What if . . . Your Body is the Car You Drive?

Wait a minute. Pull over! What did I just say?

For years after my initial encounter with what I shall affectionately call my "First Eye", I became immersed in questions arising from the many What ifs tumbling around my head from the experience. I started reading. Voraciously. M. Scott Peck, St. Augustine, Kahlil Gibran, Eckhart Tolle, Miguel Ruiz. A Course in Miracles. The Bible. Ghandi. Gangaji. I can go on. . .  I attended self-awareness classes, yoga instructions, queried on other religious beliefs besides my own. Even considered atheism. I spent years talking with psychologists. In later years when it came into existence, I cruised the Internet for more information to substantiate the fact that I encountered a Being greater than I, who just may have been my Creator.

With every direction I took I became more aware of my body as one part of my existence and my soul as the driving force behind my flesh and bone. One morning as I jumped into my car in a rush to get somewhere, it occurred to me that perhaps as my body formed in my mother's womb, my soul climbed into my body just as I was climbing into my car. Take that a step further, and I concluded that as my life unfolded,whether or not my soul took the wheel or just came along for the ride was totally up to me. I am inclined to think that soul thinking or mind thinking are choices of Free Will.

So, check out your car. Who is at the wheel? I am inclined to think that so much of today's world thinking is mind-based (a.k.a. Ego-based) and emotional-based, and that without nurturing soul thinking--or paying attention to the signals our souls send us to ignite soul thinking--we pretty much become like careening or untuned cars that take us to our destination (sometimes not exactly on the route we wanted!) without fully enjoying the ride.

Mind you, I am not bashing emotional/mind-based or Ego-based thinking. Nay! Nay! On the contrary, all are as critical to our existence as soul thinking. I am saying, that if all four pistons are firing together, what a ride we'll have! Our precious bodies are sheer perfection. Our brain is indescribably magnificent--and we are only using 10% for current thinking! Our emotions carry us on all the wonderful waves of sensation we experience. Now, imagine: What if our souls, which are connected to our Creator (which means every other person in Creation as well), become the drivers of our bodies--taking directions from the mind but ultimately handling the car? I can absolutely guarantee you that "accidents" would be far and few.  And, if we did, the accident would become part of the experience as our souls worked together to repair the scene.

Soul thinking is concerned with everyone's (including our own) outward well-being. I believe that with soul thinking engaged, nothing but harmony would result in our world. Soul thinking comes from our connection to something greater than we. Therefore, soul thinking tempers aggression born from feeling separate in the world.  (I can just imagine someone waving and smiling at me instead of flashing me the "bird" when I accidentally cut them off on the road! I'd probably have an accident out of sheer shock!) 

So, the next time you turn the key or push that button to start your precious vehicle, imagine that your soul has done the same with you. Imagine where your body can take you! How does that affect your thinking now?

THE POWER OF FEAR- The Biggest Scam On Earth

What If . . . fear is the biggest scam on earth?

From the experience I recalled from Blog #3, I didn’t come away from that charismatic healing service frightened. I came away terrified. I quickly discovered that I was better off telling no one what I had encountered in Massachusetts.

Why? For one thing, when I attempted to explain the experience, I broke down into a blubbering mess. Crying. Shaking. Unable to string a coherent sentence together. I couldn’t get over the fact that I had seen, felt and understood something so much immensely greater than I that my insignificance terrified me. Oh, and let me add that immediately after the experience, I completely forgot the “aha!” moment that had so impressed me while I was in corporeal form. It wasn’t until years later that the information percolated back into my awareness.

Why did I behave this way? Several factors. First, the experience was so very overwhelming it defied reality. Imagine. What would you do if you were to encounter a visitor from another planet for the first time? I’d guess the experience would make you rather jittery to say the least! (Then, imagine trying to tell your family and friends and get them to believe you.) My connection with this Being had a wallop significantly greater than that possibility. 

While exquisitely wonderful, and powerfully frightening, no one could explain--and mostly refused to entertain--what  I had experienced. I approached several priests with whom I had a good rapport and they either dismissed me as another kooky churchwoman, or said they could not explain it.

