"Summertime and the livin' is easy..."  as the song goes.  But why is it easy?  Theoretically, except for the actual vacation time that one has, work is the ever constant force that may or may not add stress to your day.  Is it just the temperature or the amount of sunshine during a given day?  Or is it something about the attitude we carry for this time of year?
People do tend to be happier and carry less stress in the summer.  My vote would be that their outside time increases, thereby decreasing stress.  For me that always works.  Anyone else notice that?
One encouraging thing to note this summer is the amount of people going old school with one particular thing - gardens, specifically vegetable gardens. Whether the gardens are raised bed, vertical, hydro - or aquaponic or container gardens, it is a good sign to see more and more people trying to get a handle on where their food is coming from.  In light of the many chemical additives and genetic changes to our food, this is the best line of self defence for your health.  I say, "old school" because most people used to have a small garden, two generations ago.  Sure it was because of war rations or at least in part because of it, but it made good sense.
Supermarkets, as we know them, made their appearance in the late 1940's and as people got used to having food readily available at reasonable prices, it was easy to hang up the garden gloves.  
In the same way that cheap hydro power convinced the farmers to give up their independence due to their own wind generators, the supermarket weaned people away from the control of what goes on/into their food and how long it is kept.
Flash forward to 2016... we have GMO's which are not labelled and have no long term testing to know how they will affect this, never mind the next generation, we have wheat being sprayed with glyphosate (a chemical which passes the blood/brain barrier and can not be washed off), we have high fructose corn syrup (otherwise used as ethanol, which is a poison to your liver) being masked under a variety of names in many products, and so many pre-packaged foods with a variety of dangerous additives.  So, yes, I have a garden and yes, I purposely bought a small acreage with a view to making myself more sustainable.  I think that if you are blindly trusting the food companies and the government to do for you what you should be doing for yourself, namely putting at least some of your food on your own table, then you can expect some health problems.  Not that I wish it on anyone...
I would encourage anyone and everyone to at least do a container garden or a intertior bottle garden this fall/winter if you missed the summer.  I have plans along those lines also.  But beware! 
Eating fresh food from your own gardening and getting down and dirty raising that food is habit forming and give you a great feeling of contentment.  (Never mind how it helps your health!)
Enjoy your summer!

What a tremendous show!  The U.S. elections have it all - the good (ish) the bad and the ugly!  It is theatre of the absurd on steroids! And people still waste breath on it - like it matters. Let's clear up some misinformation, shall we?

One thing that we have been lead to believe is that government is  for the people.  We elect, that is choose between a couple of people who have been put there for us to select, and we do this based on our estimation of whether they will represent our interests once elected.  Sounds great doesn't it?  The only problem is...they never do represent our interests.  Why is that?  Well, in part, it is  because while you and I are busy attending to our own lives and working (to pay taxes for those government officials we elected to pay for what we want them to do), some other factions are talking to those elected officials (and maybe, just maybe making it worth their while to look the other way while those factions get away with something a lot less than legal).  We have neither the time nor the money to assure that the politicians will be honest and represent our needs.  We trust them.  I think that most of us have figured out that by and large they are no longer (if they ever were) worthy of our trust.  They do not serve us - they serve someone else.

If it were just government that were untruthful and untrustworthy (check out the residential schools fiasco in Canada if you think I'm exaggerating ) that might be one thing.  After all the root words for the word government (as Michael Tsarion, Jordan Maxwell and others rightfully point out) are gubernare (control) and mens, mentis(the mind) = control of the mind.  Let's face it folks, an organization with the title "control of the mind" is not interested in truth or in letting you have any meaningful freedom.

So no big surprise that other institutions might be lying also.  I came across this videoclip today from NASA (as they put it Never A Straight Answer).  We know that after the Second World War with Operation Paperclip most of the "useful" high ranking Nazis were imported to the U.S. to serve in the arms race and space projects.  Werner Von Braun is the face but there were many more.  So maybe it should have been called NAZI  but I guess it wouldn't have gone over too well.  After all the government (control of the mind) had just finished convincing a public weary from the First World War and the Depression that one more sacrifice was in order to stop the German threat.  They couldn't really just turn around a import them openly to head up the Space Race.  But NASA is pretty close, isn't it?  Anyway this video is food for thought.  I have watched and read much about the theories that we have never left Earth orbit.  This video is extraordinary as they just put it out there.

