Inspired Thoughts for the 21st Century

2012-02-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

Art, Nature, and Cultures

Healing Our Planet and Ourselves

2012-01-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

Cultures all around the world, have annual festivals and events that have a deep tie back to their origins.

2012-01-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

Once there were cornfields kissed by the sun.

2012-01-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

The Forever People...are those who know the Earth.

2012-01-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

BIRDS OF THE WORLD

2012-01-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

2012-01-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

Animals all around the world need protection.

2011-12-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Out of darkness comes The Light and higher consciousness.

2011-12-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

The principle of trees is to take strength from the earth: from the water, from the rain, from the sun, from the air, and the space that surrounds them. And, the principle of us is to be nourished by the trees.

2011-11-29T15:59:00.000-08:00

It is a dance
that ties all living things
to the infinite web of life.

2011-11-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

The Journey

In a blade of grass, a twig, a leaf, so many things are going on. Some parts are spiraling into birth and growth, and others are in the process of decay. But the pulse of life does not stop. Each form dies only to be born again.

2011-11-16T17:34:00.000-08:00

What would make a good family, a good community, and a good world, would be for each of us to respect diversity and for the divinity in each of us to honor the divine in every other living thing on Earth.

2011-11-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Be infinitely patient with others

We are One

Live in the present moment

and seek only the Truth

2011-11-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Being Alive

The condition of our hearts determines everything.

2011-11-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

Real understanding comes every time we look beyond our differences and embrace our common humanity.

2011-10-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

All around the world...life goes on.

2011-10-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

Winter frost in a rural area.

2011-10-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

The energy of The River of Life forms Living Things.

2011-10-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

We have been taught and programmed to be afraid of the natural mysteries of life, and it isn’t healthy to separate ourselves from what is a natural part of us, because it truly stands in the way of our unfolding.

2011-10-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

Life is a

coming and a

going and a

coming again

2011-09-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

Heavy traffic
clogs and congests networks and arteries.

2011-09-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Honor the Ancient Ones

2011-09-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

Learn from the animals.

It's a very important lesson.

2011-08-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Be in Harmony with the Natural World.

2011-08-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

If you don't bring creativity to your children, you aren't going to find it in them. The opportunity to recognize, appreciate, and understand the movements and shapes of Nature is priceless.

2011-08-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

Natural processes can often take time to unfold, and that is the natural way of things. When we are more aware of the precision of our machines than the workings of our natural systems, there’s something wrong.
A lot of mistakes are made, and many fights are fought, and blood pressures rise because of things not being done more quickly than we want them to be. Living life in a linear straight line is like being on an express train and not having a chance to see the scenery. We are missing the better part of life when we fail to pay attention to how important natural processes are to all of our lives. A good way to renew our lives is to let go of hurrying and all that we don’t need, and just take our time.

2011-08-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

The Same Moon

The moon that I see is the same one my mother and father looked up at when they were children, the same one that my grandfather kissed my grandmother under. It was the same moon when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and when Michel Angelo and Leonardo da Vinci were creating their great masterpieces, the same moon of the Mayans and the Incas, the same moon of the Pharaohs of Egypt and the early dynasties of China thousands of years ago, the same one when the great mastodons and dinosaurs were roaming the earth, the same moon that my distant relatives in Ireland might be seeing in the evening of their day today and I, an ocean away, in the evening of mine.

2011-08-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

Freedom
The greatest freedom is the freedom of the human spirit: Without it, we are never free from being prisoners of our own minds.

2011-07-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

Now, when the sunrises, no one sings anymore.

But, the sun does keep rising, and we need to sing!

2011-07-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Dolphins

As the tide was going out, probably a dozen dolphins were playing between the waves close to the rock jetties. First one way and then another, they circled effortlessly in their home, the sea. They were comfortable in this spot that day, and my eyes were filled with tears of joy from seeing them so comfortable, at home, and happy. There was a mist above the water that created a veil of magic around them. There was great joy that day because in that one place, on that one day the dolphins were there.

