www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

Warren, Aaron, Keith, and Jay....and sometimes CJ :)

Here with Tempest (Video shot by Jay)
www.youtube.com/watch

WT on Craig Ferguson
www.youtube.com/watch

Bonfire Dreaming
cdbaby.com/cd/jayatwood

Jay Atwood
www.jayatwood.com/

The amazing Paul Mercer on violin with Jay Atwood on didgeridoo
www.youtube.com/watch

by Terry McPherson

I am not my hair, my eyes, my nose or my mouth.
I am not my skin or the shape of any of my body parts.
I am not the IQ of my brain.

I am not the sound of my voice or the volume of my laughter.
I am not my strengths or any of my weaknesses.
I am not the level of my skills.

The temple of my physical makeup is a culmination of genetics.
It reveals nothing about the person who resides within.
I take no credit or point no blame for the way I look.
My temple is perfect, as is.

This body is not who I am.
It is an exquisitely perfect dwelling for my soul.
Everything about it is exactly as it should be.
No other, anywhere, ever, could serve my soul as well.

I am not anything you can see with your eyes
or touch with your hands. Should you judge me
by that criteria, you will never know me.

I am not a dumping ground for bias that's based
on a man-made standard, and I do not accept the
prejudice it creates.

I am a union of body, mind and spirit, a trio, not a solo.

To know me, is to know yourself.

Those who hear the still small voice in their soul, recognize the
song in mine. They do not stop at the front door and judge me
by the dwelling in which I reside. With a humble sense of
honor, they knock upon the door and ask to come in.

The judgment of others does not change who I am.
Quite the opposite is true. It reveals who they are.

Those who deem me unworthy at a glance and pass me on by,
have my blessing to keep walking, for they have a long way to
go. They have not reached the point in their journey where
they are able to see and appreciate me for who I am.

I expect no more. I will accept no less.

www.wisehearts.com/wia.htm

Main Entry: meta·mor·phose
Pronunciation: \-ˌfōz, -ˌfōs\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): meta·mor·phosed; meta·mor·phos·ing
Etymology: probably from Middle French metamorphoser, from metamorphose metamorphosis, from Latin metamorphosis
Date: 1576
transitive verb
1 a: to change into a different physical form especially by supernatural means b: to change strikingly the appearance or character of : transform
2: to cause (rock) to undergo metamorphism
intransitive verb
1: to undergo metamorphosis
2: to become transformed

Women of the Metamorphosis Age

This article appeared in www.indiatimes.com on 3/19/2003.

Wake up Caterpillar, it is time to own up to your innate beauty – there is no need to be cocooned in the self created old restricted ways. Your time has come to spread your wings and take a flight into the vastness of pure joy.

Women all around the world have come to a junction where the powerful information age has changed the face of global markets. Opportunities for women are on the rise. In order to turn these opportunities into golden opportunities for generations to come, the woman of the metamorphosis age must let go of the caterpillar and ride the tide of transformation into a butterfly.

Within each woman is an untouched and unleashed creative energy that has the power to change the world from chaos to order. Before any woman can tap into the reservoir of this massive creative force, she must be willing to go through the transformation; no other person can do this for her. With each step she takes, she is setting the stage for great accomplishments. She will serve herself and others by expressing this creative energy in ways unimaginable to the limited mind, but first she must become grounded and solid within herself.

Through solidification of mind/body/spirit, women would be better equipped to handle discrimination or physical/emotional abuse. Her sense of self will be solid allowing her to stay away from emotional breakdowns.



Women would not have to isolate themselves or form groups to protect themselves or even protest against any injustice. On the contrary, by forming an inner connection, gathering their broken pieces and putting them together they will have the massive strength to face worldly challenges. I am talking about the strength that my grandfather spoke about when I was growing up; he would tell me “when the dogs bark, the elephant walks in a grand way, not bothered in the least by the sounds of the bark.”

What is the old way women succumb to? One or more of the following ways are adapted by women all around the world depending on personal experiences and instilled beliefs:

Some women take on a role of supporter/nurturer without having any type of support system for themselves. Often, the result is resentfulness, or martyrdom and eventual depletion of one’s vitality and enthusiasm about life.
Some women who watch their mothers become resentful take on a vengeful attitude that comes through when women fight for equality. They may win some battles and lose others; however, there still remains the discrimination factor of them vs. us and will not bring long term solutions.
Yet others learn to live just for themselves with an attitude of ‘what’s in it for me?’ Good examples are prevalent in every soap opera, where characters will use all forms of manipulation and control to obtain desired results. This may bring some desired results but this type of life robs one of inner strength, the most important ingredient for sustaining happiness.
Sadly enough there are those who become victims of injustice and they live with the fire of hatred and eventually end up burning themselves.
Furthermore, there are those who constantly take on the burden of emotional and physical abuse and have no outlet. They cry their eyes dry and cannot speak to a soul for fear of additional abuse or loosing face. The result is an empty, desperate and hopeless life.
Looking deeper into the life styles of working women who work twice as hard to prove themselves and at the end of the day come home to more work that awaits their single-handed attention. The result is stress and eventual burn out.
Another group of women are those who use their beauty and sensuality to get what they want. They lose sight of their innate talents and are stuck with their physical sense. Exploitation breeds injustice and injustice of any form causes deep scars on the face of human society.
Then there are those who strive to make lives better for themselves but get thrown back into a rut because the society imprisons them with all kinds of stigmas. It is a sign of immaturity at many levels when people gather to pass judgment as to what the woman’s rights are and where she went wrong, stomping on her growth at every possible opportunity – this is clearly a situation where empty vessels make more noise – devoid of their own virtues, they are trying to look through hard and cold eyes. Whether it is the woman who continues to be victimized or the people who continue to judge, both are in the same narrow- minded boat.
Then there are those women who have a balanced life where they are honored and have the love, respect and riches they enjoy. Such women exert a sense of joy that is contagious. These women can become the strong pillars of our society by being role models and raising the bar for all womankind.

