“Courage is being scared to death—and saddling up anyway.”—John Wayne

A family member preached hell, fire, and damnation to me as a child.  He frightened me with images of a horned devil with red skin, fangs, and a pitch fork who swept up all the ungodly souls who had not accepted Jesus as their savior and took them to his fiery domain.  Even after I firmly established myself in metaphysical teachings, I still harbored negative feelings at any mention of a horned deity.

Then one evening as I flipped through the television channels I discovered an old television series from the 1980’s called Robin of Sherwood which was playing on a PBS station.  Since Robin Hood was one of my childhood heroes, I was immediately enraptured by this version of Robin Hood which was steeped in magic and mysticism.  In the story, Herne, a forest god with the body of a man and the head of a deer stag initiates Robin as his son.  He sends him on missions to help the poor and fight the tyranny of the aristocracy.  Whenever the people experienced dire need, Herne appeared in a flash of lightning to offer words of comfort and wisdom.  This show piqued my curiosity about Wicca and Paganism.  I chose to look past my childhood fears of a devil and research the horned god.

According to Janet and Stewart Farrar in their book, The Witches’ God, the horned god is the oldest of all god forms.  Images of him can be found in cave drawings from prehistoric cultures.  He was a god of the hunt, fertility, and the Otherworld.  As consort of The Great Goddess, he was Lord of all creation.  Sometimes he was depicted with the horns of a goat or ram, and throughout the Celtic countries he was drawn with deer antlers.  In Greece they called him Pan, the Celts named him Cernunnos, and in England he was their forest god, Herne the Hunter.

The horned devil of Christian mythology was created by the Medieval church.  To achieve their goal of converting pagans to Christianity, they appropriated the pagan horned god and perverted him into their frightening archetypal image of evil.  The devil represents the disowned aspects of the Shadow nature in the deepest recesses of the human ego.  One way to dissipate that fearful energy is to bring it to light and examine the truth.  So let’s bring the horned god out of the shadows of the Medieval mind and view his true nature.

To pre-agricultural societies, a successful hunt meant life or death.  The people worshipped and thanked the Spirit of the prey for providing sustenance.  Even after the advent of agriculture, people venerated the meat from the hunt in sacred rituals.  They invoked gods and goddesses of the hunt to aid their success on the hunting grounds.  The horned god was Lord of the Hunt; portrayed as both hunter and hunted.  In the article, “Wicca for the Rest of Us” on wicca.timerift.com, it says the cycle of hunter and hunted is recognized in all shamanistic cultures.  In order to catch prey, the hunter must identify with that which is being hunted.  The hunter must “know” and think like the prey.

In England, Herne was a man, a hunter employed by King Richard II.  One day, while the king and his men were hunting, Herne jumped in front of a charging stag to save King Richard’s life.  Herne is mortally wounded.  A magician restores him to life, but takes his hunting prowess as payment.  Even though Herne was given life, he felt dejected without hunting.  He hung himself from an Oak tree in the forest.  But his spirit lived on where he was seen leading a ghostly hunt in the woods nightly.  He appeared to people in need and helped the common folk when they were in danger.  He became known as Herne the Hunter, savior of the people.

Known for their prolific sexuality, goats, rams, and deer stags represent fertility, fecundity, abundance, and the sexual energy.  As consort of the Great Mother, the Horned God impregnates her and from her womb bursts all life; flora, fauna, and humankind.  According to Edain McCoy in her book, Celtic Myth & Magic, Cernunnos and Here were often depicted as pouring seeds or coins upon the Earth to assure a prosperous growing season.

Our sexual energy stimulates the Kundalini (Life Force) to rise up the chakra energy system of the body.  It’s responsible for our creativity, passion, sexuality, and physical fertility.  The Medieval church, and even a lot of today’s churches, labeled sex as dirty and evil.  But, good sex is healthy for our minds, bodies, and energy systems.  The horned god helps us embrace our sexual energy and harness it to achieve well-being and manifest our desires.  He can be invoked in all matters concerning prosperity, creativity, and sexuality.

