Sing, floss, stretch. But trust me on the sunscreen.

I wrote recently about the elective class that I am developing and teaching on popular music.  I’m covering a decade per week and a song per day.  Within each song, I highlight an interesting grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation point.

Developing this class has meant combing through many online resources including lists of Billboard number one hit songs on Wikipedia and best-of-the-decade lists such as AOL’s radio blog, which is a good place to start because you can listen to most of the songs on the list.  I’ve also found that the website sing365.com tends to have the least errors of all of the lyrics websites that are returned in Google searches.

I intend to post the list of songs I’ve used at the end of the quarter (I might even link to the Google Docs spreadsheet that I used to record all of the songs I considered for each decade) but for now I thought I would post the following music video, which I plan to use tomorrow, the last day before Thanksgiving break.

The song is actually a spoken word piece which has an interesting story.  While not a traditional pop music video, I think the message is inspirational without being cheesy.  Plus, there are lots and lots of examples of advice using the imperative.  It might not get you through the last two weeks of the quarter, but it doesn’t hurt.

After many days in pursuit of the wild Detroitonian, I have finally caught up with the most sought after personality in Lavapiés, Miss Melissa. She was charming a group of Senegalese gentlemen when I stumbled upon her and happened to have a few minutes to douse the flame of curiosity that was burning inside me. Do you want to know what I was just dying to know?

Kelly: What famous person do other people tell you that you most resemble?

Meli: Jenna Elfman, emphasis on the ‘Elf’.

Kelly: If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be?

Meli: Lucy and Desi’s second apartment.

Kelly: Who would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with?

Meli: Alberto. Hey baby, let’s share some O subscript 2, if you know what I mean….

Kelly: What’s the habit you’re proudest of breaking?  

Meli: Sister Mary Ann’s. Twenty-six Hail Marys.

Kelly: Where were you on September 11, 2001?

Meli: Mr. Rice’s class.

Kelly: Which of the four seasons do you most anticipate?

Meli: Dubai´s. Though I don’t know how the no-pork thing’s gonna fly.

Kelly: What’s your least favorite word?

Meli: Azberjain. It discouraged me from reading today’s whole entire paper .

Kelly: What do you think Victoria’s secret is?

Meli: Don’t care because the word ’secretion’ scares me too.

Kelly: What is one food you will never give up?

Meli: Blue Corn chips and Salsa.

Kelly: What’s your favorite tree?

Meli: Gotta love the dreaminess of the Sleeping Pillow, and the lingering smell of the Scotch Wine Tree you got for Christmas, long after it’s started to drop needles and get naked. But my fav-o is the one that provides me with feathery shade when I’m on the beach. Can’t think of the name at the mo. TOTAL calm.

Kelly:  If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen?

Meli: “The Rite of Spring” premiere in Paris. Who, after witnessing that night, could claim that music DOESN’T make us crazy? Manson ain’t got nada on Stravinsky.

Kelly: Do you feel that children should be sheltered from unhappiness?

Meli: Happiness is relative. Within the context of each culture, community, family, value set, recollection of personal experiences, peace, intrinsic motivation, human rights, the realization of one’s interdependency on his or her environment …. what was the exact question again? Liberal jargon’s got me jumbled.

Kelly:  If you found a $100 what would you do with the money?

Meli: Try to buy some scalpies for the Muse Show this week, and then realize that 100 dollars is only worth 66.8 euro. So then I’d go to the bar.

What I like about bulbs, which I planted on Sunday, is their utter forgetability. I dig a hole, drop them in, leave their spot unmarked, and forget. The cold and short days of winter will pass — some sparkling days swiftly, most days grindingly — and then one day I’ll be walking up to the house, with my head down and hands in my bag searching for keys, and I’ll see them. The cocked, belled heads of the crocii will be first.

