Happy Memorial Day

 How do happiness and Memorial Day go together?  Before I offer my take on this, I want to thank all who came before us and sacrificed their lives defending our freedom.  I would also like to extend my condolences to those who lost loved ones who fought in service to our country.  So, yes, today is a sad day for many.  One day to remember them is not enough given what they offered to all of us who are remaining.

We are happy today because we have our freedom.  We celebrate because everything we have is a result of those brave men and women who came before us.  Take a moment today and reflect on your happiness.  Offer a prayer for the families who are feeling a loss today.  Happy Memorial Day.  Have a great day.

Happy Birthday to My Amazing Wife

 I would like to send a happy birthday wish to my wife today.  She is the love of my life.  Out of respect for her privacy, I won't be sharing any photos here.  She is my inspiration.  She is my hero.  There is a special part of her in all three of our adult children.  She is the reason why I understand the meaning of an important Bible verse, 1 Corinthians 13:13... And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.

Thank you, my love, for teaching me the meaning of love.  You do this by your daily actions.  No words are necessary.  I love you, Helen.  Have a happy birthday.

Silent/Virtual Auction for Front Cover Art Yields $500

Congratulations to the highest bidder for "CASTAWAY WILSON."  Sean and Danielle Brobston are the proud owners of an original framed 18x24 oil pastel created by J.T. Egley, an artist who lives in my community.  Their donation of $500 includes a signed copy of "The Adventures of Castaway Wilson," to be released later this year in December.  I will be adding their names in the book credits as well.

For those of you looking for yesterday's post, I apologize for missing the deadline.  This is the second time in eleven years of blogging.  I rushed out the door yesterday and failed to hit the confirm button.  I didn't notice my error until this morning when the post was still awaiting my approval.  That's what happens when you're living in the moment.  I wrapped up my evening watching our beloved San Diego Padres on our son's computer which he connected to our TV.  I don't think my body moved until I awoke this morning for my daily meditation.  

Life in the magical forest is amazing.  I do believe my life is going to be operating in high gear for the remainder of the year.  Every now and then, one of the balls I'm juggling may fall, like missing my blog deadline yesterday.  That's okay.  I'm thankful I have balls to juggle and opportunities to seize.  Thank you to artist, J.T. Egley, for being a part of all of this.  Have a great day.

Inside My Mulligan Stew

The original recipe for Mulligan stew was crafted over one hundred years by hobos.  They came together, each with a contribution to this community meal.  I have my own version.  It's not really a stew but it's based on the idea that you toss in various ingredients you have in your fridge.  My Mulligan stew is really a Mulligan smoothie with some ancient grains and yogurt on the side.  There are some powders and supplements to make sure I get the nutrition that may have been lacking in the hobo diet.

The Smoothie

The green side includes 1/2 avocado, 1/2 stalk of celery, and a cup of spinach.

Toss in an orange, banana, and 1/2 cup of pineapple.  Blend at high speed.

While blending, add a tablespoon of chia seed.  Enjoy.  There is enough Mulligan smoothie to share with a friend or store in the fridge for the next day.

The Supplements

These supplements are based on what I'm learning from David Sinclair, a research scientist who specializes in longevity.  You can do your own research to for details on what these supplements may or may not do for you.  Check with your doctor for advice before trying this at home.

NMN (I take gram in a powder form mixed in my yogurt)

Trans-resveratrol (I take one gram in powder form mixed in my yogurt)

Quercetin (500mg)

TMG (750mg)

Vitamin D3 (2,000 IU)

Don't forget to get some sunshine and plenty of exercise.  Man cannot live on Mulligan stew alone.  Find your own community of hobos to hang out with.  Sharing your meals will give you peace of mind.  Have a great day.

Speed Blogging Today

 Like the thousands of chess games, many of them of the "lightning" variety I played with my brother-in-law years ago, today is speed blogging day.  I over-indulged in my morning meditation which turned into a two-parter and ended up galaxy surfing for nearly two hours.  Who in their right mind does that?  I know what you're thinking...you're a lefty and you are one of the 10 percenters who mainly operate out of the right side of your mind.  Maybe that's why I visualized angels doing crazy flips while jumping into Lake Louise while Styx was playing, "Come Sail Away."  I found myself riding the ripples of the waves decked out in some kind of "silver surfer" costume.  Oh yes, galaxy surfing is like riding the big kahuna while on steroids.  Maybe it's all those molecules I heard about from the Harvard scientist who specializes in longevity.  Anyways, I think I'm finally understanding why some people are attracted to kite surfing because that's the feeling I get lately from my morning time in high tide.  It's crazy good.

