The above quote was a portion of Brando’s last monologue to explain that his atrocities were no different than the atrocities of his country, or, for that matter, no different than the atrocities of religion.

How is it that so many people have died in the name of God? Why is a conviction of superior righteousness enough justification for killing other people? How is it that the Christians, Jews and Muslims are still fighting for the same God and each religion thinks that they are the chosen? It’s nothing more than a bunch of kids fighting on the playground – except that the consequences are staggering. These are the people that we let run the world based on childish beliefs. This is where the importance of feminine power comes into play particularly, the mother. Somewhere down the line not enough men got smacked upside their heads by their mothers and asked, “What the hell are you thinking?”

I look at my body, a blade of grass, the known universe…they all simply work on their own accord. They all have inherent inclinations that lead them to what they need for enhancement. There is an awareness; an inner knowing.

We are the only animals that get caught in earthquakes, tidal waves and other catastrophes. What is our problem? Why don’t we listen? We have put ourselves above all else with our stupid stories of self. Could someone please introduce me to this “higher self”? Is it somewhere on a shelf? Life really isn’t that complicated. You live, you die, and try not to do too many stupid things in between. So, to whom are you praying, other than you?

Look to these: visualization, positive thinking, prayer, chanting, affirmations, law of attraction. Did you ever stop to think that the very thought or idea of wanting, attaining or attracting something creates the very experience of separation? You don’t need to pray. You will always get what you need and intend because it is part of you, like the sun is part of the plants it nourishes. Your talents and abilities emerge from within you, bringing forth fruition. It is society that tells you that you are incapable. Dolphins don’t pray that they’ll learn to swim. An owl doesn’t repeat positive affirmations before hunting. The wind doesn’t try to blow. They simply know and do.

We might actually get somewhere if we stop pretending life is more than it is. The complicated stories we create are the bed of war and separation. If we could let go of beliefs, we might actually begin to see each other, to know each other. We should be urged to blend and mix races – beautiful beings we would be then. We should realize that this really isn’t about anything other than what we make it up to be. Ask the trees. Their silence says it all…Nothing at all!

What if this all came out of Nothing? What if there was no reason or rhyme to any of it and it just simply works because it is functional? What if we intellectualize necessary associations as if they had meaning? What if it is not about consciousness, but a deeper knowing and awareness that is based on inherent connection…all things listening, instinctually moving?

Other animals don’t try to take over the world. That is an insane idea placed upon us by religion. It is the most narcissistic egomaniacal idea ever (other than there being a man in the clouds, whether it’s Santa Claus or God).

Here is what I would like to do. Get all the religious leaders in one room and say: “Okay you knuckleheads: The Sun/Son rises or is born and it sets and then is born again the next day…You all have these stories fashioned after this occurrence…. The planet spins, the Sun/Son thing is an illusion. The Sun/Son is not in the sky or heavens. It is a white hot ball of gas 93 million miles away and it is not going to save you. Your books aren’t truth. They are stories that mark occurrences that at that time people didn’t understand – Mythology and Lore.”

Then I’d get all of the warmongers in one room and smack them upside their heads and say “What the hell are you thinking? All right, you’re done, the guns, weapons of localized and mass destruction, I hereby render them useless. Your killing doesn’t work anymore”…and shut them down.

And when they ask, “What should we do now?” I will say, “Nothing at all.”

What would Love Say?
Rather than question yourself or someone else for doing something you perceive as wrong, try holding the action with love.

What would Love do?
Let go of your need to judge. Hold what is. Watch how things transform.

Meditation for Love:
Sit in a quiet space and light a candle. Place your hand against your heart and close your eyes. For ten minutes, focus on feeling the light of Love breathing into your heart. Allow yourself to be just as you are. Allow others to be just as they are. Send Love to the parts of you and others that you judge. Let Love dissolve these places of fear.

Santosa (contentment) - It’s difficult for a person in the midst of stress and striving to be able to meditate or to have his or her mind become “one-pointed.” This means that we need some level of contentment in order to practice meditation.

B. K. S. Iyengar, one of the major teachers who brought yoga to the United States, says, “A contented man is…blessed because he has known truth and joy.” To “know truth and joy” we need to stop. We need to be still and present to what’s happening right now. We need to see that the sunset tonight has its own glory and the breeze right now carries its own unique perfume.

To develop a sense of contentment, try keeping a daily gratitude journal or rewriting your life story in terms of lessons learned, blessings received and successes earned. Read it every day instead of telling yourself and others the hard luck story of your life. Concentrating on the good in your your life can transform it and help cultivate contentment.

Tapas (to burn/commitment/consistency) – This niyama is not described consistently in the literature and is very difficult to get a handle on. Many descriptions make it sound like a kind of religious fervor, something familiar to Christianity and Islam, as well.

Yet, the translation “to burn” seems to indicate a burning away of whatever prevents us from expressing our truest selves or distracts us from a clear focus on our personal goals. It may seem paradoxical to set tapas beside santosa (contentment), but the burning away of irrelevancies in our lives can leave space for contentment to develop.

Tapas means dedication to what feeds our souls (yoga or music, nature or cooking) on par with work, paying taxes or getting the kids to soccer practice.

Svadhyaya (study) - This one has both inner and outer components. It means both self-study and self-education. In yoga tradition, it is taken to mean study of God and the study of God within the individual. Many assume this indicates a very narrow scope of study. That’s not necessarily true.

Since this body and this personality are connected with all things, it means learning about the universe around me, studying both philosophy and physics, as well as learning how to sail or play a sousaphone. It means learning about other people because we are all connected, and what I learn about them, I learn about myself, as well. All things reflect the nature of god or the divine. By studying all of this, my quality of life improves and my understanding of the divine increases.

And if science is your religion? Studies have shown that people who make a priority of continual learning have a better quality of life as they age.

Having a home is like dating. I realized that recently while working with a new client. They have a beautiful high-end condominium that is well furnished and sits nestled on a lake. And yet, they find themselves a little “uninterested” in their home. It doesn’t feel quite right.

I assessed the usual culprits. We looked at the floor plan, the external and internal elements, and the layout of furniture. We discussed their lives, their goals, their occupations and their previous homes. There were some things about the home that were not ideal. Their unit sat next to the “party room” in the building. Which despite its lively name, often sat unused. On the other side of them, as well as in many other units throughout the building, are snowbirds – people who are off in some tropical location for a good portion of the year.

Between these factors and the condition of the lake, I found the home to have the potential for a lot of stagnant energy. This, however, seemed to be balanced out with a number of other factors: the large windows, the lack of privacy from the stairwell adjacent to their patio and a few other things. As I said, it wasn’t perfect, but the overall feeling was fairly balanced.

We went forward with the consultation and she spoke wistfully of their previous home and it’s red walls and gold damask furniture; a far cry from the current neutrals I was experiencing in the living room. They had chosen the colors and furniture here too, but were trying to accommodate the style of the place.

She revealed how it was a “perfectly nice home” and “why shouldn’t they love it?” That’s when the true “problem” revealed itself. It occurred to me that a relationship to your home is like a relationship to a person. You meet them. They are attractive and funny and kind. You date them and maybe you even decide to marry them. Then all of the sudden, one day you realize that they are not the one for you. Perhaps it’s one big thing or a series of smaller things. None of which seems like enough to warrant ending the relationship – and yet you are unfulfilled. They are a perfectly good person, after all. Why would I end it? Well, just because someone is a good or even a great person does not mean that they are always a fit for you. How many cool people have you met that you haven’t chosen to spend your life with for various reasons?

Well, a home is the same way. It may be attractive, comfortable and functional. But that doesn’t mean it’s a fit for you. It may be perfect for someone else, but not for you. And unfortunately, just like dating or marriage, you don’t always know that before you make a commitment.

But, the good news for most people is that you are not trapped. There is always hope. That doesn’t mean you have to break up with your house, but by identifying the “problem” you may make more peace with it and be able to create some suitable solutions. Perhaps some ways to make it a better fit. My clients are considering finding a new home. It may take a little while to sell theirs. But, either way, in the meantime, they have identified their biggest challenge with their home.

It’s simply not their type. I just hope they let it down gently….

We live in a world that lives by the rule of impermanence and I find myself fascinated by it. It is that fascination of those things we both fear and awe. For example, I am unreasonably bothered by the idea that our sun will burn out to the point where it will no longer be able sustain life on earth in about a half a billion years (for perspective, about 2,500 times the amount of time that humans have been on earth), and yet I am also completely fascinated by the ephemeral nature of things. I am completely intrigued by the book, The World Without Us, and the TV show “Life After People,” seeing how everything we find familiar would cease without humans to maintain or nurture them.

Impermanence looms large in our consciousness. It is easily an instigator of the kind of anxiety that lives just around the corner of your awareness. The knowledge that the touchstones of life – your family, home, belongings, environment – are in a state of decay and disappearance can leave you feeling untethered, fearful and filled with preemptive grief.

I have been immersed in the transitory. I recently said goodbye to my role as a Girl Scout leader. I’ve been with these girls for seven years, through most of their life, many since kindergarten. I’ve seen them grow and change and begin to become the people they will be. It was time; there was no doubt about it, and I was ready to move on and devote my energies elsewhere, but the melancholy that I felt at the end was surprising. Here was something that had become somewhat of a burden, but during that last time together, as I encouraged each girl to push her limits and expand her potential, and celebrated each small victory, I realized what I was losing.

The ephemeral nature of things need not be only a source of anxiety, fear and grief. It can be a balm and a comfort. If we did not recognize the transient nature of physical pain, heartbreak, anger and grief, we would find it unbearable to live with them. You might find yourself saying, “I feel like this will never end” – but inherent in that statement is the knowledge that it will end, even if it ends by transforming into something else.

For impermanence does not mean the complete cessation of something; it means the cessation of it in its present state. It means change, and that is a constant. Children grow and then age. Mountains are worn by wind and water. Iron rusts. Experience becomes memory. Grief becomes anger, anger becomes resolution, and resolution becomes clarity.

I have been watching my mother struggle with more than six months of pain and frustration as something that was expected to be a pretty straightforward surgical event became a challenging, reality-altering travail. She has been a student of the double-edged sword of impermanence. She no longer lives with the debilitating pain she has suffered from for years, but she has to relearn how to walk and is quite dependent on others while she does so. She is heartened by every small mark of change, and is, therefore, fed by the promise of impermanence. Yet, she fears she’ll never be able to be mobile in the way she would like when she can only see her plateau, and that change is nearly panic-inducing.

There is comfort to be found in knowing that this, too, shall pass. But if you are to fully embody this face of impermanence and reap all the benefits from it, then it is required that you also embody and accept, and eventually embrace, loss, change and the fleeting nature of our experience.

The fear and distress associated with change and loss, or its anticipation, comes less from the transition itself than from the suffering you impose upon yourself by failing to acknowledge and welcome it. If you look at many religious shrines, you will often find flowers placed there. Yes, they look lovely and gladden the heart, but their real purpose is to remind you of the ephemeral nature of all things and to be able to rejoice in it here and now.

