THIS IS MY LIFE
Saturday, 3/16/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi ~
Last Saturday on of the online Heart Song Community members came to Santa Fe to check it out and find a job. Debi also feels called to move here, much as I did. She took me out to dinner, and I provided her a place to store some of her things until she gets here.
I�ve also been getting a lot of notes from other people saying that they�re feeling drawn to come here and be part of the community.
Interesting how this is a counterbalance to what I was saying about feeling like a stranger in a strange land. Maybe my clan is gathering.
Namaste,
Michael
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://www.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule@igc.topica.com/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Saturday, March 16, 2002
THIS IS MY LIFE
Saturday, 3/16/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, all ~
You know that I�ve had an issue all my life about feeling like I didn�t fit in, don�t you? I�ve since learned that there are lots of good reasons for that. I�m an INFP (less than 1% of the population). I was an Indigo Child before there were many of us and before anyone knew what that was. I thought radically differently than did most of the people I knew, including my family. I come from a fairly standard Middle American family, and I was anything but that. (Even now I feel like I don�t really fit in my family of origin.) I was psychic and got laughed at for it, so I stopped letting anyone know. (I�m still shy about letting people know, including now. I still feel some pain about all the times I�ve been scoffed at in my life.)
Well, I have another piece of evidence for my �oddness.� It isn�t a huge surprise to me, though. I went to the Vote.com site (http://www.vote.com) and voted on quite a few issues. On every single issue in which there was more than a 10% spread, I was in the minority. In some cases I was one of a very small percentage who believe as I do.
You�ve seen it in my involvement in a spiritual path that is a small minority and that some people ridicule and others see as dangerous. You�ve seen it in my comments about health care. You�ve seen it in my passion for avoiding war as a response to 9/11. You�ve seen it in my identifying most with the Green Party and saying I think that even the Democrats are too conservative. You�ve seen it in my interest in intentional community. And I realize that part of my interest in that is wanting to gather around me people who I won�t feel so odd with.
I wonder how much of what has been triggered off in me emotionally by my move is the pain of losing the people in the Seattle area who I felt less odd with and wondering how long it will take me to find people in Santa Fe who I don�t feel that way with. I�m aware that you could read that differently than I mean it. To me it�s just a fact that I feel different than lots of people. I feel sad, but not pitiful. I feel good about who I am and what my values are. I feel sad that there aren�t more people who share them. And I sometimes feel lonely.
Is it any wonder that one of my favorite books is Stranger in a Strange Land? And now you know the truth about that.
Namaste,
Michael
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://www.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule@igc.topica.com/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Saturday, 3/16/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, all ~
You know that I�ve had an issue all my life about feeling like I didn�t fit in, don�t you? I�ve since learned that there are lots of good reasons for that. I�m an INFP (less than 1% of the population). I was an Indigo Child before there were many of us and before anyone knew what that was. I thought radically differently than did most of the people I knew, including my family. I come from a fairly standard Middle American family, and I was anything but that. (Even now I feel like I don�t really fit in my family of origin.) I was psychic and got laughed at for it, so I stopped letting anyone know. (I�m still shy about letting people know, including now. I still feel some pain about all the times I�ve been scoffed at in my life.)
Well, I have another piece of evidence for my �oddness.� It isn�t a huge surprise to me, though. I went to the Vote.com site (http://www.vote.com) and voted on quite a few issues. On every single issue in which there was more than a 10% spread, I was in the minority. In some cases I was one of a very small percentage who believe as I do.
You�ve seen it in my involvement in a spiritual path that is a small minority and that some people ridicule and others see as dangerous. You�ve seen it in my comments about health care. You�ve seen it in my passion for avoiding war as a response to 9/11. You�ve seen it in my identifying most with the Green Party and saying I think that even the Democrats are too conservative. You�ve seen it in my interest in intentional community. And I realize that part of my interest in that is wanting to gather around me people who I won�t feel so odd with.
I wonder how much of what has been triggered off in me emotionally by my move is the pain of losing the people in the Seattle area who I felt less odd with and wondering how long it will take me to find people in Santa Fe who I don�t feel that way with. I�m aware that you could read that differently than I mean it. To me it�s just a fact that I feel different than lots of people. I feel sad, but not pitiful. I feel good about who I am and what my values are. I feel sad that there aren�t more people who share them. And I sometimes feel lonely.
