the art of being: Sign, sign everywhere a sign and where they're leading I will gladly follow.

Speaking of following if you made your way to my blog via Jason's please note that the one he called an amazing but not suprising story is the one titled Me and Paulo Coelho...how the universe conspired to cross our paths. Not that this one won't be a good read but I don't want to mislead you. No witches, hexes or exes here. ;-)

I've always been a believer in signs but it took a while to actually follow them and really learn to decipher what they mean to me. I used to want everything to be a sign in hopes of getting what I wanted but as time went on I realized that if I was truly following the signs sent to me by the universe I usually did not get what I wanted. I actually got more and better than what I wanted. Here are some recent examples of this. I always thought I would be in front of the camera but never behind. The signs asked me to go behind the scenes and because I did The Art of Being and The Experimental Witch were born. If you've read my other blogs you know what all that produced. Quite the journey.

In the LOVE department I thought I had everything I wanted and more in my "soulmate" so the universe would conspire someday. It really wasn't but I was holding on for dear life in hopes of willing because I wasn't open to the possiblity that somebody who actually shared my beliefs existed. However when the signs pointed to that possibility of his existence I surrendered control, let go of the soulmate after three years, and I am currently living my way into what I deemed impossible simply by trusting, letting go, believing, and above all being OPEN, which makes me ready to receive what I deserve. His existence has brought to life one of my favorite quotes, "If we were to judge nature by common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed." He reminds me of this shot I took today in Malibu. It seemed impossible to be able to capture such beauty but when the moment was right I did.

Thank God I let go and surrendered my will when the signs came because I was unknowingly stuck in a place where the likelihood of his existence was well...yikes...I'll admit it...none. Oh and I haven't met him just yet but the signs are leading me to him because I believe in that which I have not seen but the universe whispers to me about.

People often ask me about the signs and here is all I can truly tell you with full honesty based solely on my experience. They will come at the perfect moment making it truly awe inspiring and magical and make sense to no one but you. That I have learned and continue to learn. What I mean is when I've tried to tell people about them and where they are leading I've often worried them into cautioning me and trying to limit my thinking. They'll respond with, "Be careful you're setting you're yourself up to get hurt." Meanwhile I'm thinking I'm setting myself up to receive that which I deserve. In the end I will never know what truly worries people the fact that I follow the signs or the fact that they led to where I said they were. These days I tend to journal more about it and just let people watch the magic in my life unfold and hopefully my example will open them up to the magic of the signs and following them. They are after all there for all of us!

I guess I used to be intent on explaining them because I desire for all of us to live a life filled with happiness, joy, and love which I think comes from following your passion. Therefore I wish people would let go of the restrictions produced by their minds as to what can or can not happen. As I see it if you don't it makes it a lot tougher to follow a sign. What I mean is if you think something is not possible and a sign comes trying to take you to that you will not be able to follow the path because you deemed it not possible or yourself not deserving. Therefore a sign leading you there will become an interesting thing that happened but in the end not really of importance.

On the subject of being not deserving can someone please tell me who has a right to instill in anyone's mind that they don't deserve something. Seriously that is just not how I see the universe working. No one I tell you no one has a right to define you or your worthiness but YOU! So start praticing silencing the committee, tuning into your inner voice/gut, and the signs will become more apparent. Oh and by the committee I mean all those voices in your head telling you that you are wrong, a failure, or not good enough. Basically anything having to do with any negative comment you've ever heard about yourself that battles your truth constantly in order to let fear win out. You may have heard this before but it's worth repeating. FEAR IS FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. If you haven't heard it then there you have it.

All of this of course takes practice and will always take practice. We have created a very competitive society so it's easy for people to make careless comments not realizing the impact of their words. Intentionally? Rarely. Carelessly? Unfortunately yes. You see I think people forget sometimes to think before they speak. THINK SPELLS OUT THOUGHTFUL, HONEST, INTELLIGENT, NECESSARY, KIND. Is what people say always that? No but again I don't think it's intentional so it's up to you and me to decide what our truth is.

Look I did a play based on humanity being equality because in the center of my being that is my truth. I do not believe anyone to be their job. I don't believe in ranking and I sure as hell don't support the prettier you are the more value you hold mind frame. Beauty in my world is subjective, in the eye of the beholder, and above all for me an illusion. The skin veils the soul and for me your soul is where it's at. Just some thoughts of what I learned along the way on my journey that led to me understanding how to follow the signs. A sense of self and self worth will allow you to trust what the universe is trying to take you through and to. It's up to us to deem ourselves worthy of receiving the gift of a life that exceeds our expectations and anything we dreamt of, which the universe is trying to bestow upon us.

Are you worried about me yet? I kid because the truth is I meant what I said above, the signs will only make sense to you! Afterall it's your journey. Trying to convince anyone of that which only your heart feels is wasted energy better spent on trusting yourself and the universe of that, which you know you know. All while remembering that "faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and RECEIVES THE IMPOSSIBLE." I do not want to take from my journey and simplify it in a way that is unfair to you as you live in your struggles. Therefore I feel the need to share that I spent four years in therapy, read so many books from Coelho to Don Miguel Ruiz to Murakami to Brian Weiss that I should have just moved into Borders, and I am currently and will forever be a member of Al Anon because my journey is about PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION. By the way perfection doesn't exist. Anybody with me on having the word taken out of the dictionary? ;-)

In the end your life should make complete sense to only you and inspire others to have theirs make sense to them. I wish Emerson was alive today so I could have tea with him. I'd ask him to decipher his essay on Fate for me. I have read it so many times. I will forever be grateful that when I began therapy I ran across this quote of his, "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is your greatest accomplishment." I believe that if you follow the signs you will bring that quote to life. May you find the courage within you to fully grasp that life is not only magical and wonderful but above all not guaranteed therefore prompting you to follow the signs and LIVE YOUR DREAMS AND PASSION. For me the cost of the challenges in the life I chose to live is outweighed by the gift it is to do that which I am truly passionate about.

Here was one of many signs this week. While I was out doing Meals on Wheels and driving down Maple Dr. I spotted a mobile blood donating center. Huh? I was going to need one for one of the actions in the We Are What We Do
challenge I am doing. I was just thinking about it and there it was. Should I stop or figure it out later? Well of course I stopped and thanked the universe for leading me once again. You don't have to be led to extravagant amazing things all the time sometimes it's about the simple things in life being made accessible too. It's all in how we SEE things.

Here I am picking up Meals on Wheels. I've known Pat for ten years and she really needs volunteers so if you are in the Beverly Hills area or could volunteer in that area please call her at 310-423-3517 and tell her I sent you.

Getting my blood drawn. This mobile donation center was for the CHLA and you can find the mobile donating center by visting the Children's Hospital Los Angeles site.