Saturday: Forgiveness

Hola, All! Since August I have been reading and studying the book, A Course in Miracles, which is a foundation for inner peace. As I understand it, the basis for inner peace is forgiveness of myself and others. It also encompasses any situation where you feel you have been wronged, hurt or even slightly annoyed. As you know, opportunities to practice forgiveness are never ending. Take this morning, for instance. Just yesterday I was assured by this workman that he would be here between 9 and 9:30am. (It is now 10:28am!) Since 9:30am I have been trying not to focus on the fact that he is still not here; plus, I have been saying things to myself like: I forgive you, it isn't worth getting upset over, this is all about him, where is his integrity (opps!), don't take this personally, etc. Then I tried to get my mind off of the situation by reading my emails. One of them was a newsletter from Sonia Choquette; guess what her monthly newsletter is about? Forgiveness! As I read through it, it helped improve my perspective. I really liked some of the things she said, for instance: to forgive increases your awareness and intuition, it improves your energy and attracts people to you, it lifts your heart and creates positive vibes around you, and it sharpens your creativity. Wow, who knew that forgiveness had such wonderful effects! Sonia also listed some steps to forgiveness: don't take anything personally, develope a strong sense of humor, count your blessings, and see all opportunities to grow and mature your soul. I love her wonderful and timely advice. Forgiveness can be hard to do but it truly is the way to inner peace.
Chao for now!
Dawnie
P.S. Making sure that I was in a good place emotionally, I finally called him......... and woke him up. Knowing that I have been late to appointments, I silently forgave him so that I could move on.

Sunday: Unexpected Abundance

Hola, All! In one of my meditation cd's, Kelly Howell says that abundance can come from expected places, like a paycheck, and also from unexpected places. I realized today that I have been blessed, with money, unexpectedly 3 times recently. One time was when I was picking up trash and found a $20 bill in the gutter. Another time was when Ed and I drove our truck to Killeen to help clean up my mom's property. While there we took 2 big trailer loads of junk to the dump, unloading it ourselves (that was a stinky job). Later, my sister, Carol, sent us a check for $100 for gas and for the use of our truck! Today I received another unexpected blessing. I have been sporadically attending The Center for Spiritual Living in Addsion. Today the message (not sermon) was about the joy of giving. Rev. Petra Weldes gave an analogy using the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. She showed a picture of how the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee from the north, flows out of the Sea of G from the south and miles later, emptys into the Dead Sea, which has no other outlet. She also showed us pictures of the lush, beautiful areas where the Jordan River enters and leaves the Sea of G. Then, she showed a picture of what the mouth of the Dead Sea looks like where the river enters it; what a difference! Because it has such a high salt content of 33%, The Dead Sea does not sustain any life such as fish and aquatic plants. The area looked more like a desert, not anything like the lush, green land surrounding the Sea of Galilee. Rev Petra talked about how abundance in our lives works the same way. When we receive abundance and practice blessing others with it, our lives are 'lush and green'; but when we only use our abundance on ourselves, our lives are like the desert. Since part of the money that The Center receives goes to support the surrounding community, and the congregation is part of that community, Rev Petra wanted to bless us by giving back to us. Bowls of envelopes were passed around, with each person taking an envelope. I put mine in my purse and didn't look inside until I was in the car. As I peeked in the envelope, there was a $20 bill looking back at me! Have you ever heard of a church sharing its blessings with its congregation in this way!! Me, neither! What a great lesson Rev Petra taught about keeping the flow of abundance going in each of our lives.
Chao for now!
Dawnie

Friday: ESL student, Aida

Hola, All! One of my ESL students, Aida, lives across the street from Davis Elementary with her daughter and her family. She doesn't know much English, doesn't have a car and doesn't have the paperwork that would allow her to get a job. So, during the day while her grandchildren are in school, she has lots of free time on her hands. Today I had the brillant idea of asking her if she would like to volunteer at the school. After she said yes, I took her to Davis to get the ball rolling. Luckily for us, the receptionist is bilingual and could explain to her what she needs to do in order to be a volunteer with CFBISD. Then, in my halting Spanish, I found out that she had never been to Rosemead Rec Center. We jumped in my car and headed that direction. After we got there, I showed her around and we had fun playing ping-pong for about 30 minutes. I was going to pay for Aida to have a year's membership to the rec center with the $20 I found in the street a couple of weeks ago. But that was before I found out that Carrollton raised their rates from $20/yr to $85/yr on October 1! Now, I'm not sure what to do with the money because I still want to help her in some way, but don't want it to look like a handout. I checked the membership fee to the Senior Center, and it is a very resonable $10. The only problem is that Aida can't walk to the Senior Center but she can to the rec center. If anyone has any ideas on this matter, please let me know. In the meantime, next week Aida and I are going on a field trip to the Senior Center; maybe I'll have another brillant idea by then.
Chao for now!
Dawnie