2011-07-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Gaze at the infinite night sky.

2011-07-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

If we don’t understand the basic laws of nature, its cycles, and rhythms and how important movement and change is as a part of life, we are not in sync with the natural world that supports us.

2011-07-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

From ancient cultures around the world, we can learn how to connect more with nature and the parts of ourselves that we have been separated from. These lost or forgotten connections are important to both our physical and spiritual well-being. Animals, plants, and nature are our teachers.

2011-07-11T17:18:00.000-07:00

We don't have anything...if we don't have love.

2011-07-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

The world was once young running free under the sun.

2011-06-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Look and see up close, the tapestry of life.

2011-06-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

The Power of Art

It is very important to make things

Because only by making things

We are reminded that

We are creators

2011-06-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

Listen and see the music that's in nature.

2011-06-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Native Medicines

2011-06-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Natural Healing

2011-06-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Live simply so your children can simply live.

2011-06-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

“Relating” to something is key to caring about it.

2011-06-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

The Sound of Music

2011-06-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

The most important thing that a person can do for their self is to do what they love.

2011-06-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

Patty Ann Smith's "Energy of Love for all Beings"
My baby "Loki".

2011-05-24T23:31:00.000-07:00

The path that is less traveled is often the one that makes all the difference.

2011-05-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

The noise of the highway cannot stop me

from appreciating the fields and the trees.

In the tall grasses at the roadside

I stop and sense the miracles

of life going on...

A red clover has a few grass seeds on its leaf;

they have stopped to rest there for awhile

before continuing their journey

back to rebirth.

2011-05-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

“The interconnectedness of all things”

Every time any species goes extinct, we lose an intricate part of the puzzle of who we are and where we came from...and we can "never" get it back...because the word "extinct" means it's gone forever.

2011-05-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

The universe is an explosion of light. It is in perfect harmony with itself all the time and everywhere.

2011-05-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

If you have any kind of a roof over your head, consider yourself fortunate.

2011-05-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

Bring a nice book to read, and find a tree you can sit under in a quiet clearing somewhere, and with nothing but the sounds of crickets and crows ~ grow your soul.

2011-05-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

The Hippies Had It Right!

2011-04-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

Try to understand what it means to be an evolving species on an evolving planet...and think that species is you.

2011-04-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

Whenever you give comfort, love, and beauty to a living soul, that person experiences a brief time and space where there really is Peace on Earth.

2011-04-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

Stand in the sunlight amongst the trees

and feel in your heart, the river of peace.

2011-04-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

Too many of us don’t take

enough time to just be.

We need to be. Just Be.

2011-03-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

The divine union of art, music and the dance of life is contained in every indigenous culture from the beginning of man. We have danced ever since the darkest of times, and so have the animals and trees. How important it is for us to learn from nature how to dance. Singing and dancing have always been expressions of the joy of life. All life is a work of art. All of life is a rhythm.

2011-03-08T07:50:00.000-08:00

Our innate spiritual connection to the earth begins the minute we take the first steps towards treating the earth sacred right where we live and where we work. Nature is just outside practically everyone's door. And, we have to become like little children again discovering it for the first time. ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

It's an amazing thing to watch the ways of animals. I learn so much from them. In the past, I wrote articles on animal behavior which were published in national magazines. I recorded in my journals, the behavior of certain animals that I could observe in close proximity to where I lived....and created human interest stories from bluebirds raising their young...to a cat that had almost no chance to survive but did. I don't have time to do that anymore, but I have a deep appreciation for all species and always take some time to see what they have to teach me whenever one crosses my path. And, even though I don't write it down anymore, I never forget "it".....or them. ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:45:00.001-08:00

*Believe that you can always choose new dreams

*Believe in the power of the human spirit

*Know that whatever happens tomorrow, you "being here" can make a difference

*You are a part of what happens tomorrow ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:43:00.004-08:00

