“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life, by what we give.”                                                                 Sir Winston Churchill

“You and I . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: Collected Works]]> Although my creative Muse was on vacation or dormant for the last couple of months, scraps of paper with scribbled words still accumulated on my desk, in my handbag, and in the car.  All carried words of wisdom that somehow continue to make their way to me.  I’ve decided that one of my missions in life seems to be to share as much collective and collectable wisdom as I can.  So here’s the latest and the greatest!

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life, by what we give.”                                                                 Sir Winston Churchill

“You and I share the serenity of understanding – a warm glow in the silences between us.  When we have talked and
  talked and come to the end of words, the speech of our hearts continues on…………                                                  Anonymous

“If I have achieved anything in my life it is because I have not been embarrassed to talk about God.”                             Jim Forest

“If you wish to travel far, travel light.  Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fear.”               Cesare Pavese

“Your spiritual growth does not happen when you are peaceful and content.  It happens when you get angry, sad,
  greedy, jealous, critical, impatient.  It happens when you lose your “spiritual mask” and realize that you are not
  superman or –woman, but just an ordinary human being learning how to love.”                                                          Paul Ferrini

“No matter what age you are, or what your circumstances might be, you are special, and you still have
  something unique to offer.  Your life, because of who you are, has meaning.”                                                           Barbara De Angelis

“The lure of the distant and difficult is deceptive.  The great opportunity is where you are.”                                         John Burroughs

“You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true.  You may have to work
  for it, however.”                                                                                                                                            Richard Bach

“Woman must come of age by herself ………. She must find her true center alone.”                                                       Ann Morrow Lindbergh

“Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain.  An occasional glance towards the summit keeps
  the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point.”                                   Harold B. Melchart

“Happiness exists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day than in great pieces
  of good fortune that happen but seldom in the course of life.”                                                                                Benjamin Franklin

Here’s to the next time.  May I wish you all a peaceful, healthy, abundant and joy-filled 2012!

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: The Last of the Batch
• Poetry & Shared Wisdom
• Spiritual Growth: Prayer and Meditation
• Shared Wisdom: There’s Always More
• Shared Wisdom: A Rush of Words

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

I am always so amazed when I walk by my husband when he is working at his computer. I really should say “computers” – plural, because, . . . → Read More: Musings: Further Along The Road]]> Once again I have been on a writing hiatus.  It has led me to realize that I am unable to multi-task on many levels.  I have always understood “multi-tasking” to mean the ability to do more than one specific task at a time.  I am sure I have already mentioned in previous postings that this is very difficult for me to do. My brain and my body just don’t function well in multi-tasking mode.

I am always so amazed when I walk by my husband when he is working at his computer. I really should say “computers” – plural, because, although he has one computer (on his main desk – I’ll explain in a minute!), he has two screens and sometimes he is multi-tasking between the two and sometimes he is also multi-tasking on each screen.  My brain just cannot hold that!  It’s way too mind-boggling for me.

Apart from his main desk, he also has a secondary desk which holds another computer and recording equipment which he uses to create his “podcasts”.  When he is all set up to record in that space, it looks rather like an old-fashioned radio show.  He wears headphones and has a microphone in front of him and I almost expect him to break out into acapella singing.  Since he has been indulging in this activity, which is all linked to his web page work, (www.windowsobserver.com), I sometimes think of the computer room/office as a recording studio too.

The lessons I have learned about myself in the last couple of months are myriad.  I have lost three friends in that time frame.  Two were “expected”.  Is death ever expected?  The two people, although unconnected in any other way, had actually been struggling with the same lung disease over several years.  The third friend’s death came out of left field and left me, and many other common friends as well as his wife, completely mind- and heart-slammed. The first friend, died on 26th October 2011, the second friend died about mid-November, and the third friend died 16 December.

In other words, just as I was absorbing the news of one death the second occurred, and so it was for the third.  In the meantime, as death was occurring, life was going on.  Normal everyday events, commitments, and activities continued on despite what was going on in heart and mind.  Meetings were attended, friends were attended to, school and its accompanying homework had to be dealt with, volunteer commitments were kept, I participated in a retreat, Thanksgiving came and went as did Christmas, and on and off, in the back of my mind, was the little nagging voice that said “I need to write”.

As I look back, I realize that I was actually multi-tasking in general across the board of all these events.  Just to be able to deal with everyday life as well as grieve, and support others who were grieving, was a huge multi-tasking effort of its own, and I am so grateful for my relationship with God and my strong support network of spiritual friends who help me to get through tough times such as these and still stay sane. 

But to hold all this together and allow the Muse of creativity to come forward is, for me, an impossible task.  I have to put great energy into honoring and dealing with difficult situations and emotions such as death and grief, and there is little energy left for anything else.  And I need to honor myself and where I’m at in all of that and allow the various processes to sweep through me.  It is all important to my personal and spiritual growth.

So now, as I sit here and look out my window (no working on the lanai today, we had a near-freeze last night!), I feel some of the tension surrounding these recent events slipping away.  Even though it is too cold to sit outside right now, the sun is shining brilliantly, the sky is that crisp, clean, light cerulean blue that only winter can bring forth, and I am breathing deeply and easily as I notice the hawks circling above the pine trees, the other birds swooping across and into the garden, and the squirrels frolicking on the backyard fence.  Muse is creeping slowly back into my heart, honoring and respecting where I have been and gently inviting my fingers to once again play across the keyboard and put the words on the screen.

Along the same lines:

• Musings: A Day Off – Sort Of!
• Shared Wisdom: A Found Treasure
• Journaling: A Way To Heal
• Musings: Life As Water
• Musings: Unblocking Again

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

As was our norm, we stopped for a break and a tank up after about an hour and a half of riding.  Then we continued for about the same amount of time until our tummies told us it was time to get some lunch.  . . . → Read More: Vignette: Lunch At Arby’s]]> After our four enjoyable days with our friends Sherry and Greg in Minnesota, Rich and I loaded up the Harley and set off on the next leg of our adventure.  We headed west from Brainerd toward North Dakota.  The scenery started changing as we approached the border between the two states, becoming flatter and less green.

As was our norm, we stopped for a break and a tank up after about an hour and a half of riding.  Then we continued for about the same amount of time until our tummies told us it was time to get some lunch.  We had noticed that the exits had grown further apart and offered very few food options, so as soon as we saw an Arby’s we decided to pull off.  We are not big “fast-food” eaters, but Arby’s passes muster for a quick lunch.

Once inside, I made my food choices and left Rich to pick up the order while I went to choose a table from which we could keep an eye on the bike.  There was only one other couple in the restaurant, and they were seated about three tables away from our window table.  They were an older couple and the husband was in a wheelchair, and I could hear them talking quietly from time to time.

