A Universe Ringing with 'Yes'

Spiritual humor is delicious, and the transparency of now makes it all the more helpful, if we just keep surrendering, surrendering, surrendering:

Two days ago I took my ancient Toyota in for service. Yesterday, satisfied my trusty little car was again in tip-top shape, I drove around town in near-triple-digit weather (the air conditioner died years ago) doing Friday afternoon errands. At my second-to-last stop, I parked, turned off the engine, and the car was dead. Not even a click.

After I phoned AAA, I watched myself spiral into negative mind chatter, amused that this is still my default setting after all the self work I've done. Like many of us, I've been balancing a lot lately, from a family health crisis to a broken crown that created a spike in my mouth, to a plumbing emergency and someone reneging on a verbal business agreement after I'd completed my half of the exchange. So a minor glitch like a dead car battery (I surmised) shouldn't have made much of a dent in my composure. But I had perishable food in the car in the blazing sun, and suddenly it was the proverbial straw.

I turned to a woman loading her car two spaces away and began spouting frustration, and once she realized I wasn't on a cell phone she came over and held the space for me in an extraordinary way, not only validating what I was sharing but matching it, point by point (e.g., her vehicle, the same age as mine, had failed the day before; her husband is facing surgery, etc, etc). Her equanimity brought me back to center as I explained the car issue wasn't a big deal at all; I just needed a break — and some support!

The tow truck team was fantastic. Eric popped the hood, moved the battery cable a millimeter and the car started up fine. Perhaps the connection came loose during the repairs, or going on and off the lift. I was good to go in about a minute and profoundly grateful. I completed my errands and drove home with the radio on. And this is where the spiritual humor enters in.

KZST in Santa Rosa has a daily game called "Drive o'clock trivia" where, at 5 pm, the DJ asks a question and callers who think they know the answer call in. It's almost always about numbers. Yesterday's question was, "One in 10 people use this business daily. What is it?" And of course I knew. I called and said, "Is it a towing service?" He exclaimed, "It IS a towing service!" I added, "And I know this because I just called them, 90 minutes ago." He said, "Well, I'm sorry that's why you know the answer!" But it was perfect.

This is happening in every realm now, the immediacy and synchronicity of instant return, often in a humorous fashion. It's a good way to stay grounded. Another example: I was discussing with my family member why fall/winter is not an ideal time for surgery, because it's the season of contraction, a time for rest and reflection as Nature releases the old and prepares to go into a dormant state. An hour after the call, I received an email with the subject line, "Honoring the Natural Rhythm of Autumn", which speaks to the mysteries of life and death and how this month is a great time to remember our ancestors as we approach All Souls Day/Day of the Dead.

We are always being answered. The Universe is ringing with love and compassion the moment we have ears to hear. I'm grateful for these Spirited reminders of the wisdom and support that's always available, usually liberally laced with humor. As our journeys continue to heat up, as the whole world awakens in an explosion of confusion and joy, remember the help that is here for us. And be as kind to yourself as you can.

How to Receive What You No Longer Want

As we emerge from our extended global gestation, I'm watching people joyfully birth long-term projects from deep inner wellsprings, ready at last to bring their unique gifts to Light. At the same time, I'm also observing how amused surrender allows our heartfelt desires to manifest more easily than ardent invocation — although I've been an advocate of the latter for a very long while.

Radical manifestation means completely feeling the fulfillment of what we want — then dropping all attachment to having it. This sounds paradoxical. However, we must get out of our own way in order to receive what we no longer want. Yearning indicates a lack of faith, which keeps our desire, like the proverbial carrot on a stick, tantalizingly just out of reach. But be all right without it, and Spirit swiftly delivers the goods.

The shift for me is appreciating this awareness from an amused perspective. Before, I'd try to remain detached, but my frustration with delays gave my true feelings away. Now, more and more, I'm living in the wellspring, watching the waters of wonder continuously renew me as I surrender to Source and allow myself to receive.

This is the feminine, attractive principle, here in the yin Year of the Snake, what so many have labeled, "The Law of Attraction": the power of pull rather than push, becoming magnetic to our good and allowing it in, rather than chasing it down, wrestling it to the ground and proclaiming victory.

