I'm reading E.F. Schumacher's Small is Beautiful. In the introduction, Theodore Roszak says something that made me think right away of your teachings (all cap emphasis mine): "For more than two decades, Schumacher has been weaving his economics out of this off-beat constellation of interests and commitments and giving his ideas away from the platforms of peace, social justice, do-good, and third world organizations all over Europe. With few exceptions, the principal forums for his writing have been those LITTLE, INTENSELY ALIVE, PATHFINDING journals (like MANAS in America and Resurgence in England) which MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR THEIR LIMITED AUDIENCE BY BEING TEN YEARS AHEAD OF THE FIELD IN THE QUALITY OF THEIR THOUGHT." In my observation, this is what you are doing vs. some of the "mass appeal" teachers publishing for larger audiences. Thank you.

Colleen Cayes, President
www.HealthyBuildingsMadeEasy.com
Santa Fe, NM

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I found your articles at a time when my paradigm as a very conservative Christian minister was just beginning to crack. And what I found was very helpful, very reassuring, and made a lot of sense. A lot more than the party line of fear coming from the church. I want to thank you for the work you have placed before us to teach and inspire. I enjoyed your blog, too. There is so much good material to read, and yours is among the good stuff, the interesting stuff. I could get a lot of reading and no work done very easily... I have just created (I've been a professional cartoonist for over 20 years) a new web-based metaphysical comic strip, called Sacred Cows. It deals with the movement of consciousness as our planet is changing, and the dynamics of that change. I just wanted to share it with you by way of thanks. If I can give you back a few smiles in return for the gift your work was to me when I needed it, I will be very pleased. Changing the world with a smile,

SpiritPainter
www.sacredcowsonline.com

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Thank you. I had meant to write you a thank you note for how inspiring your web site is. I lost 4 people close to me in various forms, including my Mom which was extremely difficult, between November and January. On January 18, I was swept up in a wind storm and two angels came to my side and prevented me from being hit by a car. The surrender and trust I gave them was at a level I have never known in my life. So my journey at present is to come into that level of intuition and trust you can find in your hips and pelvis, which is where I had the greatest injury. To heal all this will teach me trust. I think for now, I see butterflies as symbol of creation of beauty and awakening that is an opening that so many want in their lives right now.

To add to this, Dana Reeves recently passed away of lung cancer. This represents a real turning point for me. When asked at the beginning of her illness how she found hope, she stated simply, "I had a husband who never gave up hope." When I freeze myself from progress, I think of Christopher Reeve and this quote of his, which is in my draft book:

"You know what's interesting to me is that being physically paralyzed for eight years, I get pretty impatient when people are able-bodied but are somehow paralyzed for other reasons, and I'm going, 'Come on, come on, go for it.' …It took being in a chair to realize that. And so my recommendation is don't break your neck to find out that you need to fulfill your potential."

Penney, bless you and your writing.

Lavinia Weissman
www.workecology.com

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Receive my blessing and gratitude, as the message in your editorial on "Soul-Crafting" was sent an hour before I experienced a surrender of life-proportionate magnitude while vacationing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The article is absolutely appropriate to what I was and am walking through. Again, I invite you to step into the blessing that I have created for you. By the way, if you have not checked this link, I know you will find it helpful to your work. I find her information to be very confirming as well as enlightening. <www.whatsuponplanetearth.com/latest.htm>

Thank you,
Mary R. Schechter
Principal, Next Step Consultants
www.lifeworknow.com

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As always, you pick up on the "global mind/heart." My mother-in-law died a few weeks ago after several years of cancer. For the last nine months she was confined to bed. She made the best of it and although she was not a particularly warm woman she was surrounded by a loving step-family. Interestingly, it seems that the more you love the more you see love in your life. I can see her in a much different way now and respect her path. I know that the Universe is bringing us to this place of an exponential increase to our heart chakra because it's the only way to the Light. Whew. Thanks again for the letter. It's always reassuring to know there are others on the path.

Love,
Jan Edgerton
Wells Fargo Bank

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I just read your 12th issue of Visionary Times, about soul-crafting. It was eerie as I read about you and John—his life seemed so much like mine. I too was fired by passions of bringing changes in many areas of our living—our disconnection with nature, education system and child-rearing, the way we sleep-walk through life, ignoring our gifts. . . But recently, I am feeling that my passions need to, and are, changing to com-passion. That there is nothing needed to be done to change; everything is perfect. All that is required is to love, to create a space of love around and in our lives. And that's what I want to do. Why waste time showing people their weaknesses and THEN showing them how great they really are, when the same thing can be achieved by just loving them and creating a safe space of love around all of us?!

And yet, life is becoming more difficult—not only challenging. There is so much pain that seems to come from no particular place or particular reason. And it pulls me into my old patterns of thinking/habits/behaviours (here, John was far ahead than me) and I lose that sense of connection and oneness. But, I see (thanks also to this message from you) that things are moving—whether I sense it or not. Like you (both), I had this sense that spirituality was so joyful an experience. I would experience such bliss when I somehow touched that essence of our connectedness, oneness. And now, I thirst for such experiences—and there are none. It's just pure pain and struggle and suffering. And yet, I sense something inside has become so large that I can't even get a handle on it. Sometimes it seems so foreign and 'not-me.' Probably, like John said, I may be INSIDE the spirituality, one with it. I would like to believe that.

Sometimes I feel I could just go back to my old ways of blind-living. But I know: this is a one-way street. And the progress will happen with or without my co-operation. I know, you will understand this, and me, completely.

Love—beyond any definition we know as humans,
Biren Shah, India

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It is so good to hear from you again, to feel your energy and experience your gift of writing. You express yourself so beautifully. Your picture on the newsletter radiates the peace and abundance you must feel in your life—you appear gentle and innocent as a child with the shining glory of a true goddess. Congratulations! I am experiencing letting go of the past and marching forward into the next phase of my life with great confidence and gratitude—in a way I could never have imagined for a woman who has just turned 60. There is absolutely no glass ceiling, and there are many opportunities to leverage my age, wisdom and experience into the powerful global changing times. Whew! We are on the crest of massive change at every level. This is the time to be centered within yourself so that you can maintain your balance as you navigate the unsheltered territory that is unfolding every day. As the dinosaurs became obsolete, so is conventional wisdom. The collaborative greed has created an empire of irresponsibility that has betrayed our very souls. We have become victims of our own agreement to accept the propaganda we have been fed. Our moral compass has been broken, and we are suffering as a result. We have lost the ability to trust our own judgment because we have turned to technology to find the answers for us. Power vs. leadership, ownership vs. relationship. The roar of mother nature will determine who is resourceful, who is creative and innovative in their thinking. So my friend, your work is necessary and very timely for us all. We need your grounding to give us wings. May happiness, like the beauty of nature surround you always.

Schuyler Morgan, Principal
www.takugroup.com
Achieving Sustainable Global Wellness