Phoenix Rising Above the Ashes

Rise Above, Burn it down…. LIVING FIRE

I have strongly claimed my 25% Mexican blood since childhood having spent with my extended Mexican family….My Lita Tillie Padilla would be proud of her Blonde Mi hija **as a child I was naturally blonde ;)

So last night I attended a SIFF movie called “Backyard”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebPEc9IGT4Q

There have been others of this genre which depict the struggles of border life and Mexican people wanting to make a better life for themselves, such as La Misma Luna Under the Same Moon). And other films such as Maria Full of Grace or Traffic which portray the drug industry of Mexico and the US involvement.

This film “Backyard” illustrates in full graphic display, the vicious impact our continued denial of involvement as so called “American Citizens” has on our neighbors to the south, our “Backyard.” It takes a spin on the over-popularized condemnation of the drug industry to show that for some unknown reason, WOMEN are being kidnapped, tortured, raped, and not just killed but slaughtered only miles from our secured borders.

This film was about the missing and murdered women in Juarez, Mexico which has been going on for over a shocking 14 years. I was one of the ignorant many who read a headline in our New York Times, or kept up to current event of the NPR news at the time, but as with any sensational media, this coverage has reduced, and I lost focus on the issue.

It couldn’t have been a more perfect timing of this movie to be released and the current issues of my beloved home state (mind the sarcasm) of Arizona. Living there and seeing these problems escalate within our state from ring-side-view, all the other states are thinking how could this happen that Arizona is now doing this? Well this is why I moved away, these issues have been going on since my teens, back to when these issues in Juarez were being publicized but our government and society of the US seems to be removed because of a BORDER.

These escalated problems are created by fear
*Fear of our control being taken away as so-called “US Citizens”
*Fear of being less powerful than any other nation
*Fear of “those people” taking our JOBS – that US Citizens won’t even do because of their sur-real MTV world concept of themselves. Check out www.dirtyscottsdale.com and you’ll perhaps understand that the 30 thousand dollar millionaires of John McCain and Janet Brewer’s infamous Scottsdale are the ones making the choices for this state – absolutely frightening!

Even more frightening now, is the FEAR of KIDNAPPING, RAPE, MURDER. On both sides of the border we are in a fear

* US Citizens are putting up borders in fear that Mexican Illegal Immigrants are the reason for our higher crime rates of drug, rape, murder, etc… but check out our country’s two highest murder cities – far removed from the Mexican borders – Detroit and Chicago. Does this mean we need to be fearfully monitoring our border of Canada to the North?

*As this film shows, our impact as a US society’s NEED for goods at a CHEEP COST- immigrant workers and laborers who will work for pennies, OUR “American people’s” need for drugs, OUR “American people’s” need for prostitution, OUR American government’s need for power and corruption to continue the deception of the “American People”

We Arizonans who believe in social welfare, education and shockingly care about the welfare of our neighbors to the south (unlike the obvious population creating the current hoopla) knew that the leave of our Governor Janet Napolitano to join the Obama Administration would be an unfortunate defeat overall for Arizona’s government. And what’ll ya know…it allowed Arizona’s Secretary of State Janet Brewer to come into office out of succession, under Arizona’s Senator McCain. To think, this mentality of a person, influencing the laws of Arizona, which are shaking up our nation, could have been our President! THANK GOD ABOVE THAT HE WASN’T ELECTED OUR PRESIDENT.

Anyone with a pulse in Maricopa County knows of Sheriff Joe’s Shenanigans (sooo many thanks to our local New Times http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/specialReports/view/1166737 for the continued front page media of his never ending escapades).

Far too many years have we as progressive voters opposed his tactics, trying to give him the boot, yet all of those blinded old bats in Sun City and 30-thousand-dollar-millionaires of Slutty Scottsdale CONTINUALLY dismiss his antics. It is SCHOCKING that he continually gets reelected to be our Sheriff with his posse of renegades!!!

To further this saga of Arizona, we now have a law passed by these lawmakers in denial of the truth. How have we let this go on Arizona? I will admit my need to “get out” of Arizona because I was not surrounded by like-minded people who I felt were making a difference. I came to a Mecca of pc minded, sustainable and organic here in Seattle, but my “heart bleeds for you” Arizona, as was stated in “Backyard”

For a deeper look at the Senate Bill 1070 in it’s full glory of Legal jargon, here you go:
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf

The article in the NY Times expresses the Napolitano-Brewer-McCain political struggles for Arizona.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/us/politics/24immig.html

We activists have talked the talk….now we MUST walk the walk……
IT IS TIME TO RISE ABOVE…

Keep connected if you are a passionate, involved person wanting to collaborate for change… AshaVie - find the start up fan page on Facebook and blog: www.ashavieorg.blogspot.com or email ashavie@gmail.com

As a loved one has inscribed forever on his arm…….
Rise Above, Burn it Down: LIVING FIRE
Bless!

Sooooo excited about numerous projects in the works.

Check out my new blog/ facebook page for Asha Vie and soon to come BanyanTri. Collaboration & support for these projects is my intention at present. Very content with the way things are going, thanks to the spirit guidance at every moment.

Om Ganesha Namaha. (may the obstacles be removed)
May I continue to be on the path, guided God within and all around.

Making Dreams a Reality

So during the past few months, I have been working extremely hard to make the future happen for my present. Dreams. So many things I think up in my head, actually, when put to paper, then to concept, actually happen.

Right now I am in a waiting period, anticipating the results of my University of Washington graduate school program application. I will know on my birthday (March 10) so hopefully it will be a great birthday present!

