Challenge #100


YAY!!!! We have made it to the 100th Challenge of 365, just 265 more to go!! Whooooo!!!

This calls for a celebration!  Pop a bottle of very dry chilled bubbly, grill the scrumptious filet, top it off with a red velvet cupcake and sit back and jump into the jacuzzi and watch the stars in the sky.  Won't you join me??? I challenge you to....

The Old Man and The Sea

Challenge #99

The ocean is a big expanse of mystery and intrigue that some of us get to experience and some choose not to.

For the adventurers in us, heading into uncharted waters can be the most rewarding, self-glorifying and yet difficult and terrifying times of our lives.  Whether it be a marlin to hunt as the Hemingway novel goes, battling a shark tank in business, or just riding with dolphins, I challenge you to use the ocean, or, lake or river, or any metaphoric expanse of water,  as your hunting grounds to start with, go for something big and see what you come up with.

Tommy Can ya Feel Me....

Challenge # 98

Are you ever feeling as though you are living in a world of apathy?  That no matter what you say, see or hear bears no difference in the world?  So much so that you simply shut down, as though you are deaf, dumb and blind? To the point of where you really would rather just go off planet and start a new life?

I challenge you to find something in your life that you can feel a passion about.
As you decide on something, don't look at it as other people looking at you and having an opinion about it. Forget about other people. Take a look at yourself and feel what gives you an inner sense of love, glory, excitement in your belly. What is it that gives you a fire in your belly? Is it a thing, a viewpoint, desire?  Take out a piece of paper today and with a timer, in just 5 minutes write down a list of some things that bring a fire in the belly sensation for you. Try it....

What's in a Holiday...

Challenge #97

Today is celebrated as Columbus Day in the US and in the US territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Many of us are off from work or still on holiday or traveling back to our home cities from a long weekend.

The man Christopher Columbus, was credited for discovering the Americas when in fact there were already an indigenous population here well before he docked his ship and claimed land.  Does the date qualify for a true national holiday or do we seek an excuse to have a long 3 day weekend and take off from work and our regular schedules?

A question to ask yourself. If you could declare a holiday to take a day out of the normal routine, for what would it be for?  I challenge you  to create your own holiday, one majestic day out of the entire year that you personally take off to celebrate. And, if the reason is to celebrate just you for your own being, and it's not on your birthday, so be it.  Start now and really take the time to create your own holiday. Mark the date down and write out all the reasons for your newly created holiday. Give it a bold name. Declare the reasons behind it and how it will be recorded in the annals of your history and how it relates to you. Create celebration around it, decor, food and merriment. Decide where you will celebrate it, what will you wear, who will be with you?  Cheers~!

In the Night Kitchen

Challenge  #96

We all have our childhood dreams that at one time or another carried us into the night kitchen, or the dark abyss that reminded us of warmth, comforty smells, mommy and daddy and projected us into some exaggerated heart beating predicament that we could only wake up from to get out of.   Just short of finding "Where the Wild Things Are", heading into the night kitchen is an early adventure we as babes typically and easily dare to embark upon.

I used to read this little known and controversial children's book by Maurice Sendak to my little one every night for almost a year before she was 3. She loved the journey that Mickey went into once sleepyland came about and the other side of consciousness awoke when he heard a noise from his bed and said.....

I challenge you to find the children's bedtime story that hits a positive target in your childhood of long long ago. Whether it be based on a distant memory, a fondness of something, or a very direct emotion. Appreciate the artistry, the presentation, the words, the mind of the pen from who they came.  Read it to your little ones, and if you don't have them, give it to someone who does have little ones, or read it to them yourself.

Jack-O-Lantern

Challenge # 95

The time is drawing near, specialty farms around the nation have begun to open up and stores are now selling the favorite gourd for the season, Oh hail to the Great.... Pumpkin!  According to the cartoon character Charlie Brown's pal Linus, the Great Pumpkin appears once a year sweeping down from the sky. That time of the year when hayrides and bonfires abound with the smells of smores, hot apple cider and spicy pies. One night in particular that we relish through this time...is the night of.... Halloween.

Within the tradition of Halloween is that of carving out pumpkins and placing a candle in them to stay illuminated for the entire night, called a Jack-O-Lantern.  Each Friday through this month we will focus on the various elements of Halloween.

