While hunting for graphics, I came across the work of artist Jim Warren. He is described as being somewhere between Dali and Rockwell in his approach. All of his work appeals to me because of the juxtaposition of reality and fantasy. I found this one series of 4 paintings that spoke to me of the innocence, curiosity and impatience of childhood.

Pay attention to the flow in your life...Dr. Wayne Dyer



One of the rules I remember from writing essays in school is not to use the words "me" or "I" all the time. When writing this particular type of blog, I am at a loss to describe the benefits I may or may not be receiving from everything I'm learning or trying without using them. I suppose I could use "one" or "oneself", but this is essentially my journey. You may be reading about it but it isn't necessarily a path you might choose for yourself. This morning it occured to me to ask myself if that discomfort isn't a symptom of having an underactive Navel Chakra. I decided that instead of it being a symptom it was a contributing factor.

Chakras, as far as I understand them, are the evidence of internal balance and harmony. I have decided, possibly in error, that the under or over active Chakra's don't cause the imbalance. The imbalance affects the state of the Chakra. If I am in a negative frame of mind, one of the energy points are going to be under or over active. If I am angry or sad, one or more of the Chakra energy points is going to be disrupted somehow. I should find that taking the test again in a few months will allow me to see if I am successful in changing my patterns of thought. It is the thought that creates the answer to the questions as we read them.

While reading Dr. Dyers book "Your Erroneous Zones" I have begun to see that I choose to think in negatives, at times. Much of how I present myself to the world is based on my own thoughts. If my thoughts are negative, my demeanor suggests that. Those thoughts are not always negative thoughts about me. It isn't always about how I view myself that creates a negative. It is sometimes what and who we surround ourselves with that create that negative demeanor. It's very hard to be optimistic when we are daily being bombarded with the ugly and the bad.

It is totally impossible to avoid the news unless we wish to be totally uninformed about what is happening in the world. Yet the news is always about what is going wrong. Politics and their inherent negative advertising. School children killing other children. Drinking water that contains drugs. All of this is designed to inform, yet because of competition among the news sources, it is presented in a way to get our attention. We are exhorted to watch NBC, CBS or ABC because they do the best job of informing us. All they really do is choose the most lurid details allowed in order to get our attention. Then they repeat those lurid details over and over again until we lose perspective. We become the market they are aiming for, which increases viewership.

Last night I made the decision that I don't need to watch 2 hours of repititious ugliness. Half an hour of local news, half an hour of national news and then change the channel, shut the TV off, listen to music, do something pleasant. Take a walk, a long bath, meditate. Anything that will soothe my negative feelings so that I am in a frame of mind receptive to positive thoughts. Changing my perception to a positive one will reduce stress and allow me to reduce my levels of frustration. I have the will to make better choices in life, ones that will lead to balance and harmony and open Chakras.

Special Thank you to Sole from One In 6 Billion for providing me with this lovely, lovely graphic.



“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm”



As a Type A personality I struggle daily with frustration and anxiety. Rigidity of thought is one of the contributing factors to this problem, and it is a problem. The high levels of anxiety and frustration that worked to keep me focused when I was younger now can lead me to a heart attack and even death. I frustrate myself because with rigid thinking I can't always let go and move past an issue. That alone can affect every thing I do and say. Which of course makes it worse.

For instance, I HATE housework. I do it, grudgingly and while groaning and mumbling through the whole experience. I also don't do as thorough a job as often as I should. Old "lick and a promise" Sherry, has a home that is too cluttered most of the time to do just a lick and a promise. By the time I've been doing something for a bit I have managed to frustrate myself to the point of smashing something simply because Hubby left a battery that he brought in to charge up lying on the dining room table. With the charger still hooked up to the electrical outlet and sitting on the floor. To other people these are minor annoyances, to me, because I hate doing the housework these are grounds for murder. Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating, but that's the nature of a Type A personality, frustrations get exaggerated. They become mountains when they really are only molehills.

Since I do hate housework I am always very pleased with myself when I work my way through a thorough cleaning. This will take all day and before I am able to relax and take a breather, Hubby will be home. That's not so bad except he will track mud across the freshly cleaned floor, or drop his hat and coat on the floor rather than hang it up on the coatrack right next to him. I just spent all day doing something I Hate to do, got it looking in a way that I was proud of myself, and now he ruined it. Guess who starts yelling? This yelling at him means he will leave his coat and hat right there. The easy way would be for me to pick up the coat and hat and hang it up, or wait the 5 minutes it takes him to do it. Did I do it the easy way? Nope, guess whose bloodpressure is now climbing up the chart? For me this is an opportunity to learn better ways to handle, if not alleviate my frustrations.

During the winter months Hubby has to bring tools and other things inside to maintain them. He doesn't always take them back out immediately. This should not be a problem for me and it is. I use them as an excuse to get out of doing something I hate doing to start out with. As if that isn't bad enough I get angry at me for doing that. When I get angry and don't want to fight, I eat. All the wrong things. I don't communicate well when I'm angry, so the situation never gets rectified, because I'm not saying anything he'll listen to.

