What is Real? Dawn Heynen Murphy shared an intimate look at what is Real....

“The purpose of a relationship is to remember more of who we are… in relation to another.” -Bruce Schneider

What a wonderful night to get to know ourselves a little more.  There is no better way of truly seeing each other than being in relationship and creating intimacy (in-to-me-see).  Dawn Murphy created a beautiful intention with all of us who joined in our circle this month and we started by circling up and taking the hand of the person on our left, looking into their eyes and saying “I take your hand because I care.”  Right from the start of this fabulous night, this activity started the connection that happens with intimacy.  Dawn defined intimacy as making connections…. Then she split us into groups and had us ask the question of what we thought intimacy was.  We also explored how to build intimacy, how to foster relationships and what causes relationships to break down and then shared together the highlights of our conversations.  It was an amazing experience to get to listen and contribute thoughts to such a powerful topic.  We also explored the idea of what it means to be Authentic or Real.   

“Authenticity is simply telling the truth to yourself and others.”  – Maya Angelou

Dawn was able to create real magic by letting us take some time and really look into each others eyes.  This exercise was difficult at first but as we let down our walls and dropped into our hearts, we were able to experience the oneness of our partner and our group.  It was so cool!!!

“Learn silence.  And at least with your friends, with your lovers, with your family, with your fellow travelers, sit in silence sometimes.  Don’t go on gossiping, don’t go on talking, not only on the outside – stop the inner talk.  Be in an interval.  Just sit, doing nothing, just being presences to each other, and soon you will start finding a new way to communicate…. Just looking… and both feel it silently.  And see a communion happen – not only communication but a communion.  Your hearts start beating in the same rhythm.  You start feeling the same space.  You start feeling the same joy.  You start overlapping each other’s being.  That is communion.  You have said without saying anything and there will be no misunderstanding.  - Osho

Dawn shared intimate details of her life story about growing up in a less than desirable family situation and feeling like she was a mistake throughout her childhood because her birth was not planned.  Her teenage years were depressed and she often had suicidal thoughts.  As her life progressed she started down the path to discover who she really was and found through some amazing experiences that there was “something bigger than her at work in her life.” She took responsibility for her life, chose to forgive herself and came to the powerful conclusion that no one did anything to her….. that she was now in charge of how to create her life.  After nearly dying from a blood clot, life took on a whole new flavor for Dawn, as she grabbed a hold of the concept of gratitude.  Dawn left us with some amazing quotes and encouraged us to always seek for what is authentic and real within us.   With this final thought, I will leave you with one of the stories Dawn shared with us from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. 

“ ‘What is REAL?’ asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room.  ‘Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?’

‘Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit. 

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.' 

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?' 

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”    

To contact Dawn Murphy, you can email her at dawnhmurphy@hotmail.com

Lynda Garlick's Path to Knowing Divinity's Heart as Her Own

Lynda Garlick is such a beautiful embodiment of a Divine Soul.  There was so much juicy stuff in her presentation, that I filled eight pages in my notebook.  Lynda began by telling us her “story”.  Her point to taking us on her life’s journey was to illustrate the “light” and “shadow” in all of our lives and how both play out to help expand our experience here in earth school.   She further let us experience that we don’t need to judge our experiences as bad or good, big or small….. they just are and they are working behind the scenes to create a better life for us, if we will tune in and be aware of the lessons…..especially when we are given a “divine course correction”.

Lynda was named by her oldest sister that passed on into the dream of forever, just before Lynda was born.  Lynda never met her sister but knows that her sweet sister walks this earth life beside her as an angel.  I loved hearing this tender story because I also have an older sister, whom I have never met, but she has often been my guide and comforting angel. 

Lynda was baptized into the LDS church at a young age.  She remembers there being a young girl that she wanted to be friends with and she couldn’t go to her house unless she was of the same faith, so Lynda decided to be baptized.  Through many other experiences she served a mission for the LDS church.  She chose to be a servant to the people around her and to only teach what she knew was true in her heart.  When she returned home she made the difficult decision on the drive home from being released from her mission to tell her clergy leader that she no longer wanted to be LDS.  She loved her mission, loved serving, loved teaching others about love and happiness but didn’t feel that the LDS church is where she belonged and though it disappointed her family, she chose another path.  Her clergy leader was very kind and her family has always been so supportive and loving of her choices in her life and she in return has always been supportive and loving of their choices. 