My five minutes of lightning blogging is up.  Time to go to my day job.  I'll offer more updates tomorrow. Have a great day.

Congrats to an All-American from a Top-Notch Tennis Family

 Jess Failla made it to the round of 16 with a convincing 6-0, 6-0 win in the second round of the College Woman's NCAA Singles Tournament.  This earned her All-American status.  I'm giving her a shout-out today because she inspires everyone she encounters and she demonstrates what's possible when you put your heart into everything you do.  Not only is she a champion on the courts, she's a champion in the classroom as well, graduating with two masters degrees.  I knew her family and cheered for her all the way back to her high school days where she grew up in my old Southern California neighborhood.  Her mom and dad, both tennis pros, worked me hard on the tennis courts when they were tasked with tuning our team up for competitive tournaments.  Her uncle, also a tennis pro, once worked for Peter Burwash, one of my tennis mentors.  Jess's siblings also play tennis.  This family is about at top-notch as it gets.  I'm thankful our paths crossed and for all I learned from them.

Keep up the good work, Jess.  God has big plans for you.  Your fans are proud of you.  Have a great day.

This May Be What My Doctors Most Feared

Unless you've been following my meditation stories, the photo you see here won't make any sense.  And even if you've been doing your best to interpret what my stories are all about you may still be lost in space.  Where are you?  Inside my head.  I remember the first doctor I spoke to in the trauma center at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.  Silly me.  I asked when I could play competitive tennis again.  Perhaps that's not the best first question when your body is on the precipice of an out-of-this-world adventure.  He told the other doctors it was time for a neck brace because he suspected I suffered a head injury.  Maybe I did.  What you see here is my own rendition of what it looks like inside my head sans the fancy scanners my doctors used at the trauma center.  This is right out of those science fiction stories I delved into as a teenager perhaps to escape my outer world.

Let's explore my homemade chart beginning with the pelvic floor.  If you're a doctor, you may notice the caduceus.  Back in the time of Moses, a bronze serpent erected on a pole was used to cure people who were bitten by snakes.  I overlaid my caduceus on a photo of a hot springs we visited recently in Montana. The water in the pool is loaded with minerals and no pool chemicals are ever necessary.  I visualize my caduceus as a jack hammer when I need a deep cleaning of this first energy center.  The caduceus works more like a battery operated tooth brush when my body is in proper alignment and only minor adjustments are necessary.

Moving upward you see an image of the Phoenix bird.  It happens to be overlaid on a night shot of the Cascades in Washington where I backpacked with our daughter.  I imagine a scene in my head where the family is roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores around a campfire.  Yummy.  The Phoenix bird is rising out of the ashes of past challenging memories.  That lightning bolt you see in the next image above the Phoenix bird is a hand holding a lightning bolt in the hills of Ramona where we raised our family.  When that lightning bolt rotates 90º and goes vertical, look out.  That's when the magic happens.  It's like lights flashing in my brain.  The heart picture is easy to understand.  What's more challenging is when that heart is broken.  The loss of a loved one, the death of a family pet, a cancer diagnosis.  All of these things can disrupt the energy that flows from the heart.  Daily meditation can help bring things back into harmony.  My heart image is overlaid on a photo of my hometown in Iowa because that's where my heart is in this present moment.

Moving upward, there is a symbol of a single water drop falling into Lake Louise in Banff, Canada.  This single drop of water causes ripples that reach the ends of the earth, including the acorn and the lotus flower you see in the remaining two pictures located in Glendalough, Ireland and Tuscany in Italy.

Thank you for taking a look at my primitive depiction of my inner self.  I know this photo doesn't show any signs of a pregnancy but there are twins somewhere inside and they are going to be birthed in late December at the same hospital I visited three years ago when I nearly met my Maker.  The bones are healed.  The organs are fully functional.  And the head...well, it's still spinning faster than that little caduceus you see in the pelvic floor of my first energy center.  Have a great day.