Is it any wonder that one of my favorite books is Stranger in a Strange Land? And now you know the truth about that.
Namaste,
Michael
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://www.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule@igc.topica.com/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Friday, March 15, 2002
THIS IS MY LIFE
Friday, 3/15/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, you amazing beings ~
I told you before of how I had been inspired by some of the Olympic athletes because of their open emotionality and enthusiasm. Now I�d like to tell you about a few more of my Olympic heroes. These athletes, however, made themselves my heroes by overcoming significant obstacles (and if you know me, you know that I�m always profoundly affected by overcoming stories).
You�ll notice (if you�re paying attention) that a couple of these athletes are also ones I wrote about before as emotional/enthusiasm heroes.
Most of the following stories are adapted from the official Olympics web site: http://www.olympics.com
A double-medal winner in speed skating in Nagano, Chris Witty also competed in cycling for the American team at the Sydney Summer Games. But a bout with mononucleosis in January sidelined Witty, apparently along with her speed skating medal chances. How did Witty respond to this setback? With the race of her life: A stunning world record to shock a loaded field and win gold in the 1000 meters.
[I think I could see times when Chris� energy flagged and she was feeling the effects of her mononucleosis. Then the race began, and she flew around the track. Who says we have to give in to illness?]
Aussie Alisa Camplin had never won any significant international event, and without snow in sunny Australia, she trains for the women's freestyle skiing aerials in a leech-infested lake. But Camplin nailed both of her triple twisting, double back flips, and the Olympic Winter Games had one of its most surprising gold medalists ever.
[So what that she had no snow? So what that she had never won anything? If she ever decides to break up with her boyfriend, I�m available.]
Watching the 1998 Nagano Games, Prawat Nagvajara was captivated with Kenya's Philip Boit's noble, yet inelegant cross-country skiing efforts. Inspired, the 43-year-old college professor received a special exemption to compete in the grueling 30km cross-country event for his native Thailand. Determined but struggling, Nagvajara was clearly overmatched. And when he was lapped early in the race, rules called for his being pulled from the course. The exhausted Nagvajara collapsed in the snow, a lonely symbol of the Olympic spirit.
[It seems that in every Olympics there are a few participants who compete with no remote hope of winning. For them, showing up is the victory. My deepest respect goes out to them.]
Norwegian cross-country skier Erling Jevne carried the memory of his son into Salt Lake City. Jevne won a gold and silver for Norway's Olympic cross-country dynasty in Nagano. But in August 1999 his 4-year-old son Erich Iver was struck by a car and killed instantly. A grieving Jevne returned for his final Olympics and finished sixth in the 15km and 11th in the 50km.
[I suspect that he dedicated his participation to Erich Iver and that Erich Iver was cheering his father on from another realm.]
Ildiko Strehli finished only 13th in bobsleigh, but Strehli won a much bigger battle. Twice she conquered advanced levels of breast cancer, enduring months of chemotherapy, extended radiation treatments, and a double mastectomy. The Hungarian, who now lives in Park City, Utah, didn't depart Salt Lake City with any medals but ultimately accomplished something more profound and courageous.
[Illness may eventually kill us, but it will never stop us from living our lives passionately while we�re here.]
For American snowboarder Chris Klug getting to the Games was a triumph in itself. He overcame a serious liver ailment that required a transplant to save his life less than a year earlier. In the snowboarding parallel giant slalom, he again bucked the odds by winning a bronze medal through uncanny racing and a roll of duct tape that repaired a broken boot buckle on his final run.
[So, what�s stopping me from going for it?]
Once a dominating force on the alpine World Cup circuit, Croatia's Janica Kostelic came into the Games as a "what might have been" thanks to three knee surgeries within the last year. But the human spirit should never be underestimated. At times it can even convince a battered body that all is well. Skiing with abandon, Kostelic won a record four medals - three of them gold.
[Spirit transcends and lifts the body.]
Coming into the Games, the gold appeared to a tug-of-war between Poland's Adam Malysz and Germany's Sven Hannawald. But no one told Switzerland's Simon Ammann. Two weeks after surviving a horrible crash, he won both of the individual events, sending a shock wave through the sport.
[My �climbing back on the horse� award goes to Simon.]
