As you’re gearing up for 2013, you’re probably beginning to think of all of the things you’ve accomplished in 2012, and what you’d like to manifest in the coming year. Right now I’m reflecting on giving birth one year ago. This weekend we celebrated our daughter’s 1st birthday. It’s hard to believe that just one year ago, I was preparing for a major life shift.

There’s another shift happening right now. It’s much larger. It’s a global shift. A birth.

Image by Ragen Mendenhall. www.ragensart.com

December 21, 2012 is now upon us.

So many people are focusing on today. But the more exciting date is the following day. The 21st is the death of the old way, and the 22nd is the birth of the new way. So what should we do? How can we take full advantage of the changes happening on the planet in order to bring good into our lives and the rest of the world?

There are parallels in my personal birth story and this broader global birth. Keep reading for my major ‘a-ha’ moment and some tips on how to best use your time this weekend in order to take advantage of the energy on the planet and what this new age actually means.

My birth story:

I had been dreaming of this moment. I so wanted a baby girl with the man I love, and it had all manifested. I was full term and had an easy pregnancy. I practiced prenatal yoga and rode my bike up until the week I was due. I had read all of the birth books, I watched many documentaries including ‘Orgasmic Birth’ where I saw women actually having orgasms during labor. I envisioned myself having the perfect easy 3 hour labor with an orgasm to boot! It was going to be fabulous! I bought a birthing pool, hired my doula and midwife and was prepared for a beautiful home birth.

Well, things didn’t turn out exactly as I had envisioned them. Instead, my water broke a few days before actually going into labor. So my midwife encouraged me to have 2 rounds of acupuncture and take some herbs to bring on my contractions. A few hours after taking the herbs, I started having contractions. It was 10:30pm, and it finally worked! The beginning of labor was easy. My love held me in his arms during each contraction. Some were on the bed, some on the couch. Others felt as if we were slow dancing. I thought, ‘Wow – this was just like how we’d practiced in our birthing class!’

Early labor. Photo by Angie Dykshorn.

But then it got harder. Much harder. My doula came over at about 5:30am when my contractions were 5 minutes apart. My good friend Angie came around 11:00am to capture the the birth on video and take some beautiful photographs. And my midwife came at about noon when they were 3 minutes apart. But the energy shifted when my midwife got there because she wasn’t present with us. She was on the phone, checking her email, and reading magazines.  I felt uncared for, and my contractions slowed down. She checked and I was only 3-4 centimeters dilated after hours of labor! My midwife had another birth to attend, so she said she was going to leave our house for a bit because I had a lot of laboring left to do, and that she wouldn’t be far. I couldn’t believe that she was leaving us! I was scared. But I was also very motivated! As soon as she left, the negative energy was lifted and my contractions started to get more intense. The pain was so unbearable that I threw up twice. I didn’t think I could do it. I was ready to give up and go to the hospital for a C-section. I wanted out. What had I gotten myself into?

It was at that moment that my friend Angie said to me, “Jen, you can do this. You’re ready to be a mom.”

And that’s it. That’s just what I needed to hear to allow my body to fully open up and dilate. As much as I had prepared for the birth, I don’t think I could fully visualize myself as a mom. I wasn’t sure that I could do it. Being pregnant was easy. But the thought of actually having a child to care for scared me. It wasn’t until I heard those words that I was able to release my hidden fear. I knew I’d be a great mom. We all have these hidden fears. And that fear, I believe, is what made my birth so difficult. 

I had labored in our birth pool, in the shower, walking up and down the stairs, on a yoga ball, on the couch.. standing up hanging over my love’s shoulders.. all over the house. But the pool felt the best. After I had been in the birth pool for what seemed like a 45 minute contraction (basically one after another with no break), I urged my doula to call the midwife! Urge is putting it nicely 😉 The other midwife in my practice picked up the phone since my first midwife was at another labor. My second midwife Ellen’s arrival was a blessing in disguise as she was the perfect proactive midwife and sensitive coach. When she checked me, I was 8 centimeters dilated, and she helped push back my cervix the last 2 centimeters while I was in the birth pool. I was finally fully dilated! Once I was ready for my dream, it happened. But there was still more work to do. On that note, if you’re ready to manifest your big dream, consider joining in on the next round of my Manifestation Masters Program.

