​Here are twenty short sentences and phrases that help me get in touch with my spiritual connection to myself, all of humanity and all creatures, nature and the earth, and Spirit.

We are all one.

God loves us as we are.

We are blessed.

Live in gratitude.

Kindness is the way to live.

We are in the world, but not of the world.

Be accountable.

Deeds matter, but words are also important.

Experience spirit in everyone and everything.

Help alleviate suffering.

No one is more worthy, or less worthy than anyone else.

Live in process, and trust the process.

Everything ends, and everything is always changing.

Plan and dream, but to open to new experiences.

Put out the good stuff, and let go of the results.

Savor every minute — life is short — live in the present moment.

Use selective vulnerability — be open where it is safe.

Choose your loving support network with care.

Labels divide — you are an amazing child of the Universe.

Play, laugh, and be spontaneous.

​New Year's resolutions are about goals, dreams, and hopes for the coming year. Some people "reach for the stars" and others reach to survive.

As we move into 2025, let us be aware of all those who are barely surviving.  There all people all over the world who are sick, homeless, living in poverty, and struggling with wars, climate change, and oppression.

Rather than a narcissistic "resolution" experience, let us pray for peace, and a raising our eyes to Oneness Consciousness.  

At 83, I am grateful to be alive, being in relatively good health, and for my ability to reach for the toilet paper.

I resolve in 2025 to work on being a light in a dark world.  I resolve to help those in need, and support the life's journey for as many people as possible.  I resolve to be aware of how I use the earth's resources and consume and waste less.  I resolve to be kind, compassionate and loving, noticing and appreciating those who help me live an abundant life -- my doctors, nurses, pharmacists, garbage collectors, clerks, waitpeople, spiritual guides and angels.

I appreciate my biological family, and also my chosen family.  I am blessed with supportive and loving spiritual community, a wonderful wife, and beautiful children, in-laws, and grandchildren.

I spend this time living in gratitude and service.  I pray for enlightened leadership, so we can move more clearly from Empire Consciousness (power, domination, fear, scarcity, hierarchy, control and oppression) to a world of Oneness Consciousness (equality, love, compassion, empathy, kindness, abundance, sharing, and connection).

This is reaching for the stars, and healing the planet.  I resolve to be the light, be the love, and spread joy wherever I can.  And in 2026, I hope to still be able to reach for the toilet paper.

​What do adolescents and older folks have in common?  Adolescents are from thirteen to nineteen.  Older folks are 60 plus years old.
It is surprising to find many commonalities between adolescents and older folks.  Here are a few:

People label you by your age and have opinions about your behavior.

Body changes are challenging, new urges and needs for adolescents, and lessening of memory and physical and sexual capabilities for older folks.

Moving into the unknown future -- not sure of what is coming next.  For adolescents, it is adulthood, work, responsibilities.  For older folks, it is illnesses, pain, suffering, and ultimately dying.

Both lose their peers.  They leave, move on, or die.  Those close to them become gone, and sometimes unexpectedly.

You can be seen or experienced as a nuisance, in the way.

Grieving losses -- for adolescents, of childhood innocence, for older folks grieving loss of immortality.

It would be interesting to combine adolescents and older folks in support groups, and see what they could learn from each other.

​Today, my wife and I went to Kelly and Kelly Garden Store --- for its big opening of the season.
I brought my camp chair, and found a comfortable and shady place to sit near the offices.  There were tall trees all around me -- oaks, willows, pine trees.  Every possible shade of green.  

Nearby, a table was set up with books and note cards with gardening themes.  My wife went to look for plants, and I sat in my chair-- just noticing the beauty all around me.  Probably more than a 

hundred people came and passed by me with wagons filled with plants.  My hip replacements meant that I was not walking a lot, and so I just breathed in the spring air, enjoying the sunlight, and magic of this place.  There were trails and a major plant area with thousands of plants.  I thought this must be "heaven on earth."  It smelled wonderful.  

Shortly after I sat down, a woman drove up, and took a large object out of her SUV.  I thought it might be a table for selling books.  As she opened up the zipper, she pulled out a harp made of red plastic and metal.  This was smaller than harps I had seen before, but she steadied it on a rock.
She got back in her SUV, and pulled it off to the side.  She came back to sit about five feet from me.  

Started to play a variety of songs, and continued on for two hours.  I was serenaded by an angel.  We chatted briefly and others passed by and stopped to listen.  She had Irish tunes, and church hymns.  One of the hymns was "In The Garden."   I go to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses......and He walks with me and he talks with me, and tells me I am His own."  Clearly not an accident.  

I was living in the moment, in heaven on earth, with an angel playing a harp right next to me.  And I was reminded by the song she played, "In the Garden"  how much I am loved, and that I am not 
alone.  Perfect.  Magical.  Amazing.  Totally unexpected -- just living in gratitude in the moment.

I wish everyone in the world could experience such moments of peace, tranquility and comfort.
I thanked her when I left.  I told her, "You made my day."  She stopped playing, and looked at me, and said, "You made my day, too."

It was Divine, a reminder of Oneness with all of creation. Angels show up all the time.

