Living In My Own World

(But accepting new members…)

The Lazy Person’s Guide to Cleaning the House

I love it when my house is clean.

I love the spaciousness that a clutter-free environment creates. I love to walk into my bedroom and see that the bed is made. I love the smell of a freshly washed floor. I love to see the kitchen sink empty. I love to see all my “stuff” neatly in place. And I love to sit down at my sqeaky clean desk and blog to my heart’s desire.

I really do love a clean house.

Unfortunately, what I hate… is actually doing it.

So the way I see it, I have two options: A) Get a housekeeper or B) Get over it!!!

While getting a housekeeper might seem like the easier solution, it’s definitely more costly. And the truth of the matter is that I tried it once and it made me feel really bad: not only did I feel lazy having someone else do the dirty work, but I actually found myself repeatedly apologizing to her for having to clean up my crap!

So what I decided to do was go back to plan B, only here’s the catch: I found a way of “getting over it” which actually works and is surprisingly (I can’t believe I’m saying this…) FUN!
Read the rest of this entry »

Somebody Poke Me, I Must Be Dreaming

Somebody poke me: the government of Syria has made the move to block Facebook inside their borders.

According to sources speaking with Reuters, the official statement from officials is that they fear “Facebook could become a conduit for Israeli penetration of our youth”.  Critics of the government say that it is really to cut off access to the outside world. 

“Facebook helped further civil society in Syria and form civic groups outside government control. This is why it has been banned,” women’s rights advocate Dania al-Sharif told Reuters.

One Syrian confirmed on Digg.com that the block is in fact true, and that when he tries to log onto Facebook he gets the following message:

ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved
Requested URL:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?
Error message: Access Denied
Administrator: webmaster@190.sy 

The “official” statement blames it on Israel, but as another Digger bluntly commented:

“Oh yeah, you wouldn’t want Israeli kids and Syrian kids to interact. I mean can you imagine? They might grow up to throw all the old racist, bigoted, war loving politicians out in both counties and actually get along in the future…Can’t f*ckin’ have that man. Gotta keep teaching them to hate each other otherwise who will they blame for all their left inflicted religious, social and economic problems?”

or as another digger puts it:

“It is sooooo typical of Syria to blame everything on Israel when in reality they just want to keep their community as ignorant as possible so they can control it better. just sad.”

or my personal favorite:

“Israel should just send a ‘friend request’ to Syria.”

So Syria can try as hard as they want - and they are definitely trying, including blocking off Hotmail and other websites - but the truth of the matter is that any person who truly wants to speak out and get heard, will always find a way to speak out and get heard.

That’s why it seems to me that dictorial regimes cannot last for long, once the people they seek to control and govern understand that they are the “oneness” that holds such governments together.

Or as Neale Donald Walsch puts it, in his book, Tomorrow’s God: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge:

This is exactly what has already happened in the former Soviet Union. The people there understood that their solidarity was where the power was, not with the government, and so an oppressive government was ultimately dismantled, because it could not survive.  It was glasnost and perestroika that opened the door for this.

The same thing is what brought down the Berlin Wall, ended the regime of Slobodan Milosevic in Yugoslavia, and truncated the reign of countless dictatorial, oppressive governments and leaders.

Dictatorships will never be possible when the mass of the people are educated in, and embrace the basic principles of [freedom] and people will accept nothing less when they realize that freedom is the natural state of all things.

So call me a dreamer, or call me crazy, but I can only hope and pray that the people of these countries will continue to find ways to educate themselves and others, and that the light of freedom will one day shine upon their people.

Together, WE ADD UP

The climate crisis is real and it’s happening right now. Yet, it’s so easy to feel helpless and overwhelmed. People keep asking, “What difference will changing my light bulbs really make? The problem is so huge, and I’m just one person.” I always try to explain to whoever is willing to listen how every little bit counts and I also try to find and promote other websites and/or organizations that can help to get the message across.

That is why I am so glad a stumbled upon a new website called WE ADD UP.

WE ADD UP is a new global campaign that uses organic cotton t-shirts that literally “count you in” the fight against global warming. It was created by mother-daughter team Judy Pezdir and Jill Palermo who represent the type of people who are crazy enough to get a vision and follow it through.

