Throughout the winter, I did a lot of walking and was able to hike up to 5 miles without gasping or collapsing.  Then, about two months before the hut trip, I decided it was time to integrate more of my divine “light” into my physical body (to help move things along you see) and my body responded with a case of the hives (head to toe), and gifted me with a plethora of other symptoms that I won’t bore you with here.  Suffice it to say, power-hiking with a backpack at altitude was starting to sound a bit daunting.

I felt into the upcoming trip to see if it was still a good idea to go, and all I got back was a feeling of humor, as if a part of me was having a grand time watching this little adventure unfold. ​

A few days before the hut extravaganza, our dear friend who invited us on the trip arrived in Colorado.  We were having a lovely chat on the first night of her visit, and drugged by an overdose of chocolate, I blurted out my deepest desire:  “I am ready to stop suffering,” I said.  “I want JOY to be the standard for all my experiences.”  I realized this meant I would have to release the pain I’d been hanging on to and was still processing through my body, and I said out loud that I was ready to let my suffering go completely. 
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The next morning, my cough seemed manageable.  Though our friend opted to stay behind and rest, I still felt the inner call to go forward, and we left for the trailhead.  ​

As I was putting on my gear, I could sense multiple potentials swirling around me, and my mind was completely disoriented.  Joe could tell I wasn’t myself, but I had no words for him.  Up the trail we started…left foot, right foot…until I started to feel extremely dizzy.  

I knew, right then and not a moment before, that I was not to go any further.  I didn’t second guess this knowing.  I didn’t argue with it or worry about what other people would think.  I just spoke my truth to Joe and headed back to the car.  

Two friends were ahead of us on the trail.  Somehow they got the psychic memo I was sending them, and they waited for Joe, who scampered up the trail to give them the news and the coffee pot.  When I reached the car my body was trembling, I started to feel feverish and achy, and the cough (which had only been a subtle nuisance until then) erupted in earnest.  ​

By the time Joe got me back to the condo, I was in full-blown release mode.  We hung out with our friend for the next two days.  I was wrapped in blankets, drinking hot tea, and enjoyed some beautiful chats between naps.  It was surprisingly joyful.
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I felt so much appreciation for this unexpected creation.  I saw how my body’s knowingness saved the day.  If I had pushed on ahead, as my mind would have wanted me to do, I would have needed help to get off the mountain;  but because I listened and acted immediately on my body wisdom, I didn’t put myself through a chaotic crisis.  I knew when to stop at exactly the right time.  ​

It dawned on me that this is how life will work from now on.  I will get what I need when I need it.  No early bird specials.  No hoarding for future events.  What I need will be there, right when I need it, and not a moment before.  It was a remarkable experiential awareness, and I laughed out loud.  Did I mention, this all happened on April Fool’s day?  Hahaha.  The joke was on me.

This, then, leads me to the point of this blog post:  my April Fool’s Day Adventure taught me the necessity of being the Divine Fool.  

To release my pain, to forgive the unforgivable, I had to transcend my mind and allow the unknowable.  Only in a state of total allowing could Grace go to work on my behalf, and this is happening now in ways that are beyond my understanding.  

Over the last few weeks I have watched my monkey mind let go of its constant chatter, disengaging from its need to know.  It has crawled into the back seat, freed of its responsibility to figure this whole thing out, and is now recording what is happening for posterity.  I can tell it is much happier there than it was behind the wheel.  

In the absence of all that ceaseless thinking, the deep subconscious patterns that ran my mind are now rising up into my awareness.  This has made life even juicier, but I know these core programs will also dissolve, much like my monkey mind chatter did, so my universe can reorganize itself around a new still point of presence.  

I am well aware that this transmutational process is not yet complete.  There are a few more layers of the onion to be peeled, and who knows how much longer it will take.  I am eager for the day when it will be done (when it is, I will be throwing one hell of a party) but until then, I plan to just allow the process unconditionally.  The releases are, after all, being designed to liberate me and my intention is to survive them.  ​

However, if my April Fools Hut Trip is any indicator, I will emerge transformed on the other side of this adventure having a really great laugh at my own expense and an amusing tale to tell about how I got exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it, in a way I completely did not expect.

Last month we talked about how imagination can help us expand beyond our past and sense new potentials.

We only know what we know, and we don’t know what we don’t.  The manic monkey that runs our mind thinks it knows everything…especially about what’s possible.  Monkey mind  tries to keep us safe, but because it only knows the past, it projects that past right into our future.  Imagination helps us escape this rut and feel into unknown possibilities.

Right now I bet a part of you is thinking, "Cool!  I want to live the dream!”  But then that part of you runs smack dab into another part that had a big dream once, reached for the fantasy, hit the wall, and ended up face-first in a mud puddle.  That part of you has been there, done that, and got the t-shirt already…the cheap one that fits badly and reads “I went to fantasy-land and all I got was this lousy t-shirt”.   

When reality falls short of our dreams time and again, it is tempting to just stop dreaming because only a fool does the same thing over and over expecting a different result.  It hurts when our dream bubbles burst.  Better to adjust our expectations, right?  

