Finding Our Way to Peace

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 3 Comments

We are conditioned in this world to look outside of ourselves for the things we need. In some cases, this is rightly so – food, clothing, and shelter for example. But for the things we need most – contentment, joy, love, and peace – we can only find these within.

Finding our way to peace is solely an inside job. Whereas we may be freer to access the peace that resides within us through a change in the external circumstances of our lives, it is only from within that we can find and deepen that peace. It is also in cultivating our own inner peace that we are able to access the inner resources we need to discern our readiness and make external change when called for.

While peace may only be found within, we continue to seek outside for that peace. We wait and hope for the world and the people around us to change so that we might know peace. We cast our gaze outward for evidence of the manifestation of our prayers for peace. We sit in expectation for the day in which our prayers for peace will be made real.

But the truth remains – those who do not know inner peace cannot be a part of manifesting peace on earth. Conflict and war exist because human beings are not at peace. If human beings knew peace within themselves, then there would no longer be hardship, hunger, poverty, homelessness, or war and the needs of every human being would be met – not just so they might survive, but so they might thrive.

Our own search for peace, however, does not depend on any other human knowing peace. Neither can any other human being infringe on our ability to dwell within (or at least return to) that deep well of inner peace. Our peace is independent of any one else’s peace or lack thereof. We are the sole creator of our own peace.

Creating that peace, however, doesn’t happen overnight. Neither is it a simple task. In order to know the peace that dwells within and to know it even more deeply, we must embark on a deep and arduous journey of inner work.

First, we must create the space in our lives through which we might glimpse this peace. For me, this is my daily spiritual practice. We must create the time and space for our practice and remain diligent and persistent in it.

Then we need Grace. I cannot say how it will happen for you, but for me, Grace arrived in the midst of my practice and showed me a glimpse into my Union with Source. In this experience, everything fell away except for the light of this Union. In this I experienced contentment beyond understanding. This moment of Grace was but a moment, but through that one encounter I have remained motivated to keep going.

The “going” is the arduous part of the journey. The journey becomes our practice and life itself shows us all the places within where we have forgotten Union with Source (what I call “Love”). All comes up for review. The review is ongoing and never-ending. Over and over and in increasingly subtle ways, we come up against all the places where we have forgotten that we are Love – forgetfulness brought forth through our conditioning, past wounds, traumas, etc. In becoming aware of these wounds, we are given an opportunity to heal them. In acknowledging the wounds and inviting their healing, we are again met with Grace, for we are not healing our own wounds, they are being healed for us. Our simple task is to say yes to the healing.

Healing the wounds may be simple, but showing up again and again for them to be healed is not. Our egos and our need to control (a function of the ego) get in the way. We often become impatient with the journey and wonder if it will ever end. It will not – but we must remain diligent, disciplined, and persistent in our task. Yes, we can quit, but as many have discovered, the Universe finds ways to drag us back to the task.

When we are called to know peace, we don’t really have a choice but to continue the search. We continue day in and day out, no matter our mood.  We become angry, frustrated, disheartened, and despairing, but we continue. We continue because our soul will not give us rest, for the rest we ultimately seek can only be found within and the world provides an infinite number of distractions – including the desire for peace in our world.

Human beings will never know peace until we find our own peace within – and that peace begins with me.

Now say this to yourself: “That Peace Begins with Me,” then find and be that peace.

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Wise Council of Elders

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

In a few days I will be turning 60.  Past thirty, I haven’t really cared about age. I still don’t except that I kinda feel like I’m done. Not “done-done,” just without any sort of compass, map, itinerary or plan. What does one do and where does one go when you’ve already done all you set out to do – and then some?

  • I completed a college degree and went back to school for several more.
  • I’ve had many jobs.
  • I got married and divorced.
  • I bore and raised two amazing children who are pretty wonderful adults.
  • I’ve written and published eleven books.
  • I’ve created and taught the curriculum of over thirty separate classes.
  • I’ve guided many through my Magdalene training program.
  • I’ve counselled another many.
  • I’ve created videos and podcasts.
  • I’ve rebuilt my website too many times to count.
  • I’ve made many friends (and left a few behind).

With a few exceptions, I planned for very little of this!  Things came my way with an invitation to pursue them, and I did – with a passion and vigor.