Rich bought our order to the table and we quickly got organized and ready to eat.  Then, as always, we held hands and thanked God for a safe trip so far, asked him to continue to bless and protect us, to bless the food and continue to feed us spiritually.  Then it was time to dig in and eat up. 

I guess we were about half way through our meal when I became aware that the woman from the other couple was clearing away their things.  Suddenly she was standing beside us and, leaning in toward us, she apologized for interrupting us.  We said, no problem, and she carried on talking to let us know why she had come over.

She explained that she was “one of us” and that it had really warmed her heart to see us praying over our food before we began eating.  She said that sometimes it was very hard to be a Christian because she felt we were in a minority.  She also said that not many people were willing to be public about their belief in God and that as we prayed we had allowed her to feel as though she were “not alone”.  It was a very warm moment of fellowship and my heart went out to her.

Rich agreed with her and told her that just a week or so ago we had done the same thing as she had.  We had been having a meal at one of our favorite salad bars, “Sweet Tomatoes”, when a woman and her two daughters came and sat at the table across the aisle to us.  Once they had settled into the booth, they all bowed their heads and said a prayer of blessing over their food.  I remember how heart-warming it felt for us to see that, and as we left the restaurant Rich had paused briefly at their table to let them know how great it had been to witness that.

We exchanged farewells with the woman, and as she pushed her husband out of Arby’s I wondered what their story was.  We feel very blessed to have met certain people, complete strangers, on our ride who have uplifted us and shared a God-moment with us.  And I remembered that other couple in the rest stop parking lot in Tennessee who had cared enough about us to pray for our safety as we began our long trip.

Along the same lines:

• Musings: Serendipity With Sue
• Sacred Riding: My Harley Prayer Time
• Traveling: The Retirement Ride
• Vignette: Another Concert Story
• Musings: Eating In And Around Orlando

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

So on one of the evenings that we spent at Sherry and Greg’s place in Minnesota, we were invited to participate in a travelling dinner.  Two of the couples did not live in the immediate vicinity . . . → Read More: Minnesota: The Travelling Dinner]]> In my previous posting Vignette- Paula in Minnesota, I mentioned the “travelling dinner”.  I vaguely remember some years ago a friend talking about a “neighborhood dinner”, where everyone from the neighborhood (a fairly small one I believe) shared a meal.  However, instead of all coming to one house to eat, the families went from house to house eating a course here and another there.

So on one of the evenings that we spent at Sherry and Greg’s place in Minnesota, we were invited to participate in a travelling dinner.  Two of the couples did not live in the immediate vicinity of Sherry and Greg’s house, but were great friends of all the people who did.  So they brought their contributions to the meal to Deb and Crystal’s home.

On the appointed evening at the appointed time Sherry, Greg, Rich and myself walked down the driveway.  It was a very pleasant evening so the walk was very enjoyable.  We made a right-hand turn onto the road at the bottom of the driveway, walked about fifty yards, passing the driveway that led to Connie and Joe’s house (Sherry and Greg’s immediate neighbors), before making another right-hand turn into Deb and Crystal’s driveway.

No house could be seen, so I wondered how long of a walk this was going to be. I needn’t have worried. The driveway sloped upward for about fifty yards and as we crested the top we saw that it then sloped downwards for about another fifty yards and there at the bottom, slightly to the right, stood the house.  From this view point it appeared to be a one-story building with beautifully cultivated flower beds on the one side, and a wonderful large fire pit encircled by brightly colored Adirondack chairs which in turn were surrounded by more raised flower beds. All this was then surrounded by lush green grass and trees.  Another piece of heaven!

Kokopelli entranced me!

But the view of the house was deceptive because it was built on a fairly steep slope.  It wasn’t until another day that I saw the other side of the house and realized there was a lower level which contained a spacious apartment where Deb’s Mom, Mary, and Deb’s sister, Paula, lived. It took me a while to actually go into the house because, being the gardener that I am, I had to check out all the beautiful flowers in bloom and the various plants that I didn’t recognize, plus there were lots of interesting and whimsical garden decorations to look at. 

Eventually I made it inside where there were some delightful appetizers laid out.  Once we filled our plates, most of us migrated through the kitchen and dining area to a lovely screened-in room located at the back of the house.  The view was as delicious as the food we ate.  As I mentioned before, the house was built on a fairly steep slope, so this room was was quite elevated and gave the impression that we were seated among the tree tops. (For me it was a small God-moment.)  It was here that we got to meet the non-neighbors, Char and Frank and Doug and Deb.

After about forty five minutes of eating and socializing, it was deemed time to move to the next course.  This was to be eaten at Connie and Joe’s house and we were told that we were going via the “scenic route”.   So we all trooped out in Indian file and followed a pathway that they had created through the woods connecting the two houses.  It was rather magical and I half expected fairies and pixies to jump out from behind the trees. The crossing point between the two properties was marked by a lovely vine-covered trellis archway that stood over a couple of steps down.  My heart actually started beating a little faster right here because in a “deja vue” moment it reminded me of my Dad’s garden.  (See my posting Vignettes-  My Kingdom.)

All of these neighbors are avid gardeners, so we found ourselves stepping into another beautifully appointed garden where flower beds were in full bloom with lots of lush greenery everywhere and more whimsical garden features.  We spent quite a bit of time checking everything out.  A special mention needs to be made here about Joe’s “work shed”.  I’m talking about a GIGANTIC work shed the size of a small warehouse.  There were big tools and small tools, and every kind of small (and some not so small) machinery all neatly laid out.  As you can imagine, the men folks in our party were in hog heaven.

Don’t you just love her!!

After admiring everything, flower beds and the work shed contents, we all drifted into Connie and Joe’s where a second round of appetizers was laid out.  More eating and more socializing took place and by this time a few glasses of wine had been consumed so there was lots of merriment and laughter.  In the meantime some rain clouds had gathered and so we got sprinkled on a little as we made our way over to Sherry and Greg’s.  Earlier in the afternoon I had helped Sherry assemble a huge bowl of a very colorful mixed salad into which we had put everything bar the kitchen sink!  As people came in, we tossed it in a home made dressing and in no time at all that huge bowl was empty.

We were all beginning to get full tummies but the walk back to Deb and Crystal’s house must have helped our digestive systems because we were ready for the main course by the time we got there.  Actually some of us rode in the car because of the rain, but we were still ready.  I think the laughter and the socializing shook the food down nicely because we even had room for dessert after eating yet another plateful of food.  It was altogether a very fun experience and I’m already plotting and planning to see how I can replicate it, even though most of my friends live in rather spread out areas.  But maybe that will make it even more interesting.  I’ll let you know when and how I make it happen.

Along the same lines:

• Vignette: Paula in Minnesota
• God’s Creation: Minnesota
• Travelling: Minnesota Tourists!
• Vignette: Lunch At Arby’s
• Musings: Back Again!

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

I was inside for a while because a . . . → Read More: Vignette: Prayers in a Parking Lot]]> On the second day of our retirement ride, Rich and I had a very unique experience.  We were some where in Tennessee having left Marietta, GA on the Tuesday morning and we were headed toward Paducah, KY.  Our norm each day was to ride for about one hundred and twenty miles, then take a rest stop and gas up if necessary.  On that Tuesday morning we had taken a break at a rest stop somewhere in Tennessee.  I had headed into the building to use the facilities while Rich took a stretch.

I was inside for a while because a bus had made a pit stop just minutes before we had arrived and there was quite a line for the ladies room.  When I came out Rich was standing beside the bike deep in conversation with an older gentleman.  I hung back a little giving them room for their discussion.  Then Rich looked around and saw me there, motioned me forward and introduced me.  I very much regret that I do not remember the gentleman’s name, but I can tell you some things about him.

I learned he was a retired Navy man, a Veteran from World War II.  He, too, had owned a bike back in the day and had met and married his wife shortly after joining the service.  He said that they really enjoyed riding together back then.  His wife came out of the building at this point and joined us and we learned that they were from Knoxville, TN.  They were very committed to their church back in Knoxville and they told us they were in fact on a day trip with fellow church-goers.  We asked where they were going and the gentleman, with a chuckle, said that they didn’t know.  They were on a “mystery trip” and had no idea what their destination was!

At this point, reaching out his hand, Rich thanked him for his service to country and said we needed to get going as we had quite a few miles to cover that day. The gentleman grasped Rich’s hand and thanked him in return for his service to country too.  Then, to our great surprise, he extended his left hand toward my right hand and asked permission to pray over us. With joy in my heart I reached out to take his hand and he connected with his wife on his other side, and she in turn clasped hands with Rich.

And right there, the middle of a rest stop parking lot somewhere in Tennessee we were blessed to receive prayers of gratitude and prayers for protection from two strangers. He asked the good Lord, our Father, to watch over us, to keep us safe from all harm.  He asked for blessings upon us as we continued our trip and prayed that we would have a wonderful and enjoyable ride.  With full hearts we said our goodbyes, mounted the bike, and rode off leaving our parking lot friends to enjoy their mystery tour.

Although I do not remember their names, I can picture them in my minds eye.  I can see the four of us standing beside the bike, the big tour bus in the background, holding hands and praying together. It was beautiful and was most definitely a highlight of the ride for me. That memory will be with me in years to come, and I hope that Rich and I will be able to do the same for someone else one day as we ride our Harley around God’s creation.         

Along the same lines:

• Vignette: Lunch At Arby’s
• Traveling: The Retirement Ride
• Sacred Riding: My Harley Prayer Time
• Vignettes: The Spirit In Publix Supermarket
• Spiritual & Physical: An Incredible Journey

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

So this year, or rather last year, because the initial . . . → Read More: Self Nurturing: The Qigong Experience]]> This is another catch-up which I referred to in my posting Freedom-  Also a Loss.  I had my Qigong experience in Orlando back at the end of April this year.  I read  Natural Awakenings, a free monthly newspaper that is mainly geared to health and alternative health practices and modalities.  For three years I had seen the advertisement for the Qi-Revolution event in Orlando in this newspaper and my curiosity was peaked.  But each year by the time I got around to checking into it, I already had another commitment.

So this year, or rather last year, because the initial advertising came out I believe sometime in October or November of 2010, I made sure I put it in my planner at first sighting.  Shortly after that I completed my registration and I was set to discover what this “energy event” was all about.  Because I saw the word “Qi” (which is pronounced “chi”), I had an idea that it was something akin to Tai Chi with which I am familiar.  However, nothing prepared me for the 4-day experience that I had with Qigong.

The event was held in one of the huge conference rooms at the Orlando Convention Center.  When I entered the room on the first day I remember my first feeling:  overwhelmed.  There were more than two thousand people present for this event and I didn’t know a single person.  The energy level was high and I was aware of a sense of anticipation buzzing around the room.  The second feeling was an old enemy re-presenting itself:  a feeling of “less than”.  Old toxic thought processes began to invade my mind.

“You shouldn’t have come here Margo, you’ll probably not be any good at it.”  “Most of these people are younger than you, what were you thinking of?”  “You’re going to make a fool of yourself in front of all these people.”  “How do you expect to keep up with everyone especially with the pain in your hip?”  And many other forms of “You’re no good”, “You’re not good enough” etc, and some other self-sabotaging phrases.  You get the picture.

After taking some deep breathes and centering in on my God, I was able to clear my mind and fill it with some positive affirmations.  Only then could I allow myself to feel the excitement and anticipation that was like an electric current all around me.  Only then did I really look around and notice that at least one third of the people there were over fifty, and quite a few were over sixty,and the really “young ‘uns” were a minority.  I smiled as I watched the negative thoughts scurry out of my head.

Within two hours and after some great stretching exercises, we were all, yes all, more than two thousand of us, going through the first Qigong form.  I had no idea that it would be take about an hour to do this, and I am so glad I didn’t.  I think I might have panicked and run away.  But what was so amazingly awesome was that I was able to keep up, stay focused, and complete the whole form.  On top of that, what was wonderfully boosting for my self esteem was that younger people were needing to take a break half way through.

I am not sure that I can explain exactly what Qigong is, but I will attempt to do so.  Please be aware that this is my own subjective explanation.  Qigong is the practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for the purpose of exercise, healing, and meditation. But it is so much more than that.  Through the use of slow, controlled, focused movement the practitioner is brought to an awareness of the natural flow of energy that constantly surrounds us and that we have in us.  Through the practice of qigong it is possible to “harness” or “increase” this level of energy, bringing more into the body and sharing it out with the world.  It is what I refer to as the God energy.  I found the whole experience to be very spiritual.

I do know that I felt a tremendous “high” after that first session.  My body, despite some fairly severe pain in my left hip, felt alive and as though I could do almost anything.  I was very mentally alert and was aware of a sense of joy and lightheartedness.  It was as though in some way I had accessed a deeper part of me, or perhaps I had learned a different way to access my soul.  And by the way, no longer did I feel like a stranger in a crowd.  I felt like I belonged.

On the second day we did more Qigong and also learned a form of energy breathing.  If you want a serious natural high, then energy breathing is the answer.  This is something that I will not attempt to explain here because I don’t think I could do it justice.  You’ll just have to check out www.qigong.com and see if there is an event near you and try it.

The other major component to this 4-day event was the approach to food healing.  Much of this I had heard before but in bits and pieces.  Jeff Primack, who is the driving force behind “Supreme Science Qigong” and the leader and main presenter of the 4-day Qi-revolution event, has taken all those “bits and pieces” and presents them as one whole healing source.  It felt as though someone finally gave me the key to the lock and showed me how to turn it. 

