magic

The Potential of Apples

It is May in New England and the apple blossoms are exploding. It happens every year and marks the beginning of an extraordinary growing season, steeped in tradition, celebration and magnificent creation. I have always admired the trees for their uniquely twisted structure, cheerful flowers, and substantial fruit, but it wasn’t until this spring that I realized just how magical they really are.

Over the winter, my friend and I began walking one of the nearby orchards. The trail which leads to its gate is a challenging climb but once atop the sunny hill, we can see for miles, a vista of apple trees, rolling meadows, majestic farms, and distant mountains. We regularly comment on the grace of the location and the fortune of being able to gain access. We visit the land often and are awed by the unending enchantment of natural wonders.

One day in early March we noticed some tiny buds forming on the tree branches and decided to have a closer look. The pods were so small that it was hard to imagine they could ever grow into the large juicy apples we were accustomed to picking in the fall. We wondered how it was possible for these miniature vessels to hold so much potential.

I went home and looked up “time lapse growth of apples” on Youtube and found that indeed what started as a tiny bud opened to a leaf and flower and ultimately the fruit. It took months of processing light into energy, drinking available water from the earth, allowing bees to pollinate its flower, and fighting off invaders, but the desired result was a miraculous apple, beautiful, pure and delicious.

I find the process fascinating and it makes me think about the potential that lies within each one of us. If the Universe gives apple trees this much creative power, wouldn’t it make sense that we would also be granted the same opportunity?

I believe we are and that we each possess buds of unlimited potential. Through self awareness, vision, belief, trust, hard work, persistence and continuous nurturing, we can begin to recognize and allow our true essence to come forth. With a commitment to realizing this potential, we can tap into new areas of growth and beauty and uncover hidden abilities and inner wisdom. The closer we get to this powerful energy, the stronger our will and desire to fulfill its opportunity. Like the apple tree, we can access the knowledge and ability to turn lead into gold, to recognize our potential and manifest it within our lives and the world at large.

Tomorrow (May 11) is the New Moon, and it is the perfect time to take stock of our lives, to look inward and reflect on the potential that lies dormant, ready to be activated. What makes us happy? What is holding us back? What would we like to do and be during our lifetime? What does our intuition suggest?

Each day the apple blossoms unfold a little more, and this week they seem to be picking up speed. They are not hesitating or questioning their ability. Instead, they are moving forward with confidence, unleashing their power and trusting their instinct. They are accepting the opportunity and working to create one of life’s most magnificent miracles.

To begin manifesting your best life, visit my website here https://www.mysoulpurposeproject.com/.

A Ritual for Pansies

While on a recent walk with my friend, Mary, the topic of spring came up and we began to express our excitement about the coming of warmer and longer days, the re-emergence of plants and wildlife, more access to fresh air, increased outdoor activities and the general hope that always comes with the season. We shared our enthusiasm for all that was springing forth this year and discussed how it was that much sweeter after enduring a year of pandemic.

Mary went on to tell me that over the weekend she would be heading to the nursery to buy some pansies to plant in her yard. She said it was something she did on the first day of spring every year and that it was a bit of a ritual, a way to welcome the new season, a response to its beckoning.

The idea of ritual has come to my mind recently as I work on refining the services offered through my business, My Soul Purpose Project. (click here to begin manifesting the life you desire: https://www.mysoulpurposeproject.com/). I facilitate the process of connecting with inner wisdom in order to manifest one’s fullest potential. I work with moon cycles, dreams, the Tarot, soul journaling, and other practices that use ritual in one way or another.

In addition to the benefits of grounding, encouraging mindfulness, reducing anxiety, fostering connection to oneself and others, and improving physical and mental well-being, ritual also helps us tune in to our values and connect with others who share the same beliefs. It helps us to focus our energy, to build habits and organize our efforts. It promotes creativity and gives credence to our commitments. It is a celebration of the things we love.