We create our reality through our conscious and subconscious thoughts. There are times when many of us live in blame, fear and doubt, uncertain how to change our realities and our lives. What we are doing as a society is avoiding our internal discomfort, unhappiness, dissatisfaction and procrastination and attempting to replace it with external comforts (see Contingency, June 2010). We buy expensive wardrobes, cars and houses. We move at a rapid pace, multitasking and choosing to be continually distracted in our lives with cell phones, music and television. We over-consume food, alcohol, drugs and material possessions.

How can we alter our current reality and step up to the plate? How can we move the focal point of our lives from external physical comfort to internal mental peace? And once we find that internal peace, how can we maintain it?

The biggest step we can take is to slow down and get conscious. Tune out any distractions. Breathe. Relax. Let go of your stress. Clear your mind. Release your tension. Take time throughout your day to shut out the world and connect to nature and your depth. Take time to transition between activities. Take time to enjoy who you are and what you love. And as you begin to learn what you love, learn to love yourself. Get to know your deepest self. Listen to your inherent knowledge. Listen to nature.

You create your reality. If your life is too busy, you are the only one who can slow it down. Eliminate unnecessary activities. Stop creating distractions.

As you begin to slow down your life and minimize distractions, you will hone in on what it is you really want to create in your life and in your world.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I love to do?
• What brings me joy?
• What do I need to do to release any self-sabotaging patterns in my life so that I can honor a life of continual joy?
• What is one specific way I can do this right now?

Before you finish reading the rest of this article, answer those four questions. Get a pen and paper. Write down your most sincere answers. You will gain very little from the next several paragraphs if your only goal is to finish reading this article. Reading is a passive activity. You are not stepping up to the plate by being passive. If you really want to step up, stop reading and start writing.

Pay particular attention to your last answer. What can you do right now to live a life of ultimate joy?

Can you do it? How will you do it?

This may be the point where your fear will erupt and your inner critic will tell you how ridiculous you and your ideas are. This is the point that you tell your fear and your critic to shut up. Shed all fear and all doubt right now. Neither is conducive to a life of joy. They do not serve you in any manner. Throw your fear to the curb and take action. Make a commitment here and now to be consistent in that one action that will free you from stuck, unfulfilling patterns that have kept you from joy and that will now open the channel to a life of joy.

Live with passion.

Make today your day to move toward your ideal reality. Make your move toward continual internal peace. Stop complaining. Stop waiting. Stop talking yourself out of your dreams.

Step up to the plate.

Move deliberately and with awareness. Notice signs. Follow your intuition.

But do not procrastinate. It’s time to step out and begin a new journey in life.

At the core of every one of us is the soul, the eternal foundation of who we truly are, an aspect of our being that survives physical death and moves on to continue its journey in the afterlife, no longer constrained by such a fragile container as the human body.

Many agree that the soul is not of this earthly dimension, but of some realm beyond our knowing. Metaphysical. Beyond the physical. It is easy for me to conclude that human beings are multi-dimensional, operating here on earth with limited senses, but also informed by an inner wisdom that is ageless and timeless.

Have you ever sensed something that clearly involves intelligence beyond our comprehension and had the hairs stand up on the back of your neck? You just know something is true without knowing how you know. We have the innate capability to understand much, but we find ourselves trapped in very limited bodies in a very evolved cosmos.

The suggestion of intelligent life far superior to that of humankind is the gateway for many of us into the realms of metaphysics as children. It was for me. I remember reading a small book for kids at my babysitter’s house at the age of 7 or 8 about aliens with four fingers who could disappear in an instant to avoid capture by government agents. I remember as a young teen seeing the TV documentary In Search of Ancient Astronauts, and that 17-year-old me who walked into the theater to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind wasn’t the same me who walked out.

I don’t confess to have had close encounters, though I may have seen some unexplained lights in the sky, and after reading books about implants placed in the bodies of people by ETs, I have never looked at a strange mark on my thigh the same way since. A friend of mine told me about a co-worker of his who claimed that he and his wife were beamed aboard a ship in rural Nebraska, and the details of the story sent shivers up my spine.

That extraterrestrials exist is a tired discussion for me, because I am certain they do and know that our limited scientific ability is no match for how easy it could be for super-intelligent beings who move in and out of our third dimension at will to toy with us if they choose. No, what seems more relevant to me, beyond the whole “let’s prove that ETs exist” game, is our challenge as human beings to evolve as a species, with the assistance of those who reportedly are willing and able to help us do so.

When I was approached to interview Christine Day about her book and upcoming seminar on Pleiadian Initiations of Light, I was a bit hesitant to do so because I truly do not have a gauge on how interested the Twin Cities holistic community is in such information. I proceeded with the interview because there is nothing to fear from off-planet beings or spiritual masters who want to help us. I sense that something is truly changing within us on a subtle level, and it very well could be a shifting of energy to higher frequencies of consciousness, as many suggest.

Edge columnist Chris LaFontaine and his partner Michele Mayama have been ahead of the curve about our collective shift out of duality for some time now, and this publication will share more of their wisdom as we move onward. Edge columnist Kathryn Harwig’s channeling of a group known as the “Light Collective” also is a revealing look at humanity’s way forward.

This publication has long been focused on exploring the evolution of consciousness. Know that it still does.

Question: There are a lot of prophecies being explored and discussed in different spiritual circles, particularly as 2012 approaches. Are prophecies more or less certain to occur?
Answer:

In addition, let’s consider, as just one example, that Nostradamus was the product of the religious fanaticism of 500 years ago and consequently devised methods of obscuring the informational insights in his prophetic writings. Therefore, comprehending his messages requires a great deal of scholarly mystical skill to decipher the hidden meaning.

Regardless of whether a prophetic text heralds data like the instability of the Middle East, Russia’s military aggression, pervasive terrorism, a volatile world economy, World War III, calamitous weather changes or a pole shift, these possibilities are invitations that stir us to awaken, to open our hearts, to expand our consciousness, adjust our compasses and risk change. The prophet’s informational insights are a summons to action, and it is up to each of us to determine whether the actions we take bring fleeting change or become the seeds of unequivocal new beginnings.

Because of our co-creative participation, nothing is a foregone conclusion. Therefore, if what has been or is being prophesied did not or does not occur, it is because the reality creating participants (us) changed the probability lines. Consequently, we have no grounds upon which to deem the prophecy or the Prophet false. This is reinforced by the words of St. Germain: “…Prophecy is not set in stone…if we respond to the prophets’ warnings and apply the spiritual solutions placed before us, calamity can be averted.”

I wholeheartedly invite each of us to heed the words of Ranier Maria Rilke who reminds us that “the future is not something that will happen or must happen…it is not engraved or predestined…rather the future enters into us in order to transform itself in us long before it happens.”

Welcome to my first column in The Edge. Thanks to all who have read previous articles and sent me notes or spoken to me in person. I appreciate your appreciation and I appreciate you too. So, it’s with a certain degree of delicious irony that I’m celebrating a beginning by talking about endings.

I have always been intrigued by death. Even as a child, I would imagine what it was like to die in particular ways – a car speeding into a brick wall. Death by electrocution. Nuclear war. Nuclear war was a big one, because I lived on an air base in North Dakota. I knew exactly which buildings could withstand a nuclear blast. I wondered how quickly I could get there and how much food they had.

I’d also imagine the reactions from others. Some people would cry, some would be angry. And, yes, some would regret not being nice to me. (Remember, I was a small child thinking this.)

Now, I didn’t want to die. Nor, did I repeat scenarios over and over in my brain. Once I understood the dynamics, I moved on (unless it was a sword or ninja fight, and I was the hero). It was as if my little child mind was practicing these real-world possibilities and I was mentally preparing myself. I was curious about what my senses would sense, and the feelings I would have.

I never worried about what was on the other side. Oddly enough, I knew. I’d read spiritual stories and I could feel the energy of the universe pouring into me. I knew that goodness was over there, but I also knew that goodness was over here, we’d just have to work to reveal it.

As I grew older, I realized if I thought about someone’s death, I cared about them. I would mull it over in my mind because I did not want to be blind-sided. I would practice releasing and understanding the pain. In hindsight, I realize why I went in this direction – my parents’ generation seemed to show their love by being afraid. They could quickly tell us what could go wrong, but sadly, they were keeping us “safe” at the expense of living.

Finally, while in college, I was listening to an NPR show and the guest was a mortician/author saying that the world was separated into two camps: Those who think about death all the time and those who never do. I can’t remember what the percentage split was. Maybe it was 80/20 (life/death) or 60/40. But my mind instantly expanded! Before that moment, the ratio was “the world”/me. I finally realized I wasn’t alone, and I also realized I wasn’t morbid. Profoundly, beautifully, I realized my relationship with death helped inform my life. It was like someone opened the door and the light streamed in.

After hearing this, I had to find out more. I asked people which camp they were in. What did they think about death? The majority didn’t think about death at all and I’d ask why? And, I’d get a variety of answers: They didn’t need to, it’s depressing, they’re focused on life, there were many deaths in the family, it frightens them, they don’t want to die, they don’t want to know, they aren’t worried, they don’t care, they fear that thinking about death will bring it upon them.

Since then, and after working with so many clients on their fears, I’ve come to realize that death is easy. It’s living that takes time, ingenuity and a leap of faith. In fact, “death” can be the end of anything: the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, the selling of a house. It is all relative; it is the loss of anything that gives our life meaning.

In fact, that is why I have developed gratitude. If there is ever an antidote for death or change, it’s possible that it is gratitude. It is gratitude for what was, what will be and what has ever existed.

I am grateful for death because it has taught me that nothing is forever. It has taught me to appreciate my family, my friends, my life. It has taught me to persevere and develop a stronger faith. It has taught me to share my appreciation and love with others. In fact, whenever I hear the phrase “killing time,” I wince. Time is so precious, so valuable.

Today, I don’t mull over death so much anymore, but it’s still a part of my awareness, my appreciation of life. Thank you death for teaching me about life.

Question: How can I know God? I want desperately to believe in God!
Answer:

God is here now, but we are not! Mostly we are lost in the world of the mind. It is a world of the remembered past and the imagined future. It is a world of thought, memory, imagination, concept, opinion, idea and belief. When we are in the world of the thinking mind, the one place we are not is in the present moment. And yet, God is ever present. God exists as the silent presence at the very heart of all things present. God exists at the very heart of silence within each one of us. The present moment and all that is in the present moment is God revealed.

If we are to know God, we must bring ourselves to where God is. In other words, if we are to know God, we must bring ourselves fully present. At first, the experience of being present may seem ordinary. But as you remain present, and deepen into Presence, the hidden treasure is revealed. Slowly and gradually, you will encounter the living Presence of God in all things present. Everything that you see, hear, taste and touch is the body of God. If you bring yourself present with the body of God, you will begin to experience the living Presence of God in all things present.

Someone asked me recently if I was “certified” to be a psychic. I was slightly stunned for a moment at the question. My first reaction (as is usual for me) was to make a joke. I said, “Certifying psychics is similar to licensing cats.” But then I realized that they do license cats nowadays and that she meant it to be a serious question.

