Follow That Thought to Action

A few years ago my dad was experiencing dizziness so I told him about how I, too, have had some instances of vertigo.  This had happened to me whenever I had a sinus infection. I told my dad that I hadn't had any sinus infections since incorporating local honey into my daily diet, but he didn't know where to get local honey in his neighborhood.

Because I live 800 miles away from my parents, sometimes there is little that I can do to help. However, because they don't have Internet or smart phones, it was a place I could start.  I found a natural food store near them and called.  Unfortunately, their "local" honey didn't fit the guidelines, but the shopkeeper recommended I look up the local beekeeper's association.  What I found was a closed Facebook group of beekeepers which I was able to temporarily join.  In doing so, I was able to ask if anyone knew of a beekeeper local to my parent's zip code and, lo and behold, I got connected.

Not only that, this keeper had honey for sale!  Next, I reached out to my siblings and one of my sisters said her husband could go pick up the honey.  In the process, he and the beekeeper hit it off! Now my brother-in-law has several hives on his own property AND he is "local" to my parents.  All this from following through on one thought!

Of course, we all have thoughts like this that would get us started in a direction, probably a good direction.  And, with so much to do, and so many thoughts, how do we know which ones to follow? This seems like a good question to ask God*?  Let me know what you learn!
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  What do you do with random thoughts that seem to solicit a response of "I should look into that"?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH, pitcher plants native to PA
Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net)

Developing Your Inner Spirit Wisdom (A Reminder)

I thought today would be a good day to remind you about what I am teaching.  Specifically it is a way to use journaling to develop your inner spirit wisdom.  It's quite simple really in terms of the steps:

1.  Use a journal and write down whatever is on your heart on a regular basis.  I do this almost daily now but when I started years and years ago it was something I did every once in a while, then once or twice a week, and now I hate to miss it.  I am a morning person so I do it first thing or after a few chores.  It often starts off with what I did the day before or what's coming today but then I also get into what's bothering me or what's making my heart sing.  I might also write my gratitude list in my journal but not always.  You decide what time of day is best for you and what you include in your journal.

2.  When you think you have written out what's most pressing on your heart, write out the question "God*, what do you want me to know?"  

3.  Then write down what comes to you.  If you feel compelled to use a tool, use a tool.  Tools include things like meditation cards (I like the ones with one word on them), a book that you open up randomly and read what's on that page (I often use the Bible or Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill but nonreligious books work too). If you're not sure what tool to use, let the Spirit* guide you.

This is the daily practice.  It can take as much or as little time as you have.  Doing it often provides value because it gives the opportunity to look back over your journey.  You can look back over a period of time to see what was happening in your life and what your Higher Power* was telling you, often repeatedly.  Maybe you want to look at the last week, the same week from a year ago, the last whole journal.  Whatever time frame is on your heart is right for you.  Be a pattern hunter:  was the same thing on your heart last year, have you pulled the same meditation card 3 times in the last month, did you write about the same place or person?  Write down what you uncover.

The hard part is making the time to do the work.  For me, it has made a significant difference in that I have found an easier way to live, allowing the Great Spirit* to be my guide..  

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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  Why did you decide to journal or to not journal these questions?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by EJH in Ireland
Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net)

Dreams Provide Insight

Sometimes I have periods where I remember my dreams daily and other times not so much. Sometimes my dreams are rich and exciting and other times they leave me uneasy.  When I write them down in my journal and make an attempt to interpret them in writing, too, it can provide great value to the state of my spirit and what God wanted me to know.  The added value is that I am able to look back on my journey.

Someone once told me that everyone in your dream might actually be a different part of you.  So when I dreamt of me and two grade school friends in an industrial kitchen I considered they were all me.  I was going about my own business, one friend was picking up Madagascar cockroaches and putting them in a soup pot laughing all the while because they kept climbing back out.  The other friend was looking on agitated.