Whether one is suffering from being a victim or is enjoying small victories from the need of gaining power, the pain remains in the unsettled heart that searches for happiness.

Women of the metamorphosis age, wake up to your self! Your answer to happiness lies in settling your heart and finding the treasures of insights waiting to guide you through your transformation. So collect your self from wherever you are in life and say ‘No’ to the long term damage you are causing to yourself and society by continuing in the old ways.

First and foremost, stop believing in what you think you can or cannot do! Go beyond the mind and believe in what you absolutely know you can do.
Stop looking for quick solutions – the path to quick solutions are filled with quick sand.
Do not condemn or hate anyone, as no one can cause any damage to you unless you allow them to.
Be accountable for your actions – blaming others will only make you miserable and disempowered. In taking accountability, you will gain the confidence and empowerment to change the situation.
Find out what you stand for – if you don’t find for yourself what you stand for, then you will be drifted by what others stand for.
Always state a clear intention to yourself before you want something – for instance you have an impulse to shop, check to ensure that you are not trying to cover boredom with excitement or sadness with an escape into the glitters of shopping. In times like this, you will almost always bring home something you would never wear and the boredom or sadness will continue to exist.
Replenish your energy by resting, relaxing, meditating or strolling – this will boost your energy to get things accomplished in a calm fashion.
Emotions get their power from the stories we build in our mind through our thoughts. Understand your thought process to its depths and any time you get too emotional, sit back and examine your thoughts to distinguish between what the problem really is as opposed to what you perceive the problem to be. Look through the eyes of the intellect vs. looking through the mind that is cooking up false stories.
As you kill the demons of cruelty within and expand your horizons, the demons of cruelty from the outside world will stop impacting your being. Challenges will always come your way until the day you die but you will be armed with inner strength to face the challenges with a sense of security and empowerment.

Remember, you always bring into your world what you expect you deserve. So be deserving of the best and leave the rest.

Neerja Bhatia

~ If you judge people, you have no time to love them. ~ Mother Teresa

~ Only a kind person is able to judge another justly and to make allowances for his weaknesses. A kind eye, while recognizing defects, sees beyond them. ~ Lawrence G. Lovasik

~ Our judgments judge us, and nothing reveals us, exposes our weaknesses, more ingeniously than the attitude of pronouncing upon our fellows ~ Paul Valery

~ The vulgar mind fancies that good judgment is implied chiefly in the capacity to censure; and yet there is no judgment so exquisite as that which knows properly how to approve ~ Walter Gilmore Simms

AS IS
Jonathan Young

This car is sold AS IS
printed in oversized type
on a used car
purchase contract.
The car was fine
but that notice stayed with me.

Maybe those words should be
pinned on my person.

Those wishing to know me
are hereby informed
that all dealings, conversations,
and relationships
will be conducted
on an AS IS basis.
All suggestions for
improvement, education,
and enlightenment
will be taken under advisement
but, until further notice,
this person will be
available only
on an AS IS basis.
I will be happy to play roles
indulge fantasies
and otherwise host
the psychological
projections of others
but, my own experience
will remain
AS IS.

Please be advised that
all events, emotions
and memories
will be unedited
and entered
AS IS
into the
permanent record.

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from today and make a brand new ending."


MAKEA

energy flows where attention goes.

wherever there is a flow of energy and attention, events are created. wherever you direct your attention and keep it directed in that way, to an object or to an idea then the flow of energy continues. and according to the nature of your thoughts that is the return flow you receive. so if you are putting out, thinking out positive thoughts about the world around you, positive energy flows back. that when you are putting out and thinking out negative thoughts about the world around you, then , negative energy flows back. and negative results come into your life. if you are thinking out thoughts of abundance and keeping that consistently, not just once in a while, but thinking that way, then abundance flows into your life. if you are thinking thoughts of happiness and joy, consistently, then to that degree happiness and joy come into your life. when you focus on fear and anger, then you have fear and anger in your life. you have the ability , the wonderful skill, says this knowledge, to decide how you are going to focus your thoughts, your energy, your attention and thereby change what is flowing back into your life. so all of these ideas, starting from that first one, are telling you how to make these changes from within that will create the changes outside.

"Joy is a return to the deep harmony of body, mind, and spirit that was yours at birth and that can be yours again.
That openness to love, that capacity for wholeness with the world around you, is still within you."

Love is easy....Life is hard....but what does LOVE do with the rough spots?
Love is like a soothing oinment....
When life leaves you feeling cracked, dry, pained.....apply love.
Let it sink deep into all the aching places and help them heal.
Daily doses of love will also serve to protect and build up resistance to some of the more abrasive times in life.

"What good is a life, with no one to share
The light of the moon, the honor of a swear"

DeGraw