I Can Do It

I have been quoting Wayne Dyer in the backs of my journals for as long as I can remember, and certainly in as many journals as I have kept over the years. So, when I saw that he was speaking at the Hay House “I Can Do It” convention in New York City this year, I was thrilled. I downloaded a copy of his latest book, “I Can See Clearly Now”, onto my Kindle, and immediately fell entranced once more by his beautiful writing.

I didn’t get there particularly early Saturday morning, so the beautiful Erin Stutland and I took a seat in the back left of the auditorium, behind probably 1000 other people, but it made no difference.

(Photo: with Erin Stutland and “Louise Hay”)

Wayne Dyer’s energy in the room was palpable, and really, I could have closed my eyes and the whole experience would have been the same. Dyer made note that people complement him on the quality of his voice, and I agree; it’s incredibly soothing and lovely to hear. He acknowledged gifts from the divine: “You can’t take credit, you have to surrender and say thank you.”

Then, the lights went low, and he played a clip of “Phantom of the Opera”. Well, as if I wasn’t sold before I got there, this musical theater nerd was officially now in heaven! WD talked about gifts from the divine, and how he felt like when he writes it’s called automatic writing. He is just channeling it through him – similar to the way that the incredible performers of Phantom were channeling their gifts of music.

I feel that way when I write.  It has always been completely effortless for me. But, then, I broke my wrist a couple of weeks ago, and I’m not allowed to type with my left hand while all of the bones heal from surgery. So, I am relying on talk to text (thank goodness for that). Perhaps it’s some stubborn resistance in me that I need to figure out the root cause of and let go, but it’s just not the same. There is something about feeling my thoughts, allowing them to flow from my brain, down through my neck, chest, through my arms, to my fingertips, to the keyboard, and seeing them appear on the screen that is a magical process for me. Maybe I need to take up Wayne Dyer’s method and write everything out by hand?! Yikes.

I was still enthralled by the idea of automatic writing when WD started to talk about being extraordinary, and he appealed once more to the musical theater nerd inside of me. He started talking about the musical “Pippin”. I had the pleasure of doing the show twice. Once when I was in high school and once when I was in college.

(Photo: center stage  back in my musical theatre days)

You know when you hear a great speaker, and you feel like they are talking directly to you? I totally felt that way! Sometimes, I wonder if I am narcissistic, but, the reality is: I just want to relate to everyone and her or his story. And when I connect, I connect! I dial in.  Anyway, I was buying whatever WD was selling. I was drinking his green juice.

WD went on to tell us that so many people are living out Dharma that other people have placed on them. He also emphasized that “every burning desire within you wasn’t placed there by your DNA, it was placed there by the same thing that make the rose blossom… Ignoring it, you are ignoring your dharma – what you are here for…” When you ignore your burning desires you are ignoring your dharma. Wow. Have you made decisions in your life because you felt that was expected of you? Even though, your heart may have been objecting? How many times have you felt that burning desire and thought, “not me” or “not the right time”, or maybe even “I can’t achieve that”. Dyer was saying, you CAN! (You CAN DO IT!)  He said, “you are not the things your family did. You are not the voices in your head. You are light.”

In my head, I am thinking, “we are light, we are all light! Now, if only I could get past this wrist thing, I could shine and live my life’s purpose…”

THEN he said, “it’s the low points in our lives that give us the energy to propel ourselves to a higher place.”  Ah. He got me. And, look.  I have been in the wellness space long enough to KNOW that everything happens for a reason. The Universe has big plans for each and everyone of us.  And, I KNOW that injuries can be our greatest teachers. I KNOW “the wound is the place where the Light enters you” (Rumi), but I would be lying if I said this upside down girl, who has gotten so much solace from holding myself up on my own two hands in my yoga practice wasn’t having at least a small self-pity party over my wrist.  Somehow, those words “it’s the low points in our lives that give us the energy to propel ourselves to a higher place”  were exactly the ones I needed to hear.

When the talk was over, it was lunch, and Erin and I went for a walk, and saw this:

There are no accidents. As Dyer said, “you let go and you let life. You allow.” Man, was I ready to allow!

BUT, Kris Carr was speaking after the lunch break, and being on a brand new quest to heal my body again, I really wanted to hear what she had to say. I ate my nutritious lunch from Sakara Life that I brought with me in a cooler, and readied myself for more mind-blowing inspiration.

