Thoughts on Beauty

Unless you've been living under a rock, by now you have certainly seen the video of Susan Boyle's powerful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" on Britain's Got Talent.
The first time I saw it, I cringed in the beginning when the judges and audience members snickered and rolled their eyes when Ms. Boyle, a chubby lady with bushy eyebrows, a bad haircut and a matronly dress came out on stage affirming she wanted to become a famous singer. I read the background story about how she had been ridiculed and teased as a child. This brought back memories of my own grade school years. I too was the awkward, quiet kid who was relentlessly teased. My heart went out to her. But Susan looked the judges in the eyes, wiggled her hips in a display of confidence, flashed an adorable smile and began to sing. Suddenly her inner beauty radiated out for all to see. Simon's snark melted instantly to a look that could only be described as pure love. In subsequent interviews Susan has continued to show her real beauty. She does not want to be made over or changed. She is happy with herself the way she is. She is humble yet confident, and despite her challenges, she is following her dream. She is a role model for all of us. Rock on Susan!

PimpThisBum: Horrible name, great project

A few days ago I found this website. Understandably, I bristled at the name. Some advocates are not pleased about it as they feel it exploits the homeless. As I read more about the project, it began to make sense. The creators are a father and son team who are trying to promote their new business while learning the ins and outs of viral marketing. The edgy name is part of their strategy.
They originally thought of promoting a small local business, but instead decided to do something completely different - help a homeless person.
This is a true win-win solution! They are helping another while building their business, but more importantly, they are giving their viewers the opportunity to see the homeless as worthy human souls. Tim is an amazing guy. He may be living on the street, but I think he has more dignity and integrity than all of the high rollers on Wall Street and Washington lobbyists combined... It is my understanding that Tim is off to start rehab today. My thoughts and prayers are with him.

This is my favorite video from the site:

Our New President wants our input!!!

This is amazing! President-elect Barack Obama has a website dedicated to getting OUR input on what WE THE PEOPLE feel is most important. Like many others, I have just recently begun to take an interest in politics, in the face of the worst presidential administration I have seen in my lifetime. Barack Obama may not be perfect, and I'm sure he will make mistakes, but since the first time I saw him on the national stage I felt that this is an honest man, one who truly cares about the kind of world his children will inherit. With our economy broken, two pre-emptive wars and a government that has become OF THE CORPORATIONS, BY THE CORPORATIONS, our new president has his work cut out for him. We need to stay involved, and make sure our leaders continue to hear OUR voices. I have been writing to my congresspeople and senators for a few years now. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to write to the president and feel that there might be a chance of having my voice heard. Please join me in writing a note to Mr. Obama.

Here is my letter:

First of all, congratulations on your historic victory. As an ardent supporter of yours, I feel honored to be a part of history at this time.

As the first successful campaign to be overwhelmingly supported by small donations from millions of ordinary American people like myself, I hope that you will always work for us and repudiate the influence of special interests and lobbyists. This must start immediately in terms of regulating the expenses of all the companies which received bailout money. It is unconscionable that any executives of these companies be receiving multi-million dollar payouts, or throwing lavish company parties at the expense of taxpayers and shareholders.

Job creation should be at the forefront of your efforts. Give generous tax incentives to companies which create jobs here in the U.S. and raise taxes on those which are offshoring jobs. Raise import tariffs on goods that we can produce here.
"Green-collar jobs" should also be a huge priority. More tax incentives to producers and consumers of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Any bailout for the auto industry must also be accompanied by strict requirements to dramatically increase efficiency in a very short time frame.

Health care is of course another very urgent need. I know it is a complex task, and we don't necessarily want socialized medicine, but start by regulating the insurance industry. Require companies to provide coverage and to pool clients either by state or region. Institute caps on premiums. All premiums should be fully tax-deductible to whomever pays them (employers or individuals). Here is an idea: institute a nominal (1% or less) national sales tax on unhealthful items such as tobacco, alcohol and fast food to offset the tax deduction. Preventive medicine and integrative/holistic healthcare and education should be the cornerstone of a healthy society.

Of course one of the biggest concerns, and the largest drain on our national resources are the wars being waged in the Middle East. We need to get out of Iraq immediately while working on a withdrawal plan to get out of Afghanistan. If we MUST stay there longer, we need to work with our allies to get more assistance from them rather than shouldering the entire burden ourselves.

And most importantly, NO MORE PRE-EMPTIVE WAR!!! STOP the military-industrial complex. This goes back to being beholden to the people instead of the corporations that are profiting from the blood of innocent people.

No more unconditional support for Israel. They are our allies, yes, but as I see it they have been calling the shots. We need to use diplomacy to get them to play nice with their neighbors and renounce their actions when they overstep their boundaries.

These steps are just the beginning, but there is so much more to do. The system has been broken for a long time. It truly needs to be torn down and rebuilt so that Government once again becomes a servant of the people rather than of the corporations.

