Posts tagged as:

journey

Virgin Territory

I’m headed to Chris Guillebeau’s World Domination Summit (WDS) tomorrow, and honestly, I’m not sure what to expect. I’m going alone, and although I tangentially know some of the people who will be there, it’s starting out at least as a solo journey. Yet the mix of trepidation, anticipation and mystery I sense feels all too familiar to me as a seasoned traveler. It’s the same presentiment that always arises before a move into virgin territory.

That’s the thing about virgin territory – there’s an open-endedness, a blank slate quality, even an obscurity to it that disables you from seeing beyond but is exhilarating and provocative all the same, irresistibly luring you forward.

(By way of background, I’m attending the event this year because I considered Chris’ inaugural WDS last year, couldn’t make up my mind, and in the end missed my chance when it sold out. Regretting my decision, I knew I’d not repeat that mistake in 2012.)

Two nagging questions always arise before exploring virgin territory, and this time is no exception: 1) Will I be back? and 2) How will I be back?

That’s an oversimplified way of expressing my mind’s natural fear and curiosity over several things: [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

Five Guiding Questions for Living Life to the Fullest

photo credit: manymeez

We’ve all heard the clichés – life is fleeting. Time flies. As I write this the year is already a third over and it feels like it just started. Some years are like that, and 2012 is one.

That doesn’t do you a lot of good if you don’t have a guidance system for navigating life when it’s moving at warp speed (and I realize to many of you, it’s only moving at warp speed!). You can plan and goal-set and task-list all day long but you know what they say about the best-laid plans, right? Yeah, they change. Or you change. Or the universe takes matters into its own hands and course-corrects you, like it or not.

Which is why I’ve been pondering this post from Vicky White for a while. Given a forced choice between the two, I think I’d rather have a compass on my journey than a detailed, specific set of directions.

I didn’t come to that decision lightly. I’ve often wished for a higher power to “come down” and literally tell me [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

Transitioning Into 2012: What I left behind in Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve

4263284498 507cf57a77 Transitioning Into 2012: What I left behind in Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve
photo credit: LenDog64

As you know if you’ve traveled yourself or read my other outer journey adventures every new journey reveals a special gift otherwise unavailable to you.

This trip is delivering early. That’s the thing about travel. You never know when the gifts will appear. They so often show up in the quiet spaces between big planned events, and of course when you least expect them.

I’m writing this on January 1 at 35,000 feet on a flight from Amsterdam to Istanbul on my latest outer journey accompanied by husband and daughter.

Amsterdam was meant to be [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

New Year’s Reflection and Inspiration: Consciously Approaching 2012

6539128461 b0741f8724 New Year’s Reflection and Inspiration: Consciously Approaching 2012
photo credit: wrestlingentropy

This year for me, the holidays were quieter, simpler and less hectic than usual. Maybe it was the lack of travel (a rarity), absence of family visitors, or simply the days of the week on which actual holidays fell, but whatever the reasons I savored the calm spaciousness. As a result I’m relishing this time to thoughtfully reflect on the past year and sincerely contemplate my intentions, visions, and goals for 2012.

This is, to me, a big part of living consciously. Being in the moment and responding to what is, yes – that’s always called for – but conscious living also means having a clear intention and vision for the path ahead.

That’s even more necessary and powerful than it’s ever been before. Considering the shifting times we’re living through, the fact that we can consciously evolve – that we can choose how we want to progress both individually and collectively and remain conscious of it as it’s occurring – is a powerful opportunity not to be squandered or ignored.

For those living a life of utter (religious, service or familial) devotion, complete surrender is the path. They are content to journey where they are needed most. For the rest of us with more hybrid lives and their attendant wants, needs, dreams and passions, our journey boils down to two choices: a) consciously create a path or [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

Do You Know Who You Really Are, and Are You Living As If You Believe It?

6097626576 98d8951ea8 Do You Know Who You Really Are, and Are You Living As If You Believe It?
photo credit: pr0d1gy

Recently this story about a journey crossed my path. You may have run across it yourself; it’s often read at funeral and memorial services:

The Dragonfly

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions.

Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened their friend was dead, gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top.

When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, [click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }

To The Mountaintop and Back

photo credit: Dru Bloomfield – At Home in Scottsdale

My tales from the outer journey continue. If you didn’t catch the first one, check it out here.

I thought after meeting Daniel in the foothills of the Chilean Andes it might be a while before I ran across another wise old man on a mountain. Little did I know I’d meet Sam barely a month later.

