The Cosmic Butt Kick

A White Buffalo is Born Outside Flagstaff

The Lakota people have a sacred tradition surrounding the extremely rare appearance of a white buffalo, who is said to be a representation of White Buffalo Calf Woman, a spiritual teacher of their people. White buffaloes are rare, as they appear in only one in ten million calves. As the calves mature, their fur darkens, so they are only white when they are little.

A white buffalo was recently born at the same farm which has also raised three other white buffaloes. This one is named Sunrise Spirit, and her mother is Mandella Peace Pilgrim. Nice names!

You can read all about Sunrise Spirit and the Lakota legend surrounding the re-emergence of the white buffalo. White buffaloes are said to be harbingers of the return of White Buffalo Calf Woman, who told the Lakota some 2000 years ago that she would return at the end of this age to usher in an era of transition, healing, and rejuvenation for the Earth and her people.

And, if nothing else, the white buffalo sure is cute!

WHITE BUFFALO PHOTOS

WHITE BUFFALO LEGEND

Also, you might enjoy reading the post I made some weeks ago which referenced the wise words of a man named Arvol Looking Horse, the current head of the Lakota Nation.

MESSAGE FROM ARVOL LOOKING HORSE (SCROLL DOWN TO BOTTOM)

lipstickmystic@comcast.net

Let Me Get This Straight

***I found this eye-opening list on an alternative news site. I think it says it all! ***

---- Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

--- The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

--- Government should relax regulation of Big Business and Big Money but crack down on individuals who use marijuana to relieve the pain of illness.

--- "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.

--- A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body involving conception, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

--- Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

--- The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

--- Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins unless you someday run for governor of California.

--- If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

--- A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

--- HMOs and insurance companies have the interest of the public at heart.

--- Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

--- Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

--- Autocratic leaders should be both used and abused: Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him; a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

--- A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a genocidal war economy and fascist state is solid defense policy.

--- Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

--- Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

It's All Bogus

This just in from a reader:

I don’t believe in any of this stuff, and I was wondering why people like you even bother to teach astrology or do "spiritual healing" or whatever it is you do since it's all bogus. You must be getting awfully rich off those poor fools who do believe. – Mark S., Dallas, TX

Dear Mark,

We have more in common than you might expect! I don’t “believe” in anything, myself. Whenever you believe in something blindly, you have stopped using your left brain, that discerning, logical part of you that measures reality and helps protect you from making unwise choices.

Direct, ongoing life experience backed up by research, information sharing, and quantifiable production of results is something entirely different. That HAS been my experience. My direct experiences shape whatever "beliefs" I may have, because I've walked through those events myself and compared notes with thousands of others whose experiences corroborate my own.

I've been blessed enough to be a part of many amazing, seemingly "miraculous" events. You could, too, if you tried. The frequency of miracles is available to anyone who would point himself in the direction of hope, love, and an open heart. (And a rigidly closed mind won't let you ride this Cosmic Internet.)

What you are really saying is that you haven’t yet had any direct, personal experience with spirituality, holistic healing, or metaphysics that has convinced you of their value. You’ve got a lot of people to keep you company. The early Christian Church did a good job at stamping out any alternative spiritual practices by killing off all the “infidels” and pagans who had a different view of life. And its effects are still being felt today.

Many people are afraid to use words like “New Age” or “psychic intuition” because they are worried that they will be hurt. Numerous practitioners of psychic counseling, for instance, have been nervous about “coming out of the closet” to their coworkers, bosses, and neighbors. This is because of the violent history of the Christian Church, who tended to kill off anyone who wasn’t an active member of their group, and who instilled superstition and hatred about all contrary belief systems.

The early Christians destroyed the Native Americans, the Aborigines, the midwives of ancient Europe (who were the only ones trained in herbal medicine), and countless African priests and priestesses. All of this bloodshed was accomplished in the name of God. But none of this killing had anything to do with Jesus’ actual message, which was to love thy neighbor and to honor others' sovereign spiritual nature.

And so we live at an interesting point in human history. Christianity is a dominant world religion with many stellar qualities. But its dark side or cultural underbelly is alive and well. Average folks are still ready to burn people at the stake who are different or who challenge their understanding of reality.

Unfortunately, many self-avowed "skeptics" like you are the truly intelligent, sharp-minded people that mystics like myself would love to have at their side. It is through discernment, experimentation, and analysis that the metaphysical worlds can be more fully mapped out for us all - and we need people like you on board to lend your wonderful linear minds to the process!

But too many brilliant minds have been clouded by the insidious brainwashing that is so culturally pervasive here in the West. And most of them have put up impenetrable mental and emotional barriers that purposefully block out any investigation of the dynamic, living energy that circulates through all of creation.

