It’s easy to get distracted by a whole lot of things that don’t matter; when we attach to a trance of distraction, scarcity, numbness.
 
Yet when we do connect in to the Universe, it’s as dazzling as a lightening bolt or a wave of light.
 
Spiritual knowing is instantaneous. There is no lag time or delay in knowing. One minute we are a sleep, and the next, in a flash, we are awake and aware.
 
In this moment, we recognize our true selves, we understand what is really important, we open in love and connection.
 
Physically, in meditation, spiritual opening can feel like your mind space goes from grey and tamped down in misery, to a great lifting off in dazzling white.
 
Physically, in nature, spiritual opening can feel like your mind space is all chatter and drama, and then suddenly everything gets beautifully still, and you realize you are absolutely aware.
 
There are other ways spiritual opening can happen, but there is always a sense of being one way, in misery. And then suddenly the great opening, the great relief, the great lifting off.
 
Instantaneous.
 
If you are feeling disconnected, the best thing to do is let go of all distractions: all ways of being too busy, all ways of numbing out, all of the various addictions we all have in modern life.
 
Go into stillness, and ask the Universe to remind you who you really are.
 
Separation is a myth—there is no time we are not One.

When people talk about energy being “blocked,” they mean energy is not flowing.
 
We think of energy as physical, energetic or emotional.
But they are all the same.
 
For humans, the body is a physical container of all our emotional experiences, including past wounds and unresolved feelings.
 
Thus, when we feel blocked, what we are often feeling is emotional blocking.
 
We are shut down, numbed out, repressed, not allowing ourselves to feel what we feel.
 
When we allow ourselves to open to what is—to really feel our feelings—this allows us to release that energy; it allows this energy to flow. Both emotionally, and in the physical container.
 
When we feel blocked—when we feel locked down by our feelings—it is simply a call to feel more.
 
When the body can release emotional energy, other body systems also become unblocked. Everything’s connected!
 
It can be scary to feel more. One of the ways this can be looked at is through the view of The Four Passages of the Heart. 
 
The first passage is through pain. This is the place we are in when we feel blocked.
We feel fear, anxiety, stress. We feel that we can’t manage the pain. But of course, the heart can hold everything.
 
The second passage is compassion: for others and for oneself. Once you have made it from pain to compassion, you have done the hardest part.
 
The third passage is connection, understanding Oneness. And the four opening is love.
 
Of course. It’s always love.
 
If you are feeling blocked or shut down or numbed out, take a look at your Heart of Pain. If you allow yourself to feel more, you will open into the next passage.
 
Only scary to think about.
Very healing to do.

What is a soul awakening?

One way to think of it is this: if you experienced a state of expansion in last month's solar eclipse, you've had a soul awakening recently. 

Basically, a soul awakening is a state of awareness in which we expand beyond our previous level of consciousness. Whenever this happens—and it happens many times in a lifetime—it is an extraordinarily beautiful experience.

When our awareness opens, everything becomes a miracle: we find it easy to be grateful for every little thing. we experience a bliss state, we’re peaceful and joyous, we’re having fun, and we laugh a lot!

When we’re in a state of soul awakening, guidance from the Universe is clear and direct, and life seems to flow effortlessly.

Here's the thing to remember: soul awakening is an ongoing process. We don’t just awaken once in a lifetime, and that's it! We experience many states of soul awakening as we walk the path of soul growth.

When was the last time you had an awakening? Was it years ago, or was it just a few days—or even minutes—ago. We are always in the process of expansion. 

After my near death experience in 2000, everything changed.

In that moment I knew God, in a way I never had before. And in that moment, my whole life crumbed in front of me, like one of those action movies where the road falls away even as the hero is running on it.
 
Everything changed. Everything fell away. I began to search and seek. I started going to spiritual workshops and events. I began to try out all kinds of things I’d never done before.
 
At first it was scary. Nobody in my then circle of soccer moms was going to ecstatic dance, for example. Nobody in my then Catholic community was going to The Esalen Institute. It  was weird to be different, outside, ostracized even.

