Giving Thanks

Like Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving is an event I live daily. However, it is nice to have a specially appointed celebration to help people remember to focus on an attitude of gratitude. While we could go on with the woes of the world litany non-stop, we really could do the same with our blessings. For example, I could seriously write a hilarious book about my ongoing computer complexities. However, doing so wouldn’t be joyful for me and would have me focus on things of a not so bright nature. I bring the subject up again to thank some amazing folks. Costco Angel Jackie went above and beyond. She jumped (or flew) through hoops to make things right with the cheerfulness and patience of a saint! Once again, the Axicom Angels also flew to my technology assistance. In this world, I will never be able to thank them enough. For decades, Axicom has been providing high quality yet affordable IT services. They have a wealth of experience, industry knowledge and tools to help small and medium businesses thrive. I’m pretty sure you can’t beat their friendly and imperturbable staff as well. If you are anywhere near Westlake Village California, stop by and see for yourself. If you aren’t local, these amazing techs can work magic remotely too!

Thankfully, I was able to find many loving new homes for my Gifts From the Sea shell creations. Happiness bubbles well up thinking of the delight many will experience receiving a number of them as gifts. Oceans of thanks to all who supported me and purchased these treasures! This definitely helped with my new computer too 😊 There is still time to purchase unique, beachy, one of a kind gifts for your Loved Ones. Check out (and maybe like/follow) our fb page / our Instagram / Pinterest or visit our etsy store. Obviously, the etsy store is pretty straight forward, just contact for availability and payment for items you like in other places. Payment methods include check, zelle, fb, venmo, paypal and more.

Again I have been mermazingly blessed to have been able to experience lots of enchanted beach time. Nature rages fierce one day then transforms to calm and idyllic overnight. Even going to the same places, I never know what spells will be cast over me until I am in each new encounter. Manta rays fly through the air defying gravity effortlessly – reminding me of Moana’s grandmother and her wisdom. Dolphins appear just at the moment I need an energetic or emotional boost. They know! Recently I was thrilled to see dolphins leaping tremendous heights rotating sideways completely clearing the tops of Monstro waves - over and over again. A variety of shells, interesting stones, colorful beach glass, shark teeth and lost jewelry are among the thousands of treasures I am gifted.

The Universe sometimes works in mysterious ways. I received three unsolicited requests for work exchange assistance in the Virgin Islands in as many weeks. I thought for sure that was a sign for the next turn in my journey. Perhaps my secluded retreat would be revealed as I explored that area of the Caribbean. Based on what I had going on at the time, I figured I’d be there by the end of September – October at the latest. Yet more signs showed up later indicating I should be right where I am now, exercising my particular abilities. And it’s not quite the Caribbean. Often, I feel like the writing on the wall is in hieroglyphics with God/ The Universe apparently overlooking the fact I haven’t been fluent in that language in a very long time! Fortunately, I always know, without a shadow of a doubt, what my very next step is to be. Perhaps I will still re-adventure to the Virgin Islands someday. Then again, I’d rather be presented the map with X marking the spot of my tropical dream home! Hey, anything is possible!

Whether or not Thanksgiving is a holiday in your corner of the world, I wish you and yours Happy Thanksgiving. It is the warm spirit of appreciation that goes hand in hand with Love. Thank you for brightening the world! Love and blessings all around.

Enlightened Trick or Treat

Is everything a trick or a treat? Is everything good or bad? Actually, nothing in itself is absolutely either way but our perception makes it so. “It” just is. One person can view a rainfall as welcome nourishment for the plants. Another can see it as a catastrophe which ruined a year-long planned event. This can be an oversimplification as some things really do seem awful. However, if one is willing to look, many gifts – or treats – can be seen as a result. You might say our Enlightened Perception allows us view all things, in some manner, as treats.

A few of you are aware that I used to be highly pessimistic (echoing Not All Who Wander Are Lost). I’d say, “Everything happens for a reason and that reason is to &#*@ me!” Thankfully I’ve awakened quite a bit since then. One of my shifts in thinking was and is, “Everything happens for a reason and that reason is to bless me!”

Standing from a place of non-judgement doesn’t mean I like everything. We all have personal preference. It’s part of the reason we became human – to have different experiences.

