Advent Calendar:7th Day of Christmas and Old Year's Day-Reflections!

Meady’s Musings Production apologizes for not keeping up with the calendar and the twelve days of Christmas from the 4th to 6th days of Christmas. However she (Meady herself), the Purple Elephant and even the little mouse have all caught some great big colds! The Purple Elephant believes we got it from Rudolph’s red, runny nose as we were nursing sick reindeer while Santa used our donkey with cart instead this year!

However with a whole house full of sick it’s hard to figure out who should nurse who? And so we were all very unclear as to what to do! Also in an attempt to keep bread on the table for all at the house Meady still had to go out to her full time job so it was near impossible to put up gifts of blog posts. Most of the house guests will be gone by the end of today as the 7th Day of Christmas and Old Year’s Day is here…and all are excited to usher in the New Year!

So, on the today calendar we have made it here, to give you a gift of a blog post olé! As we present…Reflections!

Here is how it will be presented on all three blogs our Reflections on 2009:

-On Meady’s Musings: Our favourite blog posts we shared with you or things we did!

-On UCP: Some of our most profoundly divine and moving moments in UCP!

-On Books and Films Corner: We recall some of the movies we enjoyed this year!


SOME FILMS WE ENJOYED THIS YEAR!

Now this blog has not been very active this year and I only reopened it for my Advent calendar...I will contemplate in early 2010 if I have the strength and will to keep it going...so there is not much to reflect on...but in Feb of 2009 I posted during the Academy awards till then some of the films I had seen most of them were in the period Jan to Feb 2009 (at least that was when they showed on cinema screens in Trinidad and Tobago) although some were from the year before...

To me good films were rare otherwise this year and since then I liked and enjoyed these three and I couldn't believe Spock had a girlfriend!:




In 2010 I hope to see early on Legion and I can't wait for Alice in Wonderland!:)

Advent Calendar:27 Dec 09-The Third Day of Christmas: These are Some of My Favourite Things!

Most of the animals and people are now dispersing from Meady's Musings Production house catching their respective flights, donkey backs or simply on foot like the monkeys heading back to the streets...hopefully reformed especially after witnessing miracles! The purple elephant and little mouse have helped them secure jobs in some tea shops and other places...One of them learnt to be a barber while in the house (trained by a bear). And one decided to go off with the shepherds to help them herd their sheep! So the house is getting quieter and quieter...the baby that was born is still with us but word has come through the shepherds that they too should be on the move soon since people are looking for them!

So things are winding down here on the calendar but we are still celebrating the twelve days of Christmas as promised! So on today the third day of Christmas I share with you three of my favourite things that I've discovered this year relevant to each blog...

-On Meady's Musings:Three things to eat!
-On UCP:Three of my favourite carols/bhajans/chants!
-On Books and Films Corner:Two Books and a Movie!

TWO BOOKS AND A MOVIE

Here are two books and a movie that I've really liked this year (not necessarily published this year)...I have to say although I blog less about books on this blog and more about films...it was much harder to find a movie than it was to find the two books!

1. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie: Salman Rushdie at it again! His work is always top of the line in terms of wit! Nothing will be like Midnight's Children but it's good!




2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows: Just love the letter writing!:)



3. Star Trek (2009)-Awesome! And with all the hype that is 2012 and Avatar this was the only awesome rated film for me this year! :)

Advent Calendar:26 Dec 09-My Birthday and the 2nd Day of Christmas!

So it's my birthday! What I adore about the Purple Elephant and the little mouse is although they were so busy with all the Christmas celebs and preps and our umpteen house guests of all shapes, sizes and species they found the time to bake me a cake and get me an additional separate birthday gift other than my Christmas one! :) They are such caring animals and friends...a girl can wish for none better than those two! :)

Today is also the 2nd day of Christmas according to the old Twelve Days of Christmas traditions and we will be keeping it up on the Advent calendar. So we won't close until the Epiphany on Wed 6 Jan 2010 when we will celebrate with the Magi for the last time this Advent season! :) And it's been a busy one for me so I've not been able to dance with them as much as I'd have liked this year but I will try at least on that day!

However seeing as it is my birthday and I'm at that landmark that I personally consider to be middle of the road (since average life expectancy is 70)...tethering at the top of the hill...trying for it to not to go all down hill too fast at 35! Aah that thing call time...but it's fictional anyway just ask my metaphysics mentioning friends! :)

But the Purple elephant and the little mouse insisted that I relax today...so I'm going to try...but if I had left my calendar bare...they shan't have existed today you see...since they are imaginary...Oh dear! So I had to blog even today so you could see them appear! :)

So today on the calendar I'm not going to be as presumptuous as on last year's calendar and assume you want the gift of me on my birthday! Although to me that is what it is when you mark your birthday and friends cheer...it is that they are celebrating your entry into existence on the earthly plane and so like on that day you are the gift to them...no?

But instead this year I will just with you share some of the things that define me or are important to me...since I should be relaxing I might mostly reference blogs I've written in the past but with a new slant...so here is how we'll have it!:)

-On Meady's Musings: I will recall my primary and sub-primary theme songs! :)
-On UCP: I will recall my relationship with Shiv and pinch my cute Ishq Devata-Ganesh!
-On Books and Films Corner: I will list my top ten fav books ever and show some clips of some of fav films too! :)

So here it is Happy Happy to me! :)

Some of My Fav Books and Films!

MY TOP TEN FAVOURITE BOOKS!

1.Midnight's Children- Salman Rushdie
2.Red Earth And Pouring Rain- Vikram Chandra
3.By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept- Paulo Coelho
4.The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho
5.Joy- The Happiness That Comes from Within- OSHO
6. The Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis
7. The Road Less Travelled- M. Scott Peck
8.The Seat of My Soul- Gary Zukav
9. The Wind in The Willows- Kenneth Grahame
10. Eat, Pray, Love- Elizabeth Gilbert

Clips from some of my fav flicks over the years...in this case...no particular order...

Advent Calendar:Christmas Day!-The Gift of the Christ Child!

Christmas Bread copyright Meady's Musings Production 2009

Well you can just imagine the chaos at Meady's Musings Production house last night! I can say though that all my animals pitched in and it was the most loveliest thing all the same! My donkey (now magical) and his cart went off with Santa and a few of the smaller bears to do the gift giving. My purple elephant and little mouse were busy running a virtual hospital. A lady showed up saying she was the wife of Santa Claus...Mrs Claus if you'll have it...but she was the loveliest thing and she baked us the most delicious bread and other treats for dinner and to have today on Christmas Day!

For Christmas dinner we had invited Deacon Greg Kirk to give the prayers and bring Christmas greetings and that he did and even left us something to say today here on the calendar to ring in Christmas day! We also had some unexpected guests in you guessed it the three 'wise' men! They said they were following a star that had settled just above our tree grove where the animals had set up a carrat (leaf) shed. However my purple elephant had the spare porta camps so they had a place to stay but they kept being agitated about the star and what was to come...