Now, the slate is clean. My books and courses will always be there and available for those who feel so-called, and I don’t feel the call to create any more. I’m always available for counsel. My children will always be a part of my life, as will a handful of friends. Other than that, I have no specific plans, and nothing that is beckoning pursuit.

Instead, all I have before me is the present moment and whatever meets me there. When inspiration to write comes, I follow. I continue to work at my “chop wood carry water” job. And my practice continues to be the central focus of each day – actually each moment of every day, included in that practice are the only words that seem to speak to me now – those of the Tao Te Ching.

Other than that – nadda. Unless we count the dream that occurred the other night:

In the dream, I was shown a seemingly empty room.  The room was rectangular in shape with shining maple-colored floors. As I was being shown the room I heard the words, “Wise Council of Elders,” and then felt a tap on my knee that awakened me to see the truth of the room.  It was not empty but filled with ageless women and men of all races. I immediately came to see that I was one among them. I had always been one among them, only now I was awakened to this truth.

Then I woke up.  I know better than to ponder the meaning of the dream, so instead, I am simply sitting with the invitation and the awareness. What does it mean to be one among the Wise Council of Elders?  I guess time will tell.

My dear spiritual brother Bill Tonnis sent me his most recent song that reflects the sentiments in this blog:

Please enjoy Bill’s inspiring music!

Seeing Beyond Appearances

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 1 Comment

As 2024 draws to a close, I have grown especially fond of the memes that identify this past year as one of the most difficult ever!  I don’t need to get into the details for you to know what I mean. While things could have been a whole lot worse, 2024 was a year I would not choose to relive!  I’m weary. The whole world seems weary.

Despite what we might see on the surface of things: the conflict, the wars, the politicking, perceived division, etc.; a much greater movement is happening. That which has been born out of fear and rooted in power and control is breaking apart. On many days, it may not look like it, but it is.

Perhaps the best way to see this breaking apart is to look at the political conflicts in our world, in particular, the men with large faces and even louder voices who seem to be leading us all toward our own destruction. Interestingly, those who are the most boisterous and who garner the most attention are those who perfectly represent and embody the dying system. These are the men who have thrived in a patriarchal and hierarchical system and who are clinging and grasping after the control they believe they need to maintain their power. Damn the rest of humanity, what matters to them is their power.

While we may look upon these men as our enemies, what if instead, they are the vehicles through which the dying world will finally die so that a new world might come forth. What if, as my mom used to say, “the kitchen has to get dirtier before it can become clean.” What if what seems to be humanity moving backward, we are simply being pulled back like a sling shot so we can be hurled to our new futures?

Things are not always as they appear to be. As human beings, we see our lives and our world through the limitations of our judgment which has been formed by our preferences, previous conditioning, and societal expectations. In order to survive the breaking apart of what has been and the temporary discomfort of that breaking, we have to see through different eyes. We have to lay aside our own judgments and perceptions and allow for another view. For me, this means turning to my highest self (what some might call God) and asking to see the truth beyond the illusion. In every instance where I have asked for help in seeing so that I might understand, I have been surprised at what I’m shown and in that surprise, I have found comfort, along with the courage to keep on existing while the entire world seems to be falling apart.  

As we timidly move toward 2025, let us be open to seeing beyond appearances and to the Love that is ultimately guiding it all.

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Why Do We Celebrate Christmas?

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 2 Comments

This morning while standing in line at the grocery store, the checkout man explained to me that the reason we celebrate Christmas is because “Jesus died for us.” I smiled and nodded, allowing him his personal beliefs while disagreeing with every fiber of my being.

What I always learned and what is true for me is that we celebrate Christmas, not because of Jesus’ death, but because of his birth. Isn’t that why we decorate with nativity sets and sing songs of joy?  Never do we sing about Jesus’ suffering and death on Christmas. Instead, we sing only about his birth – and the great miracle that Mary and Joseph agreed to bring forth in the birth of their son.

I do not believe that Jesus came into the world to die. Neither do I believe his suffering and death was for the sake of our sins, or the forgiveness of our sins. First off, to believe this, I would have to believe that there is such a thing as sin from which we need God’s forgiveness.  If God truly loves us without condition, then what is there to forgive? Yes, we need to forgive ourselves of the shame brought forth from our non-loving actions and we need to do the work of healing from the non-loving actions done to us by others, but nowhere in this do I believe God standing in judgment or condemnation.

