What I Am To Be

We Have The Power To Create Happiness

2012-01-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

An acquaintance on Facebook posted this clip of Charlie Chaplin giving a speech in "The Great Dictator". I had never seen it before today, but had to post it here for myself as well as for anyone else who might be interested in such an articulate and truthful speech.

It is amazing to me how old this dialogue is, but yet how timely - or timeless.

We have the power to create happiness.

We can create anything we want.

Choose life, choose love and please check out this speech.

It made my day, hope it makes yours.

What Is A Safe Haven?

2011-11-26T15:22:00.000-05:00

Whether or not your fully committed to the life you're living, you're living it.

Whether or not you are consciously thinking thoughts, thoughts are being thought of and waves of energy are cascading out into the infinite universe returning to you the spoils of their intention.

Our dreams have a way of confirming this. As last night's dream did so vividly.

My dreams have always been an extension of my waking thoughts. Sometimes, they're quite prophetic about the future and sometimes they are grounded in the here and now, as last night's dream was.

The content of the dream is not so important as the thoughts that I've been grinding out of mind on a constant basis. I'm very well aware of my thoughts and their inconsistencies. I am also aware of the repetitiveness. The ones that repeat are the ones I struggle with the most. The repetitive nature of these specific thoughts are the ones I have to war the hardest against. They seem to be the ones with the most hold on the magnetic tape in my mind. They've carved a groove out for themselves and are quite content to play, repeat, play, repeat, if for no other reason than to exist, or is there a more sinister reason for their existence.

I often wonder where rogue thoughts come from.

I know the bible talks about the 'enemy shooting arrows' ---->

Here's the beginning of this Chapter... Ephesians 6

¹Children, obey your parents as the Lord wants you to. This is the right thing to do.

²`Respect your father and mother.' This is the first law of God with a promise: `So that all will be well with you, and that you may live long on earth.'

³Fathers, do not make your children angry. But teach them the things children need to know, and tell them what they must not do. Teach them what Christ would teach them.

⁴Servants, obey your boss. Respect him with all your heart and try to please him as you would Christ.

⁵Obey not only when he is looking at you, as if you were pleasing a man. But obey as the servants of Christ, and do with all your heart what God wants you to do.

⁶Work gladly as if you were working for the Lord and not for men.

⁷You know that the Lord will pay every man for the good things he does. It does not matter if he is a servant or a free man.

⁸And you who are bosses, be good to your servants also. Do not talk loud, hard words to them. Remember that both their Lord and yours is in heaven. He does not love one person more than another.

⁹Last of all, I say this. Be strong in the Lord and use the strength he gives.

¹⁰Use everything that God has given you so that you can fight against the tricks of the devil.

¹¹We are not fighting against people of flesh and blood. But we are fighting against rulers and powers whom we cannot see. We are fighting against those who control the darkness of this world, and against bad spirits who have power in the air.

¹²So use everything that God has given you, that you can fight when the bad time comes. You will need to do everything you can do to stand!

¹³So then, stand and hold on tight to the truth like you put on a belt. Do what is right. Wear it as a cover for your body.

¹⁴You have the good news of peace. Wear that like shoes on your feet.

¹⁵You believe in God. Take that and cover all of yourself with it. With that you can stop all the poison arrows of the devil.

¹⁶You have been saved. Wear your salvation like you wear something on your head to protect yourself. And take with you the big knife or sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁷Always talk to God in the Spirit. Talk to him about everything and ask him for what you need. Put your mind on what you are saying, asking God to help all his people.

¹⁸And also, ask God to help me to talk without fear and tell people God's plan about the good news.

Thinking thoughts are not just random, as it may seem. They are a powerful tool against the snares of the enemy and against free radicals in our own bodies.

The truth is a cover for our bodies, a layer of protection, a grounding or a foundation which you build your life upon.

A cover or protection against what you ask?

Perhaps lies from others, perhaps lies from ourselves.

If we're not honest about situations in our lives, our own thoughts can act as a poison against our own bodies. If we're repeating negative thoughts about our bodies, or our abilities, it will have a negative effect perhaps in the form of headaches, anxiety attacks, sleeplessness, irritability, etc. A repetitive, negative thought is just like a continuous dose of poison. You don't even realize your consuming it, until your body needs it to exist and it demands the sickly thoughts just to cope. The drugs your thoughts produce in your brain: dopamine, cortisol, and beta-endorphins.

All of this just from not thinking consciously? Absolutely.

Read what Dr. Ali Binazir states in a recent article I found on HuffPost:

"Here's a rubric I made for making sense of seemingly bizarre human behavior. If I saw it pop up over and over again -- say, millions of people doing it over the course of decades and centuries -- chances are that those people weren't totally nuts or stupid. There must be some deep biological phenomenon at work here.

You probably know folks who are stuck in terrible relationships, or who keep on having the same bad relationship with differently-named people. Heck, you may even be that person who engages in the serial self-flagellation. You also know people who systematically sabotage their own happiness: by being habitually late; by engaging in self-pity; by putting themselves down.

Turns out there's a dark reason to all of this. Many people unconsciously want to be treated poorly, taken advantage of, or even outright abused. They are seeking to experience self-pity, pain and denigration.

In this case, the biological phenomenon is simple: pain and negative emotions activate the reward centers of the brain, causing unconscious addiction to those negative emotions.

Let me say that again, because it was really, really important:

Pain and negative emotions activate the reward centers of the brain, causing unconscious addiction to those negative emotions.

Ladies and gentlemen -- this is a whopper. People think of the reward centers of the brain as the "pleasure centers," so it makes sense to them when someone gets addicted to cocaine, or crack, or sex. Because cocaine makes your brain light up, makes you high, and then you want more. Duh.

That's the addiction that people know. But you don't need cocaine or meth or crack to create a self-reinforcing addictive circuit in the brain. Anything that activates the beta-endorphin or dopamine pathways will do.

It turns out that pain and negative emotions (e.g. self-pity, anger, guilt) also activate the beta-endorphin and dopamine pathways. Chronic jaw pain or painful thoughts light up those pathways just like the infamous addictive drugs do.

As a result, we can get addicted to those emotions. Now there aren't any thuggish-looking dealers, pieces of foil covered in white dust, or telltale tracks on the arm, so people can say, "Look, I'm okay! Really!"

My friends, the deadliest drug pusher of them all is the one that lives inside your head that no one can see, not even yourself.

The dopamine pathway activates in drive states. Drive states are necessary for survival: getting away from a threat, moving towards food, mating. Cortisol, the chief stress hormone, also mediates dopamine release.

So it makes sense that when you're stressed or in a flight-or-fight situation, your brain releases dopamine.

But why would it release beta-endorphins? Aren't those the feelgood chemicals you get when, say, you have a runner's high?

Turns out that beta-endorphins are also powerful analgesics. If you've ever had that runner's high, kept running for another five miles and came back home sore as hell, you know what I'm talking about.

So let's say you're in a flight-or-fight situation on the Savannah, oh, a million years ago, and you get injured. Then there is real survival value to postpone the distraction from the pain of the injury so you can win the fight or flee to safety. Now it makes a lot of sense that an analgesic would be released during a flight-or-fight stress response.

What's happening with negative emotions is that they tap into these same ancient survival circuits to get us a little bit of that reward drug. Make sense?

This is why the battered wife goes back to the abusive husband. This is why you pick the same abusive girlfriend over and over again. This is why cutters cut themselves. This is why people pay to go to BDSM dungeons. In sum:

People engage in physically or emotionally self-destructive behaviors to get an unconscious drug payoff.

So that's part of how we are complicit in our own suffering. We're actually engineering it.

To snap out of it, here's the three-step protocol I've proposed before. It's not easy, but it is simple:

1. Get help. You can't do it alone -- lord knows you've tried. That's why the 12-step programs say you need to appeal to a higher power. As the Course in Miracles says, "Your best thinking got you here." So get help -- friends, family, professionals. Reach out -- physically, literally. Say, "I need help. Will you please help me?" Sure, it's humbling. But would you rather be dead? Because your addiction can and will kill you.

2. Get away. You need a detox period for your neurology to return to normal. There are receptors, neurotransmitters, vesicles, and reuptake mechanisms involved -- actual physical things that need to be rearranged in your brain. This rearrangement takes 7-21 days. In the meantime, you must get yourself away completely from the noxious behavior and its triggers. Two weeks of detox is a good rule of thumb.

3. Continue healing. The goal of this exercise is to get your mind back to a homeostatic state. Meditation and yoga are good for this. So is associating with friends who bring out and celebrate the best in you. So is hypnosis that unravels some of the self-destructive circuitry. So is hanging out with a partner who values and nurtures you.

Now, back to my dream. I dreamt that I was standing along side of my house. The foundation of the house was massive. It was marble in my dream or a seemingly impenetrable stone. It was very much unlike the house I am living in. In any event, I was leaning on the foundation of the house in a way that was unhealthy. I was clinging to the foundation. I was clinging to my home.

In my waking life, this is very much an area of concern for me. Since my husband and I have decided to separate, where I ultimately live is kind of up in the air. I'm not sure if we'll sell the house or not. I'm not sure where I will wind up. It's an unknown for me.

This is the first and only house I've ever 'owned'. I am not very interested in letting it go and embracing the unknown. I am very content to stay in this home, even if my family isn't in it anymore. At least I have a place to call my own.

And then the reality of those thoughts comes flooding in, as my dream would make me ponder. Even while I was dreaming, I was thinking of Luke 21:6. It was as if Spirit was correcting my 'stinking thinking' about the where's and how's of my life:

“As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

We build up these 'states of mind'. We create these blankets of security in our thoughts. If only I had this or that, then!!! oh only then will things be okay. Silly humans, things are okay all the time.

Perception is everything.

Create a safe haven in your mind and your doomed.

Allow your mind to challenge every concept! Allow your mind to challenge every secure notion. Take your senses out of the equation, is it still safe? Can you even feel your way through your existence?

You know, the things we take for granted are the very things that we use to navigate through this realm of existence.

Your mind, your body, your soul, your spirit...these are the only tools you have to navigate and they are all conflicting as it pertains to messages received. Your body tells you one thing, your spirit another and your mind, yet another.

Which one do you rely on emphatically?

For me, and my house, I live by the Spirit. The one that loves, guides, corrects, protects, enriches, and blesses, inspires, comforts, loves, gives, heals, teaches, despite what is seen, or unseen.

Funny Thing Evolution - It Really Changes You

2011-07-08T23:00:00.002-04:00

While the person typing these words now, is the same as the person who typed the words that began this blog, oh so long ago, the person, me, I am in no way the same.

Funny thing, evolution. It really changes you :) hopefully, and consistently, for the better.

I really am a work - in progress.

My soon to be ex-husband (there, I've said it), gave me a compliment recently with regard to my being able to change for the better, consistently. I really appreciated that compliment. It's one of my better qualities that I have worked hard to cultivate. I say that in a humble and grateful way, and in no way arrogantly.

I appreciate the fact that many years ago, it was not in my level of consciousness to really modify my behavior, unless it suited 'me'. Of course, once you embrace the divine and you allow Spirit to manifest in your life, that changes everything, and of course, this has been the course of my life.

I started out on a really rocky road, and perhaps the road is not pebble free at this point either, and narrow as it may be, it suits me.

I am contemplating my next tandem skydiving adventure. I love the adrenaline rush. Adrenaline is a friend of mine, if it's not too late in the day. It works very much like caffeine in my body - it lasts, and last, and lasts. I have a lot of respect for caffeine, adrenalin, and gravity, make no mistake, but I am looking for some radical experiences in this lifetime. I am not passive in that way. At least not anymore.

Life, my beloved, is too short.

I've been, in the last year and a half through what feels like a death in my soul and I am only now emerging. I was silent because my heart had no words. I recoiled into myself, metamorphosis in the mind of the soul, to heal and process and become what I am to be.

More than likely a mystic, a shaman. Karl Rahner was quoted as saying "The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist at all". I can totally relate to that.

God has used my mistakes to soften my soul and widen my minds' eye in ways that even I probably cannot comprehend. I am not the same.

Geez, my forties have been amazing. Hard and soft. Bitter and sweet. Kinda like my thirties, my twenties, and my teens. I really am smiling and laughing as I type these words because, what are my fifties going to be like?

Well, this much I've learned.

My fifties, which are not going to be around for a while ... I might add, are going to be exactly what I desire them to be. I am called to pray, ask, believe.

I pray to God Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth, of all that is seen and unseen. God loves me with a jealous love. He abides in me.

whoa

and you

if you are receptive

I am receptive to the love and presence of God. I have a consistent desire to be filled to overflowing with the energy that is of God, which in my soul I know be love from a force of fierce protection, guidance and wisdom.

He truly gives us the desires of our hearts.

It's only a question of what we want, and if we can handle what we get as a result of our asking, believing and receiving.

I sit on the front end of a marriage that I would've died for, but couldn't save, as hard as I tried. A marriage I vowed to honor, in the sight of God and friends and witnesses. I asked God for this marriage, I prayed for it and it came, God gave our marriage to us. We were together for fifteen years, married ten. Would I consider it a failed marriage? Perhaps, perhaps not.

Failed marriage is a tough pill to swallow. It wasn't a complete failure. Nothing is. We are better people because of it. Maybe we'll even be better friends.

Jimmy and I will always be deeply connected. I love him and consider him to be part of my family in life. Forever, husband or no husband. It's all good. My God works all things . . .

By the way, just to honor the Most High God, here are a few basic “God terms” that are commonly used within Hinduism:

Om–God as Divine Sound

Bhagavan–God as Supreme Personality,

Isha–God as Supreme Lord

Purusha–God as Supreme Man

Brahman–God as impersonal force or energy

Sat–Supreme Permanence

Cit–Supreme Consciousness

Ananda–Supreme Bliss

Satya–Supreme Truth

Mahesha–the Great Lord

Tat–That

Tattva–Absolute Truth

Eka–the One

Ahhhh there is power from On High people - can you hear me?

So, I pray for myself, as well as everyone else that unspeakable joy and love, peace, guidance and protection, good health, great relationships, abundance, friends and companions, family, freedom - all the things we basically have now, but even more, would be ours all the days of our lives.

and God, when, in your Grace you bestow upon us even more, help us to hold these gifts with tender care and help us to use them to return to you the great success that you have ordained.

I'm praying bigger this time.

I'd rather risk it all, then play it safe, especially if God is on my side.

My Life Has Meaning

2011-04-30T15:12:00.000-04:00

It looks as if I'm becoming a seasonal blogger and that's not too cool. I really want to spend more time here exploring and documenting the turns and twists in my life, but life gets busy right? Season after emotional season. Even though, not writing since February? That's just not right....so, I'll try to write more, okay?

Happy Spring! It's just starting to look a little like Spring around Northern New Jersey. While the rest of the country is experiencing the most tumultuous weather patterns, we're just recovering from some of the worst flooding this Garden State has ever seen. Ask any old timer though, this is not new. Weather has been doing this kind of damage and destruction since the beginning of time. Still, with the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the earthquakes in Haiti, Christ Church, New Zealand, and the tornadoes in the mid-west of the U.S. - it's a bit much. What can you make of it?

But enough about the weather. I'm just starting to feel like myself again. I've been going through so many changes these past twelve or so months. I think God is carving out a special place in my heart for only Spirit to inhabit. There are so many emotions, thoughts, preconceived notions, and just plain things I thought I knew that frankly, I'm beginning to see, no one can ever know. Life is mysterious. Love is even more so it seems.

I'm beginning to think that my heart is called to love on a much bigger level than on a case by case basis. Sure it's fine to be in relationships and have feelings for one another on a small, intimate scale. Sometimes, life's most precious challenges are found therein, but I think my Spirit is driven toward the world at large. I find myself thinking about all of the inhabitants on earth - all my brothers and sisters, and what they're facing, how they're coping, how they're living, and I'm compelled to pray for them, for us. I'm compelled to hold humanity in prayer and light and send love and healing to them by virtue of intention, and Reiki, through prayer and meditation. The more I do it, the more I'm driven to do it and it's a constant thought in my head and feeling in my heart. I'm not sure if I'm putting it there or not. It's always been there since as long as I can remember.

God definitely is calling me out of the more traditional relationships - or maybe I've just been too hurt by them to spend my energy on something that never comes back to me for the long haul. I really want to be a part of something that produces fruit. I want to produce fruit for God's Glory, you know? I've tried to produce it for my own and it didn't work. I'm pretty much done with that, at least for now.

Two nights ago, I gave a Reiki lecture at MSU that was really rewarding. I was afforded the opportunity to speak to young, college minds studying world religion and hopefully some seeds were planted that God will water. That being said, I just wish one of those students smiled at me while I walked the campus. I was consciously walking through, on my way to University Hall to speak and while walking, passed many students who just seemed weighed down and disconnected. This compels me, even more, to speak words of hope into their ears and maybe even their souls, so that they may 'live and prosper', for real.

I did tell them that too. I told them that I wished just one of them smiled at me. Turns out, many of them stayed behind after the lecture just to hug me. They went far beyond what I had hoped was in their hearts.

I'm so looking forward to the next phase in my life and I seem to find myself saying that a lot, but it's the truth. For me, life is a world of learning experiences that lead you from one level or plateau, to another. It's an upward, at times struggling climb that one takes on for the soul purpose of leading a well lived life. Learning from experiences and becoming a better person, serving the world and community at large seems to be for me, the point of existence. Helping. Healing. Loving. Serving. Supporting. SHARING. And the list goes on.

Who Am I?

2011-02-05T23:10:00.001-05:00

It's been a bitter, cold and snowy event here in Northern New Jersey lately and now, February has rolled up on us.

February, the warm and fuzzy month, set aside to celebrate the passion and joy of L.O.V.E.

I happen to celebrate love every minute of every day, but that's just me.

For the rest of the world February gets people closer and fired up. They're taking advantage and using the occasion to make more love, talk more about love, buying heart-shaped, chocolate-filled, champagne-fluted celebrations of love from the local confectioners and jewelers.

But what about you? Who and what do you love?

Love isn't necessarily easy to come by these days, and true love seems even more elusive.

"True love" whatever that means.

Personally speaking though, love to me is so many wonderful things, it's probably pretty much impossible to completely describe, but....

I think love is smiling at the woman in front of you with the crying baby who has just about had enough as she realizes she's forgotten the diapers.

I think love is sharing what you have with someone who has less.

I think love is giving of yourself in ways that are out of your comfort zone.

I think love is about patience and compassion.

Those seem obvious.

I think love is the God given ability to see the shimmer of light inside the ice crystals that formed on the snow this Winter in the yard and inside the icicles that hang on the rafters on the side of the house.

That's pretty much the same as the love I see in the twinkling of the stars, especially shooting stars, and the moon and the sun and clouds in the sky.

I think love is the morning sun, accompanied by chirping birds, that beam into my room and wake me up almost everyday and promise me I am not alone - never alone.

And, I think love is the warmth of Mohito's belly when she comes to snuggle with me---ME!! She chooses to come and snuggle with me. That's some sweet love.

For me, love lives in my memories, my past experiences with family and friends, moments of good will, charity, peace and tenderness, celebrations and times of struggle.

I love the fact that as a family, ours has gotten through many things. "Gotten through" being the operative words.

You've got to get through.

Believe it or not, for me, some love filled experiences are simpler than that.

They're just moments when a breeze would touch my face or the sun would fill my eyes and I would know that I know that I know - that I am His and that He loves me and all of this is an illusion and that time will reveal all the mysteriousness that I know in my soul to be about this life.

Beyond people, love for me lives in every living thing. Every plant, every animal, every creature alive even the smallest has significance, otherwise why would it be here. I'm not so quick to squish. I pretty much capture, bring to a safe place, and release. That's love!!

Spiritually speaking, love has brought me to my knees in prayer about my family, friends and circumstances. Love lives in the spirit and the righteousness of prayers. I believe that God, in His love, has provided healing for our bodies, our minds, our spirits, and our circumstances through love filled prayers -->

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:16 (KJV)

I believe that Reiki and healing are based in prayer, truth and love.

I believe that love is praying to God for an understanding about forgiveness, forgiving yourself and those that haven't even asked you yet - by the way, they may never ask but you should forgive them anyway.

Karma is all about giving.

Love is giving.

I believe healing lives in for'give'ness.

Pray for healing for strangers, family, friends, yourself...all filled with love.

Love is prayer.

