next part of CHAPTER 1: meet Ziganths

FIRST part of CHAPTER 1
Ziganths [pronounced: zig-ANTH-ssss]

It was just completely wrong.  Being here was just completely wrong.  Why did they have to travel to places like this and just take.  Ziganths just hated himself.  He hated his people.  He just hated his race.  He'd felt like this so long, centuries by human year-counts, but he was still merely a teenager among his people.  He felt miserable knowing he was absolutely powerless among his own.

Zig felt horrible about everything his people, the Annunaki, stood for and everything they did.  He didn't understand why almost all of his people felt it was their right to take anything they needed or desired and give nothing back.  He understood the thought processing that made it right among the majority.  He understood the theory.  He just could not comprehend the ability to believe such things to the extent and in the way most of his people did.  He couldn't believe that his race's mode of operation was a truly acceptable way of being and it certainly was not, so far as he was concerned, living.  It was merely existing.  Worse, even than survival.  To take and give nothing was merely existing.

Zig longed to do more than merely exist.  He yearned to learn from those from whom the Annunaki only took.  He desired to understand their ways.  From his vantage point of centuries of existence, it seemed to him that the minute-long-lives of the humans were fuller and more completely full of LIFE than anything he had yet experienced.

His desires were considered taboo among others of his kind.  He'd only ever found a few others like him.  There was only one other youth in his company who felt similarly.  Zidelths was the closest thing he had to a friend.  But because they were not of the same dwelling floor, they could not spend time together without arousing suspicion.  The others who harbored feelings like his were almost all ancients among his people, so far as he could tell.

Middlepathkeepers were so stuck in the culture.  They were unwilling to consider that there could be good outside of their own ways.  Surely there must be an exception of two even among them, but Zig refused to attempt to converse with any of the Middlepathkeepers about his taboo thoughts and feelings again because of the un-accepting and unbending refusals and rejections his wishes had earned him.  His parents had firmly demanded that he refrain from his unacceptable thought processing which had resulted in a firm reprimand on their permanent record.

He wondered repeatedly why he must feel so differently from the majority.  Why couldn't he just feel like the others?  It would certainly make his life easier.  But... when it came right down to it, he didn't want to feel the same way they did and enjoy doing and existing as he was forced to do and exist currently.  It didn't seem that they were truly better off  for their views, beliefs, and practices than he was in his divergent ways.  Perhaps his lot, being the outsider, was an improvement over belonging to the society of takers he despised.  Yes.  It must be.

So, if he was really okay with himself, as odd as he was among his own kind, what did that mean?  What should he do!?


© 2008-2012 Tori Gollihugh All Rights Reserved

next installment: the June 20th, 10am

The Same and Always Different

I continue to think and ponder much on Unity and Oneness with our God and each other (including all Mommy's battling in the Mommy wars... working and homemaker alike!).  I just keep realizing anew how totally the same (and always different) we are!  This isn't always a pleasant re-realization for me, but, for the most part, even when unpleasant it is somehow comforting.

So, we are one with each other because we are all part of God.  If you don't believe that, then this post (and probably much of what I think) will likely be uninteresting to you.  And that's okay.  It would've been totally uninteresting to me not too many years ago.  I have not always understood as I do now.

Like, for instance, my views and practices regarding attire.  If someone would've told me 10 years ago (or, heck, even when I was preggie and even 4 weeks postpartum with Jmy) that I would lose all desire to wear pants and that by June 2012 I would've been wearing skirts exclusively for more than a year, I would've laughed them to scorn.  You see, I knew who I was!  And that just simply did not fit into the person I knew myself to be.  Then God stepped in... some thoughts happened... and here I am!  Seriously changed.  I was just thinking about wearing pants again (a particular pair of size 10 jeans, which I do not fit in currently) and I just felt an absolute absence of desire to actually wear them... try them on, YES!  But no desire whatsoever to wear them.

