By Linda Commito

Embracing an expanded concept of family can create a more loving world.

Most of us have grown up with a concept of “family” and what that looks like, whether ours fit into our definition and expectations or not. And although mine was considered traditional, with two parents and a couple of brothers, for whom I am grateful, I have learned to expand my definition of “family” by appreciating the way that the heart sometimes has a totally different idea about the value of loving relationships.

I would love to share with you an inspiring story about one amazing mom, Care, and the uniquely loving family that she and her husband Rick have created.

Rick, the son of dear friends of mine, met Care in the Peace Corps, both stationed in Azerbaijan and passionate about serving others and making a difference. Although they had arrived at different times and were living in different areas, they met and overlapped for five months. That connection was all that they needed to get engaged three months later.

Although they both wanted to have a family someday, Care had always wanted to rescue a child and had even considered adopting internationally. That was one thing that she was clear about as she told Rick: “Adoption is nonnegotiable.” Although Rick hadn’t thought about it, he was open, saying: “I had been loved unconditionally and wanted to replicate a family like the loving one I had grown up with, but not the details. But with Care, I was willing to do whatever it took.”

Once married and living back in Michigan, Rick was establishing himself as an assistant principal and Care was working as a counselor with children, they felt ready to consider adoption. Although friends and family may have wondered, “why adoption?” rather than having their own child, (especially since it costs $36,000 to adopt an infant domestically and $50,000 to adopt internationally), they were willing to support the determined couple with financial assistance through Go Fund Me. Rick and Care then put together their “book”—what prospective mothers in the United States use to choose who will adopt their baby. In it, they shared their stories, family history and what their dreams were about raising a child. Little did they know that synchronicities and prayers were about to make that happen.

Morgan, an 18-year-old freshman college student, was caught off guard by her pregnancy. She decided to find a couple to adopt her soon-to-be newborn and was given 30 “books” of couples who were hoping to be selected. It was Morgan’s sister who noticed Rick and Care’s book and put it on top, especially when she noticed their handwritten message: “May the Lord bless you and keep you always,” which is what Morgan’s grandmother used to say to her.

When they met for the first time, it went well. They got a call the next day. They were chosen to be the parents of this baby. And exciting as it was, a month later, Care says, “I was also aware that I would be walking out with a baby and that, sadly, Morgan would not.”

And here is where BIG LOVE came in. Care said: “I’m not a jealous person. I knew I’d have the capacity to share.” Care and Rick invited Morgan to be a part of their family. Their biracial baby, Lana, grew up with a huge extended family who all loved her. In fact, Morgan cared for her daughter one day a week, and, over time, Lana would refer to her as “birth mom” and Care as “mom.” Lana experienced so much love, even celebrating holidays as one big extended family with Morgan’s parents and grandparents, as well as her own.

Rick and Care’s family has grown and blossomed over four years, especially when they decided to have a child of their own, and two years later Ezra (“Ezzie” or “Sissie” as Lana likes to call her) came into their world. Now they even take family vacations together.

I love this expanded concept of family. It makes me feel more hopeful that we can create a more loving world that sees one another as family, as dear friends, or as people with whom we can share our love.

How can we open our hearts to each other, to experience BIG LOVE, and open to possibilities?

Linda Commito, author, speaker, entrepreneur, consultant and teacher, is passionate about her vision to leave this world a kinder, more loving, and interconnected place. Linda’s award-winning book of inspirational stories, Love Is the New Currency, demonstrates how we can each make an extraordinary difference in the lives of others through simple acts of love and kindness. Her latest project, the card game Just Ask 1 2 3, was inspired by a desire to connect people of all different ages, beliefs and lifestyles to share our individuality and find commonality. Linda also created “Kindness Starts with Me,” a program, book and website for children. For more information visit http://www.LoveistheNewCurrency.com or visit the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/Justask123game.

By Mary Boutieller

Self-reflection allows us to clarify who we are—and who we are not—take chances, and reach out to let our hearts meet others.

