It's good to be here

[mjmbini]

By way of introduction . . . I was raised Catholic but started having my doubts in my mid-20s. However, I got married in the church and had two children baptized, so I just kept going through the motions.

Now that I'm approaching 50, I feel a need to be true to myself . . .

I was first introduced to the Prophecies while I was corresponding with a friend serving in Iraq. We had gone to HS together and reconnected through Facebook. That was three years ago. He was also raised Catholic and encouraged me to read it "with an open mind" which I did. It makes me a little sad because we IMed often and I thought we were very close friends. A couple of times I asked him if he would still have time for the friendship after he got home and he assured me he would.

Of course he didn't. He was using me while in Iraq because he was bored and lonely. Now he can't even take the time to answer the phone, a text, or an email.

Where was I going with that? Oh, the book rang true to me, and now I have no one to discuss it with. I looked for a local discussion group but could find none, but fortunately for me, I am very happy to have found this forum.

The two things about the Prophesies that intrigue me the most are "coincidences" and putting love out into the world. As for some of the other concepts, I may have glossed over them or didn't really relate to them at the time. I have only read the first book, and I need to re-read it. I just picked up "The Celestine Prophecy: An Experiential Guide" and I'm sure it will help too.

That's it for now. . . I won't bore you with my kids, all my career changes, my hobbies, etc. It's good to have found you all and I look forward to getting to know you better.

Mary

[susanmtns]

Mjm, I don't want to minimize how that made you felt. I do think this is typical of soldiers in war, especially this resource war. These soldiers know they are coming home to no jobs, unlike previous wars.

It is a learning curve for sure to learn with whom to share our ink. I use the phrase, "you are the gift and it isn't their birthday" to remind people not to give themselves away. It is easy to with e-mail and letter writing. By putting the attention on yourself and realizing all the conditioning everyone has in this culture I would let the soldier just be who they are. Clearly, you are in a very different place. Sometimes people come into our lives to teach us something and move on.

I think the goal always is to free the mind from all the conditioning with which we have been socialized. Few teach us to examine our culture. The media definitely encourages following the crowd.

Thanks for writing. I look forward to more insights from you.

Susan

[mjmbini]

Thank you, Susan.