~~~ OUR OWN MR. BANKS ~~~

This post was inspired by the Disney movie "Saving Mr. Banks". A story shared with the world first, with a book, then with a movie  as we know as "Mary Poppins".

Little did anyone realize that the book was really an account of a little girl growing up in Queensland Australia with her family and the relationship between her and her father. A movie many of us grew up with and loved so much. Now comes the story of the author of the book. A totally different inspiration than we came to know about Mary Poppins. It is now a story of   the little girl who wrote her feelings about her childhood full of disappointments and tragedies. Mary Poppins in real life was a nurse, not a Nani.  A nurse to save her father, but could not.

I cried more than a few times during the movie as I can identify with my own father and what I went through in my childhood.

Disney was genius! As usual. A champion for children, a child himself, as previous posts reflect

All of us have a "Mr. Banks" in our young life. He maybe a father, a mother, a family member, even a friend. Is it  true that pain does fill the pen with ink. as in the case of P.L. Travers ( the author of the book). She found refuge from her pain by writing about it. It was The making of the movie based on her book that caused her to confront her past. She had become a grumpy hurt soul who was only revived  when Disney tracked her down in London and shared his personal challenging past. Unfortunately  I could not find a video of the full dialog between Disney and  P.L. Travers in this scene. It is such a great dialog. It addresses my message like none other. If anyone finds that full dialog please let me know so I can include it in this post.There are short references made in the Trailer which I added to this post.

Essentially Disney talks about delivering news papers twice a day in icy cold weather. Among other things that were painful growing up. His father was in the newspaper business. The point being that every one has challenges in life and have to deal with them on a daily basis.

Is it not coincidental that I was a newspaper boy who delivered newspapers early in the mornings before going to school? When my bike broke down my parents said I would have to fix it myself. I had to pay for it with the little money I made from delivering papers.needless to say I did not have the money. I ended up carrying them on my back, walking for many months. Had to walk with the papers on my back over 5 miles each morning and then walk to school about another 2 miles each way. I actually slept in the garage the last year or two before leaving the house and my family.

I was sort of adopted by A Lutheran priest and his family in Banning California. From there I went straight to Greece where I lived and studied for six years. I hated my father and the day I left my family was the day I had raised my fist at my father, ready to fight him. My mother separated us and from that moment I left to live my last months in the US with a Reverend  Kecks and his family in Banning, California,  never to see my family again until I returned from Greece. I was 17 years old then. 

When I came back from Greece my father was a changed man. I could and did love him before his passing to the afterlife.

I am in the middle of my own autobiography now.

I am certain we all have such painful experiences with either friends or family. Some of you just naturally will write about your past. I suggest you all set down and write about your pain from the past. Trust me when I say it will be healing.

Below is the video of the movie

   

May you in spirit reunite with your  Mr. Banks and find forgiveness in your heart, if not already done. Free yourself

Love and Light

~ RAISING YOUR CHILD IN SPIRITUALITY

I have four children, none of whom does attend a building of worship on a regular basis. They have been exposed to multiple religions. One might consider at extreme ends. My first born was baptized  in the Greek Orthodox church. My other three were born in the Jewish faith. My second born son was circumcised by a Mohel (a Jewish person trained in the rite of "Brit Milah" (the practice of Circumcision) After all,  his mother is Jewish. Based on Jewish law, the children of a Jewish mother are automatically considered Jews and should be raised in the Jewish faith. 

