Walking In Awareness

The sound of the choir of birds this morning was glorious. I walked in meditation along the stream and enjoyed each moment. I thought I would share with you today one of my favorite things to do. Walking meditation is a wonderful way to be in the world especially out in nature. When I do my daily contemplative walks I take myself away from the rush of life and settle into the present moment. I walk in silent awareness of all that is, both in me, my thoughts and in the world around me. I am fully present to my inner dialogue and my body in movement. I feel the air, I hear the sounds and I experience a connection to the earth and my fellow inhabitants. This morning I had encounters with a human, two friendly dogs, a large blue heron, a pair of ducks, some honking geese and the bird choir. In this meditative state all these interactions are appreciated as colors on the palate of now. I walk and co-create each moment with all there is around me. Life is so beautiful being in the moment.

Now lets talk a little about the method. I have been blessed to have as one of my teachers of walking mediation a wonderful Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hahn. His book on walking meditation is wonderful resource. I learned to be present in the walk by slowing down and noticing my feet as they touched the earth on each step. This moment to moment experience of touching the earth is powerful for quieting the mind of the endless ramblings of life. In each step I am aware and conscious of life and myself traveling through it. Imagine the Buddha walking slowing with the regal grace of royalty and the humbleness of a gentle soul.

I have found walking in a quiet place in nature to be my favorite. But through the neighborhood in the morning and/or evening will work just fine. The walk is slow but not so slow that most would even notice. I find following my breath as I walk very helpful. Usually my breath deepens as I go as if I am breathing in more of each moment. I like to hold my hands together in a relaxed way. Often a smile makes its way on to my face because the joy of this practice is always there. When my walking is deep I experience the world around me as if all is connected in a wonderful unity of light, color and clarity. These moments of expansion are fully of consciousness and wonder.

I invite you to explore walking meditation as a way to be more present to the all that you are and to all the world has to offer. Make this contemplative practice your own by experimenting with what works for you. I have had wonderful teachers but I learn much more by doing and exploring what worked for me. The rewards of this practice will be the grace you receive from being more present to life. Enjoy and be conscious.

Creating the Results You Want

Monday morning is an interesting time of the week. After a busy fun weekend, I have to return my focused to the projects I am working on. This refocusing comes much easier as I create the life I want. I use to dread Mondays. Now that has changed to enthusiasm as I get back to work on my writing, our peace project, and several other promising ventures. There is still some work stuff I do that is not fully aligned with my purpose but that is transitioning as I up my intensity on my mission. What I appreciate most is as I get clearer and more focused the results reflect that. As I raise my energy and my vibrations in pursuit of what I am here to do, I create the results I want. I keep going with determination and purpose trusting I can make wonderful things happen. With a clear vision of where I am going; focus on how I will create the results; and a powerful determination, I will achieve the realization of my highest goals.

Ordinary people like you and me can change the world. If you can clearly see where you are going, if you have a plan to get there and the discipline and follow through to make it happen, then you will achieve it. It is very reaffirming to see our dreams come into reality.

What is it in the next week, month or year that you want to make a reality in your life? If you can dream big, what new improved reality would you like to see in the world? Take some time over the next few days and think about what positive results do you want to create in your life and in the world. Start with something simple in your life. Maybe you want to have more peace of mind so you set out to learn mediation. You decide you want to have more income so you set up a better savings and investment plan. In a short time you will see benefits from these two new efforts. Slowly or maybe even quickly, you will get good at having a goal and bringing about positive results. The more positive results you create the more confidence you will gain in your ability to make things happen.

Now you are ready to take on the world. With confidence you can set your bar higher and begin to soar more easily toward the outcomes you have set for yourself. Imagine for a moment that you want to bring about peace in the world. You build a team of like-minded people with the skills you need and you go about establishing a vision for this project. Next you create a plan to make the peace project a reality. Then with determination, follow through and a peaceful mind you make the project a powerful success. Now you can enjoy and celebrate this success and the difference you have made in the world. Can you see it, feel it, plan it, act on it and celebrate it. Ok make it happen.

3 Step Plan for Success
1. Get clear what you want to create, feel it, see it and intend it
2. Set up a plan: having the support of others works best
3. Take action, follow through, keep open to make course corrections and prepare to celebrate the results.

Let me know how it goes.

