Breaking News: Horse Fly Sold

This just in from the Horse Fly’s press room on Taosdaily.com. More to come on how this affects the flight of the ButterFly.

ButterFlies are Free …

by Sandy Penny

I have had many symbols throughout this spiritual journey called life. The first one was the rising sun. In the mid-1970s, in meditation, I heard a voice say, “You are the daughter of the rising sun, and this shall be your symbol.” I called out internally to the voice and said, “What does that mean?” In response, I heard, “You will come to understand, and you will know when to use it.” I sighed deeply, very cryptic, but somehow it gave me a tingly little excitement inside. That was the beginning of learning about symbolic language for me, and the rising sun did become my symbol when I published the first metaphysical newspaper in Houston called, “The Rising Sun.”

Beginning last year, 2008 and continuing through this year, the ButterFly has become my current symbol, and I am discovering that I’m not the only one. It seems that butterflies are everywhere right now. I just was sent a photo of a butterfly crop formation today, and it reminded me of my whole butterfly experience.

Years ago, about this time of year, I was camping with my family. I woke up with the sun one morning and was inspired to take a walk beside the crystal blue Canyon Lake in Texas. As I sauntered along a tiny path through dense foliage, I spied a beautiful bush, thick with tiny delicate flowers like nothing I’d ever seen before. The flower petals were so light that the gentle breeze was causing them to flutter in the wind. Intrigued, I walked toward the bush to examine the blossoms more closely. When I reached out to touch them, the entire bush came alive, and all the flowers flew away.

Tiny white butterflies had been feasting on whatever bush that was. It was like a scene from a Disney movie – as if the flowers had magically turned into butterflies and ascended into the heavens. It was a most mystical experience, and I wished I could have shared it with my children, but it was mine and mine alone. I cannot express the joy of that little unexpected adventure. Wonderful! Natural! The magic of that transformation lifted me up, and for a moment I soared with those butterflies.

My ButterFly connection was renewed in Taos when I launched the ButterFly Healing Arts section of the HorseFly last October. That was also magical. I had proposed the section two years before, and nothing came of it. The day after I quit writing for the Taos News, in the Dragonfly Cafe, I ran into Bill Whaley, owner of the Horse Fly. I mentioned the ButterFly concept to him again, and he said, “OK, let’s try it out.” And like magic, once again, I was lifted up and flew with the butterflies.

My friend Selia Quinn took some fantastic butterfly photos, beginning with a chrysalis she found on the ground and took inside and let it transform. She took photos at each stage of development of the butterfly, and now she has a photo exhibit at the butterfly museum in Houston. She too was lifted by the butterfly and flew a little higher.

Now, a butterfly with a human body crop formation has been created, and I say our transformation has begun. Does the caterpillar know it will become a butterfly, or does it simply become? Are we ignorant of the transformation that is occurring within us now? Why can we not see the beauty that will be born of our cocoon? This is the time of our becoming. Let the old ways drop away so we can soar to our greatest heights.

You are a ButterFly, and butterflies are free!

ButterFly Crop Circle in the Netherlands

I just got word that this crop circle was created as some kind of PR thing by humans, however, you still can’t deny the imagery and its symbolic meaning of transformation. We all respond to energy in different ways, and who’s to say those who were inspired to create the crop circle weren’t responding to a higher energy as well. The message stands on its own: time to come out of our cocoon and be as beautiful as we truly are.

Taos ButterFly asks: What do You Want?

 

What do you want? It’s a simple question, but the answer can be near impossible to get to. Beyond the, “well I don’t want …” and trying to focus on what you think you can have, you may miss the actual answer to the question.

Read the August 15 print edition of Horse Fly for the Taos ButterFly article – or click this link for the pdf: What do You Want?

Maybe it’s time for you to answer that question.

While you’re reading the pdf, check out the ads for fantastic local Taos NM healing arts services and products. 

For the online version of the Horse Fly, visit: Taos Daily. Not only do you get the daily Taos News, you get the monthly articles in the archives.

A Leap of Faith

Sometimes we come to a crossroad in life where we know that it’s time for a change. Sometimes the leap of faith required to take the next step is huge. In keeping with the 1969 Summer of Love theme, on July 20, 1969, we landed on the moon, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

This month’s articles chronicles a huge leap of faith for me a few years ago. I hope you enjoy it, and check out all the wonderful Taos advertisers who support the ButterFly Healing Arts Section.

