Life of Joy

Been at it today from noon to nine. I give my first chapter to the new editor on Friday at noon.

Michael leaves with Trent for vacation on Tuesday and I have the place to myself for about 3 weeks.

I need them!

I am not going to do anything much for anyone over the next 3 weeks, and I may or may not answer email, posts, the phone, whatever.

I may be weird, or unpleasant, or unaccomodating. Please just love me and know that it has nothing to do with you. The book has to be done by the end of the month.

When I get weird I may post here, or not.

Today there were many critical voices yelling at me as I revised the last fourth of chapter 1. I told them that they were being drama queens and dismissed their power. Even though I do not expect them to go away, I will not stop for their foolishness. If they must stay, they can sit at my table, but they can't boss me around.

Love you guys!

May you enjoy the coming year and may blessings and happiness rain down on you in the most delightful way! Woo-hoo!

...that go on and on and on.

Sun streaming into the large windows, and an energy of lightness and possibility.

So lovely.

We are resisting all urges to buy new furniture...we want to preserve this lovely sense of spaciousness.

Happy.

Thank you for adding your grace and skills to my life---you have enriched it tremendously. May your day be full of joyful play and happiness!

And happy birthday, United States of America! May this be a year of wise action and careful stewardship, in which you make good choices that care for all of your people. I am delighted to be one of your children, and I hope and pray that you flourish and thrive, bringing good things to the whole world and its peoples.

So Mote it Be!

Our Blue Star Wicca and Friends lending team on KIVA is off to a great start. Twenty people have joined, and many of our team members are friends of the tradition and/or people in it. Thank you, everyone! We now have Gardnerian, Christian and Eclectic folks as well as Blue Star folks. We are still hoping for strong Heathen representation, and I think it's just a matter of time.

You can meet our team members here:

http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeamMembers/?team_id=7406


So far, we've made loans to 20 people living all over the world. You can see the people we've helped here:

http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeamLoans/?team_id=7406


Our Team Summary page describes us in this way:

"We loan because...We want to share the use of our resources and wealth with others around the world in support of men and women of all faiths and all walks of life.

About us...We are a cross-tradition team of Wiccans, Pagans, Heathens and Christians who revere the Gods and respect the ancestors of many ancient spiritual traditions from across the globe."

Thank you, KIVA lending team members. Please remember that you are heroes of the most pragmatic kind: you are helping men and women build their homes and businesses so they can take care of their families and communities around the globe.

I am proud to stand with you.

As if I needed more proof that they were critical and necessary...

We have been waiting patiently for the first of two very large checks representing Michael's share of this house. We were given a bank check from another institution yesterday afternoon, and deposited it immediately.

This morning we awoke expecting to see it clear, as it was a bank check rather than a personal check.

No dice. Five hundred of it was available, and all the rest was still pending. When Michael called to inquire, he was told it could take up to TWELVE DAYS to clear because it was so large.
( Read more... )
Money = freedom, and if you have it, you retain the freedom to build the life that you want in the way that you want.

If you don't, you can lose that freedom easily, when a check takes longer than expected to clear, or a refinance/sale drags on and on.

If we had not been able to fund ourselves, we would have lost this apartment and found ourselves in a real pickle.

Well, we did it: we ordered the upstairs large spiral rug:
( Read more... )

We took possession of the apartment today.

We brought in sea salt, sparkling fruit juice, fresh bread, white sage, delicious earthy incense and a gardenia plant. We also bought a new broom and dustpan and took it with us.

Then three of us (Michael, Trent and I) sprinkled a a little salt on all the floors---in the closets too---and opened up the windows. We censed the whole place with sage and swept all the floors, tossing the smutz it in the dumpster. Each of us selected an old key on ribbon or string and censed/salted it, placing it on one of the doors. Trent chose the key that came with his "Coraline" Wii game and put it the doorknob to his room, even though it doesn't lead outside.

