The Universe Has A Plan For You

The Universe Has A Plan For You

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

The universe has a plan for each of us that is far bigger than anything we can imagine. It is that dream that unfolds as we grow and develop and make the choices that form our life. It also guides us and gives us opportunities and suggests choices that will alter our ultimate destination. We have to listen. We have to observe the nudges. We have to examine the opportunities. The universe builds on our choices. If I choose to emphasize a certain gift, the universe alters my ultimate direction to utilize that gift. We make a choice and the universe responds and gives us new opportunities based on that choice. 

The universe knows why we came into this lifetime. It responds as we make choices that expand and develop an alternate path. It is constantly guiding us. It provides us with new opportunities, new friends, new ideas, and interesting nudges. It is constantly adjusting to our choices in order to keep us going in the direction that it knows we are to travel.

Notice those nudges. Notice the synchronicity. Be present and aware as you make choices that alter your direction even a little. Check in with the universe. Show me how, show me where, show me when – it will answer. You just have to listen. The guidance will always be there. The universe knows your path and will show you the way.

DEEPER SONG AFFIRMATION

I listened attentively to the nudges and guidance of the universe and trust the path that opens up.

DEEPER SONG PROCESS

• Learn to interpret the support the universe constantly gives you. It could be insights, circumstances, and even actual knowing. Trust that.
• Go exploring. Listen to the urge, take it a few steps and see where it leads you. Explore where the universe suggests. Ultimately you will learn to trust the guidance of the universe that is always there. 

===INNER WORK===

The Nudge Notebook

I’m going to create a Nudge Notebook. I’m going to look back over my life to identify important nudges I received in my life and how they impacted the rest of my life. Some of it will be a sentence or two that resonated so deeply that I built a great portion of my life on that concept. 

Others will be things that I was taught by others as I walked my path. I am interested in why I made the decision – either because of the circumstances, the timing, or what turned out to be a very fulfilling experience that I didn’t know to expect. 

I’m actually going to write them down. Partially because writing down one nudge will probably uncover another turning point of impact. There were some major decisions that I made. There were some major decisions made for me, like being divorced. You will probably identify a few key influencers in your life. For me it was 
the decision to move to New York in the 80s where I proceeded to build my metaphysical foundation. Including reiki. And finding the Center for Spiritual Living in California where I became a practitioner and begin to write small books. Then there was the TV salesman who told me as a copywriter to write myself into the commercial which I did. The commercial was about glasses and my first line was a close-up of my eyes and I said, “Your eyes are your most precious possession.” When I did that first spot, none of the crew helped me until I proved to them I could do it. The next time I did the spot they were very supportive. I went on to a modest career as a television talent as well as copywriter.

So many small instances are wrapped up in how I see myself as well as what I love to do and what I continue to choose to do – explore philosophically and write about what I discover. 

Look at the patterns in your life. I sang alto in the high school trio and quartet and my mother had me take voice lessons at the local college which was good. Except my voice got so big it doesn’t blend in with the other less mature voices. But it made me a good television talent later on and more recently a podcaster. It’s funny how choices like that impact our life further down the path. 

Did you follow your nudges? Eight or so years ago I immersed myself in shamanismand it is an integral part of my spiritual practice. Several years ago I began to practice Qigong even though I had studied Tai Chi and yoga years ago in New York City. It is a practice that is deeply incorporated in my daily life. So when did you make this choices, how did they change you, are they still in your life and in what form?

This is not about feeling sorry that you did or did not make a particular choice, but it is about the impact and lessons and influence those choices had on the rest of your life. I wonder what you’ll find in your nudge notebook? 

Sacred Awareness

I don’t do Sacred Awareness very well but I wish I did. I wish I could be more aware of how sacred every moment of my day is. The fact that I am here. The fact that I am breathing. The fact that I am contributing. The fact that I am learning. Those are sacred gifts the universe provides daily. I would like to be more aware. And give more gratitude.

Count your blessings. For me, it’s a simple as being tucked into a safe place that I can afford. And have the help that I need as my age. For me, it is about my mind and the great adventures it takes me on. And it is the constant discovery of new and deeper ways to feel the sacredness within me, to be that sacredness. How will you increase your sacred awareness today?

What Energy is Drawing You and Where Is It Taking You?

Can you feel the pull? Can you feel the attraction? Can you feel the energy urging you to go in a certain direction? We have to be aware of that. And we have to continue to make choices. For instance, the news has a very powerful negative energy right now. Everything you listen to pulls you into a state of helplessness and hopelessness and despair. We have a choice. We have to stay aware, but we have control over how deeply we immerse ourselves in the negative pull.

