Monday, December 31, 2012

Intentions, resolutions, promises and endings!


Today is the last day of 2012 and I am sitting in my bed smiling. Smiling about how wonderful 2012 has been to me. I am thinking about how this will be my last blog post for 2012. I am meditating on the last words I want to write for this year.
I am infusing every word I write today with love, peace, joy, hope, faith, more love, more faith… trust… believing… belief in all things… in all things that are good… this is my highest intention for the words I put on the page today and how I intend to leave this year… and live all of next year… filled with love, peace and tranquility. The Universe, God and the Goddesses, the Angels, Mis Santos, mi familia, my friends have ALL been good to me… they are always so good to me—and to all of them I say THANK YOU… I am so grateful for this amazing year.
I feel happy today!
I feel blessed!
I feel GOOD!
I feel STRONG!
 
Today I close chapters!
Today I make amends!
Today I forgive ALL!
Today I release all unfinished business!
Today I allow all that needs to be DONE—to be DONE!
It is done… we are done… I am done!
I have released all of the old.
I have released a past that I am done with.
I am no longer carrying anything old into my future… it is out of my house and out of my life… for good!
I have literally thrown out hundreds of bags and hundreds of pounds of old papers and research… I have cleared it ALL out… I have cleared out everything and everyone that does not serve a greater purpose for my life.
I am happy.
I am complete.
I am whole.
I am safe.
I am free.
CLUTTER FREE!!!
I am making room for everything that I do want… and everything that I deserve. Those things I will allow in.
Today is a very special day. This is a special blog… a special note of gratitude… this my very last blog for a very long time… I have reached the end of this part of my journey and am beginning a new one.
I am so grateful to those who have read my words, followed my work and supported my craft.
Today, Monday, December 31, 2012 I say good-bye to you.
I wanted to share my last writers prompt for the year in hopes that you will do it with me. Lets close this wonderful year out strong, filled with love and gratitude! Let's begin preparation for all that is about to unfold.
Part 1: Write a letter of gratitude to 2012 (set a timer for ten minutes and write about everything you are grateful for, all that you have accomplished, all of the blessings you have received, your highlights and low lights. Write without lifting the pen off the page… no editing… allow it all to just flow… if the timer goes off and there is more you would like to write keep going until you are done.) If you would like to share it with me feel free to post it as a comment or email it to me at findingyourforce@gmail.com.
Set your ten minutes on the clock and GO!!!
Here is my letter:
My beloved 2012:
I am so grateful for the abundance you have brought me.
Creator, thank you for all the blessings of Ogun, Olokun, Yemaya, Chango, Orula, Ellegua, Obatala, Oya, Ochun, Ochossi y Osum que siempre me protegen… me siento tan bendecida. Thank you for bringing me closer to my parents and family. Thank you for my ancestors who are always with me.
Thank you for all those moments when I was afraid worrying myself over where the money was going to come from yet it always arrived from the most odd and unexpected places. Thank you for Renzo Devia and Afrolatinos, a story that I am dedicated to, which has brought me so many opportunities and blessings. Thank for the people that were sent and the many friendships I have formed. People who have become my family and I am grateful to those who have my back. Thank you for that very special visit from the most remarkable Hawk, my guardian angel who arrived to support me, protect me and fill me with messages and blessings for this next stage of my life.
Thank you for my beautiful daughter, thank you for always protecting her and bringing her home to me safely. Thank you for your continued guidance. Thank you for BET, VIACOM, NANOWRIMO, VONA, Finding Your Force, I WAS BORN, the countless writers workshops I was blessed with facilitating and being a part of. I am grateful to all of the colleges I was able to visit in order to present Afrolatinos and share Finding Your Force. I am grateful for my trip to Cuba and the Dominican Republic that strengthened my spirit preparing me for all the good that has arrived in my life and for all the good that is coming. I am grateful for Renzo Devia in my life, meeting him and embarking on a journey five years ago and we have so much further to go. I am grateful to all those who helped send me to VONA for their support and love and faith in me… they made it possible. I am grateful for everyone I met during that trip. For Mat who encouraged me to apply to Writing Programs and to Maaza for facilitating a space where I could be a better writer and for all the writing sisters I made at VONA. I am grateful for the special women who attended my first 12-Week Writing Workshop, the Women Writing the World, and Writing with Intention Workshops their stories are a part of me now and I have learned and gained so much from them. I am grateful for the NYC Latina Writers Group, all of my writing is dedicated to you.
What have I learned this year?
I’ve learned that when I answer my call and follow my heart there are always favorable results. All I have to do is take one step and everything conspires to help me achieve it. Doors open… opportunities arrive… blessings are endless. I am grateful for the countless conferences and panels that have brought so many blessings to Court and I, especially for our brand new apartment. I met so many goals this year. It has taken me such a long time to get here but I am glad we arrived. I have learned to enjoy the process and I am enjoying ALL OF IT!
Thank you for all the love that surrounds me, the people who hold me in prayer, the people who send me well wishes and for those people who may not wish me well - - may they know LOVE… may they know that I love them and am so grateful for them. For my Padrino Leo… thank you… he has been light in my life… my angel on earth… a warrior that protects me… thank you for making his play a success. I am also grateful for every blessing you have brought the many people in my life, from new babies to engagements… to Broadway shows… may the universe continue to bless all of us! There is more than enough to go around!
And so it is.
Ache

