Jul 1 2011

Go See That Woman

Ever-Flowing Streams

Ever-Flowing Streams  chronicles my spiritual adventures through the seemingly disconnected avenues of Christianity, the Japanese healing system of Reiki, quantum physics, A Course in Miracles, and past-life therapy. While living a middle-class, conventional life, I’m drawn into the healing prayer wave of the 1980’s. Seeking a healthier life and answers to a recurring medical mystery, I go beyond the boundaries of the church to study the emerging mind-body-spirit movements of the day. In 2005, an encounter with a Reiki therapist changes my life and challenges my belief system.  Ultimately, the book deals with the power of prayer and includes exercises for readers to explore their own healing possibilities.

Sometimes it’s just best to start at the beginning. Here is the opening for “Ever-Flowing Streams.” Sometimes an illness can be the start of a wonderful transformation.  It can also bring some amazing people into your life.

Chapter One

PROLOGUE

 

The Adventure Begins…

I sat down for lunch that summer day of 2005 feeling perfectly fine. Gazing out my dining room window, I enjoyed watching a pair of squirrels frolic along the fence between the giant oaks in my Oklahoma backyard. In the living room, the television hummed a Sunday afternoon football game. My husband would soon be snoring. I read a book and munched a few potato chips with my sandwich.

With no warning, pain shot up my neck and into my jaw. Ignore it. I took another bite. More pain, instant swelling below my ear.

Great, just what I need, I thought. Another attack.

Though I hadn’t experienced a full blown attack in several years, I recognized the familiar symptoms. Swollen glands and shooting pain that made eating impossible. I puzzled over what had set it off. Some might say “food allergy.” But after forty years experience, I knew the physical symptoms were merely a manifestation of a spiritual mystery.

As I sat cradling my sore neck, staring at my uneaten lunch, I heard a command in my head. Go see that woman. This has something to do with a past life. Go see that woman.

Oh, for heaven’s sake. I flipped the book I’d been reading over and gazed at the cover—One Soul, Many Lives by Roy Stemman. The book chronicled case studies of reincarnation. Brother, was I prone to the power of suggestion, or what?

My spiritual and intellectual curiosity had led me to many subjects, including reincarnation. It wasn’t a new concept to me. I’d read quite a few of the popular books during the 1970’s. There’s a certain fundamental sense of order and justice about karma.

Didn’t Jesus say “As you sow, so shall you reap”? Isn’t Dr. Laura always popping off about accepting the consequences of our actions? Reincarnation turns life into one big game of “Truth or Consequences” through time and space.

Still, wondering about reincarnation was sort of like pondering alien abductions. Maybe they were real, but I hadn’t personally been picked up by a UFO in a corn field.

 

Reluctant Patient

As my neck throbbed, I wasn’t in the mood to ponder either ET’s or Eastern philosophy. Another attack was upon me and it hurt like hell. Going to a regular doctor wouldn’t help. I’d been down that road many times before.

The thought commanded me again. GO SEE THAT WOMAN!

“That Woman” was an English New Agey therapist named Helen. My friend, Kathy, had been seeing Helen for Reiki energy therapy. During treatments Helen had told Kathy of past life experiences causing trouble today. According to this Helen person, my friend’s swallowing problems originated from being hanged in a previous incarnation. Her sore feet supposedly echoed the lifetime in China when her feet were bound.

Now, I really like Kathy, but I thought she was gullible. The therapist sounded a little too wacky for me.

GO SEE THAT WOMAN was not a command I wanted to obey.

I decided to handle the situation as I had done in the past–ask for some prayer and take anti-inflammatory medicine. Going to some dubious “therapist” was not going to happen.

So, that night I went to bed for a fitful sleep with my aching neck and the determination to tough it out. Somewhere around dawn I stirred, groggy and grumpy. My face felt oddly stiff. I sensed a matted eye.

Oh, great, add pink eye to the mix.

That was a new one. I stumbled into the bathroom, switched on the light and turned toward the mirror. I expected to see yellow, crusty matting.

Imagine my shock seeing blood. Caked blood surrounded my left eye. I peered closer. On the inside fresh blood welled up. I was tearing blood. Good grief. In forty years of attacks, that had never happened before.

Again I heard the command. GO SEE THAT WOMAN!

Okay, I knew how to take a hint.

*******************

Ever-Flowing Streams   is exclusively available  as an ebook at Amazon

Jun 18 2011

Book Review: New Age Classic “The Parables of Kryon”

 

“The Parables of Kryon” by Lee Carroll was first published in 1996. At that time I was living in Oklahoma, the buckle of the Bible Belt, basically a galaxy away from Del Mar, CA where Mr. Carroll was at the forefront of the New Age movement. The Kryon material is channeled information, which in many circles still has the connotation of being straight from the Devil’s Lair. I’ve found channeled material to run the gamut from the ridiculous (“greetings, Earthlings”) to life changing (“A Course in Miracles”).

