International Women's Day: Make it Happen!

If you read my previous posts on Reactions to Delhi Rapist Interview on March 3rd and my post yesterday, Reactions to Oxford Trafficking and Rape, I asked a question: "... do you think we can individually as well as collectively change the occurrence of violence against women, against females - girls too! - in general?"

Whether through the media, personal accounts, or indirect reports on such violent acts and atrocities towards females, it could possibly have you start believing that all men are like this, which of course isn't true.

However, have you ever thought, wondered, or questioned like me, if generally speaking, men might be afraid of and/or jealous of women? Yes you read that right! Let me explain.

I believe and it seems that "The Burning Times" video implies that men are afraid of women's power, of women's intuition, of their mysteries, and the like. And perhaps underneath that they actually secretly envy women for the same reasons. Not that they want to be women, but to be like them in this regard.

There have been stories, some of which I have heard directly from women, that men are often jealous when their wife gives birth to their firstborn child. Why? The mother's primary focus and attention goes towards their newborn infant rather than to her husband. Does he feel neglected, dejected, alone, sorry for himself possibly as a result?

Regardless of the reason why men might secretly fear and/or envy women - a whole other topic and not one I wish to explore, possibly never (though take it upon yourself to research it if you wish) - I believe that we can view all of this in a totally different way. And yes, you read that right too!

There is a universal law or principle also known as a spiritual law or principle that goes along the lines as follows: what we think, we will attract, and thus create, create in our lives that is. This is what we label as 'reality.'

The principle of what you draw your attention to on an ongoing basis is what intensifies or is drawn towards you, similar to us as a collective or society. This may be a shocking statement given the context of violence against women. I can understand how hard this may be to assimilate and digest for those new to this concept.

The reverse can also be true however, that is IF we individually and collectively stand together and start focusing on what it is that we do want.

We as a society, what can also be termed as a 'collective conscious,' create our (own) 'reality.' Everyone's individual 'reality' though is different based on their own perceptions, biases, life's experiences, etc. We all see with different eyes.

Birth order is one such example where children within the same family have totally different stories of a family incident, or witnesses to an accident where there are different accounts of the same experience from each bystander is another.

Reversing our (limited) reality is possible and achievable, though may take time. Here is a great example to illustrate this: Greek philosopher Pythagoras (before Christopher Columbus' time) informed others that the world was round. The societal paradigm of a flat earth eventually shifted to that of a round earth!

IF it is indeed true that we can change our reality, well then, what is possible? Actually science actually backs this up. Most recently, The Secret, a film borne out of the law of attraction principle (2006), followed by a book with the same title illustrates the scientific principles.

There are also various books on the topic including some historical titles such as As a Man Thinketh by James Allen (originally published in 1902), as well as The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles (written in 1910), and Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich (in 1937).

As these books indicate, we give power to our thoughts and speech which then form our reality. Thus I ask, what kind of society do we wish to live in?

One way of a new society, a new way of being is for men to support women, such as in the photo below: Afghan men wearing burqas in Kabul to say no to violence against women:

Post by Wais Barakzai.

Just a note for anyone interested, there are worldwide events which can be seen here (http://www.internationalwomensday.com/esearch.asp?country=37&town=#.VPyZCo5iz-4).

This year’s International Women's Day theme is "Make it happen." Thus, I ask, how can we make this happen: create a society where women are treated respectfully and equally at least in terms of social standing, that is that of a human being, not a slave or an animal!

Speaking of which, if any of you wish an interesting take on men vs. women in the field of international sports, read my last year's post on Women's Day. It was on the theme of the Olympics, in particular the Canadian women's hockey team, quite interesting what happened: http://xpressyouressence.blogspot.ca/2014/03/tribute-to-women-happy-international.html

P.S. I would like to add a blogger's comment on the importance of raising sons with upstanding values to treat females respectfully. Hear, hear! :)

Today's blog post is linked to the following: #IWD2015, #internationalwomensday, #MakeItHappen, #womensday, #PaintItPurple as well as #Blogarhythm.

NaBloPoMo: Make...a Mistake? Who Me?! ;)

Images from clip art

I couldn't resist the title! Hope you don't mind, though I was actually making fun of myself. You can read it as if you are the 'me' if you wish to! ;)

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt is as follows: "What was the last mistake you made? How did you try to fix it?"

