Great Time in Duluth!

I met lots of fabulous, new people (and hands) at Duluth this past weekend! It was a nice venue for an expo (in spite of construction) and I had FUN. My shadow, Troy Schmitt, and I were right across from Brigid’s House (official bookstore) and loved it. I even got two new shirts from BH…cute!

One thing I noticed was how many people had Social Hermit heart lines. They love people, enjoy being around them, but gotta have that recharge time.

There were also so many families there, I loved seeing entire families at the metaphysical expo. Next year it will be in September, which will be better timing for all, I do believe.

Hands, Hands, Hands in The Media

As a Handy Kinda Gal, I notice HANDS when they are used in advertising, when politicians wave on the news etc. So, I was delighted to see the attached ad slither through my junk mailbox.

Love Transcends Appearances by Gina Lake

LOVE TRANSCENDS APPEARANCES

Appearances seem so important. Most of us really believe that our appearance is important, and we work very hard at having a certain appearance. This is especially true for women, of course, and this conditioning is very difficult to overcome because there’s a lot of fear that not looking good will have drastic consequences. How we look becomes a top priority for many and often remains that way right up until death. My mother, for instance, insisted on “putting on her face” even on her deathbed after her body had been diminished to skin and bones by cancer. Even then, she was still trying to improve herself, still not seeing the beauty that she was as this old dying woman, still not allowing herself to just be as she was.

Our appearance is not entirely irrelevant or unimportant; it does affect how others initially react to us. However, it is not as important as we make it. We suffer over it and try so hard to look other than the way we do. All of this trying is exhausting and takes time and energy away from what is more fulfilling and important in life. That’s the problem—when we are consumed with our appearance, we are not giving our attention and energy to other things that might be more meaningful, more fulfilling, and more rewarding. We might not realize that cultivating kindness is more rewarding than cultivating beauty. We might fail to notice the beauty that is here, within ourselves and others, just as we are. Inner beauty and outer beauty can be at odds, since there is only so much attention and energy we have. Where your energy and attention go reflects what you value. Do you value outer beauty more than inner beauty? You might say that you don’t, but where are you putting your energy and attention? What are your thoughts on?

The funny thing is that others love us for our inner beauty, for the expression of Essence that we are, although they may be attracted to us by our outer beauty. That allure doesn’t mean much if they don’t also fall in love with us. What people fall in love with is not our outer beauty (that’s called attraction or infatuation, not love) but something much more subtle—our being. They love us because they see lovable qualities that belong to Essence: goodness, creativity, kindness, joy for life, patience, compassion, courage, wisdom, strength, clarity, and so on.

The beauty of getting old with someone is that there is an opportunity to really get that appearances don’t matter. You watch as your beloved’s appearance changes before your eyes into an old man or an old woman, but you may love him or her more than ever, not because of how your beloved looks, but because you love your beloved’s being—you love how he or she is in the world and how he or she is with you. That’s when you really get that all this emphasis on appearances is false. Appearances never were that important. You only thought they were.

Many others believe that too—but that doesn’t make it true. People are under the illusion that appearances are far more important than they are, which does create that reality to some extent. It makes this seem so, and it creates a culture that is sadly misled into putting too much energy and attention on such things. This makes it difficult for us to discover the real truth. But life is wise and ages us so that we can discover this. It is perhaps one of the greatest lessons of our lives, although it may take a lifetime to learn it.

If we see this, then aging is fortunate, as it gives us the gift of finally getting to relax and stop striving to improve ourselves. We finally get to put our attention on what is important—on loving others (and ourselves) just the way we are. This is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and others, and the most important thing we can do in life.
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Beautiful Quote from the His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Weekly Quote of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

“Before we can generate compassion and love, it is important to have a clear understanding of what we understand compassion and love to be. In simple terms, compassion and love can be defined as positive thoughts and feelings that give rise to such essential things in life as hope, courage, determination, and inner strength. In the Buddhist tradition, compassion and love are seen as two aspects of the same thing: Compassion is the wish for another being to be free from suffering; love is wanting them to have happiness.” - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Mea Culpa and Goodbye to My Best Friend

I know, good bloggers never apologize for not being current, but I am “owning” my blips…so sorry. It has been a great summer here at Dancing Bear Resort and we have been blessed to be busy. One of the wonderful events that happened was our bringing a new baby YAK, yes, as in “hairy kinda oxen looking creature” into our lives. His name is Kunden and more on HIM tomorrow.

The hardest news to share is the passing over of my beloved and adored Deuce. He was an eight year old Newfoundland dog and he was my very best friend. The little French Bulldogs are like my toddlers, but Deuce was my Best Friend.

Indulge me while I share…my birthday was July 24th and I was going to the MInnesota Area Tarot Symposium (it was fabu) that afternoon. I gave Deuce a big hug, told him I loved him and that I would be back on Sunday, before True Blood. On Saturday morning, at the event, we were supposed to draw a card from our decks that represented our adventure…I drew the 4 of Cups, a rather melancholy, sad card. I was very surprised, as I was thrilled to be there and so I redrew and got the Queen of Wands, my signature card. The event ended Sunday and I headed home. Steve called, as I was on the road and told me Deuce had passed away on Saturday morning, but he did not want to ruin the event for me and there was nothing I could have done anyway. Of course, I wailed and cried, but I knew deep inside that Deuce had chosen to spare me from being there for his passing. I knew his time was near, as he has had a plethora of health issues, but his amazing spirit is what captured everyone’s hearts.

So, to my big guy, I thank you for being my Best Friend here on Earth, and I know you are at my side forever, running on four good legs!

To all of you, thank you for allowing me to share.