Joe is taking the photos and I’m putting them into some sort of format that makes them easy to see, along with quotes Joe finds personally inspiring. I hope you’ll sign up for them. The photos are amazing and I can’t wait to get down there to swim with them!

If you’re the person who wants out, make that clear. Don’t just disappear. After months of tolerating disrespect, abuse and people taking us for granted our tendency is still one of feeling guilty for walking away. It’s NOT your fault! Tell the person “This isn’t working for me and I’m leaving. I don’t want to engage with you any more, so please don’t contact me.” End it.

“No, I don’t want to be your friend/business partner/buddy/sidekick,” means, “I want nothing to do with you. I don’t want to respond to your emails, phone calls or letters, so I’m not and I won’t, no matter how many you send or make. I don’t want to waste time arguing with you because I know you’re really just feeding your drama addiction and have no desire to change, apologize, move on or get help.”

When given the chance to engage, talk, work out things, share, debate, relate and be engaged in the relationship prior to your decision to leave, chances were your abuser wasn’t interested. They kept being abusive. If they could have changed, they would have. Change doesn’t happen overnight. If they get help and spend 2-6 years in hard, dedicated therapy, they could change. But let them do it. In the meantime, get on with your life. It’s passing. Every minute spent feeling guilt, loss, regret or sadness over leaving is a minute you don’t have to spend feeling joy, happiness and wonder at the people who could be in your life loving and appreciating you.

Narcissists, passive-aggressives, bullies, butt-heads and bad bosses are poison. Quit ingesting their toxic energy. Say “No.” Leave. And having left, don’t look back. SO much more awaits you down the road. If you feel sorry for them (and yes, they are pathetic), then realize that your leaving may be the straw that kicks them in the teeth and shows them that they can’t keep acting like they do and keep generous, loving people like you in their lives for any length of time. Your leaving may be the thing that saves them. Then again, they may never get it. And if they don’t, you’re better off for having left when you did.

Don’t believe just me. Dr. Henry Cloud has an awesome book called: Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward. He outlines and explains why endings are good things. Without those “necessary endings” we’d all be still crawling on all fours, married to the first person we dated and driving the first car we bought. Read the book if you’re having trouble leaving that toxic relationship. If you are the toxin, read it too. It may be time to get help.

But then I remember a man who slept in a garage and had a pet mouse. He believed there was a future in talking frogs, mice, dogs and bunnies. I wonder if people told Walt Disney that he shouldn’t share his dreams with people who might find a man who talked to animals a bit strange.

He wasn’t a rare example. My friend Mooch, a designer, started this awesome website called The Homeless Entrepreneurs Club. I’m a featured member. Take a look at the other famous people who have been homeless in their life. It’s not like they’re saying, “I robbed, raped, murdered and pillaged.” It means they were without the funds or a place to live for a time because they made other choices. They’re actually stronger, more creative and more fascinating – to me anyway – because they overcame stressful times and succeeded in spite of their financial and housing status.

As a writer, being homeless or a starving artist is practically a rite of passage. Why do you think I would be ashamed of that? I realize those tho offer me this advice are uncomfortable with the idea that you can be broke and brilliant at the same time. It puts their false sense of security on alert.

If that weren’t enough – I hear now, “Oh God. Don’t tell people you were abducted by aliens.” I really have to laugh at that. 73% of the people in the United States SAY they believe in God. We have major world religions founded on angels, demons, spirits, and millions of people who have seen UFOs, ghosts and experienced unexplainable paranormal phenomena. The United States government STARTED and FUNDED and ran the Stargate project - training men to project themselves out of their body and travel remotely (ie in spirit or energy body) to far away places to spy on other countries. Seriously.

Don’t believe me? Believe the military, astronauts, politicians and security advisers who make up the members of “The Disclosure Project” then. The Disclosure Project is a nonprofit research project working to fully disclose the facts about UFOs, extraterrestrial intelligence, and classified advanced energy and propulsion systems. They have over 400 government, military, and intelligence community witnesses testifying to their direct, personal, first hand experience with UFOs, ETs, ET technology, and the cover-up that keeps this information secret. They also have the obama-briefing-intro-letter re: UFO disclosure. It’s coming. Start wrapping your head around it all now.

The CIA has been fascinated with and involved in paranormal research, mind control, the occult and UFOs for more than a century. ALL the founding fathers commented on UFOs and aliens in their letters and private papers.

The Old Testament talks very matter-of-factly about Elijah and Enoch being “taken up in a flaming chariot” into the sky – and NEVER dying.

The Egyptians and every civilization in the world has records of UFOs, aliens and “visitors.” Both the Greek and Roman gods are based on real creatures who visited earth and displayed supernatural powers.

The point is, just because you may be uninformed, poorly read, nervous, scared, shamed or unable to wrap your brain around the fact that more people DO believe in UFOs, the paranormal, energy and an alternative or expanded awareness of the world as most know it – does not mean I’m going to join you in hopes of someone “liking” me more. There are enough people, corporations, businesses and creative types who *get* it than don’t. So I’m not worried about people fleeing in fear because I’m real, honest and matter-of-fact about things most cultures take for granted.

Why can people accept the spirituality and stories of spirit guides and other paranormal beliefs of the North American, or American Native Indian, yet cringe at the idea someone might be abducted. If you are a Christian, reread Revelations again. John was “caught up into heaven – whether in body or spirit he wasn’t quite sure,” where he was shown the events that would herald the end of days and the destruction of mankind and the universe. John, Christ’s most loved disciple, was abducted my friend.

I’m sorry if frank talk about the unexplained (and I don’t know who, what, why or how myself) and a person’s personal experiences is scary. Maybe it’s a creative thing. If you can’t peer into the future farther than you have experienced yourself, maybe you don’t belong there.

