How Can We Simplify the Message?

In my thinking that everyone’s belief system is their own and that every single faith and belief out there is possible because of our gift of choice (which I believe is the best gift we have ever been given), I have learned to be very tolerant of what people believe. I don’t consider this political correctness; rather I love people enough to let them choose. After all, we are free to live and free to make our own choices. Allowing someone to believe what they want is my way of showing love. I don’t argue beliefs because an argument to me is not loving.

Now, I do have fun reading about different philosophies in various cultures and I have decided most wisdom still comes from animals. ;)

This was from a link that was passed around; (I just grabbed 3 animals I am familiar with. My thoughts are in brackets)

Dog's Wisdom Includes:

• Heals emotional wounds in humans (How can we learn to do that?)
• Understanding of the duality of doubt and faith (They encompass balance here)
• Companionship (They simply love to be around us, if we would notice them more, we could learn how loving they are)
• Unquestioned loyalty (To a fault, but it keeps their character strong and true)
• Love (Dogs not only love us, but they know what the purity of love is)
• Knowledge of all things sensual (their sense of anything physical is dead on)
• Protection (Not only know when to go into protection mode but will protect their humans to the death…even other animals)
• Ability to smell trouble from a distance (How can I gain this skill? It might be their greatest attribute!)

Domestic Cat's Wisdom Includes:

• Independence (While they seem unbalanced in this respect, cats who are separated from each other bounce back easily whereas dogs long for their partners for a long time)
• Seeing the unseen (Night Vision! I want that! Have you ever seen your kitty stare at something and you look at the same location and there is nothing there? They even spot specks of lint on the floor that we don’t notice and they will patrol the area around it!)
• Protection (I would say they have the ability to protect the greater area. These two kitties in the parking lot have kept it for years now)
• Love (When it’s time to love, they love with their whole heart. They maybe don’t love as often as dogs, but when they do, it’s like they are trying to crawl under your skin…SO much affection)
• Allows us to dream its dreams (This could be a topic all on its own with many interpretations, but I like the idea that it shows us things we may not have seen before)
• Assists in meditation (I have entered other realms just by petting a cat one thousand times…it’s like magic…lol)
• Ability to fight when cornered (I don’t like fighting, but I do admire their fearless nature)

Horse/Pony/Mustang's Wisdom Includes:

• Power (When I lived on the farm, we would brush the horses down and I was always in awe of how their muscles were laid out so intricately. I have always been humbled by their power. I also love that their power is to be admired, not feared. It’s a good lesson in proper leadership)
• Stamina (I also like that their emotions don’t interfere with their drive)
• Endurance (Maybe it’s their vegetarian diet…lol)
• Faithfulness (You would think that breaking them would be harder based on how they could just trample us anytime they want. It’s pretty cool that they will wait for us)
• Freedom to run free (Can you imagine being set down in the forest to live? Most of us would hide, they will run full steam)
• Control of the environment (That seems like a Jedi trick)
• Awareness of power achieved with true cooperation (Ever seen a stampede of horses?)
• Interspecies communication (How can we learn to communicate with people who are not like us and don’t speak the language? Maybe it means simplifying the message)
• Expanding one’s own potential abilities (For any of you who have worked, trained or shown horses, you will totally understand this one)
• Friendship and Cooperation (And done peacefully)
• Travel
• Astral travel
• Guardian of travelers (all the travel attributes they have, certainly have shown me to be fearless in exploring and maintaining stamina throughout)
• Warns of possible danger ( I often wonder how they are able to sense the things they do)
• Guide to overcoming obstacles (I was thinking of when our horses used to jump. Have you ever watched them run right up to something, assess and turn and go try again and again? They know when to bail, but they don’t give up)

Overall, my favorite thing that animals teach us is to simplify our message to each other making everything less complicated. They manage to survive many years with some basic communication skills. They seem to have a message of community, protecting it, enjoying it and showing lots of love and friendship. Why can’t we figure this out? Aren’t we supposed to be the dominate species? (chuckles)

I can’t believe it didn’t mention napping…who better to help you rest than them?

Karen :)

“The best thing about animals is that they don't talk much.” ~Thornton Wilder

What Are You Getting From the Internet?

“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.” ~Leonardo da Vinci

If you look at the quote long enough, you might think it’s a bit creepy. Who would smile in trouble? I think it’s like a comedian laughing in the face of adversity. People like Bill Cosby have been making us laugh about our struggles for many years.

The gathering of ‘strength from distress part’ is something that I never understood until I actually did that. It’s like when you have the extra adrenaline kick in at the end when you think you have nothing left.

