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Spirit World




~~~Blessings to all who Journey here~~~

 Welcome everyone!! FYI.....This is the "Mother Board". Make sure you bookmark this page as well as the Members' pages (Photo Album) listed below. You may want to check out this board first before clicking on the link below, as the "conversation" takes place here.

And don't forget to say HELLO!!!

We also have a section for book, music and movie recommendations. (anyone is encouraged to update these) Become a member of our Spirit World Community and enjoy adding pictures and recommendations yourself!! ; )

Have fun!!



  • Greetings! -- Ginger, 14:53:26 06/08/03 Sun
    This is actually my first time posting here (I believe). Classes have winded down, I've just moved from one dorm to another, and my mind finally has time to *think*. What I was doing during the semester, don't ask .
    Basically, I just wanted to introduce myself :) I'll try to make it back here a few times a week, but with studying etc., you know how it is.
    I had a part-time job for the past 3 weeks (I'm overseas, currently, in Scotland), and was laid off on Fri, told it was my last day (the company isn't even breaking even in their endeavours, so I, as a new employee, was easier to let go (less invested in me) than other, more senior members. It's all right, I just got it so I'd have a bit more money coming in, but I just didn't like the *way* it was done. I was told AFTER work, after all of my coworkers had left. This means that I will not even have the opportunity to say goodbye to them. *That* part I'm bitter about.
    Secondly, a position I was up for (flat out told I was going to be offered it) was offered to someone else, due to it being mentioned to him/her about a year ago. So, this person finally expressed interest, and it had to be, to be fair, offered to them.
    This all happened this past week, after a somewhat traumatic move... I've just finished "Kosmische Bestellservice" (Thank you Andrea!) or, "The Cosmic Ordering Service" (I highly recommend it, in any language!), and I'm fighting with letting things go. I'm not a bitter person by nature, but I *do* expect to be treated fairly, as I treat others (I believe). Financial reasons for terminating employment are, though sad, quite acceptable. But there are ways of doing it.
    So, here I am with MOUNDS of student loan debts, with a Scottish bf whom I love, and I will be returning to the States soon, and I'm trying to get a job (in the US). It's not very easy, as many of you might know, especially for a teacher just starting out. Add to that perhaps moving across country, leaving your bf 6,000 miles away, not knowing when you'll see him next...
    lol I don't mean my first post here to be a complaint, I'm just looking for support, assurances that "all things work out", etc. I had begun to wonder about my karma this past week, and perhaps that I wasn't a good person in a past life... (only joking, I'm a Christian and "not supposed to" believe in such things, but some times I wonder...)

    Blessings to all, and I look forward to many more visits and posts to/on this board :)

    Ginger

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  • Hello Everyone, just wanted to share something with you... -- Isabelle, 12:12:54 06/07/03 Sat
    As of June 5th I have become a US citizen... I'm proud and Happy! I just came here today and was amazed to see how fast the board has moved, this is great, activity is back here, unfortunately I've got to run but will come back and reply to your posts, very interesting ones.... (If you wonder, I haven't lost my french citizenship from France's point of view who allow dual citizenship, but here, I am considered only an american). I've shared so much with you in the past, I had to tell you the news...

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  • Question of the week! -- Martina, 04:26:39 06/05/03 Thu

    Do you believe in life after death?

    Have you ever got a kind of proof for it? Do you even need evidence for being able to believe it?

    Have a nice weekend friends! I am so glad there is some traffic on this board again! Hugs to all of you!!!

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  • Request -- Brenda, 19:06:44 06/07/03 Sat
    Wow, this board has sure picked up again. I will reply to some of the very interesting discussions below when I have more time. Right now, I have a very quick request. My DH took a group of students river rafting today and when he went to put his wedding ring back on, he was unable to find it. Everything else was in his bag, his wallet, rescue pagers, etc. so we are pretty sure it was not stolen. He thinks that it perhaps fell out of his bag when he was changing and fell through one of the planks in the wooden floor. He is going to go back later tonight or tomorrow to ask the owner of the rafting company (who he knows well) if he can pull up that part of the floor to see.