And, love inspires healing prayers.

I think love is knowing that God has me and you and it, all figured out and our faith alone will dictate our success.

I think I will die trying to please God, because I love God and I love love. I love peace. And, I love you.

This is the most important blog to date. L. O. V. E.

All you need is . . . love.

Happy Valentines Day!

"Not because of who I am, but because of what you've done. Not because of what I've done, but because of who you are....I am Yours."

You're Beautiful

2011-01-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!! 2011, can you believe it? I can't. Seems like yesterday we were gonna 'party like it's 1999' hahhaa! Where did the time go?

Sorry I haven't blogged in forever. I've been going through life's struggles and trials, coming out the other end refined and purified. I will get into details, but just not yet. Let's just say that when two become one, and then perhaps they become two again, it is a very painful and awful process...yet beautiful somehow.

I have a lot to say about that, but as I said, today is not that day. Today I want to lift you up. I want you to feel the expression of love that I feel when I hear my favorite song at the moment...I just had to share it with you. I've been going through so much lately and somehow, God always manages to lift my Spirits...I hope it will lift yours.

by Mercy Me

May God richly bless us all this year, in our comings and goings, in our hellos and goodbyes, in our blessings and struggles. God loves us and wants to inhabit our praise and wants to help us in our daily living. Lift your eyes unto the Lord, surely this is where your help comes from. God be praised.

May all your dreams come true in 2011 and remember, "you're beautiful".

Love & Namaste,
Maria

Give, Give, Give

2010-10-29T18:40:00.002-04:00

Summer 2010 came and went so fast, I can't even believe it. It's already Halloween and retail stores are clearly focused on getting through that and heading straight into their busiest, most profitable season, Christmas.

I just want my Summer back.

I really am a Summer baby. The sun hits my face and it makes me stop, pause, breathe deeply.

Winter tends to draw me into myself futher...a hibernation of flesh, body and spirit if you will. I really need another Summer right now. It's been such a stressful year and Winter promises, based on today's winds and leaf blowing, to be long, dark and cold. I pray it's not lonely too. That, can be too much to bare sometimes and I do get lonely, even with all my work and socializing. Do you ever feel like that?

That's why it's so important to surround yourself with people that understand and get you. Recognize the spirit of a person that is negative, or compulsively selfish, or self loathing, or all of it. They may tend to take you down with them if you're ill prepared.

There are a lot of good people struggling right now, for various reasons. Praying for one another, lifting each other up, going out of our way for our neighbor...these are the types of things that are edifying and worthwhile.

Try not to pay too close attention to what someone else has and what you lack. Be grateful for all that you have, for your clarity, for your ability to help your neighbor. If you look closely at you're life, you will see that you are richly blessed and have more than enough and probably enough to help someone else in need.

Everyone needs friends, family, and a community to share and communicate with. Reach out into yours. Help the homeless. Help the hungry. Share your wealth and knowledge and prayers and time.

Give, give, give.

It all comes back to you in the end.

Live To Learn

2010-08-25T11:15:00.000-04:00

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." Diane Ackerman

Life has so much to offer, not just in it's longevity of days which at times feels like it could last forever, but in it's subtle width that if we're not careful, we'll overlook. We sometimes tend to carve out an existence and get into a groove that can be repetitive and dull. We may stay the course even more since we've carved out that path but why? Maybe because it seems easier to stay the course rather than to try and make a new way.

That reminds me of driving down an old country road. Sometimes, there are grooves in the road that can actually interfere with your ability to drive in a straight line. You pop out of the groove and then you sink back into it over and over until you just give up and stay the course until a better patch of roadway pops up and when it does, you're relieved especially when you realize how hard it actually was to stay inside the groove. Turns out it's much easier to come out, stay out and charter a new course rather than stay inside the groove of that which you clearly do not fit into any longer.

But how do you know when something 'doesn't fit' any longer? I guess it depends what 'it' is. For me, whenever I was on a road that was either coming to an end or starting to get into a sticky groove, 'it' had something to do with my mind, my body or my spirit. I realize that covers everything, as it should, but God in Her mercy always would present me with one challenge at a time, albeit a tough one. I would come to recognize the area that I needed to change and would draw from my past experiences to devise a plan of attack or action or whatever the situation called for.

For instance, I quit a terrible, cigarette-smoking-addiction cold-turkey over seven years ago and never looked back! Yeah, that's a big one and I'm quite proud of it. When I realized that that part of my life needed to fall by the way-side, I made a conscious, deliberate decision to stop smoking. I prayed about it, received the grace to change my habits immediately and made a plan to succeed and then, I stepped right out of the groove of addiction onto a new path of freedom and I paved my new way. I stayed the new course and have had a lot of success with it. When looking back, I realize that it all worked together for the good. All of the thinking and decision making and habit changes all worked together to help me gain the success that I had envisioned long before I decided to quit. I had a goal in mind and I pursued it with all that I had, and I was and still am successful in this regard. It parlays itself into other areas of my life and helps me to be successful when I set the course in my mind first and then act accordingly and build on my past successes.

But, that's a pretty simple example, I suppose, when it comes to major life changes or challenges in life. I've had many more difficult ones but the simple principle of the above example really does play itself out in a way that is very useful. Deliberate action brings deliberate results when planned and executed, right? At least one can only hope.

Life sometimes gets a chuckle out of the way we over-simplify it. We think we've got it all figured out and then the 'rug' gets pulled out from underneath the deep groove we've made for ourselves. We think we've 'seen it all' and then we get an eyefull of something we've never, ever seen before and that makes us go - uh oh.

I have tremendous respect for the true mysteriousness of life and for life force energy. Just look around you at all that lives, breathes and grows. It truly is amazing, magical and precious that we are all part of this magnificent, life-force frequency-emitting-orchestra sending energy simultaneously to each other and beyond.

We're doing all of this without ever even trying. We're mostly unaware of the energy that we emit to one another and we are mostly unaware of how insync and connected we are to everyone and everything. We have the ability to change our state of mind, our circumstances, our health, our relationships, our karma, our state of being, our world.

We can take a bad situation and turn it into something wonderful. We can use our past experiences to learn from them and to teach others that perhaps there is a better way to live.

Once we embrace the notion that everything is temporary, and all life eventually transcends into something else, we can embark on a journey of respect and mindful elevation that brings the spirit into a love pattern that creates a groove on a much higher plane. A groove that does not limit or restrict, but broadens and helps growth. Love is the vehicle I believe, to enlightenment, to change, to health, to spiritual, mental and physical wellness. You must love yourself first, then you can see fit to love others. Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew:

3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

You really have to love yourself in order to discipline yourself. The Bible also says that 'the body is at war with the spirit', so it stands to reason that you would need to discipline yourself at times, to say no, to not give it whatsoever it desires and to keep your body somewhat pure to inhabit the grace of God. Hmmmm.

The body is the temple of the Spirit of all creation. In my humble life, I have come to learn that. Sure, I've heard that said before but it was not until I reached a certain level in my spiritual life that I realized certain things about the body and the mind.

And what have I learned? Quite a few lessons along the way, most of which I wouldn't trade for all the world. What good is the world if you've not figured out a way to truly navigate through it.

I thought that life was a little less fragile than it actually is. I thought that life was a little more predictable than it really is. You only need to be rushed to the hospital once or hear really unexpected news about a friend or a loved one to appreciate that.

The challenges that sometimes lay ahead are not for the faint of heart. You need to be as prepared as you possibly can be and then hope, pray and work really hard for the best outcome. You know the expression, put your best foot forward. It may sound corny but believe me, warriors wear armour and train for a reason. A battle can sometimes be just that...a war or a confrontation with something in your life that stands to take from you that which must not be taken or that which you must freely give...like your life.

Death, illness, destruction, war, hatred...these are real things in the world and we must be prepared to deal with them if and when we happen upon them.

On the contrary, I want to be ready for sunshine and flowers and a salt-filled ocean breezes, but those things seem easier to prepare for.

You can never really be prepared for some things in your life, but most things perhaps.

Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear

2010-06-13T12:41:00.000-04:00

Truth. It's just how I live my life.

Unfortunately, there a lot of players out there in this world.

From corporate America, to the governments of the world, to religion and it's faithful followers, to marriage and the vows of monogamy, to those who are wise in their own conceits, the corruption and lies are rampant. I always knew there was a better way. Did I lie when I was younger to keep myself out of trouble? Yes of course, but there comes a time when you put childish ways behind you, you mature and you deal with consequences - you do not run from them as a child might.

1 Corinthians 13:11

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."

What good does deceit do anyway? Do you really think you're sparing someones feelings by telling little white lies? Do you really think that the truth will not eventually come to the surface? What is this illusion surrounding us? Why do we think that we can say one thing while our entire being is saying something else and no one will notice?

Are we so ignorant to believe that we have mastered this life and we have it all figured out - and 'lie till you die' is a real option? Are we that weak? Are we that superficial? Are we that lazy?

Do we loathe ourselves so much and are we so self sabotaging that we've convinced ourselves and now, we're even believing ourselves - our lies, our half truths?

How did we get this far off course?

Using British Petroleum as an example....BP is insane.

Insanity and all it's glory looks something like this:

BP really believed that the ocean is so vast that it would and could hide their little indiscretion.

BP really believed that this oil spill would be a minor hiccup in their profit margins.

BP really believed that they were in bed with the right parties, so any indiscretions could be overlooked.

BP really believed that YOU would believe anything they told you.

BP and the government and the federal judges and the truth are a long, long way from the surface. BP really believes you are not paying close enough attention to figure this one out...until now.

This article is taken from the Associated Press - Saturday, June 6, 2010:

and this is the headline: Many Gulf Federal Judges Have Oil Links

MIAMI – More than half of the federal judges in districts where the bulk of Gulf oil spill-related lawsuits are pending have financial connections to the oil and gas industry, complicating the task of finding judges without conflicts to hear the cases, an Associated Press analysis of judicial financial disclosure reports shows.

Thirty-seven of the 64 active or senior judges in key Gulf Coast districts in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida have links to oil, gas and related energy industries, including some who own stocks or bonds in BP PLC, Halliburton or Transocean — and others who regularly list receiving royalties from oil and gas production wells, according to the reports judges must file each year. The AP reviewed 2008 disclosure forms, the most recent available.

Those three companies are named as defendants in virtually all of the 150-plus lawsuits seeking damages, mainly for economic losses in the fishing, seafood, tourism and related industries, that have been filed over the growing oil spill since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Attorneys for the companies and those suing them are pushing for consolidation of the cases in one court, with BP recommending Texas and others advocating for Louisiana and other states.

A Washington-based federal judicial panel is scheduled to meet next month to decide whether to consolidate the cases and, if so, which judge should be assigned the monumental task. The job would include such key pretrial decisions as certifying a large class of plaintiffs to seek damages, a potential multibillion-dollar settlement, whether to dismiss the cases and what documents BP and the other companies might be forced to produce in court.

The AP review of disclosure statements shows the oil and gas industry's roots run as deep in the Gulf Coast's judiciary as they do in the region's economy. For example, one federal judge in Texas is a member of Houston's Petroleum Club, an "exclusive, handsome club of, and for, men of the oil industry."

Federal judicial rules require judges to disqualify themselves from hearing cases involving a company in which they have a direct financial interest, and some Louisiana judges have already done so. For example, U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon in New Orleans, who reported ownership of BP stock, issued an order in early May that the court clerk not allot cases involving BP or related entities to her docket.

Another New Orleans jurist, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, said in court Friday he is selling his oil and gas investments — which included Transocean and Halliburton — to avoid any perception of a conflict. Barbier is presiding over about 20 spill-related lawsuits and some attorneys are recommending that he be chosen to oversee all cases filed nationally.

Still another judge in Louisiana, U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon, recused himself because his attorney son-in-law is representing several people and businesses filing suits against BP and the other companies over the rig explosion.

In many ways, the financial conflict rules are murky. For example, a judge does not have to step aside if the investments are part of a mutual fund over which they have no management control. Mere ties to companies or entities in the same industry, no matter how extensive, also don't require disqualification, according to legal experts.

"The specific rule forbids judges from hearing a case in which they have a financial interest. The more general rule forbids them from hearing cases in which their impartiality might reasonably be questioned," said Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law professor who has closely studied judicial ethics.

So a judge like U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval of New Orleans would not have to disqualify himself even though he reported royalties from "mineral interest No. 1 and No. 2" in Terrebonne Parish, La., on his 2008 forms. Likewise for Senior U.S. District Judge William Barbour Jr. of Mississippi, who listed at least 30 oil and gas interests in three states including "McGowan Working Partners" and "Petro-Hunt Bovina Field," both in Mississippi.

Some judges have close ties to the energy industry that aren't for financial gain, but could still raise questions of potential bias.

The judge BP wants to hear all of the spill-related cases, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes of Houston, for the past two years has been a "distinguished lecturer" focusing on ethical issues for the 35,000-member American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Hughes is not paid a fee but does receive reimbursements for travel, food and lodging, said association spokesman Larry Nation. Hughes has appeared at petroleum geologist meetings in several Texas cities, in New Orleans and also in Cape Town, South Africa. He is scheduled to give a lecture later this month in Calgary, Canada, the oil and gas capital of that country.

"Under the circumstances, I can see why the questions are being raised," Nation said. "But one of the reasons Judge Hughes was chosen to be a lecturer is that he is known as a very ethical person. I would think his being an ethics lecturer for our organization would be a positive, not a negative."

Hughes said at a hearing Friday that his work for the geologists poses no conflict and that his other oil and gas investments — which include royalties from several mineral rights interests — are not connected to BP or the other companies involved in the spill lawsuits.

Florida attorney Scott Weinstein, whose firm represents charter captains and other companies suffering economic loss from the spill — including the owners of the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in Key West — said people might think it's unfair for BP to win its wish with a Texas judge rather than one seated in Louisiana or Florida, where the spill's impacts are greater.

"I would never assume that a judge is biased because of the jurisdiction that he or she sits in," Weinstein said. Still, "if this case winds up in Houston, many of the victims will feel very distant from where that justice is being handed out. It will not make sense to them."

Another Florida plaintiffs' attorney, Stuart Smith, was more blunt about the companies' aims.

"They would get much more sympathetic judges and perhaps a more sympathetic jury," Smith said.

In court papers, BP says that Hughes has the "experience and capacity" to handle the lawsuits and that Houston is the ideal location because most of the defendants' companies have headquarters or major operations there. BP spokesman have repeatedly declined to comment on pending lawsuits.

Some attorneys have come up with an unusual assertion: import a New York federal judge with a strong background in environmental lawsuits to Louisiana to preside over the cases.

They are recommending that the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation appoint U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin. Scheindlin presided over settlement of some 200 lawsuits brought against BP and other oil companies over a toxic additive called MTBE that contaminated drinking supplies nationally — and she has no oil and gas investments, according to her financial disclosure forms.

Attorneys with the Weitz & Luxenberg firm in New York said they recommended Scheindlin rather than a Louisiana judge because "most or all of the judges in the (Louisiana) district have a conflict and cannot preside" over the consolidated cases.

Scheindlin's deputy said Friday she was out of town and unavailable to comment on whether she would accept such an appointment.

The judicial panel meets July 29 in Boise, Idaho, to hear arguments on consolidation of the oil spill cases. Recommendations also have been made for sending the cases to Alabama, Mississippi and South Florida.

Wow.

What have we done?

Do you think this bird wants to hear BP tell it that everything will be okay and the damage to the environment will be temporary and that they will clean up their mess?

Do you think this bird will believe them?

I don't.

No New Thank You

2010-05-23T10:38:00.008-04:00

My bones are still tired from all of the "Spring cleaning" I did yesterday. I could see the day coming off in the distance for weeks before it got here. I could see it and I could hear it. It would say "gotta clean out my closet", "gotta put away the winter clothes and take out the summer clothes", "gotta straighten out the linen closet", "gotta do the floors (all of them)" "gotta wash the windows", "gotta go through the drawers and under the sinks", etc., etc.

Suffice to say that mostly all of it got done and today I feel my age. I'm moving a little bit slower than I was yesterday. Nothing a few days of yoga can't fix if I can squeeze it in. Lately, I've not had the time to do it 'all' so yoga has suffered and so have I. I have made it to the park though and out of all of the things that I do, that one seems to be the most important. I must take time out to reflect and exercise and walk in the park. It centers me as does meditation and yoga and cleaning, as it turns out. The ritual of cleaning and organizing and reducing clutter and waste...it is important to me. It's necessary. And I'm really okay with it. I've been asked several times to hire someone to come and clean my house and I did it when I broke my arm a short 10 months ago, and it was helpful. But I'm so much better now and I can do it myself and I need to do it myself. I'm not just surface cleaning...I'm going through everything. Eventually, like my life, I hope to have no clutter.

Yesterday I realized that over the course of my life, I've accumulated a lot of 'stuff'. Stuff that I really don't need so as they say 'out with the old'.

As far as 'in with the new' ... no. No new thank you. I'm making space once again (unless we're talking about shoes, then - okay, let's see 'em - shoes make me feel good)!

It felt so great waking up and realizing that finally all of 'those' chores that called to me from afar were now ghosts. Quite an accomplishment and a good feeling. I'm interested in good feelings lately...the more the merrier. I mean, you "gotta" clean right? But you gotta have fun too!

Life is so fragile and short. "In this world ye shall have tribulations, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” Jesus said that in John 16:33.

Simplify so that you have less worries about less important things.

Joy and laughter come easier to those with less worries. How can joy emanate from a worrisome soul right?

Don't get me wrong. We all go through life's most amazing challenges. We all struggle with chores, with work, with family, school, bills. We're not unique in this way.

We're unique in how we overcome these challenges. Being positive is underrated. Being truthful is underrated. Being healthy and fit is underrated as is being spiritual or Godly.

The Dalai Lama was here recently. He says things are improving. I am also hopeful and pray that the world becomes happier and in turn, we become kinder to one another.

We can all afford to clean up our acts a little bit, inside and out, be better, smile more. Don't you think?

There are a few more things I see in the distance coming into my reality. I can hear them too. They're saying things like "what about the garage", "what about the basement"?, "what about the "OTHER" closet"??? Yeah, I still have some work to do. But today?

Today is Sunday. A day historically, symbolically and spiritually expressed in giving praise to God and resting. The former I do constantly, and the latter well, I shall begin after these very next key strokes.

Be love, be light and while there is still breath in your lungs, get out there and have fun!

(This post was written last week...I haven't been posting because I'm having difficulty posting pictures and I'm frustrated not being able to do that...suffice to say, I posted this because it's better to post without pictures than not to post at all).

love love love

I Cherish The Day

2010-04-15T20:20:00.010-04:00

I cherish the day and deep breaths that I find myself taking.

I feel like I've been working non-stop, and it's such good work that I can't and won't complain. Truth be told, I have nothing to complain about and why should I be looking for something to complain about? I'm healthy, I'm working, I'm prayerful, I'm alive...funny how our society can be so bitter that we look for the problems instead of the blessings.

If we spent more time focused on blessings and light, we wouldn't even notice or realize that there were any problems. I've been working my whole life on one thing or another, but I don't think I've ever enjoyed it more now. Perspective perhaps.

God knew what I needed way before I did because I landed in quite a sweet spot. I really do have what I have because God has given it to me. I will always give God the glory for all things in my life, good and maybe not so good. Bad? Nah. Challenges? Yes, definitely. Some seem quite insurmountable, "seem" being the operative word here.

Things are always only what they 'seem' to be, so why shouldn't I see them as moveable?

I believe that all things are possible through Christ, through the light of God, through the universal life force energy that we are, so I believe that nothing is impossible.

I realize with that thought process, it's much easier to 'cherish the day'. Most people do not think this way I've come to find and I'm not quite sure why not, but speaking only for myself, I do have a large amount of faith in that which I cannot see.

Scripture says that to each a portion shall be given and I think it's important to respect that portion and develop it into more. So, through my portion of faith I truly believe that I can make a difference. I truly believe that I can manifest anything that I want if I work hard enough at it and if God is in it and for it. If God be for me, who (or what) can be against me?

In my life, I can testify that if God was in it - my path was made straight and direct. Sometimes miraculously so, especially with this most recent acquisition of blessings in my life. Just a humble job, but is there really any such thing?

Perspective.

