I’ve heard it everywhere lately.

From participants in a recent retreat, clients, to friends and family I’ve heard versions of the following:

“It seems like the world is on fire!”

“ Why are people saying and doing the unthinkable?”

“ What the hell is going on?”

“Sometimes I’m afraid to even leave the house…”

I understand how they feel.

The wars, political rhetoric, gun violence and devastating environmental concerns are just a few of the challenges we all face. And when I search my own heart for answers, I know this for sure:

• War has never created long term solutions.
• Screaming at each other has never resolved issues.
• Violence generates more violence.
• Ignoring how we treat the Earth has consequences.

So what can we do?

I suggest we follow the example of the courageous souls I’ve seen who choose to center on love.

It’s important to note, these souls are not in denial of what’s going on. They...

“Everything responds to love,” is the phrase that came to me this morning as I woke up at 3:30am and thinking about our broken water heater and the mess I needed to clean up today.

“Well of course it does! Everything responds to love,” I muttered to myself as I lay in bed.

But what did that mean?

What did it mean to me, right now, dealing with a broken water heater, soaked carpet, possible water damage to several rooms, the plumber’s weekend schedule…and the cost of the clean up?

I decided to find out.

Still in bed, I prayed to be shown how to bring love to the water heater and the resulting chaos. Immediately I was told to “bring it to the Principles.”

So I did.

Taking a few deep heart breaths, I went through the Be Love Principles process I’ve taught for years. Silently I asked:

• Show me how to greet this situation with an open heart, without an agenda.
• Show me the divine essence here.
• Show me any forgiveness opportunities...

I get up each morning between 4 – 5am, walk to the kitchen, argue with the cat about how much breakfast she needs, then grab my journal and sit down to write before my meditation.

Recently my journaling took a new turn.

I began with a familiar prompt I learned from Robert Holden, “Love, what do you most want me to know today?”

I was surprised by the words that flowed from my pen:

“Lightness is key. Light now refers to density, brightness and feeling. Light in all forms. Keep checking in with your heart. Light and lightness is the key.”

“What does that mean?” I said out loud. A few minutes later, I decided to do my best to be aware of all forms of light in my day.

I periodically set an alarm to check in with my heart and consciously connect to the divine light within.

Walking past my window I noticed how the morning light sparkled off the front yard grass still wet with dew.

Before I ate, I asked, “What food brings me the most light...

Nearly 20 years ago I studied Reiki from a local spiritual teacher who saw how curious I was about everything. I remember her smile as she said:

“There are so many traditions and practices that will interest you. Feel free to sample them! The key is to find what you love and go deep.”

I’ve never forgotten her words and it’s played out in my life in several ways.

For example, I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean. I spent years watching famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau on TV and reading countless books on sea life. Since I lived near the mountains and my parents weren’t “beach people” I rarely even saw the ocean as a kid.

Then in my mid 40’s I decided to learn to scuba dive. I went deep. Literally.

On my first real dive into the Atlantic Ocean off the Bahama shoreline, I was “gob smacked!” My desire to “go deep” opened the door to experiencing and interacting with the ocean, not just reading about...

Easter has always held a special meaning for me.

My mother went into labor on Good Friday, and I was born in the early hours of Easter morning 1957, ten days after my parents had been told I had died in the womb.

My family said it was an Easter miracle.

As a student of A Course in Miracles, I’m into miracles. From the standpoint of the Course, a miracle is a shift in perspective from fear to love. And the best part of miracles?

They can happen every day.

Whenever I feel myself acknowledge my fearful thoughts or feelings (anger, resentment, stress) and meet those with love (compassion, forgiveness, presence) I experience a miracle.

When I open myself to this type of thinking, and ask the Divine within for guidance, my experience of life changes. While I may be dealing with chaos, instead of feeling helpless, I can begin to feel the true comfort, support and love that is always available.

Remembering that miracles can be simply a thought away is a daily practice for me. Learning...

qHow are you at saying “yes to new adventures?” I’ve always been lousy at it.

I was too busy, too tired, too stressed, too afraid…you get the idea.

What the heck qualifies as an “adventure” anyway? In my mind it was hanging off a cliff, jumping out of a plane, swimming in shark infested waters or some other equally terrifying and dangerous activity.

Imagine my surprise when I found out the truth.

An adventure can be all the scenarios listed above AND they can also be anything that challenges me to see from a fresh perspective, meet a new experience or face an old fear. And I can do all of that – when I remember to – with, and from, love.

Here are a few “adventures” I said yes to in the past two weeks:

• A long walk with a new friend in a local park to share life philosophies.
• Riding in cart as part of a small-town Christmas parade.
• Gathering with likeminded friends (old and new) on a frosty Sunday morning in our...

I wish it was easy for me to choose love in every life situation. It’s not. Sometimes I want to avoid a difficult conversation or pretend I don’t get scared when I hear disturbing news. Even with a consistent spiritual practice, I can still get triggered by a harsh comment, chaotic world event or when faced with a difficult decision.

After practicing degrees of avoidance, dodging, pretending and the occasional “forgetting” for decades, I’ve remembered the truth. All these tactics are simply an ego dance that keep me feeling constrained, stressed, uncomfortable and in conflict.

The truth is equally simple.

Every time I go within and ask Love for guidance on a specific issue or ask for help to react from love instead of fear, something miraculous happens.

There’s a shift.

Sometimes subtle, sometimes more pronounced but a definite shift to a feeling of peace. The shift is physical, mental, and emotional. My shoulders relax, the knot in my stomach...

I used to know exactly what the “right thing” was. In my younger years, and in most every situation, I had my opinion and felt strongly it was the “right” one.

Then I lived a few more decades and got a tad wiser. Not a Yoda by any means, but I gained the type of insight that comes from living life and through societal changes.

When I was a very young girl, the “right” thing was to send children to specific schools based on their race alone. As I grew into a teenager and young adult, I was led to believe the “right” thing was to pay women a lower wage than their male colleagues doing the same job. Well into my adulthood, the “right” thing was to only recognize legal marriage between heterosexual couples.

A lot has changed over the last sixty years and thankfully so. I’ve come to recognize that prevailing opinions shift based on societal norms, customs, spiritual practices and developments in science and technology.

So...

I was on a zoom call last week with two of my treasured “soul sister” friends. Among the giggles, questions, and loving comments we discovered a trend. Each of us were having up close experiences with…creatures. Whether it had fur, wings or was long legged and jumpy, we had all encountered signs from nature in the form of these nonhuman souls.

We discussed the spiritual meaning of each of the specific “visitors” and discovered how perfect each message was for the recipient. Coincidence? Not a chance.

One of my friends mentioned butterflies in her house. Many resources describe the butterfly as bringing a message of personal transformation, renewal, rebirth, and even elevation from earthly focus to a more spiritual one. According to Ted Andrews, author of “Animal Speak:”

“An important message carried by the spirit of the butterfly is about the ability to go through important changes with grace and lightness.”

I thought about...

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”  

 Viktor E. Frankl

This week my country celebrates July 4^th as Independence Day. The holiday marks the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the 1776 Second Continental Congress when my forefathers declared our freedom from Great Britain.

While the last few years have been cited as the reason many in America feel oppressed, in truth, significant swaths of our population have never been free. At least not like it was described in the history books I studied as a kid.

I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom. And who, what or in what circumstances I truly feel free.

I realized something.

My freedom comes from an inner sense of peace. While laws, ordinances and Supreme Court rulings can restrict my actions, movements and outside choices, my freedom lies in my ability to choose my response. As...