The Projector

The projector has to realise that people are the key for them. Invitations almost always come from people, one way or another, and they always have the flavour of recognition. Because the projector has no sacral, they are always running off the energy of others. Thus the quality of that energy becomes most important of all. Projectors can never fulfil their destiny without others coming to them. Projectors are guides. They have to wait for invitations that speak specifically to them. Such invitations are rare. They are rare, but if the projector waits, they will come. A single correct invitation can keep a projector busy for the rest of their life. The projector’s challenge is to kill the programme inside them that runs off fear. It is the fear that they will not get a better opportunity, so they make a compromise with someone who doesn’t recognise them. Projectors are great at talking themselves into compromising, and in doing so, they always short-change themselves and end up feeling bitter inside somewhere.

SO, WHAT DO I DO WITH THAT????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????

My Huge A-ha – Supporting Local

Two weeks ago we went out of our way to purchase a washing machine from a local small business and avoided a) using a credit card and b) using a box/big business store. We were so proud of ourselves!  

Yet, when it comes to buying organic foods and Seventh Generation Diapers we use our co-op or local grocery store because they are a bit less expensive.

April, I owe you a huge apology.  I have just realized that by choosing to join the regional  co-op I am taking away from your business!  For those of you who don’t know April, she owns and operates two local health food stores. She is an amazing person who does so much for our communities and families.  She is an advocate for our personal and global environments, and even more important to me, she is an awesome friend and fantastic mother to her son Matthew.

It seems like we should know better – especially since we are talking about someone who so aligns with our values.  April, I am happy to say that we caught ourselves and you will be seeing us in your store much more now!!!!

WE LOVE YOU APRIL – thank you for what you do!

The Authenticity Pledge

When Jeff and I were diving head first into the environmental issues impacting our local and global communities, we learned about the 100 Mile Diet and the Locavore Pledge.

As I researched, read, and discussed this approach with others, we uncovered something very important to us.  Sticking with the 100 Mile/Locavore concept eliminates some very important issues for us… what about organic?  

We have a colleague who is a local farmer and does a huge amount of business but he refuses to go organic.   Organic farming is essential to the preservation of our future, our daughter’s future.  Pesticides aren’t  just tainting our food and our bodies when we eat them.  They get in our air, they corrupt our ground water, we even learned that they lead to algae overgrowth in our lakes, ponds, and pools!

Ok, so where I am going with this.  Well, some people are taking advantage of the whole idea of organic.  Organic wasn’t just a system, it was a philosophy that supported the natural cycles and rhythms of our Earth.  Organic to me means – no pesticides,  no chemical fertilizers, not genetically modified (no GMOs), no supplementation or medication (antibiotics) of livestock, feeding livestock their most natural foods (i.e. cows don’t naturally eat corn as their primary food – grain fed cows is not natural, grass fed is).  

Going organic means companion planting to prevent pest infestation, rotating crops to allow nutrients to be brought back into the land.  Organic is more than just the certification stamp that different agencies put on foods.  Often, these foods aren’t truly organic… they only have to be ’sort of’ organic and I use that term loosely as ’sort of’ depends on what the agenda is and who is lining who’s pockets!

So, if you want to learn more about this, try reading the Omnivore’s Dilemmaby Michael Pollan.

In the mean time, the whole point of this post was to propose a new pledge:

Before anything else, consider choosing to do business with those who are authentic.  What do I mean by that?  Have you ever had a ‘hard sell’ from a telemarketer or salesperson that made you feel uncomfortable.  Stay away from those types of sales people.  Often I find there is buyer’s remorse when we aren’t comfortable with a purchase. 

Connect with people who are not only speaking their truth, but when you are making the decision whether or not to buy a product or service from them you feel good about it.   (It may be their truth but not yours….)    Follow your heart.  Remember your are not your mind, you just have one!  Don’t think too hard -  you will know in your heart if it’s the right choice for you.

If you choose Authentic first – then you can decide from there local/organic/fair trade, no animal testing, etc.    Hopefully they should all go hand-in-hand!

