By Lisa Cedrone

Lessons about the meaning of life, love and the true nature of reality from a near death experience.

A few years back I had the opportunity to receive a final message from one of my mentors and friends, Berenice Andrews, a long-time contributor to Transformation Coaching Magazine. She was an accomplished teacher, scholar and shaman in her 80s, and, just before she died, Berenice shared what she called her last and most important life lesson. She asked a friend sitting hospice to write it down and share it with me for her final article in the magazine.

Berenice said:

“My whole life I felt like I was supposed to do something—something big. Lying here on my deathbed, I had it wrong all along. I didn’t come here to do or accomplish something. I came here to BE something. The vibration of BEING ripples out through the realms. It makes a much larger impact than what we can do in accomplishment mode. The greatest thing we can do is just BE.”

These words rang so true in my heart because I came to the same conclusion following my own near death experience (NDE) in 2002: that just being here on Earth is meaningful beyond measure.

Because I stood at the crossroads of life and death, I know what a gift insights like this are. It was psychically impressed up me during my NDE that “this precious life,” as Buddhists often call it, is a rare opportunity to grow in consciousness and learn. Everything I do and realize here on Earth has an impact on what I experience after I leave this world. We do not cease to exist or “die”: We evolve or in some cases devolve, just as we do in this life.

“As above, so below.”—Hermes Trismegistus

I guess I am one of the lucky ones because I have had more than 20 years since my NDE to understand and work with my own insights and hopefully many more years to continue. Along the way I have found that “just being” does not mean inertia; it means becoming an objective third-party observer operating in the now—the present—by learning the lessons of my experiences and releasing my fears about the future. It’s a process…not an event. I can assure you that I have a long way to go—sometimes it’s two steps forward and one back.

My entire second-half of life has been focused on rebuilding my personal truth; rewriting my story or “personal myth”; integrating a new belief system and expanding my own conception of reality. I see it as living a life review process on a daily basis, and I believe it is the best way to prepare for my own physical death—whenever that may come.

My NDE was definitely the “dark night of my soul.” At the time, I was depressed, disillusioned with life, and drinking alcoholically to console my emotional pain. I had everything Western society says makes you happy—the big job, the big, expensive house, the successful fiancé. But I was completely empty inside—a black hole—and I tried to commit suicide a month before my wedding.

What ensued was a 48-hour trip to hell, heaven and back on an important business trip. It was mortifying, terrifying, liberating and profound. I don’t want to spend time on all the details of the story now, but you can read about it on my blog at DragonFlyNation.com.

Rather, I want to focus on what I came away with as it relates directly to how I understand the “the purpose of life”, and how I live my life knowing deep in my heart that what I do every single day, no matter how mundane, is important to my totality of being in this world and beyond this world.

I want to emphasize the words “how I understand.” This is my experience, strength and hope. My way of explaining and understanding my NDE and the vast insights I received. My framework of reference today is rooted in more than 15 years of exploring Jungian psychology, practicing a spiritual path that resonates for me, participating in 12-step recovery programs, and delving into quantum physics 101.

However, when the NDE was happening, I dove into the deep end of the pool and then learned how to swim. It was terrifying, but some incredible things happened:

• I crossed the threshold of physical death and was given the choice to come back and finish what I came to Earth to learn or “do it all over again” in my next life.

• I received an incredible “energy” healing throughout my entire body by what appeared to me as an angel.

• I spontaneously received knowledge (like a big download of information from the cosmic Internet), and I learned that “everything is energy” vibrating at different levels.

• I experienced what I can only describe as the state of true unconditional love and the profound peace that comes with it.

• I also had interactions with what I would call guardian angels, the Apostle Paul (although I had no idea who he was at the time), Lucifer and other things I can only describe as predatory entities.

It’s all out there…I can assure you, and the state I checked out in had a big impact on what I experienced, especially initially (before the divine intervention of the energy healing), and I now know why most cultures and religions warn against suicide. The state of apathy I was in made me susceptible. Something truly evil connected with me, manifested my worst fears, and opened the door to let me bleed into my own personal hell.

These were things I had never studied or read about—material that was way above my pay grade.

Yet I knew at the very core of my being that what happened to me was not some sort of hallucination. I didn’t want to explain it away, and I didn’t want to live in fear and embarrassment, wondering, “What’s the matter with me?” I knew that this was a doorway to find a more meaningful existence, one that could help me find my own truth and stretch the limits of what conventional society recognizes and accepts. I wanted to get closer to my own understanding of what reality actually is.

I went on a five-year rollercoaster ride to reconcile my new reality with my old world, and I almost self-destructed in the process. I had to leave my career as an editor-in-chief, I was diagnosed as Bipolar Type 1, I suffered a clinical depression after my dog and cat died, I left my marriages, I was overmedicated by psychiatrists and then I self-medicated into full-blown alcoholism.

I guess now I am living proof that the apocalypse journey ends with rebirth, and that my traumas and challenges serve as catalysts for spiritual growth.

Finding Meaning in Life

I want to leave you with four impressions I received through “knowingness” during my NDE that can help you finding meaning in your own life.

