An Extraterrestrial Connection

An Extraterrestrial Connection

by | Oct 29, 2022 | Love Consciousness, Other Worldly

Introduction 

Do you believe humans have an extraterrestrial connection? I’m not considered “into UFOs,” but I have had more than a few UFO experiences, all of them with other witnesses. I haven’t yet written about our space brothers and sisters, and I am not personally aware of any specific beings, but I do know for sure they exist.

“Scientific Proof” to the Contrary 

When I was sixteen, a lifelong friend of my parents came to town for a visit. He was a research scientist by profession, and the conversation turned to UFOs.

I was full of myself in my sixteen-year-old wisdom and announced with confidence. “You cannot, at your level of intelligence, say that there is no other life in all of the universe. That does not make even the remotest sense that we are alone here.”

He leapt from his chair, loomed over mine and declared he had been on in a research study, which proved there was no other life in the universe.

I said I was sorry, but I didn’t believe there wasn’t extraterrestrial life. Howard got louder with my dad interrupting and saving the day with a paraphrase from Shakespeare. “Howard. Me thinks thou doth protest too much!”

The conversation calmed down and so did Howard, but I’ve never forgotten it. I’ll still don’t know why he got so angry or why a teenager’s thoughts even triggered him on the subject. We don’t have to have proof to recognize something to be True. When we tune into our true Nature, we understand things ahead of scientific confirmation.

Nashville Bound 

Five years later, a ex and I decided on a long weekend trip to Nashville, Tennessee. It was September, and the air was crisp and cool in the Blue Ridge mountains bordering Virginia and Tennessee. It was a New Moon and an inky darkness surrounded our car except when the car’s headlights revealed another rising peak in front of us.

Suddenly, I looked up and saw a craft! It was gigantic and as big as the mountain peak in front of us where it hovered. The craft was round with revolving lights in green, red and white around it’s edge. It was getting closer, and then it moved over the mountain peak directly in front of us, lit up and spinning in slow motion as it lowered as if to land.

My ex, who was driving had pulled over and stopped on the side of the road. It was as if we were in a trance. I turned slowly and looked at him.

He said, “Did you just see what I just saw.”

I said, “Yes.”

Missing Time

It was strange that I don’t remember either of us speaking of the UFO much again if ever. I do remember years later finally snapping out of the trance and realizing that THIS might have been why it took more than sixteen hours to GET to Nashville but only ten to get home. It was generally about a ten-hour trip.

There was all that missing time, but until those decades later, I never associated the five or six extra hours it took to drive to Nashville with the UFO experience, but now, I know it may have had everything to do with it.

There is so much more

Since that happened, I’ve seen more UFOS, all with other witnesses. Larry, my mother, my daughter, and my daughter’s stepmother all had riveting experiences with UFOs and/or with the inhabitants. These stories are for another day, but suffice it to say something is going on out there.

It’s easy to assume that those who are evolved enough to visit and possibly interact with us have some skill beyond ours. Otherwise, the travelers would not be able to enter our world.

Because any space brothers and sisters are like us humans in that they are also subject to the Duality Game of Dreams. Their intent may be loving, helpful, supportive, and full of offerings, tools, insights on inter-species cooperation, navigation, Love Consciousness, etc. In contrast, there might be those who appear hostile with evil intentions. Love is at the root of the solution for the latter.

Conclusion 

Do you have an Extraterrestrial connection? I’ve shared a couple of my stories and the accompanying mystery that remains a part of it – six hours of missing time. I hear talk from people who are more into the subject than me, that our space brothers and sisters are well aware of what is going on Earth and what we are all facing. I hear, too, that the space siblings who count are rooting for us to be aware and wake up to who we Really are. They apparently have every confidence in us. I would like to believe that. We need all the help and support we can get.

Do you have similar experiences and thoughts? A message? Please leave them in the comments.

