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"Let nothing trouble you,
let nothing make you afraid.
All things pass away.
God never changes.
Patience obtains everything.
God alone is enough." (St. Teresa of Avila)

Dreaming of Siberia

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Ever since I read Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, I have been dreaming of a place that for most people is mainly associated with extreme weather, heavy snows and prison camps. Siberia. A place in Russia situated between the Ural Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. A land of endless snow and ultimate coldness. A scary place. At the end of the novel, the protagonist, Raskolnikov, confesses his crime and is sent to a Siberian prison for punishment. Sonia, his girlfriend, follows him because she had promised to follow him up to the end of the world.

Siberia has got a special significance for me. I often dream of it at night and secretly long for it during the day. It means so much more than all the things that make people dread it. It is the land of endless snows and heavy frosts, but also a land of redemption, the symbol of a fresh start, of a new life and a new beginning. Although associated with prisons and exile, it is, in a way, a symbol of freedom. Spiritual freedom. The freedom Christ has promised us. “The truth will set you free”.

It is the centre of the labyrinth, where we suddenly realize the monster we’ve been chasing is within ourselves, but also a chance to defeat that monster, to prove we are stronger than it.

It is about reaching a higher spiritual level, free from the chains of guilt and remorse, from a tormented conscience and a torn heart. The point when we become a new being, as pure as Siberian snow. The wind might roar, the frost might bite, but nothing compares to the liberating feeling in our hearts, the revelation of divine love within us.

In the middle of his punishment, Raskolnikov found the three most precious things in life: peace of mind, true love and a reason to go on. The endless white has turned into a symbol of the infinite, reminding us that, although we are limited as human beings, we can overcome our limits and follow that deep longing inside telling us to go further and deeper.

Siberia is the symbol of suffering, but not a destructive suffering. One that builds us and takes us to new spiritual levels. It reminds us that God has astounding way of reaching to us, and suffering is one of them.

When I was studying the methods of teaching in college, I came across the idea that the key to improving and learning is setting your goals a little higher than you can reach. Pushing further, trying to exceed your limits is the best way to find out who you are and what you’re capable of.

To someone used to the modern western philosophy, this might sound weird. We have been taught to seek the easy way out. But the shortest route is not always the best. We talk about exotic islands, palm trees and people lying on the beach. Yet, each one of us carries a Siberia inside.

Quotes About Prayer

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Prayer travels faster than light.

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Even silence can be a prayer, and a most powerful one. 

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Turn each thought into a prayer. 

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Contrary to what some skeptics may believe, prayer is not lack of action, but active involvement. It is not an act of laziness, but one of courage and responsibility. 

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Prayer is a river of energy flowing from your heart straight into the heart of God. 

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Prayer is a bridge over the abyss. 

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Prayer is the courage to look up when everything seems to be dragging you down. 

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Prayer is not affected by gravity. 

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Prayer is both a miracle and an adventure. A miracle, because it defies the laws of physics; an adventure, because it requires courage to believe in what you cannot see. 

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Prayer does not take you away from reality. On the contrary, it takes you to the very core of it - the heart of the Creator. 

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Learn how to pray and God will take care of the rest. 

Revelations From A Dream

Can a dream reveal the ultimate mystery of life and death?
 
As Charlotte Bronte states in one of her novels, there are dreams that bring “the hue, the mien, the terror, the very tone of a visitation from eternity.” That’s exactly how my last night's dream felt like. A secret was revealed to me in a strange, but meaningful way. A secret I would like to share with you. I might not succeed in conveying its intensity and its unreal tone, but I can try to make you aware of its significance.

Sometimes, when I go to bed I put my headphones on and I fall asleep on the rhythms of music. It is always an incredible experience. Music seems to melt into my dreams, becoming one with their substance. Last night I went to sleep on Christian music. Next, I found myself travelling on paths no one has walked before, looking for an answer. As I went on deeper and deeper, I realized what the question was. What happens to us after we die? Almost in the same instant, the answer came, too, as clear as a whisper into my ear.

It was like someone said to me: “Don’t you know? It is all written there.” Nothing more. No other explanations. There was no need for any. In the glimpse of a moment, the answer started growing within me. I understood everything and it all made perfect sense.

The key to the riddle is in two symbols found in the Bible: the vineyard and the wine. What happens to us after we die is somehow similar to the process of turning grapes into wine. The difference between life and death is the difference between the vineyard and the wine. Grapes are alive, like we are alive. They are connected to the ground, they receive the sun’s blessing and the sweet touch of the rain. They are growing things.