My interpretation was that sometimes I am frustrated when I backslide, sometimes I laugh at my humanness and sometimes I just keep moving.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, I'd love to hear from you and the community would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else; most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  Do you remember your dreams?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH of lichen and moss
www.cardinaltouch.net

You're Invited: Spiritual Journaling Classes in March

As part of the Growing in Grace program offered at Gloria Dei Church I will be teaching spiritual journaling the first three Tuesdays in March. Spiritual journaling is one of the ways I have found to be very helpful in developing my inner spirit wisdom.

Dates:  Tuesdays March 7, 14 and 21
Time:  6:45 to 8pm
Where:  Lower Chapel, Gloria Dei Church, 570 Welsh Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA
Cost:  Free
RSVP:  Please RSVP so enough materials will be readily available for participants

Come to one or all of these events.  Each session will start with an overview of the general practice and then the second and third week we will hone in on a particular type of entry. Specifically, week 2 will be journaling about our experience before and after doing a walking-with-a-word meditation practice and week 3 will be about desires of the heart.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, I'd love to hear from you and the community would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else; most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  Do you feel called to attend this program?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH

Losing

My mother-in-law gave me and her son a beautiful teacup and saucer with a plant arrangement inside it.  Eventually the plants died back and I took the arrangement apart, tape from the saucer to hold the cup in place, dead flowers and leaves, a green flower-arranging sponge in the cup’s bottom.  This left the saucer empty.  

Empty is how I felt because the gift was in sympathy.  We had lost a pregnancy.

I think of this teacup and saucer sometimes.  The cup was beautiful, with flowers painted on its sides.  I seem to remember a decorative silver rim around the saucer and the cup but I can never be sure.  I asked my husband if I could throw it away because it made me sad to look at it.  He did not hesitate to agree.

Years later I began my own business and I sold gift certificates as part of it.  For no extra charge I would put something extra in the packaging.  One of the first times I did this it was with teacups and saucers, found at thrift stores and yard sales.  I preferred ones with flowers on them and rims of silver.

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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, I'd love to hear from you and the community would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else; most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  Is there a loss, once too painful to look at, that you can view now from a different lens?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH of fallen tree in Pennypack

Career Pivotal Point I

     

In 2000 I was still working in Human Resources.  I had a love for recruiting people to places I enjoyed working.  It was still fulfilling, but the work was getting away from me because I had other demands.  I had two small children, endless resumes to look at, and constant turnover of staff who left with the experience I worked hard to give them.
In October that year I went to a conference where the keynote speaker was life coach Cheryl Richardson.  Her message contradicted the working world but was so much of what I wanted to hear.  She spoke about how we each needed to take time for our lives.  When I look back I think about the irony of the situation and I have to laugh.  Our companies sent us to this professional conference to hear a keynote speaker who said we should work less; indirectly, of course, but the message to me was loud and clear. Her question that so resonated with me was where and with whom did we spend the most time and would those people be at our death beds?  I worked in a hospital and my answer was even "no!"
For me, it didn't mean leaving the profession but one month later I did leave that employer to work for a company that had more resources which enabled me to work smarter.  I also signed up for Cheryl Richardson's electronic newsletter which gave me a checklist surrounding things like self-care and creating the life I wanted.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, I'd love to hear from you and the community would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else; most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  Who do you spend the most time with?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

A Longer Quicker Looking Back

Sometimes our lives are so full that we don't have time to journal.  When I am on vacation, a time one would expect to have time to journal, I often find that I skipped a day or two or even most of the week sometimes.  This is because I am busy living, enjoying my extended family and the joys that come from discovery, primarily from being in a new place.

If you haven't been journaling, don't despair.  You can either start journaling today, or if you want to look back over a longer period and get a lot of your history down in a short time, try something different.  Here's a method by Abigail Thomas that comes from her memoir What Comes Next and How to Like It.  She suggests picking a ten year period of your life and writing three word sentences to tell the story.  If you like this method you can do it for all the ten year periods of your life.  I have done 4 already and think I will go back and do it again at some point in order to compare them to each other.  This will be a powerful way to look back.  I can't wait for the Spirit* to move me to do it!
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, I'd love to hear from you and the community would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else; most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  Is there a ten year period of your life that you'd like to forget?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.