JO Leonard
JO Leonard Quick Facts
Jo Leonard is a spiritual adventurer. Her passion in life is to share the knowledge she has gathered after a lifetime of searching for God. As a member of ECKANKAR, she has traveled the world presenting consciousness-provoking talks and workshops to other like-minded seekers. A published author, her writings, both non-fiction and fiction alike, are spiritually insightful and inspiring. She currently lives in Occoquan, Virginia with her husband and two Siamese cats and serves as a VP for a commercial printing company near Washington DC. You are most welcome to visit her website and join in the journey at www.jeleonard.com
Articles by this expert
SelfGrowth articles and saved writing connected to this expert.
Article
The Power of Attention
Attention, and its cousin, attitude, are the architects of our lives. A focused attention unleashes the energies of Soul, the creative power of our very beingness. Unfortunately, even when we know the truth about the power of attention, we make little effort to work on mastering it. More’s the pity. For you see, all aspects of our lives are affected by our ability to harness our attention: our educational goals, success in our work life and in our personal relationships, our
January 25, 2010
Article
On Not Missing Precious Moments in Ete ity
My husband and I were vacationing with some friends in Florida. One overcast morning we decided to take a sightseeing tour in their car for the sake of something to do to. Leaving the raw, magnificent ocean that fronted the property of their gated community behind, we ventured forth to the second largest fresh water lake in the United States: Lake Okeechobee. Once the site and cause of numerous storm disasters, Lake Okeechobee had been tamed over the years by the U.S. Army Co
October 4, 2009
Article
Paid in Full: A Reinca ation Story
A good case against the theory of reinca ation can be made based on the fact that few people are able to recall their former lifetimes with any certainty. Suspicion about a past life may flicker ever so slightly in someone’s memory banks but then be easily dismissed and forgotten. To catch fleeting memories and make sense of them, one has to be vigilant, look to connect the dots (clues) and be willing to set aside scepticism until truth can be determined. In actuality, we har
August 30, 2009
Article
Befriending the Ego
It all started one fateful day when a nun, head of the drama department in the all girls’ school I attended, told me I had a nice face. Her own face quickly flushed and her hands flew about in the air as if to bat away the words she had just spoken. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she stammered. “It may cause you to be vain.” Vanity. There it was, the cornerstone upon which I built, at least in part, my search for the Divine. In any new spiritual teaching I approached, I quick
June 28, 2009
Article
How to Remember Your Past Lives
If there really is such a thing as reinca ation, then why don't we remember our past lives? Actually, when you think about it, we don't even remember much of this life let alone our past lives. Well, why not? To start with, there’s the possibility that our forgetfulness is due to a bit of cosmic mercy. Our fragile minds probably couldn't simultaneously process all the memories: the joys, pains, humiliations, triumphs, confusion, doubts, information, wounds, and so forth conn
May 11, 2009
Article
A Lesson in Letting Go and Letting God
At the beginning of my kindergarten school year, the teacher handed out boxes of crayons. Old boxes were issued to my morning class while new boxes were given to the afte oon class. Because the supply of old boxes was about five students short, a handful of morning students was given new boxes. I was one such lucky child. After writing our names on the boxes, the crayons were stacked in the cupboards lining one side of the classroom. One day at drawing time, my box was nowhe
April 23, 2009
Article
A Response from God
Some dreams are too big for words. This was one of them. As I write this, it is with some small hope that I can communicate the power of this life-altering experience. One night, having left my more cautious little self asleep on the bed, I entered into a mysterious world of gray, billowing mist. I moved forward into it as though—as though what?—as though I were in a dream because, in actuality, I was. n n When the mist settled, I saw a scattering of flat-topped boulders wit
April 22, 2009
Article
Marching to Your Own Drummer
My older brother was a member of a drum and bugle corps. There were many such groups back in the 50's. There may be many such groups in existence now; I’m just not aligned with that slice of life anymore. Back then, the corps would practiced faithfully until they could move as one proud unit before strutting their stuff in competitions. It was at one such competitive event—my brother was not competing that day—that I discovered the frightening truth about the loss of individ
April 21, 2009
Article
A Reinca ation Story
I’d been working at the international headquarters of a spiritual organization in Menlo Park, Califo ia. As most of the employees were members of this particular organization, lunch table conversations naturally centered on subjects inherent to the teaching, subjects such as dreams, past lives, and the shortest path home to God. One day, as she nibbled on a carrot stick, a co-worker I had nicknamed Zeta told me of a recent past life recall she’d had. She remembered flying in
April 5, 2009
Article
Living in the Garden of God
As expected, the traffic on the Washington, D.C. beltway was hopelessly snarled. It fueled my anticipated tension and further set the mood for the day to come. Customers and staff alike seemed to be caught in a firestorm of negative emotion. It was ugly and it fed upon itself. One impatient, demanding remark from someone stimulated a rebuttal of equal or worse kind. And so it went, escalating into a madness of sorts. My already despondent state worsened as computers, printi
February 22, 2009
Article
Godwill
I had know God’s love through its many manifestations: my husband, the myriad of other Souls who came and went in my life, even my cats. But it was never enough. I wanted to know God directly, up close and personal. Metaphorically-speaking, I would shake my fists at the sky and cry for God-Realization. After one prolonged period of trying every technique I knew, I fell into bed one night with God on my mind and I was given the following dream as I slept. I awoke in the dream
January 4, 2009
Websites & resources
SelfGrowth-published websites, downloads, and contributor profile websites connected to this expert.
Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from JO Leonard
"Chaos comes because we have built it into our consciousness. The magnetic atmosphere gives back only that which we put into it by conscious thought."
-The Flute of God by Paul Twitchell Copyright 1969 ECKANKAR
Contacting JO Leonard
Jo can be contacted through her website at www.jeleonard.com
How to get started
The experiences and revelations I shared in my book, The Would Be Saint, did not happen to me because I am a saint—they came about because I chose to dance the dance of God. I actively sought the life that lies beyond our five senses. I left the lands of what was familiar and ventured into the unfamiliar until it became the familiar. With all my heart, I believed a state of knowingness to be my birthright. I believe it is everyman's birthright.
Do I consider myself an expert in spiritual growth. No, I consider myself a traveler on the road to God who likes to share with other travelers. There are spiritual wayshowers who are so much further along the road tha I am. We are not likely to meet them on a web site, however. They wait quietly in the wings for those who are ready. Make yourself ready, my friend, if you want to meet them.