Directional Synchronicity: Is "Badass" the New "Rock Star"?

The Badasses seem to have kicked the Rock Stars butts.

A couple of weeks ago at a friend's birthday party I noticed he had a gold necklace that said BADASS. Then I started seeing and hearing the word badass everywhere. In fact, I did a Google News search and it surprised me to see the word used as a headline in so many articles.

The word is not new, but seems to me to be quite trendy now and the usage has not been standardized. You might see Bad Ass, Badass or BADASS. Reminds me of the time when some of us wrote e-mail, which turned out to be a pain, so it evolved to email. I think badass as one word will win. The way it's used varies too.

It is mostly used as an adjective
25 BADASS ways to say no
8 Badass women warriors
10 badass Latinas Every American Should Thank
Celebrate Chuck Norris on His Birthday with 10 Badass Memes
and my favorite - 11 Most Badass Last Words Ever Uttered

but sometimes used as a noun

There is even a website store named BadAss Jewelry. (note the capital A).

Now maybe it's just me, but I don't think this word has been mainstream very long. A couple of years ago, the aspirational adjective was to be a rock star, or to be around rock stars. The New York Times noted the popularity of the Rock Star buzz word in the Fall of 2015

How Rock Star Became a Business Buzzword

And sure enough there were a lot of articles about business people being rock stars
Business Plan: Become a Rock Star, 5 Characteristics of a Rockstar Startup CEO and 5 Ways to Keep your Rock Star Employees from Quitting

There are still articles about rock stars but now it seems that badass has taken over. It's hard to prove the evolution because musicians are still "rock stars" in media articles and a lot of rock stars have been dying lately. Additionally, there are brands with rockstar in the name, most notably the energy drink.

So why the transition?  It's the second dictionary definition in the McMillan dictionary that intrigues me:  "ready to behave in an unpleasant way when necessary".

Google gives a similar definition: "a tough, uncompromising, or intimidating person".

A journalist for Atlantic Monthly claims that badass has been appropriated as a feminist word.

This blog is a record of my synchronistic experiences, so with me noticing the word badass everywhere, does that mean the universe is telling me to be one?  That's not my assertion. I I don't really identify with either word.  I like cat videos and muppets and rainbow colored candy.  What do people like me aspire to?

I'm still trying to figure this all out.

Directional Synchronicity: A Moldy Moment

Recently my husband and I were talking about the music genre of "funk." We tried to find a station on Sirius, but the only station we found was a blend that ended up playing Whitney Houston. I told him I had some real funk music and went looking in the basement for my CDs.

For the record, (pun intended), any real funk collection must include some Parliament:

While I was rooting around in my basement, I found a number of CDs that I had not yet opened. I had purchased them over two years ago. One of them I was very excited to see, a collection of Buddhist meditations by Pema Chödrön. The main reason the CDs were left unopened is that about a year ago, we had a sump pump malfunction and a subsequent flood in our basement about six months after we had moved in. I had not unpacked boxes and the cardboard soaked up a lot of the water. Sorting through ruined letters, photographs, postcards and books was very emotional for me. It is a year later and I have not finished the job.

When I brought the CDs upstairs, I noticed some of the cases were ruined by the water but the CDs were still intact. The meditation CD, however, was ruined. I tried as hard as I could to pry open the case and I could not. It wasn't cheap ($29), and I had never even listened to it! I began to cry. Then I noticed the title and that's when I couldn't help but laugh.

As I stood there and looked at my moldy CD that was over two years old and never opened, the lesson sunk in. The title of the CD was, "This Moment Is the Perfect Teacher." It almost became a Mantra.

This Moment Is the Perfect Teacher
This Moment Is the Perfect Teacher
This Moment Is the Perfect Teacher

My basement is full of memories from the past that I could not let go of. The flood, I've always felt, was a nudge from the universe to help me to start to let go. Seeing the mold was a shove. This could get really ugly if I don't do something soon.

It's time to clear it all out and stop living in the past.  LET GO.

Directional Synchronicity: Gen Silent Day of Synchronicities

Do you ever have one of those days where everything seems to be synchronous?  Yesterday was one of those days for me.  I went to attend a film screening and panel discussion of the movie Gen Silent.

