Searching for Soul

 I found myself having to attend funeral services twice in the midst of this pandemic. The first one was for my  aunt who was like a second mother to me, and the second was for the actual mother of one of my best friends. Both of these ladies were alike in lots of ways. They both were devoted Catholics (in words and deed) and the center of their respective worlds were their families. Unfortunately they also both succumbed to health complications from COVID 19 within months of each other.  My aunt died during the earlier days of the quarantine so no church mass was allowed. The only service was a brief gathering of only 15 of us in the funeral home. Reflecting on the amount of time and money that my aunt and uncle (who both attended services regularly) spent in support of their parish church, it made me slightly angry that she wasn't afforded the full ceremony that we all knew she more than deserved. I know her children wanted to provide that for her and were quite upset t...

  Surrender is one of those words that seems to have a visceral feel to it. It invokes emotions in people that may vary but usually hover around the feeling of despair. When we use surrender in the terms of a battle, we are affirming the fact that one side is giving up or has their hands held up in defeat. It signifies failure and loss which then engenders the feelings of shame and guilt.  Before my spiritual awakening (and to be truthful even at times after it), I did not like the word at all. Surrender meant to me being weak and out of control. So you can imagine my confusion when all of my spiritual teachers started pushing me toward accepting surrender as not only a worthwhile process but one that is essential if one is to grow as a spiritual person.  I have been single for most of my adult life and spent most of it living alone. From the time I moved out at age 22 (which my mother used to refer to as the time I ran away from home), until now 30 years later I have bee...

One of the aspects of spirituality that has led me to more enlightenment is the appearance and recognition of signs and synchronicities in my life. I have always believed that lost loved ones and the Divine find ways to communicate with us. In the past I thought that you had to consult a medium to be sure of the messages. I looked to priests to help explain why good things happen to bad people. But last summer I discovered that anyone and everyone can and does receive these messages directly from the Universe. And the way I discovered this was through reading a book I classify as one of my God-led media choices. Let me explain.  I have found that at some of the lowest points of my life I have received comfort out of the blue through a song, album, book, or movie. When my beloved cousin died suddenly at age 27, I was a 22 year old who was completely lost and devastated. My whole family loved music, and I turned to it to help me heal. I had just purchased Van Morrison's album, Enligh...