Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Wisdom of Paulo Coelho ~ A Compilation

Paulo Coelho 
 

Your Journey

There is one great truth on this planet:
whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do,
when you really want something,
it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe.
It's your mission on earth.

The Alchemist
Paulo Coehlo

Seeking Love

The moment we begin to seek love,
love begins to seek us.
And to save us.

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
Paulo Coehlo

The Best Teacher

What is a teacher? I'll tell you:
it isn't someone who teaches something,
but someone who inspires the student to give of her best
in order to discover what she already knows.

The Witch of Portobello
Paulo Coehlo

Befriending the Heart

The boy and his heart had become friends,
and neither was capable now of betraying the other.

The Alchemist
Paulo Coehlo

The Only Thing

Only one thing makes a dream impossible:
the fear of failure.

The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho

This Precious Moment

We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust,
swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity.
Life is eternal.
We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other,
to meet, to love, to share.
This is a precious moment.
It is a little parenthesis in eternity.

The Alchemist
Paulo Coehlo

The Secret of Life

The secret of life, though,
is to fall seven times
and to get up eight times.

The Alchemist
Paulo Coehlo

The Good Fight

Often, during combat, the warrior of light receives blows that he was not expecting.
And he realizes that, during a war, his enemy is bound to win some of the battles.
When this happens, the warrior of light weeps bitter tears and rests
in order to recover his energies a little.
But he immediately resumes the battle for his dreams.

Manual of the Warrior of Light

What is Intuition?

Intuition is really a sudden immersion
of the soul into the universal current of life,
where the histories of all people are connected,
and we are able to know everything,
because it's all written there.

The Alchemist

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Mixing Bowl by Gunilla Norris excerpted from the book, "Becoming Bread"

The Mixing Bowl by Gunilla Norris

The Mixing Bowl by Gunilla Norris
excerpted from the book, "Becoming Bread"

Here on the table
is the mixing bowl.
Brown and ordinary,
turned on the potters wheel,
it has an umber rim
and glazed cinnamon-speckled sides.

Its task is to be open,
a simple space.
This bowl is clay, earth, matter.
Particular.
We are like it.
Clay, earth, matter.
Particular and vast when we are empty...

When life can fill us
to the rim, brimming.

We are the mixing place,
where terror and hate,
where love and hope,
the way we move,
our smiles and uncertainties,
our courage and stupidities
are all embraced.

We are the body bowl...
the forming space,
the home of possiblity.

Standing by Gunilla Norris (Excerpt from her book, "Being Home"

Standing

by Gunilla Norris

This morning as I put my feet on the floor
Let me remember how many thousands of years
it took for this act to be possible--
The slow and painstaking development
so that a human creature could rise,
could stand on two feet, and then walk.

From the very beginning, from the very first explosion
Your precise and patient love has been creating us.

The wonder is that now my hands are free
even as I walk or run or stand or dance.
The wonder is that now that I am upright,
my eyes can gaze at the ground,
along the ground, and beyond to the horizon.

I know You have made me
and all creatures for Freedom...
an ever-increasing, evolving freedom.
I am filled with awe by this.

It requires that we face the unknown,
that we rise to it.
You are still exploding in us,
and I am scared.
My trust is so small.

But You are near. You are here
even as you have been from the very first.
You are the vast time and space
in which life is happening. You are Life itself
providing us with centuries to become
Your conscious image.

With wonder at what You have entrusted to us,
help me to know that You are both
the ground and the being
apart from which there is nothing.

Help me to stand up
in Your Freedom.

Today is Dr. Suess Day! (LLJL)

Today is Dr. Suess Day!

by Linda Living Joy Lorenzo on Monday, March 2, 2009 at 9:17am
Today is the 106th Anniversary of the Birthday of Dr. Suess.

This is dedicated to my children, William, Christian and Ashley and my granddaughter Angelina Starr...
And to the child in us all!

Is there anyone out there who hasnt read and relished a Dr.Suess book with the delight and enjoyment of a child? If so, then today is the day to start! And for those who have, today is the day of sweet remembering.

