The Oneness Of It All...

Today I meditated with a Dolphin meditation. The meditation encourages us to connect with the ocean and ultimately with one dolphin who takes us on a journey. We are asked to develop a question to be answered on this journey. My question was “Who am I – really?” and why am I even asking this question?

Earlier in the day, I was mulling over a tele-seminar that I was listening to on Thursday night. The speaker was teaching us how to develop a highly successful coaching business. Her advice was to “forget that spiritual and personal development stuff” during this tough economy and focus on coaching executives to get results or focus on career coaching if I am to be successful.

As I was recalling her advice this afternoon, I could feel every cell in my body screaming “NOOOOO!!!”. It was truly a visceral and whole body reaction. I have had this feeling for a few months, and today it was very present to me. It was downright uncomfortable and not fun to feel this at all.

I have been listening to Advanced Energy Anatomy by Caroline Myss and she was talking about following our intuition. At first, we are guided in a certain direction when we get an “intuition hit”, a gut feeling of which way to go. Simple examples are when we have to choose to turn right or left, and something is nudging us to turn right. Big examples are when we have an insight that is life altering, like it is time to change jobs, change life partners, move to a new city, etc..

If we ignore these intuitive insights, the next step is often that we “lose magnetics”. This means that we not only lose our attraction to something, we become repelled by it. This happened to me about 18 months ago when it was difficult for me to work on change consulting projects because I ceased to be a change consultant. The “magnetics” were repelling me, pushing me away from those activities and pushing me in a new direction. Sometimes we are fearful because we are moving away from the familiar into the unfamiliar, the unknown, out of our comfort zones. Faith that there is a bigger plan at work is required during these times.

By the way, if we continue to ignore even this, “fate” will often take over. A typical example is that we get so sick that we are knocked on our butts for a while and taken out of commission. A friend shared with me a few years ago that he got so sick with the flu that he had no choice but to lay in bed for five days. During those five days, he thought a lot about his life and came out of that experience with more clarity than he had for the last 20 years. I don’t intend to let it go this far ;-).

So I am paying attention to the “magnetics”. I trust that there is a bigger plan. I was going out to dinner with some friends and had about an hour before we were to leave. I decided to meditate, and intuitively chose the dolphin meditation. Hence, my question “Who am I? What direction am I moving in?”

I connected with the ocean and my body started to come alive. I was tingling all over as I opened myself to the energy of the ocean. I could feel the energy between and within the cells of my body. In my mind’s eye, I put out my arms as if to embrace all of it. In the meditation, dolphins approach the shore and we are asked to connect with one in particular who will be our guide. My dolphin guide was the spirit of my dog who was an old soul. We bonded in this life very closely and I started to sob deeply when I recognized him. I went to him in the water and together we melted into the ocean, the air, the sunlight from above.

My body continued to tingle and I started to fill with light. I was in the light and of the light for some time. I turned to the shore and saw the many people who I have loved and loved me. They were all in the light, too. It was a glorious experience – timeless, peaceful and without bounds. I felt the oneness of us all and I could have stayed there forever.

And my question? I occasionally conduct Reiki sessions with people and during the session I clear their chakras and bring light into their body. I do not personally feel it but they often report an experience similar to mine tonight. I feel great joy when they are able to experience this. I am a catalyst; I help others "amp up" the voltage so they can more fully experience this for themselves. My experience tonight confirms that this is my direction.

It also says for all of us that this is our true nature. What if everyone could experience this at least once in their life? What if we lived in the full awareness that this is Truth, that we are really all One?

After dinner, I watched podcasts from the Oprah network. Jill Bolte Taylor wrote the book “My Stroke of Insight” and in podcasts 3 and 4 she describes how we can live our lives with more awareness and less stress. When she lost the left side of her brain during a stroke, she describes an experience that is similar to mine tonight. There are no accidents in our life, and when we pay attention we are provided exactly what we need, when we need it. According to Caroline Myss, every prayer is answered in an instant. Tonight, my prayer was answered…

With much love and gratitude, Mj XOXO

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Let's Get Money Moving!

It seems that everywhere we turn these days, there is a minute by minute, blow by blow report of the sad state of the economy. In every challenge, there is an opportunity. I believe that the recent events have uncovered some serious flaws, corruption and greed. Growth - in the economy and in organizations - can hide a lot of problems. This opens up an opportunity is for us to change the course of how we use money, and we can use it to improve our world - literally!

Money works because it moves. I would estimate that every dollar in my 401k is also represented in the 401k of at least 100 other people. Simple economics teaches us that when we put a dollar in our savings account, that dollar is lent to someone in the form of a loan, and that money is put to work.

And, we individually put money to work. Every time I spend a dollar at my dry cleaner, I support the owner's dream of owning his own business. Every piece of jewelry that I buy from a local artisan supports their creativity, and it supports the love of art for both of us. These are all positive ways that we use money. This is one of the main premises as taught in Money Freedom.

Many people who do energy work - Reiki healers, massage therapists, chiropractors, etc. - use their hands to positively bring healthy energy to others. I use Reiki all the time, and it is a skill that we all can learn.

I have also been reading "The Intention Experiment: Using Thoughts to Change Your Life and Your World" by Lynne McTaggart. Intentions are very powerful and can literally change the course of many events. Intentions are most powerful when:

• it is a highly specific aim or goal
• you visualize the intention as already occurring, especially if you visualize using all five of your senses
• you are in a state of concentrated focus and hyperawareness

Here is what I would like to propose: that we use the power of our own intention to positively and creatively influence this economic crisis that we are in. I started doing this a few days ago, and it has been a lot of fun!

Put your money between your hands, like a sandwich, with your left hand on top (your receiving hand) and your right hand on the bottom (the giving hand).

First, focus on appreciation for what the money has done for you. How did you receive it? Was it through the fruit of your labor? Then feel gratitude for the opportunity to work and receive that income. Did a friend unexpectedly repay a debt? Feel the appreciation for your friendship and the surprise.

Second, focus your intention and visualize supporting the person you are giving the money. Are you supporting their dream? Are they able to take care of their family with this money? Infuse the money with positive intention. Think about how they will pay it forward, and how this money will be used for good things.

It is just as easy to imagine and ponder the good things that money creates versus the other stuff we see in the news. We can turn this situation around - on a dime - and literally! Let me know if you try this and what your experience is.

I know, crazy idea. So is spending $800 billion! This one is free. :-)

With much love and gratitude, Mj XOXO

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We Have Snow!

It is very unusual for us to get snow because the temperature of the ocean generally turns everything into rain. Last night we got about 8 inches. For someone who grew up in Chicago and misses the snow, this is an event!

Imagine this in the summertime, bright sunshine above with a carpet of sand supporting a multitude of children and parents digging in the sand, teenagers on beach blankets and umbrellas shielding the direct rays of the sun. The energy of the summer is a definite balance to the serenity of these days.

With much love and gratitude for the ocean, Mj XOXO

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