Kate Loving Shenk

Dear God/ess, The other day, I walked Ulysses to a popular downtown spot where there is always a water dish for the dogs who pass by. A woman was there, obviously a Lover Of Dogs. I told the Story Of Ulysses, as I do often, because I am gratified that he chose to spend a few more seasons in my adoring company. Our friend Jo-an recently passed due to a ravaging cancer, and for some reason, Ulysses did not die from his own ravaging cancer this past winter. So I tell Ulysses’ story, in order to give hope to people who love their animals.

This woman told me a story about her own dog who passed after 8 short years. She could not figure out why because she fed him only organic foods which she cooked herself every day.

The she realized the sad fact: She “treated” her lawn with chemicals to kill all the weeds, mainly the Beautiful Dandelion.

These chemicals could be killing her, as well. And her grandchildren.

This is not the first time I thought about this problem of chemical lawn treatment. It feels idiotic to me to decry the dangers in our environment when if every single person stopped treating their lawn, we would be much further along in saving Mother Earth than we currently are.

When we bought our beautiful farm 21 years ago, we were told that absolutely no chemicals had been used on the land for at least 10 years. So for at least 30 years, our land is rich in its own natural life force, undeterred by the stranglehold of “better living through chemicals.”

I would love to start a movement to stop the abusive practice of so-called Lawn Care. Dandelions are a powerful spring tonic and the flowers are rich in natural anti-oxidants. Even though I don’t drink alcohol, Dandelion wine is really an all around natural cure for whatever ails you, except, of course, for alcoholism.

Lawn care, after all, is an all out war waged against the beautiful Dandelion.

How crazy is that?

Let us pray for some Common Sense to the way we care for the animals, our children and ourselves as we live out the rest of our lives here on the Mother we call Earth.

Om Peace Amen

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Kate Loving And The Collective Wisdom
Giant Squid Open Mike

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Tags: Blog Talk Radio, daily prayer for healing, giant squid open mike, kate loving and the collective wisdom, kate loving shenk, mukunda22, pray, pray to heal, prayer, praying, stop the chemical treatment of lawns, story of Ulysses

Dear God/ess, Today we met an old friend of Tomaso’s and we had a refreshingly honest talk about our lives, especially the lives of this person and Tomaso and what they went through together over the years, especially 35 odd years ago.

The conversation reminded me of the old conscious raising days of the 1970′s: No idle gossip, just an honest assessment of where we used to be and how far we have come, as well as how far we still have to go, in a process of never arriving, simply enjoying wherever we happen to be.

I am also noticing more and more people around me being 60 something and older, sitting face to face with one another, trying to figure out their lives in relationship with each other and all the other relationships in their lives.

You don’t have to die in order to be reborn. We are always in a process of being and doing, of relaxing and producing, of ebbing and flowing.

There is no end in sight.

The day begins, and then it ends.

The dark night of the soul need not last forevermore. We need not hold on to the doubts we have always had about our lives.

Yes, we look back over a long life well lived. And yes we can learn to love all of it no matter what we’ve done or not done. We can change from a miser to a person who experiences new birth and a Life Of Love.

We can learn to lift up the sadness of the world through the eyes of compassion.

There for the grace of God/ess go I.

Om Peace Amen

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Kate Loving And The Collective Wisdom
Giant Squid Open Mike

Elizabeth Kubler Ross

Jo-an Glasse On Death and Dying

Dear God/ess, As I continued to contemplate the passing of our friend today, the Reverend Jo-an Glasse, I realized that Joan Adams and I had Jo-an on our radio show 9/28/10. Soon after, Joan decided to leave the show the beginning of 2011.

The topic of that show was “Death, Dying and Rebirth.” I had not taken the time to hear that show again– until today.

The replay of that show is at the top of today’s post.

The first thing that caught me by surprise was Jo-an’s larger than life laugh. Then I was taken by the expanded nature of the conversation.

I know that the subject matter of that show laid down the brick and mortar for the days and weeks ahead, as Jo-an suddenly fell ill and faced her own mortality.

Jo-an helps me face my own mortality, as I listen to her words.

Joan Adams wrote to me today after hearing the show again, and was blown away, as well. That show perfectly describes our philosophy of what it means to live, grow and flow into the opening at the close of our lives.

Another eye opening revelation came today when I realized that Jo-an’s voice was not recorded widely, if at all. Naturally, those who were married by her or had a funeral done by her may have video-ed those occasions, but they are in private hands.

So this radio show is possibly the only public interview we have of Jo-an. I was divinely guided to have her on the show. Blog Talk Radio did the rest.

What a miracle.

Om Peace Amen

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Kate Loving And The Collective Wisdom
Giant Squid Open Mike

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Tags: Blog Talk Radio, daily prayer for healing, giant squid open mike, internet talk radio, kate loving and the collective wisdom, kate loving shenk, mukunda22, pray, pray to heal, prayer, prayer for today, prayers, praying, reverend jo-an glasse

Dear God/ess, One of the wonderful things I have learned by writing prayers, and this lesson came to me spontaneously and automatically, is that I don’t need to know or have proof of why things happen, like illness, pain or crisis.

