Anicet's Story

I’d like to share a story which I hope will inspire you as much as it inspired me.
It is a story of courage, determination and, most of all, faith. It is the story of a man named Anicet, who came to America to follow a dream.

His family and friends in Africa had helped him gather enough money for the trip and a short stay, but with poor language skills and no references he was having a hard time securing a job. His dream was to become a Christian minister, so he was hoping to find a job in a church, and was willing to take on even the most menial job.

We agreed to meet, simply to have a meditation together and talk further. We scheduled to meet at 9:00 pm two days later.

The evening we were supposed to meet, he called me around about 8pm and asked for directions to my house from a nearby drugstore. I only live about five minutes away from the drugstore, so I expected him to show up soon. Forty-five minutes went by. Finally, I went outside on the porch to see if I could see him driving through, thinking he had probably missed the house; I was only outside for a couple of minutes before my hands were frozen stiff; it was a very cold night in January, one of those very unusual times when Father Winter notices North Carolina is on the map. I was ready to go back inside, when in the distance I spotted a little black man, walking resolutely, and realized it was him. Anicet walked in, took his hat and jacket off, and politely asked for a glass of water. When I asked him why he hadn’t parked in front of my house, he simply replied that he didn’t have a car and had walked all the way from Cary.

I was stunned! North Raleigh is a good twenty to thirty minutes drive from Cary. He explained that he had left his house that afternoon, and that he wasn’t going to miss the meeting just because he didn’t have a car. We talked that night, and then met again on a few more occasions. The last time I saw him he said that he had understood what God had wanted him to understand - his mission, he said, was to find a way to preach about the unity of all religions.

After that, I didn’t hear from him for about a year. He called me again this past summer, just to update me on his progress.

He did, finally, find a job in a church in Cary, and the gentleman who hired him also helped him enroll in several courses, including one to improve his language skills and a few theological ones. He is very happy now, and feels that he is working toward the vision that God sent him.

What truly touched me about his story are the strength of his faith and the fire of determination inside of him, as he overcame tangible obstacles to follow his dreams, and fought against all odds to achieve what he believed in.

Sometimes, when I don’t feel motivated, all I have to do is think about this little great man, about his courage and faith, and suddenly I feel like I can get a lot more accomplished in my day.

The Roles We Play (repost)

It’s funny how humans thrive on drama. No matter what issue arises, we look for things to argue about, which will cause a stir. We can observe this flaw in the political arena, in religion, in life itself.

Of course, when we stand by a certain point - and look for confirmation through facts - we are likely to seek those corroborating facts from sources that share our point of view and look at the issue from the same angle we are. Everyone is going to have different opinions, different facts to quote, and different outlooks directly related to personal experiences and taught values.

It is very amusing to watch talk shows. Producers make a living from human drama, and saturate our media with a circus of flaring emotions and half-baked truths. Soap operas last for decades and hook staggering numbers of people through glittering drama, often exposing human flaws that nobody wants to recognize in themselves, yet are present in most of us.

We thrive on the negative, and several studies have shown that negative messages are more easily implanted in the subconscious than positive ones. That’s what political campaigns and organized religions thrive on to get their point across.

So, why do we thrive on negativity and drama? No matter what our religious affiliation, anyone at all comfortable with spiritual truth halfway believes that we are here for a reason, and we came to earth to learn something.

Our soul is here to learn basic lessons of compassion, forgiveness, unity, and tolerance, and we are all actors on the great stage life. By acting out our roles we understand the nuances behind the human drama, and learn our lessons throughout. Sadly, most of us forget we are the actors and blindly become the part we came to play. We become so engrossed in our role that we blend our identity with the character we impersonate. We all forget who we truly are, until something devastating in our lives knocks down our ego and reminds us of what is truly important.

Regardless of the fact that some believe in reincarnation and some don’t, we all agree that we only have one life at a time to be in, and we need to make the most of our time while we are here.

Focusing on the present, and choosing to overcome the drama we so easily become attached to, can free us from the chains of erroneous earthly perception and give us an edge in understanding who we truly are.

A Prison of Our Own

“We are imprisoned in the realm of life, like a sailor on his tiny boat, on an infinite ocean.” ~ Anna Freud



The other day I joined a friend for lunch and we discussed a ministry she is involved with at the prison. When we spoke of some of the women there, and agreed that we all share a collective soul beneath the upper crust of different life circumstances, my friend simply said: “After all, aren’t we all imprisoned to some extent?”

