Moving Forward

 

Taking it one step at a time

As we continue to venture forward through the mire of the illusion that most call reality, I am continually reminded of the need to stay grounded, and let go of anything that doesn't serve to lift me up any longer. It's been going on seven months now since I lost my buddy, and I am finally starting to feel somewhat normal again. Additionally, I am slowly doing my best to remember that sometimes things need to happen in society to help wake humanity up. This "pandemic" situation is one of those events. My hope is that one day in the future we can all look back on this time in the world and laugh at how silly, and ridiculous we were by letting the illusion continue for as long as we did.

 

Staying occupied

As it happens, I finally found a job in the field that I was trained in, and have a degree for. So far, I am enjoying the work, as it helps to occupy my mind, and keep me busy aware from the house, so I don't think about past losses, and how I feel. From time to time though, I still have "one of those days", and I have to allow myself to continue to feel the emotions as they come. If I deny my feelings, they would destroy me from the inside out. So, please remember this if you happen to be dealing with anything in your own life. Denying your emotions the space they need to be expressed could drag one down to the lowest of places in life. Honor yourself, and do what you can to let the emotions flow when they need to. 

More posts to come

I will do my best to start posting on a more regular basis again to keep you posted on what is happening with me. I hope, as I have said in the past, that the topics that I discuss here are worth your time, and bring you some insight, even if it's only a bit, into what life is, and how it can be. Every one of us is different, and as I express myself through these posts, I hope they help in some way to move you forward on your path.

Waves Of Grief Persist

 

It is coming up on six months of me loosing my little buddy, the Christed Buddha, and every time I believe that I am done with the process, the grieving and emotions persist. Today has been one of the hardest days for me to get through in a while. Lets discuss some reasons this may be. 

How long should I be grieving?

I believe I have mentioned in one of my other blogs about how "long" the grieving process "should" be. Most sources agree, like this quote from Scientific Ameircan "Symptoms of acute grief after the loss of a pet can last from one to two months, with symptoms of grief persisting up to a full year (on average)." Notice that I underline "average" as people are different, and because of this, will experience grief in different ways, and for different times. So, even though it has been almost six month for me now, that doesn't mean that my grieving is done. As one continues to go through this process, it will unfold in ways that may be familiar to them, or it may be something all together new. For me personally, it has been a mixed bag of some familiar feelings, as well as some new emotional territory to go through. 

Dealing with loss as an empath

Something else that I wanted to touch on in a blog of it's own is dealing with loss as an empath. However, I believe taking this opportunity to deal with this topic would be advantages. An empath is a person that has feelings, and thus emotions that run extremely deep. Most times much deeper than a "normal" person feels on the inth degree type of level. Empths also feel emotions from people, situations, and animals deeply as well. So, being an empath, and having to deal with loss, and consequently, emotional grieving, you can imagine that it gets rough some times. However, being able to connect to other empaths that can understand what one is going through, and support them in times of distress is extremely helpful. 

What Is An Empath?

The CB helped to balance me out

The longer that I find myself dealing with this loss, and feeling emotions as deeply as I do, it's very challenging some times to continue on. Being an empath, my lil buddy helped me balance my life out, as he was always there to comfort me in times of need, and support me, so to speak, just by physically being in my space. In addition to being an empath, I'm also a combat veteran. So, there is another layer of sensitivity that I have to deal with when going out into the world. When the Christed Buddha was still here, I was able to be in the world daily without to much issue because he would help to balance me out and ground me in this moment. Now, that support is gone..  and I feel like a "nerve" so to speak, out in the chaotic, and loud world. 😔 

Doing my best to honor the process

So, in conclusion, I can say that I am ready to be done with this grieving process. However, I want to honor the memory of my lil buddy, and give him the respect, and love that he deserves in my grieving process. I also want to do my best to be gentle with myself, and allow the process to continue in it's own time frame. I'll continue to blog on this topic as I need to, as often as feels right. 

Until next time, remember to pay attention to your emotions, and give them to space and respect that they deserve. 

D

Mining the moon, and where I am am currently

 

It's been a little bit since I've done a blog, so I wanted to touch base and talk about a fun topic. So, lets see what mining the moon is all about. 

Where I'm At Now

First I want to get you caught up to where I am personally right now. It has been five months now tomorrow since I lost my buddy, the Christed Buddha. It has been a very rough road, but I have done my best to process my loss, and grief, and move forward step by step in the new reality that I have in my life. In addition to being in a new place with my grieving process, I have also come to the conclusion that finding a job right now, in the field that I received my diploma in, while desired, may not manifest right away. At least not until we are on the other side of all of this "propaganda" that the system is pushing about this "virus". That wraps up where I am for the most part personally. Now on to the fun stuff. 

 

Trump Signs Executive Order

Yes, you read the title of this blog correctly, mining the moon. In fact, believe it or not, back in April, president Trump signed and executive order to get the ball rolling on mining the moon. In my mind, when humanity got to the year 2020, I envisioned flying cars, vacations to mars, and inter solar system travel. Yet, here we are still driving fossil fuel vehicles, using coal for energy, and still using cash as a medium of exchange for goods and services. So, "mining the moon" may be a small step in the direction of a more "star trek" type of reality. 

