Yesterday, I stood up in front of 500 people and asked a question that changed my life.
And, you know, if you’re going to stand up in front of 500 people, it had better be a danged good question. Or you’d better have a danged good reason for asking it. Or, mostly, you’d better be pretty brave and not at all self-conscious about excessive sweating.
Or, there’s another option. You feel something inside of you. A push, a nudge, a voice, or a concrete wordless knowing that you’re moving in a direction intended only for you.
It was the latter that prompted me to ask the question. While being brave. While being nervous. While sweating. None of these things are mutually exclusive.
I stood in front of Dr. Wayne Dyer, Reid Tracy (the president of Hay House Publishing), and 500 gorgeous, eager, and hopeful wordsmiths at a writing workshop in Denver, and though shaking in front of such illustrious characters, I asked the question that changed my life.
What was the question?
No, I’m serious. What was the question? (It’s all such a blur.)
I asked about literary agents, Mr. Tracy asked me about my blog, I asked Dr. Dyer about how to know when an option in front of you is right for you, even though it feels squishy (squishy?). I asked these things, and they gave enlightening answers, and then Reid Tracy said, “I’d like you to join me at a writer’s intensive I’m doing with Cheryl Richardson next month in Boston, as my guest.”
The enormity of this offer may be easy to overlook, and it was difficult even for me to comprehend for a brief moment, until we took a break and so many compatriots rushed to my side to congratulate me, to say they felt like they watched someone’s life change in the blink of an eye, to encourage me that everything from this moment on is going to be up, up, and away. (But not too far away; I kind of like it here.)
And really, what did I do to deserve this, except follow a nudge and ask a question?
You know what, though? It wasn’t the question, or the offer, or the potential future that changed my life. It was simply following the nudge to where it took me, being so present and unwavering that no amount of fear could get in the way. What changed my life was finally trusting my nudge, in the midst of something scary. What changed my life didn’t happen outside; it all happened inside. It doesn’t happen tomorrow; it happens right now.
But … You Haven’t Blogged In Months. What’s Up With That?
This all goes together and there’s something at the end for you to chew on, so stick with me.
You may remember this post, one of the last I wrote before taking my extended break, explaining how I’d gone through a bit of a melt-up, where everything looked so much different to me suddenly.
Well, I put the cart before the horse when I said I was ready to come back, and with perspective, this is why:
You know that feeling you get when you first put on a new pair of slightly tight jeans? That feeling where you want to stretch a bit, push out your stomach to make the waistband expand so it’s not cutting into your flesh, where you need to be IN your jeans for a while before you can be OUT in your jeans in front of people?
That’s what it felt like. Like, here I was with this grand view of the world, but it wasn’t quite comfortable to me yet, and how on EARTH could I share anything if I wasn’t at home in the way I was seeing the world we live in?
Taking a page from the Tao Te Ching, I began following this one simple thought:
“Do you have the patience to wait
until your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
until the right action arises by itself?”
And, with mindfulness (and sometimes just flat-out laziness), I waited while doing only the things I felt compelled to do (eat, sleep, take care of the Market, read, bake bread … quiet things). I began paying attention to the nudges that before I would have ignored. I began saying “yes” to them instead of shoving them down because I had other things to do.
One of the most profound nudges (or, as Lao Tzu would say, “right actions arising”) came the day I received the postcard in the mail announcing the Writing From Your Soul Workshop in Denver last weekend. It was like I had no choice, regardless of how much money it cost. I had to go. There was no “should,” there was only “do.”
Over the next weeks, I began feeling urges to blog again. I made things, and I took pictures, and I formed words in my head, but when it came time to put them out there, they just … poof. Gone. Nothing. It wasn’t time yet.
So, I went to this writer’s workshop with the hopes that it would dislodge whatever log was in my noggin’. And it did.
Oh, how it did.
My noggin’ is so dislodged from logs, I’m buggin’.
(Ahem.)
So, before I bring this post to a wrap, let me say this: We’re back and we’re live on air, my lovely friends. I have so many ideas, so many things to share, so much I’ve learned. But! We’re also moving our household on May 12th, so things might be a bit rocky around here. One foot in front of the other, though. One foot, then the other.
The Nudge Is Everywhere, It’s Just Waiting For You To Pay Attention
We feel this nudge all the time, you know. You may call it God or intuition or right-action or Miss Suzy Annoying Voice. It doesn’t matter; it’s there.