For me, I imagine it, envision it, feel and sense it - it's there if I want it to be - the possibility that is and when I focus on that and play with that - the universe and God get in line with it and bless my circumstances to bring that which I am manifesting into reality. Can you hear me?

The rest? Well, there are many parameters when it comes to the power of attraction but let's just say that if you need a friend, and you envision a friend, and you pray for a friend, you just might get one.

I overcome and I learn so much about myself in the process of dreaming, hoping, growing and learning some hard life lessons. I've always had growing pains, I've been here before and I'll be here again as long as I have the desire to be the best I can be in my spirit first, my mind second and my body last, but certainly not least (and I know that on some level all things are equal).

I realize that refining is a continual process and because things have changed so drastically for me in my personal life recently, I know from experience and living this faith filled life that there is so much more that I can't see that I'm growing into, that I'm manifesting, that God is giving to me.

I believe in balance. I won't be afraid.

Life is what you make of it.

Light The Way

2010-04-02T08:59:00.004-04:00

I took a long ride recently with some good friends down to West Virginia. It was a fun trip although the weather was horrendous. We've had so much rain here in New Jersey and we thought if we went south it would be better. It wasn't.

It pretty much rained the whole time we were there, but on the way back home, this appeared in the sky.

Coincidence? I doubt it very highly. I see rainbows everywhere all the time. Rainbows, shooting stars, miraculous wonders of God's mercies and love reminding me that I am not alone, there is hope, there is an amazing power source available to all if they only embrace it.

I am living my life embracing that which brings light and illumines and I saw this as a direct sign to my heavy heart.

You know I've had a rough time of it, who hasn't? But, I'm looking forward toward that which guides me toward righteousness, love, peace, kindness, calmness, humbleness, even-mindedness, balance, centerdness and I'm hoping that this sign is the beginning of things turning around for the better.

Change is at the door.

I have a new job. I am considering moving, where? I'm not sure yet. I am considering changing just about everything in my life - except - my foundation. My love of God, and my love of love will never change. Or at least I should say, if it does change it shall change for the better. With God and love there is always growth and healing - the kind of change we embrace even if it hurts a little bit...after all, when the rain stops and the sun comes out, amazing things can happen.

This light that shines is not just for me, it is for you too. I can see it in your eyes if I look closely enough and I pray that you can see it mine.

Genesis 9:13
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Inner Pearl

2010-03-02T15:45:00.003-05:00

Here I sit trying to decide just how much of my inner pearl I want to share with you. Life, it seems, has thrown me another curve ball to deal with, this one having to do with more emotion than one person should have to handle.

Interesting since working with energy has so much to do with emotion. As soon as I became involved with Reiki, unresolved emotions from my past, fears and concerns about my future and the present unsettled moment kept coming into focus. The time to clean house had come whether I welcomed it or not. This was a good thing, though at the time, quite gut wrenching.

I dealt with all of it, so I thought.

The lessons I should've learned from some past similar experiences have come around full circle. Truly, what goes around comes around. Even if you try your hardest, sometimes somethings are coming for you and they're going to hit you squarely so take them when they come so as to avoid repeat fire.

I've taken this one squarely.

I'm still standing and I'm emotionally wounded, but I'm beginning to heal and move forward. It may look like I'm standing still, but if you look closely you will see that progress is being made.

What is the elephant in the room you ask? Well, I really don't want to get into specifics, but I will say that trust is something that I value, that and truth now more than ever.

I feel that I am a very trustworthy person. I have been known to say that I am a safe bet. Why? Because I know the value of the truth. It's priceless. When no one else will speak the truth - when the whole world has convinced itself that to lie is better than honesty - I will be there saying 'hell no'. I can't help it. I'm not even known to sugar coat. Personally, I think I've gotten better at it - telling the truth that is.

Perhaps when I was younger I needed to express 'my' truth - even at the expense of other people's feelings. I've since learned to be more sensitive than that. I was young and learning. Now, I'm seasoned and have had enough of life's experiences to know that the truth can set you free and really hurt - so be gentle with it - but, speak it at all costs.

Which brings me to trust.

One of my favorite things to tell my cat Cricket, a.k.a. Crispy Whispy, is that she is 'safe, loved and protected'. I tell her that because she clearly has anxiety at times from some kitten hood trauma she had experienced before I rescued her. I've had to convince her for the past ten years that she's safe. She's loved. She's protected. She's starting to trust me I think after all these years, but she still has a lot of anxiety. I've had to build a relationship of trust with her. I work really hard at it. My heart breaks for her since it's such a deep rooted emotion for her not to trust.

I can so relate to that. I've had my share of disappointments as it pertains to my relationships. I had to learn to trust again. Which I did. Until now. Again.

Now, I'm going inside where there's stillness, and quiet and clarity and remembering what Jesus said about humanity and that He knew what was in 'us'. I think He was speaking of the fact that sometimes people will let you down and take your trust and make you regret giving it away. Let's be clear. It is a risk - trusting. Where I come from anyway.

It is a risk but one that I am willing to take. I believe in myself and in the core values that make me who I am. I believe in faith, in trust, in truth, in love.

My eyes, however, are wide open. I've seen enough in my humble life to know that not everyone has your best interest at heart. Sometimes, you have to figure things out for yourself. Protect yourself. Make sure that you are loved, safe and protected, by yourself! I trust me. I am a sure and safe bet. I will not let me down.

That is a good place to start. Again.

'Try Reiki' Dr. Oz tells millions on TV

2010-01-11T13:06:00.003-05:00

This is too incredible not to post. I've only posted a few times in the past several months, and here I go posting twice in one day. Go figure.

This story was forwarded to me yesterday from a Reiki website. By the way and co-incidentally, Dr. Oz successfully performed open heart surgery on my dad several years ago and before he had his show. I remember shaking his hand at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, he glowed as most surgeons do.

Check this out ----->

Dr. Mehmet Oz, a renowned cardiovascular surgeon and host of the third (or possibly second) most popular syndicated television program in America, this week introduced millions of viewers to the natural healing practice of Reiki as part of a program on alternative and natural remedies. The Dr. Oz Show included not only a segment featuring a demonstration by Reiki author Pamela Miles, but an emphatic recommendation to "try Reiki" as the #1 "Oz's Order" at the show's conclusion.

In a related (and unsurprising) development, the audience member who received a brief Reiki chair session from Miles told Oz and his viewers (an estimated 3.5 million people) after only a few minutes of Reiki that her headache was going away.

By week's end, the Reiki segment of the show had made its way to YouTube, where it found even more viewers. Click here to see it for yourself.

Oz, whose wife, Lisa, is a Reiki Master, called Reiki "my favorite treatment that could change the future of medicine forever." Reiki was the last of an assortment of featured alternative remedies, including mud baths, herbal remedies, aromatherapy, yoga, saunas, and cupping.

"If we put cupping in the hybrid category between biomanipulation and energy," Oz said as the Reiki segment began, "It provides me with a good segue to what I think may be ultimately the most important alternative medicine treatment of all. And we are embarking on this whole new vista of opportunities, it broadens dramatically the spectrum of where we might be able to go in our bodies, and this is the area of energy medicine." At that point, the camera pulled back to reveal Pamela Miles and the audience member.

"And joining me today is Pamela Miles," Oz continued. "Pamela has actually been to the operating room with me where we have done Reiki. He pointed out that, like Pamela, "my wife Lisa is a Reiki master, so when the kids get sick, or when I'm out of sorts, she actually comes by, I can't even tell when she's treating me, sometimes she secretly treats me, if she thinks I'm in a bad mood" -- everyone laughed -- "and I see hands moving around, but I actually feel the heat."

As the session began, Oz asked Pamela to explain a little about Reiki.

"Reiki is a balancing practice," she said. "And so rather than addressing the headache or whatever else is the problem, what it does is it influences the person's overall system toward balance, and then as her system becomes more balanced, symptoms tend to fall away. Then over time, for example, if you get headaches, you may find that you get them less frequently."

"Do you feel anything?" Oz asked the Reiki recipient.

"Yes, my headache's going away," she said.

"Let me show you why I think energy has been overlooked," Oz continued, turning to reveal a large microscopic image. "This is an image of a cell. And it's beautiful, isn't it? You see that cell there, and it looks colorful, and look at the blue pattern on the outside. That's the membrane of the cell. That blue area on the outside differentiates life. Because it separates no energy on the outside from energy that's present on the inside. So if you think about it in that way, if the membrane of a cell keeps an energy balance between inside and outside, which is what defines life, if we put those cells together, into an organ, shouldn't the organ have energy? And if you put those organs into a body, shouldn't our bodies have energy? And so many of the ailments that we suffer from can be treated through energy therapies, which will become become much more prevalent over the next few years."

At the show's conclusion, Oz did his usual "Oz's Orders" segment: "Here are the three things I want you to remember from today's show. First off, try Reiki. This alternative medicine treatment can manipulate your energy and cure what ails you." And he recommended that viewers boost their metabolisms and check their blood pressure. "Those are my doctor's orders."

*** www.thereikidigest.com

Beauty For Ashes

2010-01-05T10:13:00.009-05:00

As far as blogging goes, I've not been great at posting on a regular basis. It's not that I don't have the time or that I don't have something to say, I do most days. I guess life just gets complicated and my attention can only move towards that which gives me energy on a more immediate basis. Don't get me wrong, I love this blog and I'm amazed at how much I've changed since the first entry. I am definetly not what I used to be, but then again who is?

This blog is a testament to my life or at least what I choose to share about it. You must know that I keep really personal stuff close to the cuff because being completely transparent scares me, but what I learn I usually do try and share. I'd like to think that that's what my life is about or at least that's what this blog is about, learning and sharing, but there are so many people 'out there' that are not listening so I wonder sometimes what the point is?

Have you ever felt like that? Like no ones listening? Sure they hear, but the deep understanding that brings change, healing and life...is that message falling on deaf ears?

I mean, humanity has learned so much on this planet and we're still at war with one another. We war on all levels. When we're not out and out killing one another with weapons we're killing each other with lies and deception. What becomes of all this?

Scripture says God will give us beauty for ashes, but there are just too many ashes wouldn't you say? At some point, wouldn't God say "Okay, people! I thought each of you might burn one thing and sense the destruction and forever banish the burning"! "I thought you would learn from each other's mistakes". "But you've chosen to make bon fires four times a day to destroy that which I have built up, get behind me Satan!"

We've made sport of it now.

Destruction for destruction's sake?

Are our hands dirty?

Is anything sacred anymore?

Well, of course the answer is yes, but you have to search for it sometimes. God, and the peace that transcends all understanding, is something you must earnestly search for. You must be in attendance, in prayer, in contemplation, in silence, in stillness so that when the trials and tribulations of this lifetime come clearly into focus, you can stand firm on your foundation of truth and not waiver in the sight of such confusion.

Beauty for ashes? Of course. If you think hard enough you will see that your life has always been about that.

OM Namah Shivaya

2009-12-09T21:29:00.007-05:00

Truth. Simplicity. Love and Service to all sentient beings.

This is the message that has come to me through the Bhagavad Gita. God, it seems, has many roads leading to him/her. God, and the great cosmic consciousness has purposed it this way.

The Bhagavad Gita was brought to my attention years ago by a star that shined on this planet for a very short time. Her name was Dina Certrulo and while she was here, she and I were friends and she taught me about things along the lines of divinity, spirituality, the Tao and Hinduism. She was probably the only person that I ever came in contact with that shared with me in this way. If it weren't for Dina, I wouldn't be leaning in this direction. Because of her safe and valued opinion I am forging ahead. She was wise beyond her years and generous with her knowledge. I would only hope to be as kind.

I have been hungry for these things forever and they very rarely fall on deaf ears with me. I'm always paying acute attention. I am aware. I am present. I am being. I am in the now.

This is revealing. It is liberating. It is cosmic.

Not just in theory. The very nature of spirituality is to take you from yourself, your 'so-called' circumstances and illuminate the magnificence in and of your life.

This year has been a year of karmic cleansing for me. The beginning of 09 was all about my throat chakra and how I was not living my authentic truth. I allowed someone to bully me. I am 46 human years young and I allowed myself to be bullied.

It was not empowering like when I was younger and had more control over the situation. This time, as karma came around, I was not prepared, caught off guard and holding my tongue in the name of 'doing the right thing' or 'taking the higher road'. I suppose for some, peace works like that, but for me communication is the key. Without saying the words "hey, that hurts" the hurt can never heal. On the contrary, the hurt festers until it becomes something entirely different, something much worse. No. Nip it in the bud. That's my new mantra on speaking the truth and living your authentic truth. Look people right in the face and with as much love as you can muster, tell them exactly what you think. Do not be spiteful, judgemental, cruel or sarcastic. Just speak the truth.

"That hurt."

"Please do not treat me that way, it makes me feel badly and it is very hurtful."

"If you knew how much I loved you, you could never treat me this way".

Choose your own words, but speak them, out loud, in love, into the ether, into the cosmos, outside of yourself so that God and the Universe can hear you and know that you've worked through your karma and can speak on your own behalf in truth, simplicity, love and service to all sentient beings.

Then I broke my arm. My heart was broken.

What does my arm have to do with my heart?

Well, I was on my way, so I thought, doing Reiki, helping people, giving lectures and .... then ... I had the cast and you know the rest. I was incapacitated up until very recently. It took the rest of 2009 and shoved it right into a plaster disaster. Not to make light of it, but why not. That was then and look at me now, typing close to 90 wpm and doing my hair and taking care of business and giving my biggest lecture of the year at MSU.

Bones heal way quicker than hearts.

My wrist still hurts but when it hurts I do not fall to my knees weeping.

I do not become incapacitated and depressed.

It is just healing and now I know what a healing bone feels like.

In retrospect, I also know what a healing heart feels like.

It's just about the same thing.

It's when we become attached to the outcome...we become attached to the reciprocity of love and when we don't get it...what then? The bones hurt? The bones break? The heart hurts? The heart breaks? I've learned it is better to not be attached to the outcome of love, or bones. To the outcome of life or death. A broken heart should never happen, even though you love with all that you are. Love with no expectation of getting anything in return and then ... when you do not receive love ... you will not be dis-appointed.

I just went to Shop rite and checked out at the express lane because I only had a few items. A beautiful, young, African-American male was working the register. I asked him "How are you? They're not getting the best of you are they?" and he just smiled. I said "I never let them get the best of me" and I looked straight at him. He returned my glance smiling and contemplating.

What I was referring to was the negativity, the monotony, the hatred, the sarcasm, the ill-will, all the negativity that there is in the world that would keep us from living our authentic truths, our authentic lives, the best us that we are in the world and in the cosmos ... no, they will never get the best of me in that way. I will love them though and I will love you despite all of those obstacles and I can only pray that all at once they would fall by the wayside and make way for truth, simplicity, love and service to all sentient beings.

He checked me out and handed me my bags and said looking right at me "I will never forget what you said". I replied "Good. It's important to remember" and I left the both of us smiling.

No, my throat and my heart chakras are healthy now, spining brilliantly on their axis, shining, like the planets, the universe and the cosmos and the karma has been worked through. I will speak my authentic truth, I will lead with my heart with no expectations or reservations. I will live my life in Truth, Simplicity, Love and service to all sentient beings (and firstly, to myself - this I have learned).

Next stop, Babaji.

OM Namah Shivaya.

I bow to whatever good is happening and to whomever is doing it.

We are the Flowers of One Garden

2009-10-21T16:36:00.008-04:00

Just gave back to back lectures at Bergen Community College, and I thought yesterday was a great day. I can not express how sweet it is for me to be able to share Reiki with these young, beautiful minds. It is a blessing to sow these humble seeds. I am very grateful.

And, I don't know about you, but I am so in love with this life and working towards figuring out some divine mysteries like... Angels themselves, l i f e in general for a spiritual being having a human experience, enlightenment, consciousness and intention, a deeper walk with God, healing that really helps people on all levels, the Light of God, deep love - the very love of God, compassion for others, and forgiveness or as Buddha would say - forget-ness, just to name a few. Reiki is and has been a very useful tool to use in the effort to help elevate and ascend humankind in some of these ways...oh, and I help myself as well. The light of Reiki - the Universal Life Force Energy of Reiki - which comes from our creator - permeates everything. It makes paths where once there were blockages and can therefore, make room for truth, light, and endless possibilities. After all, we live in a world filled with a sea of potential. If we could only imagine it...then perhaps we could see it and it could exist.

Angels lie in waiting for such happenings.

And, I have other ways that I want to help humankind. I really love this planet and all the life on it. I can't walk through my local park without wanting to cry sometimes from the sheer beauty of it and it's just a local park. Nature, plants, animals, the ocean and sea creatures - birds...all of it. It is a gift from God and in an effort to honor that gift I try not to litter and waste energy, I shut lights and utilities off when I'm not using them, I recycle and try really hard not to waste food.

Trust me though, I have a long way to go. The lease on our SUV isn't up for another two years so....that one will have to wait. But I am mindful of at least trying.

Which brings me to Kiribati. A very small sliver if of an island on the other side of the planet in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It's existence is in peril, the sea level is rising due to climate changes (whether you believe in global warming or not). They are struggling to keep their homes, their lives and their heritage.

Imagine not being able to continue in your quest for life because the ocean was going to consume your home, your property, your neighborhood. Forever. This is not a flood that subsides. There is no where to go. There is no higher ground. Imagine that? I can't (I have had nightmares about it though - I pray they're not prophetic). They say in 40 years Kiribati may be completely gone. Perhaps sooner.

And we think we have problems.

Those poor people --- right?

Wrong!

We are those poor people. We couldn't possibly think that their plight doesn't directly effect us or vice versa. Here in New Jersey I am just a stones throw away from what we call 'pharmaceutical row' and then there are nearby chemical plants of some kind, fuel tanks tucked in, and landfills. We've got it all and all of this

... could this be causing the people of Kiribati to be the first in a long line of possible extinction?

Really? That is scary.

We are the stewards of this planet and we have the power to change our minds, change our lives, change our government, change our policies. We can make changes that prevent these things from happening. We must do our part.

Like Roz Savage. She is trying to become to first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean in an effort to bring recognition to global warming. That's amazing! She's sailing solo - across the ocean - in a sail boat. God speed Roz!

She has inspired me to post this video and to think about more ways in which I can cut back my contributions to this epidemic. I hope it does the same for you. God bless these people. God bless this planet.

Walking The Straight Path

2009-10-20T17:43:00.003-04:00

Today is a great day. Indeed, I usually say that about most days, unless something terrible has happened and even then, I'm learning to see that that too is a great day. I feel really well. In fact, my wrist is doing things I haven't done in months and I am gratefully relieved.

I'm exercising, doing yoga and getting back to what I would consider normal and that is what I'm all about and today I felt the best I've felt in months. I know I'm starting to repeat myself, but I cannot over emphasize this seeing as how it took everything I had in me to get back to this place. Giving up was not an option and honestly, the hard work is paying off. It always does.

And my journey? It continues but on a much deeper and yet somehow lighter level. I wanted to get to the next level. I called this all into existence...this and some other things that I shall not mention. But let's just say be careful what you think about, what you wish for, what you call into existence because ultimately it will fall right in your lap and if you don't know what to do with it...you surely will find out and let's hope you're a fast learner.

I've been a fast learner and yes, lessons do repeat themselves if you don't learn them the first time. You see them coming from a mile away but it's too late. You're smack dab in the middle of it shaking your head wondering how you got there. But sanity speaks to the soul and says...you...you brought yourself here. It has always been that way and it always will be that way.

So....where do you want to go? Or, better question...where are you? Are you okay where you are or do you need to make some navigational changes about where you're heading?

Don't be afraid to make changes. You're supposed to.

Like...becoming more conscious about our choices and our decisions. Things don't just randomly happen to us. Typically. Sure, very occasionally a meteor will fall from the sky and hit someone's house, but other than that, we've created the lives we have. This is not random. And when I say 'the lives we have', I mean the way you feel about your life is entirely up to you. Many things are outside of your ability to manipulate them because there are other people involved, but for the most part, you can speak great joy and triumph into your circumstances with your beliefs alone.

If you believe something can get better, it can. It's that simple. On the other hand, if you believe that it cannot, well, that is also true...it cannot.

Which mindset would you rather embrace? For me personally, you already know. I will not settle for less.

It can always get better and with a lot of hard work, it can get best.

So, my arm is going to be completely whole. It already is, I just haven't crossed that day yet. It is in the not too distant future because I have called it into being and just as I am back to typing 90 wpm with very little effort, doing yoga and working towards a 90 degree angle in my wrist, this too shall pass.