Love and Happy Halloween!
Kaye

Five Wisdom Pearls for Successfully Navigating Relationships

Five Wisdom Pearls for Successfully Navigating Relationships

by | Oct 22, 2022 | Love Consciousness, Near-Death Experiences, Relationships

Introduction 

In this week’s blog, we peer into five wisdom pearls for successfully navigating relationships. I will cover things not usually looked at in articles on relationships. It is because our relationships are, all in all, inside jobs. ALL our encounters with others are reflections of our relationship with our True Self. This topic has held my attention not only as a Libran but also as a Near Death Experiencer (NDEr), and I am not the only one. There are tens of thousands of Near Death Experiencers who, when they briefly died, experienced what is commonly called a life review. Life reviews contain a personal review of one’s human life in the Presence of what appear to be Loving Spiritual Guides.

You may wonder what life reviews, or NDEs, have to do with relationships. After reading and hearing many life reviews from speakers at the Virginia Beach Chapter of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (VBIANDS) meetings, I finally saw the connection. One Saturday morning, it dawned on me as I sat in the audience listening to yet another talk on the subject. No one has ever had a life review concerning work, religion, education, health, habits, or money.

Life Review — Single-Pointed Focus

No. Instead, life review focuses on one thing and one thing only; how we treat others, ALL others, in our lives, from our most intimate of lifelong connections to the seemingly random stranger we pass on the street.  

In his life review, among many memories, one NDEr remembered changing a flat tire on his truck. In the memory, a car stopped and offered assistance. The NDEr looked up, not answering but scowled at the driver. Years later, long after he had forgotten, it came up in his life review.

Only this time, the NDEr felt the man’s feelings, who only wanted to help. He also felt the driver absorb his bad mood and took that mood home to his wife and family. He also felt the wife’s and children’s inner responses to it. All this from a scowl in a stressed-out space? He was mortified (no pun intended!) by his behavior. He forgave himself the Reality of the event, but not before he felt his part in full as things occurred from a more significant picture point of view.

The NDEr was a changed man when he returned to human life, where he made a conscious decision to treat people with the utmost respect. Thus, he touched the hearts of nearly everyone he encountered from that point on. This story was but a tiny piece of his life review.

Navigating relationships successfully is, and will be, hands down, the True Measure of our human lives!  

One more time. Soak it in.

Navigating relationships successfully is, and will be, hands down, the True Measure of our lives! For what we do unto others, we do unto ourselves.  

Never more true is this than in our life and life review. Natural authenticity and balance between ourselves and others are essential to our inner health (and theirs) and well-being now and in our combined future.

Five Wisdom Pearls for Successfully Navigating Relationships 

Our ideas about how we’re conditioned and taught to treat each other in relationships have created a world dream of misinformation and a dysfunctional world community based on lies. And we can see it doesn’t work.

No matter what kind of relationship shows up, there might always be challenges to face and obstacles to overcome. We can trust that we may not get what we want, but we always get what we need. Integrating the following five wisdom pearls helps us to remember who we are — in any relationship.

1. Understand What a Relationship Is and Isn’t

Relationships are, in Truth, figments of our collective imagination. In Truth, we are One. But in the Dream World of Duality, they are all too real. They give us the warm fuzzies, push our buttons, and in all ways, trigger our best and our worst, too.

They are serious in their relentless reflections on ourselves to wake us up to who we really are, while showing us who we are not in the process. When we move through what relationships have to Really offer us, there is no limit to the freedom we can experience within and with the other in whatever capacity we are related.

A relationship is never something that can be controlled. Nor can we change anyone. People come as they are. The connection is simply a space where two people come together and interact. If someone disrespects you, it’s just to let you know to treat or love yourself more.

See it for what it is, and the Truth about the mirrors will shine through the muck and the mire. Each person brings baggage, experiences, and perspectives into any relationship, which either adds or subtracts from the quality of the relationship. But, there is no Other.

2. A Reality-based perspective on relationships

The life review lets us know that all we need in life are mirrors in the form of “other.” We are here to Wake Up to the Love Consciousness we Are, and to the extent that we’re missing the mark, the mirror of another will let us know where and how via triggers of life-taking influences.

Our rough edges get hewed smooth through working through these trauma dramas. What was once a diamond spirit in the wild rough now shines the unfathomable brilliance of the Absolute and Love Consciousness made manifest in us. We’re all One playing the game of “Let’s Wake Up to Love via Relationship Mirrors.”

