Gender: Female
Status: In a Relationship
Age: 57
Sign: Sagittarius
City: Brooklyn Heights
State: New York
Country: US
Signup Date:
06/07/06
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Friday, July 06, 2007
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Dear SOS Members:
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
As you know from reading RT, we have been busy building a wheel chair accessible facility on our property and entertaining wounded soldiers. One of our members, Kathy Lien (you may have seen her on CNN financial news commenting on "currencies") submitted a plan to AMEX that includes us. It would be most appreciated, if you are an AMEX member, to lend your support and vote for this project. Someone can win financial support for a good cause.
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From Kathy Lien
Dear Kathryn
A while back I randomly submitted your helping the Veterans of the Iraq War on American's Express' members project. AMEX is committed to donating at least $1 million to one idea and mine reached the Top 50. They will be narrowing down from 50 to 1. Have your friends vote. All AMEX card holders can vote, they just need to log into the site below. The name of the project is "Helping Wounded Soldiers Returning to Iraq" ID #00312
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From Kathy Lien (to be forwarded)
In May, American Express held an open call to submit community development or nonprofit ideas. Out of over 7000 projects worldwide, my idea was picked as one of the Top 50. American Express has vouched to help one project come to life by giving anywhere between 1 million to 5 million in funding to an established organization that can implement my idea.
You can see the description of my project below and you can help me by giving me your vote. If you are an American Express card member, all you need to do is go to
http://www.membersproject.com
Look for the Project Titled "Helping Wounded Soldiers Returning from Iraq "
Login with your AMEX card username and password and vote by July 17.
My inspiration comes from Kathryn Falk's award winning work with Support our Soldiers and this image / story of a wounded 21 year old Marine who will be scarred for his entire life
http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0703/a-thousand-words.html
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/03/10/berman_photo/
I believe in this cause, please help me by voting and telling your friends to vote
Project Description:
Whether you support the war in Iraq or not, there are many young women and men who have been shipped to Iraq only to return with crippling injuries. The lives of these young people are changed forever and even if you don't think we should be there, we should try to help them as much as possible. Government subsidies are minimal. My proposed idea is to set up an organization that can teach these people a useful skill suitable for their disability. Also, for soldiers who are in Iraq now, we should send them a ton of care baskets!
Thanks
Kathy Lien
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LATEST SOS NEWS:
Katherine Clark, one of our members wrote about telephone cards. I'm including her note and email address, in case you would like to help out.
Happy Fourth Of July.....I hope you are in NYC away from all the flooding down south. We have had flooding all around us but thankfully we don't live near a creek or river.
I sent Maggy Wiseman an email. Have you heard from her husband.
My soldiers are keeping me busy...they are using the phone card so fast, it is really expensive. But one of them sent me an email telling me that my phone card was their only medicine. He said there is so much hate here, everyone hates everyone. He said the soldiers were so depressed. I just don't have the heart not to keep charging the card. I am going to have to ask my Sunday School class to help me. This unit was supposed to come home this month but got extended for 4 months.
Tell Ken hi for us, love you lots, Katherine
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Captain Charlie McPhail, is returning to Iraq soon. I'm sure you remember his wonderful company of men and women out of Killeen. that we supported for 18 months. He came to one of our conventions to thank everyone personally. This time is family is with his in-laws, and I hear from them regularly. I will have his address soon to post.
I do have Staff/Sgt Jesse Wiseman's address, if you'd like to send a package to his company. He is the soldier who participated in our Mr. Romance competition this year, shortly before he was deployed for the 4th time. At this time, all is well with him. (deep sigh of relief)
As soon as we get settled here, we'll be in touch again. I'm in Texas for most of the summer, and we're starting on a garage/warehouse as the old one is about to fall over.
Best Wishes,
Kathryn Falk
Address: SOS America, Inc, 55 Bergen St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
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Sunday, June 10, 2007
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KATHRYN'S CORNER: IT'S JUST A THOUGHT
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural
It seems we are living in an age of awakening called the New Consciousness. Books and CDs by a new generation of nonfiction authors are sending transforming messages that make us aware of our own thought processes and inspire us to disentangle ourselves from conditioned responses. These new thinkers, with theories based on the Eastern perspective, raise fascinating questions about the nature of the universe and a shifting of beliefs.
This heightened interest in spiritual-awareness nonfiction can be seen in popular fiction. Authors such as Jayne Ann Krentz, Lindsay McKenna and Maggie Shayne, to name a few, have incorporated metaphysical elements into their books, much to the delight of their legions of fans.
Consciousness-raising topics were first presented at the "Psychic Sunday" program at 2006 RT Booklovers Convention. I was pleasantly surprised at how many of you attended. Speakers on meditation, Reiki energy healing, auras, past-life regression and mediumship were well received and, in fact, inspired attendees to share their personal psychic/intuitive experiences. Since then I have embarked on a spiritual path of discovery to meet more inspiring authors and teachers of enlightenment. Two universal messages I've encountered along the way may not be new but they're worth reinforcing: "to approve (love) ourselves" and "what we think is what we attract."
The purpose of my new monthly column in Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine and this web content area is to delve into current mystic writers, including enlightened scientists and authors from the neuroscience and quantum physics fields. These thinkers that I will introduce to you serve to remind us that our identity and our future are entirely our own perception, boiling down to just a tapestry of thoughts (which explains the title of this column).