Finally, we walked the house with our sweet incense and sang about all the happiness we and our guests would enjoy in this place: peace, delight, productivity, fun and amazing financial success.

We just made up songs and sang and sang as we carried the incense about. We all had a wonderful time, especially Trent.

The gardenia brought vibrant life to our kitchen, and it, too, smelled wonderful.

Then we shared the sparkling juice and foccacia with each other, and met our neighbors.

It was good.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/torchwood/download/

It says available July 1 for UK only, but I bet it will be available elsewhere. I hope.

You add so much to my life, and your kindness and skills bring me great joy. Thank you for sharing so much with me. I am incredibly lucky to have you as a friend and colleague.

Happy keyboard dance of joy!

dbceauebfhcauhdbv aieufhbviWUEBRHFI;wjenfWKJENFwkenf

To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

~ Buddhist Saying

You know, I've always thought that my mom and dad gave me little or no cultural capital around money, but I was wrong. I got two important things from them: a model of how to save, along with a positive way to think about saving ("cheap is smart"), and many, many stories of the Western Kansas millionaires who were part of my dad's isolated farming and ranching community.

As he tells it, they were regular guys who treated their community very, very well, maintained a humble image, didn't get caught up in any kind of glamorous "lifestyle" and drove really, really old trucks.

( Read more... )
So I guess I absorbed the message that wealthy people are wise community servants. I learned that they have alot of common sense, they use their money and resources to take care of their families and their community responsibilities and they don't give a crap about looking slick or rich.

It's a pretty good model. I'm grateful for it.

I was so pissed off by the Visa Black invitation that I had to generate my own counter (culture) invitation.

I'm not a media maven with the power to get my message in front of the world, but if I was, I would invite everyone to join this group:

http://www.businessdevalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/millionaire-next-door.pdf
( Read more... )
The typical wealthy individual is a businessperson who has lived in the same small town for most their life owning a factory, store or service company. They are married once and stay married living in neighborhoods which are not equally affluent. They have made their money on their own – are compulsive savers and investors. There are 7 common denominators of these persons:

1. They live well below their means.
2. They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.
3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.
4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.
5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.
6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.
7. They chose the right occupation.”

[Excerpts from "The Millionaire Next Door," Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D.]

These are some of my role models: they value freedom and autonomy above image, and common sense more than immediate gratification. They think before they act. They are independent, and they foster independence in their children and the people they love. They choose the right paths for themselves and they pay attention to the world around them.

I think another word for this is "wisdom".

I just noticed that Brian the Money Guy's latest podcast includes a rundown of the Black Visa card (he begins his analysis in the middle of the show). He echoes many of the observations made in the last post and its associated comments.

http://www.money-guy.com/

Brian also points out that while this card is trying to make like it's the newest Amex Centurion card, it's actually much more analogous to the Amex Platinum (with a similar $450 annual fee) in terms of benefits, rewards and concierge services.

He also points out there are a number of cards on the market that offer almost exactly the same package...but are absolutely free.

I think the Visa Black card is just amazingly stupid.

Michael got an invitation to apply for this thing.

Selected Stats:

* $495 annual fee; $195 per authorized user
* Default credit rate (applied as soon as the first day of the cycle in which a payment is late): 26.99%

LATER EDIT: My error: the maximum default rate is actually 29.99%. Someone is going to hell for this, and I don't even believe in hell.

Marketing Hook:

"Limited to only 1% of U.S. residents, Black Card members are ensured the highest caliber of personal service...Made with carbon, the Visa Black Card is guaranteed to get you noticed."

My question:

* This is aimed at the stupidest 1% of U.S. residents, right?

But Visa is correct about one thing. When I see someone using a Black Visa card, I will indeed notice. I will be thinking:

* How is it that you are able to talk and dress yourself without assistance?

* How could you have an income high enough to acquire this unbelievable horror, without first being able to afford the therapy that you so desperately need?

We got home from festival and spent a few days doing laundry, easing in and checking in on our accounts. Despite the budgeting time we put in, something slipped through the cracks in our busy lives.

