Jessica Simpson revealed that as a teenager, she was banned from singing solos in her church because her bountiful assets made the congregation lustful.
"I was always criticised for my looks in the Christian world. They said I was too sexy to sing Christian music. "Judgemental is the absolute worst thing about Christianity, I believe."
Question! What was Jessica wearing to church???
What do you think? God gave Jess that body, so she should be able to use it to sing her praises to him, right? Or is it innapropriate to be working on a career as a gospel singer when you're supposed to be inspiring the congregation and connecting with God? Something tells me that the ladies in Jessica's church weren't being judgemental. They were just worried about getting upstaged by Jess's hotness while their husbands were sitting in the audience.
For the rest of this delicious article, click here.
The word's been out that Fearless is Jet Li's final Kung Fu movie. There's some speculation why that is. This interview from The Seattle Times shows Jet Li the true wise Kung Fu master. Perhaps those of us engaged in battle can learn something from his techniques.
"Kung fu doesn't mean wushu, doesn't mean martial art." It means a skill you spend time perfecting, whether it's writing, photography, whatever. My blabbering kung fu is no threat. The real meaning of wushu, the Chinese term for martial arts, is to stop fighting, Li says. "But mostly we have lot of action films, people focus on the fighting. Fighting, fighting, fighting, violence against violence."
and if that doesn't stop you in your tracks
"You kill or you hurt enemies, easy," Li says. "You turn your enemy become your friend, it's very difficult. That the highest a martial artist should do."
It's a sentiment echoed in many philosophies and teachings. Read the full article here. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jet Li take up Aikido next.
Was this an extremely hot summer or what? Seems there were two camps on the issue of global warming-- the disbelievers and the activists. Then, there was people like me who really didn't care.
But I'm happy to say that I've changed my tune since I moved out of New York City, where I am pretty sure recycling doesn't even exist. If I've learned anything, it's that Oregonians know how to say 'I love you' to mother earth. It took a little getting used to, but now I'm recycling everything. And riding my bicycle instead of driving. I'm even washing my clothes in cold water and taking shorter showers. Yes, I'm a changed woman.
Here are some sources I've dug up for your reading pleasure.
Of all the places, I found this short flash movie presenting ten things you can do to combat global warming, on Leonardo Dicaprio's eco friendly website. He includes sections on water, global warming, biodiversity and sustainability.
Click here to watch the disquieting trailer for Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth on stopglobalwarming.org where you can also sign up for the virtual march against global climate change. The list of partners on this website includes Blue Man Group, Incubus, the Philadelphia Eagles, Lollapalooza, Kiehls...
Obviously, all the cool kids are doing it. And if that's not enough incentive-- do it for Leo.
It's coming up on that time of year again. The weather changes and we get coughs and colds. Don't think we're left out in Los Angeles. I've been stuck in bed the last week with a horrible sore throat / sinus cold. I went through a whole phase of natural herbal remedies. I thought they worked, but often didn't see a direct effect. Except for one product, that worked every single time: Throat Coat.
The problem with medicinal herbs and teas is that because their potency is not pharmacy strong, you have to take a lot of them. Or drink like 10 cups of tea to get any effect. That's too much tea drinking for my tastes. But one strong cup of throat coat, sooths even the rawest throat of mine, even if it's just for an hour or two. That's longer than Cepacol lozenges soothed the same sore throat in a unscientific study held last week in my house with your editor as the guinea pig.
And the throat coat tea is more palatable than even the wild cherry flavor. I know Cepacol is trying to cover up the medicine taste - but it's pretty bad, and you can't add honey.
Anyway, if you come across a ragged throat that needs some soothing, you might want to try Throat Coat Tea. But don't take my non-medical advice without checking with your own doctor. Smooth sailing.
The solar eclipse of Friday the 22nd is not only an astronomical event, but also a significant astrological one. Eclipses are always important events in astrology. First of all, a solar eclipse always occurs at the time of the new moon. As you may already know, the new moon is the time each month when you look up and can't see the Moon in the sky. It's also the time each month when the Sun and the Moon are located in the same part of the sky from our perspective here on Earth, which is what makes it a little tough to be able to see the Moon while it is busy being overshadowed by the overpowering rays of the Sun.
