“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

This post has been viewed 1515 times!

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

“Life is a mirror – if you frown at it, it frowns back; if you smile at it, it returns the greeting.”                                                                                                                               (Chinese proverb)

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: The Last of the Batch]]> So these are the last group of wise words that came to me as we were doing our retirement ride.  I know there will be many more words of wisdom to share with you, there are so many wise people past and present!  But these particular words just seemed to jump out of the woodwork wherever I found myself in those twenty days traveling this continent.

“Life is a mirror – if you frown at it, it frowns back; if you smile at it, it returns the greeting.”                                                                                                                               (Chinese proverb)

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”                                                                                                                    (Jim Rohn)

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”                                                                                                                           (Marcel Proust)

Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, in as much as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   (John Keats)

“Take time every day to do something ridiculous.”                                                                                                                                                                                          (Philipa Walker)

“Insist on yourself.  Never imitate.”                                                                                                                                                                                                              (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.”                                                                                                                                     (Thomas Merton)

“You’re the strongest person I ever met, she said, I said, you too and we decided we’d know each other a long time.”                                                                                                (Brian Andreas)

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”                                                                                                                                                        (Helen Keller)

“Most people don’t know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don’t get too comfortable and fall asleep and miss your life.”                                                                     (Anonymous)

“Your outer world reflects your inner world; peaceful thoughts produce peace.”                                                                                                                                                    (Joan Gattuso)

“Every artist was first an amateur.”                                                                                                                                                                                                              (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

I have already accumulated more quotations to share with you, so it won’t be long before another “Shared Wisdom” posting reaches you.  I think my secondary mission in life may be to spread these words to as many people as possible.     

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: Words from Wise Ones
• Shared Wisdom: A Rush of Words
• Shared Wisdom: More Quotations
• Shared Wisdom: A Rush of Words–Part 2
• Shared Wisdom: There’s Always More

This post has been viewed 10076 times!

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

There were three acts. The opener was Trevor Morgan, a new voice on the Christian music scene and very talented.  He was followed by the band 10th Avenue North which has been playing the Christian scene for several years now and have become very . . . → Read More: Vignette: The Young Fan]]> I have been getting my notes together to write up several posts as promised in my last article.  However, before I write those posts I need to write a small vignette that I experienced a week ago.  My husband and I are Christian music fans and we had tickets to attend a concert in Jacksonville. 

There were three acts. The opener was Trevor Morgan, a new voice on the Christian music scene and very talented.  He was followed by the band 10th Avenue North which has been playing the Christian scene for several years now and have become very popular.  To round out the evening in top billing place was a great band called Third Day who we had previously seen at Disney’s Night of Joy.  This band has been playing together for about twenty years and I really like them.  Their lead singer has a most unusual voice.

As we settled into our seats, I was sitting to the right of Richard, we were joined on Richard’s left by a young mother and her son.  I guess the boy was about ten years old and it became fairly obvious that he was very excited to be at the concert.  After a short conversation, we discovered that he was a die-hard Third Day fan and he could barely wait for them to come on stage.

The concert began and we all thoroughly enjoyed Trevor Morgan.  I think we will be hearing a lot more of him in the future.  Tenth Avenue North gave us a great performance and took us up to the interval. Richard went off to grab us some water, and the mother and son also left the auditorium.  When they came back the boy was happily munching on a giant pretzel.  His mother said he needed “replenishing before Third Day appears”. 

After a few moments, she opened a bag and pulled out a couple of CD’s.  With a certain air of wishful expectation, the boy asked her what she had bought and I heard her tell him that she had really liked Trevor Morgan and wanted to support him so had decided to buy his CD.  She then went on to say she had really enjoyed Tenth Avenue North and didn’t have any of their music at home and wanted to get their CD too.  I saw the boy’s expression drop somewhat at that piece of news, but then his Mom said, “but then I changed my mind and got the Third Day CD.”

It had been a while since I saw someone’s face light up in such a way.  The boy gasped, his eyes opened wide, and this great big grin spread all over his face.  He put his pretzel down and held both hands out for the CD.  Smiling happily the mom handed it over and ecstatically the boy took hold of it and drew it in towards his chest.  He sat there for a few moments without saying a word.  He clasped the CD to his heart, his eyes were closed and a beatific smile spread from ear to ear.  He was totally “in love” in that moment.

After a while, he opened his eyes and slowly began to examine the CD.  It was as though he was holding a precious jewel.  He lovingly stroked the front cover and I fully expected him to start drooling any minute.  He carefully turned the CD over and I assume he was reading the song titles.  At this point the mom said that she would put it back in the bag until they got home and she put her hand out to take it.  But the boy clutched it, kissed it, and put it back to his heart, closing his eyes once again in sheer sublime happiness. 

I was so in awe of this whole little scene that played out right there beside us, and just very impressed that this young man was so passionate about a Christian band.  I was also grateful that he had a very loving and supportive mother.  She gently explained that if he wanted to finish his pretzel he would need to let go of the CD and that it would be safer back in the bag.  I also heard her say that he could play it as soon as they got into the car for the ride home.  He reluctantly let go after a couple more kisses!!

Well he then had his heart’s desire fulfilled when Third Day took the stage and played practically non-stop for almost two hours.  It was truly a remarkable performance and the boy stood in his seat for the entire time, eyes sparkling and singing along with the songs that he recognized. What a great evening we all had and I know I will remember that boy’s face forever.  

Along the same lines:

• Vignette: Another Concert Story
• Vignettes: Night Of Joy
• Night Of Joy 2010
• A Night of Fun: Carrie Underwood
• Vignettes: Young Grief

This post has been viewed 4370 times!

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

“Everything that I think, feel,say, and . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: Latest Quotations]]> So while I collect my thoughts and get ready write on some specific topics that have come up for me over the past couple of months, let me share some words of wisdom from others.  I think if I had lots of money I would have a house with a huge library that would house not only lots of books, but collections of all the words that I have read over the years that have impacted me deeply or influenced me in some way.  Here are a few more of those precious words.

