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The Art of Allowing: Let the Path Unfold Beneath Your Feet

Posted on September 14, 2021October 31, 2022 by Maddie Billings

Not too long ago I hosted my first-ever series of online events, a spotlight series on the Moon sign. The idea for this series was born in a moment of panic, when I was hosting an event and was asked a question that caught me off guard, that I didn’t have an answer for. In that moment, instead of indulging the panic, I relaxed into it. I calmly listened to the question, and from that calmness was able to channel an answer. The answer that came through resonated with the group and brought out the idea in another participant that I should host a whole event just on Moon signs.

I was so excited to launch this series but found it hard not to panic when the registration deadline rolled around for event number one and only four people had signed up, leaving six seats unfilled. In the true Abraham-Hicks spirit of “everything is always working out for me,” I chose to trust that those four individuals were the perfect ones to be at this very first event in my brand new spotlight series – and I did my best to relax into that same feeling of panic.

I was so excited to launch this series but found it hard not to panic when the registration deadline rolled around for event number one and only four people had signed up, leaving six seats unfilled.

The time came and the event got started, but between technical difficulties, time zone mix ups and other little mishaps, only two of the registered participants were actually in attendance. This tiny group is not what I had originally planned. But guess what? It was absolutely fucking magical. The three of us, myself and the two women who made it to the event, all had a wonderful conversation where they both opened up and shared a lot. We spent minimal time on the slideshow part, maybe about twenty minutes, so each of them got a good forty-five to fifty minute reading – ample time to chat and share and discuss. I had great discussion with each of them but they also really resonated with each other, which was super cool to see. Even as strangers on laptop and phone screens, this small group felt connected by the energy flowing between us.

After this experience I actually changed the framework for my next spotlight series on North and South Nodes to look more like this first event of the Moon sign series. This time I scheduled three options with three seats each to hopefully help create the same environment of energetic flow and connection that was so amazing about that first event. This time around, all nine seats sold. I even ended up adding a bonus session with another three seats, and that one sold out too. The next month I expanded a bit more and offered five sessions with three seats each and just kept on selling out. I was on a roll and was already dreaming up my next spotlight series, which I decided would be on the Midheaven.

This time around, all nine seats sold. I even ended up adding a bonus session with another three seats, and that one sold out too.

I started to notice through the other events I was hosting that I was attracting a lot of Gemini and Pisces Midheavens. This was interesting because I personally have a Gemini Sun and stellium, AND a Pisces North Node and Mars. When I would interact with these people, they would feel like kindred spirits. While I feel a connection with all of the zodiac energies (we all contain every single one!), those two specifically show up in my life all the time. Because of this, I decided to host an event specifically for Gemini Midheavens – which then led to the idea of hosting individual sessions for Midheavens in each of the signs.

It quickly occurred to me that this would be a pretty huge undertaking and I wasn’t really sure how to move forward with it, so I just left the idea alone. It didn’t seem feasible. But a couple days later I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with the idea to host sessions for the whole Midheaven axis instead of each individual sign. The axis consists of the Midheaven at the top and what’s called the Nadir at the bottom, which is a slightly lesser known birth chart aspect that points to something just as fascinating as the Midheaven. By using this axis to pair up the signs I’d be able to cut the number of events in half, and suddenly the whole thing became possible again.

I then spent about five hours straight creating one piece after the next, writing copy and designing graphics, scheduling events, and even listing the events on MeetUp – and it all happened in one wave of inspired creative energy. The whole ordeal started simply with an idea and an excel sheet (which as a Capricorn Midheaven is where pretty much everything starts!)

This all just unfolded, and it feels like a perfect example of how the art of allowing works. Abraham-Hicks, who teaches the law of attraction, is who I learned this from, but there are lots of teachers out there who teach the law of attraction. Hicks has renamed her work a few times through the years, starting out with “the science of deliberate creation” – “science” because it’s always changing, “deliberate” because we get to choose, and “creation” because we each are the magnet that our reality forms around. It’s most commonly known by its next iteration, “the law of attraction,” but is actually currently named “the art of allowing.” “Allowing” is the idea that what you want, you’ve already created. That in so-called “negative” experiences, or contrasting events, you create what you want because in that moment of contrast you know what you don’t want, and it automatically creates what you do want. All of those things that you’ve created along the journey of this lifetime, and all of the things that mass consciousness has created as a whole – it all exists in this vibrational reality that Abraham-Hicks calls “the vortex.”

