C. JoyBell C.'s Blog, page 16

     
       Humanity, listen to me. So many of our opinions, preferences and presumptions about other people and about what the world must most definitely be like, are placed into our minds by our childhood religions. So few of that is from our own experiences of our lives from outside of that religious blanket.
       I cannot give you evidence that my God is real and you cannot give me evidence that your God is real. You may laugh at the stories of my God while I laugh at the stories of your God. In reality, both stories are of absolutely equal reliability. They are stories that we believe. And that is it. Your God lives within your faith of Him or Her. And my God lives within my faith of Him or Her. This means that our Gods live for us as individuals and within us as individuals.
      You are real and I am real. We need no evidence to prove to each other that the other exists. Then why do we quarrel over the Gods that we cannot see? Your God is real because you are real and within your belief your God lives. My God is real because I am real and within me my God lives. We therefore need not mock, we therefore need not quarrel.
       How much of what your Holy Book says, is what your God says? And how much of it is just what you are saying? You may live as you are and as you choose, for as long as your ways do not dictate that the way I am and the way I live are not supposed to be. What your God says is not supposed to be, may be different from what my God is telling me. But when our Gods have something hateful to say about you and about me, that is when our Gods must no more dictate us.
     
Have our Gods ever really, really dictated us? Or have we been dictating our Gods?
       So much of what we think about others, are things we do not know. If someone needs to save my life one day, it will not matter what God they believe in! Would you stop to ask if they are Christian, Muslim or Jew? Would you stop to ask first if they are Pagan, Monotheist or Witch? Or would you just let them save your one precious life?

Humanity, listen to me. It is time for this all to end. It is time for a new beginning.
       It is time for a change that will shake this Earth until the outer crust crumbles and falls off of it; until the only thing left is that which was meant to be.
       We have reached a point in time, a needle-point moment in time, where we will either shake this Earth and her civilisation to the core until it falls away and we may build a new Earth; or, we will all fall asleep, and every act of violence and terror will become only like bugs walking across our faces while we are deep in our sleeps. You will either stand up or you will fall asleep.

Now is the time.

This is Godfrey Lule. Godfrey lives in Uganda. This is what he has to say about The Conversation of Venusta:

Introduction:

Allow me admit that reading in my society is a luxury. It is a pastime or some kind of activity reserved for that special group of people. I cannot define them but at the end of this review, we may have a name not the mundane type mentioned in the conversations. My encounter with reading has been from the coursed class, the group that is either manipulated or rewarded or persuaded to read. In that if someone tells me that read and you will get this a lollypop then I would read very fast. I am forming a backdrop of my presentation to enable you appreciate the kind of readers that we are and I know I am not alone especially from this part of the world that I come from. There is no excuse whatsoever it is our grooming and our way of life that has kept us this way. This does not mean we cannot get better; we actually can get better especially with readings like this and with authors that speak to your heart. The Conversation of Venusta are not from another planet, they are REAL with your heart. I faulted you for being so real and then I realised that you are very different, you are at a higher calling in that line... you from another planet. And how did this affect my reading, I had to go back and forth to analyze the script, the voices and the mood of the presentations in the pages of this book.

Review:

The Conversation of Venusta reminds me of the same inspiration I got from some readings of the sages of Navanah. Be reminded I have mentioned inspiration and in no way do I imply that they are in the same league. I also want to believe that inspiration cannot be measured. To save the comparisons here, I will not mention the author, just to make him/ her proud that I mention his/her scripts in this review. Joybell has given a Divine painting to the human being. She has painted our inner thoughts and created two actually more than two shades of us all that we need to identify so that we can help others know the best of us if we so wish or show the worst of us to protect selves. The identification of these shades in our life paintings is what will bring us to full appreciation of selves. One will decide to stand like a wild flower or wait to be repainted on a wall or be sculptured into immortality.

We all die. Oh... We all sleep. No way; we all pass on into the other life. I do not know much about the subject but the little that I captured from the conversations made me grapple with the thoughts for farther research on the subject. Sorry that is my thought.

I now comprehend from The Conversation of Venusta that we work towards our legacy. We work towards our death and we ultimately determine whatever happens to us after we pass on into the other life.