    In the meantime, he has notified the owner that it is missing and people are keeping their eyes open for it. Knowing our power for miracles, I was wondering if you could send some positive energy our way in helping us find his ring. He is very upset at its loss and, even though I have said we will get another if we can't find it, he doesn't want another, he wants the one I put on his finger on our wedding day. Your help is greatly appreciated. I will let you know what happens. Thanks.

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  • Oh I'm so sorry I haven't come here sooner ... -- Isabelle, 12:31:57 05/17/03 Sat
    and see the nice messages from all of you here waiting for me! Thank you very much, I was touched... and just the day before I had a nice chat with a few of you on MSN and it was so nice, just like the good old days...
    I haven't come here and I'm sorry about it, so much things are going on at the same time and I have let other things go silent. I'll try to tell you a bit on the first reply it might be lenghthy but for here, I'll tell you of my nice day. My day started with a big hug from DH wishing me a happy birhtday followed by the inevitable birthday song from my girls. They went to school and DH and I went to see "The Matrix reloaded" at the theater... good but overall I prefer X-Men (may be I have a thing for Hugh Jackman over Keanu Reeves):-) Anyway after the movie, came home got a few phone calls from Home,and after the girls came back from school I opened my presents (a juice extractor from my girls... and a wallet matching my pocket book from DH)Then to a family restaurant and unfortunatly it had to be early as with had Parent orientation night for Middle-school as Brittany is starting 6th grade next september... What I wanted to add is that Friday morning, my sister in law who lives about 45 mn away called and invited me for lunch at a restaurant near me (my fav. Cheesecake factory) so I was very touched and we had a nice girlie lunch and she even had a little present for me...

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  • Something weird happened at my Momīs place! -- Martina, 14:42:49 06/03/03 Tue
    I hope I will be able to explain this right. Itīs definitely a story for this board.
    Mom had a plant hanging over her window sill. It was a heavy pot, hanging on a little hook with those thin transparent plastic strings. The stings were attached to the hook by building a loop. The loop barely fitted through there, she had to squeeze it in. Do I make sense?
    The other day she was in the kitchen as she heard that load bang. The pot had fallen down, was broken, shattered all over the place.
    As she looked at the mess closer, she saw that only the pot was broken. She brought the remains of the strings over to Antjeīs to show it. The loop was still intact, so were the strings attached to the pot remains, and that hook is still in the ceiling!
    There is no explanation how the pot could have coming down. There was no draft in the room making the pot swing, or something like that. And even if, it wouldnīt have come out of the narrow hook that easy. (and a storm would be needed to swing that thing that much)
    Something unknown has unhooked the strings!

    My mom is predestined for things like that happening around her, but this was one of the really strange ones, haha.

    Just wanted to share the little story. Carry on.*G*

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  • Happy Anniversary to Christine and Chris on June7! -- JeanClaire*, 07:17:42 06/06/03 Fri
    Your picture of the week:

              

    Events on your day in history...
    *June 7 1329 - Robert the Bruce died, Cardross Castle.
    *June 7 1811 - Sir James Young Simpson, pioneer of anaesthetics and chloroform, born.

    Have a happy celebration!! And go over to the Book Board and scroll down for some tips. More there than I could tell ya about, to be sure;)!!

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  • I have a wee story, and maybe someone can help me a bit to figure it all out too! -- Jeannine, 20:55:23 06/04/03 Wed
    Every school day I have to wait for my DD to get off the bus. The bus never comes at the same time, and if I am not out there, the bus will go right by. They dont let Kindergarteners get off the bus unless an adult is outside.
    SO needless to say I survived the winter doing this :oP

    Since about...March, I have been experiencing a scent. There at the top of the driveway, a floral scent like perfume or heady flowers. The thing is, there were NO flowers in March, and there are NO flowers nearby, and the flowers remotely near there do NOT have a scent! This baffled me until last week at my so-called psychic development class, a woman said she went for a walk and came to a spot where she smelled flowers but there were no flowers. She said it was a spirit! I got a wicked LIGHT bulb and connected my scent with a spirit. I have no CLUE if it is really a spirit, WHO it could be, I have been asking. And during the class everyone kept talking about their grandmothers. So I was wondering if that too was a sign for me? One of my grandmothers died when I was 3, almost 4 and I do remember her. But I havent talked to my mom yet to ask if she wore a floral scent.

