photo from web-Yahoo
8/8/11
I think I understand now why Jesus asks us to call the children to gather with us. It is to let them know they have the ability to meet mind to mind in the worship of God. It may be an ability they are hardly aware of as it sits on a back burner in the mind for long time, but an idea that will seem familiar later when and if they choose to use it.
The traveling may be a part of this too. Think of how hard it is for us adults to step away from perceived reality, but imagine if we had been trained from childhood that we had the power do so for long moments at a time. In fact, a few children have accepted such training so they can one day remind others of this ability. Ideally, it would be best to start young, while the mind is impressionable and ripe for learning. Unfortunately, mind to mind communication is almost outlawed in our world by the many distractions, cell phones and television come most easily to mind. Such things usurp any craving a person might have for mental communication even if they learned it was possible. So if children are to accept such an idea, it must be instilled early, long before it might be needed. Yet, teens who are the most extravagant talkers, would be astonished at the amount of information one could get with a simple nod during mental contact, that same amount of information would take long hours on a telephone. Still, the information is not detail specific. I still don’t know the names of most people who I communicate with on a mental level. Actually, it didn't take me long to realize that names were superfluous to understanding, perhaps because we were all centered on God, and maybe, without such a center, our nod of mental contact may not be possible at all. It is not a subject science could study well, in fact, I think to study it would be like looking too hard at a soap bubble, as soon as you push in too much, the bubble bursts. I think it may the same with mental communication. Best to keep it person to person and let the world smile in doubt even as I write about it. I don’t care. I am not out to prove anything to anyone. I write for those who search for meaning or who already know.
8/10/11
I have a lot to write about this morning. As I sat on the edge of the well, my mind wandered to painting the bedroom and putting a coat of varnish on the floor and grocery shopping later in the day. Then I looked at Jesus and said, “I am sorry. It is all nonsense, all of it. Silly stuff with little meaning. Well, we have needs, but compared to what is important, it is all silly. Such thoughts don't feed the soul.
What does feed the soul? I thought about this for a while and caring about other the well-being of other people is the only thing I could come up with because it is the same as loving God. Certainly, we all know helping people in distress is good for the soul, but so is doing favors and giving in small ways. There are many ways to feed the soul, right? Things we do that have importance in the world instead of all the nonsense that often runs through my mind.
All this time, as I sat there thinking, Jesus smiled and listened. He just let me spill out my ideas until I got to the final point. He often does this. It allows me to answer my own question. Yes, most of our days are filled with often necessary nonsense, but we can count our day blessed if we feed our own soul by feeding others.
Today, even
though I need to shop for groceries because I am out of dog food, I still feel
a pang of guilt that I can, that so many in
At the end
of my spiel of thoughts, I thanked Jesus for all that I have and the beautiful
day, both here where I sit in the wooded
area and water well and around my home. When we finally left the well, we
walked through a field of multi-colored wild flowers mixed in with tall green
grass. I realized that I could do almost the same if I walked beyond the fence
of my own yard except it would be filled with Queen-Ann's-Lace and smoky blue
chicory. The phrase came to mind, “As it
is below, so it is above.” A quote from a famous person living in
We passed
huge gray boulders sitting on a slight slant with a road below and then we
walked on. I thought the color of the air and land was like that of
This day, I
was surprised to see two males from the far east join us. At first I wasn’t
sure if they were from
I looked up
into the sky and sent my love to God, as if God were only in the sky, and not
all around us. Soon I felt the energy of God's love build up and intensify in
my own body. I felt full to bursting with love and felt the need to share it
right away. I turned around, my arms lifting and pointing outward, to send the
great love and peace that filled me out onto the land and people. Then still
filled with pent-up love-energy, I stepped over to
God answered me, “Because you ask.”
God’s love is so deep and pure, it is true what Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive.”
I felt
better about the world as I completed my meditation this morning. I felt
revived because I could feel God in the world again. Like most of us in
On the other hand, here in Michigan, the state where I live, congressional representatives decided to cut off funds for those families on welfare past their time, the first wave will cut off funds for 14,000 families, all this to save the state 77.5 million. This may look like a good idea until you do the math. 77.5 million divided by 14,000 comes out to a mere $450.00 per month for a whole family, any of which would be glad to work to earn the money. The politicians, who, in their plenitude, made this decision, bring home $79,000 to $80, 000 plus perks per year, or 80,000 divided by 12 = 6,666.66 per month.
Probably, none of these political representatives ever pay a utility bill because it is automatically paid for them each month through the bank. Certainly, they don't call begging for new beds or bug spray or a new apartment to escape an infestation, as if losing a job, and rent and utilities weren’t enough.
If my anger has shown up in this writing, good; because, if we don't turn back, don't replace the safety net desperately needed by so many people during this jobless period, the pride myself and others feel about America will wither on the vine and revert to a feeling of deep shame. Shame and dishonor sits on those who did this. Undo it, please.
Statue of Mary with tears
8/16/11
I went to
church this evening for the celebration of The Assumption of Mary. It is
unusual for me to go to church in the evening, and I enjoyed the mass, but came
away feeling a little dismayed. It seemed to me that people prefer to avoid the
mystery of Mary, her miracles, and her appearances. I may be wrong. People may
not show it, but hold a belief in the mystical close to their heart. I once
went looking at other churches for a strong belief in the miraculous, but
didn’t find it, except for the long ago appearances at
Towards the end of mass, an alter server spoke about how Mary's assumption into heaven prevented her body from being defiled by decay. A beautiful thought, but it gave me much food for thought. I wonder what people think when they accept that this women, Jesus’ mother, was assumed into heaven. Do they ask if she rose like a cloud and disappeared. If so, where do they think she went? Where does she resides now? Do they think after she was assumed into heaven she left forever? I am sure she did not. I am also sure she is here now for those who pray to her or perceive her. God is alive, Jesus is alive, Mary is alive, the saints are alive.
What many people don’t understand is that time is not what we think it is. Heaven’s time is different than earth’s. An analogy of time might give us a better picture. Think of a swift running river and we as the fish swimming in it. The water is the time we swim in. If we jump to the shore, we managed to get out of river-time for a short while. If a fisherman walks by he could lead us back into the stream. The fisherman could step into the river and become a part of both time-frames. The people of heaven are like the fisherman. Mary, alive two thousand years ago in earth time, in heaven's time, still lives and will live forever.
My point is that those of us who believe in Mary's appearances on earth are not all fanatics. But I wonder if science and the practical outlook infected our churches too much? We might need to go to a monastery to find people who still believe in mysterious events. Some people argue that we don’t need mystery in today’s world. Maybe they are right.
Well, I guess I have written enough to get myself in trouble by now. Most people think, “I didn’t see it, therefore it doesn’t exist.” It is hard to believe in what we can’t see, yet we all believe Jesus is in the communion every Sunday. In any case, I consider myself very fortunate that I have seen Mary, and so find it easy to believe in miracles. I would wish that more people could see as I have.
Jesus tells me that I may get my wish.
I smile at this notion and put my faith in Jesus and his mother, Mary.
Appearance of Virgin Mother with Christ Child
over church in
8/20/11
Earlier this morning Jesus suggested that we should travel later in the day, so about 2:00 in the afternoon, I sat outside and began to relax and talk with Jesus. The others who often travel with us came and stood next to Jesus. A few new people joined us as well. It is always exciting when new people join us in the travels.
Jesus told us he had a special place in mind today, so we anticipated something strange. As it turned out, it wasn’t strange at all, just surprising.
First we walked in the sky tunnel and I ran my hand along the smooth mahogany-like railing. This always helps get me orientated to the idea of travel elsewhere. Finally, the group of us stood at the edge of the tunnel, facing the billowing curtain-like illusion flowing from the universe, and stepped off the edge, behind Jesus.
Suddenly, we were walking on flat stones surrounded by red bubbles with steam rising up between the stones, as if we were walking on fire. I gasped in fright.
“Don’t worry,” Jesus reminded all of us. “You can be hurt.”
