Last month I had lunch with Jim, an old friend I hadn’t seen in many years. We spent some time catching up on each others’ lives. Then our conversation drifted to the state of the world today and what we can do about it, individually and in groups. How much responsibility do each of us have to make the world a better place?
Jim is successful in his work, which he loves. It requires him to interact often with the public.… Read more
Two weeks ago we wrote an article titled Through the Eyes of Fear. This week, we’re taking on a more lighthearted topic, as you probably guessed from our title. Instead of talking about fear, we’re going to talk about fun. Sound interesting to you?
In this newsletter, I’ve talked before about the Roman Catholic Church I grew up in. I have many happy childhood memories of my large, loving Italian immigrant family. But the Catholic Church does not hold so many happy memories for me.… Read more
Spirit has always said all sexual orientations are valid and good. That’s certainly not a popular viewpoint in our modern world.
I recently ran into former US Senator Al Simpson at a party in Cody, Wyoming. We both live in Cody and, since this is a small town, everyone seems to know everyone else.
He and I got to talking a bit about politics (not my favorite subject). But Al is a very different politician. During his eighteen years in Congress, he was known as an honest, diligent, caring senator.… Read more
Mark Twain, one of my favorite authors, said near the end of his life, “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
If you pay even scant attention to the mainstream news media, you know the world is riddled with fear today. Fear of high oil prices, fear of earthquakes and other natural disasters, fear of faltering national economies, fear of terrorists, and so forth.
Some days it seems everyone is running scared, anticipating only more gloom and doom in the days and years ahead.… Read more
Another weird article title from yours truly. But if you’ve been with us very long you ought to be used to that by now. 😉
Almost everywhere I’ve lived in this lifetime, I’ve had wild dandelions all around me every spring. Wyoming is no exception.
I love dandelions, even though most folks consider them pesky weeds. The flowers are pretty to look at and, believe it or not, they make great wine. The leaves are delicious as a salad with a little olive oil and vinegar, or as steamed greens.… Read more
Be SilentEven though I live alone and don’t often get out among people face-to-face, I lead a very busy life. This past Friday made me realize all that “busyness” is centered around my computers.
I love technology because it lets me do this work with Spirit from almost anywhere on the planet, even this remote area of the USA’s northern Rocky Mountains.… Read more
Are pain and suffering punishment for our misdeeds? If you believe they are, is it because of God — or karma — or what or who?
A good friend sent me an article she recently wrote, Wondering Why We Suffer. Here’s a short excerpt from her article:
. . . why do we suffer? What is the point in it all if not simply to learn we do it to ourselves? . . . It really isn’t ok to suffer, truly it isn’t.… Read more
We’re doing something a bit unusual this week — unusual for us at least. Many of you, especially if you’ve had a personal reading with us, know Spirit does not often talk about reincarnation or past lives.
Also, we’ve rarely discussed reincarnation publicly in these newsletters. But today we’re going to do just that.
We’re also doing something else slightly different today. Spirit and I are “co-authoring” this article. Let me explain.
Many years ago, a friend asked me if, when I was in a conversation with another person, Spirit was there and “participating” in the conversation.… Read more
In a recent interview Spirit said, “Dying is the easiest thing you will ever do.” A startling statement for many of us.
Startling because most of us are — pardon the pun — scared to death of dying.
In 1988 my mother died exactly the way she wanted. She always told her children she wanted to go quickly and painlessly. She prayed it would be that way. Then one day she was standing by her bed and, a split second later, she was lying on it, dead.… Read more
These past few years I’ve noticed, more and more, when people in my age bracket get together, the conversation almost inevitably turns to health issues.
People of a certain age, say forty and over, love to discuss and compare cholesterol counts, blood pressure readings, heart rates, etc. ad nauseam — with the focus being mostly on everything that can go wrong with our physical bodies.
Almost nobody talks about how good they feel, how healthy they are, how well their lives are going.… Read more
Spring weather doesn’t usually come to my part of northwestern Wyoming until late May or early June. This year was different.
Spring came in early April. In all the years I’ve been here, that’s never happened. April and May are often wintry here in the big valley where I live. Even early June some years.
We got little snow in the valley this past winter. So I figured the coming warmer weather would usher in yet another bone-dry summer, added to our ongoing eight-year drought.… Read more
Spirit often talks about joy as the foundation of our lives. This week we’re responding to one of our reader’s feedback on our April 2 article, “The Gift of Joy.” If you want to see that article again, here it is.
Here is our reader’s letter, followed by part of my response to her:
… Read more“I re-read your articles on Joy. Of course, I have read them before but as humans, we like things tough.
“I myself am currently going through a dark time.
We’re doing something slightly different for this newsletter. Since I’m traveling you’ll have to put up with just me this week. 😉 Spirit will be back next week or the week after.
This past week on my way home from the post office I saw a dead dog by the side of the road. The dog was a big, beautiful creature with thick auburn fur. I sent a silent prayer of love to the dog’s spirit.
