Last summer I found myself in a local book store searching for a gift, when I noticed a border above a rack of books on my way to the check out register.  The banner that grabbed my attention read “Banned Books.”  I immediately marched over to the ostracized titles, some of which I recognized, but there was one of these books along this shelf that made my blood boil at the sight of it on the banned list–a beloved, historical document that has been translated into over 70 languages, making it one of the most widely-read in the world….The Diary of Anne Frank.

To the person who has often been told that they are “too shy” or “too sensitive,” or who has often faced questions like, “Why can’t you slow down?,” “Why do you worry about everything?,” or “Why are you so dramatic?” To the person who feels misunderstood, overwhelmed, or lost in this world….I’m here to tell you that there is nothing wrong with you, but rather, you are a unique composition of emotions and processes, and you possess a giftedness that no one talks about….emotional giftedness.

You know how it goes. Sing or read along with the melody in your head….

Row, Row, Row your Boat

Gently down the Stream

Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily

Life is But a Dream

The spiritual seeker and mystical thinker that I am, does a lot of noticing. And a lot of pondering and musing. And I’ve done a whole lot of this over the past year or so about this well-known and likely one of the first children’s nursery rhymes that, if you are an English-speaking person, likely learned when you were a toddler.

Living a human existence requires several things if one is to survive and thrive somewhat comfortably and securely, namely…. shelter, food, clothing, water, community, family, friends, and let’s not forget (or maybe you would rather forget)- money.

Beginning in 1979, there was a series of books published that were marketed for kids and teens between the ages of 7 and 14. This series was more or less a collection of interactive gamebooks, whereby the reader was the protagonist, or the hero or heroine of the story. The stories were all written in 2nd person, or the “you” or “your” perspective. YOU were the main character, and it was you who made all the choices that determined the story’s outcome and it was you as that main character who could create different endings.

Historically, October and I have had a complicated relationship.

Charles Dickens summed it up best-”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

In no other month out of the year do my emotional and mental bodies shift like they do in the autumn defining month of October. And interestingly, October just happens to be the month my soul entered human form.

As a kid, I remember…

As the summer season is winding down, many of you have probably traveled during the last few months. Some of you may have journeyed to uncharted parts unknown, while others may have hopped around places closer to home. Either way, if you’re like me, you enjoy having sound to accompany you on your adventures to keep you company along the way. Maybe it’s your favorite radio station…

If you currently have or have ever had a bird feeder on your home turf, then I think you’d probably agree with me that “bird” feeder is a misnomer. It might as well be called a “free for all feeder,” as it’s more like a mini animal trough. Hence, the lead-in to this month’s message, or as I almost titled it, “Being Schooled by a Squirrel.”

There’s an annual Star Wars festival held each year on May 4th or “May the Force”, at a local town, and I decided that this year I would go and take my granddaughter and whoever else in my family wanted to tag along. I wasn’t that much older than my granddaughter when I saw the very first Star Wars movie with my Dad. I vividly remember the phenomenon in the 1970s. When it premiered…

This time around, I decided to host another voice, a much younger one, to speak on behalf of One Forest World.

I’m honored to introduce you to Mika, my 9 year old granddaughter. The following is a transcript of a conversation that we had in my backwoods a few weeks ago. Here, we talk about nature, the forests and its many wonders, and how this wonderful world we inhabit shows up as our teacher and our healer and our friend. Please enjoy.

Several years ago I was in a class with like-minded others, when we were asked to think about a difficult time in our lives, and then to write a letter to our “higher self” or “future self” to ask for help. After revisiting such a time in my mind’s eye, this is what I wrote…

The story goes like this…. One day, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, also known as Mother Teresa, visited a Catholic high school in Virginia, whereby a student asked her, “How do we become like you?” It wasn’t the first time she was asked this, and she replied with an answer that she often repeated to others. She didn’t encourage prayer or more homework or studying Christian teachings. She simply said…