Allowing, but not Chasing Chickens

On my first day pet-sitting at a new ranch (8 cats, 6 hens, 2 ducks and several house plants) I learned how NOT to catch a chicken.

I went down to the pen to say hello to my new charges when I spyed one of the black hens had flown the coop. She was now racing around the perimeter of the coop, periodically stopping and trying to squeeze back in through the large chainlink.

My initial thought of simply shaking the cracked corn treat can and waiting for her to approach didn't work because of my impatience. I kept walking toward the hen rather than standing still and waiting for her to come to me.

My second attempt faired better: Steve, co-owner of this ranch (and experienced chicken catcher) waited in one spot with the treat can while I snuck up behind the chicken. I missed multiple chances to scoop up the bird and toss her into the pen because, well, I'm a chicken.

Finally, I surrendered to my truth and told Steve I'd just keep her pointed in one direction, Steve continued to stand still (at the pen door) shaking the can, and voila, the hen is now happily laying eggs for my breakfast.

Photo courtesy of www.123rf.com

Chasing that chicken felt an awful lot like chasing my dream. The one thing I know from my practice of Visioning(R) and using the non-dominant hand method of journaling is that allowing a dream to happen is much more enjoyable--and a lot less effort than chasing down a dream as if it were an escaped, clucking chicken.

Chasing a dream assumes that we have all the answers.
Allowing a dream is surrendering to your internal life questions:

Who are you?
Where are you coming from?
What do you want to become?

By surrendering and investigating these questions through the internal exploration of poetry, music, art, movement, gardening, biking, yoga, meditation, scrapbooking and writing, we allow ourselves to live the questions. To evolve.

Surrendering to your heart's will is a subtle, yet dynamic process that is often lost in the cacaphony of modern living and all of it's viral and noisy technology.

How will you allow your dream to manifest today?

Post Your Answer. I'm listening.

Room to Dance

I was dancing in the living room this morning when I realized how little space I claim in my universe. I'd been dancing in a small corner of the living room, worried that my neighbors were going to see me. Silliness! I couldn't even move my arms because I didn't want to hit the lamp.

When I moved into further into the middle of the room, I was benefited with a view of Morro Rock.

This leads me to ask the question: What areas in my life do I keep myself confined to a corner???

Expanding ourselves through physical movement throughout the day keeps our perspective fresh and open.
This leads us to access intuition. When we regularly follow our intuitive voice, we are rewarded with passion and joy.

Ann Cuddy describes this in her powerful Ted Talk.

Beware! Practice equals more power.
What part of your life needs expansion?

The Next Wandering Step

Now that I've achieved my dream: living in a safe and sacred home in Ventura, I've been reluctant to create another collage. I don't want to trick myself. Being in the safe and sacred home in Ventura happened when I showed up at a particular house, with a particular warm and loving family. And here I was hoping that my collage meant that I was going to be living and working in Ventura. Well, I did. But what I meant when I created the collage was that I be working and living in Ventura longer than four days.

Instead I am wandering between Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. This afternoon I let myself follow a clearly marked trail through the orange groves in Cayucos, trying to find the fence line. Yesterday morning I was standing on the deck of a home on the back bay in Los Osos with a cup of tea, and last week I was in Carpinteria buying asparagus at Farmer's Market.

In my search for the "right job" and the "right place" it is easy to lose sight of what my heart knows. My heart knows that right now is a pretty good place to be if I like being buzzed by hummingbirds and don't mind the cute-faced dog Sammy-Sam-Sam sticking his black and white snout on my lap, hoping for another Premium Saltine.

 

I didn't know I needed to walk through groves of oranges and lemons, or listen to the birds chirping above traffic. But my heart knew. My heart knew that I needed to rest in the sun on a ranch without cell service and barely an Internet connection. My work today is looking up how to tell the difference between flying bald eagles or hawks when they are circling the valley. I'll also need to look up the meaning of lizards and deer on an animal-medicine card website.My heart has led me to a place where a lovely woman named Grace walks every night down the long road to follow the constellations. My heart has always known me better than my head does and for that I am grateful.

What does your heart know in this moment???

Please be bold, comment!

Dorothy Lane

Have you ever been lost in your own neighborhood?
How did you feel while you were winding your way through the confused streets?
Helpless? Frustrated? Joyful?

Joyful?

Last week when I was lost in my own mind, that translated to becoming lost in a familiar neighborhood.
Frustration was my first feeling. After I chanced upon a familiar block, I became joyful because I remembered a good park and thought I'd take a walk.

(This is my bad habit: ditch my original destination in favor of a new treat when the driving gets tough.)

But there wasn't any parking, back to frustrated.

Fortunately I learned a terrific prayer from writer Anne Lamott--HELP!




Image by www.lahondaworld.com


The essential step after dialing your Higher Power is to hang up the phone so she can call you back.


As I was slowly driving, waiting for the Direction Kahuna's soft inner voice, it dawned on me that it was best to continue towards my original destination--even if I was going to be late. Next I realized that I was lost because I was not minding my own business. I was lost because I had been worrying about another person's problem.


This is called driving in someone else's lane.

Fortunately, I thought this was funny. Fortunately I heard ''turn right,'' over my own laughter, fortunately, I recognized a street that led me back on track..... Dorothy Lane.

Question: How do you know when you are driving in someone else's lane???
Please post your answer in the Comment section!!!

Dorothy Segovia knows all about being lost and found. She teaches you how to use Creative Journaling and Visioning(R) to keep you driving in your own lane:  My Body, My Car: How to Coach Yourself Through Life's little Accidents, workbook and music CD. Now available in PDF. Visit www.writeinside.com.