1. We are in the “life learning lab”: I came to understand thatwe are all here to learn—but we are not all here to learn the same things. That is our quest, or the Hero’s Journey, as the great mythologist Joseph Campbell called it.

Contributor Owen Waters explains it perfectly in this month’s issue: “Your purpose in life includes the development of your own potential so that you can become the most unique ‘you’ possible.” (See the article “The Shift to Expanded Consciousness: Mother-Father God” on page XX.)

During my NDE, I was told by my non-physical guides that I am here to learn how to love—and I found out later that many people receive this message during NDEs, according to researchers like author Raymond Moody and contributor Mark Pitstick, the director of The SoulPhone Foundation and a leading researcher in documenting scientific proof of the afterlife (Soulproof.com). (See the article “You Are an Infinite Being” on page XX.)

I’ve been working on understanding this message for the past two decades. I spiral around the meaning, and it changes over time. I now understand that unconditional love is an overriding state of consciousness—not an emotion. It is existing from place of nonjudgement, acceptance, gratitude, and service to the greater good.

The road to this perspective is paved with a lot of hard work on myself, therapy, prayer and meditation.

2. Heaven and hell are states of consciousness, realities of my own creation—whether I am in my body or existing as a non-physical being or soul. Through my own direct experience, I found that proximity outside my physical body is determined by “like frequency.” We all have a unique energetic signature or resonance, which is a culmination of all our experiences, attitudes and emotions. It’s the Law of Attraction in action.

Being fully present in the now is an opportunity to experience a heaven—and I cannot be in the now until I carry forward the learning lessons while leaving the emotional and mental garbage at the trash dump. “We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it” is one of my favorite sayings, and if you are in a 12 Step program, you probably know it well. It means I don’t stay hung up on guilt, shame and remorse, all those feelings that create a hell.

What I achieve in this lifetime—not what I accumulate (my stuff)—is what I take forward, and that influences reality in the “next realm” or the “afterlife” or however you want to reference it. And I do believe in reincarnation because I was told that I would come back “and do this again” in another life if I didn’t finish the lessons in this life. It wasn’t judgement or punishment, I was on a journey of progress…”progress not perfection,” another one of my favorite adages.

4. Reality is energy: Quantum physics has expanded our understanding of the “unseen world” showing that “everything is energy” and we exist mostly in a field of empty space. During my NDE, I was shown that it’s all energy in different bandwidths of frequency. We operate in the visible light spectrum, for example, and that aligns with the energy centers in our bodies and the musical scale. Again: “As above, so below.” We live in a world of fractal patterns and the ground state of consciousness behind all things is infinite.

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”—Nikola Tesla

It’s all out there in the “quantum field” of possibility. I now see time and space as the stage upon which we co-create a shared reality. They are merely constructs that form a common framework of reference, not walls that form a prison.

The five senses, as amazing as they are, have been found to detect much less than 1 percent of what’s out there. So the amount of “energy” that I can experience is an exercise in shaping and expanding my own reality in this life—my personal bandwidth.

I live in my own world, and I am sure it’s very different than yours. I have found that I can only grow on the path of direct experience. I can’t read it in a book or learn it on a podcast. That’s why I believe we each need to develop and follow our own roadmap to travel the path of our destiny and reach our highest potential.

Lisa Cedrone currently serves as the editor of Transformation Coaching Magazine and was the executive director of the C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota from 2016 until 2022. She is a mentor and teacher with a passion for sharing the experience, strength and hope from her own life-changing near-death experience and recovery journey. Lisa also spent 15 years as an editor and editor-in-chief for two of the largest business-to-business publishers in the United States. Her universal worldview changed following a profound near-death experience in 2002, during which she was given the opportunity to come back to our world and finish her learning journey in this life. For more information, email Lisa at Lisa@DragonFlyNation.com or visit https://www.DragonFlyNation.com

By Owen Waters

Your purpose in life includes the development of your own potential so that you can become the most unique “you” possible.

The concept of God as a Father-Mother principle, not just a Father God, is hardly new. For example, the Hindu religion has focused largely on the Mother aspect of God for over 3,000 years! It was to Mother God that Yogananda found his greatest inspiration throughout his early life.

The Christian Science movement, founded in 1879, is one which holds the Father-Mother God principle as central to its teachings. They regard the masculine qualities of God, such as strength, constancy and protection to be related to the Father aspect of God, while the feminine qualities, such as gentleness, compassion and nurturing to be related to the Mother aspect of God. They do not see God as two “people”—a male entity and a female entity—but rather as an integrated, all-pervasive presence possessing both aspects of consciousness in equal balance.

If we look at the nature of the original consciousness that is behind all things, we can better understand the concept of an integrated Father-Mother God. God is not a person. God is an everywhere-present, all-knowing intelligence which created and maintains the universe. Behind even this creative presence, is the ultimate, original, unchanging state of consciousness, that of Infinite Being.

