Reverencing Life

Hi all,

Well a lot happens in a small space of time and looking after animals seems to bring me into contact with all sorts of people, some whom I would rather not wish to meet.

Recently I found a stray dog who I reported to a leading animal charity in the UK. Their attitude from the outset was rude, hostile and rather nasty. All the onus for getting the dog to the appropriate shelter was put on me even though I explained I had found the dog and it was not really my responsibility.

I was treated with suspicion until I gave them my name and told them that I was a contributor to the charity. However I was shocked at how I was treated initially and wondered what impression they made on other people. They certainly came across very differently to how their publicity campaigns portray them.

I decided to do a bit of checking on the Internet and found that there were horror stories all over the Internet about how this particular association has seized animals from innocent owners and even acted illegally in doing so. I can tell you it opened my eyes. I would never support this charity again.

Their attitude was like that of some Police Officers who have been in the job too long, or predatory Social Workers who are over zealous. I think you are getting the picture. They saw abuse and criminality everywhere and their attitude to people was deplorable. (This was institutional and ran through the culture of the organisation. It was not just one or two individuals having off days).

Their attitude reminded me that it is not good enough just to want to save a particular section of life from abuse or cruelty such as animals or children. The point is to recognise that all life is interconnected and at the end of the day is Life Itself. And that Life is all its forms should be reverenced. Not just certain sections of it.

It is indiffencible to be wanting to save animals from abuse, (and in truth the orgainsation I am talking about doesn't even do that very well), and to be abusive to innocent people in the process. What good you do with one hand you cancel with another by this approach. Reverence and compassion should be for all and this can never come about by having a cynical and dictatorial attitude to to any form of Life even if you believe it to be degraded.(And if you see any form of life untimatately as degraded perhaps it is time to re-examine how you actually see Life Itself).

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

On Animals, Instincts and Being Careful What You Wish For!

Hi all,

Just to say that things are really working out well for me now and how it really is interesting the way the Universe is always unfolding even when things just seem, or appear, chaotic.The two kittens I fostered are doing well and have now gone to a forever home.

However word got around that I was an animal carer so I got a call from someone who was in contact with a gerbil rescue organisation The CavyRescue Organisation. Would I foster three gerbils that had been "liberated"? (No need to go into the details regarding the liberation). Well, I hummed and hawwed but you can guess my answer. In the affirmative!

In looking after animals I have discovered, (or rather re-discovered), a part of myself that has lain dormant for some time. And that is the fierce and protective love that I have for things in my care. Now don't get me wrong I don't mean the type like "my child or animal can do no wrong" type of sentimentality. (That is only harmful for all concerned). No, I just mean a fierce protective love for anything that has been abused which is magnified for anything that is in my care.

My motto for healing the planet is "One child, one person and one animal and one plant at a time". If that's all you can do it is not only ALL you can do; it is EVERYTHING!

As the ancient proverb says, "If everyone swept his own doorstep, then the whole world would be clean."

Well I wished for life and as they "Be careful for what you wish for for you will surely get it!". And that common sense advice has been around long before the commercial "masters" of manifesting made their appearance in the West.

All I can say is CHECK! CHECK! CHECK! before you part with any money for anyone claiming to be able to help you manifest your dreams because right now I believe there are many charlatans climbing on to this particular gravy train.

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be

KK

Affluenza - The Disease of Materialism

Hi all,

The picture to the left is of the hand of King Midas - the mythological king who was cursed by the fact that everything he touched turned to gold. And of course that meant he could not eat! So all his gold was worthless.

That is how I feel about many of the trappings of modern life. A British doctor has written about how materialism has failed to make the West more happy and how the very excesses of material abundance have produced more mental illness and depression in the West than is experienced in the developing world. For more info about this condition go here

Recently I have had a few experiences of what is really important in life. I received many material gifts over the Christmas period but some seem worth less now because one of the givers has treated me in a very bad manner without just cause. The persons only excuse is that they were "self absorbed" at the time. So I would ask what is the point of giving material gifts to a person if you cannot also give them your time and your pleasant disposition? Or if you are not able to give them your time immediately to explain this to them in a pleasant manner?

As Kahlil Gibran says:-

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."

(The Prophet)

However on another matter I am also expanding my family! As you may know I have fostered and adopted many children in the past, (in addition to my biological family) and I still continue to foster children occasionally. However I have now moved on to adding rescue animals to my family.