I recently launched another website called: http://octoberabduction.com. It’s strictly a site for the serial books I’m writing about my experiences and my interviews of others, who have encountered the paranormal. I urge you to at least consider it – if as nothing more than entertainment.

“Be kind to strangers for unawares, you may be entertaining an angel.”

John Oysterman was a man of the sea, a wise man, a nut job and 100% enigma. He was part Yoda, part Donald Shimoda, and part Mr. Miyagi. If you know the genre well, then you recognize it merely brings the hero’s journey to life through characters who embody the steps or stages of that journey. From Star Wars to Illusions, to Karate Kid, or any of the “Coming of Age,” movies and books, what makes them memorable is how believable the characters are and how easily we’re drawn into the wisdom that already lies within us.

What I noticed and why I decided to write The Oysterman, is that in all these wisdom genre books men are the “hero” and women play a supporting role. Not so in this book. Women can have moments of awakening as well. And don’t think that teachers are only male either. Anna meets many teachers of both genders along the way.

I think “The Oysterman” series will appeal to anyone who likes a good read, an adventure and a suspension of reality – or maybe better – a foray into an alternate reality. Book One of a four-part series is almost finished and I’m setting up the website this week, and working with an editor the end of the month to make it happen. I plan to post it on Kindle and Amazon by Sept. 1, 2011. That’s the goal I’ve set for myself anyway! Hoping you enjoy it. My blog posts may dwindle over the next three weeks, but now you know why. Regular reader? I’ll be posting a free excerpt and a discounted (.99 cent) price to anyone on my email list – so please sign up (sign up form is to the right) now. And thank you all for your support!

Several years ago, before I was actually off of the streets and into an apartment, I interviewed Tonya Pinkins. As a matter of fact, she was my FIRST interview at a new job. I was still sleeping in my van, but I was staying at a campground and every other week or so the newspaper would put me up in a local hotel for a few days while I hunted for an apartment.

During this first week of the new job I was sent to interview Tonya, an Emmy awarding winning actress and motivational speaker. She was once a virtually homeless mother, on welfare herself and struggled with making a living for her and her two children.

I interviewed her without telling her about my situation, but we clicked during the interview. She gave me an autographed copy of her book, “Get Over Yourself,” which was published the year I became homeless in 2006. She wrote inside the cover, “Keep planting the seeds of power, you were born to it.”

I went back tonight and pulled the book out for some reason and started reading it again. I realized that she was right, that what we focus on, what we put our attention to, appears. I had been going through a long period of no fibro pain, but several people kept asking me, “How’s your fibro?” and my attention slowly turned towards it again. I started explaining to people that I had fibro, and really just started reading, thinking, talking and *owning” my fibromyalgia, focusing on IT and not on my  health and well-being. Then I fell, badly spraining my wrist and really pissing off the fibro! Odd. It flared up again. I’ve been in pain for more than a week now. What’s up with that?

I did the same thing with money. A couple of clients cancelled projects, one had a bad car accident, another had some unexpected expenses. Then two long term contracts ended when a company laid off a department head and all combined, my income dropped by half this month. Instead of seeing the cancellations as things that happened to clear my plate for bigger and better paying projects I began to worry. The fear set in. Rather than celebrating the spare time to work on my books I started making calls to my waiting list of people needing/wanting books written.

The clients on my waiting list had found other writers – more expensive writers! They were paying almost double what they were willing to pay me. It felt odd. I realized I’d been leaving money on the table and I wasn’t happy about it at all. On top of that I was back to square one when it came to marketing and promotion. I wasn’t panicking, but I was concerned. I heard several friends tell me the economy was destroying their business. All around were words of doom and gloom, but I also heard of a few friends doing well. Something inside me shifted. I began to feel a real pull towards working on my own books instead of ghosting for others, even though the *smart* thing to do would be to work for anything to make the money to pay my bills. Still, working on things that don’t inspire me feels dead. I decided NOT to go back to the old way of  shaking the bushes and looking for clients or following up on word-of-mouth leads for any kind of work. I decided to focus on what makes me feel creative and alive AND makes me money! That was as far as I’d gotten before spotting Tonya’s book.

There’s a chapter in there where she talks about “Naming it and claiming it in terms of health and wealth,” and that “How we do anything is how we do everything.” I think she’s right. First it was the fibro, then it was work. I named it and claimed it, but it wasn’t the things I wanted. I decided – It’s got to stop.

What really got my attention was that shortly before I went through this whole exercise I was asked by a new company to do some blogging for another company that has hired them. They pay 1/40th of what I get for a regular blog post – offering me about $3, for what I normally get $50 to $75 and up for. Hearing my inner lizard/fear “better take it!! ” I balked. No way! My fear said, “I have to take anything so some money, any money is coming in!!” That was the old money me. Then I hesitated and opened Tonya’s book at random. The page I landed on said, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” Do I really want to accept 1/40th of what I get for a blog post “just to get by”? No. So I’m following what Tonya suggested and am putting out to the universe, to God and to spiritual law that my wealth is unfolding!

“My wealth is unfolding right now. I make money like bees make honey! I love money and money loves me! I am a money magnet! I live in a world of abundance! Money flows through me like fish in the sea! God, if there’s any good and wonderful thing out there that someone else is turning down, bring it to me – I want it and I accept it!!”

I’m getting wealthier and healthier every day in every way. Are you?

Never say never because HOPE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY.
By that I mean never say miracles never happen. Never say “It won’t get better.” Miracles happen and it does get better. And yes, “Hope does find a way.”

Three years before that photo was taken I was living in a van in a Walmart parking lot – one of America’s invisible homeless. See my TED video here.

But I’m skipping ahead. I got to TED through a very circuitous route, one even the best writer couldn’t invent. Truth is stranger than fiction!!

