Oleg guides me on a “Make ‘Believe’ ” path

Once Upon a Time . . .

Continue reading

Unconditional Love; Language we all Know

     (The baby looked up and, for the first time, acknowledged the Presence of another Being.

Continue reading

Labyrinth opens a hidden maze inside me

     Walked a Labyrinth and stepped back into the Vietnam War last night.

     Trouble is . . . I liked it. Did not want to leave the maze despite what lay ahead. Strangely, I felt “safe” there. Secure in my “skills.” Didn’t want to come home. Just like years earlier.

Continue reading

See you in a ‘next life’ Sombitch Rooster

(Cont’d from series on a-mean-rooster)

        Dropped Sombitch Rooster off in a wooded area near a weed and gravel-covered path leading to an Urban Homestead with rows of corn in what appeared to be a good-sized farm enclosed by a six-foot “mesh” fence and a locked gate.

Continue reading

Animals feel freed after Rooster’s absence

     An eerie silence greeted me as I opened my bathroom door, stepped inside, and looked at the window facing the yard.  I had just woken up. This, the first morning without a rooster in my daily life.

Continue reading

Reading and Writing Open Different Ways

     Who are we but a bunch of words? Letters strung together, broken up in efforts to make sense of a message we try to convey.

Continue reading

Revenge could change, once ‘you’ change

      Never thought “revenge had anything good to say about itself. It’s a negative trait. Falls in with Anger, Rage and “getting even.”

Continue reading

Step into a reality governed only by ‘Now’

Imagine there were Two Realities

Continue reading

Taking First Steps on the Kabbalah Path

Let me give all of my Blog post readers a hint at what my next Spiritual Journey will Involve:

Continue reading

Goin’ to farm; pick blueberries barefooted

      Cousin Rosemarie Lieb.

Continue reading

Explore the stillness found deep within you

     I Find a Vibrant Life in Stillness

Continue reading

Renewal can come Once a Month in Life

Once a Month, You Deserve to Die.”

Continue reading

Spirituality’s fun, whether you like it or not!

     Something’s wrong. I shouldn’t enjoy this much fun in Life.

Continue reading

Don Quixote battles PTSD in Philly courts

     I never felt more like Don Quixote than when I represented a woman charged with a crime.

Continue reading

‘Evidence for Mister God?’ Look Around

          Vivienne,  you asked what I liked about the book “To Mister God, this is Anna.”  All of the following are the direct quotes of the author Fryn, also known as Sydney Hopkins:

Continue reading

The Gospel According to Bobby Darin

     Wasn’t sure a Gospel Song would fit in with Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) at a music appreciation meet last week.

Continue reading

Answer is Within, 2nd Coming Proclaims

The Gospel Writers got it All Wrong!

Continue reading

‘Divine Madness’ Reaches Out To Me Daily

Divine Madness

Continue reading

Go Within & Awaken the Meaning of Life

I found the Meaning of Life while meditating with a group at the Resiliency Center in Ambler, PA this morning.

Continue reading

Connect to ‘Mother’ for Enlightenment

                         I saw the “Observer” of my Thoughts the other day.

Continue reading

All’s Well that Ends Well With a Not Guilty

Part II cont’d from jury-trial-first-day-on-the-job

     Sometimes, while trying a case to a Jury of 12 people, a transformation would take place when I least expected it.

Continue reading

Jury Trial Faced My First Day on the Job

You gotta be careful for what you wish for . . .

Your Dream just might come true. Over. . . and over . . . and over again.

Continue reading

Listen to the sigh; might be saying ‘Let Go’

     I feel a bit of God in a good healthy sigh.

Continue reading

City differences create a variety in my life

Cherry-Chocolate

Soda

I’d give anything to taste the flavor of a that drink again.

     Not the ones from a bottle. A soda fountain drink! Nothing compares to the delicious mixture of “realchocolate” and cherry syrups combined with that seltzer-like substance that produced a drink that could have originated only in Paradise.

Continue reading

Al Brown Taught me a Lesson of a Lifetime

     I always looked up to Al Brown. I met him when I was only eight-and-a-half years old in the 1950s.