According to the article, “Herne, God of the Wild Hunt” on paganwicca.about.com, those who walked through the forest at night had to be wary of Herne’s nightly hunt for if they got in the way, they were often swept up in the hunt and rode in Herne’s spectral horde for eternity.  Herne was also known as Lord of the Otherworld.  The Otherworld is not the Christian hell, but the spirit realm where souls reside when they pass from the physical realm.  As a Hunter, Herne was thought to hunt souls of those who were dying and lead them to his realm.  In some myths, he is also Lord of the alternate realms and Faery Lands.

The Horned God represents the archetypal male energy: strength, dominion, courage, and sexuality.  To men he is the model of masculinity and can help them evolve into all aspects of manhood, from being a lover, father, hunter, to being a prosperous achiever and wise man.  CerNunnos/Herne helps women also embrace the male aspect of themselves.  He shows them how to be strong and confident in the world.  He stimulates their sexual fire and desire.

In Journey to Ixtlan by Carlos Castanada, Don Juan advises us to become hunters.  In whatever we want to have or achieve, we must practice the stealth and wisdom of a hunter, being patient and carefully stalking our goals.  To this the Horned God of the Hunt can assist.  Call on him to help on your hunt.  Herne/CerNunnos is at his peak power in late spring and summer.  Honor him then in fertility rituals.  Sow seeds that will grow into the reality you desire.

Faces of the Goddess

Editor: Sharon Niman

Assist. Editor: Barbara Jean Maurer

PO BOX 486

Crows Landing, Ca. 95313 USA

latigrepress@thevision.net

FACES OF GOD

Dear Readers,

Imagine Sean Connery as King Arthur in First Knight and you can picture the majesty of the God energy.  Most people in the world do not comprehend or experience true God Essence.  It’s been twisted into a chauvinistic model by a world that’s been out of balance for too long.  This imbalance is due to the repression of the Goddess Energy.  One cannot know the true majesty of God without first knowing the Goddess.  As my friend and teacher Genaro Herrera, jr. says, “Goddess is space and God is what fills the space.” Before there is matter, there must be space into which to put that matter.  We cannot have God without Goddess.  To express genuine God energy, man must also embrace the Goddess.

God energy flows through the physical realm of world, logic, the observable, the conscious mind.  Its essence is action, intellect, sensuality in all its forms, and sexuality in its most genuine expression.  The God Energy provides courage, determination, aids in the physical achievement of goals, and is essential in healing and balancing the mind and body.

For the first time in the history of Faces of the Goddess, an entire issue will be devoted to the Divine Masculine.  We are looking for articles on the Masculine Principle, Majesty of God Energy and how we can experience it.  We especially want articles on Gods from mythology and heroes who exemplify the God Energy.  Men, this is your chance to speak out and share your experiences of being a man in this world.  Tell us what you’ve learned.

The deadline for this issue is June 22.  Let us know if you plan to write.  Writer’s Guidelines are available upon request.

Blessed Be!

Sharon!

We live in stressing times.  We’re uptight about the economy and our finances.  We fret over unemployment and job security.  We hear frightening news about terrorism and crazy despots with missiles.  We are stressed out and it’s affecting our well-being, our relationships, and our health.  We need to relax!  So how do we do it?

Step One: Move with the flow, not against it.  The Universe moves in perfect Order.  There is a Divine Plan in operation although it may not always appear so.  Our lives get tough when we fight this Order rather than working with it.  The more we resist the Flow, the rougher the waters of life seem, and the harder we have to swim which takes its toll on our minds and bodies.  Stop fighting the current.  Even though you may not like the scenery of your life now, just relax into the Flow, and the river of Life will lead you to a new and better destination.

Step Two:  Lighten Up!  We take ourselves, lives, and the world too serious.  With all the doom and gloom news, it’s understandable why we’re so somber.  The truth is that this is a recreational Universe created in joy.  Life is not meant to be hard.  We experience hardship because of the choices we make in our minds.  Our beliefs, attitude, expectations, thoughts, and words determine how we experience our experiences.  Yes, there are Earth School lessons, but we can choose to learn them adventurously, joyfully, rather than painfully.  We can shift our consciousness away from the “heaviness of existence” to the “lightness of being”.  The Zen Buddhists say that if we laugh for ten minutes upon waking then we have done the equivalent of two hours intense meditation.  So, let’s see the humor in this weird world and start laughing at things rather than crying about them.  But most important, let’s stop worrying and start playing!

