Life doesn’t get any better than this. We just got two phone calls tonight – one was from our 13-year old grandson and the other was from our 21-month old grandson just learning to talk. His mother said he picked up his play phone and started calling our names in it, “PaPa” “Gamma”. It makes our hearts burst with love when our grandchildren miss us so much they want to talk to us (even the baby). My grandson said once he wanted to call us because he needed a Grandma fix. My grandmother was one of the most important people in my life growing up and I still carry warm memories of those days. I’ve written some posts about her – go to That Special Someone, Ghosts or Plain Talk. Now, I feel that I’m following in her footsteps with our grandchildren and making memories with them.

Our children live in rural Denver and we live in the mountains outside of Denver and the grandchildren come up and spend weekends with us on a regular basis. They have done this for most of their lives and we have built that bond. It’s so special to have that time with just them not to mention giving their parents a break. We play with them and catch up with what’s going on in their lives. There is a long hill down our backyard and when it snows they get out the sleds and slide down the hill a good part of the day. We go for walks and they sleep out on the deck in the summer in their tent looking at the stars. Yes, making memories.

What is it with raising children? That time of our life we’re building our families, a home and working. Between all the responsibilities, jobs, school, homework, errands, 15 years fly by and their almost grown. Then, you go through the milestones of puberty, driving, falling in love, broken hearts, graduation, college, marriage and……ahhh grandchildren. You wonder where the time went while you were trying to figure it all out. But, when the grandchildren come, it’s like you have a second chance at that children thing only in a different way. That’s when you can relax and truly love all the stages, the moods, the diaper changing – and I’m in heaven.

I realize some of you out there reading this just can’t relate. You’re not even in the children phase no less the grandchildren phase and may not even want to entertain it. That’s fine and I honor that. But let me indulge a little – humor me. It’s not just the children and grandchildren thing – it’s family. You’re making memories with a new generation that will stay with them forever. Go back in time, in your own life as a child, can’t you remember laughing and playing? What was your fondest memory as a child? Was it a puppy you had or being tucked into bed and read a story every night. Or maybe it was Christmas when you couldn’t go to sleep at night excited for Santa to come. We all have memories and there are those special people in our lives that create that world of imagination for us that we can recall at any time and with it come the feelings.

When your life seems to be spiraling out of control and you’re worrying about the bills, leaky roofs or losing a job, life comes around and knocks on your door and reminds you of the importance of appreciating what you have. What I was reminded of tonight was of the love of our grandchildren and how blessed I am. Family fills my heart with so much love and that’s what we’re living for – sharing that love with one another and passing on the torch. Take time today to hug the ones you love and tell them how glad you are that they’re in your life.

From the kitchen table – Pat
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What have your thoughts been about today? Do you even remember? Until recently, this has been something that has challenged me and, consequently, it was reflective in my life. You can read a related post I wrote, called Believe and Keep Faith. But, slowly, I feel I’ve made progress in this area. In fact, when I first wrote this earlier today I could really see where I had made some changes in my life in the area of my thoughts. Then, the end of the day came and I was put to the test on what I was going to do with my thoughts. It was as if the universe was saying,“Do you really believe this – well, let’s see.” I was called in at work and fired (I don’t like the word fired so let’s say – let go). I’ve never been let go before and for lacking in PC skills (didn’t minimize a page fast enough) and needing too much mentoring time?? Those old victim feelings and thoughts surfaced and started to take over. You know the ones:

“The reason they gave was lame.”
“Poor Pat.”
“You’re rejected again – never appreciated for what you do.”
“What did I do to deserve this?”

But, I caught myself and even though the emotions were running wild I thought instead,

“God loves me.”
“There is a lesson here and this time I will see what it is I need to do to heal so I never have to repeat it again.”
“I will send love and blessings to this company and to those who let me go.”
“These people are my brothers and sisters and they are here to teach me so I can finally learn.”
“I am thankful for the opportunity I had for work and for the position I had for a short time.”

“What”, you say, “Are you crazy?” “How will thinking like this ever change people or what happened to you?” “They don’t even know what’s going on in your head.” Yes, I could think that but it would be a false sense of pride only leading me back to old victimization thoughts and this is the lesson to be learned. I don’t think it’s totally released for what I have to learn but I have turned it around and with God’s help I can heal and send love and blessings. Marianne Williamson said in her book, The Age of Miracles, “And everything that ever happens will be used to show us how we’re doing so far.”

We don’t realize how much influence and power we have just through what we’re thinking. Thoughts solely belong to us and it’s the one thing that can’t be taken away. Because they’re heard only by us, we can choose to either listen, ignore or change the thought.

