Day 21 - The Light of Possibility

Following your intuition is talked about on Day 21 as well as trusting that there are new possibilities out there.

For the cleansing ritual I was asked to finish this sentence (not think, just write):

"My soul's purpose is..."

and this is what I wrote:

My soul's purpose is to love and create.

Wow! I think I can manage that - after all I have the rest of my life!

Debbie left me with 21 wonderful rules to follow, here are just a few:

1.Upon waking every morning, breathe deeply and ask to be reminded of why you are here and what your deepest desire is for the day.

2. Choose the level of consciousness that you want to explore today. Then write down three choices you can make that will ensure that your access this state.

... I will put many of her rules into practice simply because they bring me joy and clarity.

This marks the end of my 21-day consciousness cleanse - Thanks to everyone who took snippets of this journey along with me! Peace, joy and creative wishes to all of you! Stephxxxooo

Day 20 - The Light of Compassion

Today's focus is compassion - taking the greater, more compassionate view of any situation.

In the cleansing exercises Debbie asked that I imagine that there is a divine story of my life waiting to be revealed and I that I write it down. Here is what came out:

The divine story of my life is the story of a woman whose heart overflows with compassion. She is a woman who must overcome the pull of material things and balance compassion at home with compassion abroad. Also, she must develop and nurture a focus on her soul's desires lest she be hooked into the unimportant details of life. She watches her children become more independant and soon will choose a new path of compassionate work. All the while dedicating her life to self care and the care of the world's children.

When I read this now, I am surprised at how simple, yet, accurate this description is - not necessarily how the world sees me, but rather how I would hope to see myself.

Day 19 - The Light of Purpose

What is to be your contribution to the world? What is your soul's legacy?
Are there any bigger questions you could ask yourself?
Debbie writes:
"Although you may feel overwhelmed or depressed by this conversation, I think it's imperative, if you are to find and live your soul's purpose, to thoroughly examine the legacy you hope to leave behind."
Well, I was overwhelmed and instead of feeling depressed I stuck my head in the unconscious sand for a few days. The funny thing is, that the longer I put off blogging about Day 19 the clearer I became on my view of a legacy.
I have always felt that I was meant to do something great - like my heart could work miracles if only it were free of my constricting body and limiting mind. For years I asked myself what is it I'm meant to do? How will I change the world for the better?
All my longing made me very unhappy and that is when I realized that I am here to do little things of value with great joy rather than great things of value without joy. Now, I try to live every moment with as much joy as possible and whatever legacy or ripple this leaves in this world that is the legacy of my soul.

Day 18 - The Light of Transcendence

Day 18 was all about trancending the "I" and acting with awareness of the "we". In other words, I am not alone but connected to all life forms and energy.

This is a no brainer for me - I believe this very firmly (as much as I may want to separate myself from the crazy nazi hailing man on the 95 bus, I realize we are all in this together!)

Today's ritual had me look at all the places in which I am still trying to do it alone and then see if I could ask someone for help or guidance. I totally burst out laughing when I realized - I don't do anything alone!

parenting - with Pat

writing - have a great critique group, endless writers help books, workshops...

coaching - with Lisa, Lindsay

yoga - with Claudia

spiritual seeking - continuously hang out with Debbie Ford, Wayne Dyer, Cheryl Richardson, Louise Hay...

Conclusion - there is not one area of my life that I have not enlisted help! So, here's a big shout out to all the wonderful influences and guides in my life!!

Day 17 - The Light of Devotion

Day 17's focus was devoting myself to a daily/weekly practice that will connect me to my soul and shift my priorities from an outer-driven life to an inner-driven life.

For the cleansing ritual Debbie asked me to make a list of things I have been devoted to that no longer serve me. Here are a few that I wrote:

- procrastination/rituals which keep me from writing

- complaining (oh boy, am I committed to this one at times!)

- holding grudges

- the computer/email/my blog (ooops!)

Then I was asked to create my own devotional practice that will serve my higher good. Here's the plan:

am - stretch, breath, meditate

- evaluate my internal flame

- choose a focus and mantra for the day

noon - sit and breath after lunch, recall my mantra

- keep my business hours for writing (min. 2 hrs everyday)

pm - look over my vision board, breath and say aloud my soul's desires

- read over my contracts from Day 14

- forgive immediately

- plan adventure/joy once per week

- laugh/smile

Day 16 - the Light of God's Will

Well, as you may have noticed I've been dragging my feet for this day. All Debbie's God talk sets off little alarm bells in my head sort-0f-like if she had showed up at my door with a bible!
For Day 16 Debbie writes:
"God's will can become your internal reference point from this day forward; it is your choice - God's will or your ego's will."
I understand that my ego is insatiable and if I follow its advice I could end up an unhappy shop-a-holic or write-a-holic, or enlightenment-a-holic!
But I don't think it neccessary to pit my ego against my spirit. Makes me think of the good-angel-on-one-shoulder and bad-angel-on-the-other kind of thing.
That being said, I did agree with the following:
- I have something to contribute
- my ego can get in the way or it can serve to keep my on track
- I am supported by something greater than myself
- I must listen to my soul/spirit to know which direction is best for my journey
- there are no mistakes - just interesting/sometimes painful detours

Day 15 - The Light of Realization

On Day 15 I was asked to "realize" that all levels of consciousness are open to me at all times. Meaning - If I'm unhappy, sick, or distressed I can chose a different thought, outlook, feeling, or behavior which intern, will put me on a different level of consciousness.

But what if I get stuck at say, a very low frequency, how do I pull myself out of a negative funk, or a I-can't-believe-they-pulled-out-every-last-kleenex rampage?

Which leads to today's cleansing ritual -

1. Pick 3 sacred and holy frequencies for the foundation of my future.

I picked a) Abundance (for the girl whose ego wants and wants...) b) Open-mindedness (to keep the forgiving and unhooking from my kids business going c) Joy (to free my laughter and encourage adventure)

2. Gather images, prayers, poems, and songs to remind me, inspire me, and evoke my holy frequencies.

For this I gathered a few poems, affirmations, and wrote down a few songs. Then, just for fun, I thought I'd put together a little slide show of the people I love and all that I've been blessed with (to watch when I feel trapped or like I'm missing something). I added the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". When I checked out my handiwork, I'm telling you, I bawled like a little baby!! I had no idea it was going to affect me so powerfully. I highly recommend this exercise to anyone who ever feels their life is lacking!