Time is flying forward, Mars was going backwards. We’ve all had time to strengthen our “wings.”

Fall is just around the corner and summer’s passing is taking me by surprise.  It’s been a very busy time with time speeding by, yet when I look back, it seems like June was a very long time ago. Just another indicator I suppose, of the time acceleration going on for our planet and the illusory nature of 3D time.

Mars and Mercury were retrograde most of the summer and there were 3 powerful eclipses.  Whether this was challenging or growth-producing or both depends on how we work with these energies.  Both Mars and Mercury retrogrades suggest a wonderful time to go within, a powerful time to bring up old out-moded patterns to heal at a deeper level, and to prepare to soar higher now that these planets have turned direct.  The timing for me worked perfectly.

Many of you know that I’ve been working on a third book.  It came to me in a flash 2 years ago while at our annual 2-week ocean retreat. (Or ‘re-cation’ as my husband insists we call it in order to not cancel out the vacation part.)  I had no conscious intention to start writing it but it came anyway as I sat at the bedroom desk in front of the window just a hair’s breath from the sea.  Maybe it was the rolling and crashing of the waves that loosened my psyche and maybe it was the inner quiet which comes from ‘nothing I have to do’ that allowed my Spirit to speak more loudly and clearly to me. Whatever it was, this book has been rolling out, ebbing and flowing like the ocean, and bringing me to a whole new level of growth which really culminated this summer.

I am about to send in a resubmission to Inner Traditions publishing in hopes that they will decide to publish this book.  The “re” is a long story, but what is most relevant here is the latest part of my process which I hope in sharing will inspire you as well.

For many months I metaphorically banged my head against the wall trying to decide what I should do about this book.  It’s close to done, so I knew I would finish it, but the idea of writing another proposal and adding some things that needed to be added felt daunting.  I have just turned 72.  I have done a lot in my life and believe I have served the planet well.  I tried to convince myself that I didn’t have to do much more, that it wasn’t necessary to step anything up:  I could always just put the book on kindle and let it be found by whoever might benefit, indulging my inner slacker in the process.

But this book wanted more notice, and would not let me be.  Cognitively, I felt concerned that if I did not step it up in this lifetime, if I did not put in the effort and take a chance to increase my influence  in the world that my soul would not have completed its mission.  Emotionally I felt no energy to write the proposal, and anyway I was doing a lot of other things including teaching many of the insights coming through in this book.  So for Summer Solstice, with the intent of solving this internal dilemma, I came up with these questions to journal on.

“If I knew 100% that I did not have to get out in a bigger way into the world or get this book published in order to fulfill my spiritual contract, what would I really want to do?” and “What does it mean to me if I don’t manifest my soul’s highest potential in this lifetime?”  Surprisingly, the most significant insight I got was that the soul contract piece was not the most relevant, but if I want vibrancy and growth in my life, I had to do this.  That was all I needed: no way was I going to avoid vibrancy and growth.  Once the decision was made, everything else flowed together with ease.  If Inner Traditions accepts the book, that will be wonderful.  If not, I know in my heart it was the very best thing for me to do.  I’ll grieve and then move on to find other ways to help it grow in the world.

There’s another piece of growth that has occurred as well that feels equally important.  I have begun to identify small ways I have held myself back out of self-consciousness and a desire to avoid feeling vulnerable.  I was afraid to do videos to promote my work because of how I might look or sound publicly.  I was hesitant to do certain types of networking because I might be taking up too much of people’s time.  I didn’t like the feeling of vulnerability and so I would reflexively avoid it.  Avoiding it however, created a sense of being stuck, of not making my full contribution.  As I’ve gone through this summer’s venture, this has all disappeared.  Once I made an inner commitment to not care if I feel vulnerable, I find if I start to go back to the old avoidance pattern, I can remind myself I am fine if I feel scared or unsure, and then I just do it anyway.  By stepping it up and facing any fear of feeling shame, something profound has shifted, and I’m feeling remarkably free in areas that I had not before!

I’ve now made some promotional videos which soon will be on YouTube promoting the new options and special discount for my online Empowering the Spirit course. (See more information below) They turned out pretty good for a first try.  But given the shift I felt inside this summer, I would have kept doing them no matter what.

I am also going to be offering a free FaceBook Live preview for this course on Tuesday, September 25th at 6:00 EDT.  It’s another form of video and because it is live, there is plenty of opportunity for interaction.  I’d love it if you would all tune in. Go to my Empowering the Spirit page on FaceBook and be sure to ‘like’ it to automatically be notified.

I will be starting my Sunday Courses to Ease Your Way phone courses again on November 11th (lots of travel between now and then), and plan to offer at least one or two new ones.  “Owning and Integrating Our Shadow Parts” is definitely on the list of new offerings..

We’re getting ready to head off for another beach “re-cation,” and I’m curious as always about what magic might pop up for me this year.

Wishing you all vibrancy and growth and, of course, joy in your life.