Our thoughts are silent to others on the outside but through our thoughts we have the invisible connection to the Divine – a hotline to the Creator – instead of being connected to our circumstance. If we allow our thoughts to be affected by the circumstances this is what we create. If we think only on what we intend to manifest and keep our connection open to the Divine we will be guided on what action to take.

It seems simple but I think the problem is that we haven’t really grasped the fact that we can actually use our thoughts as a tool as you would your hands or legs. If you go to pick something up and it’s not what you want, you change where you reach and choose another item. You can do that with your thoughts. If you have a thought that’s not consistent with your intention you can change it to the thought that fits. Because our thoughts are intangible and silent and appear to be on autopilot, we don’t take them seriously – but we need to. This is the engine that drives everything into our existence. We need to pay attention to them.

I am out of a job and not real clear why. But, I’m better at changing my thoughts about this and taking full responsibility for my part (see my previous post, Taking Responsibility). I am closer to healing for which I am thankful to my teachers. Because I am working on keeping my thoughts on love and blessing, I keep my hotline open to the Divine and believe I will be shown where I am to be and best served. God bless all of you who are experiencing some of these things. Believe me when you get a glimpse of the end of the tunnel you will be grateful for having gone through what you did in order to be better for it. This time my thoughts are lifting me up and through this situation – not doing me in!

From the kitchen table – Pat
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Throughout our lives we go through stages. You can’t be expected to know anything about responsibility when you’re a toddler or young child. We have to learn what that means. Each little job, each small task helps us understand what responsibility is and the consequences. Your mother asks, “Will you pick up your toys?” They’re your toys – you’re beginning to be responsible for them so why wouldn’t you? And, then, you also experience the consequences when you don’t pick them up.

Slowly, we grow and as we encounter each task we learn more about responsibility, hopefully. This is in an ideal world.

Sometimes, we resist taking responsibility, even as a child, and this is where we begin spinning our wheels and going nowhere. We’re stuck. Marianne Williamson in her book, The Age of Miracles, says:

“A concept it has taken me years to embrace fully is that I am 100 percent responsible for my own life. 100 percent responsible doesn’t mean 34 percent responsible, and it doesn’t mean 96 percent responsible. Unless you’re willing to accept that you’re 100 percent responsible for your own experience, then you can’t call forth your best life.”

No matter what problem you are experiencing or what someone else has done to you. You need to take full responsibility for your part of it or it will keep repeating itself in some form over again until the lesson is learned. It’s time to stop blaming and judging and truly view the situation and release it through love and forgiveness. This doesn’t mean to become the victim and blame yourself. It means you need to find a way to change your thoughts and reactions and respond positively. I know some of the situations you’re facing out there are tough and no one said it was to be easy. But unless we really see how the situation is reflecting a part of us that needs healing and find a way to do that – through prayer or counselor – we’ll keep spinning our wheels. You have to find the way that fits best for you and a way that works so you know you have dealt with the problem and have been 100 percent responsible.

As Marianne Williamson goes on to say,

“You can live the rest of your life reacting to and replaying what went before, but that won’t serve you or deliver you to the shining place. And everyone you meet will subconsciously know how you’ve responded to your past. They will know whether you’re stuck there or better for having been there.”

From the kitchen table – Pat
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote:

“What if you slept?
And what if,
In your sleep
You dreamed?
And what if,
In your dream,
You went to heaven
And there plucked
A strange and
Beautiful flower?
And what if,
When you awoke,
You had the flower
In your hand?”
Photo by Wazari at www.sxc.hu.home
What would you think if what you dreamed appeared in this realm as in Samuel Coleridge’s poem – a beautiful flower? Isn’t that what we do when we manifest? We put a picture out there of what it is we desire and hold it and over time we create it in our lives. Only in the dream state, there are no obstacles, no second guessing and what you dream appears instantly. What if we could bring more of that dimension into our everyday waking life instead of excusing it away as nonsense?

Have you ever had dreams or visions that appeared to be giving you a message or guidance? Back in 1977, I was awakened by a dream. It came out of nowhere. I was asleep and all of a sudden off in the distance I could see a black and white newspaper spinning and it kept spinning as it came closer and when it got close enough it stopped spinning to where I could read the bold black letters AIRPLANE CRASH – DENVER BRONCOS and I could see a photo off to the side of a crashed plane still smoking. It woke me up instantly and I sat straight up in bed and with my eyes wide open I could still see the newspaper headlines and the picture of the smoking airplane. My heart was racing and all I could think was, “What does this mean?” and “What am I supposed to do with this?” My husband helped me settle down so I could get back to sleep but the next morning I couldn’t shake it. I found out that the Broncos were due to fly to San Diego that weekend to play in a professional football game and somehow I wanted to warn them. Instead, I called my pastor at church and he put out a prayer request and then that’s what I did – pray. I prayed and prayed until it released and I felt peace again. I don’t know what that meant on this side of heaven and the Broncos didn’t crash but I know to this day I can still see a vivid picture of that spinning newspaper and smoking plane.

