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Thoughts, spiritual experiences, happenings and insights
from the woman who discovered the Personal Connector Word to God
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Sunday, July 26, 2009 WE NEED A FAITH DENSITY TESTI had my first bone density test last week. Apparently,
as we age, our bones lose some of their density, making us susceptible to fractures and osteoporosis. So lately,
doctors and pharmaceutical companies are putting a lot of emphasis on our bones. Bones, after all, are the underlying structure
and foundation of our physical body; if they crumble, we crumble.
I wish they had a similar scan to measure the density of
our faith. Because if our faith crumbles, our spirit crumbles. And, without the spirit, the body is simply a shell anyway.
I wish they could lie you down underneath an X-ray machine, as they do for a bone density test, and have a faith detection
device move over your mind, heart and soul to see how much is still left. Because over a lifetime of trials and
tribulations, faith can often erode. And, just as bones are the foundation of our physical body, faith is the foundation of
our spirit. Without faith, fractures can occur easily in our spirit and a fractured spirit is far worse than a fractured hip.
A fractured hip may prevent you from walking down your garden's path, but a fractured spirit can prevent you from walking
down your spiritual path. The pain from a broken hip is bad; the pain from being separated from God is excruciating.
They tell you as you age to get more calcium to prevent bone loss.
But what can prevent faith loss? Prayer and gratitude are two of the best vitamins to restore faith. Prayer is nothing more
than communicating with our divine source. Just as your body needs calcium daily, your spirit needs prayer daily. Your spirit
needs communion with God daily. Talk to God. Look for his signs. Look for your Personal Connector Word to God. It's like drinking
a glass of refreshing milk.
Thanking God for all your blessings and looking for the positives in
your life are also two sure ways to restore faith; consider them the yogurt and cheese of faith restoration. But don't look
for a drug like Fosamax (which is being promoted for bone loss) to help correct your faith loss--there is no short-cut or
artificial fix for your faith. There is no Faithamax. Faith takes patience, persistence, and a trust in our divine source.
It takes a natural walk in the woods, a heartfelt prayer, a recognition that God is inside you and around you at all times,
a steady belief in the goodness of the Universe, and an open mind.
By all means, when you reach a certain age, go for that bone density
test and see how your physical foundation is holding up. But, don't wait for that faith density test. Look inside your own
heart, mind and soul TODAY. If you find your spiritual structure is starting to erode, take some positive actions to restore
it. Our bodies, despite what we do today, will eventually pass away. Our spirits, however, are eternal.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 WITH TIME, ALL NEGATIVES BECOME POSITIVESTuesday's theme on Blogdumps is to blog about something
positive.
Positive or negative? We all try to drop every happening in our lives
into one bucket or the other. But, in truth, positive and negative are two sides of the
same coin. It's really up to you which side you choose to "flip" it on.
As I look back at my own life, I see that things that I thought were
"negative" at the time, really were "positive" in the long term. God often has to hand us something we perceive as "negative"
in order to move us out of a rut, or to set us on a more productive trail, or to shift us to people who would better help
us grow and prosper. Illnesses, broken relationships, job losses, financial setbacks--these things may look like "doom
and gloom" at the time they are happening, but give them the benefit of several months or several years and they often end
up being some of the most positive things to have happened in our lives. Look back on your own life. Can't you
see now that without that "negative" event happening, you wouldn't be where you are right now? Many times these "negative"
events are life-changing ones--they are the "movers and shakers" of our status quo. They are the things that cause us
to grow and move up on the spiritual ladder.
I believe that the Universe (God, our divine source) deals only in
good, only in the positive. Anything negative is simply our own "spin." If we would accept and trust that whatever God is
sending us at THIS POINT IN TIME is for our greater good--the greater good of all--then life becomes less stressful, more
joyous, and a happy adventure. We can bear any perceived "negatives" at the time, because in our hearts we
know that, with time and the goodness of God, they will move us to a more enlightened and positive future.
It took only 3 days for God to change the horrendous act of Jesus'
crucifixion into his glorious resurrection. With time, all negatives do become positives.
