A Horseman's (Or Woman's) Dream

My friends, Patty and Carole, just reduced the price of their gorgeous horse farm in beautiful Chatsworth, NJ.

The house is REALLY nice and every detail has been considered in the barn and the property. If you or someone you know might be interested, be sure to check out their web site here.

Great Spiritual Opportunity

I really enjoy getting Owen Waters' Articles on Spiritual Metaphysics every Sunday. Today's newsletter was a real gem.

Spiritual Trendsetters by Owen Waters:

"It is time for the world to stop being fearful. Fear breeds fear. Love breeds love. One cancels the other. Which will you choose – love or fear?

If you decide to create more love in your life, the approach is simple. Spiritual awareness enhances the natural flow of the universal consciousness called love. By developing your inner spiritual connection, you attract and transmit more pure, unconditional love and all things will be added to you because of this.

Your relationships will grow deeper and more harmonious. You will appreciate yourself more, simply for being the child of God that you are. You’ll prosper in your professional dealings as you become more creative and, therefore, more competent and more valuable to the people you serve.

It’s simply a choice. To develop love, start by ignoring the fears that face the rest of the world. Don’t let those issues of fear bring you down. That’s what they’re designed to do. If you let them bring you down, they will disempower you.

Instead, focus on what will make a difference within yourself. Your domain – the realm under your control – is within you. You can change that which is within yourself. Other people are outside of your domain, so change that which you can – that which is within yourself. Then, paradoxically, you will also effect positive change in the world because you are part of the global mind consciousness.

Just as there is an atmospheric belt around the world, there is also a mind belt around the world. This mind belt is constantly fed by the thoughts and emotions of every human upon the planet. People are like radio transmitters and receivers, only the energy is mind energy, not radio waves. You constantly receive mind energy from the collective mind belt, process it through your own consciousness and transmit it back into the mind belt.

Mind energy consists of thoughts and feelings. It is a definite energy, even though it is much more subtle than physical energies like light or electricity. Mind energy is conditioned and directed by human will.

You can be affected by the collective mind belt or you can decide for yourself how you will react to life’s events. Choose now whether you will be affected by every twist and turn in the game of life, or whether you will be one of the few who create the game.

Independent thinkers are the trendsetters in the mind belt. The way you think affects every other human upon the planet. The way you feel affects every other human upon the planet.

Because higher frequencies of thought and feeling have much more power than lower frequency ones, the unconditional love that you generate through your spiritual practices has a huge influence upon humanity.

Choose the development of love through regular, dedicated spiritual practices and you will be changing the world. Make spiritual growth your number one priority in life. At the end of the day, it’s the one thing that really counts."

© Owen Waters

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Subscribe to the FREE Infinite Being Newsletter here. It is full of spiritual insights for the New Reality, emailed to you every Sunday.

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See more inspiring articles and books on Spiritual Metaphysics on the Infinite Being Website.

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Denise Bush Photography - 2010 Gallery Is Live!

My sister, Denise Bush, just updated her website to include her 2010 Image Gallery. The group includes 42 of her favorite photos from the past year. It is a high caliber collection of natural images that in me evokes pleasure and strong emotion. Her vision and voice is strong. Excuse me for bragging, but I am very proud of her. See her amazing virtual exhibit by clicking here:

Denise Bush Photography – 2010 Gallery

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Discover the cosmos through A.P.O.D.! "Each day a different photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer." I just love these images. The awesome colors, designs and mystery really gets my creative juices flowing. This photo is one of my favorites from NASA's Hubble Heritage Collection. Yesterday I made a slideshow using iPhoto and some of these images. With music from Pink Floyd, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", my new 27" iMac monitor can now take me away on a "Magical Mystery Tour". See my 2008 Astronomy Favorites From APOD video set to the music of Cusco on YouTube here. Oh, and be sure to watch it in full screen mode and turn up your speakers! Enjoy!!

