In the second week after my first chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, I began to lose my hair. Like a white angora cat, I shed hairs everywhere: on my clothing, in the shower drain, on my chair, in my hairbrush. Sometimes they drifted down onto my shoulders like cherry blossoms in the springtime; other times they clumped like small snowdrifts on my pillow. All of it strangely fascinating to me, as if they were bits of my identity falling away, freeing me even further at a soul level.

That may seem an odd way to view it; yet the process feels symbolic of a larger shedding that occurs as I clear out the clutter of a lifetime of identities. To be human is to move through many experiences and identities. I used to gather identities like flowers in a basket (flower child, activist, feminist, lesbian, writer, editor, spiritual seeker), feeling glad that I was eclectic and not tied to any one self-identification. I felt freer that way. As the years went by and my spiritual practice expanded, I began to realize that freedom is a much more expansive designation when viewed from the soul’s perspective.

We have an innate need to rise above ourselves, to open ourselves to higher influences.

Our present condition is imagining what we need to do in order to get above ourselves, never seeing that whatever we imagine belongs to our past, to something known. In a manner of speaking, it belongs to the very earth -- the body of ideas and social values, morals, traditions, religious icons -- all those things that seem to lift us, but in truth sit beneath us and drag us down into their world, into tension and further division.

You are, whether you see it or not, in a constant state of tension. There’s always something that has to be fought with and overcome. And the mind doesn’t discern. It can be fighting with its past. You can be tense because of relationships that have been gone for fifty years, but you don’t know it because the mind calls up an image, imbues it with the sensation and emotion from the experience, and then puts you in a struggle to try to free yourself from it… which is tension.

After over 30 years of collecting crystals, I have quite the menagerie! If I were to combine all of the crystals in my home, they would probably weigh over 500 pounds. I’m not a crystal expert per se, but I am an avid collector and lover of these mineral friends. 

I can always tell if a particular crystal is meant for me – if it wants to be with me and belongs in my home. And I can just as easily tell when a crystal does NOT belong with me. 

One time a friend gifted me a crystal, which I brought home and placed on my desk. Before long, I realized this crystal didn’t want to be there. I asked my friend if it had come from her home and lived on a window sill there. When she said yes, I knew immediately that this particular crystal wanted to be back home in its original window, so I returned it to my friend. I know that sounds odd but I really feel these are sentient beings of a different kind!

Another time though, a dear friend gifted me with a tiny baby dragon hatching out of an egg, made of obsidian. Immediately, I knew this one was for me and that it wanted to be named Herman. And this little guy sits next to me every day! 

Each and every crystal is unique, and choosing them is like choosing friends to come and live with you in your home. Not dissimilar to your pets! When you choose a crystal to bring home with you, it should feel like a personal fit. Just like you wouldn’t adopt a dog or cat you didn’t feel an affinity for, the same goes for crystals. 

I have had the great blessings of being with Unity and Science of Mind all of my adult life.

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When people ask me the biggest difference between the two organizations, I always say, “Leadership.” It’s really the consciousness of the leader which creates community and the way he or she shares the principles. I loved the many years serving as a Science of Mind minister and frequenting the beautiful grounds of Asilomar for our conventions.

As I reflect upon my life and my mission of uniting differences, I feel one of my biggest passions has been to show people the importance of understanding how related both Unity and Science of Mind teachings are. I consider it especially important to show the relationship between the two spiritual pathways, now at this time in history, as we are sharing dreams and visions with our global communities about practicing and living from a place of oneness.

As we move deeper into the change of season that unfolds this time of year, do you experience a sense of loss, of gain, or is it simply a part of the cycle of life? 

Similar to the four seasons, we evolve through a cycle. They are create, sustain, deconstruct (also referred to as destroy), and the void. These cycles are one unified continuum and we are part of the cycle. In fact, the cycle of life is not happening to us, it is us. We are all this one unified field, nothing is separate from us.

It is only our mind that decides that separation exists. In that decision, we become an isolated entity on this planet, rather than part of the cycle of life.

As we navigate these cycles, there are moments we experience density, chaos, or darkness – moments when there doesn't seem to be a sign of love or light. Those moments are misperceptions as we reach the edge of our conscious awareness. They are where the light of consciousness has not yet illuminated those aspects of the Self here in this dimension.

We're here to train the mind to perceive our wholeness, the Soulful Self. The most effective thing we can do is teach it to serve love – to serve the soul.

As with all things in duality, we have a very outward focused way of being as it relates to energy. You might say you feel a certain way because of “that person”. The truth is you don’t feel that way because of that person, you feel that way because you have an infinite power station inside of you that’s just been turned on. The switch just got flicked on and you are now generating your own energy, you are connected to your own energy. All of the biological phenomena required to facilitate the evolution of you, your brain, is now in flow. 

But what is that energy? It’s the sexual energy, the sacred creative potential of the universe and it’s ascending just as you are ascending. As that energy flows upward, it starts to nurture and nourish every chakra and eventually moves up to the top of the brain and activates all of the dormant centers in your brain. We’ve heard that we don’t use 97% of our brain, give or take, and guess what, you can now activate that 97% of your brain.

“On a clear day, you can see forever.”—Burton Lane

Several years ago, after a somewhat worrisome eye diagnosis, I had the extraordinary experience of looking out my window and seeing the external world moving in perfect synchronicity to the Andrea Bocelli music I was listening to. Every detail—people walking, cars passing, tree leaves in the wind—was part of a divinely choreographed dance of deeply connected oneness. And I too was part of it. There was nothing in the universe that sat alone on the sidelines within God’s creation. And I could see this so clearly that the power and beauty of it moved me to tears. Infinity vision, beyond an eye diagnosis.

Every relationship that we have in our life—our contact with each person, place, and event—serves a very special, if yet to be realized, purpose: it is a mirror that reveals things to us about ourselves that can be realized in no other way. I think this is one of the reasons that so many of us love to be out and about in that great showroom of life called Mother Nature.

For instance, gazing into the depths of a night sky we realize a sense of something vast and timeless; in her mountains we sense the soul of majesty; in any newborn there’s a sense of an all but forgotten innocence. With all that touches us this way, we are made aware of a life larger than our own, yet one that is inseparable from the part of us that stands as witness to it. 

Through these relationships we glimpse the ineffable. By their touch we are awakened to realize that whatever we behold in this world is but a mirror of the worlds above, and that all of these worlds reside within us. The soul knows this to be true: that in the common hides the celestial, and so it waits, watchful, never knowing when or where it will catch a message from heaven. Such moments are never announced. They enter quietly, unexpectedly, and—as the following illustration helps make clear—though they vanish into thin air, their impression lasts forever.

"...The form our faith takes is less important than the love it imparts....The bedrock of spirituality is to learn about love."
--Judith Orloff, M.D. Second Sight, p. 166-167

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The spiritual path is a path of love. There are many people who claim to be devoted to a spiritual path, yet love seems not to be a part of their path. What are they doing that they claim is spiritual if learning about loving themselves and others is not their highest priority?

1. Some people attempt to use religion and prayer as a form of control - hoping to have control over getting what they want if they pray "right," or believe the "right" thing. Often, they are very judgmental toward others who don't believe as they do, which certainly has nothing to do with love.

Imagine having a direct line to your Higher Power… 

A tool you could turn to for Divine guidance, spiritual support, and insight whenever you need it. A way to put a call into the Divine – like ET “phoning home.”

It may sound too good to be true, but this is exactly the way Oracle Cards work! They can help you learn about yourself, train your intuition and make decisions to support you as you create the life of your dreams. 

This practical yet spiritual tool has helped thousands of people (myself included) transform their lives, feel more grounded and spiritually connected, and find guidance on their path to their unique, authentic, and inspired life. 

Spirit is always speaking to us, but sometimes we need a little help listening and interpreting the messages we receive. Oracle Cards are the key to opening up your connection to the conscious Universe and accessing the information available to you all the time through the world around you. 

Many of you are living in this misunderstanding or false framework for what evolution is and what transformation looks like. You’ve got it all wrong about you. You are the most beautiful thing in creation. 

What you have to get or understand or begin to become aware of is the fact that every aspect of you is true. The created self is true, everything you deemed as the contraction or what’s unlovable about you and the part where nothing matters, where everything is in a state of flow, that is also true. 

Mindful methods to calm stress, strain, and worry

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Have you found yourself posting funny memes, silly videos or amusing clips from TV or movies to share a laugh with your friends? Or have you made a habit of searching YouTube or TikTok for funny cat videos? Laughter is a great way to relieve some of the sadness and seriousness of these times, and reset your nervous system from stressed to calm. So is mindfulness.

Research shows that mindfulness meditation is a powerful tool that can help us:

• Reduce anxiety, depression and stress.

• Increase emotional well-being.

• Build more satisfying relationships.

• Maintain healthy habits such as diet and exercise.

Studies even suggest that mindfulness may reduce inflammation and improve immune system function — and reduce the harmful effects stress has on your heart and mental health.

Think You’re Psychic? Test Your Skills!"

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• How are your intuitive abilities?
• Do you sense things that others may not see?
• Can you predict certain occurrences before they happen?

Here are the best ways to begin sharpening your skills and strengthening the link to your psychic awareness:

1. Give yourself permission to explore and develop your intuition.
2. Practice! Practice! Practice!

Remember, you're born with intuitive abilities. The best thing you can do is allow yourself the time and space to start using them. Don’t listen to the naysayers or those who don’t understand or believe the power you have within you. Move forward, learn what you can and keep actively practicing your skills.

We are born hungry. We not only require food that we take in with our mouths, but we all have an innate need to take in impressions -- to take in the nourishment that stimulates our mind, that moves our heart, and that works to give us a sense of satisfaction in life.

When we’re young, we have a natural appetite for life, and we are educated by going out and engaging in the world. We meet other human beings, we find lovers, we find ways to make a living that will hopefully satisfy and stimulate us.

Then, as we grow older, our appetite becomes more and more refined, and we find we can no longer be satisfied by the life that we see around us. We realize that another relationship, more money, more food, more travel, isn’t going to fix things. It eventually dawns on us we can’t give ourselves what we’re hungry for through the things that we see in the world.

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Ernest Holmes would go to the drugstore each day for a snack. One day, he saw a drunk man and offered to buy him a cup of coffee. The man accepted. As Ernest spoke with him while he was sobering up over his cup of coffee, he discovered that the man was a sign painter. Ernest asked the manager of the store for some paper and some markers and asked the man to paint some signs with letters and numbers. The store manager who was watching this stated that he actually needed some signs.


“How much are you going to pay him?” asked Ernest. The manager made an agreement with the man to create some signs, and agreed to pay him for his work and expertise. A few months later a man knocked at Ernest's office and asked to see him. He was clean shaven and wearing a nice suit he had purchased from the thrift store. He came to say thank you to Ernest. Ernest told him to get in the car and they rode around until Ernest saw a store for lease and made arrangements for the man to start his own business. The man became successful and repaid Ernest.


Ernest Holmes was a Quiet Genius. He could see the genius within others and make a difference in their lives. I still use this story as a guideline in my life of what small or sizable ways I may be of service to another living being. Some acts are small and happen quickly while other acts of a Quiet Genius happen over time. I have returned payments for services rendered and given away important things of value to me because spiritually I felt guided to do so knowing I may positively impact someone’s life.

Who knows who we may truly be if someone like Ernest Holmes or some other Quiet Genius would come along and see our further potential?

This article is an excerpt from my new book: Being A Difference Maker: A Guide For Living Life Out Loud.

Loving Life,