Positivity Reloaded!

Yes, the weekend still works just fine as my personal time to relax, recharge, share and receive positive vibes, healing energy and feelings of love radiated by kindred spirits...

The beginning of a new week in "The Matrix!" of what we call "civilized" life doesn't really scare me. There's a Monday coming up, and most people are feeling this way:

It's only several hours, until I, too, have to dive again into that world, where it's not the real things that matter, but virtual values, measured by numbers on an account, which appear there, only to disappear without your holding anything in hands. And even the stuff you can touch, known as "money" is just something virtual... pieces of paper, telling us about representing values... but, in the end, they're just pieces of paper...

Whoa, wait... didn't I write something about feeling positive and now I'm posting these pictures? Yes, for I am not affected by the grumpy vibes coming from them. Even though there are possible triggers for my winter blues returning - such as new snow falling over the weekend - I am not affected by it.

Sharing thoughts and feelings with other people, who also believe in living instead of functioning, who believe in the existence of unconditional love and deeming that more important than countables or currencies, has built up a big ball of warmth and light inside me, that makes me laugh at the fallen snow, which now appears to me like cold fairy dust, dropped by the Winter Fairy just for me to have me play in it with my bare toes...

It felt as if I heard giggling, when my bare feet touched that cold fairy dust... might have been that fairy, or it was my barefoot inner child, voicing his delight at doing this.

When communicating via social networks, I had some fun by exercising in spreading self-acceptance. Some stupid person must have hacked my Twitter password and used my account name to spam around with advertizing messages entitled "Lose weight in two weeks". OK, I thought, here goes... time to teach a lesson in self-acceptance, learning to love yourself and feel good in your own skin...

Step 1: I changed my Twitter password.

Step 2: I tweeted that these diet spam messages did not originate from me, but from someone needing to get a life, who hijacked my account name.

Step 3: Spreading messages of me actually feeling not only just fine, but actually happy and beautiful in my own skin, creating the hashtag #bellypride to prove it and posting this image with it, too:

(Actually, I cropped it a little at the bottom, to make it family-friendly... the original showed a bit more... ;-) ).

And Twitter was working nicely in spreading nice information about learning self-acceptance from a photography project, meant to show beauty apart from the photoshopped and unreal world of fashion and media:

Daily Mail: The struggle to feel beautiful in an airbrushed world

This article features the work of photographer Matt Blum and his wife Katy, celebrating the natural beauty of women, which they have started in 2005 under the title The Nu Project.

Of course, I then decided to follow up with my personal message of being positive about one's own body, telling the world, that every body is a work of the Divine, therefore beautiful. And as soon as you feel beautiful in your own skin, you radiate it, too.

And this is what I told the world about my body (as another part of the #bellypride trend):

Twitter then demonstrated a nice sense of humor, by suggesting whom I should follow... I never thought, that a Republican US senator had a thing for belly pride, celebrating natural grace and beauty (since I posted pictures of Himba tribeswomen) or cute cappucino art...

But, yes, the suggestion was that I should follow Sen. John McCain (who ran for the Republicans in the 2008 US presidential elections against Barack Obama).

Of course, I was celebrating a nuddhist weekend, indoors mostly, since it's still too cold to spend skyclad time outdoors. But, another piece to a positive outlook on days to come is that I am just two weeks away from my spring leave, and that the forecasts are optimistic for spring getting on the road by that time...

Temperatures are forecast to rise to 10°C/50F at least, and perhaps above, too. And if the forecast of fair and cloudy days is true, as well, it will be even milder in the sun. Perfect barefoot conditions. And even before that, temperatures are predicted to rise above frost level next week, with this weekend's snow turning to rain. So, instead of snow fairies, it will be happy rain dancers celebrating the mild days to come - and I will celebrate with them, splashing happily barefoot through puddles.

And by mid-week, days are forecast to be cloudy and dry... happy times for happy bare feet are ahead and the winter blues is about to be a thing of the past for a long time.

Oh, and as I wrote above, it was a nuddhist Sunday today. I hope you had the opportunity to celebrate it, just as I did.

