Part 3 my story continued....

I prepared to go on the retreat.  I continued chanting on the tele-conferences at least twice a day to prepare my self.  I hadn't taken my car in for repair or maintenance in quite some time, so I took it to my local mechanic for a check up.  There was a belt all cracked and ready to break so he replaced it and changed the radiator fluid which needed to be done.  I also asked him to check my tires.  He said one was low and filled it.  That tire seem to be loosing air constantly so I asked my partner to take it to the place where we bought the tires.  He graciously did as I asked.  The tire ended up having a bulge on the inside and needed to be replaced.  Apparently I had hit a pot hole and bent the rim and damaged the tire.  They replaced the tire for free even though they didn't have to.  They also suggested that I needed two new tires.  I didn't have the money but I was concerned about taking such a long drive with my 10 year old car so I did it anyway.  Now my car was good to go after spending $345 of the money that I had for the trip.  I talked with my car's soul, thanking it and appreciating it and telling it what a good job it has done for me and how it could continue to do so like I learned in Master Sha's book, Power of the Soul. He teaches that everything has a soul, including inanimate objects.  I had absolutely no car problems there or back.

Then the Sunday before leaving, I woke up with a migraine.  I hadn't had a migraine in a long time.  I stayed in bed all day.  Monday it turned into a sinus infection. Tuesday it was an ear infection. I couldn't hear out of my left ear.  I did everything I knew to do.  I haven't had health insurance coverage since I lost my Corporate job in 2005 so I steamed over hot water, salt & eucalyptus oil. I took all the supplements I had. I finally called a Naturopathic Doctor and made an appointment. She gave me lots more supplements to take, none of which I had the money for...I kept spending money that I thought I would have for the trip.  Wednesday I woke up and it had moved to my chest.  I told my ego that even if we were dying, we were still going!  I got that it was my ego or lower self trying to prevent me from going. Thursday I woke up, blowing my nose constantly, but feeling better and I went anyway. There was no way that I wasn't going to go.

I drove with no problems, listening to Master Sha the whole way with the copies of the CD's that my dear, sweet friend had graciously made and given to me. I arrived at 8:15pm.  I had wanted to arrive before dark. The first person I met in line at the check in counter, was the 1st woman that I had contacted as a roommate. She told me that she had arrived the day before and was out sight-seeing all day.  When she got to the desk before me, the hotel clerk told her that her now roommate had arrived several hours ago and was trying to get into the room.  Only the person that made the reservation can access the room until they put the 2nd person on file.  My judgements immediately came up and I thanked God that I didn't end up with this roommate!

When it came my turn to go to the registration counter...I was told that I was bumped up to the Sheraton because the Best Western was oversold.  This suited me just fine as the two hotels are connected and I was staying at the Sheraton for the rest of the retreat with H and it seemed a blessing to be there right from the beginning. It was easier to move luggage as there were stairs between the two hotels to navigate. It was also the nicer of the two so I was grateful. 

After walking to the Sheraton and checking in, I saw my first roommate, walking with her roommate and she introduced me.  I told her I was bumped to the Sheraton.

Then I tried to register for the retreat event but as I was walking down the long hallway to the conference registration area, the volunteers were walking back.  I asked one woman, F, if registration was still open? She replied, no we just closed it and it will be open again tomorrow morning. So I checked in to my room and had a quiet evening to myself and went to bed early.

The next morning I came down to the lobby after doing my Yoga which I intended to keep up while there. My back and legs were bothering me from being in the car so long.  The last part of the trip I was in some pain.

They had a Starbuck's coffee shop and restaurant in the lobby.  I already had breakfast in my room. I brought breakfast food with me so I wouldn't have to buy it. The Naturopathic Dr. had put me on a diet for 30 days to clean out my lymph system.  I was to avoid, grains, nuts, sugar, dairy and breads, only eating meat, green vegetables, eggs, and some fruits.  I had many supplements to take every day 3 times a day with meals along with powders that had to be mixed with water.  One powder was for the respiratory infection that I seemed to have, the other was a pro biotic.

