Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Newsletter XVIII - The Meaning of Mindfulness

Dearest Friends:
We have heard the phrase a million times, “Be mindful. Be present. Be in the NOW.” However, what does it mean? More importantly, how is it possible to achieve mindfulness in a world in which clocks are ticking as we run, multi-task, and swing to past and future thinking as if we're an untamed monkey in the trees?

Frankly, I never understood the concept of mindfulness until I was forced to experience it about 20 years ago while on a snowy ski slope in Park City, Utah. I was in a group skiing class with three other men and two women. The wind was scattering powder-like snow, similar to my scattered thoughts that were being tossed around regarding the events of yesterday and what I needed to accomplish tomorrow; thus, I didn’t really comprehend the instructions that my ski instructor was directing at me. I couldn’t seem to concentrate on what he was saying when he corrected the way in which I was swinging my arms and body from side to side when I skied. Finally, in exasperation and with a raised voice, he blurted, “Just do this ONE THING. Imagine that your belly button is a flashlight shining the way straight down the hill. Think of NOTHING ELSE.” I was embarrassed but motivated to accomplish whatever it was he expected me to do---but focus on ONE THING? I wanted to ask, “Are you kidding?”

I seemed to instinctively inhale and exhale a few deep breaths that grounded me to the earth beneath my feet, and then I rehearsed the words aloud before I proceeded down the hill, “Belly button—flashlight—belly button—flashlight.“ My thoughts of yesterday’s events and tomorrow’s tasks and worries dissipated as if they were zapped away by a bolt of lightning. Determined, I pushed off down the hill, focused only on my belly button that was a flashlight while repeating “belly button—flashlight—belly button—flashlight.” I was able to visualize the flashlight shining its beam ahead of me—leading me straight down the hill and not from side to side. As a result, my arms and body were no longer turning and swinging. Soon, this exercise was not external to me but rather, one with me. There was no distinction between me as the subject, object and action. I was acutely aware, conscious and awake, and the experience was so fully lived, exhilarating and penetrating that I seemed to feel it vibrating in every cell of my body. I also realized, much to my chagrin, that I had compromised most of my life experiences by thoughts that distracted me from experiencing the moment.

We only have this wondrous moment that is here and NOW. The past is gone. The future may not come. To miss the moment of NOW is to miss out on the experience of living. For example, how often have we eaten a meal and not experienced it because we were distracted by our past and future thinking about other things? How often have we walked or traveled and not seen the beauty around us because we were past and future thinking? How many accidents or other tragic events occur because of this obsessive past and future thinking? How often are we simply not mindful about what is in front of our face?

Mindfulness takes practice; fortunately, we can immediately begin to practice mindfulness without formal training, which is of benefit to everyone, regardless of race, class, gender, age, and spiritual or religious affiliation. Our children, in particular, need to learn mindfulness before they develop a scattered and undisciplined mind. We should also honor their mindfulness, rather than constantly distract them. We all benefit by the practice of being conscious and awake in our daily lives, and thus, it is prudent to practice mindfulness. One of the first things we need to learn to do is to move calmly and slowly, never in a hurry to achieve an outcome. For many of us, this is an arduous task, and we need to re-learn our fast paced behavior as if having to get out our bike with the training wheels.

For example, I was considered to be, at one time, a speed walker. My son, Colby, who was an ODP (Olympic Development Player), grabbed me by the back of my shirt more times than I can count en route to a soccer game in an attempt to slow me down. He simply couldn’t keep up with me! Because I was outcome oriented, focused on “arrival” at the soccer field in as little time as possible, I missed the step by step process of the journey. I was nearly deaf, dumb and blind to each moment and to the world around me. What if my thought, instead, would have been, “I am on the path to the soccer field?” Think of all the beauty I would have experienced with my son along the way!

