Spirituality versus Religion

I am not a big fan of religion.  I find it too restrictive, plus religion has a long history of causing hate, destruction and wars.  Those of the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish faiths have fought with each other for centuries.  The various religions of India have all fought with each other, and with the followers of Islam, Christians and Jews.  Around the world, religions have fought with each other, each vying to prove that they are the only way to Deity.  From my point of view, even Hitler and the Nazis were a type of religion if you will, with Hitler as a high priest.  The Alt Christians seem to be hell bent on having Donald Trump as theirs.

Now the definition of religion is basically an organized belief system that is structured and created by humans.  It is an institution that has a defined and correct way to behave and to worship a “Deity”.  The acceptable behaviors of how to live and worship according to Deity are defined by human agents who have been handpicked, if you will, by Deity.  There is generally a handbook (Bible, Torah, Koran, Codices, etc.) of some sort that gives a general outline of how to act, live, worship and so forth, that is again, interpreted by humans.  The problem is, 2 people can read the same thing and come up with 2 different interpretations.  The other problem is people.  What I mean by that is, the people that are generally in charge of interpreting Deity’s messages have a desire and thirst for power, and have NO desire to let it go because they have a Deity given right or blessing to have such power.  This represents a circular pattern of reasoning that is self-justifying.  In other words, “I am the authority because Deity has deemed me to be the authority and only I can interpret Deity’s wisdom”.

Throughout history, religions have grown and evolved.  They change, and they change because different people come to power if you will and decide on a new interpretation of beliefs and tenets.  Or a sect of one of the religions becomes more powerful than another.  Or someone has a "vision" from Deity given to them to give to the rest of humankind to help everyone regain the path to the straight and narrow.   I don't care what religion, defunct, or those still being practiced, they all have done it.  Christianity certainly has.  From being an offshoot sect of the Jewish Religion that was trying to recover the original Jewish beliefs that had been polluted and hijacked by the Patriarchal nonsense of Egyptian and Chaldean hijackers, it was then hijacked by Saul/Paul and used to create a new Sect for Gentiles.  Over the centuries it was changed and evolved to something completely unrecognizable by the original followers of Jesus.  Even now we see it being changed by those who I refer to as Alt Christians, who are using it to further their agenda of hate and control, complete with bigotry and Racism, and a hatred towards everyone that is not of the same sect, or color, or race as they. 

Now spirituality is another kettle of fish.  I am all for spirituality.  It is found deep inside you and extends to the world around you.  Spirituality if you will, can be defined by saying it is your personal connection to Deity.  It is your own personal beliefs and values of how to not only behave with others and the world around you in a loving manner, but how you show love and respect to Deity, and how you feel Deity responds.  You feel the connection to all things around you.  You also understand that everyone not only has this right, but it will be different for everyone.  You have no desire to give rigid rules to others to make them conform to your path, nor to use violence, fear, or intimidation.  You understand that all things are connected and

that we are here to learn, and help each other.  You know that all paths, if positive in nature, meaning not focusing on hate or control, or the use of fear, lead to the one.

I don't care what your race, religion, gender identification, sexual orientation, social status, education, how you look, your height, weight or what your career is; being spiritual is measured in how you treat others.  This nonsense of "God says", "Allah says", and even "Goddess says", is just that, nonsense.  Deity wants us to be happy and to grow and to learn in our outlook.  You have to remember that PEOPLE are the ones who are doing the interpreting here.  And lots of folks have their own agendas in mind, not the spiritual welfare of others.  For that matter, I doubt very much if Deity cares, what outward rituals you use to worship them, in fact, I highly believe that Deity is not giving these so called religious leaders, these orders to rush out there and convert everyone to their particular belief system.  Any path or religion that focuses on hating others because they worship a different Deity or because of gender, race or religion is not coming from Deity.  It is someone's personal agenda, and that someone is human and not a supreme being.  Deity is not worried if you are gay, or what race you are.  Deity doesn't care if you have an abortion or take birth control or have had sex outside of marriage.  That is someone's personal belief that is being used to control others. 

