Best Is Yet to Come

I turned on my computer this morning and opened up the web browser to Yahoo, where the glaring morning headline was "Worst is yet to come". The brief article was about how our unraveling economy would mean changes in our lifestyles and difficulty for years to come. The article touched on the gloom and doom that we have come to hear regularly almost everywhere we turn; however, it did note that "the end of rampant consumerism is ultimately a good thing."

It can be difficult and often scary for us in these times of seeming uncertainty. I say "seeming" because the uncertainty and shakiness has been there for a while in an economy that was false and built upon credit spending, but we could not see it then, or perhaps most people just didn't want to see it. The uncertainty is more about our perception than anything else, and as soon as we realize that and get real, things will become more certain. I recall several years ago hearing and reading about the serious problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but those warnings were ignored by our congress - those who are responsible for such oversight - the same people who now claim that they "inherited" these problems, as if they had no power or ability to do anything before the implosion! Many consumers try to sidestep the accountability in similar fashion, by denying that they had any say in the debt that they built up, even if it was for things well beyond their means or trinkets and luxuries that were not necessities.

We have been taught by our leaders and each other to simply point the finger when things go wrong, but in doing so, we miss the opportunity to look inward, grow, and correct or improve our ways. We miss the opportunity for something better that may be there for us. Sometimes difficulties are actually a message to us to change our ways, collectively or individually. In going within, we can reach the place of our souls, where we are real beyond our possessions, and come to find our true selves amidst the turmoil. Accountability is a tremendous growth tool, but we often find it so much easier to blame others or make excuses that we never truly get to the growth we need in order to learn what we came here to learn or be all that we came here to be.

Instead of looking at these times expecting that the "worst is yet to come," look at them as an opportunity to find what is truly important, to make our lives leaner and therefore, more real and genuine. It is a gift to us all, if we will take it to heart. In that light, you will come to understand that the "best is yet to come," if you will embrace it and allow it. Finding your true self and your true purpose will bring in the best of times and the best of you.

Trying Acupuncture

I recently decided to try acupuncture for overall health benefits and for seeing if it help me additionally with sinus and allergy problems that I seem to have fairly consistently. I had had great results from Reiki, to the point that even though I had some sinus and allergy problems, none were severe and rarely caused me to have to use the over-the-counter medication as I had been doing daily prior to that. I had read about acupuncture being beneficial for so many things, both physical and spiritual, and decided that it would be a good thing to experience and learn more about. My intention was to work on some minor physical problems and to achieve deeper spiritual growth, or get back on track after distractions of the holidays and other events.

I came upon an acupuncture place in Asheville (The People's Accupuncture of Asheville) offering community style acupuncture, meaning that the service is rendered in a group room, allowing the practitioner to serve several recipients at once, and allowing the energy and intent of the group to strenghten the overall benefits for each. I have learned that this community style is actually how acupuncture was intended to be practiced and is the setting that is most beneficial, so there are no "losses" in choosing the group method, but actually gains. This group setting also makes the service more affordable to the individual, as obviosly the costs for the time and facility can be spread among several clients. This group that I went to has a mission to provide an affordable service on a sliding scale that can be utilitized by all without undue hardship. It is a noble cause and one that could contribute to answers to our rising medical costs. I was very impressed with the energy of both my practitioner, Elizabeth, and the energy in the room.

From what I have learned, acupuncture is also something that needs consistency for best results...in other words, having a series of treatments is best for maintaining any gained benefits, rather than one "fix it" session. It makes sense to me, considering that our learned habits or energetic norms need re-setting or reconditioning. It has been noted that one needs 30 days to truly break a habit, so it is perfectly understandable that one would need some repeated acupuncture, or any natural healing modality, in order to reset and heal the body's patterns. (I find it interesting that some people will have no problem taking certain medications routinely and consistently, but will then expect any alternative healing to happen immediately!)

I have set myself up on a once a week schedule for now and have just completed my third treatment. I noticed very quickly that my sinus congestion was improved and I was not waking up as congested. I also felt very spiritually energized from the sessions, which was my greater objective. I would so strongly encourage anyone and everyone to try new non-traditional healing options that are becoming so much more widely available to us now. These would include such practices as acupuncture, Reiki, meditation, and others. I have personally felt the impact of Reiki and have witnessed it in others that I have provided it for, and I have also felt the impact of meditation, acupunture and other spiritual based healing methods. I can tell you that they are beyond what any pill can provide.