Several years ago, shortly after having gotten OFF of the street (thanks to a well-timed remark by former journalist and Senior Vice President of NBC, Tim Russert) I signed up with elance.com. I began ghost writing ebooks for strangers through that site. I won a bid from a buyer who wanted me to “Write a book like Seth Godin.” I had no idea who Seth Godin was, but I Googled him, went to Barnes & Noble to spend the day reading all the books of his they had. I bought one – something about a Red Fez. And I studied his style and his voice and I wrote the ebook, made a couple hundred bucks and that was that.

I also signed up for Seth’s blog because I liked what he had to say about purple cows and business and being remarkable. Then I noticed he had some sort of contest or internship thing going on so I sent him my application and a letter and was shocked when he personally responded. The deadline had passed, but he didn’t blow me off or send a canned email. We chatted via email a few times, he seemed authentic and so when he invited readers to buy his book Tribes and sign up for a social network by the same name, only with three “i’s” (Triiibes.com) I literally scraped together my last $15 dollars or whatever and bought the book. I came so close to choosing groceries over the book, but something told me to buy the book. It changed my life.

Long story short - I thrived online in Seth’s new social media group http://triiibes.com, and I finally found the creative, passionate and authentic people and voices I’d needed for so long. One of those folks told me about a contest a friend of Seth’s was having and sent me a link to the site. I entered. Seth’s friend, Dan Pink, author of Drive, and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko (the book I wish I had written since I live my life by those six lessons) turned out to pick me as one of three finalists for the contest. The “winner” would have to get the most votes – first prize was a trip to TED Global. I was only vaguely aware of what TED was, but I urged friends to vote for me. It was a very close contest. Then, at the last minute Seth, unasked by me, stepped in and asked his readers to vote for me and I won by a landslide. Amazing. I won an all-expense paid trip to TED Global in Oxford, England courtesy of Dan Pink. Then another opportunity popped up – submit a story idea for a talk for the chance to be selected to SPEAK at TED! I was selected. The stars aligned. My friend Patty Newbold listened to me scream, “I’m speaking at TED!!!” for about 20 minutes and then promptly pushed me to write and rewrite and rewrite my speech until I had it as good as she imagined I was capable of. (I wrote it in my van of course – the one I’d been homeless in for almost 18 months).

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS LONG POST!!!

The TED talk was very well received, which put me in contact with some amazing people, including Bob Poole, who introduced me recently to Tim Brownson who, along with co-author John Strelecky wrote and are giving away one million paper back books to people who are homeless, unemployed, underemployed, sick, disabled, recovering from illness or surgery or who just plain need a hand up, not a hand out. He thought we might have something in common – like helping people. We did.

By the way, if you are a charity or other organization that works with folks like that – you can get a case (or more!) of the books free – just by paying shipping charges. You can’t sell them – there’s a printed disclaimer on the book they’re not to be sold. But you can change a life by giving them away. $20 pays for a case of 60 books. Or buy a book for yourself for $25 and that $25 goes to pay for the printing of more books.

Serendipity has no end. It keeps building and building. I came home from the gym one evening and found an urgent message from Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg - who lives in Israel, but whom I met through HARO (Thank you Peter Shankman) when I responded to one of his requests for help. The Rabbi had purchased a “I Wear Your Shirt” day through I Wear Your Shirt, and he couldn’t use it. He explains all this through his blog post today – PLEASE click through and read it.

He asked if I knew anyone who could, and of course I thought of TIM!!! So the Rabbi graciously and generously GAVE his day to Tim to promote “How to Be Rich and Famous” – the giveaway to help people. I told Christina Ciani about it, Christina is an amazing writer, single mom and author of her most recent book “F-Bombs for Single Moms” (It’s not what you think, so check it out. F = Frugal, F=Fun, F = lots of things besides, well…you know.) Well, she got all excited and SHE bought a couple of cases of books and started handing them out…and then posted photos of the people she gave them to on her blog!

So, all this HELPING people is spreading…a LOT. And we need YOUR HELP to  make it spread even more. Please tweet or post any of our blogs about Tim’s book to your people, your blog, your facebook page and help us help people who truly want to change their lives. Tim’s book is fantastic – awesome and the best step-by-step method for becoming happy (and even rich) that I’ve ever read. I’m not getting paid to help distribute this book. Tim and John are paying for it out of their pocket, and all of us, the Rabbi, Christina, Tina Stull (a Christian, female drag car racer) and Stand-Up for Kids.org (helping homeless kids get off the street) are all helping get the books out there. If you don’t want to hand out books, then please donate $5, $10 or $20 to Tim’s site so we can send those organizations cases of books so THEY can give them out.

What begin as a simple request to “Write like Seth Godin” has become an amazing journey across the world to help others. Please blog, tweet and keep sharing the message of hope. I had it and look what happened! From living in a Walmart parking lot to speaking at Oxford at TED Global, to reaching thousands of people around the U.S.A  – because like I said in my talk, “HOPE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY!!”

Maybe it was Kevin Costner’s lop-sided smile, or humble charm, or his puppy-dog eyes that got people’s attention. Or maybe it was his authenticity, or his passion for something no one else understood that got people to visit his baseball diamond in an Iowa corn field. But I don’t believe it was the field itself.

“Build it and they will come,” is arguably the most famous line from the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams,” but what we remember is not Costner’s field, or his mantra. What we remember is his struggle, his actions, his pain and his passion. We identify with the feeling that following one’s passion is often misunderstood at least, and ridiculed at worst. We admire the person who encounters both but forges on anyway. That struggle, not a baseball field, is why they really came.

The field itself only symbolizes his story and his journey. The field is a tangible place of the emotional journey he took within himself.

