Blog Posts from Karen Casey

What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power

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May 31, 2010

Service to the country and one another. . .

I have thought a lot about the sacrifices that so many men and women make in service to this country. And men and women have been making these sacrifices for this country since the revolutionary war. If we were to tabulate the number of those who have died, it would be in the millions. And if we added to that number those who had been gravely maimed, coupled with the emotional toll on their family members, the number would be in the tens of millions. Giving a moment of silent prayer and thanks to all of those men and women and their families seems like suc[...]

Karen's Musings

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May 28, 2010

Memorial Day week end feels like the real beginning of summer.

And our weather here in MN feels like summer too. It's rather nice, actually. When we left Naples a few days ago the weather was hovering near 90 every day so having it in the 80's here is perfect. But what's important about the holiday is that we are remembering those who gave their lives in service for our country. The first official observance was in Waterloo, Iowa in 1866 but the previous year, formerly enslaved blacks observed it following the Civil War in South Carolina. I find it amazing that we can put our differences aside, as is generally the ca[...]

What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power

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May 26, 2010

The view from here is awesome. . .

As I mentioned in my last blog, Joe and I were headed back to MN for the summer months. We arrived safely yesterday but the trip feels longer and harder every year. That may be the advancing age and the fact that we travel in a Ford Escape, a great little car but it's not equipped with all the creature comforts. We may choose another option for getting it, and us, both south and then north next year. But sitting down on our dock this morning, watching the ducks paddle by and the sunnies moving through the weeds beneath the dock made for a pleasant beginnin[...]

Karen's Musings

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May 20, 2010

Moving north. . .

My winter sojourn in Naples, Florida has come to an end. My husband and I head to Minnesota today, with a stop in Tampa for me to do the Hazelden Womens Healing Conference, a program that Hazelden has been offering in various locations around the country for fifteen years. It's really a wonderful program and CEU credits are awarded for attendance. It's always a two day program, a Friday and a Saturday. Check my web site (www.womens-spirituality. com) or the Hazelden web site: www.hazelden.org for dates and locations. It's always with mixed feelings that I[...]

What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power

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May 17, 2010

This too shall pass . . .

I sit here amazed that it's been nearly two weeks since I blogged last. Where does time go? I love to write and I love doing this blog but I have obviously let "life" get in my way. Some times we enjoy the quick passage of time; the dreaded dentist appointment, for instance, if we are facing some work we really don't want to suffer through. Having it over more quickly than anticipated is a blessing. But the broken heart will not mend very quickly, no matter how we approach it. The pain will pass, however. If we are willing to seek the counsel of other[...]

What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power

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May 4, 2010

Who are you listening to ?

I am aware many times every day that I am listening to the louder voice in my mind. That it speaks first, and quite forcefully, is only part of its appeal. It’s familiarity and the way in which it convinces me that I AM RIGHT, in far too many encounters with others, seduces me again and again. It mesmerizes me, in fact. But I am making progress! My ego isn’t the whole of me. I am certain of this. But it claims my full attention when it can. Fortunately, I have learned to take an occasional deep breath, to pause before speaking, and to seek[...]

What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power

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May 1, 2010

Fear can stop us from all growth. . .

The first three decades of my life, fear dogged me constantly because I was always trying to be what I imagined some one else wanted me to be. Or the converse; rebelling against the expectations of others. The love I sought felt conditional so my behavior was always a reaction to some one. Letting others define us, or determine our thoughts or behavior in any situation, never results in a life free of fear. Unfortunately, this had become my well practiced habit from childhood on, but in 1971, while teaching a writing class at the University of Minnesota, I[...]

Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community

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April 27, 2010

Within our relationships we discover who we really are. . .

. . . and it's not always a pretty picture, is it? I have said on many occasions, in many books and at many workshops, that the relationships we have attracted are perfect for the growth we are destined to have in this life. Perhaps that seems farfetched to you. It did to me when I first heard it, but I decided to believe it for lack of any other reasonable explanation for the myriad relationships I endured in the many avenues of my life. I can see now, (hindsight is so revealing) that every single relationship offered me slices of the education I have nee[...]

Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself

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April 23, 2010

Opening our hearts to one another. . .

Because of a piece I have been writing for a workshop, I have been thinking about the importance of having an open heart if we want to heal and help others heal too. Only very recently I found myself in a downward spiral emotionally, a spiral not unfamiliar to me. I have suffered from chronic depression for much of my life. I am happy to say I have received help for it, but I can still wander into the shadowy places if I turn away from the people and experiences God has sent to help me grow. What makes me withdraw, emotionally, remains a mystery but every few[...]

What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power

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April 21, 2010

There are two voices calling to us all the time. . .

I became "a student" of A Course in Miracles more than twenty-five years ago. Along with the twelve steps, which I laid claim to in 1975, my life is quite peacefully guided every moment of the day if I adhere to the principles each offers as the blueprint for contentment. Alas, if only I'd adhere to the principles. They are quite simple, really. Live and let live. One day at a time. Let go and let God. Seek forgiveness for the times we have injured others. Pray and meditate as if our lives depended on it. Claim our powerlessness over others and b[...]