Guest Post by Claude Gruffy
This post will be art only. Please see “Artistic Awakening” for a brief history of my artistic journey and how revelations about a past life during the renaissance period influenced my current one. Claude
Category: Spirituality Page 8 of 15
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Guest Post by Claude Gruffy
I worked for a TV station for 32 years as a scenic artist. Back then, there were no computers and all sets were painted by hand. Before the new technology arrived and turned the world upside down, I had the chance to paint huge murals for soap operas, TV theaters, etc., for several years. I didn’t wonder why I had such a knack for painting large murals. I told myself that this talent came from my father, because he also had a certain talent for drawing.
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Guest Post by Edie Weinstein
The overhead announcement calls people to their flights to their intermediate or final destinations, overlapping with the low murmur of passengers waiting to board. The television personality is sharing the morning’s news in her pleasant and well trained voice. Snapping my wintergreen gum helps to keep me calm and centered as I too await the beckoning to board.
I knew that when I scheduled my flight from Philly to Portland, via a wonderful flight attendant friend who arranged a companion pass, that all was (no pun intended) up in the air and that I would need to be flexible.
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Guest Post by Dennis Ernst
While attending a retreat at a remote location in the Oregon Coast Range, I had a unique opportunity to share the sacred mantra of “HU.” I had gotten up a dawn to take a walk before breakfast and hiked up a gravel road, in the early morning rain. The road wound its way along a creek for a half a mile before starting up a steep ridge. I noticed a variety of wildlife along the creek. Canadian geese, a duck, many birds and even a blacktail deer. A little later I saw an elk, feeding on the early spring grass along the brushy bank.
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By Michael Avery
My wife, Pichaya, and I have learned that Divine Spirit, Spirit, God, or “the Universe,” call IT what you will, won’t interfere in our lives unless we ask. When faced with an important decision or a personal crisis, we can ask for guidance through dreams, contemplations, visions, or waking dreams. Most people, however, forget to ask.
It is important that we do all we can to help ourselves in addition to asking the Divine. A number of spiritual exercises are available that can help us navigate “dark nights of the Soul” or other crises. Many can be found in a book called The Spiritual Exercises of ECK, by Harold Klemp.
One additional spiritual exercise that I have found helpful in stressful situations is simple, and yet powerful. It’s called “A Circle of Friends.”
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Guest Post by Paul Hillman
My mission:
“You must assist people using what they understand. Simple ideas for simple minds. Young things for young people, something fun, imaginative, maybe even a little silly. More complex ideas for highly intelligent people. Realistic things for people who are struggling.
“What you say must appeal to what they want or need at that exact moment. It has to offer them a solution to the problem they are experiencing. Then, people will respond and grow into a healthier, more spiritual life.”
“But how will I know what to say, Master?” I asked.
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Guest Post by Dennis Ernst
There are moments in life when you act on what you know and don’t think about it. That sense of knowingness trumps feeling and thinking even though it may not seem too logical at the time or make sense to anyone else. This kind of knowingness is often a reflection of your core values, who you are, and what you truly believe. Even though I was only four years old, the profound memory of a magical moment still resonates strongly with me.
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Guest Post by Linda Wilken
Dreams. Some people contend that these are what life is made of. But there are some who say that dreams are simply the effects of a bit of indigestion, or situations from earlier in the day being worked out. Others say that we’re actually living in the dreamworld and that there is a reality beyond us greater than we know. yet others say that dreams are a bridge linking different realities.
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Guest Post by Paul Baker
On the basketball court a line is drawn so that when a player shoots from behind that line 3 points are registered. In the mornings here in ZhongHo, Taiwan, I shoot at the basket with 3-pt. men.
On the opposite end of the court are women shooting baskets. They also dance to music while they shoot.
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Guest Post by Jim Jackson
In late April of 2023, I received a phone call from Marlo Rees, the wife of one of my very best friends and decade-long senior doubles tennis partner. They had sold their home in Portland and moved to Santa Barbara in mid-2021. Frank Rees had suddenly passed on shortly thereafter.
Marlo told me she had been able to have contact with Frank since his transition, and was sure I would want to know. She also called to thank me for the “wonderful gift.” I had no idea what she was talking about, so I listened on.