A solar eclipse is basically a "super" new moon, exaggerating the already existing effects of a normal new moon. The new moon always represents a time each and every month when people can take the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and make some fresh starts and new beginnings and really take initiative to begin some new cycles of activity. And the solar eclipse presents an even better opportunity to do all of these things! So whatever your sign, everyone should take the opportunity to use Friday's solar eclipse to get ready to grab your board and catch that next wave and ride it into the new year!
Look, if you can indulge in your passion, life will be far more interesting than if you're just working. You'll work harder at it, and you'll know more about it. But first you must go out and educate yourself on whatever it is that you've decided to do - know more about kite-surfing than anyone else. That's where the work comes in. But if you're doing things you're passionate about, that will come naturally.
I had some interesting thoughts while watching my pet snakes eat.
I like watching Vicki eat because it's an uncomfortable reminder that each day I transform energy and only I am responsible for what comes of that energy. And when something dies for my energy - that gives me the responsibility to make my life as beneficial to the universe. Because otherwise, those things have died in vain. And maybe it is my energy that should be transformed instead.
This Page of Cups, ahem KNAVE of Cups is having an awfully good time, to be sure, but there's something very not-so-innocent about this one, and not so pure. And the woman is like, oh, that's going to be a pain to wash off, isn't it?
A recent news article reveals that hip hop mogul, Russell Simmons, uses Yoga to stay 'grounded'.
With several business ventures and two young children, Simmons said he has found that yoga keeps him grounded. He said he tries to live his life through the principles he has learned through the activity - "smiling and breathing."
How did he get into the practice of yoga?
"Hot girls in the class," Simmons said, with a smile, in between bites from his second bag of popcorn.
All I have to say is that if Russell Simmons gets any more 'grounded', he'll be two feet tall. So, unless he wants to apply at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for a job, maybe he should lay off the yoga already.
Check out the rest of the article for some rather enlightened political opinions from Mr. Simmons and a heads up about a men's fragrance that actually sounds quite intriguing. Lavender + Sandalwood= yummm....
Heidi Klum gives expression to lyrics by husband and singer/songwriter SEAL, in her 2006 Birkenstock limited edition collaboration.
I found these high fashion Birkenstocks while checking out their site. But note, since they are designed by Heidi Klum, they're considered high end granola and are priced accordingly. Get yours here.
It used to be easy to tell the environmentalists from the crack-consumerists; they'd be wearing the Birkenstocks.
"People no longer fall into neat little categories of 'hippie' or 'yuppie' and the mainstream consumer is becoming more socially aware," Carroll said. "We're offering women an opportunity to make wise, socially conscious fashion choices without sacrificing their sense of style or individuality."
Now trophy wives can wear $300 high heels made with socially conscious materials. But I don't think that will make them any more enlightened or evolved.
Yoga enthusiast Jennifer Aniston is producing a video starring her friend Mandy Ingber, and will even pose for pictures to promote the project. [Source]
Can I just say this is about the lamest thing I have read on celebrity yoga-itis? I mean really, can we get any more shallow and vapid like to make a press release on which yoga studio Aniston goes to? I can just see the confusion when the yoga video is promoted. Pictures of Jennifer Aniston on the video and infomercials, but when you play it, someone totally different and unknown takes you through a routine. Bait and switch isn't usually promoted as such.
I'm not sure if this is a favor gone awry, someone who is totally clueless or a case of "I'm in it just for the money"? I guess Mandy doesn't kick enough of her own ass.
Dozens of members of the House of Yahweh -- dressed in gas masks, gloves and long overcoats -- have built a network of underground hideouts in the small highland village of Mauche. They have stocked the bunkers with dried fermented flour meant to feed them for a year, by which time sinners would have been wiped off the Earth, according to their beliefs.
and
"Though there is freedom of worship in the country, our fears are that the members could die not from the so-called nuclear war but by the bunkers caving in," Dominic Karanja, a senior police officer in the area, told reporters. But the cult's followers said it was Yahweh's (Hebrew for God) way of providing water for them.
According to this fascinating new study on the female vs. male brain, men scored consistantly higher on their IQ tests by an average of 4 (whopping) points than women. Contrary to belief, this study determines that men are smarter than women.
British-born researcher John Philippe Rushton, who previously created a furore by suggesting intelligence is influenced by race, says the finding could explain why so few women make it to the top in the workplace.
He claims the 'glass ceiling' phenomenon is probably due to inferior intelligence, rather than discrimination or lack of opportunity.
I call for a rematch. Actually, I call for a cage match against this researcher. One where I'm allowed to use my high heels as weapons and blows below the belt are legal.
The only difference between this study and others that have been done in the past is that the test participants were older (17 & 18). So, what exactly happened between adolescence and young adulthood that would have effected the brain functioning of females? Puberty of course. Menstruation, worrying about pregnancy, birth control, the preoccupation with competing for male attention among their female peers and a whole host of other distractions, biological and otherwise, that fog up an average 18 year old female's brain while her male counterparts concentrate on their studies.
My two cents of course. But in order to be accurate and fair, a study should minimize the amount of interfering biological variables that are inherent in that particular age bracket. Common sense.
If you found your morale a bit crushed after reading this article, here's one of my favorite quotes to boost your spirit, from flamboyant Texas governor Anne Richards. (who unfortunately passed away at the age of 73 this Wednesday) "Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in heels."
For anyone interested in reading the rest of the article, follow this link.
I'm looking for a few good authors to join me at daily mantra. If you are currently a blogger and interested in metaphysical topics, especially love, dating and relationships, drop me a note telling me a bit about yourself, your expertise, your blog or website and the best or worst thing about daily mantra.
Manifestations Blog describes an interesting game for manifesting more money in your life.
Using the game/process will help to change your limiting views of money and make you more aware of the abundance of it in the Universe. Just remember to have fun with this.
According to this little article written by Osho, misery can be used as a meditation. As opposed to using it for the usual things I suppose-- like an excuse to go get drunk, or hide under our bedcovers all day crying.
You have not even experienced your own misery.
We go on avoiding our own misery. If you feel miserable, you put on the TV and you become engaged. You start reading the newspaper so that you can forget your misery, or you go to the movies, or you go to your woman or your man. You go to the club, you go shopping… somehow to keep yourself away from yourself, so that you need not look at how much it hurts within.
People go on avoiding themselves. What do they know of misery?
Be a witness, because if you are a witness to your suffering you will be able to absorb it. If you become identified with it, you cannot absorb it.
Happiness comes and goes, unhappiness comes and goes; it is a passing show. You are just there, a mirror reflecting it. Life comes and goes, death comes and goes; the mirror is not affected by either. The mirror reflects but remains unaffected; the mirror is not imprinted by either.
I don't know about you, but this bit of advice came to my attention in a very timely manner. I have decided from now on, to put this advice into practice when I'm facing tough times.
But first, I suppose I should get out of my pajamas and put down this beer I've been crying into, eh?
For more of Osho's sagacious advice columns, please follow this link.
I had never heard Tibetan singing bowls before watching this 8 minute performance by Michael Perricone. They are extremly soothing and subtle. Michael also runs OmStream, which offers conscious music.
The other day, I noticed another reason not to lie beyond the basic moral reasons. When you lie, it's generally out of some kind of fear. To hide something from others or yourself. When you lie to you give that fear power making it stronger and more difficult to combat.
Telling the truth is not always easy and it takes courage to not give into the fear. But the next time you feel like lying, ask yourself if you want to make the fear that makes you lie stronger.
Ohio farmers are disappointed to find crop circles popping up in their fields, along with suspicious tire tracks and empty beer cans. Which can only mean one thing in my book-- Ohio aliens must drive really big trucks and like to drink beer.
About a dozen cases of crop circle vandalism have been reported in nearby Marion and Crawford counties. Bucyrus farmer Richard Grau said he's never seen more widespread damage in 40 years of farming.
Crawford County has extra sheriff's deputies on patrol at night, said Sheriff Ron Shawber. He's investigating seven crop circle reports in recent weeks. But finding the vandals on miles and miles of corn-lined roads has proved a difficult task.
Authorities said whoever is making the crop circles drives a large four-wheel vehicle and knows the area well.