Thursday: Keeping baby happy

Hola, All! I just got back from spending 6 days with my grandson, Austin, daughter, Kim, and son-in-law, John. Even though I didn't get much sleep, cooked, cleaned, ran up and down 75 steps to do the laundry and helped take care of Austin, I was so happy to be there! I found that I was so much more relaxed than I was when my children were babies. Maybe that's a natural feeling since I've already been through the whole process of raising kids and know how quickly they grow up. Austin was such a joy to be around, even when he had his fussy times. Babies haven't changed any in the last 27 years as far as I could tell. And, they mimic adults, if you think about it. Maybe I don't cry when I'm sleepy, but I can get pretty cranky. Or when I'm hungry, it's best if you get out of my way, unless you want to get your head bit off. Granted, I don't normally poo in my pants, but if I did, I would not be a happy camper either. And, don't think I'm fun to be around when my stomach is full of gas. It's best if you evacuate the premises before things erupt, if you know what I mean! And, while we're on that subject, Kim found out that when she eats something that gives her gas, the baby is going to have gas too. We had a couple of rough days while Kim tried to figure out what she ate that didn't agree with her. When she eliminated certain foods from her diet, we were all much happier because the baby was happy. And, that IS the name of that game!
Chao for now!
Dawnie

Monday, October 11: Very lucky

Hola, All! Ed and I usually walk, sometimes together, to work out at Rosemeade Rec Center. I carry a bag with me that has things like my keys, sun glasses, bottled water, a magazine, etc. Ever since Jan suggested that I put a plastic bag in it, I have done that. When I come home from working out, I pull out the plastic bag and start picking up trash as I make my way home. Last week someone had thrown a beer bottle on the sidewalk and it shattered. As Ed and I were picking up the largest pieces, a woman walked by and thanked us. That was really nice. Today as I walked home by myself, I again pulled out my plastic bag and proceeded to pick up trash, starting with the grounds surrounding the rec center. As I crossed Elizabeth, I could see trash by the road on Cromwell. I stooped down to pick it up, and guess what was right next to the trash! A $20 bill just waiting for me! I thanked the universe several times over and merrily made my way home, knowing just want I was going to do with the money! One of my ESL students, Aida, doesn't speak or understand English well, and doesn't have a car so is stuck in her apartment that she shares with her daughter's family. Also, her doctor has told her that she needs to lose weight and that walking is good for her. She lives across from Davis Elementary, and I think, could walk to the rec center and back. I want to take her there, pay for a year's membership with the money I found, and show her how to operate some of the machines. Plus, while we are there, we can play ping-pong, air hockey and foosball. I am so hopeful that she will allow me to bless her by spending $20 that never really was mine.
Chao for now!
Dawnie

October 8: Akaschic Records

Hola, All: Last night Dee Wallace, the actress who played the mom on ET, was the guest speaker on Healing with the Masters. One thing I found interesting is that she mentioned the Akaschic Records, also known as the Hall of Records (I think it is called the Book of Records in the Bible). The reason I found that interesting is because that was the third time I had heard the words 'Akaschic Records' in 5 days. The other 2 times were from Denise Jones, from the Psychic Festival, and from Judy, who is in a book study that I attend on Thursday mornings. The Akaschic Records contain every thought, action, emotion or experience that has ever occured in time and space. The flashes of intuition and knowing hunches that you have are small glimpses into the Divine Wisdom of the Akaschic Records. But, there are also people who can mentally go deeper into the A.R. to help you with an area of your life that concerns you. That is what Denise did for me when I asked her about my spiritual path, because sometimes I feel that things are moving way too slowly for me. And, also, I just wanted confirmation that I am headed in the right direction (although deep down I know that I am). One great thing about following my spiritual path is I continually am learning something new, from people or books I never even knew existed. As I learn more, I also open myself up to new exciting adventures. In my view, life is supposed to be one adventure after another, and it is my choice as to how I view these adventures.........with fear or with love. It's all up to me. So now I am on a quest to find out more about the Akaschic Records. You know where I'll be going first...........my favorite......Half Price Books Store!
Chao for now!
Dawnie

October 2: Psychic festival

Hola, All! Today I attended my first psychic festival with some of my friends at Cathedral of Light in Carrollton. This is something that they plan to have the first Saturday of every month. To enter was a bargain, only $5. Inside were maybe 15 different people with different gifts, such as tarot card reading, numerology, hearing from your angels, etc. I decided to walk around and see which person, if any, I was drawn to. As I was walking down the last row, my attention was captured by a book, "Medicine Cards", that I know well, because I have the same book. After speaking with the lady, Denise Jones, at that table for a few minutes, I discovered that she and I have alot in common. We are both interested in dragonflies, she is interested in having more spiritual women friends, and she is clairaudient, which I am also. Clairaudience is having the gift of hearing messages either from a physical voice that seems to come from outside yourself to a voice that you hear inside your head or heart. Denise has developed her gifts to a point where she can use them to help others (and get paid for it), something I want to do also. I liked the way Denise worked because she laid it all out before she started, she told me to ask her open-ended questions (not yes or no questions) about myself, and started with a prayer asking for Divine help. It ended up being a really good reading, a really good experience for me especially since this is the first time that I've been to a psychic festival. I'm already looking forward to the next one; also, I invite anyone who went to the festival and had a reading to give a summary of their experience.
Chao for now!
Dawnie