And as Mercury finally turns Direct....

after three LONG weeks of utter confusion....

so do our aspirations, goals, plans, etc. move DIRECT...

For ultimately....

(You heard it here!)

there is not even a CRUMB of possibility

 that your "to do" list will manifest during

 the "dreaded" RETROGRADE....

THERE ARE NO ACCEPT IONS to this rule!

So, my friends,

the next time that you find yourself DESPERATELY climbing

a DOWN escalator,

but remaining GROUND level....

check out the astrological alignment for that day....

I PROMISE YOU that MERCURY will be in RETROGRADE yet again...

nuf said...

...

A Mother's Decision....

Where will her cub be the 'safest' ?

Where will she be ABLE to protect him most effectively ?

Is this 'grim reaper'

 a HURRICANE ?

a TROPICAL STORM ? 

or simply an enormous GUST of WIND and RAIN ?

Should they EVACUATE ?

And if so....

to WHERE ??

Will the TRAFFICKED ROADS be accessable

 or just plain IMPOSSIBLE ?

And....

What if they got STUCK on the road DURING the storm ???

Wouldn't THAT be the worst case scenario ???!!

Is that really even an option ?

Winds of 125 mph....

Hurricane-proof windows...

Enough WATER to feed a family for a WEEK ???

WHAT ?!

It's really pretty impossible for one to process

SO MUCH contradictory information at once...

HOWEVER....

DECISIONS must be made !

Where and how will it all settle by tomorrow ?

Katrina....Irene...AUGUST 28th....

Same date .....

She needs to contemplate....to PRAY.....to DECIDE....

The clock is ticking.....

We meander through our lives...

with the SET BELIEF that we are PERCEIVED by others in a certain way ...

and that when we SPEAK in our own, particular tone...

we will perpetually continue to elicit the same,certain RESPONSE....

(whether this SELF IMAGE is a positive or a negative one!)

no matter!

For our belief system, as we've been discussing, is clad is SHEEP'S WOOL....

perhaps covering our eyes from the ACTUALITY on the table of our sojourn...

Only then, in one fell swoop,

to be awakened to the FACT that it was all just silly, made-up, HOO HAA...

that reality and fantasy and actuality and whimsicality are

ALL DANCING TOGETHER  ...

to Waltzes and HORAS (lol) and Shamanistic Drums and such....

Here's the thing....

I suppose that we are actually BORN with a genetic set of beliefs....

or rather, a PREDISPOSITION to certain patterning....

a GENETIC CODE, if you will....

And along the journey of our life, we 'pick up' our majority of concepts, ideas, etc.

We are also GIVEN certain beliefs....from parents, teachers, friends...

And then , of course, some ideas are pretty muched SLAMMED DOWN OUR THROATS...

We seemingly have NO choice but to believe them...

And then something occurs....a death, a birth, falling in love...whatever....

and the ENTIRE LOT of  our 'belief system' is essentially EXPUNGED....ERRADICATED....

At which time, we are left with CONFUSION....REGRET....AFTERTHOUGHT.....

and hence,  FORCED to create a WHOLE, NEW BELIEF SYSTEM....from scratch....

THIS is precisely the time when EMPIRICISM, (EXPERIENCE) rears its head....

For then, and ONLY then,

are we forced to first QUESTION the original set of beliefs....

So...Here's the thing....

How CEMENTED are those original beliefs ?

Are they a part of our very DNA ?

Can they be altered ?

At what price to our sense of security and wellbeing ??

How does FAITH play a role in this scenario ?

Is faith LEARNED ?

ORGANIC ?

Thoughts ?

Yet another pathway appeared...

in the already convoluted and appendaged road of her sojourn......

And this particular path was strewn with jewels...

red rubies...green emeralds....and sapphires of an outlandish blue...

And she remembered the old Rebbe when she was a young girl...

likening Judaism itself to a road of jewels...

He had made the point that we "pick up as many as we can",,,

but that it's virtually impossible to pick up EVERYTHING....

that RELIGION is fluid....a living thing....

that we PICK and CHOOSE in a way...

And she thought of her own CLEARLY 'LEONINE' qualities...

of her extraordinarily, REGENERATIVE abilities....

of the 9 lives of a cat really....

And she smiled as she sipped on her Caramel Macchiato...

and reflected on the UNEXPECTED and serendipitous events of the day....

and so it went...

Ways to protect yourself from an ENERGY VAMPIRE....

