magic & miracles.

My great-Aunt Betty uses "magic & miracles" as her signature line, so the combo always reminds me of her. 

There's a Buddhist proverb that says "when the student is ready, the teacher appears." I'm confident that's how Gabby's first books came into my life. I picked up Add More -ing several years ago when I was just getting "into" meditation & yoga. I read Spirit Junkie immediately after, and then anxiously awaited the publication of May Cause Miracles. 

Gabby is a student & teacher of A Course in Miracles. I've tried to read ACIM, and currently have the workbook & manual sitting on my bedside table. To be honest, I struggle with the SundaySchool-esque language in the Course. Even so, I very much believe in the teachings of love & forgiveness, and often feel like i'm just starting to understand the concept of the ego as fear. Gabby is often hailed as a spiritual teacher for the younger generation. She's in her early 30's (I think)…so a full decade behind me. She often refers to one of HER spiritual teachers – Marianne Williamson – who, at 61, is almost two decades ahead of me. I find myself reaching to both of them as I figure out what that middle ground looks like.

I have Gabby and Marianne's latest books on my meditation altar, and read snippets of each of them daily. They offer guidance, but what I like most is that they encourage practice. One of the #MiracleMessages in Miracles Now that I turned to this week…

#59: Honor your Commitments. Show up for yourself and the world.

This message got me thinking about the tendency that I have to show up for everyone else – but shortchange myself. Whether it's time & space to just be, or marking things off of MY to-do list to create time & space – I'm often near the bottom of the list. Changing that means believing that I am worth the effort – even when it's "only" my effort. Gabby makes the teachings of ACIM accessible and relate-able – which is precisely the reason that I consider her to be one of my spiritual teachers.

Marianne's book, A Year of Miracles, offers short daily reads. I started out following the numbered days, but got frustrated when I'd miss a day (due to travel or whatever) and then got all spun about what day I was on, and what day I was "supposed" to be on. (yes, I overthink…that shouldn't surprise you) So, now I just flip to a random page, and read…and it usuallys turns out that the passage isn't random at all, but is instead EXACTLY what I needed to hear/read at that moment. Marianne's teachings remind me that there is only love, and which is pretty life changing.

Both women teach from one of the basic truths of ACIM – "A miracle is a *shift in perception from fear to love." I don't know about you, but I could use a few more miracles in my life. Thanks, Gabby & Marianne, for helping to show me the path…

*I don't think that it's a coincidence that my 2012 OLW shows up in this work. The Universe is tricky like that.