By Nancy Rynes, author of Awakenings from the LightI know this is coming a tad late, but I'd like to start off my first update of this year with a wish to all of you for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2018! So the question is: where have I been? Well, I took a little unplanned sabbatical from my speaking and writing during the months of November, December, and early January. By early autumn of 2017 (October), I had realized my daily priorities and overall focus had gotten messed up. I had spent so much time working hard to help others and making a go of my business that I ignored some important things: self-care, having fun, and continuing my own spiritual exploration. I felt worn out and honestly, burned out. Writing and painting drained me rather than energized me, my creativity was at an all-time low, I felt unfocused and scattered, and mental and emotional fatigue were my constant companions. Not a fun place to be, but those are the hallmarks of burnout and I was right in the middle of it. What I wanted most was to drive off into nature and spend some time alone, away from modern life if at all possible.Shortly after this realization came to me, that I was burned out and needed a break, I received a request to speak about self-care and personal resilience to healthcare providers in Colorado in April 2018 ("resilience" means grit, toughness, or resistance to stressors). The conference's main goals will be to help healthcare providers take better care of themselves and learn how to prevent burnout. Wow, what a coincidence! Um, probably not. There was a big message from You-Know-Who wrapped up inside this opportunity to help others, and how "interesting" that the invitation to speak came just as I myself realized I was burned out. I guess the best way for me to help those who were dealing with compassion fatigue and burnout was to experience it for myself! Since personal responsibilities wouldn't allow for an extended escape to the wilderness, I did smaller things to help myself heal. The first step was giving myself permission to take a couple of weeks away from writing, speaking, and painting. Instead, I read cheesy novels, watched movies like "National Treasure" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and sometimes I even just sat and did nothing. Yeah, nothing. It felt so good to simple be! I went on nature walks (a lot of them), and spent several days visiting friends in Chicago and touring the museums there. What I thought would be a couple of weeks away from writing ended up being a little over two months, but it was time well-spent on rediscovering what gives me strength and feels fulfilling.Most daily stress is neither good nor bad. The things that determine how or even if that stress affects us are internal to each person: our physical, mental, and spiritual fitness levels, toughness, or resilience. For me, the year ahead will be devoted to taking the messages in Awakenings from the Light to a new level in my life, a level of even greater internal peace, strength, and love. I'll share thoughts along the way as I focus on developing this into a plan that I can roll out later this year. I hope you'll join me on this continued adventure.It Happened Again...Sort of
Remember that trip to Chicago I just mentioned? I had a blast and connected with friends I hadn't seen in ages. But it turns out I came back home with a weird variety of flu and by the morning after Christmas, my health was in pretty dire shape. I found it difficult to breathe and in fact, I had stopped breathing on two different occasions. Then my blood pressure dropped to alarmingly-low levels and I collapsed three different times. The third time I collapsed, I felt my body begin to shut down. My vision blurred, I could no longer hear sounds, and my awareness began to "float" out of my body. Other body systems began shutting down as well, to the point where all that seemed left was my soul simply observing everything with detached compassion and love. The tether to my life on earth seemed thin and weak. And that's when I felt the beginnings of that heavenly bliss, peace, and love once again. Oh yes, I remembered that love from four years ago and how good it felt to be embraced by it. My soul reflected on what was happening and realized this was what my friend probably experienced about a year ago when cancer finally ended his time here on earth. Honestly, I had no particular desire to stay or go in that moment, thinking that Spirit was calling me home and I didn't have a choice. Then I "heard" THE VOICE again, speaking directly to my heart: "Your choice. Stay or go, which will it be?" I remembered that VOICE from four years ago, how it echoed