More on 2012 - The Countdown to 2012 Site

OK, I have to laugh at the same time that I wonder!

True, I am fascinated by this 2012-end-of-the-world theory, but now that Obama is the President of the USA, I really hope the world doesn't end; I have faith that global cooperation can happen.

Anyway, I found this website purely by accident: Countdown To 2012, which actually has a countdown to 12/21/012 clock in real-time! Listed below the clock are numerous UFO conspiracy and crop circle websites that are actually quite interesting (well, at least those I've looked at).

I have decided that no matter what happens, I'm going to have fun with these theories now and "party like it's 1999..."

The reality is that whatever is going to happen, whether it's a black hole from the Large Hadron Collider or some other thing, we're just going to have to deal with it. (Check out opposition to the LHC.)

Party on!

Seeing Yourself Through Your Friendships

The last installment in My Spiritual Hedonism blog reflected on how you judge yourself and that one of the best ways to see yourself is through the quality of the people who consider you a friend. I received quite a few responses to that post and requests for "something more".

As I stated in the last installment, the reasons that certain expressions last throughout generations are because they are based on truth. So, I remember what the wise have said:

"Like attracts like." "Birds of a feather flock together." "Water seeks its own level."

I believe that I have real friends because I am a real friend. I give thanx for these gifts of friendship every day.

My advice for great friendships is to be a great friend by:

1. Being who you really are. This is the highest honor you can offer to another person. I never advise "tolerating" things that you would not normally accept in your life in the guise of "being polite". In reality, you are lying to the person and setting up resentments that don't need to exist at all;

2. Being responsible for your own comfort. Even if someone can read your mind, it is not their responsibility to know what you want until you have made your needs and desires clear. From that moment on, it is a person's choice to be interested in your comfort. Real friends are always interested in your comforts and do not feel imposed upon by accommodating them. In fact, real friends are pleased when you are pleased;

3. Honoring your boundaries. This allows people to be able to communicate with you without "vampiring" on your energies. You can develop polite ways to tell people that you are not "able to" communicate with them on certain topics, at certain times, etc. -- basically, when what's going on for them is draining you! This is a good way to allow those who want to be your friend to understand your strengths and those who only seek to "feed off" of your energies to recognize that you are not going to be the free meal.

4. Being truthful. I actually practice developing polite ways to express Myself truthfully in ways that will allow the person to understand Me without diminishing them in any way. Your goal is to be able to get your point across in an empowering way that will strengthen your relationship and assist your friend on their path. The truth will not only set you free, it frees the ones you care about.

5. Having joy in the joys of others. When you can truly be happy for someone else's good fortune, good fortune is your destiny. Like energy attracts like energy. If you want people who will honestly share in your joys, you must be able to love yourself enough to honestly be able to share in theirs.

6. Being the type of friend you want to have in your life. When you are aware of what is going on for you and are aware of your changes, you can be honest in how you are a friend. This requires continuous self-reflection, but that's part of what living and evolving is all about.

Now, here's the true test of friendship: being able to accept criticism, the truth (no matter how much it sux), and being able to give these with love and care. I'm not saying it's easy; I'm saying that it is worth doing whatever it takes to be a good friend when you have a good friend.

A huge amount of people live in lonely ways in The Fetish Scene. It is part of My Mission to enhance the opportunities for building Fetish Families and Communities.

I look forward to creating more events to allow people in The Scene to get to know each other and make Real Friends to enjoy life with!

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My next installment will focus on betrayal because that is a part of the evolution of how We view Ourselves and Our friendships as they come and go...

How Do You Judge Yourself?

I was inspired to write this because in one day, 7 wonderful people called to cry on My shoulder. These amazing people (whose contributions to the world are astounding) got caught up in the "stuff" that makes Us all question Ourselves with judgments based on fear, stress, and the negativities that surround Us. While I listened and tried to be the best friend that I could be in that moment, it became evident that these wonderful people could not see themselves the way that I see them. They had no idea that they are My S/Heroes and they keep Me inspired and motivated. So, it is evident that this particular speculation is needed to remind Us that We are all human and should strive to be the best examples of the highest meaning of that term. This writing offers an opportunity for a perspective which will enhance your life. I truly hope that you receive what you need.

How Do You Judge Yourself?

Let's face it: there is no way that We do not judge ourselves. The pity is that We have not been taught through Our socializations to focus on Our special qualities realistically.