Self-reflection—the ability to discern our behaviors, to tease apart the things that feel right versus those which bring discord, is an important part of my life these days. Much like hindsight, self-reflection often occurs when the voice inside my head says, “I wish I had done ‘this’ instead…”These instances give me the opportunity to take another step forward in clarifying who I am and who I am not.

Michelangelo once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”Piece by piece, he removed what was no longer needed to reveal the masterpiece already residing inside the stone. This is what we do, day in and day out, if we are awake and breathing. We carve, not to fix necessarily—because fixing infers that something is wrong—but to hone in on the truth that is already there.

As we delve deeper into who we are, we experience the seesaw ride of life—revealing our truth and then covering back up again. We feel happy one moment and crabby the next, for no apparent reason. We feel kind and generous, then act harshly toward another because they trigger something in us that hasn’t healed. We think our wounds are ours alone and that no one else can see or feel them.

And then something happens.

The other day, I witnessed a woman walk away with slumped shoulders wrapped around her precious heart, and I felt her pain. I felt it because it was also my pain. Memories of past rejection and heartache flooded my consciousness—thousands of tiny cuts, as they say. I wondered about the wounds we all carry, and how it is that we heal from those tiny cuts. How do we recognize the frightened child (or adult) who only wants love or acceptance, whether in ourselves or in others?

And, equally important, how do we reach out and let our hearts meet theirs—raw and open, even when it is uncomfortable? At Samaritans.org, they suggest that we start a simple conversation. We say hello; we ask about their day. Simply checking in with another might change the road they are on for the better.

James Carroll said, “We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things…(but) there are times when we stop. We sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper.”

That whisper is the stone being carved away, chip by chip, revealing the person underneath it all—the one who isn’t afraid to feel or love or fail. The one who is willing to take chances, to dive below the surface and swim the big waves, even when it’s scary.

This is the person I want to continue to unveil in myself. One who is not afraid to reach in and reach out, knowing that it’s not a straight road and it certainly isn’t perfect. The “two steps forward, one step back” adage feels pretty accurate.

Still, there is progress…and that is something.

The awesomeness of this life and these revelations fill me with hope…knowing that there is more to uncover.

Nancy at Sweetbird Studios said, “I have learned to change the narrative of my story from often fear to curiosity. To feel scared and do it anyway.”

Have faith, my loves, and know that you are beautiful and resourceful and amazing. Be curious and chip away at that which no longer serves you—be it a habit, an attitude or a belief, and become more of who you already are.

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

Six principles to help you move in a new direction, change your view, and improve and enhance your life.

The word pivot can be both a noun and a verb. When I was growing up in Idaho, home to probably the best potatoes on the planet, many farmers began to expand and convert large chunks of land into huge potato fields and other crops. They needed a way to control water irrigation of these large tracts. Thus, the “pivot” was invented to create a mechanized way to manage a consistent irrigation pattern.

“Pivot” irrigation equipment moves around in fields, and it monumentally changed the way farmers irrigated potatoes and other crops in their ever-growing production chain. Now, instead of scratching their heads and fretting about consistent irrigation methods, they could water thousands of acres of crops by installing massive pivots throughout their farms and grow enormous amounts of hay, grain, potatoes, beans, corn, and a host of other crops that feed the world. They did all this by learning to pivot in a variety of ways.

In my younger days, I loved to play basketball. I learned the hard way that you cannot hold the ball and move both feet around. It’s called “traveling,” and you must give up the ball to the other team if you do it, thus losing possession. To be able to move around while holding the ball, you must keep one foot—the pivot foot—planted on the floor while you moved the other foot, which can pivot around in any direction.

In our lives, we experience some of these same challenges, perhaps more similar than we can imagine. We, too, stare out into our fields of dreams and wonder how we are going to make them grow and come to great and life-changing fruition. Repeatedly, then, we need to plant a pivot in our lives so we can turn to make changes, hopefully in directions that will improve and enhance our lives.

So, how do we pivot in life? Let’s discuss six principles.

1. Pivoting is merely learning how to make life changes.

Often, we suffer from paralysis when attempting to do something different. We feel comfortable in what we are doing, but we don’t like what we are doing. We feel stagnant in our jobs and/or our lives—but the thought of change frightens us. What we must understand is that pivoting simply means that we make incremental changes. Changes don’t have to be giant steps to one side or the other. Rather, they just need to be big enough to move us in a different direction. Thus, we pivot to a new direction, a new view.

