The Joy of Truly Living

I am back on the bus heading home to my family after a weekend at the Hay House I can do it conference in Edmonton. Wayne Dyer was the headliner and he did not disappoint. His first book, Your Erroneous Zones, was one of the significant self help books I read in early sobriety. My dad gave me the book. It had been on the bookshelf all the years I was growing up, yet I had never read it. It turned out it was full of the exact clear and rational information that I needed at the time. This weekend he has piqued my interest in his newer books. He has had a long and amazing life. What stayed with me from his talk was the idea that at the end of our journey we will recognize it as the place we started. The circular path of life. The returning to source.

The other speakers ranged from Barbara de Angelis and Anita Moorjani to Mike Dooley and Robert Holden. All interesting. Some more inspiring or resonating than others. All divine.
But the real beauty of the weekend lay in my companions. I met up with two other women, Jean and Jan. Both sober. Both beautiful and generous souls with whom I feel a bond stronger than mere friendship. A bond of common struggles and inner strength. Celebrating the life we have rediscovered. Every single day.

Besides sharing the usual updates on our lives – which in and of itself was worth the trip, we shared our views of each speaker. It is amazing how differently we reacted to each one. Perhaps it is upbringing, life experience or just vibrational energy. But we all had opinions on each presenter and it was this conversation that provided the greatest growth and development for me. I will be contemplating things differently for some time.

The speakers shared a common themes of spiritual seeking. In my yoga class I often read the Rumi poem:

I have been a seeker and I still am,

But I stopped asking the books and the stars

And started listening to the teaching of my soul.

I am enjoying my interest in spiritual seeking. It has always been there. My soul has been crying for attention. I just felt I had a more practical life to lead. Silly me. 

Barbara de Angelis prompted us to open our eyes and to really see. To be willing to see what we find intolerable long enough to change it. Not to turn a blind eye to our inner knowledge. This was true for me with drinking. And it is true for following my inner passions. Not seeing things doesn’t make them go away. The calling remains.

My personal aspiration is to operate from a basis of love. Love for myself and for the world. This weekend supported that. From the love my husband and kids provided by supporting my interest in this weekend, to the love Jan and Jean showed with their honesty and truth. Not to mention the love each and every presenter poured out to the audience. Pure grace in motion.

The creativity displayed this weekend prompted more poetry from me. I haven’t written much since my yoga teacher training. But here is my inspiration from today:

A beam of light

Projecting through a cloud of fear

brings with its heat a knowledge of secrets yet to come.

Open your eyes.

Allow the glow to illuminate

Memories forgotten.

As I write this I am consumed by the joy that I have discovered by truly living my life. This is a gift of sobriety I never anticipated. Mike Dooley said this weekend that getting to the top of the mountain is good, but getting to the top of the mountain after having been lost is even more rewarding. He is absolutely right. I am grateful I found myself again.

Stillness and Peace.

Love

Anne