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As I lie here in bed, in this care facility run by an order of contemplative nuns, I think of the path I have traveled to where I am today. The word grace comes to mind, and charism, which is an extraordinary power given by spirit to be used for the good of others. I’ll explain, as you may also be traversing this or similar territory.

When I was living in the Santa Ynez Valley many years ago, every morning at 4 a.m. I would go to a nearby chapel to meditate and do my sutra practice, followed by merging into a deeper state of prayer. The seer who taught me to meditate always said that meditation prepares you best for prayer.

After several months in the chapel, I started to have experiences of visions and voices. I was given instruction (internally) in how to hold my hands and arms. Later I realized that these arm and hand positions are the same ones you see the priests using in the Catholic Mass. Clearly, these particular positions have something to do with divine energy. Unfortunately, these days most priests are just going through the motions and are no longer connected to that flow of Divine energy.

When I started having the visions and voices, I wondered if this was common. One day as I left the chapel after my meditation and prayer, I ran into a friar. I told him my experiences and he said, “You will want to read St. Theresa of Avila. You’ll find that your experiences are similar to hers.” St. Theresa was a Carmelite nun in the 1500s in Avila, Spain. Her writings are still a guide for developing spiritually through service and prayer, almost a blueprint for how prayer is a mystical union with God. I was excited to discover someone had written about the types of experiences I was having. I devoured all of her books and devoted a year to studying them.

If you’re having or are curious about metaphysical experiences like visions and voices, you might consider reading St. Theresa yourself. And if I’ve taught you to meditate, and you have learned sutras from me, it’s likely you will have some unusual experiences. It’s important to know that these experiences are not only beneficial for you, but are given to you so you will use them to benefit humankind. By the way, if you haven’t learned the sutras yet, which tend to give rise to such powerful spiritual experiences, I’m teaching them in just a few weeks and you can  >>learn more here<<

A year or so later, I was laid up in bed with a back injury, during which time I had incredible adventures in the land of Spirit; I even had an encounter with the devil! My husband, Eric, took me to see a healer, which is when I had a gigantic spiritual opening. I spent that whole summer sitting in an oak tree, steeping myself in Spirit. I was given more hand movements, along with some special sounding techniques for conducting healing and initiations.

Looking back, I can see a pattern: there have been a number of times I’ve been flat on my back and each incident provided me with another spiritual opening. Why is that? First of all, when you’re laid up, you’re more likely to have the time to be open to the inflow of spiritual gifts. Plus, in times of crisis, you’re just more available. You’re not running off to cook dinner or do the laundry or walk the dog.

As my healing skills got more refined, one day I heard a voice say: “Do what you do in your private healing practice in public.” Always willing to do the bidding of Spirit, despite my horrendous fear of public speaking, I did free healings every Monday night in different parts of Los Angeles for nearly a year. As my work evolved, I discovered that the spiritual experiences that had originally been for me were now for the guest standing next to me.

I was clearly guided in what to do with healing energy: ACT—attract the power, conduct it through my own personal energy field, and transmit it to the other person.

And so I was graced with the charism of healing. A charism (plural is charismata) describes any of the spiritual gifts given to an individual that are to be used for the good of others. Charismatic gifts can include words of wisdom and knowledge, increased faith, prophecy, the discernment of Spirit, and the gift of healing.

It’s been many years since Spirit trained me to use these healing and initiatory energies for others. Eventually I learned that all I have to do is “intend” for the energy and I immediately feel a big rush of light come through me. I can tell if it’s meant for initiation (giving someone a “step-up” in consciousness) or for healing. Sometimes I’m told it’s to help someone transition; their time has come.

The spiritual experiences I had were compatible with my religious upbringing as a Catholic. I was brought up with Jesus and the saints, so that’s who I saw and heard. I’d have visions of the Mother Mary in a variety of ways, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe. When I’m working with someone, I see or sense the guides and divine figures that are the ones compatible with their beliefs. I might see American Indian guides, or little Irish gnomes, or a turbaned Sikh. You may be more comfortable with the Mother in the figure of the Buddhist Kuan Yin, or the Hindu goddess Durga, or a Jewish matriarch like Deborah. I personally have a strong connection to the goddess Isis from a past life as a priestess in ancient Egypt.

So the question is: how do you open yourself to receiving the grace of a charism?