More information about The People's Acupuncuture of Asheville:

The People's Acupuncture of Asheville provides group/community acupuncture treatments on a sliding scale of $ 15-$35. Herbal consultations are a flat rate of $30. All with additional $10 fee for first visit.

Visit their website for contact info/address: http://www.peoplesacupunctureavl.com/default.html

For information on community acupuncture in othere areas, visit the Community Acupuncture Network (CAN) site: http://www.communityacupuncturenetwork.org/

Are You God?

I was part of a Wayne Dyer online event two nights ago and there were many lines that touched me. Most were of a similar nature to things that I have learned or said myself, but there is something about the combined energy that sometimes makes spiritual truths resonate deeper, and this man's voice and gentle soul have a unique way of connecting. I have also been putting great effort into getting re-focused lately and I can feel the shift back into a place of greater connection, so I think these thoughts and ideas came through even stronger to reiterate their importance in this moment, both for me and others.

One part that stood out to me was Wayne quoting someone he had encountered a long time ago who asked, "Are You God?," with the daring answer back to them, "Yes, and the only difference in you and me is that I know it." Our religions have led us to believe this sort of thinking is wrong or even blasphemous, yet Jesus himself tried very hard to convince followers of the very same thing, knowing that its truth would set them free. In his statements, "I and the Father are one," he conveyed this exact idea, wanting us to understand that we are part of God, we ARE God, and we CANNOT be apart from God...only our own thoughts and limitations prevent us from touching our Divinity. Our truest nature is of this Divinity, but we convince ourselves, with the help of others, that we are woefully flawed and unworthy. Our thoughts create our reality, and we spiral into becoming flawed and unworthy, never fulfilling our Divine purpose or our true greatness.

Wayne's message, although not an entirely new one, was "Surrender to God and let it flow". It is as simple as that, yet we fight it our entire lives. Surrendering to God does not mean joining a church, or being present on the pew every Sunday morning. No church is necessaryy, no person or material outside of your true self is required. You have it within you, and have had it all along. Remembering your Divinity is the only step that is needed to step into it and become it - to fix your life and claim your rightful place as a shining light.

Jesus said, "I AM the Light of the world," but he also reminded us that WE ARE each the LIGHT of the world. Remember and believe this and you will become the shining light that you were meant to be.

A New Day

Today is Inauguration day. I have always loved this day, as a renewal, and a tribute to the peaceful transfer of power. Today is a day for us to join together in positive spirit and be hopeful for good things to come. The political climate of the last decade or so has encouraged little of that spirit, seeking instead to attack the opposition with cynicism, but We, the People, can commit to sending our hopes and dreams for a bright future out into the universe collectively. We are now more aware of how thoughts create reality...positive thoughts being more powerful than negative ones....with collective thoughts having exponentially greater effect. It is the same as the Biblical concept of group prayer or the spiritual practice of group meditation. Our thoughts are our prayers, and we can choose to ask for negative or positive things through our thoughts. It matters not the words we say, our thoughts are what is heard and acted upon.

The human soul longs for moments of renewal, and today is a day of regeneration and celebration. Long before November's election, I decided that I would send love and light to each of the candidates, and would send the same positive energy to whomever ultimately won the honor, asking that their highest self take over in leadership, asking they be able to lay down the politics and lead from their soul. I am doing that today. I think many others are doing the same because there is a collective energy of excitement from both those who voted for President Obama and those who did not. Our power and outcomes flow not from Washington or those who are elected to high positions, our true power flows from our collective consciousness. We should not let the backstabbing ways of the Beltway control us as they have for the last several years, but should instead choose to "lead" our country as individuals who long for more, expect more, and send out the positive energy to bring more, being grateful for all that we have.

Celebrate this day as a renewal of our freedom, a testament to how far we have come in our willingness to elect or even consider a black man for president. Celebrate this as a day that we as individuals can claim our place as leaders in spiritual renewal, ushering in our own personal inauguration of a deeper faith. Take your own oath today in a commitment to change your life and the lives of those around you. You can lead just as much as an elected official by your actions and your willingness to consider a greater way and a better world.

Namaste.

Non-Judgment Day Is Near

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said, refreshingly, Non-Judgment Day Is Near. It was a simple statement that immediately touched me, as the simplest of thoughts are often the most profound. That one thought sums up the problems of the world. For most of our lives, those of us in Judeo-Christian society, or any society that is heavily influenced by organized religion, have been reminded that Judgment Day is coming. This reminder has been laden with fear and a desire to get people in line - to control them - to make them succumb to the ways of the religion out of worry that they would not be ready for Judgment Day, or for that final reckoning.

The result is that we are living in supreme judgment every day, with everything around us being about judging, whether it is the churches that measure us by whether or not we do everything in a way that is suitable to them, or simply the community that measures us by what job we do, where we live, what we drive. We judge each other through our prejudices and our reluctance to embrace anything different from our own ways. The message of Christ was for us to remove ourselves from judgment, but we have failed miserably in that endeavor. The very institutions that proclaim to be about Christ are perhaps the worst in following his primary message, but instead continue to judge and heap guilt on those that do not follow their chosen ways.

Imagine how amazing our world could be if we could just refrain from judging those around us and adopt an attitude more in the "live-and-let-live" way of thinking, dishing out love instead of judgment. If we simply toned down our negative thought to a lesser degree and increased our love and acceptance a tiny bit, the difference would be amazing.

If you, as one single person on this planet, looked within your heart and realized that your ways, your thoughts, or your choices might be best for you, but not best for someone else - or that you may not know someone's else situation enough to place your condescending thought upon them - you could make a difference in the world. That one little step could change your perspective and your life, and in turn, change the life of another, and another. Can you find it within yourself to lay down your judgment of others (and even your negative judgement of yourself, also known as guilt). Look at others with a willingness to see something good about them, and look at yourself with the same loving eyes. Make it a resolution for this new year to do this, one day at a time, and see the difference that it makes around you. I think you will be very pleasantly rewarded.

Set your goals on Non-Judgment Day instead of Judgment Day and it will make all the difference in your experience. That is the message of the Christ that has been forgotten and ignored. Seek to live it.

The Faith of Abraham

Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost

Abraham is a Biblical character whose story is well known as a person who was called by God in a way that most of us would have a hard time following. When asked by God to sacrifice his son, Abraham followed and was willing to move forward in a way that most of us would find unimaginable. For most of my life, I thought that was a terrible thing for God to ask, and I questioned the validity or purpose of the story, not understanding why a loving God had ever asked that to begin with, and further, how Abraham could have ever followed. I finally think I understand the faith of Abraham.

I believe that God knew that Abraham had an enormous task ahead of him and would need extreme faith in order to move forward, in order to continue without turning back. The request to sacrifice his son was more of a test than a command. God was allowing Abraham an opportunity to gauge his faith, not so much a test in terms of passing or failing, but a way to measure where he stood in that moment and if he was ready to move forward on his path. I think that we are often asked to do things (or we ask for our miracles), then we are given opportunities to follow in faith...the more faith we show, the more ready we are for our purpose, or to continue on our true path. It is so much easier to just follow society's norms by doing the paint-by-number faith that most of us never step out of that comfort zone to make any choices that require real sacrifice.

It is easy to speak of faith in ordinary ways, but what if God asked you to move in a way that seemed insane to others? If the message was loud and clear enough to make you sure that it was Divine, would you act, or would you deny any act that was outside of the lines? Do you actively ask for opportunities for true service, or are you satisfied with the usual and customary ways of serving - those deeds that allow you to color inside the lines and not upset your life? It is hardly faith or service if you are not challenged, it is merely punching the clock or marking off items on a checklist.

We have become a society that has little tolerance for anything. We attack those who don't believe or behave exactly as we do, all the while smiling and congratulating ourselves for being open-minded. Unfortunately, many in our Christian-based society do it in the name of Jesus, which is ridiculous since he actually taught just the opposite...love and acceptance. I have friends who have recently had experiences with God and Holy Spirit that were very real and incredibly powerful, moving them to tears of joy, but because those experiences varied slightly from the comfortable and controlled doctrine of their church, the events were diminished as not real, or something to be avoided. Some were even attacked for daring to think that it might be God working. Ministers often think that they can decide for us what God should be, but we should not allow them that power.

I will tell you that in my experience working with people on their spiritual experiences or guiding them to finding their own place and their own joy, I have often been witness to profound and magnificent moments in which their lives or perception changed greatly, where they experienced joy and peace in a way that they had never known. One thing that I can say with conviction is that if you sincerely ask God, angels, or the power of the universe to enter your life and guide you, it will occur. The challenge is being willing to listen when it happens, being willing to follow, even when it may seem unusual or against the tide. We tend to like to listen to the things that aren't really challenges, but just more of the same common path.

There is a saying that is often uttered from church pulpits that "God works in mysterious ways," yet I have to laugh at how quickly these same leaders will run from that sentiment when it doesn't fit into their restrained and controlled doctrine, when God works in such a way that it may lead one of their sheep in a different direction than the church desires, or different path than a minister can see. The most important thing that you can do to change your life is to ask for it, then step back and be open to the process, having faith that there may be a bigger picture than you, or other humans, can see in the moment. Serious faith is not just following the easy or the well-traveled path, but being willing to follow a less traveled path and forge a way for others to follow and explore if they so desire.

So how does your faith measure up? Do you take the easy path that has been worn clear by common actions, or do you venture to be the one who will take the road less traveled...the path that may make all the difference...the path that may make your service extraordinary rather than ordinary? I will be honest and say that I sometimes hesitate when asked to take the less traveled road, to blaze a trail that others can follow on. It is scary and without many comfort zones. I try to stay positive and remind myself that each time one of us takes a new path, it opens it up for others, but it is still not always easy. I know that many people are now being called, like Abraham, to live up to their purpose for being here. I hope that one by one we can have the strength to step up and make those changes, empowering each other along the way. And I pray that those of us who cannot meet that challenge will at least be supportive to those who try to do so.

I encourage you to start 2009 with an adventurous and open mind that will allow you the courage to ask for more, and the compassion to refrain from attacking those who venture outside the lines. Perhaps they are simply clearing the path to a brighter future for all.

Embracing Simplicity in a Season of Excess

The holiday season brings on a time that, in our culture, has come to be filled with excess....excess of food, excess of gifts, the need to decorate in such a way that it impresses, the need to have the picture postcard life, or at least the appearance of it. Celebrating abundance is a wonderful exercise, when we are in a place to really understand what abundance truly is. Often, to feel abundance in our souls, we must have loss and emptiness to allow a greater blessing to be showered upon us...very often, a blessing that we could never see in the fog of illusions that we pile upon ourselves.

This past year has been a time of sorting out for me...walking away from comfort zones, from some material possessions, and from much that is familiar to me in such a way that I could be emptied and filled with something greater. The willingness to lose, risk, or walk away was an attempt at demonstrating faith, as it it came to me in no less than a calling that was far greater than myself. There have been moments along the way when I have had to surrender, to verbally tell God and the angels to lead the way to help me fulfill my purpose, affirming that I would follow in surrender, even when I was apprehensive about what might be asked. It has not been easy, yet each step told me that I was on the right path, no matter how hard it was.

The latest such surrender came with the passing of my beloved yellow Labrador retriever, Katie, who developed sudden massive tumors that caused a quick demise. Katie was 14, so I knew it was coming at some point, but putting her down two days before Thanksgiving was not an easy task. It left me empty to the extent that I have just today been able to write about it, and I do so with tears streaming down my face. There have been moments when I feel that I have surrendered too much in this last year or so, in this quest to follow odd curiousities, to take on topics that I would rather not take on, to develop gifts that I had not asked for but felt compelled to develop. I have felt resistance in some form from many of those around me. Yet, in the surrender has come so much joy and a sense of knowing that tells me that the efforts are worth the difficulties.

Jesus talked about surrender when he suggested that giving away all that we have to the poor would make us richer in our souls. Yet we have turned his birth into a time of excess and materialism to such an extent that it is sometimes nauseating. I do not count myself out of that mix, as I know that I have wandered through many Christmas seasons more concerned about getting the decorations up and the gifts purchased than about stopping to understand his real message. Jesus taught that surrender - not to him, but like him - was the true way to abundance and joy - the true way to our soul - and our only path the our Higher Self and to God. Even churches use this celebrated time of Jesus birth for their own agenda, rather than portraying his true message that our path to God (or the universal energy of pure love) is already within us as individuals, if we just go within, surrender, and allow it. It does not require joining anything, does not require following a subscribed set of rules or agenda, does not require any more of us than the willingness to let go of all we know or all that we have been taught and ask for God or Holy Spirit to fill us with truth - to connect us to our true selves and our true purpose.

