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Your
Unfolding Path
A Quarterly Column
Oct-Dec 2005 |
| by Carol Adrienne,
Ph.D. |
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Carol's New Book
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Carol
Adrienne's work and teachings have been a great
inspiration to me! In August of 1998, about four months after my
father passed away, I read about one of Carol's
workshops in a Learning Annex catalog and
synchronistically found her book on a bookshelf at the
bookstore. The themes of her teachings were
familiar and comforting, as they confirmed the thoughts
and ideas my father had shared with me shortly before
his passing. Her books and workshops ignited my
spiritual curiosity, setting me on my soulful life path,
which led to the very creation of
SoulfulLiving.com! Carol's participation has been
an integral part of SoulfulLiving.com, at its soul
level! Thank you, Carol, with all my heart!
~Valerie, Founder and Soul, SoulfulLiving.com |
The Rain Drops of Change This month I received an email from Kyle T., which prompted me to ask her about how she had found her purpose and right livelihood. She lives in Baltimore, MD and is now a surgical oncology nurse. In her mid thirties, Kyle was a career counselor, but was looking for a change. She didn’t have a
sense of what her life purpose might be. Now, looking back, she sees how everything came into place. Kyle says, “I recognize now that there were special moments throughout my life. They were like individual drops of rain at first. They came quietly and without significance. But over time they grew
into a clear pool into which I could look and see a reflection of what was meant to be.”
Review Your Early Interests
As I often counsel people to do, Kyle looked back at her early interests—which happened to be anatomy books and the intricacies of the human body. In middle school, she was excited about health class projects. In college, she was drawn to an advanced psychology
course. Another vivid memory was attending a guest lecture by a young woman who was dying from breast cancer. During her senior year at college, she had volunteered at a hospital. She remembers, “I was amazed by how readily the cancer patients shared their hopes and fears with
me, a complete stranger. I even considered going into nursing then, but I had too many interests and also did not want to take math and chemistry. In time I selected a double major in English and psychology.
Another piece of the puzzle was attending a lecture [a friend had an extra ticket] by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, author of On Death and Dying, who talked about working with terminally ill patients, and the five stages of grief. “The following year, to the consternation of my faculty,” says
Kyle, “I did one of my papers on counseling terminally ill patients. After graduation I began to work in Student Affairs, but the drops of rain continued to gather. For example, I did a brief stint as a hospital volunteer in pediatrics, and would occasionally find myself “lost” in interesting books
and magazines in the nursing library at the University where I worked.
Keep Exploring
However, like so many people, Kyle felt she had “too many interests,” and was having trouble narrowing down what to do. “I wanted something which would make my heart sing, and where I could make a difference in people’s lives. I took business and psychology courses, went on an archeological dig,
observed law classes, and took the LSAT. I poured through graduate school catalogs. Then I thought of nursing. Nursing was something in which I could combine all my interests--counseling, science, management, education, research, and writing. Plus, I could truly make a difference.”
Kyle began to make her transition. She started the pre-requisites for nursing school--including the dreaded chemistry. She also volunteered on Saturday evenings at a shock/trauma center. “Both chemistry and shock/trauma were my litmus tests to see if this was really something I wanted to do! It
was the longest summer I ever had, but I survived them both.”
Notice the Signs
Another big question for Kyle was about her age. Could she make a major career change at forty? As she pondered this question, she was “drawn” to the Clara Barton House, a national historic site, which commemorates the life of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. Although the house was
only about five miles from where she lived, Kyle had never visited it in the fifteen years she had lived in the Washington, DC area. “As I listened to the tour guide,” says Kyle, “I was amazed to hear that, just like myself, Clara had started out in education. And--she volunteered as a nurse in the
Civil War at the age of forty! This was a sign, I thought. If Clara could survive the battlefields at the age of forty, then surely I could survive the challenges of a modern hospital! Thus began my transition. I sold some of my belongings and moved into a group house to save money. I traded my
briefcase for a backpack and was on my way!”
It took sixteen months to complete the accelerated nursing program. To cover the costs of rent and tuition, Kyle started to look for a job and began to make calls to nurse managers at various facilities. “More raindrops mysteriously appeared. The first place I applied was a
surgical oncology floor, and I got a job as a nursing assistant! Balancing school and work was a challenge, and being a perfectionist, I was often hard on myself. One week, after a particularly rough clinical rotation, I thought about dropping out of school during my last
semester. One of my preceptors had yelled at me for not taking proper care of a patient and had left me in tears. I was ready to quit and went to see my faculty advisor. I entered her office, but before I could say a word, she asked if I had considered a master’s degree in
nursing. She said there was a new Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track with a focus in oncology.”Kyle stayed in school and graduated in December, 1993--at a time when the nursing market was extremely tight. Months went by, and she couldn’t find a job anywhere. “There were
nights when I wondered why I had come so far, and had made so many sacrifices, only to be left unemployed. I had to “still” my thoughts and trust fate. I strongly felt this was something I was meant to do.”
Darkest Before Dawn
With just enough money left for one more month’s rent and about $25 for gas and groceries, Kyle started to panic, when the phone rang. A recruiter asked if Kyle would be interested in Surgical Oncology. They unexpectedly had a position. She interviewed, got the job, and started work just in time
to pay the next month’s rent!