Yes, it is human nature to need proof and even statistics for the events and experiences of our lives. And when challenges arise, we all tend to want to find reasons that point to something we did or did not do to make “it” happen. People might think if they “Come To Jesus,” for instance, nothing “bad” will ever happen again. And when it does, God/ess is secretly held up as the Power that let them down.

“God is a Creator, not a custodian,” someone recently told me.

Real healing seldom occurs if we try and reason our way out of a crisis, an illness or a death.

Real healing only happens when we give up the need to know WHY, the ultimate addiction of human-kind.

Surrender to What Is. Surrender to the Universal Intelligence. Surrender to God/ess.

The act of surrendering is not a rational process, but is a mystical and radical transformation. The Leap Of Faith comes to mind, because leaping into the unknown defies our rational mind. We must develop blind courage to undergo such an adventure.

Releasing the need to know immediately brings a cheerful light into our collective heart. It also brings us immediately to this wonderful moment, the only moment there is. In this releasing and letting go, old wounds, resentments and the need to play victim vanish.

This is the only thing we need to know.

Om Peace Amen

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MoonMooYou: The Collective Wisdom
Giant Squid Open Mike

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Tags: Blue Heron Farm Spiritual Retreat Center, conestoga river, daily prayer for healing, death and dying, giant squid open mike, internet talk radio, kate loving shenk, MoonMooYou, mukunda22, pray, pray to heal, prayer, prayer for today, prayers, praying, surrendering to what is

Dear God/ess, Old Baxter, friend of Mukunda, who just turned 13 last week, slipped his tether up on the hill and ran for freedom to the river.

Tom woke me up to tell me to bring a lead for Ulysses, who was the one who found Baxter stuck in the mud in the cold water. Then Ulysses picked a fight with him. From Hero to Buffoon in the space of five minute’s time.

I took muddy Uly into the house, prepared some Miracle Drops for Baxter, and went to help Tom hoist the dog up the river embankment to safety.

To the God/ess of Ulysses and Baxter and all the dogs of this world, hear this: we humans are willing to crawl around in the mud to save your lives. And even though Ulysses wanted to pick a fight with you, dear Baxter, in reality he’s the one who saved your life.

Earlier, Tom and G were going to go swimming at the Y, but G called at the last minute and canceled. Did G save your life, dear Baxter?

In reality, a whole orchestration of helpers synchronized to save your precious life.

When Mukunda was in his prime, he’d go visit Baxter on the hill sometimes three times a day. Once in a while, Muki ate Baxter’s food,  but mostly he went for the comradery. Then when Ulysses joined our family, Muki and Uly went up to visit Baxter together.

One Easter, Ulysses stole an Easter Bunny toy from Baxter. Six weeks later, Baxter broke his tether and came down to our house looking for his toy. When I saw him running up the lane with bunny in mouth, looking over his shoulder to see if Ulysses was following, I immediately called his mistress.

I said, “Your dog is brilliant! He remembered where his toy bunny was for weeks and when he got away, came down to our house looking for it.

“Never underestimate the memory of a dog for his toy.”

Om Peace Amen

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MoonMooYou: The Collective Wisdom
Giant Squid Open Mike

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Tags: daily prayer for healing, giant squid open mike, internet talk radio, kate loving shenk, MMS, mukunda22, pray, pray to heal, prayer, prayer for today

Dear God/ess, On this beautiful Thanksgiving Day, we look back over the year and give thanks for all of our answered prayers. We give thanks for  the unanswered prayers, too.

Where were we one year ago? For all of us prayerfully reading Prayer To Heal and commented, you can track your odyssey by looking back over your comments, here.

Read your journals. A journal is a reflection of your unique journey through this lifetime.

This day is the beginning of a season of joyful communion and also is a time to pull inwardly as we track where we’ve been and now envision the next leg of our destiny. The nights grow longer and we can use this “time” to contemplate the moments which expand to encompass all of eternity. The short days and ever lengthening nights are now ours for the creation of inner resilience and courage. These moments in time last until the Solstice when the days grow longer, again. What a miracle!

Use this time for your solitude. Resist the distractions of materialism, and empty yourself of all anticipation of future events.

‘Tis the season to fill yourself with tranquillity by the simple act of prayer and meditation. In these moments, as you expand into the quiet times, you come to know the true meaning of Grace, not by reading about it, not by discussing it, but by experiencing it.

This season IS an exercise in Grace and the quiet contemplation of the Love we have in the here and now.

We are the inner Light and the Joy of the season.

Om Peace Amen

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MoonMooYou: The Collective Wisdom
Giant Squid Open Mike

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Tags: angel grace prayers, Blog Talk Radio, Blue Heron Farm Spiritual Retreat Center, conestoga river, daily prayer for healing, giant squid open mike, internet talk radio, kate loving shenk, MoonMooYou, mukunda22, pray, pray to heal, prayer, prayer for today, prayers, praying, solstice