And so I'm now two people.  My past self who would never have believed I could be one of "those" women... and now, one of "those women".  And I'm happy with both parts of me.  You see, I know that who I was helped me become who I am and I'm REALLY striving to stay in a place of acceptance, peace and love of and for me.  (NOT always an easy task, for sure!)  This person I am, even more than the person I used to be knows that even though this is part of my path, maybe it's not for every woman.  Maybe it is and others are simply in a different place.  Maybe it never will be.  Either way is a-okay.  Seriously.  Because regardless of what is right for me, I truly believe that if it right for someone else and they are trying to be God's, He will bring them to it in His own Way and time.  This is MUCH easier to say and feel and know and believe about everyone in the world outside of my little nuclear family.  It is true of EVERYONE in the world.  I'm just not as good at extending Charity and many/most of the good character quality traits/virtues to those closest to me.  (REVEAL!  I'm a TOTALLY imperfect, fallible, and sin ridden woman... I bet you never woulda guessed it!!  HA!)

Anyway... I completed following back in February.  It is representative of this subject, I believe.  It is also meant to be a representation of The Mandlebrot Set... in a limited way.  :)  Its title is in words on the painting itself.

How are YOU today?

Just wondering.

How ARE you today??

next part of CHAPTER 1: meet Yilandria

FIRST part of CHAPTER 1, if you haven't already read it... and you can move forward from there.

YILANDRIA [pronounced yil-AN-dree-uh]
Yiddy [pronounced yi-DEE]

The time was coming.  Mum and Daddy said so.  Surely they would know.  The prophecy was specific and easy to the understanding f had the right combination of Gifts.  It was clear that her parents were two of the few who could understand readily.  During all of the time she could remember of her 15 years, Mum and Daddy had always known things others didn't know.  Sometimes Mum knew them more clearly, but when Daddy tried, he knew immediately as well.  Yilandria thought that's the way it was for everyone, but had learned otherwise in a training mod when she was 11, which had become very confusing and frustrating because of her lack of understanding.  It was bad enough that her co-mods had looked at her oddly on a regular basis, but it became even more pronounced when she had spoken her assumption that everyone understood as she and her parents did.  She has explained a very very short portion of one of the most simple prophecies, read by everyone almost daily.  When asked how she knew what she was talking about, she had shrugged and asked, "Doesn't everyone?"  Some had wrinkled their brows with anger, while others looked worried and even a little scared.  They knew they would be severely reprimanded if they were unkind to Yiddy for her inappropriate revelation, but she'd felt seperate and unaccepted during the remaining cycles of that mod.

It was rare that anyone left the colony to make checks, but her family had been asked to do just that.  She was pretty sure it was because of her parents' Gifts. She wondered why she was so specifically asked to accompany them.  They would've taken her anyway, but the Captain had spoken directly to her and asked her to journey with her folks to make the distance jump to the Moon Post.  The fact that he'd asked her so specifically worried her enough that when she thought on it too long, her bgelly felt all clenchy and upset.

Yiddy looked up from her page and back down again without seeing.  She hadn't written a single thing toward completing her assingment for the day.  Mum would be disappointed.  Yiddy felt disappointed with herself.  She knew her education was of treme.  Mum and Daddy had told her innumerable times that no matter what they did, they could  It was up to her to learn the material they provided for her learning.  She really did love to learn!  It just felt impossible to focus after the meeting with the Captain earlier in the morning in which he specifically requested her to make the journey with her parents.


© 2008-2012 Tori Gollihugh All Rights Reserved

next installment: the June 18th, 10am

next part of CHAPTER 1: meet EMEM

FIRST part of the story HERE.

Emem [pronounced: EM-em]
11 year-old Emem was beyond excited that his Mother, Celestia, was taking him to the observatory today.  He was happy to learn whatever his Mother planned for his days, but his favorite activity was always to watch eA-arth.  His Mother had been one of the lead sign spotters and communication specialists before he was born.  Her knowledge was still sought on a regular basis.  She didn't mind, but she always seemed happiest when there were no outside interruptions in their days.  She told Emem that he number one AND favorite work was with him, teaching him and just spending time with him.

