Sunday, February 24, 2008

Redemption

Redemption. When I was a child, my mother, my father and my Grandmother and my other Grandmother and other relatives prayed for me every day. I got used to this kind of love and protection. However, people aren't like this so much these days as they were in the 1950's. I think that's unfortunate in the extreme.

My father passed on in 1985 at age 69. My Uncle Tommy's plane crashed in 1942. I had to promise my father I wouldn't become an airline pilot when I was 18 or solo until after he passed on. I still took flying lessons, I just didn't solo in a Cessna 152 until 1987 a couple of years after he passed on. I honored my father's wishes because it destroyed his family when his 24 year old blonde haired brother died when his plane crashed in 1942. Dad said his brother was the kindest and nicest member of the family. Even though there were five brothers and sisters, psychologically it damaged the family. My cousin named his son Tommy even to honor the memory of Uncle Tommy.

Recently, I wrote and article called "When life is Death and Death is Life" chronicling my mother(who is alive in a senile dementia and Alzheimer's facility at 89 years old who has now been there since 2001 has been haunting me lately.

I finally realized when someone wrote me from Wisconsin in response to my article about growing up in the "I am" that I tend to get stuck in whatever spiritual teaching I have been studying and practicing lately. Lately for me,this is mostly Tibetan Buddhism and Catholicism. Since I'm not a church goer and more of a prayer, contemplater and meditater and a walker in the woods alone or the beach alone this works fine for me. However, when he asked about my practices from being raised in the "I am" as a child up to age 21 when I went another direction I realized that my mother haunting me mostly had to do with my need to pray for her in the way I was raised and empowered to do starting as a young child of 3 or 4 years old. As soon as I prayed for her in the ways I was taught as a child and young adult not only did the haunting stop but my whole life and health started to return from the boomerang cold everyone has gotten the last couple of months. Then I realized that I needed to pray in this way for all life on earth and for earth itself.

So this gentleman's writing me became an infinite blessing not only for my mother and I but for all life on earth. So I thank God once again for his infinite Grace and Wisdom here and now and Forever!

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