One of the earlier prophetic dreams I had was in 2008, and it changed the trajectory of my life. I was told and shown within a dream that I’d have a son, even though I was single, gay and on a tight budget. For gay men, having children is a very complicated and often expensive process. Yet in the dream, I was introduced to my son and told that I would have him with my lesbian best friend Tricia and […] The post A BLESSING AND A CURSE: 3 prophetic dreams that changed the trajectory of a life appeared first on The Mindful Word ..read more

My first two years in Ecuador are broken up by occasional trips to the United States, sometimes for work but mostly to visit friends and family. I’ve changed since my move, and those closest to me notice during my visits. Darkness has entered me, keeping me at arm’s length from them. I grow quiet or withdraw. Sometimes I simply show them what they want to see. But they know me well enough to see through these performances and worry that […] The post BREAKING DOWN AND BREAKING OPEN: Choosing life over the shadows of death appeared first on The Mindful Word ..read more

When we move in harmony with our true design, we experience comfort, but when we believe things about our bodies that aren’t true, we experience discomfort. Many false ideas and concepts about our bodies are foisted on us by the fashion and cosmetic industries. Bears don’t look in the mirror, and they don’t worry about being fashionable. They just move naturally in accordance with their design. Our “civilized” customs and concerns about our appearance prevent us from moving naturally and […] The post THE COSMETIC BODY: Try this 4-step walking exercise to see your body in a new light appeared f ..read more

According to Buddhism, the source of all suffering is ignorance: in other words, not knowing what we don’t know.  Often, our life experiences cause us to struggle with who we are in relation to others. We experience the words and behaviours of authority figures as either supportive and caring or hurtful and confusing. As a result, we form opinions and storylines about ourselves that don’t reflect who we really are. We then find ourselves reacting to people and situations based […] The post AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: Reflections on Trump, Harris and the DNC appeared first on The Mindful Word ..read more

Limbo Why do we love nature in its undecided state?The white-pink blossoms with eyes half-closed; shrivelled and blooming all at once.The sun drawing breath and bellowing over the land while the wind rises; its rays reachinga vertebra of clouds in a striped sky. Can we live this, too? Uncertain. In limbo.Free to be unknowing.Would not a rose smell sweeter if it had no name at all? Whole We spend our days filling our lives,our lives filling our days,forgetting that every […] The post POEMS BY OLIVIA HAJIOFF: Limbo, Whole, The Spinning Man appeared first on The Mindful Word ..read more

Writing can be a deeply rewarding hobby, offering a way to express yourself and connect with the world around you. Whether you’re journaling to explore your thoughts and emotions, crafting a memoir to preserve your life story for future generations or penning fictional tales that transport you and your readers to new worlds, the written word opens up a world of possibilities. Journaling provides a personal outlet for reflection and self-discovery, helping you process your experiences and gain insights into […] The post WRITING AFTER AGE 50: Pen a memoir and leave a legacy appeared first on The ..read more

In the bustling world of today, finding a moment of tranquillity can seem like searching for a needle in a haystack. Yet when we dive into the mystical realms of Tarot cards, we find an oasis hidden amid the chaos. The art of meditating with your Tarot deck is energetically akin to having tea with your wise old friend—it’s nourishing, insightful, and above all, comforting. Few understand that meditation isn’t solely about quieting the mind; it’s about tuning into another […] The post TAROT MEDITATION AND JOURNALING: 10 steps to enhance your connection with your cards appeared first on The Mind ..read more

Minks The signs left behind remind methat you are here: the ripplesgenerating from underthe riverbank, webbed prints in the damp sand and wet snow, pilesof crayfish remains. But youwatch me the entire time. Inthe thickets and woods, I move around you with the stealth ofa bulldozer. A quick scanand you know instantly thatyou are done with hunting for the time being. Patience is theonly way that I will catcha glimpse of you, but you aremore patient than I am. With […] The post POEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: The Nomad, Abstractions, Support Group and more appeared first on The Mindful Word ..read more

In 2021, for Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), I visited a cemetery in Mexico. The gate of the cemetery was adorned with the following phrase: Polvo eres y a ser polvo tornará, which translates to, “Dust you are and to dust you will return.” All of us will eventually disintegrate into dust, and our lives will have been just a blip in this universal timeline. Think about the dinosaurs—they roamed Earth for 165 million years, yet in […] The post THE TOP 5 REGRETS OF THE DYING: How to avoid these regrets by living in the present appeared first on The Mindful Word ..read more

I recently returned from a camping trip that was perspective-shifting. As I sat around the campfire, gazing up at the starry night sky, I was unexpectedly filled with a realization of God’s cosmic vastness. I thought, am I really looking up at hundreds of enormous plasma spheres located trillions of miles away from me? Are we all actually living on this planet, among trillions of others, barrelling through the solar system and the Milky Way? This was an embarrassingly shocking […] The post “FEW WHO FIND IT”: Invoking vastness as an antidote to egotism appeared first on The Mindful Word ..read more