When thinking of connecting with spirit, the word honesty comes to mind. Spirit is the core, it is the soul, it is the higher power, it is the absolute truth. When it comes to how a brachial plexus injury has affected you and your family, what is your truth? What is your child's truth? What is your family's truth?

These questions bring us to our first idea for connecting to spirit: "Dinner With A Purpose." The topic is: "My Truth." Gather your family (immediate family, extended family, family of friends, spiritual family) for a meal that comes with a few different small courses. The little ones will love to be involved in the planning and setup for this event. Potluck works great especially if everyone there gets to share something that they created - including the little ones!

Assign one person to be the "leader." The leader will gather the crowd, make an opening and welcoming statement. A prayer and/or words of intention would be good at this time, plus a ceremonial ringing of a bell or lighting of a candle. When the leader is finished, one course is eaten. When people have at least gotten a good taste of their food and their hunger pangs have decreased a little, the personal sharings can begin. The leader passes the bell to the first person who will share. They will ring the bell to get everyone's attention and they will ring the bell again once they are through. The bell creates the "safe space" for sharing which means that no one should interrupt during a sharing nor make comments afterwards. What will people be sharing? Anything they feel safe sharing. Could be about brachial plexus injuries, could be about how it has affected them, could be anything. The dinner and sharing will take on a life of it's own and the progression will occur naturally. After the dessert course and if time permits, you may want to end the dinner with a "gratitude sharing." This works the same way as the truth sharing except this time people will close with "What I am Grateful For."

The candle has been chosen as one of the symbols for Awareness Week.  Intertwine candle-lighting with your dinner meals for that week. Use that daily ceremonial lighting to have a moment of silence or to say a prayer (or affirmation). If you believe in prayer, you could create your own prayer for those having surgery that week; a prayer for all the unborn children – a prevention prayer; or a prayer for the doctors.

Unconditional love is a great way to connect with spirit. Spend special time connecting with your children and loved ones during this week. Special massages, candlelit bath times, soft music, kissing of incision scars, lots of hugs and kisses, luxuriating in pure and unconditional love. This can be a magical time.

Showing gratitude is also a wonderful way to connect with spirit. A gratitude statement during dinner or before bedtime, writing in daily gratitude journal- all good ideas. How about planning an activity or a sharing of some sort with others who have special needs? Community service is a great way to show gratitude.

If you belong to a religious congregation, set up a special prayer service during Awareness Week. Ask to give a short "sermon"; dedicate something special to the congregation for it (for example: an awareness candle to be lit for the service, altar flowers, or a special sweet table); say a special prayer for all those affected by it. If you are in a city where there is a brachial plexus program, you may want to invite those doctors to attend – in gratitude for the work that they do.

There are a lot of very good books out there that can help us connect with our spirit. Here are some that come to mind:

When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Harold S. Kushner

How Good Do We Have To Be: A New Understanding to Guilt and Forgiveness, Harold S. Kushner

A Grateful Heart: Daily Blessings For The Evening Meal from Buddha to the Beatles, M.J. Ryan

A Course In Miracles, Foundation For Inner Peace

The Blooming of a Lotus: Guided Meditation Exercises For Healing and Transformation, Thich Nhat Hanh

Illuminata: A Return to Prayer, Marianne Williamson

Creative Visualization, Shakti Gawain

Infant Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents, V.S. McClure

Connect with spirit during this week. We promise that it will make your heart sing. And who knows.... it could be the start of something really big!