Step Three:  Stop taking it personally.  Our biggest source of torment is when we convince ourselves that everything that happens; everything that people say or do, is all about us.  We become extra vigilant for any minute discrepancy in behavior.  We wrestle with not only what someone said, but how they said it.  We make ourselves miserable worrying about someone else’s attitude or choice of action.

What people think, say, or do, even if it appears to be directed at you, speaks volumes about them, and little or nothing about you.  Before you get upset at what someone says or does, stop and ask yourself:  Am I interpreting this correctly?  Is this about me or really about them and their issues?

Step Four:  Back off.  When a situation, condition, or person constantly upsets us, then we’ve gotten too attached, too entangled in the emotional chaos.  We need to back off and give ourselves some breathing space so that we can attain a clearer perspective.  Although we can’t always do it physically, we can step back in our minds.

Continuous anger, frustration, and upset means that you have given away your power to an outer circumstance or person.  You must back off and call in your energies.  When you do this; 1) At a distance, things no longer disturb you; 2) When you get out of the way, the situation improves or you are able to see a solution you couldn’t see before while in the middle of the problem; or 3) The other person either shapes up or removes him/herself from your life.  Problem solved.

Step Five: Separate fact from fiction.  Someone close to me works in an atmosphere where upsetting rumors and speculation circulate.  Everyone is on edge.  They don’t know what to believe.  We greatly reduce our stress when we learn to discern truth from rumor.  When we speculate, over-analyze, or make assumptions, it means that we do not have all the information so we fill in the blanks with our own fears and projections.  Remember, rumor-mongers intentionally spread fear and negativity to manipulate and disempower others.  Don’t buy into their garbage.  Get all the facts.  Go to the source to find out the truth.  Only act or react to what you know to be real and not fiction.

Step Six: Live one day at a time.  Most of us are busy people who juggle a lot of responsibility.  Some of us have major events coming up in the future like weddings, graduation, going to college, moving, buying a home, finding a job, having a family.  It’s easy to slip into worrying about all we must do and whether or not we can handle it all.  By thinking of the monumental tasks ahead, we overwhelm ourselves.  The only time is now.  The only day is today.  Yes, it’s important to have a plan or strategy for doing what must be done, but we can only live and do today.  So rather than stressing over all that needs to be done, take one step at a time.  Do what you can today and leave tomorrow’s tasks for tomorrow.

Step Seven:  Be your own advocate.  Leaving ourselves to the mercy of external forces leads to hopelessness, frustration, and heartache.  We should never assume that anyone else will understand and fulfill our needs.  Nor should we assume that a so-called expert is going to know and act in our best interest.  We should never give up control of our choices.  It’s important for us to be our own advocates; to educate ourselves; to be fully prepared; to keep our noses stuck in any business that directly affects our health, happiness, and finances; and to act in our behalf. It’s okay to be the squeaky hinge or wheel that gets greased!  If we leave the elements of our lives dependent on the whim of others, then we’ll be living according to their rules and consciousness rather than our own.  So take back your power.  Take charge of your life.  Be your biggest ally!

Step Eight:  Keep the Divine connection.  To maintain our peace of mind, it’s crucial that we take a few moments every day to pull our consciousness away from the tribulation of the world, and center ourselves in the sacred.  The essence of God is peace, so when we establish our Divine connection, we attune ourselves to peace.  It’s important to spend 15 minutes in the morning and then five minutes periodically during the day to calm ourselves and reconnect with the Sacred.  When we take these “time outs” we lower our heart rate and blood pressure, our cells relax and correct themselves, our minds let go, and our ears are open for messages from the Divine.  It’s this Guidance that will lead us away from stress and onto the path of Peace.

Issue #55, devoted to The Goddess is now available.  $5 sample, $12 subscription.  Make checks out to "Sharon Niman".  POB 486, Crows Landing, Ca. 95313

Face of the Goddess, page 1………......…Siannan....

