A ninety-second reflection for today.
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Author: Joe
A Delayed Delivery, a Gentle Reminder
I’ve been expecting a package for the last two days. Each day, the carrier emails me informing me that the package would arrive between 3 and 7 pm. Since the package contains Christmas gifts we need to mail, I made sure I was home and checked the tracking page repeatedly.
Both days, after frequently checking the page, I suddenly saw a notice that they tried to deliver the package but were unable to. Since I live in a condo, the carrier has to use the external phone to alert us when they arrive. They didn’t. The package is now scheduled to arrive on Monday between 3 and 7 pm.
My first thought when imagining the carrier finally delivering it was to tell them off for not properly contacting me the other days. After all, I did everything right. I followed the rules. I was present during the time indicated. They were in the wrong and didn’t follow the rules.
Gratefully, soon after I imagined my reaction, my divine advisors challenged me to consider whether doing so would be beneficial to me. Would it be consistent with and reflective of my ministry as a spirit healer? How would that reaction impact the carrier? I realized I didn’t know the carrier’s situation. He or she was likely stressed from the great volume of their deliveries, given the season.
Considering all od this, the answer came: reacting like I first intended would only diminish us.
Have you ever been in a situation like this? It’s difficult not to want to tell someone off when you’ve followed the rules and someone else hasn’t—and that impacts you negatively. I think of other instances when I feel this self-righteous anger: while driving, when discovering dog poop or trash on the sidewalk, and in other situations.
I’m grateful my divine advisors and my essence reminded me that I’m better than that. So now about the package I’m expecting. Next Monday, I plan to sit in the lobby starting at 3 pm to ensure I receive it, and to thank them when I do.
During this sometimes hectic season, may you be stress-free and able to act from your beautiful divine essence in all your encounters.
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December Thoughts
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Unnamed Worries/Hidden Limitations
Yesterday, a friend and I gave each other spiritual readings. A few things stood out from hers about me, especially the message from my divine advisors and guide that I’d become was caught up in various worries and stresses. When she mentioned that, I was surprised. Was I really worrying?
At first, I couldn’t identify anything big. Then I realized that they weren’t big worries but small. Some of them included not getting the bookmark I was designing to align correctly for my newly released book, Where the Heart Leads: Journeys of a Spirit Healer. Despite repeated adjustments, it wasn’t perfect, and this led to worry and stress. Another was about losing weight prior to a vacation. I’d increased my exercise routine significantly, severely restricted sweets, and reduced portion size. Even with that effort, there were times I gained weight rather than losing it. I also noted other small worries as well.
I’m still surprised by how unconscious I was of them.
This morning, during meditation, as I asked Archangel Michael to help me release those worries. As I did, an image and song popped into my head. The image was a river with rocks scattered throughout which impeded the flow. My worries were the rocks, and I realized they limited the possibilities that might come to me.
The companion song to the image was “Let the River Run” by Carly Simon. Its lyrics have always inspired me. I wrote a homily about it when I was a priest. One line still jumps out: “Let the river run. Let all the dreamers wake the nation.” This conveys power and intention that encourages me to go forward and remove the obstacles to enable dreams to become reality.
May your river flow freely, unblocked by worry, so that you can see your possibilities and manifest your dreams.
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“Where the Heart Leads” Released
The next chapter of Thom’s journey begins! Where the Heart Leads, the second book in my Journeys of a Spirit Healer series, launched today and is now available on Amazon.
Let me tell you a bit about Thom’s next adventure:
Thom Macirdan’s years at the Acadium are anything but ordinary. What began with the discovery that dragons are real—and with Thom named guardian of a hatchling—rapidly spirals into a gauntlet of trials. How does a boy still finding his way care for a creature no one believes exists? How can he manage new and unpredictable spirit-healing abilities, fend off threats from an old enemy, and respond when crises demand his help?
Even as dangers mount, Thom faces another challenge: adolescence. The elders of his childhood faith taught him that attraction to someone of the same gender was disordered. Yet Thom feels a bond stirring—a love that brings strength, but leaves him torn between his heart and beliefs that no longer fit.
Join Thom as he navigates a path of dragons, healing, danger, and self-discovery, a journey where courage and love matter as much as any gift.