    NOW, I was driving on the highway to go pick up my stepson and I smelled flowers! It was stronger than at home, and I could tell it was lilys. I am allergic to lilys, but I did NOT sneeze nor my eyes water up. I had terrible goose bumps thinking that someone was in the car with me. I asked who are you and listened to the radio hoping for an answer, But I listen to hard rock..., there was a song about love on.
    On the way back home, I smelled it again and asked my SS if he could smell it, he said yes flowers. I said I wonder where it is coming from. There were no flowers outside, just grass, maybe wild flowers, but no way lilys! Then after driving by a certain spot, it was gone. So, what do you think ???
    Is it a visitation or????

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  • I have a wee story to tell, too..... -- Lissa, 10:42:27 06/04/03 Wed
    File this under cool coincidences....
    As I posted below, I have many of these really cool-looking wild plants growing in the back of my property. I had been wondering and wondering about where I could get more information on them, but just haven't had the time to search it out. So as I was driving one of my children to one of their games, I was scanning for a good radio station when I came across someone listing off what I recognized as native plants. oh! oh! oh! It was an ad for a nearby Wildflower organization that I had never heard of before and they gave out their website addy (newenglandwildflower.org) just after I had stopped at that station. How cool is that? The only time I have the radio on is when I am in the car and the only reason I was not still in the garden was because my child had a game. There was a 20-30 minute window of opportunity for my answer to come to me in this form, assuming that I would be surfing the dial. hehehe It was a wonderful coincidence but I knew that it was an answer to my request for more info. I love this kind of coincidence and am grateful when I experience one, so it leaves me open to have more of them.

    Does anyone else have any cool coincidences to tell???

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  • Belated Wishes for some special people..... -- JeanClaire*, 10:29:30 05/28/03 Wed
    May 26th was a very special day

    Viive's Birthday



    And an Anniversary for Reenie and Gary


    Pictures of flowers in Scotland were taken at Crarae Garden in Argyll. They show a branch of pink flowers of Magnolia "Caephays Surprise" and the translucent blue of a Mecanopsis, a member of the poppy family.

    Special wishes go to both of these Ladies and if anyone still keeps in touch with them please tell them to stop by and view their wishes, belated as they may be. And we send both of them lots of Love!

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  • Question of the week! -- Martina, 05:22:09 05/27/03 Tue

    What has changed for you since you know this board? (What has the board done for you?) Does other people say you have changed? Or are there no changes at all?

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  • A light hearted request for help! -- JeanClaire*, 07:38:33 05/29/03 Thu
    We've had enough rain around here! In the past eighteen days we've had some sort of precipitation. No it hasn't rained steadily, we've seen that big fireball in the sky a few times. But now it's time for some better weather. Especially this weekend...

    I am taking my 14 Brownie scouts on their first overnight camping trip Saturday night put on by our local scout council at the Girl Scout camp. This will be held rain or shine but I much prefer shine to the showers they are forecasting. So thoughts for some nice sunshine.

    And a good thought for me at bedtime please. Trying to keep 14 eight year olds in good spirits. A few have never been away from home before so I am certain to have a few nervous moments but hoping for no tears and no requests to call mommy for going home.

    Hey, a not so spiritual question of the day....
    Do you have a favorite camp song from your childhood? Inquiring minds want to know:)!! There is a big campfire scheduled after dinner and we will be doing lots of singing!!! Thanks all!

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  • something funny I heard to share ;-) -- Antje, 10:30:45 06/02/03 Mon
    I saw an interesting report on TV last night and thought of telling you about this :-)

    In Austria they have a highway, which is very straight, no curves, and safe but funnily they had always so many accidents there which were not explainable. So the local gvt. decided to let the street check out by several guys who can do "diving rods" These people found out that there would be very negative earth-energie lines crossing and stuff and they placed some rocks and things along the street to turn around the negative energy into positive. And since then, 2 years now, there hasn't been any accident anymore along this street! I found that too cool that they did that! It's not long ago that divining rods and things were considered useless and hogwash! :-)

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  • Plant Question..... -- Lissa, 12:40:02 06/03/03 Tue
    My new backyard is edged with nice moist woods behind a stone wall. There is a clear mulched area in front of the stone wall with assorted ferns and such scattered throughout. I have noticed that I have lots and lots of "Jack in the Pulpit" plants and was wondering if they can be associated with any kind of fairie folk, the way that toad stools show that there are leprechauns about. It's such a cool plant that I can just imagine that it would be the favorite of someone out there. *G* Also, does anyone have a list of flowers that fairies are particularly drawn to?