The examples fused within the conversation do not keep it refreshing like aging wine but also like a cookie with coconut white- each bite melts with sweetness. The Artist Michelangelo comes alive as he creates life in his sculptures, the cats in give us real lessons of our interactions with nature but also with other species on the planet and our relations are as real as those we have with our own. The flowers, the wild flowers are so scented that I am drawn to the journey into the wilderness to look out for the actual flowers not to take them but to reflect on the conversation, the Serenity in Humanity, the beauty of a girl, the beauty of purity and the power of the word not the languages and search for wisdom all packed just to always keep me the reader wanting for more yet am restricted to a diet, yet I am humbled by the gracefulness of the narrative to keep me flipping to the next page expecting more than what is beyond the sleeves.

Recommendations:

Please keep us wanting and never give up on those you love. My review is as a result of your love to me. Still wondering why you picked me out and I still wonder why I never said No to you.

Conclusions:

If any is needed here, I was challenged by the fact that reality and myths are all stocked in the brain. And our choice or perceptions of anything is dependent on our levels of awareness and exposure. If we can believe in prophets of the past, and yet they were ordinary persons like us, if we believe in inventions and evolutions of realities like what we see in this same planet we have been on for our life time, with the same Divine or God we have always believed then we can be anything, and we can invent anything and we can evolve anything.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…..Philippians 4:13New King James Version (NKJV)

About Godfrey Lule:

Godfrey is the Team Leader of Tourism Alumni Consultants Ltd., Uganda. He holds a Post Graduate Degree in Sustainable Tourism Management from Maastricht School of Management. He is passionate about animal welfare, children, the environment and the arts. Godfrey has children of his own, the youngest is named "Joybell", after me! As far as I know, his daughter is the first baby named after me, and it was a true delight to find this out!

You may connect with Godfrey via LinkedIn.

Godfrey is smart. Be like Godfrey. =)

The Conversation of Venusta is available on Amazon, at CreateSpace, and at many other online stores. If you would rather place an order of this book via your brick and mortar bookstore, simply order it at their front desk and it will arrive in two weeks, regardless of where you are in the world.

        My interest in The Singularity and Futurism was conceived a year ago. I read some things and noticed some trends, all pointing to the fact that we were beginning to move at incredibly accelerated speeds towards the dominance of Artificial Intelligence in our world. The speeds at which we were already moving, were truly staggering! It was very unnerving and it took a few months for my mind to wrap itself around what was happening. I was eventually able to grasp what was going on, and through a little bit of research, I confirmed to what extent we were really moving towards Transhumanism and total AI takeover.
       era of AI dominance. Or, it could be that— just as it was difficult for me to wrap my brain around this, it is equally difficult for others to wrap their brains around it, too, and what we are not able to wrap our brains around— we leave to rot at the wayside. But that doesn't mean it's actually rotting away, that just means in our minds it's rotting away!
       What do I mean by "total AI takeover"? Maybe I should just say "total AI integration". Artificial Intelligence is being integrated into human life at alarmingly fast rates. Why not more people notice this, is beyond me. Perhaps the minds of people are too preoccupied with other current and trendy events (U.S. Elections, Syrian Refugee Crisis) that people are not seeing something that is propelling us so very quickly into an
       I don't know if I can just simply call it "integration". There is not enough proof to claim that AI dominance will be a very real issue, aside from the fact that one of the most brilliant minds believes so and that other very brilliant minds also believe so. The word "integration", though, might just be the understatement of the decade, considering the fact that you may soon be swallowing AI robots, and that you may soon have nanorobots swimming through your bloodstream. I do think that "dominance" is the word when robots begin to take over the types of jobs that would normally require souls!  And I think "dominance" would be the word to describe humans developing deep emotional connections with AI robots!  Then, as if that isn't enough to use the word "dominance", then how would you feel about losing your job to a robot? 
       I am actually not even contemplating the pros and cons here. I am rather saying, that what is happening is going to continue to unfold, and that it is inevitable. I'm not saying that human beings should stand up and revolt; rather, I am contemplating and pondering upon whether or not— if there were ever to be an immediate political and societal struggle for dominance between human and robot— I would be on the side of the robots or on the side of the humans? At first, I most certainly believed that I would be standing beside my fellow human beings. But then on second thought... the human race is becoming rather despicable lately! I mean... what if robots don't become terrorists? What if robots don't tell everybody that they're vegan? What if robots don't steal your mobile phone? What if robots one day exceed the general human capacity for improvement and growth? Would you still stand by the human race then, or would you declare yourself a transhuman robot-advocate? Who knows! Worldwide events could have a dramatic effect upon how all these questions could be answered!
       But if you were to ask me if I would like the human race to be dominated by robots, my answer would be a resounding "no". I don't want to walk down broodingly romantic alleyways in Siena or in Rome, not knowing if the "person" I see at the other end of the sidewalk has a soul or not! Does it make me feel sorrowful just thinking about the direction in which we are going? Yes, it does. I want the magic of the human soul and all of its capabilities to remain intact. In fact, if I could turn back time, I would turn it back to long ago, taking back with me the advancements in modern-day medicine, in order to enable the longevity of archaic human lives. But then it is not a matter of if I want this to happen or not. Inevitably, robots will dominate, whether we like it or not. The unnerving part is that right now we really can't say for sure which side we would stand by in the end— human or robot?

