High Mesa Happenings & Heartstrings

Light up a Life; polish the glow on your own.

Save the Starship!

This is to supplement the info in the Call for Help that Nadette posted  for us in the May 15th newsletter.
It's about my friend, Michael Schwass, a really cool man. He's a quadraplegic: yeah, all four limbs.

If you don't need the whole story to open your heart, here's the Donate Now link.  I'm hoping for LOTS of money, though, so read on, please.

I want to begin this post with an excerpt from Laura's post of April 26th:

I have come to appreciate something that we don't always acknowledge:

It's easier to raise money for children who so easily capture our hearts and the newly injured when life is much more dramatic and emotions are high for everyone. But, truly, after 33 years, people kind of forget that the needs of the disabled never ever diminish, but, in fact, increase.  In fact, with someone disabled as long as Michael it's almost easy to forget, in a strange way, just how much work his life takes because it's just so normal.  His hands are all contracted and you just get used to it. You don't think about things like how he can't wear gloves in the winter, no matter how cold, because he can't put them on. It just doesn't occur to us and he doesn't point it out. In general, we don't think about 49 year olds needing help and honestly, if you were to meet Michael he is so positive and upbeat that it would be very easy to look at him as someone who has everything entirely under control.  Makes him a joy to be around, a heck of a teacher in dignity, grace and fortitude but yowsa what the man behind the curtain goes through...

So please, if you can, help spread the word to your own networks, or maybe at your own blogs.  This literally is about keeping Michael alive, out of the hospital and as independent as possible. If anyone has any additional ideas for us on ways to get support, I'm all ears.  ...

Thanks everyone!

 

Here's an excerpt from a story about Michael getting trapped in his van recently:

 

Michael's van, affectionately known as "The Starship" has a few "issues" beyond what one would normally expect in a 103,000 mile mini-van. When I met him on Friday with plans to help him get to the Sprint store to replace his failing phone he pulled into the parking lot, rolled down the window and said,

"It took me a few seconds to realize the implications, but look..."

He hit the switch to open the door and extend his ramp only to reveal the door jammed midway open, barring the ramp from extending. He was trapped, quite literally, in his van.

The good news: It was nice weather and the mechanic had agreed to come to meet us in a Quizno's parking lot to free him. Being able bodied, I was able to get in and keep him company for the hour and a half wait.

The bad news: The door jammed again as he was getting ready to head home at 8 pm preventing him from getting into the van.

The good news: The mechanic's home number was listed and he was willing and able to come back out, the thunderstorms had waned to a light drizzle allowing him to work and an hour later we were able to get Michael home. He is now sporting a duct taped running board (which was the culprit jamming the door) to match the bungee cord holding on his front bumper. He has to get into the body shop soon or he really is risking getting trapped again in a much less congenial situation.

And yes, I'm pulling on your heartstrings, I hope. I'm shameless, don't you know. I also believe in seva - in service to others. This job is just bigger than I can handle on my own. So I need you and Michael REALLY needs you. And The Starship needs you.

Here are some links to help you find the rest of the story, and lots of stuff about Michael; how he's one of the good guys, what he's done with his life from the wheelchair, other ways to help - stuff like that.

Thanks so much for taking your time to read this. And thanks for all that open-heart giving that's happening now. You're the best.

ABOUT Michael - bio-type stuff:
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/rollingrishi/about-michael-schwass.html

Mike's own request.
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/rollingrishi/contributions.html

a post about Michael's book
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/rollingrishi/about-dont-blame-the-game.html

Mike's blog – pages of great info, and insight into the man.
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/rollingrishi/

Laura's 1^st req.
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/dragonslaying/2008/04/scenes-from-a-f.html

Laura's update & 2^nd  request
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/dragonslaying/2008/04/were-on-our-way.html

the donate now link.
http://www.typepad.com/t/app/public/tj?__mode=tip_confirm&id=192136&user_id=469601

 

 

Green Tips for the holidays and after...

Barbara & Nadette and others have been giving thought & looking around the net for some holiday greenery of a different Kind. Here is what they found.

First: Heifer.Org has posted this article called "Waste Not, Want Not".
Some highlights include:

• Maximize Your Leftovers.
• Donate Food Scraps to Local Farmers and Zoos.
• Start a compost pile.