As discussed in yesterday's blog,

 the ENERGY VAMPIRE is NOT one of those cartoonish, Romanian (lol) creatures

 of our childhood, horror stories...

He/She may be right there next to you....

a friend...

a sibling...

a parent...(Yikes!)

a spouse...(Serious Yikes!!)

a passerby....

(refer to yesterday's blog on HOW to SPOT one...)

Here are some PRACTICAL ways in which to protect yourself from them....

tools applicable to ALL 'predatory entities' actually...

'

 1)  Visualize a psychic field of energy around yourself.....(6 ft in every direction)..

     (even coming from the top of your head upwards...and from the soles of your feet

     straight through the ground) 

     This field MUST be made of PURE TEFLON....

      so that ANYTHING foreign will simply BOUNCE DIRECTLY OFF of you....

      This will 100% repel the ENERGY VAMPIRE far from you

      with a kind of BOOMERANG effect.....

**As I've mentioned to you before,

 this form of VISUALIZATION takes major amounts of         

   practice via meditation, prayer, etc...

   I PROMISE you that it WILL PROTECT YOU, once enforced...

2)  Carry on your person at ALL times,

     some sort of Hebrew prayer...the size of a small, crib sheet optimally....

     'T'filat Haderech'  (The Traveler's Prayer) is probably my top choice....

      But any prayer will do.....

3)  This one is CRITICAL to your success in repelling the creature:

     Do something COMPLETELY SELFLESS daily!

     Again, you KNOW exactly what I'm talking about....

Ok, Guys.....

Nuf said......

Carry on.......

  

Always be on your guard against ENERGY VAMPIRES...

....against Naysayers, Contrarians, Parade Rainers, and the like....

for they will SURELY bring you to a low and haphazard field of energy...

Mind you, it's NOT their words which are so potentially detrimental....

it is their very 'STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS' one should run from...

How does one determine being in the presence of an "ENERGY VAMPIRE", you ask ?

Here are some tips on how to spot a blood sucking, dark entity....

1) In ALL the time you've been aquainted with them, they have NEVER paid you an ernest         compliment...

    AU CONTRAIRE...

    They will appear disconcerted, uncomfortable,

    when you've accomplished something, done them a kindness, etc...

    You ALL know EXACTLY what I'm refering to!

2)  In your time of NEED, this sneaky creature will be "NOWHERE IN SIGHT"....

      impossible to reach by phone, text, email, etc...(when they USUALLY answer immediately!)

3)  On the FLIP side of this coin, AFTER all is said and done, they will be the FIRST ones to come 

     and gloat and say, "I told you so!"...or "I'm concerned.."

4) The ENERGY VAMPIRE will seem charismatic and loving at times....

     but CAUSTIC and BLOOD THIRSTY at other times...

    (leaving you somewhat DEFLATED)...

    (physically!)

5) You will find yourself to be EXHAUSTED, DEPLETED, after having been in their presence....

   Even when your contact with them was INDIRECT!

     and finally.....

6) You will ALWAYS feel somewhat 'ill at ease' in their presence, regardless of how close the

      relationship APPEARS to be....

      Why ?    Because, my friends,

      your HIGHER SELF KNOWS how to distinguish GOOD from BAD....

Just listen to that inner voice....

and be on guard....

Tomorrow, I will list ways to PROTECT yourself in the presence of the ENERGY VAMPIRE...

   

      

     

She was ensconced in BLUE,,,,

in a Contemplative Cocoon ...

a Blue kind of contemplation ...

Blue LITERALLY....

not a Blue MOOD...

but a Blue COLOR....

an energetic field of the truest shade of Blue she'd ever experienced...

She wondered, whimsically,

whether Picasso's "Blue Period" felt this way....

She wore NOT "ROSE colored glasses"...

but BLUE ones.....

And through this electric haze of color,

she saw TRUTH....perhaps for the first time....

TRUTH and Translucent ENERGY.....

very, very tough to describe...

POTENT nonetheless....

POTENT through its EXTREME TRANSPARENCY......

surrounded completely  by a sort of euphoric, golden stream of consciousness....

and so it went....

So...The Day After Tisha B'Av....

is widely known as the LUCKIEST DAY on the Jewish calendar....

coming on the heels, of course, of the most  catastrophic and historically bereft time of year.....

I thought I'd add a bit of "JEWISH FENG SHUI" into the "already LUCKY atmosphere"....

