Julia: June 2009 Archives
I remember watching this live. Michael didn't want to do the Jackson 5 numbers (Part I), but Berry Gordy talked him into by letting Michael to do Billie Jean as a solo (Part II). Michael chose the occasion to introduce a radical new dance style, including the now-ubiquitous "Moon Walk."
It was absolutely stunning, and even then, I knew I was a witness to history. I was not unique in this--I believe most everyone who saw it knew. It may be the most electrifying performance of all time--certainly the most electrifying *I* have ever watched. Imagine that you had never seen Michael Jackson do any of these moves before--or anything like them--that you'd never seen anyone do moves like this--and you'll have a sense of the jaw-dropping magnitude of the event. He had invented a whole new dance vocabulary. Genius.
It was absolutely stunning, and even then, I knew I was a witness to history. I was not unique in this--I believe most everyone who saw it knew. It may be the most electrifying performance of all time--certainly the most electrifying *I* have ever watched. Imagine that you had never seen Michael Jackson do any of these moves before--or anything like them--that you'd never seen anyone do moves like this--and you'll have a sense of the jaw-dropping magnitude of the event. He had invented a whole new dance vocabulary. Genius.
As I write this, I'm rocking out--desk dancing--to Michael Jackson's
"Rock With You" and other favorites. Feels very celebratory. Don't you
know Michael must be experiencing an orgasm of relief to be out of
Difficult World--at least for now, until his next adventure in duality?! He definitely knew how to milk the human game for some really
outstanding strangeness, pain, and brilliance!
What a week. Must be a major shift underway. Three of the biggest icons of most of our lives made a transition last week--four if you count pitchman Billy Mays (what makes me think he'd be pleased to be included in the stellar company that left the Earth plane this last week)! Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson reached the end of their Earth sojourns within the last week. (Not that any of you need me to tell you that, but in months or years from now when this blog entry is read, it might be important that I specified!)
My relationships with these megastars was varied. First, Farrah. In 1977, I loved Charlie's Angels--a cartoon-like show, to be sure, but very much about empowered women. I was thin and blond and, like about half the young women on the planet at that time, had a Farrah hairstyle, which suited my thick, wavy hair perfectly. And like so many others, I wanted to BE her, her image worshipped by legions of the opposite sex. I didn't come close but in the golf pro shop where I worked as a waitress in the grill room, the customers--who were primarily men--took to calling me "Farrah." Turns out there was far more to admire in Farrah than her looks. She was a woman of grace and grit, and I admire that more, even, than her fabulous hair and her ability to capture the imaginations of men.
Growing up, I must have heard Ed McMahon do his famous intro for Johnny Carson more than a thousand times. In my adult years, like multitudes of others, I harbored a fantasy that Ed would show up at my door with a check for $10 million from Publisher's Clearinghouse. I visualized him standing there with the big cardboard check, in front of people with balloons and champagne, but worried that he'd catch me without makeup, with a messy house, and certainly without Farrah hair! I guess that worry negated all the positives of my visualizations. Ed, for a number of reasons, I'm sorry I never met you at my front door.
As for Michael Jackson, I'll never forget my first intro to him on TV in 1969, I believe it was, with the Jackson Five. I was, as was everyone else, completely astonished at his charisma and talent as a young boy, the frontman for the group, singing lead on "ABC" and "I Want You Back" and a bunch more hits. Who would have ever predicted the adorable, self-confident little African-American dynamo would have evolved into the Michael Jackson of later years?
You know, I haven't really felt sadness for Michael's passing. It felt to me that little boy died long ago, as did the uber-amazing, moon-walking, young-adult Michael of Motown's 25th Anniversary and Thriller, when his genius really became apparent. The Michael that survived until Thursday was not having fun anymore and seemed to have lost his ability to shift that. I am so very appreciative of him for providing the sound track for some of the most sublime episodes of my life. I bet most everyone on the planet can say that. I think he'd be gratified. God-speed, Michael.
Now, as for Billy Mays, loud-mouth pitchman extraordinaire, I bought OxyClean because of him, and my favorite "grabber" despite him. Perhaps most importantly, I became lightning fast at locating the remote and hitting the mute button in direct response to him. It's always good to keep one's reflexes sharp, especially as we age. He has had a greater impact on my life than I'd like to admit! Thanks, Billy!
I'll tell you about my sleep study and my day with my buddy Donna soon. Also, about my garden, its blooms, sadly, destroyed by hail. For now, I'll just say "Farewell, icons. Well done! Enjoy your next adventures!" It will be interesting to see what new adventures their passing kicks off in our lives.
