Courage Under Fire

I recently rewatched a movie called A Few Good Men. Essentially, it’s a military trial of two young Marines for the death during a hazing of another Marine, one who was judged as being “weak.” While the two were found not guilty of murder, they were both dishonorably discharged. The most important line, in my opinion, and perhaps the core moral of the whole story came at the end. One of the Marines couldn’t understand why they were discharged, since they were following orders. The other Marine responded, “We were supposed to fight for people who couldn’t fight for themselves. We were supposed to fight for Willie.” In other words, we’re supposed to protect those who are weaker than we are.

This past year has been a challenge for those of us who are committed to stepping aside from judgments, fear, and the hate generated by that fear, and, at the same time, avoid going numb to the appalling events that are happening all around us.

How do we do that? For me, it has been a struggle. There is that innocent child within who sees those who are powerless being ruthlessly bullied, beaten, and imprisoned because of their very vulnerability. Right now, it seems to be anyone who looks like they are “immigrants” from dark-skinned countries. Tomorrow it could be anyone: women, LBGQ, Oriental, etc.

I continue to practice self-forgiveness to make sure I am not carrying any shadow of the fear and judgment that create these events. And I follow with Gratitude Practice. In between times, I remember that, as much as I think I’d like it, I am NOT in charge of anything except my own reactions or responses to the events I sometimes feel I’m drowning in.

Quan Yin reminds me often that there is only what she calls Perfect Love, and that I am to look through the events and focus on the Perfect Love that underlies, supports, and creates everything and everyone. Again, a difficult journey, and yet, one which has beautiful consequences. I can watch the abominable events happening all over the world and let them be part of the unfolding of a new dimension wherein love and kindness, equity and generosity are prevalent in our relationships with all of the “mirrors” the world is made up of, referring to Quan Yin’s teaching that everything outside of you is a mirror of something that is inside of you.

Does it work? After many years of these practices, the answer is yes – for the most part. How do I know? I have compassion and care for those who are suffering abuse, and their bullies, without falling into anger, judgment, or condemnation of any of the parties. I can, and do, send love, send light, send thanks that they are all acting out those shadows and fears we are being called upon to heal and put aside so we can truly be present as creators and created in a new level of consciousness that Quan Yin and I are calling Fifth Dimension Consciousness. A new cycle of life on a higher vibration.

With practice, patience, awareness, and love, we can and do create in each moment a world that we all are wishing and praying for. A world based on love and joy.

Blessings,
               Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Spring Equinox

I thought to stand upon the Hermit’s hill,
Hold high the beacon
And o’er light the path below.
Instead, I am the Hermit’s star,
The light within the lamp,
Suspended from th’ Eternal’s hands.
ct: 10.9.84

Welcome to the spring equinox! The equinox marks the beginning of spring and the end of winter, bringing with it the energies of balance, (day and night are about even), renewal, rebirth, and the awakening of new life. This is a very sweet time when we can take a moment to evaluate, or reevaluate, the projects or goals we set as we lit our candles at the winter solstice.

While I’m not particularly a fan of creating a step-by-step plan to accomplish a goal, it is important to have an idea of how you will successfully complete a project or reach a stated goal. So, how do we get from point A to point B?

In thinking about this process, I am reminded of conversation I had with a therapist friend of mine a very long time ago (1974). He asked me how I would go about plotting a course that would take a plane from San Francisco to New York.

I replied that I would determine the latitude and longitude of San Francisco and of New York, then draw a line from one point to the other on a map. I noted that, although it looked like a straight line, it most likely was a curved one, since the earth is not flat like the map.

He agreed with me, and then went on to explain exactly how the plane actually flew from point A to point B. Every 5 minutes the navigator would take a sighting on the end point (New York) and tell the pilot how much correction had to be made, and in which direction.

I started to laugh! You actually fly a zig-zag course across the states? “Yes!”, he said. They needed to take into account the winds and currents, the actual speed of the plane, etc., each time they flew.

I asked if boats and ships did the same thing on the ocean. “Yes!” Once again, there must be an accurate replotting of the course to account for currents and winds encountered in real time.

So this month, take advantage of the energies available with the spring equinox and the last month of lent. Take a bit of time to check if you are “on course,” so to speak, to accomplishing your goal. Do you need to tweak your direction or process here and there to continue to move forward to successfully complete your goal or project? Very often the goals we set for ourselves in December are generalized (I want to learn to love better, or forgive more completely). This time of the equinox is a good time to redefine a generalized goal into something more defined or more specific, and therefore easier to recognized when completed.

As each of us is learning to navigate the challenges of transforming the principles of fifth dimension consciousness so we can continue to interface with a third dimension world in transition, we are well served to take time during this equinox to find balance and renewal in our personal, mental, emotional and spiritual lives.

Happy Equinox!
                    Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

A Month of Valentines

The memory of love reaches through time and echos through eternity,
the overtones of a long-ago,
gently or raucously plucked string.

A glimpsed face,
a hint of smell,
a distant note heard,
the heart opens, warms, flourishes,
and beats once more in time with love.

Recognized by the Soul-Self,
merged,
balanced,
reflecting the loved one,
love blooms once again,
if even for only a brief moment, suffusing life with joy.
ct: 1/10/24

The great commandment from Christianity:
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”
Matthew 22:37-40

How much easier it seems to love your “neighbor**” before you love yourself. While it seems so, it is not so. Quan Yin teaches us that we can truly only treat others (our neighbors) as we treat ourselves. While we may be able to overcome our own self criticism and extend kindness to others, it wears thin, is not sustainable, and carries with it an underlying energy of criticism and judgment, and comes across as being inauthentic – which it is.

**“neighbor”: From my perspective a neighbor it is every person: intimate and/or family relationships, the folks who live in your neighborhood and community, and every one who you pass by on the street and in the stores.

I have a Valentine challenge for us all.
For the next 28 days, set aside your self-judgments, self-criticisms, and self-demolition, and replace them with self-kindness, self-graciousness, and self-love.

Use one of the following re-written versions of the great commandment each week.

1. Be generous to yourself in the same way you would be generous to your neighbor.
2. Be Gracious to yourself in the same way you would be gracious to your neighbor.
3. Be Kind to yourself in the same way you would be kind to your neighbor.
4. Love yourself in the same way you would love your neighbor.

When you do, your neighbors, as well as yourself, will benefit greatly, and the world becomes your Valentine.

Blessings,

Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Memory

It’s January. A new year and a new cycle of experiences, the fodder of which memories are made.

Memory is an interesting connector between present and past. I watch a line of brown pelicans skim just above the water and, like magic, rise up over a breaking wave, wings beating in time, a single mind guiding the flock. Chuck E is standing beside me under a warm sun explaining the aerodynamics of their ability to fly so close to the water and avoid getting splashed by the cresting waves.

I drive to Nepenthe’s for morning coffee and then on to the waterfall. Elizabeth is with me sharing the awesome beauty of the Big Sur coast. I wander through the shops, knowing how happily she looks at everything, every new discovery.

I sit in my car at the bay on a Saturday afternoon. Maria is with me sharing a visit and a lunch of Costco Polish hot dogs and iced tea.

I watch The Music Man. My grandson William is snuggled beside me in my big chair as we sing along with all of the songs, not a word or note missed by either of us.

I make a “long drive” south to Ragged Point, or north to Half Moon Bay, along the coast or wandering through the mountains. Mama is with me. Sometimes we silently enjoy the scenery, sometimes sharing our thoughts and feelings, our joys and fears, our gains and losses.

I see my Christmas tree piled high (or not so piled high) with wrapped presents, or sit down to a formal Thanksgiving Day dinner with china and crystal (or a solitary feast with my good dishes and crystal on a tray), and whole generations of family are there with me. Grandma Peaches, face flushed, asking for more “gramma’s gravy” (brandy sauce) for her soggy slice of fruit cake. Grampa with the newest baby on his lap, face smeared with mashed potatoes. Dozens of stockings hung across the fireplace mantle reflecting the sleeping bags lined up on the floor, and all of the cousins are there!

I walk the path along Pacific Grove, happy to get a hot cappuccino. Cousin Eric is there and I’m asking, “Why do all the men in our family die of heart attacks?” and he answers, “The women they marry?”

I sit as we light our candles for the coming year, sharing this ceremony with people I love and serve and who make my life rich, and I’m surrounded by the presence of everyone with whom I have shared this ceremony over the past fifty-five years.

No wonder I’m seldom, if ever, lonely. Those people I love are with me every day, connected to my daily activities. I am, indeed, blessed.

Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

ONLY A BABY CAME

Only a babe to bear the shame,
Only a babe with love his name,
Only a lowly, holy baby came.
– Only a Baby Came by Natalie Sleeth

It is through the music of Christmas, old and new, sacred and secular, traditional and avant-garde, that the magic and mystery of the birth of the child stirs and fills my heart.

While this seems to be exclusively a Christian story, I believe it is a retelling of the ancient stories crafted to teach the deeper spiritual meanings of the winter solstice celebrations observed by many cultures for centuries before the advent of Christianity.

This year, it occurred to me to explore the story as I explore the deeper meanings of my dreams. From a gestalt perspective, every person, every physical item, every action is a facet or symbol of some part of the dreamer. Yes! You are the child, the manger, the animals, the angels, the shepherd, and the maji. You are even King Herod, who ordered every child under the age of two to be killed in an effort to protect his power.

I work with my dreams using a gestalt method, meaning that I have conversations between the parts! For me, it all adds to a deeper understanding of myself, and enriches the wonder and awe of the birth and rebirth of love and of faith in the universal cycles of life.

My solstice wish is that you also discover the wonderous baby, with “love his name,” within you and welcome them into your life with joy.

Happy Solstice,

Counting Your Blessings

When I’m worried and I can’t sleep,
I count my blessings instead of sheep,
And I fall asleep counting my blessings.

Irving Berlin

As we are more fully engaged in this transformation from one level of consciousness to another, it can be very difficult to remember how much there is to be thankful for.

While gratitude practice (“Thank you for everything, I have no complaints whatsoever”) is a powerful tool, it can often be far too eneralized. Perhaps we could all move through this month, which is dedicated to giving thanks, by taking a few moments at the end of each day to write down one positive thing for which to be thankful.

By “positive thing,” I mean something like, “I’m thankful for the sun today,” rather than, “I’m thankful it isn’t raining.”

The process of stating “I’m thankful for…” (or “Thank you for…”) can create a sense of well-being, of expansion, and of contentment that becomes a foundation from which to live in joy over the next few months of winter.

By the way, I’m thankful to be an active partner in this spiritual community!
                                                       Blessings,
                                                                        Charlotte

                                                           Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Harvest

As we move through this autumn season into winter, the journey from summer’s warmth and light into winter’s cold and dark, it is upon us to gather the last of the summer harvest to put by what we will need to sustain us as individuals and as community throughout the long winter. In addition, it is time to evaluate what has served us well as an individual and, again, as community. It is time to preserve and lay by the seeds we will plant in spring that will provide us another year of life.

My mind, as always, turns to seeds of kindness, gratitude, forgiveness, delight, joy, laughter, and as always, love. Similar to the old legend of Johnny Apple Seed, I will be scattering the seeds of love wherever I go, and to whatever catches my attention.

If, however, you find it difficult to spread the generic kind of love offered in the Bible as “love your neighbor as yourself,” sow the seeds of steadfast kindness instead. I tend to see kindness as compassion in action. It nurtures and sustains life in positive ways that are far-reaching and long-lasting.

What is the harvest that will nurture and feed you through winter? What are the seeds you plan to preserve and plant in the coming spring? Whatever they are, thank you for joining me in this beautiful and ceremonial time of fulfillment, commitment, and gratitude.

Blessings,
                   Charlotte

**Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:31, and Matthew 22:39 The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha.

SOMETIMES

Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning. I can’t breathe, caught in the undertow, dragged out to sea, and am drowning in an unending ocean of hate.

Sometimes I feel battered and bruised, skin torn, bones broken, helpless, unable to move or run; beaten by the cudgels of unending lies.

Sometimes I feel numb, frozen in time, wondering if I will survive the lightning strikes of fear engendered by bullies.

Sometimes I feel betrayed, kidnapped, chained to the walls in the darkest of prisons, disappeared, by corruptive power.

Sometimes I want to rage, to kill, to destroy, to sob in hopeless despair at the utter and overwhelming unfairness of the events I am witnessing every day.

Sometimes I feel abandoned and wonder, where is God, where is human kindness, where is love, where is generosity, where is compassion, where is rightness and fairness?

And then I hear the quiet voice of Quan Yin.

“Everyone is doing and being exactly what they came here to do and be.”

