"Dreams Really Do Come True" - The story of our move

The last several years have been a wild ride for us! We had been getting that intuitive nudge that some big, sweeping change was on its way to us at Strung from the Moon and it was going to be swift and we were ready!

Over the winter season of 2015, we made the decision to take a break from our business and service as we felt the need to realign and reset. So we took the time to refresh and come back to center as we began to re-examine and re-set our vision for our personal lives and for Strung from the Moon. Our intention was to have a schedule up for new classes, workshops, ceremonies, and sessions by the time spring 2016 hit, but something was whispering to us to “wait”. Our intuition was telling us that a major event or shifting was in the air, even as we couldn’t put our fingers on it. We listened and kept our calendar clean though not without some stress and frustration as we struggled with wanting to move forward and listening to our intuition. We even withdrew from planning a long awaited trip to Peru as it felt so strongly that something would come up to make the trip impossible. So with radical trust that something even better was making its way to us, we shifted our focus to ourselves, spent a lot of time in ceremony, and dug deep-in to make sure we were fully ready to accept whatever it was that was coming. But now we know and we are moving to the beautiful Nevada City/Grass Valley area of California!

Here’s the fun part: we have been wanting a big move, and therefore we have been manifesting and doing the work around it for a couple years now. As much as we have loved, and still love, Colorado, it has been time for a shift in energy and a change in scenery to better fit our ultimate dreams. And the best part of this is how it all came about.

Over Christmas time, I was wrapping some gifts and looking for some cheesy holiday movie to get me in the mood. I went to Netflix and the first title I found was “The Christmas Card,” and I figured I would give it a shot. The story took place in a town that I had never seen before- Nevada City, California. It was so charming and adorable, I thought “this town is PERFECT! I could totally see us there!” And I immediately showed my mom and we ended up watching it together. She, of course, knew this little mining town in the foothills of the Sierras as she had previously lived in a nearby area, and she loved it as well. In fact, many moons ago she had told my dad that she could live there while they walked around downtown with their new baby boy in tow. Many years later, my mom and dad found themselves in Nevada City again and my mom said again that this town was perfect and she could see herself happy there. That night, after finishing the movie, we spent a few hours researching the area, looking at real estate listings, reading about the climate and the weather patterns, comparing its proximity to the coast and mountains, etc. We both agreed that this place would be so perfect for what we wanted. After “geeking out” (what we have been calling our hyper-enthusiasm lately), over the adorableness we let it go and continued on with life here in the Vail Valley.

New Year’s rolled in and it was time to start setting intentions and manifesting for 2016. We wanted to be very clear and detailed about what we wanted and where we would like to be emotionally, spiritually, and business-wise this time the next year. We made lists and did several fire ceremonies to start building up our desires in a clear, crisp, detailed way. We edited these ideas until there was no way to mistake what we wanted most. In March, we did a despacho ceremony to bring all of our dreams to manifest. We wrote down our images for our perfect situation, business goals, life goals, and so on, honoring all of the transitions, challenges, and resistance we have had leading up to this. We knew it was time to release them with love and gratitude. This personal despacho was one of the most powerful I have experienced yet. Building off of that, we also found a new, fun way of going about manifesting through Sarah Prout and her Ancient Manifesting Ritual (it is worth looking up if you haven’t already!) and we used EFT and shamanic work on ourselves to really dive in deep and clear out all that no longer serves us and all that holds us back. Powerful foundation work has been done!

Now, flash forward a couple weeks later and my father, the Publisher of the Vail Daily, was offered the publisher position at The Union in Grass Valley (Nevada City’s next door neighbor), he considered it and had to let his boss know by the end of that week if he would be interested in going. Interestingly, this news happened literally a day after I had a moment of thinking “perhaps we are not meant leave this town/valley and we just need to accept that.” Just a few days later, my mom and I took a road trip out to Nevada City and Grass Valley to get a feel for it all- was this the right move for us?

