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 Some say freedom is a state of mind. I asked myself, "Am I Free," and I challenged myself to explore that question. To truly be free requires that I live a heart-centered life. That is not so easy, but it has become a little easier as time passes. I now recognize when I am out of my heart. I 'm off center, unbalanced and tightly wound in a spiral of thought that now feels as though they belong to someone else.
The other day I was captured by ego when I reacted to a circumstance that had nothing to do with me. My ego took over and drove me crazy. I felt the entire energy of my body and mind shifting into a very unpleasant place. Trying to figure it out was not the answer.
How can I change this, I wondered? What can I do? I finally realized that I was stuck in my mind and had to stop and see the situation from my heart. So simple. So easy. As I did, I was surprised because I felt a change happen so quickly. The feeling disapeared immediately and it stunned me. I blessed the entre incident as a lesson so profound that I will not forget.
Will it happen again. Being human, I suspect it will. I know that when it does I can change it by taking a moment to recognize the Presence and make the shift to my heart. Thank you God for simple lessons and the insights of your Wisdom.
With Much Love, Barbara Rev. Dr. Barbara Rasp http://www.wisdomsvoice.com/
 When I was in my teens, baby sitting was an easy way for me to earn extra money. One day my mother approached me about spending the weekend with someone named Maude. It seems that my mother and Maude's grandaughter were going to a bowling tournament on Florida's west coast. The look in Mom's eyes told me I'd better say yes
For a sixteen year old, being cooped up in a house with a 90 year old didn't sound like fun. In those days, however, when my mother said to do it, I did it. So, I agreed to stay with Maude while dreading the entire experience.
I spent two days and a night with one of the most adorable women I had ever met. She was such a sweetheart, and she kept me enthralled with her stories. Maude was a high school English teacher for 40 years. I decided I'd better not say too much, but sometimes teenagers have a difficult time being quiet. Grammar was not my forte, but Maude gently corrected me. She offered to give me some pointers, which turned out to be quite helpful in years to come. When she learned that I was a reader, she gave me a list of books that I might like.
Most of us can remember some incidents from our childhood. Often, they tend to be the ones that had the most impact on our lives. Maude certainly did on mine. I can still hear that precious woman as I sat by her bed as she prayed the Rosary. I can also see her sitting at the kitchen table as we ate breakfast the next morning.
If I think about how many weekends I've lived and how many places I have been, I wondered why I remembered this time so clearly. We didn't do anything special or go anywhere at all. Perhaps it's because I felt such a kinship with that lovely woman who taught me so much about life in such a short time.
Written for you with Love,
Barbara
 Today (February 6th) would be my Mother’s 102nd Birthday. She has been on my mind all day. I thought I would share something I wrote a few years ago about her. I hope you enjoy it.
I heard her voice again this morning. I awakened and looked at the clock, noting that I had one more hour to sleep. As I rolled to my side she simply called, “Barbara!” Although she’d gone home to God five years ago, I knew it was she. The ethereal quality of the voice did not diminish her personal resonance. She’d spoken to me many times and in many ways. Occasionally, like this morning, it was audible, direct and loving. I said “Hi Mom” and slowly rolled to my side to sleep until the alarm sounded. She, however, had a different plan.
Unable to go back to sleep, I arose and sat in the chair beside my bed. “Ok Mom, what do you want?” In the silence my inner voice prompted me to turn on the television. I dragged myself to the living room, picked up the remote and clicked. There it was, a program about mothers and daughters. I let out a deep sigh and watched, in awe of what had just happened. As I listened to the complexity of mother/daughter relationships, I had the distinct feeling that this was much more than a coincidence. It was a lesson in listening.
Out of this arose the perception that Mom has really never left. I can see more of her in me than ever before. She’s in my gestures and in the way I walk. When I look in a mirror and see her face in mine, I often smile and say, “Hi Margaret!” Maybe she hears me and returns the greeting when I am open to hearing her speak.
And then I question…Does my mother live inside of me as well? Does my inner Wisdom know that Mom’s voice will get my attention? If I believe that there is really only One, then both are true. Nevertheless, my heart is bursting with love and gratitude today. How many times I’ve longed to hear my mother’s voice…just once more. Now I have, and perhaps I will again.
Dear God,
Today I am grateful for your infinite Patience. I open myself to receive your Divine Guidance, and I listen closely for your loving Voice that comes through in so many ways.