I experienced major back labor (the most intense back pain I’ve ever felt in my life) because as it turned out, our daughter was posterior – meaning she was down, but facing front. And my midwife wanted me to turn her. That required bent leg lifts out to the side during contractions, which was extremely hard to do! But finally, when I was on the couch, she turned and I was ready to push! My midwife asked if I wanted to get back into the birth pool. But at that point, I didn’t want to move. It had been almost 24 hours of labor and if she said I could push, I was staying right where I was. I was determined to give birth, and my midwife did a beautiful job of guiding me and telling me exactly how and when I should push.  I pushed for about 20-30 minutes (that was the easy part). Our daughter had been actively trying to be born as well. We were working together! Once her head came out, we discovered that her ambilical cord was wrapped around her head once. My midwife Ellen simply directed me to pause, unwrapped it, and then told me I could continue pushing. I gave one more push, and our daughter Nailah was born at 10:35 pm!

The first time I held her in my arms. Photo by Angie Dykshorn.

It was an amazing birth and I’m so grateful that we decided to have our daughter Nailah at home because it was intimate, supportive and unmedicated! I doubt that they would have let me go that long without interventions in a hospital setting. Nailah came out with her eyes wide open, totally aware and taking in her new surroundings!  It was a miraculous birth! I felt such relief and such joy that this beautiful little person came out of me! This spirit chose us as her parents. How lucky were we? And how grateful am I, especially now looking back at this moment a year later. Our daughter is the most beautiful gift I’ve ever received. She’s brought such joy into our lives. Her birth marked the shift from me solely thinking about myself to a mother thinking first of my child, and what I can give back to world.

Birth is something we all inherently know how to do.

We were all born on this planet. This global birth is a similar ascension from one dimension to another. Energy cannot be destroyed or created. It just shifts.

Today marks a shift in ages from the Mayan Calendar prediction for December 21, 2012. It’s the end of one 26,000 year cycle, and the birth of a new one. It astrologically lines up as well. The earth, the sun, and the center of the galaxy will be in perfect alignment. And the Mayans also predict a great magnetic polar shift on the planet. When the earth changes, we also adjust with it.

According to the Mayans, today marks the end of the masculine age and tomorrow on the 22nd is the rebirth of the feminine age. It’s also a shift from our mechanical age into a new age of intuition. All of our technological advances have been amazing. But we have great power within ourselves to create the life we want.

What’s so exciting about this time is that we’re transitioning from a 3 dimensional reality into a 4th dimension. And this means that it will be even easier to manifest what your heart desires.

Many thought leaders like Barbara Marx Hubbard and Drunvalo Melchizedek are looking at this time as not only a shift in ages, but an evolutionary birth.

Just like when a baby is birthed into the world, this is a huge birth for humanity.

And everything that is manifested in our reality begins with imagination and sexual energy, which is why this feminine age is so exciting. The way that a baby is made is the same for planets and all of creation. You can only create what you can imagine. 

I believe we’ve all chosen to be on this planet right now for this great time of change. You’re here because you’re helping bring in this new awakening. You’re here to bring your unique gifts into the world, to make a difference in a way that only you can. You’re here to manifest great things.

Today is also winter solstice. Solstice is a marking of when days begin to get longer, when the light continues to grow stronger. It’s a beautiful metaphor for the shift happening on our planet. Our light is growing. Our abilities to co-create the world we live in are expanding. Stay in your heart. Don’t worry or go to fear at this time. Nothing bad is happening. Just continue doing what you love to do.

If you want to take full advantage of this beautiful energy on the planet right now, I encourage you to take time to meditate today and tomorrow and stay in your heart.

What you think about will effortlessly come into fruition. It only requires that you tap into source. And the best way to do that and to take advantage of the energy on the planet this weekend is to meditate. Remember that everything is energy. We attract things that are of the same vibration as what we are radiating at. Think of a radio. You turn the dial to tune into a specific station. If you’re on AM, but you want to be on FM, you won’t find what you’re looking for. And If you’re at 88.8FM, but you want to listen to 89.3FM, all you will hear is fuzz. It’s only once you can tune into that specific frequency that you start to hear the music. Meditation and intuition works the same way. There’s information out there, but you can’t necessarily see it. Once you learn how to quiet your mind and tune in, you’ll notice it more and more. You’ll start to make better decisions that are coming from spirit & a place of love rather than fear & questioning, and you’ll manifest with ease.

Meditation is an easy tool to get you to a higher vibration. It’s really the art of relaxing your body and quieting your mind. By quieting your mind, you break mental patterns and allow space for higher wisdom to come in. The added bonus is that you may start to feel more psychic and your heart opens up. You’ll begin to feel connected to everyone and everything on the planet – a recognition of the unified field.

By making time to meditate and stay in your heart, you honor the fact that you’re a spiritual being having a human experience. You make the time for yourself to connect to source. It’s your personal time to recharge, to let go of worry, doubts or fears, and just be present in the moment. If you take time for self-care, you’ll find that you’re even more efficient in all of the other areas of your life.

I want to hear from you.

How are you celebrating this great shift this weekend? Do you have a meditation practice? What do you want to birth in this new age? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on this great time.