    Back out to my edging and mulching mania....

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  • Spiritual questions for you! -- Martina, 08:07:36 05/22/03 Thu

    I thought I will post some questions every now and then, to give us some inspiration, and some fun!

    I hope you will enjoy and play along!*g*

    "How would you describe your life? Like a plain lake with no waves (with an occasional wind), or more like a thundering storm? If you could, what would you change instantly? Is life in general something you endure, or enjoy?"

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  • Some reminders! -- Martina, 09:51:21 05/20/03 Tue
    '...For example, many people are waiting for prosperity. It
    cannot come in the future. When you honor, acknowledge, and fully accept your present reality - where you are, who you are, what you are doing right now - when you fully accept what you have got, you are grateful for what you have got, grateful for what is, grateful for Being. Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is true prosperity. It cannot come in the future. Then, in time, that prosperity manifests for you in various ways.'
    The Power of Now_ by Eckart Tolle


    More reminders in the first reply.

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  • Mini Gathering -- Betsy, 17:26:51 05/14/03 Wed
    Quite by chance, several of us met this morning on the computer. We just all happened to be on at the same time. It was just WONDERFUL to chat with so many at once! And boy, could I feel the energy zing around!!!

    We talked about doing this again, probably some morning. Anyone else maybe available????

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  • May 15, Isabelleīs birthday!!! -- Martina, 05:08:28 05/15/03 Thu
    I am sorry, I canīt do the fancy stuff, but I wish you anyway the happiest of days, and may the force always be with you!*g*

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABELLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • Catching up on my page a day Zen calendar.... -- JeanClaire*, 17:02:40 05/16/03 Fri
    Thought I would share a few quotes to ponder over the weeekend...

    "Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve." ~~~~~Erich Fromm

    "Deep in their roots,
    All flowers keep the light." ~~~~~Theodore Roethke

    "The simplest questions are the hardest to answer." ~~~~~Northrop Frye

    "Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly." ~~~~~St. Francis de Sales

    "In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on." ~~~~~Robert Frost

    "When the ordinary person realizes, he is a sage. When a sage understands, he is an ordinary man." ~~~~~Zen saying

    "I know it was wonderful, but I don’t know how I did it." ~~~~~Laurence Olivier

    "When you look for it, there is nothing to see.
    When you listen for it, there is nothing to hear.
    When you use it, it is inexhaustible." ~~~~~Lao-tzu

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  • The Newsletter Topic Sent to me by Lissa -- Jeannine, 01:48:53 05/12/03 Mon

    Issue #1 - No Problem!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Empowering Life Strategies for the year 2003
    May 6, 2003
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    =Brought to you by Maureen Whitehouse Mueller=



    Dear Friends:
    Welcome!
    This is the premier issue of Empowering Life Strategies. If you are receiving this weekly newsletter it is because you are a person who is on the path to Self Actualization. Hope you enjoy it and feel free to forward it onto friends.



    *~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



    "There are no problems here. Everyone is just so fiercely trying to keep their 'little world' in tact while at the same time, in each life and in each heart God is crying out, "Expand, Expand, Expand"




    ~*~Topic of the week ~*~
    No Problem!




    Stop for a moment and think of the biggest problem you perceive yourself to have right now. Got it?
    OK.
    Now ask yourself, Is this really a problem? Could there possibly be a different way of looking at this that could transform this situation into a gift rather than a curse?
    After considering those answers, ask yourself two more powerful questions, Why have I chosen to experience this? What value does being in this particular predicament have for me?