     
       Today, I would like to talk about the virtue of helping people. I know that this is something that people project all the time, because people know that this is a highly-admirable character trait. So they are so loud about how good it is to help others, how we all need to help refugees, and so on and so forth.
       But I would like to talk about the deep virtue of helping people. The virtue that is not only Facebook-deep. You see, the universal problem in the world today is this: That people want forgiveness, but they don't know how to forgive; that people feel entitled to receive help from others, but they don't know how to help; that people want to be seen as good people, but they don't actually act like good people.
       We should not help others if it could cost us our lives, or if it could cost us everything we have. I am not an advocate of taking one's shirt off of one's back and giving that away to another person. But if you can help, and when you can help, even just a little, then why the hell not?
       It seems like when someone is in need, the reaction is to turn away rather than to run towards. Why is this the case? If you can help in a way that is not going to rob you of what you already have, then why aren't you going to do that? Do you not realise that one day, you will also need help? And do you not know that if you do not know how to help others, then help will also not be there for you? It is even possible to be a kind of person who always helps others, and yet, you do not receive help from others in return! Goodness is not always repaid by goodness, in this world. How much more if you do not know how to help another! Then surely, help will not in return come to you. Seldom is evil repaid by goodness in this universe.
       We must know when to help and when not to help. But one must always know the virtue of honestly helping another. My mother, father, and I— we have been helping people for as long as I can remember. My parents are the kinds of people who would take their own shirts off their own backs and give them to others. I am not that kind of person, simply because I have seen that there is no justice in this act. I will not take my shirt off and give it to you. But if I can, I can buy you your own shirt! Or I can give you a different shirt of mine, if I don't need it.
       Since I grew up with parents constantly helping others (my parents aren't perfect people, but one thing they truly are— are givers), helping people comes naturally to me. But I never really knew what it feels like to be helped, until the time came that I was stuck in my own hours of need. In your own hours of need— that is when you will learn the virtue of helping others, because you feel the need, yourself. It is something that (hopefully) you will never want any other person to feel.
       I know that this message has been taught and preached and taught and preached over and over again, to the point of sounding worthless; but I just want to say, that the people of the world need to ask themselves, "What is my worth in this world, if I am unable to help other people?"
       If Facebook points counted as points going to Paradise after death, then I'm sure, everyone would go to Paradise! But as it turns out, Facebook points don't count as real-life Paradise points! Passing Jesus' face around on Easter Sunday isn't going to help cleanse you of your sins. If you want forgiveness— forgive others. If you want help— help others in the ways that you can help. If you want to be a good person— act like a good person. This is just a friendly reminder.

This is Tayla Beaumont. Tayla lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

This is what Tayla has to say about her experience reading The Conversation of Venusta:

“As a long time enthusiast of Ms JoyBell’s work, I was extremely honoured to have been given the chance to read the book prior to its release. There is something delicate and graceful in the way C. JoyBell C. writes – providing messages that resonate deeply with my soul. Throughout the book, much introspection was needed and I found myself learning and trying to unlearn many characteristics and mannerisms of who I am and who I strive to be. Learning to love yourself, and doing so selfishly, because you are worthy and deserve so much – but also not being blinded by the ego. Many emotions were triggered in these profound 215 pages and it was ultimately necessary to help me gain a better insight into myself and my actions. It is almost as if the author is speaking to me – this allowed me to confront and grow from those experiences and aspects of who I am, which I am extremely grateful for. I will be returning to this book often. I recommend the Conversations of Venusta to everyone who hopes to explore themselves in a raw and reassuring way. Everyone can learn and take guidance from it.”