Second, within months of the experience, I told one woman I worked with while we were commuting into work in Miami. I upset her so much,  she almost pulled the car over and asked me to get out. I still could not recount the experience calmly. My agitation was distressing her. The few times I told people, the reaction was the same. And, I was embarrassing my husband. People thought I was nuts.

So, third, I stopped sharing this amazing experience for fear of folks rejecting me. I clammed up.

In the ensuing years, the event never left my mind. I spent a lot of time contemplating the encounter. My final and freeing conclusion? I had not been in any danger whatsoever when I experienced the connection to that Being. If indeed, it was the Holy Spirit . . . or God, and no, folks, I cannot say it was my Third Eye. My third eye may have opened to receive this being, but who/what I encountered was entirely separate from me. What I never lost sight of was that I was in the presence of an immense Power which communicated with me in my own language. 

What terrified me was that this Being was so capable of extinguishing me merely by its Presence alone, that I felt I had been in danger. Yet, He was so kind, loving, gentle and contained in his Dynamics, that He was as peaceful and glorious as a sunrise.

This entity of explosive, bridled energy so full of power and brilliance while completely and totally emotionally charged with Joy, Kindness, and—God Bless Him—Innocence, couldn’t even conceive of doing harm to me, anyone or anything else. The dichotomy of such overwhelming power coupled with the ignorance of cruelty confounded my senses.

The Being I encountered did not have to make Himself known to me, but chose to because He heard my fear and wanted to put me at ease. He did so by showing me His Universe, like an excited child showing a new kid on the block where his favorite playground was. Only this Being was mature, soft spoken and intelligent beyond comprehension.

Once again, I don't intend to go religious here, I am simply using my life experience to explain what occurred. So, the first revelation after the experience was this: I understood the true meaning behind the religious words, "Fear the Lord for He is Great." This message was never meant to be punitive as in, Fear God or he will punish you. Absolutely NOT. Fear the Lord for He is Great means that if you were to meet God one-on-one, you would understand that we as humans, perfect and beautiful as we are, are so very insignificant in structure and understanding in comparison to His Existence that we could be destroyed simply by proximity. Like standing on Ground Zero when an atom bomb detonates. 
Only difference?

There was not one destructive, unkind or unloving atom in the structure of the Being I encountered. I came away realizing that we, as a species, are incorrect in how we perceive our reality. For Him, Fear and negativity simply do NOT exist.

What if . . .we were created from some manifestation of this Being? What if. . .we are a part of this Being? If this Being has no fear, then why should we? If this Being has so much power that it exists as an energetic dynamo, why can’t we? What if this is why we were born? To discover this very truth about ourselves and join the party!

Coming to this conclusion, I saw the root in the frustration that religion’s strict rules cause for people whose passion to spread the Truth is their vocation. There is only one Rule: Love. That word has been bantered around so much that it seems to me that a whole bunch of puny, useless rules were made to sound more important than the significance of Love. Not Honor. Not Duty. Not Obedience. But LOVE. I mean, eat fish on Fridays or sin? Don’t mix meat with dairy or sin? These rules travel back into history as a social means to either keep an economy moving or keep people healthy. They served a purpose, but in no way represent the Truth.

They say: Rules keep people safe. Rules make guidelines by which people know how to behave.

Really?

What if . . . we operated from a place of love? We would always know how to behave. Now, understand that rules are different from operating instructions. Operating instructions, whether for a machine, or how to navigate a highway, construct a device or to perform surgery are step-by-step instructions. These are necessary and important guidelines to achieve a result. Rules, however, are governed from fear. If this rule is made than this person (group of persons) will feel safe. Feel free to make your rules. Those who agree can join.  Sadly, those who don’t will become separate from you--and in worse case, the enemy.
So the vicious circle turns once more.
After my ethereal experience, all those religious rules I was told to believe though I could not understand the logic behind them? Horse pokey. And, many of those rules? Fear based.  I believe science and metaphysics explains everything that is in Creation--that we can understand so far. Where logic leaves off, Spirit picks up. God is Logical. He is Spiritual. He is Emotional. He is Physical. He is Invisible. He Is. Just like us. Only, He is unbridled. We have stifled ourselves with Fear.

