The Power of Pets by John Cali

Today is the birthday of my last dog, Schnapsi. He was born 22 years ago, and he’s long since left me. But he’s still here.

Sound crazy? Let me explain — or, rather, let Spirit explain.

Spirit

You never lose those you love. You can pierce the veil of death with your awareness that life never ends.

Death is an illusion you have forced on yourselves. It is no more an ending than birth is. It is simply a new beginning, a new phase of your lives — your lives which are never-ending, eternal.… Read more

What Is the Meaning of Our Dreams? by John Cali

A couple days ago a friend told me about a vivid prophetic dream she’d had. That night I also had a vivid dream. I was with one of my favorite cousins in a familiar setting — on the porch of the house in New York State where I grew up.

My cousin was making cynical, judgemental comments about a few people we both knew. I said to him “Why not assume the best about people?”

“Everybody?” he asked.

“Everybody,” I replied.… Read more

Reverence For Life by John Cali

posted in: Blog, channeling | 16

Last night I sat down at my desk to read an article on the human-animal connection. As I glanced at the article I spied a tiny, fuzzy, rather cute little bug crawling over the paper. Was that a “coincidence?”

My first thought was to squash the bug. But that was so contrary to my chosen way of life — I do not believe in killing animals, even bugs.

With bugs I usually pick them up with a special “bug box” I have.… Read more

What’s Your Story? by John Cali

One day as I was grocery shopping I happened to hear two ladies discussing their woes. I wasn’t eavesdropping, but could not help overhear them. They were not talking quietly.

Both were having health problems. They were describing their problems in great detail to each other. This went on for quite a while, and I finally moved to another part of the store, out of earshot.

I see nothing wrong with acknowledging problems, whether they be health issues or anything else.… Read more

Are You Stressed Out? by John Cali

One of the most common complaints I hear in my work is how stressful the world and our lives are. There’s too much to do, and too little time to do it in. There are so many distractions demanding our attention and energy. The world seems filled with bad news.

How can we avoid stress and find peace of mind? It seems an impossible task in an impossible world. But it’s far from impossible. Here’s Spirit.

Spirit

Your world certainly seems filled with stress almost everywhere you look.… Read more

How To Harness the Power of Meditation by John Cali

In private readings Spirit often advises people to meditate. I think that’s great advice. I’ve been meditating over 30 years, and it’s immeasurably enriched my life.

So how can you harness the power of meditation? I asked Spirit that question, and here’s what they said.

Spirit

The power of meditation lies in the fact it removes you from the distractions and attractions of your daily lives, for however long you meditate.

Meditation doesn’t have to take a long time. Even 10 or 15 minutes a day is fine.… Read more

The Price of Sensitivity by John Cali

One recent morning, as I was meditating, I felt a sudden, sharp, stabbing pain in my left leg. At first I had no idea what was going on.

The pain shook me out of my meditative state, and I got to thinking about what was happening. Then it came to me. A close friend was having some health problems, including sharp pains in his left leg.

I intuitively knew I was picking up from him the pain I was feeling. So I sent him love and healing energy.… Read more

8 Signs Your Ego Is Controlling You: Followup by John Cali

As promised, we’re doing a followup to our March 23 blog post, 8 Signs Your Ego Is Controlling You.

You may have noticed a common thread running through those 8 signs Spirit gave us in that post. To be honest, I didn’t notice it until I went back and re-read the post. That common thread is the lack of self-love.

So this week Spirit has given us some useful tips on learning to love ourselves more. Here they are:

  • Eliminate all self-criticism and self-judgement.
Read more

Spirit Speaks Revisited by John Cali

(NOTE: We wrote this many years ago, but never published the full article on our website.)

This past year has been a most fascinating and challenging one for me. As I look back on it from the perspective of hindsight, I realize how much I’ve grown — or, I should say, how much I’ve remembered. I’d like to briefly share with you part of my journey this past year. Perhaps something in my sharing will touch a chord deep within you — and help you, if only in some small way, along your path of remembering.… Read more

Question: Should We Put Ourselves First? by John Cali

We received the following question from one of our readers:

“Should we put our self first in all things, or are we supposed to put others first?”

Spirit

You’ve probably often heard these admonitions:

  • Think only of others.
  • Love others unconditionally.
  • Put others before yourself.
  • Be of service to others.

Those are noble-sounding sentiments. But they will guarantee you a life of misery and joylessness.

You serve absolutely no one if you do not serve yourself first. For it is only when you appreciate and love yourself first that you are empowered to fully appreciate and love others.… Read more

How’s Your Self-Esteem? by John Cali

I’ve been away from home the past 10 days. So this week we’re revisiting an earlier article on that perennial problem so many of us have — self-esteem. Read the article here.

P.S. We’ll be talking more about self-esteem in our blog the next few weeks.… Read more

8 Signs Your Ego Is Controlling You by John Cali

What is your honest opinion of yourself? If you’re like many folks it’s probably not very high. Sometimes, perhaps often, you struggle with low self-esteem, a poor self-image. You find it hard to draw on your own inner resources to feel good about your life. So you become dependent upon resources outside yourself to make your life bearable.

Does that sound familiar? Is your ego making your life hell on earth?

Here are 8 signs your ego is controlling you:

  1. You think poorly of yourself because of all your past “mistakes” and “failures.”
Read more

Does Life Scare You to Death? by John Cali

Fear is one of the biggest challenges we humans deal with every day of our lives. But is there really anything to be afraid of — anything at all?

Does life scare you to death? If it does, a change in perspective is in order.

Neale Donald Walsch talks about the emotion of fear in this delightful video.

