Following Your Soul To Your Heart's Desire

Setting your intention and then releasing the reigns to allow the Universe to work through you might be the most challenging part of co-creating with Source. But sometimes, this might be the very path Spirit uses to deliver something BETTER than you could've imagined. So in this special episode, I'm sharing my favorite story of how my soul and the Universe directed me to not only witness but also participate in one of the most enlightening, and soul-quenching, out-of-body experiences of my life.

Transcript

Hi,

It's Francisca,

Welcome to a very special episode on the channel.

Today's episode is special for a couple of reasons.

The first reason being that this is my final week working for somebody else as an office manager.

For those of you who have followed the channel and have followed my newsletter,

Know that I have been an office manager since 2008 at one of the best chiropractic offices in Houston.

Now I could go into all the reasons that being an office manager is not my heart's desire or it's not the right job for me or I'm not the right fit for that position anymore.

But instead I really want to focus on what led me to quit my job and ultimately with no plans in sight.

It's something that I had thought about in the past,

But I was just never really serious about it.

I never really had a plan.

So when I knew for sure that I was going to quit my job,

I knew I had to do one thing and that was to save some fucking money.

So I started taking an honest look at my bills and what I was spending and really what I was saving.

And what I was saving wasn't enough to sustain me if I wanted to quit my job and didn't know where I was going to be able to get money.

And so I knew I needed to save.

That is one thing that I knew.

I thought that quitting my job meant that I would grow my business at the time called Isabelle Tiger Lily,

Which I knew the name would change.

And I just didn't know what the name would change into.

Originally the name was going to change to my name.

So it'd be Francisco Hernandez.

However,

By working through creating the quiz and the online course for breath work,

I realized that the name of my new website would have to be Breathe Connect Thrive.

It's such a beautiful thing to follow your intuition and to follow your heart's desire and do it so in a way that allows you to be open to the process,

Not knowing what the outcome will be.

Because my initial thought was that quitting my job meant growing my online business.

All of my efforts were focused towards growing a business online.

While I've been able to serve plenty of people in the online space and have led amazing group breath work practices and done beautiful tarot readings and led so many workshops for amazing people,

Coaches and entrepreneurs and people across the world.

While that has been satisfying on its own,

My real strength comes from in-person sessions and it's something that I never really knew was possible.

When I made the decision at the beginning of the year to really say I have a final date in mind and really have that conversation,

That two hour,

Almost three hour heart to heart with my boss of 14 years,

I thought that I'd be sitting at home for a few months trying to figure out how my online business would work and allowing that to take shape.

I never knew at that point that in March I'd be opening up my own studio so fucking close to my house and having the opportunity to lead in-person sessions in my own studio.

And so I've been able to do that through restorative yoga,

Through breath work,

Both individual and group sessions.

I've been able to do that through personalized tarot readings in person,

Through beautiful healing Reiki sessions,

And now be able to offer both yin yoga and yoga nidra at the studio in the next coming month.

But all of this is to say that the way that I got here was through following my intuition,

Which leads me to the second reason that this is a special episode,

Is the way that I got here was truly following my intuition and truly following what was in my heart and not doing so in a way that I had a plan or holding onto the plan that I had is the better way to say it.

Because anybody who knows me knows that I always have a plan,

I think that the biggest thing that I was able to do was to let go of the plan that I had in mind and allow the universe to really work through me.

And I just want to share with you what that looks like,

What following your intuition and having a plan and allowing the plan to kind of take its own shape,

What that really looks like in real life.

And so what I'm going to do today is share a soul directing story with you.

I have this on my website as a blog,

But I've never read it out loud.

So this is kind of like a story time for you.

So grab your favorite beverage,

Get yourself in a cozy spot or put your earbuds in and go for a nice walk as you listen to a story about soul directing.

A few months ago on a Saturday morning,

I was meditating.

It was in the last few moments before my meditation ended that I had this joyful feeling of playing a guitar.

I imagined my families and others I didn't quite know all singing along while I was lovingly strumming my guitar.

As my alarm went off,

My body was still gently slain.

I opened my eyes,

Wiggled my fingers and toes.

I brought myself back into the present moment.

And immediately after I looked up guitar lessons in Houston,

Even though I hadn't even played that guitar that I bought back in 2012.

After some research,

I'd narrowed down my options to two teachers.

I wanted to feel them out and really let my intuition decide which one was best for me.

So logically I thought a phone conversation would be the best indicator.

When I reached out to them,

I got both of their voicemails.

One of the guitar teachers responded by text and the other one called back.

