tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81103638585744476452024-03-04T21:34:26.511-08:00Flight of the HawkPerspectives of the Universe through the lens of The Michael Teachings, Shamanism and Astrology
with Victoria Marina-TompkinsVictoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.comBlogger464125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-36892402445779132772022-09-23T13:51:00.003-07:002022-09-23T13:52:53.440-07:00<p><b>Fall Equinox 2022 Update!</b></p><p>Greetings friends! </p><p>I have some pretty big news. My website, flightofthehawk.com is changing! </p><p>Today I learned that my host, Network Solutions, accidentally deleted all of my website content and it is not recoverable. Twenty five years worth....</p><p>So, in the spirit of rebirth, I will be creating a new website, most likely with a new name too! Stay tuned! </p><p>Meanwhile, you can reach me directly at fothawk@gmail.com</p><p>Have a wonderful Fall Equinox :) </p><p>Victoria</p><p><br /></p>Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-62847328065970824302017-05-12T11:59:00.000-07:002017-05-12T11:59:13.014-07:00Essence Contact Q and A (Part one)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" style="color: #000033; text-align: -webkit-center;">
<strong>ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ESSENCE CONTACT</strong><br /><strong>A Series of Questions and Answers </strong></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #000033; text-align: -webkit-center;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #000033; text-align: -webkit-center;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #000033; text-align: -webkit-center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
<strong>QUESTION</strong>: Please comment on the ramifications of essence contact, including how it has an impact on both a person’s current life and those lives yet to come. What is it about essence contact that makes these rather expansive reverberations possible?</div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
<strong>Michael</strong>: We will start by saying the essence contact is perhaps the single most relevant experience to essence growth while on the physical plane and beyond. By this we mean to say that while fragments are incarnate as humans, those fleeting moments of essence contact which is experienced between two fragments "soul to soul" and without the constraints of the personality, are gems in a sea of physical plane strife and conflict. This is not to imply that all experiences on the physical plane are full of conflict, but rather to state that it is the physical plane that offers the most strident examples of fear and turmoil and the joyful experience of essence contact is in stark contrast to the fear and pain that many fragments experience ongoing. When a fragment is able to let down their guard if only for a moment in order to meet another fragment soulfully, then it is during those briefest of moments that the fragment can remember that he or she is part of a greater whole and that separateness is an illusion.</div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
The release of the personality is not usually sustainable due to the impact of the outer world and the necessity of having a vehicle through which to interact. It is through the experience of the higher centers that essence contact occurs, and these higher centers are accessed through the moving center. This process does not imply that fragments need be moving physically in order to achieve contact and higher centered foci, but rather that there does need to be an expansion into these centers in order for the personality to drop away.</div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
Once essence contact occurs between fragments it can never be denied on an essence or soul level. However it is often the case that the personality denies the experience because it is too frightening except for those fragments who seek spiritual growth, and even then the experience is often questioned and or relegated to the "well maybe something happened" arena. When validation does occur on a personality level, and especially when both fragments are able to mutually validate the experience, then exponential growth occurs and each fragment has more access to the positive poles of the overleaves and to the life task, whatever that is. And when this ability is reached and realized in a specific lifetime, then that ability carries forward into subsequent incarnations if the fragment chooses to make use of this ability. Older souls, who in our estimation are mid-cycle mature and on, in level, often can remember these experiences when in contact with those fragments with whom they have shared in the past, and this is especially so with essence twins, task companions, cadence and entity mates.</div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
We will remind you that essence contact is not complicated. This does not mean it is easily attained and in fact cannot be "grasped" with intention but can be a "possibility" so long as a fragment is open to it and does not resist it when it occurs. There is no failure here and no expectations. There are many possible moments for essence contact and can often occur when the fragments involved are not seeking it, but are open to it. It is receptivity that is the key here and not "effort". END</div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="color: #000033;">
c. 2014 Victoria Marina-Tompkins</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-66289767614257595702016-08-18T14:42:00.003-07:002016-08-18T14:42:56.968-07:00From the Archives<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: large;">Changing Your Life Direction: </span></b><b style="color: #45818e;">Course Corrections</b></h2>
<div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<i style="color: #45818e;"><br /></i></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<i style="color: #45818e;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">E</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">XCERPT FROM "SPIRITUAL TURNING POINTS: A METAPHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SEVEN LIFE TRANSITIONS"</span></i></h3>
<div>
<i style="color: #45818e;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
"Our essence has an interesting way of creating realignment</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
with its purpose and one way that it does that is through course</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
