Tuesday, December 20, 2011

42 - The Meaning of Life


In the first novel and radio series, a group of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings demand to learn the Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything from the supercomputer, Deep Thought, specially built for this purpose. It takes Deep Thought 7½ million years to compute and check the answer, which turns out to be 42. The Ultimate Question itself is unknown. ~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrases_from_The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy


Today is my birthday. I'm 42. According to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, 42 is the answer to the question of the meaning of life. In the series, the reader finds out that once the answer was discovered, a supercomputer was then developed to find out what the question is. That supercomputer is called Earth, and humans are part of the program. I think that's a pretty spiritual concept, for all its sci-fi-ness. What's the meaning of life? We're here to discover it. Not alone, but collectively, through our interactions - a complex series of bopping in and out of each other's fields, lives, events and stuff.


Well, I guess this is my year.


It's also the fourth anniversary of the start of this blog. I'm so proud to have kept a record of my journey for this long, and pretty glad to be able to go back and remember what was going through my head at various times over the past four years. My Reiki journey began four years ago, and it continues today. Thank you all for being a part of it through reading, commenting, and sharing my posts.


When my birthday's coming, I tend to assess my life from as objective a viewpoint as I can. I think a lot of people do this around birthday time. It's a pretty weird experience. Objectively speaking, over the last four years, I've centered my career more and more around sharing and teaching Reiki.


So from an outside perspective, I:


  • claim and truly believe that an invisible energy flows through me upon request
  • feel warm, soothing tingles, relief from discomfort, and emotional calm when I direct this energy towards myself
  • claim and truly believe that I can offer this invisible energy to anyone, anywhere in the world
  • demonstrate, discuss, and teach others how to work with this invisible energy
  • volunteer and get paid for offering this energy to others, who report that it helps them
am completely and utterly a passionate weirdo. At least, I would have thought so if the person I was 5 years ago met the person I am today. 

It gives me pause.

But then I consider that I also:
  • have a great husband and four fascinating and adorable kids with lots of quality family time
  • work, shop, clean, do laundry, pick up from school, make dinner
  • run an academy, which I started, and manage the business side of things along with teaching
  • wrote a book and promote it
have a semblance of a grounded, regular life. And then I breathe again, returned to feeling like I'm still a "normal" human in some respects, still the me I've always been, with a few super powers thrown in here and there.

Are there things I'd like to improve? Of course, doesn't everyone have those? On my list this year, I would like:
  • to drop a few or ten pounds
  • to take more time for myself for meditation, exercise (see above), and relaxing
  • to dance more, sing more, play the piano more
  • to attract 1,000+ more students to my school
  • to have all the money my family needs to not worry about having the money we need (see above)
And of course, my blessings, for which I am very grateful:
  • Good health
  • Family nearby (my parents, my grandma, aunt and uncle who we have dinner with weekly)
  • My wonderful supportive husband and our kids who amaze us daily
  • My students who express gratitude, enthusiasm and love for their learning
  • My staff, colleagues and friends who make the Academy possible (Connie, Yancey, Amber especially)
  • My friends who help me keep things in perspective
  • The opportunity to follow this path, which as crazy as it feels sometimes when I try to see it from the outside, is exactly what I feel aligned with doing in every way possible.
And I'm also fascinated with the things I'm continuing to learn, which I'm sure will bring about more and more weird and wonderful moments this year and moving ahead:
  • noticing angels at work in my life
  • sensing and responding to guidance
  • learning new tools and techniques to strengthen my intuition
  • ways to build and grow a business that's successful and thriving
  • making the most of these gifts - the grounded and the superhero stuff - in gratitude and humility
So...I guess that's the 42 report - my 4th anniversary of writing this blog. 

Universe, my door is open. Welcome.

May this year move us all ever closer to finding the elusive question and enjoying the process of discovery.

A side note: in the Hitchhiker's Guide series, the question gets discovered and it turns out to be What is six times nine? Of course mathematically, that is incorrect. The explanation given for that is: "There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

Indeed.



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Alice, may you continue to be richly blessed.

Fred said...

You are indeed blessed by your incredible spirit and gorgeous sense of humor. You are not a weirdo in any sense. You are sublimely gifted and connected to the pulse of the universe. For all of your perceived shortcomings and failings, most of us would love to be like you, and to feel what you are able to feel.

Happy Birthday Alice. I look forward to learning from you. You are, at the end of the day, a remarkable teacher.

Alice Langholt said...

I'm absolutely touched and moved by your comment, Fred, and grateful you took the time to say so many encouraging and heartfelt things.

Thank you more than I can express.
Alice

Piper, thank you for being a regular reader, commenter, and support. I'm always glad to see your comments. Love and light, Alice

Campanula Patula said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Agrigirl said...

Here's to you 42! May the angels continue their presence in your work and your life and may you continue to bring joy to all who come within your path.

Sherry Andrea said...

Interesting...that concept in the book would imply that humans are less than Earth and if we are a part of its program then that would imply we could possibly be "creators."

Maren Degener said...

Very nice blog. Good work! :)

I will come back from time to time to read some of your very interesting articles!

Love and light, Maren

Alan said...

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