The Beauty of Human Movement (As In Travel) and Creativity

By Serena Aubrey (Copyright, 2011)

This morning my daily digging around unearthed some photos and videos that blow me away. I began today's internet searching on Facebook, where I clicked on my friend, Tracy Fischer's, travel phlogs. She updated her Wall with a comment about her current travels to Greece. It led me to check out her previous photo albums from her trip last year to Jordan, where she was involved in an archealogical dig in the Wadi Faynan. While there the archeaological group took the opportunity to visit the ancient ruins of Petra. I met Tracy in my Creative Writing: Fiction class, at North Island College  (instructor, Steve Schoenhoff).

Tracy is a beautiful young lady with an intense desire to see and experience the world up-close and personal. She works at a local bar in Cumberland, BC on Vancouver Island, just outside of Courtney, BC. Her daily grind, serving alcohol, belies her vast inner life and desires. I greatly admire her enthusiasm for life and her dedication to travel and the exploration of this amazing planet. I cheat these days. I used to travel extensively, but I see the world now through the lenses of other people's cameras and the pictures they so graciously post on their internet pages so I too may explore, albeit from my desk. Here are some of Tracy's pics from Jordan

downloaded from Tracey's album titled:

 RESIST THE DONKEY

 (click on the images to see them in a larger format)

 Tracy in the Petra ruins

The Pillar of Tracy

Tracy on the Rocks

 An Amazing Feat - Built Right Into the Side of the Mountain

Awesome Ancient Architecture

Tracey's Archeological Group Dwarfed by the Height and Width of This Massive Stone Structure

Tracy's online album made me curious about Petra, so I went on to find out more about this ancient site through a Google search and I ended up on Wikipedia where to my great pleasure I found some videos that I want to share with my readers. They show, in a most awesome way, the creativity of the human mind. Using the resource at hand - SAND - these artists have developed talents that creatively honour their land, their beliefs, their being. The apparent ease with which they create these awesome masterpieces can in no way tell the tale of the many, many hours they must have practised to perfect the style and skill they draw forth from their souls. I am sure you will agree:

If you want to see more of these wonderful demonstrations of art expressed in the sand medium there are countless other videos posted on YouTube. ENJOY!

Photo Credits:
Resist The Donkey Album by Tracy Fischer, Copyright 2010 - All Rights Reserved

Video Credits:

 No. 1, Copyright Sept, 12, 2008 - All Rights Reserved

Sand Bottle Demonstration, Petra, Jordan by daddyliu/YouTube

No. 2, Copyright Jan. 15, 2009 - All Rights Reserved

Sand Art by World Renown Sand Artist David Alcala by sandartist1/YouTube

(Music copyright from Musicshakedotcom - associated with YouTube)

No. 3, Copyright Aug. 26, 2007 - All Rights Reserved

Sand Art Worship Painting by bigjr7769/YouTube

Featuring the art and skill of Mauricio Palacio

(Music copyright info not available)

The Wonder of Consciousness

The YouTube channel The Cosmic Law, uploads some pretty interesting and thought-provoking videos. Watch this one to understand what the Serene Promotions (TM) vision and mission is all about:

POSITIVE THOUGHT being the first step in The New PEACE Paradigm

The Fibonnaci Number concept also says that the spiral pattern repeats itself throughout nature.
CLICK HERE

To learn more about the Fibonnaci number sequence and the spiral concept on Wikipedia.

It will fascinate you! Here is an illustration of the Fibonnaci Spiral in nature:


The Fibonnaci Chrysanthenum

from the Wikipedia article

downloaded from Wikipedia May 29th, 2011

Here You Go - Trip Some Switches

I watched this video last night and found it to be, well pretty awesome....... I think you all will too. Give it time because it eventually turns into a lecture about DNA and the receptor switches we all carry within us in our molecular structure, and how the two major emotions we all feel, FEAR and LOVE, affect our realities. It is very thought-provoking!

If you like this video be sure to SHARE it on your Facebook feed. Trip a switch for LOVE!

Find out more about the heart/brain link by clicking here for www.heartmath.org

You can download the FREE e-book The State of Ease by Doc Childre

Create more flow and balance in your life.

The WRITER'S PAGE is OPERATIONAL!

It did not take all that long to figure out the mechanics and technologies! The WRITER'S PAGE is up and running!

Hit the WRITER'S PAGE tab on the navigation bar above and you will move to our newest function.....

