Happy May! — Let Miracles Abound.

Enlightenment is just a recognition, not a change at all. A Course in Miracles offers us a path of awakening. Like all such paths, the Course suggests that our usual perception, awareness, and sense of identity are clouded and distorted.

It therefore offers us a means of correcting these distortions so that we may see ourselves and the world more clearly. This transformation of perception is what the Course means by a "miracle." Your miracles await! (A tip of the hat to Alan Cohen for this insight.)

Oh What A Beautiful Morning

Susan and I headed to the Casa property early this morning to layout the star pattern, in the center of which Mother Mary's totem carving will soon stand.

The sky was cloudless and bird-less. As we walked toward the center of Mary's Garden, a
beautiful hawk swooped over our heads as though to greet our arrival. Just as quickly, he
disappeared.

After three hours in the sunshine, wind, and the Casa's magical energy, we gathered our equipment to ready for lunch at Café Rosa Mystica. Swooping from above, our hawk friend magically reappeared as if to share his goodbye, and a job well done!.

We couldn't make this stuff up if we wanted to. These are our little miracles — and so appreciated.

My Star, Susan, Making a Star For Mother Mary

From early Christian tradition, the five pointed star represents the five joys Mary had of Jesus (the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Resurrection, the Ascension and the Assumption.) The totem carving of Mother Mary will stand in the center of this star and will be the center of Mother Mary's Sacred Garden.

And more miracles will follow this lovely day. Our dear friends Scott and Sara, driving from Denver, will be here this evening to work on Mother Mary's Garden over the weekend. They'll be joining another dear friend, Franca Lee, who flew in from Maryland several days ago.

Sunday afternoon we'll be greeting yet another dear friend, Susan Feves from California, who will be helping to dig out sage brush roots and otherwise get her hands dirty and her muscles sore, as Mary's Garden begins to take shape.

Some Helpful Survival Tips For Being Human

1. You will receive one body. You may like it or hate it but it will be yours for this time around. Whatever the condition, embrace that body with love — and live with it! (This one act will make your journey much more bearable — and downright enjoyable!)

2. While on planet earth, you will learn lessons. That's what you're here for — and you WILL learn lessons! You have enrolled in this full-time graduate school called life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn your lessons. You may like the lessons, think them irrelevant, stupid, or even downright unfair — but you will learn from them.

3. The courses you have chosen in this earth school are:

A) Pain & Suffering 101 and, B) Overcoming Pain & Suffering.

4. If you fail to understand each lesson, like the movie Groundhog Day, you will be given opportunity after opportunity to get it right. They won't go away. You won't get a pass. The teacher will put more and more pressure on you until you finally get it!

5. Let's review — the lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then progress on to the next lesson.

6. Some of these lessons come in the form of 2 by 4's to the side of the head. These are very effective for those of us who qualify as slow (or unwilling) learners.

7. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error — experimentation. The failed experiments are as much a part of the learning process as the experiment that winds up working.

8. Lesson Learning never ends. There is no part of life that does not contain lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned. Here's an example of an important lesson — "There" is no better than "here". When your "there" has become "here" you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here".

9. Another important lesson! Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.

10. What you make of life-school is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is always yours.

11. The answers lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust your gut. (Intuition.)

12. You may forget all these instructions — or maybe you won’t! If you don't master your lessons, fear not, you get to return to earth school to try again, — and again, and again. Good luck with that!

Greetings My Beloved Ones...

Choose love today and see what grows.
Like a flower, the beauty of life will spread open it's petals to receive the Light.
Choose love and you will become Love.

Choose kindness today to open heart’s doors.
One gentle word of kindness is a healing balm more powerful than medicine.
Choose kindness and you will heal.

Choose compassion and see what flows.
A river of love will flow from one person to the next awakening their hearts to love.
Choose compassion and your life will flow.

Choose acceptance to mend broken hearts.
Judge not your neighbor's journey, but accept them instead.
They reach out for love. Choose acceptance and your heart will mend.

Choose laughter today and make hearts smile.
For when the heart smiles you see the world in a whole new light.
Choose laughter and be the light of the world.

Dreams, dreams of love for others, and your dreams of love will come true.

Choose to listen to your inner heart, for it is there Love waits to embrace you with the greatest discovery you have been seeking.
Love has never abandoned you.

Mother Mary

Through her messenger
Susan Sanderford
May 1, 2007

Several months ago we asked each of you to contact your friends and ask them to check out our Casa website. Our long-time wonderful friend Ashleigh, from Orlando, Florida, took us up on that request.

One of Ashleigh's good friends is Mark Husson, owner of Twelfth House, a well known and highly respected book store nestled in the heart of Denver. Mark's dream of having a store that could welcome all beliefs under the umbrella of one truth, "Life works!" Thirteen years later The Twelfth House, with its famous "Come in and feel the difference" tag line, has become the Denver areas most popular Metaphysical store.

Mark checked out our website, liked what he saw, and graciously featured the Casa de Santa Maria in his newsletter several weeks ago.

Result? Twenty-five new Casa subscribers — and they're still coming on board. Thank you dear Mark, and welcome new friends. We're interested in your feedback and suggestions.

Check out Mark's website when you have a free moment. Susan and I are new subscribers to his Power Peek newsletter. www.12House.com

Now you have a second chance to join this amazing group of like minded people on this once in a lifetime pilgrimage to some of the world's most sacred sites. Just two spaces are available so act today.

Visit www.casadesantamaria.org/england.html for the trip details.

Yes, just two spaces left for this trip of a lifetime. Susan and I would so love to have the pleasure of your company. Email us to claim your place. We promise wonderful experiences along the way.