Viral Love
She left her friends room at the hospice asking herself, what more can I do? What else would bring her friend joy? Then, in a flash she remembered a conversation they had when they were working on her dying friends will and, in jest, her friend had said “ Have Michael Buble sing to me”
That memory flash ignited something in her. She felt instant renewal. Could she do this? Could she somehow get Michael Buble to sing for her dying friend? Now that the fire was lit, nothing was going to stop her from trying.
As a master cultivator of relationships, Lee Horbachewski sent out her plea and an army of angels heralded in the form of tweets and posts and within 24 hours, the waves of requests met with Michael Buble who was an ocean away in Hong Kong. Michael Buble, before heading on stage to perform, recorded a lovely song for Sandra. If you weren’t a fan before, you will be now.
Lee and I sat on the balcony sipping champagne and taking in the nightlights of Vancouver, talking about the amazing accomplishment that had just taken place. While her thrill for Sandra receiving a serenade by Michael Buble was off the charts and, her appreciation for those that rallied around her request was deep, there was a somberness to it too.
There was the obvious, her friend is dying…
But, there was something else too…
Lee’s Facebook page was filled with people’s comments and appreciation of her. People were retweeting her like crazy and her mailbox was full with media wanting to interview her. Lee, a social media maven, checked her iphone irregularly, laid low on her media sites and was calm and low key .
She said to me, “I don’t want this to be about me. This is about Sandra.”
The appetite for this love story has been huge.
Why?
Is it because it was a public display of love that we all find so irresistible?
Is it because we were given the opportunity to rally around something and make the impossible, possible?
Is it because this made our own hopes and dreams come closer to actualization because we could now see how easily things can all come into place?
When big things occur easily and effortlessly that means that there is alignment. Alignment comes from being in truth and being pure of heart and when we act from there, we have entered into the realm of the miraculous.
This weekend Lee and I were at Louise Hay’s I Can Do It (fitting title don’t you think?) conference in Vancouver. As I am recalling some of the (many) conference highlights, I am thinking about how it inter-relates to the privilege of witnessing Lee being “Lee”.
Louise Hay in her 84 years of splendour said about death: “You always come at the right time and leave at the right time”. Lee has preferences. She would prefer her friend Sandra would stay on this earth. But, she trusts Divine timing and continues to drench Sandra in love on the path that Sandra has chosen for herself.
And then I recalled Wayne Dyer talking about the difference between motivation and inspiration. Motivation is where you relentlessly plough through the odds to create what needs to be created versus inspiration, where one is actually taken and offers no resistance to what wants to be created through them. I thought of Lee who was so clearly inspired and the army of angels that came also through inspiration.
Doreen Virtue said something about Life Purpose that had the ring of total clarity to me. She said we are all here to teach love. Every single one of us is here to teach love. HOW we teach it is our dharma. Sandra was the instrument and Lee the conductor (and Michael Buble, the singer) for a teaching in love.
And when Marianne Williamson said that miracles occur naturally in the presence of love, I looked at Lee sitting beside me and knew how she creates what she does. Lee loves deeply. In her immersion of love she wants your highest. She wants your song, your wisdom, your story to be heard and honoured and celebrated.
That is why the miracles occurs in Lee’s presence.
She is Love.
PS – read Lee’s post to capture her viewpoint and her thanks to Michael Buble
And CLICK HERE to watch Michael Buble’s video
Keys to the Rolls Royce
I’ve had a secret dream of interviewing some of the great delicious hearts and minds of our time. I have kept this dream to myself until two weeks ago, during a ThetaHealing session with my dear friend Sandra Jiggins, I said I want that dream to happen in March. I had no clue how I would do it, I just made that declaration.
Then, this weekend, I get a call from Harrison Klein (yes, THE Harrison Klein) inviting me to interview people on behalf of The Masters Gathering (yes, THE Masters Gathering). I said a big YES!
And he promptly set up an interview with Dr Sue Morter (yes, THE Dr Sue Morter)
Dr Sue??
I started to panic. Shouldn’t I start small, like interview the neighbour or the crazy cat lady? I mean really, am I ready to interview on behalf of The Masters Gathering?
I almost tried to talk Harrison out of having me do the interview. He wasn’t the least bit flustered by my panic, my nerves or my doubt. He just smiled and said “You’ll be great. Just be you”.
With his unwavering faith and a couple more phonecalls to friends who echoed Harrison’s confidence, I had my first interview. With Dr Sue Morter.
Interviewing Dr Sue as a first time interviewer is equivalent to a new driver being given the keys to the Rolls Royce.
It is an inconceivable decadence.
Unless, of course, you are in the realm of manifesting miracles 
And guess what Dr Sue teaches? Manifesting Miracles!
Now, there is some back story to this…
Just this week, I had three very attractive offers.
