Once I received several messages on social media from someone I had not seen in several decades, I was shocked and in a bad place at that time, so I didn’t respond, didn’t want to, didn’t feel it was the right time and probably would never be. The universe had other ideas, as my thumb clumsily forwarded a random tennis post on facebook without being even aware of it… a post which allowed that person to respond back again… and which eventually led to months of close connection, and memories. Thank you Universe!
OK, here goes. I've never shared this publicly, but you asked, so....I was in my 20s and home for the summer from grad school. I was a mess, and in a very dark place where I had been for several months. To say I came from a dysfunctional family is beyond an understatement, yet that's where I was, and I was depressed. I was lying in bed one morning, just thinking, trying to figure out what to do. I felt like I was getting nowhere when it happened. I heard a voice. Not an audible voice, but one inside my head. It was strong, it was firm, and it was male. I did not recognize it. It said, "Kathy, things here are never going to change. You have got to get out NOW." It shocked me completely. My first thought was, "What the hell was that?!" Then I just laid there. Pretty quickly, I dismissed it as something I must have made up. Then it happened again. Same voice, same firmness, same male. "Kathy, things here are never going to change. You have got to get out NOW." That time, I realized something beyond me was going on, and I decided to believe it. Within a few minutes, I had created a plan to drop out of my grad school, transfer to a different school that was at the opposite end of the state, and decided how to tell my parents. It caused a fight, but I didn't care. I held firm. A few weeks later, I moved away and left home for good. Listening to that voice completely changed my life in a good way. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one.
Wow, Kathy, that's such an amazing and powerful experience, I'm so glad you shared it, thank you!
It's the mechanism behind these things can be irrelevant, but how we respond matters, and I'm so glad you did! Carl Jung might say this could be the voice of your animus, or another wise part of your psyche that was hidden from your consciousness breaking through. ✨🤍✨
You're welcome! Oh, that's so interesting! I've wondered for a long time what really happened that day. I'm 69 now, so this experience was ages ago, but I've never forgotten it. It's not the only mystical experience I've had in my life, the first one was at age 10, but it is the one that created the most change in my life.
What strikes me is that the message wasn't "fix your family" or "try harder." It was "get out."
I've had a few moments in my life where changing the environment changed far more than I expected. Looking back, I think some places keep us inside the same conversation with ourselves, day after day. Sometimes the most important thing isn't finding the answer. It's leaving the room where we've been asking the same question for too long....
It's probably one of the reasons I reflect so much on travel and transformation in my Letters on the Road.
I totally agree. When I was contemplating retirement back in 2016, I knew I needed to get far away from home to think clearly about it. I was living in Florida at that time. I went on a two week canoe trip in the Arctic of Alaska to immerse myself in nature and think. It worked. I retired three weeks after returning home.
Absolutely! It was exactly what I needed to flush work out of my system long enough to see my future. And friends of mine who were on the trip helped too.
Wow, what a beautiful moment. I'm so sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes. I live in Cornwall and dolphins are rare for sure.
I think my story is probably about rainbows. My Dad passed away and when I was back visiting his house for the last time, 1 year after he died, I could not stop seeing rainbows. They were everywhere, every day, morning and evening and it was amazing. It was very much a symbol of his and it felt to me like he was trying to reach me with his love.
Your story made me think about how many important transitions in my life happened somewhere away from home. Not because I went looking for answers. Usually I didn't. But somehow being somewhere different made it easier to let go of an old version of myself and imagine a new one.
Maybe that's why I've always loved travel so much.
That makes so much sense to me. I think when we are in a new place, it can be so energising and stimulating, and we don't need to hold onto old patterns that might be ingrained in the same way in a new environment. Travel can be like therapy in that sense!
Not sure this qualifies as a moment but I know that recently I travelled to a destination by the ocean that I had been thinking about residing to in a few years time.
Upon driving in to this little village I immediately felt a wash of happiness that this was right…it was the right place for me. The feeling just overcame me and I was not expecting it but it felt incredible.
I smiled reading this. A few years ago I visited a place I'd been thinking about for a long time. Within minutes of arriving, I knew more than I had after months of thinking about it from home. Sometimes we don't need more analysis. We need to actually be there.
What a clear rendering of a moment, a tough moment to capture. Thank you; it's writing like this that, to me, matters. I've had a few of those 'shifts' internally, and it is so hard to describe the finality of it. The click when your insides step into another way of...thinking? being?
Both I think Amy, like sparking neurones up that had been dormant, making connections that weren’t there before, to new ways of thinking, feeling and being. ✨🤍✨
What a powerful experience Kate, thanks for sharing it - you brought tears to my eyes too. I’m going to ponder on the ways in which the universe has guided me, but the fact that I’ve ended up living in my childhood home quite unintentionally (never dreamed of or aspired to do so!) is perhaps one example of kismet.
What strange, mystical, pivotal experiences have you had, and how did it change things for you?
Once I received several messages on social media from someone I had not seen in several decades, I was shocked and in a bad place at that time, so I didn’t respond, didn’t want to, didn’t feel it was the right time and probably would never be. The universe had other ideas, as my thumb clumsily forwarded a random tennis post on facebook without being even aware of it… a post which allowed that person to respond back again… and which eventually led to months of close connection, and memories. Thank you Universe!
