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All The Way To The Ocean
My spiritual well-being cocktail is made up of three simple syrups: forgiveness, focus, and friendship. Forgive the fears, focus on the love, and find some good friends to walk the path home. Dr. Tererai Trent has been one such friend.
Years ago, I was invited to attend the final filming of the Oprah Show. With visions of finding a car under my seat, I headed off to the show with my friend America, and that is where I was gifted something even more valuable.
The episode was “Oprah’s top guests.” That’s where I heard the story of a girl from rural Zimbabwe who dreamed of coming to America, going to school, becoming a doctor, and returning home to serve her community.
Because she was not allowed to attend school, she secretly taught herself to read and write by doing her brothers’ homework. The local teacher pleaded with her father to let her attend school, but to no avail.
By eighteen, she was married with three children and trapped in an abusive relationship, until she met Jo Luck (a perfect name for the moment). Jo, then president of Heifer International, had come to Zimbabwe to stir hope and healing. After hearing the girl's dreams, she leaned in and assured the young woman that it was all possible.
That small vote of encouragement became the fuel for the young woman, who would become Dr. Tererai Trent, to reach every last seemingly impossible dream. She would go on to share with the world the idea of Tinnogana, which means it is achievable.
Side note, I did not get a car, but Oprah did gift us all a free Tinogona T-shirts, modeled here by my son.
But I actually got so much more than a T-shirt. After the show, I took an action. I reached out to Dr. Tereria, and to my surprise, she wrote back. We became friends, and eventually, she joined me as an honored guest speaker at SpeakEasy. Later, she would also write the foreword to my first book, Giant Love Song.
Foreward To Giant Love Song by Dr. Tererai Trent
I met Maureen Muldoon while on my book tour with The Awakened Woman. She made it known that we would be friends. Thankfully, I felt the same way or I may have needed a restraining order. It’s interesting when you cross paths with a soul sister from across the globe and discover how similar our journeys, how universal our struggles, and how kindred our spirits. It’s beautiful to see that when we walk the good walk, life carves for us a path that is not meant to break us, but to wake us, and it peoples that path with helpful hands.
We rise and awaken not just for ourselves but we do this for the betterment of all. This does not mean that the journey will be easy, but we will be guaranteed that our willingness will leave a legacy for those who still struggle. This has been my own life’s work, and it is also the theme woven so beautifully into Giant Love Song.
Beneath every brokenhearted story is a love song, a lesson, or a blessing. These experiences are an invitation to find our most authentic and helpful voices. We are each responsible for delivering our stories and finding our own truths. My grandmther used to remind me of the importance of owning a voice that matches our dreams: “Until the female lion becomes the historian of her OWN story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
In Giant Love Song, Maureen Muldoon has become her own historian. She has found and honors the voice of resistance, the voice of fear, the voice of willingness, and finally, the voice of resurrection. No matter what our stories are, we must all learn to rise.
Enjoy the journey through this giant love song and allow it to crack you open. Find that place, that open wound. Travel to your tender spots and let them inform you. Be willing to wait and listen. It is in these universal classrooms of love and losses that we will find our redemption and healing. We become more awakened.
The deeper truth of our universal potential lies within the heart of the individual. However, it does not hurt to have some mighty companions along the journey. If you are looking to be reminded that we are each an essential and Divine thread in love’s tapestry, this book is for you.
May it help you hear and honor your own giant love songs.
—Dr. Tererai Trent
Dr. Tereria and I had our dreams supported by both consistency and community.
Community and consistency are love and law. Or what I call Deep River and Big Ocean. You can’t get to the Big Ocean without going through the Deep River.
Deep river means consistency. It is the daily recommitment, the willingness to stay the course, to work the scales over and over, to hold to the dream, and to keep fresh your high resolve.
Our daily thought patterns dictate our outcomes. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to go from ordinary to mastery. He pointed to the Beatles and Bill Gates, not as flukes of luck, but as masters of consistency.
The difference between those who dream and those who deliver is often determined by how well you stay steady through the storms. Because life will get distracting, the river of our consistency will splinter into puddles. We’ll lose focus, gumption, courage, and faith.
And that is when community plays a part. Community is one of the most significant predictors of resilience, focus, and long-term fulfillment. Birds of a feather flock together. The idea of social contagion in behavioral science shows that habits, good or bad, spread through communities. When your “flock” is committed to dreaming big, it’s easier to stay awake to your own calling.