3. Let the benefits motivate you to stay the course.

As already discussed, the maximum benefit for successfully navigating your relationships keeps you in a state of joy here and in your life review. From a spiritual viewpoint, there’s a synergy when both parties are in harmony and tap into Unconditional Love.

This is true whether it shows up as a kind connection with a stranger, a community service, hammering out a business plan with a partner, a flirty first date full of promise, or the transformation of a long-term relationship to its next chapter.

The human dimension of relationships isn’t forgotten. We help each other with our basic needs and desires, i.e., raising families, creating productive lives, and sharing with like-minds in a worthwhile society. Our core passion for giving and receiving love reaches fulfillment in those present moments/weeks/months and years when we are in harmony with All That Is (and All That Isn’t). There is Everything to gain and nothing but pain and suffering to lose. What could be more beneficial than that when you go deeper into the purpose of relationshipping?

4. Get Real – Expectations

One of the most important things you can do in any friendship, personal relationship, or business partnership is to get real with yourself. Be honest with yourself and others about your thoughts, feelings, boundaries, and expectations. If hounded by past trauma in life, don’t be ashamed. Find the help that works for you until you release it.

Even if due diligence happens, partners tend to have or develop unique expectations of each other. Know what to expect from your significant other by eliciting each other’s values early on.

5. Super Healers That Foster a Cooperative Spirit

Specific tools can help foster a cooperative spirit within any relationship. These include what I call Super Healers: Love, Humility (Flexibility), Forgiveness, Gratitude, Listening, Compassion, Authenticity, Respect, and Boundaries. There are many more. An annual study began on one of these at the beginning of each year is highly recommended. Install them into your lifelong conditioning. I have done this myself off and on. Each practice has been utterly transformative. When these Super Healers are utilized, it’s much easier to work through challenges and disagreements. 

Conclusion

Today, let’s apply these five wisdom pearls for successfully navigating our relationships, i.e., getting real, understanding what a relationship is and isn’t, managing expectations and benefits, and using tools that foster a cooperative spirit. We are likely to find that our relationships improve dramatically; we communicate better, profoundly connect and resolve conflicts more effectively. And, when it’s our time to go, our life review will reflect our efforts.

Comment on a relationship wisdom pearl of your own?

Love and Remembering Who You Are,
Kaye

 
Are You Navigating in the Flow of Life?

Are You Navigating in the Flow of Life?

by | Oct 16, 2022 | Astrology, Love Consciousness

Introduction

Are you navigating in the flow of life? I don’t mean all the time, as most of us aren’t there yet, but most of the time? If not, maybe I can help with this week’s blog.

This one includes an inspired gift from my heart to yours one that will serve you for the entire year to come — no strings attached.

It all started with a simple question from a dear friend and astrology client. Ask and you will receive. The friend gave me permission to share his part of this story with anyone I felt it would help.

International Travel Woes

The phone rang. It was Tom. He filled me in on the reason for his call right away.

“Kaye. Is there anything that can be done astrologically to help me better plan my trips? My last several trips have been fraught with little annoying issues, ticket confusion, lost luggage, reservations, etc.”

“This last trip to Europe, the person I was to meet, got sick at the last minute and had to postpone our meeting, which delayed other legs of my trip, etc. Can astrology help?”

Tom was a frequent international traveler, mostly for business reasons.  He was also a self-made multi-millionaire, doing what he loved, and he helped me with sound advice on many occasions.

I told him I would look into it. He already knew from experience not to travel during Mercury Retrograde, which can be like being pecked to death by ducks even as odds are, you will return safely home. Other than looking at his chart’s personal planetary and Moon transits and not at all convinced it would accomplish the goal, I was stumped. Then I remembered a complex branch of astrology with a simple overall rule.

Horary Astrology

It’s called Horary Astrology and answers a question important to the querant. It is set up on the moment the question is clear instead of a birth time and date. This branch of astrology is strictly interpreted according to its many “rules,” but there is a simple formula for a general “yes” or “no” answer, too, in any case.

If, when the question was/is asked, we look to the Moon’s last aspect to another planet before it leaves its sign for clues. And, if the aspect is “life-giving or positive, the answer will be a “yes.” If it’s a stressful aspect, the answer will be “no.”