I went to the registration area to register for the event and the first person I met at the door was Roseanne!  She greeted me with a hug.  I went in and the badges were all laid out alphabetically.  Mine wasn't there.  So I got into a different line and they gave me a hand written one after apologizing and explaining that more badges were being made and should arrive the next day. 

The next line was for Universal servants.  I had already registered on-line to become a universal servant after being deeply moved when reading the book.  A man named Joe was in front of me and Robert was behind the table explaining to him that he did not have to volunteer if this was his first retreat.  When it came time for me, I explained to Robert that I heard what he said to Joe yet I wanted to volunteer anyway since I was here on a scholarship and wanted to give back...Robert asked me what I was good at.  I replied, lots of things, typing, I am organized, good on the phone.  He said, okay, we need transcribers and put me down on a list and gave me an additional badge that said transcriber on it.  I basically understood that a transcriber would take notes during the talks. He said who I would report to and that they would call on me when they needed a break.  I filled out some paperwork with emergency contact information required and went back to the lobby to read the handouts I got after registering.

I was sitting in the lobby reviewing the package of information and the agenda scheduled for the week. There were plenty of breaks and long lunch breaks included.  I started to think about H, my roommate. She had explained that she was coming in the night before with her boyfriend who would spend the night with her, then she and I would move into a different room the second day. I had already left my luggage with the baggage desk and had not brought everything in from the car yet.  Several people came down and I wondered if any of them were H.  Then a woman dressed in red came down with her boyfriend and kissed him goodbye at the door. He was very tall.  I knew immediately somehow that she was H.  She went towards were the event was being held and I went up to the front desk to ask if H had checked out yet? 

Another woman came to the counter that seemed to be in a hurry.  By her badge I could tell that she was at the conference too.  Her name was R and she was from Australia and was part of Master Sha's team. I introduced myself and sure enough she explained that she was late for a meeting so I let her go in front of me.

The front desk explained that H had just checked out and moved to a different room number now and had put my name on the new room!  I went and followed the woman in red and and walked right up to her and sure enough, her name badge said H. I explained who I was and she suggested that I put my luggage in the room right away so I did. H went into the event registration and I went back to the lobby and sat down to read my handouts. There were other people that were attending the conference sitting in the lobby with me. One woman, who was sitting with several other women, came over and introduced herself and asked if I wanted to join them.  I declined, stating that I wanted to review my handouts to orient myself prior to the event starting. It was scheduled to begin at 10am the first day.

Everyone started to migrate to the conference room area at the back of the Sheraton and mingled around the front doors waiting for them to open.  I saw H there and not knowing anyone else, I joined her and two other women she was talking with, M and B.  Now I have met several women, all who turned out to be significant connections during the retreat. We stood there talking, introducing ourselves and sharing brief backgrounds on how we came to be there. M was from San Francisco and had been with Master Sha for 3.5 years and had attended several retreats 

part 2

I had to re-schedule a stained glass class that I was scheduled  to teach at the community school at the end of my street. I moved it back a week trusting that I would be attending the retreat.  I was a bit concerned if they would let me move it since several people had signed up already and it was suppose to begin the week of the retreat.  They were very understanding and said no problem and allowed me to move it back a week.  I still didn't know if I was going or not but knew if I was, this would have to be done.

I didn't hear anything for several days and then a week went by and another few days and I thought, I really need to know if I got the scholarship because I have to make arrangements, a place to stay, etc.  So I called again and didn't get anyone and left a message on the general mailbox.  No one called me back for a few days so I called again.  I got Roseanne again. I explained that I had applied for the scholarship and hadn't heard back and could she tell me the status?  She said because it was the first time that they offered one, my name had gone to three people and had fallen through the cracks. She was glad that I called back in. She instructed me that if ever more than one or two days went by, to call back because they always tried to respond with 24 hours. She said she would get right back to me. She called the next day and told me that I was awarded the scholarship.  I cried again.