I was immediately reminded of that when I offered to help authors John Strelecky and Tim Brownson get their book “How to Be Rich and Happy,” out to the homeless, the unemployed, the single moms, those recovering from an accident or injury, those who are struggling, are disabled, are in poverty. The book is totally free. Yes. FREE. No strings attached. It’s not an ebook. It’s a paperback book and it rocks. It’s well written, down-to-earth, practical and has all the steps – the entire formula in fact – for how to become, well, rich and famous. It’s not about wealth in terms of becoming a millionaire – although that could happen. It’s about stopping, taking stock and acting on your values.

It’s the kind of advice I wish someone had given me in my teens, or 20’s. I love it. I wish every homeless person, single mother, welfare mother, struggling student or anyone who has to count their change before getting a burger at McDonald’s, could read it. For the first three chapters of the book click here to download the PDF. How_to_be_Rich_and_Happy_Free_Download

They can if you will help me help Tim and John. If you are a non-profit organization, group, church or other group or individual who works with:

Homeless people
Single mothers
Welfare families
Unemployed
Underemployed
Disabled
Veterans

Go to http://richandhappy.com. Make a $25 donation (that pays for the shipping of one case of 60 books). Email Tim at Tim (at) richandhappy dot com (you know the drill – this is spelled out to foil internet bots) and let him know you donated $25, and give him your name and mailing address (no PO Boxes please), the name of your organization or how you work with the people above so he can verify you’re legit, and tell him how many cases ($25 for shipping EACH CASE) you need.

Tina Stull of Tina Stull Racing is getting 1,000 copies that she agreed to hand out – she’s a friend so I’m raising/paying the $350 for shipping (if you want to kick in a $1 or $5 with a Pay for Tina Stull shipment on the note) for that I would so appreciate it. Tina does wonders for our veterans and for homeless kids.

These books are to be handed out FOR FREE to people who can’t afford them. I know you’ll honor that and help us. He only has a million copies so act fast. He’s also printing them as he has people who BUY the book ($25) actually buy the book. That cost goes back into printing MORE books he can give away for free.

I don’t ask this sort of thing very often and only when it’s for a great cause. If you want to donate $1, $5 for shipping to:

Mark Horvath of Invisiblepeople.tv, you can do that. Just make a note and send an email. If you are a large organization – like a YMCA, Homeless Shelter, Women’s Shelter or other organization – please contact Tim directly for information on larger (and cheaper to ship) order directly from the printer.

Thank you all – and remember – it’s not the field – it’s the dream we’re really attracted to.

Many of you may have read my essay on Salon.com. I know so because a couple of you wrote me and expressed an interest in what the van looked like. Well, here she is. In her finer days – like back in 2009, she cleaned up well. But in two years she’s gone downhill. The defroster doesn’t work. The brakes need replacing and there’s about $800 worth of work that needs to be done to get her on the road again. It’s still a comfortable place for me – more so now because I have options. I have a choice between the van and an apartment. Before – I didn’t.

I noticed that some readers mistook my desire to quit my job and travel as a desire to quit my job and be homeless as an adventure. That was NEVER my intention and that is why what happened to me was such a shock. As an avid camper I had always traveled, lived like a free spirit, found work, camped and enjoyed life on the road as many RVer’s do. This time around I thought I’d do it again – only there was no work for me – at age 50. People don’t readily hire people living in crappy old vans – whatever the reason.

What most Americans don’t realize is that homelessness is really a poverty issue – not a housing issue. There are millions of people who live in $250,000 motor homes, tractor trailers, campers, trailers and RV’s and don’t consider themselves homeless and they’re not – why? Because of the financial divide. They have a choice. They have money. They have resources.

What is so odd/frustrating/angering about all this is that I was a full-time customer service rep for Camping World while I was living in my van and THEY considered me homeless! Here’s an industry that caters to van/truck/rv dwelling people, yet they considered my situation and me as homeless. Had I been living in a $100,000 RV and been “workcamping” my situation would have been different. But the fact was, a ratty metal van with a cot and a plywood floor was not, in the eyes of anyone, “Rving.”

If a $100,000 motorhome parks on Walmart property for a week no one bats an eye. If a 20-year camper with rusty bikes strapped to the bumper parks for more than a day the police are there asking why. Financial profiling – that’s why. Money has always been more important to society than people and poverty is the line that people use to distinguish between the homeless and the RV’er/camper/hippie.

Image matters. The car you drive, the clothes you wear, the way you look matter. It’s how we judge people in America – by their financial status – not their character.
We are a nation that trusts a credit score more than history of service, character and quality. Bernie Madoff was a crook – but people trusted him because he looked wealthy. Money is the thermostat we use to judge others. And in this recession many people – including doctors, lawyers, bankers, and the “well-heeled” are finding out that money matters. Your title or job skills don’t matter unless they are generating income. Your bank account is the bottom line of your value – not who you are as a person. People are a commodity – literally. Your birth certificate number? That’s your number on the NY Stock exchange. You are bought and sold. If you’re not earning, you have no value.

The difference living in a van this time around for me was poverty and choices. A person cannot afford to live in decent, safe housing anywhere in America on minimum wage. I opted for the van because as dangerous as it was, it was safer than a room in a crack hotel, or the projects. Like many people, including financial wizard Suze Orman, there’s a time when life gets tough and you do what you do to make ends meet. Orman lived in a van and worked before getting a job in a diner. Many musicians have done the same. Yet in the eyes of the federal government and any law enforcement officer however – that’s “homelessness” and you are called a vagrant and a criminal. What is considered “sleeping rough” in other countries is a crime in America. It is a CRIME to be poor here. Not only are you kicked when you’re down, sick, unable to find work or starving, you’re criminalized for your situation. I was working full-time, never begged – and yet was treated like a criminal simply because I was sleeping in my van until I could find an apartment, a better job or a way out of Denver.