Mindfulness is present moment by moment awareness and noticing change in one’s inner self. It is nonconceptual, unbiased observation without judgment or criticism. It is mirror-thought and reflects exactly what is happening now. In order to be mindful, we need to forget about future outcome and focus on the moment. We choose to BE instead of DO. In other words, we do not hurry and wash a cup so we can drink a cup of tea. We wash the cup to wash the cup. We experience what it is like to wash a cup and become one with the experience. We see every detail of the cup and how we care for it by washing. If our mind starts to wander to past and future thinking, we simply bring ourselves back to washing the cup by saying, “I am washing the cup now.” We do not hurry and take a 5 minute shower so we can get dressed to dash out the door and go to work. We take a shower to take a shower. We experience what it is like to take a shower and become one with the experience. We experience the wonder of it, and if we have hot water, we savor it even more. If our mind wanders to past and future thinking, we bring ourselves back to taking a shower by saying, “I am taking a shower now.” (I once needed to take a shower and wash my hair in an outdoor shower in the Himalayas in 0 degree weather. Since that time, I have absolutely savored hot water.) We take a bath to take a bath. If our mind wanders to past and future thinking, we simply return to our bath by saying, “I am taking a bath now.” By practicing mindfulness in this way, the feeling that a task is a bother or a nuisance will disappear.

It is wonderful to believe that the moment is our friend, no matter what the circumstance. The here and NOW moment is all we will ever have, because it truly is all that we have. Every experience we had in the past was experienced in the NOW. Everything we experience in the future will be in the NOW; thus, it behooves us to make NOW the primary focus and joy of our life. After all, nothing could be more perfect than right now---this very moment.

Love-light,
Carol
http://www.carolwilson.org/

Copyright © 2009, Carol A. Wilson.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Reiki in the News/Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP)

Dearest Friends:
We are seeing much needed healthcare reform in progress not only when we turn on the television. I have a couple of updates as they relate to Reiki, and yes, you can be an active participate.

1. I was invited to become an ACEP (Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology) CE provider, listed on their website at http://www.energypsych.org/ I discovered this organization through Dr. George Pratt, Chair of the Psychology Dept. at Scripps Medical Center in La Jolla, CA. George was among several healthcare professionals who enrolled in my Reiki classes last year in San Diego, which resulted in Reiki Master Teacher (RMT) in January 2009. It is always thrilling for me to train healthcare professionals who have a deep appreciation for Reiki, and we will certainly see this appreciation continue to grow. For those of you who are mental health professionals, ACEP might be of great interest to you so please check it out.

2. Pamela Miles informed me last week:

"Last week was HUGE for integrative health care, with two groundbreaking events in Washington, DC. The Summit on Integrative Medicine and Public Health was cohosted by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Bravewell Collaborative. While that was happening, physicians Andrew Weil, Mehmet Oz, Dean Ornish, and Mark Hyman testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The meeting was led by long time integrative health care advocates Senators Tom Harkin (IA) and Barbara Mikulski (MD). You can watch some of the summit by clicking here or access the presentation slides here. The Senate committee meeting can be viewed here.

There is much to celebrate in these meetings, a level of savvy and wisdom regarding health care that is unprecedented. Reiki was specifically mentioned twice. One of the summit's planners, Elizabeth Goldblatt, PhD, listed yoga teachers and Reiki teachers among the health care professionals who are involved in wellness and self-care. And Mehmet Oz, dubbed the "surgeon general of the airwaves" by Sen. Mikulski, mentioned Reiki in the O.R. when testifying to the Senate committee.

Let's take this powerful opportunity to co-create integrative health care. Contact your senators and representatives. Ask them to truly reform our system to promote health and wellness, rather than only managing disease. Sen. Harkin specifically requested that the American public do this. Our legislators need to know that we want to create a culture of wellness."

I have always loved the words of Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Aren't these changes absolutely wonderful?
Love-Light,
Carol
http://www.carolwilson.org/

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Losar - 2/25/2009 - Year of the Earth Ox - Prayers

Dear Friends:
The New Year for Tibetans has begun, and for the next month all postive and negative actions are multiplied 100,000 times; however, because the situation in Tibet has worsened, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has asked that the usual Losar celebrations be curtailed. Please see a letter that he sent out in regard to this at http://www.dalailama.com/news.348.htm