2. Pivoting does not mean quitting.

Frequently, when we find ourselves in a situation that we need to change, we believe we have to quit our job, whatever we are doing at the moment, and radically change the direction we are going. Sometimes we do have to stop what we are doing and contemplate our next move. However, often we don’t necessarily have to quit—just pivot—sometimes a degree or two, maybe more.

3. Pivoting requires foresight mixed with hindsight.

One of the equations in strategic planning is F + P = PR (Future + Past = Present). We need to know where we have been, know where we want to go, and that decision becomes our present. Once we know where we are going, pivoting comes into play, so, we pivot to where we want to go. The amazing part of pivoting is that even a slight pivot can change our direction and give us a new perspective and view because we see things differently, thus helping us see the future more clearly.

4. Pivoting is a natural way of changing directions.

Throughout our lives, we have always had to pivot in some way. I started first grade in the same house and lived there until I was 19 years old. For the first three grades, I went to one school. For 4^th through 6^th, I went to another school and a brand-new school for the later part of 6^th grade; for 7^th-8^th grade, I traveled seven miles to another school; for 9^th grade, I attended a different school; and then for 10^th through my senior year, I traveled seven miles in a different direction—all the time living in the same house. I had to pivot for every school change. Granted, many other students did the same thing. Sometimes, we went to a different city, and students from other communities joined us. Environments changed; some friends changed. Pivoting happened almost daily. Then, when I was 19, I served a mission for my church in southern Chile, thousands of miles from my home in Menan, Idaho. Population 596. Talk about a major pivot for two years—a new language, new culture, new country, new friends, new food, and big black boots for the rain. Pivoting is what we all have done throughout our lives. It’s just what we do.

5. Pivoting allows you to see life in 360-degree mode.

The best part of pivoting is that we can ultimately see ourselves and the world in 360-degree mode if we choose. Seeing life “in the round” can be highly influencing, enlightening and refreshing. Seeing the 360-degree view allows us to become more holistic, so we can observe and feel the whole view, not just the narrow focus that disconnects us from everything around us. We must see all to be able to see ourselves in the true light, our own best selves.

6. Pivoting can be pivotal in life.

Pivoting periodically in our lives can produce the results we have always desired. It is essential that we pivot. If we are not progressing and growing, we are retrogressing. There really isn’t such a thing as stagnation. Each pivot can be a critical step in our lives. Even members of our team can pivot to help us see differently and gain a new perspective. Together, we can learn to change our lives and our organizations for the best possible future.

Our lives are full of pivot points. Some we take; some we don’t. Sometimes we kick ourselves for not pivoting at the right moment. The key always hinges on pivoting when we need to change.

Sometimes you have to pivot to capture a better view and position yourself for the success you want and deserve in life. Whatever your reason, don’t hesitate. Begin pivoting now!

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 Owen Waters

Raising your frequency of consciousness has a healing effect on your body.

Nothing in Creation is essentially good or bad, but we judge lower vibrations as bad because they oppose our natural desire to raise our consciousness.

For example, toxins in food vibrate at a lower frequency, while health-supporting nutrition vibrates at a higher frequency. Because body, mind and spirit are interconnected, toxic food depresses the frequencies of your mind and spirit as well as your body.

Besides food, thoughts and feelings that are toxic will interfere with your ability to rise into the peaceful and enlightening realms of spiritual awareness. For example, being exposed to negative news material that incites division between people will take them further from the underlying reality that all life is essentially one.

It comes as no surprise that raising your frequency of consciousness has a healing effect on your body, but here is one surprising discovery that supports that simple truth in a powerful way. Viktor Schauberger (1885-1958) was a natural science pioneer who, aided by his keen sense of intuition, observed that mountain streams purify themselves of toxicity. He observed that the meandering flow of mountain streams includes vortex eddies, which are areas of circular motion.

