Holy Shift: Ego on Parade

~ reverendjoanmkistler

Adam’s Dream and the Birth of Duality

In the beginning, Adam fell into a deep sleep. The Bible never says he woke up.

He dreamed of Eve. The other. She was not a mistake, but the beginning of duality. The moment Eve appeared, the possibility of “I” and “you” was born—a symbol of humanity evolving from unconscious unity into conscious relationship.

Duality is not a problem. We cannot know anything in the absence of its opposite. We cannot know light without dark, love without hate, eternity without time.

Contrast is the teacher.

The Tree and the Sacred Bite

Then came the tree. The apple wasn’t poisonous. The bite wasn’t a sin. It was a sacred movement—a symbol of humanity reaching self-awareness.

Consciousness evolves like all things. It is not a fall from grace—but a movement toward knowledge—of knowing the Creator, our Self, and our sacred relationship.

Being, Life, and the Shadow of Form

God is Being—pure, radiant Potential. Like the sun, still and eternal.

Christ is Life—Being in motion. Like a sunbeam, flowing from the Source into the world.

When a sunbeam enters a form, it casts a shadow that can be seen only on a surface. When Life enters a form, it casts a shadow—the body. It can be seen only in physical reality. On this stage, the story of awakening is unfolding.

What is seen is not the whole. The body is not the Self just as the shadow is not the sunbeam.

In our early consciousness, we were like infants—newly aware, but not yet able to understand. We saw only the body, and we were frightened and confused. We couldn’t yet perceive the Life animating it, or the Source behind it.

We could only conclude, “I must be this.” We identified with the body, the visible, the form. And from that misidentification, ego developed—a false self with a mind of its own.

It was the perfect contrast.

Ego’s Rise and the Illusion of Separation

Even Christ is revealed through contrast. Without ego—the anti-Christ—we would never be able to know the Christ within.

Ego became our guide, the architect of our lives. We created identities, hierarchies, and systems based on a mistaken identity—the belief that we are separately-existing beings rather than one Life, one Christ, one Self.

From this illusion, we built nations, doctrines, economies, and roles.

We ranked worth.

We defined borders.

We named “us” and “them.”

The more we built around it, the more we forgot the Sun. And worshiped this idol.

The sunbeam still shines, but the vessel is clouded—with fear, pride, and the desperate desire to be seen.

Ego on Parade

The ego loves a parade. 
Loud. Glittering. Hollow.

The ego is like an actor on a dimly-lit stage. It has no identity of its own, so it borrows costumes—beliefs and ideologies.

Religious and political extremism offer certainty, identity, and belonging—thriving on “us vs. them.”

It clings to possessions. Money, status, and power offer the illusory “proof” of its existence. “I am what I own.”

Ego protects its image through judgment, superiority, and victimhood. It is the one who prays, “I thank you, God, that I’m not like that sinner over there.” It is the one constantly asking, “Where is my reward?”

It craves praise and recognition—these are the ego’s fuel. Without them, it feels invisible.

The Windshield Washer and the Still, Small Voice

Like any character on stage, the ego needs an audience, a script, and a spotlight to seem real.

The audience is our attention. The ego’s voice in the head is like the guy on the street who washes our car window at stoplights. But did we really need our windshield washed? No, yet we feel obligated to pay for his “service.”

The script is our conditioning—the rules we’ve learned to play our roles: gender, religion, class, and more. Ego fills us with shame when we forget our lines or act contrary to our roles. It’s always anxious because it can’t see Life’s next scene, so it improvises—badly.

The spotlight is our belief in it. We’ve listened for so long, paid attention for so long, that we mistake its voice for our own. Like the windshield washer, ego convinces us it’s doing us a favor.

The Voice of the Christ within is a still, small voice–a gentle prompting–an urge we get in the moment to do exactly what needs to be done. In the moment when our windshield is truly dirty and needs to be washed, we will know.

We don’t need the windshield washer. We need clarity—and that comes from within.

Without belief, the ego dissolves. 
Without clinging, it has no shape. 
It is not Christ, the True Self—it is simply a mask worn to be seen. 

Who’s Driving?

Not only have we let the window washer clean our windshield— we’ve let him take the driver’s seat. He’s a horrible driver. He has no clue where we are, where we’re going, or how to get us there. He only pretends to know.

His driving fills us with fear and dread. 
He swerves between extremes. 
He speeds when we need stillness. 
He stalls when we need courage. 
He uses a map that will never lead us home.

But we are not powerless passengers. 
We can thank him for his enthusiasm, and kindly ask him to take the back seat.
We can choose a different driver.

The Road of Trust

Christ is the Good Chauffeur.
Christ knows exactly where we are, where we’re going, and how to get us there.

Christ’s driving fills us with peace and joy. 
There are no missed turns. 
No frantic detours. 
Just the quiet unfolding of grace.

We don’t need to know the whole map. 
We don’t need to control the route. 
We need only to trust the Driver.

Christ doesn’t rush. 
Doesn’t miss turns. 
Doesn’t need GPS.

Christ is the Way.

When we let go of the wheel, 
we begin to feel the rhythm of grace. 
We stop bracing for impact. 
We stop second-guessing every curve. 
We start to breathe.

The ego will protest. 
It’s a back seat driver.
It will insist it knows a shortcut. 
But we don’t have to listen.

We can turn down the volume. 
We can rest in the seat of surrender. 
We can watch the scenery change— 
Without fear.
Without dread.

Peace is not the destination. 
It’s the feeling of being driven by Love.

Returning to the Light

You are not the mask. You are not the role. 
You are not the voice that shouts from the back seat.

You are the Light behind the form. You are the sunbeam, flowing from the Source. You are the quiet knowing that doesn’t need applause.

The ego will keep performing. It will keep washing the windshield, offering advice,  asking for payment.

But you don’t have to believe it. 
You don’t have to let it drive.

You can rest. 
You can listen. 
You can trust the Christ within.