Still, it could throw a person off their stride to walk on top of a pool of lava. We continued over the hot stones until we came to a tall break in the landscape. A mountain of rock with rough hewn stairs rising upwards in a zig zag pattern to the top. We walked up the stone stairs, and I for one, was glad to get off the burning rocks.
At one point, I noticed a green twig growing from a crack, and looking up and around, noticed that we were surrounded by other mountains, purple with haze, but the sky was deep blue, which seemed right. When we reached the top, we walked through a scattering of sparse, sickly looking trees until we come to a cave mouth.
We stepped in and were awed by the rainbows colors falling from the ceiling, but what surprised me the most were the people far below on the floor of the cavern who seemed busy with work or rest. Most of them seemed to be sleeping on bedrolls while a few people seemed busy at odd jobs. The people were definitely human as were the symbols and insignia on a few items of clothing that I couldn't read from this distance away.
Jesus motioned for us to follow him through to the other side of the vast cavern. There he showed us that a thick film of hard plastic coated the whole cavern from ceiling to sides to floor. He also showed us with a picture a person navigating from one side of the film to the other side. The person stepped sideways very slowly with first one hand and foot and kept sliding smoothly until they are completely through the invisible barrier. I assume that no air escapes or enters during such a maneuver. We stepped beyond it the easy way, by just walking. This was good because when I stepped past a wall, I couldn't figure out exactly what I was looking at. Jesus told me it was a ship, but one minute it looked like a small ship sitting on rock, and the next like something tall, rising far above my view.
The reason it was such a blur soon made itself obvious. It was both. Most of the ship was made out of struts that resembled a kids toothpick construction sticking into the ground and sky.
Jesus explained in a burst of information that the people were here searching for rare metals. They were a group getting ready to mine this large hunk of rock. I can’t call it an asteroid because it had a few trees on it, but maybe it was low in oxygen or some other substance needed by humans. Then I realized that the plastic tent like structure was standard equipment on any dig on a new planet or asteroid.
Before we left, Jesus took us back through the cavern to view the people once more. They were mixed in gender, race and nationality and obviously from earth. I am not sure why I knew this, but Jesus confirmed my hunch that they were from earth.
He explained that only an earth united and at peace could afford such a search in space for rare elements. "Cooperation will define the far future, that is if humans can make it through the next tumultuous years."
We came back to earth and sat on the grass while Jesus spoke to us further. He showed us a vision of the Milky Way Galaxy filled with humans traveling its length and settling in various places. He told us that some people with powerful mental abilities will someday send their minds out in search of valuable elements to detect the places in which to send those who will do the physical mining. Talents from many different disciplines will be needed, but mostly cooperation among the nations of the world.
Suddenly, Jesus sent us a great burst of pride and love, as if the cooperation he foreseen had already happened.
Our travel was over for the day and we nodded good-by. We were left with much hope for a great, potential future. I hope we make it. I wondered what it is we humans have that compels us forward. Is it our sense of adventure, our love of a challenge, or just orneriness and greed. If a rare gold or a diamond is ever detected on an asteroid, we can be sure that someone will get out there to claim it in a new skyward gold rush.
8/22/11
Last night, for the first time, I saw the advertisement for St. Jude's with all the babies and children with cancer. I cried and sniffled throughout and decided to send a small amount of money as soon as I can, perhaps in a few weeks. Right now, I just don’t have it. Instead, I decided to send what I already have available to me, the good will of heaven. It seems to me an affront against nature that young children could have such a horrible disease as cancer. Childhood should be joyful and free.
After gathering for a short while with the others, I went to a few children with cancer. First, I went to a young black boy, about eight or nine, and walked him up to the Cathedral of Light to visit with Mary, the Mother of God. If anyone can help, it will be Mary. He was able to walk fine and without pain. We walked up to where many flowers bloomed, this time white roses, perhaps to symbolize the young boy's innocence. Mary stood before us in a glowing white robe. Love emanated from the glow of her, and she reached out her hand and touched the boy, then handed him a white rose. Her empathy and was so great, even I could feel it as I stood next to the boy. Then I held a baby in my arms, almost too young to walk, as Mary gave her a white rose.