It happens when you see a recipe, and without further thought, go into the kitchen and make an amazing meal. It happens when a friend calls and invites you to a movie, and instead of checking your calendar you just go. It happens when you wake up, and for no good reason at all, you swing open the curtains and yell “Good morning, sun!” after which your neighbor yells, “Good morning, weirdo!”
You can ignore the nudges all you want. That is an option, and it’s perfectly fine to do so. But you miss out on so much when you do. When you say “no” when it comes a’ pushing. When you’re too afraid, or you don’t want to make a mess, or you’re scared of what other people will think.
Pay attention to the nudge. When it says, “Put tomato on your face and see what happens,” put tomato on your face and see what happens. When it says, “Write a story,” write a story. When it says, “Be still,” be still.
And let go of all expectations of what comes after, because you never know what that may be.
Maybe you’ll make a mess, waste some money, break out in pimples in a million ways, fight with your husband, or sweat in front of 500 people.
Maybe you’ll annoy your incredible readers, because they’re tired of waiting for you to come back to your blog. (I love you, people.)
Or maybe you’ll change your life, in ways you’d never dreamed possible.
—
This post was brought to you by your very own nudge, asking you to pay attention to it more often. Wink wink. And nudge nudge, my dears.
Can you think of a time in your life where you listened to a nudge, even though it seemed crazy or impractical at the moment, and it changed your life – even just a little bit? I’d love to hear about it (we all would) in the comments.
When you’re done sharing, your nudge would like you to go put food on your face. We have to practice up for the months ahead of us!
The Lean, Green Avocado Hand Moisturizing Machine Recipe
Why am I crying after reading this???
You have a beautiful soul, Crunchy Betty! 8′)
I followed a nudge to sell my house, quit my job, and start a new life 400 miles away in a field I’d never tried before. It was an incredible experience, and so many pieces of my life fell into place from that spur-of-the-momentness nudgery. Life’s amazing when you start saying “yes” instead of “no”!
When I came back to work after my son was born, I was miserable. All I thought about all day was being home with him, and it was really hard physically because I was exclusively nursing/pumping. I went to lunch with my best friend not long after my return and she asked me if I had thought about photography (she was shopping for a wedding photographer at the time). I hadn’t, but I started.
NUDGE.
Not a week later I splurged and bought my first ‘real’ camera (a Cannon T3i, not fully professional but not point and shoot either). I started snapping pictures all over the place. I was determined to become a professional photographer in a year’s time. I shot my cousin’s graduation pictures, family portraits for a friend, and so on. It’s been a year, I’m not exactly a professional (my 8-5 career took off a bit, distracting me from my goal), but I have learned that I do have an eye for photography and I have a small following of friends and family who allow me the privelege of being their photographer.
I am creative by nature but my day job is highly analytical. The creative outlet has helped me immensely. And I may just make the switch to ‘professional photographer’ one of these days…
i once found myself ‘nudged’ into jumping on a plane to Cambodia to volunteer at an orphanage and ended working at a prison instead. That ‘nudged’ an idea to share the stories of the people I have met in such situations. But I have never got around to doing it. I ‘nudged’ myself to go see Wayne Dyer in Maui before leaving an incredible job on the neighbor island of Molokai. I heard about the writing workshop at the Maui event, and, like the post card you received, I knew I had to go. I saw you get up and ask your question last weekend and was ‘nudged’ to go check out this ‘Crunchy Betty’ girl who was brave enough to stand up. I just ‘saw’ myself in your blog words and have been ‘nudged’ again. Thank You…and looking forward to reading your book!!!
Congratulations, that is awesome! And welcome back, you have been missed.
The first nudge in my recent string of nudges was to go to a presentation on Equine Guided Education, incorporating horses into coaching. Then I was nudged to accept the presenters’ invitation to come to their farm for a demonstration. Then I was nudged to go talk to a certain horse, and my life changed direction. He broke my heart open, and I have been going back regularly since. I quickly knew I needed to incorporate working with horses into my own coaching and consulting practice; meanwhile, my current practice fell completely apart while I listened to nudges to work on myself. In the course of this I got the nudge to expand/shift my practice to include grief work – which I’ve been avoiding in the nearly eight years since my husband died. Finally the nudges have been too strong, and I am rebuilding my practice. I’ve done my share of nudging as well as listening to nudges, and have recently been invited to begin collaborating with a group of professionals who collaborate with horses in their coaching, psychotherapy and leadership training. Squee! While all of this has been happening, I’ve gone from blogging 1-2 times a week to every 3 or 4 months. Not because I have nothing to say, but because it’s all so fantastic I haven’t been able to bring myself to post about it. It just wasn’t time.