As they walked to the observatory, he felt his heart begin to race and he started to swing his Mother's hand and skip a little as he walked.  He looked over and slightly down at her and she smiled back at him.  He was so very happy!  She was his everything.  Sure, he loved his Dad, but his Mother was the light in his days.  He loved the way her hair was always perfectly pulled up and knotted into a bun when they were out among others.  Her hair was beautiful, bt he loved that it was almost always hid away except at home.  She had the most beautiful brown eyes and deep dimples when she smiled, which she did often during their days together.

Emem wondered if they would have the changce to see anything interesting on their visit today.  It was always wonderful to watch eA-art, but his favorite days were those in which he got to see the hidden ones checking on the outworld to observe the sign makers at work.



© 2008-2012 Tori Gollihugh All Rights Reserved

next installment: the June 16th, 10am

Vulnerable

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html?source=facebook#

This is great.  About vulnerability.  Definitely need to LEARN this.  Already know it... now to learn it.

next part of CHAPTER 1: meet Tru-Kru

If you've missed the beginning, START HERE and you'll be guided through each section until you're right back here!  :)

Tru-Kru [pronounced True-Crew]

Dabsoners came into existence in exactly the same way and at almost exactly the same time as the Mabsoners.  The only difference in their races is that the Mabsoners were found and raised by Manatees, while the Dabsoners were rescued and adopted by Dolphins and/or Porpoises.

Tru-Kru, a strong 13 year-old Dabsoner, was swimming with his pod near the shore of Flagler Beach, Florida.  He was swimming at record-breaking speeds for a human, but always lagging far behind his dolphin family.  His body, which was long and lean, was completely hairless from swimming at high speeds constantly.  He was shocked by the surging bubbles that leapt at him from below.  He was buffeted by them, unable to control his flight through the water and further seperated from his pod.  He was tossed by the bubbles and struggled to reach the surface.  As he did, the same strange bird Aly had seen exploded from, what seemed to Tru, an enormous bubble surrounded by a fountain of water that pushed and moved the bird up through the water to explode into the sky.

Tru watched as the bird, flung by the air bubble and water fountain, kept going up and up almost until Tru could only see what looked like a normal-sized bird that soon disappeared into the clouds.  Before the bird disappeared from view, though, Tru spotted movement in a strange sack attached to the bird's back.  Tru almost completely motionless, moving only enough to stay afloat, as he contemplated the oddity.  He'd never seen a bird so large, or any bird for that matter, come from the depths of the waters.  And he'd certainly never seen a bird with a thing attached to its back like the one he'd just observed.

As he was pondering on the strangeness, he heard his Mother's call for him.  He knew she would be breaking the surface momentarily, so after waiting a few heartbeats, he called back and then slowly moved toward her.  He knew she would be back to him far more quickly than he could reach her, so he didn't rush because he was still puzzling over the strangeness.  His efforts were not focused and he was feeling lazy as a result of the curiousity... it was like there was something in the air that caused him to move even more slowly than his normal slow pace.

© 2008-2012 Tori Gollihugh All Rights Reserved

next installment: the June 15th, 10am

next part of CHAPTER 1: meet Keera (third part)

the FIRST part of the Chapter 1
SECOND part of Chapter 1

Keera [pronounced key-AIR-uh]

Born of a human mother, the only life she'd ever known was that of the manatee.  Her mother had boarded a hired motorboat with a group of other women who had completed thirty-five weeks or more of their pregnancy.  EVery woman who boarded paid a large fee to ride that death ship.  The women were being taken to unburden themselvesin the Gulf of Mexico.  Some were already in active labor, as with Keera's biological mother.  Others were being hooked up to stolen IVs that would feed synthetic hormones into their systems and cause them to give birth too soon.  All babies born were either born directly into the water, as was Keera, or thrown overboard as soon as they were born into the hands of one of the male ship's owners.  This practice had occurred long enough that the manatee knew and watched.  There were too many mothers losing their calves.  They yearned to nurture.  Even a human.