corrections. For example, we may be planning on entering a four-year</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
advanced study of electronics but learn at the last moment that</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
the school we were going to attend has been overbooked and we</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
are now off the roster. If we hold to the opinion that this school was</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
the only school that would work, or the best school, then we are</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
scripting the outcome through surety of our choice. But how do we</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
really ever know that our choice is the absolute best or “right” one?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
We can’t. Only in retrospect can we see that our long and winding</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
path through life took many turns but was always moving forward</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
even when we felt it had stopped. There are times, however, when</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
a major course correction is needed from a soul essence point of</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
view and that no matter how hard it tries to get our attention, we</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
just aren’t listening.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
Laurie was a professional photographer. From roughly the age</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
of ten she had been taking snapshots and putting them into books,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
carefully noting the who, what, and where by each picture. As she</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
grew older, her love of the camera developed into her work when she</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
got the job of her dreams as the head reporter and photojournalist</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
for a local newspaper. After ten years, however, she had, in her mind,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
learned all she could and was ready to move on, but by then she</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
had two young sons and a husband who had just lost his job, so</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
she stayed at the newspaper, becoming more and more depressed</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
and literally unable to get out of bed some days.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
From an essence perspective, Laurie was ready to move toward</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
a new line of work through which she would find more creative</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
self-expression. After several months of incapacitating lethargy,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
she found her way to a talented therapist who was able to guide</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
her toward the real reasons she was hesitant to change jobs and it</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
wasn’t what she thought at all; it had more to do with her fear of new</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
situations. What I hadn’t mentioned before is that at the age of twelve,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
Laurie’s father had died. He had been her cheerleading team and</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
emotional support, and when he died she became determined to</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
make him proud and what better way than to become a professional</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
photographer? What had started as a childhood hobby, albeit an</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
enjoyable one, was now a near obsession to follow the path her father</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
had encouraged. Plus, with an unemployed husband and children who</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
depended on her, how could she be so selfish as to take risks with a</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
new career? Well, Laurie did figure it out. She is now sixty-two, and</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
has thoroughly enjoyed teaching art to children for the past twenty</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
years. She navigated through a course correction with the help of</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
a good advisor, her therapist, and the support of her husband who did,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
after all his misgivings, suggest she follow her new dream.”</div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="color: #333333; font-size: 11px;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
c. 2011 Victoria Marina-Tompkins All Rights Reserved</div>
</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-62087955161946726012016-05-20T12:49:00.001-07:002016-05-20T12:49:20.875-07:00Courage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbJaGVv_aItCg7zEolKGJoLnPp8onUoyymjU6zmvIpyi_vuELsfs7_Py7dHJovupxhq4Sxj6G7Ig5ea2Bl4yYBqhMvTMg_kfJIr2vc9-Gj6ziiBVWs14iDEaHrpMjyEgq46Mwt4bx5g/s1600/courage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbJaGVv_aItCg7zEolKGJoLnPp8onUoyymjU6zmvIpyi_vuELsfs7_Py7dHJovupxhq4Sxj6G7Ig5ea2Bl4yYBqhMvTMg_kfJIr2vc9-Gj6ziiBVWs14iDEaHrpMjyEgq46Mwt4bx5g/s320/courage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-28196827683951987482016-04-03T09:33:00.003-07:002016-04-03T09:33:47.330-07:00Your Daily Rumi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Ilj7lIxfDo8Bs_EO5h2o32-wQ5bfC2-FhsjTDIxqSZshEZ4Xlnexmy0dTK7Csw12MBO4XP2asSVu8zZPSzsG7HnZ6l2xzxXqQNDLU5tS145rFoOXxAGBMwA-hFwgqrrjzhb67VvhwA/s1600/IMG_1845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Ilj7lIxfDo8Bs_EO5h2o32-wQ5bfC2-FhsjTDIxqSZshEZ4Xlnexmy0dTK7Csw12MBO4XP2asSVu8zZPSzsG7HnZ6l2xzxXqQNDLU5tS145rFoOXxAGBMwA-hFwgqrrjzhb67VvhwA/s320/IMG_1845.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Step out of the circle of time<br />And into the circle of love.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /><em>-Rumi</em></div>
<br />
