What a whirlwind year 2007 has been for me.  I apologize for my lack of presense here on MySpace, I have not been regularly logging in or reading blogs.

This has been a year of tremendous blessings for me, but also tremendous change.  I moved *****4***** times in one year and lived in 3 different states with 3 different positions and companies.  No wonder I am still whirling from the year!

The universe has looked out for me in a tremendous way.  The year started with a new job offer from a job in Florida.  I was living in San Diego and my job there had been plaqued by constant rumours of the company closing down.  I submitted my resignation in late December and Thursday, January 4th was my last day at work.  That following Tuesday, January 9th, they closed down that office and I would have been jobless!  The new opportunity came up just at the EXACT perfect time.

I drove from Cali to Atlanta with my dear friend Bonnie and my dog and cat.  5 days in the car!  Good thing we all like each other!  Arrived in ATL, and started a 3 month extremely demanding training class that went from 7am to 7pm every day.

In late March, when training was over, I moved to West Palm Beach, FL and got all of my things out of storgage.  I had accepted a position in the mortgage industry and there was doom and gloom every where.  I was trying to ignore the constant doom and gloom and concentrate on doing a good job.

In the middle of all of this, an old boss gave me a call.  She had a fantastic opportunity for me, was I interested?  I was very interested given the current state of the mortgage industry and this was a major Fortune 100 telecommunications company that I had previously worked for for 15 years.

We started the process of the job application and in early August, I once again submitted my resignation on a Thursday.  That following Tuesday, the mortgage company, HomeBanc, closed their doors.  All of their thousands of employees were out of a job with absolutely no notice.

Once again, I had been saved by a matter of days.  I was humbled and filled with gratitude by how well I am taken care of.  Both of those jobs offers had come to me.  I was not even looking when I received phone calls and had tremendous opportunites presented to me.  God is indeed good.

In early September, I moved to ATL and moved in with a friend puting the majority of my things in storage.  My friend has a 2 year old, and we decided to try and live together on a trail basis to see if our lifestyles would mesh.  It did not go to well, so in mid October, I moved into my own place with my kids (animals) and it has been a whirlwind of unpacking and holidays and getting up to speed on a higly complex (but very fun) job.

So there you have it!  My year in review.  I am not really sure why it was necessary for my growth to be in this constant state of flux, but I am sure there is a good reason for it, even if it is just to remind me how flexible and fluid I can be.

The constant change has been hard on my heart and my bank account, however.  Each move was several thousand dollars in expenses and I sometimes feel isolated and like I do not really belong anywhere.  But hopefully after being in the same place for a few months, I can go back to feeling grounded and engulfed in a beautiful community of like minded souls. 

To all my precious MySpace friends, I wish a new year of peace, happiness and tremendous blessings.  May 2008 be YOUR YEAR of miracles.

Love and Blessings to all!

From my friend:  myspace.com/stephenhofflander

He lives in Mexico and has given me permission to repost his blog:

Mayan Shaman and 2012

Something big is about to happen, a planetary shift, and it is coming soon, very soon. You may want to take a moment and read on, because the changes are going to happen right here, on planet earth, and this is the only planet we have…

Some of you have probably heard about the Mayan calendar and 2012 being the end of the world, or the end of time, or some other apocalyptic event in the not too distant future. This has caused a lot of fear, (because of ignorance), and seems to have become the buzz word du jour for all things "new age" about 2012. From predictions by Nostradamus, (the 16th century mystical writer of future events,) Terrence McKenna, (the stoned monkey theory of evolution and human consciousness), Jose Arguelles, (with his Dreamspell network), The Apocalypse or the End of Days, (from the Bible), the Celestine Prophesy (and the "nine "insights" which were said to be inspired by the Mayans.) In fact the list of sources to this 2012 event are probably limitless.

