I've Witnessed My Death... Many Times!

Over the last 4-5 months I've been having some of the strangest dreams! I've heard of people dreaming that they were dying, but I've never really heard too much about people witnessing their death and going through the dying process in it. In several dreams I've had recently, I've known at a certain point, yes I am dead, but I kept on going. I never did get to witness what lay next for me. I would keep telling myself to breath, and it would wake me up!

The first dream that I had is that I was being put to death by the government. They let me free to go say good bye to my family and friends. I was at the park where I use to play high school tennis and I sat there thinking that it was sad that I was moving from this plane of existence, but I was excited to see what was coming up next. I reported as I was suppose to and had the needle inserted into my arm, and watched the poison go down into the IV. This is the end of the first dream.

The second dream involved me going to a party with a friend/co-worker. I didn't know anyone there so I just sort of watched what everyone was doing. Almost everyone was doing drugs and having sex all over the place. The next scene in my dream I'm playing this virtual reality game against this girl who pulls out a knife and slashes my throat. I hit my knees and then the ground watching the blood flow out around my head. I called for my boyfriend but he couldn't hear me. I kept telling myself to breath. Again, no fear about death. This is the end of the second dream.

The third dream involves me being with some people, none of whom I know personally, but were suppose to be friends I suppose. We were suppose to go somewhere but they told me we needed to make a detour. So a few of us went into this dark house to retrieve something (I don't remember what this was) but I was in the bedroom alone and someone came charging into the bedroom. They were wearing a mask so I couldn't see who it was (it kind of reminded me of the mask in V for Vendetta and a clown face). They started shooting at me and I hit the bed. They walked up to me and started firing rounds into the top of my head. I could feel the electric surges from my brain flowing around my head and down my neck, and I could feel my body jerking as a reaction to this. Again I kept telling myself to breath. This is the end of the last dream.

It struck me as odd that in every single one of these dreams, death was not something I feared, and instead I was excited to see what would happen next. Recently someone gave me this interpretation and I think it is "dead" on! No pun intended :-) :

Dissolution of the ego is the message here. You aren 't being killed in the dreams to show you what will happen in physical reality, obviously. If that were true, the method of death would always be the same. But you are not in fact seeing your physical death. The dreams are using the metaphor of death to suggest that you've been through the dissolution of ego. That would explain the happiness you are feeling right now in your life, too, by the way.

Dissolution of the ego means you have come to a point where you no longer seem to have a need to push for your own way. You are no longer a slave to your own desires. You feel freed from the push to satisfy some hungry inner monster. The symbol of death is used to suggest that a part of your life is gone and won't be coming back. You get to watch it in all these dreams, don't you? In other words, the dream is saying, "You saw this happening. You were a witness to it. Now don't forget that it happened and what you accomplished."

No fear is an outgrowth of the successful dissolution of the ego, so showing no fear in the dreams is your 'proof' if you must have some. That's what death dreams are all about. Interesting that you were killed by lethal injection, throat slashed, and bullets to the head. Look at the places along the Chakric column which parallel those locations. Arms -- ruled by Gemini and Mercury -- Throat, obviously the throat chakra, which is also ruled by Mercury and involves the will, persuasiveness, and communication skills -- Head which involves the Third Eye and Crown chakras, the Head is ruled by Aries, the Sign of personal self-esteem and the beginning of the Zodiac. So new beginnings and finding a new definition of Self are highlighted by that one.

There is a lot about your method of presenting yourself that has changed, I'll bet. A lot of your self-expression is different. Things you do and say have changed to bring on this new happiness in your life. That is precipitated, most likely, by a change of mind and perspective. The dream was showing you that by allowing you to see electricity and light all around the head and flowing down into the body. Your changes in perspective and perception have created all the rest of the positive changes in your life, so now you have 'died' in a sense and been re-born. The real correct understanding of Jesus' idea 'to be born again'. Jesus was a Trickster. Nobody 'gets' his message until they have already experienced it. To me, that's why it's useless. I don't want to be told AFTER the fact what I went through already. I want a manual to help me BEFORE I have to endure it all! The Bible just isn't that book!

Anyway.... your dream is about spiritual transformation and to some extent emotional maturity. Leaving fear behind and facing death without angst is a common symbol in traditional literatures which means that you've overcome that part of yourself that was too attached to an 'identity' you had going in your head. Once you leave that label behind and break out of the mould, realising that you can re-invent yourself any which way you want, you experience a kind of resurrection. Which your dreams did not show you, but the death symbol was enough to clarify what happened, so perhaps the dreams did not need to show you that.

Hope this helps,
(name omitted for privacy)

I've been thinking a lot about this interpretation. It's given me a lot to ponder. It is very true that in the last year I have changed exponentially! I'm a completely different person, and all for the better. I feel more in touch with nature and the world around me. Anyways, I thought this was quite interesting and I thought I would share!