So many of us have lost sight of this fact from the mere act of living the lives we were taught. We may accept the fact that we have a soul, or not, but . . . what if? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that this invisible tool within us exists for our wellbeing, love, education and enjoyment now? 

 I believe our souls are our link to our perfection. They speak to us, sooth use. Guide us. We simply do not think with our souls enough. Our Ego dominates most of our actions and our Ego is fear based. Precious as the Ego is for showing our uniqueness, it restricts us from tapping into our soul to understand our connection to each other, the earth, the universe. Our Intellect serves to monitor both sides, leveling the playing field of our lives to an equal tenor, but the Ego bullies our other senses to keep us separate. Generating fear. If we were to eliminate fear from our existence (Again, not talking about ignoring safety, like hands in fire or walking off a cliff. That’s common sense preserving our lives.) the Ego would have to quiet down and become a team player with the rest of our physical, spiritual and emotional selves.

Then, we would be functioning on all cylinders! The scam would be over. Fear would be G.O.N.E.

Okay, I may have upset you by now, or have you nodding your head in agreement. Whichever, I hope you are reacting. Because reacting breeds thought and thought demands investigation and investigation leads to searching and honest inquiry will lead to the Truth.

The Truth should leave you feeling wonderful inside. That which is not Truth leaves you uncertain, maybe even physically uncomfortable. Trust your instincts. Trust your body. Every inch of you--mind, body and spirit are your learning tools. The search for Truth is an adventure. Truth cannot be found when fear is an agent. Pieces to the puzzle will be overlooked.

I may have challenged a structure or a set of rules by which you’ve built your world in order to feel emotionally safe. Emotional safety is a product of fear. If fear did not exist, neither would emotional safety because there would be no danger from another being from which we should feel the need for protection.

Fear is a powerful tool used by media, politicians, parents (albeit unknowingly most times), heck, all of us at one point or another to gain adherence. Fear is the root of that ugly, age-old word, evil. And in the English language, the word evil means anything morally wrong or bad, causing injury or harm. Now, take the word evil and spell it backwards. What do you get? LIVE!

I rest my case.

Blog #3: Fear Is A Four-Letter Word

What If . . . Fear was eliminated from our existence? Impossible? Hmm. I wonder. Sure, the flight or fight instinct rests deeply imbedded in our DNA. Folks suffer phobias and fears too numerous to spend precious space delineating. However, I believe that fear not only halts our forward motion to success, peace and happiness, BUT fear exists as the biggest scam on our planet!

How do I know? I experienced the difference. I witnessed a complete and fearless existence. Only once. And truth is? The encounter was so terrifying I stopped talking about the experience for thirty years.

Wait! A terrifying fearless encounter? Isn’t that a contradiction? Of course. Which is why I’m writing this blog today. I know the difference. And now that my children are grown and thriving on their own, I have no responsibilities left other than to start talking about what I didn’t understand for so long.

If you’d like to know the full story, please accept that this blog will be longer than usual because I’ll need some time to explain the circumstances. As promised from Blog #2, I have chosen to trust you enough to expose what could be lunacy or the biggest simple answer to our happiness as human beings dwelling on this jewel we call Earth. I will simply have to be comfortable with the fact that some folks will not be comfortable with what I have to say. That’s okay. Whether you are intrigued, put off, disappointed or excited by my story, it doesn’t matter. My only hope is that I get you thinking. Reacting. Then question yourself: is your reaction coming from a place of fear, or faith? Keep in mind that no matter what I say next, only the Truth matters. And the Truth will always find its way to light.

I also would like to say what this blog is NOT. This is not a discussion on any religion. While the story I'm about to share took place in a church, that is not the focus of the story. My entire intent is to invite you to re-align your logical thinking to include what you can’t see, which is what you sense in your heart—the center where your success lies. In doing so, we approach the spirit behind matters of the heart and soul independent of religion. If you are okay with that, then please, read on.

So . . . What if right after I was married at the ripe age of 23, and my new husband and I planned to move from our Amityville home to Miami. My mother was upset that we were moving away. Mom invited me on a road trip to spend some time together before leaving. What if, I said, okay!