We moved into this house in the summer of 1999, not sure what was planted but for the big, gumdrop shaped old shrubs. Much of the planted parts of the yard seemed taken over by leaf mold or invasive ground vines. That first summer, the most we did was cut back the overgrown parts and mow the neglected grass. In late February 2000, though, stomping through the yard with Eli and Lydia who were still small and close to the ground themselves, we spotted  tell-tale little blue heads poking up just inches from patches of cold, bare ground still circled by snow. Planted by someone else before us, they were like a gift from the past to the future. And there we were.

I had a feeling like that recently when I went up into the attic to rummage through my boxes of books and papers I had packed up in June 2006, when my job at Simmons College ended due to budget cuts. (That was a sad, sad time.) I’m currently getting ready to teach a course next semester on expository writing at the Harvard Extension School, and I’m basing it on the first year writing course I taught at Simmons, in which we read and wrote about biographical texts of my choosing. (At MIT, I don’t choose the texts for the WAC courses I’m involved in; the lead professor does.) I opened box after box and found treasure after treasure: books, DVDs, notes, and handouts I had forgotten. If I were in a movie, I would have had to toss those papers into the air to communicate my glee. Instead, I leafed intently through them, my interest in my dearest interests rekindling. I made a pile of keepers on the floor, ones to bring out to the light. While I did not speak aloud to the empty attic, I felt like whooping, “Yippee!”

Sometimes pieces of ourselves get shut up and put away, underground or in attic boxes. The putting away can seem as though an interment: Oh, that part of myself, or my talents? It is dead to me. Never again. And then, months or years later, the boxes get reopened, the green leaves and colorful heads push up from the ground, and we realize that the book, the bulbs, those little packets of life, have only been waiting for us, keeping themselves alive, shut away in darkness.

30 days till the BIRTH of CHRIST,

and 5 days till the beginning of the ADVENT season.

“HO, HO , HO-ly God, We Praise Thy Name!”

Quote of the Day:

 Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

Today’s Meditation:

The Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi (day 8 of 14):

… Be praised, my Lord [Jesus], through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful & cheerful, & powerful and strong. …

Most people are fancinated by fire.  The colors, movement, warmth, dancing in the air in a raw “emotion” that claims that it is in charge and in control.  Fire causes massive damage each year, but also does so much good in the way of heat, cooking, and ascetic beauty at a camp fire or in the home fireplace.

Fire separates the darkness of night.  It decreases the fear of the unknowing by illuminating the world that surrounds us.  Jesus is our light.  When on fire with HIS Holy Spirit, there is nothing to fear in this world.  When He dwells in us, he are warmed by His indescribable love and mercy.

Let His fire burn in me forever.  Amen.  

The full text of “The Canticle of the Sun” can be found at many web sites

including: http://www.poverello-society.org/prayer_canticle.htm.

Pax et Bonum

Dan Halley, SFO

*****

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #24:

To foster communion among members, the council should organize regular and frequent meetings of the community as well as meeting with other Franciscan groups, especially with youth groups. It should adopt appropriate means for growth in Franciscan and ecclesial life and encourage everyone to a life of fraternity. The communion continues with deceased brothers and sisters through prayer for them.

Don’t teach your children what to think; just teach them to think.

Tannenbaum

Met Office: ENSEMBLES projections for Europe. A climate change graphic from a project where I joint led the impacts work

Thank you for all the prayers during my retreat.  I had a great, and very uplifting spiritual time with my brother in Christ; or as one my fellow retreatants said, “My brothers from my other mother!”  twenty-eight men ranging from 18 to 70+ years of age gathering for three plus days celebrating life, Mary, Jesus, the Holy Spirit seems to have recharged my internal fire.  It is a pity more catholics do not take advantage of this beautiful gift – retreats.  If more did, I believe this world would be a more friendly and unified force for Christ.

31 days till CHRISTmas,

and 6 days till the beginning of the ADVENT season.

“HO, HO , HO-ly God, We Praise Thy Name!”

Quote of the Day:

 On the sixth day, God created the platypus. And God said: let’s see the evolutionists try and figure this one out.

