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Let’s NOT Go Back to Normal

I opened an email survey from my health provider a few weeks ago. It was about fifteen screens in length and asked Covid-19 related questions. Questions such as, what would make it safe for you to return to our office? And it listed some options with a bubble in front of each. Choices included “everyone wears a mask.” “Only people without coughs can be in the waiting room.” You get it. About half way through the survey a question read, “How soon do you think it will take to get back to normal?” And the answers ranged from weeks to one year. I sat and stared at the question. Questions are linear and I often have difficulties with them as I feel boxed in and want to re-write the question so I can answer it. And I wanted to do this with this one. What the heck does “normal” mean and why would we ever in a Progressive Universe want to regress to something “normal”? I sat stunned. God...

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Celebrating Productivity

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” Rumi Happy Thursday before Labor Day Weekend. As I researched the history of Labor Day, I find it ironic that we would be taking a day off of work to celebrate work. And, I love a good irony. Productivity is a high value of our culture. Doing, making happen, creating, and leaving a contribution tend to be an American staple. I know the satisfaction I feel when I complete a blog, give a talk, teach a class, pray or meditate with a client. As I stand witness to a client who has pierced through a pattern and had revealed to themselves a hidden aspect of their being, I know why I was put on this planet. There is a big difference, although subtle, between being busy and being productive. The definition of “busy” is having a great deal to do. The definition of “productive” is achieving a significant amount...

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Let’s Talk Vision …

    The Invisible Realm is so rich and as a culture we tend to value that which is tangible and seen over that which is not visible to the eye. Last week I spoke about the Invisible Realm for thirty minutes at Unity of Chandler’s Sunday service and I could have gone on for five to six more hours and still barely scraped the surface of the potency within the Invisible. Take just a moment to think about all of the activity that is in the ethers right now that goes unseen. Electricity, wi-fi-, radio waves, wind, temperature, internal feelings, emotions, states of being and ideas/thoughts. While preparing for the talk I kept hearing the phrase “show me the money” from the Jerry Maguire movie. I wondered what the movie and phrase had to do with the invisible realm; so I watched the movie, again. Jerry was a tough, big firm, sports agent — caring about money and not the people. It was “about the deal.” Until — he visited...

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Surrendering with Singer Songwriter Larisa Stow

Surrender is the mac-daddy of spiritual practices. It requires us to Trust the Unknown and the Invisible (Love, Grace, Compassion, Right Action, Presence) so deeply we are willing to relinquish our mental prowess to enter into an experience which is beyond the mind. and then act from that place.  The Bible would call this “listening to the still small voice.”  For me, I learned to trust control (the antithesis of surrender)  in order to maintain safety.  Trusting The Invisible and leaning into it has been a long and gradual process. My writing partner and I get together regularly to review and comment on each other’s work.  As a former reporter, she is always telling me to add more sources to my writing, to include more voices into my work.  I have taken her suggestion and in addition to source references throughout my book-in-process, I have taken to interviewing individuals who embody the theme for which I’m writing.  Larisa Stow embodies surrender. She actually embodies Love.  Yet the Love emanating through...

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