In this life, the love you give becomes the only lasting treasure

By Michael Howard

In this life, the love you give becomes the only lasting treasure
And what you lose will be what you win
A well that echoes down too deep to measure


-David Wilcox-


The Love You Give


In the end it's all about the love we give away and the love we receive, our possessions can be wiped out over night, and if we have gave nothing to love we are left with nothing but a stormy dark sea. To love another selflessly is a lasting treasure of infinite greatness and one that continues to grow and expand through the years. Even if we suffer catastrophe, the love we have been given and the love we have shown can never be taken away from us, they will be a light to lead us home.

Many people have never truly known love, some have never shown it. Perhaps they have been given a form of love that is not really love at all but empty words and promises, this unfortunately is what many of us have experienced. To the unloved there is a hollowness, an emptiness that burns and gnaws at them from the inside. Their world is always in shambles even if it appears to be in order. When a soul has not experienced truly being loved, when their human worth has not been affirmed, there is a void and a need for control, a haunted desperation when they look out at the world around them. This void will almost always find itself filled by some form of violent/resentful behavior because violence is the quickest way to gain control, to get an audience, to get noticed.

Love As A Lifestyle

So ask yourself now, have I truly shown love to those who have come and gone throughout my lifetime, have a allowed myself to be loved? I'm not talking about a sentimental sappy love, I'm talking about a love that transcends our understanding and our world view, that overcomes our prejudices and judgements. I'm talking about a love that is deeper than mere emotion and loves selflessly and gives selflessly.

Our Survival

For the human race to survive the 21st century this deep love must become more than an occasional response to someones kindness, but a lifestyle. Each person we encounter must feel their worth, must be affirmed, must be counted worthy among the kingdoms of men. Each person we meet must see love in our eyes and acceptance even if words are not exchanged. So find some creative ways this week to show love to the people you encounter, affirm their worth, give them a smile, warm their soul with your kindness. In this life, the love you give becomes the only lasting treasure.


In the tears you gave to me
I found a river to an ocean
A concrete sky and a stone cold sea
That came to where the emptiness cracked open

And all my fears came crashing through
And met the fire of my sorrow
But I found my strength in forgiving you
I never even dreamed how far my heart could go

To give my life beyond each death
From this deeper well of trust
To know that when there's nothing left
You will always have what you gave to love

In this life, the love you give becomes the only lasting treasure
And what you lose will be what you win
A well that echoes down too deep to measure

A silver coin rings down that well
You could never spend too much, a diamond echoes deeper still
And you'll always have what you gave to love,
You will always have what you gave to love
 

The Beauty Of The Mystical

By Michael Howard

Birds go flying at the speed of sound,
to show you how it all began.
Birds came flying from the underground,
if you could see it then you'd understand,


-Chris Martin-

It was a beautiful spring morning, I had laid out my tools and bamboo for the day and went to work on some custom order bamboo flutes for my friends in France. Over to the left of me a Camilla was in full bloom. Simply admiring the beauty emanating from it gave me great inspiration. There was joy in the air, joy from the sun, from the blue sky and not to mention the buttercups and dandelions popping up on the lawn like messengers shouting to me that, the old has passed, a new era had begun!

A swallow began to sing a song of spring in a near by tree. I felt that this beautiful creature was singing a song just for me. I was reminded of the gentleness of St. Francis, his humility and kindness toward all creatures. I thanked him for this beautiful little bird and I asked him to be present with me and my swallow friend as I worked on my humble instruments.

I felt Francis draw near and thanked him for the joy of opening my eyes to the wonders of life, especially the simple things we often take for granted. Francis who I love and admire dearly has been my constant companion through long dark nights, wet rainy seasons and in the sweltering heat of the day. Francis and Jesus taught me first about deep humility and love for the little creatures of the earth, especially the downtrodden, Francis first showed me the little way and opened my eyes to the mystical.