What a week. Must be a major shift underway. Three of the biggest icons of most of our lives made a transition last week--four if you count pitchman Billy Mays (what makes me think he'd be pleased to be included in the stellar company that left the Earth plane this last week)! Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson reached the end of their Earth sojourns within the last week. (Not that any of you need me to tell you that, but in months or years from now when this blog entry is read, it might be important that I specified!)
My relationships with these megastars was varied. First, Farrah. In 1977, I loved Charlie's Angels--a cartoon-like show, to be sure, but very much about empowered women. I was thin and blond and, like about half the young women on the planet at that time, had a Farrah hairstyle, which suited my thick, wavy hair perfectly. And like so many others, I wanted to BE her, her image worshipped by legions of the opposite sex. I didn't come close but in the golf pro shop where I worked as a waitress in the grill room, the customers--who were primarily men--took to calling me "Farrah." Turns out there was far more to admire in Farrah than her looks. She was a woman of grace and grit, and I admire that more, even, than her fabulous hair and her ability to capture the imaginations of men.
Growing up, I must have heard Ed McMahon do his famous intro for Johnny Carson more than a thousand times. In my adult years, like multitudes of others, I harbored a fantasy that Ed would show up at my door with a check for $10 million from Publisher's Clearinghouse. I visualized him standing there with the big cardboard check, in front of people with balloons and champagne, but worried that he'd catch me without makeup, with a messy house, and certainly without Farrah hair! I guess that worry negated all the positives of my visualizations. Ed, for a number of reasons, I'm sorry I never met you at my front door.
As for Michael Jackson, I'll never forget my first intro to him on TV in 1969, I believe it was, with the Jackson Five. I was, as was everyone else, completely astonished at his charisma and talent as a young boy, the frontman for the group, singing lead on "ABC" and "I Want You Back" and a bunch more hits. Who would have ever predicted the adorable, self-confident little African-American dynamo would have evolved into the Michael Jackson of later years?
You know, I haven't really felt sadness for Michael's passing. It felt to me that little boy died long ago, as did the uber-amazing, moon-walking, young-adult Michael of Motown's 25th Anniversary and Thriller, when his genius really became apparent. The Michael that survived until Thursday was not having fun anymore and seemed to have lost his ability to shift that. I am so very appreciative of him for providing the sound track for some of the most sublime episodes of my life. I bet most everyone on the planet can say that. I think he'd be gratified. God-speed, Michael.
Now, as for Billy Mays, loud-mouth pitchman extraordinaire, I bought OxyClean because of him, and my favorite "grabber" despite him. Perhaps most importantly, I became lightning fast at locating the remote and hitting the mute button in direct response to him. It's always good to keep one's reflexes sharp, especially as we age. He has had a greater impact on my life than I'd like to admit! Thanks, Billy!
I'll tell you about my sleep study and my day with my buddy Donna soon. Also, about my garden, its blooms, sadly, destroyed by hail. For now, I'll just say "Farewell, icons. Well done! Enjoy your next adventures!" It will be interesting to see what new adventures their passing kicks off in our lives.
Lately, I've
been seeking greater alignment with Spirit in the area of my health.
What with my substantial excess weight, the resurgence of rheumatoid
arthritis with a vengeance, and what has been an inability to sleep for
longer than 90 minutes at a stretch, life has not primarily been the
fun, joyous adventure in Easy World that I would prefer. To say the
least!
So I've been surrendering and surrendering this to Spirit--and, being guided to solutions. Six weeks or so ago, I stumbled across "The Gabriel Method," and I swear this guy--Jon Gabriel--is in my soul family. When I read about his approach to weight loss, his theories about why we become obese, and his experience with losing hundreds of pounds effortlessly once he figured out how things really work, I knew immediately I had found gold. Would you believe that one of the things he recommends for de-stressing is radiating Love?!
A huge component in weight loss AND healing is sleep--getting enough sleep and sleeping consecutive hours--at the right times to coordinate with the body's repair cycles. This has been a huge issue for me. With burned out adrenals and the morning stiffness and fog of the RA, I have not been very productive in the mornings and have been getting energized in the evenings, thus, staying up late, needing to sleep late in the morning to get in my hours, and repeating the cycle.