‘Growing brave by reflection’ is multi-faceted to me. Do you remember the picture online of the kitty who looks in the mirror and sees a lion looking back at him? Or how about on SNL when Stuart Smalley says, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and gosh darn it, people like me?”

Reflection to me also is the deep root of philosophy and why I love to dissect everything and rip stuff apart. I do this when I am working on music as well. Someone will send me tracks and I will have to solo parts to see what needs the attention. I feel like reflection is a bit different than stewing. I view reflection as a cool place we arrive at where we can look at ourselves, our situation and past things that have happened and grow brave from it all instead of it making us fearful. How many times have you looked back through a photo album and saw people from your past and past relationships? It can make you smile, cry or feel completely awful. Regret and sadness can make us feel worthless or even long for things the way they used to be.

It was Teresa Clayton who had asked me about the topic of love and friendship within the internet community. Teresa is awesome at showing love and friendship and I think of her often when I think about online friendship. I was thinking this morning about how an online community has become more of a friend for many people than real people.

We seem to be in a cool new phase of friendship on the net. For a while, there I was hearing everyone becoming fearful of people not interacting with each other in real life…but I am feeling that shift now.
The good part of having these online friendships is people feel much safer (I don’t mean about online stalking etc) but safer opening up to each other. The thing about consolidated words in email, comments or even video is people feel like they have a bit of time to digest what they are hearing and prepare something they want to say. The communication seems better overall, but I think the best thing that happens which can really cultivate an online friendship is safety in being honest. When you have to live with the consequence of someone at home, you have to react quickly and you might be so cluttered by the things that are going on, your communication becomes messy and you say things that you either don’t mean or you were pressured by time to say. Again though, I don’t think people feel like what they say to someone online holds the same consequence. Keep in mind, this is in friendship…people have no problem offending in other corners of the net, but I don’t go there. J

Of course there are hiccups in online communities but I think there could be more hiccups if all these people got in the room with each other. It would be awesome to meet some of our online friends, but most people feel like the friends they have picked online are a good escape and you can go to them when you want. It feels more like what friendship SHOULD be.

It is however indicative of how cluttered we must feel at home. Not all of us, of course. Many people have a good home life too. I do have some concerns that people are looking for love online when they don’t feel it at home. But you know what? Why shouldn’t they? I don’t mean this romantically, that’s a whole different topic. Why shouldn’t we have these awesome friendships online where we can see others smile in their trouble, who gather strength from the things that make them distressed and witness other people growing brave by reflection instead of fear or regret. We can find great leaders, great examples of love and friendship and many overcomers!

I believe the key though is to use the good parts of online community for our growth and to help others. When we find ourselves in high-tension arenas fighting over things that don’t matter, it becomes counter-productive. I hear many people who feel guilty about the time they spend online and we shouldn’t feel guilty about that if it’s nurturing us or we can nurture someone else. It’s only when we leave the computer feeling worse than when we sat down.

We are living in times where our technology can help us help each other IF that is our goal. Every time I sit in front of my computer, I am extremely mindful of how my time is spent. I don’t go to gossip or rant sites and I don’t engage in unhealthy conversation. If I get up and walk away feeling like I just killed time, It’s not good for me. There is nothing wrong with using it as entertainment (God knows I have watched my share of animal videos on it) but for the most part, I view the internet as a means to reach people and to feel a sense of love and compassion from people who want the same thing.

Something Teresa wrote on my page, “Amazing how a community can come together at the drop of a dime, forget their own drama and focus on sending healing love to each other.” I think the reason for this is because we place value on our friendships and therefore we protect them. For many of us, our online community is the one thing that is going well in our life. It’s like our last chocolate brownie. You will kill to defend it or you will die trying. ;)

I am constantly evaluating my online time so that it is always moving things forward positively. The internet has become a way of life and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing so long as we don’t feel depleted when we walk away. The better question should be, ‘What is the Internet Getting From Me?

Resisting the urge to type ‘cute puppies running around’ in the youtube search window,

Karen :)

“Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.” ~Leonardo da Vinci

I am afraid I am not a very good leader

Oh it’s one of those entries where someone’s going to think I’m being pompous, I shall go clear out the comments and emails and get their dinner ready for them. :)

Today, someone thanked me for being a good leader. I’ve had many refer to me this way. Well seriously, what is a person supposed to say in response to that? If you are indeed a good leader, I suppose you just thank them and move along. If you are a bad leader (and you just so happen to know it) you may apologize for being crappy, although your humility and apologies may suggest you are a good leader. While I understand that leadership doesn’t require a degree or even a spotlight role, but an ability to lead and yadda yadda yadda, I quite genuinely do not view myself as one. I suppose we all possess a certain amount of leadership skill. Moms & Dads need to lead children, teachers need to teach etc. I also understand that having been through a bit more crap in one’s life could potentially assist in qualifying as a good leader someday.

