A Halloween sign, from a shop in Northern London. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the latest challenges was the October Nor’easter that swept through New England last weekend. I (Peg) happened to be in NYC and was caught off-guard. Following a gorgeous late October Friday, the wet and heavy snow felt a bit surreal as we were suddenly plunged into winter. Sloshing through city streets with umbrellas blowing and wearing shoes instead of boots was not fun. The next day was gorgeous again: a clear blue and sun glistening through foliage. As we traveled north, however, a different picture emerged. Abandoned cars on snowy roadways and fallen trees soon gave way to long gas lines that reminded me of the 1970’s energy crisis. We knew something more had happened. Power was out throughout parts of NY, CT, MA and NH. Luckily we were able to fill the gas tank just when we needed it.

We arrived home to no power and an hour’s light left. Since our town felt like a war zone with extensive damage to trees and power lines, we decided to pack our bags for a Tuesday trip to CA and head further north where things were operating fine. I spent Monday with a client near the NH seacoast. By mid-day the snow had melted and everyone was preparing for Halloween. Simultaneously, Halloween was quickly being rescheduled in areas hard hit by the storm. Very early Tuesday morning we traveled back home and emptied our refrigerator by flashlight. Three days without power were beginning to take its toll on the refrigerator. Later in the day we arrived in San Diego, a world apart from the one we left behind, where five days later the power remains out in many areas. Along the way, our connecting flight was cancelled due to a maintenance issue. The two-hour delay gave us time to slow down, enjoy a meal and people-watch in Phoenix.

It’s been a whirlwind week with many experiences of energy extremes: calm vs. stormy weather, cool vs. warm temperatures, East vs. West coast, city energy vs. country vs. seacoast, the generosity of friends and neighbors, and more. I used much of the time to observe and study energy …energy of the environment, the weather, people, and people’s reactions to events, as well as my own feelings and reactions to the circumstances and events around me. I consciously pulled my energy in while riding the NYC subway and allowed it to expand and soak up the energy of the NH seacoast as well as the coastline of southern CA. I was grateful to one neighbor for clearing our driveway of fallen tree branches before we returned home on Sunday and for another driving us to the airport Tuesday morning. I was also grateful that we found gas exactly when we needed it on our return trip from NYC and to the airline customer service rep for rescheduling us on the next flight to San Diego after the cancelled flight. We were delighted to find our luggage waiting for us when we arrived and now look forward to visiting our West Coast family and friends.

We are clearly living through changing times. An effective response is to be flexible and adaptable. Know that plans may change at any time. Be open to the unexpected and maintain a sense of curiosity about what it may bring. Notice your reactions and feelings. If you find yourself getting tense or feeling stressed, breathe. Take a step back, reflect about what is going on and more importantly, notice your reaction to what is occurring. You may not be able to change what is happening, but you are in charge of your reaction to it. Use these changing times to practice going with the flow. Be flexible, kind, compassionate, and patient. Adapt to each situation at hand based on what is happening in the moment. You may find it’s an easier way to live.

The I Ching, the oldest book of China, of the Book of Change gives us some guidance regarding this approach.  The I Ching is an observation of human behavior and the constantly changing structure of the universe.  It is about the way things are at the moment and the way that they tend to change and transform themselves.  A basic premise is that there are no isolated actions.  Every action has a reaction and every thing affects every other thingin a synchronistic manner.  The observation of patterns in nature can help us adopt an attitude of flow in order to move more gracefully, consciously and purposefully through change and challenging times.

 Sixty-four different life situations (also called hexagrams) are highlighted in the I Ching.  The first of these is called The Creative.  It is about how worthwhile goals will meet with success.  When you use your inspiration, energy, will and personal strength — your Creative Power —  you can catapult yourself into new situations and use your opportunities to your best advantage.  The Creative is a time when personal growth is accelerated.  You focus and become aware of the situations around you. You learn when to act and when not to act.  It is a time when people may look to you for leadership.  You act for your highest good and you meet with success.

 You can make room for the energy referred to as The Creativeto develop within you and learn to live more from this place rather than being in a combative relationship with life and its stress.

 How? More on this tomorrow!