Her point was that the process of certifying and/or licensing psychics might prevent the abuses that occur. It is a very valid question. There certainly are plenty of abuses in the area of psychic readings, just as there are in all professions. Still, the idea that anyone could certify another person to be a psychic strikes me as an impossible task.

For one thing, psychic ability is not completely predictable. Over the years, I have been asked occasionally to take part in “scientific” studies regarding psychic ability. I was part of a rather successful study examining skill in remote viewing. I was one of approximately twenty psychics from around the country who were asked to “focus” on certain targets and then describe what we saw. While each person had a different degree of success, the study concluded that, as a group, we were accurate approximately 60 percent of the time. Which means, of course, that we were wrong 40 percent of the time. The truth is, everyone is wrong sometimes. Any psychic who says he or she is never wrong is, well, wrong.

Before I could practice law, I had to take the bar exam, a valid measurement (I guess) of one’s knowledge of the law.  But, there really are no valid tests to measure psychic ability. A teacher of intuitive skills could give a student a certificate indicating that the person had completed a course of study, but that is only a piece of paper certifying attendance, not ability. I, as a psychic you may trust, can refer you to another psychic I think is good, but I can’t promise that your particular reading will suit you. There are just too many variables.

Licensing is another matter, of course, and would allow the state to regulate things like criminal record. Other than that, however, I shudder at the idea of a state-run “Department of Psychic Licensing.”  I would hope that this is an area, as spiritually guided people, where we can regulate ourselves. Perhaps it would be interesting to start a conversation on the ethics of giving readings.

There are a few guidelines I would hope we all might agree on, although I know some of you won’t like them. For example, I believe psychics should tell a client how much a reading will cost upfront and then not ask for more money at the end of the session. Similarly, I think most would agree that a psychic should not use their power to influence a client to “give” them money, invest in their business or have sex with them. A psychic should not tell a person he or she is sick but that the psychic can “cure” them for X dollars. In my opinion, using the reading as a way to sell product should be avoided. (i.e. “The thing you need to be better, wiser or more spiritual just happens to be my candles, crystals, potions, vitamins, classes or books.”)

It would certainly be a lot easier on the rest of us if some psychics did not scare their clients silly by saying things like, “You will die in three years” and then ushering them out the door. I have had to assure more people than I care to count that no psychic can accurately predict the date or time of a person’s death.

The bottom line, in my mind, is that the only license or certification we really need is common sense and the golden rule. Kindness is something your can’t measure, regulate or license, but it is the most important quality a good psychic can have.

At a small group seminar, Donna reported that she had just come from seeing a healer who told her about several physical issues she needed to address. Her chakras, the healer explained, were out of balance and her body was filled with parasites. This report led to a lengthy discussion among the seminar participants, including lots of advice for Donna about how to regain her health. Donna was also dealing with a weight issue, which elicited plenty of  recommendations from the group.

As I listened, I was uncomfortable with the general tone of the conversation. Everyone meant well, but the general theme of the talk was, “There’s a lot wrong with you, and we are going to tell you how to fix it.”

When Donna stepped away from the group, I invited her aside for a moment. I took her hands, looked her in the eyes, and told her, “I love you just the way you are. I know there are things you are working on, but right now I find you perfect and I appreciate all you are and all you do for me and others.”

Tears welled up in Donna’s eyes and she let her head fall onto my shoulder. I held her as she let loose the pain of feeling that there were so many things wrong with her, and she could not be whole or happy until she fixed them. After a minute or two she felt better.

I was not suggesting to Donna that she overlook any conditions that were causing her pain, or that she should not make an effort to improve her health and feel better. I was simply affirming Donna’s beauty, wholeness and worth, even as she walked her healing journey.

You and I live two lives simultaneously. At one level we perceive that we have needs, deficits and issues to be handled, and we strive to improve ourselves and set disorders or imbalances right. At the same time we live in a deeper world in which we are whole, complete, well and perfect as God created us. On a spiritual level there is nothing wrong with us, there never has been, and there never will be. Only in a world of illusion do we identify ourselves as separate, wounded, broken, pained and striving. In truth, we have already arrived at where we wish to go. The game of life is not about getting somewhere; it is about discovering that we already are somewhere.

Perfection is not condition to be attained. It is a reality to be accepted. The sage Swami Satchidananda declared, “We started out fine. Then we got de-fined. Now we are getting re-fined.”

One of my coaching clients reported, “I feel so overwhelmed with all the work I need to do on myself. I doubt I could ever accomplish it all in one lifetime.”

I suggested to her, “Can you imagine even for a moment that you don’t need to work on yourself? What would it feel like to know that you are not here to fix what is broken about you? Can you visualize your life as an adventure of creativity, joy and self-expression instead of striving to get somewhere or get it right?”

After a few moments’ consideration, a wide smile grew on the woman’s face. “Wow!” she exclaimed. “I never thought of my life like that. I was taught that life is a struggle and I’d better get myself together to avoid disaster. I think I just had a taste of freedom!”

Ariel and Shya Kane have authored a book entitled, Working on Yourself Doesn’t Work. The title says it all! The moment you start to work on yourself, you have adopted the identity of the “you” that needs to be worked on. You cannot get to wholeness by denying your wholeness. You get to wholeness by accepting it.

Claiming wholeness does not mean that you sit in a cave and do nothing. You can be quite involved in the world, immersed in meaningful activity, and seeking to make life more rewarding for yourself and others. The issue is not what you are doing; the issue is why and how you are doing it. If you believe you are empty and need to be filled in, you set yourself up to lose. If you regard yourself as basically sound and you would like to expand your experience of good, you set yourself up to win. You are not a black hole that needs to be filled. You are a light that needs to be shined.

I saw a marvelous bumper sticker: The More You Know, The Less You Need. Take this statement to its logical extreme: When you know nothing, you need everything. When you know everything, you need nothing. The only real knowledge is who you really are – a spiritual being created in the image and likeness of a loving God. If you know that, everything you do will honor the wisdom and beauty you already own.

The solar eclipse in Cancer on July 11 marks a turning point after the incredible energy of June. Although the pace of change (personal and global) continues to be incredibly intense, the Cancer eclipse leaves us with a better idea of where we stand and what we need to do next. Let’s use the second half of the month to ground our spiritual energy in the Earth experience. Mother Nature wants to help, but we have to make time and create mental space to tune in and listen.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)…It’s as if you’ve been trapped in an ice storm for months, and now the ice is melting all around you. Liberating, exhilarating and dangerous are all words that come to mind. Opportunity is everywhere now, but you must be flexible. The solar eclipse challenges you to do a complete personality upgrade and think further outside the box than you ever have.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)…You could spend more money and make more money this month than almost ever before. Your challenge now is to think big while minding the details. Your spiritual life is on fire right now; if you can channel all that power into your day-to-day process, you could experience a major breakthrough in creating wealth this month.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)…Don’t waste this time. You may not know exactly where you’re going, but you know what you don’t want in your life anymore. So dump the dead weight and start moving in a direction that feels good. Money energy is great this month, so make hay while the sun shines and save up – you’ll feel like spending in August.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)…Open yourself to the one relationship that’s missing in your life. This might involve doing some serious releasing of past disappointments and inherited negative beliefs about what you deserve. The solar eclipse challenges you to take the next step forward in your life’s work. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a partner who gets it?

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)…You continue on this incredible run of career energy. A funny thing happened on the way to the penthouse office, though – it looks as though you’ve found a magnificent obsession that promises (threatens?) to unite your spiritual and material desires. Wow. What if you could follow your heart all the way to the bank?

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)…You possess an ability to focus on the details of your life’s work that can only be described as ferocious. At the same time, your passion and creativity are at an all-time high. If you can get both sides of yourself working together even half the time, you’re likely to set the world on fire this month.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)…Let’s not forget that you’ll never live through a time like this again. The key to regaining your balance is in letting go of who you thought you were. You are a process – Divine energy in constant flux. Drop the mask, because you can’t take that old static stuff with you. The more flexible you become, the more wealth you attract.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)…More than ever, being of service is emphasized. You can do many things well, so look for the intersection of what you enjoy and what so many people lack. Enjoy meeting a consistent need and you won’t have to worry about money. P.S. Quality people want to team up with you and turn your work into play.

Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)…You’re usually Mr. Nice Guy, but beware of a tendency to push others too hard this month. Focus on your creativity; the solar eclipse in Cancer brings a stunning new opportunity to work with people who actually know what they’re doing and can help you reach a wider audience. Be ready with your product or service.

Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19)…Even though you’re feeling like busting down the walls and fighting the power, force yourself to take a long-term view now. Channel all that passion into meaningful work and the big picture of your life will take care of itself. Some of you may suddenly decide to move closer to where the action is as a result of the solar eclipse.

Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20)…Jupiter and Uranus are opening up your psychic abilities in potentially shocking ways, so it’s important to stay grounded. Get out in Nature, move your body, feel. After July 21, true romance may become available for the first time in a while as Saturn finally exits your 5th House. Know what you want, because you just might get it.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)…This year’s eclipses are all about money for you. Be willing to let go of a job or client that is keeping you trapped in futility; someone in your social or professional network has leads and connections for you. Part of the solution is moving past your parents’ beliefs about money and claiming what you want.

Both religion and culture rely heavily on our shared mythology, dramatic tales of heroic accomplishments, ancient teachers and powerful gods. These stories are an answer to a subconscious stirring within all humankind. They are a poetic representation of the dream and the hero’s journey within each one of us. The archetypes that we have created throughout history are representations of our internal process.

Mythology is not something to be played out or acted out in the real world. And today we live in a world where many people cling to their chosen mythology, as if it were the only true lens through which to understand reality. But a world run by beliefs cancels out logic and common sense. We are like children playing in a sandbox; everyone has their own story that they are playing out. Yahweh, Allah, Krishna, Buddha, Christ and so on are characters in stories that we have created and continually generate. They are comic books for adults, but we take them as literal truth. It is like worshipping characters from Shakespeare or praying to Santa Claus. This world should not be in the hands of anyone who feels that there is something or someone coming to save us, whether it’s a Messiah or a Mothership, or a new age.

We have made a mess of this planet because of this type of thinking and believing. It doesn’t work and it isn’t going to!

We have forced the world into an unreasonable mold that does not accommodate the needs of the individual nor the collective. If you don’t get what I’m saying, take a few pages from history. Someone decides that Christ is our Lord and different groups wage war on everyone who does not convert to this belief. Folks come over to the American continents to escape religious persecution and then kill most of everyone who lives here. Or, more recently, the U.S. pushes its weight around as a world power and other cultures react with (surprise, surprise…) religious fanaticism and violence.

Museums, libraries, theaters, churches, temples, homes – these are the spaces and places for religion and culture. They should be shared like food or appreciated like old wine, but not force fed. If you really look at religion and culture, they are much like entertainment. They are theatrics performed to enlist certain emotions. The older you get, the harder it is to continually turn a blind eye to the inconsistencies in the sets, characters, rhetoric and dogma.