Jesus said the doctors and staff at St. Jude's are wonderful. He tells me they perform miracles all the time. I hope this day they will have a few more to talk about. I believe the young boy’s cancer will go into remission, and he will live on to remember his visit with Mary and that he will join the gathering for prayer one day.
I have been given so much. This writing is my way to give back, but it is so easy. My burden is light. I thank you Jesus.
“Child of the light”
My latest painting. The eyes are golden because the child is filled with God.
8/24/11
We gathered together amid tall blue-green grass, the land scattered with huge blue granite boulders beneath a blazing blue sky with white clouds, a day and place on planet earth as perfect as it gets. And why not stand amid perfection. All the earth is perfect except where mankind has overrun it with trauma and pain. If we look at earth as the huge orb it is rotating in place, the areas disrupted by humans is small, even if the pain can be large.
Those of us who gather, wait on God to refill our souls like batteries and then leave to share this extra light-energy with other souls around the earth. The problem for me is that the people who need that extra charge are so numerous I freeze up for a moment, unsure where to go or what to do. Usually, I soon fall into a place where I am needed. Jesus asks me to be specific when I write about helping other people, but I feel embarrassed about it. I know that what I do is a mere drop in this vast ocean of woe. Yet, Jesus must be right and the information needs to get out somehow. This makes me realize that that any small gift we give has the potential to multiply and grow beyond the bounds of what was given. If the idea of moving ghostlike around the world was to catch-on, what a world of change that would make—will make some future day.
This
morning, after leaving the gathering, I went to
These people were headed to a refugee camp and medical center that was still at least a day away. I felt grateful for the relief of food and water trucks by the roadside because the resource was solely needed to revive the people.
I decided to leave and go where the people came from, into the center of conflict. There I found a young child with a snotty nose, carrying a rifle. I knew this child didn’t want to stand guard and then shoot the people in the village as he was told to do. I whispered to him, over and over, that he could run away. His eyes got big at the thought. He nudged a friend next to him and they talked about it. Abruptly, both the children decided to run away through the brush. I know that some small children like the thrill and power a gun can give, but these two didn’t. So I continued to encourage and advise them.
“But you can’t take the rifle with you. You must leave the weapons behind.”
I am not sure if they heard me, but they understood to leave the rifles behind on the ground as they crawled away from the village through small shrubs and trees. Before long, they came to the road where the families were walking, trying to escape the worst of it.
At the sight of the two boy children wearing uniforms, some of the people on the road stood aside, frightened. I told the boys to take their shirts off and throw them away. "Blend in." They did by picking up a few children and helping carry them. Everyone had a long walk ahead of them, but I believe that these two boys would go far. They already showed great kindness. Who can say, they might help unite the African nation one day.
8/27/11
I am so glad I don’t live in the path of Hurricane Irene. I have had my basement flooded in the past and know what it feels like. What a mess. I don’t envy the people when they come back to their homes and need to clean up after such a storm. I pray that it doesn’t turn out as bad as was predicted, but even at the least, there will be flooding and an overabundance of rain.
My prayers were interrupted this morning so I am sitting out here by my broken pond later in the evening as I write this. I laugh. I have had so many problems in the last few years with this silly pond that it has become a joke. Well, out with the cement again, next year.
Jesus smiles as I write this. Few people would believe that Jesus can be here with me at this time, even as a spirit. Yet, I feel him with me. In fact, there have been a few times when he was so close I could have touched him, and did. I will never forget how strongly I felt his presence one day as he walked next to me in church one Sunday when I walked up to communion. I began to cry with the bliss of it.
His actual presence doesn't happen often, but when it does, it holds in my memory and keeps his presence fresh during times he isn’t so close. Most often, Jesus is within and without my own mental processes, a mind visiting my own or a voice entering from afar. I think the space he can occupy is like time, Jesus can be in many places and times at once. We mere humans have a hard time understanding this. I know I still do, and I have experienced Jesus closeness first-hand.
Another painting I just completed.
This is a small painting, maybe even sellable. Most of my work isn’t, I don’t think.
I kept the color to a minimum so the red would show up.