Common Heart

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 !

2012-01-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 !

Yippee, it's finally here. A whole new year to celebrate all we learned from 2011 and let go of everything we don't need to hang on to. Whew. I'm grateful to be moving forward with a spring in my step and lots to look forward to. My New Year ritual is to spend a lot of time in my journal, noting the significant things that happened in the past year and setting my intentions for the new. Normally I have a few pages of things I want to do in the new year - places to go, people to meet, classes to take, old habits and patterns to let go of. This year however I found my list was a lot shorter than previous years and finally I wrote: I just want to let go and allow the space for Universe to bring to me what I need to be happy and joyful.

Last year I learned a lot about surrendering and letting go. Am I a pro at it? No. But I am a lot better at noticing when I'm resisting and fighting myself. This year I'm focusing on being present with gratitude. I've found that when I am truly present in the moment, looking around me with appreciation and gratitude that I'm happy. WOW!

I love this tree. It's an old oak tree - there aren't very many oak trees here in Vermont. Not like the ones in NY or Chicago. I love passing by this tree and letting myself be received by the heart chakra energy in the trunk. It's amazing. Winter is a wonderful time to appreciate the magnificence of tree trunks. Bark patterns. The shape of trees against the white snow or the cold blue winter sky.

It's finally turned frigid here. We still haven't had any snow where I live and people are starting to feel a bit uneasy. At this point in winter we're used to complaining about how much snow we have and starting to think about trips to warmer climates ! I finally put blankets on "the boys" who seemed appreciative. It was too cold to work them today.

I received a great email from a fellow animal communicator, Nedda Wittels, who sent her wishes for the New Year and I wanted to share a few with you because they are so appropriate for the spirit of 2012:

May you find Peace within.
May you remember the infinite possibilities that are always available to you in each and every moment of your life.
May you easily reach inside to yourself to find your inner courage and share it with others in your life.
May your inner splendor radiate out into the world, creating harmony and spreading joy wherever you are, wherever you go.
May you have faith in your own Divine Self.
May you respond to life's challenges with the full knowledge that you are Divine and that each challenge before you has your very own power within it.
May you go forth into 2012 with the certainty that all your dreams can be and will be fulfilled.

Wishing everyone a very blessed year. I'm so looking forward to what Universe will dream up for me now that I am open and allowing it to happen ! I'll keep you posted - that's one of my New Year intentions, to be a lot more present on my blog!

Namaste,
cathy

2011-11-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Join Cathy Wells' teleclass
on the Animal Communicator
Forum onWednesday,
November 16 !

http://www.animalcommunicatorforum.com

I'm thrilled to be having this class at 2:00 pm EST. The topic is
"Expanding Your Horizons with Tellington TTouch". You'll learn what Tellington TTouch is all about, we'll explore how TTouch can expand your perceptions of your animals, discover how changes made on the emotional and mental levels are grounded and stabilized on the physical level and much more. Just go to the Animal Communicator Forum website and register - you'll get the phone number to call in. I would love to have you join me and participate! The monthly classes on this forum are amazing and I've personally gained alot of new information and insight from listening to them.

2011-01-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

REFLECTIONS FOR END OF JANUARY 2011:

We just spent a wonderful day today out with the horses and the dogs. Soaking up whatever sun managed to come through the clouds and reveling in the quiet. Can't believe January 2011 is almost gone already. It's been quite the month. A divorce for me - I was in Barbados on the 10th of this month listening to the ocean and getting a divorce after 25 years of marriage. We seem to be zooming around in all dimensions - physically, emotionally and spiritually. This year I'm focusing on getting my business off the ground and getting "really serious" - haha, whatever that means. It's kind of fun giving myself permission to be a serious business woman as well as a challenge to think that I of all people have something amazing to share with this world. I've always shared, just haven't put it out there for a lot of others to see. But why not? My gifts were given to me to share with this world, not keep inside a locked box. So hello 2o11. Time to get myself familiar with the computer, send out email newsletters, get my life organized into some neat categories so I know where to turn when the need arises. Time to shine with all the light I have in me.