I have been working diligently on my approach to food for many years, but since this event it has been easier to bring things into place within my daily diet.  I am sixty seven years young, with just as many years of bad habits about food, plus I am a slow learner.  There are times when I can really follow true healthy eating, and there are other times when I just muddle along as best I can.  But somehow, since my Qigong experience, I manage to come back to the full healthy approach.  I am just so very grateful for this experience that has taught me to incorporate some very specific things on a daily basis into my nutrition plan today. Thanks to that I am almost totally free of arthritic pain.  My energy levels are so much higher and my body feels healthier in general.

I have just read through this posting and I realize that I have given a very poor “nutshell” idea of what my Qigong experience was about.  I guess it is something that you have to experience personally to have a full or better understanding of it rather than just reading words.  Much as I love my words, I am very conscious of the fact that sometimes they simply do not do justice to an event or situation.  This is one of those times.  Please check out Qigong for yourselves.  It really is quite amazing and will probably change your life forever.

Along the same lines:

• Freedom: Also a Loss
• Self Nurturing: Sedona Massage
• Self Nurturing: Reiki
• Night Of Joy 2010
• Vignettes: Night Of Joy

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’”.                                                                                                                                                                                        (Audrey Hepburn)

“We all move toward the ego, and we even solidify it as we get older if something doesn’t expose it for the lie that it is: not because it is bad, but because it thinks it is the whole enchilada!         (Richard Rohr)

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”                                                                                                                              (Maria Robinson)

“Don’t ask what the world needs.  . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: Words from Wise Ones]]> Here is an eclectic mix of wise sayings that have come from here, there, and everywhere!

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’”.                                                                                                                                                                                        (Audrey Hepburn)

“We all move toward the ego, and we even solidify it as we get older if something doesn’t expose it for the lie that it is: not because it is bad, but because it thinks it is the whole enchilada!         (Richard Rohr)

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”                                                                                                                              (Maria Robinson)

“Don’t ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it!  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”                                                                     (Howard Thurman)

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children …….. to leave the world a better place ………. to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

“The greatest challenge of the day is:  how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each and everyone of us.”                                                                 (Dorothy Day)

“God will find us, bless us, even when we feel most alone, unsure ……….God will find a way to let us know that He is with us in this place, wherever we are.”                                                      (Kathleen Norris)

“A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew.”                                                                                                                                             (Herb Caen)

“If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people.  It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth.”                                                         (Anthony de Mello)

“Do you know why the mighty God of the universe chooses to answer prayer?  It is because His children ask.  God delights in our asking.  He is pleased at our asking.  His heart is warmed by our asking.”   (Richard J. Foster)

“In the end, I think that I will like that we were sitting on the couch, talking and wondering where the time went.”                                                                                                               (Anonymous)

“She said she used to cry everyday, not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful, and life was so short.”                                                                                              (Brian Andreas)

Enough, enough or I shall drown in the beauty of words!  Don’t you just love the way they run off the end of the pen in someone’s hand, or appear on the computer screen at the insistence of someone’s fingers flying across a keyboard?  It never ceases to amaze me that the wit or humor or intelligence contained in a person’s brain just flows out onto paper in some fashion or another.  And then, I get to read it, soak it in, and share it on to others.

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: A Rush of Words–Part 2
• Shared Wisdom: A Found Treasure
• Shared Wisdom: Words For The New Year
• Musings: Parenthood; Life; Death; Faith
• Musings: Endings And Beginnings

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

We got to . . . → Read More: Vignette: Paula in Minnesota]]> In my previous posting God’s Creation-Minnesota, I mentioned that through the trees on Greg and Sherry’s property you could barely make out two other houses – their neighbors.  Connie and Joe live in the closest house, while Deb and Crystal live in the other house along with Deb’s Mom, Mary, and Deb’s younger sister Paula.  Deb and Crystal live in the main part of the house while Mary and Paula share a delightful apartment on the lower level which, because the whole structure is built on a slope, is also on a ground level of its own.

We got to meet all the neighbors because on one of the evenings that we were there we participated in a “travelling dinner”.  I’ll share details of that event in another posting.  Here I want to talk about Paula who is somewhat mentally challenged and is quite a delightful character. She is actually forty-five years old, I believe, but looks like a teenager.

When we entered the kitchen at Deb and Crystal’s, Paula was seated at a table on the far side of the room of the room next to her Mom, Mary.  Paula is not very tall, maybe not even five foot.  She has rich auburn, curly hair that she wore pulled back from her face that day.  Her face is very round and when she smiles her eyes crinkle up, Chinese-style, and she looks like a mischievous pixie!

Richard had stopped at the kitchen island to pick at some appetizers, while I walked around it and went over to be introduced to Paula.  She did not look up at me immediately, but then Deb said, “Look at this Paula”, and pointed to my hair.  At that, Paula looked up at me and her face lit up in pure delight.  She clapped her hands together like a little child and exclaimed, “It’s purple, it’s purple, my favorite color!”  Looking into that innocent, beaming face, I felt as though someone had given me an exquisite gift.  My heart lurched and I fell in love with Paula right then and there. 

She continued to smile up at me and I pointed over to Richard and said, “And that’s my husband, Richard.”  Without skipping a beat, Paula looked in Richard’s direction and once again clapped her hands together.  Her smile widened and, in such genuine innocence, she exclaimed, “Oh, he’s so cute!”  And she chuckled. The whole room seemed to light up and people laughed, not at her, but right along with her, joining in her delight at the situation.  And I fell in love all over again with Paula.

Later on in the evening, Paula brought me a piece of cake.  I thanked her and kissed her cheek.  A dazed look came over her and she slowly put her hand up to her cheek in wonder.  As she returned into the kitchen, I heard her say to someone, “I’ll never wash my face again.”  The person asked her why and she responded, “Because Margo kissed me.”  I felt my throat constrict and my heart welled up with love.

There are moments that I recognize as pure God moments.  I know I experienced the love of God in that sweet pixie of a person, Paula.  I have often heard people question “why” about many things that happen on this earthly journey, including the “why” of people like Paula.  My answer: they help us to experience a special kind of love – if we are open to it. I will remember Paula with great affection and I hope I get the opportunity to see her again.  

Along the same lines:

• Minnesota: The Travelling Dinner
• Vignette: The Young Fan
• Vignette: Remembering Cindy
• Vignettes: Signor Ludovic’s Story
• OASIS: Polly

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

I was told that everyone who comes to that particular area of Minnesota needs to visit the small town of Nisswa.  Actually, Nisswa is about the size of an overgrown village.  It is very quaint and . . . → Read More: Travelling: Minnesota Tourists!]]> In my previous posting, God’s Creation: Minnesota, I shared the wonderful experience Rich and I had at our friends’ house.  However, we didn’t stay at home all the time we were there, even though it was difficult to leave that place so filled with the joy of nature.  We actually played the tourists for a couple of days and visited some very interesting places.

