THE SPIRIT

Soul. The essence of all living beings. The animation of the physical, energy of the heart, and spirit. No living person knows precisely where the spirit goes at the end of ones life. Many religions have come to many conclusions since the beginning of recorded history. This entry has nothing to do with the great mystery which begins at the end of our holiday on earth. Instead we will focus on the living spirit alive inside each of us, its power, and its potential.

For much of my childhood my dog Emma was one of my closest friends. During my formative years, a great deal of time was spent hanging out with her, learning her tendencies, her moods and behaviors. To me, dogs are the most user friendly way to begin to understand the soul in its living form. Dogs' senses of sound, smell, and awareness are generally more sensitive than humans'. In turn, they are very much attuned to our moods, feelings, and behaviors. Much like our ability to train a dog and predict its behavior, the dog is constantly learning about its owner, and the nature of man. Watching dogs reacting to people is a great pastime of mine . . the dog can tell from fifty feet away what you're all about. If you are afraid of dogs they will growl, snarl, bark and try to get after you. If you're on the level, they will pant, wag, and generally try to jump up and lick you. Have you ever seen a dog react to a crying member of your family? The dog can sense adjustments in attitude, the chaotic, dark, and confusing energy generated by sadness is like a siren to the dog. He senses the sorrow, takes one look at his owner, and moves to the furthest corner of the house. It's never pleasant to bask in the energy of sadness, for man or animal.

Though not part of school curriculum, we have the ability to read each other as dogs read us. We are the sum total of our thoughts, we generate our own individual connection to the world around us. We fine tune our senses each day based upon our own personal feelings and desires. If we hold no interest in people, animals, or nature in general; it will be impossible to advance our understanding and connection. But, as all you students of Earl Nightingale out there know, "we become what we think about". If we sincerely desire a connection to any aspect of life, the only logical result will be to achieve that connection.

Now, what is the point of identifying this energy? In what respect can this be put to practical use? Think about it. If we all worked to be more aware of the feelings and interests of the living things around us, might that alleviate some tension found in daily life on earth today? Of course this task is huge . . it might even seem impossible in lieu of the division found in our society today . . yet it is crucial. The only way to begin the arduous process of reversing the course of history currently underway, is for all people to see the world and its illnesses from the same set of eyes. So much of what we do is based on closing ourselves off from the world around us . . based on fear. As long as we continue to let religions, creeds, and boarders divide us, there can be no unified organization towards peace and preservation of our planet. We have the ultimate power over ourselves, through thought and action, and over the fate of our existence.

A few months back, HBO aired a particularly moving episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumble. The segment most impacting revolved around a teenage girl named Jacklyn who had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at age nine. She was a die hard lacrosse fan, and took great fascination with the women's team at Northwestern University. Her father sent a letter to the team, and soon there after she was made an honorary captain. She formed personal relationships with each of the players on the team, exchanging e-mails and text messages, appearing at as many games as she possibly could. The Wildcats won the women's NCAA championship the first season she was with the team. As the relationship between Jacklyn and the team progressed, so to did the teams success. To date, the Northwestern Wildcats women's lacrosse team have been NCAA champs 5 years running . . . all of the years Jaclyn has been a member. As her energy has lifted the athlete's around her, the teams energy has clearly made an impact on Jaclyn's journey towards a full recovery. With the mutually beneficial relationship identified, the young girl's father started "Friends of Jaclyn", An organization connecting critically ill children with NCAA teams. At the time they filmed the show, there were not enough sick children to meet the demand created by eager colleges and universities. The point raised by this fine story should be quite clear; the human spirit knows no boundaries . . . it has the capacity to overcome all odds. Our concentration of energy towards achievement can yield miraculous results, and wouldn't you know, it comes from within . . . It's up to us.

Once long ago, overwhelmed by the tragic loss of a schoolmate, I went to my father for solace. I asked him what he though heaven was like: how we might reconnect with loved ones, what it would feel like. His response was something to the effect of; "I don't think you can physically see and touch the people you hope to reconnect with . . . you can just feel their presence . . . like when I'm at the office and I walk around the corner, without seeing into a cubicle, I can sense a persons' presence". I was half my current age when we had this discussion but it clearly struck a chord. Since, we've had a handful of conversations about "the collected unconscious" which I've found comfort in over the years. It's all part of the same thing . . we are all part of the same thing. Our bodies are our temples, our vehicles for navigating this physical, finite, fleeting period of time on this blessed planet. It's the soul, the spirit inside each of us that is of greatest importance. We choose what to make of ourselves, our beliefs and actions based upon them will determine our individual composition, our contribution to the collected unconscious. They say something like 90% of illness is derived from stress. Stress is the product of our our own mental and physical reaction to the events of our world. As members of earths community, we are responsible not only for our personal surroundings, but for playing a role in the fabric of all events on our planet. Because we are all members of "the great flywheel of society", only in banding together in mind and spirit will we be able to make the push . . to create the change required to live in a world based, as god intended, on peace and love.