Finding Your Own Spirit

The cold crisp air refreshed my mind and woke me up for the day. I needed awakening to get clearer so I could sit down and write. In my last two posts I have been talking about Spirit. The reason I have been exploring this topic is because there seems to be a truly longing for a spiritual quality to life. Just go the bookstores and look at all the hundreds of books that address that topic. I turn to a higher knowing as a way to make sense out of life. I keep on coming back to the idea there is a greater intelligence out there that is the source of the wonderful creations of nature and the universe. I can’t imagine a human form as that source of all of creations. I can see that whatever the source is it is part of do each of us.

The idea I was raised with of a heaven up there was a nice story. This story was used to shape “good” behavior if I wanted to get to heaven. But really, it seems we create heaven or hell right here in this life. I have a difficult time imagining some Being watching over us in constant judgment deciding whether we get eternity in the clouds or an endless roasting in some bad place. Now if you want some images of heaven and hell realms check out the movie, What Dreams May Come. The human imagination is so amazing isn’t it? This heaven or hell thing seems more like a myth used to influence behavior but who knows for sure?

So where do we go from here. First we need to examine our beliefs and find out what our truths are. This process of exploring these truths is life long. As we understand what is right for us, we attempt to live according to our own internal compass. There are a lot of people out there who want to tell you what to believe but that really can’t work. Our truths have to be ours. Living by our own value system is the only way we can find inner peace and a true joy.

As we touch into our deepest sense of knowing, most likely we feel in our hearts an expansion that is more inclusive of all beliefs. The need to judge and determine if things are bad or good falls away and a greater acceptance happens. This place of acceptance and love is as god-like as we get. Whatever spirit is, it is for sure love and acceptance of the amazing creations we all are. Wouldn’t you agree?

I appreciate you and who you are. I encourage you to appreciate and accept all those you know as they are. Then the world will know the Highest Force of the universe, Love.

More About Spirit and You

A gray morning mist descends upon the valley and I feel as if I have been transported someplace else. I feel pulled in and wish I could write near a warm fireplace. I have to get back to my discussion about Spirit. Thinking about this discussion I slept restlessly because of the energy in my body and mind. I use the word “Spirit” because “God” seems so highly charged. Spirit has a dual meaning for me. I have spirit as part of me. I call it my source of life, my connection to the greater source of creation in the universe. Then there the Spirit that is this Great Creative Force. I find that confusing even to me. This all inclusive Spirit is called Great Spirit by many of the native people of our continent. I like that term.

This Great Spirit is the infinite source of knowing that includes everything, creates all things and is the source of all of life. Another view of this Source is that it represents the collective wisdom and creative force of everything since the beginning. As you can imagine this is a lot of wisdom and creative force. This Source is part of you. You have access to it through your own silence, through the collective knowledge of your cells and through the particles, you are made of, that have been bouncing around since the universe was created. Whatever Spirit is, you are. You may just not recognize yourself as such yet. Are you ready to try?

There is in you and me and everyone this collective wisdom and creative force. Sit with that idea and let yourself grow into the possibilities. Open to the spirit in you. Never again argue for your limitations but turn the focus on who you are and what you can be. You have a purpose only you can live and your have the power and knowing to realize all you are here to become. That realization of your own Higher Spirit is maybe what this whole discussion is about. You and I both have so much potential in us. We need to find and explore our own relationship with the Great Creator both in us and as the source of all things. Whatever works for us to have this holy relationship, we need to make happen. Silence is a golden doorway; nature a true cathedral; questions are mind expanding; and our hearts and Spirit are one.

Journey well and let me know what you find along the way.

What Is Spirit?

There has been a lot rambling around in head about a topic that is difficult to express. I have been trying to come to terms with my sense of Spirit. I feel my spiritual life is a very personal thing. Not that it is private but more that my relationship with Spirit, God, Higher Power is only something I can have in my own way. The complicated part of this internal discussion is that I am unsure what Spirit is and if Spirit actually exists as something I can communicate with in some way.

Churches have their advantages. They have a very clear creation of images and stories they state are real. They have a book that to quote that is suppose to be the words of God. They have ministers that claim God speaks to them so they can let the followers know what is right. That provides order, rules and the correct way to look at things if you are a member.

Sometimes I wish I could just join a church and accept all the rules and beliefs and not question so much. But I can’t because I have my own moral compass; my own sense of the truth that doesn’t fit any church I have ever been too. I have a difficult time with the idea that someone else could tell me how Spirit wants me to act and be. I have to find my own way in understanding my relationship with the Source of the Universe. Without a doubt I know there is a greater source of wisdom and power in the universe then us humans. I know that there is some sort of infinite intelligence behind the magnificent creation of such beauty and vastness. I also sense that whatever that infinite creative force is, it is in me also. This force is greater then me and is part of me and all living things. How do I relate to this force? How do you understand this?