As I sit at my desk writing to you, it is near the moment the moon, (your emotional state), is moving into Pisces,(Tuesday evening , August 28, 2007) and preparing us for the Full Moon Eclipse early the following morning. It is also no coincidence that I am writing to you from a little island in the Caribbean off the Yucatan Coast of Mexico named Cozumel.

The Mayan civilization may have had its origin in this region as early as he 6th century BC. During the classical period of Mayan culture, (the early part of the first millennium AD to approximately 1,500 AD), the Mayan culture flourished in this region we know today as the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, Northern Guatemala and Belize. This particular island, Cozumel, was associated with the Mayan Goddess named Ixtel. Ixtel was the Goddess of fertility. Mayans, (mostly woman) from all over what we label today as Central America, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico, would make pilgrimages to this island in reverence and devotion, offering their sacrifices to the Goddess Ixtel.

Many had to make long and difficult journeys across thousands of miles on foot, to reach here and then cross over to this island in wooden boats. Ixtel was believed to be able to bless these woman, who were seeking a child and those woman who were with child, who made offerings of devotion and sacrifice to her. Ixtel was a very powerful and mysterious Goddess in Mayan culture, and there are many books you can read about her if you are interested.

There is a an ancient Mayan archaeological site here on Cozumel, named San Gervasio, that was discovered/rediscovered by a group of Harvard scientists in the early 70' deep in the jungle. Many of the remains of these structures are still intact, after 2,000 years, including the very alter where these pilgrims would stop and make sacrifice to Ixtel before they would enter the main temple structures. The following is a recent picture of me standing on the very site where these offerings were made.
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Now, what does all this have to do with the big changes that are coming to the earth? A lot, in fact. Hang on and keep reading to find out…

The Mayans were meticulous astronomers and mathematicians and studied the heavens to such a degree that the temples they built at all their sites, including major sites like Chichen Itza, (which was recently added by UNESCO as one of the seven wonders of the world), were aligned in a manner that during certain heavenly events, like the solstices, the sun would literally shine on particular parts of the structure. In Chichen Itza, during a solstice the light actually passes from the top of the stairs on a key structure, all the way down the steps to the bottom as the sun makes its journey through the sky. Some scholars have speculated that the Mayan calendar was so precise that is was accurate to within a second of a year.

But the Mayans measured time and the calendar system in a way that is totally alien to us. The used a calendar system that marked time in13 moon and 28 day cycles, not the crazy Gregorian calendar we use of 30/31 and sometimes 28 days.

Now I am not an expert on the Mayan calendar by any means, but I have a met a friend and teacher recently, (and you know who you are!), who has been opening me up to the more subtle aspects of the Mayan calendar system and it is quite fascinating. You can learn more about this at sites like: http://mayantimes.com/index.html, and: http://13moon.com/.

Now we come to the journey of my personal experience with a Mayan Shaman. In fact, in the ancient Mayan tongue there is really no word for a "Shaman" as we would think in Western culture. The Spanish in this region now would call such a person a dignitário which means a "respected elder, or someone who holds a position of authority". But this interpretation does not do justice to what a Mayan Shaman really is, because they are, in fact, the "holders of the sacred truths" that have been passed down by oral tradition for centuries.

So through a serendipitous meeting with a Mayan here, I was introduced to a Mayan Shaman. Just to find this man was an adventure. These people live not only completely outside the physical reality of the 21st century, (they live, deep, deep in the jungle with no markers of guidepost to find your way), they live completely outside all concepts of 21st century reality. They do not understand the concept of "money" as in money for services. They consider the work they do as a service unto itself. They also do not speak any language but Mayan and they are therefore quite skeptical of anyone who speaks Spanish and especially an American who speaks English!

But somehow this encounter was meant to be. At times, I feel as though I am experiencing the protagonist character in Carlos Castaneda's books of self discovery with the Yaqui Indian buro, (sorcerer) Don Juan.

It is always the same. I meet this Mayan Shaman in the most serendipitous manner while riding my bicycle or walking down some side street, and there he appears. Then we walk together in silence to my Mayan friend who acts as an interpreter because he speaks Mayan, Spanish and English. Then we all venture off into the jungle, where this man feels most comfortable.