Here’s what happened:

Mother’s surprise road trip ended up in the parking lot of a small, threadbare church in the heart of Worcester, Massachusetts. I should have realized this, since she is a bit fanatical about her Catholicism. She announced to me, and my three siblings that we were about to attend a charismatic service. We said, “A what?” To which she had no answer, but herded us into the church.

Skeptical? Completely. Disappointed? Absolutely! You call church service a surprise road trip when I thought we’d be going somewhere fun and adventurous? Well, within two hours I would experience an adventure that would change my life.

That moment, however, was the culmination of many occasions when my mother had exposed us to some wacky religious experiences. My siblings and I gave each other looks as if to say, here we go again. I decided right there and then that if I detected any duplicity on the part of this priest for whom Mother had driven four hours for us to witness, I would stand up and challenge him for taking advantage of people willing to trust in him as an agent of love, truth . . . oh heck, God.

We found standing room in in the balcony of the packed-to-the-rafters church. I could not see the altar from the crush of folks in front of us. What I did notice was this amazing ethereal music, like angels singing. Against the din of people talking, the music was the only clear sound I could hear. I sat on the floor, actually on a step, and began weeping. Why? I still don’t know. It was my reaction to the music. But, the tears seemed cleansing--as if I had been carrying sadness, either for the folks around me or for my own place in the world. The music was transforming that sadness into peace. Mine were tears of gratitude and I could not stop. My younger brother questioned me and I just shrugged and said, “It’s the music. I feel so foolish!”

Moments later a man began speaking. Standing along the back wall of the balcony I could not see him at first but I remember thinking, “If I were to ever hear the voice of  God this is how He would sound.”

The gentleness and the purity in this man’s voice captivated my attention. I understood right there and then that this man was someone special, gifted, holy. I craned to see a young, dark haired man in white vestment walk up the center isle of the church from the back. No pomp. No circumstance. Humble.

I was hooked. I wanted to hear everything this priest had to say. What I didn’t know is that this priest, Father Ralph D’Orio, was conducting a healing service. After he explained how the next hour would unfold, I worked my way to the edge of the balcony as assistants starting bring people forward from the crowd. I needed to see if this guy was real.

From my vantage point, I watch father pray over a young boy in a wheelchair.  From my bird’s eye view I saw one shorter leg grow to match the other healthy leg. No joke. I could hardly register in my mind what my eyes were witnessing. None of the other healings were as obvious, as they were internal illnesses on folks, but viewing that boy’s leg grow longer rattled me right down to my toes.

This is insane, right? That kind of healing just doesn’t happen in real life, right?

Right! But . . . what if?

After Father D’Orio finished his healings, the congregation dismissed for lunch, to return in an hour. My mother didn’t want to miss a minute of the next half of the service so we ate sandwiches from paper lunch bags she had prepared in advance. Call me shallow at my mother’s forethought, (and I am embarrassed to even admit this!) but given my expectations (expectations are such a terrible nuisance) I thought, really? Not even a Big Mack to celebrate our road trip? 

Despite the fact that I had been awed by the boy in the wheelchair, a healthy dose of skepticism percolated to the surface after discussing what we’d witnessed with my siblings. The others hadn’t seen what I saw because I’d moved to a better view on the balcony. But, despite my mother’s irritation, my siblings and I decided that unless we saw proof, there had to be a gimmick here. The morning’s events simply could not have been possible.

Since it only took twenty minutes to eat, Mom rushed us back into the church because she wanted better seats. The five of us ended up in wooden pews smack in the middle, right-hand side of the church. Mom was pleased as punch. I was surprised at how quickly the church filled to the balcony once again. I expected to hear more of that amazing music, but no. Just regular church music. Lovely, but nothing like what I’d heard when we arrived. It wasn’t long before Fr. D’Orio returned. Quiet, peaceful as before, but meditative. His intentions were clear for the rest of the service, but I wonder if he knew what was about to happen. And when it did, how the heck did he keep so cool?