Experiencing the Goddess, page 8…….Siannan....

The Goddess energy flows through the subjective realm of spirit, dreams, magic, the unconscious, the unknown, and the mystical.

The Muse, page 10……………………..William....

Goddess, page 11…………………………………..……..John....

When we can subdue the inner most giant of our self-absorption, or the little creature who holds us back and always says, “Nay”, then I think we are coming close to the high hill where the Goddess will visit and inspire.

Yin Energy, page 12………………………Scott....

Yin is represented as the dark half of the taiji symbol which swirls toward the bottom, and equates to the Goddess or Moon in Western thinking.

Lovely Lotus, page 13………………Warlock....

The Goddess Who Helped Me Become a Real Man, page 13…Bobby

Men are feeling the Goddess energy in a number of ways, and we are changing for the better.  We are becoming real men.

Praying For Your Return, page 14…Warlock....

What I’ve Learned So Far as a Woman, page 15….Siannan....

The magazine has changed as my consciousness shifted from feminism to mysticism.  I’ve learned and grown a lot since 1992.....

The Rising Sun, page 21……………..Siannan....

The centerpiece of most Shinto shrines is a mirror, the symbol of their principle goddess, mother of all gods, and caretaker of the people.

Oh, Mighty Isis!, page 22…………....Siannan....

The image of the Madonna cradling the Christ Child was copied from an earlier depiction of Isis holding Horus.

Gateway of the Sphinx, page 25……..Siannan....

Goddess. Riddler. Guardian., page 25…………....…..Siannan....

The best way to approach the Sphinx was always in humility, for she detested arrogance and fakery.  Only the authentic hero or heroine could pass her tests.

Ptesan Wi (White Buffalo Woman), page 27…..Mary....

The legend began long before herds of buffalo roamed the land.  There was an extended period of famine and the people of the Lakota nation had been unsuccessful in their hunting.

Sacred Goddess, Artemis, page 28……Corinne....

The pagan goddess of the Amazons merged with the Greek goddess, Artemis.  She is the protector of women and the Mother of humanity.

Dancing with a Goddess, page 29……........Russ....

Hecate: Eyes in the Dark, page 3……..Siannan....

Hecate rode the moonless sky with her band of wolves whose saliva, it was believed, brought dreams, visions, and sometimes madness to the mortals upon which it dripped.

Selkhet: The Protectrix, page 32……Siannan....

She is the Presence which guards our sleeping bodies from mischievous beings of other realms, and negative thought forms which can attach themselves during our sleep.

Nyx, page 34……………………………Rowan....

Meditation with Isis, page 34………….Siannan....

Artwork: Amaterasu, Lakshmi, Isis, Sphnix, Hecate, Selkhet, & various feminine pieces and borders by Kimberlee; Luna drawn by G. Warlock; Artemis drawn by Corinne; Isis drawn by Shirlee; and White Buffalo Woman drawn by Tina.

(The following is an excerpt from the upcoming issue of Faces of the Goddess devoted to the Divine Feminine.)

In the beginning…It was woman held in awe…The magical being who bled monthly, yet died not.  Life sprang forth from her womb…As the Earth sprang forth from the Goddess.  No wonder woman was believed to be Daughter of Goddess…was, in fact, a goddess, too.

In the time of innocence…It was not known of man’s seed and woman’s egg…of ovulation and menstrual cycles.  Woman conceived by the touch of the Moon.  By the Hand of Goddess, was she giver of life.

To man…Woman was the path to the Goddess.  He laid with her…not so as to propagate his kind, nor to collect stones in a sexual prowess game…but to experience his own soul’s ecstasy.  He knew the Truth…a woman’s love joined Heaven and Earth.  Laying with woman was a holy encounter.  Parts of her body were not the subject of crude humor, not the objects of disrespectful behavior.  A woman’s body was held, touched, loved with reverence and honor.

Yes…There was a time when this was so.