As you can see I have lots to further explore. I am very interested in your ideas. I will write more soon because I seem to be inspired to explore these questions at this point in my life.

In the Essence

I was just reading some thoughts from one of my favorite teachers Eckhart Tolle. His simple clear writing and talks always bring me to an introspective place. In this place, a question arose in me today. Who am I beyond my form and the content of my life? My body, thoughts, experiences, emotions and personality are part of the story of me but they are not me. This story seems real and important and it is to my ego. Somewhere within that story there is a deeper essence that I feel connected to when I listen quietly. This essence is a place in me in which I feel totally at home. In my essence I go beyond worry and fear and instead feel endless love, joy, peace and freedom. I also seem to leave the “I” behind and instead feel connected to everyone and everything.

This inner peace and place of expanded connection is really where I would like to live all the time. Then life gets intense and I dash into the dramas of worry and hurry leaving my centered place behind. Darn I hate when that happens. It seems way to easy to jump into the insanity of life and forgot my essence.

What do you know about your essence? Do you take time to quietly explore your inner landscape? Have you gotten acquainted with you beyond your personality and experiences?

Do yourself a big favor and plan to take some time to yourself this week. It could even be at a lunch hour, or on your drive home. Find some time when you are only with you. Listen inward and get to know your thoughts and feelings. Become aware of all that is going on inside. Then drop below the noise level and locate the stillness. This stillness is always there beyond the static of life. In the quietness be with you and feel the love and warmth there. Enjoy you at your essence because it is a beautiful place to be.

Be on notice that in this quiet the ego feels out of control so it will want to distract you. See the distractions arise and instead return to the stillness. The more you are in stillness the more will be aware and better able to extend the inner peace.

Once you become more familiar with this inner place, you will find yourself wanting to be there often. Meditation is a great practice to help you do that. Walking quietly in nature is powerful also.

Come join me in the quiet place where we are all one. Let me know how it goes. Your posted comments are greatly appreciated.

Have a Global Mind

The beginning of spring is in the air as the warmth surrounds me here at the foothills of the Rockies. I truly enjoy nature especially when it is not as cold out. I was thinking this morning that I also enjoy expanding my view, opening my mind and thinking big. The reason I enjoy it so much is that when I think big I can make big things happen. When I see from a broader perspective I can be more inclusive. With an open mind all things are possible. I get energized when I think beyond the little world of day-to-day drama. Sure the stuff of life needs to be taken care of but a bigger mind is a must to make a difference in the world. I can’t settle for less when the world needs us all to go for more.

How do you expand your thinking? How do you get past your day dramas and get on the stage of being somebody on a mission? You know what I am talking about. You can feel inside a calling to be more and do more and to live life with more passion and aliveness. Is your mind big enough, your confidence strong enough, your heart passionate enough to be fully all you are inside?

Here are some ideas to set your life on fire:
• Spend time getting clear about your mission in life and each day build on that until you are living this mission fully
• Find others passionate about life and together work on things that matter
• Explore other viewpoints and open your mind to new ways of looking at things – check out www.global-mindshift.org
• Develop compassion for all those with a purpose to make a positive difference in the world, whatever there methods
• Join the world community by taking care of the planet, by seeing everyone as your brother or sister, and by developing a global mind that is big enough to include everything
• Imagine that all beings are part of you and have an open heart to everyone and everything. On a particle level this is absolutely true

Ok let’s get out there and do and be. Let me know how it goes. Post comments and share.

Finding Your Own Way

This day started out so sunny and spring seems to be in the air. I was walking down along the stream and was making my own path at times because of muddy snow remnants. I noticed that I often prefer to make my own path. This is definitely a metaphor for my own life. Following the path of others is not something I feel drawn to do. I have my own beliefs, my own relationship with a higher power, and my own ways of seeing the world. I question much of what is going on. My truths are uniquely mine. I tend to reject my social conditioning in favor of my own expanding viewpoints. Over time I have let go of much of my need for approval, which has given me more freedom. I am creating and living my life the way that feels right to me.

How do you find your own way? Are you following your inner guidance or the conditioning of your childhood? Take some time to ask yourself these important questions:

1. What do you value most in life? List 10 values that are important to you today. Then list the top 5 in order and explore living by them.

2. What is do you believe about God and religion? Do you have your own beliefs or are they ones you learned and need to further explore now in your life?

3. Who are you? Are you your body, your thoughts, your emotions, your past, your personality? What if who you are is beyond all the parts?

These are just a few questions to get you going on finding your way in life. Actually what other way can you live but the way that feels right to you? A happy rewarding life comes from following your own path. Living your life and your truth is powerful and purposeful. The more you honor your own inner knowing the freer you are to be fully yourself. The whole world will benefit from you being you as fully as possible. If you don’t, everyone looses out. Those you love will benefit too because they will be with you at your best. Find your own way and love lots as you go.

Let's Start With Awareness

I walked the makeshift log bridge across the stream this morning with my mind congested with thought. I kept trying to clear my thoughts or at least slow them down so I could be present to the beautiful sounds of the birds singing. I knew my mind was busy because I was paying attention to what I was thinking. This paying attention is awareness. I was aware of my thoughts because I paid attention to them. As I write this, I am aware of the my stomach filled with a smoothie, my fingers touching the key board, the house creaking and other things going on. I am aware of these things because my attention went out to notice what was happening. When I experience my feelings, I do so because I have my attention on them. These moments of awareness allows me to be awake in my world, to know what is going on inside of me and around me.

The benefits of awareness are many. If you are aware of your own thoughts, feelings, desires, needs etc. then you can more easily shape the life you want. If you are aware of others, their feelings, needs and desires then you can more easily be in relationship with them. If you are aware at work you can better meet the expectations of your boss and be a highly functioning worker. If you are aware of what is going on in your country and government, you can be an informed citizen who can make a difference. With awareness, you are awake to what is going on, what needs to happen, what you can do to improve your life and those around you. Awareness is empowering.

Let’s talk about awareness at even a more highly tuned level so you can sense how deep this knowing can be. If you really pay attention, you might even sense the pull of the moon on the tides, or feel the change of seasons, or notice the you body interactions on a particle level with all that is around it. You could know the part of you that was there before your were born and will continue after this life. You could even be aware of the wisdom of your cells that contain the entire history of life on the planet if you learn to listen deeply inward. Awareness is powerful.

Awareness is made possible through your intention to be awake and present to what is going on in you and around you. The more you are awake and present the more you will be aware. Here are two methods to help you be more aware:
1. Take time to sit quietly and observing your feeling, sensations and thoughts. Then expand that observing and slowly feel and sense what is around you. This will bring you more awareness.
2. When in a busy place, bring your focus to your body as you move through this busyness. Notice what is going on in you as a response to the circumstances. Feel the energy of the place and be open to what others are experiencing. You might be amazed at what you can become aware of as you tune in.

Please feel free to post a comment about your own exploration of awareness.

Further Insights

The evening chill began to descend around the lake. I appreciated that I had the walk to myself. I wanted to walk in awareness and to connect to a deeper knowing me. I have been trying to understand why the efforts I was putting into several projects was not coming along as I had hoped. I was looking at the results of my efforts and wondering what I needed to change. Now it comes to me as I write. I have this underlying belief that I am not enough in some way. I need to be something more my inner voice whispers rather parent like. Ah ha! That part of me is never satisfied with the person I am. This I unfortunately learned growing up but I can change that now. With awareness, I can see that part of me more clearly. I can see that the critic in me is the source of the stomach tightness I feel when I am in fear around finances or other concerns. There is in me a tendency towards self-judgment and away from self-love.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Or am I the only one who experiences self-doubt?

In awareness, I understand myself better then I did before. In awareness I have more insight into what is getting in my way and what is opening me to success. I make a clear choice to take a stand that I am enough, that I do deserve what I want, and that it is ok to have the life I desire. By the way, desire is good. Desire is an inner message to be more and go for more in life. Desire is a call to stretch myself beyond my comfort zone. My desires are ok because they push me toward realizing a better life.

Awareness also helps me to understand that I have room to grow and yet I can be ok with who I am now. In this moment I can experience myself as the best I can be. In the next moment I can be even more. I can actually learn to appreciate myself in each moment. Self-appreciation feels good.

Back to where I started. This old belief that I am not enough is learned and I am deciding to change it today. With awareness of what is going on in my thinking, I can make other choices and create better beliefs that work for me. Some beliefs are easy to change and others need to be worked on. I have cleared away the debris of limiting beliefs on this one and I feel good progress has been made.