According to their website:

Our goal is to get millions of people around the world counted in and committed to helping stop global warming. With our combined effort, we can create a healthy, thriving world for generations to come. So, get counted in. Because you + everyone else = change.

The interesting approach they take is that every shirt is printed by hand with a unique number. YOUR number represents your place in the sequential global count of all the people who are taking steps to help stop climate change - a perfect opportunity to show the people around us that we don’t really have to do it alone… That we’re all in this together!

As the count grows, they demonstrate to the world how “WE ADD UP.” On the back of each shirt is a word or phrase that describes an action almost anyone can take to reduce their carbon footprint on this planet, such as Unplug, Lights Off, Carpool, Shower Together, Hybrid, Bike, Buy Local, Recycle, Demand Change and 16 others. You choose which action you are committed to doing and then instantly get counted in with your own unique number! I think it’s a very creative (and hopefully, very effective) idea.

I also love their motto:

“No one can do everything. Everyone can do something.”

And in the end, WE ADD UP.

People of Israel: Remember Who You Are (Video)

Somewhere along the way we have forgotten who we really are and what it is that we really want.

I made this short video in hope of helping us all remember before it’s too late.

Before commenting, please keep in mind:

I am a Jew was born into the Jewish religion and I am Israeli. I am proud of certain things that this religion and country represent and yet, believe it or not, I am also aware of the fact that 1) We are not always right and 2) Others are not always wrong.

Having said that, while I respect everone’s opinion and will always allow freedom of speech on this blog, I will not tolerate comments that promote hate and/or racism.

All I ask is that we respect each other.

Thank you.

Ever Wonder What Your Cats Are Saying?

What We Hear:

***

What They’re Actually Saying:

Stop the Clash of Civilizations

Talk is rising of a ‘clash of civilizations’. But the problem isn’t culture, it’s politics – from 9/11 to Guantanamo, Iraq to Iran. This clash is not inevitable, and we don’t want it.

So where to start? The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key symbol of the rift between Islam & the West. It’s time to step up and take the initiative.

Add your voice to the petiton below and we’ll put billboards demanding REAL PEACE TALKS NOW in the streets of Jerusalem.

Petition to Israeli, Palestinian & international leaders: The Palestinian-Israeli conflict lies at the heart of a global clash threatening to divide us all. People from every corner of the world want a just and lasting peace in the Middle East - and the international community can and must help bring all sides to the table. Start Real Middle East Talks Now, and stay at the negotiating table until we have peace.

Click for more information:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_clash/

***

English Version

***

Hebrew Version

Top 50 Things They Don’t Tell You in the Job Description

Scott Adams from the Dilbert Blog gave his readers an amusing assignment: “describe your own job in one sentence, preferably in a humorously derogatory way.” He must have hit a soft spot because hundreds of readers jumped at the opportunity to tell it like it is. Check out some of the best replies from among the hundreds, with my top 10 at the end.

(UPDATE: I’ve also added the Top Ten Digg Responses)

My Job Is To…

1. Read things that don’t matter, then write papers saying they do matter, for points that don’t matter, in order to get a job doing something totally unrelated: Student
2. Take numbers on pieces of paper, rearrange them and put them on different pieces of paper: Tax Accountant
3. Explain big words to sales people and then cower before customers while trying to convince them that the sales people really didn’t say what the customers understood: Customer Solutions Engineer
4. Learn laws created ages ago so that I can tell engineers why I’m smarter than they are while complaining how it’s a travesty that they get paid more: Physics major
5. Show you innovative ways to burn money in the spirit of patriotism: Fireworks Stand Manager
6. Help people lie consistently to their bosses: Business Intelligence Consultant
7. Teach your kids enough to complain but not enough to make a difference: College Teacher
8. Stand on a field and get yelled at for hours: Baseball Umpire
9. Make people who are already filthy rich somewhat richer by duping poor people into buying stuff they don’t need: Corporate Software Engineer
10. Find as many synonyms for “explosion” as possible: Novelist for Teenage Boys
11. Supervise the guys and gals who try to protect the good people from the bad, only to be hated by the good people AND the bad: Police Sergeant
12. Watch the lunatics take over the asylum: Teacher
13. Manage waste recycling, promotion & sales: Antiques Dealer
14. Arrive after the battle and bayonet all the wounded: Auditor
15. Sell gas: Energy and Telecom Business Analyst
16. Tell forty year-old men it’s okay to behave like fourteen year-old school girls: Printing Press Production Coordinator
17. Make corporate propaganda feel like folksy truthisms: Tv Ad Director
18. Shepherd clients through the process of setting their products on fire: Consumer Products Tester
19. Manage urban renewal and pest control: B-52 Bomber pilot
20. Persuade kids that it’s really fun being wet, cold and scared out of their minds: Sailing Instructor
21. Draw up plans for something that will not be built according to those plans: Civil Engineer, Transportation Design
22. Teach kids to be evil…or so they say: Video Game Creator
23. Ensure that stupid people stay in the gene pool: Lifeguard
24. Do all the tasks nobody else wants to do: Admin Assistant
25. Wear a tuxedo and smash metal plates into each other: Musician
26. Go to strange people’s houses and take their money: Pizza Delivery Boy
27. Sell gluttony: Cinema Concession Stand Attendant
28. Tell people that they can’t spend money they thought they had: Government Analyst
29. Take pictures of the unlucky and the stupid: X-ray Technician
30. Profit from the misfortunes of others: Cops and Courts Reporter
31. Take a simple two-way promise and turn it into several complicated one-way promises which neither side can understand or hope to fulfill: Lawyer
32. Bring a little rain into the lives of flood victims: Government Debt Collector
33. Have people spend far more than they estimated: Building Inspector
34. Make sure nothing ever happens: IT Security
35. Move things from one tube to another: Microbiologist
36. Clean up an animal that makes more money then me in a year: Assistant Horse Trainer
37. Make people feel bad about their work: Quality Assurance Tester
38. Be a human napkin: Stay-at-home mom of three
39. Make food that is as healthy before it goes in your body as when it comes back out: Fast Food Employee
40. Repeatedly fix what you repeatedly break: IT Director   

My Top 10

1. Help people hate each other: Divorce Lawyer
2. Talk in other people’s sleep: College Professor
3. Try not to kill the baby: Housewife  
4. Show people how beautiful the Earth would be without them: Mountain Landscape Photographer/Climber
5. Copy and paste the Internet: Student
6. Write words that no one wants to read: Technical Writer
7. Misinterpret the universe: Astronomer
8. Spend most of the day looking out the window: Pilot
9. Run away and call the police: Security Guard
10. Sell magic potions filled with psychotherapy: Bartender  

(Adapted from the original list found on jobmob.co.il)

UPDATED: Top 10 Digger Responses

1. Ruin the economy, start multiple pointless wars, make every other country on earth view you as an aggressor: President of the United States
2. Every week, remind people that they will be doomed for eternity unless they do as he says: Priest
3. Act calm and reassuring while stifling the impulse to gag at bad breath and tooth rot: Dental Hygienist
4. Assure people that the $70 standard definition DVD player they are about to buy will look 100x better with a $120 video cable and swear on my mothers grave that even though neither will ever fail that it’s still a good idea to get a 5 year extended warranty for another $100: Fry’s Electronics A/V Salesman
5. Make people equate inconvenience to safety: Airport Security
6. Slowly go insane while trying to explain to people why their expired trial copy of Norton AntiVirus 2003 let viruses get on their computer: Computer Tech
7. Get a transferred phone call and asks the customer the same questions that he’s already been asked by the first guy he just talked to: Tier 2 Technical support.
8. Run back and forth blowing a little whistle for 90 minutes only to receive 90,00 death threats: FIFA referee
9. Tell people they’re not crazy: Psychologist
10. Bring sites down: Digg

Feeling motivated? Try your creativity in the comments below.

When Was the Last Time You Skipped?

What do you mean ’skipped?’

You know….SKIPPED!

The hippity hoppity gallop that came naturally to us as children, but that the majority of adults haven’t done since they were ten…SKIPPING!  

Like Dorothy and the gang did arm in arm down the yellow brick road….SKIPPING! 