I recently inherited seven fish from a dentist friend of mine who had a stroke and could no longer look after them Under normal circumstances I would not have an aquarium because I would not voluntarily cage an animal. However in this case it was better than the alternative and I know they are very happy because they have started breeding!

I am also fostering two kittens who had a unfortunate past and they are adorable and so trusting after what they have been through. I hope that is also something to do with me!

I once had a boyfriend who I was on a first date with and we went to a Greek restaurant. The restaurant had two resident cats who promptly sat at my feet. He decided I must be an OK person on the basis of those two cats instantly liking me! I hope so!

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Krystal Klere's New Year's Message

Hi all,

First I would like to thank you for all your best wishes for my having a Happy New Year - I absolutely am doing so! And I would like to wish you all a Very Happy New Year, a Wonderful Life and Infinite Love.

The thing I would like to concentrate upon in this New Year's Message is the power of Now. Yes I know that this is the title of a book, one which I happen to be reading at the moment. But the concept itself is not new. The concept referred to is also called the Eternal Now. If you want to know more about this as presented in modern terms please read the book "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle.

But I would also like to concentrate on the now in the chronological sense of the word, as really that is all we ever have, (in the realm of time that is which is where the material world manifests itself).

Usually at the turning of the year as we see out the old year and see in the new people either concentrate on the past, or the future, or both. We concentrate on the past as we review the past year to assess whether we achieved the things we set out to and we look to the future as we do that most traditional of things - make New Years Resolutions.

Well I gave up making New Year's Resolutions a long time ago. Now if I want to commit to a path of change I do it when I am ready. And that isn't always at the start of a New Year.

Instead I want to set up a new New Year's Tradition. That of a New Year's Gratitude List. Just as the only way you can ever really live is in the present, the only way you can ever really appreciate your wealth is in the present. Not the wealth you did have, or will have, but the wealth you have right now. And you can appreciate the wealth you have right now by doing a New Year's Gratitude List. Ideally a gratitude list should be done every day, but if you can't do that then at least do one once a year. At New Year.

I have started my New Years Gratitude List and it goes something like this, (in no particular order of importance):-

Thank You God/Goddess/Divine Spirit/The All That Is/Life etc. for:-

My children

My husband.

My readers.

My health and the medicines I take that sustains it.

A socialised health care system that support me.

My poetry that give me entry to the Eternal Realms.

Etc. etc.

May I be forever grateful and appreciative for all that I have right now at this moment in this place and at this time.

That gives you an idea. .... Also if you are ever down write another gratitude list. It will do wonders for your Spirit.

And remember I Love You all.

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Krystal Klere's Christmas Address 2007

Hi all,

Well this is my second Christmas address and what a year it’s been. I have published “Songs from the Jangled Heart” and “Petals from the Lotus Heart” this year. The last one was published to raise funds for a children’s charity and sales have been doing very well.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your best wishes and support during this year. I have been asked to do more radio shows as well as keeping my blog and I will try to aim to do one a month. Remember that these can be emailed to you for free and that they are broadcast on media other than just the Krystal Klere Kommunications channel. If you would like to have details of the other media outlets please send an email to KrystalKlere@hotmail.com c/o Neil.

Now for the Christmas address which will also be broadcast on Christmas Day (UK time) on the Krystal Klere Kommunications channel at Gabcast.

What is Love?

At Christmas we think about Love. This is because Christmas is a Christian festival and Christians believe that Jesus Christ was born at Christmas and gave His Life for the saving of the world. They believe that this was one of the greatest acts of Love. Even if we are not Christians we are reminded of the birth of a baby and for most people a baby is considered the fruit of Love.

But I also hear many people ask in modern times what is love exactly? In our modern age when relationships seem dispensable and we see abusive people on TV chat shows declaring that, whatever their behaviour, they “love” the people they are hurting this is not a surprising question.

I am going to attempt to give my answer and you must decide for yourself whether it speaks to you or not. Or whether some parts speak to you and others do not. In the end it is your responsibility to decide what you believe.

First I would say that Love is not a feeling; love may be but Love is not. What is the difference I hear you ask? Well what I want to concentrate on here is Love not love: love is what most people would call personal love. It is how we act, feel and do when our ego’s are involved and there is nothing wrong with that. However, with all personal love we have an investment and it involves our self. However there is nothing wrong with that because we have a self, and an ego to nurture while we are on the physical plane. But what I am concerned with here is Love.

Love is not a feeling and it is not an action. Love in this form is our Intention. That is it is the Will of our Soul. However it is not Intention only; for it to be Love it must be acted upon to the best of our ability.

I will give a very concrete idea of what I mean by Love here and how it can be acted out in the world.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a very well known Fellowship where alcoholics meet together to try and combat alcoholism. One of the steps of their Twelve Step Programme says this about making amends to people hurt by the alcoholics previous actions:-

(9) Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

In my opinion carrying out the first part of the step without the second part could have been loving in the personal sense of the word because it has good intention behind it. It is about someone wanting to make amends.

However there is a lack of Wisdom in it if taken alone because it would not have considered, however well intentioned, the effect the amends would have had on the person receiving them The first part of the step taken in conjunction with the second part however shows Love because the ultimate determinant of behaviour is how other people will be affected. This means that even if carrying out the first part would make the offender feel less guilty it cannot be done if it will cause further injury to those already hurt.

Therefore the Intention behind step (9) of the AA twelve steps is to do the Most Good and the Least Harm. I think this is a good guide as to whether one is showing Love or not.

There may be many times when what we want to do because we love someone may conflict with what we know we should really do if we really Love them. For example, if a beloved child or pet wants more food to eat after they have already had a good meal, (out of greed I mean), many times we want to give it to them because we want to indulge them. In other words we want to please them because we love them. But we know in our hearts that if we really Love them we shouldn't’t do so because we are the one in charge of their long term health and know that such actions would be detrimental to it. This is where our Intention, (Love), may conflict with our completely human feelings, (love). And it is where Love, (if carried out), creates an Action. (In this case that of denying our child or pet more food).

Notice I wrote Love produces an Action not an action. This is because I believe that although Love is Intention, if it is True Intention it must be acted upon in the world. If it isn’t, it is merely intention. And we all know how insipid intention is.

How many times have you heard someone say that they “intended” to do something and never do? You know that it is not worth the breath they use to say the word and it has absolutely nothing to do with Intention which is Spiritual and produces Love.

Therefore I would conclude by saying that Love is Intention that Manifests as Action is the world.

Sometimes the Action such Intention produces may not be recognised by others as Love and may, because of other factors, cause effects unforeseen. However as long as the Action was motivated by the Intention of Love it is Love.

Your Soul will know it and so will God.

May I wish you the Very Best Wishes of the Festive Season whatever your beliefs and always, always, Love. And remember I Love you all.

Until next time.

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Upon Facing Aggression and Hostility

Hi all,

I wrote this prayer as a response to the aggression and hostility I faced recently at a meeting of Atheists. I hope it helps you all as much as it has helped me.

Upon Facing Aggression and Hostility

A Prayer

Oh God/Goddess/Divine Spirit/The All That Is/Life

Let not the Spirit of Aggression and Hostility visit Me. But if it does let it not find a resting place in Me; nor in my Body, Mind, Heart, Soul or Spirit. Let it finding me no nurturance or succour. But let it leave me finding no Home in Me.

And where I find the Spirit of Aggression and Hostility in others, even, or especially, when directed against me, let me not rebuke it thereof, lest it would grow greater. Let me comfort the Spirit so it no longer, like a cancer, feeds upon its host, or upon itself, to give it Life. Let Thy Peace live in me enough to comfort the Spirit and so aid it to journey to its final resting place.

Let the Spirit of Aggression and Hostility in the world finally be bought to Peace by the Spirit of Love.

Let it be so.

15/12/07

Until next times,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Thank You for your Thoughts - I am OK!

Hi all,

I have been overwhelmed with your emails to me hoping that I am well. I really really am OK!

But the good will I have been showered with has amazed me. I have been inundated with emails saying you are thinking about me, wishing me well, praying and meditating for my healing from my contact with militant atheists. Thank you, thank you , thank you...You are all Wonderful.

And please do not worry. The answer to the question many have been asking is "Yes". I will be able to continue running my blog and publishing my books. I may have been spiritually bruised but I was not broken!

Thank you all once again,

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zones

Hi all,

Well as you saw in my last post I attended an Atheism Debate recently that left me shell shocked to say the least. Now it must be very evident to anyone who reads my blog regularly that I am not an atheist, so why was I at an atheist debate? Well that answer was - to get out of my comfort zone.