Are there parts of you that need the light of awareness shed on them? Look at an area where you are not getting the results you want. Get to the root of the situation. When we nourish and care for our roots we produce better fruits. Make sure your thoughts and beliefs support you and your goals.

A Night of Insight

The chilly night air seemed to bring clarity as I walked. I had been exploring some questions about the nature of consciousness. Was consciousness something you could measure or rate? What causes consciousness to expand? I was asking these questions because it seems to me the world is in need of more consciousness if we are going to have peace. I wondered if some people were more conscious then others? Then a light went on and I had a very interesting insight. That insight is even getting clearer as I write this. What I now understand is that we all have unlimited consciousness available if we access it. This consciousness is the same consciousness of the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, Rumi, the Dalai Lama and many others that have graced the planet. That got me excited thinking about it.

So how do we access this expanded state of consciousness? The profound part of my insight was that we can access it anytime by entering into awareness of that consciousness. Explaining this part of it is more difficult unless you have spent time meditating or doing some other contemplative practice. What I can explain is that when we quiet the mind and open to seeing beyond our ego and personality then we are entering into a state of awareness much more expansive then our normal state of being. This expanded state allows us to access the collective consciousness of the planet. When we are in consciousness then we are one with the infinite wisdom of the universe, with the higher nature of all things.

As far as I can understand this - awareness is the key. The more we spend time in awareness the more access we have to the vastness of consciousness. Being in awareness is something we normally do with intention. We sit, walk and move quietly with the intention of being in awareness. Meditation, prayer, tai chi, yoga and other practice can take us into awareness. When in awareness people have a variety of experiences. My experience is: I feel expanded beyond myself; I sense the light around me is different an almost golden white; I experience the beauty in all things I see; I feel connected and in unity with everything; I feel my heart is open and there is a deep sense of peace and quiet joy. There are many writings about these states of awareness and consciousness particularly in the East and in Western contemplative practices. These readings are validating but the true experience of awareness and consciousness is almost beyond words.

There is much to explore here. I am very interested in practicing ways to be in awareness throughout my day. I have a hypothesis I want to experiment with and that is: the more in awareness I am, the more I can shape my reality to create the results I want. This will be an interesting experiment. I will keep you informed along the way.

A simple practice for awareness is to go through you day being aware of your breath and its flow in and out of your body. See how your breath changes throughout your day? See what happens when you deepen your breath?

Soul Update and Topic Explored

This morning the birds providing me with a beautiful choir as I did my morning walk. I enjoy walking quietly as I tune into my inner guidance for the day. As I walked I often think about what I am going to write about. Today it was different because I needed to have a follow up chat with my soul. It seems we had miscommunicated in some way and that the talk we had last week had not resulted in the inner reprogramming discussed. That was unacceptable so the conversation was revisited and I made my point more clearly. I feel better now because I know the results I am seeking will happen.

TOPIC EXPLORED

So that left me with the need to explore a topic as I write this and I came to the visit we had with some new friends. The past several days we had some very interesting conversations. We spent time talking about a variety of topics including religion and politics. Now I know these can be loaded topics but that was ok because there was real mutual respect, no judgment and an interest in hearing each other’s perspectives. This open atmosphere created a very lively and enjoyable exchange that the four of us appreciated.

It is my belief that there is much more in common with all of us humans then there are differences. Even in politics and religion, there is more common ground then most would realize. The differences are too emphasized and the common ground rarely explored. In my years of counseling and coaching I have had the privilege of working very deeply with others, exploring their values, hopes and dreams. What I learned in this work was that everybody wants to create a good life for themselves and those they care about. Everyone has values of right and wrong. We all have a purpose in life that we are drawn to realize. There is a universal belief in the goodness of love, kindness and compassionate acts. Each of us wants to have the prosperity we need to make sure we can eat, have a roof over our heads and have the essential things if life. We all want to spend our days in ways that feel meaningful in some way. Having fun, relaxing and celebrating life is valued by most everyone. Opportunities for education and life long learning are important to most everyone. We all have hopes and dreams for the future.

The world is an amazing place filled with millions of people a lot like us. If we can sit down and talk, we can work out how to be mutually supportive to each other so that we can all have the life we want. This would not be difficult to do. The problems of the world can all be solved, by us getting together and helping each other meet our needs and pursue our dreams.

Are you willing to work out your differences by talking and listening and giving support to others? Could we together end much of the world’s problems by doing the same?