Saturday, July 18, 2009 WAS JESUS THE ORIGINAL RELIGIOUS SKEPTIC?I think Jesus must have been the original religious
skeptic. Why do I say that? Nothing in the Bible tells me that, but common sense and my own experience make me
theorize that Jesus probably started out as the world's biggest doubter. I don't think he was born with his
incredible faith in God and his total understanding and knowledge of all things spiritual. (Unlike most folks, I don't think
of Jesus as a "God" himself, but as a human way-shower who achieved a higher level of enlightenment than anyone else previously
or since has. Jesus, the man, figured it all out, in other words, and he spent his life trying to get others to understand
what he came to understand.) I think Jesus started out, though, just like the rest of us--wondering, doubtful, struggling,
questioning, seeking. I'll bet he spent some time denying God's existence. Because from what I've seen, in order to achieve
total pure faith, one must first achieve total pure skepticism.
If you follow a traditional religion, handed down to you by your
parents and grandparents, without questioning or wondering or analyzing or thinking about what it is you are practicing--well,
you probably don't have much skepticism about God. But I'll bet you don't have a passionate faith either. These folks
are usually just "going through the motions" for "all the wrong reasons." These lukewarm believers are happy to
stay at a superficial, safe level with their religious beliefs. However, they will never achieve the faith of a
Jesus.
But, if you struggle weekly--daily--in your relationship with God and
the concepts of the divine--if you curse God one day, then pray heatedly the next--if you try various religions--if you read
and study and ask and plead and question--if you scoff at the idea of a God--if you label yourself an atheist, proud of your
superior intellect--chances are good that someday, just someday, you may achieve a deep and abiding
faith in our divine source, just as I suspect Jesus did.
I believe that BIG DOUBT eventually gives way to BIG FAITH, because
such an individual usually will accept nothing about God from a "third party." The skeptic wants personal evidence. The
skeptic wants to have it proved to him/her directly. The skeptic will believe no one else. Such a rigid, skeptical,
rational mind can't believe in a God unless God contacts him/her DIRECTLY. Personally. It has to be just between the skeptic
and God! And it's a funny thing, because in my experience, that is EXACTLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN!
Contrary to what you might think about me from reviewing my website, videos and
blogs, I am the world's biggest skeptic! Make that was the world's biggest skeptic! As I said, BIG SKEPTICISM often
gives way to BIG FAITH. (That simply is how it works.)
When words and signs and guidance come via meaningful coincidences--synchronicity--your
skepticism shakes a bit. When you start seeing a word placed in front of you (especially when you are anxious, down or
depressed) that is unusual and repeats and repeats--you can no longer discount it as pure happenstance. (Or even just attribute
it to the law of attraction. Because the word will invariably lead you somewhere, not just appear.) When you feel God (the
Universe, the divine source) is actually LEADING you, your skepticism starts to melt. When God sends certain people to you,
or an answer to a problem, or creates what seems like a miracle--you start thinking, maybe there is a positive force (God)
that is on my side. You will hear yourself saying many times: "What are the odds? What are the odds?" And you will know that
things are more than chance.
When God gets "personal" with the details of your life, that's when
your skepticism will begin to fade and start to be replaced by the joyous and miraculous possibility of something greater
than yourself. Call it God, call it spirit, call it universal law, call it our divine source--whatever it is--you will
KNOW it to be real, positive and true. Why? Because like a good skeptic, you didn't believe until God personally proved it
to you! And that's something no one has ever told you before: God will prove it to you! That's
what discovering my Personal Connector Word to God (and all the subsequent spirituality that evolved after that) did
for me. God will evidence him/herself to you, as well, if you just look around, look inside yourself, and pay attention to
the details of your life. Perhaps, you, too, will move from being a BIG SKEPTIC to a BIG BELIEVER.
After all, if you didn't know if water existed, you could
read an ancient text about water, you could listen to sermons about water, you could believe tales your
parents told you about water, you could even refuse to believe in water--but until the day you feel actual
water splashed upon your face--the refreshing, cool joy of the FEEL of water itself--it will never be REAL
to you. God, like water, needs to be experienced to be understood.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 STAYING IN THE PRESENTSpiritual exploration requires a person to "stay in the
present." If all your thoughts, emotions, and awarenesses are focused on your past life experiences--or on what you hope will
be your future life experiences--you will miss the signs, words, guidance and constant communication that is streaming from
God right now. Staying in "the moment," being aware of what is in front of you right now is
necessary to not only discovering your Personal Connector Word to God, but to achieving spiritual peace, harmony, happiness,
joy and comfort. All any of us have right now is right now. But how does one believe
that and apply that to one's own life?