At this moment of moving into ever-greater wholeness, consider (literally, "with the stars") the Native American Giveaway. In the Giveaway tradition, you offer what you value most to another, with no strings attached (to your offering or to your heart). The gift might take the form of time, talent, food, clothing, etc. If it's precious to you, you allow it to spill over, like a waterfall.

I invite you to consider a Giveaway to bring about greater balance and integration in your life — without, of course, holding that as the goal.

Putting It Into Practice

What do you love so much you'd feel blessed to give it to someone else?

I once lost an earring at the beach from a pair that was special to me for many reasons. I kept its mate in the box. Then I became friendly with a woman who had a single pierced ear. On her birthday, I was inspired to give her my earring because I couldn't imagine buying a gift that meant more to me. She understood immediately when I shared the earring's history, responding, "Oh, it's a Giveaway!"

Your Giveaway might be to the mineral, plant or animal realms: planting seedlings from the beloved tree in your backyard in a barren lot, for example.

Your gift can also be anonymous. In Pronoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You With Blessings, Rob Brezsny shares the story of a woman who donated a kidney to someone she didn't know, then returned to her regular life and clerical job. Three years later she won half a million dollars in the lottery. This does not mean that a Giveaway will net you a reward in kind (or in cash) — simply that doing something you feel called to do, without expectation, puts the Universe on notice that you're living in the flow. That's when synchronicity starts.

For many of us, giving this blessing to ourselves may be the beginning place: you cannot give to others if your own wells are running dry. If you've been giving yourself away for years, perhaps the greatest Giveaway is time spent soaking at a spa, to help gift you back into wholeness.

Feel free to share your Giveaway stories ~ and may you experience waves of amusement along the way.

What the Upcoming Eclipse Can Teach Us About Torture

There's something more insidious than any malevolence we inflict on others: what we do to ourselves, using the one instrument of torture that's available to everyone, every day: our minds.

We become adept at berating ourselves for imperfections, whether physical, mental, or emotional: Why don't I weigh less/earn more/control my temper/have more friends/attract a lover/have a great job…? And that's just for starters.

However, we're living in a fulcrum moment for quantum change. This is the time that's been prophesied for millennia as the Turning of the Age, and so it is. The Mayans were correct, although not as those who interpret their calendars through a linear lens believe: the world is not ending; a world age is. We are moving into a time of consciousness, which is what their calendars measure: human evolution on a vast scale, which in one sense is time. But neither the world nor the calendar "end"; we simply continue, albeit at a higher level along life's spiral.

The upcoming solar eclipse on May 20^th, followed by the Venus transit June 5-6^th, offers us a slightly-more-than-two-week window of omnipresent opportunity. While being in the actual path of the eclipse will enhance its potency, there is no one on Earth who will not be affected — and profoundly changed, whether you're aware of it or not. Anyone who is incarnate now is de facto part of the shift, so no matter what your life "looks like", this is one area in which you can surrender the whip: if you're here, you're helping the planet and all her inhabitants to transform. Thanks for agreeing to play your essential part.

And there are multiple levels working. A few luminous takes on the eclipse include the current newsletter of Gillian Macbeth Louthan, whose Quantum Awakening site has been a beacon for 26 years and counting; this message from the Star Elders through Aluna Joy and this brilliant piece on the esoteric aspects of aligning with our Great Central Sun, Alcyone, in the Pleiades. I expand upon these topics in my own inspirational newsletter, What Shines. You can read the current issue on the Venus transit in Second Rock from the Sun, and a reprint of the eclipse issue on SpiritCrossing.org: Down to Earth.

A personal ah-ha: According to the 13-Moon Calendar (interwoven with the Mayan sacred calendar known as the Tzol'kin), which helps us attune with natural rhythms and return to biospheric alignment, the eclipse takes place on a 5Eb day. Eb, or Yellow Magnetic Human, happens to be my galactic signature/solar seal, which means it is my personal Mayan "sign". Each solar seal also has a "guide", and on 5Eb, the guiding energy is (drumroll): the Sun! (The Sun is one of the 20 Mayan solar seals; its Mayan name is Ahau). So, do I feel internally held and guided by the imminent eclipse on May 20^th?  You know it!

