Hacked. Hacked in, hacked on, hacked off!

 How do people do it? How do they have the audacity to call someone up (someone like their mother, grandmother, sister, aunt....) and lie and steal from them? Take up hours of your time on repairing a monster of their own making, convincing you that your computer will CRASH AND BURN with everything lost. They convince you that this is your own fault, that you were unprotected from "these hackers", and you must pay them to fix it.

It all started one beautiful morning my computer started wailing and sending out big red letters saying DON'T TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER, YOU HAVE BEEN HACKED. CALL THIS NUMBER IMMMEDIATELY. DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER!!!! Knowing how much work I had left to do, I stupidly called. And spent the next 2 hours arguing with some...person.. somewhere in another world. A world where cheating people and harrassing them is A-OK. And after hours of fear of losing all my data (according to this ...person) I fork up a ridiculous amount of credit card debt just to get off the phone. And it did not end there. They got their money, now they want you to talk to their "billing expert". And after that  a young woman (whose mother would be sooo ashamed) ask you how was the service and you explain in clear, precise English that it was awful. And after you get off this most  humiliating phone experience all that is left to do is to cry. Cry because you just paid these persons to allow them control of your computer and nearly your accounts. And it's not over.

Every couple of days their number comes up and they want to chat with you about the service, "is everything going okay, make sure you don't call Microsoft for help, call us"until you refuse to answer, so next.....

They let you know that they have to refund all your money to you because the Better Business Bureau requires them to refund you because of a computer glitch on their end and they must refund you . And it begins again, the lengthy phone call, the hacking and suddenly YOU KNOW it is BS and you turn all the connections to them off and the ...person..starts calling you a f**king b**ch. And you hang up, only to have them call you back as though they are a "manager" and soon, they are back to calling you names. You hang up. And you stop answering and they continue to call everyday often and then it peters off and you take your computer to a reputable computer repair person who looks at you like you're dumb for not knowing right away you were being screwed. 

It is a painful experience and that is why I write about it. I consider myself pretty tech savvy and I fell for it. All the alarms going off with sounds I have never heard come from my computer really put me on edge. The correct thing to have done (against what my computer was screaming at me) is  TURN IT OFF. Hard exit, hold down the off button until it dies and call a reputable computer geek.

These persons are well spoken little monsters, it was easy to fall into conversation with them and to miss the signs that they were not legit. It was a painful learning experience that I would not wish on anyone (except these persons). And so I share it with you.

My head feels like a mudpie....

 

Who says retirement is a cakewalk. I think you have to ease into it because if your blast into it as I did, it takes at least six months to come up for air. It zapped me of energy as I crashed head on into the millions of things that one can do when there is more time. I was exhausted just imagining all that I could do! And most stayed right there in my mind. Until now.

Now, all the imaging and training and meditating has produced something tangible and exciting. I am alive again with so much mental energy that it is hard to step down to breathe. I have to play that meditative music to slow down those ideas and put them to paper. 

Life can seem so complex. I used to feel guilty for sitting and staring out the window. Or for wanting to nap. Now it is the only way to slow down and it is worth it. I am worth it! 

Spring here in White Salmon has been bliss!! Every single flower is blasting to show off its outstanding glory. All the bright new leaves are a flutter with excitement to be able to be born again. The red leaves, too! 

Life is stunning! As I ground myself every morning into the earth (I imagine I am attached to the earth by a root system burrowed deep) I feel my strength and love for this great world I life and work in deep in my heart. I am so Blessed!! Not because my life is any less complicated than anothers, but, because I appreciate every little thing. The tinkle of the chimes outside my windows, the wind blowing fiercely through the red oak across the road, the sunlight, the blue sky and my hands and eyes and electricity. Oh and my favorite -HOT WATER FROM A SPICKET!

We are the lucky ones! I am so blessed, grateful and humbled!! 

And so it is!!

TAKING BACK YOUR GODDESS-An ongoing women's confab for growth and understanding

                                         TAKING BACK

               
              YOUR GODDESS 

A Women’s Prayer and Meditation Confab 

How do we heal? 

How do we help others in easy and meaningful ways? 

How do we manage peacefully?

Start with something simple. 

 

Please join like-minded women of our community for prayers, conversation and meditation on topics for growth and understanding.  

Every other Wednesday starting 5/11 at 5:30pm 

In White Salmon and BZ corners 

Space is limited. Email roatancis@gmail.com

or text 239-290-9676 

 to sign up. Cost is devotional. 

Cis Ahearn RN/Life-guide. 

Hold Your Breath for the Count of Ten....

I've been quiet for a while. Easy to say there's lots going on, but, so what. Who's life is not a bit complicated right now? And I am not going to repeat all the cliches out there about all the garbage being dumped on us from all sides in an effort to confuse us and frighten us.

