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    <title>My Blog</title>
    <link>http://people.tribe.net/9fa00870-a79f-48b8-b8d2-b08211f395f8/blog</link>
    <description>Tribe.net. Local Connections</description>
    <item>
      <title>The Universal Language of Soul</title>
      <link>http://people.tribe.net/9fa00870-a79f-48b8-b8d2-b08211f395f8/blog/d86039ce-4063-4a6e-ba46-97569def7d32</link>
      <description>&lt;div&gt;The Universal Language of Soul &#xD;
&#xD;
by Alan Seale &#xD;
&#xD;
If you have spent time at the ocean or a large body of water, you know that sometimes the surface is still and calm and other times it is very rough.  Yet deep at the bottom of the lake or the sea the waters are very still.  The deepest waters remain steady and undisturbed.  So it is within us.  On the surface, sometimes everything around us is calm and peaceful while at other times there is turmoil, challenge, pain, or conflict.  However, deep in the ocean of your being—deep in your soul—there is always a stillness.  There is always a sense of peace, vastness, and knowing that you are okay.  For most people, staying grounded in that profound soul space doesn’t happen automatically.  It takes intention, attention, and focus to consciously keep one part of your awareness always grounded in soul.  Then the rest of your awareness is free to engage life on many other levels, knowing that as long as you are grounded in soul, you can move through life with relative grace and ease.  Big challenges may still come your way.  Yet because you are grounded in soul, you will know who and how to be in relationship to these challenges so as not to “become” them.  You simply accept their gifts, learn the lessons that are presented, and move on.&#xD;
&#xD;
Many spiritual traditions use some variation of the symbol of a cross.  The cross represents two ways of being:  vertical and horizontal.  The horizontal plane represents the physical world, and it is on this plane that we live our daily lives.  The vertical plane represents the spiritual or non-physical world.  It is here that we explore other realms of Consciousness, develop our intuitive awareness, and know our oneness with all that is.  Our mainstream culture encourages expanding and developing your life on the horizontal plane with less attention given to the vertical plane.  However, it is the awareness and understanding gained on the vertical plane that brings the greatest inspiration and expression to the horizontal plane.  While we may accomplish great things through our efforts and skills on the horizontal plane, it is when we tap into the vertical plane and let it inform and energize the horizontal plane that we truly access and reach our greatest potential.  In fact, the degree to which you are able to achieve your greatest potential on the horizontal plane (seen world) is directly related to the degree to which you are willing to explore and expand your awareness and understanding in the vertical plane (unseen world).   It is through the silence that we access and learn about the vertical plane.  Through a regular practice of inner reflection, you plunge into the depths of your soul and soar to the heights of Consciousness.  You find the deep stillness and the big picture view at the same time.  &#xD;
&#xD;
As we approach the summer solstice when the daylight is the longest, take that light into the silence.  Let that light shine brightly into the vertical plane of your soul so that the light of your soul and the light of the sun dance together to create new wonders on the horizontal plane.&#xD;
&#xD;
Many blessings,&#xD;
&#xD;
Alan&#xD;
&#xD;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://people.tribe.net/9fa00870-a79f-48b8-b8d2-b08211f395f8/blog/d86039ce-4063-4a6e-ba46-97569def7d32</guid>
      <dc:creator>courtney</dc:creator>
