The day after Easter was one of those days. It flowed. Everything turned out better than I planned and when I can quiet my INFJ monkey mind, anything can happen! I wanted traditional Easter ham. Mind you, I have never celebrated Easter but I just love that ham. It reminds me of numerous road trips to Virginia and one to Canada, places known for ham extraordinaire. Travel and food are dear to my heart and memories often include a combination of the two. My sister’s mother in-law brings this sweet spiral ham every Thanksgiving and I adore it. I am the kind of person who will decide ahead of time what I will order at a restaurant unless I see something better on the menu. So I arrived at Cracker Barrel ready to dig in. I ended up having ham with 2 order of carbs because cornbread stuffing was the daily vegetable. So I gorged on ham, biscuits, mashed potatoes, stuffing and apple dumpling for dessert. I promise you I did not have dinner that evening and I discovered that I truly require veggies at a meal. I will never order such a heavy meal like this anytime soon.
When I was finished eating, I browsed the gift shop. I was captivated by the variety of yummy foodstuffs, embroidered garments, and charming home collectibles. I just marveled at all the merchandise, wondering why I had not noticed most of these treasures before. Perhaps I am more receptive now. My visit to Cracker Barrel was filling in more ways than one!
Next on my agenda was a trip to Barnes and Noble. Unlike in previous posts, I did not run into anyone I knew. Unless you count Sylvia Browne, that is. I can sense the vibe of a bookstore within a few minutes. Sometimes it is crowded, frenetic, and the books are all wrong. Other times it is hit or miss and a good half hour will reveal some worthwhile reading on the shelves. Yet other times the covers beckon your name and find you. This was one of those times. First I discover the cover story of Time Magazine and am instantly enthralled. It features the importance of shadow in spirituality. Considering that darkness has been a popular topic lately on the blogosphere and elsewhere online, I was curious to dig into this article.I find a solitary chair by a window and sit down, taking in the words like steaming chicken broth on a cold wintertime’s afternoon. My mind was content and my soul was refreshed.
Then I head over to the Spirituality section and see the word Psychic. Lately the word Psychic jumps out at me on a regular basis ( this will be examined again in a future post). Turns out this particular book is Sylvia Browne’s autobiography and one of her few books I have not already seen. I returned back to the lone chair and settled in. I didn’t know she was close friends with the late great Jeanne Cooper of The Young and the Restless. Knowing they may be reunited in another realm made me smile. I became very absorbed in the book. I was so engaged with her tales of psychic development and how her gifts impacted her life. Time was flying but I had a movie to catch. I was a few minutes away from the theater. I was hankering to see Heaven Is For Real , based on a true story about the Burpo family. So I filed away this book for future reference and drove to my next destination…
I have done some reading on NDE’s and was curious how this material would play out on the large screen. I was struck by the performance by Connor Corum, the actor who played the main character, Colton Burpo. There was a positive aura around him; he seemed so buoyant and full of light. His energy is what made the case for the story’s authenticity. I do not know if he actually saw Jesus and the afterlife, but Connor Corum made me want to believe. What was very interesting was at both the start and end of the film we are shown the artwork of Akiane, a young girl who paints her visions of the afterlife. Akiane’s experience was followed a few years ago by CNN. The tie in between Akiane and the Burpo’s story gave me pause about what is revealed in patterns and synchronicity. While the film lacked awesome special effects or riveting dramatic scenes, it made me think and my heart opened.
An open heart gave way to a day of flow. The day of flow also encouraged my heart to open wider. From ham and stuffing to psychics and heaven, it was an extraordinary, yet ordinary day.
References:
http://time.com/66260/barbara-brown-taylor-new-book-faces-the-darkness/
http://www.sylviabrowne.com/p/Psychic:-My-Life-in-Two-Worlds/29597.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1929263/
header image by wikimedia.org
litebeing chronicles 
Reblogged this on litebeing chronicles and commented:
I dedicate this post to Anthony Bourdain on his birthday today. He would have been 62 years old. I chose this blog because it chronicles an ordinary, yet extraordinary day filled with food, reading, cinema, and exploration.
LikeLike
What a wonderful day you had Linda.. My kind of day… Good Food and Good reading finished off by a good film…. I just got lost in the video of that remarkable young lady who I had not come across before.. Akiane, I have never seen such talent in one so young.. Her art is beyond beautiful, Her gift as being self taught is Amazing!… ..
I hope you enjoyed your film.. thats one I had not heard of either!.. I must get out more! LoL… 🙂
😉 xxxxx
LikeLike
It was a simply great day and fed my stomach. intellect, heart, and soul. 🙂
Akiane is awesome and to be honest, her inclusion in the film had a lasting impression on me. As art lovers, we need beauty to live and her work is absolutely stunning. I hope more people will know of her. Clearly a lightworker child.
love, linda
LikeLike
“An open heart gave way to a day of flow. The day of flow also encouraged my heart to open wider.” Wonderful! Enjoyed so reading about your flow day.