    Interesting questions 'eh? Especially when the vast majority of us have been programed to strongly believe that problems are a very real, often very nasty, part of life we all must endure. So, day after day, year after year, time and time again - problems! Most people think there is little if anything we can do about this, problems just exist. With such an ingrained perception it's tough to give up the belief that problems are real, let alone embrace the idea that we could possibly have an influence over whether we experience problems or not.

    The good news is that at the highest levels of experience, problems are not real. They seem to exist for us only because somehow, somewhere in our lives we are being resistant to expansion and to embracing a less limited identity. Even better news is that each of us does have a very powerful influence over whether or not we experience problems in our lives.

    Consider a new way looking at problems.
    See them as gifts in disguise.
    If you only opened and accepted gifts that were perfectly packaged with big beautiful bows on top, you would miss out on receiving quite a few treasures in your life.
    Admit it, a diamond could be wrapped in tin foil!

    And while you're at it, admit something else. The only thing that keeps problems alive for us is our perspective. As we open our minds and hearts to receive more into our lives from a situation, anything becomes possible. We may not get exactly what we thought we wanted at first, but we will always get something even greater - PEACE!
    I've gotten myself to incorporate a very effective habit into my life. Whenever I find anything has a charge to it, or can be unsettling to me I simply say to myself and to the Universe simultaneously, "I don't know what this is, but I love it, thank you."

    I once heard a story about a woman who was suffering with cancer. In hopes of finding some spiritual, if not physical, relief for the pain she was in, she sought out the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi. After listening to the woman describe her condition Ramana told her, "You are not suffering. Only the one you perceive yourself to be suffers." At that she became very irate and proceeded to refute him, by not only describing her own personal torment even more dramatically, but by pointing out to him all of the current ills, anguish and misery in the world. He simply replied, "Madam, in my world there are no problems."

    Does his answer hold any charge for you? Do you find yourself wanting to reach right through time and space to ring Ramana's neck, and shake some sense into him?

    I remember when I first began hearing wisdom like that I had a physical reaction to it.
    Pain was very real to me and instead of finding a story like that inspiring, it made me mad.
    Inside of me a small, not so still, seething voice said,
    "Stupid Guru!
    What the @#%^ does that so and so mean by saying, 'You are not suffering. Only the one you believe yourself to be suffers.' What a reply! That poor woman had cancer for God sakes. Of course her problem was real."

    But is it? If this woman could completely accept this answer, and as a result open her heart REALLY wide to encompass a vastly expansive perspective, one that reaches far beyond the limitations of a body, would pain and death still feel so real to her?

    Let's experience for ourselves what Ramana Maharshi means, right now...
    Close you eyes for a moment and watch your breath.
    Take slow, steady deep breaths.
    Center yourself this way for at least one minute and then open your eyes and read on.

    Notice that unless you have a respiratory ailment, the act of breathing is fairly effortless.
    Now, begin to breathe again, this time feeling yourself to be the stillness inside of each breath.
    Close your eyes for a moment and be the stillness inside of each breath, while taking slow, steady deep breaths.
    After a minute, open your eyes again and read on.

    Now, as you center on the stillness that is emerging from within you, give it your complete attention, while you continue to breathe quietly and deliberately. Then, while maintaining focus on this sense of stillness, allow it to become you entirely by noticing anything in your body. Feel any energy that feels stuck or painful in any way and just allow your breath to embrace it, to dissolve it, to dissipate it's charge.

    Continue this exercise in deliberate attention and release for at least five minutes.

    When you are fully present with your breathing this way, you can become aware of the fact that this act, which sustains your life is involuntary. Despite any other preoccupation you may be experiencing in that moment, you will breathe.


    For just a moment feel how effortless your life could be if you could remain identified with this stillness. The Inspiration you are experiencing each time you breathe connects you to something far greater than yourself -- spaciousness. That which is.
    So, who then is the one who can have cancer, or problems? Not this breath. Not the stillness inside of each breath.

    If you never stop to feel the stillness, the space in, of and around you, of course you won't identify with it. The only recourse you have then is to identify with whatever else does occupy your experience most of the time. So it stands to reason that most people believe that we are all very limited bodies. Therein lies the problem ... bodies very often experience problems.

    Whatever we believe with absolute conviction will be our experience.
    If you believe you are a spirit - an inspiration, a still sweet breath of God wearing a body for a time while on earth, then the whole story changes.