Continue reading

Bliss arises in cherishing of another’s woes

     An African American woman showed me how to take on the suffering of the world during a five-day retreat on perfecting perpetual peace in my soul.

Continue reading

‘Do the Right Thing’–do what’s right for you

Part II from Escaping-Brewerytown

       The moment of truth came down to one question: “Who else was with you?”

Continue reading

Escaping Brewerytown in 1 Piece Not Easy

     I never took my eyes off the gun. The man’s hand shook. I was afraid it would go off. Raising my own hands, I prayed that he would not shoot, and said “I’m coming out,” slowly climbing out of the window, placing one foot on the ground and then the other as I exited the ACME supermarket warehouse building two blocks from my home. Continue reading

Love generates within for no reason at all

I Tasted Love before I ever “Entered” an Age of Reason.

     I had not reached 7, but I remember it as if it was yesterday. I was attending a birthday party for a friend of my brother, John, who is two years older than me. Her name was Carolyn, and the love I felt came from her sister, Regina Gross, who the older kids enjoyed “fixing up” with me, her school classmate.

Continue reading

‘Garlic’s Imprint’ Holds Many Limitations

     A friend dreamed she could not swim well in water and had to return to the shore or face peril. It seems the dream reflected her real life. (See “To Be Me.”) She said she was not a very good swimmer, and she wondered why — even in one’s dream — we impose such limitations on ourselves?

Continue reading

‘Sound Bath’ Calms & Heals us with Love

      I feel a healing begin, as tears form, and I am so grateful to release what’s building inside — something so wonderful it becomes too good to contain.

Continue reading

Love & compassion’s for all God’s creatures

     Did not know what a Buddhist sangha could mean to me, until four of us aspiring students focused on a multi-colored insect at lunch, discussed its past and future life-aspects, and showed compassion to a sentient being whom we might have swatted away before gaining our insight on Sunday.

Continue reading

I’m heartily sorry for having offended thee

     “Michael J,

     The biggest lie you ever told was that you could say something about sexual orientation and not hurt someone whose way of life might be different from yours.

Continue reading

Courtroom awakens karma understanding

 One of the most humbling times in my life occurred in Court.

Continue reading

Going back home sans the Maidenform bra

      What’s the biggest lie you ever told?

Continue reading

Values don’t change in impermanent world

      I was 18 when I asked Janet to marry me, and she turned my request down flat.

Continue reading

Saigon Lady offers wisdom at check out

       Saigon Lady taught me about Life and Buddhism last night.   

Continue reading

Dance floor good place to learn to play ball

     Two girls fought over me once.      Continue reading

Hit upside the head provides a life lesson

     The detective hit me across the face with a back hand, and I knew I was in trouble.

Continue reading

Hopping Trains Fools No One but Myself

I’ll Never Hop a Train Again.

Continue reading

Dream of Smith’s Playground Inspires Me

     Childhood long gone, I’d dream about the “monkey swing” at Smith’s Playground whenever I wanted to achieve something worthwhile in my life.

Continue reading

Blogging creates craving when ‘Net’s down

        I’m hooked. Couldn’t go an hour without needing a “fix.” I wonder how many others this phenomena effects? And how dangerous this addiction could be to my health?

Continue reading

Unconditional love comforts a Buddha cat

     Sundance sneezed five times. Shouldn’t have surprised me. I felt” I was helping her as she lay across my legs, jettisoning hundreds of microscopic objects onto my leg and arm where her small furry head had just rested.  Continue reading

PTSD Creates New ‘Cause and Condition’

Causes and Conditions

Continue reading

Remember to enjoy the ride getting ‘there’

        I Entered the “Twilight Zone” Yesterday.

Continue reading

Getting ‘Fired’ up for Singing Debut on TV

      Mister JR Johnson fired me when he caught me entertaining” friends at his place of business.

Continue reading

Time to get back into the swim of life now

Thirty-Six Laps!