There are far too many people finding fault with what The Universe/Nature has given them and, even worse, far too many people finding false value in what they lack ~ like personalities, compassion, and the ability to "put yourself in another person's shoes" in an effort to understand instead of looking to "make-wrong".

And there are always, always too many miserable folks who want to create wrongs about you and look for any opportunity to speak out to whomever they hope will listen and join in the slander. Pity them. These poor creatures seriously suffer from a lack of self-love and never seem to learn that their lives won't get better by attempting to disparage you.

It is far easier for these creatures to attempt to convince themselves that they are "better" by finding fault with others than to focus on their own achievements and possibly discover that they fall short of their perceptions of greatness. Rather than take the opportunity to learn and grow, weak people stop their personal development with decisions of self-righteousness based on how they dislike someone else's choices and expressions.

I strongly suggest that you have compassion for these negative, weak folks because they are trapped in a void of self-disdain to the point of being blinded to possibilities for self-improvement and love. Wish them enlightenment.

Moving on...

I believe that the BEST way to see Who You Are In The World is by the quality of the people who consider you a friend. Friends are a major part of Our support systems.

I realize how fortunate I am by the fact that not only do I have numerous acquaintances whose company I truly enjoy, I have REAL FRIENDS with Whom I can share the deepest parts of My life, including My Fetish and My vanilla experiences. I have both Dominant and submissive Friends and friends of all sorts of the vanilla varieties.

The people who surround Me and care for Me are generous, intelligent, educated, talented, gracious, considerate, skilled, inspired, and courteous, among so many other lovely ways to be. My friends are from all walks of life, live all over the world (some I have yet to meet in person), and have a wide variety of experiences to willingly share. They are approachable because they are not afraid to be who they are. My Friends meet you with the intentions of accepting the great person you are, see you as a potential gem, and allow you a "safe space" to be yourself. They are great conversationalists as well as listeners. They give people the benefit of the doubt and offer forgiveness, but will not be taken advantage of. Their goals are to build a Community of respect for freedom of expression.

My Friends are stylish because they not only care about themselves, but they share My belief that it is One's duty to beautify your surroundings. My Friends are concerned about the environment and do their parts to make a smaller carbon footprint. They are movers and shakers, creative, and not afraid to try new things. They do not give up; they try another way. My Friends and Associates are animal lovers and respect nature.

Best of all, My Friends and Associates work on becoming better people and contributors to The Whole every day of Their lives. I realize that I have outstanding people in My life who consider Me a friend.

So, how do I judge Myself? Like everyone else, I have good days and bad days and times when I question Myself and My Mission. There is a continuous stream of attempts to besmirch Me and what I do by the self-loathing, yet I am smart enough to know to wish them enlightenment and not to be anything more than amused by their desperation to feel valuable with distorted views of the world. (Some poor wretches have even convinced themselves that the lies they've created are now true and make fools of themselves by telling those lies to others who were witness to what actually occurred!)

The reasons that certain expressions last throughout generations are because they are based on truth. So, I remember what the wise have said:

"Like attracts like." "Birds of a feather flock together." "Water seeks its own level."

I see the magnificence of My Friends (and Associates) and realize My Truth. I also realize the quality of My Fetishism! And since I'm not afraid to meet and share fun with new people, I am blessed with an increasing influx of wonderful people coming into My life! May you be so blessed and beyond!

Now, here is where you have to be brave. You have to take an honest look at the people around you and an honest look at yourself. If you don't like what you see, you need to be willing to:

1. Face your truth. Accept what you don't like about your life and let it be OK that you are at this place in your personal development at this time so that you can make changes for your future. The present is all there is and where you are right now is a glorious opportunity for you to (i) see how your past has created the circumstances of your present and (ii) make clear, conscious choices for your future. Only through acceptance can change occur.

2. Don't "make wrong". It will not benefit you to look at the people who are in your circle and decide that they are the cause of what you don't like in your life. Equally, it will not benefit you to make yourself wrong for what is obviously a necessary part of your Life Lessons. Make yourself right for recognizing that you want to make changes in your life and that you are willing to do so.