The full article includes specific tips and lots of links to resources and other articles. Check it out for some great ideas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Healing Lifestyles & Spas Magazine has some great suggestions for 'greening' up your travel plans; it's so timely for this traveling season.
This excerpt will tease you a bit, perhaps:

"Pretty much any way you cut it, travel is harmful to the environment (unless you travel by train). Many believe that flying is by far the most carbon emitting option. Studies have shown that's not necessarily so. Depending on the distance, type of car, and how hard you gas it, car travel in some cases can rank the worst."

Read the full article for tips on all segments of you trip: pre-departure, the stay, and your return.

Thanksgiving ~ a day to remember & celebrate our blessings

Thanksgiving Greetings from our resident Wise Woman:

Peace, Love and Blessings to you this holiday season.
This is a good time to reflect and to be grateful for our many blessings.
Our life, our health, family and friends.

Let us take some time out to express our gratitude for all that brings us joy.
As we focus on these things that we want in our life more will come our way.
We live in an abundant universe and when we focus on these things we attract them to us.
That is a law of the universe.
So let us work with that law that we might live the abundant life.                                    

                                          Peace & Blessings,
                                                              Barbara

 

...from Brother David Steindl-Rast:

...and from GoGratitude.com

and another one...

And a wonderful song from Mary Chapin Carpenter

Thanks to Laura and Erin for this song; it really spoke to me today.

And the lyrics to this great song:

I saw my life this morning
Lying at the bottom of a drawer
All this stuff I'm saving God knows what this junk is for.
And whatever I believed in
This is all I have to show.
What the hell were all reasons
For holding on for such dear life
Here's where I let go.

I'm not running
I'm not hiding
I'm not reaching
I'm just resting in the arms of the great wide open.
Gonna pull my soul in
And I'm almost home.

I saw you this morning
You were looking straight at me
From an ancient photograph
Stuck between letters and some keys.
I was lost just for a moment
In the ache of old goodbyes.
Sometimes all that we can know is
There's no such thing as no regrets.
Baby it's all right.

"On the Advent of Our Deaths"

Ronni Bennett, one of my favorite bloggers, has posted another thoughtful article inspired by one of her favorite books,  Light on Aging and Dying, selected by Helen Nearing. The article is followed by many wonderful comments from some of her faithful readers.

I encourage you to read it. Cogitate a bit.

And if you want to read more about a 'good death', I suggest this article - from Helen Nearing about Scott's passing - two weeks after his 100th birthday.

"Mudman" comments on Peace Village

Peace Camp 2007

"I was amazed at the fun we had in creating two benches and many smaller cob[earth]sculptues. People seemed to pick up the process of how to natural build in the earth, and as the week went on the skill level improved to the point of my needing to give very little feedback. We were challenged by rain almost every day, but it didn't stop us from playing in the mud; we just scheduled the mud work earlier in the day....
And I was also amazed by the skill level of the young people creating their own sculptures.I even noticed Kaylah playing in the mud and making mud pies the day we ran out of desert.....I counted the preadolescent boys' active volcanoes 1,223..... and all of them exploded on the last day.

I was honored to be a small part of the rite of passage and hope to continue some of this work in the future. Hopefully we can do more mudding in the future." 

blessings
robertfrancis

You can see the work that RobertFrancis and the children did on the grounds at High Mesa, near the labyrinth. Barbara & George have finished up the work of patching the cracks caused by drying, then applying a finish. The benches are great. Come enjoy them.

The Mudman is RobertFrancis Johnson from Santa Fe, who conducts workshops, rites of passage, and other opportunities for getting in touch (literally) with the earth. Read more about him here.

Friends and their Medicine Wheel

"We did it!     The Medicine Wheel is finished.  August 17, 2007
We are so pleased with the results. It sure has been a long time coming."

These are the words I read when I first opened an email from Shirley. It sounds so excited and happy. Then I opened the photos attached: (both are 'clickable' for larger image)

      

Very cool pictures, I'm sure you'll agree.
Then I wrote for permission to use them - and then my computer crashed.
Now at long last, you get to see the work these women have done and hear them talk about it.

"We built the outline of the Medicine Wheel 8-27-2006. We officially completed it on 8-17-2007 (20th anniversary of the Harmonic Convergence). 