 The big question as more and more revelations are coming about lies and coverup, about allegiances bought and sold, is, what are they still hiding?  What are they doing with all our tax money?
But Human Beings are incredibly gullible.  So many people will never look past the party line and will totally not want to believe that the government is not on the level, despite the mounting evidence.
We want to believe.  That is well known by those with power.  And because we want to believe that they have our best interests at heart, we will tend to overlook, ignore or outright deny anything that makes us reevaluate our beliefs.
The problem though with having your head in the sand is that you leave your valuables, shall we say, accessible?  Not a good position to be in, folks.
So what to do?  That's a good question!  Think, think, think....no point getting rid of something if there is nothing better to replace it.
So if our system does not work well, what would work better? 
I have my own thoughts and won't share them here.  If you are interested in contributing some thoughts, comment below.
Comments are always welcome - have your say below!

Do you know what you stand for?  Do you have certain principles 
you hold to, which guide your actions? Then you are a rare phenom-enon.
 
Most people don’t. Most people only do things that they must and 
they do those things out of fear of  punishment. Taking an action out of fear is a very low level of consciousness. It is a knee-jerk, con-
ditioned reflex reaction rather than an act borne of serious reflection and consideration of what you  truly believe based on your own exp-erience and understanding. It is a crowd mentality.
 
Individuals, who know their principles and live according to them, do not have a crowd mentality.. The individual stands in direct opposi-
tion to culture ( cult-ure = a cult designed to pressure you into confor-ming to a given way of life.).  The identity of each person needs to
 be expressed in order to enrich everyone.  The “normalization” pro-
cess in culture is designed to circumvent the individual realizing 
who they are and what they personally stand for. 
 
Why is knowing what you stand for, what your principles are, import-ant? If you don’t take the time to figure out what you are all about, 
you may be called to act and not make a decision you can really live with.  Life can put us in situations, where decisions must be made 
quickly.  If you are not clear what you stand for, you can end up with many regrets.  
 
Let me give you a case in point:  Many years ago, I was in a serious traffic accident.  I was hit and turned into the ditch by another car. I was not at fault in the accident but with the momentum of the other 
car and my own vehicle, I was hurtling through the ditch of the divid-ed highway and toward three lanes of stop and go traffic on the 
other side.  One of my principles is that I will do no harm to others if it is within my power to not do so.  I could not undo the accident.  
But it was within my power to not hit those people.  I put both feet 
on the brake and turned my steering wheel, flipping my own vehicle high into the air in the opposite direction.  It must have been the 
correct decision because I was totally unharmed and no one else 
was hurt either. 
So how do you know what principles you stand for?
Answer the following questions for a start.

1. Is truth important to you?  How important is it?  Will you stand up for truth, no matter what?
2. Is life important to you?  How important?  Should we preserve life at all costs?
3. Is non-violence important?  How important?  Will you stand 
   
4. for peace?
   
5. Is health important?   How important?  Will you dedicate yourself to your own health?
6. Is love//care important?  How important?  Will you choose to 
   
7. care for yourself and others even  when it is not easy?
   
8. Is spirituality important? How important?  Will you stand up for what you know in your heart to  be true?
   
9. Is learning/growth important?  How important?  Will you 
   
10. continue to learn and grow throughout  your life?
    
11. Are your connections to others important?  How important?  Will you show loyalty/solidarity?
12. Is your connection with Nature important?  How important?  Do you spend time furthering your  connection with Nature?
    
13. Is equality important?  How important?  Do you treat others as equally valuable?
    

 
Although these ten are not exhaustive, the answers will be a good 
start.  Principle driven life is much more fulfilling than simple confor-mation to what society tells you is important.  Conformity leads to 
the murder of self, which plunges one into depression. We are each here to live according to our inner compass, not to be outer directed for someone else to exploit us.  As the ancients said “Know thyself!” 

Preface
I do realize that any University or College professor, indeed any teacher of English or social science might consider my remarks here inflammatory bordering on the blasphemous, but stop to truly consider what I am saying.  The problem with the "Educational" institutions at present is that they consider knowledge and excellence to have become static.  Life goes forward and if we believe in linear progress, we should be studying the latest writings alongside the older ones (at the very least). 
Shakespeare wrote about the human condition; So did Gene Roddenberry. Shakespeare re-told existing age-old yet timeless stories of human suffering and joy. He told us of the human flaws and the lusts which corrupt.  In all of this there was genius.  Yet few of Shakespeare’s plays, even the comedies are truly optimistic. There is no real hope for the betterment of humanity.  Even in “to be or not to be”, you are going to lose somehow.  
 
