Needless to say, this Guidance was shocking to us both (and completely terrifying to our commitment-phobic egos) but we both knew that it was in perfect alignment with our new Purpose. We therefore went ahead and followed the Guidance, meeting each other in person for the first time just a week later, and then getting married another week after that. It brought up so much of our unconscious fears and resistance, mostly about what our family and friends would think, and continues to flush up lots of emotion for healing.
If you scroll down below (past the videos), you can read a more detailed account which Armelle wrote (and I edited) about how the Guidance originally came in, her reactions to it as well as mine after she first called me to share it, etc.. Also, just a few days after our marriage we felt inspired to record a short video of ourselves talking about how it all happened, which you can watch below. There's also a video of Armelle being interviewed about it at the Miracles Concert in Sweden last Sept (2010), and another video of our friend and mentor, David Hoffmeister, talking about how radical Guidance like that can serve to undo the ego.
In addition, I've included a link right beneath this paragraph which will take you to all our wedding videos which we've posted on YouTube; an event overflowing with laughter and happy tears of Joy! If you want to watch a shorter version of the story about how we came together, then you can go directly to Part 6 of the wedding videos. About halfway through that video and continuing into Part 7 of the videos, I get interviewed by our friend Charles and talk about the Guidance we received, how I responded to it, etc.. Click here to go directly to Part 6 to watch that interview.
Or click here to be taken to the YouTube page which shows ALL the wedding videos.
Enjoy!
The Path of Relationship
The way that Erik and I met and were married is certainly what the world would call unusual, for three weeks before our wedding, we still hadn't even met!
Our journey together began when I received, in Oct 2009, a powerful heart-opening vision of Erik and I going on a world tour together to share his music and my Inner Dance. At that time we hadn't met or even had any communication, and I had only just heard about him through our mutual spiritual community of friends; that he had left his old life, his house, and hypnotherapy career and had become a "traveling minstrel for God" about six months prior!
When I shared this vision of the world tour with Erik through an email - our first communication - he responded almost immediately with authentic enthusiasm about the idea, even though he knew almost nothing about me!
Shortly after receiving his email response, I received another powerful vision that we were supposed to get married in about two weeks time! I saw a vision of the wedding happening during the weekend of a spiritual retreat that we had both already planned to be at, just south of Cincinnati in northern Kentucky, and I also saw a vision of a tattooed ring on my wedding ring finger!
After three days of trying to discover if I had gone completely crazy or if this was truly Guidance from Spirit, I nervously called mine and Erik's mutual friend and teacher, David Hoffmeister, to share the Guidance I was receiving. David happened to be in Utah in which he was giving a retreat at which Erik was present, and so after our brief conversation, he happily passed the phone to Erik so that I could share the Guidance I was getting in what was to be mine and Erik's very first phone conversation!!
Fortunately, he didn't hang up on me or think I was insane, but instead seemed quite peaceful as he listened to me! He shared that it was indeed quite "big" as far as leaps of faith go, but he seemed completely open to it as a possibility, which really made me feel more relaxed that I wasn't going crazy!
We didn't make any immediate decisions over the phone just then, but simply remained open and agreed to stay in communication over the next days. At the time, Erik was in Utah and would be flying to California the next day to spend time with his family for a week before then flying to Cincinnati where we would be staying in the same house with our mutual friends. Therefore, we knew we'd be seeing each other a week later no matter what.
Erik later shared with me that after we hung up the phone, he felt his ego-mind beginning to go crazy as well, but through speaking with David, he allowed himself to start sinking into the possibility that this was truly meant to be, and would be a Blessing to All. About 20 minutes later, after sharing the Guidance with others who could immediately feel the Joy it was coming from, he felt himself surrender into an experience of total Peace in which he felt absolutely certain that he would indeed be marrying me!
And so it was! Two weeks later, we were married, leaping joyfully into the Unknown with faith and trust, supported only by a deep inner Knowing that we both felt. We had God, or Awakening, as our primary Purpose for our union, so we knew that everything we would be going through together would be used and dedicated to that one Purpose. And that's what we've been doing since our marriage in October 2009, using every opportunity to grow and remember the Truth of Who We Are.
Everything we need to fulfill this Purpose is given by our daily Life through the forgiveness opportunities that naturally arise. We don't need to ever seek for anything that isn't already immediately available. Every encounter we have, every relationship, however it shows up, is an Opportunity for forgiving our illusions and remember Love's eternal Presence. This Presence is our True Identity and is beyond everything we could ever imagine... far from what we think we are as human beings.
My experience is that ALL our relationships offer us a fast track to the Experience of Truth when we are willing to just be totally authentic. It is about being with whatever seems to be happening in its pure nakedness, free of our own false ideas and interpretations. Just opening up fully to whatever experience is being offered to me in the moment... being willing to explore the experience I'm having on the inside emotionally... being curious about it, without pretending I already know anything. This is how we can "be as little children" in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, as Jesus taught. Without holding onto my past "knowledge", I experience a childlike sense of wonder and surprise at the Beauty in each moment.
Each encounter, relationship, or situation in which I feel discomfort arising offers me another opportunity to be released from my sense of imprisonment. All that has been repressed or pushed out of awareness will come up again and again, until I am willing to face it with forgiving eyes, to look at it, and to go through it until it's nothingness is seen.
That's the Gift that my relationship with Erik offers me, and it is the Gift that ALL of our relationships offer us. In each moment, the relationship offers me release from the past by inviting me to accept the Present Moment as it is, no matter what form it appears to take.
And that's what we propose to you who are reading this now and feeling a Calling to go deeper into your own journey of Awakening. We invite you to connect with us if you feel inspired to - through an email, a one-on-one session over the phone or Skype, or an in-person meeting - and share whatever is on your heart. Being truly Helpful to our brothers and sisters is our only function...
I leave you with one helpful question that is worth remembering in all moments of conflict, be it with another person, a situation, or even with yourself: "Do I want to be right, or do I want to be happy?"
With Love and Gratitude for every step you take to Remember the Truth Which has never been lost, but has always been Held safely within your Heart, just waiting to be recognized once and for all,
Armelle
 |
| On our wedding day. :-) |