Seattle speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno came into the Games favored for 4 gold medals. In his first event, however, he was the victim of a collision that took down all of the competitors except one. Despite having suffered a cut in his leg that required 6 stitches to close, he scrambled across the finish line to take the silver medal. Also despite his injury, he went on to compete in all of his other events, winning gold in one of them.
[Apolo handled himself with great dignity and never blamed the other racer who knocked him down nor his injury for his not living up to the expectations. Instead, he celebrated what he did accomplish and expressed abundant gratitude for his father, who had supported him.]
May we all be inspired by these athlete-heroes.
Namaste,
Michael
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://www.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule@igc.topica.com/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Friday, 3/15/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, you amazing beings ~
I told you before of how I had been inspired by some of the Olympic athletes because of their open emotionality and enthusiasm. Now I�d like to tell you about a few more of my Olympic heroes. These athletes, however, made themselves my heroes by overcoming significant obstacles (and if you know me, you know that I�m always profoundly affected by overcoming stories).
You�ll notice (if you�re paying attention) that a couple of these athletes are also ones I wrote about before as emotional/enthusiasm heroes.
Most of the following stories are adapted from the official Olympics web site: http://www.olympics.com
A double-medal winner in speed skating in Nagano, Chris Witty also competed in cycling for the American team at the Sydney Summer Games. But a bout with mononucleosis in January sidelined Witty, apparently along with her speed skating medal chances. How did Witty respond to this setback? With the race of her life: A stunning world record to shock a loaded field and win gold in the 1000 meters.
[I think I could see times when Chris� energy flagged and she was feeling the effects of her mononucleosis. Then the race began, and she flew around the track. Who says we have to give in to illness?]
Aussie Alisa Camplin had never won any significant international event, and without snow in sunny Australia, she trains for the women's freestyle skiing aerials in a leech-infested lake. But Camplin nailed both of her triple twisting, double back flips, and the Olympic Winter Games had one of its most surprising gold medalists ever.
[So what that she had no snow? So what that she had never won anything? If she ever decides to break up with her boyfriend, I�m available.]
Watching the 1998 Nagano Games, Prawat Nagvajara was captivated with Kenya's Philip Boit's noble, yet inelegant cross-country skiing efforts. Inspired, the 43-year-old college professor received a special exemption to compete in the grueling 30km cross-country event for his native Thailand. Determined but struggling, Nagvajara was clearly overmatched. And when he was lapped early in the race, rules called for his being pulled from the course. The exhausted Nagvajara collapsed in the snow, a lonely symbol of the Olympic spirit.
[It seems that in every Olympics there are a few participants who compete with no remote hope of winning. For them, showing up is the victory. My deepest respect goes out to them.]
Norwegian cross-country skier Erling Jevne carried the memory of his son into Salt Lake City. Jevne won a gold and silver for Norway's Olympic cross-country dynasty in Nagano. But in August 1999 his 4-year-old son Erich Iver was struck by a car and killed instantly. A grieving Jevne returned for his final Olympics and finished sixth in the 15km and 11th in the 50km.
[I suspect that he dedicated his participation to Erich Iver and that Erich Iver was cheering his father on from another realm.]
Ildiko Strehli finished only 13th in bobsleigh, but Strehli won a much bigger battle. Twice she conquered advanced levels of breast cancer, enduring months of chemotherapy, extended radiation treatments, and a double mastectomy. The Hungarian, who now lives in Park City, Utah, didn't depart Salt Lake City with any medals but ultimately accomplished something more profound and courageous.
[Illness may eventually kill us, but it will never stop us from living our lives passionately while we�re here.]
For American snowboarder Chris Klug getting to the Games was a triumph in itself. He overcame a serious liver ailment that required a transplant to save his life less than a year earlier. In the snowboarding parallel giant slalom, he again bucked the odds by winning a bronze medal through uncanny racing and a roll of duct tape that repaired a broken boot buckle on his final run.
[So, what�s stopping me from going for it?]
Once a dominating force on the alpine World Cup circuit, Croatia's Janica Kostelic came into the Games as a "what might have been" thanks to three knee surgeries within the last year. But the human spirit should never be underestimated. At times it can even convince a battered body that all is well. Skiing with abandon, Kostelic won a record four medals - three of them gold.
[Spirit transcends and lifts the body.]