I think I don’t view myself as one because of a few things. I’m not scared of the responsibility of what that could mean, I might just be too lazy for the title. Ha! My life to date has been terribly dysfunctional. I wouldn’t suggest taking my lead on any of my choices to date. I write ugly dark music, I wear weird clothes on occasion and I have the worst potty mouth you’ve ever heard. If you were to do a background check, you’d never suggest me for a political position and I’m probably not the best person to speak at some inspirational conference. And yet, true friends and lovely souls don’t care about one’s past. Friends are lovely and merciful.

For the very reason that friends are so forgiving of me, so accepting of my flaws and embrace me into a larger circle, I can’t possibly think of myself as a leader. I’ve also mentioned hating the word “fan” as I find it insulting and sort of demeaning to a listener. I would hope that everyone here is everyone’s friend. That doesn’t mean we’ll exchange phone numbers or go for drinks on Sat night, but it does mean we have all individually slotted ourselves into a bigger picture and I prefer art that way…inclusive, loving, tolerant and forgiving.

I enjoy sharing my honest thoughts with everyone here in the hopes I can help out a bit and continue to learn from all of you as well. It’s absolutely terrifying to me to hear someone call me a rock star or “some Hollywood chick”. (Considering I am Canadian and have shoveled snow for 5 lifetimes)I have worked very hard and have continued to say no to management, labels, agencies and scouts because I am simply a girl who likes to make music and art. It wasn’t me who set up the industry how it’s been depicted these days, but all of us can quit deifying artists and calling them rock stars and just start talking to each other like normal human beings again…because anything outside of that just makes me queasy.

Have you ever looked at a band you are a fan of? Let me take Deep Purple for instance. For most of my life I considered myself a fan of them. Then one day I saw an interview with them where they seemed a bit more vulnerable. I remember thinking, “Hmmmm, Ian’s really just some guy making his way in the world,” and I cut the apron string. I continue to love Deep Purple, but it’s just a respect for their music. I am ever so thankful they gave me noise to crank really loudly, but I am no more thankful of their art than I am of someone who brings me cookies. (well, I could be a bigger fan of chocolate than Deep Purple, it’s pretty close) If I ever met Ian, even though I consider him in my list of top male vocalists, I’d like to think I could just have the same dynamic of meeting a waitress at a restaurant… I certainly wouldn’t swoon and beg for a photo.

The truth is that while some rock stars are driven by ego, many I have met in Hollywood are pretty normal and aren’t very comfortable with someone acting outside of the norm while around them especially since many of them had fame dropped on them, so few worked for it. So imagine you accidentally wrote a top 40 song and then look at how you go from 0 to 100 and you don’t know who your friends are and can’t find anyone to just sip tea with who doesn’t want something from you.

My point in my blithering here is that I have spent a great deal of my life extraordinarily lonely without any skills to lead anyone else far less myself. I bet you will find 20 other people or more in these blog responses who could give you better advice than me and who are emotionally more stable than I have been and yet, they may just have a generic picture and a few friends on their profile.

I am comfortable with myself, not depressed anymore and am enjoying life a lot, but a good leader is a title better left for those people who won’t disappoint you with their infrequent responses or shoddy advice. ;) If you have been through a severe depression, you will know all too well how much you simply strive for peace of mind. If your life has been beyond hell, you will probably just absorb through osmosis what I am trying to say.

Those of us who have faced tragedy understand the need to just chill out with tea. My life has become pretty plain and it’s wonderful. I save my insanity for art and music. lol

If you have been striving for a peaceful mindset, you’ll get it when I say, it’s really all I want. I do love my friends here.

Much love on ya!

Karen :)

“I don't have people following me around, like bodyguards. I don't know how people live like that. Maybe the young movie stars have to live like that, I don't know. But it seems a little crazy to me. I don't think you need all that stuff.” ~Anthony Hopkins

A Delicate Illumination

This is a gorgeous quote I saw ages ago;

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
~Elizabeth Kubler Ross

…but only understood it quite recently. In fact, it’s maybe not understood so much as being open to deeper interpretation. (which you’ll never guess; I love to do) ;)

Here are my sleepy thoughts on it…

Everyone looks good, acts good at a party, at church. We are on our best behavior on a first date, but how are we a few years into marriage? I don’t believe good times are something to be ignored; we should really be striving to enjoy ourselves and others. We can get an amazing energy from friends which can bring out the good in us. I have been at many functions where the liveliness of the party can ignite a personality. It’s good!