Gene Roddenberry on the other hand used the existing human con-dition but aspired to a higher state, not just spatially but qualitatively. As his character Captain Kirk so eloquently stated, “Yes, we are killers.  But we can choose not to kill today.  That’s all it takes.” Star 
Trek episodes are morality plays - there is courage in the face of 
danger, there is love in the face of hate, and there is always hope 
for a brighter tomorrow.  Paramount is the learning.  With knowledge comes power to overcome circumstances.  With collaborative effort, problems can be overcome.  With everyone being the best they can be in their own uniqueness, the community is strengthened.  The 
very idea of the “no-win” scenario is so repugnant to the main chara-cter, Kirk, that after re-taking the test many times, he reprograms the computer to win.  “I don’t believe in the ‘no-win’ scenario!” he states.  I concur.
 
With an enormous list of firsts, Star Trek, (The Original Series) was before its time and had to wait for a new generation of children to 
grow up on reruns, demanding more before the movies of the origin-al Star Trek would allow for Star Trek, The New Generation to be 
aired.  But both the original series and the ones which followed were about working together as individuals committed to learning and ex-ploring, “where no man has gone before”.  They were fully conver-
sant with their technology, comfortable meeting other creatures and cultures without feeling threatened, and took hardship in stride, we 
could learn from that.  There was humour, fun and good camraderie - every episode.  And of course there were aliens - of all shapes and sizes.  
 
I love Shakespeare’s work but it tells us about who we were or who we are right now, not who we can become.  For me the latter is 
more important and more interesting.

I came across the above quote and it struck me that some people are experiencing some set backs right now.  I know that feeling.  It isn't easy.  Our society educates people to always expect constant upward dynamic.  This is not the way of things.  If anything life progresses in a spiral dynamic not a diagonal upward linear dynamic.  We see this pattern of spirals in nature through the growth of plants.  We know that there is always a plateau or consolidation phase of learning before application of new knowledge can happen.  Yet if something in our outer circumstances drags us down, we can get into a "fret" and think that it is a permanent condition.  But consider these points:
1.  Your thinking is important
Make sure your thinking doesn't get or remain negative.  You may be unable to change your circumstances in the present but you can think about better things for the future.  Be sure not to set your mind to a negative default.  The situation notwithstanding find things to focus on that are positive.  If you are out of a job, think about your perfect job and how great it is that you get to look for it now. Your thinking is critical when the chips are down and it is within your control.
2.  Be the boss of your emotions
Don't be on an emotional roller coaster.  Yoga can be helpful as can meditation.  Some people find that adjusting their diet can be critical to managing their emotions.   Spent time in nature. Find what works for you and do it.  Keep the good feelings flowing.
3.  Know that nothing lasts forever.
Your situation is temporary.  It will change. When things are not going well it is key to remember this.  I like to think of life as a sine wave.  Sometimes things are rising, sometimes they are falling - there are crests and there are troughs.  If you are in the trough, know that it won't last forever and your positive thinking and emotions can hasten your exit from the trough.

Most of all know that you are not alone.  Reach out to those positive people in your life who can offer support and good advice.  Search out uplifting videos.  Listen to good messages and relax.