In response, Ven. Thubton Chodron has sent out a request for prayers until March 10 in 7 languages; thus, I will post the English version. Please join if you can, and send Reiki, also. The situation in Tibet is collective karma, and impacts all of us. The prayers:
1) NETWORK OF PRAYERS FOR TIBET. If you are a practicing Tibetan Buddhist of any tradition, or a supporter of the Tibetan cause, or in general anyone who appreciates the values of love and compassion in this world, please read this and pass it to your friends and contacts as soon as possible.We are a group of international students of Tibetan Buddhism from different countries all over the world concerned about the future and the preservation of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibet, and the Tibetan culture.We have been inspired to take action after reading His Holiness the Dalai Lama's New Year message to the Tibetan people on 24/2/09 (see http://www.dalailama.com/news.348.htm )As you are probably aware, the situation in Tibet has worsened dramatically during the last year. According to different sources, Tibet has been closed to tourists, there have been attempts to isolate the Tibetan population by means of cutting internet access and mobile phones, and thereby preventing communication and independent reports about the actual situation there. Tibetans inside and outside Tibet had wished not to observe Losar this year with the usual celebrations, because of the terrible difficulties and sufferings experienced in Tibet over the past year; however the Chinese government has been trying to force the people in Tibet to celebrate Losar against their will. This could lead to demonstrations, and a chance for an unprecedented, unimaginable clampdown. His Holiness has advised people not to react to such provocation, to abide in patience in every situation, and to use this period of time to engage in prayers and positive actions.From our side, we would like to emphasize the need to acknowledge that this culture based on love and compassion could disappear from the world. Due to the interconnectedness of everything that happens on this planet, we think that this situation is not just a matter of the Tibetan people and politics, but a matter of the collective karma of everyone, and thus a matter of universal responsibility. In this regard we want to establish a network of people around the world who will share in this responsibility through meditation and prayer. During the next 15 days, starting from LOSAR, February 25th until March 10th, PLEASE HELP US TO CREATE THIS NETWORK OF LOVE AND COMPASSION for Tibet, by joining us in the practice of TONG-LEN (see below), or any practice you think will generate an atmosphere of love and compassion in our world. Besides any normal practice you may do, or any other peaceful activities, we ask you to join us two times a day, morning and evening, for five minutes or longer, whenever it is convenient for you, and to dedicate that the suffering of the Tibetans will come to an end, and that the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and culture will be preserved. Please also dedicate with prayers for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and of all the lineage holders of the different Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Please also recite the following prayer for the success of His Holiness’ wishes, which was composed by Himself at the request of the late H.H. Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche:Saviour of the snow land teachings and transmigratory beings,Who makes extremely clear the path that is the unification of emptiness and compassion,To the Lotus Holder Tenzin Gyatso, I beseech:May all your holy wishes be spontaneously fulfilled.PASS THIS TO OTHERS WHO YOU THINK WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THIS NETWORK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, SO WE CAN CREATE A POWERFUL COLLECTIVE ENERGY THAT COULD BRING ACTUAL CHANGES TO THE SITUATION. THANK YOU.
THE PRACTICE OF TONG-LEN (Taking and Giving)
This is a method for cultivating love and compassion by taking on the suffering of others and giving them the positive energy and happiness that they need. It is a mental exercise that trains the mind and heart in these qualities.There are various ways to do Tong-len; here is a simple version of the practice:First, imagine at your heart a dark ball, which represents your negative energy: attitudes such as anger, attachment, ignorance, and selfishness, as well as sickness and other problems. Then think of people and beings who are suffering; you can think specifically of the Tibetan people, as well as people and beings in other places who are oppressed, hungry, sick, frightened, and so forth. Generate a feeling of compassion: “how wonderful it would be if they could be free from their sufferings and the causes of suffering.” Then imagine drawing all the sufferings out of these beings in the form of a dark stream of light or smoke, coming out of their right nostrils and entering into your left nostril. It goes straight down into the dark ball at your heart, completely destroying it. Imagine that you have completely freed all those beings from their suffering, and the dark ball of your selfishness and negative energy, which was at your heart, has been completely destroyed. Next, imagine giving away your happiness, possessions, merit, and positive energy to those beings. Visualize these positive things in the form of a stream of white light, which goes out from your right nostril and enters through their left nostrils, filling them with happiness. Let your mind rest for a few moments in a state of peace and joy that you have been able to relieve others of their suffering, and give them happiness. Then dedicate the merit you have created that all beings may attain enlightenment as quickly as possible.
Love-Light,
Carol
http://www.carolwilson.org/