Kathryn Falk
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Saturday, February 03, 2007
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What is Meditation by Kathryn Falk
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a process of expanding your awareness. When you meditate you get in touch with the deepest part of yourself. You know from your own point of view, what's right, what's wrong, what you should do and shouldn't, in any situation.
Meditation makes you tough, makes you strong, conscious, happy, and eventually enlightened. Meditation is a process of silencing your thoughts. Beyond the world of thought and sensorial impressions, there are planes and dimensions of perfect light, knowledge, and radiant perfection. Meditation is simply a process of moving your awareness field from the awareness of this world, from the awareness of time and space, into eternity; into the eternal dimensions.
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When is the best time to meditate?
In the morning, when the day is before you.
In the evening, when the day is behind you.
In the morning, before your mind has become too active with the thoughts and impressions of the day. Take a shower, maybe have some coffee or tea or juice, and then meditate. Leave yourself some time afterwards, don't just finish meditating and rush off. Take a few minutes to let the light from the meditation filter into you.
In the evening, you can sit and quiet your mind as night falls. People and the world quiet down and night. If you can, get some exercise, then shower, and then meditate.
Meditate twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
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What is Buddhism?
"Buddhism is the Enlightenment Cycle and there are different types of it. Principally, there is short path and long path Buddhism. The long path is more the religious aspect, that is to say, the church aspect. The practice of reading sutras, healthy ways of living, things like that. A certain amount of prayer, a little meditation.
The esoteric aspect of Buddhism, which is short path Buddhism, is meditation. And I'm a teacher of Zen and Vajrayana Buddhism, primarily, which are the two main short path forms of Buddhism. The short path Buddhism, which is Kundalini Yoga, involves the release of the kundalini energy through the chakras or energy centers to create very rapid Enlightenment. It is also taught with empowerments from a teacher, someone who is Enlightened, who has experienced parinirvana and gone through the graded stations and stages of Enlightenment and has the siddhas, the powers, necessary to utilize in the teaching process.
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I just started meditating and I feel like I think more than before I started.
Very common. You are not thinking more, you are just more aware of the thoughts that were always there. As you learn to quiet your mind you will become much more aware of many things, and your own thoughts are often the first. Just ignore them.
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What is Enlightenment?
Enlightenment is the complete awareness of life without mental modification. Enlightenment is a state of awareness we reach when our consciousness is one with infinity with the infinite consciousness of life itself. Enlightenment is not a state of mind. Although all states of mind are contained within it. It is the best of all things, the brightest of all lights, it is union with immortality. Timelessness and with the temporal. Of all the myriad worlds, planes, and things that simply can't be put into words. Enlightenment exists within everything. There is nothing that can be separate from Enlightenment.
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I fall asleep when I meditate.
You and everyone else.
Whatever meditation technique you are using, focus on it with all of your willpower. This is not a relax and hangout exercise. Meditation should be the most intense thing you do all day.
Try some coffee or tea or diet coke before you meditate. Then focus.
Making sure site up straight, either cross-legged, or in a chair. Keeping your back straight will help you meditate and keep you awake.
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Is it okay to meditate lying down?
No. You will relax too much and fall asleep (unless you are unable to sit up for medical reasons).
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What can I do during the day to help my meditation?
Practice mindfulness. This means staying focussed on whatever you are doing. Don't daydream, don't replay past experiences, don't agonize over the future. Just put your full attention on what you are doing right now. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Is exercise important?
Absolutely. Working out regularly is very helpful for anyone practicing meditation. Jogging, martial arts, Stairmaster, walking, swimming, dancing, weightlifting, or whatever works for you and fits into your schedule. It helps clear your aura, the body of light that surrounds your physical body. Exercise is one of those things that seems like it should use up energy, but it actually increases your energy. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
What about diet?
A healthy diet is good. Consult your physician. Don't eat right before meditating, have something light if you are ravenous. People have learned to meditate very well eating all kinds of things, so don't worry about it too much.
8:06 AM
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In need of books!
Category: Friends
Dear Publishers and Pals!
I've been invited to speak at a Tea at Fort Meade for the Officers Wives Club (OWC). Wondered if you could contribute some books for table favors/raffles? I'm sending magazines for everyone and an assortment of book copies I have in the office. Many of the wives already subscribe to RT (some were at our military mixer in Daytona Beach, which is how the invite to be at their TEA came about).
They are having a cute trivia contest, linking up things to Gen. Meade, etc. I want them to know that we appreciate their effort in planning this and for being avid readers of romance.
I just returned from visiting an Ashram in Sebastian Florida. (For a future column I now write in RT, "It's Just a Thought.") We might be co-hosting a ROMANCING THE SOUL conference next February in that area which is near Vero Beach. Offering classes in breathing, meditation, spirituality speakers (non fiction), and creative writing. It turns out that the head of this Ashram and the people who work/live there are Great romance readers. I attended one of their meditation evening sessions, and the woman guru gushes "I love your magazine." They want some authors to talk about writing! You never know....
Finally, I know the OWC at Ft Meade would appreciate anything thoughtful you have around, be it left over trinkets or chotchkas! Your help is appreciated. If you can help, please send an e-mail to Barrowlady@aol.com.