To start—yesterday I had a strong urge to go shopping —not the norm for me! I had other things that I should have been doing but the pull was very strong to pop down the street and see if I could make a dent in the long list I still had for Christmas gift buying. I did not recognize it at the time but my INTUITION was in gear!

Another thing that was going on with me was a kind of flow inside —this is a process that happens in a variety of circumstances for me, but this time I was not orchestrating it. I was merely thinking about the people I love, how much I enjoy finding and giving just the right present –one that fits who they are and brings them happiness and enjoyment. I was feeling how good that all felt and not the stress of an incomplete list.  The feeling I am describing has a kind of wholeness to it, a seamless sense of ease and being in the moment –simply feeling good…. FLOW is the word that best describes what I am speaking about here.

So when I arrived at the department store I was very much in this state of flow and not worried about what I was not getting done elsewhere or even about my list as a “challenge to be conquered” (it was a long and complex list!).

I entered the store and the synchronicity/serendipity kicked in! I think I may have been in a somewhat altered state (which can be part of this state of flow) as everything took on sharpness and a clarity that is not the norm for this place. Before I could even get a cart things started to pop out at me off the shelves and racks that were just perfect for each and every person…..not multiple things to choose from—simply the one perfect gift for each one.  I moved through the store easily, shrinking my list to nothing and arriving at the checkout counter with NO LINE and a clerk efficiently waiting to help! The whole experience took one hour!! And as I said my list was long and not without its complexity!

This experience stands out for several reasons.

1. I have had exactly the opposite feelings and experiences. When I have been tired, cranky, stressed or feeling that the shopping was a burden for whatever reason —I find nothing and leave feeling even more frustrated than when I began!
2.  I did not intentionally set out to have all go well or perfectly—I was in more of a curious state as to whether I might possibly find a couple things to whittle the list down just a bit. I had no expectations, no sense of control or struggle regarding outcomes. (Intention is certainly not bad and is often helpful but it can also set us up for stress if not engaged in properly.)
3. Three important qualities that tend to be embodied (and perhaps are even necessary) in synchronous events were present—effortlessly.

The three qualities: intuition, flow, and support of our needs.

I will let you know after Christmas if those gifts indeed are the perfect ones when they are seen by different eyes!! I would love to hear your stories of synchronicity and creating on purpose if you’d like to share them in the comments section! What do you notice when you have serendipity make an appearance in your life?

From The Institute of Noetic Sciences

“Recent discoveries have shown that the heart generates a mysterious and powerful electromagnetic field. In this video, Rollin McCraty, Ph.D, Executive VP and Director of Research for the Institute of HeartMath, explores the scientific basis for understanding the ways in which we are deeply connected with each other.”

http://oneminuteshift.com/videos/rollin_mccraty_video/science_of_the_heart

 As I tuned in to everything around me, it felt great.  The air was clear, the sky was blue and the foliage was just beginning to emerge.  I was enjoying the drive. I was also enjoying the messages that were simply appearing as well as the order in which they were coming.  “OM” reminded me of the importance to to tune into our inner voice regularly.  The “Just Married” sign brought up thoughts of joy and love.  The happy dogs in the back seat of the car brought a smile to my face.

On my return home I took a side trip to one of my favorite rock and crystal shops.  At one point I happened to be directly behind a school bus on a back road.  It was a great reminder to pay attention, go slow and enjoy the scenery.  At one stop, three young girls ran off the bus and into their front yard. One of the girls scooped up her little white dog, who was almost as big as she was.  The dog’s tail was wagging endlessly,  she was so happy to see the little girl.  Again, it brought a smile to my face.  It was another reminder to simply tune in and pay attention to the small things.

 As I was nearing the end of my journey for the day, another car passed with the license plate PEACE.  How nice.

 So many gifts come to us daily.  Messages are all around us.  We notice them when we slow down and tune in.

My Dad is 88 y.o. and in a nursing home as he requires 24/7 skilled nursing care. My Mom is about to turn 90 and until recently lived in her own home. It has become obvious that we (my brother and I) need to make some different living arrangements for them in order to take care of their changing needs. The problem: they each have complex needs that are hard (read impossible!) to accommodate and make all the various aspects work.