      <dc:date>2007-06-13T18:23:05Z</dc:date>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Richard Bach:  There's No Such Place as Far Away</title>
      <link>http://people.tribe.net/9fa00870-a79f-48b8-b8d2-b08211f395f8/blog/6b119496-70bb-4689-98d5-9185c303e181</link>
      <description>&lt;div&gt;Rae!&#xD;
Thank you for inviting me &#xD;
to your birthday party!&#xD;
&#xD;
Your house is a thousand miles &#xD;
from mine, and I travel only&#xD;
for the best of reasons.&#xD;
A party for Rae is the best&#xD;
and I am eager to be with you.&#xD;
&#xD;
I began my journey in the heart of the hummingbird &#xD;
you and I met long ago.  He was friendly as ever,&#xD;
yet when I told him that little Rae was growing up&#xD;
and that I was going to her birthday party&#xD;
with a present, he was puzzled.&#xD;
&#xD;
We flew for a long while&#xD;
in silence and at last he said,&#xD;
"I understand very little&#xD;
of what you say,&#xD;
but least of all do I understand&#xD;
that you are going to the party."&#xD;
&#xD;
"Of course I am going to the party," I said.&#xD;
"What is so hard to understand about that?"&#xD;
&#xD;
He was quiet,&#xD;
and when we arrived at the owl's home, he said,&#xD;
"Can miles truly separate us from friends?&#xD;
If you want to be with Rae,&#xD;
aren't you already there?"&#xD;
&#xD;
"Little Rae is growing up&#xD;
and I am going to her birthday party&#xD;
with a present," I said to the owl.&#xD;
It felt strange to say going like that,&#xD;
after talking to Hummingbird, but I said it &#xD;
that way so Owl would understand.&#xD;
&#xD;
He, too, flew in silence for a long time.&#xD;
&#xD;
It was a friendly silence,&#xD;
&#xD;
but as he delivered me safely to the&#xD;
home of the eagle, he said, "I understand&#xD;
very little of what you say, but least &#xD;
of all do I understand that you&#xD;
call your friend little."&#xD;
&#xD;
"Of course she is little," I said,&#xD;
"because she is not grown up.&#xD;
What is so hard &#xD;
to understand&#xD;
about that?"&#xD;
&#xD;
Owl looked at me &#xD;
with his deep amber eyes,&#xD;
smiled and said,&#xD;
"Think about that."&#xD;
&#xD;
"Little Rae is growing up and I am going&#xD;
to her birthday party with a present,"&#xD;
I said to Eagle.  It felt strange now&#xD;
to say going and little&#xD;
after talking with &#xD;
Hummingbird and Owl,&#xD;
&#xD;
but I said it that way&#xD;
so Eagle would understand.&#xD;
&#xD;
We flew together&#xD;
out over the mountains,&#xD;
and soared the mountain winds.&#xD;
&#xD;
At last she said, "I understand very little &#xD;
of what you say, but least of all do I &#xD;
understand this word birthday."&#xD;
&#xD;
"Of course birthday," I said.&#xD;
"We are going to celebrate the hour&#xD;
that Rae began, and before which she was not.&#xD;
What is so hard to understand about that?"&#xD;
&#xD;
Eagle curved her wings into steep dive-flaps&#xD;
and stepped to a smooth&#xD;
landing on the desert sand.&#xD;
"A time before Rae's life&#xD;
began? Don't you think rather &#xD;
that it is Rae's life that began&#xD;
before time ever was?"&#xD;
&#xD;
"Little Rae is growing up and I am going&#xD;
to her birthday party with a present,"&#xD;
I said to Hawk.  It felt strange &#xD;
to say going  and little and birthday&#xD;
after talking with Hummingbird&#xD;
and Owl and Eagle, but&#xD;
&#xD;
I said it that way so Hawk&#xD;
would understand.&#xD;
&#xD;
The desert poured by far below us&#xD;
and at last she said,&#xD;
"You know, I understand very little &#xD;
of what you say, but least of all&#xD;
do I understand growing up."&#xD;
&#xD;
"Of course growing up," I said.&#xD;
"Rae is closer to being an adult,&#xD;
one more year away from being a child.&#xD;
What is so hard to understand about that?"&#xD;
&#xD;
Hawk landed at last upon a lonely beach.&#xD;
"One more year from being a child?&#xD;
That does not sound like growing!"&#xD;
And she lifted into the air&#xD;
and was gone.&#xD;
&#xD;
Seagull, I knew, was very wise.  As I flew with him&#xD;