Cardinals Heat Up The Winter Landscape

There's not many sights as pretty as Cardinals in the snow. Although they number in the millions, there is nothing common about Cardinals. They mate for life and it’s not unusual to spot Mr. and Mrs. Red with their extended family dining at our backyard feeders. They also eat spiders, fruits, berries, insects and wild seeds so they are not seen as often in other seasons when these foods are available. At a bird feeder, Cardinal's favorite food by far, is the black oil sunflower seed. Although they prefer to eat on the ground or low in the bushes, you won’t have to coax them to stop at the nearest hanging feeder with a platform for a quick snack or a leisurely evening meal, in the winter. Cardinals do not migrate, preferring to stay put as long as there is plenty of good food and a water source for them. It's easy to provide a few essential comforts to give them every reason for making their home in your backyard this winter! We have a group of ladies who occasionally stop on the road by our house with binoculars and count the cardinals in our yard. One reported that they counted 11 one day. It's hit or miss. Where there's one, there's usually a few, but they come and go throughout the day. Last time I saw the cardinal watchers stop, there wasn't a speck of red to be found.

Keep the feeders filled during winter with a good quality seed when natural foods are hard to find. Get the best you can afford. The cheap kinds just have a lot of filler that nobody likes.

Provide a source of water. (I purchased an inexpensive bird bath de-icer for $25. which makes the job much easier.)

Did you know that the Cardinal is the state bird for seven states? They are; Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.

Do you have them where you live?

"Happy New Year!"

"The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays and was not always January 1, which is purely arbitrary. Observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years go, the New Year began with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring), a more logical time to begin a new year." ~ wilstar.com

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More quotations on the "The New Year":

"I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me." ~ Anaïs Nin

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Reposted from my January 2007 Spirit Art Letters.

What's Your BMI (Body Mass Index)?

Here's an easy chart from RealAge to calculate your Body Mass Index. Anything over 30% body fat can lead to a host of health issues. All you need to know is your height, weight and waist size. I think it's good to know if weight loss should be considered an issue.

A White (Day After) Christmas

It's the day after Christmas and we're receiving our first big snowstorm of the season here on the East coast. It's a good opportunity to just relax, recharge and and stay warm inside. I've been going through my reading list here on Blogger and perusing some of my friends' holiday posts. Wow, I am so lucky to have found such a productive and creative bunch to follow! It's especially nice to see what others have written and to feel that holiday connection. There are so many words and images to inspire and sooth my spirit here. Meanwhile, the wind whirls big drifts of the white stuff all around the house. I watch the clock, keep an eye on the build up and wonder how much shoveling I'll have to do to get back to the barn for the dinner time and nightly feedings. Looks like I'd better sign off soon while there's still some daylight and go find my knee high winter boots! For those of you experiencing wintery weather, enjoy it. For those of you with warmer weather, appreciate it!

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring." ~ George Santayana

"The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches." ~ e.e. cummings

"A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, but just look what they can do when they stick together!" ~ Author Unknown

"Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while." ~ Kin Hubbard

Holiday Happiness

"HAPPY HOLIDAYS!" IS THE MOST COMMON GREETING OF THE SEASON.

So, what is happiness and how do we get it?

Abraham Lincoln said that people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. It is a simple statement that yields a wealth of truth. Situations constantly change. The way we deal with physical pain, fear, frustration, stress, loneliness and other negative situations, directly determines our state of mind and ultimately our own degree of happiness. Someone once told me; "It's not so much what happens to you, as how you react to what happens to you, that determines your happiness in life".

"We create our own happiness." ~ Walt Disney

"It takes wit, interest and energy to be happy. The pursuit of happiness is a great activity. One must be open and alive. It is the greatest feat man has to accomplish, and spirits must flow." ~ Robert Henri

Reposted from my 1/12/09 Spirit Art Letter.

Easy Mock EggNog

I just made myself an easy holiday drink and thought I would share my recipe with you here today.

1) ripe banana
1-2) scoops vanilla ice cream
1-2) cups milk

Mix in blender

Garnish with nutmeg

I know it sounds crazy, but I think it is amazing how yummy it tastes and how much it resembles EggNog! Give it a try and let me know what you think!


See all my snowman illustrations available for royalty free licensing from iStock here.

First Snow

See more snow quotes at "The Quote Garden".

