I live relatively close to the GUIDEPOSTS editorial offices in Manhattan, which means I have the luxury of walking to work (or not, depending on the weather, which has been pretty wretched this winter). I almost always walk, especially heading home. 

But last night was special. It was unexpectedly warm. The streets were full of people who seemed full of energy and good cheer.

Couples held hands. Tourists ringed the Empire State Building waiting to be transported to the observation deck for an aerial view of the great city on a night like this. And there was the aroma of falafel wafting from the vendor’s cart at 33rd and Fifth Avenue. But most striking of all it was…still light.

By this time of year I’m used to walking home in the dark. My last blog I bemoaned losing an hour’s sleep to Daylight Savings and scoffed at the absurdity of our attempts to control or change such an elemental thing as time. Who were we to fool with God’s clock? Ridiculous!

Well, I’m not exactly admitting I was wrong but how nice was it to stroll through the streets and still have a little daylight left yesterday?

Combined with the gentle weather it felt transformative; people were laughing, the earth was turning, a new season was emerging and life flowed along. I don’t think I would have felt that way without the extra hour of daylight I’d dismissed as a gimmick just last week. Last night felt a little like rebirth, a blessing of new life.

Today is the last day of winter. It’s also World Sleep Day, when people are urged to get an extra hour’s sleep. Funny, I don’t even miss that hour.

Edward Grinnan is Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of GUIDEPOSTS Publications.

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I don't know about you, but I often struggle with my morning meditation time. I get bored, antsy, have "monkey mind"—swinging from one thought to the next—and sometimes just want to skip the whole thing and get right on with my day.

In her book Spirited: Connect to the Guides All Around You, Rebecca Rosen has some great ideas for quieting down the inner chit-chat. She calls these "Easy-Peasy Meditations" and says they can allow meditation to occur more easily and more enjoyably.

1. Get outside.
Getting out into the fresh air within a natural setting is an easy and spectacular way to calm the mind. Nature grounds us in our bodies and clears our stagnant energy. Whether you sit in a city park or, your backyard, take a hike, or walk along the beach, your mind is likely to stop the constant chatter and allow you to be in the present moment.

2. Take a bath. 
A great way to clear your toxic energy is by soaking in a bath sprinkled with sea salt or any other natural, aromatic scent that pleases your senses. It is a simple yet effective way to melt away anything that might be standing between you and your ability to connect intuitively. (Salt is known to cleanse negative energy and water often enhances our intuitive ability.)

3. Cook. 
Cooking is a love and a passion for many people because it can be so therapeutic and creative. If the kitchen is a positive space for you—a place where you allow yourself to relax and quiet your mind—then make this your meditation space. The next time you are preparing a dish, focus on staying present and open to your intuition.

4. Listen to music. 
For many of us, music has a powerful effect on our spiritual energy. It can calm, inspire, and uplift us. It often takes us out of our left analytical brain and puts us into our right intuitive and creative brain. Take five minutes and listen to a piece of music that particularly speaks to you. Don't use this as an opportunity to multitask, but as an excuse to slow down, quiet your mind, and connect with your higher self.

5. Move. 
When we don't make time to open up our bodies and allow energy to move through us, we tend to get blocked, stressed, and irritable. Inactivity affects our physical and mental health, making it difficult for us to connect intuitively. Physical activity, such as walking, running, hiking, cycling, swimming, rollerblading, weight training, and yoga, are excellent ways to stay centered and balanced. I like to do yoga postures to help me stay focused on the present. When my mind starts to drift to my to-do list, my postures weaken and I tumble over.

"If none of these meditations work for you, then find something that does work for you and do exactly that! There is no right or wrong here. Use your five minutes of daily meditation time to do whatever it is that allows you to feel safe letting go. More than how you do it, what's most important is your genuine intention to quiet your thoughts. Eventually, your mind will slow down, open up, and make room for a deeper level of awareness."

I love the idea of turning my everyday activities into a spiritual practice. I've found that after doing these with awareness, I definitely feel more connected to our infinite source of spirit. I've also found that sometimes I am more in the mood to meditate in the afternoon, early evening, or just before bed, and that's okay too.

If you'd like to have a more spirited day, give one a try and see if your meditations become easier and more natural. Like me, you just might find yourself more effortlessly connecting—and longing for more.