Retail Wisdom

So.
I'd been sniveling, and dragging my feet as I've sorted through my storage unit multiple times over the past few months.

My initial intention to "sell everything that isn't nailed down" disappeared quickly in the face of the ragdoll I've had since I was 5, my Grandmother's telephone table, and my Pic n Sav Christmas tree from my first apartment. (The lights still work!!!)

Dejected, I packed these items back in the box and returned it to the Keep pile.
Basically, the only things I now have to sell are 10 unmatched dishes, 9 books, 8 pieces of random sewing material, 7 DVDs,  6 kitchen containers, 5 blankets, 4 electronic items, 3 blouses, 2 purses and 1 never used guitar book complete with CD.

This does not a garage sale make...

So.
I woke up and realized this experience needed a new story.
I'd been gnashing my teeth over the fact that I am not currently residing in a permanent space to store my stuff. But what I needed to be doing is transforming the past into my exciting future.


Try these sentences out loud and hear which one feels more energizing.

1. "Wow. I have to sell my stuff because my plan didn't work. Waaah."
2. "Wow. I have a lot of great inventory. It's going to fun learning how to be a retail slut."

Okay.
Maybe you have an aversion to the word retail.
But telling a new story about an experience you're having anyway releases resistance and promotes acceptance. Acceptance of disappointment, acceptance of change, acceptance of joy.

Pic n Sav tree anyone?
It includes decorations and I'm selling it, cheap. 

Stepping through New Year's

This is the time of year when I usually compare my goals and dreams to last years intentions. I want to see if I made it. I want to see my progress.

Last year, I wanted to find full-time work and my own place in Ventura.
This year, I still want to move to Ventura, but landing a temporary job and having some groovy housemates would be just fine.

In 2012, I also began following a new way of project planning, that follows a lunar cycle.

New Year's day fell on the disseminating moon, just another day in my 30 day planning calendar.

 (Each month I set about the same intention: to follow my inner guidance and to be happier. )

Well, the next step to Ventura is letting go of my storage in a garage sale.
After that, it's moving the things I need for a room rental to a temporary storage at a friend's place.

That's it. I'm simply moving to my next logical step.

Yes, I accomplished many goals in 2012, some planned, some surprises.

A big dream was my booksigning concert in November.
A serendipity was visiting friends Diana, Shelley and Rose.
A highlight was the baby shower for my niece Summer.
A surprise was living in Morro Bay working for a friend.

The major non-accomplishment?
I am more relaxed about who I am, and I trust life more.

Here's hoping 2013 yields more of the same: trust, serendipity, surprises.

Stepping into the Dream Stream

Recently, after receiving guidance to do a specific task, I had to call transformational guide Leyla Atwill, author of Ten Secrets of Living Your Dream, for a phone rescue. See, I've been applying for job interviews in Ventura, but I clearly got the download to go ahead and apply for work in Arroyo Grande. I did try to make myself feel better by stating that “well, Arroyo Grande is on the way to Ventura,” but waaaaahhhhhh!!! I want to be in Ventura already and feel that anything less is failure.

Leyla told me to think about it like this:

“The length of time it takes for me to accept and allow Ventura, is equal to the time it takes to manifest Ventura.”

Now I'm just scared.

According to her book, the top secret is for me to feel love for where I am, right now. This is the most important work that I can do. Developing a self-love practice is at the core of reaching my dream. The reason is vibrational alignment. If I feel as if not being in Ventura right this second is coming up short, then I'm coming from lack, which is a feeling place of not being enough.

However, if I see myself standing on the shore of a big river, with Ventura on one side and me on the other, my intuition to take action towards Arroyo Grande represents a stepping stone in the river. I can't jump the whole river at this point, but I can step across the water, stone by stone.

Now the question becomes, can I love myself while standing on an Arroyo Grande stepping stone on the way to Ventura? If not, why not?

These questions are presented as a guide to recognizing habits that keep me from wading into the river in the first place; habits that I have developed as a coping strategy to avoid uncomfortable feelings.

Once when a friend and I were hiking in the Angeles Crest mountains near Pasadena, we crossed a small but swiftly moving stream. We had to step quickly across four or five stones to continue the hike. As we approached, we saw a couple on our side of the stream. The man was standing next to a woman crouched on the bank staring into the water. She seemed hypnotized. He seemed impatient.

Her analysis paralysis kept her from taking the first step. I know this feeling well. In my quest to unwind the feelings behind procrastination and doubt, it is easy to get caught crouching at the edge of the water. Paralysis is different every week, sometimes every day. Television, DVDs—especially the educational ones, ice cream and even voracious attendance of 12-step meetings, can keep me from following my guidance.

That crouching woman could have easily been me. But I trusted my buddy's sure-footed step. I watched where he placed his feet and quickly followed. This is the same as trusting my guidance. Quite frankly, when I look back across all of the streams that I have crossed, my inner guide has never left me stranded.

Despite my hesitation or my enthusiastic jumping into the stream for an icy swim, as long as I was listening, I have always safely reached the opposite shore.

Right now Ventura is my dream. It symbolizes expansiveness, opportunity, and connection. These qualities do not live in Ventura, they live in me.

“The length of time it takes for me to accept and allow Ventura, is equal to the time it takes to manifest Ventura.”


Leyla Atwill is a transformational coach in Los Osos. She creates a safety net for her clients to recognize, embody and release the habits and choices that keep them from reaching their goals and dreams. She can be reached at (805) 439-0268.