Mystical Encounters & Being In Wonder

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Welcome to the joyful journey podcast. If

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you're uncertain about what you really want or unsure how to be

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a force or good you know this world craves, then this is the

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show for you. I'm Anita Adams, your host and guide to finding

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clarity and creating a life you love. Let's tap into our inner

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wisdom, access our highest self and unleash joy. As we raise our

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vibration we heighten the collective consciousness and

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that my friends, is the joyful journey. Let's dive in. Hey,

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joyful journey errs I need to Adams here your host of the

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joyful journey podcast. Before we get into the theme of today's

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show, I want to shout out to TM mentee for the iTunes review who

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says I need a thank you for sharing your personal stories

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and for encouraging others to find a joyful life. Your insight

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and wisdom is inspirational and motivating for others trying to

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find their authentic self passion and purpose in life. TM

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mentee, thank you for taking the time to listen to the show, and

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to leave your review and to all the others who are doing the

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same. It truly truly means a lot to me. And with that, on this

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episode, I want to share another personal story. And this time,

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it's about a mystical encounter. Have you ever had a mystical

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encounter, perhaps something that made you look at the world

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a little different, or made you feel part of something much

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bigger or greater than yourself? I've had a number of such

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encounters. And the one I want to share with you today has

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forever changed the way I look at and interact in the world

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around me. In the summer of 2016 My family went on a week long

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kayaking trip into Clicquot sound, which is just outside of

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Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. This trip was

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full of the most wonderful wildlife sightings, not 20

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minutes after leaving the beach in Tofino, we found ourselves

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paddling next to a giant humpback whale bigger than a

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school bus. We were a bit too close for comfort. So we quickly

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put our backs into the paddle to put some distance between us and

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this creatures feeding zone. Throughout the trip, whale

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sightings were frequent. Orcas graze humpbacks. We also saw sea

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lions, sea otters, seals and a variety of bird life too

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numerous to count. The most magical wildlife sighting of all

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though, was on day five, and I remember it like it was

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yesterday. We are count on a white sand beach on the southern

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tip of Flores Island. And we are the only humans to be seen. It's

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a chilly morning with the fog sitting heavily all around our

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camp. My husband and son are building a small fire and I'm

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huddling over the stove, preparing our coffee when my

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daughter pokes her head out of the tent and breathlessly

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whispers Wolf, look up just as a massive canine steps out of the

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mist barely 50 feet from us. This magnificent creatures stops

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and our eyes lock. Then another wolf emerges from the fog, then

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another and another.

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We are all transfixed my little family of four staring at what

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appears to be another family of four looking back at us with

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curious interest, one family to another together as one sharing

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a moment. Time stands still in our tiny bubble that is engulfed

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in a blanket of fog blocking out all sounds and sights beyond.

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Then as one, the wolves turn and silently disappear behind the

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white curtain. And we are left feeling as if we were touched by

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the Divine. There are signposts around the island that tell you

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what to do if you come across a wolf accordingly. You're

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supposed to throw your arms up, make yourself big and scream.

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Fortunately, just the day before this encounter, we met a woman

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on the trail from the indigenous community of a Hoosac. She was

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the village school principal who had much to say about the wolves

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of the island and the ridiculousness of those signs.

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The wolves aren't going to harm anyone. She explained, they are

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smart, curious spiritual creatures that are revered by my

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people. I'm so grateful we met this woman, just the day before

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the wolves paid us a visit. For when they appeared, none of us

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were frightened or felt compelled to stand up and

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scream. I recognize that there are times when the advice given

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on those signs would be wise to heed. This just wasn't one of

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those times instead, it was a time to be one with the

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environment, one with the universe and in harmony with all

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things. This was a mystical experience for me. And through

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it, I felt a loss of self and found a connection to the whole

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of life, even if only for the briefest moment as I sat

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transfixed, looking at those beautiful animals that were

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looking back at us with such curiosity. In that still moment

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of time, I felt a deep connection to something much

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bigger. And ever since my spirit has longed to recreate the

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experience to feel that mystical energy wrap its arms around me

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like a warm embrace. For a long time, I believed you had to wait

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for these rare mystical experiences to find you. What

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I've discovered though, is the more you look for them, the more

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they begin to appear. About two years ago, I started asking the

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universe to bring me more mystical encounters. Why not ask

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for what you want, right? And I wanted to feel that connection

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and that magic that comes with it. Much to my delight, the

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universe answered, and those mystical encounters, or what I

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interpreted as mystical encounters, begin began to show

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up in the tiniest of form, the hummingbird. Hummingbirds were

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showing up everywhere I went, sitting on a rocky beat as I ate

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my lunch dancing in front of me as I walked through the forest,

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hovering by my window as I worked at my desk, following me

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as I zipped down the road on my bicycle, for a year, and

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throughout the year, hummingbirds were constantly

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showing up. And in those visits, I could hear God in the universe

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saying hello, and here I am I right in front of you. I see

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you. Do you see me?

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Oh, each visit of those hummingbirds have been as

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mystical as the wolf showing up on that beach, on that cold,

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foggy morning. Maybe you think it's just a bird. I choose to

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see the divine. I choose to make the ordinary extraordinary. My

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forest walks have become another mystical experience for me.

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Although I don't feel touched by the Divine every time I step

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into the woods, when I go into nature with the intention to

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have a mystical experience, though, I usually find it. I

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believe it's this intention to experience a connection with the

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Divine that actually makes it possible to have those mystical

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experiences. Intention alone is not enough though. You must slow

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down and take notice. When you slow down to listen to the

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birds, to touch the moss on a tree. To see the clouds move

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through the sky, to smell the air to notice really notice

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everything around you. You will begin to feel a greater

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connection to the divine, to the universe and to the whole of

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life. A beautiful way of being that enables that connection to

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the universe and the whole of life is to be in wonder. Be in

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wonder about the trees and how they've grown and how they are

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so interconnected to everything in the forest. Be in wonder

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about the clouds and how they cling to the mountains, how they

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hold and release the rain that feeds the forest. Be in wonder

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about the wind and how it makes the trees dance. Be in wonder

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with everything around you like a child discovering the world

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and those mystical encounters will show up and you'll feel

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that connection to something powerful, something that will

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move your soul and you'll understand at your core that you

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are not alone, that the universe and you are together as one. I

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hope you've enjoyed this story. And that it inspires you to step

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out into nature more, and to embrace that childlike wonder

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that's within you. When you do, you'll find a deeper connection

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to the universe and you'll experience a lightness of being

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because you'll understand that you are not alone. And there

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there is something so much bigger out there that also wants

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to embrace you. May your life be filled with many mystical

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encounters. Until next time, joyful journeyer Have an awesome

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day. Thank you for joining us today on the joyful journey

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podcast. If anything resonated with you, please visit our

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