"the spirituality of everyday life"

I have seen alcoholism up-close, drug addiction up-close, diabetes up-close and have seen how it can destroy the body until there's nothing left but death. I have seen a father and a brother come back from wars and how they handled the rest of their lives carrying with them what they had to do. I've been a child whose father was away for almost a year at a time, knowing he might never return, and with a faith that only a child could have....give him a little religious medal to carry in his pocket to keep him safe. Believing without seeing is so much easier for children. It is truly part of the grace of God. I have experienced the confusion of children of alcoholic parents and know what it's like to feel abandoned whether a parent is present or not. In our worst moments, what we are most likely to hold onto is "something spiritual". Something spiritual to rid us of our addictions, something spiritual to rid us of the pain of our losses, something spiritual....to simply make life better. ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:40:00.002-08:00

“The Rhythms of Life”

A body singing and dancing in perfect harmony is one that’s in harmony with all of life. But, we live in a world that runs more by mechanical movements than rhythmical ones. Mechanical is not good for the body, because our natural bodies do not work that way. They work in relatedness to other living things. The early farmers who had direct contact with their animals and crops...Every day, they had a reciprocating rhythmical relationship with the natural world. ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:34:00.002-08:00

Primal is the forever part of life.

2011-03-08T07:33:00.001-08:00

In the cycle of the sun, we have the shortest day of the year in the month of December and after that, comes the return of more light."...."Let there be light. Whatever season you are in right now, look for that which is meaningful and valuable in your life. It's good to always remember that you can work all your life for something and in seconds it can be gone, whether it’s due to a natural disaster or some unexpected life change. It's good to remember...and, also, to never forget to be grateful." ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:32:00.003-08:00

In the kingdoms of plants and animals, their consciousness and life function together ~ not separately. And, they are moved by their own instinctual intelligence. Humans, however, have an extra thing called “self-consciousness” that gets between consciousness and life and causes a lot of the disharmony that we see so much in man. ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:28:00.001-08:00

Because of my Irish ancestry, I know that Ireland is "the land of the magical earth". And, its music comes out from your feet when you dance, your voice when you sing and stories when you speak the simple outer life and the Irish inner life of the "imagination". The prosperity of the spirit is sometimes all that is left. And, our music, our arts, our ability to laugh...can tell our stories ~happy ones, sad ones, cultural ones, historic ones ~ and therein lies our treasures. ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:26:00.001-08:00

All things grow with Love.

2011-03-08T07:25:00.001-08:00

When my father was away at war, his absence for months at a time had a profound effect on me. There were no phone calls, no internet, no visits. He was just "gone" ~ all but for the images in my memory. The only thing I could depend on was the feeling of connectedness I had with "everywhere" when I was out in nature. I knew my father might not physically come back but, in my mind, I held a magical mystical connection to him wherever he was. Because of the deep need I had to feel that he wasn't really gone even though I couldn't "see" him ~ I created him to be right with me and therefore I could never lose him. A child's imagination is a wonderful thing and can create protection against some pretty harsh realities.
That experience with my mind's imagination still serves me again and again in my life. It comes through in singing and dancing, in being with nature, it comes through in drawing and painting, and in creating art with things from nature, and it comes through being a "dreamer" and having hope, no matter what. The arts and nature have been a way for me to have "no doubt" about the interconnectedness of all things. ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:24:00.001-08:00

All of Life is a work of Art.

2011-03-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

I saw a bee in my neighbor’s flower garden, and at first, its selection of the next flower seemed to be random. But, as I stood there, I noticed that the bee "trusted" the wind to lead her to her next flower. And as she went with the flow, her needs were met. ~ PAS

2011-03-08T07:19:00.000-08:00

The pulse of the world is music ~ music that we can hear and, also, music that we can’t hear that's going on all the time in every living thing.