As a side-bar, the movie is a powerful story about LGBT elders and how historical LGBT discrimination leads many elders to go back into the closet (or never come out.)  I would highly recommend viewing this film.  If you don't know any elders who are gay, that could be because they haven't felt comfortable enough sharing.

The Student
My former supervisor told me her current student Stephanie was going to be at the movie.  She wanted me to meet Stephanie, because Stephanie has the role that I used to have when I was a student.  I asked what Stephanie looked like and she told me Stephanie had slightly red hair and glasses.  That's it.

When I saw how crowded the the theater was, I though there was no way I would ever find her as there were over one hundred people.  Then it occurred to me to just take a seat and Stephanie would come to me.  Now Stephanie did not know her supervisor wanted us to meet, so she was not on the lookout for me.
Yet, lo and behold, a young woman with red hair and glasses sat down diagonally in front of me.

I asked her if she was Stephanie S. and she said, "Yes?!" and was quite confused because she did not know me.  I told her who I was and immediately she was shocked.  How did you know it was me?  I grinned and told her I was psychic.  We got to chat about her internship and I gave her some advice from my experience there.  Later on, she was still shaking her head.  I told her that is how synchronicity works.

The Phone Call
I had been told I would be receiving a phone call from a human resources person to set up an interview for next week.  Since the movie and panel discussion was set to go until after 5:00 p.m. I was worried that I would miss the call.  I had my phone volume turned off.  Luckily, the call come in during the only ten minute break, so I did not miss it.  Perhaps just a coincidence, but I felt that it was synchronous.

The Introduction
After the movie screening and panel discussion there was a 'resource exchange' meeting where social workers could share ideas.  It was crowded, and the person I wanted to talk to was busy,  So it happened that I ended up next to my former professor who was talking to a student who has many of the same interests as I do.  The student is very passionate about hospice and end-of-life issues, and I just happened to be in need of someone to co-facilitate my next Death Cafe event.  She is available and was so grateful for the opportunity.  As another synchronicity, her mother was standing next to her and we knew each other from somewhere but I got called away before I could figure it out.

Directional Synchronicity: The Long Island Medium

I am a big fan of Theresa Caputo, known as the Long Island Medium on TLC. If you have never seen the show, I would highly recommend it.  You can watch full episodes here. I like her because she has a spitfire personality. I like her because she is amazingly detailed in her readings, and I like her because she is still in awe of her own gift.

Recently I went on vacation and took a break from the online world. I didn't tweet. I didn't Facebook. I didn't get on Google+. I didn't blog. I didn't read the news.

As you can imagine, over a week, my emails had piled up. I don't usually read the theater and arts email, but I subscribe. For some reason though, this was the second email I saw and this time, I opened it up. There was a huge picture of Theresa Caputo advertising that she was coming to my hometown.

Was it a sign? Whether it was or not, I took it as one.  I HAVE to go to this. I called my friend Dawn and asked if she wanted to go. She said yes. We went back and forth on which tickets to buy but finally settled on the 'good ones.'  Go big or go home.

Will I get a reading? If past actions are any indication, the answer is no. I've been given the message from spirit that I need to stop seeking external answers.  After several faulty medium readings, the message came through. So I don't have my hopes up for that.  But I do think it will be a good show. Theresa has an inner light that shines so brightly, you just have to love her.

NOW here is where the synchronicity comes in. I mentioned casually to my friend Ross that Theresa was coming to town. He said he wouldn't go because he thought it was too expensive.  I never told him where my seats were or what section I was sitting in.

The next thing I know, I get an email from another friend Tom that he and Ross were going to see Theresa.  He mentioned his seat location, and in a theater full of hundreds of seats, my friends Tom and Ross are now sitting directly behind me.

I guess we were meant to sit together.

Directional Synchronicity: The accident that was meant to happen

Last week my step mom backed into a brick mailbox in my parent's Pontiac Grand Prix. It caused significant damage to the rear end of the car. My dad was not happy at the unexpected expense.

However, when they took the car in to the body shop, the mechanics found another problem.  In the inspection, they discovered the sway bar was broken.  The sway bar holds the car together and serves the purpose to keep the car from flipping over when you make turns.