though my soul when God/Spirit welcomed me home for my "semester" in heaven. It echoed through my soul this time too, but with a simple question: stay or go? I was being given a choice this time? Really? Without hesitation, my heart replied that I wanted to stay to help my daughter create a happy, healthy adult life for herself. And I vaguely remembered a big project that I wanted to finish before I finally ended my time here. It was done, the decision made. As my body's systems began to engage, I felt my soul reunite with my physical self once again. I knew I had made the right choice for me. It felt right. It would take the medical staff another 24 hours to stabilize my blood pressure, fever, and rapid heart rate. When I had been brought into the ER, my blood pressure was so low that the nurses had a hard time reading it. The doctor could hear fluid in my lungs too, explaining why breathing felt difficult. While I personally enjoy a good challenge now and then, I'm not pleased when my condition confounds my medical doctors, but whatever was going in my body did just that. All blood tests and XRAYs came back in good form and I didn't have any of the common types of influenza. The only thing they suggested was that an odd strain of influenza "kicked my butt." Or maybe God needed to get my attention in a big way. Once my blood pressure stabilized, I bounced back quickly. My cough lingered for only another couple of days and then I was back at my writing with more energy and enthusiasm than I'd felt for six months or more. Just in time for a series of spring talks and workshops in Arizona and Colorado which I can hardly wait to do (see below for more information). Was this an NDE (Near-Death Experience)? I guess in a way it was closer to the actual terminology of "NDE" than my prior experience. These days I would call my experience in 2014 an "Afterlife Experience." My body actually died. It didn't "nearly die" as the term "NDE" suggests. My body died and I had an experience of the "afterlife." In this latest event, though, I wasn't fully deceased and didn't have the complete experience of the afterlife as I did four years ago so I'm not sure what that means as far as our terminology. I do know that I experienced a medical crisis, felt some of that Divine peace and love enfolding me, and heard Spirit give me the option to stay or go. So yes, I'm back and working on creating an online and in-person training program, one that finally feels right. It will combine some of the ideas from my IANDS talk last summer ("Allowing Divine Love") with parts of my prior workshop ("Spiritual Communication"), tidbits of spiritual self-care, and ways to bring more peace and awareness into your life. If you want a short preview of it and are going to be in Arizona in March, consider taking my day-long workshop in either Tucson or Mesa. I wish you heavenly (and earthly) love. Blessings, NancyUpcoming Events
Talk: March 8, 2018 (Unity Church, Tucson, AZ): "Introduction to Heaven on Earth." An evening talk about Nancy's experience of heaven and how she uses what she learns to make her life more loving and peace-filled. $5 suggested donation. 6:30 PM Talk: March 9, 2018 (Unity Church, Mesa, AZ): "Introduction to Heaven on Earth." An evening talk about Nancy's experience of heaven and how she uses what she learns to make her life more loving and peace-filled. $5 suggested donation. 6:30 PM Full-day Workshop: March 10, 2018 (Mesa, AZ): "Heaven on Earth 101: Raising your Vibration, Living in Peace." Want to know more in-depth techniques for living a more heaven-inspired and peace-filled life? Join Nancy in this full day, fun, interactive workshop that walks you through ways to bring more heaven into your daily life. Tickets start at $55 for IANDS members and $75 for non-members if you purchase early. 10AM - 4PM with a break for lunch. Full-day Workshop: March 11, 2018 (Tucson, AZ): Workshop: "Heaven on Earth 101: Raising your Vibration, Living in Peace." Want to know more in-depth techniques for living a more heaven-inspired and peace-filled life? Join Nancy in this full day, fun, interactive workshop that walks you through ways to bring more heaven into your daily life. Tickets start at $55 for IANDS members and $75 for non-members if you purchase early. 10AM - 4PM with a break for lunch. April 19, 2018 (Lafayette, CO): I'm honored to be speaking to a group of healthcare providers at a private conference in Lafayette, Colorado. The topic of my talk is "How Your Service Matters" and tackles some of the issues of provider burnout, but from a patient's perspective. Interested in Booking Nancy for your event? Please contact us at (720) 295-2060 or visit us on the web, here.
