Cathy means "pure" and its origin seems to depend on which source you ask.

Elaine means "light", and its origin is French.

Couchsurfing.com is organizing Free Hugs events March 21, 22.

So far, the only American group represented is in New York.

Say, what?!?!

http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/public/index.php?title=InternationalFreeHugsCampaign2009

Hugs, not drugs. Let's deepen our awareness of our connection.

Some of you have been waiting to hear about my Sedona experience. Since I returned, I was sick for about a week, and I have been quite busy since I got well. Busyness is not my usual state of being. I like plenty of margin in my life.

And now I present my mad, crazy, wonderful experience.

One of the reasons I decided to go on a trip at all was because a question arose within me. I am always telling everyone that God or the Universe will take care of you. Do I really believe this or is it just a pretty sentiment? What do I do that demonstrates that I really believe this? So, I decided to go on a trip and just see where serendipity led me. Then, I talked to a friend of mind about it and she told me she was planning to go to California. When I mentioned the trip to my friends, especially how excited I was about passing through New Mexico and Arizona with all the concentrated spiritual energy of these places, one of my friends said, "Mmm, Sedona." So, that was my second pointer.

On the day we were to leave for California, my friend backed out, and expressed certain fears to me about taking this journey. By now, my heart was set on the trip. I couldn't allow this to become something I wish I had done. I also realized that I had been depending on my friend for this experience instead of Spirit. That was sort of missing the point. I set my intention to leave on the following Tuesday.

I stared looking for alternate ways to travel. I could have just gotten into my car and taken off, but a friend was borrowing my car, and it was the only car he and his wife had to use at the time. I was desperate enough that I started thinking about hitchhiking. I actually found a web site about hitchhiking, digihitch.com. But I ruled that out, being female, traveling alone and not having any experience at hitchhiking. However, on the digihitch web site, there was a section for ride sharing. That could work, so I started looking up ride boards, and I found that Craigslist.org has a ride share section. I had never noticed it before.

I found a girl on Craigslist leaving from Austin to Sedona, and on the day I had set my intention to depart. She turned me on to Couchsurfing.com, where I found someone who agreed to host me for a couple nights. Beyond that, I had no plans.
 

It took me another week-and-a-half to get started on my trip. And I cried. Because I realized that my friend's fears were a mirror for my own fears. And I am aware that we attract what we believe in and expect. So, if I had gone on this trip with these unconscious fears, I would have put myself at risk of attracting the very things I was afraid of. So, the question arose in me, Is it a friendly Universe or is it the big, scary world I've been warned about?

I realized I had to release these fears before I could leave. I began working with some emotional releasing methods I had learned in the past - The Sedona Method, The Work, and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique).

In the meantime, my ride share moved her departure back to Sunday, which was a little frustrating for me, but it gave me more time to work on clearing my fears, so that was good. Finally, departure day came. I had my friend that was borrowing my car give me a ride to Austin. We left early in the morning so that I could be there for a Kundalini yoga class that was taking place that morning. It was fun, and I met some wonderful people there, and had some great conversations. I also learned about warmshowers.com, which caters to cyclists. Later that day, I was able to participate in a photo opportunity for the Peace in 5 Years project, p5y.org. It's posted on Facebook. You can't really see faces, but you can see my feet.

Anyway, I spent that first night at my new friend's house, and we took off early the next morning for Sedona, because my couchsurfing host had asked me to arrive before midnight, and we had two other passengers to pick up and drop off in Tucson. As it turns out, the two other passengers were two young men who were on their way to a farm to do some work. It was a perfect group to travel with. They were also spiritually aware, and we had some wonderful conversations. I was able to share some things with them that were helpful, and I learned some things from them. One of the things that deeply touched me was when my friend read my tantric numerology.

Anyway, we got there before midnight, and my couchsurfing host didn't answer his door or his phone. What could I do now? My friend and her boyfriend were gracious enough to let me stay the night. The next morning, she took me back to my hosts house to try again. Still there was no answer - either at the door or on the phone. I asked her to drop me off at a coffee shop or somewhere I could get on the internet and try to get in touch with my couchsurfing host or another host. As we were leaving my hosts neighborhood, she asked me which way to turn and I said, "right". Well, we went right, and ended up at the outskirts of Sedona, almost in Cottonwood. The last thing we noticed before we turned around was a hospital.