There was no indication to my parents that anything was wrong with the suspension.  Had they not had this "accident," they would have continued to drive the car, unknowingly risking their lives every time they made a sharp turn.

So, the accidental collision with a mailbox was a blessing in disguise.

Directional Synchronicity: The Right Time

The more hospice experiences I have, the more sure I am that there is a significance and a plan to the timing of a patient's death.  I have written about timing before here.  Today I was on my way to sit bedside with a patient who was actively dying.  I will call him "Ed."  I was supposed to start at 8 am but I felt directed to get there a few minutes early.  Sure enough, when I walked back to the room, the whole family was there and they told me that he had just passed.

Ed's daughter, whom I will call "Melissa" apologized that I hadn't been notified in time so that I did not have to come.  I expressed my condolences and asked if she was there when he died.  She said, "Yes, and it was the strangest thing."  She pulled me out into the hallway and asked me if I had remembered the conversation we had two days prior.

Two days ago, she had asked me, "Is it true that when their feet turn blue, that is the sign that the time is near?  That is what the nurse said."  I smiled.  I know that at this time, when a loved one is dying, the words I say will be remembered.  I need to be extra thoughtful in my communication.  I also do not want to ever contradict another staff member.

I said, "Yes, it is true.  However..." and then I began to explain to her the spiritual side of things.  That the more that I have worked in hospice, the more I know that the timing is much more mysterious.  Sometimes the feet don't change.  Sometimes they do and the person doesn't die.  What I told her is that there is a plan, and it's something that we don't get to know until later.  I told her, "If you are meant to be there, you will be... but sometimes, no matter how much you love them, they would rather spare you of the moment."  I told her that it can be nearly impossible to predict which way the patient will want it, but after the fact, it will always seem clear that how it happened was the way it was supposed to happen.

Her eyes got big and she told me that her father in law had passed just minutes after they had left the room.  Her own experience confirmed for her what I was saying.  She thanked me for the conversation and went to work.

Fast forward to today.  This is what Melissa told me in the hallway.  Melissa had been thinking about what I had told her.  She decided to have a conversation with her dad, "Ed."  She told him lovingly, "Dad, you and I both know that I am the only one in the family who can handle being here when you go.  Everyone has said their goodbyes... I will look after them.  You need to go while it's on my shift."

Within just a couple of minutes, his breathing changed.  The nurse acknowledged that it would be soon.  Melissa called her family.  Knowing that they were on their way, he knew it was time.  Ed died within five minutes of his daughter telling him it was time to go.  She said he took three breaths and it was a peaceful transition.

So then after Melissa had told me the story, we both found significance in the fact that I had not been notified.   It was important to her to tell me the story, and it was helpful for me to hear it.

Directional Synchronicity: Convene

I was preparing for the Association for Death Education & Counseling's annual conference.  I had volunteered to convene a session.  This basically is the person who introduces the speakers, helps them with timing and also distributes handouts.  I had convened sessions in the past and previously I was able to convene sessions I was planning on attending anyways.  Unfortunately, when I got notice of the sessions that I was assigned, I was not happy.  I was assigned sessions that could be interesting, but were not the ones that I had intended to attend at those designated times.  I wrote the convener back and said that I could not convene those sessions.  I did volunteer that I knew for sure that I wanted to go see Dr. Jenny Streit-Horne's and Dr. Jan Holden's presentation on "Afterdeath Communication:  Unlocking its Healing Potential" and if they needed a convener for that session, I would happily oblige.  The organizer told me that she would see what she could do, but then I never heard back.

When I checked in to the conference, they noted that I was a convener, but that I was not assigned to any sessions.  They said, we do have one extra session that the other convener cancelled on.  Is there any chance you could do it?  I said that it depended on what session it was, because I already had planned what sessions I was going to attend.  Sure enough, they grabbed the folder, and the session they needed someone to convene was the one that I had wished for in the first place - Dr. Holden's session!  I said that I would be happy to convene her session!

Directional Synchronicity: You're Lizzy!

I was at the ADEC conference in Atlanta and it was between sessions. I was undecided on my direction and ended up walking one way and then turning around and walking the other way. As I walked past the elevator, the door opened and a woman came out and said emphatically, "You're Lizzy!"