When the world was young…The Face of Goddess moved across the waters.  The Hand of Goddess carved out the mountains and the valleys.  She walked the Earth in the body of Woman…Rode the Heavens in the light of the Moon.  She created Life when Love…which is She…was known between woman and man.  Love birthed a Lighted One…a Savior…a Being created in the likeness of Goddess.

That one…Is You.

As most of you know, my mom fell and broke her hip in the second week of January.  She underwent hip replacement surgery.  Then she was admitted to a rehabilitation hospital where therapists worked to help her build strength in her new hip and maintain her former strength and agility.  Their goal was to get her strong enough so that she could continue the healing process on her own and live independently.

One day a new therapist transferred in from another hospital.  Although she led my mom in physical exercises, she spoke negatively about my mom’s prognosis.  Her talk really discouraged my mom, temporarily.  I was angry when I heard this.  After we spoke to some of the other therapists, they re-encouraged my mom and they had a talk with that new therapist who then changed her attitude.  The more experienced therapists understood that they not only work therapy on patients’ bodies, but also on their minds.  Good therapists prepare their patients for a complete recovery—for that moment of victory.  They get them well in their minds as well as their bodies.

Similarly, when we want to manifest health, money, a relationship, or the right job, we must do the “inner” (mind therapy)  as well as the outer work (physical therapy).  As we take the physical steps to acquire what we want, we must also manifest the desire in our minds.  We need to think it, believe in it, expect it.  We must build a positive attitude of entitlement.  We prepare for what we want by thinking of it as inevitable.

Too often we spend time and energy preparing for what we don’t want.  We worry about all the possible negative results, which mentally prepares us for the worst.  Hey!  Why not prepare for the best instead?!  Spend time and energy thinking about all the wonderful things that could happen.  And, that will ensure that you will experience the best.

Do you have one of those medical books at home which catalogs all diseases and their symptoms?  Throw it out!  Too often when we experience an ailment, we drive ourselves into a panic by looking up in those books or on the internet all the horrific things that might be wrong with us.  It’s worse if a doctor actually labels us as having a condition.  How many of us will then spend hours researching the disease instead of the healing?  Let’s prepare for healing instead of illness by focusing on what feels right with us!  Let’s talk ourselves into good health rather than sickness!

And this is not limited to health matters.  Many people upset themselves unnecessarily by researching all the possible signs that their partner doesn’t love them or is cheating on them.  Why not prepare for love rather than heartache by focusing on the signs of love or better yet, let our partners know how much we love them?  Others constantly look for signs that they’re about to be fired from their job.  Let’s prepare for success rather than failure by focusing on all the ways we’re valuable to the company and even better, start appreciating the job we have?!

We also invite failure when we get hung up on past failures or how others have failed in the same area.  When we start thinking that something is too hard or impossible, or that a condition is too serious or seldom healed, we are mentally conditioning ourselves to fail.  We need to do some mind therapy on success!

During my mom’s therapy sessions I watched therapists work with many types of patients.  Occasionally, patients would refuse therapy.  They’d insist on returning to their rooms and beds.  The therapists would encourage them to continue their exercises by saying, “Don’t you want to be able to go home?  You’ll stay here forever if you don’t do your therapy?”  The thought of that usually got them going again!

Do you want to manifest the healing, abundance, goals, love you desire?  They you’ve got to do the work.  If you refuse, give up, and go back to bed, you’ll never have what you want.  Make up your mind.  Set your determination.  Find out what you need to do physically, mentally, and emotionally to have what you want and then go into action.  Good things do not come to those who lie around and expect their good to just fall into their laps.  The Universe rewards effort.  You must get the energy rolling in the direction you desire.

To build patients’ strength, therapists engage them in a variety of exercises to strengthen parts of the body, increase endurance, and promote balance and flexibility.  We need to do the same with our minds in regard to our goals.  It’s necessary to strengthen our beliefs and thoughts toward what we want.  When we have a need or desire, we must believe in it—believe it is possible for us.  We must fortify our thoughts and attitude in favor of success.  When we adopt the thoughts, feelings, attitude and beliefs of the reality we desire, we are consciously choosing that reality and will manifest it.