Part 2: Is a letter to yourself for 2013… in this letter giving thanks for all the things you intend to achieve. Include your entire vision, deepest wishes and dreams that you would like to see manifested by December 31, 2013 In this way you are calling it forth and watch the miracles unfold. (set your timer for ten minutes and go… same rule applies… if the timer goes off and you would like to add more… keep going… take this letter, place it in an envelope – address it to yourself… if you would like me to male it to you at the end of 2013 I would be happy to… email it to me with your home address and I will save it for you… GO write… be prosperous… be filled with love and hope.)
On this New Year’s Eve I am personally wishing you a beautiful evening with all those you love and know that in 2013 your dreams will come true.
HAPPY NEW YEAR’S!
And so it is.
Ache

Monday, December 10, 2012

When a HAWK visits… you STOP!




Signs…  as I am writing this the Tesla song is playing in my mind:

Signs signs everywhere are signs
do this
don’t do that
can’t you read the signs
Last Thursday, December 6, 2012, I was looking for a sign… I was praying for a sign… I was literally praying for a sign in the exact moment that it arrived.
Hawk Visit part 1 
Hawk Visit part 2 
Hawk Visit part 3
When a HAWK visits… you STOP!!!
The past few days I have been completely consumed and obsessed by my visit with this most magnificent creature that is the HAWK! A hawk at my window, a hawk in Harlem… this is something that doesn’t happen every day.  After the shock and fear that was filling me subsided, I immediately shifted into OK ALICIA STOP! Breathe… get quiet… stay calm… enjoy this moment… this is a huge gift, a message and a tremendous sign for you… pay attention… get still… stay in this moment and really SEE what is right in front of you!

What was I doing right before this beautiful hawk landed at my window?
I was meditating on INTENTION!!! I was meditating on TRUTH and INTEGRITY! I had just read text that was reminding me that I must always stand in my authentic self!
I was thinking about my future, my expectations, my goals and the seeds that I have planted. And then it happened… she arrived… she arrived to bring me a message! She arrived to confirm everything! She came to show me something!  We stared at each other for such a long time. When she looked at me she told me she trusted me… she saw into my soul and I saw hers... she told me that I needed to TRUST more… reminding me that I must believe that all that I desire is already here. She brought me peace. She shared her meal with me.
I have always understood that I am surrounded by blessings, found in people and opportunities that have arrived in my life.  However, there are many more blessings that I don’t see--and these are the ones that I am being called to stand in gratitude for… many of these blessings have gone unnoticed… this was one of those signs that I just couldn’t miss or ignore! This blessing was for ME, my daughter… my family… my friends… all those in my life… This moment was HUGE! And I am open to receiving all of it…
I am so thrilled to have shared this moment with so many people in my life because what I know is that she arrived to show me how massive she is… she came to show me how MASSIVE I AM! Her intention was to confirm and alleviate any doubt and ALL of my fears. It was a cleansing.. a purging... the ultimate RELEASING OF THAT WHICH DOES NOT SERVE ME! 
I am so glad she allowed me to photograph and get so close to her. I am so grateful she visited me. I am so grateful for the blessings she has bestowed upon me and our home.
For this QUEEN, this HAWK... She, this God/Goddess, this magnificent, majestic, regal messenger who arrived to show me WHO I AM and ALL THAT HAS ARRIVED FOR ME and ALL THAT IS ON ITS WAY TO ME… for this and for everything in my life... I am so grateful!
She had one more thing to tell me before leaving… she made it a point to perch herself on my fire escape, glancing at me one last time when she told me, “ALICIA, PAY ATTENTION! NOW IS THE TIME! TAKE ACTION! YOUR GUARDIAN ANGELS ARE WITH YOU… YOUR SPACE IS CRAZY PROTECTED… YOU ARE A FORCE… YOU ARE A BEAST! YOU ARE A HUNTER! NOTHING CAN TOUCH YOU! IT IS TIME TO SOAR!
No more hesitation… the message has been delivered and received!
And so it is~
Maferefun Chango, Maferefun Ochossi… Santo Cristo de Olofi!
Aché