The world is still beautiful...

Yes, the world is a beautiful place, despite all bad things happening out there, despite war, greed, hunger, torture, violence... as long as there are people out there, spreading love, light and warmth from their hearts.

Meet Lia Glückskind Leaf:

Translation of the signs: the large one reads "I don't need any money, but a smile or a hug would make me very happy!" The small one at her bare feet reads: "It's wonderful that you exist".

I wrote to her:

"I know that a world where so much evil is happening still retains her beauty, when there are people out there like you, living and incorporating the truly important things in life... not hunting for money, power or wealth, but wishing for and being happy about a smile and an embrace.

Your picture I discovered strengthened my faith in this world still being beautiful."

Light and Love,

Yours,
~*Ganesha*~

She replied:

"Thank you for your words, touching my heart. Love."

This is exactly what this world needs... healers, lovers, people who defy the din of battle and the ching of cash registers by smiling and spreading their beautiful energy.

I wonder, how much fairy blood is running through her... I see lots of magic and out-of-this-world vibes in the pictures of her...

All it takes to get over the winter blues is this:

The confirmation of my concerns being totally unfounded (and realizing, that it was my emotional thin-skinnedness in moments of stress and longing for more light and the warmth of spring leading to my thoughts and fears). And one other ingredient of overcoming this bout of the winter blues: defying it! With my bare feet, too!

Just like on any other day, I went out to see the beauty of what is around me, and things went easily at work... not stressful at all... the sun shone... and I received a message from that special person I foolishly doubted in, sending me positive energy, warmth and heart feelings.

And now, faeries of spring, move your cute fae butts over here, and spread some warmth, too!

The winter blues – leading to an almost sleepless night...

It's now about four weeks until the spring equinox, and still the days are quite wintery, despite the first traces of spring being around the corner. which I spotted last Sunday, when taking my barefoot power-up stroll in the park. Seeing the weather forecast for the next days, until the end of February, I really felt a case of winter blues coming up. As so often, February is the month of winter, when this gloomy, dark and cold season seems to inhale and start running again, to make a the race look nice, before it reaches the finish line and leaves the track of the seasons.

February is also the month, when I was born, under the stars of Aquarius. A fine time to celebrate growing older, when it's set in that dreary season. People prone to depression or even having suicidal feelings would have prime opportunities to say bye-bye to it all on such a day. But, knowing that I am a fortunate being (for being alive, first of all), I am not at all prone to either of these feelings. But still, I am not immune of being hit by bouts of winter blues.

I must say, I've had it with this season! I want to have spring soon!

Unfortunately, winter is not about , flowers, rainbows, fairies and fluffy Care Bears... it's more the See-if-I-care Bear season, flipping the finger right back at me. I just have to see it through, unfortunately.

What does „fortunate for being alive“ mean, you might ask? Well, originally, I shouldn't have been born in February, but in April... as one might guess from my delicate body type (yes, Sheldon, that was sarcasm! :) ), I'm a preemie, born two months early. And back in the late 1960s, medical care for infants born prematurely wasn't as good as they are today. There was a 20 to 25 per cent chance that I wouldn't survive. Luckily, the odds were in my favour. And since I was quite frail, feeding me a lot to gain weight and strength was one of my mother's strategies to ensure my survival. So, the foundation for my big-bellied godly appearance, which later led to my beloved Rainbow Sister giving me my true name, was laid very early in my life.

Perhaps it was the universe deciding or some quite particular karma that there are different paths in life for me to walk, special events to be part of, exceptional beings to encounter, and therefore pulled me from my mother's womb to be born at the peak of the hippie era, under the Aquarian sign, making my entrance into the world as a frail, vulnerable and special human being. „Special“, in this case, applies to my gender, since that was not fully decided at first. Outwardly, and visibly, I was male, no doubt. But my biochemistry had not quite settled, and my body was full of female hormones. My mother later joked about that, by saying „you know, you were supposed to be a girl...“. 

Boy? Girl? Both in one cute package...?

