All lit up

It has been a week since I wrote that I was into the 27th verse of the Tao Te Ching. I'm still in it.

"Living By Your Inner Light" is just an irresistible message to me right now. Maybe it's because my inner light feels palpable in a way that it hasn't before. It's coming through my sight, my speech, my hearing, my touch.

Wayne Dyer writes: "Your inner light is more trustworthy than any guidebook, and it will point you in the direction that's most beneficial to you and everyone you encounter."

I can feel it happening.

Bucket List

My Game Plan column on Foxbusiness.com today prompted me to start a brand new Bucket List so I can start manifesting some pretty cool stuff. Check it out:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/lifestyle-money/travel-lifestyle/article/draft-bucket-list_453338_22.html

(Don't) Hear me roar

I have learned lately to recognize my own power and to wield it softly.

Priceless.

The best policy

Talked to a potential date on the phone tonight. Asked if I like to ski. My response was to laugh out loud. Which made him laugh out loud. Which prompted me to say, "Are you kidding? I don't even like to be cold." Which made him laugh even more. Which prompted me to add, "I can be a bit of a prima donna."

"You're confident enough to say what you're really thinking. I like that," he said.

Wasn't always that way. Glad it is now.

Sitting on empty

In the interest of creating space for something I want, I did something radical today. I put my kitchen chairs (approximately 20 years old and outdated as can be) out on the sidewalk with a "Free" sign on them. I anticipate that sometime soon some new ones will come my way. The right ones.

I am patient.

Isn't it lovely?

Spent the day with a friend, shopping for home stuff and then having a delish dinner. As soon as I got home, of course I had to rearrange half my bedroom to accommodate the light green nesting tables I bought to serve as a nightstand. One move led to another and another and another until I looked up and it was after midnight.

So here I am, admiring my handiwork and impressed with myself for finding exactly what I needed on my virgin trip to Home Goods, which offers exceptional deals on quality merchandise. My bedroom looks so pretty! The old stuff looks fresh. The new stuff looks right at home.

I have surrounded myself with soft, floral beauty.

Lit up

When I opened up Wayne Dyer's book on the Tao Te Ching to begin a new verse today, these words in the table of contents leapt off the page: Living By Your Inner Light (verse 27). Here it is: http://www.taoteching.org/chapters/27.htm.

All week long I have felt lit from within. My coaching has been by instinct, from the heart and very effective. Three consultations have led to three clients. I have the Midas touch. It's a joy.

But Dyer takes it to a whole new level in his essay about this verse when he writes, "Try on the view that you're here to teach yourself and others in some way, and that the work is to raise the collective energy of our entire universe. Cultivate your awareness of the inner light that's within all. Be the Tao!"

A call to awareness. Nice.

Space for ideas

Today my purging flow led to some cool stuff. While taking a bag of clothes to the homeless shelter, a bag of books to the used bookstore and a bag of other items to the hospital thrift store, I wound up talking to some folks in the community and picked up two ideas for my Game Plan column on FOX Business.

So often in the life of creatives it is this kind of casual interacting that leads to the art. That's why time and space is so essential to the process, the flow. Our kinship with our world is everything.

It's exhilarating to be in that space.

Bye bye

I'm still heavily immersed in verse 48 of the Tao Te Ching, Living By Decreasing (according to Wayne Dyer). As we speak, there are three bags next to my front door -- one for the homeless shelter, one for the local used bookstore and one for the hospital thrift store.

Simplicity is my middle name.

Ahhhhhhhh ...

I am almost to the point where every single thing in my home has an actual place. Meaning there is no need for shuffling, piling, getting to it later, clutter.

Imagine that.

Tao immersion

Still going strong on the Tao Te Ching, Wayne Dyer-style.

Passed through "Living Your Own Utopia" (http://www.taoteching.org/chapters/80.htm), which is verse 80, the last couple of days and then moved on to "Living By Decreasing" (http://www.taoteching.org/chapters/48.htm, verse 48.

The former asks us to live with radical appreciation while the latter is about seeing the value in subtraction. They make an interesting combination. I see it like this: Hold onto only those things you have great appreciation for and let go of the others. It keeps life simple, almost natural.

I'm in the thick of it and it's quite liberating.

Heart smart

Went to Target with Mom yesterday. Found a welcome mat with colorful hearts all over it. Had to have it.