Note to Astrologers. Look at any horary case study along with your personal experience in horary work and you will see this is the case.

If I tracked the Moon’s ongoing current last aspects to other planets in Horary Astrology and connected it with Event Astrology (based on events, i.e., weddings, starting a business, etc.), I wondered if this combined conceptual approach could be a solution to make Tom’s travel issues disappear.

So, I called him and explained it this way.

“Tom, I may have something that can help, but it is untested. The idea is that we look at the last aspect from the Moon on or around the days you want to travel. (The Moon is in the same sign for more than a couple of days.)  If the aspect is a “go ” the trip would be smooth, and if the aspect is a “no,” there could possibly be issues.

The Experiment

Tom dove into experimenting. I plotted out the “travel” days whenever he called with his new possible travel dates. He went with the plan when he could but occasionally had to fly out on the “off” days. Sometimes, those dates worked out okay, but mostly, there would be a problem with his room or plans in some kind of way.

He called one day and said he had gone on a trip with a family member to England. It was to be a wonderful journey and bonding experience, but according to him, everything that could go wrong on the trip, did.

From that point on, he would do his very best to travel on flow days unless he simply could not avoid it. 

The Beginning of Astro-Plan-It

Two full years into the experiment, Tom called one day.

“Kaye. I would like you to consider an annual calendar with the travel dates and publish it.

I have used your dates countless times now, and the best I can tell, it works 80 to 85 percent of the time. Seriously, I really think you’ve got a winner with this. People need this, and there is nothing else like it.”

I balked. It would take me dozens of hours to organize and do the math for an entire year at a time, but I finally relented. Larry offered to do the graphics, which were considerable. Putting it together takes dozens of hours to translate the math into calendar pages anyone could understand — at a glance.

On the travel calendar pages, we blocked out the “Go” days from the rest and put “Begin” and “End” times on the days, too. This way, the viewer could see exactly when the best days were for travel. I had other clients who traveled a lot, and they loved it, too. People who use Astro-Plan-It for a few months usually become loyal fans.

A year later, Larry and I started using “Go” days not only for travel but  for dental checkups, to buy a car, or get our licenses renewed, etc. We could tell our necessary appointments were flowing smoother overall more often than not.

Growing in Understanding

Around the beginning of the third year using our planner calendar, Larry and I suddenly realized that that our lives had been flowing easily for those last two years without much stress at all. The profundity of it was so subtle that only now did we see we were living in some fantastic flow that felt like we were in harmony with the cosmos.

What we stumbled onto to help a friend had greater merit than I first surmised. WE, as humans can FLOW in HARMONY with Life and with the Universe at large. It had to be one of the world’s best kept secrets -much less in the astrological world, but not anymore! Here you have it.

We are all connected in the most amazing Love Consciousness, and this connective balance available to each and every one of us is but one of its shared Dreams for us.

To this day, I love sharing Astro-Plan-It with others to bring a little more ease to their lives. 

Gift for You, Dear Treasured Readers

We’ve sold Astro-Plan-It for many years now on Amazon in both hard copies and on Kindle. This year, Amazon let us know that they will no longer print-on-demand hard-copy edition calendars.

To continue to get this special treasure of a calendar out into the world, we decided to give a PDF Version as gifts from our hearts to family, friends and you, my dear blog readers. You’ll find the link below the blog.

Your new Astro-Plan-It 2023 can be downloaded and accessed on your device. The PDF can also be printed out onto a hard copy, which I highly recommend.

Download your free ticket to a greater Flow in your life, i.e., here. Try API out for travel and for your important dates. Grow accustomed to flow in the grand scheme of things.

Conclusion

Are you navigating in the flow of life?  Today, you read a little story about how this amazing calendar and planner to help you do just that. came into existence.

I envision you will work with this little calendar, maybe have it printed out, and give it a try for a year. It doesn’t cost money or even any real-time. Learn how to work it and all about it in the first two pages of instructions, and go from there for life.

Let us know your Astro-Plan-It experiences as this next year unfolds, or in the comments if you already use it. It won’t perfect your life, but it will help see it more perfect in the grand scheme of things. Then, we hope you will pay it forward.

Love and In the Flow with the Cosmos!
Kaye

Download your Astro-Plan-It 2023.