We were told instantly that this move was to be kept secret until the decision was officially made and when the boss was ready to announce the departure of the current publisher of the Vail Daily. Keeping this covert was unbelievably difficult and caused for all of us to feel a lot of pressure. To add to that, the road trip portion on the way out was not such a good experience. We were already exhausted from the stress that had built up from this weighted, clandestine decision. We chose to leave after brunch on Easter Sunday. The first restaurant we went to had balloons (my mom is horribly allergic to latex) so that didn't work, so we went to another place but the line was way too long. So then we drove to the next town east of us and we worried that we would run into acquaintances. Taking a deep breath, we finally risked it and sat down. We hit the road by 2:00pm rather than our original plan of about 11am.

We took Highway 80 out and of course, we met trouble. That night we made it to Wendover, Utah and stopped for some shut-eye. The next morning, it was pouring rain and we ended up with a blown tire on our way to get gas literally across the street from the hotel! So, we waited for the tow truck and hoped that this would be a quick fix to get a new tire. Mind you this car was pretty new, so we figured it would be a fairly quick and easy fix. Once again, we hit a major delay. Our tire was too unique of a size and no one was able to replace it. We ended up having to drive 170 miles on a spare to the only place that sold our size. FIVE hours later, we were back on the road. It was an incredible relief to pass by the "Entering California" sign but we were feeling tired and honestly, a bit dejected and uncertain about the whole thing. That night we were running way behind so we had to decide whether to stay in Grass Valley (meaning driving an extra hour) or we could stay with my brother and sister in law in Truckee, CA which would allow us to get our first impression of the area in daylight. We decided to stay in Truckee.

Prior to driving over the hill to Nevada City/Grass Valley, we asked for signs from the Universe to give us a clear “yes” or “no.” The major delays and added stress shook us up and we were feeling drained from all of it. We got into town by late morning- just in time for brunch, and we had been looking up restaurants in advance to give us some direction. We ended up parked right in front of a little diner, so my mom suggested we just eat right there. After stepping out of the car, a bright, shiny, heads-up penny greeted my mom. Thanking the universe, we popped into this cute little diner with a red door and my mom grabbed my arm and excitedly whispered in my ear “this is the diner from the movie!” Sure enough, we had stepped into the same diner where the two main characters met in the “Christmas Card.” After a giggling over it, we decided to not geek-out over this and remain calm. Just moments after that agreement, two women popped in and told the waitress that they had traveled from LA to Nevada City JUST for this diner scene- they were huge fans of the Christmas Card. So we let them geek-out for us. Talk about synchronicity!

We figured this was a sign to say yes! We began to drive around to explore the town and we decided that even with that sign, we still had to be sure, especially after the predicaments on the road the day before. And just as we determined that, we drove by a truck that said “Dreams Really Do Come True.” With an eagle on it. Yep. This was right. And so it is! After we left town, we surprised some of our old friends who just so happened to be meeting up that Friday evening in Tahoe and we broke the news. Suddenly this was becoming real. I am also very happy to say that the long haul back was far more pleasant- we took Highway 50 for a more scenic, peaceful experience.

In a way, this feels like going home for all of us. One of the greatest parts of this is that my brother and sister-in-law with their newborn son live just an hour away. And we are surrounded by many old friends in this area. For my mom and dad, California was the beginning of life as they knew it together. It is where they attended college, met, started their careers, had their son- their strongest connections are there. Plus, most of our entire extended family lives in Southern California. The Sierras have drawn my mom in since she first saw them. Though I am not as connected to the area, I have always felt a sense of homecoming every time we went back to visit California, so I guess there is a reason!

This story is a great reminder to keep up the good work while manifesting your dreams! Hold yourself in highest place you can- seeing yourself as having all of it already, get in there and really feel what you want to manifest while letting go of the “how.” Just let it be. Cover all of your bases when you are manifesting then leave it to the Universe to create the path. Be open to anything, take the opportunities presented, and POOF, let it go and allow. Be grateful every day for everything you have and everything you are manifesting as if it is already there. Because it is! And remember that you MUST get in and do the dirty work, clearing out those old patterns that bind you and all that holds you back from your dreams, in order to get moving toward your ultimate lifestyle. Think of this work as your foundation for building a house. Building a solid foundation for your dreams is the key ingredient to achieving them.

Do the work, do ceremony, and have fun with it in the process! Asking for signs to guide you is also simple: just ask and then become aware and open to them. And of course, listen to your intuition! Remember that you are far more powerful than you likely give yourself credit for. Believe it can happen and it will!