Community is the fertile ground where our callings take root and become more than just private dreams. Viktor Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning, taught that meaning is not found in isolation but in how we relate to others and to something bigger than ourselves. Or as my friend Barb said on our morning call, “When it comes to recovery, the people are the healing.”
Alcoholics Anonymous rests on both these pillars: the people are the love, and the program is the law. And the people can make all the difference.
It’s so affirming to see another artist sell a painting, a fellow life coach raise their session rate, or a sister musician take the mic and crush a song. In the same way, it’s devastating to see a fellow alcoholic go out or another writer receive a rejection letter. But doing it together is always better than going it alone.
A Course in Miracles honors these pillars, too. The workbook holds 365 meditative lessons, one for each day. The lessons ask us to work with the specifics of our special relationships. Theory gives us the truth, and application brings that truth to life.
For the past thirteen years, I’ve woken up to miracles thanks to Miracles LIVE 365, our daily A Course in Miracles calls. It’s not just a deep river, it’s a love-fest of friends. And honestly, when I attempted to go it alone, I did not get too far. They say, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Personally, I prefer the long, slow path in the company of friends.
Nothing can be loved at speed. -Michael Leunig
This is also why The Artist’s Way works. The three handwritten pages each morning are the law, paired with the artist date, the love that fills the well and replenishes the soul. Honor these two pillars, and nothing can keep you from reaching the Big Ocean. If consistency is king, community is queen.
That’s why we created SpeakEasy, a spiritual community where dreamers, seekers, and believers gather to go deeper together. Whether it’s through Miracles LIVE 365, The Artist’s Way groups, our weekly 12-step gatherings, or the other cool conversations and events that fill our calendar. SpeakEasy is designed to help people stay the course, hold to the vision, and keep rowing down the river that flows toward your ocean.
So here’s your next step: Jump in the water.
Pick one practice. Join one circle. Take one step toward consistency and community, one step toward your Big Ocean.
* Join us for a free week of Miracles LIVE 365
* Sit in on our weekly 12-Step to Miracles meeting
* Or walk with us through The Artist’s Way this October on Zoom
And for writers, when you subscribe to this newsletter, you get access to our weekly online writers’ group, Story Salon. A simple but powerful way to stay consistent, keep your words flowing, and feel supported by a community that believes in your voice.
Because the truth is: you don’t need to wait for someday. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to show up.
I could say that I went to the Oprah show and all I got was a losey T-shirt, but the truth is I got so much more, because I took one step. I reached out to that little girl with the big dream, I held tight to her example, and I got to the big ocean, and I want to take you there, too. Tinogona! It is achievable.
Love, Maur
BOOK LINKS:
LINK for Giant Love Song by Maureen Muldoon
LINK for The Awakened Women by Dr. Tereria Trent
✨ Thank you for walking this path with me. If you feel called, share this with someone who needs a reminder that their dreams are still alive.
EVENTS
Remember the words of Saint Francis of Assisi: where there is hatred, let me bring love. Contemplating this can reveal deeper insights to assist in reprogramming our psychological reflexes. A person is never only their opinion, and every opinion has a half-life. Opinions are like clouds - only appearing to be permanent at a glance. Pay more attention and one can perceive the numerous forces continuously reshaping it. Every profile picture is a doorway to an infinite interior, even for that individual. I go on uncovering and peeling layers around myself in pursuit of self-knowledge. Our task—especially in seasons of heat—is to refuse the fixation of the single facet. To meet any neighbor as more than a position is moral hygiene. When we restore dimensions, we restore possibility: the chance that a disagreement can be a bridge, that truth can travel without cruelty, that our commonality can be a place for transformation.
This Sunday, SpeakEasy welcomes Todd Fink* as our speaker, leading the conversation - hosted by Maureen Muldoon
*Todd Fink is the host of the Kind Mind podcast and co-founder of The Giving Tree Band. As a licensed therapist, he also holds certifications in addiction counseling and mindfulness meditation teaching. He is a graduate of Georgetown and Columbia University with degrees in psychology and advanced clinical social work. His contemplative songs, talks, and writings have inspired many around the world. Learn more & connect at https://michaeltoddfink.com
Enjoy Dessert:
Dr. Tererai's story on the Oprah Show. “You, too, are creating your own reality show every day. "You can have nothing, come from nothing, and still have everything you dream.”