And here's more to discover about her:

Tayla is the youngest member on my team of beta readers. She just very recently began her first year in University, working towards a Bachelor of Law at the University of Cape Town. I am thrilled that Tayla has been reading my work from high school, crossing that bridge on into University.

Zulu Land is Tayla’s hometown, she grew up on a farm in Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal where she rides horses and also competes as an equestrienne. Tayla says that her animals have been a large part of her life, taken up a big space in her heart. Another thing she cares about is Women’s Rights, especially when having to do with her native land. Women’s Rights in South Africa has become a passion of hers, particularly in the context of race and gender intersecting, which is an area needing urgent attention in her region.

Tayla says that she aspires every day to become a better person than she was yesterday, and to hopefully help those around her in a way that will benefit and transform her society.

Tay would like to bring attention to the Women’s Legal Centre in Cape Town

You can connect with Tayla via her LinkedIn account

You can also follow Tayla on Instagram: @Tayla_Beaumont

Tayla is smart. Be like Tayla! =)

The Conversation of Venusta is available on Amazon, at CreateSpace, and at many other online stores. If you would rather place an order of this book via your brick and mortar bookstore, simply order it at their front desk and it will arrive in two weeks, regardless of where you are in the world.

     
       Today is Easter Sunday. We all have seen many posts about this Holiday, many beautiful pictures, and most probably you have also seen many articles about the Pagan origins of this particular Holiday; articles peddled by those who would seek to "enlighten" the masses and "set them free."
       Yes, I am aware of the Pagan origins of Easter. Also of Christmas, and nearly everything else. Even Thanksgiving is a Holiday celebrating the harmonious banquet that took place between Animist Native Americans and the newly settled Protestant British colonies in Northern America. But so what? I mean, really, so what?
       So, you have some ancient information that not everybody knows about— so what. So you feel that you have been set free by knowing the truth about a Holiday— so what? Does this make you a kinder person? A more loving person? Because if it doesn't, then what good is this knowledge in your hands? No good at all.
       It is amusing to me, to watch many people say to many other people, "Do not be a sheep! Wake up! Follow the Truth! Become enlightened! You are a slave, stop being a slave! Do not walk with the blind masses! Forge your own unique path!" And I am amused by this, because, while they are advocates of forging a unique path, they all share the same exact opinion. And they are all saying the same things. Therefore, they are another group defined as "masses" who share the same ideas, same opinions... albeit they are different from others, but then that just means that the others are also different from them. :-)
       So, Easter is all about Ishtar, and also all about Idunn, and also related to the Goddesses like Iris and Selene and Venus... so what? The eggs are all about Ishtar, Spring and the rabbits are all about Idunn, The rainbow belongs to Iris, the deer are loyal to Selene, the Love and Beauty is all about Venus... so what? Who said that all the gods are fighting, anyway? Jesus rose again after three days, therefore overcoming darkness, just as Spring overcame Winter... the reemergence of life! Is it not only man who makes the gods appear to be fighting one another? Men want to fight one another, and so they want their gods to fight one another, as well. Just because Easter is about Ishtar, that doesn't mean Ishtar hates Jesus. And Jesus doesn't hate Ishtar, either. The gods get along. All except for Loki, of course. So why can't people all get along?
       More valuable is the man who, in his heart, is steadfast to his religion, oblivious to "truths" and "enlightenments", than the man who has all knowledge about all ancient and secret things, yet holds no innocence within his heart. Innocence is far more valuable than knowledge. I could stand here in front of you, and know every single truth in the universe, and yet, none of that would be as valuable as the innocence that I also hold within my heart.
       More valuable is the man who visits Cathedral and bows a knee to pray at the marble feet of a Saint who, oblivious to him, is actually the reconstruction of an old Roman Deity; more valuable is he than the man who says, "I am free because I have knowledge!" Yes, knowledge sets us free, but sweetness of heart brings us eternal life. Religion does not bring us eternal life; sweetness of heart does that. There is far more sweetness of heart in a prayer on the lips of a man who humbles himself, than in the knowledge of the other man that does not cause him to be a more loving person or a more caring person.
       Blessed is the man who spends not his time finding fault in others, or in the ways of others. Blessed is the man who lives his life in love, harmony, humility, and acceptance.  May you have a blessed Easter, whether you are innocent or not.