I was told that everyone who comes to that particular area of Minnesota needs to visit the small town of Nisswa.  Actually, Nisswa is about the size of an overgrown village.  It is very quaint and is filled with wonderful little shops (yes, I did some shopping!).  I love places like Nisswa because I’m never quite sure what exciting little treasure I may find.  For someone like me who has very unique antenna up throughout the year, Nisswa is rather like Aladdin’s Cave.

When I talk about my “unique antenna”, I’m referring to that constant awareness of the people in my life and what might make them happy.  When I’m out and about I have my bloodhound nose ready to sniff out gifts that will please my friends and family members on their birthdays or at Christmas.  And Nisswa did not disappoint.  I could have dipped into my wallet several more times than I did, but all the time I had to keep in mind that we were travelling on our Harley and there was limited space, even though Sherry and Greg offered to bring things back for us when they trucked back to Jacksonville in October.

Another day we drove out to visit Itasca State Park which is absolutely gorgeous.  The Park boasts pristine wilderness at its best surrounding the largest lake, Lake Itasca, and many other smaller lakes.  Did you know that Minnesota is known as the State of 10,000 lakes?  We took our time driving through the Park, stopping at several lookout points such as Preachers Grove, that overlook the lakes.  Our main goal at the Park was to go to the Headwaters of the Mississippi River.  I was totally mind-boggled that this mighty river has its source almost in Canada and runs the full length of the USA before emptying itself into the Gulf of Mexico in Florida.

Sherry and I wading in the Headwaters of the Mississippi at Itasca State Park

Before taking the path to the Headwaters, we stopped at the Visitor Center, which I think is one of the best and most interesting of such centers that I have visited, to learn a little more about the Park.  I thoroughly recommend that you visit http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/index.html where you will find a wealth of interesting information, photos, and history of Itasca State Park, including the story of Mary Gibbs who was a feisty woman who risked her life to protect Itasca Park against the logging industry at that time.

Preachers Grove (left) and Lake Itasca

I’m sure that Minnesota boasts many other beautiful areas.  It is such a lush, green State and the presence of so many lakes, large and small, makes for the presence of plentiful wildlife and many interesting and beautiful places.  I know it’s definitely a place that I’d like to visit again and if you enjoy the magnificence of God’s creation in nature you will surely enjoy it.

Along the same lines:

• God’s Creation: Minnesota
• Minnesota: The Travelling Dinner
• Travelling: Family & The Kentucky State Fair
• Musings: Gratitude
• San Antonio: The Little Venice Of Texas

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.”                                    (Anonymous)

“Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.”                            (Mother Teresa)

“I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: A Rush of Words–Part 2]]> As promised in my posting on September 10th, here are some more “words of wisdom” from others.  They are almost all simple one-liners – but they are not in the least bit simplistic!

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.”                                    (Anonymous)

“Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.”                            (Mother Teresa)

“I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions.”
                                                                                                                                                                                 (Dorothy Day)

“If there is any secret to this life I live, this is it:  the sound of what cannot be seen sings within everything that can, and there is nothing more to it than that.”
                                                                                                                                                                                 (Brian Andreas)

“I always treat people as if they have already reached the goal I have for them.”                                                                     (Thomas Merton)

“If I am not for myself, who will be?  And if I am for myself alone, then what am I?  And if not now, when?”                                  (Rabbi Hillel)

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.”                                                                                            (Henry Ford)

“One day your life will flash before your eyes.  Make sure it’s worth watching.”                                                                        (Anonymous)

“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”                                                                                     (Soren Kierkegaard)

“God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.”                                                                                    (Jim Elliot)

So take these words of wisdom into your day today and spend some time pondering their meaning in your heart.  Carry them deep into your soul and see how and if they apply to the “reality you are experiencing”!!

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: The Last of the Batch
• Shared Wisdom: Words For The New Year
• Shared Wisdom: Latest Quotations
• Shared Wisdom: More Words On The Path
• Spiritual Influence: Of The Author Variety

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

There is still a lot of work to do, but the main thrust is . . . → Read More: God’s Creation: Minnesota]]> Our friends, Greg and Sherry, bought an old barn on a large piece of property in Minnesota a couple of years ago.  Since then they have spent a lot of time between here, Jacksonville, and there, making changes, clearing a few trees around the barn, and putting on an addition to the original structure.  Out of the old barn has emerged a lovely living space of two bedrooms, a bathroom, an open plan kitchen, dining room and lounge area, plus a nice comfortable screened in porch.

There is still a lot of work to do, but the main thrust is there.  The rest is mainly “accessorizing”: putting in permanent flooring, deciding on décor and finishes, and painting the exterior.  The barn-house is surrounded by woodland and even though there are two sets of neighbors living close by, the trees almost completely hide the other houses from view.

Five days into our retirement ride we stopped to visit with Greg and Sherry.  In fact we spent 4 blissful days with them in their “little piece of paradise” (my label). One element of this new habitat that I really enjoyed is that they have installed floor to ceiling windows in the dining room and on both sides of the spacious lounge.  This means that not only does a lot of natural light fill the home but it also seems like sitting in the middle of the woods – but with all mod cons!

While we were there, I spent my early morning quiet time sitting in a chair right up against one of these enormous windows.  With my meditation books in hand and a cup of herbal tea close by, I was truly in “God’s space”.  Greg and Sherry have placed several bird feeders within a few yards of this particular window and the morning activity was quite frenzied.  Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers vied with Hairy Woodpeckers and Chickadees as well as some small sparrows and titmice, while the hummingbirds buzzed in and out. I also saw a bluebird one day.

The squirrels up there were enormous, about twice the size of squirrels down here in Florida.  Although Greg and Sherry had installed a really interesting squirrel feeder for them, they still came and tried to access the bird feeders once in a while.  But they also had a plentiful supply of corn down on the ground because our friends also took care of the numerous deer that would come almost up to the house in search of food.  

Every evening at about 9pm we would spot movement out among the trees.  We would turn off the lights inside the house, and soon we would see the deer emerging cautiously from the trees and coming toward a large block of salt that Greg and Sherry had attached to a tree, and also toward a long wooden palette that lay close by on the ground piled high with corn. They are such graceful creatures and are a delight to watch.  One evening we were treated to the spectacle of a mother deer with her two young ones.

During the four days that we stayed, I also got to see an animal that I had never seen before – at least, not in real life.  I’m sure you’ve all heard them “singing” and maybe even seen them in an animated movie.  Yes, I’m talking about the chipmunk.  I was so amazed at how small they were!  I had always imagined chipmunks to be the size of a squirrel, but instead they are these tiny little animals probably about the size of a hamster.  They were very entertaining scampering here and there in the undergrowth. Richard managed to get some really good pictures one day as a chipmunk decided to sit on a small fallen log not far from the window and complete his/her morning ablutions.