There is no rush. 
No test. 
No hierarchy.

Only the gentle unfolding of grace. 
Only the still, small voice saying, 
“This way.”

Next Post: The Age of the Heart

Holy Shift! The Great Undoing

~ reverendjoanmkistler

Don’t Worry? Easier Said Than Done.

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is Matthew 6:25–34, where Jesus tells us not to worry about our life—what we’ll eat or drink, the clothes we’ll wear. After all, the birds have all the food they need, and the lilies of the field are dressed more beautifully than a king in his finest robes.  

“So don’t worry about tomorrow,” he says. “Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Yeah, right.  

It’s hard not to worry these days, isn’t it?  The birds and the lilies don’t have to worry about inflation, climate change, or whether their health insurance covers spiritual unraveling.

But maybe that’s the point.

Jesus wasn’t dismissing our struggle. He was pointing to something deeper: a Divine Intelligence that lovingly nurtures all of Life—a Peace that doesn’t depend on circumstances.

Birds don’t worry because they’re aligned with it. Lilies don’t strive because they’re held by it. And we are part of it too.

The Loving Intelligence That Nurtures All

The sun shows up every day.
The rain falls without judgment.
The seed splits open in due season.
The fire warms without asking.
And our heart keeps beating.

Not because we earned it.
Not because we deserve it.
But because we’re part of something that never stopped loving us.

This is the Law Jesus taught—this loving Intelligence—the quiet, steady pulse of unconditional support. And—contrary to popular belief—we don’t have to strive for it, prove ourselves worthy of it, or work overtime to keep it.

It’s not a prize.
It’s not a paycheck.
We simply exist.
And that’s enough.

The Illusion of Separation

We are the only species capable of denying the force in which we “live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).”

Birds don’t wear parachutes.
Fish don’t use snorkeling gear.
Sunbeams don’t doubt the sun.

But we resist what holds us.

We think of ourselves as having a separate identity and a superior intelligence. Thus, we have invented systems that make us think we’re in charge. We have created rules to override relationship and systems of control to reject trust.

They are all illusions.

When Religion Forgets Mercy

Many people today cling to systems created according to man-made laws—external behaviors, rigid traditions, and spiritual elitism—just like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time. Jesus challenged that directly. He said, “You nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matthew 15:6).

The Pharisees accused him of abolishing the Law. No. He was restoring the Law: Love, Mercy, and Truth. These things were painfully absent from their made-up laws, and the result was suffering.

The same is true in today’s world. 

What Happens When We Build On Sand?

If Divine Intelligence is Law—and that Law is Eternal—and if what’s created in harmony with it shares in that Eternity … then what must happen to the illusions man created to deny and reject it?

Imagine a dam built long ago—a dam built by human fear — a dam built to hold back the waters of vulnerability, mystery, and surrender. Brick by brick, we stacked beliefs:

“I must earn love.”
“I must control everything.”
“I must prove my worth.”

For a while, it worked. The dam held. But over time, the pressure kept building, leading to the inevitable collapse.

We all sense the impending deluge. We fear the water behind the dam. We think it’s chaos—but it’s actually grace. It’s the flow of divine rhythm, the current of unconditional support.

The breaking isn’t wrath—it’s mercy.
The collapse isn’t destruction—
it’s restoration.
The flood isn’t meant to drown us—
it’s meant to carry us home.

Not because we’re being punished.
But because we’re being saved.
Saved because we are loved.

The Mercy in the Undoing

Another one of my favorite passages from the New Testament is the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).

A father has two sons. One day, the younger son demands his share of the inheritance—essentially saying, “I want what’s mine now. I’m done with this family.” The father gives it to him, no questions asked.

The son leaves home and squanders everything—his money, his dignity, his relationships—in reckless living. Eventually, he’s broke, starving, and working in a pigsty, wishing he could eat the pigs’ food.

That’s when he “comes to himself.”

He decides to go home—not as a son, but as a servant. He rehearses his apology, expecting rejection or punishment. But while he’s still far off, his father sees him. And runs.

He doesn’t wait for an apology. He doesn’t demand repentance. He throws his arms around his son, weeps with joy, and throws a feast. “My son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.”

Meanwhile, the older brother—who stayed home, followed the rules, and never asked for anything—is furious. “I’ve been loyal, and you never threw me a party. But this reckless son gets the royal treatment?”

The father gently reminds him: “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate—your brother came home.”

The younger son’s undoing—his collapse, his shame, his return—isn’t met with judgment. It’s met with mercy. The father doesn’t say, “You messed up, now earn your way back.”

He says, “You’re mine. You were always mine. Welcome home.”

And the older son? He’s a mirror for those who cling to performance and rewards.  He’s in the house, but not in the heart. Even so, the father loves them both.

The Great Undoing is Collective

If Divine Intelligence is the Law that sustains Life—unifying, loving, and eternal—then anything built in opposition to that Law is unsustainable.

Just as the younger son built a life of unholiness—reckless, defiant, and disconnected from the rhythm of grace— we, too, have built systems that reflect an unholy life:

Caste systems that rank human worth. 
Economic models that reward exploitation. 
Religious hierarchies that gatekeep grace. 
Governments that disguise control as care.

These reflect the illusion
that we are not already held.
They are systems built on sand.
And so, they are crumbling.

This is the Great Undoing.
Not the end of the world,
but the end of the illusion.

The Most Radical Act of Resistance

The most powerful thing we can do—the most radical act of resistance—is to choose alignment. To live in harmony with the Intelligence that sustains Life. To embody the Law Jesus restored: Love, Mercy, and Truth.

Because alignment creates a ripple. One soul in resonance with grace sends waves through the collective. And the more who align, the more who follow. Not because they’re forced— but because they’re drawn to the rhythm.

The rhythm they forgot they belonged to.
The breath they were given but have tried to regulate.

So let the illusions fall.
Let the scaffolding give way.
Let the flood come.

