Since this group is called the Abundance Institute, I thought I might as well write about abundance, lol. 😉 I have not actually seen any $$$ yet -- however, as we know, abundance is more than money. Though money definitely helps and is welcome, always, always, welcome! (I'm talking to you, money!) I have started a daily hour-long daily practice of qigong via zoom by a couple of qigong masters. It's completely free! Ever since I started that, my sleep has improved! For people who know me, this is a miracle!!! I have been experiencing hard-core insomnia for more than 10 years now and I have tried everything, and I mean everything!!! Last night, I got almost 6 hours of sleep. Again, for me, that is like a miracle. Then a friend told me about a daily drawing class via zoom later this month by a nature artist. That is just so, so very cool! I love drawing, and this will not only motivate me, I will get some tips on drawing from nature! Just received an early Christmas gift from an old friend. And another one is on the way from a different friend. This one is meant to help me with my frequency!!! Help heal me physically, mentally, and emotionally! It's not cheap, and I would not have been able to afford such a device. I am eagerly looking forward to it! This same friend also gave me a free remote healing session on the Rife machine. I am just so grateful to my friends, to the universe, and just life itself! ❤️❤️💝🙏❤️🙏

So, I believe I am supposed to share this here. @Shawn Helgerson if I am doing this wrong, let me know. This is my premise: I grew up without a model for how to live, and only later realized that my blind cat—simply by existing—offered me a map for courage, presence, and unconditional being. I believe this creates a good framework for the book. What do you say?

One problem I have never had is a lack of ideas. I'm bubbling with them! So the issue I have is that I have lots of ideas for books. Even as I work on one, I get more and more ideas for other books. What do I do? How shall I approach this? @Shawn Helgerson or @Yvette Muhammad -- who have, or are, writing a book(s) -- or anyone else -- do you have any suggestions?

All right, I'm going to be posting here my progress writing a nonfiction book using Shawn's methodology, as outlined in his course Wordsmith Academy. It's supposed to be finished in 6 weeks. Because of the holidays and other potential interruptions, as well as many other projects that I'm simultaneously doing, it might take me longer than 6 weeks, though I will try my best to stick to the schedule. That said, I am having a bit of a health issue too, and I do not want to compromise my health. I have written and published nonfiction books before, notably "Hypoglycemia for Dummies" and "The Encyclopedia of Hepatitis C and Other Liver Diseases." I have also written newspaper columns, articles, essays, poems, and short stories. I have been working on a YA (Young Adult) sci-fi urban fantasy novel.

In my book, I Have Decided, I decided not to break it into chapters because the phases I talk about are more like movements that need to happen simultaneously. This morning I finished writing Movement 3. I’m very pleased with how it came out and I wanted to share it with you guys: Movement 3: Develop Inner Knowing ## The Voice Beneath the Noise Jesus told a parable about ten bridesmaids waiting for a wedding. In that time and place, weddings worked differently than they do now. The bridegroom would travel to the bride's village to claim his wife and bring her back to his home for the wedding feast. But travel was unpredictable. No Uber. No Google Maps. No cell phones to text "running 20 minutes late." Sometimes the bridegroom arrived in the afternoon. Sometimes late at night. Sometimes not until the next day. The bridesmaids' job was to be ready whenever he arrived. They would light the path with oil lamps, leading the way through the village to the bride's home, then accompanying the wedding party to the feast. But if your lamp went out while you were waiting—if you ran out of oil—you couldn't light the path. You couldn't fulfill your role. You'd miss the wedding entirely. So Jesus told this story: Ten bridesmaids are waiting for the bridegroom. Five are wise—they brought extra oil for their lamps. Five are foolish—they didn't. The bridegroom delays. Hours pass. Everyone falls asleep. At midnight, someone shouts: "The bridegroom is coming!" The wise bridesmaids trim their lamps. They have oil. They're ready. The foolish ones realize their lamps have gone out. They panic and run to buy more oil. While they're gone, the bridegroom arrives. The wedding party forms. The wise bridesmaids light the path. Everyone goes in to the feast. When the foolish bridesmaids return with their fresh oil, the door is shut. "Too late." ## WHAT THIS PARABLE ISN'T ABOUT I grew up in evangelical churches where this parable was used as a warning about the rapture. If you didn't believe in Jesus the right way, if you weren't saved according to the proper formula, Christ would return and you'd be left behind. The door would shut. You'd be damned.