Note: Astro-Plan-It remains available on Kindle for our Kindle customers.

 

 

What I Love Most in Each Zodiac Sign

by | Oct 8, 2022 | Astrology, Love Consciousness

Introduction 

In this blog, I’ll explore what I love most in each Zodiac sign. Over the evolution of my astrological perspective, what I see about each sign continuously reveals new insights into our roles as conscious and aware citizens of the cosmos.

First, let me say that our chart, signs, and planetary aspects are NOT who we are. Instead, these are frequencies of energy that create assemblage points that “hold space” for the parts we play out in our Earth Walk.

Ray Kent

Larry and I once fasted for fifteen days with water only. Ray Kent was our fasting coach and also an astrology enthusiast. I had enormous respect for Ray. I remember him insisting that a deep understanding of one’s Sun Sign was all one needed to understand one’s connection with the Cosmos and that all the rest of the study was extraneous.

Librans like to listen and understand others’ points of view, so I was open to contemplating what Ray meant. I started noticing more profound influences within each sign. Here’s where I’ve ended up. 

Aries –

Aries

Aries will invite us into their world until we’re ready to make one of our own. Their confidence rubs off on us. Where many seek “I AM,” Aries is already savvy and are their authentic selves with no excuses. Like their symbol, the Ram, Aries charges into life head first with powerful confidence. It’s inspiring to be around people who have an intrinsic understanding of who they are and the confidence to take risks through intuitive and inspired action.

Taurus –  

Taurus

There has always been at least one Taurus in my circle of close friends, probably because I genuinely love their earthy practicality, calming reassurance, and patience.

A friend confided about a mutual Taurus friend we both know. “You know. I was looking at her face, and I swear Light was pouring off it.” Taurus radiates inner beauty, and individuals are creative muses to inspire and ground our creative talents. 

Gemini – 

Gemini

As above! So below! As within, so without! I like seeing the twins’ Gemini symbol as our inner and outer nature. So many people talk about “good twin, evil twin,” and I’ve never liked that debilitating interpretation and have found it insulting to the natives of the sign.

It’s more like “two heads are better than one” in Gemini’s case. IF a Gemini fails to turn within and listen to their nature, then the dark side will emerge, but isn’t that true of us all? The rest will follow if we begin to live in harmony with Universal Law. Gemini is the harbinger of the Light within, the messenger. 

Cancer – 

Cancer

I love how Cancerians’ sensitive nature and devotion to family and friends have us all feeling safe and secure with their friendship and heartfelt perspectives. To be blessed enough to have Cancerian friends is to be reminded that gentleness and a compassionate heart are more powerful than we are led to believe.

A quote often attributed to Moon Children is, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” It is true, too. My Cancerian friends are the first to offer emotional support in a world that desperately needs it. 

Leo –

Leo

While the Moon reflects the Sun, the Sun is at the center of our local solar system, and Leo’s light up any room with the Light they shine on the rest of us. Leos make incredible leaders if they lead by example. Generosity and a creative and childlike way of being in the world spread good cheer wherever they go.

Leos respect their individuality and naturally respect yours, too. They will not only let you be yourself without interfering but will encourage it.

Virgo – 

Virgo

In my wildest thoughts, I cannot imagine a world without Virgos. Virgos gather and organize all the details needed for any task. Their sign symbol is the Virgin, but it could be the brilliant octopus for all the pieces of a project they can grasp at once. I love that when a Virgo tells me they are going to do something, it means they are going to do it, and usually meticulously. I love reliable people. Don’t you?

Give them a big picture, and they will fill in the details needed to make a dream come true. Nuts and bolts people and quick of mind. 

Libra –  

Libra

I’m a Libra, and I am learning to love everything about this one because True Self-Love is healthy. Librans are willing to cooperate toward win-win outcomes and to seek holistic solutions that serve the best interests of all involved. I love that Librans can see all sides to a situation and can help bring harmony to out-of-balance conditions.

We Librans sincerely desire love, peace, and creativity in ourselves, and prefer doing life the easy way rather than the hard way, i.e., going with the flow rather than pushing the river. 

