Speaking of Spirit

Over the past few weeks, I have been asked several times about how to stay positive in the face of all that is going on in the world.  As I have written before, I am not unaware of life's disasters and traumas.  In fact, I am more than too aware of them...aware enough to know that if I dwell on them for too long, my energy gets zapped. On my Facebook page, Changing the World with Waves of Loving-Kindness , I have tried to encourage people to begin their day connecting their heart to their mind, thereby, mindfully going about whatever it is they do.  When we do this, we start a ripple effect. A smile makes the day of the person standing in line with you.  They smile, which leads to others smiling.  The same is true with acts of kindness.  The simplest act of kindness can change someone's entire world. We often never see the results of our kindness, which is OK.  We shouldn't be doing kind things to see results, we should be doing them because it ...

As the sun shines into my kitchen-corner office, I write about an event that came as a soft whisper after a long day of difficulties and a video sent by a friend. In many ways, the whisper to do something to make things better has always been playing in the back of my consciousness, but on this day after one sad or tragic story after another, it almost reached a shout. So, listening, I created Changing the World , which is a Facebook event. During this on-going event, participants are asked to focus on the positive in prayer, mediation, affirmations, and even actions.  Do everything in Love, as Van Gogh said, and it will be done well.  Some doubt the validity of that statement, but science has proven it to be true! HeartMath was " founded by Doc Childre in 1991 to help individuals, organizations and the global community incorporate the heart’s intelligence into their day-to-day experience of life."  Scientists at the HeartMath Institute have studied how focusing on...

In Memory of Anne Marie Kasper Neas - who taught me to believe.  On April 21st of this year, I launched a campaign to create a Wave of Change to bring the girls from Nigeria home.  The idea came as a way to honor my Mother. April 21st is her birthday and the event ended on Mother's Day.  People from around the world joined me in prayer, mediation, positive energy and a variety of other means for connecting to Spirit.   Recently, someone ask what difference did all that effort make.  This person wasn't the only skeptic or critic.  I was also asked, "What if at the end of the event, the girls are still not found?" My answers is and always has been, "Yes, it makes a difference! and We will keep praying." Faith, Hope and Love are what motivated the Wave of Change Campaign.  From the moment that I first presented the idea to spend 9 days envisioning the girls of Nigeria safe and with their loved ones again, that Wave went from a tiny ripp...

As an adult, I have come to realize how amazing my mother was.  A woman way ahead of her time, she fought against discrimination of all types. She promoted acceptance and loving-kindness long before it was the fashion.  She taught be to open my eyes by way of my heart and really see a situation.  She gave me the gifts of music, art, poetry and literature when I was very, very young, teaching me to cherish them, always. On Sunday, as people around the country celebrate Mother's Day, I will be honoring my mother with the completion of the Wave of Change to Bring the Girls Home event.  I have dedicated this event to her memory, knowing that all the love that went into the past nine days began when I was just a child standing at my mothers knee. I pray that the young girls of Nigeria, as well as all the women and children that have been kidnapped, find strength in what they have learned at their mother's knee.  May they all return home soon and may the pai...

Photo Credit: By USAID Africa Bureau [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons From this Sunday until Mother's Day, I will be hosting an interfaith event - A Wave of Change to Bring the Girls Home .  People from around the world will be taking a few minutes of their day to visualize the girls from Chibok, Nigeria back with their families.  I have asked that people use whatever modality they use to connect to the Great Source of all Love - prayer, meditation, affirmation, song, dance, whatever works for you - and send a wave of loving-kindness out into the world with the intention that these girls be, once again, with there families - happy and healthy. All are welcome to join us.  If you are on Facebook, you can join the event at:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1378124079185158/ If you are not on Facebook, you can still join the efforts.  If you like, leave me a comment and I will send you daily inspiration.   Remember, one small pebble ...