One was a corporate position offering me a six figure salary. Everything about it looked extremely appealing. But working out of the house when I am a single mom with three young ones doesn’t suit the lifestyle that I value. So ‘no’ became the answer. (In fact, the company was so impressed with my values clarity that they are looking at me to do some retreat work for them!)
The next offer was to work from home with a money printing machine. Well, not a real money printing machine but certainly equivalent to it with the type of income that could be derived from it. But the subtle voice inside said that it would take me too far off course from what I really wanted to put my energies into creating.
The third offer was going to give me high level exposure but again, the subtle voice spoke and while everything about the opportunity was inviting, there was something that told me that it was not the right fit for me.
I have been manifesting opportunities. I am actually pretty good at it. But more important, I am understanding discernment. Opportunities will always come. But do we know how to listen to the subtle voices that let us really know from our heart (not our head) whether something is the right fit or not.
I realized then that I am not committed to the dollar. I am not committed to the fame. I am committed to MY VIBRATION.
The moment I decided to release the third opportunity, the call came from Harrison.
Now THAT was a vibrational match.
It was in honouring my ‘no’ that the ‘YES’ could find me.
To my utter amazement, on my call with Dr Sue Morter, she spoke of the very same thing! It was about doing what is illogical because we are being led by higher governance. The heart is higher governing than the mind. In fact, according to Dr Sue, the mind’s job is to serve the heart.
And from that heart space, we step more richly into being our Divine qualities. And from our alignment with our Divine, we become a vibrational match to the miraculous.
Miracles are for the chosen. YOU are the chosen. For you are Divine.
Here is an audio of the interview. I know you will mine many gems from this. I am still vibrating from the experience and the teachings. She is a powerful teacher who will help you liberate into merging with the miraculous.
Oh Yes, in efforts to cut out the technical difficulties on the call (it happens when high vibing is at play), some bits of the audio is cut and spliced. Forgive the awkward bits but pay especially close attention to the technique that Dr Sue gives for us to push our giant re-set button to revise our templates and give us access to the realm of miracles.
Pillow Talk
I woke up on Valentines Day… Stretched my body in a slow cat-like motion and then curled right back in for a ‘few more minutes’.
It is heaven.
My new bed.
And my first sleep in my non-marital bed.
I had been sleeping on the same mattress that held the identities of the many facets of me for years.
I had tossed and turned as an overdue pregnant woman trying in vain to find a comfortable position.
I slept on my side for what felt like years with one of those babies nursing away while I watched them make snuffling nursing sounds and then fall asleep in a milk-drunken state.
I shared it with a virtual stranger, my husband… And felt the deep plunges of despair as I lay beside a man with whom I felt no connection with. I would weep silently wondering how I signed up for a life as unsatisfying as this.
And, after he left, I slept occasionally with the children in it, but I usually opted for the sofa.
I always felt that the lingering of his energy in that bed. And immersing in his residual energy was not appealing to me.
It’s funny, I never lament for him or what we were. I am so much happier now but still, it takes time for the energies to unravel, resolve and rest.
Our marriage ended on Valentine’s Day four years ago.
48 months later and only now have I fully felt the release of him in my space.
And while I have been resilient, and yes, even radiant as I move through my glorious life on my own, I now make a declaration to myself…
I am ready.
I Wanna Write a Book… Someday
Have you ever uttered those words?
Have you ever dared to think those words?
And…?
Where is your book?
I silently wished to be an author and then, I tepidly said those words out loud and then, YEARS later I did write and publish my book Thank You for Leaving Me. It wasn’t the book I thought I was going to write, but it was the book that needed to be written. And because it was the book that needed to be written, it came out rapidly.
Thrilled that the book has been received with great reviews, the real thrill though, the really big thrill, was actually having the courage to do it. It needn’t take you years… it needn’t be perfect. It just has to be real. Seriously, that is what sells… Truth.
It’s the hottest ticket in town. Truth is revealing, honest, vulnerable, powerful, courageous…and sexy. Truth is HOT!
Purrr…
Recently, Lee Horbachewski, a woman for whom I have great admiration for, decided she was going to write a book. Purposeful Life Lessons in 5 Days is not THE book, not the one that she has been formulating in her head for years, but a book that would silence every naysaying voice that had ever entered her head about writing a book.
Would you believe she wrote this e-book in 4 hours? In 4 hours she captured the essence of living a revealed, honest, inquisitive life. It comprises her past 5 days with honest reflections and real time understanding and revelations.
It’s like glimpsing into the dichotomy that everyone ‘on the path’ experiences and her courage to being naked with her discoveries is what appeals to me.
I see me in her. I see her in me. This is real connection. That is what a book is supposed to do. Lee did not sanitize the book by over-editing it, in fact, she did not edit in any way. She published her e-book ‘as is’.
As we all really are: As Is.
I think to myself, what would be more possible for me if I had more courage to be ‘As Is’.
I heard one time that perfection is an excuse for our procrastination.
I am certainly guilty of this. I have many projects that I am ‘almost’ ready with but hide behind the ‘right time’, the ‘right strategy’, the ‘right team’.
I am taking some inspiration from Lee and moving forward with longer strides in my steps and paying less attention to the figurative punctuation in my life and more attention on being fully expressed.
As Is.
Now, about that book of yours…
Digital Dieting – What do you Have to Lose?
I was on a Digital Diet for 21 days
And guess how much I lost?
Nothing. Not one thing!
I gained.
Because I was not in touch ‘out there’, I became more in touch ‘in here’.
The subtle knowings and lessons from Spirit seemed to be able to reach my usually chaotic mind. I deepened into an area of trust in my own life and effortlessly rolled with life’s events in a way that has even surprised me.
And because my time was not distracted by my iphone and computer, I had plenty of time to really listen to my children. To be really present with them. And the rewards have been staggering.
For a Christmas that was lean on gifts, a move that removed them from everyone they had ever really known, a nineteen hour bus ride because I had totalled our family car just 3 weeks prior and a 7 day delay on receiving our items from a less than ethical moving company, there had not been one complaint from them. Not once.
There was no whining, complaining or backlash. Come on… kids aged 10, 9 and 5 would certainly complain on a 19 hour bus ride wouldn’t they?
I now wonder if that is the potency of being 100% present in relationships.
I said to my mom, they look at me with such faith. They trust that I am doing the right thing for us, they trust that their needs will always be looked after and their desires will soon be looked after. They trust that I can do it… but most importantly they trust that they can do it.
They have adjusted to a new city, new home, new school all without complaint.
Perhaps presence is the answer to it all.
The Best Coaching Question – Ever!
I have been asked why I have changed my coaching sessions from 1hr sessions to just 20 minutes.
What I have noticed is that the juice and the plan is almost always revealed in the quick 20 minutes. The rest of the time is filled story. Who wants story anymore? Most of us are tired of our own but given the opportunity, we repeat it to any willing ear. Ugh!
The truth is, I am not a counselor, I am a coach… I believe in optimum results – quickly. And, while there is a place to peel the onion and find out why we have certain tendencies, sometimes I think those become disguises and excuses for us to continue our unsatisfying behavior.
There is only one question we ever need to ask ourselves:
“Who do I want to be with my situation?”
Go ahead, think about one area you want results in, and then ask yourself, “Who do I want to be with my (spouse, ex-spouse, child, idea, health, debt, doubt etc…). Notice the answer quickly come up, then, – DO IT….rather, BE IT!!
That’s it.
Really, that’s it.
I laughed when I saw this Bob Newhart video on a blog post Lynne MacQuarrie did for Beneath the Covers. It is a hilarious acidic version of my coaching. I’m not acidic. I’m cayenne baby! Spicy coaching… for those who want to play a big personal game.
Enjoy Bob Newhart below and remember, whatever you are doing that prevents you from living an amazing life, STOP IT!
The Ultimate Compliment
I train companies and individuals in public speaking and I always tell them that the ‘polish’ doesn’t really matter… oh sure, we spend a little time on it, but it does not really matter… The only thing that matters is making connection. Speak from the heart about something that means something to you and chances are, you’ll strike a chord with your audience. ‘Real’ always connects.
I’m Easy
Well, not THAT kind of easy … although, in my 20’s… sorry, I digress. Sigh…
Okay, for a long time now I have been noticing that we reward ‘all that is difficult’.
Like, “I studied hard for that exam” and, “It was a rough week” and, “I pulled an all nighter to get this project together for my client”. I am guilty of this. I have patted myself on the back many times for being able to push myself to ‘do the impossible’. I have loved the idea of always being busy – even though I complain about it. I have rewarded myself with the false belief that because I push myself, I must be doing something important.
But, the problem is, not only don’t I acknowledge my real skills because they come easy, I try to make them seem difficult because I have erroneously thought that it has more ‘honor’. For the record, I’m a great mom, friend, coach, writer, speaker, creative partner, strategic thinker, intuitive, leader, project manager and celebrationist (not sure if that is a word, but that is very much ‘me’). I am going to smile bright when I am in these activities because in truth, they come easy and joyfully for me. No need to make them seem tougher than they really are.
I, in ego driven moments, like to list my ‘story’. Single mom of 3 kids, no family in the city, self employed, uncollectable arrears blah, blah, blah. Yuck. It’s not to get anyone to feel sorry for me really, it’s for people to see how HARD I work and that it has all come together for me from my sheer force. Ugh! Is that egomaniacal or what??
