“There are no strangers — only friends we haven’t met yet.” - Irish proverb

Hi! I’m Mary Hayes Grieco, and you are receiving this e mail newsletter because you attended an event of mine in the past, or because a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend of yours on the web is a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend of mine. If you are someone who enjoys information related to spirituality, healing, and personal growth I think you’ll enjoy visiting my brand new web site, and I hope that this debut e mail will reach out to you in a friendly way and serve you today and into the future.

If you aren’t into this stuff, and you just hate getting unsolicited things in your e mail, go right ahead and click unsubscribe (at bottom of page) right now and you’ll never hear from me again, I promise! If you aren’t into this personal growth stuff but you know someone who is, or someone you care about is going through a big loss or resentment and needs to learn how to forgive, I hope you’ll take a moment to pass this link along to them --- www.maryhayesgrieco.com. That way you’ll use the web to be nice to someone today.

If you choose to stay on my mailing list and receive this monthly newsletter, I’ll keep you informed about new products and learning opportunities, as well as share with you a monthly inspirational essay, and an occasional “news flash from the Universe.” (See below for a sample of that.)

If we are “friends who haven’t met yet”, I’ll briefly introduce myself: I live and work in Minneapolis, Mn. as a writer, teacher, public speaker, and counselor. I have been working in the field of spiritual development for twenty years, and my specialty is a remarkable method of forgiveness that helps people get free of the things that bind them.

I’m the author of a Hazelden book, The Kitchen Mystic: Spiritual Lessons Hidden in Everyday Life, and four audiotapes that combine philosophy, storytelling, and “how-to”. There is a more extensive professional biography on my web site, if you are interested in learning more about me and my work. My central passion is the liberation of the joy of the human spirit, and everything I do in my work is related to that purpose.

If we already have the pleasure of knowing each other in a personal or professional capacity, I’ll just share with you personally that December 2003 finds me healthy, happy, and grateful for my fertile life. I’m enjoying finishing the new version of my book, The Kitchen Mystic, updated and expanded with eight new essays. I’m also doing some “Spirit at Work” teaching in local corporations, adapting the Unconditional Love and Forgiveness model to the painful situations that come along with restructuring.

I’m busy raising my seven year old daughter, Vivi, and marveling at my 19 year old Tara, as she creates her adult life on her very own terms. We survived the teenage years, and if you are in the mode of surviving them right now, you will probably enjoy this month’s story at the end of the newsletter.

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News Flash from the Universe

This will be a semi-regular feature in the newsletter. It used to be a popular feature on my radio show a while ago. A “news flash from the Universe” is a hopeful insight I’ve received from Spirit related to our times, and humanity’s collective consciousness.

“Do you find yourself feeling upset about many, many, things going on in America and in America’s relationship with the rest of the world community? If you need to make peace with your nation right now, simplify your concerns down to one understanding: America is “off course.” Like a ship gets off course, like an exuberant teenager gets off course because they lack maturity and wisdom, America is off course. Pray for America. Pray that it learns to temper its exuberance with true wisdom, and to get back on track with the promise of it’s founder’s original vision of democracy.”

Article/story of the Month: “Waiting for a Raft to Appear”

The three of them were sprawled sideways across the yellow raft, heads flung back, mouths wide open with howls of laughter. Squashed together like sardines, Savannah, James, and Zoe tipped and teetered giddily while they sought balance between them in a rubber raft made for two people. James’ long legs disappeared into the water on one side of the boat, and his lengthy torso extended well over the rim of the other side, but the two short girls at either elbow were slouched down inside it, their bottoms grazing the stony shore through the thin rubber. Zoe’s long black braids trailed into the water, floating like seaweed as the raft bobbed dangerously low to the shining surface. It was already starting to ship plenty of river water. Savannah’s face was red and wet with tears from laughter, but she tried to pull it together for a moment as I stood nervously on the shore and attempted to talk some sense into them.

“Um.... guys? This really might be kind of a bad idea .... you might want to think about this ....it’s a long trip to be so crowded... Savannah? Where are the oars?”

“We... ha ha ha ... don’t have any.... ha ha ha.... don’t worry, Mary, I think it’s going to be just fine!”

“You don’t have oars? I thought you were kidding about that!”

The boat began to drift languidly out from the shore, coaxed by the current running strongly in the middle. James and Zoe attempted to synchronize their wobbles as they bailed out the water in the bottom. They were about twenty feet away from me. I could still put my foot down and say Absolutely not! I won’t let you do this — it’s foolish! But they were seventeen, they knew everything, and they wanted an adventure. I was vulnerable to losing this argument because I wanted them to like me and think I’m cool. I was seventeen once.

Click here to go to the rest of the story. I hope you enjoy it!