#Peace Matters - Part 4

#PeaceMatters and The World

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

How do you, a single person, impact the violence in the world?

The answer is the same as last week but at a different level.

First: Live a life of peace.

Second: Talk about peace. You can have conversations with friends, family, neighbors, etc. Write letters to the editor. Mount a campaign on Social Media.

I listened to a news analyst quote a statistic the other day that said people who are active on social media tend to be more angry than people who are less active or not active at all. If you are on social media – make sure there is a message of the benefits of peace in your words. Another way to phrase this is that those people who are angriest are also active on social media. Update: After the November 2016 election, there were reports about "false news" on social media. If we want a peaceful life we Must take responsibility and check the veracity of what is said. Some people are very skilled at using language that speaks to negativity and fear. What I know is true is that we cannot and will not live peaceful lives in the larger world if we live in fear.

Third: Support others who promote peace. You may want to like or retweet their post. Comment on their blog. Vote for them in an election.

Fourth: Put yourself out there! Write that blog or other social media venue post.  Be a model in your family, neighborhood and community. Run for election. And I'll add here - not only write about peace, write about overcoming fear. Fear is the foundation of anger and hate. That triumvirate is the antithesis of peace.

Fifth: Don't give in to fear! Those who are instigators of violence often do so because they want us to be fearful. To give them power over us because we are afraid. There are very few, if any, situations that cannot be resolved if all parties want a peaceful solution.

If everyone who says they want peace (and that is the majority of people in the world if one is to believe the polls) takes responsibility for our own peaceful lives, the world must become a more peaceful place.

I grant you, it isn’t easy.

But that’s part of living in a democracy! If you see the movie “An American President” with Michael Douglas and Annette Benning airing, watch it. Watch to the end when Michael as President Andrew Shepard makes a speech before the White House press corp. 

I won’t quote verbatim although I’ve seen the movie so often I could! He talks about how America is Advanced Citizenship and notes that Democracy isn’t easy. I do believe that speech, while written in the 1990’s, is pertinent to the world we live in today. 

Living a peaceful life because #PeaceMatters isn’t easy but now more than at any point in my life time, it is important.

Please share your thoughts, comments and perspective. I truly do want to know.

I hope you've found something in this four post series that is useful to you. What I've found is that #PeaceMatters even more now than when I first wrote these posts.

And, after you've shared your thoughts and perspective in "comments", please share this post and the others with other people who believe #PeaceMatters.

Judith also posts the first Monday of the month at Romancing TheGenres.

You can follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s website and her Windtree Press author page.

Judith also is on Facebook. Here’s the link. 

The Turn of The Wheel and Sabbats

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

In ancient times when people’s lives depended on their ability to understand the world around them, they learned to tell time by the moon and the sun. Most people know the moon waxes and wanes whether they understand how our ancestors used that knowledge or not. Again, most people have heard of the beginning of winter, spring, summer and fall.

What might not be known is that besides these four predominant markings of the turn of the wheel, there are an additional four holy days that mark the in between times.

The Wheel of Life celebrates all eight holy days or Sabbats. Since my Romancing The Genres post talks about Winter Solstice, I’ll start there.

Winter Solstice or Yule marks the longest night and shortest day of the year.

Imbolc marks the half-way point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox or Ostara.

Spring Equinox or Ostara marks the first time day and night are equal.

Beltane marks the half-way point between the Spring Equinox or Ostara and Summer Solstice or Lithia.

Summer Solstice or Lithia is the opposite of Winter Solstice. Now we experience the longest day and the shortest night.

Lammas is another half-way point. This time between Summer Solstice or Lithia and the Fall Equinox or Mabon.

Fall Equinox or Mabon is the second time during the year when day and night are equal.

Samhain or All Hallows’ Eve is the opposite of Beltane and marks the half-way point between the Fall Equinox or Mabon and Winter Solstice. In some traditions, Samhain begins The Turn of The Wheel of Life.

Want to know more? Here are some resources for you.

You can find each of the following books at Llewellyn Publishing.

Sabbats – Llewellyn publishes a guide to the Sabbats each year.

The Magickal Year by Diana Ferguson

Circle Round by Starhawk, Diane Baker, Anne Hill

When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone

Another resource for print books is Book Depository. They ship anywhere in the world for free.

If you’re curious but aren’t sure you want to delve into the Sabbats from a non-fiction perspective, you can read my Sacred Women’sCircle series. Throughout the series you will celebrate the Sabbats with Lily, Elizabeth, Diana, Ashley, Hunter, Gabriella and Sophia.

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my

website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

© 2016 Judith Ashley

#Peace Matters - Part 3

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

#Peace Matters and YOU

I've added pictures of what, to me are peaceful scenes at the Oregon Coast, the the text of my January 2016 post. I also added two additional pictures (my drum and a spruce cone) that can serve as a focus point in meditating. Even if you do not meditate, spending a few minutes (or more) looking at a peaceful, calm, quiet scene or object can relieve stress.