Many great intellects are also self-proclaimed atheists. I find that atheists are just fundamentalists of a different stripe, masquerading as the godless. Vigilantly stating that there can't possibly be any intelligent force shaping creation is in its own way a kind of cult. Rigid belief or, in this case, "anti-belief," also blocks the type of experiences that mystics have on a daily basis.

A true understanding of quantum physics precludes atheism, so if you're curious, study some of Greg Braden's writing, look at the experiments done at Princeton University's Engineering Anomalies lab (some of which I participated in), or read The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot. (His book is an excellent guide to quantum physics for the layperson, tying together mystical perception, healing, and science. Unfortunately, Talbot passed away a few years ago, but his great book remains with us.)

Let me just say that I wish you well, you needn’t “believe” in anything, and thanks for opening up your mind enough to write to me and share your ideas. If more people were interested in discussion instead of blind accusation and superstition, well then, I really would be rich! And as I am getting ready to publish a book on mystical subjects, my hope is that an epidemic of open minds will spread through the land, so that readers will enjoy it.

Let me leave you with my favorite quote of all time, from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Intriguing possibility, huh?

lipstickmystic@comcast.net

Shifts Happen

Have you ever had a moment of synchronicity, where it seemed like a spiritual coincidence was happening - a special message was being delivered to you by the cosmos? Or have you ever had a weird event where time didn't behave as it was supposed to (time slowed down or sped up in a weird way?) If so, you should check out RealityShifters.com.

Cynthia Larson is a healer and writer who has been collecting first person accounts of people experiencing these types of events. I recommend checking them out if you've ever experienced one of those moments of "synchronicity" or simply stepping out of time in a weird, inexplicable way. In reading these stories, you'll find out you're not alone!

I remember having an experience like this myself about two years ago. We were taking a road trip and were stopped at a traffic light next to a bike store. A young man came out wearing brightly colored clothing and got into his car.

As we sat at the light, I turned my head and was chatting with my companion. A few seconds later, I turned around, and THE EXACT SAME SCENE played itself out. The SAME young man, dressed the same way, came out of the store and got into his car.

Not enough time had elapsed between these moments for the man in question to have been able to get back out of the car, return to the store, and then come back out of the store. The passage of time between these moments (of me seeing him come out of the store once, then again) was not more than a few seconds.

This is just one experience I've had where I seem to have seen a "glitch" in the Matrix! It was like my own "action replay." I felt like I had pressed the "rewind" button and watched the same little scene play itself out again. Or maybe I experienced a reality shift or I stepped out of time for a moment. It was certainly bizarre. The energy of the event felt strange, too, a little like an altered state of consciousness. So there was a sensation to it.

What's interesting is that it happened when I wasn't in a particularly enlightened state of mind, doing meditation or anything. I was just hanging out, listening to music on our road trip. I certainly wasn't expecting a cosmic experience!

Here's the link to Cynthia's latest newsletter, and from there you can check out her site.

REALITYSHIFTERS.COM

The Power of Mind Over Matter - Or,
If You Mind, It Matters

With so much distressing stuff surfacing this week over the situation in Iraq, I felt inspired to start a series of essays over at Rumor Mill News about how we need to be careful about how we react to psychic attack. Psychic attack is when we are assaulted, either physically or emotionally, by something distressing. This trauma creates holes in the energy field that, over time, can bring in all manner of gook, causing the gradual onset of depression, mental illness, and physical sickness. Seers and healer types like myself can see this stuff, and it's not pretty.

People don't realize that they need to learn how to modulate their personal energy instead of allowing their buttons to constantly be pushed by the media, by other people's negative emotional outbursts, and by the "mind control" of society in general. If you don't learn how to center yourself, to clear out the gook as it accumulates, and to close up those holes that occur when your energy field gets pierced, you quickly find yourself off balance.

Most of us know what imbalance feels like. It's when you're cranky, tired, not feeling good. It's when, in spite of a gorgeous, sunny day outside, all you can see is darkness. It's when you're so caught up in the energy of feeling misery or fear that you can no longer fully experience joy.

To reclaim joy, to recapture our innocence, and to adjust our energy to deflect the darkness of others when it assaults us - that's key. It means keeping your heart alive, maintaining your capacity to love in the spite of great darkness. It also means learning real metaphysical techniques that can aid in healing.

Many healers in my circle have spent years working on different ways to achieve these goals, and there are a variety of methods, concepts, and techniques that I'm going to start sharing with people. People are in so much pain and anger right now, and they don't realize that it is their very emotional reactions which can be their worst enemy. Engaging in extremes of emotion opens up holes in the energy field, too, which can contribute to sickness and disease coming in through those holes.

