Going with the flow...(part one)

I already know this one is going to be long so please try to follow along and hang in there with me to the end. The message is REALLY simple but takes (took) some weeding to get there.

I believe in the power of the Universe (Universe can be substituted for God, Buddha, Krishna…..insert any word as you wish) and on this Soul’s Journey I am on I am doing my best to be connected to my center so that I can get the messages needed to follow the guidance as to where best my soul will be nourished for the growth I not only desire but believe I am being called to acquire. I am not just on a “vacation”. I still have bills to pay and need to make money while on the road. I am on a journey of the deepest self-knowledge so that I may then be the best teacher for others. This trip is not just about or for me!

My intention is to gain the best sound psychological insights in order to gather innate wisdom of the psyche. My own journey led me to study the art of self growth and counseling, in graduate school (a couple years ago), with an emphasis on transpersonal psychology which is the study of human nature and behavior which lays particular emphasis on spiritual aspiration and the search for higher meaning in life. I have been lead to continue such studies on the road!

Let’s go back to a few days ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I had planned on staying there for one day and night to somewhat relax and re-ground after spending 5 days with my son in his home. When planning this trip I could not wait to get to his house. Since he joined the Air Force, almost 6 years ago, I have only been able to see him once, sometimes twice a year. On the last couple of days at his house I was feeling frustrated with the nagging feeling that I was feeling ready to move on. This frustration spiraled into me feeling frustrated that I was feeling frustrated…lol…you get the point. It took just two minutes of me talking to my Soul Couch and friend to bring me back to center enough to know that when feeling frustrated you are not following your intuition and I definitely was not. I “fell back” into mom-mode and tourist and was doing the things I felt I was “supposed” to do and nothing was feeling intuitive. I was energetically feeling low and with no energy and sleeping more than usual so I decided to stop off in Sante Fe before heading to my next adventures in Colorado. 

Me and my son Kenny (Drew) at his softball game the night I arrived to Alamogordo,  New Mexico.

My son and his girlfriend took me out to line dance.

One of the difficulties I have had on this trip is feeling anxious to move on and see all that I can so I took a “detour” to Sante Fe to kind of regroup. I got a cheap motel room so I could just hibernate for a night on my own and to meditate and write. Well, my computer would not connect to the hotel’s WiFi so all night I felt antsy and….frustrated. I set out the next morning to a diner to eat breakfast while I jumped on my computer and that was great. I sat there for about 4 hours (it was also raining outside) catching up on lots of work I had to do and researching where to go next. I was torn between going to Taos, NM where I wanted to CouchSurf with a lady (a Medical Intuitive) who I found out that morning would not be available until the next night, or to go to a town called Abiquiu in New Mexico to go to a lavender field. Since this trip is largely about me getting outside my comfort zone to expand and grow I thought I would check out the hostel in town, I learned about while researching on the Internet at the diner, to stay there so I could hang out for another day to be available to stay with the Intuitive the next night. I felt like it must be a sign that she would house me for free and that she might have some insight for me. I had always been curious about staying at a hostel and although the idea wasn’t all together comfortable for me I thought it would be an eye opening experience. I had always wished I had backpacked through Europe when I was much younger while staying at hostels. People have told me that US hostels are different and I have been tempted to try. 

I drove by the hostel and…I just could not do it. I drove in the parking lot and cruised around looking at the building from all sides. Although it got pretty good reviews, it looked so run down and “nasty”. I internally beat myself up for a few minutes when I raced out of the parking lot because I was not “brave enough” to stay there. After all, this soul’s journey is to step out of my comfort zone and connect with others. This internal beat down lasted a while as I drove around Santa Fe looking for somewhere with Internet to fire up my computer again to look for somewhere to stay that night. I must have circled that damn town for, no joke, 3 hours. It was raining and the roads were crowded. I punched Starbucks into my Garmin and it took me 15 minutes out of the way and to a location that was NOT a Starbucks. It re-routed me back to where I started, I got to the Starbucks and it only had outdoor seating and it was still raining so I looked and found yet another location. It took me another long while to get to that location but I was thrilled to find it and that it had seating inside. I bought myself a drink , sat down, fired up my computer only to find out their Internet was down. UGH!!! Now where? I pretty much stomped to my car and drove to the closest McDonalds. In there I was able to get on and saw there was a KOA in town (yay!). It was still raining so I booked a little cabin and I immediately felt excited at the idea of my own cabin for the night. In order to stay on the road as long as possible, to see all I want to see and learn all that is “needed”, I not only need to make money but I need to conserve it as well and spend as little on lodging as possible which is one reason for not staying in hotels. Hotels are out of my price range and there is a lack of connection in hotels. I like to seek out CouchSurfing opportunities (to stay for free) wherever I can then an Airbnb but both take a bit of planning ahead which I have not yet mastered while on the road. So, I left McDonalds and stopped at the closest gas station to fuel up before heading to the KOA. While at the pump an older man started conversation with me when he saw my car had California plates. I told him where I was headed and he suggested a restaurant for me (Joe’s Diner: http://joesdining.com) that had farm to fork food and that was out of this world. 

I thanked him and headed to the KOA where I checked in, unloaded my stuff and headed back out to that restaurant. I sat at the counter at Joe’s while my food was being prepared, to take back to my cute little cabin, and the nicest waiter started talking with me, or wait….maybe I started talking with him….lol Either way, he gave me great suggestions for where to go the next day with one of the things being the Lavender Fields I had been contemplating about going to. He even drew me a little map of that area with where I had to grab some lunch and a spot to stop at a lake. I was excited about his suggestions and knew that was the way I was going to go the next day. I brought my grass fed BBB burger (Bleu cheese, bacon and BBQ sauce) back to my cabin and had a party in my mouth. That is the term I use when the food is totally scrumptious!!!

The next morning I packed up my stuff and headed out towards Abiquiu to go to the Lavender Fields. As soon as I got there I went straight to the restaurant he suggested, which was actually a general store with a kitchen in the back (Bode’s: http://www.bodes.com). Who am I to judge? Hee-hee! I ordered a vegetarian sandwich with a side salad and OMG it was fantastic. So fresh and yes, another party in my mouth. While I was sitting in the little back room of the general store devouring my food the strangest thing happened. A lady walked by me and gave me a little smile. I swore I knew her but couldn’t place her for the longest time. Finally it hit me that she was the spitting image of my grandmother (on my mother’s side) who passed away when I was a little girl. This lady looked younger than I ever remembered my grandmother but I would swear it was her, or at least her identical twin. I left wishing I had spoken to her but I was in a bit of shock when I placed whom she looked like. The experience felt beautifully eerie!

I headed down the street to find out the lavender had been harvested just a few weeks prior leaving no lavender to be seen. I was about to be frustrated with myself for not researching the place prior but I had the feeling that I was right where I was supposed to be regardless of the lavender. I took a short walk to the tea house and sat with some lavender iced tea and lavender gelato. Still again I felt antsy sitting there for too long although the view was spectacular and so relaxing.

I sat for a few minutes then headed into the shop where I began talking to the guy who worked there about the surrounding area. As do most people I meet on the road, he gave me a suggestion as to where to go next. Actually, this guy did not only give me a suggestion he told me that I absolutely could not leave the area without going to the Georgia O’Keefe center just 16 miles up the road. I told him I never even heard of her and he teased that I might be the only human that hadn’t. Have you? Anyway, I told him I had about one hour of exploring I could do before I had to head out to get to the campsite in Colorado before sundown that I was aiming for. He told me to just go…..to be continued…..I told you this would be long!!  

Thanks for hanging in there with me! ;)