I spent that day on the internet trying to find a solution, to no avail. I did find that another lady had e-mailed me offering me a place to stay on Monday, but since I didn't have access to e-mail all that day, I didn't know she had e-mailed me. And I couldn't get in touch with her on Tuesday. I did talk to a couple people in the coffee shop, and wasn't able to find a solution. I could have talked to more people, but I didn't feel comfortable doing so, so I put it off. Finally, I asked one lady if she would give me a ride to a nearby campground. She agreed, but she told me there would be a poetry slam there later on, and I might find a better solution. I decided to wait. So, I attended the poetry slam, and toward the end, I decided to set out walking, rather than humble myself to ask for help.

So, I'm walking and my stuff is pretty heavy. I didn't pack for a backpacking trip because I believed I would have a place to stay. I stopped in at a Circle K and got a cup of coffee, then sat out on the step drinking my coffee, and remembered that I was creating this experience. I looked up at the full moon and felt a sense of peace that everything would work out okay. A young lady asked me if I was okay, and if I needed anything. I told her I could use a ride up to the hospital. I told her my story, and she took me to the hospital. She said she would offer me a place to stay for the night, but her boyfriend was really weird about stuff. She told me she would ask him and call me if he was open to me staying the night. She gave me her number and offered to take me to the Greyhound bus station in Cottonwood the next day. She told me her name is Amanda, and I told her the meaning of her name is "worthy to be loved". Maybe a seed was planted that will make a difference in her life.

So, anyway, I'm sitting in this small town hospital emergency waiting room. I'm the only one there. I can't sleep because I'm concerned about drawing attention to myself. Sometime, during the middle of the night, one of the nurse's noticed me there, and asked me if I needed anything. I told her my place to stay fell through, and I just needed a place to stay warm for the night, and that I have someone coming to get me in the morning. She seemed okay with that, but a little while later, two police officers came into the waiting room and questioned me about what I was doing there. So, I told the story again about my host falling through, and told them that someone was coming the next day to take me to the bus station. I guess they had to make sure I wasn't dangerous or a vagrant or anything, and they told me that the hospital staff was okay with me staying there, but they wanted me out by 7 am. I told the officers I wasn't planning on living there! I realized later that they were there asking me what I was doing there because I was asking myself the same thing. Why would a powerful creator be spending the night in a hospital waiting room?

That experience was slightly humiliating, and at this point, I felt like I should just go home. Maybe I wasn't ready to make this trip happen. But a friend of mine reminded me that my soul sent me on this journey, and I needed to see what I was there for. Besides, I had called Greyhound, and they didn't have a station in Cottonwood anymore. The nearest station was in Flagstaff, 45 minutes north, and the rate was more than I had to spend, anyway.

So, around 7 am, I took off walking back toward town, wondering where Spirit would lead next. A kind lady asked me if I needed a ride somewhere, and I told her I was heading for the library, and told her my story. She told me the library didn't open until 10 am, but there was a deli in a business center in front of the library, and she took me by there to see if it was open. I checked and they said they weren't open, but I could come in and get some coffee. So, I got my stuff, and went inside. As soon as I got to talking with the owner of the deli, I understood why I had needed to be at that hospital the previous night. She told me all about her story of coming to Sedona, and it was a magical story. Then, she recommended a book called, Hiring the Heavens, which she just happened to have on hand. I sat there in her deli, and read that book in about three hours. I took notes. It was so powerful. Basically, the premise is that we have heavenly help available to us, and these angels are delighted to assist us in any way that we desire. I hired a spiritual travel coordinator on the spot.

I also discovered right next door a place called Ringing Rocks. It is a non-profit organization that helps preserve native cultures. They had a store and a Healing Nautilus, which was like a mini-museum of American Indian healing implements. I felt drawn to it, and I checked it out.

I had told the deli owner my story, thinking maybe she would be able to host me for the night, but she never offered and I didn't ask, so at the end of the day, as they were closing up shop, I asked if there was a place that might be open kind of late where I could go from there. Her husband told me about the Oak Creek Brewery, and that they have drumming circles on Wednesday nights. 