Coming into the Games, the gold appeared to a tug-of-war between Poland's Adam Malysz and Germany's Sven Hannawald. But no one told Switzerland's Simon Ammann. Two weeks after surviving a horrible crash, he won both of the individual events, sending a shock wave through the sport.
[My �climbing back on the horse� award goes to Simon.]
Seattle speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno came into the Games favored for 4 gold medals. In his first event, however, he was the victim of a collision that took down all of the competitors except one. Despite having suffered a cut in his leg that required 6 stitches to close, he scrambled across the finish line to take the silver medal. Also despite his injury, he went on to compete in all of his other events, winning gold in one of them.
[Apolo handled himself with great dignity and never blamed the other racer who knocked him down nor his injury for his not living up to the expectations. Instead, he celebrated what he did accomplish and expressed abundant gratitude for his father, who had supported him.]
May we all be inspired by these athlete-heroes.
Namaste,
Michael
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://www.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule@igc.topica.com/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tuesday, March 12, 2002
THIS IS MY LIFE
Tuesday, 3/12/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, you who care enough to read this ~
Does any of you have the SETI at Home program on your computer? I love the idea. SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) sends data to people, and their computers analyze it for possible communications from outer space. Because I want to contribute to that, I have it on my computer. It makes me feel like an ally of the character Jodie Foster played in �Contact,� which is one of my favorite movies. (What was her character�s name?)
Unfortunately, it doesn�t work very well on my laptop the way I use it. If I had a desktop and left it running all night, it would have 8 or 10 hours every night to analyze data. But I turn my laptop off at night, so it�s taking forever to get through the data they sent me. I�ve decided that I�m going to uninstall it as soon as it�s finished with the data I already have. Maybe telling you all about it will result in somebody downloading the SETI at Home program and using it. Then I�ll feel like I�ve contributed in that way at least. (http://www.seti.org)
Going back to �Contact�: Part of what makes that movie important to me is that it partly takes place in NM, near Socorro (the Very Large Array of radio telescopes). That�s a place I�m eager to go visit one day soon. Another part is that I saw the movie not too long before I visited NM in 1997 and considered seeing it again while I was here (but decided not to). Every time I see it again (and I�ve watched it probably 10 times), it takes me right back to the glory of those days of my first visit to NM.
I forgot to tell you that I participated in a Unity Santa Fe bookstore brainstorming meeting a few weeks ago. They asked for anyone who�d like to give input. I figured that there isn�t anyone more fascinated by books and bookstores than I am and that I�m great with spiritual brainstorming, so I went. Besides, they ordered pizza for lunch. I think my input was helpful � especially with the pizza eating.
And speaking of pizza . . . before I moved here, someone said on an e-mail list that if people like pizza, New Mexico isn�t the place to come. I was seriously concerned. I love pizza. Well, I�ve discovered that, at least in Santa Fe, I had nothing to worry about. Even the delivery pizza they ordered was good. A couple who�s lived here for a long time gave me a run-down on all the good pizza places in town. I�m eager to have enough money to go on a tour of pizza places.
I told you in my last letter that on March 3 I attended The Celebration, which is an independent New Thought church run by the congregation. They don�t have (or want) a minister. The speaker each week is either a member or a guest speaker. So, while I was there, I signed up to speak some Sunday. That�s only the first of many places where I�ll be arranging to speak. The coordinator has already called me about arranging a date. I have several talks I�m eager to give. The first, I think, will be �Following Spirit without Hesitation.� That will be about my path of living by spiritual guidance.
There was a woman at The Celebration who I talked with for awhile about something called �Body Choir� that�s held twice a week here in Santa Fe. They describe it as �consciously dancing to the rhythms of life� and �dance experience that encourages a direct experience of spirit.� It sounds like something I�d enjoy, and I can think of several people I know in the Seattle area who�d probably enjoy it, too. I�ll let you know what it�s like when I�ve experienced it.
Anyway, I was very attracted to the woman I was talking with about Body Choir, but I found a lot of �good� reasons not to do anything about that (other than just talking with her about the one topic). I�m sure that sounds familiar to those of you who followed my letters in 1997. The truth is, though, that until I�m working and making money, I don�t feel very attractive. C�est �a.
