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Into the Mystic
Getting ready for bed she looked at her email one last time. An ad for the 14th Annual Tribute of Jazz JAMM (Jazz Alliance of Mid Michigan) caught her attention.
Her dad was a big part of that group. He and his partner would go to the festival and paint, and donate their paintings that they painted while they were there together. The year he passed, he and his partner were to be honored but her dad passed just before the event. Her dad was honored posthumously. They had a chair with her dad’s picture on it… sad but wonderful.
The event coming up was honoring Mike Eyia, a Cuban jazz artist. Mike played guitar and sang “Into the Mystic” while accompanied by the piano from the back of the church at her dad’s service! It was sooooo beautiful and memorable.
She bought two tickets to the event and as she and her husband are driving there, she gets a call from one of her closest friends. Three girls had been best friends since sixth grade. “T” began, “I had a dream about your dad last night. I was in Las Vegas and I couldn’t find Dave, but I look on my phone and there are three recent calls. One was from you, and one was from “S” (the third of their grade-school best friends) but in the middle was this tiny line and it said James McFarland. The line was real tiny but when I pushed on it I called your dad and he answered and I said, ‘You’re kidding’.”
He said, “Hey, gal, I’ve been wondering when you were going to call me. It is so beautiful here. I can’t decide if it is hot or cold, but I have been wondering when you were going to call me. It is so nice to hear your voice. I have been hoping you were going to call me and tell me that you love me.”
Instantly they both felt the significance of the timing of the dream and the call about the dream. They were on the way to this jazz event to honor the guy who sang at her dad’s service!
Then at the event after they sat through two hours and 14 minutes of jazz from many different artists this group gets up on stage – and it’s Mike Eyia’s band. One of the guys from the band says, “This one’s for you, Mike,” and then he sings “Into the Mystic” exactly the way Mike had sung it for her dad….
She had said to herself (or to her dad) coming up to the event – “I’ll know you’re with me if they play Into the Mystic!”
(About a year after Mike sang “Into the Mystic” for her dad’s service, his own son passed. “Into the Mystic” was sung at Mike’s son’s service, too…)
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Ferdinand’s Clock
Ferdinand was born in April, 1906. His father bought a beautiful mantel clock to celebrate the birth of his first child. This clock took place of honor in the family home, unobtrusively marking the hours. It followed Ferdinand to his marriage home where the clock continued to serve the household.
Our Dad, Ferdinand, was a quietly spiritual man, unobtrusively going about his days living out the teachings of Jesus. We three kids and a flock of grandkids learned from his quiet example how to live our lives.
In January, 1979, Ferdinand went to his well-deserved eternal reward. Less than a week later the clock stopped working. No clockmaker has been able to successfully mend it. But it is still cherished.
We’re still learning from him.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
~ from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
(Ferdinand’s Clock was written and submitted to Sacred Stories by Barbara Darling.)
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Woman Doctor in a Floral Dress
Her mother was elderly, in a care facility, and not enjoying quality of life. She knew her mother was experiencing a lot of fear of dying.
One morning when she went to visit her mother, her mother told her a woman doctor in a floral dress had come the previous evening and sat with her and answered all of her questions about dying and she was not afraid anymore.
One week later, her mother passed in perfect peace.
She told a friend, “I went to the office that morning to ask what doctor had visited with my mom and helped her through such a difficult time. I was told that no one had visited my mom the previous evening. I know that the woman doctor in a floral dress was an angel….”
Forget not to show love unto strangers:
for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 3:2 -
Unique But Not Separate
At the end of their Zoom online meditation, the meditation host shared a rich experience she had while on retreat the previous week. It started with an annoying beep from the smoke detector that was not corrected by the facility maintenance crew. After a few days it was resolved, but the distraction had allowed a profound inner experience of a piercing of light.
One of the other individuals online shared some of his previous experiences.
Gratitude for the host’s sharing was expressed.
Then the last person’s sharing was a bit more abstract. “It is like I am not having a separate experience but more of a simultaneous awareness,” ending with the use of a kaleidoscope as an example.
When she logged off from the meditation, this text from a Zen group popped in:
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The Heart Sutra then proclaims that “FORM DOES NOT DIFFER FROM EMPTINESS!”
Another word for form is dharma, lower case. All ” things” are dharmas and they are all empty of any separate existence. They are unique but not separate.
We are unique but not separate from our planet, Universe, and each other.
She sent the words of wisdom from the Heart Sutra to the others who had been at the meditation.
So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
-Romans 12:5 -
Horses Have Frogs
When their friend stopped at their house for her husband to check out the friend’s computer, the friend was in a surprisingly jovial mood.
“I learned something new,” he told her.
“Oh, yeah, what did you learn?” she quipped back.
“Horses have frogs.”
She laughed and told him he was absolutely correct about that. Her husband looked at them with some suspicion as they thoroughly enjoyed their shared fun. The frog is a part of a horse hoof, located on the underside, which should touch the ground if the horse is standing on soft footing. See: Frog (horse anatomy)
That evening their friend had a massive stroke, and about 24 hours later he passed.
As she was walking her horse in the barn that afternoon, her horse high stepped over something. Looking at the ground she thought at first it was a rock the horse had stepped over. Upon closer inspection, she saw that her horse had stepped carefully over this very unusual looking FROG!
She knew instantly it was a greeting from their friend.
Yes, Richard, horses have frogs….
A perfect message of eternal love.
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Blue Feather
Opening Quotation by Julie Clapp“When you believe beyond
what your eyes can see
signs from heaven show up to remind you
love never dies.”