And that’s a wonderful thing. Imagine if everyone all wanted to live in the same place on the planet. That wouldn’t work so well. People will offer numerous arguments about not preferring many things they are experiencing. There are many layers of that onion to peel – layers that countless books have expounded upon. Layers that one will have to go on their own journey of enlightenment to shed if they so choose.

Trick or Treat?  Two sides of the same coin. One example of such is Te Fiti and Taka. “They” are one being. Taka is her state when someone had stolen her heart. Even I almost wrote “cruelly stolen”. But that would have been a judgement call. The majority of human society is so prone to judgement we hardly notice what is and our opinion of what is. We would probably all conclude that Te Fiti is her preferred state. Today can you shift your perspective a bit to start seeing the Beauty in the Beast? 

A treat in my life, I am observing in gratitude, is I now have many hosts who would like me to assist them in their tropical places. Having a waiting list of appreciative folk is a kinda nice feeling as a human. Someday, when I am more evolved/enlightened, I won’t need that confirmation to get the same warm fuzzy emotion. I acknowledge where I am today and know an attitude of gratitude helps multiply my preferred treats. Perhaps it might work for you?

If you hurry, you can still get some Halloween/Dia de los Muertos Sea Spirits. Also offered are many unique, hand-crafted choices for your Holiday gifting. Here are some samples and there are many more varieties of each! Check out our Gifts From the Sea fb page to view more You can also email with items you are interested in for additional information.

From my stories, you may be aware that technology and I have had an interesting

Even my helper couldn't determine the problem

relationship. I am now in a situation requiring my third computer in less than a year. Not wanting to put my focus on the complex tale, I will leave it at that. Have my blog posts inspired, entertained or enlightened you in any way? If so, and you’d like to help me keep them coming, perhaps you would hit the donate button. Any amount (remember the loaves and the fishes) will greatly help me get on my more peaceful computing way.

Is it a Trick? ….or a Treat?

Working - Marketing - Living….Time for New Paradigms?

Those who know me also know that, if I had my druthers, it would be possible to live in a freely giving and receiving society. Colin Turner describes how this could work via his book, IntoThe Open Economy: How Everything You Know About The World Is About To Change. The Kindle version is currently free on amazon. When undamaged people have their basic needs met, their natural default is to serve others. More of Colin’s work and ideals can be found in my previous post I am Home.

After a freely giving and receiving society, it would be delightful to barter. Granted, sometimes it’s more convenient to just pay for things with money. But bartering, more widely accepted, would be highly freeing for millions too. Then there is also that way of life I personally desire, living off the grid in semi-seclusion. I don’t mean passing the nights in a sleeping bag under the stars – although for some that would be heaven. Any supplies brought in would normally cost money but I’d prefer a trade or gifting exchange. If my fruit trees produced abundantly more than I could ever use, I’d want people to be able to come by and enjoy the bounty too. Not something I’d measure, “I gave this neighbor X amount of fruit, now I can ask them for some help with my pump”. Although even the latter would be better than needing money from my perspective.  To reiterate, money isn’t evil and works great in many peoples’ preference. It’s simply that there are so many for whom money doesn’t work so great. It only makes an added distraction from being able to truly savor life and live to their full potential. Masses spend the majority of their lives in jobs they wouldn’t be doing if they didn’t need money. Many don’t even have time or energy to enjoy their income. For some, it barely covers basic necessities. I personally know many who have more than one job to make ends meet totally compounding this dilemma. Some proudly wear their overworking life imbalance like a badge of honor. Overheard at the gym, “I haven’t taken time off since my youngest was born 4 and ½ years ago.” Why are Fridays celebrated and Mondays so dreaded? Of course that doesn’t even apply anymore to the countless folks who work weekends. “Weekend”, hmmmm, I wonder where that concept came from? That jubilant celebration of ending work and dreading the start actually speaks of grave dysfunctionality in the current accepted societal ways. Especially when the “working” time is most of their waking lifespan!

Fortunately, there seems to be a bit of an awakening – a realization that powerful change is not only possible but crucial to our health and well-being. From the olden days of tailors, blacksmiths, woodworkers, artists and bakers, there has been a resurgence of entrepreneurs and small businesses over the past few decades. Trading,

or bartering, is now seeing new life too from large cooperatives like International Bartering Exchange to online platforms such as Simbi. One can even find goods and services for free on craigslist, freecycle and the fledgling free giving website Freeworlder. Of course, there have always been generous people through the ages who have charitably given but not as a 2 way street – not as a way of life. Many people give freely but cannot freely receive – perhaps a topic for another day. The point, for the moment, indicates many good-hearted people are willing to give.

