The Tragedy - An Angel's View

As part of my work as an intuitive, I have had the priviledge of connecting many people with their deceased loved ones. Recently I was lucky enough to hear reports of the September 11th tragedy from the "other side". One account via a young man who had passed on was particularly touching. He contacted us from heaven excitedly to tell his family that he had been part of the "crew" from heaven helping and assisting at the time of the tradgedy. He told us that there were at least 3-4 guides and angels assigned to every soul who had "volunteered" to be part of this awakening. He said if you could slow time down you would have seen each soul gently lulled to sleep split seconds prior to impact. "Then we held on like crazy" he said, implying that as the planes and buildings crashed, the souls were aware of the chaos, but out of body, and thank god, not feeling the pain. The guides held on to their charges through all the confusion and then a great wave of light came and swept them to the heavens.

Through the soul of this beautiful young man, I felt it all. The letting go of life and the body as if one were slipping out of a suit of clothing. The chaos resulting from watching all you knew crumble, and knowing you'd just transitioned. The bliss and exaltation of the light and the love coming from the wave which carried them upward. I felt God permeating every single instant of this "tradgedy" that those in heaven are calling the beginning of the "Great Awakening". Tears come still as I think of the profound beauty and love on the other side as those who died were gently assisted into the light. . . to receive their hero's welcome in heaven.

Thank you for allowing me to share this beautiful perspective.

©2001 Ann Albers
www.visionsofheaven..com

The World in Transition
by Dr. James Martin Peebles, a spokesperson for the band of angels

The following is material from the wise and wonderful spirit of Dr. James Martin Peebles, as channeled by trance medium, Summer Bacon. Dr. Peebles died in 1922 at the age of 99.9 and was counseled by his angels to continue work with humanity by coming through channels and acting as a spokesperson for the band angels. On September 17, 2001 he called a special group together to give Spirit's perspective on the events of September 11, 2001. A few excerpts from the 45 minute lecture follow. The entire enlightening lecture is available on audio-cassette from www.summerbacon.com. Once on the website, click on the globe to order.


My dear friends be not discouraged here. Understand certainly, there has been a tremendous impact upon your earth and without question, my dear friends, this is opening you up to receive a greater light and a greater truth than you ever dreamed or imagined...there will be a great collective consciousness coming together to change that energy once and for all.

...So it is here that we would certainly suggest this: that you consider within yourself ways in which you have been the terrorist inside of you; the ways in which you have stopped yourself from coming forth with your greatest strength. My dear friends, how often have you been uncompassionate there inside of your hearts against you? Against certainly others upon planet earth. And within each one of you, there has been a tendency to fall into anything less than love, and rather determined at times to fall into hate... Fall in love once again with that which is you. Look into the mirror and outstretch your hand, touch your face, understand and realize at long last my dear friend that you are worthy of attention here upon planet earth, worthy of love, and that my dear friends it begins with you... it is here that you will find greater compassion is increased upon the earth.

...How do you promote action, my dear friends? By asking those...who would be willing to go to war, those who would be willing to take a firm stand of hate, those who would be willing to create even greater acts of violence, you would ask them perhaps if they would be willing to turn the other cheek, to stand at attention with great wonder at the atrocities at times of the planet earth, without question, and to NOT propagate the very same. And you do this, one person at a time, you ask everyone to join together in a solidarity, if you will of human hearts and understanding. Increase compassion for those who do not seem to care. Increase compassion for those who do not seem to understand that certainly upon planet earth the point of being my dear friends, is to come together and join together back into a structure that has no structure, wherein you find greater freedom than you ever dreamed or imagined...

...My dear friends, allow yourselves the freedom to express love where others would fear; to express love where others would prefer to hate; my dear friends, fall into a greater consciousness of love and it is there that you begin to subtly and beautifully change your planet earth, change the structure of your internal governments and find there is a common thread that eventually will be joining them all together hand in hand, heart in heart.