There is a saying that nature abhors a vacuum. Surrender creates the emptiness - the vacuum - which allows the miracles, the flow of abundance, and the joy to fill our souls. It is not for those who have little true faith, but it is there for any of us willing to look deeper, willing to understand that there may be far more in store for us than our simple minds have been trained to expect. Many times we speak of faith but then are reluctant to ever demonstrate it in any meaningful way. In the spirit of the season, step back and examine your own excesses and just how much you would be willing to surrender to be filled with the ultimate power of the Universe - to be filled with God energy. Make an attempt to live in true faith as Jesus did, and perhaps you will find miracles beyond your greatest imagination.

The Illusion of Freedom

Election day brings us thoughts of freedom, which we tend to connect to laws and rights. In the United States, we have much more political freedom than many other places, yet we still impose shackles on ourselves in our daily lives. Our real freedom lies within us and within our choices.

So often, we trap ourselves in the norms of society and living on the path of the masses...the path that has been shown to us by a restrictive government that doesn't really want us to be self-sufficient, because that would usurp its power to control our choices...the path that has been shown to us by marketing campaigns that make us believe we will be happy if we believe their message or buy their products...the path that has been shown to us by religions that are afraid to look beyond their own restrictions on God because they might lose their own hold on us.

Despite our ability to have freedom in our lives, so many of us have succumbed to the illusion of freedom as a substitute, and have come up empty-handed, have relinquished true freedom of self in exchange for these illusions that don't really satisfy us, because we know deep down that there is more.

So many people are now feeling the call for freedom, the call for more that is real in their lives. I think that has created this energy behind the elections, yet I believe it is also displaced. Our leaders and our government would never guide us to true freedom, because so many of the leaders, in order to succeed in the game, have sold out to the need to control our thoughts with their sound bites, the need to have us dependant upon them for our solutions. The only way we can have true freedom is to go within ourselves to find our own souls, our own purpose for being here right now. It takes more than a bumper sticker or a yard sign or an "I voted" sticker to change our lives or our outcomes. We need to get real in our lives and be willing to make necessary changes to find our purpose, and therefore our true freedom. It is an important time in humanity's course, and one in which we can change the world. I believe each of us has a role to play, and the important roles will not be from elected officials, the corporate marketers, or the religious heiarchy; rather, they will be played by ordinary individuals who choose to step out of the ordinary and dare to be extraordinary.

This message will strike a chord in some who read it, who will know deep inside that they have more to do in this life and that this is a call to do it. If you have that feeling, consider it a wake up call, follow it, and do your part to change the world by living a more real life - one that dares to acknowledge the power that lies within each of us as individuals. Dare to be your true and magnificent self. Dare to know that you have the power of God's creative force within you. This is your real freedom, and it is time to claim it.

Embracing Chaos

We are in the midst of chaotic times, a tumultous energy that leaves many feeling scared or uneasy. On the surface, this may seem like a bad thing, but these are occurrences that we should actually embrace, as chaos is a powerful tool for cleaning up and clearing. Just as a storm in nature has a cleansing quality after a buildup, a storm in our lives can be a necessary element to allow change.

Consider the current crisis in the financial world. On the surface, we just want it to be fixed and keep things propped up so that we do not endure pain or loss, but the reality is that much of our ecomony has become a facade hiding irrational behavior. We have seen it time and again, and have come to expect that when these corrections occur, someone should fix it or make it right. In the 1990's we had the false wealth of the dot coms that made many multimillionaires almost overnight. More recently, through rapidly rising real estate values, this newfound wealth progressed to the everyday person, who saw net worth climb very quickly as their homes gained value. Had that been left alone, most people would be in a good position right now, but our tendencies toward excess made many tap into equity to such an extent that any decline in value would leave them in a precarious situation, or possibly even bankrupt.

Through our politicians and leaders, who are reluctant to stress personal empowerment or personal responsibility, knowing that will not win them votes from the masses, we have made this a Wall Street/Banking Industry problem alone, pretending that the individual citizens had no play in this fiasco. And while there was and is corruption on Wall Street, individual greed played a role in the problem as well. It is very easy to assume that those bad big shots in the banking industry pushed their products on poor, unsuspecting souls who didn't understand anything about interest rates, yet that is hardly the reality. I personally know quite a few very well educated and successful individuals who bought into risky mortgages such as interest-only, and loans for more than the value of their homes. Simple logic says that you might have to pay the piper eventually. The temptation to tap equity for the new Mercedes, the vacation home, the motor home or an extensive remodel was too great, so logic was thrown to the wind. A simple glance around at our common societal lifestyles, which have become full of "stuff" and living on credit cards, will tell you that we have let consumerism take over our lives in many ways.