This is why I encourage everyone, regardless of their religious affiliation, to search within to find their own spiritual path.  What is your own personal definition of Deity, of love, of right and wrong?  Study for yourself; follow the evolution of the various religions. The information is there, know what you believe.  Seek and ye shall find.  Soul growth, spiritual growth, fulfillment, and self-knowledge are the rewards.  You have to find it yourself; it is NOT something that someone else can give to you.  When you blindly follow someone elses definition you are aren't growing and expanding.  You may be getting some truth, but you also may be getting some untruths.  

As for some of the so called New Age paths, they have been polluted by Christianity.  Any time I see Jesus or The Christ Archetype mentioned I know that this is someone who is trying to marry the two.  And it's not going to work.  I know that Jesus was not the biological son of God, that he wasn't the savior sent to save sinners, because I have studied history and the evolution of Christianity, and I know that, that was created by the those Bishops at the Council of Nicea in the 3rd century A.D.  

When I tell you that knowledge is power, its because its true.  When you know the origins of beliefs, how a religion evolved, than you are free to make your own conclusions.   As for me, my path works for me, we all have a right to find our own path.  One that is positive in nature, based on love and understanding, compassion for others, and concern for our planet and the non human inhabitants on it.  

The Goddess, Spring, the Bunny and the egg.

Once upon a time long, long ago when the earth was young and our ancestors still believed in the Goddess and magic the Goddess came to earth and.....

It had been a long, cold winter and the earth would start to waken from her slumber when the cold, and darkness would push back and try and make her return to sleep.  The people were scared that the cold and dark would be victorious and they begin to petition the Goddess to hurry and arrive with Spring.  When the Goddess would arrive with Spring she would travel to and fro in her chariot which was pulled by a beautiful rabbit.  After one particular cold snap the people begin to worry.  They went to the Priestess and begged her to do something.  The Priestess sat and thought and she petitioned the Goddess to please hurry.

Soon they noticed that the cold and dark was receding and high up in the sky they could see an object appearing in the area where the Sun would rise.  Suddenly upon the Earth appeared an object that resembled a beautifully decorated object that resembled an egg.  It opened up, and out stepped the Goddess.  As her foot touched the earth, warmth and light begin to appear.  The people were so happy to see her.  They begin to sob and cry with relief that she had finally come. 

She begin to speak and held in her hand an egg that was colored and decorated with designs and symbols.  My children, I hold in my hand the symbol of rebirth, rejuvenation and renewal. In keeping with the movement of the planets and the seasons, at times I bring Spring early, and sometimes I must come later.  But as a sign to you that I will soon bring Spring with it's renewal of life, and fertility, with it's warmth and light as a sign for you to remember and not despair I will send my faithful Rabbit, who draws my chariot with a remembrance to you that I will soon arrive.  He will carry this symbol decorated to remind you that I am coming and will arrive when the movement of the heavens show me is the proper time.  At this the Rabbit and his family begin to give to every person an egg from the Goddess.  Each was wondrously colored and decorated.  The people begin to dance and cheer.

And that is why we have the Bunny and colored eggs.  To remind us that the Goddess is coming soon and the colored eggs are her reminder to us of her promise of arrival is soon.

Take off the Rose colored glasses, and SEE.

My spiritual path focuses  a lot on knowledge.  Because Knowledge is power.  Knowledge of the world around you, knowledge of self, and knowledge of others.  Being realistic.  Understanding that sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.  Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do.  Sometimes you have to see things for what they are, even if it causes emotional pain.  For we humans there are very few absolute truths, simply because we fool ourselves, or we accept something as truth that is erroneous because we are expected to, or because we don't want to go through all the trouble of investigating for ourselves, or for a myriad of other reasons.  Absolute truths that really are, are few at this point and they are things like, humans need oxygen, and water.

