I went hiking (for the first time in years!) this past weekend with some friends in the beautiful Mount Charleston area of Nevada. I realized as I was trudging through the forested area that the entire hike was a metaphor for life. Here are five lessons I learned from hiking that go way beyond the hike itself.

You can’t succeed if you don’t try
Are you afraid to try a new trail? Does it seem impossible to hike? Does it completely overwhelm you to think about? I didn’t think I could tolerate a hike. I just didn’t think I was physically capable. But I decided to try without expectations. Once I got on the trail I realized the hike was going to be even more strenuous than I first thought, but I was there, committed, and eager to try it. So I told myself to just go as far as I could and that would be enough. The more I walked the easier it became. My only goal was to hike as long as I could. I couldn’t fail at this. I could only fail if I didn’t try. I wonder how many other things I’m capable of doing but haven’t tried yet. Don’t let fear of failure prevent you from going after something you want. Just start going, see how far you get, improve your abilities, and keep going.

Encouragement from others can keep you going
We’re all in this together. You might have to carry your body up the trail alone, but there are plenty of people on the path who are traveling with you. Encourage each other. Cheer each other on. Share resources, help each other. It doesn’t matter if others pass you on the trail. You could just as easily pass them later. It’s not about who gets to the top first. Enjoy the camaraderie of the hike. Share the beauty of life. You are not alone.

It’s about the journey, not the destination
If all you care about is reaching the summit you’re missing the point of life and the beauty of the hike. Life is to be enjoyed, every step of the way. There may be an amazing view at the summit, but there is just as much beauty along the trail. Enjoy the fresh air while you climb. Enjoy the smell of the pine as you traverse the trail. Listen to the twittering of wildlife along the trail. Feel the warm sun on your skin and the cool breeze on your body. Be present while you climb and take note of the beauty all around you. What would happen if you didn’t make it to the summit and you didn’t bother to enjoy the journey? Then your life will be filled with disappointment and it will feel empty. Enjoy the journey because it is filled with its own peaks.

It’s okay to stop and catch your breath
Sometimes it seems like you can’t go on. You can see the path, it’s wide open. But you’re tired, and you just can’t continue. It’s okay to rest. Take a breather. Slow down. Take stock. Ask for help even. The hike I just went on was at high altitude and I had a hard time catching my breath, especially going uphill the entire time. I literally stopped to catch my breath every couple of minutes. At first I was really disappointed with myself, but then I realized that if that was the only way to make it to the top, then I could easily accept that pace. The alternative was to push myself so hard that I passed out and couldn’t continue at all. Don’t let others push you beyond your limits either. Go at your own pace, but keep going.

Soreness happens
Also known as growing pains. When you step out of your comfort zone, when you push yourself, sometimes life slaps you down a little. Think of these as battle wounds; wounds you would never have received if you weren’t in the game at all. Soreness after a hike is an indication of growth, an indication that you’ve pushed yourself to the limit and beyond. And how does the body respond? By knitting you back together stronger, because you’ve told the body where you’re going and what you’ll need to get there and the body responds by making you stronger and more capable of withstanding the rigors you’ll face. So embrace the soreness, the wounds, the injuries, and know that next time you make an attempt you will be much stronger.

***

I can’t wait to hike again. I want to experience all kinds of different hikes. I like the feeling of pushing my body and being out in nature. Had I been in a gym on a stair climber I think I would have stopped at 5 minutes. On this hike, I climbed for 75 minutes. So, I will hike again, but it really doesn’t matter to me if I ever reach a summit. To me the summit is my willingness to hike the trail in the first place.

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On Saturday, August 14, 2010 I hosted my first spiritual salon, which is basically a small, intimate gathering of people who want to ask me questions and get a question answered by their spirit guides. This was my first live solo event, and I learned a lot from putting it together. Since a lot of people asked me how the salon went, I decided to write a recap of the event and share some things I learned.

My aunt Susan graciously agreed to host the event in her home in Los Angeles. As we worked through the logistics, we realized her chairs and couches were too bulky so I made arrangements to rent some chairs from a party rental company. We ended up being able to fit 27 people in her living room, but just barely. We were pretty cozy in there!