Let's face the fact that when we bring a child into this world the only "label" he has is HUMAN. How he evolves as a human does depend on his upbringing. As a child I rarely went to a place of worship. I remember going to a "Science of Mind church" in San Bernardino a couple of times. I remember more a group of people coming to the house and speaking about spirituality with a doctor Hollenbeck, an archeologist  who traveled the world and shared his spirituality. I was at a young age then  and did not understand the message being taught. 

I can honestly say my parents had absolutely no influence on my decision to be baptized as a young adult in the Greek orthodox church.  In fact when my father heard of this, he mocked the church, parading around the house with a robe as though he were a priest ~~ essentially making fun of organized religions.

In this era when technology has taken a huge leap forward there are so many distractions to choose from that turns our focus on the material rather than the spiritual.

Can one be spiritual outside the walls of worship? ~~ Yes! Can one be spiritual by going to church?  ~~ Not necessarily . One can be spiritual in church , but not because of church or a temple. It is not the building that makes one spiritual. It is what you have inside you that makes you a spiritual being. Spirituality is a 24 hours a day experience. It is not the one or two hours on Sundays, Mondays or Saturdays experience which makes a person spiritual.

To make an analogy: We can all identify with diets. You will find numerous methods to loose weight. However, many of us may loose weight, but we do not keep it off. Why? you ask. Because our goal should be to keep it off. It is a permanent life change. Like humans wanting to be a good person and strive for "salvation". Going to church or Temple and recite prayers and receive sacraments maybe a quick fix but when you leave the building and flip off a driver for cutting you off on the freeway or kick the dog because it is in your way, etc. is not a life change. You must practice your faith ~~ spirituality with each breath you take.

Now, raising children in spirituality; even from a child we can teach them by example the golden rule which binds all religions. This is simply in essence: Treat others as you would want to be treated ~~in so may words.

A child can be taught to meditate, practice yoga relax with rhythmic breathing as in Kundalini Yoga. After all ~~~ breathing comes natural to us, however intentional breathing with a rhythmic action can relax the body and mind. Do this twice a day, morning an night will make a difference for you and your child.

I recently was blessed by meeting a family with two children, one girl and one boy,  ~~twins. Both under 10 years old. George  Kaponay and his beautiful spiritual wife, Bobi, are the founders of the "Chrystal Heart Energy Grid".

Here is the link to their site:

http://crystalheartgrid.com/

They are from Australia. They are currently in the US on a pilgrimage to promote humanity healing, unity and spiritual awareness and how the energies of the planet can bring us together as one. 

The two children are home schooled. Their education and intelligence level is  far ahead of their years. Their knowledge of nutrition is amazing. Of coarse nutrition is a huge part of spirituality. If you love your body you will take care of it. You must love yourself before you can truly love others.

I took the family to Lake Arrowhead, a local mountain resort and spent the day with them.

Below are a couple of photos with the Kaponay family.

Perhaps not everyone has the opportunity to home school and to travel around the world to places of great energy of Mother Earth. Having said that one can find the same peace and energy in a local mountain or even a park. You do not need a yoga mat to meditate and practice Yoga.

Teach your children to love and respect Mother Earth. Teach them to love all four legged, winged, finned life who share the air we breathe. 

I am proud and blessed to say that all four of my children are brilliant, good humans who would never violate the golden rule of life. Be the love you want to see in your children. 

Be well in Love and life