(photo: vegan lunch from Sakara Life)

“Besides suffering, what is inevitable? Healing” – Kris Carr. Well, needless to say, I was stoked I stayed for this one! Kris gave a beautiful talk: about healing being a spiritual practice, about respecting your needs, and not what other people think you need, and how “healing happens in seasons, on its own timeline; it cannot be pushed” (ugh, said my insides, but I KNOW. But, ugh.)

My favorite quote I took from Kris’ talk was, “acceptance is about not abandoning yourself” – not criticizing the pieces that are supposedly broken.   She closed by reminding us all to live our joy –to do the things that bring us the most of that.

(photo: Westside Highway view that day)

After more than four hours of sitting inside of a room with no windows, I needed to get outside and practice what I’d been hearing about all morning and afternoon. I wanted to do things that bring me joy, that make me come alive. I needed to think, I needed to process all of the incredible wisdom I’d heard, I needed air, I needed sunshine, and I needed my favorite element: water. So, I went for a walk from Javits Center where the convention was being held, to the Westside Highway, and walked all the way down to the very bottom of Manhattan, stopping at every single pier along the way and making a loop so that I walked the full length of the water. I stopped a few times just to sit and feel the sun on my face, but I knew I couldn’t go back inside for the rest the day. I thought a lot about the messages of the day: what brings me joy. And, I realized that I wanted the love of my life there enjoying all of this with me, so I called my husband and had him meet me for the last little part of my walk home. It was perfect. I wasn’t hearing about living, I was living. Broken wrist and all.

The next day, Nick Ortner, brother of one of my favorite humans, Jessica Ortner (another brilliant Hay House author), was speaking. I met up with Jessica at the Javits Center, and then we went into hear Nick speak. He started off with a bang, “most of us know what we want to change… But in order to do these things, you’ve got to go to the core.” Nick  reminded us that despite all of the talk about positive affirmations, “if you want to clean a house, you have to see the dirt” – apparently something Louise Hay herself said to Nick (how cool!)

Nick announced that the talk today would be around tapping for pain relief. Thank you, Universe!

When Nick started doing the tapping demonstration, and had everyone follow along, my cast was preventing me from tapping the karate chop tapping point in my left hand, and I wasn’t allowed to do anything with my left hand (to tap the right), so being the incredible friend that she is, Jessica tapped my hand for me. #thatslove

(photo: me & Jessica Ortner clowning around)

Tapping is powerful. It allows you, as Nick says, “to peel the onion” – to get to the layers underneath. I have been fortunate enough to experience it with “the Tapping Solution” videos online, and with Jessica in person on multiple occasions. This day was no different. After a few rounds of tapping, I could visualize exactly what I felt was holding me back, and getting in my way. I knew, with certainty, what I needed to rid my life of, in that moment, in order to be free. Now, as I said, this is deep stuff. So, maybe it’s not something I can rid myself of completely just because I acknowledge it, but acknowledging is certainly the first step, and I am super grateful for the Hay House “I can do it” convention this year, for adding that much more light into my Universe.

I am so inspired by all of the wonderful messages of joy, love, positivity, healing, and light that I was lucky enough to soak in on that September weekend. I was even inspired to sing along to the entire score of “Pippin” when I went to listen to the lyrics of “Extraordinary” once more, thanks to Wayne Dyer. When I got to the finale, it all came together:

“Think about the sun…
Think about her golden glance
How she lights the world up
Well, now it’s your chance
With the guardian of splendor
Inviting you to dance…
Think about the sun

Think about your life…
Think about the dreams you planned
Think about the moment
That’s so close at hand
When the power and the glory
Are there at your command… think about your life.”

I am so recharged and ready – broken wrist and all.  I am now on a #heidiheals quest.  I am studying every bit of information I can find on healing bones, and taking charge of my own healing journey – doing absolutely everything I can to allow my body, mind, soul and heart to heal (which a lot of the time means doing nothing aka RESTING – something I historically have not been amazing at.) Many, many thanks to Hay House, to Jessica  Ortner, and all of the amazing HH speakers at I Can Do It NYC 2014. Inspiration has been ignited <3 I would love to know: what inspires you?

Xoxo,

Heidi