Minding my own manifestation

Having grown up in a strict Middle Eastern household, I had a set of beliefs instilled in me from a very early age: what was “right”, and what was “wrong”.

Later in life I would realize that these beliefs were comprised of my well-intentioned parents’ doubts and fears, and that they were not necessarily truths.

After discovering rock music in my teenage years, it became clear that my passion was to write and perform music. Understandably, my parents preferred that I keep my musical desires confined to my bedroom, and they made it clear this was not a career option they would approve of.

Rather than challenge them, I decided to pursue my passion for travel and began a long and successful career in the airline industry, eventually becoming the Station Manager of a major commercial airline in the Middle East.

This job allowed me the opportunity to realize another dream of mine, which involved traveling the world. And as a mother of two boys, my job enabled me to share these incredible experiences with them.

Then five years ago, after 13 years abroad, I made the first of many changes to my life path by deciding to move back to North America.

At the time my decision was prompted by a belief that the opportunities for my children were far greater here, as during our years abroad we had experienced ongoing turmoil and uncertainty in the Middle Eastern region.

Looking back, I believe there was more to that decision; my kids were growing up and I was looking to rediscover parts of my life that I had set aside while raising the boys. Now that they were older and more self-sufficient, I found I had more free time to focus on myself.

Reconnecting with high school friends and attending concerts reignited my greatest passion: music.

The rediscovery of my passion for music resulted in my seemingly radical decision to travel to LA for my birthday in order to meet my biggest musical idol, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses. When I shared this exciting idea with my friends, they reacted with slightly less enthusiasm and perhaps even the belief that I had lost my mind.

Fortunately, I decided to follow my instincts and make the trip. As fate would have it, I was mere minutes away from his Malibu home when I found Axl walking on the secluded canyon road. I approached him and calmly explained that it was my birthday and I had come all the way from Toronto in hopes of meeting him. He was a complete gentleman and kindly asked that I continue up to his driveway.

Following a photo and a brief chat, I thanked him and went on my way to a nearby restaurant where I sat and tried to comprehend what had just occurred. Although I was familiar with The Secret and its concepts, I had never truly understood the power of manifestation until that moment.

It became so utterly clear that when you believe in an idea, no matter how crazy it may sound, it is possible to manifest it. It was through this experience that I began to open my mind to the idea that anything and everything is possible.

Upon my return to Toronto, I decided to make another radical decision: to pursue my lifelong dream of writing and performing music.

The first step was understanding why I wanted to do this. I knew that knowing my “why” would be the thing to keep me inspired and focused, even when facing challenges along the way.

I recall writing in my journal “To write and perform music that touches people’s souls”. I would use music as a vehicle to spread love and positivity.

Over the next year, I manifested one incredible experience after another. I found myself befriending people in the music industry, and they provided me with opportunities to witness the business from behind the scenes.

I would eventually begin challenging myself to write and perform, although I had no experience in either pursuit.

I understood that every experience was a chance to learn and improve, so I jumped on every opportunity I was presented with — even when I didn’t necessarily know how I was going to make it happen.

I quickly found out that as soon as I said “yes” to something, all of the details would be worked out in time. As a result, in that first year alone I found myself playing at The Whisky a Go-Go in LA, and even a festival in Brazil!

In the past few weeks, another major turning point happened for me. I was still working full time for an airline as I was pursuing my music career. But due to the pandemic I was let go from my position.

Although many might fear the prospect of losing their source of income, the moment I got the call was the happiest moment of my life. I understood it as a sign from the universe that I was ready to pursue my music fulltime.

Having a positive outlook on the situation provided me with the clarity to follow my instincts, which led to me to my biggest challenge yet. I decided to organize and perform at the first ever drive-in country music festival, Love Revolution.

Once again, the certainty with which I knew this was the next step allowed me not only to organize the event in support of seven local country artists (in three weeks!), but also to have it manifest as a huge success with support from local radio and television stations, and numerous volunteers.

Finding your bliss is knowing and loving who you are enough to trust and follow your passion, and allow your light to shine so bright that it illuminates the world for everyone around you.