Bliss Experiment (2008)
THE STORY | THE LESSONS
After our son was born in December of 2007, I began adjusting to life as a new mom.
Since my husband worked very early shifts and handled extremely expensive pieces of equipment (think: satellite parts that cost millions of dollars), I did the night time shift. I woke up every couple of hours to feed the baby, which meant I barely slept at night. Since I took care of our baby when my husband went to work, I barely slept during the day as well.
Here is a picture of our baby when he was about 4 months old.
(Yes, I eventually did the smart thing, and napped whenever our son napped! I’d get tired of staring adoringly at my son’s face and fall asleep.)
At the end of January 2008, at around 11pm one night, I was in a state of being that could be described as either:
- delirious from pain of recovering from childbirth and lack of sleep, or
- too exhausted to pretend to be strong or to sustain an ego
(maybe both of the above!)
I made two decisions that changed my life FOREVER.
Decision #1 – I would fully participate in the first year of my son’s life. I would take a one-year sabbatical from my business, which, for an self-employed entrepreneur was a pretty big decision to make. This decision became a precursor to my subsequent decision to continue being a stay-at-home mom.
Decision #2 – I decided that I was going stop doing anything that drained my energy, and whatever I was going to do with what little time and energy I had left in me, I only wanted to do WHAT I LOVED.
Before this point, I had worked with many different coaches and mentors and “gurus” including a zen-buddhist modern philosopher to get the root of how I am meant to contribute to the world through my life. I knew that a critical part of my personal evolution would require me to turn inward and listen to that voice within – the voice of the Heart Mind.
This was the time when I was pulled strongly to draw from within: I became my own teacher and guide and Guru by listening to the wisdom of silence within.
I ended up spending 366 days, or 1 year, in this “living meditation”. Every week, for 9 months, I documented lessons I had learned in my “9 Month Journey through the Heart Mind”. It was one of the most memorable personally transforming experiences I have had in my life. I had just gone through a physical childbirth experience. This was a personal transformation “rebirth” experience.
What was more amazing was that when I was sharing the “raw” writings of my lessons learned with others, they tell me that the words helped them clarify something they were struggling with, or working through. Some told me that what they read was an uncanny explanation of how they felt inside, but they didn’t know how to express it until they read it from me. The words had given them a voice they were reaching for, and this empowered them to take the next step.
I knew I had tapped into a universal treasure that is so often hidden in plain sight.
Like my son, this journey was also a gift that the universe gave me.
I knew that I have a responsibility to share it.
… And I invite you to join me in
My 9 Month Journey through the Heart Mind
Week 1 “Clean Slate” Trap
Week 2 Familiarity Breeds Mind Trash
Week 3 Take Time
Week 4 Imbalance within Integration
Week 5 Two Universes & Talents are My Instruments
Week 6 Family, Friends, Faith & Letting Go
Week 7 What IS the Lesson?
Week 8 Even The Busiest Mind Can Become Quiescent
Week 9 More Certainty Less Analysis
Week 10 Falling in Love with That I Am
Week 11 Projecting
Week 12 Reconnect with Who I Was to Inspire from Where I Am
Week 13 The One I Catch
Week 14 Approval Addiction
Week 15 I Am Burning the Bridges
Week 16 I Have Nothing to Analyze
Week 17 (is empty)
Week 18 Ode to Modern Day Gurus Spiritual Teachers Philosophers
Week 19 From Separation to Surrender to Reunion
Week 20 Reuniting with Inner Wisdom
Week 21 Taking Credit and Giving Credit with Integrity
Week 22 Happy Blend of Head and Heart
Week 23 This is No Longer Fun
Week 24 I See Bit of Seabiscuit in Me
Week 25 Life is Not a Thought Experiment
Week 26 Halfway Mark, Inflection Point
Weeks 27 and 28 I’m All Shook Up
Week 29 Actions Speak Louder than Assumptions
Week 30 Ties that Bind and Keys that Free
Week 31 Problems or Decisions
Week 32 What Matters Most
Week 33 Follow Your Hunch
Week 34 Journey and Destination
Week 35 What I Didn’t Send to Google’s 10^100
Week 36 At Unknown’s Mercy
Week 37 Waiting for What May Never Come
Week 38 My True Regret
Week 39 Fortnight from Fruition
Week 40 The Key to Any Journey is to Start