For those not familiar with the term the "comfort zone" are those area's of life that you are familiar with and feel secure in. For example if your mother tongue is English in language that will be your comfort zone. However if you go and learn a new language you will be stepping outside your language comfort zone because it will be unfamiliar ground for you.

Stepping outside your comfort zone doesn't literally mean that you should necessarily feel uncomfortable, (although you may). It is more likely to mean an activity that will stretch you and help you grow with unfamiliar material. It was for this reason that I went to the Atheism Debate. However I came away shell shocked rather than expanded.

After I got home I did a meditation to calm me down and also to ask the Divine Spirit Within why what had happened had happened. What did it mean, (for my development that is). The reason I asked this of the Spirit was because I had received a previous Intuition that I should be stepping outside my comfort zone more to aid my spiritual development.

Well I didn't get an answer immediately during the meditation but I did in a dream I had that night. In my dream the Arch Angel Michael visited me and folded his wings around me to give me comfort and protection and I asked him why I had needed to go to a place so full of hostility and aggression. He told me that I hadn't needed to and that the problem was that I hadn't thought through my Intuition sufficiently. And that the Intuition had guided me to go outside my comfort zone not into a war zone! He told me I should have walked out as soon as I felt unsafe, (which I did emotionally).

Now I realise I have learn several lessons from this experience. The first is that acting on Intuition is not the same as acting without thought. Acting automatically without thought is instinct, (like birds do when they fly home). Intuition is more like having a hunch and then thinking through the best way to act on it.

The second lesson I learnt was that feeling uncomfortable is not the same as feeling unsafe. If you ever feel unsafe you should get out, (if you can). Feeling unsafe is never going to be conducive to you learning anything and feeling, and being safe, is your right.

The third lesson I learn was that when you ask for protection in some way it will come as it did for me in my dream. Arch Angel Michael is one of the Angels of Protection and he came to sooth my troubled soul when I called out for protection.

So remember, do go outside your comfort zone from time to time, but plan it carefully. You always have the right to be safe and protected, even during your soul lessons!

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Militant Atheism

Hi all,

I want to discuss a subject now that I didn't even know, before two nights ago, existed - militant atheism. Two nights ago I attended one of the most disturbing and for me, spiritually afflicting meetings of my life. A meeting in which there was a debate between agnostics ,(people who are uncertain as to whether there is a God or not), and atheists, (people who do not believe. or claim they have found no proof, that there is a God). I myself am a committed Theist, ( a person who believes that there is a God however they may conceptualise that idea i.e. God/Goddess/Divine Spirit/The I Am/ The All That Is/Spirit etc).

In this meeting the speaker was explaining why he was an agnostic and not an atheist. His main point was that while he could not prove that there was a God he also could not prove that there was not a God and that there was a certain wonder, ( I would say Wonder), to the u(U)iverse that science could not explain and probably never would. That is, while he could not be specific as to what it was, he sensed that there was something beyond matter. There was, what some philosophers have called, Mind. That is. that there is an existence of b(Being) that is different from the purely physical material world. (I would call this Spirit).

However it was at this point that the room exploded into what I can only describe as the heckles of the baying crowd. It was as if he had declared murder to be OK!

The people who were offended were I found out self-described "militant atheists". They were committed materialists, that is that they believed that only the material world existed. There was no existence separate from it possible. So for example. consciousness itself is merely the product of brain chemistry and that once the brain is dead so is the consciousness of the person that housed that brain. In other words physical death it the end. After that, nothing, nada.

They expressed to me that they were committed to the eradication of "superstitious spiritual beliefs", (read any belief systems other that materialism), and to ridding society of "the cultural baggage of religion", (read wiping out or re-writing most of human history). and to "the institution of a of a society based on rationalism and proof", (read Science is King) and so on. In short their vision of this new society left me feeling spiritually bereft.

However their true colours came to bear in a conversation I had about faith based schools. I believe that provided a child is educated other wise to acceptable standard in all the usual subject and is not abused or cruelly treated that a parent has the right to bring up their children as they wish. People do not bring their children into the world as thought experiments for the State.

One militant atheist told me that if he came to power he would close down all faith based schools even if they were private institutions . He told me that he knew better how to educate children that their "deluded superstitious" parents. I told him that if he tried to do that to my children he would have to send me to prison first and that he indeed did follow a faith; that of authoritarian totalitarianism and that he was as fanatical as the fundamentalists of all religions that he had been railing against all evening. (Fundamentalism also being something that I oppose by the way including that of atheists).

