Today, I’m walking with my client, Mary, who has completed her training for her dream walk – 57 miles in Scotland!  She has taken this journey one step at a time.  Today, she’s walking 11 miles. Tomorrow, 16.

What does it take to walk into a dream?  Small steps. Consistent steps.  That’s the walk of creation.

It starts with a fantasy.  That’s what a dream is. There’s nothing real about it! Absolutely nothing!  It’s pure fantasy.  Do you have fun fantasizing, or do you resist it because there’s nothing real about it?  I invite you to take a different look at fantasizing and consider that all the great inventions started out that way.  Dreams became plans. Plans become actions.  Actions become reality. read more

I’m standing atop Springer Mountain, GA on a Sunday afternoon. It’s cloudy but not raining. I’m alone but for one other hiker, Mary. She is perched on the rock that marks the southern terminus of the iconic Appalachian Trail. What a perfect spot to celebrate a completion. Mary is rounding out her year-long training for a walk of 57miles in 5 days that begins in two weeks in Scotland. It’s the walk of her dream. Her adult son invited her two years ago to walk in Scotland, in the ancestral land of both his mother and his father. Today, Mary is walking 16 miles over rough terrain,  including hundreds of feet of elevation gain and loss that mimics a similar day on the walk in Scotland. It’s a big day, even for seasoned hikers, including myself! read more

Using the ForgivenessWalks Tools is like Unclogging the Toilet

When the toilet is stopped up I don’t walk around wondering why, or blaming the toilet for getting clogged.  I don’t say, “This shouldn’t be happening! Why did I ever think I wanted a toilet? Maybe since it’s not working, I should abandon toilets altogether.   Maybe I’m just not cut out to have a toilet because mine is giving me trouble.”  I don’t stop in my tracks and say, “If I were a better person, or a better homeowner, my toilet would not get clogged. Successful homeowners don’t get clogged toilets. Never have, never will.” read more

I love to walk! Those of you who know me would not be surprised to hear me confirm this. My day just hasn’t begun until I’ve walked. That’s why I am passionate about walking long distances in Nature, as on the Appalachian Trail. But why?  Why walk?  Why might I be so attracted to walking?  For a while, I didn’t even try to answer this question.  I just knew I had to walk!

Walking into my dream of “walking in service to others”, however, nudged me to research the questions, “what are the scientific benefits of walking?” read more

I just joined a community of people trying out Radical Forgiveness for the first time.  My first worksheet was done about eight years ago! I haven’t stopped since because they work, like magic really.

There I was, standing on the Appalachian Trail just a few miles from the Tennessee/North Carolina border. I was there with my husband feeling one with my pack and excited about embarking on this month-long walk together. My mind was at peace. The upset and readiness to abandon the whole trip just 10 days before, had been turned into a blessing! read more

I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet and have already taken a significant journey! It’s an inner journey from upset and quandary to peace and illumination.
It started with checking email, finding Colin Tipping’s invitation to do a Radical Forgiveness worksheet. I did.

As with all worksheets, I had a shift in perception. I forgave myself, then wrote in my notes the following:

August 12
I may be holding JR hostage to my inability to monetize my own purpose. I didn’t believe in my self expression, so I gave it up for financial security even to unconsciously promise sexual fidelity with no guarantee of companionship. Well, it’s apparent that JR is done with that. I’m holding on, still clinging to the floating chest of gold that is my life raft among the debris of my marriage with JR.
Crafting a divorce means honoring the finite reality of our journey, gratefully receiving m
y share of the spoils, and channeling anew the resources to create my next work of art, independent of JohnReiter. Cherishing our independence means honoring our divorce.
It also means taking responsibility for channel
ing resources for my vocation. read more

On my walk this morning, a hummingbird flitted into view. Here. There. Zoom. Zoom. Sip here. Dart there. Gone.

Here’s what Hummingbird taught me today. “Nourishing my dream and doing my work can be done in multitudes of quick, small, even seemingly random actions. Keep moving. Don’t dwell. Go for the bright spots. They have the most sweet nectar.

How does Hummingbird teach you?

Walk on into your dream!

In joy,
Regina

As Gregg Braden pointed out, we are, like the imaginal cells of the emerging butterfly, standing between the breakdown of the old and the birth of the new.
That’s true for me this week as John and I take deliberate steps to divorce.
Divorce isn’t so scary and frought with shame as I had imagined. John is communicating clearly as he always has.
I do feel physically self conscious, my skin starving for touch and that satisfying caressing that assures me of the boundaries of my body. Holding hands and being held seems pretty basic to my well-being. read more

It’s easy to have fresh food on the trail. Sprouted lentils or mung beans provide the crunch and zest of salad in a packable form.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Soak dry lentils or mung beans in a ziploc bag overnight or until they’re soft.
2. Rinse and drain off the water.
3. Give them air and rinse them a few times a day.
4. Enjoy when the first sprouts show.

For more Light T.E.N. food ideas for backpacking, email Regina at regina@forgivenesswalks.com