A drumming circle is something I have wanted to experience for quite some time, and I wondered if this was the reason I came. I found someone coming out of the book store around the corner, and I asked her if she was going toward town and if I could catch a ride to the brewery. I told her my story, and she told me I would likely be able to find someone to stay with for the night at the drumming circle, as they were spiritual people.

I really enjoyed the drumming circle. I relaxed into the music and allowed Spirit to move within me and I was deeply grateful for the experience. I asked a couple of people if they knew anyone with a couch I could crash on for the night, and a couple of other people helped me ask around. Finally, I found a place to stay, and when I got to his apartment; his girlfriend was the girl I had met in the coffee shop who had offered to give me a ride to the campground the night before.

The next day was Thursday, and he dropped me at the deli on his way to work, because I wanted to get back to the library and keep looking for a host. Well, I spent a little time in the deli, then went next door to Ringing Rocks and played with the Indian healing implements, drums, rattles, and such. Finally, I went over to the library and did another search on couchsurfing.com. I thought about what I had learned from the Hiring the Heavens book, and I told my spiritual team, "This time I don't want to have to ask a bunch of people. I want the person I am to stay with to come up to me."

Not long before the library closed, a man came up to me and struck up a conversation. We talked for a while, and then when the library was closing, he waited for me to gather my stuff. As we were walking out, he noticed me carrying my stuff and asked me if I needed a ride anywhere. I told him I needed to go someplace that was open late so I could continue to try and connect with a couchsurfing host. I told him my story, and he offered his couch for me to sleep on. I accepted, and that's where I stayed for the next few nights. We shared some really great conversations, although some of the time, I felt his communications were rather heavy and negative. Finally, I asked myself what I was trying to learn here. And I realized that, even though I am aware that I am creating my life experience from within, there are still practical things I can be doing to effect my world in a positive way.

My host was apparently not used to living alone, so I had the opportunity to give back in teaching him some things about his household appliances. :-)  I also baked him some banana nut bread and brownies, and he took me to see some Indian ruins and pictographs.

Then, he had some other guests coming, and I was ready to get back home. I was expecting the girl I rode to Sedona with to leave on Monday, go through Phoenix for the night, and head back. She changed her plans.

I searched online and found another ride share going East, even though it was quite a bit north of where I needed to be, I decided to take advantage of it. I asked my host to take me to the coffee shop to meet up with my ride. She told me she could take me to Flagstaff to meet up with my ride share. Well, while we were at the coffee shop, she realized that she would have to miss an important engagement if she took me to Flagstaff. I tried finding another ride to Flagstaff, but nothing panned out. There is even a shuttle service that runs between Sedona and Flagstaff, but the next available reservation was in the middle of March!

She asked the other people who were around the table at the time if they knew of any other way to get to Flagstaff, and they said, "You could always hitchhike". Ha! So much for ruling out hitchhiking. I wasn't thrilled at the idea, but I would be waiting for my ride at least until midnight, and there was no place open that late in Sedona to wait. So, I asked her if she would be willing to take me to the spot that the guys had said was ideal for hitchhiking and she did. It was in front of a little motel, and I tried hitchhiking from there for a few minutes, but I didn't really like the spot. I decided to walk up the road a bit and see if anyone might offer me a ride. I walked a little way, but walking didn't feel safe because there really wasn't a shoulder. I stopped in front of a spa just up the road, set down my stuff and put up my thumb. Quite a few people passed me by, but I kept my attitude positive, telling myself that I was going to give myself what I needed. In a little while, a mini van stopped and they were going to Flagstaff, as well. It was half of a musical band, The Braskies. I told them my story. They told me a little of theirs. They dropped me at a bookstore with internet access, so I could pass the time waiting for my ride to appear. They also gave me their CD, and while I was at the bookstore, I connected with them on MySpace.

While I was at the bookstore, I also noted that I had received a couple offers for places to stay for the night in Sedona, which I had missed because I didn't have internet access when those e-mails came through. Oh, well, I was on my way home. I thanked them for their replies and told them I had left Sedona already.

