For those friends and family who think I share too much.

With these lessons I write, I’m trying to teach my girls how to Love. And not just how to show Love, or share Love, but also to teach others how to Love!

So I don’t want to keep these lessons secret for just my girls. I hope some friends or family or strangers read some of my lessons in the hope that they too might share Love more, instead of Hate. Isn’t that what we are supposed to do, Love One Another?! Are we supposed to keep Love a secret? Should saying “I love you” only be done in private?  Or should we try to share Love with everyone and teach others how to share Love as well.  Imagine a world where people greeted each other with a “Hello” AND an “I love you!”

So that is my passion, my purpose, to show my girls how to Love and how to teach Love.

Now, if you have a problem with my mission, I don’t know what to tell you, other than to ask yourself, “Am I spreading Love or Hate?”

Well who says, “Life is Fair? …

… Where is that written? Life isn’t always fair.”

“If you haven’t got your health you haven’t got anything.”

“Father, I have failed you for twenty years. Now our misery can end. Somewhere… somewhere close by is a man who can help us. I cannot find him alone. I need you. I need you to guide my sword. Please. Guide my sword.”

“There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.”

“Death cannot stop true love, all it can do is delay it for awhile.”

– The Princess Bride

Even the story of the grandfather and grandson spending time together was full of lessons. The grandfather came because his grandson was sick… caring for the sick is a sign of love.  When a more experienced soul wants to tell you a story so you can learn some lessons, turn off your distractions, and listen!   And don’t be grossed out by two people in love. 😉

Quieting the Body and Mind to connect to your Spirit (and to numb severe pain)

Through the use of sensory deprivation and deep meditation using Sacred Acoustics, I’ve been able to connect to my spiritual self like never before!  It started a couple weeks ago at the pool where I swim, where there were no other swimmers and wave dampening lane dividers, so the water was completely still.  I placed floating noodles under my heels and behind my neck and floated very peacefully, gradually becoming motionless as the self-induced waves subsided.  With my waterproof phone case and earbuds, I started listened to Sacred Acoustics Om.

Breathing deep to start, to slow my heart and lower my blood pressure, I then focused on my breathing in and out to quiet my mind.  A few minutes into the 20 minute mp3, there is a part with vocal Om chants that seamlessly blends in with the instrumental track. Suddenly I found myself involuntarily humming along at the same frequency!  Then I noticed I couldn’t feel any part of my body.  I was no longer physically aware as I couldn’t feel the water, my earbuds, nor the noodles keeping me afloat.  It reminded me of pictures I’ve seen of astronauts sleeping in space, completely weightless.  I was completely numb, but yet still very mentally awake and becoming spiritually aware.  My focused breathing was automatic and I didn’t even feel the air I was breathing in and out of my nose.  I was having an out-of-body experience!  My five physical senses were “asleep” which allowed my spiritual senses to become very, very awake!!!

[What my spirit experienced while my body was in the water, and the questions I asked God and the answers I received will have to wait for another lesson.  But the story of my deep meditations continues… ]

Today, I had surgery on my left knee to remove scar tissue developed after a partial knee replacement 9 months before.  I have learned to ignore pain and love ice, having had knee problems for 20 years.  I know the power of the mind over the body to ignore pain and cold, but it was impossible to ignore pain from that morning’s surgery that feels like you’ve been repeatedly stabbed with a knife. (Pain from partial knee replacement surgery feels like being repeatedly beat with a baseball bat and ran over with a truck.)  I remember the numb feeling I had in the pool and wanted to try an experiment to numb the pain from surgery.

I put ice on my knee, laid in bed on top of a soft, warm, down comforter, and propped my legs up with big fluffy pillows.  I was very comfortable, except for the pain and ice.  My Bose headphones started playing the Om in my dark, quiet bedroom and I was soon returned to the out-of-body state I had been to while in the pool.  The sensory deprivation feeling of weightlessness, the numbness, etc.  When I became aware of my body again I had absolutely no feeling of pain.  Eventually the pain would return, but the deep meditation worked a couple more times that day providing some much needed pain relief.  And all three meditations also included having a spiritually transformative experience (STE).

[The STEs will have to wait for another post as well.]

I share this story in the hope others in severe pain are able to achieve similar results as I have through deep meditation.  Please leave any questions or comments below.

 

Uncle Jim’s Eulogy

“Uncle Jim” was the nickname we used for my mom’s friend who was like a father to me.  Uncle Jim was family to us.  He was the closest thing my daughters had to a grandfather, as my father and father-in-law had already passed on. My girls and I loved visiting him and enjoying his property.  We played in the creek, caught fish and frogs and butterflies and bugs. One magical moment with the girls was seeing thousands of fireflies flickering in the valley at night.  An amazing sight if you have never seen it before.

I loved riding the ATV clearing the trails with the chainsaw, mowing the grass with the tractor, and helping him with whatever he needed help with.  My father taught me how to shoot many years ago, but Uncle Jim taught me how to hunt and how to clean turkey and deer and for that I am eternally grateful.

Some other stories with Uncle Jim that have lessons yet to be written…
The plough – finding hidden treasure
The truck slide – at least you tried
The tierod – plans can change
The ATV slide – don’t stop until you find a solution
Roofing the two roofs – hard work pays off
The insulation – like pins and needles
The cistern overflow – work is easier with friends
Mowing the fields – enjoying the fruits of your labor
The windmill fix – learn how things work
Minnie swimming – don’t be afraid
The clay pigeons – ready, aim, fire!
The possum – always be ready
The bird and squirrel – mistakes happen
The squirrel we ate – try new things
The catfish cakes – try a bite, you might like it
The button buck and momma deer – learning
The 9 pointer – luck

And of course, the one that got away. And the shooting star!

I especially enjoyed relaxing around the campfire with him after a long day.  I learned a great lesson from Uncle Jim about taking time to achieve your goals.  The title of that lesson three and a half years ago seems so fitting now, “Someday… you’ll be dead!”  You see, Uncle Jim and I had a special arrangement. If he died before me, he would give me a sign from Heaven, and I would do the same if I died before him.   Today was Jim’s day and he gave me his sign.  Don’t forget, I have the same arrangement with you.

I will always love him like a father and he will always love me like a son, and that Love never ends!

 

Easter’s meaning this year

This year Easter means to me that it is never too late to be forgiven. Even the man to Jesus’s right was saved at the end.

Creator God of Love, forgive us for judging others, we do not know other’s struggles and intents of their hearts as only you could know. Forgive us for not respecting people, lifestyles, and beliefs different from our own, we should all strive to Love one another as brothers and sisters and eliminate Hate from this world. We are all sinners and we ask for Your Forgiveness.

Even if you don’t believe that prayers work, please share a kind message of Love today with a stranger. Or simply pray that Love conquers Hate.

Namaste my brothers and sisters!