How Do You Avoid Missing the Obvious?

Have you ever had that feeling that what you have been looking for is staring right at you, but you just don’t recognize it? I think a lot of us, if not most of us, have had this experience.

Whenever I’m in a quandary, feeling as though I’ve prayed for something, but haven’t received any response I remember a piece of wisdom I received from a martial arts master. He said, “Everything you need is with fifteen feet of you.”

In today’s world, fifteen feet stretches pretty far. Here I am sitting in front of my computer with my cell phone next to me. They reach a lot farther into the world than the walls of my office. That’s exciting to me.

However, what is even more exciting is that the world also reaches INTO my office. That means if I ask the universe a question for delivery of something or someone I need, I may very well discover my answer right there in my e-mail inbox.

In my earlier days of spiritual awakening, I marveled at how I could walk into a book store with a question on my mind, and within minutes, watch the right book practically (and sometimes literally) jump off the shelf and into my hands.

I would be pondering a choice I needed to make, longing for some guidance, only to receive a call from a friend providing the very insight I needed to make a clear decision. My friend could be living halfway across the continent from me, and yet provide my answer, right there on the telephone.

Synchronicities then and now provide me with significant clues to answers. So does my intuition. When I was living in Portland, we had dozens of speakers and spiritual teachers visiting our area. There were so many that I simply had to check in with my intuitive wisdom regarding whose lecture to attend. Otherwise, I would have been attending lectures full-time.

On the other hand, when I started teaching Sound Medicine, I could hardly get any attention locally, but if I drove 30 miles out of town, suddenly my expertise was wanted. I discovered that people outside my hometown were listening to their intuition about whether to attend my talk, and sometimes their instincts were leading them to me.

What I learned from this experience is that the answers, people and wisdom we seek are often already in our lives or very close by. In other words, what knowledge I had learned and was here to share might have been equally as valid for my neighbor or family member as it was for the lovely people out of town that had engaged me for an evening.

This became so apparent to me that I began listening with much greater attention to the people closest to me. I tune-into my boyfriend with greater appreciation for his perspectives.

I listened to off-handed remarks with greater care. I have learned to pay attention to the books people recommend to me, even if I don’t have time to read them in full. I discovered the importance of the e-mail messages that found their way to me. I discovered the insights that come when I spent more time listening for the truth that was there, but wasn’t being said out-loud, by the people that loved me.

I stopped seeking outside experts, though I appreciated the wisdom when it was available to me. I started listening more to my own inner wisdom and input from the people that were closest to me. I started looking for my answers closer to home.

In essence, I trusted that the universe had already provided the answer. My job was to stop long enough to notice that it was already here, within fifteen feet of me.

For short, yet powerful weekly inspirational meditations visit: New Dream Foundation

The Space Between the Beats

I’ve been listening to many of us describe our energy lately as “inward.” As a result of this spiritual inward calling, some of us may be feeling a little off-balance since we live in a world that honors outward expression and staying busy. It can be challenging to respect the call to be still and to reflect. Yet, for many of us the call for greater balance is stirring.

A master drummer once called the silence, the space between the beats. That is the space that seems to be calling to me these days. The space seems to be demanding my attention. It is making life very interesting.

Yesterday, I stated that I don’t remember a time when I have felt called to hold so much spiritual, inward energy or space, while also needing to maintain active participation in the business world.

Just months ago, I was able to give in to that pull and seclude myself in meditation for several days. But with the internet launch of my new book on Tuesday, I don’t feel that I can separate myself from my outer-world work, which means I must find a way to be both inward and outward at the same time.

It sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? It doesn’t even seem as though it would be possible for both energies to exist at the same time. Yet, what is true balance, but to be in the center of duality, where two seemingly different states of awareness converge?

I find myself, out of necessity, learning how to hold greater and more vast spiritual space within, while also expending and expanding my energy in the outer world judiciously. What this translates to in real life looks like this.

I’m a bit dizzy some of the time, bumping into walls part of the time and missing a few meetings. (It has been quite embarrassing.) I drive as little as possible and when I do, I make sure I’m fully grounded first. My memory for details is extremely short and I have little patience for even attempting to consider a decision unless there is enough information with which to make a choice.

In order to fully take care of myself, I require time in nature and need my daily walks and exercise routine. I eat lightly, but I make sure I eat enough to help keep myself grounded. I meditate daily, without fail, and I make more lists to help me stay on track with what needs to be done. When choices are in front of me, I look for the path of least resistance that allows for the greatest effect in order to use my energy well.

The really good news is that in this current field of energy, I have a greater sense about what is really important and what is not. I set my priorities very carefully, so that I accomplish without over-extending. As I respect my need for inner awareness, honoring the space between the beats throughout the day, my inner world is becoming quieter and more present to the moment. Hence, I have more confidence in the decisions I make.

If my conversations with others provide any indication, I’m not alone in this experience of feeling a little off-balance. I’m also not alone in this experience of wanting to attend to the call for stillness and quiet—space to simply be and to hold.

How about you? Have you been feeling a little off-balance lately? Have you been yearning for more quiet and space to simply be? How are you managing this call?