Then the farmer picks them up from the vine and crushes them into a mixture that has little to do with the fruit of earlier days. Dying is like that. We are taken from this life, we go through moments of agony as we linger between two worlds, but in the end, we become something more meaningful. Wine is not alive in the sense a plant or a tree is, but it’s got a richer significance. Its symbolism is stronger, and so is its power of transforming both the physical and the spiritual. Wine has a great significance for Christians. It symbolizes Christ’s blood, which is poured for us to give us eternal life and fellowship with the Father. But there is no wine without the grapes having to die first.

The idea can be found in another passage of the Bible, too : “The seed you plant doesn't come to life unless it dies first.” My dream is on the same wavelength, but it uses different symbols to illustrate the truth that death is a necessary step in the process of reaching a higher spiritual level.

The Quiet Change

What is beyond this life? What is the meaning of existence? Is death a gate to another dimension?
 
With every day that passes by, I become more and more convinced that we'll find out the truth in the end. This life wouldn't make much sense otherwise. In one way or another, in one form or another, we must find out the answers we've been chasing for a lifetime. There are secrets that shall be told and mysteries that shall be revealed. Everything in this universe has a meaning. Although the logic seems strange sometimes, it is there, it proves there is a huge brain behind it all, coordinating every possible aspect of existence.

The sound of rain, the trembling of the grass, the stars on the summer sky, they all tell a story... They all seem to know more than we do. And - from what we know - they don't ask questions. It seems like we are the only creatures in this universe that ask questions and for this reason the only ones who don't get an answer. Maybe the answer will come only when we stop asking the questions.

I wish I could describe the feeling that some day we shall know. It is a steady certainty that grows within me like a tree, with its roots pushing deep into the ground, stronger and stronger every day. I look around me and everything seems to bear a new meaning. New dawns are born, new mornings arise, glorious and true. The night of the world is coming to an end. The scarlet curtain stands ready to be torn.

I have dreams about the end of the world and the beginning of a new era. I have visions about things turning into something else or becoming more than they are. I am lost in a labyrinth of feelings and sensations I can't control. They are coming from within and make me see the world in another light. They are a part of me and yet so alien, as if coming from another dimension.

Every morning I wake up, I look around and say: "one day..." That day is not far off. My heart is full of joy and my soul dances like the flame of the candle in the dark. There are things I cannot see but my soul can. I learned to listen to all the voices, to all the echoes. I am not scared anymore. Life is not about fear. Death is far beyond our pale emotions.

One day I'll close my eyes and go with the flow. I can already feel the change occurring in me. Death begins with life. Death is just another word for change. The ultimate change…

When Selfishness Turns Into Selflessness

Are people selfish by nature? If so, is there anything we can do about it? A different perspective on selfishness.

Some people believe humans are selfish by nature. According to this theory, everything we do is ultimately motivated by selfishness, even the acts that are classified as ‘selfless’ by society. Before we go any further, let me make a distinction between two different ways of understanding this concept: in everyday speech, ‘being selfish’ has a negative connotation, often meaning to ignore others people’s needs in order to satisfy your own.

However, from a psychological point of view, ‘selfishness’ simply means that, as a species, we are self-centred beings, therefore we find it humanly impossible to ignore the voice of the self. We perceive the world via our senses. No matter how hard we try, we cannot physically become somebody else. Even when we share other people's thoughts or ideas, we still see the world through our own eyes and filter reality through our own emotions.

If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that even the good things we do for others can be traced back to a deep selfish motivation. We help someone in distress because the sight of suffering causes us physical and psychological discomfort or simply because we prefer to see people happy and smiling. We make charitable acts because it makes us feel good with ourselves or because we want to pay for something we have done in the past. It is a more ‘refined’ form of selfishness and it takes some subtlety to recognize it, but in the end that’s what it is.

Selfishness in this context is not a negative concept. In fact, it is closer to selflessness that we can imagine. It’s just a question of choosing how to use it. We all have a lot to give and a tremendous potential for the good. All we have to do is focus on the positive side of the self and find the things that can make both us and those around us better, happier and stronger. If we train ourselves to rejoice in the good we do, our selfishness becomes our selflessness.

People Are Beautiful

‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. Train your eyes to recognize the hidden beauty that makes every person special and unique.