Here are the things that one MUST do TODAY, (the 10th of Av),

 in order to optimize the LUCK:

1) ACKNOWLEDGE that this will be a VERY LUCKY DAY...

   For LUCK to manifest appropriately and steadfastly, one must be VERY CLEAR as to FAITH and BELIEF in 'proposed luck'...

2) Set an INTENTION....

  Sound corny ??

  Actually, the most POWERFUL way to REALIZE "LUCK" is to FOCUS and to INTEND....

  Be CLEAR as to what you WANT and NEED in relation to this manifestation...

3) You've been given a GIFT....BE GRATEFUL in advance of receiving it...

  (works every time!)

4) Eat ONLY organic foods for these 24 hours....GREEN foods are optimal...

   Meats, cheeses, etc may actually cause blockages in the "Jewish CHI Flow"....

5) Probably the MOST IMPORTANT.....

    Do something PROFOUND and COMPLETELY SELFLESS today....

    Do I need to EXPLAIN this ??

    I think not...You know very well what to do... 

I KNOW that this sounds like CRAZY, IDEALIZED Hoo Haaa....

But I ALSO KNOW that you'll THANK ME later !!!

the power of humanity....

She had, somehow, always believed in the 'power of humanity'....

that no matter how 'twisted' or 'conniving' one seemed,

that ultimately the need for CORRECTNESS....

for sheer,' humanitarian decorum'...

would pierce through the autocratic veil....

This same, idealized need would then reach far beyond its lowly field of consciousness...

and it would return,

GESTALT,

 to its CORE GOODNESS....

(presuming that its CORE was GOOD!)

to its ESSENCE....

and all would be EXACTLY as it should be.....

But in the real world...

beyond her idealistic sojourning....

this was NEVER the case....

but NEVER....

For humans appeared to be self centered, sensationalizing 'jack asses'....

when push really came to shove....

Ahhhh.....

and so it went.....

Missy....park bench....Part 2....

The two, (Missy and the Very Old Man),

 sat in silence for quite some time...

NOT an awkward silence though....not whatsoever....

more of a SAFE, SERENE silence...

Missy wondered at her odd desire to be next to this guy... 

this "GREAT GRANDFATHERLY FIGURE"...

Could this be the DIRECT result of having eaten one too many 'SHROOMS in college ??

LOL

He turned to her, looking now directly at her from those endless, 'other-worldly' eyes...

He said,

"Your father sent me..."

Her tears began to form ....

Her father had died some 6 years ago....

and she pined for him so....

for his wisdom....his humor...his LOVE....

This man on the park bench was an angel of some sort....

sent to give her a message....

of THIS she was certain....

He continued....

"He wants you to know that YOU ARE SAFE....that he has your back...."

"He wants to tell you that, NO MATTER how things seem to be SPIRALING out of control....

that you MUST continue to BELIEVE....

....in GOD....in YOURSELF....in TRIUMPH...."

"He wants to WISH you, his beloved daughter, the HAPPIEST of BIRTHDAYS"...

Missy was in AWE....in SHOCK....

tears pouring down her face....hands trembling....

The old man took the flowered bracelet off of his wrist and placed it on hers....

And then....

He was gone....

An old man sat on a park bench...(part 1)

and as MISSY walked by him, she picked up the very pungent aroma of roses and....

spice....

a rather BEAUTIFUL smell actually.....

She wondered where it was coming from exactly...

Was he wearing COLOGNE ???

this really old man ??

No....No...

And then she noticed a GARLAND of sorts around the man's wrist...

a garland of roses and cloves...

'How strange', she thought...

that this very, very old man,

sitting here COMPLETELY ALONE in the park...

 was wearing a flower bracelet,,,,

hmmm...

She continued on by...

BUT SOMETHING MADE HER STOP....

For some unknown reason....

MISSY needed to KNOW everything about this man....

She turned back to him...

(it appeared that he hadn't even noticed her)...

and she asked him if he'd mind some company on the bench....

He looked up at her from the MOST SPARKLING, BLUE eyes...

eyes FAR younger than his years.....

and she noticed that he wore a VERY fine, cashmere sweater.....

in the most beautiful shade of blue....exactly matching his eyes....

She thought, in passing, that he must have been quite the

 GORGEOUS GUY back in his day....

He nodded to her that sitting with him would be fine....

mmm....

The smell of the flowers and the spice were heady....

wafting through the air at this close distance....

(to be continued)