Wrong.  It is better to dream BIG, and then get it.  

Success is truly possible (really it IS), but most people don’t realize what it takes to succeed.  Perhaps they think success involves suffering and hard work.  Or they might believe they need a detailed plan with goals and objectives.   Or maybe, they think luck is involved, so while dreams come true for other people, it ain’t gonna happen for them.

While these approaches do create certain results, none of them will create anything new.  Why?  Because they are driven by the mind and therefore conditioned by the past.  (You can’t know what you don’t know.)  To get to new, we need to connect with the creative impetus beyond the mind and marshall our inner magnetics so energy can serve us in new ways.

The key to catalyzing creativity and mastering manifestation is this simple (but not easy) manifesto:  To Receive It, You Must BE It.  

I don’t know about you, but this is an epic change from the way I learned how to do things, which looked much more like fighting for the scraps because there was only so much to go around, and you better and be thankful for your crumbs, because someone else probably just got less than you did. 

"Be it to receive it" is a game-changer.   When we live this way with trust and conviction, we see that the universe is, indeed, trying to shower us with blessings, and those blessings are unlimited.  So unlimited, in fact, that we will get exactly what we are asking for.   But here is the important little tidbit that goes unsaid:  one doesn’t ask with their words, one asks with their actions!    

The universe is a great mirror.  It reads our energy and gives us back what we are putting out.  Words alone are not enough.  To really draw in something new, we have to walk our talk. 

I’ve broken this down into the three primary challenges we face - let’s call them the criteria for creation - or the magic methods you must master to “live your dream”:
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• You have to be able to feel the feeling of having what you want  - This seems easy, but it can be surprisingly difficult when monkey mind has it’s grip.  You have to bypass the mind completely and trust your body.  Put your awareness into the reality of having what you desire.  Let it become a sensual experience.  Just be there…having it, as if it already exists (which it actually does on a slightly different dimension) and let the energy of your realized dream pour all over you.  How does it feel?  Keep your awareness in your body.  When your mind tries to define the feeling, or understand it, or second guess it, say, “Thank you very much for your abundant input, dear mind, but I am feeling now.  I don’t need to know any details.”  Stay with the feeling as long as you can.  Once you get the hang of this, you can put yourself into multiple potentials, feel each of them, and pick the one that feels best!​

• You have to hold the frequency of having what you desire, knowing it is coming to you, even when your “reality” appears otherwise  - This step is harder.  In fact, it can be really hard, but it isn’t impossible; it just takes clarity and commitment.  Once you have picked your potential, the energy is on it’s way to you.  Now you have to keep holding the vibration of what you picked so you can receive it when it arrives.  If you pick a really great potential, but then descend back into despair because your current reality sucks, your current reality will persist because that is where your consciousness is focused.  You are vibrating at despair, and not matching your new super cool potential.  Essentially, you walked away from the delivery station.  Similarly, if you fight “what is” you lock it in place because that is what you are focusing on.  Allow "what is" to be as it is, and shift your awareness to what you have chosen.  Know it is coming to you.  Act as if it is already your reality.  Feel the feeling of having it.  Then it will come to you.  It has to!   Albert Einstein said it best:  "Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it.  Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality.  It can be no other way.  This is not philosophy.  This is physics."

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• You have to receive what comes to you - This step can also be tricky, because we usually have a wee bit of an agenda.  We think things should happen in a certain way or look the way we want them to look, but sometimes our manifestations arrive in surprising ways.  If we do not receive the unexpected, we may miss out on a greater good.  Sometimes challenging things happen first to clear the way for the goodies (we may get sick to clear old energies and raise our vibration, we might have to let go of some things we are attached to like jobs or relationships or beliefs to make space for the new).  Know that whatever comes serves us perfectly.  Our manifestations are perfect mirrors.  They show us exactly what we are attracting.  We may say we want something, and believe we really do, but if our vibration is still putting out “I am not…(worthy, available, abundant, healthy, etc.) then our manifestations will match our vibration.  When this happens it is an invitation to clean up the energetics and try again.  You will know you have arrived at a new vibration when your manifestations match your mock-up.  You are always manifesting, and energy comes in service, 100% of the time.

These criteria 1) Feel and Choose, 2) Act As If, and 3) Trust, Receive, and Respond catalyze creation, but one caveat needs to be mentioned.  You are a multi-dimensional being and your creations are multi-dimensional also.  Your human life is only one part of you.  You are a much grander being.  Your soul may have a different agenda than the human, and that will impact what the human can create.  The more in alignment you are with your soul, the easier it will be to manifest your desires into 3-D.  

When you first start playing with these three steps, it helps to begin with something small.  Build up your track record of successes before taking on the big kahuna issues (like health or abundance for example) that are highly charged.  If you begin with issues that don’t have a life or death vibe, you can proceed with curiosity instead of terror.  You will be more allowing and less likely to force things.   When you can relax into the process and see how effortless it really is, you will trust yourself enough to tackle the larger issues.  In this game, trust is everything.