To celebrate, I’m giving readers a chance to download the Kindle version free. Watch the video to see how.
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Balance
I recently completed a twenty-eight day Soul Coaching program with a goal of connecting more deeply to spirit. The final exercise was to go on a mini vision quest, a traditional rite of passage taken in nature to gain spiritual insight. I call mine “mini” because it lasted only a couple of hours instead of days—but the insight I gained was powerful:
To connect more deeply to the divine, I needed to connect more strongly with nature to restore my balance.
Does that make sense to you?
Up until then, while I recognized my need to ground and appreciate nature, much of my spiritual focus was directed toward the heavens. That typically entailed daily meditations, regular chats with my divine advisors, going on retreats, and attending workshops and programs. I didn’t realize that something was missing.
My vision quest insight called me to remember that while I bear a divine essence (my soul), I do so within flesh and blood. In other words, my very existence is part of nature and is in fact made of the same stuff.
So rather than “looking up” to strengthen my connection to the divine, I’m invited to look around at the wonder of creation. To appreciate the beauty, be grateful for it, care for it, and remember the fullness of who I am as an incarnated being. By doing so, I deepen my relationship with the divine and also step into my role as a co-creator.
What about you? Are you spiritually balanced? What’s your relationship with nature? I invite you to feel your connection to all of it, and through it, experience the divine in a new way.
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A New Way to Learn That Isn’t Learning
As I sat down to write this blog, this phrase came to me. But how can that be? Let me back up a bit.
I’m taking a Soul Coaching course with Denise Linn and, in yesterday’s session, she reminded us to pay attention to dreams. Last night, I had a doozy.
I found myself in a school that didn’t use books or classrooms. While the students all had heads and arms, they came in every shape and color. Some had fins; some with rounded bodies ten feet wide; others were quite small. I went up to one teacher and asked:
“How can I learn without books or memorization?”
“You will,” he answered.
“But how can I figure it all out if my mind doesn’t have something to latch on to?”
“Your learning won’t be with your mind.”
When I woke this morning, I wondered if this meant learning through experience. My divine advisors chimed in:
“Not quite.”
“Would I learn via spirit?”
Their puzzling reply: “Yes, and possibly.”
I’ve valued my logical mind for most of my life. Yet I know it has limits, especially when questions arise about how to live out my calling in the world. Sometimes, I need to let understanding come in its own time.
I forgot to mention that when I woke, lyrics from a Patricia Costa song popped into my head: “Sleeper, wake up to new life…” and “come out of the depth of your dreams, [God] is calling you.”
So, the dream was important. To clear my head, I decided to walk through my neighborhood, taking in the beauty of nature. Knowing my mind would still try to figure things out, my advisors sent more messages along the way, using other Patricia Costa songs:
- “Things we see are not as they appear to be. A door was closed; another opens.” From this, I understood I’d be encountering something different, and encouraged to step through an open door into the unfamiliar.
- “Beside restful waters, [God] is leading.” As I step through that door, my advisors alerted me that this new learning won’t come through effort or striving.
Once again, I’m being asked to have faith in whatever’s presented to me, trust that my spirit/my soul will recognize it, and not try to figure it out.
Have you ever been in this situation? When intuition tells you something new is about to unfold, and you’re asked to let go of your mind’s need to know or do and just be with it.
I guess we’ll see what comes of that.
Peace to you all. And thanks, Patricia.
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Downloads from the Divine
Two nights ago, just past midnight, I woke up, and a message resounded very clearly in my mind. It was immediately followed by a dream. The dream ended with a variation of the first. I wanted to share them with you.
Message One
Sometimes the most profound teaching can come through the most mundane and simplest circumstance.
Message Two
Sometimes the simplest words offer the greatest and most profound teaching and healing.
That’s it. After the long excerpt from book one a few days ago, it made sense that this blog would be short and sweet. I must also admit that I find it interesting that I’ve been posting quite a bit this month.
Peace.
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The Probe That Changed Everything
Sometimes, the danger you sense isn’t imagined—it’s real.
Here’s a glimpse into Chapter 11 of Shadows and Light: Journeys of a Spirit Healer, where Thom’s strange healing gift draws the attention of someone with dark intentions.