If we look deeper at this financial phenomenon, it becomes clear that we have attempted to fill voids in our lives - in our very souls - with personal belongings, thinking that those ecoutrements would brighten our lives and make us happier. Yet if you feel the energy of the masses, it is less than happy and fulfilled, and more likely just cluttered by junk. This "storm" in the financial world allows us a tremendous opportunity to assess and cleanse our own lives, going deeper beyond things and into our selves. Simplifying our lives can be the greatest thing that has happened to us in a long time, both as individuals and collectively.

Rather than expecting bailouts to fix our every problem and mend our every pain, perhaps we should each look at our own lives and attempt to simplify, to live more within our means and find joy in feelings rather than possessions. In doing so as individuals, we will empower others to do the same...to be willing step away from the peer pressure that tells us we need to have more status symbols and choose instead to get real, get simple. Think about your own life, your own finances, and how you can apply more simplicity to your way of doing things. You may open the door to enhancing your own existence, both financially and spiritually, as well as opening the door for someone else to do the same. Each of us has something to offer, and collectively we have much to offer. Empower your own life, and you will empower others in the process.

Baseball, Apple Pie....and The Healing Island

My college age sons follow sports avidly. I enjoy sports myself, but I find myself following a little more closely because of their keen interest - it allows me a common ground that mothers sometimes lose with their sons. Athletics and sporting events have a way of inspiring us, of entertaining the masses on a level that few other things can. Many criticize this pre-occupation, but I understand it on a deeper level, a more spiritual acceptance, because I see that sports competition is one of the few places in our society that make us remember our ability for greatness. And although many negatives have arisen in sports, we can still draw inspiration from among those ranks. The stories of sports heroes uplift our souls because they remind us that we have a spark within. Sometimes they inspire us to find our own spark and ignite it -whether it be in physical or sporting competition, or in another area where we can identify our own passion.

Knowing the impact that sports figures can have, I was very pleased to see a recent story about Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker, who has come to rely on a special "healing island" in Hawaii for spiritual energy and enhancing his faith. Baker learned of this island when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and made an immediate visit there, knowing that he would be all right. According to the article, it had such an impact the he has returned there regularly ever since.

What encourages me most about this story is that if we are able to accept such possibilities into the mainstream, we will return to understanding the innate healing abilities and gifts within us. We will return to understanding that faith, energy balance, and natural approaches can be the key to overcoming our obstacles both physical and emotional. To have a prominent figure from something as mainstream as baseball, America's pastime, can help usher these thoughts into the mainstream. There are many locations on our earth that the ancients knew had tremendous healing energy. It would be amazing if we would re-visit and reconsider those options. Here is an excerpt of a recent article about Baker's visits to the islands (by Sportswriter Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati Enquirer):

The Renaissance manager of the Cincinnati Reds returns to northern California to tend his grapes (petit syrah) and his family. At some point, he will venture for two weeks to the Hawaiian Islands, as he has every year for at least a decade. Dusty Baker will go to the Lawai Valley on the south shore of Kauai, where he says he will "walk, think and pray."

...Baker first went to Lawai six years ago. He'd just been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Surgery was scheduled for two days after his return. On the flight to Honolulu, Baker read of "the healing island," and its epicenter, Lawai."

Let's change our plans," he said to his wife.

As Baker relays the story, he hands me a package of note cards. Each features a photo of the "Light of Lawai," an unaltered image of rainbow sunlight radiating through the trees. Lawai is where "first Hawaiians and then Asians built their sanctuaries of healing and hope," is what is written on the card.

"I went there and I knew I'd be all right,'' Baker says. "Been there 10 or 20 times since, mostly just me, to pray and think and give thanks to still being here. Heavy place."

How refreshing that this person relied on his gut to visit such a place, that he could recognize its power, and be willing to share the experience. For information about other ancient sites known for their healing (some much closer than Hawaii), see my blog post from June 28, 2008 on this site. Our embracing these energies can be an avenue to help change our lives and the world.