A number of years ago, my then seven year-old niece collapsed in church, was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a dangerous brain tumor. My brother and family were stunned and frightened, and we turned, as people in such situations do, to medicine and spirituality. While Natalie's doctors operated on her brain, my family solicited prayers, intentions, and energy from people all over the world; my own requests were aimed primarily toward the Zoetrope on-line writers group (one of the first and longest-lasting social networks). Natalie recovered completely and is now a lovely, healthy teen-ager. I am very grateful to her doctors, but I don't discount the power of combined positive vibrations aimed at her from all directions.

I have long been fascinated, in a somewhat scattered way, about the connections between the physical and the spiritual, the emotional and the material, in particular the ways in which positive or negative emotions affect health and relationships.  I keep a copy of Louise Hay's Heal Your Body at hand, and I look up underlying causes and affirmations for ailments.

A few years ago, I became a reiki master. I believe that focused energy and hands-on healing can be profoundly therapeutic, and I found the ritual attunements to be spiritually uplifting. I use reiki in my daily life.

My reiki trainer used crystals during my attunement; I also collect crystals, for their aesthetic appeal as well as their various vibrations and properties. I keep crystals around the house and garden, and I use them in focused healing from time to time.

Pagan and native rituals for seeking enlightenment or spirit-remedies are another of my interests.  Through a variery of traditions and approaches, focused intention is the key to spiritual and sometimes physical transformation. 

Though I practice meditation and follow basic Buddhist philosophy, I was raised a Catholic and still sometimes recite Catholic prayers. I take a rather eclectic, integrated approach to spirituality, as do a number of people I know. As the world shrinks and the planet itself is in peril, an open-minded, open-hearted approach to peace and health seems called for.

 One thing I can say about positive, focused thinking, whether one name it prayer or meditation, intention or white light, it can't really hurt!  Scientists may argue whether time is an absolute, two dimensional, or an illusion, but the experience of a human life is brief by any measure; why waste any of it feeling bad if there is another way? 

Today's link: Louise Hay   html_removed  http://www.louisehay.com/about-louise/