When you’re a teen-ager, a college student, a couple on a camping lark, or anyone with financial options – you are indeed on “an adventure.” But when it gets cold, rainy, miserable and you can’t afford to eat, to get a hotel room, to even drive to a different part of town because you don’t have gas, or gas money – or you’re living in your vehicle because you don’t have other options, you’re homeless (not camping) because you’re poor.

If you don’t understand that – then you have never been poor or homeless.

US and Swedish officials aren’t talking about what have been responsible for the massive bird and fish kills in at least three different locations, but the conspiracy theory community worldwide is secretly ecstatic as the warnings they’ve been posting for decades are suddenly becoming real. Christian fundamentalists are referring to the Bible’s prediction of “fear of what is falling out of the skies.”  Sites like PrarieGhost are listing incidents throughout history where everything from frogs, blood and other items have fallen out of the sky.

Prairie Ghost reports:

In 1833, something more unusual than fish fell from the sky over the town of Rahway, New Jersey. On November 13, locals saw what they described as “fiery rain” falling to the ground. When the glowing masses struck the ground, they turned into “lumps of jelly”. The lumps were said to be transparent and became round, flattened masses when they landed. Within hours, the jelly disintegrated and became a pile of small white particles that crumbled into dust when touched. The strange masses were reported at the same time that a meteor shower was taking place over the eastern United States and may have been connected to it in some way.

Troops stationed at an army post near San Francisco had their own encounters with strange objects from the sky on July 24, 1851. On that afternoon, soldiers who were on the drill field reported being pelted with spatters of blood and pieces of meat, that were apparently beef. The blood and meat fell from a cloudless sky and ranged in size from “a pigeon’s egg to that of an orange”. Several pieces of meat were given to the post surgeon and he described some of the slices as being slightly spoiled, as if they had been left out in the sun too long.

A similar event was said to have taken place in Simpson County, North Carolina on February 15 of that same year. Witnesses reported that pieces of flesh, liver, brains and blood rained down from the sky over an area that was roughly 30 feet wide and about 250 yards long.

On June 15, 1857 a farmer who lived in Ottawa, Illinois reported that he heard a hissing sound in the sky and he looked up to see a shower of cinders falling to the earth. They landed on the ground in a V-shaped pattern about 50 feet from where he was standing and caused the ground to steam and the grass to catch fire. The larger cinders buried themselves into the earth and even the smallest pieces were inserted into the ground at least partially. The farmer, whose name was Bradley, noticed a small, dense and dark cloud “hanging over the garden” at the time of the fall. The weather that day had been damp and a little rainy but no thunder or lightning had been reported.

The children of Lake County, California must have been happy on the nights of September 2 and 11, 1857. According to the History of Napa and Lake Counties by Lyman L. Palmer, a shower of candy apparently fell on some portions of the county on those evenings. The report states: “It is said that on both of these nights there fell a shower of candy or sugar. The crystals were from one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch in length and the size of a goose quill. Syrup was made of it by some of the lady residents of the section.”

Another shower of flesh and blood was reported in California on August 1, 1869. The shower occurred for three minutes and covered about two acres of J. Hudson’s farm near Los Nietos. The day was clear and windless and the bloody flesh fell in strips that were from one to six inches long. Many of them were reportedly covered with fine hairs, as if stripped from the body of an animal.

In August 1870, a deluge of “water lizards” hit Sacramento, California. The small animals were from two to eight inches long and alive when they hit the ground. The initial shower rained the lizards down so that they nearly covered the roof of the opera house. They slid down the building and into the rain spouts so that they covered the pavement around the building. The Sacramento Reporter stated that hundreds of them survived for several days in rainwater that flooded a partially dug cellar that was located nearby.

According to the Boston Globe, and other news media, thousands of dead birds, including grackles, starlings, brown-headed cowbirds, and red-winged blackbirds with broken beaks and backs were found dead in Arkansas and Louisiana, over the past week, and today (January 5, 2011) 50 dead birds were found in Sweden.

“UFOs,” said one theorist who asked not to be identified. “We’ve known for some time that UFOs are able to cloak themselves. We’re estimating a massive scout force, sort of an advance team for a larger attack force was in the area, cloaked in invisibility of course, and the birds hit them. The birds just slammed into an invisible force field and bam. Dead birds.”

UFOs are known to create electrical disturbances, stop time, mess with gravity and magnetic fields, and kill car engines with electromagnetic pulses. A larger than normal force hovering close to the ground, or letting ground forces out on earth could have affected the birds navigational systems – which, according to physicists, involve iron oxides in the beaks of birds which locally intensify the earth’s magnetic field and stimulate nerve branches called “dendrites” in the bird’s navigation system/brain.

Frankfurt neurobiologists Dr. Gerta Fleissner and Professor Günther Fleissner together with DESY physicist Dr. Gerald Falkenberg discovered the navigation system and process in migratory birds. Meanwhile, the scientists’ team found the same structures in many other bird species.

UFOs which confound navigational systems in jet fighters would have no problem confounding the systems in birds.

Scientists are blaming fireworks and power lines for the contact, but those in the know aren’t buying it.

“That’s what the New World Order and the shadow governments who are in touch daily with aliens want you to believe,” said another UFO-olgist. Fearful of being targeted by men in black for coming too close to the truth, he believes that the killings are only just beginning.

“They always start small,” he said, referring to alien and government coverups. “They get a sense of how spooked people will be and then they escalate or adapt to that.”

“NotReptilian” as he asked to be referred as, believes aliens are preparing for a global take-over in December 2012 – the date of the end of the world according to the Mayan Calendar.

UFOs may explain the birds, but what about the fish?