~~~~~~ IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE ~~~~~

The title of this post gives you a hint of what this message is about. ~~ As in the movie with the same title I emphasize  the importance of self-esteem. Know that you do have an impact on people's life's. Maybe it was something you have said or did.

Challenges in life tend to consume our spirit and soul. We feel that surely we must have done something wrong to deserve such "fate". The good in you can seem to be overshadowed by everyday challenges. Sometimes one has to be reminded by our angel who is assigned to us, ~~~~ that little voice we hear in our head.

A couple of days ago, while I was working out in the gym at my club I came across the parents of a child I had coached in soccer for a number of years. We were reminiscing the days of playing together on different teams, traveling, together to beautiful venues such as Lake Tahoe, California and the comradery  we experienced. I was told how I had a major affect on their children's childhood and that they haven taken these memories with them in life.

Another child I had coached, who now is a young adult came up to me and thanked me for getting her life "straighten out" and that she will use the same social skills I inadvertently taught my team. I did not just teach soccer skills, but also life's lessons.

I have had a number of people I have encountered in life who I never knew I had such an impact on. The parents, who had heard about my accident stated ''you were meant to survive so that you could have an impact on our children and us".

Frank Copra, who directed the movie, "It's a wonderful Life" based it on a book called "The greatest Gift"  This gift is the ability we all have in touching our fellow humans and helping them to deal with life's curves, twists and turns. 

Sometimes something traumatic has to happen to wake us up. Only then do we really appreciate what we have and then share with others.

Some of you know my history as to my near death experiences.  The first was when I was 16. I and two buddies hitchhiking in the San Bernadino  mountains near Big Bear, California when the driver lost control of the car and flipped the car upside-down and some how like an angel picked up the car and sent it to the hillside instead of us falling down the mountain. I walked away unscathed. I was a teenager ~~ so I believed I was invincible. Taking life for granite. I never did share this with my parents, considering I was hitchhiking, ~~ a stupid thing to do as teenager. I was more scared about what they would do to me if I told them what happen.

My second experience was failing to get on a plane from Chicago O' Hare airport to LA. The flight was booked and I was pissed off. This same flight crashed and everyone died on the plane. This was An American Airlines in 1979. My Angel was telling me there is a reason I needed to be here still. 

Third, ~~  was my rollover accident in Mexico about 5 years ago, a crash that could have easily taken my life , if not, left me paralyzed or even comatose, yet I walked away with all my limbs and mental capacity. In fact I felt stronger after the accident than before.  This time my Angel shouted at me, ~~ there was no whispering going on.

Each and everyone of us has the ability to affect the life of others. Do not allow the challenges life throws at you keep you from sharing the good  in you with others who might need to see that good.

Extend  a spiritual hand to all you are in contact with. Trust me when I say that when you do this your energy strengthens. Your positive energy has a bottomless well. 

I wish for you to grasp the golden key on the merry go round  of life and hand it to anyone who needs it more. Perhaps those who cannot ride the merry-go-round.

