Wake Up To Yourself

As a struggling young actress, before the days of branding, I found a teacher who gave me a peek past how I saw myself and how I was being seen. His name was Sam Christiansen, a modern-day marketing mystic for artists and creatives. Christiansen believed that our essence isn't something we acquire but rather our inherent identity, intrinsically linked to our purpose. He offered a program of communal assessment through questions and answers and recorded interviews, promising that if you knew who you were and what you brought to the party, you could be more helpful and work smarter. At the end of the program, we were granted a visitation with Christiansen. We gushing groupies gathered in his office. After reviewing all our interview footage, Christiansen went around the room and decreed each person's essential purpose based on their overall essence. When it was my turn, he declared, 'You are here to wake people up from nightmares.'My heart sank. I wanted something different. Nightmares? The whole idea frightened me. No pun intended. Love, Maur Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.I am not sure if Sam was psychic, but a short decade later, I had surrendered playing parts and began living my purpose of waking people up from nightmares—quite literally. It slipped in slowly despite my reluctance. For the past ten years, I’ve woken up with groups of individuals seeking freedom from their fears. The spiritual wake-up call began as a very simple offering. After a series of talks that I gave at a Chicago Spiritual community, I invited the members to join me on a morning call for 21 days, during which time I would walk them through the first 21 lessons of A Course in Miracles. It was a bit of a whim, a fun little sample, nothing more. Over a hundred people signed up, and off we went on our 21-day adventure.Once we hit day twenty, the group asked to continue for the whole series of lessons, 365 days. This sounded crazy to me. Who the hell gets up every day to practice spiritual principles together? What did they take me for a zealot? When I sat in stillness and asked if I should agree to take people on a daily morning pilgrimage for 365 days, I received a clear five-word answer. Do you have better plans? I did not. That 21-day experiment has rolled past ten years of waking up every day together, moving through the lessons of A Course in Miracles. Every day, Christmas, New Year, birthdays, and death days, through devastations and celebrations, it’s a daily and delightful practice of meditation, contemplation, and application that moves people from living in lack and limitation to living in love. Love. Over the years, we’ve added more calls and facilitators to handle the additional calls, we’ve gone international, and the membership has grown—all from 21 days. For the past decade, hundreds of members have found their way to our program, and 70% of our members return year after year. For my part, I am still just waking people up from nightmares one day at a time. “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you. ~The Gospel of ThomasI have come to find that nightmares are simple blocks to love, comprised of two things: grievances that distract us from living in our genius and fears that prevent us from living in our brilliance. But there is a systematic way to move past these illusory step-sisters and return to your true essence of love. I have found that way to be A Course in Miracles. Studying 'A Course in Miracles' has offered me a beautiful view of life. But it is not an easy book; you don't read it. It's less of a book and more of a baptism. You more or less eat the book one noble nibble at a time. Slowly acquiring a taste for Truth. But know that once the book comes to you, it is yours. It will travel with you like a patient dog waiting for you to remember yourself.So, as we move into 2025, I invite you to take a sincere journey into love and begin to awaken a softer, stronger, more sacred version of yourself. We begin again this January 1st. Below are a few links. One allows you to try out the community for a week free. The other is a way to sign up; the third is a page that provides additional testimonials and details. Miracles LIVE 365 helps us release the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence and live in peace and purpose. So I hope you don’t have any better plans. Whether you join us or not, may 2025 find you waking up to love. Love, MaurIf you have comments or questions, feel free to share; otherwise, check out the free week, and I’ll see you in the morning!LINKS TO CONNECTThis is a free week of Miracles. Join us to see if this is a good fit. If you miss a day, you will receive a link to the recording to help you stay on course. A Year of Miracles: if this program sounds like an answered prayer, sign up and expect miracles. Details, Testimonials, and how it works. Virtual EVENT!LIVE EVENT!Voice Box Stories and SerenadeIt’s a story. It’s a song. A Serenade. A surrenderA place to be heard. And to hear about the current human condition.Where folks like us come to connect, spin, weave, and unfurl.Where a story leads to a song, and a song leads to a story.And the beat goes on and out and up andWhere your feet tap to the rhythmYour head nods in agreement.And your heart pounds in anticipation for the chance to share your VOICE.Voice Box is the happiest night of the month. Join us for a soulful night of story and song with the iconic Cathy Richardson and a powerhouse lineup of storytellers. TICKETS for our holiday show on December 10th at 8 pmDessertIt’s a good time to confess your stories and share your songs. For paid members, we have a Virtual Story Salon that meets every Monday at 3 pm CT on Zoom. We gather to write and share our writing. May 2025 have you outside your comfort zone, where the magic is happening. Love, Maur Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maureenmuldoon.substack.com/subscribe