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Grace, Attitude and Miracles

April 10, 2007

Caroline Myss 2006 in Ireland at the site of W. B. Yeats grave

The first order of business is to share my gratitude with all of you for your overwhelming support in helping me launch my new book, ENTERING THE CASTLE. I returned from my month-long book tour a week ago and it was a great success. ENTERING THE CASTLE made the New York Times best sellers list, hitting at #7 on the Advice/Self-help list, which was wonderful. For a book inspired by a Catholic saint that encourages individuals to consider embracing the mystical path while living a mainstream life (which, let’s face it, is a fairly radical message), hitting the New York Times is an incredible accomplishment.

But it’s the journey along the way that I would like to reflect upon with you in this newsletter. ENTERING THE CASTLE is touching a spiritual nerve. I anticipated that there would be some type of reaction to this book, but I did not foresee the depth to which people are responding to their own journeys into their soul. Before I go into that, however, I want to share a story of personal significance that perhaps some of you may have also seen as it was broadcast on CNN over the weekend of March 10-11th. As you know, news stations use filler stories during the weekends and often these are nice feature pieces. In this particular case, the story had to do with a healing that a man experienced. The man told his story to the reporter, saying that he was going blind and facing high-risk eye operation that did not really offer him much chance of any eyesight recovery. He had to prepare for life without sight.

The day before his surgery, he heard church bells ringing and he decided to go into that church and pray. He prayed before the picture of the nun, Mother Theodore Guerin. She had founded the community of nuns in 1841, whose Motherhouse was located on the grounds by the Church. This nun was already credited with one healing and had gone through the stage of beatification by Rome, the first step toward sainthood. He told the reporter, “I asked Mother Guerin for her help, saying that if she had any influence up there, I’d appreciate her using it on my behalf.” The next morning, this gentleman’s eyesight was markedly improved. He went to his physician, who confirmed that a healing had, in fact, occurred. His eyesight had recovered. Eventually, this man and his physician went to the Vatican to be interviewed by the Committee that investigates miracles and this healing was declared to be an official miracle by Rome. Last October 15th, Mother Theodore Guerin was elevated to sainthood, becoming the fifth American saint.

That miracle occurred at Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College, my Alma Mater. And Mother Guerin, now Saint Mother Guerin, just happened to be given the same feast day as Saint Teresa of Avila, October 15th. Obviously that’s not a big deal to any one reading this story but me….but as I listened to the story in my hotel room while I was preparing to give a talk on ENTERING THE CASTLE, my eyes just filled with tears. The reporter then interviewed Sister Kevin, S.P., a member of the Sisters of Providence, which is the community of nuns founded by Saint Mother Guerin, asking, “What exactly is a miracle?”

Sister Kevin responded, “A miracle is when God intervenes in the laws on nature on your behalf.” What a perfectly perfect response. Simply as that – God intervenes in the laws of nature on your behalf. I LOVED that response and I loved the way Sister Kevin looked at the reporter and gave that definition…with such humble “this is exactly what a miracle is” fact in her voice. I wanted to hop on a plane and get back to my college campus and into that church just for a moment and be in the presence of that place where God had intervened in the laws of nature on behalf of one human being. How extraordinary is that?

But I had to go and lecture on another saint and her place in our world – my beloved Saint Teresa. So I left my hotel room, but I was absolutely in another zone, as they say. I kept saying to myself, “Calm down, you can’t go in front of people chattering on and on about saints and miracles and healing. No one will believe you.” And then I thought, “How ironic is that? No one will believe me if I talk about saints and healings and miracles and grace.”

Is that ironic or what? Here I was, about to lecture on the profound power of prayer, grace, and the extraordinary journey of illumination into one’s own soul and I was telling myself to calm down because I had just viewed a story on CNN about a miracle that took place on my own college campus. The irony was all the more rich in spiritual intrigue, at least for me, in that throughout my travels on my book tour with ENTERING THE CASTLE, I discovered early on my tour that while every one wanted to know what this place called the “castle” was and what they had to do to get into their personal castles, first they wanted to know about my experience with Teresa of Avila and how this book came to be written. I did not want to share my personal story with Teresa of Avila for several reasons, not the least of which is that I am a ferociously private individual. Secondly, I was all too aware that encounters with saints, even very delicate encounters such as the one I experienced with Teresa, do not easily fit into our very rational, conventional western way of thinking. We are so proof-driven and there is no proof for such an experience. One cannot produce a fingerprint or a signature of a great saint from five hundred years ago to prove that she was the being who inspired your book. And finally, there is the matter of authorship, which is to say that by sharing that I had an intimate relationship with a saint during the writing of ENTERING THE CASTLE, am I suggesting that this book is destined for success or greatness? That would be beyond foolish. So there is absolutely no benefit in revealing one’s personal spiritual life to the public, and yet my experience with St. Teresa did make it into my book and much to my surprise – and it has surprised me – it is precisely that experience that has drawn people to want to pursue their own journey into the Castle.

