Today is Saturday, June 15th, the end of an awesomely rainy week here in Southwest Florida. Alligator Alley is flooding, and everyone is locked inside cooking, cleaning, reading – or writing a long overdue blog.

Earlier this week I was in a Zoom session with clients and one of them mentioned a movie called “The Girl Who Loves Giraffes”. I had never heard of it, have you? At any rate, I found it on Amazon Prime, rentable for $3.99. It is an exquisite documentary about a woman named Anne Daag who in 1956, at 23 years of age, went to South Africa on her own and stayed for one year to study and document everything about giraffes. Her work became a 'bible' for giraffe keepers all over the world, and continues to be that. She was the first person to take the time to do such a comprehensive study of a creature in the wild. Even before Jane Goodall. Her passion was kindled during a visit to the Chicago zoo when she was 3 years old and encountered her first giraffe. Can you imagine a tiny 3-year old standing next to this ginormous strange looking creature. This  young woman was so brave, committed and tenacious in her passion that it was impossible for me  not to be enthralled by her story. I encourage you to find it and see for yourselves. (Sadly, Anne just died this past April at the age of 93).

For whatever reason, watching this story gave  gave me what I have been waiting for to finally, after years of encouragement from friends and students, to write a book. I realized after watching this beautiful portrayal of her life, that my own story, regardless of what I think about it – may have something to add to the conversation about raising consciousness, following your dreams and fulfilling the longings of our souls - which I believe came with us in this lifetime. 

I was born in 1951, when rules and roles for women were much different than they are today.  Though my early years had moments of great meaning and inspiration,  my some great life-changing thing happened at the age of 45 and the past 28 years have been a ceaseless adventure of miraculous manifestations, awesome adventures and breaking through dozens of real and perceived limitations. Making big leaps and coloring outside the lines has definitely been my path.

The living of my life practicing certain principles, has proven to me that the power of Mind and Spirit is real. As Ernest Holmes said, "There is a power for good in the universe, and you can use it."  We really are inherently designed to navigate our own path, captain our own ship and architect a life that we love regardless of the past, statistics, or any external influences. Since learning that myself, I have been demonstrating and manifesting and want nothing more than to share that with you.

I am writing the book! "A POSSIBLE LIFE: BEFORE AND BEYOND AFRICA".

I am making a bodacious invitation to my world to support me in getting it done with excellence, accountability and in a timely manner. I am retired from pulpit ministry and though I have everything I need, the project will be elevated and escalated with funding.  It is my intention to raise money to get the book written, edited and published within a year with ease and grace. Here are the ways I can appreciate and thank you. I will mail to everyone who offers any donation, four signed prints of my favorite photographs from the 14  trips I have made to Africa since 2014. If you are inspired to be a major supporter by funding of $500 or more, I will send you each chapter of the book as it is written. The first chapter will be ready by July 31^st with each following chapter to follow monthly. Within a year, you will have the book in its entirety in its original form and I will also gift to you the final published illustrated book.

I am quite passionate about sharing what I believe is  necessary to live an authentic life - one that feels like you and one that brings you contentment, joy and the experience of wonder. We all know that happiness is elusive in our world - as is peace, generosity, joy and all of the qualities of Being that are possible. The restoration of sanity to our global family requires that we as individuals, awaken to the possibility of a different way. May my life be helpful in perhaps forging a different way for a few.

These are the working chapters, subject to creative licenses of course...
A Possible Life:Before and Beyond Africa
1- The Light Turns On (1995)
2- The Years of Domestication:  0-20
3- The confused years: 20-45
4- YES to Ministry, Massage and Yoga
5- Arkansas: Dark Night of the Soul
6- Chicago: Preparing To Leap
7- North Carolina: Unconditional Love and Community
8- Wonder: South Africa the first time (2014)
9- Kenya - My Mind is Blown (2016)
10- The Wild Earth Expedition (2019)
11- The Hip and the Stroke:  On God’s Time Now (2021)
12- Giving It All Away: The Joy of Nothing (2022)
13- Getting it All Back: The Joy of Everything (2024)
14- In the Name of Love: Willow Harper (2024 and beyond)

• These accountings represent profoundly sacred events, people and circumstances where the laws and principles which undergird manifestation are illustrated and highlighted. I am not a special person doing special things. I am a person who discovered the rules of the game of life  in 1995, took them to heart, and dedicated the rest of my life to proving to myself that they work. Today, at 73, still coloring outside the lines, still breaking the rules and transcending what is expected of a 73-year old human, much less woman, I hope that others are touched and motivated to step into the experiment of being not just a good human - but a deeply happy one.

This book is much more than my story. It is an instruction manual on how to shift from living from the outside in to living from the inside out. My platform in ministry has been practical spirituality where through practicing a philosophy, faith and way of  life, we can fulfill the deeper longings and intentions of our spirit - the aspect of each of us that is unique and quite separate from the self we may believe ourselves to be merely as the end result of what has been!

Thank you in advance if you are moved to fund the work with your love, money and prayers. As always, no pressure or friendship obligation. I just love to bring my world into my work as it inspires and motivates me more than I can express. As always, join me this and every Sunday on YouTube and Facebook for Sunday Night Alive. The topic this week is "You Get To Make It Up".

Love, love and more love,
Rev. Denise