Since I’m travelling away from home this week, we’re resurrecting an old article we published on fear. Appropriately, it’s titled “Fear.”… Read more

Fear by John Cali

(This article was originally published October 21, 2008.)

This past week we’ve had a broad and intense discussion of fear at one of our new discussion forums. A timely subject, given the state of our world today.

I’m sure most of us know one of the greatest fears people have is fear of death. We talked at length about this particular fear in the movie Tuning In. Another closely related fear is that of growing old.

A couple days ago, I came across an interesting article on aging and dying.… Read more

Buddhist Catholicism by John Cali

Does that title sound like a contradiction in terms? How can you be Buddhist and Catholic?

The Washington Post has been following the story of a Roman Catholic priest denying communion to a lesbian at her mother’s funeral. And then he walked out on the funeral mass. You can imagine the furor that set off.

Not only was the lady lesbian, but she was also straddling the religious fence between Catholicism and Buddhism. She felt at home in both camps.

Several publications had some fiery comments on the story, and raised interesting questions.… Read more

The Depression Epidemic: Followup by John Cali

We received some great feedback on our last blog post, The Depression Epidemic. The comments from one of our readers reminded me I had perhaps been a bit insensitive, albeit unintentionally, toward people who’ve found antidepressants helpful.

Here, slightly edited, are some excerpts from the comments, plus my responses:

Reader’s comments:

“I notice Dr. (Andrew) Weil is quoted as saying that drug-based medical solutions don’t work for half the people who take them. I am a member of the other half, and in my experience, when these drugs are appropriately prescribed, they do indeed treat the cause, rather than the effects, of severe depression.… Read more

Messages from the Animals by John Cali

One recent evening after supper I happened to look out into my backyard. Standing there were five small deer, grazing on the sparse foliage of that late winter day.

Deer are such beautiful, gentle creatures. I love watching them. We’re blessed to have so many of them where I live.

As the deer grazed contentedly I stood there admiring their grace and beauty. I sent them loving energy, and they immediately looked me directly in the eye. We held that gaze for several long moments.… Read more

Dogs and God by John Cali

Spirit has said our pets are often our spiritual teachers. Intriguing idea, isn’t it?
John Cali

In July this year we wrote an article, Heart to Heart. In that article Spirit said this:

“Animals, especially your domestic pets (as you call them) — and especially dogs and cats — are more often than not your teachers. They have little to learn from you. But you have much to learn from them.”

I know many of us dearly love our pets and often treat them as revered family members.

Read more

Heart to Heart by John Cali

Merle

Last week I finished reading a wonderfully uplifting book called Heart to Heart, from which I took the title of this week’s newsletter article. 

John Cali

The book, by world-renowned British animal communicator, Pea Horsley, was a gift to me from my dear friend Barbara Clark.

The book, as you might imagine, is about Pea’s work with animals. She’s not only a gifted animal communicator, but also a great writer. In her warmhearted way, she’ll have you alternately laughing and crying as she tells of helping people the world over find lost pets.… Read more

Self-Love by John Cali

A Gallup poll a while back reported 2 out of 3 Americans suffer from low self-esteem and, presumably, a lack of self-love. That’s nearly 70 percent of the USA’s population!

The poll didn’t talk about other countries, but I’d guess it’s about the same as in the United States.

There’s been a steady, years-long stream of folks suffering from a lack of self-love and self-esteem coming to us for private sessions with Spirit. There have also been some of my close family and friends who’ve talked with me about their lack of self-love and self-esteem.… Read more

Why There Is No Peace on Earth and What You Can Do About It: Snoopy and The Red Baron by John Cali and Spirit

Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete. There may have been a time when war served as a negative good by preventing the spread and growth of an evil force….if we assume that life is worth living, if we assume that mankind has the right to survive, then we must find an alternative to war. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Back in the days when I was a young pilot, Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strips were at the peak of their popularity.Read more

Self-Esteem by John Cali

A Gallup poll I recently read about said 2 out of 3 Americans suffer from low self-esteem. That’s almost a whopping 70 percent of the population!

John Cali

I’d guess the numbers are about the same for most other countries, though I don’t know for sure.

Other interesting facts about self-esteem:

Self-esteem expert and best-selling author Jack Canfield says the average child hears 432 negative statements every day, but only 32 positive statements.

The California Task Force for Personal and Social Responsibility has this to say:

About 80 percent of humans suffer psychological damage from words.… Read more

Declaration of Independence by John Cali and Spirit

posted in: Articles, Blog | 12

You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous (United States) citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. ~ Charles Austin Beard

flying eagle

Flying Eagle

I’ve had some interesting opportunities to play with the energies of relationships recently. So I wanted to briefly share my thoughts with you because they’re related to this message from Spirit.

Lately I’ve been paying attention to how I interact with other people.Read more

You and Your Soul by John Cali

John Cali

We received an intriguing question from one of our readers recently. Here it is:

Having given this quite a bit of thought, I am still unable to grasp what part our soul plays in our earthly experience.

Can you shed some light on this?

Spirit

First of all, friends, it’s important for us, at the outset here, to get clear on the relationship between you and your soul.

Your soul decided, before you incarnated into this lifetime, the where, the how, the who, etc.… Read more

Now Is All You Have by John Cali

About 25 years ago, when I first got serious about my spiritual path, I read all the Seth books. If you’re not familiar with Seth, he’s a spirit guide channeled by the late Jane Roberts in Upstate New York. Over the years, Jane and her husband, Rob Butts, produced many wonderful books of Seth’s far-reaching wisdom.

While some of Seth’s teachings went beyond my intellectual grasp, most of them resonated deeply with me.

I came away from reading and re-reading Seth’s books many times over the years with three major concepts.… Read more