Fifteenth Invitation

Our Circle Expands!

An Invitation to Introduce Yourself

Gathering in Community

November Newsletter It is time to tune into our Soul Star Community again...  Remember, each time you read this sharing, it is an invitation to enter into a circle of kindred spirits -- to be part of community.  Our Soul Star is a way of anchoring us into our etheric connection with one another.  So, take a moment to slow it down.. and breathe.  Yes, let's take a deep breath.  filling up with prana (life energy) and receiving; exhaling and letting go, surrendering... Notice how the inhale arises from the space that the exhale has given itself to.   The inhale rising to its fullest point and then surrenders into the exhale which then gives itself to the inhale... on and on, the ebbing and flowing of prana breathing you... Question -- as you read that, did you really slow down to feel your breath breathing you or did you skim over that paragraph as quick as you could to get on to the next thing that awaits you in your day? It matters -- this slowing down.  My wish is for this to be a nurturing experience ... to allow this to be a time for some soul nurturance for yourself... And now, let us join into our Soul Star experience  -- remember this? Tuning into the star of light about a foot above your head, your eighth chakra.  A laser beam of light extends from your Soul Star to each person who is in circle with us...  this etheric soul star laser beam connecting all of us.  And now, our soul star extends a laser beam of light to a group soul star that we all connect into... it has been requested that it is time to call out all of our names of the people who are participating in our Soul star experience together...  so here we are  -- our names --and as we read these names or call them out loud (even better!)  we have the opportunity to link personally.  As as you read these names, imagine the lazor beam of light connecting your soul star with each person's souls star  as if you are sitting in a circle with everyone... (Now you might think you don't have time for this... and maybe you don't -- but what would happen if you actually took the time to connect "in" to each other and yourself as you read this... Shawn, Heather, Lalah, Liz, Michael, Prya, Melanie, Kelly, Frances, Terry, Julia, Cindy, Pamela, David, Susan, Meryl, Bhadra, Alicia, Aditya, Penny, Pat, Laura, Courtney, Brent, Darlene, GB, Lisa, Elke, Joseph, Alayna, Sonata, Ellen, Allison, Terri, Carissa, Juliana, Marni, Josh, Kerri, Julia, Helen, Carrie, Jeffree, Lauren, Julie, Tony, Kendra, Hannah, Leslie, Woody, Edie, Marva, John, Molly, Steve, Serena, Haley, Helen, Dena, Marti, DeAnn, Kristi, Mickele, Ashley, Cathy, Irene, Emmanuel, Callahan, Emily, Amy, Jenny, Tom, Brooke, Charles, Annie, Jaclyn, Jane, Blanche, Lyn, Whit, Beau, Ilyse, Devajoy.. (We would like to have everyone's name and unfortunately I don't know everyone's name, only your email.  Please do me the fav or of sending your name to me in email to devajoy@me.com if your name is not mentioned.  It would be wonderful to have everyone's name!!!) So, Hello kindred spirits.  Gathering in Community is one of the most important ways of connecting for me.  I love sitting in circles and witnessing hearts opening to one another.  I even love that we can be in circle together through this sharing.  Sometimes we can feel alone in this journey... and yet whatever we feel, there are others on the planet feeling the exact same thing.  What if we actually became aware of one another, even if we haven't met in person? Consider this as an invitation to say Hello to each other.  Of course, I have wanted people to write responses to the newsletters and converse with one another.  Sometimes this actually happens but often it does not.  All I can say about that is.... oh well... it was a good thought... but I certainly understand that taking time to read this is a big enough deal, much less responding...  But what I do truly hope for is that you will take time with yourself, to feel our Soul Star Circle and your own inner response and that you take time to be conscious of your inner stirrings and...  receive. One of our new people in circle asked me in an email how my name changed from Darlene to Deva and then to devajoy. It's not a simple one liner answer so  I told her I would share it in our newsletter.  So, here is the story:  My given name by my parents is Darlene Joy.  They were going to name me 'Dawn" but my older sister (four years old!)  protested because "Dawn" was the next door neighbor's dogs name.  Instead, they named me 'Darlene", which I learned later in life from a man who was wildly in love with me that the name "Darlene" means "Beloved".  (purr) In high school, I was given the name "Darbird" by a friend of mine, who "groked" how I was discovering my wings to soar with creativity, imagination and love... (BTW, i love "Darbird".  She loves discovering and exploring inner realms; she finds magic in almost everything; she is eager for each and every moment to reveal itself.  