The teacher that called had really great reviews,

He was close by and he offered hour long classes.

We had a nice conversation and he told me he didn't offer classes on Saturdays.

But logically it just seemed right to choose him.

I mean,

I talked to him on the phone,

We had had a pleasant conversation and I settled for Thursday afternoons.

Even though I'd scheduled a session with him,

Something didn't quite feel right.

I logically concluded that it was my fear surfacing and I ignored the nudge.

After a few days,

I still felt unsettled.

So I made a choice to just let go and ask the universe for help.

If the lessons with the guitar teacher that I'd spoken with were meant to happen,

I'd receive a sign.

And just a few days before my scheduled lesson,

The second teacher sent me a message asking if I was still interested in taking lessons.

And even though his location was further,

I responded with a question about Saturday classes.

He replied that one of his spots had just opened up.

I immediately felt relieved and canceled my Thursday session.

As I was driving to my first guitar lesson,

I wondered if I wanted to make this 45 to 50 minute drive every Saturday.

I decided to just relax and enjoy the drive.

I can't quite explain it,

But deep down inside,

I knew that there was a reason for choosing this teacher.

It turned out that my guitar teacher practices meditation and yoga too.

And during our conversation about meditation and yoga,

He asked me if I'd ever tried transformational breathing.

He then gave me the names of a few local yoga teachers and a breathing facilitator.

We're just two lost souls.

And a few weeks later,

He gives me the practice song,

Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.

I get into the car after my lesson and bawl my eyes out.

Wish You Were Here has given me solace at so many different points in my life.

That song came through the radio of my red Chevy Cavalier while I was parked outside of Austin High School,

Just crying my eyes out.

I was berating myself and wondering how I'd gotten into another abusive relationship and how I could pull my almost 40 year old self out of it.

And as soon as that song blasted through the radio,

I could feel my dad and something or someone else that I can't quite describe lift me up.

I slowly raised my head from the steering wheel and I looked into my bloodshot puffy red eyes in the rear view mirror and said to myself,

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl year after year.

My tears instantly stopped and I didn't feel alone anymore.

I put the car in drive and I went home.

I slept so peacefully that night and ended the relationship the next day.

Throughout my life,

That song has meant so many different things so many times.

There's no way my guitar teacher had a way of knowing what that song meant to me and still means to me.

A few weeks later,

I looked up the transformational breathing information my guitar teacher had given me.

The first session I could attend was a Friday after Thanksgiving and the drive was more than an hour away at this beautiful farm.

She had so many options to choose breathwork and yoga and a breathwork and yoga session.

So I chose to let myself experience both her yoga and breathwork session.

After all,

If I was going to drive that whole way,

I might as well take advantage of the time.

I meditated before the drive and decided to set my intentions for the upcoming yoga practice and breathwork session.

And I chose gratitude and letting go as my intentions.

I was feeling satisfied and catching up on podcasts the whole way there.

It was such a beautiful drive.

The sky was overcast,

There was no traffic and the freeway was practically empty.

The dream.

I arrived at the farm a little over an hour and a half early.

I decided to drive around the farm and look for the pavilion where the yoga and breathing session might be.

As I'm driving,

I recall a dream that I had a few months ago.

In the dream,

I was walking for such a long time.

There were rock paved roads like the one leading to this very farm.

I walked up to the brick front doorway and my family was waiting there for me,

But this family wasn't my blood related family.

They were my soul family.

And I kept walking in and out of the doorway.

I kept moving from the couch to the front of the fireplace and back to the door again.

Then we watched the sunset as we waited for the rest of our family to join us.

Being Mary,

I find my way to a building that seems like the place I'm looking for,

But no one's there.

So I decide to drive back up to the house in front.

As I'm sitting in my car,

Listening to podcasts,

Enjoying the day,

I quickly realize that the brick front doorway right in front of me is the exact same one I dreamt a few months ago.

A few moments later,

A car pulls up right next to me.

The driver happens to be the breathing teacher,

Mary.

She confirms that the pavilion is indeed the building in the back and she asks how I heard about the class.

I tell her that Alan,

My guitar teacher,

Referred me.

As the other students start trickling in,

I'm instructed to grab blankets,

Bolsters,

And blocks.

I smile,

Elated that the yoga session seems like it'll be a restorative and slow yoga session.

Slow and restorative yoga is one of my favorites.

Mary introduces me to the class.

She explains to them that she's known my guitar teacher for quite some time.

They first met when Mary started teaching yoga and transformational breathing years ago.