Click here to read the Leap of Faith article.

If you’re up for ad renewal, call the Horse Fly at 575-758-0998 or Sandy Penny at 575-751-1456. Three months at the standard size ButterFly ad is only $100 total for all three months. Or, you can pay $35/month plus tax. Deadline is August 1 for advertising for August 15 issue.

Rainbow Life & Hippie Holidays

by Sandy Penny

Life can be rich and colorful. It’s up to you what your experience will be and what it will manifest in your life. Science has confirmed what the mystics have always said once again: life is colored by your perceptions. Check out my new ButterFly article, hot off the presses and being distributed around town as we speak.

You can view the article here along with all the wonderful supportive advertisers. Click the link to our latest pdf:  ButterFly 06.09 – Rainbow Life.

Hippie Days are here again! As a part of your rich and colorful life, you’ll want to attend the Hippie Homecoming Strut and Stomp on Sunday, June 21 beginning at 10 am until 8 pm on McCarthy Plaza on the southeast side of Taos Plaza where the Horse Fly office is now located. What better way to entertain your dad than a trip down memory lane on Father’s Day?

Music from the 60s will transport you to times gone by. You can watch local artists painting live people in psychedelic colors from 10 am to 3 pm followed by a Painted People and Hippie parade through town.  Stick pony races are a Horse Fly tradition. Pick your favorites and cheer them on or hop on your favorite stick pony steed and race your way to prizes.

The old La Cocina crowd are gathering at Ogelvies for the La Cocina Reunion that same afternoon, 3-6 pm. La Cocina was a local bar and restaurant located on Taos Plaza during the ‘60s. Local politicos hashed out the problems of the town over drinks. Hippies mingled with tourists and locals. It was all happening right there, right then. Now it’s the history we’re revisiting like an old friend. You know, even harrowing stories are exciting and funny in the retelling. You can hear the stories from those who were there, those who remember. (Even Dennis Hopper could show up, though it’s rumored he got thrown out of La Cocina more than once. Just a rumor though. I wasn’t there.)

The Oriental Bluestreaks, once called Dolly & the Lama Mountain boys, are coming back together for a historical summer reunion. They were very popular regionally back in the ‘60s, and they haven’t played together in over 30 years. They’ve added local favorite guitarist Omar Rane to the mix. This music is authentic to the time period and to our local color. They’ll be playing on the Taos Plaza at 6 pm, Sunday, June 21 as part of the Hippie Homecoming events.

And on Wednesday, June 24, they’ll play at the Kachina for the HorseFly Institute’s Bluestreak Boogie event starting at 7:00 pm. Barefoot former hippies will join belly dancers and all manor of merrymakers. And, Tommy Hancock’s Supernatural Family Band featuring the Texana Dames, Kit Nelson, Omar Rane and Carlos Rael will rock the house. You just can’t have more fun anywhere for $10 in advance or $12 at the door. What a blast from the past!

This is a truly great summer in Taos. What other small town offers so much entertainment for so little money? It’s the bargain of the century. Check out the Horse Fly June edition, now on the streets for all the details of these events, and go to taosdaily.com (Horse Fly online) for updates and compelling and revealing articles and tidbits.

Hippie Homecoming and Summer of Love

by Sandy Penny

The June 15 issue of the HorseFly is about to go to press. You can’t imagine the wonderful nostalgia pieces that take you right back to the ’60s. I’m amazed that Taylor Streit, with what he says went on, can remember any of it, much less in such vivid detail. Perhaps those flashbacks are useful for writers.

The article on anthropologist Alfred Hobbs’ arrival in Taos with the intent to study hippie communes fascinates.

Wait til you see the cover and the amazing Hippie Homecoming Flashback Quilt that Deb Villalobos made using photos from the hippie days.

The ButterFly section focuses on our rainbow life and how we color it with our perceptions. I have experienced some amazing demonstrations of the power we all have over our physical body and our experience of the world.

The battle of Miranda Canyon heats up.

Pick up your free copy of the Horse Fly around town at local businesses, or stop by the Horse Fly office on McCarthy Plaza at 100 S. Plaza, Suite C (upstairs by the financial group).

Join us on McCarthy Plaza from 10 am to 8 pm on Sunday, June 21 for Hippie Homecoming, Strut and Stomp with painted bodies, music and mucho more. Check it out at our blog (http://hippiehomecoming.blogspot.com/) and website: http://taoshippiehomecoming.synthasite.com/

For a quick look at the latest happening on Horse Fly, we’re tweeting on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaosHorseFly.