That being said, I'm going to try to be a little more careful about what I'm calling into being. No more broken bones. No more hand surgery or any other surgery for that matter. I can appreciate pain, long-suffering, healing, patience, and a whole list of virtues now that perhaps I hadn't in the past. Please God, continue to make my path straight, straight into the Light of your will.

Solution or Problem?

2009-10-06T10:00:00.001-04:00

My hand therapist Lynn has a very wonderful job. She meets people from all walks of life and she never has to leave her office. Her office is inside Optimum Orthopedics in the middle of a huge therapy room. There are people getting stretched on massage tables, people being instructed on exercise equipment, some people are rolling medicine balls up and down the hallway and some people are doing stretches and squats in random open spots - tons of activity going on.

And then there's us, the hand therapy people.

3, 4 sometimes 5 of us at a time sitting in Lynn's 'office' which is really just a big table and with chairs. The table has what looks like pre-school tools and toys; a box filled with rice, pairs and pairs of scissors, silly putty in not just neon yellow and but neon orange as well, dodge balls but of course they're for hand stretching not head pummeling. What else? Put it this way, this is occupational therapy 101 and if you need to use it in real life, there's a good chance it's on that table or nearby, and a good chance you will be using it.

It's going really well and I thoroughly enjoy going there. The place is huge, with wall to wall windows and sun light flooding in. The therapists and assistants are sweet and always smiling and I can't deny the progress I'm making. Lynn is a very straight-forward person and tells it like it is. She is tiny but strong and pushes you harder than you expect. She laughs easily but then snaps right back into her professional posture taking what she does seriously. I couldn't have designed a better or healthier environment for me to respond to positively.

This, by the way, was not the first place I went to. The first place I went to was in the basement of an old house. It looked antiquated on the inside and out. I'm pretty sure they didn't even have computers behind the desks as I could hear someone typing away in the distance on what distinctly sounded like a standard old fashioned typewriter.

As soon as I got inside the building, I had a feeling that this place was not the place - but it was the place - so I continued.

I was on time for my appointment but yet caused to wait twenty minutes before being brought down deeper inside the belly of this beast. The ceilings were low and there seemed to be many rooms off of the main which was really small. There was some exercise equipment but only one older woman using any of it with a young man assisting her. I did happen to notice all the blinds were pulled on the windows - so - only fluorescent lighting for this facility and it's clients.

I was asked to sit and wait in an office for another 10 minutes. There were a few things that bothered me about this. I had already waited for 20 minutes, what could possibly be the hold up for a new patient in a facility with only one person rehabbing? As I sat there I was reminded of all the interviews I had given and received while working in corporate America. I loathed sitting in there waiting for whomever it was that was making me wait - and oh, could it be the guy that I can see when I look out the office doorway to my left sitting with his back to me? No. It couldn't be. What is he doing? Paperwork? Hmmm. No, can't be him. Tick. Tick.

Get me the hell out of this office was what was going through my head. This is not the right place for me - but it was - so I waited.

Finally, I sense movement to my left and sure enough, he gets up as if no one's waiting for him and as nonchalantly as he was sitting there, strolled on into his office and put his right hand out and introduced himself saying his name which immediately flew at the speed of light into one ear and directly out the other because among other things, I can't shake hands. I reach out with my left and introduce myself only to hear him say . . .

"What's the matter? You don't use your right hand to shake when you meet someone?"

Don't I?

I thought "is this guy kidding me'? 'I've travelled all over the United States of America as a Corporate Executive and this guy insults me in the first millisecond of our meeting'? No he did not. The gall.

I tried hard not to put my mean, business face on but it was too late for that.

"If you had read my file, you would know that I broke my right wrist and can't shake your hand or any one else's for that matter"! I replied.

He said nothing as he began to read my file, while yet again, I waited. Then after very little examination and discussion, he escorted me to a tiny, stall-like room and put my hand into a dry, hot-air, sandy-sauna thingy that I actually enjoyed at the time since my hand was so swollen and painful. He then, you guessed it, left me alone for another 10 minutes.

After the machine shut itself off, there I sat. Alone in the stall-like room with no instruction which gave me time to look around - and plan my escape. I realized I didn't really see too much activity in the way of 'others' being healed and mended or even shown the road to recovery. Where was everybody? Why was this place empty? I already know the answer to that so what am I still doing here?

I wanted to walk, no run. And I began to gather my things and just then the older woman's instructor caught me and asked me where I was going. I said I was going to leave. But he said to be patient so I sat there because I thought this was the way physical therapy was or in my case, occupational therapy was.

The rest of that session was just as bad as the beginning and I obviously took my business elsewhere but not before realizing some hard truths. Healthy people sometimes have a tough time choosing between what's good for them and not. They sometimes make bad choices.

Unhealthy people have an even harder time when they're vulnerable. If my husband hadn't had a complete hip replacement, I would not have a point of reference when it comes to physical therapy. But I do. And when I told him my experience, he was floored and very direct. He said I will not be going back there. I didn't argue, I just made different arrangements to go to Optimum.

The difference, it turns out, was like night and day immediately and I knew that was all that mattered. I was not going to get well in the first place I went. Not because I didn't want to, but because I was literally in the wrong place. Eventually, I might've gained some range of motion back, but not because the therapist gave me exercises, but because of my determination. That being said, we sometimes need help; good, godly help to get us through our rough patches. That's why I practice Reiki. People need tender, loving care when they're suffering. They do not need to have insult added to injury. It's not necessary and it's completely unacceptable.

Find your voices and tell the systems that they are not working, if they're not. Tell them they are, if they are. Why not be honest? What have we got to lose besides ourselves?

I'm not willing to lose anything else. I've lost time. I've lost blood. I've lost control. I've lost range of motion. Sure, some of those things I cannot get back, but looking forward, I'll be more inclined to hang onto them a little longer, a little tighter...perhaps I'm a little smarter for having gone through such loses. I can only hope that I've learned a powerful lesson in pain, suffering, loss and let's not forget the most important...recovery.

There is recovery. There is healing. There is light and there is hope. Make sure your yoking up with that which resonates on the inside of you as well as the outside. I knew I was in the wrong place. My intuition was screaming. But God works all things together for me because I love Him and He ALLOWED that situation to occur to open my eyes even further to the business machine of healing that exists in this country.

I am not all about that. I am about giving comfort, giving assistance, giving in general to those that are in need physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I've been on both sides. I've needed help. Let me rephrase that....I've needed some serious help. And I've received it. Thank God.

What are you in need of? Where are you looking for what you need? Do you have a good point of reference or are you shooting at the hip? Be careful. You deserve the best this life has to offer. Do not settle for less. If you know in your heart of hearts that something is off, trust me, something is off and that inner voice that warns you is more important to listen to than the one that talks you out of it and says 'meh, this is just how it is'. No. No it's not. You make it how it is.

I make it how it is. It's my reality. It's my choice. It's my body. It's my life. So, you're either part of the solution or part of the problem. Which will you be?

Kismet

2009-09-30T14:45:00.016-04:00

I'll try anything to get my wrist back to what I would consider 'normal' . I realize that will take some time, my doctor and therapist say at least a year before even the swelling subsides completely and not even that is a guarantee. They've even said I might have swelling indefinitely and loss of range of motion.

Do I need to tell you that I will not accept that?

Meet Apparatus Number One:

You read right.

One.

Implying there will be at least Two.

One to gently bend my wrist left to right, the other to turn my palm up. God willing.

I just received it today and had it on only once. I have to wear it three times a day at 30 minute intervals. There's a dial that I have to turn to increase the pressure and range of motion. I didn't like the idea of it when I heard about it the first time and I loathed it even more from the second I saw it.

Why?

At the time, I had apparatus envy.

Another woman receiving physical therapy received her apparatus and it was significantly smaller and need I say, when speaking of apparatus, smaller is definitely better.

Sure we joked about it for a few weeks before her's arrived and when it did, I tried to convince her it wasn't hideous and that it would help, you know, all positive stuff like; thank God you don't have to wear that in public, no one will notice it, it looks great with that shirt.

And then . . .

I saw mine . . .

Well, ironically as kismet would have it, we saw it since said woman was also present when it arrived. Right away I could see the difference, and so could she. The communication that flurried between us - through our eyes, our breathing, and our shifting-in-our-seats body language was fast and furious.

My body language was saying "REALLY"? "Really"?

Her's was saying "Geez. Poor kid. Didn't see that coming".

We both smiled and laughed our resigned-to-change laughs and jumped in with both feet, or arms as it were. And, believe me, I realize that God truly has not brought me this far without His keen sense of humor. I get it. Oh, I really, really get it.

The kicker? Apparatus Number Two, that the woman had? It will be here in about three weeks. It's the other one I'll be using three times a day.

And when I'm through with them and they've served their purpose in my life, I will be fast and furiously donating them as the Sales Rep who fitted me suggested, all the while doing a celebratory, completely healed jig, bending and flexing my wrist.

Thank you apparatuses.

How hysterically funny is that?

Was I still Running?

2009-09-29T09:05:00.008-04:00

When my cast first came off, I was amazed at my immobility. At times I still am, but I'm also amazed at my progress. I've been going to physical therapy 3x's a week for this, my fifth week in a row, and I'm pleased with my efforts and my results.

The hand and arm exercises are pretty basic, lift, press, squeeze, separate, make a fist, stretch, all things your learned to do when you were a baby. It's not that you've forgotten how or that your hand has short term memory loss. On the contrary, your body has amazing memory but the stiffness that follows a broken bone is something you're probably never really prepared for, even if someone describes it to you. Here, let me try.

After your cast comes off, imagine someone taking hard plastic, heating it up and molding it to your arm (your dominant arm) in an awkward position. Then they put Velcro on it to make sure it's secure in keeping your arm immobile...kinda like a cast. You can't bend your wrist. You can't bend your elbow. Your fingers are useless. Your shoulder is feeling all of that restriction and is stressed and clicking. Oh and just for good measure, the sun has set on your day and the swelling has once again returned as it does every night. The plastic like cast on your arm is increasing in pressure and pain. Ok, I think you're ready now. Now, try and make a salad or feed yourself. Bathe yourself. Brush your teeth. Blow your nose and try to sleep comfortably...hahaha none of those things are possible - sure maybe some are if you use your other arm...but that's cheating. By now, you've already had to take a couple of anti-inflammatories and pain killers but by the time they kick in, your misery level reaches new lows.

Then in the morning, start off with a warm soak and then...start moving it. Against all instincts. Push. Pain. Push. Pain. Breathe. Stop. Ut-oh. This is hard. Bones have stiffened. They are resistant to change. They are resistant to movement. The ligaments are stiff and painful. The odds are not good if you're faint hearted. You must persevere if you want to ever use your arm again and what choice do you have? Or, do I have? I have only one. To continue running this race.

It's kinda like that every morning. You have to start from scratch and if I happen to not be going to Physical Therapy that day, well what then? Do I skip my exercises? Heaven forbid!

If I did not do my exercises 3 x's a day, everyday, my arm would be perfectly happy to stiffen up and cease working. Did you know that? You actually have to force your wrist to bend, your elbow to bend, your fingers to bend. They literally do not want to go. The inflammation and swelling and trauma prevents them from smoothly, efficiently and painlessly doing what they were made to do. You have to train them to do what they once did without your input - conscious input that is. When I go to reach for something now, it is with much deliberateness. Nothing or no action is too mundane as for me not to pay close attention to it. I have to. I can drop something, as I've already done countless times. I can trip and fall and God forbid, break my arm again. No, the time has come for proceeding with caution.

And I'm reminded of a recent incident that brought some light to the subject of impulsiveness, fearlessness, and lack of consciousness. I was in the store with my husband and we were browsing some electronic equipment. We stopped to speak with a Sales Manager and while my husband and he were speaking, I noticed some small children running past us. Nothing unusual about that. Except that, perhaps now, everything has such a deeper meaning that there is nothing usual...but everything is amazing.

I noticed that the children weren't just running to get somewhere. They were running to get every where. From here to there. From there to here. Up and down. Over and out. They never ceased running. I couldn't help but ask myself, 'was I still running'? I mean, I am FULL of energy just like those children. With a smile on my face, and with reckless (Websters def. of reckless; marked by lack of proper caution: careless of consequences) abandon, I would run until I couldn't run anymore or my lungs would give out, or it was time to go inside, or I got hurt....hmmmm.

Yeah, I got hurt sometimes and you know what? That slowed me down. Made me appreciate my physical abilities and lack thereof. Having asthma slowed me down. Having ear infections slowed me down. For the first year of my life I had braces on my legs since one leg was shorter than the other when I was born breach. I'm not sure, but that might've slowed me down.

I'm starting to notice a theme here.

Why slow down? Perhaps it's to control ourselves, our bursts of energy. Deliberately and consciously.

I was going as fast as the skateboard I stepped on in my mind on July 18th. I was not going slow. I was not paying attention. I was still running....here and there, up and back, down and out. The answer? I guess I'm still learning to appreciate every breath, every step, every minute of every day.

This particular struggle has taught me that, among so many other things. Life is a race and we should be in the running, but on a very deliberate, well thought out, well prepared-for course, as all good courses are. We need to know where we're going and how we're going to get there, preparing for and weighing consequences and proceeding with caution...kind of like setting goals, making them happen, and troubleshooting when necessary. You know, life lived with greater deliberateness, greater consciousness.

I realize that children run with such abandon because, at the end of their day, God willing, they're falling into the arms of Mom and Dad who take care of every need that they have. They will be fed, bathed, loved and tucked in at night so that they can rest in preparation for another days running. In the morning, they need only open their eyes and their needs are met. Breakfast, clean water, clean clothes, and a ride to school where they run and run, unless the teacher sees them and instructs"no running in the halls children, slow down"!

We're all born like that. We have boundless energy that mostly needs to be shared, contained, controlled, modified, managed, slowed down, expelled, utilized, understood, and in some cases it's so off the charts it has to be medicated. Meditation, contemplation, prayer, music, silence, sleep, daydreaming, night dreaming, Reiki, EFT, chakra balancing, dance, exercising, sex, being in nature, being around animals and plants, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, chiropractic, massage, yoga, chi-gong, reflexology, acupressure, acupuncture...I'm sure there are more, but these are some ways to work with, release and re-charge energy in ways that are manageable, palpable and extremely useful. Will we ever understand energy fully? Perhaps, in the next dimension.

For now, energy in human beings is a phenomenal thing. If we only knew. . .

We, as physical beings having a spiritual experience, are the same. We're God's children running the race of life and hopefully resting in our creators arms and believing that our needs are met. Even when we stumble, fall and break ourselves a little bit, our Father/Mother is there to comfort us, to help us to absorb life's lessons and to nudge us on in Spirit.

This may have broken my arm, but it didn't break me. It may have broken my bone, but it didn't break my Spirit. It may have broken my stride, but it will not prevent me from finishing this race and yes, I may be trotting a little slower than the rest, but my finish will be no less rewarding.

My eyes and ears are open. My steps are steady. My mind is clear. I am living with greater deliberateness.

Interpret this . . .

2009-09-06T19:45:00.006-04:00

If you've read some of my blog by now you know I dream vividly. I have experienced lucid dreaming and have even had bouts of sleep paralysis spanning over some twenty five years. It's all very intriguing especially as of late.

Of course I've had the dream where my arm slips out of the cumbersome and hard cast, and the ones where my arm isn't even broken only to wake up very disappointed. Truthfully, I'm just so grateful to be returning to a normal sleep pattern but the dream I had the other night...this one is worth mentioning.

It all starts out with me and my brother walking at night on a movie lot. He does stunt work for a living, so that was pretty normal but then off in the distance I see these huge lumber tractors with massive claws on the ends and they (at least two of them) are flinging huge logs up into the air and making a very chaotic and dangerous situation. At that point I decided not to go any further for fear that I would get hurt. Seriously hurt.

The next thing I see is a man smashing something over and over, still night time. I couldn't tell what he was destroying, but I could sense that whatever it was had some value. I got closer, close enough to see that he was smashing big, ceramic, African-tribal masks...CRASH! SMASH! BAM! One right after the other with no remorse or concern. Before I could say or do anything I see more people (two other men) standing behind the first one. They are smashing beautiful, clay pottery. Unbelievable waste and destruction! I could not contain myself and I began to scream and beg them to stop. 'STOP! PLEASE, I said, GIVE THEM TO ME! Don't break them!'

Then I'm home with some acquaintances, still night time. A few people are leaving and as I walk them out to the front, glass door I see that the door has a hole in it. The glass stayed in the door except for a hole the size of a doorknob, as if someone threw a rock or something. As I am digesting this random damage, my attention is being distracted by some people outside my big, bay windows on the front lawn.

I am unbelievably calm as I realize that they are here to commit a random act of violence against my home. I try to shoo them away but they aren't swayed when all at once, I get a full picture in my mind of what they are getting ready to do. They are going to blast out the windows in my house in one shot with these huge hooks attached to chains that they are attaching to the outside. I immediately leave the house to call 911 and go for cover. I remember at this point, I specifically say to myself 'Windows can be replaced, whatever damage they do, we will repair it. No one will get hurt and that's the most important thing. Things can be replaced, people can not."

I return to my house the next day in the morning light, and I am met by a female police officer taking statements. I see my house, windowless back in the distance. I am at peace. I am unharmed.

Dream ends. I wake up.

The Sugar Bowl Lesson

2009-08-31T20:44:00.006-04:00

I was unable to sleep, feed myself, brush my hair, cook...the list went on and on. Truth be told I still can't do most of those things since breaking my wrist in July, but thankfully now with physical therapy (I have a phenomenal hand therapist, more about Lynn later), I'm looking for and already starting to see improvements. Sleep is returning to normal. Left over pain meds are in the cabinet and I'm well on my way to some hard work. I'm quite determined to regain full use of my arm, wrist, and hand and am now realizing that this is going to take some time. Realistically, I'm looking at at least six months before my wrist is not what I think about first thing in the morning.

I learned that from all the surgeries, sicknesses, and pain I've had before. We tend to look for our weaknesses and even pain, first thing in the morning...is it still here...do I still have it? Well, where thoughts go energy flows so its best to be careful. Make sure you are expectant of a good report in the morning occasionally (always). It'll do your body a world of good.

Why don't Doctors tell us that? I know that healing is pretty relative to 'what you think' as opposed to what their experience has been, but that doesn't mean everyone else does. They don't know what you think, what your intentions are, if your depressed or not, if you are a helper or a hindrance to your healing. They don't know and frankly, they do not care. They will gladly give you medicine to assist you but discuss your thinking as part of the healing process? That discussion is off the table for now, but not for long if I have anything to say about it. I need people to realize that they dictate the terms of their healing as well as mental and spiritual well being. You determine the health and wellness of your body, your mind and your spirit.

Which brings me to The Sugar Bowl Lesson, a perfect lesson in human frailty, acceptance, and perseverance. It was only three days after my accident and I was left alone for the day with a two ton cast on my arm, a deflated ego, and a weak and hungry body. I decided a hot cup of tea would do the trick. I slowly made my way into the kitchen and with my left hand grabbed the tea kettle and filled it up with water and placed it on the stove. After successfully turning the gas on, I stopped to rest. Sure, I hadn't done much, but it was exhausting and painful.

As I waited for the water to boil I replayed the accident over in my head deliberately. It had replayed in my mind for a few days without my permission and it was just starting to be less painful to visualize, I mean I would wince with pain every time the image of me flying off the skateboard appeared in my brain as a random thought. I started to think about all of my limitations, followed by the shame and embarrassment I felt for stepping so unconsciously on that thing, then I focused on the pain and swelling I was experiencing, and then pity. As I sat there feeling sorry for myself, thankfully the water began boiling and the tea pot whistled as if it had had enough. It snapped me back into the moment and I got up and poured the boiling water into my tea cup. Whew! Unscathed! Ahhhh.

After pouring the milk I went in for the pretty, glass sugar bowl. Lefty mind you...not very smooth. All at once, I'm not sure how, the sugar bowl hit the kitchen floor with such precision that every grain of sugar and every broken piece of glass were now shattered and thrown all around my bare feet.

