• Ecclesiastes 30:22

• Gloria Steinem, Publishers Weekly - Aug 12, 1983

 Spotlight Behind the Scenes in Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood by Keith Varnum

Do . . . you . . . know . . . why . . . Mr. . . . Rogers . . . of . . .. Mr. . .. . Rogers’ . . . Neighbor . . . hood . . . TV . . . show . . . talks .. . . so . .. . very . . . slowly . . . and . . . very . . . clearly . . . and . . . uses . .. . little . . . tiny . . . words?

During my college years, I had the privilege of working as a prop man on the “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” show for WQED Public TV in Pittsburgh. One day, I asked Fred Rogers why he talked in such a leisurely, piecemeal way. What he shared with me, as well as what I observed being with him, gave me a fresh appreciation of commitment, compassion and integrity: “Children, as well as adults, understand us when we talk plainly and honestly to them,” explained Mr. Rogers. “I talk very simply to children because I want to communicate with them as young as possible. Even before children understand the intellectual definition of words, they absorb meaning from the vibration of each spoken word, the energy of the intention of the communication, and the feelings of the people speaking.”

Adroitly, Mr. Rogers never lectures his audience, but rather relies on his regular cast of puppet people and animals to present and implant caring concepts through playful adventures. The masterful way Fred Rogers uses his puppets—and the scope of his understanding of human nature—was never more evident than when the puppets would counsel the technical crew of his television show.

The crew—mostly cameramen, grips and technicians—rarely talked directly to Mr. Rogers off the set. They did, however, mercilessly make fun of him behind his back for the emotional and expressive way he communicated on the show and in public. Fred was an easy target for the crew because he was such an open and, to them, vulnerable man who wore his heart on his sleeve.

Amazingly though, while Mr. Rogers was rehearsing the movements of his puppets before each show, these same macho, blue-collar detractors would surreptitiously sneak into the television studio and ask his puppets for personal advice! Speaking through the voices and personalities of Wise Owl, the King, Squirrel and other puppets, Mr. Rogers would dispense guidance to the crew members about extremely personal issues, such as being impotent or having serious marital or health problems.

Fred assigned me the task of keeping everyone else off the set until he, or rather the puppets, finished counseling a worker. From a discreet distance, I observed these “tough” men cry and tell the puppets their most secret fears and weaknesses—like impotency, excessive drinking or marital problems. The men knew on some level, of course, that inside the puppet was the hand of Fred Rogers. The same men who would not talk to Mr. Rogers to his face would bare their souls to his puppet-covered hands! The genuine concern and compassion Fred expressed through his puppets to these workers was very moving to witness.

Later, in public, the same crew members he’d counseled continued to ignore Mr. Rogers, as if the puppet encounters had never occurred. And Fred played along with their detached behavior, not giving any sign of personal connection with the workers other than as ordinary members of his crew. However, I did notice that, over time, the men who got the most counseling from the puppets participated less and less in the mocking of their boss behind his back.

Fred Rogers taught me how to communicate in the most profound and affecting way—heart to heart, soul to soul. He not only showed me how to convey messages through direct transmission, he modeled how to do so with clarity, love and integrity. By daily example with the children and crew, he demonstrates how to use authenticity of intention to connect with other human beings on the most fundamental human level. He aligns his eyes, face and voice to instill a potent and consistent tone to his sharing. He utilizes his body and gestures to carry the strength of his conviction. To express the lightness and accepting nature of his presence, he uses spontaneous laughter, play, fun and humor to share on still more levels and reach a broader spectrum of children—of all ages! His carefully chosen words, stories and actions were the outer expression of inner eternal truths that have served me well over the years. I was, indeed, honored to hang with Mr. Rogers in his ‘hood.

• Keith Varnum, Phoenix, AZ

About the author:

From the roots of indigenous cultures and ancient spiritual traditions, Keith Varnum shares the underlying principles of all healing, transformation and success. After curing himself of blindness, Keith has perfected these practical secrets in his 30-year career as an author, therapist, filmmaker, acupuncturist, radio talk show host, gourmet chef, restaurateur, vice-president of a natural foods company and international seminar leader with his “Dream Workshops.” Keith helps people get the love, abundance and body they want through his free “Prosperity Ezine” at www.TheDream.com.