All in All, A Good Day

So today was Jim's family reunion... during the course of the day of children's play, lots of food, and mingling amongst family members, Jim's sister, Amy, says "Jodi I hear a cat crying" Her boyfriend, Tuttle, and I walk over to the direction of a kittens cry... at the edge of the woods we hear a faint meow, and when we called for her, she popped her little head up through some fern. Such a beautiful little one, only about two and a half months old.... thrown out like she was some piece of trash by whomever her "guardians" were suppose to be. We played with her a bit and Tuttle picked her up and carried her back to the pavilion where the food was... we were going to try to feed her since she looked so skinny... Jim reluctantly broke up a hamburger to feed to the little lass. She didn't seem to be very hungry but she sure did love some water that Amy gave her. We later found out his cousin Gayle had found her tangled amongst a tree, stuck. She had let her loose and the little one took off waiting for us to find her amongst nature. Gayle contacted the local animal rescue, who stated they were unable to take her in at the time because they were full. Amy and Tuttle decided to take her home to make sure she was safe. Here's a pic that I took of the pretty little girl....

The location of the family reunion was on a stretch of country road, at a park beside a couple of cemetery's and an old church that had been converted into a kitchen and meeting hall type building. Jim's family isn't much for smoking so we snuck behind the church to have our nicotine fix cured and spotted what looked to be a sign that had been hidden from view, turned around so that it would not be seen. I decided to take a look to see what wondrous thing might be hidden from public view and this is what I found....

On the back of the sign was a website address written. We checkout the website for any information that could be had. Come to find out, it's a local artist as such that Cumberland could only hope to inspire for! His work is absolutely amazing and ranks up there with any art that can be found at a Contemporary Art Museum.... it reminded me of the day that I was wondering around Mass MoCa, the largest contemporary art gallery in America! We called the artist to let him know that we had found one of his pieces. Come to find out, he had made this amazing sign for his fathers grave, which is located in the cemetery beside the old church. Someone obviously was offended and decided that it was not proper for a graveyard. Bill Dunlap happens to live in Cumberland and is also a fellow Vegan!!! I highly recommend you check out his website to take a look at his amazing works of art. Go here to check it out! It really does make you think... which is something we could all use!

What The Bleep Do We Know?

I was so excited last night when I was tooling around the internet trying to find a link to the full movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" I had been discussing Buddhism with someone on Youtube and the subject of Quantum Mechanics came up. So of course, this being my favorite fucking movie ever, I suggested she watch it... I wanted the link to pass along so she wouldn't have to go searching for it.

I wanted to pass this video along to blog viewers as well because this movie is very powerful and thought provoking. I can say that it honestly changed my life! This is the movie that got the ball rolling for me. I seriously questioned "Why do I end up in shitty relationships?" "Why do my partners end up being triffling son of a bitches?" "Why is everything always the same?", "What can I do to change this?"

Let me ask that again, "What can I do to change my life into what I want it to be?" I finally had answers!!! Now, this isn't some "The Secret" bullshit I'm talking about here... yes, it is kind of similar, but what The Secret lacks is the scientific proof of how it works, and an awesome story line!

So without further adieu.....

Earthlings!

This is the Full Length movie, Earthling.... also known as the Thor's Hammer of Animal Rights... a must see for all of those that put their hard earned money into supporting the Meat and Dairy industries.

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breath free..."

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

This slogan welcomes the ideology that we in the United States of America are somehow powerhouses of the world, the Super Power of the World!!! But this woman was left to die on the cold linoleum in her "pursuit of happiness".




What exactly have we come to? What is this "pursuit of happiness"? Is it one in which we are all able to live a so called American Dream? Or is it more than that... is the American dream something only attainable by those who control it?

What sealed this poor woman's fate? Was it a lack of insurance? Race? Or just pure selfishness? Why is there a woman who sits on her big fat ass through the entire video and does absolutely nothing? Why is it now 11 days plus, and there is no decision as to what happened physiologically to this woman that brought her to her death, other than the total lack of care from those who are suppose to keep us healthy?

I could really go on and on about this, but I think there is a simple quote that defines this situation perfectly....

"There is something horribly wrong with this country."

How much will we take? When will enough be enough?

Mid-Summer Mountain Triune Faire

This past weekend was the 2nd Annual Mid-Summer Mountain Triune Faire, at Abrams Creek, in Mount Storm, WV. We left Friday afternoon, and just returned a few hours ago. It was 48 hours of complete relaxation and bliss. Friday opened with a blessing, and then Saturday there were workshops on Wicca 101, Getting in contact with the Goddess inside, and how to work with energy. A Reiki Master is a member of the coven and was doing healing treatments, there were a few tarot readers, and one woman converted one of the cabins into a store! I ended up buying The Witches Almanac, a nice pentagram ring, and a beautiful Ouija board. This board is unlike any other I've seen before. The letters and numbers are randomized making it much more liar proof!