    Now, you are unlimited, instead of struggling to overcome limitations.
    Now, you are a creator, instead of a creation.
    Now, instead of living in fear of death, you embrace life fully. And by doing so you access the realm of miracles.
    It is vitally important to realize that our lives are an exact reflection of the beliefs we hold.
    Therefore to cease experiencing pain in your life, don't make pain real.
    Don't justify, analyze and pick apart every problem in your life. That only solidifies your perception that pain is real and creates more problems.

    Instead, next time you find yourself perceiving that you have a problem, BREATHE, deeply slowly and deliberately, while focusing on the stillness in each breath. The more this becomes a personal habit of yours the less likely you will be to perceive yourself as a limited person, having insurmountable problems.

    Begin affirming to yourself now, all day, every day, and most especially when faced with a challenge, "I don't believe in problems."

    Just try it and see how quickly you overcome any apparent obstacle that may arise in your life.

    "I am not a body, for I am STILL as God created me."
    ~A Course in Miracles





    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~**~*~~*
    Personal Integration Exercise



    For one day, eat, drink, breathe, walk, speak, and think as though you are not a body, but instead a living, breathing spirit in a body.
    Integrate this realization into as many aspects of your life as possible.

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  • Life is full of cuve balls!!!!!! -- Keira, 23:35:44 05/09/03 Fri
    I thought I'd drop by an give you an update of Dave's accident.
    He was able to come home from the hospital on Sunday and he did very well as far as the pain goes-I was expecting him to put quite uncomfortable but really each time his hand started to "tingle", he took some ibuprophen and that seemed to do the trick. He had a follow up appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday.
    So, in the big picture everything is looking good. I finally got to see his hand when they took the bulky dressing off and the surgeon really did an amazing job!!!! I mean it still looks pretty messed up and such but I can see where it is going to heal and look good in about six months time. Dave is not too concerned with how it looks but to plastic surgeons-this is their art.
    In the smaller picture, things are a bit..ummm...shall we say, frustrating? Dave was told that he absolutely cannot go back to working for TWO MONTHS!!!!! He can not put any stress or pressure on his hand/fingers whatsoever. As Dave was prepared to take a week or so off, this came as a total shock to him. I was a bit surprised initially too, but once I saw his hand-I knew it would be a while.
    We have had to make a few adjustments around this-we've had to cancel our summer vacation with the children. We were going to take them to Scotland for my cousin's wedding but as Dave will not be working for the next two months, he can hardly then take weeks off during the summer for vacation, not to mention the expense of it. He will be soo busy trying to catch up. We will try and give them a smaller holiday somewhere closer to home.
    We are very hopeful that most of our customers will understand and not want to cancel any of their orders. This is probably the worst time for Dave not to be working as most of the stores are stocking for the busy summer tourist season. But things will work out!!!
    All in all-we are truly lucky that the accident was not any worse!!! He will regain the use of his hand and fingers. And there will be other years for us to visit my relatives (although I was sooo looking forward to receiving all their fierce hugs this summer!!!)
    This is just one of those curve balls that life likes to throw at us every now and then.

    Betsy-how are doing this week-haven't spoken to you in a few days-still building up some energy and such?

    Jeannine, I owe you an e-mail regarding Fergus and your hotel-don't despair-have just been a bit preoccupied these past ten days.

    Gosh, all this garden talk makes me wish I was good at gardening. But I'm just not!! Plants die on me, despite all the loving care that I give them. I think my life is just too chaotic for them and they just canna handle the speed so they throw in the towel!!! I like those very low maintenance bushes you can plant and they look good but the good Lord takes care of them for ye!!!

    HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL!!!! Sunday is Mother's Day here in North America so hugs and happy thoughts to all mothers out there!!!!! Enjoy your day.

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  • Interesting site! -- Martina, 04:18:26 05/09/03 Fri
    I got this link from Lissa, and I would like to share. http://www.livingthequestions.org/o_1.html

    It is about how to overcome resistance and judgment, in order to live a life always being in the flow. I find it very helpful.

    Please tell me what you think about! Thanks, and have a great weekend all!

