This is a phrase I coined a few years ago after noticing that I knew what was coming all along...a sense that I was meeting a moment in the future that had been foretold to me, at some point, in some way, at some time. Like the twists and turns on a rollercoaster, the expected drops that thrill and spill one's stomach into the throat, just like the rollercoaster ride...I have come to expect the thrills, the spills, the drops, the long pull up the scary hill and the wild plunge down the other side...oh, and those banks, twists and turns...always a favorite part of the ride...Imagine my delight and pleasure when I came upon this quote last summer when working on a paper in my masters program.
"A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when last it arrives..."
~Mark Twain
Well, it was a lovely, lovely quote and oh, so familiar...I had sensed this same experience and noted it with the phrase "expected surprises"...well, as my sister Martha would say, "Yeah, me and Mark, were just like this!" (imagine fingers crossed when saying this phrase) It did feel like lovely company I was keeping, to stumble upon the same experience as Mark Twain and to write about it as well! The book can't be very far behind, I think...yes, I do imagine a book and this is part of laying the groundwork, practicing with writing, sharing thoughts, exploring intuition, experiences, awakenings, energy, and the indescribable sense of magic in the world. (Note: a quick tip on formatting...I liked the idea of putting the quote in italics, but now I can't get the format to turn off, hence everything is in italics...I am going with it because I am!)
Ok, this was the quick thought running through for tonight...expected surprises...my kids were expected surprises, my marriage, this amazing new life as a transformational coach and intuitive consultant, and a million other examples...we know more than we realize we know...Inquire within...the expected surprises are waiting...
As always, I welcome your stories...I have a hunch that is how I will create a book called "Funny You Would Say That!" Please share your expected surprises and how your intuition speaks to you!
Okay, that was fun to post last night...the flow of words, ideas and images, the sharing of everyday, small minutia was, well...fun. I felt happy writing last night and as I suspected in closing, I am back. It is 7:59 pm and I have umpteen choices on what I might be doing with my time...there are the towels waiting in the washer to move to the dryer, there are the dishes in the sink waiting to be washed, 0h, sidebar (dinner tonight was another Rachel Ray recipe and it was also yummy. A rigatoni pasta with sauteed dandelion greens, garlic and broth and then poured over the pasta with fresh thyme and a really tasty crumbled ricotta cheese. We had sliced tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper on a ciabatta bread! Maxwell and I are on a roll!) Ok, back to the list of what I might be doing with this time...recap, laundry, dishes, web surfing, answering emails, watching TV, reading, practicing lines for the audition next Monday night, finishing my website, etc, etc, etc...or writing in my blog. Well, here I am because, gosh, I really love this and I am enjoying myself. It definitely takes the time to post, but all those other experiences will wait, because they are patient and kind and I think they too, the laundry, the dishes, want me to write! Isn't that a lovely thought, everything will wait for me so I can have some fun. I noticed that I do not feel depleted by writing in the blog, I feel filled and happy and joyful when I write. I just write down whatever comes through my fingers; I almost feel that there is no thought taking place; just expression...it is a free and magical feeling.
I wanted to share about sychronicities and the magic of symbols and the language of intuition. This is a subject near and dear to my heart and I bet I write more about this another day, but this is what I wanted to share about today. In the last several years, I have developed this relationship with the world that is much more trusting, much more connected and filled with humor! Life is VERY funny, intelligent and clever and life and I share the same sense of humor...I must say this several times a week..."how clever life is, oh, how funny life is...what an "amazing sense of humor life has" and I appreciate this and thankfully...I notice this more and more. Now, do not be mistaken. If I outlined some of the "realities" of my life the last several years, you would wonder at my ability to describe life in this way. But, paradoxically, the more turmoil, loss and chaos the more this has brought me to an awareness that life has always been "talking" to me in whispers as well as shouts and now, I listen and sometimes, laugh, sometimes cry, but I am always in wonder, always in awe. Today, there were several of these fun sychronicities...I was returning an email from a friend...she was asking for my web address and the blog link and I was asking her if she had a website and blog. I wanted to read her if she did. I was also answering some questions she had about classes and activities for her daughter. I wrote this long detailed email and then proceeded to delete it by mistake! Ah...just as I was about to email her again and ask for her phone number since I decided I would rather TALK with her than WRITE to her, an email arrived from her at that EXACT moment sharing her newly revamped website and a blog she had just started! I laughed at the timing and felt very "tuned" in. We use that expression a lot, but experience has shown that if we "tune in" to the correct station, we can "receive" all kinds of information.