Infinite Being is a state of perfect beingness which contains all potential. As such, it fundamentally does not “do.” It just is. It is perfection, and therefore unchanging. However, at some point, Infinite Being decided to “become,” rather than just “be.” It decided to manifest its potential, and then to act out every part of that potential.*

Once Infinite Being had made the decision to create the universe, it achieved the Creation through its only available tool—that of consciousness. Infinite Being divided its consciousness into two complementary aspects. In one direction, it focused intent. In another direction, it focused feeling. Then, it applied motion so that the two facets of itself—intent and feeling—could interact with each other as intertwined waves of consciousness in motion, manifesting as the energy to sustain all forms of life. In this way, Infinite Being extended itself from just being, into a state of action and creation.

The dividing of the “waters” of original consciousness into two, complementary aspects created the aspect of intent and the aspect of feeling. These two principles of consciousness interact together in perfect, equal balance. Were they not perfectly balanced, the universe would cease to exist!

People traditionally find comfort in thinking of God as a parent-like presence. The two aspects of original consciousness on a grand cosmic scale do not translate well into human gender terms. However, you could choose to think of the expansive intent aspect as the part which seems more father-like. You could also choose to think of the feeling aspect as the preserver of all of creation and the one which seems more mother-like. However, these are just images to help us identify, from a human perspective, with the vastness of the consciousness of God.

God maintains the universe through a perfect balance of the complementary aspects of its consciousness. In the light of this, if people choose to think of God in parental terms, then the word God today has to mean “Father-Mother God” and not just “God the Father.”

Remember that without God the Father’s other half, the universe would cease to exist!

God the Mother Appeared First!

It may come as a great disappointment to fans of patriarchy, but when Infinite Being decided to create the universe, the Mother aspect of the Creative Trinity had to appear first.

The Mother aspect created space. Then, the Father aspect used intention to fill that space with what we think of as the Big Bang of Creation—the appearance of the framework of all matter from what appeared to be a center point of nothingness. Such is the magic of Creation. Then, the Mother and Father aspects joined together to bring the principle of motion into existence so that the universe could be filled with energy.

Think about it. If the Big Bang appeared first, before there was space and its ability to contain the explosion of initial Creation, there would have been one giant “Pop!”—then nothing. No containment, no framework, no energy, no matter, no suns, planets, plants, people, and no host of angels and nature spirits to maintain this wonderful universe.

So, if God the Mother is so important, where is she in the Christian belief system? That can be explained with a little history.

When Caesars Claimed to be Sons of God

When Christianity in its present-day form was being established, its founders had to compete with a long succession of Caesars, each one of whom claimed to be a son of God.

The Christian claim that Jesus was the one and only son of God was a response to that state of affairs. It did not originally exclude far-away religions or the teachings of other messengers of God like Buddha or Krishna. It was just dealing with a local problem.

The importance of placing Jesus as the son of God made the church founders invent their own Trinity. Instead of the usual Trinities of other cultures, all of which included the aspects of father, mother, and bringers of light, they decided to place Jesus right next to God.

Then, they had to wonder what to do with the Mother aspect of God that is usually placed right next to the Father. Well, she got bumped over into third place and renamed the Holy Spirit. In keeping with their patriarchal focus, they then proceeded to hardly mention her anywhere in the New Testament and they rarely emphasized her supportive and healing role in answering the prayers of the faithful.

Expanding Consciousness

Today, the concept of Father-Mother God has become a very timely one. As we progress through “The Shift” to heart-centered consciousness, the concept of patriarchy is steadily fading away into history. Father God, as a male persona, is part of the “Old Reality” thinking. The expanded concept of Father-Mother God is inbuilt into the emerging new awareness.

We are entering a “New Reality” where all people are honored equally, regardless of race, creed, color, personal preferences and, especially, gender. Heart-centered consciousness means unconditional love and acceptance of all people in their infinite diversity. We exist on this Earth as the eyes and ears of Infinite Being as it seeks to experience itself through the infinite variety of every possible viewpoint.

Diversity is integral to our purpose in existence.

Your purpose in life includes the development of your own potential so that you can become the most unique “you” possible. Today’s emerging heart-centered consciousness means that people will support, rather than compete against, the efforts of other people.

As New Reality consciousness expands, human potential will flower in creative ways never before imagined possible. You can think of God as a balance of Father-Mother God consciousness or simply go beyond that to think of Infinite Being as the ultimate state of unchanging perfection. Either way, remember that the conscious awareness of the presence of God is a mere thought away.

It is your concept of the God presence within which will feed the flame of your creativity and help bring your unique potential into full and joyful manifestation.

*Author’s Note: The greatest mystery of all time in spiritual philosophy has been, WHY life began. Why, when God had been perfection in the first place, did God create the universe so that living beings could work their way back to a perfection which already existed?

The story of how a spiritual master who passed on in the late 1990s and then went “beyond the beyond”—beyond where anyone on Earth had gone before—in order to bring back that very answer is told in the e-book, Discover Your Purpose in Life by Owen Waters.

Owen Water is a cofounder of the Spiritual Dynamics Academy and InfiniteBeing.com, where a where a free spiritual growth newsletter awaits you at https://www.InfiniteBeing.com. He is an international spiritual teacher who has helped hundreds of thousands of spiritual seekers to understand better the nature of their spiritual potential. Owen’s life has been focused upon gaining spiritual insights through extensive research and the development of his inner vision. He has written a spiritual metaphysics newsletter since 2004 which empowers people to discover their own new vistas of inspiration, love and creativity. Spiritual seekers enjoy his writings for their clarity and deep insights. Contact Owen via email News@InfiniteBeing.com.