Love is welcome at my door.

Audio messages

It seems I am manifesting in the form of CDs. People are showering me with them. Within the span of 48 hours, I have received one called 'Feng Shui, Music For Balance and Harmony' and then from another person, 'Deep Relaxation' and 'Anxiety-Free.'

Do I detect a pattern?

Stay tuned.

Living softly

In my continued quest to engage the spirit of the Tao Te Ching on a daily basis through Wayne Dyer's book, I did my second day with the 43rd verse. Dyer titles this one, "Living Softly." It seemed a logical followup to verse 15, "Living an Unhurried Life."

Here's how it goes:
http://www.taoteching.org/chapters/43.htm

It is a beautiful verse that likens softness to water and its ability to enter space where there seemingly is none. It touts the virtue of living softly as opposed to rigidly. Dyer's words:

Practice the way of nonaction, or performing without effort. By letting go of your inner drive to push ahead, you'll see that you ironically do better than when you tried so hard. In your work, become more tolerant in your drive to achieve by softening your attitude and behavior. You'll see that customers and larger opportunities are attracted to you.

I am drawn to the simplicity of this, yet I know for someone as ambitious as me, it isn't that simple to live it. But it is wise. So I will listen.

Quotable

This precisely captures my insights this week:

Never mistake motion for action.

-- Ernest Hemingway

Flow indeed

I named this blog The Universal Flow for a reason. The idea is to live our individual lives in sync with our purpose in the Universe. I think it's going pretty well in 2008.

I'm still immersed in the spirit of the 15th verse of the Tao Te Ching. I've been dwelling on it since Saturday and the theme is, after all, "Living an Unhurried Life." This message is just making its way from my brain down into my pores. I need to live this. I need to relax. I need to plan, but leave room for life.

So yesterday I talked about clearing some space in my home and making room for, among other things, a new filing cabinet. Something attractive and sturdy and assembled. Something that can house freshly organized business files. And then today I was walking on the main drag in town on a quest for some roasted chicken when I passed a little furniture store that I usually don't look at twice. I was beckoned in as if by force.

The store sells unfinished furniture, so you pick a piece and then have it finished however you want. And there it was. A great filing cabinet with pewter handles that can be done in a black wood finish to match my decor. It's two blocks from home, so no delivery fee. It'll be finished, ready to use. That's my style. I'll probably order it by the end of the week.

Keep on flowin' ...

Room

I spent much of the day chip, chip, chipping away at files and streamlining. I love the feeling of paring down while simultaneously reconnecting with items I've filed away -- articles I call "keepers," ideas whose day will come, and outlines I've used for past classes/presentations, just to name a few.

In the world of manifestation, we call this clearing out the old to make room for the new -- fresh ideas, a better filing cabinet, bolder ventures.

Possibilities abound.

Muddy waters

After two days of sitting with verse 71 in the Tao Te Ching, today I chose verse 15. With 81 seemingly irresistible choices in Wayne Dyer's table of contents, it was these words that jumped off the pages: Living an Unhurried Life.

It is important to note that there are a number of translations of this wise ancient text and that I am letting my current reading of it be colored, or illuminated if you will, by Dyer's lens. I own two popular translations of the Tao Te Ching and have used those in the past to gain insights into my spiritual life. By using Dyer's Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life book now, I am adding a layer of depth to the experience.

What so struck me about verse 15 (http://www.taoteching.org/chapters/15.htm) is that its message is the antithesis of how I live my life. It talks about the muddiest water needing stillness in order for it to become clear. So often I live at warp speed and I don't stop to let the "mud" settle. Instead I muddy it up with something else and keep moving.

Dyer writes, "Be an observer and receiver rather than the pushy director of your life. It is through this unhurried unfolding that you master your existence in the way of the Tao." All of this advice comes under the heading, "Stop Chasing Your Dreams." As one might imagine, my mind came to a screeching halt on that one.

But I am letting it seep in. Slowly.

Revisiting the Tao

Back on September 23, 2007 I vowed to use Wayne Dyer's book, Change Your Thoughts -- Change Your Life, Living in the Wisdom of the Tao, as a starting point for spiritual reflection each day. I liked the idea of reading a verse from the Tao Te Ching and then reading Dyer's thoughts about it. The idea was to start from the beginning and do a few verses a week, which would allow me to live with each one for a few days.

