What do you experience when you fall in love, whether it is platonic or sexual? Take a moment and remember that initial rush of meeting someone who wakes you up, invites you to interact with them in some new and exciting way. You laugh more easily, listen to that person's stories with great interest, and you tell your own stories as though no one had cared to hear them before. You want to see that person, talk to that person, get to know that person. It is a vibrant and fun and wonderful time in a relationship. It is love taking root and beginning to blossom.

One of the experiences I have become aware of in recent months is that I am lighter, happier, funnier, more loving when I am in the company of someone I love and who loves me. In literature and films, this is usually portrayed as being the result of the other person making me happy, better, more complete. I see that differently now.

I am responsible for my own happiness, growth and completion as a human being. Why then do I...

One of the relationship studies I did recently spoke to the importance of appreciation. We all need to be appreciated. Many years ago I developed a habit of telling people, especially little children that I met through my job, that I was very glad they were born. Almost without exception, young or old, they ask me why I'm glad. My answer is always the same, "I am glad you were born so that I could know you because I think you are wonderful!" It is such a joy to see faces light up as they take in those words. When I meet a person who is comfortable with previous life connections, I will say that I am glad they were born into this lifetime so that we could meet again. The response on their part is the same, eyes light up, faces smile, hugs follow.

My father taught me many years ago to appreciate people who give me service, especially because so many people only speak what they are feeling when they have a complaint.  Here are some examples of how I have followed his wise counsel....

Everything that defies definition, description, division.

Every blessing, bit of good luck, opportunity.

Every challenge, disappointment, unexpected turn in the road.

Every person who ever loved me and let me love them in return.

Every person who resented me whether I love them or not.

Every smile, tear, belly laugh, hug, kiss.

Every hello, goodbye, see you soon.

Every teacher who showed up in my life, whether the lessons were about what works in life or what doesn't.

Every mountain, mesa, valley, tree, flower, planted or fallow field, bird, animal, fish, snakes, and most of the insects (yeah, not quite fully enlightened about this).

Every cloud, storm, blue sky, breeze, wind storm, rain drop, snow flake, river, lake, ocean, waterfall.

Every cell, atom, element.

Every human being.

Every breath.

Every moment.

This moment.

Now.

All is Divine Love Manifesting.

Contact me with questions, appointment requests, or whatever is on your mind and heart:   ...

This blog has brought people back into my life. This happened again not long ago. A friend I have known and loved for years came back into my life. We have not seen each other in almost twenty years but our love never fails and I am grateful that the Circle of Life connected us again. We both needed this to happen and the timing was perfect.

Life has circled with other blessings recently, though not all felt like a blessing at first. People I love are hurting as I write this and I feel their pain. I light candles on my altar and I pray and I am grateful for the love I feel. I am grateful that I know enough about their situation to send blessings of light and love. I am even grateful for the situation triggering what they are all experiencing. I don't have or need all the details to honor their feelings and to feel empathy for what they are going through. I also know this is an opportunity for my precious loved ones to expand their awareness, discover new paths, and receive...

First of all, thank you to those of you who have chosen to follow this blog. I am touched by your presence, humbled by your willingness to read what I have to share. Your presence invites me to continue, as well as to write and live from the truth of who I am. Our hearts unite us in the oneness of All That Is.

There is a simple pranayama that I learned very early on in my practice of yoga. Prana is the same as chi. It is the life force energy of all that exists, seen or unseen. Yama means "I control or guide." Our breath is something that we can feel and guide rather easily so it is the first step in learning to control or guide the flow of energy in our life experience.

It became important to me in my twenties to experience spirituality in practical ways. I remember standing at my kitchen window in Goose Bay, Labrador, as a young mother and whispering a prayer:  "Lord, if you can't show me things that get me from morning to night without losing it, then I'm not interested!"...

I often take a stroll after dinner. In summer the shadows are long and people smile as they walk their dogs or chat together at the end of their day. Last night I met a gentle man who was playing with a puppy in his front yard. He sat in the grass and this little ball of white fluff frolicked around and all over him. I couldn't help but laugh and he smiled widely and greeted me warmly. He invited me over. His puppy barked, then sniffed at the back of my extended hand and we became friends.

All of the details are not necessary yet a few will reveal why this is on my mind as a blessing this morning. He and I were born within a year of each other. We are both grandparents now. We love our families, where we live and our country. He grew up poor and in a rough neighborhood in the city. He had to fight to survive and promised himself that would be the end of fighting. Yet, when his country called, he joined the Navy and served during the Viet Nam War - not because he...

I love to walk and now live in a place where I can do so, for the most part, when my heart desires. I do not tolerate high temperatures very well so this is truly a gift to me. One evening last week, I went out after dinner to stroll the neighborhood. As I approached a large, beautiful tree I heard a bird call. I thought it might be a hawk so I slowed down and began to look closely. It called again so I stopped and became very quiet and still. Because I thought it was a hawk, I looked high. Thinking I would not see it, I decided to continue my walk. As my eyes lowered, something on the tree's lowest branch caught my attention. There it was. A small owl sat on that branch, almost blending in with the evening shadows. It had been watching me as I searched for the source of that call. Now it was silent, watching me, waiting to see what this two-legged was up to as the air cooled and the sky slowly darkened.

I measured my breath as our eyes met. I smiled and whispered a barely audible...

Every day is a new beginning. In the middle of the morning on a most challenging, difficult day (which I was creating all by myself) it occurred to me that a day consisted of 24 hours. Did it really matter which hour started that 24-hour cycle? I went back to bed and rested for a while. When I felt calm and ready, I got up and started a new day! It was a life-changing experience for me. I could begin again whenever I wanted and no one had to know but me.

Another time I found a simple and sweet ritual that I could use to heighten my conscious awareness of how I was beginning the day. I am quoting it from a daily email I was receiving at the time from www.dailyom.com and I would love your comments.

Releasing and Welcoming: Energetic Sweeping

Sweeping the front porch every morning is an important cleansing ritual that prepares the ground for new energy.

In some of our lives, sweeping has become an activity performed without much thought. In many cases, sweeping is a lost art,...

There is a classic song with lyrics something like this:  Let's fall in love. Why shouldn't we fall in love. Now is the time for it. Let's take a chance. Let's fall in love. (Forgive my laziness but this is a blog and I don't feel like doing research this morning. If you do, feel free to let me know correct title, recording artist, etc. and I will pass that on.)

There is nothing quite like falling in love and the nature of the relationship need not define the experience. Falling in love is not limited to sexual relationships. I thought I loved my granddaughter before she was born - and I did. However, when I held her for the first time, I was a goner - head over heals in love with that little being. It was the same with her little brother when he came into our lives. When I encounter a person that will become an intimate friend, I fall in love. I am completely enamored by that person and willingly seek opportunities to get to know them. It feels as though there are not enough...

The past eight months or so have been filled with challenges on every level of our human experience: mental, emotional, physical. Our country remains challenged by a virus that likes colder weather, ongoing relationship challenges caused by isolation and/or too much togetherness, the election results, and the transition as we move toward a new administration. It's a lot. This is a good time to gently look at how you are doing. Are you having more good days than bad or the opposite, more bad/down days than good?

It might be wise to consider how much time you are spending wishing things were different. Where does your trust, your faith, lie? Are you going through the motions of living or are you abiding in the Truth of Your Soul? Have you ever given much thought to abiding as opposed to merely living? There is a difference. If your heart is beating and you are relatively healthy and aware, you are alive. If you are, for the most part, living without trying to figure...