Living in Fear, I Was "Bearly" Alive • Christmas Eve Miracle • Surrendering Again • Simultaneous, Synergistic Miracles • Response to the Temptation of Judgment • More Spring 2000 Articles
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Miracles News Spring 2000 |
I did not want to go from the get-go. I really did not want to go. I had no idea a spiritual lesson was waiting for me but, even if I had known that, I still would not have wanted to go. Indeed, I prefer my spiritual lessons to come to me during my meditation time in the warmth and safety of my home. I do not want to go traipsing through the north woods in a cold March rain in search of spiritual truth, no matter how much I might need that particular lesson.
But there I was. Blame it on romantic love. I was courting my then girlfriend Connie when she asked, if I, a city-born and raised boy committed to the comfort and warmth of the civilized life, would go backpacking with her? Her destination: the Wisconsin north woods. Her time -- the last weekend in winter. Her reason -- to celebrate the Equinox and the coming of spring. Would I go? "Of course I would," I told her, "I would love to."
Connie is a nature person, a natural woman, connected to the Great Goddess and committed to the great mother earth. She loves being outside, walking outside, eating outside, sleeping outside. Almost anything you can think of, she would prefer to do it outside. And the farther away from civilization, the better. To her, candles are superior to electric lights, outdoor plumbing preferable to the indoor type, and the ground a better mattress than anything Sealy can make.
I, on the other hand, preferred hotels and comforters and restaurants to tents and sleeping bags and camp fires. Weather was something to be predicted and complained about, not something to be enjoyed and appreciated. And winter was a time of hunkering down in front of the fireplace, not a time to brave the elements.
Nonetheless, there I was. The plan was to park her Jeep and backpack six or eight miles into the woods. My new backpack was full of what I thought I needed to keep me warm and safe. I had bought and packed it myself; I was quite proud, thinking that I might become a nature man myself. And even when it started raining, I was prepared. I quickly put on my rain gear. I was safe and warm, protected from the elements.
Until Mother Nature called, that is, and I realized I had bought the wrong kind of rain gear. It was a jump suit with a coat which I had to take off in order to drop my drawers and recycle that morning's breakfast. Connie was ahead of me, but I yelled for her to wait. I proceeded to find an appropriate log and stripped off my rain gear. By the time I was done and dressed, I was soaking wet.
When I caught up to Connie and explained what had happened, she became concerned about my being wet. New nature man that I was, I said I would be fine and we should just push on. The cold and rain continued, as did we. A half hour later, the shivering began. I felt chilled to the bone, and all my bones were shaking as a result. When Connie saw this, she immediately stopped. I wanted to go on. "No," she said. "Hypothermia, you know." No, I did not know.
She sat me under a tree. She built a blind to shield us from the rain. She started a fire and heated some soup for me. As I was warming and drying myself by the fire and eating the soup, she pitched the tent. I started to feel better. I wanted to finish my meal in the tent but "No," she said, "you never bring food into a tent. Bears, you know." BEARS, I know? No, I did not know.
I finished eating and we crawled into the tent. I dried off and climbed into my sleeping bag. I marveled that Connie had been able to set up this camp in the midst of a rainstorm without it getting wet inside the tent. When she went to leave the tent, I asked why. "You always hang your backpacks," she replied. "Animals, you know." I protested. I was sick and cold and tired. "Take care of me," I pleaded. Besides, I argued, no animal is going to be out in a storm like this. Against her better judgment, she agreed.
It was the middle of the night when I rolled over to tap Connie and stop her from snoring so loudly. "That's not me," she said. "We have company in our camp." Company? "Yes, a mother bear and at least one cub." A BEAR? I am sure my eyes got big. A man of action, I immediately turned on a flashlight and started to shout -- my attempt to scare the bear away. "Turn that off and be quiet. It is best if she does not know we are here."
I was amazed at how loud bears are in the wild. They were obviously going through our backpacks and doing so with lots of growls and grunts. We, on the other hand, sat very quietly. At one point, one of the bears hit our tent. My fear rose to heights unseen in my life. It was then that I quietly asked, "What should we do?" Connie said, "The only thing we can do is pray."
So we did. We prayed quietly but fervently. "Dear God, please take away these bears." Then we waited. Nothing happened. The bears were still there. We took a risk and prayed a little louder, thinking God might not be able to hear us over the storm and the noise these bears were making. "Please, dear God, take away these bears." Again we waited. Again nothing happened. We waited a long time. We could not sleep. We laid there in fear.
It was then that the Holy Spirit offered me a different way to view the world. With this spiritual insight, we prayed again. "Dear God, please take away our fear." When we awoke, the rain had stopped and the bears were gone.
The spiritual lesson hit me hard. It was not the bears that had kept me awake; it was my fear of the bears. It was not the outside world that needed to change; it was my inside world. I saw that God may not be willing to change the exterior world as part of the master plan to bring me Home, but is always willing to change my interior world in order that I may experience the Peace of God if I am willing.