 Not being interested in being bombarded by much too much media information, I chose to be selective about what I read. It is possible that what I read may be false information as well, but, most of it is written sans emotion and flair. I am interested in facts. So I do focus on the science, I read the VAERS reports, I listen to all sorts of physicians and scientists, sometimes dumbfounded by what the media has missed or mis-represented, but, it is because this world has gotten very comfortable with altering the Truth. It's a sad fact. And no wonder people can't figure out what the heck is going on and tend towards the simplest answer. Too much mis-information, how can anyone know for sure what is right? You can terrorize people with too much noise, too much stimulation, physical abuse, mental abuse. Think Gitmo.  And we have had a bit of that this last year and a half. 

Yet some of us still stand in our truth. We still see the goodness available for us if we chose to shift our focus. When we know we have a limited amount of time on this gorgeous planet, why are we wasting it on those things we have little control over? Why turn on a TV rather than open a window? Go for a walk? Read a good 

Book? Enjoy a drive? Watch a sunset? Your time is all you have- is watching endless TV and reading the same stuff over and over what you really want to remember when you are at your death bed? Get out of your house! Go clear your mind at the beach, in the woods, on a mountain peak, wherever you can step back from the noise and just Be. Listen. Smell. Feel the natural world and get refilled. Being alone is not lonely, it is cleansing. Being quiet is a scarey thing only if you let it be. Hold your breath for the count of 10. There, you were alone and survived. It is that simple. 

As much as I have loved my media toys, I reluctantly set them down and walk away. I think back to when I wrote tons of letters to family and friends. It required thinking in the moment and sharing life. It was expression without a snapshot. I remember worrying about staying on the phone too long because it cost more. So you had to get all the important stuff said in a short time. The conversation were intimate and some times hard. Now, nothing is really private. Intimacy is an act rather than a personal event. What now?

 I find I need great compassion for those loved ones and others who drank the kool-aid and are now seeing the Truth. Doubt (is it really true) takes over fear (of death-the only guarantee) and then humility (am I wrong). Hard for your average American to take. But compassion is what is needed.

 "Forgive them for they know not what they do". There is a shift happening now. Some find it harder  to ask, "what if I'm wrong?" than to ask," what if I'm right?" and to answer truthfully. Yet both questions are important. And it takes courage to actually ask someone either question with regards to the present situation in the world. Both answers help to shift you, ever so slightly, to a more rounded understanding. I always say, " awareness is 50% of the cure". Many people don't even know that they don't know (the Truth). Yet, when you can offer them the opportunity to explore their own inner thoughts by these two questions, shift happens. And compassion prevails. And there is Light.

Turn off your FKG TV and do the research-TEN TIPS ON STAYING ALIVE

To say I'm angry, is just the old tip of the iceberg. I hate being angry and I dislike hate even more. But, I have been doing the research on many levels about our most recent flu outbreak-COVID-19. IT'S MINDNUMBING AND ONE-SIDED. SCIENCE KNOWS ALL.

There is a shitload of information. The one thing I find appalling and beyond belief is the lack of real information about prevention and reasonable preventative everyday things that we can do to help. Just yesterday the CDC finally updated it's site with hand-washing, isolation!(really, some of us must pay our bills, in other words, leave our homes to go to work-if we're not in the hospitality and travel business. Those people are trying to figure out how they will be paying for their life) and STOP HUGGING LOVED ONES!!!!

It was kind of the CDC to remind us-in fact-re-educate us in the art of Handwashing. Bravo!! And a special thanks out to Ellen DeGeneres for demonstrating early on the art of handwashing.

What makes this virus so different than the usual flu? Not much, it spreads the same way, it attacks the elderly and immuno-suppressed the same way, it has the same symptoms. The big difference is it was wholey blown out of preportion in the beginning. We have little research on how rapidly and profoundly flu's have spread in the past. The example of  Wuhun is what it looks like when a small flu virus mutates and spreads in an area of the world that has a LOT going on. It is the hub of the chinese hi-tech research, scientific research ( alarm bells) and more:

 " three national development zones, four scientific and technologic development parks, over 350 research institutes, 1,656 hi-tech enterprises, numerous enterprise incubators and investments from 230 Fortune Global 500 firms" Focus on Wuhun-Government of Canada

Is it any wonder that the chinese scientific community was on it ? It was not contained because Denial was the name of the game. As we know the first chinese physician to  recognize the problem was booed right out of there early on and eventually succumbed to the virus (according to the news). We also know that when a quanantine was announced hundreds of people left the area (not knowing they possibly carried the virus with them). Common sense. Mass hysteria does that. 

And here is a really great statistic-it is predicted that 95% will survive.Compared to cancer:

Almost 10 Million people die from cancer annually.