My thinking process went something like......'I can't believe this is happening!! I can't move. I can't reach the broom. I can't clean this up! I can't! I can't! I can't'! And for a few minutes I didn't. I looked at the mess I made and thought 'oh great, another accident...how could I'? and then I cried like a baby. I cried. Then I prayed for strength. I prayed and I thought 'all's I need now is to get cut'. Really. THAT would've sucked big time. But getting cut was not on the horizon. It never happened.

What did happen is that I realized how f*cking strong I am. I started to calm myself down and wiped the tears from my face. I looked around in disbelief again and took a deep accepting breath. I made my way over to the broom by bending down and picking up the glass-sugar-bowl shards along the way with my left hand. Now, sweeping with one hand is not easy. Using a dustpan with one hand is not easy. But, I am here to tell you, it may not be easy, but it is possible! Somehow, by the Grace of God I was able to clean up the mess!

Seriously! I've been through some stuff and I may have my moments, but I will not be beaten. I will not be over run, I will not be defeated -- especially by myself. I cleaned up that mess, with a cast on one arm and in a lot of pain. I imagined that if I could overcome that moment, I could overcome anything. It was such a helpless feeling before the tea kettle boiled, but God would say not so much. Although the sugar bowl was destroyed, I am not. Sure the sugar bowl represents a vessel...and so do I....and even if I was broken lying on the floor, I am still so very capable and useful...and useable. Judge not lest ye be judged.

God refines us by turning up the heat a little bit to show us truly, what were made of.

What are you made of?

Today is Day 41

2009-08-28T14:36:00.007-04:00

Ahhh, my blog...what i am to be....I've been ignoring you for another, please forgive me. I am back, albeit typing with one hand yet again.

Back to the way I was? No. I will never be back to the way I was before I broke my wrist. Everything has changed. I have changed. My arm is in a constant state of change and healing and swelling and inflammation and stiffness. My arm is also 100% healed. I've just not reached that day yet. This will be a long row to hoe. But I'm looking forward to it. I started physical therapy this week as the cast came off on Monday, 37 days after putting it on. It came off without incident and although my orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ira Esformis, said "When I take the cast off you will have pain and you will beg me to put the cast back on", that was not the case.

Immediately after breaking my wrist, I applied three things; Reiki, my conscious-healing intention, and ice. I almost passed out before leaving for the hospital but managed to control my breathing by putting my head in between my legs. I went into shock a little bit but not as much as when the possibility of surgery came up. The on-call orthopedic surgeon declared to me after looking at my x-rays "we will set your arm, follow up with an orthopedic surgeon this week, you'll probably have to have surgery." This would also not be the case.

I have had enough surgery to last me a lifetime. I absolutely did not want to have pins and plates put into my wrist if I could help it. But at this point, what could I do?

I called my father. Whenever something major happens to me and I need serious help, I call my Dad. This was serious enough and apparently he thought so too and called a good Dr. friend who left his Saturday nite dinner plate to come set my arm in the nick of time!

A man appeared in the doorway smiling at me. He said "I'm Dr. Esformis". I was instantly relieved. The hospital staff kept stopping by and peeking in to see who got the Doctor in on a Saturday nite, and to see who was getting this favored treatment. Well, humbly, it was me and I was ever so thankful. Within two hours, my arm was set and I was back home safe and sound. BTW, Hackensack University is probably one of the finest medical institutions in the Garden State if not the country.

I thanked him repeatedly for leaving his dinner to tend to my bones and accidental absent-mindedness. Having to say that "...I stepped on a skateboard" was all too irresponsible for someone who claims to be living consciously. I was embarrased but Dr. Ira just laughed and said "Don't be ridiculous! It happens".

It does happen, mostly when we're not paying attention.

I explained to Dr. Ira that I am a Reiki Master Practitioner and I had been applying Reiki and also speaking against surgery in my heart and mind. Well, besides loving Reiki and wanting to come for one of my sessions, Dr. Ira and I agreed that my arm would be set and I would not need surgery. He agreed with my thinking...right there in the emergency room...he got what I was saying. I said "Until you tell me otherwise, I am speaking health over my wrist, and no complications. I will not need surgery. You'll see"!

What I didn't know is that most fractures are followed up in this country with surgery, and in some cases, unnecessary surgery due to the shameful financially driven medical industry. I was speaking against that ferocious, insatiable lion from the moment I walked in there.

After Novocaine was injected into my wrist and started to take effect, Dr. Ira began to set my arm. He wrapped gauze around my fingers and hung my arm counter balanced over an IV pole. Then he applied some weight to my bicep. Not much, just enough to give my wrist bones a little wiggle room. Then, he used his hands, applied some pressure and POP! It went back into place. It felt right, it sounded right and I was truly convinced, no surgery for me.

Back to x-ray, lo and behold, Dr. Ira, with a huge grin on his face exclaimed "so far, so good"! No surgery then and two weeks later after a follow up visit and another x-ray...no surgery. Although the bone collapsed slightly in the very beginning of the healing process, it stabilized and is healing very nicely, as bones can heal.

Did I have pain while in the cast? Absolutely! Luckily, Reiki energy goes right through casts and I applied it constantly and liberally. The pain became quite manageable and now, my arm is mostly sore as I gingerly begin my rehab.

Two weeks prior to the cast coming off, and immediately after Dr. Ira said I would have pain, I started to convince myself I would NOT have pain when the cast came off...and I didn't. At all. I'm sure that his comment was based on years of experience, but I am not your average human. I aspire to be better and to pay closer attention to the language we use when thinking about ourselves and our circumstances. I could've easily given into that line of thinking...surgery - check, pain - check, not getting full range of motion back - check. But hell no.

Why, if given a choice would I settle for negative, wreaking havoc kind of thinking when I alone have the power to continue to heal myself?

I am whole. I am healed. I am fully restored.

...oh, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that.
Who can stop me?

Learning Lessons, Approving Symbols

2009-08-14T14:21:00.000-04:00

I decided to let people sign my cast but not just sign their name, put a symbol on it. Why? Why not? I wanted everyone to think of something significant, I mean I'm the one who has to see it for weeks so the more meaningful, the better.

My stepmother put the sun.
My brother Tony put a phoenix like the one tattooed on his back. It wasn't exactly like the one on his back, but it was approved.

My Dad put a star. The same star he's been drawing for most of my life. He got a little carried away with his star, but that's to be expected. When one star draws a picture of another there's bound to be some stardust lost in translation, nonetheless, his symbol was also approved.

Then we started laughing and he wrote Ha Ha! on my cast! NOT approved lol~! Pretty funny stuff.

I've learned an awful lot about myself during this broken wrist/healing wrist process. I hate to ask for help, or needing help in the first place. I'm a righty and as you can see I broke my right wrist so....can you count the lessons? So, so many...like you can't do your hair anymore....as you can see in the pics! So curly...who knew? But seriously, the lessons are bountiful.

Like...

hugging really takes two arms

typing can happen with only one

skateboards are evil lol

it pays to know medical professionals personally

pain medication when taken properly does alleviate pain

pain medication when taken improperly can cause pain

children see none of the limitations we embrace about ourselves

doctors can be very empathetic

sleep, with a broken bone, can be elusive

a hot bath and a cast do not mix, it raises your blood pressure

as does the sun and that causes your arm to swell inside the cast - that causes pain

cats feel your pain

cats distract you from your pain and even alleviate some of it

I can peel an orange with one hand

and do self Reiki

I'd much rather use two

meditation helps to cope with pain by realizing not all pain is bad

if I stay still long enough, I forget about the cast

I see myself as whole.

I've really learned to be grateful for all that I've been blessed with, struggles and all.

I'm sorry I broke my wrist, but I'm grateful for the lessons and the love.

Thank You Almighty God

2009-08-05T11:53:00.004-04:00

Picture taken by me...8/1/09...driving home from Bar Harbor, ME

Today is my birthday, my wrist is in a cast and I am so very grateful.

Thank God I Broke My Wrist . . .

2009-07-24T11:16:00.002-04:00

So I'll make this quick. I am back to typing with one hand. I broke my right wrist. How?

I stepped on a skateboard, of course.

There aren't enough words to describe how many emotions I'm feeling. Suffice to say, I'm feeling all of them.

What a stupid thing to happen, but, I'm sure one day I'll say "Thank God I broke my wrist....the blessings far outweigh the pain & suffering."

Yeah, I'm sure I'll be saying that....just not sure when : )

Love, Light & Healing

Yoshi Mangasheito <3 <3 <3

2009-07-14T11:46:00.020-04:00

It will be a year ago tomorrow that my little boy Mango left this dimension and moved onto the next.

As I type I am contemplating what to do with his ashes. I have had them the way they were given to me for almost a year now. I couldn't bare to think of not having Mango with me in some way. I had him since the day he was born until the day he died. I thought if I held onto him a little tighter that I could keep him closer. Turns out not so much.

I'm still crying for my friend, brother, son. He was never a pet to me. A brother? Yes, definitely. A friend? That goes without saying. My son? Well, yes. I've never had my own children and I raised him so...yes. My son.

It hurts me like losing a child. Still.

I can't believe it's a year already.

I remember every silly thing he used to do....like sitting at the table. He didn't go on top of the table. He didn't go under the table. He sat AT the table. Very civilized, my son.

And he was so social. He greeted everyone that came to the house.

And he fell in love with Rosie in the winter of his life.

And she fell in love with him. And then came Mohito. They all became fast friends and picked up each others habits. They were a tribe.....we were.

Yes we still are, but when one, just one member of your family is no longer in the mix it hurts. Sure there may be tens more around you, but you'll always be looking for the one that's not physically there.
Kiss someone you love today. Tell them.

Life is very, very short and love is a gift that we choose to give to one another. If someone has chosen to give you their love during this lifetime, give your love back. Kiss them. Hug them. Sacrifice for them. Show them how much you appreciate their love and energy. They don't have to give you their love....remember it's a choice. They give just as freely as you do. So give then....freely with no expectations.

The reward is a lifetime of love and memories that if you do it right the first time, you will not be left wanting. Well....just wanting more perhaps.

Mango, I hope I figure out what to do. As I look at this picture with you and the girls, I think I know. I hope so. In the meantime, I love you more than words can express I want to thank you for being my friend. xoxo Loving you always, Mom.

You Are Light

2009-07-12T18:43:00.002-04:00

Healing Research

2009-07-10T16:14:00.000-04:00

Healing Research

by William Lee Rand

Scientific research in the area of laying on of hands has been conducted for some time. There are now quite a few experiments that validate the usefulness of Reiki and other healing techniques. Some of the more interesting results of these experiments demonstrate that their positive results are coming from more than just the placebo effect, while others indicate that the energy is non-physical in nature in that the benefits do not diminish regardless of the distance between sender and receiver.

The following are few of the more interesting studies.

This first Reiki study was published in a peer reviewed scientific journal. The study involved 45 healthy people who were divided into 3 groups of 15 each. One group received Reiki and rest, another group received placebo, Reiki, and rest. The placebo treatment was given exactly the same way as the Reiki treatments were given in the first group except that those who gave them had not had Reiki training. The third group received only rest. The study recorded a number of vital statistics, including heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, skin temperature, and respiration rate at regular intervals.

This study revealed a significant reduction in diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in the Reiki group that didn’t appear in the placebo group or the control group, thus tending to indicate that Reiki created an important effect that was not caused by suggestion. This was a small study, but the quality of its design and the positive results it produced indicates that additional larger scale studies are warranted. The complete study (“Autonomic Nervous-System-Changes During Reiki Treatment: A Preliminary Study”) was published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine Volume 10, Number 6. Also see The Science of Reiki.

Another Reiki study done at the Helfgott Research Institute at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, Portland, Oregon, showed that Reiki has a measurable effect on the immune system. This study examined the effect of Reiki on the white blood cell counts of volunteers who were randomized into three groups—those who received Reiki, those who relaxed, and those who neither received Reiki or relaxation. Blood was drawn for examination before the treatment, immediately after treatment, and four hours after treatment.The study shows that Reiki enhanced the immune system by increasing the number of white blood cells in those who received Reiki. Because this was a small preliminary study, the results provide the basis for further study of the ability of Reiki to make healthy improvements in those that receive it. Hodsdon, W., Mendenhall, E., Green, R., Kates-Chinnoy,S., Wacker, E, & Zwickey, H. The Effect of Reiki on the Immune System. Helfgott Research Institute at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, Portland, Oregon, USA

Wendy Wetzel, a registered nurse describes a Reiki experiment she conducted in her paper, "Reiki Healing: A Physiologic Perspective." In her study, forty-eight people made up the experimental group while 10 made up a control group. Both groups had blood samples taken at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. The experimental group received First Degree Reiki training. The control group was not involved in the Reiki training. The blood samples were measured for hemoglobin and hematocrit values. Hemoglobin is the part of red blood cells that carry oxygen. Hematocrit is the ratio of red blood cells to total blood volume. The people in the experimental group who received Reiki training experienced a significant change in these values with 28 percent experiencing an increase and the remainder experiencing a decrease. The people in the control group who did not receive Reiki training experienced no significant change. It is thought that changes, whether an increase or decrease are consistent with the purpose of Reiki which is to bring balance on an individual basis. One individual experienced a 20% increase in these values. She continued to treat herself with Reiki daily and after three months, her increase had been maintained and in fact had continued to improve. This improvement was appropriate for her as she had been experiencing iron deficiency anemia.

Another study in laying on hands has also demonstrated its ability to increase hemoglobin values. A medical doctor, Otelia Bengssten, M.D. conducted an experiment with a group of 79 sick patients. Together the patients had a wide range of diagnosed illnesses including pancreatitis, brain tumor, emphysema, multiple endocrine disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, and congestive heart failure. Laying-on hands treatments were given to 46 patients with 33 as controls. The treated patients showed significant increases in hemoglobin values. The effect was so pronounced that even cancer patients who were being treated with bone marrow-suppressive agents which predictably induce decreases in hemoglobin values showed an increase. The majority of patients also reported improvement or complete disappearance of symptoms. Both this experiment and the one above, demonstrate that healers are able to induce actual biological improvements in the patients they treat rather than simply create a feeling of well-being.

Laying-on hands healing has been validated by experiments carried out at St. Vincent's medical Center in New York. The study was carried out by Janet Quinn, assistant director of nursing at the University of South Carolina. The design of this study tends to rule out the placebo effect. Thirty heart patients were given a 20 question psychological test to determine their level of anxiety. Then they were treated by a group trained in Therapeutic Touch healing. A control group of patients were also treated by sham healers who imitated the same positions as those who had training. Anxiety levels dropped 17 percent after only five minutes treatment by trained practitioners, but those who were only imitating a treatment created no effect.

Daniel Wirth of Healing Sciences International in Orinda, California conducted a tightly controlled experiment involving a healing technique. Forty four male college students received identical minor wounds deliberately inflicted by a doctor in the right or left shoulder. Twenty-three then received a healing treatment and the other twenty-one did not. The treatments were given in such a way that the possibility of a placebo effect was ruled out. All forty-four students extend their arms though a hole in the wall. In the other room, a trained healer was present for those who received healing and administered healing from a distance without touching. For those who did not receive healing, no one was present in the room. Both the students and the doctor who administered the wounds and later also evaluated their healing rate had been told that the experiment was about the electrical conductivity of the body. Neither knew that the experiment was about healing. Eight and sixteen day follow-up measurements of the rate of wound healing were done. After eight days, the treated groups wounds had shrunk 93.5 percent compared with 67.3 percent for those not treated. After sixteen days, the figures were 99.3 and 90.9. After debriefing, the students stated they did not know the true nature of the experiment and had felt no contact with the healer. The possibility that expectations of the students caused the healing was ruled out.

Dr. John Zimmerman of the University of Colorado using a SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) has discovered that magnetic fields several hundred times stronger than background noise are created around the hands of trained healers when doing healing work on patients. No such fields are created by sham’ healers making the same movements indicating something special is happening with the trained healers. The frequencies of the magnetic fields surrounding the hands of the trained healers were of the alpha and theta wave range similar to those seen in the brain of meditators.

Dr. Barnard Grad of McGill University in Montreal, used barley seeds to test the effect of psychic healing energies on plants. The seeds were planted in pots and watered with a saline solution which is known to retard their sprouting and growth. With elaborate double-blind conditions set-up, one group of seeds were watered with saline solution that had been treated by a psychic healer. The treated saline was held by the healer in a sealed container for fifteen minutes. The other seeds were watered with untreated saline. The person watering the plants did not know which group was getting the treated saline and which was getting the untreated saline. The plants watered with healer treated saline solution grew faster and were healthier producing 25% more weight and having a higher chlorophyll content. These experiments have been replicated in Dr. Grads lab and in other laboratories as well.

Dr. Grad carried out similar experiments involving tap water and plants. Sealed containers of water were given to a psychic healer to hold and others were given to a severely depressed patient to hold. The plants watered with the healer-held water had an increased growth rate and those watered with the water held by the severely depressed patient had a decrease in growth rate compared to controls. These experiments involving plants, in addition to confirming the non-placebo nature of psychic healing, scientifically confirm the ancient metaphysical understanding that healing energies can be stored in water for future use.

In another experiment involving psychic healer Olga Worrall, Dr. Robert Miller used an electromechanical transducer to measure the microscopic growth rate of rye grass. The device used has an accuracy of one thousandth of an inch per hour. Dr. Miller set-up the experiment in his laboratory and then left, locking the door behind him to eliminate any unnecessary disturbance. Olga, located over 600 miles away was asked to pray for the test plant at exactly 9 PM that evening. When Dr. Miller returned to the laboratory the next day, the test equipment had recorded normal continuous growth of 6.25 thousandths of an inch per hour up to 9 PM. At that time, the record began to deviate upward and had risen to 52.5 thousands of an inch per hour which was an increase of 840 percent! This increased growth rate remained till morning when it decreased but never to its original level.

The Spindrift group has done extensive research involving prayer and plants. Their results indicate that prayed for plants always grow faster and are healthier than non-prayed for plants even though the conditions are equal for both groups of plants and those doing the praying are miles away. These results were consistent regardless of the distance involved and occurred over and over. They are described by Robert Owen in his book, "Qualitative Research: The early years".

One of the interesting results of their research work is that they were best when the prayer was non-directional, that is when the prayer was simply for the plants general well-being, rather than for a specific result, such as a certain growth rate or overall height.

More experiments are being done and scientific theories are being developed to describe Reiki and other healing techniques. As we continue into the millennium, increasing interest along with more sensitive equipment will allow science to more completely understand, validate, and accept the reality of spiritual healing. As this happens, we will see increasing use of Reiki and other laying-on hands healing coming into common use by individuals for themselves and family along with its use in hospitals and doctors offices. The deeper understanding about the nature of health and the unity of all life this re-discovered age old wisdom will provide will reduce suffering and make earth a more worthwhile place to live.

With this in mind, let us be encouraged to continue in the spirit of Reiki to help others and to heal the planet.

About Water

2009-07-09T11:53:00.010-04:00

(All photos taken by MP)

1. Most of the earth's surface consists of water; there is much more water than there is land.

2. Water can not only be found on the surface, but also in the ground and in the air.

3. There is the same amount of water on earth as there was when the earth was formed. The water that came from your faucet could contain molecules that Neanderthals drank…

4. The overall amount of water on our planet has remained the same for two billion years.

5. There are two kinds of water; salt water and freshwater. Salt water contains great amounts of salt, whereas freshwater has a dissolved salt concentration of less than 1%. Only freshwater can be applied as drinking water.

6. Water consists of three atoms, 2 Hydrogen atoms and an Oxygen atom, that are bond together due to electrical charges.

7. The weight of a water molecule depends on the number of moles present, as it is 18 grams per mole.

8. Water moves around the earth in a water cycle. The water cycle has five parts: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration and surface run-off.

9. In a 100-year period, a water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about 2 weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in the atmosphere.

10. Groundwater can take a human lifetime just to traverse a mile.

11. Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty.

12. Water regulates the earth's temperature.

13. Water freezes at zero degrees Celcius.

14. Water vaporizes at a hundred degrees Celcius.

15. Water is the only substance that is found naturally on earth in three forms: liquid, gas, solid.

16. If water changes phase its physical appearance changes due to parting of water molecules. In the solid phase the water molecules are close together and in the gaseous phase they are the furthest apart.

17. Frozen water is 9% lighter than water, which is why ice floats on water.

18. A litre of water weighs 1.01 kilograms.

19. It doesn't take much salt to make water "salty." If one-thousandth (or more) of the weight of water is from salt, then the water is "saline."