As in expressing joy by leaping happily down the street without a care in the world??

There have been times when I have snuck in a little skipping as I walked down the street (though on the rare occasions that it happens it is usually because I’m so gitty with joy and full of energy that I swear I can’t control myself.)

And whenever it happened to me, it always felt so good, so natural… so RIGHT!  

But then, of course, I force myself to stop because I feel like I’m doing something illegal… Like it’s illegal for a grown person to skip!

Which made me question: Where did it all go wrong???

Well according to one website:

Skipping down the road is something that is surprisingly challenging for most adults to do.

In order to do so, you must be willing to let go of your fears about what other people think about you. You must defeat your own inner critic that says “People will think you are crazy” and choose to let your childlike spirit have some fun.

If you can find the courage to do so regularly, you will be amazed at the feeling of freedom it can bring to your life. When the judgment of others is no longer an issue, magical things can happen.

I skipped into the living room and asked my husband when was the last time he had skipped…

He couldn’t remember!!!

So, how about you?

Children of Israel: I Was Proud of You Last Night

Last night I attended the massive rally that took place at Rabin square in Tel Aviv with my sister, an English teacher at an Israeli high school. Despite minimal promotion and a Euro 2008 game against Russia that was broadcasted at the exact same time  (Israel won 2:1, by the way), more than 100,000 people showed up to show their support for the teachers’ strike currently taking place in Israel (tomorrow entering into its 40th day).

As you may know, some of the changes the teachers are demanding include the following:

1. smaller classrooms (25 children in a class as opposed to a whopping 40)
2. longer school hours (that’s right, the teachers want to add the school hours that have been cut recently due to budget cuts, and give the children the comprehensive education they deserve.)
3. higher salaries (my sister holds a Masters Degree, devotes all her time - both at school and after school hours - and devotion to her students, while trying to juggle a family of 3 kids.. and still earns significantly less than most people she knows. Even those who barely have a high school degree.
4. better teachers (Too many teachers today are bitter, lazy or impatient.  And unfortunately, with salaries like that, some of the best, most intelligent, most devoted teachers are often forced to change careers in order to make ends meet.) 

And so I came to show my support along with the rest of you. 

I was there: I saw you. All of you. Not only the teachers, but the students, the parents, the grandparents, the musicians who came to perform. I saw your devotion and I felt your hope for a better world. I saw people who were willing to put everything else aside and fight (I use this term lightly, because there was no anger or violence) for what they believe in.

And most of all, I saw you, the children.

I saw you showing up in masses on a Saturday night to hang out with your teachers and support them in what they deserve.  I heard your powerful speeches as you represented your schools, your generation and the generations to follow.  I saw you holding signs, singing songs and speaking out.

I saw the unconditional love that you carry in your hearts, and I know how tough that is growing into a society that is constantly under stress or conflict.

I saw a generation of children that are here to make a change. A generation that is willing to take a stand and BE the change that they want to see in the world.

YOU have the power to make a difference.  And you know it.

You are all beautiful souls, and I believe in you; each and every one of you.  Our future, the future of this country, lies in your hands. And for that, I am so grateful. Really, I am. Because I know that you are not going to put up with the way things are much longer. And not just as far as education is concerned but regarding every other change you wish to see in your future.

You are a kick-ass generation and I am proud of you.

At one point, as the thousands of children danced, smiled and sang along to one of the many famous artists who volunteered for this cause, my sister turned to the kids and said to me:

“Look at them… They’re amazing. That’s why I want to be teacher. There is nothing in the world that I would rather do more.”

Originally posted on OneJerusalem

Living In My Own World… Or AM I?

Yesterday I received the following email from a new reader (welcome Gina!) and felt inspired to answer it here in case others out there have similar questions… Here goes:

Someone at work keeps telling me I’m living in my own world (?) I don’t get it, so i searched online and up came your site!  You have a beautiful soul.  Can you tell me what it means to live in our own world? is it good? 
 
Also, about “the only message you’ll ever need“. That is so cool. How do you tell someone or give that message to people? 
 
long live happiness.
gina

First of all, Gina, thanks for the kind words and thanks for reading!

