Carol Adrienne - Your Unfolding Path - A Monthly Column on Life Purpose

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	Your Unfolding Path July 2002	Click Here to See Carol's Current Column
	by Carol Adrienne, Ph.D.

Carol Adrienne's work and teachings have been a great inspiration to me! In August of 1998, about four months after my father passed away, I read about one of Carol's workshops in a Learning Annex catalog and synchronistically found her book on a bookshelf at the bookstore. The themes of her teachings were familiar and comforting, as they confirmed the thoughts and ideas my father had shared with me shortly before his passing. Her books and workshops ignited my spiritual curiosity, setting me on my soulful life path, which led to the very creation of SoulfulLiving.com! Carol's participation has been an integral part of SoulfulLiving.com, at its soul level! Thank you, Carol, with all my heart!
~Valerie, Founder and Soul, SoulfulLiving.com

Life the Way You Like It

If you are looking for the next step on your ongoing journey, try imagining some fascinating scenarios just for fun. Focus your attention on something that fascinates you and bring it closer into your life—through learning more about it or taking a class or practicing one of the spiritual principles that you have read about. As you know, my new book, When Life Changes, Or You Wish It Would: How to survive and thrive in uncertain times is now available in bookstores. I continue to gather stories from students, clients, and readers about how they are making changes that align with who they really are. It’s important for all of us to see and acknowledge how synchronicity works its seeming magic in everyday life. Change is going to happen to you, and your attitude about it will make all the difference in the world—and it’s your world!

I first met Maria Mujica when she attended a retreat in Mt. Shasta retreat I co-led with my friend Donna Hale about two years ago. Maria keeps in touch by email and had hinted at some big changes in her life, so I wanted to find out her secrets for creating more flow and synchronicity in her life. She told me that her intention to know herself and her life purpose had been very strong when she attended our retreat, and that she came to the weekend with a desire to use the focused group energy to help jump-start new options. Maria writes, "That was two years ago and my feeling of joy and discovery has increased tremendously since then. Last year I was feeling more grounded and knew that I had made some improvements, but still felt something was missing. I felt that it was time for a huge shift. I had a feeling of wanting higher education, deeper Spiritual work and an adventure."

Maria, in her early thirties, said she wanted to take advantage of this period in her life when she has no obligations through partnership or children--or even debt! She says, "I explored the idea of teaching English abroad, living in a monastery, going back to school, and taking a walking tour across Europe. Then I came across an ad for the University of Santa Monica with a Master's Program in Spiritual Psychology, which was advertised as "Education The Way You Always Wanted It To Be". I had no idea what it was about, but something inside me was drawn to it and I attended their open house. It spoke to me on some level I couldn't mentally process. I had no idea how I would be able to undertake this program, but through synchronistic events it all became clear rather quickly. Within days I made the decision to enroll and it is literally changing my life. It is exactly what I was wanting--higher education, deep spiritual work, and an adventure. The best thing is that I no longer feel that ache of ‘what am I going to do with my life?’ I'm doing it. Finally! I am learning to completely trust my inner guidance and this spiritual process. I was scared to death but I enrolled anyway. I had to trust my inner knowing more than my fear."

Maria’s story is a good example of how our inner knowing directs our choices in order that we can develop ourselves in the next appropriate way, even though the direction may be-- and usually is—accompanied by no small degree of fear and uncertainty. Whenever we move out of our comfort zone, we can expect a shiver of terror/anticipation, but there is usually some little voice that says, ‘Go ahead. It’s worth it.’

Listen to Your Heart—and Trust It Knows More Than Your Mind Does

Maria goes on to say, "I have particularly enjoyed synchronicity. It's like Spirit is shouting ‘This Way’! For example, when I wanted to apply to USM I needed $450.00 to hold my space for the first weekend and my first thought was 'I don't have that kind of money just sitting around.' Then I remembered that I had two uncashed checks made out to me just sitting in my drawer that totaled $450.00. Staying in touch with my inner guidance and trusting it has been so important. My heart knows if a move feels right or not.

Take Care of Yourself and Find the Joy of Life Every Day

A big part of following our path has to do with staying open as well as balanced, so we’ll be rested and ready to accept new challenges and opportunities when they show up. It’s important to create ways to help counteract the negativity that comes through setbacks, listening to other people’s complaints, and the media’s attention to constant crisis. This can set such a low tone—particularly when we are tired or already depressed, that we begin to feel hopeless and helpless. Maria says, "I know it’s important to process setbacks and negative feelings, but on the other hand, I try not to indulge in feeling sorry for myself for too long. I try to focus only on what brings me joy in a situation, and don’t let negative thoughts be my dominant state of mind. I also have a healer and mentor who is a resource for me to work through issues, and she helps keep me focused on joy. Right now I go to school one weekend a month, which gives me the opportunity to be with people on a similar path. The spiritual principles are repeated not only through the teaching sessions, but also in the informal conversations with other students. I feel that it is tremendously important to create a community of people that support my values and interests. I also have what I call an ‘emergency joy book.’ It is full of my favorite children's photos, letters, and pictures of the kids who made it for me. I use it in emergencies when I need a little lift. I also highly recommend renting videos of comedies. Laughing helps turn around negative thoughts and reminds me of another perspective. I have also learned through my spiritual program to use self-forgiveness on a regular basis, since like most people, I am most judgmental with myself. I almost always set the stage for the day by starting with a prayer.

"I hope this helps, and thanks for asking me what I did to create this new stage of my journey. It’s been good for me to see what I actually do!"

Readers please note: Next Writers’ Retreat is in Sedona, AZ July 25-28. Next Esalen retreat on the Pacific Coast at Big Sur on making life changes is September 8-13. See details below.

Carol Adrienne, Ph.D., is an internationally-known workshop facilitator and author whose books have been translated into over fifteen languages. Oprah hailed, The Purpose of Your Life: Finding Your Place in the World Using Synchronicity, Intuition, and Uncommon Sense (William Morrow, 1999) a must-read. Her new book is When Life Changes, or You Wish It Would: How to survive and thrive in uncertain times. Email her at cadrienne@spiralpath.com or visit www.spiralpath.com for a complete list of events and private consultation schedules.