By Dana Feldmeier
As I walked the hallway, my stomach was in knots. After teaching public school for 6 years, I was about to change the course of my career path, and life. It didn’t seem like that long ago that I entered the same office for the interview that concluded with my first post-college job as a 3rd grade teacher.
My love for teaching remained, but my soul was nudging me to make a change. It started when I saw a video online for nutrition school. Typically a thorough analyzer, I signed up for this education program within a few days of watching the video. Something inside me just knew I needed this.
I graduated and became a certified health coach. Sure, I had “a plan” as to how to go out and begin my new business venture, but saying goodbye to a regular salaried position was scary! I decided to ease my way into this and live at a yoga ashram where I knew I would have a roof over my head and food in my belly in exchange for service as I worked out this “plan.”
Yoga came into my life a few years earlier, a gift from god, to help with the stress of teaching and aid in healing a broken heart. Through yoga I learned to meditate: to sit with the thoughts, emotions, fears, and worries; the mental chatter that was part of daily life. I dove in head-first, sensing the power behind this ancient practice and attended a 10-day silent mediation retreat.
I moved into the yoga center after this retreat, where I was able to spend six months immersed in a spiritual community and meditation became a part of my daily life. Growing up catholic, I knew about prayer, but it wasn’t until I learned to meditate that I realized I could HEAR God answering my questions and prayers, offering guidance and suggestions. This did NOT happen right away. In fact, at first, my mind seemed to go crazy as I sat in stillness. The thoughts raced at the speed of light. But then in the days and week to follow, as I continued to keep up with the practice, little signs and answers to my questions began to appear. Not during the meditations typically, but some other time of day.
Was this real? There was something out there actually listening in on my thoughts, desires, and prayers? I began to put this theory to the test and asked for signs.
“Okay, God, if you are real, I’d like a pink flower today.”
Imagine my surprise when a woman came up to me and handed me a pink flower the next day. Still, the mind popped in again—just a coincidence? After all, the pink flower arrived one day after I requested it. I asked for more signs. I was patient, and they came. When I lost patience, I prayed for patience and it was returned, along with a sign. For real?
My games and daily chats with God continued as I chopped vegetables, folded laundry, hiked the rocky pathways of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and sat amongst the rocks and trees. I have always loved nature, but this period of my life allowed me to soak up its wisdom in a whole new way. Abundance and beauty were everywhere, and nothing in nature rushed or hurried.
When my mind traveled back to “how” everything was going to work and away from the present moment, the teachings of yoga and nature remind me to relax and let everything unfold. I also began to differentiate between taking action verses taking inspired action, which never feels forced or rushed.
I learned about the power of meditation not only when sitting still, but all day long, while engaged in daily tasks.
I believe we are each guided here with unique gifts and a message to spread. If we are too busy figuring out the “how” ourselves, there is no space for God’s magic and gifts. The message I wish to share, or that God is sharing through me, is that you have an internal guidance system and truly you are never alone. Right now you are surrounded by beings of love and contain within you a universal energy force that can never be extinguished. Yes, you came with a battery pack and you are the recharge station! As you allow your soul time to be still and recharge, the “how” of your life will unfold in a magical way beyond what you can imagine.
After dreaming of life near the ocean, I ended up in a beach town that was a perfect fit for me and developed a business that allowed my soul the time freedom it desired. It started as an inclining, followed by a big leap of faith and a pink flower delivered one day late, which was of course, perfect timing.
Dana Feldmeier is a certified health coach and essential oil expert. As a former public school teacher, she witnessed the health crisis and over-use of medication first hand. She is passionate about starting little ones on the path to wellness at an early age and believes the best way to do this is to educate and empower mothers! Through sharing essential oils, remarkable gifts from the earth, as medicine, she empowers women to heal and treat their families naturally! Visit her website: www.SmartCookieNutrition.com to learn more.
This article is a chapter from the book Transform Your Life! written by 60 real-life heroes and experts and available at Amazon.com, BN.com, www.Transformation-Publishing.com and all ebook formats.