“Everything that I think, feel,say, and do belongs to me, and everything that you think, feel, say, and do belongs to you.”      (Paul Ferrini)

“I cannot think myself into a new way of living; I have to live myself into a new way of thinking.”                              (AnShin Thomas)

“Know that making a commitment to your happiness, to your health, to your fitness, to your family, to your abundance, to your career, to your mission in life,    to your love, to your friends, to your community, to your creativity, to your spiritual life, is all the same thing. It is all a commitment to growth, to wholeness, to being your best, to living life fully and gratefully starting from where you are right now!”                                                    (Jinjee)

“Making amends without forgiveness leads to dishonesty and lies.”                                                                                           (Anon)

“Everyone who’s human deserves to be treated with some dignity – whether they’ve done good things or bad things, they have to be given hope.”
                                                                                                                                                                             (Elton John)

“When you stop resenting what anther person can’t give you, you begin to appreciate what they have to offer.”                              (Anon)

“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”
                                                                                                                                                               (Douglas Everett)

“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”                                                       (Mark Twain)

“The fact that Christianity is a religion of love makes every evangelizer the teller of a love story, the singer of a love song.  By example as well as by words evangelizers must be teachers of love.”                                                                             (from John Paul II and the New Evangelization)

“The power of a man’s virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doing.”                            (Blaise Pascal)

“When people envy me I think, Oh God, don’t envy me, I have my own pains.”                                                        (Barbra Streisand)

“He paints the lily of the field, perfumes each lily bell; if He so loves the little flowers, I know He loves me well.”             (Maria Strauss)

“Go out into the world today and love the people you meet.  Let your presence light new light in the hearts f people.”    (Mother Teresa)

“He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.”  (Thomas Fuller)

Happy reading!

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: One-Liners
• Shared Wisdom: More Words On The Path
• Spiritual Growth: Forgiveness
• Shared Wisdom: Collected Works
• Shared Wisdom: Words On The Road

This post has been viewed 5508 times!

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

-  “Truth is such a rare thing; it is delightful to tell it".”       (Emily Dickinson)

-  “One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”   (Albert Schweitzer)

-  “I pray thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within.”       (Socrates)

-  “Do whatever . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: Words From Others]]> Once again it is my pleasure to share words of wisdom from others that I seem to find at every corner and in every moment of my journey, many of them at just the exact moment that I need them.

-  “Truth is such a rare thing; it is delightful to tell it".”       (Emily Dickinson)

-  “One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”   (Albert Schweitzer)

-  “I pray thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within.”       (Socrates)

-  “Do whatever comes your way to do as well as you can.  Put a good deal of thought into happiness that you are able to give.”   (Eleanor Roosevelt)

-  “Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”      (James M. Barrie)

-  “From every human being there rises a light that reaches straight to heaven and when two souls that are destined to be together find each other,
    their streams of light flow together, and a single brighter light goes forth from their united being.”  (Unknown – used by Michael Podesta, Calligrapher)

-  “No man is an island entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”    (John Donne)

-  “You can lay the foundation of a friendship in a matter of moments, but it is a work of time to build a monument.”     (Madelyn Watt)

-  “Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect.  We must each respect others, even as we respect ourselves.”
    (U.  Thant)

-  “Were there no God, we would be in this glorious world with grateful hearts and no one to thank.”     (Christina Rossetti)

-  “Don’t be afraid to take big steps.  You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”      (David Lloyd George)

-  “Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail.”       (Unknown)

-  “Why was man created on the last day?  So that he can be told, when pride possesses him: God created the gnat before thee.”    (The Talmud)

-  “No one is so rich that he does not need another’s help: no one is so poor as not to be useful in some way to his fellow man.”   (Pope Leo XIII)

I hope you enjoy these quotations and that they prove to be as helpful to you as they have to me.

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: Latest Quotations
• Shared Wisdom: Words of Love and Friendship
• Shared Wisdom: More Quotations
• Shared Wisdom: More Words On The Path
• Shared Wisdom: Words On The Road

This post has been viewed 3188 times!

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

At . . . → Read More: Musings: Tears ……]]> I carry my reflection books in a small plastic tub.  It keeps them all tidily in one place, and makes for easy transportation when I go away.  As I reached down to pick one out this morning, my fingers encountered a loose piece of paper.  There, at the bottom of the tub, lay a small 3” x 5” piece of printing.  I pulled it out and recognized it immediately as something that a dear friend had given me about a year ago.  It was the copy of page 242 from a daily book of goddess reflections that she reads.

At the time, I was going through an immensely sad moment in my life.  In hindsight, I realize I was probably verging on the edge of depression.  I am very fortunate that I have many tools that I use on a daily basis that help me to never sink into the desperate depths of that particular disease.  And then too, I have wonderful friends who walk a similar path to mine who care about me and give me exactly what I need when I need it.

And thus I received page 242 at just the right moment.  The goddess who was addressed on that page was O-Ryu.  She is referred to as Grandmother O-Ryu and is the Japanese goddess of the Willow tree.  This is what was written about her.

She waits for you in her sacred tree temple beside the quiet night river.  A golden Moon whispers above her long and hanging
branches, casting a twinkling outline around her wavy edges.  “Come to me”, O-Ryu calls out as she reaches her long and
leafy branches toward you for a loving hug.  An owl flaps a low, deep hoot from somewhere inside her soft green tendrils,
and you notice a spider’s web gleaming silver on the tips of her twiggy fingers.

Perhaps you have postponed your mourning too long,” O-Ryu urges.  “Mourn means ‘to remember’.  Who wants to be
remembered today?  Can you whisper their name out loud?  Call their spirit to come and sit beside you here by the River.
Let us cry together and gather the wisdom they want to share with you.  The spirit of someone deceased wants to talk
with you.  Something you need to know will be revealed in a powerful feeling.”

At the top of this page was a statement:  “Tears, too, are sacred and can wash away your grief.  Honor your memories.”  At the bottom of the page was another statement: “Mourning my losses and grieving are necessary processes on my spiritual path.”

When I was in High School there was a small section of the playground that was a grassed area where we could sit in those rare warm English summer days!  In the corner of this place was a large weeping willow tree that I loved to sit under and feel protected and safe, cocooned if you will.  As I read page 242 I was reminded of those days and, because I firmly believe that nothing happens “by chance”, I chose to work with the imagery of O-Ryu for the next few days, weeks, however long it should prove necessary.

