Perdido River

View Larger Map


View Larger Map

Perdido River gets its name from Native American's and the word itself translates to 'lost'.  

It is very easy to get lost if traveling the twisted bends and joining pond like pockets.  

I was fortunate enough to live on that river for 25 years of my life.  

My father owned a small boat which I would borrow when I needed to escape to a more

peaceful state of mind.  One section of the river from my backyard led to a thin trail-way

which could only be crossed by oaring your boat.  Moss laden trees, swamp grass and 

lily pads pack together beneath a blue sky.  This is reflected back and forth from slow

rippling water back up and all around the traveler.  I called this one area the 'Amazons' 

because it was a miniature mental image of how I imagined that great river to be.  It was

untamed and quietly waiting for anyone to join on its lazy path.

You can only hear your oar in the movement gliding yourself along, cicada and other voices from natures family.  Sticking the oar deep into the mud lets off a powerful primeval algae like smell which is not really bad if you associate it to the mystery of life's beginning.

I attempted one time to get lost while going upstream in and out of numerous pocket type ponds.  When I believed I had gone far enough and achieved my goal I crossed to the opposite side of an island to head home.  I noted the river had a certain direction and surmised it should be flowing back to the ocean.  This should be the correct way to follow back on a separate route back to my home.  It also made it easier to travel as the boat floated slowly but steadily with the current.  I believed I would eventually see familiar surroundings if I just stuck to this natural flow while keeping the boat from landing or finding underwater stumps (from trees near the shore that had fallen in storms).  

There is a peaceful feeling in being lost when you trust your inner guide and let it take over so to speak.  This was a long trip but so calming that I would continue to return to it many times.  I even visit it still in my dreams, waking with the same peace and contentment as I'd felt all those years ago.

The water then was clearer than today.  The land seemed to be richer in greenery in my recollection.  I was blessed to see deer, otters, beavers, alligators from a safe distance, osprey, cranes, blonde puma, bobcats, families of raccoons and all sorts of beautiful wildlife.  

My family and our home survived through several major hurricanes with no damage to its structure.  I have seen a waterspout jump the shore, fly over our home and hit a neighbors house across the street.  We have been stranded without electricity, only well water which my father treated after storm contamination and no outside connection to society for 2 weeks at the most.  This improved once the road was paved and governing officials realized we did not have water without electricity.  Our region is still missing from most maps in spite of technology.  I suppose the Native Americans who first named the river knew

(once again) what they were talking about.

For years I had a strong mental vision of a tall proud Native American, standing at the rivers edge behind our property.  When we moved from there it seemed that he'd left for it has change drastically over the years.  I suppose everything does and that-that is the natural order of things.  The water is no longer clear and fishing is no longer allowed.  Our city and its corporations are currently engineering a waste system which begins at the factory level then joins into suburbia waste which ends up on the wetlands I once called home.  The land is governmental owned and now private.  Warnings of camera's and against trespassing dot the once free roadside in ominous silence.  Promises of safety, environmentally sound procedures drip like honey from the typed information hiding actual faces behind the machine of advancement.  

Surprisingly I am not saddened by all of this, but more disappointed as a mother with a mischievous child would be.  I am also sorry.  Sorry for those with authority and one sided visions of the future.  

I am hopeful for the energy of youth.  The next generation whose fault does not lie in any of it, will find ways to mop up behind our government of today like wiping a toddlers dirty bottom.  Till then all that I feel I am able to do is to ride the current flow to its outcome, where ever and when ever that will be.  I will try to help educate, fight to my own ability and pray for more natural answers so that we may cohabit this home in a better way.

Life...is but a dream.

Game Applications and the Bible

Christianity as defined by our dear friend Webster as states

Definition of CHRISTIANITY
1: the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies

2: conformity to the Christian religion

3: the practice of Christianity

My definition of Christianity is the study of the New Testament Bible along with references to the old testament along with daily practicing to behave as Jesus Christ and taking on his discipleship.

This lifestyle comes with a whole lot of discrimination from every walk of life including by its own practitioners. Debating the Bible is fine by me, but quarreling over various dogma's and divided sects is not. Now if I can only continue that line of thought (myself) while getting to the point of this blog.

There is a new application on facebook called 'Holy Land'. The object of the game is to have sermons (teachings from the Bible) twice a day along with fund raisers in order to help the players church to grow (or game in reality). In order to play a person agrees to give over all of their friends and family from their personal facebook account to 'pass-on the word' of God or the game in truth.

This sounded a little good, but it also smacked of using my faith against me in order to have a battle of the 'Wills' -- Mine, versus the game, versus God? Yes.
The 1st sermon I was given instructed me to type and keep up. ??? Now it is a test on my typing skills...never-mind that. The 1st sermon was a bomb shell of controversy and the point behind my problem with the game itself.