Today’s Meditation:

From The Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi (day 7 of 14):

… Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure. …

Water is essential to life.  a human can survive about 2 weeks without food, but only 3 days, at the most, without water.  Also, ALL living creatures, be they plant or animal (even single cell protozoa) must have water to survive.  Water is every basic compound of two elements that are basic in themselves.  Two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen combine to produce the true “nectar of life” for those of us on life.

Water flowing over our foreheads, during the rite of baptism combines two elements of our faith: an outside sign of a sacrament, and an internal sign through a mark on our souls.  The flowing water of baptism is essential for our eternal salvation, by the redemption of Christ. 

When we take a drink of water, be reminded that as water refreshes our physical body, the body and blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist refreshes our eternal souls.  No wonder water tastes so good when parched! 

The full text of “The Canticle of the Sun” can be found at many web sites

including: http://www.poverello-society.org/prayer_canticle.htm.

Pax et Bonum

Dan Halley, SFO

*****

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #23:

Requests for admission to the Secular Franciscan Order must be presented to the local fraternity, whose council decides upon the acceptance of new brothers and sisters.  Admission into the Order is gradually attained through a time of initiation, a period of formation of at least one year, and profession of the rule. The entire community is engaged in the process of growth by its own manner of living.  The age for profession and the distinctive Franciscan sign are regulated by the statutes.

Profession by its nature is a permanent commitment.  Members who find themselves in particular difficulties should discuss their problems with the council in fraternal dialogue.  Withdrawal or permanent dismissal from the Order, if necessary, is an act of the fraternity council according to the norm of the constitutions.

 

New to Business?  There is no need to be afraid of finances, QuickBooks is user friendly.  MJB’s Office Solutions can teach you how install QuickBooks for your business and how to use it.  Every Company file has a chart of accounts that may include the following:  your bank accounts; credit card accounts; asset accounts like land and building; equity accounts for investors; various income accounts such as sales, interest, reimbursements;  and expense accounts for whatever you need to track for your business.

The Item List is your collection of services, product offered, any tracked inventory items, discounts, payments, subtotals, or misc. charges you use to create invoices, receipts, purchase orders etc.

You can set up your regular Customer and Vendor information, create invoices, enter bills, and manage daily transactions easy as a download from your bank.  If you have any questions about QuickBooks, please comment or email me at infomjbs@mjbsoffice.net.

I’m writing this post because so many well-meaning, conscious, spiritual people are missing some significant information and tools when it comes to Law of Attraction and being a conscious cocreator of your life with Spirit.

One of my wonderful Facebook friends recently wrote a post:

“If you examine your history, you cannot help but repeat it! Law of Attraction says it is so:

‘Whatever I am looking at, I am including in my vibration.’ — Abraham”

This sparked a controversy with 19 people weighing in, many fully agreeing and many others, myself included, objecting to this as an oversimplification and stating that, even though it is true that our focus does permeate our vibration and thus create, it is actually NECESSARY to understand and heal our past in order to learn what we need to from it and be able to truly free ourselves from its hold on us and move on into something even better.

We have to put our attention on our intention BUT if we are not aligned strongly and consistently enough with our intention, if we are trying really hard to make it happen but it’s just not working, that’s a sure sign we need to do some inner healing work before we do any more manifesting and attracting and creating. It’s inner, not, outer time, first.

I feel so strongly that so many New Age, metaphysical folks are so hyped up about positive thinking and “just focus on what you want,” they are missing something vital:

For most people, with most long-term issues, simply striving to be positive and focus on their intentions is NOT enough to bring about the desired results. We need to learn from our past, and use that wisdom to create our best future, while living in and enjoying the present.

So here I go on my soap box again.

The Abraham work and all the other good Law of Attraction stuff out there is not intended to be interpreted as “Ladeeda, we can just be positive 100% of the time and only good things will come to us. All that yucky stuff from the past – I’m done with that now and all I have to do is think good thoughts and I will attract all my desires. Abracadabra!”