I left the meeting feel rather depressed but also compassionate toward these people. Who would want to live in a world dispossessed of all the Love, Beauty and Charity that most moderate religions and all truly enlightened spiritual to people bring to it? In a world where human beings are reductable to programmable robots and Consciousness Itself, that Hallmark of Enlightened Humanity is considered merely the outcome of brain chemistry? Not me for sure.

I will leave with a quote from Albert Camus, (as in the picture above):-

"I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is."

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Christmas Book Ready! - Petals from the Lotus Heart

Hi all,

Well folks it's ready! "Petals from the Lotus Heart - One Year of Love" by Krystal Klere is now at the printers and will soon be winging it's way to you for all those who placed advanced orders. You still have time to place a order in time for Christmas or the New Year and this can be done by sending an email to KrystalKlere@hotmail.com.

Remember all proceeds this year are going to The Children's Hospice International. Click on the banner above to see the good work they do and also to make a further contribution if you wish.

As for me I am going to have a well deserved rest and get ready for Christmas.

Remember my Christmas address will be coming up on this blog and also on my Krystal Klere Kommunications radio show on Christmas Day. This can also be emailed to you (free) if you request if at the above email address.

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Swimming with Dolphins or Visa Versa

*Hi all,

I am now back from my holiday in Europe and I can tell you that it was both eventful, (heavy in parts but with amazing resolution), and wonderful. And in all parts I got an experience of the Universe reaching out to me to confirm that I am mainly on the right path. I will relate here the part that was wonderful.

I had hummed and hawwed for some time about swimming with dolphins. Now I am totally against holding dolphins in captivity and am not sure about swimming on "wild" dolphin programmes. Although I know that for many people swimming with dolphins is a dream I think that the most important consideration with any of these activities if the welfare of the animals involved and not the wishes, hopes or aspiration of the humans. Although I must admit that the lure of my desire was so strong that I did consider a "wild" dolphin programme swim. However as Fate(?) would procure it this was not to be. So I settle to go on a dive instead. (I am an avid scuba diver).

I went with a friend I had made in Europe on a private dive in his yacht miles in the middle of the ocean. And what happened just as I was coming up from my dive? A pod of dolphins circled me and one swam so close to me that it just touched my arm. (I would never try to touch any animal without it's permission). Fortunately the moment was captured on camera. Just one photo. So no I didn't swim with dolphins. They swam with me.

I do believe that if we act with best intentions that we are rewarded ultimately. That is the Law of Karma. The reward is not always as straight away or as evident as in what happened to me on my holiday, but in this case I think I got a magical confirmation from the Universe that my choice not to swim with dolphins was the correct one.

Of course Karma only rewards if you do have best intentions and doesn't work if you merely act good for reward. The paradox is that although Karma will reward you for doing good it does not seem to work if reward is your motivation for acting good! I suppose in a ultimate sense doing good because you hope to be rewarded is not really "best intentions". It is of course better that doing Evil but it certainly is not "best intentions".

Until next time,

As always,

KK

* The quote on the poster says "In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will only love what we understand, we will understand only what we are taught." Baba Dium (environmentalist).

Do Not Assume!

Hi all,

I have been busy on a personal project recently so haven't been able to post very much - many apologies! However, what I have come to learn is that it seems to me that when you have a problem and start to do things to tackle it you grow in ways that never even occurred to you prior to the problem arising.

I have had a problem with some-one living close by to me for some time and issues really came to a head recently. As a result I started to study the relevant law surrounding the situation and came to learn some very interesting facts. And it brought me back to a lesson I learnt a long time ago. And that is that many of our problems with living and communication arises from assuming.

We assume we know how the world is, (which is more than most of the time not how it really is but how we think it should be). We assume that we know what other people are thinking, (and a lot of the time we are wrong). But I think the biggest problem is that we assume that others will react to situations as we do, (and are surprised when they do not).

What I have learnt in life is that it is best to not to assume and better to actually find out.

Many people in my personal life think that I seek to clarify the obvious but that is not the case. I seek clarification from other people about their perspective as a reality check because I do not assume that their reality is that same as my reality. In other words things are not so "obvious".

The best example of challenging assumptions is one I came across about thirty years ago. I sat opposite a very attractive man on the London tube and flirted with him outrageously. I was only twenty years old and fresh in London. When the opportunity arose I crossed the aisle and sat next to him.