Suddenly I felt something touch my arm, startled, I looked down to find my swallow friend perched on my sleeve! It only lasted for a second or two, but I knew at that moment I was not alone. This mystical experience opened my mind and heart to the beauty and greatness of nature and the mystical connection a human soul shares with all the living creatures of the earth.

A True Story From Spring Of 2005
 

Finding Who You Are In The Present now

By Michael Howard


Presently you are reading these words, something grabbed your attention, caught your eye and at this very moment you are engaged in the words of this blog. You made a choice to be here and this moment is forever attached to this blog entry. Hopefully the information you are reading at this present time is insightful and beneficial to you on your journey through this life. You may choose to read this entry simply as you would a newspaper or magazine, perhaps thinking about something that happened yesterday, a few weeks ago or a few months ago.

You may be reading these words and thinking about your future, the things that you would like to have or perhaps something you fear. The other option is to become fully engaged in the present now, to become fully aware of who you are right now, not who you were or will be, but who you are PRESENTLY. Now is all you have, now is about choice, now is about making the best intuitive decision and finding ways to move into light and away from darkness. At this present moment choices are being made throughout the earth, dark choices and light choices.

The earth is in constant flux as the energy levels shift from light to dark. There are days due to say media portrayal and glorification of violence that the darkness almost becomes tangible, it hangs in the air like a gas sweeping over the nations. There are also times when you can feel the light overcoming darkness.

Several days ago the son of Osama Ben Landen spoke to the media urging his father to stop the violence, h stressed that violence was not working and that there needs to be new peaceful solutions created instead of the use bombs and guns. I could feel the positive energy flowing out from his words, it was powerful! Each of us has the potential in this very moment to bring about great change in the earths energy by the decisions we make, by the things we say and do.

Take your home for instance - did you tell your spouse you love her today? Did you hug or play with your child or did you turn them away? Did our do the small things in your house that contribute to the overall health and happiness of your home? Think about the impact that you can make by simply creating positive energy in your own household. Your husband or wife feels loved care for, they take those same loving feelings out into the world and pass them on to say four of their-workers, and those four co-workers feel this positive energy and pass it onto others in their sphere of influence and so on. Because you made the choice to love those closest to you, hundreds of people may be impacted in a single day because you chose to move toward the light in that present moment. Now, think about the opposite, a dark choice obviously has the opposite effect and the breakdown of positive energy goes out like ripples on a pond far and wide.

So in the present now think about the impact the next decision you make will have and how far reaching it may be. We are all responsible for what we do and the choices we make and if we want to enter into a glorious age of peace now is the time to begin, yesterday is gone, tomorrow awaits, now, go do something positive.
 

What Energizes You?

By Michael Howard

Attitude is the way you mentally look at the world around you. It is how you view your environment and your future. It is the focus you develop toward life itself.
Author Unknown

There are things in this life that build and reinforce positive energy and there are things that decrease our positive energy levels. I never really gave this much thought until later in life, I simply saw the good days and bad days. What contributed to the good and the bad within a day was not so much a concern. I realize now that life is like playing chess. Each moment we must strategize and seek the best option for whatever we are doing, we must search for what builds us up and keeps us motivated, we must be aware of the negative forces that want to bring us down.


Good & Bad Choices


Life is about choices, good and bad and ultimately our bad days can be linked to bad choices, for me this starts when I get out of bed. If I choose to ignore a bad disposition for instance, I'm doomed from the get-go, yet if I introspect for a few minutes, my subconscious will reveal to me what I need, the types of foods that will deposit the most health and nutrients to my body for my mental and spiritual acuity, or how much silent meditation and prayer I may need to balance myself out so that I'm not a hindrance to others around me. Listening to our conscience minds and making the best choice for any given moment releases positive energy and our soul approves with a resounding yes!