©2001 Summer Bacon
www.summerbacon.com

Let it Begin with Me

Dearest all,

I have listened to the news, followed emails from all my lists, read the newspaper and am most disturbed by something that does not seem primary in any of them. Being a woman of faith, I believe that each person who lost human life continues to exist and will forever exist in the hearts and minds of their loved ones. I know that when love is real it is never lost and in the center of this devastation, that the truth of forever will ultimately be found. That in no way diminishes the human pain and I hold a sacred space of compassion for those who are called upon to find their way to that truth now.

I am more disturbed by the fact that we all have first hand knowledge, to one degree or another, about the end result of hated, division, fear and separation. How is it then that many of us do not yet see that the lesson for us individually is to get the hated, fear, division and separation out of our own hearts? How can we hold hatred and yet oppose it? How can we separate and cry out for unity? How is it possible that we do not yet know that if we are so much as thinking a single violent thought we have added to the violence and the potential for further violence in our universe? A world event takes place when any one of us becomes willing to do our own soul work.

Let that begin with me. Let that begin with you.

Love,
Dina

©Dr. Dina Bachelor Evan, Phoenix Arizona - Sept. 2001
www.In-Two-One.com

Action/Reaction

"I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it."

-- Charles Swindoll

Be the Change

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

-- Mahatma Ghandi

Bomb them with butter

Bomb them with butter, bribe them with hope. Last night on NBC it was reported that 81% of Americans want restraint. Perhaps this suggestion is what they have been waiting to appear!

A military response, particularly an attack on Afghanistan, is exactly what the terrorists want. It will strengthen and swell their small but fanatical ranks. Instead, bomb Afghanistan with butter, with rice, bread, clothing and medicine. It will cost less than conventional arms, poses no threat of US casualties and just might get the populace thinking that maybe the Taliban don't have the answers. After three years of drought and with starvation looming, let's offer the Afghani people the vision of a new future. One that includes full stomachs.

Bomb them with information. Video players and cassettes of world leaders, particularly Islamic leaders, condemning terrorism. Carpet the country with magazines and newspapers showing the horror of terrorism committed by their "guest". Blitz them with laptop computers and DVD players filled with a perspective that is denied them by their government. Saturation bombing with hope will mean that some of it gets through. Send so much that the Taliban can't collect and hide it all. The Taliban are telling their people to prepare for Jihad. Instead, let's give the Afghani people their first good meal in years. Seeing your family fully fed and the prospect of stability in terms of food and a future is a powerful deterrent to martyrdom. All we ask in return is that they, as a people, agree to enter the civilized world. That includes handing over terrorists in their midst. In responding to terrorism we need to do something different. Something unexpected .. something that addresses the root of the problem. We need to take away the well of despair, ignorance and brutality from which the Osama bin Ladens of the world water their gardens of terror.

©Kent Madin

Message from the Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama sent the following letter to President Bush this week:

DHARAMSALA, INDIA -- Your excellency: I am deeply shocked by the terrorist attacks that took place involving four apparently hijacked aircrafts and the immense devastation these caused. It is a terrible tragedy that so many innocent lives have been lost, and it seems unbelievable that anyone would choose to target the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. We are deeply saddened.

On behalf of the Tibetan people, I would like to convey our deepest condolences and solidarity with the American people during this painful time. Our prayers go out to the many who have lost their lives, those who have been injured and the many more who have been traumatized by this senseless act of violence. I am attending a special prayer for the United States and its people at our main temple today.

I am confident that the United States as a great and powerful nation will be able to overcome this present tragedy. The American people have shown their resilience, courage and determination when faced with such a difficult and sad situation.

It may seem presumptuous on my part, but I personally believe we need to think seriously whether a violent action is the right thing to do and in the greater interest of the nation and people in the long run. I believe violence will only increase the cycle of violence.

