1:38 at 56

The day after I turned 56 I competed in my first triathlon. The swim was the hardest--I had a hard time regulating my breathing, even though I trained the most on the swim. At the last minute, I switched to Rich's bike, which has street tires, instead of mine that I trained on, which has mountain bike tires, so I really flew, as it seemed so much easier to peddle! I did all three sections in my Vibrams and felt great. Already planning for next year! Thanks, Joella, for inviting me to do this with you!

I am a child of God

Renee got baptized this morning. Rachel asked me to only do 2 things (well, not including bringing ice, my crockpot, stopping for toothpicks and rice, and coming early enough to take pictures...those are little things): play the closing song (see title) and have a private talk with Renee sometime during the day about the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Now when she committed me to playing the piano as accompanist, she told me about it by saying, "I think I did something that is not going to make you happy..." She knows I am a novice player, but that she even thought of me to do it made me happy. So I practiced and practiced all week and never managed to play it once all the way through without mistakes. I have never played in front of an audience or accompanied singers, so I was very nervous, but wanted to do this for Renee. The 2nd request had me skimming through my journals for a good example of feeling the Holy Ghost to share with Renee, but hadn't really come up with anything by the time we were all arrived in the chapel. I sat down in the congregation and immediately was asked to conduct the music for the opening song, (played by a much more proficient musician). Something else I have not had much practice with...but again, anything for Renee...
The conducting part went well enough, and the baptisms (there were 3 children being baptized) and confirmations part was beautiful and moving. Then time for the closing song. I went up and said a quick prayer that I could be calm and get through it without messing up too badly, when the thought came to me that this prayer, and its sure-to-come-answer would be the perfect story to tell Renee about the Holy Ghost.
Well, I said, "amen" to my mental prayer, and started in. I was calm. I didn't mess up too badly to be noticed, and I definitely felt the presence of the Holy Ghost with me helping me. Back at the house, I had a quiet moment with Renee in the backyard, where I told her of my fears and nervousness, and how the Holy Ghost was with me to help me do my best. I gave her a white bead bracelet I made for her and testified of the blessings of having the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. A sweet memory of a lovely morning.

Magical and Miraculous repost from Care2.com

posted by Deepak Chopra Aug 4, 2011 5:01 am

Though we may not understand it, the essential truth of the universe is that it’s synchronistic and coincidental. Everything is connected with everything else, and if we are in synch with the universe, then we experience synchronicity. The more connected we are, the more we experience coincident or simultaneous events.

Therefore, never ignore coincidences. When a coincidence happens, ask yourself, What does this mean? What is the significance of this coincidence? Coincidences are messages from your soul; they are clues to the nonlocal Self. The local self is the person that you think you are. The nonlocal Self is the unbounded spirit. You experience both, so when coincidence happens, in that moment you have glimpsed your soul, the non-local Self.

When you have a conscious awareness of your soul, you experience everything as a miracle. You feel happy, your life begins to transform. You see the connection between your inner world and your outer world; you see that every event in your life is being orchestrated by the entire universe.
As you elevate your attention from the world of humdrum and trivial to the world of the magical and miraculous, your life becomes magical and miraculous. Your attention is spontaneously alert to the fact that life itself is a miracle.

Adapted from Power, Freedom, and Grace by Deepak Chopra (Amber-Allen Publishing Inc., 2006).







Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/magical-and-miraculous.html#ixzz1UAqFsJyK