On that page writer's can submit their stories for workshopping on the new handy-dandy submit form, and then once approved for posting the piece can be workshopped through our new forum link. We are hoping it will become a lively exchange of ideas, ideals, concepts, and literary entertainment. Don't be shy.....if you are a writer, give it a try. It is a great way to get feedback on your writing works!

If any one wants to implement a form, or forum on their own blog and would like some help with that, please let me know. I can set it up for you and teach you how to administer them. The possibilities they introduce are tremendous, and they are not that hard to work with.

Without Change, Things Just Don't Move Forward!

By Serena Aubrey (Copyright, 2011 - All Rights Reserved)


Yes indeed! Change is a requirement for forward motion, in all things. My friend and I were discussing this blog yesterday. The blog design, the blog intent, the blog's purpose -- ya know, the blog.


She was hesitant to say what was on her mind, but she plunged ahead and spewed it out. LOL! Oh how I love my friend. She would not hurt me for the world, but neither will she let me continue on in a direction she does not think is OPTIMAL! So we were discussing blog traffic, which this blog has very little of (FOLLOW-er traffic that is) , and what I could possibly do to increase the number of FOLLOW-ers. She had quite a few suggestions for me, all of which I took to heart and gave great consideration to. So now, once again the blog has a new look and feel! Hmmmm, yes, it is a PROCESS, this blogging.


The most insightful comment she made was that I need to open the blog up for reader participation and input. That turned on the inner bulb! So now there is a WRITER'S PAGE where readers are welcome to submit stories they write. There is also a POST NOTICE option that will send an email to your inbox when something new is posted. And there is a QUOTE OF THE DAY link that I send to Facebook everyday.

The WRITER'S PAGE is not yet 100% operational. I still need to find the AUTO-RUN submit code which will allow me to integrate the story submittal form. But I shall have that over the next couple of days. However, in the mean time you can already go to the page and see how it is divee'd up into different forms of writing. I have posted some of my own stories under each heading as examples (well not quite all the headings yet, I still need to post a poem and a bright).

I am also giving more thought to the PEACE PARADIGM. I have decided that I want to become PASSIONATE about PEACE! So you will all hear alot more about this in my future posts. I think this is going to become a big part of the Serene Promotions (TM) brand. Branding is sooooo important in today's marketing strategies. You need a visible, tangible concept that says who you are, what you stand for, and why you stand for it. And you need to know how you are going to express the concept into people's consciousness, You need a plan. The PEACE PARADIGM does that quite nicely for me. It hearkens back to my long lost youth, when I was the typical little "hippie chick" running around all socially conscious in my home-made skirts and dresses that I sewed myself out of East Indian cotton bedspreads, in the appropriate hippie chick styles. Oh yes, the days of Peace, Love, Rock 'n Roll come back full circle! LOL! But that's what life really is isn't it? A circle. Yup!

THE STRANGE NATURE OF MONEY - A Short Story

It Divides Itself, Multiplies and Yet Returns Equal
With the Potential To Increase

By Serena Aubrey (Copyright, 2011)

Elle was at her post on this Monday morning, happily sitting on the cushioned lounger, poolside, just out the back door of the front office of the Palm Springs, Calla Lily Inn. She could hear the buzzer if an arriving guest came in from the street to check in and she could converse with the guests that were slowly emerging from rooms, stretching in the warm southern California sun, to claim their own spot beside the pool. Elle’s sister, Leslie, owns the inn, and whenever she takes off on one of her world-wide jaunts Elle comes in to fill in for her. It is a mutually satisfying arrangement. Elle is quite aware that one of the main functions of her post is to hobnob with the guests and to ensure that all their needs are satisfied. With her delightful and pleasing personality she finds this no great effort, and the guests come away feeling that Elle is one of the most accommodating inn hostesses in all of southern California. They rave about her to Leslie, and Leslie in turn, rewards Elle handsomely for her dedicated customer service. Of course, Leslie would reward Elle handsomely anyway, because she’s family, but it is very pleasing to her that Elle takes to heart the importance of her expectations.

Facebook - Leveling the Social Playing Field

By Serena Aubrey (Copyright, 2011)

I have some cousins on my dad's side that I have only met once in my life. And our lives have been far removed from one another. They grew up in California, while I spent my youth in the household of a dad with wanderlust.

