Guess who is in Mexico right now...

Why hello there readers...

I have been very blessed this year. In addition to my pilgrimmage to Peru, I was also able to take a vacation to Cancun with David for our 7 year anniversary, which is where I am now.

Unfortunately, I didnt have time to write a more thoughtful blog before I left but we plan to visit some of the Mayan ruins and I hope to be able to bring you some wonderful photos next week.

Have a great week!

Clearing Your Chakras in the Shower

We all have energetic centers in our body, called chakras. Shamans believe that these chakras, which each rule specific body functions and emotions, can become blocked.

A Shamanic practitioner can perform an illumination for a client in order to clear the blockage and heal the root cause.  However, for those of you who do not have access to a Shamanic practitioner, there is a simple exercise you can perform in the shower to help keep your chakras clear.

While Shamanic tradition maintains that there are 8 chakras, this exercise focuses on the 7 chakras that exist within our bodies. Each of our chakras is a spinning wheel of energy and when balanced flow in a clockwise direction. When our energy becomes blocked, our chakras may flow in a counterclockwise direction or completely stop moving.

You can restore the energetic balance to your chakras by following these steps:

1. Starting at your root chakra, place your hand over your chakra and using your fingers wind the chakra in a counterclockwise direction. This will release the blocked energy.
2. Continue unwinding your chakra until you feel that all of the blockages have been cleared.
3. Rinse your fingers, and spin your chakras clockwise to restore the energetic balance.  
4. Repeat these steps until you have cleared your 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th and 7^th chakras.

The Profound Journey of Self and Spirit

When I set out on my journey to Peru, I knew I was not simply traveling to another country, I was embarking on a profound and spiritual journey of self. What has been surprising however is that the real work for this journey actually began when I returned home, when I was presented with the challenge of integrating the wisdom I received in Peru into my every day life.

Since my return I have had two marvelous astrological readings. One from Ken Johnson who does Mayan Astrology readings and this first part of a reading from Maridel Bowes who does what she calls evolutionary readings. Both have held extraordinary insights about my nature of my  soul's purpose, something I have been very focused on since my return.

In addition to these readings, and as I noted in my last blog, I have reconnected with my childhood friend Leigh who has inspired me to explore my relationship with Christianity further. One of the key insights I received immediately after returning from Peru is that I am a person who needs a consistent spiritual community. The wonderful thing about Shamanism is it does not exclude me from pursuing God through a specific religious context. Shamanism is very much in line with the belief that there can be many paths to Spirit.

Knowing now that I need a spiritual community and that I have been drawn to Christianity, I must be committed enough to myself to explore what that means (no matter how strange it may seem to my Jewish family) and I am excited to embark on this new relationship with God.

I have also come to realize that I am a person who needs to be completely connected to my soul's purpose in order to be truly fulfilled. I believe that as my journey of self progresses I will discover my soul's true purpose and have the courage and conviction to accept the challenge Spirit laid out for me when I was born. And I challenge all of you who may regularly read my blog, and even those who may have accidentally stumbled upon it (there are no accidents), to accept MY challenge.

I challenge you to seek out your highest truth and explore the reason you are on this beautiful planet. Spend the next week contemplating "How does Spirit express itself through ME?" (or if you prefer alternate wording "How does God express Himself through ME?")

I'd love to hear what you discover.

The Power of Forgiveness and Prayer

Last week I tweeted “forgiveness starts with forgiving yourself for whatever real or perceived mistakes you have made.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but in sending this tweet I was a subconsciously forgiving myself for a mistake I made 6 years ago when I pushed away my childhood best friend, Leigh. Later that day, after I had forgotten about my tweet, I wrote her a letter of apology asking for her forgiveness.

Leigh and I on our Senior Skip Day trip to Capitola circa 1998.

To my surprise, she forgave me right away, and allayed my guilt for our estrangement saying that she knew this was the way it had to be for us both to grow. In the past week we have been emailing regularly and I have come to discover that while we have spent the last few years apart, we have both been working on our Spiritual lives in similar ways. 

What has been especially touching for me is that she has shared with me a prayer that helped her to know her true purpose, something I have been questioning since my return from Peru.

This is the prayer:

"I know I was created to do something great. I know I have been given everything I need to achieve this purpose. I am excited to get started - Please reveal it to me."   

I know now that Spirit guided me to reconnect with Leigh and to receive this prayer. What’s more is that Leigh has also been praying with me so that I may be shown my purpose and the messages God has given her to share with me have been equally powerful. 

This past week has shown me the true power of forgiveness – starting with forgiveness of self.

Spirit has given me a truly special gift.

Lessons from Huayna Picchu

Li'fen, Tom, Sara, Laura, Lynn and Unmani

I think the moment that “cracked me open” on my recent trip to Peru was hiking Huayna Picchu. It took me right out to the edge (literally and figuratively) of what I thought I was capable of and forced me to dig deep within myself to find the courage and strength to keep going despite my extreme fear of heights.

While I am extremely grateful to all of the people who climbed Huayna Picchu with me and encouraged me, this was still an intensely personal struggle. There were points where I was so scared I cried (more accurately – sobbed), other points where I crawled on hands and knees, and the point at which I knew I couldn’t go any further – after the first plateau just before the final steps to the top.

As I sat on the plateau, I thought about why I decided to climb Huayna Picchu in the first place.

It turns out that this hike wasn’t about conquering my fear of heights. It was about facing my fear and saying “here I am.” Sometimes working through your fear can be more powerful than beating it.

The hike wasn’t about pushing myself to go all the way to the top with the rest of the crowd either.  It was about learning to accept my personal best, not comparing myself to others, and being ok with myself wherever I am.  (An extremely difficult lesson, but one I am slowly integrating into my everyday life.)

And once I realized these things, I heard the mountain say to me “It’s ok to hike down now. You’ve done your best today.” So I did, but now I was hiking the same narrow, slippery steps alone – everyone I had hiked with was still at the top – and I suddenly felt safe. I felt a strong connection to Huayna Picchu, and then I heard the mountain again.   

“Trust your place in this world... You are stronger than you think you are...”