We limit ourselves to exposure to those things that are familiar and comforting.  We don't like to step outside of our own comfort zone.  We don't want to admit that there is extreme poverty and people dying because they don't have food, housing, clothing or medical care.  We don't want to admit that there are people who enjoy causing harm to others, or have no compassion.  We don't want to acknowledge that there are predators, child molestors, racists, bigots, and that evil exists.  So we ignore it, or try and make excuses for it.  We like to sugar coat things and claim they are out of our control, to deny responsibility.  " My drug addiction is a disease", "My alcoholism is a disease", "I had a bad childhood", and the list could go on.  When the actuality is, WE made a choice.  That's exactly what it comes down to.  Own it, accept responsibility for your actions and for the choice you made.  Oh yes our environment colors how we see things, and the past also does, but if we search ourselves and expose ourselves to other ideas, we also see other options.

We believe everything that our spiritual or religious leader or advisor tells us.  We like to believe that they have a direct line to deity and that everything they tell us is a message straight from the Goddess, or God or whomever your chosen deity is.  We like to think that the person is filled with the love of that Deity and filled with goodness and only wishes to share that knowledge.  Some are, and many have their own agendas.  We have to study and reflect for ourselves.

In Politics we like to assume that the person is filled with altruism and wants nothing but the best for the rest of humankind.  The truth of the matter 99% of the time is the person has a desire for wealth and power, and seeks to enforce their own agenda.

Sociopaths seek power through business, politics, and religion most of the time. I am using the term Sociopath, when really it's all those cluster B's.  As I have told you before, in my opinion, they are all the same, the difference is just how they present themselves, or operate.  All have a lust for power, believe themselves, smarter, better and more capable of anyone else.  We need to understand that.

People also do this with regards to relationships.  We get clues, and we ignore them.  Or we think we can change the other person.  Not happening.  The only person we can change is ourselves.  Take off the rose colored glasses and acknowledge at least to yourself if no one else, who the person really is.  If they're a mature adult who allows their family to meddle it's not going to change.  To tell yourself otherwise is pure blindness. You don't know how many times I have heard "But I thought he loved me", "She told me I was her soulmate", and the list could go on.  Anymore, I point out the pitfalls, and just walk away.  People won't listen, they delude themselves even when the evidence is overwhelming.  I just save my breath, it's a lot less stressful for me.   They rush into a relationship, not knowing who the other person really is and lots of time once they SEE, they blame the other person when the truth is, its their own fault.  For rushing in, for buying into the "Love at first sight, and they all lived happily ever after myth.

We like to believe that evil doesn't exist, or for the religious types they drag in Satan.  Both are wrong.  Evil exists make no mistake. Christians drag out Satan and paint him as ugly and repellent.  Evil is many times in a pretty little package, wrapped in pretty coverings and sparkly with a bow on top.   Evil is a desire to consume and destroy hope, love, happiness, joy and all things positive in nature.  Evil likes to make suffering for others, it enjoys it.  Evil lusts after pain and suffering, it desires to punish and cause pain.  Evil fools many because it chips away at decency and wraps it up in the package of religion or some other movement that doesn't seem threatening.  Many become twisted and filled with hate and don't even notice what they have become.  Evil takes away choices and options of others and sits back and sips from the cup of despair.

Ever see a rabid animal?  It's not a pretty sight.  They are dangerous.  You could send light and love and understanding at them all you want, won't help a bit.  What you have to do is put them down, in other words you have to kill them.  Meaning sometimes you have to use forceful methods that you really don't want to.  Sometimes regardless of how your path is you have to use means and methods that you usually don't.  Ignoring it won't make it go away, but allows the problem to spread and cause a bigger mess for the person that finally comes along and decides that something has to be done.  I don't believe in harming animals, but I guarantee if a rabid animal wonders into my yard I will shoot it.  In other words, sometimes you have to operate outside of your normal mode of operation and use methods you usually wouldn't to deal with a problem.

So people take off those rose colored glasses, expose yourself to the real world.  Pursue knowledge.  Learn to know yourself, look at others and see them for who they really are.  Step out of your comfort zone and deal with issues and problems.  Wake up and stay woken.  Take responsibility.