“A lot of people know about UFOs, but not many know about the numerous sightings of UFOs that live and operate underwater,” NotReptilian said. Sites such as UFOCasebook.com offer numerous cases involving water and UFOs. The same energy that affected birds could also have affected the fish.

Other events that have some conspiracy theorists scratching their heads is the timing – close to the murder of John Wheeler, III. Wheeler, who, according to MSNBC, “followed in his decorated father’s footsteps and attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After graduating in 1966, in the midst of the Vietnam War, he served five years in the Army, including as a staff officer at the Pentagon. He retired from the military in 1971.

In later years, Wheeler, as special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force at the Pentagon during the George W. Bush administration, helped develop the Air Force Cyber Command. A citation for his service in 2008 said Wheeler recognized that the military needed to combat the growing vulnerability of U.S. weapon systems to cyber intrusions, according to his biography.”

Wheeler was working with the US Air Force and other contractors, developing their global surveillance surveillance system (Star wars technology). Other conspiracy sites are speculating about whether Wheeler got into an argument with a “grey” (reptilian) over emerging technology, or was horrified at a new alien technology that killed birds, fish and might be aimed at people next.

Historically, throughout religions around the world, such signs are believed to be a warning to people to repent and return to God. Only time will tell!!

Note to readers: On Monday afternoon I stepped outside and saw thousands of birds – vultures, crows in a funnel shaped pattern much as though they were riding a thermal current (natural) over the land in front of  me. They didn’t act normal – but confused, out of sync, hitting each other and moving in an unnatural way. I watched them for about three to five minutes before  going inside for my camera. I’ve never seen that many birds in a swarm that early in the afternoon. Birds will often gather and in fascinating and timed roosting displays, known as a murmuration, before they settle down for the night, but this was nothing like that. It was unusual, didn’t feel normal and by the time I’d gone back inside for my camera they were gone. That experience and then the news of the dead birds and fish compelled me to write this article. The “interviews” are compilations of remarks and comments from people on various UFO websites. Please take this in the spirit it was written – curious, half-serious, half-not, but open to possibilities!

No picture has torn at my heart more than this one taken last month after a woman’s dog broke its leash and ended up in the water off of what looks like a very chilly pier. A German tourist strips to his tighty-whities and jumps in the water to save this small dog. I know MY heart would have been breaking if I’d been this distraught woman. But the stranger rescues the dog and I assume, gets warm and dry as well as a hug!

Anyway, I put the photos into a Free DogRescue ebook as well as this post so you can share the story freely. It’s definitely a story worth sharing! Click on the DogRescue link above to download the PDF. No need to register. Just download it.

According to NASA, it’s only happened once in the last 2,000 years, in 1638. The next winter solstice eclipse, will occur in 2094, NASA says.

The entire 72 minutes of the total lunar eclipse will be visible from all of North and South America, the northern and western part of Europe, and a small part of northeast Asia including Korea and much of Japan. Totality will also be visible in its entirety from the North Island of New Zealand and Hawaii.

In all, an estimated 1.5 billion people will have an opportunity to enjoy the best part of this lunar show.

In other parts of the world, either only the partial stages of the eclipse will be visible or the eclipse will occur when it’s daytime and the moon is not above their local horizon.

The moon might take on some odd colors during the eclipse. This is the first lunar eclipse during the winter solstice in almost 500 years.

Biblical prophecy offers a lot of warnings about signs in which the “moon turns to blood.” Might be interesting to get out and watch if you can. I’m going to! More info and times below. On the east coast it will start about midnight or a little before.

UPDATE:
If you missed the eclipse (I watched the whole thing and it was awesome! COLD, but awesome, here’s a video of it shot from Florida)

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

It may not come in the form of aliens, UFO’s and nuclear war, but physicists and NASA have issued a very real alert that the “world ending disaster” of 2012 may come in the form of a gigantic solar flare that destroys the electrical power grid across the USA and other parts of the world. See the videos below for the official report. How? There’s been a breach discovered in the earth’s magnetic shield – a vulnerability likely to put us at risk in 2012 when the next giant solar storm hits.

Considering how reliant we all are on power – it could be the “end” of the world as we know it. Water, sewer, cell phones, the internet, television, cars, – no gasoline since all the plants rely on that to produce and even pump it out of the ground, no generators since they run on fuel. Civilization as we know it in America could crash. If you think there are no jobs, no food, no money now – wait until your heating, air conditioning, water, food sources and medical resources are gone. No hospitals, no EMS or computers – or very limited resources swamped by the demand of millions of people. It would be a nationwide Katrina.

Crime, assaults, roving gangs of starving people looking for water, food and shelter would be the norm since the blackout would last months to years – NASA said. Listen and watch this video. Michio is a physicist and hosts a new show on the history channel. He’s pretty convinced that there’s a definite chance this will happen because, he says, “We made a mistake. We erred by 20,” and admits the reaction of the US to the warning is kind of scary – the government isn’t doing anything. So what will YOU do? Stockpile food? Invest in solar? Dig a well? I admit, it’s a lot easier to do nothing and hope nothing happens – but if you live in a city do you really think life will be very pleasant with no jobs, no water, no food, no transportation, gangs, violence, no law enforcement – or overwhelmed law enforcement, no funeral homes able to process bodies….seriously. Life without electricity? The last time this happened it wasn’t a big deal because it was the turn of the century and we weren’t power dependent. Me? I’m hoping people are reading this in 2012 and laughing at my posting it. I hope I am too. In the meantime, I’m thinking that a nice piece of land in the Mid-west with a hand pumped well and a garden is looking pretty good right now. What do you think? Worry? Or ignore the threats?