Keera was held above the water by the cow that eventually became her mother.  Each cow in the group that night, as with many others before and after, held a baby above the water.  Not all of the cows were in milk, but they worked together to save the babies that would live so that those who had lost a calf might have a baby to nurture.  They'd done this long enough that they knew what to do and how to do it.  The first humans saved were accidentally rescued.  Generations had passed since the beginning of this new race of humans.  The rescue meetings became a regular event in the lives of the manatee.  With each new moon, the manatee watched the dock at which the death ships docked and signaled to their sisters, who waited at the dump sites, whether there would be any possible rescues that night.

The adult humans first rescued by the manatee came to be an integral part of the rescue effort and enabled the manatee to rescue alive more of the human babies than they had before that first generation grew to adulthood.  Keeku, Kwee, Eea-eat, and other Mabsoners were not specifically aware of the human to animal genetic manipulations that had transpired for generations prior to their rescues by manatee.  Had they known, they surely would have been grateful for it was those experiments that enabled their race to change rapidly to suit their environment.

Some babies, like Keera, never cried after their birth.  The shock of the water, though considered warm by water-dwellers, was far too cold for the tiny bodies of the babies and prevented some of the babies' cries.  The submersion of Keera's tiny body in the too cool water changed her body-system immediately.  As a result, she, and all the other rescued human babies, were able to live in the water for the majority of their lives.

A few of the dumped babies did cry out.  The humans on the boats did not care.  They never even considered how it could be that they might hear a baby cry once it was disposed of.  They trusted that the child would die soon enough.  They were sure the water or sharks would take care of the mess they were creating.

As much as Keera knew she should dislike or even hate the humans who had obviously disposed of her, she refused to hate them.  Instead, for the whole of her life she was fascinated by their ways and their language.  She loved to watch them and hear them.  Even though it was extremely unsafe, she had, on rare occassion, left the water to try to stand as she saw them do on their boats.  In every free moment that she could steal away, she felt magnetically drawn to them and had, with great effort and straining ears, learned how to speak as they spoke... sort of.  She's never had anyone with whom she could speak the human language, but she loved the way it sounded when she spoke it anyway.

Now, as a beautiful, though far too thin for a Mabsoner, 12-year-old Keera was watching over the new manatee cow-mothers who had recently lost their calves and who were hoping to rescue discarded human babies.  They were organizing off the shores of Pensacola, Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.  They must have things in order because the moon was right for a dump.  Keera was hopful that the mothers who had just calved would be able to bond with a new one who would live.  Month after month some of them tried, only to be disappointed because the human babies they caught could not survive in their world.

Keera worried about her family; both the other Mabsoners and manatees.  Those who looked something like her were always in danger of discovery and those that had taken them in and blessed them with more life than they otherwise could have experienced were decreasing in number.  The number of calves lost each calving time was astounding.  Somehow, though, the manatees survived.  Miraculously, it seemed to Keera.  The manatee's numbers were decreasing regardless of the effort the Mabsoners put forth to guard and protect them.  They could do very little most of the time for fear of discovery.  They all, manatee and Mabsoner alike, knew that if the Mabsoners were discovered the humans of land would not be pleased.  They didn't like to share the world with each other or the other animals in it.  Surely they would be severely displeased to learn of a new kind of human.

The worst the humans of land could do was kill them all.  And since they knew of at least one Mabsoner murdered by a human, they preferred to err on the side of caution.

© 2008-2012 Tori Gollihugh All Rights Reserved

next installment: the June 14th, 10am

The NEXT installment has already been published.  Click NEXT to get to it.

Pasadena, California... Who are you?

