Awakening to the Mystical: 150 days of Inspired Transformation

I’ve mentioned several times within this blog that I graduated with my Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from a school called the University of Santa Monica.  One of the concepts that is taught at USM is a concept called spiritual ecology. Spiritual ecology is the practice of reviewing all of your commitments and discarding any commitments that no longer serve.  At the same time, the practice calls for recommitting and/or reevaluating any commitments you plan on keeping.  My teachers always advised us to be realistic about our commitments for it is far better to under commit and complete what you have committed to then to overcommit and to leave it undone.   This practice, both supports and highlights a quality which is essential to any spiritual practice—the quality of integrity.  The heart of integrity emphasizes honesty and keeping one’s word.  In the spirit of that, I feel that I must be completely transparent in writing this blog.  I committ...

Sixteen months ago, I wrote what I thought would be the beginning of a whole new phase for this blog.  After I wrote it, though, a funny thing happened—everything that could go wrong went wrong.   Of course, I’ve been walking a conscious, intentional spiritual path long enough to know that these types of things happen for all kinds of reasons— most of which have to do with a call to inner growth .  The woman sitting here today writing this blog entry is not the same woman that wrote the entry in November 2023.  The adversity that I’ve experienced since the last blog entry has changed me;  it’s made me a better person— more resilient, more open to the possibilities encompassed by the spiritual pursuit of excellence.   For years now, I’ve been studying metaphysics, spiritual psychology, and many other genres of spirituality.  I have left no stone unturned in my quest for spiritual understanding.   As I wrote in the very first entry of this blog back...

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve completed a blog entry. The project is working beyond a shadow of a doubt although to the naked eye, my world looks a touch on the chaotic side. The practice itself was suspended on September 15 when I was illegally kicked out of the sober living where I was residing, and  the last 6 1/2 weeks have been an exercise instead of listening to my intuition, following all divine guidance, practicing gratitude for everything, and yielding to the Will of the Divine.  Several years ago in 2010, I went to see a psychic who told me that she was getting an image that communicated that I was sitting inside the eye of the storm similar to a tornado.  She said, although it appeared that everything was swirling and crumbling around me, I was completely safe within the eye of the storm.  She said that I had done so much work in the spiritual realm that the physical world was having a hard time keeping up but I was right on course.  She also to...

Today is Day 102.   There are only 48 days left in the most extraordinary project that I have ever experienced.  This is not the first project that I have designed for myself.  There have been many.  My intention with all of them has been to raise my level of consciousness and to restore peace and harmony to my life.  This one has by far been the most miraculous.  In 2010, my mother was diagnosed with cancer; it was an incredibly challenging time in my life as well as a profound crucible put before me by God.  I was suffering intensely although to the casual observer, it probably didn't appear that way.  Above all, I wanted to stay conscious and present for her so I designed a project.  Upon it's completion, I named it the Joy Quest and began a blog similar to this one, although, in the wake of her death, it never reached completion.    The project consisted of a 90 day challenge in Bikram Yoga which I completed in 110 days, 30...

In 2003, I was completely immersed in the work of Tony Robbins, the motivational speaker.  I completed his Mastery University that year and went through his Leadership Academy.  I lived and breathed his work.  I began to listen to his "Get the Edge" program and, more specifically, to his Daily Magic exercise which was the last CD in the series.  In his Daily Magic program, he teaches something he calls incantations which is 15 to 60 minutes of gratitude, affirmations and visualization.  It is magnificent!!  I will always be grateful to him for changing my life in the many different ways that he has including through his incantations practice. I began using his Daily Magic back then to visualize everything that I wanted for my life as well as to practice gratitude for everything that I already had.  Although I've changed the soundtrack a bit here and there over the years, I've basically been practicing it ever since.   That practice has walked...

A couple weeks ago, I woke up with the most excruciating pain in my upper back between my shoulder blade and my spine.  It literally felt like someone was driving a knife through my back.  And the worst part of it is that the pain radiates down my arm into my elbow making it impossible to move without pain.  I now have one sleeping position, (flat on my back), and it's not the way that I normally sleep--not comfortably anyway.  It's the only thing that relieves the pain, though.   I did see a chiropractor who said he felt like it was a pinched nerve which makes sense, but I know too much to accept that simple explanation.   About 10 years ago, I woke up with hip pain that was so bad that I ended up dragging myself and my leg out of my Bikram Yoga class.  I have only left the room twice in my yoga practice, but the pain was so bad I had to leave.  The gift of that experience was that it introduced me to the work of Dr. John Sarno and his ...