Friday, September 25, 2015

Religion v.Theology v. Spiritual Knowing

Almost got into a Theological debate with my step mom. She told my friend Nina and I not to say the name "Jesus" in vain around her sister who is Mormon and very religious. Then Nina asked, "What do you think God thinks about it?" because Nina does say "Jesus" a lot when she does things like stubbing her toe or knocking something over accidentally. 

My step-mom then said, "Well you're not supposed it, it's against God."

And I said, "Jesus is caring and understanding and will know your true intentions aren't against Him."

An my step-mom said, "No. It's actually a Commandment. Jesus might FORGIVE you afterwards, but it's still a sin."

I then shut up because I didn't want to argue. I just looked at Nina and kind of said, "That's the difference..."

That's the difference between Religious Interpretations and Spiritual Understanding. Jesus doesn't just "forgive" people -He is a couple steps beyond that. He UNDERSTANDS people. He is THERE when they do things -positive or negative -and Understands WHY they do things. It's one of the reasons He's in the position to say "I Forgive You". But Jesus doesn't just FORGIVE blindly. He EXPLAINS compassionately. 

He says, "I know you took my name in vain -I was there when you stubbed your toe. I feel NO hatred or anger towards you, Only understanding. I wish you PEACE and LOVE as I always have. You can ask for my Forgiveness if you want, but you already have my UNDERSTANDING, Acceptance, and Compassion. I only wish you had Peace and no need to cry out in Pain for any reason. 

What About Bugs?

So I gained clarity about plants and the spiritual nature of nature. But then I wondered about bugs. Because I'm cool with butterflies, rolly pollies, earwigs, ladybugs... but I draw a hard line of spiders. 

I adopted a new spider policy after my spiritual experience and said, "I will let you live as long as you pose no harm to me." But it's been a challenge. Especially since my new friend Nina hates bugs and has called on me several times already to kill them since she won't face them. I do pray over them when I do kill them because still not Entirely Certain about the spiritual implications. It's not like you'll "go to Hell" for it -because nobody has to go to Hell who chooses Heaven anyway. But I am concerned about Pain. Does it feel Pain? Am I bringing it Pain? Pain being the Universal Enemy we all must bring Peace to. 

I asked this question to God several times over the course of 4 days. Then something happened...

I went out to the pool (back at my former abode) and went to grab a towel hanging on the table. Then I noticed a really big, tan, creepy spider the size of a quarter. I had nothing to kill it with, and it was potentially lethal, so I picked up the "safe" end of the towel and threw the whole thing in the pool. The towel slowly sank near the pools edge, but the spider started climbing up its own web from under the water. It reached the surface from this web. So I pulled on the towel and dragged it away from the spider so the spider was floating alone on top of the water.

I assumed it would drowned at that point. But then it started doing this weird thing. It began WEAVING A WEB under itself. It could then "stand" on the web as it was being weaved. As the spider did this a "ripple" effect occurred around it in the shape of a perfect sphere echoing out.




I thought, "Clever Girl..." The spider Instinctually knew to weave the web. And this confused me because spiders are NON-water based organisms. WHY would there be any random instinct so beautifully engineered for the spider to call upon in a situation that involved floating on water??? For me it was a sign that: If God wants something to live or something to succeed at life, He will find a way. This little being was meant to live. Through nature. Through genetics. Through Instincts. Through God-given abilities I hadn't even conceived of. 

I'm still not certain about the sentient-point of spiders or insects. But I do know they are Creations. They are hear for a Reason. They should be given respect and they do have some kind of spiritual nature to them which should also be acknowledged and appreciated. 

Colorado Continued...

More to report on from Colorado:

Attempted to get my driver's license updated. No real rush since I don't have a car, but it can take up to a month to process so... Did attempt to go to the DMV. Then I found out the "DMV" system here is vastly different. They basically Split the DMV in 2 and there's one building for Driver's License/Driver's Test and another for Vehicle Registration. The "Colorado Department of Revenue" -aka Driver's License building -said I need 2 bills sent to my new address to affirm I do in fact live here. On the plus side there was NO line to get into the "CDR" and it was only a 5 minute wait. The "Jefferson County Motor Vehicle" department was similar as far as there being no lines. It was attached to the Sheriff's department because ALL vehicles being registered need to be affirmed by the local police enforcement. Interesting. 

