Cindy!

Stripping the Phantom of it's Mask

A Person of Beauty left our world last week and ever since Maya Angelo passed on, I've been thinking of Strong Women. Oprah and the other Great and Famous People come to mind, but I was thinking of people like you and I. Ordinary people, men and women, who rise above and beyond the bar when the situation calls for it. A well-loved friend wrote this letter last week, and I want to share it with all of you. She titled it "I can Smell the Barn!!" and addressed it to her friends. She began by thanking them for their kindness and encouragement,as she found herself quite unexpectedly, on a road that is all too familiar to too many. "This is not something you want to do alone," she said. Yesterday, I had my third round of Chemo ... One more to go and we can close the book on that giant CLEANSE portion of the treatment (for breast cancer). Am pleased to say that I passed with flying colors! Amazingly enough, I still have hair - if you've ever seen what the Phantom looks like when he removes his mask in Phantom f the Opera - you've got the picture. Not my best, but still there! I am now seen most often sporting a baseball cap or wearing my new cranial prosthesis named Gladys! The Wig. I'm doing just great. Cancer has given me a new lease on life. I'm taking time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us and am especially taking time to think about a lot of things - the love of family; the importance of friends; those less fortunate. I believe that when it's all over and done, I'm going to say that this was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I'm sure the second half of my life will be filed with new pleasures and joys. I hope I can help other women facing this scary disease to realize that it's not the end of the world - it's really just beginning. In the meantime, just wanted to say I'm doing great ... and I trust that the lessons I'm learning will mark my path in my journey going forward. Thanks for walking it with me. Cindy. What a tribute to the Human Spirit. I've known Cindy for a long time, you met her in "By Morning's Light". She inspired me then, all through the worst journey of my life, making me laugh when I could barely smile; picking me up when I was down, moving me forward on her magic carpet of laughs, encouragement, and her zest for life. Her spirit touches everyone she meets, and now it's our turn to be strong for her. Everyone she knows, will walk this journey with her; we won't be afraid of the road ahead, and we'll all cross the finish line together, in a shower of balloons, streamers and a riot of drum-beating silly clowns! Walk on, everyone who's reading this, with the people you know who may be victims of this and other horrors. With anyone you can help, encourage and inspire. Be there for each other, because we know how close to home this scourge can hit ... And if, God forbid, this, or something like it, charges at any one of us - we'll all be there, six-shooters at the ready, On Guard! Because we're strong. Even though we don't always feel strong, even though we may feel helpless at times ... Shoulders back! Tummies in, Chins up and Forward March! It's a choice ladies and gentlemen. Sometimes the only viable choice we have. Take it and thrive. In the words of the poetess, Maya Angelo, "If you have it, give it; if you learn it teach it." Thanks for teaching the lessons you've learned, Cindy. See you at the checkered flag! Tally HO!

The Colors of the Rainbow

When I think of the Colors of the Rainbow, I think of freshly-washed skies, and crystalline air reflecting the sun, changing and casting its light in an arc of color. On Thursday afternoon, I hope you'll join me at the Westlake library at 4.00,for a colorful and entertaining presentation of "Rainbow Rising". The book was written in answer to the many questions you asked during a multitude of presentations I made across this state and others; questions you had following the publication of "By Morning's Light". In "Rainbow Rising" I've done my best to answer every one of them. One of those questions was, "How old were you when you first knew you could feel and see spirits?" Well, come with me on Thursday on a fascinating trip through the gold savanna grasses of Africa, to the crater where the old Sangoma lives; a medicine woman with "so many years in her skin that no one can count them." I met her once with Lizzie, my Zulu nanny, who introduced me to the ancient spirits of Africa. That may have been the beginning, but somehow I don't think so. You see, as a very young child, I could remember the essence of another place - the place before this place called earth. I remember it's colors, it's sounds and air that sparkled. Somehow I knew that there was so much more to me than skin and bones. You asked me, "How can Isee spirits? Where can I find them? How can I speak to them?" And then, "I don't think I can do that ..." The simple answer is, "Yes you can." We all can. So, follow my yellow brick road and I'll show you how I did it. The journey was FUN. Intriguing, fascinating - visiting another dimension always is, I imagine - and it involved getting to know people who were far more savvy than me, more fun and totally awesome in their teaching of something this amazing. This was the Metaphysical Study Group I belonged to, who my sweet husband Walter referred to playfully,as "The Spook Group." After a bout of his teasing one afternoon, I asked him how he would like to wake up in the morning, green and croaking and warty... But I'm not a sorceress. You will however meet a real witch in the book - A Good Witch, bouncy, charming, and one whose lineage contains at least one true witch. Who knew they were hereditary? You wanted to know, was I ever afraid of opening myself up to evil spirits? No. Dark Energy (read evil) cannot survive in light. Only Spirits of Light, God, his Holy Spirit, my own angels and guides, and sometimes yours,are ever invited into my circle. Do you believe in fairies? Maybe you will one day. Where was God? Where were his Angels on September 11th? Didn't you see them? What happened to Buck when the spook group practiced their levitation skills on him at a New Year's Eve party? Tune in on Thursday for the thrilling conclusion...as the Universe turns. :) Ever wondered if you may have lived before? Met a battlefield ghost from Manassas? Or another from a wagon train trying to cross the Rockies. I can't wait to see you on Thursday! It's going to be so much fun - and more than that, I look forward to hearing from you. Your stories, Your impressions, Your questions. Help me to color your world, fill it with hope and, of course, Rainbows. See you there - Thursday at the library at Westlake. And bring your friends and high spirits. Until then!