Think about your life and begin to make a list of all the things that empower you and all of the things that hinder a positive mental out look, here's a few ideas:


Clothes - Certain types of clothing give me strength and make me feel good, other types of clothes feel very unnatural and awkward, turtlenecks for instance make me feel like a turtle! Avoid clothing no matter how popular that feels awkward, this will only bring you down, in other words, be yourself!

Foods - what we eat is so critical to building positive sustained energy for the day. In the morning I juice carrots and raw ginger, my power drink, and I eat two eggs, a piece of toast and either an apple or an orange and that's it. This combo gives me superb energy and I do not feel sluggish or weighed down.

Prayer & Meditation - Find a time to be silent and meditate in the morning, try not to think about anything, silence is beautiful and in it we learn so much about who we really are. I find that entering into a sustained period of deep silence brings out all of my better qualities like compassion and caring, giving, patience, integrity. These attributes come from our Creator, the divine spark that lives in all us, our conscious mind, but because we live in a frantic busy world many people igonre these higher qualities replacing them with competition, envy, anger, frustration and hate.

Take some time this week to reflect on the things that build up your positive energy and rid yourself of anything that hinders these powerful conduits from surging forth in your life.
 

The Power Of Manifesting: Start Small & Build Up

By Michael Howard


It's not your work to make anything happen. It's your work to dream it and let it happen. Law of Attraction will make it happen. In your joy, you create something, and then you maintain your vibration harmony with it, and the Universe must find a way to bring it about. That's the promise of Law of Attraction.
~ Abraham Hicks ~


I had an interesting experience a few weeks ago that I'd like to share and it has to do with the concept of manifesting a certain outcome. I was discussing with my conscience that I'd like to begin to practice in a deeper way manifesting my destiny by throwing positive energy toward a particular thing I'm envisioning. I thought to myself I'd start small - so I envisioned myself making a new friend. It had been awhile since I had actively gone out and developed a friendship so it sounded appealing to me. The following morning was a Saturday and typically Emmalia and I go out to the park for some daddy and daughter time on this day.

It was a beautiful clear crisp afternoon and the sun was shining brightly at our favorite park and we're running around, playing on the swings, playing chase and being our goofy selves. Just then a car pulled up to the parking lot and a man got out who appeared to be my age and his son who gleefully bounded over to my daughter, they begin to play and act goofy together as kids often will do. So this guy introduces himself and we go back and forth about our jobs, families, wives, kids, football, and pretty soon we are discussing mountain biking and other outdoor activities.

As we are talking I’m thinking to myself, "what a cool guy, I could see myself being friends with him". Just then he asks me for my number and wonders if I'd like to go mountain biking with him and some of his buddies, I say yes, call me, we shake hands, he gathers up his son and takes off.

On the way home in the car it suddenly hits me like a load of bricks, "is this what I manifest in my minds eye the day before"? I believe it was, this was a powerful confirmation of the power of creating our own destiny, of brining forth our visions and making them a reality, I saw it in my mind, locked onto the goal and so very effortlessly a new friendship emerges.

Believe

It's so powerful to see something we envision in our minds eye come into fruition, there are realms of untapped resources and potential right in front of our noses!! So I thought I'd try something a little bigger, this time I envisioned in my minds eye starting a new business, this was about a week ago. I've ran my own small business and I know quite a bit about Internet marketing and search engines so I created an ad on cragslist geared toward anyone needing search engine optimization or small business coaching, the catch, I'd do it for free! I felt compelled beyond a shadow of a doubt to do this.

Sure enough I received several calls and e-mails, but one business in particular grabbed my attention and I knew I made a powerful connection. They have an innovative product that is so fresh and exciting, the potential is staggering. Needless to say I'm now doing all the marketing for this company and if I'm successful I could be making more money than I've ever dreamed of having. This could indeed be the start of a career in small business coaching and internet marketing but I'm taking it a day at a time and working hard which is the key to all of this really.