This post isn’t one of my usual blogs. Still, like them, the excerpt explores the themes of life, God, and purpose, as revealed in the journey of Thom Macirdan. Shadows and Light is the first in a five-book Journeys of a Spirit Healer fantasy series.
Thom was working on a vase when he felt Lord Samiltun’s loathsome energy. It wasn’t long before he heard the carriage. “Da,” he called out. “I think we’ve got a customer.” He didn’t want to tell him it was Lord Samiltun because he didn’t think his father would understand how he knew.
Shortly after, footsteps crunched on the gravel path leading to the pottery. And, before anyone could stand, Lord Samiltun walked into the work area.
“Oh, Lord Samiltun,” his Da said. “I was about to take your sample bowl out of the kiln. Redik, would you help me?”
Lord Samiltun grunted.
Thom felt his presence behind him.
“And what are you working on, lad?” Lord Samiltun asked.
“Um,” Thom gulped. “A bud vase.” This time, the probing felt stronger and touched various parts of his body, like his Mam would do when she examined a patient.
“That’s an unusual shape,” Lord Samiltun remarked, placing his hand on Thom’s shoulder.
Like before, Thom pushed back, but he didn’t think it was as successful. “Yes,” he replied. “The customer wanted the mouth of the vase curved to make the flower more visible.”
“What are those blue stones for?” he asked, pointing to the left of Thom’s wheel.
By now, Thom was gritting his teeth and shivering. He didn’t like the lord touching him, and his stomach started yelling at him. “One of Da’s specialties is adding decorative stones to the clay before firing it.”
“And what about the pink in the dish there?” he asked, pointing.
Why can’t he leave me alone, Thom thought, feeling his breath quicken. “Sometimes, we add a splash of color for accents,” he told him, shrugging his shoulders, hoping that the lord would remove his hand. But to no avail.
“Interesting,” Lord Samiltun commented, shifting his hand slightly to see if he could read the boy better.
In desperation, Thom pretended he needed a tool on a bench nearby and stood up, forcing the lord to remove his hand. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“No,” Lord Samiltun responded. “It looks like it will be a nice piece.” He still couldn’t determine the nature of the boy’s gift or strength from his examination. If his gift was substantial, which he thought it was, he’d be a great asset. As young as he was, he was undoubtedly untrained. That would make controlling him easier. Now, he needed to make him and his father more amenable.
“Lord Samiltun,” Da called out. “Your sample piece is ready to evaluate.”
Lord Samiltun stepped away from Thom and went to the other side of the work area to a table where his Da had placed a blue bowl.
Thom resumed his work on the vase, feeling his breath ease. Focusing on smoothing the curve at its mouth, he realized he felt warmer. That’s weird. The pottery wasn’t any hotter than usual. While he sipped a cup of water nearby, he relished Lord Samiltun’s praise for his craftsmanship. Maybe he could earn money by making a few pieces for him.
Leaning back and stretching, Thom overheard his Da say, “You’re asking me to add more of our clay mixture 4 to your clay? Easily done. The new mix should be ready in ten days. Is that agreeable?”
“Yes,” Lord Samiltun replied. “I must say, I’m very impressed with young Thom’s work. Would you consider apprenticing him to me a few days a week? I could set up a little pottery behind my home. I could even teach him merchanting. Having a combination of merchant and potter skills would enable him to set up his own shop one day.”
Thom looked back when his Da didn’t respond.
I think he needs a bit more encouragement, Lord Samiltun thought.
Thom noticed the lord’s hand twitch a little.
His Da finally replied, “Maybe. Learning about merchanting would be good. I’ll need to speak to my wife.”
“Of course,” Lord Samiltun responded, sneering inwardly.
After the lord left, Redik said, “Da, didn’t you say you didn’t like the man the last time he was here? Are you really considering apprenticing Thom to him?”
“I might have misjudged him,” his Da replied. “He was very nice this time.”
When Lord Samiltun returned to the pottery to see the new sample, his primary goal was the boy. Stepping into the work area, he sent more energy toward Thom and his father to make them more receptive to the apprenticeship.
Thom tried to listen while his Da showed the bowl to the lord. Wouldn’t it be exciting if he had his own pottery? He didn’t even consider how odd it would be for a boy his age.