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Newsletter XVII - How Faith Can Heal

Dearest Friends:
Last week I received an email from Nicole Friedman, PhD, giving me a heads up about a mind & body special issue of TIME magazine: “How Faith Can Heal” by Jeffrey Kluger; thus, I immediately dashed over to Barnes and Noble to purchase a copy. It was gloomy and raining outside but I found myself not avoiding the puddles on the upper Gateway mall plaza. Instead, I was hitting them with my UGGs and making big splashes---childlike, perhaps, but I do recall what Albert Siebert, Ph.D. defined as the “The Survivor Personality”:
1. Aimless playfulness for its own sake, like that of a happy child.
2. The ability to become so deeply absorbed in an activity that you lose track of time, external events, and all your worries, often whistling, humming, or talking to yourself absent mindedly.
3. A childlike, innocent curiosity.
4. An observant, non-judgmental style.
5. A willingness to look foolish, make mistakes, and laugh at yourself.
6. Open-minded acceptance of criticism about yourself.
7. An active imagination, daydreams, mental play, and conversations with yourself.
Perhaps we can benefit with more childlike behavior during these challenging times. I often say that never before have we not sung as we do not sing. Never before have we not chanted as we do not chant. Never before have we not laughed as we do not laugh.

I couldn't wait to dive into my newly purchased TIME magazine and agreed with Kluger’s premise (although understated), “Science and religion argue all the time, but they increasingly agree on one thing: a little spirituality may be very good for your health.” This is one of the reasons why I have focused on spirituality as it relates to health and healing rather than religion. Religion can too often focus on the differences in belief among people of various religions, and most of us are cognizant of conflict and wars fought as a result of those differences. I prefer to transcend those dualistic concepts and embrace our commonality, not our differences. Among other things, we are of the same essence, with the same unlimited potential, and our bond is that we wish to be happy. We all want to avoid suffering. Even an insect will run from suffering.

It is interesting, as Kluger notes, that our parietal lobe is active in matters of spirituality (located at the top of the head, aft of the frontal lobe, fore of the occipital lobe, north of the temporal lobe). The parietal lobe is a mass of tissue, centrally located, that processes sensory input. We put this center to work when we pray, chant, meditate, or travel on pilgrimage in search of a miracle. According to brain scan research conducted by David Newberg, MD, who has focused on the neurobiology of different religious and spiritual practices, when people engage in deep prayer or meditation, the frontal lobes take the lead because they govern focus and concentration; however, the parietal lobe powers down, which allows us to experience the sense of losing our earthly attachment. Previous research has demonstrated that changes in the brain become permanent with long-term meditators, appearing to have thicker frontal lobes than nonmeditators. According to Newberg, people who describe themselves as highly spiritual tend to exhibit an asymmetry in the thalamus—a feature that other people can develop after just eight weeks of training in meditation skills.

What positive outcome are we seeking more than any other outcome when we pray, chant or meditate? HEALTH. Kluger states, “So we convince ourselves that while our medicine is strong and our doctors are wise, our prayers may help us too.” In fact, prayer is considered a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) as defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In a survey analysis conducted a few years ago, the use of CAM’s in the United States showed a prevalence rate of 62%; however, in a more recent analysis, prayer was eliminated as a dependent variable, and the CAM prevalence rate was reduced to 36%. Hang in there, everyone, as we continue to do a two-step dance with scientists who are in a quandary as to what to do with integrating spirituality with conventional medicine! I elaborate upon this in my book Healing Beyond Medicine in Challenging Times. I have to believe that progress is being made; however, we need to continue to be pioneers in a movement that will improve the healthcare crisis that exists today. Kluger says, “Speak up! More than 85% of cancer patients would not be offended if their doctors asked them about their spiritual needs---but doctor’s don’t ask.” Furthermore, “94% of patients said it was perfectly all right for doctors to ask them about their religious beliefs. Plenty of doctors have no quarrel with this---though they are less sure how to raise the topic. Still, they agree that if health-care providers suggest complementary care like acupuncture to some patients, why not faith and prayer to others?”