Now even if this sounds egotistical I was actually a model at that time and very aware of my own attractiveness. Certainly I was used to, and enjoyed, the attentions of men. And the attention I got was usually very sexually charged. So after chatting enthusiastically to this very charming man for a good half hour on my journey I was convinced he was going to ask me for a date. So imagine I was somewhat surprised, and chagrined to say the least, when at the end of his journey he got up. shook my hand and thanked me for a pleasant conversation.

As he prepared to get off the train he took his jacket off. Underneath he was wearing a tee-shirt which bore the legend "How dare you assume I am heterosexual? Have a good day!" And with a wry smile he disappeared out of the tube and my life.

Well that taught me a lesson didn't it? Don't assume. Get to know!

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK


"Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else" -

Ivern Ball

Aspiration to Love

*

Hi all,

Many thanks for all the messages of support that you have sent this week and isn't it amazing what a difference a week makes? I am on top of the world today.

As many of you know I am working on a project that I did intend to have ready by Christmas and hopefully this will come about. If not it will be ready in January 2008 at the latest. So it could either be an early Christmas present or a late one to yourself or someone you love, (and remember the two are not mutually exclusive!) The cost is £10.00 and all profits go to Charity.
If you want to place an advance order please do so at KrystalKlere@hotmail.com. And thank you in advance.

Meanwhile to keep you going a favourite saying of mine-

"Ah, Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire
To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire!
Would not we shatter it to bits-and then
Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!"

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be!

KK

* Shravan Kumar lovingly carries his own aged and crippled father and mother on a pilgrimage; the story of his "pitra-bhakti" is told in the Ramayana

The Daemons of Self-Sabotage

Hi all,

Today I am writing about the daemons of self-sabotage because they are afflicting me right now. I am about to complete a project and I feel these daemons kicking in with all their fury. So I started by examining why I had these daemons still and after searching articles on the Internet and doing a meditation I realised on a subconscious level I was scared of success because I felt I didn't deserve it . Oh yes I had succeeded in other area's of life, that was OK but being a spiritual teacher - that I didn't feel I deserved. And oh the irony - in this area I have been accused of false modesty.

What was comforting is to see how widespread these daemons are. Now I don't mean by that I take glory in any one else's suffering just that there is comfort in that what affects you and me also affects the great and the good. And the comfort is that people have accomplished great things in spite of their daemons.

Usually I live with full awareness of my Soul but when these daemons kick in I feel small and unworthy. So I went back to the place where that feeling originated. And of course it originated in my childhood. I had a heavily critical and abusive father who both put me down and also expected to me at the same time to save the world. And I must admit at this point that I cried. I cried for that hurt little child who never deserved any of the bad things that happened to her. I realised that the compassion I extended to my father and my family I did not always extend to myself .

I also came to realise that overcommitment was a part of my self-sabotaging behaviour. So I decided to take today off. Today I am going to walk in the park( but not to get calories off.) Today I write this for myself. (If it helps others that is also good but it was written today for my own healing). That hurt little girl deserves a break and a treat. Today she is going out to play.

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Upon Hurting People and Authenticity

Hi all,

Recently I have been pondering on how human beings hurt each other and how, at times, this seems inevitable. And to some degree it is. The Earth plane by definition cannot be without pain and much of this pain is caused by the human condition. Indeed this is the reason for the human condition. So we can learn. Of course learning by pain is the last resort. Our first resort it that we learn through joy. But there is an old saying "That which you fail to learn through joy you will learn through pain".

That said most human being I know do not deliberately want to hurt other human beings. Of course there are those who do and they are among the most disturbed and damaged of our kind. But in the main most people do not deliberately want to hurt other human beings.

And yet there is a great urge today for people to live in authenticity with themselves and fulfil their own needs. And sometimes this conflicts with the needs of others. And for some people the problem is not so much that we do not want to hurt other people, but rather that in deferring to the the needs of other people rather than attending to our own legitimate needs, we actually hurt ourselves. And that also is a problem.

There is a Pagan rede, (guiding principle), which says "Do what thou wilt less thou harm none". And whilst I agree with this as an ideal I also believe in the everyday world it is unworkable. A much more viable guide I believe would be "Do what thou wilt and do the least harm" and I would also add "And do the greatest good possible".

The problem is that in many actions that are ethical someone is going to get hurt. For example, supposing in a birth going wrong a doctor could only save the life of the mother or the life of the child. A decision would have to be made. Unless of course nothing was done and both were allowed to die. And even then, in my book, a non-decision is still a decision.

