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.

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.

Vacation January 2011 to present

Well I've been home for just about a week from vacation so its time for me to give my little tell all. Firstly, I will say that all images were taken by me, and all opinions here are strictly my own and have not been influenced by any personal gain whatsoever. This will contain all the good and bad about my trip and some of the bits in between. There will be pictures of some things including my son. I hope you enjoy.

This year on vacation we went to Universal Studios in Florida and stayed at the Nickelodeon Suites Hotel. I loved the hotel and it could have been a vacation unto itself for someone with smaller children. The first day had the worst part of the vacation and therefor has the worst picture (though taken a couple days later). That evening I was playing with my son chasing him around the room and broke my little toe on my luggage (its ok to laugh my wife did for 20 mins).
Here's the foot:

Note the bruising across the other 3 toes. Quite fun. Lol. Ok now for the good bits.

The Nickelodeon suites hotel was great, very friendly staff and fun characters to have breakfast with (additional charge) or take photos with(scheduled throughout the day). My son was excited to meet all of his favorite Nickelodeon Cartoon stars such as Spongebob, Dora, Diego, Ang, and many more. He has such a wonderful time there and it was brilliant. Downside... The shuttles to universal did not have the best schedule especially if one wanted to visit Seaworld (we did not go there but it was insane short schedule) though from what the drivers said the times were dictated by universal with their partner hotels not the hotels themselves. All in all I loved the Hotel and would definitely stay there again, though our next planned trip to Florida we will most likely be spending it at Disney.



Ok so now onto Universal. We went to Universal Studios and Universal Studios Islands of adventure. We had a great time with many of the shows and rides. Freddy had a ball and even got to meet Spiderman (Boy he loved that). It was fun all around and of course we got their early one day and spent most of our time at the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter. See pictures below. It was absolutely fun and we enjoyed every moment even the line to get into Olivanders. It was by far the most popular attraction due to its newness and the butterbeer (Frozen and cold) and the Hogshead microbrewed ale was great as well at the Three Broomsticks. Best recommendation is to go as off season as possible and go to the Harry Potter bit either as early as possible or near the end of the day to avoid the crowds. Its really enjoyable. We all had a blast, and all the other areas and attractions were great too... we must have rode on the Cat in the Hat ride over a dozen times Fred loved it so much.




Well due to the vacation there was no Awen's Path Podcast last week and as I have been busy and could not line up a guest for this week it will most likely be me chatting and I am sure I will touch on the vacation and the good time I've had. Also over this last week I have been working hard as my publisher is now accepting queries for more info on that if you are looking for a publisher check out http://www.oaklightpublishing.com .

Well that's all for now hope you liked the pictures and such and I will post again soon.

This week and Beyond

Been a great though busy week as stated in my previous post. This week I've had the chance to interview Raven Digitalis for this Sunday's (12-5-2010) Podcast and that went absolutely awesome with some great conversation. Working today on other guests as well as ideas for the show etc.

Along with the work on the Podcast I've been working on some writing as well as with some other stuff on the publishing and marketing sides of our other books. Today Trinity of Wisdom by Mark Knight went live on iBooks and is now available for iBooks in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France and Austrailia. Its just great knowing that all this is happening these days with my publisher, Mark's Book is great and I am still so excited that Rosa's book Taking 1960 got picked to be shelved at Barnes and Noble. If you don't see it at your local store but want it please feel free to request it, I know they plan on starting with a store or stores local to Rosa.

My day job goes on as it does and I keep enjoying the time with my friends and family. Its going to be a great holiday season I can see that now. With luck I'll have some more writing out there in one form or another sooner or later. Lots of work with Kindle, Nook and iBooks. It should be a wonderful time as the year ticks on. I am so enjoying life these days with the Podcast and writing and my wonderful three year old. I am so looking forward to all the great guests we're going to have coming on the show even if I am not sure who are going to be yet. So far its been a great learning experience and I am hopeful that others find it this way while listening. If this contest goes as well as it seems I will most likely be holding more perhaps future ones with other prizes from guests or sponsors of the contests but who knows.

Spirituality and life keep me going and I enjoy it all the time. The wheel of the year keeps turning round and I can't wait to see what it will bring with its turning. Learning from other's views on spirituality has been quite nice indeed and I really am finding it to be a great source of inspiration in my life. Hoping to get some feedback on the podcast some time.


