FAITH

Hi there readers. On the 21st December 2012 there was a prediction that the world would end. I found this fascinating, not because it was predicted via a Mayan prophecy, but because I had no idea that the world was about to end. I only found out recently that this particular date had more than one special moment.

A few weeks prior to the 21 December 2012, I did hear that an incredible shift in spiritual energy would occur on this day and that 11.11am was the most powerful moment that this energy would enter our world. This news got me excited. I have spent many years communing with nature, meditating and healing myself and others using the energy that I have inherited that lies within. I have never questioned this because I just know that it exists. Now I know you are all going to ask me the question 'how is it possible that as an academic I could believe that an energy that is not tangible nor physically visible exist?' Its a valid question and I am not sure that I am able to answer this question, because some things just are. There are no explanations, there are no scientific measurements or proof of life type of evidence. Sometimes there just is.

Now I know that is a little difficult for some people to understand, but you see sometimes you just have to accept what is, without analysis and have faith that it is there. 

The interesting thing to add to this debate is that my faith in the universe to deliver what ever I need to meet my requirements during this life comes to me with ease. For example prior to the 21 December, 2012 a colleague, who has become a friend, asked me to take a ride somewhere (she wasn't sure where) to meditate with her on the 21 December 2012. At first I hesitated because I have been so busy being academic that I have not meditated in the nature setting for over 2 years. I have meditated in doors, however I have not been consistent due to the pressure of academic responsibilities and timelines to deliver. My hesitation only lasted a few seconds, then I agreed. We worked out that we would take a ride to Margaret River on the day in question and meditate and commune with nature. However, over the next few weeks, things got extremely tense within my employment space and we where both a little unsure as to whether the plan to meditate would actually eventuate.

After a little bit of tension we got together over coffee and agreed that we would keep to the plan and make one exception, that we would change the venue. Despite the tension that was happening within our workplace my friend and I had overcome the challenges and managed to agree to another place closer to home that met her needs rather than mine, for I never plan anything to such a degree. Generally I say yes and head off into the wide blue yonder with absolutely no idea where, when or how. I do this a lot because I love the surprise that the universe provides me when I reach the destination. Now having said that the only thing that we planned was that we would take food and that we would head to Guilderton. It was the best plan ever. When we arrived we were spiritually guided (some call this instinct) to the perfect spot to commune with nature, meditate in peace and quiet and listen to the sounds of the universe. It was amazing with incredible results. Now the most interesting thing about this journey was that I, who has been very caught up in the earthly plane of existence had rebalanced myself on the day in question , reconnected with my ancestors (one in particular who has walked beside me for many many years), my spirit guides and angels, and it felt wonderful to be alive. In my quest for academia I had forgotten to maintain my spirituality in the way that my ancestors had taught me. I will from now on maintain what has been gifted to me for it was the most incredibly joyous moment of rebirth that I have had in a long time.

I write this as a thank you to the universe.

Now the prophecy was interpreted to say that the world would end on the 21 December 2012. As you all know nothing tangible or visible actually happened to end the world. However, what if the prophecy is interpreted too literally or misinterpreted? I ask this question because after the experience that I had on the day in question and the ongoing experiences that I am now having since that day, I can honestly say that the world ended as we know it. There is a different energy around me and within me and if you let go of the earthly world of existence and FEEL the energy of nature you will FEEL the unseen, you too will FEEL what I am FEELING. Spiritual energy is a FEELING, it is not something that is measurable, although some modern day scientists are saying that spiritual energy may be measurable. My understanding of spiritual energy is that it is a FEELING! I have total faith in this feeling and as a rule I generally act on these FEELINGS because I know that these FEELINGS are guiding me in the direction that I need to take. 