Then just around midnight...we got word that a cousin of our very own donkey of Santa gift giving fame had a cousin in town...some of the monkeys and a few bears (to police them in case they got out of hand again) went out to find him! And that they did but he wasn't alone! He had with him a lady with child and her husband was leading the donkey (our very own donkey's cousin!) They also said they were following the star...and when they got to our house all the animals and people welcomed them and insisted they stay in our tree grove that seemed auspicious in some way! It had this presence about it with the brightest star up above! And we some how felt it so fitting that the lady with child stay at the roots of the great tree...so we made it very comfy as could be! And they really liked the space! Then just after midnight the baby was born...delivered in the loving care of my nurses...the Purple Elephant and little mouse...

All the animals came to see...the three shepherds...the three 'wise' men...all of them...

So today on Meady's Musings Production's Advent calendar we celebrate Christmas Day with just the one big blog post...same on all three blogs...I give you the great prayer by my Brother in UCP Deacon Greg Kirk, Christmas Bread baked by my mom in reality (but Mrs Claus virtually) and Joy to the World! The Lord is come...

Christmas Bread copyright Meady's Musings Production 2009

THE CHRISTMAS PRAYER By Deacon Greg Kirk

The Season of Light

Christmas is Light, the darkness has been overcome by one who came to love. Christmas is more than decorating trees, exchanging gifts and gathering with loved ones. Christmas is an opportunity to embrace the Light - to open to the power, bliss and peace the Light brings.

Jesus of Nazareth desired to know the Light and live within its embrace so deeply, he became one with the Light. He left a path, a way, for you and I to share in this bliss. "Love God with all your being and love your neighbor as you love yourself." Jesus assured us that we are loved completely, unconditionally. He encouraged us to root our lives in the hope and promise of this Love.

My prayer this Christmas is for people everywhere to experience the Light and Love within them, to know more deeply of their beauty and dignity, to experience the Essence or True Self within and to find the freedom to be the people they were created to be.

Darkness abounds in our world, in many circumstances and ways. Embracing the Light -being open to every person's truth, daring to love others, especially the vulnerable and marginalized, causes the darkness to recede and the Light to shine more brilliantly.

Dare to be Light, dare to be Love. Dare to be one with the One who is Light and Love as Jesus did. You will find new possibilities and power. You will find yourself. And you will find yourself within the heart of God.

Love, Greg

Advent Calendar:24 Dec 09-The Gift that is Santa Claus!

Today the bears went out to the market on their own. They are my house guests and I would not have let them go shopping for food...which I consider myself obliged to supply but they sneaked out! A grizzly kept watch while a Canadian black bear and Polar bear took me to see some supposedly newly installed gadgetry in each of the tricked out mangers where the three shepherds and their lambs sleep. While I was on my way there...a Winnie the Pooh like bear, an Indian sloth bear (supposedly descended straight from the line of Jambhavan the bear king) and two other polar bears left in a donkey cart for the market! I was minorly irritated by the incident but then reconciled with myself that they were after all bears and so ate as such! They were all nice and apologetic about it when they returned and so I accepted the bouquet of sunflowers (two bouquets now) and their apologetic words!

But their whole sneakiness also seemed minor compared to the rest of the story! You see the Purple elephant and the little mouse saw when the bears left and knowing I'd not like it decided to follow them. When the bears realised it they agreed to all shop together in the market...and while they were having fun they heard big screams! They all ran to the spot where the screams came from to find a batch of ladies in tears complaining about a batch of monkeys of varying size, origin and nationality attacking them and taking their bags!

This really got the purple elephant and little mouse mad and the elephant used his towering size and big strides to quickly comb and survey the areas and dispatched the bears to find the monkeys. They were all found and the Indian sloth bear was asked to judge over them. He was chosen based on his royal lineage and the fact that some of the monkeys were also descended from Indian monkeys who were related to Lord Hanuman and other monkeys who worked on the Setu bridge alongside bears! So some of the monkeys felt him a fair choice. In the end all monkeys were found guilty but in tears agreed before all the animals and the ladies to reform their ways! They agreed to return all their stolen goods by going to homes all day long and to come back to the house tonight Christmas eve and to stay with the other animals for Christmas! The animals agreed to build a few tree houses so that they could be accommodated. So there you have it Meady's Musings Production house will now be housing monkeys of every shape and kind as well! :)

So my bears and others have been working on those tree houses since they came back from the market. While they were all busy I decided to take a break under one of the marvelous Samaans that reside in my yard. When at the edge of a nearby pond I heard and saw an old man sobbing! I went up to him to ask him what was wrong and it was then he explained to me that he was indeed (as I had suspected in my magical land this could happen)Santa Claus! But he was sobbing because all of his reindeer including Rudolph were sick...he suspected it could be swine flu but he really didn't know what to do!

Now I was really strained for accommodations at this point and I couldn't put my bears on more projects so the purple elephant agreed to go out and buy a few Porta Camps! In there we agreed to isolate and nurse the ailing reindeer and guess what!?

Santa Claus and I conceived that we could use his magic dust to make my donkey magical and able to fly! And so all the gifts to kids world over this Christmas Eve night are going to be delivered by my donkey! And will be stored in his donkey cart you see! :)

When the Purple Elephant came home with the porta camps an hour ago he said he had spotted the three big camels with the transformed men sitting on them (from yesterday's sighting)and he decided to buy an extra porta camp as he had a strong sense of Elephantitis that they were headed to our house! Hmmm...

By now you must realise Santa Claus is here! And also the Magi are possibly heading our way...so to celebrate the great saint and on the whole the loveliness of gift giving here is how we will give our salutes!:

-On Meady's Musings: I reminisce on the Santa poll that we ran last year on the UCP blog and ask you again to comment or vote in this year if you like.
-On UCP: We re-publish the post we did last year on the great saint...Saint Nicholas...
-On Books and Films Corner: We link to Youtube clips from our all time favourite Santa flicks! :)

A COLLECTION OF CLIPS FROM SOME OF MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE SANTA FLICKS!

Advent Calendar: 23 Dec 09-The Gift of the Magi

The purple elephant and the little mouse had gone off to the market to stock up on food for all the many house guests that Meady's Musings Production House has been accumulating over the last few weeks when the most funniest thing happened! So funny the purple elephant is rolling on the floor in laughter appearing as if he is in some circus stunt (God forbid he should ever be entrapped in one of those!) as he retells the story with the little mouse...

Apparently the little mouse sat on his shoulder as they went through the market and hid behind his ears every time they noticed a passerby that wouldn't understand that they could be 'clean' mouses in markets. They always do this...and the little mouse advises the purple elephant by whispering into his ear what looks good and what does not...what is too pricey...what is a deal!

So using that tried and tested approach they had already procured honey for the bears (we have since had to buy honey outside our contract after the bee colony strikes earlier on especially to prevent any further Winnie the Pooh impersonations!), bread for the shepherds and even a bouquet of sunflowers for me! :) When that most funniest thing happened!