The point is, I never really knew them. But with the advent of Facebook we have come to know one another over the past two years. It's been interesting and fun. I am settled now, living in Vancouver, BC, but I travel the world still, vicariously and voyeuristically through one of my cuzs' travel posts. She is a globetrotter suprema! London last week, a one-day stop at her home in Palm Springs, and Hawaii this week! She loads her posts with tons of pictures with captions that tell you all about what she sees and what she does (btw, I think that is called phlogging). I eagerly check in everyday to see what she's been up to. Her energy blows me out of the water!

HELPERS, GUIDES & GUARDIANS -- Are They Really With Us?

I need YOUR help in writing a feature article for the WAY-FINDER WEEKLY publication. Angels..........Do YOU believe they exist? Have YOU ever experienced, what you thought was divine intervention? Has someone else told YOU they had an Angel encounter? Would YOU share your story with me? -- I would only use your first name, or a pseudonym if you want, in the article. If you would care to help me with some angel research, please visit my blog and take the short survey on the left hand panel next to my posts. It should make for an interesting piece! And here is a YouTube video which has had over 7.3 million views. Read the comments underneath it. It seems there are a lot of folks who believe in the existence of angels.

The Egyptian Magic Ring

The motif for these pieces is the Eye of Horus, a talisman of protection and health. It represents royal power. The design incorporates the Egyptian Lotus Flower in its sides, symbolizing the eternal nature of the soul. The design of the eye also expresses the number 1 and five fractions thereof (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 & 1/32) which represent the five senses. You may pick the stone of your choice.

Clicking the link below will take you to the Ka Gold Jewelry website, where you can view the full line of David Weitzman's collection direct from Israel, and place your order!

Click here to view the entire collection and place orders.

PEACE - The Paradigm For A New Age Economy!

By Serena Aubrey (Copyright, 2011 -- All Rights Reserved)

Positive Thought

Education

Advancement

Collaboration

Entrepreneurship

Changes

By Serena Aubrey (Copyright, 2011 -- All Rights Reserved)

About Regional and Individual Awakenings

It starts as a whisper, and if you don't hear it, it builds a little louder. And if you still manage to ignore it, it becomes a SHOUT! And out of that SHOUT comes CHAOS.

THEO with Sheila Gillette

What is this thing that starts out quietly, and builds until it creates mayhem? Who hears this whisper, this SHOUT?

Thank You To Cousin Elle Once Again!

Under The Milky Way Today - Great Music, Great Images!  --> Click for a wonderful video.

My cousin Elle, in California, is a Master at finding awesome content! I thank her daily for her prolific SHARE-ing!

Immaculee - An Incredible Story of Forgiveness

 Click here to read Immaculee's story---> A Must Read Story

Immaculee Ilibagiza has accepted the Humanity Team 2011 Spiritual Leadership Award. The incredible story of her forgiveness of the perpetrators responsible for killing her entire family, in a frenzy of blood-letting in the Rwanda genocide, will bring you to tears. You will marvel at her generosity of spirit. Learn how the deep, inner belief that she would be saved because she followed the words of Jesus, allowed her to emerge from ninety-one days of hiding, emaciated in body, but greatly evolved in spirit.

A Lotta Work, This Blogging Thing!

Wow! I like the look and feel of the re-design, but holy moly, what a lot of rigamorole to get it just right! Type, save, edit, save, insert, undo, move, crop, save, edit...........a person could spend WAY too much time on this if you don't get a handle on it right quick like!

But then again, the result is pleasing. I think I like it! LOL! GOODNIGHT!

THE STORY OF THE SEVEN SACRED STONES LOGO

By Serena Aubrey (Copyright, 2011 -- All Rights Reserved)

In the process of being developed, the Way-Finder Weekly (TM) came into being due to my return to school and the subsequent topics I chose to pursue as subject matter for my assignments. The topic for my first essay was Positive Thinking and the Law of Attraction, which led me on a two-year journey of discovery and enlightenment. Like Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret (2006), I found a wealth of uplifting material that drove me ever on to find more. There's no going back now; my purpose for this life I live has finally been revealed and I revel in the dream of sharing the knowledge I uncover with others.

Way-finding is a term I pinched from my cousin's graphic design website. One of the major contracts his firm landed was to create a coordinated system of signage and way-finding for a local district's parks system. Way-finding -- the term immediately caught my eye and became instantly and permanently anchored to my project; because that is what awakening and enlightenment is all about -- finding your way, discovering your purpose, deciding on a new path.