ShadowDancer, I took your picture to use for this because I don't have a camera other than the one on my Blackberry and it just wasn't giving me a picture that would show this boards true beauty!

I also made a youtube video. It's just a compilation of video's shot from my phone from around Abrams Creek. Take a look at it:



Jim and I also had an information table set up about Animal Rights, and we tried to do some outreach at the event. A few people decided to come take a look and the children loved the stickers. We had a few interesting conversations, and I was able to explain some of the evils of PETA to a vegan, whom was utterly shocked~

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. I got some much needed rest and relaxation, and was able to connect with nature again without having to worry about the everyday hustle and bustle.

Feral Cats and TNR

I found this video while surfing youtube tonight. This is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart- Feral Cats. At my workplace we had a colony of feral cats that were being looked after by numerous employee's and other concerned citizens that lived in the area. Other numerous businesses in the area helped feed and look after the colony of about 16 that lived in the area. We had watched several cats grow from babies into adults, and worried about them through the winter, most of whom made it through and as the spring returned, we were happy to see many of our loved ones back out and about.

A business that was two buildings down changed hands, and the new owner started complaining about the numerous cats running about. She decided to try to trap these magnificent beings and take them to the pound. She was quite unsuccessful, and her impatience grew- claiming that these cats were a nuisance to her customers. She then contacted the County Administrator and animal control. An order was issued to trap this colony. A concerned person contacted animal control and inquired about their policy on feral cats. Indeed, the policy was to "exterminate" said cats, in other words MURDER healthy innocent lives, who's only crime was trying to live a life after their "loved one's" or so called guardians had dropped them off, and were left to fend for themselves.

Several people banded together and we mounted a mission to rescue these cats from their certain deaths. We were lucky enough to have an animal rescue group that brought up numerous Have A Heart traps to aid us in getting these cats to safety. Over the weekend, this new business owners saw our traps and started causing another rash of bullshit to the county. I was then contacted by the City Police who given the task of "mediating" between the rescue group and animal control. We asked that we would be given the opportunity to try a TNR program, which stands for "Trap, Neuter, and Release", but this request was denied. I was then threated that if we were caught trying to feed or capture any of the ferals we would prosecuted for Trespassing on private property and for "stealing county property". The county now looked at these cats as if they were their property since an order for trap and execution had been put in place. This is an egregious misuse of government power, and is a disgrace.

In the end, we ended up rescuing several cats, all of which went into labor and had babies within their first week of being rescued, and now we face the monumental task of finding them all loving homes where they will live their lives out in safety and love. I know these lives were saved from facing certain execution, and this is an example that there is no limit as to what a few people can do to make a difference to the lives of a number of individuals.

There are multiple reasons why I believe so strongly in TNR programs, and why killing healthy feral cats is completely immoral. Population control through murder will never work, it hasn't worked in all of the time that animal control has existed and their sick and torturous policies have been in place.

Number 1- Inherent moral wrong. To kill a healthy cat is morally unjust and no sentient being deserves to be executed for the simple reason of being left to survive on their own. What if we were promulgate policies to execute all children rendered to the state by parents who felt they were unable to care their child? This would cause an outrage! Why is it socially acceptable to kill a species that is unable to communicate with us, or is different from our own? This is blatant specieist and no different from any other form of discrimination.

2. Cats are territorial animals. A cohesive feral cat colony will hold their territory and keep it free from invasion. When a cat colony is eradicated by the method of trapping and murdering, their once held territory is now open. Cats from the surrounding area's will come into this now open territory, breeding will sharply increase as there isn't as much competition for territory and food. Within a few months, there will be a high population of feral cats in the said area. Female cats can have two liters of kittens within the first year of their lives, and 3 liters of cats each year there after. The "problem" therefore is not solved, but rather delayed, and will then lead to the trapping and killing of more cats, and the vicious cycle continues.

TNR programs work because once the ferals are trapped, they are then spayed or neutered, to keep the population of ferals from increasing at exponential rates. After a day of having been spayed or neutered, the cats are then returned to their home territory where they will hold their territory, and over time the population of cats will decrease as they age and die. It is important that TNR continues to be implemented as new cats find their way and acceptance into a colony so the rate of population does not increase. This only takes some time, patience, and love from one or two committed individuals, which isn't so very hard. A looked after colony can live to have full, happy, and healthy lives.

Studies have shown that in cities such as San Fransisco, CA and other counties in numerous other states that have adopted TNR policies instead of inhumane and unnecessary murder policies, the feral cat population steadily decreases by numerous percentages, and when No Kill policies are put into place, an almost overnight decrease in kill rate of 75%, and the eventual decrease of 92% in kill rates.

