Monday, November 18, 2024

In Service, Leave your Thumbprint

Monday's musings begin with a thought towards service. All of us have a gift to give. Whether you are a teacher, a student, a white collar worker or you are in construction, each one of us has special talents and skills we can share with the world. In Service Leave your thumbprint.

November is the month Americans typically celebrate Thanksgiving. Besides the turkey and dressing, what are you thankful for? Better yet, let's think about ways we can be of service to others. 

Historically, the holiday months are surrounded by chaos, strife and anxiety. There are plenty of people who would benefit by your smile alone. If you find you cannot contribute to the toy drive, the soup kitchen, hospital volunteerism, or all things related to the holidays, consider giving energetic service instead or even in addition to concrete services.

Energetic service to others represents the things in life that you can give away that are free. Just as a stone thrown into a pond will have a ripple effect, so do your loving thoughts. Positivity, kindness, joy, understanding patience, appreciation and gratitude are all services we can provide at any moment. As you apply these practices, positive vibes will spread out into the vibrational world and touch thousands in the ripple effect.

Instead of saying "Here I am", say "There you are!" In serving others you serve your own soul. As you step into your own light you will be a beacon of brilliance to others. Be the change you wish to see in the world. In service, leave your thumbprint!

Monday, November 11, 2024

The Flying Fortress

 The Flying Fortress

Tale of a Tail gunner

 On a WWII B17 Bomber

Reading time 2.50



My father was one of the ten men who made up the crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress. At age twenty, he was specially trained for a position as tail gunner. 


Members of the crew were well aware that the first objective of the fighting pilot was to eliminate the enemy and his weapon.


The tail gunner took a kneeling position with his knees resting on padded supports, his legs doubled back. 


Most of these heroes were unaware of the death and destruction they would soon be facing as they flew their fortresses into combat. I cringe at the thought of how Dad must have been overcome by the feeling of fear that went through the minds of his comrades in the cabin of that airplane as they engaged in each death match. 


The reality of war does not reflect the horror forced upon my father and his fellow troopers as their airplane was suddenly stricken and turned in to a burning inferno five miles above the earth.


 It does not detail the heartache of watching a buddy’s aircraft slowly roll over and begin its final plunge to the enemy soil below. Nor can it describe the physical strain of using oxygen in an unpressurized aircraft at an altitude where the temperature dropped to minus 60 degrees.


 These men were not superhuman. Most soldiers were only in their late teens or early twenties. Like my father, many would be reported missing after only a few missions, while others might survive only to be killed on their final mission. They were all living at a time in our history when they had an imperative job to do and many died trying to accomplish it.


My father survived through an emergency escape door just below the horizontal stabilizer as he bailed out of his disabled, blazing fortress. He barely had enough time to secure the parachute on the floor behind him in the aircraft. Although he was captured in Germany and was marched to France He escaped and came home to become my mother’s eventual Valentine. 


This is where his tribute begins. 


A Valentine Vignette


By Julanne Dalke


I rounded the corner of the double bed my parents shared.


“Pull the shade up, will you honey?” my mother asked while ironing the white cotton sheet with her hand.


I slipped my finger through the embroidered ring. Pulling gently, the shade released, letting in the morning sun. Dust danced in the molten air.


A ray of sunshine fell upon a framed photograph of my handsome young father in his Air Force uniform. It put me in a dreamy state.


I fingered the hairbrush Mama used, rolling it over in my hands. The bristles were soft, like the feel of her hair resting against my cheek when she cuddled me. The hand mirror was a perfect match – white embossed with gold. I ran my fingers over the floral pattern as I turned the mirror towards my face and studied my reflection. Pale skin, freckles dotting the bridge of my nose. I squared my lips to reveal straight white teeth I was proud of. Only one cavity this last time!


I put the mirror down and reached for the pink pump of the perfume bottle resting on mother’s boudoir, giving it a squeeze. With my other hand I fondled a cluster of pearls with a clip on the back that clasped mothers ears the night before. I grasped the pink satin jewelry box with its tiny plastic legs and gave it a slight shake. To my surprise, the top popped open to reveal a folded newspaper clipping, yellow with age.


“What’s this mom?” I inquired, unfolding it to reveal a picture of my grandmother standing between two men. One wore a necktie and sports coat. He is smiling looking straight ahead at the camera and shakes my grandmothers hand. Sadly, she looks down at the small open box she carries in her left hand.


“Why, that’s the article honoring your father dear” she whispered endearingly. Grandma is accepting a medal of honor for your daddy from the Senator of Oregon. They call it a Purple Heart.”


A Purple Heart?” I asked, turning my face up to meet her eyes.


“Yes, darling. Your father was missing in action in Germany during the war. Two of his brothers were also missing in action as they were serving in a different military service in Japan. Your father was a tail gunner on a B17 Bomber the military referred to as The Flying Fortress. His plane was shot down. He was able to escape the fire by parachute, but landed in the vicinity of a German war camp. He was captured by the enemy and spent eleven months in that camp as a prisoner of war. The Nazi’s were marching prisoners from Germany to France when your daddy escaped with another soldier. When he came home he only weighed 121 pounds. He lost all his hair. Your father and I were not married at the time but his brothers were. They came home too!”


“How come this is the first time I have heard this story, Mama?”


“Daddy doesn’t talk about it, child, and don’t ask, either. It will only upset him.”


My mother stirred the jewelry box, with her pink painted fingernails, uncovering the packet with the coveted treasure. She handed it to me. Lifting the lid I gazed upon the gold and purple medal with a picture of George Washington framed in a heart of gold. 