The aim of my business is to help people create a life of happiness and purpose. Once we identify what is most truly desired, we move into the art of manifesting which involves belief, envisioning, writing, repeating, and embodying the desired outcome. Thoughts and words are a good way to begin, but in order to bring an idea to fruition, we must feel it happening, see it in our mind’s eye, and believe it to be true. Ritual adds power to these practices through focus, repetition, creativity, connection, love and fun. It helps to propel our wishes into action.

The first day of spring was on Saturday and so far the temperatures have continued to rise and the sun has been shining. I decided to go to the nursery myself today and buy a crate of pansies to plant in the yard. They were a variety of colors and seemed eager to burst forth in their new life. I brought them home, thanked the Universe for the wonders of spring, the beauty of these tiny flowers, and the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, and then I planted them in a container by the front door.

As I stepped back to admire my work and reflect, I was reminded of the miracle of life and the unlimited potential available to us all at any time. I could sense the importance of taking the time to tune in and create rituals around all that I love and cherish and especially around the things I’d like to manifest. I felt hope that whatever challenges we face in the wintering of our lives, we will be offered a new beginning, a second chance. Spring.

I suspect I’ll be reminded of this each time I pass by the planter and I sense that the more attention, thought and feeling I give it, the more likely I will be to attract more of the same. When I look upon the expanding pansies, I’ll be reminded that whatever we put our attention to grows and the rituals we create will help magnify our gratitude, allowing us to celebrate that which we hold most true.

Other Websites. Body: https://www.inbalancetherapeutics.net/ Soul: https://www.mysoulpurposeproject.com/ Music: https://www.wendydarlingandthelostboy.org/

Tom Brady’s Playbook and Collapsing the Wave

Tom Brady did it again. Last night, the 43-year old superstar quarterback (the oldest player in NFL history to even be in a Super Bowl) led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory (the 7th Super Bowl win for Brady and 5th Super Bowl MVP award of his career). I suspected Brady might retire last year after having completed a successful 19-year career with the New England Patriots or at most, renew his contract for a couple more seasons. However, I never thought he’d sign on with a new team. So when he announced his move to Tampa Bay, I assumed he simply wanted to eek out a few more years in the sun, perhaps freshen his perspective, and continue to earn a reputation as one of the oldest quarterbacks in the NFL to play at that level. I didn’t expect him to win another Super Bowl and certainly not in his first year with a new team. No doubt he came to last night’s game with a lot of experience and a heavily loaded roster, but still. To win with such force and surety seemed like nothing short of a miracle.

I live in New England and have been a Brady fan for nearly 2 decades. How could I not be? His intelligent, persistent, and focused leadership have made for many an exciting game and his ability, year after year, to achieve win after win (sometimes in the face of defeat) have awarded his team high levels of respect and support, mine included. I particularly love his signature last minute touchdowns, where he drops into complete focus and true magic happens. There have been times when I’ve wondered, has he somehow sold his soul to accomplish such superhuman feats? I didn’t think so, but still wondered how it was all possible.

In more recent years, as I’ve studied the power of intention, positive thought, and using our minds to create reality, I have begun to see how this sort of magic works. An interesting and exciting example, and one I think Brady employs whether he knows it or not, is the quantum physics theory of Collapsing the Wave.

The idea is based on the proven theory that light can exist as a wave AND a particle (although not at the same time). The wave holds unlimited potential at any given moment and becomes a particle only once it is given attention. In other words, we all have an infinite number of choices, swirling around us in wavelike form, of what to see and believe at any point in time. Once we put our focus on one of the options, the rest of the potential crashes (the wave collapses) and the other possibilities blur. This choice then becomes our reality and we lose sight of everything else. This can create a very limiting existence until you understand how it works.

Just as light can be both a wave and a particle, our thoughts can be both limiting and expansive. If we understand that we can change our focus at any point and that everything is possible, we can begin to steer our experience and our destiny. If we realize that we are never truly stuck in any situation or pattern and that it is in part of our own making, then we can begin to change where we put our attention and like Brady, we can redirect the movement of play.