Christmas, to me, should be a time of celebration – a time to give honor to a man (and the loving people around him that helped to form him) who came to know his own Oneness with God and in that Oneness, came to know peace. This man, then went on to teach others “the way” to this Union. This was the Truth about which Jesus taught and by which he lived his own life.

It is this Truth that we celebrate on Christmas – the Light that sets us free from the suffering and fear that are the consequences of choosing the human condition. In choosing this Light we are able to navigate the horrors and tribulations of the human experience and still find peace. When we are disturbed by the terrors of this world, through this Light we can see beyond the limitations of our fears and into God’s greater plan, and maybe find comfort. Through this Light we are able to be compassion and mercy for ourselves, and for others. We are able to exercise kindness, understanding, and to celebrate the great diversity of all that God has made.

These are my prayers for you as you celebrate Christmas (or whatever you celebrate this blessed season): That you too may know Love, experience the Light, embody Truth, and like Jesus, become a beacon of Peace and Kindness in a world in such desperate need.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays with Love,

Lauri

What if there was no sin?

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No. I Can’t Help You

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Confession:  I’m a fixer. Part of being a fixer is a gift. The other part is a defense mechanism and a curse.

The gift part of being a fixer is the ability to see what could be improved in an environment so that it might more successfully thrive. It is also the ability to see what could cause a situation, environment, relationship, etc. to fail and to offer course-corrections that would help to prevent that failure. This improvement-oriented gift has been further developed in me through years of education and experience in a wide range of professional fields. Those who have sought me out for these gifts and applied my guidance have benefitted greatly. I have benefitted by applying these gifts to myself.

The fixer defense mechanism, on the other hand, rises up in me when I feel unsafe in an environment thereby triggering my own survival instinct to seek out ways to restore my feelings of safety. With the energy of hyper-vigilance, I seek out the “wrong” in the environment and then I attempt to fix that wrong. These efforts almost always blow up in my face.

The challenge of being a fixer is that there is no clear line between gift and defense mechanism. Often, these bleed into each other, usually resulting in catastrophe – if not for “the other” then most definitely for me. As a fixer, it is sheer torture watching institutions, individuals, humanity, making the same mistakes over and over and over while refusing to apply the actions that could help them.  Many don’t really want to be helped. Even when they ask for help, they may not really want that help. Most often, they are unwilling to take the necessary actions that would help them.

In the past several years, my “fixer” tendencies have come up for review. Where and how are they helpful? When are they problematic? The answer is complicated, but to put it simply:

  1. When someone invites my professional support and guidance, offer it, but with no attachment to outcome. They may apply it.  They might not.
  2. Identify those who continually ask for support but who really don’t apply it and learn how to disengage. It’s ok to say, “No, I cannot help you.”
  3. If they haven’t asked for my professional support, KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT.

The reality is that there are three kinds of people:

  1. those who want help and will do the work to help themselves,
  2. those who say they want help but really don’t,
  3. and those who definitely do not want help.

For my own mental and emotional wellbeing, I have had to learn (and relearn, and learn again) how to tell the difference while also caring for myself when overcome by the frustration and grief that surfaces when witnessing humans walk the path of their own destruction.

(PS: Being a fixer is also a form of co-dependency. Alanon, ACA, and AA principles have proven helpful in healing myself of this pattern. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change….”)

Helping You Help Yourself!

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When We Fail

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 4 Comments

I live in two different worlds: the world of Lauri Ann Lumby – author, spiritual counselor, educator, ordained minister; and the world of Lauri Lumby – office manager for a local arts/dance academy.

Living in the world of Lauri Ann Lumby is easy. Sharing my gifts flows without effort. I am filled and fulfilled when sharing my gifts. The people that receive my gifts come to me because they see value in what I offer and because my sharing helps them in some subjective way. In this world I’m in charge of my time, the environment in which I work, and I get to decide how and with whom I will work.

The world of Lauri Lumby is a challenge. There, my administrative abilities are the focus – not my soul gifts. Here I’m not in charge of the environment or the people. I do not get to chose with whom or how I will work. There it’s noisy, chaotic, and I’m forced to work outside of my comfort zone. My soul thrives in a structured, ordered, planned environment. The world of Lauri Lumby is everything but this.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the gifts I experience living in both worlds. The former feeds my soul.  The latter prevents me from disappearing into my hermitage and in that world, I have gotten to know some truly amazing children and their families. I also find myself nourished by being in proximity to the arts. Finally, the latter pays my rent – something critical for the other world to survive.