Born as Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904 - 1991), Dr. Seuss was best-known for his classic children's books under his pen name. Among his most popular books includes "The Cat in the Hat", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Green Eggs and Ham" and "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish".

I read a few of his books as a child, but I guess I was too young then to comprehend the wonder of his rhyming text. But... when I became a parent his books were a staple in our house. They were the very first books that I read to my children and 30 years later they are still our favorites.

As a teacher, they were a necessary part of my curriculum.

And as writer...reading his words fills me with awe at the simplicity in the profound, wise, witty and socially relevant observations.

So on this special day, I urge you to curl up with your favorite child, or your favorite beverage and your favorite Dr. Suess story and revisit those wonderful memories...and if you have never read Dr.Suess...visit your favorite book store or local library...and settle in for a treat!
I personally recommend "The Lorax", "Horton Hears a Who" and "Green Eggs and Ham!"

Not time for any of the above...then please, enjoy these wonderful Dr Seuss quotes!


A person's a person, no matter how small.
-- Dr. Seuss

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
-- Dr. Seuss

And when they played they really played. And when they worked they really worked.
-- Dr. Seuss

And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed.
-- Dr. Seuss

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
-- Dr. Seuss

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
-- Dr. Seuss

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.
-- Dr. Seuss

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
-- Dr. Seuss

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.
-- Dr. Seuss

I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent.
-- Dr. Seuss

I'm sorry to say so but, sadly it's true that bang-ups and hang-upscan happen to you.
-- Dr. Seuss

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.
-- Dr. Seuss

So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.
-- Dr. Seuss

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
-- Dr. Seuss

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.
-- Dr. Seuss

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!
-- Dr. Seuss

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.
-- Dr. Seuss

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.
-- Dr. Seuss

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
-- Dr. Seuss

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
-- Dr. Seuss

You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant?
-- Dr. Seuss

You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.
-- Dr. Seuss

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.
-- Dr. Seuss

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.
-- Dr. Seuss

Young cat, if you keep your eyes open enough, oh, the stuff you would learn! The most wonderful stuff!
-- Dr. Seuss


"Earth's Glorious Future" (Excerpts from the book "Messages from Hollow Earth" by Dianne Robbins

"Earth's Glorious Future" 

by Linda Living Joy Lorenzo on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 1:31pm
 
My Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Fellow Travelers,

The following is an excerpt from Channeled Material,
From the book by Dianne Robbins, "Messages from Hollow Earth"
It is almost identical to a channeled message I received almost 10 years ago...

The Time is Now...for the Glorious Celebration of this Undeniable Truth...

"Earth's Glorious Future channeled through Eric Karagounis
from Master Mikos of the Hollow Earth...

STICK AROUND

"We are meant to live in Joy, and learn only from Joy.
Many of you on planet Earth at this moment are Starseeds,
and not originally from Earth.
You have volunteered to incarnate as "Earthlings" many times
so you can be prepared for this final time.

You are members of the "Family of Light".
Your are here to firmly anchor Light into the planet.
Your work is honored by so many Beings in the Universe,
that you will wear the colors of gratitude for eons to come.
The colors of your Auric Field will say "I Was There".
No matter where you travel in the Universe,
you will be flocked by Entities wanting to find out how it was done.
How did you lift the Earth out of the darkness
and turn her into a Star.

For the next 2,000 years...she will be the brightest Star in the Milky Way.
Her Goddess Essence will illuminate our part of the Universe.
Her rays of Light will carry the language of Love...
The one true emotion of Creation.
She will become the main hub for our Galaxy.
She will become a Living Library that will attract Beings
from the outer reaches of the Universe who are seeking knowledge
in order to enhance their evolution...
knowledge that can only be accessed by the Human experience.

Every experience is unique...
but the Human experience holds the keys to ancient information
of many Star Nations that worked together to seed the Earth,
with the best their civilizations had to offer.
Hence the saying 'every Human is perfect'.

In the past many Galactic civilizations had given up on her.
But not the Family of Light.
They knew deep within their souls that Earth was a gem,
they could not afford to lose.
So they swung into action,
and devised a plan that was so brilliant,
it even caught the attention of the Divine Creator.
You are on Universal Television.
And the ratings have become so high,
that millions of civilizations have put their own evolution on hold
to see the final episode.