Two important exercise tools are affirmations and visualizations.  Affirm what you want in the present tense: “I am”, “I have”.  State your affirmations at least 100 times a day.  Don’t just say them, fill them with emotion.  And all the rest of your talk should reflect what you want, not what you don’t.

Right along with your statements of faith, visualize yourself being, having, doing what you want.  See it as a movie playing in front of you.  Then step into the visualization.  Activate all the senses.  What does it feel like to have what you want?

Also exercise to build your “outer” strength.  What skills or abilities are necessary to handle what you want?  When you are prepared inside and outside, you send a message to the Universe that you are ready for what you want.  Your consciousness shifts to a place where your desire exists for you.

Just as our muscles work best when they’re flexible, so do our minds.  If we want to progress in life and achieve greatness, we must keep our minds open to new information, truth, and possibilities.  We cannot remain fixed in our ways and thinking.  Whenever we desire something it’s important to say, “This or something even better.”  What we want may not be right for us and even harmful, or we may be unknowingly limiting ourselves.  Always stay open to something better!

My mom discovered that the right therapists greatly affected her recovery.  Surrounding ourselves with the right people affects the positive outcome in our lives.  It’s crucial that we create a support system of people who believe in us; who believe we can achieve our goals, manifest our desires, and experience our healing.  If the people in our lives hold negative opinions or judgments of us or what we want, or they are jealous and secretly wish us to fail, they can affect our success by injecting just enough negativity to undermine our confidence.  So, choose your people wisely!

Without doubt or fear, claim what you want to be the truth about yourself.  Claim health, happiness, abundance, love, and peace.  Give your whole self to the idea of the good you desire.  Ask yourself:  How much do I believe in the good I want?  Remember that limited believing means limited receiving.  Express gratitude every day of the good you already possess, the progress you’ve made, and for the good that’s on it’s way.  Most important, live in the consciousness of your desire, goal, or healing already having been achieved.  Act as if, and it will come to pass.

As a minister, I talk to a lot of people and I've discovered that we all have one thing in common right now—fear; we're worried.  We worry about the precarious economy—our own money as well as the stability of our business institutions.  With so many companys suffering, we worry about work—finding a job or keeping the one we have.  With all the scare talk on the news about super-viruses, holes in the ozone, and over population, we worry about our health, our lives, and the Earth.  We are frightened of the future.  With all the fear thought-forms dominating the collective consciousness, it's easy to get overwhelmed with worry and lose ourselves in the mass hysteria.

As I write this, my cat Chelsea sits in my lap, purring blissfully.  She has no idea what's going on in the world "out there".  In her world, she's safe, comfortable, happy, and well-fed.  Her human protects her and fulfills her every need.  She has no worries except for the fact that she might have to eat the same flavor cat food two meals in a row.

Is there a message from this feline?  Is she a role model?  We may not desire to be someone's pampered pet, and that would not be healthy for our personal growth, but we are protected and provided for by our Mother/Father God.  Shocking as it may seem, we really have nothing to worry about.

'Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on.  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?"  Matthew 6: 25 & 26

We have the most powerful Parent in the Universe—God/dess!  And S/he cares for all Her/His children.  There is always a Divine Hand at work in our lives.  Sometimes it may not feel that way because we are not seeing the whole picture.  We are blinded by temporary appearances.  We need to hang tight and trust the wisdom of the Master Mind of the Universe.

We must ask ourselves: Are we slaves to man's reality or are we operating according to Divine Reality?  In the Law of Spirit, everything happens for our benefit; for our highest good.

For most of us, worrying is a habit.  We torture ourselves by imagining a multitude of horrific occurrences.  Our anxiety alone often creates more pain than the actual problem.  Worry and stress never improve the outcome.  They are a waste of time and energy.  Besides, the results of troubling circumstances are usually never as bad as we expect.

There have been times when I've become entangled in upsetting life situations.  I stressed, cried, and raged about problems that didn't seem solvable or appeared to be completely out of my control.  In each circumstance, I was left with only one choice—surrender.  I completely "let go" and let God/dess.  I surrendered to the Will of the Universe.  And you know what?  Once I stopped struggling, the problems miraculously resolved.  When I stopped trying to control everything, stepped out of the way, and allowed the Universal energy to flow according to God's Plan, everything played out in Divine Order.