Well until next time....

Continuing on Awen's Path

Well the podcast is now officially in its third week and seems to be gaining strength and hopefully listeners. Haven't had a ton of feedback yet but it is just starting after all. This week for my third episode I was honored to have Damh the Bard aka David Smith a brilliant pagan folk musician on the show. It was wonderful talking to him and went a little over my usual one hour time limit but what the hell it was fun. The show is exciting and upbeat I really loved doing it and it seems to get more fun with each podcast. I did on iTunes mark this podcast as explicit due to the single use of the word shit. I know it doesn't seem excessive but I did want to make sure it passed all their parental guidelines for sure. Well I am extremely excited because there are tons of wonderful guests coming up through the coming months. It should be a real hoot and a great learning experience.

And everyone go check out Damh the Bard's website at http://www.paganmusic.co.uk its a great site and showcases all of his work and where to get it.

Wake Up Celebrity Author Info (Would ya Help please?)

As some of you may know, my second book “Honoring the Sacred Earth: A Path to Spiritual Awakening” has been placed on the Wake Up Celebrity Author Page. The Wake Up Celebrity Author page is a place where you can review the book based on criteria listed on the site such as Cover Art, Title and the Summary listed. This is helpful input that can help with future writing as well as the marketing of this book.
This is also a contest and all your votes would be greatly helpful. Your reviews are given in the form of votes rating the criteria and allowing for your personal comments. If you’d be willing to do this I would greatly appreciate it. The comments are helpful especially if specific.
Just click the link below and then click on click here to leave your vote. It asks for a name and e-mail address (to stop duplicate voting) and they also offer free e-books for the vote. Please feel to vote and encourage your friends to do so, it would be a great help.

If you are one of the people who has looked at this and voted already due to my facebook and twitter announcements etc I just want to say thank you very much.

http://www.wakeupcelebrityauthor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=17:spirituality-and-religious&id=119:honoring-the-sacred-earth-a-path-to-spiritual-awakening

Thanks.

Yours Under the Trees,
Dave/Duir /|\

Sorry for the long pause

Well its been a while since I've written here been a hectic month with work and preparing for vacation. Well I'm on vacation now and in fact starting the journey home slowly. Currently I'm visiting friends in TN and going to go see some sites. Then its off to Maryland Pennsylvania and Home. I'm still working hard to promote my books and my website and hoping that sales will pick up a bit. I'm also thinking about future writing and of course still planing to start work on a fiction that will be co-authored by upcoming author Rosa Sophia who's first book Taking 1960 will release on August 13th.

I'm enjoying this little break from my day job and feel my stress levels lowering significantly. I am hoping that once this vacation is wrapped up I'll be able to post on a regular basis again.

Wake up Celebrity Author Contest

I've entered the Wake Up Celebrity author contest... My direct link is http://www.wakeupcelebrityauthor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=17:spirituality-and-religious&id=119:honoring-the-sacred-earth-a-path-to-spiritual-awakening.

Please feel free to go there and cast your vote and tell all your friends about it and that they should vote too. Its a nice contest for newer authors like myself as it helps with exposure and should I win it would be some great promotional help for the book. Please cast your vote and of course vote on others if you wish as well and please do encourage your friends and family to do the same. I know I'd really appreciate it and if you vote for anyone else as well I am sure they would appreciate it. (though more votes for me please lol).

Thanks a ton.

All the places my new book is available

Here are some direct links to all the places my book is currently available. Please feel free to check them out and tell your friends.

Dreamz-Work Productions, LLC

Amazon

Amazon UK

Amazon France


Amazon Germany

Barnes and Noble

BooksAMillion

Also you can get a signed personalized copy from me at The Honoring The Sacred Earth Website for US$25.00 including world wide shipping.

Please note there may be other places. Also the price is currently not correct and they are selling for a bit less everywhere but at the publisher's site, this will be fixed by 3 April I am told so if you want a slightly deeper discount buy them before then.

Interesting Day

Been an interesting day around here. We started with my son (2yrs old) locking himself in the downstairs bathroom and my needing to play action hero and break in the door. Well there is more bills to pay out so I hope the new book does really well lol. Within a week or so I'll need to pay for a new door and this time a lock that can be sprung from the outside.

