Follow the Sunflower: The Journey Begins…

by Terez Hartmann

“Firewoman!” James “King James” Champion shouted as Terez entered with drum in hand, flower in her hair, and spirit ablaze with energy to ready herself for a fabulous jam.

It had been quite a while since she drummed with the Sun Drummers, but she knew that as soon as the rhythms began to dance on the air, her hands, body, mind and heart would remember.

Terez had just come through one of the most intense periods of her life. While much of her knowledge, faith and creativity continued to flow, her body and mind had most certainly let her know that she had covered many, many miles of challenging terrain in the past year. Many of her friends and fans wondered if she had fallen off the face of the earth, or if she was just too proud to be “vulnerable,” but she knew that anyone who TRULY knew her understood that she was just a different bird who preferred to process things in her own time and space. The typical female practice of “venting” just did not work for her—on the contrary, it made her feel worse in most cases—and because of this she often felt that if she had a “girl card” it would have most certainly been revoked by now.

If things were to change, she had to find a way to chill-the-f-out and create a new groove; so the idea of picking up one of her drums and joining in the “Great Heartbeat” seemed like it could be just what the doctor ordered.

With every beat of her djembe, Terez could feel more and more of her life force flow through her, and soon she allowed herself to let go and fully ride this magic carpet woven of gossamer threads of energy and sound. As the drumming continued to swell and soar, she suddenly found herself…

…standing outdoors by a field of…

…Sunflowers?

“What on earth?” she thought. Though she still heard the sound of the drums pulsing in the background, she felt herself drawn to follow another melody that seemed to emanate from somewhere within the field. Even as a barrage of questions flooded her mind, giving her every reason why this was a bad idea, a deeper, more powerful impulse soon had her stepping boldly forward along a small path that led to an unknown point somewhere within the mass of yellow and green. Without knowing why, she knew she would not stop until she found the source of the music.

As time passed and she walked for what seemed like a good 30 minutes, the melody grew louder and louder until finally she came upon a clearing with a large barn off to her left. “Aha!” she thought. “I knew there had to be something here! But this is a BIG building?! How could I not have seen it from the road?”

She shook off the thought and made her way toward the music and the barn, and there, inside this old, dilapidated building, was an elegant, graceful, woman playing a beautiful PURPLE baby grand piano adorned with a fabulous arrangement of sunflowers in a glistening silver vase.

Once again, her mind went to work, “How did this woman and this huge instrument end up here? There’s no vehicle, no driveway and no road!” But as she relaxed into just enjoying the magic of the music and this moment, a wave of warmth moved through her body and tears formed in her eyes. It was in this instant that the “mystery woman” at the piano looked up and said, “I knew if I used music, you would find your way here. Welcome, Firewoman.”

Okay. Now things officially got weird.

“How do you know my name?” Terez asked.

“Oh, Terez, I know far more about you than that, and I’ve been helping you and cheering you on for a very long time. I guess you can say I’ve known you your entire life—and then some.”

“Then how is it that I don’t know you?” said Terez. I mean, you feel familiar to me—actually very much so—but my mind can’t seem to grasp when or how we’ve met before? And that PURPLE piano—OMG! I have NEVER seen anything so spectacular! How did you manage to get that HERE?”

The woman laughed and said, “Oh, honey, I do SO appreciate your inquisitive mind, but sometimes, without meaning to, you let it get in the way and make things FAR more complicated then they need to be! Let’s make a deal, okay? How about we discuss the logistics later and get down to the REAL reason why you’re here?”

Terez’s head was spinning, but she took a breath and stopped to consider the whole picture:

• She was completely immersed in a field filled with THE flower that had long held so much significance for her.

• She was drawn to this place by music that seemed to call to the core of her being.

• She was now looking at the most beautiful piano she’d ever seen—and even in her favorite color.

• She was talking with someone she’d never met in the middle of nowhere, who just-so-happened to know her name—and perhaps a whole lot more—and who seemed to have some message for her.

Yep. This HAD to be some kind of lucid dream. At the same time, she was JUST drumming with the guys at the Dunedin Brewery and was VERY much awake…

Rather than twist her brain into an even more tightly tangled pretzel, she decided to trust her gut and just go with it…whatever “it” was.

Before Terez could utter her next word, the mystery woman interrupted with, “Good. I’m glad you’re trusting your feelings and have decided to stop analyzing and rationalizing what is beyond the confines of your mind, and let your heart receive what I’m about to share.”

Wow. Dream or hallucination or whatever this was, this woman REALLY knew her, so perhaps it was time just to let go and listen. In that instant, a dazzling hummingbird came zooming into the barn and hovered right in from of Terez’s face (practically landing on her nose!). This was followed by stunning yellow butterfly, which lit upon the flower in her hair; which was THEN followed by the most adorable little bunny, who gently hopped over to her and sat at her feet! Terez was utterly speechless.

As the mystery woman smiled through a mischievous grin, she said, “When things feel good to you and you continue to see and experience feel-good things and symbols that really matter to you, you ARE absolutely, positively, definitely on the path of experiencing MORE good—and good CAN continue as long as you allow it. Each time you second-guess yourself, dissect every detail, or wait for ‘the other shoe to drop’ you, unwittingly bust your groove and leave the party YOU had created.

“I know you already ‘know’ this [wink], but perhaps it’s time to really, fully TRUST this and allow yourself to move beyond the ‘joy threshold’ that a lesser version of you created long ago?

“Perhaps it’s time to truly move onward, upward and forward into an even freer, fuller version of yourself, and let that fire in your soul REALLY blaze?!”

Terez looked into the eyes of this increasingly familiar woman and formulated THE question that had indeed burned in her heart and mind for far longer than even she had realized…

“How?”

And with that, the mystery woman’s eyes danced as she said, “That, my friend, is precisely what you can and will discover if you’re open and willing to take the journey that lies before you.”

Before her brain had time to interject and deliberate the terms and conditions of what could transpire, her heart leaped out in front to say, “When can I start?”

At that exact moment, she felt an impulse to glance upward through the rafters and gaps in the ceiling of the old barn, to feast her eyes upon a magnificent bald eagle rising in the sky.

It was then she knew her journey had already begun.

Find out what happens next in the May Issue of Transformation Coaching Magazine or visit www.TerezFirewoman.com/Blog

Terez “Firewoman” Hartmann,“Your catalyst for all things Fab-YOU-lous,” is the author of Allowing Your Success!, a proud contributing author of Transform Your Life! book one and two, a professional Keynote Speaker/ Workshop Facilitator, Singer-Songwriter/Recording Artist, “Allowing Adventures!” & “Savor Vacation” Facilitator, and true Renaissance Woman, and Visionary.  She keeps her fire lit by embracing and promoting a lifestyle of “Allowing,” and by using creative expression to elevate and ignite the human spirit, a passion that she shares with her husband, soul-mate and creative partner of over 15 years, John Victor Hartmann. Together they share “Allowing TRUE LOVE” workshops and experiences designed to help others attract, allow, and maintain extraordinary relationships, and create custom jingles and voice-overs in their studio, THE Creativity Express. Visit: www.TerezFirewoman.com

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