So the name of the planned publication had been divined, but now a logo was required. One that would appropriately represent the spirit and vision of the publication. I came upon a stone in, of all places, the laundry room in my apartment building. White and smooth, it attracted me enough that I picked it up. As I held it in my hand it became very evident to me that this was some one's thinking stone ; a personal talisman that had been worn smooth over a long, long length of time, rubbed between their fingers, probably as they contemplated inner questions. I felt as if I was being intrusive, that I had found a lost treasure that needed to be returned. I took it to the rental office and asked my friend Natalie if she would mind taking a digital picture of it so I could post it in the laundry room. She looked at me like, "Hmmmm, this tenant has lost her mind."

I explained to her that it was a thinking stone and whoever had lost it would miss it; that their spirit was likely now part of that stone. She understood THAT! Looking horrified she dropped it immediately like a hot rock (pardon the pun). She told me that if anyone came asking she would direct him/her to me. There was no way she was going to take a picture of that stone and risk contaminating herself with some one else's spirit.

At any rate, no one came a-calling for that stone, so it sat on my desk as I studied and wrote and planned and expanded my vision. I would pick it up and rub it when I was stymied by some aspect of my product development, and slowly that stone began to become my stone. An idea started to bubble in my mind about using it in the logo and soon I began to collect other small stones. I was thinking of an Inukshuk concept, but on a spiritual level. Inukshuk are a traditional Inuit means of establishing a trail on a barren, inhospitable Arctic landscape; the way-finding concept again!

The power of chakras also intrigues me. Belief in chakras, the seven energy vortexes of our physical and spiritual beings, dates back to early Hindu and Buddhist concepts -- that is some enduring belief -- almost 5,000 years old! And also a concept that resonates within me.

So, an inukshuk that incorporates the concept of the chakras. For the background I thought to use a piece of cloth that I have incorporated into a quilt I am constructing for my son. Black with silver flecks, it reminds me of a star-filled night -- the cosmos. The imagery seemed consistent with my intention.

Sylvia Browne, in her book titled Phenomenon (2005), wrote that talismans hold no real power. The power is completely centered in one's belief. However, having an outward sign of your inner belief helps one to keep grounded in that belief. It is an affirmation of what we have decided our inner truth is. And it is an indication of our intention to live a wholesome, healthy, enlightened life, mindful of the rights of all our fellow human beings to decide their own inner truth. It is an affirmation of tolerance.

And although I know these stones, are just stones, they are now my stones. And that makes them sacred to me. I would be bereft if I were to lose them now. I used that cosmos cloth (with a deep violet, velvet lining) to fashion a pouch I keep them in. I anoint them with oil, now and again, because the shine pleases me. I spritz them with my perfume now and again, because that too pleases me, that they reflect my scent. Do they now hold an energetic impulse of mine? I believe they do. If I feel energetically misaligned I place them in the chakra order I assigned them and I concentrate on releasing all tension from each of those energy vortexes and it brings me back to an even keel.

The Seven Sacred Stones are arranged thusly:

Crown Chakra

Brow Chakra (Third Eye)

Throat Chakra

Heart Chakra

Solar Plexus Chakra

Spleen Chakra

Root Chakra


CLICK HERE to read the second part of the Seven Sacred Stones story:
An Outward Expression of the Practice of the Presence of God
Honouring the Elements

SACRED JEWELRY - A Digital Catalogue of Mysticism

To view the entire Ka Gold Jewelry Collection, and to purchase your favourite pieces, please click here.

The Seven Sacred Stones: An Outward Expression of the Practice of the Presence of God -- Honouring the Elements

Last Weeks post offered an explanation for the Sacred Stones Logo. This week I offer an expansion upon why the stones may be considered sacred, and why these particular seven stones honour the four elements that sustain humanity.

Over the past two years I have come to understand that spirituality is in part a study and contemplation of the natural law and order of the Universe; that it should include a deep and abiding honour for the four elements that all life on earth depend on. The elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire sustain life, can destroy life, and can re-build life. It behoves us, as mere humans dependent upon these elements, to both respect and honour the forces that nourish our existence.

Carrying and safe-guarding these Seven Sacred Stones has helped me to cultivate a deeper perspective of the reality of our existence. These rocks that were found and claimed as my spiritual talisman are........ancient. These rocks have been here, on this planet, since the beginning of time. They are part of the original Creation. They are millions of years old. Compared to the mere five decades I have walked this planet, these Seven Sacred Stones have far more history than I; they have been gathering up and resonating out, the living current of the Creator's life impulses for ever.