We then went out to play with his cousin and had one heck of a time. He had a great day indeed. I've come to find that i need a bit more time for my writing as well so I can keep it all going. Writing, Promotion, fatherhood and a day job definitely keeps one extremely busy. Its been fun and keeps being that way so other than the occasional being tired I really get a lot done.

Life is an interesting journey that keeps you always on your toes, as do two year old children.

Sunday

Well its a nice lazy Sunday here and I plan to spend most of the day doing some research and thinking about new topics to write about. Don't forget to see the last post regarding my first blog only contest. I'm having fun coming up with new and interesting stuff for the blog. I am also looking for a couple new automated features in order to make things around here more interesting.

You may have noticed if your not new to the blog that my URL has changed to www.duirsforest.com as a friend of mine convinced me that it looked better if it had a custom URL and I had to agree. I really do enjoy writing these blogs and sharing my feelings and the status of my writing with you all.

The cover art of my second book is well under way and once its all done I will be announcing the title of the book and showing it off. Edits are still under way in the first step of a 2 step process. Some may know and others not that my first book is now coming out in its second edition already sometime next week due to some grammar gremlins that squeezed by the proofreader and we've don our best to fix it quick. This time I am looking to use an editor with an sterling reputation and keep the errors to an absolute minimum. We all know things can slip through from time to time but far too much slipped through the cracks the last time.

Well I truly hope I can keep this blog nice, light and interesting for all of you who read it. I enjoy writing it with all my being and I hope to continue on for many years to come.

New Year New Blog stuff

Well as 2010 starts I'm planning some new features to this blog such as the quote of the week, where I will pick a famous quote most likely related to nature or spirituality and post them once a week. Some of these quotes will be found in my new book (I should be officially announcing the title and blurb from the back of the book cover). Also shortly after my new book's trailer will be available as well.

With any luck my posts will become a bit more verbose as and entertaining. I'm trying to evolve my art for the new year and keep up with writing. Who knows, perhaps I'll have a book three on the way before we know it. A lot of work to do these days and trying to promote books definitely starts to take time, research, and quite a bit of thinking, investment and legwork. Hopefully these posts will start to really come together and after the new book comes out I should hopefully be able to come up with some other features relating to it as well as the quote of the week.

Every day many thoughts go through my head especially about my "day job" and of course how to promote my books so that I can hopefully quit my "day job" eventually and become a full time author. I really do enjoy the writing and feel the surges of inspiration which come along with it. Its quite an exciting and emotional catharsis getting my ideas out on the screen and then into print. My whole life I've dreamed of writing and others enjoying my writing. I truly hope that even one person, other than myself, will like my work, because then it truly is worth it.

Happy New Year and Status

Happy New Year everyone! As we enter this New Year I am working on the first edits of my second book which I personally believe is far superior to the first and definitely is aimed at a much wider audience. I will be revealing the title and the blurb written for the back cover once the cover art is finished and the final edits are underway, hopefully in just a couple of weeks.
I want to wish anyone who reads this an extremely Happy and Prosperous New Year filled with joy and love. I hope that everyone is well and though my posts are short I hope you all find them at the very least informative.
So far we have had a wonderful New Year and my 2 year old son even made it to midnight to see in the New Year for the first time. He marched proudly around our living room shouting "NEW YEAR, NEW YEAR" when he heard us shout Happy New Year. It was a marvelous experience. Today is also my sixth wedding anniversary and I am so grateful for the loving wife and son I have on this first day of 2010.

Been a while

Well the holidays are fast approaching. I keep plugging forward. The second book is going forward and the first stage of editing has started and with luck it'll be wrapped up in a couple months. Lots of work to do there. I've been so busy with the holidays and the last minute shopping and wrapping as well as yesterday and today's snowstorm. Its going to be a really fun cleanup. Well as they say if you don't like the weather in New England wait 5 minutes. They're calling for sleet on Christmas and rain the day after so we should have white just until Christmas... then probably flooding, it'll be a hoot! But Yes it should be a White Christmas so time to play some Bing Crosby.