Because what’s rising is not destruction.
It’s the Kingdom Jesus spoke of.
Where the last are first.
Where the poor are blessed.
Where love is the only law.

And if you’re wondering what to do …
Start with alignment.
Start with trust.
Start with the rhythm.
The Love that never stopped holding us.

Benediction for the Great Undoing

May the false foundations fall away.
May the flood of grace rise without fear.
May you remember the rhythm into which you were born—
And rest in the Love
That never asked you to earn it.

Next Post: Ego on Parade

Holy Shift! Blog Series Launch

~ reverendjoanmkistler

Okay, let’s be honest. If humanity is awakening, it sure doesn’t look like it. We’re not exactly standing on mountaintops holding hands and singing “Kumbaya,” or gathering in monasteries to chant “Om” in perfect harmony.

If humanity is awakening, we’re doing it reluctantly—with bedhead and mismatched socks. We’re rolling out of bed, fumbling for coffee, doomscrolling the headlines, and wondering how we missed the memo.

No wonder so many are still hitting “snooze.”

Apparently, human awakening isn’t as elegant as a butterfly emerging from its cocoon—it’s more like a groggy stumble. But maybe awakening doesn’t need to be graceful. Maybe it just needs to be honest. A free-will choice made in the middle of a world gone mad—not out of obligation, but simply because something deep down keeps whispering, “There’s a better way.”

Awakening doesn’t come with fanfare. There’s no spiritual marching band, no certificate of enlightenment. Just a gentle tug from within. A moment when the noise pauses long enough for something deeper to speak. And in that pause, we get to choose—not perfection, not certainty, but the next honest step toward peace.

This blog series is for those who feel as if they are standing in the fog—feeling the tremors, sensing something sacred beneath the confusion, and wondering if they’re losing their minds … or finally finding their hearts. 

It’s for the ones who wake up groggy, but curious. The ones who feel the world shifting beneath their feet and suspect there’s more going on than meets the eye. It’s not about answers—it’s about finding peace in the eye of the storm.

And maybe, just maybe, remembering Who We Really Are. 

Here are some of the themes we’ll explore together. Click on the title link to access each post in the series.

The Great Undoing
Why everything seems to be falling apart—and how breakdown can be the first step toward breakthrough.

Ego on Parade
Spotting fear, control, and separation in ourselves and the world—and choosing love anyway.

The Age of the Heart
Leaving behind the Age of Reason—where intellect ruled without love—and entering the Age of the Heart, where we return to the Consciousness that cradles all of Life in compassion.

Divine Timing & Prophecy
Why this time is monumental—and how ancient wisdom points to the awakening underway.

Navigating the Fog
Making peace with confusion, grief, and emotional overwhelm as sacred signs of transformation.

Higher Perspective
Learning to see from the mountaintop—where clarity, compassion, and cosmic humor live.

Christ-Consciousness
Living as Love, not just believing in it—and embracing unity over separation.

The Messy Middle
Why awakening isn’t linear—and how destruction can create fertile soil for change.

Soul Simplicity
Letting go of what’s heavy and returning to what’s holy—in rhythm with nature, silence, and the heart.

So if you’re ready to laugh, cry, question everything, and maybe—just maybe—remember who you really are … welcome. You’re not alone. You’re not crazy. You’re awakening. And you’re right on time.

Feel free to comment, share your reflections, or follow along as we explore the fog, the fire, and the quiet flickers of truth together. Your voice matters here. Not because you have all the answers, but because you’re asking the real questions.

Let’s walk this path—bedhead, mismatched socks, and all—with curiosity, compassion, and a touch of cosmic humor.

Welcome to the journey.

The End Times: Who is the Anti-Christ?

~ reverendjoanmkistler ~ 1 Comment
AI-generated image using Adobe Express

In my last post, I wrote that the Anti-Christ is the ego. When I use the term “ego,” I’m not referring to “ego” as Sigmund Freud defined it but as defined metaphysically. Metaphysically, the ego is defined as the idea of “I” as a separate being. It is the sum of all of the beliefs we carry about ourselves. From the time we are born, we begin to collect ideas about ourselves in the form of labels, beginning with the very first label with which we are assigned: our gender.

There are many more labels to come – labels related to our race, religion, socioeconomic class as well as the labels we are given by people in authority and our peers. The more labels we take on, the smaller we become because there are behavioral expectations associated with each label. For example, if we are labeled “male,” there are societal norms around “maleness” that we must obey in order to be accepted. The same is true with race, religion, and socioeconomic class. Societal pressure to conform to the behavioral norms associated with these labels restrict our behavior and keep us in line through the fear of rejection.

As we grow up, we are offered many more labels both by people in authority and our peers. Some of the labels are positive, and some are negative. Either way, labels are burdensome because they place expectations on us. Each label is a box inside a box inside another box, and our space to be keeps getting smaller and smaller. By the time we reach adolescence, we may feel as if we are suffocating inside a very small box, especially if we have been forced to conform to many labels that just don’t fit.

Our eternal nature is carefree and limitless – full of peace, love, and joy. When we are born, we walk into a theater called “Earth” and get assigned a role (our name). Throughout the acts and scenes of our life, there are many directors working hard to mold and shape us into what they think our character should be. After many years of playing this character, we forget who we really are. This is what happens to us on micro-level as individuals and on the macro-level over the history of humankind.

We think we are only this earthly character, and we are filled with fear. Why? Because it is a work of fiction. It exists only as long as we are in this theater called Earth. The moment we exit the theater, the character ceases to exist. When we forget our true eternal identity, we have no choice but to cling to this earthly identity, a house built on sand (Matthew 7:26-27). We try to fortify the house through the accumulation of wealth and power, but no amount of wealth or power can change the truth that this “personal self” is ephemeral.

Our earthly character isn’t evil in and of itself. We are meant to live this life as a particular expression of Being, and we are born with the traits, tendencies, and talents we need to play our role gloriously. We need the ego in order for Being to experience each individual expression (or “character”). And just an author fondly remembers every character he or she created, every “character” we ever played on this stage called “Earth” is lovingly held in the memory of Being.