My Magical Forest is Becoming Hauntingly Familiar

 Before I begin today, here's the backstory about one of my favorite daily meditation areas located across the pond in Ireland.  One of my bosses coined the phrases, "magical forest," and "magical creatures"  in an effort to describe my strange ways to others.  The longer I live, the more I understand why my boss perceives my behavior as so quirky.  I found a music globe on a shelf in our dining room that seemed fitting for display as my magical forest backdrop in my first YouTube video, "5 Minutes with Mulligan."  Glendalough has deep spiritual roots dating back to the 6th century.  A monk named Kevin got everything started in what is now a popular hiking destination for tourists.  Turns out Kevin became a saint.  

I'm going really deep in my meditations these days.  This is accomplished by tapping into all five of my senses while inside each energy center.  I recently added geography to the energy centers to increase the intensity.  Some locations I use from past vacations.  Others, like Glendalough shown inside our music globe, are bucket list sites I plan to visit in the future.  This gentleman I'm getting meditation ideas from introduced me to the use of symbols for each of the eight energy centers.  Glendalough seemed ideal for my 6th energy center because it has a forest that pairs nicely with the acorn symbol he suggested.   I had no idea real acorns grow in this glacial valley when I chose Glendalough.  By the way, I also had no idea lotus flowers bloom in Tuscany (my 7th energy center) but they do and the lotus flower happens to be the symbol I'm using.  Here's another tidbit – the folks who gathered at Glendalough centuries ago worked on manuscripts and held workshops.  St. Kevin devoted much of his time to writing about his thoughts.  His writings deal with fighting "knights," most likely battles with his own temptations.  If Kevin were alive today in our time period, I have a feeling he would be blogging from the round tower overlooking Glendalough.  And, if I were alive during Kevin's time period, perhaps I would have spent numerous days fighting my own "knights" on the trails connecting the two lakes in the area.  I may have inhabited the very cave Kevin called home for several years.  Anyway, the more I visit Glendalough in my mind the more recognizable the surroundings become.  Yes, it's becoming hauntingly familiar.  Have a great day.

Renovation Ideas for Your Brain

Be careful.  Your brain may be bored.  Nothing new and exciting happens when your brain decides to go on vacation.  You can discover this when you find yourself in monotony.  It's as if every day is simply a repeat of the day before.  This is dangerous.  A lack of new experiences may lead to brain hibernation.  It needs stimulation.  Consider renovation ideas for your brain that may help you snap out of that sleepy fog encircling your life.

Before you can renovate, take careful inventory of what you do in a day.  How do you interact with all five of your senses?  Imagine yourself as a puppy.  If you could see a new trail for the first time, how would you feel?  Would your senses be stimulated?  If this can happen to a puppy with limited brain power, what are you capable of?  Close your eyes and go to work.  Rearrange everything inside your head.  Create new imagery.  Add some music to help you dance while you're creating.  Don't stop with one or two rooms.  Your brain has much more potential than you are aware of.  Observe what happens to your sense of well-being when you change things up.  That puppy inside you will spring to life.  Have a great day.

Don't Get Out of Bed Until You Reach Level 10 Joy

 Your joy won't come from your surroundings.  It won't come from your circumstances.  It won't come from waiting for it to knock on your door.  Your joy is a state of consciousness within yourself.  You can tap into it any time you want.  I recommend you discover this joy first thing in the morning before you reach for your social media.  Do this before you connect with news of current events.  Do this before you check your email.  The best way to prep is to shut yourself off from the outside for a full eight hours of deep sleep.

I find myself waking up every morning without an alarm clock.  I'm striving to go deeper in my meditations.  I'm adding checkpoints to my energy centers with my favorite music.  What happens next is a state of level 10 joy.  The outside world does its best to compete with my joy and attempt to take it from me.  As a human, sometimes I win and sometimes I fail.  What matters is that I get a handicap by starting at level 10.  Anything less and I'm doomed.  The outside world is filled with too many distractions.  Do yourself a favor.  Remain in bed until you reach level 10 joy.  Practice.  It's worth it.  Have a great day.