Scorpio –

Scorpio

No one will give “life” their ALL like Scorpio. If you want depth, look no further. Scorpio has a tenacity of stamina and spirit not seen in other signs. They will burn the midnight oil until the job ends. Indefatigable. They are all in or all out, and their powerful energy transforms all of those around them.

Larry is a Scorpio, and there’s more I love about him and his Scorpio ways than I’ll mention here, but suffice it to say, I enjoy the alchemy this relationship brings.

I love Scorpios who have transcended their Scorpionic fears and are flying high like the Eagles they were meant to become. Eagle Vision is non-paralleled when it comes to seeing clearly. 

Sagittarius –

Sagittarius

I have always loved the easygoing, straightforward ways of Sagittarians. They tell it like it is, even if how it is, is in their own minds. Positive and upbeat, you’ll get a positive perspective from Sag. I admire their indomitable spirits and visionary energy. The archer is their symbol, unwaveringly focused on the target, and at the moment, becomes one with the vision and hits the bull’s eye.

I find the authentic Sagittarius refreshing and love that we can play with the Big Picture together. 

Capricorn –

Capricorn

Dependable, mature, purposeful, self-directed, and surefooted are most Capricorns I know. Have you ever watched mountain goats leap from craggy cliff to craggy cliff? Some fall, you know. But most don’t.

They are too busy climbing mountains of their own making; over time, they often get to the top. I love that they are purpose-driven and understand the rewards of long-term gratification.  

Aquarius –

Aquarius

The bravest people I know are Aquarians, and I know the more adventuresome ones must be extra protected by angels. This one is a higher mind and cause-related sign; the cause becomes their muse, and they will see that social justice will prevail.

I deeply appreciate Aquarians’ courage and unbeatable determination to persevere through what would be daunting to anyone else.  

Pisces –

Pisces

Pisceans help me to relax, let go, and go with the flow. Their easygoing nature is a mirror for letting things be what they are. They aren’t going to get too deep because they’ve been there and done that in other lives, and now they are just going to soak in what’s around them and be who they are.

The Pisces vibe is like music to the ear. 

Wrapping It Up

In today’s blog, we explored some of what I love in each zodiac sign. Did you know that you have all the signs in your chart? That’s right. You have all of these treasures somewhere in your chart. None of us is deficient in anything, although our Sun Signs may carry a little more weight than the rest in this adventurous but temporary life.

And yes, if you’re wondering, the signs also have a shadow. I’ll leave that blog for when the time is ripe.

Write comments if you wish. I always love seeing them. Thank you.

Love in the Stars,
Kaye

Image Credits – Astrology Sign Images by Dorothe at Pixabay

What’s To Love About Living in Cuenca, Ecuador

What’s To Love About Living in Cuenca, Ecuador

by | Oct 1, 2022 | Love Consciousness

Introduction

What’s to love about living in Cuenca, Ecuador? Let me share how I came to find out.

It all started when Larry’s and my two unique dreams, specifically guiding each of us to move to Ecuador eight years ago, got our attention!

To rush hog wild into something like moving to another country in our circumstances would have been “coyote medicine.” From Road Runner cartoons, you probably know that coyotes often take risks that spell their doom.

First steps

Instead, we turned our attention to a possible first step, to research what it might be like to live in Ecuador to get a sense of the place. We always “knew” we would leave Virginia Beach at some point but didn’t know when or where the move would take us.

If we were to move, we would first have to be sure the dream supported our best interests. An applicable dream will withstand the test of scrutiny to discern its value. Ours did every step of the way over the next eighteen months until we landed at the Mariscal Lamar International Airport in Cuenca, Ecuador, exhausted from our move and in a daze.

A question that made all the difference

We expected culture shock, set a strong intention to hold the best perspective possible to bring balance to our first year in Cuenca. The intention was a question to no one in particular. Ask and we receive.

Our question was “What’s there to Love about Cuenca, Ecuador?” We paid close attention to the question and it didn’t take long to become a filter for our perspective where the answer(s) showed up left and right.

This is how we became experts on what there is to love about Cuenca, a multi-cultural city designated as UNESCO World Heritage Historic Site.

Diving in

This five-hundred-year-old mid-size city of 600,000 sits in a valley surrounded by the splendor of the Andean Mountains, with four very accessible rivers flowing through the city. Lush green linear parks for walking and exercising hug the river banks.