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<em><br /></em></div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-88930990082609204982016-02-24T09:25:00.002-08:002016-02-24T09:25:25.150-08:00Your Daily Ghandi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUmtBcDffCfNZJb3qmzZ1MDXHPH0dHhftw1vvSh7oBoBWbh5FJoe4yI9JfDezIiT_AZqfnmfZpnCxqxl0gyPrUS3Cf5-ugaDrJvToiJ9D9jd-gFgBRs-Js8CVfmcI32d1pFdwpA-ngg/s1600/IMG_0897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUmtBcDffCfNZJb3qmzZ1MDXHPH0dHhftw1vvSh7oBoBWbh5FJoe4yI9JfDezIiT_AZqfnmfZpnCxqxl0gyPrUS3Cf5-ugaDrJvToiJ9D9jd-gFgBRs-Js8CVfmcI32d1pFdwpA-ngg/s320/IMG_0897.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: left;">"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, </span>and what you do are in harmony." -Ghandi</h3>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-5371260619146796262015-12-20T11:01:00.003-08:002015-12-20T11:01:53.070-08:00Your Daily Rumi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMlCqDlmpTwcUbPUbCPQ_h4IdmUy_Zlw4RLyvV9sYlFQhifSr4wQfK-Xr-8UShJEjuRxXyDXFZ5-2l_QXXB9wOktH22Nh5h_nrabl_5adas66-dWJjxPpBRZuAnDdt_DfgLYiTrELVQ/s1600/rumi.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMlCqDlmpTwcUbPUbCPQ_h4IdmUy_Zlw4RLyvV9sYlFQhifSr4wQfK-Xr-8UShJEjuRxXyDXFZ5-2l_QXXB9wOktH22Nh5h_nrabl_5adas66-dWJjxPpBRZuAnDdt_DfgLYiTrELVQ/s400/rumi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-58297886220233872752015-11-03T19:54:00.002-08:002015-11-03T19:54:54.625-08:00Love is Our True Destiny<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9znStG5x7aBThvfglKpq1r9wceQvrMAO32pK-LFHiMFORi62VOP36JkqQYjw42JiUrpjd79SJKLSr7hwk877bHXyOlTQONXp-oP5tD9K2YvhHwls0DKJrimPfxozP__IeSMttxz71-Q/s1600/KuanYin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9znStG5x7aBThvfglKpq1r9wceQvrMAO32pK-LFHiMFORi62VOP36JkqQYjw42JiUrpjd79SJKLSr7hwk877bHXyOlTQONXp-oP5tD9K2YvhHwls0DKJrimPfxozP__IeSMttxz71-Q/s320/KuanYin1.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Love is our true destiny. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">We find it with another.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
- Thomas Merton </div>
</span></div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-44675541424021213972015-10-28T12:26:00.001-07:002015-10-28T12:26:28.127-07:00In these Plutonian Times<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><em>"<b>We must become the change we wish to see in the world." -Ghandi</b><br /> </em></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;"><em></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;">Every so often we enter a time in our lives that might be described as cathartic, intense, transformational, a crisis, many of which seem to come out of the blue. External events can serve as the catalyst for the beginning of much needed change</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;">The key is to become aware of what must surrendered, what is no longer essential, so that the next stage of personal growth can occur. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;">Here is when the grape meets the press as the juice is extracted slowly so that all that remains is the pulp or core of the grape. We might look at this process and think poor grape! But in fact, it it necessary to experience death of the old so that the new will be reborn. Shamanic cultures see this process as an initiatory experience when we are literally reduced to our bones.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepudrlZUtzY5kL927uHnbQKpx6Sdpp-RI6jNTCfyAMJ2qeswacYn7bGm75JgMEnVbKTO8jSbBeVPtu9uK5kLwYcYIsB0kyTjVXolNC7S4P2RagjakF61wnGhnQuIbUVuMKlaaB88zTQ/s1600/IMG_0887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepudrlZUtzY5kL927uHnbQKpx6Sdpp-RI6jNTCfyAMJ2qeswacYn7bGm75JgMEnVbKTO8jSbBeVPtu9uK5kLwYcYIsB0kyTjVXolNC7S4P2RagjakF61wnGhnQuIbUVuMKlaaB88zTQ/s320/IMG_0887.jpg" width="240" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;">Imagine that you have filled your life with many wonderful accomplishments, positive relationships, and abundance on many levels. You have reached a state of fullness in all areas after a period of expansion and growth. Often such a period can occur in the mid to late thirties after career and family has been created after the transition that occurred during the twenties and marked the entry into official adulthood after the first Saturn return at age 29. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;">For all, this is a time when a major Pluto transit appears on the horizon and heralds a time of change. It is necessary to prune the tree in order for new growth to occur. Or, in contrast, maybe life hasn't been working out all that well and a shake-up is needed. The Pluto square to natal Pluto is the first of the four mid-life transits that happen from age 36-45, but depending on the birth chart, a Plutonian catharsis can happen any time transiting Pluto comes in contact with a natal planet therefore the following excerpt applies to any Pluto transit. Think death and rebirth and you will have entered the realm of Pluto.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><i><b>Pluto square Pluto</b></i></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><i><b>A Time for Transformation and Letting Go</b> </i></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i>“The old adage for a Pluto transit is that it never asks you to let go </i></span></span><i>of what truly belongs to you, but will take anything else necessary </i><i>for evolution. Issues having to do with power and control are central </i><i>here as the intense probe of Pluto begins to uncover what it is that </i><i>needs releasing. Some keywords for this transit include penetrating, </i><i>transforming, and scathing as this transit often is the initiator in the </i><i>monadal (or midlife) process. </i></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i>Remember Hades, God of the Underworld in </i></span></span><i>Greek mythology, with Pluto, his Roman counterpart. In the myth of </i><i>Persephone, she was dragged into the underworld by Pluto who took </i><i>her to be his bride, destroying all of her innocence in the process. </i><i>When we come face-to-face with a Plutonian transit, whether in </i><i>square to its natal position or interacting with another planet in the </i><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i>birth chart, a certain degree of naivety needs to be released as </i></span></span><i>the veils are lifted. The personal and collective shadow emerges </i><i>as areas which are usually avoided for fear of what may be found. </i><i>Patterns within relationships are particular areas of scrutiny here as </i><i>are deep, dark personal and family secrets, which the individual has </i><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i>kept at bay. Surrendering to the process in whatever form it takes </i></span></span><i>is the key here.