Yearning for the past, or working towards the future.

I often think oh it must have been something living in the past.  In the antebellum days with the hoop skirts and the laid back days.  Or the Renaissance Era, or the Medieval times with the damsels in distress, and gowns of velvet and satin, or back in the days before Christianity reared it's head.

Yes many of us like to romanticize the past.  We think back in the good ole' days everything was just perfect.  But we tend to forget that we aren't being realistic.  By that I mean we overlook the bad stuff.  Like disease running rampant, poverty, suppression, lack of communication, and so on.

Women were seen as property and were married off not for love, but for gain.  First your father, or male guardian was your owner, once you were married you became the property of your husband, who could beat you, and even in some cases kill you without fear of repercussions.  You could be divorced and put in a convent for just not producing a male heir if he were so inclined. 

Slavery was fine, dandy and legal.  Humans were bought and sold and disposed of easily.  Children had no rights and could be abused and beaten, and were often sexually abused. 

Smallpox, chickenpox, measles, The Black Death and various other diseases were rampant.  Women died in childbirth constantly, or weeks later from childbirth fever. 

People were controlled not only by those in power and those who had money but by the Church.  You could be stripped of your belongings, and throw in jail or killed because your beliefs were thought to make you a heretic. 

There was no phones or computers, no electricity or other utilities.  Water was gotten from streams, ponds, wells, and rivers and was many times full of toxins and disease.  Food was scarce, and a drought, flood or disaster could kill thousands.  Famine was constantly hiding in the background.

No, looking to the past and hoping to revive it is not good.  We can't do it.  All things including societies evolve, all we can do is live in the now, and work towards a better future instead of stepping back into the ages of ignorance and pestilence.  Knowledge is essential we learn from the past, and try not to make the same mistakes that occured before.  We can respect the yearning for times past when things seemed more relaxed, simpler and milder, but we can also work towards creating a better world for everyone.

It's to bad they didn't know my mom, or lessons learned.

Like the rest of you, I was totally outraged over the 2 women in Arizona who took their children with them and vandalized the Mosque.  Spouting racial slurs, and teaching hate they encouraged their children in hate crimes and racial and bigoted beliefs.  Wow, I thought, what a bunch of nutters.  Upon thinking, I thought they certainly didn't have a Mother like mine, and that was to bad.  So let me tell you a little story...

The year was 1965, which would have made me 5 years old.  Racial tensions all over the Nation were high, The Civil Rights movement was in full swing, and to put it bluntly it was a War.  My Dad watched the News on TV nightly, not just the local, but the National also.  I saw news on Vietnam, and all the other current affairs going on.

In my home, when discussion came up over the Civil Rights movement, my parents referred to Afro-Americans as either Blacks, or Colored Folk.  Occasionally the term Negro was used.  There were no racist rants or attitudes encouraged, plus you must remember that even though not discussed, Mom's side of the family and Mom herself had Black ancestry.

Now we don't always realize that children pay attention to things such as current affairs, and we don't always realize that children pick up nasty and unacceptable language from media.  But they do.  So with that being said let me tell you a story.

One Saturday we had went shopping and Mom and I were just coming out of Murphy's Five and Dime.  Walking up the street, minding her own business was an elderly Black lady.  I said (to my shame), look it's a Nig*er!  My Mother stopped dead in her tracks, yanked me towards her and said coldly and angrily through gritted teeth "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"  I made the mistake of repeating the hateful word I just had said.  Right there on the street, in front of the Goddess and the rest of the world, my Mom yanked me and proceeded to liberally apply the palm of her hand to my buttocks. "DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT NASTY HATEFUL WORD EVER AGAIN!" my mother said.  "Now, you go apologize to that lady".  Up the street my mother dragged me by the arm.  The lady was waiting to cross the street.  "Excuse me Ma'am" said my Mother to the lady, "may I have a word with you?"  The poor woman turned and said in a shaky voice, "Yes, how may I help you?"
"First" Said my Mother, "I would like to apologize for my daughter's behavior.  We don't talk like that, we don't encourage that type of behavior, it is not acceptable.  My daughter has something she would like to say to you".

