4) Waking Up to Wonder
Originally published on 7 September, 2017“When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.”
Eckhart Tolle
Last week I learned of the passing of someone who had a big impact on my life, Hay House founder and author of You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay.
Seeing the news made my heart twinge a bit, but it wasn’t really a surprise - she was 90, she lived a rich life, and it was reported that she died of natural causes, with loved ones at her side. What a way to go. Thank you, Madame Hay.
It made me pause to reflect about the wobbly period in my life when I was hooked to Hay House Radio, remembering the time I got on the air with author and teacher Dr. Steven Farmer, who’s show was about shamanism. That day he was talking about animal spirit guides, a subject close to my heart.
It was a sunny spring day at my mom’s house - the house I grew up in - I had recently returned from a life-changing shamanic intensive, and was eager to learn about shamanism. Still working on my morning coffee, I was excited to see Dr. Farmer’s show coming up. So I tuned in, and on impulse called into the show, crossing my fingers I’d get through. When the show’s producer picked up my call, I felt an exuberant rush of excitement along with “OMG…better organize my thoughts!”
On the air, I shared my question about my dreams about animals as Dr. Farmer listened. Then, with enthusiasm, he let me know that Moose was a “power helper” for me at that time, and that I was on the right track and had a lot to be proud of. I felt a wave of "bliss shivers" and took it in, totally enchanted…..Wow, Moose!
After the call finished, with deep gratitude, I thanked the universe as I anchored the sense of “I’m going to be OK.”
And it was all because of Louise Hay.
Animal spirit guides are a major source of wisdom for me (and many) and here’s why. At the end of my last post, where I had the realization that maybe I needed to undertake some “heart healing,” animal spirit guides showed up in my dreams and became sources of information as I tried to work out my plans for ongoing education and career planning. So picking up from where I left off in my last post....
After leaving a career in communications to go back to school, I started to feel the pull of home - the place where I grew up - over 4,000 km from where I lived. I sensed the ending of one life chapter, and the need to get ready for a new one.
I committed to completing the semester of the program I was in, which would give me a certification in Life Coaching, then assess my next steps upon completion.
For a few days after receiving my certification, I felt lost and confused, yet aware of what felt like "magic in the air." Synchronicities started piling up and my dreams exploded with recurring visits from wolves and bears - they weren’t scary dreams - they were “invitational” - like come hang out with us.
On the outside, I brushed up my resume and went back to work, taking a few contracts here and there. Then over the course of a year, it was three big road trips that finally helped bring things into focus. First, it was a trip across BC and the Rockies that fed my soul with breathtaking scenery, and brought delightful encounters with ravens, stellar jays, a porcupine and a groundhog at a roadside rest area.
Then a stay at a friend’s hand-built-off the-grid cabin at the end of a remote alpine lake, accessible only by boat, brought heart-expanding ecstatic connection to that natural world - it was a family of loons, daily visits from a kingfisher, fires on the beach, the crystal clear night sky, and the wild beauty of an ever-pulsing ecosystem that whispered guidance: “go be with your family.”
Finally, while helping a friend move to Los Angeles, it was our drive down the wild west coast of Washington, Oregon, and California that showed me the wide open spaces of the Pacific ocean and it’s every-changing light and weather. It was somewhere along the coast of Oregon that I felt what true stillness feels like - aware, expanded and at peace.
I also felt my heart’s desire to spread my wings and fly.
All tolled, and with 20/20 hindsight awareness, these experiences affirmed that my life circumstances were stale, and too small for what my heart really needed: the transformative opportunities that come with change.
And that's where I leave things for now.
Next time, I’ll tell you about the last leap of faith that nearly broke me.
In the meantime, I wonder what YOUR heart really needs as we coast through the last four months of 2017? I invite you to ask yourself before you go to bed tonight "what does my heart need right now?", then see if any creature teachers show up in your dreams :-)
Note: all photos are all mine , except for Moose, c/o Unsplash.