Kathryn Falk
Founder RT BookClub Magazine
8:01 AM
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Saturday, December 30, 2006
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Mr. Romance Lennell needs your help!
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| Body: |
His New Hit Single Is Playing on the Radio Station Now @!
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Thank you for your help and support |
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Saturday, November 04, 2006
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Fabio & Diane Duff Takes on The World of Fitness
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) November 1, 2006, The tech savvy model, actor, and longtime fitness enthusiast has joined forces with industry veterans Paul Grymkowski, Bruce Filaski and Diane Duff in launching a new fitness licensing chain, 365 Fitness.
365 Fitness will license co-ed fitness facilities 8,000 square feet and larger,
furnished with state of the art fitness equipment, cardio equipment and express 30 minute workouts. Paul Grymkowski's background as the original driving force behind the creation, development and success of Gold's Gym's licensing program lends itself to the future success of 365 Fitness.
Fabio is originally known for being the world's most famous Romance Cover Model, who also worked with Kathryn Falk of Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine to help develop the original Mr. Romance competition, and was crowned the "King of Romance" by Romantic Times.
Fabio is quoted as saying: "Physical fitness has always been an important part of my life. The key to a healthy lifestyle is balance and the appreciation of three key factors: Spirituality, Power of the Body and Power of the Mind. A healthy body is a cornerstone for a happy and healthy life."
He will be partnering with 365 Fitness in the development and promotion of related fitness products, vitamin supplements, as well as a clothing line.
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Wednesday, September 20, 2006
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Dear Spirit Friends
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural
Dear Spirit Friends,
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It has been busy at the Alvin Vortex. We started work on our first wheel chair accessible cabin today and by sunset the foundation piers and flooring were almost finished. George Hussey has been here three days, working with John Rhodes on the cabin and also he is making headway on repairs before the roofers show up tomorrow. Yes, no more leaks on the screen porch!
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It looks like we'll be ready for our first  "cabin warming" in October. Our initial guests will be Louis Gibson and his family. Our next visiters will be Duval Diaz from Silver Springs, arriving with his wife, who looks forward to finally having a honeymoon. We're communicating with one of the airlines to fly them in.
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The cabin is going to be western style, and Frank King our landscaper made up the initial plan on his computer. Thank you, Frank..
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Two more bands have contributed their talents to our outdoor concert on Oct. 14. We're thinking that perhaps we need to build a second foundation and ground floor at the end of the field, to use as a temporary stage for October.
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This week's  PSYCHIC AND AWARENESS MEETING will start at 6:30 TODAY, Sept. 20. We have a special showing of out-takes from THE SECRET. The extended interviews are worth a second film. Gary Renard sent some fab tapes on book of miracles. This will probably be our last swim night, as it's getting a little cooler.
Â
EILEEN MILLER won't be with us. She's in the hospital with a kidney problem and is hoping the doctors at Methodist Hospital can locate the cause of the pain in her side. We talk to her daily and she's as chipper as can be expected.
Â
THERESA RAWLINGS has finished the flyers for the Alvin Vortex Concert and Holistic Fair and the printer ran off 2000. We have an advert in The Shopping Bazaar and the local papers. Several radio shows are promoting it.The VA hospital will be bringing in soldiers. People are inviting soldiers and needy families. If we're contacted in time, we can offer transportation. We need people to walk around with the soldiers and make them feel at home. Will you volunteer?
Â
If you want to have a table,or schedule psychic readings here on October 14, there's no charge. You are welcome to contribute a donation from your sales to either Brazoria Military Moms and Wives or SOS America, Inc.
Â
The famous EILEEN NAUMAN Â just sent a note:
Â
I'll be rolling into Houston on 12th. Gail Carswell will be reading Tarot for you and will help me with my booth. As is Mike Foltz, her partner. I can't run my booth/tables without them. Â
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You will love her lectures and her vast knowledge of so many things, including natural medicine, healing herbs and flowers, astrology and soul retrieval.
Â
MARILYN CAMPBELL has made her reservations to fly in to Hobby Airport. She is finishing her Tarot Card book for Ellora's Cave, and that will be available at our Booklovers Convention the end of April.
Â
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Saluti, Kathryn Falk, Lady of Barrow
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For something terribly hedonistic, read about a friend's French wedding. The groom/chef owns my favorite restaurant in New York, THE DANUBE.
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Dear Lady Barrow,
We are pleased to announced the nuptials of David Bouley and Nicole Bartelme in MONTLOUIS-SUR-LOIRE, France
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Take one celebrity chef from Lower Manhattan with hair slightly more salt than pepper. Add copious quantities of passion for his bride, along with a lifelong obsession for organic ingredients and fresh food.Â
Place for five days with a selection of friends in a chateau owned by a countess and another owned by a French prince obsessed with heirloom tomatoes. No need for additional spice, but monitor carefully.