The rest of this alien related news tidbit is located here.
For anyone interested in reading up on crop circle phenomenon, I found an interesting interview on the Share International magazine site.
Here is some interesting UFO footage from a NASA shuttle mission that I found on YouTube.
I usually don't jump onto the whole UFO, alien race conspiracy bandwagon...but the commentator on the video has this lovely, calming English accent that for some reason makes me want to trust him implicitly. Well maybe not implicitly, but at least give it a little more credibility than say-- the Weekly World News. Or some raving mad hill billy going on about alien cavity probing or whatever.
Check it out. I'm not entirely convinced, but I'll let the readers decide for themselves.
Turns out the man behind the mask was noneother than.......a Dutch priest!!! Dum, dum, dum!
Outraged by the persistant crucifixions in Madonna's infamous 'Confessions' tour, a man of the cloth decided to take matters into his own hands by phoning in a prank bomb threat to an emergency line in Amsterdam. Everything would have gone off without a hitch except the wily priest didn't know what every gradeschooler in the wold seems to know about prank phone calls-- never use your home phone.
The priest was brought before a judge Friday and has been released pending judgment, Meulenbroek said. "We take bomb threats seriously, but in this case it was clear very quickly that it was not real," he said.
The performances went ahead as scheduled despite the protests. The priest was forced to confess his sins directly to Madonna in front of a live audience. No, not really. He just got sentenced with some community service. But in my opinion it would have been much cooler if they had made him become part of her show.
The rest of this fascinating news tidbit lives here.
Guru as interpreted by the Guru Gitas literally means " dispeller of darkness". The best teachers have a dedicated path .They in turn can share their wisdom and experience as a roadmap so we can all just like Pink Floyd sang " Shine on you crazy diamond ".
I know I forget that a Guru is merely a teacher, teaching what they have learned, instead of cults of personality - which is what happens to Gurus who take their ego along the ride to enlightenment. (Contrary to what you might think, you can be egotistical and enlightened.) Gurus are not God, although some students treat them as such, not realizing their Guru is a conduit of the light and not the source.
BoingBoing has a list of some web divination possibilities. I've known about the Online I Ching for a while and I always enjoy the responses I get from it. I found the zentances site to be fairly worthless. I assume it's supposed to create sentances for you to meditate on. All of the sentances I got were utter nonsense. I like the concept, but the execution failed as far as I'm concerned. However the gem reminder of the list is Oblique Strategies.
Oblique Strategies is a creative brainstorming and rut removing method co-created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in the late 1970's. Most oblique strategy decks go for an ungodly amount of money on eBay. They are few and far between. A holy grail for some. I own a set. Mine is cut out from a photocopied magazine almost 10 years old. It's merely paper, but the words have their power. Don't have your own and want to consult it? You can experience an online version here. And now you can participate in a collaborative project called Acute Strategies where you can build a community strategy deck.
If you're inspired, you could create your own tarot deck. Here are some tips to think about before you embarque on that project though. My favorite custom created "tarot" deck is the Vertical Oracle by Antero Alli. Here's a hypnotic animation of the cards.
According to an NBC news source, a team of 150 dolphins rescued an injured diver off of the Channel Islands this week.
Harvey was spotted 200 yards from shore by the crew of a passing yacht. Rescuers Anne and Steve Westwood said Harvey was surrounded by at least 150 dolphins when they found him. "We saw this black object and it looked a bit like a sunfish that appeared to be some kind of wave," Steve Westwood said. "And so we just went over to take a look and realized it was a diver -- and, pretty obviously, an injured diver, but still alive."
Maybe the dolphins weren't helping the diver at all. Perhaps they were hungry. Or maybe they were kidnapping him. Those crazy sea creatures. You just never know these days.
It's happened to almost everyone. You're thinking about someone and then they magically call you. Is it a strange coincidence or are you tapping into the collective consciousness? New research shows that it's not just syncronicity.
Rupert Sheldrake, whose research is funded by the respected Trinity College, Cambridge, said on Tuesday he had conducted experiments that proved that such precognition existed for telephone calls and even e-mails.
