My Blog

"Oh, my God...."

Kay — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:21:08 GMT

is what everyone has said to me, when I first showed them this fractal. I had it printed at Imagekind -- I've got a gallery there of my Heart Art -- http://kls.imagekind.com/HeartArt -- that lets you purchase fine art giclee prints (on paper and canvas) of this and my other fractals. The print quality from Imagekind is just astounding. I never expected it to look as great as it does, with all the gradations and color contrasts... but the first time I opened the tube and unrolled the 30x24" matte print, I gasped... Such vibrant colors... such intensity... and I'd never fully guessed, from working on my laptop, just how dramatic the effect would be. But then, it does look different in a large printed format, than it does on my little laptop screen. Truly, this is a miracle of computer science, and I'm incredibly blessed to have "midwifed" it.

Introducing "Strange Bedfellows" - A Cautionary Tale for Times of Global Change

Kay — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:32:42 GMT

It is with deepest gratitude that I now announce the publication of "Strange Bedfellows - A Cautionary Tale for Times of Global Change". It is the retelling of an amazingly detailed, epic dream that came to me unexpectedly in 1992. Dreaming this story was like watching an intricate and fully developed feature film -- it was awesome, even a little intimidating. And I've worked on and off, for the past 15 years, to manage to get it into print in a format that fully conveys the breadth and depth of the story behind it. It's an epic tale that belongs to us all. I am simply the steward of its message, and I give thanks for all the assistance I've had in making this into a reality. The work of women everywhere, the lives of women everywhere, the great sustenance and power of Mama Gaia, have all made this task as much play as it has been work -- but it has been work. No doubt. A preview of the book can be viewed here: http://www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=66612 ----------------------------------------------------------- About Strange Bedfellows (from the book cover) Everything is going great for Paul and Christina. Their careers are fast-tracking them to success, they're moving up in society, and their future prospects are excellent. They take what they desire from the world around them and live life to the fullest. Everyone and everything around them reinforces their entitlement, and they have no reason to question their right to do what they please, when they please, to whomever they please. But when a strange and horrifying incident takes place in their home, their lives are turned upside-down. In the blink of an eye, everything they've worked so hard for is at risk. What will they do, when a grisly guest appears out of nowhere? Will they have the courage to make the changes necessary to restore right relationship to their world? And how will they save themselves from a horrible fate they have helped to create? "Strange Bedfellows" is a cautionary tale for our times, a retelling of an epic, intricately detailed dream Kay Stoner received in 1992. This is a story of truth and consequence... entitlement and impoverishment... conscious choice and change... and the hazards of being motivated by self-centered fear and short-sighted ignorance. "Strange Bedfellows" can be purchased online here: http://www.lulu.com/content/66612 Proceeds from these sales benefit the Red Tent Movement and Daughters of the Earth. I hope you'll pay a visit to "Strange Bedfellows" at Lulu -- http://www.lulu.com/content/66612 and consider the messages within. This is a story we all need to work through -- for the good of our planet and the hope of our children. You can also read more about the journey at my site www.kaystoner.com