David Bouley may inspire imitators for his bakery and Manhattan restaurants - Bouley and Danube, which both have two Michelin stars - but the recipe for his wedding this week in the chateau-laden Loire Valley will be even more difficult to match.Â
"In my career, I've done more than 400 weddings for other people," Bouley said on Thursday evening as he hosted his fourth consecutive night of gourmet meals for more than 80 guests. "This one I really wanted to do right."Â
Doing it right involved flying in a staff of more than 20, including a maitre d' and chef from New York and a chef from Barcelona, and importing fresh specialty organic foods from around the world, like heart of palm express-shipped from a favorite producer in Hawaii for a Japanese meal.Â
Taking over two chateaus for a week - Château de l'Aubrière and Château de la Bourdaisière - Bouley, 53, and his bride, Nicole Bartelme, 38, played host at Bourdaisière to a moveable feast of unique organic haute-cuisine meals washed down with fine wines that included some from their birth years.Â
The first night, wine, cheese and artisanal bread baked in an oak-fired oven by Jacques Mahou, a seventh-generation French baker, were served from a tent beside the chateau. ("The simplicity means you can really draw out the flavors and see how they work together in harmony," Bouley said.)Â
Another evening had the 80 guests following a winding trail of more than 1,000 candles to a circus tent at the bottom of the chateau grounds. The menu was classic French bistro food, including roasted veal, blood sausage and cured meat. A singer belted out Edith Piaf songs for entertainment.Â
"This has just been the most amazing and unforgettable experience," said Sylvie Sollod, a bridesmaid who lives in Paris. "It has been like a dream."Â
Bouley sidestepped the crass question of how much it cost, but the Loire Valley does not often see such events.Â
The deputy mayor of Tours estimated a budget of €150,000, or about $190,000, for the event - but that may be low compared with a back-of-the- envelope calculation based on the $64,800 it would cost for 80 people to eat the $90 tasting menus for five suppers and four lunches at Bouley's restaurant. "You would be surprised how little this can cost when you are in the business," Bouley said. "Many friends have brought extremely generous contributions."
Château La Bourdaisière offers a "basic option" for weddings that would come to about €33,525 for five nights and house fewer than half the guests.Â
"We usually have an event of this scale once per year," said Prince Philippe-Maurice de Broglie, who shares ownership of the 17th-century chateau with his heirloom-tomato-obsessed brother. "The difference is that normally such an event lasts just one night, not one week."Â
When Bouley's chefs saw the 500 varieties of rare tomatoes cultivated on chestnut stakes in the prince's garden, they quickly collected 25 kilograms, or 55 pounds, for an improvised lunch, much to the dismay of the gardeners.Â
"The gardeners were in tears," de Broglie said, adding that the chateau has a tomato festival coming up in mid- September. "Fortunately, David invited them to dine, which quickly quieted them down."Â
Despite the complexity and length of the event, planning took place in less than eight weeks and prompted much last-minute improvisation.Â
"I need to have spontaneity and work at the last minute," Bouley said. "If I think too far ahead, I dilute myself."Â
The event had a self-catering theme on a gourmet scale, with many of the food-obsessed guests hand-carrying choice items from Europe, the United States and Asia.Â
"It was just after the terror alert in London about carrying liquids, so I was concerned the airport security would think I had a bomb," said Harry Snady, a New York physician who lugged a 1990 Nuit Saint Georges Burgundy wine in an oversized glass bottle known as a methuselah, which holds the equivalent to eight normal-sized bottles of wine. "Fortunately I happen to have a patient who works in customs who made sure there was someone to escort me through security."Â
Another guest drove 12 hours from Barcelona with 11 kilograms of fresh tuna, and a chef from Kyoto carried a suitcase filled with a special wasabi, fresh green gingko and other ingredients not normally available in France.Â
Food even managed to permeate the civil and religious ceremonies. The priest, Father David, who is also a Trappist monk, enjoyed giving Bouley a taste of the fruit jams that his monastery, the Abbaye de Sept Fons, produces. The deputy mayor who officiated at the civil ceremony mentioned that he runs a restaurant, Moulin de la Planche, and hoped that David would drop by.Â
For all the gourmet food, Oz Garcia, a groomsman and nutritionist who has advised a number of Hollywood celebrities, said guests could not be eating more healthfully.
"Just like David's restaurant, the food has a wide range of flavors, but also an extremely high nutritional value," Garcia said. "The food is light and energizing, rather than the typical heavy dishes in France that make you sleepy."Â
Nonetheless, Garcia said that those experiencing the five-day wedding would do well to pace themselves.Â
"I've been starting each morning with my regular detox-flush beverage, as well as drinking a choline cocktail to energize me," Garcia said.Â
Garcia approved of Bouley's small portions, reluctance to use fats like butter and adored the organic origins of the food. "You cannot get more healthy than the Spanish ham we ate that had been raised on forest-harvested organic acorns," Garcia said, referring to acorn- fed Bellota ham. "The meat is so rich in Omega-3 and low in saturated fats that it makes pork as healthy as fish."Â
That Spanish meal, cooked by the Barcelona-based chef Roger Martinez and served in the stone-lined moat of the chateau, offered one of the most dramatic settings.Â
Shortly after dark, guests were led down a grassy slope into the now dry defensive fortifications that were lined with aromatic plants and hundreds of candles and torches. From the entry route, guests could see a 40-meter-long table strewn with yellow and red flower petals and lit by chandeliers hanging from ropes strung across the moat.Â
"Everyone fell entirely silent until they sat down," Bouley said. "It was a very powerful moment."Â
For such a wedding, the bride, of course, had separate designer dresses for the civil and religious ceremonies.Â
Bartelme wore a Valentino dress with silk train for the civil ceremony. For the religious ceremony a fitter came from Paris to dress her in a Christian La Croix haute couture dress with a wrap of tulle painted with gold and silver that featured a jewel-encrusted cross.Â
By 2 a.m. on Thursday, with the cheese, dessert and wedding cake courses still to come, the Boulay wedding turned into Cirque de Bouley. Performers on stilts led guests around the chateau.Â
With the chateau as backdrop, a singer atop a precarious two-story platform sang "Ave Maria" and opera arias while fireworks exploded overhead and fire- breathing jugglers lit up the sky.
