By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor |

“…every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.” - ZuZu Bailey “It’s a wonderful life”

Last week I introduced the Law of Attraction via the average Joe to demonstrate how we can attract scarcity into our lives when we really “think” we are relating to money from an abundant standpoint.  This week I would like to use the average Jane to examine yet another “hot” topic we are all eager to explore...relationships.  

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor | Ah fall…and the beautiful colors that come with it! A season that as the temperatures get cooler, we begin to spend a little more time indoors.  We love pumpkins, football, and the holidays that are just around the corner.  As we gear up for more festivities, it’s a good time to look at our space and feel it through our energy system.  

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor | My introduction to the esoteric world of spirituality came via my mother in my late teens.  She took me to a psychic name Suzanne. I had no knowledge of the tarot and was amazed at Suzanne’s ability to utilize the symbolic images on the cards to gain access to the details of my relationships. My mother also gave me the book "Where Two Worlds Touch" by Gloria Karpinski. Her work centers around helping people to understand changes in life as a spiritual rite of passage.  Two worlds?  Who knew?!  Much like Dorothy needing to meet the Wizard in "The Wizard of Oz," I became determined to follow my yellow brick road and lift the veil between Heaven and Earth.  

In an era when most environment-related news carries a hue of doom and gloom, the saga of air quality trends in Western North Carolina is a welcome exception. 

In the 1990s, ground-level ozone was high — Asheville teetered on the edge of violating federal standards, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park actually did exceed them — and white haze emanating from area power plants made visibility so poor that visitors had a hard time seeing the waves of blue mountains for which the region is named. The tourism industry worried that poor air quality would deter travelers from stopping in the Smokies. 

When residents gave testimony back in January adamantly opposing Duke Energy Carolinas’ rate increase request to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, many assumed their strong dissension would fall on deaf ears. 

The North Carolina Public Utilities Commission has not yet ruled on a rate increase request for Duke Energy customers in Western North Carolina despite conflicting reports. 

Western North Carolina residents recently made it clear they do not support Duke Energy Progress’s request for a 15 percent rate increase for its customers.

As required by law, the North Carolina Utilities Commission conducted a public hearing to gather input on the corporation’s request. More than a dozen people testified during the quasi-judicial hearing held in Franklin, and a majority of the speakers were against any increase at all.

Duke Energy isn’t the only utility company raising its electric rates this year amidst rising energy costs, but some local electric customers will see a better deal than others.

Duke Energy is proposing a $62 million solar rebate program designed to help its North Carolina customers with the upfront cost of installing solar panels on their property.

Utility companies are not often known for being in harmony with nature; indeed, Duke Energy’s recent coal ash fiascos come readily to mind when environmental and industrial concerns begin to comingle.