TRUE BALANCE

I walked into a book store one day to peruse. I wasn’t planning to buy anything, just to see what was new- notice what was being published. I stopped at the poetry, walked past the children’s books and then found myself in the metaphysical section.

Glancing up at the shelf I saw Sonia Choquette’s face on the spine of a book. I reached up to get the book off of the shelf: Trust Your Vibes. When I went to put the book back ten minutes later it simply wouldn’t dislodge from my hand. My arm hovered around the shelf, the mauve colored book still firmly gripped between my fingers. That, I suppose, is what Sonia might call the higher self operating.

It led the way to the cash register where I paid for the book, and since that moment I’ve rarely missed a chance to read what Sonia has written. Last winter I got an email about an online course she was giving called True Balance.

As I recall, the email mentioned something about giving you the tools to get out of the same old ruts. Well I could use that, I thought. I was familiar with many of the principles of manifesting, and yet time and time again I seemed to encounter the same blocks as I went along.

I couldn’t wait for the package in the mail— I began reading and listening to the course directly online.

It was so simply put. For years I have known about the chakras, but Sonia’s True Balance course took that knowledge to a whole new level. The chakras became not just a certain color and position but a whole set of characteristics and feelings that I could recognize in my life.

The day I listened to Sonia’s chapter on the third chakra I heard her describing that, according to the Book of Runes, there is only one power in the universe: the power of decision. She talked about the words I will and I decide.

For two weeks I had been looking for my favorite pen, a precious glass pen made by an artisan, which, as a writer, I used every day. I was desperate to find it and looked for it several times a day. I got up straight away from listening to that talk and with full conviction said out loud, “I WILL FIND MY PEN!” I walked straight into the bedroom and looked under the bed, a place I swear I had looked many times, and there sitting right under the edge was my coveted pen.

Of course this was also a symbol for my writing and the decision to do it that I had been putting off for months. Sitting there at the foot of my bed I thought, man if I could do this so easily after weeks of trying, think of what else I could do with those two words. It went on from there, and so today you find me writing this column.

It’s an ongoing process, as my phone calls with Sonia through the course have revealed. My balance and steadiness seem to require regular diligence on my part. My homework ranges from experiencing the velvety night air on my skin to reminding myself that attempting to control the universe is not necessary. But with the tools of her course I finally recognize the actions in my life and how they relate to the centers in my body and most importantly I now know what to do if I find myself veering off course.

It’s a course so important to me that I go to great lengths to ensure I’m on it. I was once on a road trip in Utah with my boyfriend when one of Sonia’s monthly True Balance conference calls came up. We pulled over in the middle of the red rock canyons so that I could get on the call. I sat for an hour at a deserted pay phone watching twilight descend on the gigantic rock formations— listening to the wisdom that feeds my soul and reminds me again and again, no matter how many times I forget: I can and will have the life of my dreams.