Happy Spring!Here comes Peter Cottontail,Hoppin' down the bunny trail,Hippity, hoppity,Easter's on its way.The rabbits have started appearing again! First on our horizon were the giant jack rabbits. In fact, Sher and I walked out from the house and stood about ten feet away from “Harvey” who didn’t move, run, or seem afraid of us at all. That’s when we knew Spring had arrived. That, and the freaking pollen. We’re welcoming in the Springtime with an allergy to Juniper pollen, which we’re absolutely surrounded by for miles and miles. This comes in on a wave of illness: bronchitis, and the majority of the household on meds for stuff which has lingered on and off since Christmas. Yuch. Springtime: Yay! “Sneeze, sneeze…. blow nose, cough cough, did you take your pill yet?” We’re seeing a few cottontails now too, and while everyone here is on the mend, some of the Southern States are enjoying a second visitation from the swine flu. Count your blessings for what you’ve got and what you haven't got.
Yes, Spring is generally seen as the time for rebirth and resurrection. For some, the end of a long cold Winter and maybe a few hardships. The hope arrives with the change of season, but maybe not instantaneously. It’s a process of awakening and shaking off the cold. Sheryl writes about that in this issue of our newsletter below.
The birds are back too, twittering and chirping. No sign yet of the hummingbirds, but several other varieties are back-- including some sparrows who learned how to drink from the hummingbird feeder and are looking quite happy with their sugar water treats. So, of course, we get what Easter is about: eggs, bunnies-- it’s all about fertility and rebirth in one way or another: hope for a new life. In the midst of this, however, we’re a very divided country right now. In all my life I never heard the word “progressive” used to describe people who are supposedly out to destroy this country. Weird. Just odd. Most of all my hope for the veritable Springtime involves peace, harmony, love and understanding in our future. An end to cold, harsh words and hasty, ignorant judgments of others. Let those icy winds just blow away.
--Paul Hood
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Moving Towards Resurrectionby Sheryl Karas M.A.
As I was thinking about this month's newsletter I was aware that Passover has begun and Easter is right around the corner, the season of resurrection, so to speak. Few people who are not Jewish realize that Passover is not just about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. The Jews were not allowed to enter the Promised Land until the previous generation of slaves had died off and wandered for 40 years in the desert as a result. The next generation, released from the shackles their parents carried physically, spiritually and psychologically, were the only ones allowed to pass on through.
What this means for us today, I think, is highly significant. A lot of people worry that in 2012 the world as we know it may come to an end. Paul and I doubt that the apocalypse is on its way, but we are certainly going through a period of rapid change and the world as we once knew it has come to an end for many of us already. In the last five years alone whole industries have come crashing down and many others are on the brink. If you once worked in the newspaper industry, as Paul and I once did, you know what I mean. If you just had your technical support job outsourced to India, you really know what I mean!
And look at what's happening in the greater political scene. Since Barack Obama entered office it's as if the entire right wing has gone crazy! And it's more than a little frightening to see how enraged people act when they are stuck in the throes of fear. If you are a proponent of change and happen to be in an industry benefiting from the changes that have been happening, celebrate! But before you do, have a little compassion for those who are terrified and perhaps seeing things they once depended on for their sense of well-being crumble before their eyes. Whether you care or not about the institutions that are likely to fail in the wake of what's happening in our world today, think about the individual humans who once depended on these institutions. Think about the changes that whole communities have gone through in the past and you'll have an inkling of what's happening for the whole world right now.
Have you seen the movie or play "Fiddler on the Roof"? I took my grandmother to see the movie when it first came out and she was wide-eyed to see her life experience portrayed so vividly on the big screen. In the movie the Jewish people of the tiny rural village of Anatevka are forcibly removed from their homes by the pogroms, the Russian holocaust that happened at the beginning of the 20th century. But before that happens the play explores the cultural changes that were already coming about at that time. The old traditional way of life the Jews had in that village was already threatened by new mores that the younger generation was eager to embrace. Changes like marrying for love instead of through arranged marriages within the faith, changes like marrying someone outside the faith, and political forces like the Communist Revolution that were perhaps the driving force behind the pogroms in the first place. Older generation Jews to this day often say that intermarriage and the collapse of the old Jewish mores were more of a threat to the Jewish way of life than the holocaust itself. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't want to go back to that old way of life for anything! But if you watch that movie or see a good version of the play the horror and pain and struggle involved with those changes was horrifying. It took at least a generation -- the coming of my generation -- before the benefits outweighed the suffering that came before.