And if a decision to save one of their lives were taken someone would suffer. I am not coming down on either side of this decision just making the point that someone would suffer. The only thing I could add is that the only guidance a person could use upon making this sort of decision would be to take account of all the individual circumstances and act according to one's own conscience, (that is, be authentic).

So how do we decide how to act when our needs and the needs of others are in conflict, and someone somewhere along the line must lose out?

I think that in situations like this it is helpful to think of the ultimate consequences of what will be produced by the decision. For example, I do not believe in the taking of healthy life, but if someone were drowning I would risk my healthy life to save them.

Likewise with decisions to put your needs before the needs of others. Only you ultimately can decide if this decision is selfish or in fact loving. If you are putting you needs before the needs of others for your unjust selfish desires that is one thing. But if in fact you are putting your needs before others simply because you yourself needs nurturing then that is a loving act. It is loving because all others will ultimately benefit from this act.

For example, I foster disabled children to give their parents a break so they can nurture themselves after giving so much to their children. Now I know there are some people who believe such parents should carry on regardless and be with their children 24/7. I disagree. I think people not only have a right to take time out for themselves, I would go so far as to say they have a responsibility, (to themselves and others).

As Jesus one of the greatest Teachers of all time said "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ". ( Mark 12:31 The Holy Bible). In other words you are also commanded to love yourself.

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Pearls of Wisdom - Rainbows

Hi all,

Sorry I have not been posting for some time. To tell the truth I have been going through something of a spiritual crisis. However, it has resolved itself now. I am very well karmed in that something within me makes me face up to my crises. It is not effort or will on my part. It is almost as if I have no choice. Somehow I am driven to come through. And the right answer eventually and always comes. And I am very grateful for that. The only thing I would add is that I have done a lot a praying lately. Mmmm.... I wondered if that helped. No, it's OK that is just a rhetorical questions!

Anyway here is another Pearl of Wisdom for you:-

"Instead of chasing rainbows seek to become the rainbow"

KK 19/10/07

Until next time.

As always.

Blessed be,

KK

Putting Anxiety and Fear in Context

Hi all,

I was discussing with a friend about the subject of anxiety recently and it would seem to me that it is quite pervasive at various times in our world. We live in uncertain times. But in actuality we have always lived in uncertain times. I wonder sometimes if some of our anxiety, on an existential level, comes from the materialistic and atheistic mind set of current Western civilization.

Within this mindset we seem to have become convinced that we can control everything. Or at least if we cannot control everything we can predict it and plan for the future. For example, we check weather forecasts and then something like the Boxing Day tsunami happens. We couldn't predict it and yet it seems that the animals that left the area before it hit could intuit it.

So how does Western materialistic society respond to this? They believe that if more money was invested into meteorology, (read Science), then tsunami's in future could be prevented, (read controlled). Now of course this would be a good thing and Science has made many wonderful contributions to the relief of suffering in the world, but the point I am making is that it is also part of a mindset that has led us to believe we, (human beings), can control everything. And here is a thought: maybe we can't.

Maybe even there is a force beyond that material world that cannot be controlled. Maybe even the "natural laws" that scientists discover are a part of that force. (And if they are they can be changed by that force). Now I believe there is such a force which for want of a better world I will call the Universe. (You may say God/Goddess/Great Spirit etc but the Essence is what I am concerned with here).

Now if you contend that human beings are not, and never can be, in full control of their lives because of the Universe then for some that may be a terrifying thought. But there has to be an assumption underlying that attitude and that is that the Universe is ultimately hostile. I don't believe that. I believe that the Universe is ultimately Benevolent. Note that doesn't mean that the Universe doesn't have hostility in it just that it is not it's Ultimate Nature.

Believing in a Benevolent Universe sometimes in hostile circumstances requires something that Science cannot give us and that is Faith. Science can never answer the ultimate questions and neither for that matter, in my opinion, can external religious authorities. Ultimately the answers are inside You. Others may guide you but the answers are Within.

Why? Because you also are part of the Universe.

So since you can't control everything you may as well do the best you can and then relax and Trust to the Universe.

For practical help in dealing with fear and anxiety I would recommend Dr Susan Jeffers book "Feel the Fear and do it Anyway". Get it here

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Crone Power

Hi all,

As you know I am a Crone, (that is a woman over 50). Now the old idea of the Crone is of an wizened old lady who doesn't have much to contribute. Well what I have found since reaching 50 is that I have a lots more personal power and I am more self-assured than ever. The problem I have found is that many men my age find me incredibly threatening. I would add that this is especially so for men with very "traditional" values who didn't embrace the lessons of the Sixties, (you know, Peace and Love).