Then we just sit for a long, lone time without speaking. It is not the kind of focused "meditation" or "sitting" one might engage in as a practicing Hindu or a Buddhist, we just sit with this Mayan Shaman looking at the ground. Sometimes he will pick up a stick and make crude drawings on the jungle floor, but I really have no idea what this means.

Then after what seems like an eternity he will speak something to my interpreter with just a few words in Mayan.

But these words have had a powerful impact on me and caused be "think" about the very act of "thinking" that my mind does.

Even though this is coming from the ancient Mayan tongue through Spanish and then to English, one time he simply said that 2012 does not mean the end of time, because there is no such thing as "time." This had such a profound impact on me that I couldn't stop thinking about this for weeks. I began to realize that "time" is a concept that our "minds" have made up, to distinguish between the past and the future. Therefore the "concept" of time is not real because it takes us out of the "present moment", which is the only thing that is "real" – where there is "no time". This is such a profound truth that our minds will actually try and fight this because it is so threatening to the survival of our egos. But the truth is the truth, regardless of the minds insistence on "time", both past and future.

On a more recent journey in the jungle I asked my interpreter what the Mayan Shaman thought about the meaning of 2012 and the "end of time" of the Mayan calendar. The answer was again so profound that after weeks and weeks I think I am just barely staring to gain a subtle understanding of what he said/meant.

He laughed, (the first time I witnessed that...), and said that 2012 is not the end of time, but the end of a cycle of time. But the ending of this cycle is so significant for the human race as a species that our very survival may depend on it. He went on to explain that some human beings have already "woken up" or become "awake" and that many more will do so before 2012, because there will be cataclysmic changes in the earth that will cause people to not be able to ignore any longer that things cannot continue as they have.

He further explained that it is the "responsibility" or the "sacred duty" for those that are awake to help as many as possible to "wake up" simply by living in a constant reality of existence in the "present moment" where we no longer create any more "time."

I pressed my interpreter further by asking what will happen to those who are "awake" when 2012 arrives? This time my Mayan Shaman looked at me directly and just smiled. I noticed for the first time how clear his dark brown eyes were, and how they sparkled, even though he is actually quite an old man.

His answer was an enigma that I am still left wondering about. He simply said, we will discover this when the moment arrives…

So, I know this has been a very, very long blog. Sorry for that. But I truly felt divinely inspired to write it and so if you can receive these words into your heart and you are "awake" it is certainly the right moment to not create "any more time." For me, this has come to mean we must stop projecting into the future in all our conscious experiences, our relationships, our fantasies, our future state projections about how we want the world and/or our lives to somehow be different – meaning better – meaning we are simply not satisfied with the way things "are" in our current manifested reality.

This is most clearly realized in a concept called the "Tipping Point." This is a sociological and physics term that basically means that a rare phenomenon can become increasingly more common. In physics, this is demonstrated when a small amount of weight is added to a balanced object, causing it to suddenly and completely topple.

Another great reference for the topic of the "Tipping Point" is a book by Maclome Gladwell that explores how little changes can have big effects; when small numbers of people start behaving differently, that behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or "tipping point" is reached, changing the world.

This is the work of you light workers, you holders of the sacred truth, those of you who are "awake". Even if only 10% of the population is currently "awake", imagine what we could do together if we stopped "creating more time" causing a global tipping point and creating a planetary shift …

Something to ponder on this beautiful evening…

Many Blessings,

~ el soñar bajo el mar

myspace.com/stephenhofflander

I just wanted to post a great thought that I received from www.tut.com today in case anyone needs some inspiration:

The number one reason most people don't start what they want to start, is because they think their simple, little efforts won't even dent the mountain they wish to move.

But little do they know, that's exactly how the mountain was formed.

