Last week was one of the most powerful weeks of my life. After I got home I started counting up significant happenings and there were over a dozen. By following my intuition and listening to my heart, doors opened, messages were received and a huge shift occurred.

The details about the manatee part of the trip are in a previous post but I wanted to share an overall perspective of the signs that appeared during the week as they have pointed me in a very strong direction from which clarity is arising.

Here’s a partial list:  Rainbow appeared over left shoulder while driving and talking into my voice memo on my iPhone saying how I want to follow my creative dreams; pulled up to traffic signal while rainbow was still bright in the sky and the cross street was named, ‘Follow That Dream Parkway;’ manatees in greater numbers than I’ve ever seen and many friendly ones posed for photographs and video; met kindred spirits from Australia; shirts with Advice From a Manatee on them…same poem read by a young woman at the manatee memorial gathering; mother and juvenile manatee rested their heads on my left shoulder (rainbow over left shoulder); visited with Magnolia, our manatee friend healing at Sea World Rehab; on Saturday night songwriter Paul Cebar looked directly into my eyes while singing a line about making dreams come true; invited to go to Tonga to volunteer with humpback whale work; had the condo to myself Thursday night so I could process and write about the incredible encounters with manatees I had over three days; followed intuition to leave a very crowded concert venue and found a beautiful trail at Grayton Beach State Park and a sacred oak grove; instead of leaving Sunday morning I went to two songwriter workshops…and that’s where I’ll pick up the story.

After the above experiences and many more, the songwriter workshops brought the week to a powerful close. Paul, the guy that sang the line about making dreams come true, did the first workshop and sang the song again. Message received. Am I this dense, I wondered. I was sitting there listening to Paul thinking back to the powerful rainbow experience on my first travel day.

Then Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack did the second workshop and gave beautiful advice. It was striking a powerful chord (excuse the music pun) within me so I started taking notes on my phone. Here’s a bit of it:

Tommy: “Genius is remaining true to who you are. Go deep in your core. Be honest. Reveal yourself.” This is exactly what the entire week was about for me–honoring my path, listening to the inner voice, and being real in my work.

Will: “Don’t beat yourself for not writing all the time. You have to go out and gather experiences and then write.” One of the major self-criticisms in my life is that I’m not always producing. I constantly have to ward off the idea that if I’m not busy writing or photographing or ‘working’ that I’m failing.

Tommy…or Will: “Do what you enjoy.” It has been my intention to follow my bliss in life and during the week I had a realization that if I opened my heart to my path, the doors–that are already open and waiting for me–will be revealed.

Here’s  the Joseph Campbell quote about following your bliss:

“Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”

In summary, it was a Joseph Campbell Follow-Your-Bliss week. I decided to go back and review the recording from the rainbow experience that seemed to jump-start it all. I was talking into my voice memo app after listening to John O’Donahue recordings that prompted realizations when the rainbow appeared. It’s an unedited version of what was happening. Here’s an excerpt:

I want to float in Oneness and allow my true self to shine. My creativity…OH MY GOD! There’s a rainbow! AH!! It’s so beautiful. AMAZING! Oh, my GOD! Right as I was about to say this realization about creativity…Oh, my GOD! It’s a double rainbow!! WOO HOO! ………  I have based my creativity on what I think others want in order to be successful in what I’m creating. My creativity, what wants to come through me, doesn’t have to look like anybody else’s…OH!!! HOLY CRAP!…The rainbow is a complete and total arch!!… (expletive)…That’s the most intense rainbow I have ever seen in my life! It was a double rainbow and the inside at one point…all the clouds became intense golden in color and the rainbow was rain-bowing inside itself….Ok….To be really successful just in my own heart and creative self, mind and soul is creating something that’s totally me and not about creating to sell or earn a living…bringing through to the material realm whatever it is that wants to be brought through….unbelievable! Oh…this is SO BEAUTIFUL! (I should stop and get out). It’s like the whole sky….(laughter) is a complete beautiful…Oh, my GOD! I’m at Follow That Dream Parkway…That’s actually a sign on County Road 40 in Inglis, Florida. This is like spiritually crazy-good! Follow that dream baby! And create…Follow your dream! You can do this! It’s good, it’s good, it’s GOOD! This is a good day!

Listening to the recording took me into that moment of beautiful realization. It felt as if John O’Donahue must have been smiling down upon me and Joseph Campbell had the follow-up punch that brought the week to a close by the reminder from Tommy or Will to do what I enjoy…follow my bliss.

 

The truth Campbell wrote about speaks to the fact that we bring skills and gifts with us into this life. If we do what we truly love we will succeed….the kind of success that goes beyond money or notoriety….the soul’s journey being successful. John and Joseph, thank you! Paul, Tommy and Will, thank you! Manatees…rainbows….street signs…thank you!

It feels as if I am the arrow in the bow of my life and I’m drawn back and ready to be shot forth into the world. I can’t exactly say what set off the incredible series of events but I know how powerful it feels. The hard, inner work is now beginning to set a powerful direction for me and as a friend wrote yesterday, Awesome Adventures Await!

Follow That Dream. Message received, noted….. and YES!