Monthly Archives: March 2009

Last week one of our newsletter readers sent us a question about prayer. She wondered if praying does any good at all. Or is it just an exercise in frustration and futility?

John Cali

Here’s our reader’s letter:

“Hi John and Spirit,

“Thank you for the years of support and truth.

“I would like to know about the purpose of prayer. I have prayed for people and thought that this would keep them protected and secure in the physical, and yet they still get hurt and leave the physical unexpectedly.… Read more

I’m on the board of directors of a local community service organization. Last week at our regular board meeting we were chatting before the meeting started. The chat turned out to be more interesting than the meeting itself.

John Cali

Besides being on the board of directors, I also write and publish the organization’s newsletter. But I’ve been so busy lately I’ve missed a few publishing deadlines. So the other board members wondered why, out loud, and rightly so.

I told them I’d been very busy with my work.… Read more

An old friend of many years and I recently started walking on weekends up in the foothills south of our town. It’s a break from our busy schedules, a chance to catch up with each other and to relax in the natural splendor of northwestern Wyoming’s rugged Rocky Mountains.

John Cali

In the foothills you can see nearly the whole valley below, from the gently rounded Big Horn Mountains on the east to the raw rugged peaks of the Absaroka Mountains on the west.… Read more

One of the Washington Post’s headlines yesterday read “U.S. Downturn Dragging World Into Recession.” How does that headline make you feel? Insecure perhaps? Scared?

John Cali

BTW, in keeping with Spirit’s frequent advice about not reading “bad” news, I didn’t read the article. But the headline intrigued me.

Most of my life I was a “security freak.” I wanted absolute certainty in my life. In an effort to achieve that I planned everything out in advance. I had a ridiculously detailed written 1-year plan, a 5-year plan, a 10-year plan, and far beyond.… Read more

I know that’s a strange title for a newsletter article. But those of you who’ve been with us a while know I can come up with even stranger titles than that one.

John Cali

Last week I was at a meeting of a community service organization I belong to. One of our speakers gave a short talk on health. The first thing he said was “Have you checked your blood pressure lately?” Hence the title of this article.

The speaker launched into his talk with a brief history of his personal physical health.… Read more