Elder’s Meditation of the Day July 16

Elder’s Meditation of the Day July 16

“Grandfather says…you must not hurt anybody or do harm to anyone. You must not fight. Do right always. It will give you satisfaction in life.”

–Wovoka, PAIUTE

The question one should ask themselves is: Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy? If you want to be right, this is a request from your ego. If you want to be happy then this is of the Great Spirit. The only meaning anything has is the meaning we give it. Maybe we should develop a philosophy of: Today is the last day of the rest of my life. If this were true, how easy it would be to let things go – how easy it would be to forgive.

Oh Great Spirit, let me live today as if it was my last. Let me express Your joy and be happy today. Let me see the joy and honor of living on the Red Road.

 

July 16 – Daily Feast

July 16 – Daily Feast

If time were a dollar – how careful we would be with how we spent it. We wouldn’t spend it on worry, for we know fretting is not profitable. Anything limited makes us conscious of what we do with it, whether it is time or money or the people in our lives. How we value what we have decides what we keep. The Cherokee doesn’t want many things, but they know the wise are, I yv da, careful or mindful of what is important. Such caution teaches us to think before we talk, to slow our pace and find peace of mind. It eventually gives us more resources, and more time to enjoy them.

~ If we could have spared more, we would have given more…. ~

CANASSATEGO

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Daily Motivator for July 16 – As you choose to be

As you choose to be

You don’t have to let the surroundings and occurrences of your world bring  you stress. You can choose to give them love and appreciation.

Instead of handing out judgments about every little frustration, annoyance  and disturbance, you can exude peace and positive purpose. Instead of letting  life get to you, let real, authentic joy flow forth from you.

You are perfectly capable of being ever peaceful, even though you may not  always be in peaceful surroundings. You are easily and naturally able to be  continually positive, regardless of what may come your way.

The quality of your life in every moment is your decision. Peace is not a  place or even an external condition, but a choice of how you are.

Let go of conflicting thoughts about how life is supposed to be. Live life  simply and purely as you choose to be.

Enjoy the immense richness that is always within you, and around you, and  extending infinitely out from you. Choose love, peace, joy and positive purpose  in every moment, and feel how outstandingly good it is to give life your very  best.

— Ralph Marston

The Daily Motivator 

Daily OM for July 16 – Uncover Your True Face

Uncover Your True Face
Underneath the Mask

Many of us know the feeling of being stuck in a particular role within our families, as if we are wearing masks whenever we see the people we love. Maybe we are the good daughters, expected to always please others, or perhaps we are the family clowns, expected to be jovial and make everyone laugh. This same scenario can play out within a work situation or a group of friends. We may be so good at our role that we hardly even notice that we are wearing a mask, and yet, deep down, we know that we are not free to simply be who we really are. This can leave us feeling unseen and uneasy.

There is nothing inherently wrong with wearing a mask or playing a role. It is a natural part of any social dynamic and it can even be creative and fun. It only becomes a problem when you feel that you have no other choice than to wear that mask, and this is especially challenging if you realize you are never without one. Perhaps you have forgotten who you really are-a vast and unrestricted being of light-and have identified yourself completely with a role. You may be the dutiful, caring son who keeps his parents’ dysfunctional marriage intact. You may be the angelic wife who enables your husband to continue on a destructive path. You may be the cheerful daughter to a deeply depressed mother. Whatever the case, knowing the motivation behind your performance-the function of your mask-can help to uncover your true face.

Anytime we find ourselves stuck behind a mask, it is an indication that we are entangled in a dysfunctional dynamic in which our true self cannot be seen. We have been placed in this situation for the purpose of our own healing and, in some cases, the healing of others. From this perspective, life can be seen as a series of situations that call us to remove our masks-gently, and with great compassion for all concerned-to reveal the beauty underneath.

No Cartoon, Sorry! But there are 2 quizzes – What is your Soul Type?

What Is Your Soul Type?

by Annie B. Bond

Are you a Hunter or a Visionary? A Peacemaker or a Bright Star? Find out with this fascinating quiz that helps you understand more about who you truly, deeply are.

You may want to share this quiz with friends and loved ones. Learn more about your own soul-nature here:

First, take this

Soul Sign Quiz to find out which element–Fire, Earth, Air, or Water–you most closely embody.

If you are a FIRE SIGN, do you

* Sometimes feel negative and often find something to complain about?
* Find that you are either extremely encouraging or extremely discouraging of others and their actions?
* Dream of the perfect mate even though you are disappointed again and again when others let you down?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a RETROSPECTIVE SOUL. (Retrospectives get their name from their tendency to look backward, sometimes holding on to old hurts.)

Or do you
* Feel compelled to express your artistic temperament?
* Think you are sometimes unrealistic in your expectations of people and situations?
* Find that you often look through rose-colored glasses to try to see only the best in someone?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a DREAMING SOUL.

