Yesterday my parents hosted an engagement party for my fiancé and me at my sister’s home. My mom outdid herself with all the party planning and especially the baking. I was not the least bit surprised because her parties were always the envy of our small neighborhood in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Baking has always been therapeutic for her – nut roll, dozens of different kinds of cookies, cakes and homemade candy. Our house abounded with catering trays of goodies for every birthday, graduation, recital reception, bridal shower and wedding. My recitals at the University of the Arts were packed because the students knew they could achieve a sugar high after listening to my flute serenade. When my sister got married, her father-in-law had to drive his pickup truck to my parents’ house to pick up the cookies for the wedding reception. He filled the back of his truck to capacity and remarked that he had never seen so many cookies. Life is sweet!

Every attendee at our engagement party received a plastic silver spoon and a tiny jar of blueberry preserves labeled, “Spread the Love, Tania and Jay.” As I gazed at the jar filled with sweet fruity goodness, I couldn’t help but reflect on the many ways love is spread around. I witnessed it as a child when my parents had to rally us kids to keep our spirits up and cling to our faith when my baby sister, Christa, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two. I wrote about Christa’s long road to healing in chapter two of Mirror of the Soul. On Saturday, 27 May, Christa will celebrate her fortieth birthday. She has invited 150 people to her party – an over-the top celebration of life.

I witness spreading the love as my soon-to-be-40-year-old sister smiles through the pain and disappointment of two miscarriages and several failed fertility attempts in order to provide encouragement to her friends, family, and coworkers. Everyone loves being around her. I witness my mom spread the love when she visits my 101-year-old grandmother in the nursing home. Mom experiences excruciating pain as she watches her mother die a little more every day. She returns home with a heavy heart and emotionally exhausted. Like me, her thinking brain rarely rests, so she awakens at 2am so she can do a bit of baking for the next party.

I witness spreading the love as my dad, who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, makes his daily visits to the hospitals and nursing homes to bring comfort to the sick and dying and then head over to a funeral home to conduct a wake service for a sixteen year old girl killed in a car accident. Service is the role of the deacon – the same deacon who will marry my fiancé and me on 15 July. My dad is a fighter just like Rocky as he attends 90-minute boxing classes three times a week to improve his balance and counter the effects of the Parkinson’s.

I witness spreading the love every time my fiancé drives me home after playing a tough round of golf on Sundays or when he attends a Comic-con convention with his brother and me just because we want to be in the midst of utter craziness! Fantasy sparks the imagination, and in the words of Richard Wagner, “Imagination creates reality.” I also wrote about my love of superheroes in my book. Superheroes inspire us to be our best selves, to go beyond the ordinary – to be extraordinary! What’s your superpower?

I have been reading a lot of Wayne Dyer’s books and the books of authors he recommends like Neville Goddard. Dr. Dyer’s best advice regarding the manifestation of reality includes banishing all doubt and trusting the divinity within to guide you on your path. I can remember listening to one of his talks in which he said that if you knew who walked beside you every step of your life’s journey, there would never be a need to choose fear. A Course in Miracles reminds us that only love is real, so “therein lies the peace of God.” Neville taught that one’s mind (consciousness) cannot distinguish between what is real or what is imagined, so anything that can be clearly imagined with feeling will appear in one’s reality. It is the law of the Universe. I love following the work of Doreen Virtue, too. I have read many of her books on angels and how to invoke the angels for guidance. Recently, she was baptized and has been encouraging her followers on social media to pray to Jesus. She is bridging the gap between the New Thought Movement and biblical tradition. I can identify with that attempt because my book served a similar purpose for me. Writing Mirror of the Soul helped me to reconcile my interest in Reiki and sound healing with my traditional Catholic upbringing. My faith was solidified during the writing process, and I discovered that traditional teachings and alternative methods do not have to be diametrically opposed. Dr. Dyer always said that the closer one gets to enlightenment, the greater the need to ask the question, “How may I serve.” My response to that question is to spread the love!