Category: The Spirituality Center

When I started this journey, it was shortly after an incident that put me in tremendous fear of losing another love that I felt so deeply. At the time of the incident, and in months since, I went in search of answers to many questions. Questions like: “How will I make it on my own?”, “Am I strong enough or brave enough?”, “How will I move forward?”, “Who am I?”, and “What is my life’s purpose?”. I still have this love in my life and am thankful for it everyday, sometimes minute by minute. But, this quest for answers now has me being a much calmer, stronger, wiser, more confident, and more loving human being. Do I have moments that I am anything but these? Of course, we all do. We are human after all. Having faith in something much bigger and greater than myself, does help me to keep those chaotic moments to a minimum. It is not easy, it just is what I must do.

With that said, there are several things I learned on this quest, that I would love to share with you. They are as follows:

The first, is that we came into this human existence as light souls of love. With any luck, we will leave this human existence the same way. Truthfully, evil does exist in each one of us and it needs to be fought against. And love is the only thing that can defeat it. Let us not give up on that battle in ourselves, and with each other.

The second, is that our life’s true purpose is to make soul connections. It matters not whether the connection is for a minute, or an hour, or a year, or a lifetime, it just matters that it is. It is up to each one of us to make the choice to connect. As we all are aware, human loss happens. With it comes heartbreak, confusion, sadness, anger, and grief. It is terrifying to stand in the face of fear of connecting, knowing that our human outcome will always take us to this same place, and through these same emotions. I argue though, that the time spent sharing love, laughter, fun, joy, and whatever else there is, is worth my having to tread through the other things. I further argue that it is in the moments when we allow our souls to connect, that miracles happen, that the heartbreak, sadness, and grief begin to fade away.

The third, is knowing that love never dies, only our human bodies do. With that knowledge, I realize that in the moments I am still, that I am silent, that I open my heart and mind to any and all possibilities, that lost loves find a way to send me a message. A message that I will understand giving me further proof of this truth. Whatever the mode of transportation, you will know it is a message from them, by the simple fact it brings them immediately into your heart and mind; filling you up with wonder, joy, love, and sometimes laughter.

And lastly, is the true meaning of freedom. Freedom is not only allowing my soul to be open to connecting, it is also in allowing it to leap. When I walk through the fear of this, is when life has no bounds, that I realize that I can be anything I want to be, that with the help of these connections I can go to places I never imagined. I have heard it said that money buys freedom; NO.. NO.. NO.. Money makes us look at each other as numbers and data and increases our egos to make us compete. Pure and simple money buys us human survival, we cannot take it with us when we go. When we allow our souls to be free, that is when we are truly rich.

I will end with a hope that you will allow your soul to shine its light of love as brightly as it can, that you will allow it to connect as often as it wants to connect, and to who or what it wants to connect, that you will forever see and feel its connections, and that you will allow it freedom to fly and spread its wings. Your thoughts and soul connection are welcomed whenever they are ready.. Feel free to be and to add comments if you so desire.. Until next time – Peace Out.

Some days when I read about something tragic happening that did not need to happen, I just want to shut all my electronics off and live forever in solitary confinement. But, I know this is not realistic or rational. Now there is a word I want to define. Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines rational as “having reason or understanding”. Sadly, I continue to think that we are living in a very irrational world. Who do I blame that on? Myself for my contribution to it, and for allowing others to make me feel this way? Politicians and other people of power using their platforms to further divide? The media for feeding me this irrationality Twenty-Four/Seven? I suppose it is all of it.

I will begin with myself, the first person to have free will. I like to think that I behave and think rationally more often than not. I am human, however, which means when my buttons get pushed, or I am angered in any way, it becomes much harder to be clear, to hear and understand the entirety of the truth of someone else. It is then, that I must learn to have strength, that I must put the divine back into my life, and that I must learn to have faith and walk through fear to reach clarity, calm, and peace. Only then can rational come back into play. I heard someone say not to long ago, that they would change when someone else changed. Why? Why wait? Why do I need to add more irrationality into an already irrational circumstance? Maybe, just maybe, if in the moments of irrationality, I can somehow get to my divinely guided place of calm and clarity, well then, just maybe we can have a rational outcome. If I become the change, then maybe I can sway the circumstance back to rational. I will continue to try to walk this way and have hope for better outcomes in my life, and that is the best I can do.

As far as politicians and others in powerful positions, how rational is it, that you tell people who follow you to fight back, to kick someone when they are down, to be uncivil, to get up in other’s faces? How rational is it, when you go full throttle after the crimes of those you disagree with, yet ignore the same thing being done by a friend, peer, group member, colleague, etc.? A crime is a crime, no matter who commits it. How rational is it, when you tell a mass of people, that I would never vote for someone who does not have my skin color, or shares my religion, or my gender, or my sexuality? How do you know what I would do, and how I would vote, if you are not willing to get to know me. Getting to know me, would require divinity in your heart, and rationality in your mind. Maybe, just maybe, if you were not trying to control me, you might just see that I am open-hearted and open-minded as are many. I have learned in my life that great leaders make every attempt to lift people up as they rise, or even sacrifice to help others rise, they do not hold people down or destroy people to gain power. Irrationality belongs to those that do the latter.

As far as the media, I am a big believer in the freedom of the press, and realize it is the responsibility of the viewer, or the reader, to fact check, to look for truth, to supposedly trust and for sure verify. I am one that tries to truth seek and not just believe. Sadly, I am finding that increasingly as decades pass, and in your attempts to be the first to report on every tragedy, to politicize every tragedy, and to vilify those with whom you disagree, that I am feeling a huge lack of authenticity and integrity from you. I am feeling it is far more important to you to get viewers or followers, than to factually give me information. If truth was the point, than context would matter. How does America feel? What is the truth anymore? When you use your opinion to sway and facts are besides the matter, where do we go for facts? Oh I will continue to watch or read, I almost have no choice in that. And I will go to multiple sources to broaden my perspective. I just wish you, would put a little divinity and rationality back in what you report. That would make it a whole lot easier for a person like me to trust you.

Maybe you will find this entire post irrational, and maybe it is. But, for every life lost that does not need to be, and for every life destroyed that should not be, I find myself wondering why. How did we get here? Why do we stay so angry? Where have we put the divine; our God or creator? Why do we refuse to hear each other, see each other, understand each other? We must find a way to open our hearts and minds because that is where rationality is. Well this is my two cents and I am here waiting for your addition to the pot. When you are ready, I would love to hear what you have to say.

Have you ever thought that there is something wrong when we are constantly bombarded with negativity. I suppose negativity sells. The problem is, that it is like a disease. It finds a weak spot, attacks and attaches itself, and then it grows and grows. Although there is some positivity out there, it is not yet powerful enough to counteract or even equal the amount of negative. I find myself some days being so weighed down by what I see, hear, and feel that I just need to find a way to break free. I find the longer I sit there and take it all in, the more angry, the more jealous, the more hurtful, the more hateful, the more worried, the more stressed, and the more depressed I get. So what is the cure?

Well, I am not sure there is one. I do know, however, it is very helpful to get away from it all and meditate. Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines this as “to reflect on or muse over; contemplate, to engage in contemplation or reflection”. I like to think of it as meeting my soul. As connecting to that part of myself that knows what is good and what is right. I like to ask it for advice, ask it what it wants, ask it what would make it happy or joyful. I find the more I connect to this part of myself, the clearer I think, the calmer, more peaceful, more powerful, and more alive I feel.

There are different ways to get to this place or state. I am sure you already know which one you prefer. Some people like to sit outside on their porches, with their morning cup of coffee or their evening whatever. They sit in quiet stillness and watch the sunrise or sunset. They listen to the birds chirp, the frogs peep, or the hustle of the morning and evening starting and stopping. Some people find joy and clarity on a bike or a motorcycle. Some, like Henry David Thoreau, prefer to walk in nature. They walk with joyful awareness of what is around them. They free themselves from the outside world and allow the sunlight, wind, moon, and stars to provide a place of serenity. Some like to find their quiet, still, happy place and go within. Some actually like to do it all. It does not matter to them the type of escape. It only matters that they can escape.

You’ll know when you are done as well. You’ll know when it is time to return back to the reality you live in. I even think you will be able to more decisively know what is good for you or what the right thing to do in your situation is. Getting to know your soul and feeding its need to be with you for a short time enhances your intuition. It surely will let you know when something is right or wrong. You just have to pay attention. And truth be told, if you take a little time each day to unplug and meditate, you will live a more balanced, more productive, and normally happier existence.

