Led by Grace

Why? Why have I been guided to write the Led by Grace collection? What is it about my story that you need to read? What is it about my journey that will help you live your life with serenity? And how will my story bring you any closer to knowing your Self? Led by Grace, written in eight parts, describes a guided process of transformation to becoming fully engaged with living in this world—but not being of this world. I have received Divine Guidance during meditations and witnessed miracles that have awakened me from my slumber of unhappiness to the Light of forgiveness. As you walk with me on my journey, you will see how this process of discovering, and living, my Self unfolded for me. But why would you believe that I received this Divine Guidance in such a direct and vibrant manner? As with any true story, the “proof” is usually in its result. The visions I experienced in meditation made me face my life and guided me through many dark tunnels to important lessons. Ultimately, I experienced unconditional forgiveness, and with it, the miracle of living with serenity … most of the time. I am still very much a work-in-progress, but I have experienced great healing, joy, peace, and happiness in my life. My journey began the moment I was born. However, for almost fifty years, I had no idea where that journey was going or—more important—that I was even on a journey. In the spring of 2001, my life started to change. I had my first Reiki treatment and experienced simple visions. I soon began to meditate on my own and had similar experiences. Over time, these visions, as well as miracles I experienced, grew in complexity and depth. I had no idea where this journey would take me—or the meaning of all that was happening to me—but I never found these experiences unsettling, frightening, or unsafe. Rather, I always looked forward to this time with my various guides and the journeys I took with them. I found myself in monasteries, meadows, forests, deserts, farmhouses, rivers, and tunnels. I met my guides—a monk, an eagle, old women and men, young women and men, Inca priests, sailors, wizards, my dad, Jesus, Buddha, and God. Each vision (very often in parable form) and internal “knowing” or understanding taught me a Truth that led to my awareness and understanding that I am pure Divine Love, one with all creation. Yet for some time, my understanding of the messages and lessons I was receiving was merely intellectual. I thought just having these experiences was enough—that I was on the path to enlightenment. But I am living a human experience; to fully engage in it, I needed to internalize the teachings, bring them into my life, and apply them to all my life experiences. This was difficult; I could not make this connection, and I did not understand that all my problems were not because of someone or something else. But the Divine is endlessly patient and non-judgmental. In the fall of 2009, I finally grasped forgiveness at the end of my forty-day, 925-kilometer pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It was the springboard for my ongoing journey to live with forgiveness in my life. All of my senses were alive during my visions, and I wrote them down in great detail afterward. This, in itself, was curious; I had only ever kept a short journal in my early teens, and I had never imagined that anyone would read my journals. For years, I never reread them. For a number of years, I was guided to write the Led by Grace collection, but I was unable to see past what I considered immeasurable ego concerns. Would my life not be exposed, my privacy invaded? Would others I wrote about not be affected? How could I ever deal with the overwhelming amount of material? What would my readers think? How could I possibly do this, and how was I to present the material? It was so much easier to just not write it. Whenever I expressed my concerns to God, I was always told that everything would be all right. And that was exactly right—as it always is. As I sat on the precipice of Cape Fisterra overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at the end of my Camino journey, God once again spoke to me about my life purpose. I was to share my message and I was now ready to do so, as described in this excerpt from the eighth and final part of Led by Grace. God says, “Write your story. Just write your story. Reread your journals and tell your story. That is what you need to do. Tell your whole story—the ups, the downs, the trouble, the pain, the joys, the realizations—tell your story.” I become overwhelmed with tears as I hear God’s words. God continues, “Look at the birds. They never doubt that the air will hold them up and take them where they need to go. They just know. Become like the birds and fly.” I study the multitude of birds soaring, rising, and floating on the air. And then I realize that God is “pushing” me out of the nest. Tears are running down my face. I am scared of falling over the cliff. But birds leaving the nest all know how to fly. They only leave the nest when they are ready. “Feel the wind beneath your wings,” God says. “You will be safe. It is time for you to leave the nest, to fly, to begin your journey. Your story is the end but also the beginning. I have nurtured you, guided you, fed you, kept you safe while you were growing until you were ready to fly and start your life. This is where you leave the nest in the trees and fly beyond.” I am looking directly over the cliffs heading into the sea. I am emotional, I am scared … Then I am completely accepting, completely understanding of the truth of my readiness. Yet it was still not until almost six months later, as I walked along Wawa Lake on my fifty-seventh birthday, that I fully understood that I needed to move forward. My journal entries were already written. I was to write my interpretation of each one and the lesson each brings into our lives. When I returned home from my walk that morning, I began to write. I wrote for several hours, and it felt good. My life purpose became an all-consuming passion.