Only one attendee claimed that the scale of the event was no shock. "I'm not the least bit surprised by this week at all," said Bouley's mother, Theresa Salembier-Deszo. "This is the kind of thing I have learned to expect from David."
Please click on the following link to view pictures online from the Bouley Wedding:
http://www.iht.com/slideshows/2006/08/25/europe/wedd.php
6:18 AM
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Friday, September 08, 2006
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Why the SOS Retreat is needed....to show our gratitude
Category: News and Politics
Dear Friends in Spirit, I thought you'd like to read the letter from one of the soldiers I have communicated with. As you can see, I've invited him to our weekend retreat.George Hussey is going to be starting on the wheel chair accessible cabin next weekend, and we are very grateful.
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Our next Alvin Psychic and Spiritual meeting is Wednesday Evening.
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Many of us will be at Scott's Funeral Home on Sunday night for Timberjack.
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Kathryn
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The Note I received from Kevin K., US Army, some parts edited out.
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What a twisted year it has been since the time I left Iraq, pronounced E-raw-k, and though here I live mere minutes from gorgeous waves and the beach it lays, all I do is find my mind wandering back to Iraq surrounded by sand for as far as the eye can see knowing our all too familiar friend Evil is forever ready to show his face.Â
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This is so surprising with all the ever so discouraging news that seems to emanate both from the television and those seemingly ignorant on the real situation overseas. A dagger has been tossed around carelessly lately in correlation to Iraq in the form of a word. It is as if it were some common place term that has no emotional ties, no long standing of American suffering amongst soldiers who until this day remain affected from such event.Â
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These soldiers remain to have ever been given thanks or gratitude for their selfless service and unquestionable faith in what they were doing to protect our great nation. However, our nation did not hold true to the values in which our forefathers founded it on. In fact, these soldiers were turned on, hated, spit on, and worst case scenario . . . killed, for protecting our country. This dagger of course is Vietnam. As this dagger was introduced cautiously and cowardly unchallenged, its un-cautioned use had its repercussions. Those of us who had fought overseas, those currently fighting, and those to go in the future were now beginning to be disgraced by our fellow Americans like unto those battle buddies who we were so proud of and were now just being able to come out of their country inflicted shell.
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In my own heart it bothered me to a great amount and made me wonder just how we could ever show these miraculous patriots how much their service meant to our country. But something amazing happened. With the support that was generated for us soldiers who were fighting for both Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in Iraq it allowed these once forbidden patriots to come out and claim their well deserved gratitude. In fact on several occasions many of these Vietnam Vets were able to speak out, some for the first time, about their experiences with me.Â
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Thess shared moments with these fellow soldiers in whom I truly could bow down and give thanks to for the service which I deem hundreds of times harder than mine. Yet to them they feel the same. It is in that moment that we look in one anotherâs eyes and know that despite so many years separating us in service, we are one in the same in duties to this great nation of America. Grown children are just now finding out that their fathers have fought in the Vietnam War because they feel the country has finally accepted them. But their time seems to nearing a close as it does for those of us returning from OEF/OIF with the introduction of comparison by those in the media of Iraq to Vietnam.
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My service in the Army is a direct result of the events which took place on 11 Sept 01. I tried to postpone and deliberate about joining the military for as long as I could, thus not joining till 2003. I am not someone who needed the guidance or someone that wasnât smart, because with my GT score at 132 I could have picked any job in the military, I was one of those select few that felt the need to do something and so I did.Â
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This isnât something I like to talk about but, shortly after training I volunteered to go to Iraq. I couldnât stand the fact that I was going to sit at home and do nothing while my fellow battle buddies were overseas fighting. So I began the process of volunteering. This started by informing my Chain Of Command (COC) and ended up with going on the internet and finding out every number I could call in order to get orders to go overseas. I knew that the next set of orders were coming soon so I had to act soon because the next round of troops to Iraq were going to be leaving to Iraq and Iâd rather go there than to Afghanistan.Â
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 Just as a quick side note: Iâm really good at finding stuff out on the internet, especially since I now had access to military sites with my military ID. So I continued. After all was said and done I ended up, on accident, yes Iâm being truthful, no I didnât recognize the area code, and no he didnât say that, called the pentagon, on accident. So that got my name on a lot of lists. Whether that was good or bad who knows, ha ha. In the end I ended up having several sets of orders because I was a 50 cal gunner and since there is a gunner at the beginning and end of every convoy on the road in Iraq I was highly sought after. Lucky for me I was very sought after in the beginning of my career, unfortunately by my own hype, ha ha.