For me, it’s like this:

In the beginning (of time) I would get frustrated because I felt like I didn’t fit in or that people didn’t understand me… As I wrote in my little introduction text on the sidebar, I always did what I felt was right (a typical Indigo) and yet somehow my thoughts, opinions and dreams of a better world, just didnt seem to please society around me… I was pretty young when I realized that I was alone in this; that me and the ‘real world’ were just not on the same page… and I have to admit: it was tough.

Then, as the years went by, and I grew to know myself more, I slowly came to the conclusion that I liked myself for who I was and that I was sick and tired of trying to adjust myself to fit “inside the box.” I became proud of the fact that I was different and that my views on life were different. Because if following my heart meant that I was living in my own world, well then gosh darn it: SO BE IT!

That was then. 

What is happening now, however, (and this took me a while to comprehend) is that in the past 10 years or so, especially due to the age of Internet, I have been gradually awakening to the fact that maybe I’m not so alone in this after all!  So many people out there seem to be craving the same things as I, fighting for what they believe in, being the change that they want to see in the world and educating and inspiring others about it (through personal weblogs, sites like Zaadz, etc…).  So many more than I ever thought possible… I mean, you people are EVERYWHERE! 

And thanks to all of you, I realize now that I am not alone. None of us are alone, because we are all in this together…

Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all sentimental on you (ok, well maybe I did…)  So anyway, back to your other question:

…about “the only message you’ll ever need“. That is so cool. How do you tell someone or give that message to people? 

Well first of all, I’m so glad you asked this, because it shows that you care. It shows that you have what it takes to make a difference in this world.  So how do you tell others that you see them as they really are? How do you spread that love, that healing?

It’s simple:

By first seeing yourself for Who You Really Are. Even when others do not. Especially when others do not.  Because to see this in yourself is to change the world.

(Thanks, Gina, for crossing my path…)

The Only Message You Ever Need to Send to Anyone

Last night I feel asleep with the following words echoing in my mind, taken from Tomorrow’s God: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge by Neale Donald Walsh.  ’God’ discusses how when people are being anything other than the grander aspects of God and Life (meaning: Love, freedom, joy, peace, unity…), they have forgotten Who They Are in their grandest version. Our opportunity is to remind them: 

You are all messengers, and you have only one message.

“I see you.”

That is the only message you will ever need.

“I see you. I see the real you. I know the real you. I love you. I love the real you.

“you cannot fool me. I know you and I know who you are. You can act in any way that you wish, but I will not change my mind about you. I know who you really are.

“I see you, and I will always see. You cannot disappear, you cannot hide, you cannot change or lose your identity. You cannot be something you are not. You can act as if you are something you are not, but you cannot be something you are not.

“I will always see what you are doing. I do not care what you are doing, because what you are doing is not who you are. I will always see you at the level of being.

“I see you. I see who you are. Nothing that you do can blind me to that.”

That is the only message you ever need to send to anyone. It will heal everything.

How Microsoft Took Away My Freedom of Choice

Did you know that it is impossible to create a folder called CON using Microsoft Windows??

Everytime you open a new folder and try to change the name, it will automatically go back to ‘New Folder’…

Go on, try it - I know you want to.

Weird, right? But before all my conspiracy theories get out of hand, big brother is watching, etc.. I decided to do a little research and found this article:

It is in fact perfectly true that you cannot create a folder named “CON”, nor can you rename an existing folder to “CON”. However, there is no mystery surrounding this restriction whatsoever. The “team” at Microsoft, and a great many others besides, know perfectly well why you cannot name a folder “CON”. “CON” and a number of other character strings are in fact reserved names that go back to the days of DOS and cannot be used to name folders or files. Other reserved names are:

PRN

AUX

NUL

LPT1

COM1

Potential drive letter - A: to Z:

A number of others

 I have to say, I feel kind of *conned*… I always assumed that I could name my folders anything I wanted.. the possibilities were ENDLESS… the world was at my feet…

And now THIS.

Floating on a River of Abundance

Or “What Happens When You Read Too Many Self-Help Books”

Courtesy of my favorite Inspired Dude.