For more information on the No Kill Revolution please check out Nathan Winograd's book, Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America Nathan was also interviewed by Bob and Jenna Torres on Vegan Freak Radio, you can listen to the show Nathan's interview here. Please check these out!

The unnecessary murder of healthy feral cats is not necessary, and if the ferals that were rescued from my workplace would be able to communicate with humans, I'm sure they would agree that their lives are just as important as any other.

The People That Helped Me Along The Way....

There are a few particular people that I have been very honored to cross paths with in the past few months to year...

First, Rob and Angie Bowen. Rob has a fantastic podcast The Angry Hippie and Angie has a wonderful Zine Dissension. They have paired up to found the monumental 1 Million Mad march which will take place on March 15th, 2009 at every State Capitol and in Washington DC. I'm very honored to be the coordinator of the march taking place in Charleston, WV!!! I'm so excited to finally jump back into my arena, the political platform. Thank you very much Rob and Angie for giving me this opportunity!

Click on the pics below to check out all their fantastic websites, and sign up to march with us in solidarity as we demand our voices back, and corporate interests eradicated:

Dissension:

The Angry Hippie's Podcast and Blog:

The 1 Million Mad March:

I also want to give mad love and props to some Vegan Freaks... Bob and Jenna Torres... I found their website and podcast Vegan Freak Radio while in the very beginning of my transition to veganism. This was a time that although I knew I was doing the right thing, I felt so alone. I was doing this all by myself... people would mock me, and offer me pizza with cheese, or tell me, "oh you could have this if you weren't going vegan." Jim hadn't decided to go vegan yet, and he would eat meat, but limit it around me so I wasn't staring at it every day. I felt at this point that No One understood me, and that everyone was looking down on me... Bob and Jenna helped me so much!!! After a couple of episodes, the fire was burning to brightly under my ass, that shit was on fire! I had more confidence and knew that I was doing the right thing, and everyone else could not bring me down! Thanks so much Bob and Jenna! Please check out their website as well. It is very informative, educational, and thought provoking! Click on the pic below to check them out as well!

Veganism

My path to Veganism started when I was a young teenager. I was constantly writing school papers on the plight of whales, seals, and other sentient beings. Back then I was fooled by the whole B.S. Peta campaign, but they are who started providing me information about animal rights, and it was through them I started to become who I am today, for this I will always be thankful, but I do find numerous flaws in their approach to animal rights and human rights, but I digress.

I begged and begged my parents to let me switch to a Vegan lifestyle, but for some reason, it wasn't going to happen. While writing one of these papers, my parents found me crying over the images of a battered baby seal. I was told that I was "torturing" MYSELF (!?!?!?) and that this had to stop. Shortly after, we started going back to church where we were told animals were here for our survival, to be used as food, clothing, and other ends to human needs. Unfortunately over time I lost the compassion that was once so strong.

About two years ago I moved in with my current companion. He was renting a small house out on a huge farm. I loved being out in nature, and started to grow bonds to the farm animals that were around all of the time. My consciousness soon returned, and I realized that to fully live out my ethics I had to rid myself of any and all animal by-products.

Since then I have done tons of research and saw the horrors of what happens to these live, sentient beings as they are being tortured, raped, and murdered. It's a sight that is forever burned into my soul.

I will never forget the look of fear on a cows face as her throat was being sliced and she was left to bleed out. I will never forget the downed cow having a chain put around her body, and watching the tractor trailer take off so that the cow would be tied in place and her weak, broken body would come crashing down to the ground. I will always remember the baby male chicks as they were thrown into a grinder while they were alive, cut to pieces, feeling the blades tear up their bodies, because they were not profitable due to their gender. The list goes on and on. These are not occasional practices they happen everyday, thousands and thousands of times, all over the place. How could I truly call myself enlightened, but allow these horrendous things to continue to happen in my name and for my money? I couldn't and I won't. Never again will I be the agent of death.

It's Been A While...

It's been a while since I've had a blog... I checked in on the last one I use to have here... leggallymouthy, but I guess I was inactive for too long and the account was deleted. So I'm starting over from scratch. Here I will post all things related to my Vegan, Hippy, Witchy rantiness. This is not for the closed minded nor for the trolls who don't have the balls to get up and do something about the things, but would rather piss on someone else's day.

I have a degree in Political Science, and use to voice quite loudly my dislike for the direction my country was headed in; a few things happened in my personal life, and I stepped back from the internet scene for a few years. I've been very lucky recently to meet new people, have started getting more involved once again, and am looking forward to getting my voice back out there. I'm feeling a little bit rusty so you'll have to excuse me as I pull out the tin can and get my mental gears all oiled up and running again.