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i>Each Pluto transit has three phases: shock, paralysis, and </i></span></span><i>rebirth. The intensity of the initial shock cannot be understated as </i><i>Pluto jolts the area of life needing review. The house and sign being </i><i>impacted will indicate where the shock occurs, followed by a sense of </i><i>powerlessness and confusion over how to respond or what action to</i></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i>take...</i></span></span><i> The </i><i>third and final phase of rebirth does not usually occur until the end </i><i>of the transit when the new form has been created.” </i></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span>from </span></i></span></span><em style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Spiritual Turning Points A Metaphysical Perspective of the Seven Life </em></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><em style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Transitions</em></span></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><em style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></em></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><i><b>Question: What Am I Letting Go of Today?</b></i></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-48671167529923421162015-09-09T13:52:00.001-07:002015-09-09T13:52:27.348-07:00Your Daily Rumi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngyHaJdFZg0l6qc2ny1CBM4d3OZ6poAurWCd3L5hViBnnZKpeaCe9wmT4MaajIY8nnES11vtMvg6aaLh25G_X4idDS2F5qqjJYzX0Ow8-oOm6bBKkyGiLch7CZh1FhMcSyhRxhgDJgw/s1600/Lotus1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngyHaJdFZg0l6qc2ny1CBM4d3OZ6poAurWCd3L5hViBnnZKpeaCe9wmT4MaajIY8nnES11vtMvg6aaLh25G_X4idDS2F5qqjJYzX0Ow8-oOm6bBKkyGiLch7CZh1FhMcSyhRxhgDJgw/s320/Lotus1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">Your task is not to seek for love, </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">but merely to seek and find all the barriers </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">within yourself that you have built against it. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><i>Rumi</i></span></span></div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-2307246593550605052015-07-30T10:53:00.001-07:002015-07-30T10:53:29.704-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc4F6Y09_AzaMGqp6t8bhuFYfAg8kX_tExsku8TRhgLwxUIwp_E7mjet5DmZrN02XNe1HoAj7uhm5_-DvISc6pjEQqG1zK2qf8wiTtpACAQRJfxmaHXHLZWpZYZe_HWCBJERL99mXIg/s1600/quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc4F6Y09_AzaMGqp6t8bhuFYfAg8kX_tExsku8TRhgLwxUIwp_E7mjet5DmZrN02XNe1HoAj7uhm5_-DvISc6pjEQqG1zK2qf8wiTtpACAQRJfxmaHXHLZWpZYZe_HWCBJERL99mXIg/s320/quote.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-82955390280846006712015-06-22T17:42:00.001-07:002015-06-22T17:42:21.903-07:00Be Creative!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_jnJ7ge5h4tiJN414PgLD_MKt-6qnXwEDTk7hbfdENz62KVi8tIiCPFvWbA_6Z6HhRXej2ADnyD21dH8PM4eorw3Pkpp_F46k98SeFQP0t8VBEkbAnTSKaJsTTnc83Zh1PIi1SRbMA/s1600/jung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_jnJ7ge5h4tiJN414PgLD_MKt-6qnXwEDTk7hbfdENz62KVi8tIiCPFvWbA_6Z6HhRXej2ADnyD21dH8PM4eorw3Pkpp_F46k98SeFQP0t8VBEkbAnTSKaJsTTnc83Zh1PIi1SRbMA/s400/jung.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-3061490312577920252015-05-31T13:57:00.003-07:002015-05-31T13:57:23.698-07:00To Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_64JEer8tKheGOS7Cf6zVSg9kFQ1mtMNvYvdSmWX7HHWIfD6mr79DsYfiWGZYYZsTUtcDpgQR8X1PslWWMCk3N7i6JUfH6tApn5ibSlcN6o8_v8jPWMXcb0Smyc_gTFPba2cCHNYsQ/s1600/IMG_1811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_64JEer8tKheGOS7Cf6zVSg9kFQ1mtMNvYvdSmWX7HHWIfD6mr79DsYfiWGZYYZsTUtcDpgQR8X1PslWWMCk3N7i6JUfH6tApn5ibSlcN6o8_v8jPWMXcb0Smyc_gTFPba2cCHNYsQ/s200/IMG_1811.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>"This is the point where love becomes possible. We see the other with the eye of the heart, an eye not clouded by fear manifesting as need, jealousy, possessiveness, or manipulation. With the unclouded eye of the heart, we can see the other as other. We can rejoice in the other, challenge the other, and embrace the other without losing our own center or taking anything away from the other. We are always other to each other — soul meeting soul, the body awakened with joy. To love unconditionally requires no contracts, bargains, or agreements. Love exists in the moment-to-moment flux of life."</i><br />
<br />
Marion Woodman, Jungian Analyst and author of Addiction to Perfection.</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-88748209373073505092015-04-28T08:31:00.001-07:002015-04-28T08:31:18.529-07:00From the Archives: On Intimacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: medium;">"Michael on Intimacy"</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><br /><b>Michael:</b> We will begin today by addressing the issue of validation. It is useful here to share personal information which can be elaborated and offered to this group for discussion, for indeed all fragments here present can utilize such information for self reflection and comparisons. To clarify by comparisons we do not mean to suggest that fragments will hold themselves up one to the other but rather that it is useful to understand the process through which validation occurs. And it can be in the most simplest of matters, such as the artisan's comments being told today.</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMCzFzvRadOvY-goceJDMgn1vFscQtclW0iJ9-YllRu6KrlgxVi4M7HIVJ_4cMRv1ZbnPLY9MDpRJN1O5exn51Y9ExG2UrS5HsgFeGjHkr5qvJcbyJDBdB9BRP7acjoLE5BQkyQzG0A/s1600/IMG_1093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMCzFzvRadOvY-goceJDMgn1vFscQtclW0iJ9-YllRu6KrlgxVi4M7HIVJ_4cMRv1ZbnPLY9MDpRJN1O5exn51Y9ExG2UrS5HsgFeGjHkr5qvJcbyJDBdB9BRP7acjoLE5BQkyQzG0A/s320/IMG_1093.JPG" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif;">We think many times fragments are reluctant to share personal insights for fear of personal judgments, criticism, and the like, and that the chief feature's interference is more than negligible and in fact can become persistent and all-encompassing. We would recommend for those fragments here present, especially those relatively new to this work, that you might expect some chief feature interference, for the validations and perceptions which are available to you at this time could, and we underline could be life changing.