I was a bit surprised, but she told me that a man named Robbie had told her to come find me. She said, "You know Robbie, don't you?" I said that unfortunately I didn't. At these conferences, I meet a lot of people and speak to groups and more people know who I am than I know.

I asked her, "What exactly did he say?" Then it became clear. He is connected to me on Twitter and told her, "Lizzy is a friend of palliative care." He had seen on my Twitter posts that I was going to be attending the conference, and he had told her to track me down.

The funny thing is, he had told her via Facebook to track me down, just a minute before she got on the elevator. That is why her voice was so emphatic because she could not believe that I had materialized right there.

As it turned out, Val and I made a wonderful connection. She is a palliative care nurse educator, and we had a lot in common. I am really grateful that she had been directed my way by an acquaintance on Twitter.

Throughout the conference, Val and I kept meeting by chance. It turned out the be quite humorous all the places we were running into each other.

*** UPDATE***

I sent a twitter post to Robbie, the man who introduced Val and I. He just tweeted me back to say that Val walked into the room while he was reading this post!!!

Directional Synchronicity: The Bow Maker

I hate being bored on airplanes. I usually take a big stack of magazines with me to pass the time. While I enjoy conversations with seatmates, you can't count on the idea that the person next to you will want to talk the whole time. I had just boarded the flight from Columbus to Atlanta and I realized that I had left my stack of magazines at home. I cursed myself.

Then a man came and sat next to me. I don't know who started the conversation, but I don't think it was me. While I am very open to strangers, I am not usually one to initiate. We talked for about 15 minutes and then exchanged names.

Rodney Mohr is one of the most fascinating people I have ever met. He is a second generation carpenter and a world-renowned bow maker for violins. (Yes, quite random, I know). He is the only bow maker in Ohio. It takes him a week to make just one of these classic bows.

Now I should say, I know nothing about violins or bows. That didn't matter. What oozed out of him was his passion for the craft. He has been making bows for 25 years. We should all have something that we are that passionate about.

We ended up talking for the whole hour and a half flight. Not just about bows, but about everything. We both like research. We talked about caring for aging parents. We talked about music.

Now here is the other funny synchronicity: right as we were about to land, Rodney realized he was sitting in the wrong seat.

If you are in the market for bows or bow restoration, Rodney is your man. Check out his website.

Directional Synchronicity: Quit the Games

I am addicted to the Smurfs Village application on my IPAD. Yes, I know, it is probably targeted towards (ahem) a younger demographic, but it's fun. I am now on level 33, so you know I have been playing it a while. Today I was in my kitchen and I went to do my morning Smurfs maintenance. I needed to harvest my pumpkins and collect my XP. But the app would not open. It crashed. I would try again. It crashed. I literally tried it more than ten times. I really was not going to give up. It worked fine yesterday, and they hadn't changed anything with the program, so I was confused as to why it wasn't working.

Then it occurred to me. Perhaps it is the universe telling me that I should be cleaning my kitchen instead of playing Smurfs?

I was waiting for a microwave repairman, and it would be nice if the kitchen were in decent shape before he got there. BUT I still kept trying to get into the program. Finally I said, "Ok, I will clean the kitchen after I play the Smurfs. I promise." It was the very next attempt when the app didn't crash and I got in... perhaps it was the 15th attempt by then. I harvested, I collected my XP and then I closed it down and fulfilled my promise to clean the kitchen.

Some people might say I read too much into things. Maybe so. It made me laugh, though.

Directional Synchronicity: Trust Your Journey

My friend D. came across an inspirational website that happened to have a store with items that she liked. She and I have been exploring the metaphysical world together and have had many wonderful discussions. On the website there is a set of bracelets that is meant for two people - the giver keeps one for herself and gives one to a friend. She was drawn to a set of bracelets that said, Trust Your Journey, and almost bought them, but then decided against it because we don't usually exchange gifts, she had never ordered from that website, etc.

But then not long after that, we were at a party and both received psychic readings from the same person. We took notes for each other and the tarot reader said to me, "Trust Your Journey." D knows how much I love synchronicities, and she took this to be a directional synchronicity for her to go back and buy the bracelets. She did, and I love mine! As she expected, the gift was even more special because it had a synchronicity attached to it.