So stick around,
because after the final episode we are throwing a party
of Galactic proportions.
Every Being that has ever walked on planet Earth will be there.
And if you think that we from the Hollow Earth look different...
just wait till you see what's coming...

WE BID YOU ADIEU,
OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ON EARTH,
AND HOPE YOU WILL HASTEN TO OUR CALL,
FOR OUR CALL IS ALSO YOUR CALL FROM WITHIN.
IT IS ALL THE SAME CALL
IT IS THE ONE CALL FROM THE MIGHTY CREATOR
CALLING US ALL HOME...

ALL PLANETS,
IN ALL UNIVERSES,
WILL EVOLVE NOW...
FOREVER ETERNALLY EVOLVE.."

AND SO MAY IT BE...BLESSINGS OF JOY FROM MY HEARTLIGHT TO YOURS...

Linda

15 Books that Rocked My World!

WONDERFUL IDEA! 15 Books that Rocked My World

by Linda Living Joy Lorenzo on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 10:16am
(What we read becomes integrated into our perception of self and on life -this is a great way to give your friends a glimpse of insight into the What of how you became you! TRY IT!) Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. (And it is REALLY Amazing how much one learns about people from the from the books they read!)

Play along, it is interesting to think about :)

1. Everyday Grace - Marianne Williamson

2. Truth, Triumph and Transformation, Sorting out the Fact from Fiction of Universal Law - Sandra Anne Taylor

3. Secrets and Mysteries - Denise Linn

4. Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnatch

5. The Hope - A Case for Sacred Activism - Andrew Harvey

6. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

7. The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer - Sergio Bambaren

8. The Man in the Iron Mask - Alexander Dumas

9. The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo

10. On Walden Pond - Henry David Thoreau

11. The Complete Works and Essays - Ralph Waldo Emerson

12. On Writing - Stephen King

13. Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott

14. Heroes Among Us, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices - John Quinones

15. Black Elk Speaks - John Neihardt

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Ode to Alice Walker (LLJL)

Words of Beauty and Grace by Alice Walker

My Blessed Friends,

I am coming off of a magical day of spending time with my delightful and beautiful granddaughter, Angelina Starr.
Times like these always afford me the opportunity to open myself up to the joys of childhood
and all the rituals that go along with that...
My favorite of these rituals, is bedtime storytime...
Times like these, give me an excuse to read those glorious tales of my own childhood and the youth of my own children...

When my granddaughter was born 3 years ago, I welcomed the opportunity to update my already
large collection of children's books...
One in particular fell into my hands and I have been charmed and delighted ever since...


It is a very short children's book, beautifully illustrated with lots of bright colors and
mesmerizing words and ideas written by one of my favorite authors, Alice Walker...

"In a beautifully poetic and gently provocative text, Pulitzer Prize wining author,
Alice Walker invites readers young and old to see the world...
and our place in it...through new eyes.
Glowing colors and radiant images accompany this joyous celebration of the connections
and interconnections between self, Nature and creativity." (From the inside flap)

I would encourage anyone who has children or is a child at heart to indulge in this potpourri for the senses...

I welcome the opportunity to share with you a Note from the Author
and the delightful words from this enchanting book....

My blessings to you as you begin this fabulous week...wherever you may be...

From the book..."There is a flower at the tip of my nose smelling me" by Alice Walker

A Note from the Author

"One day I went walking in the forest near my house with my dog,
along an old logging trail.
Redwoods rose to left and right,
the sky was brilliant blue with a few threads of clouds,
the earth was scented with spring.
As I walked, the wonder of myself as part of all this overcame me.
I began to sing: "I come out of You, my Love. I come out of You!"
Over and over, with the greatest gratitude and joy.
As soon as I got home, my big black Lab trotting just as happily beside me,
I wrote this book, which was not a book then,
But a Thank You Note."