It stands to reason, based on what I've learned about the relationship between sleep and obesity and sleep and RA, that, at the least, I wasn't supporting myself so that I could heal in either area. Soooo, when I went to see our wonderful G.P., Dr. Lisa, and she said she suspected I have obstructive sleep apnea, and suggested I needed to undergo a sleep study, I eagerly signed up.
I will be going to the sleep lab to have my study tomorrow night. I am so eager to have this done and behind me! The common answer for OSA is to sleep with a CPAP machine, which doesn't sound like much fun, but if it will help me sleep, I'll do whatever it takes! I'm committed to getting healthy, and this seems like a linchpin to the whole process.
I have more to share about what I've been guided to as I've surrendered this all to Spirit, and I'll do that in the days to come. I will add now, though, that while checking my web stats last night, I saw that someone had visited this old blog entry, and I was guided to go re-read it. While I've made great progress in this area since 2005, when I first wrote it, I realize there are more layers of this onion to peel. I've now begun addressing the next layer--I'll be having a Matrix Energetics session on Friday, and I'm sure we'll address more of them...
So I've been surrendering and surrendering this to Spirit--and, being guided to solutions. Six weeks or so ago, I stumbled across "The Gabriel Method," and I swear this guy--Jon Gabriel--is in my soul family. When I read about his approach to weight loss, his theories about why we become obese, and his experience with losing hundreds of pounds effortlessly once he figured out how things really work, I knew immediately I had found gold. Would you believe that one of the things he recommends for de-stressing is radiating Love?!
A huge component in weight loss AND healing is sleep--getting enough sleep and sleeping consecutive hours--at the right times to coordinate with the body's repair cycles. This has been a huge issue for me. With burned out adrenals and the morning stiffness and fog of the RA, I have not been very productive in the mornings and have been getting energized in the evenings, thus, staying up late, needing to sleep late in the morning to get in my hours, and repeating the cycle.
It stands to reason, based on what I've learned about the relationship between sleep and obesity and sleep and RA, that, at the least, I wasn't supporting myself so that I could heal in either area. Soooo, when I went to see our wonderful G.P., Dr. Lisa, and she said she suspected I have obstructive sleep apnea, and suggested I needed to undergo a sleep study, I eagerly signed up.
I will be going to the sleep lab to have my study tomorrow night. I am so eager to have this done and behind me! The common answer for OSA is to sleep with a CPAP machine, which doesn't sound like much fun, but if it will help me sleep, I'll do whatever it takes! I'm committed to getting healthy, and this seems like a linchpin to the whole process.
I have more to share about what I've been guided to as I've surrendered this all to Spirit, and I'll do that in the days to come. I will add now, though, that while checking my web stats last night, I saw that someone had visited this old blog entry, and I was guided to go re-read it. While I've made great progress in this area since 2005, when I first wrote it, I realize there are more layers of this onion to peel. I've now begun addressing the next layer--I'll be having a Matrix Energetics session on Friday, and I'm sure we'll address more of them...
This photo, taken by my friend, Cynthia Bissonnette, of Unifying.com, really fires my imagination! (Click to enlarge) It is much like the scene I often see when I lead visualizations and have people imagine that they are approaching their Divine Classroom! Sometimes it's to an indoor place, but sometimes it's to a clearing in the woods.
The bridge seems familiar, too. I had a past-life regression session many, many years back, and the facilitator had me "remember" walking across a bridge and describe it as I went. it was an arched bridge much like this one--but with sort of cinnabar lacquer finish--leading into the woods. Turned out I was a Chinese monk in the regression and had a pet deer who lived in those woods. So cool.
Cynthia tells me she took this picture in Ojai, California, at Ranch House restaurant while she and her daughter were staying at the Kristamurti center nearby. She included the photo in a mailing she sent out Sunday. (You might really like getting her mailings--I've been getting them for years and they are Light-filled. They feature Cynthia's fabulous photography, too.)
I do so long for the woods and for a place of green. When Rick and I leave Denver for a greener place in the not-too-distant future, I intend to find a wooded property. I've been really drawn to bamboo also, and would love to have access to a stand of bamboo like this. I believe in the right environment, one can raise bamboo on purpose. Indeed, I'd like to create my own version of this scene. It just seems magical! It's beckoning me...
This was the scene from our front yard late this afternoon that Rick captured after some storms passed. (Click to enlarge) I felt the double rainbow (you can only see one in the photo, but there were, indeed, 2) had been catalyzed by all the awesome energy of the week. I love how the bird is on the high-tension wire, looking at the rainbow. It's how I felt this afternoon...