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
View all episodes
By Stories, Sermons, and Standup from the heart.My spiritual well-being cocktail is made up of three simple syrups: forgiveness, focus, and friendship. Forgive the fears, focus on the love, and find some good friends to walk the path home. Dr. Tererai Trent has been one such friend.
Years ago, I was invited to attend the final filming of the Oprah Show. With visions of finding a car under my seat, I headed off to the show with my friend America, and that is where I was gifted something even more valuable.
The episode was “Oprah’s top guests.” That’s where I heard the story of a girl from rural Zimbabwe who dreamed of coming to America, going to school, becoming a doctor, and returning home to serve her community.
Because she was not allowed to attend school, she secretly taught herself to read and write by doing her brothers’ homework. The local teacher pleaded with her father to let her attend school, but to no avail.
By eighteen, she was married with three children and trapped in an abusive relationship, until she met Jo Luck (a perfect name for the moment). Jo, then president of Heifer International, had come to Zimbabwe to stir hope and healing. After hearing the girl's dreams, she leaned in and assured the young woman that it was all possible.
That small vote of encouragement became the fuel for the young woman, who would become Dr. Tererai Trent, to reach every last seemingly impossible dream. She would go on to share with the world the idea of Tinnogana, which means it is achievable.
Side note, I did not get a car, but Oprah did gift us all a free Tinogona T-shirts, modeled here by my son.
But I actually got so much more than a T-shirt. After the show, I took an action. I reached out to Dr. Tereria, and to my surprise, she wrote back. We became friends, and eventually, she joined me as an honored guest speaker at SpeakEasy. Later, she would also write the foreword to my first book, Giant Love Song.
Foreward To Giant Love Song by Dr. Tererai Trent
I met Maureen Muldoon while on my book tour with The Awakened Woman. She made it known that we would be friends. Thankfully, I felt the same way or I may have needed a restraining order. It’s interesting when you cross paths with a soul sister from across the globe and discover how similar our journeys, how universal our struggles, and how kindred our spirits. It’s beautiful to see that when we walk the good walk, life carves for us a path that is not meant to break us, but to wake us, and it peoples that path with helpful hands.
We rise and awaken not just for ourselves but we do this for the betterment of all. This does not mean that the journey will be easy, but we will be guaranteed that our willingness will leave a legacy for those who still struggle. This has been my own life’s work, and it is also the theme woven so beautifully into Giant Love Song.
Beneath every brokenhearted story is a love song, a lesson, or a blessing. These experiences are an invitation to find our most authentic and helpful voices. We are each responsible for delivering our stories and finding our own truths. My grandmther used to remind me of the importance of owning a voice that matches our dreams: “Until the female lion becomes the historian of her OWN story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
In Giant Love Song, Maureen Muldoon has become her own historian. She has found and honors the voice of resistance, the voice of fear, the voice of willingness, and finally, the voice of resurrection. No matter what our stories are, we must all learn to rise.
Enjoy the journey through this giant love song and allow it to crack you open. Find that place, that open wound. Travel to your tender spots and let them inform you. Be willing to wait and listen. It is in these universal classrooms of love and losses that we will find our redemption and healing. We become more awakened.
The deeper truth of our universal potential lies within the heart of the individual. However, it does not hurt to have some mighty companions along the journey. If you are looking to be reminded that we are each an essential and Divine thread in love’s tapestry, this book is for you.
May it help you hear and honor your own giant love songs.
—Dr. Tererai Trent
Dr. Tereria and I had our dreams supported by both consistency and community.
Community and consistency are love and law. Or what I call Deep River and Big Ocean. You can’t get to the Big Ocean without going through the Deep River.
Deep river means consistency. It is the daily recommitment, the willingness to stay the course, to work the scales over and over, to hold to the dream, and to keep fresh your high resolve.
Our daily thought patterns dictate our outcomes. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to go from ordinary to mastery. He pointed to the Beatles and Bill Gates, not as flukes of luck, but as masters of consistency.
The difference between those who dream and those who deliver is often determined by how well you stay steady through the storms. Because life will get distracting, the river of our consistency will splinter into puddles. We’ll lose focus, gumption, courage, and faith.
And that is when community plays a part. Community is one of the most significant predictors of resilience, focus, and long-term fulfillment. Birds of a feather flock together. The idea of social contagion in behavioral science shows that habits, good or bad, spread through communities. When your “flock” is committed to dreaming big, it’s easier to stay awake to your own calling.