Although they did not come into the yard, we also saw many Canadian geese and wild turkeys not too far from the house as we made various trips in the surrounding area. There were two very large fields on opposite sides of a nearby road that had been mowed recently, and the geese were there in large numbers mainly in the morning, probably more than a hundred at a time, feeding on whatever geese feed on.  The turkeys were usually in a lower section of the field apart from the geese.

It was such a joy to be surrounded by so much of nature’s wonders that God created for our pleasure.  I am so grateful that Sherry and Greg gave us such great hospitality in their tranquil haven, and I hope it won’t be too long before we can go back and enjoy it some more.  We have to go back anyway, so that we can see the finished product that is their summer retreat!    

Along the same lines:

• Minnesota: The Travelling Dinner
• Travelling: Minnesota Tourists!
• My Garden: God’s Creation
• Vignette: Paula in Minnesota
• Self Nurturing: God’s Great Outdoors

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

“God does not love us if we change; . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: A Rush of Words]]> I just love it when I come upon a wealth of wise sayings and quotations.  In the last seven days I have received a rush of wise words.  They have come from many disparate places: a car bumper sticker, a friend’s home, a special workshop given by a dynamic speaker – Fr. Larry Richards from Pennsylvania, and, because of a piece of research work that I did, from the internet.  I have collected so many of them that I will spread them over a few postings.  Here is the first batch.

“God does not love us if we change; God loves us so that we can change.”                                                              (Fr. Richard Rohr)

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”                                                                                         (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

“No man is rich enough that he can buy back his past.”                                                                                        (Oscar Wilde)

“When the spiritual, mental, and emotional bodies are healthy, the physical body manifests health and becomes more vibrant, too.  Our smiles, our eyes, our posture, and even our skin, which is the largest organ in the body and most sensitive to energy, send off a positive, attractive energy.  This is part of the realignment process and will naturally affect your relationships, too.”                                                                      (Sierra Bender)

“Your love for God is only as great as the love you have for the person you love the least.”                                        (Dorothy Day)

“Clouds come into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”                           (Rabindranath Tagore)

“They came to sit and dangle their feet off the edge of the world and after a while they forgot everything but the good and true things they would do some day.”
                                                                                                                                                                 (Brian Andreas)

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”          (Maya Angelou)

“The fact that I can plant a seed and it  becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises.”                                                                                                                  (Leo Buscaglia)

“It is  not because things are difficult that we do  not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”           (Seneca)

And the last one for today is, in my opinion, superb:   

“Show up.  Tell the truth.  Be very alert.  Expect nothing.”                                                                          (A car bumper sticker)

And just think, there are more to follow.

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: Words For The New Year
• Shared Wisdom: The Last of the Batch
• Return To My Spiritual Sanctuary
• Shared Wisdom: More Quotations
• Shared Wisdom: The Voices of Others

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

But my only . . . → Read More: God’s Creation: The Grand Canyon]]> As mentioned in my posting Traveling-  Las Vegas & Sedona on 22 August, Rich and I took a day trip to visit the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  I was very excited to make this trip because when I was a young girl growing up in England, many of my friends wanted to go America.  There were those who were enthralled at the thought of visiting New York City, others who wanted to see the White House and the nation’s capital, and yet others who were attracted to the bright lights of Las Vegas or Hollywood.

But my only desire re-the USA was to see the Grand Canyon.  I had seen it in a couple of movies, read about it here and there, and I believe I saw it featured in a National Geographic article at least 40 years ago.  (I know, I’m dating myself here!!).  From those experiences I knew it was something hugely majestic, but I had not retained much descriptive detail about it from them.  So this trip was almost like visiting it with no pre-information about it at all.

As we approached the area of the Grand Canyon, I remember being somewhat puzzled, or maybe perplexed would be a better word.  I think I expected the landscape to begin to change dramatically to prepare me for what I was about to see.  But everything was amazingly “normal”, fairly flat country with quite a few trees.  We entered the visitors center, acquired our tickets, and watched a great informative documentary. 

Even as I watched the movie I wasn’t particularly struck by anything special, and we headed out afterward on the road that led into the National Park in Arizona where the south rim is located.  Again, I was puzzled/perplexed because the countryside did not change.  I’m not quite sure what I was expecting and I was quite surprised when we eventually saw the sign for the first “viewing zone”.  We parked and I got out of the car and looked around.   Nothing, just the road we had been travelling and a line of trees. But the arrows pointed toward the trees, so off we went. 

I don’t think it would have mattered if I had seen a thousand photographs or hundreds of movies, nothing would have prepared me for my first view of the Canyon.  As I passed through the trees and stepped out the other side, my jaw dropped, my mouth gaped. I was absolutely speechless.  My eyes tried to come to grips with what I was seeing and I was somewhat aware that my mind was scrambling for words to describe it.  Some of the words that came to mind were: spectacular, majestic, awesome, awe-inspiring, amazing, stunning.

But even as I tried to put the words together in my head, I realized that none of them would do justice to the landscape unfolding in front of my eyes.  I was aware of tears welling up inside me.  I felt completely choked up with emotion, my heart was racing and my breathing had definitely quickened.  It felt like my soul was seeing a touch of home, and in that moment I knew that one word, and only one word, could describe the view that lay before me – God.  I could imagine Him during the days of creation, eyeing this particular piece of the earth and, feeling the inspiration, reaching His hand down and slicing a two hundred and eighty mile long wavy line through the State of Arizona.

Just as words do not do justice to the majesty, the size, the total “stunningness” of the Grand Canyon, so too pictures cannot capture it’s breathtaking awesomeness. But I am including a couple that my husband took as we went from viewing point to viewing point along the south rim.  The picture of the raven is included for a couple of reasons.  My adopted Native American name is Raven Woman.  When we first got out of our car at the condo we stayed at in Sedona, a raven flew onto the roof, and every viewing spot in the Grand Canyon had several ravens hopping around.  I felt especially welcomed in both places. 

As I stared at this miracle of God and nature, once again I found myself thinking of the first pioneers, those courageous men and women who set out from the eastern settlements of America to explore what lay beyond their known territories.  I tried to imagine a lonely cowboy riding across new and unexplored country, galloping along on his horse and coming through the tree line to approach the edge of the canyon.  I’m sure he must have experienced feelings similar to those I described above.

For those of you who are interested, here are a few facts about the Grand Canyon.  Even as I write them I find them hard to digest and fully take in.  The Canyon is nearly two hundred and eighty miles long, reaching from Marble Canyon near the Utah-Arizona border to Grand Wash Cliffs in Mojave County near the Nevada-Arizona border.  In some places it is eighteen miles wide – yes, eighteen miles!! And it reaches depths of up to one mile.  At the south rim the width of the chasm is about ten miles.

All I can say is, if there is nothing else that you do, no specific location that you have a desire to see in the USA, plan to go to the Grand Canyon.  I do not think you will be disappointed and I am sure you will be at least a little bit changed afterward.  Happy trails!