I was puzzled as to how these men had managed to live in the past so long while the rest of the world moved on. A male friend answered this by telling me that these men had led lives in traditional enclaves, (such as mainly masculine jobs) whilst living within very traditional family structures. I have spent most of my life with creative and bohemian types of people so to encounter these types of men was new to me. Especially at post 50 years.

However, what really threw me was the amount of aggression I encountered from them when they met me. I might add here that I am a comparatively wealthy self-made business woman who is financially independent and successful. I also look a lot younger than my age. And what also occurs to me at this point is that a lot of people my age, especially traditional men, have not reached the goals they set out to reach that they would use to define themselves as "successful". This being the case I think they find me very threatening and that the level of aggression they display towards me is directly proportionate to the degree that they feel threatened by me. That being the case, although I find encountering such men unpleasant I can see their aggression for what is really is: a display of weakness.

This being the case I feel a certain degree of compassion, but that is also tempered by my feeling that these men have really no-one but themselves to blame for their dilemma. If they rely on antiquated models of masculinity to define their success as men then they are responsible for holding that belief system And if by their own standard they have failed to live up to that "success" then that is also their responsibility because they are responsible for their own lives. And when they come in contact with a concrete mirror like me that reflects both those "defects", (by their definition), back to themselves then they react with fierce aggression.

Now I understand that while I find such encounters unpleasant I am serving never the less as a servant for the Goddess since it is Her Values that I am presenting to such men. It is also Her Values that the bohemian and non-patriarchal men that populate my life also embrace. Hence I am not in conflict with them.

I am probably most threatening to these "traditional" men since the power I represent itself runs counter to their concept of power. What I have is power over me and I do not seek power over others. And they know in the deepest recesses of their souls that for all their aggression they cannot touch me. And truly they can't.

I wish all non-patriarchal men out there Love and Peace. I also wish this to all patriarchal men with an addition; move on - the world has and if you don't you will get left behind.

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be

KK

Pearls of Wisdom - Collective Responsibility

Hi all,

"We live in a world not of our own making but we are all collectively responsible for it."

KK 21/9/07

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

The Pathologising of the Human Condition

Hi all,

I was just pondering today on the seeming proliferation of so-called “mental illnesses” and “personality disorders”. For those who doubt the veracity of this statement please read this article: http://www.newstatesman.com/200507110021.

But I wonder what is to be the end result of what I see as the pathologisation of aspects of the human condition? And what constitutes a person without a “personality disorder”? Is there going to be a standardised way of being that means a person is “normal” and if so, how restrictive will that be?

In the past, it is true, the really mentally ill were really treated very badly, but this was mainly due to ignorance. People in the past did not have access to the drugs and knowledge we now have. However, there was also a place for “eccentricity” without the worry of being considered mentally imbalanced.

We live in a society so afraid now that some people, especially men, are scared to hug their own children in case it is thought “inappropriate”. Isn’t much more mental illness going to be caused by children being deprived of natural parental affection because of this hugely understandable over reaction?

What is considered socially acceptable behaviour varies greatly from culture to culture and conditions considered mental illness in the past, (in the West), now are not. For example, homosexuality.

I think the over pathologising of aspects of the human condition have come about in the West because we think we have a right a happiness. And not only a right to it, but to it now and without effort on our part.

Well, I don’t believe there is any right to human happiness. Yes, there may be a right to pursue it, but like all spiritual conditions, (which I believe happiness is), it has to be earnt. It doesn’t just drop into your lap, and you won’t find by buying material things. It is something you earn though spiritual effort.

And it wont be found be dropping the right pill.

As someone who has been mentally I know this. Drugs and therapy can alleviate mental illness but that cannot bring about happiness in themselves. There is only one person who can bring that about and that is you.

With assistance from, if you believe in Him or Her, God/dess.

So do not seek to change your personality to suit some socially prescribed “norm”. As long as you know that you are being spiritually true and authentic to yourself, be yourself. (And no this is not a prescription to do wrong for if you do you will surely, by the laws of Karma, be punished for it.)

No, be yourself. In fact be Yourself with Grace.

Until next time,

Blessed by,

KK

16/9/07.