For George Harrison's thoughts about space in his song, Within You and Without You

Receiving the Unseen Gifts

I’ve taken to saying this prayer almost daily now, “Thank you Spirit for the blessings I have received this day—both seen and unseen.” I started offering this prayer of gratitude when I got a peek at some gifts I had received that I didn’t know about until later.

I would be struggling with something, only to hear later that someone had said a prayer for me so that I would have an easier time. It took me a while to notice that when other people were praying for me in alignment with my own truest desires, life seemed easier.

Now, this sounds obvious, doesn’t it? However, it really isn’t too obvious when you are not noticing that it is happening, is it?

This concept really came home to me through a significant vision. I was struggling with a spirit entity that just kept interfering with my life and wouldn’t leave me alone. I did everything I knew at that time to do and couldn’t seem to maintain my privacy and serenity. I prayed earnestly for help. Days later, I had a vision of a footprint on the ground and knew that the footprint was from someone that had traveled to be closer to where I was, and had come to help me.

I was so deeply touched, I cried. If I hadn’t had the vision and tapped in intuitively, I wouldn’t have known that someone had quietly come to help me. I know me. If I hadn’t had the vision, I might have been cursing at God for abandoning me. But I asked and help came. It was happening whether or not I noticed.

I remember this when I start to raise my fist at God or the Universe. I tell myself to wait, watch and listen. Most of all I remind myself to trust that my prayers are answered. I just might not be recognizing the answer because I’m still feeling the pain or the struggle.

Someone recently sent me a cartoon via e-mail that illustrated this point. A man says a prayer asking God for protection. In the next frame, he gets hit on the head by a rock. He curses at God. Then we see God standing between the man and a huge boulder that He is shattering. God expresses his concern to the man that he might have missed a tiny piece, and wanted to know if the man was all right.

I love this story. It was such a powerful reminder that sometimes the gift is being given, but as we face the remaining challenges, we just aren’t recognizing it.

So during this upcoming holiday of gratitude, you can be sure, I’ll be saying one of my favorite prayers, giving thanks for every gift and blessing I receive. “Thank you Spirit, for the blessings I have received this day—both seen and unseen.”

Prayer for your Thanksgiving meal by Tich Nhat Hanh

What Makes a Good Psychic Reading?

There are as many kinds of psychic readings as there are readers. What makes a good reading that is helpful to you will of course depend upon what information you are looking for and the style of delivery that works for you.

That said, after years of giving and having readings, I’ve discovered that it is easy to not recognize a powerful one.

Some years ago, I did a trade with a woman for a reading. She was strong enough in her gift that even medicine people came to her for readings. Now, I had believed for years that I was a difficult person to read, but each insight I received, however small or significant, seemed to offer me confirmation of my deepest knowing.

So, I looked forward to our time together and was curious about what she would uncover. But I also went with the thought that I would be difficult to read and I was going to enjoy the challenge I perceived I presented to her.

She grew very still and very quiet. Slowly she pulled forth bits of insight—none of it new. Then in closing she stated quite clearly that my journey was to go deeply into the sacred feminine. That was it.

I was deeply disappointed. I already knew that. My goodness, I had recovered from a syndrome that had me producing as much testosterone as a male in puberty, calling myself back to balance with my feminine.

Only now do I realize what I had done and why I was disappointed. Energetically, my posture was one of challenge. I wanted to see just how much of who I am and my destiny she could see. I expected her to see some great potential in my future, and my ego was unimpressed with the reading.

Years later I laugh at myself. She couldn’t have named my sacred work any better. She nailed it. The core of my purpose and work here on earth is all about the sacred feminine, and re-establishing the awareness of sacred feminine in our spiritual consciousness.

I was looking for a reading that would stroke my ego about some important achievement before me and she gave me a true reading that identified my sacred work. The space I hold is the work I came here to do. My path lay in my capacity—my ability to be the sacred feminine. (Talk about great!)

She could have done the reading in 1 minute, with her last statement and it would have been the most powerful reading I could have received.

Over the years the nuances of my purpose have shifted. I have discovered how my unique healing and teaching abilities are part of who I am, what I am here to do and how I live out my purpose. I have quested to receive even more clarity about my purpose and my missions. All of my gifts, however I choose to recognize and identify them, are connected in purpose and I know that now.

I understand that it is my job to stay connected to my inner guidance and follow it, whether I quest for that insight, go to a reader for confirmation, enter into self-healing space to clear my own resistances, or follow what is before me like bread crumbs along a path—it is my job.

When I am confused, I might see a reader. But I don’t go any more in hope that someone will stroke my ego or that I will be wowed by their ability to see hidden places within me. I leave the challenge and my ego at home. I go for confirmation.

I listen to what the reader sees in me. Deep inside me, I know my path. When a spirit-filled reader points out either what is obvious to me or what I have been trying to ignore, I know they are speaking on behalf of my true Divine direction in this moment. If there is neither confirmation nor resistance, then I simply hold their insights for a while to see if the truth of those insights emerge at a later date.

When the reading is over it is time to act. Some of us keep looking for knowledge as if somehow knowledge is going to make us feel better—as though some insight will give us a reason for our non-action. Yet, as we act in alignment with our purpose, more is revealed. Action is necessary for deeper levels of revelation. The true measure of a good reading; therefore, may have as much to do with what we act upon as it has to do with what we have heard.

Lead Me to My Purpose