I challenge you to engage in this tradition and begin searching for the perfect pumpkin to carve the perfect Jack-o-lantern this year.  You can't take time back and you can't live in the past, it is time to move forward only and this is one way....

The legend of the Jack-O-Lantern is below....enjoy~!

The Legend of "Stingy Jack"  from History.com

People have been making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o'-lanterns.

Visionary

Challenge # 94

What do you see when you look out beyond your horizon?
What lies ahead out there for you?
Do you only see yourself or others with you, alongside you, going along the same path?
Are you in your own body or have you morphed into another time?
What are you doing along the way?

I challenge you to begin to ask yourself... what do you want?  Take a walk outside, or take a look in the mirror, be in solitude, take a deep breath, or several, and see beyond where you are, who you are and begin to get the visions of where you want to be, what you want to be doing.  Allow the visions to come to you....keep trying....

Rain

Challenge #93

The drippy stuff affects us all. It is refreshing to most, especially as kids, but in everyday lives as we get older it's effects are at times felt on an emotional basis whenever we have to be out in it.  Sometimes we weep when it rains, sometimes we react happily and stay indoors, maybe take the day off from work and duties as an excuse to not go out. Sometimes a warm outdoor shower after a blistering day in the desert is welcomed and elates us, and sometimes in tropical weather when rain showers come and go throughout the day, we just like to go out naked and feel the drops pelting down on our bare skin, then let them dry off us from the heat of the sun before sliding into the bath of the ocean water to wash off.  We plan our activities by it and we use it as a metaphor to wash away or clear our worries, sins, or otherwise dirty or negative aspects to our lives.

Rain is important in our eco-cycle to replenish the moisture evaporated by the earth's atmosphere during the movements of the days and nights to refill the oceans and nourish the earth and crop growth.  It bestows itself upon us by breaking out of great clouds in the sky and falling down in surprise movements. We are constantly trying to monitor it's existence by sophisticated storm system tracking equipment and radar devices on earth and in satellites in space.


I challenge you wherever you are if it is raining, and when it rains, to call upon it in gratitude and enjoy it. Take time for it and make allowances in your day for it if it affects you while you are driving, walking about or doing whatever it is that you do. Allow patience and be helpful of others. Dress appropriately, carry the umbrella, the rain coat, galoshes, layer for warmth if necessary.  And, relish the rain, knowing that it is always temporary.

The Yellow Brick Road

Challenge #92

Tapping your ruby slippers 3 times can bring you home and back to reality realizing that you had it all within you from the beginning, or.... not.

Following a path on a journey to find the one person that will bring you what you want most is what sets us off course to begin with. We, especially women, tend to look for wizards in a magical place such as in relationships.  We often times put that partner on the pedestal of mastery when they may not deserve our exultation of their being to begin with.  When really, unbeknownst to us at the time, self-love and self-mastery is the key to our own personal success before we are able to truly share with another.

If we can believe in ourselves enough to create what we want in our lives without thinking someone else will do it for us, or has to do it for us, self-trust is what will set us on our own path of destiny.  It can be a delight, it doesn't mean that you have to go it alone either, if that person or people are on the same paths as you are.  

I challenge you to find your own yellow brick road and begin the journey to what it is, not who it is, that you want in your life.

Serendipity

Challenge #91

Unexpected fortune and happiness is not always in a $25000 desert shrouded in gold over triple fudge with ice cream and a biscuit fresh from a posh upper East Side desertery in Manhattan that bears the name, or carried over into a sister venue of the same served up in a scrumptious dish from Ceaser's casino on the Vegas strip....

Rather, we can find serendipity or the discovery of something beneficial or positive in unexpected ways in our our everyday lives. We can uncover treasures in the path of daily routine.  I challenge you to find something in some way serendipitous to you today.  Sometimes it is simply following the path of least resistance that will uncover at least glimpses of ease, when we lessen the expectation of stress or negativity, we can only find positiveness in it's place...

Mourning

challenge #90

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Rock Hudson from Aids in 1985.  AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is still in existence in the world having affected over 60 million people and responsible for over 25 million deaths since its onslaught in the US during the early 80's. The disease is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV. It is transmitted between people through sexual bodily fluids or blood. People's immune systems are worsened resulting in death once they have the virus. There are over 30 million among us that are living with AIDS now.