I can't recall the last mistake I did so will answer generally.

I have, as we all have, made mistakes. In my case at least, many! Despite that, for some reason I still have to rack my brain as to what kind of recent mistake I made, yet alone any that I can write about!

Sometimes a mistake can be in the form of speaking impulsively, speaking one's mind, speaking one's truth, and at times speaking 'the' truth. There is a difference! At times speaking up is inappropriate and at other times, people can't handle it.

I would say my biggest mistakes other than that are when I do not trust and follow my intuition. I have come to learn that it is ALWAYS right! Yes, you read that right and it can be NO other way!

After all intuition comes from Spirit. I am not speaking about hallucinogenic voices or the like after all!

Though I would rather speak about what I did right, I will cite you at least one example, a big one, from my life.

In past, I have dated mostly the "wrong men". "How can you say that?" you may wonder. Hindsight is one of the best teachers in terms of lessons learned the hard way and unfortunately I did not necessarily learn from others' mistakes.

I primarily attracted men who were emotionally unavailable, i.e., an alcoholic, a pathological liar, a possessive man - dangerous! - a philanderer, and one with an emotional connection to an ex-girlfriend and another woman who liked him.

Truly I am embarrassed to admit all that; however, if it serves to help at least one person in this, then I am glad to have done so. Let me explain why -

Life is a mirror and everything we see and witness is a projection (think movie screen) of ourselves, namely our minds. You may have a challenging time believing this if you may be faith-based; however, I am telling you 'the' truth and there is a difference, i.e., what is indeed true!

Known as the 'law of attraction' it is basically the principle of like attracting like. This includes like-minded people, whether men and/or women, etc. And yes, to some degree opposites attract, though I am speaking here on an energetic level in terms of vibes.

Read my worst-case scenarios.

If I had trusted my intuition, my gut instinct, I would have never gone out with either the alcoholic or the possessive man.

However, even in worst-case scenarios, there are always lessons, albeit harsh, to be learned. And sometimes you have to - okay, I have to - learn the hard way in order to get it. I'm learning though...I think! ;)

What kind of mistakes do you tend to make? Can you 'correct' them and/or do you learn from them?

World Gratitude Day: Part 2 (#MicroblogMonday)

Photo of me a few years ago taken by Roberto Kaplan (vision therapist). (I was obviously very happy, tickled pink, being photographed while being silly playing with my turquoise feather boa.)


Yesterday, Sunday September 21st was World Gratitude Day!

However, don't you think EVERY day should be gratitude day in terms of Law of Attraction (LOA)? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_attraction_%28New_Thought%29 for details.

In terms of helping us get to that state, see the video below: simply titled "Happy", this song says it all! How can you NOT be/feel happy when you hear that song?! Even if you do not understand the words - here they are -
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pharrellwilliams/happy.html, the rhythmic beat is so upbeat, uplifting, inspiring, and well, happy is it not? How about 24 hrs of it? ;) (http://24hoursofhappy.com/)



If you google the name of the song online, you will see my comments beneath as follows in relation to someone hating this song.

P.S. This post was inspired by two wonderful writers from India: thanks to Nabanita Dhar - http://nabanita-blacknwhite.blogspot.ca/2014/09/a-theory-and-some-gratitude.html#comment-form as well as Shailaja Vishwanath in relation to this being my first MicroBlog Monday: http://shailajav.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/write-about-what-microblogmonday/. ;)

I am linking this post to http://www.stirrup-queens.com/2014/09/what-is-microblog-mondays/: Check it out!

Also linking this to http://ultrablogchallenge.com/.

LOA: Suicide, Homicide, and Me

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approx- imately one million people - that's 1,000,000 - around the world commit suicide yearly or every 40 seconds, more than that of homicide and war combined: astounding! Furthermore, they expect that the rate will increase to every 20 seconds by the year 2020: unbelieveable!

Those are definitely sad statistics! I could have been one of them if my intent to self-harm was strong enough. (Read the last two postings for details.) I'm grateful I never did in the end. (Is that a pun?!)