We go to a movie and realize that the actors are playing roles. Yet, some people call them by their character names and fall in love with the characters. News Flash! Human beings love to fall in love. They are emotional junkies. Love is the biochemical drug that makes us feel alive…it’s ridiculous at times. It is something that needs to be refined and cultivated.

I hate to have to wake you up folks, but you simply can’t be effective or truthful when you try to convince yourself and others that this is all about love. The Universe is a complex mechanism, and we must realize that we simply make stuff up to make ourselves feel like we are safe and have some control.

When we step out of the movie theater, we usually separate the story we’ve just been immersed in from the reality we’re stepping into. What would happen if you walked away from mythology? In the real world, what do you need?  What is it that is within you that fulfills you? And yes, religious, cultural and spiritual entertainment is great, but how do you rate? What is it that you can nurture and cultivate about you that will make you great? Bottom line: Stop giving away your power to a myth. Your ability is inherent. It is within. There is nothing that can get you out of your own way except you!

To offer hope, as opposed to resources, is slavery. Period. This is a bountiful planet filled with resources, and it is an outright lie to tell people that the things they need are inaccessible and that a certain person or god decides if they are worthy or if it is, in fact, the right time for them to receive what they need. It is a crime to mislead people who are in a place of weakness or meekness. It is shameful to create fear of hell or punishment and then in the same breath offer “hope” through complete allegiance to a particular faith.

People need to be empowered, not subjugated. We need to be empowered if we are going to survive. There is no one or nothing out there that will save us.

What would Love Say?
“Where there is love, there is no question.” – Albert Einstein

What would Love do?
Focus on love being the answer to every question.

Meditation for Love:
Sit in a quiet space and light a candle. Place your hand against your heart and close your eyes. For ten minutes, focus on feeling the light of Love breathing into your heart. Place any question you have into your heart and let love answer it.

Aparigraha (“You shall not hoard” or “You shall not covet”). Hoarding (or coveting what one doesn’t need) shows poverty of spirit and indicates one does not have faith in God (Goddess or Great Spirit). The net result of practicing aparigraha is a life of simplicity with only those things one needs immediately close at hand, trusting that when one needs something it will become available. This can be a real challenge in our culture of consumerism.

A colleague of mine spoke about a bottle of Worcestershire sauce that he bought to replace an empty one, and how he somehow kept putting off opening the new bottle. This went on for weeks until he looked at the bottle in the cupboard and asked himself why he was saving it. He owned the condiment, but by not opening it he lost the benefit of having it. I realized I was doing the same with a bottle of real maple syrup.

I am also tempted to hoard when I come across something with the flavor of a by-gone age for the historical value.

The truth is that holding onto or coveting things (or condiments) of any kind puts a burden on spirit. Even stored neatly away, things clutter life up. Getting rid of excess belongings (as suggested by both spiritual teachers and interior designers) is literally lightening your load in life.

Niyama
Niyamas are behaviors and ways of being in the world (virtues) that are valuable to cultivate within ourselves. There are five of them just as there are five yamas.

Saucha (purity of the body) is the first niyama. Saucha combines the poses and breathing exercises of hatha yoga with dietary practices and keeping the body clean inside and out. Saucha is considered essential for physical health. Some of the physical cleansing practices are alien and a little scary (like swallowing 15 feet of damp fabric and pulling it out again). Others have been proven by Western science to be highly effective in protecting the practitioner from illness (like rinsing the nasal passages with salty water).

Symbolically, when we wash away the dirt of the world, we are washing away worldliness itself and saying we are ready to turn our minds and hearts to something higher. We are showing ourselves to be open to enlightenment, and we feel lighter.

Wiccan ceremonies often begin with a bathing ritual. In Catholic churches, congregants dip their hands into holy water before entering. The baptism ceremony in many Christian denominations is all about washing away the past and going forward with a more spiritual consciousness.

One day, my intention was clear and I was determined to stop. Five blocks passed. Lots of options, but each was promptly ruled out for various reasons. Too crowded, too small, not quaint enough; the excuses continued. Eight blocks passed. “Well, maybe I’m not that hungry, it’s probably just cheaper to eat at home, I don’t really want to stop.” Ten blocks passed and then the real reason emerged: I was afraid I would make the wrong choice. This was clearly a ridiculous notion. We were talking about a café, not a job or a husband. But after all of that, I chose nothing and walked home. I tried to chalk it up to the day and not believe that I had issues making choices. But then I remembered the roof.

The roof on my house in Minneapolis had just been re-done. The old shingles were a bland gray color. They didn’t particularly add any charm or character to the house. Though I was frustrated by the need to get a new roof, I was excited by the possibility of making a different choice – something that might jazz up the house. I considered something with a hint of orange or perhaps a red. But after all was said and done, I picked the same bland gray color. Why? I was afraid I would make the wrong choice. So, I just made the same choice.

Even though the roof color was not my pick in the first place, I was accustomed to the bad choice. I knew what it looked like and what to expect. I didn’t have to take the risk that the new color would not actually be what I wanted or wouldn’t look as good. Never mind that my new choice may have looked better. As far as I was concerned, better to keep making the choice that isn’t really mine than to make my own choice and have it be wrong. And bland gray is the winner!

Like many people are currently experiencing, at the time I was undergoing a tremendous amount of change in my life. The responsibility to make the “right” choice felt tremendous and it paralyzed me. I saw this manifest in so many places in my life, and my home was no different. But, it proved to be a wonderful testing ground for moving forward. My house gave me many opportunities to make choices and build my confidence. And it also gave me plenty of opportunities to recognize stagnation.

It’s been many years since Paris and the bland roof. And I have had to make many choices in the meantime. Sometimes it just comes down to making a decision and trusting that there is no “right.” But, it’s also important to identify what you may like about your current situation. You don’t have to change everything just because parts of it are not working for you. What in your life is bland gray out of fear of something bolder?

Things being full circle, we are putting a new roof on our current home. It’s a lovely caramel-colored architectural shingle. We chose to upgrade to something that had a little more character, though ironically, isn’t that different in color, because sometimes you just need a subtle shift.

Decision making continues to get easier with practice. Maybe next time I go to Paris, I’ll even pick a café.

I have this happen, and often it is when I’m working with my fabulous Tai Chi instructor. He can tell me the same thing for years, and I hear it, but until I have the foundational experiences, I don’t really get it. Then, all of a sudden, my body moves in a new, more complete way, the words have a context and it becomes an experience instead of an idea.

I also have this relationship with understanding the value of mindfulness. I’ve been working with mindfulness for many years. I explore bringing it into my daily activities, I cultivate it in my meditation practice, and it is integral to my work with clients and students. I have seen the concepts and skills I have learned and developed through these activities becoming contextualized, seeing them in new relationships and settings. I think I have integrated them into my life, and then, unexpectedly, in their spiral path, they again resurface in yet a deeper, richer way. Sometimes these realizations are so profound, they literally take my breath away.

My most recent revelation that allowed me to grasp mindfulness more fully is that it has the gifts of increasing the likelihood of being kind, and that this kindness extends not only to others, but to yourself.

When you are in a mindful state, you are more present with your circumstances, and more cognizant of your physical and emotional responses to them. It is a platform from which you can see with great clarity the profound dimensionality and complexity of the causes contributing to each event. It is much more difficult to be reactionary and judgmental in response to others when you are faced with the deep intricacy and profound humanity of each difficult, volatile or contentious situation.

This clarity is wonderfully comprehensive. It provides a deep and moving ability to see the suffering that has led to your present set of circumstances, both yours and others.

Against this backdrop, the root causes of the reactions you experience to stressors that may be less than kind stand out sharp and clear. It becomes apparent how much of your unkind behavior springs from old hurts from which you yourself are suffering. You are able to see starkly which of your buttons are being pushed, and that they are most likely being triggered unknowingly and unintentionally by others.

Standing in this place of mindful awareness provides an all-important split-second of insight, allowing you to put a reaction or response into proper context before letting fly words or actions that might be hurtful.

That split second is also often just the right amount of time required to allow yourself the luxury of letting your heart be open to the hurt and suffering of the other. Aggression, sarcasm, manipulative behavior or rudeness really is a manifestation of another’s pain, or fear. As you cultivate mindfulness, the space opens up for you to see this, and respond with gentleness and kindness.

That moment, no matter how seemingly brief, can provide the proper buffer for turning unskillful action into no action, allowing an explosion of uncharitable energy to dissipate harmlessly instead of spreading destruction and embarrassment.

This ability to make a space for perspective, calm, and compassionate vision is something that is developed over time. Find ways to regularly bring a mindful state to your day and stealthily and subtly that sense of clarity will begin to find its way into the difficult places in your life, opening up spaces to see, to breathe, and to find perspective. There you discover many windows for kindness.

If so, your contentment is based on external contingencies – on other people, things and situations. Your fulfillment, happiness and mood depend on something outside of yourself – the weather, your income, your environment, your family, your neighbors, your job, your car, your pet, food, clothes – the list is inexhaustible.

In our capitalist society, based on competition and profit, there is nothing seemingly strange about this. Capitalism runs with the premise that a good or service has a price and a customer must pay that price to obtain the good or service. We focus on a need and set an expectation that it will be fulfilled.

We are trained into this society at a young age – we earn grades for our performance at school, we earn an allowance for chores at home, we earn accolades for sports, music and art. We are taught how to compete, how to perform, how we will be evaluated and how we will gain.

One of the by-products of the capitalist mentality is instant gratification. We expect things to be exactly as we want them when we want them. When our expectations do not meet our reality, disappointment sets in. People find solace in other people, religion, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, food, television and other external sources for consolation.

Just as much as we have been trained to compete, we have been trained to look outside of ourselves for happiness. Religions and advertisements, among other industries, have taught us that we are not good enough as we are. We need something else or we need to depend on someone else, in order to be complete, to be whole, to be saved and to be “better.” This keeps us always striving, always seeking and always lacking. It leaves us unsettled, so that even when we gain what we sought, there is something else we must do or have. Our contentment remains fleeting based on one moment and the next.

What is one of the most well-known Eastern religious concepts among Westerners? It is the law of karma, the concept that our actions have consequences. Why is this concept so familiar in our society? Because it deals with outcomes. It parallels Christianity (and Capitalism). It is unfortunate that the Eastern practices of the breath (pranayama), stillness and silence don’t gain more attention and aren’t consistently applied in our daily lives. The depth that people would gain from them would make the law of karma a non-issue, because what is inherently “right” will be obvious. Our happiness would also not be contingent on external sources if we maintained consistent stillness, silence and focus on the breath.

The Zen poem, “Hsin Hsin Ming” by Seng Ts’an, describes the path of the way, or the Tao, by releasing our preferences, and ultimately, our contingencies:

The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When love and hate are both absent, everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.

If you wish to see the truth, then hold no opinions for or against anything. To set up what you like against what you dislike is the disease of the mind…

Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things.

Live neither in the entanglements of outer things nor in inner feelings of emptiness.