That's the point I wanted to make. We're going through massive changes right now and some of the old mores are dying hard. For good reason I might add. If you've been in the catbird seat because you grew up in the right cultural background, race, financial circumstances, etc. you might not like what's happening one little bit. If you've bought into the idea that you could rise from poverty if you followed the old Republican way you know what team you're on whether the Democratic proposals and reforms benefit you or not. If you're Christian you might not like someone who looks like he might be Muslim telling you what to believe. If you're black that might look like racism. But if you're white and scared your fears might be about retribution and losing everything your family members may have been working so very hard to create.
From one perspective the concerns other people have might look foolish, racist or misguided. But if you are the ones watching your children be influenced by things you don't want them to believe, if you believe your way of life is threatened, and worse still, if you have lost a job and have no idea what's going to replace it it doesn't matter what "side" you're on! You're terrified. You don't know what way to go and it might seem like fighting for what was true before is the only truth you can hold onto. But the real truth is that when your boat is in the rapids the worst thing you could do is attempt to turn around and fight your way back upstream. You might think you don't like where this boat is headed. You might need to get yourself to the closest shore. But you can't go back to exactly the way things were before. You either get yourself to safety as quickly as possible or stay on the boat, using all the resources at your disposal, and hope you end up someplace good.
My own experience is that if you're frightened—if you just lost a job or feel terrified about the state of the world and the part you can possibly play in it, if you need to make a big change and don't know how to do it—get yourself to a safe shore and take a breather. Look around a bit, meditate, allow new ideas and possibilities to come in. Most of all grieve for what you may be leaving behind so you can allow in a new point of view. Let go. Then take a look around. Perhaps you'll need to learn some new skills, take a class or meet people who have already made the changes you need to make. The people you need most might be just a step or two ahead of you. But if they can glimpse a clear horizon from where they are that you can't yet see that's where you need to be. Go there. Get to a higher vantage point so you can take in the longer view. And then you'll know what you need to do and whether the river is really where you most need to be.
In terms of the longer view from a social change or political point of view: understand that a lot of this country is wandering in the desert. Some of us may have been let go from oppressive situations but, like the Jewish slaves who were freed to find their way to the Promised Land in ancient days, a lot of us might prefer slavery to the uncertain solutions that may or may not lie ahead. According to the Old Testament, the Jewish people made it all the way to the Land of Canaan but were afraid to walk in. Despite all that had come before—manna from Heaven, the parting of the Red Sea, the release from Egypt— they fell into fear and disarray right at the gates of the Promised Land and lost their way. That's the "slave" mentality: it couldn't possibly be good, it couldn't possibly turn out for the best, we couldn't possibly receive what we most need. Have some compassion for yourself and others. If you're not in a good place now let go of the shore, swim with the current, keep your head above water and look for higher ground. Believe in the most positive solutions. And when find yourself in that higher, more positive state, go forward, see who is with you, join forces and help whoever else you can along the way.
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OUR LATEST VIDEOShttp://www.healingcommunication.com/videos.htmlRecent topics include The Spiritual Benefits of Loss, Transcending Polarity, and follow-ups to Paul's popular earlier video on Kundalini awakening.
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MAMA LOVE PERFUMESheryl has a line of Reiki-infused Flower Essence Aromatherapy products for a wide variety of healing purposes. You can find them at
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BOOKS HAND-AUTOGRAPHED BY THE AUTHOR (Sheryl Karas)THE SOLSTICE EVERGREEN: THE HISTORY, FOLKLORE AND ORIGINS OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE --
The evergreen has been a potent pagan symbol in almost every culture, from prehistoric Japan to Northern Africa, from Native America to Medieval Germany. The Solstice Evergreen explores the rich spiritual heritage of this ancient symbol in depth and includes a great many myths, legends,and folk tales from across the globe as well as dozens of black and white illustrations. Gathered together in this book for the first time, this rich collection of mythology presents a unique perspective spanning many cultures and centuries.
THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY OF FAMILY CAREGIVING --
For five years, ending in 2005, I worked as a Family Caregiving Consultant at the Alzheimer's Association and Del Mar Caregiver Resource Center helping families taking care of loved ones with incurable progressive memory loss and dementia. Trying to find services needed to provide basic care is what brought people in to see me first, but as the caregivers became more ensconced in their caregiving roles inevitably emotional and spiritual issues would become their primary concerns. My role shifted to providing a combination of practical and spiritual care. During this period I wrote a caregiver newsletter every month and this book is the result.
Unsigned copies of "The Spiritual Journey" and a nice variety of journals featuring our photography are also available online at
http://stores.lulu.com/healingcommunicationpress .
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WHERE TO FIND OUR ARTBeautiful Photographic Prints by Paul Hood...
http://PaulHood.imagekind.com/Art and Photography by Sheryl Karas...
http://SherylKaras.imagekind.com/Art notecards, T-shirts, mugs and other gifts featuring our images...
http://www.zazzle.com/paulnsherylBrand New Shop (Pendants featuring our art and photography, more items to come)...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/paulnsherylart-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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