The feel of a salon is supposed to be personal and intimate, so I decided we’d serve light refreshments after the event so people had time to mingle and get to know each other. I definitely saw people doing just that as they munched on their vegan cookies, chocolates, fruit, nuts, coffee and tea. That was really gratifying to know that connections were being made among strangers.

I arrived at my aunt’s house two hours in advance to help her set up. It’s a good thing I did. There was a lot to set up! I always run a little warm so we set up a desk fan that would blow on me during the event. I was so grateful we did that and will have to remember to have one at future events. We set up my Flip camera to record the event, but the batteries died half way through so I’ll also have to remember to show up with a fully charged Flip! We also had to set up the music that would accompany the 2 brief meditations I led the participants through. And we had to set up the food, bottled water, registration table, make nametags, and a host of other tidbits. In the future, I’ll probably bring an assistant to handle those details for me so I can concentrate on my material.

I was super grateful to find that everyone arrived early and on time. As a toastmaster, I am used to starting and ending exactly on time, and so we did. My twin sister was there to introduce me. We had a lot of fun bantering with each other. I was expecting to feel nervous, as I do before any speaking engagement, but I was surprised to find that I was just happy and excited to get going. Oh, there were a few butterflies, but nothing like the terror I used to feel when speaking in front of groups.

I did a brief meditation to get everyone’s energy up and open. Then we launched into questions. I loved the questions. They were all over the place, so it was nice to touch upon so many topics. I could do a salon where I pick the topic we’re going to discuss but then people can’t comfortably ask questions outside that topic, so I think keeping it a free for all was great. I answered questions for about an hour and a half. Then we moved on to the psychic reading portion of the event. I asked if anyone had a question to ask their guides and many hands went up. I knew I wouldn’t have time to answer everyone so I just let the guides select for me and picked who I felt drawn to.

Normally when I do a reading, I spend at least 30 minutes with a client, and the first thing I do is tell them all about themselves and their current life situation so they know I’m legitimate and accurate, then they get to ask questions. But in the salon environment, with so many people wanting to ask questions, I couldn’t do that. I had to be content with letting them ask a question and getting their answer without me being able to provide as much validation and confirmation as I like to do. So that’s something I’ll have to think about. If I just do one long reading with one person I fear the rest of the audience will be bored. So I think I’ll either skip doing the group readings or just keep it to one question per person and get to as many as possible.

I did notice my throat becoming strained and tired after projecting my voice for 2 hours. So that’s also something I’ll have to work on. I kept drinking water but I think hot tea might work better.

Some of the questions people asked included:

• How do I guard my energy when people around me are negative?
• How do I achieve astral projection after separation?
• Can your life purpose change over time?
• Can guides be deceased relatives?
• What is the difference between guides and higher selves?
• How do I trust my intuition?

I really liked the questions people asked. I could have kept answering all night! Well, if my throat was more cooperative!

We ended the evening with my gratitude meditation from my audio program, Raising Your Vibration. I greatly enjoyed having a small number of people attend so I could personally greet them at the beginning and chat with them all afterward. I sold my CDs in the back of the room, and also sold readings at a special event price. I spent the next day doing all of those readings! In the future I think I’ll have to limit the readings to phone calls or not do so many in-person because I was exhausted by the end of the day.

One of the young women there decided to write an article about the salon for an L.A. magazine. Her editor-in-chief thought a review plus an interview would be great, so she met with me on the 16th to interview me for the piece. It’s not published yet, but I will post a link when I see it online.

I am planning to do this event again but in Las Vegas. I’m not sure when yet, but I will be keeping the gathering small again so we can maintain the cozy, personal, friendly environment we created at the first one. I had a lot of fun, enjoyed the experience, and definitely want to do another.

This was my first, live, solo event. While I did a 90-minute presentation on intuition at a joint workshop with me and the ladies of my mastermind group, this was the first event where I was the “headliner” act. No Steve, no other speakers, just me. It was a great challenge for me, and a great reference experience. If my 4th grade self, who was terrified of public speaking, knew that someday I’d be doing my own workshops, events, and seminars, I’m not sure she would have let me get any older.

I look forward to seeing you at the next workshop! People subscribed to my newsletter will get first crack at tickets, so if you’re not signed up to receive my newsletter yet, get on it.

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