1334 WINTER MERRY-GO-ROUND

Where does the time go?

As is true, every winter, it's our pleasure to welcome so many dear snow bird friends, who flock to the desert to escape icy flurries of snow, that our daily merry go round, inclusive of dinners, does not slow down until early spring.  Thank goodness our Phoenix friends don't think we fell off the planet, because they, too, experience this annual migration when so many well-loved family and friends flock to bask 'neath the warmth of the sun that our minds feel too dizzied to think clearly without a calendar in sight, and knowing our good fortune, we wouldn't have it any other way ... though here it is Wednesday, and I just realized that my computer guru has not yet called back, and as that's not like her, and I know her father to be quite ill, guess what I plan to do right after publishing today's post ... stop my mind from spinning so fast so as to dial her number to ask if everything is okay, at least for now!

PS instant update:
My guru's dad is still holding his own, and she's coming over, this afternoon!

Now ... I'll call Barry and ask to FaceTime, tonight (after we enjoy dinner with friends, who flew in from Taiwan), in hopes of enjoying his 47th birthday, together, this evening.  47?  How is that possible when his mom, whose spirit is buoyed by loving interconnection, feels younger than springtime?  And on that up beat note, let's hope my guru does not find reason to suggest that my five year old hard drive (which has been extra crotchety as of late) is so far past its prime as to have worn itself down and fallen asleep, for all time ... 

1333 HOW THE HOURS DO FLY!

Before I knew what happened, yesterday flew by
And my head was so busy, taking care of daily life, that
I'd forgotten to call my guru before her weekend, at rest, began
What kept me so busy?  Priorities:
My head was filled with thoughts of organizing errands and
Food shopping before assuming the role of hostess, welcoming
A pair of snowbirds, who'd felt eager to introduce us to
Their friends while we six engaged in happy hour within
The cozy environment of the living room of our home
Followed by dinner at one of our favorite restaurants
As to the food shopping, I'd carried three lists into Sprouts:
The first for yesterday's happy hour, the second for
Our portion of the gourmet dinner club, which we'll enjoy, tonight
And the third to prepare a heartfelt welcoming brunch to yet another
Dear friend from college, who having lost his wife
(my treasured friend) to brain cancer, several years back
Flies in to stay with us, tomorrow
As to Monday, I'll leave a voice mail for my guru before
Picking up Ravi ... good thing my friend is a doting granddad, who
Understands that though I've chosen to cancel Monday's session
With my trainer, I can't help but indulge my spirit's resistance to
Mustering the patience to wait until
Thursday's standing-play-date to sweep my sweet natured
Fourteen month old, granddaughter's open armed smile into
My loving embrace ... Thank goodness, Ravi's spirit is
As winsome as a wood sprite, who thus far
Wins hearts wherever we go, simply by being true to herself ...
As for now, I want to end, today, with a photo of
Ravi's sparkling smile, covered with birthday cake, but
Having forgotten to call my guru, and knowing my iPad to be
Fussy about imprinting photos to my blog, I'd rather not
Muster the patience to quell heated frustration before
Cooking up two delectable dishes that I've decided to create
(Without so much as a recipe in sight) for our
Gourmet dinner group of eight, which plans to gather, tonight, at 6
So, Having chosen to turn my mind toward enjoying
Today's creative venture, which awaits my arrival in
The kitchen (where yesterday's free-spirited saunter through
Sprouts prepared me to partake in today's sense of
Creative spontaneity with which I'll combine
Fresh ingredients for this evening's repast, which
Had been selected intuitively while cruising from aisle to aisle)
And Now that I've chosen to adopt an attitude of patience until
My guru's guidance offers up her wealth of knowledge, which will
Hopefully, resolve whatever has caused
My computer's hard drive to be cloaked within a grey fog
I'll hope you are choosing to enjoy a five star day as have I ...