How do you, a single individual, impact the violence in the world?

I won’t tell you it’s easy, but it is simple.

Live a life of peace.

That means giving up revenge for a wrong no matter how grievous. (It does not mean you do not call the police, press charges, or testify in court).

That means staying peaceful in mind and spirit when someone cuts in front of you while driving or scares you half-to-death because of some antic while on the road. No cussing, shaking of fist in the air much less “doing it back”. (You can call 911 if you can give a description of the car and driver.)

I’ve been working on this one this past year. My success is not quite 100% but close. I have my driving conscience in the form of this snowy owl that hangs from my passenger side visor. And I choose to say a quiet prayer for the safety of that driver. Why? Because if that driver is safe, the others of us on the road are more likely to be safe also. And because I do believe that all behavior is purposeful. There is something happening in that driver’s life such that how he or she is driving makes sense.

It also means finding ways past disagreements that are not resolvable (it does take two people to find common ground and put the disagreement in the past).

I’ve stewed for years over my neighbor’s unwillingness to take care of her hedge. When I made a commitment to live a life of peace, including peaceful thoughts, I knew I had to do something about the hedge which had grown over one-half of my carport roof. It cost me over $300 to have my neighbor’s laurel hedge cut back from my property but I no longer stew over the *!X)# hedge.

Stress is the underlying cause of many of our health problems so it makes sense to figure out how to reduce and eliminate as much as we can.

Here are some questions I ask myself:

What do I control?

What can I do about what I control?

How do I let go of what I cannot control?

I’m not saying it is easy to find our answers.

But the process is simple.



Take care of what we do have control over.
Let go of what we cannot and do not control.
These are the keys to living a peaceful life.

What do you do to minimize stress in your life so you live a more peaceful life? You never know when an idea or practice you share can help someone else find their own answers so don't be shy!

Judith also posts the first Monday of the month at Romancing TheGenres.

You can follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s website and her Windtree Press author page.

Judith also is on Facebook. Here’s the link. 

#PeaceMatters - Part 2

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

It was dark when my granddaughter came in the door with a small package in her hand.

“What’s this doing outside?”

I hadn’t gone out to get the mail – too much junk mail these days and it was cold, windy and icy.

Since she had her baby daughter with her, I was distracted so didn’t open the package until the next morning.

Once opened, I found a beautiful blue sparkly box inside with a card. When I opened the box I was delighted to see business size cards with the message “Peace Matters.” 

Upon further inspection, I found a larger sign with the same words. 

I'd been blogging for several months about things we can do to create our own happiness and make the world (ours and others) a better place.

My friend had a similar idea – just coming from a different perspective.

Peace does matter. It matters globally as well as in our individual lives. If you live in a violent home or neighborhood, you do not sleep as well as you do when you feel safe. The tension in your body can create health problems which can affect your life in hundreds if not thousands of ways.

It is much easier to see the beauty around you and feel joy and happiness if you feel safe. And safety is a direct by-product of PEACE.

What comes to mind when you see the sign “Peace Matters”?

I’m given away two “Peace Matters” business size cards to two people who leave comments who are in North America. Please leave your email address so I can contact you, if you want a chance to win.

Judith posts the first Friday of each month at Romancing The Genres.

Check out Judith's website and 

her Windtree Press Author Page.

You can find Judith on Twitter .@JudithAshley19

And Facebook.

#PeaceMatters, Part 1

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

January 4^th, 2016 I was optimistic about the year ahead. My first 4 posts were about “Peace” because I was concerned about the increase in violence, wars, and hate rhetoric to name a few. Who knew eleven months later I’d still have those concerns about the world around me.

What is true though is I can only control myself. I cannot make anyone else do anything although I can attempt to persuade them to my point of view.

This December, I’m revisiting those January posts with additional information/thoughts/comments or not. Please join me in an on-going quest to find peace in our world.

Another year is here and All is right in my world.

Having the view that our life is unfolding as it should is a double-edged sword.

When everything is going well, it is easy to lay claim to what is happening.

When everything is not going well, it is much more difficult to find the bits and pieces that still work; to stay focused on the positive; to still claim our lives and find our way forward.

Having had many disruptions in 2015, I know how hard it is to stay focused on the positive. However, those disruptions and the work I had to do to find and focus on what was still working was well worth it because I’m stronger in my determination to manifest my dreams into my reality in 2016. And 2016 also had an abundance of disruptions! That certainly hadn’t changed but for the most part, I remained optimistic and steered my life back on course.

Every Monday in December I’ll be posting a blog on something positive. You are invited to join me on a quest to find ways to interact with each other in such a way that our world and the world of others will be a better place.

Please accept my invitation and join me!

Share what you do to move from a negative mindset to a positive one.

Share what you see going on in the world around you.

I also post at Romancing The Genres on the First Friday of the month. You can read mylatest post here.

Learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

Sign up for my Newsletter and receive an e-copy of Lily.

My New Life - A New Image?

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

I’m twenty-eight days into celebrating my birthday today. Who knew it would be as challenging a month as it has turned out to be.

Initially I was euphoric because I had my house and life back. No one but me to be responsible for or to.

I’d also written the first two blog posts early in the month.

You’ll note that the second post was 5 days late being published because I was gob-smacked by the election results. Who knew?

My third post is about catching up. I’d gotten a bit scattered in my thinking, something that happens when I’ve overwhelmed.

And here we are on November 28^th with the month almost over. I’ve spent time with best friends celebrating my actual day of birth. I’ve had many phone calls and well wishes. I’ve continued each day to find little ways to show myself unconditional love—the best gift of all.

I’m now ready to choose an image that reflects the new me. You’ve three options to choose from. Let me know in Comments which you like best.

All who comment will receive a copy of Lily if they leave contact information.

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

My New Life - Publishing Stories

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

I’ve been writing about my birthday month and my new life and about changing my image. Below you will find a third photo of me in a different pose.

You may notice that my 11/14 post did not show up on 11/14 but not until 11/18. It was on my ‘to do’ list last Sunday to decide which of the head shots I’d add to that post before publishing—

And then I remembered that I’d submitted both Gabriella and Sophia to Windtree Press and my RWA chapter's Newsletters as New Releases! And they weren’t yet released!!!

Sunday through Wednesday I worked hard to get them finished and published. Gabriella was really ready to go except for uploading to Jutoh and compiling for the versions for Amazon and everyone else. Oops! Jutoh had been upgraded since I last used it to publish Hunter last year. I remember reading the notice when I first logged in but then something happened. My frantic brain didn’t register the information. Thirty minutes later as I struggled to do what had always been simple before, it did register. Duh!

As soon as I processed that there was a new version, and took the time to see what was new, everything went smoothly. I can attest to the reality that the new version is even easier to use than the previous one.

Now on to Sophia. I had feedback from my editor, Kelly Lynne Schaub, on one scene. I even emailed her for clarification. Another sigh (actually several of them). I really liked that scene! So, I called and talked to Sarah Raplee and emailed my #ftb group (FinishTheBook). More sighs…they all agreed with Kelly. So, back to the drawing board. I wrote a new scene, Sarah made it better and Kelly said it was what she was talking about.

On to Jutoh with Sophia.

Oops! Links!!! Yep, newsletters like to put links to your books in the announcements. Another scramble because I’m using Universal Book links now. When you go to my website and then click on books as you scroll down the list you’ll see “Buy Links”. When you click on one, it will give you a list of e-retailers where my books are available. Pick one. Click and you are at the e-retailer and can purchase the book. The Universal Link program keeps track and when you click on another book, it will take you immediately to that e-retailer. Pretty cool!

My new life this week has been consumed with publishing tasks. I’m grateful they got done!!!

Here’s my latest professional headshot. What do you think?

Check back next week and vote for your favorite.

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

My New Life - Birthday Celebrations

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

My new life is now over two weeks old. I’ve danced through my house, celebrating that it is once again “my space”. Oops! This post was due up Monday but I spaced thinking it was scheduled to publish. Sigh...added the picture and am publishing today (Friday). Will have a new post and picture on Monday. Thanks for understanding.

When I pick things up, they stay picked up. If there are dishes in the kitchen sink, they are my dishes. The only food in the house is food I eat (which is really good because I don’t always have the will-power to turn away from ice cream).

I’ve spent this past week picking up the bits and pieces that got dropped along the way.

My writing goals remain the same albeit altered because I’m not sure I can complete the final edits on Sophia and publish both Sophia and Gabriella; write four prequels and then publish the seven prequels along with creating my Author Newsletter, finalizing my new website – after all, there are less than sixty days left in the year.

Where I am right now is deciding on whether to change my author headshot. I’ve had several professional headshots done over the years. 

Last week’s blog post features one.

Today’s post has yet another option.

And, to make things even more interesting, I’ll be including more options the next two weeks.

On November 28^th, I’ll include the last choice plus the previous pictures so you can tell me which one(s) you like best. That will become my head shot on my website and social media and future blog posts.

In the meantime, I’ve a birthday to celebrate!!!

Every day I do something special for myself—not just on my actual birthday or even my entire birthday month but one day for every year of my life! Believe me, should you choose to start this practice you may begin to see your birthdays in a whole new light.

FYI: It may be something as simple as spending the day in my nightgown and robe or perhaps extra personal reading time or a phone call to a friend I miss or haven’t talked to in a while. It isn’t about spending money on myself although I will admit a massage or pedicure is a wonderful gift. It is about making a conscious choice to give myself a gift.

What do you do to celebrate your birthday? Do you give suggestions about what you’d like to do? Or maybe gifts? Or are you someone who enjoys whatever other people come up with?

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook