midlifejourney.com

Reflections submitted by Christine Phoenix-Green

Good morning!….it is crisp this morning with bright cool light slanting through the trees and into the windows…the best! The crickets are still out there, but softer and very close to the ground. Last evening before I went to the meditation group I drove onto the grounds of Our Lady of Peace retreat house…a castle in the woods by the sea, now empty and abandoned, and parked my car up the road past the parking lot so I could see the pond…and to my surprise right there on the grass next to a road was a strong and slender young buck, with a rack of antlers, big ears forward in alert watching me about 6 feet from my car. I rolled down my windows and shut off the engine and we just studied each other intensely for about 20 minutes.

Off to my left near the road was one of the huge ancient beech trees, and a family of squirrels high up on a branch were shaking it vigorously and tossing nuts onto the ground to collect later. Suddenly there was a “squirrel alert” (the rapid clicking and chatter of alarm) and about a yard from my car a red fox loped by chasing a squirrel that JUST made it to the tree and kvetched and swore profusely at the fox once it got up to the safety of a branch. It is not usual to be so close to this gift of the wildness of nature and these awesome grounds of Our Lady of Peace Retreat house are like being in a Robin Hood forest of merry old medieval England. Like a dream. Had I been moving fast and in a hurry, and not in a state of ” silence, stillness, solitude and simplicity” (!) I most likely would have missed this little cameo.

- – - -

The A Time Apart-Finding the Stillpoint in a Worldwind Life Retreat

(part of my upcoming Everyday Mystic Series) is a weekend quiet retreat, Oct 31-Nov 2 to be held at the Christian Brothers LaSalle Education and Retreat Center in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Cost is $275 which covers meals, lodging and 5 conferences on the practices of Silence, Stillness, Solitude, and Simplicity and a preparation on Dreams for Saturday nights deep sleep. Registration is very limited.

Please call Christine at (401) 364-9523 for more information, or a descriptive brochure.

Upcoming retreats:

• Parting the Mists: Dreams and Inner Healing in February 2009, and
• Veriditas: A Green Spirituality in May 2009 at the LaSalle Center. Dates: tba. (Bio)

Christine Phoenix-Green
cphoenixrising@earthlink.net

Author: Kathy Ekdahl

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. To me, it signals a new start, a new season, the end of the lazy days of summer. Cool crisp air, beautiful foliage, fresh pencils, organized notebooks, new school clothes! These are the things I think of when I think of fall!

Summer can be a time of vacations and overindulgences, which are welcome after the long winter, but summer can also be a time of too much sun, too much food and drink and lots of lazing around at the beach. I feel we are so lucky to have the seasons here in Massachusetts, as each season can end, and a new season can start, giving us opportunities for change and forward movement. Fall is the perfect time to get back to our goals and our regimens as we redefine our self commitment and our schedules.

I ask all of you to take the time over the next two weeks to put in writing your goals and self-promises for the fall. Your goals could be related to:

• frequency of exercise,
• weight loss,
• trying something new,
• giving up soda!

All are valid and inspirational. Goals should be achievable and realistic, and it is also essential to create long and short term goals. Be specific! Make sure that your goal sheet also includes HOW you are going to achieve the goals. What actions will you take to be successful? This means putting thought into scheduling and planning- the action stage- which is essential for forward movement. Merely dreaming of your goals is only the first step! You must write them down and then take specific actions to achieve them.

Post your goal sheet where it is visible and use it as a tool for self accountability. You’d be surprised how motivating it is to see your own promises written down each and every day. They will serve as a reminder of the commitment you have made to your self improvement.
Have a wonderful fall!

About Kathy Ekdahl

BEFORE YOU PASS ON ANY POLITICAL RUMOR: BE SURE IT’S A FACT. VISIT FACTCHECK.ORG

Jim MacCain and his cronies have been slinging a lot of mud lately, most of it in the direction of Obama, but leaving a little extra for the main stream media. Followers of the democratic nominee are urging him to fight back, fire with fire. His attitude is to rise above the fray and fight the lies and insinuations with the simple truth. Truth will out!

Well… I’m not sure that is going to work… sitting back and letting the opposition continue to punch invites too much garbage to fly around and some of it is surely going to land, and inevitably begin to “stink!” Bottom line, the public as a group will believe just about anything dished out. You would hope it isn’t true, but alas, in this day we are easily persuaded. For example… there are those who actually think that Brittany Spears is a good actress! Or that that “Hilton Princess” is actually running for public office. (Paris Hilton is the one who created the mock ad?!? – duh? It really was a make believe… honest.)

We’ve seen enough. Time to punch back Obama! Punch and DEFLATE THOSE LIES. Enough is enough.

It’s been a too busy month! Here in the USofA we are only just in the middle of the Republican Convention and I can barely keep myself contained… Yes, I will definitely watch Palin tonite… and possibly McCain’s speech tomorrow… but all the talking heads and the “babble on” is giving me a headache. Life is already tough enough… sometimes I just need to take time out….

My good friend Christine Phoenix Green is offering an escape… want to just get away, take time for yourself and just “be”?… The retreat she is offering this fall, just might be what you are looking for. Check out details on the SPIRIT page of this website. Her contact info is included. I have attended several of her workshops and can highly recommend her work.

A good friend just bought her retirement home. She’s been living in one place for the past 34 years, has a good job and knows she will be retiring in about 10 years. The last of the kids is off to his final year of college and is moving on. It’s time for her to make the big choice about what to do with the next third of her life.

If you’ve got the money and a plan for your retirement, this is the time to buy that dream house for the future. Prices have hit rock bottom (all things being equal…) and if you have great credit and equity in your current home, now is the time to make the move.

The options are multiple: Continue to live where you are, especially if you own your home outright, take the equity and buy your dream villa in the location of your choice. Or if you wish, sell outright, buy the dream house and if you are not yet ready to make the retirement leap… rent for the couple of years it takes till you are ready to jump into those leisure years.

Get all your ducks in a row. Call your friends and get the best referral for a realtor, lawyer, mortgage broker… investigate, ask questions. Don’t be afraid to explore all your options. Visit potential locations, check out where old friends are living happily into their retirement. And live a little. Time is of the essence.