Sniffing back tears, I apologized to the lady.  My mother said " I have no clue where she learned that word", I spoke up and said "from the tv".  My Mom and the lady spoke for a few more minutes and I stood there hanging my head and feeling very ashamed.

We went and found my Dad and left to go home.  My Mom told my Dad what I had said, and the rest of the way home, for 23 miles, I got the lecture of my life.  My Mother's lecture included such things as ill-bred, no breeding, manner-less, and quite a few other adjectives.  My Mother said things like "What do you think Mamie and Dick, (and a lot of other people's names were mentioned) would think if they heard you say that?  They certainly wouldn't think you were a nice little girl would they?  No one would want to associate with you." I was taught right then and there that racist language, and beliefs were totally unacceptable. My Mom and Dad informed that being a different race or religion did not make a person bad, what was bad were people who hated others who were of a different race or religion, that they were hateful and ignorant.  To say that I felt disgraced and ashamed would be putting it mildly.  I have never said that word ever again in my life, I hate that word and when I hear it said I literally cringe.  Oh my Mom's lesson took big time there.  It's to bad these people that are racist didn't have my Mom to set them straight when they were children.

Who was Thomas Jefferson? or A Deist Founding Father

Thomas Jefferson you say, hmmm wasn't he the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence?  So let's take a peek at Tom.

Thomas Jefferson was born in April 1743 in Colonial Virginia.  He graduated from the College of William and Mary and for a while practiced law, his specialty being representing slaves who were seeking their freedom.  His other activities include but are not limited to:

*Principal author of the Declaration of Independence
*Represented Virginia in the Continental Congress
*Drafted the Religious Freedom Law when he was a Legislator for Virginia
*Served as the war time Governor of Virginia from 1779-1781
*Along with James Madison created the Democratic-Republican Party
*Along with James Madison wrote the Kentucky-Virginia Resolutions
*United States Minister to France
*The very first Secretary of State
*Vice President under John Adams
*Third President of the United States
*Founded the University of Virginia
*Wrote the "Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth", (no copies exist today)
*Wrote the "Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth", commonly called the Jefferson Bible.

He built Monticello, and had a relationship with his wife's half-sister, a mixed race slave (not being a racist here, being tri-racial myself, but factual) by the name of Sally Hemings.  DNA testing has shown that Tom was the father of at least 1, if not more, of Sally's children.

Nowadays the right wing Conservatives claim that Tom was a Christian.  But he wasn't.  In fact the fact that he wasn't a Christian in the socially acceptable mode be it by the standards then, and NOW, was considered scandalous by many of those back in the day.  He did not believe that Jesus was the son of God, nor in the Holy Trinity among other things. He was a deist who believed that a supreme deity created all and allows the created to then handle their own affairs (that pretty much sums up deism). He did believe that Jesus was a teacher of great moral understanding, and considered himself a Christian in the belief that he was following the actual and factual teachings of Jesus, minus the erroneous belief that he was the biological son of God, and the stripping away of the supernatural and superstitious beliefs that had been tacked on by Paul and other polluters of Christianity.

Some quotes from Tom

 "Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.  What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth."

 Thomas Jefferson, "Religion" in Notes on the State of Virginia (1782), p. 286.

He wrote in a letter to John Adams in 1823 and said:

"The truth is that the greatest enemies to the doctrines of Jesus are those calling themselves the expositors of them, who have perverted them for the structure of a system of fancy absolutely incomprehensible, and without any foundation in his genuine words. and the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away all this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this the most venerated reformer of human errors."

In a letter to John Adams in 1814 he wrote:

"The whole history of these books (i.e. the Gospels) is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt minute enquiry into it: and such tricks have been played with their text, and with the texts of other books relating to them, that we have a right, from that cause, to entertain much doubt what parts of them are genuine. In the New Testament there is internal evidence that parts of it have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds. It is as easy to separate those parts, as to pick out diamonds from dunghills."