I thought very carefully and chose words so that &#xD;
when I spoke he would know I had been learning.&#xD;
&#xD;
"Seagull," I said at last,&#xD;
"why do you fly me to see Rae&#xD;
when you know in truth&#xD;
I am already with her?"&#xD;
&#xD;
Seagull turned down &#xD;
over the sea,&#xD;
over the hills,&#xD;
over the streets,&#xD;
and landed gently &#xD;
upon your rooftop.&#xD;
&#xD;
"Because the important thing," he said,&#xD;
"is for you to know the truth.&#xD;
Until you know it, until you truly&#xD;
understand it, you can show it&#xD;
only in smaller ways, and with &#xD;
outside help, from machines&#xD;
and people&#xD;
and birds.&#xD;
But remember," he said,&#xD;
"that not being known&#xD;
doesn't stop the truth&#xD;
from being true."&#xD;
&#xD;
And he was gone.&#xD;
&#xD;
Now it's time&#xD;
to open your present.&#xD;
Gifts of tin and glass&#xD;
wear out in a day&#xD;
and are gone.&#xD;
But I have a better gift for you.&#xD;
&#xD;
It is a ring for you to wear.&#xD;
It sparkles with a special light and&#xD;
cannot be taken away by anyone;&#xD;
it cannot be destroyed.&#xD;
You are the only one in all the world&#xD;
who can see the ring that I give you&#xD;
today, as I was the only one who could&#xD;
see it when it was mine.&#xD;
&#xD;
Your ring gives you new power.&#xD;
Wearing it, you can lift yourself&#xD;
into the wings of all the birds that fly.&#xD;
&#xD;
You can see through their golden eyes,&#xD;
you can touch the wind that sweeps&#xD;
through their velvet feathers,&#xD;
you can know the joy of going way up&#xD;
high above the world and all its cares.&#xD;
You can stay as long as you want&#xD;
in the sky,&#xD;
past the night,&#xD;
through the sunrise,&#xD;
and when you feel like coming down again,&#xD;
your questions will have answers and &#xD;
your worries will have gone.&#xD;
&#xD;
As anything that cannot be &#xD;
touched with the hand&#xD;
or seen with the eye,&#xD;
&#xD;
your gift grows more&#xD;
powerful as you use it.&#xD;
&#xD;
At first&#xD;
you might use it only when you are outdoors,&#xD;
watching the birds with whom you fly.&#xD;
&#xD;
But later on, if you use it well,&#xD;
it will work with birds&#xD;
you cannot see,&#xD;
and last of all you will find&#xD;
that you'll need&#xD;
neither ring nor bird&#xD;
to fly alone above&#xD;
the quiet of the clouds.&#xD;
&#xD;
And when that day comes,&#xD;
you must give your gift&#xD;
to someone you know who will&#xD;
use it well, who can learn that &#xD;
the only things that matter are those made&#xD;
of truth and joy, and not of tin and glass.&#xD;
&#xD;
Rae, this is the last day-a-year,&#xD;
special-time celebration that I shall&#xD;
be with you, learning what I have learned&#xD;
from our friends the birds.&#xD;
&#xD;
I cannot go with you&#xD;
because I am already there.&#xD;
&#xD;
You are not little because you are&#xD;
 already grown, playing among your &#xD;
lifetimes as do we all, for&#xD;
the fun of living.&#xD;
&#xD;
You have no birthday&#xD;
because you have always lived;&#xD;
you were never born, and never will you die.&#xD;
You are not the child of the people &#xD;
you call mother and father, but&#xD;
their fellow-adventurer on a &#xD;
bright journey to understand&#xD;
the things that are.&#xD;
&#xD;
Every gift from a friend&#xD;
is a wish for your happiness,&#xD;
and so it is with this ring.&#xD;
&#xD;
Fly free and happy beyond &#xD;
birthdays and across forever,&#xD;
and we'll meet now and then&#xD;
when we wish,&#xD;
in the midst of the one celebration&#xD;
that never can end.&#xD;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2007 03:55:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">http://people.tribe.net/9fa00870-a79f-48b8-b8d2-b08211f395f8/blog/6b119496-70bb-4689-98d5-9185c303e181</guid>
      <dc:creator>courtney</dc:creator>
      <dc:date>2007-05-16T03:55:02Z</dc:date>
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