Lynda ended up in college in the academic pursuit of Psychology.  She loved learning about it and it seemed to just come easy and natural to her.   Lynda wound up taking a job with a software company that was only going to be a short term job.  She told herself it was just for a little bit until she found what she wanted….. her short term job turned into a 25 year career which allowed Lynda the freedom and means to go back to school and get even more degrees.  Lynda loved the people she worked with and her favorite times were mentoring those peers around her.  She worked her way up in the company and became very good in the accounting field, in which she spent her days.  She was in a relationship at the time and also co- parenting 5 children, 4 of which she had been in the delivery room for their birth.  Years into this relationship a life changing experience occurred.  The children’s mom decided to leave their relationship and take the 5 children out of Lynda’s life.  This devastated Lynda and she threw herself into her work, becoming a workaholic and numbing the pain of feeling she was “not enough”.  The pain became unbearable and she “ran away” to another country in the disguise of her company’s photographer.  At this point Lynda knew she was running away and numbing the pain and it finally took its toll on her health and she fell very ill. 

During her leave of absence, Lynda got in touch with a tiny piece of her intuition and knew it was time to leave her job.  She felt there was something more for her but didn’t know what that was just yet.  She just knew she needed to leave and create space for something new to enter her life.  She left her job and took up Zen with a Master that taught her to be still.  Although, she learned to be still…. She still didn’t listen to her greater intuition and continued to stuff her grief deep down inside. 

Months went by and she received a letter from the company she had worked with so diligently, for those many years.  The letter was written in a lot of legal jargon, but she could tell by the tone of the letter that she was being blamed for something that was not good.  When she went in to talk to the legal counsel at the company, she was told in no uncertain terms that they were about to destroy her life.  She remembers having enough moxie to think…. “No!  That’s my choice.”  The company proceeded to use Lynda as a scapegoat and although there may have been a few T’s not crossed and I’s not dotted, she never did anything illegal and the company had been looking for a fall guy.  This was yet another of “Divinity’s course corrections” and through a lengthy trial process and feeling like “whoever tells the best story and has the most resources will win.”  Lynda was fined and sentenced to jail time. 

Lynda sold everything she owned and wrote a check for the hefty fine and waited for her sentence to begin.  As she waited each day for the dreaded knock on the door, she realized she was already putting herself in a prison of fear and through this observation she learned to be present and say, “In this moment, all is well.”   She was sentenced to 90 days and jail became her monastery.  She felt the friends and family that surrounded her spiritually and the stillness that she had learned, began to serve her as she felt her intuition grow.   Lynda, told us that when you choose to see things in a spiritual space, then all of life is sacred.  She asked Spirit to let her time in jail, “pass like a dream in the night” and even now it feels like so long ago and has faded from her memory.  She was given many uplifting and spiritual books while serving her time.  One thing Lynda realized is that she was a gift to many other women who would be carrying out their time in jail and would now have access to the wonderful books she was gifted while in her “monastery”.  These books may help to shift their views on life and because she left the books in the library at the jail with love and hope for others, she had a knowing it was just another step in her spiritual path to help others find a better way.

After she was released from jail, she went to live with her mom and dad and created a small cocoon around the three of them for healing.  Her mom was very sick and Lynda helped her mom transition gracefully into the next life of the forever dream.  She was able to spend amazingly close and intimate time with her mom and through the process many people thought she actually worked at the hospital.  This was a gift from Spirit for Lynda to be able to see herself in this kind of a role. 

Through all of these experiences, Lynda can look back and see that her whole life was set up to be a midwife for the Holy, meaning, deliver a divine soul into the hands of Spirit.  The experiences that may have been judged as “bad” have been as big a learning experience as the experiences that may have been judged as “good”.  Lynda quotes from Genesis, “God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.  He also made the stars.” (Notice that God didn’t say one was better than the other.)  Lynda has truly used all experiences in her life as an opportunity for growth. 

…And this is where the magic culminated!!