She is not world weary or even politically aware enough to bogged down in any of what plagues my heart these days.  She is wide eyed, innocent and just loves to love everyone, everywhere.  She lives in the limitless blue skies and finds the silver linings to the clouds.)  I was called "Darbird" through my college days, graduate school and into the 1980's. I was now in my mid-twenties and lived in Little Five Points in a community household with a hot tub that took up the whole living room.  There were several of us living there, hosting rebirthings and Leonard Orr's visit and weekly yoga classes that ended in sensual puppy piles. My roommate turned to me one night and said, "I am getting it's time for you to change your name."  I looked at  him with curiosity, "What would I change it to?" He just looked at me and simply said, "Let's meditate!" So, we sat and I closed my eyes and asked.  I immediately heard the name "Deva".  I opened my eyes and told him that i heard this name that I was not familiar with at all.  I spoke the name out loud for the first time and then said, "Fuck that!  I am keeping my name Darbird!" Fast forward -- six months or so later -- It is the full moon in May, this auspicious time for the seeker to ask questions and for finding truths.  I am in North Carolina visiting with my friend, Rama, who was previously a Swami and had very clear and still meditations.  We were meditating and I was doing the classic 20's thing to do -- inquiring about what my purpose on the planet is.  And I heard, "You are a Deva Spirit and you are to take the name on.  It will lead you further into your purpose." As I listened, (with my eyes closed and all), my friend Rama taps me on the arm.  I open my eyes and he says, "I feel so weird to interrupt your meditation but in my meditation, I was just told to give this T-shirt to you right now!"  He was placing the t-shirt into the palms of my hands.  It said "Deva" on it along with a circle that had a heart in it with a Star of David (!) and an Om sign in the very center!  Whoa!  This might be the least subtle"spiritual" message I ever got.  I could not deny it but only surrender.  "What does "Deva" mean?" I whispered, sort of in awe. I had no idea. I immediately found out.  It is a Sanskrit word that means benevolent supernatural being, celestial beings, shining spirit beings... it also refers to the Nature Devas who are responsible for and supervise all of Nature and its functions with protection and grace. Ahhh... i could see how the name could help me anchor into my purpose here... I returned to Atlanta and asked my friends to call me "Deva" and went through the steps to legalize the name change.  I told my parents (that was the biggest step) and started on the next chapter of my life as "Deva Joy" .  And indeed,  the name "Deva" did  help me "land" here and my service work seemed to intensify immensely and... it has never stopped. In my mid to late forties, I experienced so much loss, year after year... I felt initiated into another time of life... grieving, growing up in ways I didn't really want to, and continuing to serve and show up for others with the rawness of being stripped to the core. I longed for "Darbirdian" days and wasn't sure about what I signed up for with this "Deva" thing. At fifty, it was time to retrieve the essence of my spirit and reclaim my middle name that my parents gave to me so wisely.  It was clear and I didn't even have to meditate on it! I was to usher in the next chapter of integrating deva with joy and the names were to be one.  devajoy.  And why bother capitalizing the D?!  Re-arranged, there felt to be less identity left...  less need to capitalize the name... less desire to for the d to be any different than any other letter... less of a sense of specialness.  This did not feel like a bad thing or lack but rather a free-ing up into more truth. Thus, devajoy. I usually don't go into "my" story -- I don't want to take so much of your time on me.  My preference is to write a stream of thought that might stimulate your insides and inspire you to reflect or shift in some way with yourself.  But a new subscriber by the name "Darlene" asked and I wanted to respond with openness and connection. So, maybe, just maybe, my story can help you reflect on the different times in your life and even if you don't have different names for those chapters, you probably have other ways you distinguish one chapter from another... coz life is amazing and mysterious... Also, there is so much to a name... do you relate to your name?  How has your name impacted your growth process?  Are you at home  with your name? A dear client recently said to me in session, "I don't love my name.  So, I decided to add to it a feminine sound at the end of it and now, I actually really dig it and it makes me happy!" And you? Thank you. Love, devajoy     TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE,  Go To BLOG at www.devajoy.net forward to a friend | unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences