Everything Is As It Should Be

I just returned from a hike in the mountains with our dogs. I usually just take the them on a walk through the forest behind our house but we started going up to the top of the mountain again a little over a week ago (read previous post Rising Above the Noise and Confusion). I have always loved going to the mountaintop but today I realized why: It’s where I hear Spirit’s voice clearly. And because of this it’s where I wrote (in my head first then on paper) What Is Spirit? which is the first chapter of ‘The Spirit Factor.’

Today we are covered by a blanket of clouds which makes it even quieter in the mountains, if that’s possible, so Spirit’s voice was even clearer. I listened and I walked. I stopped at one point, looked out over the the forest and heard the words, “Everything is as it should be.” The trees looked happy as they were free to be trees and grow without the help, or hindrance, of humans. Even though there were no signs of wildlife, other than some moose tracks on the path, I knew there were critters going about their lives in the forest around me. There were no man made noises. I knew with every fiber of my being that in this silence and stillness Spirit was in action and that I was a part of it. As I said, everything was as it should be… at least on the mountaintop. It was perfection.

As I write today I will remember the words ‘Everything is as it should be’ because I believe that that is a possibility, even beyond the mountaintop, with Spirit. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be writing our book.

“The forest was magnificent today. It spoke to me through the wind and trees.”
by Marie Kukula Tyner

What Spirit Looks Like

In the Spirit of my last post ‘For the Love of Dog’ I’d like to let you know about a great organization– The Old Dog Haven (www.olddoghaven.org). This is an amazing group of people that take in abandon senior dogs and either adopt them out to loving homes if they have a good life expectancy or provide them a final refuge home. Their goal is to make the last years of these abandon senior dogs’ lives as happy as possible and, when the time comes, to let them die safe and at peace knowing that they are loved. Now that’s what Spirit looks like. As hard as it has been to deal with the loss of our dog, Jesse, we take great comfort knowing that he never went a day without knowing how much he was loved… but there are many dogs that are not that fortunate.

We have been sponsoring Old Dog Haven dogs as birthday gifts for family members for the past few years and it makes everyone involved feel good. Not to mention you help a little old dog in the process. Check out their website and help if you can.

For the Love of Dog

Today would have been the 13th birthday of our beloved dog, Jesse, or as we loving called him, Jesse Bear. Jesse passed away almost six weeks ago– 15-1/2 weeks after he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor. Each day of those 15-1/2 weeks was precious because when he was first diagnosed, we thought he wouldn’t make it through the next few days. We worked to try to heal him and some healing did take place. The quality of his life for the last few months was good, he was happy and his Spirit was strong. He followed me everywhere and loved his meals up until his last one.

I’ve been struggling with the loss of Jesse Bear. He was more than a dog, he was a family member. I’ve spent time looking through pictures and was surprised to see that in almost every picture over the last 13 years, Jesse was there. The quiet little Spirit by our side with a big smile on his face. The silent absence of this being now is something I am still trying to adjust to. I miss him so. We all miss him so. The other day I said out loud, “Jesse, I miss you so much.” And I silently heard him say, “Mom, I’m here. I am your very heartbeat.” It filled my heart. Whenever I start to miss him I just remember this, and my heart is filled with all the good memories of him. And it knows that our Spirits will always be together.

Thank you, Jesse Bear, for continuing to teach me. I love you forever.

Being Brave… Together

To all my friends and anyone else out there who is trying to rise above mediocrity and create a life of Spirit, be brave. You are a unique expression of Spirit and the world needs to hear your voice. I know it’s hard and scary but when you’re working with Spirit, anything is possible. So let’s all be brave together, do our part and see where Spirit takes us.

Rising Above the Noise and Confusion

I just returned from a long hike in the mountains with our two dogs, Big Al and Amber. I had only planned on going to the top of the mountain and then returning home to do some chores but when I got to the top, I just kept walking. As I walked the dirt road that wound deep in to the mountains being watched by the half moon that hung in the crisp, clear blue sky, I felt as though I was in the heart of Spirit. There was no site of any other humans or houses; and I had no thoughts of what I needed to do, no worries, no fears. My mind was clear and everything seemed possible. The only sound was the sound of my footsteps upon the earth. Occasionally I would stop walking just to hear the silence… such a rarity in the world today. It filled me. I lost track of time as I watched the dogs sniff and explore. They were joyful just being dogs. They were free… and so was I. They drank from frozen puddles that were beginning to thaw and chased each other up and down the mountainsides running full speed through the pine trees. It was magnificent to watch. I think even they felt the powerful presence of Spirit. The particles just seemed different up there.

Even though my mind was quiet there was one thing that kept running through it on the walk– the words from the song “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas. Okay, I haven’t thought about that song in forever but there it was… playing in my head. The first verse kept repeating itself: “Once I rose above the noise and confusion just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion.” I felt like that’s what I was doing. Literally rising above the noise and confusion and seeing things beyond the illusion. Seeing Spirit. I happily walked along and even started singing the words out loud, which confused the dogs a little bit.

As I began my journey back home I thought about how fortunate I am to live in nature where I can experience moments like this. I also thought about how I could carry this feeling with me when I’m not on the mountaintop and how others who don’t live in nature could too. This is something I’ll be working on and it will be included in ‘The Spirit Factor.”

The Anniversary of the The Spirit Factor

Two years ago tonight what started out as a simple conversation between Michael and I turned into the birth of ‘The Spirit Factor.’ The conversation started from a place of pain, deep pain, that neither one of us could explain or understand. Our life was pretty good so why were we feeling this pain? We had tried to just ‘feel good’ and to ‘think positive thoughts’ like so many of the self-help books talk about but this pain kept creeping back into our lives. This night it became clear why. Here’s an excerpt from the Introduction to ‘The Spirit Factor” explaining that moment.