Consider this prayer by Thomas Merton:

MY LORD GOD:
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

There it is, the life of faith summed up in 11 short sentences. Note the progression of verbs. First come the negatives: I have no idea; I do not see; I cannot know; nor do I really know. Then, following a crucial But, faith kicks in: I believe; I hope; I know; I will trust.

That, at least, has been my experience of faith. A long period in the dark followed by gradually strengthening decisions to trust. Nowhere in Merton’s prayer is the promise that such trust will lead to happiness on my terms. In fact nowhere is there promise that I’ll even receive some indisputable sign of God’s reality. It’s blind faith, a caricature. Somehow, though, as Merton phrases it, it sounds right.

Ask yourself, regardless of your beliefs: is there any other way to live but by blind faith? No one knows where they’re going. No one sees the road ahead. No one knows themselves. Just because what you think you’re doing is right—is it right?

We all walk by faith. We all put our trust in something. None of us has perfect knowledge of that something.

I will not fear. That’s my favorite part of the prayer. Lacking perfect knowledge of anything, I choose to put my trust in something that, for all I can tell, is the root of all truth and goodness. Putting my trust there, I do not fear. I wish you the same measure of peace in the darkness.

Jim Hinch is a senior editor at GUIDEPOSTS. Reach him at jhinch@guideposts.org.

“His ears were often the first thing to catch my tears.”—Elizabeth Barrett Browning, referring to her cocker spaniel, Flush

My friend Charlette is battling cancer. Her companion dog, Dolly Dog, a little Chihuahua who Charlette rescued from an abusive home a few years ago, has been, by example, giving Charlette the strength to fight the cancer.

One of our readers, Ginger Gebert of Phoenix, Arizona, sent in a story that reminded me of Charlette and Dolly Dog. Here it is:

Back in 2000, my best buddy, Bandit, an Alaskan Malamute who was at my side for 12 years was just diagnosed with cancer. Within a week, I had my own similar diagnosis.

For one year I focused on Bandit and put my own illness aside. I watched how he faced the pain and weakness of the disease and called him my "trooper." Now Bandit was gone and I was forced to face my battle.

I remembered how Bandit did not worry about tomorrow, nor fret over yesterday; he lived in the moment and enjoyed each one for what it was. Could I do the same? I didn’t think so. My life went downhill. I could hardly get up and out of the house.

Then one day, when I was most down and depressed, feeling there was no one or no place to turn to, I received a call. Two dogs, Bear and Spaz, needed a home. I was their last chance. I thought, "Why not? I’m alone, these two dogs have nowhere to go. I could do this."

I felt a sudden rush of hope, as if God spoke to me, sending two doggie angels, whose pure unadulterated joy in the moment brought back good memories of Bandit.

Their zest for life and constant willingness to share was like Bandit speaking to me. They get me out walking, running and everything feels better.

It’s been 10 years and I’m still holding my own in this disease. I learned so much from my angels, Bandit, Bear and Spaz, and what could be a better blessing than to have them beside me breathing, snoring, being silly, and filling my house with love.

Here are just some of the advantages of animal companionship:

• Lowering blood pressure and stress
• Helping people cope with the loss of a loved one and other major life changes
• Better communication in marriages
• Service animals like seeing-eye dogs help people with disabilities live normal lives
• Helping people cope with cancer, Alzheimer’s and AIDS
• Higher survival rates for people with coronary heart disease
• Better socialization of young children with peers and development of nurturing behavior
• Giving a sense of constancy to foster children
• Improving results for anxious and depressed people
• Therapeutic horseback riding has helped improve balance, posture, mobility, language, and muscle coordination
• Helping facilitate social interactions between strangers and improving social behavior for mentally impaired people and prisoners
•  More recreational activity such as dog walking

You’ll enjoy this great article on the healing powers of dogs. Be well and don’t forget to hug your dog (or cat, or horse, or bird!)

Photo: Ginger Gebert with Bandit, Bear and Spaz

Send in a photo and prayer for your pet!
 
Sharon Azar is an assistant to the editorial staff at GUIDEPOSTS. In her spare time, she rescues dogs and does portraits of furry, feathered and scaled companion animals. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Read more about animal angels in Angels in Disguise.

Here are some riddles. Which of America's national parks is surrounded by water, 70 miles from land, and holds a fort that is the world's second largest masonry structure?
 