Next month, I will share an example from my own life that shows exactly how this process works.  Until next time, may you be in awareness.

In our last blog we talked about the importance of questioning beliefs.  Our minds are conditioned by past experience and this limits what we think is possible.  If we question our beliefs and open up to new possibilities, we can go beyond what we know, but to perceive the unknown, we must use a sense that is free and unshackled by the mind.  We must employ our imagination.

Yes, I am talking about that “silly waste of time" that is the providence of children and dreamers...the very thing many parents and teachers poo poo as a distraction, admonishing the fanciful to “stop fantasizing and buckle down to the basics”.   

But here's the deal…if questioning our beliefs opens the lock, then curiosity allows the door to open, and our imagination provides the magic ability to perceive and play with the potentials that lie on the other side of what we know.  

Imagination is a divine gift we were each born with that helps us go beyond the mind and connect with the passion and wisdom of our soul.  Our higher wisdom has a much broader perspective that is not limited to 3-D human reality.

I’d like to invite you to feel into a couple of mind-boggling possibilities that just might change your life.  

Here’s the first one:  What if you could only imagine things that already exist?  What if, in your wildest fantasies, you are just tapping into potentials that are present in other dimensional realities and these possibilities are actually available for you to choose and experience?  Hmmmm…

I find it fascinating that art often catalyzes concepts that are later embraced more deeply by the masses.  Some movie examples include: The Matrix (mass conditioning), Star Wars (the Force), Star Trek (Katra, the living spirit), Contact (inter-dimensional communication), and Wicked (the dark feminine).  It seems art, music, theatre, movies, and books often explore “magical” or mysterious concepts that provoke and expand our consciousness.  They reveal intriguing ideas that inspire us, evolve our perspectives, and open us to new potentials that later become our reality.

Now here is a second mind-boggling concept for your pondering pleasure:  If you are a creator and your awareness brings energy into form, then just by putting your awareness into a potential, even if it NEVER existed before, you could create it.  

Sit with that one for a second.  Does that not blow your socks off?  Seriously...this could change your life!  Never again can anyone tell you, "Well, THAT just isn't possible.”  It may not be possible for them, but their beliefs do not limit your potentials…unless you let them.  If you can sense the possibility and hold the vibration of how it would feel to realize it, you can create it.

Let's play a little imagination game.

Call up a situation in your life that seems dense and stuck.  Bring your consciousness into the situation.  Allow it to be as it is.  Don’t try to fix it.  Rather, really feel into it.  Can you sense the stagnant flow of energy?  Can you feel the gravity holding the situation in place?

Now use your imagination and play the "what if" game.  “What if I wasn’t stuck?  What if I was healthy and abundant and I lived in beauty, with grace?   What if I loved myself and life loved me back and I actually enjoyed how I spent my days?"  

Don't try to define what the new possibility looks like or conjure up details.  Don't analyze how to get there or create a list of all the reasons why this can't happen.  In fact, don't think at all.  Feel into this potential with your body.  What would it feel like if this was already your reality?  

This possibility is right there, just out of phase with your current experience.  Your body can sense it and will respond to the energy. You might notice you are relaxing, expanding, even tingling a little! 

And…your mind will probably start revolting like a mad caffeinated monkey.

Your mind is attached to your old story.  It will try to keep you in it, especially if the story is painful and you are starting to wake up out of it.  "This is how it has always been and how it will always be,” so sayeth monkey mind.  A fuss will ensue the moment you start feeling into other possible realities because the monkey mind wants its banana-flavored pain fix, and it wants it NOW, and it realizes it's not going to get it if you get your new potential.   Monkey mind will tell you you are being silly or crazy or irresponsible.  Monkey mind will try to control the situation and push you back in the box.  Don’t let it.  

Like a patient mother, allow your mind its manic melt-down, and tell it “Yes, yes, I hear you, but we are doing this now instead.”  Then expand your senses beyond the mind again.  

Seek out the feelings that feel the best.  There are lots of possibilities out there and you can feel into all of them!  Some will feel much better than others and those are the ones you want to pay the most attention to.  Dive deeper into these.  Open your intuition.  Sense what is there.  Play with what comes back to you. 

Now there is a very important caveat I must mention, and I cannot understate this.  Use no power.  By this I mean, do not force or control your imagination or chase after a specific result.  Let your imagination bring your experience to you.  Allow it!  

If you demand and doubt and fuss, or if you expect things to look a certain way, then you are back in monkey mind and in your prison cell once again…pounding and pushing on the door.  You are stopping the door from opening!  

Step back and allow the door to open towards you.  Invite your imagination to play with you.  See what comes and stay open and curious.

So, to recap…unlimited potentials exist in a slightly different dimension than your current reality, yet they are real and you can choose to experience them.  You can perceive them by allowing your imagination to reveal them to you.  Mental manipulation and force keep the door to new potentials closed; but curiosity opens it wide, and imagination is how you sense and explore what lies on the other side.

​In our next post we will describe a tool you can use to identify and choose potentials that feel right for you.  This tool is easy, and fun, and very effective.  Until next time, my friends, may you be in awareness.