Speaking of cars, RED lights are the for a reason people. And just because talking on CellPhones while Driving isn't Illegal here -that doesn't make it right. 5 car wrecks in 3 weeks in a small town. Damns... 

Speaking of cars again... There are about 20+ different License Plates to chose from. In California you have to pay a monthly fee of $60 to have a unique license plate, but here it's a one time fee of $50. And 90% of these license plates are for Non-Profits with the proceeds directly benefiting them. Which one to get... https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/group-special-license-plates 



Recycling. Good news = They have it. Bad news = STILL using plastic bags at grocery stores with no paper ones in sight and they do NOT recycle the plastic bags... it makes NO sense. 

The Colorado Flag is used like a state logo. BRILLIANCE. As a graphic designer and marketing manager, I appreciate the brand awareness this state is going for. California should do the same.


Lastly I would like to mention my new found friend Nina. I have already given her 2 nicknames in my head: Mi Amiga Nina and Nina (with a tilde on the N so it translates into "child" since she's 18 and a lot younger than me). Technically she's Italian-American, but it's close enough. 

Nina was born a Pisces, but is a Cancer. She's had a rough past with a lot of darkness she still carries around and hasn't made peace with. But I feel like here the air is clear and she can really start a new life for herself and find her way. She is definitely a lot more social than I am and hates being alone/staying indoors for too long. On the plus side, I enjoy her dragging me out of my shell and being a great travelling companion to wander this new world with. 

I had deja vu and realized that I actually "foresaw" and was "told" I would meet Nina. I'm supposed to help her with my version of meditation and calling upon positive beings. She has had a negative encounter with an entity before so she fully acknowledges ghosts and is VERY curious about spirituality. Unfortunately she's where I was 10 years ago in my life with the obsession with ghost shows so you don't feel as alone in the world and kind of find yourself in a  dark place because ti was a dark spiritual experience. Basically she has tendencies towards morbidity like Edgar Alan Poe and wants to watch scary movies about serial killer monsters. 

Where I'm at now is a more enlightened place. I realized that focusing on the darkness won't help you get out of it. And there is an even stronger, more abundant force in Positivity you can draw from instead. So ghost shows are no longer my thing and talking about ghost stuff with people in general isn't something I enjoy. I've moved on. 

I also tried to tell her that I have a whole bunch of spiritual stuff figured out since I've been at this 10+ years now, but she kind of wrote me off and acted like she new as much as I did or wasn't really that interested. So I took peace and put her back in God's hands because ultimately it is His life to bring peace to directly -not mine. All I can do is give grace form distance and pray she connect to the divine beings already looking after her. She is open to religion/spiritual beliefs but to young and unfocused to commit to anything or really try to get a handle on things right now. 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Recent Artwork

I could live at Hobby Lobby...


Here's a recent project I worked on while waiting for my stuff to arrive at the new house...










NEVER AGAIN will I work with metallic Sharpie paint pen. The paint spurts EVERYWHERE. It's a nightmare and is an expensive pen to continuously replace throughout the art project. I had to get a paintbrush and paint the Sharpie ink on...

Back in Action... in Colorado

Officially moved out and settled into my new home. It's an easy transition from California to Littleton, Colorado given my upbringing. Out in the country life of Oakdale you learn to appreciate the slower pace and dream of the day when shopping malls and major stores might come to be in the vicinity of where you live. Out in the cityscape of San Jose you learn to appreciate the ability to get jobs of greater worth that can lead to big success -so long as they're the right kind, though entrepreneurship is always appreciated. Here it all comes together. Suburbs, major stores, great job opportunities, and most importantly: NO DROUGHT.


Dried up Reservoir in California...

Versus Colorado
In fact it rains here about once a day from between 5pm to 6pm even in the summer -which is why there is a lake to be found about every 5 minutes in any direction. Colorado is also known for its mining and natural minerals, so GEMSTONE stores are some of the best I've seen and you can "mine" for things. Shopping is the only vice of this area and it's because it's so dang convenient. Major stores are lined up nearby and huge shopping malls are within 20 minutes. Of course Goodwill is my new favorite store -having already done upwards of 6 trips to donate stuff and buy a few things... 