God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day which is Sunday which is why we have to go to Church one day a week. God made Adam. Adam got lonely, so God took a rib out of his side and made Eve. Being a woman Eve was tempted by the devil who appeared as a snake in the Garden of Eden. She ate the apple and then got Adam to eat the apple from the tree of forbidden knowledge.

God got mad and kicked them out of the garden of Eden. Eve and Adam then had sex for the first time and Cain and Able were born. Cain killed Able. Time passes. Lots of people populate the earth, but God decides they’re all evil and decides to wipe out everybody and start over. But he sees this righteous guy named Noah and tells him to build an ark and puts two of every kind of animal on it and he and his family and the animals survive the flood.

If, like me and most of the Southern Baptists I know, your concept of Christianity revolves around all these holidays. You know the stories, but I’ve rarely met anyone who can explain WHY Jesus ended up being born and why exactly we worship him and what exactly it is He was sent here for. Trust me – it wasn’t to spoil our fun.

Let’s go back to Genesis – which is the first book of the Bible. Before God created man, or earth – he created angels. We know this because in Job 38:4-7, “the sons of God shouted for joy” when He laid the foundations of the earth. So, God had an audience while he was shaping the earth. (p.s. God talks literally about fire breathing dragons, unicorns and other creatures in Job too by the way).

These angels weren’t and aren’t the harp playing, frail and effeminate creatures depicted in far too many books and stories. When angels appear to men in the Bible the reaction of those who see them is to fall on their faces in fear and trembling. Remember when the angelic host appeared to the shepherds at Christ’s birth? They fell to the ground in fear. As a matter of fact – the first words out of almost every angelic encounter in the Bible seems to be, “Fear not,” as the angel tries to reassure the human being that they’re not in danger from the angel. And remember who guards the entrance to the Garden of Eden? Yeah – an angel with a flaming sword. I get the distinct feeling nothing is getting by him.

The appearance of these spiritual creatures in their natural state is apparently terrifying – whether from their size, or their wings, their glowing continence or whatever. They’re seriously impressive and intimidating no matter what their mission. They were created to serve God and throughout most of the Old Testament their job is as protectors and warriors. So who are they fighting?

Well, according to the Old Testament, they’re fighting other angels. According to the Old Testament the most powerful, beautiful angel ever created was Lucifer. He was God’s right-hand angel and very, very powerful. But his power went to his head and he decided he, not God, should rule the universe. Sounds a bit like Darth Vader don’t you think? Well, God – being God and being all-powerful, kicked Lucifer out of heaven. Apparently there was a huge battle and one-third of the angels in the universe were cast down to earth.

This is why Lucifer – who we know better as Satan – was so freaking pissed. He lost. Evil lost, God won. But Satan wasn’t a good loser by anybody’s standards. So when God created a new race – man – Satan went after man to ruin him in order to get back at God. He succeeded, managing to tempt Eve in the garden with what many people believe was having sex with him. After all the reasoning goes, why would God punish Eve with increased pain in childbirth and an increased sexual desire for Adam, and punish Adam with having to work harder to bring forth food from the earth for eating an apple? The sex question comes up because in Genesis 6:6 we learn that fallen angels, and non-human beings called “Watchers” came down from the skies (outer space) and mated with h human women. The offspring of the “sons of God” (which some believe to be Cain’s offspring and not angels) and the “daughters of man” were the Nephilim. The spirits of dead Nephilim are believed to be the demons we read so much about in the New Testament. They have a super natural knowledge of who Christ is and what his mission here on earth was/is. If you don’t read the New Testament much it’s pretty much all about demons, miracles and supernatural stuff. There are UFO’s in there, people being raised from the dead, and although there are as many UFO’s as in the Old Testament, which is just eaten up with them, (as are many historical and non-religious texts, paintings and carvings) it’s pretty clear that UFOs and the spirit world are very much real and there’s a lot of stuff going on way outside the commercial realm of Santa Claus and the annual manager scene.

These Nephilim were giants – literally 9-36 feet tall. They eventually ate everything on earth and then began eating each other – they were cannibalistic. Numbers 13 (Old Testament) confirms this. These demi-gods are the basis for the Roman and Greek Gods – because they literally did have the powers of angels and stature of men. (While you’re researching angels, Nephilim and tribes you’ll come across descriptions of the Ananuk or Anunnaki. Yep. In the Bible. They’re deities we might (and do) call “aliens” or extra-terrestrials. Moses sent spies into the promised land to see what the Jews were up against and his spies ran into these giants. They’re described in both the Torah and the Bible, among others.

God saw this and saw the mingling of his creation – man, with Satan’s fallen angels – the ones who opposed His rule, and he decided to destroy them. The old “don’t intermarry” laws of the Old Testament weren’t about marrying blacks and whites – but about marrying hybrids – those born from a parentage of human/fallen angel or Nephilim. If you’ve tried to get through the genealogies of the Old Testament and wondered why genealogies were so important, it’s because it was very important to those who worshipped God that they not intermingle their DNA (although they called it their bloodline) with evil/Satan. the flood was His eradication of the hybrid races. Noah was the only man whose family had not bred or intermarried with fallen angels. That’s why he was righteous in God’s eyes. Noah worshiped God and hadn’t intermingled his bloodline.

In case you don’t follow Anne Rice and the Vampire novels, or pay much attention to the bloodline of rulers (Kings, Presidents and Queens) you may not have realized that in the bloodlines of rulers all the rulers are related to each other. Didn’t you know that many, if not all of the presidential candidates and presidents throughout USA history are related to each other? It was considered the “Divine Right to Rule or the Divine Right of Kings,” and is why the Queen of England got so fraught over Princess Diana marrying Charles. Not to worry though. Diana is said to be of true royal blood – and more powerful than Charles ever was – thus the fascination with her children, particularly Prince William and the future of England. Bored yet?