While I was feeling attracted to her, there was another woman who I think was interested in me. She did the sorts of things I would have done if I�d felt free to show interest in the other woman, except that she didn�t suggest getting together or going to lunch. Unfortunately, I wasn�t attracted to her. I can hear someone saying that I�m never attracted to any woman who shows interest in me, but that hasn�t been true historically until the past 4 years or so. We�ll see what happens when I have some money again.
Okay, time to stop for tonight. I�m nearly up to the present, and that will be a gift.
Namaste,
Michael
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://www.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule@igc.topica.com/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tuesday, 3/12/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, you who care enough to read this ~
Does any of you have the SETI at Home program on your computer? I love the idea. SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) sends data to people, and their computers analyze it for possible communications from outer space. Because I want to contribute to that, I have it on my computer. It makes me feel like an ally of the character Jodie Foster played in �Contact,� which is one of my favorite movies. (What was her character�s name?)
Unfortunately, it doesn�t work very well on my laptop the way I use it. If I had a desktop and left it running all night, it would have 8 or 10 hours every night to analyze data. But I turn my laptop off at night, so it�s taking forever to get through the data they sent me. I�ve decided that I�m going to uninstall it as soon as it�s finished with the data I already have. Maybe telling you all about it will result in somebody downloading the SETI at Home program and using it. Then I�ll feel like I�ve contributed in that way at least. (http://www.seti.org)
Going back to �Contact�: Part of what makes that movie important to me is that it partly takes place in NM, near Socorro (the Very Large Array of radio telescopes). That�s a place I�m eager to go visit one day soon. Another part is that I saw the movie not too long before I visited NM in 1997 and considered seeing it again while I was here (but decided not to). Every time I see it again (and I�ve watched it probably 10 times), it takes me right back to the glory of those days of my first visit to NM.
I forgot to tell you that I participated in a Unity Santa Fe bookstore brainstorming meeting a few weeks ago. They asked for anyone who�d like to give input. I figured that there isn�t anyone more fascinated by books and bookstores than I am and that I�m great with spiritual brainstorming, so I went. Besides, they ordered pizza for lunch. I think my input was helpful � especially with the pizza eating.
And speaking of pizza . . . before I moved here, someone said on an e-mail list that if people like pizza, New Mexico isn�t the place to come. I was seriously concerned. I love pizza. Well, I�ve discovered that, at least in Santa Fe, I had nothing to worry about. Even the delivery pizza they ordered was good. A couple who�s lived here for a long time gave me a run-down on all the good pizza places in town. I�m eager to have enough money to go on a tour of pizza places.
I told you in my last letter that on March 3 I attended The Celebration, which is an independent New Thought church run by the congregation. They don�t have (or want) a minister. The speaker each week is either a member or a guest speaker. So, while I was there, I signed up to speak some Sunday. That�s only the first of many places where I�ll be arranging to speak. The coordinator has already called me about arranging a date. I have several talks I�m eager to give. The first, I think, will be �Following Spirit without Hesitation.� That will be about my path of living by spiritual guidance.
There was a woman at The Celebration who I talked with for awhile about something called �Body Choir� that�s held twice a week here in Santa Fe. They describe it as �consciously dancing to the rhythms of life� and �dance experience that encourages a direct experience of spirit.� It sounds like something I�d enjoy, and I can think of several people I know in the Seattle area who�d probably enjoy it, too. I�ll let you know what it�s like when I�ve experienced it.
Anyway, I was very attracted to the woman I was talking with about Body Choir, but I found a lot of �good� reasons not to do anything about that (other than just talking with her about the one topic). I�m sure that sounds familiar to those of you who followed my letters in 1997. The truth is, though, that until I�m working and making money, I don�t feel very attractive. C�est �a.
While I was feeling attracted to her, there was another woman who I think was interested in me. She did the sorts of things I would have done if I�d felt free to show interest in the other woman, except that she didn�t suggest getting together or going to lunch. Unfortunately, I wasn�t attracted to her. I can hear someone saying that I�m never attracted to any woman who shows interest in me, but that hasn�t been true historically until the past 4 years or so. We�ll see what happens when I have some money again.
Okay, time to stop for tonight. I�m nearly up to the present, and that will be a gift.