More than 25 years ago, I wrote a poem that conveyed this concept of
staying in the "Now." I offer it here as a way to help others understand why 21st century spirituality means moving beyond
the past or hoping for a different future--it means absorbing, digesting and relishing in the PRESENT.
RIGHT NOW
Intent upon the whisperings of ghosts, Unnoticed go the clamors at her door. a feverish prophet sees Unnoticed go the clamors at her door. No publication or distribution without the express approval of Legs in the Attic Sunday, July 12, 2009 BEING A CONDUIT FOR GOD (PART TWO)In my previous blog, I wrote about my miraculous experience
of being a "Conduit for God" (therefore, a "Conduit for Good") by watching Quinn Bradlee on "The View," which led to the subsequent
diagnosis of my 36-year-old niece with VCF Syndrome. It made me realize how often God uses me in this way--as a channel for
information that may help others solve their problems or dilemmas.
Recently, I became aware that one of my neighbors (two doors down)
had put up their house for sale. I had only talked with them once; they only moved in about a year ago. After some internet
searching, I discovered that this neighbor had lost his job, and then was hired at a university in Georgia. "Oh," I thought,
"that's why the house is for sale. They need to move." But I worried that selling their house would probably be a tough task
in today's market. In fact, two other houses on our Florida street were already for sale, and for less!
It was then that I was browsing through Craig's list and something
made me click on "House Swaps." I don't know why I did--I certainly had no intentions of swapping my house. But, there it
was! The first one on the list! It actually asked to "swap" a comparable house in Georgia (near where these neighbors were
going) with a house in the Sarasota/Bradenton/Lakewood Ranch area of Florida. This was EXACTLY where we were located. "How
uncanny is this?" I thought. But knowing how God works, it really wasn't uncanny. I knew I was being used as a Conduit for
Good. So, I printed it off and put it in my neighbor's mailbox. (I didn't want to admit that I had "researched" them on the
Internet and knew more about their dilemma than I should have known.) I have no idea if this solution is or will be
feasible for these folks. Maybe it won't be. But, it was too good an opportunity to keep to myself. If nothing else, it may
have made them feel good to know that someone else in the neighborhood was "pulling for them." Only time will tell if
it turned out to be more.
Then there is my twenty-something niece. She's been unhappy in her
current job and wants to move ahead. Again, not the greatest time to be job-seeking. But, I told her I'd "look" on the Internet
and see what I could find. Then I found it: the perfect job for her, with a rare combination of experience and skills
that few have--and that my niece DOES have! We couldn't have written a job description for a job that would better suit her!
Again, I don't know if this job will pan out, but I am amazed how God can send us what we need when we need it--despite the
economy, despite the housing market, despite the job climate. And, how often God uses others to channel the correct information
to us.
My third example of my recent "channeling" of God's good also deals
with the Internet. On Craig's list, there is a category for "volunteers." As I've been searching for worthwhile volunteer
opportuntities for myself, I check it quite often. My friend, a retired nurse who likes to volunteer by visiting elderly folks,
was also looking for new ways to utilize her talents and willingness to help others. And, yes, there it was on Craig's list:
a man in N.C. had posted to see if someone could visit his mother-in-law in the hospital (only a few miles from us) because
he couldn't come down to see her. He would have paid someone to drop by, visit her, pray with her, perhaps read to her. Talk
about an ideal volunteer opportunity for my friend! Well, she called him and she has visited the woman twice and it
was a win-win-win for everyone. The woman appreciated the visits, the son-in-law appreciated being able to do something "at
a distance" via my friend, and my friend had the satisfaction of helping someone out (and no, she didn't take any money for
doing it). Oh, it was also a win for me: I knew that God, had once again, used me as a Conduit for Good!
Open your eyes, open your heart, then open your mouth. God can use
you as a Conduit for Good if you are simply willing.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 BE A CONDUIT FOR GODI have always felt my "mission" was to write a novel that
would change the world. It was something I felt in my gut even as a junior high school student. However, recent developments
have convinced me that my "mission" may be something altogether different, and in some ways it may be an even "higher
calling." I have become a Conduit for God.
My niece has suffered with mental and physical debilitations since
a child. No amount of research, doctors, or tests could ever determine just what was wrong with "our Jackie" for 36 years.
What my sister has gone through with her special needs child for nearly four decades--well, I can only imagine. Perhaps the
greatest heartache was never knowing what caused her eldest to live such a life of suffering. A life of suffering, that
as a mother, she also intimately shared.