This is Laurie Anne Jackson. Laurie lives in Massachusetts.

This is what Laurie first had to say about Venusta, while she was still reading it:

“Five minutes in and I have the chills. I am only a few pages in and I was meant to read this book. Completely teary. Bless your beautiful heart and Soul.”

“This work of yours is truly needed in this world right now. These words are light and breath combined.”

And this is what Laurie is saying about The Conversation of Venusta now that she's done reading:

"From the moment I began her new novel and saw the introduction by C JoyBell C which read, 'This is for the Brave, This is for the True, This is for the Seeker, The Sage, The Pure', I knew that I was about to embark on a beautiful adventure with this book. I was ready to dive in and that I did. Whenever I have connected in the past with the words of C Joybell, I would always find myself at my deepest source and engulfed in words of truth. From that point on, I became almost obsessed with looking for more of her words, more of her quotes so that I could feel that sense of true understanding again! This book is no different from before. She helps the reader tap into their true nature of being whole and broken all at the same time. She does so by her own incredible capacity to share her deeply rooted, soulful and humanistic perspective with us. I wept at times and quite frankly I couldn't put the book down. It was as if I was reading precisely what I needed to hear at that moment as if an angel came to me whispering... 'Here, this is what you have been waiting for!' I felt truly seen while reading this book and after all, isn't that all we crave and desire: to feel seen by another?!

Although each one of us has indeed been broken in the past and maybe some of us even today still feel broken from loss, grief and heartache, The Conversation of Venusta is a reminder of what we each one of us share collectively and all that binds us as earthly human beings. What a way to heal! She articulately communicates (with passion that only she can do!) the fundamental need to feel connected to one another as human souls and that to be needed and to want another for intimacy, love and connection is our souls' highest purpose.

It is so easy to get caught up in the trance of feeling 'less than' in our society these days where we disconnect from ourselves and the world, but The Conversation of Venusta brings us directly home. Home is the place we most long for isn't it!? The place where we can be ourselves and weep if we wish to do so! This is the perfect book to pick up when we need the reminder that we are not alone in our hopes and our dreams. This is the perfect book to rediscover a glimpse into our soul and to cry even, as I did many times reading The Conversation of Venusta.

From a dialogue on the truth of the soul, the truth of the whole self, emotionality, shame and fear, she is able to emerge this great sense of knowingness within the reader which is incredibly familiar and profoundly beautiful. For someone seeking Freedom within their mind, body and soul, this is the book for them."

Discover more about Laurie:

Laurie provides mental health services in Southeastern Massachusetts, serving all populations from children to grandparents. In this capacity, she specializes in chronic relationship and family issues, facilitating children’s emotional and behavioral strengths, the impacts of loss, domestic violence, substance abuse and treating post-traumatic stress.

Laurie is currently an adjunct faculty member and Senior Instructor at both Bridgewater State University and Cambridge College in their Counseling and Psychology programs. Ms. Jackson’s passion is in the field of trauma as she received a Post Masters Clinical Certificate in Relational and Multi-Contextual Treatment of Trauma from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts in 2010. She earned a Master of Education degree from Bridgewater State University in 2009 with a concentration in Mental Health Counseling.

Her experience has primarily been with those impacted by trauma and also with diverse populations in low income communities. Her dedication to working with diverse populations affected by trauma is reflected in her travels to Uganda for an international service project in 2010 and also as a former child protective social worker. Ms. Jackson served as State Program Director in MA for the FEMA Crisis Counseling Program due to the tornado that devastated Western, MA. Ms. Jackson had the honor of being an external reviewer for the New Jersey Crisis Counseling Program grant application due to the Sandy disaster. Ms. Jackson recently completed the Fema-SAMHSA Train-the-Trainer Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program: Training State Trainers in 2012.

