"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us ... It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles by Marianne Williamson
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Happy Qi Xi (Chinese Valentine's Day)
Qi Xi ("The Night of Sevens") or Chinese Valentine's Day celebrates two legendary love stories explaining the position of the stars on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar. Today! These tales have inspired Chinese poetry and opera as far back as the Jin Dynasty (256-420 AD).
In the first story, the Goddess of Heaven’s seven daughters caught the eye of a cowherd during one of their visits to earth. They were bathing in a river and the Cowherd, Niu Lang, decided to have a bit of fun by running off with their clothing.
The prettiest daughter (Zhi Nue, the seventh born), asked him to return their clothes. Law dictated that since Niu Lang had seen her naked, they had to marry. The couple lived happily for several years until the Goddess of Heaven missed her daughter, and ordered her to return to heaven. The lovers were permitted to reunite once each year. On the seventh night of the seventh moon, magpies form a bridge with their wings for Zhi Nu to cross to meet her husband.
In the second story, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu were fairies living on opposite sides of the Milky Way. Feeling sorry for the two lonely sprites, the Jade Emperor of Heaven brought them together, but they became so enraptured with each other that they neglected their work. The Emperor decreed that from that point on, the couple could only meet once a year.
Star gazers celebrate Qi Xi by gazing up at the star Vega, east of the Milky Way which represents Zhi Nu, and at the constellation Aquila, on the west side of the Milky Way, where Niu Lang waits for his love to join him.
A Chinese website whose founders oppose the holiday's increasing commercialism advises, "Lovers, could you please not show off your happiness? Forget the hearts and flowers and keep your love-happy selves to yourself."
I'll be playing hockey. It's the playoffs!
In the first story, the Goddess of Heaven’s seven daughters caught the eye of a cowherd during one of their visits to earth. They were bathing in a river and the Cowherd, Niu Lang, decided to have a bit of fun by running off with their clothing.
The prettiest daughter (Zhi Nue, the seventh born), asked him to return their clothes. Law dictated that since Niu Lang had seen her naked, they had to marry. The couple lived happily for several years until the Goddess of Heaven missed her daughter, and ordered her to return to heaven. The lovers were permitted to reunite once each year. On the seventh night of the seventh moon, magpies form a bridge with their wings for Zhi Nu to cross to meet her husband.
In the second story, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu were fairies living on opposite sides of the Milky Way. Feeling sorry for the two lonely sprites, the Jade Emperor of Heaven brought them together, but they became so enraptured with each other that they neglected their work. The Emperor decreed that from that point on, the couple could only meet once a year.
Star gazers celebrate Qi Xi by gazing up at the star Vega, east of the Milky Way which represents Zhi Nu, and at the constellation Aquila, on the west side of the Milky Way, where Niu Lang waits for his love to join him.
A Chinese website whose founders oppose the holiday's increasing commercialism advises, "Lovers, could you please not show off your happiness? Forget the hearts and flowers and keep your love-happy selves to yourself."
I'll be playing hockey. It's the playoffs!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
"Romantic Comedies Ruin Your Love Life"
Reuters Life! - Romantic comedies might provide 90 minutes of light-hearted fun but the happy-ever-after movies are also impacting people's real love lives, according to an Australian survey. A poll of 1,000 Australians found almost half said rom-coms with their inevitable happy endings have ruined their view of an ideal relationship. One in four Australians said they were now expected to know what their partner was thinking while one in five respondents said it made their partners expect gifts and flowers 'just because'.
"It seems our love of rom-coms is turning us into a nation of "happy-ever-after addicts." Yet the warm and fuzzy feeling they provide can adversely influence our view of real relationships," said Australian relationship counselor, Gabrielle Morrissey. "Real relationships take work and true love requires more than fireworks."
The survey was released by Warner Home Video to mark the movie Valentine's Day going to DVD.
In 2008, the BBC reported:
Rom-coms have been blamed by relationship experts at Heriot Watt University for promoting unrealistic expectations when it comes to love. They found fans of films such as Runaway Bride and Notting Hill often fail to communicate with their partner. Many held the view if someone is meant to be with you, then they should know what you want without you telling them. Psychologists at the family and personal relationships laboratory at the university studied 40 top box office hits between 1995 and 2005, and identified common themes which they believed were unrealistic.
"The problem is that while most of us know that the idea of a perfect relationship is unrealistic, some of us are still more influenced by media portrayals than we realise." -Dr Bjarne Holmes, Heriot Watt University
The movies included You've Got Mail, Maid In Manhattan, The Wedding Planner and While You Were Sleeping.