Story of a Journey

I want to tell you a story. There was this young man who went out into the world seeking understanding. Along the way he had many interesting experiences some fun and some not so fun. He learned that his mind shaped his experiences. This was helpful to know because he could look at things from different viewpoints. He moved and lived in different places, worked a variety of jobs and found out that wherever he went and whatever he did, he was there. All the parts of him that were unsettled or struggling moved with him. With this insight he decided it was time to spend more focus on his inner workings.

He learned to listen to the still small voice inside. He found that he could be more aware so he watched himself and his ways with others. When he didn’t judge he saw things more clearly. He grew to be a listener. Insight came more frequently. Inner peace visited more often. He ventured into the world of creativity and blossomed like a spring tree. Living along the ocean, in the mountains, among people or by himself he found things to appreciate wherever he went.

He discovered that love was important, both to give love and receive love. Finding love was a journey and when he learned to love himself he found love that was a deep and endless river. With love around he found he could go deeper into the world of wisdom beyond the mind. There he found himself expanding and realized that he was not in the world; instead the world was inside of him. Like a rain drop falling into the ocean, he was both the drop and the entire ocean at the same time. Then everything he ever wanted was his, he smiled and was free.

Do you have story to tell? Please share.

Open To Inspiration

In my dreams last night I had a visit with Deepak Chopra. He has been on my mind lately after reading his book, Power, Grace and Freedom. I talked with him as if we were friends and I was quite impressed by his warmth and the sense that this person understands, as much as anyone ever has, about the highest realms of human expression. In my waking state I feel touched by the depth and compassion that was exchanged in the dream realm. In this moment as I write this, I feel the energy of that dream conversation and I feel filled with questions. Who am I in my dream state? Can I have these conversations in that state and awaken more in my life? What are the possibilities here? Hum?

I also attended a talk last night by Gangaji, a woman who has had many profound insights into who we humans are beyond out bodies, thoughts and feelings. Her perspective on life and human nature is simply expansive and very affirming. She see all of us as unlimited beings of love, joy and consciousness. She acknowledges that life has its challenges and struggles but that doesn’t diminish in any way the light and wisdom we have inside of us. She invites everyone to practice self-inquiry to explore who we are free of our conditioning and beliefs. She spread her joy and compassion throughout the dialogue with those who attended.

I feel like I am rambling some today because I sense I am in the process of integrating the ideas and viewpoints I picked up from Gangaji and Deepak last night. I have come to understand that I love to be inspired by expansive ideas. I feel very energized. These ideas will take some time to settle in as I explore how I understand and experience them. There is an understanding that takes place beyond the thinking process. This understanding is difficult to explain except that it feels like a knowing of my higher self, of the part of me beyond the ego and personality. Does that make sense to you?

Are you open to inspiration and a deeper understanding? What inspires you to expand beyond your normal thinking and doing?

Being With Who You Are

I love to watch the snow fall for me it is like watching the flames in the fireplace. The result of the snowfall is much less exciting. Here in Boulder the ground had finally been cleared of the snow but not any longer. Life is like this sometimes. I think I have cleared something up and then it reappears. I think I have ended some limited thinking or changed my emotional reaction to a certain circumstances but there it is again. I use to think when stuff came up, I didn’t like, there was something wrong with me and I needed to fix who I was. Now I tend to be much kinder to myself and accept myself while looking further into whatever is coming up. I remember Ram Dass talked about this kind of thing happening to him and how much I enjoyed his perspective. He said, “I use to have all these neurotic reactions to things and they drove me crazy, now many of those odd reactions still arise in me but instead I just sit down and have tea with them.” Yes having tea with my reactions would be much more pleasant.

What I have learned to do with my reactions is to be more impartial. I am better at watching objectively what is happening in me. This creates a viewpoint where I can better choose my responses. I don’t have to be run by my reactions. Frankly sometimes I still am, but much less so these days. When I am in awareness I can even catch my reactions in the early stages and keep them from blossoming into an unwanted tizzy. This works better all around for me.

Developing impartiality is a very valuable tool to take back your life from parts of you that are yet whole and healthy. Impartiality allows you to witness without judging who you are and how you are being in the moment. This objectivity is very valuable for your growth and personal development. When you can see clearly who you are then you can grow the positive aspects and refine the areas in need of improvement. The following are two ways to grow impartiality:
• Imagine that a part of you is standing next to or slightly above you and watching as you go through the day. Make sure it keeps from judging and just watches to learn about yourself.
• Find time to go for a quiet walk or take time to sit quietly and listen to what comes up in you. There will be reactions, thoughts, feels and sensations both on the surface and on a deeper level.