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Each of the newsletters I wrote while I was over in Iraq was true except when it came to one aspect, my life there. For some reason those things which I had set out to do while I was overseas was intercepted at every perceivable point, done so by my own Chain of Command from Battalion down to my Commander, Platoon Sergeant, my Squad Leader, even my fellow battle buddies. The specifics are unimportant and the trials are my own to bear, but those things which I went through shall have an impression on me for a life time.
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Due to the injuries I sustained from the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) fracturing my L5 vertebrae and causing trauma to my right ankle while I was overseas, I was separated from the rest of the company upon returning to the states within a few days. It was the Doctorâs request while I was still in Iraq that I was sent home immediately to start recovery from the injuries but because it is at the discretion of my Commander and of my duties as a 50 cal gunner I remained in country. All of the complications I had with my Chain of Command became very apparent when I came home.
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As a gunner and all that it requires, we were all put up for a list of medals. I was also placed on a special detail in which I helped gut and restructure a new building for incoming troops who were also put up for medals. On top of which I was recommended for promotion to my next rank. However, because several situations which I refused to back down on, I began to receive attention. The default rule in the military is no attention is good attention, unless you achieve or take charge of something that is truly remarkable. Otherwise, stay out of the attention of the higher ups and go with the flow. As for me, I know that I must follow what I know is right and trust as far God tells me to.Â
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 I tried so hard to help these men and women both by protecting them and organizing drives to get them much needed supplies and mail but it was all for naught. Unfortunately I received criticism every step of the way to the point where I eventually began taking to it the facility where all troops could more accurately go through the materials and write thank you letters.
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I prayed so hard on my knees everyday, taking it upon myself the responsibility that if a soldier were to not make it home on my watch, it were to be my failure. I was the one that would have to answer for I had not done my job as in charge of security. That weight on my shoulders caused me to do my very best on the road each and every day, accessing every small and minuscule mound of rocks or suspicious thing I saw while going 55 mph, well as much as you can.Â
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I returned home with a company mainly residing out of Connecticut, while I was on medical hold in Ft Drum, NY,  trying to reattach my roots here in Huntington Beach, CA where I hadnât been for close to three years because of training and deployment. Iâd fly from weather in the teens or single digits at night, to 70âs for just 1 ½ days minus travel from east to west coast and back again, so I could have some space.
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But the home was no better. Civilians, for those of you that donât know that term it means all non-military people, donât really know soldiers or how to treat them once they return. Yet all I wanted a few hugs, some people to call me by my FIRST name ha ha, some friends of my own age, maybe a couple parties, but most of all to just see me for me. Know that I obviously changed over there. Know that I am not the Kevin you once knew. Know that I am going to have a more rugged sense of humor. Know that I am going to like things a little more structured. Know that since I just came back from the middle east I am going to like certain things, like the heat and driving around with the heater on full blast on my heat with the windows rolled partly down because Iâm used to that because I was a gunner over there and was never in the truck or Humvee.Â
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Know that Iâm going to need some help not just when I get home but more importantly when all of the hype has died down. Most importantly know that I just got home from being around pure evil and having to fight my way through that in order to provide you with a country that will never have such evil on its soil.Â
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Please know that no matter what I went through or the injuries I sustained I will continue to go over and fight for you because I refuse to see that in America. All I ask in return is for you to love me, always respect me and the service I performed over there, be my friend till the bitter end even when things get bad or if you think that some of the things Iâve gone through are tuff or crazy, talk to me if you ever have a problem with something Iâve done or said, never leave me even if I try to push you away because thatâs when I need you most, call me just to say hi because youâre thinking of me and not when you need something, encourage me because as I struggle to make it through the grasps of PTSD I am going to need, know the I would and will do all of this for you, and never doubt the service which all of our brave men and women have done and continue to do both in Iraq and throughout the World, and in the past wars like Vietnam and beyond.
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Dear Kevin,
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You are loved and appreciated. I'm so pleased to hear from you, anytime. And when you're in the mood, we welcome you to our Bed and Breakfast/Spa in Alvin Retreat, known as SOS Country Retreat. We will be happy to have you with us for a free holiday.
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We're having a fundraiser for the Brazoria Military Moms and Wives and our SOS Retreat on Oct. 14th, in case that's a good weekend for you to visit..Â
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If getting a plane ticket is a problem, we have connections with Jet Blue..
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Saluti, and Thank You for Your Sacrifice,
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Kathryn Falk, Lady of Barrow
3:38 AM
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Wednesday, September 06, 2006
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Tell Your friends!
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural
Dear Friends in Spirit:
I'm in New York until next Tuesday, when I'll be returning to Alvin.
On a sad note, our friend Mike, owner of TimberJack Tree Trimming (he brought the "water man" to our meeting 2 weeks ago, and usually stopped by for our Wednesday pot lucks) passed over on Monday at the age of 48. We believe it was a massive heart attack, and it happened instantly. His wake is Friday night at Scott's Funeral Home in Alvin. His funeral is Saturday at New Hope Church.
We will have a Memorial Service and Tree Planting Ceremony for him at our October 14th concert and wellness festival. RIP
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A dear friend, country western musician Sean O'Brien will be with us at our Benefit Concert to help the troops. If you know anyone who could assist Sean with the following, it would be most appreciated. A rental company info would be helpful as well.