That time is coming. So I get it.
Thank you, congratulations again and welcome back again! Can’t wait to see what’s next!
I really needed this today! I very recently followed my own nudge, and while it’s exciting and great and I know it’s what I’ve been waiting for…it’s also meant stress on our household (including financial) and I’ve been feeling kinda guilty these last few days…like I’m so important I can up-end everything just for my own benefit? But, of course, it’s not really like that, and even though my husband will stress about $ for a while, we’ll be ok and I know he’s proud of me…when the nudge came and I started to list all my inadequacies and fears, he wast he first to shoot all those lies down. (He really is a great husband). So yes, friends, follow the nudge! Dont push back against it (or worse, step out of its way so it passes you by). Take the hint and go for it!!
Hello Crunchy Betty!
I was also at the conference… in the 2nd row writing copious notes from EVERYTHING Wayne and Reid and Nancy were saying! I was a sponge soaking it all up! And it was a “goosebump” moment when Reid extended that great invitation to you! I was SOOO genuinely happy for you!! What a great opportunity! You have obviously done the groundwork and built your “platform”! CONGRATULATIONS!
I am a “newbie”. I started my blog about 2 months ago. http://www.mosblissfulbouquets.com …. it is a PASSION of mine! I cannot NOT write it, and so I do it every morning. I post an inspirational message along with pictures of beautiful flowers, and I have been getting some great feed-back. I heard about the conference about 4 months ago and I just HAD to be there…. I mean, Wayne was coming to see ME!! And I am so glad I did go! Now I am going to write a book!! I am listening to that “nudge”.
I am now going to follow your blog. Please check mine out!
Good luck to you, my new “friend”. God bless! Maureen (Mo)
http://kyokushin-aoki.sakura.ne.jp/www/tvojdi.php
Definitely when my husband and I decided to get married (after a month!), but also when he decided to enter a songwriting competition (and won!) and when we decided that he should leave his oilfield job and we should be full-time songwriters. We’re just starting that journey, and we have four kids along for the ride, so these are pretty exciting times! <3
Ooh – you gave me chills! Or a goose walked across my grave. Whatevs. I am super excited for you, Crunchy Betty! Congratulations!
Nudges are cool. I dig them because you often don’t realize the clarity you were operating with until you look back on it. If only I could master harnessing that clarity! No Buddha guru am I.
I can definitely recall life-changing nudges. Those ‘things’ that came from ‘somewhere’ within that I just went with. I didn’t think, analyze, assess, examine, or observe. I just did.
I lost my best friend 3 years and 51 weeks ago. I was crushed in ways I never thought I could survive. My thoughts and feelings and sleep were consumed with pain and grief. I would call it the weakest time of my life. But in many ways, it turned out I was at my strongest. Somewhere in there, I had the clarity to decide I was smoking too much and for too long and I really didn’t like it and it was unhealthy and gross and so, I quit. Just like that. Somewhere in there, I knew I wasn’t with the man I loved so I went to him and told him I loved him. Just like that. (We were married three weeks ago.) Somewhere in there, I began to celebrate my talent (mine is also writing) and began to share it for the first time with people. Just like that. All of these things have changed my life.
I didn’t have the oft cited epiphany that many refer to after they have lost someone close. My nudges were whisper quiet. Almost as if they had been there all along and I was only just looking upon them for the first time. Seeing myself so super clearly that it required no thought because in the instant I saw myself, I also recognized myself.
I had a similar nudge when now-hubby said, ‘Hey, let’s quit our jobs, and store our stuff, and rent our house, and go travel the world.’ Well, there was something I had never done before! But when I laid eyes on the image of me in a yurt in Kyrgyzstan and other silly scenarios, well, I recognized me and I went. No thinking. Just doing. Just living fo’ real. My life – again – forever changed.
Also, I have recently begun applying food to my face. Just like that! My skin is changed, too!
Congratulations, again! Thank you for writing about this topic!
I’m just so glad you’re back!
Hi beautiful friend! I was at the conference and felt so much joy for you when Reid Tracy said those magical words to be his guest. I cried the sparkly tears then and cried them again just now reading your post (which I have been dying to read ever since that fateful day in your life). You are an inspiration! I have had nudges to start a blog for several years now and have been working on the design for quite some time, all the while procrastinating out of fear. Thank you for helping me to believe that it can be done! Much love
Welcome back Betty! We’ve missed you!