The real challenge, however, comes when the gifts of Lauri Ann Lumby try to bleed into the world of the other Lauri. Lauri Ann Lumby sees and knows things. She can’t help but identify growth areas in an individual and in environments. She knows when things aren’t working out and how that might be repaired. Lauri Ann Lumby is improvement oriented. When Lauri Ann Lumby’s improvement orientation is triggered in the world of the other Lauri, things get really uncomfortable – not necessarily for anyone else but for me.

Unless….until….the soul-need to share my gifts goes unmet for so long that it starts to come out sideways. Which it did last night. In a moment of frustration over a pile-up of frustrations, I spoke harshly to a group of students who were not following instructions that I thought everyone understood. I made one of those students cry. ☹

I felt so bad.  I never want to make a student cry.   I immediately apologized and later, I went back and explained to the student that I had taken my frustration out on her over something completely unrelated to her. I’m not sure if she understood, and the damage was probably already done. I hope over time she will forgive me. I hope over time I’ll be able to forgive myself.

Being human is hard. We try our best. We attempt to manage our stress and anxiety. We try to find balance in environments whose dynamics are outside our preference. We try to be honest about our feelings and ask for our needs to be met. Sometimes our needs are met. Often they are not. We then work through the grief, frustration, even anger over needs going unmet. We apply self-care and engage in our mindfulness/stress-relief practices.

But sometimes…..sometimes…..it’s just too much and we lose our shit. Sometimes innocent people are the recipients of the shit we lose.

Being human is hard – especially when you’re already a perfectionist and recovering people-pleaser.

We do our best. We are sometimes successful. More often, we fail. The best we can do when we fail is to seek inside of ourselves, ask ourselves why, and do something to manage that why. Then we apologize and take responsibility for our failure, hoping that in time, the wounds resulting from the failure might heal – our own, and those we may have hurt simply because we are human.

email lauri@lauriannlumby.com to schedule a session.

Lauri Ann Lumby has over twenty-five years of experience as an educator, facilitator, spiritual counselor and soul-guide. She has supported hundreds through her one-on-one guidance, books, workshops, retreats, over thirty online courses, and online community.

Lauri is and author and a poet and has published eleven books including Authentic Freedom – Claiming a Life of Contentment and Joy, and her popular novel Song of the Beloved, the Gospel According to Mary Magdalene.

Lauri earned her master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology from Sofia/ITP University, is a trained Spiritual Director in the Ignatian tradition and has certificates in Adult Education and Psycho-Spiritual Development. Lauri is a Reiki Master Practitioner in both the Usui and Karuna traditions and is an ordained interfaith minister. 

UFO’s Aliens Disclosure

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

One of this week’s top headlines has been about multiple UFO sightings over New Jersey and other places along the Eastern seaboard.  My response to the UFO’s is “Mothership, take me home.” I know I’m not alone in these sentiments.

Many people I know have feelings of not being from here – of not fitting in, of not being like other humans, having sensitivities, etc. that others seem not to have. It sometimes gives me comfort to believe I’m not from here – explaining why I feel so often out of place. I have offered this suggestion to others who have found these thoughts equally comforting.

But what if it’s true?  What if we’re really not from here? What if we were sent here from another dimension, planet, plane, galaxy, universe so that we might help to save human beings from themselves? On many days, it seems like this might be the case.

I would consider this nothing more than a comforting fantasy if I haven’t had sooooo many otherwise unexplainable encounters and experiences of otherworldly beings. This full-disclosure is not something I often share, but it seems with the increasing talk of aliens and UFO’s it might be time.

I have had enough first-hand encounters with non-human entities that I am fully convinced that we are not alone. Further, I am certain that many of us are not fully-human, but are hybrids of some kind from other worlds, perhaps sent here to show humanity that there is another way of being. Case in point: A friend of mine recently shared with me well-documented military proof of other-worldly intervention in what could have been catastrophic human actions – cases where (for example) nuclear arms were inactivated by other worldly means. Don’t take my word for it – do a simple Google search using the terms: UFO. Northern tier. Nuclear Silos.