It is an exercise I've tried time and time again and it always leaves me with a positive feeling of hope and comfort. Try to imagine what a person would look like in a perfect world, in a world free from old age, disease or deformity. Try to see that person just as he or she was designed by God in the first moment of creation, when everything was at its best and the worm of decay hasn’t started its destructive work yet.

Rather than seeing a person as the result of external circumstances, try to visualize their ideal prototype, to see them as they would be if none of those circumstances had occurred. Imagine what that person would look like in an ideal world. No wrinkles, no overweight, no scars, no makeup, no tiredness, no worries in their eyes.

You will notice that with some persons it's very easy. With others, it takes a bit of effort and imagination. That is because some people are closer to their prototype than others. Some will make the task almost impossible, while others are so close to their natural unaltered charm that imagination has to play a minimum role.

Discovering the beauty behind any makeup and decay - the essence behind appearance - is relaxing and therapeutic. It's like filtering everything and everyone through your own conscience and what remains is that little something that makes every person beautiful and unique – the sparkle of life, the real thing, their evasive but true spiritual profile.

Sometimes you have very little to work with. You have to recreate that image, like an artist, out of bits and fragments: a trembling smile, a soft look on somebody's face, a sparkle in their eyes. Any of these isolated elements can become a key to that person's beauty shining from inside.

My own experience has taught me that it helps if you have a brief glance at a person, then turn your eyes away and focus on the image printed on your retina. The features become sweeter, the lines softer, and you can visualize a sort of aura that you miss when you look squarely into that person's face.

In a way you restore something reality has stolen. You put back a softness often lost in too much detail. It's an artistic work, like that of a great painter trying to capture the essence of the human soul on canvas. Only this time the canvas is your mind.

The Importance Of Developing A Flexible Mind

Why it is important to develop a flexible mind and how you can attain this goal by aiming towards spiritual maturity.

If there's one thing life has taught me, it's that we have a lot to learn from the elastic: the more flexible you are, the less chances you have to break. When you can stretch and bend, you are more likely to resist the shocks than when you are rigid. Flexibility is one of the most important human qualities and one of the basic keywords for survival. It is what we call in common terms the power to adapt to the unexpected and adverse circumstances. Life is full of challenges that we cannot meet with a rigid heart and mind.

Some people have a natural inclination to being flexible. Without a doubt, they are the lucky ones. Others struggle to learn it after they’ve realized how important it is. And there is a third category of people who never learn and never understand. The second category deserves our admiration the most. These are often people who have to fight their natural drives and tendencies and engage in a constant battle with the self. The battle wears them out for a while but they come out stronger and spiritually enriched.

Even if nature hasn’t blessed you with a flexible mind, you can still develop it as you reach spiritual maturity. The ability to achieve spiritual growth is man's weapon against pure instinct and a way to silence the 'call of the wild' coming from within. Animals have the power to adapt, too. They possess instincts that can help them survive in a tough and unfriendly environment. But it is only man who can achieve this goal by exploring new realms of the spirit and new dimensions of the thought. It is only man who can pass beyond his tiny world of 'here and now' into the vast universe of unexplored possibilities and mysteries untold. Man is the only animal who realizes it is an animal and longs to be more.

You may ask: what does all this have to do with flexibility? The answer is: a lot. The more spiritually mature you are, the more flexible you become because your world becomes larger and larger. Life does no longer feel like a tight collar against your neck. You are no longer threatened by the dangerous and the unexpected, because your whole perspective on them has changed. There is no dangerous and no unexpected, only experiences that can make you stronger by taking you one step further on your journey to the ultimate reality.

Judging People - Arrogance or Ignorance?

Is judging others a proof that we are missing something somewhere along the line?

So often we make judgements on people, stating that 'X is better than Y', 'Y is smarter than Z' and 'Z is nicer than T'. We assume that we know enough to decide who is good and who is bad. We take it for granted that we have the right to compare and give the final verdict. We are convinced in our own little minds of our own little truths and never hesitate to let others know of what we believe. There is a sort of arrogance in our habit of judging people that can become quite annoying. But is it only arrogance or does ignorance play a role as well?

What we don't know and we don't even bother to find out is that Y, who is so bad according to our judgements, has much more to struggle against than X, whom we appreciate as good. We often ignore the three main factors contributing to human personality: heredity, environment and education. Perhaps 'being good' is a natural gift for X, while Y has to make double efforts to achieve the same goal. Maybe if Y had been born with X's advantages, he would have done much better. But who really knows?

