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Volume 5, Issue 11 | November 2016
 

Thanksgiving Day may have passed, but I learned years ago that Thanksgiving can be every day - if I so choose. In fact, I find it helpful to write (or simply mentally list) on a daily basis that for which I am grateful.
 
Gratitude Currently, that includes: more flexibility with my time and greater freedom now that my technical writing contract has ended at Schwab (I'll let Spirit handle the income stream!); venturing on the spiritual path that Paramahansa Yogananda brought to the west; Unity of Mesa, a community that is there for me even though I'm not a particularly active participant; my keen honesty, openness, and willingness to grow in love and consciousness; dear friends; great health and my youthfulness; and, the joy I find in giggling, reading, singing, and being of service.
 
What do you have on your gratitude list today?

Blessings,

Joyce's signature


Inspiration and Contemplation
 
When God steps in, the ego steps out.
When the ego steps in, God steps out.

-  From a recent lecture given at Self-Realization Fellowship in Phoenix.

Spirituality
Prayer
   
Mahatma ("Great Soul") Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a prolific writer and wrote on an array of subjects. He wrote much about prayer... here is one quote: 
 
"It is a reminder to ourselves that we are helpless without God's support. No effort is complete without prayer, without a definite recognition that the best human endeavor is of no effect if it has not God's blessing behind it. Prayer is a call to humility. It is a call to self-purification, to inward search."
 
This reminds me that I am not alone, a recurring theme of mine throughout my life. And, not only am I not alone, but wow - what a Power that is with me! In addition, pausing to take the time to pray slows me down so that I can be in the present moment, fully engaged, which also leads me to reflect and gain wider perspectives.
 
People Helping People
He gave her his liver. She gave him her heart.

Whether a blind date, a chance meeting or even a lucky Tinder swipe, every couple has an origin story. Here is an incredible story that started out in a darker place than most: with stage 4 liver disease.

Read the article and watch an interview in the Washington Post... 
  
Well, as I wrap up the month of November, among other things, I am prepping for a vacation in Puerto Peñasco AKA Rocky Point.

For folks in Phoenix, it's a relatively short trip to get to the beach, and in all my 13+ years of living in AZ, I've not yet been there. It's perfect timing: I'm between work contracts; it's off-season so rates are low and it's less crowded; and, I've been sooo missing the water after more than 20 years in the desert! It's my first real, relaxing vacation in years and I'll be with dear friends - I can't wait to relax by that blue azure Sea of Cortez...

So for now, adíos!
Joyce's signature


 
 
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