 

Mining The Moon

According to the article, we are going to the moon to mine "water ice and other lunar resources". I never really thought about going to the moon to mine for water, and other lunar resources, but it's an interesting idea. I'm ready to start seeing the enterprise star ship in the news every day, and be informed about it's adventures out in deep space. Maybe I'll see that when I get old. But, who knows. 

Lots Going On

If we look at some of the interesting events that have taken place in the past few years, we have someone that sent their car into space, we have the pentagon declassifying actual UFO footage, among other situations happening. So, things seem to be moving forward, just slowly. Or, slowly for me. 

 

Thanks For Reading

I guess that's all I have right now. As always, feel free to comment below, and subscribe to my blog via the option in the upper right corner. 

Until next time, keep an open mind, and remember, as Mulder always said, "The Truth Is out There".

D

Sick And Tired Of The Puppets Around Me

 

 

I want to come to you today and blog a little on the current situation of the world, and my frustration in dealing with the "puppets" that I see every day. 

 

 

Puppets puppets all around 

As I continue to go out and interact with the world daily, I am continually faced with the irrevocable situation of dealing with the public. All to often they are in a place of fear, and continual caution because of the propaganda they are subjected to on a daily basis from the "main stream media". I find it amazing, and hard to believe, although I suppose I should be used to it by now, to understand why society has embraced the lies, and disinformation they are being fed through the zombie box (Television) that they willingly subject themselves to every day. I find it even more difficult to understand why they continue to do this knowing full well that the truth is right in front of them, but they are unable to see it. 

 

As for wearing a mask

For example, the mask situation. I have shared information on this here before, and feel it's necessary to revisit this as it seems everyone is still under the belief, wrongly so, that masks do anything at all to protect them from this so called "virus" that the main stream media is still pushing. As can be plainly seen from the information given on this web site about the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of wearing a mask, surgical type or otherwise, to try and keep ANY virus out. This is only one of the statements on this site, which is the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. And I quote, 

"Known patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 wore masks and coughed into a Petrie dish. “Both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS–CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface.” 

For those of us who speak english, and not doctor lingo, that statement basically means that the masks that the WHO have been recommending for people to wear since the "pandemic" started don't do anything at all to keep virus particles out.

 

Read the information for yourself here - Mask Facts     

 

It's not as bad as you are being lead to believe 

Also, as more testing has been going on since this has begun, it is now being found out that this "virus" is not as lethal as we have been lead to believe. As can be seen from this infographic from Australia, out of over four million tests done, only 0.4% turned out positive for covid. That's NOT a "pandemic". (NOTE: This is only ONE piece of information from out of the U.S. Please do your own research to learn more about current "confirmed" percentages.)

 

 

 

 

If it is "so bad"....

Finally, I will pose this question for your mind to ponder.. if this was an actual "pandemic", and was as bad as we are being told, why are certain states in the U.S. open, and others, mainly democratic governed, still closed down? 

You have to ask yourself, why are these other states open, and carrying on business as usual if this is as bad as I am being lead to believe? Why is there NO consistency at all with this IF it is as bad as we are being told? If this is as bad as lets say the plague, why are some states being "allowed" to open, and others being kept on lock down? This alone makes no sense at all. 

I will leave you now with all of this information to ponder. 

And, this is the quote I'll leave with you today - "The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty."

- James Madison

 

Until next time D 

P.S. Lets not forget that we already have a "cure" via hydroxychloroquine

Month Number Four Processing Loss

Paw Print Pic courtesy of Paw Print Memorial Stone Mold Pet Grave marker

I know it's been a bit since I posted anything, and I want to say sorry about that. However, I enjoy posting blogs for you, and I want to continue to do this as long as I am able.

Still dealing with loss

As you can see from the pic for this post, I am still dealing with the loss of my buddy. I had a breakthrough the week before last, and I was thinking to myself, "I'm finally done with grieving". As it turns out, that was just a short respite from the daily loss that I was dealing with. I am doing better, but apparently, not quiet finished with the entire grieving process just yet.

Working on something else

I wasn't really planning on doing this particular blog, as I am working on another one that I believe you will all find enlightening, and informative. But, as things have happened, I wanted to post this just to touch base, and to share the video I have posted below for your viewing. It's number two for me in the processing I am going through to remember, and memorialize my lil buddy.

Feel free to comment

As always, feel free to share any thoughts that may come up below, and I appreciate your support. Also, if your going through a loss of your own, whether it be a pet or someone else, do your best to be gentle with yourself, and allow the process to take the time it needs. For me, it's going on four months now, and according to the book I discussed in one of my previous posts, Soul Comfort For Cat Lovers, the grieving process can take as long as a year to complete. However, also remember that everyone is different and unique.

