My heart is beating fast with anticipation, frustration and excitement because I’m so inspired I want to climb out of my skin. My next book is swirling in my mind like a mad tornado, ripping up everything in its path: ideas are bouncing around in my head, in the pages of my notebook, scribbled on scraps of paper that get scattered all over the house, and saved in dozens of computer files. In other words, the story is still working itself out but not fast enough to catch up with my emotions. That’s often what happens to me. I don’t write the story, or the poetry that comes out of my hands—they write themselves. But it’s coming. I still need to do some research though, and that takes time.

As a means of better understanding the revelations I’ve been shown about the power of the body, mind, and spirit, and in order to more effectively relate what I’ve learned through my books, in a few weeks, I’m attending the 6-day Gateway Voyage program at The Monroe Institute (TMI) in Virginia. TMI is dedicated to educating people from all walks of life and from over the world about peak human performance under the premise that human beings are much more than their physical bodies and they use sound to induce altered states of consciousness. That’s exactly how my out-of-body experience (OBE) happened to me—sound waves (in my case through live music) lifted me out of my body and showed me my definition of self, God, truth, and the meaning of my life, so TMI seemed like the next logical step.

In retrospect, it’s no surprise that TMI came to me in the serendipitous manner in which it did. When I first had my OBE during Sammy Hagar’s concert in Mexico in 2003, I had no idea what had happened to me. I thought it was my imagination. Or the heat. Or the tequila. But things changed instantly in my life as a result, and I knew that heat or tequila or my imagination were not enough to maintain the ongoing and exceedingly incredible things that I soon found taking place in my life.

I kept a journal, because the things that were happening to me were so hard for me to believe and so wonderful. These things didn’t happen to ordinary people like me! But they were. Fearing for my sanity while at the same time, feeling in complete awe at all the events taking place, I sought concrete explanations. After my Internet search of the words “altered states of consciousness” brought up a book titled Muddy Tracks by Frank DeMarco, I checked the book out of my local library and eventually bought it.

As I read the first few chapters of Frank’s book, I became disgusted with myself for harboring the ridiculous notion that I could ever write a book about what was happening to me. “There’s no reason for me to try to write a book about all this,” I told myself. “Frank already wrote it!” DeMarco was saying the exact same things that I was going to say–and although I initially felt discouraged as far as the writing of my own book, it was such a relief to discover that I wasn’t losing my mind because obviously, these things happened to other people too. But Frank’s story also differed from mine in a lot of ways, one of which was his mentioning of a place in Virginia called The Monroe Institute and how it helped him travel out of his body to places all over the world and to other dimensions.

The more I read Muddy Tracks, the more I got the feeling that I was supposed to contact Mr. DeMarco, but I kept pushing the thought away, telling myself that it was ridiculous. What would I say to him? And the moment I had these thoughts, I read in Muddy Tracks, how Frank was considering writing to the author of a book he was reading. The title was something about a praying mantis, I think. One day as he was pondering all this, he noticed a praying mantis clinging to the outside of his screen door, and he took it as a sign that he should indeed contact that author. But like me, he told himself he was being ridiculous and he didn’t know what to say to her, so he talked himself out of it. A year later, he finally decided to reach out to that author but when he did, he discovered that she had recently passed away. He would never know the impact that author would have had on his life.

When I read this in Frank’s book, I nearly fell out of my chair. It was as if he had read my mind and was telling me not to make the same mistake he did. So with trepidation, I emailed him, telling myself, “He’s a famous writer. He’ll never answer me.”

Days later, I received an email from him.

We exchanged emails for a little while and he was very encouraging and kind. At the time I was still unsure of where my experiences were leading me and I was afraid, so I was rather vague about whom the famous celebrity was that was involved in my story and other details.

Years passed. I wrote my book, got an official endorsement from Sammy, then proceeded to try and find an agent. After countless rejection letters, I decided to self-publish. I knew I had a good book. I knew it was well-written. But something told me to contact Mr. DeMarco again. Maybe he’d be interested in hearing what became of my experiences. Maybe he’d even write me a blurb of endorsement! I almost talked myself out of it again because I didn’t want to bother him, but something within me insisted, so I emailed him once more.

Not only did he write a blurb for my book, but he gave me the name of his publisher and told me he would recommend me to him because he thought his publisher might be interested in my story since he specialized in New Age books.

I contacted Frank’s publisher and he asked for my book proposal, which I sent. Then I held my breath. I’d been through this process before, but something about this time felt different. Within a week, the publisher told me that he loved my book and wanted to publish it.

I later learned that my publisher too, had participated in several workshops at The Monroe Institute, and when the opportunity recently presented itself for me to go, I jumped on it without giving it much thought. Part of me scolded, “It’s too expensive! Think of all the other things you could do with that money!” But, as is now typical of the serendipity and synchronicity that has poured into my life since my OBE in 2003 at Sammy’s concert, it all just fell into my lap and I felt nudged by an unseen force, so I’m doing it! I’ve learned over the years that when something happens so effortlessly like that, whether I understand its significance at the time or not, it’s always in my  best interest to see it through.

I will keep a journal while I’m there to record my experiences. From what I hear, I’m sure they will be vast. And although I’m going there with no expectations other than to gain a better understanding of the power of my mind and spirit, since I’ve already had an OBE, I’m curious to find out what will happen during my Gateway Voyage.

Stay tuned.

(For more information on The Monroe Institute, please click here: The Monroe Institute)