Like many of us, I exist on the surface of life at times. Skating on the frozen pond, yet knowing that beneath the shiny façade of the ice lies fathom deep waters. I try not to think about it, since I also wonder if sharks with sharp teeth circle in anticipation that it will melt just enough for me to fall through and they can feast. Hard to imagine that this Opti-Mystic/Bliss Mistress could entertain such wild imaginings. When they show up, I do my best to shoo them away when perhaps it would be better to face them down and take a chomp out of them.

I am blessed to have  healer friends who have faced their own version of marauders. One such is Rod Schichtel who I met something like five years or so ago. We share a love of color and creativity, music, spirituality, healthy food, massage and hugs. He is one of the most resilient people I know, having bounced back from some daunting challenges that would have knocked other less hardy souls on their butts and kept them there. He emerged with life lessons that he generously shares with people who cross his path. He is also an extremely talented artist whose limitless imagination astonishes me.

Rod  has designed a healing experience as a result that I had the privilege of  immersing in recently. He calls it Half Day Getaway and it consists of sitting with him as you express what is on your mind for at least thirty minutes as he holds space and simply listens. How often does that happen in our lives?  He video tapes it so that you and he can listen to it and watch it played back as YOU hold silent witness for yourself and again, I ask: How often does THAT happen? If you are anything like me, your monkey mind inner chatter goes wild as you critique your ‘performance’. Don’t think I didn’t do that, as much as I desired to be fully present to myself. He may stop the tape and make some go-deeper inquiries. My exploration took the form of wondering what kept me on both an upward trajectory and downward spiral in the various realms of my life- physical/mental/emotional/spiritual. Family history of workaholism, fear of potential loss, actual loss, unreasonable expectations for myself, misinterpretation of parental expectation all culminated in a series of health crises in the past year that included shingles, heart attack, kidney stones and adrenal fatigue, when for years I had felt invulnerable and invincible.

Then a break was taken as he had prepped in advance the fixings for a healthy shared meal; vegetarian and wholesome, with the not so secret ingredient of love in the mix. I felt nourished in all ways.

The next step was creation of affirmative words and phrases that reinforce what I was calling into my life, which included wellness, vitality, peace, love, ease and grace. I sighed and laughed a lot in the process as Rod recorded my words. He then used his audio-ninja-techie skills to do a multi-track overdub of the affirmations which he burned into a CD that has accompanied me on car rides to steep in affirmations, like a teabag in hot water, so that they infuse me. As I listen, I think of the laughter and sighs as ‘giggle-gasms’, since to someone who had no clue what was going on during the recording, could imagine something other than what was really happening.

Since that session a few weeks ago, I have experienced revelations and faced those sharks from a place of acceptance, rather than resistance, since what we resist persists.

As I am writing this, I am listening to the song Deep Peace…could the timing have been any more perfect?

Rod welcomes people to experience this deep healing opportunity which can be done in person or via Skype. www.heavenherenow.com