Along the same lines:

• Traveling: The Retirement Ride
• Shared Wisdom: More About Grace
• Traveling: Las Vegas & Sedona
• Vignette: Prayers in a Parking Lot
• My Bonsai Tree–Finally

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

“Life is curly, don’t even try to straighten it out.”                                                                                (Rebecca – age 11 years)

“What God gives us . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: Words On The Road]]> We have arrived in Kentucky and are spending time with family in Louisville.  So far we have travelled through 14 States, a couple of them twice over.  Even as I travel, I am aware of words that float up from memory, or that I encounter as I journey from place to place, or that I find scribbled on pieces of paper tucked into my meditation books or my gratitude journal.  So here are some words of wisdom from the road.

“Life is curly, don’t even try to straighten it out.”                                                                                (Rebecca – age 11 years)

“What God gives us in answer to our prayers will always be the thing we most urgently need, and it will always be sufficient.”  (Elisabeth Elliot)

“What matters supremely is not the fact that I know God, but the larger fact ……… that He knows me …….. I am never out of His mind.  All my knowledge of Him depends on His sustained initiative in knowing me.”                                                                               (J.I. Packer)

“Light does not resist or avoid darkness.  It merely includes it, welcomes it, loves it.  Light is not afraid of the shadow for it knows the appearance of the shadow is the first sign of illumination.”                                                                                                           (Paul Ferini)

“We are  not alone on our journey.  The God of love who gave us life sent us {His} only Son to be with us at all times and in all places, so that we never have to feel lost in our struggles but always can trust that God walks with us.”                                                      (Henri J.M. Nouwen)

“I’m a girlfriend-kind-of-girl.  I love having women in my life.  In fact, I think women who claim they don’t need a girlfriend just haven’t found a good one yet.  I don’t have that problem.  I am surrounded by an abundance of the most remarkable women God ever created to be my sister, mother, daughters, and friends.  It’s a blessing I don’t take lightly.  Quite simply, having such dear women in my life makes my heart tingle.”      (Suzy Toronto)

“When you take the first step to embrace God in your circumstances, He will go the distance to embrace you.”   (Stormie O’Martian)

“When the reed is empty, blowing through it makes a beautiful sound, a sound that returns effortlessly to silence.  When mind is still, thoughts arise spontaneously, offer themselves, and die in the wind.  There is no complexity here.  The goal is not to make thinking go away, but to slow it down so that it comes to rest in its natural container.  Once you rest in that place, you no longer desire to be anywhere else.”      (Paul Ferini)

“Faith is meant to be lived moment by moment.  It isn’t some broad, general outline – it’s a long walk with a real Person.”    (Joni Eareckson Tada)

Blessings to you all. 

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: Short & Sweet
• Shared Wisdom: More Words On The Path
• Shared Wisdom: Latest Quotations
• Shared Wisdom: More Quotations
• Spiritual Growth: Personal Prayers

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

I probably . . . → Read More: Self Nurturing: Sedona Massage]]> I received my first massage many years ago.  I was living in the UK at the time.  I believe it was sometime in the sixties and I discovered a small massage and facial salon had opened above a shop near my parents home.  I very tentatively booked an appointment and remember how my heart sang and I knew that I was hooked from the very first touch.  There is nothing quite like a massage for relaxation, de-stressing, pleasure, and coming home to yourself.  Massage does for the body what a deep relationship with God does for the soul.

I probably received one or two more massages during the next few years because I really couldn’t afford more than that.  Then, about five years later, I moved to Sardinia, Italy with my first husband and our two boys.  In 1970, we helped to open a large holiday village called Forte Village in the southern part of the island not far from the capital, Cagliari. 

There were many holiday agency reps working in the village and the two girls from the Swedish company, Vingresor, were extremely grateful for the “extra mile” that I went in order to help smooth difficulties for their customers.  They came to me one day and said they would like to show their appreciation in some tangible way and asked me what I would most like.  I knew they had their own massage therapist on call in the village, so I requested a massage.  They were gracious enough to gift me with a series of four massages, and my love affair with receiving massage was rekindled. Since then I have received many massages and eventually, when I was fifty three years young, I trained to become a massage therapist myself.  I feel as much joy giving massage as I do in receiving them.

Fast forward to April 2011.  As I mentioned in my previous posting Traveling-  Las Vegas & Sedona Rich and I enjoyed a wonderful visit to Sedona, AZ.  I knew that I wanted to receive a massage in Sedona because it is a place of natural healing and there are many alternative therapy healers in the town.  As Rich and I were settling into our condo, he checked out a file of information about various activities and points of interest in the area, and called my attention to an advertisement. The wording in the ad from Sue really spoke to my heart and soul, and I knew that this was who I would book my massage with.

A few days later found me in Sue’s studio.  Little did I know that I was about to have a very significant and life-changing experience.  For the next two hours Sue worked intuitively with my body.  I have never received a massage quite like it.  She used many different modalities during the course of the massage and I knew that something very special was going on, especially when she started chanting as she worked my heart chakra.  I remember thinking, “I hope she is going to tell me what that was about”, as I felt a kind of a “whooshing out” feeling from my chest.  Then shortly afterwards, as Sue worked on my lower abdomen, I could feel “something” going on and a great deal of heat.

At the end of the massage, when Sue gave me some water to drink,  she asked me if I wanted to hear her perceptions.  My heart lifted and I said I wanted to hear everything.  She checked first of all if I believed in past lives and also asked me if I was familiar with any of the ancient civilizations such as the Mayans or the people of Atlantis.  When I assented, she shared that while she had been working on my heart chakra she was drawn into a vision where she saw me as a tall, regal person, dripping with golden jewelry, and knew that I was one of the ancient wise ones.  She felt that I was royalty of some sort and told me that whenever I walked into a room people were enveloped in a sense of tranquility and felt healed.  I told her that many people told me this today also. 

She then went on to tell me that it was no longer enough to just “walk into the room”, that I was “being called to more”.  She said that I needed to be ready for more work and not to be afraid.  I remembered Kevin’s words just a few weeks earlier at the Lenten Healing Mission.  Sue then explained that while she had worked on my lower abdomen she had felt “something birthing”, and she encouraged me to be ready, to prepare myself for some new work that I was going to be called to undertake.

As I left Sue’s studio, I felt very blessed.  I was filled with a sense of peace and yet was also aware of a very heightened sense of energy.  I felt like I could have run for ten miles.  I was very grateful for this because later that afternoon Rich and I went to experience the energy vortex at Bell Rock and I was able to climb about three quarters of the way up the rock formation without feeling tired. 

I will always remember my massage experience with Sue with much gratitude.  My main personal work since that time has been to quietly prepare myself for whatever work Spirit wants me to do.  Just two weeks after this experience, I attended a Qigong event in Orlando and a complete stranger there repeated the message: “Margo, you are being called to more.  Do not hold back.”  I will share more about this experience in another posting.   