Finally, for all of us regardless of solar signature: each month in the 13-Moon Calendar consists of 28 days, or one moon cycle, and is thus referred to as a Moon, also carrying a specific energy. The life-altering May 20^th eclipse takes place during the Spectral Moon of Liberation, whose core question/action is: "How do I release and let go?" And the totem animal is the Serpent.

We're evolving Eden anew. This article delineates each of the 13 Moon inquiries: Embracing Paradox Can Help You Beat the Clock and this web page introduces you to each Mayan glyph in depth.

One more piece: The sacred Mayan cycle known as the Tzol'kin is 260 days long: the same cycle as Venus, and also the exact length of a human pregnancy! I expand upon these themes exponentially in my e-course for women on awakening to the Divine Feminine and celebrating life in a female body, Loving Our Lunacy.

So, dearhearts, let us release our attraction to suffering and free ourselves from self-inflicted torment to rise in love, eclipsing what no longer serves our growth, both individually and collectively, as we allow the planet of love to bathe us in her radiance and complete our journey into a greater awareness and allowance of union than we've ever known.

Blessed Be!

Feeling squeezed? Make juice!

It's August, it's hot, and our planet's going to Light. Everybody's feeling just a little squeezed now — in all ways, not just financially. Yet we don't necessarily envision the squeezing as creating more juice, which it can, and does.

This consciousness upgrade looks different from person to person, making for some strange interactions and a great reminder to take a deep breath before responding from habit when something or someone pushes our buttons. Weird feelings, depression, anger, etc., may not necessarily be "ours". Since we're all being strongly affected by this transition, it's important not to take on energy that is bubbling to the surface to be transmuted — to yield rather than shield.

This is core training in learning to surrender — into strength. In an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, (a reliable source of evolutionary metaphor) a boy is the only survivor of a decimated ship. When the same "enemy" starts firing on the Enterprise, Captain Picard orders, "More power to the shields," yet the assault worsens.

The youngster (who is on the bridge in the hope he'll know something that makes a difference) suddenly pipes up, "Hey! That's what the other captain kept saying just before the ship was destroyed: 'More power to the shields.'" Picard, always a quick study, immediately orders the Enterprise to drop its shields. His crew thinks he's given a suicide command — and it works. Resistance is futile …

This is an example of turning the squeeze into real juice: making courageous choices, strengthening our rapport with our inner voice. Evolution is putting the squeeze on us to expand into the unknown — and we're being "fresh-pressed" as a collective. Where we'll end up is wholly new territory: something we co-create by yielding dried-up beliefs to the extraction process. The more energetically hydrated we are, the more enjoyable the ride, even when the heat is on.

Untying the "Nots"

"We learn the rope of life
By untying its knots."

~ Jean Toomer, novelist and poet

"Surrender, Dorothy!"

This is one of the more memorable lines from the movie classic, The Wizard of Oz, writ large across the sky by the Wicked Witch of the West.

Surrender is also one of the more misunderstood stages of the spiritual journey. It doesn't mean to give up or give in, but to open to something beyond; to acknowledge, honor, and allow the energy that moves through us free reign. It's about letting go of what you know, how it "ought" to be, what you think you should do now. Instead of relinquishing your freedom, I envision surrender as more of a "Yield Right of Way" sign. The one you're yielding to is your own higher Self. READ THE REST!

How to Become a Magnificent Manifester

"Start a huge foolish project, like Noah."

~ Rumi
What do a purple sweatshirt hanging from a tree branch, a loaf of freshly baked bread, a dead car engine on a stormy night, and a magical forest cabin have in common? They're just a few of the inspiring stories I frequently share about the role of synchronicity in our lives, and how learning to recognize it, embrace it, and nurture it can be the key to changing the way we live.

Carl Jung described synchronicity as "meaningful coincidence." One teammate defines it as, "Your file is open and on God's desk." It's about transforming the "efforting" in our lives into ease. Synchronicity happens when we're living in flow rather than in force. And its literal manifestation can be quite humorous. Once, when I was deeply into my own spiritual awakening, I had been imploring the universe, "I want to serve, show me how to serve!" Soon afterward, I received a summons for jury duty.