But how do we deal with hatred and anger, which are often the root causes of such senseless violence? This is a very difficult question, especially when it concerns a nation and we have certain fixed conceptions of how to deal with such attacks. I am sure that you will make the right decision.

-- the Dalai Lama, as quoted in the Miami Herald

From Mother Theresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, there may be jealousy;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

-- Mother Theresa

Another Message from the Angels

From Barbara Mark and Trudy Griswold,

The angels have been telling us for some time that there would be an event that would break the heart of the world. We did not know what it was, only that many people would be involved. and that it would touch the hearts of everyone. We also knew that there would be a rallying of believers everywhere who would participate in the rebuilding. You are the ones who will help through love, prayer, and presence. You will assure those who cannot understand, that God is still there and that his angels are everywhere teaching, healing, and loving.

Keep writing your angels. They will be your intermediaries when you don't understand. And remember, this time is not about how to fear, it is about how to LOVE.

Blessings to you all,
Barbara and Trudy

We talked to our angels:

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Dearest Angels, What is happening???

More than you would ever know. How could we tell you such a thing would happen when this is the turning point of thinking for the whole world? This is the time when the polarity of earth comes out into the realization of its own power. Good/Evil. Hate/Love. War/Peace. God/NoGod. How could we have told you?

You have said over and over, "What is our path? What is happening? Why do we feel like we are being prepared for something and we have no idea what it is?" We have said that you are not to know because this time had to come in order to change the minds of man. Be assured that this is a total change from ego, money, political ideology, and awareness. From this day forward, nothing will ever be the same.

"Big" is over. "More" is over. Awareness will become truth. People who never prayed before are praying today. In other "wars" there were no graphic pictures. There was no television coverage of Pearl Harbor. No camera beamed the horrors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima around the world as an atomic bomb was turning beautiful cities into dust. No television set showed D-Day on the shores of France. Your motion picture directors have tried to give reality to these events, but there is no way the horror of those moments can be recreated by man. It is always worse and always better.

Better? Yes, there is no love on earth that is given more freely than in times of war or conflict. Believe it or not, this day is about LOVE, not HATE or war. Trust in what you have been taught and in what you believe! Trust that you have been trained to be part of the team of angels on earth who will teach, teach, teach, about what we are about for many seekers are going to be turning to you for answers.

Teach your wonderful teachers that this is their work. They are going to be keeping mankind informed as to how much God loves them in spite of how it appears. There is no reason to fear, there is only reason to go to work teaching that God's love will sustain them through this time of change.

You are going to also teach that no one can predict what will happen in the future because no human being can see the enormity of the reasons behind the events. It will be spoken of on television and in magazines and newspapers about how horrible it was and what the government should have done or known, or how it could have been averted. Do not listen to such blame, for no person could possibly out plan God's reason for what happens.

Remember when you fell down and hurt your feet and knees and you asked us why it happened? We told you then that in order to come into balance, you must go from one extreme to the other so that you can come back to the midline and be calm, intelligent, and fair. It is the way. The United States, and other countries who live with abundance have become complacent and have ignored the cries of the dying and the hungry because they have no base for such knowing. Even the well meaning did not know what to do. Here there is help and hope. Here there is always an element of choice in every living style. Your homeless souls in the United States have a better life than millions of people in other places. In other places there is no hope, and there is no choice. There is only survival.

The world is not about the countries that have. The world is about the countries that have not. The world is not about this country and that place. The world is about thousands of millions of loving beings becoming one in love.

This is a day to remember, but it is not the worst day. This is the Big Boom! As the universe was created, so is this day of new thinking and awareness. This is the day of caring about others, not in you little pretensions and worries. Today is about prayer and asking God to intervene in all things. Many will be happy about your country being wounded and scarred today, but others will see that if the greatness of the United States is shaken and destroyed, there will be an effect down unto the least of those who breathe.