By Mark Pitstick, MA, DC

Scientific, clinical and firsthand evidence that no one really dies.

Collective evidence by many respected scientists, physicians, psychologists and university professors now clearly indicates that bodily death is not the end of life. Life is never-ending, and many potential benefits—including personal and global transformation—accompany knowing this evidence.

Four examples of this evidence include:

1. Near-Death Experiences (NDEs): Tens of thousands of documented cases exist in which clinically dead persons accurately saw—while their eyes were closed and their bodies were in an ER or ICU—events that occurred around, outside and even on top of the hospital. There are so many documented reports like this that they are called “tennis shoe stories” because patients have described odd objects on top of the hospital or other unreachable areas that cannot be seen except from above. These cases are most impressive when they occur in blind persons and little children, as reported by Raymond Moody, M.D., Ph.D., Ken Ring, Ph.D., and a host of other researchers. 

Further, 16 percent of NDErs have experienced life-previews in which they saw future events over which they had no control. As reported by Bruce Greyson, M.D., and others, their visions of the future were recorded by doctors and, over time, unfolded just as seen during the NDE. Finally, miraculous cures, such as that of Anita Moorjani, author of Dying To Be Me, have occurred during NDEs and have been confirmed by pre-and post-medical records.

2. Scientific Research on Mediums: Gary Schwartz, Ph.D.—former Yale and Harvard professor, now at the University of Arizona—conducted repeated, double-blind, peer-reviewed, journal-published studies, and his group of allegedly authentic mediums had an 87 percent success rate when psychically reading subjects they had no contact with. The control group had only a 23 percent success rate. The statistical probability of that difference occurring by chance is miniscule. Dr. Schwartz’s research has been closely monitored by other scientists, videographers and magicians; none could find any flaws in his methodology. 

 

Multiple double-blinded laboratory mediumship experiments have been published over the past 20 years from researchat the University of Arizona, University of Virginia, University of Glasgow in Scotland, Institute of Noetic Sciences and Windbridge Institute. In addition, imaging studies of mediums’ brains suggest that mediumship is more than imagination and have been published by Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

 

3. Past Life Memories: Ian Stevenson, M.D., chairman of the psychiatry department at the University of Virginia Medical School, researched the topic of children’s past life memories for 60 years. He and his research team substantiated over 3,000 cases in which children from all continents accurately remembered a past life. Their memories were documented in a number of ways including one or more sets of birthmarks that correlated with death wounds in the previous time and place.

Brian Weiss M.D., former head of psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center, wrote Messages from the Masters and other books about past life regressions. He has received thousands of phone calls and letters from psychiatrists, psychologists and other therapistswho have done past life regressions for up to 20 years. Dr. Weiss stated, “The letters describe detailed accounts of past-life recall, of patients recalling names, dates and details of lifetimes in other cities, countries or continents. Some patients have found their ‘old’ names in the official records of places they have never even heard of, let alone visited in this lifetime. Some have found their own tombstones.”

4. After-Death Communications (ADCs) have been experienced by more than 75 million Americans: 25 percent of the general population, 66 percent of widows/widowers and 75 percent of bereaved parents. ADCs involve sensing, with the usual senses or more ethereal ones, departed loved ones and occur in the waking and dream states. 

Shared ADCs involve perception of the same contact by more than one person at a time. In evidential ADCs, information or evidence was obtained that could not have been known unless, indeed, a deceased spirit was making contact. These have been reported by esteemed experts such as Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D., and the world-renowned psychiatrist Carl Jung, M.D.

The comforting and enlightening impact of ADCs is being more fully realized and utilized. For example, the bereaved parents group Helping Parents Heal actively discusses ADCs as a way to help grieving parents and family members awaken to the great news that the departed child is not lost or dead. He or she, in fact, is alive and well in another realm; it’s just that most humans, with their limited brains and sense organs, cannot detect their higher and finer energies.

Taken together, this and much more evidence leaves no doubt that you and everyone else are infinite spiritual/energy beings who are having a very brief human experience. In addition, much data indicates that we each are one with the One and part of Source Energy right now.

You are not separate from God/Creative Intelligence/Life Itself. There’s nothing you have to say, do, believe, or join to make this happen—it’s the way life is set up. The more you really understand this, the more you can see this earthly experience as the totally safe, magnificent, and meaningful adventure amidst forever that it is. Deeply knowing this allows you to enjoy the greatest life you have envisioned, share your greatest gifts, and have high levels of peace, joy, and love now and always.

Mark Pitstick, MA, DC is an author, master’s clinical psychologist, holistic chiropractic physician, frequent media guest, and webinar/workshop facilitator. He directs The SoulPhone Foundation and founded Greater Reality Living Groups. Dr. Pitstick can help you know and show—no matter what is happening to or around you—that your earthly experience is a totally safe, meaningful, and magnificent adventure amidst forever. Visit http://www.SoulProof.com for free articles, newsletters and radio interviews with top consciousness experts.