The bookstore closed, and I needed another place to wait. I intended to walk up the road to Denny's, but as I walked outside, it started snowing. So, I asked a couple that was standing outside a store next door if they could give me a ride to Denny's, and they obliged. At Denny's, I sat there for a little while reading. When it neared midnight, I called my ride share and asked him about his progress. He said his new ETA was 3:45 am. He hadn't been able to leave home until 9 pm, and had to pick up another person sharing our ride near Phoenix. So, it was shaping up to be a long and sleepless night.

After a while, a homeless guy walked in and sat toward the back of the section I was in. I went over and asked him if he would like to sit with me. At first, he refused, but then he came over after a while. We shared stories, and he asked me if I knew how to play backgammon. I told him no, but he could teach me. He pulled a backgammon game out of his pack, and taught me to play. It really made passing the hours much easier.

By the time my ride finally arrived (they had stormy weather to go through), it was about 7 am. None of us had slept. I thought, driving in this condition was pretty crazy, but I just asked for heavenly help, because I really wanted to get home. Anyway, my travel companions were a black man and another woman, and once again, it turned out I had manifested the perfect people to travel with. We had some wonderful discussions about spiritual things. Something that was really funny was that we got to talking about racism, and he told us that his friends were telling him he was crazy to be picking up two women he had never met before. We might conk him on the head and rob him!

Finally, we arrived in Oklahoma City about 10 pm Tuesday night. I went into a hotel lobby to try and find a couchsurfing host, but I didn't really expect to find anything that late at night. And I created according to my expectation. I spend most of that night in the hotel, and then went to the IHOP early in the morning. Their internet was down, so I wasn't able to look for a ride share. I decided to take off walking and see if I could catch a ride. A gentleman on his way to work offered me a ride, and I asked him to take me to 35, so I could head for Houston. He dropped me at a truck stop, but I didn't see any truckers out and about, so I took off walking south. A kind lady picked me up and took me to Norman, just south of Oklahoma City. Progress!

She dropped me at another truck stop, but the truckers I found were only doing local runs. So, I started walking again. This time, I was focusing on manifesting a ride south, and on the angels sending me someone I could be a blessing to and receive a blessing from. A man pulled over for a second in a pickup truck, then took off again. But I kept my focus on what I wanted to manifest, and a little while later, he came back around. He offered to take me to the next town. That was good for me. But we started conversing, and the next thing I know, he is telling me he wants to marry me. :) Anyway, I'm thinking - impulsive much? No wonder you already have two ex-wives. :) But, it worked out well because he took me all the way to Ennis south of Dallas. At that point, I had my friend who was borrowing my car come and pick me up. 

Would I travel this way again deliberately? Probably not. Would I change anything about this trip? Not a thing.

I now know, experientially as well as intellectually, that I am capable of doing things that I never thought I could do, and that if I find myself alone, I can safely manifest the conditions I desire, as long as I remember that I am creating my own experience. It was like an intense spiritual classroom in which I could instantly see the connection between my thoughts and expectations and the manifestation of the conditions created by those expectations. I also realized that the likely outcome of many of the things we fear is discomfort and embarrassment, neither of which are fatal. J

Even people who aren't afraid to die may be afraid of discomfort and embarrassment. Hello!

When I hit the road again, I will have my own car, so that I can carry a tent, and I will have internet on my phone, so that I don't miss connections so easily. Oh, and GPS. Mighty handy tool.

Anyone up for a road trip? :-D

A good friend of mine says there is no difference between the feeling of fear and the feeling of excitement. It depends on how we identify the feeling. That may be.

And I am aware that fear can be paralyzing or motivating, depending on how we process it.

In my view, it is not necessarily the fear, but our resistance to it, that keeps us stuck. The paralysis comes from not allowing the feeling to move through.
    
I think fear, like anger or guilt, can be a tool that signals the need for a course correction. However, living in a state of fear, anger or guilt crowds out love.

Good question!

And thanks for the reminder to check in.

I'm just guessing, but if I knew what my higher self wanted to say to the world, I feel it would be the following:

We are all One.

All is well. Everything is unfolding perfectly.

You are everything you are seeking. Allow yourself to see and to be that which you seek.

Trust yourself. You know exactly how to bring about your desired conditions. Allow yourself to become aware of what you know.