Have you noticed that other conflicts have begun by picking on the least of those able to retaliate? WWII for the US began with attacking islands in the Pacific. In Europe it began by a powerful force taking over land in the middle of Europe which had no ability to truly defend itself. Big countries/forces took over smaller ones with no force. This is not the same. This has been started from the top down. War was not declared today on the United States, it was declared on God's world!

You will be his warriors and will teach that in order to win this "war" people must open their arms to whatever will be presented to them. Each soul will be asked to help those who need it. The world will become a horror of fear from today forward. You will help those who believe in the glory of God and in the rightness of all things. Be aware of your place and your work. Teach your students and seekers that God is the answer and every angel in heaven is working on earth today.

Do not be afraid. Be ready to do what is needed. Be ready to move forward in love and patience and faith and teach those who question God's will and let them know that there is a bigger plan. What is happening is not about the events of this day--it is about changing how people think about each other. You cannot see those huge building collapse and not think about the people inside of them. You saw hundreds of pictures of other horrors and did not even think twice about them. You said, "That is too bad," and completed your dinner. Today you are paying attention.

Pray, pray, pray. Pray for those who have died. Pray for those who have survived. Pray for the people in the planes. Pray for the pilots who fought with their lives to stop those who took over their planes. Pray for those who must search for the dead. Pray for the victims who did NOT die, for they truly will be the most wounded and scarred of all. And pray for yourselves. Pray for the knowledge of God's will for you and the power to carry it out.

It is the time for all people of LOVE to band together to help. We will guide you to your work.

We bless you, we love you, and we are with you. All is not lost. It is a turning point.

The Angels and the ALL

©Barbara Mark and Trudy Griswold 2001
www.angelspeake.com

Firefighters Angels

A friend sent this beautiful image. The source is unknown, so if you know who did it, I'd like to give credit.

The Bigger Picture (from a Near-Death Survivor)

Since I died, it has been very easily for me to operate on the inner planes, the soul level, and the higher levels of creation and consciousness. Once I could shake off the Pearl Harbor memories, I immediately went into prayer and was there - in New York City. An unexpected death, accident, or murder often confuses or disorients a departing soul. And that is exactly what I saw...bodies and body parts flailing in the air as souls twisted around in disarray from the trauma. I spent most of the day aiding in whatever manner I could, including with those who were injured or fearful. Wednesday morning, though, I witnessed quite a different picture. Instead of confusion and disarray, the departed souls were forming a huge wave, like a "hand" stretching. They were coming together, "waking up," becoming aware. I have helped in many prayer vigils, even with mass death, but I have never seen anything like this. By Thursday morning, the soul wave was fully formed, each soul totally conscious and possessed of knowing. The sound they made, their tonal vibration, was one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. Music, the music of a great love, the love of those willing to die for the benefit of others, overwhelmed me. Before I could think, the wave and I merged.

This is what the wave revealed. Each person who died, regardless of who, victim or perpetrator, had agreed before birth to be part of this event - to be there at that location at that time as that person. They had not "contracted" as souls to die, necessarily, but to be present and accounted for, to be part of the energy that would ensure this event occurred. It was only as the moment neared that final decisions were made. A wakeup call was needed, one horrendous enough to reverberate across our country and the globe, affecting every man, woman, and child and in every nation. The people who died sacrificed their lives to make the statement that none of us can continue to live the way we have. It is time to awaken, like never before. I saw that there will be more such events, even this year.

The soul wave is growing in size. I am convinced that our prayers, the power of millions praying, has enabled the wave to form and grow. Anyone who wishes to can join in the wave, become part of the healing that is needed now. You do so in prayer and by intention. I have joined. My commitment spreads throughout my church, my family, my community, and my larger family - the world. I have chosen to be part of the healing - to dress up, stand tall, and get busy.

What I have witnessed so far in the ethers is that indeed we are awakening, and what I see fills me with hope and joy. I have lived through many wars and battles, much tragedy, personal and otherwise. And I have died myself, not once but three times. And I know without any doubt that God's Greater Plan is on schedule, and that we, the players on this drama, have the muscles, the heart, and the mind to create new ways to live and love and prosper. I give you this today, on my birthday. I give you the excitement I feel and the readiness that flexes my body. We went to work after Pearl Harbor, with a passion this nation has forgotten. We are finally remembering what we forgot. Thank you, God.