Namaste,
Michael
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://www.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule@igc.topica.com/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Monday, March 11, 2002
THIS IS MY LIFE
Monday, 3/11/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, everyone ~
I think I told you back in October that my new name had been given to me while I was driving from Santa Fe to Seattle for the second phase of my move, but that I was going to sit with it for awhile before I revealed it.
Well, the time has come to announce it. My new name is King Michael Gabriel Deluno. In most situations, I�ll just use Michael Deluno.
I�m going to begin using that name for everything except legal purposes � until I have the money to go to court and get it changed legally. So, from now on, for all intents and purposes, that�s my name.
Some of you may be interested in what the name means to me:
King is my warrior name from Leap of Faith. It�s a name that implies courage, following Spirit, and going for it to me.
Michael is the only of my birth names that I�m keeping. Michael, the name of one of the archangels, is who I really am.
Gabriel was given to me on the highway. Another of the archangels. I don�t even know yet what the archangel Gabriel represents. Whatever it is, I think Spirit was endowing me with that quality by giving me that name.
Deluno was also given to me on the highway. I can remember exactly where it was � between Pagosa Springs, CO, and South Fork, CO, near Wolf Creek Pass. Ask anyone who speaks Spanish what del uno means (and that�s the correct pronunciation).
It�s also a triple entendre. Astrologically, I�m a moon child (Cancer). The Spanish for moon is la luna. So, I�m a male moon. And luno in Spanish is mole, the animal who explores and gets around comfortably underground in the dark � symbolically, the shadow/unconscious.
So, there you have it, the new me.
Namaste,
King Michael Gabriel Deluno
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://www.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://igc.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Monday, 3/11/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, everyone ~
I think I told you back in October that my new name had been given to me while I was driving from Santa Fe to Seattle for the second phase of my move, but that I was going to sit with it for awhile before I revealed it.
Well, the time has come to announce it. My new name is King Michael Gabriel Deluno. In most situations, I�ll just use Michael Deluno.
I�m going to begin using that name for everything except legal purposes � until I have the money to go to court and get it changed legally. So, from now on, for all intents and purposes, that�s my name.
Some of you may be interested in what the name means to me:
King is my warrior name from Leap of Faith. It�s a name that implies courage, following Spirit, and going for it to me.
Michael is the only of my birth names that I�m keeping. Michael, the name of one of the archangels, is who I really am.
Gabriel was given to me on the highway. Another of the archangels. I don�t even know yet what the archangel Gabriel represents. Whatever it is, I think Spirit was endowing me with that quality by giving me that name.
Deluno was also given to me on the highway. I can remember exactly where it was � between Pagosa Springs, CO, and South Fork, CO, near Wolf Creek Pass. Ask anyone who speaks Spanish what del uno means (and that�s the correct pronunciation).
It�s also a triple entendre. Astrologically, I�m a moon child (Cancer). The Spanish for moon is la luna. So, I�m a male moon. And luno in Spanish is mole, the animal who explores and gets around comfortably underground in the dark � symbolically, the shadow/unconscious.
So, there you have it, the new me.
Namaste,
King Michael Gabriel Deluno
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://www.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://igc.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
THIS IS MY LIFE
Monday, 3/11/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, y�all ~
Okay, so how many of you are dying to know what all of my Olympic heroes had in common? Reminding you, there�s something that I saw in Vonetta Flowers, Derek Parra, Sarah Hughes, Jimmy Shea, Alisa Camplin, Simon Ammann, and Tristan Gale at the Olympics that made them my heroes. It was that they were all very openly expressive about their feelings and enthusiasm. Did you see it? That�s also something that I find exceptionally attractive in women, by the way.
I don�t think I�ve told you that one of the first people I met in Santa Fe was Roark Barron. He�s a professional musician who plays harp in a style I�ve never seen before. He calls himself the Dick Dale of harps. (You have to be old enough to remember in order to understand. I am.) He and his wife, Lyra (pronounced like the Italian money), and their son all play music together professionally. I went out to his house back in October, and we talked about all kinds of things, including God Only Knows What. However, I didn�t meet Lyra then.
So, on February 24 I felt one of my spiritual urgings to go to Unity Santa Fe that morning. It turned out that Lyra played the special music (piano) that morning. So I got to meet her and had a nice connection with her.