It also makes me smile because I´ve been using the affirmation of being in unconditional flow recently a lot (that is, letting go of all the remaining subtle conditioning, that I can be in the flow if: I´m good, perfect, worthy…). Being in unconditional flow today, this week, this month, this year, this life! A good and happy life naturally belongs to me (and to anyone who wants the same). Today before I saw your post I was even thinking about writing a little post on the subject. 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Deelia,
What a great affirmation! And always wonderful to hear from you. Being in flow still surprises me unless I am practicing mindfulness or some form of meditation. Yet I see more and more that getting out of my own way is key.
I would love to read about your experiences with flow. BTW there is an interesting book out called Flow. I have only read some of it, but it is interesting. Eckhart Tolle also covers it well. I am watching his series with Oprah on tv now on The New Earth.
xx Linda
LikeLike
Hey Linda,
Once in a while it’s curiously comforting to come across a post that shares with the reader a reflective narrative of a simple and unfussy type of a day: a few hours spent just being idly led by the gentle pulse of impulse without the demands of time. In many ways such a day is what life should really be about.
Naturally enough, your inquisitive and thoughtful mind led you in part to consideration and fulfilment in matters of interest to you, and that in itself offers insight and depth to the recounting of your flowing day. I like the way you ‘romance’ a bookstore by inviting titles to tease and tempt your senses….but of course, ‘books’ inevitably find their rightful owner eventually: the Time Magazine article naturally being no exception, the darkness of shadow always seems to offer an alluring, fascinating and infinite depository of meaningful and seductive material.
I also spent a moment or two following some of the links you included at the foot of your post and enjoyed the rewards of such an exercise as well. They brought me gently in touch with new frontiers of knowledge and extended the enjoyment of your writing.
As for cracker-barrel ham…there is no finer ‘day-off-from-life-to-live-in-the-flow’ meal than ham, egg and chips.
DN – 05/05/14
LikeLike
Sometimes Dewin I find your comments to be even better than my posts and this may be one of those times!
I really like when people do take the time to follow some links and do some exploration. My day was not totally random but within the blueprint I was able to find my way into spaciousness and let things be. And that is where the magic happens!
LikeLike
Thank you Linda, kind and generous as always. 🙂
The spaciousness that you mention can sometimes be as elusive as it is mystifying, magical and regenerative, and yet one doesn’t need to always seek out an expansive stretch of forest or walk alone along an isolated shore in order to find it. And for me this is really the fundamental charm and essence within your post…that a sense of playful detachment and/or psychological dislocation from the hustle and bustle of contemporary life can be found whilst addressing the simple pleasures in life and allowing sensuousness to determine the moment without thought demanding an enquiry. At its heart, this is possibly the principle lesson I have come to appreciate more readily from reading (widely) through posts such as this and others within your close-knit community of friends: that the mind relishes the stimulation of a perpetual learning curve, but every now and then one has to stop the clock long enough so as to breathe a little and let the heart dance to the sounding beat of a feint and distant drum. 🙂
Namaste Linda
DN – 05/05/14
LikeLike
p.s. we read an SB book a few years ago. it was about how she works her magic. too bad about her a. castro debakcle and her untimely passing soon after. i wonder what shes doing beyond the grave? if anyones having a good afterlife, its gotta be her, right?
HU,
O&OM.CO.
LikeLike
a castro debacle? I always wanted to meet her. She wasn’t perfect but she was good 🙂
LikeLike
linda and dex-
omg that ham looks so good. like im hungry right now. ill eat it with these matrix eyes. ill have to share with odie of course. which i guess i dont mind too much.
-hugs unlimited,
o and om co.
LikeLike
sure, make yourself a sandwich for yourself and put some in Odie’s bowl.
hugs galore, the team from l&d unlimited
LikeLike
Hi Linda,
Paul and I are looking forward to seeing Heaven is For Real. Thanks for the review!
I am also fascinated by NDEs. No matter what they portend for our future, people who have experienced them seem to be at peace and very much transformed.
Xxx
Debra
LikeLike
Let me know what you think. I did not go to see the film because of the book, which looked boring, but because I wanted to see how this topic would be portrayed in film.
NDEs are another mystery to me, are they purely brain based or is there a commonality based on an astral trip?
LikeLike
Sounds like a lovely day Linda. “The Young and the Restless,” a show I was an extra on twice and my best friend used to be a regular for awhile.
LikeLike
It was Sindy. There was an ease about it. Love Y&R, could call it an addiction. Perhaps i knew some of the actors in a past life. Apparently I know an extra in this life and her best friend was a regular so not far fetched I suppose..
LikeLike
See! lol Yes~ We are connected sister~
Love you!
Off to Wellness fair!
LikeLike
A day in the flow…couldn’t agree more, there is not a better feeling than such days.
LikeLike
agreed!
thank you for your presence here and your comment 🙂
LikeLike