20. Saline water can be desalinated for use as drinking water by going through a process to remove the salt from the water.

21. When water contains a lot of calcium and magnesium, it is called hard water. Hard water is not suited for all purposes water is normally used for.

22. To determine water quality certified agencies take samples that are tested in a laboratory. The samples are tested on various factors, to determine if they suffice water quality standards.

23. Each country has its own water quality standards that determine to which degree water should be purified, depending on the purpose it will be used for.

About water quantities:

1. As oceans are very wide and there are multiple to be found on earth, oceans store most of the earth's water. This is apparently 97% of the total amount of water on earth, 2% of which is frozen.

2. 80% of the earth's water is surface water. The other 20% is either ground water or atmospheric water vapour.

3. Of all the water on earth, only 2,5% is fresh water. Fresh water is either groundwater (0,5%), or readily accessible water in lakes, streams, rivers, etc. (0,01%).

4. If all the world's water were fit into a gallon jug, the fresh water available for us to use would equal only about one tablespoon.

5. Over 90% of the world's supply of fresh water is located in Antarctica.

6. Less than 1% of the water supply on earth can be used as drinking water.

7. The earth's total amount of water has a volume of about 344 million cubic miles.· 315 million cubic miles is seawater.· 9 million cubic miles is groundwater in aquifers.· 7 million cubic miles is frozen in polar ice caps.· 53,000 cubic miles of water pass through the planet's lakes and streams.· 4,000 cubic miles of water is atmospheric moisture.· 3,400 cubic miles of water are locked within the bodies of living things.

8. Approximately 66% of the human body consists of water. Water exists within all our organs and it is transported throughout our body to assist physical functions.

9. The total amount of water in the body of an average adult is 37 litres.

10. Human brains are 75% water.

11. Human bones are 25% water.

12. Human blood is 83% water.

13. 75% of a chicken is water.

14. 80% of a pineapple is water.

15. 95% of a tomato is water.

16. 70% of an elephant is water.

17. Each day the sun evaporates a trillion tons of water.

18. A single tree will give off 265 liters (70 gallons) of water per day in evaporation.

19. An acre of corn will give off 15,000 litres (4,000 gallons) of water per day in evaporation.

20. A small drip from a faucet can waste as much as 75 litres of water a day.

About water health:

1. A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water. If a human does not absorb enough water dehydration is the result.

2. A person must consume 2 litres of water daily to live healthily. Humans drink an average of 75.000 litres of water throughout their life.

3. Humans cannot drink salt water.

4. More than 2 billion people on earth do not have a safe supply of water.

5. Water regulates the temperature of the human body. If you have caught a fever you should drink lots of water.

6. Water removes waste from the human body.

7. You should never drink water straight from a lake or river, as it can be damaging to your health.

8. If you live in an old house with lead pipelines you could get health problems. Due to weathering of the pipelines lead can end up in your tap water.

9. Your drinking water may be fluoridated to help prevent dental cavities.

10. Water leaves the stomach five minutes after consumption.

11. Centres for Disease Control receive notification of more than 4,000 cases per year of illness due to drinking water contamination.

12. A quarter of the world's population is without safe drinking water.

13. Water can cause serious health damage when it is contaminated by bacteria and other microrganisms.

14. In most cities and towns, drinking water from the tap is treated so that people don't get sick with diseases such as cholera and typhoid, which are caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites found naturally in the water.

About water use and saving water:

1. Humans use more and more water each year.

2. Americans use five times the amount of water that Europeans use.

3. Humans daily use about 190 litres (50 gallons) of water.

4. A person pays about 25 cents for water use on a daily basis.

5. Two thirds of the water used in a home is used in the bathroom.

6. To flush a toilet we use 7.5 to 26.5 litres (2 to 7 gallons) of water.

7. In a five-minute shower we use 95 to 190 litres (25 to 50 gallons) of water.

8. To brush your teeth you use 7.5 litres (2 gallons) of water.

9. For an automatic dishwasher 35 to 45 litres (9 to 12 gallons) of water is used.

10. Saving a bottle of cold water in the fridge is better that taking it from the tap, because it saves time and water.

11. While brushing your teeth, instead of leaving the tap running, you should fill up a glass to rinse your mouth.

12. Baths use less water than a typical shower. Soaking in a partially filled tub will use less water than a short shower.

13. The average person spends less than 1 % of his or her total personal expenditure dollars for water, wastewater, and water disposal services.

14. Less than 1% of the water treated by public water systems is used for drinking and cooking.

15. Bottled water can be up to 1000 times more expensive than tap water and it may not be as safe.

16. Today, at least 400 million people live in regions with severe water shortages.

About water pollution and related problems:

1. Humans largely influence the factors that determine water quality, as they depose off their waste in water and add all kinds of substances and contaminants that are not naturally present. We now know more than 70.000 water pollutants.

2. About 450 cubic kilometres of wastewater are carried into coastal areas by rivers and streams every year. These pollution loads require an additional 6,000 cubic kilometres of freshwater to dilute the pollution. This amount equals to two-thirds of the world's total stable run-off.

3. Public water supplies must meet or exceed certain standards. The kind of standards that are used differ for each country. Many public water supplies consistently supply water that is much better than the minimum standards.

4. Four litres (1 gallon) of gasoline can contaminate approximately 2.8 million litres (750,000 gallons) of water.

5. Groundwater supplies serve about 80% of the population, whereas up to 4% of usable groundwater is already polluted.

6. There are 12,000 different toxic chemical compounds in industrial use today, and more than 500 new chemicals are developed each year.

7. Over 70,000 different water contaminants have been identified.

8. Each day almost 10,000 children under the age of 5 in Third World countries die as a result of illnesses contracted by use of impure water.

9. Today, drinking water meets over a hundred different standards for drinking water quality.

10. The principal sources of contamination are associated with the post World War II chemical age.

11. If all new sources of contamination could be eliminated, in 10 years, 98% of all available groundwater would then be free of pollution.

12. Most of the world's people must walk at least 3 hours to fetch water.

13. Freshwater animals are disappearing five times faster than land animals.

About water as a raw material:

1. It takes 5,680 litres (1,500 gallons) of water to process one barrel of beer.

2. It takes 450 litres (120 gallons) of water to produce one egg.

3. To process one chicken we need 44 litres (11.6 gallons) of water.

4. To process one can of fruit or vegetables we need 35 litres (9.3 gallons) of water.

5. About 25,700 litres (6,800 gallons) of water is required to grow a day's food for a family of four.

6. It takes 7,000 litres (1,850 gallons) of water to refine one barrel of crude oil.

7. To manufacture new cars 148,000 litres (39,000 gallons) of water are used per car.

http://www.lenntech.com/

Carve Out Your Life

2009-07-07T15:54:00.011-04:00

For me, life has always had lots of plateaus. Some pleasant, some not so much. I think now though that I'm ready for the next level whatever that may be. We've been at this level for some time now and have had some success. We've manifested change in our circumstances and we've been happy with the outcome.

It's time now to move on. Passion works like that. It's a stirring. A feeling that will not relent. Something that calls continually until you pay attention to it.

Jim's been working really hard at the shop and needs a vacation. I've been busy with my Reiki Master level working with clients and giving talks and lectures but I think it's time for more, something new, something radical.

We live in a sea of limitless potential and possibility, what will we create?

Well I know I'm going to pursue my Reiki Master Teacher level. It's only logical - not so radical, but necessary on my journey. I've come so far and the next step would be the last in my "official" certification and training. Then, I would be able to attune others to Reiki so that they can teach others and so on and so on....sounds like a sweet legacy and an official plan to me.

Jim has some major life changes to consider. We would love to move out of state and start a new business while broadening my Reiki practice. We know that we're just young enough to do something that everyone least expects but secretly hopes we'd do. It's time. Our hearts have been a little troubled but oh so grateful lately. We're praying and thanking God for His continual help. We praise Him for everything that we have, everything that He's given us. And then we stumble upon these waters while taking a little trip to clear our heads. Just look where we wound up . . .

John 7:38 NIV

38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,

streams of living water will flow from within him."

I want to see more of this. I want to continually cast my cares on the living waters that rush with such ferocity that I rest assured that they have been swept away and cleansed from the inside out. God is so awesome like that. He reminds us that He's right beside us. He reminds us that if we allow it, He will orchestrate our lives in such a way that there is absolutely no mistaking that He is the navigator.

I believe He places passions in our hearts to continually grow to the next level and give and learn and be. And I believe He takes away that which is no longer necessary in our lives effortlessly and surely, as surely as this water is flowing today, as surely as He is still the Living Water.

These waters were such an unexpected pleasure. We knew we were headed to the Newark watershed, the water supply for most of northern New Jersey but because the water table was so high from all the rain, this little waterfall turned into a monster with a message. A message about how to carve out your life with purpose and intention.

I speak all the time about Dr. Emoto and his work with water and how we need to be more mindful and appreciative. I thanked that water as it came crashing by us.

It was such a powerful moment and reward to just sit and watch and listen as it came from high up in the stream and cascaded down and carved out it's path whether the rocks approved or not. Sure the rocks held their ground and for the most part refused to move, but the water, over time moved those rocks in such a way that the rocks are almost unaware that their being moved.

Like our circumstances and trials in our lives, they are the mountains or rocks that I speak of...the mountains or rocks of stress and illness and dis ease or dis belief, dis content. The water is our faith. Our faith moves those rocks, moves those mountains and defies even the most stubborn of obstacles. We need to identify what we're placing our faith in and if it's God, we need harness the power of that faith.

Matthew 17:20 NIV
20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth,

if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,

'Move from here to there' and it will move.

Nothing will be impossible for you."

Powerful huh?

These waters have been and still are carving their way through the mountains and rock, relentlessly. There is a whittling away, a re-shaping. We will go back at the end of the season and take new pictures to see how it's changed and to see how much the water has moved the rocks.

I think God would point out though, that we're the ones that move and we're the ones that change. I'm just sayin'.

What are you moving with faith today?

2 Peter 3:5 NIV
5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word

the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.

What Are You Reaping?

2009-06-29T16:10:00.004-04:00

You've been sowing in your garden of life for a long, long time now. You've been planting and pruning and weeding and feeding. You've been watching the light and darkness and how it floods and hides. You've been listening and hopefully learning some.

You are producing something in your garden. It is indeed growing something. I can see it from here. I can also sometimes feel it from here.

Is it what you had hoped it would be? Is your garden rich with life and fruit and goodness?

Will your crop be a harvest? Will you need extra hands to carry all the goodness that you've created or will one handful suffice?

My hope for you is that you would mindfully sow in your garden of life. Sure a weed will grow and try to choke the life out of your fruit. But if you're mindful about your garden, the choking weeds will not stand a chance.

On the contrary. They will be fearful to grow anywhere near your seeds of righteousness, but they will grow nonetheless. Be careful then, to make sure your garden is growing the fruits that you choose. The fruits of endless possibilities!

Now go grow!

Help In A Time of Need

2009-06-22T14:43:00.002-04:00

As someone who is rarely at a loss for words, lately I've realized that I've used a few videos in my posts to express myself. That's probably because music truly heals me - my beast within. I remember the Tasmanian devil on the old Bugs Bunny cartoons which were my favorites!! Whenever Bugs would play the accordion, Tas would be reduced to mush - but the second Bugs stopped playing - the devil would emerge ha ha!

Love that!

Whenever I listen to music, deliberately, I can feel the deep stirring and healing inside my heart and soul. Music does to me what no one or no thing can. It's very spiritual.

On the other hand, I cannot listen to some of today's music. I can hear it once or twice and even dance to it, but listen? Nah. That's not the kind of music I listen to.

You can tell by some of the video's that I've posted that it's gotta go deeper than that. Everything has to have some meaning on some level otherwise it'll just be an ear worm that gets stuck in my head for days.

I have also learned to love silence. Or I'm at least more aware of how much noise I make. While cooking, the pots and pans noise pollution that I create can be frightening to small animals and children. My cats take off and are usually far from sight while I cook. They come back when things have settled down a bit to get a smackeral or two.

Silence allows me to hear myself think. It allows me to get a handle on what's going on inside. There is a ton of mental stimulation going on - music included - that only silence can calm. Having suffered from asthma from time to time, I'm always conscious of my breathing, but when I'm brought back to my breath and stillness and silence the shift happens. The shift is a state of consciousness. Sometimes we get very busy and hypnotized by life through our senses and autopilot kicks in. Autopilot may consist of some behavior patterns that are not in our best interest. Silence can and will illuminate that almost instantly.

Two mornings ago before I even opened my eyes, I heard this sentence: "God is waiting for you".

Seriously. In the stillness of the morning that's what I heard before even moving a toe or a pinkie. I just laid there wondering if I said that or not - but how could I have said it - I was sleeping. Was it left over from a dream? I can't remember anything.

Yesterday morning, I experienced a small episode of sleep paralysis. I've learned 'not to panic' when this happens. Ever since I learned this about six months ago, I haven't had a sleep paralysis episode, only this one time. I did get a little nervous initially but I calmed down and then it subsided. Keep in mind, this is while I'm sound asleep.

In a strange way I've been waiting for the sleep paralysis to happen. Almost looking for it - there is something there I can't explain. It's truly a phenomenal thing to experience. I'm not sure what's happening, as I've blogged about this before, but I'm more curious now than I've ever been about it. Is it some transcendental metamorphosis? Is it a seaming of the soul? What?

And what is God waiting for me to do? In my heart I just think She wants to spend some time with me - one on one. I think I'm spending time with God because I am conscious of God - but there is a deeper, more personal experience that I have only when I'm still, purposefully meditating and focusing on the Glory of God. The presence of God. There is nothing like it in the world. I sometimes feel it in music and I often feel it in silence.

I have a funny feeling though, that He wants me to feel it more with His children. Every where I look today, people are struggling. Not only are they struggling, but they are focusing on their struggle so much that freedom from struggle is not a watered notion. There is some hopelessness. A leaning on oneself for wisdom that never comes. For me, it was always God who lifted my spirits and gave me the victory in my circumstances...even though I was still in the valley.

And then last nights dream. I was with a group of people, strangers, who had a small baby that was ill and close to death. I was not part of the babies family just a distant friend. I felt very curious about what they were doing and I realized they were praying and holding a vigil for healing for the baby. I instantly began to participate with them in prayer and believing God for a miracle.

And then I see the father tapping and rubbing the baby, which was wrapped up as babies often are, but I couldn't see the baby's face. The father was distraught and even though he was praying I could sense that he was also giving up at the same time!

The group of people was moving with the baby toward a specific spot - like where the baby was born, or a Holy spot or something, I'm not sure. I just know that I was very pleased that they were going there and I began to speak out in faith as we approached that spot. I just started praying with raised hands, praising God for all that He does and has done. Just then the baby turned and I could see his face for the first time which was somewhat blue and wrinkled. After a second or two the baby opened his eyes and smiled at me and returned to a more healthy color. We were elated and thanked God for the miracle, to say the least.

Then I woke up.

The moral of the story? Keep your focus. Keep your eyes on the prize. Do not lean to this side or that because of your circumstances. Be convicted in your desire and thank God for giving you everything that you need, everything that you have.

I honestly believe that the passion I have to help others is placed inside my heart by someone else, somewhere higher. And if God has given me this desire, He will surely assist me in obtaining whatsoever He wants me to have at the time.

What are the desires of your heart? Are you listening and if so, is God in it? If He is, you will surely have the victory and if He isn't, perhaps you should get Him involved.

The thing that strikes me the most in my dream is that the father of the baby was giving up simultaneously while praying. You can't be double minded.

The King James Version of the Book of Revelation 3:14-22 puts it this way:

To the Church in Laodicea

14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

I know it's not easy. I know we sometimes want to give up because we're sick and tired but I say stay the course and at least make sure God is making your path straight. How do you do that? Start by getting quiet and focusing your intention on what your are searching for....ask God to show you. She will.

I'm Sorry That I Hurt You

2009-06-15T13:46:00.005-04:00

Forgiveness is underrated.

What will you do with your love today if not love the unlovely?

We were all there at one time or another...perhaps you've not been there yet.

Either way, I forgive you and I love you.

What About Us ?

2009-06-05T17:01:00.001-04:00

I Need A Sign

2009-06-04T13:27:00.002-04:00

Bishops vs. Reiki

2009-05-18T12:44:00.007-04:00

There has been a lot of discussion in the Reiki community with regard to the Catholic bishops statement recently. Please make sure you have all the facts before you decide. And please, pray about this and make up your own mind.

A Response to the Bishops' Statement on Reiki
by William Lee Rand

On March 25, 2009, U.S. Catholic bishops issued a statement advising Catholic hospitals, health care facilities, and Catholic chaplains not to support the use of Reiki sessions. The statement was issued by The Committee on Doctrine, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and titled: “Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as Alternative Therapy.”

http://www.usccb.org/dpp/Evaluation_Guidelines_finaltext_2009-03.pdf

The statement was based on research the committee had done over a period of several months involving information found on the Internet and in Reiki books. Based on these sources, they concluded that Reiki came from Buddhist texts and has a religious basis; that Reiki healing energy is directed by human thought and will; that Reiki is not validated by scientific studies and has no scientific explanation, and that Reiki is not accepted by the medical community.

When considering the value of the bishops’ statement, it’s important to note the sources they accessed. Much of their research came from information published on Internet Web sites. Overall, the Internet isn’t a good source of factual information because there is no requirement that information published there be checked or approved for accuracy. Anyone can set up a Web site and publish anything they wish. What often happens is that authors of sites copy from each other, so if inaccurate information is published on one site, it can easily spread to many sites across the Internet. If one makes use of the Internet for research, one must use a developed set of selection criteria that limits one to only the most respected and reputable Web sites. Otherwise, one runs the risk of accepting rumor and misinformation as fact.

This is especially true for Reiki Web sites. Reiki information has been riddled with inaccurate ideas from the beginning of its practice in the West. Many Reiki practitioners, teachers and authors fail to check the accuracy of the information they base their teaching and writing on, and this has had a detrimental effect on the quality of information published both on the Internet and in Reiki books.

The best information on Reiki comes from those who have researched the history and practice of Reiki professionally by conducting research in Japan, reading original documents, and interviewing members of the founding Reiki organization in Japan. If the bishops who wrote the statement on Reiki had interviewed several of these experts, they would have realized that much of the published information on Reiki is inaccurate, and they would have had accurate, verifiable information on which to base their conclusions.

Origin of Reiki
One of the stories told by Mrs. Takata about the origin of Reiki indicates that the founder, Mikao Usui discovered the secret of Reiki n Buddhist texts.1 This story has been repeated over and over in Reiki classes, on Internet Web sites and in many Reiki books. Yet we know this isn’t true. For many years, Mrs. Takata was the only source of information about Reiki for those in the West, and most practitioners accepted her statements without question. Language, cultural, and organizational barriers in Japan made research difficult for those who wanted to learn more about the origins and practice of Reiki. It wasn’t until the end of the 90’s that a few researchers were able to make breakthroughs.

Researchers, including Toshitaka Mochizuki, Hiroshi Doi and Frank Arjava Petter, made contact with the original Reiki organization, discovered Mikao Usui’s grave, translated the story of Reiki inscribed on his memorial stone, and uncovered an original document written by Mikao Usui about the nature of Reiki. These sources indicate that Mikao Usui wasn’t seeking to discover a method of healing, but that the ability to heal came to him spontaneously during a spiritual experience on a sacred mountain. Furthermore, in his Reiki Ryoho Hikkei (Reiki Healing Art Handbook), Mikao Usui states: “My Usui Reiki Ryoho (healing art) is original, never before explored, and incomparable in the world.” These facts indicate that Reiki couldn’t have come from Buddhist texts, nor could it be connected to any religion or belief system. In addition, Japanese Reiki Masters who have knowledge of Buddhism have indicated that they can find nothing from Buddhism in the practice of Reiki and that Reiki is religiously neutral.2

The Nature of Reiki Healing
One of the first things I noticed after I took my first Reiki class and began to practice Reiki is that Reiki healing energy directs itself. I was unable to direct it with my mind or will and realized this wasn’t necessary as Reiki had its own form of guidance that was superior to my own. This experience has been verified by other professional Reiki practitioners and forms the basis of one of the important keys to using Reiki: If you want Reiki to provide the best healing experience, it’s necessary for the practitioner to set their own desire, will and ego aside, and allow the Reiki energy to guide itself.