Seriously.  I have a reader who lives in Pasadena, CA and I have racked my brains trying to figure out who you are and have come up absolutely blank.  So, because I'm super curious like this, I just wanted to ask in hopes that you might confess thyself to me so that I might thank you for visiting so regularly!  ^_^

Okay, so I've already sort of thanked you... above... but I'd still like to know you.  Who you are, I mean.  Please comment to tell me who you are... if you could... would!  :)  That's be SO sweet!!!

next part of CHAPTER 1: Annalynn

FIRST part of Chapter 1

Annalynn [pronounced as it looks]

She gazed dreamily out at the Atlantic Ocean.  Annalynn love the sweet little viewing room in which she was sitting almost at the top of the wonderful yellow, Victorian-style home.  This house was certainly a stand-out in the sleepy little surf town of Flagler Beach, Florida.  She hadn't been happy to leave her friends and the world she knew when her parents felt the need to move, way back when she was three years old.  But now that she was 13, it wasn't such a bad place.  In fact, she'd grown to love it.  She barely remembered living close enough to her Mother's large family to visit daily.  Although she missed them, she realized that her life was good where she was.  She still loved the times when she was able to see them, but didn't feel angry at missing out on all the family events they celebrated together.  Her Dad's family was small and they didn't talk much.  For whatever reason, even though communication was as easy as touching glass, they did not communicate either in person or long-distance.  Not much.  So, although she wanted to see them, she didn't feel as though she missed them very much because she really knew them a lot less than she knew her Mother's family.

It really wasn't the right season for whales, but she hoped she'd see a dolphin or a porpoise or two.  The sun would be peeking over the horizon soon and then, if they were out there, she would be able to see them more easily, highlighted for a while against the light at the horizon.  She loved to watch them frolic in the waves.  In her little bird's eye room, she could see quite a ways out into the distance.  The water was murky today.  The waves were tumbling, but not too rough.  Aly was glad when she was up here away from the water.  She enjoyed watching it and could handle almost any degree of turbulence, but she had a fear of and abiding distaste for the depths.  When in them, the waves caused her stomach to clench with fear.  Yes, it was much nicer to sit in the deep cushions of the round wicker chair - so very much like a nest.  And the breeze coming through the room was just wonderful.

As she dreamily gazed at the water's surface in the distance, Aly suddenly saw something burst from the water.  She was sure she hadn't see a bird dive for a fish anywhere near where the jet of water burst.  Was that a bird she saw emerge from the spray?  Surely it couldn't be.  But yes.  It must be some sort of bird because whatever it was kept rising as the water fell back to it's home.  Aly had already been sitting straight, though more relaxed than when around anyone else.  But now she was sitting straight like a tightly pulled guitar string about to pop.  She felt enlivened and full of energy, too.  She realized she was holding herself the way she'd been taught to do in ballet.  Relaxed energy, erect and poised, straight and graceful.  As she studied and watched the bird continue to rise, she giggled at herself and realized, with some pleasure, her dance studies really had some impact.

There was something strange about that bird, other than its unusual size.  Aly thought it looked a bit deformed.  She couldn't be sure because she wasn't even sure what kind of bird it was.  But it looked as though it had some sort of growth or tumor on its back.  Aly felt a pang of compassion in her gut for the pain that creature must feel with a growth of that size always present.  She sent a prayer that the bird would arrive at its destination in safety no matter what.

© 2008-2012 Tori Gollihugh All Rights Reserved

Next Installment: TOMORROW!  ^_^

I Heard About a Couple Marches A Couple of Times Today...

I heard about them from a friend and then via a blog I sometimes read.  And I just feel compelled to write about it.  Mostly in answer to those Mormons who would support the D.C. March.  I mean, I could see supporting the one in SLC, but NOT the one in D.C.

So... here's what I have to say for anyone interested.  :)

Gay people certainly deserve to be loved by any and every one, just as all of us do.  This is not our reality because we live in a fallen world, of course.  But I believe they (as all of us) DO deserve love, acceptance, and agency.

As Christians, we Mormons and other Christians, we are commanded to love everyone.  Even those who practice a homosexual lifestyle!

