Awake | Bonnie Barnard - Part 6

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Spiritual Dogged Persistence “No Matter What”

This past week I watched two individuals completely devoted to making money “no matter what.” First I met with an acquaintance, Julie, who shared with me her marketing plan and funnel that she has actively worked since the beginning of the year. She spoke of people as “potential sales” and profit margins and monetized everything within our conversation. Her filter through which she saw the world was one of making money. Her schedule, commitments, conversations, and way she walked in the world reeked of exchange. She presented herself as a saleswoman, had the vocabulary of a saleswoman, and did the behaviors of a saleswoman. Within hours of meeting with Julie a friend and I attended a timeshare presentation for a new building in town. We were assigned a young presenter named Brandon who welcomed us, offered us food, and then informed us that in order for him to make his money he had to keep us in the room for 90 minutes after we finished our breakfast. The moment our...

Thank You Mr. President

I have missed you! These past six months I have been traveling and experiencing life without having the compulsion to comment on my experiences or share my internal processes. I am interpreting the “missing” as a call back into my writing. I begin with a big “I miss you.” Each one of you have added a lot to my life and keep the spiritual conversation alive. Thank you. And, I thank Donald Trump. I did not vote for The Donald. I disagree with almost all of his values yet I have been called into deeper love, discernment, and commitment to my awareness of The Life of God operating as me. And, it hasn’t been easy. Deeper Love. I have been called into a state of deeper Love which shows up looking like loving and caring for me, the perceived enemy (President Trump), and those I believe to be impacted by his policies. After decades of regular meditation I can find myself with sleepless nights and surprise surges of adrenaline replicating a panic or...

My New Favorite Word

“Words are bundles of energy wrapped in meaning passed to oneself or another for interpretation, response, and eventual digestion.” Rev. Bonnie I guess you can say I’m a “wordie,” which would be like a “foodie” but with words. I sit with words for hours, days, and sometimes years soaking in the original intention and its energy field; inviting the meaning of that word to refine me. Words are the building blocks of sentences which express thoughts unique to me; unique to another; and together a shared ‘we’ of understanding. My friend Quinn, a poet, collects words. She has a box she puts them in and pulls them out for inspiration. Some words have a magnificent sound about them. I honor the word pomegranate for its hearty, substantive sound which comes with a quirky deep red visual. I built a box like Quinn and pomegranate was my first word in. Some words feel good to my tongue and mouth as they pass from the insight outwardly; like “magnificence.” In addition to the melodic...

What Really Follows the Storm?

The beauty of being awake and aware to an inner life is to be present to what is alive within at THIS VERY MOMENT. This is good news. This is also not-so-good news. Not so good in that I am aware of when I am chartering unknown territories and I am in the activity of an inner storm. Good news in that the more I ride out and open to storms; the more confident I am in The Eternal Presence of Divine Love to accompany me through them. Such was the case for me these last two weeks of March. I experienced tremendous inner energy shifts resulting in a few sleepless nights; some allergy issues; and, a case or two of Infinite Doubt, to borrow the phrase used by the multiple authors of How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain. I am now a week on dry land and, as always, grateful to have experienced this inner disruption followed by re-calibration. As I sit in reflection, I pause to recognize all of the Support I received through this process:...

What is Your Theme for 2016?

Each year, around October, I start receiving clues about my theme for the upcoming year. I notice what is grabbing my intention and pulling at my desire strings. I start feeling a yearning to become more of myself in some area of my life. I am moved into curiosity. I invite into my dreams questions toward the forming of this theme. I am present to conversations, books, and shows where it seems like key words or phrases show up bold and underlined. I listen and watch for my body resonating with a concept. The feeling of this resonance is one of vitality mixed with giddiness. It can feel to me as though I’ve been thirsty and then I drank water. A kind of energetic satiation happens. And, bit-by-bit a theme begins to emerge. It begins as an idea and then starts to become full bodied; like a sponge in a capsule. With water added the capsule dissolves and I can have a more dimensional experience of the sponge. My theme for 2016 began to pop in November; I was asking...

God at the Jimmy Buffett Concert

Where have you witnessed The Eternal, Loving, Powerful Presence we call God today? This Presence is Everywhere; have you acknowledged It? Celebrated It? Spoken of It? In the midst of all of the crazy, ugly, violent media reports, have you stopped to see that your life is filled with a Presence so generous that you can smell Its Grace and can’t help but scream out “I saw God today?” My daughter surprised me with Jimmy Buffett tickets as an I love you mom gift. The two of us followed a sea of parrot and shark skin hats on grey and balding heads toward the concert’s location … The MGM Grand concert venue. As I watched groups of friends wearing matching themed shirts, couples holding hands, women dressed as mermaids and men as sharks, I felt a Joy well-up around me. Love was present. Love of music, love of shared memories, love of each other, love of playfulness. In line we overheard people recount the many Jimmy Buffet concerts they’d attended...