Christed Buddha Remembrance 2

 

Until we meet again,

D

Covid 19 information for your review

I wanted to take a moment today and share factual information with everyone with links, and information that you can research on your own. Here we go...

My stance on covid

As you well know if you are a regular follower of mine, I do NOT buy into the "propaganda" being spread by the main stream media about covid 19, and what is actually happening. In fact, I do what I can to help spread truth, and facts about what is happening, and why. To that end, I will share what I know about what is going on, and hopefully, provide you with enough information to learn the specifics about this obviously politically based situation.

On masks

Lets take a look at the mask situation first. If surgical masks worked as well as the main stream media, and the CDC says they do for keeping viruses out, why would mask manufacturers need to put something on their web site stating the opposite, as you can see from this picture. As I always try to do, I invite you to go to the web site, and read the article for yourself. They specifically point out that because of the size of the virus particles, and how they are to small for a surgical mask, or any type of mask to keep out, masks don't work. 

Mask Facts

 

The Hydroxychloroquine issue

Next, lets talk about the medicine that a lot of people are advocating for, Hydroxychloroquine. As you can see from the picture below, CNN stated themselves that this drug actually helps in the treatment of "covid 19", and has no ill side effects, which is what they were reporting before. Ask yourself this question, if there is already a "cure" that can be used to help curb this so called "pandemic", why is the main stream media insisting that this situation is "dire", and continuing to spout the propaganda to the masses about it's effects on the world? Again, I invite you to visit the site, and read the information for yourself.

hydroxychloroquine study

FL is baking the numbers

Next, we will delve into the errors that the Florida health department admitted to knowing about. As you can see from the twitter account screen capture below, one Amy Kaufeldt of Fox35 in Orlando shared information stating that the numbers had been extremely skewed in Florida to reflect a positive result in ALL of the covid 19 testing. Now, WHY would Florida want more positive cases being shown on the books then negative? Does this have anything at all to do with the political convention scheduled for the state? One can only speculate.

Dr. Kellies stance

Finally, I submit to you this video by one Dr. Kelly Victory, whom explains the details about the corona virus, and it's impacts. I invite you to watch the entire thing, and afterwords, do your own research to verify her information.

Do your homework

With all of this information out there for anyone to research, and obtain facts with, one has to wonder what the main stream media, or the big pharma corporations have to gain by bold face lying to the public about this so called "pandemic". Ask yourself that question.... what exactly does the "powers that want to be" have to gain from keeping everyone stuck at home, and believing the official narrative? I hope I have provided more then enough information for you here to research for yourself, and learn more about the world we currently live in.

Until next time I leave you with this quote: If our nation is ever taken over, it will be taken over from within. - James Madison

D

What Direction Should This Blog Go?

As I have been sharing with you my life experiences and how I feel about the "pandemic", as it's called, that we are going through, I have pondered what direction I want this blog to go in.

Been thinking about a topic for a while

I've had this thought in the back of my head for some time, trying to choose what way I would like this blog to start going. I am enjoying the idea of sharing life experiences with you as I go through different chapters of my life. However, I don't want this blog to get to weighed down with heavy topics, like continuing to discuss loss and grief. At the same time, I want to be open to allowing this blog to develop into what it's meant to be.

I'm at a fork

So, as you can see by the picture for this particular blog post, I am at a fork in the road, and I would love to hear from you, my readers, on what direction ideas you may have. Should I continue to discuss the differing degrees of grief, and how to express those emotions safely, or maybe I can change the blog direction to be more of a "cat care" type of blog that I can share my past, and future, cat care tips and what I have found that works for me. Or, maybe I should take a totally different approach, and discuss something else completely.

Can this blog be useful?

Ideally I would like this blog to develop into one that is useful to it's readers, and has value. It could also be something that my followers can appreciate as a resource of sorts for information that may help, if the reader(s) is looking for some guidance on a specific topic.

Let me know your thoughts

So this is your chance as one of my current followers to help me develop this blog with your input into something that it will become for all the world to enjoy.

Let me know what ideas you have in the comments below.

Thanks,

D

More Then A Pet

I wanted to take some time and reflect on how I'm doing with my loss processing for this blog. So, here we go.

A friend told me

A good friend sent a message recently, and commented on how they enjoyed this blog. Specifically they said they appreciated my openness and honesty with how I discussed my grieving process, and put everything out there. They also said something to the effect that pets are more then "just" pets. This is what I wanted to discuss today.

Pets are our friends, and more

I can attest to the truth of the words that pets are more then just pets. My experience with my buddy, the Christed Buddha taught me how much a part of ones life a "pet" can be. If we take this situation and just look at it from an objective perspective, we can see that these precious friends that we allow into our homes, care for daily, and take up space on our beds, couches, or chairs, end up attaching themselves to our hearts, our consciousness, our very being. They also take up time and space in our daily lives. For example, I had a routine that I used to practice daily of getting up, and giving Buddha his breakfast to get my day off to a start. I also had other responsibilities that ingrained the idea of the Buddha being in my life for some time. These included changing the litter when needed, going to the pet store for food, picking up his medication at the vet, etc. All of these little routines added up to one big impact on my life, in the form of unconditional love, and appreciation from my buddy. I could even go out on a limb and say that we had an ideal arrangement for both of us. I cared for him, and he supported me, in more ways then I can say here.