We love too that we don’t need a car. We can walk along the Rio Tomebamba across the city in an hour, or we can take a bus, tram, or taxi to our destinations, all inexpensive.

When you are 65 or older, the bus, tram, and flights originating in Ecuador are half-price! So are utilities!

I felt like a baby experiencing a new world during my first six months here. Because everything was new and different from what I was used to in the U.S.. It included countless little things mainly, and it was all made easier by the fact that the currency used here is the good old United States dollar, which is comforting for many reasons.

One afternoon, I fell from the sidewalk into the street, and an Ecuadorian woman ran over to me and helped me with the most tender loving care I’ve ever had from a stranger.

Another day, a baby fell from the back of an Ecuadorian mother who had him secured by a scarf, which had come loose. Before the baby hit the ground, women immediately appeared from all directions to help. One woman (not me) caught the baby before he hit the ground and held him in place while the mother tied her shawl tightly to secure him.

One day, Larry and I saved a blind man from walking out into fast-moving traffic. We feel reasonably confident we saved his life. There’s something about Cuenca that calls us to be present and aware, not only of ourselves but others. The community connection is palpable.

Things to do

The symphony and museums are free, and there is so much to do and explore without cost. Community parks are everywhere. Paraiso Park, a ten-minute walk from our house, is the largest in Cuenca and where two rivers, the Yanuncay and the Tomebamba, meet and merge into the Cuenca River, which eventually finds its way into the Amazon River (rivers flow East South of the Equator.)

The park has a lake and incredible landscaping. Acres and acres provide places to play games, exercise, run, and is a treasure to experience each time we go, alone or with friends.

More to love

We have never felt unsafe in Cuenca. Crime is rising due to stress and hardship, but still less than the average city with low crime rates. It always works to use common sense and to be aware of your surroundings no matter where you are. In Cuenca, one feels compelled to pay attention and be “present” by the uneven sidewalks alone!

The majestic mountains surround us 360 degrees, creating a cozy, protected sense of life. It’s easy to see why the Incans settled, lived, and worked just a few blocks from where we live, hundreds of years later.

There is so much to love about Cuenca and, in my few in-country travels, Ecuador in general. We are a deeply interconnected community, as it’s plain to see that what affects one of us affects all of us here.

When you don’t have family, your friends become your family, and we all have in common that we live in a foreign country that welcomes us with open arms and where it has never been made more clear that “it takes a village.”

Food

The food in Ecuador is rich in nutrients and delicious to the point where it is pretty standard for new ex-pats to remark on the exquisite flavor of vegetables of all things. GMOs are not allowed in the country, and beef is grass-fed.

Organic food is reasonably priced and inexpensive, plentiful, nutritious, and gorgeous to the eyes. I once bought lettuce that seemed to belong in a precious gem museum in the vegetable section. It was fifty cents and a foot across with crisp, deeply colored, beautiful, tightly packed leaves, each one a showpiece. It filled my entire shopping bag.

There is a lot of food here to love, both local and international. We consider ourselves so fortunate that we can also easily contribute to those less fortunate than ourselves. Clean air, pure water, nutritious food, and respectful housing and personal space are human rights, not privileges.

Did I mention the cost of living is half to a quarter of what it is in the U.S., depending on the item or service? What’s not to love about that?

No bugs!

No bugs! I love that Cuenca has no bugs of any consequence. I have seen one mosquito in seven years and have never heard of a snake spotted anywhere in Cuenca. This mostly bugless state is due to the high altitude in Cuenca, which is around 8,500 feet.

Finally, the weather is mild year-round, and all around much of the time, it feels like Shangri-la living in Cuenca.

Conclusion

At the root of what’s to love about living in Cuenca, Ecuador seems to be the power of the land and her heart-centered people, who have lived here for countless generations and welcome us into their hearts and community.

I could continue for days on end expressing the gratitude and love for dreaming a worthwhile life. We’re not special in any way. We all are capable of dreaming our best life. All we have to do is ask . . . trust and pay attention when the answer shows up.

Love from the land where the Condor and the Eagle meet.
Kaye