I Felt I Belonged to the World

Businessman and philanthropist Bill Austin

Businessman and philanthropist Bill Austin said something very profound when I interviewed him for a story in Twin Cities Business. He told me:

As a young man, I felt I belonged to the world, but I didn’t know what that meant.

Austin, who was a teenager when he experienced that epiphany, grew to embody that statement. Today, in his early seventies, he leads overseas missions for teams from his company, Starkey Hearing, ten months out of the year to provide free

Everyone Is Seeking God

Whether they know it or not, everyone is seeking God. As Paramahansa Yogananda explained in a December 9, 1945 talk at the Self-Realization Fellowship Hollywood Temple:

God is ever trying to draw His children back to their inherent perfection. That is why you will see even in evil people there is a search for God, though it may not be pronounced as such. Can you find an evil person who wants to derive misery from his actions? No. He thinks his

Dancing with Kenzie

Twelve-year-old Kenzie has mitochondrial disease, a condition that prevents her from walking, talking or caring for herself. To provide some semblance of normalcy, Kenzie’s parents

The Strength Will be Given to You

We are surrounded by heroes, the vast majority of which never find themselves in a situation requiring them to express their heroic nature. And yet, many of us—perhaps even most of us—would rise to the occasion when the moment requires it. One such hero, Edson Bourn of Jacksonville, Florida, was pushed to the limit and beyond in this intense, pulse-pounding story, which appeared in the August 2014 issue of Guideposts. It’s a powerful reminder that we are all capable of much more than we think we are, and that when we think we have exhausted our resources of courage and strength, they will be replenished if our intentions are pure and our faith intact.

THE MIRACULOUS SURGE
Walking down the beach that day, he was so wrapped up in his own problems he almost didn’t hear the girls screaming

Shrieks of joy, the sounds of happy children, reverberated across Rhode Island’s Napatree Beach. Two little girls playing in the sand. But I was barely aware of any of it. I plodded along, oblivious of the crashing waves at high tide. Late afternoon.

I ran my fingers through my wind-tangled hair, as if to clear my head. I’d come to this isolated spit of land on my sailboat, a place to escape. My wife and I had recently separated, our marriage in shambles. I worried about the toll on our boys, just six and eight.

It seemed like forever since I’d heard them laugh. But I didn’t know what to do to make things better.

“Help! Help!”

The girls. I’d meant to tell them to stay away from the water. The currents could be dangerous. Now one of them was in the ocean. Beyond the surf line. I could just hear her screams over the waves. The undertow.Any second now she’d be swept away.

I ran across the hard-packed sand as fast as I could. The other girl was at the edge of the surf, maybe 20 yards away, yelling, all the while wading deeper into the water herself.

“Wait! Stop! Don’t go any farther!” I charged into the waves and was reaching for her when a wall of water overwhelmed us. I clawed to the surface and for half a second I saw her disappear under another big breaker. I dove to the spot. I’m a strong swimmer, but I could feel the current pulling me hard.

Where is she? Splashing. A gasp for air. There. I grabbed

Catching the Invisible

This beautiful story, written by Lisa Leshaw of Coram, New York, appeared in the June 2014 issue of Guideposts. It’s a wonderful reminder to make the best of every situation you find yourself in, even—and perhaps especially—when you feel scared and alone. It’s also a reminder that you’re never truly alone, that a loving intelligence is always conspiring on your behalf, and that the more you reach out in love, the lovelier your life becomes.

WITH YOU ALWAYS—LOVE, DAD
Trapped in an elevator with a severe case of claustrophobia, she took the opportunity to record her feelings about her father

One minute, I was a 31-year-old part-time music teacher. The next, I’d turned into one of my pre-K students, hyperventilating and sobbing uncontrollably, wishing Mom and Dad would come rescue me. That’s what claustrophobia will do to you.

My parents were home on Long Island, though, and I was trapped in an elevator in a Manhattan high-rise. All alone. This was exactly what I’d been afraid of when my best friend asked me to come see her new apartment. Unless I wanted to climb 15 flights of stairs, this metal coffin was my only way up.

So I said a prayer and went for it. I was doing okay…until the elevator car jerked and then came to a halt–between floors. What a cruel trick for God to play on me.

I tried taking deep, cleansing breaths. Feeling faint, I sank to the floor and tucked my head between my knees. Close your eyes, go to your happy place. Maybe because the next day was Father’s Day, I thought back to how Dad comforted me when I was a little girl. “Catch the kiss!” he’d say.

He’d pucker his lips, blow a kiss and laugh as I ran around our living room, grabbing handfuls of air, trying to hold on to the invisible. Had I ever told him what those moments meant to me? I might never get the chance. Not if I suffocated in here…or if the cable

A Torrent of Treasures

Mike Dooley

Do you dream about finding your purpose and living your dream in wealth and comfort, but don’t have a clue how to get there? I’ve got good news: You can start right now, this very minute, with your very next thought. And here’s the great news: It works!

That’s the message from Notes from the Universe, which are daily e-mails from Mike Dooley‘s TUT’s Adventurers Club. Dooley describes them as “short and often humorous reminders of life’s magic and your divinity.” They’re free and sent out five days a week.

Here is a taste of Dooley’s wisdom that speaks to shaping the future to suit your dreams.

Live your dreams now, to any degree that you can. With every purchase. Every