And so it is
AMEN
Sent To You With Love. Rev. Dr. Barbara Rasp
God is the friend of silence. See how nature -- trees, flowers, grass -- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence . . . We need silence to be able to touch souls. Mother Teresa
 When I graduated from High School I decided that nursing would be my profession. And so it was for nearly forty years. I’ve been asked many times about where I worked and what I did as a nurse. I went to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami for my training as an RN and worked there for two years before moving to California. My resume is really too long for all that I did, but I must admit that my 10 years in Newborn Nursery were my absolute favorite. I must smile when I talk about this because that was the last place I thought I’d ever work.
At the time I had just moved to Connecticut from California where I had worked for several years in a surgical intensive care unit at UCLA Hospital. I had not worked in a nursery since nursing school and things had changed quite a bit in that specialty. Of course, babies are still the same, so I finally gave in and went for an interview. One look at those sweet innocent beings and I fell in love. They hired me on the spot, and I gave notice to the Oral Surgeon that I had worked for only a year.
I must admit that my ten years in newborn nursery was my absolute favorite. Those sweet innocent God beings were just delightful. Their needs were simple, as were their activities. They ate, slept, cried, peed and pooped twenty-four hours a day. Most of all, they were able to spend time with mom and dad who loved and held them longer than the nursery personnel could.
Being an RN, I cared mostly for those who were sick, premature and any others that needed special care. If they were too ill for our limited staff and equipment, they were transferred to the closest teaching hospital which was Yale in New Haven, CT. Many times I rode in the back of the ambulance down curving roads, since a direct Interstate did not exist. At one point, I was sent there for a month of training, which was quite helpful.
Newborn Nursery is not the easiest place to work, but just being around the babies was really as good as it gets for me. Why, you may wonder? Those little God Beings were completely innocent and I was privileged to care for them.
What I learned over many years as I grew spiritually is that the innocence we see in them is still in us. When I think of my own innocence, it brings tears to my eyes. If we could only remember that regardless of who we become or what we do, just like me and my 80 plus Grandma, the innocence is still there.
Written For You with Love,
Rev. Dr. Barbara Rasp
 Sometimes I sense a gentle presence within me that lightens my burdens. It is silent and comes forth as I allow. It’s nearly midnight. This could be a lonely time, but I’m anything but lonely. The soft background music brings forth a sweet memory of my mother as one of her favorite tunes begins to play. A melancholy emerges and deeply touches my heart.
It is so easy to slip into memories instead of being in the now, but this memory is heartfelt and comforting. It reminds me how fragile this life is. It says, listen…listen, she’s close by, and in reality she never left.
How fortunate I am to sit in the sea of memory for just a little while. After hours spent filling time with everyday activity, her closeness brings tears to my eyes. Yes, it is a part of life, a part of something I cannot fully comprehend. Still, somewhere in the depth of my heart that memory comforts and sustains me.
People used to say how much we looked alike. Others do not see it. I have some of my father’s features too but mostly I am my mother. She taught me by example how to treat friends and neighbors and, most of all, to love God.
A day passes quickly, and then a year is gone. How many more moments, days and years? No one knows. I don’t take life for granted any more. Right now, there is nothing to do. Oh, if I could know this freedom well. One day, perhaps, the Light will come, and I will merge into the consciousness of the Beloved. Tonight though, I sit quietly in this breath of eternity. Nowhere to go; nothing to do. I’ll just be and…in this moment…that is enough.
And so it is…
Beloved Children,
The winds of change blow through your consciousness, upsetting your world, as you know it to be. These winds have a greater purpose than you can see. They come into your life to remind you that this is the time to surrender into peace.
The life you live is often shrouded in mystery because your vision is not clear. Pain and pleasure are choices and are present in your world. My dear ones, you will feel the pains of change until you are able to accept them fully as breaths of eternity.
As you learn to accept the winds of change and welcome them as truths to be explored, your life changes. When you understand the need for pain, it disappears. Clarity comes through prayer and silence, acceptance and love, duty and diligence. Out of this willingness to surrender, the winds calm and the peace of heaven emerges.
AMEN
Wwritten for you with Love,
Rev. Dr. Barbara Rasp
www.WisdomsVoice.com
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Some say freedom is a state of mind. I asked myself, "Am I Free," and I challenged myself to explore that question. To truly be free requires that I live a heart-centered life. That is not so easy, but it has become a little easier as time passes. I now recognize when I am out of my heart. I 'm off center, unbalanced and tightly wound in a spiral of thought that now feels as though they belong to someone else.