     The “kid” still got it. Swam 36 laps this afternoon, the first time I’ve exercised in four months.

Continue reading

Mary’s Tears help Battle Flashbacks of War

       The only thing that seemed to help Mary was the tears.

    The act of crying seemed to “loosen up” and cushion the fear and anxiety that would strike her unexpectantly. Every time she’d hear a siren, she’d feel her chest tighten, her palms sweat, and her heartbeat race. Twenty minutes” she’d say and look at a watch or a clock. It will all be over in 20 minutes. The world as she knew it would all be over. Destroyed by nuclear war.

Continue reading

Immigration Stories Hit Close to Home

   Inspired by an open letter my friend Kim prepared for politicians, I started to think about some immigrants I have known in my life.

Continue reading

Answers to Questions about Vietnam War

This Veteran tells a Student about the War

Continue reading

Old love songs morph into new spirituals

Never Knew Some Songs were Spiritual

Check Them Out:

Continue reading

A soldier bows in salute to heartfelt words

A Soldier, and No One Else!

Continue reading

Light shines here from a tip of the candle

     Veterans Can Share Understanding of War

      ‘Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle, illuminating the way for the whole nation.   

Continue reading

50 chews per bite is goal, not meals’ end!

The Outcome Doesn’t Matter

Continue reading

Imperfect clergy always been kinda cool

I could never be a clergyman.

I curse too much.

Damn it!

Continue reading

War guilt haunts veteran year after year

Premonition of Something Bad Arises

Continue reading

Merging Two into One Okay, Michael J

“Belief in God, and

following Buddhism

is not incompatible.”

Continue reading

Grief Delayed me while in Military Service

I was in the Army less than a week when the news hit me. I had my head shaven; my civilian clothes exchanged for fatigue pants and a shirt, not to mention boots and headgear, something I had never worn before in my life.

Got drafted on the Third of June, the day that Billie Jo McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge! I was 19 years old in 1968 — knew no one — and was away from my Philadelphia, PA, home for the first time.

Continue reading

Hudson River Magic Calls me to Omega

      Got a check for $9 in the mail yesterday. It was for travel expenses on a trip I took five months ago. It came to me like magic. I must have lost it in the IKEA store of Conshohocken, and it just appeared out of nowhere for my return trip.

Continue reading

Be ‘Gentle,’ not Meek, to Inherit the Earth

      Ever meet someone who wanted to grow up “Meek?”

     You know, as in “the Meek‘ shall inherit the Earth?”

Continue reading

Old warriors share PTSD woes with young

      Never thought of myself as a “warrior.” Wasn’t that a term used by Third World tribes or ancient civilizations building empires on one war after another?

Continue reading

‘Sutta Nipata’ Calls me to Omega Institute

     Will return to Omega Institute this week for a 5-day Retreat to meditate on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) with veterans led by the Rev. Claude AnShin Thomas, an ordained Buddhist monk and a Vietnam War veteran.

Continue reading

Jump at Chance to Finally Let Your Self Go

John 13. Verses 3-4 says:

“So during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.”

Continue reading

Meditate and it will ‘erase’ all but the Now

Ruby,

     You tell me you wish that we could have an eraser in our lives to go back and “Erase Our Mistakes.”    

Continue reading

Writing clears up the ‘clogged up’ space

Josie,

     Writing opens my sinuses.

Continue reading

Always Look Within, To Now See Outside

      A long red light usually gets on my nerves while sitting in traffic, but time went so quick just now. I’m exploring the World of a Mystic.

And fit right in!

Continue reading

Put a finger on ‘Sa Ta Na Ma’ Meditation

     Got a quick “fix” for you. But don’t try to finger this hit” unless you’re alone, or with someone you trust.

Continue reading

Loving, Longing, Yearning for My Beloved

     When will I see my Beloved? To feel arms surround me, a touch to comfort me, the warmth of an embrace to shelter me from any harm man can devise against another.