3. Choose qualities of life that you would like to experience. The biggest mistake people make when they want to implement change is to choose unrealistic goals based on fantasy-based ideals. For example, if you want to have more intellectual stimulation in your life, it is unwise to set a goal of, "I want to be smarter." It is wise to create a plan to put yourself in intellectually stimulating situations where you can enhance your education. This will bring you opportunities to be your own stimulation and to be stimulated by meeting people who share your passions! The most important part of any plan for change is that the ultimate goal must be to become better as a person who can make greater contributions to The Whole.

4. Understand that there are no mistakes; only opportunities to be creative. Change is scary. It takes a lot of courage to do all of the above and it's easy to get discouraged when you try new and different things - especially different behaviors. My Mother always told Me, "You never fail; you learn what not to do next time." So, as the old song goes, "Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again!"

I believe that I have real friends because I am a real friend. I give thanx for these gifts of friendship every day. What kinds of friends do you have? What kind of friend are you? The answers to these questions are, in My opinion, one of the best places to begin your path of self-reflection towards the beauty of self-enlightenment. May you like what you see.

A huge amount of people live in lonely ways in The Fetish Scene. It is part of My Mission to enhance the opportunities for building Fetish Families and Communities.

I look forward to creating more events to allow people in The Scene to get to know each other and make Real Friends to enjoy life with! I hope that you will join Me.

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My Epiphany of 2012 ~ What If?

Epiphany: 2012 ~ What If?

I am repeating this entry from My Newsletter to accommodate My writings on Living Joyously.

I am going to make a long story short. A few weeks ago, I went away to complete a Domina 101 Course and have a mini-vacation. I was walking My little dog along the beautiful cliff overlooking the gorgeous beach and saw a flutter of white fabric billowing in the breeze. As We came up to the top of the hill, there was a woman in a wedding dress standing at the edge preparing to jump. I immediately went into "channel the Universal Good" mode and said, "Well, turn around and let Me see that beautiful dress before you make a mess of it."

Obviously, she wasn't expecting that and before she could protest anything, I started talking about what a jerk the groom-to-not-be was and that if she jumped, he would have something else to use as leverage to excuse his cowardly behavior for standing her up at the altar and sucker in fools to have sympathy for him! Not once did I tell her not to jump because that is the worst thing to do with a person whose emotional state is so wrecked that suicide is a consideration. It sets you up for trying to come up with good reasons for them not to die, which can be frustrating depending upon the circumstances, and can actually make things look worse to them.

After talking about all kinds of things -- like convincing her to let Me see her shoes (of course!) -- I felt Divine Guidance take over and was able to actually hear what was coming through Me for her. I heard Myself say, "WHAT IF the Mayans were right? Let's just say that the end of the cycle on December 21, 2012 is in some way the end of the world. That means We only have 3 1/2 years left of partying! That's not a lot of time and killing yourself now would suck because you would have nothing to lose by living a life committed to having a good time and being as happy as you could outrageously be!" Well, that clicked for her and it clicked for Me. I don't know exactly how long I stood there talking to her, but as night began to fall, I saw flashing lights behind us and realized that a very smart sheriff knew not to interfere and allowed Me to bring her to the car to take her to safety. So, now I'm a heroine to the town and she is doing better every day.

It took about a week before it all "came to a head" in My mind. True, that was a harrowing experience that I hope never to have again, but it gave Me a new perspective on how I want to live My life from now on. Yes, I have always been a hedonist, but now, WHAT IF? is My mantra. I now commit to living My life with unadulterated joy in the pursuit of My happiness and have as much fun as I possibly can from this moment on.

I know that to begin each day with gratitude, consciously counting at least 10 things to be thankful for, is a powerful way to increase positivity in your life. I will do more to improve My ability to tolerate the intolerable for My benefit and create ways not to be bothered with the bothersome. My focus is on My joy because joy is infectious and those around Me will become joyous, too, and so on and so on...

Now, people can say, "And how will you feel when you wake up on December 22, 2012 and the world didn't end?" My answer is that I will feel fantastic because I partied and enjoyed life all the way up to 12/21/012 and now, I'm going to have a party to celebrate that the world didn't end! It's a win-win situation.

As I continue to put My focus on My joy, I expect that I will create all kinds of interesting ways to enjoy being a part of Our Community! I look forward to delighting in the energies of those who participate in the creation of a Life of Joy with Me!

So, when things get you down, try thinking of WHAT IF? Truly, you have nothing to lose and nothing to fear. If nothing else, you will find ways to discover, experience, and enhance your joy. Sounds fantastic to Me!