Now I realize that when I get attracted to speaking about how ‘hard’ things are for me, I am only setting myself up for the future conversation of how I overcame it. I always know I will overcome so that is guaranteed. I am just setting up a conversation to make myself look good.
The truth is, things come together for me pretty easily – they always kinda have. God has always been good to me. I have about a gazillion friends and family members that love me and believe in me. They may not always understand or agree with my methodology, but they definitely cheer me on and support me.
Magical introductions, opportunities that seemingly drop from the sky and incredible people who show up wanting to help me are DAILY occurrences for me. Yes. Daily.
I am in truth, the luckiest person I know.
So, if you hear me singing any ‘country’ song about my broken truck and lost dog, flick me on the forehead, activate my third eye for me and remind me that the rumours are true… I am Easy.
Round 3 Realizations
I’ve had a gazillion realizations since the announcement of my non advancement to Round 3 in the Next Top Spiritual Author competition.
When I read that I had not advanced to Round 3 my brain had a bit of a hard time computing it (it was like I was reading a foreign language) but interestingly, my body, my emotions and my thoughts were all at peace.
In fact, while talking to my daughter (who was initially devastated) I said “it mustn’t be the right thing for us because if it was, it would have happened” , I realized I had quickly flipped into the mantra that has served me for these past few years – Everything happens for a reason and that reason is here to serve me. And the interesting thing I noted was that these were not just ‘good coaching words” to make my daughter or myself feel better. I actually believed them.
In fact, I was blown open in my heart space, so full of love for the Divine feeling that I was being so taken care of that I only felt waves of love and gratitude.
I learned a few things…
1. I have no regrets.
I have no regrets because I did my best and I felt proud of the work that I did. I learned a tremendous amount of things and my skill levels have catapulted as the result. I am so grateful to Robert Evans, James Twyman and Hampton Roads Publishing for putting together this opportunity for so many to come out and have their work be known.
2. I was in a ‘competition’ without competitors.
I have always known that business can be done in collaboration and that no one is truly in competition with another and if we all sing our song with abandon then those who want to hear it can find us.
3. I met incredible people.
People from around the world have supported me, shared with me their own personal stories and let me touch them in some way. What a compliment.
4. I experienced the power of being present.
I discovered that I was so present, so in the ‘now’ that there was no pain from not advancing…in fact, I was so present, all I could feel was joy. Immense joy. I think that Ekhart Tolle said something of that nature in his book. And yes, I am one of the few that has never read it.
5. My kids got something from it too.
I experienced and showed my children an example of being so surrendered to the Divine that I would cry tears of joy and gratitude for what only moments before my brain was registering as a loss. And my son warmed my heart when he gave me a kiss and said he was so proud of me.
6. I exhaled.
And crazy as it might seem, I was relieved. I actually believe in the self publishing model. And sure the prize money dedicated to marketing would help, but I am far too attached to freedom to want to lose the creative and licensing rights to my book.
It feels trite to try and capture the magnitude of joy I am feeling and to try and distil them into words but all I can tell you is…
If we live from the place of we are ALWAYS taken care of, there is no disappointment. We just know that all of Universe is conspiring for our highest good.
Next Top Spiritual Author Round 3
I Have Already Won
Midnight marked the end of the voting cycle for the Next Top Spiritual Author competition. In the final days I noticed that there was no panic… no rush to push through last minute voters. Oh sure, I continued to promote – that’s just being smart – but there was no panic in my promotion. No desperation in my requests. I was at peace.
The judges won’t make their announcement for a few days but, I knew I had done the best I knew how in terms of promotion and, I had already won in ways that were immeasurable. I have formed new friendships and alliances from would be ‘competitors’ and challenged the modern day thinking of competition vs collaboration.
Chris Cade subscribes to a greater way of being and a conscious way in which to do business. He created a collaborative team and, to my good fortune, he invited me to be a part of it. And in this collaboration, I experienced the utopia of what my heart believes in how business can be conducted.
I was late in submitting my book proposal for the competition because I felt ‘stuck’. Chris sent encouraging emails chipping away at my wall of fear. He even offered to talk to me from his trip in Bermuda to help me get over my barriers.
I had not set up my blog and they encouraged me to get one started ASAP. In fact, Thea Westra sent me information outlining why it was so important and then offered me no latitude in my excuses (and full access to her brilliance) – that is one helluva coach frankly!
Matt Welsh and Scott Brandon Hoffman, like me, were swirling with big events occurring in their personal lives but their continuous resilience and fortitude took away my excuses to ‘show up’.
It’s hard to play small when you are among such giants.
It will be a few days before the judges announce their selections for Round 3.
Winning is in the eye of the beholder.
And I am holding the blue ribbon.