Ms. Jackson has conducted trainings related to all phases of the FEMA Crisis Counseling Program in Massachusetts. She is also familiar with the SAMHSA Crisis Counseling Program Data Collection and Online evaluation database. Lastly, Ms. Jackson has recently joined SAMHSA as a mental health disaster consultant.

You can connect with Laurie via her website and through her LinkedIn account:

Laurie is definitely smart. Be like Laurie. =)

The Conversation of Venusta is available on Amazon, at CreateSpace, and at many other online stores. If you would rather place an order of this book via your brick and mortar bookstore, simply order it at their front desk and it will arrive in two weeks, regardless of where you are in the world.

This is Melita Lami. Melita lives in Greece.

Here's what Melita has to say about her experience reading The Conversation of Venusta:

“The Conversation of Venusta is a book written by the soul, and for the soul. At once tender and fiercely courageous, it challenges you with an embrace while seducing you with a discerning blade that points directly at the heart of what matters most in life and in death.

C. JoyBell C. has made it certain that she will connect to her wide range of readers; juvenile or adult, loveless of love-lots, and the whole concoction of what a man can be. Regardless of your status, you will surely find a quote that you will keep for the rest of your lives, or might as well may even stand as your new principle in living.

She built a conversation that will not let you imagine what is happening between the pages, but will make you realize some things about your life itself which have been obscured all along. And when you have finished the last word on the last page, even if your logical mind doesn’t completely understand all that you’ve read, your eternal spirit will be dancing with joy!

I have adored reading this book, and I will read it over and over again. It is like sinking deeply into your own joyful and bleeding heart. It is purity, kindness, eloquence. It is comforting and real. It came at the perfect time in my life and has truly nourished me. It has challenged my thoughts, torn at my vulnerability and comforted my aching. It should be recommended to anyone who is willing to be open to see what truly lies within.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!"

Discover more about Meilta:

Melita is currently working with SLUMS DUNK an organization that aims at improving the life conditions of children and youth living in the community of Mabathini (Mattare slum, Nairobi). Basketball is the tool they have chosen to involve, mobilize and attract the beneficiaries and it is the medium used to facilitate life skills and health education in twenty informal primary schools located in the slum.

She is also the founder of Humans of Athens (HOA), an organization inspired by Humans of New York (HONY).

From 2012 – 2013, she was the Marketing Manager and Producer of Ten is Love, a basketball-based charity project in Europe, by the JR Holden Foundation, she was also the Public Relations Manager of JR Holden and helped with the worldwide promotion of his book, Blessed Footsteps.

She says that airports is one of her favorite places in the world, and that is why she worked for eleven years in sales and promotion at the Athens International Airport for fashion brands like Armani Jeans, Porsche Design, and Disney. Fashion is her “thing” and this claim is backed by the fact that she is a fashion model, herself.

Melita spends her days pursuing her spiritual endeavors through the means of Reiki. She loves music, basketball, reading and traveling, and says that she could never choose one over the other because she is passionate about them all equally.

Additional information: Mel is the sponsor of the Kindle editions of my Conversations series of books (The Conversation of Merachefet and The Conversation of Venusta). She has sponsored the Kindle versions personally, through the name of her organisation, Humans of Athens. Thank you, Melita! And thank you, HOA!

Melita is smart. Be like Melita! =)

The Conversation of Venusta is available on Amazon  at CreateSpace and at many other online stores. If you would rather place an order of this book via your brick and mortar bookstore, simply order it at their front desk and it will arrive in two weeks, regardless of where you are in the world.

This is Lilly Burchstead. Lilly lives in Los Angeles, California.

This is what Lilly is saying about The Conversation of Venusta:

"The Conversation of Venusta is a beautiful, magical, profound book. Each page astonishes you and challenges you. It helps you to know yourself more and understand the choices you have made in your life. It is a profound conversation between your inner and outer, soul and mind. It helps you to learn from your past and at the same time guides and nurtures you through the process of letting go. It will accompany you on your journey of living your best life. It is truly written with love. You feel this love throughout the entire book. This is a book that you will want to read again and again, and discover and feel something new and different each time. It helps you to move from the darkness to the light, to accept and love yourself in the new light.