One Less Plastic Bag

A recent post on One Jerusalem discusses a new environmental program being inaugurated in Israel in order to persuade people to use less polymer plastic material:

The program, mentioned briefly on T.V. Channel 10, is asking consumers to “use one less plastic bag” when sacking up their groceries during their weekly supermarket shopping forays. Most shoppers use an average of 20-25 polymer plastic shopping bags each week; and though lighter in weight than paper bags, as well as slightly less polluting, these bags are not wholly biodegradable and wind up being buried by the millions in sanitary landfills and garbage dumps.

and then continues… 

To give you an idea of what can be achieved by using less plastic grocery bags, it is estimated that if citizens in a city the size of New York City use one less plastic grocery bag per year, the savings will be 109 less tons of disposable garbage and $11,000 less in disposal costs. Now multiply that by one less bag on each weekly shopping trip!

I don’t know, I still think my solution is better:

Is Someone Trying To Tell Me Something?

I woke up this morning thanking the Universe “for the upcoming day, for the new opportunities that will open up for me, for the people that will cross my path and the coincidences or synchronicity of events that will help me to find my true purpose and higher Self.“  (It’s something new I decided to try…)

A couple of hours later, an old friend I used to work with suddenly IM’d me asking me how I was doing and what I have been up to lately.

I told him a quick overview of my situation, which right now consists basically of the fact that I recently returned from a very inspirational journey to India and that I am focusing on my writing, browsing new income options and slowly trying to find my place back on track in the “real” world.

“Yeah, but what about singing?” he asked. “Are you singing??”

I was surprised by his question:

A) because I was surprised that he remembered how much I love singing and that he actually cared whether I was doing it or not
and B) because it was one of the things that had often crossed my mind (and my path) when I was in India.

First of all, I had been faced with certain social situations on the trip where I was challenged to overcome my shyness and so-called “stage fright” in order to enjoy the situations to their fullest. For example:

• performing a Hebrew song for the beautiful Muslim family that hosted us on their houseboat in Kashmir (they insisted I sing!)



• or singing English songs with little kids at an elementary school my husband and I went to volunteer at in Rishikesh



• or learning to let go and sing freely in my room even after realizing that the accoustics in the guesthouse we were staying at were horrible and that everybody could hear everybody whether we liked it or not. This, by the way, I learned on my first day there after innocently singing to myself in my room only to have one of the guests who was staying one floor below me tell me I have a really nice voice…

So not only was I challenged to face my fears but even more intense was the sudden deep calling I started feeling to somehow combine my love of singing with my spiritual path. I just wasnt sure what that meant… And it was very “convenient” for me to simply forget all about it, especially when I returned home.

That is, until my old friend asked me the million dollar question above and I was instantly sucked back into pondering the whole thing again. The only answer that seemed to come out was “Not yet, but I will.”

So that was that.

Later this evening, I went to try a Kundalini Yoga class for the first time in my life. The class was pretty interesting (though I don’t have much to compare it to) but what caught my attention most was a certain song that the teacher played at the end of the lesson. It was a mantra, a sort of prayer that repeated itself over and over, sung by a woman with a beautiful and angelic voice. Something about her instantly caught my attention and I was intrigued to find out who she was or what her name was. It also got me thinking once again about using singing as a form of getting spiritual messages across. I contemplated asking the teacher the name of the singer but for some reason, I just picked up my stuff and left, humming the song in my head.

Again, more “convenient”.

And back to my computer I went, only to find a random forwarded mail, waiting in my inbox. It read the following:

Recommended website: A singer who is all light and love.. Music for the soul: http://www.snatamkaur.com/web10.html

I had the honor of discovering the singer Snatam Kaur earlier this week. She really is a channel of purity that connects to higher dimensions.

I clicked the link, and to my shock and delight, the song that started playing on her homepage was… you guessed it… the same exact song I had just heard at the class… the same angelic voice.

I was floored.

I was inspired.

And after reading about her life, I was even more inspired.

So anyway, I don’t know what to do with all this yet.

But I guess I can start by thanking the Universe for the upcomimg day, for the new opportunities that will open up for me, for the people that will cross my path and the coincidences or synchronicity of events that will help me to find my true purpose and higher Self.

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