Consider the possible history of the white stone, the one found in the laundry room of my apartment building(with a predominantly Oriental tenant-base); it likely was brought here from another country. Perhaps an immigrant brought it along from their homeland. That immigrant would have held that stone in his/her hand on their journey here; rubbing it in their fingers as they wondered what their new life would be like, as they worried about leaving all they knew behind. Those feelings of hope and regret would have left a psychic imprint upon that stone, just as now, the intention of my hopes are transfered to it as I sit at my desk, writing articles and planning the development of an enterprise.

These Seven Sacred Stones have an energy within them. A power to change an attitude. When I appointed this set of stones as my personal representation of the Earth beneath my feet, I began to consider all the wounds we inflict upon this Mother Earth that sustains us. As I walk my sons's dog I am no longer able to walk past garbage. I carry two bags now when I walk Mr. Hugo the pug: one for his waste and one for the waste carelessly thrown on the ground that I happen upon. It takes mere seconds to bend down and pick it up.

The surfaces of these Seven Sacred Stones are very smooth; so smooth they remind me of the perfect skin on my babies. As new-borns I would hold them and rub my forefinger along the soft, soft smooth skin on their cheeks, arms, or back. The touch was soothing for both the baby and myself and helped create the deep bond so necessary for a psychologically healthy baby, while generating an incredible feeling of protectiveness and profound caring deep within my heart and soul.

I find now that the bond between myself and these Seven Sacred Stones has stirred a similar protective, caring attitude towards this greatly wounded planet we live on. I gently rub the stones and consider what I can do to improve our relationship. I contemplate the great Universal currents that keep everything orbiting and operating according to the natural order created in the beginning of time with the Breath of the One, upon his Word.

So are they just stones? Not any more. They are now my personal connection with the Great Force at work in the Universe, helping to ground me and keep me congruent with the Will of our most Gracious Creator. They are what Lay-Brother Lawrence (a humble kitchen servant in a 1600's Carmelite monastery) called, the Practice of the Presence of God. They are what will keep me consciously mindful of what I need to do to clean up, protect and nurture the ground beneath my feet. And if I am mindful, perhaps my neighbours will be too, and their neighbours too....................

CLICK HERE to return to the WRITER'S PAGE

FOLLOWING THE LEAD OF EXEMPLARY LEADERS

By Serena Aubrey (Copyright, 2011 -- All Rights Reserved)

In JESUS, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom For Visionary Leadership (1995), Laurie Beth Jones wrote:

Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the greatest leaders of our time, personally supported a number of students financially. I once read an article that said a young man remembered getting checks for $75 per month, made [out] and signed by Eleanor Roosevelt on her personal account. He said he received those checks for years, even after she ceased to be the First Lady. It would have been much easier for her to refer him to some giant scholarship committee, maybe even write him a nice recommendation letter. However, she was personally committed to education and supporting students she felt were worthy. She supported more than twenty-five students out of her own personal funds.

On December 9, 2010 the Wall Street Journal podcast, digits, interviewed Jason Franklin, adjunct professor of philanthropy at NYU. Franklin is also the Executive Director of BOLDER GIVING, an organization whose call to action is: GIVE MORE. RISK MORE. INSPIRE MORE. Their mission is to inspire and support people to give at their full, lifetime potential (http://www.boldergiving.org/).

Email Sent To The Canadian Gals With Passion & Purpose Community

As a way of sharing the path I walk in creating the Serene Promotions (TM) enterprise, and the entities associated with it, I will post the steps I take in the development of my vision.

I joined the BraveHeart Women Global Community on Nov. 28th, 2010. Ellie Drake's social and business platform gives members an opportunity to create seperate communites within her community. Immediately I saw the potential of creating a Canadian Community. BUT, one must be a CORE member in order to create such communities. To join the site is free, but to become a CORE member it costs $27 per month, or $197 per year. Although I think it is worthwhile, I can't afford this right now. So I began to think of ways I could circumvent the requirement until such time that I can afford to become a CORE member -- which I most certainly intend to do ASAP.

What Would It Look Like?

A rather lengthy video clip (25 minutes), this piece asks WHAT IF? Thought provoking, it leads to contemplation of what each of us needs to do in order to turn the tides of the effects of human progress on the earth, and how to achieve oneness of global intent without giving up diversity of culture.