It is interesting to see oneself, not only as a survivor, but a thriver.  My parents, sister, and other relatives have had very difficult challenges, and some have died at fairly early ages.

I have been blessed with many opportunities, challenges, and supportive people (angels).  These include an education with major contributors in psychology and sociology.

I have been involved in the Men's Liberation movement for over sixty years, and met incredibly gifted leaders such as Abraham Maslow, Robert Bly, and Michael Gurian.  

I have been invited to meet with Presidents and Vice-Presidents at the White House several times regarding school shooting and fatherhood issues.

My parents did not have such opportunities.  My father was a poor immigrant, coming to the United States in 1920 at age 16.  He traveled on a ship, not knowing anyone.  My mother, a gifted writer, was not permitted to go to college because she was female.

My sister, a dedicated teacher, passed away in her early fifties from cancer.

At 83, I realize they all affected me, and are part of me.  But, it is sometimes hard to accept all the good that has come my way.  I don't know if there is such a thing as "thriver guilt," but I put it out there to be explored.

My mother always lived in gratitude.  "There, but for the Grace of God, go I," she said many, many times when she witness someone suffering with poverty or health issues.

My parents were poultry farmers in New Jersey, and we were economically poor.  Both my parents were gifted, and helped many people in need. They struggled, working several jobs, but were generous and kind.

So, I must realize that they thrived in their own ways, and did their part for make a more loving world.

Thriver guilt can turn into love and appreciation of every blessing in life.  We are all gifted with love, and blessed with grace.  Let us use our gifts to cherish life, spirit, the earth and each other.

How much data can a human brain store?  In my 83 years on this planet, I have absorbed so much data.  I have probably read 5,000 books and articles.  I have been to well over a thousand lectures - by teachers, authors, and speakers.

I have synthesized my learning into a few general beliefs which will carry me through to the last of my days.  Here are thirteen of them.

1.  It is better to live in gratitude than in regret or resentment.
2. Forgiving others for hurting me does not mean that it was right.  People act at the level of their awareness and consciousness.  If they knew better, they woud do better.  I don't have to be around them, however.
3.  It makes no sense to compare myself to others, envy others, or judge others.  I am me, with my own experiences, and my own perceptions.
4. I am enough.  I do enough.  I continue to do my best most of the time.
5. Too much time in cultural values is exhausting and depressing.  There has always been suffering, evil, and selfishness.
6. Growing up means finding meaning and purpose, and not getting caught up in fads, trends, or cultural messages.
7. Selective vulnerability is the way to go -- sharing as much myself as makes sense given the situation.
8. Political leaders represent the collective consciousness of society.  The only savior is the one inside Spirit and ourselves.
9. Every moment is an opportunity to share and spread love and healing energy.
10. There is no where to get to.  We have everything we need.
11. Every day of good health is a gift.
12. Finding a support network and being supportive of other people's journey make life better.
13. Be still, meditate, pray, listen, accept, seek justice, and dance while you can.

​Have you ever thought about the word "scarcity."  It means not enough -- not enough money, power, space, resources.  The word "scare" is close to scarcity.  Fear comes with "not enough."  Fear of missing out, fear of poverty, fear of starvation, fear of not mattering, fear of abandonment, fear of running out, fear of failure, fear of being at the bottom.

Fear is related to "being scared."  If we reverse two of the letters of "scared," we have "sacred."  Seeing everything as sacred is turning "scared" around.  Scarcity is the natural result of Empire Consciousness. 

​Seeing everything and everyone as sacred plays a large part in Oneness Consciousness.  

It is a miracle that we exist at all.  We have been born into a world of complexity -- small, helpless, and completely dependent upon our families and caretakers.

Since those who care for us are imperfect, it is likely that they will project some of their fears, insecurities and limitations onto us.  We are wide open, receptive, and totally vulnerable to whatever is given us.

We become convinced that we are important, and live through a period of narcissism.  It is "all about me."  The problem with this is that it makes us too important, and too much the center of the Universe.

The Universe existed before we were born, and will after we die.  This narcissism of early childhood hangs on, and is fueled by a culture that is stuck in Empire Consciousness.  We are taught to compare, despair, but not be aware that what happened to us is NOT really about us.

This means we develop expectations about the world, and how we deserve to be treated.  When others fall sort, we grieve, blame, and start to feel worthless.  Having to prove worthiness becomes a lifetime goal.

Our purpose is simple -- to be a light for others, and help the world heal from its many wounds.  If we learn to live in Oneness Consciousness, we then let go of our need to control everything and be "right" all the time.  We just are who we are, shining like a lighthouse.

We come to learn that we have never been spiritually abandoned, and have all that we need and want.  We learn to believe in abundance, enough for all.

We become stewards of the earth, and lifelong givers of love and peace.  We live with inner peace, trust the process of growing up and growing old, and let go of our need to control anything or anyone.

We are have the same purpose, and we give and receive love every day and every way.  Meaning comes from our connection to Spirit, ourselves, others, and the earth.  We don't expect applause or acknowledgment.  We are enough, and have more than enough.

Love is answer.  We are the message and the messenger.  There is no where to get to, and nothing to prove.  It is simple.  It is about kindness, compassion, and generosity.