1332 WHY NO PICTORIAL REVIEW, AS OF YET?

I was close to completing and posting
My pictorial review, as promised, when
My computer went on the fritz
Oh no!  Not again!
This revoltin'development has taken place so often that
I wonder if a portion of my hard drive is fried
Once again, all I get is a grey screen
Called my computer guru ... Twice
Followed each of her directives to the letter
Nada... Thus far
As you know me to be a die hard, who
Does not give up on anything of value
I'm not about to declare this ship sunk ...
At least not yet ... Why not?
Well first off, I know that stuck is not sunk
And since this computer, which conveys
My thoughts to you, is as complex as
The machine-like brains that exist within our heads
I'll call my guru for brain-trained guidance, again, before
My die hard spirit frees my thought processor to
Dub my computer Titanic
And though frustration yearns to flare
Intuitive thought suggests that
Time to muster a whale of patience is ripe
And as we have plans with dear friends, who've
Flown here from the North East to winter neath
The soothing caress of the desert sun
I'm short on writing time, so rather than
Working to resolve this mystery before sunset
My immediate plan of action is simple:
Leave a voice mail for computer guru
Then, having penned this post on my iPad
I'll nourish my spirit by consciously choosing to
Fully enjoy another sun-kissed day with
Treasured friends from college days
(Who, having fallen in love with
Our desert oasis, can't stop gushing happiness about
Having chosen blue skies over grey clouds), and
Knowing that tomorrow is Saturday, followed by
Sunday, comprising 48 hours, which
My guru devotes, each week, to resting her mind, thus
Warding off burn out, I'll fill you in
Tomorrow, as to whether my computer remains
Stuck in a grey cloud of mysterious goings on that
Continue to clog its ability to hum in a rebalanced fashion .. Or
Whether I've struck the right key that, in addition to
Freeing my computer's inner workings, will also
Free my mind of frustration that reality suggests
Must be coiling up deep inside the inner workings of
My brain, for this reason:
Frustration is a natural emotional reaction when
A coveted goal remains  just beyond our reach, and
Even the most self disciplined mind is still human, deep inside
And now, having penned that insight, which tapped into common sense
Imagine me choosing to suppress feelings of frustration in favor of
Thinking thoughts that fuel my mind with feelings of gratitude, concerning
The fact that I'm about to enjoy the warmth of another sunny day, spent
With loved ones, offering my spirit heartfelt reason to challenge
Frustration to sit in time out, and thus do Iconsciously create
Brain space to feel as playfully joyful over my soulful good fortune as does
The peaceful mind of a well loved, well balanced child, whose
Mind still feels so safe as to freely satisfy her needs without
Fearing that if she disappoints others, she'll be banished, left to
Starve, emotionally, out in the darkly dreaded, cloudy cold, which
Blinds her mind's eye from seeing that, around a distant corner, life will
Offer her sweet natured heart the emotional clarity that
Proves necessary to frolic neath blue skies as freely as
Is true of ... Ravi, thus far ... You see, thus far, no giant, who
Has won Ravi's love, has confused her wholesome, well balanced
Sense of self by releasing emotional reactions that cause
A. good little girl to fear that if she is not
Perfection, personified, she will be deemed unworthy of love ...

1331 WHAT IS THE HUMAN SOUL? AND WHAT IS ITS ANTITHESIS?

I googled:  Human soul and was referred to this website:  Gotquestions?org
"Question: "What is the human soul?"

"Answer: The Bible is not perfectly clear as to the nature of the human soul. But from studying the way the word soul is used in Scripture, we can come to some conclusions. Simply stated, the human soul is the part of a person that is not physical. It is the part of every human being that lasts eternally after the body experiences death.

The human soul is central to the personhood of a human being. As George MacDonald said, “You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul."

A soul is required for personhood.  Scripture suggests that the human soul is distinct from the heart [Deuteronomy 26:16; 30:6] and the spirit [1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12] and the mind.  It can be strong or unsteady, lost or saved.  It is the soul that needs atonement to rest.

There is often confusion about the human spirit vs. the human soul. In places, Scripture seems to use the terms interchangeably, but there might be a subtle difference.  When the Bible talks about man’s spirit, it is usually speaking of an inner force which animates a person in one direction or another. It is repeatedly shown as a mover, a dynamic force."

