Pronoia Giveaway

I believed it and it manifiested. I asked for it and received it. I thought it and it arrived. I loved it and it grew. The path I walked, the seeds I sowed, the bed I made, perfect. I stopped for gas. As I left the office after paying, I felt a thud on my back. Turned around and looked down and there was a denim jacket looking worn, big for my size, but sewn on the back was a large Harley Davidson wing. I asked the owner if it was his or if he knew who it belonged to and he said no. I took it home, washed it, wore it, lost it to a lost girlfriend, got it back. Then, one night, took it off to dance at a bar. When I came back it was gone. Found another home, it did.The flashlight that appears at the beach when I need one. The fawn that appears on the trail out to Big Sur in the eucalyptus grove. The song that plays on the radio that makes me cry.I am wealthy beyond belief.

Through astrology/cosmic forces, we learn about the true nature of the beautiful velvet space through which we hurtle.

We choose, without guilt, the experiences and deaths we will undergo like so many shiny presents under the tree.

This shiny Present I live right now is what I always wanted, and is proof that even when I have nothing, I have everything.

I totally believe that the Universe, the Sum Total of All Existence, consciously and willingly bestows blessings upon myself and all sentient beings, based entirely on our thoughts. For instance, it was about two hundred years ago when chickens, collectively, began thinking about how they'd love to be grown like molds in enormous, "dark Satanic mills," until there are more chickens than humans, and then live cruel lives that end only in their slaughter and consumption. Also, many different ethnic groups have often felt unconsious desires to have their populations thinned out in mass murders, pogroms and outright genocides. They didn't realize they wanted this, but they obviously did, because that was the reality that manifested itself to them. They went to The Source, and said, "please kill us indiscriminately, we would love that ever so much!" This is definitely a Universe in which lots of folks are showered with blessings. http://mahajohn.com

On December 27, 2009 I received a phone call informing me that my mother had passed away in the night. It was utterly unexpected. She was only 67 years old.

After years of working with many spiritual concepts that remind me daily of the power of manifestation and the nature of the spirit, I did my best to engage those ideas and stop myself from becoming submerged in grief.

In order to attend her services, it was necessary for my sister and I to travel from Portland, Oregon to a small town outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We were scheduled to leave the same night as Portland's first big snowfall of the year... snowfall which essentially shut the city down for several hours.

What ensued was a mad race to the airport involving a car, walking a mile and a half in the snow to a train station, a train, and three airplanes. Plenty of room for disaster. Plenty of room for blessings beyond comprehension. Plenty of room for laughter - and we used it.

We could have missed our flight. It could have cost us hundreds of dollars to rebook. We could have missed our mother's services.

Instead, I encountered the strong, helpful, and compassionate nature of other human beings. I encountered kind faces. I encountered other passengers who pushed me to the front of the line in security after lifting my bags onto the belt for me because my hands were shaking.

Instead, we made it onto our plane against *all odds* where I encountered a flight attendant on a tiny prop plane who took the time to distract my sister and I from our grief and from the ridiculous race we'd just run.

Beyond that, I was gifted with shining synchronicity when the three of us realized we had friends in common, even though none of us now lived anywhere near where we'd grown up. It was like witnessing the interconnectedness of existence first hand.

The remainder of the trip was filled with more "gentle helpers" (as I like to think of them). My sister and I encountered love and compassion at every turn. Countless friends and strangers alike took the time to share their shining memories of our mother with us. Airports - which can feel so dehumanizing at times - were filled with a helpful and humorous staff. We reconnected with childhood friends who flew and/or drove in from around the country to pay tribute to our mother. We reconnected with family we hadn't seen in many years.

At any other time, I could write about the Universe and it's crazy abundance of blessings in an abstract way. I could write of manifestation... intention... synchronicity as concepts that continually bless me in one way or another. However, right at this very moment, I am still experiencing the concrete evidence of a Universe that most certainly loves me, celebrates me and nurtures me... even in the most difficult of times. I've been wrapped in Universal Bubble Wrap for nearly two weeks.

My over-riding gratitude through all of this is that people like Rob Brezsny have helped me learn to open my eyes so I was able to see it. It doesn't really matter to me if I win the book. It is far more important to me to let everyone know that there are blessings everywhere, all the time and to express my thanks to the Brave Visionaries who spend their lives reminding us of that fact. It makes a difference.

There was a time in my life, when everything seemed like a curse. Everything was oppression or limitation to me, and engrams of resentment and hate to the people around me just grew and grew. But if you asked me now what even plagued me then, I doubt I could give you anything of real cause. I, like many, was simply trapped in the throes of teenage angst and denial, drama and co-misery. I'm not sure what shook me from it, A number of things have acted as my teacher over the last few years. My boyfriend and his psilocybin mushrooms, my interests in shamanism and ancient cultures, My collection of Carlos Castaneda books, all seemed to take their roles in slowly showing me how unnecessary all my stress and struggle were. Finally, in august of 09, I went on a vacation to B.C. and came back to find one of my loved cats had gone missing. The fact that a life so small and precious to me could just vanish in such a manner pushed me through new worlds of apathy and nihilism. But after the grieving began to ebb away, I realized that life is something to be cherished while it is here, as it can, and of course will, end. My little cat, Kiba, was a blessing from the moment of his birth to the last day I saw him. I dream of him and it's like he never left at all. I don't blame him for running away, or myself for getting so attached to such a small and frail fragment of life. Life is a blessing, and we can waste that by living it in fear and regret, or we can show our appreciation by feeding back some of this unending love to our fellow beings, be they cat or man. Love is everywhere.

undulating union of oneness

the brushes of vortices at play

the beating heart hears new worlds becoming,

born of infinite mirth and mercy

the laughter of a belly shaking buddha,

primodial music of the spheres,

heaving, rising and falling, bodies luminescent infused and shining

with the fierce inspiration of love

interconnexion

dreamers scrawling poemtry,

remembering Yoda wisdom

don't try, just do!

to be a perfect unfolding flower in the eye,

the perfect center of being,

as the universe, showers constellations of blessings -

exploding and expanding in ecstasy.

Blessings sprinkle down on me. Blessings sprinkle down on you. Blessings sprinkle down on ALL of us. We are all part of the Universal collective. We all have the ability to tap in to the Universal laws of asking and receiving blessings. The question is how open are you to receive the full spectrum of blessings the world is giving? Blessings come in many shapes and forms; beauty, gifts, love, flowers, intimacy, chocolate, rain, sunshine, abundance. As well, blessings can be found in failure, curses, sadness, heartache, accidents and even global tragedies. Are you open to seeing the blessings within this full spectrum? Blessings shower down on me because I am open to receive the teachings from the full spectrum. The full spectrum of light and dark blessings showers down upon me. I can witness the lessons within these blessings. I am completely open and allow the lessons to pour in. I can pull the goodness out of the despair. I can feel the energies of the glory. I connect to the blessings for they speak to me. The blessings tell me their story. Blessings shower down on me in order to transmit harmony through the collection of my chosen words. I write their story for the world to gently listen and to harmonize. 220 Blessings 220 Words ~* Just Liz

RS never said who got the Gary Lachman book (as far as I've been able to tell) so it probably won't say who gets this one either... As this thread will soon drop off the radar into the bit bucket, along with the other book give-away thread, I assume that RS hasn't (and won't) be giving any books away at all.