I have never been moved and touched by a book as I have been moved and touched with ‘The Conversation of Venusta’. It has been one of the hardest and most beautiful, elegant books that I have read. It took me to my past but in a painless manner. It was a different feeling. It was more about understanding, accepting and saying a definite ‘good bye’ to pain, disappointment and loss. I felt as if you [C. JoyBell C.] had been with me through my painful moments and had felt them just like me. Just like you [C. JoyBell C.], I believe in signs. The time for me to read this book was perfect, as if you knew or felt I was ready to read it. This was a sign. You truly are an angel.

As I was reading each page of The Conversation of Venusta, I did not want the book to end. You have this beautiful connection with the book that you never want it to end as much as you want to read how the book ends. You want to feel it close to your heart forever. This book is the hug that you had asked or desired to have when you were in so much pain, the hand that you wanted to hold so tight when you felt alone and betrayed, and the beautiful voice that you wanted to hear when you felt weak, lost and dead. And as you ‘meet’ the last page, you realize that it is a beautifully bright beginning. You recognize your light and how it has always been there throughout the journey.

Thank you, C. JoyBell C., for this beautiful gift. Thank you for sharing your light, love, passion and beautiful gift of writing. Your words have helped me to stop looking for the old me in the dark and accepting my new me in the light and to smile again and again. While I was reading The Conversation of Venusta, I kept on holding the manuscript so tight, close to my heart. I cried because each page is written with love. I felt it. Just as Vademecum, I want to carry The Conversation of Venusta with me, forever in my heart. Thank you for this beautiful gift. You will never be forgotten, God bless you always."

Discover more about beautiful and loving Lilly (in her own words):

"I live in Los Angeles, California. I am a Finance Manager at Paramount Pictures and have been working at Paramount for almost 12 years. I have been fortunate to work with incredible people who have become mentors, friends and family. I have a beautiful daughter named Madeline, who inspires me every day.

I am involved with Mixed Roots Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization. Mixed Roots collaborates with individuals, businesses and organizations to promote and support organizations, create awareness and inspire future generations touched by adoption and foster care to achieve their dreams and goals. It educates and inspires the greater community about the importance of knowing and embracing your own identity of being mixed roots, including your biological, cultural, and spiritual roots which ultimately makes up and brings together the diversity in the community.

My friend and I produced 'Stars Are Already Dead'. It is an independent film that will be released this year. The film is about hope, faith and light."


You can connect with Lilly on LinkedIn HERE.

Lilly is smart. Be like Lilly. =)