And then, as I found my way, it was exhilarating—there was a feeling of finally finding my tribe, a sense of coming home. What a gift those ecstatic dance and meditation and kirtan and intuitive communities gave me at that time in my life! It was some of the greatest support I have known.

If you need a tribe during a personal shift, it’s available to you.
If you need support during a transformation, it’s here.
The Universe always arranges it so that you will find the people you need.
 
One of the reasons I'm coming out of hermitage in the Oregon woods to take part in the Beyond Words Cruise this February, is to be in community with you. I remember what is was like to be supported by community. And I know that’s what is going to happen at this event.
 
If you are going through transition or transformation, if you are feeling stuck or need spiritual support—consider being part of spiritual community.

However you find community—the tribe that support you during transformation—doesn’t matter.

Just make space for it.
The Universe will lead you there.

​When we need healing, we sometimes think there's something wrong with our soul. 

However, that's not the case. 
Our soul is perfect, infinite, Divine. 
What causes our suffering is not that there is something intrinsically wrong with our core.

Instead, it is always our thoughts, our opinions.. all the stuff that makes up  personality.
That's where the problem is. 
That's what requires an attitude adjustment. 

So, how do we do this? 

A starting point is to just step back and breathe. 
Stop trying to figure it out or fix it. 
Stop distracting yourself. 
Stop participating in thought drama. 

Instead, step back.
Get some retreat, rest and respite.
Have some fun, laughter, nature—any or all of these will create the shift. 

When we stop thought drama and do something else, the soul has a chance to integrate all our worrisome emotions, and return to a state of calm—the natural state, in which the soul leads, and the ego is secondary. 

When we provide intentional space for rest and relaxation, as well as the healing qualities of nature and fun, we make exponential leaps in our soul growth. 

Don't think too much about it. Just try it: letting go, taking a break, having some fun. And see where that leads you. 

A while back I posted Part One of my adventures with spirit animals. Today is Part Two.
 
On my last bike ride, I was unexpectedly gifted with a sighting of three young raccoons. I was still giddy with the thrill of it, when something else happened.  
 
The Universe was not done with surprises for the day.  
 
If you are person who lives near Nature, you already know: Nature is very much around us. It is not just that we live in these homes or apartments, and we have these fences or boundaries, and Nature doesn’t come in and interact with us.

Nature is here! Animals are everywhere!
Animals, insects, flora, trees, the wind and weather!
Nature is with us always!
 
Thus, after seeing the three raccoons, I continued on my bike ride. And sure enough, there it was on the next curve: my second sighting of a spirit animal in the course of 10 minutes: a young deer, blocking the  path.
 
Deer is my totem animal, so I certainly paid attention!
 
Some of the questions I ask when visited by a totem animal are:
 
• Is it strong or weak?
• Young or old?
• What other physical conditions?
• What is it doing?
• What was I thinking about when I saw it?
• What question was I working on when I saw it?
• What came into my mind when I saw it?
 
I slowed my bike to a standstill and instantly noticed another woman across from me. So there I am, 20 feet from the deer on one side, the woman 20 feet on the other side, and the deer in the middle of the path.
 
And all of us froze.
 
The woman and I both went into some kind of reverie for the deer, because we both know: it was a holy moment, a message from the Universe, a sacred sighting.
 
Normally a deer this close, even a deer familiar with humans, would have turned and leapt away in that flashing, bounding way that deer do.

But this deer just watched us watching it, and then it started chewing grass on the side of the path.

It was fully conscious of us.
It was fully aware of us.
And it was not afraid.
 
What a beautiful message to receive, in these woods on this bike path, in witness by another human being!
 
Fully conscious. No fear.
 
And after a very, very long while, the mood shifted. The moment was complete. You can feel this, if you pay attention: the vibration just changes, and there it is.
 
Very slowly, I began towheel my bike past the deer until it slowly, casually turned and began to ramble through the brush.
 
The woman raised her hand as I passed.
We had witnessed this moment together.
 
What animals in Nature do you notice? What are they telling you? Go outside today, and see what happens.