Speaking of Spirit

 Photo (c) 2016 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas Long before her death, my mother told me that the yellow butterfly was her sign or symbol.  She said, "When you see a yellow butterfly, it will be me."  After her death, a yellow butterfly has visited me often.  The serendipity of these sightings is often so poignant as to bring me to tears.  Skeptics, on the other hand, tell us that we see signs and symbols because we want to see them. They say that our need to have some kind of proof causes us to find an answer where there really isn't one. This may be, however, there are times when things happen, when signs appear where the variables are simply too high to brush off as matter of fact. In my life, I have found signs and symbols that could not be reasoned away on multiple occasions. Allow me to give you an example of the most recent event.  My daughter and family were on a river in Maine with her husband's sister and her family. The boys were playi...

Over that past two weeks, the stories of love and compassion shared with our family and friends have been extraordinary.  My brother, Barry touched the lives of others in so many ways.  During his eulogy, I said that his life was a mosaic - broken pieces held together with hope, faith and love. After hearing all the stories about Barry, I can see that Love was the glue that made a difference. You see, Barry believed in treating everyone from prince to paupers the same. The mosaic of Love Lessons from Barry's life can help us all learn. Here are a few that really touched my heart. When a young woman and companion was stuck in a parking lot with a car that had broken down, Barry and his niece saw them, lent a hand and developed, on the spot, a life-long friendship. When Barry was recovering from a liver transplant, his donor needed help on the farm. Barry went...no questions asked. As Barry was battling from stage 4 lung cancer, he learned of the cancer diagno...

Photo Art: 2019 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas “Who needs superheroes when you have a brother.” In this life, we each have something to learn and something to teach. I believe this. One of the great teachers of my lifetime, my younger brother, Barry, was also one of the greatest superheroes I have ever met. As a lifelong student, Barry, struggled at times, but never gave up. Once he learned a lesson, he shared it with everyone...and I mean everyone! (which is how he became an amazing teacher...no degree...simply a naturally born teacher) His elevation to superhero came after his struggle with liver failure five years ago. After a liver transplant from one of his best friends, (who was a closer match than Barry's male relatives) he dedicated his life to giving back to others and helping as many people as he could.  This week, he joined the Saints when his battle with cancer came to an end.  The following are lessons, our Barry taught with great abandon! Lif...

In many traditions around the world, we are taught to be in the moment, to "be" now.  However, as history has shown us (and is still showing us) if we fail to remember the past, the future is doomed to repeat old patterns. Only by remembering what was can we find the secret door to a stronger, healthier, safer and more abundant tomorrow.  But, how can we do that, while being in the moment? A conundrum for sure! To start, we need a different perspective. Time is not linear as most people imagine, nor is it circular.  Rather, time is spiraling. By changing that perspective, we no longer see ourselves wandering along a long, straight, infinite road to and from nowhere.  Alternately, we no long see ourselves traveling in circles that never end - chasing our tails like the Ouroboros. Instead, we realize that we are traveling a spiral that can take us higher or lower depending on our perspective.  Therefore, the perspective we want to take is one of awareness ...

Talk to the Hand (c) 2019 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas Did you know that holding grudges can make you sick? In a New York Times article, Tim Herrera talks about how people keep grudges and how this can cause them serious illness.  The opposite of a grudge is forgiveness. Forgiveness is the gift you give yourself. There are very good reasons why I say this.  Dr. Frederic Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project said,  "Holding onto a grudge really is an ineffective strategy for dealing with a life situation that you haven’t been able to master. That’s the reality of it. Whenever you can’t grieve and assimilate what has happened, you hold it in a certain way.  “If it’s bitterness, you hold it with anger. If it’s hopeless, you hold it with despair. But both of those are psycho-physiological responses to an inability to cope, and they both do mental and physical damage.  “The hopelessness shuts down and dampens immune response, leads to som...

(c) 2019 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas According to studies gathered by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in 2016, 20.4% of Americans suffered from Chronic Pain.  That means one in every five people has chronic pain from one source or another. Chronic pain is caused from various conditions - disease, trauma, environment. Living with it is hell. Most people with Chronic Pain look healthy. Many of them appear to go through their day happy and content. Usually, if you ask, they will tell you they are fine. They tell the medical community that they "have a high pain tolerance." This means that they have learned to live with Chronic Pain; therefore, until the pain reaches unbearable, they just keep moving forward.  People who live with this condition begin and end every day in pain. Their days look something like this: Upon waking, they can't loll around in bed. The weight of the sheets and blankets hurts. Their joints are on fire. The attempt to stand up ...

  As I sit typing this, I can hear the marching cadence rolling off the brick walls of the high school as the bands leave for the annual Memorial Day parade and services. For the first time in a long while, I am unable to attend, not because the weather is bad, it is a gorgeous day out, but because the pain in my body is at the scream level. So, rather than deplete my limited resources more, I opted to stay home and write. With over 65 years of accumulated life experiences and wisdom, there is one thing I know, absolutely - Freedom isn't free.  In my family alone, there are hundreds of men and women who gave their time, their energy and their lives to allow us the freedom to have a day off. What saddens me is that too often the purpose of this day is forgotten in the opening of cottages, the barbecues, the beach parties.  In the last twenty-five years, I have seen fewer and fewer young people come to honor our fallen military members. But what is worse, fewer and...