Get your daily dose of Horse Fly whimsy at http://taosdaily.com.

May 2009 – Making Peace

by Sandy Penny, WritingMuse

This month’s Horse Fly ButterFly feature, titled “Making Peace,” takes the world peace concept to a new level. How can we make peace in the world, if we cannot make peace in our own lives with people we love or love to hate?

I personally have had to learn to let go and move on and forgive, for my own sake, for my own happiness. This month’s article recounts examples of that in my life and details a mystical experience that taught me why we should forgive–others and ourselves.

Enjoy the pdf and frequent the amazing advertisers who support the ButterFly section. Thanks.

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April ButterFly: Forgotten Path to Abundance

04-09: ButterFly: Forgotten Path to Abundance

Here’s the April pdf file for the ButterFly section of the Horse Fly newspaper. Check out the article and the great advertisers.

Why is Advertising More Important Now?

By Sandy Penny

Many small business owners make the same mistake when times get tough. In an effort to slash expenses, they stop advertising. It may seem like a likely place to save dollars, but it’s a surefire way to go down the tubes with the rest of the entrepreneurs who don’t recognize the full value of marketing and advertising.

You cannot measure the benefit of an ad as a one to one direct response. Name and location recognition contribute greatly to a person’s decision to choose you when they’re ready to buy. With 30 years in the advertising field, and 20 of those in the newspaper industry, I have seen that it takes at least three times of a potential customer to seeing an ad before taking action, and sometimes more. A small consistent ad is more effective at building trust and recognition for a new business. A big splash is better for promoting time-sensitive events and product or service specials. The more times people see your name, the more they trust that you are going to be around when they need you. You can’t measure that as a direct response to your ad. It builds over time and reaches a critical mass. Suddenly, it seems, everybody’s calling, but really it started building toward the response phase through months of consistency.

During a recession, when others in your field decide to cut advertising, your ad will show up more prominently due to fewer ads. Consider that your company thrives on both client retention and new growth to survive. If you pull your advertising, in a small town like Taos, rumors can quickly spread that you’re going under. That has been death to many Taos entrepreneurs. The businesses who continue to advertise get the bigger share of the available market.

Here Are the Top 10 Sure-Fire Ways to Kill Your Small Business

1. Pretend everybody knows who you are and what you have to sell, so you don’t advertise.

2. Focus on you more important worries than promoting your business.

3. Make believe your customers won’t notice that you discontinued your ads.

4. Tell yourself that your customers will never abandon you for the new guy on the block who’s making a big splash.

5. Ignore potential new clients that would buy your products or services if they only knew about you.

6. Forget that you competitors want your customers and start taking them for granted.

7. Keep telling yourself it costs too much to advertise. For about a $1 a day, you can have an ongoing ad in the Horse Fly. You can’t afford to be invisible.

8. Disregard the fact that marketing is not a business expense; it’s an investment in future business.

9. Forget that your established customers need to be reminded that you appreciate their business.

10. Don’t recognize that now is the best time to advertise since so many freaked out competitors are cutting back.

If you fall into those ten fearful practices, you can drive your business into the ground. We need more entrepreneurs in Taos, and we need them to be successful and thriving.

Three Advertising Strategies that Work

*Prove to your clients that you really do value and appreciate them. Run an appreciation ad.

*Show your customers that you are a successful entrepreneur willing to invest in your relationship with them. Buy a column sized ad and provide monthly information and tips for your potential customers.

*Instill trust, credibility and confidence in your company and services or products by maintaining a constant presence in your locally owned and published newspaper.

Your clients are your most valuable asset. When you use attentive, relationship-building marketing strategies, like ongoing information and gratitude, you create a bond that allows you to weather any type of economic environment.

The Forgotten Path to Abundance

by Sandy Penny
The April 15 issue of the Horse Fly will focus on the forgotten path to abundance. What is it? How does it work? How do you use it? Stay tuned for the answers after the print edition comes out on the 15th.
We have a few more days before the advertising deadline for the issue. Email me at sandypenny@live.com for questions or with your ad copy. I’ll be happy to help you with all your advertising needs.
Don’t forget the Summer of Love is coming up fast. Time to get the word out to all the Hipppie Homecomers about your products and services.
Explore the Horse Fly at http://taosdaily.com. Check out the Taos Summer of Love Events site.