However, I have also had first-hand experience (as I am sure you have) where the fair-weather friends can show you what hollow, lifeless ugliness looks like.

The word Dimension comes to mind. Some people disappear when they turn sideways and walk away from your explosion. I have had situations where I exhaled and they turn to dust right in front of me. The mirage is pretty disappointing, needless to say. I have had some extremely dark tunneling I have had to do where the only light at the end was a beam coming from a friend’s spirit because the destiny was pretty grim. When the dust settles and the time for action is staring at you, you kind of hope for at least a subtlety in illumination. I can count the number of those people on one hand who lit my path. I have many since then ;) but it was pretty bleak during my war!

I believe when we present ourselves to other people, it’s more vital to show a light to those who need it. My whole life I have felt like an underdog, the person who couldn’t quite get there. I’ve worked hard but I absolutely would not be well today if it were not for those who lit my way or in the very least (which I hate to say least, because an ounce is important) just simply made me believe in a different kind of beauty. I try to find those people now in the hopes of putting all the candles together. But as it turns out, the wicks just find each other. It feels like a vigil now, but I think it’s a positive one. We seem to all be remembering the dark times, finding the lessons and I am so happy to see people lighting up the lives of others.

I’m either sleepy or emotional, but this teary girl’s off to bed.

Love you all!
Karen :)

I like this one too;

"A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." ~Maya Angelou

Last Night’s Silly Dream

Many of you who have read these blogs back far enough probably know my love for ‘The Sound of Music’. As kids, this movie was in our annual rotation along with Christmas classics but since then I have it on DVD and put it in on those really crucial days where I need to have my spirit picked up. I have several films, CDs and books that have specific tasks whether it’s healing, teaching or just to serve as mindless entertainment. Art heals…Laughter heals…Music heals…

In my dream last night, Frank and I were walking out of a downtown building in some unfamiliar city. There was a lot of hustle and bustle but everyone was a modern-day zombie. (not the kind that eat you in movies, but the kind in suits just going to work sucking Java) The energy of this city was really low and we all walked around with a direct destination but none of us knowing where that was. I remember seeing a car slam on the breaks so as not to hit a pedestrian and the pedestrian barely noticed, lifted his coffee to his mouth and continued onward.

As we were walking down a sidewalk, I saw two of my friends from Canada going the way we just came from. We caught their eyes which seemed to be dragging along the cement and I said, "Lunch?" and my girlfriend says, "Fuck ya." They turned and walked in our direction as though they made a big decision to play hooky and were pretty pleased with themselves. lol

As we walked along, her boyfriend walked ahead with Frank and I heard them talking about studio equipment, some old speaker they found at a garage sale and restringing guitars with locking tuners. I turned to my friend and said, "Gosh, I don’t know that I have ever seen you so sad." "Sadness was a while back," she said. I placed my hand on the top of her chest as we walked and said, "Yup, it’s beating but barely." Her analogy was, "Maybe I am reading too much, thinking too much and not feeling very much."

Well this is where dreams don’t make sense. There’s an actor on TV who plays Jacob on Lost and was also in the Dexter TV series walking along and I said, "Hey aren’t you the guy who sings those healing songs?" and my friend just started to giggle. He replied, "I’m an actor on TV." To make a long dream short, I talked him into singing something for her. He pulled a song out of thin air that didn’t make a lot of sense, kind of gibberish... It was a cross between something you’d hear on Sesame Street and something you’d hear on a TV commercial or opening theme for an 80s show. I wish I could remember it because I knew it and sang along with it in my dream, but it made her laugh hysterically. If it ever comes to me, I’ll post it up. I feel like it was close to the Laverne and Shirley theme. That’s the closest feeling I could tell you.

After much annoyance, he left and we sat by a city fountain. She cried uncontrollably, we talked, we hugged each other and then I said, "Come on, let’s catch up with the boys." And we did that kind of Laverne and Shirley dance arm in arm, skipping like a couple of dumbasses and people stopped to stare.

Well listen, I dream all sorts of things that don’t make sense but I felt like as bizarre as this was, I woke up this morning feeling like we can actually get through this cruddy life, ya know? I also realized how much I missed my friends and how much of a loner I have become in the city.

But above all, it’s once again music, silliness and friendship that came to the rescue! Every freaking time! I think life has become so junky, we forget how much power is in that!

It would seem that this assisted my friend, right? But it was a dream…so the healing wasn’t hers but mine. ;)

Hope that whatever has you down, you can immerse yourself in music, silliness and friendship and feel a whole lot better about it all.

And for all of you L & S fans; (HA!)

Have a corny day y’all!
Karen :)

"There is nothing we won’t try…never heard the word impossible…this time there’s no stopping us!" hahahaha!