“Sound when stretched is music. Movement when stretched is dance. Mind when stretched is meditation. Life when stretched is celebration.” ~ Ravi Shankar

The concept of stretching comfort zones is fast becoming a cultural cliché. And it’s typically just something people say to placate themselves from actually doing any real stretching. But it’s still vitally important that we do so. Stretching comfort zones isn’t supposed to be comfortable. It’s supposed to be challenging. There is pain involved, but it’s more like eustress, a beneficial stress.

If you’re not being challenged, then you’re probably not stretching yourself enough. If you’re nice and cozy in the kingdom of your ideals, surrounded by the moat of your precious worldview, then chances are your comfort zone is more akin to a boundary than a horizon. Time to do some stretching. Perhaps some traveling is in order. Or maybe find a giant’s shoulder to stand on.

By Ansel Oommen
Guest Writer for Wake Up World

Insects and other invertebrates account for over 90% of all living species, building the basis for most ecosystems. In fact, they often dominate their landscapes through both sheer number and volume, providing many key services, either directly or obliquely, as pollinators, recyclers, pest control and as food for a host of animals.

Due to the effects of dramatic changes in climate, habitat loss, and pesticides, insect populations are declining worldwide. Honeybees, for example, have attracted media attention since 2006, with their death tolls linked to neonicotinoids and a lack of supportive flora. The monarch butterfly, whose population once reached 900 million in 1995, now sits precariously at a meager 56.5 million- a 95% drop, placing it within risk of extinction.

Keeping this in mind, the role of the urban gardener is now more important than ever before.

Light workers;
Children of God, Spirit, Infinite Oneness and any other name you choose to use; work together, embrace and take care of each other with love, understanding and compassion. You will all be needed because the time of the “early awakened” is at hand and it will be a joyous occasion! ~ Creator

https://thecreatorwritings.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/working-together/

Dear Ones, as you embrace your own divinity and authentic power, you begin to guide yourselves on your own unique paths. All of the old limiting belief systems that have ruled you for so long cease to influence your decisions, and instead you choose to navigate your lives beyond old societal expectations and the fear of judgment. You honour your complete capability in all ways, assuming full responsibility for self, which allows you to experience the freedom and sovereignty that you have been yearning for all along. ~Archangel Gabriel

http://trinityesoterics.com/2015/08/17/daily-message-monday-august-17-2015/

ONE WITH NATURE   “Isn’t Earth a lovely place to spend some time? Take a few moments to drink in the beauty of this planet. Focus on the flowers and plants. Feel gratitude for the animals that hold everything in balance. Be appreciative of the water sources that provide nourishment for your body and soul. Feel the magnificence of the mountains, the prairies, the seaside and deserts.

Breathe it all in and receive the nurturance that Mother Nature provides for all. We offer you an exercise to help become more in tune with the energies and sentience of the Beings around you. The best place to do this is in Nature, away from the noise and interruptions of humankind. If you have trees nearby, choose one for this activity. Second choice would be a bush or perennial flowers.

If you are in a place that has no outdoor space or you must remain indoors, then cozy up to a houseplant. Lean with your back against the tree or sit near the plant. Take several deep breaths while relaxing your muscles and clearing your mind of the day’s activities. As your mind clears, focus on the plant. Scrutinize the plant, looking carefully at each part, including the underside of its leaves. Notice the coloration of the various parts, the shape of the leaves, the bark or stem, each section of its blossoms.

God said:

One moment you feel that you love too much, more than most. You are certain that you know how to love deeply, and, then, your heart is too often rubbed the wrong way, even assaulted and betrayed.

And then the next moment you despair of ever truly loving at all. You may feel you have never loved, and that you never will know how to love as other people seem to do, have happy marriages and savor every moment of life rather than be dismayed.

You don’t want to realize that you don’t know to love. You don’t like to realize that the moments you believe you love you are pulling the wool over your eyes.

Then sometimes you say to yourself:

“If this world I live in is a story-land anyway, what does any of it matter? What is the use of it anyway? Story with a happy ending, or muddled story, or deeply unhappy story, what does it matter? All a dream.”

Even as you ask your despairing questions and trivialize your life, you know that life is important. It is painfully important, for love is the Holy Grail you seek from the depth and height and breadth of your heart.

You don’t care if all of life is a fairytale. Why can’t you live a fairytale that dreams are made of? You must have it. You must have this at least once in your lifetime and at once.

“It’s very unusual,” says Finnish photographer Lassi Rautiainen, 56, of the strange friendship between a female grey wolf and a male brown bear. The photographer spotted them together every day for 10 days straight and shot these amazing images of the two.

“No-one can know exactly why or how the young wolf and bear became friends,” Lassi told the Daily Mail. “I think that perhaps they were both alone and they were young and a bit unsure of how to survive alone…It is nice to share rare events in the wild that you would never expect to see.”

Enjoy.