(If you ask what I think, here's what I'd say:  Whereas the spirit is divisive in terms of feeling mean spirited, here while feeling kind spirited, there, the soul remains at one with itself, suggesting why a troubled soul feels need to inspire an inquisitive mind to seek insight into deeper truths (based in experiential wisdom stretching back through history across the time line) until our sixth sense signals our intelligence to solve puzzling situations by piecing bigger pictures together, until such time as a soulful need to blend logic with compassion fills the conscious portion of a person'sawareness with such a flood of humility as to sweep the defensive needs of the ego aside, and as wisdom knows to sprinkle patience, here and there, a mounting sense of frustration tends to subside, and once a person's conscious awareness absorbs this recipe, which blends self-discipline with solution seeking creativity, a peaceable attitude, concerning the implementation of a step by step approach to change for the better may begin to be imperceptible to every eye except for the eye that has been consciously trained not to wander too far from the path where the soul feels most at peace ... and since the defensive nature of the ego is not easily restrained for very long, wisdom suggests that we each need a trusty guide, whose mind proves well trained to inspire our intelligence to cautiously but steadily carve the next leg of this path, which offers our souls the existential freedoms necessary to satisfy basic human needs in such creative ways as to offer the insight-driven mind The ability to co-exist peaceably with those whose defense systems blind their intelligence from identifying the depths of their repressed despair of ever seeing their way out of the darkly cloudy, fear-based maze that separates mind, heart and spirit from feeling wholesomely at peace with choices that are souly their own to make. )

It has been said that ... the soul is imperishable. That thought should be both sobering and awe-inspiring. Every person you meet is an eternal soul. Every human being who has ever lived is a soul, and all of those souls are still in existence somewhere. The question is, where?"

(Perhaps this is why some believe in the soulful nature of reincarnation ... not by replicating the same body but suggestive of the undying soul, being absorbed during an innocent infant's first breath of life after which each new born spirit cries aloud, voicing an innate independence from the human body that had hosted the formation of a brand new life.   BTW:  If you'd think to ask me what I think causes the divisive nature of the human spirit, I'd suggest we reconsider the fact that Mother Nature created two opposing sides of human nature - the dark, defensive side, driven by the impatience of an egocentric fear of failure vs the bright side, which, being energized by sparks of courage, ignite our desire to explore ever more deeply into that which is, as yet, unknown - and as both sides of human narure vie for space within every person's thought processor, our spirits sway, back and forth tweet fear and courage until intuitive thought, stimulated by an unexpected experience, creates unrest within a mind that suddenly feels a compelling need to explore a self reflective path, which makes better sense of the confounding maze, created by the previous generation, which had misguidedly believed their opinions to be facts until someone's path crosses paths with an old soul, who feels eager to guide those who remain open minded to see that there's more to learn than we can hope to absorb in the brief time that each body is allotted to live on planet Earth.  And knowing that our busy brains tend to forget thousands of facts, which have been stored in memory, we, who are fortunate to cultivate a sensitivity to open mindedness will, one day, come to trust a guiding soul, who does not tire of clarifying creative ways to better our lives, because the conscious mind of this old soul will have (for some intuitive reason) become highly trained to offer up strings of insight, gently and repeatedly, and thank goodness, each mind, which feels inspired to follow one of these guides, tends to pass insight driven guidance on to the next generation, and in this way do progress and change for the better partner up as the future unfolds.   

Perhaps feeling soulful proves to be the antithesis of the ego's need to feel safe by usurping control over thought processors, which are not our own.  On the other hand, that's not to say that the old soul, versed in need to satisfy basic human needs, all around, is in need of seeking sainthood to feel like a good soul, because that wouldn't free a person's conscience to live a well balanced life, right?