"There is a flower at the tip of my nose... Smelling Me.
There is a sky at the end of my eye... Seeing Me.
There is a road at the bottom of my foot... Walking Me.
There is a dog at the end of my leash... Holding Me.
There is an ocean at the top of my head...Swimming Me.
There is a sunrise at the edge of my skin...Praising Me.
There is water at the tip of my tongue...Tasting Me.
There is a song deep in my body...Singing Me.
There is a dance that lives in my bones...Dancing Me.
There is a poem in the cradle of my soul...Rocking Me.
There is a pen nestled in my hand...Writing Me.
There is a story at the end of my arms...Telling Me."

This is my Thank You and Mahalo to you all, my beloved friends
...wishing you a glorious week of delightful awareness!

Pulitizer Prize Winning Author, Alice Walker

My Top 30 Books that are a must read by and/or For Women (LLJL)

My 30 Top Books that are a must By and/or For Women

by Linda Living Joy Lorenzo on Friday, July 9, 2010 at 12:21pm

To All My Beautiful Sisters in the Light...
Daughters of the Rainbow...
Dancers of Joy!...

While by no means, is this List complete...
I wanted to share with you my top 30 picks...
That I believe every woman at some point in her Life should...
Beg, borrow, steal, read or own...:)

And so to you, my Beloveds, I offer this gift...
In the words of Beautiful Sage and Consumate Wild Woman, Sark...

"Be Delicious...
Discover Your Goodness...
Smile when YOU feel like it...
Be Rare, Eccentric and Original...
Describe yourself as Marvelous...
Paint Your Soul...
Investigate your Dark Places with a Flashlight...
Make More Mistakes...
Tell the Truth Faster...
Be a Succulent Wild Woman!...
Eat Mangoes Naked, Lick the Juice off Your Arms, and Dance in the Pits!"

WITH ALL MY LOVE AND PROFOUND GRATITUDE
FOR THE PLACES YOU PLAY IN MY LIFE...
AND THE SPACES YOU FILL IN MY HEART...
LADIES...
THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!!



1. Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach

2. Empowering Women - Louise Hay

3. Secrets and Mysteries - Denise Linn

4. Everyday Grace - Marianne Williamson

5. A Woman's Worth - Marianne Williamson

6. The Age of Miracles, Embracing the New Midlife - Marianne Williamson

7. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

8. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter - Sue Monk Kidd

9. Bird by Bird - Anne LaMotte

10. The Invitation - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

11. The Call: Discovering Why you are Here - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

12. The Dance: Moving to the Deep Rythms of Your Life - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

13. Letter to My Daughter - Maya Angelou

14. The Secret Pleasures of Menopause - Christiane Northrup

15. Women's Bodies/Women's Wisdom - Christiane Northrup



16. The Power of Joy - Christiane Northrup

17. The Unmistakable Touch of Grace - Cheryl Richardson

18. Rock your World with Divine Mother - Sondra Ray

19. Women who Run with the Wolves - Clarissa Pinkola Estes

20. Everyday Sacred - Sue Bender

21. The Millionth Circle - Jean Shinoda Bolen

22. Succulent Wild Women - Sark

23. Getting In Touch with your Inner Bitch - Elizabeth Nutts

24. Anything We Love Can be Saved - Alice Walker

25. The Legacy of Luna - Julia Butterfly Hill

26. Gifts from the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

27. Reason for Hope - Jane Goddall

28. Old Friend from Faraway - Natalie Goldberg

29. The Wave in the Mind - Ursula LeGuin

30. One Day My Soul Just Opened Up - Iyanla Vanzant

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

"Truth, Triumph, & Transformation, Sorting Out the Fact from the Fiction in Universal Law"


"LIE OF ATTRACTION-If you want good things to happen you should never talk about anything bad-or even let yourself have unhappy feelings at all." ~
THE REAL TRUTH-You empower yourself by dealing with your history. Purify your energy by venting your emotions, determining what honors you,releasing what doesn't, and then moving on"


"LIE OF ATTRACTION: If you want good things to happen to you, you must use correct language & watch everything you say.
THE REAL TRUTH: When you live from the heart and consistently come from a place of love & honor for yourself & others, it simply won't matter what words you use."