In those days, I discovered that I was mourning the loss of my daughter.  No, she had not died in the physical sense, but I had “lost” her all the same.  The details of this loss are not important to this writing.  What is important is that I discovered what had been destroying me inside during that moment in my life, and I was able to release it with O-Ryu’s help.  I also discovered that I needed to mourn the loss of my mother at a deeper level, I came to understand some of her pain that I had helped to create.

Tears are cleansing.  They are an important part of our journey to wholeness.  They wash away the grief and allow for new seeds of happiness to bloom in once broken hearts.  Welcome your tears as the refreshing waters for new growth.  As the tears evaporate and dry on your cheeks, so an inner peace will enter your soul and bless you on your way.      

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: A Few Quotations
• Spiritual Growth: My Quiet Time
• Shared Wisdom: Kahlil Gibran
• Taking Care of Spirit, Body, and Mind
• Musings: Unblocking Again

This post has been viewed 3362 times!

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

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”      (Martin Luther King)

“Too many of us stay walled because we are afraid of being hurt.  We are afraid to care too much, for fear . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: Words of Love and Friendship]]> I love finding quotations that speak of love and friendship.  Whenever I read them they remind of the great blessings I have in my many friends and the gift that I receive when someone loves me.  I believe that these are human manifestations of what God feels toward us.  So here are a few quotations that caught my attention and my heart’.

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”      (Martin Luther King)

“Too many of us stay walled because we are afraid of being hurt.  We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all.”     (Eleanor Roosevelt)

“The supreme happiness of life is the conviction of being loved for yourself, or more correctly, of being loved in spite of yourself.”   (Victor Hugo)

“For whoever knows how to return a kindness he has received, must be a friend above all price.”    (Sophocles)

“Like everyone else I feel the need of relations and friendship, of affection, and I am not made of stone or iron, so I cannot miss these things without feeling, as does any other intelligent man, a void and deep need.  I tell you this to let you know how much good your visit has done me.”     (Vincent Van Gogh)

“Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is animated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it.”    (Anne De Lenclos)

“Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow-ripening fruit.”     (Aristotle)

And this last one I treasure most of all.

“Human love and the delights of friendship, out of which are built the memories that endure, are also to be treasured up as hints of what shall be hereafter.”    (Bede Jarrett)

So as we approach Thanksgiving Day, I will offer a gratitude for all the people who love me and for the friendships that bring me so much joy.

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: Words From Others
• Shared Wisdom: More Quotations
• Shared Wisdom: Gratitude, Love, Selflessness
• Shared Wisdom: More Words On The Path
• Shared Wisdom: It’s All About God

This post has been viewed 2641 times!

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

“Now and then it is good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”      Guillaume Apollinaire           (WOW!!!)

“Truth does not oppose falsehood.  It waits patiently, quietly, yet with open arms.”       Paul Ferrini

“We attract hearts by the qualities we display; we retain them by the qualities we possess.”       Jean Baptiste Antoine Suard

“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: Some More Pearls]]> This, of necessity, will be a short posting as I am preparing to go out of town for the weekend.  But I couldn’t leave without sharing these pearls of wisdom.

“Now and then it is good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”      Guillaume Apollinaire           (WOW!!!)

“Truth does not oppose falsehood.  It waits patiently, quietly, yet with open arms.”       Paul Ferrini

“We attract hearts by the qualities we display; we retain them by the qualities we possess.”       Jean Baptiste Antoine Suard

“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.”       Eckhart Tolle

“One must never be in haste to end a day; there are too few of them in a lifetime.”       Dale Coman

“I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends.”      Walt Whitman

“A good rule for going through life is to keep the heart a little softer than the Head.”      Anonymous

“Others have seen what is and asked why.  I have seen what could be and asked why not.”      Robert F. Kennedy

“Some people complain about the boat.  Others try to escape it.  Neither choice is helpful.  Until you accept the boat for what it is, it cannot take you to the other side.”       Paul Ferrini

Enjoy my friends and have a great weekend.

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: Short & Sweet
• Shared Wisdom: More Words On The Path
• Musings: Living Life (Lost Treasures)
• Shared Wisdom: Gratitude, Love, Selflessness
• Shared Wisdom: Words Both Past & Present

This post has been viewed 350 times!

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

“Spiritual life is not listening to the murmurings of the world but to that inner voice.”      (Sue Sikking)

“Don’t compare your life with others’.  You have no idea what their journey is about.  No one is in charge of your happiness except you.”      (Anonymous)

The joy of sitting in . . . → Read More: Return To My Spiritual Sanctuary]]> Much as I loved and enjoyed my trip to San Antonio, I am so grateful to be back in the spiritual sanctuary that is my garden.  I try very hard to keep my small personal routine on schedule when I travel but it is never quite the same.  Perhaps if I had lots of money and could stay in the kind of places where I could be guaranteed a quiet terrace, garden, or patio where I would not be disturbed by anyone or anything except God’s incredible creation, then it might be a little different.

The joy of sitting in my lanai fairly early in the morning, surrounded by hummingbirds, butterflies, cardinals, titmice, and mourning doves, as well as the flowers that bloom in my garden and the pine woods out back, is indescribable.  The quiet and the beauty restore my soul and fill my heart with happiness.

In my solitude here each morning there is a peacefulness that fills my whole being, a tranquility that I am blessed with, that allows me the perfect start to each day.  My meditation books are there within easy reach and I am called to a place of quiet communion with my Creator that sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Here I can bare my soul to the One who loves me always, no matter what.  Here I can tell Him my concerns, share my joys with Him, and make any specific requests that I may have.  I read recently that, “Faith functions in connection with prayer and persistence.  Persistence cultivates the belief that prayer will be answered.  A person with a persistent spirit will be blessed.” (The Power of Prayer by E.M. Bounds) 

And so I continue in my prayers for special causes that I have, for the many people who have asked me to pray for them, and for all those who have no one to pray for them.  And in my praying I am drawn closer to my God.  In my praying I go deeper on my spiritual path.  And in my praying for others I am released of the bondage of self-importance and of self-centeredness.

I am immensely grateful for my sanctuary.  For my special place where I can retreat from the chaos of the outside world.  For the quiet that offers me the time to recharge and regenerate to face whatever challenges the day may bring.  For the time each day that I am blessed with to nurture my soul. Amen!!    

