“Swinging from stars, too near and too far, watching them shine, doing my time, making them mine then I leave them behind…” lyrics like these from Tea Leaf Green, kept flowing through my head while I was sitting lotus pose trying to focus on my sensations. I felt like this was some kind of sign and when on the short break in between courses I found that they were playing in San Francisco for Earth Day. I didn’t know how I could afford such an adventure, but thought about a series of ways that might work out to get a ticket. Along with the idea that I would just head up to San Francisco after the last of my meditation courses and figure it out when I got there. There was a whole lot of planning and a variety of what ifs but nothing real, just all in my forecasting imagination.

A curly dark haired woman with stars around her eyes started up a conversation with me after we broke silence on the last day of the course. With her thick New York accent she told me she was heading to Sedona, Arizona. Within a few minutes we made plans for me to come out there with her. This came about effortlessly which was interesting as I had attempted a few times since returning to the states with that same forecasting of my imagination of ways to head back to the state where I had lived in prior to Brazil. None of those what if plans worked out because it wasn’t the right time. So, all of a sudden, there I was and there she was with this opportunity.

The next morning we drove from North Fork, California to Sedona, Arizona in an all day drive. We totally connected and I ended up staying with her for close to a week. Through me being out there meeting up with different old friends I brought new people into her life. In that process she was able to connect with a dear friend of mine who knows about Native American healing, something I had been interested in as well as what she had been looking for. Along with that, due to some other plans “falling through” or shifting one day, I wandered out with another old friend and found a flier for a Sedona Method workshop that would be held a few hours later. I had never heard of it, however, when we went to it they gave us a whole package of material, all for free. The whole idea behind it flows right from what I had just been practicing in meditation focusing on the unconscious mind. It was like I had just gone through meditation to arrive at that point and was prepared to learn what was being offered. I wouldn’t have been so open to it if I hadn’t done what I had just done, but since I did, I found myself in that position.

Sedona is a special place with natural vortices’s amongst its stunning red rocks and natural art. It draws a a wide variety of spiritual followers from all walks of life who venture out on their path of self awareness. There are free workshops and seminars available for everything! I stopped in at a writers workshop one evening being held at the “Best Bookstore in Sedona.” I was amongst local writers, mainly an older crowd, where the activity of the evening was to write whatever we choose about four words that the person next to us wrote not realizing that they weren’t going to be the ones writing about those words! I wrote a poem fitting to Sedona, shared it and received constructive criticism in such a loving way. It felt great! Since I went to the writers workshop I found out about an anniversary bash being held the next afternoon in the bookstore with live music and cake! Of course, I had to go! Listening to a passionate harmonica player in a good local band while flipping through a variety of books was such a great experience! Interestingly enough, I saw the owners of that bookstore this morning in Flagstaff as I was casually walking through downtown, synchronicity.

A few days ago I made it up to Flagstaff in time to meet up with an old friend to catch the last live music showing at The Orpheum Theater downtown featuring Delta Nove. Brazil has been apparent in my life as well, not only was the band known to have a Brazilian flare, but there there was even a traveling drum circle playing a great Brazilian beat! My old friend and I watched our streetlamp shadows move against the brick walls, skipped down the alleyway and had a blast dancing all night long!

Yesterday I caught up with another old friend who also lives here in Flagstaff who just so happens to have time. I threw out the idea of a cross country road trip and she was in! We don’t have any specific plans, but decided that to wing it and to just start out heading east on highway 40 leaving Flagstaff. The goal is to make it to North Carolina and experience what America has to offer along the way. No specific time frame, so who knows what will happen!

Out of curiosity and hope, I looked up Tea Leaf Green’s website, www.tealeafgreen.com, to see if they might be playing somewhere along the route… and lo and behold… this weekend, they are playing in Oklahoma! Not only is Oklahoma on our route, but the show is for free! I can hardly believe how easily it is  happening, without any extra effort, without any excessive planning, things are just falling into place, exactly as they are supposed to.

The thing is that it always does work itself out if we let it. If we let go of what we think things should be, of how we think things should go and just let them be. When we stop planning things in concrete ways and stay open, good things are bound to come. The universe really does open itself up if you let it and trust that it will work out. We’ll see where this adventure takes us! I am excited!