We are filled with joy when we are allowed “to be” – when we are playing our proper role, not the one assigned to us by humans. Labels help us to conceptualize and experience this unreal world of duality. However, since labels belong to this unreal world, they are also illusions. Male and female, white and black, Christian and Muslim, straight and gay, American and Russian – none of these labels exist in Reality. How can they when in Reality, there is only one Being?

When we are lost in our earthly identity, we forget this. We treat our labels as if they are real, and we create a hierarchy of worth based on our own judgments. Male is more worthy than female; white is more worthy than black; Christian is more worthy than Muslim, etc. At that point, we have made a god of the human ego and have broken the First Commandment: You shall have no other gods before me.

This “other god” is the anti-Christ, and it has been fortifying itself by accumulating wealth and power through its make-believe “caste system” for ages. This has created an extremely unbalanced distribution of wealth in our world, causing suffering for the majority.

The truth that Jesus was a peaceful, universalist is inconvenient for many people today just as it was in Jesus’ time. Like the Zealots 2000 years ago, there are those who want to believe in Jesus as a military leader with nationalistic values. Certainly, Jesus was loyal to his people, offering his message of salvation to the Jews first, but he didn’t exclude others because he knew that every living being is part of Life, part of the Christ, whether they know it or not.

There are also those who have created exclusive Christian religions based on rules that have no basis in what Jesus taught while they ignore his fundamental teachings, such as “Do not judge others” (Matthew 7:1-3) and “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Mark 12:31). In Matthew chapter 15, Jesus condemned the Pharisees for this hypocrisy. They complained to Jesus that his’ followers didn’t follow the proper handwashing traditions. Jesus responded by calling them out for breaking the fifth commandment. Instead of honoring their father and mother, the Pharisees followed their own tradition whereby they declared their possessions as “Corban” (dedicated to God). This gave them an excuse to avoid financially supporting their parents.

We are at a crossroads. We all have free will. We must each make our choice: the Christ or the anti-Christ? Unity or division? Love or hatred? Peace or war? Joy or suffering? Reality or illusion? Bonds between family and friends will be broken, for the light cannot abide the darkness, and the darkness cannot withstand the light.

Are you ready to choose? Time is running out.

Stay tuned for my next post: The End Times: The Choice

The End Times: Are They Here?

~ reverendjoanmkistler
AI-generated image using Adobe Express

In these turbulent times, many people are wondering whether we are experiencing the End Times as prophesized. I believe we are, but in the words of the song by R E.M, “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”

It’s the end of the world as we know it. In other words, the world isn’t going to end, but something major is going to change everything. You might think it’s Artificial Intelligence. Certainly, AI has the potential to change a lot, as did the  computer microchip. But I believe something is coming far bigger than that.

What’s coming is a fundamental change in how we see ourselves. We think of ourselves as only human, but we are far more than that. This is what the enlightened masters have been trying to teach us for a very long time, but many have refused to accept it.

The truth is that we are Life Itself – Pure Life. The Life that animates our human body is who we really are. Life is the active, experiencing part of Being, or existence. Being has no beginning and no end. Just as Being can never cease to be, Life can never cease to live. It can never die. This same Life is in everyone and in everything that is alive.

Life can’t be separate from Being any more than the sun’s rays can be separated from the sun. As Life, we are eternally connected to Being, our Source. Therefore, in Reality, there is only one Being. There is no “other.” This is what Jesus meant when he said in John 14:11, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”

Jesus was able to do the works that he did because he didn’t deny who he is. He knew that the man called “Jesus of Nazareth” was just a container for his true identity: Life (a.k.a. the Christ). He also tried to teach his disciples that this same Life is also who they are. The same Life is in every living thing just as the same light glows out of a variety of light bulbs. The container doesn’t change the nature or quality of the light at all.

Our bodies are merely temporary containers for the Life that we are. This is what Jesus tried to teach Peter when he refused to let Jesus wash his feet. He said to Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have not part with me” (John 13:8). As long as Peter viewed his fundamental nature as different from Jesus’, he wasn’t accepting his true identity. He wasn’t “joining with him in Christ.” This is what it truly means to be saved. It doesn’t mean to become part of an exclusive club. This club is all-inclusive. Anyone who sees himself or herself as either inferior or superior to others cannot join with Christ.

What does that mean? It means the absolute equality of every living thing – that every living thing is eternally part of the One Being (a.k.a. God) and equally beloved. Now, there have always been people strongly opposed to this idea. Even Jesus’ disciples struggled to accept that the Samaritans were equally beloved of God. But the Bible says, “God saw ALL that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Each human expression of Life has an individual body and a mind which provides Being with the ability to experience its infinite nature in all of its wonderful diversity. In Reality, however, this individuality doesn’t exist. How can it when there is only one Being? However, over time, human beings became lost in the illusion of individuality. We forgot about our true identity, and began to think of ourselves as only human.

This is what we call “original sin,” but it didn’t really happen. We didn’t really separate from God; we only “thought” we did. We only thought of ourselves as only human, but that thought didn’t have the power to change who we really are. This mistaken thought eventually pushed our original mind, the “Mind of Christ” into the background and allowed a different kind of mind to take over: the egoic mind.

This “takeover” is represented in the Bible as Adam and Eve taking a bite out of the apple from the forbidden “tree of knowledge.” They suddenly realized they were naked, and they were filled with fear. Fear is the base emotion of the egoic mind. When fear took over, their perspective changed. God became a harsh judge, life became a struggle, and “others” became a threat. Heaven turned into hell.

The development of the egoic mind is part of the design. It’s necessary in order for Life to become self-aware. Nothing can be experienced without its opposite. Since in Reality, all is One, an unreal world of duality was needed. Just as we can’t know hot without cold, we can’t know ourselves as Life without death. We can’t know ourselves as the Light without the darkness. We can’t know ourselves as love without fear. We can’t know ourselves as the Truth without the lie. The egoic mind contains all of the ideas about who we are not. It is the anti-Christ.