There isn't much difference culturally between this place and San Jose, except that people actually acknowledge you're a human here. My new friend Nina, who just moved with us, went to go to the Apple store because she lost the wall plug for her laptop. They gave her a new one for FREE. Then minutes later at a beauty store, she went to go buy tweezers that were labelled $12. When she went to ring them up at the cash register they totaled $22 instead. Nina informed the cashier that the products were mislabeled. Instead of making her pay the price as was, the cashier called her manager who looked at the labelled price that had marked wrong, and announced it needed to be corrected but that Nina would only have to pay $12 since that is what it had been labelled.  There have been several other instances where employees of a company will "bend the rules" or overlook small things to GAIN customer satisfaction. We went to a deli and our sandwiches took 15 minutes to make. The cashier decided not to charge us for the sandwiches and gave them to us for FREE because they "took to long". 




License plates and traffic are also unique here. Instead of the 7 digits on a license plate, there's only 6 and I've seen at least 20 different license plate designs at this point. There are LOTS of different plates to chose from, where in California the most you see is maybe 3. Traffic is also a rare occurrence. Usually only around 4 to 6pm. And finding large crowds or long lines in stores is just as rare. 




From what I've seen it seems like northern Colorado is where people work and where most of the cities are located. Vail, Colorado is the "Beverly Hills" of Colorado -located in between north and south. And in the south of Colorado is where you go camping and there's a lot of river-rafting activities. 




The main downside to Colorado are the crappy drivers. I've been here 3 weeks now and seen about 3 accidents -one I witnessed live. People run red lights like crazy and generally don't pay as much attention as they should. Part of the reason may be because Texting While Driving is STILL legal here. :(

The scenery is beautiful though. Mountains on all sides. And Boulder, Colorado has an amazing art district with a lot of potential for me as an artist to possibly show and sell my work.




We've seen a lot of sites so far. Went to a dino museum. Checked out Boulder. Went to a Gemstone/Fossil expo in Denver. Also made the epic 2 hour drive to the 2 hour and 30 minute walk up the mountains and then 45 minute down and 2 hour drive back from the Hanging Lake. 







As far as ghost activity goes, still going strong. The two entities I call "Don" and "Montalvo" are still trekking close behind. Metaphysical Entities can't maneuver through the physical plane very easy -kind of like trying to walk through a pool of water with metal chains encasing your body. That's why they "latch onto" people. Anyways, I get along with Montalvo just fine, but Don is a negative entity that has an "aversion" to positivity/light/peace/love that I usually bring into the room from God. 

Last night was interesting. Don actually managed to "speak" overtly. It was weird though because he was clearly right beside me, but his voice seemed distant and like it was on the other side of the room. He was angry when he spoke and it was a short phrase of maybe two words. I paid no attention to his negative attitude, but instead asked him "psychicly" why his voice sounded so distant. "That's why they call it DISEMBODIED", he said. He was kind of annoyed at me for asking. As usual. I guess if you don't have a body and you try to "physically" make a sound with your voice, it doesn't have the same kind of "founding" and sense of place it does when it comes through your body. 

Don also HATES my dog. And I cannot emphasize the word HATES enough there. So sometimes he'll try to "bug" my dog. He can't hurt me or my dog because I'm too closely linked to Michael, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit now. They come in on my behalf and intervene with peace should a negative entity try to harm me. But Don does try to the best of his ability to intimidate the dog. And sometimes she will growl in the middle of the night when his presence is made known -like she did last night. And other times she'll just get up and run out of the room in fear -or cling to me and try to crawl on top of me because she's afraid. 

I draw the line at physical harm. I'll put up with a lot from an entity -especially since I've had to contend with them for years now -but physical pain is the line I draw. Don does try to be overpowering sometimes, but you can feel the Holy Spirit kick in and you KNOW there is nothing that can overcome you and the empowerment given to you by God and your connection with GOD.