Along the same lines:

• Traveling: Las Vegas & Sedona
• Vignettes: Signor Ludovic’s Story
• Self Nurturing: Massage
• The Vision: A Spiritual Gift
• Vignette: Prayers in a Parking Lot

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

Las Vegas is, in my opinion, a sorry, sad, jaded place. I could have gotten drunk on fumes alone as we . . . → Read More: Traveling: Las Vegas & Sedona]]> In April of this year, Rich and I travelled to Las Vegas and Sedona.  We spent 3 days in Las Vegas after a frustratingly long and delayed trip. We should have arrived in our hotel by 7pm on Tuesday but didn’t get there until 2am. At first I was somewhat annoyed that we had “lost” Tuesday evening and then Wednesday morning due to catching up on sleep. In the long run I am glad (God always knows best!).

Las Vegas is, in my opinion, a sorry, sad, jaded place. I could have gotten drunk on fumes alone as we walked the streets!!!! So much alcohol, so many drunks and people out of control, so much smoking – ugh!! All the casinos allow smoking, not even one small smoke free area that we could find!. Not that we’re gamblers, but if you go to Vegas you have to put down at least one bet right? And to get anywhere in any of the hotels you HAD to go through the casino. Not going back, not recommending it to anyone. We did see The Lion King which was wonderful, but then you can see a good show almost anywhere, and we did visit the incredible botanical show at the Bellagio which is stunning (they change it for each season) and I am grateful for these two lovely moments.

The drive from Vegas to Sedona was easy and uneventful – if you can call a stop at Hoover Dam uneventful!!

What an amazing piece of human work. Some of the landscape along the way was very bleak and unforgiving. I tried to imagine what it was like for the first pioneers in this part of the country. We also passed through some of the flat "pampas" type country of Arizona and I could imagine the cowboys herding thousands of steers across them. Then, of course, as we continued the drive we elevated to over 7,000 feet and we encountered sleet and followed by snow flurries!

By the time we approached Sedona, however, the sky was clear and the view was spectacular!! The red rock formations and canyons are something out of this world and they are all around this lovey city. What an amazing piece of God’s creation.  Our condo was delightful, almost luxurious, and we were very happy and comfortable during our stay. However, nothing prepared us for our wake up the first morning: a silent winter wonderland with about 5” of snow – and it continued to snow for the rest of the day! It’s a good job we had decided to take it easy that day and we just explored the town center. By the following day the snow had stopped and all but melted away, and the rest of our stay was filled with clear skies and sunshine with fairly warm temperatures.

The rock formations surrounding the town all had very specific names that alluded to their shape.  The most important were Cathedral Rock, Snoopy Rock, Camel Rock, Coffee Pot Rock, Praying Hands Rock, Two Sisters Rock, and Bell Rock.  This last one was my personal favorite and, because it was the site of one of the many energy vortexes in and around Sedona, we actually climbed a little over half way up it.  We also visited the old tin-mining town of Jerome where we explored an amazing kaleidoscope shop and found the most glorious, decadent fudge imaginable!

There were two more notable events during our stay in Sedona: Rich took a helicopter ride around the the town and the surrounding area, and while he did that I received a massage from an intuitive massage therapist who gave me some incredible feedback, including the phrase “you are being called to more” (remember my posting Spiritual Growth- Being Called To More?).  I will make that story a separate posting. And then we spent a day at the Grand Canyon.  What can I say about that?  So much, that again I will make that a separate posting. 

Here are a few photos from Sedona.

Along the same lines:

• Self Nurturing: Sedona Massage
• God’s Creation: The Grand Canyon
• Freedom: Also a Loss
• Nurturing The Mind/Feeding The Soul: “Wicked”
• The Vision: A Spiritual Gift

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.

On the third evening of the Mission we were encouraged to approach the Prayer Ministers with any requests for special intentions or issues that we might have.  I felt strongly compelled to go to Kevin, one of the Prayer Ministers who had travelled down from Chicago with Fr. Jim.  There were two reasons for my . . . → Read More: Spiritual Growth: Being Called To More]]> On June 18th 2011, I posted Spiritual Growth: The Lenten Mission.  In that posting I explained that Fr. Jim reminded us that Jesus invited us to continue his work on earth (John 14:12-14).  During the Mission I had a personal experience that strengthened this invitation.

On the third evening of the Mission we were encouraged to approach the Prayer Ministers with any requests for special intentions or issues that we might have.  I felt strongly compelled to go to Kevin, one of the Prayer Ministers who had travelled down from Chicago with Fr. Jim.  There were two reasons for my choice.  Firstly, Kevin had played an important role in my husband’s personal experience the previous evening and I wanted to thank him for that, and secondly I was aware of an intense spiritual energy around Kevin and I wanted to experience that for myself.

As I began to express my gratitude to him and then started to speak my first special prayer request, Kevin held up his right hand and said, “Stop Margo.  Do you realize how much the Spirit is working in you, already using you to do his work?”  I was somewhat taken aback, and faltered in my reply as Kevin continued to say to me, “But why are you holding back Margo?  What are you afraid of?”  Again, I fumbled with my words even as a picture formed in my mind.

Seven years prior, shortly after arriving in Jacksonville, I had bought a bicycle with the intention of riding it in my wonderfully safe neighborhood.  The bicycle has sat in my garage – unused.  I have been scared to get on it because it’s been about 50 years since I’ve been on a bike. I have allowed my pride to get in the way thinking that I  might fall off and people might laugh at me.   By the same token there have been many times in the past when I have wanted to share something about my faith or do something to be an example of God working and I have held back, scared of what people might think.

I shared this with Kevin and he said, “No more Margo, Spirit is calling you to more.  You cannot be afraid anymore.  He needs you to do His work.”  At that point I spoke my other prayer requests which were for my children, and then Kevin prayed earnestly over me.  I became aware of intense heat surrounding me, I felt a quiver go through my body, and the next thing I remember I “woke up” lying on the floor in front of the altar of the church and I knew Spirit had been with me.

Little did I know at that time that this phrase, you are being called to more, was going to be repeated to me two more times in the next few weeks.  And this by two widely disparate people in totally different locations and circumstances, who were not in the least bit connected to Kevin or any form of Healing Prayer Ministry.  But that will be for two more separate postings.

Today, I share this posting from Brainerd, MN. We arrived here yesterday at about 4.30pm after another day of beautiful riding.

Along the same lines:

• Spiritual Growth: The Lenten Mission
• Self Nurturing: Sedona Massage
• Spiritual Growth: Prayer and Meditation
• Spiritual Growth: Personal Prayers
• Freedom: Also a Loss

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©2012 Life Coach: Spirit, Body and Mind. All Rights Reserved.