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.

Getting Real

When was the last time you were real in your life? By "real", I mean when is the last time you lived from your heart instead of your brain, when is the last time that you lived in a vibration of joy rather than a vibration of burden? One of the things that I have noticed since my own awakening and heightened sensitivity is how so many people have a vibration of burden and heaviness rather than joy. Often, the lowest or heaviest vibration is from those who appear to have it all together on the outside, or who profess faith and love, yet don't give off that vibe at all. If you are vibrating outside of joy, you cannot be your greatest self, and you cannot be in alignment with God - the powerful life energy that creates abundance and miracles.

How do we get real in our lives? I believe the first step is to surrender to your truth..to ask for more, to ask for your purpose...to be willing to accept it when it comes and willing to throw away old ideas for new and brighter ones. We were not created to be dependant and miserable souls, we were created to experience love, laughter, joy, and abundance. In experiencing these high vibrational emotions, we magnify them. Our misery is our own making, our own hell, our own illusion of shortcomings.

The last several years have brought us many tools to reach our highest selves and reclaim that elation, but many still run from any new idea without even considering the possibilities that might lie within. Books like The Secret, The Moses Code, A New Earth, and many others have provided many with tools that have remarkably transformed their lives, yet others look on in anger or skepticism without even daring to investigate their message. For others like me who have a heightened sensitivity to "vibes", it can be painful to feel how low the world's vibration is...and sometimes the lowest vibration comes from those people or those places where you would expect it to be the highest, yet it is nothing but a mask for their real disconnect.

I subscribe to Neale Donald Walsch's email messages. Just now, while composing this post about getting real, a message came in from him regarding "truth":

I believe God wants you to know...that truth spoken is a gift given. Truth withheld is more than a gift denied, it is an arrow aimed at the heart.

It has been said that "the truth hurts," but the exact opposite is true. No truth is too hurtful , and no lie is harmless. Because every truth opens your heart to another, and every lie separates it.

Yet know this: The way you say your truth can be hurtful.
So speak your truth, but soothe your words with peace.

You will not have to think but a second to know exactly
why you received this message today.

For those who communicate with Spirit in direct ways (be it Angels, Holy Spirit, God, or other heavenly guidance), it is quite common to have these kinds of synchronistic thoughts or ideas. I know that it is not coincidence that I receive this email message from Neale Donald Walsch at the very time that I was creating similar message regarding truth and daring to get real in our lives. We have gotten so far away from truth that we rarely recognize it, or we come to believe that the only lies that exist are verbal ones. Yet, the harshest and cruelest of lies are those that we live but do not dare to utter, the lies that we often get into by living and doing the things we are told to do rather than seeking our own truth or passion that lies in our soul.

Think about your life and ask yourself if you are being real...if if you are living in truth or living a masquerade that is not authentic. If your life does not have joy on a daily basis, then you are not resonating with your truth or your purpose, or at least not staying in that truth. Many of us are feeling a longing in our souls at this point in time for a reason, because it is a time for our re-awakening to our truth and our connection with God and Spirit. But it requires that we have the courage to get real. Find the courage to get real and to examine new thoughts, and you will not only find your joy, you will help others find their joy simply by being around you.

Click here for Neale Donald Walsch's site or to subscribe to his messages.

We Are All Called

I often have moments where I pick up a book or turn on the television or radio to immediately see or hear one line that stands out and makes me think, or that seems to reiterate a message that I have been hearing or feeling. Recently, I turned on the television and it happened to be on a channel showing the movie, Evan Almighty, a comedy about a modern day man who is called by God, in rather humorous ways, to build an ark. I had seen the movie about a year ago and loved it because some of his "callings" were strikingly similar to some things that had happened to me when I felt this strong calling to go down a new spiritual path, to do things that were very different from the norm of those around me...to do things that some around me might label as crazy.

When I turned on the television that day, it was in a part of the movie where a reporter was asking Evan, in a condescending way, if he felt that he had been called by God. Evan responded that we are all called by God. That feeling resonated deeply with me, because I have felt that same sentiment very strongly, and increasingly so lately...that we are being called right now to do something extraordinary to change the world in profound ways. I turned off the television after this brief segment, knowing that I had heard what was meant for me to hear in that moment. That idea of each of us being called stayed in my head for over a week as I reflected on its implications. I do feel that we are all called by God, and going even further, that the calls are getting stronger and stronger right now at this moment in time. We have an opportunity to truly change the world, change the collective consciousness, change the earth's energy to a more positive one that creates miracles, returns us to peace and reminds us of our own goodness.

At this time, we are all being called to rise up and make the world a better place, to open our hearts to a greater God than our small minds and our controlled society has allowed. This calling may manifest itself in ways that make us very uneasy, asking us to put aside all that we know in order to usher in a our true greatness. Some will listen to the call and step up to it, but many will ignore it. The more of us who answer the call, the easier it will be for others to do the same. The more we ignore, the more trapped we will become in our illusions.

If you are feeling called toward new things and new beginnings, or being called to do away with old ways that aren't allowing you to be the greatness that God made you to be, that the Universe needs you to be...please heed the the invitation. Lay down your routines or your carefully constructed and planned life for a moment and listen to the call, listen to the voice within yourself that knows you are here to do more. Dare to answer the call. Your life, and the world, will be better for it.

Elections 2008

Last night I watched the Democratic National Convention. Watching the conventions for both parties is something that have always done and always enjoyed, but this year it lacked its luster, so far. Politics in general has been less important to me over the last couple of years, since I had experiences that have transformed my inner vision to a place of seeing and feeling truth, or what is important. Perhaps that is because there is little truth in politics. I'm not being cynical here, because I don't believe that candidates, at heart, set out to lie or manipulate, but I believe that government and power pull leaders from their inner soul and make them machines. We criticize politicians for this behavior, for their slick marketing ploys, but we buy them - hook, line, and sinker. We fall into the lull of their canned rhetoric and repeat the carefully crafted buzzwords designed to put down opponents...designed to make us unthinking, dependent sheep.

For this election, I do not yet know who I am voting for. And I actually think that both candidates, if they don't loose themselves too much in the process (which may already be too late), could bring something valuable to the table. Each has a story that can be inspiring, if we let go of our need to have "our guy" from "our party" as the winner, if we let go of attacking the winner if he happens not to be our particular choice. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with the one in charge, and in fact, it is an important part of our process; but if we are honest, most of us will admit that sometimes we disagree simply because the person isn't our candidate. I have decided for this election that I will try to be fair and open minded, sending peace and light to both candidates, and certainly to the winner, whomever that might be. In our need to attack the opposition and our eagerness to see them fail, we are essentially hoping for the failure of our own country. And since our country has the capacity to contribute such great change to the world, and has done that in so many ways, in hoping for our failure we are hoping for the failure of the world.

What strikes me as more important to my new apolitical tone, however, is how we have become a society that expects an outside fix for our every problem or need. We think our health issues can be solved by free healthcare for all - yet we don't take the steps to keep our own bodies healthy - we don't take responsibility to prevent our own need for care, we just expect that it should be provided to us at will. Medical needs are not the only area in which we expect too much to be done for us, while overlooking our own capabilities to do for ourselves. We give up our independence and our independent thought for the safety net of a massive government machine, for the security of belonging to a group, for the comfort of fitting into norms. My biggest complaint about politicians and government is that so few really try to empower individuals. Rather, they try to own us through their programs and policies - buying our votes - sacrificing our real individual freedom for a payoff of some form, be it a healthcare package, a tax cut for ourselves, a tax hike on someone else, or many other forms of "me-ism."

If we learn to step outside of ourselves, outside of society's prescribed ways, we can generate such a collective energy that our problems will begin to disappear. Our leaders like the problems, because the problems keep us beholden to them, and give them something to attack their opponents about. But if we, as individuals, begin to see our strengths and abilities rather than our vulnerabilities, it can change the collective consciousness and the power of the whole. Changing the world is not about who is elected to high office...it is about what each of us as individuals do to bring about change, and real change requires that we behave differently, that we think differently than we have before. It requires that we dare to step up and be great, that we be different and better than before, that we embrace new ideas instead of clinging to the old.

Be conscious of your reactions during this election season. Don't give away your independent thought. Step back and try to see things not for Democrat or Republican (as they both are machines of control) but through your own eyes, through your own heart. If you ask to be shown truth and see with more clarity, and if you are willing to let go of your pre-conceived or pre-programmed thoughts, you will begin to get more clarity. And you will see that the answers to our problems, individually and collectively, lie within us and our willingness to change.

Un-Asked-For Prayers

We often hear that unanswered prayers are just a blessing from God, and I suppose that might sometimes be the case. However, in my studies of manifestation and the many miracles that are transforming lives simply because people are beginning to understand to expect more from life, and more from God, I have come to believe that that unanswered prayers are more often things that we never truly believe will occur. We ask for it, but then quickly retreat to "let God's will be done" and don't really believe that we should have a right to ask for the occurence. Our lack of faith may be why these prayers go unanswered.

So what is God's will? I believe God's will is to co-create our lives with us, which is the concept of free will. I don't believe he decides what is best for us; rather, that he allows us to live the lives we choose (or chose before we came here) and provides us with the circumstances to do so. Sometimes we have to be provided with additional circumstances or pushes, because we miss opportunities along the way, or because we did not believe enough to create the joy that was there for our taking.

There are so many incredible things happening with the power of thought, the power of positive expectations...the power of embracing our own role as creators with God. If we were made in God's image, then we can and should create alongside him. To leave everything up to "God's will" is somewhat of a cop-out, and I think that many people use it as a crutch so that they aren't really accountable for what comes their way, not accountable for creating their own realities. It is the Un-Asked-For prayers that we should be concerned with, for in the un-asking, our prayers often go unanswered, and miracles or gifts that could or should be ours are never realized.

When I followed the ideas of manifestation and asked for my purpose and Diving plan to be revealed to me, it came in full force almost immediately. Had I never asked, I might never have been reconnected to the gifts that had been available all along. I might never have realized my purpose of connecting others in a more powerful way, of being a messenger of thoughts that may lead others to a new and brighter way of thinking.

If you have not ventured into the ideas of manifestation, there are many good books and DVDs to guide you. The Secret was the primer, and provides a good foundation for the idea of manifestion and postive thought, and while it had somewhat of a materialistic tone to it, it provided a simple way for many to warm up to the idea of manifestation and see results. The Moses Code takes it to a more spiritual level, and is an excellent tool. I would encourage you to both read and watch the DVD for either or both of these, as they can provide a simple step into changing your life dramatically. Esther and Jerry Hicks' work with the law of attractions is slightly more indepth, and has provided a transformational path for many.

So, if you are ready for a more complete and fulfilling life, begin to practice the process of manifestation. It will change your life, and very possibly, the lives of others as well.

...Ask, and it shall be given.

Click here for the official website of The Secret.
Click here for the official website of The Moses Code.
Click here for the Abraham-Hicks Laws of Attraction site.

Living in Faith

I would like to tell you about a young woman named Tricia that I have worked with and will continue to work with in her healing process. Tricia has been diagnosed with cancer and has chosen (under much criticism) to deal with this in her own spiritual way - finding the real root of the problem and healing that, as opposed to following the traditional medical route. I respect that choice and will do what I can to assist her in re-discovering her beautiful soul to achieve her goal, because I know that it is possible to heal oneself in that manner (Louise Hay's story, told in the recent DVD, "You Can Heal Your Life" is a wonderful example of this...see link at end of post).

Tricia has already survived much longer than the prognosis would have indicated, as she was told that she would be dead by now if she didn't seek immediate invasive procedures. Her faith and courage is a blessing to me, and I totally believe that God and the angels look down on her as a shining example of what faith is all about...the courage to follow one's own convictions and the ability/willingness to let go of fear in doing so. The following is Tricia's "testimonial" about her angel experience, as well as the peace she received from connecting with angels and spirit. Her session was powerful not only for her, but for me, as it was a 3-hour "moment" with angels and Divine messengers that blessed both of us in undeniable ways.

Here is Tricia's recount:
I was diagnosed with two types of cancer in 2007 and was told by several doctors if I didn’t get a hysterectomy ASAP I would die. I decided there had to be another way. Over the past 13 months, I’ve embraced several alternative treatments- homeopathy, Reiki, a vegetarian diet, acupuncture, herbs, etc. Even though I believe I’m making the right choices for me, at some point on my journey I felt as if I needed additional guidance and direction. When my Reiki practitioner, Brad Dixon, told me about Sherri and her Manifestation with Angels Session, I knew she was an answer to a prayer. My Angels session with Sherri was absolutely amazing. Sherri knew things that she had no way of knowing other than receiving the information from the Angels. I know how important it is to “cut the cord” with people who are toxic (even if they are a family member) to bring healing back into my life. I was really amazed when she described someone in my life to a T and told me the cord connecting me with this person was wrapped around my body/neck (squeezing the life out of me.) I knew exactly who she was talking about. We asked Archangel Michael to cut the cord immediately. I received so much valuable information from her regarding not only my present and past, but also a glimpse into what the future holds for me. After our session ended, I felt so relaxed and at peace, I went home and slept for eight hours without waking up. I’m really looking forward to our next session. The messages I received from the Angels through Sherri completely put me at ease with all of the decisions I’ve made concerning my health. I know now that I’m going in the right direction to be completely well again.

I know that some will read her testimonial and immediately question its validity, yet Tricia knows of its truth. When we reach a place of knowing rather than proving, we are on our way home to God. Many of us talk about faith, yet few of us ever truly demonstrate it in real ways. It is interesting to me that many of those who criticized Tricia most harshly for believing there could be another way to respond to this disease were those who professed strong Christian faith. It is one thing to tell someone to weigh all of their options and consider the medical route, it is another to chastise them for making their own choice and having the faith to believe that miracles happen.

One of the things I noticed most about Tricia is that she does have conviction and peace about her decision and any possible outcome. In that sense, she has already achieved mastery, by knowing that we are one with God, the Universe, and each other - and understanding that illness or other struggles cannot take eternal life from us...that is already within us. Like Jesus, all of the great masters have communicated this sentiment - the idea that our troubles are not real (but just our own hell that we have created in our illusion of inadequacy), and that we can transcend all of the illusions and go to a place of inner peace and love whenever we are willing. Our "heaven" lies in the mastery of our fears. Tricia sees the cancer diagnosis as a blessing leading her toward her own greater growth. Like Louise Hay, she sees it as an opportunity rather than a curse. She does not fear it, rather she embraces it as a path toward her soul's ascension and has chosen to spend her time finding and following a better spiritual path, seeking an answer and a cure as to why it is there in the first place. She is not just attacking the symptom of the malady (the tumor),but is trying to find the root of it. It is worth considering that perhaps the reason that cancer tends to be a recurring disease that "you're never really cured from" is because we usually treat it as just tumor rather than seeking to understand the emotional issues that may have given rise to it. Instead of simply attacking the tumor, Tricia is going within and seeking answers as to why it is there in the first place. I am certain that Tricia will bless and teach many souls through her example of living in faith, and without fear. Please send her love and light for her courage to face the unknown with calm serenity.

Click here to link to Louise Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life" movie site & view the preview trailer.

Past Lives, Current Growth

Do you believe in past lives? Up until very recently, that subject has been avoided in our society, because discussing it would either get you mocked for believing in such nonsense or invite disdain from religious groups. The mere mention was enough to raise eyebrows or ignite harsh criticism. I remember how Shirley MacLaine's experiences provided such cocktail party humor back in the 1980's, yet even then I had a feeling that she was on to something.

About 10 years ago, I was given the book, Many Lives, Many Masters, by Dr. Brian Weiss, MD, a renowned psychiatrist then practicing in Miami, FL. Dr. Weiss had, in hypnosis work with a patient, stumbled upon what seemed to be past lives that she had experienced and was recalling very vividly, including fluently speaking foreign languages to which she had had no prior exposure. He was very intrigued by what seemed extremely real. But as a medical scientist, he had doubts that needed to be resolved, so he set out to investigate if any of the dates and facts that she had revealed during her hypnosis could be validated or proven. To his astonishment, specific instances that she had spoken of, and pertinent details that she could not have had knowledge of, were indeed provable. Dr. Weiss also noticed how this patient's emotional difficulties, for which she had been in years of therapy, started to dissolve as they delved into her past lives and made the correlation with her current problems. By simply revisting and seeing her repeated patterns, she could see what she was failing to learn and could change the behavior and dissolve recurring karma.

Although he was reluctant to "come out of the closet" with this information, fearing that his highly respected reputation in the medical community would be lost and his stature forever diminished, Dr. Weiss began perfecting and using this process of venturing into past lives for other patients, and became increasingly amazed at how quickly their problems resolved through past life regression and analysis. He became a pioneer for this type of therapy, in the medical community as well as the spiritual community, and is a multiple times best selling author with Hay House Publishing. His lectures are before packed audiences consisting of medical professionals as well as lay persons.

As I recall, much of the book talks about how we all have that ability to connect with our soul and our past, but we quickly forget it in this society that downplays it so strongly. Children often speak to spirit when they are young, as they remember the connection until they are told otherwise. Shortly after reading his book, my own young son, then about age 9, randomly said to me while we were driving to soccer practice, "Mommy, remember how before you're born they brainwash you before you come back?..." I was both astonished and mesmerized by this comment, and calmly asked him about what he meant. Apparently, he had heard the term "brainwash" and assumed that it meant cleaning your brain, because when I asked him to explain, he said, "You know, when they clean your brain so that you're ready to come back again to a new life." We had an open and free discussion about his thoughts and what he remembered, and I was careful to make sure that I did not say anything that would discourage him about the topic, as I knew that his recalling this at that point in time, when I had just read this book, was no accident. He was letting me know that it was very real, and that he was a special soul that could remember more than most and was connected more than most.

Denise Lynn, another Hay House author and spiritual teacher, has also done tremendous work in the area of past life regression and has witnessed physical illnesses, pain ailments, and emotional scars heal instantaneously in many subjects. Her story includes a spontenous opening to spiritual gifts after being victim of a violent attack that left her battered and near death. In that moment, she only saw her attacker in love and compassion, and in doing so, she was opened to tremendous gifts and has helped many on her journey.

What I find interesting about this topic is that it is so ignored by so much of society, and certainly so in most religious communities. And yet, to me, this is something we should celebrate and promote because it confirms the idea of eternal life! It may be ignored simply because it does not fit the tight boundaries of "heaven or hell" or the idea that you only get eternal life if you follow church rules, but what an incredible affirmation that we do indeed have eternal life!

Because of the spiritual experiences that I have had myself and those that I am honored to experience with others, I personally feel that we create our own hell in each experience by forgetting that life is eternal no matter what, by forgettnig that we are one with God and with each other, by forgetting to love and be loved unconditionally. That is the battle that creates our pain and our difficulties. It is the hell on earth that traps us in feelings of unworthiness... those feelings of imprisonment that we can't escape until we remember our goodness and perfection.

Just as most of the posts on this blog ask you to open your mind, this time I ask you to open your mind to the idea of past lives. There is much to gain from the knowledge and experiences there, as more and more evidence suggests. Work by Dr. Weiss, Denise Linn, and others in this area is remarkable.

Click here for Brian Weiss's site.
Click here for Denise Linn's site.

Note: In the Atlanta area, I can recommend Brad Dixon for hypnotherapy, including past life regression. (Brad also combines hypnotherapy with Reiki, with powerful results. This process has helped me very much in my own journey).
Click here for Brad's website/contact info.

Celebrating 45...

Today is my 45th birthday...Yea me! It has become common, almost customary, in our society to detest our birthday once we reach a "certain age" of maturity. Some shudder at the mention of age, and quickly change the subject or move to negative comments about gravity, wrinkles, "it ain't what it used to be", and regret for youth gone by. And although I have never been one to obsess over age or hide my age, our society has established long held beliefs about aging being a bad thing, particularly for women.

Knowing that our thoughts create our reality, and now even having scientific evidence to prove the effect of thoughts on matter, it is no surprise that as we age, we do begin to look and feel tired and worn. We see ourselves as less than we used to be, instead of more than we have ever been. Consequently, we get a product that is less than what it used to be...our thoughts produce our reality.

A year and a half ago, when I had a suddenly accelerated spiritual transformation, complete with a "life-before-my-eyes" experience where I touched the Divine momentarily and was left forever changed, I moved into a place of gratitude and one in which I saw my perfection rather than my flaws....my inner perfection as well as my outer perfection. I began to look in the mirror and see light and goodness, rather than glaring imperfections. Touching God will do that to you - because God only sees our goodness, and when we are called up to him, he points it out with emphatic clarity. I believe that anyone who has truly touched God will have joy about them, and no matter what hardships set them back momentarily, will quickly rebound with that spirit and joy. Looking at those around me, it is obvious that many of us are woefully disconnected from that Source of love and light, often the most disconnected are those who think they are living in God's way, yet their heavy energy belies their pretense.

Since that life altering moment, the changes within my soul have been remarkable, with each step of acceptance and celebration of myself bringing new and powerful gifts that I still find hard to believe. The changes in my physical self have been noticeable as well. I immediately transformed my thoughts to love and acceptance, and my body transformed in the process. Almost effortlessly, I had energy to exercise regularly, the desire to eat more healthfully, and a glow over me that was noticeable to all around me. Pains and health issues began to dissolve away. It is that one step of acceptance and loving ourselves, knowing that we are loved unconditionally just as we are, that can transform us both inside and outside, that allows us to come into our own magnificence and finally be all that we came here to be.

If there is one thing that you can do for your body's health and your soul's evolution, it is to move to a space of self love...have your own "Yea me!" moments. That is a very hard step for many of us, because we have been conditioned to think that this is conceited or arrogant, yet if we do not love ourselves, we are not loving and appreciating the gifts that have been bestowed upon us. Look in your mirror and find one thing that you love about your appearance, declare it outloud, believe it. Once you get comfortable doing this, find another thing, and then another. When you have moments where you feel pulled back into that negative image, as we all do, keep finding the things to celebrate. See and accept your outer goodness as well as your inner goodness.

Then expect a transformation that will make you blossom before your own eyes. Expect others to see you in a new and brighter light and gain from the shining reflection that you exude. Expect yourself to begin to see others with new eyes, to see their perfection. Expect miracles from your change in perception. I assure you that miracles will be there in abundance.

The Space Between

Several months ago, when I was well into the spiritual transformation that opened up so many gifts in me, I started hearing the song "The Space Between" by the Dave Matthews Band. I do not listen to the radio much, usually only in my car, which is not very often. That song was on several times in a row when I got in my car, enough to let me know that it was more than coincidence. One passage kept coming into my head at random times, even while dreaming. That part of the song was,

The Space Between
What's wrong and right
Is where you'll find me hiding, waiting for you

I could not get those lines out of my head. This went on for a few days, then one morning when the song came into my head, I also had the sudden thought to revisit some things I had read online, excerpts from "The God Code" by Gregg Braden. I had gone through moments where I was fascinated by this "sacred geometry" and "sacred numbers" that suggest a deeper code and meaning to scriptures and numerology, as if God communicates with us through these symbols with deeply embedded messages there at our fingertips if we dare to unravel them. One night, I had gotten consumed by this information and somehow, on some level, I understood it and knew that it was true. So suddenly, I thought about this "God Code" again and went to my computer.

A few minutes later, in what I call my "attention deficit" state of creativity, I got up and started pacing around the house, thinking deeply. From a stack of books in my living room, one book title jumped out at me from across the room..."The Divine Matrix"...by Gregg Braden...the same person who had written "The God Code" that had entranced me so. I had previously picked up "The Divine Matrix" and had no connection to it. I had felt that it was over my head with the scientific language so I had not picked it up again until that moment when it seemed to scream out at me from across the room.

When I noticed that it was by the same author as the "The God Code" which I had just moments earlier had some strange and sudden desire to look up again, I knew that this was a moment of being led down a trail to something important, just as I had been many times over the last year and a half of transformation. I opened "The Divine Matrix" and the title of the first chapter was "The Space Between." This gave me chills, as I felt the presence of Divinity and Holy Spirt in some form, leading me to this piece of information that was important for me to hear at that moment. Time stopped as I flipped through this book, rapidly absorbing its message. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly), the book which had previously seemed over my head suddenly made perfect sense to me. I was in the space of knowing, which only comes from following and allowing, from surrendering to a higher power and a higher knowledge.

As I read the book, I understood that there is an emptiness, a place between matter, that contains a universal energy with power beyond words. Scientist see this in an atom, where the power from the tiniest of things is immense if properly tapped. I feel it in experiences that I can only describe as Divine connection. Those lyrics of the song came through my head again, "The Space Between...What's wrong and right..Is where you'll find me hiding, waiting for you" and I knew in that instant that God (that universal life energy by whatever name we call it) lies between what we have set up as wrong and right. When we can let go of our strict ideas of good and bad and live in more loving acceptance, we will find God. It is the concept of laying down judgement, what Jesus and other masters have tried so hard to teach, that leads us to God, where we can tap into that universal power and heal ourselves, heal others. In finding that space between wrong and right, we can find the healing power of unconditional love. The problem is that we are so burdened by the need to label things as being good or bad, especially where God is concerned, that we cannot get to that space where He resides. Our need to be right keeps us from experiencing God's magificence in its fullest glory, keeps us from experiencing our own magnificence.

This trail of synchronicities that I followed is but one of many that happen to me regularly as I seek to understand God in a higher way. We have been told "Seek and ye shall find," and I know that this is true, yet so few of us truly seek anything beyond the norm, instead running from any idea that is outside or our comfortably crafted zones. In fact, we label those who do seek more as crazy, or worse, we attack them for suggesting that there is more. But there is a space between wrong and right that can lead you to your Higher Self where God resides, if you have the courage to seek it. In that willingness to surrender everything we have ever thought about God, we can ask Him to show himself to us in a truer way, a way that is real to us. Angels rejoice each time one of us reaches the space between, for they, along with all the spirits in heaven, are awaiting our return home.

(For more about Gregg Braden's revolutionary work uniting science with God and spirituality, visit his website through the link at right).

Trapped In the Words

When I was about 12 years old, there was a couple at church who could be described as misfits. The man was very short and likely fell into the dwarf category, while the woman was not only very short and dwarf-like, but was also deaf & mute, with cleft pallet deformities from birth. I made quick friends with this woman, seeing through the eyes of a child, where outer appearance is less important than a person's inner light. And although she could hardly utter words at all, she taught me sign language and we were able to communicate very well. Unfortunately, this couple moved shortly after that, and I did not have a means to continue practicing sign language, but I still remember how it was a language of feeling rather than just words. I could communicate so well with her and she with me because we were not only forming words and letters with our hands, we were connecting energetically and feeling the language.

I realize now that my gift to communicate and feel intuitively was already alive even then, I was just not aware of it. I also know that our world is in the process of moving back to that energectic communication, and it is a place in which we can more powerfully and directly connect with God and Spirit. It will be a time where we live and feel truth, within ourselves and toward each other. That makes some people uneasy, because we seldom live our real truth in this world in which there are so many prescribed methods for what we are supposed to do and how we are supposed to think, but it will be a transition that changes the world and brings us to higher truth, and therefore real love.

Sanskrit is an ancient language that uses words/symbols to represent concepts rather than single words. In our very literal language of English, deep concepts require many words, and even with an abundance of words it is often difficult to sum up a simple sanskrit meaning accurately or completely. In my practice and study of Reiki, I have realized that the usage of the sanskrit symbols scares some people, as they ask, "What do the symbols mean?" or they fear that by having Reiki done that they are secretly worshipping something not of God through those symbols. However, we should remember that these sanskrit concepts are more of the language of Jesus than our current English translations of his words (or part of his words), representing peace and oneness with God, love, our fellow human beings, and the Universe.

Many people like to quote the Bible as not only the word of God, but the only word of God, as if God would have only spoken during that one period and then abandoned us for the rest of eternity, until the end of time. I find that idea ludicrous, not only because I do not believe God would abandon us, and my own communication with God confirms to me that He/She wants to communicate to us and through us to make our lives better and help us return to Eden. I also find that idea ludicrous and even laughable because our filtered and excessively translated English Bible does not even effectively represent the variety of meanings that the original sanskrit language conveyed, where feeling and personal interpretation was paramount. (For that matter, it does not even call Jesus by his real earthly name, Yeshua...How's that for accuracy?!). We get so trapped in debating literal words that we do not allow the feelings behind those words, the feelings that were lost in translation...and feeling is the energy of miracles.

If you take the time to study the sanskrit meanings of original passages, and how those interpretations were extremely limited by the English translations, you will understand that the Bible is woefully incomplete in its message, not to mention that there are over 50 gospels that the church and powers-that-be hid for almost 2000 years, sometimes killing to destroy those scriptures that could possibly give us deeper insight into the life and words of Jesus, a truer meaning of his message. It is no coincidence that so many people are being opened up to a deeper spirituality and being introduced to healing gifts in the last 10 years, since those documents (which had been found over 50 years earlier but kept sealed) were made publicly available, only after much pressure from a persistent public that knew there must be valuable information therein.

Those of us who truly want to know God more deeply should take the time to study these hidden gospels as well as words from new messengers who may have lessons from God, or better interpretations of previous ones. It does not hurt to read and consider alternate opinions to see what resonates with us - down in our soul, rather than just in the logic of our brain and its trained thoughts. Some get offended by the suggestion of reading the other gospels or reading new materials to challenge the old. If you are frightened or reluctant to do so or angered at the suggestion, I would ask that you consider why it brings up such negative and controlling emotions in you. If we never question what has been put before us, we are not really using the intelligence that we have been blessed with. If we never step outside of the limitations we perceive and allow ourselves to believe that there is something much more and much better, then we are not demonstrating the mustard seed of faith that we so often speak of, but are merely talking about it and pretending to have it rather than living it. True faith always expects a brighter world, and always expects that God is more than our small minds and limiting beliefs have diminshed him to, just as we are more than our small minds and trained thoughts have diminshed us to.

The links to the right of the page will lead you to some reading possibilities, and other posts in this blog will give you suggestions as well. Any comments on things that you read are very welcome. I have also posted links to blogs by some of my personal friends who are involved in healing arts, and who inspire me by their light and commitment.

Why Do We Have Angels?

Because of my connections to angels and angelic messages, I have been asked by a few curious people why we have angels and what are their purpose. Most people do not understand that angels are there to help us and serve us, but unless it is a critical situation about our lives or our Divine plan, where we have given them advance permission to intervene, they cannot step in to help us unless we ask. We have free will, and they are not able to intervene in our choices unless we seek their help.

Some of my friends have also asked why we would need angels if we have God. That is a reasonable question, especially given that our religions have diminshed angels and painted a picture where the idea of turning to any other sources for anything is somehow diminishing God, or "putting other gods before Him". Our religions only want us to seek God through them. We are taught not to seek in other avenues, which is unfortunate because angels offer us a path to God, helping us along our journey to find our wholeness, so that we can truly be one with God in a deeper, more personal way.

In the year AD 745, the Catholic Church, under Pope Zachary, became concerned that the public was connecting too much with angels and relying on them for their connection to God. Obviously, if congregants connect with God through angels, it diminshes the need for the church, so Pope Zachary took steps to extinguish the importance of angels. In particular, he demoted Archangel Uriel and called together a council which denounced all the angels who were not specifically named in the chosen scriptures. Archangel Uriel, whose name means "Light of God" and who is considered by many to perhaps be the angel closest to God, was denounced from the church. In some cases, artwork of Archangel Uriel was removed from churches following this denouncement. It was the church's fear of losing its own importance and stature, its own ego needs, that cut angels out of our lives, or at least diminshed their acceptance in the public's eyes.

And while Protestant Churches may not have been responsible for such a plotted extinction, none has brought angels back into their full glory or purpose. Surveys indicate that over 80% of people (of all religions) believe in angels and many have had actual experiences with angels, yet we still do not communicate with them, listen to them, or allow them to help us see from a higher perspective as much as we should. Those who talk to angels often do so quietly without telling anyone, because of fear of being mocked or challenged.

I see angels as an aspect of the Divine. The presence of God is so pure, strong, and of high frequency that we are not prepared to connect with it in its full glory for extended lengths of time. Angels are each elements of that pure force, allowing us a way to experience it on smaller scale, yet still incredibly powerful. By connecting with angels, we prepare ourselves to truly connect with God, with the Source of all that is. I liken it to astronauts having to re-adjust to the earth's atmosphere on their return from space...we must re-adjust to God's magnificence on our return to Him. Angels' guidance and support shows us the way to our Divine purpose, leads us on a better path, helps us correct ourselves on our journey so that we can find our Higher Selves - our Souls - and live out what we came here to do rather than just living the scripted, robotic lives that society has prescribed. This return to our true selves and our true purpose thereby returns us to Oneness with God. By ignoring angels and not calling on them, we ignore our own plan, ignore our own soul's longing to remember our Oneness with each other and with the Divine. The more we, as individuals, call on angels and rely on them for guidance, rather than on worldly or human direction alone, the closer we all become to a better world. The more of us who regularly call angels to earth, the more intense high-powered light we will invite to heal our collective wounds.

Ask your angels for help, ask them to speak to you, and you will feel their presence. It may be in direct voices from them, it may be in sychonistic events, it may be in pertinent phrases from the lips of others, or repeated song lyrics...but if you are open to messages from your angels, you will begin to hear them. It may not always be what you want to hear, but it will always be for your ultimate highest good. Miracles will begin to occur in your life and around you once you make this step to reconnect.

Please see more about angels on my website:
http://angelstouchtherapy.com/page04.html

Serpent Mound and Ancient Sacred Sites

Last week, I visited the Great Serpent Mound in southern Ohio, which is the largest effigy mound in North America, built by an ancient culture estimated to have existed around 100 A.D., or perhaps even earlier. A month prior to this, I had never even heard of this place, and was led to it by a series of random connections, realizing very quickly that it was a place I needed to visit - to feel the energy that the ancients felt in that space, the energy that they were in tune enough to allow and respect.

After initially hearing about the site, I became very intrigued in reading and learning more, fascinated by the unique strategic placement of this work, with specific alignments to summer and winter solstice, spring and fall equinoxes. In further reading, I learned that this entire area seems to have been a site of a very ancient meteor crash, leaving behind much higher traces of rare elements such as iridium, which is now used in some cancer treatments. There an energy that can still be felt, particularly by those who are tuned to experience energy, and I believe it is a great healing energy, that places such as this could help us heal not only our bodies but also our souls, if we would only open our minds long enough to believe that it might be possible. I also learned that adjacent to the site had been two large crop circle formations within the last few years, one pointing directly at the head of the serpent, as if to point out its significance. To me, these crop circles are marking an important site, and are there to trigger knowledge deep within us of our truest capabilities.

In the arrogance of our technologically based society, which believes that our own advances are so superior to others, we ignore that other civilizations may have been more advanced in some ways than we are. Yet in spiritual connectedness, many seem far more intelligent and more advanced that we have ever dreamed. We have based our connection to God on words and thinking, and rarely get to a place of feeling deeply within the inner realms of our hearts, within that place in our soul that connects us to God and Holy Spirit. Rather than running from these ancient customs or mock energy healing or other modalities inspired by faith, love, and spirit, we should come to a point where it is common for one to stand in a sacred place without words, and simply feel the variations in energy, feel God the Source coming through in stronger magnitude.

I felt incredibly energized by this space, to the point that it almost wiped me out later that day, yet I knew that going there had been under Divine direction, and knew that following that odd and sudden calling would only strenghten my healing gifts as well as my connection to Spirit. We often expect that our own spiritual advances be just handed to us, like a magic wand being waved, or believe that it will occur when "it's God's will", sitting back and waiting for our own breakthrough while ignoring opportunities around us to create that breakthrough. But we need to begin to seek our our ascension to a higher place, lest we never get there. We have heard many times, "Seek and you will find", but mostly we don't truly seek, choosing instead the easier path of staying in our own little comfort zones, never venturing far beyond our self-imposed boundaries to see more; and therefore, never finding.

It is our own unwillingness to seek beyond the boundaries that keeps us from knowing God/Source in a greater way. I encourage you to visit some of these sacred grounds from Native American and other cultures to see if you can feel the energy. Ask that you be led along a journey that can truly connect you with God/Spirit in a greater way, then be open to following those opportunities when they arise (in other words, GET OUT OF THE WAY and allow!). If you never seek, you will never find...If you never find, you will only get farther from your soul and true joy.

Click here for the Serpent Mound site.
Click here for information about the Mounds of North America, including Serpent Mound.

Killing the Messenger

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." -Ghandi

Oprah Winfrey recently did a book club study with Eckhart Tolle on his book, "A New Earth". This event was revolutionary in its endeavor, and attracted over 700,000 people to read and study this book simulaneously, tuning in to online study sessions in which Oprah and the author examined and discussed the book in-depth. The idea of 700,000 people reading a book that talks about seeing yourself and others in love (as Jesus and other great masters did), brought me overwhelming excitement and optimism at what the power of that combined energy could do. In reading the book myself, I thought that it would be a wonderful opportunity for those of varied religious beliefs to come together and understand that we are all one in God, no matter what we choose to call that divine source, no matter what our varied avenues to arrive at that place of love and compassion.

Shortly after that enormous response that had so many people talking, the attacks began. I was shocked, stunned, and disappointed in so many fellow "Christians", who are still hell-bent on taking the attack stance toward anyone that suggests there might be a better way. This was a book that was changing people's lives, giving them joy, connecting them to God in such a way that it could change the world in the most positive of directions. It did not seem to matter to the attack-based Christian groups that people were laying down their burdens and seeing a higher place, seeing a grander version of life, and living in more joyous gratitude....just as Jesus taught. What mattered more was that it did not fit their doctrine, or their need to control. So, rather than discussing differences and respecting other's right and need to express their own ideas of God, the chosen method was to kill the messenger. Sadly, that sounds exactly like what was done to Jesus so many years ago, and for the very same reason...for having the audacity to suggest that there may be more to God than what the prominent religions of the time had dictated.

Even though I love Jesus, have regular overwhelmingly powerful experiences with him, and even though I seem to have a gift of bringing his presence and that of angels to others in a more direct and more fulfilling way, it sometimes embarrasses me to call myself a Christian. I feel that I am a follower of Christ in trying to be more like him, but sometimes shudder at the Christian label. Ghandi said it very well when he said, "Your Christians are so unlike your Christ".

The very powerful religion of Christianity, in its control-based thinking, has a very ugly wing to it that is not fitting to the way its chief figure behaved. The wing that is not so ugly sometimes chooses to be blind instead, burying its head in the sand to new ideas, controlling its people with guilt and obligations to the church, rather than directly to or with God. It is THE classic power-based relationship.

But I have to look at the reason behind the attacks, which is pure fear. If the message of Christianity is real and is a fundamental truth, there should be no reason to fear because the message will come out supreme under any scrutiny. Anyone who attacks another idea with such an irrational vengence must not truly believe in their own message. Further, anyone who is too fearful to look outside the tight boundaries of their religion to examine some of the miraculous things that are happening through new thoughts (like what happened in Jesus' time), must be afraid that their message won't hold up to a brighter way. Any message that changes the lives of many, often in an instantaneous and dramatically positive way that is founded in love, should be worth at least considering.

I can tell fellow followers or admirers of Christ that his message is deeper (and simpler) than we have been taught previously. So many of us have a greater yearning right now, as paradigms shift in our world to provide energies that can lead us back to joy and abundance..the energies that can lead us back to Eden. Dare to dream, dare to look for a better God than we have allowed, dare to let go of limitations and restrictions that hold us all back. Each one of us that has the courage, like Oprah, to seek and find a greater God, adds to the magnitude of the message, the power of the collective consciousness, the strength of the energy of love which can heal the world. In that action, we are being like Jesus and truly demonstrating the courage he showed.

Click here to go to Oprah & Eckhart's online class series.

Sticks and Stones...

Most of us remember the adage, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" from our childhoods. But is this really true? Do the words we say have an effect beyond their immediate resonance...Do we have far reaching responsibility for our words and thoughts, individually and collectively? I say that yes, our words and thoughts do have a powerful effect, and our responsibility for them lies far beyond what most of us might have imagined.

Dr. Massuro Emoto, of Japan, has shown this immensely powerful impact in his bestselling Messages from Water book series. Almost by accident, Dr. Emoto stumbled upon scientific evidence of how words and thoughts actually change the structure and well-being of molecules of water. Knowing that most of our world, including 80% (+/-) of the human body is made up of water, and therefore tremendously succeptible to the power of words, he embarked on a journey to discover more. His work is a brilliant demonstration of how our thoughts affect not only our own situation, but that of those around us...that of the collective consciousness of the world.

Once you read his books and look at his images, you will understand the magnitude of his discovery, and begin to see how we are all connected and all responsible for each other. If you are the least bit conscientious, you will begin to realize how judgmental and negative thoughts toward others truly do impact their lives and their choices, and you will realize that you may be just as much responsible for others' pain as they are, due to your judgments and lack of real love and acceptance. This can be an unsettling thought, but for those brave enough to recognize it and change, it can be a miracle in itself.

Dr. Emoto's research is also founded in vibration, and the understanding that everything is vibration, or energy. Higher vibration (as in more enlightened, less caught up in the material world and ego) produces higher results, while lower vibration produces lower results. Healing modalities such as Reiki, which rely on the healer's high energy vibration, are grounded in this idea, in this spiritual truth. To achieve the high energy vibration, one must lay down judgment and accept others in love, knowing that we are all one.

I believe we have lost our ability to attract and achieve miracles in our daily lives because we have become shrouded in judgment, control, ego, and the need to be right. Miracles should be the rule, rather than the exception, but because we have come to expect that they only occur in rare situations, because we have been led to believe that we don't really deserve them, they have been lost to us. The art of healing that was natural to ancient generations, Native Americans, as well as other cultures has, in our arrogance, disappeared from our daily lives.

It would not take much to return to miracles, little more than the willingness to open our minds to them, or simply open our eyes to those that are happening around us. In our need to make sure that our own chosen religion stays supreme, we often overlook the magificent spiritual miracles and occurences that are happening every day in healing circles. Is it fair to God to bury our heads in the sand rather than celebrate these blessings and share them readily? I believe that failing to be open to these things, to the fullness of God, is betrayal in the highest sense, not only to God, but to the greatness that we are capable of being from his creation.

I would like to challenge anyone reading this to be open to some of the healing that is discussed on this blog and in the links herein. Don't bury your head in the sand, rather, explore some of the information with an open mind... dare to discuss it in your churches and communities, as true spiritual leaders like Jesus did. Be willing to open your hearts to the possibilies and not afraid to share that with others. I believe it will strengthen your life and your faith.

CLICK HERE for more information regarding Dr. Emoto's discoveries. His books are widely available in bookstores and online.

Quieting Your Brain to Connect with God

I was recently introduced to a story about Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain scientist who suffered a sudden stroke that left her with serious brain trauma and debilitation. In her story, she tells how this experience was a blessing that connected her with God, by allowing her to quiet the logical/scientific part of her brain in order to experience the rest of it...the part of the brain that is more connected to the Divine. Faith has been described as belief in the absence of proof, which would require that we rest the logical and proof-driven side of our brains that currently dominate our world and rely on the more intuitive, feeling, knowing side of our brains, which have often sat dormant for most of our lives. We rarely allow ourselves to think without proof, because we have been so conditioned not to believe something that can't be proven.

In our hurried and logically trained Western minds, we seldom go to the quiet place in our brain, the place of our soul's thoughts, the place of God. We have heard, "Be still and know that I am God", which directs us in how to connect with God but which we rarely practice. Our lives are full of action, talking, doing, and are very rarely still in the quiet for long enough to really connect with God or with our soul, our true selves. Our worship, for the most part, means listening to others for our God-connection, or telling others about our God-connection, but involves relatively little of the true quiet where we can be one with God without worldly distractions...where we can be what we feel rather than what we are expected to be. The Holy Spirit (which I relate to our connection to our Highest Self) wants to reside in us to fully reunite us with God, but we seldom hear its call, being too involved in our thinking-and-doing modes to truly listen. Instead, we listen to others' versions of God and deny ourselves the full and real experience. God becomes a thought process of rules and edicts, rather than a direct feeling of Oneness.

Jill Bolte Taylor, an intellectually gifted woman, was forced to quiet her mind due to the stroke, and now sees her experience as a wonderful blessing despite the tremendous difficulties that she encountered. She urges us to go to that place of quiet solitude, that place of feeling rather than thinking, that place of profound expression that we seldom reach in our culture. Her message is powerful, especially since she is a scientist who has spent most of her life heavily ensconced in the logical portion of the brain.

This is a great story to help explain the real connection to God that is not in the things we do outwardly, is not based in a particular belief system, is not based in logic or even in studying what other people or institutions tell us to believe, but in finding our own truth, in finding our own soul deep within us. We cannot find truth until we are willing to relinquish some of our pre-conditioned thoughts, but once we access that place, our lives are changed miraculously because that is where God resides within us. True faith is birthed in this place where we release our need to make God work logically or to satisfy others' litmus test...it is where we access a power beyond what we have ever thought possible, where miracles evolve and begin to flow through us and to us. Jill Bolte Taylor's experience is a great example of that, and worth discovering.

CLICK HERE for a video of one of Jill's speeches.
CLICK HERE for Oprah's series of web interviews with Jill.

What Would Jesus Do?

The phrase What Would Jesus Do? has become a common one in our recent culture, particularly in churches and religion. The idea is a noble one, to think and act more like Jesus by pondering what he might do in given situations. But it has also become a cliche that doesn't really get followed all that carefully by many of those who use it frequently. In many of those same places or from many of the same lips that utter that phrase, there is little correlation in actions.

Many of the very churches that have sermons or classes backed up by that phrase have come to judge their own "success" by how many members they have, how many people are in their pews each week, how big their building is, how big of an addition they have planned for their building. The idea of following Jesus often relates to the act of "brick and mortar" building... gymnasiums, bigger sanctuaries, impressive dining halls, and more classrooms that only get used a few hours a week and sit idle at most other times. Yet, in our stories of Jesus, I don't recall him ever building a church - and he was a carpenter! And while there is nothing inherently wrong with that kind of success, its focus, and the focus on outward signs of success and public displays, often detract us from a truer connection that lies within the temple of our souls.

As individuals, we have come to place our identity with God in what church we attend, how big it is, who else goes there...rather than in the simple act of loving one another, no matter what our varied backgrounds, no matter how "bad" we see another, no matter how different his thoughts may be to ours. We place more emphasis on whether or not others are willing to convert to our chosen belief system than we do in loving them just as they are. What we need to understand is that touching, loving, and, uplifting others is not about a place or a building (no matter how outwardly impressive). It is about what dwells in our hearts...about giving up the need to judge others or decide if they are good enough for God. The Biblical passage, "Your body is a temple" means different things to different people. For me, it not only means that we should take care of ourselves and have heathly habits, but also that we are God's real church. We do not need dogma or doctrine, we do not need brick and mortar, we do not need fancy pulpits or impressive construction...we simply need the act of loving unconditionally, as Jesus did.

In further attempting to do as Jesus did, we should remember that he questioned the established religious beliefs. He dared to seek and show a better version of God than the existing religious authorities had created. How many of us truly act like Jesus in that way? Even the religion that asks us to follow Jesus (and tells us that we cannot have God if we don't follow Jesus) often condemns those who act as he did in this respect...by attacking those who dare to seek more or share a new vision of God...attacking those who actually attempt to "do what Jesus did". In this way, many are acting more like those who condemned and crucified Jesus rather than followers of his example.