They saw three men arguing in the middle of the market square! They all had come out of their SUV-sports utility vehicle...each with a smart phone in their hand...arguing that the tallest one who was the driver and the owner of the SUV did not know where he was going as each of their phones gave different directions and that for sure he must have mis-programmed his SUV's GPS! What made it so funny for the purple elephant and the little mouse was the whole scene and antics! The SUV had grinded to a halt right in the middle of the market square kicking up a considerable amount of dust and screeching! And the three men immediately exited from it popping out like if they were compressed hot air inside of there! And all three congregated in a circle pointing at smart phones and then the sky and each trying to out voice the other! But that was not all...

As they argued three large camels seem to appear from no where and used their long necks to scoop a man each up into the air and onto their backs! The expression on each of the men's faces as they all of a sudden grew beards and donned long silky robes is what still has the purple elephant rolling on the floor and I have to tell you my floor tiles are not faring well!

As you might have guessed from that little story the Three Wisemen or the Three Magi or the Three Kings whatever you like to call them are in town! :) And here on the calendar we wish to salute them! :) We had a lot of fun all of last year's Advent calendar long with them and must now again bow to them! And shall do it in this format:

-On Meady's Musings: Who were the Magi? as described on the New Advent (Catholic encyclopedia)and that lovely song with Hugh! ;)
-On UCP: The Time and Circumstances of Their Visit again as described on the New Advent (Catholic encyclopedia).
-On Books and Films Corner: A glimpse of them in the 2006 film The Nativity Story.

So here we go!:

Advent Calendar: 22 Dec 09-The Gift of Grace!

Well it's a Tuesday here on the Advent calendar and the animals and I decided to go visit old Mother Goose and according to her Tuesday's child is full of grace...so it led myself, all the animals and the three shepherds to discussing this thing call Grace!

Here is how we organised our talks:

-Meady's Musings: some of the everyday use and meanings of the word 'Grace'
-UCP:Divine Grace
-Books and Films Corner: The 2006 film Amazing Grace!

AMAZING GRACE THE MOVIE

What my animals and I like about this film in particular is that in likens slavery back then to how people treat animals today...and perhaps everyone will one day see the light...and have Amazing Grace for animals everywhere!

Check out the film's official site here Amazing Grace:The Movie

And we encourage you to visit the change part of the site to afford Amazing Change!

Advent Calendar: 21 Dec 09-The Gift of Avatar!

Official Avatar Movie
Well as mentioned on last Saturday's blog post I did indeed head off to see 'Avatar' the movie this weekend. When I was about to leave Meady's Musings Production house for the cinema...the little mouse came up to me courtesied and asked for permission to climb up to my shoulder. This I allowed and that he did and then proceeded to whisper into my ear a request to join me to see the film! Now the little mouse has accompanied me to the movie theatre halls already you see...so he is accustomed to this treatment and has developed quite a fine taste for film I might add. He is one of the few animals I house who can do this as he can fit into my purse and then when the lights are lowered and the film rolls he peeks out of my purse to view the film...usually unnoticed!

However on this occasion I didn't like the idea as he had so many mice relatives and friends over I thought it rude of him to leave them and be off to the movies. In the end I allowed it though after much pleading on his end and after I was convinced that all his mice relatives were to be well taken care of in our absence. The Purple Elephant was a key helper in all of it as he volunteered to fill in as a main host so that the little mouse could get to go...aah as I always tell you they are such good friends those two always looking out for each other! A couple bears also agreed to take care of the shepherds in my absence...they even made them three bowls of porridge to help them recover from their long journey. So off it was for the little mouse and me to see the movie 'Avatar'.

And today on the Advent calendar I present the gift of avatar in three special ways...you see 'Avatar' is the name of this particular film and in recent decades the name has been adapted for use in terms of the virtual (computer) world but the concept of avatar has existed since the time of the ancestors of the purple elephant and the little mouse back in India. In fact it is only when already seated in the theatre hall and 20 mins into the film that the little mouse confessed to me that he so wanted to see the film because he thought he was going to see an avatar of Vishnu in the film. The little mouse also said that some in the mice community had believed he (Vishnu) was going to incarnate in the form of a mouse in this film...but...well...that was clearly not what this 'Avatar' movie was about! Much to the disappointment of the little mouse but as the film progressed he took a fancy to the female lead...the Na'vi named Neytiri and all was well in mouseland again!

So today as my gift on the calendar I analysed avatar in three ways:

-On Meady's Musings:The metaphysics behind avatar as it is seen in Hinduism and how it has been continually re-used and re-adapted since in various concepts of the modern world.

-On UCP:We will meet Vishnu himself as he speaks of his various avatars! :)

-On Books and Films Corner-We will talk about the film 'Avatar' ...what I and the little mouse thought of it! I can say we did enjoy it more or less! :)

But read on to learn more...

'AVATAR' THE MOVIE!

The little mouse and I we really enjoyed the movie Avatar even though we had to do with watching it on 2D as not available in 3D on the island! But perhaps it is better as if it was in 3D perhaps the little mouse would have jumped out my purse into someone's popcorn or worse yet the cheese dip for their nachos! As much as he fell in love with Neytiri he kept squeaking at the site of the six legged dogs!

We did however feel that the movie dragged on a bit in the end I mean almost 3 hrs long surely from a man who had me on the edge of my seat for every second during T2. A movie that was to me better than its original Terminator...a rare feat for Hollywood. Well you'd expect more tightness...but perhaps after Titanic he just likes the big epic films!

I do also feel the movie although a nice Christmas/Advent calendar treat...it did lack in originality of story but made up for it time and time again in eye feasting beauty and detail of this imaginary land...Pandora (that's the lack of originality in writing I speak off!)

However I love the idea that James Cameron said when making this movie that was really just a big video game he wanted to put some heart and cause into it...and that he did! Had a tree hugger like me almost teary eyed in parts...and oh so reminded me of when just a week ago on the calendar we gifted Trees ! You see they knew too about those big buttresses of spiritual strength too! :)

The story itself felt like a bit of Pocahontas at times and reminescent of many great religions that knew of the importance of nature. Hey but they were using avatar as the name of the film and I'm born and raised Hindu so I kept seeing the Hinduism in it...I loved that it was highlighted that in the end we are all just a spirit...no matter how we look on the outside...

I can go on and on about the cool tech stuff in the film but there are many bloggers out there already taking about that!

However I hope to see people again in films soon...call me old fashioned...but cgi can't just take over films...unless we want to go to the movies to ourselves run our own avatars...and well for that discussion you'd have to loop back to my Meady's Musings discussion here! :)


Some other little tidbits I found made me cornily smiley faced in the film were...

Sigourney Weaver back yet again in a James Cameron flick! So expected! :) And her Stanford T shirt to be her tag of smartness and to mark her! :)

The line to mock George W. no doubt... "Fight terror with terror!"

And the whole analogy that they were fighting for this unobtainium in the same way people fight to drill for oil in today's world! :)(again so George W. and Dick Cheneyish)

Advent Calendar: 19 and 20 Dec-Simply More Christmas Fun! :)

Have some more fun at Meady's Musings Production House this weekend by viewing the lovely album created by the grand D.K. Matai and his ACTA Open group something he calls the E8 Album as part of his Holistic Quantum Relativity (HQR) Initiative! Now D.K. is too smart for the little mouse and even the large brained purple elephant but for sure we gather enough to know that he believes many of the same things as our blogs here echo...on Meady's Musings and UCP-Universal Collective Prayer for sure! My understanding of him is he believes in the one in the all and the all in the one! And even if some of the concepts are too grand to grasp the pics are awesome so check them! :) And enjoy! By clicking on this link:

http://ow.ly/kGJj

According to ATCA Open "The E8 Album images are visual intersections of Spirituality, Science, Art and Sustainability!"