Well, I abandoned it after just a few verses. I started with good intentions and then don't follow through.

I can do better than that in 2008.

I have modified the idea slightly, but my resolve is basically the same. It's just less orderly. Each day I will open the book to the table of contents and find a theme that resonates with me that day. Then I will turn to that verse and read it and Dyer's accompanying essay. Occasionally, if no verse speaks to me in the table of contents, I will simply open the book to a random page and trust that The Universe will show me what I need to see that day.

So yesterday I began with verse 71 (for one interpretation, see http://www.taoteching.org/chapters/71.htm), whose title in the table of contents reads, "Living Without Sickness." This verse is tough for me because it involves looking within and understanding what my body is trying to tell me in ill health. Two of the simple sounding (but not so simple to execute) suggestions by Dyer are "Have a happy mind" and "Examine your habits."

I will stick with this verse for a few more days and let myself get immersed in its message.

My physical self

With each passing day of this stomach virus, I am gaining a deeper appreciation for my body. Not the outer stuff, so much, that most of us women fret over. I've already grown to accept and like my "packaging" -- a gift of being in my 40s, I believe.

No, this little episode has given me a greater gratitude for all the things my body does on a regular basis that I take for granted, the things that allow my life to go along swimmingly. Things like digest food with ease. Things like walk four blocks without giving it a thought.

What's interesting about a stomach virus is that in order to nurse myself back to health, all the foods I know to be healthy, and that I gravitate to, are taboo for a while. A whole bunch of kale would probably send me into cardiac arrest at this point. Jell-O is the better option.

Like I've said many times, a purge can be unpleasant but it also represents a fresh start.

Whew!

Universal commitment

I woke up today feeling the kind of weak that scared me, frankly. Now, hours later, I feel much stronger physically and almost ready to explore the emotional and spiritual messages to be gleaned from the bug that has rocked me for the last four days.

I believe strongly in reading those messages, listening carefully to my body, perhaps making some changes as a result.

That is my Universal Flow.

Cereal incentive

This morning I saw a commercial for cereal with strawberries in it and it filled me with longing. My appetite is not there yet. But it's getting better.

So today I went to the grocery store and bought a box of cereal with berries. It bears noting that I don't eat this sugary stuff in the morning in 'real' life, so the idea is a real treat. The box is sitting on my counter, taunting me.

It'll be a great transition back to health.

Bug

I woke up and went to the gym yesterday. Came out and went for some coffee. Stood at the cafe counter and realized I wasn't hungry and that coffee didn't sound so appealing. But I got a cup and sat down. Within an hour, I knew something was wrong. My stomach felt funny.

That was the beginning of a hell-ish weekend. Runs, fever, chills, achiness, weakness. Last night I tossed and turned, slept, tossed and turned, asked for mercy. Yikes.

I just took a shower. Had some chicken soup. I can only hope I've turned a corner.

Please. Say it's so.

Kindred spirits

I spent a lot of time today talking to vibrant, smart, thoughtful, spiritual women.

This is what I have manifested in my life.

Good for me. Sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered.

Shiver

It's an unacceptable 60 degrees in my home right now. Earlier today, I resolved to go forth peacefully, confidently and forcefully to get a solution. It is in the works.

This is a test. I know this because after buying a thermometer, calling the health department, accepting an offer from a nice person with an extra space heater, and trying to get two space heaters working to make my rooms a little more livable, I blew a fuse and had to enlist my neighbor to get the power back. Grrrrrrrrr. I'm trying my best to rise to the occasion.

Brrrrrrrrr. Where's my quilt?

Walking my talk

So I followed my own advice as written in my most current Game Plan column on FOX:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/lifestyle-money/travel-lifestyle/article/new-years-resolution-revolution_420592_22.html

I wrote assessments of 2007 in these areas -- home, work, spirit, creativity, body, finances, relationships -- and then added what I want to do in those same areas in 2008. Finally, I crafted goals in each category and some actions for each.

Now they feel concrete and ready to manifest!

Order

I'm a fairly organized person, but I've been feeling like I am one step away from being pretty darned phenomenal at it. So the early part of the year will have some serious time devoted to that goal.

Today I began with clearing space in drawers, putting my actual daily organizer in workable order and creating a written plan for each area of my life.

Things are moving in the right direction. I like that.