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??