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  • I took the leap! -- Jeannine, 12:54:18 05/08/03 Thu
    I am excited! I know this is right, now! I went to the place I have been meaning to go to, to inquire about hypnotherapy, psychic development. Its called the Psychic Center, its right down the street from me. I decided today was the day.

    I am now enrolled in a class for psychic development! I have the $ because I worked a few hours over my usual last week. Get this...the class starts tonight, and will be every Thursday for 8 weeks. Thursday is my ONLY night available. TONIGHT!! I was helped to get up the courage to go today and by COINCIDENCE it all falls into place!! Not Coincidence, but meant to be!!

    They also have a healing hands class, which I have contemplated on several occasions!! Something I know I can do! They have a person who does past life regressions, for a hefty fee, but I can work on that! The people I talked to were encouraging and have connections with hypnotherapist I could connect with!

    I am excited and exhilerated! My DH was encouraging too! He had no complaints or negative things to say! WOW! So I am going!!
    Shaking my head! I asked for guidance, is this the right thing to do?? Do you think I got my answer?? :oD

    Martina,
    Spiritual garden!! Sounds lovely! I love plants and gardens, but I dont make much time to begin. I have never accomplished a whole garden. Your ideas sound lovely and I agree with Ron, do what moves YOU!! There are books and I am sure online too, has tons of info.
    Try HGTV.COM

    Hugs!!

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  • Spiritual garden -- Martina, 04:46:58 05/08/03 Thu
    I will have my own garden again this summer, something I have really missed. It is a huge lot, and I need some ideas what to do with it. I was wondering if some of you are good gardeners? Do you have a garden, and what does it look like? Romantic? Practical? Colourful? Full of evergreens?
    I plan to create some quiet spots, oasis so to speak, which invite to sit and dream or meditate. A garden full of spirit. So far the land is totally empty, only a fence around it, and 2 big trees on it, a beech and an oak.
    We will have to shape it, landscape it. A pond with a little waterfall is planned, but that is about it right now.*g*
    Any cool ideas?
    Thanks!

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  • Simple Wisdom, Finding The Truth Within -- Jeannine, 01:23:56 05/04/03 Sun
    Missing everyone and tired of this board being so slow! So here is an article I read that I enjoyed for inspiration. Some paraphrasing may occur!



    Most of us living in this complex and time-pressured age have moments when we wish we were living simpler, more meaningful lives. Sometimes these wishes are fleeting, but for many people they are a deep longing. There are many routes to simplicity. I`ve chosen the path followed by the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers. For 350 years Quakers have followed a way of life called "plain living". My personal journey along this path began 25 years ago when I was an overextended health care administrator looking desperately for ways to simplify my life. I attended time-management seminars, reorganized my office for greater efficiency and even tried sleeping less. I developed a New Years`s ritual of writing my goals for the year and mapping out strategies and time lines for achieving them. But my strategies never seemed to work, and I was increasingly perplexed. Why was I so busy and stressed? Why couldnt I simplify my life by careful planning? At the same time, I felt nudged by vague spiritual longings that led me to question my personal goals. What was I really seeking for my life?
    I persevered with my efforts until a friend gently inquired, "How do you know what God is planning for your life?" This was an intriguing question that had not even occured to me. As I look back on those early efforts now, I am reminded of the advice offered by Quaker author Parker J. Palmer:"Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you." Contemporary culture had taught me to look outward for answers. I had not thought to look inward and listen to the longings of my heart. As I learned to listen within and focus on what I discerned to be God`s will instead of my own, my life began to simplify itself. I found I could let go of plans and possessions that no longer fit what I discerned to be the primary goals for my life at that time: a career change, a move, and more family time. Changes that had seemed difficult and complicated became clear.
    As a result, I found time to meditate everyday, spent more time with my son, deepened friendships and participated in community activites. This simplification process was not about "sacrifice" but about choosing the life I really wanted. I felt "lighter" and began to experience the joy and contentment I had longed for.Of course, my life still has struggles and challenges, but my faith in what I hear when I listen within has deepened. I have come to understand plain living as a matter of spiritual intent, or an aim of the heart. It is a form of inward simplicity that leads us to listen for the still, small voice of God's claim upon our lives. Plain living is a spiritual journey of discovery, a path to be followed, not a goal to be achieved. It is not always an easy path, but it does lead to deep contentment and a joy filled way of life. Everything needed to embark on this path is already within you. When you listen within, you too may hear a voice inviting you to lay down your emcumbered lifestyle. The Spirit is speaking through the whirlwind of modern life. If you listen quietly, you may hear it calling you.