Great inspiration! Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to change our inertial state, — so keep up the momentum! You’re on a roll now! You go girl!
Oh my gosh! I was watching you live on-line through video streaming at Writing From Your Soul! I was so thrilled for you when Reid invited you as his guest! Incredible! You totally attracted that to yourself. I just had to check out your blog after “meeting you”. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with you that you are taking the time that you need for yourself and listening to the nudges. I’ve been doing that for a while now and have started to feel guilty about it. Because of you, I am owning now that it truly is necessary and so very important for my path. Thank you! -Kate in NJ
I’m so glad that you were ‘nudged’ back to us! :o)
Yay for nudges! Life has been trying to nudge me for months now, and only last week did I think it could be a good time to pay attention. I’ve made a huge decision because of it (moving back home after 16 years away). I am feeling so much more peace in my mind now, even though now I have a ton of planning to do. Listen to the nudge!
So, so happy to hear from you again. I was in the midst of doubting a nudge! Your blog was the arsenal of information that I moved into my first apartment with. As far as I was concerned, I didn’t need much else. The moving in together? That was a nudge. We followed. In the coming months, I made EVERYTHING. My partner made funny faces but used everything anyways…and helped me take hilarious photos of us with activated charcoal on our teeth. He never complained about the lack of “regular” products in the house.
I had a lot of free time then (I was running a farmer’s market on the weekends, free on the weekdays) so there was a lot of silence where I could listen to the many nudges. They got stronger- I started eating differently. Sometimes, they came at once to the both of us- we quit smoking, stopped drinking. We moved.
All throughout this experience, one nudge got stronger and stronger (baby…baby….BABY!). Guess what? We followed! Baby Iacobbo will be here in August. The nudges now involve trying to figure out ways to make money from home- involving my two favorite topics: writing and food. I’ve got a pretty good idea what I need to do (that is: BEGIN), but I was in full-on doubt-the-nudge mode yesterday, when your blog popped up on my facebook. I left the house with a smile and treated myself to some homemade maple-walnut ice cream before work.
Thanks for the inspiration, as always,
Katie
This is so amazing–I was just thinking about you on Tuesday, wondering how you were doing! Voila! I’m glad you’re listening to the nudges. 🙂
Welcome back! We have missed you and are overjoyed that you have returned to us in your own good time with more enthusiasm for keeping us educated, entertained and enlightened. It would have been a loss if you had kept that genius bottled up, but we certainly would have understood!
I love you Crunchy Betty!!!!! Good for you!
Welcome back. Take your time, do what you need to do and most of all, Feel the fear and do it anyway!
Just now, about 30 minutes ago. I moved back into my parents house. Just over six months ago, I decided to move overseas, and “find” myself. Today, I’m half way to my savings goal. This move home has pushed me to find a different job, because I’m currently miserable, and I have an interview (I think), coming up. With summer coming to a head, I sense great changes.
And now, honey on my face!
Inspiring post! It was a pretty big nudge (maybe it felt a bit like a shove), but I left my middle management job (and financial security) to apprentice on a vegetable farm. Best decision ever.
Here I am transferring all my blog subscriptions over to a new rss-reader today on our new/used computer (we’ve been “offline” since February) and there in the list of blogs is Crunchy Betty… in bold… with a little number “1” after it… my heart leapt! Welcome back! Your voice was dearly missed 🙂
I love you, friend. I really, really do. I’ve missed you and I still have lavender left from your sweet package and I look at it and think of you ALL the time. <3
Betty, I have been wondering what you have been up to! I too felt the nudge to check on your blog today, realizing I hadn’t seen any blogs in my email in a long time, but seeing you every so often on facebook…I wondered what you had been up to. It’s great to know and congratulations for listening to your inner voice!
I have listened to many nudges in my life and most of the time, I’m a pretty good listener, although sometimes the nudges seem wacky…my husband lets me know he thinks I’m nuts. Like, the time when our youngest son was still in preschool and our income (we were both self employed in real estate) had hit the bottom of it’s dive. I was going to have to go back to work, have a boss, a schedule, be away from my kids…NONE of which I was willing to do. We had two goats at the time and I had made cheese for about one or two months. My nudge told me to offer goat milking and cheesemaking classes on craigslist. I figured I could teach one or two classes per month and make enough money to make ends meet. I could teach classes at home and wouldn’t have to go back to work. (Did I mention my husband thought I was nuts?)