So allow me to bust that myth and empower you with a much more in-depth and practical approach:

1- Our past is important. Just as our current emotions are indicators of the distance between where we are at and where we want to be, our past is one of our teachers as well. We can – and indeed need to – turn our wounds into wisdom. Some of our life experiences we may label “good” or “positive,” we feel we were successful and these we can apply to continue to utilize and build upon what worked for us, while the so-called “negative” experiences or failures are also useful in several ways.

For one thing, we can clarify more clearly what, exactly we DO want by contrasting it with what we do NOT want anymore. This applies equally well to health and lifestyle choices, work, home, community, as well as relationships.

Secondly, we can learn psychologically and spiritually: What was my lesson in this?

Thirdly,we can discover, with proper reflection, which may include prayer, meditation, journaling, counseling, or even insightful conversations, that there was truly a silver lining, a gift in every experience we have had. Sometimes we don’t see it at the time, it feels horrible, we may even be devastated that that relationship or career didn’t work out, that we had that disability or lost our house, but ultimately, when we see through the eyes of Spirit and Love, we will always find that everything happened for a reason and we can find something to be grateful for, even if it’s just the ability to make a different choice next time.

2- Until we learn our lessons from the past, we are going to UNCONSCIOUSLY repeat them. This is true of humanity when we look at larger societal choices as well as on the personal level. Ignoring our past and zapping it like it didn’t even happen is not the solution. In fact, ignoring our past and stuffing it over there, oh, that’s too messy, I don’t want to deal with that right now, does not free us from it, it actually dooms us to repeat it.

3- The Abraham work says that our DOMINANT thought is the one that runs the show, and I agree with this. The catch is: Our dominant thought is seldom a conscious thought, so we cannot expect to simply push a button and “There, I’m only going to think good thoughts, feel good feelings and make good choices from now on.”

We have to heal all those billions of subconscious beliefs that we are carrying around which arose out – what? Our past experiences and programming, of course.

I do agree that many people spend far too much time simply repeating their “story,” which actually keeps them stuck in it and keeps giving it energy. There is a big difference between looping an old version of a reality we no longer want, whining about it, being a drama king/queen, vs. actually being willing to visit the past (with support if necessary) with the intention of looking in the mirror, releasing what no longer serves, with forgiveness, finding the lesson and gift in it, and moving confidently forward into a better life we are creating for ourselves, from the inside out.

Do we need to look at our past? Absolutely.Do we need to keep telling it over and over? Absolutely not.

4- We need to process stuck emotions. Sometimes we need to move some rage. Shake off some old energy. Sometimes we need to express ourselves to someone, forgive, be forgiven, and it doesn’t matter if they’re alive or dead or whether their human self is willing to hear a word we are saying. We just talk to their Higher Self, soul to soul. We look in the mirror and show them a mirror as well. I have an extensive guided meditation and energy healing journey that I guide people through called the Healing Past Relationships Journey (soon to be available as a CD/MP3 audio) which facilitates this soul-to-soul communication, energy exchange, forgiveness and healing. Or you may be able to do it for yourself, perhaps by writing a letter or through ceremony. We need to visit our past just enough to learn from it and to heal it, not rehash it or keep talking about it for decades.

We also need to forgive ourselves. And forgive God!

The work I do as an energy healer, intuitive, hypnotherapist and life coach focuses on identifying the current condition of your Body, Mind, Heart and Soul and creating a complete, intuitively guided healing program that empowers you to remember who you really are, to love and heal yourself completely, and to clarify your vision and reawaken your passion, power and life purpose — to create the life and love of your dreams. I am a Law of Attraction coach, and people often begin working with me when they realize (see with Real Eyes) that they are working so dang hard on themselves, have been for years, yet something is still stuck. They are willing, finally, to do what it takes to really succeed, so we go places, often in the first session, that completely amazes them.

5- We need to heal core issues and heal on all levels.

For example, some of my recent clients have improved their relationships, found lasting love, launched their heart-centered business, created more harmony in their parenting or other family relationships…..In every case, we needed to do some deep CORE ISSUE healing at the level of the SOUL and the ENERGY FIELD, the kind of healing that is more difficult to do by one’s self when we are emotionally caught up in our “stuff,” scared, frustrated and depleted.