So for sure sounds a lot like things explored on these here blogs! :)

Also as you know the Meady's Musings Production House is filled with guests...some of the most rambunctious guests you will ever find especially them bears...so we just had to share this most heart warming moment two of our grizzly bear cubs had courtesy of Nat Geo! :)

And well on the whole this weekend we are simply having a Wonderful Christmas time!

Should be seeing the movie 'Avatar' and will come back here and review it perhaps on the Books and Films Corner blog ...or perhaps mix it up with one of the 'Avatars' over on the UCP blog! :)

But for now let's dance with Paul Mc Cartney!

Advent Calendar: 17 and 18 Dec 2009-The gift of EFT-Emotional Freedom Techiques and The Infinite Divine!

Excuses...excuses...no gift on Thurs now...because...because...but...blah...blah...blah...!

But as much as I know you won't believe this...guess what happened yesterday???

I was in the kitchen having my breakfast...happy to be on a break from my vegan diet until the new year and so I had made quite the bowl of porridge...lots of milk and sweetened condensed one too...a bit too sweet and a bit too milky but at least I hadn't burnt the oats and so it was just right for me! Then as I was about to put another spoonful into my mouth...there was a knock at the door...not just once but three sharp knocks quickly in a row!...

Tap! Tap! Tap!

When I opened it...I didn't believe it either but three shepherds! All with flocks of sheep! Now my house is already filled with mice, some elephants graze nearby to my house as well as they can't fit in it...as I only have one specially sized room for my Purple Elephant of course! So where would all of them fit?...And there were already three bears to each of my spare rooms! Shepherds would not stay with bears would they? Could they?

So I asked them...but in the end...the bears agreed that they would be all part of the Christmas cheer! So they helped construct a manger! All in the course of one day!

So I was there supervising the sheep...it was where I was busy all of Thurs you see! :) In the end the three shepherds agreed it was the most comfy tricked out manager they have ever seen! (they even had computers to follow this blog!) And some of the baby sheep...lambs really...are sleeping in it with them as we speak! (time differences so they are catching up on some sleep)The rest of the flock are making friends with the elephants...dunno??? Well at least I hope so!

So was busy as any bee in my bee colony yesterday and so again did not post! But today I will be doing some big making up as the host! As I am pleased to present a blog written by my beautiful Irish friend-Noreen Barron! :) as she outlines the gift of EFT-Emotional Freedom Techniques.

But before I post Noreen's blog...here is a little bit about my additional gift for today to make up for yesterday...my explanation about what I call 'The Infinite Divine'

THE INFINITE DIVINE

Every time I look at large bodies of water all stretched out before me as far as my eyes can see...I feel the awesomeness of 'The Infinite Divine'! Some must feel it when they look at the sky...but for me it's the sea! Perhaps it is because I live on an island or I pass by a creek every day to and from work ...I don't know...but it just occurred to me that...well to my eyes this water appears infinite...and at the same time the fact that it can over power me but at the same time I can't live without it...it is a basic human need...and I'm 80% made up or it...yet I can also drown in it...well just a few days ago the words 'The Infinite Divine' came to me as an explanation for it! And I thought I'd shared that with you today...dunno...I've blogged about water before...twice already to close off the Hindu calendar year with the festival of Kartik Snan, Snaan or Nahan...either way an ode to water. So here it is again the links to those two blogs so that perhaps you might again reflect on this in terms of 'The Infinite Divine'!

-A pilgrimage in the month of Kartik

-Kartik Snan, Kartik Snaan or Karik Nahan? Either Way an Ode to the Great Element Water!

And now onto Noreen Barron's blog about EFT-Emotional Freedom Techniques for which she no doubt taps into the 'The Infinite Divine' to perfect!

EFT-EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUES BY NOREEN BARRON

Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease ~ Hippocrates

Throughout the ages, the energy or force that animates all life has been referred to as Prana, Qi (Chi), Ki, Ka, Pneuma, Ashe, Ha, Life Force and Spirit. Ancient healing systems such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine have studied and documented the effects of how this energy influences and directs the body and mind. Today we are building on this solid foundation with the developing fields of mindbody medicine, energy medicine, energy psychology and energy healing. Holistic psychiatrist Dr John Diamond refers to this animating life force as Life Energy. Life Energy is “the innate healing power of the body, and it is intimately connected with health in that whatever the symptoms of any particular illness, underneath we will always find a diminution of Life Energy. It is the Healing Power within us, the restorative powers of our own body, and the only true healing comes by raising the Life Energy.”

Some day the medical profession will wake up and realize that unresolved emotional issues are the main cause of 85% of all illnesses. When they do, EFT will be one of their primary healing tools ... as it is for me ~ Eric Robins, MD

Emotional Freedom Techniques or EFT, simply stated, is emotional or psychological acupressure. Acupressure is the act of applying manual pressure, or tapping, usually with the fingertips, on various meridians located on the surface of the body, the same meridians used in acupuncture. Meridians are the channels through which energy flows, much the same as veins and capillaries are the channels through which blood flows. Energy needs to flow freely and unimpeded through these channels, otherwise it stagnates and becomes blocked, this congested and clogged energy can eventually become so dense that it results in emotional and physical dis-ease. EFT helps to dissolve and release the energetic blocks and restores the natural flow to our Life Energy. As Dr John Diamond states “Holistic Healing always starts with the actuation of the Life Energy, the Spirit—the Healing Power Within. Only then can there be the full appreciation and joyful acceptance of the beauty and wonder of life. This and nothing less than this is True Health.”

The visible world is the invisible organisation of energy ~ Heinz Pagels, Physicist

EFT is a very elegant technique, it can be used on issues such as headaches, pain, fear of public speaking, dyslexia and it may also be employed to treat more complex, serious and chronic issues such as Multiple Sclerosis and Cancer. Very often, in treating an emotional issue successfully with EFT, a related physical ailment will disappear or diminish and the same is true when working on a physical issue, related emotional issues melt away. We all know the effect emotions can have on our physiology, when we're afraid or nervous for example, our stomachs may tense up and become knotted, our hearts may beat faster, we start to sweat and our breathing becomes shallow and fast as we take shorter breaths. As the founder of EFT, Gary Craig, states in the discovery statement of EFT “All negative emotions are caused by a disruption in the body's energy system.” EFT works on this simple, but profound, truth.