Since acquiring a Kindle, I enjoy exploring all the spiritual book lists seeking the rare gem, the classic I missed along the way. I’d vaguely heard of Lee Carroll and Kryon, even in the insulated heartland, and decided to risk perdition by downloading “The Parables of Kryon.” What I discovered was a delightful collection of twenty deceptively “simple” stories rich with profound life lessons.  Just as Jesus taught the villagers of his day through tales like The Prodigal Son, The Sower of Seeds, and The Good Samaritan, Kryon shares his philosophy via the storytelling tool.

The book begins with the brief “Parable of the Tar Pit” where everyone thinks being covered in tar is normal until one person is suddenly washed clean. Carroll serves as interpreter of the Kryon tales he receives, spelling out the spiritual lesson in case you missed it. Disciples can be a little dense, as Jesus learned when he had to explain the Sower of the Seeds analogy to his followers. Likewise, Carroll makes clear the philosophical lessons behind “The Big, Fuzzy Caterpillar” (a wormy creature who misses the chance to become a butterfly), “The Two Groups of Warriors” (reminiscent of putting on the whole armor of God in Ephesians), “David the Indian” (who breaks through foggy boundaries) and the rest with summaries at the end of each story.

I found myself reading one parable a morning, like a daily devotional, ruminating on the spiritual lessons, sometimes agreeing, sometimes not, but each story was always food for thought. The piece stands as a sort of spiritual movement historical marker, using phrases like “New Age” and “life contract” that were once new and have now taken on a lot of baggage.  The order of the stories starts with universal life lessons that would not rock many boats to increasingly New Age concepts of reincarnation and karmic principles that would definitely send mainstream Christians back behind their fences.

Still, for those spiritual explorers who enjoyed hearing Bible stories in Sunday school, “The Parables of Kryon” delivers some interesting concepts in a variety of entertaining tales.

Visit the Lee Carroll/Kryon website at Kryon.com

Jun 1 2011

Feeling the Healing Streams

Ever-Flowing Streams:Christ, Reiki, Reincarnation and me is a spiritual memoir and guide to pro-active prayer.

This excerpt is from Chapter One of “Ever-Flowing Streams” and features the first time I felt healing energy coursing through my hands as I prayed for my daughter.

My Sick Baby

FIn 1982 our second daughter, Cary, was born. At that point I was not a follower of Christ, but I was exploring the possibility. I read the Gospels. As an experiment, I began praying to Jesus, though I felt a little silly and embarrassed about it. Like I was giving into superstition.

I studied The Healing Light and visualized light beaming from the heavens through the top of my head. Agnes Sanford wrote of a gland in the brain that expanded to allow healing energy in. She described a light-headed feeling. One Sunday in church, the top of my head felt like a little balloon swelled beneath my skull. Very curious. And very peaceful. I liked the balloon-in-my-head feeling and tried to find it again.

When Cary was a few months old, she entered the dreaded ear-infections and rounds-of-antibiotics cycle. As the weeks ticked by, my faith in medicine dwindled. Until that point, my study of healing prayer had been largely theoretical, confined to reading and class work. But after Cary fought infections for three months, my interest in healing prayer became intensely personal. A milestone in my prayer life occurred on a cold, stormy winter night.

Oklahoma wind rattled windows while I held my feverish nine-month old. We sat in an upholstered rocking chair, rock, rock, rocking the night away. My heart ached for my fretting child. She whimpered and fussed. Fever radiated from her little body. I held my hands over her ears and closed my eyes, hoping to find a spiritual lifeline.

I whispered, “Help her, Jesus.”

Please, please, please. Fear gripped my chest.

Then the teachings of Agnes Sanford filled my mind. I visualized a wide beam of sparkling light shooting from the heavens, through the roof, into my little living room, engulfing me and my baby with healing energy. Keeping the image took concentration. I fought to stay in “the zone.” Gradually, peace replaced worry. Images replaced words. At some point, the connection occurred.

Imagery became reality. Heat permeated my head and traveled down my right hand. A warm magnetic sensation filled my palm as I held it over her sore ear. Cary’s body slumped with relief. Time lost meaning as we both enjoyed the roiling waves of healing energy pass over us. The intensity receded, leaving us relaxed and sleepy.

As I lay her in her crib, I kissed her forehead and whispered, “Sleep well sweetheart.”

I added, Thank you, Jesus, in case he really was listening.

I took her to the pediatrician soon thereafter and heard his diagnosis: the ear under my pulsing palm had healed. The other side was improved. Ear infections became a thing of the past at our house. The first seeds of faith in healing prayer sprouted in my soul.

Ever-Flowing Streams is available as an e-book and paperback at Amazon.com

May 27 2011

“Tattoos on the Heart,” My Favorite Book

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

Taylor email 03 Review by Dana Taylor

“His ways are not our ways…but they sure could be.” 