“This is perfect,” Lord Samiltun exclaimed. “You’re very talented, Mr. Macirdan. Please proceed with making my dishware. Since you’re an honest man, here’s half the agreed cost.”
“That’s very generous, sir,” his Da responded. “The standard down payment is 25%.”
“Yes, I know. However, I’m impressed with your work and believe it merits it.”
Looking around the work area, Lord Samiltun spied the vase Thom had completed on a shelf nearby. “Oh, I see Thom finished his vase.”
Thom had turned around to face Lord Samiltun and his father.
“The blue complements the vase’s brown glazing. And the pink splash makes it something special,” Lord Samiltun said to Thom. “You are quite talented.”
“Thank you, sir,” Thom replied, turning red.
The boy’s pottery skills could be beneficial to him as bribes, Samiltun determined. Deciding to probe him once more, he discovered there wasn’t any resistance.
Sitting at his pottery wheel, Thom felt something pop inside himself.
“Mr. Macirdan,” Lord Samiltun said, “Have you considered my proposal?”
“Yes,” his Da replied. “We’re seriously considering it. Thom does assist my wife, Winni, with treating her patients. Let me talk with her again to see if our younger daughter can take his place.”
“I understand. Will you be able to show me some completed dishware in two weeks? Of course, I don’t expect all of it to be done by then.”
“Yes, we’ll have pieces to show you,” Da replied.
Outside the pottery, Rin had been eavesdropping on the conversation. He sensed Samiltun’s energy toward Thom and his father and the energetic probe. Rin knew the time was approaching for him to take Thom away.
After Lord Samiltun left, Rin returned to his shop to consider the situation. Samiltun’s last probe significantly affected Thom, about which Samiltun was unaware. First, it fully activated Thom’s healing gift. Second, it triggered a much stronger gift. One that Rin couldn’t identify. He now knew why his spirit guides told him to wait before taking Thom away. It was now time for him to implement his plan.
Rin had to hide the strength of Thom’s gifts from Samiltun when he returned to protect Thom. But before that, he needed to set the stage for their departure. He’d return in two days to suggest to Thom’s parents that he get special training. He’d already given his landlord notice about closing his shop. In ten days, he’d start camping near the pottery to ensure he was nearby when Samiltun came by again.
I hope this moment of Thom’s journey stirred something in you. If you’re curious how he got there, where his path leads, and how his gift unfolds, you can find Shadows and Light: Journeys of a Spirit Healer on Amazon: https://a.co/d/7yRDnAj
Book 2, Where the Heart Leads, continues Thom’s story—his developing spirit healer gift and how he uses it for the good of all. It’s coming later this year.
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What Grows from Broken Plans
Sometimes disruption is the doorway to divine grace.
In my last blog, I shared a message from my divine advisors about adventures and opportunities. A few hours later, something unexpected happened that changed my unwritten plans: my husband fell and broke his arm. I’m not suggesting that the accident was divinely driven. But what unfolded afterward certainly was.
With his arm immobilized, I stepped into the role of caretaker: managing the household and supporting him. I take this on out of my deep love for him. Still, it was an unplanned interruption.
Two things are important to know. First, I know my calling as a spirit healer is expanding. The messages have been clear. Second, I’ve been told the way it will unfold will be completely unexpected. The engineer in me inevitably keeps trying to figure it out. For example, I wondered if a traditional publisher might contact me about releasing the next book in my spiritual fantasy series, now titled Where the Heart Leads: Journeys of a Spirit Healer.
Up until the accident, I was chugging along at a steady pace with book 2. With my changed responsibilities, I was thrust into a new opportunity: one that forced me to slow down. As my days became more fluid, it opened space in my life for my divine advisors to ‘breathe’ and do their thing. Three nights ago, the first unexpected blessing arrived. I’ll share more about that at another time.
What about you? Is your life so carefully planned out that the unexpected feels like a setback? Are your days so organized that you’re blind to opportunities (even challenging ones) that might contain quiet blessings that support your calling?
Take a moment to reflect. Then offer gratitude. That’s what I do each morning, as something beautiful and holy grows from broken plans.
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Remember Your Divine You 