The more powerful one has unfolded over the last several days...I have been very busy and just finished as I mentioned several projects. On Saturday, we were preparing for a birthday party for our daughter, Emma and in the middle of cleaning the house, the vacuum wouldn't turn on. The plug has bent over the years and I suspected that it wasn't conducting electricity through the cord. I went to borrow my neighbor's vacuum and hers wasn't working either, and it had just happened. I thought this was a funny coincidence, two "vacuums" not working...I just paid attention. A trip to the "repair your vacuum" store and some "currency" later and the vacuum had a new cord and plug. I liked this image...a new power cord and a new plug to get ready for new outlets! Then, yesterday, the check engine light went on in my car. For several years now, I have used my car as a metaphor for my physical life, health and body. When the car's service lights go on or it has repairs, I pay attention, why not...it feels fun and creative to be open to information coming in these ways...life speaking. Well, I took the car to the shop this morning, though halfway there the check engine light went off! I figured I would have them investigate anyway. Later this morning, I was having a call with a friend who was coaching me and I was talking about being aware of feeling exhausted and feeling like my "male" had been hard at work, but my "fe-male" was wanting some time, attention...some fuel! So, the shop calls later to say that the issue was in the "Exhaust-Fuel Emission System" and that it wasn't in need of repair at this time, but was just signaling a warning of possible distress! Well, I laughed and laughed and laughed and thanked life for the heads up...for me and my car! I will indeed pay attention to the "exhaust-fuel" balance and to what "emissions" I am putting out into the atmosphere now that the "vacuum has a new power cord!" Now, how fun it that...I invite you to be on the alert to "hear" life speaking the language of intuition! I am happy to report, it is a language that I am becoming fluent in...how about you? I would love to hear yours...Please...share away!
I really do enjoy writing, but there is no question that it is an acquired taste! The time and space to express myself in the written form takes a "backseat" to talking, acting, directing, mentoring, parenting and all of the other amazing and rich creative acts I have been engaged to the last several weeks! I worked on a wonderful theatre project at Foothill Music Theatre that opened on the 19th of February! The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is up and running and I had a great time working as the Associate Director on this project...my 19th year with the company! I also am on the Board of Directors and a mentor for an amazing organization called Girls Lead Now and the annual event was on February 20th (it was a BIG weekend). The event was amazing and I am awed by the grace, poise and talents of this exceptional group of women-young and younger! I am enjoying a few weeks of repose, as much as I ever repose, before auditioning for The Crucible at Foothill College and immersing myself in High School Musicals throughout the Bay Area as an adjudicator for a new program called Top Honors sponsored by San Jose Stage Company and their educational outreach. I will attend four high school musicals in the next six weeks and submit evaluations of the productions. There are 16 plus adjudicators and there will be an awards night in June for all the participating high schools! There are more exciting events, but I will save that for another time...suffice it to say, there is no end to the number of experiences and activities moving through my life!
I choose Set In Motion for the topic of this blog for several reasons. Two years ago, when I realized we were in a deep financial crisis and I was searching, (it more felt like floundering at the time), to find work, I started as a personal assistance and the name Set In Motion came to me as the perfect image for what was happening. The personal assisting quickly morphed into a intuitive coaching practice and I completed a two year masters certification in intuitive medicine and was certified as a life coach with Martha Beck's amazing organization! As 2010 has unfolded, I am still being "set in motion" each and every day. When I first started the "personal assistance" business...the tag line for Set In Motion was "Isn't It About Time?" Looking back, this was really an encoded message to myself...isn't it about time to live fully, joyfully, and with trust in the unknown. Today, I have a transformational life coaching practice blending intuitive exercises, energy techniques and coaching tools. The slogan morphed from "Isn't It About Time?" to Set In Motion...where peace, passion and possibility play! And indeed, I find that peace, passion and possibilities abound in life!
I am seeing my coaching practice grow with new clients starting every week and I am awed by the beauty of each and every one of them...I am inspired in this new work and it has led to renewed creativity and joy in other aspects of my life. In this current "hiatus," (for at least this week!) I have been having fun cooking with my son Maxwell. We are using a Rachel Ray cookbook and have been making some new and delicious recipes. Last week it was marinated flank steak, BLT smashed potatoes (that is bacon, leeks and tomatoes) they were YUMMY and a lemon broccolini! Tonight it was AWESOME sauteed chicken breasts in leeks and white wine and the most delicious herb rice with fresh thyme, parsley, white wine and lemon zest! Needless to say, there is not a morsel left! Actually, preparing the meal tonight inspired me to blog...I felt like Julie and Julia and I inspired to write and share all of the riches...
There are challenges too at present, but the rich possibilities of life and the "fresh ingredients" from which I can draw upon for "life's recipes" keep me from falling to far ahead...just this moment, just these fingers moving across the keys, just these words expressing themselves!
So I invite the creative process to express itself tonight, tomorrow, all the tomorrow's in whatever form it takes. What wants to be "set in motion?"
This is a phrase I coined a few years ago after noticing that I knew what was coming all along...a sense that I was meeting a moment in the future that had been foretold to me, at some point, in some way, at some time. Like the twists and turns on a rollercoaster, the expected drops that thrill and spill one's stomach into the throat, just like the rollercoaster ride...I have come to expect the thrills, the spills, the drops, the long pull up the scary hill and the wild plunge down the other side...oh, and those banks, twists and turns...always a favorite part of the ride...Imagine my delight and pleasure when I came upon this quote last summer when working on a paper in my masters program.