The point I’m trying to make is that it's very dangerous to make judgements. The quality of our lives would increase so much if we stopped this silly judging game and we became aware of our own ignorance. Experience has taught me that sooner or later I'll do the same things I judged and hated in others. Every time I thought I was better than somebody, I ended up in circumstances that made me act the same, or even worse, than that person.

Life can be very treacherous, and so can be the human mind. Some borders are almost invisible and we can cross a bridge in as little as an instant without even realizing we’ve done it. We can become the opposite of what we are in a mere second, we can go from being normal to being insane and from deep meaning to complete and utter absurdity. We can lose everything or gain everything in the time it takes a butterfly to flap its wings.

Life is a gift, indeed, but so often it is like giving a car to a child or to somebody who hasn’t got a driving license. So many times we live it without being aware of its most basic rules. Or we think we know the rules but when it comes to facing a real challenge, we realize in fact we know nothing. The other driver we judge - our fellow being, our neighbour - could be simply caught in a bigger traffic jam or drive a car that is less powerful than ours.

Before giving in to the natural temptation of judging people, we should make an effort to learn the truth about ourselves, to find our own limitations and deal with them. Only when we realize how hard it is to be how this world expects us to be and how pointless it is to try and please everybody, we can appreciate what others are doing and the effort they are putting into things.

10 Facts That Can Increase Your Self-Esteem

Some of these statements might sound a bit philosophical but at a closer look, you’ll find they are very real. Life is a fascinating journey and the ultimate goal of any journey is learning and gaining experience. Don’t let your negative feelings keep you away from contemplating the great spectacle of life.

1. You are unique in history. There wasn’t and there’s never going to be another you. You are as unique as any great figure humanity has ever boasted with.

2. You are beautiful. People often used the wrong criteria to judge beauty. They are influenced by mass media and tend to forget what beauty is all about. Despite their many mistakes and failures, people are beautiful. Humanity is a strange race, fascinating in its fragility and you are part of it.

3. Everything you do is important. If you feel you haven’t achieved enough in your life, remember the butterfly effect. You will never know what you really achieved in the grand scheme of things and how much your most insignificant action has changed the world.

4. You are a survivor. You came into this world as a helpless baby, you struggled through the first confusing years, with so much to learn, so much to overcome. Yet you survived through all the struggles. And here you are now, reading this article on the Internet, which is more than many people can say.

5. You can read. We tend to take some things for granted and the ability to read and write is definitely one of them. You are intelligent enough to look at some weird signs that mean nothing in themselves and see a whole world of concepts and ideas. In some ages, that would have turned you into a symbol of wisdom, one of the few chosen ones.

6. You are complex. Everything you’ve ever heard, seen or felt, all the experiences you’ve been through are recorded by your brain. You are like a huge computer loaded with lots of information. Most often you are not even aware of it. But if you saw yourself from the outside and realized how complex you are, you would say a big “wow”.

7. You are rich. Think of a person you love dearly. Now think of three things you could give that person to make him or her happy. If you have found three things to give, you are very rich. If you have found only one, you are still richer than you think. Even if you can’t think of anything to give, the very fact that you thought about a person you love makes you rich, because you possess the most precious treasure a being can have - the capacity to love.

8. You are more. No matter how well you think you know yourself, there will be always things you are unaware of as far as your body, mind and soul are concerned. And as long as you don’t have the whole picture, you can’t judge yourself. It’s like judging someone you don’t know. Have confidence in the parts of yourself you haven’t discovered yet. There’s still so much to explore. One day you might be surprised.

9. You have patience. If you've got this far and haven’t abandoned this article yet, you are more patient than you think.

10. If you can understand and relate to these facts, you’ve got something else to be proud of: you have the ability to see beyond the obvious and to put things in perspective. Opening your eyes doesn’t mean only looking around, but also looking up and down, above, below, beneath and beyond.

The Little Girl Who Wanted To Save The World

The confession of a girl whose daily routine included praying for everything and everyone.

When I was a little girl, my greatest wish was to bring everything inside, where it was nice and warm. Every night after going to bed, I used to close my eyes and pray for all the people and the objects I could think of, begging God not to leave anything out in the cold. The very thought that I might have forgotten something was unbearable. I desperately tried to think of everything – people and trees, dogs and street lamps, grass and buildings, toys, cars, elephants and birds.