ECONOMIC ACTIVISM – Let’s Change the Economy

by Colleen O’Malley Weber
Business Partner, Work at Home Mommy, Writer, Spiritual Ecologist, Advocate for Authentic Living www.soulvisoin.ca

The governments by which my way of life is regulated (both U.S. and Canada given I live in Canada and was born in the U.S.) have led me to a situation where I can no longer follow the rules.

My husband Jeff and I, along with our two year old daughter and 13 chickens are going to stop making payments on our bills (yes, that means mortgage, credit cards and to some extent our electricity/hydro).  We have tried to do everything according to the rules.  We pay taxes in two countries (I don’t recommend it if you have the choice not to!)  We have had work visas in both U.S. and Canada and we have had excellent credit until 2008.

We live fairly simply in that we grow a good majority of our food (eggs, meat from chickens, organic gardens) and we buy most of our clothing and supplies second hand or barter.  This was a choice we made before we started having financial concerns, but no matter how basic we live, we find ourselves dealing with debt, interest, and bills beyond anything we could afford given an income of about $35,000 a year combined. 

We have our own business doing facilitation and coaching through our company Soul Vision (www.soulvision.ca) and have done a variety of other things to keep money coming in (web sites, child care, writing, selling chickens and eggs, etc.)

We believe in the Law of Attraction and the Power of Intention, but although we are attracting abundance in terms of friends and soul nourishment, finances are stagnant.

Would we like to make more??? Definitely, but the economy and businesses are not supporting our efforts the way they used to.  Jeff even applied for a truck driving job but was turned down (probably his 10th rejection in the last couple months) because he is too overqualified.  And, to add insult to injury, we just got a notice that our property assessment has been raised more than $100,000 since last year which makes no sense since our home value is dropping like a lead weight.

And, it doesn’t seem to matter if we make $2000 or $5000 a month, as soon as we have a small surplus we have a heat pump that fails in the middle of winter, or a washing machine that dies, or a car that needs its oxygen sensor replaced.  The funny thing is that I knew something ‘weird’ was going on, because each time we went to pay the bills (twice a month) we would be able to scrape up just enough to cover the mandatory (what we thought was mandatory – mortgage, electricity/hydro, etc).  We would have some absurd amount left such as 47 cents or a dollar and change.  I would wonder where the grocery money was going to come from and then we would get a small bit of cash from an outside source we weren’t expecting (family, friends, and money in the jacket pocket I had forgotten about).

So, what do we do when we realize every two weeks that we can’t pay the bills?

CRY!  No seriously, we don’t anymore.  I had a very bad experience with one of our creditors last summer which resulted in my screaming obscenities at the agent and if you know me, you know that is not me.  After collecting myself and realizing that I was not going to be destroyed due to my credit rating or some bullying from creditors, I called back, apologized, spoke to a manager and suggested they use the recording of my call for training purposes  and started looking at our finances differently.

We used to think we were doing something wrong… but we realize we are not alone.

Although the economic situation is hitting the U.S. harder than it is in Canada, there are many of us throughout the world who are in a similar situation.  We are making less than we need to pay our bills, our mortgages, our ways of life.  I’m not supportive of those people who live extravagant lives charging to the max and then not standing up and being accountable, but for those of you who are like-minded and are here to make the world a better place, I ask you this… 

WHAT IF THE ECONOMIC SITUATION WE ARE IN IS TO HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE???

I know this sounds absurd but follow along and then I will share some resources and ideas that may just work for you. They are working for us!

About a year ago I started to reveal our financial situation to some close friends.  I was surprised to learn that they were as bad off, if not worse than us with their money problems.  It seemed we were all reading things like Millionaire Mind, or other self-help books by Suze Orman or other money gurus trying to figure out what we were doing wrong.  We aren’t doing anything wrong except trying to keep the world economy afloat by going insane conforming to “you must pay the bills” mentality.