By Mary Boutieller

Remember to pause long enough to notice and be humbled by the million small gifts that make your world amazing.

Driving home the other day, I stopped behind a line of cars and wondered what was holding up the traffic. Then I saw an elderly man who had gotten out of his car to move a turtle out of the road—one that would surely have been hit by the next car that turned through the intersection.

This one act changed the course of my day. It made me slow down and think about all of the gifts bestowed each day that go by unnoticed. It opened my eyes to the magic of lives lived in small steps, sweet gestures, and little acts of kindness. It reminded me of the gift of small things.

When we pause to notice the amazing world around us, we realize that most of us are very fortunate. In one morning’s walk, I watched in awe at the bounding dance of two birds’ mating ritual, marveled as a pelican dove into the water for its lunch, and noticed the warmth of the sun’s rays on a chilly morning, and I thought, “This is just like the turtle encounter. These are gifts. Can I slow down enough to receive them?”

Even now, as I write this, the gift revealing itself is my husband playing the piano. As I hear him practice our wedding song, Pachelbel’s Canon in D, I am brought back to that hopeful day over 32 years ago, and to the many days which have followed, and it makes me smile. The small gift of great value is remembering the good, the brave, the amazing in the person standing right beside us.

And, although we are genetically wired to look for danger, the skills that kept our ancestors from harm now cause us to hone in on the less important things we think need fixing. There are no more saber-tooth tigers, just socks left on the bedroom floor. So, instead of seeing the light in a child’s eyes, we see the homework that hasn’t been done; instead of seeing the steadfastness of a partner, we see the trash that hasn’t been taken out.

The gift of small things—a child’s smile, a beautiful sunset, a turtle rescue—can be seen and felt everywhere in our lives. These are the important, necessary (and free) gifts being handed to us each and every day. We only have to pause long enough to notice.

Imagine if our first thought upon walking through the door of ANY place was, “What is amazing about this person, place or thing?” How would that change our view of everything from that point forward?

In truth, what we focus on becomes the sustenance of our lives.

Emerson said, “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”

I’ve realized that I don’t need to be wowed by big things. Instead, I want to be humbled by the million small gifts that make my world amazing.

Take some time today to notice the ordinary gifts of small things. Pause and let these gifts soak into your bones. Let this be a part of what nourishes your soul.

Mary Boutieller is a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance. She has been teaching yoga since 2005. Her work experience includes 22 years as a firefighter/paramedic and 10 years as a Licensed Massage Therapist. Mary’s knowledge and experience give her a well-rounded understanding of anatomy, alignment, health and movement in the body. She is passionate about the benefits of yoga and the ability to heal at all levels through awareness, compassion, and a willingness to explore. She can be reached at: SimplyogaOm@gmail.com.

By Darrel L. Hammon

Lifelong learning is truly an art form.

“Yes, I’m done with school,” said a young bridegroom to me when I asked him about his educational status and future.

My response was spontaneous and swift: “Well, now education really begins because learning is a lifelong process.” 

I’m sure he wasn’t ready for me to say that. He was marrying a beautiful young woman who was finishing her baccalaureate degree, had a pretty good job as a chef, and figured his life couldn’t get any better. But I had to plant the seed because metaphorically I am an educational farmer and entrepreneur, one who sees the wide-open stretches of fertile minds of people, young and old, employed and unemployed, and figures everyone should be doing something to enhance his or her capacity to learn and enhance their capabilities and skill sets.

Many years ago, as I was driving home after the wedding, I couldn’t help but think about the 81-year-old GED graduate who haltingly crawled out of her wheelchair, grabbed her walker, and shuffled cautiously across the stage at a Lewis-Clark State College General Educational Development (GED) graduation to receive her GED certificate. Tears swelled up in my eyes as I watched her walk back to her wheelchair and sit down. The crowd gave her a standing ovation.

I also thought about the 78-year-old GED graduate at Eastern Idaho Technical College (EITC) some years ago who said, “I am getting my GED because I know I will be a good example to my grandchildren.” Donned in a traditional cap and gown, she, too, received a standing ovation as she walked across the stage and waved to her family.

Often, I also think about the many “more mature adults” who participate in so many educational and cultural activities around the world but especially in their own communities. They attend plays, participate in arts classes, learn how to play pickleball, and attend lectures about history and a plethora of other topics. Their education may have ended several decades ago, but their learning has never stopped. Instead, they seek opportunities to learn because, as one of them commented, “I love to learn. It stimulates my mind.” 

I simply marvel at people who love to learn, no matter what age they are. Simultaneously, I often wondered how we could instill this progressive, albeit simple, philosophy in young people in grade school or junior or senior high school—and others who continuously wonder what they are going to do with their lives. These young people’s repetitive phrases are diametrically opposed to the senior citizens’: “I can’t wait to get out of school. I’m so burned out.” 

When I hear this phrase, I want to literally scream: “Don’t say that! Don’t quit the process now! Your foundation has already been laid. Courage, and on to the victory.” After I calm down, I find solace in the fact that they will go on. I have watched them do this. Many of them just need to experience the jolt of menial labor or no job at all to open their eyes to learning and the prospects of an enhanced life and maybe earning some real money along the way. 

