As I contemplate what to write about in this week's blog, I'm struck by what an extraordinary journey I've been on the last 11 years, a journey that started with the feeling that I was "supposed" to do some kind of healing work. That in itself came out of a values and goal setting process begin years before that through my exposure to Holistic Resource Management, as it was called then. After my husband and I gave up on the idea of trying to get into farming via working with my family, we moved back to familiar stomping grounds in Southeast MN and to familiar friends.

It was with the help of two close friends, with whom we would regularly meet to talk and explore and support each other in our efforts to live more deliberate and fulfilling lives, that the feelings of being called, if you will, to do some kind of healing work really started to emerge.

While I'd been seeking healing for my own self even as a young girl, this process was first formalized when I started graduate school and had the opportunity to work with a very skilled and compassionate family therapist. Post traumatic stress syndrome was the official diagnosis, stemming in large part from a combo of Catholic guilt and being in a relationship with a narcissistic, possessive, older man. Of course, lots of what came forward in though sessions had roots in childhood hurts. It was good to finally and formally start to address these. But what really forced the doors wide open was a trip to Fairfield, Iowa, home of Maharishi University and a meeting with a psychic recommended by friends who had been all excited when they found out from this psychic that we lots of past life connections with each other.

Now, I clearly remember being very put off and put out when our friends came to us with this exciting news of our past life connections. At this time I was working on my Master of Arts in Theology and was still pretty connected in the classic Christian world view, which did not accept such notions as past lives. Reflecting back, however, what I think really put me off was an implication that somehow we were destined to intertwine our lives with these friends in ways that felt undercutting to my free will, to my personal freedom to choose. In my own personal theology, Free Will, has been and still is, central to my understanding of myself as a human being.

And in the work that Machaelle Small Wright has done with Nature, she conveys Nature's perspective on the subject, which is that Free Will is the defining characteristic of human consciousness. But that's a topic for another blog.

Although our friends may have stepped on my toes a bit in their enthusiasm, they did do me real service by putting this notion of past lives in front of me in a way that I could not ignore. And so, we made appointments with this same pyschic and went for our readings.

That meeting produced two extremely significant outcomes. First, she noted that my husband and I were what she called "twin flames." And although my understanding of what twin flames are has shifted from what the psychic was seeing, it solidified the sense that my husband and I have indeed come together for a specific spiritual purpose and that knowledge has kept us going forward together through some shaky times.

The second, life-changing outcome of that meeting with the Fairfield psychic was that I was in dire need of some healing work, and specifically that I needed to work with a "Network Chiropractor." This set me off on a quest. Being that this was in the days very early days of the Internet, I had to get creative! I was just learning how to use a pendulum for dowsing and developing my intuition. So with determination and by setting my thinking mind aside, I managed to actually, in a rather circuitous way, find someone in the Twin Cities who really was trained as a "Network Chiropractor!" I was amazed!

And, wouldn't you know it, it was to this person that I tuned to 5 years later for advice with regard to the feeling that I needed to do some kind of healing work. And in turn, this person suggested, "You know, you should go talk to Adriene Wentworth. She's one of the clearest psychics I've ever worked with!"

And so I called and made an appointment for a "reading." That appointment was August 12, 1998. I still have the cassette recording of that session.

And in this session, I was very clear. I wanted to know what God wanted me to do with my life.

But Adriene was equally clear, she said, "God is not going to tell you what do with your life. You have to choose. And when you're ready to look at what might blocking your willingness or ability to make that choice, call me and set up an appointment for a Christa Healing session.

And so, I did. And three weeks later I had my first Christa Healing session, and the rest, as they say, is history!

To be continued . . .

As I announced in a recent e-newsletter to clients, I am currently enrolled in a 12 session teleseminar on using social media tools -- like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. -- for business development and outreach. The class is being conducted by David Riklan of SelfGrowth.com and with 4 classes completed so far, I'm pretty impressed. It's a lot of information to absord but, as David reminds us, we don't have to digest it all in one gulp! It will likely take weeks and months to really make full use of all that is being taught.

I recently described this whole phenomenon of social media tools as a "brave new world," to which a friend replied, "Brave or stupid? - I haven't figured it out yet."

For those of us over a certain age and/or at a certain level of technological skill, these tools may seem a little daunting or maybe even frivolous. But from what I'm learning in this teleseminar, these tools are where things are really happening for people, both socially and professionally. I'm also learning that the business applications of these tools are really just starting to be tapped into. One thing's for sure, though: this bullet train has definitely left the station!

So far, one of the best things I've learned is the basic formula for creating a healthy, dynamic client base.

• First, people need to FIND you -- i.e., they have to have some way to know that you even exist!
• Second, people need to get to KNOW you -- i.e., who are you, what are your interests, your skills, your basic personality, and so forth.
• Third, people need to TRUST you -- i.e., they need some way to judge for themselves whether you are who and what you say you are and whether they feel comfortable with that. You do this by being your authentic self in how you present yourself both as a person and as a professional. E.g., some people like aggressive sales tactics, but there are many of us who don't. How you present yourself and what you have to offer will inevidible attract some people and repell others. In other words, not everyone's going to or needs to like you and trust you. The key is being consistently authentic and do your part in helping those who are attracted to your "energy" find you.
• Fourth, once people start to find you, know you and trust you, then they will be more likely to check out what you have to offer and buy your products, engage your services and most importantly, tell others about you.

This formula really represents nothing new from a business relationship standpoint, but what IS new is that the ability of people to FIND you, KNOW you, etc. exponentially increases to unimaginable levels with the help of the internet and these social media tools!

Again, I'm still pretty new to this whole brave new world but my gut feeling is that there's something to all this and that I, for one, need to tap into and explore it. I will keep you posted as I learn.

Namaste,
Julia

Hello to everyone who actually finds this page/blog entry!

My husband has been urging me for years to blog and I'm finally feeling the internal push to do so. Actually the push is coming from a class I'm taking right now called Social Media University being put on by David Riklan of SelfGrowth.com. It's a really good class and it's all about helping people connect with each other and ultimately to enhance one's business -- or at least that's one of my goals.

By setting up this page I'm really using it as a motivator to get myself to do more writing, to share thoughts, to help me develop ideas that float around in my head but don't have a place to land, to address questions that people have about spiritual healing and spiritual development.

In that spirit, I invite you to offer comments and topic ideas and to ask questions, especially questions that you feel others might have as well. I'll do my best to address these.

Thanks and have a wonderful day.

Namaste,
Julia