When I got up early this morning and took a quick look at our TD Bank accounts, I saw that one of them was overdrawn by $29. Immediately, I transferred money into that account and called the customer service number on the webpage right away.

When I reached a customer service rep, I explained what I had discovered and what I had done in response. I also asked her to walk me through what had happened so I would understand it and be able to identify any associated fees.

( Read more... )
But since I've developed a good relationship with Element Money, I didn't do any of those things. I moved from a place of focus, confidence and curiosity, rather than a place of desperation, anxiety, and denial. As a result, I lost no money: instead, I got lots of help keeping it and new insights about how to manage overdraft problems in the future.

This reinforces my belief that attention, confidence and curiosity attract money, while inattention, anxiety and denial repel it.

...and it sounds pretty good.

Now I just need my honey to help me weave it in with my intro and closing music and help me upload it to my website. I will ask for his help this evening, and post here when it's finally up.

Once it's been up for a week, I'll post the script here in a friends-locked post.

This morning Michael and I designed the basic floor plan of our new apartment/workshop/Circle space:

1. We will create two large gathering spaces, one upstairs and one downstairs

2. Our furniture will be minimal and easily movable, so we can easily clear space for ritual and movement OR set up padded folding chairs for workshops and classes. Most of our furniture budget will go to purchase large, nice rugs, sitting pillows, floor lamps and bean bag or zafu style "chairs" that can be easily spread out or piled up along the wall for ritual, exercise and movement/interactive exercises.

3. Our many folding chairs and Craft/craft supplies will be stored next to their points of use in enclosed wardrobes

We may be giving away a large, 3-burner grill with a stove. One burner does not work but can probably be repaired.

I so look forward to holding Circles, classes and workshops in my own space again!

We will be moving in July.

...and feeling good and full of love.

Yay Michael and Trent bunnies! Hurray for my lovely tribe and my family!

Free Spirit Gathering 2009 has come and gone, leaving a wave of transformation and opportunity in its wake. This year, I was part of a panel discussion about volunteering as a spiritual practice, a workshop about making friends with Element Money and several talks about how Blue Star folks might contribute to the well-being of their communities, their greater congregation and this beautiful world.

I would like to build on this momentum by inviting you to join my lending team, Blue Star Wicca and Friends, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur across the globe. You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay the loan, you get your money back. You may choose to withdraw it and use it as it is returned, or you can loan it out again---you decide.

You can also join the team now without making a loan, and then later, when a better opportunity presents itself, you can log in and make your first loan.

http://www.kiva.org/team/blue_star_wicca_and_friends

You may notice that this is not a traditional charity: ultimately, you will get your money back unless your loan defaults (an unlikely but possible outcome). However, I believe that the gift of your money's use is as important as any permanent contribution---just ask the 79 people to whom I have given a KIVA loan. :) And in this recession, KIVA offers a way to make your money work harder: your money can be re-loaned again and again, allowing you to "tithe" to the world with same seed money that you can ultimately reclaim when *you* have need of it.

Many spiritual traditions offer their members the opportunity to give back to the world around them: some ask for local volunteers, some spearhead community projects and some encourage tithing. I would like to invite you to join this group as we look for creative opportunities to give back a little here and there, touching the lives of people of all faiths and all walks of life.

If you join this lending team, we can work together to alleviate poverty by helping motivated women and men help themselves. Once you're a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva "count" towards our team's impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments will still come to you - but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team's collective portfolio, so our team's overall impact will grow, and we can encourage each other to be the change we want to see in the world!

I want to thank you for all of the gifts you have already give to our community. If your ministry and current relationship with Element Money allow, we would love to have you on our KIVA lending team as well.

If you are interested, please leave me a post here and/or email me. Please make sure that I have your email address (you can send it to me at sabridotchase atverizondotnet).

Peace and B*B,

Sabrina Mari
Clover and Braided Stream Covens
Blue Star Wicca, New Jersey