The Spark

I rang out the old and rang in the new year being with some members of my soul family. We broke bread, got further acquainted, and discussed what work we were meant to do at this special time of being in flesh on the planet.

I’m meeting more and more of my soul family, and my recent introduction to one woman was particularly meaningful to me. With an instant comfortability, we had much to converse about. And, we were each a sounding board to the other, with hearts wide open.

Spending time with my soul family and this woman in particular, I now feel the tiny little spark of the Divine rekindling. The timing is no coincidence as the day before I had committed to myself to start the new year anew, mainly with increasing my time growing my relationship with Spirit and spending more time being rather than doing, two ideas that for me are intricately related.

Setting my alarm clock last night, I knew that I had turned a corner – I would not procrastinate to get up when morning arrived. My enthusiasm to spend time in the Silence and any other practice that Spirit guided me to do to get my day off on the right foot (be in fit spiritual condition) would propel me out of my warm bed.

And so it was. I feel refreshed, with a new energy and passion, with a closer connection to Spirit.

God speaks to us directly and God speaks to us through other spirits having a human experience. I’m grateful for the messages and love I have received and continue to receive. Most of all I am grateful to be back on track on my spiritual journey, fanning that divine spark to grow ever stronger.

Thank You, thank You, thank You – for the year anew, life anew!

Laughing With God

“How do you make God laugh?”
“Tell Him your plans!”

I had much to do today, but Spirit had other plans. As I was taking the butter out of the refrigerator to make some breakfast this morning, I felt a sharp pain in my lower right back. In that instance, my plans for the day, and perhaps for tomorrow, changed.

Rog helped me into bed with the hopes of relaxing my body. He brought me a client’s manuscript to read, water to drink, and a Lara bar to eat. What more could I need? Rog took good care of me, checking in periodically to see how I was feeling and if I needed anything.

With some energy work and other remedies, this physical body is healing and feeling better. I’m not sure that it’ll be in shape for a planned trip to tomorrow, one that involves loading and unloading the truck and about five hours of driving. But that’s tomorrow.

I’ve had to let go not only of my plans, but other things as well today. As an adult I’ve not been one to be sick very often or laid up in bed, out of commission. And those few times I have been, I usually handled it alone. Having Rog administering to me has been such a treat; I am grateful for his being here, his calming help, his love. A channel of God's.

Rog’s aid brought up old childhood memories of feeling like I was a burden to my mother. Before I had my tonsils and adenoids removed, I frequently got sick and the school would call home for my mom to come and pick me up. I’m giving that one up to Spirit too!

I’m sure it’s no coincidence I’ve been reading about receiving and the difficulty many people have with it. So, I’m releasing any issues about receiving, and enjoying all that Rog is giving to me.

I’m letting go of the past, being prepared for something big I feel Spirit has in mind for me with the historical world changes coming. I’m letting go of my little plans and looking to God for His. Yep, God’s going to have to find something else to laugh with me about!

I am open to receiving. I am receiving now. I am receiving all the wealth that Spirit has for me now. Thank You, thank You, thank You. And, so it is.

Family

Some client/friends of ours referred a close friend of theirs to us to build his website. Bill and I hit it off immediately, then strengthened the comfortable connection by confirming that we were both friends of Bill Wilson. Our first phone conversation lasted 45 minutes.

When Rog and I met Bill in person, it was another meaningful conversation, building a business as well as social relationship. The three of us work great as a team and even though it may be Bill and his wife Catherine’s business, we feel like we are part of it and their family.

Family... Rog is family along with an aunt, uncle, and cousin back in the Big Apple. Add a few close friends who are not local, and my family is pretty small. When I add in my OA family it’s bigger, and with 12 Step folks in general, it’s huge. I am blessed.

Family... Well, you see, while Bill is American, Catherine is French. With her family members living in France, a few years ago the couple decided to leave America, and settle on a farm in the south of France. Their homestead is the natural gathering place for Catherine’s family.

Bill has been in the States a lot during the last three years, handling financial and business matters so that he can truly transition to life as a Frenchman. Bill had plans to fly back to France today for a family reunion on Catherine’s side and then return to the States within the week. But being away so much from his beloved wife and children has taken its toll, and with business matters pretty much settled, now it has been decided that Bill will remain with his family, his home in France. Little did he know that the family reunion he was going to would turn out to be his own! I’m so happy for them all.