Along the same lines:

• Prayer: A Tool Of Spirituality
• Spiritual Growth: Friendship & Prayer
• Spirituality: More about Prayer
• Musings: The Power Of Words
• Spiritual Growth: My Quiet Time

This post has been viewed 1944 times!

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

I have worked hard to make this creation but it is work that I enjoy and find to be very therapeutic.  Gardening is good physical exercise and therefore is a great workout for my body.  It is also wonderful spiritual exercise because I usually combine plenty of prayer work . . . → Read More: The Garden: Hummingbird Haven]]> I created my garden to be a place of joy and happiness.  Somewhere that I could retreat to and rest.  A sanctuary away from the chaos that is the world outside.  I created it to be full of God’s natural beauty with flowers and plants and small items of garden art.

I have worked hard to make this creation but it is work that I enjoy and find to be very therapeutic.  Gardening is good physical exercise and therefore is a great workout for my body.  It is also wonderful spiritual exercise because I usually combine plenty of prayer work as I dig, plant, prune, and weed.  So the garden offers me the chance to nurture myself on the physical as well as the spiritual level.

For me there is nothing like being close to God’s creation to fill the heart with happiness and the soul with joy.  Watching green shoots emerge from seeds sown several weeks earlier is like having access to my own personal miracle show!  And when the plants grow and flowers bloom, filling the garden with perfume and color, I experience a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment like no other.

However, what I did not plan or expect was the incredible daily show that the hummingbirds put on for us.  In past years I have certainly been aware of the presence of hummingbirds in my garden.  But this year has been an amazing experience.  It is almost as though they have made my backyard their official playground.

I have a wonderful plant, which I know as Orange Trumpet Vine, that grows along much of the border fence in the back yard.  It also grows up and around the mailbox out front, and climbs up one of the columns on the front porch, trailing over towards the other column about six yards away. 

When I made the major renovation to the garden this spring, I “transplanted” the trellis archway from the back yard and made it the focal point of the newly enlarged front flower bed.  With the help of my friend Linda I managed to transplant the original Orange Trumpet Vine (I grew it from seeds from the island of Ischia in Italy) that grew all over the archway.  Thankfully it tolerated the move well and is now healthily flourishing in its place of pride out front.

The hummingbirds love the nectar in the glorious globes of trumpet blooms that hang richly from the Vine, and so I have always seen them in the summer gorging on their sweet treat.  But I also put a new hummingbird feeder out back and would see them from time to time there.  I moved this feeder a couple of weeks ago and had my husband hang it on the back wall of the house fairly near the window near my desk computer.

I noticed immediately that there was great activity at the feeder on a very frequent basis during the course of the day.  Richard and I also realized that the birds seemed totally unfazed by us being on the other side of the glass and he was able to get some great video and photos of them.

Then it occurred to us that we were hidden from them because Richard had applied a mylar screen to the windows to cut down on heat in our office.  So we began to spend quite a bit of time at the window watching these amazing creatures really “up-close-and-personal”.  They are nothing less than miracles.

Over the last few days we have keenly observed them.  Several times we have noted there were about seven or eight of them zooming in and out of the garden,  up into the trees of the pine wood behind our house, then swooping down to “dive-bomb” each other off the feeder.  This evening in particular we watched them as we ate dinner in the lanai and noticed some very interesting behavior.

One hummingbird would zoom down, seeming to go the feeder.  But she would pull up short and just hover there as though suspended from an invisible thread – a minute angel-like figure with wings spread, beating furiously.  Then a second bird would swoop in and hover about a yard above the first.  And they would both just hang there, in space before suddenly zooming off up into the trees.

A little later another couple came buzzing across the yard like two F-16’s on a training flight.  They twisted and turned, mirroring each others movements until suddenly one turned to face the other in mid-flight and they seemed to do a short dance in mid-air.  I am not sure if all this activity is part of mating behavior or if they are just being naturally playful.

Whatever the reason, Richard and I are thoroughly entertained.  These delightful creatures are truly amazing to watch.  This evening among the many we were treated to the company of a handsome male.  As he moved around his ruby-red throat coloring was quite spectacular.  I am very happy that my garden has become Hummingbird Haven.

Check out these HD videos of the hummingbirds feeding.

Along the same lines:

• Self Nurturing: The Garden – Remodeled!
• My Garden: God’s Creation
• The Garden: An Inspiration
• Vignettes: My Kingdom
• Self Nurturing: God’s Great Outdoors

This post has been viewed 1368 times!

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

“The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.”   (Muhammad Ali)"

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”    (The 14th Dalai Lama)

“May the stars carry your sadness away, May the . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: Along The Road]]> It has been far too long since I posted some wonderful words of wisdom from other souls that have or still are travelling along this road of life.  I was searching for a particular piece of writing and came across some great quotations.  Here they are.

“The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.”   (Muhammad Ali)"

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”    (The 14th Dalai Lama)

“May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty.
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all, may silence make you strong.”
                                               (Chief Dan George)

“You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.”   (Pearl S. Buck)

“As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.”    (Leonardo da Vinci)

“Moderation.  Small helpings.  Sample a little bit of everything.  These are the secrets of happiness and good health.”    (Julia Child)

“Ideals are like the stars; we never reach them, but like the mariners of the sea, we chart our course  by them.”    (Carl Schurz)

“I never thought that a lot of money or fine clothes – the finer things of life – would make you happy.  My concept of happiness is to be filled in a spiritual sense.”      (Coretta Scott King)

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: It is the time for home.”    (Dame Edith Sitwell)

“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you’ll discover will be wonderful.  What you’ll discover is yourself.”     (Alan Alda)

So many words of wisdom. So many God-given truths.  So much shared by our fellow travelers. Sometimes I look at a phrase or a sentence and I wonder what was the author thinking.  What was going on in his or her mind?  Or perhaps it was something they were seeing or hearing or touching or tasting or smelling at the time. 

Some phrases leave me in awe with their simple beauty.  Others leave me breathless with their construction, the way the words are strung together.  One thing is for sure, words will always hold me caught up in  their magic like a child caught in the wonder of a firework display.

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: Some More Pearls
• Shared Wisdom: The Present Moment
• Musings: Relativity & Perspective
• Shared Wisdom: Words Both Past & Present
• Shared Wisdom: More Quotations

This post has been viewed 1119 times!

