Posted on Monday, 17th November 2008 by Maritzia

November 17 is World Peace Day, a non-religious, non-governmental, grassroots movement to promorte peace.

Today, gather with a few friends or co-workers, join hands in a circle and take a few minutes to meditate on bringing peace into the world.

Make some paper cranes and hang them in your office or give them out to promote peace.  Better yet, send them to some of our world leaders with a message of peace.

With enough energy, we can send out ripples of peace throughout the world.

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Posted on Sunday, 16th November 2008 by Maritzia

The Tarot card for today is The Lovers.  Again with the choices.  You think someone is trying to tell me something?  The Aeclectic Tarot says:

When this card appears, you are being told to trust you instincts, to choose this career, challenge, person or thing you’re so strongly drawn to, no matter how scary, how difficult, irrational or troublesome – without it, you will never be wholly you.

So this could be part of the continuing job decisions I’m making.  I don’t really think of this job as being that important, but it is something that I’m really enjoying and want to continue working at.

The Goddess card today is Guinivere.  I find it interesting, since in many myths, Guinivere preferred Lancelot, but she married Arthur because it’s what she was supposed to do.  I’m trying to get away from things I’m supposed to do in life and look more at what I want to do.  I know it’s common for those raised in abusive households to constantly worry about doing the right thing.  I’m trying to break out of that mold, be less concerned what others think of my decisions, and make decisions that are best for me.

For those of you who are tarot readers, I have a question.  How much emphasis do you put into reversed cards?  Some guides I read say that it’s important, others say it’s completely unimportant.  I’d love to get the opinion of some of you who have some experience working with the cards.

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Posted on Sunday, 16th November 2008 by Maritzia

Obama isn’t waiting for the inauguration to start giving his weekly radio addresses. He’s hitting the ground running. I missed last week’s address, but I’ve got this week’s address for you here:

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Posted on Saturday, 15th November 2008 by Maritzia

Today’s card is The Hanged Man.  This is always an interesting card to draw because it can mean so many things.  I had to spend some time thinking about The Hanged Man trying to see where he fit in my day today.  The Hanged Man is about the inner journey, about spiritual insights, and at some level about surrender or sacrifice, because we generally don’t acheive significant steps in our journey without giving something up.

This week I had to make a particularly hard decision, at least one that was really hard for me.  Because I have chronic health issues, I am a fanatic about having health insurance.  As some of you know, I was laid off from my  job in August.  I’m working again, but it’s as an independent contractor, meaning I don’t have insurance through my work.  I’ve been trying to figure out how to afford to COBRA my insurance, but I’d be pretty seriously in the whole financially by the end of February if I pay for COBRA.  My only choice was to look for a job that covered my health insurance.

But the problem is that I don’t want to change jobs.  I like what I’m doing.  It’s a great opportunity to increase my technical knowledge and skills.  I like the people I”m working with.  I just didn’t want to go back to the same things I’ve been doing over the last 20 years.  I want this opportunity!

So I made a decision.  I’d give up the insurance for the chance to do a job that I enjoy.  There it is.  The sacrifice.  And it was a hard one for me.  But hopefully the reward will be worth it.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the promise of the Star and the 10 of Pentacles holds true.  I’ve made the sacrifice.  Now I want the reward.

The Goddess card today is Vesta, the Roman Goddess of Home and Hearth.  Vesta can indicate a change in the home, either a move or change in occupants.  It can also be a call to make changes in your home, making the home more inviting, more warm.  *laughs* Warmth would be good right about now–I’m freezing!  Because the utility just got a 26% increase in gas prices, we’re keeping the main heater off.  We’re spending most of our time in the back of the house (computer, bedroom and bath), heating with a combination of a small space heater and the heat from the computers (you’d be amazed how much heat 4 computers can give off in a small area).  But I don’t think Vesta is telling me to turn the heater on.

While Mark and I are incredibly compatible and very  much in love, financial issues still take their toll on us.  My giving up the idea that I absolutely must have health insurance really has helped both of us feel better about our financial situation, and we’re both more relaxed, which of course makes our whole home more inviting.

Don’t forget, I’m still offering free tarot readings in the 3-card spread.  Send me an e-mail if you want a free reading.

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Posted on Friday, 14th November 2008 by Maritzia

I’m a little late getting to my cards today.  But, better late than never, I always say.

Today’s card is the 10 of Pentacles.  Quite a propitious card considering how much I’ve worried over work and finances lately.  According to the Aeclectic Tarot, “This is the pinnacle of prosperity, material goods that last instead of being temporary;”  Yesterday was the card of hope, and today is the card of long term prosperity.  Maybe, after years of struggle, things are going to start looking up for us financially.  Really, the only thing lacking in our lives (that of my husband and myself) is any kind of financial security.  It seems that is the one area where we always struggle.

The Goddess card today is Mother Mary, “expect a miracle”.  Well, I’d say those two cards go quite well together *laughs*.  Part of the instructions from Mother Mary is to keep faith that your prayers will be answered and to be open to the prompting of the divine.  I’ll admit that hasn’t always been my strong suit.  I’m rather hard headed and like doing things my way.  The divine usually has to whack me over the head pretty hard to get my attention.  It is an area, though, that I’ve been working on the last decade or so, being more open to spiritual promptings and guidance.  Maybe I truly am getting ahead a bit in my spiritual life.  We’ll see.

Stay tuned tomorrow…same bat time…same bat channel.

Don’t forget, I’m still offering a free 3 card Tarot reading.  Just send me an e-mail.

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Posted on Thursday, 13th November 2008 by Maritzia

Now that the election is over, I’m trying to get back into learning the Tarot cards better.  So, I’ll be trying to pull one card a day along with a Goddess card, for daily guidance.

Today’s card is The Star, which is quite propitious for me.  I’ve been allowing myself to dwell on the negatives of life lately, especially where my current job is concerned.  I really like the job, but I’m working as an independent contractor, and after the first of the year, I just can’t keep working like this.  It just costs too much without the associated benefits (mainly medical).  The Star tells me not to give up hope, not to throw in the towel.  There is hope in the situation.  It might not improve immediately, but it will improve.

The Goddess card for today is White Tara, which is about sensitivity. “Avoid harsh relatinoships, environments, situations and chemicals”.  Well, the Goddess knows I’ve been in a majorly pissy mood the last couple of days.  I haven’t been this irritated by everything since I had my ovaries removed.  I could swear I have PMS.  And the card is right.  When I’m like this I need to avoid those things that will push me over the edge.  Which means stop obsessing over money *laughs*.

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Posted on Tuesday, 4th November 2008 by Maritzia

Today’s the day.  If you haven’t voted already, get out and do your patriotic duty!

I don’t know what to do with myself today.  I’m excited, nervous, hopeful, scared….

I wish I could afford to take time off my job to work the polls.  I can’t though, so I’ll just keep thinking hopeful thoughts all day.

Remember, if you have any problems at the polls, report it:

NPR Tracking Voting Problems

If you have a cell phone with you, you can call 1-877-US-4-OBAMA to get assistance.  The campaign has people on the ground across the country to help with voting problems.

You can also call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to get help.  This is a non-partison voter assistance program.

If there is a problem with your registration, resist taking a provisional ballot.  Use a provisional ballot as a last resort only.  Your vote is more likely to not make it through if it’s on a provisional ballot.

Good luck today at the polls!

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Posted on Saturday, 25th October 2008 by Maritzia

Chuck Westbrook has a great idea.  Build a network of bloggers to help small blogs build traffic.  The idea is that everyone will read the same blog for two weeks.  Then we move on to a new blog.  That two weeks gets the writer a chance to really showcase their blog and hopefully attract some long term readers.

Blogging can be so much fun, but it can also be frustrating when you blog day after day, week after week and never really build a community of readers.  So with this idea, we can really make some blogger’s day.  Wander on over to Chuck’s and check it out, and sign up if you’re interested.

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Posted on Friday, 24th October 2008 by Maritzia

I found this on a tweet from pinkcowsgomoo.  This is seriously too adorable for words.  Seriously.  Go look at it now.  Be warned, though, it may cause sighing and the least and even possible AAAAWWWWW’s at it’s cuteness.

Nice Words

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Posted on Thursday, 23rd October 2008 by Maritzia

Every election year I come across someone supporting a flat tax plan.  The way a flat tax works is everyone pays a flat tax on their gross income without any deductions, usually around 10%.

On the surface, it sounds really nice.  It simplifies the tax code, makes filing really easy, and everyone pays their fair share.  No loop holes to get out of taxes.  Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Well, here’s the reality of that plan.  Let’s look at two families of four.  Family 1makes $30,000 per year, and Family 2 makes $250,000 per year.   Family 1 would pay $3,000 per year in taxes, and Family 2, $25,000 per year.  Does that sound fair?  On the surface it may seem so.

But Family 1 pretty much requires all $30,000 of their money just to put a roof over their head, food on the table, and clothes on their back.  The $25,000 that Family 2 pays pretty much comes from discretionary cash.  It’s money they don’t have to have to survive.

Family 1 is shouldering a disproportionately larger burden because they have to juggle necessities to pay their taxes.  Family 2 has to pay less for their luxury vacation or their expensive car.  The money they are paying in taxes doesn’t come close to the money they need to live.

And, of course, Family 1 also had several thousand dollars of out of pocket medical expenses because they can’t afford to pay for health insurance, so their burden is even more disproportionate than we first saw.

And that, my friends, is the Myth of the Flat Tax.  Of course the rich support it.  The taxes they’ll have to pay will hardly put a dent in their lifestyle while at the same time they can take pride in paying “their fair share”.

Don’t give in to the Myth of the Flat Tax.

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