Directional Synchronicity: Dying in the Digital Age

My cousin JL and I are close, and I blog about her frequently. Last year she completed her PhD in Digital Psychology. I study Thanatology (death and dying) and hope to return to school for my PhD as well.

A few days ago, JL and I were talking about our mutual interests and I lamented that it would be so nice for us to find a way to work together.

Not long after I was catching up on my journal reading when I came across a conference called, "Dying in the Digital Age" that perfectly blends our two disciplines. Neither of us knew that a "blending" existed. Not only does it blend our interests, but the conference had issued a "call for papers" due in March. It is almost as if the universe has not only blessed the idea of us working together, but is now nudging us to do so.

The conference is in England and we would both be paying out of pocket. Because it never hurts, we have asked the universe to provide the financial means for us both to go. We'll see what happens.

As a side note, my interest is in studying the blogs of people who say that they created they blog because they are dying, and they want to document their final months. It seems to be a trend lately. If you come across any of these blogs, please send them my way.

Mirror Synchronicity: Metal Mouth

Again, for those who may not be familiar with my blog, I have always said that I record all synchronicities, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

My husband was watching a television show about the radium girls - women who inadvertently ingested radium while working in factories in the early 20th century. They used their mouths to moisten paintbrushes and then used the painbrushes to apply a coating on watches. (If you are curious about it, you can read about it here.)

The next morning, I went to a local IANDS meeting and we had a guest speaker named Mark Pitstick, author of Radiant Wellness. He has a background in nutrition and talked extensively about the mind-body connection, but also how many of our ailments can be attributed to inadvertently digesting metals from processed foods.

Whoa. So hearing this twice in 12 hours made me think that I need to reevaluate my diet. Was this simply a mirror synchronicity or was there a deeper directional synchronicity nudge?

But honestly, I didn't think too hard about it. That day I had Cheetos and a Diet Coke for lunch.

Directional Synchronicity: Highly Recommended

Recently I moved into a house that needed some roof repairs. I remembered last year when we almost bought a different house I had a conversation with a roofer that I had found on Angie's List (A recommendation website for services). I was so impressed with my conversation with Bradley from Bradley Builders that I decided that I wanted to call him again, a year later.

Because he is highly recommended, it did take a few weeks before he could get out to our house, which was okay because it was not an emergency. He was outside working when I heard a knock at the door. I went to the front door and saw him pounding so I assumed that was what I had heard. Then I heard another knock. He was still out the front door and did not look like he was trying to get my attention so I went and looked at the back door. No one was there. I remembered that my garage door was open so I went to the door to the garage and my dad was standing there.

I was surprised to see him. Since I moved to this house in May, my dad has not ever "dropped by." My dad immediately said, "What's Brad doing here?" I said, "You know him?" and he said, "Yes, he was my next door neighbor 15 years ago." Now here is the synchronicity. I had just seen my dad the day before but he decided for some reason that he needed to come over and bring me some magazines that he had for me. Were it not for his random drop-in on the same day at the same time the roofer was there, I would not have known that they were neighbors. I had already received excellent care from the roofer, but when he found out my dad was his former neighbor, I think that was the icing on the cake!

We're going to need a new roof in a couple of years and even though it's not the type of roof that Bradley would do, he still spent a significant amount of time walking me around and showing me what I will need to tell the roofers that come.

Directional Synchronicity: Twitter Post

I promised I would blog all synchronicities, no matter how small.

For those of you familiar with Twitter, you know that the messages that others post are fleeting. I had just decided that I couldn't hold it any longer and had to go upstairs to the bathroom. I was flipping through to close the tabs on my computer and I came across this tweet:

writethewords Lydia

Are you ever too comfortable wherever you are to get up and take a leak?

I am going to chalk this up to a directional synchronicity, telling me it's time to sign off.