 Absorb the divine light and feel the warmth of love and peace!

~~~~ MOTHERS HERE AND BEYOND ~~~~

The Theotokos      

  Byzantine Icon of Mother of God

This year is the first "Mother's Day" without my mother as she has  passed  on into the afterlife this year. Believe it or not, it may be one of the best Mother's days I have ever experienced this year.  I will explain why.

While a day has been set aside to honor and appreciate our mothers I cannot help but  feel the commercial angle with the greeting card companies, the candy stores and flower shops. I can remember last year at my Mother's last Mother's Day. The family considered flowers, etc. ~~ Then we agreed that mom would have no clue it was Mother's day and that giving flowers was part of a social tradition. Our gift to her was love, hugs and kisses. We all believed our mother was inside that worn body and that soon she would leave that shell of her soul and that her soul would change energies and be with the creator. We knew she would appreciate touch and sight which is priceless, not material things.

Growing up from a young teenager I viewed my mother as a shelter of peace and tranquility while my father was gone for work. She was my protector. I have admitted this before,  ~~ I viewed my father as a very negative energy in my young life.   I avoided my father until I left for Greece at 17 years old. When I returned, he was a changed man as you know from prior posts.

My mother was not necessarily an affectionate person. She was raised by her stepmother, her father's second wife. From what I understood she was a cold person. My paternal Grandmother was born in Poland and as far as I know, was a warm person. I never met my paternal Grandmother.

After my father passed to the afterlife my mother entered a dark abyss and seemed to be detached with the world and found most of her tranquility with her dogs.

When she entered a home care facility until her final days on this planet, ~~ she became a very loving being and deep inside me, I felt that caring and nurturing as I did going up as a young teenager.

  

My mother and I in the final days of her life on Earth

The origin of Mother's Day dates back over 250 years before Christ was born, in the era of the Greeks and Romans. Early Christians celebrated a Mother's day of sorts during  the fourth day of Lent in honor of the Virgin Mary. The Mother of Christ. Note above Orthodox icon.

 Here is  a poem I wrote called: 

The Beauty of a woman:

It is though a woman, a man can be complete.

It is through a woman, the Creator sends his sacred life

Tears for a woman can clear the path for love

Love for a woman can make a man a better person 

The warmth of a woman knows no boundaries

The body of a woman is sacred as are her heart and soul

The love from a woman is celestial bliss

In that love, man experiences Peace, Tranquility and Totality

Women are a gift to be appreciated for all times and eternity

For --- without women we would not be

Emotions from Stephen July 2009

~~ Stephen Hill ~~

You could use the word mother in place of  woman in this poem and the application is the same.

In the wild animal kingdom, with some exceptions the female of the pack, den, etc. is  in charge. She provides protection, food and nurturing.


Women, whether men like it or not,  are the corner stone of all family foundations. In Judaism it is the mother who gives the blood line, whether the child is Jewish or not




It has been said ~~ "The woman in the house has not lost her dignity, in spite of Mother's Day, with it's offensive implication that our love needs an annual nudging". 

  ~~ John Erskine ~~

Now comes the beauty of this year's Mother's Day celebration. I will dedicate time alone, perhaps at the ocean, or walk paths on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and honor my mother with love in deep meditation. Our spirits will unite. From this point on I will always honor my mother as I will my Father. Not with flowers, chocolates and cards. With pure spirit!

The following is a good video with excellent text and images we can all identify with for Mother's Day.

Love your mother, whether she is next to you or looking down on you from the universe with that one sweet smile you recall from birth.

Love and Peace to all

THE GATHERING ~~ 11. 11. 11.

While it seems like a long way off yet for this event, in fact tickets are quickly disappearing. Over 32,000 have reported to have been sold. If you find yourself anywhere near western Arizona during November this year; near the spiritual setting of Sedona, please make a conservative effort to attend at least one of the 8 days full of spirituality.

For those of you who may not be aware of this phenomena called 11. 11. I have posted a video below. I will ten share with you my personal experience with 11. 11. from a very early age.

The earliest memory the number 11 stood out to me was when I played Little League Baseball at age 7 through 11. While the first year I was given no choice for a "favorite number" to wear on my jersey, 11 was the number assigned to me. That year I had a good year and from that time on, I wore number 11(like a lucky number). I then made my first  trip to Europe, when I was 15 years old. My flight to New York had me in seat number 11 and from New York to Geneva, Switzerland I was seated behind seat 11 as it starred me in the face for thousands air miles. It  started from there. As time went on, 11 had to be a my magical number in life. 