Evidence like this suggests to me that other-worldly beings are not something to fear but are here and involved for the sake of our higher good. The other-worldly encounters I have had further support this belief. Yes, they were startling experiences, and the appearance of some of these “beings” was so dramatically different than our own that they initially caused me fear.  Once I got past the fear, however, I was able to be open to their reason for reaching out and could receive their messages to me and to humanity. Sometimes (often) the messages are less of a message and more akin to a download – where I feel the energy of information, knowledge, even healing being pumped into me. Sometimes, their appearance was simply to communicate protection and support. I have since learned to welcome their appearance in the same way I would the appearance of an ancestor or an angel. Who’s to say, maybe aliens are the angels the bible and the Quran have spoken of for centuries.

The way in which these encounters have surfaced for me, further convince me that it’s not likely “the mothership” will be showing up as any sort of physical craft. Instead, these beings seem to have the ability to move through dimensions and planes – showing up at the foot of my bed, in my dreams, during meditation, and in any other number of times where the veil between worlds is thin. Sometimes, the veil isn’t thin, they just show up, wanting to be known.  Only once have I seen/encountered a “ship,” but that may simply have been me seeing into a room that is in reality light years or universes away.

Additionally, I have had a few experiences that could be interpreted as alien abduction but as is true of all alien counters, there’s no way to prove it as the only witness there has ever been is myself.

Are aliens and UFO’s simply a function of our imagination? Perhaps we will never know. For myself, it doesn’t matter if my encounters were objectively true. They felt real enough to me to give them credit and to experience the benefits that have come from said-encounters.

To all the aliens among us, including ourselves, thank you for whatever support you have been and continue to bring to humanity. It’s comforting to know we’re not doing this alone and that perhaps there is something out there (or within us) that will keep us from doing further harm to ourselves.

Please, may it be so!

Just Surviving

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 2 Comments

It’s really ok if at this point, you are simply surviving. If the only energy you have right now is to survive, you are not alone. Considering all we have been through as a collective, and all you have personally gone through, the fact that you are still alive, and breathing is a victory.

(Please seek medical attention if your survival is more about clinical depression than just this messed up world, and if you have any thoughts of self-harm, please get help immediately!)

The human experience is hard. For many, it seems the human experience keeps getting harder. It seems there is more violence, hatred, and division, and the things we once  took for granted are no longer.

We can no longer trust our governments (if we ever really could). Corporate greed is eating us alive. Those we once thought to be friends have fallen away. We’ve learned horrible things about each other and have seen humanity at its absolute worst.

We might try to comfort ourselves by thinking things cannot possibly get worse and will soon get better.

Don’t bet on it. As a species we are still on the uphill climb of our collective evolution. It may seem the bottom has fallen out – but not even close.

Perhaps some Divine or Other-worldly intervention will show up and set humanity back on its right path……but many have even given up hoping and dreaming for this kind of support.

We might be on our own. That alone is a terrifying thought. You mean humanity is being left to their own devices? That sounds like a recipe for failure.

But truly, we don’t know. Maybe humanity will suddenly wake up and decide to be kind.

I doubt it.

This, however, does not mean we are doomed. We are only doomed to the extent that we turn away from kindness and turn toward evil. For most of us, this is not a choice.

So we continue on. We breathe. We get out of bed each day (and if not, that’s ok too). We feed ourselves. We pour ourselves a cup of coffee. And we put one foot in front of the other toward whatever tasks are before us and if there are no tasks, we allow ourselves to simply be.

And…holidays are hard. The end of the year is hard. For many, this time of year is a trigger.  Some suffer for lack of sunlight and warmth. Many find themselves alone while others are gathering. We don’t always feel like celebrating and the turning of the new year doesn’t necessarily cause us to hope.

Yet, we survive, and if that’s all we’re able to do, that’s ok. Life is carrying us onward regardless.

Transcending Division

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 2 Comments

Recently I spoke of the perceived division that America has been caught up in for these past many years and the opportunities we have to transcend that division, find common ground, and work together for the good of the all.  To do this, however, we first have to heal the division between us. This may sound like an impossible task, but from personal experience, I can attest that moving beyond division (especially political) is not only possible, the effort is profoundly worthwhile.

Let me share with you two stories from my own life that demonstrate this point…

Before sharing these stories, I should probably share where I tend to stand politically. Based on my social media and other public accounts, some would likely think of me as a bleeding-heart liberal. On some policies, maybe. But in truth, I tend to be moderate-to-progressive while being somewhat left leaning. In an electoral college system, this means that for the past many elections, I have cast my vote for the democratic candidate. That is not to say I wouldn’t vote for a candidate of another party, if their policies were in line with my beliefs and vision of what our country can be. It’s just that for most of my adult life, the democratic platform has more closely aligned with my beliefs.

