Roger Williams fled the Massachusetts Bay Colony and went southwest where he befriended Native Americans on what is now the Narragansett Bay. He left England for freedom of worship and came to America where he was met with the same stonghold on that very freedom. He was a leader and a pioneer of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.

It is this very freedom that makes it so hard for me to understand why we can protest a mosque or Islamic Center in Manhattan. We have the freedom to exercise our religioius beliefs in this country. The proximity to Ground Zero is of no consequence in this argument because believing that its location a few blocks from the former World Trade Center makes it in poor form means that we can hold against an entire religious community the acts of a militant few.

I can no sooner blame every member of the Nation of Islam for September 11th as I could blame every single German national for World War II’s atrocities to the Jewish, Gay, and Gypsy communities. It just doesn’t make sense to me. There’s a German Embassy and a German Consulate in Israel... did anyone protest?

There have been so many negative blogs, Facebook posts, and more about this topic that it makes me wonder: What do you think about a Mosque in Manhattan?

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Last year for my birthday Jeff’s mother bought me a gorgeous gardening kit and three mums for my new interest in weeding and planting. I cared for the mums in the pots until the end of the season and then I waited until spring to transplant them outside. Of the three mums one was sprouting more than the others so I was very careful with it. I transplated it to the focal part of my yard right where people come into the house.

I loved this mum as it was the first successful garden thing that I have personally tended and it grew. As the months went by it started getting larger and larger and I was waiting for the flowers and anticipating that they would start any moment now. It was very exciting.

Jeff’s mom came over this weekend and I was thrilled to show her my creation. I wanted to let her know how much I appreciated her gift to me and that it was tended to with love and adoration. Proud as a peacock I usher her to my gorgeously growing plant and in once sentence my world was shattered.

“I hate to tell you this, Regina, but that’s not a mum,” she said.

“WHAT? That’s impossible! I took the plants in the winter and loved them until the spring and then transplanted the little guy in the spring and have taken delight in watching it grow. It HAS to be a mum,” I replied.

“It’s a weed,” she said.

It was really world’s most loved and cared for weed. I started to think of how this weed can certainly be a metaphor for many parts of my life. I wonder how many times I’ve wasted energy on nurturing the wrong thing? I’ve nurtured many relationships that would ultimately choke the life out of me much like a weed does to a garden. I may have even pulled the actual mum trying to keep it away from the weed!

I was heartbroken… at first. Then I really focused on the acts of love and kindness I bestowed upon this weed. I have to find joy in the act of loving. I loved this weed and showed it the very best side of my nurturing self. It may not have been the ideal plant to love but I loved it sincerely and genuinely.

In my last relationship before Jeff I involved with a man that was just wrong. I beat myself up for not being able to see what was so plainly in front of me. I was so infatuated with him. The demise of that relationship nearly ruined my self-esteem and my own personal judgement. I hated that I was so wrong.

Now, many years later my garden weed has given me an opportunity to forgive myself for my judgement because even though he wasn’t the best person for me the fact that I genuinely and lovingly tried to nurture that relationship isn’t wrong. In fact, the love of that weed will actually give me a firm base to stand on with my next garden. Just like this last horrible relationship paved the way to me finding my soulmate.

Who knew there were so many life lessons in a weed?

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Website – www.peakalternative.com and www.wasteoilheat.com
Contact – 866.460.0425 or 401.244.5057
Email – info@peakalternative.com
Location – Warwick, RI USA

I was fortunate enough to interview the owner of Peak Alternative via email and I was so impressed with his company that I’m detailing our interview here. In bold are my questions and his answers follow. Enjoy!

Tell me about Peak Alternative - In this day and age of struggling economies on both individual and business levels and where there is a worldwide push towards a “greener” planet; our company offers a complementary solution. Efficient cost effective burners that can heat in the winter and cool in the summer through recycling waste oils of any kind. They can burn anything from crankcase oil to paraffin while producing a warm clean comfortable environment. We offer a creative solutions for creative situations.