Acts 2:4
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:3-5

This is dynamite for an argument between differing churches beliefs or interpretations of text which has been chopped apart, loosing the lesson.
By not reading the whole of this text one can use it for their own purpose and not Gods. IF you are interested in reading the whole this is what it says in the NIV, OR you can scroll past it.

Acts 2
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[c]

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[e]

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’[f]

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Footnotes:

Acts 2:4 Or languages; also in verse 11
Acts 2:9 That is, the Roman province by that name
Acts 2:21 Joel 2:28-32
Acts 2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles)
Acts 2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)
Acts 2:35 Psalm 110:1

There are in-numerable such passages (which is another sermon, but more of my own), throughout the Bible. My point being that I can not consciously participate in this game as I find (in Christian terms) the fruit to be somewhat tainted.
If others wish to continue with the game that is fine by me. I am not trying to attack any game, gamer or game maker. It just seemed against my personal Christian belief of attacking others in a subtle way with my personal convictions versus their own. THAT is between each of us and God.

Echo's from the darkness: Ghost Hunting

Echo's from the darkness: Ghost Hunting

Night Terrors

Night terrors are bad dreams which are the worst of possible nightmares. I've no doubt this is what Bruce Lee's father and he experienced. To quote his story,

Ga-wi is an attack from vengeful spirit that has bitterness & grief on certain family. It tries to revenge or curse the lineage of that family. He mentions, during traing when you get a scissored-neck, there is a sence of a spirit holding your neck by a certain force. You are unable to move any part of your body except your head.

http://sushantwagle.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/truth-behind-bruce-lees-death/

Night Terrors have several names. Another is 'Hallucinatory Night Terrors'.
They tend to be hereditary and can start at a very young age. I have them, my daughter never has, but both grand-children have at 2 & 3 years of age. If you are with a person having a night terror you will not be able to stop it for them, even if their eyes are wide open and they look thru you. Remember that they do not see what you see and they are in a dream state of consciousness.

Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff

Night terrors are episodes of fear, flailing and screaming while asleep. Night terrors often are paired with sleepwalking.

Although night terrors are more common in children, they also can affect adults. A night terror episode usually lasts only a few minutes.

Night terrors are relatively rare, affecting only a small percentage of children — often between ages 4 and 12 — and a smaller percentage of adults. However frightening, night terrors aren't usually a cause for concern. Most children outgrow night terrors by adolescence.

Once again, narrow-minded medicine is full of poop. I could not move any body part but my head, and the children have not moved, but cry, have heavy snubbing sobs and terror. A person will appear to be awake or to 'come out of it', but from our own experience it takes quite a bit longer to become fully integrated into a conscious state. I prefer the spiritual explanations & help.

This site is an excellent resource filled with information. http://www.nightterrors.org/dis.htm


If one would prefer spiritual research into sleep paralysis, then this site offers answers and further research. This is my preference as it connects to me on a level of understanding. http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/articles/id/spiritualresearch/difficulties/sleep-paralysis

Most importantly do not feed negative energy nor allow fear to return & or control. In order to be free one has too enter the imagination of this and strengthen our spiritual parts.

Please feel free to comment :)

Stephanie

For Lisa, my friend and protector of wolves*

If you can Lisa, then get someone to read this to you. It is just my ramblings, but I hope they give a minutes mental rest. Blessings and peace to you. Listen to the silence and be glad in what she has to tell you*

(This is also an explanation of what I see.

We all have that special friend which only the rare soul can see. That is because while we are here on earth we get lazy and rely on our 5 senses for everything. This is not good because if we do live to any kind of older age (and some while young), we miss out on those who journey with us from the higher unseen 'heavens'.

I was lucky in one respect, and probably because they knew that my life would be a hard one (as I am an unusual loving one). As a wee one I could close my eyes and still see. I can see many things that are not there as for everyone else, but I can also see most of everything around me. It is a little like remote viewing, but on a closer more intimate level connected within me.

Before sleep or early in the morning before I get up, I can see what I like to think of as God's (or Goddess's) ethereal river. That is not imagination as there is nothing bad flowing in it and imagination can go either way.

There are colors and waves and sparkles of the softest kind. All a person has to do is 'let go'. You 'see'... God leaves the light on for us in times of either darkness of our world or darkness within our own spirits. Keeping your eyes closed or if you have become blind to disease, watch with abandonment of self. Stare at the back of your eyelids. You will when you are in-tuned to the moment when you notice the softness of dim light or color. Mine is healing so I see color clouds of the cool spectrum...blue, purple and rare moments green from our heart*. Our heart is where the key to our treasure is hidden. Beside that,
the blue and purple seem to be healing of spirit.