I love them.  I accept that their life choice to practice homosexuality IS their choice and an expression of their agency.  I will not support (and we have been directed, I believe, of the Lord and our Leadership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that we should not support) their efforts to have their union legally qualified, declared, and made marriage.  It is not.  It is a union that is NOT sanctioned by God.  There is no way to argue that it is if you believe in God, His Word, and modern-day revelation.

Whether anyone believes it or not, homosexuals ARE either born desiring those of their own gender OR come to know it during the period of sexual awakening in the tween or teen years.  This happens without any thought on the matter whatsoever by those individuals.  However, they use their agency to choose the Lord's Way or the way of the flesh.  This is the same struggle (though more intense, surely) that most humans have in various forms.  It is (surely among many difficulties they are here to overcome), a part of or the primary source of their "cross" to bear and their "natural man" to overcome.

If gay marriage is legalized across the board in our nation, one day the right of every worthy Mormon to worship in the Temple will be discontinued, at worst, and, at best, interrupted because it will be put in jeapardy by court proceedings originating within the homosexual community.  Someone will desire to be sealed to their same-sex partner and push their marriage on the LDS Church and try to push it in to the Temple for the Sealing Ordinance.

This would interrupt every Mormon's ability and legally protected right to worship as we desire and have been commanded of the Lord to do.  Thus, the reason we are directed that we must love our neighbor, but not necessarily encourage all his legal efforts toward having his or her union called the same (marriage) when it simply is not the same.

March for love, tolerance and agency (which, as I understand it was the purpose of the SLC March).  NOT for equal marriage “rights”  (as was the purpose of the D.C. march).  Oh, DANGEROUS Doctrine!

First Part of CHAPTER 1: Matt

MATTHIEL [pronounced Matt-high-EL]

Matthiel was excited about his first flight into the out-world.  He had been training to be a sign spotter since he was 9 years old.  He'd loved the training in the beginning, but after the first couple of years of it, he'd wanted to fly out and find signs himself.  Now, at 14, he was a Junior on his first flight.  He was far more excited than he'd expected he would feel.

Dio waited patiently as Matthiel climbed onto his back.  The wandering albatross (Diomedea Exulans), Matt's acting patrol senior, was able to shape-shift into an albatross much larger than those typically seen in the out-world.  But because they flew so high, Dio's size wasn't noticed much, if at all.  A scrawny 14 year old harnessed and camouflaged on Dio's back would be barely noticeable from the ground.  Once day in a few more years, Matt knew he would be allowed to use his shape-shifting ability to fly out and spot signs on his own.  Until he was given leave and advanced to that station, he would simply have to accept his Junior position on his mentor's back.  He was frustrated that he wasn't allowed to go out on his own now even though he'd been smoothly shifting for more than a year.  It was almost unheard of to have such a strong gift at his age, but given his parentage, Matt thought his shifting ability should have been expected and plans for his education made accordingly.  That's not how the Elders saw it, though.

As Matt waited for last-minute arrangements to be made, he shifted in his cocoon.  The sack he was lying in was firmly attached to Dio's back and they'd made numerous test flights around the training house, but Matt just knew it was going to be different on his first trip into the out-world.  Dio and other Spotters had told him stories about their journeys.  Matt was excited and nervous all at once.  He felt the moments move by as slowly as the flying snails flew.  Yet, when the signal came to Matt and Dio that all was clear for takeoff, Matt felt as if he'd only been in the sack for a split second.

His parents were watching from the training grounds.  He didn't know if they'd be able to see much since it was still pretty dark.  The center sun wouldn't light thier land for another hour or more.  Matt knew his classmates were anxious to hear about his first flight.  They were especially excited because he was the first among them to begin training as a Spotter.  As Matt felt Dio shift and move under him, Matt heard Dio in his heart-mind, "All snug?"  Matt calmed his mind for reply, "Yes.  Assuredly."  Dio, with a smirk in his vibrations said to Matt's heart-mind, "No reason to get all formal, Matt of the Heel!  We'll have a grand ol' time!"