"As part of its Divine expression, there's a personal path that's more attractive to your soul than any other in this earthly experience: love & service.Your Spirit is inextricably connected to the joys & plights of every other soul on the planet; and what happens to others can't be separated from what happens to you. As a result your soul will repeatedly make this its highest intention.."

~ Sandra Anne Taylor ("Truth, Triumph, & Transformation, Sorting Out the Fact from the Fiction in Universal Law")

THANK YOU SANDY!!!!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR ANYONE SERIOUS ABOUT SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION...AND UNDERSTANDING THE WORKINGS OF UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE
YOU WILL READ, ASSIMILATE, CELEBRATE, REGURGITATE AND RE-READ AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!

This is hands down, the best and most accurate source of Truth concerning Universal Law that I have read to date.
Sandy is a brilliant quantum physicist and number 1 best selling author. Having had personal contact with her in my own life, her advice and wisdom has been life changing and affirming. It is absolute validation of that which I have discovered in my own Spiritual Path as a Student and Seeker of Truth for some 50 yrs now...
And her knowledge has been pivotal in my own ongoing process of transformation and evolution.

Please if you have been a Student of Truth for some time or are just starting out...this book is a MUST HAVE for your Metaphysical Library.


Heroes Among Us, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices


Inspirational excerpts from the book "Heroes Among Us, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices" by John Quinones...I may be just a little prejudiced on this one, as John is one of my personal heroes for so many reasons, but these feelings aside, I truly feel that this is one of the most pivotal and important books of our current day...If you get the chance, please consider placing this book on the top of your summer reading lists...I promise you, you won't be sorry...

"...We're in the midst of a bad case of hero confusion. Sometimes it seems as if we worship people who haven't done much with their lives besides makes themselves famous or rich or both...The everyday heroes who take big risks get lost in the shuffle. It happens a lot these days. But these special people deserve more.

There are plenty of ordinary folks doing extraordinary things. In fact, today heroes are more likely to have committed small acts of kindness and selflessness. In many cases, the larger heroes of the past have failed us in the present. Having "smaller" heroes, people that you and I can relate to in a true way, is not a bad thing. It's a good thing. A sign of how well our culture adapts.

We live in a time where huge institutions have lost their center. The government seems out of control. Our wars seem endless. The corporations we once relied on for stability and a safe avenue into the future now change names and services in a heartbeat. Institutional loyalty seems like a thing from a fairy tale.

While we can still look to the great heroes of our past, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. or Florence Nightingale, for inspiration, more and more these days our heroes aren't grand figures. Their our neighbors, our family members, and our friends. Our heroes are the magnanimous strangers who help us. They are the soldiers and police officers who struggle every day to defend us. They're the firefighters who never quit. They're the teachers who wake up every morning and step into the day with the hope that they can change their students' lives. They're the accountants, IT managers, warehouse forklift operators, checkout clerks, ditch diggers, ticket takers, plumbers, and bank tellers who put their lives on the line each day so that another person might live...."
"We all have precious opportunities every day, to act in a way that will make our society a better place. Let's open our hearts to them and act heroically. All of Us. Right Now."

Like a Tree


Jean Shinoda Bolen, author of "The Millionth Circle", Urgent Message from Mother, Gather the Women, Save the World", "Goddesses in Every Woman", "Crossing to Avalon", "Crones Dont Whine" and her latest "Like a Tree"

"Like a Tree: How Trees, Women, and Tree People Can Save the Planet"

Thoughts from Like a Tree

"The seed idea for this book began with the observation that there are “tree people,” and that I am one of them. A tree person has positive feelings for individual trees and an appreciation of trees as a species. A tree person may have been a child who kept treasures in a tree, or had a sanctuary in one, or climbed up to see the wider world, a child for whom trees were places of imaginative play and retreat. A tree person is someone who may have learned about trees in summer camp or through earning a scout badge or was a child who could lose track of time in nearby woods or the backyard. A tree person met up with Nature in childhood or as an adult, and like the four-footed ones who retreat to lick their wounds, may still heal emotional hurts by going to where the trees are. A tree person understands why a young woman might spend over two years in an old growth, ancient redwood, in order to protect it from being cut down. A tree person can become a tree activist at any age."


