Issue 65

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In this Issue: 

1) Welcome Letter by Dream Walker
2) Medicinal Mushrooms by Pat Valle
3) Awareness by Sheri Bardo
4) Change What We Can By David Stoddard
5) Remembering Where We Are Going By Dream Walker
6) Keeping the Vision Alive by Robert Najemy 

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Welcome Letter
by Dream Walker

Yá'át'ééh! Welcome to all the new subscribers!
Well, January is gone. February is always an interesting month at my place, because my husband and my youngest son have their birthdays on the 4th, and the gem show is in town. Tucson has the largest gem show in the world in February. Being very into gems and minerals, it is like Christmas for me, but it also brings its own challenges, because literally hundreds of thousands of people descend on the city from all over the world. Traffic is a nightmare. You can't get a seat in a restaurant, and things just get really wild around here for about 3 weeks.
I also have a new household challenge, and her name is 'Ouisa (pronounced Weeza). She is a tiny long haired dachshund that we adopted this week. Her owner is leaving the state and couldn't take her. She is nine years old, and it turns out, is not housebroken! She is used to having a fenced-in yard, and we don't have one. She seems to think that the walks are just for sight-seeing purposes. Needless to say, a small fence is in my future! She is very sweet, and will adjust, I am sure. Lucy, our other dog, is jealous, but I think she will adjust as well. The trick is to keep the household's Hozro (balance and harmony). I just haven't quite figured out how to instill Hozro in a dog! Any suggestions??
Since we have some new subscribers, I want to mention the healing basket and circle again. We have what we call a healing basket here. It is an actual basket, and people send us healing requests to be put into it. It is prayed over every day. We have had some pretty amazing feedback about healings that have come about after prayers were put into the basket. 
Now, anyone can send me a request for it. My email address is always in MousePages. But we also have a group of people who have joined our healing circle. When a request is sent to us, I forward it to the people in the circle, and they add it to their basket or bowl or whatever, and pray over it every day as well. If you are interested in joining our circle, please email me. You will never regret helping people, and the energy that you get back from this is amazing.
So, have a wonderful week. Remember, an old Navajo woman cares avout you!

Dream Walker navajomouse@hotmail.com  

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Medicinal Mushrooms
by Pat Valle 

The three most popular medicinal mushrooms are Maitake, Reishi and Shitake. They have a long history of use in Chinese and Japanese healing as well as cooking. Maitake is considered an adaptagen which helps the body deal with stressful situations and normalizes bodily functions. In recent years there have been numerous studies for treatment of Aids and cancer as well as immune deficiencies. This particular mushroom contains polysaccarides which boost T-cell activity in the immune system and fights against hormone-driven cancers. It also has been shown to help people with arthritis, high blood pressure, hepatitis, diabetes, infections, and heart disease. Maitake's antiviral activity against HIV and other immune disorders was confirmed by the US National Cancer Institute in 1992. Most of the research has focused on the use of Maitake D-fraction for treatment of malignancies. The D-fraction that is extracted from Maitake is a protein-bound polysaccaride compound that is prepared by a standardized procedure. This particular procedure has been found to be the most potent for enhancing the immune system.

Reishi and Shitake mushrooms also have beneficial therapeutic actions. They contain the same type of polysaccarides which also boosts the immune system and are used for chronic fatigue, high cholesterol, heart disease, viral infections and have anti-tumor properties.

The mushrooms are available fresh or dried for use in cooking as well as in supplements in capsules, pill, and extract form.


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AWARENESS 
by Sheri Bardo 

"Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in 
awareness." -- James Thurber 

"Like a fish suddenly made aware that it is swimming in water, I 
found every aspect of my perception changed." Author Unknown 

How many of us live in a state of real awareness? Most of us are 
aware of outward feelings. We to often go about our lives never 
going much deeper than what we see and feel on the surface. We 
are aware that we feel anger at someone or something, or that we 
have a worry or fear of some coming event or circumstance. But 
how many of us live in the awareness and understanding of where 
that anger, worry or fear really comes from. How many of us 
really go deep enough to be present enough and in touch enough 
with our emotions to understand what makes us act and react the 
way that we do? 

Webster's Dictionary defines awareness as: on ones guard, 
vigilant, knowing or realizing, conscious or informed. To be 
aware implies having a knowledge of something through alertness 
in observing or in interpreting what one sees, hears, feels, 
etc. Consciousness implies awareness of a sensation, feeling, 
fact or condition etc. and recognition or focusing of attention 
on 

To be consciously aware of what is really causing us to act and 
react the way we do takes a willingness to explore the inner 
self and discover the inner beliefs that are causing us to feel 
and act the way we do in a present situation. It takes a 
willingness to be “aware” on a deeper level. 