Over the years, I often used Jaime Escalante’s phrase, “Free, free, free, knowledge; bring your own containers.” Life is all about that phrase. Knowledge oozes out of every corner and crack of our lives and in places we do not expect. Often it just seeps by us or hangs from luscious baskets within our reach, but, unfortunately, we do not take advantage of the proliferation of knowledge. Or we fail to pack around our own containers, our buckets. Or worse, just the bottoms of our buckets are covered, and we say, “I’ve got all the knowledge I want or need.”

Sometimes our buckets are like the old wire baskets I used to pick potatoes (a.k.a. “spuds”) in Eastern Idaho. They did not fill up by themselves. In order to pick a sack full of hardy Russets, my partner—most of the time my brother—and I had to bend over our baskets and reach for the potatoes. After dumping our full baskets in the gunny sack, we set the sack in the furrow between us and began again. Then, the truck would come by and take the sack to the spud cellar where they stored them until they were ready to sell. 

Our gathering of knowledge parallels spud picking. It takes a bit of effort to fill our buckets. We may have to bend our backs, stretch our minds, work midst wind and snowstorms, the taunting of others, and maybe even make a few sacrifices. But in the end, it’s all worth it. Like spuds in the cellar, knowledge is stored easily in our minds until we need to use it. But we also need to couple it with everyday experiences so we can make the appropriate connections.

Learning is an investment, one that yields high benefits and interest. Because of the many ongoing and dynamic changes in the world and the workplace, you may need to withdraw these resources at any given time. 

Invest now and often and keep your mind and bank account growing.

Darrel L. Hammon has been dabbling in writing in a variety of genres since his college days, having published poetry, academic and personal articles/essays, a book titled Completing Graduate School Long Distance (Sage Publications), and a picture book, The Adventures of Bob the Bullfrog: Christmas Beneath a Frozen Lake (Outskirts Press). He also was the editor of the Journal of Adult Education (Mountain Plains Adult Education Association). Most of his essay/article writing has focused on topics about growing up, leadership, self-awareness, motivation, marriage/dating, and educational topics. Some of these articles/essays are in Spanish because Darrel is bilingual in Spanish/English, having lived in Chile, Dominican Republic, and southern California, and having worked with Latino youth and families all of his professional life in higher education. He has two blogs, one for personal writing at http://www.darrelhammon.blogspot.com/ and one for his consulting/life coaching business (http://www.hammonconsults.blogspot.com/). You can listen to a poem titled “Sprucing Up” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihTmuOUIAEI.

By Arielle Giordano

Enjoying the creative process inspires and remodels our inner reality—our thoughts, feelings and perceptions.

Expressing yourself through creativity can bring renewal and regeneration, whether it is through dance, movement, music and choreography, visual arts, writing, cooking, making, building, or just living. Creativity can transform our painful reactions to situations and help us to heal from traumatic life experiences. Creativity gives us a renewed strength and offers a unique way to give voice to difficult thoughts and feelings.

Through my own processes, I have healed old wounds with catharses of the heart. I have expressed myself in ways that satisfied and transformed me and my life experiences. I now know that seeing life through the lens of creativity is a unique experience that can expand consciousness and human potential.

If you are ready to open that door and step through, start with something simple such as thinking about a topic and then drawing in relation to it. I have found this an interesting and revealing experience in my own creative growth. Moreover, when I am feeling down and dance, the movements exuberate and enliven my body, heart and soul. Thoughts and feelings are integrated, and whatever I was upset about is either no longer bothering me, a solution presents itself, or I just let it go. Dancing takes me out of my own self. It empowers my ability to reach new depths of being alive through the freedom of self-expression.

Enjoying the creative process inspires and remodels our inner reality—our thoughts, feelings and perceptions. Our view of the world shifts in a subtle way. As we take pleasure in looking at a painting, for example, the painting becomes alive as we put ourselves into what is real in the moment.

Self-expression through creativity is an opportunity to gain deeper insights and understanding within ourselves. We get to feel our feelings and think our thoughts. We get to see new aspects within ourselves, our lives and others. A new awareness gets to have form, a voice, a structure, and a constructive expression for our inner and outer harmony.

In her article“Giving Life to Carl Rogers theory of Creativity,”Natalie Rogers writes that “using the expressive arts gives people a safe place to explore their shadow side…the part we have repressed in our lives.” Referring to expressive arts therapy, she says: “The creative process is life force energy. If offers a safe, empathic, nonjudgmental environment, and a transformative process for constructive change…Using movement, sound, color and drama offer opportunities to first become aware of one’s shadow, and then to explore it fully through many media.”

As human beings, we have a natural propensity for and love of beauty. Throughout history, we have followed and appreciated the great masters of Ancient Greece and Roman, the Renaissance, and Egyptian civilization, to name just a few. As human beings, we honor the love of aesthetics and the transformational process of creativity, art and self-expression.

It’s time to let these powerful ways heal human consciousness on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.