</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif;">The introduction of Universal Truths into an individual fragment's life can either be embraced, denied, or left discarded without due attention. Therefore you might wish to consider today's information in the light of the following weeks rather than under the guise of potential misinterpretations by fear. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: left;">Intimacy is a Universal Truth and is one of the primary mechanisms for progress of the individual soul through the levels. There is much misinterpretation of the term specifically related to requirements which are often based around potential encounters and exchanges, and which of course often times prevent true intimacy. It is in the simplest moments that true intimacy occurs. For it is in these moments that fragments one to the other are able to let down their barriers and allow for the penetration which occurs when they meet essence to essence. This is not necessarily a sexual experience although this can occur of course. Essence contact begins to occur more readily in the later levels of the soul evolution when there is much experience under the belt for the evolving fragments. And there is less need for expectations and pleasantries of the sort, and when such structures are discarded and fragments are more willing to be in the moment rather than in the past or in the potential future, then opportunities for true intimacy become more easily accessible.We would remind all here present that some discussion can occur here today having to do with the exchange of perceptions having to do with intimacy, including those times when such occurred, times when fear prevented validation, and times when fear prevented the experience. Homework for those so inclined might include making a personal inventory which could then be studied and reviewed for greater clarification and understanding."</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif;">All rights reserved c. 2004 </span></div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="justify">
</div>
<br />
<div align="justify" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-43705652410441274012015-04-06T14:40:00.002-07:002015-04-06T14:40:33.213-07:00Finding God<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_m9PiznKUHkqvG_FRs9VCopPehlUMM2ZUIiMrgwIgvLVyQHBBYyZLloWYnPS6vsXk2XujnjHDuLKmfvmZle8Ve8Eq1pP2uVjQCIS0kAXQm9GUysu1h4934I6rZgevRUJ3liayyqfLg/s1600/hst_carina_ngc3372_0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_m9PiznKUHkqvG_FRs9VCopPehlUMM2ZUIiMrgwIgvLVyQHBBYyZLloWYnPS6vsXk2XujnjHDuLKmfvmZle8Ve8Eq1pP2uVjQCIS0kAXQm9GUysu1h4934I6rZgevRUJ3liayyqfLg/s1600/hst_carina_ngc3372_0006.jpg" height="206" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">"I searched for God and found only myself</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">I searched for myself and found only God"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i>Sufi Proverb</i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-69452656339496537812015-03-05T09:09:00.001-08:002015-03-05T09:09:24.918-08:00Your Daily Rumi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixK2SsO13so1piZMn5QoMx35-n_pDyVdHecijOl-j822uWBxlMcsnzmz87SGR86B4WLgyC0_pLUZ3BIjNHG9T_srKgTDWbqbD2GjEg-7KScHTg3WnahQ1pvNvTX5JXe32hewS1rrKnxQ/s1600/IMG_1472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixK2SsO13so1piZMn5QoMx35-n_pDyVdHecijOl-j822uWBxlMcsnzmz87SGR86B4WLgyC0_pLUZ3BIjNHG9T_srKgTDWbqbD2GjEg-7KScHTg3WnahQ1pvNvTX5JXe32hewS1rrKnxQ/s1600/IMG_1472.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"All this singing, all these religions, One Song."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Rumi</span></div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-76040978720277834532015-02-01T13:00:00.000-08:002015-02-01T13:00:01.945-08:00Your Daily Hafiz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XgYlVaM1he4W7zD1-m9g2rP2xvTpG8Tp9cGzAhyYfEzNaAItDzfbbh1unxFEC_MzD-eFGQvCDK59ZwjYqduj8RW7lDqVlTJX1QtniMQ_RkiizZdX6K9uew9rnbPIKJ7VhWNqiXZclg/s1600/sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XgYlVaM1he4W7zD1-m9g2rP2xvTpG8Tp9cGzAhyYfEzNaAItDzfbbh1unxFEC_MzD-eFGQvCDK59ZwjYqduj8RW7lDqVlTJX1QtniMQ_RkiizZdX6K9uew9rnbPIKJ7VhWNqiXZclg/s320/sun.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in the darkness,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the astonishing light of your own being."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-Hafiz</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
photo earthtrek.com</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-56828996750547619262014-12-03T20:27:00.002-08:002014-12-03T20:27:33.309-08:00On Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAn26eAMXJT77TvjVybjZuxVvw6UXqwpFSAdq886be9hXhZYT6PXHJHwM0AEPWdfgkMZGHDI6_lMB_G9Wa1FVXZx_Hi84UT_ppEHGCSKlp0EqL35EgRau3L9nhFoo_1-fjQJ0Zsf-HTw/s1600/carlisle-wall-the-lovers-1853.jpg!Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAn26eAMXJT77TvjVybjZuxVvw6UXqwpFSAdq886be9hXhZYT6PXHJHwM0AEPWdfgkMZGHDI6_lMB_G9Wa1FVXZx_Hi84UT_ppEHGCSKlp0EqL35EgRau3L9nhFoo_1-fjQJ0Zsf-HTw/s1600/carlisle-wall-the-lovers-1853.jpg!Blog.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">On Love</span></b></h2>
<b><br /></b>
"When you love you should say not, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."<br />
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course."<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i>From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran</i><br />
<i>Painting by Dante Rossetti (1853)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></blockquote>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-19164302892771303122014-11-09T11:24:00.000-08:002014-11-09T11:24:07.290-08:00A Case for Reincarnation <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql1Q1zVm_VLcl_WtN1XTDB8qqyRMcVkZUgLsoNqTdLJp6JBeL7aycJZ0kqxbvw4lMuCt_armNrwiHQcWWPibP8ejCvVQceU8wyGEq5c6F2bNPS-n0qC-UJgzSWu3GH_CeUb96TMeBpw/s1600/IMG_0929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql1Q1zVm_VLcl_WtN1XTDB8qqyRMcVkZUgLsoNqTdLJp6JBeL7aycJZ0kqxbvw4lMuCt_armNrwiHQcWWPibP8ejCvVQceU8wyGEq5c6F2bNPS-n0qC-UJgzSWu3GH_CeUb96TMeBpw/s1600/IMG_0929.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">
“I think it is lost…but nothing is ever lost nor can it be lost.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">
The body sluggish, aged, cold, the ember from earlier fires </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">
