Letters to the Moon....

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today also marks the 70 th   anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. People were sent to Auschwitz, and its sister camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, beginning in 1942, from almost every corner of Europe. http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the-final-solution/auschwitz-birkenau/transport-and-arrival/#.VMfX2NLF_To People were forcibly removed from their homes and transported in cattle cars to the camp. During the transportation to the camps, which could take days, people in the cattle cars often stood in place. There was very little water or food, and no bathroom facilities. http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the-final-solution/auschwitz-birkenau/transport-and-arrival/#.VMfX2NLF_To Upon their arrival, people exited the cattle cars and lined up to begin the selection process. German officers and doctors decided who lived and who died. http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the...

Breathing is something that comes naturally to the body. Part of our autonomic system, our bodies breathe for us without our even thinking about it. Breathing brings oxygen into our bodies, which helps us digest our food and expel toxins. We breathe to center ourselves, to bring about calmness, to concentrate, to relax. Breath decreases anxiety, worry, stress, tension, unrest. In yoga the practice of breathing, called pranayama, is the foundation upon which all other exercises are laid. In meditation breathing is used as a tool to open the unconscious mind. The act of breathing is found in many medical treatments for people who have Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and military personnel who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (or PTSD.) The breath is our link to the divine. It centers our souls with our bodies. As is the body, so is the breath. If the body is calm, the breath is calm. If the body is anxious, the breath is anxious. If there is no breath, the bod...

New Year’s Moon (A letter to the moon) Hello there Luna. Happy New Year! How were your holidays? I hope that they were wonderful.   As the holidays approached, I found I was feeling a lot of stress, which is unusual for me.  I do not know what precipitated my feeling that way.  However, it seemed that every time I watched the news there were stories of civil unrest, racial tension, public protest, fighting between nations, tales of plague and death. At my workplace, tempers got shorter and shorter as the days wore on. In a time of peace and love towards one another, the stress all got to be too much for me.  Thankfully, in the hours leading up to Christmas, I could feel the stress slipping away from me. I felt a new sense of relaxation and calm. I was quite glad of that. Thank you for your visit Thursday night. It was so good to see you on the first night of the New Year! I know you were not in your full moon stage yet, but in the dark winter sky, ...

Another year has come to an end. I have accomplished so much this year. Not everything I wanted to accomplish, yet still a great deal. I got the electronic version of my first book, “I am Hope”, published. It was a monumental accomplishment.  I am proud that I was able to achieve my goal. In the New Year I will soon publish the print version of the book. While  I wanted it to get done this year, I know everything will happen it is own time. As I look forward to all that the New Year brings, I cannot help but look back on the year that has been. I have learned much from this last year. Here is some of what I have learned….. *Purging your house of unwanted and unneeded items cleanses your environment as well as your spirit. http://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-purging.html *I never want to have another thirty year winter storm in my lifetime. http://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2014/01/ion.html *I must be patient until my muse shows up. http://...

It probably comes as no surprise to you that I have fallen in love with the written word. It is my primary means of self-expression, as well as my passion. I feel I have always lived a life of words… http://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-life-of-words.html Now that I am a published author, I have an immense respect for authors and self-publishers. To begin with a glimmer of a thought in your head to finish with your words printed on a page is nothing short of miraculous. I should have known I was destined to live a life of words. I first worked in a library in my elementary school; since then  I have spent over twenty years of my life working in libraries. It is always a fascinating subject, the future of libraries, of the written word. People always ask if new libraries that are built in the future will have books in them. My answer is always a resounding: “Absolutely.” I have heard the comparison of books versus electronic books to be like a stairc...

It is fairly common to have stress during the holiday season. However, it is not common for me to feel any stress during the holidays. I am the type of person that lives for Christmas. I usually buy Christmas presents for my friends and family all year long. Not this year. I have been so consumed with publishing my book that I have not had time to even think about Christmas. (For those of you who are waiting to buy my book, it will be available for purchase in early 2015.) I have no gifts for anyone to open. I am so far behind. I am not ready for Christmas, emotionally or otherwise. This is not like me. http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/12xmas_stress.jpg I am usually more prepared for Christmas. I am always ready with my Christmas cards. I collect Christmas cards. Usually in July I go through all of my Christmas cards and pick which ones I want to mail out. Then, in November, I write a personalized greeting on the inside of the card. When I leave my home for the Thanksgiving ho...

There is nothing like the loss of a loved one. That person who took up such an important place in your life is not there anymore. They will never be there again. There is a massive gaping hole where that person used to be. How can you begin to go on without them? I have written about the deaths of friends before…. http://www.esperanzahabla.blogspot.com/2011/04/goodbyeadios.html http://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2014/05/yet-again.html …the death of a pet…. http://www.esperanzahabla.blogspot.com/2012/07/one-more-star-in-skyuna-estrella-mas-en.html …the death of a friendship….. http://www.esperanzahabla.blogspot.com/2012/06/death-of-friendshipel-muerte-una.html ...and loss.... http://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2013/03/loss.html I have a friend who is going through a very deep, personal, tragic loss right now. She did not ask me any advice on what to do in this moment to begin to grieve; yet, I reached out to her and gave her my thoughts. I thought she mig...