I do sometimes have clients who try to turn the sessions into talk therapy and keep going on and on about their problems. They are stuck in their story. So I ask them, “Do you want to talk about it or do you want to heal it?” If they keep wanting to talk about it, they are not ready for the kind of healing I do. If they want to heal it, I can help them heal themselves but we have to go much deeper than just talking. Deep omnidimensional energy healing at the soul level i.e. soul retrieval, regression, rebirthing, hypnotherapy/NLP, ceremony, forgiveness work, can be extremely helpful, especially if a person is unable to break free of an old belief/energy. We shift the energy & belief at the original cause and core. I channel empowering self-healing techniques they can do on their own to continue the healing and keep building the positive energy.

We don’t ever have to be 100% healed, nor is that even possible so long as we are human. But we need to be healed enough to be free to focus on what we do want, move forward and create from an aligned, clear, positive state of being and love.

6- ALIGN, ATTRACT, ACT.

People so caught up in the Law of Attraction who simply read a few books, go to a few workshops, watch a couple of movies, often fail to understand that trying to get into ACTION mode before you are ALIGNED does not work. Law of Attraction works – once we are aligned with our desires. If some part of our subconscious mind or energy field is still playing the tape of a limiting, negative belief, we are not going to be able to just attract what we want, no matter how many affirmations we say or vision boards we make!

7 – I want to make one more point about the past and this concept of time. We can only live in one time: the present. We need to heal and learn from our past and draw upon its power, we need to envision and align with our best future, and yet we can only live right here, right now. All times exist in this moment of choice: now.

I personally feel we need to spend MOST of our attention right here, where we live. In this body. On this planet. Enjoying this life to the fullest. Mindful. Heartful. Soulful. Bodyful. Beautiful! When we work with the concept of time as fluid and simultaneous and quantum rather than linear, we find that every moment is a portal home.

We can also change our past shamanically, redream it. This helps us create our best future as well. This can be done through shamanic trance healing and/or conscious dreaming.

We each have the power to facilitate miraculous healing and success beyond our wildest imagination. We don’t have to spend years healing the past. We can heal it in an instant, or it may take several months or longer, but if we go deep enough and work at the level of the soul, core beliefs and original causes, the quantum and cosmic fields and on all levels, if we do this work with a vibration of love for ourselves and all beings, we will grow into being who we came here to be.

I love the Abraham work but sometimes a phrase taken by itself does not present the complexities of the spiritual nature of the Universe. True healing and conscious creation of our lives will always involve navigating the territory of our past with loving kindness and forgivness, with an open mind and a willingness to learn and grow so we can create an even better future. And we can do this today.

If you would like more information about Omnidimensional Healing of Core Issues blended with intuitive life coaching, and a free Special Report on Law of Attraction Graduate School – Abundance Affirmations with Ooompf!, please visit my main website at:

www.LoveandSpirit.org.

Thank you, Black Eyed Peas.

Or whoever wrote “Boom Boom Pow.”

You have made it even easier to explain onomatopoeia to my students.

And they probably now officially hate the song because now all they are ever going to think about when they hear “Boom Boom Pow” is…ONOMATOPOEIA.

Grace
“Grace spent the first two years of her life tied to a tow chain in some guy’s backyard. During that time, she had at least one litter of puppies. She was involved in organized dogfights where one of her ears was ripped completely off and the other partly severed. She has numerous scars on her head and front legs. Fortunately, there was a raid, and Grace and the other dogs were taken to a shelter.

I worked for many years with Out of the Pits, a pit-bull-rescue organization. I wanted a rough-looking dog for my work, and her injuries and scars tell a compelling story. I wanted a dog that had been used in fights to help me explain that dogs should be considered individuals. They should not be routinely killed simply because they have come from a dog-fighting situation.

Grace passed her Canine Good Citizen test, and she just recently received her Therapy Dog International certification. She accomplished all this in just one year and one month from the time I got her. Pretty impressive.

