January 27, 2011:

Hola, All! On Thursday mornings is a book study of "The Way of Mastery" at Cathedral of Light in Carrollton. I had been going in the fall, then my attention got diverted with various projects and happenings. I am happy to say that I am again attending this wonderful study, led by Rev. Kay, and enjoying every minute. It's weird because when I was going last fall, almost everytime I went, I would be real interested in the beginning, but as the class continued, I would start to get tired, until I was literally fighting to stay awake. No bueno! I'm not sure what was happening but I think I just needed time to get adjusted to things like, the way Rev Kay leads the discussion, and the other people in the class (most of whom I don't know). Or maybe it was my own ego getting in my way, since I was not the one leading the class (not that I have the knowledge to do it anyway). And, you know that I DO like to be the leader!
"The Way of Mastery" is similar to "A Course in Miracles", in that both are studies on how to find inner peace, by being the loving, peaceful, forgiving, joyous beings that God created. Both books are excellent manuscripts for those of us who have chosen to study them and follow the teachings of Jesus. Please note, that wherever you are in your spiritual life, you are on the right path for you. The things I went through to get to where I am today are the things that I needed to go through (I hope that made sense).
I will close with a quote from J. Krishnamurti, "If you and I, as human beings, can change totally, then whatever we do will be righteous".
You are the Light,
Dawnie

Saturday: Nov 27

Hola, All! Remember recently when I found a $20 in the gutter, and wanted to help my friend, Aida, who I met while teaching ESL? I put the money in a crystal bowl, and later added $40 more to it, making a total of $60. I then had a great idea on how to help Aida without it looking like charity. I have spent the last few months painting some of the downstairs rooms: den, entryway and kitchen. I have really enjoyed the way a new coat of paint has brightened each room. I really thought I was done painting but the dining room walls started calling my name, wanting their own new coat of paint. So, a couple of weeks ago I sent Aida an email, asking her in Spanish if she wanted to help me paint a room. Her answer was 'por supuesto', which means 'of course'. Please understand that my Spanish and her English are both limited, but we manage to mostly understand each other, especially since I keep my trusty Spanish-English Dictionary within easy reach. In the dining room, I had already taken all the books out of my bookshelf, planning to only keep some of my books, giving the rest away along with the bookshelf. (I seem to constantly be in a declutter mood lately.) I started painting the ceiling white, while Aida started with one of the walls. We worked at a steady pace, finishing the ceiling and 2 of the walls. The last thing we did was apply one coat of purple paint on the south wall. I have since finished all the walls, and put the room back in a little different order than it was. I have to say that it looks great! As I was taking Aida home, I gave her the $60 that she earned by helping me, and she gratefully accepted it. Wasn't that a great way to keep the abundance flowing?
Chao for now!
Dawnie

Monday, November 15: Women's Retreat

Hola, All! A few months ago, Kathy made reservations for a group (up to 15) of ladies to go to a Whispering Waters retreat in the big city (60 people) of Wizard Wells. The price was so resonable at $100 for 2 nights and 5 meals; what a bargain! The retreat has 3 stories; the bottom floor is where the guests stay and has 5 bedrooms, 3 beds to a room, a bathroom in each room, a large kitchen and dining area, massage rooms, a library, little store, etc. Every room is decorated differently with a different 'theme'; it is very eclectic. The upper 2 floors are living quarters for the wonderful people who run the retreat: Kevin, Lorie, Ruth, and Matt. After the arrangements were made, Larie and I decided that we wanted to lead the retreat, leaving plenty of time for people to get a massage, go for a walk, enjoy the grounds where Kevin had built a large labrinth, get in the hot tub, etc. We called the retreat: "Come Meet Clair", but we didn't tell the group anything about what we were doing, and they came anyway!! We opened the retreat with me teaching them a line dance called "Boot Scootin Boogie"; what a hoot that was! The next morning Larie introduced them to "Clair", which they had already figured out what it meant (sharp women in this group). Over the next day and a half, Larie and I talked about the four 'Clairs': clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience and claircognizance, how to determine which 2 were your main ones, what each one meant and how each of us has been receiving Divine guidance, many times without knowing that was what it was. They learned about the 7 primary chakras, where they are located on the body, and what each represents. Also, we explained about chanting, the purpose of chanting, and how it can help improve one's life. In between the lessons, we had massages, soaked in mineral bath oils, learned about voice mapping, played cards, were loud and laughed alot! Saturday night Kevin built a bonfire, where we gathered around and sang every song, off-key and loudly, that we could think of. On top of that, we were banging on drums and other hand-held instruments. I'm not sure the neighbors appreciated being serenaded by us, but we were having too much fun to worry about it. What a great time we had! We are certainly looking forward to the next retreat in the spring!
Chao for now!
Dawnie

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