About a year later she was accepted for the oncology nurse practitioner program, which had previously been mentioned by her advisor. From the very start, she was excited, and continually skimmed employment ads in nursing journals for ideas. “One day I saw a position which made my heart sing! The job
was perfect! All the raindrops had come together and I could clearly see a reflection of what I was meant to do. It was nine months before graduation, but I sent my resume and letter of application anyway. Three months later I got a call asking if I would be interested in covering the position
part-time until they could hire someone. I accepted, and here I am over six years later!“My career has drawn together ALL of my previously noted interests in a wonderfully fulfilling way. Currently I am a nurse practitioner who works with patients who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer. I'm involved in diagnosis and management, education, writing, hospice, patient and family
support, and research. It's a great feeling when patients tell me I have found my "calling" in life or when they tell me what a difference I made in their lives. One of my greatest compliments was a young woman who told me that the surgeon, medical oncologist, and radiation oncologist got rid of
her cancer, but I was the one who gave her back her life again and made her ‘whole.’ Yes, I think I found one of the purposes of my life!”You may contact Kyle at kterrell@jhmi.edu
Carol Adrienne, Ph.D. is an intuitive counselor and life
coach who has helped thousands
of people work through doubt, procrastination, and obstacles
to create the life they want
to live. Private consultations and coaching available.
Contact her at Carol22@sonic.net
© Copyright 2005 Carol Adrienne, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.
Free numerology day-of-birth analysis
http://www.CarolAdrienne.com
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numerology life charts
A one-of-a-kind gift for yourself or family and
friends—particularly
if you are going through a transition. Discounts on multiple
orders.
Immediate delivery online $19.95
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Carol Adrienne, Ph.D.,
is an internationally-known workshop facilitator and
author whose books have been translated into over fifteen
languages. Her latest book is When Life Changes, or You
Wish It Would. Oprah hailed, The Purpose of Your Life:
Finding Your Place in the World Using Synchronicity,
Intuition, and Uncommon Sense a must-read. She is also an
intuitive counselor and life coach who has helped thousands of
people work through doubt, procrastination, and obstacles to
create the life they want to live. Visit http://www.CarolAdrienne.com
to register for free newsletter subscription; free numerology
birthdate analysis, or order numerology charts and forecasts.
Private consultations and coaching available.
Visit
www.CarolAdrienne.com
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by email.
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the home page.
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- Book recommendations
- NEW Stay tuned for Information on new Tele Class Series
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CALENDAR 2005
Events with
Carol Adrienne
Telephone:
(510) 527-2213 Fax (510) 528-2295
Email:
carol22@sonic.net
Web site: www.CarolAdrienne.com Sat Oct 29, San Francisco, CA. 10 am to 1 pm. Learning Annex. Write! Don’t Wait. 7 Steps to Getting Successfully Published. For details and to register, www.learningannex.com or call (415) 788-5500.
Thurs Nov 10 , Seattle, WA. Private consultations, email Carol at Carol22@sonic.net or call (510) 528-2226.
11am – 4pm. One hour $135 with free 30 pp numerology life chart.
Fri Nov 11, Seattle, WA. Private consultations, email Carol at Carol22@sonic.net or call (510) 528-2226, 10am
– 3pm. One hour $135 with free 30 pp numerology life chart.
Fri Nov 11, Seattle, WA. Discover U. Uncover the Purpose of Your Life: Part 1 A 5-Year Forecast of Life Events. $45. 6:30 – 9:30 pm. All three classes $115.
http://www.discoveru.org/classes/detail.cfm?CID=613
Sat Nov 12, Seattle, WA. Discover U, Uncover the Purpose of Your Life: Part 2: Transform Fear and Obstacles and Get Moving. 9:30 am to 12:30, $45. All three classes for $115. http://www.discoveru.org/classes/detail.cfm?CID=1970
Sat Nov 12, Seattle, WA. Discover U. Uncover the Purpose of Your Life: Part 3: Live the Life You’ve Always Wanted. 1:30 – 5 pm, $45. All three classes for $115.
http://www.discoveru.org/classes/detail.cfm?CID=1484Sat Nov 19, San Francisco, CA. The Learning Annex. Write Don’t Wait. Level 110 am to 1 pm How to Get Successfully Published. $54 or $87 for both classes. Register at www.learningannex.com or call (415)
788-5500.
Sat Nov 19, San Francisco, CA. The Learning Annex. Write Don’t Wait. Level 2 Release Your Writing Genius Today and Create a One-Page Book Outline $54 or $87 for both classes.
2 pm to 5 pm. Register at www.learningannex.com or call (415) 788-5500.
Sat Dec 17, San Francisco, CA. The Learning Annex. Write Don’t Wait. Level 1 How to Get Successfully Published. $54 or $87 for both classes.
10 am to 1 pm. Register at www.learningannex.com or call (415)
788-5500.
Sat Dec 17, San Francisco, CA. The Learning Annex. Write Don’t Wait. Level 2 Release Your Writing Genius Today and Create a One-Page Book Outline $54 or $87 for both classes. 2 pm to 5 pm. Register at www.learningannex.com or call (415) 788-5500. |
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