I challenge you  to take a moment and mourn the people affected by this still present disease. Most likely you have known of or are personally aware of someone who has died of or been affected by AIDS. In your remembrance of them, appreciate them for who they were, what they were able to contribute to society and how they were able to touch your life. Remember that they each came from somewhere unique unto themselves, they were each borne from a mother's womb and each held an organic cellular base of love.  Remember that they leave behind family members, close friends and pets. Try to not turn away but rather to face this disease as reality and try to do your part somehow in the research and help find a way to discover the cure to save lives.  

You owe it to yourself to get checked periodically if you are sexually active and/or pregnant,  as you can carry the virus through the gestational period as well and infect your newborn . Although treatments have been created to slow the process and make it a bit more tolerable for the infected, there is still no known cure or vaccine yet for HIV.

The Sands of Time

Challenge #89

The passing of time has been lamented in songs, literature and imagery.  There is something romantic in the passing of time, evocative of ancient days, Middle Eastern at that. How was time measured in the beginnings of our world? One method was through a sand dial that sat outside dependent upon the rotation of the sun around the earth and the measurements of daylight . A more portable and visually attractive way was the development of sand timers. Sand timers today are usually measured at 3 minutes to 1 hour. The center being extremely narrow allowing gravity to pull one grain down at a time into the wider chamber below. Watching time pass this way can be mesmerizing and calming. It's way to give yourself a well deserved time-out and be one with the passing of time to realize where you are now. To just simply sit and be silent while you quiet your mind and focus.

I challenge you to get a sandtimer, an inexpensive 3 minute one will do if you don't already have one and take a few moments to just be quiet and watch each grain pass through hitting the lower chamber. Be in a state of and give gratitude for everything you have in your life including your breath.

Acid - Alkaline Balance

Challenge #88

Have you checked the pH level of your blood recently? Probably not unless you have deliberately gone in for health tests or possibly a medical weight loss program. You can get test strips to measure your saliva or urine just as easily.

pH, meaning the potential of hydrogen, is the measure of alkaline or acidity in a solution from 0-14. The center number of 7 being in neutral balance. Our bodies are made up of 70% of water with an alkaline-acid ratio known as our pH that strives to find balance between positively charged ions (acidic) and negatively charged ions (alkaline).  When the balance is compromised, health problems occur.

I challenge you to take a look at your pH balance today and see where you measure in. You can order pH strips or find them in most drugstores and pharmacies. There are many diets out there and food lists online of what you can ingest to help balance out your pH levels. In short, it's one part acid to 4 parts alkaline to maintain a healthy balance.  Alkaline is essentially organically mineral rich and acid is erosive and toxic. The more we can extract and eliminate excessive acid, the better we are.  Keep in mind that so-called alkaline water through electrolysis do not affect the blood pH levels, so don't waste your money on expensive in-home water systems. It's a  matter of certain foods and what our bodies process through digestion that affect our blood pH levels. We do need water, and pure water at that, to hydrate, as well as other liquids, but water is a different issue altogether.

It's a lifestyle change, the more life giving you are to your body, the more life your body will give to you. Take a look at the other toxic elements in your life....and let's work on eliminating those too.....

Hunger Games

Challenge #87

It's not the movie, or movie based. It's not glamorous and people have a tendency to turn their heads on it. The issue of hunger has been plaguing our world for decades. Here in the US, for baby boomers growing up, the dinner meal was where the verbal lashing in one way or another would get spoken..."finish your plate, there are starving children in India who are starving..."  And, even grown boomers continue to speak those words to their children today, perhaps not so seriously as the earlier generations.  However, hunger is a major killer, does exist domestically and is not to be ignored. Hunger has affected the US in recent times with an unsteady economy, rising food prices, joblessness, and disastrous weather. Los Angeles alone has over 2.5 million people affected by hunger and the numbers are growing rapidly.

I challenge you to do your part to help end hunger, even if on a local basis. Hunger is sometimes unspoken and most likely among those you know, neighbors or family households that have been unemployed for awhile, single and with families. People going without food is more often than not these days and not to lose weight or diet on purpose. The popularity of .99 cent stores produce departments is growing by leaps and bounds.  Offer to share extra food with neighbors, or groceries you don't need or eat any longer that may be in your cupboards. Donate to food pantries, prep nutritious meals for loved ones, neighbors and elderly. . Volunteer time to kitchens, become aware of good nutrition and value how to create new ways of cultivating good foods for now and the future.