Reflecting, I looked around the room my parents shared, noticing the safe haven she created for her sweetheart. Their marriage certificate hung on pink and red wallpaper flecked with felt. The bedspread matched and felt soft beneath my fingers.  It feels like serenity. A picture of a woman carrying a parasol graced the north wall. She strolls through a garden in a park looking nostalgically across a lake. A crucifix hangs over the door leading out in to the hall.


Monday, November 4, 2024

Proud to Announce...

Your Eternal Identity is now available on all online bookstores. Barnes and Noble book sellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the US. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the nation. Every purchase financially supports local, independent bookstores! Bookshop.org, for example works to connect readers with independent booksellers all over the world.

Local bookstores are essential community hubs that foster culture, curiosity, and a love of reading, and I am committed to helping them thrive! 



Monday, October 7, 2024

Amazon's # 1 Best Seller!

 Thank you, fellow travelers, for your support!

I have been having so much fun with the Amazon #1 best seller, Your Eternal Identity, Practicing the Principles of a Spirit Supplied life! which was released on October 2, 2024.

Although writing is a solo sport, it takes a team to create a book. Readers like you foster inspiration that moves out to touch the entire world! Please accept my appreciation and gratitude! 

There are many transformational non-fiction writers who have paved the way for me to learn and grow in my faith. Contemporary teachers as well as those who have closed the door on life and have launched on a new adventure. Men and women from whose array of written resources I have drawn on time and time again. 

I have been a student for life. I first made the agreement to align with the Divine in 1991. I became a seeker when I was introduced to nature. It was in the wilderness where my husband and I first heard the angels sing. It's no coincidence that the area we called home was in The Kings Valley.

My husband has been my lifelong companion through many mental and physical challenges. Heart disease, cancer and partial blindness to name a few. As a result of seeing him struggle, I learned to trust the Supply of all Divine. As you connect to the ultimate Source of help, you realize your full value as a human soul who is constantly evolving.

I have found that my own sense of truth is ultimately the most important element in processing the information I take in from outside sources. It's part of the wonder of being alive. I am extremely grateful for my life experiences, and to my teachers, and students I say, Amen!

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Create a Bridge between Fact and Reality

 It may sound odd, but the fastest way to get to a new and improved situation is to make peace with where you stand right now by illuminating your imagination! Our minds have the ability, by repeating positive affirmations as a mantra employed repeatedly, to create new ideas. The part of the mind that imagines things opens up alternatives and possibilities, and guides your decision making by creating a more favorable scenario.

Many of my feelings about the lack of success were, in fact, my failure to imagine myself capable of change. I soon found out how valuable it is to tap into my imagination. It activates our divine power at its Source. Many times I apply a fictional affirmation to form a more favorable outcome. Always, in first person such as the following statement.

"I have all the power I need to create the destiny I desire. Magic happens when I live in consciousness and my eternal truth."

This practice has served me well. Some call this acting as if something were true until it actually does come true for you! You can, indeed, create a bridge between fact and reality. The imagination has the capacity to revive hope where there was once no escape or reprieve. It opens up alternatives and possibilities and guides your decision making by playing those decisions out in your mind.

I will show you how to apply alternative forms of awareness by activating emotion and imagination. This will support, supplement, and return you to the four principles outlined in Your Eternal Identity. Transformation, Change, Adaptation and Self-realization. You can do it! 

Monday, August 26, 2024

Why Worry?

 Worry is creating a story about what you don't want. 

When writing on walls was popular, I was the first one to dig out my stencil and put that saying right on the wall. As you adjust to new conditions, you are able to make minor changes and attract unique and new situations.

Last week we talked about the differences between Yin and Yang. A yang cycle calls for a more active approach to adaptation toward purposeful maneuvers. You can imagine yourself improving your thoughts with the use of guided affirmations. By adapting to more favorable attitudes and reflections, you will see  small worries fade away. They do not serve you anyway. We all know that the things we worry about to not come t pass 99% of the time!

So why worry? As you affirm that all experiences are valuable and worthwhile for the lessons and growth they provide, you will feel less threatened by the possibility of experiencing pain.

If you can set aside your worries and instead adopt a more positive outlook, you will not only feel lighter and happier, you will actually begin to attract better circumstances into your life. By using your own credibility, you create a new beginning that more closely reflects significant inner and outer change. As you start to pay attention to releasing those niggling states of worry, you can release any resistance to moving through it. Freedom from worry is the name of the game.

Next week we will talk about how easy it is to replace worry with celebration of life. YOUR life! Until then, happy days are ahead!




Monday, August 19, 2024

Yin and Yang - What's the difference?

 Perhaps you have heard of the Yin and Yang symbol. If not, it originated in ancient Chinese philosophy and shows a balance between two opposite elements. The original image shows dark and light portions of half a circle, but slightly overlapping into the other half. Each half describes opposite but interconnected forces and phenomena of life. Examples are typically in pairs, such as day and night, light and dark, hot and cold, good and bad, full moon and new moon, positive and negative and so on. One cannot exist without the other. These elements coexist in all of nature and create duality of our life on earth.

In the book Your Eternal Identity the symbol is meant to represent the need for the balance of opposite forces and change.Yin is black and associated with the moon, the feminine or shadow side of life, such as the mysterious. Yang is white and associated with the sun, the masculine side of life where things are more out in the open. Neither is more important or more powerful than the other. Both are needed in equal parts for harmony to exist.

In the yin cycle, most of the action happens under the radar. This is a great time to adopt a mindset of reflection, intuition and incubation. This allows you to chill out, breathe into your inner energy and listen to the still small voice within. Yin cycles often call you to be passive. I encourage you to be aware of the difference between yin and yang and be willing to be transformed by a readiness to embrace and invite change.

Next week we will look at how we can adapt to newly formed conditions. As you do, you are able to make minor changes and attract unique and new situations that improve your life!