INNERVENTION R

MAGNIFICENT ME?!

Who says you have to go to an ashram to begin your spiritual journey? My spiritual journey began in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

It was July 2008; I was at an emotional bottom, and I didn’t know who I was. I wanted to get away, so I hit the road to spend the weekend with family in Rhinelander.

While there, I sat chatting with my favorite aunt Nancy; she told me she was going through a divorce but had this great sense of inner peace. I thought to myself, I want that. I asked her how she was able to be so peaceful while experiencing such a difficult time.

She said, “You won’t believe it. I met this psychic named Wanda, and she changed my life. Now you know I don’t believe in any of that stuff, but she’s real.” I sat and listened as she went on to tell me all about her experiences with Wanda. I thought, Maybe she could help me. At that time, I was 27, had a successful career in the restaurant business, a beautiful home, and an amazing daughter, but I wasn’t happy.

I had a series of failed relationships and was having trouble coping with my past. When I was 9, my parents divorced. I grew up quickly since I found myself having to be responsible for the adults in my life who were not responsible. At 15, I moved out on my own. Then two months before my high school graduation, my father committed suicide. I was having some trouble sorting out how to release some of the feelings of anger, distrust, and sorrow I had about his death and my childhood. I knew what was wrong with me, but I didn’t know how to fix it. Over the years, I had been to a couple of traditional counselors, but I needed something on a deeper level.

I remembered my aunt telling me a psychic had changed her life. But to me, psychics were like Ms. Cleo, frauds and phonies. But at this point I had no choice. I made the hourlong trip north to meet Wanda. I hoped desperately she would be able to help me.

I arrived at the bookstore where Wanda greeted me with a smile and led me into her reading room. We sat down at a small circular card table and Wanda started laying out my cards. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I braced myself for what the cards were going to reveal.

When she was done, she looked at me and said, “You have been looking for love all your life, but what you don’t realize is that you are love.” I started to cry. Then she said, “Up until this point in your life, if you could write a book about your life and it was for sale in a bookstore, would you buy it?”

Feeling the pain of my past, I shook my head no. The funny thing was that I had always told people I could write a book about my life and it would be a best seller, but now I realized my book would be all lies.

Wanda said, “What if today you could clean the slate and start a brand new life? What would that look like?” I didn’t know exactly what that looked like, but all of a sudden I was excited. I realized I didn’t have to feel bad anymore about my past. It was all behind me now.

She told me to grieve the old me by saying to her, “I love you and all is okay.” I had to say goodbye in order to move forward. I left the bookstore that day with a new understanding of myself and decided that the next day would be the start of a new life for me.

I continued to visit Wanda every week for the next couple of months to work through the issues of my past. I have worked with her over four years now. She has helped me learn so much about myself, others, and the world around me. This knowledge has had a tremendous impact on my life, and I have realized my life’s purpose is to share it; helping others navigate through the challenges life brings.

We have forgotten who we are. I have learned we are afraid we are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, don’t have enough energy, etc. We wear these lies like badges as we walk through the world.

The voice inside our head never stops. Have you ever wondered where it comes from? From the time we were born, it has told us many things about ourselves. Have you realized this voice has held us back from the very things we want to do, be, or have? Here are a couple of the lies I used to believe.

Lie #1: The concept of right and wrong. When a car accident occurs and the police interview the witnesses, each person recalls the accident from their own perspective. They saw the accident through their eyes, which presents several different truths about what occurred. Is it possible there is no absolute truth? Everything just is. The emotions we feel give meaning to the experiences we have in our lives. Therefore, each individual’s perspective is their own personal truth in the way they perceive their world. What if everyone was right?

Lie #2: The concept of should, have to, and need to. If you were to draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and separate the things you “should,” “have to,” and “need to” do from all things you “want to” do , you would discover the things that are taking up unnecessary space in your life are causing you to feel resentment instead of joy. We are under the assumption we “have to” do things in our lives. Is it possible we can actually choose whatever we “want to” do? Notice how you feel when you say, “I have to” versus “I want to.” Can you feel the power shift?

These are things we have been thinking are true, and we have been carrying them around like extra weight for many years. What if these lies no longer had any power or meaning to us? What’s left? Nothing.

Life. Has. No. Meaning. Unless you give it one. Your life is a field of potential. That’s what happens when you take the lies away. It becomes a blank canvas; a new beginning; a possibility for anything you want to create.

You see, once we let go of the lies, we strip down to our perfect selves, allowing us to shine like never before. When this happens, we bloom into the most magnificent version of ourselves.

Knowing and living this has truly transformed my life in so many ways. Wanda and I are currently collaborating on a book to help transform others and we are launching a project called Team Awesome. Our goal is to create a whole new universe where we recognize ordinary people for doing the extraordinary, form a community where people can inspire and be inspired, and help empower others to become the most magnificent version of themselves.

In my personal life, I have met my soul mate who has helped me continue to grow and learn more about myself than ever before. Within, I now know I am a beautiful, magnificent spirit enjoying a physical adventure. Every day, I experience and witness miracles that bring great joy and peace to my heart. I gracefully accept all the love and abundance the universe has to offer. I am experiencing myself in wonderful new ways. What is the book that you are writing?