Tag Archives: Life Rehab Resources

Life Rehab Resources: Mondo Beyondo

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liferehabresourcesToday I want to share with you one of the resources that started it all: Andrea Scher, and more specifically her Mondo Beyondo class, a six week self-paced ecourse “full of powerful stories, exercises, secret missions and audio interviews — all designed to help you clarify your deepest dreams and begin to make them real.”

j7jgymyriam moon mb badge 383How the course works: You get an email each weekday that links you to that day’s lesson, with weekends “off” to catch up, contemplate, further connect with your classmates. The platform Andrea currently uses for the course, Ruzuku, allows course members to post responses directly to that day’s offering, and to communicate with each other through comments. And yet, you don’t have to. You can take the course, gain all the good without ever adding to the larger group discussion. It’s totally up to you how you want to participate. The Ruzuku platform also has the added bonus of making the course available to you even after it’s over, and Andrea also provides other ways for members of a session to keep in touch. I have made many friends that continue to be encouraging and supportive of my dreaming process, as I am to them, and I often return to the lessons for a refresher on the practice.

This course fundamentally shifted the way I approach my life, the way I see myself. When I first found Andrea’s blog, I was searching, knew that I had abandoned myself and my dreams but didn’t know how to find my way back. I was instantly drawn to her and what she had to offer, and signed up for my first session of Mondo Beyondo the same month I started this blog. I have since taken Mondo Beyondo Dream Lab, Superhero Photo, Cultivating Courage, and been a teaching assistant for Mondo Beyondo twice. I was also lucky enough this fall to take an in-person weekend workshop with Andrea. She has become a dear and valued friend.

For me, Andrea Scher has been the sun at the center of a universe of amazement and goodness, the shiny middle that all the other bright and precious things orbit around. She invited me to expand my idea of what was possible. She encourages me, is kind and honest. She is constantly admitting the things that are hard and messy, while still pointing out what’s beautiful and precious.

andrea_cherr_497Having been in Mondo Beyondo a few times now, what I’ve noticed is that people come to the course from all over the place, in their lives and the world. Some people don’t know what their dreams even are, some had dreams but they don’t seem to fit anymore, some are afraid to even let themselves dream, some don’t feel worthy of their dreams, some are afraid to try and maybe fail, some think it’s too late for their dreams, some know their dreams but don’t see how they’d be possible in the context of an already full life, some know their dreams but don’t know where to even begin to make them come true.

This course has room for all of these perspectives. And Andrea says it best in the course description that while this course encourages you to dream bigger, in the end it’s not about dreams coming true.

It’s about who we are becoming in the pursuit of our dreams. Are we becoming the most alive version of ourselves? The bravest, most authentic expressions of who we are? That’s how our dreams serve us. They tell us who we are and who we are becoming. They pull us toward a version of ourselves that inspires.

I confess, the first Mondo Beyondo list of dreams I made seemed utterly insane. It had things on it like “meet Brene’ Brown,” “have an audience of 1000 for my blog,” “become a yoga teacher,” and “meet and be friends with Andrea Scher.” That sounds crazy, right? And yet, most of those things have already happened, and the one that hasn’t will be starting this coming weekend when I begin yoga teacher training.

dreamwithfeathersWhat I learned through this course is having the dream is ultimately the only thing you need to start making it come true. Getting clear about what you want most, about what you value, is what clarifies the steps you need to take to get “there.” With what I learned in this course, I am able to form new dreams, get clear about what I want, stick with them and be flexible as they evolve, and either embody that dream or move on to a new one. I can manifest things for myself that I wasn’t able to even imagine before. I have the courage to try.

I have taken so many ecourses in the past two years. I often joke that it’s like I earned another graduate degree, a curriculum of my own design. Out of all those courses, Mondo Beyondo made the biggest difference, had the most impact.

And lucky, lucky you, kind and gentle reader: the next session of Mondo Beyondo starts on Monday, January 6th, and Andrea is offering a special deal, bring a friend for free! I know lots of people who took the course with a significant other, friend or sibling, and it seemed to be a good experience for them.

I adore Andrea, and am so grateful for her work, her truth and her light, which have been of such great benefit to me as I stumble along. Even if taking a course with her doesn’t work for you right now, I encourage you to check out her website, read her blog, follow her on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, or read her Self-Compassion Saturday post. She is the embodiment of “something good.”

Life Rehab Resources: Divination

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liferehabresourcesI confess, when I realized this morning that it was Saturday, and that meant I needed to write one of these posts, I thought “oh crap.” Last week, I was sure I knew what I was going to tell you about today, but this morning it no longer seemed like the right thing, even though I was going to make myself write about it anyway if nothing else came up. Then when I was shuffling my tarot cards this morning, it came to me: divination.