       Thanks to a new movement called #WomenNotObjects, more and more awareness is being drawn to the objectification of women in the media, in popular culture; all perpetrated by companies and organisations that would go to any extent, no matter how inhumane, to use the bodies of women to call attention to their products or to their causes.
       I don't believe that men as a gender are responsible for perpetuating the objectification of women for financial gain or otherwise profits. I do believe that the responsible parties are companies, corporations, organisations— those looking to attract a type of profit or attention. Many feminist groups will automatically say that men are at fault; but I believe that corporations are at fault. Companies are at fault. Organisations are at fault.
       What is "objectification"? I think the answer to that is very simple. Is it wrong to desire a woman's body? Of course not. Is it wrong to lust? Of course not. Is it wrong for companies to hire attractive models to sell things with? Of course not. But is it wrong to show utter disregard for very real world issues like rape, domestic violence and paedophilia? Yes it is! Is it wrong to chop women up, hack them up, and reenact heinous murder scenes just to sell a car or just to promote a personal life choice (veganism)? Yes it is! Is it wrong to incorporate pornographic material and to reenact pornographic scenes, in order to sell a product? Yes it is! It seems like the very frail minds of people do not know how to draw the line in the sand, between what is wrong and what is right. Very basic knowledge of wrong and right, but it seems like people have such difficulty grasping it!
       Someone said to me, "She looks like she's enjoying the attention", and I told her, that the ads for companies which we see on a daily basis, are not controlled by the models in the ads themselves; but are controlled by the creative directors of the companies building those ads and selling those products. In fact, you can watch any of the very highly rated "Next Top Model" or other modelling contest shows, and you will be able to confirm the fact that female models are people who are designed by the modelling industry to have no opinions, no convictions, no will, no right to say "no" to anything that they are told to do. I have watched these shows, and I have seen women break down in tears because they are shamed for saying "no" to things that they simply don't feel comfortable doing! "You want to be on top? You can't say no!" These t.v. shows are nothing but the systematic portrayal of the bending of personal conviction, personal will, and personal choice. The more they are muted and silenced and bent— the more they are paid and praised! In other words, female models are moulded, shaped and formed in order to fit not only into a physical mould; but also more importantly, into a mental and emotional mould. They have no right to say "no" to anything. And for this, they are called beautiful; it is this that makes them professional; it is this that makes them top earners; it is this that makes them more desirable! It is this that our young girls understand. And it is that very same culture that comes directly through in the ads that these companies place. And the message that these t.v. shows send out, that these modelling organisations send out, is the message that if you want to be desired and if you want to be paid large sums of money and become famous, then you must never say "no."
       Never being able to say "no" is the exact message that the modelling industry is sending out to young women, everywhere. A weak will, a weak conviction. And yet it is masked by so-called strength and the "will to win this contest to be on top". It is a great deception. The very same message comes out loud and clear through the ads and other promotional material. You'd wonder why a model couldn't just say, "This photoshoot is against my personal convictions as an individual"; but in reality, they simply would be fired or shamed to no end, if they were to voice anything in their minds that is against the will of the company that hired them.
       Still, society has managed to place the job of being a model on a pedestal, and make it into one of the most high-paying jobs in the world! This is all a perpetuation of the message that the less you think, the more will be given to you. Go ahead and let the company slice up your picture and hang you from the ceiling as slabs of butchered meat; that doesn't mean anything! It's just something you need to do to land more jobs in the future!
       This sick message, and the sick prioritization of the value of various jobs that society categorizes people into— all of this plays major roles in the objectification of  women's bodies. Men are not the enemy. Greed is. Disrespect is. Corporate world is.
       I took a management course in fashion and luxury brand management. In this course, we were taught repeatedly that the main selling point of fashion, is to sell the "myth" behind it, and to always make people feel like the myth is just a little bit out of their reach, so that those same people will struggle to reach up higher for it. And why? Well of course so they will spend all the money that they have on trying to reach something they will never reach! So, the root of the matter is GREED. It is MONEY. And it is the same root ingrained into the reason why supermodels are terribly skinny: because, again, it is something difficult to attain.
       By nature, human beings reach for what is just out of their reach! Personally, I am not like this at all. I am very well aware of the hells in this world and the shortness of the human life, enough to know that gifts given to you ought to be cherished immensely! Why are you over there reaching for something that you can actually not attain? Are you fucking stupid? Attain the best that you can achieve, yes, but please know the difference between that and between being fooled by marketing strategies and ludicrous self-help articles (which are still just marketing strategies)!
       We will be able to put an end to the objectification of women, when we are able to put an end to the cycle of deception and greed that runs through the veins of corporations, brand names, organisations, t.v. shows, and mind sets that are by now deeply ingrained in the psyche. And why should we put an end to this? Because how the world sees that woman on the billboard, is how your daughter will think the world needs to see her! How that man standing in front of that add takes for granted the seriousness of rape and domestic violence, is how that man right there will take for granted the safety of your own daughter, sister, mother, wife!
       I also want men everywhere to realise that, no, you are NOT the root cause of evil, of all the problems that women face in this day and age. You simply are not. You, as a man, you are also the victim of greed. Your view of woman is distorted by the window given to you by greed, through which you now view woman! The window is not yours; it was fabricated for somebody else's profit and/or benefit! You are being used, just as much as us women are being used! You, as men, are being used as a key proponent in the continuation of this cycle of greed. Your minds are being conditioned to believe that all women want to be objectified and that you are giving us exactly what we want, while women are being taught that the only way up the ladder in life, is through the objectification of their bodies! This is not a man vs. woman thing! It is man and woman vs. corporate greed thing!
       These are some very strong and I believe very essential thoughts that must be born and stirred within the hearts and minds of all people, everywhere, so that we may be able to bring about the end of this travesty and create a new future for men and women, everywhere. Please share this message, and thank you for doing so.