As she asks the rest of the students to start introducing themselves,

I start feeling a tingly sensation on my right side.

Then she begins a practice with a story from the Upanishads.

The theme she announces are gratitude and letting go.

I smile internally and externally as a few tears of joy fall down my face.

The yoga practice is satisfying,

Deep,

And fulfilling.

I find myself softly swaying during the chanting and meditation.

She calls us back to the room as the meditation ends.

I am where I'm supposed to be.

As we prepare for a breathwork session,

Everybody helps setting up their nesting spots.

As I lay on my yoga mat covered with about three to four blankets,

Hallelujah plays over the loudspeaker.

My eyes are closed and it sounds like the other students might be singing too.

Mary then asks us to sit up and she starts explaining breathwork.

She asks if anyone wants to volunteer for a breath analysis.

I look around and no one has their hand raised.

As I think about volunteering,

She calls on another student.

We gather around him.

Mary and Faith,

The owner of the farm,

Start analyzing his breathing.

They ask questions and he starts going deep,

Sharing about his insecurities,

His childhood,

His parents,

How he grew up.

As I look on with tears streaming down my face,

I'm sure that my place at that moment is right where I am,

Not being analyzed but observing.

Chills rise through my body as I start connecting the dots.

But before I start getting too lost in thought,

Mary calls us back to our nests.

We cozy up with a bolster supporting our knees,

A rolled up blanket under our neck,

And a couple of blankets covering our body.

And we even got the option of scented eye pillows.

There's a choice between lavender and rose,

And I chose rose because I know that rose essential oil is excellent for emotional release and letting go.

As we get started,

Mary explains how she's handpicked the mostly instrumental songs on her playlist based on the title.

She says she was called to them,

Connecting the dots.

As she begins the music for our breathwork session,

She calls on our ancestors,

Angels,

And ascended masters.

I start inhaling as instructed with my mouth open.

I exhale fully,

Again with my mouth open.

I hear her over the music saying,

Inhale deeply,

Exhale easily with no break in between.

I can hear her walking around offering adjustments and affirmations to the students around me.

I start feeling a bit anxious and scared.

I feel like I'm falling.

I try to let go.

I tell myself that I'm safe.

I try to focus on my breath.

Then as I'm trying to get lost in my thought,

Mary kneels next to me.

She places her hand on my sternum and she whispers in my ear,

Beautiful breath.

Let go.

You're protected.

She then places her hand underneath my right shoulder.

My neck and my shoulders instantly relax and I let go.

I started laughing and crying at the same time.

Yes,

She says.

I fully connect the dots.

I feel like I'm flying.

I'm aware of where I am and who I am at that moment.

I am everything and nowhere.

I am everything and nothing at all.

I am in my body and I am soaring above myself and I am my breath and my breath is me.

I feel chills rise through the left side of my body.

My left side,

The feminine side,

Is being held by my grandmother.

She died when I was only a few years old and I didn't know her.

But in the last few years,

I've heard her laugh and felt her near.

I can feel my Isabel next to me too.

And I also sense others I don't recognize holding my left side up as well.

I feel energy flowing into my left side body.

Then I feel my right side,

My masculine side,

Start tingling.

I sense my father,

Both of my grandfathers,

And others I don't know holding me up.

I feel energy flowing out of my body from the right side.

Connecting the dots again,

I realize that this is why I chose my guitar teacher.

I'm soaring and I'm laughing again.

I don't know shit.

I don't know anything.

I have no idea what's being orchestrated on my behalf.

Then suddenly I remember where I am.

I'm in a room with others.

I hear them breathing too.

I hear the music playing.

I realize I've been crying and laughing out loud with reckless abandon.

Feel the floor underneath me.

I'm sweating.

I run through a list of all the people I know that would benefit from this.

My mom,

My brother,

My sister,

My friends from yoga group therapy.

This could be life changing for everyone I know.

I then feel Mary next to me again.

She places her hand on my sternum and underneath my right shoulder.

My mouth is dry and I try to catch my breath.

You don't have to try so hard.

She says.

I start laughing again.

I know nothing.

I'm safe and I've always been safe.

Beautiful breath.

She says.

All of the crap I've been through,

All of the abusive relationships,

The drugs,

The alcohol,

The numbing.

They were all part of my journey to this place.

All of the personal development and times I chose to care about myself.

The happy,

The ecstatic times.

Those were also part of my journey to this place.

Alan met Mary years ago.

This moment has been in the making probably since before then.

None of that matters.

Now is the only thing that matters.

