Do we change as we get older or do we stay the same? There are many possible answers to this question and maybe there's a unique answer for every person who makes it into retirement.

This year, on my birthday, I joined the ranks of old geezerdom. I don't feel any different than I did before, and I didn't even realize I had attained that distinction until a friend a year or two my senior welcomed me to the ranks.

(chanting) O Lord Hear My Prayer

Sometimes knowing you have a choice isn’t obvious. Sort of, “What, I can choose?”

I do not read the newspapers, nor watch the news.

I choose my reality.

I sometimes imagine myself in a place of turmoil like Jerusalem. I stand there, eyes closed, with ripples of “illumination” going out from me, as if a pebble were tossed in a pond. Every second, going out hundreds of miles.

Then, at the same time, I picture myself in the center of China, doing the same.

Whenever I hear that someone is not well, I immediately, within 10 seconds, say “Thank you for allowing assistance for that person.”

I am talking to God, to the Presence, if you will. Notice that I am not asking but trusting.

If someone is complaining, say about their job or another person or whatever, I listen, but keep repeating silently to myself, “Thank you for showing me the truth. Thank you for showing me what they are “really” saying.”

Birds singing, trickling water, crickets humming – I’ve found these sounds to be powerfully healing.

I use muscle testing, also known as kinesiology, to see the healing power of sounds, measured on a scale of 1 to 10.

The crows, the hawks and the sparrows all – all birds – the peacock, the gentle “cooaw cooaw” of the chicken – these all give a power of 10 healing sound.

And trickling water too. I am always drawn to tickling water, in a fountain, in a brook – so meditative, so healing.

I guess I’ll start from the beginning. I always loved horses growing up.

When I was 17, I got a job. I saved my money and I bought one. She was 11 months old.

She didn’t know how to be a horse, and I didn’t know how to be a rider – we changed though.

Well, 15 years later, my mom was very sick. I worked 2 jobs trying to keep the horse, and keep the family together, because I had to cook and clean.

It broke my heart to have to sell that 15 years old, but I had no problem selling her.

I got $3000 for her and I paid $150.

In summers, during most of high school and college, I worked in a summer camp. My assignment was, pretty much, to protect and entertain a cottage full of three-to-five-year-olds. It was such fun that I decided I’d like to teach children as a career.

After graduating from the university, our certificates covered: nursery, kindergarten, and grades 1-8.

As luck would have it, before graduation I was hired to teach in my hometown. The year was 1969, a year of many problems and few jobs. So this was a blessing.

What’s that sound
The sound of my dog
Missy as she is howling and growling away
playing with her toy
Having such joy with this stuffed animal
Is the sound ferocious?
is the sound she is making an expressing
Delight
Frustration
fun
there are so many sounds we hear in life
And the meaning we put behind the sound
And the expression of the sound
I can tell she is having a lot of fun
Running around
Enjoying this toy of hers
Just having a really good time
Getting up in the day
Appreciating her meal
Her time with me

When my cat heard about the number of dogs featured on Heart Speak, he demanded equal time.
My cat, Ollie, is 19 years old. In cat years, that puts him well into contention with Warren Buffett. Ollie is at least as wise as Buffett, too.
My cat and I talk to each other a lot. Although I'm not very fluent in cat language, he seems to understand me very well. And I certainly understand him. Whenever he's feeling hungry or lonely, I know exactly what to do.

Multi tasking
Can you really do several things at once
And be good at it?
Or does it make better sense to do one thing at a time?