The techniques I've synthesized come from a variety of traditions, but as a person I come from the Christian gnostic or Christian mystic background and a shamanic, energy healing background. I don't buy into any of the traditional church teachings about Jesus but invoke his energy for healing, protection, and guidance, as well as angels, spiritual guides, power animals, and Mother Earth. He's a very powerful protector and the one being who constantly re-opens my heart, when it is in danger of shutting down.

This is not to say that other great teachers can't help you to do this, either. I simply haven't made the same level of connection with Buddha, Krisha, and the other great spiritual ones. So I can't and won't judge the merits of their energy, and I leave people to make their own discoveries. There are many wonderful spiritual allies that we can work with when we focus on healing ourselves, but there are a ton of tricksters, too, and regular "house-cleaning" is recommended as you reach a higher level of understanding about which energies are compatible for you.

I thank everyone who has been emailing me with comments, eager to discover more of the methods that I work with, and I look forward to sharing more in the months to come. I'm still putting together my website, where I will also post many things, and will continue to post at Rumor Mill News, too.

Here's the link to the article I posted yesterday:

MY POST AT FORUM

lipstickmystic@comcast.net

Jupiter Has Finally Gone Direct

(*My apologies if you have already read this on Rumor Mill News, where I also posted it. Many readers here don't read there, and I didn't want them to miss this bit of astrological news.*)

If you're an Earth sign like me (Taurus, Virgo, or Capricorn,) you've probably been feeling a sense of things being held up or delayed on a fundamental level since January, especially around work, finances, and business expansion. Jupiter, planet of opportunity and "good luck," was retrograde from Saturday, January 3rd through late Tuesday, May 4th. Now it is in direct motion again, still in the sign of Virgo, and it will stay this way until late September.

All of us, irrespective of sign, had been experiencing a period of heightened introspection while Jupiter was in retrograde. We've pulled within a bit, rethought things, cross-examined our motives, our goals, and our relationships. This period of examination has been a good thing. We may not have all of the answers yet about the best course of action, but as Jupiter continues its direct motion over the next months, changes will start to shake out. These will be self-created, self-directed changes, ones which give you a feeling of empowerment as you make the necessary shifts or alterations that might be required.

So, if you felt the urge to pull back and to have a good "think" about some major part of your life this winter, there was a good reason! Jupiter's retrograde motion was inspiring you to do some deep meditating. A period of contemplation is important before taking any significant action in life, so this is all a wonderful thing.

On a practical level, though, opportunities from "the outside world" have been slower to line up. This especially applies to Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn (or people with their Moon or Rising sign in these signs.) So business marketing or submitting resumes has been a slow process for most of us this winter.

Expect business and money flow to pick up very rapidly as you head into the summer. All of the signs will be feeling a sense of greater flow, stronger mental clarity, and an increased emotional optimism about their future.

Jupiter is seen as the "Greater Benefic" in the astrological tradition, the benevolent king of the planets. When Jupiter is well-aspected in your chart, you'll find that things tend to flow more smoothly. Luck is less elusive. Social contacts flow better, and relationships of all kinds are more harmonious. While Jupiter was in retrograde, the opposite was happening. Now that "he" is in direct motion, expect his good spirits to have a contagious affect. You'll be feeling perkier, too!

Jupiter has been in the sign of Virgo since last August, and it will remain there, as I mentioned above, until late September. Jupiter takes 12 years to journey through the entire 12 signs of the zodiac. When Jupiter is in your sign, it's a rare event, since it only happens once every 12 years. During such years, you'll find that expansion and positive change are the themes. The last time Jupiter spent a year in Virgo, I broke off an engagement, moved to a new state, and began a whole new career path. These changes, while dramatic-sounding, all felt positive and life-affirming as I made them. So Jupiter doesn't create chaotic change. It generates an expansive energy field that makes you want to reach out toward people, situations, and aspirations that will allow you to function at your best.

Taureans, Virgos, and Capricorns will feel the strongest dose of "luck" from Jupiter being in the sign of Virgo. But, again, if you have a Rising sign or Moon configuration in your chart with Earth signs strongly aspected, you'll be riding a positive wave of energy, too.

And all of us will feel inspired to roll up our sleeves and adopt a measured, practical approach to creating real change in our lives while Jupiter remains in the sign of Virgo. Virgo is the "fixer-upper" sign, the perfectionist who likes to see real improvement in every area of life that she touches. With Jupiter in Virgo, all of the signs will be experiencing a sense of wanting to get their act together, of looking at the "Big Picture" of their life and making sure that they are on course with their spiritual and personal destiny.