shall duly flame again.”</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">
Walt Whitman</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-62703575451602650662014-10-13T12:02:00.002-07:002014-10-13T12:02:29.135-07:00Your Daily Hafiz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XgYlVaM1he4W7zD1-m9g2rP2xvTpG8Tp9cGzAhyYfEzNaAItDzfbbh1unxFEC_MzD-eFGQvCDK59ZwjYqduj8RW7lDqVlTJX1QtniMQ_RkiizZdX6K9uew9rnbPIKJ7VhWNqiXZclg/s1600/sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XgYlVaM1he4W7zD1-m9g2rP2xvTpG8Tp9cGzAhyYfEzNaAItDzfbbh1unxFEC_MzD-eFGQvCDK59ZwjYqduj8RW7lDqVlTJX1QtniMQ_RkiizZdX6K9uew9rnbPIKJ7VhWNqiXZclg/s320/sun.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in the darkness,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the astonishing light of your own being."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-Hafiz</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-42291382299649803352014-09-17T19:38:00.003-07:002014-09-17T19:39:09.427-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d84c6; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 24px;">Letting Go of Our Stories</span><br />
<div class="date-posts" style="clear: both; padding-top: 15px;">
<div class="post-outer" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-top-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 10px;">
<div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" style="min-height: 0px; position: relative;">
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7283490865462132115" style="line-height: 1.4; width: 550px;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF6H3Y4GsbhbhCVlQG2x6WsdpXsB1uMtr1R4bERAkdep-yI_KY9t4Lu_An3Mxb1kk91Ejs5YVoH-5bYj4d-NfG9ay8yq7r0NfGYvnYCGxD9sBGGfyhzHYaZNzVlIg7pR_-cuWrEv3MA/s1600-h/duck1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #3d74a5; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF6H3Y4GsbhbhCVlQG2x6WsdpXsB1uMtr1R4bERAkdep-yI_KY9t4Lu_An3Mxb1kk91Ejs5YVoH-5bYj4d-NfG9ay8yq7r0NfGYvnYCGxD9sBGGfyhzHYaZNzVlIg7pR_-cuWrEv3MA/s200/duck1.jpg" r="true" style="border: none; padding: 8px; position: relative;" /></a></div>
<br />
I just heard of a story which I would like to share today.<br />
<br />
In “A New Earth”, Eckhart Tolle describes a story entitled "The Duck With The Human Mind". He says that when two ducks get into a fight, it never lasts too long, because the ducks will separate and float off in opposite directions. “The duck will flap its wings vigorously a few times, thus releasing the surplus energy that built up during the fight. After they flap their wings, they float on peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened. If the duck had a human mind, it would keep the fight alive by thinking, by story-making. This would probably be the duck’s story: “I don’t believe what he just did. He came to within five inches of me. He thinks he owns this pond. He has no consideration for my private space. I’ll never trust him again. Next time he’ll try something else just to annoy me. I’m sure he’s plotting something already. But I’m not going to stand for this. I’ll teach him a lesson he won’t forget.”<br />
<br />
Tolle summarizes, “But this is how most humans live all the time. No situation or event is ever really finished. ...We are a species that has lost its way. Everything natural, every flower or tree, and every animal have important lessons to teach us if we would only stop, look, and listen. Our duck’s lesson is this: Flap your wings - which translates as “let go of the story” - and return to the only place of power: the present moment.”<br />
<br />
This story illustrates how our minds get caught up in making up stories about our experiences. We may in the moment find ourselves feeling deeply;<br />
<br />
<em>Our dog has just died and we feel intense grief. We reunite with a lover and feel intense joy. We fly into a rage when someone crosses our boundaries.</em><br />
<br />
All of these feelings are valid. However, it is our thoughts that follow the emotions that lead to the tangles I wrote about in my blog "The Life Tapestry". And, it's what we do with these thoughts that make all the difference. In the moment that we notice our thoughts going down that all too familiar pathway of "story", we can stop, take a deep breath, and return to our center. If we are still feeling the intensity of the emotions, we can "flap our wings" and release the energy just as the duck did. It is then we can return to the present moment, to our "place of power". We can return to our Pond.<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Duck Dance by ViaMoi</span></em><br />
<div>
<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-34041216857653397742014-08-20T08:34:00.002-07:002014-08-20T08:34:27.047-07:00Your Daily Rumi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9znStG5x7aBThvfglKpq1r9wceQvrMAO32pK-LFHiMFORi62VOP36JkqQYjw42JiUrpjd79SJKLSr7hwk877bHXyOlTQONXp-oP5tD9K2YvhHwls0DKJrimPfxozP__IeSMttxz71-Q/s1600/KuanYin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9znStG5x7aBThvfglKpq1r9wceQvrMAO32pK-LFHiMFORi62VOP36JkqQYjw42JiUrpjd79SJKLSr7hwk877bHXyOlTQONXp-oP5tD9K2YvhHwls0DKJrimPfxozP__IeSMttxz71-Q/s1600/KuanYin1.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Come out of the circle of time, and into the circle of love." -Rumi</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-7457492022604878262014-08-09T08:33:00.002-07:002014-08-09T08:33:29.926-07:00Beyond Ideas: Your Daily Rumi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Palatino, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sGfvXEMj7qLFPkhhS_WBMrgHJcEWOjzy0ma0mrs054eNKRKJkRNDn-YMfpZJhFeLAM38iSw7OLAaoofI7Io6XkdX3DRUvODTQ9Rrio5kO9eoOxmR4hMPziACkJfnP0LQiP6Io5L0WA/s1600/IMG_1106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sGfvXEMj7qLFPkhhS_WBMrgHJcEWOjzy0ma0mrs054eNKRKJkRNDn-YMfpZJhFeLAM38iSw7OLAaoofI7Io6XkdX3DRUvODTQ9Rrio5kO9eoOxmR4hMPziACkJfnP0LQiP6Io5L0WA/s1600/IMG_1106.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span>