Tattoos on the Heart author Gregory Boyle, aka Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries and long-time priest of the Delores Mission in Los Angeles, aka “G-dog”, sums up his approach to life in that simple, but profound, phrase. Father Boyle has been honored with numerous awards, including the California Peace Prize, and even brought gang members to dinner at the White House. A bout of leukemia prompted him to finally write a book inspired by his twenty-five years ministering at the ground zero of gangland—Boyle Heights of Los Angeles. Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion is my new favorite book and it will take something pretty special to bump it off the top of my list.

It hit me on so many levels.  First, the writing style—there’s a dose of barrio homeboy vernacular to make it real.  A homegirl acting as receptionist answers a bomb threat with “Go ahead and bring that bomb, motherfucka. We’re ready for your ass.” (Christian publishers passed on the book because of those moments.) Then, in the next paragraph Boyle might quote Thomas Merton or a Catholic saint.  He uses so many different colors to paint the palette of his book.

Next, the content is the stuff of inspiring sermons—spiritual lessons couched in anecdotal stories of the homies. Rather than writing a chronological autobiography G (as he most often is called) offers chapters that focus on the gifts of the spirit—Grace, Compassion, Gladness, Kinship. He makes the barrio come alive through the eyes of man who sees the value in people who can’t see the value in themselves. This isn’t a Disney-like portrayal of the happy mean streets. His heart has been broken by the 167 times he’s buried the homeboys because of senseless violence.

 Yet, there is hope because he knows who the Savior is.  He sees Him in every scary, tattooed ex-con who comes through the doors of Homeboy Industries. G knows the Boundless Compassion of God and does his best to pay it forward.

Father Boyle lives among the angry, the marginalized, the under-educated throwaways of society and shows them God’s love. Indeed, his ways are not our ways…but they sure could be.

If you read it, Tattoos might turn into your favorite book also.

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle

****

Ever-Flowing Streams: Christ, Reiki, Reincarnation & Me

   “A book not just to read, but to experience”–Tampa Bay Examiner

Available as ebook and paperback at Amazon

May 24 2011

That 70’s Woman

I watched Kirstie Alley with awe and admiration as she cart wheeled and leaped onto Mak’s shoulders during the “Dancing With the Stars” finale. To see a sixty-year-old woman of solid heft able to pull off gymnastics and dance with such grace and power was inspiring.  Upon reflection, I realize that Kirstie represents many of us who came into womanhood in the 70’s.

 We embraced the society-changing clarion calls of Gloria Steinem, Betty Freidan, and Erica Jong. Helen Reddy sang our  anthem—“I am woman, hear me roar.” We honestly thought we could do it all—find an equal partner, get the great job, raise happy children, stay thin. Participate in the sexual revolution without taking any bullets. So, okay, it didn’t work out quite as well as we’d idealistically hoped.

 Kirstie turns out to be a pretty good poster-child for the 70’s woman. She found commercial success, but personal happiness has been elusive. She fought her way through a maze of bad relationships, see-sawing weight issues, public humiliation. And yet, at the end of the day, she is standing strong, heading into old age with a youthful spirit, showing the world she won’t be anybody’s grey-haired old grandma.

 I doubt Kirstie takes home the sparkling ballroom trophy tonight, but she’s walking off that dance floor a total winner. She represents  the 70’s woman.  Our waists are a little broader, our outlooks a little jaded, but we are strong and taking on whatever comes next with courage and optimism. Hear us roar.

By Dana Taylor • Posted in Musings
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May 13 2011

Debut

Writing the first post of a blog site feels like an auspicious occasion, like the christening of ship. Quick, get out the champagne. On the other hand, there is the question of whether the world needs another blog site.  What’s worse, I’ve heard “a blog shows the world your first draft.” Pure anathema for a writer.

Nevertheless, I plunge ahead. “Definitely Dana” is a phrase that came to me a few years back when I was naming a radio show. Those who knew me deemed it just right. I am a mixed bag of spirituality, comedy, wisdom and cynicism. I am a Christian who reads The Tao Te Ching, accepts reincarnation as fact, and loves singing praise songs to Jesus. I spend an hour in the morning sending healing energy as the Spirit leads. I wasn’t surprised by the monkey business of Tiger or the Governator, but don’t pass judgment on them.

I think I’m on the planet to fulfill some sort of mission. Writing appears to be part of it. As part of the Supernal Friends, I am intensely interested in matters of healing, whether it be of the body, the spirit, or the planet.

I realize we are living in historic times, call it The Shift, The New Age, The End Times, whatever.  Things are a’changing at breakneck speed–politics, religion, publishing, technology, weather, even geography. People are changing also.  Some are becoming “multi-dimensional,”–able to tap into various levels of information swirling about the universe.

It’s an amazing, frightening, wonderful time to be alive. I’ll be writing about the things I see, the insights I receive and the hope I feel for a better world.

Dana Taylor

By Dana Taylor • Posted in Musings
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