INTRODUCTION

"To Thine Own Self Be True"

So many people have looked at our life together and marveled at it. They even say that we are courageous souls to work together the way we do. Since we have no 9-5 job, as much of society does here in the Western world, many of our friends think we are crazy, irresponsible, and at the same time they envy our carefree attitude.

It must seem like there’s no rhyme or reason to what we do. We simply look at the circumstance we are in, evaluate it in the present moment, and act accordingly.

Sometimes, it is not accepted as being the ‘right’ thing to do, or the ‘right’ response.

But we do it anyway! We decided a long time ago to do things that make us happy. We’ve seen too many of our friends and relatives doing what was expected of them, not because they wanted to, but because it was expected.

Too many people these days are unhappy, and I didn’t want that to happen to us. I don’t really care what anyone else thinks anyway.

I’m going to do what MY heart says is right. And not worry what someone else thinks.

I know, many of you may think that is a very crude way to be. But hear us out. If we aren’t happy with our own lives, content in our own thinking and beliefs, or productive in our Creator-given talents, then how can we possibly help anyone else?

As we have grown together in our relationship, we realized we just had to do what we felt was right for us. The best way for us to help others was to be a beacon: A Light on the Path of Life.

You may not always agree with us, but I’ll guarantee you’ll enjoy hearing about what we think. And you’ll have more information to consider when making decisions for your own well-being.

Hey look, let me tell you how we met. This is what got the ball rolling. I’ll start off with our chance meeting in 1972. I can look back at it and still wonder what in the world happened? I had plans and meeting Melissa was not one of them. That day, I was going in a totally different direction. Sometime that day, I guess I stepped out of my known reality and into the Twlight Zone!

I didn’t plan on going to a party. In fact I didn’t even want to go out for New Year’s Eve. (The truth be told, I was a very shy and scared person then…about 23 years old.) But I let my co-workers talk me into going to dinner.

One thing led to another, and I ended up at a party. ---The same party Charles wasn’t going to either. But there he was.

My life has never been the same since that day!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t have changed anything from that moment on.

We first realized we were on a different path by understanding nothing ever stayed the same. No matter how we tried to keep things constant, it didn’t work. So we stopped trying to make it work.

Don’t ever get comfortable in one way of thinking in any particular moment. Truly understand what it means to say nothing stays the same. Know there will always be change.

We decided to embrace the change and not fight it. Melissa and I had no idea how drastically our lives would be changing as we met for the first time on New Year’s Eve.

Those early first hours of 1972, we each ended up at the same party we had no knowledge of earlier that day. We had no idea of how our lifestyles were going to be impacted. That New Year’s Day I realized nothing I had planned would come to pass. My life was about to move into a new dimension.

I thought I was already living outrageously. I was right in the middle of all the changing events of the late 1950’s. The wild and free 60’s were very challenging in many ways, but I was right in there in it. Being pretty much a free spirit, even that New Year’s Day, it hadn’t dawned on me that my life had started a completely new direction.

We were together every moment after that party and our relationship moved along quickly. We married less than a year later.

Well, talk about going against the grain! Back in those days inter-racial marriages were not common. And it certainly was not a popular thing to do. (These days are much different.)

Even though my younger sisters loved Charles (to them he was a novel idea), my parents and their families really hated the thought of me marrying a Black man.

After finally being able to talk to my dad, he made me realize how backward his generation was. He said he didn't even want me to marry an Italian, Frenchman, Canadian, or anything else but true blue white American.

He went so far as to say I would be disinherited if I went along with 'this farce'.

I believed to find love and embrace it was the important thing. Needless to say...I did it anyway. That kind of is the story of our lives. We just decide what we want to do, and do it!

From the beginning of our relationship, we didn’t watch the popular television shows, ball games or soap operas. We were more interested in Public Broadcasting, Documentaries, and Outer Limits if we watched TV at all.

Melissa and I had lengthy conversations since the day we met concerning our thoughts on life. We talked about life after death, ghosts, the Bible, if we really believed in God, or a higher power. Many of our talks were about metaphysics, and the relationship of mind, body and spirit.

Those conversations were not the type I had been able to share with anyone before. I know this is where our greatest strength lies: Our ability to communicate and express our feelings to each other, always investigating our thoughts.

Not too long before we got together in 1972, a movie came out called “Chariots of the Gods.” It was a German documentary attempting to co-sign the speculative best-seller by Eric Von Daniken. It gave evidence to prove that mankind's ancient civilizations had been visited by extraterrestrials, exploring pyramids, crop circles and obscured-origin artifacts. It was later expanded into the television special In Search of the Ancient Astronauts.

After seeing that movie, we saw a connection to the discussions we had from the moment we met.

The movie really sparked an interest. We wanted to know just what our universe was about. We thought this was extremely interesting and wanted to share the information with friends.

But none of our friends or relatives wanted to talk about this movie, except for the entertainment value of it.

We found it more and more difficult to understand why most people didn’t feel a connection with this information. We started to alienate family and friends from having conversations. They didn’t want to talk about such things.

In 1979-80, my mother introduced us to a spiritualist church. This opened up a whole new area of life and was another moment of realization that things constantly change. The church experience re-enforced many of the ideas we discussed between ourselves: about life, religion, and life after death.

We have a great thirst for knowledge and understanding. So many people have knowledge but don’t have the understanding to go with it. They can’t explain it or put it into action. But we tried to implement the information we received into our lives

We never have been gullible when it came to new information and we discussed between ourselves what we were hearing and what we were being taught. We picked it apart and dissected it.

After a certain length of time the source of information became stagnant and we needed more.

We were destined for the road less traveled and didn’t even have a choice in the matter. I can remember looking back at some of the events when we first met each other. There had been a large galactic event that same year (a special alignment of planets). And something strange with our astrology charts, too. I am convinced Universe had special plans for us.

I know Charles and I were guided in some way into meeting. We certainly were not looking for a relationship.

But there we were: stuck together like glue. And a whole new life had formed: One life between the two of us---completely new energy.

The Honey Bee
The honeybee is quite a mythical creature. It is endowed with riches and abundance, always depicted as royalty. Many by-products of the bee provide beneficial holistic treatments for the physical body, such as bee's wax, royal jelly and honey, not to mention collection of pollen, which is positive pollination of fruits, vegetables and flowers. However, the bee represents so much more than merely the physical benefits. Symbolically represented by the French fleur-de-lies, it speaks in ways of co-operation. The flower is giving of itself for use by the honeybee. The bee honors the opportunity to assist the flower’s sustainability.

Every bee in one particular hive goes forth, day in, day out, collecting the precious pollen to sustain the unity of the hive. All bees are working towards the good of the whole: the one unit.

Never thinking for one minute that the act of collecting their vital food may actually influence humanity’s well being, the bees just do it out of instinct, acting as a part of the whole: doing what seems natural to them.

They never re-act to outside stimulus, unless it is life threatening to the unit. This way, all goes well with their world. It is preserved and perfect.

And yet, just by preserving their unity naturally, it has beneficial results in the larger scheme of things.

The fleur-de-lies represents three aspects of our being: Father, Son and Holy Ghost (or, mind, body, spirit). The triune being, represented in such a small package as the bee, stands for the total, full knowledge of Self.

To heed the smaller brothers is to learn from nature and use the idea of co-operation to work towards the good of the whole. Humans could possibly influence the larger picture.

This is the way I see the two of us together: As Honey Bees. We are always working together, instinctively. But we are also influencing the greater good by doing so.

PEACE!