I’ve lived a large part of my life being in several places simultaneously mentally, with my body moving forward in today.  I used to think that this was a really handy way to accomplish many things at the same time. I felt like I was cheating the game of physics on time only to discover that I’d been cheating myself by not fully being in the present.  Where the evidence of me cheating myself  is most glaring is when I speak. 

My husband and I, joined another couple for a brief respite at the beach.  During our stay, I marveled at the hearty and beautiful blossoms growing along the vines clinging on to the hot sand dunes. I pondered the identity of two large white birds arguing with each other in mid-flight looping in and out of flocks of Seagulls and Pelicans like an old married couple.  On one of my walks along the surf, I noticed a little six year old boy singing a nonsensical song as he leisurely made his way into the waves.  I was reminded that I usually sing or hum under my breath when I go swimming or boogy-boarding or windsurfing.  I’d never really thought about the fact that I do this until I heard this boy singing and I knew that he probably felt the same kind of giddy happiness that I feel when I’m going to be free and happy swimming and playing in the water. 

I was going to entitle this blog, “What’s It All About Alfie?” but when I googled the title to confirm that it was written and composed by Hal David and Burt Bacharach (and sung so beautifully by Dionne Warwick), I found that several people had already written on the topic including someone who just posted an article TODAY with the very same title. Hence my decision to change the title.  The good news about being in tune with the song is that I’m paying attention on an intuitive level and connecting into something larger than me. Now the mystery is to unravel the puzzle if what I’ve tapped into and why.

I almost drowned today in Yoga. Yes, I rebelled against the rule-of-thumb that it is usually a good idea to NOT chew gum while practicing yoga, especially if the yoga class is going to be focused on inversions (turning your body upside down).  There I was in a pretty good half-moon pose with my left leg out in a runner’s lunge and my right leg back behind me with the knee down and the top of my foot rooted into the ground.  As I inhaled my arms up over my head and leaned back into the crescent shaped backwards bend, I felt that familiar feeling of not being able to breathe because water had somehow made it into my nasal passages. What’s more, we held this pose for awhile supposedly breathing in and releasing tension in our bodies.

Last week I lost my wallet.  I lost my wallet full of the only cash I would have for a week, my debit and my credit cards, not to mention my driver’s license, voter’s registration and Scuba Diving Certification.  What’s worse is I didn’t realize I’d even lost my wallet until a couple of hour’s later as I drove up to the StarBuck’s window and opened up my purse to fish out my money and my purse seemed to be unusually roomy. 

My dear friend, Nettie Hartsock,  offered an idea to me to write an article around, “Repurposing Content: The Soul Journey”.  She went on to say what repurposing mean is that you take the content of something you’ve already written and you “repurpose” it more powerfully in another area.  The content stays the same; the difference is in how it is utilized for each audience and each target.

Today our “Heartfelt Conversations” group gathered within the home of one of my favorite singer/songwriters.  What I noticed about her home is that every part of it, from the sunflowers growing in a circle in the front yard, to the bright colors that adorned her walls to her daughter and the calmest Jack Russell Terrier I’ve ever met, every part of it reflected who this person says she is through her songs and her “being-ness”. She seems truly “at home” with herself. What a gift!

Today, as I was racing around preparing an already too-late lunch, I happened upon the most God awful smell in our pantry.  The allergens that haunt most people who live in Austin, Texas after awhile may be part of the reason that my nose had not awakened to this lovely aroma. Irregardless, I didn’t notice it until I reached up for the bag of potatoes on the highest shelf (of course!) that they were dripping wet. Never a good sign when it comes to potatoes in bags in your pantry.  As my brain began to put two and two together (smell+wet bag+?), my hand had already grabbed the plastic top of the bag and was pulling it towards me which only enabled me to get a spectacularly huge whiff of the rotten potatoes and some of the potatoes drippings on my skin. 

During our panel discussion today on “The Heartfelt Conversations” hour hosted by Nelin Hudani (KOOP 91.7) we discussed Brian Luke Seaward, Health Psychologist (Institute of Noetic Sciences) ideas and research pertaining to spirituality and stress.  In a nutshell here are some important points: a.) The whole is greater than the sum; 

b.) wholeness=health=spirituality (mind, body, spirit, emotions) ; c.) Life’s contact points that can be both spiritual as well as stressful are 

     1.) relationships        2.) values and 

      3.)meaningfulness (purpose in life).

There are usually two main characters that take up my psychic space, though I admit to being aware of several sub-personalities who keep a lower profile.  One of my main characters is a pretty loving person who cares very deeply about the people around me, cares about the plants and animals in the world and appreciates the clear crystal sound of a cardinal’s song breaking through the morning air with dawn’s new light.