The New Normal

If you’ve never seen the TV show The Ghost Whisperer, I hope you’ll watch at least two episodes. I saw a scene in which “the ghost whisperer” (Jennifer Love Hewitt) tearfully explains to her new (and old) love interest that she sees ghosts, has since she was a little girl. She is concerned about how her friend will accept this, whether it will “send him away.” This, after he has mocked news of a house being haunted and a “ghost-hunter” showing up to track the energy emissions. Being a cynic and I-know-it-all for years, I would have scoffed at this too. The list of creators and contributors can read like the best-seller list of experts in “crossing over.” It is no coincidence that people are more and more interested in understanding the “paranormal,” even as more and more of us are sick and dying from our sickness. Sounds trite maybe, but the greater point, to me, is fantastic, amusing, and profound. The plot of the GW episode unravels the communication between these two people in simple ways, their experiences opening each next move with their choices along the way: the choice to open our minds to what is “unseen” as real, or to reject love simply because of a belief. We must honor the courage each of us has to live the truth within us if we want to be spiritual people, and as we honor ourselves in truth, we honor each other and all who have gone before in the most respectful and loving way. Question what we have accepted as “normal” and why!

One reason I am so glad I finished my book while my parents were alive and could read it, is that this was in one way my “love letter” to them. The book was one way for me to express my exploration of the heritage I was becoming conscious of as an energy being, given life by them. My parents believed in people THINKING and knowing the conviction of their beliefs and behaviors. Not thinking is lazy, and lazy is an excuse and a waste of gifts,of being alive. My beliefs and experiences challenged some beliefs my parents lived and taught, because they challenged mine. Some things I wrote challenged beliefs of friends and family too. Some have written or talked with me about my book, a few enthusiastically. I am very conscious of the benefit of the encouragement to think, and the foundation of life our parents taught us. As a mind, we must begin somewhere and some time, to recognize apathy, to think more deeply about where we came from, to enjoy creating, to smell the coffee and feel the wind in our sails! Without understanding that we are energy beings, living infinite lives, I had trouble figuring out faith, trust, or even truth in a way that made sense to me. I’ve had to understand God as Spirit energy – we are energy first, and matter second. The physical concepts/beliefs began to  diminish as my mind became more open, the beliefs less “substantial,” then began to glow, to illuminate more as an energy field glowing with these ethical values that make us who we are as a spiritual design. My book, now, is a fading image of “me” as I know myself, because I continue to live and learn. I believe in “ghosts” (energy is real!). I believe in the absolute beauty of eternal life, creating us in physical matter to live, love, learn, and expand our spirit consciousness – sail and enjoy the breeze, the play of light on water, the spectrum of light and dark below and above the water and sky. I now believe in love and its infinite patience which guides us, as we listen and hear. I’m conscious of the transitions I’m living as I test this “new normal” every moment. Love, or fear? (Have you seen the National Car Insurance ads with John McEnroe? Choose any car! Yes! It's true...You choose...) Change is not always easy, but I now know it is infinitely rewarding.

I look every morning at the African violets by my bed. They were a gift from this friend and mentor who knew my Mother loved violets and had them on the window sill in their home for many years. They continue to bloom in their cycles, with vibrant color, reaching for the sunlight. I smile every time I look at them. They are wonderful reminders to me of the power of love and the beauty of color. Just think.