The latest discoveries in physics and cell research are forging new links between the worlds of Science and Spirit. The latest science leads us to a worldview not unlike that held by the earliest civilizations, in which every material object in Nature was thought to possess a spirit. This is the world of quantum physics, in which matter and energy are completely entangled ~ Bruce Lipton, Ph.D author of Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles

Much research has shown us that the mind and body are inextricably linked, if not one and the same. Dr Candace Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion, Why you Feel the Way you Feel, states that the body is the “outward manifestation of the mind”, and what influences and directs the mind more than the beliefs we hold about our self, others and life? These beliefs create the filter through which we view, perceive and live life. As Bruce Lipton states in Biology of Belief, "When cells band together in creating multicellular communities, they follow the 'collective voice' of the organism, even if that voice dictates self-destructive behaviour. Our physiology and behaviour patterns conform to the 'truths' of the central voice, be they constructive or destructive beliefs." Skilled use of Emotional Freedom Techniques unveils core beliefs, which can then be tapped on to help dissolve and release them. Just like poet William Blake wrote “When the doors of perception are cleansed, everything will appear to man as it is, infinite”. When we dissolve beliefs that do not serve our highest good, we too will see that we are infinite and therefore have infinite potential, possibility and power.

From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of each other - above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labours of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received ~ Albert Einstein

The phenomenon in which EFT often works best when we tap with others rather than alone, is evidence to many of us that we are all energetically connected. We shift more blocked energy, we perceive things differently, we don't feel so alone, we feel connected, what’s really happening in my opinion is that we are HEALING our spirits. I believe this energetic or spiritual connection is also why distance healing and surrogate EFT works. I think this quote sums it up beautifully "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The founder of EFT, Gary Craig, has always held the vision of Emotional Freedom Techniques bringing us closer to who we truly are: spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around. He is also a minister for A Course in Miracles and its philosophy is embedded in the very spirit of EFT: to love and accept ourselves unconditionally EVEN THOUGH we have issues. As mentioned previously, energy is also known as spirit, so, it is in raising our Life Energy, our Spirit, with the help of EFT that we will realise what Gary Craig wrote in his recent blog announcing his retirement “the exquisite beauty that is our birthright”. Thank you Gary for your beautiful gift of spirit and peace to the world.

www.cmbm.org

Advent Calendar: 15 and 16 Dec 09-The Gift of The Christmas Spirit!

We apologize for faltering on placing a gift yesterday on the Advent calendar. The bears are still with us and we had to deal with a protest from one of our bee colonies. They have been making more than twice the quota outlined in their agreement for no extra pay! So I said to them but where is the Christmas cheer?

That was before the attack of the killer bees! That one was a real disaster as one of my visiting bears decided to steal their honey…when I asked him what was with that…after all wasn’t I as host providing enough? He said to me he forgot he was just a normal Canadian Black Bear and for a second had a vision that he was a modern day Winnie the Pooh….he quickly got over that notion when the actual Winnie the Pooh showed up and said…

“Oh bother…I think I have an impersonator out here!”

It’s how it is when you have a menagerie of animals as your house guests! But hey it’s all in keeping with the Christmas spirit.

So to make up for it hopefully today’s installation with be in double dose and cover well both days of the calendar! Today’s post will be as sometimes is… identical on all three blogs as this blog post in its entirety seems to cover aspects of life normally explored on each of them. So today I speak to cover both Tue 15 and Wed 16 Dec when I present the gift of:

The Christmas Spirit!

And explain what it is for me and how I feel connected to it in song through …The Cherry Tree Carol!

Do you have a favourite Christmas Carol or thing that connects you to the Christmas Spirit?

The purple elephant would like to know. Check the little Christmas poll we’ve launched to find out by looking to the top left side bar of the Meady’s Musings blog.

Now here’s what Meady’s Musings Production considers to be the Christmas spirit…

Now there is comfort…there is joy…and love…the sense of warmth…the sense of familiarity…the need to feel accepted and loved…and on and on and on…it goes! All of these are things most people feel from time to time a need for…or either feel all fulfilled because they have it if only momentarily. And when they don’t have it they have hope to one day find it and some then well they pray for it…

Some people look for it in its pure and natural state while others look for it cloaked as something else...food…sex…toys…money…cars…house…the next big thrill…an adrenaline rush…fame…who knows really…
For many ‘Christmas’ and ‘The Christmas Spirit’ is about searching and focusing a little bit more excitedly and steadfastly on fulfilling these needs…but these are needs we have not only all year through but all life through! However ‘Christmas’ for some is like a great big magnifying glass! So people go about buying, fixing, organizing, inviting…doing all the things they do on a mini scale all year long on a much grander scale to fulfill these needful longings whatever they may be…or as Stephen King once phrased it in a title of a book…we try to acquire the “Needful Things”.


So for us here at Meady’s Musings Production house (overflowing with our animal muses as we are) really ‘The Christmas Spirit’ if analyzed boils down to the need to find this something out there…ourselves…the One…the Universe…our connection…our life purpose even? Perhaps everything in life in the end can be boiled down to the need to find out a few key things:

Who are we?

How did we come to exist?

Do we ever cease to exist?

What are we here for?

Most of us however give up asking those questions when we realize the truth is we don’t know for sure…and either (or in some combination of it depending on our mood) give in to a search for pleasure or surrender to prayer…or lose ourselves in seva (the Hindu term for service to mankind) or this or that…no matter how good or bad any of it sounds…it’s no different in the sense that all of us are clueless in the end if we admit it to each other!

After all we are just this stream of energy flowing forward (or expanding perhaps) and we don’t even know where…but I feel most people eventually come to the realization we are ourselves just spirit and so indeed we are ‘The Christmas Spirit’ too! It flows through us…it is light…or perhaps love and its pure, clear light!

So every year I feel connected to ‘The Christmas Spirit’ or ‘Self’ based on my just explained definition by some Christmas carol or the other. This year I was reminded of ‘The Christmas Spirit’ by this carol the most…the Cherry Tree carol. Here is why…

-One of the centers of focus in the song is a Cherry Tree
Trees…they ground me…I always feel centered in the Universe to be under the shade of their love…and just looking at their great, steady buttresses…well who wouldn’t feel centered? I also feel further centered when I walk under their shade with my feet touching the soil…toes digging into it…

-A pregnant woman (with child in womb)
I think most will agree that we often wish we could return to the womb…the comfort and warmth of it and the love that many are filled with from the mother while in it. And on the whole after birth…the mother-child love bond…

-A universal spirit connection
From the womb a baby’s spirit reaches out and connects with that of a tree based on the request of another spirit…its mother…and lo and behold the great and mighty tree bends and into the hand of the mother she has cherries by command! WOW! Doesn’t get anymore profound than that…and in that moment as the cherries touch the mother’s hand…three great spirits connect! WOW! Awesome!


“Oh! Look thou Joseph...I have cherries by command!”

Now let’s listen to it sung by Joan Baez who just adds to ‘The Christmas Sprit’ of it for me as she sings it straight from her spirit to mines!

Advent Calendar:Mon 14 Dec-The Gift that are Bears!

The bears have finally arrived here on Meadys' Musings Production's Advent calendar. The purple elephant and little mouse did finish the house keeping on time but then fell asleep not awaking in time to pick the bears up from the airport! The host of bears were so diverse in their nature and temperaments it made for quite an array of tricks and treats at the airport. Unfortunately while some were 'with little brain' there were others who felt they were 'smarter than the average bear' and ended up re-boarding outbound flights etc. However we are pleased to say at the end of this very long day all the bears are finally with us! And hopefully here to stay for the holidays! With the purple elephant and the little mouse! OLE!