What kinds of services does Peak provide? Peak Alternative provides heaters, boilers, burners & air conditioners that use alternative fuels for a combustion source.  The fuels used are as varied as waste motor oil, vegetable oil, fish oil, tallow, paraffin, solvents, home heating oil (#2, 4, and 6) jet fuels, and synthetics. Achieving proper sizing is an important component of our process. We don’t offer cookie cutter answers. When considering one of our products, we brainstorm with customers to ensure proper fit for today and into the future. Retrofitting an existing boiler and/or heat exchanger is also available.

What made you come up with your business? With energy cost rising and the increased demand for new fuel sources, we felt that there was a need for an efficient and effective burner used with alternative fuels.

What makes your business unique? No hard sell. We contact only those people who send their information into us. We educate customers on our products as well as the associated technology. “Being there after the sale” is not a cliché for us. We routinely contact our existing customers on a regular basis to see how well they’re doing. We will answer any questions or address any concerns that they may have.

What else should we know about your products? The product speaks for itself. It has exceeded government expectations for emissions. Burners are being used at a candle manufacturers, painting companies, fish processing plants & fishing vessels, maple sugar producers, pet food manufacturers, automotive and truck repair facilities, restaurants, government waste disposal facilities, schools, houses of worship, mining sites, bus and municipal repair depots and the list goes on and on. In some cases, the return on the client’s investment has been less than a single heating season. Using our products can help you going green or getting off the grid.

DISCOUNT: By clicking on the Peak Alternative link any unit purchased before October 1, 2010, will be discounted 12%.

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I have a lot of things going on right now. Some exciting and amazing like the advancements with my show, preparing for some friend’s weddings and planning my own wedding. Some things are not as lovely or glamorous but still no inspiration.

There’s even more things going on here on Earth that should spark my ability to finish a blog like religious freedom and the alleged ground zero mosque or even my personal views on Victory Day but I can’t seem to complete a thought with enough zest, vim, or love that I feel would be worthy of posting.

I’m glad I took on doing the weekly Business Spotlight because not only do I get to feature another amazing person doing their thing in this economy; it’s also kept my blog from having tumbleweeds blow by for weeks!

Writers! Have you ever been blocked? Have you ever had your creativity hit a stalepoint? How did you fix it and can you send it to me STAT?!

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Owner – Bryan Moss
Website – www.supernaturaltarot.com
Location – British Columbia, Canada
Contact – Click HERE

About Bryan -Bryan Moss is an acclaimed tarot reader who has given countless readings to various clients over the past decade. He’s been featured on international webcasts including Regina’s Universe: Live & Uncensored,Kestrel’s Animal Spirit Messages, and renown medium Ericka Boussarharne’s show. Bryan’s amazing readings have guided and influenced many over the years   but you had to either know Bryan personally or happen to catch him on a broadcast to receive a reading.

Events - Aside from doing private readings on the phone, over Skype, or via email Bryan can also do events. Earlier this month Bryan was giving readings at the Komasket Music Festival in Canada. This is a huge multi-day extravaganza and the first time people got to experience Bryan LIVE with Supernatural Tarot. He’s looking forward to going to Komasket again next year and looking into other opportunities as well. If you have an event that you would like to feature Bryan contact him HERE.

Bry & I – I first started talking to Bryan when we were both bloggers on MySpace and we had common blog friends. He commented on a post that I wrote and a friendship was born! That was over 4 years ago and just last month I had the opportunity to meet Bryan when he flew across the continent to meet me here in Rhode Island. It was an amazing trip and it was wonderful to get to put together the whole package of a person. It was great to meet Bryan and to introduce him to my family and friends as well. I also had the opportunity to experience a personal, private reading from Bryan it was extraordinary. Then I got to watch his process as he gave readings on the air for the show and it was inspiring to watch. Since Bryan gave his first reading on my show in October 2007, I thought he should have his own business doing this work because it is truly his gift and I’m so pleased to see that it’s finally here. If you need guidance from a reader and intuitive I can speak from experience and tell you that Bryan is amazing and totally worth  your time. Thank you Bryan for all my readings over the years and the readings for my listeners!

