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The Zen Way poem

Looking deeply, you see that there is not one iota of an atom which you could claim as yourself. Seeing the black shadow of the bird crossing overhead, you know that not one deed of your past continues to exist anywhere. The speck of dirt you mistook for a spider; you see the falsehood of discriminatory thinking. Without self, and without discrimination, all the transgressions of all kalpas of existence blow away like dust from a mirror. Empty and without conditioned thought, sensory phenomena pass straight through you, like a hand cutting a line of incense smoke. Nothing is grasped, and nothing remains. With emptiness and the loss of individual form, skin and bones shed like an ill-fitting belt, the universal light of your Buddha-Nature basks the entirety of Samsara in Nirvanic light. Yet, there is no room in any of the planes of existence for anything to have been gained; and the tree is still a tree.

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Alaska To Lift Ban on Aerial Hunting, Attack on Bears and Wolves

Hunters could once again go after bears, wolves and other predators in national wildlife refuges across Alaska if an Obama-era federal law is overturned by Congress and gets the president's approval. Supporters of repealing the rule, which was issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in August, got a boost Thursday when the House voted 225-193, mostly along party lines, to undo the law. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, is behind the resolution to strip away some of the federal government's control over Alaska's 76 million acres worth of federal wildlife refuges. Under the federal law, hunters are prohibited from shooting or trapping wolves while at their dens with cubs, using airplanes to scout for potential grizzly bear targets, trapping bears with wire snares and luring bears with food to get a point-blank kill. But essentially, hunters could once again kill such predators from the air or in dens if the law is overturned. Aerial shooting has been deemed necessary in the past in order to curb predator populations that eat moose, deer and other animals that some Alaskans consume for food. Young argued in the House that the rule seized authority away from the state of Alaska and is a clear violation of federal law. "We have to recognize this is not about the little polar bears, the little grizzly bears or wolves on television, this is about the state's right to manage — not allowing the federal government to do so," Young said. "We want to be able to take and manage our fish and game for the sustainable yield — so that our fish and game will be there forever." The House resolution — H.J. Res. 69 — is set to advance to the GOP-controlled Senate, and then will be given to President Donald Trump to sign into law. His administration has not commented on the issue. The office of Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, a political independent, said they filed a lawsuit in January challenging the federal law because it impacted the "basic means of [their] survival." "As Alaskans, we have a unique relationship with our land — especially in the most rural parts of our state where residents rely on hunting and fishing to put food on the table," Walker said in a statement. "Alaskans must be able to provide for their families, and the rules that have been put forward by the federal government do not support that." Animal rights group The Humane Society aired a TV commercial in the Washington, D.C., area on Wednesday and Thursday in an effort to urge lawmakers to vote against Young's resolution. "What the House did today should shock the conscience of every animal lover in America," Wayne Pacelle, The Humane Society's CEO, said in a statement. "If the Senate and President concur, we'll see wolf families killed in their dens [and] bears chased down by planes." Prior to the hearing on the resolution, multiple House members took sides on Twitter, denouncing the resolution — or celebrating the reversal of an Obama-era policy. The Fish and Wildlife Service said last year the rule will help maintain sustainable populations of bears, wolves and coyotes on national wildlife refuges in Alaska, The Associated Press reported. For instance, Denali National Park in Alaska's interior wilderness released data showing wolf populations declined substantially up until Obama's law was instituted. In 2015, Denali had 112 wolves — a steady decline from the average mean of 200 wolves, according to park officials. In 2016, the number rose slightly — to 127 wolves. But it was unclear whether the federal law played a role in the uptick. Still, Denali officials have asked to extend buffer zones around its park to better protect wolves outside the federal refuge.

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2017. What Have We Learned?

I’m just a person trying to find a forum where I can express my thoughts and ideas without judgment or repercussion. My New year did not start out on a great note. I finally got my new phone and proceeded to promptly drop it and crack the screen. Never say never and first time for everything, still. I want this year to be a lot better than 2016. But what is time really. It’s just a point where we decide that another passage of “time” has occurred. I want to learn another language. The romantic languages are enticing. I’ve decided I want to take a linguistics class as I was good in that subject when I was attending college. I’ll never know if anybody is really listening out there to what I have to say on my blog today. So I guess this is what we call the modern diary. It’s possible the rest of my life will be be documented in cyberspace. I am one for truth but not for scandal. It is easier to write with anonymity, the truth flows more easily. I’m not sure I’ve ever admitted all of my life to this point to any one human being that I know. Have you?? I’d like to take a survey…. I want someone, even if they don’t know me, to hear my life’s adventures. My upbringing was unusual, my life has been unusual. As long as I can remember I’ve had a fascination with flying. When I was a child I used to dream that I could fly in my human form. It was so incredibly life like that sometimes even during the day while awake it was like nothing I’ve ever felt. Dream interpreters may say that that is synonymous with a feeling of freedom. In my situation, it was actually quite opposite. Maybe it was just something I actually wanted. I actually haven’t even addressed the topic of this blog; what have we learned? I have learned that I believe our country is headed in a direction that it should not be. I have learned that I will always be a free spirit and one that will always be nobody’s girl. Several humans in my life have let me down. So why have expectation? If you don’t have an expectation you will never be let down. Love heartily and deeply. Find peace. Listen to the voice deep within. Connect your mind to your body. TaTa 4 Now.

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#sunset

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#outdoorbeauty

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This is a young Red Tailed hawk I helped return to the wild. This, is one of my passions.

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My Tree of Life

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Light and Darkness