We now know that the key to explaining why vortex motion purifies water lies in realizing that the circular rotation of a fluid vortex induces etheric energy down its axis.

Toxins exist within their own frequency range. When they are carried in water and then the frequency of the water is sufficiently raised, the toxins can no longer manifest in either physical or pre-physical etheric form.

The energy-raising effect of adding etheric energy actually transforms lower frequency toxins out of existence!

Waterfalls are another cause of purification in mountain streams and rivers because oxygen is a ready carrier of etheric energy and the aeration caused by the waterfall allows oxygen to add energy to the water.

No wonder a brisk walk in fresh, oxygenated air produces such health benefits!

Fresh fruits and vegetables are typically sprayed with insecticides and herbicides. These are poisons which, while they are insufficient to kill large bodies like humans, still contribute to one’s overall level of toxicity. It seems strange that such foods are called “regular” while the non-poisoned, unsprayed alternatives are given a special name (“organic”) which makes them sound like the irregular option.

One’s level of toxicity is further enhanced by unfiltered, fluoridated water and airborne smog. Processed foods are a major source of toxic chemicals. Just look at the ingredients on the label, especially the mysterious chemicals with long, unpronounceable names!

Now that we know that toxins lower the frequencies of our bodies – physical, mental and spiritual – we can more easily guide ourselves into healthy choices in life.

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 Terez Hartmann

Let nature remind you of the BIG picture.

When you are in a concentrated environment where you are outnumbered by trees and animals, have you noticed that there is a sense of well-being that truly dominates the air around you? Trees, plants and animals live in a much clearer and more consistent state of allowing, ease and flow than humans, so it is no wonder that unless you enter nature-prevailing settings kicking and screaming, you always come out feeling better than before you arrived.

Whatever your view is of the “pecking order” of nature and the animal kingdom, I, for one, could not imagine life without it. Nature is and has been my playground, my sanctuary, my church, one of my great loves, and the thing that helps bring me back to myself, even during times of the biggest contrast in my life when all else has failed. I could not even begin to count the ideas, songs, writings or solutions that have been inspired by spending time out in nature. For that reason, I am thrilled to encourage others to experience the infinite gifts our great Mother Earth has to share with us every chance I get!

Though this is one tiny article to express ideas and tools on this BIG topic, the thing that I would most love to impart is this: If you truly want proof that there is something far bigger than your temporary point of focus, want to absolutely know that beauty, harmony and serenity can be found no matter what, and that all this talk about “we are all one” can be experienced viscerally and personally, get out, listen, observe and be in the magnificence of the natural world. And just as the many masters before you, you may discover a truth and unconditional, direct connection to well-being that has the power to carry you through any human trial or tribulation.

The Natural Perspective

The next time you want to chill, discover solutions, or tap in to inspiration, get a “natural perspective” on life:

1. Go to a nearby park, beach, forest, etc. where the sights and sounds of nature are dominant.

2. Unplug from the fray by turning off the cell phone/tablet/computer, etc., along with any external conversations, and just let yourself be where you are. (It’s much easier to hear when you stop talking!)

3. Relax your body and mind by choosing to “see” the world through the lens of a favorite animal/bird. Imagine peeking through the eyes of an eagle, horse, hummingbird, butterfly, dolphin or other animal of your choice. What would you feel and experience? Take this journey in your mind and you just may find an incredible level of stillness along with powerful insights that leave you with even more than you bargained for!

4. Do one (or all) of these things on a daily basis for at least 30 days just for the joy and serenity it gives you.

5. Keep a journal/make a note of the ideas and insights that follow these experiences.

Allowing time daily for natural perspective with no other agenda than feeling good could be just what the doctor ordered for a well-being tune-up, and can translate into more benefits than you can possibly imagine.

The Bottom Line on Allowing Connection through Nature

Whether you are writing a computer program, working with a client, crafting a work of art, building a new business or raising a family, it is good to remember that more than any minute detail or fleeting moment, it is the overall intention and BIG picturethat matters most.

Perspective is perhaps the greatest gift that spending time in nature can give us: The sun continues to rise without someone making a phone call or scheduling it on a calendar. Oxygen continues to flow—whether or not someone posts on Facebook or tweets about it. Even on cloudy nights, the stars are ever-present, serving as proof that there is indeed more to be known, perceived and discovered.