Lynda asked us all, “What if you became Radically Honest and Ruthlessly Real?” She explained this wasn’t about being “Brutally honest” or “Blunt”.   Living a life that is radically honest, with a clear lens and ruthlessly real means that you drop down into your heart to “see” and act from your soul.  This is about seeing and interacting with all around you reverently, sacredly, with genuine love, kindness and peace.  She explained that we are not cultured to be honest and that is why it is difficult and even scary to think about living radically honest.  She also expressed that “delivery” of your message is very important.  Sometimes our lens gets dirty (this is usually colored by our “story”, our “history”, our “baggage”) and sometimes we are so attached to it, we have a tough time cleaning that lens and seeing through the pure love of the Divine.  When we do see through the lens of the Divine (seeing others as God sees them), then our “delivery” of any message will be sacred and reverent and always delivered with love. 

Lynda has a mantra that she lives by:

1- I say YES to all that has been, to all that is and to all that will be (lots of words for surrendering to divinity.)

2- Everyone and everything is sacred.

3- Love.

Lynda explained further that from living from this space she has been able to see “Light” and “Shadow” both as a gift.  The contrast makes the beauty, she added.  Lynda also shared some of her AMAZING black and white photography, she had personally taken and developed.  She showed us how the photography played with the light and shadow for the contrast that made it so brilliantly magnificent.  She used the photography as a metaphor and her advice was that you could acknowledge the emotion of either the “light” or the “shadow” experiences and not need to judge them.  Most importantly, she told us, you don’t need to live in any emotion you are experiencing, it is a choice.  Her journey to her self was scary and when she opened her heart to herself, she found harsh words and by being radically honest with a clear lens she was able to know what was true and what was not.  She released what has not true and embraced the diving.  Now, when Lynda finds an experience that might be defined as “shadow” she asks….. “how does the shadow serve me?” then she is able to release it “in that moment”.   Also by being aware that this is just another story she is able to acknowledge her perfectness and know that everything is happening for her highest good.  What a wonderful way to live!!

Over and over we hear that daily rituals are so key to the happiness we desire in this life.  Lynda shared her daily ritual.

1- Prayer (communing with angels and guides) she expresses gratitude and acknowledges the giving and receiving process.

2- Meditation and stillness to find inner peace

3- Never leave the house without an intention. 

            Example.  To see myself as whole.

            Example.  To be aware of others.

Lynda’s intention is to become a chaplain, in her words, “My intention to become a chaplain is not to judge someone’s theology, but rather to help them to understand it more fully. I have observed that when people experience life-altering events, theology and dogmas show up.  It is then, we want to understand why we are suffering, and we tend to look back on the trajectory of our lives and question our choices.  I want to be a part of those conversations, and processes.” 

Our evening with Lynda was spectacular and we were honored to walk down this path with her as she shared her heart and soul.  She is truly in touch with her Divinity and sees the sacred in all things.  In my personal interactions with Lynda, I know her to be a compassionate listener, intuitive truth teller and an absolute gift to all that she touches.  She embodies one of the final sentences of her autobiographical statement, which I was honored to read, it says: “Divinity’s heart is my heart.”  May we all expand to share this wisdom through our experiences in life, whether they are “good” or “bad”…. “light” or “shadow” ….. it is our choice to find the sacred in them and celebrate our triumphs.

To contact Lynda for guidance on your spiritual path, you may email her at lbgarlick@gmail.com or her contact phone number is (801) 368-8649.

Lori Coombs Ames shares her discovery of "real" food having a life force

Lori Coombs Ames daily meditation practice.

Wow!  What a wonderful ride Lori Coombs Ames gave us last month at our Women’s Circle.  Lori confessed that she wasn’t always a “health-nut”, in fact she grew up eating out of boxes and cans….. among these were Top Ramen, boxed cereal, sweets and fast food.  What??  Our Lori??  She also confessed that she had never been challenged with a weight problem and was blessed with a high metabolism so she never worried about what she ate or being athletic.   She shared that her first marriage had some real challenges for her to overcome; she was told she was overweight at 88 pounds and as she felt judged she began to judge others on their body image.  She had to deal with an alcoholic husband as well as managing a high stress job.  Through this journey she met her spiritual mentor, Vicki Clough and attended her Inner Child retreat where she learned that she was lovable and how to let go of her limiting beliefs.  Lori’s journey led her to an exercise program in weight lifting and then yoga, where she felt a connection with Spirit through exercise.  Then when she took a Pilates class, it was love at first class.  She told us it was like weight lifting with the spirituality of yoga.  Her pilates class became her respite from her stressful work environment and a year later she became an instructor. 