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Owner – Erin Diaz
Website – www.beachesandbackroads.net
Facebook Group – Beaches and Backroads
Location – 4A Fairview Ave Hope Valley RI
Contact: 401. 491.9890 office & 401.862.9492 cell

About Erin: After working for several other real estate agencies Erin took the leap to opening her own business in the toughest economy in decades. Using her 30 years knowledge of the area and her love of all beaches and country backroads, Erin focuses her business on those unique properties found in her area. She has a keen eye for property and a candid and honest approach to both her buyers and sellers that has helped her business grow to tremendous levels.  She firmly believes that real estate isn’t as much a “business” as it is a “lifestyle” and she certainly has the lifestyle she loves.

Services:Beaches and Backroads is a full service realty and works with both buyers and sellers and can even assist with relocations and those looking for rental property.

Website: Her website has everything you need to check out her business. From current listings to Zillow Home Value Statistics, you can find what you need. Take a moment to check out her Testimonials page since you can read for yourself what wonderful things the people that Erin has represented have to say about her and her business.

A History with Erin: When I met Erin I thought she was wonderful. She pointed out the great selling points of the house we were looking at as well as the things that may not work with our family dynamic along with suggestions of how to make those issues work. I appreciated that she wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows just trying to sell a property. She was trying to sell us the right property and that is incredible. After we got to talking I realized that not only did we grow up in the same area but went to the same schools.  Already knowing her family was great but her business acumen speaks for itself and Beaches & Backroads Realty has already become a local staple!

If you live in the area or want to definitely contact Erin and find the house that works perfectly for you.

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It was quite a controversy on the page since my friends that responded were torn with two very different schools of thought. Half were focused on the cost savings to the government if inmate could select the death penalty and the others were focused on the thought that if the prison sentence is life then that’s what it should be since prison is a punishment for a crime. I wondered if any of them had read the article I read yesterday that really opened my eyes to the many possibilities of that could exist with inmates being able to select death.

Associate Press writer, Dena Potter, wrote this article that I read on www.mynorthwest.com. In a nutshell it’s about Virginia inmate Robert Gleason, Jr. who was looking for his own death penalty verdict for killing his cell mate last year and even told the court in May that he would kill again if the state wouldn’t seek the death penalty in his case. He’s allegedly “involved” in killing another inmate last Saturday. Apparently, his warnings weren’t believed by the prison staff.

Although Robert Gleason doesn’t have life without possibility of parole his case begs the question of how much say should an inmate have in their sentencing? What if an inmate were to have the option to select death and waive all rights to an appeal? What if they were able to speed the process so that the death penalty doesn’t take years of waiting to die?

Make no mistake, I think that anyone in the penal system should have full rights to a fair trial and any appeals to prove their case as the law allows but this is an entirely different situation.

What do you think?

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Today’s Featured Business: A Healing Touch by Cecelia

Owner: Cecelia Reagan, Licensed Massage Therapist/Reiki Master and Intuitive Counselor
Location: Prescott, AZ
Email Address: millionairesscc@yahoo.com

A Note from Cecelia: I was born and raised in Arizona. As early as I can remember I knew I had some special gifts. I have always been drawn to working with  Universal Energies, including herbs, crystals, energy, studying astrology and psychology. After high school I became a Cosmetologist and leaned more toward aromatherapy and skin. As I dabbled and studied, I ended up making my own products, which were all natural, this included massage oils, lotions, bath salts, sugar scrubs, and more!!!

I then went into Hotel Hospitality which therefore moved me to New England and I lived in Connecticut for 16 yrs. While there I studied and apprenticed under various Shamans, Healers, and Intuitive Readers. I continued to make products, studied more on various techniques of alternative healing, and offered readings. During these years I grew, and bloomed even more into my intuitive abilities on many levels.

Soon I chose a different field of work and went into retail. I worked for a company called “Elemis Time to Spa” which is internationally known for spa products, spa services, and their aromatherapy line. At that time I decided to educate myself and become certified in Reiki, soon after that I went into Massage Therapy.  About 1 year after school, my mom became ill and I was brought back to Arizona, and that is when I made the decision to open my own business. I have now been in business for 4 yrs. I continue to also do custom product making for clients, and offering intuitive healing/counseling with my various cards I choose, whether it be with Animal Spirits, Angel Guides, Tarot, and more!!!

