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| Deities at Kalachandji's |
This has been a tough post for me to attempt to write… I’d
like to talk about the Gem show I went to, and the Canine Companions for Independence
open house I attended during the last few weekends, but first, here is an
excerpt from my Facebook in light of the tragedies we’re dealing with in America
currently:
Feed peace and positivity to all that you do, say, and
think; we MUST starve the hate and violence.
I took this photo in Ft. Worth about an hour before the
events happened last night in Dallas, and remember thinking: "If only all
of the people in the world can focus all of their energy towards peace, there
would be a beautiful shift and universal awakening that no one could deny. I
wish I could stay here in this space of solace forever."
Cancel your damn cable, turn off the TV. The media is
garbage- our children are being conditioned to accept events like those that
took place this week (and all year) as 'normal' and we cannot continue to fuel
that fire!!! We must practice mindfulness in all that we do, and it starts with
one's self - notice your nasty thoughts, acknowledge them, and then banish them
from your mind. With enough practice you will notice those thoughts no longer
have a presence in your mind at all!
I'll be smudging the hell out of my place, while holding
space and keeping my positive thoughts with all those affected by unjust
violence in this world.
Stand up for people, don’t stand by and do nothing when you
see someone being treated unfairly or unjustly by our peers, and thank an
officer when you see them. As I’ve heard in recounts of experiences, “it’s not
easy being on either side right now”. The popular sentiment I’ve been hearing
is, “We all want to make it home” or “everyone deserves to go home at the end
of the day” and this is the absolute truth. There is so much more to say about
this matter, bottom line, we can start making the difference in our own lives. It
starts with you and me. As a white, hetero, middle class female, I will never
know how it feels to be treated the way our brothers and sisters of color (please
note, I hate even saying “person of color”, they’re freakin people, no adjective
needed, bottom line.), Muslims, and the LGBT
community, etcetera are, but I can try to put
myself in their shoes and make a stand when I witness wrong doing.
Last Weekend we attended the
Gem and Mineral show, it
was very neat! There were tons of wholesalers, jewelry, décor, and more. I am
so thankful to my mom for purchasing me a gorgeous, big, multi colored fluorite,
one of my favorite stones. Fluorite is
helpful for finding clarity, purpose, and order. It can help quiet thoughts and
anxiety caused by fear of the future (exactly what I’m dealing with at the
moment). I picked up my first fluorite at the
SE Wise Woman’s Herbal Conference
I attended last year. I literally, physically picked it up, and couldn’t put it
down. That stone came home with me and I’ve been in love with fluorite ever since. I also got another Kunzite to add to my collection-
funny enough, I also learned about Kunzite and got my first piece at the SEWW
Herbal Conf. Hmmmmm, interesting! I didn’t really connect those dots until just
now! Kunzite is a stone of the heart. When you’ve shut people out, and closed
off your heart, it is a great stone to work with in order to start the healing
process. As
Sarah Thomas stated in her lecture, it oils the hinges of
the gate to the heart. Kunzite allows us to receive
all the energies of love, according to The Book Of Stones, “Love is the essence
of the Divine in us, and when we truly feel it, we are at one with the Divine.” So yeah, I was connected to these two stones
before I even looked up their “meaning” and “usage”, but oddly enough, they’re
exactly the type of energy I need right now. This blog is definitely not a Crystal blog, nor do I know enough to talk about them much further, but
I do like to give you guys a peak at my daily life and interests.
J
Huge piece of Malachite! Another favorite of mine.
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| Polished Petrified Wood! Gorgeous! |
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| My new Kunzite |
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| And my giant beautiful Fluorite! |
Although my garden isn’t doing great with the Texas heat at the
moment, I have been steadily harvesting black eyed peas! I’ve also collected
all the coriander/cilantro, and dill seeds from the garden. That is so gratifying!
Now I won’t have to buy seed packs of those ever again! (ideally).