Fr. D’Orio invited everyone to hold hands with the person next to them. Then, he asked us to close our eyes and simply listen. He was going to pray. He said our silence and listening made his one prayer our own, and therefore more powerful. So he began.

I can’t quite remember everything he said. However, I do remember he spoke of the power of angels. The power of our guardian angels. The beauty of the earth and the breath of the Holy Spirit present on the planet. And then, with my eyes closed, the clatter began. Thump. Bump. Bump. I opened my eyes. All around me people were falling down. In front of me. Behind me. Above in the balcony, one man lost consciousness and was hanging over the edge.

People began shouting. Women screamed. Father D’Orio immediately instructed everyone not to touch anyone who’d fallen. He explained that the Holy Spirit united with their souls and their bodies lost motor skills. They were unharmed. Having a spiritual moment. If we touched them it would break the connection with the Divine.

Terrified, my younger sister broke her handhold with my brother and bolted from the church. I learned afterwards that she locked herself in the car and cried. None of my family members had “gone down” as I called it, but my mother was swaying ominously. Horrified, I jammed my eyes shut and said this prayer as fervently as I could to the one and only God I know.

I said, “God, I know you’re out there and you know I love you. But, You’d better listen, and listen good. I’ve fainted all my life. I hate the feeling. I am NOT GOING DOWN!”

At that moment, with my eyes closed, this brilliant, overwhelmingly spotlight-white light ignited inside my head. I felt as if I was mentally squinting to shield my eyes from the blaring radiance. I wanted to shield my eyes with my arms, but my hands were still interlaced with my brother and Mom. Within this light, a golden triangle appeared that grew larger until my head was filled with these sharp, trilateral edges shimmering like molten, liquid gold. Exquisite! I remember sighing out loud.

Inside the triangle a closed eye appeared. Long-lashed, the eye opened. I can’t be sure of the color but I’d say light blue, like the most perfect sun filled day. As the eye opened, I felt something inside me move. I was lifted up on a current of energy, my arms outstretched like flying. Only I realized, I was still standing, holding hands with my mother and brother. Yet, I was in motion, moving out of my body and streamed toward the eye into what? The Universe?

Upon later reflection, I realized my soul had connected with this power while my body stood still. The fact that I could see where I was traveling proved that my soul has vision. I was intact. Whole, yet without my body. I was consciously and completely experiencing my soul freed from the physical.

Can you imagine this story coming from a good Catholic, raised by the rules, don’t-question-only-obey type of girl? Scandalous! But, let me continue.

I was carried on this current of energy through the pupil of this Eye as if soaring through the window of all windows. One with the energy, I streamed into the Universe. The sensation was thrilling, safe. You know how scientists say the Universe is shooting outwards as a result of the original Big Bang theory? I felt in motion with the stars and galaxies scattered around me, moving away from me just as I was heading toward them. I could feel the energy running through me, out my fingertips to the left and to the right. I felt euphoric. I felt calm, energized, free. (And, these words do not adequately describe the emotion I felt.) For a brief moment, a wave of understanding washed over me. I understood everything. The meaning of Creation. The purpose of life. Why we are here. I remember saying, “Oh! It is all so simple! How could we not know?”

Why were we created? Why are we here? Simply: To experience Joy. We are the Creation of an outpouring of unlimited, unbridled Love. I’d say we are a manifestation (I want to say the explosion) of Love that occurred because the Joy of creating us could not be contained.

This insight is what this Being wanted me to understand. This Being (I am inclined to believe was the manifestation of God as the Holy Spirit) to whom I connected was (is) the purest, most innocent and joyful form of Existence I could ever imagine. This Being cannot comprehend hate, fear, unkindness, tragedy, violence, suffering, loss, depression, despondency, greed or lack. Negative emotions such as these—experiences such as these—do not exist for this Being. At all. Not in the least.

Do you understand what I am saying? If I tried to explain a single negative expression to this Being, it would be as if He could not hear me. As if while expressing such earthly pain I would become invisible because for this Being, pain does not exist. Pain is not a manifestation of God. Therefore, simply does not exist.

