Unexplained ‘Pull’ leading me back Home

     A gentle “pull” manifested in my Life recently. I noticed it last night while driving and wanted no more than to live in each passing moment.

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‘I confess!’ I cut school with Franny O

       I’m going to confess. I played hooky in seventh grade and refused to “squeal” on the kid I stayed out of class with that day.

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Nature Provides Bird’s Eye View of Living

     There’s a true “pecking order” that’s developing in my back yard. And all I have to do is be patient and watch it unfold moment by moment.

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Kabbalah ‘Receiving’ Helps Me in ‘Giving’

          How can I divert pleasure I “receive” into pleasure I can “give?”

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You can’t make Promotions Your Life’s Goal

     You can keep the promotion. Wouldn’t take it, even if offered. Not if I have to make “achievements” my aim, to set a new “goal” in Life.

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“Start Over’ the instant you feel a need to

     Start over. That’s all I gotta do . . . Say it to myself and simply “START OVER!”

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Angels Appear as Earthly Messengers

(This story was created in October 2009 but not published in its entirety until now.)

      It’s just like heaven . . . Being here with you . . . You’re like an Angel. Too good to be true. When You are near me.  My heart skips a beat.  I can hardly stand on. My own two feet.  Because I Love You; I Love You, I Do

     ‘Angel Baby‘. My ‘Angel Baby‘. Oh, Ooh, I Love You, Oh, Ooh, I Do . . .  No One Could Love You . . .  Like I Do!            

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Concealing & finding self –a life-long effort

     Hello! Anybody here? It sure is dark inside. Like a huge cavern with hardly any light.

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Falling in Love with the Love of Your Life

     Fell head over heels in love the past few weeks. Didn’t want to do it. Had always gotten “hurt” in relationships, knowing from the start they’d come to an end one day. Love seemed to change that way. To peter out. End not with a “bang,” but with a “whimper.”

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Nysiros holds Secrets of Life and Death

     I’ll never know what drove Anthoula to take her own life.

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Angels Re-enter when You’re Open to ‘Em

     I started seeing angels again. No, hold off on the straight jacket, don’t reserve a room at an asylum. I’m not totally crazy. Yet.

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‘Open Your Eyes’ to a Journey of a Lifetime

      The snake slithered along the bed of the forest, winding its way beneath a pine tree. Climbing upwards, it twirled around the trunk, moving ever so slowly, centimeter after centimeter, as it sought the “higher ground” where it could shimmy onto a tree branch and make its way closer to my eye level.

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Women Elevate all our Desire for God

     Did the Creator make a mistake in His design of women’s “purpose?

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Can ‘spiritual indigestion’ be all that bad?

     Thought I was dying Monday morning.

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Weekend Euphoria Needs Time To Set

The Greatest Weekend — No.  II

          * Uncertain if my true love would ever be mine, I fell to my knees . . . praying for her affection. It was . . . a Sunday.

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When Coincidence Occurs, Look Out & In!

      Uncanny coincidences kept cropping up yesterday as I attended a gathering of one of those “Meet-Up” groups.

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Conspiracy of Love to Heal Us All, Now!

     Glenda “laid hands” on me; I lost track of who I was and why!

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‘Five Jaunts’ Create a Life-Long Harmony

     The bottle of Listerine spilled, and the car smelled of antiseptic. A ‘57 Chevy should never suffer such an indignation.

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Spiritual wars should end at a dinner table

Psalm 46:
 9 — He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 — Be still and know that I am God.

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‘None else besides Him,’ ‘none besides me!’

There is none else besides Him.”

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Looking for Self among all the wrong cards

     Who am I? Am I this body, this mind, this soul? Perhaps, all three?

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Even on bad days, music can lift me higher

     “The Crossing” filled me with sounds of the Rapture last night as I surrendered to the harmonies some 25 voices offered me on entering Heaven.    Continue reading

Won’t let go until animal instinct tells me to

     My jaws clamp down, insuring I won’t let go of what I just uncovered. It’s taken me for what seems forever to get my teeth around it, and I won’t give up without a fight. Even if I get kicked. Again. Square in the face where it hurts, but I’ll get over it.

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Hello! What would God do if He was you?

     Wouldn’t it be great to make a phone call and ask a receptionist to put you through to the Creator? The next time you have a problem, and you want to do the right thing, you could simply dial “G . . . O . . . D” long distance.

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Unconditional Love; Language we all Know

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

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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.

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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.

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Step into a reality governed only by ‘Now’

Imagine there were Two Realities

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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:

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Goin’ to farm; pick blueberries barefooted

      Cousin Rosemarie Lieb.

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Explore the stillness found deep within you

     I Find a Vibrant Life in Stillness

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

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

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Don Quixote battles PTSD in Philly courts

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

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‘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:

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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.

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Answer is Within, 2nd Coming Proclaims

The Gospel Writers got it All Wrong!

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‘Divine Madness’ Reaches Out To Me Daily

Divine Madness

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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.

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Connect to ‘Mother’ for Enlightenment

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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‘Letting Go’ Today Frees Me for Tomorrow

     Taking a step today that scares me. Going to become an “Initiate Buddhist at a morning ceremony. Do a prostration, touch my forehead to the floor, and recognize a Power greater than myself.

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‘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?”

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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.

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‘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?

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‘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.

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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.

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Freedom of Religion depends on religion

     Read some comments attacking the Dalai Lama on someone’s Blog which championed freedom of religion on its website.   

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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.

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Courtroom awakens karma understanding

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

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Going back home sans the Maidenform bra

      What’s the biggest lie you ever told?

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Values don’t change in impermanent world

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

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Saigon Lady offers wisdom at check out

       Saigon Lady taught me about Life and Buddhism last night.   

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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.

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Hopping Trains Fools No One but Myself

I’ll Never Hop a Train Again.

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Dream of Swinging on a Star Rings Out

Part II  Smith’s Playground inspires years later

     Reaching out with my right hand, I’d grab the metal ring. I would stand on my toes to pull it closer to the wooden platform I was balanced on.     

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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.

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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?

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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

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Remember to enjoy the ride getting ‘there’

        I Entered the “Twilight Zone” Yesterday.

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Getting ‘Fired’ up for Singing Debut on TV

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

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Cock-Sure Rooster Leads in Race to Hades

      They stood eye-ball to eye-ball, only inches away.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Old love songs morph into new spirituals

Never Knew Some Songs were Spiritual

Check Them Out:

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A soldier bows in salute to heartfelt words

A Soldier, and No One Else!

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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.   

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

The Outcome Doesn’t Matter

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Imperfect clergy always been kinda cool

I could never be a clergyman.

I curse too much.

Damn it!

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‘Cost of War’ Explodes at Omega Institute

      I loathe my inconsistencies on grief, and how I dealt with death and injuries while serving in the military.

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War guilt haunts veteran year after year

Premonition of Something Bad Arises

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Merging Two into One Okay, Michael J

“Belief in God, and

following Buddhism

is not incompatible.”

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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.

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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.

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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?”

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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?

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‘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.

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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.”

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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.”    

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Writing clears up the ‘clogged up’ space

Josie,

     Writing opens my sinuses.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Make yourself a clean, well-lighted place

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

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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 

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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.   

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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?

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Acupuncture pitches ‘halvies’ to a Vet

Had an “Out-of-Body” Experience.

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