If we hold an expectation that someone or something outside of ourselves will make us happy, that expectation will leave us with a chance of happiness and a chance of disappointment. When you cultivate happiness within yourself, you can be happy simply by being. You no longer need to be doing anything at all. And the preferences that we have been taught to make will disappear. The blue, sunny sky and the gray, gloomy sky will be equal and we will be content in either.

We will have certainty of what is the exact right path, because we will have clarity and certainty unaffected by our preferences and our never-ending desires. Ideally, we can live without emotional reaction to things. We can live with contentment as a constant state of being.

They say you can never go home again, but many people keep returning home, back to where they began.

When your soul has something for you to learn, it will not stop until the job is done. The lesson may appear to you in nine million variations until you get it right. And, if you insist upon ignoring the lesson, or refuse to see the lesson for what it is, or pull your hair out because the lesson keeps returning to slap you in the face – and you scream out at the top of your lungs, “I cannot take this anymore. What do you want me to do?” – the lesson merely circles back around, and you eventually find yourself staring at it again. And you thought Groundhog Day was just a movie about groundhogs?

How often do you think a personal challenge has been overcome before it rears its head up all over again?

Life is elastic. It stretches beyond your wildest dream, and snaps back with a vengeance when cause demands an effect.

Perhaps you have a problem with alcohol, and despite prior attempts at treatment, you find yourself back at square one as handcuffs are once again being snapped around your wrists.

Perhaps you have a problem with anger, and despite your many apologies, you find yourself once again confronting the people you love, people who refuse to take it any more.

Or perhaps your lesson is an inability to face up to reality, to take responsibility, to look life squarely in the eyes and accept it for what it is. You experience all of the consequences and pay the price, and even take classes and complete counseling or read every self-help book in the library. Months go by and you block out the past and forget all of what you had just endured and suddenly find yourself in a calm stretch of quiet water. You float for a long time. And then the boat begins rocking and it doesn’t take long before you realize that your world once again is out of control.

Of course, I generalize here, and exaggerate with examples that I can only imagine, but the wheel keeps on turning, no matter what, no matter how slight the transgression or how dark the path you decided to walk down one evening when you blew caution to the wind.

All it takes is a moment of forgetfulness. You forget who you truly are and forget why you are here. And it’s not just you. It’s every single one of us. We all forget. We all are present with reality until we aren’t. We all relearn lessons until we truly get them.
Some of us, however, feel like we are spinning out of control, way out of our projected orbit. Others of us are sick of the spinning wheel and feel like ending it all.

But you cannot give up, because of one important fact: You created the wheel. You wrote the instruction that said, “Proceed with life training and do not stop until the lesson is learned. Under any conditions.”

Know that it is you, my friend, who ultimately wants to be free. It is you who wants to be present, to move through life being able to follow life’s cues without the fog of addiction or distraction. It is you who wants to break on through to the other side – not death, but the other side of the game where you see clearly what is in front of you and know how to respond, no longer burdened by that dizzying wheel.

Just follow the cues of your soul and you will not be disappointed.

Mariangela’s Answer: Paradigm shifts are characterized by leaps in understanding and expansions in consciousness, whereby profound evolutionary changes take place. My use of the term “paradigm” is synonymous with an established way of being according to traditional standards, patterns or precedents that one follows. Paradigm shifts have occurred in civilizations like Pangaea, Lemuria, Atlantis, Sumeria, Egypt, the Indus Valley, Peru, Chaco Canyon, etc.

Question: What is this paradigm shift about in your opinion and can you suggest how we can participate?

Mariangela’s Answer: At the heart of this paradigm shift is spiritual adulthood and freedom, and the completion of this shift is dependent upon our graduation from spiritual adolescence to spiritual adulthood. The most important way to participate in this paradigm shift is by becoming spiritual adults.

In my experience, there are four passkeys to crossing the spiritual adulthood threshold. For the sake of today’s exploration, we’ll examine three of the four. The first and most important is personal authenticity. Authenticity is the highest spiritual principle and the cornerstone of our humanity. Being authentically who we are at any given moment restores us to wholeness and re-establishes our sovereignty.

The second passkey is self-examination, and self-examination is the main ingredient of enlightenment. Regardless of the many definitions of enlightenment floating around that contain instructions for attaining this state – including remaining present in the moment, striving for humility, radiating unconditional love and serenity and/or aligning only with experiences and expressions of “positive” emotions – enlightenment is the process of bringing the light of awareness to darkness and illumination to denial. Carl Jung describes this process quite superbly: “Enlightenment doesn’t occur from sitting around visualizing images of light, but from integrating the darker aspects of the self into the conscious personality.”

The third passkey involves separating belief from truth. All paradigm shifts challenge us to awaken to the fact that there is a difference between belief and truth and to overthrow previous assumptions that don’t contribute to evolution. All paradigm shifts are evidence that assumptions can be overthrown. In fact, history verifies that what once seemed impossible not only found its way into the mainstream, but also acquired impeccable credentials. Therefore, it is essential that we examine the truths that we’ve been holding to ascertain to what degree these truths are now holding us.

Also, it’s interesting to note that there is a profound connection between authenticity and our ability to recognize truth. In order to access and embrace the larger truths of life, we must be willing to acknowledge the truth about our everyday lives, including the state of our spiritual evolution. When we acknowledge the truth of our current emotional, psycho-spiritual state, then we can move forward into expansive receptivity.

Having encountered and embraced our authentic selves, undergone self-examination and separated restrictive beliefs from the living truth, we are ready to radiate our spiritual significance. I urge all of us to accept that any resistance to radiating our spiritual significance is not because we are seeking to steer clear of our fear-driven ego agenda, but rather because we are feeling challenged by the awesome prospect of our co-creative power and responsibility.

It’s important to recognize how and when we become anxious and rigid in the face of change and, therefore, tend to hold onto familiar beliefs. Familiar beliefs reinforce the repetition of patterns, and this paradigm shift assures us that we cannot afford to remain stuck in repetitious patterns. Indeed, there is little place in this paradigm shift for chains. Let’s allow any chains that have bound us to dissolve.

None of us need to dream of self-governing spiritual freedom. We have the unique opportunity to participate in its emergence.

I have noted how we humans individuated and separated in Duality and became driven by fear, while growing apart from Earth as our source for life. We lost touch with our internal guidance and became externally focused and driven, widening the separation from self. Now we are restoring wholeness, pulling our energies out of the old story and opening to something profoundly original, yet we have little experience with this new reality we are entering. The story I’m sharing below may sound like a series of errors and coincidences, but my recent experiences felt to me like a validation that living in the new reality can be as effortless as predicted.

The day before Mother’s Day I heard a message from the Earth Mother asking me to relax, breathe and sync up with her. So, I did a rhythmic breathing exercise that helped me settle into feeling fully supported by this Great Mother. Much healing work in recent times has included restoration and restructuring of the root chakra and reconnecting to the earth to be directly sourced for Life. This connection seems to be the key to creation in the new system, since all manifestation on earth comes from her. It was the next day that I got this point illuminated.

I treated my mother to a concert and dinner on Mother’s Day, and it was during those events I noticed something happening. First, the parking. Free street parking is a rare commodity when multiple events are taking place downtown St. Paul, yet within a block of the theater someone was leaving a parking spot just as I was arriving. Inside the theater we discovered our seats were in the second of two rows of chairs added to an aisle space. People ahead of us blocked our view and in front of us sat a tall woman obscuring most of the stage. I wasn’t pleased, but just before curtain her young grandson decided he wanted to change chairs and they switched. Suddenly we had a full view of the stage for the entire show. As we left we wanted to connect with someone who had danced in the show and thought we may have missed her, but synchronicity connected us right at the exit.

At dinner the curious flow became even more interesting. First, a parking space was open right in front of the restaurant. Natch. Then, I couldn’t decide between two menu items so I just picked one even though the other had first attracted me. Our orders were delivered with mine missing and the server said the kitchen made the wrong sandwich but was preparing mine. After apologizing for the delay he said they’d only throw out the first one so would I like to have it at no charge. I said sure, and for free I received the sandwich I wished I had first chosen. Later, we ordered desserts. I picked something four people could easily split instead of what I felt like. The server returned with apologies to tell me they had just run out of my choice and would I like to pick something else “on the house.” I said yes, blueberry pie. In the end my meal was free and was exactly what I really wanted. Oh, and I made all the green lights on the way home.

The next day I began to realize that everything arranged according to what I was actually feeling, not what I was thinking about. I consider fulfillment of the heart’s desires to be a hallmark of the new operating system, and I felt like these events were highlighted just for my benefit.

By many accounts 2010 is said to be the year we reach a turning point in our journey from Duality into the New Matrix. If recent experiences are any indication, I can’t wait to see what Life delivers next and how it happens!

Leonard’s Answer: The only true need is the need for others to be present with us. All other needs are substitute needs. When we came into this world as tiny and vulnerable babies, we had a need for our parents to be truly present with us. But to varying degrees, they were not, and so we did not feel safe. In order to feel safe, we began our pursuit of substitute needs.

“Well, if you will not be present with me, then will you at least love me?”

It soon became obvious that we would not receive the level of unconditional love that we needed to feel safe, so we went after the next substitute need.

“Well if you will not love me, then will you at least accept me unconditionally?”

That substitute need was not met.

“Well, if you will not love and accept me unconditionally, will you at least approve of me, or acknowledge me, or make me feel special.”

With each step we take in pursuit of these substitute needs, we are moving away from ourselves and becoming lost in others.

Most of us spend our entire lives in pursuit of these substitute needs, completely unaware that all we really need is for others to be truly present with us. One who is fully present is loving, accepting and acknowledging. When another is truly present with you, you get it all.

Submit questions to author and teacher Leonard Jacobson for guidance on the path of presence by email to info@leonardjacobson.com, or mail your questions to: The Edge, Ask Leonard, P.O. Box 25543, Woodbury, MN 55125. Include your name and mailing address. If your letter is selected for publication, you will receive a copy of the author’s latest book, Journey to Now.

“Telling the future” is both a time-honored description of what psychics do and a completely inaccurate assessment of what psychics do. Even though we are labeled “fortune tellers” by the press and media, most reputable intuitives would tell you that the future is simply not tellable. I am not even sure there is such a thing as a future.

What I mean by that is that the future is not set in stone. No one can look into your life and tell you with certainty what will happen. Events are not determined until they occur. And, since time is an illusion, I believe that we can change the past as easily as we can the future (which will most certainly change the future, but that is a topic for another column).

So, what good are psychics then? In these days of rapid change and uncertainty, that is actually a really good question to ask. I don’t do private sessions anymore, but that is not because I don’t believe they are valuable. A good psychic has the ability to see your present…your now…with a clarity that you might lack. He or she can tell you what is going on in your life, what may be holding you back from being all you desire and then see potential pathways of events that may occur if you continue to do what you are currently doing.