It's OK to love your pet

I can also say that it's ok to feel a love, dare I say even an affection, for our furry family members. As I have discussed in another blog, in this day and age, it's time for males to feel ok with showing their emotions, and this includes showing the affection for a beloved furry family member. It doesn't matter what it is. Even if it doesn't have fur, that's ok to. These amazing creatures have come into our lives for a specific reason, and to help comfort us in times of need. As a veteran, I can even say that my buddy helped me through quite a few intense times that I experienced being in a civilian focused world. For me, the bottom line is that pets, it seems, teach us humans to have an open heart, and sow us how loving unconditionally can feel.

Not what I thought would happen

If you would have known me when I first rescued the Christed Buddha, you would not have thought that we would have been able to get so intertwined into each others lives, but it happened. I didn't even think to myself at the time that we would get this close. In fact, I had never had a cat for as long as I had the Buddha. I had other cats in the past, but I was never one for staying in one place for to long. So, my "gypsy" life style wasn't conducive to that of keeping and caring for a cat for an extended period of time. However, looking back on the time that we were together, today, I can say that it went by WAY to fast. 😭

Open your heart, your pet is waiting

So, if you have a pet, and you enjoy their company, make it a point to open your heart fully to allowing them be who they are truly meant to be with you. Do your best to not judge them by the limited ideas that society try and program us with. Just accept them for who they are, in this moment, and I can guarantee that your buddy, no matter what they look like, will find ways to touch your heart like you never thought possible.

Again, this is not the direction I thought this blog would go, but I appreciate your support, and would love more comments that help me to continue to develop it.

I will leave you with this quote today. “What greater gift than the love of a cat.”
― Charles Dickens

Until next time,

D

The Current State Of Our Planet

This image is brought to you thanks to Jordan Sather - 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMVTRzCXvIbdK0Y1ZxD-BlA

I wanted to do a blog today on the current state of the world. As you can see by the pic, we will be touching on the topic of covid 19.

What are we being told to believe?

As many of us continue to navigate through the place we are on the planet right now, I'm sure there are more then just a few of you who may feel frustrated, and maybe even down right angry at the way our "leaders" have been handling this so called "pandemic". Since the start of this situation, I have been skeptical at best, of how things have been handled, and I've also been slow to accept the "official narrative" as it seems like there are way to many holes in it when you actually do the research. For example, one of the potential treatments of the "virus" is hydroxychloroquine. You may already be saying to yourself, "Oh cmon Dan, that was "debunked", and the main stream "news" told me that it doesn't work. Hang on a sec... If this was the case, why did CNN post something recently stating that "A study finds that hydroxychloroquine may have boosted survival"? I mean, if it's a cut and dry case of this treatment not working AT ALL, why the need to post another article, after the fact, that defends it's use as a treatment? There are other examples, which I will leave to you to find, but that is one of the main ones in the "news" recently.

Is it as bad as they say?

Also, if this "pandemic" is so bad, why are there not hundreds of thousands of people dying all over the planet. When a government uses the word "pandemic", what do you think of? The black plague, maybe cholera? These are obvious world changing actual pandemic situations. However, the covid 19 situation has been far from anything even close to this. At best, the worst cases have killed just a few hundred people, and seems more like a hard flu then anything else.

Lockdowns don't work

Keeping all this in mind, our so called "leaders" have stuck to their guns when it comes to locking down certain communities, and even entire states. One of which I live in, which is still "locked down". According to a study done by a Stanford professor, locking communities down is one of the worst things that could have been done. He says, "Globally, the lockdown measures have increased the number of people at risk of starvation to 1.1 billion, and they are putting at risk millions of lives." So, as you can see by what this professor is saying, our "leaders" not only ruined the economy, at the time, for a fictitious "pandemic", but they also started the domino effect of starvation of some 1.1 BILLION people across the planet. Let that sink in for a moment. Why would our leaders, the people elected to represent us, and care for our wellness, want to cause something that would cause a billion of us on the planet to starve to death?! This is the part where that critical thinking comes in from a couple blogs back. At any rate, something just doesn't add up with everyone being told to "stay home and stay safe", when it ends up killing those being told to "stay safe". Don't even get me started on the "face covering" propaganda. That situation has so many holes in it, I'll trust you to take the steps on your own to learn more about how insanely ineffective masks of this type are for filtering out germs, and "viruses". To learn mroe about what the professor at Stanford said, follow the link.

Up to 300 Million People May Be Infected by Covid-19, Stanford Guru John Ioannidis Says

Who is making the money right now?

