Spirit is Talking to You: True Stories of Signs, Wonders, Inspiration, Love and Connection. Joan Doyle

popped into my head and just stayed there; it was that song by Meatloaf, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.” What the heck! I was supposed to be having a sacred experience–-where did that song come from? I could not get it out of my head and it was driving me crazy. The lyrics in my case though had a slight twist. I attracted men who loved and needed me, but did not want the relationship that I did. I woke up several times that night, and the first thing I heard in my head was the lyrics again, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.”

      Again, it was there to greet me in the morning, and by the morning break I was singing other words in my head just so that I would not hear those lyrics. In the afternoon session we did a process to heal relationships with spouses. Not being married, my focus was on relationships with past boyfriends, and I reflected on the hurt in those relationships. I wished to heal the pattern of disappointment and repeated failure. It was then that the song hit me over the head. I understood what the Divine was trying to tell me–that was my theme song! I had been in too many relationships in which I did not get the love I needed. It was if a dam had burst, and I cried and cried. I went through the healing process with the other participants, and the joyous dancing and release at the end. While I was dancing, I told the Divine that I needed a new song; he had to give me a new song.

      Later that night we went to the temple, and there was a period of time when we were just waiting in a foyer. As I was sitting there, I felt the energy of love all around me and the Beatles’ song, “All You Need is Love,” popped into my head and stayed there. The presence of love grew stronger as the lyrics repeated. All I need is love.

      All I need is to be the love; yes, that’s the experience for me! From that point on, “All You Need is Love” became my theme song–so simple. It was also the beginning of a more personal relationship with the Divine, in which we sometimes laugh together and speak to each other with songs. There is a song by the group “Live”–“Dance with You” that is my latest favorite to share with the Divine.

      Until the experience in India, I did not get it when people said that having a strong personal relationship with the Divine was the quickest route to awakening. It is still a journey for me, but at least now I realize that in oneness with the Divine, there is oneness with all beings, and that is what I live to experience each day.

       Unique Expressions

       By Joan Doyle

      My eyes were filling with tears as I made my way down the sidewalk of the main street of my village toward the supermarket. When I reached it, I could not go inside in the emotional state I was in, so I veered off toward the outskirts of the town. There I knew I would have no witnesses but the cows, who taking a cursory glance would return disinterestedly to munching the lush Irish grass. The emotion of leave-taking was surfacing and would not be contained! My parents had lived in this village for over 50 years and my childhood had been spent among its people and its beautiful countryside. I had gone away to boarding school when I was twelve, and since then had only spent two more years living there. But those short years growing out of that earth, years of belonging and identity, had kept drawing me back and had grounded me like nowhere else on this globe over the decades to follow. And now, after 15 years of living in Los Angeles–which might as well be an alternate universe to this location–I had brought the love of my life to my home place.

      We married in the presence of my family and those of his who had been able to travel. It had been a most happy and emotional time. Justin had returned a week before me and now it was my turn to leave. As usual I was desolate.

      I often compare this transplantation of my body to my second home in America to an organ transplant. On returning to LA, there is the possibility of rejection of the new country within the first week! And no matter how often I go through the process, there is always that transition time. But now, for the first time, I was returning to my husband. And this did change things. My heart held the happiness of my return to him and the sadness of my leave-taking simultaneously.

      As I walked, teary-eyed, my sadness dominant, I thought of asking for Justin’s patience and understanding on my return. I would ask that he not be offended if I was blue for a day or two, that I was happy to be back but that I needed to let go gradually of my home and family. It was when having this thought that I found a penny! I stooped to pick it up off the old stone paving and smiled, feeling reassured. Justin would sometimes quote his Dad, “When in doubt, communicate.” Justin was teaching me much about communication, and this penny was saying, “Yes, talk about it.” Holding things back can lead to misunderstandings. I knew as I looked at this shiny Irish penny that there would be times in our marriage when our separate life experiences could lead to misunderstandings, but that if we could communicate, everything could be worked out.

      Two people, no matter how close, or in tune, or in love, are completely separate individuals and won’t always understand each other. But if there is a willingness to share, especially when we feel vulnerable, and a willingness to listen lovingly to our partner without judgment, I feel that the relationship can grow and flourish. Allowing the other to simply be a witness to our personal processes, we allow the other to give us the gift of love in the form of their healing presence. I believe this ability to be there for each other is more powerful than we can imagine. This is the safe place that Justin and I have agreed to create, and it draws us forever to each other.

       God Shows Up in the Most Amazing Places

       By Dean Regan

      God is everywhere present, shining forth as all things seen and unseen. And still, in this cacophony of brilliance, there are moments of shimmering clarity when our awareness–our consciousness, if you will, that God is everywhere present, is made even more conscious.

      God has given me the gift to be able to entertain people–sometimes through singing, sometimes through acting, sometimes though dancing, sometimes through a combination of all three. Recently, on a drive from Los Angeles to Palm Springs to rehearse a musical project with some wonderful fellow-artists, I became aware of what a beautiful day it was. The car I was driving in was comfortable, the weather was crystal clear, there was a feeling of openness to the day, and a readiness to welcome creative exploration at the base of the mountain range nestling up to Palm Springs.

      Ahead of me on the way to rehearsal was a car; the driver was not visible, the car unmemorable. But on the bumper was a sticker that called out like an orchestra reaching a dramatic crescendo: “Love People. Cook for Them a Wonderful Meal.” In that moment, I related to that bumper sticker idea. Not so much because of the cooking aspect–I don’t really cook–but because of the way we show our love to others. I realized that I show my love for others by singing to them; the more the merrier–the more songs, the more theatres, the more churches, the more people. In that flash of an instant an idea came to me for the “bumper sticker expression” that has been and continues to be the purpose of my life–”Love People. Sing them a Song.”

      There are two types of people in the world: those who appreciate refrigerator magnets and those who don’t. I am a proud member of the former. My refrigerator is covered with magnets for cities and activities.

      These days my primary channel for entertaining people is through solo concerts. I sing at performing arts centers and the larger cabaret rooms across America, as well as church-related events. And occasionally I perform, quite literally, around the world. At my concerts I have a booth of items for sale to audience members, both so that they can take the concert “experience” home with them, and also so I can celebrate and contribute to my artistic affluence. That day–my sunny, free, Palm Springs rehearsal day–I had been thinking about a series of refrigerators magnets that I could share with the folks who enjoy my music. And that is when God showed up as the bumper sticker on the car in front of me which helped me to crystallize my whole life purpose as an artist: to show my love for people, I sing them a song. And, thus, God showed up on that bright and sunny day in so many ways, but one was an idea that is easy for me to hold in my heart and share with others.

      So, if you come to one of my concerts or listen to my music online, I hope you feel that sense of love that fills my