Now on to exploring their gifts...

-On Meady's Musings we will talk a bit about their nature as studied in science! And also talk about some close encounters with bears of amazing kind!

-On UCP we will explore the famous bear of Hindu fame...Jambavan-The King of Bears of the Ramayan! And take a look at the entire bear army along with one of monkeys and other animals and fish as they build the Ram Setu...Ram's Bridge.

-On Books and Films Corner it was so tough to choose one bear over another as so many fine bears have populated books and films...filling the imagination of children as they clutch their teddy bears looking on...but we hope you enjoy some of our fav bear moments!


Our Favourite Bears on Film!


Stoutness Exercises and A Little Black Rain Cloud


The Bare 'Bear' Necessities


Smarter than The Average Bear!

Advent Calendar:Sat 12 and Sun 13 Dec-Christmas Fun and Games with a bit of Housekeeping!

It's another weekend on the Advent calendar but yep the Purple Elephant and the little mouse are hard at work helping the carpenter get the roof ready and on the whole cleaning up after all the mice and elephants that visited the house for the gift of Friendship last Mon. They are determined to have the house ready for the bears on this coming Monday morning! They are even putting up a Nativity scene!

However in between they are still running off to have some Christmas fun and games and have also cued some tunes to keep them merry while they are at work!:) So here is the fun they have compiled with some help from the carpenter even! :)

Alvin and the Chipmunks


How to Make a Nativity Scene


Free online games with Christmas themes...the Purple elephant likes to play the Arctic Antics one where penguins help Santas into a pool of water by use of a trampoline but you might have your own favourite...check the site out here!

Christmas Like a Lullaby by John Denver

ADVENT CALENDAR: THURS 10 and FRI 11 DEC-The Gift of Hope

Meady’s Musings Production apologizes for this late entry to the calendar for Thurs 10 Dec and it covers Fri too. The thing is the house still has not recovered from the mice and elephants that showed up for the friendship blog on Mon and the carpenter has definitely declared that we can’t have the bears over until the full repairs are completed. Something about the structure of the roof and works were delayed due to rains.

So in the interim for this retroactive installation for Thurs 10 Dec (and Fri 11 Dec) we are going down memory lane and retrieve from the archives of last year’s Advent calendar the gift of hope that we had given on all three blogs as well back then. And start the weekend Christmas fun early on Fri! The Purple elephant and little mouse are so apologetic about the damage that this weekend I'm getting the treatment while they help with the repairs. They have compiled a selection of Youtube music vids that we will put up shortly for your enjoyment all weekend long! We will return fully on Mon with the Bears and more exciting gifts!

Hope you enjoy it!

On Meady’s Musings-The Gift of Hope in Words and Song!

On UCP-The Gift of Hope Through Prayer!

On Books and Films Corner-The Gift of Hope in Film!

Advent Calendar:Wed 9 Dec-The Gift of Miracles!

Now it's a bit presumptious of our calendar to think we can give such a gift...the gift of miracles that is...because of course miracles are really gifts from the Universe or God or outer worldy beings or celestial beings or metaphysical ones or angels! So just see us as the channel or the messenger on the internet tonight!

As customary the calendar is going to celebrate this gift from the perspective of the three different Meady's Musings Production's blogs:

*On Meady's Musings-Miracles: Science Vs. Faith?
*On UCP- Miracles as defined in Catholicism
*On Books and Films Corner- Miracles on Film!

And the Bears are coming soon! However the carpenter advised that I should reinforce the roof of my house and do some other finishing touches to re-cover from the fall out of Mon night's blog on my house first! You know...like replace a few wooden beams here or window pane there...it's not easy when a few hundred mice were watching Youtube in your living room...who knows what they could have been gnawing on...Oh dear!

MIRACLES ON FILM!

Advent Calendar: Tue 8 Dec-The Gift of Christmas Cheer!

I have to tell ya...Meady's Musings Production's House was a real riot after the Friendship blog yesterday...the mouse invited all his family...and they all wanted to see the cartoon kahani (story) about their ancestral mice and the elephants. So I had a whole room of mice watching Youtube on one end of the house. And on the other end...well the purple elephant kept apologising to me and trying to ward off elephants from north, east, west and south...just all about! You see they too came...running up to one another in delight but the vibration it caused almost cracked the foundation of the house! I know it was all meant with friendship and love though...but the Purple Elephant I've never seen him so filled with glee but yet apologetic you see! :)Eventually trumpets died down and they all got the message that yes indeed they were loved but they simply couldn't converge on one small human house! LOL!

So this author is all tired out...knackered if you like! And she was preparing the customary three part blog...a main blog with a bit of different perspectives for each of her three blogs...and it was to be to talk about the gift that are bears! BUT...BUT...

The thought of the likes of Goldilocks and the Three Bears rummaging through her house...and perhaps Pooh tinkering in her kitchen looking for honey and heavens forbid getting stuck in a window or door after stuffing himself with fluff! OR OR...a grizzly at her door!??? Or other real liFe bears on her already shaken roof...well...it was enough for one day...so...that story was shelved for another day...more than likely tomorrow if all my readers promise...promise...NOT TO FEED THE BEARS! :)

So to fill my calendar with cheer today as I refuse to leave it bear...oops I mean bare! :) I salute Sesame Street as this is the year of its 40th anniversary and I've always loved their muppet cousins as well...and indeed you readers might know that John Denver and the Muppets singing together is some of my favourite Christmas music each year! And well no news to the whole blogosphere but we also lost MJ this year...gone too soon some say...say say! :) So he also forms part of the gift of cheer!

Advent Calendar: Mon 7 Dec 09- The Gift of Friendship

Today on the Advent calendar we will be celebrating the gift of Friendship! The same blog post on all three blogs today since like the Ghost of Christmases Past, Present and Future I believe on this particular posting all three of my blogs swirl into ONE!

I was inspired to give this gift here on the calendar because I’ve been touched by many great acts of friendship in the blogosphere this year. And I count myself lucky enough to have been on the receiving end so many a time! To be honest I’ve been giving too but to recall the cliché here… “Self praise is no praise”. So I won’t be recalling what I’ve done but what has been done for me! But of course all great friendships aren’t about keeping score anyway. All the same I have to single out some people who have been making my blog posts all the more decorative or more inspirational all year long! And also my followers (I don’t have the application up and I don’t keep score) but I know I have a handful of people. Those who if not always at least from time to time read my posts and even comment if not on the actual blogs, perhaps on Intent where I re-post or on Facebook where I might even get a thumbs up!

But first a drum roll please for these two who have contributed directly to the creativity and or spirituality of this blog this year! Ladies and Gentlemen…Elephants and Mice! :
A big round of applause for…ADRIANA OCHOA and Brother/Deacon GREG KIRK!