The second coming of Christ is about humanity “waking up” and remembering our true identity. Through this, we will be released from the fear of the egoic mind and return to the love and peace of the Mind of Christ. Our perspective will shift back to the Unity Consciousness of Eden, but with the added bonus of Self-Awareness.

It will change everything.

We still have free will. Each individual can choose to wake up or remain asleep, but in order to make an informed decision, we need a clear picture of each choice. Two-thousand years ago, Jesus gave us a clear picture of the Christ. Today, we are being given a clear picture of the anti-Christ.

Stay tuned for my next post in this series: “The End Times: Who is the Anti-Christ?”

Moving to Costa Rica: Thinking About Leaving the United States?

~ reverendjoanmkistler

It has been a year and a half since we sold almost everything we had, packed up the rest, and moved to Costa Rica, a place we’d never been. People post online that they are thinking about leaving the U.S. and moving to Costa Rica, and expats respond, telling them about how happy they are here – or how miserable.

So what’s the truth? Is life in Costa Rica great or not? Well, I must say that for us, the honeymoon stage has ended, slapping us in the face with the challenging reality of day-to-day life in a country with a different language and culture. Clearly, it isn’t for everyone. Americans thinking about moving to Costa Rica should be aware of who they are and what they can live with and without.

First of all, we Americans have certain tendencies hard-wired into us. The first is the tendency toward workaholism. I know some expats who came here to relax and enjoy their retirement; instead, they have found ways to keep themselves miserably busy with all their volunteer work and/or part-time online jobs. I often find myself feeling guilty and tempted to take on more online work despite our doing fine financially. I have to keep reminding myself that workaholism isn’t a thing here.

Costa Ricans (Ticos) generally don’t work so hard, and for me as an American, it is flabbergasting and maddening at times. When I go to the bank, there is often a line of people out the door and down the street. Nevertheless, the tellers take their time setting up their work stations, dealing with each customer, and even taking frequent breaks. I’ve thought to myself, “Don’t these people value quick, efficient service?” We once spent an hour with a teller who took her time making sure our issue was resolved. Quick? Not-so-much. Efficient? Highly.

On the other hand, there are a couple of Walmart-owned megastores where the Ticos do a great job being both efficient and quick. Ticos are known to be among the happiest people in the world, but the ones who work in these stores look like the most miserable people in the world.

Costa Rica isn’t for you if you’re not willing to let go of toxic capitalist baggage and start treating yourself and others like human beings, not machines.

The second American tendency is unbridled consumerism. We want what we want when we want it whether we need it or not. Many expats complain about how expensive Costa Rica is. Sales tax is 13% on everything, and the high prices of imported goods reflect the cost to get them here. So if you want to live in Costa Rica and enjoy your favorite American brands, be prepared to spend a lot of money for them. That’s if you are lucky enough to find them. There are some grocery stores that offer many American products, but you might have to travel to these stores, costing you more in travel expenses as well as time.

If you want to live affordably in Costa Rica, you have to learn to live like the Ticos and do what they do. They buy Costa Rican products from Costa Rican shops and vendors. There are many products and suppliers from which to choose, and it takes time to find the ones you like. You have to be willing to try a lot of unfamiliar products and brands. You might be surprised that they are at least as good as American brands – and sometimes even better! We found a Costa Rican brand of potato chips that blows away Lay’s.

We were surprised to learn that while some Costa Rican farmers try to grow food organically, most use chemicals freely. Luckily, we recently found a vendor who runs an organic food delivery service, and we’ve already seen improvements in the appearance of our skin and in our energy levels. We strive to eat organic as much as possible, which adds a bit to our grocery bill, but it’s still quite affordable.

Unlike in America where you often have to drive miles to get to the nearest grocery store, there are no “food deserts” here. There is a huge variety of grocery stores, green grocers, and butchers within walking distance. Most parks have fruit trees, and people can freely pick the fruit and enjoy it.

Costa Rica isn’t far you if you’re not willing to live without American products and to embrace the grand adventure of trying things you’ve never tried before.

The third American tendency is our constant high-speed mode. Our obsession with productivity infects not only our work life but also every area of our lives.  Here in Costa Rica, the water, electric, and Internet go out more often than in the U.S. I’ve found myself wanting to scream when I am forced to slow down by these outages. Since we live in an more urban area, these problems are usually resolved fairly quickly. Those who choose to live in more remote areas have to live without for much longer.

We’ve learned to keep a backup supply of water, allowing us to at least wash hands, do dishes, and flush toilets when the water is out. We also have our Internet plugged into a backup battery that keeps us connected for an hour or so if the power goes out. Finally, if the Internet goes down, we have a backup wifi hotspot that usually finds a working network unless the outage is more widespread.

We are usually informed of these outages before they happen. Costa Rica works hard to maintain their infrastructures in order to prevent major problems. Only once was there a major water outage lasting a few days due to a major water main break. This happened a few days after we arrived in Costa Rica, but it hasn’t happened since. Ticos are “chill” about these outages and roll with them.

Costa Rica isn’t for you if you’re not willing to slow down, chill out, and roll with inconveniences like outages (and long lines and traffic jams 😂).

Our fourth American tendency is our linguistic prejudice. Americans living in America often get frustrated with people who can’t speak English. Some Americans living in Costa Rica still get frustrated with people who can’t speak English despite the fact that they are living in a country where the national language is Spanish! They also have no interest in learning a single word of Spanish.

Part of the problem might be due to misleading information. Before we came to Costa Rica, we read many posts stating that most Costa Ricans can speak English. Well, if you come here as a tourist and visit tourist sites, you’re going to encounter many Ticos who speak English very well. If you come here to live, you’re not going to find many people who speak English very well unless you live in a tourist area or expat community. Even in these areas, you’re going to be confronted by Spanish signs, store product labels, instructions, cable TV, radio, etc. You won’t be able to escape Spanish. It will invade every area of your life.