Grace is sweet and outgoing. She attracts people wherever we go. Since everyone wants to pet her, she believes that is the reason she exists. She is my official working partner for humane education. I teach children about safe ways to interact with dogs and about how to treat animals. We talk about empathy and compassion, about the responsibility involved when you have a dog or a cat.” — Cyd Cross, animal behaviorist

Another pittie showing the breeds true colors and ability to overcome the horrible crimes humans have committed against them.

Grace congratulations and thank you for being an ambassador for pit bulls everywhere.

More than 4,000 died in 1838 on journey known as Trail of Tears, but some Cherokee remained behind, hidden in mountains of Appalachia… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: fashion for men. The blog is also related to: young fashion.

I was going to tell you all about my birthday presents and show you a movie of me trying out the Nina Ottossen “Dog Brick” but we have been feeling very guilty that we have not done any Tricky T-Day posts for AGES so I thought I’d show you this video first and do a post about my presents on the weekend…

Well, my human, Hsin-Yi, has been trying to teach me to pivot for a few months now, although we don’t train this very often so I am only learning it slowly…

Hsin-Yi would like to turn this into a dance step for our next routine – and she also always admired the Obedience dogs doing their sharp ‘Left-Hand Turns’…a lot of people told her that she could never teach me to do this now that I’m grown up, because I didn’t learn it as a puppy – and of course, you know what happens when people tell Hsin-Yi that she can’t do something…she just can’t resist the challenge of proving them wrong!

First, I had to learn to target something with my front paws and keeping them in that place while I swivel my bum around…then I had to do this with Hsin-Yi standing next to me…and then I had to do this without a target! Once I was pivoting well next to Hsin-Yi without a target, she started making me Heel for short distances and then pivot in a Left-Hand Turn. I’m still not very good at it but I’m getting better all the time!

Pivoting is a great way for us doggies to learn “rear-end awareness”. In my case, I guess it helped that I had already learnt to back up, which already taught me “rear-end awareness” and also my sideways Crab-walk that I do facing Hsin-Yi. But it was still a new thing for me to learn, especially as us big doggies aren’t so agile at moving parts of our bodies around!

Anyway, here is the video of me learning to pivot:

And if anyone is interested, here is the original video we found on YouTube which inspired us to learn (very good, clear instructions!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsvNvK8T1z8

I’ve recently created a new travel website www.worldhelplink.com. It links visitors to great opportunities to volunteer, travel, learn, work, teach, intern, and more abroad. I hope to inspire volunteers all over the world by giving them access to affordable ways to help others. I’d appreciate any type of feedback and would love to hear your own volunteer stories!

Teen Driving

Parents, do you have teens preparing for their theory test or learning to drive for the first time? If you are looking for information and tips on how to best help your teen become road ready, then check out the Teen Driver Guide at RoadReady.ie.

The Teen Driver Guide provides a useful selection tips for parents to assist their teen make the transition into becoming a regular driver. Our guide is designed to help both parents and teens learn the basic Rules of the Road and ensure they have a successful education on the road to becoming a licensed driver.

http://www.roadready.ie/teen-driver-guide.asp

I want to let everyone know that there will be a second voice on the blog; that of the lovely and talented Miss Melissa. She will be sharing some of her thoughts about Spanish culture, politics, literature, philosophy, festivities, travel… marshmellow cream and other deep, deep thoughts. An indepth profile on Miss Melis COMING SOON…

Starting tomorrow, I will be on an ACTS Retreat for the next few days.  I will be unable to post any reflection from the 20th till the 22nd.  Reflections will continue on the 23rd.  Please keep me in your prayers, and I will keep you in my prayers. 

Quote of the Day:

 God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you?

 

Today’s Meditation:

The Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi (day 5 of 14):

… Be praised, my Lord [Jesus], through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful. …

The moon reflects the brightness of the sun.  The moon is there during the dark hours of the night.  To me, it reminds me that Jesus is still there, even at our darkest times.  All we have to do is look up, and the light of His mercy and magnificence will shine on, and through us.