 A Second Helping: Touching One's Soul ... The Ultimate Inspiration for a Writer by Edward Toupin

From smoke and dirt to pollution and oil, it is amazing how much gunk can collect on a window over time. I sit here in my office looking out the window that appears to look the same as it did when it was new, but wondering why it was always a gray overcast outside. I was just used to the slow collection of crud so I never really noticed how opaque the window was becoming. It took a lot of cleaner, four rags, and a lot of elbow grease to make the window acceptably transparent again, but it'll never be the same as it was when it was new.

Just as with the window, from birth, we all collect some level of gunk on our souls. This gunk consists of misinformation, prejudices, conflict, trauma, and myriad other experiences that layer over our creative insides. These layers slowly change the way we see our world by creating an opaque film over our soul's eye. With that we begin to see the world in a way that we assume that it is and not necessarily in a way that it truly exists. Our reality becomes tainted preventing us from perusing and becoming everything that we could possibly become. However, somehow we need to clean off that gunk to obtain a clear view of life.

Writing to Clear my Vision
After 15 years of sharpening pencils and banging on the keyboard, I am still amazed at the things that happen as I continue to write. In the early days, I simply did it because it helped to pay the bills and it was fun to see my books at the bookstore. But, as time passed, I began to realize that the more I write, the more I learn about myself, and the more layers that peel off of my soul.

I must say, that the most fulfilling experience I ever had as a writer was the day that I saw my soul. To settle your doubts, it wasn't so much a physical manifestation of a soul, but it was the automatic typing of my fingers to create content so rich that I had to pinch myself to see if it was still me. This bizarre, yet fulfilling, sensation pushed me into an entirely different frame of mind and a sense of satisfaction and self-belief like I had never known.

Writing to Scratch the Surface
Writing can take on many different shapes and sizes. Some write for research. Some write for pleasure. Others write for money. But, at the core of writing is the expression of one's inner being. It is an outlet for the soul. A way for it to give so that it can dig its way out of the layers of contradiction and goo that have piled on over the years.

Many books have been written about the act of keeping journals or writing pages in the mornings to describe the first things that are in your mind to clear the way for the remainder of the day. The idea behind such practice writings is to begin to dig through years of muck and mire to touch the ultimate writer within us. However, it is much more than that. It is the release of our creative self that we all have inside and provides us with guidance and direction through our lives.

Writing to Touch the Soul
The soul is that energy that keeps is alive and connected to the Universe. It is the most basic part of our existence, but contains the knowledge and emotion of the Universe. When you touch your soul, your fingers take on a life of their own and you "feel" the things that you must write. Whether you feel it as inspiration or some divine message, it doesn't matter. It all boils down to the fact that you are connected to your inner self and have punctured a hole through which the inspiration can flow.

Once you touch your soul, your life will change. It's like a chain-reaction that changes your outlook and your direction. You feel what you are truly made of and find that you are capable of everything. All of the challenges you've encountered throughout your life suddenly transform into lessons.

The easiest way to begin the journey of self-discovery is to begin writing. Don't write about the fly on the wall or the sunset. Write what you feel. What is the first feeling that comes to you.

While your first few attempts will appear, perhaps, embarrassing, they are simply a representation as to the way the soul's message is translated through the years of experience piled on top of it. The objective is to dig through the layers to reach your core. Just keep writing. Every time you write, you'll find that the feeling you're documenting becomes clearer and more intelligible.

What's next?
Whether your objective in life is to be a writer or not, the idea behind writing is simply to touch your soul. It's no wonder so many people live their lives in spiritual destitution. The creativity that ought to fuel every thing in life is stifled. Don't starve your spirit. Learn what creative gift the Universe has given you. Love it and care for it. It's as important as the food you eat and the air you breathe as it is what supports your life.

About the author:

Edward B. Toupin is an author, life-strategy coach, counselor, Reiki master, remote viewer, and technical writer living in Las Vegas, NV. Among other things, he authors books and articles on topics ranging from career success through life organization and fulfillment. For more information, e-mail Edward at etoupin@toupin.com or visit his sites at http://www.toupin.com or http://www.make-life-great.com.

