Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Advertisment for my books 2

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Advertisment for my books

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sunday and all is Well

Today I finished editing episode 19 of the Awen's Path Podcast featuring musician, shaman, energy healer and founder of thegratitudemall.com James A. Dempsey. It is a great interview and I recommend people check it out. It is live now on davidduir.com and will be shortly searchable on iTunes.

Over the last few weeks I've been making tweeks here and there to davidduir.com and will probably keep doing it. I have added a forum to the site which is an embeded forum from a different host. The forums can be accessed either through davidduir.com or directly and are a place to discuss spirituality, general stuff and of course the Awen's Path Podcast so please feel free to check it out and tell your friends.

I have also been working on getting more guests for the podcast as well as some extra exposure. Currently through the podcast and davidduir.com I am holding a contest please see the contest page at davidduir.com for more info. There are some great prizes to be had. I am also working on a variety of writing, podcasting and other projects which I hope will be enjoyed by others, but they are really fun just to do.

Word of mouth is very important to me so feel free to tell your friends about my blog, podcast and anything else you might find interesting. I will be posting some more things here and there as well. Until next time I hope all of you are well.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Working along

Today I have been working on editing my website at www.davidduir.com and some other things for shameless self promotion. I also had a great interview with James Dempsey today for the Awen's Path Podcast which will release this Sunday. It has been a ton of fun but taken quite a bit of time and work, and of course I still keep plugging along at the day job and the writing.

So fun, so tiring, but so rewarding. I am grateful for it all. For a bit of a preview of Sunday's Podcast check out http://thegratitudemall.com which is James' website. Until next time.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Trying to find a Happy Medium

With all the work, Facebook, Twitter, Cafepress, art, blogging, podcasting, writing, publishing and everything else it gets a bit daunting. As an author my goal of course is to sell some books but that seems to be going very slowly indeed. My goal working with my publisher is to try and find some more authors and queries. My other goals are to write interesting posts and blogs so people will actually enjoy interacting with me. The key is really trying to find the happy medium while trying to promote myself and sites and causes I like. Honestly it can be difficult knowing how often you should send out links on Facebook and Twitter without losing friends and followers.

On Facebook and Twitter I do like to think about the people who have been willing to follow me and accept my friendship. To me they are not just words on the screen but the real people behind those words. I definitely am trying not to over advertise or seem like all I care about is selling stuff. That is far from the truth. I am working at finding this happy medium where I can get some books sold, make some great friends and contacts and we all can learn from one another.

I am hoping that there are some people out there at least who enjoy my content in all these wonderful places but in all honesty I get very little feedback. Every podcast I host lists the e-mail awenspath@cox.net and asks for feedback, input, and guest suggestions but never gets a response. On Facebook I get some feedback from people who like posts and links, but from what I have seen if interaction isn't constant and settings aren't changed I am actually invisible to some of my friends and they to me, which is sad in my opinion.

Its not that I am looking for fame or fortune, just wonder if all the work I am doing is actually getting across to anyone or if anyone is actually learning anything from the Podcasts and posts. Well with luck some time I'll find out. I enjoy the interaction and will keep it up, just would be good to know if I was even reaching one person.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Open your Eyes, Open your Ears, Open your Minds, Open your Hearts!

We stand on the edge of light and darkness, of enlightenment and extinction. We are facing a time globally where change and acceptance are being called for from all over the world. We are facing a time where we are finally seeing the harm that bullying can do, and seeing what a profound effect we have on our own environment. We stand at a glorious yet tenuous time for the human species. We are delicately treading the balance between our rising to glorious stages of enlightenment or the complete annihilation of ourselves as a species.

We must start by opening our eyes and ears to that which is going on around us. We must strive to hear the notes sung out by nature and the cries of pain that accompany many of those notes. We must strive to preserve the species, plants, and environment on which we depend for survival and we must learn to interact with it. We have become very separate from the natural world and in our separation we have become blind and deaf to much of the pain and destruction which we have unleashed upon the planet we call home. We must take the time to see what we have done, and see what we can do to help nature to heal so that we can continue on for many ages to come. Technology and communication have grown in leaps and bounds and have helped us become more connected to one another than we have been, but at the same time it has come to separate us from our fellow human beings and nature itself by sitting us in front of screens.

We must learn to once again interact with nature and with our fellow human beings. We must learn to be more open and accepting and close the gaps that we have created over the last hundred years or so. We need to listen to the song of creation that sings its eternal tune around us and listen to the heartbeats of our fellow humans so that we can be connected for we are all connected in many ways. We can learn from one another and from nature and we must open ourselves in order to do this. We can do this as long as we are willing to be accepting and understanding of our fellow human beings, and of the power and majesty of nature.