Costa Rica isn’t for you is you’re not willing to at least learn a little Spanish. You must also be willing to accept and respect the fact that this a county where Spanish is the national language. Just as we expect people to speak English in America, people expect you to speak Spanish in Costa Rica. Luckily, Ticos are very patient, and they are delighted to hear gringos speaking their language even if we do it very badly.

You will always be an American; you can’t change that. But to really enjoy life in Costa Rica, you have to be willing to drop the American baggage and embrace the “Pura Vida” lifestyle.

That’s what we’ve chosen to do, and we are enjoying the best that Costa Rica has to offer: people who mind their own business and treat others with respect whether they like them or not, the absence of random violence, a working democratic government with a strong commitment to civil rights, and an affordable health care system that really takes care of people. Even our old dog Jackson is well cared for by our Costa Rican vet who makes house calls.

If you’d like to know more about living in Costa Rica, feel free to post your questions in the comments.

Moving to Costa Rica: Returning to the U.S.

~ reverendjoanmkistler
Dough4872, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

You might be thinking, “Back so soon?”

Last fall, when we were planning our relocation to Costa Rica, my brother said to me, “You’re coming back for Josh’s wedding, right?” I replied, “Of course! I can’t miss my only nephew’s wedding!” As a result, on October 3rd, Tabatha and I boarded a plane in San José bound for Miami. A couple of hours later, we boarded another plane to Philadelphia.

I can’t say I was looking forward to returning to the U.S. To be honest, I was dreading it.

The energy in Costa Rica is so peaceful, laid-back, and friendly. The energy in the United States is the opposite. I didn’t want to be immersed in that energy again. As we were preparing for the trip, I had said more than once to Tabatha, “I don’t want to go back.”

I had to go back. I truly couldn’t miss my only nephew’s wedding, so I psyched myself up for trip. Tabatha, the master planner, had put together a nice itinerary for the week-long sojourn: visiting friends and family, going shopping, enjoying favorite restaurants, and of course, attending the wedding. I kept telling myself that I would enjoy these things.

Well, after only two days in the U.S., I got sick. The night before the wedding, I felt so lousy that I took a COVID test and prayed. We had already visited several friends by that time, and a positive result would mean that we had not only exposed these friends but also that we weren’t going to my nephew’s wedding – the main reason for the trip.

Thankfully, the COVID test turned out negative.

We attended the wedding and the reception dinner. We did a little dancing, but with my being sick and Tabatha’s knee still on the mend, we didn’t do any serious boogeying. After dinner, I’d had enough, so we decided to go back to the hotel room. We missed the fun of them cutting the cake and feeding it to each other; nevertheless, we so thankful we made it. I saw people I hadn’t seen in ages. Tabatha finally got to meet my nephew and his family. Best of all, we got to enjoy watching my brother, the father of the groom, have a total blast!

The day after the wedding, I noticed the tell-tale signs of a sinus infection. I had forgotten all about my fall allergies. When I lived in northeast PA, I started taking Allegra in August to prepare for them. I have gotten sinus infections and bronchitis in October more than once over the years. I didn’t think about the fact that we were returning to the U.S. during the worst time for my allergies. I was unprepared, and my sinuses were like, “What the …?”

A trip to one of those ready care places confirmed my suspicions, and I was prescribed antibiotics.

There were only a couple of rough days. Once, we were having lunch with friends at our favorite diner. I didn’t feel like eating. That’s how lousy I felt. Ask anyone – I always want to eat. I felt so lousy that I excused myself to take a nap in the rental car. Another day, we had a reservation for our favorite seafood restaurant. I wanted to go, but Tabatha correctly pointed out that people might not enjoy eating dinner with my sniffly-sneezy-snotty self sitting nearby, so we got our meal to go. We ate in the hotel room while watching the Eagles football game on TV.

We were really enjoying ourselves. The food was good. The Eagles were winning. Then there was a special news report about the Hamas attack in the Gaza Strip, with images of dead bodies lying in the streets. It was truly terrible, and our hearts go out to those who are suffering in the Gaza Strip.

We weren’t prepared to see those disturbing images during our dinner time. It was prime-time TV. Children could have been watching. There was no warning, so even parents weren’t even given the opportunity to shield their children’s eyes from those images. There was no choice. Yes, we need to know what’s going on, but do we really need to see the graphic details? If we’re that emotionally numb, it’s the media’s fault for feeding us a steady diet of violence and gore.

Truly, the American news media seems to have lost all discretion.

Going back to the U.S. caused some conflicting emotions within me. It was very comforting to once again see and hear English everywhere I went. My brain didn’t have to work so hard to translate. And it was very comforting to enjoy American food. My taste buds didn’t have to acclimate to different flavors and textures. I enjoyed my nephew’s wedding, visiting family and friends, shopping, and eating some of my favorite foods. There was certainly some comfort in being in familiar surroundings again.

It was truly wonderful to see familiar faces in familiar places.

But there was a high price to pay to enjoy those old comforts, and not only for my sinuses. It wasn’t comforting to be bombarded by the media’s fear and negativity. It also wasn’t comforting to have that familiar on-the-road experience of someone obnoxiously beeping their horn and yelling at us for causing them a nanosecond delay. And no matter where we went, there was always the fear in the back of our minds that someone might start shooting.

I concluded that the U.S. is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there again.

Next Post: Thinking About Leaving the U.S.?

Moving to Costa Rica: Torn Meniscus and Other Pains

~ reverendjoanmkistler

Navigating Costa Rican medicine

Image by Yerson Retamal from Pixabay

When we were planning to relocate to Costa Rica a year ago, I took on the responsibility of figuring out health insurance. When Tabatha retired in August of 2022, we lost our health insurance through her employer. We knew her income would be too high for the year to get a subsidized marketplace plan, and the insurance offered through my employer was too expensive.