As we learn how to listen to the "still, small voice" inside us, wondrous events begin to transpire in our lives. One of my best manifestation stories involves finding a secluded mountain cabin to rent when I lived in New Mexico, by following a tapestry of meaningful messages leading me, literally, to the door. The string of synchronicities was so strong that, had I written the story as fiction, I imagine an editor would have rejected it as "too coincidental for readers to believe." But real life is always more amazing — and amusing — than anything we can invent. READ THE REST!

Defeat and Deliverance

On May 8th, I chronicled the first stages of my latest adventure, alluding to what happened once I arrived in Texas, just one night before Mercury Rx. Here's the backstory:

The camper van I'd just driven 1300 miles to purchase met pretty much every expectation, and appeared to be in excellent condition. I went to sleep in it that first night brimming with gratitude, both that I'd heeded the call and been willing to trek to Texas for my dream, and that Spirit had delivered on the promise. Most of all, I was grateful I'd allowed myself to receive the gift.

The following day I took her for a drive and started reading the manuals, intending to schedule a mechanic's check-up for Thursday. In addition to the oppressive heat, however, I was feeling increasingly frustrated and exhausted by the current owner's seemingly intractable attitude: how perfect the van was, all the money he'd spent fixing it up, how he used to be a mechanic and knew it was in excellent condition (true, he used to be a diesel mechanic, though he doesn't know camper vans ~ the response to every question I asked him about this van was, "Read the manual!"), how it was worth more than he was charging, etc. etc. Nonetheless, I wanted it, and knew once I bought it and left the area, this tussle would quickly fade.

The mechanic who examined the van's engine, etc. pronounced it in fine shape, except for some minor rust underneath, due to the 12 years it lived in a coastal town (which I hadn't known about beforehand). He didn't say it was a major concern. So I took it to the RV shop to check out the housekeeping functions (fridge, stove, sink, toilet, etc.), and while this guy also said it was basically in good shape, when I mentioned the rust he took a quick peek and said emphatically, out of the owner's hearing, "This is just a personal opinion, but as a lifelong mechanic, I wouldn't buy it."

Then I felt uncertain. Once alone, I drove back to the first mechanic and solicited more detail from him. While he reiterated that he felt the rust was superficial, when I pressed him as to whether he'd personally buy it, he said, "No."

I felt defeated. Yet I knew I'd committed to the journey regardless. Now what? On to the East coast? Back to CA where another van whose owner I'd been talking with for over a month finally had his vehicle spruced up and ready for view? I prayed for guidance and clarity.

At 9 pm, in the ladies' restroom of the restaurant where I stopped for dinner, I began spontaneously sharing this saga with a lovely woman who listened, nodded, agreed with my assessments, and refused to leave me when her friends came questing after her, until she'd received my entire tale. I knew she was the angel I'd asked for, and it was such a relief simply to have someone hold the space for me! Mercedes (amusing that her name is a luxury automobile, isn't it?) said she and her husband own an RV, and she knew a mobile mechanic. She pulled out her cell and asked if he'd do her a favor.

On Friday morning, Ramon came to the house and looked the van over, tested the engine, and examined the rust. He agreed it was superficial, and said, given the excellent condition of the vehicle overall, he'd definitely buy it. Then I felt delivered.

I became the joy-filled steward of the LiveYourLight mobile on Monday, May 11, 2009, and look forward to our many happy years together.

Surrender is an ongoing process. Lying in bed Thursday night, after I'd connected with my Earth angels but before I knew for certain what would transpire the next day, I understood that Spirit was asking me if I was ready to graduate to the next level of my life work. And there was a clear echo from 13 years earlier. When I lived in Santa Fe, NM during my awakening in the mid-90s (the same period during which this camper van was being created!), I manifested a wonderful mountain cabin by following a series of synchronous threads.

However, once I'd found it and the owner agreed to rent it to me, I began having doubts. The cabin had no plumbing. Could I haul water until she installed the promised well? Would living so far from civilization be a hardship? What if I needed help?

The next day she phoned and said she'd decided to rent it to a couple of guys down the road instead, who needed a place to live while they remodeled, and were accustomed to rustic living. I felt the same sense of "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" I described above.

