
by Maria McGonigal, Soul Coaching Advanced® Trainer, Advanced Yoga & Meditation Teacher & Acoustic Sound Healing Trainer.
“You have to sniff out joy. Keep your nose to the joy trail.”
~ Buffy Sainte Marie
One fine night, I had a dream about my teacher, Denise Linn.
She came through my front door, arms held high, and said:
“Maria, it is all about joy!” She grabbed my hands and we started dancing around the room.
There was much laughter as we spiraled around filled with joy.
Upon waking, I made a commitment to bring more joy into my life.
Being a long time seeker, I had many tools at my disposal. It wasn’t until my husband found Ziggy, our mini-poodle, that a new world of joy opened up to us.
We had learned to pay attention to our dreams. When Rian repeatedly dreamt about dogs, we decided to get one.
Neither of us ever had a dog, so we made a list of requirements:
~ Fairly young
~ Small to medium-sized
~ Hypoallergenic/Non-shedding
~ House trained (we had no clue how to train a dog)
~ Crate trained (no dogs on the bed)
Ziggy had 5 previous owners. We don’t know why he was passed around so much but we feel he was well trained and loved. The last owners had Ziggy only 3 weeks and had a medical emergency, so he came to us.
But unknown to us, Ziggy demonstrated another quality that should be on every list: a golden heart full of joy.
As we began taking Ziggy for walks, his joy was exhilarating and contagious.
He loved everyone, dogs and humans alike, and greeted them with the same joy, love, and innocence that only a true free spirit can offer.
One day, while going through Air Week in the Soul Coaching® 28 Day Program, we allowed him the freedom that the sacred element Air represents.
Ziggy was enjoying being off the leash and happy to stay close by. Our trust and faith were increasing.
Coming over a hill, we saw a field below and heard people in the far distance.
Suddenly Ziggy took off! He couldn’t be stopped.
We screamed his name but knew it was a futile attempt.
We hopelessly watched him run, fast as ever, down the rocks into the field towards the bench where the people were sitting. I could feel his tremendous joy on his way to greet his new friends.
It took us a while to reach the bench. Nothing could have prepared us for what was waiting.
Five brightly radiant young friends were engulfed in Ziggy’s joyous celebration of life.
I do not have words to express the heart expansion we were experiencing as a group.
They kept saying: WE LOVE ZIGGY!!! WE LOVE ZIGGY!!!
I have explored ways to bring joy into my life.
Yoga, breathing, meditation, a Sattvic (pure) diet, walking in nature, waking with the sunrise, watching sunsets, swimming, art, writing, music, chanting, repetition of a mantra, and the cultivation of self-love.
Nevertheless, it is a challenge to remain in a state of joy.
Despite all the challenges that Ziggy went through, including separation anxiety, his joy always shines so brightly.
Ziggy has come to teach us is that no matter what happens, no matter your fears, you can always face life with a heart full of joy.
Ask yourself how you can bring more joy into your life or find your own Ziggy.
Ziggy pried our hearts wide open… unconditionally!
Each day we find ourselves more joyous than ever, following his simple heart, ‘sniffing out joy and keeping our nose on the joy trail.’
I aspire to be like Ziggy!

Maria McGonigal, Soul Coaching® Advanced Trainer
Maria McGonigal is praised for her keen intuition and profound wisdom.She focuses on bringing together different yet integrated systems together creating harmony, balance, and profound transformation. Maria assists you in finding missing pieces, energetic or physical, connecting you with your Soul so you can find your own answers.
She is one of only four Soul Coaching® Advanced Trainers worldwide, an Acoustic Sound Healing Practitioner & Trainer, and an Advanced Yoga & Meditation Teacher. In addition, she is an international speaker and author of three international best selling collaborative books.
Maria lives in mystical Prescott, AZ with her husband and Sound mentor, Rian, and their joyful dog Ziggy.
The Sacred Art of Cleaning as an Offering to Your Home
by Dorena Kohrs, Interior Alignment® Practitioner, Soul Coaching® Practitioner, Clutter Clearing PractitionerTransform your cleaning routine into a meaningful ritual of appreciation for the space that shelters you. This mindful approach reveals how the simple act of...
How the Eye Spy Game Can Change Your Life
by Elizabeth Ferrall, Soul Coaching® Practitioner, Elemental Space Clearing® Practitioner I find the number of serious scientific studies that have been completed on the relationship between gratitude and positive mental health to be very validating of a deeply held...
Offerings
-by Denise Linn, Founder of the Linn Academy Greetings Fellow Soul Traveler! Welcome to the Linn Academy website. I’m so glad that you are here. Every month an oracle card is chosen which becomes the theme for the month. This month the card pulled is “Offerings,” from...
Medicine Wheel Feng Shui – Activating the Forces in Your Home
by LuAnn Cibik, Interior Alignment® Master Educator, Soul Coaching® Advanced Trainer, Master Oracle Card Reader “Medicine Wheel Feng Shui is based on the innate understanding that ancient people had about the natural forces that shaped their world. These wise...
I Slept with GRACE Last Night!
by Lori Solensten, Practitioner of Gateway Dreaming, Soul Coaching, Instinctive Feng Shui and Red Lotus Being offered the challenge of blending the oracle card of the month with dreaming, I thought of the ways I have traditionally used oracle cards in my work with...
Say What Now? Conversing with Grace
by Elizabeth Ferrall, Soul Coaching® Practitioner, Elemental Space Clearing® Practitioner When I was a young teenager I remember going to my grandmother with PROBLEMS. I had Opinions, and people were mean. She listened. She would hint that maybe it wasn’t as bad as...
What’s Your Favorite Word?
-by Denise Linn, Founder of the Linn Academy Greetings Beloved Soul Travelers, Every month an oracle card is pulled for the month ahead. For April, the card pulled was the GRACE card. This morning, I went to a clinic to get my blood drawn for a routine...
Grace is the Answer to Your Overwhelm
by Dorena Kohrs, Interior Alignment® Practitioner, Soul Coaching® Practitioner, Clutter Clearing Practitioner Feeling overwhelmed by the world? That overwhelm often shows up in our homes—either as overflowing clutter or a perfectly curated space. In this video, I...
Transcend the Drama with Joy and Creativity
by LuAnn Cibik, Interior Alignment® Master Educator, Soul Coaching® Advanced Trainer, Master Oracle Card Reader Master Educator LuAnn Cibik shares techniques used in Soul Coaching to rise above the chaos and drama. As the Wood Snake Year brings out the dark secrets,...