We thought, “How about going without insurance for a few months?” We decided not to risk it since one major injury or illness could be financially devastating. We opted for a cheaper alternative to traditional health insurance: a health sharing plan through Zion Health.

With the coming of 2023, we were able to enroll in an affordable government-subsidized marketplace plan. Since we planned to leave in March, I had been researching international health insurance policies. They all seemed complicated and expensive. Tabatha was willing to risk more in order to pay less. I wasn’t so much. Needless to say, we had many “discussions” about health insurance plans. Our marketplace plan offered minimal coverage outside of the U.S., so we decided to keep it through the end of March. We also purchased travel insurance which included some coverage.

Once we arrived in Costa Rica, we found affordable tourist health insurance through INS (Instituto Nacional de Seguros) with the help of an insurance company called Desyfin. We got the best plan INS offered, “Disfruta,” and it cost $750 for both of us to be insured for six months. I struggled to understand how the insurance worked. All of the literature was in Spanish. Insurance is hard enough to understand, but insurance from another country written in another language?

¡Aye!

We found that many businesses use messaging apps, and it really helps with communication. Calling wasn’t a great option, especially when we first got here, because my Spanish sounded something like this: “Uhh … hola! Umm … yo necesito … uhh … una cita … umm por favor?” Thankfully, we can set-up most appointments through WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, giving us time to translate messages back-and-forth.

Our first experience with Costa Rican medicine was to visit the dentist. We were both due for a cleaning and exam. We asked for dentist recommendations through an expat Facebook group, and a dental practice right up the street from our rental was recommended. We were pleasantly surprised. An exam and cleaning cost us $95 each. Later, I got two fillings replaced for $140. In the U.S. it costs about $90 just for the exam and more than $140 for just one filling.

Next was a visit to the chiropractor. I was experiencing numbness and tingling in my leg, so I contacted a chiropractor and scheduled an appointment. A few days later, I took a ten-minute Uber ride to the location. The chiropractor didn’t speak any English, so we used Google translate. I explained my issue, and she explained what she was going to do.

I thought I was going to get the typical ten-minute adjust-and-go. First, she adjusted me. Then, I received a 50-minute massage from a message therapist. The hour-long session cost $50. Afterwards, the doctor explained what was causing the numbness and what I can do to fix it. I expected her to recommend multiple visits, but that didn’t happen. I go every month anyway, and whenever I have an issue, they are able to fix it in one visit. In the U.S., I would pay the same amount of money for a ten-minute adjust-and-go and an additional $70 for message therapy.

We got our first experience with the tourist insurance when Tabatha suffered an injury during the first week of May. She fell, and a few days later, we noticed her knee swelling up. The insurance works like an HMO, so pre-authorizations and paperwork are required for everything. The primary care doctor sent Tabatha for an ultrasound. Surprisingly, the test was done by a doctor, who handed her the ultrasound film and his findings that her meniscus was torn.

The primary care doctor recommended surgery and referred Tabatha to an orthopedic doctor. Tabatha didn’t have surgery until July 3rd. Why did it take so long? Well, it took us that long to figure out the insurance.

We found out that the first orthopedic doctor was not affiliated with the insurance. He was an “authorized provider.” This meant that we would have to pay the entire cost of the surgery up-front and then hope to be reimbursed. As an authorized provider, he also wasn’t required to accept the $2300 the insurance was willing to pay. He wanted $700 more. On the day of Tabatha’s surgery, we would have to pay him $3000 and the surgery center $2000. Then we would need to “hope” the doctor would submit the proper paperwork within the required timeline so that we could get reimbursed.

The doctor joked about this. We didn’t think it was funny.

By the time we figured this all out, Tabatha’s surgery was scheduled and cancelled twice. We realized we didn’t like the idea of shelling out $5000 up front, and we didn’t trust this doctor. We decided to find another doctor – one who was affiliated with the insurance. It was a difficult decision. By this time, Tabatha had been stuck in the house and unable to walk for two months. She was going stir-crazy, and I was exhausted from being the only one who could walk the dog and run errands.

To our delight, we were able to find a female orthopedic doctor, so we scheduled an appointment with her. At that point, we decided to get our Costa Rican driver involved. Chris speaks English, and he’s much more than just a driver. He’s also a law student who helps foreigners navigate Costa Rican processes, like getting a driver’s license, opening a bank account, and figuring out health insurance. Lord, we wish we had involved him sooner.

He drove us to the appointment, talked to the doctor, and made sure that we would pay only our 20% for the surgery. Afterwards, he gave us his opinion about the new doctor. He thought she was a very good choice. We think he really liked the receptionist too.😉

The surgery went very well. In the end, we paid about $900, and we were very pleased with the level of care. Tabatha is on the mend. She’s going to pool therapy twice a week for $60 a month. What a bargain!

God took care of us throughout this process. We trusted our gut feelings about the first doctor, and we were led to another doctor who took good care of Tabatha’s knee and also respected our finances. The first doctor tried to take advantage of us. Many people here think that all white people are rich.

Good news! Our residency has been approved, so we should have our residency cards by the end of October. At that point, we are required to sign-up for Costa Rica’s public healthcare system, “the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), commonly known as “La Caja.”

Next Post: Returning to the U.S.

Moving to Costa Rica: Figuring Out Work

~ reverendjoanmkistler
This is the logo for my TEFL tutoring business – acorntestprep.com

When my wife Tabatha and I decided to move out of the United States a year ago, we first thought about Canada. We thought about the weather there. It would be cold, and there would probably be lots of snow. Then we thought about Canada’s official languages: English and French. I took French in high school, but you know what happens to the language we learn in high school after so many years of never needing to use it.

When I moved to Easton PA in 2016, I noticed there were many Spanish speakers in the city. That inspired me to start learning Spanish. So I downloaded Duolingo and played around on it off and on for a few years. About a year prior to our decision to move, I felt inspired to get more serious about learning Spanish, so I started using Rosetta Stone.

