Regardless of the opportunities that will abound in real estate and notes (see Part One) if we stay alert and nimble, the best-laid strategy cannot be implemented successfully by a frazzled mind.
We create our realities from the inside out. It’s hard to manifest anything desired without clarity, coherence and peace of mind.
By 2001, I had been circling my beloved note business for 5 years, but was consumed with raising a family and working as an RN. Plus, it can be scary and stressful to change. I valiantly discounted nudges that became louder and more insistent with each passing month.
By 2004, I was depressed and had arthritic conditions developing like you’d expect of someone much older than my 39-year-old self. Making some sort of quantum leap was more than an interesting economic opportunity… it had become an emergency.
On January 4, 2004, I awoke from the most vivid dream I have ever had. So vivid that to this day I can recall it in every detail as if it were last night, and the recall instantly makes my heart explode in love and joy…
Jesus pushed me over a cliff.
I found myself at the top of the Grand Canyon, inside a cage the size of a phone booth situated 10 yards from the edge of a cliff, and I was comfortable. The sky was crystal blue, the rock walls a radiant orange red, a warm breeze gently caressed my incarcerated flesh. Life was good.
Then I noticed Jesus standing behind me, smiling, full of mirth, a devious twinkle in his eye, like someone preparing to pull a prank on someone they love.
Without saying a word, he started pushing my cage quickly toward the edge of the cliff. I had no more than 2 seconds to decide if I was going to fall to my death inside a metal tomb, or trust the process and relax.
Just as I was tipping over the edge of the cliff, I laid back in blissful surrender and the cage fell through my body, leaving me floating in the air over the endless abyss. I was free. I looked at Jesus and he just nodded,
I knew you could do it.
And off I went, flying through the air in utter ecstasy. I awoke from the dream and immediately gave away all my nursing shifts and resigned, vowing that sink or swim, I was going to follow my passion.
I would not recommend that people follow in my footsteps. It was rash and created unnecessary suffering. Or was it just what I needed?
I guess we all have our paths. The all-or-nothing approach forced me into a head-on collision with every possible fear, insecurity and sense of inadequacy I could possibly imagine. I had to become a whole new person.
All’s well that ends well, but despite the divine stamp of approval I felt I had been given, by early Autumn of that year when I hadn’t yet replaced my 6-figure income (unrealistic expectations much?) I was crippled by fear, experiencing multiple panic attacks daily, and developed sciatic pain that prevented me from running. I was a mess.
Finally, I said to myself,
“I may never make another dime in my life, but more than anything else in this world, I want peace of mind.”
That became my only quest. Good things usually just come down to the basics:
- I ate right and drank lots of good, pure water
- I tried to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night
- I started swimming, letting the water buoy my spirit as well as my body, counting laps by letters of the Hebrew alphabet
- I spent time in nature, put my feet in the grass, soaked in the sun
- I read uplifting books, including various sacred texts
- I prayed humbly and earnestly on my knees, day and night
- I journaled like my life depended on it, affirming how I wanted my life to be in every detail, trying to feel as if it were already so
- I gave thanks and appreciation for all the gifts in my life, listed all the things I was grateful for every day
I started to meditate... wow, what a joke that was. My mind was so frantic and distracted, but I stuck with it until I could consistently experience a deep and blessed peace for at least 30 minutes a day, successfully able to identify with a Presence that existed somewhere beyond my personality and current circumstances.
This newfound consciousness was the rock upon which I began to build my house. I began to see the story of Jesus and the anxious disciples on the angry Sea of Galilee as a metaphor for my mind. “Master, carest thou not that we perish?”
When battered by wild waves of erratic thought, we can awaken the Christ within so it can take it’s rightful place at the helm and command,
“Peace, be still.”
Only when our minds are quiet can we hear that still, small voice, our intuition, our inner guidance. With inner peace, our logical mind can prevail and stay vigilant against the erosion of freedom.
We don’t want to be tempted to trade our liberties for a false sense of security provided by the state or pharmaceutical companies. Sadly, that’s what we do when we’re consumed with fear…
“We don’t care if you take away our God-given rights, just save us!!”
Without inner turmoil, we are able to discern the thread of truth within the chaos and disinformation assaulting us from every side. At a time when we can’t always trust what we read, hear or see (so much can be manipulated with current technologies), discernment from the inside out is critical.
We’ll never get the whole road laid out in front of us, like a shiny yellow brick road. We only get the next right step. We’re both discovering and co-creating it as we go. There’s so much we can do to create solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another as we share this wild ride together if we keep our wits about us.
So while we’re obsessed with pandemics, let’s consider blindsiding the world with a White Swan Pandemic of Peace.