I would turn in my membership card to the psychic club if I actually thought I could predict the future. I just do not want to know or be responsible for giving that information to others. Think about it. The only 100 percent accurate prediction anyone can make is that each of us will die. Do you really want to know when and how? How would your life change if you knew you would get divorced in ten years or if you knew your job would be terminated? For that matter, how would you live if you knew you would win the lottery in five years, fall madly in love with someone new or write a best-selling novel?

My point is that if you had that knowledge, it would change how you currently live and view the world. Then, those changes would alter your future and the forecast would turn out to be “wrong.”

When I look into the “future” for people, what I am actually doing is seeing a myriad of potential paths. Generally one of the paths glows brighter than the others. I take that as an intuitive sign that the path is the most likely one for that person. However, if the person changes herself, her mind, or if something else happens, that pathway might dim and another take on the glow.

What is happening lately is that our pathways are morphing and changing with such rapidity that I get dizzy looking at them. I might glance into my psychic roadmap in the morning and see one brightly lit path. By afternoon that path may have completely disappeared and another one risen to take its place. As our world barrels down the road to the new era we are beginning, our paths are changing almost daily. Not only is the future not carved in stone…it is not even written in pencil anymore.

Like it or not, there is very little that is certain in this world, now or in the future. It is no wonder that many of us feel like we are in a speeding car without a steering wheel. Like it or not though, we are in charge of our lives and responsible for the things that do and will happen to us. The hallmark of this new era is that we all develop and nurture our intuitive ability. Then, on a daily or perhaps constant basis, we can ask our intuition for guidance. We can glance at the pathway, change what we don’t like and follow what we do. To live freely and joyfully, we need to live in the now, altering and changing our paths daily to meet our needs and desires.

I am a great believer in psychic guidance from others. Because we have such strong emotions about ourselves and our paths, we can’t always see what is in front of our psychic noses. So, continue to get readings. There are some absolutely amazing psychics in the Twin Cities and elsewhere who can be of great help to you. In addition, make it a daily practice to sit for just a moment, ask for the day’s path and then follow it if you like it and change it if you don’t.

When I taught yoga, a high school teacher invited me to talk to her class about spirituality. Once each semester I would go and discuss psychic phenomena, healing, the power of the mind and lots of juicy topics. When I asked the students, “Have you ever had a psychic or supernatural experience?” nary a hand would go up. As soon as the class was over, however, a line of kids would form to talk to me. “I heard my grandmother speak to me after she died,” one reported. “My stepfather’s face came to me in a dream before my mother met him,” another shared. “Sometimes I can put my hands on my little brother when he is in pain, and the pain goes away instantly,” came another account.

When I asked these students, “Why didn’t you share that in the class when I asked?” they would answer, “I didn’t want the other kids to think I was weird.”

Such a fear of looking weird carries over, for many of us, into adulthood. We see, feel and know things that we are reluctant to speak about because we might be judged or criticized. So we end up living two lives – one a public life built on presentation and image management, and another inner life, more personal, often secretive, and infinitely more real.

Psychologist and educator Patricia Sun [www.patriciasun.com] recounts, “As a child I was highly intuitive. I could see and feel what people were thinking and feeling, and quite often it was the complete opposite of what they were saying or doing in their social world. It seemed to me that the world was a kind of “Big Bluff” where people were living disconnected from who they really were, but because everyone expected certain behaviors and agreed to play the presentation game, their lives, hearts and souls were shriveling behind the scenes.

The way to cure “The Big Bluff” is to live authentically. When you express your truth, you invite others to meet you in an arena of realness, and you establish a platform of integrity for all of your relationships.

Patricia Sun further recalls, “Once when I was counseling a client, I noticed that I was bored. I tried to push beyond my feeling until I was practically falling asleep. Finally, as my client was going on with a long story, I told her, ‘I just need to share that I am having trouble connecting with what you are saying. I’m feeling kind of bored.’ To Patricia’s surprise, the client admitted, ‘Actually, so am I.’”

The client had gotten so immersed in the story she had told so many people so many times that she had become disconnected from her aliveness. This frank discussion between counselor and client led to an entirely more vital exploration of what, by contrast, was real and empowering for the client.

If you are bored, tired, lonely, angry, fearful or unfulfilled, you have probably succumbed to The Big Bluff. You have gotten so used to your routine, your story or a position of apparent (but dangerous) safety that your life force had slipped away without you recognizing it. But you can get it back. The way to reclaim joy is to be extremely honest about where your passion lives and where it doesn’t. You have to tell the truth, moment by moment, about what brings you life and what deadens you. Honesty is your lifeline to healing.

Like the respondents to the USA poll and my high school students, your inner truth may be connected to intuitive, spiritual or psychic experiences, or preferences and experiences that might get you labeled as an oddball. If so, I have comforting news: You are not alone.

In their book The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World, Paul H. Ray, Ph.D., and Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D., describe a subset of the population that does not subscribe to mainstream beliefs and values, but is responsible for most social progress (à la the bumper sticker “The world has never been changed by well-behaved women”). It’s the people who are unwilling to participate in The Big Bluff who have the power to undo it.

While living authentically may initially appear frightening, realness is the most comforting and liberating path of life. In The Teachings of don Juan, author Carlos Castaneda quotes his Yaqui Indian shaman mentor: “Ask yourself one question…Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn’t. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.”

We are living at an extraordinary time when more and more people are confronting and dismantling illusions. Institutions based on the Big Bluff are crumbling before our eyes, and ways of living based on The Big Real are rooting and growing. Perhaps, if the current trend continues, that revealing USA Today poll is giving us a peek at USA tomorrow.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)…Yes, the world is going crazy. But all this change is extremely invigorating. You’ve got your mojo working again and your friends and colleagues are looking to you for answers. Trust your own guidance and make choices based on your highest ideals. No one else knows what’s going to happen either, so why not shoot for something great?

Cancer (June 21-July 22)…You spend the first half of the month in reactive mode. But once the Solstice hits, you’re going to be at the center of the cyclone. The potential for radical transformation is off the charts this summer. So rest up, connect to your intuition and set your intention for maximum alignment with your life purpose.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)…Take advantage of the super strong energy at the beginning of the month and put your stamp on life. Once the Solstice hits, you’re going to want to go inward to process all of the changes you feel. With Venus in your sign from June 14 onward, you look good and attract opportunity without trying.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)…Mars the warrior finally leaves your 12th House of the deep unconscious mind and moves into your sign, bringing energy and drive you haven’t had since last October. You feel lighter, smarter and more in control (and we all know you like that). The Capricorn eclipse pushes you to make a creative response to the needs of a world in transition.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)…Is there anything you don’t like about your life? Focus on what you do want, because miraculous changes are possible this month. You seem torn between a career opportunity and a home or family matter. Ask for help, because Jupiter and Uranus are teaming up to bring enlightened, helpful people into your life now.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)…Career prospects look really good this month, especially if you’re willing to move (either geographically or to another field of interest). Don’t let fear make you jump on a job you don’t want; a tailor-made opportunity is moving in your direction. You could start to manifest hands-on healing power or advanced psychic abilities with Jupiter and Uranus conjunct in your 6th House.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)…You might need a new Rolodex to keep track of all the people you’re meeting this month. Which is great, because you’re like a volcano of creative, innovative ideas; the more you share, the more you receive. You’ve got powerful money mojo but you need to be super-clear in your agreements with others.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)…Starting a salon or opening your home to a spiritual or progressive group would be a great way to harness the revolutionary Jupiter/Uranus energy lighting up your 4th House. The Solstice brings a relationship partner who challenges you to let go of playing small and take a chance on being who you came here to be.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)…Relationships finally get easier, as aggressive Mars leaves your 7th House on the June 7 and attractive Venus moves in on June 14. You thought you were out there before? Your mind is being blown wide open by the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in your 3rd House. Others might not get your drift, but they’ll envy your gift of instant manifestation.

Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)…You’re a magnet for progressive money-making ideas all month long. One brilliant idea could bring a financial windfall or buy you the time you need to work on your Big Production. All the transformation of the past several years has led to this moment, so trust your intuition and put yourself out there.

Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19)…If you’re aligned with your soul’s vision, this is the month when your life shifts gear. None of us knows for sure where we’re headed, but we’re looking to you to set an example for progressive, pioneering action. If you’re not feeling invigorated by the challenge, you’re probably in the wrong business. You need a mission greater than your ego now.

Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20)…It feels as if you’ve finally gotten free of a very old family emotional pattern that kept you from manifesting your true potential. As you step into your new identity, be open to radical new abilities springing forth. You could very well start prophesying or realize you can talk to animals. Open your mind to possibility!

In many traditions, the rabbit symbolizes fear – yet, its hole is where it finds safety. Symbolically, it directly refers to the subconscious and the depth of self. Truly there is no way to become an effective or whole human being without taking the journey through the self.

I say to many of my clients: “You must go through the hole to become whole.” The exploration of self is so necessary, because we are not who the world says we are, not by any stretch of the imagination. Most all of who and what we think we are is imposed upon us. Self-discovery – or I should say uncovery – is an inside out (or insight out) job! This is the true hero’s journey.

There are things, monsters that exist within us, because we escaped our primal nature. They stalk us and we fear them because of this:

Whoever battles monsters should take care
Not to become a monster too
For if you stare long enough into the Abyss
The Abyss stares also into you – Friedrich Nietzsche

Once you become the monster you have a choice
Either to become the fear that you represent
Or to be present
And once you mirror the Abyss
To be present
Or Absent – Hanakia Zedek

What we fear is who we are and what we are capable of. Some of us act out unreasonably and irresponsibly, and that is inappropriate because it creates ties that bind us to people, places, things, situations and circumstances. There are others who know the propensity of who and what they are, and they cultivate and refine these abilities and this awareness.

An example: I know that I am a monster, a primal animal with pristine killer instinct. I do not delude myself into thinking that I am some “Higher Life Form” or that I am love or light; others may be, but I certainly am not. Plus, I am a Martial Arts Expert and Master. I have cultivated and refined these abilities, and I have a severe and sharp edge – yet, I use these abilities to set people free. Now, if anything were to happen, let’s say, to threaten our survival on any level, I would be the one whose camp you would want to be in if you wanted to survive; prayer is one thing; effective, impeccable action is a whole other reality. I have torn myself apart to find the truth within; down the Rabbit Hole again and again.

There is peace in excavation and release and finding the truth within yourself as opposed to buying what is told you. It is a wonderful surprise to look in through the eyes of all that you see to a deeper reality. And it’s your truth that sets you free, none other. The deeper you go down The Rabbit Hole, the more you grow and the more that you truly know.

When you sit in the silence of your own inner sanctum, you realize what is stirring within and what is simultaneously blurring your vision on the surface. Within, we find self-awareness, realization and actualization. Beyond the noise and chatter of the other world exists the truth and knowing of the inner world. And from this space we can navigate the external. When you are still, you see. When you are empty, you feel. When you are silent, you can listen to what is actually happening.

We try to pretend that we are not animals; we try to pretend that there is somewhere else to go. We try to pretend that we can do whatever we want without consequences. Well, I’m here to tell you…think again.

Everything that you avoid rises to the top. When you pay attention, make effective choices. By following what you know, you will create the right path to follow through The Rabbit Hole to become whole.