One year ago yesterday I had the serious accident with the horses and busted my knee. What a catalyst that was for a life change. Still had a full crew of construction guys around building our house and they filled in for me taking care of the horses. Little did I know it started a major shift in my life. Wonder why it always seems it takes a major trauma to get the Universal point across.

I'm excited about this year. Have a product in mind that will be awesome that I'm working on with my friend Marna. Will be conversing with the big cat council this year along with two amazing horse wisewomen - stay tuned for some additional pages on my website. Looking forward to touching base with a lot of amazing Beings I've worked with for the past 9 years.

I'm also going to share with all of you this amazing community of lightworkers that are spreading a new vibration for our Dear Mother Earth and I hope you will share back. Check out these websites and blogs:
marnasmusings@blogspot.com
www.raysofhealinglight.com
www.thecenteroflight.net
sacredschakti@blogspot.com

Sending out to this amazing planet of ours and to you alot of gratitude, love, joy, peace and reverence.

cathy

Hello 2011! Starting out with good press

2011-01-21T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Boys and I got some really great press in the new year in the Shelburne News, our local paper. Just wanted to share. 2011 is a year to celebrate ourselves - we did alot of work in 2010 and we need to congradulate ourselves and each other on a lot of lessons learned. Lots of changes happening, lots of upheaval and lots of coming AT LAST to a place of vision, clarity and guts to walk our talk and live our truth. Congradulations. It's really an exciting year ahead. I tried to download the newspaper article but it didn't go through. Sigh. I'm not a computer expert. Trust me, it was a great article. I'll download my favorite picture from the article - it's all four of the boys lined up with expectations. Happy New Year to all.

My new years resolution is to become a blog babe and enter into the cyberspace realm as long as it feeds my soul and doesn't overwhelm me. That shouldn't be hard considering I'm all energetic vibrations anyway - just have to figure out how to download.

Love, light, blessings for the New Year. And - peace, gratitude, joy and reverence.

Interviews with Floppycats.com and The Monkey Bible

2010-09-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

The Monkey Bible Project. I had the fortunate experience of working with a wonderful young woman named Jaime Williams who is making a documentary in support of a book called The Monkey Bible. Jaime and her talented video friend William came to my home and shot Episode 1 of her upcoming film. The Monkey Bible is a book 10 years in the making by an author named Mark Laxer. It is a modern allegory about a young boy, very religious, who discovers some documents in his father's attic about an experiment involving his mother where her fetus was injected with primate DNA. He is consumed with this thought and wonders if he can still go to heaven now or it God loves him less because of his close relation to chimps. So he goes on a journey of dicovery..trying to resolve his spirituality with his new reverence for science.

The mission of the book is shifting "the line" between the camps of religion and science with the overall effect of increasing respect for biodiversity and protecting habitats. The book has moved other artists to make a full length musical CD and a staged performance to accompany the book. Jaime came out several times to talk with me and film my 4 English Shire draft horses. She has dedicated the first episode to Hercules, who died one week after our last filming and is featured alot in the film. You can watch our episode on http://vimeo.com14269093. You can learn more about Jaime and her project at www.monkeybible.com and can email Jaime at jaime@monkeybible.com.

Another great experience was being interviewed by Jennifer Dean who operates a wonderful website called Floppycats.com. Her website is dedicated to cats and stories about cats. Every Sunday she features an animal communicator. You can check out the interviews by going to www.floppycats.com/category/pet-communicators. I was featured July 29th and my interview is www.floppycats.com/interview-with-pet-talker-cathy-wells.html. The website is really well worth looking at and you will find alot of great reading about cats. www.floppycats.com

MEMORIAL TO HERCULES

2010-08-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

HERCULES

2000 - 2010

One of my beloved English Shires, Hercules, died Sunday, July 25th of Potomac Fever. He was only 10 years old. He came down with it Sunday morning, collapsed by 4:00 pm and was gone by 11:00 pm that evening. Magnificent to the end, he crunched through 2 big bags of carrots and wolfed down a flake of hay. Hercules was the favorite of many - how many I didn't realize until the cards and calls came in after his death. Although the biggest one of the 4 boys he was at the bottom of the totem pole in the herd and was often seen grazing separately from the others.

Herc had EPSM so couldn't back up very easily. He was also lonely for a girlfriend which I couldn't give to him because the barn was already full and Rocket, one of his barn mates was recently gelded.

We had laminated posters of his "distant "girlfriend Birdie up by his feedbox. She is a beautiful palomino mini.

This picture was taken on the Friday before his death. He was trained to nod his head "yes" and shake his head "no" for the people visiting the Farm Barn. We had a wonderful afternoon with a big crowd on Friday and he trotted all the way home.

As an animal communicator I am asked frequently to relay messages from beloveds who have passed to the other side. Usually our emotions are so painful in the beginning that we aren't able to open up our hearts to hear them reaching out for us. For the first time in my experience however Hercules was always there. While we were sitting at his grave I felt his presence and knew he wasn't going to leave. I am sure his spirit went "home" to the light but a part of him still remained. He tells me that he wasn't feeling well and this was an opening for him to leave. He knew he could do more on this earth plane in spirit than he could in physical form. Hercules was very big in physical form and even bigger in his great heart. We all miss him. I am grateful to know it doesn't hurt for him to back up now and he is probably in a field full of girlfriends so he's no longer lonely.

Thank you Hercules for all the love, strength, courage and honesty you shared with us while you were here and thank you for being here for us now.

Love,

Cathy

THE GULF CALL TO SACRED ACTION

2010-06-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

I participated in the first call today and finally felt like I was contributing something to this environmental call to wake up. The leaders of this Call to Sacred Action are some of the most inspiring and conscious people I know. Please take time to read and listen to the following links.

cathy

The Gulf Call to Sacred Action

Sponsored by Evolutionary Leaders: In Service to Conscious Evolution

Dear Friends,

Thank you for registering for The Gulf Call to Sacred Action. Today, we had our first call -- Setting Our Sacred Intention. For those of you who were on the call live, we appreciate your patience with our technical difficulties which we have since resolved. As we shared on the call, Evolutionary Leaders created The Gulf Call to Sacred Action because as we face the worst environmental crisis in United States history, we must face it in a new way and address it not just technologically, politically, or environmentally, but also from an evolutionary perspective. From an evolutionary perspective, we can see the crisis in the Gulf as a true "masterpiece of possibility" and an opportunity to demonstrate the power of the collective. You are a vital part of the collective. To listen to the call recording:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194a235d191875c812a9dec110b72c62c0b(Please note: You will hear a lot of beeps on the first 15 minutes of the call but they do stop about a quarter of the way through the recording.) To donate to the people affected by this crisis in the Gulf region:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf6e6d5dfc7d41bdee2 To read Deepak's 8-point plan:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf667301e6d754bddab To join Deepak's LinkedIn Collective Creativity Group:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf68b6b725f0815e74c To read a fascinating blog from Lynne McTaggart about the oil spill:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf6ec3befa7f86ffd0f To learn more about Lynne's intention experiments:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf66b23112a2ff9a4e3 To learn more about Jean Houston:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf60eb6a23893679b9b To listen to spontaneous prayers and OMs that happened after today's call ended:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf63045a236be7e1a6c To read about Evolutionary Leaders: In Service to Conscious Evolution:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf6b0855915b95cedc9 To grasp the scope of the spill in a way that you can relate to:http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf67e2e321354534c48 Please share this initiative with everyone you know. Invite them to sign up for the call informationhttp://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d793194d1315b2f7b4e3bf69dec110b72c62c0b Our next call -- The Power of Sacred Prayer -- will be Tuesday July 6th at 5:30 PM Pacific/8:30 PM Eastern. You can dial in to the call at 712-432-0075 code 753806# or listen live at http://track.namastelight.com/c/1/1bd8c328899d3c0b859080d18d79319489cd19c651e602cee6d5dfc7d41bdee2. The call, moderated by Debbie Ford, will feature Reverend Michael Beckwith, Joan Borysenko, and James O'Dea. Again, we can assure you that our technical difficulties have been resolved, so please do join us. We will email you a reminder the day before the call. Thank you again for stepping into this vitally important conversation. The world needs you and you matter! With love and blessings,Arielle Ford & Evolutionary Leaders: In Service to Conscious Evolution

INSPIRING THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - THE GREATNESS IN OTHERS

2010-06-09T18:44:00.001-07:00

June 9, 2010
The Greatness in Others - Recognizing Our Own Greatness

We cannot recognize greatness in others unless we too posses that same quality in ourselves.A person who is said to possess greatness stands apart from others in some way, usually by the size or originality of their vision and their ability to manifest that vision. And yet those who recognize that greatness, whether they display it themselves or not, also have greatness within them; otherwise, they could not see it in another. In many ways, the achievements of one person always belong to many people for we accomplish nothing alone in this world. People who display greatness rely upon others who are able to see as they do, to listen, encourage, and support. Without those people who recognize greatness and move in to support it, even the greatest ideas, works of art, and political movements would remain unborn. We are all moved by greatness when we see it, and although the experience is to some degree subjective, we know the feeling of it. When we encounter it, it is as if something in us stirs, awakens, and comes forth to meet what was inside us all along. When we respond to someone else’s greatness, we feed our own. We may feel called to dedicate ourselves to their vision, or we may be inspired to follow a path we forge ourselves. Either way, we cannot lose when we recognize that the greatness we see in others belongs also to us. Our recognition of this is a call to action that, if heeded, will inspire others to see in us the greatness they also possess. This creates a chain reaction of greatness unfolding itself endlessly into the future. Ultimately, greatness is simply the best of what humanity has to offer. Greatness does what has not been done before and inspires the same courage that it requires. When we see it in others, we know it, and when we trust its presence in ourselves, we embody it.

REMI MAKES HIS VT. LIBRARY DEBUT !

2010-06-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Remi and I are very excited to be part of the Pierson Library reading program for young children in Shelburne, VT. We'll be encouraging children to come in during the summer and read their favorite stories to Remi. Once fall starts we hope to start working with kids who are having a hard time keeping up with their reading. Remi is a wonderful listener and has helped many children learn to read out loud with confidence.

DELTA DEALS A BLOW

2010-06-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

For several years my two Shiloh Shepherds and I have been a therapy team, going to schools, nursing homes, senior living centers and libraries. It is extraordinary work and amazing to see how my dogs bring joy, peace, groundedness and unconditional love to so many in need. I am merely the chauffeur! Thus it was with amazement and dismay that I was notified that Reba, my Delta registered dog would not be able to continue because she eats a raw diet. This is a new national policy of the Delta Society that will have a huge impact on hundreds of registered therapy teams and for many of us who have campaigned so hard for healthy diets for our animals a big setback. I thought the following article was very well written - it offers one opinion which I happen to support.

Ready, fire, aim: Delta misses with dogmatic decision
By Christie Keith
May 21, 2010
I’ve been trying to pretend the Delta Society, the nation’s leading therapy dog organization, hadn’t just issued a ban on participation by dogs fed a raw diet. Because honestly, after 24 years of feeding raw meat, eggs and dairy products to my dogs and cats with not a single food-borne illness or nutritional problem, I’m just plain tired of this debate.
And it’s not like I haven’t written about this topic before.
The person who pried my head out of the sand on this was my longtime friend Lew Olson, who owns and founded the K-9 Nutrition e-mail list. Lew assembled an encyclopedic list of links on the subject of pathogenic bacteria and raw foods. Some of them address the issue of widespread contamination of processed foods, primarily kibble, which will come as no surprise to anyone here. Others have to do with the fact that most dogs and cats who carry salmonella have no symptoms of it — which is actually a bit off the point of Delta’s concern, but interesting.
She even had some studies on humans transmitting salmonella to dogs. Go figure.
But without question, this Powerpoint presentation was my favorite of her links. It’s a slideshow from the University of Guelph in Canada, purporting to show how scary raw diets are from a deadly pathogen point of view. I have to wonder if they even looked at their own data, though, because, well… you look at it:

Raw fed dogs (40)
Dry food fed dogs (156)
0 for Vanomycin resistantenterococci1 for Methicillin resistant S Aureus5 for Clostridium difficile19 for Salmonella31 for E Coli
1 for Vanomycin resistant enterococci8 for Methicillin resistant S Aureus40 for Clostridium difficile12 for salmonella32 for E Coli

Sure, the raw fed dogs have higher counts of salmonella and e. coli, and their numbers are lower so that’s even more significant. But MRSA, clostridium, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci are higher in the kibble-fed dogs.
And obviously, perfectly healthy dogs, raw-fed or kibble-fed, can have salmonella and other pathogenic bacteria in their systems.
Now, I know the raw feeding movement is hard for a lot of people to understand. I know that veterinarians are concerned about food safety (although I wish they’d be concerned enough to get their colleagues in large animal practice to get the poop out of the food supply in the first place instead of haranguing us about the food we prepare in our own kitchens, but I digress), and I know that plenty of people with therapy dogs figure that it’s better to be safer than sorry and the raw feeders should just take one for the team.
But does the Delta Society, which has fought so hard to get access for therapy dogs to people in hospitals and nursing homes, really want to go down this path? Selectively counting cooties in the dogs’ poop?
Do they honestly believe a living creature, let alone one that regularly licks its own butt, is ever going to be sterile?

As Lew said:
My concern is that, in your hurry to label the raw diet as the culprit, and eliminate its use by your volunteers in your program, you are only putting the spotlight on the issue that all dogs can carry pathogens regardless of diet. This could cause all dogs to be banned from any health facility. In essence, I see your new rule as shooting yourself in the foot. Salmonella is everywhere, including dry dog food, the soil, pond water and even in humans. You are looking at narrow parameters that need a more careful and extensive study on how pathogens are spread and how to use sensible and effective precautions to prevent the spread of disease-causing microbes and parasites.
[That would include] bathing the dogs, insuring therapy dogs are flea and tick free, making sure the dogs are properly exercised (ie pottied) before a visit, and carrying sterilization equipment (bleach, bags and paper towels) in case of an accident.
All research points out pathogens are spread by stool or saliva. That would mean not allowing the dogs to lick the clients, making sure the coats and skin are recently bathed and trusting your volunteers.
Your volunteers are the backbone of your organization, and they do this loving volunteer work without compensation and give the Delta group thousands of volunteer hours. I hope you take this email in the light it was written, in that sometimes, we need to look at any situation with more study and thought, and understand the healing, joy and encouragement dogs give so many people. Being a patient with serious illness and being away from home often stifles recovery. Pets, as you know, bring hope, happiness and support to begin the process of healing.
I hope you rethink your position on this matter, and continue to allow your therapy dog work to bring joy to both your clients and your volunteers.
Of course, Delta can have any rules or requirements they wish; they’re a private organization. But what troubles me is the focus not on outbreaks of pet or human illness but on simple bacterial counts.
When I wrote the post about “poop on the food” I linked to above, it was because I saw a vet conference presentation on the impossibility of safely cleaning the bowls used to feed raw meats to our dogs. It seems that research has shown that not even running them through the sanitize cycle of the dishwasher, can remove all bacteria from the dishes.
I asked then, as I ask now, “Then how can I ever make a meatloaf or marinate a chicken?” But I also have to ask this question: So what?
Are the bacterial levels on a dog bowl or mixing dish that once held raw meat or eggs. or the traces left behind on the carpets or other surfaces of a nursing home after the visit of a raw-fed dog, likely to cause any kind of disease outbreak? In other words, yes, the bacteria are there; are they dangerous? Or just present?
Does the presence of dogs who eat raw diets increase the risk of disease or harm over that of dogs who eat kibble (and lick their behinds)?
Can we actually look at that question before banning these trained dogs and their dedicated owners from this valuable and respected program?

(Posted from the Pet Connection website: www.petconnection.com)

A Timely Prayer for Grandmother Earth

2010-06-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

From Lakota Chief Arvol Looking Horse:

My Relatives,

Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer. We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color, which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life ofall things. As I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations arebeing threatened, those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations. Eventually all will be affected by the oil disaster in the Gulf. The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes that we cannot afford to continue to make. I ask, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in prayer with the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these serious issues will continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our Ancestors have warned us of in their Prophecies. I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united prayers for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I believe we as Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our thoughts and prayers to allow the healing of the many wounds that have been inflicted on the Earth. As we honor the Cycle of Life, let us call for Prayer circles globally to assist in healing Grandmother Earth (our Unc'I Maka).We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony, as we make the choice to change the destructive path we are on. As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And that what we create can have lasting effects on all life. So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer Along with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June 21st,World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether it is a natural site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just your own sacred space,let us make a prayer for all life, for good decision making by our Nations, for our children's future and well-being, and the generations to come.

Onipikte (that we shall live),

Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th generation Keeper of the Sacred WhiteBuffalo Calf

Pipehttp://www.wolakota.org/face.html http://www.wolakota.org/

2010-05-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

May 9, 2010
GULF OIL SPILL

It is a devastating feeling to see something like the oil spill in the Gulf and wanting to help but not knowing how. Except to jump in your car and drive there and do something! I was meditating on this last week, feeling all that oil making its way to the beaches and coating everything. But then I felt a shift and thought - what if there was a way that we could pour out so much compassion and unified energy to that oil and those responsible for it that we could change how it came to shore? What if there was another form it could take that wouldn't be so devastating to the environment? I remembered hearing on the TV that instead of finding huge glumps of oil for SOME REASON the oil has been solidifying into small flat pieces of an asphalt kind of chip - easy to clean up and not hurting the shoreline. Wouldn't it be amazing if Mother Earth has decided to end this pollution herself and is shifting the chemical structure of the oil so that it can be cleaned up easily? My heart swelled with excitement about the possibility and with love, for it can only be with that amount of love and compassion that miracles can happen. So as we see and hear about this latest issue in the Gulf, instead of sending feelings of devastation, anger and helplessness please send COMPASSION, energy, love and GRATITUDE to our beautiful Mother Earth and all her WISDOM.

And here is a wonderful program that really does help, so if you can't drive there you can contribute from your very own home!

HAIR FOR OIL SPILLS PROGRAM

View Our Programs:
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INSTRUCTIONS - HOW TO SEND HAIR / FUR / NYLONS
INSTRUCTIONS FOR HAIR / FUR / NYLON DONORS
FIRST, please sign up with our donor database program www.ExcessAccess.org- Sign up is FREE & FASTThis way you have access to information on:- an emergency oil spill near your area requesting hair- a large scale emergency oil spill that needs wide scale donations- our storage warehouse - all warehouse mailing address changes- Everyone can sign up. Salons, groomers, individuals... Everyone!SIGN UP HERE- NEXT, set aside a designated box (salons usually reuse a box in which shampoo was delivered)- line the box with a plastic garbage bag so hair/fur can't slip out- ideally, donate shampoed hair (but certainly don't include filthy hair / fur)- any length is fine- every type of hair is fine (straight, curly, all colors, dyed, permed, straightened...) but only HEAD hair, please!- every type of fur / waste wool is fine- sweep in all clippings, JUST HAIR, but please NO OTHER GARBAGE (gum, metal clips, paper cups, wrappers...)- remember volunteers (sometimes young students) have to stuff this hair into booms and don't want to feel garbage or anything sharp- tie the top of the bag and tape the box shut- we also accept washed, used (even with runs) nylon stocking donations in a separate bag, please.- we also accept other "natural fibers" horse hair, feathers... again, please, no other garbage or contaminants in with the hair/fur/ wool fibers... - mark the boxes DEBRIS FREE HAIR / FUR or NYLONS- mail boxes in to the address below:Mailing address for hair, fur, wool... clippings and nylon donations are being emailed out to everyone who signs up. We are emailing in WAVES, so as to control the flow and not overload smaller warehouses along the coast. We are currently seeing about 500,000 pounds come in from all over the country, every few days. And volunteers are learning how to make a mile of boom a session!
ONE TIME HAIR DONORS - How YOU Can Participate: Individuals: Please tell your hair stylist / barber about our program and website. We love personal hair donations, but for practical reasons, hair in bulk from salons saves processing time.Teachers and classrooms: We love getting hair from schools! Please collect and mail all the hair in one bag, rather than lots of little envelopes, saves processing time. Also, you may want to check out our Teacher's Demo PagePet owners: Fur, horse hair and wool is fine. Fur is curly which helps more in making mats. It does seem that human hair has less natural oil and is more efficient in soaking up oil. So, we are finding the sweet spot of ratio fur to hair! Pet hair doesn't have to be shampooed - but we ask that it not be filthy, please.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE HAIR NEXT?Loose hair can be stuffed into nylon stockings which we double up and tie together to make "booms" that surround and contain as well as soak up oil spills. See our youtubeBoom needs to be covered in strong meshWe get ours from DelStar Industrial Netting www.delstarinc.com (800) 531-5112Much of our funding goes to mesh. The best one for booms is:101407 Orange MeshRolls of 150 ft. @ $61.00 eachWe also sort through boxes of hair to make sure there is no garbage and then pay to send it off to nonwoven needlepunch factories to make batches of hairmats. These mats are for emergency oil spills and for oiled bird and mammal cages.We are fundraising for mat production and for our own permanent warehouse here in California to make hair booms. We also believe that collection kiosks at US harbors will provide green jobs and booms for emergencies. We aim to create a green job program with pathway out of poverty for those transitioning out of foster care (at risk youth 18-22 years old). To help please check out our contribute page.101407 Orange Mesh. It comes in rolls of 150 ft. @ $61.00 ea. Flyers for outreach: Please feel free to download and print our flyers. We made them just for you!Hair Mat Oil Spill Flyer Student Handout Teachers Handout DID YOU KNOW? OIL SPILL FACTS
History of the mat & boom:Matter of Trust is collaborating with thousands of salons throughout the US and abroad, that donate their hair clippings to soak up oil spills. Last year over 2,600 oil spills occurred in the world. They weren't all are high profile, but most had an impact on the environment. Phil McCrory, a hair stylist from Alabama, first discovered how hair can help. He was shampooing an oily head of hair while watching TV coverage on the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. He noticed the fur on the Alaskan otters completely soaked with oil and it just occured to him. "We shampoo because hair collects oil." He began testing how much petroleum oil he could collect with the hair clipping from the floor of his salon. Phil then invented the hairmat which is made from purchased hair and felted in China. Please find Phil and our friends at www.Ottimat.com. For the last 10 years we have partnered with Phil and Ottimat to see if we can create a National Natural Fiber Recycling System so that we could make the mats here the way we make the booms.
The US has over 300,000 hair salons and each cuts an average of a pound of hair per day. Salons generously pay out of pocket for postage to send their swept up hair clippings to either our warehouse or where there are temorary donated storage spaces for emergency spills. There we make "booms" by stuffing hair, fur, wastewool, etc. into donated recycled nylons and mesh. We do the fundraising for this program and outreach through placing our posters in participating salons and with the help of the press.
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MANITOUS FROM MINNESOTA

2010-01-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

I'd like to introduce you to a wonderful artist named Kevin Gadomski. He lives in Northern MN and creates amazing guardian spirit carriers in a form called a Manitou. I have several of his pieces and know they help me in my work. They are very powerful. Here are just three of his beautiful Manitous.

"For those of you unfamiliar with the term "Manitou", it is the Ojibway (or Chippewa) word for "Spirit". As the Great Spirit manifests itself in myriad forms, each unique manifestation, including plant, animal and mineral, is endowed with and inseparable from this Spirit. Also, MANITOU can be interpreted as meaning "MAGIC", in the sense that some people, places, objects, etc. seem to possess a greater concentration of this spirit (or creative energy) than others, such as a sacred ritual object or a favorite seashell. A Manitou may also be an actual spirit entity (inorganic beings?) whom on occasion will take on a physical form in order to teach us foolish humans a lesson. Thus, "Little Spirits" and the inspiration for our pieces". (quoted from Kevin's website which is: http://www.freedomgallery.com/)

2009-12-12T07:03:00.001-08:00