So now I am signed up for the retreat and have to figure out how to get there, where to stay.  I still didn't have much money but my partner was willing to help me any way that he could...he was so happy for me because he knew how much I wanted to go.  Things between us were getting much better, at least we were talking again.

Then I had two sales come in the last week of March!  I know it was because I was doing Master Sha's chanting and asking for financial blessings.  It was enough to catch up on my bills and give me money for room and board in Toronto.  Remember, I hadn't had a single sale all year long...times are tough for everybody out there and I was working N. California and Hawaii and N. CA was the first to be hit with the housing crisis. No one wanted to spend any money on software, or anything else. All I heard all day long on the phone was how they had freezes on spending money on anything that wasn't absolutely necessary or laying people off, struggling to keep their doors open, etc.

I called a friend in Toronto that I thought I might be able to stay with.  His phone was disconnected. I had some other friends that lived an hour north of Toronto but they were away on vacation. I wasn't sure what to do so I went back to the site and there was a roommate list posted for those that wanted to share a room.  I thought to myself that maybe that would be better because having traveled extensively during my work career and having attended many trade shows in my 20 year career in the software industry, I knew it was better to stay at the hotel where the event was held so I could go to my room when I wanted and wouldn't have to drive.  I added my name to the roommate list and waited a few days. No one contacted me.  Yet I just knew that the Universe/God was going to send me the perfect roommate.  I still got worried and started to email to a couple of the women listed.  The first one never did reply to my email.  The second one said she was waiting to hear back from someone else so didn't know yet.  I was thinking, what am I going to do? I can't afford a room by myself. I contacted a third one and it was the one that the second one was waiting to hear back from so she said the same thing, that she had already been contacted by someone so they were planning to stay together, they just kept missing each other to work out the details.  There wasn't anyone else on the list that needed the same dates as me.  Only those that wanted a roommate for one night or had different arrival/departure dates.

Oh me of little faith, I called the hotel and made a reservation on my own.  Then a new name came on the roommate list.  I called her immediately. She was suppose to room with someone else and plans had changed so she now needed a roommate after all. She was from Sudbury, Canada and her boyfriend was driving her to Toronto and then she would drive back with someone from the retreat. So I had to get a room by myself for the first night. Good thing I already had a reservation!  I called up and changed the reservation to just one night.  The roommate coordinator called me the next day and said she thought I should call H to see if we could room together.  I told her I already had! Of course H turned out to be the perfect roommate. More on that later.  Her story is worth a chapter on its own.

Hello to anyone reading this.  This is the beginning of my journey with Master Sha.

Retreat Experience:

This is from when I was first introduced to Master Sha's teaching...certainly not the beginning of my spiritual journey... That will be yet again another story...

So many of you know and have come to play and experience the All Game at my home over the past few years. (www.theallgame.com)  Several new players came to play at the beginning of March, 2009.  One of the woman, CB. was at this particular game. I had met CB at my very first Native American Indian sweat (hmmm...there is that Native American Indian connection again) and hadn't seen her since until we connected at the Church were I had participated with their first business networking event in January of 2009 and was there to promote The All Game.

She gifted me with a copy of Power of the Soul before she left my house that day after playing the game.  It sat on my coffee table by the front door for a week or so before I picked it up and started to read it.  Someone came to my house, I don't remember who, and asked me what the book was about.  I told them that I didn't have a clue because someone had given to me and I hadn't read it yet.