Services Offered in Arizona: Custom therapeutic massage, various modalities of energy bodywork, stress/pain management, detox and lymph drainage, reiki, clearing/balancing/energizing chakras, acupressure, and more. I also work with healing the mind/body thru working with Animal Spirit Cards, Angel Guide Cards, and Crystal Cards. $10 off any in office service by mentioning this blog!

Worldwide Services Offered: product, intuitive readings, long distance Reiki Healing. Email for more information. $5 off worldwide services by mentioning this blog AND Reiki Healing is offered for FREE!!!

Facebook Re-Connections: I worked with Cecelia in CT many years ago and through the wonder that is Facebook we were able to reconnect and I absolutely LOVE what she’s doing. I believe there is no greater joy than using your gifts to help others and that is clearly what Cecelia is doing now. Email her and find out what her gifts can do for you!

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Dain submitted a video for the Oprah Winfrey OWN contest where viewers could create short videos to be considered for a show on the her new network. Dain’s video was incredible… but I was still longing to understand what he was doing and how but I knew I needed to have him on the show. Take a look at the video HERE.

Last night he really put together what he does and how he does it. The media player to the right has the show and it was truly one of the best shows in the Regina’s Universe history of nearly 3 years and 300 shows!

One of the best parts of the show – which was more like a free mini workshop – was an exercise that he gave us about how to start to truly change your life. I will be seriously taking a look at my life, especially the areas where I feel stuck, and I will be using this format.

1. List the 3 biggest things in your life that you could change.

2. What is it going to take for that change to occur?

3. What am I refusing to lose if I had this change?

4. If I had this change occur how would my BE different or FEEL differently?

5. If I led the life that I truly desired what would that feel like?

By “feel like” he spoke of taking a moment to experience the feelings of waking up with expectant joy. Like the feeling of having enough money now and knowing that more money is on the way, the feeling of knowing you have solid people around you that contribute positively to your life, and that you can see there are limitless possibilities and opportunities and you know you can have them.

I really am going to take a look at the things in my life that I want to change and try to utilize the tools that he so graciously gave us and see if I can truly make the changes in my life and finally try to really feel and understand “expectant joy.”

Powerful words, incredible interview, and a new view of the possibilities and potential all around us.

Will you answer the 5 questions?

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Today’s Featured Business – RR Fitness & Nutrition

Owner – Rob Foster, Certified Personal Trainer
Website – www.rrnutrtion.com
Facebook Page – RR Fitness & Nutrition
Facebook Group – Mind Over Matter
Location – Providence, RI USA

About Rob – Rob Foster is a Certified Personal Trainer and Herbalife Independent Distributor in the Providence, Rhode Island, area with a passion for creating healthy bodies. A competitive athlete for more than 20 years, Rob brings his experience in exercise, fitness, and sports into his Boot Camp style routines. He’s also taking the next step in his career by completing certification to be a Group Fitness Instructor. Once completed he will take his  challenging and effective workouts to the Osaka Dojo & Personal Development Center in Johnston, RI. Rob is the father of 5 children and understands the value of a dollar. His classes and personal training sessions boast a phenomenal success rate as well as very budget conscious since he feels that finances should not interfere with health.

Services – Wellness Evaluations, Personal Training, Group Fitness Training, Corporate Training, Nutritional Counseling, Herbalife Sales & Distribution

Favorite Workout – Boot Camp! From his website: “Boot camp workouts are a great way to get fit, lose fat, and have fun. They’re incredibly popular because they focus on full body fitness and address all areas of fitness including cardio and muscular endurance, fat loss and weight loss, full body strength, agility, balance, flexibility, periodization, and most importantly they get results. Another reason boot camp workouts are so awesome is they make getting fit fun and having fun with your workout is just as important as burning fat and getting stronger.”

Brotherly Love – Rob is my brother and it’s been a wonderful experience to watch him grow and develop into a sought after Personal Trainer with an impressive clientèle and incredible results. His business started out as a way for him to stay in shape and has evolved into a way to assist his friends with their fitness goals and now he’s branching out into helping hundreds of men and women be the healthiest they could be.

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