Lots of cleaning left to do. We have friends and family coming over both Christmas Eve and Day so we gotta get the place sparkly. Then I get to work the day after Christmas setting up sales so it should be "wonderful" (please not the sarcastic tone in wonderful). Oh well Until next time!

The Second Book

Well the first book "Under an Expanse of Oaks, A Druid's Journey" is fresh out of the box and moving forward. We'll see how it goes over the next few weeks. I have two people reviewing it soon so I'm a bit nervous about that.

The second book is now much longer than the first and if it keeps progressing at the rate it has been its first draft should be done by the end of the month. Then it will be time to start the editing etc. My guess is if everything goes right it will be ready by the spring. It should be really great as it has a broader audience than the first book.

Well back to life. More writing to do then bed to get out to the day job tomorrow. Its great though and everything is moving really fast and I'm liking it.

Today

The pre-holiday cleaning keeps going on around me. I'm still working on book two and watching my 2 year old but now we've moved downstairs so my wife can clean the upstairs before hosting our Yule dinner with family. It should be a hoot and I am looking forward to the house being all spotless and shiny again... with a 2 year old and working most of the time I barely get to see it in such a state. And we get to keep it that way for a week or so before the day comes... Yay! Should be an interesting venture and I always wonder if Freddy will comply with our wishes.

Though writing has been very fruitful lately with lots of work getting done. If my pace keeps up like this I should be done with my first draft by or before January first. We shall see.

Setbacks

Well it looks like the book has had another setback or two with the formatting. Apparently they've changed the guidelines again. I am hopeful that they will get it fixed expeditiously, and will keep everyone posted as I can. Its getting a bit frustrating but hopefully it will be worth the wait for everyone. I am anxiously awaiting the official launch of "Under an Expanse of Oaks: A Druid's Journey" and I will keep working on non-fiction book number two which is rather relaxing to write and very fulfilling.

With any luck my "official" writing career will start off soon and with any luck people will like what I have written. The book seems to be getting shorter though as they wanted a smaller font size this time. Well we shall see. At least I know I like it as does the one reviewer that has read it.

Writing

Finding inspiration for writing I have found comes easier the more you do it. I find that the writing actually inspires me from time to time to write more and brings my ideas off into uncharted territory where it finds interesting bits of info to include. All in all its pretty fun and with the quotes I've chosen for my second non-fiction my sources of inspiration are vast. So far I've quoted the bible, Einstein, Anne Frank, and Mother Teresa. Each quote building upon the last as well as inspiring me to write what fits in that section.

Nature

It is my firm belief that we need to listen to the natural world around us. Not only does the Earth itself speak to us when we are quiet and open ourselves to her communications but also the divine whispers to us on the breeze. The divine does interact with us and help to guide us especially when we need it most but only if we listen. Deity likes to whisper the guiding words... Not that Deity can't scream at us... oh it can and does when necessary but usually it whispers.

By connecting with nature we can find ourselves, we can help rebuild what we have destroyed as a race. We need to look towards nature for the answers we seek. I firmly believe that nature has all the answers we need written in it, not in words but in its very existence. We need to look at how things were and how things will be.

We are learning we all know the chant... Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... it is but a part of what we can do and we can all take many small steps to help our world to heal. We must do this, we must act. What will happen if we don't... who knows but I know one thing for sure... we will not be part of it. The Earth will go on and will heal itself, the question is if we will be allowed to stay to see it if we don't help to fix what we've damaged or destroyed.

Things keep moving on

It finally looks like I'll see the light at the end of the tunnel with "Under an Expanse of Oaks, A Druid's Journey" as it looks like the cover art is fixed. Should know for sure if its totally accepted tonight or tomorrow. Also I keep working on book number 2 (the non-fiction) but I'm not going to tell anything about it until its either done or nearly done. So keep watching for little tidbits. I did finish researching the quotes I wanted for it and I may share some of them here and there over time. I've been thinking of adding a bit more and updating my cafepress shop (www.cafepress.com/oaklight) and some other things. With any luck the book will be available by next week and finally everyone who's been wanting it will be able to get it, including the people who want to review it.

I keep working, writing, thinking and playing with my dear son trying to keep everone happy lol. We had quite a giggle tonight. I looked at him (he's 2) and said "your cute" to which he said "I know" lol. If it weren't true I'd call him conceded.