Have you ever noticed how some ideas stick with you? My approach to learning love has been like bouncing off of a wall of Post-it notes. When you expose yourself to nurturing concepts, you're bound to come away with a few ideas stuck to you.

One idea that stuck with me came from James Redfield's "Celestine Prophecy." It's a simple thought, really. When someone comes to mind, you give him or her a call, write a note or send an e-mail.

For the sake of the magic of the story, Redfield incorporates this concept into a cosmic connection. I don't think you have to take it to that extreme to make it into a useful idea. It may be possible that your thinking of a particular person at a certain instant may be prompted from a higher Source to meet a specific need. But then again, it may not be.

More often than not, the random associations in our mind give little reminders of someone on the edge of our memory. Everyone has a need to be remembered and considered significant. What better reason can you think of to get in touch with an old friend and say, "I just thought of you."

Back before Ma Bell orphaned a bunch of Baby Bells, there was a heart-touching series of commercials (almost as tear-jerking as Phillip Morris' recent efforts to make their poison-peddling outreach seem more humanitarian than a visit from Mother Teresa). But I digress! The Bell commercials I remember from my kid days had sensitive scenes of relationships to the jingle, "Reach out and touch someone. Reach out and just say hi."

It's great advice. And in this age of instant global communication, there really isn't any excuse not to call or drop a line.

The "thinking of you" approach works best if you haven't recently joined a MLM -- and ideally if you never have worn out all your friendships as an Amway distributor. (Apologies if you are or were -- don't unsubscribe if I just stepped on a few toes).

When you contact someone you've forgotten for decades, some people may be dubious, wondering when you're going to mention some new "business opportunity." But the antidote to skepticism is sincerity. "It's been a long time. I really just wanted to say hi and see how you're doing."

Search engines are great tools for finding a long-lost acquaintance. You can get mailing addresses, phone numbers and even e-mail addresses. Only once have I used the Internet search to find someone who owed me a lot of money for unpaid services. All the other times I used it to find an old college roommate or someone who had moved a long distance away.

Here are a few search engines I've found useful to find an old friend:

Lycos phone Number
Lycos e-mail look-up
Yahoo People Search
Go.com People Search

Please remember a few things.

1. People guard their privacy. If you use search tactics to find someone so you can promote a business, most people will regard your efforts as an invasion of their privacy.

2. If your friend is a woman and she has married since you've known her, it may be difficult to locate her if you don’t know her married name. If that's the case, you might have more luck sending a note to her parents to be forwarded to her.

3. It's the thought that counts. When you haven't talked with someone for years, a simple greeting may be the most appropriate. You probably don't know much of what has been going on in your friend's life. And what's more, for whatever reason, your friend may hope you don't know. After neglecting a relationship for a long time, suddenly trying to get all the details of someone's past may be intrusive. A simple thought, like "I hope you're doing well," may be just right.

If someone comes to your mind, take a moment to let that person know you were thinking of him or her. It feels great to be remembered. And it does a soul good to brighten someone's day.
 
 

Reading Shelf

The Celestine Prophecy:
An Adventure

by James Redfield

For entertainment value, Redfield's "Celestine Prophecy" is a gripping read, seasoned with insights. Although he never approaches the core of spirituality that comes through the mediation and atonement of Christ, Redfield skirts around the edges of some mystical ideas that struck me more as poetic than earth-shattering.

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