So if the negativity has got you heavy and down, lighten yourself and soul with a little meditation. Bring joy, reflection, clarity, and sanity back in to your daily life. You will definitely notice the difference. You may even get a little guidance, pointed in the right direction, a question answered, or a message or two. Be open and aware and accept it for what it is, your soul saying hello. I hope you try it. And I further hope that once you are done unplugging and meditating, and have read this, that you leave a comment if you want. We will be glad to hear from you. As I plug back into my day, I am sending you light and love to help counteract the negative in your day. Hope it helps and good luck with it all.

Last night I was watching something that brought me to an aha moment. Across my screen came a phrase that said “Love is the Greatest Adventure”. After reading that and pondering on my past, I began to realize that my life had far more love in it than I had imagined or remembered. And if I would have chosen it, my difficult times could have been far less difficult. In the days when people are presenting truths from a place of fear, hurt, pain, anger, and hatred, a time when people are destroying others lives in their quest to they themselves heal, I have been searching for the definition of love and a way to present it in my life as a replacement for the others.

The fact is that evil exists. It is in each one of us and we use it to cause pain and destroy. The question is how do we defend or protect ourselves against it? How do we find the power to fight it when it is happening to us? How do we get over the wake it leaves behind if we were powerless to fight it? When do we stand up? How do we stand up? Are we justified in trying to destroy what it was that took our power away? Are we justified in presenting evil to evil? I think I could add a million questions and even then not know the appropriate answers. All I do know is that in the moments I walk in love, I am a happier, lighter, more joyful, fun-loving person.

In my search for how to define love, I came to understand that faith and forgiveness had to come front and center. It is difficult at times to love or show it, and I find myself in split seconds having to beg for faith and forgiveness to come forward, so that I do not do or say something I will regret. Sometimes I fail miserably, the other times though are so worth the struggle it took me to get there, in how they lighten my life, my soul, and my body.

I may have shared something with you in an earlier post, but after re-reading it and viewing it in a completely different light, I wanted to share it again. My mother copied these words on a piece of paper and gave them to me when I was sixteen. I have re-written them when the pieces of paper have gotten to frayed or damaged. I have, though, carried them on my person for nearly forty years. They are words written by Laura Hendricks and published, more than once, by Ann Landers in her advice column. They go like this: “What is Love?  Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough.”

I would like to think that I have kept all of this in mind in my chosen relationships, however, I am attempting to learn to broaden my scope. With that said, I am beginning to believe that love is so much more. It is the smile at the stranger whether he/she returns it or not, it is the kindness shown to someone in need, it is the holding of a hand to comfort or lead, it is the tears that run down your face when you share in someone’s grief, it is the time we take to listen to what others say, it is the taking of time in search of truth, it is the recognition of beauty in all that exists, it is laughter shared among strangers and friends, it is a simple hello, a held open door, and it is the seconds we let others know that we see them. Most humans just want to know they are not alone.

When I view my life in this light, as an adventure of love, I realize that I have been fortunate to recognize many moments with strangers, friends, and family alike. I hope you like me, will begin to notice, that those moments you would not have equated with love, truly are, and that love truly is the greatest adventure we can take and be on. So today, as you go about your day, try to recognize the positive you put out into the world, and realize those are moments of love. Spread those, relish in those, enjoy those, and try to repeat. As always, if you want to add, correct, enhance, or share yourself on one of my posts, please do. We are waiting for you to share your life with us.

Hello all.. I am back home now and trying to get settled back in. I hope this means I will be out here more frequently, as it truly is my desire to be in a mode to make changes to my website; to get it to where I want it to be. While I slowly make steps in getting there, I will continue to talk to you about things that appear in my life. Today, I wanted to bring up something that came up a few times while I was on my trip. I am also reminded of it as I watch the goings on in today’s world. What came up was this: the realization that my trying to be perfect in what I do may be an asset, but it can also be a hinderance, and/or even a detriment.

I guess I should start with the definition of perfection. Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines perfection as “the quality or state of being perfect – flawlessness, completeness, maturity, saintliness, an exemplification of supreme excellence, an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence, the act or process of perfecting”. I ask can anyone even reach this? And if I keep it in my head that I must reach this, and then do not, then how much damage am I doing to myself? Does being perfect even exist in humanity?

Sadly, I am finding that in recognizing others’ talents and thinking I could not surpass theirs, I have not even tried to see what I am capable of. I realized I was doing this while home with “the artists” of the family. Do not think I do not recognize my own artistic talent in the way I write, I do recognize that. While I was home, however, I kept saying I cannot draw and that was because I viewed my siblings perfect artwork. Something, they themselves, would say was totally imperfect. Funny how that is, that we recognize perfection in others and not in ourselves. So while I was there and in a supportive environment, I decided to try to draw. Like them, I see the imperfections in my work. However, because I created it, I am learning to recognize that it is as it should be, and therefore, perfect.

Though I fail at times, I am trying desperately to not say I cannot anymore. Because the more I continue to say I cannot, the more I limit myself, and the more I put aside possibilities. How do I know I cannot? I will only find that out when I try. And guess what, shocking as this may sound, I will always find out that I can. Now it may not be perfect according to yours or anyone else’s standards, and that is okay. It will be perfect for me and my standards and that is all that matters. Just as I say this about myself, so should you. You should always believe that you can, you should try whatever it is you want to try, and most importantly you should realize that if it is perfect for you or to you, that is all that matters.

Now I am not saying, that we should not strive to be the best that we can be, or even that we should not compete for the title of best. I suppose competition can point out to us what our limits might be, or where we might need to improve or add in education. What I am saying is that we should not allow the definition of perfect to stop us from trying all kinds of things, from doing things we want to do, and from being the person we want to be. We will always be imperfectly perfect or perfectly imperfect because we are all human. So go be the perfect person you were created to be.

As always I invite your thoughts, comments, tales, anything you want to add. We can only grow when we decide to share ourselves and our information. With that said, when you are ready, I hope you will leave something for me and others to also think about, and do not worry about it being perfect to anyone else but you.

I AM BACK.. And possibly will fluctuate in and out for a short while.. As I am finding that sometimes I just have to go it alone and bring you the information later, even though I really enjoy bringing you along my journey. I apologize that I have been away for so long, and thank you for being patient in awaiting my return. One day I will have this place the way I want it, I am determined to do that. I think it is needed. For now, however, there are other projects and life happenings that I must also squeeze in. Please do forgive me for any vacancies that occur in the interim.

To let you know where I have been and actually still am, I am back where it all began. I am with my siblings in the place I was born, staying in the house I grew up in. I came here to see them as I do not do that often enough. I came here to attend some family functions; a camping trip (in tents by the way-we are hardy, so no RV for us), a family reunion, and a wedding. I came here because being with them is always an adventure and fun. More than any of these reasons, I came here because my intuition told me I needed to. It told me that I would need the help I was to receive in moving forward. Prior to my journey here, for me this meant working on my book, or getting my blog to where I dream I want it. I never ever dreamed I would need help in ways I didn’t recognize I did. Of course, as it always does, it came in forms I never expected. One of these is realizing gifts that I have always had and been afraid to use. Sadly, I have been relying on others and know it is now time for me to use what I have been given.

Take for instance something I think all started coming out of the womb. I was a breach baby. Not a breach in one that comes out feet first. Oh no, I was holding on for dear life as my mom tried to push me out butt first. Since then I have always said that I was born under the sign of Cancer-the crab, and am truly one. Soft and sensitive to the core when I am out and about; retreating to my shell in any sign of danger. I do love my shell, my home, my safe spaces. I feel security in them. But, is there really security there or is it an illusion. Because the one thing crabs have that I have always been reluctant to use, are claws or pincers.

On this trip, I am realizing how dynamic life is to have provided me with many people who have loved, and do love me, that truly are fighters. These people have protected me for a very long time. Some have even tried to teach me necessary things for my own protection. I have kept their teachings in my mind and have always hoped not to have to use them. What I didn’t realize is that by not using them everyday or not wanting to use them at all, I was doing damage to myself and others. I still am reluctant to use my pincers or what I have been taught, but I am armed now with the knowledge that protecting myself, when it is necessary, is not me going out looking to harm others and there is a big big difference in that fact.