"Cancer is one of the world's largest health problems. The Global Burden of Disease estimates that 9.56 million people died prematurely as a result of cancer in 2017. Every sixth death in the world is due to cancer."

Okay, so I can go on and on. Here is what I do want to share. If you want to remain as healthy through this cytokine storm (the reaction that happens when the virus gets going in the body) there are a few things you can do.

1. Stop stressing-it decreases your immune system.
2. Stay rested
3. Wash your hands
4. Increase your Vitamin C-up to 2500mg a day or more
5. Get exercise.
6. Get out in the sunshine.
7. Be kind to one another.
8. Zinc tablets
9. Tonic water (quinine based)
10. Turn off the fucking TV and do you own research.

Growing older with Grace and Unconditional SelfLove

I am immeasurably happy. I am so grateful for this shift to what is really important today. When I decided to really go nuts over my hair and cut out the unreal, the face that shined through just filled me with self love. I finally, unconditionally love who I am. How did I come to this? When I look in the mirror I see a lifetime of learning. I see well earned smile lines. I see a sparkling minx in my eyes. I see a silver crown of hair that I have hidden from myself for 30 years of color.

It is like waking up to sunshine on your face on a cold day. I get it. I have got it to give. It is a totally consuming feeling of deep love within. As I sit here looking out at this beautiful space I get to call home, I am in Love with every tree, leaf, rock, bird and the blue sky. All the gifts right here in front of my face. And it fills me and I want to burst with gratitude. How lucky am I to have all that I want and more?!?!?

According to my stars I am here in service to mankind-I had my astrological chart read in college. I did not understand it for so long, yes, I am a nurse and life coach, but , what took a long time to realize is-where my purpose grows is not always evident and I may never know where I have impacted a life. Yet every act of kindness, every smile shared with a stranger has an impact. Every moment of calm in a storm offers a gift when offered from the heart. I spent so much time fighting this belief  being angry and hiding the sweetness of myself inside for fear of discovery. But no more. Service to humankind is about loving others beyond belief, beyond our pre-concieved, hallucinated viewpoint of others. So simple, just love. Find one small thing about another person you might rather dislike and smile and be kind. I find that this brings out the Angel in everyone, maybe not right then, but soon.

 I live in gratitude and love for every person who has ever crossed my path, for the lessons I learned and un-learned as a result of your presence in my life. I love you still.

 Just one tender act changes lives. 

A conversation with Self about drinking- while driving

I drove into Hood River (through White Salmon, down the hill, over the bridge, etc) today. As I was driving I started this conversation with my Self. It went something like this:

Self:  If  you're not addicted to alcohol, why do you drink?

I answered: That is a great question! I literally couldn't be happier, so, it's not that I am unhappy or depressed. I live by myself, so no one is leaving underwear on the floor or not cleaning the bathroom or doing their share of the dishes. That's enough for me to celebrate. I don't know, maybe I don't believe that it is so much an addiction as a habit. I know that some days I come home and all I want is a nice cold beer or martini because I have had a distressing day at work. Nothing I won't get over but until I do, I won't be relaxing or sleeping. It's like a short cut to comfort. And a habit-not an addiction. Other days, I sit in front of the fireplace and knit first or give the cat a good rubbing.

Self: Well, then, why not just quit? 

I answered: Well, I have before. And I could, but, not sure why I would. I rarely drink to excess (unless I am around my family and they love to drink together) I do my best not to finish a bottle of Champagne by myself-in the same night. And that is all I am going  to share on that topic. These days there is so much stigma around drinking and guilt. Typical of society to complain and attack the symptoms rather than address the deeper causes. It drives the mild drinkers underground and we tend to lie about it to our doctors. Who wants your medical records to say "drinks 1-5 drinks a day". People read that shit and can form an opinion.

Self: I can see this is an interesting subject for you.

I answered: Well, look around you. Everywhere you look there are vineyards, in fact pretty much every state grows grapes. There are thousands of US labelled wines. I gave up drinking it because it all tastes the same and it will NEVER be the wine that one can get in France or Spain, even Argentina. But, boy it is everywhere.  Whoa! I am way off on a tangent-sorry.

Self: Do you think you drink too much?

I answered: I do not. I have in the past, when I was sad, unhappy, frustrated and angry. I definitely tried to drown my sorrows, but after a while I resented the days I was missing because I was hung over. Self made unwanted time off. I could have been biking , cleaning, anything. Way to much time could be wasted being trashed all the time.

Self: What's changed? 

I answered: I see more. Sounds crazy, I know, but now I have time to actually see the world more closely. And I take more time to get out in it, many times alone, to just get a nature fix. I feel so much gratitude for the blessed life I live and have lived, even the sad times. They all brought me to where I am right now and this is good. Deserves a cocktail!

The end!