Blue Feather by Barbara Darling
After his untimely death at age 40 in 2009, Barbara’s son made himself known, comforting his sister and his dad. “Why not me?” she wondered. He wouldn’t abandon me. Maybe it’s me; maybe I’m so angry about his death I’m not able to receive his messages.
A year later she was about to open the door to the pottery studio when she heard a bird noisily drawing her attention. Looking up she saw blue jay, wings flapping, jumping frenetically from branch to branch. She saw the hawk sitting on another branch, quietly focusing on her, conveying a sense of tranquility and peace.
As she and hawk locked eyes, a feather drifted down from blue jay, landing momentarily on her heart space.
Tears fell silently from her eyes. Her son made a commotion to get her attention and then gently let her know all was good with him. She was left with a profound sense of tranquility.
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Spider Message
Early one morning I received a text message asking what manual the method for removing phobias such as fear of spiders was in. “Healing with Language, starting on page 236,” I wrote and then continued, “I also like to share the totem meaning afterwards. I was HORRIFICALLY afraid of spider. Look at the totem meaning!”
If you have Spider Totem Animal, you can be inventive, creative, tenacious and have a strong wit. You may know how to influence others and may have a good sense of the larger patterns all around you. Finally, Spider is a communicator – writers very often have a Spider totem. (From: WhatIsMySpiritualAnimal.com)
“How cool is that!!! A couple of weeks ago she shared with me that she wants to work on her writing skills.”
“My overall number is 2 in numerology – Number II is The High Priestess in The Animal Wise Tarot by Ted Andrews — represented by spider! EVERYTHING comes as gift/teacher. We often have to move into and through the fear to see/receive the gift,” I added.
“Wonder if she subconsciously has brought the spiders’ energy in.”
“Interestingly, I don’t think of it so much as that she unconsciously brought spider in which is a view of duality – me and not me – but that THE ALL THAT IS manifested as spider to bring the perfect, needed, desired message at the ideal time.”
God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform. ~ Luke 24:16
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Hiking in Japan
The conversation about traveling to Japan started decades ago when his best friend for over fifty years asked him to accompany him to Japan. He had always said no, but as the years went by it became evident that the challenges of getting older would limit their ability to travel the world, and the chance may never present itself again, so this time he said, “Yes, I’ll go with you.”
While in Japan he went for a hike and came across a woman on the trail who had taken a spill. A seasoned hiker himself, he had supplies in his pack so he stopped to offer her some first aid. She was not seriously injured.
He told her he was from Florida, USA. She said she was from Holland – not the city, but the country.
When he mentioned having previously hiked the Appalachian Trail, she quickly added that she had just read a book about a guy who had done that. “What is the name of the book you read?” he inquired before continuing, “My wife and I recently wrote a book about my trip.”
“Jingles’ Promise,” she said.
Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a copy of their book!
Jingles’ Promise: A Father’s Quest for Truth on the Appalachian Trail
“This is our book,” he was holding up a copy of Jingles’ Promise. “I am Jingles,” he said smiling. They were both so moved by their having made this connection!“How did you find out about the book?” he asked.
“A friend from another country in Europe told me about it.”
What are the odds these two individuals — he from Florida and she from Holland — would be hiking at the same time and in the same place in Japan?
They were standing on holy ground. They saw the significance. Even if they had been hiking there at the same time they likely would never have made the connection if she had not taken the spill.
They could both see clearly there is no “chance” experience….
Though he and his wife had done nothing to promote their book, here he was hiking in Japan and meets a woman from Holland — not the city but the country — who had learned about Jingles’ Promise from a friend in another country in Europe.
Amazing….
(ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF JINGLES’ PROMISE WILL BE DONATED TO HELP PEOPLE RECOVERING FROM TRAUMA AND LOSS.) -
Currently Open on my Laptop
Texting with a close friend early one morning as she started her busy day, her friend sent the day’s “Daily Reflection” from Deep Spring Center for Meditation:
Consciously envision peace. Spend at least a few minutes every day envisioning what this world could look like in a very detailed way if beings were able to live peacefully with each other, making space for different views, and free of hatred. Practice peace in all the simple ways. Smell the flowers as they emerge this spring. Take time in your lives to be peaceful. Do not allow yourself to get caught up with the spectacle that your media may present. Watch unpleasant news a few minutes if you need to, and then go and pray and meditate. And in these ways, you will find yourselves becoming centers of peace for yourself and for all those who touch your own life. ~ Aaron
She immediately sent back this photo of a quote by Joseph Campbell back to her friend: “We’re not on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves. But in doing that, you save the world. The influence of a vital person influences,” along with a four-word message: CURRENTLY OPEN ON MY LAPTOP.
Called or uncalled, God is present.
This is actually a statement that Jung discovered among the Latin writings of Desiderius Erasmus, who declared the statement had been an ancient Spartan proverb. Jung popularized it, having it inscribed over the doorway of his house, and upon his tomb.
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JP
During a Facetime call they were talking about words and language and the wold entourage came up. “It does not just mean the supportive people around you, it means also the surroundings that support you,” her friend read from the definition.
Then her friend said, “JP is coming through again.” This reference was to her brother who only lived 2 or 3 days. Their mother had not even been given opportunity to hold him. It was rather odd that this soul would come through her friend again. It had happened a few times before, however today the friend had misspoken.
“It is not JP,” she told her friend. “It is PJ, but my grandfather was JP. I wonder if he is part of my entourage now.”
The following morning her friend was out for a bike ride on a route she had ridden several times before. There on the sidewalk — not noticed previously but obviously purposely placed into the wet cement — were the initials JP!