Recently I watched an excellent Youtube video by Anthony West, writer of many books which rocked the University establishment about the actual dating of the pyramids and the Sphinx.  His work is wonderful reading BUT that is not my point here.
Wholeness and not compartmentalization
One particular comment struck me as I watched and like a random string held by electrostatic energy on one's clothes, would not let me go.  He commented that in the time of the building of the Temple of Carnac, art, science, math and all the other subjects were inextricably linked.  This wholeness, this integration of subjects mirrors life.  The earth doesn't compartmentalize. Can you imagine if the forest only dealt with biology but not geology?  Or if the fibonnachi spiral were not built into most living things?  It would be chaos and confusion.  Hmm...sound like what we have in modern society, doesn't it?
Modern education is based on compartmentalization
It begs the question then, why do we educate for compartmentalization and not whole-brained thinking?  The answer is simple:  People who have been educated in that way accept at an unconscious level the "need to know" mentality of government and the ruling classes.  Very important that, since it allows those structures to stay in place.  It allows for the "right hand" not to know what the "left hand" is doing.  Wholistic thinking would not allow for the short term decisions which are destroying our children's inheritance to enrich the few. 
21st Century Education - is it the panacea people believe it to be?
21st Century Education has been touted as the "cure" for what is wrong with education.  But is it?  It allows for a small amount using IBL (Inquiry Based Learning) of integration of subjects and personalization of learning.  Yet it does not truly address the issue of compartmentalization.  Often students are learning things, which are totally isolated from any meaning in their reality.  With all the icing the cake underneath still tastes largely of the original flavour. 
What can be done to create a more whole-brained approach to education?
This becomes almost a game of which came first the education system or the system which generated it and which it largely supports.  It would take  ashift in perspective to allow people with the possibility of changing things to put structures into place to move education into  a more humane and wholistic space and structure.  Some moves are currently being made in B.C. with their new curriculum.  Yet it is still subdivided - Language Arts, Math as distinct from Science,  Socials, Science and so on.  One point in their favour is that they did re-pair Physical Education and Health.  Despite the fact that they are obviously related, they were seperately taught for years.  Still the subjects are separate and the connections between them which are important and natural are often left out of the discussion.
What can I do?
Make connections.  For yourself or your child, be sure to see the world as wholistic.  Everything is interrelated and their can be an ever widening circle of ramifications for a small action.  It is important for everyone to realize this.  Many of the same skills that serve a scientist also serve and artist. Perhaps more emphasis on skills and connections would serve us better.  Or perhaps we do not yet know how to solve the problem that education currently is.  The quote attributed to Einstein is "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness on which it was created."  The education system was created by our current society.  Without major societal change and a shift in conscious perception, there can be no true improvement, no solving of our problems.
Be part of that change.  All change begins with self change. Examine your own compartmentalization.  When and how do you justify "little white lies" to yourself.  If you can confront those things which mar your own integrity, there will be personal growth.  If enough personal growth can take place within enough of the population, they will stand up to corruption.  Or perhaps you think it is only the people at the top who create the problems in our society. 
A Case in Point
The society is the reflection of the people in it and if ours is false and corrupt, are we not to blame.  If you doubt this I offer the following:
A recent video I watched had a woman on stage who asked a simple question of her predominently white U.S. audience:  "Which one of you would want to be treated the way a black American routinely is treated in this society? Raise your hand if you would."  No one raised their hand.  She repeated the question and again not one person raised their hand.  She then commented:  "The fact that you do not want to be treated that way means that you know that black Americans are treated less well than you are and you don't want that treatment.  It also means that you are aware that the treatment is not what you would find acceptable yet you accept it and  do nothing to change it.  You are therefore part of the problem.  You know it is wrong yet you do nothing to change it." It is the very compartmentalization inherent in our educational system and in the system as a whole which promotes this type of acceptance of wrong doing.  "If black Americans are badly treated, what has that to do with me as a white American?  It doesn't affect me at all.", might be some of this type of thinking.  This behaviour is typical for many people, who may not be able to make the connection to the wider implications of the injustice which they permit to exist.
Yes, it is your Circus and they are your Monkeys!
If you allow injustice to go unchallenged, you may be surprised at how the spread of corruption comes home to roost.  If you don't want society to be a circus, take issue with the small wrongs, so they don't proliferate.  Be authentic and honest, stand up for what is right and don't back down. 

I love Spirit Science.  Their videos on youtube and the whole community scene.  They forwarded SunGazing's super fun visual quiz. 
Here it is as an offering - a small quiz that I found fun.  I offer it as my "I'm not really celebrating but hey, here's something for y'all anyway" gift to you.
By the way, can you guess what I got?

Check out the quiz on this link:   http://www.sun-gazing.com/quiz-see-first-3/  from SunGazing.

In case you're wondering I got - You are a uniquely creative personality.  Yes.  Yes, I am.  Enjoy!

I'm not doing Chrismas this year. 
Why? 
That's a simple question yet the answer is not.
It's not because I am a humbug or a grinch.  I'ts not because I don't think givine to others is valuable.  It's not because I am not joyful or that I don't like all the pretty lights or the decorating , although I personally am not putting any up.
It's because I think that Christmas, whether you are Christian or not, used to be about something else and I don't like and won't support what it has become.
How did Christmas get started as a Holiday?

Many Christians will point to the 25th as the date of the birth of Jesus Christ but this is not at all a given.  As late as 300 A.D. the Council of Nicea finally set this date as the birth of Christ yet they had specific reasons for their choice.  Some of their reasons were:

1.  It was a traditional festival of Sun worshipers - after the solstice the sun appears to "stop" it's motion in the sky, only resuming and beginning a new year on the 25th, ergo, the sun is "born" that day.