That day in 1996, I went walking in the woods and implored Spirit, "Take this from me, take it!" I meant my resistance, my fear, all that blocked me from receiving my good. I then went to visit an area on the road to Wendy's cabin known colloquially as "the women's land". These women lived without running water or electricity, keeping their food cold in the stream and using kerosene lanterns to light their tipis and cabins. My heart full, I returned to Wendy's cabin without phoning, catching her fresh from an improvised shower.

She was very friendly, but firm: the cabin was going to the neighbors. Yet I was calm and centered. I said to her, "I KNOW something as wonderful as this is coming for me! Thank you." And I left.

The following morning she phoned, saying she'd reconsidered; she felt I'd probably take better care of her cabin than the guys down the road, and if I still wanted it, it was mine.

I knew I'd created that entire drama for my own growth, just as I created this one. I remain grateful to grasp the teachings in time to receive the gifts Spirit wants to bestow. And it's all a Gift.

May my adventures serve your own journey.

Many blessings,
Amara

Ultimate Surrender

Commitment precedes manifestation. I know this, and yet, sometimes it takes quite a while for my inner wisdom to prevail over monkey mind.

I've been questing a camper van in which to travel and serve for over 9 months now ~ yes, another birth process, and this baby's been overdue! Although I love northern California, it's been clear to me for some time that my service, which has been virtually-based for the past decade, is asking for a physical presence; while cyberspace is awesome (and I love connecting with people from all over the world!), bringing the activations to you directly adds a level of power and propulsion.

The day after I mentally committed to drive x-country, even if that meant taking my trusty but aged Toyota Corolla and tent camping all the way, the ideal vehicle showed up ~ in Texas. It was posted to Craig's List in San Francisco, however. Clearly, a spiritual test. I was the first to phone, the van seemed to meet all my specs, and I made plans to drive the 1300 miles (across the desert, no air conditioning) in 3 days.

As usual, the trip opened me in ways being stationary does not. While my body has rarely felt so abused, coursing through 100+ degree heat on almost no sleep or food, I simultaneously reaped numerous gifts, deepening my trust and surrender:

• Pulling into Ventura at 7 pm, timing my arrival as near as possible to receive a haircut from my former hair stylist (who is also a professional children's clown ~ and the one who shaved my head 6 years ago!), all avenues appeared blocked. Lucy had not shown up by 9 pm or returned my calls (turned out she got food poisoning that afternoon ~ and had left a note for me on her door, which I somehow failed to find). I also seemingly had no place to sleep. I remembered Lake Casitas near Ojai (about 12 miles away) and headed there, but couldn't find the turn-off where I'd thought it ought to be. Pulled into a gas station and went into the store to ask directions. There's my friend Phil working the counter. (When I lived in Ojai, he was doing graphic design and writing, but tough times prompted this temporary job.) For some reason (needing to catch up with Phil?) the Lake campground was closed, so Phil offered his couch, and I drove to his place, met his housemate, and prepared to get some shut-eye.

• En route to Phoenix, where I had a place to stay thanks to my departure-day Craig's post, requesting a bed or couch for the night, I stopped in a mini-mall just to get a break from the heat of the drive, and spied Wondercuts. Got my hair trimmed for the same price Lucy charges, and released another attachment: to a known hairdresser. Granted, my hairstyle's pretty easy to cut ~ and for someone who was once bald, it shouldn't have even been an issue :-) Interesting how attachments re-grow, like hair itself.

• On to Phoenix, which felt like the gift exchange it was: of the 3 people who responded to my post, Don was as eager for my visit as I was for a place to stay; he called me several times while I was en route to see what I like to eat, etc. I understood that he was lonely (his wife's been gone 4 years) and wanted to talk. I was blessed to be able to listen him into some healing around her passing, and he invited me to stay on as long as I wanted. I left in the morning, having made a new friend.

• Traveling on to El Paso, I affirmed, "I travel only in love. From now on, new avenues of connection for spiritual service open to me, as I travel and serve in my Live Your Light mobile. And so it is!"

I look forward to seeing you in person soon, as the LiveYourLight mobile travels in service across the U.S. I am also considering painting or decal-ing my logo on the van ~ if you have experience in doing this, and might be interested in an energy exchange, please get in touch!