However, before I started believing in myself (even remotely), an incident - condensed version - occurred that would eventually change my life.

Long story short(er), I attracted not one, but two men who were willing, able, and capable of killing me and almost did. Luckily I escaped both times unharmed, at least physically.

The first time, in my early 20's, was in relationship with an alcoholic (though I didn't know that till towards the end of or after our relationship ended) who was obsessive in that no one else could "have me." I think he felt he "owned" me as if I was his property.

If you ever come to know this about your relationship or that of another person, take my advice and run, don't walk, to the nearest exit (i.e., out of the relationship). Those are the one of the most dangerous types of men.

My boyfriend was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality (based on a character in a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson) about a split personality now known as 'dissociative identity disorder.' He could be friendly, charming, sweet and kind one moment, and full of fury with explosive anger or rather rage, the next. Definitely scary to be around! I repeat: AVOID at all cost! This is a warning!

One night - middle of the night or very early in the morning - I awoke with a fright to, I believe if I recall correctly, someone calling my name and/or a sound and/or knock at my balcony. I lived on the fifth or sixth floor if I recall correctly. He had somehow climbed (to my amazement) to my floor level.

When I opened the balcony door, he was intoxicated, angrily cursing and shouting at me. Shortly thereafter, he had a kitchen knife at my throat. (Oh yeah, I'm not kidding you!) A short while later, he attempted to either suffocate me with a towel/washcloth from the linen closet or strangle me - I wasn't sure which and I wasn't sure about to find out as I somehow escaped, ran to my friend's apartment on another floor or did I run to the superintendent? Was I ever terrified: I thought that was the end of me.

It was miraculous that I survived uninjured. I truly do not know how or remember how I escaped. Just typing this brings up visceral sensations in my body. The body always remembers...there is such a thing as cellular memory: "a variation of body memory, the pseudoscientific hypothesis that memories can be stored in individual cells" (as per Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_memory

And despite that particular incident, I didn't learn my lesson the first time round so the pattern repeated almost 10 years later. This time I attracted an obsessive personality from a particular patriarchal culture...think possessive.

This boyfriend similarly could be charming - since then I do not trust 'charmers' - and was pleasant and easy-going for the most part. However, one time he wanted to have intercourse with me. I refused as I didn't want to with him. So he started throwing me around slamming me against a wall at least once. And then, all of a sudden in one instant, he grabbed me, threw me onto his bed, and started choking me, strangling me with his bare hands.

Again, I thought: "This is it!"

By fluke, out of nowhere, I remembered that I had chocolate in my pocket and that it was a hot day. I can't believe I was able to even think straight in that moment! I stuck my right hand in my short's pocket - it's funny now when I think of this - and put my hand smothered with melted chocolate up to his face which was pretty close to mine. He let go and I ran off. I'm surprised he didn't lick my hands! ;)

Ok, you have to make fun of something like that after it happens as it's too serious and traumatic an incident.

Though I have since forgiven both men in my heart, not instantly but I did in time - feeling butterflies in my stomach as I'm writing this for the first time. Interesting that the hardest person to forgive was myself.

It was a few years later when I realized with sudden clarity what had happened and why. Read yesterday's post where I answer that. ;)

Was I a 'victim' of my thoughts/feelings/circumstances? How did the Law of Attraction play out in this (true life) story?

Tantalizing Tuesday: Supermoon No. 5 in 2014

Photo credit: "Behind Stawamus Chief in Squamish" courtesy of Tim Cyr

Did you see that big, beautiful, bright ball in the sky last night, at least in this, my part of the world? That was our fifth and final Supermoon this year.

I find the moon sexy: circular (i.e., curvy), full, enlightened, and mysterious, and also with a bright glow. Doesn't that sound feminine and divine? ;)

Do you believe that there are more accidents/deaths/suicides during a full moon, maybe even more so with a Supermoon? Or did we just as a mass collective decide that? That is, did we believe that, agree to it, and thus create that? "What?!" you might ask, "Are you crazy?!" Perhaps, but not in this regard! ;)

You see there is at least one, if not two laws or principles that operate here: One is the 'Law of Attraction' also known as (aka) 'LOA.' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_attraction_%28New_Thought%29)

The other is known by various names including the "observer-expectancy effect", "a form of reactivity in which a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to unconsciously influence the participants of an experiment" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer-expectancy_effect) or simply known as the "observer effect" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_%28physics%29).

