Welcome to a World of Spiritual Harmony

As I re-read Judy’s messages during my massage on my birthday, I noticed those knee-sounding references - cane/walking stick, etc. I’ve often used my magic green jello visualization on joints and injuries, as any of you who’ve been my students know very well.

Just didn’t like the sound of those knee statements, and thought I should take pre-emptive action. So now I’ve invented a fruit leather, all green and dipped in Reiki energy before application.

In your wonderful and creative and manifesting imagination, see your stainless steel bowl, the green jello, the hot water to mix it in, then the cold water to cool it down. This time, though, instead of half the usual water - making it thick though movable - put in less than a quarter of the water - so it’s more like clay. Pat it out to the shape you need to wrap it around whatever body part you’re healing. Then fill your bowl with Reiki energy, and dip the wrap into the bowl until it’s soaked with Reiki. Powerful!

For my knees, I made 2 thick rectangles, and wrapped one around each knee. It is, of course, self-adhering - because that’s how fruit leather is. So for the last couple of mornings, I’ve been going about my life with these funny braces on my knees.

The advantage, as I see it, is that Reiki healing energy is soaking into that knee, the cartilage, the muscle, the bone, all day long. Therefore, my wonderful walking stick, made by Steve Haydon for a previous birthday, can remain strictly ceremonial.

Quite a wonderful day, full of miracles large and small. Got home to lots of snail mail, voicemail and email messages - had time to respond to a few of them!

Then it was off to meet Brian and Patrick for dinner at Biaggio’s - where I hadn’t eaten in quite a long time. It was great! The artichoke dip is truly that - and not a mere mash of cheeses and sour cream, with a canned or jarred artichoke passed through it. A wonderful bracelet - chartreuse-y Austrian crystals - awaited - which went perfectly with the creative necklace from my sister, which of course had gone perfectly with the shirt I had on.

Then I met Kathleen at the Playhouse to see Sherlock - we had an extra ticket, so I turned it in at the box office for them to give away if possible. Lo and behold, who should turn up but former Mayor Bobbie Sterne, a great old friend of mine. What a treat!

And then - the play itself was much better than the reviews I had seen, and the reports I had gotten from several friends. The fact that it was the second last night might have energized the actors. It was excellent!

So I’m going to end the day the way I began it - with a raucous and rowdy Whoo Hoo!

So then there was lunch at Udipi - south Indian food, buffet style, with my middle younger sister. And on the way over, I was listening to Terri Gross on NPR, talking with the author of a new book called Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years. I called Joseph-Beth, found out they had it, and would hold it for me til later in the afternoon. (While there, I bought myself the new Barbara Kingsolver as well.)

Lunch was just great, and Maureen gave me a fabulous green glass necklace - and a wistful leprechaun fairy - after fairies had visited during my massage earlier.

In the meantime, I stopped at home to hang out with the wonderful friend who cleans for me, Jennifer Ortega. And stopped at Nickers to buy myself another present.

Now it’s off to dinner with Brian and Patrick, and then to Sherlock Holmes - The Final Adventure at the Playhouse with Kathleen O’Neill.

Every birthday of all my 67 has had a different rhythm - this one is especially wonderful!

Happy Birthday to Me… the day is already great and it’s just beginning! An online birthday card from a cousin far away, beautiful weather, the squirrels leaving the suet feeder alone (they must know it’s the big day!), writing being worked on / played with, and a lot of wonderful stuff to look forward to. Including planning the continuing birthday events that last at least a month after today!

I’ll do a little work today - just a teeny bit, in between lots of good stuff!

I hope you all have wonderful days, too. And now - I’m off to get my Starbucks venti soy chai, and proceed on to my massage with my great and gifted friend, Judy DeVoe!

Whoo Hoo!

A brand new book, hot off the presses, was presented at the Mercantile Library last night. Dale Patrick Brown, formerly a very hot ticket in the advertising field, decided several years ago to change her life, got her MFA, and has now presented us with this wonderful and fun book.

The book’s subtitle is Early Lectures at Cincinnati’s Mercantile Library. Dale found great pleasure - and a lot of work - in rummaging through the old documents at the Mercantile (it was founded in 1835), then the Public Library, with its microfilm, as well as many other places.

I’ve read a lot of the first chapter - fascinated. But first, I read the Appendix, which lists the date and venue, lecturer, title and topic - all that could be found, that is. There are holes in the calendar - and Dale found a lot of surprises.

No one knew, for instance, that great thinker Oliver Wendell Holmes had ever lectured here. And almost every other well known writer, thinker, orator, performer from the 19th century of whom you have ever heard.