Community is the fertile ground where our callings take root and become more than just private dreams. Viktor Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning, taught that meaning is not found in isolation but in how we relate to others and to something bigger than ourselves. Or as my friend Barb said on our morning call, “When it comes to recovery, the people are the healing.”
Alcoholics Anonymous rests on both these pillars: the people are the love, and the program is the law. And the people can make all the difference.
It’s so affirming to see another artist sell a painting, a fellow life coach raise their session rate, or a sister musician take the mic and crush a song. In the same way, it’s devastating to see a fellow alcoholic go out or another writer receive a rejection letter. But doing it together is always better than going it alone.
A Course in Miracles honors these pillars, too. The workbook holds 365 meditative lessons, one for each day. The lessons ask us to work with the specifics of our special relationships. Theory gives us the truth, and application brings that truth to life.
For the past thirteen years, I’ve woken up to miracles thanks to Miracles LIVE 365, our daily A Course in Miracles calls. It’s not just a deep river, it’s a love-fest of friends. And honestly, when I attempted to go it alone, I did not get too far. They say, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Personally, I prefer the long, slow path in the company of friends.
Nothing can be loved at speed. -Michael Leunig
This is also why The Artist’s Way works. The three handwritten pages each morning are the law, paired with the artist date, the love that fills the well and replenishes the soul. Honor these two pillars, and nothing can keep you from reaching the Big Ocean. If consistency is king, community is queen.
That’s why we created SpeakEasy, a spiritual community where dreamers, seekers, and believers gather to go deeper together. Whether it’s through Miracles LIVE 365, The Artist’s Way groups, our weekly 12-step gatherings, or the other cool conversations and events that fill our calendar. SpeakEasy is designed to help people stay the course, hold to the vision, and keep rowing down the river that flows toward your ocean.
So here’s your next step: Jump in the water.
Pick one practice. Join one circle. Take one step toward consistency and community, one step toward your Big Ocean.
* Join us for a free week of Miracles LIVE 365
* Sit in on our weekly 12-Step to Miracles meeting
* Or walk with us through The Artist’s Way this October on Zoom
And for writers, when you subscribe to this newsletter, you get access to our weekly online writers’ group, Story Salon. A simple but powerful way to stay consistent, keep your words flowing, and feel supported by a community that believes in your voice.
Because the truth is: you don’t need to wait for someday. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to show up.
I could say that I went to the Oprah show and all I got was a losey T-shirt, but the truth is I got so much more, because I took one step. I reached out to that little girl with the big dream, I held tight to her example, and I got to the big ocean, and I want to take you there, too. Tinogona! It is achievable.
Love, Maur
BOOK LINKS:
LINK for Giant Love Song by Maureen Muldoon
LINK for The Awakened Women by Dr. Tereria Trent
✨ Thank you for walking this path with me. If you feel called, share this with someone who needs a reminder that their dreams are still alive.
EVENTS
Remember the words of Saint Francis of Assisi: where there is hatred, let me bring love. Contemplating this can reveal deeper insights to assist in reprogramming our psychological reflexes. A person is never only their opinion, and every opinion has a half-life. Opinions are like clouds - only appearing to be permanent at a glance. Pay more attention and one can perceive the numerous forces continuously reshaping it. Every profile picture is a doorway to an infinite interior, even for that individual. I go on uncovering and peeling layers around myself in pursuit of self-knowledge. Our task—especially in seasons of heat—is to refuse the fixation of the single facet. To meet any neighbor as more than a position is moral hygiene. When we restore dimensions, we restore possibility: the chance that a disagreement can be a bridge, that truth can travel without cruelty, that our commonality can be a place for transformation.
This Sunday, SpeakEasy welcomes Todd Fink* as our speaker, leading the conversation - hosted by Maureen Muldoon
*Todd Fink is the host of the Kind Mind podcast and co-founder of The Giving Tree Band. As a licensed therapist, he also holds certifications in addiction counseling and mindfulness meditation teaching. He is a graduate of Georgetown and Columbia University with degrees in psychology and advanced clinical social work. His contemplative songs, talks, and writings have inspired many around the world. Learn more & connect at https://michaeltoddfink.com
Enjoy Dessert:
Dr. Tererai's story on the Oprah Show. “You, too, are creating your own reality show every day. "You can have nothing, come from nothing, and still have everything you dream.”
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