We do have a tendency to fight, struggle, control and get in our own way.  Sometimes the strongest and wisest action is to let go.  We need to make decisions about our future to the best of our ability, then let go and trust God/dess to take care of the rest.

We feel upset and fearful when things don't seem to be going our way.  But sometimes when we're blocked or even suffer a loss or setback, we may actually be protected.  A couple of months ago when I pulled out of the parking lot of The Creative Life Center, I realized I had a flat tire.  I was upset by the inconvenience and by the fact that I was going to need new tires.  When my brother examined the flat tire, he found a screw embedded in it.  Although this caused the flat, it had not been my most serious problem.  Apparently, the tread on that tire was so worn that it could have blown at any time.  If it had blown out while I was driving at high speeds on the freeway, I could have been in a serious accident.  My brother told me that the screw saved my life.  Although I had initially judged the flat tire as a negative experience, it actually prevented a possible tragedy.

Recently I read an article about September 11.  The head of security for the Twin Towers related some amazing stories about those who might have been at the Towers, but we're blocked in some way.  One man was late because it was his turn to bring doughnuts.  One woman's alarm didn't go off.  One missed the bus.  Another's car wouldn't start.  One person couldn't get a taxi.  And, one man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning developed a blister on his foot on the way to work.  Because he stopped to buy a Band Aid, he is alive today.

Can you imagine the person who couldn't get a taxi cursing his luck that he was going to be late, only to discover his seemingly bad luck saved his life?  So the next time it seems as though you are experiencing a misfortune, it may actually be in your favor.  It might be saving your life, or at least from something worse.

God/dess may often work in mysterious ways, but S/He always works Her/His wonders in our lives.  S/He will never leave us nor forsake us.  S/He is looking out for us.  There is nothing to fear.  God/dess will provide.  We need to trust the Divine.  God/dess is our safety net.  As A Course in Miracles says, "If you knew Who walked beside you on the way you have chosen, fear would be impossible."

So relax.  Everything will work out for your highest good.  You've got the most powerful force in the universe on your side.  Only good is ahead.  All is well.

We just elected a new president by an overwhelming majority of the electoral vote.  People in our country have been angry, frustrated, and fearful over the state of the economy, the war in Iraq, and general world conditions.  They have been looking for a Messenger of Hope.  Barrack Obama offered hope and everyone turned to him in the "hope" that he will be a guiding light into better times.  Our country and the whole world needs that light of hope.

Ten years ago, a woman I know suffered a serious back injury.  She was in a lot of pain and felt as though she would never heal.  She lost hope.  Then she went to a new doctor who took her hand, looked her straight in the eye, and said, "Don't be afraid.  You are going to be okay.  You will recover."  His confidence filled her with new hope.  She believed in his words.  And from that moment on, she began to heal and eventually made a full recovery.  That doctor was her Messenger of Hope who saved her life.

I knew another woman who bravely fought cancer until her doctor gave up on her and told her she only had a short time to live.  That doctor crushed her hopes and the woman died shortly after.  Hope gives life.  Lack of hope can kill.

A very talented and creative man I knew was murdered recently in murder-suicide by his father who had suffered great financial loss due to the stock market plunge.  Rather than ride out the wave, he made a tragic choice to not only end his life, but someone else's.  When people lose hope it can drive them to do terrible and crazy things.  This is why hope is so crucial in our lives and in the world.

The good news is that we do not have to wait for a world leader, guru, Spiritual Master, or Messiah to appear and give us all hope.  We have that power right now.  We can be Messengers of Hope in this world.  We can bring hope to our lives, to the lives of our loved ones, and even to strangers.  Let's stay focused on the positive and help others see the light in their lives too.  Let's know that no matter what we or anyone else is going through, "this too shall pass".  Better times are ahead.  Let's bring joy, love, and peace into another's life.  Maybe each one of us could save a life, and together, we can save a world of lives!