For years, I have struggled with finances and feelings of lack. 
I felt I was a victim of outside circumstances. In my business 
endeavors I would progress well, then something would happen, 
something seemingly beyond my control. As I began going deeper 
on a quest to discover who I really was, I learned that I was 
sabotaging my own financial success and prosperity. I sat in 
meditation one morning asking why. When I had need of things and 
especially if I had a desire why was there that catch in my 
heart that just couldn’t believe it would be provided or that I 
had what it takes to succeed beyond the ordinary. Suddenly a 
picture appeared in my mind of me at 2 1/2 when my mother died. 
It was sudden and unexpected, a blood clot to her heart. When it 
happened, I was kept separated from the procedures, the 
grieving, the funeral, and life with my father for some time 
afterward. I was sent to my grandparents while my father sorted 
through his life. I realized I had formed a belief that I didn’t 
matter or my father wouldn’t have sent me away to my 
grandparents when I need him. These beliefs of course were not 
true, but with my limited experience of life and knowledge, I 
came to believe them. 

Without even realizing it I had formed a belief that I was not 
worthy of the best, worthy to have what I really wanted because 
I wasn’t important or my dad would have wanted me with him. When 
I returned home 3 months later from my grandparents, my dad had 
a new wife with grown children who had children my age. I felt I 
had been replaced and I felt like an outside. This was my 
perception as they did not treat me like an outside. My Father 
never was emotionally available to me as I grew up and died a 
few years ago without us ever having been close. I formed a 
belief that my needs were not important or he would have wanted 
to have a meaningful relationship with me. I know now it was his 
perception of life and himself that kept him from a relationship 
with me, it was not really about me. To add to my mis-beliefs, I 
formed the belief that no one could be trusted. My stepmother 
was demanding, at times critical, manipulative and guilt 
producing. I formed the beliefs that I was not important, that 
love had to be earned and was conditional , and that it was 
assumed that I would do the wrong thing. Because my parents, 
were not able to accept me for who I was because of who they 
wanted and needed me to be, It re-enforced my earlier false 
belief of not being important or good enough. None of this was 
intentional on behalf of my parent, for they were doing the best 
they could with the beliefs they had formed as children about 
themselves and life just as I had done. We form false beliefs 
about ourselves as children we carry them into our adult life. 
Once I made the connection to these beliefs, and realized they 
were a “created” reality and not truth, my financial picture 
began to change. My business shot forward with new energy and 
creativity. In fact my vision and dreams took on new dimension 
and solidity. I realized my dreams were possible, and that it 
was OK to dream big. 

One must go within and uncover these false beliefs in order to 
be set us free from a limiting belief system that will only hold 
us back. Inside each of us it unlimited creativity, beauty and 
capacity for living a rich full life in love, peace and joy. 
“The only way out is through” Robert Frost 

Sheri Bardo / Life Coach www.authenticallyu.com  

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Change What We Can
By David Stoddard

“If you CAN’T change something...no need to worry about it...
“If you CAN change something...no need to worry about it!”
--The Dahli Llama --

It does say a lot.

We have enough to worry about on a daily basis which (depending
on who you talk to at a given moment) is either vital, really
important, mandatory or just darn well better get done right
away. But everything can not be that important all the time (at
least that’s the law of averages).

Why is it we so often put other people’s needs and wants ahead
of our own? Why do we get upset or worry about getting things
done for them when our own wants and needs sit on the back
burner. If our things sit back there long enough, they will
eventually go stale or moldy or rust out the pot and leak all
over… then just think of the mess we have.

It is wonderful to want to help people. That is what the golden
rule is all about. But the every elusive question is this…. If
we are constantly giving ourselves to others, and doing very
little for ourselves, won’t there come a time when there will
be nothing else of ourselves to give?

We need to realize no matter what we do, say or think, we are
more important than any job we may have. We are the person
getting things done in our positions. We are the one who is
responsible. Just remember if we are frustrated because of
doing nothing for ourselves, eventually we will be of no use to
others. So Silver rule #1 is to take ourselves first from today
forward.

So how does this tie into the quote at the top of the column?
I’m not exactly sure. I saw it on someone’s profile at Yahoo! I
liked it, so borrowed it.

I guess it reminds us that worry serves no real purpose. If we
can’t change things, so what. Don’t waste time worrying about
it. And if there is something we can change, that is fine. Just
do it, let it happen and move on.

Life is full of challenges. And there will always be bigger
things to worry about. Just don’t take things so seriously,
laugh at the insanity of the world and try to have some fun in
the process. We are only here for so long…. Take advantage of
it.