Have you ever tried avoiding throwing up?  I know – that sounds crazy, but have you?  The more you try to avoid it the worse you feel, and then when it does hit – it’s worse than if you had just gotten sick in the first place?   Ok, so the world is throwing up, or at least trying to.  Nature is working to bring balance back to the world in so many ways… environmentally, spiritually, physically, and economically.  Economically???  “That’s not in the realm of nature” you might say…

Maybe not at first glance but I have had three pieces of information shared with me in the past six months that makes be believe money and spirit are tied together more than we know!  A client and friend of mine, Jacqueline Richards (www.jacquelinerichards.com) has published a book – Yoga for Your Finances.  In this book, Jacqueline examines how money is tied to energy — It is her belief and many spiritual gurus that money is energy, yoga is energy, success is energy.  Therefore they are all intertwined.  Her book does an amazing job of helping people to release any energy blocks they may have through Chakra work and yoga poses.  So, if you want to check it out, visit her web site.

The second piece of information that I was given through my spiritual guide and mentor Jamie Walters (www.ivysea.com), was that the name money comes from the Roman Goddess Moneta.  She is not only charged with abundance and currency but also was known as Lucina the goddess who brought children into light.  How cool is it that money, from the ancient perspective, didn’t have anything to do with power or bigger, better, faster, but was tied to someone who had such a beautiful responsibility.

The third piece (things come in threes for me) was that the Native populations also saw money spiritually.  To them gold represents the sun’s powerful energy.  The value wasn’t in the possessions but in their spiritual and natural representations.  Those who conquered them and took their land and possession saw the gold much differently…

And it is that mentality, the ‘bullying male stereotype’ that has created the society we have now.  Wars over land and possessions, suppression of the weak and poor; in our current society MONEY IS POWER and it is the ROOT OF ALL EVIL. 

However, that is changing.  I have been guided to share with all of you that this is the year of the Divine Female and her energy is bringing us back to a place of compassion and spirit.  No longer will money be used as a tool to oppress or segregate, but it will be used to foster growth and abundance for all.  Look around – agencies and individuals are doing amazing things to set up micro-loans and grants for beautiful people with fantastic ideas and powerful hearts.

Check into a documentary called Awakenings (You Tube) and see how impoverished women in India and Afghanistan are changing their world and the world around them through microfinance.  Awakened to new possibilities, the world’s poorest women are forming collectives where they learn to save small sums (40 to 80 cents a month) and invest their capital as a group.  They are creating an economic system with values like sharing, mutuality, collaboration, and closeness to nature.

Whether you believe in the predictions of 2012 and the Mayan Calendar (end of the world as we know it), or not, there is no doubt something big is happening to our people and planet, we all sense it.

We also believed Obama was sent to us out of nowhere to bring us into the new age with grace, vision and hope.  So, why is he supporting a bailout to the tune of $790,000,000,000???  I had to double-check and yes that is 10 zeros after the 7 and 9.  If there are only 300 million people in the U.S. (and you whittle it down to just those 18 and over) do you know how much each person could get if the money went directly to them???  Anywhere from $400,000 on up, depending on the population and age demographic numbers you use.  WOAH!

Obama what are you doing?  The answer I was given through spirit but translated in ‘my language’— making the world vomit!  No, that’s not a bad thing (as we already discussed).  He is forcing the economy to crash.  The false systems, the bloated bellies, the archaic views of money – all of it is going to come to a crashing halt.  Those who don’t ‘get it’ will have a false sense of the stability of the economy and continue doing what’s being done – charging up credit cards, buying things they don’t need, and investing in stocks, bonds, and other systems that will not survive. 

So, who is left standing when all of this is done?  Those of us who saw through the charade and began looking at how to live simply, within our realistic means, and without supporting the systems that no longer serve us without fear or apprehension.

Ok, maybe this seems a little far fetched right now, but I am planting the seed and you can choose whether you want it to grow and sprout, or just let it decompose…  Various seeds like this one have been planted for me and now that I see a different perspective I am being overwhelmed with signs and guidance that this is the path for our future.

What does that mean and what are your options if you choose to follow this path?