Even if I do not get into graduate school, it just tells me that my ultimate dream needs to take a different course to be made real. See, the whole reason I am going to grad school, is to gain the experience and knowledge to be able to implement the programs I envision will dramatically impact our society.

I have just sent out the first bit of info about this anticipated project to my dear friends, hoping to gain their support, and work as a team to make this happen. I am setting up a website along with all the social network systems within this month, to make the dream a visible reality. My goal is by September, open the doors of my initial location offered to the community!

If I do get accepted into grad school, this organization will serve for the first two years as my grad project to research the impact of our services on the "Late Youth (early adulthood)" period of development. I am crossing my fingers for this opportunity and I will keep much updated info about the progression of the organization.

I will also post the new-found site once it has been established separately from my personal blog. I hope all is well in life for you my friends. If you find yourself interested in becoming a part of this project, let me know!

Namaste!
Ashley

Bon L'Anniversaire Sherm

Last night as I struggled with falling asleep.

I remembered holding Sherm's hand, trying not to cry in his presence, knowing it was the last time I would hear his breath, feel his warmth and have him by my side.
I held my hand out just as it had been held in his grasp, but now I could only grip onto my blankets, his hand is no longer there to hold. This time I allow the tears to come and cry myself to sleep.

Today I found a letter he had sent to me this past year, the words read
Life is a never ending journey of discovery.
I remembered it was his birthday today.
These coincidences are not coincidences at all.



I am listening to jazz on your birthday Sherm.
With every day, with every lasting memory I carry you with me.
I am so grateful you came into this world, and that together we discovered life.
You were with me until you had to leave this life, but I know you are still with me now.
You once wrote to me, without your love I don't exist.
But I never stopped loving you, so you continue to live on in my heart.

I live for you now, your spirit continues on in the living.

Mon raison d'etre
l'amour de ma vie

past 4 months

I can't even sum with words at this time, so i'll update with pictures..... most will be to my picasa if you want to check them out, i'm also on Facebook, twitter and myspace for more info on my goings on's. perhaps i'll get up the courage to write the saga, but for now I just want to listen to Thelonious Monk at noontime without anything else to do, nor do I want to plan for anything else to do but be.

thinking about my edgamakachon

So i have these things called goals:

i goal plan nearly every day. obsessively.

sometimes, i make goals - to make goals.

it's a strange mentality, but as a good friend once inspired me,

i never say what i'm going to do, unless i'm prepared to do it.

So with 6 months in Seattle, doing whatever odd job i can find, i have decided that in inspiration of that professional career up in the sky, i need to further my education.

Here's how the goals look right now

• eat, love, pray & work~ in Seattle ~ artist activist style
• write my book (or 3) presently until they're done 1-2 years
• start Creating Space --> just you wait and see ;>
• live life joyfully, healthfully
• start a summer school program 2010 for Creating Space
• start grad school Fall 2010 ~cross my fingers D.C. ~ 2 years
• breathe, let life flow
• continue working on program development & fundraising for Creating Space
• live life joyfully, healthfully and successfully
• finish grad school 2012 ;P
• jump up & down & scream!
• initiate programs in schools 2012-forever
• open Creating Space Center 2014
• experience success through the struggles
• inspire children to be creative & free
• inspire youth to be who they were born to be
• teach parents how to be mothers & fathers who love unconditionally & bring up our next generations of clear minded, peaceful thinkers & innovators instead of media influenced Zombies~ soul-less cattle in this mass herding society
• learn to let go, do what i am here to do, evolve & transcend

Om namo guru dev namo

i honour the teacher within you & within me.

any grad school prep suggestions? gladly appreciated!

3 weeks in the Rainy City

8 years ago I moved to Seattle for the first time, to take a sabbatical from my attempt as a college freshman student, and experience a big (ger than Phoenix) city - the difference between a desert and a lush wetland. I instantly fell in love. The smell of the air, the cloudy skys * even the so-called gloomy days warmed my heart* I knew I had found the place that I would be for a long time.

With, of course, the thoughts of my family back home always on my mind, and the in-state tuition perk of returning to school at ASU, I made my descent back to the hot, dry wasteland where I spent the last 7 years. After a surprisingly different degree change from my 1999 entrance as a Journalism major and Photography minor student (photojournalism just didn’t cut it for me at the time) to a studies in Child and Family Development, paired with three certificates in Nonprofit Management, Early Childhood Intervention, and Yoga Teacher training, I am an Arizona State University 2006 graduate!

The events over those years that occupied my time and mind included the involvement of numerous newfound relationships that taught me some of the greatest lessons of life, of which I have carried with me throughout my years. Special friends have come and gone, though they are always within me.

2 years of travel after my graduation gave me the freedom and exploration my soul needed and to gain even more that would impact the understanding I have of others for the future. I was so fortunate to visit France and Italy, Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil, and most recently, India. The people I met, oh how they have changed my life. I have experienced much, and I am continually inspired by our contact in the past. I hope that I can continue to maintain the friendship and companionship I developed with so many of my beautiful brothers and sisters of the world.

Now that my feet have walked, stumbled and I brought myself back up again, I am on the path that is new at every moment, ever present and developing the roots needed to grow more fully into the person that I am here to be. I have come full circle, lucky 7 I guess. 27 that is. No longer a girl of 20, I am a woman of 27, ready for what lies ahead, balanced and full of strength. Back in the city that I adored and continue to adore. Seattle, Yeah Rainy City! I am here and ready to stay!