Finally we will touch on the overall financial situation of this "pandemic". Take a moment, and think about who, specifically, would be benefiting from a situation like we are currently in. Take your time, go ahead... think.... think.... ok, now, who did you come up with? Obviously the first group that should have come to you is big pharma. You and I both know that the corporate pharmaceutical companies are only out to do one thing, and it's NOT to keep you healthy. It's to make money! Next, who do we have? Who owns big pharma? Well, actually, you need not look any further than Washington DC. A quote from drugwacth.com states, "Big Pharma contributes heavily to the annual budget of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Big Pharma does this through application fees (user fees) for its new products." Of course, big pharma is also getting a ton of money from all the masks that are being sold. So, as you can see, this "pandemic" goes way deeper than anyone would have imagined, and involves a lot of heavy hitters as far as investers who want to make money off of it goes. You can read more about big pharma, and it's powerful corruption here - Big Pharma and Medical Device Manufacturers

Will humanity ever wake up?!

In the end, HOPEFULLY humanity will wake up to the facts of this situation, and wonder WTF it was thinking giving so much power to the governors of their states that ended up telling them what they can and can not do with their own lives.

I will leave you with this quote, which has been attributed to Thomas Jefferson. "If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."

Until next time,

D

The Grief Process Continues

I wanted to use this blog to discuss some of the stages of grief, of which I am still going through. 

The Process

Having a tiny bit of training in the social work field, I have been made aware of what grieving looks like, what to expect during the grieving process, and how to best comfort someone who is going through this. That said, I never expected to need to fall back on these lessons for myself. Additionally, "knowing" what the process looks like, or is supposed to look like, and being able to accept the process for ones self is definitely two very different sides of the same coin, so to speak. Being where I am now, and taking into consideration the crazy, and unrealistic way of the world right now, at least in the state I live in currently, I would like to be able to take a walk with a friend, and discuss how I am feeling. This is normal for someone going through the grieving process, and it helps to have someone to "lean on" in the difficult situation that going through the process brings on. However, until such time as my state lifts all the fear based limited way it is operating, or I move to another state, I myself am limited as to what resources I can use to move this energy. So far, I have experienced most of the process other than the last stage, acceptance. I have for sure been dealing with on going denial and anger. I might have even went through some depression early on, as I am feeling better, physically, and emotionally now. I believe I might have even experienced some of the bargaining of the process, but I can firmly attest that I am in no way accepting loosing my buddy just yet. I am playing around with the idea from day to day, but being stuck where I am, physically, and not being able to move right away brings on a whole different aspect of the process. Because I cared for my buddy for over ten years, there are many memories that I have of him doing certain things, and ways he would react if I did a specific task, say opening a can of chicken. Just thinking about these tasks, and memories can bring up emotions. So, That's where I am currently with my own process and dealing with it. 

For more information on the stages, read the following article - 

https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/ 

Dealing With The Community

In addition to still having to deal with my own personal grieving, I am also having to deal with the continued asinine "logic" of the politics that is being used to propagate the idea of staying home and staying safe. At least in the state I live in. Luckily, I am able to travel an hour in two different ways and be in states that are fully opened. I use the option of traveling to change my scenery every little while so I can get out of my house, and stop feeling so depressed, and empty. However, being out in the community brings on another level of frustration from the "puppets" I see walking around with face gags on just "following orders" without even questioning anything. So, at times, because of how the world is right now, and how I am still processing all of my emotions, I feel somewhat "volatile" when I go out, and see all the people falling in line believing the propaganda hook, line, and sinker. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation for me, but I do my best to cope and take it one step at a time. 

Another Issue To Take On

To add to everything else that I have already discussed, I have to add trying to find a job, and working on my resume to the list. This has also been a frustrating and somewhat emotional time for me. From "graduating", which we didn't actually do, IE: no ceremonial walk across stage, to being a first gen student in a four year university, to putting myself out there in a totally different field for my new career, it's been a very stress filled time in my life. I'm happy that I did graduate, and to have a diploma to prove it, but again, because of the propaganda that most of society is still buying into, my entire graduation and celebration was wrecked. Now, and forever more, I will be connected to the class of 2020, and I'm sure history will record my class as one of the most difficult to have been a part of because of everything that happened. 

I hold to the hope that some day, one day soon, everything will get back to "normal". However, if I say "I can't wait for everything to get back to normal" out in the community, everyone has been so programmed to believe, and accept where we are now as the "new norm" that inevitably, someone will say "oh, this IS the new normal". Then I get all frustrated again, and feel the need to remove myself from the situation. 

At any rate, I hope that you and yours are doing well, and continue to push against the establishment, and it's propaganda based "official narrative". 

I will leave you with this quote today: Think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you. - Henry David Thoreau 

D

Latest Covid 19 Numbers In NC

As I am emerging from my cave of sorrow, I am slowly getting back to normal, and ready to discuss the current state of the planet.

Is the official story really official?

As we make our way through the state of things, I sit back, and watch how things are unfolding. I myself do not support the "official story", and I'll share some numbers on this later. Two days ago, several states here in the U.S. extended "phase two" of the covid 19 approach to get back to normal operations. For N.C., that was supposed to mean that citizens were to wear masks whenever they go into any business away from their home. Being in a very rural and country area, I do not see these "orders" holding for to long, if at all. If there is one thing I have learned about living in the mountains, it's that no one, and no office can tell country mountain folk what they can and can not do. That's just the facts of the situation.