Celebrating a 9yr Day Job Anniversary Today

 My how time flies when you're having fun.  I would like to give a shout out to all those at my day job who are celebrating with me today.  We are part of the first fifty to be hired at a company that moved in to the area my wife wanted to reside in to be close to her siblings.  I was seeking employment with another company at the time.  I stopped in to a temporary office wanting to know the opening date so I could reload on my favorite products and discovered they were hiring marketing people.  The stars were in alignment for me to join the team and it has been a huge blessing in my life.  Those new hires in my group have become my family.  Happy anniversary to my teammates.  Have a great day.

The Next Generation of Twins

 My dad was born on Christmas day, along with his twin brother, Mike.  His older brother, Tom, and his bride, launched the next generation of Mulligans when their daughter was born.  Their daughter also had twins, this time it was girls.  Now I'm responsible for the next generation of twins.  Not human twins but twin books, around my dad's birthday in December.  There are so many connections in this prolific family that my head is spinning.  I need my cousin John's mathematical abilities to count my numerous cousins, second cousins, lost cousins who have been found through this blog, and descendants of all these relatives.  I heard there's an upcoming marriage in Phoenix for another cousin in November.  I sure hope the church is big enough to hold all these amazing family members.

My book pregnancy has been complicated.  I'm going through stages.  What I'm sensing now is excitement.  I got to see the fingers and toes a couple of days ago when I visited the artist in charge of graphic design.  Soon he'll be working on the twin.  If all goes well, these twins will be ready to see the outside world in a little more than seven months.  Stay tuned.  This is going to be an interesting delivery process.  Twin books are rare.  All I can say right now is they both bring me great joy.  Have a great day.

Beam Me Up, Scotty

You're not going to believe this one.  I showed up to pay for my graphics work at Elite Sports late afternoon yesterday.  I got the opportunity to thank my artist in person.  Are you ready to be blown away?  He was wearing a Star Trek teeshirt!  I have proof (see below).  He let me take his picture.  Todd hit this one right out of the galaxy.  That's home run #2 out of 2 for my front covers.  And Todd will be my artist for "Live Long and Prosper," to be released at the end of this year along with "The Adventures of Castaway Wilson."  You are the first to see the cover.  I'm so excited!   Full speed ahead, warp 9.  Thank you, Todd, for making it so.  Stay tuned.  The dilithium crystals in my brain are online.  Have a great day.

My Morning Meditations Got an Upgrade

 

The image you see here is from the deep recesses of my brain.  It came to me while in a morning meditation.  They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks but my 60year-old brain isn't listening.  If you look closely, you can see some hearts.  They are geographic locations from my past, present, and future.  They may not mean much to the outside world.  They mean everything to me.  While I was meditating a thought popped into my head.  It started at Norris Hot Springs where I visited with family during our Montana visit to see our youngest son graduate.   This is the first energy center where my meditation begins.  The second heart is located in the Cascades in Washington.  I visit a past memory there where I'm backpacking with our daughter.  We're eating smores while sipping hot chocolate.  The third energy center on the grid is in my sister's backyard in Southern California.  My dad is barbecuing his world-famous hamburgers on the Weber Grill, his last barbecue on the planet.  There is great electricity in this third energy center.

The fourth heart is in the center of the infiniti symbol.  This is where I live currently.  This is the center of my heart and represents my life in the present moment.  This is my happy place.  The 5th heart location is located in Banff, Alberta, Canada.  This energy center is found in the center of my throat.  While meditating, a single drop of water falls into the turquoise-colored Lake Louise, created by "rock flour" from the glaciers.  That drop of water sends ripples to the ends of the earth including energy centers 6,7, and 8, all at future locations I will visit someday.  

Speaking of the future, energy center #6 is in the "magical forest" in Glendalough, Ireland.  There may not be any acorns there but I see one in my mind dropping from one of the tall and slender trees towering above.  This acorn is my spiritual connection to the far-off places we cannot see.  From there, I drift to Tuscany in Italy.  I visualize a scene from the Gladiator while Hans Zimmer music is playing in the background.  I'm seated with my wife in a prairie field with tall blades of grass swaying in the breeze.  We're having an Italian meal while the sun sets on the horizon.  A single blue Lotus flower springs forth out of the prairie fields with a scent like lavender.  My senses are fully alive.  From there, my mind drifts to the final energy center on the map located in Iceland.  I'm there with the family in a hot tub looking up at the Northern Lights, my connection to the world beyond.  