God told Abraham that he will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.  We are a family of many people, nations, and ethnicities.  All christians are my brothers and sister in Christ.  What a family tree!

  The full text of “The Canticle of the Sun” can be found at many web sites including: http://www.webster.edu/~barrettb/canticle.htm.

Pax et Bonum

Dan Halley, SFO

*****

Franciscan Saint of the Day:  Blessed Salome 1201-1268

Salome was a daughter of the royal family of Prince Lescon V, and a sister of Boleslas the Chaste, the virginal spouse of Blessed Kinga (July 23). She was born at Crakow, the capital of Poland, in 1201. At the age of 3, according to the custom of the time, she was betrothed to Prince Colman of Hungary, a brother of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia (Nov 17), and was sent to the court of King Andrew II in order to be raised according to the customs of the country.

The little girl proved to be a child of grace and a model to all with whom she associated. When the day of her marriage arrived, both spouses resolved to preserve their virginity. They preserved their vow intact to the end of their lives.

The pious couple vied with each other in their practices of piety and penance. With the consent of her husband, Salome received the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis at the hands of her confessor, a Franciscan friar. Following her example, many of the ladies at court renounced worldly pomp and vanity, and the palace took on the appearance of a convent. Even when her husband became king of Galicia, and Salome, in addition to the crown that was here by birth, received a royal crown, she remained the simple daughter of St. Francis in the Order of Penance.

King Coleman fell in battle against the Tatars in 1225. Salome then resolved to consecrate herself to God, and used her wealth in supporting the poor and in building churches. In 1240 she entered the convent of the Poor Clares at Zawichost. The convent was later removed to the vicinity of Crakow, to protect it against the inroads of the Tatars, and it was known as St. Mary of the Stairs. Here Salome continued to live for 28 years, highly respected by her fellow sisters because of her virtue. On several occasions she was elected to the office of abbess.

When she was 67 years old, she was seized with an illness one day during holy Mass, and she predicted that her death would follow shortly. Admonishing those about her deathbed to practice charity and harmony, and faithfully observe the rule, she died November 17, 1268, favored and fortified in her last hour with a vision of our Lady and the Child Jesus. A heavenly sign that she was receiving a third crown, the best of them all, was the fact that her sisters in religion, at the moment of her death, saw a brilliant start rise from her lips and mount to heaven.

When her body was exhumed seven months after burial, it was found incorrupt and giving forth a sweet odor. She was then entombed in the Franciscan Church at Crakow beside her husband, King Colman. Many miracles occurred in testimony of her sanctity, whereupon Pope Clement X beatified her.

from: The Franciscan Book of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald Press

 (From http://www.franciscan-sfo.org website)

 

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #18:

Moreover they should respect all creatures, animate and inanimate, which “bear the imprint of the Most High,” and they should strive to move from the temptation of exploiting creation to the Franciscan concept of universal kinship.

 

I go to Practice every week, for the crew I’m on. We practice our craft for the weekend shows. We go to reconnect with each other, to talk and play and share together. We go to teach the newer members, as well as the guests. We go because we are always learning, always finding something new, always have room to improve.

We practice flogging against the wall, against the cross and on each other. We do electric scenes, checking the wands and trying out the toys. We practice our brand of fire play, training on all three stations. We don’t have the space for much suspension practice currently, but once in a while we get that, too.

But, for crew, practice isn’t enough. The skills are there, we learn what to do. But our weekends are full of strangers, with different reactions, different bodies, different needs, wants and desires. For us to “perfect” our craft, we need more than just our Practice night. We need to work with all sorts of different people, under the low lights and loud music. We need to deal with drunk, sober, shy and loud. What we do is very different, and very unique. It takes more than swinging a flogger or firing up a violet wand.

For me, it also takes a desire to serve and to share. I could just attend practices, and have time with them and do what I want to do. I could just be another attendee and sign up on the lists. I volunteer for crew to share the experience. To provide others the opportunity to learn and do what they might not have a chance to do otherwise. It fills a need in me to give back, to contribute to the community. Just going to Practice is no longer enough for me. I want more.