All of those things that you’ve created along the journey of this lifetime, and all of the things that mass consciousness has created as a whole – it all exists in this vibrational reality that Abraham-Hicks calls “the vortex.”

The art of allowing is where you deliberately attune your frequency to the frequency of what’s in your vortex. As soon as your frequency matches, then all that creative energy in there is able to become manifest, to flow through you and out into the physical world. It materializes around you. My creative solution of using the Midheaven axis, which resulted from the contrasting Midheaven event conundrum, sent me into the vortex. And then from there the whole thing just became.

I’ve learned to stay open to the next inspired idea, to allow things to unfold piece by piece. I make space for this in my life by planning ahead only about a month at a time. I set my sights, plan things out, and create structure for the next few weeks ahead of me. And then, as I get into it, and I live and I learn and I talk to people, and I soak up what’s around me and I point myself on purpose, and I deliberately try to feel better than my average and to raise my frequency – often – I get access to better and better and better ideas.

The effortless unfolding of the vortex is easy, it’s the path of most fun. And it’s what led to some of my favorite and most successful events through my spiritual business thus far. Have you ever experienced the vortex? I would love to hear about your experience in the comments section below!

Thank you for reading, dear friends! Find more articles like this one on the Owning Authenticity blog and hear more stories on my i Learned podcast. Explore the rest of my offerings on my website www.owningauthenticity.com

Content from Episode 9 of “i learned…” podcast by Carly Whorton, adapted by Maddie Billings

Give In To Your Energy Flow: What My Angels Taught Me About Honoring My Authentic Self

Posted on September 8, 2021October 31, 2022 by Maddie Billings

I had plans the other night – and I cancelled them. Last minute. I’d scheduled an event for the evening even though I know I’m a morning person. I don’t do evening-time things. I’ve recorded basically every episode of my podcast in the morning, and all of my best events are done during the day. By the time evening rolls around, my gas tank is empty. I’m tired, I’m done, and I’m ready to just be quiet inside my mind, zone out, and go to sleep. That’s where I was this particular evening, and it was the easiest it had ever been to cancel something. I was sitting there thinking, “Man, I’m wore out. I really don’t feel like doing this event.” And the answer was immediate, saying, “So don’t.” It was that easy. So I went in there and I cancelled it, and wrote a nice comment about how it just wasn’t meant to be that day, and I’ll see ya next time. It felt really really good to immediately let myself off the hook.

The very first time I allowed myself this gift of giving into my energy flow by cancelling a plan was the first time I ever heard my “angels.”

The very first time I allowed myself this gift of giving into my energy flow by cancelling a plan was the first time I ever heard my “angels.” I use quotations because there’s a lot out there around spirit guides, angels, ancestors, inner being, intuition, etc. – and what’s what? I think it’s up to you. Whatever story makes you feel the best – just go with that. For me, I had just had an angel reading, my first ever, and the reader had connected me with my angels and talked to me on their behalf for a bit. Shortly after that I was in one of those moments, I was working six days a week at the time, and I was sitting on the edge of my bathtub, attempting to will myself into the shower before another day of work, and I just felt empty. I had nothing inside of me, no energy. In that moment, I thought to myself, “Fucking suck it up, you gotta go to work. That’s what you do, you just have to.”

In that moment, sitting on the side of my tub, I completely gave in to my emptiness. This is where I was. I surrendered. And then I heard my angels. They told me, “You don’t have to go to work today. You don’t have to. And you don’t have to go tomorrow either if you don’t want to.” They encouraged me to text the people I needed to text to let them know I wouldn’t be coming. Yes, it was going to create more work for them, an unexpected absence. That’s always a nightmare (especially in the grocery business where there’s always a million things going on at once!) I would be asking for them to cover for me. I wrote the text message out several times before landing on a version I was even somewhat comfortable with, to say I wouldn’t be there. That I was out of energy, gas tank on empty – in a state of pure zombie-like lethargy.

I had to give into it, to honor it, by giving myself those two days off. The angels gave me permission, and then I took that step for myself. Nowadays my angels will generally pop up to say, “Carly, you don’t have to do this. What you’re putting on yourself, this responsibility that you feel obligated to or that you think you have to do – you don’t. You don’t have to do anything.” It’s all a choice, and yes, free will is a thing. My angels like to pop in to remind me of that, to sort of nudge me when I’m holding myself hostage or pushing myself to do something I truly don’t want to do. How beautiful!