Kathryn, it would really help things flow if you could find someone locally to supply the main PA system that everyone (bands,speakers,special announcements,etc.) could use for the day. This way the only things that would have to be taken on and off the stage would be the individual musicians amplifiers and their instruments. This would make things go much smoother during the day.
The requirements would include several microphones for singers and lecturers, several microphones for the drum kit, large front house speakers, several monitor speakers, mixing board and enough power amps to create enough sound for the venue.
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Please send your suggestions/ideas to Sharon Murphy at smpt@aol.com.She and Sylvia from Angels of Light shargroder255@yahoo.com, are helping to coordinate the vendors (set ups are free, donations welcome) and the concert.
Donation containers for supplies/postage will be on site to provide items for the Brazoria Military Moms and Wives. They will be selling baked goods as well to raise funds to send 200 boxes of supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan and prepare Christmas packages to wounded soldiers and families. TEXAS CHILI and BAR B Q will be served.
We hope to send love and gratitude to the TEXAS troops and needy VETS who serve our country and to let them know we appreciate their sacrifice.
All wellness vendors/exhibitors are invited to bring a table and chairs, we will have set up arrangements in our front yard and under the trees. The high energy and the magnetic attraction can produce an amazing day!
CHANGE OF VENUE: Without going into detail, we will not hold our OCT. 14 meeting at the Marriott due to the nature/teachers/exhibitors of our spiritual pathway meeting. We wish them enlightenment over this decision, and will regroup at the SOS Retreat instead of the Hotel.
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To publicize the new location and our festival/lectues/.concert, The Shoppers Gazette will be running our ad and information. See some of the ad copy below that will be appearing.
If you have a business and would like to place your business card or ads in the October edition with us, contact www.shoppersgazette.com (see link to our concert/festical at this site)
Saluti, Kathryn Falk, Lady of Barrow
www.romantictimes.com www.sosamericainc.org
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| THE ALVIN VORTEX WELLNESS FESTIVAL & CONCERT |
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Don't miss this unique opportunity to help our troops serving in Iraq and those who have been wounded defending our country.
Support Our Soldiers America, Inc.
& Brazoria Military Moms and Wives
ARE SPONSORING
A TRANSFORMATIONAL & PHENOMENAL EVENT
ALVIN VORTEX
HEALING FESTIVAL & CONCERT
Saturday, October 14, 2006
SOS America Country Retreat in Alvin
County Road 941 (off 190) - 2 Miles from Hwy 6 and CR99
5 Acres of Fields and Gardens - Bring Chairs and Blankets
Gates Open at Noon - Entry $5
A Magical Day in Alvin with guest speakers, talks & workshops, exhibitors, Texas Chili/Bar-B-Q/New York Bagels,
free demos, live music, fun and much more.
Don't Miss This Unique Opportunity to Help Our Troops and Mingle in a Peaceful Atmosphere
VENDORS/EXHIBITORS
Energy Healing * Sound Healing * Crystal Healing * Energy Clearing Reflexology * Deep Tissue Massage * Acupuncture * Aura Photography * Angel Oils * Ion Foot Bath * Volcanic Clay for Detoxification * Nutritional Supplements * Meditation Tapes * Books * Pendulums & Crystals
Chi Oxygenation Therapy (oxygenation and lymphatic detox) *
Crystals * Gemstones * Jewelry
Light Therapy * Infra Red Sauna
Consultation with Famed New York Chinese Doctor
Meet THE Mediums for Channeling, Psychic and Tarot Card Readings
PLUS
Flea Market in Open Air: Rustic Iron Works * Stained Glass * Mexican Ceramics * Palm Trees * Plants and Flowers * Jewelry
Fruit & Vegetables * Homemade Baked Goods and more....
LECTURES
* Develop Your Psychic and Spiritual Awareness
* Learn to Write Psychic Fiction
Special Authors & Speakers: Heather Graham, Eileen Nauman, Marilyn Campbell,
Rev. Adrian from Cassadaga, Martha Hix, Nina Bangs, Gerry Bartlett and more....
FIREWALKING: MIND OVER MATTER
John Maisel
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Proceeds go to help Brazoria Military Moms and Wives
and the SOS Retreat for Wounded Soldiers in Alvin to Send Packages at Christmas to our Deployed Troops and Needy Soldiers
LARGE CONTAINERS ON SITE FOR
NEEDED SUPPLIES & POSTAGE
* black socks * crystal light * microwavable food * mosquito repellent * beef jerky * babywipes * magazines * power bars * cookies * gold's foot powder * phone cards * Christmas Cards/Letters and much more.....
Go to the following sites for info:
If you'd like to be a vendor or volunteer to help our troops, and/or reserve seating for concert and special lectures/consultations.
Call Sharon Murphy: (Phone) 281-324-9561 or (Cell phone) 832-423-7735.
Flyers will soon be available at following Alvin Businesses:
Alvin Chamber of Commerce
Alvin First National Bank
Alvin Wal-Mart
Busy Bee
Sharon Middleton, Attorney - First National Bank Building /Hwy 6
Cathy Moffett's Stained Glass Studio - 2nd and Johnson
Rustic Iron Works - Hwy 6 at 99 |
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Country Singer Sean O'Brien and his foot-stomping western band.