I have read three pages of the TIME special issue article, “The Biology of Belief”, and now I see a three page advertisement for AMBIEN®! After two more pages of reading I see an advertisement for AMGEN Wyeth followed by a three page article on “Faith and Healing: A Forum”, followed by a two page advertisement on VIAGARA®! This special mind and body issue ends with a two page advertisement by Merck for SINGULAIR®. Therefore, this special 15 page issue on faith and healing is saturated with 8 full pages of advertishing from pharmaceutical companies. Hmmmmm---Are pharmaceutical companies funding TIME magazine? The more powerful I see these companies become, the scarier it gets. They are even educating our physicians. Or shall we, perhaps, call it mis-educating? More two-steps; fortunately, we recognize the dance and continue to be relentlessly optimistic in matters of integrating spirituality into health and healing and what we know to be effective. Speak up, yes, and at the same time continue to do what we can do something about—ourselves--which will automatically impact others in a positive way. Our spiritual essence is waiting to be discovered and reclaimed, and we have the tools to assist us--tools that are inherently spiritual in nature: prayer, meditation, sound healing, Reiki, Karuna Reiki, aromatherapy, yoga….the list goes on.

AND---don’t forget to laugh and make big splashes when you hit those puddles.

Love-Light,
Carol
http://www.carolwilson.org/
Copyright ©2009, Carol A. Wilson

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Thank You

Dearest Friends:
Happy Valentine's Day. My son just completed his first photo shoot of Cicily Diane, born on February 4 at 6 pounds 12 ounces. Cicily sends gratitude for your thoughts, prayers, wishes, and Reiki during her extended hospital stay in NICU. (I found the headband at Magical Child in Encinitas, CA.)
Love-Light,
Carol

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Reiki in the News

Dearest Friends:
This is a story of a 7 year old boy with neuroblastoma. He underwent chemotherapy for seven months for 11 cancerous tumors and was sent home to die. His father and grandparents opted not to try an experimental drug, Tapotecan, that could damage his kidneys and heart, meaning he would have only a 50 per cent chance of surviving the treatment. Instead, they choose alternative treatments, including Reiki! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1136870/The-boy-11-tumours-sent-home-die--survives-grandparents-alternative-therapy-treatments.html?ITO=1490
As you read the reaction of modern medicine to his "healing", those reactions are against our healing rules. If we listen to that kind of pessimism, we allow modern medicine to force "their" predictable outcomes onto people.
Love-Light,
Carol

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Newsletter XVI - Archived Newsletter - The Ferris Wheel of Life

Dearest Friends:

I just returned from viewing the Monet to Picasso Exhibit at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts from the Cleveland Museum of Art. I have heard that the University of Utah spent $5 million for this exhibit to be shown here, and it ends this Sunday; thus, I wanted to write this newsletter now because a few of you might be inspired attend this event. I doubt that we will see one like it again here in Utah. For more information visit www.umfa.utah.edu 

I love to visit cemeteries. I used to teach my Death and Dying class at the cemetery near Ft. Douglas on the University of Utah campus. Some people thought it was rather strange, and at the time I didn’t realize why I was compelled to do such a thing. It was only years later when Evans-Wentz mentioned a yogi practice called “cemetery frequenting” that it made sense to me. Yes, “cemetery frequenting” is an exercise in the Law of Impermanence, reminding us that all extrinsic phenomenon is impermanent. If we realize and understand this on a very deep level, we will not grasp or cling or become attached to those things that have no lasting permanence. The big pay-off in avoiding this attachment is that we will avoid a lot of suffering from what we perceive as loss. Here in the west it is quite easy to get stuck in this phenomenon called loss without acceptance--all part of what we call life. 