It was like an exercise of memory. I did it with passion and conviction, as if it all depended on me, as if it was my duty to make sure everything was fine. I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, because once the door was closed, it would never open again. There were no second chances. I had to make sure nothing was forgotten. I can still remember the anguish coming with the realization that it was humanly impossible to think of everything, that it took just a little flaw in the memory, a little gap in the mind to lose something forever.

The world was a huge place and I loved all the things and the people in it. I didn’t want any of them to be lost, no matter how little and insignificant. The night out there was cold and lonely and the wind was blowing like a restless soul, but in my room it was warm and cosy. In my room, there was love.

As I grew up, I started losing more and more. The old anguish of leaving things out in the dark has never really left me, but it took another form. Every time I lost something or someone, it kept creeping back into my soul, as sharp as a knife, tormenting me. It spoke of unknown tortures like the power of remorse, the blow of despair and the thought that, no matter how hard we tried, it was not within our power to save the ones we loved. The world became a scary place, where everything seemed out of control.

Even now, after so many years, I’m still fighting in my mind to save as much as I can of the people and the objects around me. To protect them from the wind and the cold. It is so important to become aware of things, to touch them, to love them, to redeem them. In many ways, I’m still the anxious but determined little girl who wants to bring everything inside. The thought of leaving anything out still hurts me, and so does the realization that one day the door will close forever and there will be no second chances.

My Earliest Memories

The first objects and people, tastes, sounds and dreams I can remember.

My earliest memories go back to the time when I was two or three years old. The first thing I can recall is a vague, indescribable sensation that I later associated with my conscience. The best way to describe it is a huge tasteless and shapeless sea I carried inside, the virtual space where all the future shapes and concepts were going to be formed.

The first objects: My toys. The plastic bear in a pushchair. A white rubber puppy seal with a red ball on its nose. A little doll dressed in red – later my mother said it was Little Red Riding Hood. A clown lifting weights. A Chinese cyclist on batteries (my dad’s favourite). Those toys do no longer exist. Or if they do, I don’t own them anymore.

What happened to them? The bear in a pushchair: I threw it out of the window of our second floor apartment. By the time I went down to get it, it had already gone. The puppy seal (a lovely toy): I lost it on a snowy winter day. I took it with me on a sleigh ride with my mother. By the time we returned home, we realized it had mysteriously gone.

The first sounds: My mother’s high heels on the pavement – music to my ears. The fairy tales on my old vinyl disks – ‘Puss in Boots’ and ‘Diamonds and Toads’. My father’s voice singing old folk songs. The sound made by the clown when he was lifting weights – a horrible crunch. My father trying to teach me to say 'r'. A dull, repetitive sound I kept hearing in my ears after going to bed. Later I found out it was my own heart.

The first people: My mother gently rubbing my forehead when I was lying in bed with fever. My father letting me walk on his back –a good massage for his rheumatism, he thought. The two little girls next door. The younger so sweet, the elder a monster – she used to terrorize both me and her sister. The nurse coming in to give me penicillin injections.

The first tastes: the rubber taste of the teat – one day I suddenly decided I hated it. Semolina pudding. Spinach. Effervescent Vitamin C.

The first book: “Mother and child”, a huge book with red hard covers – a guide for young mothers.

The first nightmare: a man with a black hat trying to break in.

And many, many more – but I will stop here before I get too carried away. The one thing they all have in common is that they arose from the same shapeless sea... If I asked myself how much that sea had changed over the years, it would be very hard to answer. I can still feel it inside, the way it was then, but I can’t tell whether it belongs to the present or to the past, whether it is still there or it's just the memory of it haunting me from times long gone.

5 Things That Make This Moment Unique

Have you ever wondered what makes a moment unique? What makes it different from all the other moments? Moments have a short life, they come and go, being replaced by others. But as you learn to cherish their magic, you realize that, rather than being just one among many, each moment is special and has a life of its own. Here are five tricks that can help you.

1. Look at your watch. What's the time when you're reading this? It's 7:13 PM GMT when I'm writing it. What's the date today? Probably my date is different from yours. (We share different moments and yet somehow it feels like sharing the same. We've already crossed the barriers of time.) So look at your watch and think of the current date. Now consider this: it's a combination that occurs for the first and the last time in history. And you are the witness of it. It is your combination. Your special moment.

2. Have a look around you. Where are you? What can you see? Probably a place you're familiar with. But this place has never existed in the presence of this time combination before. It is a brand new place. Your own very special place. Different from all the other places in the universe. Unique. Just like you. Can you feel the magic of “here and now”?