The Sixth Element - Introducing A New Paradigm

Kay — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:21:07 GMT

People of consciousness and conscience, I introduce to you a new paradigm that treats money as a powerful, spiritual, transformative, natural element of our lives: The Sixth Element Developing A Relationship with Money as a Natural Part of Life A call to action from Kay Stoner In some places of the world, water is so polluted it kills everything in it. Slime and sludge and slicks choke waterways from the tropics to the tundra. In Katrina and the south Asian tsunami, water rose up and swept away thousands upon thousands of people. Do we judge water and reject it? No. We learn its ways, we clean it up, we make our relationship with it right again. We live in balance with water. Across the planet, wildfires consume thousands upon thousands of acres of life. They kill people and they consume communities. Burns disfigure people and house fires ruin lives. In California, just this year, more than a quarter of a million people were told to leave their homes, because of the danger of approaching wildfires. Do we judge fire and reject it? No. We learn its ways, we respect it, we handle it with care. We live in balance with fire. In some areas on the planet, the air is so choked with smog and pollution, you cannot see what's beyond it. Tornadoes and wind storms tear through our communities, uprooting trees and lives. In Mexico City and Los Angeles, smog is a constant resident that makes its presence perpetually known. Do we judge air and reject it? Of course not! We clean it up, we protect it, we make different choices, and we make our relationship with air right again. We live in balance with air. In Kashmir, the earth shook and thousands upon thousands of lives were lost. Mama Earth rumbled in Turkey, and towns collapsed. Mudslides have turned entire villages in Central America into cemeteries. Do we judge the Earth and reject her? No. We learn her ways and danger signs, we respect her, we tread on her with care. We live in balance with the earth. All these elements have their inherent dangers, but they're an important part of our lives. We don't reject their creative powers, because of their destructive powers. So, why do we judge money and reject it? Money is an element of life, just like earth, air, fire, and water. And it has awesome creative powers as well as destructive ones. Some people say "Money is energy", but I believe money is a way to transport energy. Prayers are good, and lovingkindness is essential, but money lets us directly share our energy and vision across time and space with those who need it most, in the ways most appropriate for them. The things we would give to our needy neighbors -- winter clothing and organic food and warm blankets and toys for the kids -- may not be needful or useful for an Indonesian woman who has lost her husband and her four children in an earthquake. And the supplies she does need, which we have -- healthful food, for example -- may either get lost or spoil on their way to her. Passing help to her in the form of money, lets her meet her specific needs in the way she needs them, not what we think will help. When you pass along money to others, you are entrusting and committing your energy to them. When you write event organizers a check to participate in their events, you are saying, "I value your work, and I will help you co-create it. I trust your vision, I believe in your abilities, I support your commitment, and I know that tents and signs and mailing lists and websites and organic vegetarian food don't pay for themselves. I know that you have to pay your own bills as well, and I don't think you should have to shoulder the burden alone. You should be able to keep food on your own table and not have to sweat over how you'll pay your way in life, because you choose to do this work which serves me. I will help lighten the burden of survival for you." Passing along money to another human being in fair and balanced trade is the ultimate act of trust. You are feeding their passionate life force with your passionate life force. Passing along money is one of the ultimate acts of empowerment on a global scale, which strengthens our widely dispersed communities of spirit in ways we cannot achieve in our limited physical reality alone. Whether it's bills you're paying or charities you're supporting, money makes you a co-creator with the people you contribute to. When we send a few dollars to environmental defense groups, we take an active part in preserving the precious places on our beloved Earth.And when we fill up our cars at an Exxon-Mobil gas pump, we are co-creating their 10 billion dollar quarterly earnings. They didn't bank that money by accident – we all helped them do it. So, we need to choose wisely and respect the power of our spending choices. As people of conscience and consciousness, we need to support one another financially. I've heard so many women speak about struggling to break free of jobs that hold them down, so they can focus more on their spiritual work. Let's help them do that! Let's support their work with money, so they can pay their bills and feed their kids and make rent each month! Buy their crafts and their art and their music! And when you know a community event is coming up but it seems like you don't have the money to participate, save up in advance so you can fully support the initiatives that support you. Be generous! Help another woman who's struggling to pay her way! I've heard it said that money and hoarding money are the reason so many people are poor. But do we have to hoard money and impoverish others, when we have money? Not necessarily. We need to understand our own incredible power, and respect our abilities to do things differently. Money grows and changes into many different things, when it's passed along, and women are very good at passing things along. Like the earth, we can never truly own money. But we can be stewards of it to ensure it is used properly. Like the water, we can never completely control money. But we can direct it to do our will. Like fire, we can never entirely tame the power of money. But we can harness its power, for the good of all and the harm of none. And like air, we cannot easily see the true essence of money. But we can see its effects and use its winds for change. So, let us begin to live in balance with money.

Wealth Manifestation: A "Secret" that can also take some work!