I will not bore you with the seemingly hundreds of coincidences I experienced.  What I will share with you is relative to my near fatal auto accident while traveling from Mexico City to Michoacan in Mexico in March 2008. Earlier in the day in Mexico city I found a movie ticket stub on the ground with the number 11.11. It was something I decided to pick up and put it in my pocket.

My beloved and I then left Mexico City to return to the US with her driving and I sleeping in her car. The left front tire blew and my beloved lost control of the vehicle going about 70 miles per hour and we rolled over a couple of times and landed upside down in the opposite lane of traffic on a county road. I will not go into more details, but after seeing the car I was in, it was hard to believe anyone, especially me as I am so tall, was not killed or paralyzed or comatose from the accident.

I felt an angel had to have been watching over us. Yes, I had serious injury to my head and I had surgery to my head while at the Michoacan Hospital before returning to the US.

During our four days in the hospital I found the 11.11. ticket stub in my pocket. I got the chills as 11.11. was following me. I knew then there was a purpose for me to be still walking this planet.

As the above video reflects. I started to see 11. 11. on all the clocks, watches, etc.  like never before.

Numbers on buildings, events I have attended. Just about every where I go I see 11. 11. 

At one of the events I attended for the Summer Solstice I was sharing this with a friend named Michelle and for the first time I was told told that 11.11. has spiritual significance. Wow! That hit me like a block. 

Among others, my sister has had the same experience! It is good to know I am not alone in this "phenomena".

Here is a link you can copy and paste to your browser for the full details of this blessed event.

http://thegathering111111.weebly.com/

If you are considering participation in this event please feel free to call me on my cell. That number is 310-710-7997. That way we can connect while there. I am hoping that I will be given a chance to speak there!

Look out for more posting on this event as we get closer to it! If you have questions and I cannot answer them. I know people who can.

TERRORISM IN MUNICH ~~ PERSONAL ~~ FACE OF EVIL

I was motivated by two events these days to write about my personal experience while working in Munich, Germany at the  "Olympisches Dorf"  which in German means "Olympic Village" This is where  the athletes  lived during the games and where the workers who provided services to the athletes also lived including myself. This was the 1972 Olympic Games.

Today is the fourth of July, representing the US Independence from Great Britain and commemorating the adoption of the declaration of Independence on July 4th here in the United States.

I  have been following the Women's World Cup in Soccer which coincidentally are being held in Germany.

In one event we are united as a nation and in the other,  we are united by all nations, or so that is the intent. 

The following are the events I personally experience in the Massacre of the Israeli Olympic team:

The above images reveal me working in the Kitchen at the Olympic Village and then you see the "Security Badge" we had to wear to gain access to the Village when leaving for the city.

I had taken a break from my studies in Greece and went to Munich since people from the entire world would be flocking to Munich for the 20th Olympiad. There would be plenty of jobs, I was thinking. Without going  into details, lets just say I must have been at the right time and place. I have to characterize my finding a job at the Olympic Village  nothing short than a miracle as I was about to get back on the train and return to Thessaloniki Greece when I met a person on the streets of Munich and then directed me  to too other people who then sent me to the Olympic Complex

I was hired to work for the Kempinski Hotel chain in which was at that time and maybe still is known as the "Hilton of Germany". I was delegated to the food services department. I worked in the kitchen and the main floor where the athletes eat. I had the opportunity to meet King Constantine from Greece. He is known for his medal in sailing.  Of coarse, met all the stars of medal winners including Mark Spitz, etc. 

One or two days prior to the Massacre I met one of the athletes from the Israeli team. His name was David Berger. He was a weightlifter. He was living in New York at the time but was of Israeli heritage , therefore made the Israeli team. Think about it for a second, ~~ because of his race he was murdered as were all his colleges on the Israeli team. 

Me, being a very friendly person engaged in conversation with him when serving him. He spoke Hebrew and I was studying Hebrew at the University in Greece. I solicited his tutor.  My project was to learn the book of Ruth in the old testament. To be able to read and translate any verses in the book. David Berger was not given the opportunity to meet with me as his live was taken from him.

I woke up the next morning, it was my day off. My roommate and I had breakfast together and he taught me some words in his native Language as he was from a Sioux tribe in South Dakota, USA. 

As I was walking through the village complex towards the dorm I was living at, I saw an unusual gathering of cameramen in front of the athlete's dorms. Now, it was not unusual that there are gathering of cameramen surrounding an athlete or two but this was massive. It caught my curiosity as I was walking towards the crowd of reporters and cameramen. I asked what was going on and I was shocked to hear what I was told. I learned the details of the hostages and was told two athletes from the Israeli team were already shot and the body was thrown outside the door by the terrorists to show they were sincere in their objective to kill all the members of the Israeli team if  the German officials did not release  236 prisoners incarcerated in Israel and Germany and then their own safe passage to Cairo.