 I was going through a difficult time, as many of you know, not knowing which direction to take with my life but certain that my old life was falling away...my house was in foreclosure, I was struggling financially, etc.   I kept saying that I was determined to make lemonade out of this lemon that life seemed to be handing me...and I was willing to let go of everything, the house and everything in it and move to Hawaii!!  Everyone I talked to about moving to Hawaii was excited for me.  Several people stated that they got the chills when I said it.  Even strangers! I had decided that if I was going to loose my home after 10 years, where and what would I want to do?  I always wanted to live in Hawaii from the first time I visited there.  It just felt so much better as an option than moving into an apartment here in Michigan. And if I sold everything I owned, I might have enough to do it.  I had a phone sales job that I could do anywhere and part of my territory was Hawaii. (My boss at the time was on board, stating that he would love to have me actually live and work in part of his territory.  He was in a similar situation to me and decided to let his house go back to the bank and move to China. He moved to China the Monday before I left for the retreat on Thursday. If you have read my previous story parts, you know that I quit working for him when I got back)

I was also questioning my relationship...and willing to let it go also if that was what was meant to be.  My partner and I were really not getting along...as a matter of truth...we were not even speaking to each other when I began to read the book...we seemed to be very close to coming apart.

As soon as I opened the book and read the forward about being a 'universal servant', I fell down on my knees and cried.  I believe I felt the presence of the Divine as I sobbed and was bowing down, not realizing that I was bowing down.  Then I realized that the book came with a free CD of Master Sha's healing music in the back...I put the CD on and started to cry again as I listened to the beautiful, healing music and heard Master Sha’s voice for the first time.  I was thinking to myself that I must be crazy or something to be having this reaction.

I wasn't even finished the book yet and I sent an email to the Dr Sha website telling them how moved I was, that I felt the presence of the Divine when I started to read the book and that I wanted to open one of the 400 Love Peace and Harmony retreat centers that Master Sha talked about in the book.

I devoured the book in a little less than 2 weeks...I would stay in the bedroom...reading and chanting and receiving the downloads, ignoring my partner. But I started to do the soul communication with him and to ask for blessings and healing of our relationship and finances.

I went to the website: www.drhsa.com and looked around.  I discovered many free services there and free downloads and I started to apply for many of them.  I listened to Master Sha on the video, instructing on how to do the chants that he gives in the book and receiving his remote healings for lungs, spleen, kidneys, heart, liver and back.  I listened to the testimonials that are recorded there.  I went often.  I think I chanted 6 to 8 hours a day with him for the first few days.  Then I discovered that there were live calls that I could join, again for free.   So I started to call in and join them and downloaded the instructions off the site.  I joined every call for several days, which were five sessions per day at that time.

I went back to the website and saw that there was an upcoming retreat in Toronto, Canada. I am originally from Canada and thought to myself, I must go and attend.  This is the closest that Master Sha will be to me this year so if I want to meet him, it has to be Toronto. The website said it was a two part retreat and the total was $700 for early registration.  I didn't have the money.  I could barely pay my bills. I was behind on several utility bills and not paying the mortgage at all.  I thought there is no way that I can go.  My partner and I were fighting about money.  He was supporting me and paying most of the bills.  I hadn't made a sale all year and was on commission only.  I was making a little money through my jewelry sales but not enough to pay much of anything.

I kept going back to the website, looking around, registering for blessings and downloads and looking at the retreat.  The retreat price was starting to go up, early bird registration was over.  I didn't know how I was going to get there but I knew I had to go.  Then one day, I noticed a 'scholarship' for the retreat and thought to myself, hey, that wasn't there before. I cried again and knew in my heart that it was meant for me and I was going to get to attend. I immediately called the 800 number listed and pushed buttons until I got a live voice. That voice was Roseanne.  I explained my situation and asked her how I could apply for the scholarship and what the qualifications were.  She answered that I would need to send an email with my situation and that the Divine would decide. The Divine? I think I asked what that meant and she explained that they, Master Sha's team, would pray over it and be guided.  She also told me that they had not offered scholarships before, this was the first time and that it had just been posted to the website that same day or the day before.  I told her it was meant for me.