Remember To Be Kind

The Holiday Season is upon us and one of the important things to remember is to be kind. The gift of kindness can be as simple as a smile or a compliment.  This quote by Robert Brault , has really stuck in mind ever since I read it. He said; "Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true."

"A kind word is like a Spring day."  ~Russian Proverb "Don't be yourself - be someone a little nicer."  ~Mignon McLaughlin Excerpted here from my '09 Spirit Art Letters.

The Basic Ingredients of Time & Love

See my snowman images available from iStock here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This time of year reminds us all that we have so much to be grateful for. Deep and sincere gratitude is something I don't think, feel or voice as often as I should. Giving thanks throughout the day is a wonderful way to live. Please join me this week in a more conscious attitude of gratitude!

Some quotations on Gratitude:

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. " ~ Cicero

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. " ~ Meister Eckhart

"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. " ~ G.K. Chesterton

This text from my November 19th 2007 Spirit Art Letter.

Many Blessings

See more of my seasonal images available for licensing here.

Giving Thanks

See more fall images here.

Action Packed Halloween 2010

From October 24th to October 31st my parents and sister Gaile, visited my other sister, Denise and I and our families here in NJ. Living in "the hell hole" as Gaile calls it, they all really miss the change of seasons and especially the fall foliage. You couldn't have hit it at a better time than last week! The color here was peek. I don't believe New England could be any prettier. The temperatures were mild and for the most part, very pleasant. We all had an action packed week which included pumpkin picking and carving . . .


bonfire, family gatherings with great food, picnic lunches, walks in the woods and always great dinners. And as an 80th / 78th birthday gift from us daughters to our parents, an all expense paid, overnight trip to Cape May New Jersey. The trip included more great meals, front row seats to a hilarious play, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), at the Cape May Stage, (where my dad and mom even got picked to participate in the show), a little bird watching and a great private tour through the Cape May County Museum. The next night, an 80th and 78th birthday PIRATE PARTY was fun for all.


After my parent's departure in their motor home, we sisters spent the last day at Grounds For Sculpture,


followed by a trip to Borgota for dinner and some gambling fun. One last picnic lunch on Sunday and it was over until the next time we meet up again. I've put a little slide show together with some of my point and shoot snapshots if you'd like to see more here.

Horse Treats!

I got a cool email from my Stud Muffin supplier today! They just changed their name to: HorseTreats.com and have a new and expanded website that I was very impressed with. You horse lovers out there ought to check it out! I'm thinking of putting a few items from their site on my holiday list. Here's the link and their fresh new logo.


I'm really into horse treats these days! I've been busy the past few months shooting and adding horse stuff to my iStock portfolio. This is one of my royalty free stock images available for licensing.

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

OMG! I just stopped by and can't believe it's been over two and a half months since I posted anything here. Or anywhere much, for that matter. Except for my daily DrawingEveryday summertime blog, over as of Sept. 1st, and my InspirationEveryday blog, which I conked out on a month ago. What happened? For the last month and a half I literally had dropped off the face of the interenet. I'd seen this happen to others too. One day they were blogging and posting regulars and the next, vanished into the thin air of cyberspace. Well, things got complicated in my life and priorities change. I'll be telling more about my ordeal on my SketchingEveryday blog soon. I still have the very last post of the season to add to my 2010 series. Well, it feels like I might be slowly making my way back, folks. I'll see how I feel about it tomorrow and in the days to come. Wishing you all well, peps. I've missed seeing you online.

I Got "Lens Of The Day" Today! YAY!

"Every day (or nearly that) Squidoo's Community & Charity Organizer, Kimberly Dawn Wells, highlights a lens that stands out from the crowd, a lens that is unique in topic, approach, personality, tools or timing. Or, you know, just a lens that made her day." ~ Lens Of The Day

Today Kimberly wrote in my guestbook; "Congratulations on your LOTD! Thanks for teaching us how to make such great art with such simple directions."

WOW! SketchingEveryday is my top rated lens and this really made my day. My Summer Sketching Series is now in full swing . . . and I am truly thrilled to see that my Six Steps To Sensational Sketches got "Lens of the Day"! Thanks Kimberly!