Ear Hall, developer of Cosmic Frequency Therapy, a technique using channeled cosmic energy, sound and magnetic frequencies for soul reconnection and expanded multidimensional awareness. His CD's will be available.
Eileen Miller, gifted healer and teacher
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The Alvin Vortex Festival & Concert - Saturday, Oct 14, 2006
A Benefit to Support Our Soldiers with Christmas Packages
Sean O'Brien and Earl Hall are among the Entertainers
Veterans, neighbors and kindred spirits are welcome to experience a Wellness Festival and Concert, sponsored by SOS America, Inc. and the Brazoria Military Moms and Wives. Bring your chairs and blankets for a concert under the stars. Sean O'Brien is a Texas favorites. (See www.seancountry.com)
See map of retreat, located off Highway 6/CR 99 in Alvin. At intersection of County Road 190 and 941. Signs will direct you.
Pioneering parapsychologists and spiritual teachers from around the world make pilgrimages to Kathryn Falk's SOS America, Inc. Country Retreat in Alvin. They come to observe and experience the remarkable healing energy surrounding the 5 acres of landscaped gardens and meadows. You too will immediately feel the calm and tranquility when you enter the grounds, as if stepping into another dimension.
SOS America, Inc. (a not-for-profit organization) is a team member of America Supports You, sponsored by the Department of Defense. The SOS Retreat caters to wounded and needy soldiers and their families. Civilians can stay over as well, to enjoy the spa facilities, giving them an opportunity to thank our wounded warriors for their sacrifice. (See www.sosamericainc.org)
On Saturday, October 14, the gates open at Noon for the Wellness Festival. Exhibitors and lectures will be ongoing.
A Cosmic Concert begins at dusk. An amazing firewalk (that's right, John Maisel barefoot on the coals) will be demonstrated. Bring chairs and blankets. Entertainers include Sean O'Brien, Earl Hall, Alvin Barbershop Quartette, and more....
Specialty foods and beverages available on site (proceeds will defray the cost of postage needed to ship the supplies at Christmas time).
Please bring supplies to drop off in containers (see list of items on website - www.shoppinggazette.com). The Military Moms hope to send 200 holiday boxes to our brave Texas Troopers in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as gifting needy soldiers and families in the Houston area.
What is the special energy field at the SOS Retreat?
"It can be argued that the whole of the universe may be contained in every part," says Kathryn Falk, creator of the SOS Retreat, who describes the human body working as a "bio-transducer continually interacting with many fields of information.
"Remote viewing, distant healing and the evidence of mind-over matter show that that the human mind is capable of tapping into universal consciousness like a musician touches musical vibrations.
"We are part of a 'Quantum Mind' of energy," she explains, "that connects all humans with our Divine birthright as spiritual beings and can be reactivated for each soul. Demonstrations of consciousness raising and activating the limitless mind will be part of our festival and concert."
List of Festival Participants Include:
Eileen Miller (Energy Healer) * John Maisel (Firewalking) * Dr. Michael Truong (Acupuncturist) * Marilyn Campbell (Medium) * Eileen Nauman (American Indian Shaman) * Rev Earl Hall (Healing & Ascension Therapy) * Griffin Kantor (Animal Communicator) *
Special Guest: Dr. Li (One of China's Greatest Doctors/Herbologist specializing in Cancer Cures and Boosting Immune System )
If you would like to make an appointment with specialists, contact Kathryn Falk at barrowlady@aol.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you cannot attend, you can make a contribution by sending a check made out to:
Support Our Soldiers, America Inc.
10218 County Road 941B, Alvin, Texas 77511
(If requested, an IRS receipt will be sent to you)
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late-breaking news on spiritual awareness
Scientist Studies 'Telephone Telepathy'
David Levenson, Getty Images
British scientist and author Rupert Sheldrake, who believes in the interconnectedness of all minds within a social grouping, will continue to study telepathy with phones, text messaging and e-mails.
NORWICH (Sept. 5) - Many people have experienced the phenomenon of receiving a telephone call from someone shortly after thinking about them -- now a scientist says he has proof of what he calls telephone telepathy .
Rupert Sheldrake, whose research is funded by the respected Trinity College, Cambridge, said on Tuesday he had conducted experiments that proved that such precognition existed for telephone calls and even e-mails.
Each person in the trials was asked to give researchers names and phone numbers of four relatives or friends. These were then called at random and told to ring the subject who had to identify the caller before answering the phone.
"The hit rate was 45 percent, well above the 25 percent you would have expected," he told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. "The odds against this being a chance effect are 1,000 billion to one."
He said he found the same result with people being asked to name one of four people sending them an e-mail before it had landed.
However, his sample was small on both trials -- just 63 people for the controlled telephone experiment and 50 for the email -- and only four subjects were actually filmed in the phone study and five in the email, prompting some skepticism.
Undeterred, Sheldrake -- who believes in the interconnectedness of all minds within a social grouping -- said that he was extending his experiments to see if the phenomenon also worked for mobile phone text messages.
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NOTES ON POLL CONDUCTED AT AOL
1:17 PM
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