Get out. Go in. Remember who you are and the BIG picture of this beautiful life on planet Earth.  It really is human nature, after all.

“When I see the eagle rising in the sky
 I remember I was meant to fly…”
—From “Remembering” ©2012-14 TTRH

Terez “Firewoman” Hartmann is a Visionary Creative & top-rated instructor, Law of Attraction & Allowing YOUR Success specialist, published author, speaker, singer-songwriter, recording & performing artist & composer, “Catalyst for Fab-YOU-lous” and true Renaissance Woman who has already helped over 10,000 students in over 130 countries allow success and live life on FIRE. She is deeply passionate about helping other Powerful Creatives and Leading-Edge Thinkers live unique, empowered lives on their terms by cultivating the courage to dream, to express themselves boldly & authentically, and to focus Onward, Upward and Forward into new possibilities. http://www.terezfirewoman.com

By Arielle Giordano

How to let go of the fiction and stand in your truth.

Within every person lies their own life story, with their own unique interpretation of past and present events. Over time, we add meaning to these events and create our own stories. Eventually our interpretations become perceptions that prescribe our outlook on life. But sometimes we can misinterpret certain events or situations and become the captive of our own misguided perceptions, as our real identities remain trapped inside us.

The stories we tell ourselves can be like our personal bodyguards, which protect us from being authentic and real. When we put up a barrier, such as blocking ourselves from being able to connect with others in love, we cannot express our true self and find deep meaning in life.

Authenticity is being vulnerable at any price. When you lack inner transparency, you are disconnected from your deeper levels of being and your true objectives and passions. When you allow your inner self to surface and express, you are being genuine. Stories insulate you like a soft cushion, preventing real communication and meaningful interaction with others. When you are free from your own subjective stories, you can stand in your own truth in today’s polarized world. You live without attachment to likes and dislikes—good and bad—and accept pain as a part of life.

Your deeper levels are available if you stop comparing, justifying and suppressing. If you cannot move past these mental exercises, the lens that you are seeing through is filtered by stories that prevent you from objectively seeing and experiencing reality. You will carry forward personal narratives created by past assumptions, pressure, difficulties and—especially—pain. In this case, your life is an illusion hiding behind the curtain of a narrative that does not serve your personal growth.

It’s time to set yourself free from the stories that hold you back from living a full, rich, interactive life. Let go of the assumptions that keep you shut down and locked away from love and meaningful connections with others. Free yourself by understanding that your story is a fiction novel. Unlock your heart knowing that you can rewrite the book at anytime from a new point of view.

Editor’s Note: This excerpt is from Arielle Giordano’s book, Dancing with Your Story from the Inside Out.At the end of each chapter, Arielle offers personal journaling and conscious reflection in conjunction with free-spirited dance. She prescribes a practical means to self-discovery through fun and creative expressions. Together, the journaling, reflection, and dance assignments help unlock our stories and set our true selves free. Find out more at: https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Your-Story-Inside-Out/dp/1945812060.

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 Jo Mooy

How a $20 gift to an old, homeless “mother” made for the best day ever.

It was the week before Valentine’s Day. The crush of people, and their cars that usually fill the parking lot outside the grocery store, were not yet up. It was too early in the morning for them. For me, it was the best time to shop. I buy a large cup of coffee, perch it on the basket, and stroll through the entire store buying produce, bakery and deli items and exit before it fills up with “snowbirds.”

I was already dreaming of being back home and sitting on the lanai with the coffee and reading a book when I got out of the car and heard a scratchy voice singing an unknown song. I thought to myself, that song makes no sense. Even the words seemed made up. Then I remembered that my mother did a similar thing. When she did the dishes or worked on some project, she sang or hummed similar songs known only to her.

