Real Friends

On a walk through a nature preserve with a friend, we came upon a most unusual sighting. Not at all sure what we were seeing—one was on it back, covered by tiny ants—at first we thought perhaps both of these Giant Leopard Moths were dead. A small stick was lying nearby so I gently touched the one that was upright. It was not dead! What happened next was nothing we could have expected, and at the risk of anthropomorphism, I will simply report what we saw.

The upright moth moved nearer to the one that was on its back and covered by ants. Moving as close to the other as it could without getting on top of it, its front and hind legs on the adjacent side came up and over the upside down moth. It is difficult to tell you what we saw without calling this an embrace. My friend and I were both shocked to see the antennae of the upside down moth begin to move ever so slightly!

Before continuing on our walk, for some time, we watched in awe, quietly whispering our shared wonderings of what we were witnessing. For sure it looked (to two humans familiar with hospice care) like some sort of being present with; a giving of comfort; a vigil.

Eagles soared overhead, woodpecker drummed us a tune, tiny warblers sang sweetly, and as we came back over the wooden walkway where we had seen the moths earlier, we forgot to look for them. Going back, we were amazed to find only the small stick I had used to gently nudge the upright moth. No upright moth, no upside down moth, and no ants were visible on the walkway. Just the small stick that had been used to test the life of these creatures we had encountered.

A more thorough search led to the discovery of what we assume was the upright moth, now under the base of the handrail that ran along the walkway. The other moth and its coat-of-many-ants were nowhere to be seen….

We were both down on hands and knees watching the moth when some other nature walkers came along. Curious, they asked what we were looking at. Standing upright, drawing attention away from the moth, my friend mentioned that we had a picture, so I took out my phone and showed them this photo.

Interestingly, I read on the internet that seeing these moths is most rare because they are mostly nocturnal and have a very short lifespan. Walking away, mysteriously summoned, Brandon Bays, author of The Journey, began lecturing to us from deep within my pocket: 

This is a book about freedom. Freedom to live your life as you’ve always dreamt it could be. All of us have issues feel trapped or limited by in some way—be it anger, depression, grief, anxiety, or fear. It may be as simple as thinking there must be more to life, or as overwhelming as feeling a complete failure. It may be as debilitating as addictions, or as life-threating as serious illnesses, and yet, no matter how deep the issue is, no matter how much you have struggled with it, the possibility exists for you to become absolutely free, whole, healed.

For sure, as human beings, we are capable of being absolutely free, whole, and healed. We are each capable of being real friends to ourselves and to one another. We can learn the lesson well from the Giant Leopard Moths....

The Tool is Neutral

It is totally amazing what technology can do. Someone can snag bank account information when they walk beside you on the street. And as cloud computing gains popularity the risk to gigantic quantities of sensitive data is magnified. Information now travels across national borders in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, technology can mobilize, inform, support, and save precious moments and lives. That is exactly what happened when an adorable white Westie named Sophie got out of her house unnoticed early one Sunday morning.

By mid afternoon Sophie’s “mom” posted a sign at the end of their driveway.

By early evening that sign was photographed by a bicyclist with a cell phone and Sophie’s photo and her owners’ contact information was posted on a neighborhood Facebook page. Hundreds of individuals were alerted and about 48 hours later Sophie was back home safely! 

Of course, not all missing pet stories have such a happy ending, but the important awareness for us all is to notice that the value of technology comes from its use, the tool itself is neutral. 

Our mind, our body, our attitudes, our beliefs, even our very lives are given meaning by us, based on our actions. Celebrate Sophie's safe return. Let’s all make the best of today!

Spiritual Healing

“Saul is quite the healer,” Sheilana quietly announced following the meditation. Sheilana Massey has been recognized as gifted since her early life within a Quaker farm family. For decades, Dr. Massey has hosted a weekly Meditation for Peace in her home on Pine Island in Southwest Florida. She had heard of Dr. Saul Shaye’s spiritual healing for years, but was herself meeting him for the first time that day.

He looked anything but extraordinary, although the Star of David amulet with a cross in the middle caught my eye right away. Nothing about his appearance hinted that he had been a contender for Mr. Louisiana, although he later shared a treasured (yellowed) version of this photo as proof of his life-long passion in body-building. 

From his online biography: 

In 1973, while Dr. Shaye was working on his doctorate in chiropractic in Iowa, he attended a workshop on psychic diagnosis, intent on disproving the technique. After attending the workshop, Dr. Shaye found to his surprise that he too could read and diagnose by sensing energy fields.

When Dr. Shaye offered to provide a demonstration of his spiritual healing I quickly said I would love to be his demonstration subject. I later offered if anyone else in the group wanted to be the recipient, but none came forth so my exact words were, “I am always willing to receive healing and grace.” 

While Saul went to the car to get his portable table, and bring in some copies of The Little Book of Miracles, Lois Mallinder told us she had put the booklet together over 20 years ago as a gift of gratitude after having benefited from Dr. Shaye’s spiritual healing. Since that time, she has printed and shared over 45,000 copies. You can get a free e-book from Smashwords or download the pdf version by putting Dr. Saul Shaye The Little Book of Miracles into a search engine. 

You can listen to interviews online and I found this photo that substantiates his relationship with the Green Bay Packers. He told us Brett Favre has received his spiritual healings, too. 

Dr. Shaye asked me if I was comfortable saying in front of the others what I would receive healing for. I assured him I was, and, when instructed to limit my list to three (even though he assure me that every healing need would be addressed), I first mentioned abdominal bloating that had been a very uncomfortable side effect of the surgery I had in 2012 to remove a 21 centimeter mass from my abdomen. Second on my list was spinal and muscular challenges since having been diagnosed and treated for polio when I was five years old. “My left knee,” was my last comment. 

“Put your shoes on and lie face down, please.” Before he even touched me my left knee started twitching with energy. I am not a newbie to energy work, and I am very sensitive. I could feel energy running throughout my body as I listened to him explaining to the others what he was doing. I was aware he addressed a leg-length discrepancy related to my left knee being out of balance. Sensations of energy have continued, and there is a very welcome relief from the abdominal discomfort.

I want to shout to the mountain tops. Knowing I cannot decide what is best for another, I have shared information about Saul with several. 

What makes some people open to spiritual healing while others hold bias or even fear? This especially baffles me about Christians, given that Jesus was a healer and told his followers you are healers, too. John 14:12, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.”

Was it chance that placed me at that gathering, or destiny? Say only, I am grateful….