3. The third element that comes into the equation is… YOU. You make this “here and now” unique. If Time and Space had been enough, God wouldn't have created Man. You make this “here and now” so special. Think of what would happen to this time and space combination if you were somewhere else right now. It would die. You make it live. By being here now. By being who you are. And last but not least, by being aware of it...

4. Coming back to space now… When you looked around you, all you saw was what your eyes allowed you to see. But your knowledge and experience tell you there's much more than that. What you can see is the smallest of the concentric circles. Your mind can draw the other ones. A room. A building. A street. A city (or maybe a town, or a village). A state, a county. A country. A continent. The Earth. The Milky Way. The Universe. Maybe there are more, but we don't know them all. Now make the return journey, starting from the biggest concentric circle towards the centre of the smallest one. Can you visualize where you are? You're part of something great, something magic, something extraordinary. Think of all the other things that are happening right now in the other parts of the world. Of all the computers that are turned on. Of all the languages that are spoken. Of all the planes that are taking off or landing right now. Of all the people who are eating, or sneezing, or making love. Of all the babies who are born. Of all the people who are dying in accidents or on a hospital bed. Right this moment. Think of all the stars and the black holes in the universe. Of all the planets that are light years away from us. And think of you having the chance to live this moment, to be a part of all this, here and now.

5. To this combination of elements, you can add countless others. The more elements, the more magic. It could be the sun shining through your window. Or the sound of the rain. Or you biting your lip. It could be a fly on your monitor. Your nose itching. A thought that has just crossed your mind. A memory. The fragment of a song that's playing on your CD-player. A film promo on TV. Your cat playing with a toy mouse. The smell of your girlfriend's perfume. They are all so precious. Because they all have something in common: they belong to this unique moment in history. Your own very special moment.

Fragile Emotions or Coping with Grief and Loss

I lost my mother when I was 19 years old. I was no longer a child, but that didn’t make it any easier. In so many ways, I was still the little girl longing for mom’s cuddles. Her death wasn’t unexpected, it came after a long period of suffering and confinement to bed. 

When she died, everybody said: “It’s better for her there than here.” In spite of my Christian beliefs, my heart and mind rebelled against that: how can it be better there, when we don’t even know if there is anything there? At least here, she had the conscience of herself, that indescribably warm feeling inside, an array of familiar things, beings and beliefs that she could always turn to. And she had us, the people who loved her and whom she loved.

All I could see in front of my eyes was the dark grave, with the horrific chills it gave me, and the image of the body left alone in the ground to rot and be eaten by worms. How can that be better than this life? 

While she was still alive, I used to think I’d never be able to get over her death. However, another thing I experienced is that in the first few days after, God gives you a kind of strength you never thought you’d have. It’s like an anesthetic. You go through the motions, you do what you have to do, but it’s like somebody else were doing it and you were just a remote witness, watching from somewhere in the clouds.

You experience what they call “third person transposition”, you become your own witness from the outside. The pain is there, but it seems remote and diffuse like everything else, filtered through a lot of other immediate sensations. The power of “here and now” becomes so overwhelming that all you can do is go with the flow. 

I can remember the very moments before they put her in the grave. I knew people were looking at me, expecting to see me cry. I couldn’t. All I could do was pray in my mind that the sun came out of the clouds, because my mother loved the sun and she would have been very unhappy to know she’d been buried on a cloudy day. The sun did come out, just a few seconds before they laid the coffin in the ground. I guess that was one of the moments in my life when I felt God’s presence more than ever.

One thing I’ve learned after my mother’s funeral is that the real pain always strikes a little later, and when it does, it stays for a while, following you like a shadow for weeks, months and years to come. It becomes weaker as time goes by, but it never really goes away. The wound heals, but the scars remain until the day you die. It’s a little like rheumatism. In some days, it upsets you more than in others. And what it hurts the most are always the little things, the little memories that you didn’t even think you would remember.

That day in hospital when she looked so frail and innocent in her white woolen jumper.

The day when she was doing the washing and I was hanging the wet clothes on the rope outside, and we had such a great time together, making plans of moving to Australia, living on a farm and having a little cute kangaroo as a pet. 

That day, before Easter, when she said to me – and she had tears in her eyes: “I still can’t understand why he had to die.” She was talking about Jesus.

Her little thin hands after she lost almost 50 kilograms.