Several days later I passed the same spot.… Read more
About ten days ago I was at Frank’s Barber Shop for my regular haircut. As usual, I had a fun-filled time.
We’ve written about Frank’s in two past newsletter articles, “Down at Frank’s Barber Shop” and “Frank’s Barber Shop Revisited.”
I was Frank’s only customer that morning. Usually he has a shop full of people. So it was great just the two of us could chat. As usual, Frank was full of his funny stories and good humor. We talked about some serious stuff too.… Read more
Last week’s newsletter article, “How Do You Let Go,” created some excellent feedback. So we’re doing a follow-up to that newsletter this week.
Here is one of the letters we received in response to last week’s article, followed by my response.
… Read more“I don’t have time for a nice long reply this week but there is one thing I’d like to address re: CJ’s reply. I certainly agree with his ‘trying’ vs ‘doing,’ and then I’d like to go on to his ‘intending,’ as well.
In response to our newsletter article of February 27, “Letting Go,” we received some searching, heartbroken questions from one of our readers.
This is a longer letter than we normally publish. But I think our reader has asked some important questions, questions I know are on the minds of many people today. This letter, in my opinion, is one of the best and most intense “distillations” of those eternal questions echoing down through the ages.
Spirit’s response is far longer than typical.… Read more
I’m not sure why this is, but I hear more interesting conversations while standing in line at my local post office. This is a small western mountain town, and almost everyone seems to know almost everyone else.
One day at the post office last week, I overheard a conversation between two men who obviously knew each other. The first guy asked the other how he was doing. The second replied, “Well, if I wasn’t falling apart, I’d be doing fine.”… Read more
Two of our family members recently died. So I’ve been thinking about death lately. Though not in any morbid, depressing way — as strange as this may sound, I’ve almost always found funerals joyful.
Last week I was browsing through The Washington Post. I have no interest in all the negative news, celebrity gossip, political speculation, and that sort of stuff. But I do read articles I find interesting.
So it didn’t surprise me, since I’d been thinking so much about death, to find three full-length articles on the subject in just one edition of the newspaper.… Read more
As you may recall from last week’s newsletter, “Listening To Your Inner Voice,” I had technical problems getting it properly sent to all of you. In one of my emails apologizing for the mess, I described it as “a day from hell!”
That remark unleashed a flood of emails from you. You said I was being too hard on myself. Here are some of your comments:
I’m pretty health-conscious. I exercise regularly and watch what I eat. But I sometimes wonder if that’s enough.
I don’t pay much attention to the mainstream news media, but I do follow health-related news. I mostly read articles related to exercise and diet. Lately I’ve noticed an almost overwhelming amount of that information out there, some of it confusing and contradictory.
For example, one of the US government’s guidelines says you should do aerobic exercise at least three times weekly for a minimum of twenty minutes a day.… Read more
A dear friend sent me a beautiful and intriguing response to last week’s newsletter, “Perfect Partners and Soul Mates.”
I’ve started calling her letter “The Tennis Racket Technique.” For her, it’s obviously become a great way to clear out “past baggage” from her life. Maybe it will do the same for you.
Here’s her letter:
… Read more“This week’s message from CJ, et al, took this long for me to mull it over and become one with it. And I think it’s because during my formative years the responses to my feeling great about myself were always negative, i.e.,
With Valentine’s Day coming up next week, we thought this would be a good time to talk about romance.
Someone asked Spirit a while ago, “It seems like forever I’ve been searching for my soul mate. Sometimes I get so discouraged! Can you help me?”
I recently read a quote from one of my favorite people and teachers, Alan Cohen: “When you become your own greatest lover, you will have lots of competition for the position.”
I love that one!… Read more
One of the most frequent questions Spirit and I get goes something like this: How can I be free of my past traumas and all the negative feelings accompanying those traumas? The questions are usually more specific, but you get the general idea.
So many folks feel imprisoned, or at least restricted, by their past. And it can be the past of this lifetime or of other lifetimes. Seemingly, the past affects everything in their present — physical health, relationships, work, financial abundance, etc.… Read more
Many of you probably know Wells Fargo was, in the USA’s early frontier days, a stage coach company. Founded in 1852, they became part of the legend and romance of the Old West. Over the years they’ve undergone many changes, and today they’re one of the USA’s largest banks.
Now, you might be wondering what on earth Wells Fargo has to do with this newsletter’s focus. Well, nothing, at least directly. But there was an article last week in our local newspaper, The Cody Enterprise, about one of the town’s banks being taken over by Wells Fargo.… Read more
My ancient laptop computer died recently. So I bought a new one.
As I thought about all the software and data files I had to transfer, I realized it would be a daunting task. Not the transfer itself — that would be easy — but the “computer clutter” I’d accumulated over time.
Some of that stuff I hadn’t used, or even seen, in years.
When I moved to Wyoming some years back, I decided to simplify and “de-clutter” my life.… Read more