I had lived with metaphorical bears all my life. I had grown accustomed to being in fear. A big part of that changed that night in the north woods. Then Connie asked me to marry her a year later, I was afraid of making such a commitment. I prayed that my fear be removed, and we have now been happily married over eight years. When Connie and I were asked to take in a boy we loved as a foster child, I was again afraid of making such a commitment. I prayed that my fear be removed, and Alex has now joyfully lived with us over three years.
I continue to encounter fearful "bears" every day of my life, so I find myself praying a lot more these days, and as I do, the bears disappear and, miracle of miracles, Love takes their place. An when I am afraid to pray for removal of my fear, I pray that fear be removed. It works for me.
Click here if you want to email Jim. 
© Copyright 2000, Pathways of Light and/or the author.
Back in 1991, Christmas Eve, I was doing my practicum at the Wayside Christian Mission and had to stop at the grocery store to pick up some things on the way home. My son had came to work with me that day, as he was helping out with bell ringing and package distribution to the homeless folks, so he decided he would go into the store with me.
We got out of the car and walked up to the automatic doors of the Kroger store, when a homeless man with a shopping cart asked, "Hey lady can you please get me something to eat?" I said, "Sure, let me see if they have a deli in this store, I will be right back." The store was getting ready to close and there was no deli. I told one of the kids stocking the shelves that I had to get something that did not need cooking for this man who said he was hungry outside. The boy told me they had a Christmas party and to help myself to make the man a plate of food. So I did. My son took the plate of food and a cup of coffee outside to the homeless man. I saw him put out a cigarette and he started eating the plate of food. I checked out just as my son came back into the store to help me with the basket, as it was starting to snow.
I planned to give the man a few dollars since I had gotten change when I paid for my groceries, but when we got outside, the man was gone. We thoroughly searched the parking lot and down the alley, in back. There was no sign of the man or shopping cart he was pushing. Nothing. My son said to me, "Mom remember how when I was little you said sometimes God tests you to see if you are a good person by sending an angel in need to see if you will help them? He must have been one of those angels, huh?"
This is a true story. It happened at the Kroger Store at Second and Breckenridge Streets in Louisville, Kentucky on Christmas Eve, 1991.
Kat Deckmann is a Native American Cherokee who designs and sells jewelry and crafts from beads and leathers. She lives in Taylorsville, Kentucky. Email: wesainady@aol.com
Click here if you want to email Kat.
© Copyright 2000, Pathways of Light and/or the author.
Surrendering again? It seems I am always working on this one. Letting go and allowing my path to unfold before me in the light of Spirit (who knows what is better for me than I do). It is the allowing part that I forget so often. If I forget, Spirit creates a way for me to remember.
This time the creation was not just a nudge, but a huge shove so I would be sure to get it. What was the huge shove? Moving me to Texas, the last place on the planet I would ever consider moving to, but here I am. I have been on my pity pot for nine months adjusting to this new city which is more frenzied than the pace I was used to in Milwaukee. I missed everything I left behind, a fantastic job, my long time friends, my family, a home I loved, the trees, rolling hills and lakes. I was overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness, a space I hadn't been in for a long time.
These feelings became my friend, however, because they caused me to look deeper within and peel back more of my layers. In peeling back the layers I tried to allow Spirit to take the lead, but my dislike at being in my new location kept me on my pity pot. But Spirit kept nudging me gently by slowly opening doors for me. It was as if no matter how deep I was on my pity pot, Spirit still took the lead.
I began facilitating Pathways courses at a small metaphysical bookstore. Only a few people participated. My pity pot inner child pouted and blamed my low turnout on Dallas. My pity pot inner child judged the Dallasians as being shallow and not ready for spiritual growth. Putting out the energy of blaming and judgment only kept my attendances low.
Then a month ago Spirit gifted me with four people who wanted to take the Healing Inner Child 8-Week Group. I say this was a gift, because it was exactly what I needed to process these judging and blaming aspects in me. Through facilitating the group and working with the guided meditation tape that comes with the group work, I have recognized my blocks to opening up to the possibilities for me here in Dallas. And I could finally allow Spirit to take the lead again as I surrendered more often to Spirit's path for me.
Since my allowing has opened up, I am very busy, as I have been gifted with facilitating correspondence courses with five women, four of whom are going through the whole Pathways of Light Ordained Ministerial Counselor program. I am meeting lots of metaphysical people here and making lots of great contacts. I will be a featured minister at a holistic fair in April, when I will give a message and a blessing with four other women ministers.
My husband and I have also found a lovely home on one of the few waterways in Dallas, a canal where I see lots of wildlife. My life is becoming a creation of infinite possibilities as I allow the surrendering to be a part of me again. When I facilitate courses, I always tell the participants that the facilitator is always the facilitated.
Click here if you want to email Sue.
