Jul 17 2011

Poems from the Heart of Katherine T Owen

I spent some time this morning with poet Katherine T. Owen. No, we didn’t have breakfast together. Katherine lives in England and I’m in Los Angeles. I happened upon her small collection of poems via my Kindle. I have an Internet relationship with Katherine, of sorts. We met through a writing contest for spiritual authors and felt a kinship, though we’ve never exchange a word. With little fanfare Katherine has published Be Loved, Beloved—14 Spiritual Poems. I spent my morning quiet time seeped in Katherine’s words.

 Her poems were forged in the midst of deep personal struggle. As a young woman Katherine was incapacitated through a disease known as M.E.—Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. In her words “I…spent fourteen years bedbound with little movement and little speech…My life took on two sides: the difficult circumstances in which I was living—fighting to survive, and the rich, although initially also grueling, spiritual journey.”

 While the doctors may have called Katherine’s disease M.E, her poems reveal a major blockage of divine love as her true dis-ease. For whatever reason, Katherine deemed herself unloveable. From her sparse words emerges the picture of a woman who had the wall between God and herself removed, one revelation at a time. One poem at a time.

 One thing that struck me was the stripping of ego in the work. Most of us have a comfy ego façade, but weakness and disease tore Katherine’s away. Her poems come from the heart.

 It’s a short piece, easily read in half an hour, but the beauty of poetry is its ability to be fresh with each reading, like listening to a favorite song over and over. Be Loved, Beloved is a precious little tome to be revisited time and again.

Jul 9 2011

Supernal Living: Part One- Attunements

I love reading books about quantum physics—not that I fully understand them. The tome I’m currently ingesting in small bites is entitled The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot. I read these books in an attempt to understand the life I find myself living.

A couple weeks ago our dear friend, Helen, visited us in Southern California. If you’ve read Ever-Flowing Streams, or just the Prologue here, you’ll recognize Helen as the Reiki therapist I first encountered in 2005. Through her I received my first and second level Reiki attunements. This visit promised to open a new door of exploration to something called the Oneness Blessing, which is a growing movement that began in India about twenty years ago.

During the course of her visit, the Supernal Friends (Paula & Sue) and I received three “blessings” during our mediation times together. What exactly is that? This started me thinking about the phenomena of receiving frequency adjustments in various manners.

In my life journey, I’ve received a variety of these experiences in different guises. They’re given different names. In Christian Evangelical circles they’re called “receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit,” being “slain in the spirit”, being “anointed.” In Reiki they are called “attunements”. White time universal energy followers call them “openings.” Now the Oneness movement is calling them “deeksha” or “receiving blessings.” In my lifetime I’ve been “baptized”, “slain,” “anointed,” “attuned,” “opened,” and now “blessed.” I’ve even been “gazed upon” by the healer Braco. I realize that makes me look like some kind of energy-junkie, but most of these experiences just came my way—or I was dragged by my Supernal Friends.

In the case of my earliest Christian experiences, they were spontaneous moments alone in my home during prayer sessions. Unique energies appear to be transmitting from somewhere beyond our third dimension through humans to other humans. The Pentecostal movement that has now affected millions of people worldwide began in 1906 at a church on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. One of the hallmarks is receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Believers feel a palpable change in their bodies. It affects people in various ways—they might feel joy, love, laughter, tears, or forgiveness. Many are healed of diseases. Some fall down on the floor, totally overcome by the power of the vibration. They feel connected to God and Jesus.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean in 1922 a Japanese physician, Dr. Mikao Usui, went on a spiritual retreat to Mt. Kurama. On the twenty first day of prayer and fasting he received a frequency vibration called Reiki (god’s light) and started a healing movement that now has thousands of practitioners.

More recently, a husband and wife in India known as Bhagavan and Amma founded a children’s school in the 1980’s that has evolved into the Oneness University. Students come from all over the world and multiple religions to be transformed by the Oneness Blessing. The “deeksha” or Oneness Blessing is quietly spreading across the globe. Awakening into Oneness by Arjuna Ardagh offers a reporter-like presentation of the Oneness movement.

These are only three examples of the vibrational frequencies that are changing our world by first altering our minds and bodies. I like the term “attunement” best, because it reminds me of tuning a piano. The wire strings are adjusted by a master tuner to change the pitches and bring the instrument into perfect harmony. I think that is what all these frequency adjustments are leading to. For myself, it’s been a multi-decade series of “attunements.” Each one requires adjustment. Perceptions change. Physical and emotional healings evolve. Talents sharpen. Priorities switch. Awareness of other dimensions increases.

Many of us are beginning to lead “multi-dimensional” lives. That’s why I read books on quantum physics. They offer a scientific viewpoint to experiences some call paranormal and others call just plain crazy. We call it “Supernal Living.”

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.

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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

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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