“Apply to be the Seattle Mayor’s Women’s Rights Director,” John said. “Apply for the White House Fellowship. We’ll see what I do if you win.” “To write Kalman Aron’s story, you must go to Europe and walk in his footsteps.” And when I told John in 1986 that I wanted to quit working for a year, he said: “Fine.” Neither of us knew that I was embarking on a spiritual journey that would lead to becoming a healer, mystic and author. John refers to me as his “surprise package.”
December 23, 2019 John and I celebrated 50 years of marriage. We are deeply grateful to Emily and Raj Madan for hosting a beautiful dinner celebration in their home in Washington, DC. We had such a good time, we hosted a smaller celebration in January in La Jolla, California.
I remember at age 17 meeting this young man as I was walking to my dorm one evening at Pomona College. He smiled; we chatted briefly; later that year we began dating. Six years later we married.
At Pomona, we spent many evenings talking about religion, philosophy and civil rights. As International Relations majors, we discussed world politics, history and current affairs. These talks were the beginning of a life-long conversation that continues today.
Early in our relationship and marriage, I realized 3 things. John loved me just the way I was—silly or smart; beautifully or casually dressed. He had a deep well of love and capacity to express it. And he was secure in who he was. There was nothing I might ever do in my career that would be a threat to his ego. On the contrary, he has been my biggest cheerleader.
What has enabled us to navigate 50 years together? We love each other, and we are committed to our marriage…through challenging as well as fun times.
We created family when our beautiful daughter, Elizabeth, was born 37 years ago. She has been our focus and joy. She in turn gave us the gift of our granddaughter, Natalia, who delights and completes our family circle.
Our marriage is a partnership. We have brainstormed individual and collective wishes, enabling us to manifest our dreams. For example, in the early 1970s we spent a weekend together at John’s parents’ cabin on Puget Sound to talk about our hearts’ desires. John wanted his own law firm; I wanted to be paid for the work I was doing in the women’s movement. Within 3 months, he had his firm, Norman and Magee, and I was the Mayor’s Women’s Rights Director. Our continuing conversations have kept us in sync so we recognize new opportunities and can act on them.
We have also given each other the freedom to explore our interests. We each pursued a masters degree after we married…John at Georgetown Law School, me at The Wharton School in Philadelphia. John has supported my dive into metaphysical experiences; I have supported his career in corporate federal income tax law.
I admire John’s personal qualities. His intelligence is a pleasure to engage. His generosity knows no bounds. I love the integrity he carries in every cell of his body. I respect his discipline and am grateful for the abundance he has created for this family.
Author Joseph Campbell said that a marriage creates a unity, a whole, that is greater than the individual parts. John and I have always been committed to that unity. No marriage is perfect. It is an exquisite mirror that reveals/triggers our unconscious wounds. We each have the choice to heal what is inside. “It’s an inside job” is a good mantra for a successful marriage.
Fifty years later we are playful with each other and grateful for our family and friends. The hard work over the years has paid off. We intend to stay healthy and enjoy being together, doing everyday mundane things as well as undertaking new adventures. We want to spend time with our family and friends; make new friends; harvest memories; and share what we have learned. I will continue my healing work and plan to write several new books. John still works, but the time will come….
I conclude with a toast to John: I love you and honor you. You are a man of great spirit, integrity and wisdom. I thank you for loving me and being my partner in life.
As I sit at my desk this New Year’s Eve, I envision a world at peace. We have the power to manifest and pray for clean air, fertile ground, clean rivers and oceans and peace among women and men on this earth.
I am aware that:
We imprint the earth—its land, air, water—with our energy with each step we take; breath we breathe; word we speak. What imprint do I choose to make? One of love and compassion or one of anger, hate and sorrow?
We are all powerful co-creators with the Divine. Our thoughts create our reality. How may we be kind to those around us and respect the animals, birds and all of nature surrounding us?
Life is a mirror—an invitation to explore our interior landscape to become conscious of what lies beneath the surface so we may wake up and heal ourselves. The universe delivers situations that trigger old beliefs, fears and wounds so we may transform them.
At some level we are all responsible for what is happening in our family, community, nation and world. If I want a peaceful world, I need to become peaceful myself.
We all carry the Divine light within us which we share with all of creation.
Our prayers are powerful. We are magical beings. Join me today as I pray and envision: * a world at peace with us respecting each other, recognizing we are all One; * a world where we are grateful, wise custodians of Mother Earth, the space that surrounds her, and the universe that is her home.
Ho’oponopono…
In 2020, I will continue the series “Toward Enlightenment” for the Circles of Meditation and Healing at the Washington National Cathedral. Dates are 5/11; 10/1; 11/2
An African living in the United States said: “It’s so noisy. How do you hear God?”
After spending 14 days in the bush in Tanzania with my granddaughter, I understand what he meant. We felt the presence of the divine in the land, the sunrises and sunsets; we heard it in the songs of the birds; and we felt it in the natural rhythm and interaction of the animals.
Being there was like being on a different planet. It changed our lives. How?
This trip awakened my senses. I listened carefully for the calls of the leopard, hyena and lion. I awoke in my tent to a symphony of birds singing as night turned into day. I scanned the horizon to spot hyenas moving in the grass. I searched trees for lions resting in the branches. I checked tree tops to spot vultures or eagles perched above.