© P. M. H. Atwater,
For a full rendition of this reflection, access my website www.cinemind.com/atwater and look for the article "The Attack." It is in the intuition/psychic/spiritual article section.

Jesus Welcomes them Home

This beautiful picture was drawn by a school-age child in PA. If anyone knows the source, please let me know so I can give credit.

A Bhuddist Perspective

From the Dalai Lama

Dear friends around the world:

The events of this day cause every thinking person to stop their daily lives, whatever is going on in them, and to ponder deeply the larger questions of life. We search again for not only the meaning of life, but the purpose of our individual and collective experience as we have created it--and we look earnestly for ways in which we might recreate ourselves as a human species, so that we will never treat each other this way again.

The hour has come for us to demonstrate at the highest level our extraordinary thought about Who We Really Are. There are two possible responses to what has occurred today. The first comes from love, the second from fear.

If we come from fear we may panic and do things--as individuals and as nations--that could only cause further damage. If we come from love we will find refuge and strength, even as we provide it to others.

This is the moment of your ministry. This is the time of teaching. What you teach at this time, through your every word and action right now, will remain as indelible lessons in the hearts and minds of those whose lives you touch, both now, and for years to come.

We will set the course for tomorrow, today. At this hour. In this moment. Let us seek not to pinpoint blame, but to pinpoint cause. Unless we take this time to look at the cause of our experience, we will never remove ourselves from the experiences it creates. Instead, we will forever live in fear of retribution from those within the human family who feel aggrieved, and, likewise, seek retribution from them.

To us [Buddhist thinkers] the reasons are clear. We have not learned the most basic human lessons. We have not remembered the most basic human truths. We have not understood the most basic spiritual wisdom. In short, we have not been listening to God, and because we have not, we watch ourselves do ungodly things.

The message we hear from all sources of truth is clear: We are all one. That is a message the human race has largely ignored. Forgetting this truth is the only cause of hatred and war, and the way to remember is simple: Love, [in] this and every moment.

If we could love even those who have attacked us, and seek to understand why they have done so, what then would be our response? Yet if we meet negativity with negativity, rage with rage, attack with attack, what then will be the outcome?

These are the questions that are placed before the human race today. They are questions that we have failed to answer for thousands of years. Failure to answer them now could eliminate the need to answer them at all.

If we want the beauty of the world that we have co-created to be experienced by our children and our children's children, we will have to become spiritual activists right here, right now, and cause that to happen. We must choose to be a cause in the matter.

So, talk with God today. Ask God for help, for counsel and advice, for insight and for strength and for inner peace and for deep wisdom. Ask God on this day to show us how to show up in the world in a way that will cause the world itself to change. And join all those people around the world who are praying right now, adding your Light to the Light that dispels all fear.

That is the challenge that is placed before every thinking person today. Today the human soul asks the question: What can I do to preserve the beauty and the wonder of our world and to eliminate the anger and hatred--and the disparity that inevitably causes it--in that part of the world which I touch?

Please seek to answer that question today, with all the magnificence that is You. What can you do TODAY...[at] this very moment? A central teaching in most spiritual traditions is: What you wish to experience, provide for another.

Look to see, now, what it is you wish to experience--in your own life, and in the world. Then see if there is another for whom you may be the source of that. If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another. If you wish to know that you are safe, cause [others] to know that they are safe. If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help another to better understand.

If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or anger of another.