Essentially, that means that what you focus your attention on acts in a way that you expect it to! You basically see and/or get what you expect. Isn't that phenomental? Astounding even?

Hopefully this will clearly indicate that I am not crazy when I stated the above comment: the one where you thought perhaps that I was "off my rocker?" ;)

Also see my previous posts from July 15th for Rumi and/or Michael Jackson fans (http://xpressyouressence.blogspot.ca/2014/07/lunar.html), and Part 2 the following day for devotees of yoga and/or meditation (http://xpressyouressence.blogspot.ca/2014/07/part-2-lunar-effects.html).

What do you think of the observer effect? And theories around the full moon including the Supermoon?

Summer Heat Wave

This past week-and-a-half (if I recall correctly) was a pretty darn hot week with relatively humid days, on and off.

Some people seem to love the heat and soak up the sun like, well, like citrus fruit (growing) on trees. Me: I find it way too intense. I swear I melt, literally, like ice cream on a hot day, dripping over the edges. Where is my headband?!

Is the sun getting hotter, more intense? Is humidity worsening: are there more days that are humid? After all, I don't recall Vancouver, British Columbia being humid when I first moved here over 20 years ago. Or did I simply forget or overlook that? Am I just imagining that it is or seems to be intensifying?

Could it be that, perhaps, if you believe the philosophy of what you focus on expands or intensifies, that we collectively, that is, as a collective conscious, created that heat wave? I realize this might push your buttons and make you feel uncomfortable as I am going outside the box with these questions; however, do know that there are universal laws or principles that exist and refer to this very belief. There have been a number of books published on this very subject over the last two or three centuries at least.

Some of these books written by "new thought movement" writers include - check them out if you wish to explore this subject further - As a Man Thinketh by James Allen (originally published in 1902), The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles (in 1910), and Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich (1937). I'm familiar with those books as I read them years ago, except for Wallace's book.

The Secret, a film that was borne out of these books on 'the law of attraction' came out in 2006, with a book of the same name in the following year.

Ponder these questions: Is global warming a reality or just a theory? Did Al Gore, former USA presidential candidate start a movement, unbeknownst to him, analagous to y2k, the software problem in the impending year of 2000, in which society believedin the impending doom of computer failures?

Could we individually and/or better yet collectively, change events such as this from happening in the first place? This is a tall-order question I realize, though I do believe we can. I have witnessed first-hand, albeit so far by ear, accounts where miracles occur of healing the environment. If we can do it for the human body, why can't we do it for our planet body, Mother Earth? Hmmm?

What do you think/make of all this? Is this the first time you are hearing something of this nature? How does it make you feel? What else do you need to know or what would you like to know in order to make an informed decision?

Gratitude is the New Attitude

One lesson I learned from my recent move is to be grateful for what I have – now – for like attracts like or more of the same. The more of what you focus on appears in your life.

Thus, if you focus on the ‘positive’ or ‘good’ things in life, more of that is likely to follow and vice versa if you were to focus on the ‘negative’ or ‘bad’ things. (I use quotes because this is based on human perception.)

There is a spiritual principle or ‘higher’ law known as the law of attraction. The book, The Secret is based on this. You can read more about this by perusing Michael Losiers’ websites as he is ‘law of attraction' extraordinaire or expert (www.lawofattractionbook.com or www.michaellosier.com).

One thing I am grateful for is the home I lived in for a number of reasons and the area in which I lived especially. And currently, I am grateful for my new home, a beautiful suite in a house. However, even though I've come to realize (or so it seems) that no home is perfect - each has its potentialities and flaws - that to focus on noteworthy aspects are important in attracting more of the same. Through this process, I came to a clarity of what I most desired and needed, because of the attributes that didn't exist or didn't serve me previously.

Furthermore, I am in gratitude for three male friends who helped me move. And I'm also in gratitude for three people who recently came into my life, each supporting me and willing to contribute and help in various aspects of my move: packing, moving, and organizing. More about that later (in my next blog posting perhaps?).

What are you (most) grateful for at this time in your life?