August 27^th, 2006, Sunday at 9:30am, Dolphin (a Spirit Guide) brought Maya, a Native American Spirit Guide to me while I was in meditation. Maya told me to build the Medicine Wheel TODAY. 

Carolyn and I immediately started gathering our ceremonial objects. We consecrated the backyard by intentionally walking in a circle 8 times with the sound of the wind chimes matching each step. We smudged each of the 36 stones, prayerfully naming them as we constructed the Medicine Wheel. 86 white stones mark the path around the wheel. 

Almost one year later, after completing it with the additional landscaping rocks, four of us anchored in the energies on Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 7:30pm. 

Each person bowed at the East entrance offering silent prayers to the Ancient Ones saying Mitakuye Oyasin, Lakota Sioux for "All My Relations." Dr Allen Ross introduced me to this term in his book of the same name. We met him in

South Dakota

while visiting the Chief Crazy Horse Memorial. This simple prayer honors each individual’s path and acknowledges the sacredness of all sentient beings. 

The Medicine Wheel based on Sun Bear's vision in, Dancing with the Wheel has four quadrants. We used rose quartz (unconditional love) and black obsidian (reflection and grounding). The center area and the path around the wheel is crushed white marble (meditation, energy and beauty). The rest of the yard is red lava rock (fire from the Earth, strength and stability). 

We called in the Spirit keepers of the South, West, North and East…Shawnodese - Coyote, Mudjekeewis – Bear, Waboose – White Buffalo and Wabun – Eagle. 

We are all Reiki Masters/Practitioners and we channeled Universal Energy into the circle extending that energy out into the neighborhood, the world and throughout the Universe. From the Heavens above to the Earth below we placed the Power within the Circle. 

Within the Wheel as well as within our Hearts, when gathering with Sacred Intention we are calling on the Ancient Ones and bringing forth our own Power as well as the Power of the Creator of Infinite Light and Love. The Medicine Wheel tradition offers us a portal or a doorway connecting us with Spirit, ourselves, each other and most of all with the Earth, the Rock People, the Winged Ones, the Standing Ones and the Four-Leggeds.

The Medicine Wheel, symbolic of the cyclic nature of our lives, provides a place for meditation, reflection and for seeking guidance. We pause in the busyness of our lives taking time to connect with Spirit. We see things as they can be … from our vantage point within the Wheel as we look to restore, transform and create Harmony, bringing all parts of our life into Balance and Peace. 

Anything we have borrowed from the First Nations we are forever grateful. We are respectful of their traditions. 

And so it is. Ho! ~Shirley Smith 

Special Thanks to: 

Dolphin, Maya and the countless hours Carolyn spent down on her hands and knees working on the MW and her commitment to me and believing and
supporting my vision and goals."

Thanks for your willingness to share this experience with us!

Tithing

The other day I read that tithing is not only for church; and as embarrassing as it is to admit this, boy was I relieved! 

Those of you who know me may see me as fairly well balanced. I enjoy both my right and left brain, and I am reasonably comfortable in my masculine and feminine. Some of you have also noticed (BARBARA!) that occasionally I overlook some of the most obvious things! Stuff most people take for granted can easily pass me by for a decade or more. There is a joke that literally took me 15 years to get, and it’s very simple humor (ask if you like, it’s clean). So, as elevated as I like to think I am (inflatable pedestal and all), I must humbly submit that it had never occurred to me, that tithing is not only for churches. Barbara would call this a misplacement of my head (but would you put it that gently, my dear?). 

My relief stems from a childhood in which I got the most authoritative dirty looks from grown ups wanting to see me place my quarter in the collection plate (God is watching you, through me!), mixed with a deeply engrained inculcation that if I did not give ten percent of every paycheck after I grew up, I would not only burn in hell but would be looked upon with scorn by even the lowliest of the damned as a cheapskate.  

I’ve never met a blind follower at High Mesa Healing Center,  so I trust all of you know how well that sat with me. 

I left the church of my childhood over 30 years ago.  It’s interesting how long the emotional coals of anger can remain quietly stoked and ready to flare up. I recently found a church I really like! I joined this one in part because I feel I can make a difference here. When the collection plate came around, I started looking around for the angry eyes of God (or his minion), I found those eyes, and they were inside me! 