Both of these experiments will give you lots of awareness. Explore what you learn and see what you want to do with that information. I suspect you will feel more empowered in life?

Let me know how it goes, what you learn and how your life is enriched.

The Guiding Force In You

I have been on this quest lately to understand what is the guiding force inside of me. Here are some of the terms that I have been playing with: higher self, soul, consciousness, conscience, inner wisdom, intuitive knowing, collective consciousness, and divine source. What I am beginning to understand is that there are at least two major forces in my decision-making. The one force is social conditioning, which is a collection of all that “does and don’ts” I have learned in my lifetime through my family, school, church and other influences. This I will call conscience. Conscience is learned. The second force is one that comes with my soul, my connection to the creative force that is source of the universe. This I will call consciousness. Consciousness is discovered by listening inward to what is the highest truth. Here are several examples of the difference between conscience and consciousness: on a consciousness level I feel killing another living being is wrong; on a conscience level killing is ok in war because we have been told it is. Another example is on a consciousness level being truthful is what is right; on a conscience level not speaking truthfully is okayed by certain social conditions. The higher truth in both of these examples is clear.

What guides you? Do you have a way of knowing your higher truth? Is your conscience all the guide you need? Is there a higher knowing then what you learned growing up? The learning process of, what to do and not to do, comes from our culture our social structure. In other cultures and social structures there are different rules of right and wrong. So which is right?

I propose that through consciousness you and I can find the higher wisdom and truth. This is mostly an internal process that can be enhanced through discussion with others seeking to be conscious, awake and aware. Ultimately, though, it comes down to you own inner sense of truth. An interesting thing happens when you are playing at this level of exploration. You begin to see that your internal search expands way beyond you. You will see that you are more then your personality, body and emotions. If fact you are the micro of the macro. Your inner truth is part of the inner truth of all conscious beings. This place of connection with the infinite wisdom of all of life is very expansive and inclusive.

Take a few moments each day to imagine tapping into the infinite wisdom inside of you. Allow the feeling of connection to expand until you feel the guidance of this knowing leading you through life. Then you will be a positive force for change in the world.

Soul Walk

The morning walk on the now mostly snow free path brought a lot of clarity. I had a talk with my soul. I understand the soul to be the part of me that was there before I was born and will continue after I die. The soul is my life force. My soul, like everyone else’s, is a silent guidance system
that orchestrates the unfolding of my life. I call it my master planner. This inner planner decides the best opportunities for my fullest expression. In other words, the soul understands me and guides me towards fulfilling my purpose and potential. The soul has, what can best be described as, an imprinted plan for this life. I can alter this plan by awareness and choice along the way. And my talk this morning was exactly about that.

What I had noticed was there has been a part of me getting in my way, that was impeding my progress. This self-limiting part was old programming I picked up on the way to adulthood. Over the years I have been aware of this pattern but felt I was making good progress. On the walk today I saw very clearly it was time to change that pattern once and for all. The old ways of doubting my deserving and feeling like I am not enough are simply conditioned beliefs. I am changing those beliefs to reflect the insight and understanding I now have. I do deserve. I am enough. I have further purpose in this life and my deserving and being enough will make it much easier to realize. So my soul and I agreed it was time to make an adjustment in the plan and it was done.

When was the last time you had a talk with your soul? Are you aware of your master plan? Would you like to understand more about your soul and the plan for you? Here’s a way that you might I find helpful. Find some time to be alone and quiet. Open a notebook and ask the soul to dialogue with you. You can start by requesting the soul to tell you something about who it is. Be willing to sit quietly for a while. When the response comes write it down and then begin a dialogue. You may find the dialogue goes so fast that writing gets in the way. You can stop the writing if you find that more helpful and just carry on the conversation. You can tell it is your soul because you feel energized and uplifted. (A note of caution: the ego may tried to slip in sometimes and act like your higher knowing but the feeling is more serious and fearful.) Take the time to fully explore you deeper questions and make changes when necessary in the plan. This exploration with the soul will be enlightening.

I hope you found this helpful. Post a comment if you have questions or things to share.

The Power of Intention

I am absolutely fascinated by the human potential. I was reading a very interesting article on the power of the mind to produce results in the body. There have been studies on strength building that compared one group that worked out and one group that visualized. The “working out” group had a 30% increase in strength and the “couch athletes” mental workout had a 16% increase. There also have been many research projects supporting the mental rehearsal’s effectiveness in healing body aches and pains and even cancer. Championship athletes use mental rehearsal to sharpen their ability to succeed.