A lot of people know about Thursday's lunar eclipse, but not a lot of people really know much about what a lunar eclipse actually means. First of all, a lunar eclipse always occurs at the time of the full moon. And as you may or may not know, the full moon is a time each month when the Sun and the Moon directly oppose each other in the sky. This is a time when the Earth is caught directly in between the pull of the Sun and the pull of the Moon. The Earth actually gets stretched a bit at these times by the pull of these two celestial bodies, which accounts for the extreme high and low tides at the time of the full moon.
A lunar eclipse essentially functions as a "super" full moon, exaggerating the already existing effects of a normal full moon. So everyone should be careful not to be too sensitive, emotional or volatile at times like these. The lunar eclipse is also often a time when things will tend to come to some sort of culmination, completion or conclusion. So anything you've been devoting your energies to over the past few months may be wrapping up around this time.
During this particular lunar eclipse, the Sun will be in the sign of Virgo and the Moon will be in the sign of Pisces, so this may be even more true for natives of those particular signs. But, whatever your sign, everyone should take the opportunity to use Thursday's lunar eclipse to wrap things up and get ready to move on to the next cycle of activity that will be beginning with the solar eclipse later in the month!
If you are in the mood for a radical revival movement against the Starbucks, Victoria's Secret and Wal-Mart worldwide domination plan, I swiped a link (er...borrowed. But definitely didn't buy) from Mr.Rob Brezsny's newsletter: The Reverend Billy and the Church of Stopshopping
Or if you'd like to stage your very own protest against the tides of consumerism, you can read up and participate in the annual Buy Nothing Day.
And if that's not enough to get you in the mood, then feel free to purge your wallet of all credit cards. Think of all the useless crap you were going to waste the money on anyways. But don't cut them up. Just send them to me.
Paul McCartney has taken up yoga to help him relax as his divorce heats up. He's started taking classes three time a week from a famous Hampton yoga instructor.
A friend says, "Paul is a very fit and active guy who likes to stay in shape and has been doing a bit of yoga to help his emotional and physical wellbeing. "The last few months have been incredibly difficult and he is aware of the need to look after himself. He finds yoga the perfect way to help him unwind and relax."
On the first day of my history class last week, I had a rather frustrating experience with one of my instructors. I sat down at the tables and waited for the professor to show up, and several of us who have never taken her classes before noticed that fifteen minutes had passed into the prearranged class period...and still no teacher.
We began to get nervous. I'm wondering-- am I in the right classroom?
I found a cool site for the week called Fork-you, based on the psionic cutlery bending skills of a young English artist.
Some interesting tidbits I gathered from the website are:
"Spoonbender - it's become a term used to insult those with an interest in the paranormal."
How to have your own Spoon Bending Party. ( I swear to you, before this year is done, I will have me one of them fork bending parties.)
And a link to Jack Houck's website which is all about psychokinesis-- otherwise known as 'mind over matter'.
So, what are we waiting for? Grab some cutlery and let's get started! I don't know about you, but I'd like to learn how to do it so at the next quiet family dinner party, I can prove to my parents once and for all that their suspicions about me were correct-- I'm not their real daughter. The aliens swapped babies that day in the hospital and when my psionic skills become strong enough, I will be reunited with the rest of the changelings, and together we will rule the world!
Bwahahaha!!!
That and I'd like to bend spoons so that maybe I can look cool at parties. You know...just the usual motivations.
In the national news, University of Florida is now one of three American schools offering an organic farming program to their cirriculum.
With revenues from U.S. organic food sales climbing by almost 20 percent each year, the demand for skilled workers in this field is booming - and a new University of Florida academic program will help meet producers' needs. Fall semester marks the official launch of a science-based organic agriculture undergraduate degree program at UF, making it one of the first three U.S. institutions to offer this major. Colorado State University and Washington State University debut similar programs this fall.
This news tidbit actually ties in nicely with a first-time visit I paid to the organic farm that is associated with my college, Pacific University, where students can volunteer at the farm for class credit. I was surprised to discover a large plot of land only a few blocks from campus, well run by it's overseers and completely sustainable. It isn't the same thing as a full fledged degree program, but it's a very hopeful sign for the future.