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

This year I decided to shake things up a little in my garden.  The St. Francis flower bed, so named because his statue oversees this part of the garden, had developed a deep-rooted weed system which was hard to control.  . . . → Read More: Self Nurturing: The Garden – Remodeled!]]> Finally the sun has deigned to grace us with his presence, his light, and his warmth down here in (normally!) sunny Florida.  The biting cold, the frosts, and miserable grey are hopefully a thing of the past.  And not a day too late; my garden Muse was absolutely itching to get to work because I had major projects to accomplish!

This year I decided to shake things up a little in my garden.  The St. Francis flower bed, so named because his statue oversees this part of the garden, had developed a deep-rooted weed system which was hard to control.  So I decided to dig deep, dig out as much as possible of the offending growth, and put in a fairly large (10’ x 6’) paved patio center-front of the bed to eliminate some of the back-breaking work of weeding. I have dressed up the patio with pots and urns of various sizes and colours which are planted up with bulbs, seeds and some partially developed plants. 

The Quan Yin flower bed, obviously named because her statue reigns supreme here, is much the same as before.  However I have decided to fill it with even more flowers this year.  There are also hundreds of seeds lying just below the surface of the soil which hopefully will germinate and bloom as the year goes by.  I also plan to add to the collection of brightly coloured chimes and wind twisters that hang from the wrought iron framework of the old gazebo that I moved to this bed when the lanai was built last year. 

The front yard has undergone the biggest transformation: the side two of the three small flowerbeds have been eliminated and returned to sod, while the central flowerbed has been enlarged to four times its original size.  I have walled it in with rustic stonework, elevating the back part to a higher terraced level.  The front area has been filled to overflowing with brightly coloured spring flowers and hundreds of seeds are also germinating here for later in the season. 

However, the central attraction of this new terraced bed is the weather-worn, trellis arch that originally sat just outside the screened-in back porch room.  This arch, which was deeply rooted into the ground on each side with six years of steadily growing orange trumpet vine, was dug up and relocated to the center of the raised terrace part of the new bed out front.  A couple of extra trellis panels have been added on each side of the arch to accommodate the copious trailing branches that grow from the vines, and I have planted several rose bushes in this elevated section too.

All of this was done with much help from my assistant gardener, Linda – a very dear friend without whose help I could not have achieved this major overhaul!!  This morning, after many anxious days of waiting and watching, new green growth showed on the winter-hibernating vine that wraps itself intricately around the arch:-).

As I sit in the lanai writing, my heart is full of joy and my soul sings in gratitude as I survey the end result of much hard work.   It continues to be a work in progress and God’s creation will become even more beautiful as seeds develop into plants and then bloom out in a riot of colour.  And this joy and gratitude are magnified because I know that passers-by can feast their eyes and experience their own heart joy.

My happiness is complete as I watch the birds swarming at the feeders. Squirrels are scurrying in the grass and chasing each other up and over the back fence.  Lizards and frogs are awakening from their winter lethargy and today I have seen at least a dozen butterflies. 

Richard has taken some lovely photos of the garden today, some of them early this morning in the subdued sunrise light, and some of them around lunch time.  Enjoy!!

You can see all 45 photos at the Spring Garden Update Photo Album.

Along the same lines:

• The Garden: An Inspiration
• The Garden: Hummingbird Haven
• Gardening: Spiritual & Physical Therapy
• Fantasy: The Dandelion Fairy
• Musings: Back Again!

This post has been viewed 1710 times!

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

As I have already mentioned in a previous posting, Self Nurturing-  Reiki,  I am a Reiki Master Third Degree or Level III. This means that I am certified not only to practice Reiki but also to teach other people about Reiki and to attune them to the different Reiki Levels I, II, and III.

I have had . . . → Read More: Self Nurturing: More About Reiki]]> I love working with the energy.  Whether you acknowledge it as the “universal” energy or the “God” energy (which are really one and the same!), it is truly wondrous to be part of someone’s process as they open themselves to receive healing energy.

As I have already mentioned in a previous posting, Self Nurturing-  Reiki,  I am a Reiki Master Third Degree or Level III. This means that I am certified not only to practice Reiki but also to teach other people about Reiki and to attune them to the different Reiki Levels I, II, and III.

I have had some wonderful Reiki Teachers/Masters along my Reiki path, Pio, Marta, and Amy, and each has gifted me with something precious and unique. In order to develop my own practice and understanding of Reiki and to better help myself to teach and impart the principles of Reiki to my students, I have written my own basic Reiki text.

There is so much information about Reiki “floating around out there”, and so much has been added to the basic steps that Dr. Mikao Usui laid down, that I find a great deal of “complication” in many texts.  My personal opinion is that Dr. Usui received very simple instructions through visions about modern day Reiki.

I know that my first Master, Marta Getty, who attuned me to first and second Degrees, added no frills to the basic concepts taught by Dr. Usui.  I would like to share with you some of my writing about Reiki.

REIKI: A Definition

- Reiki, pronounced “ray-key” comes from the Japanese language

- Rei, is the Japanese word for universal, spirit, and gift

- Ki, is the Japanese word for the life force energy which flows through everything

Reiki is a profound yet very simple system of healing. The Reiki practitioner places his/her hands upon the person receiving the treatment thus facilitating the flow of the universal life energy. Some Christian Reiki practitioners call this energy the “God Energy”.

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT REIKI

Reiki Levels: There are three levels or degrees of Reiki. Reiki I, Reiki II, and Reiki Master/Teacher. Some schools of thought on Reiki like to make a separation between Master and Teacher thus creating a fourth level.

Attunements: The attunement process for each level is what awakens the student to the energy of Reiki and helps to open the energy channels within each student, thereby facilitating the flow of the energy.

Symbols: There are four Reiki symbols. 1) the empowering symbol/physical healing symbol; the mental/emotional symbol; the long distance healing symbol; the master/teacher attunement symbol.

Hands-On & Distance Healing: Hands-on healing is demonstrated during training at the Reiki I level and this is the basis for all levels of Reiki. During the Reiki II training students learn how to effect distance healing.

THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF REIKI

• Just for today do not worry
• Just for today do not anger
• Honor your parents, teachers, and elders
• Earn your living honestly
• Show gratitude to everything

All Reiki practitioners are encouraged to commit to and live by these principles every day of their lives. (I have made them a part of my morning meditation and quiet time.)

