Irene's Blog (7)

The following conversation took place in 2007 between my mother and me, three years after she died.  

     Irene: I'd like to share another experience with you that's been resolved and healed.

     Beba: I'd like to hear about it.

     Irene: As part of a Spiritual Psychology self-counseling session, I revisited an experience I had when I was seven.

     We had just moved into the new house on…

     I was talking with a man recently who’d been caring for his dying father.

     "I left him to take care of some personal business,” he said. "I knew I shouldn’t have gone because something

inside told me not to go. But, I didn’t listen. My father died while I was gone."

     Regret. The word originates from Old French— regreter, which means "bewail (the dead), feel sad, repentant, or

disappointed over (something that has happened or been done, esp. a…

        It was an honor to be among the twenty-four speakers chosen to present at TEDx Charlottesville Open Mic Night on October 13, 2014. With four minutes to share, here's what I said:

        "Death. It's inevitable. There's not a single person in this theater or on this planet who isn't going to die. We all assume this to be true. But, what if it's not?

        My exploration of death officially began in October 2006 when…

        I remember the moment I committed to a life of joy. It was when Jerry, of Conversations with Jerry and Other People I Thought Were Dead, says that, in the spirit world, he flows from one joyous experience to the next, guided by wisdom. I was inspired to do the same in the physical world.

        While not an easy path, a life of joy is certainly a worthy one. I've had to give up complaining, which has resulted in more energy and better health. Rather than indulging in…

        I've discovered the ultimate freedom.

        No, it's not the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want—although that's what I believed when I was younger.  I'm in my sixties now, and the upside of growing older is growing wiser. 

        Let me take you back to September 2005, when I spent two weeks holding and caring for babies at a Romanian orphanage as part of a Global Volunteer Program. I cared for eight infants, newborn through nine months of age. In service…

I was reflecting recently on my dog Ringo, who died after being hit by a car. I was fifteen. As I ran to his side, he acknowledged my presence with one last wag of his tail. I was devastated. I blamed myself for his death. I also blamed my mom, who was at work. I believed that, if she'd been home, this never would have happened. I thought Ringo shouldn't have died when he did.

Truth be told, I don't know why I'm here or what circumstances will best support my learning. And, if…

In this post, I'll use my experience with Ringo (see Part 1), to demonstrate self forgiveness, a powerful tool in service to inner healing.

As mentioned in Part 1, I was fifteen years old when my dog Ringo was hit by a car. As I ran to his side, he acknowledged my presence with one last wag of his tail . . .  and then he died. I was devastated. I blamed myself for his death. I also blamed my mom, who was at work. I believed that, if she'd been home, this never would have…