This new awareness began for me on March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm in Tokyo .

I am at a place in my life now where I choose to believe that all that happens to me is only for the sake of my inner growth and to allow me to become wiser, stronger and more inspiring. I am truly learning to embrace it all and to be grateful for it all. This does not

mean that it is easy, without challenge or even sadness and frustration, but…..once we cross over into that space of trusting, all becomes more bearable and beautiful.

            So on March 11^th I was meeting my special friend for lunch and I actually did not feel like eating( unusual for me!). At about 2pm I felt like I really needed to go for a walk, get some air was feeling a bit restless. Around 2:30 as we were walking I began to feel seasick, it’s a distinct feeling of nausea, of feeling unsettled. A few minutes later I felt like my brain was exhausted, I found it difficult to carry on a conversation (also very unusual for me). I told my friend I think I needed to head home , so we walked to Seijo Gakuinomae station, hugged each other good-bye and parted. Well a minute later I thought I was unbearable sick and that my whole world was swaying and I was so dizzy………2:46pm….I quickly realized what was really going on. I ran outside the station and part of me felt like I was witnessing a horrific movie, another part of me was physically unable to move and I was completely, totally humbled and shocked by the immense power of our earth, our Mother. I watched as people fell to the earth, others huddled in doorways and with each other. As I stood there alone, I watched the buildings sway like paper, the lampposts looked like they were made of rubber the ground beneath my feet was literally rolling and grumbling! The truck next to me was hopping up and down and I was just trying to catch my breath and to keep my heart open! So the world shook for over 21/2 minutes and I just wanted to know that my boys, my husband and friends were all safe. The trains immediately shut down, there were no phone lines working and I desperately just wanted to get home and hug the ones I love so deeply. I managed to get a taxi fairly quickly and then on the way home the first huge aftershock struck. The taxi and the world around it once again shook, swayed and all was so surreal! I could only get half way home because the traffic was jammed and we were unable to drive over the train tracks. So I got out, sent wishes of safety to the driver and began to walk the rest of the way home.

            It was incredible to experience how in a few seconds an entire city/country can be brought to their knees and your world is then a different place. In a flash everything that I had assumed, out of habit, that was going to be there for me was not. What a lesson! So I began to walk home along with hundreds of thousands of others At any one time in Tokyo there are millions of people on the trains and they all had to get off and start walking. The streets were quickly full of humanity, everyone trying to reach those they love with no success and it was

eerily quiet. It took me just over an hour to get home to find my son Nathan safe, never hugged anyone so tightly!!! By that time the TV was showing the apocalyptic devastation from the tsunami ……….it took me 2 hours to get news of my other son, Alex, who was at school. You can imagine how long those 2 hours were. He made it home after 8 hours instead of the usual 40 minutes. And Bruce, my husband, made it home at 3:30am!

            5 days after the earthquake I went to Singapore and Bali for 2 weeks. I had such a powerful experience at the airport when I was leaving. As you can imagine it was filled with thousands and thousands of people, standing, sleeping, sitting ,just waiting to leave. It was so so quiet at the airport, I felt like everyone was holding their breathe just waiting to get out. It was as if everyone had inhaled and did not exhale until their plane was in flight. I flew Singapore airlines (my fave) and the pilot was so so sweet. As we in the air he apologized so deeply for the bit of turbulence they we felt and we all just looked at each other, smiled and joked that this was nothing…..bring it on!

            I now have such a deep understanding of our connection to the earth. I have literally felt her move almost everyday now since March 11. What happens to her happens to us ,and visa versa. I can feel that my sense of balance, my magnetic field is off center and it is very unsettling and ungrounding. Which leads me to my new paradigm for how to stay grounded and connected; through your heart! Because of my personal experience I know that it is an illusion that the ground beneath our feet is solid, so we can not always count on that to be true But our hearts are always there, unconditionally open to allowing us to be and feel safe. Now more than ever we need to share heart opening and heart strengthening practices with each

other and for each other. We must understand with compassion, which comes from our heart center or we will be lost and feel at loose ends.

            So my friends, just please make that 18 inch journey from the head to the heart and know that you will always find your Truth and balance there.

JUST WHEN THE CATERPILLAR THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS OVER, IT TURNED INTO A BUTTERFLY………proverb

May we all be blessed to find our wings!

Dear Friends.......I have just returned from a 5 day fast in beautiful, scenic Izu Kogen, a wonderful and well needed experience. I went to a place called I-Wellness and really was able to find my center again!