Scientific Explanation for Reiki
There is a scientific explanation for Reiki that is based on scientific studies and factual information. This explanation has been presented as a testable hypothesis by James Oschman, Ph.D.

Dr. Oschman is a scientist with a conventional background who became interested in the practice of energy medicine. Through research, he discovered a number of important scientific studies that point to a scientific basis for energy medicine based on the laws of physics and biology. These findings are discussed in an interview, “Science and the Human Energy Field,” published in the Winter 2002 issue of Reiki News Magazine.

The electrical currents that run through every part of the human body provide the basis for Dr. Oschman’s hypothesis. These currents are present in the nervous system, organs, and cells of the body. For instance, the electrical signals that trigger the heartbeat travel throughout all the tissues of the body and can be detected anywhere on the body.

Ampere’s law indicates that when an electrical current flows through a conductor, an electromagnetic field is produced that reflects the nature of the current that created it. Tests with scientific instruments indicate that electromagnetic fields exist around the body and around each of the organs of the body, including the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, stomach, etc. The heart has the strongest field, which has been measured at a distance of 15 feet from the body.

The fields around each of the organs pulse at different frequencies and stay within a specific frequency range when they are healthy, but move out of this range when they are unhealthy. The hands of healers produce pulsing electromagnetic fields when they are in the process of healing, whereas the hands of non-healer do not produce these fields. When a healer places his or her hands on or near a person in need of healing, the electromagnetic field of the healer’s hands sweeps through a range of frequencies based on the needs of the part of the body being treated. Faraday’s law indicates that one electromagnetic field can induce currents into a nearby conductor and through this process, induce a similar field around it. In this way, a healer induces a healthy electromagnetic field around an unhealthy organ, thus inducing a healthy state in the organ. A detailed explanation of this hypothesis, including descriptions of the scientific studies, diagrams, and references is presented in the interview mentioned above.

Acceptance by the Medical Community
Although Reiki is not universally accepted within the medical community, many medical professionals, hospitals, and healthcare facilities recognize its benefits and accept it as an adjunct therapy. In Holistic Nursing, A Handbook for Practice, Chapter 2 “Scope and Standards of Practice,” the American Holistic Nursing Association (AHNA) lists Reiki as an accepted form of treatment.3 In addition, according to the American Hospital Association, in 2007 Reiki was offered as a standard part of patient care in 15% or over 800 hospitals across the US.4 Doctors have recommended Reiki to their patients for amelioration of various health-related conditions. Surgeons make use of Reiki practitioners prior to, during, and following surgery. As an example, Dr. Mehmet Oz, one of the most respected cardiovascular surgeons in the US, uses Reiki during open-heart surgeries and heart transplants. According to Dr. Oz, “Reiki has become a sought-after healing art among patients and mainstream medical professionals.”5

Ethical Implications
To refuse Reiki treatment to patients that request it creates an ethical issue. According to the AHNA statement in response to the bishops’ statement, the practice of holistic nursing is not subject to regulation by the Catholic church and it would be an ethical violation for a member of the AHNA to withhold Reiki treatment from a patient who requests it; this includes those working in Catholic hospitals.

Scientific Studies
There are a number of reputable scientific studies that provide evidence that Reiki is therapeutic. These studies can be found by using one of the professional medical databases such as PubMed or Cochrane Collection.6 Studies meeting medical and scientific standards are usually published in peer-reviewed journals. There are over 20 such studies on the therapeutic value of Reiki. A review of some of these studies, “An Integrative Review of Reiki Touch Therapy Research” by Anne Vitale, Ph. D., can be found at http://www.nursingcenter.com/pdf.asp?AID=732068. While the Reiki studies conducted to date are preliminary in nature, they do provide support for additional studies.

One well-designed Reiki study is “Autonomic Nervous-System-Changes During Reiki Treatment: A Preliminary Study.”7 Forty-five subjects were assigned randomly to three groups. One group received no treatment, another received Reiki treatment by experienced Reiki practitioners, and the third group received sham treatment by a person with no Reiki training who used the same hand positions as those receiving real Reiki.

Measurements were made of heart rate, cardiac vagal tone, blood pressure, cardiac sensitivity to baroreflex, and breathing. Heart rate and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly for those receiving Reiki, but not for those receiving sham Reiki, or no treatment. This study indicates that the body does respond to Reiki energy and that this response isn’t purely psychological. It also indicates a potential therapeutic effect for Reiki.

“Reiki Improves Heart Rate Homeostasis in Laboratory Rats”8 is another valuable study. The value of using animals in this type of study is that they are not affected by belief or skepticism regarding Reiki. In addition, highly accurate telemetric implants were used to transmit the biometric data. White noise was used to increase the heart rate of three implanted laboratory rats. The rats were treated by a Reiki practitioner and by a sham Reiki practitioner prior to being exposed to white noise and after exposure. The procedure involved the practitioner directing their hands toward the caged rat at a distance of four feet. The rats that received Reiki experienced a significant reduction in heart rate, both before having their heart rates elevated by white noise and after, whereas those treated with sham Reiki did not. This is one of the most rigorous Reiki studies to date and demonstrates that Reiki reduces the heart rate in both stressed and unstressed animals and promotes homeostasis, both of which promote healthy heart function.

Reiki is practiced by followers of many religious traditions. Although some practitioners integrate Reiki into their existing religious beliefs, Reiki is not a religion, doctrine, or dogma. Reiki is grounded in the principle of compassionate action, which is common to all religious traditions. While each religion has the right to create its own rules, it’s within the nature of human dignity and free will for each person to decide which path to follow and what activities are appropriate for them.

1 Paul David Mitchell, The Blue Book, revised edition for The Reiki Alliance (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: 1985), page 13.

2 Personal communication with Japanese Reiki practitioners Hiroshi Doi and Hyakuten Inamoto.

3 page 56.

4 http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-14-alternative-therapies_N.htm and www.reikiinhospitals.org

5 http://healthcare-research.suite101.com/article.cfm/reiki_in_hospitals

6 http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/ PubMed is the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. http://www.lib.umb.edu/node/1353 The Cochrane Collection provides access to a collection of databases, which focus on the effects of health care and evidence based medical practice.

7 Nicola Makay, M.Sc., Stig Hansen, Ph.D., and Oona McFarlane, M.A., The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Volume 10, Number 6, 2004, pp. 1077–1081. This study is also discussed in “The Science of Reiki” by Nicole Mackay, Reiki News Magazine (Summer 2005).

8 Ann Linda Baldwin, Ph.D, Christina Wagers, and Gary E. Schwartz, Ph.D., The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Volume 14, Number 4, 2008, pp. 417–422.

William Lee Rand is president of the International Center for Reiki Training and executive editor of the Reiki News Magazine. He has studied with five Reiki teachers, including two from Japan, and has made three trips to Japan to research the history and nature of Reiki. Rand has practiced Reiki since 1981 and has taught full time for 20 years.

Ahhhhh, facts. Gotta love 'em.

You Are Not Forgotten, God Knows Your Name

2009-05-12T16:52:00.004-04:00

God inhabits the praise of His people and praising God lifts all oppression. I dare you to feel somber listening to this.

"We are the chosen generation. We're gonna change the world...."

God is great. Can I get an amen?

Melancholy Baby

2009-05-12T00:18:00.003-04:00

Today was a sort of melancholy day for me...and something that always makes me feel better is a little Paul Simon.

Reiki & The Adrenaline Rush

2009-05-06T23:05:00.012-04:00

Ahhhhh, the blessed gift of Reiki.

Reiki is a light shining in our world. At first I had no real idea what it would come to mean to me but after working with it for over five years now, I can say confidently that Reiki is energy filled with tenderness and healing love that I know could only come from God, Him and Herself.

It is my humble opinion that each person has an energy field that is as unique as their fingerprint or DNA. Everyone 'feels' differently to me. You can ask me during a session what I'm feeling and I can pretty much sum it up in a few words. I'm not trying to feel anything mind you. I'm praying and keeping my intention quite focused during a Reiki session, but the overflow of energy cannot be denied. I'm learning to harness that energy or calm it, if need be. I mostly like to ride the wave as I've mentioned in the past. No big surprise there.

It's not exactly like an adrenalin rush but a pretty close second. When skydiving six years ago, I had probably the most alive feeling that I've ever experienced. Keep in mind, I don't need to leave my house to feel alive. I truly love this life experience and I have learned to appreciate the most under appreciated of circumstances, but jumping out of an airplane puts things in perspective. In that moment, you experience consciousness personified.

Believe me, you are in that moment, conscious and accounted for. Now, I've only gone skydiving once, and I'm hoping to go again this summer, but I feel pretty confident speaking on the subject. In that moment, you have to make a choice. Technically, you made the choice when you got on the airplane, but when the doors open and it's your turn, you decide in that millisecond to JUMP out of the airplane and your mind goes blank because the next thought cannot be computed that's how focused you are on the second at hand. This second. The second that you jump. No other second exists in this timeframe. Only now.

While jumping out of a airplane is a real physical experience, Reiki is similar because it is a real physical and spiritual experience. When you jump out of an airplane, you physically plummet through the earth's atmosphere and when you land safely on earth, you are not the same person you were when you went up. You are rejuvenated, fearless, as light as a feather, energy filled, ready to take on the world and could easily, quite easily jump out of an airplane all over again. Jumping out of an airplane can change you the way Reiki can help you change.

When you experience Reiki the body receives energy that it needs to heal. In addition, spirit approvingly floats through space and time while your mind records necessary information for growth and formulations for possible patterns of change are computed and offered to your higher self, your intuition, your mind, your inner eye, the I Am that is you - whatever you want to call your best self - or who you naturally are. Information is exchanged during a Reiki session. A sort of syncing if you will from Source to soul. A really successful Reiki session will include information and s p a c e for endless possibilities like emotional healing, acceptance, forgiveness, growth, advancement, creativity, intuition, etc.

All of this is going on in the unseen.

This is where consciousness personified is critical for both the Reiki light worker and the recipient.

Matthew 18:20

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them."

Both persons are supremely conscious in their intentions. I am consciously focused on my intention to be open and present and they are supremely conscious about what they've come for. We both jump in without a parachute.

Since I've been working with energy for some time now, I've become accustomed to what I may be feeling. Beginners may need to adjust until they can feel the subtle differences between the ebb and flow of the energy. They may just want to doze off and take a nap and let the Reiki work on it's own. Either way, once the intention is set, the energy begins to flow. I can tell you that it is a very humbling feeling. Similar again to skydiving. You realize how small you are when you dive out of a perfectly good airplane. You also realize how small you are when you get the opportunity to be of service, work with individuals, their energy, and energy of Source.

It is joyful and restful, exhilarating and powerful, rejuvenating and loving, kind and harmless. It has changed my life for the better. Ever since my first experience with Reiki, I am not the same person I used to be. Let's just say that the combination of intention plus Reiki has equaled a constant flow of positive energy that has moved several mountains of resistance in my life. Energy to heal inertia, that would otherwise stay stagnant for a lifetime, is bountiful. When that happens lives change, lives heal, lives get lived to their fullest potential and people become happier, more joyful, more full of light - if that were possible.

Am I glowing? I feel like I'm glowing. I feel like a light bulb that even if you pulled the plug would glow all night. Did I have a Reiki session today? You bet I did. It went well. They always go well for me. I'm still holding my client in the light as the surge of energy heals and flows and lights the way for whatever is coming next.

Reiki heals on so many levels and I'm blessed to be acquainted with something so very basic and simple. It is spreading widely and is becoming more and more available to everyone. I am so looking forward to my future working with this light energy we call Reiki. It is by far, so much easier than jumping out of an airplane and it will change your life if only you're willing to step out on a limb.

This Is Your Life

2009-05-03T20:18:00.004-04:00

Are you who you want to be?

by Switchfoot

Embracing The Mystery

2009-05-02T21:18:00.005-04:00

Continuing the search. Continuing the love story...this longing.

What is this longing? Take the time, won't you please.

We Belong To The Beloved

2009-05-01T15:15:00.006-04:00

Tree From Seed, Spring 2009

Photo Taken by me

"Silence is the great teacher,
and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to it.
There is no substitute for the creative inspiration,

knowledge, and stability that come from knowing

how to contact your core of inner silence.

The great Sufi poet Rumi wrote,

'Only let the moving waters calm down,

and the sun and moon will be reflected

on the surface of your being."

Deepak Chopra

I love being a student of life. I love all the delicious information that stokes my fire. I've stopped wondering why I am the way I am and I've learned to embrace it. I've learned to love myself. It's definitely different. I was used to dismissing myself or ignoring my heart or denying myself. That just made me frustrated and then I became a frustration to others getting the exact opposite of what I really wanted deep down inside. When we start to realize that we reap what we sow, we start to become more mindful of what we're sowing.

For instance, if I start my day before I even get out of bed with an attitude of indifference or worse, an attitude of dread, the day will be spent sending subliminal messages to the universe that this is going to be one of the worst days of my life. So, the universe obliges me and as soon as I get out of bed, the drama begins. I begin to orchestrate the worst day of my life unconsciously. I haven't realized yet that the words that I repeat to myself on a daily basis are like seeds to the dirt of the day. First I choose them, then I plant them, the universe waters them and I wind up with a crop load of "I'm always late", "things never go right for me", "I always burn the coffee", "my boss can't stand me and I'll probably get fired today", "my kids are always sick", "my car never starts", "I never get a parking space", "I always get migraines on Tuesdays"....

The opposite of that is also true. If I start my day with conscious intention and gratitude the rest seems to fall into place. When I'm grateful for my life I want to live it better. I want to live it fuller. I want to be expecting a positive report for all of my hard work and effort.

The following is a transcript of part of an interview with Dr. Joe Dispenza in What the BLEEP Do We Know! If you've not seen this film yet, please check it out.

"I wake up in the morning and I consciously create my day the way I want it to happen. Now sometimes, because my mind is examining all the things that I need to get done, it takes me a little bit to settle down and get to the point of where I'm actually intentionally creating my day. But here's the thing: When I create my day and out of nowhere little things happen that are so unexplainable, I know that they are the process or the result of my creation. And the more I do that, the more I build a neural net in my brain that I accept that that's possible. (This) gives me the power and the incentive to do it the next day.

"So if we're consciously designing our destiny, and if we're consciously from a spiritual standpoint throwing in with the idea that our thoughts can affect our reality or affect our life -- because reality equals life -- then I have this little pact that I have when I create my day. I say, 'I'm taking this time to create my day and I'm infecting the quantum field. Now if (it) is in fact the observer's watching me the whole time that I'm doing this and there is a spiritual aspect to myself, then show me a sign today that you paid attention to any one of these things that I created, and bring them in a way that I won't expect, so I'm as surprised at my ability to be able to experience these things. And make it so that I have no doubt that it's come from you,' and so I live my life, in a sense, all day long thinking about being a genius or thinking about being the glory and the power of God or thinking about being unconditional love.

"I'll use living as a genius, for example. And as I do that during parts of the day, I'll have thoughts that are so amazing, that cause a chill in my physical body, that have come from nowhere. But then I remember that that thought has an associated energy that's produced an effect in my physical body. Now that's a subjective experience, but the truth is is that I don't think that unless I was creating my day to have unlimited thought, that that thought would come."

So tomorrow, when you rise in the morning stop, take a few minutes with conscious intention to plan your day. Please, plan it with positive thoughts. Skip the negative at all costs. Get into the habit of living consciously and see what changes after a day, a week, a month. See if you or your friends and relatives notice a change in you. When you set about your life with deliberate convictions of the positive kind, you will very likely be pleased with your results. It takes practice so don't give up. If you have been a pessimistic person, you will need to retrain your brain. But the good news is that if you're just discovering this about yourself, you can begin to change and ultimately your life will manifest the change you want to see.

We are way more powerful than we think we are. Our thoughts are way more powerful than we think they are. Thankfully, the universe knows this and is still affording us time to change our thinking for the better.

This clip is of a work by one of my favorite poets, Jalaluddin Rumi.

This clip is from one of my favorite teachers, Deepak Chopra.

Worthy is the Lamb

2009-04-28T10:32:00.006-04:00

I know who I am. I know where I've come from and where I've been. I know exactly how I got to be in this place.

What I don't know is who you are and how you got here too?

Do you think our meeting is by chance? Or do you believe it may have been orchestrated by someone, somewhere, higher and mightier?

God, I give you all the praise for my life and or any goodness that comes from it. Take away that which is not meant for me. Take away that which is not my charge. Increase that which is.

Thank you and Amen.

Supertramp, makes you wonder

2009-04-22T15:26:00.005-04:00

I am very mindful today. I'm working on manifesting some more of what's been around me lately and enjoying the moment.

The moments have been sweet.

Take the last moment. I was listening to music I listened to a lot when I was younger. Practically wore the album out back then. Now of course it's a cd and it too, when I took it out of the case just now, looked smudged and beat up. Nonetheless, I popped it in and filled the house with it. It's on a cellular level....music that is.

Note: I wonder what music does to water, if anything? If thoughts can change it, what can music do?

Rudy, by Supertramp was one of my favorite songs from the Classics album back in the day - it still is but I'm listening to it now with ears that have matured somewhat so it's even better. I just love the storyline and the build up of music throughout and then they bring it back down to a simmer. Just like life she typed smiling.

Just now while listening it made me think of all the beautiful people I've met recently and how we're all so alike. We all get caught up in patterns of emotion and thought and repetitive, crippling, mind numbing, knee-jerk reactions to life. We somehow forget that we're in control and we have the ability to break patterns, process through emotion, forgive, have mercy, get stronger, overcome, be victorious in our lives - in all areas.

But you say 'I've got this to contend with' and 'I've got that'.
Yes, yes, I know. We all do.
We all have highs and lows and we all struggle at points in our lives.
The struggle is just as important as what we interpret as the blessings.

I do distinguish between them too. I thank God for the struggles and the blessings and I'm learning to be more mindful and when those struggles come, I try to ride that wave just like I ride the energy wave. It's all purposeful. It's all useful. Stop struggling against the inevitable tide of divine chaos and start accepting. Once you get into a place of acceptance, decision time comes shortly thereafter. What can you change about it? What are my choices? Is it really a struggle? What is a struggle anyway?

Was that illness that I recovered from a struggle?
Was failure that I recovered from a struggle?
The depression? The loneliness? all recovered from...were they struggles?

How are they so unique if we all experience them?
Do they have a higher purpose?
Do we have a higher purpose?
Are we evolving?
Are we awakening?

And then I remembered my dream from last night.

I was in a motorvehicle driving at night with a few friends and colleagues from my past. I looked up at the nighttime sky and noticed what looked like ufo's. There were a lot of points of white light moving across the sky together. They maintained their space apart and seemed to be flying in formation. I could see them crossing the sky and I could see some white clouds.

I got really excited in my dream and (I think I was in a bus at this point) I got up to join my friends and I said to one of them "Did you see those points of light - there was like a million of them"!

And my friend, who is the funniest dry humor guy calmly says smiling "Yes, I did. There was 500 of them". He was kinda mocking me because okay - maybe a million was exaggerating. Bill called me on it. It was funny stuff and very light hearted. There was no fear involved in this dream and my friend was of a sense of knowing - which was very cool.

At that point we looked back up at the sky and there were tons of white points of light moving. Then, all of a sudden, they became one. I kid you not.

They became one and disappeared behind the clouds.

That's all I remember.

In a moment, thinking about all of these beautiful souls listening to Rudy, a song about all of us, I remembered a dream that blows my mind. I love moments like these.

Photography & Springtime Gratitude

2009-04-18T20:37:00.006-04:00

(Photo taken by me...AC/NJ)

Today was a beautiful day and I am taking a minute to express how very grateful I am for it. Thank you God.

(Photo taken by me AC/NJ)

I wonder and I hope I'm not the only one, am I the only one? The only one bursting with joy? Thank you joy!

Seriously, I can't look out the window and not be grateful. I am so very grateful for even the smallest things...and no things at all. I am grateful for all things in between. I think I drove my husband nuts today. I think I did, but when I asked him, he just smiled and said no. No. He gets me after fourteen years. Lonnnng exhhhhale. I suppose he better.

Thank you Jimmy.