I didn’t want to move someplace where I would have to start learning another language. I wanted to use the Spanish I had learned, and neither Tabatha nor I wanted anything more to do with the cold and snow. We wanted someplace warm where I could speak Spanish.

Tabatha had been ill for a long time. She needed to retire early. The pandemic helped her a great deal because she was able to work from home for a while. Soon, everyone was forced back into the office, but that environment was too stressful for her. All around her, people were working well past their retirement ages for fear of not having enough money or health insurance benefits to live well in retirement. Tabatha decided that she wasn’t going to destroy her health for fear of not having enough.

Tabatha knew that she would need to continue working part-time and that I would need to work nearly full-time in order for us to make ends meet. Before she retired, Tabatha set herself up with meaningful part-time work as a grant writer for the local homeless shelter. I had been working a part-time job. After Tabatha retired, we realized that even though we had a small mortgage and no other debt, the cost of health insurance, utilities, and home maintenance could quickly deplete our savings unless we continued working – most likely well into our old age.

However, in order to obtain affordable (government-subsidized) health insurance, our income couldn’t exceed a certain threshold. If our income exceeded it, we would have to pay back the subsidy in full. We seriously doubted we would be able to live off the limited income necessary to avoid having to pay back thousands of dollars in taxes. Our income wasn’t enough to pay for health insurance coverage without a subsidy. With a subsidy, our allowable income wouldn’t be enough for us to survive.

We felt stuck. Suddenly, we were inspired to think outside-the-box. Most Americans never think about the fact that there might be better places to live than in America. We hear so much talk about “the American dream” – people coming to America in search of a better life. Our “American dream” turned out to be leaving America. We decided on a place where we could live well enough on Tabatha’s pension alone, and by working a little on the side, travel and play.

Costa Rica was the place, but working a little on the side would be problematic. We would seek residency through Tabatha’s pension, but as “pensionados,” we are not allowed to get a Costa Rican job. Tabatha has been lucky enough to be able to continue working remotely as a grant writer for the homeless shelter. But what work would I be able to do?

Anyone in Costa Rica is allowed to work for themselves. I am a minister and a teacher. Would I be able to continue working as a minister in Costa Rica? Costa Rica is mostly Catholic and therefore fairly conservative. That’s definitely not me, so I didn’t count on finding many ministry opportunities. However, I could see myself having plenty of teaching opportunities, especially if I moved into the realm of TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language).

About four months prior to our move, I got onto TEFL.org and started training to become a TEFL instructor. I took the general 120-hour TEFL training course. After that, I took a 40-hour Teaching English Online course since I knew I wanted to teach online. I started thinking about the competitiveness of the TEFL instructor market. There are many TEFL instructors out there. I may have almost 30 years of teaching experience, but I don’t have any TEFL experience.

How was I going to leverage the experience I do have to market myself? I was advised to find my TEFL-teaching niche. Do I want to teach kids? No. Do I want be a pronunciation expert? No. Do I want to teach Business English? No. Do I want to focus on a specific nationality? Perhaps. It may be beneficial to teach Central American students since I would be living in Central America and learning Spanish. Do I want to teach proficiency test preparation?

BAM! There’s my niche! I had been teaching GED test preparation for as long as I’ve been a teacher. I know how to prepare people for testing, and I love helping people pass whatever test they need to pass to move onto bigger and better things. A month after we arrived in Costa Rica, I took a 40-hour Exam Preparation course, and I started figuring out how to market myself as a TEFL Exam Preparation instructor.

Acorn Test Prep was born. I created a website and a Facebook page. I’ve written some blogs, made and shared some posts, made a video and Facebook reel, and shared my expertise on an IELTS test prep group and on Quora. I’ve spent money on advertisements on both Facebook and Quora. I’ve grown my Facebook page to 23 followers, and I have had a bunch of people contact me who are interested in my business.

I have yet to earn a single dollar as a TEFL Test Prep instructor. 😊 It’s okay. I know it takes time to built a business especially in a competitive market. I’m optimistic. I believe that with continued work marketing myself, I will eventually start attracting students. You all can help me out by liking and following my Facebook page and sharing my website with anyone you think might need at TEFL instructor.

Next Post: Torn Meniscus and Other Pains

A Parable: The Father’s Judgment

~ reverendjoanmkistler

A man died and went to heaven. When he arrived, he was overjoyed to be greeted by many who had passed before him: friends, family members, and many members of his church, including former pastors.

After what seemed like a long time, he remembered his children. Surely, they would have arrived by now, he figured. So he began looking for them. He looked and looked, but he could not find them. He began to feel distressed because he remembered their many sins. He had always worried that he wouldn’t see them in heaven with him.

“I warned them!” He thought to himself. I warned them, and I was right!”

He quickly realized that being right offered him no comfort. He missed his children. He wondered if maybe there was a way to save them from hell and bring them into heaven with him. He asked his pastors. He asked his friends from church. He asked his family. But they all said the same thing: “Sorry, your kids are lost. It’s best for you to just forget about them and enjoy your reward here in heaven.”

But the man couldn’t enjoy anything. He was really mad at God. He had prayed his entire life for God to save his children from hell, and God didn’t do it. “God owes me,” he figured. “After all, I was a good Christian.”

He decided to petition God. He searched and searched, but he couldn’t find God. After some time, an angel appeared before him.

The angel said, “God has sent me to you. You have a message for Him.” The man said, “Tell God that I can’t be happy here in heaven when my children are burning are in hell. I know they had terrible sins, but I was a good Christian. I was baptized, went to church every Sunday, took the sacraments, studied the Bible, and prayed all the time. He owes me. I want my kids brought out of hell and here with me.”

The angel departed to deliver the message to God. After what seemed like a long time, the angel reappeared. The man’s heart sank when he heard God’s message:

“My child, my Son covered your children’s sins as well as yours. Your children are in Heaven. You have always judged them unworthy to share eternity with you, and I will always honor your free will.”