But, follow the nudge I did. That was two and a half years ago. I take 4 people per class and since then, I’ve taught more than 600 people!!!!! Instead of 1-2 classes per month, I teach 1-4 per week!!! The classes took off and are a huge success! Just this morning, I taught two people how to milk the goats, make three kinds of cheeses and the shared a farm fresh brunch…they flew in from Florida for the class. Tomorrow, I will teach people who are flying in from North Carolina. The nudge, the voice, the universe, God, your subconcious…whatever it is…is an amazing thing!
Congratulations to you! Lindsey
Welcome back. Thank you for sharing, and good luck moving.
You were amazing at the conference!! And, you have a great blog here! Congratulations! I am Debbie Jorde, also at the conference:-) I am the woman who stood to read my 5 minute writing exercise. I thought my heart would pound out of my chest!! I shared about having a newborn baby who was born with “bent” arms. That baby is now a beautiful 36 year old woman, who has grown into an insightful writer and public speaker. Heather is a living manifestation of Wayne Dyer’s teachings. She was also at the conference:-) My life changing nudge happened 30 years ago when I followed it to do Life Spring, a self-awareness course. Before that time I had NO self- awareness. During that seminar, after first learning that I was responsible for my own happiness in this life, I wanted to go back and “not know” this new information. But it was impossible! Knowing I am responsible for my own happiness empowered me to make a life I love living!! Best life changing nudge I ever followed!! Heather Madsen’s talks are posted on my youtube channel, as well as other insightful talks given by her brother, Logan Madsen, and myself. I am a new follower of your blog!! Wishing you love and light!!
Yay! Welcome back! My nudge yesterday was not a big one, but as my husband just got out of his week long hospital stay with a Vitamin D level of 6 (should be 30-80!) We decided to go for a walk in the sun but it was too windy to sit on a park bench so we stepped inside a local small town store. They had kites! Far to expensive kites, but it nudged me to call my mom and see if we could use one of “hers”. Shes had two on her walls ever since I was young. Its been years since I tried to fly a kite but my husband and I had a lot of fun crashing it into the ground and running warms you up. I think it was too windy for the kite but knowing we needed the wind to try to fly made it somehow warmer. What better way to try to medicate a vitamin D than with real outside sun?
You were amazing at the conference!! And, you have a great blog here! Congratulations! I am Debbie Jorde, also at the conference:-) I am the woman who stood to read my 5 minute writing exercise. I thought my heart would pound out of my chest!! I shared about having a newborn baby who was born with “bent” arms. That baby is now a beautiful 36 year old woman, who has grown into an insightful writer and public speaker. Heather is a living manifestation of Wayne Dyer’s teachings. She was also at the conference:-) My life changing nudge happened 30 years ago when I followed it to do Life Spring, a self-awareness course. Before that time I had NO self- awareness. During that seminar, after first learning that I was responsible for my own happiness in this life, I wanted to go back and “not know” this new information. But it was impossible! Knowing I am responsible for my own happiness empowered me to make a life I love living!! Best life changing nudge I ever followed!! Heather Madsen’s talks are posted on my youtube channel, as well as other insightful talks given by her brother, Logan Madsen, and myself. I am a new follower of your blog!! Wishing you love and light!!
A nudge is all that is keeping me going at the moment. With two kids and both parents unemployed in our house life should be a bit grim but…it isn’t. We have a nudge of our own that is pushing us to live life, enjoy each other and build a business that is good for us, our planet and our children. If not for that nudge the world would look so much different. Great post girlie. You inspire me to take a nap, wake happy, write for my blog and create something new. Thank you!
My first big nudge… or whispers, as I call them, was last fall. I had been wanting to paint and get my work out there (mind you, I hadn’t painted for about 13 years). I took an ecourse, bought a web domain, stated started painting, did an art show, sold some paintings…and then hit a wall! I am currently back in the “be still” mode. I’m trying to filter through all the chaos and tune in to those little whispers again. BTW, I’m glad you’re back!
Something “nudged” me to pop in to see if there was something new. So glad to have you back, and thx so much for the inspiration. Hope you’re doing peachy <3
Your blog post could not have come at a better time for me. Although I am still looking for my “nudge” I am at least looking for it now instead of just sitting idle.