Lori’s passion is to connect women with their bodies and empower them.  As Lori’s passion for exercise grew so did her passion to put good things into her body as part of her new diligence to self-care and self-love.  She found a deeper connection to source as she learned more and more about nutrition.   This journey led her to a delicious “green lemonade” which she enjoys almost daily, spiritual Kabucha and even trying raw food diet for a while.  Through this exploration she learned that conscious eating was the best answer for her.  She found that real food contains a “life-force” and it becomes a part of who we are.  She now grows most of her own food and prepares it with the intent that it will heal, nourish and have a loving relationship with her.  Lori loves being a vegetarian.

Through this whole journey, Lori admits, she would not give up her sugar and that she was very defiant about this fact.  She realized she had an addiction to sugar and that most of us may have the same addiction because it is a socially acceptable addiction and it doesn’t have the same stigma that an alcohol or drug addiction has.  When she finally got “real” with herself and this addiction, she started to cut out the sugar and find alternatives.  This was once again a choice to love herself.  Her favorite substitutes are raw honey, maple syrup and dates.   On a very important note, Lori also says she chooses to spend time with friends and family which may include food she wouldn’t normally choose but she has learned to always do her best, whatever that looks like and not get upset when it isn’t what would be her idea of a perfectly organic meal. 

Lori now listens to women in our world and hears what her own negative self talk used to be.  She says she is saddened by the huge emphasis that is put on body image and not enough emphasis on who we really are.  It has become her passion to assist women to overcome this negativity and see the powerful beauty in who they truly are as a women.  I share this same passion for empowering women with Lori. 

Lori also shared the 5 Tibetan Rites with our group, which are exercises for healing, rejuvenation and longevity.   Lori enjoys this as a moving meditation, as she was challenged by sitting still in the beginning of her meditation practice.  In the book, The Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth, written by Peter Kelder, he describes this exercise program used by Tibetan monks to live long, vibrant and healthy lives.  These exercises are a program for “youthing” instead of “aging” and Lori gave us the movements as well as alternative moves to work our way up to the original Rite. 

Lori’s wonderful journey through her life has brought her a profound sense of well-being and her next step is becoming a certified nutrition coach.   Lori currently teaches Pilates, the MELT method and Yamuna Foot Fitness.  You can find her at Core Connection Pilates, 801-560-4645, 1393 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City, UT

She also recommended her favorite blogs for delicious and healthy food choices.  Her recommendations are:

www.Mywholefoodlife.com
100daysofrealfood.com
Livesimply.com
Eatgood4life.com

If you are interested in knowing what is really in the products/foods on the market check out Foodbabe.com

Lori gave us some “Food for Thought” which I posted on our Facebook Page in our Women’s Circle, feel free to check it out and you will learn even more about what Lori calls conscious eating. 

Also, there was a request for the prayer that Lori says at the end of the 5 Rites, it is:

Hands at the 3rd eye-May I have eyes to see and ears to hear. May I be open to the signs and guidance of the Universe, my guides and angels and my own intuition.

Hands at the heart center-May I go into the world today with a kind and loving heart. May I treat all those I come in contact with love and compassion, including myself.

Hands at the root chakra (fingers down)- May I connect to Mother Earth, the Universe and all that is, on this plane and others.

We are one. Namaste'

I want to thank Lori for the amazing night she shared with us and the passion she has to be the change in the world.  Her journey has blessed her as well as so many around her that she influences.  We look forward to hearing more about her coaching business soon and all the new things on her horizon.  We love you Lori!!!

The Beauty of Reiki with Angela Peterson

Last month we were so blessed to have Angela Peterson share her passion with us about her journey as well as her expertise on the Chakra’s.  

“Chakra” is defined as whirlpool or vortex.  These seven points of energy have specific colors, vibrations, lessons and sacred truths associated with them.  Angela gave us a beautiful explanation of each chakra and a story along with each so that we could easily relate and understand the lesson for each chakra.  Angela started out telling us about some myths, including the one that says “It takes a long time to heal.”  She gave us creative suggestions on challenging our beliefs and asking ourselves if this belief is creating fear or faith, then we can choose what beliefs serve our highest and best purpose. 