Webster's New World Dictionary defines charm as first, a noun: "a quality or feature in someone or something that attracts or delights people" and second, as a verb: "to attract or please greatly; enchant; allure; fascinate; delight."  We have all known charmers; those individuals who seem to always know the right things to say and do to delight others.  People are drawn to them.  They usually have lots of friends and move easily in any social or business network.  Even when they mess up, others often forgive them time and again because they are so charming.  Just as anything can be used negatively, there are examples of people who use charm to control and manipulate.  That aside, charm is a positive quality and a beneficial tool we all need to develop if we are to succeed with people, work, and in the world at large.

So what is your charm quotient?  In this blog I will briefly examine some qualities of charmers that we can use to increase our allure and magnetism.

"Charm is a glow within wo/man that casts a most becoming light on others."—John Mason Brown

Charmers are optimystics.  They expect the best, get what they expect, and inspire everyone else to expect the best as well.  They always believe things will improve and that good is ahead.  Yes, they often wear rose-colored glasses, but sometimes those who wear them see things the rest of us cannot.

Charmers are "uppers" not "downers".  Their presence raises the energy of a group or room.  Other people feel good around them because they are focused on the positive.  They look for what is right, not for what is wrong.  They see the good in others and consequentially cause those others to feel good about themselves.  They see the positive potential in every situation so therefore, they usually find the blessing in any circumstance.

People with charm keep others smiling and laughing.  They use humor to inspire happiness, not as a covert way to put others down.  They laugh with us, not at us.  Anyone who is always playing someone else as the "straight-guy" or making others the butt of jokes is being an ass.  And no one finds that charming.

Charmers also possess tact.  They know how to speak skillfully.  As a writer and public speaker, I've learned that we can get away with saying a lot, if we say it in the right way.  Some people call themselves "straight-shooters".  They call things as they see them and can sometimes be harsh with the facts.  They may speak the truth, but others often don't listen or consider what they have to say.  Why?  Because the "straight-shooting" hits people where it hurts and that makes them close off to the source of the "straight-talk."  Yes, there are times for the bare-edged truth, especially when that truth can save someone from destruction, but that is not all the time!  When we throw some charm and tact into what we say, others will keep their minds open to our words and their hearts open to us.

"There is a difference between beauty and charm.  A beautiful woman is one I notice.  A charming woman is one who notices me."—John Erskine

People with charm understand that interesting = interested.  I once knew a man who exuded charm.  Everyone enjoyed his company.  He made friends everywhere and could fit in anywhere.  Why?  Because he was genuinely interested in other people.  When you talked with him he made you feel like you were the most interesting person in the world.  He gave you his full attention.  He explained to me once that everyone has a fascinating story underneath their masks and if we slowly unwrap the layers, we'll discover the gems inside.  And people really dig someone who invests the time and interest in exploring beneath the surface.

So rather than working to make ourselves interesting to others, we need to practice the wisdom of charmers and become interested in other people.  When we "tune in" to others, they "turn on" to us!

"Interest" brings about other important components to charm: caring, kindness, compassion.  Charmers seem to care about other people.  They take interest in how we are doing and feeling.  We often feel that they understand or have compassion for what we are experiencing.  Caring, kindness, and compassion make up what I call bedside manner.  And this is essential for healers, counselors, and spiritual teachers/leaders.  Most of us have probably had doctors whose bedside manner helped us feel better and others without it who made us worse.  We can learn from that.  We have the power to improve other people's realities and raise their spirits through our attitude, words, and actions.

Take the time to show others that you care.  Check in on them.  Ask them how they are doing.  Ask them how you can help.  But never support anyone's negativity by allowing them to talk endlessly about all their ailments!  Steer their attention to the positives in their life and inspire them to expect the best.

Genuine charmers possess the most important quality of all—love.  They love others and themselves.  They love life and the world in which they live.  Above all else, they stay connected to Divine Love.  They know who they are—Children of Love, so love shines through their faces and expresses through their words and deeds.

Do you want to increase your charm quotient?  Then allow Spirit to move through you.  Become an open channel for Divine Light and Love.  You will find that you not only attract more people into your life, but also a wealth of blessings of every kind.  Charm glows you from the inside and that Light stretches outward to draw to It everything that is like Itself.