The next time you hear or say that phrase, "What would Jesus do?" or see the acronym WWJD, take the time to think it through for what Jesus actually did and how he behaved, or at least in the very limited glimpse of his behavior that the chosen 4 gospels allow us to see. Dare to read the now available hidden gospels that the Church went to great lengths to cover up, even killing in order to eradicate their messages. (Hmmm...there must have been something pretty good in there if they were that afraid for us to even get a chance to read them!). In your daily actions, ask if you are doing all that you can to truly know God in the manner that Jesus did, or are you simply taking the more chosen and prescribed route. If you are not doing everything you can to see more, then you are not fully serving God, yourself, or humanity by even attempting to be all that you can be and allow God to be all that God can be.

Gratitude for a Miracle...and the Power of "Feeling Prayer"

My friend Ruth's elderly father was in the hospital recently with failed kidneys. He had been there for several weeks and had been on dialysis to keep his body functioning. His condition was not good, obviously, and I asked if she would like for me to come to the hospital to try some Reiki on him, adding that I understood that his generation sometimes has a very hard time with anything like this, so it would not hurt my feelings if she turned down the offer.

Ruth agreed that it might be a little strange for her dad to receive Reiki, since he might not understand that it is just a method of deeper prayer. He even considers her practice of Reflexology to be a little "woo-woo" and out there! So I offered to do a Reiki prayer candle for him and she thought that would be great. I knew that many people had been praying for him, and did the 15 minute candle prayer/meditation, asking that it magnify my own prayers as well as those of others. A couple of days after this, Ruth emailed me to let me know that her father had suddenly rallied, and that she knew that the Reiki energy was a turning point. His kidney function had started regenerating (which is almost unheard of after complete failure). We continued distance energy with a group prayer candle at a Reiki meeting, and within a couple of weeks time, her father was completely off of dialysis and heading home from the hospital...a miracle in action!

Scientist Gregg Braden has done tremendous work in connecting science and spirituality/religion, showing the congruence therein. He has traversed the globe studying and practicing the ancient forms of "feeling" energy that deepen the practice of prayer, invoking meditation that connects one's soul to God in a deeper way. His site (see "Recommended links") sums up many of his studies. His book, "Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer" is an easy read that summarizes the history of prayer and how we lost the art of feeling prayer centuries ago, leaving our connection to God less powerful than it could be.

This scientific and spiritual analysis confirms the things that I feel through Reiki and other deep meditation. Once we learn to feel our prayers truly and deeply, rather than just speaking them, we can create miracles. This "feeling" is faith exemplified. Rather than just asking and waiting, we connect to the energy of God and feel the prayer being answered... feel the love of God healing our wounds and making us whole again. In doing this, we are demonstrating that we truly do have faith that the miracle will occur, and we know that faith is the energy that creates miracles.

Trusting Your Gut...And Venturing Into the Unknown

This past week, I followed my gut and took a trip. Several months ago, I came across a Bed & Breakfast Inn for sale and had felt very curious about it. The odd thing was that I had not particularly been interested in such an endeavor in the past, but suddenly was very interested and very curious about this particular property... in Kentucky...and quite far away from my home in Georgia. My curiousity stemmed from a sudden strong feeling that one possible avenue to venture into with this healing work would be owning an inn, one with enough business to make it a viable operation on its own, but where healing work and retreats could take place in the down season. I don't know positively that this is the one direction for me, but I do know that the thoughts are coming to me as one possible option for sharing gifts and educating others about the many wonderful things that are happening on the spiritual front.

I had put this particular thought on the back burner for a few months while continuing to study and practice the things that could make me more helpful to others, but it had crept back into my thoughts. About two weeks ago, I received an email from the owner, who has fallen on poor health, to see if I still had an interest in the inn. I took this cue as a sign to at least go look at the place and planned a spontaneous trip to see it. Whether or not any purchase ever transpires, I know that my willingness to follow that hunch and act upon something somewhat far-fetched was rewarding. We so often live in our well-planned worlds, never venturing into the unknown, and doing so can be invigorating no matter what the outcome. The simple act of following can strengthen and reward us by helping us open our minds past the known and scheduled existence that we fall into.

I also used this trip to venture farther north into Ohio to visit a new friend that I have met on this spiritual journey - a woman whom I have only spent a total of a few hours with, but feel like I have known her for a very long time, and as if our journey was supposed to converge for the good of each of us and good of others. Through her, I had heard about her friend Denny, who was in a bad accident in January and had been in a coma and with brain damage, and is now going through a difficult recovery process to regain his physical and mental capabilities. When I heard about his story, I felt immediately connected to him and his family and started following the website that charted his progress, while also praying and sending distance energy to him. I was so touched by his family and their faith and commitment, and knew that I would somehow be connected to them for mutal blessing. Several weeks ago, when one of his daughters called me to ask me to do another Reiki prayer candle for her dad, because they felt like that was his turning point, I was moved to tears. Their acknowledgment strengthened my faith in the magnified power of "feeling prayer" and Reiki.

I met this family and spent the day at the hospital with them, again feeling like our connection was meant to be and that I was blessed to know them. As odd as it was for someone to come to town (a virtual stranger) wanting to pray and provide Reiki to their husband/father, they welcomed me with open arms, and we had some great moments. I know that Denny's accident and recovery - and the strong faith of his family, friends, and new friends like me - has a purpose to touch and inspire many people on many levels. It has already inspired me - to watch his continued progress and watch the faith that so many are placing in his recovery - to watch the willingness of the family to venture into unknown possibilities with courage and strength. And for me, to experience how wonderful it feels to let go of restraints and just act on intuition was an experience in itself. I am already so blessed just by venturing to meet these people and share their path with them.

Many of us are quick to help our friends and loved ones when they are in need, which is great, but we seldom look past the needs of those not in our immediate circle - to strangers - to offer our love and support. Perhaps it is our fear of being rejected, perhaps it is just that we don't feel truly connected with anyone who isn't right around us or who isn't "one of us". Once we learn that we are all connected and that unconditional love - like the love of Christ - means giving even to those who we know little about - without the expectation that they be "like us" or think "like us" in order to feel a connection or to give freely. Giving love and support to strangers can teach us that we all are truly connected and that we all have the same needs of feeling loved and valued exactly as we are, without any strings attached, without any expectations in return.

So many times in life we are afraid to hang it out there. We have instincts or callings, but if they are not within the norms of what most people do, we worry about what people will think if we follow them. I can tell you that the simple act of taking an unusual step, the act of just being what you feel instead of being what you think you're supposed to be to fit others' mold can be the most liberating step that you can take, and can connect you to the power in your soul that you may not have felt in a very long time, if ever. Live in the moment! Follow your curiousities and intuition even if they are odd or unconventional, and you will be amazed at the joy and satisfaction it can lead to. Do something unusual or daring, and you will benefit from the simple process, no matter what the ultimate outcome. Trust your own instincts in faith, and they will lead you to a greater version of yourself. They will lead you to blessings and miracles.

If you would like to follow Denny's story and send your own prayers and loving energy his way, the website is http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dennyhowell
(The Caring Bridge site is an excellent tool for communicating information and progress of long term patient situations - so if you know anyone with that need, pass the site link on to them!)