I know I have been all over the place with my blogs, trying to find myself, my audience, and how I can better contribute. It’s tricky. It’s a crap-shoot.

I wrote about the Bates method of vision training and got 900 positive comments on my blog at https;//www.travelswithjo.com. Then the comments stopped.

And although those commenters wanted me to wrote more on vision training, it seemed that after writing a second post, I had expended my experience on that subject. I am not a trainer, and would only be copying what other people have written.

And so, I moved on…

Today I felt nostalgic for the Hawaii that I wrote about in my book, The Frog’s Song. This morning I read Caz Makepeace’s blog about “What to see in Hawaii,” and watched her video made at Black Sand’s Beach—my beach. (cazcraig@travelblog.com)

You know how it is with a special movie, or a place that has significance for you—you own it. But I had to share my special place for someone else had found it too.

It was at Black Sands Beach, Punaluu Beach, that I met the lady sifting sand, looking for tiny shells, white against the black-black of that sand. She told me that she and her husband had a game, “The one who found the tiniest shell, could choose the place for dinner.”

She was widowed, and the Big Island is home to her now, although when she first moved there she used to stand in the yard, in the rain and cry.  Now her kids try to get her to move back to the mainland, but she refuses.

That day her kids were visiting as it was her birthday. While they played in the surf, she searched for shells.

We were there to celebrate my grandson’s first birthday.

My little year-old grandson sat in the bathtub-warm pools someone had carved at surf’s edge. He played in the water and smeared that smooth caviar-black sand on his legs, and tasted it once in awhile.

We had celebrated Christmas at Black Sands Beach and loved it so much we came back in February for Baby dear’s birthday. At Christmas we saw the Hawksbill turtles lying on the sand like great warriors dressed in full battle regalia.  Legend has it that the turtles are there to protect the children, and that the movement of their flippers carves out the pools where fresh water percolates through the sand and fills the pools, thus providing drinking water for the people.

In February the lady of the beach taught me about Aloha. It is more than hello or goodbye, or even I love you, she said. “It’s a way of life. It is to give without expecting anything in return.”

Now we are back in Oregon, our old stomping ground, where I’m writing again about healing, and what’s happening around me. 

While looking into esoteric subjects, I attend to our little place where my three hens have been joined by two others—free-range chickens who found our place to be friendly, complete with a little abandoned chicken house that makes a perfect laying place, and where the proprietor feeds  mealworms, laying pellets, and provides water.

The peacock stops by on occasion, and when he left tail feathers, it was a special gift, a spiritual message.

“The peacock is considered the manifestation of the celestial phoenix on earth. Its mesmerizing colors and the “thousand eyes” on its tail promote fame and good luck in feng shui and enhance one’s protection and awareness.

We lost Chickadee, my Margaretta-drinking menopausal pet hen to some critter, and although I was angry and sad at losing her, it has turned out to be better for the other chickens. They began laying more eggs after being relieved of the stress she was causing, and now they have new friends, and all live happily together.

I was feeling sad that my The Frog’s Song book wasn’t selling as the  publisher had hoped, and I know it was up to me to promote it. Yet the thought keeps plaguing me that it is priced too high. I know people spend more than $12.95  on two drinks, and that all is perceived value.

Drinks we want. An iffy book? Well not so much.

I had that same thought last night after I read an excerpt of a novel. To complete it I had to spend $12.95 and that was the Kindle version. Well, I was committed to the characters, so I hit “Buy now.”

I saw my resistance come up. We are so used to discounted books, that paying full price is hard. And I used to plunk down $24.95 for a hardback book for that was the going price.

It’s all perceptions.

That lead me to wondering about traditional publishers. I know it costs a pretty penny to get a book into print, but even at the $12.95 price, the author gets maybe two bucks, sometimes 25 cents. Why not just publish that novel you’ve worked on for 40 years (mine, off and on) on Amazon—enter the great gulf-stream of others who think that’s a good idea, charge maybe $2.95, and keep the two bucks. Same income without the prestige of being published by a reputable publisher.

Vanity publishing? BS. It’s all vanity. Except I don’t look at it that way. If I don’t publish that book the characters will never see the light of day, and that would be a shame. They deserve a shot. In reading through the manuscript, sometimes I wonder who wrote it.

But what about editing? You know me, I need it.

By afternoon, I had signed up to be an affiliate for a cannabis company called My Daily Choice. They sell only CBD, (non-hallucinogenic) you’ll have to go someplace else for TCP. But there I found people of my liking. 

They even have the highly acclaimed motivational speaker, Les Brown, giving a keynote address at their conference next month.

I listened to a video by one of their top sellers who said to share your journey wherever you are.

So many people wait until they have reached the pinnacle of success, then work backward telling us how broke they were, and how much they suffered, but lo and behold, now they make an income in six figures, have a big house, a fancy car, a beautiful spouse and two lovely children.

No, if you’re over-weight and are on the path of becoming slimmer, start sharing your journey where you are. Tell your story. Most of us don’t have it all together, and we wonder how in the heck to do it.

I’m selling cannabis because I believe it can help people. My daughter injured her knee and has been applying a topical cannabis cream. She says, “I do believe it is helping.”  This experience has made a believer out of her.

I see that older folks, tired of medications that make them groggy, and do not seem to up their quality of life, are turning to that weed that has been withheld from us for so long. It’s a long story, but powers that be who were probably using it, feared that the populous would get high.  Yet, it was okay to take pharmaceuticals that were are making them low.

I’m not saying cannabis will perform miracles, I’m saying evidence points that it will help certain conditions. No claims are made about cures, although people have experienced them.

When I watched a video by one of their top sellers telling us about her belief system, I was blown away.

She took my song and dance and upped it.

Jenna Zwagit said she worked her ass off, and here is her offering:

First off, I loved this: “The moment you accept it as real, it is. Place an order (what you want) as though you are ordering on Amazon. Then don’t call the next morning to inquire about why your order hasn’t arrived.

Your blessings are in transit.

See why I loved her?

I will give you her 10 steps.

1.              First of all, rewire your brain. (That’s the work.)

2.              Say “Yes,” to uncomfortable situations.

3.              Get creative. Do things a little different. Spin it. Don’t criticize yourself for wild ideas.

4.              There will be bad days. Don’t quit. You are on a mission, (to help people) don’t let them down.

5.              Spend money. Jenna saw that she was hording it, and that fear is an illusion. So, she spent an entire check on a bag. Money is energy, it needs to flow. 

6.              Stop listening to broke people. Including yourself. Don’t say, “I can’t afford it.” The challenge is to listen only to people who are where you want to be. Follow the leaders.

7.              Have a holistic approach to life. (Physical health, mental and spiritual.)

8.              Lead with your heart and passion. (Jenna realized that she had skills but no heart. Hire people with heart. You can teach them the skills.)

9.              Stop talking about yourself and start thinking of others.

10.          Realize what is illusionary and what is not.

Number ten is tricky. How do we know what is illusionary? Many say that all life is.  All we can do is to go on the journey and put it together.

Read.

Conquer your past—that trauma that has been passed down generation to generation. 

Avoid the big egos. Begin where you are, and avoid the celebrity/little guy game.

Depression comes when a person focuses too much on themselves. Turn your attention outward.

What can I do to make it better?

Keep your heart open.

And then Jenna got me. “Be a vibratory match for what you want.”

Auuugh!

And now follow the signs…

Go ahead, check out the My Daily Choice and avail yourself of free samples. There will be a shipping charge, but that’s all.

Yep. Babyduck, that’s me.

Or lookit here:

To your good health,

Joyce