Numbers on covid

Now, about the numbers on where we are in the state of NC which seem to speak volumes about the "facts" that we are being told to believe by the main stream media. The following graph is from a study done at UNC, and it shows that the numbers of all "confirmed" cases of covid 19 have been dropping, and are continuing to do so. That said, remember that all "research" can be biased, may not be 100% accurate because of faulty numbers, and also may be skewed because the corporations paying for the research may want it to say a certain thing. So, keeping all of that in mind, here is where we are currently with the covid 19 cases.

  You can read more about this study here - UNC economist Zelder sees ‘remarkably encouraging’ coronavirus news

Note: as always, do your own research to learn more about this information. Critically thinking is a must if you want to get to the bottom of an issue.

You have GOT to think for yourself

Speaking of critically thinking, as you've noticed by now the pic at the top of this post, I am an avid advocate of thinking for ones self. Sadly, in today's society, all to often people choose not to think on their own, or they have been programmed, by the main stream media, so well that they do not know how to critically think. If you want to get to the bottom of a situation, and understand it well enough to quote information about it to your friends or followers, you have got to utilize critical thinking. Just taking the word of the "main stream media" is contingent to following the heard, so to speak, right off of the cliff they are being told to walk off of. IE: there is a heard mentality aspect that comes into play if you do not practice, and continue using your critical thinking skills.

Time to research

So, wrapping this blog up today, I invite you to dig into the net, and research all you can, doing your best to remain unbiased when doing your research. The last thing that the so called "leaders" of the "free world" want is an educated, and intelligent populace. For, those who can think for themselves no longer need leadership, in the form of what we have in the U.S. anyway.

I will leave you with this quote today - “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”
― Albert Einstein

Male Masculinity And Other Social Norms Society Has Outgrown

Today I want to discuss with you some of the social norms that I have been bumping up against during my healing process, and how they seem to be outdated.

First I would like to cover my own experiences, as a male in a society that still seems to have very explicit "expectations" of what I should or shouldn't do because of how I was biologically born.

Reintroduced to emotions

As I have ventured through this amazingly difficult, and challenging time of my life, I have been reintroduced, to a degree, to emotions, and what they may look like when manifesting in the physical. Specifically, I have been dealing with a lot of sadness, and anger. Both of which are normal for someone going through a loss. As I started this journey, when I started to cry, if it was out in public somewhere, I tended to hold the tears back, and not show any emotion because that would seem "weak" in the eyes of anyone who may notice me, being a male in the U.S. social construct. As I continued to feel sad, and angry, because of how I was programmed by society, I tried to not show any emotions when I was out and about in my local community. Because, you know as well as I do, "men don't cry", and men are the "stronger gender", etc etc. I could share other cliche statements, but I hope you get what I am trying to say. As a male in the society of the U.S., especially so for me being a former military person, I am expected to "be strong" and just carry on with life as nothing had happened. However, it's the 21st century now, and things need to change in this aspect. They need to change for men as well as women in the U.S.

It's time for social norms to change

I feel as though there is more of an allowance for males to express their emotions freely in public, or in general, then there used to be ten or twenty years ago. However, I also believe we still have a long way to go before society, generally speaking, is open and welcoming of men expressing themselves naturally. At the same time, we see more women taking on traditionally "male roles" in society, which is great. You'll notice that I have a picture of Rosie The Riveter at the top of this blog because she was one of the earliest examples of pushing the boundaries of social norms to wake the world up to the facts that women were able to do just as much as men could do, and sometimes more. Again, because of the times that we are in, I find it surprising at the very least, that we still have some outdated beliefs that most people in society hang on to. Isn't it time that we woke up to the fact that we are all human beings, and able to do anything we want to do, individually?

Being encouraged to show emotions

I went to a support group recently for people who had suffered a loss of a pet, and the coordinator of the group encouraged me to show my emotions, and to do so when I felt it necessary. To hear someone telling me that "it was ok" to show my sadness, and to let my emotions flow freely, was very empowering to me. You have to understand that coming from a background that I have, those words spoke volumes to me, and gave me "permission" to be who I truly am. An emotional being.

It's ok to be who you really are

So, if you happen to start feeling a certain way, and feel the need to express yourself, in a safe and positive way, do so. As this will allow you to be more of who and what you are truly meant to be, remembering that every single human being on the planet has both masculine, and feminine traits within them. Learn to love who and what you are in all of the amazing, flawed, perfect, humanness that your meant to be.

UNT,

D

Finding The Support To Heal

Today I want to talk about support, in healing, in life, and in general.

Resources Of Support

As I continue my journey through the healing process of loss, I am finding resources that I am able to use to help me along the way. Some of these resources come in the form of support from friends, through them listening, offering understanding, and being able to relate to what I am going though, as well as just being there physically, and psychologically for me to lean on. Some come in the form of support groups, which I am able to utilize and get feedback from the group members about how to potentially see things from a different view point. Still yet other ways of support come from books written specifically to help those in the grieving process after loosing a pet. One such book is Soul Comfort for Cat Lovers

which I have yet to get, but full intend to obtain a copy as soon as possible.