Maui gets an honorable mention here even though it's not pictured in the image above.  When the island is observed from above, it has the appearance of another infiniti symbol created from two volcanoes.  I placed a heart in the center of this symbol because that's where I asked my wife to marry me in Kihei on a deserted beach.  Hawaii also has an 808 area code.  This is fitting because it inspired the 808 in my blog, Socalmulligan808.  

It's safe to say I have no idea what I'm doing with these daily meditations.  They are like an experiment.  I find myself emptying out all the past hurts and clearing my head of any current struggles.  My writer's block is deceased.  I'm celebrating new beginnings which are represented by the Phoenix bird that rises from the flames in my second energy center.  I'm reminded that Jesus has no beginning and no end.  He is the alpha and the omega.  Perhaps he sent me these images I see in my mind while I'm free of the distractions of the world.  I'm happy with the upgrades.  Give meditation a try if you're seeking peace in your life.  Seek and you shall find.  It's magical.  Have a great day.

The Neutral Zone

 I had a couple of close calls with the negative zone these last seven days.  The worst situation was in the neutral zone, otherwise known as I-80 where I commute to my day job.  I'm calling it the neutral zone because it's away from my home where I'm centered in positive energy about 98% of the time and I'm mostly away from others.  It's the place where negative energy sometimes appears out of nowhere as in angry drivers.  The encounter yesterday was a neutral zone infraction of the darkest kind, an out-of-state driver who had nothing better to do than get as close to me as Tom Cruise in that MIG encounter where the two met while Tom was inverted and flying close enough where the two pilots could have shaken hands.  This driver threw his hands up in the air as if he wanted me to know how angry he was at my willingness to drive the speed limit in a construction zone.  That didn't phase me.  Neither did the horn honking.  The dude had a wide open lane to pass me and no one else was even close in proximity.  I stayed in my positive zone while he zipped around me flashing the Tom Cruise universal hello with his middle finger.  I remained neutral and let him get on with his sad miserable day.  I caught up to him moments later when he hit the traffic jam led my a couple of semi drivers driving side by side.  His situation gave me a chuckle.

Neutral zone infractions are going to happen.  Remember, you are in charge of how to respond.  If you counter negative energy with negative energy, eventually you will find yourself out of balance.  The choice is yours.  Have a great day.

I Cleared the Last Sand Trap

Outside observers may think I'm playing games when it comes to financial freedom.  They're right.  What they may miss in their assessment is that I do consider it serious business.  It's a business I've failed at most of my life.  I came up with a game several years ago named Par for the Course to help me reach my most elusive goal, 100% freedom from debt. I'm on the 29th hole (month) of 36 today and I'm happy to say I cleared the last and perhaps most challenging hazard on the course – income taxes.  Due to the pandemic, Uncle Sam deferred this hazard normally found in the middle of the month of April.  This gave me an extra month to work on my game and improve my swing.  I now have a clear path to the 36th hole.  This coincides with the release of two book titles.  I'll be sharing more about the lessons learned when it comes to debt reduction.  There is this feeling of excitement welling up inside me.  Thank you for the opportunity to share my progress with you today.  Uncle Sam is highly unpredictable.  He believes money grows on trees.  I don't.  Borrowing money has consequences.  Our children and grandchildren will not consider Uncle Sam as their favorite uncle even though he may be popular with his "gifts."  Have a great day.

The Best Way to Avoid Regrets

 Got regrets?  Congratulations!  You're human.  Regrets are part of the package.  You can do your best to hide from them, let go of them, or even confront them but they are part of our lives.  My buddy, Robbie, he could have arrived in Heaven with one huge regret but he avoided the regret by taking action.  Good thing he didn't wait any longer because he cut it a little close for comfort.  I'm referring to the going away party he set up for his friends and family.  Yep.  He avoided a regret and he helped his people in his inner circle avoid one too.  We don't have to carry the guilt of missing the party.  If we couldn't be there in person, Robbie set up a virtual connection.  He left us with a YouTube video as well.  That's classy.