Then, on March 3 I felt another spiritual urging to go to The Celebration (an independent New Thought congregation that�s totally run by the members � no minister). Who was the special music? Roark. I think I�m being told something. I�m not sure what yet, though. I need to call Roark and get together with him before he heads off to Thailand for awhile.
I decided to attend the Unity Santa Fe annual congregational meeting even though I�m not a member. I�ve noticed that annual meetings are a great way to learn about a church. And it was. I like Brendalyn Batchelor, the minister, a lot. Over the years I�ve noticed that ministers have one of 2 basic approaches to asking people to take on volunteer projects. The first is asking primarily because the minister and the church need the project to be done. The second is asking primarily because somehow the project will be right for the person being asked � for their spiritual development or whatever. Brendalyn is one who practices the second approach. I appreciate that.
In my last letter, I told you that I�d been asked to join the Labyrinth Resource Group. So, on February 25 I went to my first LRG meeting. Digressing just a bit, it was held at the house of a couple of the members. What an incredible house in an incredible location. It�s a traditional southwestern style house sort of up on a hill with a great view.
As I was driving up the hill to their house, my car died, and I couldn�t get it to start again. So, I left it on the side of their driveway and went on up to the meeting. I hoped that I had just flooded the engine, but I had no idea. Considering my financial difficulties right now, I was more than a bit concerned that it might be something more serious. Fortunately it started right up after the meeting, but it did bring the realities of being short on money even more prominently into my awareness.
Anyway, I felt like I fit right in, and I made several significant contributions to the work they were doing. Part of what I�m doing is identifying what my strengths and weaknesses are in working with people and on projects. A strength that I�ve known about before that was useful in this meeting is recognizing a flow of events that works to fulfill a purpose. In this case, I helped them re-order the August conference in a way that will make it much more effective.
Another strength that has shown up with LRG that I didn�t even clearly realize that I had is knowing how to publicize events effectively. I don�t like doing the publicizing very much, but I�m great as a consultant to the people who will be doing it. So, I ended up on the publicity team. I�m even considering offering my services as a consultant to other non-profit groups.
That led to Marge, the group chair, asking me if I�d go to a training for non-profits on working with the media as the representative of the LRG. I jumped at the opportunity. It will be helpful to me in my own work, too. That�s coming up April 3.
I joined the choir at Unity Santa Fe � not because being in the choir is my greatest long-term desire in life, but because I wanted to get involved in something and because I wanted to meet some people who might be interested in God Only Knows What. So, on February 26 I went to my first rehearsal. I�ve been having a good time with it. Our first performance is on Easter.
I�ve been noticing something. Getting out of the house and doing things has a huge effect on my mood. I get high, comparatively anyway, when I�m out and active. Valuable information for me.
Enough for this letter. I�m beginning to have lots to talk about again, you may notice, after a long time of pretty much doing nothing.
Namaste,
Michael
[If you don�t already and would like to receive my letters
directly via e-mail, send an e-mail (no message needed) to
ThisIsMyLife-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
[If you�d like to read the archives of my letters and/or holiday
letters and travel reports I've written since 1977, visit
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ThisIsMyLife/messages]
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPIES AND FORWARDING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
letters) if you think someone might be interested in reading it.
Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY COMMUNITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
the Heart Song Community e-mail list. That�s an e-mail
community that provides opportunity for discussing a variety of
topics and sharing about our personal lives. You can get more
information and join at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongCommunity
~~~~~~~~~
MY WORK
~~~~~~~~~
If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
e-zines, classes, workshops, retreats, ministry, web sites, and
other programs offered by the various people and projects of
Heart Song Projects. HSP is an affiliation of people and
projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://igc.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule/read
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Monday, 3/11/2002
Copyright (c) 2002, Michael Dickerson. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited without
permission.
Hi, y�all ~
Okay, so how many of you are dying to know what all of my Olympic heroes had in common? Reminding you, there�s something that I saw in Vonetta Flowers, Derek Parra, Sarah Hughes, Jimmy Shea, Alisa Camplin, Simon Ammann, and Tristan Gale at the Olympics that made them my heroes. It was that they were all very openly expressive about their feelings and enthusiasm. Did you see it? That�s also something that I find exceptionally attractive in women, by the way.