Dreams and visions can reveal another world, another dimension and be used to enhance our thoughts, desires. Imagine what we could learn. Is the life we’re living real or is it a dream? Some think it’s an elusion. You be the judge. It’s your dream.

“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth
Across the doors where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.”

– RUMI –

From the kitchen table – Pat
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My timing is off. I probably should be writing this in October at Halloween time. But I wanted to share some personal stories from spending time at my grandmother’s. We just watched a movie tonight on the Hallmark channel called, “The Good Witch” starring Catherine Bell and it reminded me of the magic and mystery of things unseen. I believe there’s energy in everything and we’re connected to it. Sometimes, we can’t explain it in logical terms but it happens nonetheless. I grew up having a grandmother that had that mystery about her. She intuitively knew things other people didn’t pick up and it was no big deal to her. But my sister and I and 5 cousins grew familiar with the unusual happenings that would occur now and then as we all spent each summer with my grandmother and grandfather in a small town in Virginia. My mother, the eldest of my grandmother’s children, told us of spooky things that happened in that same house when she was a child. So, it’s no wonder the same things would continue for the next generation to take claim of and pass along. I don’t think the house was haunted. It was mostly its geographical setting enhanced by the fact that Grandma was psychic. Their backyard was connected to a funeral home and Grandpa’s tool shed and a small storage building belonging to the funeral home separated the yards. From our side, the small storage building was built with wood and had a window with drawn blinds. There was also some sort of door with an ivory door handle and a key hole. We always tried to peek inside to see if we could see anything. This was mostly where they stored the caskets but I think at one time it also was where they used to prepare the bodies. Given all that drama and children’s imaginations you can believe we scared ourselves to death. On top of that, Grandma had her stories about people she loved who had died and how comfortable she was in being in tune with them from the other side. There were times a noise or something would drop and Grandma would make her declaration, “There’s going to be a death in the family.” You never knew what would trigger it. To her it was second nature – peaceful and surreal – not creepy like it felt to us. It added more fuel to an already over-worked imagination. Sure enough, we would always get that phone call in the wee hours of the morning that a distant aunt or uncle had died. You can read another story I told about my grandmother in a previous post, That Special Someone.

I remember one night everyone was out in the living room watching TV and I went into the kitchen to get something from the refrigerator and I heard the back screen door slam. I called for Grandma,“because I wasn’t going out there alone”. She and I went out to the back door from a porch-type addition to the house with me stuck close by her side. She unlocked the heavy door and checked the screen door and it was hooked. Ugh – here it comes. She made her declaration and we got another phone call that night.

Because we couldn’t sleep at night, we would sit up on the floor under the front bedroom window where the street light was shining and play cards. After Grandma and Grandpa went to sleep we would sneak downstairs in the dark to the kitchen to get something to eat. My grandmother had a large oval picture with a gilded frame hanging on the wall in the living room as you came down the stairs. It was a picture of her 2-year old son, Billy Bob, who had died of pneumonia and the sepia picture was of him lying down as if he was asleep. Actually, in that picture he was dead but as a child he looked peaceful and sweet. You never noticed the picture at other times until you came down the stairs in the dark and then it seemed to illuminate. That was enough to move us swiftly right along to the kitchen. Night after night, throughout the whole summer you would find us sitting up whispering and playing cards until daybreak. One night, as usual, we were down in the kitchen. I guess we were talking a little loud telling each other spooky stories and giving gory descriptions of the food, as we ate it, when all of a sudden the lights went out and we took off running in all different directions. Then we heard Grandma, she had flipped the breaker switch and it worked. She got us all back upstairs and in bed.

I miss her dearly and feel her spirit with me every day. She talked of loved ones and spirits and it was a world that was not foreign to her. Because of her and these experiences it opened up the spiritual world to me early on and influenced a strong faith in a higher power that I carry with me today. Are there ghosts? I believe there are souls who for some reason at their death are unable to cross over and are caught between worlds. I also believe our loved ones and animals that have died come to visit. Some people are open to see them but most are not. We’re living in an age now where more of us are exploring this phenomenon. We’re no longer burning these gifted souls to the stake instead we’re intrigued and asking questions.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you ever had a strange experience you couldn’t explain? Given the saturation of the teachings of spirituality and energy it would be interesting to hear more discussion on this as people become freer to accept our connection to everything.

From the kitchen table – Pat
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