I can take this same method out of doors to a separate perspective...one of the warm zone (color wise). That is where the 'doves' are (as I like to think of them. It is energy that is very actively vibrating like almost microscopic bright white doves of light in numbers too great to count. This is also where we can utilize other senses that we may have forgotten. They take me to mental places I can only describe as 'home'. Do not confuse this with the white light method as that is something else entirely.

I digress...
It has been unseasonably cooler this spring. The sun seems extra bright because so much of nature has reborn in vibrant glory. I smell mimosa on the high breeze swimming in varying colors of pink (from soft-soft to vibrant bright). The air is dancing in glory to the songs of many birds from all around...rejoicing in the this new morning. The air breaths in fresh to my lungs while feeding my spirit which at times is so desperate for healing. Like a gentle reassuring hand I am loved and protected as light bathes me in richness and glory. I am one with all that is good.

I love you Lisa.

ALways your friend,

Stephanie

Rape. Pandora's Box opened.

The following blog material is of adult content and should only be read by people of legal adult age requirements and with trepidation. If the reader is under the age of 18 or has had a personal experience with abuse (and or) rape then discontinue reading at this point.

Deep southern USA, early 1970's, rape was only beginning to enter the legal stage for a victim's protection. Most of the time the rape victim would continue to be persecuted and bullied, even within the hospital setting and court room. A rapist was allowed to bring associates to legal hearings turning the trial into a circus and continuing to destroy the victim.
Now the laws (currently) support the victim from the time of reporting the crime throughout the legal process.
Legal definition of Rape.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_regarding_rape

Rape is natural within the bounds of lower animals and nature itself, but society (thank goodness) has evolved into a more protective role (in this respect).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_trauma

The affects of violating a persons basic human rights can and usually are, long standing. Each person undergoes unique symptoms from this traumatic act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_trauma_syndrome

One such symptom goes by several names, some being innocently referred to as nightmares, while the experience of 'Night Terror's is a deeper and darker struggle.
http://www.nightterrors.org/SMF/index.php?PHPSESSID=8690c826358af0b5fdcf6a359e1333b6&

The sad portion of this blog would be that the crime continues (as all do) and its victims are the weaker. Bullies do not strike where there is a greater opposition.
They lurk where there is an absence of emotional support within family units.
As any thief they do their crime in places and at times they feel safe in the act. Youthful victims and older as well come away blaming themselves. Many times it becomes a vicious cycle repeating itself over a persons lifetime. There is help. Research. Find a professional that will work with the victim. Most of all, allow time. It takes a swift act to rob a person of their current life path and spirals the spirit into a blind, numb and lonely maze. Try to remember that you are never alone. Many people have had the same things happen and we all survive to go on to stronger tomorrows.
Find support and strength in numbers. http://rapecrisis.com/
This link has a 24hr online hotline*

This is it?

It seems that I spent my first 20 years identifying myself from my families fears, anger and introverted nature. Much of what happened within individual homes was mirrored in Hollywood, behind closed doors with separate beds. Sex was not a mystery as much as a duty first and a secret. Period. Our largely Christian society strongly recommended that the wife stay at home with the children and housekeeping, while the husband brought home a paycheck. Everything was meant to run in an orderly fashion for what reason's can only be to feed the governmental head. The 50's had many great things within (it), but as with all generations (in a technological growing world), the old must die out to be replaced by the new. This is more in retrospect to people and their concepts or ideals than to any thing we may hold to be true.
We were suppose to be a catholic nation infiltrated by Martin Luther, Calvin and the rest of those seeking power in truth. Ironically we reside in a separation of power versus thought as religion can not rule (which is a big shocker even today).
It is not the church where God lives (if one is any doctrinal believer), but the individual seeker. Otherwise 'church' is a social gathering of like minds focused as a whole into a single chaotic thought. I say that because each person has their own agenda in spite of appearances or numbers. Most use music with directional guidance to focus those energies created within them. (Be they church, mosque,synagog or circle gathering.)
So where do I, the writer, find God and do I believe in him or her. As for that, what do I believe? Many believe me to be a heretic or sweetly (and quietly) mad. Perhaps I am. Without delving further into what I am or am not my true reason in writing this blog is to examine my own depression. Where does it come from and how is it tamed? Yes I am on medication, but I also believe that rubbing ointment on a wound only helps if you don't keep causing the wound to reoccur or grow. It would be interesting to know how many are 'on' anti-depressants and if the medications cure the ailment or just cover the wounds to keep them in the dark.
With this being the start of a new direction on my blog I will end till tomorrow. So far, the medications hold the darkness on one side of the door and the light peeking through the other. Good-night*