We have to pay attention to what we’re paying attention to. Where is the energy that you are focusing on taking you? Is it towards a positive solution? Is it to an answer? Is it worth taking time to listen to the whole idea? The more aware we are of how we are responding to a particularly negative energy, the greater control we have over our response. Notice what energy is drawing you, where it is taking you, and make a conscious choice to either follow or let go and change your focus. This is a tricky time. Understand your overall intention and evaluate the focus of the energy that shows up. Decide if you want to go where it is leading you. 

===SELF-HEALING===

Stress Relief – Chin Circles

I now have the book Head-to-Toe Healing by Master Chuny Lin and keep adding the simple moves to my life to move my qi energy into action and self-heal. 

I found the chin circle as I was looking for a move to share with a friend who said she had anxiety and trouble sleeping. It’s become one of my favorites. I just call it chin circles. It is a very powerful move to release stress. It can even be done in the middle of a meeting if you do it subtly because you’re simply moving your chin in a forward, down and around circle. 

Sit or stand straight. Stretch your neck forward, move the chin down, and then turn it back to toward your chest. Now guide your chin up your chest until your head is back at the starting point. This is done in a continuous circular motion and should only take a few minutes. Tone the sound KENE as you do it one minute any time as needed. There is number 28 and Head-to-Tie Healing.

I had an unexpected result when I began to practice it. My right shoulder experienced a major release. And I didn’t even know it was jammed up – until it released and greatly increased its range of motion.  These are very powerful moves.

The book is Head-to-Toe Healing by Master Chuny Lin. You can get it on Amazon or at springforestqigong.com or chunyilin.com.   I suggest you get on his mailing list in order to receive excerpts from this book on a weekly basis. The moves are simple to do and I have had amazing and instantaneous results from doing them. Highly recommend. 

Bottoms Up!

Reminder: the more water you drink, the less pain you will have. Drinking half of your body weight in ounces per day is recommended and helps your eyes and brain and lungs (all are mostly water!)

===OUTER   WORK===

What You Expect You Get

“I don’t think it’s gonna work but I’ll give it a try.” How much success do you have with an affirmation   like that? What do you expect to get? The extent of results or even if there are any results, all emerge from what you expect you’re going to get. “I’ll give it a try- but.” “This may not work -but.”

My biggest shift about being aware of what I expect has come recently as I use Qigong to self -heal. And it’s working. So in essence, I’m moving my arms in prescribed patterns and focusing my thoughts and physical changes are happening. The fact that change is happening strengthens my belief that it can happen. Expect the best, do not settle for second best. Expect the best and you will get it.

How Do You Plan Your Day?

Do you see a new day as a blank canvas with you as the artist? Can you feel you desires? Do you watch your day open up with all sorts of hard to miss need-to-do lists or soul-rewarding spiritual exploration? Which would you prefer?

Sure we have to get things done, but what if our to-do list is crowding out our dream list, our I-want-to-do list. It may be as simple as saying, “From one to two I’m going to work on my dreams, my passions, my expectations.” What would you do? Set aside time for dreaming and exploring and experiencing? Give it a try and see what expands and unfolds.

Write an Acknowledgment Note

Stop and think about someone whose presence makes a huge difference in your life. When was the last time you acknowledged them? Not just a general “thank you” but a thank you for a specific interaction, for being there, for calling on a regular basis, or simply being a friend. Write or call your friend up. Send an email. Create some form of acknowledgment for someone in your life who is so there for you, that it’s possible you haven’t thanked him/her for quite some time. Be aware of those who help you even in small ways and acknowledge them for their interaction.

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Keep It Simple

It’s easy to make it more complicated. Keeping it simple is the hard part. For instance, I found an hour-long class on creating sacred ceremony that included things like sacred geometry. I’m not going to take it because I want to keep my ceremonies simple and meaningful to me. I know how to make a very complex spiritual ceremony. And for some people that’s perfect. But I like to keep it focused and simple – set an intention and do the work. Keep an eye out on how complicated or complex you have made your spiritual practice and perhaps consider simplifying it or alternating the elements as you move through the week. 

One purpose of a morning spiritual practice is to release the healing of the night and prepare for the day ahead. Let go.   Choose a focus. And step forward into your day. Every ceremony could be about reflection and gratitude. Keep it simple.

Mindful Living

Learn to live mindfully. When you prepare a meal do it with gratitude and appreciation for the source of the food. Eat mindfully. Eat thoughtfully and taste thoroughly. When you do your work do it from your heart. Begin with an intention and keep that higher awareness of that intention as you move through the work. Let that keep you in the high road as you proceed. 

Walk mindfully. As my body continues to shift and change, when I’m walking well I experience great appreciation for the smooth movement and the coordinated steps. Mindfulness deepens your appreciation for what exists. How will you be more mindful today? 