Worry consumes a lot of energy that could be put to better use. Worry is perceived as a stressor by our brain which sends messages through the nervous and hormonal systems to get our body into “fight or flight” mode. This causes unnecessary wear and tear on the body and leads to illness.

Anger is as destructive to the mind and body as worry. Anger, in and of itself, is not bad. It lets us know that things are not right. It’s how we react to anger that can be the killer – literally. Many violent crimes are the direct result of anger, and serious illnesses can be caused by living in a state of anger.

To honor and to be kind implies being non-judgmental and allowing the other person the space to be and become all that they can be. This allows us to develop compassion for others which, in turn, allows us the space to have more compassion for ourselves.

Whether working hard to earn our living or to deepen our spiritual practice we will increase our self esteem and sense of personal dignity. Living honestly also offers us a path to personal truth and leads us to inner peace and happiness.

When living in a state of gratitude ego is “kicked to the curb”. Gratitude encourages us to look at our blessings rather than our lack, which in turn leads us to live in a positive state rather than a negative one. Gratitude also helps us to cultivate the quality of humility

I will share more writing from my Handbook in some further posts.

Along the same lines:

• Self Nurturing: Some More Writing About Reiki
• Self Nurturing: Reiki
• Gratitude: A Way Of Life
• Self Nurturing: The Qigong Experience
• Musings: Sliding Into Autumn

This post has been viewed 2615 times!

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

Among the papers, many of them somewhat yellowed from age, I found several quotations that I had written down and saved.  The two that I will share with you today talk about the same thing, . . . → Read More: Musings: Living Life (Lost Treasures)]]> Today I was clearing out the small cabinet and drawer in my computer desk (a job long overdue!), and I came across some old files.  All of you pack-rats out there will relate when I tell you there were all kinds of things stuffed in the files.  Much of it needed to be purged but, as often happens with me, I found some real treasures.

Among the papers, many of them somewhat yellowed from age, I found several quotations that I had written down and saved.  The two that I will share with you today talk about the same thing, living life, each one in a slightly different style.  The first one has a name attached to it, while the second is anonymous.

“You, with all your flaws, have been chosen for this opportunity to consciously taste life, to know it for what it is, and to make of it what you are able.  This gift of a conscious life is grace, even when your life is filled with great difficulty and it may not feel like a gift at the time.”

                                                                         Phillip Moffitt

Actually this quotation was also accompanied by another quotation that I had written further down the page, still by Phillip Moffitt and still about life.

“Your life, with its unique pains and joys, can only be reconciled in your surrender to the truth of your experiences as they arise one moment after another, never fixed, always moving.”

What really stands out for me in these few lines is the invitation to live life in the moment, to be fully present to everyone and everything that you meet on your path.  It also reminds us that life “ain’t just a bed of roses”. Actually the roses are there in abundance but to appreciate them fully we have to accept that they have thorns and are sometimes surrounded by weeds.  And I am reminded, again, of my friend Tish’s favorite saying: “it is what it is”.

The anonymous quotation that I found among my pack-rat treasures is almost an admonition or an instruction on what we have to do to live life fully.

“It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the enlightenment or the courage to pay the price ………. One has to abandon altogether the search for security and reach out to the risk of living with both arms ……….one has to embrace the world like a lover……….one has to accept pain as a condition of existence……one has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing…….one needs a will stubborn in conflict, but apt always to total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying.”

                            Anonymous/unknown

I have certainly had my share of pains and difficulties, many self inflicted directly or indirectly.  But I have also had a great share of joys and happiness.  In my own experience the joys and the happiness have multiplied a thousand fold since I have given up the pursuit of me-me-me-ism and have focused more fully on my relationship to and with the God of my understanding.  Which reminds me of the quotation by Paul Ferrini that I cited just over a week ago in Shared Wisdom-  Words Both Past & Present.

Certainly I have learned as I live my life that I have to approach each day, sometimes each breath, with as large a measure of humility as courage.  Oh, I could choose to bulldoze my way through situations and over people the way I used to.  But I prefer the peace of mind that I have today by showing compassion towards everyone I meet.  We are all on our own journey and some of us have chosen very difficult paths.   

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: The Present Moment
• Shared Wisdom: The Voices of Others
• Shared Wisdom: Some More Pearls
• Shared Wisdom: Power To Become
• Shared Wisdom: Latest Quotations

This post has been viewed 868 times!

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

Well, it goes by doesn’t it?  I mean it doesn’t go for a walk, or to the movies, nor does it go to bed or on vacation!!  It simply goes by, tick-tocking the seconds one by one.  It never stops, nor does it . . . → Read More: Musings: Time – Flying Or Not?]]> For the trillionth time in the past few years I heard someone say, “Oh my God, time is just flying by”.  And I mentally concurred as I noted the date on the calendar.  It’s November 2009, almost Thanksgiving with Christmas knocking on the door.  And, as usual, I found myself internally asking, “Where does the time go?”

Well, it goes by doesn’t it?  I mean it doesn’t go for a walk, or to the movies, nor does it go to bed or on vacation!!  It simply goes by, tick-tocking the seconds one by one.  It never stops, nor does it go back on itself.  It keeps on marching and no one can stop it or change it.

Sometimes when I think about the inexorable passing of time I get in a bit of a panic.  I suspect that’s the very human part of me that recognizes underneath it all that with the passing of time my life span gets shorter by the second.  However, there are other moments when I feel quite OK with the passage of time and I’m sure that’s when I’m more spiritually fit, when I’m more God-centered rather then me-centered.

I actually have a personal theory as to why time seems to be flying by.  I’m very sure that the closer my soul feels to home, the more it seemingly accelerates time.  It wants to get there, no delay!!  I am of course speaking from a Christian perspective.  I do believe in an after-life and I think that the closer I get to my transition date from this earth, then my soul is just in a hurry to get there.

Then I find myself thinking about heaven and what that might be like. When I was younger I used to imagine thousands of us, all glowing white and gold, surrounded by angels with long golden trumpets, just kind of bobbing around in this shiny nebulous place – rather like bobbers on a fishing line all massed together and smiling beatifically at each other.