Edit:
"The Bechdel Test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in Hollywood films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. It was created by Allison Bechdel in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985. It is astonishing the number of popular movies that can't pass this simple test. It demonstrates how little women's complex and interesting lives are underrepresented or non existent in the film industry. We have jobs, creative projects, friendships and struggles among many other things that are actually interesting in our lives... so Hollywood, start writing about it!"
"It seems our love of rom-coms is turning us into a nation of "happy-ever-after addicts." Yet the warm and fuzzy feeling they provide can adversely influence our view of real relationships," said Australian relationship counselor, Gabrielle Morrissey. "Real relationships take work and true love requires more than fireworks."
The survey was released by Warner Home Video to mark the movie Valentine's Day going to DVD.
In 2008, the BBC reported:
Rom-coms have been blamed by relationship experts at Heriot Watt University for promoting unrealistic expectations when it comes to love. They found fans of films such as Runaway Bride and Notting Hill often fail to communicate with their partner. Many held the view if someone is meant to be with you, then they should know what you want without you telling them. Psychologists at the family and personal relationships laboratory at the university studied 40 top box office hits between 1995 and 2005, and identified common themes which they believed were unrealistic.
"The problem is that while most of us know that the idea of a perfect relationship is unrealistic, some of us are still more influenced by media portrayals than we realise." -Dr Bjarne Holmes, Heriot Watt University
The movies included You've Got Mail, Maid In Manhattan, The Wedding Planner and While You Were Sleeping.
Edit:
"The Bechdel Test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in Hollywood films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. It was created by Allison Bechdel in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985. It is astonishing the number of popular movies that can't pass this simple test. It demonstrates how little women's complex and interesting lives are underrepresented or non existent in the film industry. We have jobs, creative projects, friendships and struggles among many other things that are actually interesting in our lives... so Hollywood, start writing about it!"
Thanks to Jennifer LoveGrove for sharing the video.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Monday, July 05, 2010
Wondering...
...when "activist," became a dirty word.
"Us, rebel? So exiled have even basic questions of freedom become from the political vocabulary that they sound musty and ridiculous, and vulnerable to the ultimate badge of shame -- 'That's so '60s!' -- the entire decade having been mocked so effectively that social protest seems outlandish and 'so last-century,' just... another style excess like love beads and Nehru jackets." -Laura Kipnis
"Us, rebel? So exiled have even basic questions of freedom become from the political vocabulary that they sound musty and ridiculous, and vulnerable to the ultimate badge of shame -- 'That's so '60s!' -- the entire decade having been mocked so effectively that social protest seems outlandish and 'so last-century,' just... another style excess like love beads and Nehru jackets." -Laura Kipnis
Saturday, July 03, 2010
I Still Love You, Toronto
"Torontonians shouldn’t feel ashamed about their city — we never asked for this to happen to us, but if we ask enough questions we can find out why it did." -Matt Blackett
"You cannot control an ecstatic person; it is impossible. You can control only a miserable person. An ecstatic person is bound to be free. Ecstasy is freedom. When you are ecstatic, you cannot be reduced to being a slave. You cannot be destroyed so easily; you cannot be persuaded to live in... See more a prison. You would like to dance under the stars and you would like to walk with the wind and you would like to talk with the sun and moon. You will need the vast, the infinite night, the enormous. You cannot be seduced into living in a dark cell. You cannot be turned into a slave. You will live your own life and you will do your own thing.
This is very difficult for society. If there are many ecstatic people, the society will feel it is falling apart, its structure will not hold anymore." -OSHO
(maybe it's more appropriate to substitute "awake" for "ecstatic)
"We don’t need laws and people with guns to live in harmony. Ain’t this ironic : people with GUNS try to create PEACE. The moment a society accept people with guns it’s an evil society." -Jan Siemaszkiewicz
Monday, May 31, 2010
I Love You Is In The Air ...
Apologies for my lack of posts, but my blog slows down every Spring! It doesn't mean I don't love you. It means it's easier to feel that love is in the air, so I'm mostly outdoors. Meanwhile, here is a container I planted with Iboza, Bronze Fennel, Hyssop, Zuta Levana, Ginger Geranium, Curry Plant, Silver Licorice, and an Uknown Plant Gift From A Neighbour.
I hope you're having a beautiful Spring. Gotta go! The kids wanna play outside...
I hope you're having a beautiful Spring. Gotta go! The kids wanna play outside...Friday, May 21, 2010
The I Love You Virus Keeps On Loving...
A week after its tenth anniversary, the I Love You Virus infects my computer!
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