I found my experience of sharing my journey with St. Teresa delightful even though each time I pictured myself in that hotel room telling myself, “Calm down now, you can’t go overboard with enthusiasm here. Your audience is going to think you are trying to convert them to Catholicism.” I would always begin each book tour lecture with the story of how my previous book, INVISIBLE ACTS OF POWER, planted the seeds for my own mystical awakening. But then, when I would say, “And now I’ll tell you about Teresa and me,” a silence so penetrating would grip the audience that I would sometimes think that they were waiting for Teresa herself to descend.

I was very nervous sharing my story initially. I was even prepared for a few people to ask me if I was delusional or if I had always heard voices. But that never happened. My story of encountering St. Teresa of Avila was only met with respect, perhaps because it is a gentle story really. I never experienced an apparition or any high drama. I was given the mystical experiences of intellectual revelations and I knew the source to be St. Teresa. These weren’t constant; they were sufficient. I had to do my own work and I had my own research to gather and outline and write. And I had to study her work endlessly. And then, when the book was done, I heard her say, “Farewell, daughter,” and she was gone.

In the many evenings that I shared this story with my audiences, I saw in the faces of hundreds of people what I knew to be true in my own heart and soul – and that is that we all yearn for an intimacy with the Divine. That is why, I believe, everyone wanted to hear my story about St. Teresa. I closed each lecture with a guided prayer journey into the Castle, which included a healing session, as I have learned and am continuing to learn about the mystical nature of healing and the role grace serves in the healing process. People continue to write me about their healings as a result of this work, which I credit to the profound power of prayer and grace within the “Castle walls”. I do a healing session now at the end of each of my weekly radio shows on Hayhouseradio.com. My show is on Tuesdays at 3:00 pm CST. And I also have a CMED prayer network, which I am continuing to build up.

By the time I returned home, I was exhausted. Book tours can take it out of you…believe me. But there is a part of me that has become attached to a different part of humanity. I can’t language it yet, I can only feel that something new is in my soul. I can feel it brewing, reshaping me. I’ve had an implant. I feel pregnant with new sight again. I do know that much of it is the result of what I experienced with Teresa and then with bringing this work into the world. I saw that people want miracles to be real and they want to know that heaven is as close as a prayer away. They want to know – not believe, but know – that God can and will intervene in the laws of nature for them, that God will bend and break the laws of nature for them, if need be. If there were a way to make that real for you through words, I would write them. ENTERING THE CASTLE is as close as I can come to that.

So, thank you again for all your support. It was so appreciated. FYI: My Salons this year are all written around the works of great mystics and applying their wisdom to your life in practical ways. April’s mystic is Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a most prolific mystic (and French Jesuit), who wrote a sweet little piece on “Love and Happiness”. April’s Salon is a reflection of his work and its application in our lives.

Love,
Caroline

Friday, May 4

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

7:00pm
Opening Keynote Address by Caroline Myss
"Entering the Castle"

Caroline Myss is a pioneer in the field of energy anatomy. She is the founder of the Institute for the Science of Medical Intuition and author of six books, including the groundbreaking best-seller Anatomy of the Spirit. Caroline gives workshops and lectures internationally and consults with physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other health practitioners as a medical intuitive.More information about Caroline Myss may be found at myss.com

Net proceeds benefit YouthAIDS. $10 donation required for conference attendees; $25 donation required for general public.

www.yogajournal.com/yjevents/gg07/special_events.cfm

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
May 18-20, 2007 (2 nights, Fri – Sun)

The important thing is not to think much but to love much; and so do that which best stirs you to love.
—Teresa of Avila

Many people are now experiencing a yearning to journey into the mystical depths of their soul, entering into an experiential relationship with God—which is very different than what we think we know about God.

Join contemporary spiritual guide Caroline Myss for a weekend dedicated to this deep inner exploration of the soul. Inspired by St. Teresa of Avila’s brilliant sixteenth-century book The Interior Castle, Caroline will lead you into the many rooms of your Inner Castle, which is the deep and eternal state of consciousness within your soul.

Together we will explore the journey of illumination: how to build a soul with stamina, how to channel grace for healing (without ego or attachment), and what it means to be of service to this world as a person who has the soul of a mystic. Based on Caroline’s new book, Entering the Castle, this workshop leads people into the territory of the soul, dismantling mental concepts of God and moving into the realms of mystical experiences.

“Kripalu offers a perfect setting for workshops and retreats. It's a very nurturing environment that encourages interior work along with great social activity."
- Caroline Myss

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is the largest and most-established retreat center for yoga and holistic living in North America, offering a wide variety of workshops, trainings, and retreats.

While you are at Kripalu, you’ll enjoy...

• delicious natural-foods cuisine
• daily yoga classes
• expert massage and healing arts
• relaxing whirlpool and sauna
• connections with like-minded people
• extraordinary views and the natural beauty of the Berkshires

Located in western Massachusetts, Kripalu is just 2½ hours from Boston and 3 hours from New York City.

Entering the Castle
May 18-20, 2007
www.kripalu.org

Questions? Call Kripalu Registration at 800-741-7353.

Kripalu Center is a nonprofit educational organization with a mission of producing thriving and health in individuals and society.

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