Many Types Of Support

Finding the type of support that works for you can be a challenge. Especially so if your not the type of person who actively seeks out help when you go through something. Lets face facts though, sooner or later, the support of a group, or a friend is going to come into play. So, in my humble opinion, it's best to start gathering resources well ahead of time so everything will be in place once the time comes.

Find Out What Works For You

Support also comes in all different shapes and sizes, so to speak. Try to be open minded about how your specific support resource may look. Try not to be "married" to the idea that if your going through a loss, that you "need to find a loss counselor". There are many different ways of supporting ones self through self healing methods, like journaling, or finding a local group that you can attend which may be facilitated by a licensed psychologist. However, be open to different and unique ways of supporting yourself. For example, if running out to a store and buying paints, and markers to create something helps you to move that energy of grieving, then do it. Whatever works for YOU is what you should focus on. Remembering that everyone is different which means different ways of healing may fall into place as well.

Don't Rush The Process

Finally, remember to not be in a rush to get the healing process over. Again, everyone is different, which means what may take me four to six months to heal from, may only take someone else six weeks. Alternately, it may take someone else two years to heal fully from a loss. Regardless, do your best to be gentle with yourself, and allow the process to go where it needs to, in it's own time.

Thank you for your support, and feel free to share this blog with your friends and family.

D 

The Grieving Process Of Loss Continues

Not What I Planned

The process of working through my loss is still under way. I did not plan this blog to be so focused on what I am going through personally right now, however, it's possible that what I am posting for all to read may one day help someone, somewhere that knows exactly how I feel, and will read my words, and appreciate that I have shared them. To that end, I will continue to share as I am able.

Physical Effects Of Grief

As I am continuing this process, I have noticed other physical experiences manifest to a degree. So, I did a web search and learned that when one has a traumatic loss in their lives of a beloved family member, or anyone whom they loved whole heartedly, they will most times experience more than just the emotions of grief, sadness, anger, and loss. They may also experience some physical things that manifest into their lives because of the loss itself. The loss of appetite, thus not eating, sleeping more then normal, not being as active, etc. I have experienced some of this myself, and I wasn't sure if it was something that was happening with my body, or if it was something I was experiencing because of the loss I am dealing with. I do what I can to be gentle with myself, but even now, almost two full months after I lost my buddy, I am still struggling to find any positive outlook on life daily. This is normal, as per the training that I had in my social work classes, but I did not expect my loss to hit me so hard, or last this long.

To learn more about other potential symptoms one might go through when grieving a loss, you can check this web site and read the article.

How to Cope With the Physical Effects of Grief

Empty Feeling Still Around

Something that seems to be a constant companion of mine on this journey is the empty feeling I have, which could be attributed to my buddy no longer being here physically, but the empty feeling goes beyond the physical. Every day I wake up, and most days I go over in my mind, if I should even get out of bed. When my buddy was still here, I had to get up and feed him his breakfast, which would get my day of to a start. There was a structure to my life that I enjoyed, that is no longer there. Me and the Christed Buddha had a beneficial arrangement that worked very well for the both of us. I cared for him, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and he cared for me, in many of the same ways. There is a belief that states that our beloved pets remain after they have crossed over. Their energy, if you will, remains to help us humans to cope with their loss. I have not experienced this myself, which could be why I feel so empty, and directionless most days. The feeling of being numb to the world fits me very well where I am on my path right now.

The Process Will End

Eventually I know things will improve, but I'm not sure exactly when that will be. Again, I'm doing my best not to rush the process, as every individual experiences this differently. But, right now, in this moment, I am ready to not feel so sad, and empty, and not having a direction. I want to feel happy, and be able to appreciate the beauty of the world once again... some day soon.

Until next blog, thank you for your visiting with me, and your comments.

D

P.S. Here is another article written for those whom have lost their pets.

Bereavement: Grief After The Loss of A Pet

How I Feel Right Now

If you ever listened to my show on WWCUFM broadcast, you'll know that I liked to throw some Five Finger Death Punch in the mix from time to time. I just saw this recent video they did, and it pretty much speaks to how I feel right now.

Click this link for updated version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve3fcInpKj0

Listen to the words. Nuff Said.

Till next time,

D

The Moon

I thought I would change pace a little with this blog and talk about something fun and different. So, I have chosen to discuss the moon today, because I enjoy photographing it, this is my own personal pic above, and my buddy recently posted something about the stars on his blog. You can check him out, and subscribe here -- https://myramblings70.blogspot.com/

What Is The Moon?