In 1820 he said in a letter to William Short:

"Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him (i.e. Jesus) by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence; and others again of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism, and imposture, as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same being."


In 1825 he said in a letter to General Alexander Smyth:

"It is between fifty and sixty years since I read it (i.e. the Book of Revelations), and I then considered it merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherence of our own nightly dreams."

"His [Calvin's] religion was demonism. If ever man worshiped a false God, he did. The being described in his five points is ... a demon of malignant spirit. It would be more pardonable to believe in no God at all, than to blaspheme him by the atrocious attributes of Calvin"

Thomas Jefferson, Works, Vol. IV, p. 363.


So the next time you have someone telling you that "the United States was founded on Christianity, and they were "God fearing Christians", kindly correct them.

edited to add a link to view The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth aka The Jefferson Bible.  It's online for your reading pleasure.

http://uuhouston.org/files/The_Jefferson_Bible.pdf

4 Common misconceptions by some Christians

Thanks for this post are due to a snarky, self righteous woman who I shall call  LK.  I am sure that many of you know her type.  Here is some ammo for you the next time one of these types start.  All of the below are verifiable facts.

That when Christianity arose there were the same sects as today.  Nope.  There were various branches yes, but the original followers were Jewish.  The formation of the Pauline sects (which brought gentiles into Christianity) were not formed until quite a few years ( around 37 A.D.) after the supposed death of Jesus.  The Pauline Sect eventually evolved into the Catholic Church which was later subdivided into the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.  So for centuries the Catholic Churches were the only religion, with the Roman Catholics gaining wealth and influence especially in European areas.  The  Protestant sects were not created until 1517.

That scribes followed Jesus and his disciples around writing down his sayings which are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Nope.  The death of Jesus supposedly occurred around A.D. 30-33.  The Gospel of Mark is considered by a majority of Biblical Scholars to be the first and it's dating is around A.D. 70.  40 years AFTER the death.  The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John are dated in the ranges of A.D. 80 -90.  50 to 60 years after the death. 

That Paul/Saul was a disciple of Jesus.  Nope.  Paul NEVER EVER knew Jesus when he was alive.  In fact he was involved in persecuting the early Christian sects.  His conversion on the road to Damascus occurred several years AFTER the death of Jesus.  His learning supposedly occurred through the spirit of the dead Jesus.  These teachings most often conflicted with those original followers who had not only known Jesus but had studied under him.  This often led to violent conflicts between Paul and his followers and those original followers who were known as Nazarenes.  This actually led to Paul pushing James the Just, who was the leader of the Nazarenes, down the Temple Steps, when Paul was disciplined for teaching false teachings.  That little gem of violence was recorded in the Homilies of Clementine, an early church father.  Paul's books which are included in the New Testament were written around 55 A.D.

That the Bible has never been changed.  Nope.  The Old Testament is based on some of the writings in the Jewish Torah.  They are out of order for one thing, and Helena the mother of Constantine the Great, didn't like the idea of reincarnation.  After complaining to him, Constantine had early church scholars go through not only the Old Testament, but the writings deemed acceptable in the New Testament and remove and change all or any references that even hinted at reincarnation.  Plus starting at the Nicaea Council in 325 A.D. which was convened by Constantine, besides making the belief that Jesus was the biological son of God, the texts were gone over to see what books and gospels would be considered for a Bible, which would be the acceptable books which reflected the agreed upon beliefs that had just been created.  Over the years books were removed from the Bible.  Martin Luther did it in 1534, The Council of Trent in 1546, the Catholic Church in 1684 and in 1881 just to point out a few.  In fact in the Protestant Bible there are 39 books in the Old Testament.  In the Roman Catholic Bible there are 46 books in the Old Testament.  In the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Bible there are 50 books in the Old Testament.

The Witches of Grim County. A Garden Crone Short Story.

So I have been tossing around an idea and had previously wrote a short story about these gals to amuse my friends on Facebook.  Here is another and I decided to share with all of you.