Expand Your Creativity

There are so many ways to be creative. It gives us an opportunity to express what is deep inside of us in a form that we normally don’t use. It can be poetry, it can be a drawing, it can be creating anything. Find a way to increase the creativity in your life whether it’s trying a new recipe or learning a new song, or writing a poem.   Be creative in your spiritual practice. Be creative in your daily interaction with people. Be creative in what you learn. And what you share. Shake it up again. And see what new ways you can offer yourself to the world. 

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE DIVERSE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEINGS===

The Flow of Friends

When you look back over your life you see a flow of important friends. People who changed your life. People who taught you life-changing lessons. People who encouraged you. They came in and they went out. There was a cycle to their friendship. A time and place. Take a moment to remember the people who had a great impact on your life. Those who were your support or a catalyst for an impotent choice that you made.

Notice who is in your present cycle, what they are offering you. What you are offering them. It’s not important how long the exchange is. Very short exchanges can be life-changing. As can a long one. There’s a flow to friendship. Because you change and they change and you have to separate in order to go learn new things that take you along on your own individual path. There are people who changed my life that I no longer have any idea where they are. They were friends and they were important friends and they were part of a past cycle.

Notice the cycles. Notice the waxing and waning of a friendship, relationship, notice how you spend less or more time together or how sturdy and steady and deep the relationship continues to build. Friendships unfold. Let them guide you both as you journey alongside each other for a while. Friendships go in cycles just like everything else. Enjoy the flow.

Do Your Rock Routine

I have told this story before. We were walking across Central Park in New York City forty years ago when my friend said, “We are rocks, others depend on us.” I thought about that a minute and asked “Who do we depend on?” She said, “Other rocks.”

My friend Noralee, who lives in Canada and who graciously proofreads this newsletter for me each week, reminded me that in this time of stress she was looking at the solidarity of the mountains and she wrote “And I remember I am a rock. So are you. Perhaps if we just do our rock routine, we’ll teach by example :-)” So I’m writing this to figure out what my “rock routine” is….

It is about being independent, smart, strong, and creative. We make stuff up. We do stuff differently. We are independent and strong minded. Rocks find a way around and above and beyond and below. We just make things happen. There’s a strength about being a rock, a dependability, but there’s also a great amount of creativity.

The topic that brought about this reminder of our rock-ness was the state of the world – which is pretty scary at the moment. So my interpretation of being a rock today would include knowing my own value. You’re standing up for your values, but not imposing them on others – continually searching for the highest good for all. Being a rock is about being thoughtful and kind and strongly supportive.

I see rocks as strong stand-alone people who simply get the job done. It’s not a big deal, it’s just the way we are.

We stand strong in this world of change. We make the choices that are aligned with our goals and our integrity. And keep going in that direction, that higher road. What kind of a rock routine are you going to create?

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Many Paths

There are many ways to reach a destination. Over, above, around, and through. When you are considering a new step, take time to explore different paths that would get you there. One path may get you there very rapidly but without much depth and thoroughness. Another path may be way too detailed for what you want to do. Look for the path that has the right mixture of thoroughness, freedom of imagination, and effectiveness. Go partway down any of the paths that call to you to make sure that they are what you want or what you don’t want. Explore before you choose your path. Open yourself up to a variety of paths toward the solutions and outcomes you seek.

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

Spiritual Practice

The Two Vital Sides of Your Spiritual Practice 

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the 

Deeper Song Website

===CARA’S CORNER===

Trust theProcess

There are some things that are not working well in my life. My body is one of them but I have to trust the process. I have to trust that the universe knows why I am in the condition I’m in. I know one thing, it is driving me to search out self-healing methods to go get a result. So maybe it had to be this dramatic in order to make me take the next steps. So I experiment. I observe the results. I keep a close eye on my morale. And I do the work. Not always happily. Not always well. But I do it with persistence.

I get to make choices. I get to do the work or not do the work. I notice the results. I’ve had easier times, by a lot. But the universe is giving me this opportunity to look deeply within, perhaps make new choices. I must pay attention and give it deep thought.

Trust the process. There are lessons to be learned in the doing. 

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

Learning Can Hurt

New lessons can be painful. They are times of exploration and success and failure. A lesson may remain elusive.

New lessons can be painful. They are times of exploration and success and failure. A lesson may remain elusive. We must persist. We must keep exploring and experimenting to find the right balance for us.

New lessons can be painful. They are times of exploration and success and failure. A lesson may remain elusive. We must persist. We must keep exploring and experimenting to find the right balance for us. We will find the answer. We will find the right path. Be patient and keep exploring.

Cara Lumen, May 2022

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.   Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song   

I help adventurers who are ready to explore the new possibilities in the emerging energy of the Divine Feminine to align their dreams and choices with what is emerging as possible today so that they go beyond their own expectations.

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