A little over a week ago I underwent Lasik eye surgery. I have worn glasses for 43 years, so the notion of being in life without an external means of eyesight correction thrilled me no end. But no one prepared me for the post-op period while awaiting the resurrection of my perfect sight! Oh, sure, the doctors told me that my vision would be clear and then blurry off and on for the first 2 weeks, but they didn’t mention all of the other challenges that may come up (I understand, as my challenges may be different from others). It certainly has been a reminder as to how the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies are so very connected.

My biggest challenge this week has not been with seeing far away or up-close, but with my mid-vision being quite blurry and hazy or what I have come to call “fluffy”. And everything around my house seems to be in this mid-vision, so I have come to find out that fluffy vision can be very disorientating, frustrating, and exhausting.

A friend pointed out that I had done something very violent to my eyes–had a flap cut in my corneas and then had my eyes doused with pulses of laser light. So of course my eyes–my physical body– have been healing, but so have been my emotional and mental bodies. For over four decades I have gone through the act of putting on glasses to make my way in the world. My eyesight was so bad that I was totally lost without them (You’ve heard of 20/20 vision? Well mine was about 20/800!). I was addicted to this external source, but all of a sudden, I didn’t need it any more and, even though the fluffy eyesight was annoying, my glasses would not have helped.

As bizarre as it may sound, I was actually grieving the loss of my glasses. I happened to find them the other day and put them on, remarking at how strong they were for me now. But at the same time the familiarity of them on my face reminded me of and felt like an old friend, and I was swept up in a sudden wave of sadness.

Falling away this week were not only actual physical perceptions I had of the world, but emotional and mental ones as well. To adjust to this monumental life change, I have called upon just about all of the seven personal alchemy steps I have just recently shared with you (except the two that involved writing). The ones that I found most helpful were that of meditating and listening to music. The musical vibrations really helped to soothe and sitting in the silence allowed me find peace amidst all of the inner turmoil.

It has been a challenge–and I may still not be completely out of the woods yet, but I have a new appreciation for something that I may have taken for granted all of these years and a new appreciation of how delicate our inner balance is. When one part of us is off, so there goes the rest of our being.

And this can be a beautiful analogy to the world in which we live. Can you see that? When one of us is off, there goes the rest of us. Take notice how integrated and connected we all are. How lovely and amazing. Fascinating lessons everywhere!

I wrote those words to you all back in February of 2009 and they still stand true. You are Merlin and Merlin is you. It is just a matter of continually using the right formulas–the formulas that work for you– to find and open up your treasure chest of Magic. And just so you know, you were born with this treasure chest. Maybe you are now just finding the map or perhaps you’ve been sidelined a bit with some adventures and have rekindled your hunt for your buried treasure. No matter what your circumstance may be, these tools I am sharing will help you to find that buried treasure.  It just takes a little practice and a little patience. I will give you the shovel. It is simply up to you to pick it up and break ground.

The technique I present to you here is a meditation based on the Buddhist meditation called vipissana. It is all about the amazing art of being present with whatever arises.  What I share with you I call B.L.I.S.S. meditation.  Here I will break it down for you:

1. Breathe
2. Look
3. Inside
4. See
5. Separate

Simple. Straight forward. Direct to the point. And you may ask, what IS the point? The point, the bottom line, is to get to #5 and see that you are SEPARATE from all that is arising, whether it be a thought or an emotion. Thoughts and emotions come and go with the wind. The trouble comes when we follow their track.

So  find yourself a comfortable place where you will not be disturbed. Close your eyes. Breathe, just normally. Focus on your breathe as long as you can. Be patient. Even if you can only focus on a half of a breath; that is perfect. When something pulls you away from your breathe then Look Inside. This means simply to look at what comes or is coming up. There will be thoughts or perhaps emotions that will arise.

See these thoughts or emotions. You can perhaps see the words themselves. Or if it is an emotion, label it. For example, if it is sadness, say to your self “sadness”. Observe everything in this way. And as you do this labeling and observing, it will become magically Separate from you. When you become the observer, that thought or emotion is no longer felt as to be you or part of you. Once it is all separate, then comes the Magic. All of this can happen in a matter of seconds. As you arrive at the bottom line of becoming Separate from what you are seeing or observing, then go back to the first step which is to Breathe and focus on your breathe. You have come full circle in the process.

BREATHE –> LOOK INSIDE –> SEE –> SEPARATE

The  minute you begin to honor and observe that which has arisen, it will fall away and dissolve into that which it came from. And when you continually do that, you will begin to see glimpses of your inner magic; your treasure chest. This practice will help to unveil your personal alchemy.

Ever find yourself on a treadmill in your head, running the same thought over and over and over again? If you feel yourself caught in this trap, take in a deep Breathe, Look Inside, and See the thought. This action will then magically Separate you from it so you can jump off of the treadmill. It relieves the overwhelm, the distraction from the Now. And in the Now is the only place we will ever discover our Magic. This tool can be used anywhere anytime to bring you back to focus and back to life.

If you practice this BLISS meditation diligently, you will uncover your inner magician more and more. It takes persistence and patience to dust off that Magic Wand of yours. But isn’t it worth it???

Our inner Magic is of a higher vibration. So in order to resonate with that higher, lighter vibration of your Magic, it is important to focus on that which is also of a higher vibration. Do you see how holding higher thoughts and their subsequent emotions will bring you to a place of vibrating higher? Love, compassion, joy, and happiness–these are all of a high vibration.

To test out this theory, try this: for two hours say the words “I am at peace” (When your mind takes you away from this thought, gently bring it back to the phrase). This really is not anything fancy or involving having to know any high complex spiritual laws. The word “peace” carries with it a sense of fulfillment and oneness; it is calming and soothing; and best of all it is a word of a high vibration. Watch as your mood changes, people respond to you in a different, lighter way, and perhaps even exciting and positive events will occur–all just like Magic! Here are some more powerful words to use in the same way: love, happiness, joy, faith, God, Light, Oneness, I Am, ohm. Discover the ones that work for you.  ”A-bra-ca-da-bra” are not the only Magic words!

With this kind of Magic in mind, read the suggestion below by Og Mandino, one of the best-selling inspirational authors and teachers of our time. This quote will open your eyes to a way of being that, if you practice it with commitment, can change your life.

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.

It may at first sound a bit radical. But just try it. Your heart will open, the compassion will surge, and the Magic will flow. This thought provoking exercise is just an example of an infinite number of ways to open your heart as you raise your vibration. If you are willing, you will discover and create more ways to raise your vibration as you interact with Life. When you open your heart fully, that is when Merlin shows up.

Always remember: You are Merlin and Merlin is you.

I came to this understanding first hand today. I have recently embarked on a new, exciting chapter in my life. On June 5th, I left my lovely little hometown of Easthampton, Massachusetts and drove across county with my two dear furry friends to join the love of my life in his home in California. Filled with excitement, bubbling about the change, and looking forward to the new, I was amazed to find the arrival of something else shortly after my arrival. Something underneath began brewing, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t understand it at the time, but it was my mind and body’s reaction and resistance to the drastic change. My “old” world and my “new” world couldn’t be more opposite. From the traffic to the scenery to my immediate surroundings to the people. On one level my mind craved familiarity and was completely resistant to the change. But today I finally understood that what was brewing underneath was the presence of a certain sadness that had been quietly running in the background and, until that moment, totally  perplexed me. I now saw that it was rising from a deep sense of loss. Perhaps a loss of the familiar, of certain day-to-day habits, of a particular way of seeing myself in the world.

Maybe that is why we don’t embark on those new projects or make the changes that, in the long run, would be for our own good. Perhaps the body senses the change, knows the upcoming challenges, and then we put on the brakes. We fear the possibility of experiencing loss of the familiar and choose to stay just where we are. It’s safer and not so scary.

Boldly going forward and making the changes that are the best for us takes a lot of courage. But it also takes love and devotion and gentleness with ourselves as we adjust.

With this new awareness, I will now embrace the feelings of loss and accept them all as part of the experience. That is the only way that I will be able to enjoy and appreciate the richness and fullness of my “new” life.

So I suggest that the next time you are faced with any offering of change- big or small- instead of turning away, acknowledge the fear and ensuing emotions and know that they are all part of the process—the process of truly LIVING; the process of truly BEING; the process of connecting to ALL THAT IS.

I had developed a cold on a recent trip to LA, and upon returning I held a channeling event. It was spectacular, but I began to lose my voice the next day. I became concerned as last fall I had experienced something similar and recalled the struggle it had brought. Another concern was that I have two more channeling events this week and, obviously, need my voice for that! I saw that there was much being released in my throat chakra, but also realized that I JUST HAD TO STOP TALKING. Seemed easy enough. That is, for the first 20 seconds. I began watching what was going on internally. It was as if I could see and feel all those words coming up that wanted to come out and take flight in the world. But I just watched them as I sat at my computer and worked. I then ventured downstairs and instead of cooing and heaping praises on my dogs verbally, I just rubbed and patted them, smiled at them, and gave them their much loved “biskees” and carrots.  They truly felt my love without all of the extra verbiage. But as I tooled around my house, I realized there was one person that I really really wanted to talk to out loud. It was ME! I never realized until that moment how much I talk to myself! But I suppressed the desire and continued on my day. Going to the store, just smiling at the clerk, and holding back my wanting to sing along to my favorite tunes in the car. Quite surprisingly, after not too much time, I felt the most amazing shift within my being. I felt a new sense of power, of inner strength. Perhaps all that talking to myself spins my energy outside of me and scatters me around. I felt more focused, centered, peaceful, and grounded. And after a while, I found that I really didn’t want to talk as it felt so good not to talk! I never thought a sore throat could be such a blessing and such an amazing teacher.

I highly recommend finding ways to put silence into your day–outside of your meditations if possible. The rewards will astound you. And perhaps the YOU that you discover will astound you.

So the next time someone says to you, “I can’t hear myself think! Can you just be quiet?” Thank them and do just that! Consider that you have been just given a fabulous gift…

My guess is that if you are spiritual or not, this picture will stir up something within you.

For those of you who are familiar with the amazing journey of Jesus  Christ, you understand the power of this day as you feel the power of this picture and what it signifies. And as you gaze upon this picture, ask yourself if you think there is a possibility that this picture can be a reflection of YOU. Perhaps you are now saying to yourself, “What is she talking about? This is a depiction of a spiritual master. What on Earth could we have in common?” My answer is that you have EVERYTHING in common with Him.

One of his lessons to us was to help us to see our greatness, our inner beauty, our eloquence, grace, strength, and Truth. He is a mirror for you of the true essence of YOU. It is so easy to forget that in the day-to-day “stuff’ we create and then get stuck in. So if, in those times, we can pry open that door of our greatness and allow the Light of that amazing often-hidden space within to flood us, we will feel our inner beauty, strength, and amazement.

And beyond that: remind your friends and family to look in their own mirrors as well and see that beautiful strength and mightiness. Chances are they have forgotten too. Bring to them the gift of remembrance. Bring to them the gift of awareness.  Bring to them the gift of knowing that they can turn their meek meows into melodious roars in the instant that they see who they really are.

Let me hear YOU roar!