Episode Details

Not every magical moment feels good, but you can always find magic in it. Some of the most powerful lessons and course corrections in life show up disguised as disappointments, embarrassments, and situations that leave you wondering what the point of any of it was.

After decades of doing intuitive work and living a spiritually guided life, I can tell you with certainty that the magic is always there. Sometimes you just have to dig a bit deeper before you can see it.

Lesson #1: You Always Have Choices

For my 40th birthday I wanted to do something very different. During my 30s I had read everything I could find about the Findhorn Garden and loved each book. Founded in 1962 by Peter and Eileen Caddy and their friend Dorothy MacLean, the Findhorn Garden flourished against all odds.

Located in Scotland, on the sandy shores near the North Sea, the garden miracle resulted from intuitive guidance from plant devas, nature spirits, and their own intuition. The produce yield was astonishing, including 40lb. cabbages. I actually had the sacred privilege of meeting Dorothy MacLean in the early 1990s when she traveled to the US.

Completely enthralled with their connection to nature spirits and elementals, I booked a trip to Scotland as my 40th birthday present to myself. More than 20 years after the books I’d read were published, things had changed considerably. None of the original founders still lived there, and the program for first-timers was uninspiring.

I arrived to cold, rainy weather. I was shown to a room I was sharing with four other women. The shower was freezing cold. And I was given the esteemed job of vacuuming the dining room. Apparently my 40th birthday gift to myself included communal living complete with snoring and a spiritual janitorial position.

Not What I Expected

The scheduled workshops each somehow managed to be less magical than the last. After enduring one particularly awful exercise that required birthing myself, I asked the female group leader if we were going to be rolling around on the floor any further.

She didn’t take it well and started shouting at me. What did she shout? “You have choices!”

Well, that was unexpectedly useful. What a fabulous and timely reminder. That night I changed my flights. The next morning I walked into the office, let them know I was leaving early, and asked for a partial refund.

One woman explained, “We don’t do that.” My response was simple and polite: “Well, you will today for me.” And they cut me a check.

The woman who handed it to me said with genuine astonishment, “When people leave early, they usually aren’t happy like you are.” That comment still makes me laugh. I was happy because I had choices and I acted on them immediately.

Lesson #2: Course Correction Is Its Own Kind of Magic

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