What kinds of value do people have to offer?
Dolphin and Whale Encounter Retreats
Life Coaching
Yield from their Garden
Intuitive Messages/Guidance
Healing Touch
Crafts/Handiwork Creations
Architect and Creative Design
Sweat Lodge Leader/Facilitator
Healthy Meal Preparation
Tiny House Builders
Personalized Travel Guide
Assistance with Off Grid Set-up
Musician/Singer/Entertainer
Apothecary
Travel Companion
As you can see, the list could go to infinity and beyond  – especially when people are encouraged to do and be what they are passionate about instead of what they can be most profitable engaging in.

I have noticed numerous individuals, with unique and valuable gifts, struggling to share their talents and make “a living” too. Some of these gifts are incredible, bordering on miraculous, and clearly something they are passionate about. What they are not passionate about, even though they may be capable, is marketing, sales and promotion - myself included. Generally, “successful” individuals and companies have already done the start-up and have a marketing department or company they pay that promotes them.

While indeed time for grand transformation, we are not going to go from the current money-based society to a free giving and receiving society overnight, if ever. But new paradigms are emerging. Visualize this: Marketing Magicians are out there who absolutely love what they do. Passionate and highly successful, they have an intuitive way of being able to connect offeror with seeker (vender with buyer) and vice versa. These Marketing Magicians look for and welcome people with a wide variety of proficiencies or they specialize in certain niches. They actively desire to be agents for these highly skilled individuals and love facilitating respectful matches. Connections are made with integrity and they get paid from the deals they broker. Now I realize there are currently marketing professionals that people pay to engage their services. Usually, it’s not someone who is out there looking for people that could benefit from a product or service because they truly believe in it; but it is simply because they are paid to represent a business. Traditionally, marketers are paid upfront, hourly or by the job.  Imagine they are just so good and believe in the value of the folks they represent, that they would operate strictly on the basis of getting paid for the connections/exchanges they generate? And I’m not talking about some of the senseless commission percentages out there but something that is truly a win-win-win (service provider, client and marketer). Now take it further. What if these Marketing Magicians would not just accept money but also trade for things they wanted or needed? The same scenario would be viable with people who like numbers, records and bookkeeping. This leaves the practitioners to create, care for, and serve in the manner they are most passionate with the resources to do so and live life!

Yes, this would be greatly complicated in the current money/tax system. Yet the current system doesn’t promote joyful, healthy living! “The System” was never set up with your health and well-being in mind! Brave change agents are needed to make this a better world for all. Radical transformers come in varied forms and affect shift in countless ways. Many are quite vocal on the streets or via social media. Some affect change simply by quietly living their own way, brilliantly shining in the process.

I can hear the arguments and concerns as people point out options already available. There is also only so much I can cover and keep this reasonably short enough for most of my readers to have the time to digest. Additionally, my challenge with human language makes it more complex for me to express this message with any kind of clarity. Heck, I wish I could get someone, who is eloquent with words and understands what I am sharing, to rewrite this whole thing! Since I have been drawn to put it out there, my reassurance is, that someone reading with an open mind and heart, with the intention of understanding and enhancing their experience, will find something of value here.

Being of service can be fun as you can see from these pictures of volunteering I "performed". Perhaps down the road I’ll share a little more about that.

Thanks to the contributions of many Earth Angels, I have had the happy opportunity to play with my shell crafts again!

If interested in this Tiny Beachy Trio, please contact me. They are $15 each or $35 for all 3 + shipping.

Sharing a dreamy gift for a friend. The The Fiery Sea Dream Catcher is available for $25 plus shipping. Please contact to order or more pics or information.

Here are a few custom pieces. Hanging ornament may be customized for a limited amount of time. Mermaid Trinket Trays are available in etsy Gifts from the Sea and Other Treasures shop now for $35 with free shipping.

Thank you for sharing your precious time with me here. Perhaps some day I’ll see you in that Paradise where it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is 💖