I should also add that I have many friends and family members, who I deeply love and respect, who tend to vote differently than I. Knowing these individuals and what is important to them, I can (for the most part) understand their choices. Even if I don’t understand them, I can honor their choice. Their vote doesn’t make me love them any less.

Love, as it turns out, transcends division.

Now on to the stories that demonstrate some simple ways in which we can begin to move beyond division as a culture and find common ground…

The first happened sometime after the Parkland school shooting. As you likely remember, there was a loud cry for a ban on guns along with an equally loud cry in defense of the second amendment. In the midst of the outcry, not being a gun owner myself, and really knowing nothing about guns, I reached out to a good friend who both a gun owner and a strong advocate for second amendment rights. I asked if we could meet and discuss all of the above. I reached out to this friend because I knew he would provide me with intelligent, well-researched, and historically accurate information. I also knew that this would be a civil conversation.

It was. He instructed me on the history and original intention of the second amendment. He explained the current gun laws and all the protections therein. We discussed guns for hunting, assault weapons, and handguns – and where they fit into the discussion. In the end, I felt I could make an informed decision about where I stand on the topic of gun ownership. As it turns out, my friend and I discovered we had arrived at a similar position, perhaps with a few nuances, but that we could honor those differences between us.

Perceived division arriving at common ground.

The second conversation was more recent as it related to the 2024 presidential election. I knew of several family members and friends who voted differently than I did. In the midst of a friendly chat, I learned of another friend who had voted in that way. This is one of my closest male friends and I wasn’t surprised about his vote based on his background and life experiences, but I was curious, so I invited him into a conversation. I wanted to know what inspired him to vote the way he did, and he wanted to know what motivated me to vote the way I did. We had a respectful and informative conversation without judgment or condemnation. We both wanted to understand the other because we are friends and care about each other – and that’s what friends do. I think I can speak for both of us in saying that while we chose differently, we could understand why the other chose the way they did and honor that choice.

Differences don’t have to end a friendship.

Admittedly, both examples were conversations that happened between trusted friends who were emotionally mature and could carry on a civil conversation without judgment or condemnation. No one was attempting to prove they were right or convince anyone of anything. I don’t know what a similar conversation would look like with a stranger or with one who appears to hold violent beliefs. If we ever want to heal the division that has been created and imposed between us, however, and work toward finding a common ground from which we can improve our lives, we have to start somewhere.  

WE are the Revolution

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 2 Comments

Whereas I do not advocate for or support murder as a means of getting across a message; an interesting phenomenon has unfolded following the assassination of United Health CEO, Brian Thompson. (For the record, his death is a terrible tragedy. I would never joke about nor celebrate this murder!)

The phenomenon about which I speak is the overwhelming bipartisan outpouring of frustration over the abysmal state of the American healthcare system and the epic greed of the private insurance industry. The almost universal opinion seems to be that the only people whose needs are being met as it relates to healthcare are the CEO’s and stockholders of the for-profit insurance industry. It’s unfortunate that it took the murder of a corporate employee to awaken our collective rage, but for the first time in many years, Americans have found something upon which most (if not all) can agree.

In the frustration over healthcare, insurance, medications, etc. I suggest that we Americans have found common ground. What would happen if we set aside our perceived political differences and got real with the topics that actually matter TO ALL OF US:

  • The cost of healthcare.
  • Access to quality education.
  • Access to healthy food, clean air, and water.
  • The widening economic divide.
  • Adequate and affordable housing.
  • Personal and public safety.

We stand at the tipping point of the American experiment. In the past many years, the powers that thrive upon our dependence have pitted us against each other, and we have fallen for their trick. This division, they believe, is how they will continue to gain power. What they don’t realize is that we have begun to awaken. The outcry over the insurance industry is evidence of this awakening.

I am calling this a moment of hope, and a moment of invitation. We can continue to participate in the perceived division imposed upon us and remain in a state of imprisonment to the system, or we can come together in search of common ground and begin to work on behalf of that good.

When we step away from division and come together, then we will be the revolution the system fears and the one we’ve been seeking. We are that revolution!