We had the privilege of watching 3 crossings of the wildebeest over the Mara River in the northern Serengeti. Each year about 1.5 million wildebeest migrate from the south to the north on the Serengeti plain. They have been doing this for thousands of years. Words cannot explain how it felt watching 2,000 wildebeests gather on one side of the river, talking to each other with their distinctive sounds. All of a sudden one jumped into the river; most of the others followed, swimming quickly to the other side.
We saw in action the cycle of life. A lion catches its prey–a giraffe. At a distance, the hyenas watch to see when the lion’s belly is full. As they take their turn eating the animal, the Maribou storks and vultures gather to finish eating the carcass. Nature is very efficient.
We felt a deep connection to Mother Earth and all the living creatures on her. Over the landscape we enjoyed seeing a variety of trees: the signature acacia trees, the ancient baobab trees, sausage trees and euphorbio.
We will never forget the images we saw at the end of the day at the Silale swamp in the Tarangire National Park. Buffalo, hippos and elephants soaked in the water to cool themselves.
The first afternoon we quietly watched the cape buffalo emerge from the water. We returned to the swamp the next afternoon and saw the elephants emerge. Enjoy these videos.
I communicated telepathically with the animals, asking what messages they had for us humans. One lion responded: “Activate your senses. Wake up to the beauty that surrounds you. Be grateful for Mother Earth and all her creatures, large and small.”
The leopard said: “Spend time alone in nature. Sit as I do in a tree or someplace high where you can view the world around you. Know that you have everything you need within yourself.”I realized these animals have lived on this earth far longer than humans. Elephants, for example, have been here for 5 million years; humans for maybe 200,000. Who is wiser?
While we were there, I worked with the land, animals and birds, blessing all and activating light grids and DNA codes. Alex Walker, the owner of the Serian camp, said: “Nature reveals itself and gifts those who spend time with her.” We experienced peace, connection, belonging. We are not separate. We are one.
Indeed, we are the students who may learn from nature and the animals. We can change our behavior before life is no longer sustainable on Mother Earth. In Tanzania I could sense the sheer numbers of people encroaching on the land. It is incredibly sad that these beautiful animals who evolved over thousands of years are becoming extinct. For example, our guide, James, told us that an elephant is killed every 15 minutes; the swift cheetahs are extinct in 22 countries, and only 17% of their range remains in this world. We know black rhinos are scarce; giraffes are threatened. And of course, there are far fewer lions roaming Africa than there were 100 years ago.
What can we do? I can stop using plastic bottles, bags and straws. I can donate to a non-profit to plant trees to offset the carbon imprint of each flight I take. I can return to Africa and the animals in my daily meditations. And I can share what I have learned. A lion asked me to write a book about my conversations with the animals. I said, “Yes, I will do that.”
BLESSINGS TO ALL LIFE. IN PARTICULAR, BLESSINGS TO THE PEOPLE, LAND, WILD BIRDS AND EXQUISITE ANIMALS IN AFRICA.
THANKS TO JAMES KYDD, our insightful, knowledgeable safari guide. A man of great spirit, James respectfully introduced us to the landscape, birds, animals and people in Tanzania. We had a delightful time together on this “trip of a lifetime”. I also thank him for the photos and videos; all are his except the first one, the baobab tree and the elephant video at Silale swamp.
THANKS TO MICHAEL LORENTZ, Founding Partner of Passage to Africa, who arranged our itinerary and introduced us to James Kydd. Michael introduced John and me to Tanzania in 2010.
When welcoming the new millennium, I remember hearing: “That which has been invisible will become visible.”
I thought of this phrase as accusations of pedophilia in the Catholic Church were being revealed. I thought of it as sex trafficking in America and around the world was beginning to be addressed. And I think of it again as I watch young African-American men gunned down or killed when detained by police in our cities…North Charleston, Baltimore, New York, Ferguson and many others.
At age 20, I studied in England at a time when race riots overtook some American cities. I remember hearing criticisms of our racist society. But I noticed two things in England that year. I would often eat in inexpensive Indian restaurants I could afford because I could still eat delicious food. All of the Indian men I met had PhD educations, but could not find good jobs because of the color of their skin. One day, I struck up a conversation with a Jamaican woman who had tried to rent a room in an apartment building, but was turned away because of the color of her skin. I came home thinking: America is a racist society, but at least our racism is visible.
We cannot deal with what we do not see and acknowledge.
What can we do?
We may pray for the souls of those killed, their families, their communities, and pray for the police officers and city leaders.
We may examine our own fears and stereotypes to become conscious of them so we may release them. We may pray to see the light in every person and remember we are all divine children of God.
We may participate in our communities, listening deeply for shared values, honoring everyone and supporting everyone’s journey.
The contemporary filming of recent incidents makes visible what African-American communities have experienced for years.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “A riot is the language of the unheard.”
May we change our culture. May we see each other as the human beings we are. May we respect and honor one another. May we be brothers and sisters.
Join Susan B. Magee on June 2 from 7 to 9pm for the Circle of Meditation and Healingat the Washington National Cathedral in Washington DC.
I remember at age 17 meeting this young man as I was walking to my dorm one evening at Pomona College. He smiled; we chatted briefly; later that year we began
I realized these animals have lived on this earth far longer than humans. Elephants, for example, have been here for 5 million years; humans for maybe 200,000. Who is wiser?