This moment,

This breath as I let myself get lost in each inhale with an open mouth,

Each exhale with an open mouth.

I begin soaring again.

The top of my head starts tingling and it feels like it's opening up.

Like I'm opening up.

I feel open and expansive.

I start laughing again.

My eye pillow falls off and even though I still have my eyes closed,

I feel light flow through my body from the crown of my head.

It feels like the light is flowing through me.

Like I'm a channel of light.

It flows from the top of my head through the bottom of my feet.

Light emanates from my solar plexus and the small of my back at the same time.

It's like light is pouring through my whole body,

Through all my pores,

Invigorating and igniting every single cell.

I'm home and home is me and I am fucking perfect.

The sun rises and sets.

That's not my fucking job.

Everybody has their journey and it's not my job to fix them.

They're perfectly exactly where they need to be.

They are perfect just as I am.

I feel whole and complete.

I am full of love.

I'm in love with me and love is in me.

I am love.

Mary then calls us back as the music stops.

My breath regulates and I can't quite remember how we close out that breath work session.

But we start folding our blanket and putting up the bolsters and all of the other equipment.

Then as we all gather for circle group hug,

Mary starts singing a song and everybody joins in.

I join in on the second,

Third and fourth verses.

Everybody's eyes are shining and bright.

Then one of the students asked me if I'd like to join them for lunch.

I accept the invitation.

We drive up to the main house on the farm.

As I sit in my car waiting for the rest of the class,

I stare at that brick front doorway.

I recall the fireplace from my dream.

It was a brick fireplace.

I walk into the house and there's a woman speaking with other people that were in the class.

As Faith looks in,

The lady hugs her expressing joy and gratitude for what Faith has done for her son.

I have no idea what's going on,

But I'm moved too.

I ask if I can use the bathroom and as I make my way there,

I see that brick fireplace from my dream.

I look at my face in the bathroom mirror.

I remember all the times I've looked into my eyes crying.

The lyrics for my wish you were here start flowing into my mind and I smile.

I walk out with so many questions.

Am I meant to learn breath work?

I'd been interested in it and started looking it up a year ago.

Is this the place for my dreams?

Is this why I decided to no longer participate in group yoga therapy?

Was I making room for this?

Was this why I bought my guitar years ago?

Is this why I looked up guitar lessons?

If I'd chosen the other guitar teacher,

Would I have found my way here?

Did I really just experience all of my wholeness?

Was my soul directing me this whole time?

Am I really supported at all times?

Am I making too much of this?

As I walk out of the bathroom,

The lady that was hugging Faith reaches out to hug me.

Yes,

She says,

Yes,

I don't know what your question is,

But Spirit tells me that the answer is yes.

Yes to everything.

The drive home.

As I drive home,

I logically try to make sense of what happened.

I don't know how long this elated feeling will last.

Then I realize I don't fucking care because in those moments I found my way back home to myself in a way that I'd never before.

I have never experienced anything like that and I don't know if I ever will again.

What I do know is that I don't know anything.

For the first time in my life,

That was perfectly fine with me.

And I have so many more stories like this.

The main purpose is to inspire you to follow your intuition,

To follow your heart's desire,

To see examples of what that looks like in real life,

But also to inspire me,

To remind me that we never really know the outcome of what it will look like when you follow your intuition.

And I think it's a beautiful thing to not know because I think if we did know,

We couldn't be as surprised and delighted as we would if we would know what it looked like.

So over the next few months,

I'll be releasing more of these stories.

And as always,

I love to hear from you.

Please share with me your takeaways,

What resonates and even what didn't.

That's it for now.

I'll see you guys next time.

Bye.

Reviews

So beautiful and honest! Breath work is amazing. I should do it more.

You remind me of my sister in law who is from Guam, Jessica. I miss her. So thank you for the fond memories.
I love stories like yours. It was so refreshing to hear someone so vulnerable. It was almost too much for me for a second and then you cussed and I’m like okay, I can hang. Lol
That experience sounded so heavenly! I haven’t recalled something so vividly in a while. But I am working on my mind feeling content in this life. That’s been a challenge after marriage and kids. I feel like my life turned a chapter but my mind feels a bit stuck in the past wishing I was not here but there. So I’m slowly catching up to myself now and just being in the moment. I’m 40 and still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I’m working on figuring out the next stage in my life while I have the time. Just hanging out with my family being free these days. Listening to whatever is next. Have an amazing day Francisca! 🙏🏾🌸🙏🏾

Incredible. I love your story. Thank you for such a deep love meditation for me. ❤it meant more than I can express.