Until next time…


© 2001 David Stoddard

David Stoddard is a writer, commentator and essayist.
His inspirational electronic newsletter (que sera sera)
is available for free on his website http://www.dstoddard.net 
or by sending a message to que_sera_sera-subscribe@topica.com 


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Remembering Where We Are Going
By Dream Walker

Those of us who are attempting to walk the spiritual path in this lifetime often have a difficult time. Over and over again, I hear my friends say that they are tired of always being *broke, sick, depressed*… whatever the challenge may be. I am sometimes guilty of this myself. We are human here, after all. It would be so nice to have extra money every month after the bills are paid, or to wake up in the morning feeling wonderful and well. However, the spiritual path is seldom this easy.
We all need to try and remember, every day, why we are here, where we are going and what the goals are. If one believes truly in the laws of Karma, then one must them accept that we are here to transmute past Karma and to step up to a higher level, in this life or in the next. We are here for one reason only: to advance. Where we are going is home, back to spirit where we belong. What are the goals? It is to live every day to the fullest, in the most honorable way possible and to do whatever good we can do in the process. Accepting the negative energy that comes to us, and then sending it back out in as positive a way as we can.
None of this is easy! In fact, it is as difficult a task as anyone can accept. Many times the negative that comes to us feels unfair. We are always attempting to be the best that we can be, so why do these problems keep coming up? Why does it seem as if we can never get ahead? I believe that exactly because we are spiritual beings, aware of Karma, reincarnation, the universal laws that govern us all, there is a subtle little pool of quicksand, waiting to suck us in… and this quicksand pool is named, "I deserve better." 

Simply because we are aware of Karma doesn't exempt us from it. The very awareness that we have can make us feel somehow superior, as if we don't have to deal with the energy of our past lives simply because we are aware that we had them. The knowing that we are transmuting the negative somehow makes us feel as if we have done enough of it and should not have to do it anymore.
Ah, my friends, this is so not the case! The awareness is a gift, and the gift is that we now know what we are doing. We are living our lives fully awake, and fully a part of the miraculous. This doesn't exempt us from the trouble; it makes us more aware! 
We should be grateful and thankful for that gift. Every adverse situation that we go through takes us one step closer to our ultimate goal: never needing to come back here again! Every day of illness that we live through, every adversity that we go through and emerge on the other side of is a gift. We have accomplished what we are here to do. Every day that we make it through to the best of our abilities is a triumph that we should be proud of. 

I believe that when we can reach the point in our lives where we honestly thank the Creator for another problem is the day that we take that one giant step towards never having to do this again. 


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Keeping the Vision Alive
by Robert Najemy

When we are young supple and pure, freshly removed from the mold of the Creator, we still have within us the vision of the perfect: 
of perfect love
of perfect equality
of perfect justice.

We know very well who is sincere and can smell from afar all that is false.

The image of our true and perfect self lives abundantly in our conscience.

Challenge of our lives is to keep that vision alive in our heart's center. To serve it and manifest it here on Earth.

The need to live in love and unity is ancient: Its roots draw their life substance from the center of our being.

We were created to become one with all and everything.

However...

Unfortunately it is a fragile dream - a difficult one to actualize.

As we become «adults», the web of pain, disillusionment and defensiveness cover and suffocate it.

Society programs us with the message, «You cannot be truthful, caring, loving and still survive.» «Anyone who tries to is a dreamer.»

We gradually fall into the traps of alienation and loneliness.

Life's responsibilities,
The anxiety of survival,
Our needs for affirmation,
Concerns about our children and other loved ones and most of all, the realization that most have forgotten the vision, all these, cause us to bury it deep within us so that it bothers us no more.

Occasionally we witness acts of love and unity, which remind us of our hidden desire, and we cry because we would like it to be that way always.

The truth is that our true nature is to feel love and unity in all situations

We will be able to create happiness, success and well being as individuals, families and society only when we have aligned ourselves with our inner vision of our true self.

All other efforts will be temporary and superficial solutions - Efforts to fill round holes with square objects. They can cover them but not fill them.

The time has come to bring to light the vision of a virtuous life to remember it as we did as children.

Now, however, there is an important difference. Now, united, we have the power to manifest it.

When we were children our vision atrophied because we were weak and dependent.

Now we are as strong and as free as our beliefs allow us to be.

With mutual support from those who remember and care for the vision, we can work together towards creating a society based on love, equality, justice, selflessness, cooperation and unity.

The manifestation of the vision requires simultaneously inner work and outer action.

We need to work on developing our selves becoming purer and stronger.

At the same time we serve the whole creating change.

It is in our hands.

Many groups have already started working on both levels.

You are needed and invited to merge your energy with these efforts adding your unique energies to this communal creation.

(Adapted from the forthcoming "Visions of a Virtuous Life" by Robert Elias Najemy. His book "The Psychology of Happiness" (ISBN 0-9710116-0-5) is available at http://www.amazon.com  and http://www.HolisticHarmony.com.  His writings can be viewed at http://www.HolisticHarmony.com  where you can also download FREE articles and e-books.

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