Enjoy the happy times and clear energy that Jupiter in direct motion will bring.

lipstickmystic@comcast.net

Humor as a Deadly Weapon

Recently I received a distraught email from someone who told me that people read their horoscopes "to find out where they are at the moment. It's great to know that I'm a loser." I believe she had read the weekly horoscope I wrote for the sign of Leo in my cheeky Cosmic Butt Kick column, which runs in various papers and websites throughout North America. Here was my horoscope for Leo that week:

Leo: (July 23-Aug. 22): You’re miffed that Time Magazine didn’t include you in their list of the 100 World’s Most Influential People. What were those editors thinking? You’re kind to animals. Why, you haven’t run over a squirrel in at least a year. And you’re generous to a fault. You donated a whole sawbuck to a cancer charity when they raffled off that Mercedes. The moon has you keeping good company in the midst of failure. Tom Cruise didn’t make Time’s list, either. At least the scenery’s pretty on Losers’ Lane.

Actually, in re-reading this, I didn't state that Leos were losers. I stated that they were experiencing some type of failure at the moment, but that there was some nice company on Losers' Lane. I think that's much more gentle than saying "You're a loser." My meaning was that something didn't work out for Leo, but she should buck up and try to enjoy the company of people around her who may have made similar mistakes. It's not so bad, after all.

I suppose that meaning got lost in there somewhere. Oh well. Some people don't like astrology as stand-up. To me, when you can take something and sharpen it by adding humor, it takes on more sparkle and potency. But some folks don't like comedy in any form, especially when it comes to astrology.

I think it would be different if they read it out loud. They might get the jokes better and see that everything I say, I say with good intentions (albeit with a sassy tongue.) I certainly don't mean to ruin anybody's day. I truly designed this column to heal through humor, to merge real astrology analysis with a light-hearted sensibility. And it's done very well throughout its two year run. At last count it had somewhere around 2 million readers. Not bad for a new feature that is marketed entirely by me, here in my upstairs office with the cat, without the backing of an agent, a syndicate, or anyone.

I don't know about you, but I love laughing at myself. If I've f$%&ed something up, there's nothing better than reaching that point where I REALLY SEE it and can move beyond the pain into a healing chuckle. That's why I try to induce with my column.

People can have this weird dependency on horoscopes. That's exactly why The Cosmic Butt Kick was designed. Sometimes, people need a cosmic butt kick to counter-act all of the sappy and often inaccurate horoscopes that clutter the airwaves.

Not everybody likes the column, nor do they need to. Many of the people who appreciate my more serious writing, which is gentler and more spiritual, really hate the column. It is very different from my other stuff.

However....what do you think you're in for when you start reading a column called The Cosmic Butt Kick?

(Shakes her head in dismay. Do people really not GET the whole humor thing?)

I would think the title of the column would serve as a clear warning that the horoscopes to follow aren't exactly going to coddle you, hold your hand, and tell you what a great and magnificent being you are.

Instead, I try to skew the tendency of so many astrologers to simply tell readers what they want to hear. If someone is being a jerk that week, I lay it right out there. And I create an analogy between you and whatever jerky celebrity or politician is behaving in a similarly idiotic fashion.

In no way do I leave myself out of the equation. Virgos are tremendously talented at being jerks. We just like to deflect attention from ourselves when we're being jerky, rather like someone who makes a smelly fart and then looks innocently around the room saying, "Did you do that?" That's Virgo for you, disassociating themselves from whatever mayhem they've created.

So, I'm sorry to have hurt Ms. Leo's feelings, but she should have seen that the column was not called: "Cosmic Feel-good Therapy" but "Cosmic Butt Kick."

And there is a difference.

lipstickmystic@comcast.net

Please Read This - What is Truth, Anyway?

Forgive my not writing an original entry today. I've been swamped with deadlines on projects. I'll have something new posted later this week.

In the meantime, you might enjoy reading an essay from an eloquent writer where she describes reactions she encountered while helping a grassroots promotion of the next David Icke event. Many people think David Icke's information is crazy or invalid. Most of them haven't bothered to read any of his books or looked at his rock solid research. You can check him out at his website, see link contained in the body of the linked article.

But I was especially interested in this woman's piece because of what it says about how DETERMINED people can be to KEEP THEIR MINDS FIRMLY SHUT, without even bothering to investigate something at all. We seem to have this cultural predisposition to defend our ignorance, often through verbally violent (or physically violent) means. Talk about your mind control! Talk about your brainwashing and conditioning. Doesn't anybody have an independently functioning brain anymore? What happened? Was it the high fructose corn syrup that shut us down?

It's freakin' time that more people open their minds and LET A LITTLE LIGHT IN. Most folks have grown cobwebs between their ears, and they're starting to be infested with brain spiders.

(Just my opinion. I'm in a mood today.)

ESSAY ABOUT TRUTH