I bet so many people who read this are going to have the courage to follow whatever has been nudging them lately. I know I feel encouraged myself. So many times I feel like I don’t want to do something until I see the big picture (like I could really predict the future, but you know…). Anyway, follow the little nudges (or as a Christian I call it God’s leading) along the way and the path will be revealed as you go.
So happy to see you are back. I love your blog! The end here where you asked about a nudge, oh boy. I can think of the biggest nudge of my life, and that was at a moment of crisis, where I felt too paralyzed to answer it myself. My now-husband answered it for me initially, telling me he was going to come get me of his own free will (from over 1,000 miles away – long-distance relationship ;-)). I was 19, things were very bad at my parent’s house. It was definitely the hardest nudge of my life but even though it was awful and painful, I gave in to it and 2 months later (I lived in a separate building in the meantime) we were married. That was 4 years ago, and I have more freedom and beauty, and personal health in my life than I ever have, ever since. 🙂
Oh, how I’ve missed you!! So glad you’re back and so glad you followed your nudge. 🙂
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Just when I was feeling lost in transition(temporarily shut down my natural body product biz, moved my big family to a abandoned hobby farm to rebuild it, started a blog, major health changes, etc…) I found you. Its nice to know I am not the only one. I was scared to pieces to move my family and start a little farm. But I did it and we are thriving. Soon I will be making my soaps with MY herbs.
May the road rise to meet you and the wind upon your back.
First of all let me say WELCOME BACK! Your’s is the first blog I ever began following and I LOVE it! Still! It’s one of my favorites, I’ve reread a lot of stuff while you’ve been gone. That being said, my nudge…
I’ve worked in the construction field for about 12 years now (office manager) with one company exclusively. Same boss for about 6 years, we had all become a family. The workers would come and go, some would come back, some I have never seen again. It’s a “temporary” job, but like I said I have worked with this company exclusively for a long time. We lost one of our big contracts and thought we would never be working together again. Us “office people” found other jobs, moved on, etc. I was off work for close to a year and found another job. Construction field, good pay, insurance, etc. I thought I would feel right at home. I HATED that job! I started in April, in June I got a call from my old boss (who I never thought I’d hear from again) about a job, 125 miles away from home. Home, where my 2 children were, granted they were 20 and 15 at the time, but how could I ever leave my girls??? On the other hand my long distance (of 2 years) boyfriend was 20 minutes from this job. Well, I did the math, talked to myself til I was blue in the face, prayed, looked for signs, cried…you name it. The money was too good to turn it down. I was to a point with my finances that I would have had to find a second job to keep from losing my house. I took the job (I felt like I was leaving my kids to live with my bf, when I was actually doing it to make their lives better). I have never in my life had a harder moment than the first time I left to come up here. Even knowing I would see my kids every weekend and talk to them a bazillion times a day, I cried and sobbed like I had lost a limb! This job, that was only supposed to last 4 months is now going into month 10. I am SO happy that I got the “nudge” and took a chance! I have paid off so much, I have been able to help with educational expenses so much more than I would have without it, and generally provide a much better lifestyle for my girls than I would have without it.
I’m so glad you’re back! You are awesome, and I’m glad you followed your nudge!
Synchronicity is a fascinating thing… I have just begun to research intuition and how to pay more attention to it and develop it, and *poof,* you (my absolute favorite blogger) come out of hiatus and write a post on paying attention to your “nudges.” I am going to take this as a sign that it is the right time for me to start on this spiritual journey, beginning with enhancing my intuition. I am excited to hear you will be coming back with more goodies to share (and what sounds like the potential for bigger and better things to come after the writing intensive maybe? I know I would buy your book if you wrote one… just sayin’).
Congratulations on what sounds like a wonderful opportunity, I am so excited to see what you have in store for us– and what the universe has in store for you, sounds like it’ll be good.
Hello family! I just stumbled upon your blog and I find it hilariously funny and deeply inspiring.. Thank you for sharing and I too would purchase a book if you wrote one :).
My nudge began with my first born son. He has been through a great deal of trauma in the four almost five years of his first breath. My spiritual journey began after my frustration and continued disappointment with the western health care industry.. I am not complaining, we are very blessed to have the benefits of health care in Canada. My frustrations lie with how disconnected our society is with our spirit, ourselves, and each other. Long story short, I have been searching for alternative methods to health and wellness and I am excited to say my nudge has taken me far! I am grateful and blessed for each nudge and I hope I will have the honour to nudge the many souls that cross my path 🙂
Love, Light & Laughter Always!
your blog has been my nudge for the past year. Once you went “off the air” I read older posts but it has gotten me to where I am today now just starting my own business and blogging about the changes that I’ve made to my overall health routine from your awesome deodorant (which I JUST wrote last night and posted this morning!) to our dairy and soy free youngest son! so thank you for everything you’ve done and are continuing to do!