Perhaps the defensive needs of the ego and our soulful desire to create change for the better, within reason, create the sense of balance that is missing from far too many lives   ... and if you believe, as did Anne Frank, that every person is good, deep inside, perhaps, Anne, in her youthful, inexperienced innocence, was intuitively referencing each person's soulful 'potential' to be steered clear of the dark side of life, which brings to mind my belief that adults, who are not completely blindsided by fear, do not grow too old to coax their defensive reactions to sit in time out, thus freeing a sense of inquisitive intelligence to quest toward knowing both sides of their nature ever more deeply so as to influence each next generation to create change for the better, throughout the world, by grasping a soulful (intuitive) understanding of how best to continue to tap into the bright light of The Force that naturally shines forth at birth from within every innocent child, and in this way will today's positively focused guides steer children to develop into tomorrow's leaders, who will seek to direct each next generation to appreciate the blessed state of soulful togetherness more than had proved possible of the last ... And with that said ...let's hope that my next post reflects the pictorial of familial friendship that I consciously and purposefully chose to pass to our sons, each of whom is in the process of role-modeling and verbally coaching the conscious minds, belonging to Tony, Ray and Ravi, to absorb the same positively focused energy that creates heartful and spiritual bonds though they may be separated from each other by hundreds of miles as each develops into a mindfully patient and loving adult, and once time permits me to assemble and post the family pictorial that serves as soul food for one who proves as family-minded as is true of me, hopefully, we'll see my storytelling hat floating gently down from on high until it centers itself lightly on my head, at last ...)

Here stands an innocent child, wearing a jaunty hat, which covers the fact that her sweet spirited mind feels so deeply confounded by adult reactions (as they try but fail to hide the depth of their pain from each other and themselves) as to induce her intuitive soul to compel her adult mind to set out on a quest in search of her lost sense of peaceful repose by imploring her thought processor to develop the existential voice of self assertiveness, which had retreated, fearfully and submissively, in the darkly confounding aftermath of her baby sister's tragic death ... Note that this sweet natured child's arms are bandaged from scratching incessantly as her innate intelligence itched to reach beneath the surface of conscious awareness until her repressed need to know and express her true self with clarity felt so clearly exposed as to inspire her sense of courage to seek help, and over time, as fear gave way to understanding, her visceral reactions to shouldering the weight of undeserved guilt (which had caused so much repressed emotional pain as to have actually drawn blood) healed ... And in light of the fact that an intuitive force runs as deep within a person's insightful soul as does ocean life, which exists in layers that run fared ever that which the fisherman's eye can fathom, is there any wonder as to why my instinctive need for clarity of verbal expression inspired my soulful quest to recapture my natural sense of inner peace so that all of me (heart, spirit, mind) feels at one with both sides of my humanness just as my soul feels at one with itself ...

(Note that upon whitening my face

my nose disappeared, suggesting that as I consciously choose quest ever more deeply into my soul, the less nosy my ego feels whenever a witches brew of gossip is cackling through the air ... And if you think I had any conscious clue of penning any of this upon awakening, today, please think again, because all I can say for sure is that each time the kind hearted side of my spirit reminds my mind to adopt a positively focused attitude, which offers others the benefit of the doubt, my soul feels wholly at peace and the rest of me follows ...)

As for now, the fun-loving portion of my spirit is propelling the rest o me to ready this old soul to go to Steven's house, armed with veggies, humus and skinny popcorn, where the self assertive portion of my voice plans to cheer, along side the men, for my very own choice of team ...

BTW ... Yesterday's quiet solitude turned into a playdate with a sweet natured, free spirited, little soul (whose adventures with socialization have barely begun) when Steven called, asking if I was free to enjoy several hours with Ravi, and I have no doubt that my son sensed a sparkling smile, shining forth from my pleasure center when his mother's strong-spirited voice conveyed a whole-hearted YES!

And each time I feel a mutually supportive sense of loving connectedness nourishing souls, all around, it stands to reason that all of me feels well-balanced, healthy, peaceful and well fed ...

1330 TIME SPENT IN MENTAL REPOSE IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL

2016
Today is a quiet day
No plans with friends till this evening, and as you may recall
I've come to value my ability to balance time, well spent, in solitude
With time, well spent, enjoying treasured family and friends

As today is a quiet day
You might expect my storyteller to pen a post, pulsing with insight
But that's not to be, because, rather than feeling a sense of mindfulness
My mind feels need for restful repose

So why write, at all, when common sense suggests that
You couldn't possibly care to hear that a brain in need of refueling
Has nixed penning a post that I don't feel like writing though
Being too busy to write I am not

BTW ... Have you noticed that Post 1328 has been withdrawn?
One last riddle for today:  If you were asked to describe the human soul
What might you think to say?
As always, comment box hungers to be fed ...