<span class="bigcap" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.3em;">O</span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">ut beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Palatino, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">there is a field. I'll meet you there.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Palatino, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em;">When the soul lies down in that grass,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">the world is too full to talk about.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: center;"></span><span style="font-family: Palatino, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: center;"></span><span style="font-family: Palatino, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: center;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Rumi 13th century</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-47541665027757769612014-07-04T16:01:00.003-07:002014-07-04T16:01:44.675-07:00Be Inspired! Your Daily Hafiz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XgYlVaM1he4W7zD1-m9g2rP2xvTpG8Tp9cGzAhyYfEzNaAItDzfbbh1unxFEC_MzD-eFGQvCDK59ZwjYqduj8RW7lDqVlTJX1QtniMQ_RkiizZdX6K9uew9rnbPIKJ7VhWNqiXZclg/s1600/sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XgYlVaM1he4W7zD1-m9g2rP2xvTpG8Tp9cGzAhyYfEzNaAItDzfbbh1unxFEC_MzD-eFGQvCDK59ZwjYqduj8RW7lDqVlTJX1QtniMQ_RkiizZdX6K9uew9rnbPIKJ7VhWNqiXZclg/s320/sun.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in the darkness,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the astonishing light of your own being."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-Hafiz</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110363858574447645.post-65692876973395030452014-06-01T20:02:00.000-07:002014-06-01T20:02:17.521-07:00Dancing with the Bones<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="entry" style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXpCAZr_sFquuYa0LLyiNH2fnIVmHLcszsU4WRRBvLS1ahlPaBXnjoOeTtJkFo7UipZG3nvNsNxbInLIMwnvzGHINNVBJz-IF4B33GpN0Z6O87Cue2PoM2_PVXG7Qw_Bn5UBagrUn3w/s1600/bones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXpCAZr_sFquuYa0LLyiNH2fnIVmHLcszsU4WRRBvLS1ahlPaBXnjoOeTtJkFo7UipZG3nvNsNxbInLIMwnvzGHINNVBJz-IF4B33GpN0Z6O87Cue2PoM2_PVXG7Qw_Bn5UBagrUn3w/s1600/bones.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;">Running with Ravens; Dancing with Wolves: Dancing </span><span style="line-height: 19px;">with</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;"> the Bones- A Rather Startling Discovery</span></span></b></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">by Martha Brumabaugh, PhD. Featured in Counter Culture Magazine June 2014</span></i></b></h2>
<div>
<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div>
<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div>
<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><i><br /></i></b></div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
<span style="line-height: 1.5;">It was a sultry day and there seemed to be no escape from the mid-day heat. We had returned to Paris just after Bastille Day, to spend our last couple of nights in the city we had all grown to love. My sister and I were travelling with my two sons, and had in tow my “third” son, a kid who spent a lot of time with us, and referred to me as Mom #2. Three teen-age boys seemed to add to the exhaustive heat. We spent the morning at the Louvre, had a leisurely lunch and then took the metro across town to the Denfert Rochereau Metro station. We emerged near the Lion de Belfort, but headed straight to the entrance of the Catacombs. I hoped that going underground would be the answer to the heat. What I didn’t know was that we were destined to have an experience that would change four of us forever.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
We paid the fee, and began the descent down the 130 steps on an old stone spiral staircase. At the bottom we followed a long, low corridor for what felt like forever. It smelled of earth, and mud, and at 57 degrees, it was a relief from the heat on the surface, twenty meters above. We wandered down the corridor, chatting, and wondering where the bones were. And then we approached a veritable gateway, a door with a sign that read, “Arrête, c’est ici l’empire de la mort,” or in English, “Halt, this is the realm of death.” At this point we left the earthen corridor entering into a maze of dimly lit stone walls embedded with skulls. We stopped very suddenly, and it seemed as though the conversations around us stopped as well. With a shudder, I realized that the walls were not made from river rock but from bones. I turned to say something to the boys only to find that I was alone. Everything was silent, and for all intents and purposes, I was alone in this “realm of the dead.”</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
I pushed aside my initial sense of panic, and began to walk deeper into the maze. I had no idea where I was, and there was no sign of a living creature. Just me with all those bones. I stopped periodically to read the plaques that noted from which cemetery the bones had been moved, and when. I reached out and felt the energy emanating from them. I cried at the huge number of infant and children’s bones. And then, in a flash, I remembered that I had lived more than one life in Paris, and there was a strong chance that some of those bones could be mine. What if I was in the presence of my own bones? Was this an opportunity to reshape my understanding of reincarnation, and to embrace the knowledge that there are moments when we can truly look back through time and see remnants of who we were? I was here. I was looking at what could be me. There could be many versions of me, and we were all in this place at this time. I was overwhelmed at the possibilities, and sank onto a nearby stone bench.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
And then, I heard the music. I felt the urge to sing, and to dance with the bones. I was all alone, and so I let go of all my inhibitions and stood up, and began to dance among the bones. The music was a song written by Victoria Marina Tompkins (1992) and I shifted the lyrics to match the setting.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
<a href="http://culturecountermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DJJ_1_Catacombes_de_Paris-2.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px none; color: #444444; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;"><img alt="DJJ_1_Catacombes_de_Paris (2)" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-876" src="http://culturecountermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DJJ_1_Catacombes_de_Paris-2.jpg" height="1456" style="border: 0px none; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: none; padding: 0px;" width="2592" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
Bones, come dance with me! Bones, come dance with me! Bones, come dance with me! We’re dancing under Paris, under Paris tonight! Dancing under Paris, under Paris tonight.<br />
