An older friend said to me the other day, “Nina, I think I missed some opportunities, and it makes me sad.” And there was indeed regret and sadness in his voice. None of us know for sure when our lives will end, but what if you did know the date and time of your death? You may be thinking, I don’t want to know that! But what if you did know it? What would be on your [...]

A broken heart can stir up so many feelings inside us, mostly sorrow, sometimeswe may do (or think of doing) things we never would have done when we are in this much pain. With a broken heart, the days ahead seem grim,and existing on this earth when we feel this way is very difficult or may seem impossible. As you read this, you may be thinking of a broken heart due to relationship or marriage, but there [...]

Almost everyone is looking for love, but most of us do everything we can to avoid death, so it makes sense that we seldom put the two words together. However, spirit has spoken to me with profound clarity, through the people that keep waltzing so elegantly into my life, like near death experiencers, and others who are finding peace and love in their own transition process. My interactions with people like these are the reason I can [...]

On November 11th I was at a store called Home Goods getting what I thought was a head start on my Thanksgiving dinner decorations for NOVEMBER 28th hello? I just needed some Thanksgiving/fall napkins. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is blaring and I was having a moment. The store was very crowded for a Monday at 2pm. I stood very still taking in the energy of the entire experience thinking that this is nuts. I then turned [...]

Questioning answered prayer? If you talk to God, Jesus, the angels, whatever it is you believe in or maybe just talking to yourself, you’re searching for answers. No big surprise there, right?  God, please help me with this? Send me a message about that? Guide me to choose the right path? I am angry, I am sad and on it goes…It is uncanny how the answers come, then you might question it; No, not that? Really God? [...]

  Mother Teresa says, “I have found the Paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt only more love” Mother Teresa speaks of one of the great mysteries in this quote. In a lifetime many of us go through many trials asking ourselves, why did this happen? Perhaps maybe even looking at the life of another and wondering why it didn’t happen to them. Hence the heart feels troubled, as there [...]

Written for opentohope.com In my years working as a hospice volunteer I have occasionally witnessed a separation between patients and their families, which has resulted in dying “alone,” without a loved one present. It can be a very sad experience to watch. I have a preacher friend who one day said to me that he didn’t know which was harder, dying alone because you have no family, or dying alone because your family stays away, and I [...]

While sitting on my patio enjoying the early evening, I caught a glimpse of a little lime-colored green worm that was stuck in a spider web. The web was very close to the ground and the worm was not far from safety. I watched the worm struggling so hard to break free from the web that he just became even more entangled. If a worm could panic it sure seemed like that’s what this one was doing. [...]