I don�t think I�ve told you that one of the first people I met in Santa Fe was Roark Barron. He�s a professional musician who plays harp in a style I�ve never seen before. He calls himself the Dick Dale of harps. (You have to be old enough to remember in order to understand. I am.) He and his wife, Lyra (pronounced like the Italian money), and their son all play music together professionally. I went out to his house back in October, and we talked about all kinds of things, including God Only Knows What. However, I didn�t meet Lyra then.
So, on February 24 I felt one of my spiritual urgings to go to Unity Santa Fe that morning. It turned out that Lyra played the special music (piano) that morning. So I got to meet her and had a nice connection with her.
Then, on March 3 I felt another spiritual urging to go to The Celebration (an independent New Thought congregation that�s totally run by the members � no minister). Who was the special music? Roark. I think I�m being told something. I�m not sure what yet, though. I need to call Roark and get together with him before he heads off to Thailand for awhile.
I decided to attend the Unity Santa Fe annual congregational meeting even though I�m not a member. I�ve noticed that annual meetings are a great way to learn about a church. And it was. I like Brendalyn Batchelor, the minister, a lot. Over the years I�ve noticed that ministers have one of 2 basic approaches to asking people to take on volunteer projects. The first is asking primarily because the minister and the church need the project to be done. The second is asking primarily because somehow the project will be right for the person being asked � for their spiritual development or whatever. Brendalyn is one who practices the second approach. I appreciate that.
In my last letter, I told you that I�d been asked to join the Labyrinth Resource Group. So, on February 25 I went to my first LRG meeting. Digressing just a bit, it was held at the house of a couple of the members. What an incredible house in an incredible location. It�s a traditional southwestern style house sort of up on a hill with a great view.
As I was driving up the hill to their house, my car died, and I couldn�t get it to start again. So, I left it on the side of their driveway and went on up to the meeting. I hoped that I had just flooded the engine, but I had no idea. Considering my financial difficulties right now, I was more than a bit concerned that it might be something more serious. Fortunately it started right up after the meeting, but it did bring the realities of being short on money even more prominently into my awareness.
Anyway, I felt like I fit right in, and I made several significant contributions to the work they were doing. Part of what I�m doing is identifying what my strengths and weaknesses are in working with people and on projects. A strength that I�ve known about before that was useful in this meeting is recognizing a flow of events that works to fulfill a purpose. In this case, I helped them re-order the August conference in a way that will make it much more effective.
Another strength that has shown up with LRG that I didn�t even clearly realize that I had is knowing how to publicize events effectively. I don�t like doing the publicizing very much, but I�m great as a consultant to the people who will be doing it. So, I ended up on the publicity team. I�m even considering offering my services as a consultant to other non-profit groups.
That led to Marge, the group chair, asking me if I�d go to a training for non-profits on working with the media as the representative of the LRG. I jumped at the opportunity. It will be helpful to me in my own work, too. That�s coming up April 3.
I joined the choir at Unity Santa Fe � not because being in the choir is my greatest long-term desire in life, but because I wanted to get involved in something and because I wanted to meet some people who might be interested in God Only Knows What. So, on February 26 I went to my first rehearsal. I�ve been having a good time with it. Our first performance is on Easter.
I�ve been noticing something. Getting out of the house and doing things has a huge effect on my mood. I get high, comparatively anyway, when I�m out and active. Valuable information for me.
Enough for this letter. I�m beginning to have lots to talk about again, you may notice, after a long time of pretty much doing nothing.
Namaste,
Michael
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ABOUT THIS IS MY LIFE
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This Is My Life is my letters to my family, friends, and whoever
else may be interested about whatever is meaningful to me in
my life. I don't guarantee anything about content or frequency.
The letters will be whatever they turn out to be. If you want
the best option available for keeping up with what�s happening
with me, though, this is it.
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COPIES AND FORWARDING
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You�re welcome to freely redistribute This Is My Life (my
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Please don�t use any of it for profit, though.
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MY COMMUNITY
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Another excellent way to know what�s going on with me is to join
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MY WORK
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If you�re interested in my work, I invite you to take a look at
the Heart Song Schedule. That provides information about the
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other programs offered by the various people and projects of
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projects tied together by shared psychospiritual foundations
and purposes � to contribute to healing, growth, expansion, and
spiritual awakening and to serve Spirit in all life. You can see
the most recent schedules at either
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartSongSchedule/messages
or http://igc.topica.com/lists/HSSchedule/read
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