Those others are waiting for you now. They are looking to you for guidance, for help, for courage, for strength, for understanding, and for assurance at this hour. Most of all, they are looking to you for love.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

-- Dalai Lama

The Deeper Wound:
Can we find more than revenge after the attack on America?
by Deepak Chopra

As fate would have it, I was leaving New York on a jet flight that took off 45 minutes before the unthinkable happened. By the time we landed in Detroit, chaos had broken out. When I grasped the fact that American security had broken down so tragically, I couldn’t respond at first. My wife and son were also in the air on separate flights, one to Los Angeles, one to San Diego. My body went absolutely rigid with fear. All I could think about was their safety, and it took several hours before I found out that their flights had been diverted and both were safe.

Strangely, when the good news came, my body still felt that it had been hit by a truck. Of its own accord it seemed to feel a far greater trauma that reached out to the thousands who would not survive and the tens of thousands who would survive only to live through months and years of hell. And I asked myself, Why didn’t I feel this way last week? Why didn’t my body go stiff during the bombing of Iraq or Bosnia? Around the world my horror and worry are experienced every day. Mothers weep over horrendous loss, civilians are bombed mercilessly, refugees are ripped from any sense of home or homeland. Why did I not feel their anguish enough to call a halt to it?

As we hear the calls for tightened American security and a fierce military response to terrorism, it is obvious that none of us has any answers. However, we feel compelled to ask some questions.

Everything has a cause, so we have to ask, What was the root cause of this evil? We must find out not superficially but at the deepest level. There is no doubt that such evil is alive all around the world and is even celebrated.

Does this evil grow from the suffering and anguish felt by people we don’t know and therefore ignore? Have they lived in this condition for a long time?

One assumes that whoever did this attack feels implacable hatred for America. Why were we selected to be the focus of suffering around the world?

All this hatred and anguish seems to have religion at its basis. Isn’t something terribly wrong when jihads and wars develop in the name of God? Isn’t God invoked with hatred in Ireland, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, and even among the intolerant sects of America?

Can any military response make the slightest difference in the underlying cause? Is there not a deep wound at the heart of humanity?

If there is a deep wound, doesn’t it affect everyone?

When generations of suffering respond with bombs, suicidal attacks, and biological warfare, who first developed these weapons? Who sells them? Who gave birth to the satanic technologies now being turned against us?

If all of us are wounded, will revenge work? Will punishment in any form toward anyone solve the wound or aggravate it? Will an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and limb for a limb, leave us all blind, toothless and crippled?

Tribal warfare has been going on for two thousand years and has now been magnified globally. Can tribal warfare be brought to an end? Is patriotism and nationalism even relevant anymore, or is this another form of tribalism?

What are you and I as persons going to do about what is happening? Can we afford to let the deeper wound fester any longer?

Everyone is calling this an attack on America, but is it not a rift in our collective soul? Isn’t this an attack on civilization from without that is also from within?

When we have secured our safety once more and cared for the wounded, after the period of shock and mourning is over, it will be time for soul searching. I only hope that these questions are confronted with the deepest spiritual intent. None of us will feel safe again behind the shield of military might and stockpiled arsenals. There can be no safety until the root cause is faced. In this moment of shock I don’t think anyone of us has the answers. It is imperative that we pray and offer solace and help to each other. But if you and I are having a single thought of violence or hatred against anyone in the world at this moment, we are contributing to the wounding of the world.

Love,
Deepak

©Deepak Chopra
www.Chopra.com

"In Honor" - by Debbie Ford

In loving memory of Paige Farley Hackel, a friend and treasured member of our community, who passed away on Flight 11, September 11th, 2001.
You live forever inside our hearts.

If you want to pay tribute to the thousands who have lost their lives, the families that have been torn apart and all those who are suffering, make the decision today to honor yourself. There is no better way to honor the loss of these lives than to live your life fully. Use this time of pain and grief to embrace the totality of your humanity and appreciate your God-given gifts. As a nation we must not allow anyone who lost their life on September 11th to die in vain. Each day remember a name on the list of people who passed away and say "Today I live this day for you. Today I will honor you by digging deep into my soul and rising up to my highest self."