Today I didn't use the air compressor, the battery charger or the drill as an excuse not to do something. I just moved everything to one spot and cleaned everything around it. When he comes home tonight I will not explode because he dropped his things on my nice clean floor, because until the things are removed I won't do a good mopping. Enough, but not as thorough as needs doing. Traffic areas only today. Tonight I will ask him if he will move the things out with him to his equipment van in the morning so I can mop the whole floor. At least, this time, the stress has been avoided. I wonder if I could learn to love housework through meditation?

Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest.
- Mark Twain



I woke up this morning thinking about the concept of erasers on pencils. I've always believed they were there because we make mistakes. I once had a friend tell me that my thinking along those lines would lead to a failure on my part to put my best effort into whatever I choose to do. Of course, that friend was perfect...ask her she'll tell you so. I can honestly say that I have never striven to be perfect, which is not to say that I'm proud of any mistakes I've made, just accepting of them. In many cases mistakes are a useful learning tool but we aren't going to learn anything if we fail to accept that we're going to make mistakes.

Unfortunately life does not have an eraser. It isn't a pencil. I cannot erase from the eyes of others, any mistakes past or future. I could use the delete button on my computer to remove the evidence of them if they're made online, but I can't unring the bell, nor would I try. I am who I am because I try to learn from my mistakes. It isn't the mistakes that define us in life, it's how we handle the consequences. In order to learn from them, we have to be able to admit we make them.

I have never made the mistake of believing that I'm better than everyone else. I have a blog and sometimes people read and comment, and sometimes they don't. It has never occured to me to be upset because someone didn't leave me a comment. I enjoy the comments, and readers that have spoken with me, but never would I think that anyone owes this to me. You who do comment enrich my life with your wit and wisdom, and sometimes with your own unique understanding of what I intend. I value you because of that but I understand that sometimes life takes a bite out of blogging.

I have never participated in any attempt to prevent other bloggers from getting readers. Neither to the best of my knowledge has anyone else in my circle of blogfriends. Frankly, if I knew of that kind of behavior they would no longer be my blogfriends. Yes, we on occasion, speak of other bloggers here when we talk, but never with any intention to harm or to ignore. I do not read or comment because I do not have the time, and I have to use my time where I am most comfortable. You do not need my participation to acquire your own circle of friends.

I have been opinionated and angry. I have made a fool out of myself trying to fix perceived problems that I should have left alone. I didn't break them, it wasn't my business to try and fix them. Judge me, if you wish by the mistakes I have made, not by claims of bullying that I have no part in. I am fully well aware of the fact that you most likely will not stop. I forgive you because I wish for the peace that forgiveness will bring to me. You will not be an acid that eats at my serenity. I no longer give you that power over me.

In the attitude of silence, the soul finds the path in a clearer light and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.
- Ghandi


Here I was, planning on doing a post on New Age beliefs. I researched a bunch of websites yesterday. I looked at sites about Mind/Body/Spirit. I started to try to grasp Metaphysics. I looked at sites regarding Chakra's and healing Crystals. I looked at Yoga, Reiki, and Tai Chi sites. I immersed myself in facts and ideas and information to the point of system overload. In the end it all boils down to what I believe, what I find works for me. I believe I need to find a way to share what I've learned without sounding like I'm forcing all this on the rest of you.

I found something interesting when I took a test regarding my Chakras. I knew that Chakra is believed to be an energy point found in the middle of the body on line with one's spine. I actually did not know there were 7 of them. I also didn't know that they start at the base of the trunk of the body and of course end at the top of the head. I took a test regarding the condition of my Chakras and found it to be very interesting.

These are my results.

Root: under-active (-44%)
Sacral: open (13%)
Navel: under-active (-50%)
Heart: open (31%)
Throat: open (50%)
Third Eye: open (31%)
Crown: under-active (-13%)

An open Chakra is one that is in harmony or balance which is the desired normal state of ones Chakra. As you can see I have 3 of them in under-active state. What is telling about this is that the underactive Chakras govern the areas in myself that I believe need help.

Briefly the three under-active Chakra's govern my ability to feel "at home" in all situations and places. I tend to be nervous when out of my element, that is the symptom of an underactive Root Chakra. The Navel Chakra governs ones ability to assert oneself without being aggressive when working in a group. When working with a group I tend to be very passive and follow orders rather than involve myself in the decision making process. Lastly, an underactive Crown Chakra leads to rigidity in thought. As in, I'm right you're wrong...get over it. Opinionated? Who....me?

Briefly, the Sacral Chakra has to do with sexuality and ability to be intimate. The Heart is of course kindness and compassion. Throat is ability to communicate. Third Eye is intuition. Fortunately there were instructions on how to open the Chakras that are underactive and they are fairly simple meditation activities, so I plan on trying them. I also found that I need to give the process at least 6 months. It is believed that if I set my foot on a path and haven't achieved my goal within 6 months then I have chosen the wrong path. At least I found out that my heart was in the right place. I guess I just have to wait and see what I can do with the rest of me.