free, free, free.

After I finished laughing I was out of my rut and came up with this version on my own: The Spirit Moved Me and Look What Happened. See what it’s like to be psychic. Delve into the mysterious arts and thumb your nose at fate with me. A common sense look at uncommon happenings.

I Feel Better Now - I Only Needed a Hug

Check out Juan Mann's website.

Write A Book

Here’s what I do. I determine that I’m going to tackle a big project. I mean this one is simply huge for me. It’s something that’s been in the works, I think, for a long time, just sort of percolating away, but the idea of doing this is daunting.

Write another book.

This one will be on how to channel. It’s obviously for a very small audience, but I think it has a place in the arena of books out there already. Plus, I’m funny. Well, sort of. One of the guides just said, “Huh?”

Oh, I have to tell you at the grocery store this evening the line was just inching along and I had time to look at the magazines on display. I zeroed in on this one with lots of stuff to look at. I can’t tell you the name of it; it was just there and caught my eye. So, I took it off the rack and flipped it open and happened upon an article of how to look pretty. I spent about a nano second on this article. My first impression was that these were all very young ladies and all of them were already very pretty. My next impression was of one of the tips that had to do with applying makeup. I don’t wear it. Anyway, with a sigh I knew that particular article was certainly not for me. No hope here. Old, fat, ugly and do not wear makeup. No hope. Not that it bums me out or anything. It used to when I was younger, (and a site prettier than now), but I’m pretty much okay with being ugly. Anyway, as I reached to return the magazine to the rack one of the guides said, “The quickest way to be pretty is with a smile.”

Sometimes my heart stops with the stuff they say.

Anyway, back to writing the book. What I tend to do with the larger projects is to whittle away at them from afar. Like I'm doing everything but work on the book right now. I've farted around on the Internet for awhile. I did spend my lunch time yesterday writing some notes out about it. I know there's already a lot of material on the subject at several of my sites, but I want to pull it all together and I want to start fresh with the writing.

I guess I could think about it here for a few minutes. Sort of muttering aloud on the blog.

Okay....so, I suppose I should think about size of book. I'd like to be able to hold it in one hand. I'd also like there to be enough room for somebody to write comments in the margins. I guess a 6 x 9 inch or so book would be okay. That's not too big. Not too small either.

Okay, so how thick? Okay...forget that. I just turned around and looked for a book the size I can envision for what I want to do. I hauled, "A Traveller's History of Scotland" off of the bookshelf behind me. It's 5 inches wide, 7 and 3/4 inch high and a little more than half an inch thick. The print in it is too small though. Okay, on average about 12 words to the line. I remember that number from another time I was figuring how long to make a book. And, 36 lines to the page for an average of 432 words per page. For rough count lets call it 425 words a page. Okay, so there are 239 pages in this particular book. Just because I feel like it I'm going to move with 222 pages because that's my special number. Okay...that is 94,350 words. My first novel was 75,000 words and that took me 3 years to write. But, I can't really base any of this on the labor involved with that because it was the first time I'd ever done anything like this and I also didn't know what I was doing. Not that I know now, but I know a little bit more. Also, this isn't a work of fiction but will be a how to book. That should be easier. Especially since I already know how to do it.

Okay, so a book of 94,000 words. Figure I write 1,000 words a day and it will take me 94 days or 3 months to complete. Right. Like I'm going to write 1,000 words every day. I could try though. I could try.

The guides were the ones who suggested I do it. They said I could aim for my birthday to have it done. That's September 1st. That's 4 months from now. I suppose I could do it.

Okay, so 94,000 words. How to break it up?

If I had 15 chapters about how many words per chapter...about 6,200. I'm talking rough here. Don't have to count words...count pages. Okay, so I know when I'm writing in Word I get about 600 words to the page that would be 10 pages per chapter. I'd have to do a few to see if it works.

I suppose I ought to be thinking about content about now. I'm really not sure that I can talk enough to fill this book up.

For this I need my special crayons. New ones. Fresh out of the box and a big old piece of paper. I'll take a picture of it when I'm done.

What I do is draw a big circle. In the middle of the circle I put the main thrust of the book. Then, the ideas begin to radiate out from the center. I'll do it tomorrow and post it to the blog.

And, I will sweep my desk off so I can be really clear about this. I think this might be fun. God knows I need some fun right now.