This product is going to revolutionize the medical field and has already grabbed international attention, but, these folks no nothing about Internet marketing so whola..That’s where I come in! I feel again this is the product of creating my own destiny, manifesting and believing, the skies the limit. Whatever you see in your minds eye, believe it, grab on to it and don't let go no matter what, if you have passion, discipline and confidence simply expect it, go forth and part the red sea Moses!

Creating Reality

We are the authors of our own destiny, when we live in a positive realm we manifest into reality all that is good, hopeful, and prosperous and life giving to the people around us and like a strong tower rising high into the air we build up brick upon brick, stone upon stone until the whole mighty tower comes to completion. When we dwell in that which is dark, that which tears down, when we live in our past failures, when we claim we are the victims in a cruel plot we manifest all that is dark unhealthy, unloving, selfish and destructive because sorrow leads to anger and resentment, resentment leads to vengeance, violence, hostility, jealousy, and the complete breakdown of body, soul, mind and heart.

There is also false humility, when you know you need to do something but the vision seems to great and seems beyond your scope, so you convince yourself for whatever reason, perhaps social class, upbringing or some other reason that such wonderful thing is for other people, stronger people and not you, this is false humility.

You see your subconscious is attempting to communicate with you about your potential, it's trying to tell you that you are not living up to all that you could be, it's trying to show you that you have untapped resources that could bring you to a higher state in life, don't ignore these promptings, explore those gifts and talents, envision in your minds eye becoming that person and think deeply about what it would feel like to rise to that higher state. Each of us has the spark of the divine inside of us and well have the ability to tap into extremely powerful creative energy that when unlocked becomes like a gale force wind, BE NOT AFRAID!
 

The True Source Of Love?

By Michael Howard

Today I’d like to address the issue of love and relationships in our modern 21st century world. The times we live in now are unprecedented, technology has allowed us as individuals to be closer than ever no matter where we are in the world, I can be in the Sahara desert and retain constant communication with my friends and loved ones, the interconnectedness of our age is unbelievable.

With mediums like youtube, facebook, myspace and the entire bloggosphere, we make ourselves available and easily found by anyone, we reveal our deepest secrets, our fears, our passions, likes and dislikes, our ideas and products. But what lies hidden behind all this technology that perhaps is not as easily discerned? Why the drive for all this interconnectedness? I believe the answers are simple: we are looking for love, acceptance, relationship.

Now with all this technology at our fingertips one would assume we’d feel closer than ever to our brothers and sisters here at home and around the world, yet so many are lonely, depressed, fearful. So many people feel disconnected, isolated and on the outside. This was evidenced to me greatly when I worked in the medical field, so much loneliness, fear, sickness, depression, still the question lingers -why?

The Source

Each of us is created with a soul, a beautiful unique essence of who we are, our creative force, we have a conscience, we have dreams and visions hopes and desires. Our life force comes from God who is the beginning and the end and all creativity and love stem from our Creator who created us to love Him and to love others. To disconnect from the source of all life is to disconnect from life itself, the very living waters that flow down through all humanity.

We must discover who we are, we are not merely biological agents, we are body, soul and spirit, we are physical and spiritual beings and to become truly whole is to reconnect with the life source who is pure love. When we connect ourselves to divine love then we gain a passionate world view, one that is hopeful, one that is ignited by the fires of unconditional love which comes from the divine love. When one loses this relationship the world becomes and icy menacing place full of dreariness and fearfulness, life becomes about simply surviving and overcoming, fight or flight, it becomes about competing, getting one up on our neighbor, stepping on others for self advancement, this is not who are created to be.

Take some time today to meditate and reflect on God, reconnect with your Creator and ask the angels to assist you, to comfort you and bring you new hope and a new vision. Reach out to those who need love and an ocean of love will soon wash over you and the universe will thank you!
 

Some Scribbles On Tree Pruning..