1329 LIFE PROVES BUSY AS SNOW BIRDS FLOCK IN WITH BUNDLES OF LOVE

2016
During recent months, I've become ultra busy with life (highlighting my good fortune of having been blessed with many people who have won my love), thus explaining why, recently, free time to write about the past has dwindled, most especially since a cornucopia of snow birds (winter visiters) continue to fly in, offering my spirit reason to sport a megawatt smile, buoyed with so much pleasure (and patience concerning writing) as to float, like a balloon, across the miles, connecting my heart with yours while time, which waits for no one, flies toward the future where, once again, the desert sun is sure to shine so hot as to send snow birds winging home, suggesting that time to pen posts, daily, will, again, be mine.

As for today, imagine my smile, sparkling brightly with gratitude over my good fortune to have consciously chosen to live my life in such a way as to connect heartfully with many people who embrace the art of loving generously, thus graciously (rather than defensively), and please know full well that once the pictorial of familial festivities, promised, appears on your screen, stories of raising my boys will follow, because the fact that I love those who presently people my daily life does not lessen my heart's desire to connect meaningfully, across the miles, with you ...

1327 SENSATIONS OF STORY-TELLING RUNNING THROUGH MY CONSCIOUS MIND, AT LAST ...

Just as we were excited, over the past year, to see each of Ravi's determined, sweet natured, step-by-step attempts to roll over, crawl, and stand, wobbly, on her own, now, we're excited to see our sweet munchkin's sparkling smile, toddling, unsteadily, toward us as though she's punch drunk with having achieved each next developmental delight.  As for her adoring family, thoughts of countless moments, just like these, stretching into the future farther than the naked eye can see, widens our smiles as naturally as Ravi welcomes each next adventurous step that a child, who feels deeply loved, trusts herself to take into the great unknown as if the world is truly her oyster in which her intelligent curiosity is self assuredly bent toward creating pearl after pearl. And each time this adorable toddler toddles toward us, blue eyes shining, lips smiling, arms outstretched to be lifted into a hug, our hearts  can't help but melt as sensations of love flood our conscious awareness with the warmth of pure joy. 

While playing witness to Ravi's brand new love affair with life, Will and I have chosen to graciously welcome whatever our golden years have in store for us, and thus can we be seen consciously basking in the sun while drinking in the nectar of all the years that came before we'd felt blessed within the joyful embraces of three beloved grandkids, and while engaging in quiet moments of reflective reminiscence, we feel deeply gratified, knowing full well that good fortune has gifted our hearts, first with three sons, who have grown to be each other's closest friends, then we were blessed with two 'daughters' and a pair of little boys, all of whom we've come to cherish, and most recently, we've all been blessed with a little girl, whose ready smile wins hearts wherever she goes, and as all of us greet each new day, we've no doubt of this fact:  Our cup runneth over and over with love so pure as to nourish our spirits, come what may ... and none of life's riches feels more enriching than that!

As I can't fathom penning even one more post, concerning hindsight, insight and foresight preceding simple plans of action, which create change for the better (and as, no doubt, you've been biting at the bit for my story teller to sit tall in the saddle), I sense my readiness (which could not be hurried) to gallop from wherever we'd left off straight toward a specific story, which showcases how little I knew at the age of twenty-seven about raising siblings, whose spirits had declared themselves to be unique individuals even before Barry and Steven (and later, David) had been born ...

So, right after I post a pictorial (as promised) showcasing our adult sons' creation of a bevy of holiday festivities, which delighted our whole family as 2015 wound down, I'll whisk you back to a time when 1970 was transitioning into 1971, where you'll find me very pregnant with Steven while Barry, who, at not-quite-two (and a big boy for his age) was in his PJ's, trying to figure out why his VERY OWN place to sit on HIS mommy's lap had disappeared.  I mean, when we stop to think about it, it's no wonder that our beloved, first born child couldn't fathom how HIS seat of honor had transformed into a beach ball, sporting a belly button, for heaven sakes!