Continue reading

Need spiritual evolution now, not hereafter

     Don’t want Catholicism, Protestantism, or Judaism. Don’t force me to become a Hindu, a Muslim or even a Buddha. Let me form a “Me-ism,” a spirituality that takes a lot from all the above and blends it into what I feel inside when I’m alone and away from the “Shall Nots,” the 84,000 teachings, and a belief that the “hereafter” must be better than the present.

Continue reading

A body speaks its mind to free and heal you

     I felt free for the first time in a long time today. Dr. Jodi Schwartz-Levy conducted a Somatic Therapy session for four practioners, and each walked away with all expectations met. And then some.

Continue reading

Take a risk; a new you may emerge from it!

      A card turned over as I accidentally moved my hand to uncover four other small cards randomly picked from a tray on the carpeted floor. Sitting in the Lotus position with a legless “cloth” chair to support my back, I leaned over to read the card.

Continue reading

Recalling a Few (25) of My Favorite Things

    I wish all of our days could be filled with memories of the greatest moments of our lives. None of mine would go down in history or make it into Guinness Book of World Records.

Continue reading

I Dig Chicks: All Eight that Just Hatched!

     Eight chicks broke out of their shells recently, as we turned the bathroom in our Conshohocken, PA, home into a temporary chicken coop.

Continue reading

2010 Time Capsule: Nick’s HS Class Trip

       Saw you off on your class trip, and while we parted on a bad note, my son Nicholas, I want to leave something to perhaps get the sour taste out of our mouths.

Continue reading

Fowl Locked Up after Spiritual Book Bash

      The rooster rushed me as I turned my back. I had just gotten two paperback books from the mailbox and was preparing to feed him.

Continue reading

Make yourself a clean, well-lighted place

     There’s nothing like a clean, well-lighted sink.

Continue reading

After 40 Years, I Learn About “Nothing”

    It took me some 40 years, but I think I finally realized what John Lennon was saying in one of the last songs he wrote and sang with the Beatles.

Buddhist Teaching of ‘Nothing‘ is Everything 

Continue reading

Writing the old-fashioned way inspires me

    Got inspired to write while working on my third cup of coffee. I wait the 90 minutes I’ve given to a meeting I scheduled at IKEA in Conshohocken, PA, for Highly Sensitive Persons (HSP).

Prolific is as Prolific Does.

     Haven’t seen hide nor hair of one. An HSP-er, that is. Got the book by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. propped up at my table: “The Highly Sensitive Persons – How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You.

    Just noticed the author trained at the Jung Institute in San Francisco, CA. Did not know such an institution existed. It ties in nicely with Jung’s book on dreams that I read. Actually, I “studied” Jung as I began a 6-week daily dream-interpretation journal on Feb. 13, 2009. It was a Friday the 13th.

    Still have all the writings. They’re buried somewhere in the house along with insurance papers, VA (Veterans Administration) documents, and a year’s worth of collected junk. Got to get them together and compiled like I recently have done with six months of Blog entries. Maybe add them to the 2-week, non-stop journal writing I pushed myself to do while at an in-patient program for veterans at the Coatesville (PA) VA Medical Center the summer of 2008.

Combat Veteran Problems Not Easily Shared

  •     When a veteran opened up to me, I wrote about their ailments, their suicide attempts and their bouts with alcoholism and drugs.
  •     Will have to change their names for confidentiality purposes, although the journalist inside of me cries out to keep those facts for posterity and history.
  •     But some people could be hurt if I mentioned names, particularly, that of one fellow, whose exploits on the battlefields of Vietnam and the streets of Philadelphia make for the most colorful recollections of any warrior I ever met.
  •    Has a nationally known and celebrated brother who might see such a story as an exploitation” of secrets left better untold. At least until parties who could suffer were no longer with us to suffer.

    Stay Tuned, but Don’t Expect Anything Too Soon.

   Instead, enjoy the “post entries I composed today (March 24, 2010) while sitting here waiting. Dug pretty deep to come up with some good recollections, if I do say so myself. They included an “out-of-body experience,” a mystical realization that there is no ‘there’ there,” a modern-day “miracleinvolving the VA, my “greatest weekend” ever, the tale of “Dr. Roach,” and of course this minor offering.