Adriana is the seamstress…Oh yes! Oh yes! She is the one who has clothed my animals if you didn’t notice they now have their Santa hats…we decided to let the animals remain more au naturel after all we are not trying to be the new Disney here! And the amount of cloth it was taking to cover the Purple Elephant we decided to use some for other draping which you will see about the sites and then give the rest of the cloth to that wonderful man from India the calendar celebrated last year when we learnt about him from the Global Oneness Project …you can reminded of his lovely work here! (NOTE: This donation is only in spirit for now but if I or you are ever in India or have a way to get cloth to this lovely drive…I would do so in the material world and perhaps you should consider doing so too…)

But back to the seamstress…she is more than that…she is the one who based on my ideas for these blogs and Meady’s Musings Production breathed new life into my old Meady’s Musings Production logo and also designed my UCP-Universal Collective Prayer banner. And yes all free of charge only paid for in friendship. This given that she is a professional at her job as you can perhaps see from the great work she does displayed here. She also did the poster for my Holi blog earlier this year. If you need to reach her to create something for you email us admin@meadysmusings.com

So in a sense she is the co-mother of the Purple Elephant and his little mouse friend. Although again the Purple Elephant and the little mouse well really they have a long line of ancestral friendship you know…you can check out this story to understand a bit more about their bond…but they have also daily been working together on their personal bond…and let this be said they would lay their lives down for each other as well as either one of their mothers! :


Now speaking of cloth we come to a man of the cloth…my brother in UCP-Universal Collective Prayer…Deacon Greg Kirk! Sometimes when I speak of him or communicate with him tears comes to my eyes…and I’m not ashamed to say this…after all we are both UCPers and so unashamedly surrender onto the divine in all! However I was so excited to work on this Advent calendar with both him and my soul sister Adriana that I was in excitement and Universe inspired tears daily! If you thought the Purple Elephant was excited well you can’t imagine how it was for his mother!
So over this weekend as both animals got their clothes and thanked the seamstress and the prayers by Bro Greg had already been said…I really felt moved to sing this song of friendship…when my nieces and nephew (as we listened to it) explained to me about it…it is from the 2009 Hindi film New York…Hai Junoon! The Youtube vid comes with translations and I hope you enjoy it!

I also dedicate it to all my friends from Intent…many of whom are now part of my experimental virtual book writing café on Facebook-The Deliciously Divine Café. Also some other friends who avidly read me like Maria and Neerupa and just all my other friends who have been there for me always even if they hate to read or won’t read my blog! And for those who come and read here and in your own way forge a bond with me by reading my words, thoughts and of my deeds without making our bond known…and others who for several reasons won’t be mentioned here but are dear to the Mother of the Purple Elephant’s heart.

OK so now I’m sounding like if I’m getting an Academy Award or something…(do I need to put the little copyright symbol when I write that?) LOL! But really I should also name some others dear to me…I know how it goes you name some and leave out others and then….TROUBLE even if your readership is not that large at all! But you know I love you all…after all one of these here blogs is UCP-Universal Collective Prayer so it encompasses the one in the all and the all in the one! But before I cue Hai Junoon! I must bow and then shout out too to some other marvelous Intenters and Deliciously Divine Café goers…

Ruch- You always seem like a partner in crime…perhaps we might be the real life purple elephant and mouse!

Grandpa Ed- Enough said…I mean you are my new Grandpa now since all my blood related grandparents are out of the material plane. Your wit and metaphysical talks…your walks in the English countryside…I hope you one day meet Winnie the Pooh!

Noreen- Your Irish accent so breath taking…you are a quiet listener…always the supporter…a deliciously divine tea drinker indeed!

Garima and Shweta- Like new found sisters…

Tim- The ever present and eternal supporter…thumbs up to you too my friend!

So many more…Yogi Rajesh, Vashi, Brother Dom, Mr. Phillip Zeuner, Danes and Raj Aurora. Glad to make your acquaintance Sirs!

Elspeth- not an Intenter nor in the virtual café but we have exchanged many a thought and gift and I’m delighted that in this international mix of Delicious Divinity there is at least one other Trini face! Of course I’m sure there are more to be found…but for sure you would have been one of those faces that made me see that also a Trini can blog like this you see! And thank you for the Freedom speech at the local candle4tibet event last year which as you will know was one of the events that led to the creation of the blog UCP!

And My Fairy Godmother was Sara now Kara we all so miss you!

And just like those Academy Award winning speeches I’m sure I’ve left out many…and of course as I said there are some that I’ve not mentioned here on purpose but the connection and thankfulness is understood…after all just like the three ghosts swirl into one…sometimes when one is so close they are not distinct from you when giving praise as to give praise to them would be the same as that tricky self praise business…so I’m sure you guys know who you are! ;)

Luckily unlike the Academy Awards I can cue my music whenever I like but let me cue it now…Ladies, Gentlemen, Elephants and Mice…Beings on the Material plane and those in the Spirit world too…here it is my Friendship song to you…Hai Junoon!

Advent Calendar:Sat 5 and Sun 6 Dec 09-Trees and Elephants for Christmas!

This week on Meady's Musings Production's Advent Calendar we gave the gift of trees and elephants. So as we relax on the weekend let's have some music! Join us dancing and singing to some of our odes to trees and elephants for our Christmas fun! :)

Advent Calendar: 4 Dec 09-The Gift that are Elephants!

Picture re-used from this site
Today on the Advent calendar we will be celebrating (yes, you got that right)…elephants! Of course my purple elephant has been calling up his elephant friends world wide to come read the story on The Purple Elephant’s Advent calendar here so the elephant world is all abuzz! You see my purple elephant is a dear friend and a few lunches ago earlier this week I was aghast to hear someone say that at some resort they had elephant meat!

I felt a big blow in the stomach for my purple elephant …I have to tell you….I explained about how elephants have feelings…they are very sentient beings (I mean just look at my purple elephant if you don’t believe me) and I had read once in National Geographic that they have funeral rites and rituals and stuff and scientist believe they mourn and grieve for their dead. The individual more went on about how elephants are attacking! Well of course they are wouldn’t you defend your home and family if people came to kill you!? My purple elephant has had many a pink, green and grey elephant cousin killed!

Why if it’s OK to eat elephants well what’s the biggy with eating people too…I mean elephants are really sensitive creatures…I was pretty irritated that the individual then went on to claim elephants have small brains compared to their size when well they had no scientific evidence to back it up…in fact I understand elephants are quite smart...but apart from my personal relationship with my lovely purple elephant here are some scientific facts out there…

Read what Marc Bekoff, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado in Boulder has to say in his commentary Do Elephants Cry? By clicking on this link here.

Now I know this is an Advent calendar and my objective of it is to bring fun, comfort and joy. So I’m not going to go on about the gory details of the pain that my purple elephant and his relatives can be subjected to…instead I’m going to celebrate the purple elephant and his kind…it is what the purple elephant wants too…he really just wants to live in peace and harmony with other beings in the universe…and for his family it’s Christmas time too…so here is how we are going to celebrate the Purple Elephant and Elephants at large and their gifts today on the Advent Calendar.

