Posts Tagged ‘Serendipity’
2013 Lessons of the Heart
Tuesday, December 31st, 2013
Back in January, I declared 2013 to be the year of “Daring Deeply.” In my post back in January 2013, I wrote:
My focus in 2013 will be about taking chances on outrageous (and unknown) invitations for new workshops and retreats and daring myself to put my heart-centered work out into the world in greater ways. My purpose is to dig deeper inside my heart so that I can take peaceful actions and dare greatly into vulnerability.
As I reflect back on 2013, I realize how much I have dared greatly. My year started with going through many medical tests and receiving a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. That certainly taught me how to dare deeply physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Daring deeply required me to slow down and create more meditative practices. It taught me to advocate for myself. It invited me to live with vulnerability and wholeheartedness. It taught me to ask for help and receive. I am grateful for every lesson, every journey of my heart, every tear, every smile, every friendship, every laughter, and every moment that brought me closer to my wild cosmic heart.
2013 was a year to go inside more and live from my heart space. I stepped away from a long-time successful shamanic teaching practice. When I gave myself the space to let go, I discovered profound practices of the heart.
The biggest gift of 2013 was allowing serendipity to replace certainty.
I dared greatly and returned to Hawaii to facilitate an annual wild cosmic heart retreat. I met a group of amazing, courageous, and loving women who opened their hearts and trusted the sacred space we created. The group dared greatly too. And I was deeply honored to share the week with my sister, Mary Ann.
Thank you to everyone who shared themselves with me on my journey – whether you know it or not, you made a difference in my life. Everything became my teacher this year from my month long sabbatical, to birding, to the Pacific Ocean, to a new health condition, to new friendships and spiritual teachers, to Kadampa Meditation Center.
My willingness to put my heart-centered work out into the world opened up possibilities to teach in 2014 and beyond, including Hawaii, Colorado, the Virgin Islands, Canada, and even Cambodia.
It certainly was a year of Daring Deeply! Thank you for sharing it with me. I look forward to sharing more heart centered journeys together in 2014.
Stewardship Meets Serendipity
Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013
Who would you be if you aligned your life with your soul? I ask this question almost daily. When making a decision, I often ask if it is aligned with my heart and soul.
As I work with many entrepreneurs, healers, and coaches, I’ve seen how many breathe life into a business because they want to be of service, they see an opportunity, and they have knowledge and expertise in an area of need. The business starts to grow, and then one day the entrepreneur wakes up and asks, “Why am I doing this? And why don’t I love this work more?”
I have learned that just because you breathed an idea into the world and spent all your time and energy getting it to where it is, doesn’t mean you should continue investing in keeping it alive the rest of your life.
You change over time and so does your work. This is actually the greatest place to be in. This is the place where stewardship meets serendipity. There comes a point when being good at something might mean letting it go so you can make yourself available to something even better. There’s no shame in saying “things have changed” and “I have changed,” then taking the actions necessary to allow you the space to redirect your energy toward something more aligned with who you are, what you want out of life, and how you wish to contribute to the world.
I recently left a successful shamanic teaching practice. The last teaching practice I co-taught for the last seven years flourished. We had a vibrant community of students open to learning a healing path. I had great pride in teaching deep healing work. But there came a time when I stopped wanting to teach. I felt increasingly disconnected from the practices and teachings I’d co-created. The teachings and practices began to focus on only one healing modality. I was at a place in my life where I wanted the practices to be more expansive. I no longer wanted the teachings to focus on just the pain of the past. I wanted to build community around living with wholeheartedness. I have never believed there is one path to follow ─ rather I have experienced many modalities, methods, and paths that teach about wholeness.
I found myself changing and wanting new practices to teach. I made the assumption everyone would want to learn new practices and healing modalities. I came to realize I was not the steward of this community anymore. So I stopped teaching the classes. I shared my healing practices with my last group of students in April, and walked away. It was time. And it was the right time ─ or I would have remained in an old pattern and not have allowed myself to be open to serendipity. It was the right decision for me and the students.
We get so wrapped up in finishing what we started, we forget to ask if the thing that led us is still the thing that brings us joy. Maybe what we started has evolved. Maybe we’ve evolved. Assumptions that drew us may now be wrong. And even though we’ve adapted to create a successful project or practice, that version is now stripped away from what drew us to the quest in the first place.
So, yes, maybe you gave birth to something powerful, something that matters to others. But does it still matter to you? Ask the question: “Is what I am doing aligned with my heart and soul?” Ask it at least once a year. And if the answer isn’t a resounding yes, then it is time to pause and listen and explore why. Then do what you need to do to get back to a yes. And that might mean walking away, letting go, letting someone else take over, or starting over.
But if you stay without joy, are you willing to risk not being open to what might be available?
Stewardship often means giving yourself space to do less and be more ─ and to come back to alignment. Sometimes the greatest stewardship can mean letting go and making ourselves available to what’s next. If we don’t leave space for a new possibility then we risk missing moments of serendipity.
Are you willing to give yourself space and be open to serendipity?
Serendipity has led me to discover profound practices of the heart, learning new meditations and mantras. My teaching practice has now expanded to include, Deep Listening, Vulnerability, Sacred Awakening, and Ceremonies of the Heart. I will be teaching the Wild Cosmic Heart in Hawaii, Colorado and Costa Rica. I am learning to align my work with my heart and everything grows from there.