So glad you’re moving in the direction you want to be moving! It’s funny though, how ‘the-direction-you-want-to-be-moving’ is so often ‘the-direction-you’re-too-scared-to-take-and-even-talk-yourself-out-of-wanting’. Glad you were able to sift through the dreck and find some clarity.
OH how awesome to hear your crunchy writer-voice again! Welcome back!
I actually did this exact thing 2 years ago–or, rather, 3.5 years ago the noodge started, and 2.5 years or so ago the mud had settled enough that I knew what to do, and now I’m completing (in about 6 weeks!) my coursework for the doctorate that will allow me to hopefully get the right job for me and be able to pursue a line of research that no one else has yet glommed onto and which I am convinced will change the way choruses sing together for generations. (Yeah, I’m a choral conductor in my Real Life). Everything was right, and not just that, everything was at the Right Time. I met the people I needed to meet exactly when I needed to (one scholar in particular is about to leave my school for another–if I’d started this degree a year later, I would have missed the one class she taught that I needed to take my research in the right direction), I have kept finding the right opportunities in front of me exactly when they were optimal to be there. It’s been amazing, and hugely affirming that This Is Where I’m Supposed To Be. Given all that, I’m not half as worried about whether I’ll find a job after I’m done–the cosmos has gotten me this far, I can only trust, right??
SO happy for you that the Tao is all open and thrummy for you right now!
–Jenn
I was one of those 500 there who heard you ask and witnessed the life changing gift you received. So inspiring. Wishing you continued success in all of your endeavors and so happy that you listened to the nudge!!! Great job.
This is such an inspiring post. Letting go of your inhibitions and just going for it – doing things because you just feel it – is so important. Spontaneity really maintains a free spirit and zest for life. c: So glad you’re back!
I’ve discovered your blog the day of the avocado mask post, the last one. I have since read a lot more of it and I love the tone of your writing. I am glad you are back. Take care of you 🙂
A very timely message to hear, thank you 🙂 And I read this WITH food on my face lol.
All this talk of food on the face, I’m about to go get my raw unfiltered honey… my face needs a washin’ … 🙂
Glad you’re back, Betty, and listening to that inner voice – it has great advice! Looking forward to what is coming….
At the end of January, I suddenly NEEDED to get in shape to join the military before my 35th birthday made me ineligible. I had less than 3 months to either lose 50lbs or 13% of my total body fat. I quit my job, joined a gym, started working out and tracked my food intake. This caused my husband to quit the very crappy driving job I used to do with him & find something that wouldn’t take him away from home for weeks at a time even though it was a temporary position.
I ultimately didn’t reach my goal. What I did accomplish was lose 22lbs and 11% of my total body fat in that time which breaks down to 5″ off my waist, midsection and hips for 25″ all around. I went from being completely sedentary to having someone describe me as “that girl who likes to exercise” after I convinced her to 5K with me.
I am in awe that I’ve inspired friends to get serious about their own health and take charge of their bodies. I’m more surprised that I’m okay with not meeting my deadline and am still exercising. My husband’s seasonal position let him prove himself & open the door to a permanent position. I’m signing up for 5K races to stay motivated. I will never be an E3 in any branch of the military, an NFL player, or a prima ballerina, but absolutely everything else is still on the table.
So happy you followed you your nudge, but as someone who just got out of the military and was deployed to Afghanistan, count your blessings. It must have been meant to be that you were not subjected to that life. It’s great for some people, but for others it can be very, very unpleasant… Congratulations on your new body and life style!
First off, thank you very much for your service. Believe me, I know how much it can suck.
My dad was 20+ years Army, my sister knew she was getting RIFTed out of the Air Force & hit her 10 year mark when she was sent to Afghanistan knowing she’d be out of a job once she got back, my MiL is service disabled, and my husband is a medically discharged combat vet (Iraq). We’re “only” 15 months into trying to get his VA compensation for PTSD and a host of other things.