As any deliberate creator knows, bringing those low vibrational thoughts or a low frequency into your work days is not good for anybody and is definitely not helpful for the business. It really is better to stay home and rest at times like these. Get some gas in the tank and be back in a couple days. That whole process of giving into myself energetically is something I’ve learned over several years, but I used to function in a cycle where I ran on hard work and obligation alone, and I’d do that until I crashed. The first time it happened was when I was only fifteen years old. At the time I was so burdened by all of the stress I had put on myself and obligations I had signed up for, and even though my Gemini-heavy energy can handle a lot, it was too much. My plate was overstacked. Any small thing to set me off balance, like a rough night of sleep or going into a busy day feeling exhausted, was enough to send it all crashing to the floor. Like, immediately. This is something that I’ve had to learn about myself.

Any small thing to set me off balance, like a rough night of sleep or going into a busy day feeling exhausted, was enough to send it all crashing to the floor. Like, immediately.

There’s a huge part of me that wants my plate to be gigantic and overflowing, but where I’m at right now is where my angels have led me, where they have repeatedly shown up to guide me – to a gentle place of slowing down. My internal voice is resistant, she thinks we’re not even going that fast to begin with. I speak back and tell her to go away, but she comes back and reminds me that I really want to do all these things. Still, I get the subtle message of Slow Down. So I do. And that’s why I cancelled that event the other night. I felt an immediate No and it brought my angels back to me instantly. Energetically I was not in a place to give, to facilitate – and I needed to honor that.

This practice of giving into my energy flow has helped me learn to trust myself with my sometimes erratic energy. With my strong sense of responsibility and obligation, it’s hard to avoid the guilt that comes with cancelling at the last minute, but I can’t exactly just stop scheduling things or making plans. Giving into those strong energetic cues like the ones from my angels actually helped me get to a place where I felt that I could manage my emotions so that they weren’t so erratic. At the very least they were predictable. By listening to and honoring the need for rest, I gave those feelings what they needed, and in return they gave me what I needed – a full cup and a renewed capacity to serve, wholeheartedly.

For me, honoring that need meant recognizing that I needed at least two nights per week of twelve-hours of sleep. That I need at least one day off per week, and one week off every four to six weeks. These are the kinds of structures that I have been working to build into my schedule to try to let myself rest as much as I need to, while still doing all the go-go-go I desire in the other times. That’s just who I am and it’s what I want to do. Plus, on top of my Gemini-heavy energy is my Leo moon, which SO wants to be seen and heard, to connect with others, and to radiate positivity and love out into the world, for the benefit of myself and everyone around me.

My cycle used to be one of going hard until I crashed out – over and over and over again. That crash could look like a funk or a depression, or skipping class for two weeks, or crying all the time and yelling at my boyfriend. Erratic, turbulent, thunderstorm-like behavior was to be expected. It’s hard to be a productive, uplifting member of society when that’s where you are. And I hated myself for it because I blamed myself, wondered what the fuck was wrong with me. I eventually learned that there wasn’t anything wrong with me and there never was – I just wasn’t channeling my energy in a positive way. I began to work on it little by little, day by day, and now four and a half years later I’m a changed person. It’s possible. Possible to harness your energy and to understand your unique energetic flow, and to learn how to really hear the subtle message of Source whispering quietly in the background, “Slow down.”

I began to work on it little by little, day by day, and now four and a half years later I’m a changed person.

I can still do all of the things and I’m free to dream as big as I’d like, but if I slow down, the things will be much, much better than I ever could have imagined. I want to make the world a better place, to be a productive member of the human collective – and I just can’t do that without taking the time to ensure I bring my best self forward in all that I do. So take a look at your calendar and ask yourself – which things really fill my cup? Which drain me? And then, as my angels encouraged me to consider – do you really have to do those things? Tune in to your energy flow, your emotions, and listen for any subtle messages that might arise. Let me know what you hear in the comments section below!

Content from Episode 8 of “i learned…” podcast by Carly Whorton, adapted by Maddie Billings

Go For It: Four Steps to Doing the Thing

Posted on July 20, 2021October 31, 2022 by Maddie Billings

To go for it is to let yourself be seen, be vulnerable, be authentic. To let other people witness your authentic self, not knowing what they’re going to think about it. To coexist with the self-talk of the neverending list of ways you could “optimize your starting point” (is how I’ll say it kindly, to myself and to others who may be sitting in that spot right now). It’s a place we’ve all been at some point. The thought that, “I can’t start because it’s not good enough yet,” is a universal experience, and a scary one at that.