Thursday I had orientation for volunteering at the Fort
Worth Botanic Gardens. Ever since about
4th grade when we had a school field trip there, I’ve loved the
Botanic Gardens. The grounds are absolutely beautiful, and new stuff is always
happening there. I can’t wait to put my energy towards that in the coming
months. I’ve just got to be around those plants, and am trying to soak up as
much knowledge as I can from experts of all kinds! Most people don't know it is FREE! and open to the public (although the Japanese gardens do charge a small fee due to the koi, and intense grounds maintenance of that section). Great place for a family picnics.
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| Capicum Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) |
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| See the little Critter?! |
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| SOOO many Orchids! |
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| HUGE Orchids! |
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| Pretty Anthuriumsn |
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The famous Rose Garden
(currently without roses due to a disease, they will be replanted this fall) |
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BRIT is here too!
Botanical Research Institute of Texas |
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A nice little Butterfly Weed
Thanks to my internship, I can ID this now! |
Friday night I attended an international Kirtan meditation
and prayer for peace at
Kalachandji’s in Dallas. We were broadcasted live on
Facebook on the
TKG Academy page, and were one of many groups around the metroplex
and world participating and “Giving Peace a Chant”. It was a lot of fun, and
great to be in an environment with such high vibration and positive energy,
especially after the week we’ve experienced around the country.
|
| The Deities looked so pretty Friday! And always. |
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| Giving Peace a Chant! |
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| Mini Kirtaneer |
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| Changed into their jammies! |
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| Nighty Night! |
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When you're driving and you cant quite remember how to get there....
Siri is no help. HAHAHAHAAA |
This Saturday was the
Canine Companions for Independence(CCI) Open House at their new training facility here in North Texas! For those
who don’t know, my sister received her service dog from CCI almost two years
ago, and was part of the inaugural class of graduates here in North Texas – Since
then, they’ve finished construction on a BEAUTIFUL new training center right
across the street from Baylor in Irving, complete with dorm rooms for future recipients,
comfy kennels for all the future assistance dogs, and even an onsite veterinary
clinic. There was a Q&A session and lots of talk about how you can get
involved. I’m most excited for the
Walk 'n Roll fundraiser where all pets are
welcome to come out! They also have a presence at some local minor league sporting
events here in the DFW Metroplex! Right now, they’re looking for volunteer
puppy raisers, and puppy sitters.
If you're interested, you can find out more here. A little background on how the training at
CCI works: The dogs are specifically bred by CCI, from the best of the best.
Most are Labrador/Golden Retriever crosses. There are very rigorous requirements
for these dogs to make it to assistance dog level, but most of that (aside from
health issues) is done in advanced training. Once the litter reaches 10-12 weeks, the puppies are sent out to their Puppy
Raisers! Each puppy gets to live with a family for about 12-18 months, where
they learn a series of basic commands, are socialized, and attend monthly CCI
approved training classes. After they’ve completed this stage, they’re off to
College! Advanced training typically lasts 6-9 months, I believe. During advanced
training these pups are taught in depth commands, and learn how to complete
tasks using a sequence of commands they’ve already learned. Turning on light
switches for example, they apply the “Up” and “Push” commands, and are taught
this sequence as “Light”. Once they’ve completed advanced training, the next
step is to go on to CCI Team Training. This is when the individuals receiving the dogs get come to the facility for a two week period, are taught how to handle the dogs,
and are the dogs are eventually matched with their special person!!! After matching, there is another week of bonding between the team, and then they get to graduate as a Handler/Service Dog Team!!! I cannot say enough good
things about this organization, from the way they treat everyone involved, to
the care and patience they put into each and every dog. Witnessing just how
these dogs can change a person’s life, first hand, is one of the most rewarding
things I’ve ever experienced.