© 2008-2012 Tori Gollihugh All Rights Reserved

NEXT installment... TOMORROW!  ^_^

TWO of four birthdayS in ONE family

I'm planning to call and wish them each a HAPPY day, but wanted to publish our celebration of and love for your baby girls, Evelyn.  HAPPY birthday to BOTH of them!!  ^_^

I'm Going to Begin Sharing

So, I've decided I'm going to begin sharing the story I've been working on for years.  I'm only going to share a limited portion of it for free in hopes of getting you so interested that you'll want to buy installments... sorta like the old days when, say, Dickens was published however often he was published in the nickel (or penny?) magazines of the day.
The difference is, of course, my blog is the "magazine."  I'm hoping to publish a Chapter each week, which will run (assuming I get to choose how much to charge on the sites through which I would market my story) 5¢.  I think that's a SUPER good deal now-a-days, don't you??

Why a nickel?  Nostalia maybe...  Not that I was alive that long ago.  BUT I do remember the day of under $1.00 for a gallon of gas.  Doesn't THAT seem like ages ago??  ^_^  Anyway, I just think it would be neat to have it cost so little and (creating what I hope is a self-fulfilling prophecy now:) SUPER awesome to make money even though charging so little!  ^_^  Wouldn't that just be so wonderful!??!!

Watch for it.  First installment (FREE) coming SOON**!!!

**soon like tomorrow  :)

Oh, and here's my Copyright Notice for this Blog and all Published herein:

© 2008-2012 Tori Gollihugh All Rights Reserved

^_^

Some of What I've Been Thinking Lately (THE MANDLEBROT SET)

Namaste

I've had a lot on my mind lately.  I desire to share all of it, but will not.  I'm a slow learner when it comes to trust.  But I think I am finally beginning to understand some of the lessons I have been stuck in for these many years since I've been truly Converted to the Restored Gospel of Christ (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).  I'm sure there are others who must learn the lesson of trusting more... but mine has been to trust much more sparingly.

You see, "...the natural (wo)man is an enemy to God and has been since the fall of Adam..." (Mosiah 3:19).  (I added the "wo," of course, to the man in the part of the verse I quoted.)  My nature is to share everything REALLY openly and talk about whatever is being talked about REALLY freely.  Some would say this is good, but you just don't know me if you say that... especially the me I used to be, which was WAY more OPEN than I have been for the last couple years.  But even so, there is yet closing I need to do, which I find quite amazing, challenging and even difficult.

The train of thought on which I have done a great deal of pondering lately, which I desire to share now, is about thought.  I'm pretty sure I've shared this video before.  Make sure you skip to 2:20:38 and watch through 2:27:10.  Only about 7 minutes to watch so that you may have your mind blown.... if you haven't seen it or heard of The Mandlebrot Set, that is.

This brings me to, more specifically, the central focus of my own personal lesson on thoughts that has been emphasized by the Holy Spirit really recently.  The following picture is a representation of Father God's lesson to me.  This lesson is taught innumerable times throughout the Bible, The Book of Mormon, General Conference talks, and etc.  This lesson is very important and I have not fully learned it because I have not successfully lived the lesson during the most difficult of times.  I sure am striving, though.  Fallin' flat on my face and getting up to try to make some forward progress.

2 Nephi 2:11 "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things."

And here are a couple links to Conference Talks that mention and/or focus on this idea of feeding or starving certain trains of thought:

We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down by President Deiter F. Uchtdorf

Preparation Brings Blessings by President Thomas S. Monson

Of myself, I would like to be so much more specific and tell you a few stories to illustrate the lesson in my life!  I feel specifically Led, however, that this lil' post is complete.  How difficult for me to end here.  Well, I hope you are lifted and feel encouraged and able to focus on feeding thoughts of Light, Good, and (most importantly) what God would for you!

Oh, and here's a blog post that struck a tremendous chord in me... her thoughts on thoughts are just what I needed the day I read 'em!  ^_^

Sat Nam.