Since Karen did such a great job reporting on my “stereotactic radiosurgery” last week, I have taken a vacation from the blog! The experience was more painful than claustrophobic, and maybe that was good! That night I slept for eleven hours! No side effects. Just hoping that the zapping got all the bad brain cells and no good ones!
I am “on holiday” from chemo right now, missing what would normally have been chemo today.  Instead – as Karen said – I will be ‘off’ until August 13, during which time I hope to be able to get some energy back and improve my red blood cell count and hemoglobin.  The chemo hit them hard.  Fortunately I will not be taking the harsher drug, carboplatin, just Alimta… with fewer side effects.  🙂
At present I am at the Summit house in PA where the weather has been divine. Sitting on the porch in the breeze, visiting with my cousin, having lunch with another cousin’s widow and then stopping at a neat farm/nursery in Waynesboro where I was overwhelmed by the huge supply of fruit, pastries, deli, veggies and packaged desserts – I just ate  my superb peach tart!  That is another ‘plus’ I’m enjoying: a really good appetite.  i’ll be up here for a total of two weeks with a stop back at Greenspring for a couple days in between.  It feels wonderful to be away and ‘on my own’ after the past three months of treatment.
Several weeks ago I had an ‘aha’ moment when several people inquired about my book, Spirit Windows, which was published in 1998.  Five thousand copies were printed and it was not reprinted due to budget, so copies are scarce and apparently in demand. I decided to accept the help that was offered and to embark on the process of seeing it put out in a second edition. This has been welcomed by Shalem, the actual inspiration for a good part of the book. It is timeless in that spiritual practices and source material are unchanged.

However, I am going to need some assistance with technical matters such as copyright law (I hold the copyright) and how to revise the copyright page.  And more.  I have already reprinted the book in black and white three times in ten years, but this would incorporate a few corrections. The book was originally put on a disk using “Quark” – if any of you are acquainted with that format or know someone who is, please let me know! I used the PDF format but the cover is not nearly as nice. I’d like to match the original version.
So that you know I am not just ambitious but also feeling more energy, I am also embarking on putting into print the 13 years of monthly contemplative prayer sessions that I led at my church as well as the 13 years of Advent services using readings, vocal and instrumental music, and silence.  I will need assistance in seeking permissions (from publishers) since most of the readings used in the Advent services, for example, would need to be printed, not just giving the source.  I’ve promised to do this for several years…..  and now it is, God willing, going to happen.  All three.  Happiness is….
My files from Spirit Windows are at the Summit and so these days are being used to sort and find important documents and guides along the way.  I will be preparing a list of needs on another blog (a bit later on) in case any of you feel led to volunteer your assistance in expediting these projects. In the meantime I am hoping to establish some basic guidelines and support mechanisms that will enable all this to happen.  I am most grateful to Dr. Pat Fosarelli, Assoc. Dean at the Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore, who approached me two years ago about Spirit Windows.  She was using it as a class text and very kindly told me that it was “the best of what’s out there” in the field and would help in any way possible to get it back into print. While I can’t say that my life has calmed down 🙂 perhaps I have become more focused because doing a second edition of S.W. suddenly became a “call.”  Not many weeks ago Lisa Richey, also a Shalem graduate, inquired and offered assistance for the same purpose. And – as if that weren’t enough – Rosalind Ekermeyer, the woman who helped me do the original proofing in the mid-nineties found me (she had moved to NYC), wanting to get back in touch again! That seemed to be further verification of my gift of energy for this project. And for those who believe that things happen in Threes… well, there you have it!
Please continue your incredible support. It is awesome!  Amen!