I was there -
    The Universe

Also, if you have a minute check out the new song on my profile.  If I was more savvy, I would know how to make it play while you read these brief works, but these things seem a tad too complicated for the effort that I wish to put forth!!!  Anyway, I found it heartbreakingly beautiful and thought I would share it.

I saw this on my friend, The Oneness http://www.myspace.com/darendemeule  blog and it brought me to tears and I wanted to share it:

I am going to try to post it, but if does not work, try this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOzG0z1K3Do

Blessings and Peace to all ....

I loved this simple story and thought I would share it!  Namaste!

I have a new friend here on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/heartsung  

Who sent me a link to an amazing piece of writing:

http://www.endless-satsang.com/Radiance.pdf

Now I warn you this is long, but I am sure if you are meant to read it that you will and that it will resonate soundly with your soul.

Infinite blessings ....

Here is something a little short for those that don't want to click over:

No Judgement from: www.higherawareness.com

Everything in life holds both a blessing and a curse. We deny this when we label the events of our lives as either good or bad. The following old Zen story illustrates this lesson most effectively.

A farmer had a horse but one day, the horse ran away and so the farmer and his son had to plow their fields themselves. Their neighbors said, "Oh, what bad luck that your horse ran away!" But the farmer replied, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?"

The next week, the horse returned to the farm, bringing a herd of wild horses with him. "What wonderful luck!" cried the neighbors, but the farmer responded, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?"

Then, the farmer's son was thrown as he tried to ride one of the wild horses, and he broke his leg. "Ah, such bad luck," sympathized the neighbors. Once again, the farmer responded, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?"

A short time later, the ruler of the country recruited all young men to join his army for battle. The son, with his broken leg, was left at home. "What good luck that your son was not forced into battle!" celebrated the neighbors. And the farmer remarked, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?"

"Do not judge, and you will never be mistaken."

-- Jean Jacques Rousseau

I have  been trying to decide when is the perfect day to post this information.  I wanted to wait to close enough until Tuesday for people to remember, but not wait to long so that people may miss it.  So here goes!

Dear Friends

I am resending out this information as I feel there is another important opportunity for all of us to UNITE and raise the frequency of the planet and support our transformation and Mother Earth's healing.  July 17, 11:11 GMT (check in your time zone on website below), 7:11am EST people around the world will come together, millions of people, to send their joy, gratitude and love into the planet.  We will lift our hearts and minds to allow our true Divine essence to vibrate with our brothers and sisters, a Divine Meeting:)).  The ways that you can do this is either thru meditation, prayer, feeling joy and gratitude or setting an intention to allow your soul to connect to the Grid to heal our earth and unite our Humanity.  During this time, do something that will fill your heart with Love, so that your own field will fire to connect with the Grid.  It's all about Sharing our energy on that day.  As we are heading toward 2012 which is being heralded as the new birthdate for Humanity.  The powers that will have accumulated onto the planet and the dominant energy in abundance at that time will then pervade.  Our destiny is in our hearts.

I know many emails are circulating about this, because it IS IMPORTANT.  We are the Grass Root efforts to help guide and support our Earth to give birth to a coming world that has principles and ethics that hold respect, community, kindness, peace and love as normal ways of life.  Please send out to your friends and take part in this Global effort.  Shelley Yates has been guided to bring this effort forward and is rallying millions around the world, please visit her website and hear her on YouTube.

The intent of this letter is to entice you to view her website www.firethegrid.com and become an earth healer. We can jump start earth's heart and begin the healing of this planet, our home. We can do this if we unite! Please take the time to read her story and learn how you, as one single individual can unite with the rest of this planet for a mere hour of your time and catapult mother earth into a new phase of rejuvenation and healing. Only one hour is all that is needed to become an ambassador of earth's health and well being!

WHO IS SHELLEY YATES?? She and her 4 year old son had a near death experience and she was given instructions of what to do when she came back. 