Transformational Life Coach Award-Winning Author & Speaker, Professional Dancer. Arielle’s Award-Winning book for Best Self-Help Award: Dancing With Your Story From The Inside is available on http://www.Amazon.com. Her professional career includes the Lead Faculty Area Chairperson and Professor for the College of Humanities, History and the Arts at the University of Phoenix. She is a published co-author of Transform Your Life Books 1 & 2 and author for Tampa Bay Wellness, Conscious Shift & Transformation magazine. She has published her 4th book, an Instructor’s Manual for Barlow Abnormal Psychology 4th ed. and authored Psychology, A Journey 3rd.ed. Study Guide published by Nelson Education, Toronto, ON. She has also studied philosophy at the College of Integrated Philosophy with John DeRuiter for twenty years. Arielle has been a featured guest on radio and television, in newspapers, and the media across the US and Canada. She is a certified Essentrics Stretch and Dance Instructor. Arielle offers coaching sessions, classes and workshops and a free 30-minute Consultation. Arielle’s new book Dancing with Your Story from the Inside Out is now available on http://www.Amazon.com. Websites: http://www.dancingfromtheinsideout.com,
http://www.ariellegiordano.com. Email: agbeautifuldance@gmail.com

By Clare Care

Breathe in the wonder and awe of our natural surroundings.  

Do you ever think about the greatness of the planet? We are amazing beings in physical form sharing our energy, existing with the power to consciously create our paths. We can experience wild adventures and make awesome connections. A brilliant grounding tool to acknowledge gratitude for our blessings is to gaze in wonder at the outside world. Here are my mindful and spiritual methods to absorb the beauty of the Earth and to fill our bodies with joy.

Nature

Appreciating nature is really uplifting. Every season beholds something to wonder over. Have you ever taken the time to look closely at a leaf? The vibrant color. The smooth texture. The oval shape with the tiny veins running through it. Take the time to really focus on the beauty of a singular leaf. Touch it, stroke it and compare its shape and size to other leaves. Now look at a tree. I always marvel over how a tree long outlives us mortal humans. They come in many shapes and sizes, but all have roots that lie deep in the earth to nurture, feed and support them. Notice the bark of the trunk and how it is formed. What a majestic sight to behold! Trees have many important functions including maintaining a clean environment by producing oxygen to help purify the atmosphere. We are naturally inclined to feel more joy when being surrounded by trees.

Beauty in nature surrounds us. Take a look at a flower. Observe the vivid colors and intricate patterns in a petal. See how they provide pollen for the insects. Notice the birds and how nature provides their habitat. Listening to birdsong is a joyful experience. You will hear many different calls from the various species. Really hone in on the unusual and glorious sounds created from our tiny little feathered friends. The more you focus on nature, the more you will start to see. Butterflies, pine cones, twigs, grass, earth, insects, nests, birds, squirrels, foxes.

There are many places you can experience the joy of the natural world. If you have a garden, you can begin there. Local parks are a perfect place to enjoy and admire the surroundings. Forests can provide a more remote experience with trees in abundance.

Cloud Watch

Lie on the grass in a park, field or garden. It works best if you choose somewhere peaceful,

safe and abundant in nature. Get comfy and relax. Then simply just watch the sky! The band The Orb once sang a song about “Little Fluffy Clouds” and how beautiful they are. Cloud watching can be such a joyful experience, especially if you do it with a friend or partner. It is fascinating to see how quickly clouds will form, merge and pass. Notice their interesting shapes and see if they make any recognizable images. I like to see angel figures in the clouds. Never look directly at the sun, so choose your cloud watching carefully. As you look out to the vast expanse of sky, you will feel connected to the greatness of the universe and all its possibilities.

Star Gaze

As day turns into night you can do the same activity, but this time gaze at the stars. Make sure you choose a clear night to get the maximum impact. The band named Air wrote a mellow song

called, “Kelly Watch The Stars.” There is wonder and amazement at the galaxy when you consider how far away a twinkling star is and how the light reaches us. When you truly focus on the night sky, you get a sense of the magnitude of the planets and how we are but a small part of a huge miracle. There are many apps you can utilize to study the constellations and make connections with natures forces.

Moon Bath

I enjoy observing the cycles of the Moon. The Moon is responsible for the ebb and flow of our planet. It keeps the tides constant. Our bodies are largely made up of liquid, so it makes sense that the Moon’s cycle can affect our energy and rhythms. Have you ever looked up at the Moon and been captivated by her beauty? A full moon creates such a bright and vivid light. It is interesting to notice the face of “the man in the Moon” or, “the woman in the Moon” looking down and protecting us. The Moon is referred to as she or her and is regarded as the feminine energy of the universe.

How can the Moon help raise your joy? Firstly, by understanding that the lunar cycle can impact your thoughts and feelings. Have you ever heard of the madness of the full Moon? Historically, the full moon is said to bring about extreme and heightened emotions.

The Moon orbits the earth every 30 days. Each month will see a new moon and a full moon, and the waxing and waning in between. Watching the Moon is magical. If you live consciously with the daily moon, you will start to notice how you can work alongside her. The new moon is when she sits in the same place as the Sun, which Earth orbits, so is therefore not visible. We cannot see her but we know she is there.