"Seriously how can you read this crap?"  I asked Stacey as I flung the book down on the coffee table.  "Witches celebrating Christmas?  Easter?  Hello, someone needs to tell this author that Witches celebrate Yule and Ostera.  Did she do any research or is she just pulling that out of her ass?"

Stacey sighed and moved the book to the end table.  "Hey her books are funny.  I like the characters."

"But it's not accurate.  This is why people have a messed up idea of Witches.  What's next?  Sacrifices?  Sleeping with Satan?  Wild Orgies?"

Stacey rolled her eyes.  " Rhi, I think you are getting a bit scarcastic here.  It's entertainment.  That author just has them running around using their witchy powers to solve crimes.  No orgies or sacrifices at all."

"Oh that's all?  They don't do any healing or help anyone discover their potential?  No, all they do is see ghosts, cast a spell to track someone, and throw little hexes at each other for entertainment.  Geez.  How realistic.  How awesome is that? "

"I gotta agree with Rhi on this one," commented Kelley, " People read this stuff and think things that aren't true.  I read one of these books one time, and the one girl instead of being portrayed as a strong, secure powerhouse was awesome when she was tracking the criminals, yet was whiny, clingy and insecure with her boyfriend.  That is so not how we are".

"Except for Angela." Cerri piped up.  At that we all laughed. 

"I'd love to write a book about Witches." said Tracey.  "Real stories about Kitchen Witches.  How we use food to heal and cause change.  The souffles that don't always rise.  How we need to do divination sometimes to see why that recipe didn't work out."

" How about how setting atmosphere is a spell in itself.  The decor and the importance of linen and china, not to mention the color scheme.? chimed in Cerri.

"Or the importance of herbs and spices in the food is a magical experience."  added Stacey.

"Knowing how to talk to people, to ask the right questions, to make them feel relaxed and comfortable, that's important also."  said Kelley.

"I would focus on responsibility and actions.  Owning it.  Taking charge of your own life.  The pursuit of Knowledge and the search for truth that resonates with who you are.  How you have to focus on self and not others."  I stated.

"Very true.  If people are working on their selves, they don't have time to worry about someone else's religion, or how they are living their own lives.  They are to busy learning and taking care of their own business.  Not everyone needs the same experiences to grow and expand." agreed Tracey.

Cerri nodded.  "Yes, religion and spirituality is not a one size fits all.  It's like sex.  Who cares about someone elses sex life.  As long as it's not effecting me personally I don't care if you are Gay or sleeping with 10 different people, just be responsible.  I really hate when I hear someone say that they got pregnant so it must have been the Goddesses' will.  No, it's called I didn't take precautions and it's my own stupidity."

"I really hate when someone thinks their religious or spiritual path is the only way to go.  For that person it is right, but that doesn't mean everyone needs to use that path to find the Goddess, or God or whatever they believe in.  They think their path is the only one that heads directly there.  When the truth is if you seek you find, and that all paths if based on love, growth and positive things will lead you there.  Some folks need the experiences for inner growth that they have on the paths less trod." Kelley remarked.

"Well if any of us ever write a book we could always call it "The Witches of Grim County".  We could tell how real Witches are.  Who knows maybe some day some one will do that.  Anyways,  how about a cup of tea and a muffin?"  At that we headed for the kitchen.

Eating healthy.

So nowadays most of us don't eat healthy.  We buy boxed dinners, frozen meals, tv dinners or fast food.  We don't get the vitamins and minerals we need, plus all the preservatives and other stuff that is not good for you in the food.

I try and eat healthy, and I drive hubby nuts with healthy food.  If he had his way we would be eating french fries and hamburgers, deli meat sandwiches and chips, chicken wings or chicken nuggets and onion rings.  Now don't get me wrong here, I like hamburgers, but I use 80 to 85 % lean and make my own, plus cut up the potatoes, season them and stick them in the toaster oven.  Chicken wings are a once in a while treat, and I buy the chicken and season it and pan fry in a healthy oil.  Mac n cheese I make my own, and so on.