Cosmic Junkyard

Challenge #86

One giant leap for mankind has created a cosmic junkyard. Over the span of 6 decades we have created a vast expanse of space junk out in the orbit fields of our galaxy that will come back to us in it's own form and time. Thinly spread out, it doesn't smell or pollute the ozone, however it can pack a punch in the earth's soil or on our bodies should something actually hit us in the head falling quickly from the sky.

I challenge you to take at look at what you may be slowly filling up in your immediate galaxy that could have repercussions when it no longer serves you. What by-products are accumulating in the ethers for you?  How does your energetic debris affect others? Are you creating your own cosmic junkyard in the negative energies that you put out there? 

Vibrational Conversations

Challenge #85

Thoughts become things and your thoughts can change your life's destiny and even everyday life.  Every thought you think creates a vibrational energy that transmits a frequency. The stronger the frequency, the more likely you will begin to attract the vibrational energy surrounding the thought and therefore will manifest the physical form of the thought. Simply put, let's take pizza for instance, the thought of pizza vaguely runs through your mind early in the day, the smell, the taste and the look of it, the more you think of it, more likely you will go and get that pizza or order one or make it for dinner. Now you  may have other thoughts that run through your mind, such as rational ones, ie: can I afford it? will it ruin my diet? What if noone else wants pizza? But you are so determined to have that pizza because it is seems sooooo good for you in your mind you simply must have it, you go ahead and manifest it. The more exact you are in your thoughts about the pizza, the more the pizza will be exactly like you thought it or wanted it to be.   We have these vibrational conversations all the time with ourselves.

We also have vibrational conversations with others, through our sleep time in dreams, and, through the day thinking of others, with or without intention.

I challenge you to look at what your thoughts are today and what vibrational conversations you are having with yourself and may be having subconsciously with others.

1. Make list of al the thoughts running through your mind.
2. Decide if they are positive or negative for yourself.
3. Make a choice to turn them into positive.

The Final Phase

Challenge #84

Fall began just three days ago in our Northern Hemisphere and ushered in the season of the shedding of the year's past. There are 96 days left until 2012. Winter solstice will begin on December 22, 2011.  The days are getting shorter, sunlight is less a part of our day. Time is beginning to have an effect on us environmentally, physically and emotionally, should you want to plan a course of action for the new year.

I challenge you to start today and
1. Make a list of the things you want to complete for the rest of this year.
2. Give gratitude for the things you have been able to  manifest and complete in your life this year.
3. Become aware of holiday plans, dinner, meals, entertainment from the major ones such as Rosh Hashanah, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and any others I have left out that may have importance to you. Outline them and organize the tasks you need to complete for them.
4. Take a look at what you want to accomplish for 2012. How do you want it to look, how do you want to be? What would you like to have happen next year? What is it that you would like to manifest.
5. Begin to make a plan of action to make next year happen!!

Are you a deperate housewife?

Challenge # 83

If you are the domestic partner who stays at home and takes care of the , are you happy? Are you really happy? Coooooome oonnn, really really pleased as punch HAPPY!!!  What do you have to do to make your life work??


I challenge you to take a look at the lengths you will go to make your life work. Is it desperate?

Kleptocracy

Challenge #82

What are your thoughts on the US beholding a government of Kleptocracy?  Where do you think is our nation headed?  Kleptocracy defined by the free dictionary as a government characterized by rampant greed and corruption. And other sources as ruled by thieves.


I challenge you to make your thoughts known here on this blog or speak out in some way in which you are heard publicly....

Futurama

Challenge #81

Happy Anniversary to the funnest cartoon series I have ever seen (that is with the exception of "The Inch High Private Eye")!! Oh how I loved this series of high flying space dwellers. The Jetsons celebrate 49 years of creation, next year being the half century marker. First shown on ABC Sunday September 23, 1962, it was the first program to ever be aired in color in prime time.

The Jetsons depicted American family life set in the future with space ships, aliens, sophisticated electronics, robots, holograms and what we experience now on some level but was only vivid imagination back then.  I think they did a pretty good job!!!

I challenge you to take a look at today and then jump into the future and draw out what you think it will be like. Make it a family project if you like. What will the more modern household conveniences be? What would you like to see in your home 50 years from now? What will working be like, what will the work week be? What is the currency like? What mode of transport would you like? What will we wear? How will you communicate other than the cell phones and computers we have now? What will our food be like? Will the family structure change? What will comprise a family in the future, more or less members?