Starting my podcast was a major “go for it” moment. After years of wanting a podcast and not feeling ready enough, not having the right equipment, or enough content, I chose to go for it anyway and pressed record on my phone. Often only one thing stands between us and what we want and that is us. Or more specifically, our mindset. “Go for it” is one such mindset that narrows the gap between where we are and where we want to be. I wish I could say I’ve learned how to rid myself of self-doubt. No such luck, so I learned this little trick instead.

For example, I often find myself in the 10-15 minutes before hosting a zoom event with butterflies, heart pounding, tense shoulders, and barely able to breathe. Thoughts race like, “What am I gonna say? Why did I schedule this for 90 minutes? What am I gonna talk about for 90 minutes?! I don’t even know what I’m gonna say.”

Step 1: Look that thought in the face that says, “I’m not good enough yet,” and say, “Too damn bad. I’m doing it anyway.”

In these moments, I have to calm myself down and quiet my mind for a second. I have to be able to say, to my own physiology, that I hear you. I hear these stress hormones that are being released into my blood, feel them drawing my shoulders up to my ears and making my heart pound. I feel you. I hear you, body. I know that you’re scared. A few deep inhales through the nose and out through the mouth are great in any moment, but especially moments like these – when my already fast-moving energy becomes tight, constricting. It meets a resistance which every one of us carry, and when that fast energy meets our resistance, it can get a little uncomfortable.

Step 2: Own the uncomfortable moments.

Going for it is being present with that discomfort, acknowledging your excitement and nervousness, reassuring yourself this isn’t the life-threatening kind of fear, and choosing to move forward. I’ve learned time and time again that those 15 minutes before the thing, the anticipation is the worst part. Once it starts, and you’re in the middle of it, doing your thing – there’s no time to think about these things. When I’m in flow, offering my gifts to others, it’s everything that I want and the rest doesn’t matter. Know that you can hear those racing thoughts of fear and self-doubt, feel the turning stomach and fluttering heart, and witness all of it, knowing that it will end – and then do it anyway. Emotions are nothing if not temporary, fleeting, and fluid.

Step 3: Release old narratives.

Owning the discomfort also means loosening your grip on the narrative you’ve built around your limitations. For example, I used to say, to myself and others, that I had social anxiety and that’s why I didn’t have friends. But I don’t resonate with “having” social anxiety at all anymore. I’ve learned how to meet that energy and maneuver it differently. When I arrive in new social situations (even virtually), it still puts my stomach through the ringer as I anticipate the future (scary) but I’ve learned how to talk myself off the ledge. This didn’t happen overnight, but through a series of experiences that unfolded and allowed me the opportunity to envision that my life could be better. I could stop holding myself back with my own fear. I could choose to go for it, while fear is ever present.

Step 4: Let go and let it unfold.

A pivotal one of these experiences happened when I was 22 years old, and I had moved to Dallas, Texas. I was far away from my family, I didn’t know anyone, and I was starting a job at a software company – and I had no experience in software. I struggled to meet people and became very lonely, but eventually, I mustered up the courage one night to go out to a social event. I approached the event, mind full of that self-doubting chatter, and strode through the front doors, only to beeline straight to the ladies room, where I proceeded to have a proper 20-minute meltdown. The only way I was able to pull myself together was by telling myself that I didn’t have to stay or talk to anyone, and by recognizing the strength and courage to even be willing to try.

With that realization, I exited the ladies room and started rewalking the path to the front doors. About halfway there, something came over me – source, spirit, ancestors, whatever you wanna call it – and inspired me to go for it. I saw a table with an empty seat and asked if I could join. They said yes, asked if I wanted a beer, and I even hung out with one of them a few other times after that. The social anxiety had not subsided – I had a full on panic attack when I got there. And the only reason I had this experience where I actually met other people was by quitting, giving up, and letting go. Inside that ladies room I felt proud of myself for even having the guts to arrive and I was content with myself. And in giving up, in honoring what I wanted to do, I was able to get what I wanted. That’s the beauty of going for it.

Thank you for reading, dear friends! Find more articles like this one on the Owning Authenticity blog and hear more stories on my i Learned podcast. Explore the rest of my offerings on my website www.owningauthenticity.com

Content from Episode 1 of “i learned…” podcast by Carly Whorton, adapted by Maddie Billings