Here is an example of a FEELING that I received recently and acted on. On the 23 December 2012 I was walking from my kitchen to my room. On the way to my room there is a long thin cupboard near a wall that we call the 'stuff' cupboard. The kids nicknamed it the 'stuff' cupboard because everyone drops their 'stuff' on it as they walk from the kitchen to their bedrooms. The 'stuff' cupboard had the beginnings of wrapped Christmas gifts piling on top of it. As I walked past the 'stuff' cupboard I suddenly turned and headed straight towards it because out of the corner of my eye I had noticed a book laying open with the pages face down. The book was obviously very well read and worn. The title of the book was visible. Suddenly I had the most intense FEELING of sheer excitement and could not believe what I was seeing.The book was 'The Secret'. Now I had watched the DVD of 'The Secret' when it first came out and opted not to read the book. I had forgotten all about it since it's initial run into the open market because at the time I did not find it interesting. Yet here it was in my living room on the 'stuff' cupboard, laying open and shouting at me 'READ ME' and I had a FEELING of sheer excitement. I looked around to see who was coming to claim it, then I realised I was the only one home. I picked it up and began reading it. I took it to my room, made myself comfortable on my bed and began reading. The interesting thing about this event is not the book itself but the FEELING of sheer joy that I had when I first saw this book and the FEELING of urgency to read the book. I have not questioned where the book came from, although my 'fly girl' was looking for it, not because she was avidly reading it, but because one of her dearest friends had loan her the book to read and she thought she had lost it. I told her that I had it and may I please finish reading it. She sort of grunted at me whilst turning her lip up and nodding her head to the side which I interpreted as 'yeah sure'. I have read the book. 

Interesting story but what does it have to do with the prophecy and my experience on the 21 December 2012? Good question. Since the day in question I have been receiving positive FEELINGS that are so strong and intense that I am acting on these positive FEELINGS and experiencing incredible results. I have no idea why I was asked to read 'The Secret' but what I do know is that I FEEL really excited about it. And that excitement is still with me. 'The Secret' is about FEELINGS and positive thoughts that we emit in the form of energy. If we emit positive thoughts that makes us FEEL good then we receive good things back. Now the interesting thing about 'The Secret' is that it explains this energy as something that has many different names yet has the same description. Some for example call this energy God, others call it Buddha, others call it Karma. It doesn't matter what you call it this energy is described as the all seeing, all knowing, all creating, all loving energy of LIFE and that this LIFE force is within each and every one of us. 'The Secret' teaches you how to tap into this energy that we all have just like I tapped into the Energy that appeared in our world on the 21 December 2012.

As I said in the beginning of this blog, some things you don't question, some things just are. This is one of those things that just is. 

Acceptance of what is without explanation is the most amazing thing that you can ever do because it means that you let go of the teachings of a man made earthly existence and let yourself be transformed by the power of spiritual energy that just is. It means that you have FAITH!

Life is good!

Tired

I have had an interesting couple of weeks spending my time intensely editing my thesis and rewriting and editing and rewriting and editing and rewriting and editing...and so it went. But the good news is that my thesis was submitted by the due date and all is well in the land of Barb.

However, due to the late nights staying up studying (I work full time so nights were the only time I had free and weekends of course) I think that I went past that time when you know you are over tired, but some how you just keep going until you finish what you have to do. Im not complaining because I love studying and I love reading, so studying was not a chore. It was more of a 'I ran out of time' to study thing. I had to sleep at some stage so that I could go to work. The point being that I wore myself out. Literally. 

I am currently suffering from a jet lag type of fatigue, or maybe a better way to describe it would be delayed fatigue. On Monday, the day that I submitted my thesis, I felt so happy and excited, there was a sense of well being, euphoria and a host of other emotions that went through my mind and my body. Achieving ones goals is so satisfying. Despite these emotions I did not visibly display how I was feeling because I did not feel the urge to do that. You see although there was all this intense emotional euphoria going on inside of me, I also felt the urge to be really quiet, to be still. It was an odd sensation. 

Today, Tuesday, I had to drag myself out of bed to get to work. I got up early because I did not have to take the beast to school this morning, which also meant that if I left early for work I could leave work earlier. Tuning into my body, I felt extremely tired this morning, I was pleased to get to work early. The interesting thing is that my day went fast but I went slow. Really slow to the point of being a snail. It was a weird sensation.