So you can really make delicious meals, just using herbs and spices and healthy ingredients.  Butter, yes it is better for you than margarine.  Studies are showing that if something like milk, cheese, butter has Vitamin D in it, and it's full fat, the D helps your arteries from getting clogged or your cholesterol from going up.  Plus if you are using herbs and spices and eating fruits and veggies it will help block that nasty bad cholesterol.

So for example I cook cube steak.  I put it in the iron skillet and use some olive oil.  I season the steak with fresh ground pepper ( the pepper helps your body absorb nutrients and vitamins and minerals better), Himalayan Pink Seasalt (less sodium than table salt, and it has trace minerals in it), and Organic Herb Steak Seasoning( no msg or preservatives, but healthy spices and herbs).  I put it in the skillet, slice up a red onion and mushrooms, and add red, yellow, and orange pepper strips which are full of vitamins and minerals and other healthy stuff.  I add a few orange cherry tomatoes.  Cover it and let it cook for about 20 minutes with the lid on the skillet and heat on low.  I turn it once during all that.  Now you have meat and vegetables.  Throw in a small salad, lettuce, red cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and radishes.  Dressing of choice, and top with a McCormick Salad blend of herbs and spices.  Throw a couple of yukon gold potatoes in the microwave, top with butter, a bit of sour cream and chives.

It takes about an hour from start to finish to make.  It tastes good, and is healthy.  Full of vitamins and other healthy stuff.  We snack on fruit a lot.  Bananas, grapes, melon, oranges, dates, apples, pineapple chunks and so on.  Cheese is also a snack around here.  You won't find soda pop in my house.  Full of sugar.  You will find fruit juice, tea bags galore, mint, ginger, lemon ginger, green and so on.

Once a week to make hubby happy I make a pizza, or hamburgers, or chicken wings. I will make pork chops and add pineapple rings and pepper strips to that.  It's really good.  I put some cold pressed unrefined coconut oil in the skillet, season the chops, pour some of the pineapple juice in the skillet, add the chops and some rings and pepper strips.  I take broccoli, carrots, pepper strips and cook them.  Add Extra virgin olive oil, some diced garlic, and some Parmesan cheese to that.  A bit of Italian Seasoning also.

So use those herbs and spices.  Instead of chips and pretzels eat the fruit, and carrot and celery sticks and cucumber fingers.  The pounds will melt off of you, and you will be healthier too!!

Now available for your reading pleasure!! The Garden Crone Trees, Bushes and Shrub Handbook.

I am very pleased to announce that the new book, The Garden Crone Trees, Bushes and Shrub Handbook is now available for purchase!!

The new book is dedicated to Mark Convey, he so wanted this book to be completed, and I know that he is pleased that I have finished it.  Thank goodness for my good friend Linda, she edited for me.  That girl is fast and a whiz!  I am so thankful for her.

I hope you all enjoy the new book and find it interesting and useful.  I was going over tons of notes, 50 + years of them, and a huge stack of notebooks.  GEEZ!

I wanted to keep things simple so I kept it to 1 page per item.  Which was hard.  I could have wrote pages on some trees. 

I touch on how Religion/Spirituality and trees have always gone hand in hand.  For each tree, bush or shrub I gave it's magical properties and then touched on some lore or uses.  There are 190 trees, bushes and shrubs discussed.  Whew!  I was going to go for 200, but truthfully, my hands gave out.  My neck hurt, my back hurt, and hubby was grumbling that I was going to get sick again if I kept to the computer. 

So here are the links for the book.  Both hard and ebook versions.

For the hard or print copy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1985308029/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_XugNAbZ2606C3

For the E book version
https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Crone-Trees-Bushes-Handbook-ebook/dp/B07B5PRDZC/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520198129&sr=1-5&keywords=The+Garden+Crone&dpID=51HtCqkXC9L&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

If you purchase and enjoyed the book, will you please leave a review?  Thanks!

I am off to do some cleaning!  I am ready to scrub and move around!!

Enjoy the book!!