I was amazed to discover how many of the speakers were listed as Unitarian, Universalist, Spiritualist, and Atheist. Most of them were not presenting on those topics, and there were plenty of Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian speakers listed (and everyone’s religion was not listed) - but it certainly gave me a new impression of what I had thought must have been a staid and sober organization. Maybe, maybe not. Someone had to be thinking outside the box to invite such folk.

I’m definitely ready to find out more - so I think I’ll get back to the book now.

A tiny item in the Cincinnati Post on the 15th…from Beijing: Rats blamed on warmth.

Northwestern China - Xinjiang - which means it’s near my beloved Tibet: Rats are threatening an estimated 5 million acres of pastureland in Altay, about 20 percent of the total. The average temperature this past winter was 3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, and snow in the Altay mountains (Mongolia) shrank by at least one foot.

It’s amazing how much damage is already being done by global warming, isn’t it? And such unintended, unexpected harms coming to pass.

We clearly need to meditate and visualize powerfully, work hard, donate generously. And vote very wisely - so as to have a livable planet for our 7th generation.

I know you’re all heard her unusual voice on VXU, doing some of the best - and certainly the most civil - interviews around. What I’ll bet you don’t know is that she’s gorgeous in person, much younger than she sounds, and has a charming and teasing presence at the podium.

Woman’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati brought her in to speak, and the event was held at the ever-astonishing and magnificent Wise Temple downtown across from the Cathedral and City Hall.

A lot of her talk was about the importance of our listening to each other, deeply listening - and then she told wonderful stories. One about Tom Clancy, another about Newt Gingrich, who walked out on her yesterday!, stories about all kinds of movers, shakers, writers, thinkers. She also talked about her dis-ease, the vocal chord problem she lives with.

When her throat started bothering her, I started doing distance Reiki on it. I’m sure the water she drank helped - but I’m giving credit to Reiki for the scratchiness settling down.

All in all, one of my favorite kinds of evenings. Beautiful weather, a beautiful venue, an interesting and talented speaker. An evening to be grateful for!

Some years, I actually know about which horses are running in the Kentucky Derby, and what the odds are. This year, that was definitely not the case.

So when the Enquirer came yesterday morning, I decided to use my pendulum to see which horse was going to win, place and show. The pendulum accurately picked the winner, Street Sense. Didn’t do so well on the other two - though I suspect I wasn’t paying enough attention.

The pendulum picked - I thought - Any Given Sunday as placing - which was right next to Hard Spun, the actual second place finisher, in the paper. Same with show - Nobiz Like Showbiz was picked - right next to Curlin, who came in third.

Makes me feel better - I spent all day wondering if my spidey sense / the pendulum was really that confused. Only when I looked at the paper just this minute did I realize it was likely my wanting an answer quickly, and not letting my energy / the pendulum settle in.

Sure wish I’d been at the race to place that winning bet!

I’m back into chocolate again…but not just any chocolate. M&Ms are done, and so is Hershey’s, etc. I’m now having a good time with all the exotic and intriguing chocolates around.

My favorites this minute are Vosges - called Haut Chocolat. I had 2 pieces last night of the Naga Bar - curry powder, coconut flakes and deep milk chocolate. Terrific, though I would have preferred very dark chocolate.

I have 2 more rare ones stacked up - Red Fire Bar, with chipotle chillies, cinnamon and dark chocolate, and Oaxaca Bar, with pasilla chillies, guajillo (whatever that is!) and Tanzanian bittersweet chocolate. Plus a favorite I’ve had before - the Goji Bar - goji berries, pink Himalayan salt and deep milk chocolate.

I’ve been making an occasion of these wildly flavored chocolates - taking them to movies, sharing with friends, just inhaling those far out mixes of flavors.

If you’re in the same mood, you can find them at the Coffee Emporium, one on Central Parkway, one on Erie Avenue.

Yum! as well as totally not-boring!

This is a new book, subtitled A Guide to the Language, Visions, and Dreams of the Dying, just out, written by my friend Mary Anne Sanders. I had the privilege of Attuning she and husband Clay as Reiki Master / Teachers. Mary Anne is a hypnotherapist and healer, who became interested in life as it nears death during the dying process of her mother.

I love the stories in the book, especially the dreams of those approaching death. I finished the book a couple of weeks ago, and have been musing on it since. I have come to understand in that time that death may well be a process that begins long before that moment of leaving - just as a full moon lasts for about 5 days, start to finish. The near death experience, about which we’ve heard the most, is simply the most well known part of that process, as the instant that the moon is at the full is known to us.

In Mary Anne’s stories, it might begin with a dream and end with someone actually naming and holding to their time of death - whether their goal is to die with a particular family member present, or perhaps to have no one near at the moment.

You’ll enjoy this book - it will give you a lot to think about as well. And there is much beauty in it.