- Meady’s Musings-Some scientific facts that show the loveliness of the nature of the elephant…their ability to show love and compassion for each other and even for species other than their own!
- UCP-Elephants have long been revered in Hinduism and Buddhism…and we will explore that…
- Books and Films Corner-Many movies and books have been made about elephants we will talk about one of my favourite elephantine characters!

ELEPHANT ON FILM

OK so he is supposedly an ancient ancestor of the Asian elephant and not really an elephant per say but for sure elephantine …so my favourite mammoth on film…Manny from Ice age!

Manny for sure displays the emotions described on the Meady’s Musings blog post today. He is kind, caring and compassionate…to his wife (companion), his child (as born in Ice Age 3) and to all his goofy friends and yes of different species (making him just like that mother elephant who insisted on helping the baby rhino despite its mother!)

Advent Calendar: Wed 3 Dec 09-The Gift of Trees!

Meady’s Musings Production is always celebrating the trees and you can expect to see many references to them as this year’s Advent calendar progresses. Today on the calendar we’d like to feature trees on each of the blogs in this manner:

- Meady’s Musings-The beauty of trees
- UCP-The spirit that can be found in trees
- Books and Films Corner-Yes we kill trees to make books but hopefully it is a willing or worthy sacrifice and may blogs, kindle downloads and e-books be the books of the future so we can save them trees! But for now we will celebrate some poetry about trees!

THE POEM ALFIE-THE CHRISTMAS TREE BY JOHN DENVER

Every Christmas Meady’s Musings Production and that Purple Elephant can’t wait to sing and dance with John Denver and the Mumpets and be sure that we will be featuring much of his music as this year’s Advent calendar unfolds. However today we celebrate the words of his poetry as he celebrates Alfie which I consider to be the most bringing a broad smile to a tree lover like me poem ever written! And every time I hear the words of this poem written as a song I always realize why John Denver was once the Poet Laureate of Colorado.

Merry Christmas wherever you are John and thank you for these beautiful words:
Alfie the Christmas Tree by John Denver
Did you ever hear the story of the Christmas tree
Who just didn’t want to change the show
He liked living in the woods and playing with squirrels
He liked icicles and snow
He liked wolves and eagles and grizzly bears
And critters and creatures that crawled
Why bugs were some of his very best friends
Spiders and ants and all
Now that’s not to say that he ever looked down
On a vision of twinkled lights
Or on mirrored bubbles and peppermint canes
And a thousand other delights
And he often had dreams of tiny reindeer
And a jolly old man in a sleigh
Full of toys and presents and wonderful things
And a story of Christmas Day
Oh, Alfie believed in Christmas alright
He was full of Christmas cheer
All of each and every day
And all throughout the year
To him it was more than a special time
Much more than a special day
It was more than a special story; it was more than a beautiful story
It was a special kind of way
You see some folks have never heard a jingle bell ring
And they’ve never heard of Santa Claus
They’ve never heard the story of the Son of God
That made Alfie pause
Did that mean that they’d never know of peace on Earth
Or the Brotherhood of Man
Or know how to love, or know how to give
If they can’t no one can
You see, life is a very special kind of thing
Not just for a chosen few
But for each and every living, breathing thing
Not just me and you
So when you’re at Christmas prayers this year
Alfie asked me if I’d ask you
Say a prayer for the wind and the water and the wood
And those who live there too

Advent Calendar 2nd Dec 09-Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: The Ghosts of Past, Present and Future.

Since the beginning of the Meady’s Musings blog we’ve been exploring themes like reincarnation and parallel worlds…things metaphysical as a whole. Today as part of the Advent calendar I felt it would be interesting and exciting to explore the concept of the ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future as featured in the Dickensian classic- ‘A Christmas Carol’ with a Meady’s Musings slant! As a result I will discuss it as follows:

- On Meady’s Musings- the metaphysics of it.
- On UCP- a certain metaphysical being whom I’ve been a big fan of since the inception of that blog whom I believe has the whole past-present-future concept down pat!
- On Books and Films Corner- I will keep true to the name of the blog and
just celebrate some of the potent quotes said by the ghosts in the Classic
itself.

SOME POTENT QUOTES FROM THE GHOSTS IN THE CLASSIC TALE


"There are some upon this earth of yours," returned the Spirit, "who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all out kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"It is required of every man," the ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"The school is not quite deserted," said the Ghost. "A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Present," said the Spirit. "Look upon me!"
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

"Again the Ghost sped on, above the black and heaving sea--on, on--until, being far away, as he told Scrooge, from any shore, they lighted on a ship. They stood beside the helmsman at the wheel, the look-out in the bow, the officers who had the watch; dark, ghostly figures in their several stations; but every man among them hummed a Christmas tune, or had a Christmas thought, or spoke below his breath to his companion of some bygone Christmas Day, with homeward hopes belonging to it. And every man on board, waking or sleeping, good or bad, had had a kinder word for another on that day than on any day in the year; and had shared to some extent in its festivities; and had remembered those he cared for at a distance, and had known that they delighted to remember him."
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

The Grand Opening of Meady's Musings Production's Advent Calendar 2009!

It gives me much glee to kick off Meady’s Musings Production's Advent calendar today on all three blogs…yes indeed I’m resurrecting the Books and Films Corner blog too…although I’ve not posted on it since Feb of this year…thought it would be a good thing to do…and it might leave the year in good cheer! So here it is! The Purple Elephant plans to put on a Santa suit or some sort of Christmasy wear and he is such a gracious and giving elephant has even sprung some gold coins to get an outfit for his little mouse too! However he is still waiting on the seamstress you see as she has never sown for an elephant before and it’s taking cloth beyond compare! Also a nativity scene is being created for the UCP blog but again carpenters are so hard to find even in this economy but hopefully it will be created soon! Who knows it might even be created by the magic carpenter overnight perhaps the same one who worked on that miraculous staircase UCP visited earlier this year in New Mexico!

But Here ye! Here ye! Let’s call it to order in prayer! And for that I have asked my brother in UCP-Universal Collective Prayer Bro Greg as I call him but in his official capacity a Deacon. So here it is the lovely opening words of prayer by Deacon Greg Kirk:
“Divine One:

The dawning of Advent beckons people everywhere to enter into the Silence, the Silence you inhabit and pervade. In the Silence, we rediscover the gift of Your Love, enfolding us and emboldening us to live with gratitude for your Spirit, expressed in all we have been, all we are and all we will become.

Christ consciousness is the core of our being. The Light of Christ Consciousness is wisdom, love and peace. They permeate the deepest part of who we are. Journey with us during these coming Advent days. Be our Light, guide us to a deeper and richer experience of the lasting peace that lives within us and support us as we grow from seeds to trees, reflecting your Essence and offering shelter to all.

In the midst of the darkness and challenges of these times, something new is emerging, something new is being born: the possibility of community, unity and divinity. One will come to bring the fulfillment of this promise. This One includes your people everywhere. May we become one, together, in the wonder and Oneness of You.

Amen”

AND MAY WE ALL BE GUIDED TO THAT PERFECT LIGHT! Sung of course by those Three Wise Men that I’ve been waiting all year long to dance with!