Many women cycle at the time of the new moon. Just as she withdraws from the light, we can feel more withdrawn and introverted during this phase. This is the time to set intentions, for new beginnings and for making wishes. The full moon is a time for letting go of the past and of things that don’t serve you. It is also a powerful time to forgive. Charge your crystals under a full moon. Just pop them out overnight in the garden, or on the windowsill. It is incredibly uplifting and humbling to observe the magnificence of the moon. Soak up her moon beams. Breathe in her energy and thank her for the motion of life.

Clare Care is a presenter, author and singer. She is also a Creative and Spiritual Life Coach and a member of The Complimentary Medical Association (MCMA). Clare loves to help others live their best life! Her book, 52 Ways To Receive Joy Now! is an essential guide to finding your inner happiness and is available on Amazon. Her podcast, “Nourish Your Think Tank” has interviews with music legends and musings on life’s good vibrations. She hosts an early breakfast show on NLive Radio called “Clare’s Happy Monday” to make people feel good for their week ahead. Her other show, “Weekend Calling”, gets listeners ready for the weekend. Clare fronts a function band as the lead singer and regularly performs at parties and corporate events. For more information go to https://www.clarecarepresenter.com.

By Jo Mooy

How to use a simple prayer to summon the vast energy field in the universe and ask that consciousness to deliver what is needed for yourself and others.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that long-used phrase that’s been ending many conversations for years, “Have a great day!” has been usurped by a lovely new phrase, “Have a blessed day!” It’s surprising to hear it and always brings an easy smile. But recently, while watching a YouTube video, a man ended his conversation with, “I wish you the most benevolent outcome.” The phrase was simple, but his meaning was so heartfelt I began a quest to learn more about it.

The man was Tom T. Moore, a prolific author of books called The Gentle Way. His channeled material may be a bit “too out there” for many, but the astonishing Most Benevolent Outcome prayer, (known as MBO on the internet) has taken on a life of its own. As he explained, The Most Benevolent Outcome is fairly neutral as it doesn’t invoke a deity. (Though many do call in an angel in their practice.) Tom sees MBO as a shortcut to summoning the vast energy field in the universe and asking that consciousness in the universe to deliver what he needs. Over many years, he tells of using MBOs in all sorts of situations in his life, from getting a parking spot to curing a disease.

My deep dive into MBOs revealed it’s a “thing”, as there are over a million MBO entries on Google. Many who use the practice follow Tom’s instructions faithfully, while others expanded or shortened the prayer with good results. You can ask for a Most Benevolent Outcome for yourself or for others. You should be sincere in your request and believe you will be granted the outcome. At the end of each prayer, express thanks and gratitude for the results.

Tom stresses that the prayer be said out loud, and that it be written down as well. When a prayer is verbalized it activates the vibratory power of sound creating an actual imprint in the energy field of the universe. If a collective of people is doing the same prayer it will become resonant in the energy field and will manifest in 68 seconds. Practitioners who do this reported they could immediately feel a rush of energy flowing over them and an intuitive knowing beyond any doubt that the prayer had been granted.

Tom’s instructions are fairly easy.

The MBO Prayer for Yourself: Say out loud, “I request a most benevolent outcome for (state your name and what you wish for.) Thank you.” Don’t doubt. Get out of the way and allow the universe to handle how and who will help you. If you’re more comfortable invoking an angel, begin with: “Guardian angel, I request a most benevolent outcome ….” For example, you could say “I request a most benevolent outcome in finding a perfect job. Thank you.”

The MBO Prayer for Someone Else: Say out loud, “I ask any and all beings to come to the aid and assistance of (person’s name) to help with the most benevolent outcome for (state issue.) Thank you.” An example of this prayer is, “I ask all beings to come to the aid and assistance of Sally to help with the most benevolent outcome in her upcoming surgery. Thank you.”

The simplicity of this practice is deceiving and may sound like a lot of woo-woo. My experience is that it works—and it works quickly. Since making it part of my daily spiritual practice, a complex and conflicted situation with three different companies involved went on unresolved for six weeks. Each company kept pointing the finger to the other one to resolve. The MBO was invoked at 7 p.m. one night. The next morning an email arrived in my inbox saying the situation had been fixed and all parties were now in agreement.

The practice has been expanded and used in our local healing circles. If someone needs mental, physical or emotional healing or help, the prayer is invoked for a most benevolent outcome. The results have been remarkable as some type of healing or resolution always occurs. Give it a try, as thousands have attested to its potency and value. You have nothing to lose and a most benevolent outcome to gain.

Jo Mooy has studied with many spiritual traditions over the past 40 years. The wide diversity of this training allows her to develop spiritual seminars and retreats that explore inspirational concepts, give purpose and guidance to students, and present esoteric teachings in an understandable manner. Along with Patricia Cockerill, she has guided the Women’s Meditation Circle since January 2006 where it has been honored for five years in a row as the “Favorite Meditation” group in Sarasota, FL, by Natural Awakenings Magazine. Teaching and using Sound as a retreat healing practice, Jo was certified as a Sound Healer through Jonathan Goldman’s Sound Healing Association. She writes and publishes a monthly internationally distributed e-newsletter called Spiritual Connections and is a staff writer for Spirit of Maat magazine in Sedona. For more information go to http://www.starsoundings.com or email jomooy@gmail.com.