I personally was in shock the entire day. Even though I was young I felt the spirit of unity of the world until this moment. I had seen each country check in with their national anthem played. This was done in the village in addition to the ceremony  traditionally played in the stadium.  This meant so much more to me and the athletes. It was much more of a personal experience. It was like seeing what is happening with the athletes behind the scene. We would be in our dorms and could hear what country arrived when he heard  their national anthem was played. In fact my native friend and I played a game, to see who could identify the country when hearing their anthem.

That night was the longest night of my life. We could hear helicopters outside and when we looked over the balcony of our dorm we saw the terrorists with machine guns in the back of the hostages who were handcuffed, leading them to the nearby parking lot where later we learned that the helicopters picked up the hostages and the terrorists and took them to the nearby Munich airport. About two hours later we heard that all the hostages were murdered and two of the terrorist were captured.

By morning time, the next day, we got a bulletin that the if the two terrorists held in jail in Munich were not released, the Olympic village would be blown up. We all took this threat to be real after what we just witnessed the day before. I then learned that one of the two murdered in the village was David Berger. My heart skipped a few beats. 

The games were postponed one day. Flags were at half mass with the exception of those from the Arab nations who refused to lower their flags. I was given the option to leave and I decided to stay at least until the end of the Olympics in honor of  David Berger and the entire Israeli team. Needless to say, no further attacks were made on the village.

I cannot conceive of anything more dark and distant from the light of our creator than not only taking the life of another, but willing to kill ones self to do so. A form of disrespect for the gifts bestowed us by our creator that is as dark as it gets. I can only suggest that this is truly the face of EVIL.

A venue of world peace attacked in the Olympics, or taking the lives of women and children with no faces. Humans whom you have never seen or knew anything about in the Twin Towers.These were humans who may have just created plans for marriage, who were about to honor a loved one who just passed on, whom had not been seen in years ~~ some mother may have just given birth to new life. 

How does one deal with such pain. I say  ~~ Prayer:

Please join with me a prayer for those who lost lives from terrorism and for those who took them. 

The Israeli 1972 Olympic team with David Berger in far upper right corner.

Oh creator of all things good, we solicit your light in times of darkness when our understanding of life's events challenge our reason. For those who have survived the victims of atrocities. For  those who have strayed from your path and for those families of who commented those atrocities. The pain is from opposite poles, but nevertheless deep human pain. May your gracious rule be extended to all those who need comfort, that those affected may see the wrong path clearly from the right path. That they find the good path and promote  unity and peace for this world! May we be conscious of love this 4th of July.

Amen     

Does peace really have to have a price of human life in this world as historically been the case? I will always exercise the philosophy of Gandhi who preaches non violence methods for peace and unity.

THE BEAUTY OF NATIVE AMERICANS

First, allow me to clarify that I am not Native American, but, I can say that I have had a connection with our first people throughout my life. I am in spirit, ~~ Native American. I had forgotten that as a child I had a Native American babysitter from the San Manuel Band of Indians in Highland California when I was seven years old. At the time I had no concept of Native verses other races of people. I just remember that She brought some strange games or toys with her to entertain us. My brother was only 2 years old then and probably has no recollection of these toys which were Native American. The toy involved a hoop and some small poles. I researched it and I believe it is the image of the toy and game below:

Nearly all Native American groups of North America have a game they play with a hoop and a pole. Natives of different groups have their own special ways to play the Hoop & Pole Game, but in all the games a person tosses a dart of some kind at a circular hoop. People of the Grosventre use a net of buckskin lacing.

I remember going with my father to take our native babysitter home one night and recalling that she lived on the reservation. The impression I got as a child was that they lived in shacks. Now the reservation has huge homes and is wealthy from the San Manuel Casino which has been built there. I am pleased that our natives can live as comfortable as they choose but I am sure that some tribe members may have lost sight of what the real treasures are in life. I am also certain there are many still in touch with the Indian way of life in all its simplicity.

I remember the TV series "The Lone Ranger" and I always wanted to be Tonto, the faithful companion of the Lone Ranger. Tonto was played by Native American, Jay Silverheels.