If this letter and this site have touched your heart as I am sure it will, please forward it to your loved ones so they too may join us when we fire the grid on July 17, 2007 at 11:11 GMT. Our mission is to reach as many people globally as possible. This task falls upon all of us who become aware of this project. Thank you for contributing to the largest grid project known to mankind. May Light and Love live within us all and peace be our soul's objective.

I stumbled across 2 new profiles here at MySpace and gained some wisdom from reading their words, so I thought I would share what resonated so strongly with me.

We all have mailboxes filled with friend requests from bands.  And unless their music truly speaks to me, I do not add them.  I was SO impressed  was with the words written on this profile:

http://www.myspace.com/thebradsound

"Life just must be more than following fads, compressing people into labels, and keeping up with the Joneses. I deeply sense it!" So, he went searching… searching through meditation, yoga, self-help books, journaling, and – especially – songwriting. And, those close will tell you that his journeys have paid off, providing him with inner happiness, contentment, a love of living, and songs dipped in the profound aspects of the human condition. His first three releases – using the band name A Year From Monday – contained songs asking listeners to: cast aside judgment and embrace people from all skips of life, tread in others' soles before criticizing others' actions, pursue one's passion to blossom one's bliss, deal with painful issues to venture beyond pain's binds, and care less what others think of you and more of what you think of you.

Now, with his latest release – and first as the brad sound – Ameruka, he continues some of those same themes, but also asks listeners to: strive for equality in relationships, send love rather than negative energy to people, issues, or events that are troubling, and take the decent into inner darkness as a means to remove obstacles in the way of pure elation. "My desire is for my music to help listeners in some profound way regardless of where they're at in their personal odysseys. Yes, I'm an idealist and an optimist as often as possible, for what better way is there to fully enjoy all facets of humanity and life on Earth."

What a profound soul.  I am so impressed and these particular words keep sticking out to me:  send love rather than negative energy to people, issues, or events that are troubling,

So simple, so true, so in line with my thoughts on personal resonsibility; yet something that I seldom find myself doing.  It can be so easy (for me) to slip into the blame game and negativity.

Those who know me well know that in the past I have had resentment issues with my brother.  I won't get into the details of the 'story' (not important), but my sisters and I would love to sit around and crititize him.  And believe me, we always had plenty of negative fodder for discussion.   

However, ever since I read Eckert Tolles A New World (previous 5/24 blog); I have been mindful of not just my words but my thought patterns.  I feel like I am moving towards a new dimension of awareness and of the karmic consequences of my thoughts.

My mother is having major surgery either this Friday or next Tuesday and my brother has been extremely concerned and generous.  Offering to pay me for a week of work and sending my mother a hefty check to go towards a nurse because he can not take off from work to come help out.

I feel that it is a mini-miracle!  The minute I decided to put away my judgement of my brother (one of my biggest complaints was his cheapness), he shows up in a completely different way.  Perhaps I was too busy looking for his flaws to clearly see his attributes?

BTW, if you could please pray for my mom, Madga, and send her some healing vibes, I would truly appreciate it.

My next new MySpace friend is Elaine X and here is her page:

http://www.myspace.com/businessvoodoo 

 With so much talk about The Secret and law of attraction, I absolutely LOVE what she has to say:

visualization is not wishing, dreaming, hoping or wanting ...
you cannot visualize a future based on wishes not rooted in the desires of your heart.

you cannot visualize a future based on dreams that are not connected to your abilities to grow and evolve.

you cannot visualize a future based on hopes without energy to give them life.

you cannot visualize a future based on wants requiring actions you are unwilling to take.

visualizing your own future is the conscious culmination of your deepest desires and passions, synthesized with your habits and patterns, evolved to manifest on the earthly plane.

I think that her words are so profound because it is not just about cutting out pictures of magazine and wishing for a mansion on the beach.  It is about what you give your energy to.  What brings you life, energy and joy!

Anyway, just wanted to share.  Namaste to all.

How much do I love this cat?

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2822657

Nora the cat pounds away at the keys and plays an adorable tune.