Trust me. You DO NOT get this in the Baptist church, or any church really. But it is all in the Bible, and if you study the Bible, history and the prophets as well as the news and politics, it all begins to make sense. Christ was born into the world to save those who believe and understand the larger battle. If you recall in the Matrix, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings – all the classic literature we all love and “wish” were real – this same battle is fought – evil vs good. And only a handful of heroes know about it. It’s happening right here on earth. Only a handful of people understand or belief it. We see the UFO’s. We watch world events. We see who the players are. We understand why Jesus was born and was hidden and protected until His time came.

The rest of the muggles and sleepers think Jesus and God and sin and conspiracy theories are all silly religious rituals designed to keep them from having fun, doing what they please. The joke is on you if you believe that. A larger story has been playing out for centuries and it’s about to culminate in a huge battle and those in the know – know it.

If you’re thinking “Baby Jesus, oh how sweet,” you didn’t get to the chapter where he straddles the mountains of Jerusalem and kicks some serious, serious ass. We’re not talking hell. We’re talking what the Bible says is happening NOW, on earth, and will happen. Grab your hot chocolate or Starbucks and sing “Holy Night” if you want to this year, but you might want to look into the words to Handel’s Messiah as well.

For those of you who have differing points of view, like the Bible is not a literal document, or this is all BS, you’re welcome to your interpretation and point of view. If you don’t believe there is a God, you’re welcome to that too. My point here is to share what I what I believe to be the “greatest story every told,” as told by the Bible, the Torah, history and civilizations throughout time so people get a chance to explore for themselves and to decide for themselves what they will believe. It’s not about being right or wrong. It’s about seeking and finding a living God and savior, not a parody of one like so many of the churches and religions of today would have us swallow hook, line and sinker. You are all free to believe what you will, but I urge you this season, really LOOK at what you believe and WHY you believe it. Don’t take anyone’s word for what happened. Read the Bible for yourself and see.

Sound familiar? Well, it’s true too. If you’re pretending to be something or someone that you aren’t, you probably will lose your job, your spouse and your life as you know it now. So why change? Because when you’re pretending to be something or someone you’re not, you attract the people, life, work that that person would attract!! If you stop pretending to be something you’re not, and are who you are, you attract the job, life, spouse that fits who you really are!! And you don’t have to expend all that energy pretending to be something or someone you’re not.

The really scary thing? Remember when your mother said, “Don’t frown like that. Your face will freeze in that position.” If you pretend to be something long enough – you do become it – and you lose your true self in the process. Do you love who you really are? Then pretend to be that person for a change and see what happens!

I pretended to be a corporate monkey – complete with heels, hose, makeup and a nice smile all the time. It wasn’t me. I hated it. I hated my life. I hated pretending. When I quit pretending and switched to who I was, I ended up doing what I love doing 40 to 80 hours a week – sitting at home or in my van – writing while wearing sweatpants or jeans. I make my own schedule, work my own hours, travel when I want to etc. There are other hassles, like no steady paycheck if I don’t work, having to pay for equipment breakdowns myself, and all the struggles that come with being an entrepreneur. But I’m willing to take those things over feeling trapped in corporate hell.

I’ve met couples and singles who live and work on sailboats, houseboats and one couple who works from an old tugboat they remodeled. He’s an architect, she’s an interior designer. They host client meeting in the marina where they live on the tug. You don’t think they have a great life!?! Clients LOVE coming out to tour the boat and feel like they’re talking to a couple who really “gets” different. And those are the clients they want. They don’t have to pretend to be anything they aren’t. It took them both a decade or two to decide that, but once they did, it all came together for them.

If you love the corporate rat race – go for it. Don’t pretend to be someone who loves family and a slower pace. But be who you want to be. Stop pretending. It’s hard – I know. But it’s possible.

I spent the day at the Aquarium in Gatlinburg, TN where Ballard was speaking. I had the unique experience of both interviewing him, hearing him speak and watching him interact with the public. What struck me about the day is that the audience (mostly Christians and Southern Baptists) wanted to know not about the Titanic, but about the Ark. Yes. Noah’s Ark. They had questions about the flood and why the Ark hadn’t been discovered (According to many, it has been). Their assessment of him was based, not on his credentials, expertise, discoveries or professional credentials – it was based on his assessment of whether or not the Ark was “real,” and if there had been a world wide flood. I listened with great amusement as Ballard came up against the literal beliefs of a Southern Baptist audience and was found wanting, since he did not believe in a world wide flood or the ark.

Ballard wasn’t the first explorer or person to discover something, be dismissed for the significance and then remembered or known for some lesser thing. He won’t be the last. But he’s in good company. Copernicus for instance, is most known for discovering the earth revolved around the sun. Yet he was not an astronomer by avocation. He was a humanist, a writer, physician, administrator and mathematician. His other works? Most people could not name another achievement. There are many. And not all are world famous. As a matter of fact – this same thing happens to many of us. We are remembered for our most public impact, not our most noteworthy.

Ballard went on to speak at TED 2008, and to other discoveries. But he will be remembered by that one audience in Gatlinburg, TN for not believing in the Biblical flood. No matter where he goes, or what he does, what matters most to him, what he perceives as his greatest contribution to humanity, he will not be able to control how he is remembered, or for what. None of us will.

The politician or public official who helps millions or thousands of people in his years of service may only be remembered for the affair with his secretary or an intern before he left office. J.K. Rowling worked with Amnesty International but will be remembered for Harry Potter.

When you work for fame and recognition there is no guarantee you will be recognized for what you want to be known for. Copernicus had other responsibilities, but he was passionate about astronomy. Think about the people you know, what they are passionate about, what you are known for. Do they match? What about yourself? What are you known for?

Better to be passionate about what you do and count success based on achieving your goals rather than on anyone else’s recognition.