I left work early and upon my arrival at home I hit the treadmill. I hit the treadmill thinking that a good jog would wake up my body, that by now is feeling like its about to shut down. I ran at an enjoyable pace and felt the tension leave me. I sighed with pleasure, it was relaxing and I felt good. I jumped off the treadmill, hit the shower, cooled off, dried myself and got dressed and then passed out on my bed. Oh my god what a granny. I can not believe that I did that. My fabulous children came home to find me snoring my head off in my room at 6pm. They were in shock. Usually at that time of night I am in full mummy swing, cooking, cleaning, watering plants, sweeping floors etc etc etc. It was amazing. 

The kids were stunned. They both stood in my bedroom door, trying to lower their voices which actually woke me up from my concussion (Im sure thats what it was), as I rolled over to look at them through the crescent opening of my eyelids, my daughter said, 'oh poor mum, you look really tired and we woke you up'. My son said 'are you asleep?'. 

I muttered a response however words didn't seem to want to form in my mouth because I had trouble moving my jaw. They both stood there a few minutes and looked at me a bit longer, this time quietly, then my son said 'we'll shut the door and let you sleep'. 

Of course that was it, I was now awake. I dragged myself out of bed and went to the kitchen to have a chat with the kids. I opted not to cook and we ordered out. The beast surfaced from her bed at the sound of us tinkering away in the kitchen and joined the harmony. I was quiet. I listened to the chatter of my children and the routine goings on of feeding dogs, cats and ourselves. 

As I ate, my daughter said to me, 'you look really tired'. I nodded. My son said 'you look really clean'. Well that just cracked me up laughing. Boys brains are so interesting. They work completely differently to girls and in our house, my son being the only boy, it is really noticeable. My daughter is often heard to say 'he is such a boy brain'. My daughter gives her brother this look, and he goes 'what' and raises his arms, then he turns back to me and says 'well you do'. Made me wonder what I look like when I haven't had a shower...lol

Dinner all over and I headed back to my room. I am now resting, tuning into my body and blogging. I still feel tired. My body is tired. My brain is tired, and I am tired. 

Satisfied, but tired. 

Life is good!

Editing and Procrastination

I have spent the past four weeks madly editing my thesis leaving little time for myself or for enjoying the good things in life. Not that I am complaining but I am having trouble finalising my work. My thesis subject matter is deep and meaningful and it is something that I am passionate about. The subject matter is close to my lived experiences therefore it is requiring me to put aside my personal thoughts and focus on the academic paradigm of an anthropology discourse in order for me to gain good grades.

The issue that I have had previously is that I was struggling with sifting through the information to make some sense of what it is I am really trying to say. Having said that I managed to put my thoughts in order and deliver a coherent and clear argument, however I have just realised that although my thoughts about my subject matter are coherent and clear, I am having problems finalising the task of editing. 

Is it boredom, is it lack of wanting to finish it, or is it because I have a short attention span which I gladly own up to? I am not sure what is going on, but what I do know is that I only have 5 more days to finalise my thesis and submit it. 

I feel a big sigh coming on! The interesting thing is that I do not feel stressed or that I need more time. I have written my thesis, I have read through it and it is coherent. I am clear and have remained focused on my argument. it is the editing that is driving me insane and referencing the parts that need tidying up. 

I think the issue is that once I achieve what I set out to do I have difficulty returning to it, so maybe this is why I am struggling to finalise my thesis, or maybe I am just waiting for the last minute because I love working under pressure, it keeps the adrenaline pumping and motivates me to remain focused. 

So MF some clarity here would be welcomed.

On that note I am signing off to go back to work on editing my thesis or to think about editing my thesis. There is always tomorrow night, less stress it will get done.

Life is good!