What would Love Say?
Accept whatever is happening right now.

What would Love do?
Relax. Trust something wonderful is coming.

Meditation for Love:
Sit quietly for 10 minutes. Place your hand on your heart and breathe gently in and out. As you exhale, gently whisper the word “Love.” Ask Love to flow deeply in and out of your heart. Try on the feeling that everything is as it should be. Feel the knowing that, on another level, all is well. Let yourself be open for gifts, growth and opportunity.

Since being reintroduced to the eightfold path, I find that I have been practicing some of its elements without realizing it. This is the second of six columns devoted to exploring their value in today’s world.

• Satya (“You shall not lie”). Mahatma Gandhi said, “Truth is God and God is Truth.” Lies take away bits and pieces of the self and leave you hollow and disconnected. They propel you into living a life of fantasy and take you away from authentic living which is fundamental to our ability to be happy.

There are a variety of reasons people lie. When I told lies, they arose from a fear that who I really am did not measure up to some standard that I thought existed “out there” somewhere. This does not change or diminish the damage that lies do to the teller of them. When I lied, I could feel my self disintegrating around the edges. Since I have stopped telling lies, I’ve discovered strength and integrity in my being that I was unaware of before. This convinced me that satya is a valuable yama that has everything to do with the healthy self.

• Asteya (“You shall not steal”). Stealing is similar to lying in how it disintegrates the authentic self. We try to differentiate between petty and grand theft, just as we believe there is a difference between white lies and the real humdingers. But stealing a dollar is as harmful to our souls as stealing the Mona Lisa would be.

Stealing is part of certain aspects of our culture. Most of us have, at one time or another, been guilty of employee pilferage (paper clips, pens, file folders). And most of us have snatched a grape in the grocery store. But these thefts (petty or grand) nibble away at our integrity. Asteya helps us own that which is most valuable to us: our selves.

• Brahmacharya is difficult to translate into Western terms. It literally means “under the tutelage of Brahma.” Brahmacharya refers to celibacy, religious study and self-restraint. It resembles expected behavior of monks and nuns in Christian monasteries. Yet, in Indian society, many people who practice brahmacharya are married with children, because without knowledge of human love one can’t know divine love. One way to translate brahmacharya for Western sensibilities may be to see it as cultivating control of all our perception so that we are not unbalanced by our own experience, our hormones, our desires, our fears. This means that we take a step back from the situations we find ourselves in and look at them objectively.

According to B.K.S. Iyengar, “Brahmacharya is the battery that sparks the torch of wisdom.” It is the path to becoming one with God in Hindu tradition. Without it, I doubt some of the other eight limbs would be possible.

Think about your unused items. Maybe they fall under one category, like clothing that no longer fits or books from a previous hobby. Or perhaps there is a wide range of items. No matter how good you are at eliminating clutter, I guarantee most of you can come up with at least a small list of items.

The major reason we keep things that we are not currently using is we feel that they are a reflection of who we are, who we were or who we want to be. They are a reflection of a part of us that we are unwilling to release. What you keep is a great guide. These items are doing one of two things: they are serving as a reminder of a goal, or they are actually holding us back.

Jana, mother of two, is practical and organized. In one corner of her very tidy basement is a stack of totes with fabric and supplies and a sewing machine. It is clear that the area is storage. At first glance, these items seem innocuous enough. What struck me about this situation is that Jana had an area upstairs designated for the kids for crafts and yet here was her creativity stored in the basement. Furthermore, when asked, she revealed that her background is in fashion and she had a strong identity with the field. But, when the kids were born, her focus became the family. Now that the kids are in school, she longs to continue her career in fashion but has settled for other work. A look in her closet reveals high fashion clothing that was pushed aside for more “practical” pieces. Jana keeps all of these items as a reflection of who she was and longs to become again. 

Tom is a lawyer turned healer. He currently has a healing practice that is a little touch and go. A look at his bookshelf reveals a wide variety of books, including a large stack of law books on the bottom shelf. Tom explains that though he no longer uses the books and hasn’t for some time, he is resistant to getting rid of them. He further explains that no part of him wants to return to law, but he may have to “at this rate.” 

In both of these situations the unused items hold a subconscious purpose. But, holding on to the items are not serving their primary goals. We always have our “practical” reasons for why we keep things. But behind those reasons is what I feel is the truth: a goal or an obstacle. 

Jana had a goal to regain her image. A way for her to do that was to start integrating her old items into her current lifestyle. What worked would remain and what didn’t would get retired. She began to dress more fashionably again, recognizing that a lot of what she had kept wasn’t actually a reflection of her present state. She also designated a small area for her own creativity upstairs.

Tom had a career obstacle; the fear he would fail at healing and have to return to law. His choice to keep his books supported his fear and therefore the manifestation of his fear. For Tom, I suggested that it was time to release the old law books; trusting that he would not need them again and that furthermore if he did return to law, the outdated books would no longer serve him. If he was unable to release them immediately, I suggested that he remove them from his main bookcase which should be a reflection of his current work and interests.

So, as you look at the items on your own list, recognize why you may be hanging on. Don’t settle for your “own practical reasons,” but rather look at the deeper attachment. And then it’s time to either let go of the item that is no longer a reflection of who you are or hang onto it and become who you want to be!

Suddenly, I was struck by a sensation of ease and opening within myself as I experienced a sense of profound clarity. I could see completely, and simply how the bow was merely itself, without significance or import; I saw how each movement was unremarkable, not representative of anything. Yet, in the moment, the act was singular, unique, central and entire; it was everything. Then, in an instant, each motion and gesture passed and was gone, becoming nothing. The gesture, the movement, the attention and the intention no longer existed.

The passing of the moment was without any sense of loss or nostalgia as its passage produced a ceaseless series of endings, constantly replacing one another.

I decided a few months earlier that I would like to train to be a doan at the meditation center where I often sit and learn and take retreat. A doan is most readily compared to a cantor, the person who guides the proceedings, letting others know when activities are beginning or ending, leading chants, and allowing participants to be free from decisions and consideration of time and progression of activities. In the case of what I became responsible for, it includes the use of several instruments, chanting, timing of activities, and standing and walking in particular ways, in a particular order.

I felt the need to do this, even though it meant showing up at 5:30 in the morning, because I had recently realized that I experience much of the world kinesthetically. I felt that having my meditation practice involve something that involved moving my body in a prescribed way would be of value to my practice. In addition, my previous spiritual tradition involved a lot of ritual, and it was something with which I felt comfortable and at home. Instinct told me it was the right thing to do, and I was heavily supported in my intentions.

I knew that, in some way, this would to be an opportunity for me to gain insight. As is true of all opportunities for being struck by a lightning bolt of lucidity, I could not anticipate what I would learn.

When I began this practice, I asked my teacher what I should be thinking when I bowed. His answer was that it is merely another opportunity to be mindful, and I have kept that in mind. Then I became a doan, and the duties are prescribed, complex and wordless. First you light these candles, then you stand here, then you stand there, then you ring this bell, then you ring a different bell, then you ring yet another. Chanting, more bells, more chanting, more instruments, it was inevitable that I would be nervous. By attempting to be mindful of each thing, not worrying about the next, I was more able to let go of the worry that created the “stage fright” I found myself on the verge of. But the effort of paying close attention to what I was doing and readying myself for the next thing did not allow me to be mindful of the environment that I found myself in and was creating by these activities.

It was my third time acting as doan, when I was just beginning to be comfortable enough with the order of things, that I found myself with an opportunity for me to be quiet and present without doing. It was then that I was able to experience the aforementioned scene; one that awakened me to what my teacher was telling me about bowing.

I understood in that moment, the opportunity there is to bring meaning into each thing I did each day. I also saw that each thing has no more meaning than a momentary movement, word or gesture. It merely is.

Each gesture is a ritual, full and complete; each ritual merely a gesture. Every thing has only and exactly as much importance as we give it. Let us restrain ourselves from giving it more than is warranted or less than it deserves.

But most humans who are making decisions based on their minds or hearts will be so deeply connected to their own agendas, they will not realize there is a storm until the sky is black. They will not realize there is an earthquake until the ground is shaking. They will not know when they need to take action or to be patient because they are too fixated on “figuring out” what’s going to happen based on weak assumptions.

In the past, our society has taught us to follow our minds. Your logical and analytical mind will weigh the pros and cons in a given situation, leading you toward a solution with the greatest benefits and fewest negative consequences.

Your mind, however, is not effective unless you have trained it to be so by getting rid of mindless chatter, ego-based thoughts and the things you have been taught to believe. Most of us have not trained the mind thoroughly enough to make it functional and reliable.

Your mind won’t lead you to what you are passionate about. Your mind will not intimately connect you to other human beings. Your mind will not lead you toward love.

Your heart will.

More recently, we have been taught to follow our hearts. It is from your heart that you choose love, compassion, nurturing, caring, empathy, listening, giving and sharing. The heart will bond you to other people.

But it is this bond that can also deceive you. The heart will sometimes lead you toward ridiculous choices that simply make no sense. Making decisions using only the mind and the heart keep you stuck in a less than ideal “reality.” On a day-to-day basis, functioning from the surface leaves you with barely enough available energy to perceive something with depth because your energy is wrapped up with your thoughts and emotions.

At the surface, there are many outside factors keeping you from being the most effective person you can be. It is from this surface that most people are and have been for many millennia. You can witness how ineffective operating from the surface has been through the destruction of the earth and through war and crime on any level. You can also witness this through complacency, complaints and general misery.

While the heart and the mind, thoughts and love, have an important place in our lives, it is time to go beyond these facets and move into depth.

In my first book, Dancing with Divinity: Positive Affirmations for any Situation, I suggested that one of the Five Treasures was to let the heart lead. In my second book, The Nine Scoundrels: How to Recognize and Release Subtle Patterns of Sabotage, I wrote, “Sometimes the practical choice is not the better choice. The better choice is the one that comes from the heart.” While the heart can be an important guide for our decisions, we can access an even greater depth, from where we gain inherent knowledge and innate power.

Instead of operating only from the heart or the mind, choose to also operate from the heart of the matter. Connect to your deepest self – to that part of you which is infinite, powerful, certain, filled with insight and intuition and steeped in truth and wisdom.

Do not falter through choices that the mind or the heart creates. Go much deeper than that. Tap into the depth of your Self, where even your Self does not really exist and you are therefore void of ego, illusion and belief. From here, you can operate from a place where endless possibilities exist, from where you have infinite power, from where you can access certainty.

From a place of depth, necessary action will be effortless and impeccable. From this depth, there isn’t any confusion.

How do you begin operating from this level of depth? To move into true depth, release unnecessary and ineffective activities, thoughts, words, personal history and emotions.

Stop the need to be doing things simply to have something to do. Slow down. Prioritize.

Clear your mind. Embrace the depth of stillness. Let every part of your day be a constant meditation – not just thirty minutes seated at a cushion in half lotus. Use the mind for necessary tasks and then shut it off. Thoughts are a great source of misery. Stop torturing yourself.