1)    

Stop paying the bills tied to big bloated systems like credit cards and mortgages with big banks.  We are even going to stop paying our full electric/hydro bill every month as a) we are paying a portion of our bill to offset a bad debt they had due to misspending and illegal actions and b) we honestly can’t afford it.  We set our thermostat to 66 degrees in the winter and wear layers of clothes, but we still have a $300-400 bill or more each month as they continue to raise their rates.

 

2)    

Join up with others virtually or physically to barter, share, and collectively find authentic solutions for social, professional and educational networking and activities.  By nourishing your soul with like-minded people and activities will help to off-set the crap many have to deal with every day in schools and jobs that don’t allow for personal growth.  It is about the bottom line – not money – you and your well-being are the bottom line.

 

3)    

Be honest with your neighbours, your family, and your friends.  Let them know you aren’t looking for a hand-out, but there is nothing wrong with all of us helping each other in other ways.  My friend needed a new TV set, we had an extra we really don’t use.  It’s now hers.  Another friend had an extra bar fridge that she didn’t need but we wanted one to store our eggs we were selling.  It’s amazing how our circle of support keeps coming together!

 

4)     And be honest with your creditors.  Do you know they have a whole host of options for you when you are no longer able to pay?  But you must have a history of not being able to pay in most cases (3 months or more).  Tell them you will no longer be able to make minimum payments, or you can only pay x a month for your mortgage, electric, etc.  They may not agree to the terms but may offer something else as a great solution.  I just got an email from our bank saying we can skip up to $2900 in payments this year on our mortgage without penalty.  Sounds like a great option for us! 

Here are some suggestions on what is working around the world and I will also share which ones are working for us:

LIVING BEYOND YOUR MEANS IS YOUR PATRIOTIC DUTY:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081010/news_lz1e10schiff.html  

STOP PAYING YOUR MORTGAGE:
http://bakersfieldbubble.blogspot.com/2008/10/stop-paying-your-mortgage.html  

JINGLE MAIL (send your keys to your lender)
http://www.mortgagereliefformula.com/short-sale-help/  

HALF MOON BAY (read the comments too):
http://blog.stealthmode.com/2009/02/06/an-open-letter-to-my-two-mortgage-companies/  

DISCUSSION BOARD ABOUT HOMEOWNERS ‘FIGHTING’ AND WINNING:
http://www.loansafe.org/forum/success-stories-homeowners-who-fought-back-won/  

And, my husband started blogging this morning – I thought his posting was incredibly powerful too: http://yoursoulsatisfaction.wordpress.com/

 

I’d love to hear other ideas.  Please feel free to email me (colleen at soulvisionl dot ca ) or post on my blog:   

http://soulvisionaries.wordpress.com/

 

So, what if 1000 of us, 10,000 of

us – 10 million of us stopped

paying our mortgage?????

 

The care and feeding of our future

I have been thinking a lot about what has inspired me to start my Seedlings Child Care program.  Talking with Emma Hardie and other friends truly forced me into action but what led me to even consider it….nothing I came across was ‘real’ or authentic. 

The first person who cared for my daughter Emma outside of our home was so incredibly loving. I thought she would keep Emma some times for her own daughter.  I comprimised on some issues that were important to me, such as not using cloth diapers, or minimizing her exposure to internal (preservatives, colourings, additives) and external (chemicals, cleaners, candles, etc.) toxins. 

Emma would come home covered in markers that didn’t wash out of her clothes, so I began to wonder what kind of markers they truly were.  Then Emma began bullying and hitting us and other kids, so I began asking questions and learned that this woman’s boys were bullying Emma. 

So, not only was my daughter’s physical health and well-being compromised but now her personal/emotional.  All the love the woman could give was wonderful but if our daughter was being exposed to bullying and toxins, what else was going on. 

Then the woman shared that she was having a company come out and spray her lawn because it was covered in weeds.  That was the last straw for me, as I love our native plants and understand and appreciate the importance of all of these ‘weeds’ to our eco-system.  And to use pesticides – well, that doesn’t just kill the plants it kills our planet.  So, I pulled Emma from this care.