Early in August I made a trip to Phoenix to see my new baby nephew who is, without question, way cuter than the average newborn. Coming from south Florida, I knew it would be hot in Arizona, but I am at least somewhat used to (and gravitate toward) heat. I figured there’s a good chance that ninety-five and humid in Florida is equivalent to 110 degrees in Arizona. And if you read my first post on the outer journey, you’ll know I can’t go anywhere without trying to squeeze in some outdoor native terrain time. Thus, my rationale for deciding to summit Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, the hottest month of the year in that desert city.

Camelback, Hiking, and the Arizona Desert

For those unfamiliar with Phoenix, Camelback Mountain is unique in that it literally sits smack in the middle of the entire city, not just Phoenix proper but the whole metro area. So, it’s an ultra-convenient outdoor escape into the native Arizona environment for urban residents. Easy to get to, challenging for a beginner, fast yet fulfilling for a pro, Camelback boasts an elevation gain of 1,200 feet from its base and two different one-and-one-half mile trails to its 2,704 ft. summit. People hike to the summit every day.

I’ve done it before myself on several occasions, although always [click to continue…]

{ 6 comments }

The Importance of the Outer Journey

View from my Trail Ride in the Chilean Andes

Lately I’ve focused considerably on the inner journey – specifically, the path through my own most recent evolutionary shift in consciousness and personal growth, likely one of many such shifts any seeker undergoes in a lifetime. After moving through that growth cycle this spring, I had an amazing summer, abundant with travel to beautiful, familiar and far-flung places alike.

It reminded me of something: life isn’t all about the inner journey. The outer journey – in particular, the fact that you have one – is just as important. And naturally, the two are inextricably connected, for the outer journey sparks and fuels the inner; the inner is mirrored in live lessons and the physical reality of the outer. At least that‘s how it’s always been for me.

Insatiable Wanderlust

Those who’ve read the “meet Karen” page of this blog will know that the outer journey – I’m talking about literal travel here – is one I have been incredibly blessed to have with great ease and little effort of my own. It’s also been one of immense variety and constancy since I was a child. And it’s something I’d like to [click to continue…]

{ 3 comments }

The Road to Conscious Evolution

So you’ve shifted – now what?

If you’ve been through a shift or you’re still shifting, it can be a wild ride. As I described in my last two posts, at first it’s usually not much fun. In fact that’s an understatement: it can feel as if your world is crumbling, you’re backsliding, or nothing is happening at all. There can be pain and loss, confusion and convolution, even upheaval. Yet, once you realize those are only early markers of an ongoing process and begin feeling the momentum of movement, it’s a whole other story.

Let’s Get to the Good Part Already!

That’s when the ride gets fun! After the choice point, assuming you’ve moved into action, the action itself is exhilarating, fulfilling, enriching and even if challenging, deeply meaningful; at least, that’s exactly how it has felt for me. Your days are accounted for yet fly by without a worry. Your plate and calendar are full yet you’re not overwhelmed – you are instead fueled and fed. You care not about time nor notice its passage, for you’re living in the moment and loving [click to continue…]

{ 3 comments }

Behind the Scenes of Shifting – Part 1

photo credit: openDemocracy

For the past few months I’ve been writing about my personal journey through the shift in consciousness I see humanity moving through. Although I think we as a whole are evolving, there are billions of different individual stories illustrating how we’re doing so. While we’ll all end up at the same place, there are billions of different paths leading there. There are billions of unique ways we will each hear and respond to the call to shift – a husband’s path will be different than his wife’s, two friends may wildly diverge, and so on. And there will be billions of different time-frames in which shift happens – but mostly that’s up to how fast we each decide to get on board.

For me, major stuckification in February was a tip-off that my time to shift was at hand. Although I didn’t quite believe it then, didn’t intellectually or practically know how it would play out, and was overflowing with attendant fears ranging from getting more stuck to being divorced, jobless and destitute to perhaps the worst – that the status quo would continue – from a deeper place I knew that darkness [click to continue…]

{ 4 comments }

The Push

photo credit: dannyfowler

Man is there a lot of shifting going on in April. The pace has picked up, and for me personally it’s becoming a thrilling ride.

At the start of this year I made a conscious decision to move in the direction of my dreams. I just didn’t realize how fast I’d be moving.

By early March I found my passion for taking Accidental Seeker from a blog to a livelihood barely containable. All I had to do was give voice to this desire – and several ideas accompanying it – and it began to manifest. Yeah, pretty much on its own. I didn’t need to forge ahead so much as I have been instantly, unexpectedly pushed.

Just to give you a quick taste [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

← Previous Entries