I took so many notes that my pen was constantly jotting down each nugget of inspiration.   I will write a small summary of all the wonderful things I learned.  Please note that I was writing so fast and furious that this is only a small snippet of all that Angela presented and I hope that I took the correct notes, always check with an expert (such as Angela) before quoting the below notes……

1^st chakra, also known as the root chakra, is about tribal beliefs.  The things you learned as a child in the very beginning of your life that may or may not be true.  Many of the personality traits, defenses and “it’s just the way I do things” attitudes come from this root chakra.  The sacred truth is that “All are one”.  I love this thought!!

2^nd chakra is about relationships.  All relationships are to teach us a lesson.  Watch for the mirror in your relationships with all those around you.  What you see and admire in others is also within you…. what you see and it annoys you in others is also within you.  In each relationship ask yourself what can you teach and what can you release?  What an amazing way to look at each and every relationship we encounter.

3^rd chakra is about personal power.   This chakra focuses on how to honor yourself and in doing so, honoring one another.  This power center has a lot to do with self esteem and our personality.  The sacred truth of this chakra is to honor oneself and acknowledge you are intuitive.  Yes I am!!  How about you??

4^th chakra is about love, forgiveness and compassion.  This is where our heart is and it mediates our physical world with our spiritual world (makes total sense!!)  Angela told us that it is against our spiritual nature to act against love …. Totally loved this!!!  She also told us that “Joy is seeing the Divine in everyone and everything.  All of this energy is in your fourth chakra.  The sacred truth of this power center is “Love is Divine Power.”  Mmmmm….. now that’s yummy!!

5^th chakra is about lessons related to will and self expression.  This is where we learn to trust God/Divinity.  This is where we can heal our fear and replace it with faith.  In this power center we can call back pieces of our soul, feel more and more safe as we heal and relate more closely to the serenity prayer.  The sacred truth of this chakra is “Surrender personal will to Divine will.  Awe…. Deep breath…. Nice!!

6^th chakra is all about lessons related to mind, intuition, insight and wisdom.  This is where we tap into our Visionary.  Angela let us know that this is where we can overcome our fear of change and that resisting change can actually be harmful to our body.  I love her suggestion of, “Let’s make change beautiful…. Not stressful!  Let’s be open to new life, new perceptions, new beginnings and detach from what no longer serves us.”  Angela also suggested we really think about our thoughts, she suggests that “Junk thoughts are just as bad as junk food!”  Amen sister!

7^th chakra is our Spiritual Connector, also known as our crown chakra.  This is where our connection to the Divine enters the body and activates all the other chakras.  This power center is about grace, prayer and meditation.  The sacred truth of this chakra is “Being present” and using the present moment to tap into your power.  OH YA!! 

This night was absolutely spectacular and I learned so much that night as well as just reviewing my notes for this recap.  After all this wisdom, Angela guided us into the most beautiful meditation I have ever been a part of.  Her sweet, calming voice invited my spirit to journey to a garden with a magical waterfall as she went through all the chakra’s and engaged them within each of us.  I hope that we will be blessed with her recording this beautiful mediation for us one day.  To say the least, the evening was magnificent and for me it was just that much sweeter as I visited her the next week for my own personal Reiki session.  Angela’s Reiki is more than traditional Reiki.  She combines energy healing that aligns and balances the chakras with her intuitive gifts of receiving divine messages.  I had a wonderful session and was once again awed by the beautiful grace of this woman. 

To top this all off, Angela is offering a special to our Women’s Circle of an introductory special of $35 for your first Reiki session with her.  You can find her on Facebook at The Beauty of Reiki by Angela Peterson or email her at mystic.owl33@gmail.com .  I recommend her so highly!!  It was a wonderful experience!!!  Thank you!!  Thank you for sharing so much wonderful information with our circle and thank you so much for this gift you are offering. 

Make sure you mark your calendars for this coming Monday to experience Lori Coombs Ames.  Lori will be sharing her journey to wellness.  She will be showing us a wonderful daily ritual taught by the Tibetan Monks as well as the Spirituality of food and exercise.  For more information, visit our Facebook page for Women’s Spiritual Circle.  See you soon!!! 

Deb Bilbao Opened up and Shared Her Journey to Find Peace After Her Father's Suicide.