I found myself so appreciative for even the littlest things today. I saw an ant, a few bees, a dandelion...the first of 09 and was elated! I associated them with Spring and it was all good. I saw lots of budding plants, flowers, bushes, trees, birds, ducks. The breeze was warm with not a hint of a chill. Our cats were outside rolling around in the sunshine all day. They were filthy from rolling in the grass and sand and they had twigs and pine needles in their fur and it was awesome. A day well spent.

There was lots to be the ultimate observer about and even more to be grateful for.

(Photo taken by me from window in my Reiki Room)

God.

God is great.

C'mon....who else can produce a sunset like this?

A feeling like this?

Gratitude like this.

We are all but a twinkling in His eye,
we are all but His reflection.

I haven't missed a sunset in a while now and I'm not planning on missing any in the future. I am purposefully slowing down for them. Jim and I are stopping whatever were doing and spending a few minutes....we're basking in the light of the setting sun, deliberately, together marveling at it's magnificent brilliance, offering prayers of gratitude and appreciation to the Most High God.

So very thankful. Besides, the mornings offer even more to be grateful for, and truthfully, from my innermost being, I, for one, cannot wait.

(photo taken by MP this morning - our neighborhood)

What are you thankful for?

Still Riding the Energy Wave

2009-04-17T21:21:00.005-04:00

(Thank you Bergen Community College)

Today was a day. Well, they're all days - but today...one of my favorites.

I got to spend time with some young, beautiful, vibrant, glowing students at Bergen Community College. Professor Lisa Sargese invited me to give a talk on Reiki and I humbly accepted the invitation. The time seemed to fly. The energy in the room was exceptional. I prayed for these students long before I met them. I sent Reiki energy to each and every one of them. Honestly, I'm sitting here typing at 9:25 full of energy, still riding the wave.

I just realized that I had only eaten a small yogurt and a blueberry multi-grain bar today...and tons of water. I do fast from time to time - deliberately - but today I wasn't planning on it. I've barely eaten. I also realized that I'm getting much better at fasting. It seems that every since I've been attuned to Reiki energy, fasting is as easy as pie...no pun intended.

I am not hungry. I do not have a headache. I have a lot of energy. Do I feel like folding the laundry? No. But I could do it easily and mop the floors if I wanted to. I love that.

I love and am grateful for the opportunity to share. You know it really does come back to you tenfold. I never look for the yang of it...but when yin is in motion, yang is sure to follow. Call it karma, call it a boomerang...call it a chipmunk for all I care...it doesn't matter what label you put on energy. What flows from you, will return to you.

(Special thanks to LM)

What's in your energy?

Endless Possibilities

2009-04-13T18:09:00.002-04:00

Here's something that I've been chewing on for a while.

Realizing Your Fullest Potential

2009-03-25T09:26:00.008-04:00

There are a lot of people walking around in this life in a state of constant despair. Watching the news or reading newspapers are sure fire ways to feel that despair. Selling newspapers and commercial space is now and has always been their motivation. Telling the truth, not so much.

So it stands to reason that we've probably been manipulated from the outside in. You might believe mostly all that you hear and see and feel about aging, and dis-ease and sickness...but that is subject to change - if you have an open mind.

What if you stopped listening to the news and stopped reading the newspaper? What if you replaced that information with something entirely different? Would your body respond to this new information at the cellular level, i.e., the water in your body. Would it too respond to the changes? BTW, we are mostly water.

Dr. Emoto's work with water suggests that it would. http://www.life-enthusiast.com/twilight/research_emoto.htm

I am convinced that prayer changes everything and for me, Reiki is a form of prayer as well as energy work and when we Reiki our food or water - it changes at the cellular level. Imagine what it can do in our bodies.

Fujiwara Dam, before offering a prayer

Fujiwara Dam, after offering a prayer

Jim Hatcher, a Life Coach, Reiki Master, Certified Matrix Energetics Practitioner has this to say:

"Energy work re-establishes the flow of biological information and provides the body with new information so that it can better respond to stimuli internally and externally. Subtle energy merges with quantum physics to generate the incredible power of our own active imaginations and focused intent. It produces physical and verifiable results."

"Light touch with the power of focused intent can be used to heal, to remove unwanted habits, to transform and to create new possibilities."

"It's very much about transforming your beliefs concerning healing, disease and the structure of reality."

"All matter, our bodies included, emit a frequency - an electromagnetic field. These energy fields can develop various blockages on many levels which are then reflected in our current state of being. "

"It is vital to be aware of and clear the blockages to this flow of energy because it is this field that directly determines our physical, mental and emotional health. This field will also have an influence on our alignment with purpose, the quality of our relationships, our ability to affect necessary change in our lives, our abundance and degree of inner peace . . . literally every aspect of our lives."

"Energy work accesses patterns of energy and makes adjustments directly at that point which can cause instantaneous changes. The patterns accessed are biological information fields which form an active, constantly resonating matrix. This matrix and its interconnections provide a continuum for rapid, coherent intercommunication throughout the body. The vibrations and waveforms in this matrix can be changed, so a practitioner can collapse the current reality, such as an injury pattern or some stuck situation with the body or emotions, and introduce new information to produce new possibilities that are more useful. Disease may be defined as a disruption, cessation or distortion arising in the matrix of these information fields. Physical and emotional injuries impair communication at the cellular level."

"Energy work re-establishes the flow of biological information and provides the body with new information so that it can better respond to stimuli in its internal and external environments."

"During a Reiki treatment you may experience:

a higher level of energy, function and performance
promotion of the body's ability to heal
reduction of the amount of time needed to heal fractures, injuries,
and post surgery improvement or elimination of pain and disease
successful treatment of insomnia migraine headaches
sprains and strains
neck and back problems
pain syndromes
addiction
release negative emotional energy stored from old wounds, trauma and mistaken beliefs
reduce stress
clear the mind and renew energy
create peace of mind or feelings of calm or well-being
promote mental alertness
eliminate confusion
improve concentration and memory

During a session you may experience:

Energy flowing through your body
Heat or cold in various parts of your body
Muscle twitches
Spontaneous movement
Relaxation and lightness
Images, visions, colors
Emotional release
Past memories spontaneously coming up
Sleep (you don't have to be awake to receive benefits)

After a session you may experience:

Decreased pain or other physical symptoms
Increased relaxation
A sense of peacefulness and clarity
A renewed sense of purpose
Improvement or remission of various conditions
Openheartedness, love, the ability to more easily make heart-centered decisions
Increased energy, or conversely, a need to sleep more -- listen to your body
A sense of alignment that leads to changes in lifestyle choices -- nutrition, movement, meditation, creativity
An ability to see relationships more clearly and to find peace within them
The ability to take responsibility for creating the life you want
An increased sense of confidence and self-worth"

Bet you won't be reading any of this in the local papers or hearing it on the news any time soon. We really should be asking ourselves why not. All of this is possible and more, much, much more. You will have to make some changes though. You will have to let go of your preconceived notions and everything you thought you knew about your body, your health, your wellness and realizing your fullest potential.

What have you got to lose?

Sleep Like A Baby

2009-03-23T20:50:00.005-04:00

My back has been acting very cranky lately. It could be because I've been doing too much Spring cleaning but it's definitely not because I've been working out too much.

I went to the chiropractor for several adjustments only to be told to 'stop working out for now' and 'if it doesn't improve, we'll send you for x-rays'.

Well, that got my attention.

So after a couple of weeks of being in agony and trying the chiropractic way, I pushed myself into real action.

I've taken several hot Reiki baths with salt. I've changed my pillow. I meditated stretched, did yoga and some weight training.

And you know what?

BIG improvement.

I realized I was solidifying the Dr.'s report and undermining my own recovery. I could feel a nerve pinching in my arm - well over the shoulder and down my arm. It was making me very upper-body weak mentally and physically. His report only made it worse.

The first push up I tried to do was excruciating...but after a few minor adjustments (no chiropractic pun intended) I can now do 3 sets of 10 without wincing.

Yoga, meditation and Reiki today were amazing. I could feel energy blockages releasing. I could hear vertebrae taking their rightful positions. In my minds eye I could see health and my body started to respond.

The more I did, the better I felt.

I REFUSE to go for an x-ray for my spine. It's just not necessary.

What is necessary is a change in attitude.

Every night I'm doing self Reiki. Every day I'm working out. Every day I'm expecting positive results.

So far, so good.

No x-ray for me today. Nope.

Just yoga, Reiki and positive expectations.

I will not go quietly into the night. But I will sleep like a baby.

The Old Me's Dead & Gone

2009-03-17T11:48:00.007-04:00

I look at my blog sometimes and I think some people may get the wrong message.

I'm intense. I get that. I used to be one of the wildest people I know, but somehow I always had an underlying conviction in my heart for things on a higher level.

I've grown up some and because of that, my eyes see alot. Some things that others don't. I feel badly about that and I'm trying to help.

I'm still pretty intense, I get that.

But what are you gettin' besides into trouble?

Soothe Your Soul

2009-03-15T10:03:00.009-04:00

This is the day. This is the day that the Lord has made.

I will rejoice. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

There is so much turmoil all around us from the failing economy. Corporate America's karma has caught up with her. We are all stewards of this earth and everything in it. Corporate America is no different. They are stubborn and greedy and now the whole system is in jeopardy of collapsing.

My concern is that our Spiritual health is also failing. We've taken Almighty God out of our daily lives, our daily conversations, heck, we can't even put Christlike images in places like City Hall anymore. Are we any better for it? Or has our spiritual karma caught up with us?

Where do you go when the cards come tumbling down?

Do you go to the bank?

Do you go to the mall?

Do you go to your psychiatrist?

All these places are good, but not for spiritual health, healing, wellness or insight.

I'm afraid the avenue to true spirituality has been detoured, blocked up, damned up and we're reaping now what we've sown.

It's time to get back to basics.

Go to church. Go to the synagogue. Go to the temple. Go to the mosque.

Meditate. Read the Word.

Help your neighbor.

In Reiki, we place our hands above the body in an effort to exchange energy. When was the last time you placed your hands on someone with the intention of exchanging energy?

Are your intentions "me" based or do you think of and help others?

One telltale sign that your universe is in jeopardy of collapsing is the "me" factor. If your life is in turmoil. Go help someone.

If you need anything, go and meet the needs of someone else.

Like attracts like. Love attracts love. Selflessness attracts selflessness.

The equation is and has always been "do unto others as you would have done unto you".

If you are lost and confused and you need to find your way, look to the Heavens. Look to your divine nature.

Your mind and your body and your Spirit are tools. Use them. Try them. See what works for you. Be active in participating in this life. Do not sit back and wait for things to happen. See what soothes your soul.

True manifestation works this way...think it...believe it....DO IT!

If you are ill, think about wellness, believe in wellness and be active in getting well. Seek other ways of wellness - ones you've not searched out before. Take your meds - but believe that perhaps one day, you'll not need them.

Change your diet.

Change your focus.

Change your mind.

God is, and has always been ready, willing and able to help us in our journey. We tend to forget or heaven forbid, deny His existence and even our own at times.

This is a recipe for disaster in the form of depression, sickness, dysfunction, dis-ease in general.

Jesus said "I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly". What are you choosing today?

He also said "Choose life". That's a commandment.

What are you seeking?

Might I suggest..."Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you."

Give Tirelessly

2009-03-09T16:36:00.008-04:00

My lecture for this coming Wednesday was postponed due to some health concerns on the part of my hosts' family member. Ironic in a way....illness postponing a talk about self healing. But all is well and all is as it should be, or is it?

Lately I've been spending time with some young people who have indeed been on a journey of self awareness. They are slightly imbalanced and off track and I wonder why in this age of information that that can occur.

If I shouted hopefulness on the top of a mountain and expelled every bit of air in my lungs in an effort to reach the youth of America, would it be in vain? Would there be a force right behind me at the ready to dispel my message?

Is the yin and yang of it all very much at work?

I think we have to learn to be more responsible for ourselves as well as others.

What are you doing today to better the world at large?

We have a tendency to look inside at our immediate world and forget the rest as if 'they must fend for themselves'.

But, if we're all truly connected, if we're truly all one - then what you do very much affects me and what I do affects you.

I will spend the rest of my days on this planet helping others. It's what I've been called to do. What you do with your time is up to you. You might say that it's none of my business - and you might be right - to some extent.

But when one of your daughters or sons lands on my doorstep with no hope - what then? I will diligently help them. I will wipe their tears away and teach them that there is a better way. I will give them what I have to give. . .please do not undo it.

Acts Chapter 3

1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter Speaks to the Onlookers

11While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. 12When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

17"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ[a] would suffer. 19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.'[b]

24"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. 25And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.'[c] 26When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."

A Little Fun In The Sun

2009-03-03T17:46:00.007-05:00

Last week my family and I spent some time together in the balmy, beautiful Florida weather.

Acting the fool and having so much fun.

This is my brother Tony and my husband Jimmy acting like gators, of course.

Me and Jimmy enjoying a gorgeous sunset.

Some of my tribe...

(From l. to r. - Bro-in-law Tommy, Niece Tori, Brother Tony, Nephew TJ, yours truly,

Step Mom Kathy, Daddy-O, Sister Debbie and Son Steven)

(Me & Stevie)

(me and sistermoonshine - cheers!)

My kids TJ and Tori.

Our trip was wonderful but too short. We laughed so hard we cried at times.

It is such a wonderful blessing getting together with family and sharing good times, good food, love and well - everything that life has to offer.

I can not wait to see them again.

My heart broke into pieces saying goodbye. I try to say see you later - but later always seems to take forever to come back around.

I thank God for all the blessings in my life. These are just some of the most important ones . . .

Reiki & Past Trauma

2009-02-25T09:35:00.005-05:00

For your information, I am proud to announce that I am the guest speaker for the following:

Reiki & Past Trauma

as presented by

Reiki Master Maria L. Pomponio

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

6:30 - 8:30 pm

31 Gladding Road

Caldwell, NJ 07006

If you are interested in attending kindly contact me or Susan Skalsky for Esmilda Abreu at 973-226-5311. We are requesting a $5.00 Donation for this event.

Thank you for your interest and support.

The Dentist, Qi and Reiki

2009-02-18T09:54:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I went to the dentist for what I thought was going to be a pretty routine visit. He was working on finishing some prep work for a porcelain crown but the tooth had become pretty problematic with the nerve being quite hypersensitive.

While taking my last trip recently I realized that the pressure of high elevation aggravated this problem and the tooth calcified somewhat to avoid the pain. Did you know that our teeth can do that? We have a tremendous ability to heal ourselves, but I digress.

Yesterday turned into one of the longest days in the dentist's chair that I can ever recall. The first two hours consisted of getting approximately 7 shots of Novocaine that didn't take.

That's right.

Seven shots that didn't take in two hours.

The nerve pressure was overriding all of his efforts to numb the tooth.

Add to that the fact that I am asthmatic and the drugs he can use on me become limited.

I became quite nervous and upset. Hot tears ran down my face when I realized that I needed even more shots. Also, a root canal takes at least two visits and since I am taking a flight later on in the week, he needed to finish it in one day or getting on the plane would be excruciating.

I had to calm myself down.

We've discussed this in past. I seem to "eat up" the anesthesia right there in the chair from nerves. I mean, who really enjoys going to the dentist? I can not stand it and I tell him that plainly.

We get a chuckle or two out of my dismay - but seriously - it freaks me out.

At one point he suggested I take some deep breaths while tilting my head to one side - the side of the nerve pain - to let the anesthetic work better.

He suggested I meditate. I told him that I do meditate although I hadn't since sitting in his chair.

I started to calm myself down and also began some Reiki on myself. I began drawing the power symbol on the roof of my mouth with my tongue and then taking my tongue and drawing it on the tooth itself. I sent all the healing energy that I have inside myself to my tooth.

It had an amazing affect.

The next time he checked me by blowing cold air on my tooth - FINALLY, I felt only some slight pressure.

I continued sending myself Reiki for the next hour and a half while he finished prepping my tooth for the root canal. He got the root out and then the bleeding would not stop.

Green tea and Vitamin E are blood thinners. Two things I take on a regular basis. I couldn't believe he said the bleeding wouldn't stop - it was my own fault. I should not have taken them prior to my visit. I should have stopped taking them a week ago but it had completely slipped my mind. I don't really associate bleeding with the dentist - again, my fault.

That being said, it had been over four hours sitting in his chair. Now the bleeding. So, he sent me home for an hour - he did have other patients to see.

I went home for an hour AND HAD TO GO BACK! The bleeding prevented him from finishing what he started.

After an hour of sitting in my office chair staring out the window, I reluctantly went back to his office for Round Two...when it really felt like Round Twenty Two.

I was exhausted.

This time, no anesthetic....I mean the nerves were out so I shouldn't feel any pain right? Wrong!

With Reiki on my mind and tears in my eyes he finished his procedure while I endured some more pain. It wasn't that bad at that point, I think my spirit was more hurt than my tooth.

Suffice to say, I am on antibiotics and Advil's around the clock now hoping the swelling in my face goes down. I woke up at 5:30 am to excruciating pain.

Off to the medicine cabinet for more Advil, more Reiki symbol signing on my tooth with my tongue and back off to sleep I went.

I have A MILLION things to do today...since yesterday's chores went unattended so I really have to sign off but not before a reality check....

...how lucky am I to be able to go to the dentist?

So many people on this planet are suffering without the funds to eat let alone take care of their many illnesses. I am not complaining. Today's blog is about my humanity and my sometime suffering - but this too shall pass.

But not before I tell you how very grateful I am.

In a few days, I will not be able to tell you how awful it was. Sure I'll have this blog to remind me...but what I really want to remember is my gratitude. I say that my dentist is a really pain in my tooth - but what he really is, is a healer. He was a gentle as he could be. He was as patient as he could be especially with a teary, scared child-like woman in his chair for umpteen hours. He did all that he could do for me and yes, he gets paid quite handsomely, but I'm the luckiest girl in the world to be able to go and get my teeth fixed so that I can chew my food and sustain my body.

I am also so very grateful for my spiritual walk that has brought Reiki into my life for times like these. Qi - or energy - is alive and well in every single living thing and when you focus on it and call it to service, it never lets you down.

Thanks to my dentist Dr. D., Namaste to Dr. Usui - the founder of Reiki and I can't forget my teacher Jane Berrigan who taught Reiki to me www.balanceandflow.com. I am eternally grateful to you all, to be alive, and well, channeling some serious energy.

Qigong: The Ancient Art of Self Healing

You Too Can Be Buddha

2009-02-16T14:12:00.003-05:00

This video was shared with me from my cousin Frank Gattuso. Thanks Frankie.

God vs. Science

2009-02-13T12:08:00.003-05:00

"Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes sir," the student says.

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues.

"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

"Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"

"Er..yes," the student says.

"Is Satan good?"

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."

"Then where does Satan come from?"

The student falters. "From God."

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world? "

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it" And God did make everything correct?"

"Yes."

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student has no answer.

"Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. "Who created them?"

There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

"Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do."

The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"

"No sir. I've never seen Him.'

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelled your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes."

"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."

"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of his own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.

The room suddenly becomes very quiet.

The student begins to explain, "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

"What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is t o be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.

"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean." The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?"

The class breaks out into laughter.

"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelled the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The student was Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein did write a book titled God vs. Science in 1921.

Jesus, Son of David, Have mercy on us. . .

Live, Pain Lies On The Riverside

2009-02-12T10:04:00.005-05:00

I have never taken life

Yet I have often paid the price

And you, you are a victim of this age

And the guilt that hangs around your neck

Has got me locked up in a cage

You've got to learn to live until no end

But first you must learn to swim

All over again

Because...pain lies on the riverside

And pain will never say goodbye

Pain lies on the riverside

So put you feet in the water

Put your head in the water

Put your soul in the water

And join me for a swim tonight

I have forever, always tried

To stay clean and constantly baptized

I am aware that the river's banks are dry

And to wait for a flood

Is to wait for life

I've got to learn to live until no end

But first I must learn to swim all

Over again,

Because...

Pain lies on the riverside.

The Folded Napkin

2009-02-10T17:38:00.005-05:00

Are you like me and had never even given a thought to this passage of scripture?

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

The Gospel of John (20:1-8) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

The Gospel of St. John 20: 1 - 8 - KJV

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

Is that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the Servant set the dinner table for the Master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the Master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the Servant would wait, just out of sight, until the Master had finished eating, and the Servant would not dare touch that table, until the Master was finished.

Now if the Master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.

But if the Master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........

The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'

He is Coming Back!