First, a little background. I enrolled in Suzanne Falter-Barns' first-ever Spiritual Marketing Telesummit last week (June 2, 3, 4, 5). $88 seemed such a reasonable price for teleseminars with 10 or so really great coaches, teachers & energy workers, and the minute I learned of it, I knew it was for me. The Telesummit itself was inspiring, but the most amazing part was that some of the presenters offered FREE one-on-one coaching sessions for a number of those who had enrolled in the summit. I immediately jumped on the offers from Julie Ann Turner and Eva Gregory.
First, I'll tell you about my time with Coach Eva this Monday. It was a half-hour session, and from the minute we connected on the phone, it was like plugging into an electrical socket! I've known of Eva for years, and we had emailed a bit (she gave a testimonial about Easy World on ILiveInEasyWorld.com and she has provided an endorsement for Choosing Easy World) but we had never had an actual conversation.
She's quite the live wire, and our chemistry was great as I was pretty sure it would be. By the time our session was over, I not only had shifted some issues around the value of my work, I was clear on what I needed to do to expand the message and grow my list (something my editor really wants me to do before the book launch). As we hung up, I was on fire with ideas and energy! The interesting part is that the hours prior to our call, I was dealing with "cotton-head"--I hadn't slept too well and just felt low energy and foggy. Not after my time with Eva! She's just awesome. And while she's very wise, it was almost as if simply connecting up with her in alignment was the major magic. Really powerful! So I'm at work to implement the many ideas and the energy our time together catalyzed.
This afternoon, I had a full hour with Julie Ann Turner. Oh, my! I immediately knew our connecting was kismet. She is the most powerfully focused, organized, and yet, at the same time, intuitive, person I've ever come across! What an unusual combination! Her mission and focus is to help the new global thought leaders reach their next levels of expansion, and she is great at it.
Holy cow, is she ever centered and clear! I was almost overcome with her powerful presence and at times, heard myself babbling a bit, but she managed to clarify whatever I said and use it to help me identify shifts that needed to be made. With her gentle probing, I was able to tap into some old stuff that needed to be transformed and let go of, and was inspired by some new visions and healing ideas. Not only that, she was able to show me that I need to own the power of this next shift upward and the huge expansion she was able to see underway for me--her vision for what's opening up for me was even larger than mine! I was able to see the ways in which I need to embrace the larger vision and "try on" the energy that is growing in me. It was a profoundly powerful session, and as soon we hung up the phone (15 minutes overtime), I ran to tell Rick all about it.
Now, you may be wondering about having sessions with these powerful ladies yourself. As it turns out, they don't even normally do one-on-one sessions, and when they do, it's many hundreds of dollars. They both have figured out that small group work is the best way for them to go. So I'm feeling Spirit really wanted this for me and I am ever so grateful! Do go and visit both their sites to see the cool stuff they've got going on and avail yourself of it. You will be so glad you did!
I knew I was shooting into the light when I took this but it looked nothing at all like this through the view finder, and certainly not purple! I can only surmise that it's the deva of the Garden wanting to be seen. (Be sure to click on the photo to see a larger version.)
May 31, 1999--Memorial Day that
year--Rick and I were married. It seems impossible that it's been 10
years since we exchanged vows at Indian Hills in the foothills of the
Rockies, but it has. We celebrated Sat. night by going to one of our
favorite restaurants for dinner and then, this morning, Rick surprised
me by singing me that old Robert Goulet standard "If Ever I Would Leave
You." It was great! He did a wonderful job and the dachsies joined in,
howling along in chorus. Loved it.
Here we are with the girls on our special day. They are all grown up now--well, the youngest is 17, which is grown up compared to the little sprite in the photo.
The weather was gorgeous today and we spent much of the day in the garden. I got a bunch of annuals potted up that I've had for about 10 days that were crying out to be planted, and then we had a lovely dinner. It was a quiet day, and just right. We had planned something grander for this special anniversary, but with Rick not having yet found a new job, it just wasn't in the cards. Maybe for our 11th!
Here we are with the girls on our special day. They are all grown up now--well, the youngest is 17, which is grown up compared to the little sprite in the photo.
The weather was gorgeous today and we spent much of the day in the garden. I got a bunch of annuals potted up that I've had for about 10 days that were crying out to be planted, and then we had a lovely dinner. It was a quiet day, and just right. We had planned something grander for this special anniversary, but with Rick not having yet found a new job, it just wasn't in the cards. Maybe for our 11th!