"All spirituality is about relieving suffering."  – Buddha  

This months Womens Circle was a wonderful journey to healing the heart. Deb Bilbao shared some of the tools she has used on her journey of healing.  Deb started out showing us a clip from Jim Carrey that was very powerful, check it out here, one of my favorite things he said was "Negative experiences will continue to repeat as long as they remain useful to you," it was at about 2:41 into the video, the whole thing was wonderful and I highly recommend a view.  

Among the tools Deb has used and continues to use on her journey called life, is music, some of her favorite songs include “I didn’t know my own strength” from Whitney Houston, “Love is behind all of my favorite scars” by Cher and “Heartof a Woman” from Melissa Etheridge (a wonderful line that stood out to me in this song is, “power ends where fear begins.”)

Another tool Deb uses to center herself and find balance is tapping.  Deb gave us a wonderful run down of the different meridians and techniques used in the Emotional Freedom Technique she uses. 

What I loved most about the evening was Debs willingness to open up and share her raw feelings about the struggles she has had over her dad’s suicide and other tough situations she has had to face.  She opened up about the different masks she would put on to hide the fear and pretend she was strong.  She was candid about her weight gain she unconsciously used to protect herself when she shut down her connection with her source as well as the deliberate walking away from relationships as sabotage to her happiness when she would lose her way. 

Debs biggest advice of the night, in my opinion, was to acknowledge what you are experiencing and get honest with yourself.  Then through tapping techniques, tell yourself that even though you are experiencing this, you love and accept yourself.  Acknowledging of fear, doubt, anger or any other emotion opens us to releasing that emotion. 

Deb has been able to change the tough experiences she has in her life and shift them, she told us, “What I’m experiencing now are gifts from the decisions I’ve made.” (I can conclude from this that if I’m not liking the “gifts” I’m experiencing then I better change my decisions.  It’s up to me!!!!)  If you ask me, THAT is the stuff that great leaders are made of and I certainly loved spending the evening with a woman of great strength.   Thank you Deb, for an evening of excellence.

As a sneak peak ….. and a save the date….. our next Women’s Spiritual Circle will be on May 20^th at 6:30 PM, the location is to be determined.  I’m so excited about our next guest, Angela Peterson is a Reiki Master and Spiritual Life Coach.  I have heard countless compliments about Angela’s presentation about the Chakra Centers and how her work with these energy centers has transformed her life and those that work with her.  You will want to join us and bring a friend.  More details to come.

Regardless of your religious affiliation, we can all reflect on the symbolism of Easter, The Crucifixion and The Resurrection.  Years ago I found a powerful thought from one of my favorite authors.  When I am going through a tough time in my life when I start feeling overwhelmed and out of control with my feelings, I pull out this thought and see how I can apply it to the situation.  Sometimes I am able to use this wisdom and sometimes I have to set it on the shelf until I can find a small sense of peace within to be able to put this powerful thought into play.  Either way, I hope you will contemplate the possibilities of using the symbolism of Easter in difficult situations.  Enjoi!!   ..... and Happy Spring!!!

“The symbolism of the three days between the crucifixion and the resurrection is very important.  This is what it means: When you are in the midst of a "crucifixion condition" a situation in which "ego" or fear based thinking seems to be transgressing against and canceling out the consciousness and the consequences of love, if during this situation you refuse to blame, you refuse to attack, you refuse to defend, you refuse to leave the zone of your own love then you are guaranteeing that the crucifixion condition will transform into resurrection.  What is resurrection?  Resurrection is the energy by which the light ultimately ascends, casting out all darkness.  If in the midst of your crucifixion, you go into blame, you go into attack, you go into victim consciousness, you go into anger, what you will do is continue the cycle of violence but if you move into the space of your own love, if you allow yourself to feel the pain but not lash out; if you will allow yourself to feel the pain but continually put it in the hands of God; asking God for a different way of looking at this situation; asking God to show you how you can take responsibility for your part of this.  Asking God to remove the part of you that in some way conspired to bring this situation about and in some way is now conspiring to keep you in pain.  Move into the sacred space, even while on the cross...as it were....move into the sacred space.  Then what will happen for you, this apparent death will turn into life.  This fear based situation will be miraculously transformed by love.  It might be three minutes, it might be three days....and so on but if you choose the power of the light and love the change occurs in an instant!  - Marianne Williamson ….Miracle Thought for the Day”

Jan Donchess Rocked our Women's Circle this month.