Or do you
* Think of yourself as positive and outgoing, especially in difficult circumstances?
* Love to be center stage, even if it is at the expense of others?
* Need accolades and a partner who gives you their full attention?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a BRIGHT STAR SOUL.

——————————
IF you are an EARTH SIGN, do you
* Love a challenge and strive to conquer it at all costs?
* Motivate others with your enthusiasm but move on if they hold you up or disrupt your plans?
* Need freedom and flexibility in any personal relationship?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a HUNTER SOUL.

Or do you
* Take a while to decide on the right career path?
* Think of yourself as a social organizer who will call others even if they don’t call you?
* Need reassurance and security, as you’re not always sure of your own value?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a VISIONARY SOUL.

Or do you
* Naturally take charge of most situations?
* Find that you are usually the first one to volunteer?
* Need to be involved with your partner and have real communication?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a WARRIOR SOUL.
——————————
IF you are an AIR SIGN, do you
* Very often wonder if the grass might be greener someplace other than where you are?
* Not really need the security of a house, home, or family?
* Consider yourself romantic and love the idea of romance but find it difficult to commit to a single relationship?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a TRAVELER SOUL.

Or do you
* Feel content to be wherever you are at any given moment?
* Avoid conflict of any kind in order to keep stability both at home and at work?
* Need a stable partner who is totally committed to you, even if the relationship is not perfect?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a PROPHET SOUL.

Or do you
* Need the opportunity to try out new and innovative ideas?
* Value stability and almost always feel like things are stable?
* Openly and easily share your emotions, and need a grounded home life?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a NEWBORN SOUL.
——————————
If you are a WATER SIGN, do you
* Always find yourself interested in others?
* Like to involve yourself with worthwhile projects, and love to philosophize and intellectualize things?
* Want a relationship, but like to hold back, and find it hard to share inner feelings?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a SEEKER SOUL.

Or do you
* Feel like your main focus is on marriage and family, even on social occasions?
* Work with children, or in a teaching, caring, or nurturing profession?
* Enjoy nurturing your family?
If this sounds most like you, then you are a PEACEMAKER SOUL.

Or do you
* Like company, but feel you can be just as happy doing your own thing by yourself?
* Get involved with several projects at once, finding it hard to say no?
* Like to make the rules in your relationship?
If this sounds most like you, then you are an OLD SOUL.

Quiz of the Day – What Soul Sign Are You?

What Soul Sign Are You?

by Annie B. Bond

 

This elemental approach to the human soul is a fascinating way to understand  who you are, especially in relationship to others. Do you crave attention from a  partner? You may be a Fire type. Do you like to organize and plan activities  with your significant other? You may be an Earth.

Take this simple quiz to find out your soul-type so you can learn more about  the ways you relate:

1. You sometimes have regrets, but nonetheless you revel in the joy of having  created an effect, whether good or bad. You live in a drama of sorts, either  emotionally or creatively.

2. You are a person who needs attention, who needs to be recognized and  admired, who is sensitive and easily hurt over the smallest thing, who can love  and hate with equal passion.

3. You are a person who thrives on love and passion in personal  relationships, who needs to be number one in their partner’s life, who likes to  have their own way, who feels easily neglected and is capable of being quite  jealous when their spouse’s attention is somewhere else.

4. You are a person who needs to plan before acting, although you are  determined to turn your plans into action. You make lists and like to take  control.

5. You pay close attention, striving for perfection, even in the little  things, generally organized, especially in situations you consider important,  sensitive but able to reason and to be fair, steady, and reliable.

6. You thrive on being the organizer in the family; are loyal to your spouse  and expect the same respect and loyalty in return; can seem on occasion to be  bossy and you like to take charge; you like to be romanced and need genuine  affection.

7. You don’t like pressure, and you don’t like to be upset or argue, but you  do like new people and new experiences.

8. You love animals and children, do not sweat the small stuff, and are  usually easygoing, happy to go along in life without fuss, generally calm, and  somewhat passive.

9. You thrive on simply being loved, are undemanding in your personal  relationships, like to keep things simple and uncomplicated, hate arguments and  fights, and will try in most cases with your spouse to pacify and keep things on  an even keel.

10. You usually find a way, through compromise, to please others and  yourself. You are able to evaluate and solve problems by negotiating and seeking  harmony.

11. You avoid attention, shy away from the limelight but still like approval  from others for work well done; you strive to be fair and considerate of others’  feelings, but can be so immersed in your own life that you can be neglectful of  issues outside yourself or your family.

12. You thrive on the ability to communicate with your spouse and family;  feel the need to always strive to be seen to be reasonable, even when they  perhaps cannot be, and are strong-minded and capable of standing your ground in  an argument when issues are important.