We must learn to look to the past and beyond into the future and see what our actions as a whole have brought and what they can bring. We must think of our children, our children's children and all future generations. Do we want them to feel inadequate or hated or do we want them to feel confident and loved? Do we want them to be facing their destruction or facing the healing of the Planet? Do we wish to be full of hated or of love?

We must learn to open our minds and our hearts both to ourselves and to the world around us. We must learn to listen with our whole beings, for it is through this that we will find ourselves strong on the path to enlightenment. We can grow as beings both intellectually and spiritually if we are willing to embrace the technology we have and also embrace the natural world around us and all it can still teach us. Together if we strive to do so we can make this world a better place and help it to heal but we must be willing to give of ourselves to do so.

Will you accept this challenge? I know I plan to try to.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The bad and the good

Well yesterday I was expecting a package which never arrived and the lovely tracking information says it was delivered. I am hoping it will all come out well Monday. I have phoned the post office yesterday but was informed they would not be able to speak to the driver again until Monday. I am hoping either he scanned it and forgot to put it off his truck or that it was delivered to the wrong person who will see they are the wrong person and either bring it to me or return it to the carrier on Monday and he will bring it to me. Needless to say I will be phoning the post office again Monday morning to see if I can get this all fixed up.

Now the good news. I've just put up Awen's Path Episode 18 Featuring Jamie Woodhead author of The Reaper which is available on Kindle, Nook and at www.oaklightpublishing.com feel free to check it out. I've also updated my webpage at www.davidduir.com and cleaned up one of my cafepress shops a bit so I am at least able to keep myself busy.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Its really time for a wake up call.

Throughout the centuries we have held strong to certain beliefs and principles that have guided us as a species. We have learned to change and adapt but often these changes have been lead by massive upheavals, protests and have been met by much fear and hatred. It is time for us to wake up and to stop the insanity that is surrounding us.

With all the attention brought to bullying in the past few months along with the economical strife and the pushes for things such as same sex marriage, we all live in this society of fear. Just today I received a survey call from the National Organization for Marriage. (because my state will be putting to vote same sex marriages). Here are the questions and answers:

Question one: Are you registered to vote in RI? -Yes

Question two: Do you believe marriage should be only between a man and a woman -No.

Question three are you over 50 years of age? -No

Followed by... Thank you.. good bye.

I could almost hear the breaking of the heart of the automated messenger and the screams of fear from those who sent him. I posted about the call on Facebook and then took some time to think about it. Why would anyone fight equal rights for all human beings? Would it make them any less who they were if the title of married couple was able to be applied to those couples who are of the same sex? Is the love of same sex partners not as strong or as good as those of opposing sex? I mean yes you can make the argument that same sex partners cannot procreate on their own without help etc. But really is procreation all that marriage is about? If so what about the married couples who never have children out of choice?

Why is it that people meet with change or things that they do not understand with fear? Why is it we fear people based on their race, sexual orientation or religious beliefs? Well that is easier to understand. We fear what we do not know or that which challenges our personal beliefs because we are afraid of changing what we believe in?

I mean I am a man married to a woman with a young son. Does it feel right and natural to me... Yes. Does it mean it would fit everyone and that it should fit everyone... no. Love should be shared regardless of your personal orientation and if its accepted that's a wonderful thing. Love unconditionally.

This is what I am asking. To all my friends, followers and to anyone else who reads this this is a wake up call. Take time. Face your fears. LEARN about the other people around you, their views, and their beliefs. Go to a Mosque and talk to a Muslim, go to a Synagogue and talk to a Rabbi, attend a Pagan pride day and ask the people what they believe, Go to a Gay Pride and take time to talk to the people there even chance getting to know some of them.

Take the time to do it! Take the time to understand the world around us. Take time to get to know other people. Put and end to the Fear.... Put an end to the hate. As it was so well by Yoda in The Phantom Menace "Fear leads to anger... Anger leads to hate... Hate leads to suffering." WE must end the fear, the anger and most of all the hate. Hate is not the opposite of love, indifference is, if you can't love your fellow human beings at least do not hate them but be indifferent. This is all I ask.

Open your minds, and Open your hearts. They are the hardest locks to open but once open they can reveal the greatest treasures of all. If nothing else please think about it! And share this message with your friends.