Hi Kemi, I can't pretend to have THE answer but I can share my beliefs and experiences. There is a belief that before you were born the divine showed you your entire life and you chose to take this one. Not sure I buy into that one but It is an interesting thought. First, for context I should explain that I have completely transitioned from practicing Catholic to non-dualism -esoteric Kashmir Shaivism to be exact. I believe that the divine is with us all and there are no higher power other than the collective power of us all connected. The divine universe is us. The casual saying in yoga "NAMASTE" which translates to "I bow to you" means to me "the divine in me sees the divine in you". I believe there is destiny and some of the thins I want and work for are just not meant to be. But, where do those dreams and goals come from? Some might come from your ego but some might just be your consciousness guiding you. And you might think "if my consciousness guided me to this goal, then it must surely be realized and I will successfully accomplish it - it is my destiny. Well not so fast, sometimes the learning is in the journey and not in the destination and sometimes I've learned the most from failing. So just maybe the divine set me out on a goal that I was destined to fail at. But I tried, I had the experience, I learned, and I learned how to handle defeat and disappointment and how not to go about that goal again. And just maybe that is exactly what I needed at that time. We have choices. I describe our ability to make choices as our superpower. How we respond is in our control. And yea, there are times when I choose to get angry and curse about something. But I chose that, nothing or no one made me mad or made me curse. Just me. I don't believe there is a single path for me. I believe that each milestone decides the next goal, the next learning the next milestone. So if we were to picture this divine destin, it would NOT be a straight line - it would look more like a giant tree with many branches, which all have many shoots and smaller branches and then new buds are added.

My shift was more gradual. If I pick a pivotal moment it was when I realized I could not do the physical activities I wanted unless I got my body in better shape. I lost 75 lbs. and began walking daily. No music, no headphones just me walking usually in the woods. With lots space for thinking as the realization came to me that there was more, and I was more. I started yoga classes for the physical exercise, started meditation to try to understand what was the more for me. That few on-line courses (Srikumar Rao and Michael Beckwith) and I connected with a spirituality coach. I met Ariella several years ago when she did a past life regression with me. And things took off from there. Then reconnected with Ariella and she and medicine helped my journey. I trained for 2 years on a process that truly eliminates beliefs that don’t serve you. I became a yoga teacher in India, retired from the corporate world, deep into meditation and pranayama (breathing techniques that help you move energy) and the journey continues.

Twice now I’ve given up volunteer positions which was hard for me. The first time I felt forced out and resigning felt like quitting but it was better for me and the youth I committed to serve for me to let it go. A door opened for me to help even more youth and that was a great experience. When some policies changed which I felt didn’t serve the mission as we should. After some appeals and suggestions on deaf ears, I left that role. And that left me time and mindshare which was consumed by my journey. If I stayed there I would not have been happy, not traveled to India to study and certainly not be where I am today.🕉️🙏

Thank You Ariella, I am grateful to be here.🕉️🙏