Tuning In

I began blogging (do you suppose that is now an actual verb in the dictionary?) in January of this year. I was scared of the idea, wary of making my life so public, reluctant to make a commitment and worried that no one would care. But as with many things that frighten me, I did it anyway. And as with so many other things, like skydiving, having babies, working on commission, and moving to France (and oh so many more), the THING that scared the wits out of me, in the end presented me with unexpected rewards.

One of the many rewards of writing this blog and one which I never imagined, is the people I have met in the process. People who have somehow stumbled upon my blog or vice versa and have become regular readers and now, people I truly consider friends. I read about their lives, their thoughts, their art, their business, their whatever, and I feel as if we could meet for coffee every Monday morning and have a wee of a time!

 

There are so many of you and I think you know who you are. But one I want to mention today (because...yes....this is sort of a shameless plug) is Michelle Craft who writes Manifesting. Michelle ended up on my blog and I on hers through a mutual friend. She is a teacher...a guide...for the idea of manifesting your life and the things you want in your life. If any of you have ever read the book The Secret, it's basically that idea.

And that idea is, your destiny is in your hands but you must expect it...want it...ask for it...and visualize it. The idea is not new to me. This has always been basically my philosophy but often, and at different periods in my life, I've "fallen off the wagon".  And although I didn't see it during those times, afterwards it was very clear that my mind and my self-talk had directed me down a much darker road than was necessary.

Several years ago,  just after my ex-pectorant took off,  I was really very sick in both mind and body. At the time, I cleaned a small, private gym on Saturdays, for the opportunity to have a private work-out twice each week with a wonderful trainer named Kim. Kim turned out not to be just a trainer of my body but a sort of spiritual teacher for my cloudy mind. One day as she was pushing me to lift a few more pounds and we were talking (okay, I was whining),  I expressed, once again, my fear of the day (there were so many). The ex-pec had made off with all the cash and I was frightened of how I was going to make ends meet.  I lived in the dark with one light on because I was afraid I wouldn't have the money (and I had no job) to pay the light bill. Kim finally said to me "if you live as if you have nothing, you will have nothing. You need to live as if you have everything you need and it will come to you".

I know that sounds so simple...perhaps too simple...but when she said that to me, the switch turned back on. It was something I already knew but I had forgotten to live it. And at that moment, one which I will never forget, my life began to turn around. No, I didn't win a million dollars and go sailing off into the sunset. But a new job fell in my lap. I unexpectedly found renters to live in my extra bedrooms and catch me up on cash. I began the process of dating again (now there's something scary) and discovered that, in fact, I had lost the real me for many years and the old Delana could and would rise up from the ashes (oh my...how dramatic is that?).  And....eventually, the new/old Delana, decided that she wanted to move to France.

All this personal nonsense aside and back to the subject at hand, Michelle has also become a sort of trainer for my mind. I read her posts and she helps me stay on track. I ask her questions and sometimes challenge something she has said. And now I consider her a friend. How great is that?

Michelle hosts a radio show and has asked me, along with the friend that introduced us (an old high school classmate), to be her guests for today's segment. I consider this an honor. So here's the shameless plug:  The show is Tuesday, June 8 (today) at 8 pm French time and 1pm central time. You can follow the link here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/uvisualeyes

If you can't catch the show live, I believe you can listen at a later time by clicking on the link to previous shows. We'll see what happens.  It's scary... but not as scary as dating or having babies, and though it makes me a little nervous, I'm going to do it anyway!