Weeks later we ran across another family who had a daughter Emma’s age and another who was a couple of years older.  Great – no more bullying and maybe some softer, gentler, nurturing care.  They also used some solar panels, had their own chickens for eggs, and seemed real.  All was going fantastic until we saw the mother physically handle her daughter in a way that didn’t align with our parenting styles. A week later I showed up to pick up Emma and find that she is in front of the TV with no one around but the other toddler watching a horror movie on Scream TV.  UGH!!!!  There goes the spiritual/emotional support I was hoping she was getting. 

I was beyond hopeless and refused to take Emma anywhere.  She stayed home with me for almost two months and I ran across a woman who did child care and also raised beef without hormones and antibiotics.  Talking with her I was sure she got it.  She was so passionate about the cows, how they were raised, and that we ‘are what we eat’ I was thrilled!!!! 

Jeff, Emma and I went to visit and were distressed to find a home filled with Glade plug-ins, candles, chemical based cleaners, processed foods, children drinking non-organic cows milk, and children who seemed miserable and detached! 

I was so confused.  How can you be passionate about raising chickens, saving energy, raising cows yet not seem to carry that passion into raising children?  You can give your cows 90 acres of pesticide free grass and raise them without hormones or antibiotics but you vaccinate your child or take them to the doctors for a round of antibiotics for every little ear ache???  

Parents, we have a whole responsibility to our children – body, mind, spirit – these are special kids. They are sensitive to everything that is not natural.  Their future is dependent upon us all working together to remove the non-natural elements from their lives… not just chemical and physical but the emotional and spiritual.  Forcing education, religion, and societal shoulds down their throats is just as bad for them as giving them bleach to drink in their drinking water (yes, that is what chlorinated water is!!!!) 

Giving them ’self mastery’ experiences and teaching them about faith, love, hope and compassion — those are gifts that will last forever.  Teach them material things don’t create happiness they just create pollution of our hearts, minds, bodies, souls and planet. 

OUR CHILDREN ARE AMAZING — please don’t ruin them with the things of this world.  They are the world they don’t need anything but your sincere focused love and care and nourishment of their bodies, minds and souls.

My Dad used to be proud of me…

My Dad used to be proud of me.  I had a high-paying corporate job for Sylvan Learning Systems.  He would tell everyone about what I did and where I was travelling to next.  I would meet him and my Mom on Sunday’s for church and brunch.  We would go to some of the most wonderful restaurants on the waterfront in Annapolis, DC, or Baltimore.  And, we often would meet at Macy’s to see what we could find.  We spent hours shopping and buying using my Dad’s coupons he got in the mail from being a preferred shopper.

My Dad used to be proud of me. I was an honours student, an all-star athlete, and could handle myself with grace and a smile in any political or social situation.

Here I am about to turn 39 and my Dad is no longer proud of me, but I am living the life of my dreams.  My husband and I live on two acres overlooking the most beautiful view I have ever seen.  The full moon is a golden colour just setting over the snow covered cedars and lake in the distance.  The sun is rising on the other end of the house painting the snow drifts in florescent watercolours.  I am going to make some eggs for breakfast courtesy of our 13 laying hens.  My two year old daughter and husband are cuddled on the couch so Mommy can type something that she was just inspired about (this).  And, although our financial situation is not overly desirable, we are living our truth…. and my Dad is no longer proud of me.

He called me a new age greenie.  I was really hurt when I learned that a few months ago.  But now I hold that ‘title’ with pride. 

I am proud of me.

Be proud of you. It’s your reflection looking back in the mirror.

With love!
Colleen

Donations for Rob and Cole

Hi everyone, Rob and Cole could really use some financial assistance. They still have their mortgage and Rob isn’t moving around well (broken pelvis, cracked ribs, punctured lung and punctured spleen) as well as a broken heart. I’m thinking if we all sent whatever we could – $5 or $50 to his attention that could make such a huge difference and reinforce our love and support of Emma, Cole and Rob. Contact me via phone 905.342.2302 or via this site and I’ll forward Emma’s Dad’s mailing address since Rob is not at home still. If you can send a few dollars even every few weeks and let’s keep the support going as long as we can! Thank you all – with love and appreciation, Colleen

Letters to Cole

Hi Everyone,

I am working on a web site for Emma’s son Cole: www.LettersToCole.com  Thanks for your letters and comments.  Unless you share otherwise, I will make all comments public.  Thank you for your love, compassion, and choice to turn such a tragedy into something powerful and enduring.  I have heard from many who are so moved and inspired by everyone’s comments and letters.  Even Emma’s Dad called yesterday and expressed how moving all of the support has been through Facebook, these web sites and emails he has received.