Her words gave me food for thought. Although many of us will thankfully never know the hardship of being physically confined, being imprisoned within the invisible walls of our own weaknesses can be just as daunting.

None of us are ever completely free. We are limited by societal rules, by financial constraints, by faulty perceptions, and by the fears and doubts that often impact our lives. One of our downfalls is that we think too much – although rational thinking is appropriate for some situations, too much of a good thing is not always beneficial.

We tend to second-guess ourselves even when we have taken good decisions, and rarely realize that in some instances “being” is better than thinking. We function through the perceptions of others, and unless we can adhere to an “acceptable” standard of living, we fail in our own minds. It is so easy to get wrapped up into the illusion of right and wrong that we often forget to check with our inner guide to decide if we are on the right path or if we need to change our course of action.

Some are even imprisoned by the image they have forged for themselves, and truly struggle to detach from it, in fear of losing their whole identity. I could be listing a whole lot of things – some organized religions, appearances, lifestyles, poverty, health issues, past pain and political affiliations can also pose limits to the expression of our inner selves, but we are scared let them go in fear of losing control over their circumstances.

It makes little difference if the bars are made of sturdy metal or limiting thoughts – until we realize we hold the key, our lives will never experience the warm sunshine filtering through the windows of our soul.

Was Jesus a Leftist?

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?” ~ Matthew 5:43-47

I am very often labeled a “tree-hugging leftist”. For those who might wonder, I don’t hold a membership with PETA, I don’t belong to any activist group involved with the preservation of our environment, nor do I condone lack of self-responsibility and accountability. My qualification for the job is the mere fact that I don’t easily judge others and I embrace all, regardless of who they are or what they have done.

As I write these words, I can already imagine that some are mumbling the word “naïve”, so I have a question to ask – was Jesus naïve? Two thousand years after His incredible journey on earth, the great majority finds His embracing ways inspiring, and most who follow His teachings aspire to be able to live their life in the amazing footsteps He left. According to records, Jesus’ messages of equality, unity, unconditional love and lack of judgment spread quickly across the land, and were accepted by many - rich and poor, educated and illiterate. But, as a woman living in the 21st century, embracing the same concepts labels me as a “leftist”.

I am fairly conservative, and hold on tightly to what I believe are wholesome, important values, but I still choose to keep my mind open in order to tailor my views on an ever-changing pattern which is at the base of human evolution. I believe in preserving life in all forms, as I believe that each is one of the many faces of creation; I believe that humans are constantly having to choose between the pull of the ego and the guidance of Spirit, thus all humans have the potential of being good or evil; I believe that since half of each person is created by light, the best way to turn them away from the shadows is to feed them more light, regardless of how faint their flame is at the time I meet them; I believe in all people being the same gift just wrapped in different packages; And ultimately, I believe that we are all one – as long as we waste time fighting one another over meaningless issues we will never discover our true potential.

So, inquiring minds want to know - wasn’t Jesus hoping to spread these very same thoughts? He embraced thieves and prostitutes because he knew that deep down they were no different than a holy man – the only difference between them was the direction they had mistakenly taken, which could be reversed by changing paths on their journey.

I hope nobody is offended by these words, as I have no intention of stepping on anyone’s belief, but I have often wondered why we tend to mix politics and spiritual views, and would love to hear others’ opinions about this topic.

A light of understanding in the darkness of the unknown: Why Magick works.

Because of the mysterious cloak of fear which wraps itself around the word "Magick", most people believe that only a few initiated individuals hold the key to magickal manifestation. (True magick is spelled with a K at the end to differentiate it from stage magic.) The raw truth is that, if one has a mind that can think, he or she is able to work magick. There is no secret to magick. A thought is formulated, visualized, "felt" emotionally, and then RELEASED to the subconscious mind. Release is the key element: by passing the worry ball to a higher power, one lets go of the heavy feeling associated to a specific issue, and is able to focus on more positive aspects of life. Although it has been ostracized and demonized by mass media, magickal practice is nothing more than a highly visualized prayer, very similar to those used by mainstream religions. The only difference between the two is that magick is "acted" rather than being merely spoken. Magick and Christianity are sister and brother who have not yet realized their family ties.Hopefully, with the advent of a widespread increase of consciousness expansion, more and more people will come to understand that. No matter what our religious affiliation is, we all send wishes out to the Universe; whether we send them to God, Allah, Kali, Aradia or Olodumare, the message is still released to the waiting hands of a Higher Power only too eager to free us from the burden that weighs down our soul.