After becoming a self made expert in elder services and senior facilities in the state of NH, I had reached an impasse of monumental proportions—in my mind! At that point I remembered what I teach! I went into a meditation, straightened out my energy(this took awhile!), found my lost inner peace and when I had recharged my worn out core energies and felt coherence set in, I released an intention that a living situation that met all the needs to be brought to me. I need to underline that previous practice and experience REALLY came through and helped me reach peace and coherence in spite of the stress ball that my conscious mind had created through all this. 

Anyway, four days went by and I called the only option on my list figuring it was that or nothing. We would have to come up with an elaborate plan to make it all work. Once I got the administrator at that facility on the phone, she kindly told me that she was closing at the end of this month as she was retiring!!! ARGGGHHH….back to the dry, empty and frustrating drawing board! THEN, she said she could refer me to a place that may work. Fat chance I thought, since I knew all there was to know about senior care in the area. HA! Was I surprised when she told me about a brand new place that is opening Sept. 1st. I went and saw the place and it is like a dream come true….it is better than I could have imagined in every possible way! In just two days we toured, chose an apartment and my mother was taking us to dinner to celebrate having a beautiful new place to live that can take care of her present and future needs very nicely, as well as enable her to continue daily visits with my Dad and to be close to both her children.

An equally astonishing piece of this story is that the finances to allow my mother to live out her years in a safe and healthy environment with her family around her appeared quite unexpectedly, from a direction that none of us would ever have imagined and it arrived exactly on the day needed to allow all this to come together and be made a reality.

If I ever doubted that energy works, this would be the last of my doubts!

Forming an intention with your conscious mind, entering an altered state where you simply work at becoming coherent and peaceful and then releasing the intention at the end of the meditation was something I had been practicing already with good results. Applying it to my real life was a little slow in coming this time as my conscious mind really believed this was a computer, telephone and visiting search. Once I put the process in place it became easy, quick and had definitely had the makings of a miracle in my mind.

Somehow the phrase “Physician heal thyself “seems appropriate here! What is also appropriate is the reminder to use the tools (On Everything!), practice and combine the elements in the way that we have been taught that works.

As I was watching the dogs, a car came into view.  The car slowed as it went by the dogs.  then a truck came along in the opposite direction and passed me.  As the car came closer, the driver stopped and we chatted. It was a neighbor I had met a few days ago.  He asked if I brought 2 dogs along today.  I told him “no” and said I was hoping they might be his dogs.  We continued chatting while I also kept my eyes on the dogs.  By the time we said our goodbyes, I decided to continue along.  By that time the dogs had disppeared down a driveway and were out of sight.

 Although this may seem like nothing to many people, the sight of the loose dogs running around surfaced my fear of dogs.  Although I’ve done release work around it, I know that my hestitation about the dogs today means that my fear still exists.  While I was determining what to do, the Universe responded.  The car and the truck gave me some time to consider the situation and to decide what to do.  I could have turned back and taken a different route or take a chance and continue along.  Once I decided to continue along, the situation resolved itself.  The dogs disappeared. I expressed gratitude and tapped my collarbone a few times.  Later,  I  grounded my energy as I continued along.

I am particularly tuned to my surroudings when I am out for a walk.  Usually I notice the ground all around me, I study the sky (which was gorgeous today), listen to the birds and other assorted animals, notice subtle changes in the neighborhood, sort out my activities for the day and set some intentions.  Unfamiliar dogs running loose, however, do stir up a deeply seated fear of being bitten.  (It actually happened one day, many years ago.)  Now that is has surfaced again, I’ll actively continue to release it.

By the way, I never saw the dogs for the remainder of my walk. I did notice a beautiful butterfly moving right along with me.  It reminded me of the bird that acted as a guide in the The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe film. 

I know that fear is not real but it feels so real every time it shows up.  Fear is irrational and it surfaces to be released and to be transformed.  It’s a continual reminder of work waiting to be done.

 Pay attention to your language and your self talk.  Notice what shows up in your life.  Notice if there is a connection between the two. There are no coincidences but synchronicity abounds.  Notice it and flow with it.  It’ll lead you further along your path and it’s much easier than trying to “make” things happen.

Peg