Once again, I am very happy to see that there will be sane and rational adult supervision in the White House. I will be paying close attention to your work as it unfolds, and am committed to doing my part in my community. I look forward to seeing the United States once more fulfill its promise as a beacon of hope and prosperity in the world. Yes we can!

Best regards,
Suzanne Ledo

The Circle of Life

Last Monday, a dear friend of mine transitioned from this life. Deidra was a beautiful woman with a zest for life, a perennial smile and an infectious laugh.
We met online in July 2004, as we had both recently started riding motorcycles and were looking for like-minded people to ride with.

We hit it off immediately. At the time when we met, I had recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer, and was scheduled to have a hysterectomy at the end of August. She visited me in the hospital, brought me fruit and ice cream and made me laugh during my recovery.

A few weeks later, I got an invite from the Gypsy Riders, a local women's motorcycle group. She and I attended a meeting and found a special, warm group of women who welcomed us with open arms.

A few months later, Deidra was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery and chemo, and started to recover beautifully. I talked her into joining me on a trip to the Bahamas to swim with wild dolphins in November 2005. It was the trip of a lifetime for both of us.

A few months later, I ended up dropping out of the group, quit riding and took another direction. She found her place with the Gypsies. She found a special family.
I am sad that I did not get to spend more time with her, but the times we had will be in my memory forever.

With her passing, I have reconnected with several of the Gypsy women whom I really love, and that is a blessing. I am also very grateful that I was able to say goodbye to her on her final night in physical form.

She is free now. Though it is hard for those left behind who loved her, this is what her soul chose. We don't need to say goodbye, only so long, until we meet again. Ride on, dear sister!

Finding my path...

I have been on a spiritual search for many years. I had never found any one belief system that really resonated with me, until I began the medicine wheel last year. These teachings are based on Incan Q'ero shamanism, which, like other Native American spiritualities, is very earth-based and grounded.
There is something very special and magical about this experiential path.
I have learned more about myself in the last 8 months than with all my other spiritual studies over the past twenty years. This is a path with heart.
I was inspired to create this video with some photos I took on our retreat last weekend for the direction of the North.



The animal pictures in the beginning of the presentation are not mine - I found them on Google. The Serpent, Jaguar, Hummingbird and Eagle/Condor represent the four directions. Serpent, the south, is about shedding our past and programming the way she sheds her skin. Jaguar is the west, moving beyond our fear of death so that we can fully embrace life. Hummingbird is the North, where we learn to drink directly from the nectar of life. Eagle/Condor is the East, where we fully step into our power as a luminous warrior, with vision and enlightenment.

If anyone is interested in learning more about this path, please visit my teacher's website, Dreamtime Publications. John is a fantastic teacher, and a visionary soul who has stepped into his power by following his heart.

I also highly recommend the Merritt Center, where our retreats are held in Payson, AZ. Betty and her husband Al have been hosting retreats of all types since the 1980's in this gorgeous space. She does an awesome service for returning veterans who have suffered the horrors of war. She holds several free retreats a year for groups of men and women to help them heal their trauma so they can integrate back into society as fully functioning beings. Thank you Betty and Al for your selfless service!

Finally I want to acknowledge the beautiful music, called "Prayer Song" that I used for this video. Robby Romero and his band Red Thunder is more than just Native American music. He has begun a movement designed to bring awareness of Native people, and our need to respect and protect our mother Earth.

Photography

During my cocooning phase over the last 9 months, I've found several hobbies and creative outlets. Besides the videos, I also re-discovered my love of photography. I have boxes of photos that I need to organize, and I sort of got tired of taking pictures, getting them developed, only to find a few good shots in the whole batch.

I don't know why I never got around to getting a digital camera. I'm a cheapskate, I suppose, so I'm always lagging behind on the technology. I'd been in the market for a digital camera for over a year, and also couldn't figure out which camera I wanted. Finally, on an impulse I found my Panasonic TZ3 on sale at Costco the week after Christmas. So, Merry Christmas to me. I love this little camera.

Check out my photos on Flickr

What I've been up to...

I've been a slacker. No blog posts since last June.
Since that time, life has been a blur of changes. I've let go of a lot which no longer served me. I've been rediscovering my creativity. Art was a huge childhood passion of mine. I've also been exploring a new path of Q'ero shamanism. It involves a lot of inner work, a lot of soul searching, a lot of mental housecleaning, and some lessons that are not so easy to learn.
The most profound thing I've had to face is how we are all mirrors for each other. If we love or hate something about someone, it is reflecting something we love or hate about ourselves. No exceptions! This is hard to process sometimes, especially the negative stuff. But life is all about the lessons.
One of my newfound passions is making videos that are spiritually guided. This one speaks to the circle of life and the lessons we have come here to learn.



You can check out my other videos on my YouTube channel.