If you want to avoid or at least minimize your regrets, take action.  Hesitation is the easiest way to fall into the regret trap.  If you're looking inside your head and finding a pile of regrets inside, get them out of your system.  They will kill you.  You cannot change the past.  It's fixed.  Focusing on your regrets will freeze you up like a rush hour traffic jam.  You won't go anywhere.  Forgive yourself for all your past regrets and then bury them in a coffin.  Have a funeral.  Cry if you need to.  Then, move on.  Promise yourself you will stop making excuses.  They are just like permission slips for regrets to move in like a bad roommate who disrespects you.  Have a great day.

Aloha, Robbie – RIP

 Robbie Fox is my hero.  I didn't know him well as he was one grade behind me in grade school and high school.  There were only a small percentage of us from M.H.T. who attended SHS as most went on to Brophy or Xavier.  Robbie and I were on the same track.  When Robbie summoned his friends to visit him one last time I felt something in my heart that told me I needed to be there.  Robbie's wife, Gigi, his sweetheart from high school, is also in my circle of friends and I wanted to offer her some words of comfort.  The party was supposed to be a Robbie roast.  The irony here is we all got punked...by Robbie.  He didn't show.  Just before the fiesta began, Robbie fell and hurt his leg.  He stayed home.  We partied.  Over 200 friends showed up wearing their aloha shirts.  Well wishes were filmed.  Stories were told.  I flashed my "live long and prosper" sign to Robbie after signing his card.  It was a day I will never forget.

Yesterday I was saying a prayer for Robbie and Gigi during my first break of the day at my day job while soaking up some sun in front of a pond adjacent to the rear of our property.  I felt a cool breeze lightly touching my face while pulling out my cell phone.  The message I read came earlier than I anticipated.  One of Robbie's friends posted a message letting us know he's gone.  I felt a sting in my stomach.  Memories of friends and family who passed, some recently, flashed into my head.  They all finished the race.  As for Robbie, I must say that he exited with the outmost style and grace.  How thoughtful of him to throw a party for his friends before his departure so we could all show him we appreciate his time with us.  Aloha, Robbie.  May you rest in peace.  May Gigi be comforted at this difficult time.  May your family know how much we value your contributions to this world.  And may all who know and love you live long and prosper.  Have a great day, your first full day in Heaven.

Light Speed Mode

Everything is moving at light speed now.  Everything.  I'm super excited.  My creativity is surging.  The universe is cooperating.  I had to let go of a lot of things to allow me the opportunity to do what I'm doing freed of all the burdens of carrying too much baggage.  My trip to Phoenix was priceless.  I wish I could have connected with more friends and family but the time constraints were confining.  All I know now is that I must put my head down and do the work while I'm in light speed mode.  I'm eagerly awaiting news of my front cover from Elite.  It should be any day now.  I promise to keep sharing along the way.  Have a great day.

Introducing My Publicist, Angela

 Longtime family friend and neighbor from one street over, Mrs. DeBusk, joined us at our table and I introduced Angela as my publicist.  "How long have you known each other?"  asked my neighbor.  We were all gathered together in Phoenix to give a farewell party to Robbie, who is now living the final chapter of his life on this planet.  Aunt Chilada's was buzzing with well wishers who came to see Robbie one last time.  This was Robbie's final request to his friends and they responded with great enthusiasm.

"We just met tonight,"  I replied to Mrs. DeBusk.  Sounds strange, doesn't it?  You may be reading this and thinking to yourself, there he goes again.  Looks like Michael's back in the magical forest with his magical creatures.  If that's what you're thinking, you're exactly right.  I am back, back in my basement studio after a quick trip to my childhood stomping ground.  My head is still spinning.  Not like that scene from the Exorcist where the girl's head was spinning, but mental head spinning as in bewilderment.  I think my new publicist may have to sort out all the details of our meeting because I'm still processing.  All I can say is this new alliance is meant to be.  We'll share more about what publicists do and how she's going to help me in a future post.  All I want to say now is, thank you, Angela Gee Koop Cleveland, for volunteering to be my publicist.  Welcome to the magical forest.  Stay tuned for the rest of the story.  Have a great day.