On the other hand, my local grocery store finally added a 'health food' aisle this year, but combined it with the 'ethnic' foods section (how are these two things related? Other than the association the store owners might have with 'minorities' and people who eat organic food.) and stuffed it in the back corner of the store. It comes across like more of an afterthought to me, but seeing as how I have this lovely organic farm right down the street from me, I could launch into a full scale boycott of grocery stores in general. Viva La Revolucion'!!
ABC News reported that hundreds of thousands of citizens of India flocked to temples in order to spoon feed milk to statues of the Hindu Gods, Ganesh and Godesses Shiva.
"It is a miracle," said Sudhir Mishra, a priest at a Shiva temple in Lucknow. He said that at least 10 liters of milk had been offered at his temple on Monday.
"Look at the floor it is fairly dry. Where's the milk gone? It should be visible on floor. Can you see that."
But others dismissed the milk-slurping gods as the work of less miraculous forces surface tension, which pulls the liquid toward the statues, and capillary action, through which the milk is leached into the statues by tiny pores on the surface of the stone.
"Milk disappears the same way water reaches the top of a tree through roots," said A. K. Sharma, a professor at Lucknow University.
What I wonder is why science insists on raining on everyone's parade all the time? A scientist can poo poo religious believers and explain the itty bitty, nitty gritty details of how milk is absorbed into a statue, but what does it mean? Big deal! Anyone in gradeschool could have come up with that answer. So what?
But if you ask the Hindu devotees why milk is being suddenly absorbed into the statue, they can tell you the scientific explanation, and on top of that they can also tell you what it means to them personally. It means that their Gods and Goddesses are communicating and interacting with them in the form of strange or miraculous events. What the specific message was, I have no clue because I wasn't there and I'm not Hindu. But I'd really like to see science and religion shake hands some day on the mystery of religious experiences.
That in and of itself would be a miracle, in my opinion.
I thought I had seen it all. But here's a new one. You can now show how enlightened you are with a Yoga credit card. My only questions are: will the cards work at CostCo? or only if you are shopping at Whole Foods? Will the debt be magically washed away after so many shoulder stands? Will using the card help me be enlightened faster?
It's coming up on that time of year again. The weather changes and we get coughs and colds. Don't think we're left out in Los Angeles. I've been stuck in bed the last week with a horrible sore throat / sinus cold. I went through a whole phase of natural herbal remedies. I thought they worked, but often didn't see a direct effect. Except for one product, that worked every single time: 
The solar eclipse of Friday the 22nd is not only an astronomical event, but also a significant astrological one. Eclipses are always important events in astrology. First of all, a solar eclipse always occurs at the time of the new moon. As you may already know, the new moon is the time each month when you look up and can't see the Moon in the sky. It's also the time each month when the Sun and the Moon are located in the same part of the sky from our perspective here on Earth, which is what makes it a little tough to be able to see the Moon while it is busy being overshadowed by the overpowering rays of the Sun. 
Thanks to 
A recent news article reveals that hip hop mogul, Russell Simmons, uses Yoga to stay 'grounded'. 
Fashionists, take note:
Ohio farmers are disappointed to find crop circles popping up in their fields, along with suspicious tire tracks and empty beer cans. Which can only mean one thing in my book-- Ohio aliens must drive really big trucks and like to drink beer. 
A lot of people know about Thursday's lunar eclipse, but not a lot of people really know much about what a lunar eclipse actually means. First of all, a lunar eclipse always occurs at the time of the full moon. And as you may or may not know, the full moon is a time each month when the Sun and the Moon directly oppose each other in the sky. This is a time when the Earth is caught directly in between the pull of the Sun and the pull of the Moon. The Earth actually gets stretched a bit at these times by the pull of these two celestial bodies, which accounts for the extreme high and low tides at the time of the full moon. 
On the first day of my history class last week, I had a rather frustrating experience with one of my instructors. I sat down at the tables and waited for the professor to show up, and several of us who have never taken her classes before noticed that fifteen minutes had passed into the prearranged class period...and still no teacher.
ABC News reported that hundreds of thousands of citizens of India flocked to temples in order to spoon feed milk to statues of the Hindu Gods, Ganesh and Godesses Shiva. 