By Michael Howard

I thought I’d speak a little today on pruning fruit trees since it’s that time of year to prune the Apples, Pears and so on. The first thing you want is a fine hand saw crafted specifically for pruning trees and a good pair of hand pruners, NO weed whackers, no loppers, chainsaws need not apply! It's detrimentally important that you wash the blade of any tool with alcohol or bleach water before pruning or sawing a branch. Disease can be carried on your tools from tree to tree and cause sickness or death in some cases, so wash your tools well, I cannot stress this enough!

I'll began with apple trees; you have several varieties of apple trees, tall, medium dwarfed and dwarfed, if you have not pruned fruit trees before start with a dwarf size tree, no ladder is required and most of the branches are within reach. Step back and examine the shape of the tree for a few minutes, survey it's surroundings, which portions of the tree are getting the most sunlight and which portions are lacking light? The portions that receive and abundance of light reach toward the sun, are fuller and healthier, the portions that are receiving less light may lack leaves and may have smaller branches. Now, your cuts are going to do several things like promote healthy fruit, re-distribute energy to various parts of the tree that are lacking, create beautiful aesthetics and create new spurs to name a few. There are five "D's" to look for when examining the branches:

*Duplicate
*Deformed
*Diseased
*Downward
*Dead

The five D's are a good place to start. Deformed branches run amuck and will often be growing into the tree or rubbing against other branches they look aesthetically unpleasing and will not promote healthy fruit or leaves and may even cause damage to other branches. Diseased, branches are self explanatory as well as dead, start by removing any of these, examine the tree carefully for any fungus, this is important. Also, Plants, shrubs and trees have a natural shape you must find, most of the time it's a vase shape you are looking for so remove any dead wood you see and try to determine where the center of the tree is.

After examining your tree for the five D's, it's time to start pruning. With apple trees your going to want to bring more light into the center of the tree and have a fuller bottom so, more cuts in the center, less towards the bottom. Any shade producing branches from the center you are going to want to bring down so look for the tallest and weakest branches first, tall weak branches may eventually produce fruit but will bend over not being able to support the fruit and interfere with the health and growth of other branches as well as restrict light.

When pruning a branch, never cut into the collar of the branch where all the living cells are, disease can more readily enter in when the collar is cut too close jeopardizing the life of the branch or tree. Instead, count 3-4 buds up from the collar and look for and "upward" bud, not a downward bud the object is to create spurs that branch up and out toward the sun, cutting at a downward bud will cause the spurs to grow downward and into other branches.

Look for duplicate branches or "rabbit ears", leave one longer perhaps cutting at the fifth or six sixth bud, cut the other perhaps to the third, this way the branches will not be competing against each other. The tree should looked textured with branches in close proximately cut at different lengths to keep branches from competing, no buzz cuts!


Examine the tree carefully and often, step back and look at what you are doing, if you see 4 branches shooting out of the end for instance you may want to make a bigger cut. Make sure your cuts are straight and not diagonal, this is very important in the development of the branch. well, 'nuff for now, I'll write more on this later, it's time to go prune some fruit trees!


Michael
 

Why Bamboo Flutes Part 2

By Michael Howard

...The years prior to this starting in 2001 were years marked with trial and disappointment at every turn, so much darkness, financial stress, and the near loss of my wife made this injury the icing on the cake, I sunk like a led balloon into deep dark depression, my motivation was sapped and as far as I was concerned I was done, I lost hope that I would or could become anything useful…

One special item that had been my constant companion over the years was a beautiful bamboo flute, perfectly tuned in the key of F major, and yes, bamboo can be tuned perfectly. The flute was a dark rich maroon with black binding crafted from a gorgeous piece of timber bamboo, it felt very much like a traditional Indian Bansurai. This paticular flute has a a picture engraved on it; the sun rising over a mountain and a dove with an olive branch in its mouth, I would later learn how symbolic this was.