If you answered yes to 1, 2 and 3, you are a FIRE.

If you answered yes to 4, 5, and 6, you are an EARTH.

If you answered yes to 7, 8, and 9, you are an AIR.

If you answered yes to 10, 11, and 12, you are a WATER.

Lighten Up – A Letter From A Third Grade Teacher Sent Home To Pagan Parents

A Letter From A Third Grade Teacher Sent Home To Pagan Parents

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Thomas,

I write this letter in concern of your daughter, Aradia Moon. Please don’t take this the wrong way, however, although she is a straight A student and a very bright child, she has some strange habits that I feel we should address.

Every morning before class, she insists on walking around the room with her pencil in the air. She says she is “drawing down the moon.” I told her art class is in an hour and to please refrain until then to do any drawing.

And speaking of art class, whenever she draws a night sky, she insists on drawing little circles around all the stars and people dancing on the ground. And that brings up dancing, I had to stop her twice for taking off her clothes during a game of Ring Around the Rosey! By the way, what does “skyclad” mean?

Aradia has no problem with making friends. I always find her sitting outside during recess with her friends sitting around her in a circle. She likes to share her juice and cookies. It is nice how she wants no one to ever thirst or hunger. However, when I walked over to see what they were doing, she jumped up and told me to stop, pulled out a little plastic knife and started waiving it in front of me. I thought this a bit dangerous, so I took her to the Principal’s Office. She explained to the Principal that she was “opening the circle” to let me in. She also said that her Mommy and Daddy always told her not to play or run with an “athame” in her hand, that she could put someone’s eye out. I don’t know what an “athame” is, but I’m glad she keeps it at home.

As for stories, your daughter tends to make up some whoppers. Just yesterday while I was talking sternly to Tommy Johson and shaking my finger at him, he started screaming and ran from the room. When I finally caught him, he told me Aradia told him and the rest of the class that the last time I shook my finger at someone, they caught the chicken pox. I explained to him that the Sally Jones incident was just a coincidence, and that things like that don’t really happen.

One of the strangest things that happened was when I asked the children to bring in Halloween decorations for the classroom. Aradia brought in salt, incense, and her  family album. I see she has quite a sense of humour.

One of Aradia’s worst habits is that she is very argumentative. We were discussing what the Golden Rule was (Do Unto Others as you would have them Do Unto You), she firmly disagreed with me and stated that it was “Do As you Will, but Harm None” and she will not stop saying “So Mote It Be” after she reads aloud in class. I try to correct her on these matters and she got very angry. She pointed her finger at me and mumbled something under her breath.

In closing, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, I would like to set up a parent/teacher conference with you sometime next week to discuss these matters. I would like to see you sooner, but I have developed an irritating rash that I am quite worried about.

With deep concerns, Mrs. Livingston

P.S. Blessed Be. I understand this is a greeting or closing from your country that your daughter informs me is polite and correct.

Daily Cosmic Calendar for July 16

Hold Everything! After the Uranian and Mercurial reversals of the past couple of days, now it is Juno at 22 degrees of Scorpio which is on center stage by making a station and moving direct (3:58AM PDT). [Juno will remain in forward motion until June 14, 2013.]  Juno themes – empowerment or disempowerment in primary partnerships, beauty, elegance, style, equality, marriage, diplomacy and peace treaties, fairness under the law, apparel and fashion design, jealousy, envy, and rage by the small and disenfranchised – are accentuated throughout the day.  Making this Monday more tense and uncertain are a caustic, 135-degree connection from the Sun to Chiron (1:44AM PDT) as well as a void lunar cycle in Gemini that starts at 3:58AM PDT (the exact moment of the Juno station!) and lasts over 13 hours until 5:32PM PDT. Be the picture of human kindness during the void lunar twilight zone. Complete odd jobs, but don’t launch new projects.  Strive to remain productive in your key areas of expertise as Ceres forms a supportive, 60-degree liaison with Uranus (7:25AM PDT). However, it is easy to remain on the hot seat since Mars is contra-parallel Uranus (9:30AM PDT), Vesta squares Neptune (2:42PM PDT), and Mars is also parallel to Chiron (2:38PM PDT). The main cosmic message appears to be stay out of trouble, and steer clear of signings, legal matters, involvement with foolish investments, and making long-term commitments.  Once the Moon enters its natural abode of watery Cancer (5:32PM PDT), shift your gaze to residential and family matters. Cooking, baking, gardening, and clean-up campaigns are back in vogue. Nostalgic feelings and sentiments are rampant. Learn more about your ancestral tree. Film and literary classics capture your imagination as the Moon forms a supportive, 60-degree connection with psychic Neptune (10:50PM PDT).