    Was I just “killing time” while simply “Waiting for Godot?” (Like in the play, no one showed up during my wait in real life.) Or did I open myself, allowing inspiration to visit and whisper, getting me to recall things the old-fashioned way, with a long hand,” a pen, and a piece of paper?

Now is when path and goal merge as one

      I entered the world of the Mystic while sitting on a bench at the foot of my bed in what seems a lifetime ago. It lasted only a moment. But the realization struck me like a bolt of lightning.   

Continue reading

Remembering the Greatest Time of my Life

      What does your first memorable kiss, and then scoring a break-away touchdown and opening to your Higher Self all have in common?

Continue reading

Acupuncture pitches ‘halvies’ to a Vet

Had an “Out-of-Body” Experience.

Continue reading

‘Yes’ you can ‘Whirl’ & ‘Close’ to a Jury

          My “performance” complete, I drop to my chair, taking deep breaths, trying to avoid showing what the past action has cost me.

Continue reading

Dolphins display love as human escorts

Hung over. Tired. Hard to get out of bed.

Continue reading

Allison’s creating colors for life’s canvas

     Allison,

     Hold onto to it. (That feeling of bliss that you can find only in the quiet.)     

Continue reading

All life needs is a Warm Touch to Survive

Saw a being come into life today.

Or was it life come into being?

Continue reading

Kim, you Inspire me to Lose Meaty Issues

     You never know where your thoughts may take you when you blog. A reply to another’s post may become your “post of the day” if you’re not careful. Or, if another person writings inspire you to reveal yourself . . . Continue reading

Governor destroyed in the dark of a dream

A judge destroyed the governor, while I survived an explosion before winning a civil rights case in court.

Continue reading

PTSD’s permanent address is at my home

     Compensation and Review Board is the name given to a panel of persons with the Veterans’ Administration that recommends whether a disability rating should be approved for a deserving veteran.

Continue reading

True Love can Quench Allison’s Desire #1

Your “Beloved,” is what you need. You yearn and long for Him, don’t you?

Always have, always will.

Continue reading

My Love Longs For Love For Ever More

     Some words, phrases, even entire messages look different through the lens of time. Take this feeling I expressed to a friend half-way around the world about the “yearning” I felt on reading Sufi poems for the first time.

Continue reading

Dance with Love where ever you find Him

      I danced a Sufi “dervish whirling” at the Buddhist Center today.

Continue reading

New Worlds Open at the Turn of a Page

     A door to the possible mysteries of life opened slightly yesterday. My friend, Joy, introduced me to the Kabbalah.

Continue reading

JhanaJian Skypes My Wild Imagination

     How often do we get inspired by the words of another? A comment? A reply? A post that moves you to go deep within yourself and pull up some heart-felt reaction to another’s idea, image or creation?

Continue reading

Cat’s Meow: ‘Thank you, I Love you too!’

     I’m a “Cat Person.” Always been as far back as I can remember. Grew up with the felines rubbing up against the legs, “meowing” their concerns for the next meal or a friendly pat on the head and neck.

Continue reading

Let the sun shine with all our appreciation

(Cont’d from Sun shines to make up for snowed in winter)

Sun Shines Bright with Only One Eye Opened

Continue reading

Sun shines to make up for snowed in winter

     Played “peek-a-boo” with the sun and shade this morning. On the road from Ambler to Conshohocken, PA, I engaged Old Sol in a game the Almighty must have created for mankind’s appreciation. Why else would God — who caused the sun to come into being from some huge cosmic explosion — have invented shadows? It’s all part of His Love for us humans!

Continue reading

‘Rock Star’ Lightens the Hold on this Life

           I squeeze the malachite stone as if it was one of those “stress” balls used to relieve tension and exercise the forearm.

Continue reading

Malachite Rocks me & all of my Chakras

Con’td from Time travel a stone’s throw (or hold) away

     Never thought I’d experience a vision of prehistoric times while attending a “stone reading,” but that’s exactly what happened Friday. Continue reading