On Noticing, Being in the Moment, and My Current Recommendations of Inspiration
I want to share what I learn, and I want to package it in pretty ways, but I realized that sometimes it’s a stop-gap. I put things off and I don’t write the newsletter or share the interesting podcast someone just recommended to me, or a quote that shifted something internally in me — because I say, oh I’ll put that in a beautiful template and use nice colors, et cetera et cetera. And then… time passes and it feels like I missed a moment.
So, I’ll write a bit here — on the fly on a Saturday morning — and then below I’ll share a few things of what has been inspiring to me lately. One thing that has become clear to me is living a life with divine guidance is to notice. Notice what comes up in conversations; notice lyrics from a song on the radio; notice the insight from a podcast interview; notice what a kind stranger in line at the grocery store said to you; notice the line from an essay that pops out to you. These are all signs and nudges. Note them, follow them, trust your intuition. What I believe more and more is that we are all led by the Universe; all we need to do is notice… and then, at some point, act upon how we are being guided.
Right Now
I sit here on Saturday morning in the quiet. Two family members are out of the townhouse, and one still sleeps. I’ve done my morning chores like walked the dogs, fed them, tidied up the kitchen, brewed coffee, and filled water bowls and bottles.
I opened windows, lit palo santo, lit my favorite candles, put on my I Am Peace music soundtrack, and moved my tray with crystals closer to my spot on the couch.
The scene was set for me to sit and close my eyes and meditate. The stillness in this space is gorgeous. Instead, I asked myself, what am I feeling called to do right now?
And so, I poured a cup of coffee, brought my books and journals close, and sat. I closed my eyes, held my coffee in my hands, and I had a conversation with Spirit — or call it what you may: the Divine, Infinite Intelligence, my spirit guides.
Trust, I heard. Today practice non-resistance. We are bringing you everything you need, I heard.
I said to them, can you speed it up, please? If time isn’t linear, let’s move some of these timelines up. Please, and thank you.
Everything, everywhere, all at once.
When I Woke
When I woke this morning, I said to my husband, “Wait, was it just last Saturday that we had our garage sale here at our new place? That feels like it was so long ago. How is that possible?”
He said, “I think it’s because since moving, we have been so present, in the moment. Every day is full with not a moment wasted.”
This rings true. Our former home feels like happened so long ago.
We are living in the moment. I wonder, how can I do this more in my life? How can I continue this?
When a friend of mine recently asked how it was going in our new place, I told her that we are all somewhat surprised about how easily we have adapted. My daughter told me yesterday that she likes living here much more than she imagined. Same. We joined a gym down the street, we walk to coffee shops and grocery stores, we are creating a new life here. And — it’s good. Maybe it’s because we did our due diligence in letting go of our other home, with rituals and celebrations, with tears and laughter and sharing memories.
That chapter has closed, and we are here now. Living in the moment.
My friend said to me that she heard that being adaptable is the sign of good mental health. I’m running with that one.
What I Want to Share
While I would love to put this in some cute and creative template, I’m instead putting some things here that I feel called to share because the energy I’m am embracing is this: Just Begin. Without waiting for things to be “perfect.” And so, here are some things that have been inspiring to me lately:
READ
Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte
Please, do yourself a favor and buy this book of essays. It’s remarkable and poignant and David Whyte is a gorgeous writer. The essay that is speaking to me the most right now is called “Beginning,” and the essay that pulled me into Whyte’s world is “Friendship.” I mean, read this final paragraph to “Friendship:”
“But no matter the medicinal virtues of being a true friend or sustaining a long, close relationship with another, the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor of the self: the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.”
Add this to your morning ritual or read an essay before bed. (Much better than before bed doom scrolling!)
WATCH
In our family group text, my daughter shared this. I don’t know this man (Frank Watkinson), yet I loved his simple and honest version of this song, “My Love, Mine All Mine” by Mitski. If you just want a moment of Grandpa-energy sweetness, click here to watch. Also, no matter our age, let’s keep creating and finding joy where we can.
LISTEN
I met a friend for coffee yesterday and she asked if I had listened to this podcast called A Life of Greatness with Sarah Grynberg featuring one of our shared spiritual guides, Carissa Schumacher. (Listen to my conversation with Carissa on Hold the Light.)
There are so many takeaways in this conversation on A Life of Greatness, I’ll certainly be listening again and taking notes. Here’s something that popped out to me:
“Your best friend this year is not your body, not heart. Your best friend this year is your intuition.” - Carissa Schumacher
Intuition keeps coming up for me: building it, trusting it, honoring it. More on intuition below, but first more context around this quote. Carissa said:
“…because these last four years were the death of the old era, and these next four years are the movement, the first toddler baby steps that we're making into the new era. And so the staying dropped in and maintaining the balance, seeing, looking at the layer. So if you're having an issue, this is not a year to be focusing on the issue, and how do I resolve the issue?
What will really serve you this year is if you look at the issue and then ask yourself, what is the issue beneath the issue? What is the burden beneath the issue? If you orient your time and energy and your focus on the issue beneath the issue, the struggle beneath the issue, you will find that it transforms very, very rapidly.
And so things have the ability to manifest that just weren't possible when we were in the old era and the old era structures. And so staying dropped into that center, there's going to be a lot of new energy that is entering the lives of those that are volunteering fundamentally to serve as vessels or to serve from that vertical intersection with the world of form, that vertical intersection with the world of form, the human world. And so what will be amplified and very best friend to every single listener that does not think that I'm completely batshit crazy by this point in time, your best friend this year is not your body, not your heart. Your best friend this year is your intuition.”
SPEAKING OF INTUITION
For those of you in Los Angeles, I am co-hosting a day-long intuition-building workshop called “Awaken Your Intuition Bootcamp.”
My co-hosts — Shelley Warren, astrologer/intuitive, and Jana Hollingsworth, spiritual wellness coach/psychic medium/intuitive —are going deep and packing in a lot of information, tools, and joy around awakening or deepening your intuition. It’s a high-vibe bootcamp.
This will take place at my new home in L.A. either on Sunday, August 11th or Sunday, August 18th, the final date TBD soon. 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. It includes a workbook, crystals, your own pendulum (we’ll do pendulum work!), and exercises on learning how to trust your intuition. Plus, lunch of course.
Cost is $325. Consider this a worthy investment. We spend this much on massages, facials, or a new purse — as Carissa said, we are entering a time where right now, your best friend is your intuition. Invest in connecting with it, and it will guide you well.
If you would like to join or want more information, send me an email to: Laurie@holdthelightcollective.com or add a question or comment below!
If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading! Keep holding the light. xo, Laurie