    Catherine Whitmire, of Maine, is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and Shalem Institute for Spiritual Guidance.

    QUOTES:
    When I took the leap, I had faith I would find a net; Instead I learned I could fly.
    -John Calvi, 1994

    Simplicity is not so much about what we own, but about what owns us...If our time, money and energy are consumed in selecting, acquiring, maintaining...and talking about our possessions, then there is little time, money, and energy left for our other pursuits such as the work we do to further the Community of God.
    -Christin Hadley Snyder, 1991

    When my mother-in-law was a young woman, she came to the point of not understanding why her family was so interested in attending church. She could not see the use in religion and decided that she would no longer believe in God. However,the day came when looking up into a magnificent fall sky she was overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounded her. Suddenly she realized she couldnt give up God because "then there would be no one to thank".
    -Barbara Cummings St. John, 1995

    Thanks for reading! Comments and discussion wanted!!
    Do you wish for a more simple life? I do, but more I wish for a simpler time. Then I feel, no, I like modern medicine and convieniences. I have gone through a period of my life when I gave up all the possessions I had that I took great stock in. One day I woke up and realized that they were just things. I put them in a yard sale or gave them away. I lost the need to buy things! I still feel that way, and try for an uncluttered house. But now and then...I get a great need for the STUFF I see, I avoid the mall for that reason.
    Your stories and thoughts wanted!!
    Love and peace to you all
    As I was reading this for corrections, I found very few errors when normally when I type, even looking at the keys, I make tons of mistakes, as I am doing now...but the above had only 3-4. I guess the hand of god was there typing with me! Ever feel that??

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  • ARGGGHHHHHH-Computers!!!!!!!!!! -- Keira, 00:53:55 05/05/03 Mon
    I'm sorry I couldn't get back here after speaking with Betsy late last week. My computer decided to act up and as DH was in the hospital (story inside first reply), I was not able to get back online until he got home today.

    Betsy is recovering nicely-she said to send a huge hello to everyone and thanks everyone for all their prayers and Reiki and positive thoughts. She couldn't have done it without all of us behind her!!!!!
    She is still tiring very, very easily but I gather this is to be expected. She has started to take a short walk twice a day. She can complete the first walk in the morning but has difficulty finishing the second walk. She has started to experience a bit of hunger, which is a good sign but hasn't got a large appetite.
    Now, she did develop a bit of infection at her incision site but watched it carefully and got started on some antibiotics. She was going to see her surgeon on Friday (I think-loose track of days) and I haven't spoken to her since then.

    She did try to sit down and write a note here but her computer wouldn't co-operate. Her message is somewhere in cyberspace and she just didn't have the energy to sit and re-draft the message. If she doesn't get here in the next day or two, I'll post again after I speak with her.

    Hugs everyone
    Keira

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  • Hello And Thanks -- Betsy, 12:50:34 05/05/03 Mon
    First of all, thank you, Keira, for posting for me the last couple of weeks. I am doing well, though very weakened. I do appreciate all the thoughts, energy, prayers, Reiki that have been flying my way. As Keira said, I couldn't have faced this time without it.

    I have been getting to the computer for a bit every day or so. I have been reading the posts, but until today didn't have the energy to type much.

    Brenda, My prayers have been added to the teens and their families. Loss is always tragic, but sensless loss is the worst. There are no words to say to comfort. Simply, Go in Peace, Dear Ones.

    Jeannine, your topic is wonderful. I don't think I'll have the energy to reply, but I'm reading the replies of others. Good thoughts!

    JeanClair, thank you for your thoughtfullness. As ever, you are a shining star in my heavens. Card is on the way.

    Must run. Blessings to you all and surround yourselves with hugs today from me. And again, my heartfelt thanks to you all.

    OH KEIRA!!!!! Give Dave a HUGE HUG from me. Puir mon.

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