To pass a few things on, if you are like me, not realizing gifts, or needing to recognize that there is a difference between protecting yourself and harming others, I will tell you what I have learned. That is, that protecting yourself comes from a place of love and is necessary for survival, while harming others comes from a place of hate, and repercussions of that are never pleasant.  So if you find the need to protect yourself, and are searching for the knowledge of your gift, just look to the sign you were born under to know what that is. I have pincers and a shell, some of you have horns, spikes, stingers, strength and size, a second nature, the ability to judge fairly, knowledge, the ability to blend in, and yes even innocence. Recognize what it is you have and do not be afraid to use it to protect yourself; life can be ugly and sometimes a cage fight.

Rest assured, with all that I am learning here, if the circumstance presents itself for me to have to protect myself, oh I will. And if the battle is one I cannot handle on my own, then I will call in my friends who have always been there for me. I think, however, it is time I give them a break. It is time I realize that sometimes in life, the battle is mine to be won or lost. And to further realize that if the battle is lost, than that is a road I was not meant to be on, or to take, and that a redirection of course is necessary. Redirection, something else I am learning to accomplish and will leave for future blog posts.

So whether you are someone who already knows and uses their gifts, or someone learning like me, or someone yet to learn, does not matter. If you are here, I hope that you will take part and share your knowledge, and/or experience. And I further hope any comments left will be of benefit to us all. If nothing else, just a new perspective. Thank you for coming and as always I invite you to join in when you are ready. Until next time I am riding the waves, shell intact and now claws up.

We often talk about, and are taught about, our five major senses and their uses. Our sense of sight and what it is we view with our eyes. Our sense of hearing and what it is we hear with our ears. Our sense of smell and what aroma wafts its way in. Our sense of taste and what is pleasing or unpleasing to our tongues. And our sense of touch, of what it is concretely we can feel. All of these are gifts of the body and the electronic part of it. And most of these, we often use to override, instead of work with, the sense I want to talk to you about today. We call it the sixth sense. Some call it intuition, and the dictionary defines that as “the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning”.

I am not sure if I should say sadly or not sadly, I haven’t decided yet, that we all have brains. Our brains like to think logically and consciously, and they like to cast doubt. Maybe that is a good thing, maybe not. I am unsure of that also. I am still learning. I like to think that if only we could understand that we know we know, then life would be so much simpler. There wouldn’t be a need to verify what we already know to exist. Then we could use our brains to take the steps we know we need to take. Most of us, including myself, miss the sometimes subtle intuition that appears. And it is more horrifying when we miss the slap in the face intuition, and then have to look at ourselves later, and say “damn, how did I miss that?”. I don’t know about you, but I know that I quite often have to say to myself “HELLO… well duh – pay attention”.

And that is what it takes, attention and faith in yourself. Most people don’t like to talk about intuition, and others like to say the whole thought of it is crazy. Well using the words of one Billy Joel “you may be right, I may be crazy, but I just might be the lunatic you are looking for”. Because as I walk in trying to listen to, to find, and pay attention to mine, I am also wanting you to recognize yours. For it is when we trust that and follow that, that people we need, people who need us, lessons we need to learn, or lessons we need to teach, occur.

So, I ask you, have you ever been sitting somewhere alone, waiting on a friend, and all of a sudden just known someone was looking at you? That is intuition. The circling of the head and use of the eyes to see who it is, is your brain trying to verify. I will also add that if you slowly look around and view each person, you will also get a sense on who it was. Even if they are no longer looking at you. That too is intuition. All too often, however, we get the feeling we are being watched and we turn our head to see and do not meet any eyes and then think we are crazy. I am here to tell you, you are not.

Or let me ask you this, have you ever been driving home and had an urge to take a road not normally on your path? That is intuition. The sad truth to life is, most of us ignore that urge. Our brain starts saying “why do I want to go there? that is the long way home”. Only to end up in a two-hour traffic jam a few minutes after we ignored the urge. Or have you ever walked toward your phone, picked it up and then it rings? or there is someone already there saying hello? You moving to your phone was intuition.

These are just a few examples to give you of the existence of intuition. I hope you will give it some thought and begin to recognize it in your own life. I even further hope, you avoid the fear, that comes in learning to let it lead you in your life. And in admittance, I will have you know that I am following my intuition to put the thought of intuition into your existence. Why? I do not know. I may never know. The fact is the seed is planted and where the tree is to grow it will. As always I wish you luck and love in it all and invite you to comment or join the discussion whenever you get the urge. Until next time…