Giving Thanks

 

What a time this has been, 2020!  Lots of ups and downs and interesting events.  Some of you have fared just fine, while others have had a difficult time of it.  With Thanksgiving coming up, it is a time to look back on this year and give thanks for everything.  The good times and the bad, and the opportunities taken and missed.   Since we live in a 4^th dimensional world of polarity, even the negatives have nuggets of positive buried within them.  It is up to you to dig them out and appreciate the gifts that they bring.  Every cloud has a silver lining! 

I recommend taking time on Thursday, or any day before that, to reflect back and apply Gratitude and Appreciation to your life.  Give thanks for who you are, what you have, and all of your life’s experiences.  Just by doing that, you will be raising your vibration!  If you are getting together with friends and loved ones on Thanksgiving Day, you will be transmitting that vibration to them, too. 

I will be flying down to Florida to get together with my aunt and cousins on my father’s side, and having a week on the beach.  I am immensely grateful for that opportunity!  In the mean time, below are some photos from yesterday’s hike.  I went with a group to Scout Cave, which is NW of St George, Utah.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  

Religion

 

As most of you know, I moved to Utah about a year ago.  This state has always been predominantly Mormon, and depending on where you live, the percentages are different.  In the Salt Lake City area, the percentage is about 50% Mormon, and in the rural areas, I would expect that it approaches 100%.  Here in Cedar City, it is about 70% Mormon.  We have about 15 LDS Churches and also a LDS Temple.  That’s a lot of churches for a town of 36,000 people!  In addition to that, most other religions are represented, including Catholic, Baptist, Methodist and Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

I have never been a church goer, and was briefly a Presbyterian in high school.  I have always said that religion didn’t stick!  Lucky for me.  George Kavassilas talks about the God Matrix of religion that is designed to entrap and enslave humanity through its dogma and control.  That certainly seems to be going on in this community.

My family is not religious for the most part, and even throughout my whole adult life, I very rarely had friends or acquaintances who went to church.  Even if they did, they didn’t talk about it at all.  You would think that in a predominantly Mormon community, that religion would be a common topic of conversation.  Not so.  The only person who talked a lot about it was Paul Smith, my CRV instructor. 

So here is the interesting part.  In activities that I have participated in, with people that I am just meeting for the first time, or people in my subdivision, the subject of one’s religion comes up frequently. For the most part I do not know what religion these people belong to, but they seem to have a need to identify themselves as religious God loving people.  Like putting on a big badge.  I hiked with a new group yesterday, and the same thing happened.  Mormons here do not do that.  They seem to be secure in their faith, and know who is LDS, and who is not.  It is a somewhat closed group, too. 

I finally asked myself about what is going on here.  The best I can come up with is that because of the predominance of Mormons, the members of the other religions have to amplify and make clear their identities as non Mormon as a subconscious energetic counterbalance.  Not that I agree with any of this.  When someone brings up any version of their religious persuasion, I can see a kind of netting start to form around their bodies.  That must be the God Matrix showing itself.  It feels so mechanical and robotic to me. 

Anyway, I will keep observing this behavior in others.  I am hiking with the same group next Saturday and will have my eyes and ears open!  Above and below are some photos from yesterday’s hike. 

Visitors at Last

 

Yesterday, I had my first out of town visitors here since the move.  Several more were scheduled to come this year, but because of the corona virus issues, those trips were cancelled.  Susie and Sarah drove all the way from Los Angeles, stayed 2 nights near Zion National Park, and came by for lunch and several hours of conversation before driving up to Salt Lake City for 2 nights before heading back home to LA. 

I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I had meaningful conversation with spiritually like minded people.  We could have gone on for several more hours, but they had to get going so that they didn’t get into SLC too late. 

This is one of the big downsides of the virus restrictions that are in place to various degrees.  One can attend any number of on line events and webinars, but mostly all you get that way is information.  Interpersonal interaction is difficult if not nonexistent in these circumstances.  We humans thrive on contact with each other, and yet, more and more technologies are being put in place to cut us off from each other.  For example, I went into a local cookie store this afternoon, and had to do all of my ordering at the counter via a touch screen.  I didn’t interact with anyone until my cookies were handed to me by an actual person!  My friends told me that in California, LA in particular, there is still no indoor dining.  In Utah, our restaurants have been open full service for months, allowing people to socialize over a meal. 

In a few weeks I will be flying down to Florida to spend Thanksgiving week with family on my Dad’s side.   They are a fun and pleasant bunch, and I am looking forward to 8 days of walking on the beach, bird watching, and human contact.  It will be rejuvenating. 

Native American Showcase

 

Here in the US, November is Native American Heritage Month, and this week in particular is Native American Heritage Week.  There are quite a few Native American students at Southern Utah University here in Cedar City.  The members of NASA, the Native American Student Association, put on a variety of events this week, which culminated in their Showcase this afternoon.  This involved singing, drumming, traditional dance demonstrations, and cultural teaching. 

I have to say that it was so refreshing to see these young people who are going to college, and at the same time, keeping their native traditions alive.  I tuned into the energy in the room, and I really liked how it felt.   The students were primarily Navajo and Paiute, with a few Hopi.  They had come together in harmony and to support each other in spite of any cultural differences they might have.  Interesting that when they communicated with each other, they all spoke in the Navajo language. 

With the presentations today, I could feel the connection to all of the nature kingdoms and the honoring of our Earth Mother.  Below are some photos and videos.  

The young man with the hoops is a pre-med student.  

This young lady is describing the symbology of the wedding basket.

Here are the singers, although they are also the drummers!

 

When I lived in Montana, I used to go to the annual All Nations Pow Wow north of Missoula in Arlee.  The beat of the drums was just hypnotic.  This beat will also put you into an altered state of consciousness by design.  I hope these short videos have given you a taste of that energy. 

Zion National Park

 

Yesterday, I went down to Zion National Park with a friend to participate in a geology field trip.  It seems that lately, every other weekend has involved bad weather, but we once again were lucky enough to hit one of the good ones, with warm sunny weather.  The park was moderately crowded, but nothing like the mobs of people who had visited up until about a month ago. 

The rock layers here are mainly sandstone, which is much older than the limestone formations at Cedar Breaks and Bryce National Park.  Most of our day was spent looking at the steep canyon walls that have been carved out by the Virgin River.  This is considered to be the main part of the park, and where many of the popular hiking trails originate.  Below are some of the photos of this part of the park.  

Water seeping out of the sandstone on the canyon wall, with hanging garden plants of maidenhair ferns, alcove columbines and red monkey flowers. 

More photos along the river.

Some beaver damage on an old cottonwood tree.

We then drove up and out of the canyon to the east side of the park.  Here, far above, the vistas were fabulous.  

Our final stop was to investigate the water erosion patterns in a short slot canyon.  Our guide told us that during a flash flood, the water here can rise up about 10 feet. 

In spite of the crowds at this park, there are still many places where one can get off the beaten path and find some solitude.  Especially along the river, one can sit on a rock and just breathe!