Divination, from the Latin divanare, which is “to foresee, to be inspired by a god,” related to divinus, divine, is “the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual, a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand.” It’s a way of making sense, uncovering wisdom, accessing insight, developing intuition, seeing meaning, finding patterns, knowing. It is an invitation to the Universe, the Divine, Light, Love, God, whatever you call it, a way of saying “help me out, give me a sign, show me the way.” It is part prayer, part practice, magic and medicine.

I love all kinds of divination practice — picking a random line from a sacred text, tarot readings, throwing I-Ching coins, Hiro Boga’s Deva Cards, Q-Cards, or any such oracle through which the Universe might send me a message. Opening a book to a random page and reading a line of poetry with the expectation that there’s a message for me, taking a walk and asking for a truth to be revealed — it’s a choice to trust in something bigger, to believe I am connected, can communicate with a deep and eternal wisdom.

I know there are those who consider it a dark art, of the devil, and it probably can be if that’s your intention, but I believe it’s a way of communicating directly with God (whatever name you use for this wise and compassionate energy). It’s like prayer, opening my heart and listening deeply for answers to my questions, a way of requesting guidance.

As I’ve said before when I’ve talked about this, go ahead and think I’m weird, but I believe it’s just one more way to get clear about where I am and what I should be focusing on. I think this is one of the ways the Universe sends me messages, because I open my heart and ask, and even if it’s just a message from my unconscious or random chance that doesn’t really mean anything, I find it a useful tool for gaining some insight on my current situation, whatever that happens to be.

Divination is something I practice every day, in one form or another. Some of my favorite practices, resources and tools are:

  • The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck. It took me 20 years to get another tarot deck, after losing my first. People I love and respect use this one, and there was just something about it that spoke to me — the dark hand drawn lines, the bright colors, the story of the artist, a business “founded on the belief that there is a place of wonder, gentle beauty, and clarity within each of us.” I’ve been working with this deck daily for about three months. Sometimes it’s frustrating, because it will keep giving me cards I don’t want, messages I’d rather not hear. Other times, it keeps giving me the same card, over and over, and it’s a little freaky to be honest. Then there are times where the card it offers me is exactly the grace I needed.

wildunknowneightofswords

  • Hiro Boga’s Deva Cards. In this practice, you get clear about your intention and pull a card. The resulting card is your Deva. Hiro describes Devas this way:

Every creation on Earth that serves an evolutionary purpose has a spiritual counterpart in the subtle energy realms. This counterpart is a being who holds the pattern or blueprint for the perfect unfolding of the life in its care. I call these pattern-holders Devas…a Sanskrit word that means Shining Ones…As you get to know them and deepen your relationship with them, you can choose to partner with them consciously, to create your life, your business, and the world in which you want to live…Because you are an incarnate soul, all of these soul qualities are already within you, as seeds or potentials. Some of these qualities may be well-developed and readily accessible to you. Others may need to be strengthened and cultivated, for you to experience and express them more fully.

  • Qcards. They don’t make this deck anymore, which is a like a light-hearted tarot deck, but you can still find the online version, where you can pick three cards that describe where you are now or your “longterm” forecast, or you can ask a question. I like these because they are sort of silly, have a sense of humor, but are not devoid of insight.
  • I Ching. I have my own set of coins and three books I use to help me interpret them: a copy of I Ching: The Chinese Book of Changes by Clae Waltham that was printed in 1969, The Buddhist I Ching by Chih-hsu Ou-i and translated by Thomas Cleary, and The Photographic I Ching, which is my favorite of the three.

I’ve pulled cards for myself, but never had someone else read for me. Rachael’s radiant, gentle presence in the world made me trust her to do so. Our reading began with her warm welcome, calm and comforting, opening a space that hummed with possibility and intention. She showed up, was wholly present for the process, allowing whatever might arise, a kind guardian of what came, never getting in its way. As she interpreted the wisdom of the cards, Rachael made the most compassionate offering, shining a light on obstacles and opportunities alike, leaving me with a sense of clarity and peacefulness that has stayed with me. I felt encouraged and empowered by the new insights, and am grateful for the ease and joy Rachael brought to the experience.

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  • The creative process, practice, is a kind of divination for me — showing up, being open to whatever arises. It also assumes a connection to divinity, embodies the intention to do sacred work, to be a blessing.

The thing I most want to tell you about divination is don’t do it if it doesn’t feel right to you, if you don’t find it helpful or have trouble trusting it, (actually, I’d tell you that about just about anything). However, if you do feel the pull, keep looking until you find the right form for you, the best fit. These are my favorites, but there are so many others, and something else might work better for you.