It takes deep inner work. You have to learn to make lemonade from the lemons of your life. You do the best you can with a difficult partner, an unfair boss, or a terrible accident. ☺ Most importantly, you have to find your individual way of serving humanity.

We are all members of the human community and we are meant to act for the benefit of others. Every minute, you have the choice of acting in a positive or negative way with other beings. The foundation for being able to receive a charism is simple: it’s unconditional love. To feel it; to be able to bring others into that space; to know it is the only true healing balm. Love everyone: all the members of your family, your friends, your pets, and then keep extending the love out to the people at work, the pizza delivery guy, the old lady in your building with Alzheimer’s, until you’re living in a field of unconditional love.

So where am I now? I can sense that this accident is a turning point in my life – I am yearning for what is simple and moves at a slower pace, more in tune with the earth.  I am remembering that less is more. I’ve been given a challenging situation so I have the opportunity to be open enough to receive more charismata. And I am more committed than ever before to helping you achieve your true potential for the benefit of all mankind.

So don’t be confused or concerned about the powerful experiences you may have along the way: they are all pointing you to unconditional love—oneness with Spirit, in service to all.

There is an old story about a Zen master, the head monk of a certain sect, who noticed that his most promising student was holding himself back from the fullness of his spiritual potential. As the young monk was meditating, the head monk came up to him with no warning and pummeled the student’s knee with a wooden bat. Why would he do that? Well, the knees represent our ability to move forward, and breaking a knee broke the karma that was holding the student back from becoming the master.

Five years ago, I ripped the two main ligaments in my left knee. My husband Eric and I were looking to re-create the way we had lived when we were younger: in the high mountains by a lake. I wanted to reduce my teaching obligations; I was trying to turn away from that life. I wanted to get back to being a mountain climber, a horseback rider, anything but this. I knew I was turning away from my dharma as a teacher, my true life purpose. I was saying to Spirit, I don’t want to live such a life of sacrifice.

We’d only been in the mountains for three days when I rented a paddleboard at the lake. I was standing on it in shallow water, getting ready to paddle out, when a man came up behind me suddenly and accidentally knocked me off the board, causing the knee injury.

Despite the severe knee trauma and a year and a half of rehab, I didn’t get the message from Spirit that I needed to accept my path in life.

Fast forward exactly five years, almost to the day. Eric and I were once again in the Sierra Nevada mountains, hiking this time. Again, all I was looking for was a quiet place where I could get some rest from my intense schedule as a spiritual teacher. Again, it was the third day we were there, when all of a sudden the narrow cliff I was standing on gave way and I went flying through the air, tumbling ten feet down the rugged terrain.

This time that same knee was smashed to smithereens, and my right wrist was broken as well.

Clearly, Spirit was not pleased with my plan to renew my love affair with the mountains. I must have veered off course, and this was Spirit’s way of bringing me back to my true self. I was tired; I wanted to take care of me; I wanted to spend life in the mountains and reduce my responsibilities. But Spirit didn’t care about that. Spirit cares about my being a teacher and helping to raise the consciousness of the planet.

This time I have no choice but to listen. I can’t hobble away, I can’t even use a walker. I’m observing myself, staying in the witness. My mind is clear since I have refused all painkillers from the beginning. I’m totally surrendered to what is, and not even anxious or worried about the upcoming surgeries. You could call it the flow of grace that happens when you acknowledge there are no accidents, and certainly not two freak accidents that both happened on the third day of my trying to leave the intensity of a teacher’s life.

Instead of planning a move to the mountains, I was now trying to find a care facility that could handle me for the next few months. My main interest during my research was to find a place with a strong spiritual basis. The only person I was interested in interviewing at the skilled nursing facilities was the Spiritual Director!

I chose a facility run by an order of nuns (real nuns in real habits, taking me back to my childhood Catholicism) that started in Spain over 150 years ago, with their sole mission that of caring for the sick. But the place was full. I forcefully pleaded my case to the nuns. They finally called me back and said they had found a room for me.

Since I had to be under a doctor’s care, the next bit of serendipity was choosing a doctor to supervise my healing at the facility. An East Indian doctor (very compatible with my spiritual beliefs), around 60 years old, actually showed up in my room at ten at night! She came over to my bed and said, “This is unheard of. This place has a huge waiting list. How in the world did you get a room?” Eric chuckled over my ability to talk myself into any place.

