I took this picture at The Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on the last day of the PGA tournament on Sunday February 19th.  This is the pivotal moment where Phil Mickelson, who began the day tied for the lead with Keegan Bradley at seven under par, sank a 27-foot birdie on the last hole for a par 71 to force a playoff with Bill Haas.  Bradley waited for the crowd’s roar for Mickelson (as seen here in pic) to quiet to a murmur, then drained a 13-footer to cap his 71 and make it a three-man playoff.  Phil's second shot on the 18th green lands in the rough, the infamous kikuya grass at Riviera.  Now, I've played Riviera many times in my past, most recently 1 week prior to the tournament taking place, and I can confidently say that chipping from the kukuya grass is extremely difficult.  It's thick grass and matted and your ball and your club can easily get lost in it.  A quote form Tom Marzolf, past president of The American Association of Golf Course Architects, says it all, "the infamous knurly kikuyu rough at Riviera, in combination with the closely shaved kikuyu green collars, can create a loss of control of the club at impact, often resulting in an unpredictable bounce as the ball approaches the green. The grass at Riviera may be the single most challenging obstacle to low scoring."  The reason why I'm belaboring this point is because Mickelson sank a 27 foot birdie from this wild grass in front of millions of people watching!!  When Mickelson sank that chip, the energy of the crowd was like static electricity.  I felt like I was floating.  Instantly my heart opened up and I could see the infinite possibilities in life.  To witness greatness is to know greatness within yourself - the greatness that comes from a vast source of limitless creative power.  This moment I was blessed to share with many others has inspired me to also demonstrate and share my own unique divine greatness with the world.  And with my unwavering devotion to God and commitment to self, I too may be one chip away from heaven.

When Theory Meets Reality

So in theory, lots of things sound and look wonderful and perfect...which is why it's called theory.  But what happens when you take a well-thought out and heavily contemplated theory and apply it to real life?  I was sure that quitting my well-paying job and trusting that the universe will support me in every possible way, while I devote my time to my personal development, was absolutely the right path for me.  It's been almost a month since I've made this decision and embraced the freedom of unemployment and it's been incredible - reading books, meditating, working on my school project, spending more time with my boyfriend and friends, going to the gym, etc.  It's actually illuminating to discover how quickly one can fill up one's day with so many tasks, appointments, and "must-do's".  I don't know how I ever had time to work!  Well, the fact is that there are so many things I enjoy doing and many things that I never got around to doing that I'm able to devote time to now.  But all this "doing" is really the same as when I was working, just more enjoyable "doing".  I'm not really "standing in the open gap" and creating a new way of being.  I'm the same as before I left my work; I'm doing.  And all this doing is exhausting!  It's so interesting how easily our patterns stay with us, even with our best intentions to change in mind.  So I guess my theory of becoming a zen master after I quit my job hasn't quite come to fruition yet, but this grasshopper is still learning!