TRANSITIONS

July 3, 2010

Life is a series of transitions. We move from one moment or event to the next, perhaps unmindful of the connection, the flow that is our personal journey. I think it is important to become mindful of transitions, of the events in our lifes, challenging or otherwise, that move us along. Why is it important to pay attention? Well, it is because these transitions show us where we are heading. The moments pushing us into transition are filled with messages from the Universe telling us to either move on or to stay put for awhile.

In my own life I have often recognized difficult moments as holding messages about the need for change. Sometimes these are only momentary difficulties requiring mid-course adjustments, but when difficulties keep arising it is time to pay attention. It is likely the Universe is prodding us along because we aren't listening. If we keep struggling like a fish trying to swim up stream, we will only end up exactly where we started. A situation, a job, a relationship that is fraught with difficult moments in spite of our best efforts requires reflection and analysis. I suggest spending time in meditation or deep contemplation, asking what the reason is for all the difficulty and how to over come it. It maybe that a conversation is in order or it may be time to leave that job that is frustrating and prevents you from using your best energy and greatest talents to make your best contributions. In situations like these the Universe is telling us to make a change, that the path we are on needs a mid-course adjustment, that something better is waiting.

I leaveAugust 1st for a year in Ireland, and my journey to Ireland has everything to do with a series of difficult moments and events that are generally described above. While appreciative of my colleagues and blessed to have a job, I had finally come to the conclusion that I could no longer work in the way that I had been working. A structured work environment no longer worked for me. While it seems easier not to make a change, and for many people change is a scary thing, this has never been my problem. Hanging on too long and trying to make something work has more often been the case. I don't easily give up. But this time the Universe conspired to set me on new course to fulfill my heart's passion in a very joyous way.

Several weeks before I discovered the world chant program that I am about to begin, I had gone to lunch with a dear friend who asked me very directly if I liked my new position. I was just as direct in answering "no". And she then suggested that I quit, rent my house, and go "check in" to an ashram. I must say that the idea was very appealing. I had read Eat, Pray, Love, just like everyone else! Four months in an ashram was very appealing. So I started to research where I might go. I remember that at some point I thought that if I was going to "check out" for a time, I needed to go to a place where I could learn about and practice the chant of the tradition. I have long studied world chant on my own, with a long term goal to teach others the value of chant as a away to unite the world, as an avenue to deeper meditation and inner peace, and also I have a great desire to perform world chant.

My conversation with my friend and my deep passion around chant all came together in an instant when sitting in my office I suddenly remembered a conversation with a student on the Ithaca College campus in August 2005 following a graduate music seminar we had participated in earlier that summer. All I really remembered of the conversation was mention of a world music program in Ireland. In the moment of that memory I was on the Internet typing in "world music program Ireland" and in a flash, up popped the Irish World Academy. I quickly scrolled down the program offerings and there I found not just a world music program, but a MA Ritual Chant and Song program. I cried. I understood I had been loving led by the Universe to the place and program that would give me the knowledge, experience, and credentials I need to teach and preform world chant.

I tell you all these details to show you that once you start to pay attention to the signals from the Universe and follow this infinite guidance, things start to fall into place easily and effortlessly. That is what happened that September day and since that moment I have made many transitions: from working to non-working, to packing my things and selling my house, to moving in with my beautiful children for a short time untilmy departure for Ireland. All these are transitions,major life changes that are leading me to my music degree in the area of study I am most passionate about. I am so grateful.

My advice: listen to your heart and follow it in pursuit of your deepest passion. It has taken me many years to understand this and I am grateful for every moment, lesson along the way. Try to understand why something difficult is happening and try not to be a victim of it. If something remains difficult then you are probably going against the flow. The Universe wishes to take you in another direction. Listen . Go fearlessly on your path embracing every new opportunity and transition as it presents itself. Pay attention and follow the Guidance that will take you through each transition. Understand that these transitions are important to your growth and they are leading you along your path to fulfilling your life's purpose.

Please share with me your thoughts on this subject.

Namaste,

Marsha