Today my idea of heaven is greatly changed.  Seeing as it’s my goal to get there I’ve given it quite a lot of thought.  I’m very sure there will be activity rather than just sitting or standing around “bobbing” and beaming at the other souls.  I really imagine some of it will allow me to sit on a seashore or a riverbank with Jesus and Buddha, Gandhi and Gibran, Richard Bach and Og Mandino, Marianne Williamson and Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Princess Di and Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II and Wayne Dyer.

There will be time to talk with them, collectively and individually.  Unlimited time to ask them questions and have long discussions with them.  I am sure I will meet the spiritual beings that were my family members and friends and that we will be able to connect in ways that were impossible here on earth because of the lessons we were learning, or teaching, here.

Most importantly there will be love, complete and unconditional love which will be the true source of happiness and joy.  Practicing compassion will be the norm. There will be a beauty that transcends any earthly concept of beauty.  And there will be no pain and no hatred.  Now that’s what I call heaven.          

Along the same lines:

• Vignettes: Giulio’s Wedding
• Shared Wisdom: Kahlil Gibran
• Spiritual Growth: Personal Prayers
• Shared Wisdom: Words from Wise Ones
• Musings: Unblocking Again

This post has been viewed 909 times!

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

No matter what the moment may have been, these words have been important enough to me to have caused me to write them down for future reference.  I hope you may . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: More Quotations]]> I always enjoy sharing some of my favorite quotations.  They are usually words that have helped me through a situation or two.  Sometimes they have presented themselves as words of comfort and encouragement, sometimes as words of inspiration.  Frequently they have improved my understanding of a particular set of circumstances.  More often that not they have been “light bulb” words; words that have given me that “ah-ha” moment. 

No matter what the moment may have been, these words have been important enough to me to have caused me to write them down for future reference.  I hope you may find some gems of wisdom among the following quotations that will enlighten your heart and your day.

• You give but little when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.       (Kahlil Gibran)
• Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.    (Jesus Christ)
• Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.       (Thich Nhat Hanh)
• Faith is a desperate dive out of the sinking boat of human effort and a prayer that God will be there to pull us out of the water.     (Max Lucado)
• Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.  (American Indian Proverb)
• As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might.      (Marian Anderson)
• If you love yourself, you love everybody else as you do yourself.  As long as you love another person less than you love yourself, you will not really succeed in loving yourself, but if you love all alike, including yourself, you will love them as one person and that person is both God and man.  Thus he is a great and righteous person who, loving himself, loves all others equally.     (Meister Eckhart)
• Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.    (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• Encouragement is awesome.  It has the capacity .. to actually change the course of another human being’s day, week, or life.    (Charles Swindoll)
• I have found that when I am willing to trust and follow my energy it leads me into relationships with people from whom I have the most to learn……. I don’t need to enter or stay in a relationship that is not good for me, but if I choose to leave I can still acknowledge the gift and the teaching I received.      (Shakti Gawain)
• One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.      (Goethe)
• Death seems so wrong, dear Lord
  Couldn’t You have remedied it?
  Have you forgotten, dear child?
  There is Easter!!        (Ruth Harms Calkin)
• The uncertainties of the present always give way to the enchanted possibilities of the future.   (Gelsey Kirkland)
• If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.    (Mother Teresa)
• Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about?  It just makes me feel glad to be alive – it’s such an interesting world.  It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we knew all about everything.     (Lucy Maud Montgomery)

And one final quotation to carry with you through the day, which also links with the posting I did yesterday Self Nurturing- Program Yourself Positive.

• Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.    (William James)

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Along the same lines:

• Shared Wisdom: The Last of the Batch
• Shared Wisdom: A Rush of Words
• Shared Wisdom: Words of Love and Friendship
• Shared Wisdom: Short & Sweet
• Shared Wisdom: Words From Others

This post has been viewed 858 times!

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

The event itself is a series of concerts that are played simultaneously across the Park.  The musicians and singers are all Christian music performers.  On these concert nights the Park is closed earlier than usual to regular patrons and only Night of Joy . . . → Read More: Vignettes: Night Of Joy]]> For six years I have attended Night of Joy at one of the Disney Theme Parks. For those of you who do not know what Night of Joy is, let me inform you.  There are actually two nights that are spanned by this event and it usually takes place on the second Friday and Saturday in September.

The event itself is a series of concerts that are played simultaneously across the Park.  The musicians and singers are all Christian music performers.  On these concert nights the Park is closed earlier than usual to regular patrons and only Night of Joy ticket holders are allowed into the Park for the evening’s entertainment. 

I participated in my first Night of Joy in 2004 and it was held in Magic Kingdom.  Last year and this year the event was held in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Although the backdrop of Cinderella’s castle was always very magical, after two year’s experience at Hollywood Studios I think my preference lies with the latter.  There just seems to be easier access to and more space for the performers and the patrons.

I will never forget my first Night of Joy.  I had no idea what to expect.  I was not yet “into” Christian music.  I had heard some on the radio (check out 88.1 The Promise in the Jacksonville, FL area), and I liked most of it.  Some of the “heavy/hard rock” groups didn’t attract me, but that’s an age thing:-).

As I listened to the first concert get into full swing I noticed an immediate surge of energy all around me.  Don’t misunderstand me.  I have been to other “pop” concerts over the years and there is always energy with the music.  There is always energy with music, period.  It’s an expression of energy by the musicians and the audience responds in like manner.

But there was something different; a totally different kind of “buzz”.  I checked out all around me and realized that I was surrounded by young people, by old people, by couples, by families, by singles, by groups.  There was a cross ethnic, cross generational theme everywhere I looked.  But there was a focus, an excitement, an intenseness spritzing off of everyone, and it was very contagious.

Almost everyone, no matter what age group they belonged to, knew the words to the songs.  Almost everyone was singing out joyously.  There were people with one hand lifted to the sky.  Yet others had both hands raised.  I suddenly realized by about the third song that I was in the middle of one huge glorious worship service.

Who knows what different church denominations were represented there in that moment.  I know I saw some groups wearing T-shirts that identified themselves as belonging to a particular church or Christian youth group.  They were many and varied.  Yet the one unifying desire was to be there to worship and glorify God, Creator, Spirit.  A yearning, if you will, to recognize and acknowledge the One, the Supreme Being who gives us life.  It was electrifying.

I am not a “holy roller” (whatever that may be).  Although there are a few Bible verses that I can quote and reference and there are others that I can paraphrase, I am not someone who can spout from the Bible at any and every occasion.  I do not wear “sack cloth and ashes” and I really hope I don’t portray a “holier than thou” attitude. 

