In the Belly of the Whale

with Randy Siegel

Find Inspiration, Support, and Love in a Community
Who Cares about You, Your Growth, and Well Being

Life quakes are those few times in our lives that shake us to the core and invite us to transform our lives. Examples include accidents, illness, accidents, divorce, financial reverses, and death. All of us experience them. 

When faced with a life quake we have two choices. The first is to deny, or wallpaper, over the pain. The other is to be present to the circumstance, our self, others, and the Divine. By being present, we open ourselves to the gifts of deeper personhood, purpose, and peace. 

Some topics the group hopes to address include how to:

• Reframe circumstance; See the Big Picture; Uncover the gifts.
• Learn more about your true, authentic, highest self.
• Become more compassionate.
• Discover inner peace, regardless of the circumstances.

You must have a Facebook profile to join. It’s easy to find. 

About In the Belly of the Whale Community

Philosophy

It’s during the tough times (life quakes and life shocks) that we have the greatest opportunities to grow. The more we’re able to say “Yes!” to the circumstances of our lives, the more we’ll  benefit from them.

In almost every instance, a life quake or life shock is an invitation to become our most authentic, highest self and to come into union, reunion, and communion with the Creator and all of creation.

We must stay awake, however, to discern what the Universe is trying to teach us.

Regardless of the circumstances, we can find that “calm, abiding place within” through stillness and solitude.

Commitments

All are welcomed! We respect and celebrate each other’s differences.

We strive to create a safe space for all by being active, compassionate, nonjudgmental listeners and refraining from giving advice unless asked. 

We will constantly seek to see the bigger picture trusting that a benevolent, divine, order is at play.  

We will only share our personal experience. 

Deeper Dive:
Making Peace with Liminal Space

Liminal space…

Those times in which we find ourselves in the great in between: 
a gap
a pause
a transition
a tomb

It’s like being in doorway between two rooms and you can’t move forward or backwards. 

It’s…
Jonah in the belly of the whale…
Israel in the desert…
Mary pregnant with child…
and Jesus in the wilderness. 

Perhaps you can remember the tomb times in your life. Those liminal spaces where you realized you aren’t who you were but not yet who you are going to be.

Perhaps you find yourself in that uncomfortable space right now.
If so, you may feel:
disoriented
confused
unteathered
anxious
expectant

When these times arrive in our lives—and they will arrive—we should give them the respect they are due. 

Liminal Time is not a time for action.

This is a time for stillness and silence.

It’s a time to soak in the pause.

For it’s precisely during these times of 
career changes
divorces
illnesses
accidents
financial Reversals
death…

that we’re likely to experience
purpose
communion
transcendence.

Picture a still, beautiful clear green pond.
Someone throws rock and the silt from the bottom is stirred up.
The pond is now cloudy. 
You take a deep breath and find a seat.
And sink into the stillness and silence of your soul.
The mind rebels.
“I don’t like this!”
and you gently return to the moment. 
To be with the what is.
To be with stillness and silence.
To be with God.
You wait.
No agenda.
In time that pond becomes clear again.
Maybe not in the exact same way, but
its beauty returns.  

My partner Don had a horrendous bike accident a year ago Easter.

It was as if a rock had been thrown into the pond of our beautiful lives.
Since then, we have been in tomb time—
in that liminal space.

My mind rebels.
I am a man of action.
What can we do!

I take a deep breath and repeat this mantra:
Patience. Trust. Surrender.
And wait for the silt to settle to the bottom of the pond.

I sit in this liminal time, and I try to give this time 
the respect it’s due.
Life as I’ve known it will never be the same.
And that’s okay.
For like the Easter Story, resurrection follows death.

In the belly of the whale,
space is being made 
for something new to be born.

About Your Host

Randy Siegel is an author, artist, and teacher focusing on union, reunion, and communion with self, others, and the Divine.

Siegel has authored numerous books including the Amazon bestseller “In Search of The One: How to Attract the Relationship You’ve Longed For” and “Change Begins Here: Adopt the Mind of Christ and Build a Better World.” As a painter, Siegel is inspired by his passion for folk art, psychology, and spirituality. His artwork has been described as “postcards from the psyche.” 

For more than a quarter of a century, Randy Siegel worked with professionals to “stand in their power by becoming the full expression of all they are.” His clients included The Recording Academy (The Grammy Awards), the American Alliance of Museums, and the University of Georgia MBA Programs. Today, he continues to give workshops on spirituality, service, and spiritual practice to faith and community organizations.

Randy, his partner Don, and their dog “Onyx” divide their time between Asheville, North Carolina and Saint Simons Island, Georgia. For more information on his writing, art, and teaching, visit LinkToRandy.com.