2.  Perhaps originally as an extension of this Sun cult worship, Saturnalia was traditionally celebrated on the 25th and the surrounding week.  It was "... a topsy-turvy holiday of feasting, drinking, singing in the street naked, clapping hands, gambling in public and making noise." states the History Extra article (http://www.historyextra.com/feature/how-did-romans-celebrate-christmas)  In the aforementioned article it is stated that it was a change in attitude, from seriousness to mirth, rather than gift-giving that characterized the holiday.  Other historians go further stating that it was a time of general lawlessness and even human sacrifice as characterizing the dark side of Saturn worship.

3.  As a holiday (or Holy Day) for the new religion of Christianity.  The holiday had begun being celebrated on the 6th or 7th of January by the early Christians, although not because that was the birthday of Christ but rather because of the visitation of the Wise Men.  The gift-giving of the Magi became gift-giving to each other in honour of the birthday of the Christ child.

What Christmas has become...
It has become an orgy of buying and a time for getting into debt, which no doubt benefits the economy (and those who make money from it) yet can cause misery for a good part of the year afterward due to unwise spending.  It has also become a time of obligation in a different way.  The expectation that you need to buy a gift for everyone even remotely connected with you.  Those gifts tend to be bought without much thought to their relevance and are often not useful to the recepients.  It is more about "shoulds" than about honest appreciation and heartfelt giving.
It has created large expectations on the part of children and young adults, which can become difficult to live up to as they take on childrearing or relationships.

What Can We do about it?
I'm not suggesting that the holiday is unredeemable.  But I do believe that we need to change what we are doing.  It is not really sustainable.  I don't think I am alone in that.  You may not choose to completely step away from tradition.  It is my personal solution but I know it will not be palatable to everyone or indeed not be for everyone.
But how about some subtle changes?  What if:

• Giving was authentic - affordable, unique, timely, heartfelt?
• More gifts were old-school, meaning, home made?
  
• The focus went back to giving, not receiving?
  
• Time spent on quietude, simple gratitude and time with friends or family was more important than shopping?
  

Ho,ho,ho - No.
I will not be celebrating tomorrow.  I am not condemning anyone who is - more power if it is working for you.   
For myself, I don't want to be told when to buy presents for those I care about.  I believe that gift-giving should be spontaneous not regulated by culture.  And I believe that largely we only give when it is expected.   At those times we put expectations onto others or onto ourselves and we find ourselves sorely stressed.  That is not okay. 
So I wish all my readers the most benevolent outcome for their day - may you find joy and peace for that is surely the essence of the holiday!

Over the last two days I listened to an interesting offering on Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Rwyu1Jau8) entitled Unstoppable Confidence by Kent Sayle.   I am doing some research for the Parent and Activity Guide for a new children's book, Mirror Me!, which will soon be completed.  The book has some good work around NLP (neuro linguistic programming) which offers help to deal with destructive subconscious belief/thinking patterns which get in the way of progress.  At one point there is a comparison between two people - one who wanted to be a baker and another who wanted to be a singer.  The one just dreamed about it and was miserable in her day job but took no action to make the desire to be a baker become a reality whereas the other took small steps - practicing, cutting a demo album, offering to sing at banquets, etc. Five years later, guess which one was living her dream?  The one who took action of course!
Simple steps make a big difference!
1.  Step One
What do you love to do?  If you are not sure, think of what it is that makes your heart sing.  When you are doing that thing you love to do - time stands still and nothing else exists.  Step One is to figure out what your dream is.
2.  Step Two
Make time for your dream activity - set aside a few hours or better yet one evening a week (4 hours) and make a firm committment to it.  Whether you are taking a course to learn more about what you want to do or practicing, does not matter but be sure that you use the time you set aside to do it.  As you can (and want to) devote a little more time.  If you set aside four hours a week for example,
within a year you would have devoted two hundred and fifty eight hours to work on your dream - that is a week and a half!
3.Step Three
Change your attitudes that may be in your way.  Affirmations are important.  Decide where you are going and what you want in your life and then write up a list of affirmations.  Say them twice or three times a day to reprogramme your subconscious.  Take a little time - at least seven minutes a day - to imagine yourself actually doing and being in your dream life.
A Personal Example
Just small steps each day can add up.  Eight years ago, I decided to dedicated one night a week to drawing.  Previously I had had trouble finding time to indulge in my passion for art but after making the commitment, the time seemed to not only be available but I found even more.  Within a year, I had a large portfolio of work.  The next year I began entering local art exhibitions.  Within a year, I began to write as well and made time for that.  Today I have published three books and have three more almost finished - written and illustrated.  I write and draw instead of watching TV - amazing how much time that frees up.
So I ask again, what are you doing today to create the future you want?  You have the power - use it!