Pin Balls, Turkeys, and Humble Pie

     Remember my Thanksgiving mini-rant about the yahoo, I mean, dear soul who pulled right in front of me, causing me to screech to a stop and miss the turkey, I mean, blessed heart by mere inches?  Of course, that implies that I'm always a wonderful driver and never do stupid things.

     But the Universe does have a way of showing us up.  Well, I was on the highway the other day and really thought that the lane I was pulling into was completely empty, I mean, for miles there was nobody there that I saw, but somehow when I pulled into that lane, I sort of, heh-heh, accidentally mind you, cut someone off. BEEEEEEP!!! Oops.  My bad.  Must have been the glare, right?  I really am a good driver, honest!

     I think it serves as a reminder that we are all learning and growing, and occasionally we (and our issues) run into other people.  It's part of life.  I think of it as a bunch of pin balls running into each other, and from those run-ins, we grow.  We can't stay on the sidelines and expect to grow much. 

    I think the lesson here is when some pin-ball runs into us, we need to act with compassion, because chances are that we have or will do the same thing to another person. 

     In the end, we're all turkeys.  Myself included.

Lessons on Love

     I just finished devouring Paulo Coelho's The Zahir.  It is a sweeping novel that investigates the lessons to be learned in truly loving another.  While I don't think he had in mind the Twin Soul relationship, some of the lessons Coelho ponders do apply.

    For example, I think one of the central points in the book is crucial, which is that one must empty oneself of oneself in order to be fully open to love and to loving another.  In The Gemini Bond, Trey touches on that theme when he speaks of balancing the mortal with the divine and of unifying the male and female aspects of the self.  Of course, he said it much better than I am here (blatant teaser alert). 

     Above all, I think Coelho and I agree that being with one's Beloved doesn't equal a Hollywood happy ending.  Reuniting with one's Twin Soul isn't a goal, but a process of preparing oneself for the next level of existence on the spiritual plane.  Like Coelho wrote, if you change yourself, the whole world will change.

     The world certainly needs it.

  

Things I'm Thankful For

     Here it is Thanksgiving eve, and I'd like to offer some thanks:

• I'm thankful for having published The Gemini Bond, and for the people who have read it so far.  It's been a long road, and I'm so thrilled to see my dream become reality.
• I'm thankful for my loving and supportive family of two-leggeds and four-leggeds.  They know how to pick me up when I'm down, cheer me on when I'm dragging, and rejoice when I've accomplished something that's important to me.  I am truly blessed.
• I'm thankful for the fact that my car has really good breaks, as I found out today when some yahoo pulled in front of me without even looking my way.  Turkey.
• I'm thankful for my gaggle of friends who have believed in me even when I didn't.  I am truly blessed.
• I'm thankful for the beautiful blue skies, the tee-shirt weather, and the pretty flowers blooming in my yard.  We are truly blessed.
• I'm thankful for the growth I've experienced as a spiritual person, and that I'm still learning, every day.
• I'm thankful that there are people who still believe in justice, fairness, inclusiveness, tolerance, and peace.  I'm also thankful that many of those people work to make their world better in those very ways.  Our world is truly blessed by their presence.

     If you're an American and celebrate Thanksgiving, then I hope you have a moment to make your own thankfulness list.  If you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, then I hope that your day is filled with the joy that comes from knowing how blessed we really are.

Coping as an Empath, Part 3

     The other day I was in a waiting room, trying to ignore the Judge Judy wanna-be on the blaring TV and, well, waiting, when a grey-haired woman hurried in, eager to talk to the receptionist about whether this was the correct office for her appointment next Tuesday.  She was doing a practice-run, I guess.

     She wasn't there five seconds when I could feel immediately that she was frantic, grasping and basically fearful.  Her emotions felt a little like a person who's flailing around in a pool when they find out that they can't touch the bottom and they don't know how to swim.  My first reaction was my usual one, which is to put up a shield of resistance to the emotional person while the alarm in my head says, "Go away, go away, go away." 

     As I felt myself stiffen and go into resistance mode, I decided to try a different attitude.  This time, I let go of the force field of resistance to her emotions and instead adopted the stance of "let it pass me by."  It's a bit like the statue of the Buddha that you've no doubt seen, when he's sitting in lotus position, with one hand raised, palm facing outward.  I think of that hand as parting the winds of emotions so that they pass harmlessly to either side.  Then, I turned off the alarm in my head and replaced it with self-talk along the lines of "It's her issue, let her deal with it; let it go," etc.  I also focused on taking a couple of deep breaths and keeping my eyes off the poor lady. 

     And you know what?  It worked!  I was able to survive the onslaught of emotions without paying a price myself.  I patted myself on the back all the way home.

Winners!

     We have four winners in the Goodreads.com giveaway!  They are Molly in Missouri, Brooke-lynn in Michigan, Audrey in California, and Shennel in Arizona!  Congratulations, all!

     And now a confession.  (I'm whispering here).  I honestly didn't think I would even get one or two people interested in my book, but I saw that over four hundred people applied for the giveaway.

     I am truly humbled and very touched.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Two More Days!

     Be sure to put in your hat for the giveaway of The Gemini Bond, which closes at midnight Monday, November 14th.  See the link in the previous post if you're having as much trouble finding the giveaway listing as I did (but chances are that you are more tech-savvy than I am) . . .
 . . . .  (there are days when I think my cat is more tech-savvy than I am) . . .
 . . . . . . . . . . . (*sigh*). 

     Did I ever tell you about the time I F10'd my computer?  It wiped the hard drive.  Yep.  See above.

Making Things Easy

     If you're having a devil of a time finding The Gemini Bond as a giveaway on Goodreads, here's the link:    http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/16787-the-gemini-bond.

     Remember, the giveaway ends the 14th of November, so enter early and often!  Good luck!

Book Giveaway!

     I've listed The Gemini Bond on Goodreads.com and have now submitted it for a giveaway! Yep,  I'm giving away free books to four lucky readers chosen by the Goodreads staff. 

     The giveaway starts 11/11 and ends 11/14.  When you read the book, you'll see why I chose those dates (yes, that was a blatant teaser). 

    So, enter early and often!  Good luck!

Cords and Connections, Part 3

    One of the connections that we humans have, but often forget about, is the connection we have to the divine.  You may call it God, or Higher Self, or Spirit, or Guardian Angel, or something else, but that connection exists. 

    It's so easy, through the busyness of the day, to forget that connection.  We try to cram as much into our day as possible, which means that other things miss out.  Overdoing means we are being less.  We forget who we really are, and why we are here. 

     I know I'm guilty of that on a frequent basis.  I like to check things off my "to-do" list just as much as anybody, and I like that feeling I get when I complete a project (you should have heard the whooping and hollering in my house when I finished The Gemini Bond). 

     I think the secret is to follow the advice of the Bhagavad Gita.  We need to do everything in service of our Higher Self/Spirit/God, and keep connected even when in the throes of being busy. 

     That's the challenge for all of us.