 From the Feedback Button

Well, I think I got the Yahoo thing figured out, so we're back to an HTML newsletter, for now. As you can see from this mailing, they have no problem sending out their graphical advertising stuff with this email, but when it comes to our group's ads, author's pictures, URL links to the feedback button, etc., they become stingy and will substitute "[IMG]" in place of what I really want to put there. Hmmm... So, if you still want the full graphical newsletter, go to Friday's Inspiration Online Ezine and read the newsletter there. It goes online each Monday, after this newsletter goes out.

I'm still signing up people for a test drive of InboxInspirations, a simple, no-frills-or-unnecessary-nonsense ad-free quotation, taken from the pages of back issues of Friday's Inspiration and sent to your inbox every Monday through Thursday morning. Subscriber JH says that they are just the right little gem to help get the day off to a great start. No obligations, no fluff-n-stuff, just a quote.

Click to send your FEEDBACK to me right now!

 Feature: Take Wing and Fly!

Not quite a year ago, I featured an article by Charles Cove, in To Reveal the Creator, where he wonderfully pointed out several ways of improving one's creativity as a link to spirituality, among which is journalling. I highly recommend both of the suggested reading items on that page, Julia Cameron's The Artists Way, and Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer.

One of the subscribers to this newsletter is in a quandry about "writing her story," as she puts it. She has been through a lot in her life, and the success she has had in overcoming her challenges is one that, quite rightly, should be shared.

She wrote to me of her concerns about writing:

....It is unrealistic to think I'll be better equipped to do justice to my story, by waiting on further improvements to my mortal attributes, which were not called for to begin with, doesn't it?  So what am I waiting for anyway, I wonder.  Maybe because I know, in the retelling and unfolding of these things, that I'm going to have more mind-blowing revelations which are going to propell me further into doing something that I'm destined to do, that I'm not sure of.  Because my EGO hovers always near, waiting for the chance to try and convince me that I should listen to it and stay "grounded" when something, somewhere out there, is trying to convince me to fly.  If I can fall into the arms of love [she was speaking of the love of God], might He also give me wings?

I responded, telling her that as for the telling of her story, I thought she deserved to take wing and fly! What help is it to others, if only I know my story? How many others are on the same path as me? Further ahead, further behind, it doesn't matter. One of my mantras is this: "To know something compels me to be responsible for it." To be responsible is to act upon the knowledge I have gained by hard-won experience, otherwise the experience would serve no purpose, and the lesson would be lost.

What holds anyone back from writing their story? Dylan Thomas said, "I am a painstaking, conscientious, involved and devious craftsman in words, however unsuccessful the result so often appears." So, I told her, "You can do it! I believe in you. So often, the most difficult part of writing is applying the seat of the pants to the seat of a chair and staring at a blank sheet of paper until droplets of blood begin to form on your brow. After that, it gets easier..."

I go through that "blank paper and blood on the brow" process each week, right here, and it gets no easier, believe me. But, looking back on the collection of writings over the last several years, I can say that it is much easier if taken in small steps, as I do at Friday's Inspiration. Journal, blog, ezine, ebook or hard cover - it really doesn't matter how you do it.

Just do it. Only in stories do people use wax wings that melt when they get too close to the sun, as did Icarus. It is about your creativity. Even if it never gets published, the benefits of having told your own story will long outlive you, simply because it was recorded, written down. One of the most precious treasures I have is a small collection of handwritten letters and notes from people I love who have passed on. I wish I had the whole story of their life, instead of these few snippets.

Give your story the wings it needs to fly, and it will find its way to the minds and hearts of those who need to hear it.

• Michael Rawls, Friday's Inspiration © 2003

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Friday's Inspiration features the wisdom of James Allen in a series titled Above Life's Turmoil that can be accessed online. Allen's Byways of Blessedness is scheduled to be added to the Friday's Inspiration archives. Look for it in the next few weeks in the "contents" section at N-Spire.com. In addition, James Allen's timeless classic, As A Man Thinketh can be downloaded in FREE! eBook form for offline reading by clicking on the banner below. Enjoy!

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Peace and Light,

Michael@N-Spire.com