Does the Noise in My Head Bother You


Am just loving Steven Tyler's new book, "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?" just arrived today, on my day off & already I can't put it down...How PERFECT IS THAT?

"I've lived through the changes of not knowing ANYTHING, to knowing EVERYTHING & now at 63 I'm back to NOT KNOWIN' NOTHIN'. And when your mind is free from so-called knowledge, it is set free to use its imagination ~RoMANtics. SeMantics. Exotic, neurotic, you got It! Does the noise in my head bother you,yet. Yeah? Really? I'd say we're off to a good start"

"I was born in the Polyclinic Hospital in the Bronx, March 26, 1948. As soon as I could travel my parents headed straight out of town to Sunapee, New Hampshire, to the little housekeeping cottages they rented out every summer...I was put in a crib at the side of the house. A fox came by and thought I was a cub, grabbed me by the scruff of my diaper, and dragged me into the woods. I grew up with the animals and the children of the woods. I heard so much in the silence of the pine tree forests that I knew later in life I would have to fill that void. The only thing my parents knew was that I was out there somewhere. They heard me cry in the forest at night, but when they came up to where I was, all they saw was a big hole in the ground, which they thought was the fox's den. They dug and dug and dug, but all they found was the rabbit hole I'd fallen into...like Alice

And like Alice I entered another dimension: the sixth dimension (the fifth dimension had already been taken). Since, then, I can go to that place anytime I want, because I know the secret of the children of the woods; there's so much in silence when you know what you're hearing...what dances between the psycho-acoustics of any two notes and what reads between the lines is akin to the juxtaposition of what you see when you look in the mirror. My whole life has been dancing between these worlds: the GOAN ZONE, the Way-Out-o-Sphere and...the UNFORTUNATE STATE OF REALITY...When I finally got pulled out of the rabbit hole, my parents brought me back to the third dimension. Like all parents they were concerned, but I was afraid to tell them that I have never felt more comfortable than being lost in that forest..."

~ Steven Tyler, (excerpt from his new autobiography)

Date a Girl Who Reads - ~ Rosemarie Urquico


Date a girl who reads.

"Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes."

~ Rosemarie Urquico


The Barn Dance


Last night I finished the book, "The Barn Dance" by James Twyman and was literally blown away... If you ever wondered if Life and Love are eternal, or are looking for validation that there is no separation anywhere in the Universe...This book is for you! Please take the energy, time and investment and pick up this incredible read...run, don't walk to your nearest bookseller and purchase "The Barn Dance"...

Or if you have already read this...I would be interested on your insights and comments!

Here is an excerpt of a review by Jim Gleason...

"The Barn Dance by James Twyman. What an interesting storyline! As the cover teases us with: “Somewhere between heaven and earth, there is a place where the magic never ends . . .” and in reading I was reminded of yet another very special novel, The Shack, with a similarity in story but of different authors. In his introduction, James Twyman introduces this as his own true story, but in reading, I can’t tell if it really is or was that his way of making the fictional novel seem more real/interesting.

In The Barn Dance, two lovers meet after the death of his wife and without giving away any of the story, allow me to quote something that touched me deeply from their dialogue, a message that goes beyond human love with its message of how God loves us without limit. The departed wife is describing how she feels towards her husband in this strange “between heaven and life” encounter:

She is speaking: “And now I can love you in an even deeper way. I’m not bound by the same emotions I was on Earth. Now I can see you in a way that defies all those limitations, and love you for who you are in truth . . . just like God does.”

He replies: “You said that yesterday as well, but I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

She continues: “It means that I can love you without conditions. That’s the highest love there is, and that’s why I say that it’s the same as the love of God. God doesn’t love us for what we’ve done or who we may someday become. God loves us because we are created perfect, and what God creates perfect remains perfect no matter what happens.” . . .

(I continue . . .) And it goes on even deeper and in a very beautiful way, describing a very positive and hopeful God that I have found in my own life here on earth. I hope and pray that you too can find that in your own life, wherever that may be. Go and find this wonderful book and you can continue that particular thought from the bottom of page 143… "