I am saying that Truth is Joy. Truth is Fearless. Truth is Innocence because nothing negative exists in reality to infer otherwise. Negative emotion simply DOES NOT EXIST in the realm of Perfection.

What we fail to understand is that we as human beings are a part of this Perfection. We were created as an outpouring of love from this Being as the sheer joy of Creating. Each and every human being is a perfect being carrying a perfect soul. No matter what their shape, color or look. Fear is the only tool holding any of us back from believing we can do anything.

What if?

Can you comprehend the possibility?

To top off this breathtaking experience, this Being spoke to me. Not in words, but as if telepathically. I heard Him (and I say him because the message seemed masculine) from behind my right ear. He said, simply:

I am so gentle. I would never harm you.

Simply. In a whisper. Not what I expected to hear. I wanted to throw my arms up and leave with this Being, never to come back again. (I felt as if He would permit it.) But, I suddenly remembered where I was, that I was recently married and my husband and family would not know what happened to me. I said out loud, “My husband won’t know what happened to me.”

And with that, the Eye closed. And was gone. I sucked in a huge breath and opened my eyes to see I still stood in the same church holding hands with my mother and brother. Knees trembling and near tears, I looked from one to the other and whispered, “Did anybody else see that?”

My other siblings had had enough (they hadn't experienced what I did) and begged my mother to leave. Not sure what else to do, my mother piled us into the car to head home. I don’t know what she  expected to have happen on the visit to the charismatic healing, but she didn’t want her children to be hysterical with fear and pointing out visions they had no right experiencing.

I have so much more to say on this event, but I want to point out that although I later realized that I was in no danger, the event terrified me because of the Being’s overwhelming power. I could not recount the story without being reduced to tears and trembling. Now, I realize why I felt fear in the aftermath. That fear no longer exists. I’ll discuss this topic more in Blog #4.

So, in retrospect, the day was a bust for mother, but changed my life forever. What do you think? Am I on to something or have I totally lost my mind?

Blog #2 What if . . . The Truth Is The Truth?

What If . . . I were to tell you a lie and you believed me? Would it matter? In the long run? No. Because the Truth is the Truth and the Truth always surfaces. 

Would telling a lie destroy my credibility with you? Absolutely. I cannot imagine a single reason why I would enjoy destroying your confidence in me, so I simply would not lie. But, what if I told you a lie thinking it was the Truth? No worries there because, once again, the Truth would eventually find its way to light. If I were willing to accept the error and you were willing to forgive, then the Truth would set us free to enjoy each other once more.

One of the greatest foundations between all creatures is trust. We as sentient human beings extending trust outward into the world, one person at a time, would create a ribbon of good will that can extend around the globe for everyone’s best interests, no?

Well, how can we establish that level of trust? How do we ensure that we could trust strangers with all the hype and misinformation that bombards us daily?

Well, until everyone gets to this understanding, unquestioned trust may take some time. Trust has to come from within—and in today’s day and age, it may take some practice. Where to begin?

Permit me to make a leap here: Begin by trusting yourself.

We all can say we have experienced an unusual event that we would call strange, bizarre or just not possible. Instead of blowing off the experience as stupid, or impossible, what if you were to accept that odd occurrence as a possibility? What if what you experienced really did happen and you accepted it as true with the consideration that although the event seemed odd, unusual or impossible, you simply did not yet understand the truth behind the event?

Isn’t that more freeing than thinking you may be wrong? Or stupid? Or . . . crazy?

Say, you’re thinking about someone. The phone rings and it’s him or her on the phone. Coincidence? Maybe. Or better yet, a telepathic connection? Would you be willing to trust your internal sensors or instinct that someone was thinking of you—or vice versa—and you connected?

This is a small example, but I hope you get my drift. Freedom to achieve your dreams and fulfill the reason(s)you were born begins with trusting all your senses. Your instincts.

I suggest you think of a moment when something happened you couldn’t explain, but for the life of you, you’d like to believe it was true. I suggest, what if your experience was true?

I’ll trust you enough to tell you one of mine (because they happen all the time!) if you trust me enough to tell me one yours. I’ll go first in the next blog if you’ll promise to share as well. You can start now or wait until the next post. Are you interested in talking more?