That’s a lovely one Isabelle, maybe your own subconscious paying a part, perhaps a deeper version of you knew it was for the best? 🙏🏻
OK, here goes. I've never shared this publicly, but you asked, so....I was in my 20s and home for the summer from grad school. I was a mess, and in a very dark place where I had been for several months. To say I came from a dysfunctional family is beyond an understatement, yet that's where I was, and I was depressed. I was lying in bed one morning, just thinking, trying to figure out what to do. I felt like I was getting nowhere when it happened. I heard a voice. Not an audible voice, but one inside my head. It was strong, it was firm, and it was male. I did not recognize it. It said, "Kathy, things here are never going to change. You have got to get out NOW." It shocked me completely. My first thought was, "What the hell was that?!" Then I just laid there. Pretty quickly, I dismissed it as something I must have made up. Then it happened again. Same voice, same firmness, same male. "Kathy, things here are never going to change. You have got to get out NOW." That time, I realized something beyond me was going on, and I decided to believe it. Within a few minutes, I had created a plan to drop out of my grad school, transfer to a different school that was at the opposite end of the state, and decided how to tell my parents. It caused a fight, but I didn't care. I held firm. A few weeks later, I moved away and left home for good. Listening to that voice completely changed my life in a good way. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one.
Wow, Kathy, that's such an amazing and powerful experience, I'm so glad you shared it, thank you!
It's the mechanism behind these things can be irrelevant, but how we respond matters, and I'm so glad you did! Carl Jung might say this could be the voice of your animus, or another wise part of your psyche that was hidden from your consciousness breaking through. ✨🤍✨
You're welcome! Oh, that's so interesting! I've wondered for a long time what really happened that day. I'm 69 now, so this experience was ages ago, but I've never forgotten it. It's not the only mystical experience I've had in my life, the first one was at age 10, but it is the one that created the most change in my life.
So incredible! ✨
What strikes me is that the message wasn't "fix your family" or "try harder." It was "get out."
I've had a few moments in my life where changing the environment changed far more than I expected. Looking back, I think some places keep us inside the same conversation with ourselves, day after day. Sometimes the most important thing isn't finding the answer. It's leaving the room where we've been asking the same question for too long....
It's probably one of the reasons I reflect so much on travel and transformation in my Letters on the Road.
I totally agree. When I was contemplating retirement back in 2016, I knew I needed to get far away from home to think clearly about it. I was living in Florida at that time. I went on a two week canoe trip in the Arctic of Alaska to immerse myself in nature and think. It worked. I retired three weeks after returning home.
That’s amazing Kathy, and at the same time it makes perfect sense, all that space and nature giving you freedom to see clearly.
Absolutely! It was exactly what I needed to flush work out of my system long enough to see my future. And friends of mine who were on the trip helped too.
Wow, what a beautiful moment. I'm so sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes. I live in Cornwall and dolphins are rare for sure.
I think my story is probably about rainbows. My Dad passed away and when I was back visiting his house for the last time, 1 year after he died, I could not stop seeing rainbows. They were everywhere, every day, morning and evening and it was amazing. It was very much a symbol of his and it felt to me like he was trying to reach me with his love.
That is so beautiful Jessica, it's hard to put it down to coincidence! ✨🌈
Your story made me think about how many important transitions in my life happened somewhere away from home. Not because I went looking for answers. Usually I didn't. But somehow being somewhere different made it easier to let go of an old version of myself and imagine a new one.
Maybe that's why I've always loved travel so much.
That makes so much sense to me. I think when we are in a new place, it can be so energising and stimulating, and we don't need to hold onto old patterns that might be ingrained in the same way in a new environment. Travel can be like therapy in that sense!
Not sure this qualifies as a moment but I know that recently I travelled to a destination by the ocean that I had been thinking about residing to in a few years time.
Upon driving in to this little village I immediately felt a wash of happiness that this was right…it was the right place for me. The feeling just overcame me and I was not expecting it but it felt incredible.
That sounds so lovely Laine, like a perfect alignment with place your intuitive self could feel deeply. Thank you for sharing 🧡
I smiled reading this. A few years ago I visited a place I'd been thinking about for a long time. Within minutes of arriving, I knew more than I had after months of thinking about it from home. Sometimes we don't need more analysis. We need to actually be there.
So very true Luliana
What a beautiful moment. Thanks for letting us into this precious event
Thank you so much. Have you experienced any moments of wonder like this?
What a clear rendering of a moment, a tough moment to capture. Thank you; it's writing like this that, to me, matters. I've had a few of those 'shifts' internally, and it is so hard to describe the finality of it. The click when your insides step into another way of...thinking? being?
Thank you!
Both I think Amy, like sparking neurones up that had been dormant, making connections that weren’t there before, to new ways of thinking, feeling and being. ✨🤍✨
Now, if only there were a way of creating growth/change shifts without the inevitable pain/sense of loss that comes first! (meant light-heartedly).
What a powerful experience Kate, thanks for sharing it - you brought tears to my eyes too. I’m going to ponder on the ways in which the universe has guided me, but the fact that I’ve ended up living in my childhood home quite unintentionally (never dreamed of or aspired to do so!) is perhaps one example of kismet.
Thank you. ☺️
That’s so lovely Vanessa, sounds like it was where you belong all along. Meant to be. 🙏🏻