Technically, I was an intersexual being, and during early childhood my mother decided to have that hormonal imbalance „fixed“ by sending me to the doctor, where I received testosterone shots several times a week for many months. That explains, why I have turned into such a bear of a man (speaking of body hair... I wear my own fur coat) and is also the basis of another quality of my body, that only lovers I have been intimate with and tantric massagists who sparked wonderful fires in my root chakra know about. ;-)

So, actually, having been born an Aquarius is not a bad thing for me at all. I have grown and learned to love the ingredients as well as the whole of who I am. And there are people loving me for who I am, too... body and spirit. Now, what could have triggered that sleepless night, while I am generally a happy being? It was the aforementioned winter blues, intensifying something I've heard at the combined birthday and official opening party of an Oriental Dance studio, after it has moved to its new location. And yes, it's about my dear friend Sandra again, who happens to be an Aquarius, too... she decided to celebrate the official opening of her studio in the new rooms on her 45^th birthday. Of course, she invited me to be a guest at the party. And, of course, I accepted the invitation, looking forward to see her again, take a live glimpse at the new studio and present her with a little birthday gift, too.

On arriving there (barefoot, of course, I have a reputation to maintain, after all ;-) ), she came to see me, all smiles, hugged me close and for a while, too, which felt like a genuine heartfelt deep friendship gesture. More than the usual, casual friends hug. This was a hearty embrace, to be sure. She was indeed happy to have me on her party, where she celebrated her success in turning old rooms in a heritage-protected building into a modern studio for practising as well as performing Oriental Dancing. She, her husband and friends had worked there themselves, and have done a really great job. Since we parted on a mutual basis about 24 years ago, promising each other to stay friends and keep in touch, I was happy for her making her way in life. She has accomplished living up to her dream, having a professional career as an Oriental dancer and dance teacher. I was happy seeing her welcoming the guests, enjoying the celebration and accepting the birthday gifts. When sitting together with her, her husband and other guests, I was asked, where I know her from. Since this was a public event, I told the guest that we were friends in high school. Basically true, but omitting the fact, that we started as friends, became close friends, then lovers. But this was knowledge not to be shared at such an event.

Before that, she gave a welcome speech to the guests of the studio opening, her husband at her side, and expressed her joy about moving into the new rooms and having a great partner in her husband, who has and does stand by her in all matters of life, since they became engaged 25 years ago. OK, here's a discrepancy in numbers. I wrote, that we parted about 24 years ago. What made us part, I already described in my blog post on November 14, 2012, when I had something else gnawing at me. („My funny-bone overcompensation“ http://ganesha1967.blogspot.de/2012/11/my-funny-bone-overcompensation.html ) On my way home, the gears in my brain (used to crunching numbers, due to my current job) started grinding.

I was making the following calculation: it was January 31, 1986, while I was in hospital, when she "caught me, while I couldn't run", as she later put it (her sense of humor is one of her most loveable character traits... that hasn't changed a bit). That means, 27 years ago we began our relationship as lovers. On June 27, 1987, about a year and a half later, I moved house with my parents (not by my choice!) and went to begin my 15-month tour of duty in the Air Force (see the aforementioned November blog post for details, what happened to me and how it affected my personality). That was 25 years and a half ago. While I was away, bad things happened in her life, I wasn't there, and only after returning to my old home region, I realized that there was no hope for us to pick up the thread we had tied before and weave into a tapestry of a life together. But before we parted, we still met for about another year. And during that time, I remember that she never told me about already being engaged.

Now, I know that the „what-ifs“ and „might-have-beens“ are not the best things to look at, when reviewing memories. Especially, when the memories are about a special person whom I still care about – very much in fact. But I couldn't help thinking this: had I already known this back in 1988, before I came back to the region I come from and currently live in again, would I have come back? After all, it wasn't just coming back to a place I knew, I wished to return to the person I love and to revive our relationship, leading to a life together.

I believed that there was more between us than just a high school love affair. I might have decided to move somewhere else, start studies not as a teacher, but perhaps working on my drawing and painting skills (I was quite good at that) and begin arts studies... perhaps in a place like Berlin, Munich or even abroad... My English was already good enough at that time that I could have gone to Britain (London, Cardiff) or Ireland... lots of options.