Bones dance, know the shaman’s death. Bones dance, hear the raven cry. Bones dance, see the ancestors! They’re dancing under Paris, under Paris tonight! Dancing under Paris, under Paris tonight.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
Bones, come fly with me! Bones, come fly with me! Bones come fly with me! We’re flying under Paris under Paris tonight!</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
Bones dance, know the shaman’s death. Bones dance, hear the raven cry. Bones dance, see the ancestors! They’re dancing under Paris, under Paris tonight! Dancing under Paris, under<br />
Paris tonight.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
Bones, come die with me! Bones, come die with me! Bones, come die with me! We’re dying under Paris, under Paris tonight! We’re dying under Paris, under Paris tonight.<br />
Bones dance, know the shaman’s death. Bones dance, hear the raven cry. Bones dance, see the ancestors! They’re dancing under Paris, under Paris tonight! Dancing under Paris, under Paris tonight (Marina Tompkins, 1992; adapted by Brumbaugh 2003).</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
I have no idea how long I danced and sang my way through the maze. The experience was nothing less than magical. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it ended. An announcement came over the loudspeaker that it was time to close and we had ten minutes to leave. Again, I felt a sense of panic, because I had no idea where I was, and the corridors in the catacombs stretched over 200 meters. I must admit, I thought that perhaps I would have the chance to spend the night with the bones. But then I became aware of conversations in German and French not far from me, so I followed the voices. There, in a room with a vaulted ceiling stood the three boys who wasted no time bombarding me with questions about my disappearance.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
They said that they were following me, and I just vanished. Because they were all raised in homes that encouraged the acceptance of non-rational experiences, they understood that I had stepped out of time. My sister, more resistant to anything that can’t be scientifically proven, had long since gone up to the surface.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
More than ten years later, I continue to ponder my experience in the Catacombs. I talked to my older son, Russell, this morning, and found that he had nearly forgotten it. As I began to retell the story, he remembered. I was rather stunned that it hadn’t stuck with him, and a little saddened by it. I guess that the day his mom vanished in the Catacombs of Paris was obviously not at the top of his list of life-altering experiences! Nor was it on the list for my “third” son, Brian, but after several tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, I can understand why. I spoke with my younger son and was not surprised that he remembered. Nicholas reminded me that the three of them were not only separated from me, but from everyone else as well, and for at least five minutes, Brian too had disappeared. It seems that they stepped back through the veil when they entered the chamber at the end of the catacombs.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
Sometimes a shared experience such as this one can change the worldview, and perhaps the core belief systems of a person. Sometimes it just fades away. Perhaps the difference between the experiences of Nicholas and myself are different, because of our continued relationship with the magical world and the fact that we share the ability to slip through the mists to the other side. Or maybe it reflects that, although unexpected at that moment in time, it was not something they would consider to be out of the ordinary. If that is the case, then I have done my job.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
Before I close, I would like to say a few words about my first shaman teacher, Victoria Marina Tompkins, who wrote the original lyrics to “Bones.” I had the honor to work with Victoria and consider her to be the most significant influence in my work. Victoria’s work at Flight of the Hawk, Center for Contemporary Shamanism, propelled me on to a path that led me to my doctoral work and beyond. The flier for her beginning class was nestled in a bag of Amway product delivered to me by one of her students. The message that I got from that was that it was not only time to clean up my house, but to clean up my life. Victoria’s teachings, circles, vision quests, and her music will be with me always, and I am deeply indebted to her for showing me the way. I will never forget the impact that she has had on my life.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
<b>You can visit Victoria’s work at http://www.flightofthehawk.com and listen to a sample of the original recording of “Bones,” at http://www.flightofthehawk.com/music.html. The CD, Flight of the Hawk: Shamanic Songs and Ritual Chants is available through her website. </b>(I had the privilege of participating as a vocalist on this CD.)</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
<i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Martha Brumbaugh, PhD</i>, is an artist, writer, ceremonialist, and shaman whose ground-breaking doctoral dissertation, <i style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;">Out of the Mists: An Organic Inquiry into Sacred Ways of Knowing and the Shaping of Reality</i>(2006) brought lived shamanic experience into the world of academic discourse. She has mentored women and men on spiritual paths since 1988 and is co-founder of The Edge of Lemuria, Crossroads for Healers and Seekers. When she isn’t working, teaching or writing, she can be found petting her two cats, staring out to sea and contemplating the unlimitedness of possibility.</div>
</div>
<div class="share-post" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; border-bottom-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-style: solid none; border-top-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); border-width: 1px 0px; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: 20px; list-style: none; margin: 10px 0px 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px 10px 10px;">
<ul style="border: 0px none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"></ul>
</div>
</div>
Victoria Marina-Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09992631612753377417noreply@blogger.com0