Even with all of that, I still wanted to serve. I backed out of going to Air Force Academy after high school, so my nudge was to try my best to accomplish the first thing I ever flaked out on in my adult life. Finding a way to finish college is next on the list, which would make me eligible for service if I let them send me to med school. I’m an artist. That would be beyond…interesting 😛
Nytefalle,
Congratulations on your weight loss and way to go on reducing your body fat! Sometimes we don’t reach our ‘goal’, but we still look terrific, as I’m sure you do!
I’m not one to comment on other’s posts, but want to point out how you said you’re an artist yet you want to go to med school and/or join the military. To me, all those don’t jive.
I believe everything happens for a reason and not getting into the military either now or when you finished high school is very telling – just some food for thought. Also, finishing college would be a wonderful accomplishment and one I would ‘nudge’ you to pursue. NO ONE can ever take that away from you. I did my bachelors the traditional way – going away to college, but did my Masters degree on-line. BOTH are great ways to learn. I do think you learn faster with on-line learning. It is much more intense.
Don’t beat yourself up for where you are now. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Keep moving forward as you’re doing without being attached to the outcome and you will bring all the things you are wanting into your life.
Best of luck to you!
My temperament is very well suited to the military, but I’m sure my heart wouldn’t quite be there, especially if I weren’t able to pick my job. I’m equally suited to be a doctor, I’d just never be passionate about it. Things do happen for a reason.
I started out of high school at Georgia Tech as an aerospace engineering major before slowly making my way toward art. Playing with clay was the one time I was really happy in my classes & not the least bit concerned with how dirty I got. Since I don’t have a kiln or a wheel at home, I haven’t done anything with clay in two years.
I’ve signed up for a few classes on Coursera to keep my brain active & am brushing back up on my German with the intent of testing & applying to the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer. Service to my country while promoting culture is definitely more up my alley.
I got another “nudge” today from my older sister asking me to make a Pisces charm for a Pandora bracelet she wants to get our other sister for Mother’s Day, which started my brain going on designing & sourcing supplies to get it done by next week. I’ll take the “commission” from my sister and see where it takes me toward being more financially stable & able to take online classes worth real credit since the State Dept can be a two year application process. (Crazy sentence is crazy.)
My sister told me that at one point, she was exactly where she’d pictured herself working, living where she’d imagined in the type of neighborhood she wanted, but she was miserable. She’d spent 10 years focusing on the “outside” things and she didn’t have any of the important “inside” things like love. I followed my heart and am short of those “outside” things, but have a wealth of the things that really matter.
Thank you so much for your “nudge” to remind me to continue following my heart instead of compromising myself to be more comfortable now.
This really hits home for me…thank you for posting. No more ignoring those nudges! Oh, and welcome back…you’ve been missed!
Wow. How amazing (and yet NOT) that you should post this today. I’m actually following that nudge RIGHT NOW. Having come to realize and accept that my husband has a substance abuse problem, I’ve also come to the realization that it is not MY problem. Mine is not knowing my own true self. What my passion is, where my creativity lies. Finding my own voice and speaking my own truth. I’m hardly even sure how to start down this road, I just know that I have to do it. I certainly don’t know where it is going to take me, but I am eager to find out. Thank you for adding weight to my own nudge. You are an inspiration to me. Good luck in the Writer’s Intensive, may it propel you even further down your own road. And thanks for your wonderful products, I love the Lucid face oil!!
I have taken several courses from this site, and they have been pretty interesting. As I was reading through the course lists, these stuck out at me, but I didn’t know why. When I read your post, I thought of them, and thought they might help you… maybe not, but thought I’d throw them out there for you to see.
http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=450
http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=68
http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=316
http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=227
Good luck on your new journey, I’ll be rooting for you as I start a journey of my own 🙂
Thank you, Jess, I will look through the links and see what they offer. I appreciate it!
Jaycie,
Just wanted to drop a big GOOD FOR YOU in here and also recommend that you look into an Al-Anon group near you. I was the housekeeper/elderly care provider for a family who faced the same struggle (husband with a secret substance abuse problem, and his wife also had to find herself after she had to live with her heart hidden for so long). Al-Anon really helped the family find direction, although the husband chose to not face his struggles, unfortunately. However, the program was excellent in speaking truth in the safest environment I’ve ever heard of, and the family is very happy now. I highly recommend it.
Best wishes to you on your journey, Jaycie! I hope your heart is strengthened.
so glad to have you back!!!!
Thank you for posting this. I love your blog and I love that you have waited to write. This blog really speaks to me. I’m excited to see what is coming 🙂
So glad you’re back!