Wheels Up

 Fascinating.  That's the best way I can describe my trip to Phoenix to wish my mother a Happy Mother's Day and to celebrate the life of a high school classmate who is about to enter hospice.  The guest of honor was not able to attend the packed house at Aunt Chilada's so we took pictures to send our friend, Robbie.

It's time now for wheels up.  I'm going home.  I will introduce my new publicist I met at the going away party soon when I get back to my basement studio.  Have a great day.

Only a Minute to Spare

 My hope was to make it in time to wish my mother a happy mother's day in person.  Last night when I gently knocked at her door at 11:59 pm, hope won.  As Emily Dickinson said in her poem, "Hope is that thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tunes without the words, and never stops at all."

Something else won as well.  It's called love.  Paul teaches us in Corinthians 13:13, "And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love."  I'm thankful to know a mother's love and to be able to acknowledge it in person, even if on special days like mother's day, I only had a minute to spare.  Have a great day.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms

Family photos are rarely allowed here on this blog for privacy reasons.  I may be an open book but family prefers off-line interactions only.  Mother's Day is an exception.  Please allow me to share a little bit about this amazing person six of us call mom.  She is pictured here with my adopted friend, Wilson.  My mother is the one who never gives up on you no matter how difficult the challenge may be.  Mom is the one who prays in all circumstances, always trusting that Jesus is there.  My mother inspires me to be a better version of myself.  I'm sure my siblings will be fighting over precious time slots to be with mom today on her special day.  If you read this before she does, please keep this little surprise to yourself.  Mom, I'm coming to Phoenix today for a brief visit.  I will arrive before midnight just in time to wish you a Happy Mother's Day in person.  We can celebrate Mother's Day tomorrow.  I'm super excited to see you.  Thank you for being the best mom anyone could ask for.  Thank you for all the lessons.  Love, Michael.  Have a great Mother's Day.  To all the moms out there, I want to thank you for making this world a special place.  God bless all the moms.  Have a great day.

The Lightning Bolt in my Mind Rotated Clockwise 90º

 My wife told me I need to keep a journal of all my mystical experiences.  Well, this is the best way I know to track all the crazy happenings.  Another odd one happened this morning during my daily meditation.  It has to do with these images I've added to my energy centers to help me have more enriched experiences.  For those of you who may be curious about how meditation works, here's the backstory on my routine:

Jesus, Son of the Most High God, often prayed and meditated.  I believe he did this to teach us that daily prayer and meditation can be helpful in our journey.  He encouraged his followers to pray with him but they had a hard time, just like I did when I tried to go longer than five minutes without losing interest or falling asleep.  I discovered guided meditations on YouTube.  This changed everything.  I can meditate an hour or longer without and difficulty.  Lately, the sessions have become more intense because I added images to each "energy center."  

Each energy center has a purpose.  This morning something special happened in my third energy center, the place in the body that can sometimes be blocked.  Based on a recent discovery about adding images to these energy centers, I placed a hand holding a horizontal energy bolt.  During my meditation this morning the bolt rotated clockwise 90º and ended up in a vertical position.  It was as if the door was locked and a key turned causing this blocked energy to be freed.  Suddenly, all of the energy centers were linked together.  This may sound crazy but these meditations are somehow influencing my life.  I will need to explore more of this to see what all this means.  What I do know is that a vertical image of a lightning bolt is superior to the horizontal image I started with because I'm no longer trapped.  I also know that my writer's block is now in my rear view mirror and my creativity is soaring to new heights.  Stay tuned.  This is going to be an interesting year.  By the way, top bid on "Castaway Wilson" is now $500.  Thank you to all who are participating.  Have a great day.

Don't Forget to Forgive Yourself

 These have been challenging times.  Health and wellness is a hot topic these days.  I'm finding that the people I'm around who find a way to forgive themselves seem to be faring well while those who beat themselves up for every mistake they make seem to be having a more difficult time coping.  The pandemic  has a way of magnifying our behavior.

Take a look in the mirror today and have a one-on-one conversation with yourself.  When you say this, I want you to put your heart in it:  "I forgive you."  Now, let go of all the grudges you are carrying for all things self-inflicted.  Got it.  Now, go out and have a great day.