The new moon will be here on Thursday and I am again thinking about what I’d like to manifest and how I might use the Collapsing Wave Theory. I may want to take a page from Tom Brady’s playbook who most likely does not follow the phases of the moon, but who, I’d bet, has formulated some cyclical process of conjuring dreams, creating and executing plans to carry them out, re-evaluating, adjusting, and revising methods and strategies, letting go of what is not working, pushing forward with belief and vision, releasing the outcome to the Universe, and then regrouping, resting and readying himself for the next round. It was reported that during the week leading up to yesterday’s game, Brady repeatedly texted his teammates stating, “We will win,” and that is manifestation at its purest.

It appears that Brady has not sold his soul to the devil after all, quite the contrary. He has mastered the art of collapsing the wave and for those who choose to do the same, like myself, there will surely be more victories in the Super Bowls of their own lives.

Other Websites. Body: https://www.inbalancetherapeutics.net/ Soul: https://www.mysoulpurposeproject.com/ Music: https://www.wendydarlingandthelostboy.org/

Manifesting the Magic of Sand Dollars

The magical sand dollars we discovered on our beach walk

About 6 years ago, I took a workshop that changed my life. The course, entitled Manifesting Magic and Miracles, was held on a summer weekend at the Omega Institute in upstate New York. My mother, sister, and I were looking for something fun to do together and were familiar with the restorative retreat at Omega. We had never heard of the presenter, Pam Grout, but all agreed we could use a bit of magic and a few miracles to help us break old patterns and move towards a more spiritually rewarding life.

The course, based on Pam’s book, E2, began with a few simple exercises to help us think “outside the box” and prove that by reshaping our perspective and employing some inventive techniques, we could manifest anything imaginable. We started by picking words from a hat, things like red cardinal and baseball bat. We then meditated as a group, focusing our attention on the intended object and asking that the Universe bring forth the item in some form or another over the next couple of days. Each following morning at the start of class, we went around the circle and attendees shared their experiences. The stories were varied, surprising, funny, endearing and serendipitous and by the end of the weekend, nearly everyone had manifested their object in one way or another.

On the final day, we dug a little deeper, breaking into small groups and turning our work to our own personal quests. We focused on our truest and most individual desires. We created vision boards and discussed ways of releasing limited thinking patterns. We committed to surrendering our wishes to the Universe and asked that they manifest in the best way possible for the good of all…..and by god, they did.

Within the next few years, my entire life had changed and I was living a lot of what I had envisioned over that fateful weekend.

I continue to practice experiment #1 in the book which calls for the seeker to ask the Universe to deliver a specific object within a limited timeframe, usually 48 hours. I have found that the key to success is not to look for the object but instead to allow it to come by being aware of how it presents itself (which is often different than what you would expect). Sometimes, noticing and following a trail of breadcrumbs or related items will eventually lead to what is being sought. The ability to recognize these clues is paramount.

This past weekend, my partner and I set off for a walk at the beach. The isolation of the pandemic was getting to us and we had exhausted many of the local trail networks. We love to look for sea treasures during our ocean strolls and recently have been experimenting with Pam’s method to attract the best offerings.

This weekend we were looking for unbroken sand dollars. We envisioned the most perfect specimen and then put our intention into the Universe. We let go of the act of trying to find it. We allowed our attention to divert to conversation and other happenings around us. We even forgot at one point that we were searching for shells until suddenly one appeared, and then another and another. We found several beautiful and varied sand dollars as well as a number of other intricate shells.

I love this type of magic because it is fun and playful and more importantly, it works. When carried out correctly, the Universe will deliver desired objects right into your life and, when taken a step further, the approach can be applied to attract situations and experiences. Its power, however, should never be underestimated. It is important to be clear on what you want and make sure you are ready to receive it. After all, you may just get what you wish for.

Other Websites. Body: https://www.inbalancetherapeutics.net/ Soul: https://www.mysoulpurposeproject.com/ Music: https://www.wendydarlingandthelostboy.org/