© Copyright 2000, Pathways of Light and/or the author.
Simultaneous, Synergistic Miracles -- by Rev. Christine Anderson
My friend Dennis (a fellow minister in Florida) and I share a holy relationship in that we have surrendered our relationship to Spirit to be used as an instrument of true helpfulness in this world calling so loudly for love. For more than a year now, the telephone has been the means of our communication in a worldly sense.
As we have gradually opened to the reality of Oneness in our relationship, we have become aware of an easing into something more comfortable... peace... the place of real communication, where Love lives -- where we all live! In this shared peace, we have found that we are able to listen to each other without judgment and be truly encouraging as we continue to let go of the need to be manipulating or controlling. We have let go of "our picture" of the relationship to open to Spirit's unfolding of the miracle of a change in perception. There is no distance between us. We are one Self.
Joyfully we have declared, "I don't know anything... and everything is really all OK! Spirit will reveal the Truth in every now moment, if I will but only listen." As we continue to open to Love, our True Nature, the ego's meaning for this world (to prove separation is real) is gradually falling away. Waalaa! The real world is appearing right before us. To be truly helpful, we have collaborated in the writing of this story about the shared miracle that took place in our lives.
It was Monday morning and I began my day with putting Spirit in charge. I was looking forward to a correspondence session with Donna, my student in Michigan, using AOL Instant Messenger on the computer. We met successfully in the chat room and after a short time, I perceived a problem happening as her name was appearing and disappearing from the "who's in the room" list. We kept inviting each other into one room after another. Neither one of us waited long enough to see the other's message. We just kept missing each other.
Puzzled and perplexed, I decided to shut down the computer, "go to peace instead of pieces" and just let go. My guidance from Holy Spirit prompted me to read the lesson for the day which was ACIM Lesson 79, "Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved." One problem -- separation. One solution -- Oneness. What a relief. The frustration that came from thinking that my student and I were not communicating melted away.
I called Donna on the phone and we laughed as I shared my miracle with her. The awareness that I received in relation to this experience is that Spirit is always extending a loving invitation to join in the peace-filled "chat room" of the One Mind to hear the ongoing message of Eternal Love extended forever. I need only "be still and wait." I will hear the message.
Meanwhile, in Florida, Dennis had started his day by asking Spirit to be with him "every step of the way." His job as a tow truck driver brought him into heavy traffic. He started to have an overwhelming feeling that something was not right. In his discomfort, he started to question his place in the world. He was wondering to himself, "How can I be in this world and not of it?" His attention had momentarily slipped away from the road. Suddenly he became aware of being very close to a car with children in the back seat. He immediately turned the steering wheel of the truck to avoid a collision and ended up safely on the grassy median of the highway.
He sensed "another pair of hands" had helped to guide the truck to safety. The impression he received from his Inner Guidance was to "take a break" and get off of the road for a while.
He went into the office and sat down with his dispatcher who is nicknamed "Coach." Dennis said, "Coach, it's like this... I'm really having a bad day. I can't put my finger on what's going on with me... I just don't feel right and I almost got into an accident! My good sense (inner guidance) told me I had better get off the road and come talk with you." Coach responded, "It's all OK! We all have a challenging day now and then. Just do the best you can. Call me if you get lost and I will help you find your way." Dennis thanked Coach and returned to work with a sense of peace.
At midday, Dennis and I connected on the phone and shared our miracle stories. As we also shared Lesson 79, we realized how perfectly it fit for both of us. As my spiritual brother shared his experience with Coach, I received an awareness from Holy Spirit. The part that Coach played in his miracle could be likened to the part that the Holy Spirit "coach" plays in the right mind that is available to all of us. Jesus is gently "coaching" us to join Him in the holy chat room of Heaven... Come Home... come Home, my dear ones! Blessings to you all... See you in the Chat Room!
Click here if you want to email Christine.
© Copyright 2000, Pathways of Light and/or the author.
Response to the Temptation of Judgment -- by Rev. Wenona Thomas
My brother has a story to tell...
I have a need to listen.
Tell me brother, tell me of the Love
you share with God.
Tell me brother, tell me of the Love
we share together.
Tell me beloved, tell me of the
Light you radiate from within.
Teach me brother, teach me what you
would have me learn, for certainly all
lessons are worthy of being loved.
Ask me brother, ask me of the gift I have come to bring.
The gift I have brought unto you my brother
is seeing in you my Love, my Self,
my Light... seeing that we are One.
Let us sit, break bread together
and share our Love.
Oh my beloved brother, how my love pours out
to You. I love you brother. I love your Father.
Click here if you want to email Wenona.
© Copyright 2000, Pathways of Light and/or the author.
Living in Fear, I Was "Bearly" Alive • Christmas Eve Miracle • Surrendering Again • Simultaneous, Synergistic Miracles • Response to the Temptation of Judgment • More Spring 2000 Articles