Joanne

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/awaken.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3111" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/awaken-300x165.jpg" alt="awaken" width="300" height="165"></a> &nbsp; The last days of spring have slipped away setting the stage for the farms and gardens to awaken. The efforts of those who till the soil are beginning to bear fruit, literally and figuratively; farmers’ markets offering early yields, flower beds and planters awash in color and texture. This bounty is realized only after threats are overcome and crises are averted. These feasts for the senses are produced with great effort and exertion, much the same as the effort to awaken fully to one’s divinity. And those who seek to awaken have much in common with the farmer and gardener. We often talk of rebirth in glowing terms and beautiful language as if it arrives with little effort or detached from difficulty. Nothing could be further from the truth! For sure [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/soul-family-mem.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3105" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/soul-family-mem.jpg" alt="soul+family+mem" width="236" height="236"></a> I attended a funeral today and was brought to tears not out of grief but out of joy for the love connecting members of one soul family. The announcement of the service hinted that there might be a story behind the obvious death of my friend Susan’s mother. I wondered at the time what led to delay the memorial service until three weeks after her mom’s death. I was surprised to learn that the death of Susan’s father in his homeland four weeks before was the scheduling consideration! But there was more startling news! On the day of her dad’s memorial service halfway around the world, Susan learned that her mother’s brother had just died. I was stunned by the incredible timing of the cumulative loss, and concerned for family members who [...]

I found out today that someone who touched my soul has died. I hadn’t seen him in years but no matter. The news made me cry. Jack touched so, so many lives in his seven and a half decades on earth. Life is so much better for the beneficiaries of his vision, passion, dedication, hard work and belief that everyone deserved a decent and affordable place to live.&nbsp; The souls of those to whom he ministered were nourished and fortified by his love of God and his ability to connect our daily life to the enfoldment of divine will. Our city became a more welcoming and habitable place for those cast aside by a society not structured around its most vulnerable citizens. And for those who merely knew him as a charismatic and affable man, his gentleness warmed the heart. His [...]

This blog Gifts and Hurts was written by my colleague Douglas Kinney and is offered with the hope that you might come to recognize the gifts and hurts that you received from your parents. Soul Source is pleased to include it in Wonderings and Wanderings of the Soul and invites you to join Doug at Soul Source on May 8^th &amp; 9^th.[separator style_type="shadow" top_margin="40" bottom_margin="40" sep_color="#9caebf" icon="" width="" class="" id=""] &nbsp; <a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/valentine-heart-gift-box-md.png"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3075" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/valentine-heart-gift-box-md.png" alt="valentine-heart-gift-box-md" width="299" height="246"></a>I am totally fascinated by the concept of humans being physical expressions of their soul, and my main interest and research focus has been in identifying and understanding the many ways that this manifests in our world. One of my favorite examples of this is how it shows up in our relationship with our parents. The basic premise for all of this [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/shamans-journey.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3027" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/shamans-journey-300x247.jpg" alt="shamans-journey" width="300" height="247"></a> I was recently asked what accounted for my decision to shift career focus onto the soul’s journey to merge in the oneness of SOURCE. While it was neither an immediate nor pain free transition, once it occurred I found the greatest delight in thinking, meditating and talking to others about our respective soul's journey to perfection. Looking back, I can’t fathom another destination although the path was circuitous. Along the way there has been much guidance from this world and beyond. Among the former, Dr. Michael Newton’s work guiding thousands to the life between lives (LBL) stands out among the more notable. The following client-dialogue excerpt from Dr. Newton (Dr. N.’s) Journey of Souls with (S), who is an advanced soul, so perfectly captures the essence of the soul’s journey that I [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/21st-Century-Pinwheel-Galaxy-640x537.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3009" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/21st-Century-Pinwheel-Galaxy-640x537-300x251.jpg" alt="21st-Century-Pinwheel-Galaxy-640x537" width="300" height="251"></a>My dear friend’s 19 year old niece Carolyn died last month after battling cancer. Soon after, her mom, finding comfort sitting in her daughter’s room, found a list of life goals that Carolyn had compiled. I didn’t know Carolyn personally but upon reading her life goals I came to peer in on a wise soul who too quickly left the earth plane but not before she taught us a profound lesson about the joy that life holds. Carolyn’s life goals speak of a spirit of adventure and a desire to explore the beauties of the world. They reflect a curiosity about the complexities of religion and an appreciation of both classical and pop music. They are testimony to her concern and compassion for humanity and the joy that she experienced peering into the [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/images.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3004" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/images-300x123.jpg" alt="images" width="300" height="123"></a>Paradoxes all around . . . I was driving to the train station during a recent snow storm and saw a man wrapped in a blanket standing outside his tent under a highway overpass. I gasped and uttered “he doesn’t need to be there.” Having worked on behalf of the homeless for half of my social welfare career, I am well aware of the broad range of housing and services that are available. Within a split second of my utterance, I corrected “but his soul does.” One of the difficult aspects of life is accepting that we – our ego personality – may not be in full control of our life and the choices that we make. Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting that we have no influence over what happens [...]

<strong><a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/285414_524104220973237_1964272197_n.png"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2994" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/285414_524104220973237_1964272197_n-259x300.png" alt="285414_524104220973237_1964272197_n" width="259" height="300"></a>“<em>When perfection exists as the nature of your Heart, why do you lose your composure by dwelling on imperfections?</em>”</strong> Sri Ramana Maharshi I wish I could completely live by the wisdom captured in Sri Ramana Maharshi’s words. So often, too often, I find myself dwelling on imperfection. Do you strive for perfection or for it in those you love and interact with? Perhaps you can’t relate to the word – perfection – but if you look closely and are completely honest, can you admit that you hold yourself and others to incredibly high standards and are pained when these standards are not met? While this tendency inspires great achievements, seeds innovation, spawns advances on all levels of society and for that matter the evolution of civilization itself, it can leave one feeling miserable [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/images5BDXXYV7.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2952" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/images5BDXXYV7.jpg" alt="images5BDXXYV7" width="274" height="184"></a>Love – it’s everywhere this week or at least one is left with that impression. If you opened the weekend paper you couldn’t help but notice that almost every advertisement featured love this week – flowers, cards, candy, and even red kitchen appliances! Turn on the television and similar sales pitches abound -- ‘show her your love with a keepsake diamond pendant’. And how about your weekly foray to the grocery store, did you succumb to the beautiful bouquets of pink, white and red flowers or the abundance of heart shaped chocolate candies or balloons? Don’t get me wrong, I’m every bit as sentimental as the next person, admittedly having sent my share of paper hearts over the years and distributed many miniature heart shaped candies stamped with ‘luv you, you’re special and [...]

<a href="http://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/index.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2945" src="https://thesoulsource.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/index.jpg" alt="index" width="259" height="194"></a>Snow is falling and the world outside my window has been silenced at least long enough for me to contemplate with wonder and humility the magnificence of this beautiful earth, the serenity it offers and the beauty and peace that lies within. Each snowflake perfectly formed – concurrently encapsulation beauty and peace within itself. If only we could stop time’s advance and freeze frame this scene! If this was possible, might we be able to hold onto the tranquility that lies within, to reacquaint with it, to savor it and to formulate and execute a plan for holding onto it long past snowfall’s end. Billions of snowflakes, each as unique as the billions who populate this beautiful oasis we call Earth. It is really quite amazing when you stop to think about it, [...]