Spiritual Awakening: Turn The Beat Around!!!
The year was 1976 and Vickie Sue Robinson had just recorded this song. I was one of the kids who started doing all the break dance moves and even went as far as laying the cardboard our on the side walk with a box for people to put money in it. I donated a large majority of the monies to charities like The Muscular Dystrophy Association and March Of Dimes. It is hard to believe that it has been 39 years since the release of the song but each time it comes on I still feel like busting a move and shifting vibrations. I no longer spin on my head but have been know to do a cartwheel when the spirit moves me. As I reflected back on those days when I was 11 years old I came to realize that I was about service and value even back then as I ran my first charitable event, a backyard carnival for The Muscular Dystrophy Association. One could say that as young as 11 I was spiritually awake but didn’t realize how GOD was using me as a conduit to spread a message of peace, love, joy, and prosperity through charitable work. Through the years I have always believed tat helping others is important. Every year GOD kept giving me messages and putting me in places where I could be of service and value.
In 1978 I was introduced to the group, Kansas, whose song Dust In The Wind has become an anthem for me during the spiritual awakening process. 1978 was also the year of my Bar-Mitzvah and that year can be traced as the start of my devotion to GOD and beginning my spiritual journey of exploration. Since that time I have forged a spiritual connection with JESUS Christ. I have come to believe that everything is possible through Christ who strengthens me.
In 1983 I was graduating high school and I began to realize that with everything we do in our lives there is always something their to remind us of the ones we love. On the spiritual path these reminders may come in the form of butterflies, flowers, a special song, or a memory triggered by passing by a special place like the park where you shared a kiss, or a tennis court where you shared special moments, or that swimming pool where you set some records. There is always something there to remind you of the joys you had and sometimes the anguish. As the years go by the anguish lessens and the joy starts to fill you as you move forward in a positive direction of your dreams.
The year was 1987 and Samantha Fox was teaching us how to surrender to the spirit of the night. IT was also the year I would graduate from Hofstra University. As I reflect on the 4 1/2 years at Hofstra I remember being of service and value and helping others by simply being my authentic self and realizing that even in those years I was on a spiritual path. The lessons learned outside the classroom were far greater than those learned in the class room. There was definitely many messages that GOD was delivering like seeking opportunities and also learning not to be so angry when things didn’t seem to be going my way.
In July of 2002 I took a leap of faith and joined The U.S. Peace Corps and traveled to The Philippines to become a Community Services Educator. It was then that I realized that I may never pass this way again and that each day I am given is a blessing from GOD and I must be glad and rejoice in it. I believe it was at that time when my MOM sent me a care package with Don Miguel Ruiz’s Four Agreements in it, which has helped me tremendously in my spiritual journey. I cam home from The Peace Corps in February 2003. As I sit in reflection of this experience I have come to realize that is is when we serve others that we truly serve ourselves.
On July 5, 2012 I stood by my mother’s bed side in the hospital holding her hand and saying my final goodbye. At 7:47 AM she made her transition and is now with GOD as my angel in heaven. As I begin to turn the beat around and look back I realize just how much she loved me and how proud she was of me. On 2/26/2015 I received The City of Lauderhill S.AK.E. Community Service Award and dedicated it to my mom knowing she was looking down on me and guiding me. I see messages in many forms and I know they are from my mom. Lately the message has been to continue to raise funds for The American Cancer Society through Relay For Life and continue to honor her memory by simply sharing http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg 2 with others. The songs of the years chosen and the messages from GOD and my mom continue to remind me that along my spiritual path to continue to reflect, relax, and rejuvenate so that I can move forward delivering a message of hope and healing to others. I have come to understand that through reflection we are able to turn the neat around and to play the songs that will allow us to create positive vibrations so that we resonate with others and help them to excel. I will always remember the past and use the lessons to move me forward while living in the present.
As you turn your beat around remember there will be trials and tribulations but GOD does not give you anything that you can not handle. Some of the greatest faced adversity and rose above it to empower and inspire others. As you finish reading this entry take a look back and look at the experiences tat brought peace, love, joy, and prosperity into your life and then do your best to replicate them. Many times it is in the looking back that we can move forward and turn the beat around. Stay Poisitive!!! Namaste!!!