The Meditations are Becoming More Meaningful

Ponder this for a moment – we are comprised of 99.9% energy.  What does that mean?  It's a mystery to me.  If you figure it out, let me know.  What I feel in my heart is that everything around us is only temporary.  This is not where we ultimately belong.  Some may argue, "that's a good thing because I really don't like what's going on around me right now."  Maybe that's why Jesus says, "my thoughts are not your thoughts...for as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways." – Isaiah 55:8-9.  That's deep, really deep.  Out of this world.  Heavenly.  How can we find this Heaven while we're here on this earth?  The closest I can get is in my daily meditation.  

Something happened this morning while I was "galaxy surfing."  I caught a glimpse of these thoughts Jesus references.  His thoughts?  Maybe.  All I know is that when I came out of my morning time something was different.  I shared this with my wife.  These thoughts can be scary.  I'm sharing a video that came to me while I was in my heart zone.  I have no clue why this music popped into my magical place but it has some kind of meaning and it will be in my head all day.  Here goes.  Click the link for the song.  Have a great day.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Thank you, J.T. Egley, for granting me an interview last night on Zoom, and for your generous donation to Children's Miracle Network.  If you're new to this blog, I'm sharing my journey here to create two books scheduled for release at the end of this year.  J.T. is my go to artist for front cover design.  Here is our YouTube interview we did last night about his work.

 Also, I wanted to update you regarding the next step in my writing journey.  I met with the folks at Elite right here in my hometown of Williamsburg about laying out my front cover for "The Adventures of Castaway Wilson."  They stepped in to help when I was in dire need of an artist for "The Caveman in the Mirror."  These folks are now tasked with using J.T.'s Castaway Wilson art to complete the front cover design.  Once the layout is done and J.T. completes his art for "Live Long and Prosper," I will visit them again to finalize the second project.

I'm headed back to my day job today.  These last six days off have been great to see our son graduate from college in Montana.  I'm excited to be spending so much time in my basement studio.  My commitment is to do something every day to keep me on track to publishing two books by the end of this year.  No margaritas tonight.  I'm on the tennis courts until after my wife's bedtime so I'm skipping out on the celebration.  Have a great day.

Interview with Front Cover Artist Tonight on Zoom

Tonight I'm interviewing John "J.T." Egley.  He is a talented artist who specializes in oil pastels.  We're going to be chatting about his work and his creative process.  As soon as the Zoom call is over I will post the interview on YouTube.  The silent auction for "Castaway Wilson," created by John, has begun.  All proceeds from the framed masterpiece will go to the local children's hospital.  The silent auction will close during the final week of May.

I would like to thank my friends and family for all the support you've given over the years.  I'm doing my best to stay on top of the new technology so I can bring you a couple of new books that may serve to entertain you while supporting some sick kids that could use some encouragement during their trials.  When I'm having a down day I think about what these kids are dealing with and I quickly get back to why I'm here.  I found out early this week that another friend from high school is headed to hospice.  His last wish, if approved by the doctors, is to meet his friends for a farewell dinner.  I will do everything in my power to accommodate his request.  Have a great day.

Home Sweet Home

We returned home just before midnight last night.  Our time in Montana with family was incredible.  Our youngest son reminded us what can happen when you never give up on your goals, especially when others try to convince you what you're seeking is impossible.  Now it's time to get back to work on my writing projects.  I'm back in the basement studio chipping away on my MacBook Pro.  Have a great day.

Time to Return Home

 Our mini vacation is over.  We're heading home today.  Now it's time to get serious with my book writing journey.  Stay tuned for a Zoom call with the artist who is designing both covers for my books.  I'm hoping to conduct the interview early in the week.  Have a great day.

Congratulations to the Graduate in our Family

 

I would like to give a shoutout to our youngest son, Shane, who is graduating today, one year ahead of schedule.  He signed up as an infantryman in the army as soon as the ink was dry on his high school diploma and served overseas for 3.5 years before enrolling at the University of Montana Western.  We are excited to be with him today.  Montana is an amazing place to get an education.  Congratulations, Shane.  We are so proud of you.