Some people we meet feel like family and it’s probably because in some past lifetime they were! I feel Bill is like a sib, and we both agree that it’s probably because we were family members in the past. I will miss his physical presence here, but thanks to email we’ll easily stay connected. Besides, we have his website to work on!

If it hadn’t been for us moving into web work, our friends contracting with us to design their sites, and then their referring Bill to us, we’d never have met Bill. With little time left to connect unbeknownst to us all, Bill and I connected over such a thing as websites.

Spirit can and will do anything to get people connected, and in this case it was just in the nick of time. It was no coincidence, but a carefully orchestrated plan to get family members reconnected. I am so grateful. Thank You, Spirit!

Bon voyage, Bill, and vous allez avec Dieu!

Clients Sent by God

It’s been a delightful day meeting with interesting clients, discovering who they are in order to accurately represent them when I build their website.

I enjoy learning what we have in common as a way to connect and lay a foundation for a fun, cooperative, productive working relationship.

But what I really get a kick out of is who God is sending our way to work with. Of the clients who have flowed into our life during the past 6 weeks or so, most are small business owners with a spiritual bent that they wear on their sleeve. They are healers and they are people looking to help others.

It is an honor and a pleasure to meet these folks. And, of course, it is no coincidence, but simply part of God’s plan.

Thank You, Spirit, for the wonderful people you place on my path. Thank You for the lessons they teach me and the love they share.

God Signs

I was surprised Monday night when, at the Gilbert Spirituality meetup, a friend arrived with a gift for me and I in turn had a gift for her.

The gift was the book “When God Winks on New Beginnings: Signposts of Encouragement for Fresh Starts and Second Chances” by Squire Rushnell. Sue knows how important signs or synchronicity is to me for my connection to Source and I was touched by her thoughtfulness.

The timing of this gift is synchronistic for it has meaning to me as Rog and I stay open to what Spirit has in mind for us as we make a big change in moving north.

Rushnell defines “godwink” as “a personal signal or message directly from God, sometimes as an answer to prayer, and often mislabeled as coincidence.” I, for one, do not believe in coincidences.

The day following the meetup, Rog’s friend was guided by Spirit to introduce himself to some friends of friends, who it now seems we were destined to connect with as well. Spirit worked out the schedule so that we could lunch with those folks today on their way through Phoenix. We were comfortable with one another immediately, discovered we have had common experiences, and are very much like-minded in our view of Spirit and what’s going on in the world and on the planet. Total strangers (so it would seem) - instant friends.

I think that all the parties in this story would agree that Spirit was at work and that there is a plan for us. We are being moved along on our path as events flow, and God winks to guide us and encourage us to keep on keeping on in the midst of challenge.

Signs of Hope

I recently started using Craig’s List as a tool to get clients for my computer-related projects business.

Through me placing an ad under “Services”, I received a call from a woman writer down in Tucson who said in her voicemail that she thought I was exactly the person she’s been searching for. Those words, coupled with her name, Felicity, and her warm, bright energy, made me feel Spirit was very much involved in our connecting. Felicity signs her emails “Love and Light...”

I’ve also used Craig‘s List in the reverse way, i.e., searching for people who have advertised that they’re looking for someone for a particular “Gig.” I started searching in the Phoenix area, and moved to other Arizona area listings. Then I was inspired to check out the Big Apple, my former hometown and “The City That Never Sleeps.” Sure enough, there were plenty of listings there for me to offer my help. I’ve since moved on to Dallas and Chicago as well.

I connected with a NJ company president of an on-line vegan restaurant in need of help with his e-newsletter; Michael signs his emails “Peace Blessings & Joy...” And, I have a telephone appointment scheduled tomorrow with a design magazine firm that donates a portion of its revenue to an organization dedicated to improving poverty through design.

This has been such a wonderfully enriching and eye-opening experience. I am connecting with people throughout the country (and it’s only just begun!) and connection is about Spirit. I cannot realistically think that the type of individuals I’m meeting up with is coincidence - it is synchronicity, the way I came to believe in God. And, these individuals clearly care about other beings and the planet, and have an awareness of Spirit.

It is an honor to meet up with them, and a hopeful sign for the future of the world. People caring, people sharing, people attuned to God. We are One.

Forgiveness

Last night I decided on the topic for the next Gilbert Spirituality Meetup – forgiveness –, wrote a little bit about it, then posted the Meetup.

Tonight I was looking online for a prayer to post on my blog since I’m tired and it is much later than I’d like it to be. I stumbled upon the story of St. Patrick, and how apropos since today is St. Patrick’s Day! But even more ‘coincidental’, is that I learned that his story is one about forgiveness.