While studying in Greece, I took the summer off to work in Munich, Germany and met a Native American where I was working. We became close friends.

More recently I was blessed by knowing a Chief through care2.com. He lives in Southern California and we met. We smoked a health pipe together which was something I will never forget. His name is Chief RunningFox Moss. Here is a photo of him:

 

My dear friend and brother, may the Great spirit keep you in his arms of good health

When I came across this video below I teared and had to share it with you as it represents the beauty of the Native American. They celebrate life with dance and dress! Dance is a form of prayer.

The Native spirit comes through their dress and dance. Each movement each ornament, each sound has a purpose relative to their connection with Mother Earth and the Creator also known as the Great Spirit. Such passion and devotion for all creatures. Their dress symbolizes all life on Earth.

I identify so much with this poem written by a Native Woman living alone in Juneau Alaska, a member of the Tlingit Nation/Raven Moiety/Dog Clan.

TODAY

Today, I am more native than yesterday,

I didn't hurry so fast, running from my past,

I sat real still when I was alone,

didn't have to call someone on the phone,

listening to the silence until my head heard,

my heart speaking to me....

And my heart spoke of purpose in my life,

of seeking integrity in myself,

of walking a solitary path of peace,

seeking harmony instead of wealth,

of seeing the strength in a prayer,

sharing with my children the power there,

of honoring everything that is alive,

being one with nature, not strife....

On this journey I walk,

my heart continues to talk,

turning me into what I was born this day,

for I am more Native than yesterday....

~Melody Jackson~

May we all live true to the preservation of the beauty our Creator bestowed us, our Mother Earth! To treat all as equal and take no more than we need from the treasures we have been given. Be in Peace and Unity

CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION ~~ THE BUTTERFLY

"Be the change you want to see in the world".  

Quote from Mahatma Gandhi.

This past week I visited an inmate incarcerated at a detention facility in San Bernardino California, nearby where I grew up. My assignment was to interview the son of wonderful decent parents about a suspicious Insurance claim and to interview the parents.

I had met the parents first, living in Highland, California, literally just down the street from where I went to elementary school. It was hard to believe that this son whose parents are so wonderful was tangled in a web of lawlessness and negative activity.

I was curious as to how their son landed in jail. How could a root of a tree of such light brought so much darkness to this family?

What really hit home for me was how much the son complained about his misfortune and how life had not been so good to him.

Revisiting the stage of my life growing up through my teenage years I recall my own young life to be with dark memories of my father. I could not quite associate a good father with a troubled son and my experience with no drugs or problems at school and with society and a father who seemly did not care for me in a loving way. To me on the surface it was like a paradox. It seems to defy logic.

The son is now 44 years old and still has not be freed from the web of a troubled life.

While I was away in Greece, an incredible transformation enveloped my father and when I returned after 6 years away my father, he was a completely different person. It was as if he were a caterpillar and evolved into a beautiful butterfly. 

The son in my story has not chosen to be the change he wants to see in his life. One must willing to make the change he needs to make, and not blame society for the way he is.

I have been blessed by the transformation I have experienced in my life. In spite of the negative childhood I experienced I choose to change I wanted to see with my family and it has indeed changed.

"That the caterpillar calls the end of the world ~~ the master calls a Butterfly". Quote by Richard Bach

The ancients consider the butterfly as sacred! Early Christianity viewed the butterfly as the essence of the soul. In Greek mythology the butterfly is associated with the Greek Goddess, Psyche. Who is the soul. Among other cultures, China believes that when a butterfly lands on you have been touched by heaven and you will receive good fortune. 

The butterfly presents the essence of the never-ending cycles of change. From Humanity healing. net

In embracing the symbol of the butterfly we are also holding on to the essence of vision to transformation of this world ~~ back to the sacred.

You are the conductor of your voyage of life. No one says you have to follow a straight path to your life's goals. Consider changing your path and accepting the view of life of someone else when you experience challenges. 

WATER ~~ THE PILLARS OF OUR BEING

I strongly recommend that you see all nine parts, each part of about 10 minutes. You can return and see them on other visits. I guarantee you that you will be amazed by what you will see. You will never view water the same after seeing these videos. Each one comes up after the other if you notice when a video ends. You will see it at the end of each video in sequence.

Man has categorized our environment on this planet in four elements:

Earth, air, fire and water. From the beginning, man on earth has attempted to control the elements to make his life more to his needs. Little did ancient man know that his behavior had such a effect on Nature by his emotions. While man lives among nature and accepts it, he had no awareness of the relationship that exists between him and his environment and how in spiritually they can work together.

Water may be the most powerful and malleable energy on Earth and the element which has played  the largest role in our makeup and our spirituality. 

Are you aware that water has memory and that it is a form of a computer? It records all events it comes across and its relationship with the World. Every human has traces of water from his birth place through the water still in his body. Water reacts to emotions of humans. Water crystals can be spiritually contaminated by negative emotions such as anger and malice.

These events and crystals in water are seen under today's powerful microscopes. 

While you will see and hear incredible stories in the videos above on the divinity of water, I would like to share my story and experience with  this sacred element:

As you has seen in a previous post under "Holy Places" in the directory of this blog I have visited The Holy Mountain in Greece called "Mount Athos" a few times. An incredible place where nature and the monks who live there are truly in unity. The positive energy force is tremendous throughout the Peninsula. A place where man made machines such as automobiles do not exist to interfere with the sacred sound of chanting, praying and speaking to the plant life that paints the beauty of the peninsula. A place where one can touch the stars at night and appreciate the trails during the day from one monastery to another without intrusion from very day life in the cities we live in.

To be honest, I really gave my experience no special meaning at the time it happened, which by the way is true with most of us in life. When a wonderful and spiritual thing has happened to us,  ~~ unless we are in tune with our spirituality, we may not realize what special event has taken place in our life. Sometimes, reading hearing and seeing something unlocks the memory that has been recorded at any time of our life. The water videos unleashed waves of emotions that brought back the memories of Mount Athos for me.

I had led a tour group to the Holy Land and Greece. As to Greece I took three other males from the group to Mount Athos, (women are not allowed on the peninsula) while the wife's stayed on the mainland, doing their own side tour.

We made a stop at a monastery closer to the sea, called "Simonas Petras" and we were off the next day to one of the higher elevated monasteries up the mountain. As the elevation got higher and higher I was feeling very dizzy, but even more so, parched for water. There was a moment when I thought I was not going to make it. Something I had never experienced before because all my life I was an athlete in incredible good physical condition. I laid on the trail and said a prayer and visualized drinking spring water from the Holy mountain. I am not sure how long I was lying on the ground. It seemed like a lifetime. My companions were very concerned as there were no telephones on the peninsula, let alone anywhere nearby. After all, we were far from civilization, except the next monastery we were walking to. One of my group encouraged me to get up as they believed we were close to our destination where water could be found.

I gathered my senses and started walking. I have no idea how much further I walked but I could see from a distance something like a stream as sun light glittered across the trail we were walking on and I started running to the spot and sure enough there was a small stream of water into which with cuffed hands I brought water to my mouth. My body immediately re-acted as if I were a wind-up toy which came to life when my key was turned. The sensation I experience was sacred as I felt my prayers were answered. I was truly blessed by this water. I literally felt like running the remainder of the way to the monastery.

When I arrived at the monastery with my group I shared my experience with one of the monks as they prepared some lentil soup with bread for us. I was told by this monk that I was blessed because during that time of year there are no steams because there were no rains and consequently there should have not have been  streams running in this area. I gave it no further thought until we left the monastery after spending the night there and when we crossed the area I drank from the spring at, The spring was not there. Again, I did not consider this as significant until I came across these videos on water. 

Was it a miracle? Was I able to communicate with Nature and she responded? Regardless, have seeing these videos I can say that I have had personal experience with the divine element of Water.

So that you might be able relive to a small degree my experience as to the location where this occurred I have provided a link to a video on Mount Athos done by the TV program in the US called "60 minutes". It will leave quite an impression. I suggest, however that you see at least the first video on water. before seeing this video.

Please copy and paste the link below to view an incredible video on Mount Athos: ~~  A side note: I think it is hilarious that there may be a commercial on Viagra placed on a video about celibate monks. Who knows what they were thinking at the time. I realized that various commercials are on a loop for this and other videos from 60 minutes and the Viagra commercial may pop up. 

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7363712n&tag=related;photovideo