#76 Getting A Natural Alignment
Hello, my friends. I am back with another episode of "Let's Have A Chat!" where I share the secrets of communicating with animals successfully.
The other day, I discovered a beautiful way of self-aligning that I want to share with you today.
It had been a busy week. We went car shopping. If you have ever gone car shopping, especially since COVID, you probably know that saying it is stressful is an understatement. The search, the talks, the negotiations, the walking away, the wondering. The warranties, the next negotiation, the thought of still feeling you have to haggle more … you get the picture.
In the middle of it all, I had a couple of appointments in Eastern Massachusetts. So, instead of taking a car, I drove the truck.
Leaving my last appointment, I got into the truck when I saw a tornado warning on my phone.
This was not a little alert. A large message said to take cover and watch out for flying debris. When I looked at the map, I saw that my blue location dot was directly next to the red alert dot that indicated 'tornado coming down.'
Yes, I was right in the heart of it.
I called David and asked him to keep an eye on the radar while I was heading down the road, getting out of that danger zone ASAP.
My eyes were half on the road and half on the cloud formations. I saw that the sky to my right was darker, and I was moving away from it. Or so I thought.
A few miles later, David called to say the red dot had moved right into my path.
Shoot, and yes, on my left was a cloud formation that stretched across the horizon like a broad band. It looked ominous.
In my mind, I replayed the words, flying debris. In a way, I was glad I was in the truck. Though I had no idea if that was true, I hoped that the chances of me flying through the air were smaller than in a car. For a moment, I wondered if it would be safest if I curled myself up into the foot room of the passenger seat when suddenly, tons of lights flashed a few hundred yards in front of me. And then the deluge happened, A downpour of epic proportions, people pulled over on the right, traffic down to a crawl.
I looked around to see if I could detect a violently rotating column of air windows coming down anywhere near me. But the rain was so intense I saw nothing but blinking lights as the windshield wipers ran like mad.
Well, I made it through the hotspot and finally exhaled when I was on the Mass Pike heading west. I had outdriven the tornado.
Or the tornado drove me out.
After a while, I turned on my audiobook, relaxed my hands on the steering wheel, and exhaled big time.
As I headed West on Route 90, I came upon this one beautiful spot that always caught my attention. I love wide open spaces, and right there in that spot, the trees left and right clear, and I can see farther and wider towards the Berkshires.
In that spot, the sky is so big, and instead of tumultuous clouds, the cloud formation straight ahead was stunning. It was close to 7 p.m., the sun was low, and part of the sun peeked through a small opening between the billowing cloud formation.
It was a dramatic peeking through. I could feel the light shine right toward me. Beaming.
It was so intense and beautiful that I turned off my audiobook.
This moment was one where I wanted to be fully present. Not sidetracked by a story.
I let the beautiful gleaming sunlight shine upon me as I took in the truly magical cloud formation.
And right then, a shiver ran through my body. From the top of my head down to my tail. I realigned.
Do you know that feeling? When your body does a little shiver? When energy runs down or up your spine, and you shake or shiver a little? That is the nervous system adjusting. That was my nervous system that is going from flight, fleeing the torneado, back to relaxation.
I have these experiences when I receive bodywork.
I also have those experiences when I balance my own Chakras. Sometimes, when I work with an animal on balancing their nervous system. I have mentioned it before. A painting in Province Town at a gallery adjusts my nervous system. Every time I look at that painting, I twitch and twist and often yawn.
You know this from watching your dog, horse, cat, or bird as they shake nervous energy off so quickly.
So, as I sat there, driving towards the sun, I could feel my whole body returning to balance.
The stress from purchasing a car, being concerned of flying debris, and needing to crawl into the foot room of my truck, driving through a white-knuckle downpour was ready to be released when the sun peeked through the clouds.
Then I realized, wait a moment, we can do this every day.
Whenever we look at something beautiful, something that moves us, something we immediately feel connected to, we can move into the experience and be guided from being overwhelmed into a state of rest and relaxation. Into alignment.
Wow. That was something. Something to make use of. Not just look at it and take a photo of it, but use the energy bestowed upon one in that moment and use it for well-being.
What a concept. Right?
Well, to quote a book title written by Jack Kornfield. After the ecstasy and the laundry … moments later, I was back in my head.
I had seen the sun. I had received an alignment. And I received the message I am sharing with you that we can use these moments to lean into and receive.
And that meant I was kinda ready to return to my book. But … I felt I needed to honor the moment, the sacred discovery. A little longer. Hmmm …
And then came the crazy bit. As I oscillated between "I feel balanced" and "kind of am ready to go back to my book," I got a message. We do not have to make those moments so sacred that we don't feel they're part of our normal world.
In those moments of awe, we often feel they are something unique and special. We must respect, honor, and treat them as sacred.
And there's nothing wrong with treating those moments as sacred. But it shouldn't be separate from the other sacrednesses that make up our lives. Another one of my sacrednesses is listening to books. One is not more sacred than the other. It is all sacred if we feel love and joy doing or, being, or receiving something.
Do you feel me here? It is about being in the moment and receiving any goodness that comes in a moment and then integrating it into our lives as we move into the next goodness.
I stopped listening to the book when the peeking sun took my full attention. I wanted to be present with the sun shining upon me.
Once that nowness was received and over, I began lingering and going back and forth between listening to the book and lingering some more. That's when I heard, "Okay, time to go with the flow. Back to the book."
It felt this experience was not about making a peeking sun into a sacred ritual. No, it was amazing to realize I can use these awe-inspiring moments as a quick check-in to receive an alignment if needed. After that, I go back to business.
We are still often.
So often, the animals point out to me that we separate ourselves so much from the rest of the world. Right? We think of I love you and you love me when in reality, we are love.
We think of special moments as a moment that is special and do not realize that it is an integral part of who we are and what is being offered to us. Daily.
We are constantly being offered some opportunity to receive and realign.
So today, I invite you to start integrating those special moments. You might be walking down the street, and a little puppy opens your heart. Instead of chatting with the human, dive into that moment with the puppy? You don't ask 15 questions about the age. The breed, the name, the whatever not, but find yourself in a space where you and the puppy are perfectly connected through love.
When you drive along the road, as I recently did, and you see a beaver with Fern in its mouth, waddling across the street, circumventing your car, jumping into the Lake to bring the yummy treats to the young ones, leave your phone in your pocket. Be with her. Let her take you for a quick moment into her life of dedication and purpose. Allow her to connect you with the present moment and adjust your nervous system if it needs it.
And as you go on a weekend trip, and you come around the bend, and suddenly the road opens up, and you have an incredible view of a landscape that takes your breath away, take in that landscape. Stop chatting. Turn down the radio. Allow that landscape and you to mingle to become a salve for your nervous system.
Ahhhh … that's it for today.
Be inspired. Be in awe. Be aligned.
Til next time …