And my heart quiets, my mind stops, I breathe, come to my own inner peace, and hold Light once more.

Blessings,
                 Charlotte

Written on June 30,2025

Edited by Monique Hunergardt of MoReadsYou.com

What Are You For?

“I know what you’re against. What are you for?” This line from South Pacific has been ringing in my mind since the Summer Solstice. As a result, I’ve come to realize, or maybe remember, that the best way to say NO to what I don’t want, is to say YES to what I do want.

For instance, instead of attending a protest to declare what you DON’T want, go to a march, a gathering, an assembly, a meeting, and commit your presence, mind, heart, and energy FOR something. Instead of holding a sign and chanting “No King,” hold a sign and chant “YES democracy,” or “YES DEI,” or “YES fair taxes for all,” or “YES women’s health rights.” You get the idea.

While it’s easier to stand up against something, and certainly easier to energize a crowd against something, the energy of NO is all too often based in fear, and certainly anger. The energy of YES is based in hope, visions, and possibilities for the future.

I was taught three basic maxims while I was training to be an energy healer, which I think can help make this change from no to yes make sense.

Maxim One: What you focus your attention (energy) on is what you manifest, create, or sustain. From a practical point of view, when you put your attention and energy on trying to eradicate what you do not want, you are, in fact, feeding that same situation or behavior. If you want to manifest or create something in your life, focus your attention and energy visualizing what you want, and, lo and behold, it actually manifests.

Maxim Two: The biggest aura wins. If you want to change, negate, or weaken an energy field, you must create a bigger field at a different vibration, and absorb the original, or smaller, field. You and I might think of changing an energy field as moving it to a higher vibration. However, we’re currently feeling and seeing the results of the bigger field being of a lower vibration, which is why so many basically caring and loving people are acting out rage and destruction.

Maxim Three: With the addition and inclusion of each individual, the combined energy field grows exponentially (1+1=2 to the 10^th power). Gathering in groups to march, meditate, heal, etc. creates a huge wave or field of energy of the same color, or vibration, and a focused energy which feeds and impacts what it’s focused on. Those who do energy healing, or prayer work, use this energetic physics to heal, both in person and at a distance.

While I’m speaking of energy fields, we must realize that the policies and laws that are put in place ARE fields of energy. They are extensions of a huge field of energy, and manifestations of that field. They impact us simply because they are “law” and we continue to feed them by either fighting against or agreeing with them. To change them, we must work within a large community whose energies and visions are focused on what we wish to see come into play. Essentially, we must know what we stand for, hold that shining vision in our conscious minds, and lead with our hearts.

I hope you’ll join me as I make this transition from fighting against to standing for!

                                                        Blessings,
                                                                          Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Freedom and Responsibility

Today July 6, 2025:

As I watch the freedoms of the First Amendment being daily and unashamedly denied as policy and law, I think it’s time to, perhaps, remember what we’re seeing destroyed. I wrote this article in 2017, and it’s even more important today.

From July 2017:

Freedom without responsibility becomes tyranny. This is a pretty flat statement from me with no ifs, ands, or buts. It is what I see happening too often and which I find more and more disturbing.

The First Amendment (freedom of expression and religion), which is constantly being batted about as the excuse for almost anything nowadays says:

            “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Freedom of speech without responsibility becomes lies, propaganda, invective, castigation, rhetoric, blame, scapegoating, demeaning, rabble-rousing, and incites violence.

Freedom of religion without responsibility breeds bigotry, dogma, intolerance, prejudice, and radical fundamentalism. It is without grace, compassion, or a true moral compass, and leads to abuse and war.

Freedom of assembly without responsibility unleashes riots, with people and property damage.

If we, as a people and as a country, are going to reverse the course of self-destruction of all we say we hold dear, it is imperative that you and I treasure our freedoms, freedoms so hard fought for and so dearly won, by our responsible and well-considered use of them.

Share what you feel and think instead of lashing out or blaming someone else.

Follow the religious or spiritual tradition that keeps you right with yourself and allow your neighbors to do the same.

Gather together to say “no” when needed and offer your own creative ideas on how to make the changes needed.

LISTEN! Respect other ideas, opinions, perspectives, experiences, and viewpoints.

When we act in this manner, we are, once again, a true example of Freedom of Speech, Religion, and Assembly.
                                                       Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com