Many of us get alarmed and inspired into action when we witness violations in the world. Tragedies such as the Attack on America immediately propel us to feel a sense of injustice. It's so easy to see when our country is violated. It is more difficult to see the violations we perpetrate against ourselves, for we often violate ourselves in seemingly small and unnoticeable ways. We violate ourselves when we don't trust our instincts or claim what we want. We violate ourselves when we shut down our dreams and don't take the time to care for each other. We violate ourselves every time we deprive ourselves of appreciation and acknowledgment for our hard-earned efforts. We violate ourselves when we choose to focus more on our flaws than on our beauty. We violate ourselves when we withhold compassion for the mistakes we've made, when we spend more time listening to our unconscious internal dialogue than to the love of our hearts. We violate ourselves when we fail to do what brings us joy. Each time you look in the mirror and only see part of who you are rather than acknowledging your true nature you have committed a violation of self. When will you stop? When will you see that it is you who has become the offender and it is only you that can stop the internal violence?

Today as we honor the individuals who have been violated by this tragic event we should all lay down our internal bats, the injustices we use against ourselves. Right now we can each surrender the right to ever violate ourselves again. We can commit to giving ourselves fully by honoring the gift of life and the unique contribution that we each are to the world. This is where each one of us can make a difference in the healing of America. This is what you and I can do in remembrance of the lives lost.

Healing Action Steps:

Healing: Getting back to normal?
by Cheryl Richardson

"Ride the edge, don't flee from pain.
For deepwithin lies the security you seek.
This security is nothingless than
the power to control your mind,
and therefore create your world anew."
--Anonymous

Dear Readers,

It's been a tough week. I know from all the e-mails we've received that many of you are feeling emotionally and physically exhausted. Several people have said they feel as though the life has been sucked out of them. This feeling makes perfect sense. Grieving and dealing with such extraordinary events takes an enormous amount of energy. As a result, you may get lots of sleep and still feel tired. Or, you might have to work hard to focus your attention even with simple tasks. And, during this time, because your immune system might get a bit rundown, you may be more susceptible to illness.

Here are some things to remember:

1. Get more rest than you think you need
2. Drink more water than you think you need (very important!)
3. Take a good multi-vitamin (with food) every day
4. Take breaks from the news coverage
5. Let laughter help you heal. Play with your kids, rent a
funny movie, or turn to the comedy channels on TV.

I've also heard many people in the media suggest to viewers that it's time to get on with our lives. While I understand that this recommendation comes from a desire to help people heal, the truth is that healing occurs as we *accept* the reality of how out-of-the-ordinary our present circumstances are. It's impossible to move on from an event of this magnitude so quickly. Grief takes time. That said, grieving doesn't mean that you need to wallow in pain or feel guilty as you start to resume your normal activities. Trust *your* process of healing. Allow yourself whatever time and space you need to heal, regardless of what others say.

Finally, at least ten people have mentioned that they're feeling tremendous anxiety over predictions that the terrorist attacks mark the beginning of the end of the world. With all of the rumors flying around the net (Nostradamus in particular), I can understand why. Historically speaking, it's quite common to hear these predictions. Why? Because people are scared and, because when we desperately try to make sense out of such a senseless act, we reach beyond our normal understanding. Please remember that these types of rumors have occurred during other major events too like the Gulf War or the TWA flight 800 crash.

I was prompted to ask Terry Real to join the telegathering call this week because of an e-mail I received with his thoughts about the tragedy. I'd like to close with an excerpt:

"On September 11th every American had a near death experience. We came face to face with the limits of our power over the universe and the essential fragility of our lives. We need to use this realization to create a heightened awareness and sharper recognition of the sanctity and preciousness of life. From this perspective we can deepen our humanity by allowing it to draw us toward what really matters - connection, community, and compassion."


Love,
Cheryl

©2001 Cheryl Richardson
Author of "Take Time for Your Life" & "Life Makeovers"
www.cherylrichardson.com