When I’m not dealing with that pesky de-pression stuff, I consider myself to be a fun-loving, joy-filled, and joyful person in my day-to-day dealings with life.  But that evening I experienced joy on a level that I had never experienced before.  It was the kind of joy that filled me up, raised me up, and had me overflowing with happiness and gratitude.  The kind of joy that had me laughing, smiling, singing (when I knew the words!), and crying all at one time.

My husband did not come with me that first year.  It had been a “girl’s night” treat with a couple of my girl friends.  But when the following year rolled around, based on my experience the previous year, he wanted to participate and we went as a family with our daughter.  He and I have not missed a year since, although because of last minute work travel in 2008 he had to surrender his ticket to one of my friends.

Each year has been different and yet each year has been the same.  The bands and the individual singers may change and rotate, but the energy and enthusiasm of the people who come to listen, sing, and worship remains the same.  And they come from all over.  Most of the States are represented and I have even met people from Canada, UK, and South America.  If you want to experience an uplifting, interdenominational worshipping of God, I highly recommend that you plan a Night of Joy at Disney.

Along the same lines:

• Night Of Joy 2010
• Spiritual Growth: The God Path
• Freedom: Also a Loss
• Musings: Sabbath with Georgina
• Self Nurturing: The Qigong Experience

This post has been viewed 935 times!

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

Last weekend Richard and I took a trip.  We mounted . . . → Read More: Musings: The Muse Is Back]]> I’m never quite sure what happens to me when my normal routine is disrupted.  All I know is that it seems to take me forever to re-find myself, to get back into my everyday patterns and the activities that I love doing.  Sometimes the disruption is a “going away” thing; a trip, a vacation, a retreat.  Sometimes the disruption is caused internally; an emotional hiccup, a hormonal hill, an unexpected trauma.  The journey back is more difficult when the disruption is a “double-whammy” – a trip AND an internal shift.

Last weekend Richard and I took a trip.  We mounted our much-loved Harley and hit the road.  First stop was Orlando where we spent the night and participated in Night of Joy at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  (That experience will be a posting of its own.)  We had a great ride and even though we encountered some of the usual backed-up traffic on I-4, we arrived safely.

On Saturday morning we slept in a little after our late night at the concerts and, after breakfast, we got back on Harley fully kitted out in our rain gear.  There was a steady drizzle of rain which wasn’t too bad, but the closer we got to Tampa the harder it came down.  We were glad to reach our destination – the lovely luxurious Westin on the Causeway – change into dry clothes, order up some room service, and just relax.  Later in the evening we took a cab to Mass at Christ the King church, then crossed the road to eat at GrillSmith on South Dale Mabry Hwy. (Another separate posting on this experience!)

On Sunday morning we prepared for the other highlight of this trip: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game against the Dallas Cowboys.  Richard and I are die-hard Cowboys’ fans and this was a great game to be able to travel to.  The weather was reasonable even though showers were promised.  We had our rain ponchos and what’s a bit of water if you can get to see the “Boys”!!  (The game will be another posting!)

We happily prepared for our trip home (the “Boys” won after an exciting game that could have gone in either direction until the fourth quarter).  Apart from a short we-are-lost detour at the beginning of the trip (unfamiliar city roads and road construction!), and a small shower closer to home, we had another great ride and arrived home safely at about 10pm.

Now that was a fabulous weekend; no hiccups, no problems, and a very happy ending.  It just carried a simple “disruption” tag to my usual routine.  So why on earth did I wake up on Monday morning feeling like I was sliding down some treacherous slippery hill of grayness?  I guess if I could answer that question, and especially if I could offer a solution, I could get very rich very easily!

Thank God that I have done a lot of personal growth and spiritual growth work over the last thirty years.  At least this puts me in a position to be able to actually recognize that I was on this slippery slope.  It allows me to know myself enough that I am aware that geographical and time disruptions to my routine affect me in ways that perhaps other people do not experience.  I am also willing to put a name to that slippery slope, that most people avoid because they feel it carries too much stigma: depression.

I feel blessed that I have built a support system of incredible friends and that I know to reach out no matter how small the hiccup or hill may seem.  I do not want my hills to grow into menacing mountains that I cannot surmount.  I also feel blessed and grateful that the depression that I suffer from occasionally is not acute and does not require medication.  I also recognize that if I did not have the self awareness that I have worked so hard to achieve, and if I were not willing to take action and ask for support and help, I could easily spiral into deeper depression.

Many people out there, especially those in the male category, refuse to even consider that they may be depressed.  I think it is time to concede that as human beings, with all the in-built emotions and hormones (yes, you guys have crazy hormones too!!) and all the external stress that we deal with on a daily basis, it is normal for us to have “ups and downs”. In our “ups” we are high on happiness and excitement.  In our “downs” our happiness is pushed down, de-pressed.

Sometimes it requires nothing spectacular to de-press our feelings.  It can be something as simple as the end of a special occasion (a trip, a celebration) or even a split second thought or memory that triggers a series of other thoughts that take us down.  And sometimes all or any of this can take place on such a subconscious level that we cannot put our finger on what is causing our “down”, our de-pression.

So on Monday my plan had been to get up and immediately hit the computer and share all the wonderful experiences of the weekend and whatever else the Muse presented.  But somewhere on that slippery slope Muse had jumped off the wagon and I was left with “gray”.  Plan of action: pray, call a friend, go meet with some people who didn’t think I was crazy and who understood exactly what I was going through.

And that is how I am very blessed.  I have gathered around me people who are available to me, who care about me enough to give me their time and their invaluable friendship, who are willing to listen, to share their own experience in similar circumstances.  With their help, it has taken me four days to fully come back up and feel normally enthusiastic about each day.

I have been patient and gentle with myself.  I have not “self-bashed” myself because I haven’t written anything since Saturday.  I have allowed myself to be “lazy” and focused on doing just the absolute essentials on my schedule.  And lo! the Muse is back.  More postings to follow!!!!      

Along the same lines:

• Musings: The Evasive Muse
• Musings: Time Away From The Muse
• Musings: Open And Closed
• Musings: Life And Lemons
• Traveling: The Retirement Ride

This post has been viewed 941 times!

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