I thought I knew quite a bit about our national parks, but if you can answer this one you know a lot more about our national parks than I did—that is, until yesterday, when I traveled for two hours from Key West, Florida to get to it by catamaran, touring the fort and swimming and snorkeling at the coral reefs.
 
The name of this national park? The Dry Tortugas. Tortugas refers to the giant (300 pounds plus) turtles that were once so abundant here that sailors used to haul 30 or so out to their ships and keep them alive for weeks by hanging them upside down on the deck. They treasured having the fresh meat—a rarity for them.
 
Back to that first question...If the Dry Tortugas National Park has a fort (Fort Jefferson, by the way) that is the world's second largest masonry structure, what is the world's largest masonry structure? You know it...just think about it for a minute.
 
That's right. The Great Wall of China. We've all heard of that, but who has ever heard of Fort Jefferson?!
 
Another riddle: Why do they call the islands "Dry?" 
 
The sailors named them this because these coral islands had no fresh water source, and they still don't today. So, if you plan to sail to them, bring your own water! 
 
Another riddle: What bird can you see at the Dry Tortugas National Park that flies continuously, sunshine and rain, windy or calm, day and night, awake and asleep? I'll admit it. I thought this was a trick statement, or a downright lie, or maybe a typographical error at first. But no, there really is a bird that flies continuously for 3 years, snatching its food from the ocean and actually sleeping in flight. It finally lands after 3 years to nest here.
 
Again, if you know the name of this bird, you're way ahead of me. I don't think I had ever heard of it until yesterday. It's called the Sooty Tern.
 
There are more lessons in environmental science and nature than are possible to write here today. Disappointing, tragic things that we humans have done in the past...and also amazing, selfless actions that thousands of people are doing presently to preserve and protect the seas, the fishes, the plants, the wildlife. You can be one of them! More on that next time.

Feel free to email me your environmental tips and questions! I love to read and answer them.

Carol

Reduce          Re-use          Re-cycle           Re-think

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Get inspired with GUIDEPOSTS' monthly collection of true stories from ordinary people talking about everything from living a more spiritual life to pets, cooking, relationships, how to stay healthy and much more! Celebrities like Denzel Washington, Dolly Parton and Dean Koontz share their own personal stories exclusively with GUIDEPOSTS. We guarantee you'll look forward to every issue for its positive lifestyle news. Subscribe now!

Here we go again. Daylight savings time. Spring forward, right? I can never remember. All I know is that we lose an hour of sleep this weekend and that seems massively unjust. I think we can all agree that none of us get enough sleep these days.

But more to the point, who are we to think we control time? Time may be relative but it is not controllable. At least not by us. Time is God’s way of making sure everything in the universe doesn’t happen all at once. If God is anything he is the Great Timekeeper for only he exists outside of it.

Time moves inexorably and in one immutable direction—forward. Physicists call it the arrow of time and there is no real tinkering with it. It is infinitely divisible, even fragmentable, but never stoppable and certainly not reversible.

Yet tinker we do, adding an hour here, subtracting one there. But it is all an illusion, a trick of the mind, like setting your watch ahead 10 minutes so you’re never really late. We are just monkeying around with our clocks, not with time. It reminds me a little of Alice in Wonderland, of which Tim Burton has directed a reputedly brilliant new movie version that I plan to see this weekend, if I can find the time.

All we are doing this weekend is shifting daylight, shuffling the diurnal deck of 24 cards. Yet I don’t think it is the hours that matter. Life occurs in the moment, doesn’t it, where awe and beauty and love and peace intersect? Living life in the moment—which is hard for us humans who are so hyper-aware of time—is a way of living in grace, for every moment of time is its own miracle, a miracle of regeneration and birth, the very tide that sweeps us through life.

There are those who say that far in the cosmic future the universe will succumb to entropy and the second law of thermodynamics, and that everything will stop, even time. Maybe so. Until then, we have the moment.

So forgive me if I ignore my alarm clock and sleep in this weekend—and live in the moment a little longer.

Edward Grinnan is Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of GUIDEPOSTS Publications.

Get inspired with GUIDEPOSTS' monthly collection of true stories from ordinary people talking about everything from living a more spiritual life to pets, cooking, relationships, how to stay healthy and much more! Celebrities like Denzel Washington, Dolly Parton and Dean Koontz share their own personal stories exclusively with GUIDEPOSTS. We guarantee you'll look forward to every issue for its positive lifestyle news. Subscribe now!