According to quantum physics on a particle level the body is almost totally rebuilt every year. We breathe in new particles that are rebuilding us and breathe out the old body constantly. I wonder if we can use our mind to eliminate any chronic physical problems just by intending the new particles to rebuild and replace what hasn’t been working well. Is it our thinking that keeps the problems coming back?

I certainly know that our thinking affects the way we feel. In less then a second, I can change the way I feel by changing my thoughts. Last night I was checking out the news on the internet and saw an athlete I had enjoyed watching had died suddenly. He was 4 years younger then I am. In a second or two I felt sad and aware of my own vulnerability.

That same instant mind-emotion-body affect can be used to create results we seek in life. Here is a fun experiment: Begin each day with the intention of the results you want to create. Then at the end of the day see how you did. Do this for a week or more and see what happens?

If you want to read more about this, I can recommend Wayne Dyer’s book, Intention, which is filled with great ideas. The article I read that inspired this journal entry comes from a book called, The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World by Lynne McTaggart.

Post a comment and let me know how your intentions work for you.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Wow this day is off to an odd start. The blender just died, both the hot water pot and the garbage disposal were making weird sounds. Something is in the air. The burden of interpreting these metaphysical kitchen signs has fallen on me as my wife slipped into her magazine to distract her unsettled mind. I sat down in front of my computer hoping for some insight as I write this. I decided the absolutely best way to look at this and most of life is with a sense of humor. Humor can chill the grief I feel over my smoothie machine’s collapse. Humor can make me laugh even if my herbal tea isn’t as warm. Laughter is a great agent for healing. It seems to me that I do much better when I don’t take things so seriously. How about you?

The world today in is filled with an intensity that goes on and on. I look at the faces as I travel about my day. I don’t see many happy people out there? The hurry and worry seems everywhere almost to the point of being a malady of urban life. The antidote for this terminal seriousness is healthy doses of humor, laughter and remembering to lighten up. Enjoying life is much more fun then being serious about it. Sure there are things in life that need attention and must be taken care of but that doesn’t stop life from being a joyous experience.

Here are some ideas to bring more joy, humor and fun into your life:
1.) Have friends that make you laugh, that like to be playful and have fun. You can only hang out with serious friends on serious occasions.
2.) Take some time each day to watch your thoughts and start replacing the inner dialogue that is mad, critical, blaming and complaining with thoughts of appreciation, encouragement, and playfulness and creativity.
3.) Set up play time for yourself, each day would be best, but at least every week is essential. Use that time to play games, sports, be creative, sing songs, dance around the house, watch fun movies or whatever you enjoy.

Now doesn’t having fun and enjoying life sound better then the alternative? Well I guess I better head off to the store in search of a new smoothie magic machine. I wonder if it is ok if I dance and sing through the local hardware store as a look for a replacement?

Is Struggle Really Necessary?

I have been observing a lot of expanding and contracting going on inside of me lately. The challenges of life can certainly put me through the emotional roller coaster at times. I can go from an open joyous appreciation of life to a fearful concern about what I see going on in the world. I can feel an almost too comfortable identity with self-struggle and those that struggle. Somewhere in my mind I have given struggle a higher value then ease, effortless and joy. Where does that belief come from? It has to be, what I learned, growing up. That somehow I am a better person if I struggle then when things come to me more easily. What a silly belief and a great rationale for putting up with stuff I find unacceptable. I want to leave this investment in struggle behind. I want to be open to a life of fluid possibilities where all can happen with ease and joy. Isn’t that just as possible as through pain and suffering? I was also wondering how much of the suffering and struggle I create just from my thoughts?

Do you value struggle over easily having what you want? If not how did you learn to be more effortless? If you do hold struggle as better in some way, then who taught you that? Is it time to look again at that limiting belief? Can beliefs be changed easily? You bet they can. If you read some research that said chocolate is good for you after years of mixed feelings about easting it, wouldn’t you adapt to the new favorable belief easily. It could be instant couldn’t it? Yes how you think about things can change in seconds. What beliefs do you hold that really need to be changed? Can you give up your identity with struggle, with not having what you want, with feeling a little “poor me” about some situations in your life. Is it time to move on to the new and improved you yet? The new model could come easily in just a few seconds of new thought.