He was actually British and when he was 16-years old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and placed into slavery. Years after escaping, only through the alchemy of prayer, was he finally able to transmute his hatred for his captors into eventual forgiveness. Patrick's religious experiences along the way led him toward the priesthood. He came to believe very strongly that it was God's hand that first took him to Ireland, and that God was calling him to return. So after Patrick became a bishop, he journeyed back to Ireland, but this time by his own free will, on a mission of love and mercy.

But could it also be ‘coincidence’ that the very next page I came upon was an article by Leonard J. Ross about the power of forgiveness ? I think not. Most people who know me know that it was through synchronicity that I came to believe, and I do not believe in coincidences.

Yes, I know about the power of forgiveness and I know about synchronicity being a method in which God sends me messages. So, it’s clear that my forgiveness work is still to be in the forefront of my life at this time.

So much for using someone else’s prayer tonight to post a blog!

Dear Spirit-
Thank You for Your clear messages of where I need to focus my inner work.

Showers of Gratitude

Often when I’m in the shower – just me and the delicious warm, wet water, I take time to talk to Spirit. It can take the form of prayer, chatty conversation, and/or soulful singing. I cherish the time and can sometimes forget that the water meter is ticking.

I showered this morning right after I got out of bed, before having my quiet time with Spirit, not my usual habit. So I made sure that I took time to be with Spirit while cleaning my physical body. I started with a “Thank You for this day, thank You for my life,” then started sharing a gratitude list.

Lo and behold, when I got to my reading time, Unity’s Daily Word focused on gratitude. I like the synchronicity of that – especially since another reading stated “We will experience no coincidence today. All situations that transpire...have their purpose” (From In God’s Care, January 7). Also, I like the additional enforcement for my consciousness. Thinking of what I’m grateful for is always an uplifting experience for me - and I suspect for most everyone.

So here’s the full reading from the Daily Word – enjoy!

Today's Daily Word - Wednesday, January 7, 2009
GRATITUDE
With an attitude of gratitude, I attract greater good into my life.

I am grateful for all the good in my life and aware that by being grateful, I am attracting even more good to me.

Gratitude is more than just thankfulness. It is a deeper awareness that because God is present within every person and situation, ultimate good is also present.

As I begin each day both in the awareness that God is all good at all times and with the assurance that I am one with God, I have the strength, patience, and faith to face any situation. My gratitude increases with each prayer of faith and each acknowledgement that wherever I am, God is.

I thank God for this day and for all the good it holds in store for me and for those I hold dear.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God."--Colossians 3:16

My Story Continues...

[Continued from Yesterday’s Blog]

The day I departed for my first trip to Europe with six weeks of sobriety and 12 Step recovery under my belt, I had planned to work a good portion of the day and then leave directly for the airport from my office. I was delayed (ya know, just one more thing...), and rushed out of the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan hoping I would not miss my flight; I did not.

The plane was boarded, an older gentleman sat down next to me, and then he started making a fuss about the luggage under our seats. Nonetheless we settled in, the plane took flight, and before I knew it, my fellow traveler was placing a copy of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous into the pouch in front of him! Excited and feeling an instant connection with him, I turned to him and told him I had a copy of the Big Book with me too. Thus a dreaded 7-hour flight to Rome sped by as we talked in the same language about the Program, our feelings, and our experiences.

This was synchronicity at work for numerous reasons and I chuckled that:
. In this plane with 300 or so passenger seats, a member of a 12 Step Fellowship was assigned to a seat next to me
. His unmistakable membership in this anonymous association was revealed to me (and early in the trip)
. Peter was an American (like me) from the northeastern United States (like me) in a planeload mostly full of Italian-speaking Romans
. Last, but certainly not least, Peter was a Christian missionary stationed in Rome!

The significance here for me was strong. I was not left alone, new in my sobriety and new in my traveling to Europe. I got to enjoy the company of a ‘man of the cloth’ whereas up until this time, I had looked askance at ‘such people.’ Also, this came at a time when I was actively searching for a higher power. I walked off that plane onto another continent with a new attitude, my perspective shifted.

Upon hearing this story, my dear friend Jay (a member of the AA Fellowship) said to me “Even you, Joyce, have to admit this had to be more than a coincidence...” Indeed, even I. I chuckled, knowing (and glad) that my evolving conception of a higher power had a sense of humor.