Enter a program in April on "The View." I was only half-listening to
a young man named Quinn Bradlee who was telling about his disease and a book he wrote about it. He wrote about it because
no one seemed to know about it: Velio-Cardio-Facial Syndrome. But then I glanced up at the TV and
looked at Quinn. Who did he look like? I just kept saying to myself, "This young man looks exactly like someone I know,
but who?" It probably took about 10 minutes of me saying over and over: "Who does he remind me of?" Then it hit me:
my niece Jackie (though a female) looked EXACTLY like Quinn Bradlee. Exactly! The facial features, the mannerisms, the way
of expressing himself--it was Jackie! How could this be? Obviously, I started to listen closer.
Well, the rest is nothing short of a miracle. After much research (including reading Quinn's wonderful book, visiting his website, and visiting the VCF Syndrome site), discussions with my sister, her subsequent discussions with Jackie's doctors and caretakers, and finally getting the all-important blood test--this morning it has been confirmed. Jackie indeed has VCF Syndrome! The mystery of 36 years of suffering finally solved! And none of this would have happened unless I was watching "The View"--if Quinn was not such an exact look-a-like as Jackie--and if Quinn hadn't taken the bold step he took to write such a book and go on national TV. I can't tell you how much this "miracle" means to my family. Then I began to think of about 3 or 4 "other instances" where I have channeled crucial information to family or friends.
(Future blogs will outline some of those. Again, some nothing short of "miracles.") Maybe God sends this stuff my way, because
as I have so frequently noted, I "pay close attention to details." (That's how I discovered my Personal Connector
Word to God.) How else can you see what God wants you to see unless you are "aware" of what is around you? I am
also somewhat of an Internet and information junkie. People tell me I can find anything I want to know on the Internet--must
be the detective in me. In any event, God has tapped me to be a conduit. An Information Conduit. And I love it. It is so rewarding
to be used by our divine source! So, my newly discovered "mission in life" is being a Conduit for God. Which also means,
being a Conduit for Good! What could be better than that?
I highly recommend it. God uses ALL OF US to help others--perhaps not in the same way I'm being used, but in ways suited
to each person's own talents, abilities, and personality. (Just look how God used Quinn as a Conduit for Good!)
How can you be a Conduit for God (Conduit for Good) today to help another human being? You need only
look around you!
Quinn on "Good Morning, America"
The VCF Syndrome Site
Quinn's Site
Sunday, July 5, 2009 HOW FIREWORKS ARE LIKE GOD'S BLESSINGSAll you have to do to understand how God's blessings work
is to watch fireworks on the 4th of July. Just like the blackened sky (which is an absolute must before fireworks can happen),
our lives sometimes become "blackened" by troubles: poor health, financial failings, broken relationships, loneliness,
or addictions. Not a glimmer of hope appears in our dark sky, just as not a glimmer of light appears in the dark July 4th
sky prior to the fireworks show. But, think about that: how
else can fireworks be seen and appreciated, if not for the previous darkened background?
Just like fireworks, God uses a dark background to shoot off His/Her
light-filled blessings. Just as fireworks replace the darkened sky with exciting and wonderful bursts of light,
God replaces our gloomy corners with bursts of exciting and wonderful light-filled blessings--bursts of good news, good health,
prosperity, love, acceptance and success. God's blessings arrive with the same wonder--the same ooohhh's and aaahhh's--the
same explosion--that accompany fireworks. But just like fireworks, if you are looking at the wrong part of the sky, or not
looking at all--well, you won't see anything incredible happen.
Like fireworks, God's blessings always amaze us and are always better
than we could have imagined. Each year's fireworks are always better than the fireworks we saw in our past. Perhaps
we expected only red, white and blue bursts in the sky last night, but were delighted with greens and golds and purples
and swirling circles of light. Perhaps we turned to our neighbor after a particularly unique burst and said, "I wonder
how they did that? How can they make fireworks DO that?" That's exactly the kind of blessings that God will explode into your
life if you just stand there patiently in the dark (as we do each year waiting for the fireworks show to start) and EXPECT
to see a glorious show (which is what we all do, looking with anticipation at the night sky), waving our miniature flags.
Wave a miniature God-flag today and wait expectantly in the darkness
of your life. Expect the fireworks. God, with your help by being expectant and hopeful and awestruck, will put on a fireworks
display in your life to rival any that you saw last night. Remember, it's always darkest before the fireworks!
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