Now, lets talk about the Moon. What IS the moon? How did the moon get there? Why do we only see one side of it? All good questions to ask. What the moon is, other then the obvious answer of being a satellite of the earth, has been the subject of conversations for many decades. Generally speaking, it seems to be basically a big chunk of what was left of the "big bang" when our galaxy was formed. Moon rocks were brought back from at least one of the Apollo missions. I'm not privy to what exactly NASA, and whoever funds them, found out when they studied the rocks. Suffice it to say, as of this writing, that humanity has not been made aware of what our scientists have found out about the moon rocks, and what their make up is. 

How Did It Get There?

How did the moon get to be in it's current orbit? From what I understand, once all of the material that makes the moon up cooled, it settled into an orbit around the earth. However, for reasons I'm not completely sure about, the moon does not rotate like the earth, thus, we earthlings only see one side of the moon, unless your an astronaut of some kind, and travel out past the moon to see the other side.

My Take On The Moon

I have always been drawn to the moon, which is why I enjoy taking photos of it when I can. I find it unique, and interesting because of all of the anomalies that it exhibits. For example, if the moon formed about the same time as the earth did, with the same kind of materials, why doesn't it rotate, or have an atmosphere? Also, why have we not been back to the moon since our early exploration missions? Did our government discover something up there that they don't want us knowing about? Are there beings of some kind that have occupied the moon, and told us not to come back? I'm just thinking out loud here, as it were.

At any rate, I will probably always enjoy looking at the moon, and studying it for as long as I'm on this blue ball. Feel free to comment below, and share your own information or questions about our one and only natural satellite.

Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don't miss any new posts. Top right of this page, and thanks for reading my blog.

D

Dark Night Of The Soul

Dark Night Of The Soul

Today I will take you down the path that I have been on for the past month and some change. The path to the dark night of the soul is one of loss, and grief. As you well know, I have recently lost a very close soul to me in my beloved pet of more then 10 years. When I was first made aware of the situation in which he was in, I was immediately thrown into the decision making responsibility, which put his life into my hands. This process automatically started a chain reaction in my life, which lead me to embarking on the journey into the dark night of the soul. This path is rife with sadness, anger, grief, rage, disappointment, denial, and disbelief. As I worked my way through these emotions, I started out with sadness, and disbelief. In fact, I am still dealing with these right now. The impact they have on my life isn't as pronounced, but they are still my daily companions. Next for me in the process came anger, with some rage sprinkled in there. I am still also dealing with this one, and it comes on all of a sudden, and I have to honor the grieving process, so I do my best to allow this to happen as naturally as possible. However, sometimes this tears me down, in that moment. For me, the next stop was disbelief, and disappointment. These came to me as a pair, and I had to deal with the fact that my buddy, the Buddha, was gone, permanently. That still hurts for me to see, but I know that it's a fact now. So, that's how my journey has been so far. Keep in mind that not everyone will have the same journey. Your departure onto the path of the dark night of your soul may look a lot different then mine. However, some common themes to keep in mind will be sadness, deep sorrow, and the disbelief of what is happening. Something else that I forgot to mention is the empty feeling that I have felt almost since day one post Buddha. The feeling of emptiness in myself, and my house. Actually, my entire life feels empty now because of the loss I have suffered.

What Do I Do Now?

At this point in the process, if you have ever been through a loss, or go through one in the future, you will be wondering, ok, now what? Rightly so. To be honest, there is no "easy way" to get to the end of this type of a process. Loss and grief needs time to be processed, and you need time to heal. Both physically, and psychologically. There is no "right way" or "wrong way" to go through this type of experience. It just kind of happens the way it's supposed to. For me, I journaled A LOT, in the first few weeks of my loss. Along with this journaling was a huge amount of shedding tears. I can't remember the last time that I cried so much, or for so long. Keep in mind that if you are going through a loss like this, that you need to allow yourself to experience the process as much as possible. It's not going to be easy, and yes it will hurt deep inside. But going through the process, and getting onto the path that leads to the dark night of the soul is the only way to the end point of the healing process. So, what you do now is what comes natural to you, as in individual. Whatever works, FOR YOU.

When Will This Pain Go Away? 

This is one of the hardest parts to go through when someone is experiencing loss, and going through the path of recovery. The pain one feels comes from deep inside. It almost feels like it's coming from somewhere so deep within that it's difficult to imagine ever being able to feel "normal" again. This part is highly dependent on how much "work" the individual is willing to do with themselves, and how often they are able to dive deep into the emotions that this part involves. Again, this is unique to each individual, and will differ for every person. Thus, what may take me six months to go through in my healing process may take someone else only two months. But keep in mind that you must work through the pain in order for it to dissipate.

All Better In The End

Finally, at the end of this process, which I am not at yet, there is the obvious change that one will experience when they get up in the morning. For the first time in a long time, they may feel happy. Or they may actually WANT to do something. They may feel drawn to go see a friend they have not talked to in months. This part is one of the best parts of the dark night of the soul journey. So, if you happen to be going through this process right now, understand that there are others out there that know what you are experiencing. Understanding that they will have a different path then you, but there will be an understanding that they can have that even some of your closest family members may not have to offer you.

Feel free to comment below and subscribe to my blog.

Until next entry,

D