Having an interesting week!  On the way to work Tuesday morning, I got a ticket for using an electronic devise while driving, $280 ticket here in Saskatoon! Ouch. While waiting for the officer to write me the ticket, I noticed how the traffic had slowed down because of his flashing lights.  I had the thought that if I was saving someone's life while being pulled over, then I was happy to pay the $280.

Then on the way to work this morning, A transport truck ran a stop sign right in front of me and I had to severely swerve in order to avoid being hit. I drive a small KIA Soul and would of been squashed like a bug!  I was pretty shook up and very grateful that I was unscathed! Thank you God!

My husband noted that if I hadn't gotten the ticket for using my cell phone the day before, I could of been texting and not as alert as I was!  The ticket might of saved my life!

The moral of the story: There is a reason for everything, good or bad!  Good and bad is just our perception of events....

The Tao journey is the path to enlightenment, longevity and immortality. Most spiritually awake beings are seeking enlightenment.

 For hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, monks and spiritual seekers of all kinds spent years in cold, damp caves, or sitting on mountain tops meditating for hours of the day, living sparse, simple lives in order to reach the TAO or enlightenment.

 Today the Tao journey is available to all spiritual seekers through the wonderful teachings of Master Zhi Gang Sha.  In his two latest books, TAO I, The way of all Life and Tao II, The way of Healing, Rejuvenation, Longevity and Immortality, Master Sha explains in detail the secrets, sacred Chants and practices and deep wisdom to anyone who chooses to learn.  This wisdom can transform every aspect of a person's life.

I have been studying with Master Sha for over five years and have been on the Tao journey with him for as long.  So how has my life changed or been affected by the Tao?

I have a much deeper understanding of how life is created, what the meaning of life is and most profoundly, the concept of oneness.  We hear about oneness in most spiritual modalities, but what is oneness?

Oneness is the knowing that all life is connected, all beings are connected, Mother Earth, the planet, stars, galaxies and Universes are connected. The Sun and Moon are connected. Plants, animals and insects are connected. Heaven, Mother Earth and Human Beings are connected. Connected how you might ask?  We are all connected through Shen, Chi Jing which is soul, energy and matter.  Every living thing consists of Soul, Energy and Matter.  Soul, Energy and Matter are created by the Tao, which is the Universal creative force that existed before Mother Earth, before time and space. The Tao has no time or space. The Tao just is.  The Tao cannot be describe by words.

When human beings join as one, the sperm of the male and egg of the female join together.  The Tao gives the life force energy or Shen or soul to the embryo before it is born.  The Tao gives life to all things.

Because Tao is in everyone and everything, The Tao connects us all together.

Hello,

This is my first post. I want to post about the TAO.  Not Tao the religion, but TAO the creative force, that cannot be explained in words. Tao creates one, one creates two, two creates three from which all things are created. Heaven, Mother Earth and human being are the three. TAO also has reverse creation which is three goes back to two, two goes back to one, to the TAO, nothingness from which it came.

This is why alternative healing and energy healing works! Because it works on the principle of reverse creation.

Modern medicine focuses on matter or Jing in Chinese terms. That's why it cannot cure everything such as terminal cancer.

Master Sha teaches us Soul, Energy and Matter.  These three make up everything.  All three have to be addressed in order for true healing to work.

 I am studying the TAO with Master Zhi Gang Sha and it is beyond profound. The wisdom and knowledge being imparted to his students is beyond anything I can describe or explain.  Tao is in everyone of us. We are within Tao. Tao created us. We are living expressions of the TAO. " Follow TAO and flourish, Go against Tao, finish."

TAO is extremely simple. "Bigger than biggest, smaller than smallest".

Master Sha offers a ten year training program for The Tao. We are currently in year five. However, the beauty of how Master Sha teaches is that anyone can join at anytime and catch up.  Master Sha's next TAO retreat will be held in Sedona, AZ this November 11 through the 24th. You can find more information on his website: www.drsha.com

I hope you enjoyed my short teaching on the TAO!  Stay tuned for more....

Namaste,
Lydia