So, I came home and sat with that judgment and anger for awhile. Trying to accept, without judgment, that I was angry and judgmental toward God and tithing in general. A short while later I ran across an abundance related blog. The author was discussing tithing. 

He was saying that tithing can be to a church, or to any entity that edifies you along your spiritual journey. He went on to say, that purchasing something from a business that edifies you is a form of tithing. I got to thinking; in other words, every time I purchase a book, or a reading, or a treatment, or drop money in the jar in the bookstore I’m tithing. 

Now as a child I was told that tithing was a gift of gratitude to God, but it was hard to be grateful for those dirty looks. Now as an adult God and I get along pretty well, we’ve redefined our relationship, and gratitude is easier now.  

I strive to see God in everyone and everything, and sometimes it’s a challenge. But there are some people, who by their very nature remind you that you’re in the presence of God.  and then gratitude just flows naturally. Barbara is one of those people. 

Now the church of my childhood said tithing was all about money. The church of my heart knows that tithing is all about service, money is one valid expression of service. Something else the church of my heart tells me. When I choose to give just for the joy of sharing, I am edified/blessed; the one I give to is also edified/blessed in that giving. I just tithed. 

In a nutshell: 

      A: Tithing is a gift of gratitude expressed to God (and who/what is not God???) 

B: If you feel blessed and grateful and you give (in any order), you just tithed. 

C: Whether you gave of your money, your skills, your love, a listening ear… or any of myriad ways we all give every day, you tithed.

 D: Who/what you tithe to can only be determined by yourself, for only you can know who/what edified/blessed you.

E: God only keeps books on tithing if you do, and nobody else has any right to care, so why bother?

F: If you only give ten percent of yourself you must sleep 21.6 hours a day. Start looking for all the ways you have tithed over your lifetime and you’ll like yourself more and more. People are generous by nature. 

You may have noticed a sneaky reference to purchasing books and services or donating at the bookstore. I concede an agenda.  

You cannot walk onto the hallowed grounds of High Mesa Healing Center and not felt edified. It is nearly impossible to visit with Barbara or Kate and not feel blessed and happy to have been in that moment.  

High Mesa Healing Center is in constant need of financial, time and effort blessings.

No one is watching. There are no dirty looks from some self-designed deific prosecutor. In fact the only judge any of us answers to is our own conscience. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to give to High Mesa Healing Center enough to feel that I've repaid the blessings I've found there. But fortunately no one is keeping books.  

Don’t give til it hurts, give til it feels right. 

In love, light and deep deep gratitude, see ya at the labyrinth!

Curtis

From Curtis Folts who  clearly loves us, and who blessed us with his presence at our psychic fair recently; who brought and introduced to us his delightful brother, Richard, and who shared his joyful personality with us all. Thanks so much, Curtis; you really don't know how timely - aka synchronistic - this is.

We love you, too.

A Wonderful World, oh, yeaaahhhh.........

From Raymond Crowe - Australia's only Unusualist.

enjoy...    :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKoiMiOQvMc  I couldn't make the 'embed' link work, but this is worth jumping over to the link location.

Thanks, Jim

"A Cup of (Tribal) Comfort"

I can not recommend too highly the writings of Marian Van Eyk McCain who blogs at Elderwomanblog among others, and who has created a wonderful resource at The Elderwoman Website. I especially call your attention to a recent post about our tribal connections that really resonated with me. An excerpt follows:

"Since our ancestors lived in tribes for millions of years, the feeling of belonging to a defined group of people – an 'us' that sets us apart from the undifferentiated hordes of 'them' – is almost certainly hard-wired into our psyches.

These days, most of us don't live within our tribes any more. Yet the feeling of identification, the sense of belonging to a discrete group of fellow humans set apart from all the rest is still a basic need. When we don't have our tribe, we long for it. So we search for it." 

I hope you will explore her sites and follow a few links.
You can find a copy of A Cup of Comfort for Writers thru this link to Amazon.

Enjoy

Aztec Leader's Tomb Found

I found this information so interesting that I must share it with you!

Blessings,

Barbara

 

 

AZTEC LEADER'S TOMB FOUND ©   follow the link...
By Mark Stevenson
Associated Press
August 3, 2007