That summer morning when, being already ill, she listened to the songs of the birds and cried. Later, when she was telling me about that, she explained: “I was so impressed to hear the little birds singing. I could feel their happiness as they were preparing to welcome the sun.”

Even now, when I remember those words, I have tears in my eyes. How could a woman like that die? There are other things I can remember, other memories that once were unbearable and now still make me cry, but I would need a volume to write them all. 

A few weeks before she died, she wrote me a letter, a sort of good bye letter. I found it on her bed when I came home for the weekend. It starts like that: “I’m writing you this because you aren’t here with me now...” Imagine the impact those words had after she was gone. “I’m writing you this because you aren’t here with me now…” Here… Where? 

Every time I read it, it sounds more and more like a message from another world, a sign from far out there, from the mysterious lands awaiting us at the end of our journey here on Earth…

Don't Give Up!

As long as we have the light, let's stick to the light. As long as we can be kind, let's offer kindness. As long as we can change anything, let's grasp each opportunity to turn bad into good. As long as we have love, let's treasure it and share it with all our hearts. As long as the sun rises in the dawn, let's not lose our hope in victory. God is with us. God is victorious, and so are we through Him. Let's keep our hearts clean. Let's dare to believe in Him when everything around us crumbles to the ground.

Every step, every gesture, every word is a way of changing the world. Every prayer is an open gate to eternity. Every tear shed with sincerity before God is a river of living water flooding the universe. We are small, but so is the mustard seed. Through faith, we have more power than we know. Let's continue the fight. Let's hold the flag of peace high until the end. Let's not give up...

How To Cope With The Challenges of Life

Every day brings new struggles and every struggle seems to make us smaller. People have to deal with illnesses, poverty and stress and all the consequences they bring. Frustration and regrets are silent killers that destroy bits of our soul, leaving us exposed and vulnerable. How can we find peace in adverse circumstances? How can we cope with the rodents of the spirit? It is a question that people have been asking since the beginning of all times and many haven't found the answer yet.

Think of your life as a room. A room can be dark and cluttered, musty and sad. A room can be a confining space where you feel a prisoner and where everything seems to work against you. In fact, a room can shape your own personality in the way a recipient can constrain water to its own shape. You are how you feel.

First of all, it is good to remember that you, like water, are free. You also have to remember that rooms have windows and doors. If you keep them closed, the air will get musty and hard to breathe and it will end up choking you. You might have the feeling that you are in a tight, closed environment but God had put many windows in your room. All you have to do is slow down, open your eyes wide and look for them. There might be a window right in front of you but you can't see it, because you are too oppressed by the atmosphere of the room itself.

Once you have found the window, you can draw the curtains, open it wide, and let the light and the fresh air in. You will see that the whole atmosphere changes. Our small room is surrounded by windows; that is a truth that should fill you with hope.

Now how can you find the windows? If you are so tensed and oppressed that you are most likely to miss them, you can start by praying. In the middle of all your troubles and worries, stop, take a break, close your eyes and let go. Then pray to the One who knows you and loves you deeply. Talk to Him like you talk to a dear friend and say,

"My God, the troubles in my life are choking me and stopping me from growing. I am confined to a small room with no view and no perspective. But you are great. The universe you have created is great and full of wonders. I know you have put many windows in my little room. Help me discover them. Take my hand and lead me to them. Let me feel the soft breeze on my face and smell the freshness of spring flowers. Let me discover the magic of the stars and the beauty of the rainbow. Help me let the light in and fill my black and white universe with color. Show me a world I've never seen, take me to new dimensions and unexplored frequencies. Give perspective to my life, so I don't waste it in pettiness and darkness. Let me discover the hidden magic of every day, the untold beauty of every moment. For you can do that. Amen."

Indeed, God can do that. This is where the fascinating faith journey begins.