But then, would I have led the life, which I don't regret at all? Would I have made the experiences, like living in that alternative commune, meeting exceptional people, becoming part of the Rainbow Family of Living Light (no, that's not a sect. :-) ), found soul mates, lovers, friends? Most likely not.

Still, that number „25 years“ and the fact that she never told me gnawed at me, just the way her little Facebook post about finding the perfect man right away (referring to her husband) did. That already sounded like dismissing what we had. It might seem gullible, if I still believe in the good in people, especially those people dwelling in my heart, but I believe, that she did not intend to hurt me. Once again, it was my reaction to a small thing, amplified by a gloomy mood.

While what we had is definitely over since last century, I still believe that we had something special. I hope, she thinks so too...

My barefoot hour of power on Skyclad Sunday...

OK, this title might sound paradox, but the barefoot hour of power was spent outdoors, while I celebrated Skyclad Sunday indoors - due to temperatures outside still being too low to spend nuddhist quality time outdoors (around 5°C/40F), I decided to put on clothes for a barefoot stroll in the park. With frosty temperatures gone for the moment, I strongly felt the urge and need to get in touch with Mother Earth again, and also wanted to spot signs of the seasons' wheel turning towards spring. I succeeded in doing both.

On walking to the park, I met and mastered one nemesis of winter barefooting... grit and salt on the sidewalks. Only one part of the sidewalk had been treated in a barefoot-friendlier and natural way: the people living there use a mixture of sand and sawdust, which is a lot easier to bear on bare soles and also serves the anti-skid purpose.

On entering the park, I went to different places, trying out the different textures there, ranging from sand (the beach feeling, leading to nicely beach-colored soles, too), over bare soil to moist and cool grass... And despite temperatures having been above freezing level, the soil is still quite frozen deeply inside... As soon as all that water locked in Mama Nature's cold skin thaws, the park will be a rather swampy place.

All the more to look forward to... lots of mud puddles to play in on a milder day.

I greatly enjoyed the direct contact with the ground, feeling a mixed sensation of coolness and warmth, as if Mother Earth was whispering a "Welcome back!" to my bare soles touching Her bare skin, while flooding me with good vibes.

Seeing the first hints of Her being ready to don her green spring dress also lifted my spirits...

After walking a while through the park, I sat down on a bench, taking in the special mood of the late afternoon winter sky... those first hints of new green are hopeful, but winter is still here, as can be seen in the still partly-frozen duck pond as well as by the still naked trees.

But it's only a few Sundays ahead, until those trees are wearing a new and fresh green dress, the duck pond will be swarmed by waterfowl, the fountain in it splashing merrily and the sun warming up the soil and grass again.

And it's only a few Sundays ahead, until I can walk in the park in my most preferred way: barefoot and skyclad.

My double birthday and WTF? Vatican newsflash?? Pope retires???

February 11, 2013: my birthday - February 13, 2013: Ganesh Jayanti, my wonderful namesake's birthday *)

Well, it's not a spectacular number, when you turn 46 years old... and the date, February 11, doesn't really call for throwing an outdoor picnic or the like...

At least, this year's calendar put the climax of street carnival in Germany, Rose Monday, on my birthday. So, I would have a had a large party for free. But, to be honest, I really dislike the modern, organized happiness, which has turned from its historic paragons, like pagan rites of driving out the winter to welcome spring or making merry at the bacchanalia to mere mass booze fests, where many people dress up in silly costumes and behave like brainless ruffians...

(OK, the bacchanalia of the 2nd century BC were laden with booze and hallucinogenics, too... but they were decidedly merrier than today's carnival. I would have loved to take part in them...)

Fortunately, on Ash Wednesday, everything is over and municipal services will have cleaned the roads and sidewalks. Nice side effect for me, the happy winter barefooter: they sweep away the grit in many places, too...

I really dislike that stuff!