Just Waiting . . .

Have you ever had the feeling that you're just waiting for something to happen? You know deep down that there's something, right around the corner, just waiting to burst into your life, bringing changes with it. It's a feeling of anticipation, hope, mild excitement and curiosity. You're not even sure what it really is - but SOMETHING is going to happen. You can feel the energy moving into the spaces around you. Sometimes you're mildly impatient waiting for things to pop. Sometimes you're downright anxious waiting for 'something to happen'. More and more, I'm realizing the truth in the thought that Timing is Everything and, for me, patience may be the hardest lesson to learn. A friend of mine called last week mildly frustrated (which usually means anxious) that her husband's beautiful art work was taking so long to really catch hold and start selling like hot cakes. "But I just know something's going to happen soon, and when it does, it'll be big", she said. It's almost as though someone's hit a delay switch and is holding everything up. They've done everything they can. The work is unique and lovely, they've done all the promoting, it's in a gallery in Manhattan - but the Universe is still at work. Teaching. Another friend emailed me that after months of frustration with a project involving photography, after months of wondering where this was going, and even if it had hit a stone wall - something stirred - and the right people showed up, with all the know-how she was lacking, and the project began moving forward. Timing. When the pupil is ready, the teacher will come. For weeks and then months, I worried, freaked out about the publishing of the second book and all the things I didn't know. All the frustrations built up, then came a few successes when I thought, AHA! Success is just around the corner! And then got slammed down to earth again when everything went wrong. But when the timing was right, everything fell into place and the book was done. It was only then that I could look back at the whole experience and realize I'd just been coached through a powerful learning experience. What I've learned is that no matter how hard we try we can't hurry Perfect Timing. No matter what it is - whether it's something you're working on, or just a feeling that something's going to happen, it happens in it's own time. And if we try to rush it, we'll probably fall short, or maybe even flat on our faces. There are steps to be taken, small steps that we may not even be aware of at the time. Invisible forces propelling us towards a goal even though we don't know what they are or where they come from. It's part of paving the way to the next event. The way must be clear, the road signs must be in place and only then can we begin to move forward. There are universal building blocks that have to fall into place. Often involving other people and their life paths. Universal blocks that are similar to those brightly colored children's blocks with ABC's printed on them. The ABC's of teaching and learning. Funny that we call them 'blocks'. Running into road blocks. My mind is blocked. Something's blocking the course ... Not so. They seem more like delay switches to me, to give us time to smooth the way, negotiate the obstacles, work with the universe o many levels and set the wheels in motion. And when the timing is right, the brightly colored, clearly sign-posted blocks will tumble into place, almost miraculously, and everything will begin to move forward - maybe in the way you expected, and maybe not. But it is moving at last. And remember this: "Nothing is either good or bad - only thinking makes it so." That was Will Shakespeare. Another great teacher. I wish for you and me; Patience, Hope and Fun today!