Articles and Reflections

Dreaming of Siberia
10 Facts That Can Increase Your Self-Esteem
5 Things That Make This Moment Unique
The Little Girl Who Wanted To Save the World
My Earliest Memories
Revelations From A Dream
The Quiet Change
When Selfishness Turns Into Selflessness
People Are Beautiful
The Importance of Developing a Flexible Mind
Judging People - Arrogance or Ignorance?
Life Changing Books - The Shack by William P. Young
Faith In God
Audio Prayer Sites
Don't Give Up!
How To Cope With The Challenges Of Life
Look More, See Deeper
How To Be A Prayer Warrior
What Christ Has Done For Us
Lover Of Mankind
Prayer Boxes
Words About Prayer
Let's Welcome Jesus
Improving Your Prayer Life
Longing For Intimacy
The Job God Gave Me
Two Prayers
The Two Parts Of Prayer
Perseverance in Praying
Prayer Resembles A Flower
How To Pray

Look More, See Deeper

A life can change in an instant. One moment we are walking on our cosy, familiar ways, where we take everything for granted, the next we find ourselves in a strange and alien realm without even comprehending how we got there. We can never tell where life is going to take us. Our small universe can grow or become even smaller over night and we can get robbed of everything we hold dear.

What can we take with us over the threshold of pain, losses and fear? What can we cling to when the crazy waves tear us away from the comfortable shore and throw us into a world of chaos and distress? Where can we find our refuge when all our fortresses crumble to the ground?

The answer is not as far as we imagine. It is, in fact, very close to us. We live in a big world, in the middle of a huge universe, full of surprises and unexpected turns. Yet this universe has a Master. The one who created it knows every single corner and every single step. He can go as deep or as high as he wishes, he can see beyond time and space, through darkness or opacity. Nothing is hidden from his eyes and nothing will ever be. The huge waves don't make him hide nor the tough winds make him tremble.

The God in whom we trust and to whom we entrust ourselves is always there, eternal and true, unchanging and unaffraid, forever faithful to the ones who reach out to him. God is not bound by anything but by his own word. The same word that once said: "Let it be light." He created rules and boundaries but he also created the magic world "beyond". He created the "law" but he also gave an alternative to it, an alternative called "grace".

To God nothing is impossible. He put the mountains in their place and ordered them to stay still but he also created the faith that can move mountains. He created the cycle of life but he also created the spirit that can defy the shadows of death. He created everything and he re-created himself, the one who had never been created, in each of ourselves. And in everything he created, he put a little of the love that surrounds him, the love that defines him.

So how can we be oppressed by time when times bows down in front of our friend and our father? How can the circumstances of this life knock us down when we walk hand in hand with the one beyond life and circumstances? How can we be scared of death when the one stronger than death promised he'd be with us forever?

It is all a question of perspective. If we see only here and now, we let ourselves be swallowed by here and now. If we set our mind on earthly things, we cling to them and make them our treasure. And 'Where thy heart is, there shall thy treasure be also.'

So look above and seek beyond, and see God in all. Where there is trust, there is no worry. Where there is faith, there is no fear. Where there is love, there is no falling.

What is Prayer?

What is prayer? An exercise for the soul, an act of communication? A conversation with God? A journey into ourselves? Where does it take us? To the heights of heaven or to the depths of our own soul? I would greatly appreciate your opinions and comments on what prayer means to you.

By the way, I'm back after a few months of no blogging activity. I appologize to all for the long absence.

The Amazing Story of Helen Keller

Helen Keller was born in Alabama, U.S. on June 27, 1880. An illness diagnosed as 'brain fever' at the time left her deaf and blind when she was only nineteen months of age. She spent the first years of her life in isolation, cut off from the world and having little understanding of what was going on around her. However, in March, 1887, when she was less than seven years old, she met the person who was going to change her life. Anne Mansfield Sullivan, a 20-year-old graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind, came to their house and undertook the difficult task of teaching Helen. Soon the little girl grew attached of her teacher and the two became inseparable. The bond between them became stronger and stronger as time went by and it could only be broken by Anne's death in 1936.

The amazing methods Anne used to help the little blind and deaf girl overcome her disability and become aware of the world around her are described by Helen in her autobiography entitled The Story of My Life. Soon the wild uncontrollable child grew into a wise and responsible woman who had a lot to say to the world and still has a lot to say to us today.

By her personal example, Helen Keller revolutionized people's outlook on disability and revealed the amazing potential of the human being. She learned Braille and used it to read not only English but also French, German, Greek and Latin. At the age of 24, she was the first deafblind person in history to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree after graduating college with Magna cum Laude. She became a prolific writer and a world-famous speaker. She campaigned for various progressive causes, such as women's suffrage, workers' right and birth control.

Helen Keller wrote several books and articles. At the age of 23 she published her famous autobiography, The Story of My Life. Other works include The World I Live In (1908), Out of the Dark (1913), Light in My Darkness (1927) and the poem The Song of the Stone Wall.

To download the free e-book The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, click here.