You are my sunshine

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3 year old son Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's tummy.

The pregnancy progresses normally for Karen, an active member of the Panther Creek United Methodist church in Morristown, TN.

Then the labor pains come. Every five minutes.....every minute. But complications arise during delivery. Hours of labor. Would a c-section be required?

Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With sirens howling in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's hospital, Knoxville TN.

The days inch by. The little girl gets worse. The pediatric specialist tells the parents, "There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst." Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby and now they plan a funeral. Michael keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister. "I want to sing to her," he says.

Week two in intensive care. It looks as if a funeral will come before the week is over. Michael keeps nagging about singing to his sister but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. But Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn't see his sister now, he may never see her alive.

She dresses him in an oversized scrub suit and marches him into ICU. He looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and bellows, "Get that kid out of here now! No children are allowed!"

The mother rises up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glares steel-eyed into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line. "He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen tows Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing. In the pure hearted voice of a 3 year old, Michael sings: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray - - -"

Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate becomes calm and steady. "Keep on singing, Michael." "You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away- - -" The ragged, strained breathing becomes as smooth as a kitten's purr. "Keep on singing, Michael." "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in me arms..." Michael's little sister relaxes as rest, healing rest, seems to sweep over her. "Keep on singing, Michael." Tears conquer the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glows. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don't take my sunshine away."

Funeral plans are scrapped. The next day - - - the very next day, the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it "the miracle of a brother's song". The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God's love!

ALL GOOD THINGS

He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minn. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, but had that happy-to-be-alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful. Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving. "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!"

I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day. One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice-teacher's mistake. I looked at Mark and said, "If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!" It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out, "Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it. I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened by drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth. I then returned to the front of the room. As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me. That did it!! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, "Thank you for correcting me, Sister."

At the end of the year, I was asked to teach junior-high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instruction in the "new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in third. One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning, frustrated with themselves - and edgy with one another. I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Charlie smiled. Mark said, "Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend."

That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really? "I heard whispered. "I never knew that meant anything to anyone!" "I didn't know others liked me so much." No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip - the weather, my experiences in general. There was a lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a side-ways glance and simply says, "Dad? "My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important. "The Eklunds called last night," he began." Really? "I said. "I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is." Dad responded quietly. "Mark was killed in Vietnam," he said. "The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend." To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I-494 where Dad told me about Mark. I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was, Mark I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me.

The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic. "Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water. I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to me. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin. "Mark talked about you a lot," he said. After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him. "Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said." As you can see, Mark treasured it." Mark's classmates started to gather around us. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home. "Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album." "I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary." Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash. "I think we all saved our lists." That's when I finally sat down and cried. I cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

THE END

Sister Helen P. Mrosla

(The purpose of this letter is to encourage everyone to compliment the people you love and care about.)

If you would like to receive more information, please contact:

The Sacred Language of Light
wise59@idt.net

Andy Lakey
Lakey Millenium Artist
http://www.lakeyart.com

STONE AXES

Words, like stone axes, forge purpose on wilderness
Vision will fly on a quest across time
Threads of intention weave a web of eternity
Fashioning cosmos by God and through man.

Awash on the shore of galactic intrigue
I crawl on the beach of my own native land
My light years infusion of cosmic potential
Fed to the earth through the touch of your hand.

Thus does a will of Universe Splendor
Replenish creation through energy won
Our love is the power of stars in the making
Lit by the sacrificed Trinity Son.

Jesse Christopher (1975)
jessechris@aol.com

Greetings and boundless love to each one of you....
personally!

Recently, there have been a great number of persons
in my practice, and from other venues of my life, who have been struggling with a case of more than the blues.

Many have expressed a "tiredness" of that which their
lives seem to encompass. There is a listlessness about their lives ~ a stronger desire than they have ever felt in life to feel something different, something that isn't so fatiguing to them in its quality.

These are not necessarily people with mental health
or severe emotional issues. In fact, these are mostly
people who have followed with great attentiveness,
sincerity, and depth a spiritual path without the concomitant of severe or disabling mind/body/emotional debilitation.

So what is happening? As we find more and more
expression of a serious nature towards fulfillment
of peace, harmony, and joy on earth, why are many
of us also experiencing disparagement, sluggishness,
and a lack of desire to go on with things the way they
are in our lives and in our world?

Something is uncoiling. Something is waking in us.
Perhaps one might look at it as the realization of
an underlying disturbance ~ a disturbance always
present when there is a lack of harmony, a lack of
peace.

Those with a fixed eye on the path of Spirit are on
the very threshold of feeling the disturbance quake
as it comes more fully into the realization of consciousness, body and mind. Those who are conscious are on the forefront of offering the disturbance of disharmony an open embrace, a loving, compassionate, unconditional, welcome into the open air.

Now is the time for many of us to awaken our unlimitedness ~ our ability to respond with endless creativity and compassion to the underlying chaos that a world living in disharmony brings to the experience of life.

Now is the time, for those who choose, to embrace any remaining dispair, hopelessness, pain, sense of  separation, or feelings of a lack of love.

Now is the time to support, encourage, and join together in unlimited realization that this too shall pass because we are embracing the greatest challenge of our lives - the last vestiges of living in a world in which disharmony rules.

We are the answer in this moment; you are the answer; I am the answer. Together we move through the tiredness and into a brave new world, the world we are co-creating - the world in which there is no fatigue, no sluggishness.....no sense of separation - the world of harmony.

Deborah Tighe (1998)
Dreams & Manifestations
http://members.aol.com/dreaming9/index.html

Shaman V: "Managing the Sphere"

This is about mastering one's own auric field. Our hero can finally stand firmly on his own two feet, saluting the heavens and influencing the earth. 'He is the Master of his fate. He is the Captain of his soul.'

A Certain ability to mold the world into his vision of things...This is a 'making-it-happen' sort of statement. A Masterful intention and a certainty illuminates his stance. This is the maestro in the very center of his power...managing his energy and the sphere of his aura and his infleuence.

Carol Skylark
Mystic Visions Art Gallery
http://www.frii.com/~skylark

Watercolors by Sibyl Stork
Gallery: http://www.b17.com/stork
Email: paulo@frii.com

Artwork by Carol Skylark
Mystic Visions Art Gallery
http://www.frii.com/~skylark

Aura Portrait
Carol Skylark
Mystic Visions Art Gallery
http://www.frii.com/~skylark

HUG

To dream that you embrace one you have not seen in a long while denotes that while you are parted at present, you will see this certain someone in the near future.

To dream that you embrace a friend whom you see occasionally, denotes a time of conflict is almost near. A time to see another as transcending, and their availability to your call, will be a frightening loss.

To dream that you embrace a friend whom you see regularly, denotes a conflict of interests is at large, and all around you is great and tremendous change as a result of some test. The other is in conflict as a result, and sees you as trespassing upon their inner needs. This can indicate a separation that comes about.

To dream that you hug your lover or spouse denotes that you will be afraid to lose them after some incident. This can be seen as a trial or struggle through separation, or disagreement.

To dream that you are naked and hugging your lover or spouse, indicates a need to cry on the other’s shoulder about what you would have done in specifics in regards to some situation or "cause and effect". A time to recondition is almost near, and no one tells you it is any better without a loss.

To dream that you are embracing your lover or spouse very tightly, as though your soul was penetrating the other’s soul, denotes a tendency to befall when we have the answers we need to some over zealous communication we have regretted. Do not worry about all the concern, but see where you are squaring off the deal to be better than before.

To dream that you and your spouse or lover are in the shower together embracing, indicates a time of clarity to some situation that was previously inhibited to the our way of thinking in regards to one another.

To dream that you hug a stranger, denotes a reconciliation is had to your inner worth. You are struggling sometimes to see some sign of embetterment, but know that the improvements are not too far behind the resolution you have made.

To dream that you hug a celebrity, denotes a common cause is had to one and all. It is time to relocate one’s own ego to provide an embetterment for the others who are in our holding. Know when to turn back when we get too caught up in our own train of thought to benefit anyone other than ourselves. In a premonitory dream, this would indicate the death or departure of this celebrity in the near future.

To dream that you hug someone who is deceased, denotes a turn of events is due that allows you a quick glimpse at the past and all the irony of doing what you have done there, as well as any quick changes you have allowed yourself to make in regards to your inner self.

To dream that you hug a deceased celebrity, denotes a turn of events is due to some situation that is ill at ease, and confronts your greatest ethics of worth. See that no trying time lays ahead, as well as a reciprocation of need is indicated. Be your highest self.


To dream that you are hugging your cousin denotes you will have a lot to learn from some enterprise that causes some disappointments. Try not to be so hard on yourself for your realizations.

To dream that you are hugging your children, denotes a sudden separateness is due to come about when it comes to some idealism other than the one you are having. You see another way of doing something other than the way you previously had intended. The hugging of your children represents this letting go.

To dream that you hug some of your children, but not others, denotes a tendency to let go of some ill privilege other than your own idealism, and regret not what it all came for. It is still time to meet your needs ever accordingly to some solution you have pervaded to, but you will realize you do not need all these amenities to get you through to what you are seeking.

To dream that you are hugging strangers who you have just been formally introduced to, denotes a tendency to let others have control of your own rendition, if your suffering is not laid to rest. See it is time to overhaul some extremes in your own existence, to rid yourself of any tendencies to relate to defeat when we see something is not of our own design.

To dream that you are hugging a newly introduced person, who happens to be someone your spouse or lover knows, denotes a tendency to learn a great while from the experience we have in store for us, without a lot of backlash to what has happened in the past.

To dream that you are hugging children who you do not know in your waking life, denotes a tendency to allow others who are comforting to you in your extremism to be on their way. It is a time to let go of any inhibitions we are allowed to do without, as we are seeing we no longer need the instruction of worth that is now pervading.

To dream that a stranger smiles at you and then embraces you, denotes your conflict and ill logic are gone and plenty. You don’t have to avoid the further circumstances as you are ready to begin some new and sovereign venture without all the conflict. Rise to the top!

NOTE: A hug when things are adverse in your waking life, indicates a reconciliation, solution or coming together, comes to the fore. When things are running smoothly, a hug can indicate departing, separation, or removal of some person, enterprise, project or idealism.


Excerpt from the Dream Book
DREAM UNIVERSE:
GodScribe Reveals The Holy Spirit Through Apparition
(c) 1998, TL Trow, "GodScribe", Atlanta, GA 30135
godscribe@aol.com