I realized how difficult it was for people to accept loss when I showed the movie “Fall of Freddy the Leaf”, designed for elementary school children as a tool for death education. During the movie, the audience grew fond of animated Freddy through his birth in the spring and his joy in the summer. However, as autumn came and the leaves on Freddy’s tree started to fall, which included his friends and family and neighbors, there was a hope that Freddy would not fall but rather, that he would hang on and and remain the happy, animated Freddy that we had grown to love. Yet, the leaves on Freddy’s tree continued to fall one by one, and sometimes in clusters. Finally, Freddy, all alone, clung to the limb that he had called home. It was difficult to accept that he, too, would fall to the ground even when suddenly, a huge gust of wind came and threw him upward, past the highest limb. Freddy fell…and fell….and fell….until he finally rested on the ground. As I observed the sadness of the audience in seeing this, I saw how pervasive it is in our society to deny the certainly of death rather than honor and celebrate the cycle of life where death only brings rise to re-birth.

Thus, with this discourse as a prelude, my son, Colby, and I, attended the exhibit of Monet to Picasso at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts on the campus of the University of Utah. Many years ago, as an English teacher, I knew that many of our greatest writers were true Bodhisattvas in that they gave us messages to awaken and enlighten and thus, help to alleviate what is known to us as suffering. I also feel the same way about so many of our great artists who never experienced fame and fortune during their lifetime as Hollywood celebrities or successful entrepeneurs. They were not motivated by, nor did they experience this fame and fortune but rather, they were driven by purpose through their own passionate expression. When this expression portrays the cyclic nature of the human condition as a ferris wheel going around and around and around and around, it can actually motivate us to step off---and in an "ah-ha" moment--hold a higher and thus, liberating view.

I might as well have been in a cemetery yesterday, with the Law of Impermanence staring me in the face. Not only did so many artists experience an untimely death but their deaths represented a spectrum of how one leaves this existence. My favorite artist, Paul Cezanne (French, 1839-1906), died of pneumonia. It can be comforting for those who have lost a loved one in this manner to know that illness and disease cuts across all culture and ethnic groups and does not discriminate the rich and poor, male and female, young and old----

I studied “LaVie”, a painting nearly 2 meters tall, which depicted the onset of Pablo Picasso’s (Spain, 1881-1973) melancholy “blue period”. Picasso, at the age of 21 painted this when a dear friend of his, Carlos Casagemas, committed suicide after being rejected by his girlfriend. This piece portrays a woman holding a baby, Casagemas and his girlfriend, a nude couple and a single, grieving woman---I saw it as representing a cycle of life. I remembered that despite Picasso’s life of much hardship, poverty and desperation, which included the devastating death of his 7 year old sister, Conchita, who died of diphtheria, Picasso died while entertaining friends with his wife, Jacqueline. He seemed to be celebrating his life in death, and this is what I admire the most about Picasso.

I could actually feel the emotion in the canvas of “The Red Kerchief Portrait of Mrs. Monet” by Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926). Isn’t that what makes art so great---when it arouses emotion? Mrs. Monet is outside, walking in the snow and glancing in through a window. Claude Monte never sold this portrait of his wife but kept it close to him throughout his life after she died 18 months after giving birth to his second son. What is the message as she is passing by this window? She is doing exactly that---passing by. But the intriguing question is--did he know on a clairvoyant or claircognitive level that their time together would be brief in their present incarnation?

I have been amazed at how many artists were botanists as was Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1960) prior to painting "Vase of Flowers". True, Gary Young has brought essential oils out of the dark ages, but so many artists love plants and flowers and trees and nature, and thus, they share their beauty and meaning with us. These artists recognize the power of the earth, water, fire, wind, and space elements and depict them in their art. They don't call themselves healers or Shamans but their art exudes some undeniably shared fundamental and universal truths. If you have an opportunity to see “The Poplars at Saint-Remy” by Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890) you will feel the communication between the poplar trees in the foreground and catch a glimpse as to why Van Gogh was so moved by their spirit. It is he who stated, “The way to know life is to love many things.”

I was surprised to see so many sculptures by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), including “The Thinker.” Throughout his tenure as an artist, he was criticized and rejected for his work, but he never changed his style. He was true to himself, despite the unfavorable opinion of others. 

I have only mentioned a few of the deeply moving pieces I was fortunate to see yesterday. And, although I certainly do not claim to be an artist, I do appreciate those who came before us and those who will come after us---those whose experience and expression offer insight into the many lessons we are here to learn.

Love-light,
Carol
www.carolwilson.org

Copyright @ 2008, Carol A. Wilson