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Our Sacred Animals

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“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

 

“Don’t kill animals for glory, that makes you the worst kind of bully.”                                                                                                                     -Seth Kantner

A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.  -Albert Schweitzer

“Our treatment of animals will one day be considered barbarous. There cannot be a perfect civilization until man realizes that the rights of every living creature are as sacred as his own.”                                                                                                                      -David Jordon

 

 

Sweet Breathing

Peace

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“We shall find peace. We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.”

—Anton Chekhov

“Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.”

—Baruch Spinoza

“Peace has never come from dropping bombs. Real peace comes from enlightenment and educating people to behave more in a divine manner.”

—Carlos Santana

“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.”

—Jawaharlal Nehru

“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.”

—Malcolm X

“If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”

—Moshe Dayan

“Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life…, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.”

—Thich Nhat Hanh

“First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.”

—Thomas Kempis

Sweet Breathing

With Love and Reverence

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“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

-Henry David Thoreau

“Love they said burns you and builds you!

But with you, there is no ash,

Just Light.

-Kamand Kojouni

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”

-John Milton

 

 

 

 

 

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Song of the Trees

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“Trees are poems that Earth writes upon the sky.”

-Kahlil Gibran

“Go outside and don’t go to a special place. Just go into your neighborhood and repeatedly, over and over again, open your ears and harvest the sounds all around you. Whether those are tree sounds or car sounds or bird sounds. Without judgment, just be present for the physical experience of sounds flowing into our consciousness. Do that over and over again and the trees will befriend you — or come into your consciousness and teach you some of what they’re saying.”

-David George Haskell

“Come to the woods, for here is rest.”                                                                                                                                                                                                   -John Muir

 

 

Sweet Breathing

Reflections on Autumn – A Gallery of Photos

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“Fall, the time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”

-Lauren DeStefano

You can click onto any of the thumbnail photos for a full sized version, then use the arrows for a full sized slide show.

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”

-George Eliot

 

Sweet Breathing

Crater Lake – A Gallery of Photos

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You can click onto any individual photo to view a full size version – then use right and left arrows for a slideshow.

“A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable.”

-William Woodsworth

This lake certainly did carry me into impenetrable recesses of feeling!   It’s incredible depth carries an equal depth in peacefulness.  The blue is otherworldly, the reflected mirror of the sky and clouds serene and beautiful.

At 1,949 feet, it is the deepest lake in the United States, and 7th deepest in the world.  The caldera was created when Mount Mazama’s top quarter was blown off in a powerful volcanic eruption and over time it was filled entirely from rain and melted snow.  The purity of the water is felt as well as seen.

I loved the feelings accessed here, and just being absorbed by the tranquil quiet of this lake’s shores…

Flowers, Nature, Photo Gallery, Photography, Sweet Breathing, Travel Adventure

Columbia River Gorge – A Gallery of Photos

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The Columbia River Gorge, bonds Washington and Oregon, and has draped them both with overwhelming power and beauty.  And the Gorge and its waters have touched my soul.

I long to spend more time here.  There is a depth to be penetrated over time, in the inner and the outer realms. Rich tapestries of greens, radiance of waterfalls, myriad wildflowers, mysterious forests, sumptuous grand canyons, all endlessly beautiful. They touch the deepest part of me.

Every turn holds a wonder – a sometimes quiet and often times shuddering exuberance of majesty.  Hidden wonders everywhere waiting to be explored.

Yes, I need more time here.

“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: What is soft is strong.”

-Lao-Tzu

“Water is the one substance from which the earth can conceal nothing; it sucks out its innermost secrets and brings them to our very lips.”

-Jean Giraudoux

A few facts about the Columbia River Gorge (from the website for Foundation for Water & Energy Education; http://fwee.org/environment/what-makes-the-columbia-river-basin-unique-and-how-we-benefit/):

  • Within the Basin, there are 2,500 square miles of waterways and lakes.
  • The Columbia River and its tributaries account for about 219,000 square miles of drainage in seven western states.
  • The Basin consists of the Rocky Mountains to the east and north, the Cascade Range on the west, and the Great Basin to the south.
  • The Columbia River is the fourth largest river in North America.
  • The Columbia River originates in British Columbia and flows 1,214 miles to the Pacific Ocean near Astoria, Oregon.
  • The Columbia is fed by a number of major tributaries including the three largest, the Kootenai, the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille and the Snake rivers along with the Payette, the Sultan, the Cowlitz, the Santiam and the Willamette.
  • The Columbia River is second only to the Missouri-Mississippi River System in terms of annual run-off as the water flows to the Pacific Ocean.
Sweet Breathing

Ethics

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The Native American Code of Ethics originally published in the Inter-Tribal Times in October of 1994.

Depth in simplicity, honor in dealing with humanity and the earth.

Twenty tenants to live by…

It is done, it is good.  All My Relations.

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth – whether it be people or plant.

7. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. Animals, plants and other living creatures are all part of your worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of one’s will within this universe.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others – especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.