Mirror Synchronicity: Lottery Mistakes

On November 10th there was a lottery story about how a man did not ask for the powerball but got it anyways, which made him win a million dollars instead of $200,000. Here is a link to one of the stories:

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20111110/HURBLOG/111119912/1211/news01?Title=-1-million-prize-rooted-in-cashier-s-mistake&tc=ar

What amuses me is that in trying to find the article, I actually came across another article about a lottery mistake which happened in October. The person had asked for a MegaMillions but the clerk issued a PowerBall ticket instead. She paid for it and good thing she did - she won $25 million dollars.

http://news.yahoo.com/ga-lottery-woman-gets-25m-store-mistake-015834399.html

Both stories are each directional synchronicities (mistake=win) and together they make a mirror synchronicity. Wow. For the regular readers of my blog, I'm still seeing lottery synchronicities. Does that mean I should start playing again?

Directional Synchronicity: Right Time, Right Place

My friends Tom and Ross are from the metaphysical group I belong to. They wanted to go on an excursion and a bit of a ghost hunt to Granville, OH. The plan was to have dinner at the Buxton Inn, which touts itself as "America's most ghostly country inn." I cancelled the first trip we had planned because I was not feeling well, so we went the following week.

After dinner we were exploring the basement of the Granville Inn, which is across the street and also known to be haunted. We ran into D., an employee, who just happened to be drawn downstairs at the same time we were there. I was sitting across the room from him and I could see in my mind's eye a spirit attached to him. It felt loving and very fond of him and interested in him. I assumed it was one of the Inn's ghosts but when I told him, he said he had felt that his grandfather was with him. He was having some personal challenges and so it was a comfort to him for me to validate what he had already felt on his own. He expressed delight in meeting us and within minutes we all bonded and exchanged information and D is planning on coming to our next group gathering. When we left the Inn, we remarked at the timing of it all with my having cancelled the prior week and D's decision to walk downstairs just when we were there.

So now, you might be asking yourself if we saw or felt anything, and the answer is yes. I saw movement several times, and felt the energies. But unfortunately (like the first time I had experienced spirit activity when my aunt was dying) I was unsettled. Even though the spirits were benevolent, I really did not enjoy the experience. I will not be attending any other ghost hunts.

Directional Synchronicity: The Lottery!

Ok, I know what you're thinking so first let me just say that I fully acknowledge this might just be wishful thinking...but read the whole post first and then tell me if you think there might be a synchronicity somewhere.

It all started on September 24th when I found a used lottery ticket on the ground by my mailbox. When one finds a lottery ticket one needs to verify that it isn't a winner, right? I did check and discovered that no, it was not a winner. BUT the ticket reminded me that I had a coupon for a Buy $5 Lottery Ticket and get a $2 one free.

So I dig around in my mail pile to find the coupon and discover that it expires THAT DAY.

Of course, I go to buy a $5 ticket and get my free $2 lottery ticket.

The $2 one is not a winner, but the $5 ticket is. I win $5. I keep the winning $5 ticket in my purse for the next time I happen to go to the gas station.

The following day, I am watching Family Guy and the episode is entitled, "Lottery Fever" . I am surprised and excited to see another lottery reference so soon. I tell my husband about the lottery synchronicity and that perhaps this is a 'sign'. My husband says, "Forget the scratch offs - if we win the lottery, I want it to be the big one."

Before you scoff, I need to tell you that you will never win the lottery if you don't play. And maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not going to ignore a potential synchronicity that tells me to play the lottery. I don't normally play... but the last time I had a dream about the lottery I bought a ticket and won $75. Small wins, people, small wins.

So anyways, I don't know much about the lottery but I tell my husband to stop at the gas station so I can buy a ticket. I cash in my winning $5 scratch off and tell him I want the megamillions. Before I can ask any questions, the guy punches it in and gives me 5 single entries. BUT I notice that I didn't get the Megaplier number. I was disappointed but not so disappointed as to get another ticket. This is just for fun anyways.

So, the night of the drawing, I creep down to the computer after 11 to check my ticket. I am kicking myself for not getting the Megaplier. I don't understand the whole megaplier thing but it seems like you need it to really win big. I have a number here and a number there but I can't really tell if I won.

Today I stopped in to the gas station and asked the attendent to check the ticket. Sure enough, I won again - $2!!! (small wins, people, small wins). So what do I do with my $2? Well, I am going to ride the rush. I bought one ticket WITH the Megaplier this time. The drawing is tomorrow night. Maybe I will win.