“This night it became clear why we and so many others have been suffering. You see, this pain we were feeling was not in our heads, it was in our hearts and every fiber of our beings. Even though we had improved our lives we could still feel the pain and suffering of so many others on this planet and the planet itself. This pain no longer lives beneath the surface where it can be denied. It has reached the point where it is in clear view for all to see and feel. It can be seen in our addictions, our illnesses and disorders, our broken homes, our neglected children, elderly and animals, our prejudices, lack of compassion and caring, our apathy, our pursuit of success at all costs, our greed, our separation and segregation, in our words and in our wars.”

That night Michael and I looked this pain straight in the eyes and when we did it told us something very important. Since that night we have been working on not only giving this pain a voice but also giving a voice to the possibilities that exist beyond this pain. The possibilities that we seem to have forgotten. We believe that these possibilities exist with Spirit and are within our reach when we remove the obstructions to Spirit in our lives.

The journey of the past two years has been one of the most challenging of our lives but during this time our understanding of Spirit has evolved to a level we never expected. We look forward to sharing this with you very soon.

Sending Out an S.O.S.

I’m not a fan of the reality shows that are all over the television these days but on occasion I find myself watching one for a few minutes while channel surfing. That was the case last night. And I became very aware of something as I watched a reality matchmaking show and also the commercials that ran for another reality show about real housewives during this show: Women are treating each other horribly! Michael and I both worked in Hollywood for many years and I know that a lot of this ‘reality’ stuff is scripted but come on women! Whether you’re treating each other this way for real or because you’re getting paid for it, you need to stop! Think about it, if we’re treating each other so poorly how can we expect others to treat us with respect? We also need to think about how we’re teaching the younger generation to treat each other. It’s time to start treating each other better… publicly and privately. We are all Sisters of Spirit (S.O.S.). This has nothing to do with belonging to any organization or believing a certain way– it is about knowing that just by being alive we are connected through Spirit. And because of this we need each other and depend on each other for our collective well-being. So lets start treating each other like the Sisters of Spirit that we are. If you find that someone is not treating you this way or that you cannot treat them this way, maybe it’s time to walk away from the relationship… for the moment or permanently.

The Spirit of Valentine’s Day

In case you didn’t know, today is Valentine’s Day. Michael and I are celebrating our 10th Valentine’s Day together. We’ve been very busy the past few weeks so we didn’t have time to make any big plans for the day and I hadn’t even had time to stop and buy a card for him. When I told him this last night he said it was okay as he had bought me a card a while ago but forgot where he put it. We both laughed. We ended up going in to town today to have lunch and run a few errands. The town was packed with people celebrating this day of love– having lunch together, buying jewelry, giving cards and flowers, and just spending time with each other. I was happy just to have some time with Michael but the best Valentine’s gift I’ve ever received came quite unexpectedly when I asked Michael a question I had never thought of asking before: Why do you love me?

I asked this question today because last week when I was having lunch with a friend she asked me “Have you ever asked Michael why he loves you?” She said this because I always talk about how much I love, admire and respect Michael and how fortunate I feel to share my life with him. Everyone I know knows why I love Michael but I’ve never asked him why he loves me. I hadn’t really thought about asking him this since my friend and I talked last week but tonight it popped into my head and I asked him, “Why do you love me?” And then I stood there and listened to him tell me why he does. He said it more eloquently than any greeting card writer could have written and it was more meaningful than any expensive store-bought gift he could have given me. His eyes and his words were full of love and it filled my heart. When he was done he then asked me ‘why I love him’ and I told him why with just as much love. In that moment of standing face-to-face and honestly sharing why we love each other we both experienced the true Spirit of Valentine’s Day… and it felt wonderful! Today I was reminded of the power of words that are spoken from a place of Spirit. In a world where we are all so busy I would like to remind you of this, too. I urge you to take the time to stand in front of those you love and honestly tell them why you love them; and maybe even ask them why they love you. I believe this moment will be a true gift of Spirit for both of you.

Make Every Word Count

We watched the Grammys this past week and I have to say that most of the performances were lacking Spirit. I didn’t realize this until Andrea Bocelli took the stage and sang his first word. When I heard it I was moved to tears. As I listened to him sing I realized that he made every word in the song count. He wasn’t trying to prove anything to anyone. Maybe being blind frees him from trying to impress us with flashy clothes and makes it impossible for him to perform choreographed moves so all that he has is his voice. Because of this he simply stood there and sang, and it was from a place of Spirit that we seldom experience anymore. Although there were many performers that night Andrea Bocelli was the one that I thought really made his performance count. It made me think about all the ways there are to communicate with one another these days– phones, email, texting, Facebook, My Space, Twitter, YouTube and blogs. We’re spending a lot of time typing, texting and talking about anything and everything but how much of what we’re talking about really matters? Probably not much. The Spirit Factor is about communicating from a place of Spirit. It’s about making every word count. It’s about substance over volume. This doesn’t mean we have to give up our modern forms of communication; it just means that we need to start saying something that’s of value and let go of the rest of it because ‘the rest of it’ is a distraction.

The Beginning of The Revival

I’m up late working on the first posting on our Spirit Factor blog. I feel an urgency to start talking about our book “The Spirit Factor.” This urgency comes from the lack of Spirit on our planet right now and the suffering that is taking place because of this. We are all feeling it whether we understand it or not. We are lonely, frustrated and overwhelmed by the need in the world. We want to do something to not only save ourselves but others too. We feel abandoned by our politicians and have lost faith in the organizations that continue to separate and segregate us. Who do we turn to? I believe we have to start turning to each other. We have to come together through Spirit. It’s our common connection and this cannot be changed or denied by anything that is manmade. It’s time. Are you ready?