            I’m overwhelmed by the amazing energy created by our Women’s Spiritual Circle.  Once again I was honored by having some of my best friends join me in my home to expand our divinity by learning about “The Beginner’s Mind.”  Our beautiful teacher, whom I am honored to call my sacred friend, had us laughing, deeply meditating and brilliantly creating a path to our own personal spiritual journey.  Jan Donchess is a master of inspiration through her own example to walk her spiritual talk.  She has created for herself a personal journey each moment filled with intention and grace.  We were honored to hear intimate details of her earlier life that set this journey in motion and the continued seeker within her that persists in her quest for spiritual evolution and expansion.  Jan also told the story of the Zen master and the Scholar  <-- a="" all="" always="" am="" amazing="" an="" and="" as="" awe="" be="" beautiful.="" brief="" click="" continue="" empty="" expand="" filled="" first="" for="" good="" great="" grow="" hat="" hear="" here="" i="" if="" in="" is="" learn="" life="" magic="" may="" me.="" me="" miracles="" myself="" nbsp="" of="" p="" reminder="" see="" so="" story="" surround="" that="" the="" this="" time="" to="" true="" visual="" want="" was="" with="" wonderful="">

            Jan suggested that along with our own guided meditation ceremony that we also incorporate sillness meditation.  Emptying our minds and taking control over the thoughts that sometimes can overwhelm us is a “practice” I am challenging myself with, how about you?  Jan suggested doing this by making “appointments” with ourselves in our schedule.  Set reminders on your phone and really “show up” for these appointments, they might be only 5-10 minutes but setting up this practice will make a huge difference in how you do life.  A beautiful quote from Jan is, “This is my life!  I take it with me.  I have fun with it!”  She told us that we take who we are with us everywhere we go.  Her suggestion is to take the Spirit within you, into the world.  Such a yummy night!!!!

            I loved that Jan admitted she still has that ego reaction from time to time (which was nice to hear since I have it as well…haha) she had us all laughing about her “smoothie girl” story but she assured us that as she spends more time in her spirit awareness it is easier to step back from this ego reaction and take the split second required to CHOOSE to respond to any situation from the perspective of love. 

            She told us about real life circumstances that she has had to truly practice what she was teaching us.  Sometimes her work (as well as our own) can be the greatest playing field, so to speak.  We might be anticipating a meeting with anxiety because we don’t know what the outcome will be or we may not know what others will think of us because of the stance we take on an issue.  Jan assured us that the best way to handle these real life situations is to choose how to be in the situation, set your intention with gratitude and set yourself up for success.  She also encouraged us to know that it doesn’t matter that “they” know who you are…. It only matters that I know who I am. 

            Jan’s reoccurring thought was to create practices for ourselves that are personal and really work for us uniquely.  She suggested practices for our spiritual growth, a practice for our food, exercise and health in our life.  She talked about even having a practice for sleep.  These practices will feed your heart and soul.

            Of course we were joined by one of Jan’s favorite men, Deepak Chopra.  We enjoyed several mediations from his CD, The Soul of Healing Affirmations, A-Z    (You can click on that link to find it on Amazon.  We ended with a wonderful “rap” from Deepak and a beautiful reminder from Jan that “My body is the garden of my soul.”   ß (give it a listen!) I want to thank Jan for such a wonderful evening and thank all of the dear women that cozied up in my living room once again where we all expanded our Divinity. 

            I’m excited to announce I have found a bigger space for us so that we no longer have to cozy up or sit on the floor (unless of course you want to).  Our next Circle will be held at the Murray Library on April 15^th at 6:30 PM.  Address is 166 East and 5300 South.  I’m thrilled to have Deb Bilbao share with us.  Deb has been on her own spiritual journey to a passionate soul since she was very young.  She learned many of her lessons in what she describes as “the church of softball.”   She will be teaching us how to use tools like music and tapping to reshape your life, her topic is Healing of a heart.  What a delicious topic to have Deb share with us. I don’t know Deb as well as I would like to but I can tell you that I really FEEL her spirit and I know she has something beautiful and powerful to bring to this world.  I am looking forward to getting to know her better and  I’m honored she has agreed to open up herself to us.   Save the date and tell a friend.  See you there??