Fast forward to a beautiful summer afternoon August 14, 2004, my wife had left with my daughter to run some errands and decided to stay home and try to shake the darkness and pain I was experiencing with prayer. I have a great devotion to some of the saints, one of them is St. Maximilian Kolbe, a beautiful Priest of Jewish descent who offered his life in Auschwitz as a martyr so that 10 men could be spared from the starvation chamber, this day August 14th was the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe so I thought it fitting to ask for his intercession and help.

I have various ways of praying, sometimes in deep silence, sometimes in spiritual language, and sometimes with music, this day I pulled out my bamboo flute and began to converse with St. Max inwardly, pleading for help, pleading for direction and focus, pleading that the depression and darkness would lift. Now, some visions come like dimly lit lights, soft and non intrusive, others fall like warm monsoons of heavenly water drenching the soul in glorious light and knowledge, what happened next was a monsoon of dynamic proportions.

It was as if the heavens opened up and the next phase of my life was laid before and in a nano second I saw this glorious and exciting opportunity laid before me. I saw myself crafting exquisite flutes, I heard their sound in my being, gorgeous music, healing music. I saw my hands crafting them from bamboo, exotic bamboo, I saw the colors of the various flutes I was making and I saw them traveling around the world and in the background a voice was reading the prayer of St, Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace;
that where there is hatred, I may bring love;
that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
that where there is error, I may bring truth;
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
that where there is despair, I may bring hope;
that where there are shadows, I may bring light;

I knew internally that I would be successful because God would make me successful and he'd make my hands swift, He'd grant me wisdom to learn quickly, my playing at that time was mediocre at best, but the music I heard was lovely. And then I heard the name, Kolbe Flutes, and as suddenly as it came it was finished, I immediately set out to learn the art of creating concert tuned bamboo flutes, I had a clear vision and I knew it would be a successful venture. What ignited my passions was the fact that I could create instruments that would both support my family and heal others around the world.

(To be continued)
 

Do You Have A Spiritual Gift?

By Michael Howard
This blog entry is for you! I would love hear about some of your spiritual gifts and how you are using them or how you would like to use them. Also, if you have been impacted by someone with a spiritual gift, please share how it changed your life.


Namaste,
 

Why Bamboo Flutes?

By Michael Howard

I have been contemplating a good discussion about bamboo flutes being one who makes and plays bamboo flutes of various kinds. I thought it would be interesting to take you back to the beginning of my company Kolbe Flutes and discuss that aspect of my spiritual journey, a life changing journey that changed my course drastically.

So let me take you back to August 14th 2004, the feast day of one of my heroes St.Maximilian Kolbe. At this phase of my life I worked in the field of nursing, long hours and lots of stress and pressure. I severely injured a muscle in my hip assisting a nurses aid with a patient who was about to fall, as we lowered this gentleman to the ground dead weight I could feel the muscle in my hip tearing followed by an instant rush of heat, dizziness, nausea, I knew I was injured and I knew it was serious. Over the next week the pain became so intense I had to lean to the left when walking, I was forced o leave work and collect L&I for my injury, this began some intense months of physical therapy which was to put it bluntly, excruciating.

The years prior to this starting in 2001 were years marked with trial and disappointment at every turn, so much darkness, financial stress, and the near loss of my wife made this injury the on the cake, I sunk like a led balloon into deep dark depression, my motivation was sapped and as far as I was concerned I was done, I lost hope that I would or could become anything useful…

(To be continued)
 

Perspective

By Michael Howard

It's been an all around hard day, night, week, I'm seeking some perspective now, perspective to pain, sickness, loss. I know in my heart of hearts that within these trials, these sufferings lay greater tools for advancement, the problem is finding them and not quitting or compromising what I know is right. I have two parts of me that are always battling for control: there's the spiritual contemplative side of me that is a peaceful warrior, thoughtful, prayerful and hopeful. There is also a side of me that is very impatient, at times bossy, overpowering and extremely industrious and this one hurts people, this one gets me in trouble.