Looking around, I searched for the sound. It was coming from a picnic bench on the sidewalk down a ways from the entrance to the store. Sitting on the picnic bench was a disheveled form, with matted hair, (once curly) sticking out from a ski cap, hunched over a torn paper bag. It was an old woman eating a meager breakfast out of the bag. Her foot was hooked around a shopping cart that was filled with her life possessions. Black plastic bags vied for space with a broom, a dirty pillow, and a boom box from the 1980s. It was attached to a white extension cord that was plugged into the store’s outside electrical outlet. She was singing along to whatever song was playing on the boom box.

She never looked up as I walked past her towards the store entrance, but everything about her and the scene she portrayed was etched in my mind because she was the second older homeless woman I’d seen that morning. The other one was lying on the ground in front of the UPS store. The singing woman stayed on my mind all through the shopping trip. I had the means to buy everything I needed for the week. After the weekly shop, I was going to a safe home with a full refrigerator, a lanai overlooking a lake and a flower-strewn garden. How did I warrant that while she had nothing? Was it karma? The vagaries of life? Choices made? The lack of choices?

At the line to the cash register were all sorts of Valentine’s Day goodies to purchase. Heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and bouquets of flowers filled the aisles. Glossy over-sized and too expensive sappy cards competed for the attention of shoppers. By the time I got to the register, the store was filling. Bagging up my purchases, talking to the cashier, and paying with a credit card, I’d momentarily forgotten about the homeless woman outside. I was also in a hurry to leave the store and get home before the traffic jams began.

As I wheeled my cart down the sidewalk, she was still sitting there by herself at the picnic table bench. Other shoppers walked past her. Many left the “safety” of the sidewalk and veered into the roadway so they wouldn’t have to get too near her. She never looked up at any of them but all of them looked away from her. I hoped she didn’t notice that. Or perhaps given the condition she was in, she no longer cared. Her entire focus was on the pastry she was eating out of the paper bag and the song on the boom box.

What’s going on in our collective consciousness that we all turn away from those who are down and out? The questions on karma and life choices floated into my mind again as I headed in her direction. She carried everything she owned in a Publix shopping cart. She had a broom that looked well used. She had a pillow wherever she rested her head. She was having breakfast al fresco in one of the most desirable U.S. cities to live in: Sarasota, FL. In a way, she may have been better off than many of us.

Something made me stop as I went down the sidewalk, and I turned my back to her. I never carry cash but that same “something” made me open my wallet and look inside. There, between my driver’s license and Medicare card was a $20 bill. It wasn’t much, but I knew I had to give it to her. Before my mom died I would have easily spent that and more on the flowers, or the box of chocolates or the ridiculously expensive Hallmark cards for her. Taking out the $20, I tucked it into my palm, and pushed my cart towards hers.

As our carts came together I stopped. This time she looked up at me. I put the $20 into her rough gnarled hands and said, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mother!” With crumbs falling from her mouth, her glazed eyes looked into mine like I was an apparition. Then she realized she had something in her hand. She looked down at the $20 bill and she began repeating, “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God” while looking up at me and down at the $20. I nodded and repeated, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mother.”

Saying “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mother” to a homeless woman wasn’t thought out. The words spontaneously came out of my mouth. Driving home I wondered if “The Homeless Madonna” might have been a gift sent from my mother. I decided it was because helping the homeless was something she often did at her church. The Homeless Madonna gifted me that morning with the best day ever!

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.

By Mark Pitstick, MA, DC

A lesson in the theory of reincarnation and the big picture of life.

Four prominent men believed in the concept of reincarnation. It just made sense, they said, and explained many mysteries of life. It seemed to be part of a universal plan that conserves energy and knowledge from one lifetime into another. They believed that never-ending, but periodically changing, lifetimes would assist soul growth. These men found that model to be a guiding light in their lifetimes. They are highly respected in American history, but you may not have known about their beliefs. Who are they? Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and General George Patton.

Reincarnation is the theory that we experience not just one, but many lives in the course of eternity. Although this concept may seem strange or foreign to some, it answers questions that people of all ages have wondered about.

When I was 10 years old, I sat in church and looked through the stained glass windows while the minister talked about heaven. “One day,” he said, “we will all walk on golden streets and play golden harps forever.” Even at that young age, I thought: “Wouldn’t that get old after a while?”