With love and appreciation, Colleen

Emma’s Memorial and update

Hi everyone,
Here is the information on Emma’s memorial…
Monday 5-9 pm – visitation at Chapel Hill Ridge Funeral Home
http://www.chapelridgefh.com/english/about3.htm
Tuesday 3:30 is the memorial at the same location.

Rob has been put back in the hospital – somehow they missed the multiple cracked ribs, punctured lung and spleen?!?!?

Emma Hardie Story – Please Read….

With the pressures of the holiday season, the lay-offs taking place, and the economic concerns, it seems we all have been getting caught up in ’stuff’ and have forgotten about how to live.
 

I know of one person who truly knew how to live and until yesterday (December 17, 2008), she did that with grace and beauty. Her name was Emma Hardie (she was known as Auntie Em to us) and she died tragically on the 401 (highway minutes from her home in Ontario, Canada). The newspaper reported the ‘facts’ (and you can view photos – very graphic and the story here ), however, the life of Emma Hardie is an inspiration to our community and a reminder to hold our families near and dear this Christmas.

  

The Emma I knew was a relatively new mom, like many of us in our circle. She was learning the delicate balance of continuing with her dreams of teaching, being a student, being a ’stay at home Mom’, and connecting with other like-minded people in this community, as she was a recent Toronto ‘transplant’ who wanted clean air, a safe place to raise her son Cole, and to live more simply and naturally. Emma was incredibly aware of the world around her and didn’t just talk about what she was going to do, she did it. Her thesis was focusing on disabilities in adults, her classes were about wellness and balance, and she volunteered her time at a nearby organic farm, and with Mom’s like me by teaching parent & tot yoga at my house every week. All of the Mom’s were so thankful for the time to unwind and connect while the little ones played nearby. In fact, they often joined in, as you can see here
   

Her husband Rob is an amazing man who commutes to Toronto a few days a week and stays with his family overnight on Friday’s so he can work back-to-back shifts and be home more during the week. He works at a well-known French restaurant and is also a chef. They had been looking at saving up enough to buy the Wedge restaurant in Port Hope and converting the loft upstairs to a yoga studio so he could manage and cook at the restaurant while she could teach yoga and wellness classes and be around for Cole.

We have admired Rob since we met him as he has put his family first and was always there for them no matter what. In fact, he left work over the weekend in the middle of a shift to be there for Emma as she had quite the challenging events. On Saturday night Emma was in a car accident in the Peterborough area after being T-boned by a gentleman who passed out during a Parkinson’s episode. Thankfully the driver and the two toddlers in the back were relatively unscathed, however it was quite the scare as Emma was pinned and couldn’t see her son (or get to him) while encased in an air bag. She wasn’t even supposed to be here, however, she had to come home from an intensive weekend at school as her son Cole had the stomach flu and she wanted to make sure he was ok and provide him with breast milk to keep him hydrated and nourished.

Emma shared with me Monday after coming over to teach the yoga class that she just had to slow down and be there for her family and that she will figure out the rest of the stuff in life later. It just seems so wrong that she will never have that chance now. Even more tragic is that a beautiful baby boy will only have a scar on his head to remind him of the last day he saw his Mom.

I know that it’s easy to forget what’s important during the holidays and with all the crap going on in the world. Things kind of fall into perspective, though, when tragedy hits.

Rob is on Facebook – Robert Bonathan (Toronto) — if you get a chance, perhaps add him to your friend’s list and send him and Cole some healing light and love. They are both still very battered physically and I can’t even imagine how wounded they are emotionally and spiritually.

I wish you and yours a safe and blessed Christmas.