The Wolf Moon of 2010

This is a series of photos I took last night of the moon, nestled in the leaves and limbs of my trees. Intentionally, I tried to put the moon in positions where it would look like an illuminated egg or orb within the trees.

It is said that the Wolf Moon comes once a year in January in the Northern Hemisphere, and we are in the United States. Tides were at their highest as a result of this moon being closer to the earth than any other time during the year.

I then took the photos and worked with them to turn them into my impression or expression. Where fuzzy, it was intentionally. Where pixelated, also intentional.

I hope you enjoy my little short. I used the haunting title song from the Thomas Newman score for the film White Oleander. He is a great composer and I hope to play his music on my piano someday.

Peace-

Getting Healthy

I look at this photo of me as a child and I am not fat, not bone thin. So what I get from this basic information is that I do have it in me to be like this. Yes time passes and I am now 54 years old, but I can't or won't believe it is too late to get healthy and even reverse some of my years by eating well and moving my body.

Sometimes I wonder if it starts in the mind or the body. Where does health begin? Is there really any true health if the two are not on the same level of existence? What I believe is that this can teeter back and forth forever without ever really finding a balance spot. I mean, it's okay to lean one way or the other but the oscillating is not a good place. How can anyone do much when they are dizzy with this imbalance?

Embarking on a growth process, changing how the mind thinks and feels along with how the body is nourished is huge for anyone let alone someone who at times feels crippled with the fear of never having achieved improvement.

Do I have to go back to the way I had to think when I stopped drinking and using drugs and use slogans found on A.A. tables, and the 12 Steps and Traditions? It worked for my alcohol and drug abuse. I'm clean and sober for 26 years as of Feb.5. That was also the day I lost everything I owned in a house fire. I had nothing; not a piece of paper with my name on it. Every gift anyone ever gave to me, every photo, poem or journal I had kept since I was a teenager. Sometimes disaster has to strike, but I would like to avoid the health scare disaster I am facing if I don't get with it and get this weight under control. I've been battling this for 17 years now. When I quit smoking 13 years ago I did gain about 75 pounds. I still have it. It's going to kill me. Time to get going.

peace,
victoria

Embarking on a new beginning AGAIN!

This year I truly and desperately want to get a hold of what is going on in my body. I want to rid myself of all junk, corn, gluten, animal anything (I'm already a vegetarian for 6 years) and eat more raw and natural foods. I am tired of being tired and sluggish and inflamed and lazy and fat! So tired. My health suffers for it. I am using a book called: The Quantum Wellness Cleanse by Kathy Freston.

Becoming vegan is something I've been wanting to do for a while now and this is as good a time as any. There is absolutely no reason to eat anything which comes from the suffering of an animal. Yes, milk makes animals suffer, so does cheese. Can you imagine being hooked up to mechanical milking machines every day of your life for hours and hours while you stand in your own void? I can't.

I continue to develop my Buddhist practice, fall short most of the time, dust off and stand up and do it again. Practice, practice, practice. Learning how gigantic my ego and arrogance had become has been very cathartic. It is never about anyone out there, it's always about my projection on them. If I can see my husband as an angel, I can see anyone as an angel if I project that. My ego doesn't allow me to do that. It tells me that person is this or that. It's all such a ridiculous lie.

So, I will try to make regular entries on my progress, and get back into doing yoga regularly, deepening that aspect of my life can only improve every other part of my life. When I was doing yoga I walked taller and stood straighter. I'm slouching again and this is not acceptable.

I also plan to start gardening again this year, so look forward to photos and stories about this aspect of my development. It's been three years since I've seriously gardened and my yard looks like it. I can gauge my garden on how cluttered my mind is. Right now it's a weedy mess. Time to get to work. I'm a Buddhist practitioner, not a lazy slug. I want to be the Vajra Warrior I know I can be. With the help of my Holy Guru Rinpoche, and all the other incredible holy beings in my life, this shouldn't have to be difficult.

One last thing; recently I have located a lost cousin. Her name is Crystal Rainone and she is the daughter of my father's younger brother. She is in the film industry and is a motion capture artist. Her most recent accomplishment is her work on Avatar! If you haven't seen it yet, treat yourself to a good theater with RealD 3D or Digital 3D or even IMAX 3D and see it. Here is the trailer if you haven't already seen it ten million times!

Stay tuned to my life changing progress if you wish...

peace,
Victoria

Now the trailer of the motion capture aspect of the film, which is in HD so please click on the icon to expand it to full screen without losing any quality:

It's been a very long time!

The new logo I designed and then Rinpoche commissioned someone to do the finished artwork. The logo for the FPMT Center, Land of Compassion and Widsom. May it flourish in the years to come, grow and grow.