Speaking of Spirit

 Entwined  (c)2020 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas   This is the Truth... All beings that draw breath on this planet are connected. We all come from the same Whole. We are diverse and ever-changing. We are Family - a dysfunctional family - but Family, nonetheless. Some of us have lost the insight of our connectedness. Some of us have become so mentally, emotionally, and spiritually sick that we can no longer remember who our true Parents are. Some of us have been so oppressed, abused, diseased, tortured, and forgotten that we live in constant pain, fear, and terror. Some of us enable the dysfunction. Some of us make excuses, find loopholes, look the other way. Some of us have nothing, yet understand the Truth. Some of us look evil in the eye, daily, yet understand the Truth. Some of us sacrifice everything for the Truth. Some of us see the Light within other beings and kindle their flickering spark of Truth. This is the Truth... You are Loved. You ...

Baby Cardinal Outside My Window (c) 2020 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas   "The older you get, the less sleep you need."  This maxim was quoted to me in my youth by many of my elderly family and friends as an explanation of why they would be "up with the birds." Thing is, I never believed it to be true since many of them took long afternoon naps!   That being the case, I find myself up with the birds today. The sun has hardly crested North Sugarloaf Mountain, and I am wide awake wondering why. After all, at 5:45 it is still fairly dark. The birds singing didn't wake me because I can't hear them until I put in my hearing aids.  So, why am I wide awake?   Some people believe that waking early is a call from Spirit to rise and commune with the Divine.  Not sure if this is so, but I do know that when I find myself up and about in the wee hours, I usually use the time to pray, to write and to appreciate Nature.    Even in the semi-lig...