New Service for Children

For donation I am exclusively doing energy work in my specialized way which includes reiki and pranic healing. It can be in-person or remote. Adult, please be present with child to avoid legal liability issues. I am no longer doing energy work on adults to simplify my practice. Please send e-mail to radiancenaturephotography@gmail.com for further information.

Touched by a Rat

My goal was to have the living room completely clean and organized as a gift for my sister on her birthday. One darkened corner of the living room was particularly disgusting, which I chose to attack last, due to fact that unwanted houseguests had invaded during a long vacation when the house had been empty. (Some had two legs--the others, which followed--had four.)

So with a mask to cover my nose and willing hands, I set to work. I swept up large rodent droppings. I pulled out dust bunnies. I consolidated old pieces of cardboard, dated circulars, and wrapping paper. I then stared down at that creepy old cream-colored baby carriage, which had been stuffed with every un-necessary piece of junk imaginable. I was particularly put off by it because of the amazing diversity of crap in it--fabric scraps, clothing patterns, and bent plastic flower arrangements, among other things. I had to conjure up a certain degree of courage to attend to it. I dove right in, attacking layer after layer of difficult-to-reason-with clutter.

Then suddenly, my nose unexpectedly picked up an offensive odor. I passed it off and kept digging. There it was: The remains of a dead rat, perfectly in tact save for its flesh, perfectly laid across a miniature wooden rocking cradle. The wavy hair on it was so shiny, it glistened. "Like golden fleece," I thought. The small skull and coarse tail belied its gleaming costume. Just underneath the cradle was a large doll with rolling blue eyes and long auburn hair, covered in its droppings.

How gross, yet how moving.

Now you see, I don’t have an attraction to the macabre. I tend to avoid it at all cost. It had been clear that the rat was poisoned. But the tale the rat told was profound. In its last hours, the rat had gone to the most nurturing place it could find on the planet. And no question that it has been in pain. This really, truly bothered me. Poison was the preferred method of extermination for household invaders, and luckily two human females kept it from happening since I had moved in. You can guess who the second female was.

But the strange thing is, this rat hadn’t chosen a ratsy, nesty, dirty old corner behind some old shelving units or floorboards to die in. It went to the sweetest place of nurturing humanly imaginable. The wooden cradle was most likely a collectible, and it had probably been in a child’s hands, as had the doll, as had the baby carriage…all soaked with human sweat, salt, and body oils.

Well, there you have it. Although the rat’s life had clearly been forsaken by humans, it chose the most nurturing, loving symbols of humanity to expire in. That is how much animals love us.

A Little Extra Nudging from St. Theresa (from a chain mail LOL)

Look at the picture (of St. Theresa), read the prayer and then make a wish and read the prayer again. I am picking people who have touched my life and who I think would want to receive this. In case you are not aware, Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways, meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love... She is represented by roses. May everyone who receives this message be blessed. Saint Theresa's Prayer Cannot be deleted. REMEMBER to make a wish before you read the prayer. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. Just share this with people and see what happens on the fourth day. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive... Read the prayer below. Saint Theresa's Prayer:

May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, Dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

Notice to Those Considering Theft of My Creative Material

I know you are out there--and I know who you are. Stated clearly in my blog are terms of use of my material. Don't do it. You have enough of your own creative material so you don't have to carry out these malicious or spiteful activities to express an idiotic form of vengeance. Besides--what for? A seize and desist order will follow.

"At Least She is Still Alive"

I am not so sure.

On Owning Living Nature

(This essay was originally posted as a response to killing Mother's blog post, Owning Paradise: Snapshots from the Edge.)

Thank you, killing Mother, for your thoughtful essay.

As a social ecologist, nature photographer, and empath, I have experienced similar revelations--and have put some to pen--but not so eloquently as you in this essay.

It is painful to see the widening gap between rich and poor, especially since the poor once had rights to living nature; now it appears that access to nature (and its resources) is becoming a privilege for the very wealthy. I think about the Mexican farmers who are now gradually being forced to purchase water from increasingly privatized supplies controlled by the likes of Nestle.

I once read that the names of housing developments are often derived from the animal or habitat they displace, such as "Fox Run," "The Owl's Nest," "Crystal Grove," etc. It is all very sickening.

Watching the world through a lens and then presenting the image to the world is vaguely understood as a dishonest process (at least by omission,) and lately, I have been waking up in the middle of the night thinking of my studies in college, and books like Camera Lucida. I think about how the digital encroachment into photography helped soup up photographs so that roses became "punched up pink," and how an ordinary-looking photograph could look somewhat extra-ordinary with software modifications.

Also coming to mind from reading the Owning Paradise essay is a story that Murray Bookchin shared with us at the Social Ecology intensive quite a number of years ago: That fish--just as we are--are sentient beings, and Murray shared an example of how one fish tried to keep another propped up in the water as it was dying...

These strange stories stay with me in the wee hours. Your story, killing Mother, will keep me up too.

http://killingmother.blogspot.com/2011/06/owning-paradise-snapshots-from-edge-of.html?showComment=1307493087590#c3856369916112437143