Change and transformation are a necessary part of life. Until we are willing to enter into the process with our whole heart, we cannot really let go of the past. The new emerges out of the old.

Truly, our pain and suffering, our heartache and our anguish, do mold and shape us in wonderful ways if we but allow them to expand our thinking and our horizons. It is through these teachers that we become more. It is through these changes that we build upon the past and emerge with deeper insight, greater vision, and even a clearer sense of identity.

In some ways, I think the caterpillar is wiser than we. It knows when the time has come to build its cocoon, to enter into the process of change. We are not such willing creatures, by and large. Perhaps it is because the change was thrust upon us so suddenly. Yet, if we were to prepare ourselves, if we were to admit that someday this time will present itself to us, perhaps we would not fight the process so much. Perhaps the very act of accepting things for what they are would allow us to enter into times of change in a more graceful way.

By accepting what has occurred and allowing it to teach us what it will, we can indeed emerge victorious on the other side. Then we, too, will be like the butterfly, for our horizons will have expanded, and our depth of being will have grown immeasurably as we learn to take what life brings and call it friend.

Donna Miesbach

I have been on a spiritual path all my life. I was first introduced to meditation when I was seventeen. I knew this was an important tool, but I wanted to go deeper than that particular method allowed, so my search began. I attended workshops and classes, read books and tried every form of meditation I could find, to no avail. Then in 1994, my life changed dramatically. My husband died very suddenly. Soon after that, I lost both parents, too. They say when the student is ready, the teacher appears. This student was certainly ready. About a year after my husband’s sudden death, I learned about Dr. Deepak Chopra and his teachings. It was like finding the light at the end of the tunnel. I took meditation training from Dr. Chopra and began attending his courses. They fed my deep roots and made such a difference in my life that I committed to being certified both in meditation and yoga so I could share these wonderful practices with others. I have studied with Deepak and also Roger Gabriel both here and in India. I also studied sound healing with Jonathan Goldman, and remote viewing with Dr. David Morehouse, having completed all five levels of his training. As my teaching became established, doors began opening that allowed me to teach meditation to at risk youth. Then another door opened and I found myself working with Playmakers Mentoring Foundation, a Sacramento-based outreach. Together with their Executive Director, we wrote a book and then opened a chapter here in Omaha. In addition to my work with Playmakers, I continue to teach meditation in the Omaha NE area, offering both private and group instruction. I also hold group meditations and programs five times a year, and speak to groups on various aspects of spirituality upon request.   It has been an amazing journey, one I never could have anticipated. I didn’t know it then, but I know now that it is possible to get to the other side of grief, and that is what my book, “From Grief to Joy, A Journey Back to Life & Living,” is all about.

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