I asked the doctor, whose office had told me she wasn’t taking any new patients, why she had taken my case. She said, “I lost a young nun here to leukemia, and the nuns got me through her death. Then I had colon cancer and they helped me through that. Now, when they call and want me to help a patient, I do so.”

So here I am, in the right place at the right time with an amazing opportunity to go deeper inside, to learn even more that I can later teach you: lessons about humility and patience and surrender to the divine plan. I have cleared my schedule for the summer, which is what I’ve been told it will take for the surgeries and rehab. Right now I’m flat on my back, with what feels like 30 pounds of metal temporarily around my left leg, screwed into the bones of my thigh and calf, to brace and stabilize the shattered knee until it’s time to surgically repair it, and a full cast on my right hand and arm.

As soon as I am able to, I will get back in front of my computer and resume teaching and video sessions with my students.

This time, Spirit, trust me, I got the message!

P.S. My Mindvalley Academy master class is still happening; it’s just been postponed for a brief time. Stay tuned for the new start date.

From this God’s-eye-view, I saw how fragile and infinitely precious the Earth is. I’m hopeful for its future. — NASA astronaut Piers J. Sellers

Mid-twentieth-century humans were the first to see planet Earth turning majestically in space. Do you remember the first time you saw our planet as “the big blue marble”? For astronauts who leave their craft and walk in space, the experience can be a form of pilgrimage. How amazing it is that we were given a new planetary perspective at just the right time—when perilous changes were beginning to threaten our world. Our bond with Mother Earth is not only critical for our physical survival, it is also key to our spiritual wellbeing. If you long to reignite and reawaken your connection to the Earth, you are not alone. The time to reconnect is now and you won’t need a space suit!

You don’t have to travel far to see your earthly home from a new perspective and renew your grounded and loving relationship with Mother Earth. Restore your personal healing connection with our planet in 3 easy ways:

1. See the Sacred Places. As the ancients knew, some places on Earth are graced with high-vibration energy. Wise and intuitive people often built their holiest institutions over energy vortexes. Although they are wonderful places, you don’t have to travel to Machu Picchu or Stonehenge to visit a sacred site. North America is brimming with places that were held sacred by Native Americans for thousands of years. Do some research on your local area. You are seeking to heal and be healed as you unite your spirit with the creative energy of the universe. These natural vortexes rich with healing energy can help raise your consciousness. Your soul wants to experience unity with the powerful unconditional love that can heal the hearts, minds, and bodies of humanity. As a spiritual teacher and energy healer, one of the most powerful sacred sites I have found is Ojai, a charming small town located not far from Los Angeles, that has attracted seers, gurus and seekers for hundreds of years. There, they experience a profound expansion of their chakras, and their connection to Mother Earth.
2. Visit the Wonders of Nature. If you have noticed how wonderful you feel after a day among trees, in the desert, on the beach, or in the mountains, you know the power of wild places to elevate your spirit. Any location you choose as your home in Nature will help build appreciation and admiration for the wonders of Earth. Whether you climb a mountain or sit on the beach or take a walk in the park, the time you spend outdoors in a natural setting without any electronic distractions will soothe and heal. Any members of the animal kingdom you encounter also have spiritual gifts to share. Watch the birds overhead and imagine your spirit soaring with them. Stand with your bare feet in the sand, soil, or grass and picture yourself as a tree, sending roots deep into the earth and drawing up the nourishment you need to live in balance and harmony.
3. Tour the Good Works of Humankind. Today humanity is being challenged to step back from a headlong pursuit of technology that is harming Earth. It’s time to rebuild a deep awareness of our spiritual connection to this planet. Our spirits are part of the same creative energy that powers all things. The best works of humankind reflect this respectful connection. In a small survey of personal sacred places these came to light: the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; the groves of towering date palm trees in Indio, California; the Golden Gate Bridge; Michelangelo’s statue of David; any small neighborhood of new homes built by Habitat for Humanity. Even armchair travelers can visit the gardens, the feasts, the festivals, the celebrations, and all the diverse beauty of peaceful human activity. Wanderlust is a gift of loving appreciation for our planet.

By using your personal pilgrimage to expand your awareness—to bring yourself into balance, experience greater peace, raise your consciousness, and connect with Mother Earth—you are assisting every other person and creature on the planet to do the same. We are all connected. Being in a higher state makes it much more likely that we can come to creative and harmonious solutions to our global problems. A great love is what can help humanity heal Earth. Learn more about using energy healing to heal yourself, heal others and heal the world.