If this ticket doesn't win, I'm done for now until I get another inkling of a sign. I will keep you posted.

BUT JUST FOR FUN... here's my promise. IF I win the FULL megamillions jackpot ($113 million), I will believe that it was your positive energy that helped and I will give $1,000 each (one thousand dollars!) to the first 20 people who comment on this post (one comment per person please - don't be greedy).

Directional Synchronicity: Kismet meeting #2 of 2

Yesterday I drove to Cleveland for the day to spend time with my uncle who had lost his wife (my aunt) last year and just recently lost his mom. We had a wonderful day visiting, but given that Cleveland is a two hour drive, I was tired on the drive home. About half an hour before I would have arrived home, I received multiple pleas from the volunteer coordinator at the hospice. There was a patient who was actively dying and alone. His family lived out of town and the facility did not have the staff to stay with him. They were looking for eleventh hour volunteers. Was anyone available?

I thought about it. I was exhausted. It was 8:00 at night and I had not yet eaten dinner. I had been away from home all day, and had things I had planned to do.

Yet I felt compelled to go volunteer. Why? I kept asking myself... why are you doing this to yourself? Are you trying to be a martyr? I really wasn't, but I just knew that I should go.

Funny enough, it wasn't for the patient - he was fine. There was an on-call nurse, Mary, who had been sitting with him until they could round up the volunteers. I had never met her before, but like my other post that I mentioned, there are some people who you instantly click with. We started talking about the patient, which transitioned to how I knew everyone at the hospice (I used to work there) which transitioned to metaphysical stuff. Amazingly, Mary and I have a LOT in common. She started to talk about synchronicities. I laughed. I said, "You don't know who you're talking to! I have been writing about synchros for seven years!" We bonded at the bedside of a dying patient. After she left, I thanked the patient. I told him he was a great party host for introducing us. I stayed with him for hours and we just sat and held hands.

Later when I did the shift change, someone who worked at the facility told me a bit more about the patient in life. He definitely was the life of the party and would've been the type to have introduced Mary and I. Funny. I hope that Mary and I become friends.

Directional Synchronicity: Kismet meeting #1 of 2

It is amazing to me how people can give off strong energies in such a short time period of knowing them. I had an experience yesterday where I met two kinds of people at the same time (strangely enough, they were talking to each other). One I could not get away from fast enough, and one with whom I felt an instant connection.

For the first time in a year and a half, I went back to the metaphysical store that I had visited during the time my aunt was dying last year. I wrote about this particular store in my book because I had a series of synchronicities there. I wanted to go back and visit again, perhaps buy some things and tell them that I wrote about them in the book I just published.

Long story short, the owner was not really interested in my story. I am high energy sometimes and perhaps he was annoyed by my babble. He did mention that he was on the verge of selling the store, so perhaps he had already checked out. To make matters worse, when we determined it was his wife who had been working last year, I said something stupid.

"She was kind of cranky."

Ooops. Blank stare from him. Then a bit of a clenched jaw.

Oh no I insulted his wife. I really didn't mean to insult her, it was just an observation. Actually, it was an understatement. She was not just cranky, she was disinterested... and not what you might typically assume that the store owner of a metaphysical store would be like.

So I had put my foot in my mouth. I tried to back out. I apologized profusely, but he was not letting me off the hook. Clenched jaw, fake smile. Wow. I am so sorry. I am sooooooooooooo sorry. Nothing. No concession that perhaps she might have been that way at that time. I was very uncomfortable and he just let me squirm. We left quickly.

The woman who had been standing next to him was the owner of another store. She had gone to visit him to make an offer for his store but he was already in negotiations. This woman, Carol, owns a store called Crystal Era in Elyria. She was so pleasant and light and she came up to me in the parking lot and said, "Don't worry - they're both unfriendly. You did not say anything bad."

We then ended up talking for fifteen minutes about metaphysical things, after death communication and of course synchronicities. This woman had the most unbelievable positive rainbow lighthearted energy about her. She was someone who I would want to sit next to on a bus, someone I would want to share tea with, someone I would want to be friends with. She said she had a lot of synchronicity stories. I asked her to email me so I could share them with you. I hope she does.