In a recent spiritual reading it was stated that I have incredible bright beautiful energy from my heart to the top of my head, bright, strong, full of hope and inspiration, yet a bit diminished at my mouth. Below my heart and down is this dark, dim energy, somewhat hopeless and staggering for life. This energy is weak and frail.

I was told there are three chakra points here that are suffering tremendously and in danger of becoming completely dark. I have seven regular points and an eighth rising over my head which I interpret as a special gift of intuition and communication with the divine, this I was told is beautiful and very bright.

Back to the darker regions though. Sometimes I'm afraid to speak and say what I feel, sometimes I get nervous and this energy around my mouth finds itself diminished by fear of failure, compromise and non-expression. My head is creative center bursting with life and ideas, so much so that at times it almost makes me crazy, I'm desperate for an outlet. My mouth is weak though, I get a nervous gut, I am good at hiding this and can seem very confident to alot of people, but I have a very weak stomach at times and it's here I lose the resolve and willpower to nurture the creative ideas in my head, this causes great conflict within me, a battle, but I see it so clearly now, it makes so much sense/

My goal for 2008 is to balance out these chakra pionts and become full of strong light, no more playing games, no more allowing powerful ideas to fall into the waste bin of life, no more hiding, no more running, no more fearing, no more holding back gifts of healing for other people.

I'm gaining perspective even as I write, I'm gaining strength, knowledge, wisdom, insight, passion and I refuse to quit, to lie down and right now I command all sadness, depression, anxiousness, fear, dark energy to be banished from my life, from my families life, from this blog and I ask peace, blessing, prosperity, wisdom and revelation to fill me until I overflow with hope, love, commitment, art..life.
 

Automatic Writing..

By Michael Howard
Pure gold in the early morning sun lay beneath a willow tree in the autumn dew in hopeful expectation of what lies ahead. Your optimism is your greatest gift, show love and mercy and may they never leave your lips. The hands you hold up to the sun are meant to heal the broken and bring life to the despairing. Let not your soul be consumed by obscurity, doubt, degradation, become a vessel of light, become hope, and become love. Unleash the full force of your creativity, tear down the walls and barriers that hinder your potential, complacency and sadness must end. Two hands clasped around an olive branch, two vessels of oil- one pure gold, one filled with sediment and dirt, a stone hallway and cobblestone...
 

A Bit More About Visions, Images...

By Michael Howard

Sometimes visions or mental images come as if seen through a dimly lit room, you see it but the clarity is lacking, this may be due in part to ones physical state at the moment of receiving. Lack of sleep, poor diet, stress, all of these things cloud the mind of the vision and may hinder an intuitive visionary from receiving clearly.

Pornography is an interesting one being that over time it destroys the natural pleasure center in the brain and is an addiction like any drug. In many cases pornography degrades the human person body and soul, the one addicted to these images loses respect for the human person and see only and object, this is the opposite of love based living, pornography is about self consumption and degradation.

If you have a visionary gift or perceive that you may have one you must first seek to cleanse your temple, your body. Our bodies are meant to be conduits for divine encounters, not all have the same gifts but God operates through human vessels, the cleaner the vessel, the clearer and the communication lines will be with the divine.

Eating healthy as I have stated many times is so critical and I believe is the foundation for healthy spiritual living. Trans fats, white sugar and flour, excessive caffeine rob the body of life giving nutrients and limit our mental capabilities. Anger, stress, fatigue, depression in many cases are directly linked to what we consume, and when a person feels these things constantly they draw inward to protect themselves and it's here that other destructive habits form roots that slowly consume body and soul.

If you have a visionary gift you have a mission; you are meant to be a healer, you are part of a greater plan to turn humanity back towards love based living and away from destruction, but you must first deal with your baggage, physical baggage, mental baggage, do all you can to break free from the destructive cycles that keep you from using your gift for the betterment of everyone around you.

