The Planet of Love

Venus is making a positive connection to Uranus, the planet of surprises.  Expect the unexpected, particularly in the area of romantic relationships! 

Return from France

I just returned from the South of France where I toured sacred sites associated with the return of feminine energy to the planet.   It was grueling because I am not much of a hiker and some of the places were high up on mountaintops.   I am now a priestess of Isis initiate and a Light Bearer.   
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With gratitude to: The">http://www.presentlove.com">The Law of attraction

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I am planning to write an historical novel about the area where I currently live, La Cieneguilla in New Mexico.  Great presentation at the LCVA breakfast this weekend by several historians, geneologists, and archeologists.   I want to create a heroine based on an actual woman who lived here in the mid-1700's, which would be the post-Pueblo Revolt period in NM history. 

Returning

Hello to everyone. I apologize for the long delay. I have been out of commission for a long time due to medication interactions which were life-threatening. I have now become something of an expert on this subject, and I may even write a book about the experience. I am continuing to research the issue, but so far I have come to the conclusion that there is an epidemic out there created by the careless prescribing of pharmaceuticals, often multiple drugs at a time, which themselves cause illness.

I was finally forced to take my health care into my own hands by essentially refusing to accept further medication prescriptions after several of them caused serious side effects, including loss of motor coordination, dizziness, anxiety, inability to drive, over-sedation etc. I would advise anyone being given a new drug to research it first before just blindly following a doctor's orders. Obviously you have to do a careful risk/benefit analysis. Public Citizen's Worst Pills/Best Pills is a good place to start. This non-profit organization has lobbied tirelessly to get dangerous drugs recalled, and they post current warnings long before the FDA acts to remove them from the marketplace.

Many medical professionals these days are so utterly tied into the pharmaceutical industry both financially and because of their training, that they are rarely willing to think outside the box in terms of more holistic health care options. They are quite cavalier about side effects, often insisting that "all" medicines have side effects and implying that you just have to put up with them. That's fine if they are minor in nature, but if they are causing serious difficulties, you need to evaluate for yourself whether or not to continue the treatment. It also turns out that older adults are much more likely to suffer these kinds of complications than younger people because the drugs do not clear from their systems as fast.

Although I haven't abandoned prescription drugs altogether, I am now down to only two. I was actually told by one doctor whose practice consisted entirely of prescribing medications, that many of his patients are on as many as 30 different drugs at a time!

I would welcome hearing of my readers experiences with this problem. Since it happened to me, almost everyone I mention it to has a horror story of their own or a close acquaintance related to this issue.

Winter Blahs

My Facebook friends are comparing who has it worse this snowy winter. New Mexico has had its share of blizzards, but it isn't even in the running when it comes to Minnesota and other midwestern and Eastern seaboard states. I have been thinking of Shelley's wistful inquiry lately: "When winter comes, can spring be far behind?" Climate change scientists say that all these storms are evidence of the planet warming, not a refutation of it. I think based on the disasters we have all observed in Haiti, New Orleans, and Indonesia, all of us are likely to be in for a wild and crazy ride. There has been no political will to actually address the potential for future calamities which await us.

Movie Reviews for the New Year

I highly recommend Invictus, Clint Eastwood's new movie about Nelson Mandela using the vehicle of the national (mostly white) rugby team as a metaphor for healing the country of its vast racial wounds. I am not much of a sports fan, but I was thrilled by the scenes of all the ass-kicking, sweat drenched scenes of ruby players engaged in what looked like struggles to the death. What a pity the US cannot seem to model this kind of political courage in our absurdly partisan take on every issue, including race. This movie hasn't gotten much promotion, but it is well worth your time.

Avatar is visually spectacular, and I appreciated the obvious parallels with the destruction of pristine environments and cultures (read Native Americans; the aliens on the planet Pandora are known as Navi.) by the, US military machine,determined as always to exploit the resources of others. I found it much too long. Spoiler alert: the underdogs prevail in this special effects fantasy extraqvaganza by James Cameron.

If foreign films are your thing, you could check out Cloud 9 (about an old married woman having an affair with an even older man and the tragic consequences which result for her family. Another possibility is Pedro Almavador's Broken Embraces, yet another movie involving the tragic consequences of cheating on one's significant other, which in my opinion didn't come close to living up to its hype. It's convoluted without being particularly compelling or emotionally affecting. Penelope Cruz was way better in Cristina Barcelona when she was directed by Woody Allen. I have to admit to being partial to American movies and directors.

Jane Campion's Bright Star about the untimely death of the Romance poet John Keats is a heartbreaker. Don't avoid it just because you might think it is impossible to make a watchable movie about poetry; this one won't disappoint you.

Fall Festival at the Santa Fe Racetrack

Our community held its first annual fall festival with mariachi music, fokloria ballet, face painting, pumpkins, bird aviary, costume parade and flea market. The kids costumes were terrific and some of them were photographed for local newspapers. There was a little Batman and a fireman complete with firetruck. Very colorful and fun. The event was held at the Pojoaque Pueblo race track which is no longer used for horse racing.