Think about it with an open mind for just a moment. How long could you play a harp—even a golden one—before you would be ready for a piano, guitar or even an accordion? Novelty and challenges make life more interesting and rewarding. A concept of never-ending, but sometimes changing, experiences seems so much more likely than a static state of eternal existence.

Once a word has become well-established in a culture, it is difficult or impossible to change its intrinsic meaning. I use various synonyms for “God” and “soul” because those words have such firmly entrenched and limiting meanings. The same challenge exists for the word “reincarnation”; it isn’t ideal for several reasons:

1.         Some people associate the word reincarnation with the occult or cults. That term can negatively trigger those with conservative religious beliefs and those who haven’t researched the topic for themselves.

2.         It implies a linear series of interrupted lives, deaths and rebirths. But some evidence suggests life is a seamless series of experiences amidst eternity.

3.         It suggests that we experience being different people in chronological order and separate places. However, some evidence suggests otherwise. For example, evidence for parallel or simultaneous realities indicates that your energy does not have to manifest in just one place at a time. Part of it energizes your current physical body, but another part might be experiencing other formed or formless possibilities. In addition, part of your consciousness might never have left home/Source. From this vantage point—as the old children’s song suggests—life is but a dream. Reality may be more accurately understood as a series of virtual reality experiences as your energy visits other times and places.

As such, I will alternately use the following word combinations as synonyms for reincarnation: cyclical lifetimes, multiple lives, varying life experiences, and never-ending but periodically changing lifetimes.

Let’s discuss three common models about the nature of life, and then next month we will examine clinical and other evidence for this view of reality.

Model A: If you are like many people in Western cultures, you were taught that your life started with an earthly birth date. Your time on this planet can last from a few minutes to many years, and then you die. Then a long sleep in the ground until some judgment day, or an instant visit to the pearly gates. Finally, a judgmental God consigns you to heavenly delight or burning torment forever.

This model is full of problems. For example, how fair is it that your brief earthly experience determines your fate forever if you were: molested, raised by alcoholics or drug addicts, influenced by atheists, struggled with mental illness, or had organic brain damage? I consider this model to be a kindergarten understanding of reality.

Model B: The concept of varying life experiences throughout eternity makes more sense and is supported by contemporary evidence that will be discussed next month. A model of cyclical life experiences allows for the eventual evolution of all beings. We each have more than just this one earthly visit to learn and grow.

Reincarnation is a vast improvement over the conventional teachings of model A. To extend the analogy, model B is like a high school understanding of reality. However, this model appears to be only relatively true because it implies dualism and all that goes with that.

Richard Bach’s character in the book Running from Safety perhaps said it best:

“Do you believe in reincarnation?”

“No. Reincarnation is a series of lifetimes, isn’t it, one after the other, in order, on this planet? That feels a little limiting, it fits a little tight across the shoulders.”

“What fits you better?”

“An infinite number of beliefs of life experiences, please, some in bodies, some not; some on planets, some not; all of them simultaneous because there is no such thing as time, none of them real because there’s only one Life.”

Model C: This most accurate description of reality indicates that life is an uninterrupted series of experiences throughout infinity. All life is seen as sacredly interconnected with outward differences being trivial and transient. Ultimately, life is an eternal dance of energy as Creative Mind alternately manifests Itself. Each seemingly separate aspect of consciousness is like a single cell within One Mind. New scenarios and adventures are endlessly created as Life discovers its fullness.

In this model, physical death is not viewed as the beginning of a long sleep. Life is seen as an uninterrupted process as death opens new doors into the next phase of forever. Time and space are understood as being only relatively, not absolutely, real.

For those who are awakened to the big picture of life, death can be especially seamless—like walking from one room into another. Birth and death are realized to be no big deal, just commas amidst a never-ending sentence. We can best reveal our inner light and special talents when we realize our real selves are birthless and deathless. This is like a graduate school level

of understanding reality.

Class dismissed.

Author’s Note: Get ready for the second lesson. Next month we will explore evidence of reincarnation from past life regression therapy and the clinical work of researchers including Dr. Ian Stevenson and Dr. Brian Weiss.

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.