Namaste,
 

Coming To A Realization Of My Mission

By Michael Howard

Since I was young I have always had a strong intuition about people, places, objects, sometimes words will come concerning the person next to me, sometimes an image, sometimes a sense. For most of my life I did nothing with these impressions, I just played them off as simply biological and to be honest some of it may be biological, I do not believe the spiritual and the physical body can be separated while we are living, they seem to move as one. Some call it prophecy, some call it clairvoyance, I choose not to name this phenomenon, I do not want to be categorized as this or that, and they simply are.

As an adult these senses seem much clearer, more defined, I'm at a point in my life where I want to help people to fulfill their life’s mission, to be the person they KNOW they should be. I feel these gifts or whatever one may call them must be exercised, celebrated and honed and I a willing to start moving out and growing in this area.

Over the years I have used these gifts on an individual basis and the results have always been positive. I cannot and will not guarantee the accuracy of what I see or feel from person to person, that's foolish because we are imperfect and we see imperfectly, I simply offer what I see or hear, it's up to the individual to keep or reject what is given to them. Images or words given may also be for a future time not yet arrived, this I have experienced.

If you would like a reading, please send me an e-mail to springrain_iwf@yahoo.com if you choose to remain anonymous that's fine as well, just let me know a few details about yourself and what you are dealing with and I'll share what I receive. Sometimes nothing comes, please do no be disappointed if this happens, I do not want to fake things, if nothings there nothings there. I look forward to chatting with some of you.


Namaste,
 

Fear Based Living Is No Living at All

By Michael Howard

As I was pondering my next blog entry of 2008 I thought I'd discuss my feelings on fear based living verses living a love based existence. Here in the United States we have unfortunately become accustomed to living in fear of many things especially since 911. September 11th, as horrible as it was has become a tool to drive fear into the people of this country, simply raising and lowering the terrorist threat level our minds are driven back to the horrible events of 911 and the lingering fear that if we do not hang on every word of our leaders, support the surge, fight the axis of evil and so on that their are hoards of terrorists waiting to consume our country and convert it to radical Islam. These events have been used as weapons themselves to keep our country in line by means of fear. Forgive me if I'm offending anyone, but this is how I feel, that the American people are pawns in a nasty game, held in fear.

Controlled behavior is not necessarily good behavior; it's simply controlled, subdued. We have seen this in Iraq, citizens changing loyalties faster than one can blink an eye, and all because of a shift of power one direction or the other. To many Iraqis safety lies in the one who has the most power. This very moment a terrible slaughter is happening In Kenya, why? Because of ehtnic fears, fear forces human beings to do wicked things, to destroy each other.

The one who lives a fear based existence feels out of control, powerless and often times this fear leads to violence as a way to get noticed, a way to gain control, a way to gain respect and a name as seen in light of some of the recent school shooters, they believe they represent the powerless, the weak, the down trodden and violence is their way to gain control.

So what about love? To quote from the movie "The Mission", "If might is right then there is no room for love in this world". Love, what does it mean to live an existence based on love? The one who loves humbly loves his or her self, not in a conceited manner, but as one who knows who they are. The one who loves accepts that they are not perfect; they accept their imperfections as gifts, tools to help others heal.

The one who loves is able to forgive themselves for all their shortcomings and forgive those who have caused them hurt, they can freely ask forgiveness for the hurt they have caused others and accept the response that they receive. The one who loves does not judge based on ethnicity, sexual preference, financial status, the one who loves sees all human beings as his or her equal. The one who loves shows compassion, not pity, a compassionate person is not afraid to get down in the trenches where the pain is setting aside social status or race. A loved based existence is an outward existence of sharing, of building up instead of tearing down. Love does not need to control people or manipulate, it is non judgmental.

So this year lets try to be people who love even with all of the fear mongering going on in the world, love is much stronger than fear, love is much stronger than death, let's turn the tides in 2008.
 

A Happy & Balanced 08

By Michael Howard
I do not have much mental energy tonight, but I wish you all the very best for 2008, good night and peaceful dreams my friends.


Namaste,