In the fall of 1972 as I began my sophomore year in college, my sister joined me as a freshman, sharing an apartment near campus along with 4 other friends. Janice & I had grown up very close, being only one year apart in age. We were so excited to be together again at school, though we were far from our home in Tennessee. Mother told me later that Daddy cried all the way across that 2000-mile drive home, feeling the loss of leaving his two little girls so far away from him. Read the rest of this entry »

As I was kayaking across Lake Tahoe’s northern shores last week, mesmerized by the intense cobalt blue waters so clear you can see all the way to the bottom—I had an epiphany. I was not entirely happy, and I knew why: I was holding onto a lot of other people’s stuff, and it was sucking the life out of me! As I glided along across the miles of glassy water towards a gorgeous rocky point, I noticed some extra pounds of heaviness—added weight in my heart that did not fit my style in that moment. I knew I had to let go of something in order to return to my own peaceful center, Read the rest of this entry »

I woke up before dawn this morning feeling very out of alignment with spirit. I said some forgivings, hoping to release some unwanted energy, and asked for help in prayer. But still needing more, I hopped up, threw on some clothes and shoes, and went for a walk in the cool early morning stillness. With my first few steps, I thought that walking around my palm-tree-lined suburban neighborhood did not seem like the spiritual retreat I would have chosen. When I consider re-creating my alignment with spirit, I usually think of being on top of a mountain, by a stream, or in a sacred spot in the forest. But surprisingly today, in just about ten minutes of moving my body while listening to the chirping birds and simply breathing the fresh air, I began to awaken spiritual life in me again. Read the rest of this entry »

The times we are living in are filled with amazingly complex opportunities, changes, information, and choices. Every option is open—multitudes of offerings from a table of abundance, shattering our confidence in history, tradition and ritual as a form of absolute and personal direction. In such a maze, confusion can thwart our ability to trust ourselves. Perhaps suffering from past experiences warns we could use a little help making better choices. It has never been more essential that we have a personal guidance system in place, something we can trust to lead us into safe havens, places where our efforts will reward us with returns such as safety, peace, happiness, and love. Read the rest of this entry »

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I have always been sensitive to the presence of love in the form of angels watching over me. I don’t know why I have been so blessed, but it makes me happy to experience such a reality. Love in the form of angelic presences seems very beautiful and sacred, even an honor to my spirit, which in my innocence, I simply choose to accept and enjoy.

Sometimes the presence of angels is so real I sense the need to keep my beautiful music on and playing when I leave my house, as I feel my angels near, and I want them to stay and enjoy themselves while I am gone. I sense this makes them feel wanted and honored, appreciated and loved, which seems to allow them permission to remain and continue offering their blessings.

I have become aware of the availability of such heavenly help in many other ways. When I mail an important letter, I don’t simply drop it into a mailbox, but also into the hands of a spiritual courier, whom I ask to make sure it arrives safely and on time. It always does—no additional insurance required! I have learned to trust my spiritual courier with complete confidence.

When I leave my car full of packages sitting in a parking lot, I ask a spiritual presence to protect it in my absence. I don’t leave until I get the feeling that my guard is on duty. He’s always there when I ask—my spiritual butler. He does all kinds of errands for me—anywhere I need an angel to help.

Last night we parked our rental car on a side street in Tulum, Mexico, and I asked my spirit guardian, as always, to please keep it safe. This same presence had protected our keys and personal belongings at a public snorkeling site earlier in the day, and I had noticed that he wanted me to know that he would be there for me, even before I asked. As we walked away from the car last night, I decided to share with my husband a feeling that had come to me earlier in the day: I had realized this spiritual butler of mine, always willing and ready and able to serve me, looked and acted a lot like my Dad.

It was just a thought, but even the thought made me smile, as I knew my Dad would love such an assignment, if in fact that was his job from the other side.

As I went to sleep last night, lulled by the constant calming waves of the Caribbean waters on our private powdery white beach, I felt safe and loved, even grateful that I had felt the possible presence of my father during this particular day.

In the night, I awoke with an intense and vivid dream. I was with my father, and he was alive. I had chosen to care for him, even though he was crippled from a stroke. I loved being with him, sharing ideas and beliefs, and giving him the care I knew he deserved, which I only wished I could have given him in life. In this dream, I asked (God?) if I could keep him with me all of my life, and such a wish was granted. I delighted in carrying his frail body wherever he could not physically take it himself, showing him interesting things that made him happy, and being able to serve him made me very happy too. The joy of this loving service and connection to my father had awoken me from my sleep, so that I could capture all of the essence of its many messages. And then I returned to rest some more.

As I rose again a few hours later, looking out over the calm turquoise sea this breeze-less morning, I realized that if he were alive, today would be my father’s ninetieth birthday. He died eleven and a half years ago, and while I know his body is dead, I happen to believe his spirit is alive and busy, possibly serving from the other side. What a loving thing for one to be able to do when this life is over!

It’s no coincidence that my father would choose to keep me safe, if in fact he did have a choice in the matter of his heavenly assignment. Being safe was a big deal to him. I didn’t know why until years later, but my father was always locking up the house, telling his girls how to keep their purses from being stolen, and teaching us how to stay away from danger in every possible way and place. Sometimes it even made us laugh at his paranoia about safety, as we girls did not seem to share his depth of concern.

My father had served in the war, probably facing death every day for several years, but coming home for Christmas sometime in the mid-1940’s without a wound. As he traveled home with a buddy from St. Louis, he spent the night at his buddy’s home before continuing on to his in Knoxville. Several days after arriving home with his own family, he received the devastating word that on the night of Christmas Eve, someone had broken into the house of that same buddy, robbing them and then killing every one of them.

I had not heard this story until long after my father’s death, but I cannot imagine the terrible sadness it would have caused my father to bear, as well as a lifetime of fear of being hurt by a possible offender, completely outside of my father’s ability to control or prevent. Perhaps the war itself caused some of this same fear. As a child, innocent of the realities of war and crime, I could never have known the intensity of my father’s need to protect.

If I wanted someone to care for my things, to insure my deliveries, to keep me from harm in any way, who better to come to my aid than my own personal body guard from the other side. Who would lovingly serve me better than my own dear father? If there are opportunities to serve as angels when we get to heaven, this is exactly what he would have chosen. Such a gift is sweetened by my own recognition and acceptance of the possibility of his spiritual presence. My faith in such spiritual guidance allows me the courage to ask for any help I desire, as well as to enjoy the gifts such service brings in peaceful ways to bless my heart.

According to many spiritual sources, we are living in times of increasingly more difficulties—more troubles, more hardships, more trials, more deceivers, more of men’s hearts failing them. Never has there seemed to be a greater need to strengthen one’s heart—to build one’s faith and love. Daily time with the spirit is, in my opinion, no longer an option—it is essential. Now is the time to ask for guidance, to seek for truth, and to notice what comes in so many varied ways, even in the recognition of loving service from the other side. Thank you Daddy! I love you! And Happy 90th Birthday to you!

1970–hugging my Dad after winning Miss Teenage Contest

Please enjoy a walk with spirit today and begin strengthening your own spiritual heart sensitivities by listening to one of my guided meditation audios in the mediation section of this website. Sending my love from the Mayan Riviera!