This year's Ash Wednesday, in Catholic liturgy the day of blessing the believers and painting an ashen cross onto their foreheads, Gemen TV news had special reports from the Vatican. And that was not about stressing the meaning of this day, which is: marking the beginning of the forty days of fasting before Easter, symbolizing mortality but also the hope for the eternal afterlife... no, this year, it marks the last public appearances of the current Pope, Benedict XVI, at a general papal audience and celebrating the Ash Wednesday mass in the Vatican basilica.

The Pope chose Rose Monday, February 11, to publish the historic news that he was going to resign at the end of this month. So, aside from being the birthday of great and famous people, this day will now be the cleric history day of another Pope resigning for health reasons (the official version) since 1294.

On a side note: these are the people who would have celebrated their birthday on that day, too:

Thomas Alva Edison (would have been 166 this year):

Leslie Nielsen (would have been 87 this year):

Alan Rubin (would have been 70 this year):

But the Pope kind of shadowed all that with his newsflash. Live TV coverage of the audience and the mass on German TV news network Phoenix was therefore something special: the last flicker of the German "We are Pope!" tabloid hysteria. Now, it's 14 days of "We will have been Pope soon", and then "We were Pope"...

Due to his appearance, Mr. Ratzinger has of course been fodder for Sith Lord memes galore... the latest ones give the "real reason" for him resigning and also celebrate his share to the meme world:

 

Very ironic side note: Cardinal Ratzinger was elected to Pope on April 20, 2005... a conservative German cardinal, former CEO of the Roman inquisition, becomes Pope on the Führer's birthday... considering the history of the Vatican helping old Nazis emigrating to South America (key word: the "Rat Line"), the irony is so loud, that everyone in the Vatican should be deaf since then.

Many people are now hoping for a new, more liberal pope to succeed Benedict-16. (Hey, spelled this way, it looks like a cool name for a Federation starbase or planet!) 

Speculations and hopes are high about a "third-world" pope, from Africa or South America. Some hope, he'll be from the Middle East, where Christianity is clearly a minority.

Human rights activist Peter Tatchell (pictured below, protesting) wrote on Facebook:

"A change of Pope must bring a change of policies. Benedict XVI’s resignation is an opportunity to reform Catholic doctrine on human rights issues.
Pope Benedict is notorious for his opposition to key equal rights principles, especially regarding women and LGBT people.

Will his successor be more sympathetic to gender and sexual orientation human rights?
Not likely, because Benedict has packed the college of cardinals - who will choose the next Pontiff - with loyal fellow conservatives. We live in hope of a miracle but....

Why do I care as an atheist? Because Papal teachings cause suffering and menace the human rights of both believers and non-believers. As a human rights campaigner I oppose suffering and injustice, whoever is the perpetrator and whoever is the victim."

A new pope might be slightly more modern than the former inquisition CEO (Ratzinger was head of the "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" - modern title of the Roman inquisition). But still, a new pope will have to follow that rulebook, too, in which Sodom and Gomorrha, basically early free love camps, were destroyed by a vengeful being they claim to be God. Not the best chances there, I'm afraid.

"A New Pope"... actually, this cries out to become a new meme for a renamed Star Wars episode... Since we know, the Sith always come in pairs, the next Pope might be someone "less forgiving" than the current one and he might "find our lack in faith... disturbing".

Well, we'll see, what and whom the next conclave will decide upon.
 
Having started a new personal orbit around the sun several days ago, I personally hope for a stable orbit, and more good times to come, including many happy barefoot and nuddhist days.

*) In the the next years, Ganesh Jayanti (or rather: Vinyaka Chaturthi, to be precise) can be celebrated in February on the following dates:

February 3, 2014 (oh, wow, just one day after my dear friend Sandra's birthday... nice!)
February 22, 2015
February 11, 2016 (Yay! A true double birthday!!)

In 2017, it's twice in January (Jan. 2 and Jan .31) and on March 2... the shifting dates are due to the setting in a lunar calendar. The great birthday celebration in Hindu tradition, Ganesh Chaturthi, is celebrated in September. On a monthly basis, there is the Ganesha blessing day Vinyaka Chaturthi.

Dates from: http://www.drikpanchang.com/vrats/vinayaka-chaturthi-dates.html