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| Q&A Sesh |
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| Assistant Dog in Training! |
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| CCI Campus from the back yard. So Nice! |
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| HEY!! The Bottom Left Frame is MY FAMILY!!! :D |
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| #DallasStrong |
I hope everyone has a great coming week. Surely it will be
better than last. Remember to always promote peace and positivity in all thoughts
and actions, we cannot continue this downward spiral of hate and division. If
you’re not part of the solution, you’re not helping the problem.
Thanks for
reading.
-Linds
Last Weekend we attended the Gem and Mineral show, it
was very neat! There were tons of wholesalers, jewelry, décor, and more. I am
so thankful to my mom for purchasing me a gorgeous, big, multi colored fluorite,
one of my favorite stones. Fluorite is
helpful for finding clarity, purpose, and order. It can help quiet thoughts and
anxiety caused by fear of the future (exactly what I’m dealing with at the
moment). I picked up my first fluorite at the SE Wise Woman’s Herbal Conference
I attended last year. I literally, physically picked it up, and couldn’t put it
down. That stone came home with me and I’ve been in love with fluorite ever since. I also got another Kunzite to add to my collection-
funny enough, I also learned about Kunzite and got my first piece at the SEWW
Herbal Conf. Hmmmmm, interesting! I didn’t really connect those dots until just
now! Kunzite is a stone of the heart. When you’ve shut people out, and closed
off your heart, it is a great stone to work with in order to start the healing
process. As Sarah Thomas stated in her lecture, it oils the hinges of
the gate to the heart. Kunzite allows us to receive
all the energies of love, according to The Book Of Stones, “Love is the essence
of the Divine in us, and when we truly feel it, we are at one with the Divine.” So yeah, I was connected to these two stones
before I even looked up their “meaning” and “usage”, but oddly enough, they’re
exactly the type of energy I need right now. This blog is definitely not a Crystal blog, nor do I know enough to talk about them much further, but
I do like to give you guys a peak at my daily life and interests. J
This Saturday was the Canine Companions for Independence(CCI) Open House at their new training facility here in North Texas! For those
who don’t know, my sister received her service dog from CCI almost two years
ago, and was part of the inaugural class of graduates here in North Texas – Since
then, they’ve finished construction on a BEAUTIFUL new training center right
across the street from Baylor in Irving, complete with dorm rooms for future recipients,
comfy kennels for all the future assistance dogs, and even an onsite veterinary
clinic. There was a Q&A session and lots of talk about how you can get
involved. I’m most excited for the Walk 'n Roll fundraiser where all pets are
welcome to come out! They also have a presence at some local minor league sporting
events here in the DFW Metroplex! Right now, they’re looking for volunteer
puppy raisers, and puppy sitters. If you're interested, you can find out more here. A little background on how the training at
CCI works: The dogs are specifically bred by CCI, from the best of the best.
Most are Labrador/Golden Retriever crosses. There are very rigorous requirements
for these dogs to make it to assistance dog level, but most of that (aside from
health issues) is done in advanced training. Once the litter reaches 10-12 weeks, the puppies are sent out to their Puppy
Raisers! Each puppy gets to live with a family for about 12-18 months, where
they learn a series of basic commands, are socialized, and attend monthly CCI
approved training classes. After they’ve completed this stage, they’re off to
College! Advanced training typically lasts 6-9 months, I believe. During advanced
training these pups are taught in depth commands, and learn how to complete
tasks using a sequence of commands they’ve already learned. Turning on light
switches for example, they apply the “Up” and “Push” commands, and are taught
this sequence as “Light”. Once they’ve completed advanced training, the next
step is to go on to CCI Team Training. This is when the individuals receiving the dogs get come to the facility for a two week period, are taught how to handle the dogs,
and are the dogs are eventually matched with their special person!!! After matching, there is another week of bonding between the team, and then they get to graduate as a Handler/Service Dog Team!!! I cannot say enough good
things about this organization, from the way they treat everyone involved, to
the care and patience they put into each and every dog. Witnessing just how
these dogs can change a person’s life, first hand, is one of the most rewarding
things I’ve ever experienced.
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