Kay — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:59:39 GMT

I continue to be intrigued by the interest (and all the money spent) around "The Secret" -- there so many different layers to consider. I've heard criticisms, and I've heard enthusiastic embracing of the concepts. For someone who's been working with wealth manifestation, learning more each year, for the past several decades, it's encouraging to see folks taking matters into their own hands and setting out to actively create their own lives. One problematic aspect I see with "The Secret" is that it seems to be about just getting into the "right" frame of mind... but little is said about how to get there, exactly. Certainly, every person is different, but when it comes to manifestation and creating your own reality, I've encountered a whole lot of "what" literature, and precious little "how" literature. Everyone seems very adept at telling you where you should end up... But as to how you get there, not so much. This issue has been ongoing for me, for 20 years. So, a number of years ago, I created Entraining to Wealth, a workbook based on my years of learning about how to manifest wealth... not just money, but any kind of wealth you identify as important to you. It can be material wealth, certainly. It can also be social wealth. Or physical wealth. Or spiritual wealth. What kind of wealth is almost immaterial. What matters, is that it's wealth: (From the workbook) Wealth (noun) - a great quantity of money or property of value - a plentiful amount - all goods that have a monetary or exchange value - valuable contents or produce (Random House Dictionary, 1978) Wealth can mean anything from loving relationships and fulfilling work, to material goods and security. Wealth can be anything you want it to be. Where a lot of wealth manifestation materials deal with the ultimate outcome (and leave you wondering how the heck to do it), I created Entraining to Wealth to address the process of getting there. It's not filled with pages and pages of pontification -- it's a workbook, a place where you can fill in the blanks with your own life experience, your own material, and find within you -- and at your own pace and in your own individual way -- the resources for manifesting whatever sort of wealth your heart desires, to support you in your Life's Work. Friends of mine who worked with the book have told me that it's better than any other wealth manifestation material they've ever used. I run the risk of becoming insufferably vain, of course, but I wanted to pass that tidbit along, in case you're wondering if anyone besides me has found this approach useful and beneficial. Here's info about the book and link to where you can purchase it online at Lulu.com: - http://www.lulu.com/content/140687 Entraining to Wealth - an abundance activation workbook "Entraining to Wealth" uses the power of quantum physics to help the reader achieve their best and deepest experience of wealth -- wealth of every kind! This 92-page workbook trains you to focus on your habits of thought and action which can help you or hinder you, and helps you break through to new ways of experiencing success, health, wealth, and all the things you heart desires. Thought-provoking sections on Abundance and Belief and other aspects of Wealth are followed by exercises to get you in the habit of thinking and feeling and experiencing the best that life has to offer! Spiral bound paperback workbook $14.95 Printed: 92 pages, 8.5" x 11", coil binding, white interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink

Time to start talking about money - for a change

Kay — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:33:05 GMT

It's time to start talking about money. For a change. For years, I told myself, "Oh, I'm not interested in money. It's impersonal and corrupting. What I'm interested in, are things that money just can't buy." But as my life has grown and expanded, I've found myself dealing more and more with an ever enlarging world, where the opportunity to do work-exchanges or barter, hasn't presented itself. I'm dealing a lot more, every day, with people I've never met before. People who have things to offer me, and services I need, who aren't willing to "work a trade" of my web-building expertise for their services. The arborist who's pruning my trees, can't make use of my abilities. Nor can the farm stand down the road. And frankly, they haven't got the time for me to explain to them just how much good a website will do them. They need money. I'm also coming across an increasing number of folks who are working for positive change in the world, who have real financial needs. They need to print educational materials. They need to pay for plane fares. They need to pay for internet connectivity. And they need to support themselves and their families, while they work to effect lasting change in a needy world. These are not selfish people. These are selfless, giving individuals, who deserve to have all their human needs met, while working day and night for the benefit of humanity. They need money. I was raised in a counter-culture household, where money was often seen as a corrupting influence. The rich were suspect. The super-rich were condemned. People who had lots of money, were generally held in suspicion of having done something unsavory to get that way. Money, I was taught, was a root of evil and a temptation and it had a strictly limited place in the lives of people who knew that the best things in life were free. Community and personal interconnection were stressed. Alternative means of living were emphasized. It was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it was to get into heaven, if you were rich. And of course, we all wanted to get into heaven. Who wouldn't? But in spite of my training, hidden away from sight in the back of my mind, I've always been of the conviction that money does matter, that money is not evil, in and of itself, and that in the right hands, a lot of money can do a lot of good. I kept it to myself, of course. I didn't dare say out loud that money itself was not the culprit, but the people who controlled the money were. It was a foregone conclusion that, no matter how virtuous you were, if you got some money, you'd be irreversibly tainted and all your attentions would turn inward towards yourself -- at the expense of the greater whole. Biases against money were -- and still are -- so deeply entrenched, that questioning them instantly puts one in the same category as the ultra-evil ultra-rich. Even mentioning that we might want to rethink our ideas about money, is viewed askance. But ironically, the very people who once taught me that money is a source of evil, are now interested in having more of it in their lives. My parents, who tried to instill other values in me, are nearing retirement, with far too little saved, for comfort. My father is shepherding an educational initiative which has great potential to change lives, but he lacks the funding to really make it fly. Pamphlets and booklets need to be printed, and the printer doesn't work for free. Airfare costs money. Gasoline costs money. He can stay with friends when he travels from town to town, but he needs to eat. And he needs to pay for his computer supplies and internet connection. My mother is worried, they won't have enough money to support themselves, when she retires from public school teaching next year. Yes, she's got a pension, and Dad might be getting a grant or a loan, but will it be enough? What if their health fails? What about the vacations they want to take? After all these years, of not putting emphasis on not letting money run their lives, suddenly, money is the main thing running their lives. It's time to start talking about money. We live in a big, complex, highly-interconnected world where value of one object or service does not translate equally between individuals. We live in a world where bartering doesn't cut it, where we have bills and expenses and fundamental needs, which need to be met with money. We live in a world, where local businesses are threatened by multinational conglomerates, and local craftsmen are losing ground to DIY warehouse stores. We live in a world, where we need money, and we ignore this element of our lives at our peril. So, let's put aside all the fear and aggravation around money, for a while, and start talking about it and thinking about it rationally. A lot of "survival issues" come up, as money is a root cause -- of tremendous good, as well as some evil. Money is so closely tied to our will to live, our fears of dying, our anxieties about abandonment, our feelings of self-worth and love from others, it can be difficult to separate out all that baggage from the element itself. But guess what -- that's just something we have to learn to do. Just as we've learned, over the past 50 years, how better to work with our natural world, reduce pollution, and protect valuable land, water and air, it's now time to learn to work with our money -- learn how to approach it, not as slaves, but as masters. Not as beggars, but as co-creators. It's time for us to start trusting ourselves to use money, to wield it properly, as a trained craftsman wields a circular saw. It's time for us to give serious and concentrated thought to how to better incorporate money in our lives, as a good and constructive force for positive change. Let's think well about money -- for a change. Note: The image seen above can be viewed here: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=491505745&size=s

Cutting Back

Kay — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:42:58 GMT

The woolly worms I've been finding have been dark on the two ends and light in the middle... tough weather at the start and end, with a mild center? Or the other way around? Or do the woolly worms just have their own fashion sense that suits their moods and foils us in our inclination to think that creatures adorn themselves for our benefit? The last of the insects are making their rounds in the wild back yard of ours... dragonflies slow down and stop on your arm to say "hello" one last time... bumble bees stumble from one fading flower to the next, once drunk with the nectar of the past months, now slipping towards sleep... wasps, once aggressive and bold, now gingerly pick their way across the pile of milkweed pods we collected from the milkweed "farm" we've had going in the back yard, made up of seeds from the Earthlands milkweed, and various seeding plants we've come across over the years, keeping an eye open for those whispy white feathers of next-year's fecundity... We've spread all the seeds in the wildest part of the yard, hoping and praying for a good "crop" next year that will bring even more monarchs and admirals. With ceremony and thanks and offering of honey and cider (and a dime for the fae ones, as they delight in small shiny objects), we give the land its due of next year's promise. With a poignant mix of resignation and fierce gratitude, weekend after weekend, over time, I fell the remains of the plant life in the smallish, wildish field that connects our house with the forest up the hill, following the guidance of the earth to make room for the next growth -- scatter seeds and then take down the fading, dying, dead remains of the high plants ("weeds" most people call them) to lie atop and protect them for the winter. Take out old to make room for new. Level what has been, to shelter what will become.... The woods behind our house climbs up a high hill (the lord of the manor atop the crest can see Boston and the glittering sea from his house), and the spring melt -- which comes to the chilly early-spring woods several weeks later than the rest of the sunlit world -- chases down the hill whatever seeds it can find, starting plants growing in the lawn that's to be mowed. If these plants are to have a safe place to settle, someone will need to set boundaries... make some sort of provision for their protection -- in this case, covering them with vegetation, felled volunteer baby trees that spring up in such profusion, leaves, stems, the hulls and shells and pods of once-lovely flowers now past... that some sort of boundary can be placed around/above/before/below them... and so promote their unimpeded growth in a safe and dedicated (sacred) space, when the snows at last melt, and the runoff heads downhill, carrying what it will, and spring erupts again, bringing more of the life that now falls under my blade. "Live on the earth, but also live with it," comes the voice of this plot of land that the county records say I "own"... but which is much more my own master/mistress than I hers. "Living with this land, means participating in all her cycles, and that involves destruction as much as it does construction. You have planted well, and be thanked. Now take down what must pass, strike swiftly and without hesitation, and be thanked again." This world where we live, being so in love with her as we are, is a place some of us are taught - long and hard - to shelter and protect and honor with lesser and lesser needs. But this earth where we move and live and have our being, at times also asks our involvement in the parts of the cycles which have less to do with shelter and protecting in the short-run, and more to do with immediate destruction, for the sake of later growth. The anguish of cutting down living things, of taking their small lives for the sake of the greater good... thinning the thickness with the knowledge that unless the weaker ashes and pines and spruces are removed, the healthiest of them will not thrive, for lack of nourishment and light... holding the long view... protecting the the health of the whole system, not just one or two precious beings... the cutting I feel in the most tender corners of my being... but it must be done. I know it must be done. I have not been here on this plot of land for long, but the beings of this place who know its cycles call me to participate as one of them -- in the difficult aspects, as well as the lovely ones. In the destruction, as well as the construction. This is the first year I've been called to cut back this part of the yard, and a part of me is as honored by the call, as it is distressed by it. But the nuthatches are oblivious to my musings. They climb the screens and root through the leaves in my gutters, seeking some morsel for breakfast. The sparrows and chickadees and wrens and woodpeckers are devouring the seed in the feeders as fast as we can fill them. Life goes on. Especially when it doesn't.

New Gallery in Flickr - Sacred Geometries

Kay — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:41:47 GMT

I've put up a collection of my early pieces -- abstract geometric shapes that came out of a time of deep transition for me -- the kind of stuff personal legends and mythologies are made of. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaystoner/sets/72157602024890140/show/

Transmuting Ten Grand

Kay — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:35:17 GMT

A Meditation on Money by Kay Stoner This is not just $10,000. This is a year's rent -- in some places utilities included -- to keep a woman housed. This is not just $10,000. This is a year's mortgage payments -- maybe more, maybe less, depending on geography and a thousand other factors -- to put a roof over the heads of children, one or two parents, one or two pets. This is not just $10,000. This is artist supplies and studio space and airfare and cost of living covered to make room for the next emerging painter/scuptor/ illustrator who must take her show on the road to move forward and evolve as the goddess she is. This is not just $10,000. This is nine months of adequate health and dental insurance for two women of a certain age that keeps their bodies whole and their teeth in their heads and lets them concern themselves with matters other than base survival. This is not just $10,000. This is a used hybrid car that still gets more than 50 miles to the gallon -- it's not just the down-payment, it's a full price payment that relieves the buyer of debt so she suffers less each month. This is not just $10,000. This is a week in the hospital with a full battery of tests for a sick child whose symptoms are beyond the usual doctors' explanations, plus medications and follow-up visits to ensure the child's complete recovery. This is not just $10,000. This is 2,000 bags of birdseed -- 20 years of well-fed chickadees and cardinals and nuthatches and bluejays. This is not just $10,000. This is a new well and clean water and irrigation for a village far, far away, where drought and dysentery are rife. This is not just $10,000. This is bail money for a poor woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time at the end of an angry cop's tazer. This is not just $10,000. This is college tuition (at least part of it) for a working mother who always wanted to finish her degree but had mouths to feed instead. This is not just $10,000. This is a truckload -- or more -- of food and medical supplies that needs to get through 50 miles of mountain passes before the first snows of winter fall. This is not just $10,000. This is a year's worth of property taxes in a town that's struggling to save its land from developers. This is not just $10,000. This is several years of proper care for magnificent, ancient trees by educated arborists who do not use trucks with cherry pickers or climbing spikes, and who are losing business to “tree guys” who do. This is not just $10,000. This is the freedom to sit and think and write and draw or dance and sing and grieve and rejoice without interruption till all that needs to come out... is done and ready for the world. This is more than $10,000. This is a year's hard labor, cleaning or cooking or cutting or doing whatever it takes to keep the world running, the children fed, the landlord appeased. This is more than $10,000. This is half a year's work by a young woman just graduated from college who doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, but has found a job to make her parents happy. This is more than $10,000. This is a month's worth of work by a geek-girl building technology in a cutting-edge field that will change the world. This is more than $10,000. This is a week's worth of professional services billed by a highly-trained and experienced woman who is at the top of her game and at the height of her acumen and professional powers. This is more than $10,000. This is a day's work by a woman holding a seminar at $250 a seat, training 40 people to improve their lives, further their careers, survive in the world, or be far, far more than they ever thought they could be. This is not just $10,000. This is possibility. It is power. It is choice. This is the freedom to be the goddess you are, the ability to support other women in becoming goddesses in ways they never dreamed. It is the right and the responsibility of conscious co-creators. And it is just the beginning. (c) 2007 All Rights Reserved