Artistic Images of Life

As a visual artist I appreciate anybody who can take an artistic photograph and create an expression that hits your emotions. Occasionally my fabulously wonderful children delight me with their antics. While they are having fun they can also produce some very interesting imagery that reminds me of how beautifully artistic photographs can be. Check these out?

I love this image. It is my youngest child having fun with her friend who took this photograph with her phone camera. Very artistic image. I can see the playfulness in her eyes yet it has a sense of disturbance about it all at the same time.

This is the dinner that my son cooked and served up for me one night. Made me laugh I have to say....lol

  

   'Learning to fly' Life imitating ART. (Image of Cockatoo by Patricia House). 

How wonderful is this. My son the majestic bird. When I first saw this image of the cockatoo photographed by Patricia House, I instantly connected this to my sons antics on his bike. How amazing the similarities.

Art is a fascinating journey of life and it never ceases to amaze me how the relationship between art and life lives a parallel existence. 

Enjoy!

Life is good! 

Destruction of Aboriginal Heritage Sites

Recently I was updating on issues surrounding aboriginal heritage in Western Australia, in particular the destruction of aboriginal heritage sites by FMG. A close friend of mine passed on through my email network some information that distressed me. 

It appears that FMG have destroyed aboriginal heritage sites, either deliberately or not, during the clearing of land for the construction of the Solomon Mine. 

I spent the day at work on Thursday pondering the consequences of what FMG had done and why? I also spent a lot of time trying to get over my anger. Why is it that we denigrate aboriginal history so easily and not think about the consequences? Why is it that aboriginal ethnography is considered to be unimportant because it is oral and not written lore. I found that the destruction of aboriginal heritage sites made me feel sick in the stomach. And even though it is not my particular country that the sites are in I feel as though I have been moved aside because I am unimportant. The reason I feel this way is because aboriginal sites are about our lore, our culture, our lifestyle, our law and our survival. It is the one thing that teaches us how to live and survive. It is who we are. 

Interestingly one of my colleagues who is also aboriginal, asked me how I felt about the destruction caused by FMG's lack of care and lack of due diligence. At the time I felt miserable. My response to the question my colleague had asked was 'I feel distressed'. It distresses me that money is more important than culture and heritage. It distresses me even more that FMG are trying to get out of being prosecuted by laying the blame at the feet of the archaeologist who conducted the research. I am distressed that our Minister for Indigenous Affairs signed the section 18 consent in direct violation of the recommendations of the ACMC. It distresses me that the heritage that has been destroyed is not retrievable. It distresses me that we continually allow mining magnates to dictate the rules of engagement and that those rules change when ever it suits them not us. It distresses me.

Why do we have an aboriginal heritage act if it is allowed to be misused? Why does our government pretend to care when this particular chain of events has shown that this government does not care at all. I am distressed by this and I am in pain. I have lost my faith in government, again.

In previous blogs I have tried to share the feeling and importance of being one with country and how that connection is within ourselves as a people. Aboriginal australians no matter where they live are born with this genetic inheritance of connection to country, nature and life itself. We are one. I cannot describe the pain that the destruction of heritage sites has caused me. I fail to understand the stupidity of this act that violates the Yindjibarndi people. Words are failing me in my distress.

I have attached some links for you all to check out. Please make the effort to check out the links. Changing the world requires us to sometimes raise our voice in protest even if that goes against our usual way of doing things. For if we do not raise our voices this senseless destruction of aboriginal heritage sites will not stop here. Eventually it will come to your town and it won't be aboriginal, it will be a heritage site that is of importance to non-indigenous people and government will dismiss it as unimportant because the drive to make money will over ride the desire to preserve the important things in life.

Don't wait until its on your doorstep. Raise you voice in concern for the lack of decision making by our government that affects all our lives.

Links to check out:

http://yindjibarndi.org.au/yindjibarndi/

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/323674/no-legal-action-for-fmg-over-sacred-site-desecration/?cs=12

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-12/fmg-admits-indigenous-sites-were-damaged/4256466/?site=indigenous

Today life is not so good!