Back from Daughters of the Earth

Kay — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:55:50 GMT

What a great time -- albeit, a tad short, given that I was juggling multiple commitments in Eastern/Central Mass. But it was great -- really, truly great -- to connect with the women there, to walk around barefoot on the grass, to see friends and faces I literally haven't seen for 6 months to a year... All good. I'll be adding more, talking about my Sixth Element workshop that I led on Saturday afternoon, 8/4/07. Still "integrating" all the information, though... still thinking... still....

The fading of the light...

Kay — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 01:15:11 GMT

On nights like this, when the weather is getting colder, but there's no snow yet on the ground, I think about all the creatures of the forest out in search of shelter... and seeing the lights of my house on the other side of the clearing, where the tasty shrubbery is. Tastiness is fine for the deer, but this year will see some discouragement happening towards them. They've all but mowed down the vegetation that was planted to hold the soil atop my retaining wall in place, and my acts of benevolence towards them (and neglect of my shrubbery) has left not only my vegetation but also my retaining wall, and the driveway beneath it, a little more exposed than I'd like. So, this year, something will be done. Out with the burlap! After the holidays, of course. For tonight, I must check the live traps in the attic and make sure no flying squirrels have found their way in. I had the holes along the roof patched, a short while back, and I want to make sure there are no little critters up there, still. The hammering usually sends them packing, but just in case... The holidays await... and in the midst of it all, all the busy-ness, all the chores, all the dreams, all the good things that must be done to ensure good times... there is this:

The best "job" in the world

Kay — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 20:10:03 GMT

So, anyway, I've been working with the holographic paradigm and collective consciousness concept for many years... probably all my life, actually... Many thanks(!) to the folks who have been doing a lot of research in quantum physics and the holographic paradigm to enunciate what so many of us know in our bones. Their research makes it a whole lot easier to traverse this realm, especially with regard to the right brain (which I value highly along with the left-brain and gut-brain and no-brain, btw). What's come out of my holographic/quantum/energetic/vibrational work, is the idea that each "node" in the cosmic soup where energy and focus concentrate in coherent fashion, gives rise to other expressions of that energy elsewhere in the hologram we *think* we inhabit. And what's come out of that, further, is the knowing that -- hey, I've got a pretty cool node I'm tending these days -- a node of bliss, a node of ecstasy, a node of Knowing, which is quite simple, really, in its "is"-ness, but which I believe to be part and parcel of a grand whole that really, really matters. It all matters, in fact. Even the wretchedness (and let's admit that's what it is), even the pain, even the sorry-ass misery... all of it, along with the bliss, matters. It matters deeply. Where was I? (It's a challenge to put this into words, when I've been deliberately getting away from words in my own personal practice for years, now, but it's time to TALK about this stuff. Now.) Oh, yes -- my "job". It's tending this node, this individual instance of bliss and ecstasy and that peace-that-passeth-understanding that we used to sing about at Vacation Bible School (long journey... lots of turns and twists, requiring a great deal of time, not to mention snacks and a magazine...). It's holding the reality of wonder and divinity even in the face of all the crap. It's knowing your/my own royalty, even when we look about as poor as poor-spirited can be... It's defying reason and logic with a pervasive sense of ALL IS WELL, DAMMIT! no matter how things may appear on the surface. It's -- in the words I've heard that Tibetans use -- allowing Heaven to be in my Heart. That's my job. That's my service. That's my Work. At least, for today it is. But then, what more is there?