Be silent. Just as it’s important to clear the mind chatter, it’s important to clear the verbal chatter, as well.

Release personal history. Retelling the past uses a great deal of energy. Tell stories that will sincerely help others or make you stronger through re-telling them. It’s okay to get rid of every story that makes you feel weak or stupid. And it’s also valid to shut down anyone who begins to tell one of these stories on your reluctant behalf.

Avoid suppressing emotions, but also make sure you don’t wallow in them. Honor the time necessary to grieve, but don’t let it infinitely rob you of your vitality. Release emotions that cannot be used as a catalyst to action. Pay close attention to self-pity, which is an enormous drain of energy.

Operating from the heart of the matter, you see beyond sight, with all your energy readily available to comprehend subtle shifts and nuances. You are always connected to intent no matter what situation you are in. You can “call the shots.” Because you “see” beyond the surface. You will have certainty because you will not have an agenda or a bind to a desired outcome. You will have heightened love from a truer depth not based on conditions or circumstance.

From the heart of the matter, you will know what to do, when to do it and be effective while doing it – just like an animal before a storm.

You are so incredibly unique, from your gestures and mannerisms to the way that you speak, the way your eyes shine when you smile, and the way you can say so much without saying a word.

I think of it as your soul’s expression, how your innermost being translates in this physical form. No one expresses like you do, and for those who know you, that is what they find so endearing about you.

When your soul leaves your body and you linger in the stillness to observe silently as your friends and family come to pay their last respects, one by one they will try to put into words how much they loved how you expressed your soul to them. Though they will do their best to tell others what they remember most about you, their words will be entangled with emotion and will not come out as well as they would like. It doesn’t matter, the onlookers say. We know what you are trying to say.

The reason they know is because they also have been in touch with your being, with your essence. And the reason they stand here now, a gathering in your honor, is because you shared your essence with them.

As humans being, we express as soul in relationship with others, and this expression is as unique as a snowflake or fingerprint. You have yours and I have mine, and while the differences in our expression of soul seem so exotic and incredibly subtle, they are expressions nonetheless.

We cannot help but express as soul. Who we truly are, our real selves, cannot be hidden away, as hard as we try. For even when we feel like playing games, deceiving others and donning costumes to change how we appear in the light of day, our soul’s expression carries on – the unvarnished truth about who we truly are.

And as much as I would like to not say it, I must: The one we try the hardest to hide our essence from is ourselves. We create identities and fantasies and live in our minds like rats running a maze; sometimes it is only in our exhaustion, when we are in crisis and when we no longer can keep up the charade, that the costumes and the games fall to the side and our true soul’s expression shines forth.

I am finding more and more souls shining in and around me. Perhaps the tumultuous times in which we live are pushing us toward greater expression of our soul, in plain sight. Perhaps as more of us gladly reveal ourselves, others find it easier to accept who they truly are.

Through my association with The Edge magazine, website and all that it is, I am proud to be in relation with so many people who reveal themselves so openly. Just look at the vast array of souls who are represented in this month’s edition alone, from energy healers to intuitives to retail business owners and holistic healing practitioners. While it can be said that they are just advertising, just promoting their businesses, it must also be said that the work of many in our holistic community requires a tremendous amount of integrity and openness. Some of those revealed in these pages do the actual work of helping people better express themselves as soul. To all of you, I bow in honor of your dedication to the upliftment of your fellow human beings – and the healing of all God’s creations.

Those who make up the holistic community walk a challenging path, one that requires them to constantly do what they can to ensure that their soul’s expression represents all of who they truly are, be it healer or inspirer or coach or translator of what life’s lessons are saying. This is not an easy task, for who among us finds it easy to be 100 percent genuine – authentic – in the realm of human relationship?

The greatest challenge for those who shine their souls, and reflect all that is True, is to not get blinded by the light. Know that even you – you the helper, you the translator, you the guide – can learn something, often when you least expect it. Who’s to say that that the person waiting to learn from you won’t be your greatest teacher?

I am in gratitude to be in your presence, you the soul who is reading this now.

As I sit here and think about you, all I can do is marvel at who you are. It’s an absolute miracle.

This is the final article in a series of eight based on The Eight Principles of Inner Peace as channeled by the Light Collective through renowned intuitive Kathryn Harwig. These principles are simple, yet profound, and apply to all beings in the cosmos. The essence of all eight principles is inner peace, and personal empowerment – the powerful ability of humans to create the world of their choosing.

All of the principles are interconnected, and as we can see from this quote by the Light Collective, Principle Eight – You Are Responsible, is directly connected to Principle One -We Are All One: “You Are Responsible is the second-most important of the principles. You cannot change anyone but yourself, but by changing yourself you change everyone, because we are all one. You could potentially be much more joyful if you would work harder on changing yourself and less hard on changing others. If all beings did this, great change would take place.”

As eternal beings, we choose our various lives, where we will live, what type of being we will be, what we will do, etc. Of this, the Light Collective says: “Earth is not the easiest place to learn, to choose, so only brave souls choose to be human. It is known, you are known, as mavericks, adventurers and, some would say, foolish. You are greatly admired and feared by most of the beings that choose quieter lifetimes in quieter cosmos.”

They go on to explain: “No one has pre-planned your life. Prior to entering your physical body you entered into a plan. You decided your plan for coming here. When you got here you didn’t remember your plan. You create your plan and your friend creates his plan, and your friend’s friend creates her plan, and then you all attempt to not trip over each other’s plan. On a cosmic level you all join in on a cosmic plan and on your collective plan, and somehow or other you muddle with it. There is no great God plan, for God’s great plan was to allow you to plan. And God has wondered ever since!”

You come to Earth for a purpose, which is to learn how to be joyful in the circumstances that you have chosen. You have chosen to come into this planet with members of your soul collective. You and your parents had a cup of coffee in spirit and determined who would be the father, who would be the child, and some of the circumstances that would happen – many of them based in fear. You chose to enter into these circumstances for the purpose of learning not to be fearful, but learning to choose love and to grow in who you already are.

All things are not pre-determined. Once you are on the planet, you make mistakes and you choose fear. Some came in thinking they would be a certain way, and then chose fear and became another way.

You can’t always protect yourself from someone who is dangerous or criminal, but even there you can choose your response. While it may not change the action, it will change how you view the action, and your response will change everything.

It’s always your choice as to how you come to this Earth. It’s also a principle, which many people don’t find appealing, to think they are responsible for the life they are currently living, that they have chosen and created their life. It’s true, however, that you may not have chosen all of the ways in which it played out because you have only control over your own life. There are many others in free-will circumstances who are playing out different scenarios, and so this is what makes life so interesting here on Earth.

We all came into this lifetime knowing we would be living through the greatest transition mankind has ever seen. Because we are all one, other beings in the cosmos are watching us. They know that we have free will, and how we handle this change will affect not only us, but also them.

To assist us in order that we may successfully adjust to this change, the Light Collective has come to remind us of The Eight Principles. They provide the inner peace and personal empowerment we need to transition to a new way of life with love rather than fear.

Again, response was so minimal that I wondered if style, quality and location really mattered since I thought we had them all, and still we waited. All together, the better part of a year passed before we received news of an offer. The offer was some distance from our asking price, but we were finally able to negotiate an agreement. Ten months for sale, one serious buyer. Still, one was all we needed.

I tell this story because of what we recognized in hindsight. The building we purchased needed more work than we expected, taking months to remodel. Our business operated out of our home and needed to continue until the building was ready. In our heads we had our plans mapped out, but rather than trusting the cues life provided, we were driven more by a nervous urgency based in money fears and “what-ifs.” Eventually we were able to see that we had been fully supported all along and that everything arranged as needed when it best served us.

We on this planet are experiencing rapid transformation of almost everything. Sometimes we explore esoteric material and think we know what is taking place, yet I expect we are seeing only a tiny part of a very large story. We might act as if we know what needs to happen, but are we really able to plan our lives or those of anyone else? Perhaps a better option is to be present as life unfolds in the moment without insisting on a clue as to where we’re headed. If we can’t see the big picture, it seems counter-productive to try controlling outcomes. I understand the fear of not knowing and the desire to control outcomes, but I’m not sure that control ever worked – and it certainly doesn’t in the new consciousness. Life is in charge, life knows the whole story and life provides what is needed in optimal timing.

Relaxing into a different way of navigating the flow seems to be the practice of the day. The new consciousness requires receptivity, not control. At first it may seem like trust, but it’s really more of a conscious relationship with creation. This new living field is responsive to needs for soul fulfillment, and the field knows what they are. Becoming receptive opens the pathways for attraction and the guidance for any action needed. The feminine first asks us to listen deeply and be receptive before proceeding into the more active steps, which seems to be a perfectly logical approach, but it has been mostly ignored in duality as forms grew out of fear and excessive needs to control outcomes.

Those of us evolving out of duality have had much to undo before moving on to our next experience. Perhaps like many of you, I have grown tired of all the processing and a bit impatient to get on with things. My human self is still challenged at times, learning to breathe its way through the changes. At least I’m now aware that I’m not in charge of the timing, because I know there is a larger story and a larger timing of which I am a part. That realization does help me to know that all is well and that I can relax out of years of feeling hyper-responsible for my experience and that of others.

Now I come full circle from the selling process that began five years ago. We are settled in our building, and have rented a house for the last four years. We are now feeling the impulse to purchase our own home and began the search several weeks ago. Our process has taught us a lot about who we are and what we need, which guides our discernment when looking at properties. I never thought that finding just the right place would be such a challenge, but you can bet I’m staying receptive even as I scour the real estate websites looking for the perfect match. I can feel Life preparing to deliver, and I’ll let you know when we need a hand with the boxes.

Leonard’s answer: If you are not present, and you are functioning mostly from within the mind, then death is always approaching, and it creates fear in two ways. The first is that we are afraid of the unknown, and generally what happens after death is unknown, and so we are afraid of it. To the extent that you are afraid of death, you will miss life, simply because the fear of death keeps you in the future, and life is only truly experienced in the present.

Fear of death also arises because of our attachments. The more attached we are to people or things, the more we will fear losing those things and so the more we will fear death.

To overcome the fear of death, you will have to become more present.

When you are present, you are in the unknown in the sense that the remembered past or the imagined future is not with you. All you know is this moment, not because you understand it or know it with your mind, but because you are experiencing it, moment to moment. It is very peaceful, and the more present you are, the more you will trust the unknown and the more relaxed and accepting you will be.

If you are truly present, there is no such thing as death.

One moment, you are here, alive. The next moment you are here, alive. If you remain present, then at the point of passing all you will experience is a moment of transition as you leave the body. Prior to that moment of transition, if you are present, you will experience peace, love, gratitude, acceptance and compassion. During that moment of passing, if you are present, you will experience peace, love, gratitude, acceptance and compassion. After that moment of passing, you will experience peace, love, gratitude, acceptance and compassion.

You will also experience a lot of light as you are returned to the dimension of the soul. Before this incarnation, you existed as a soul within the soul dimension. After leaving the body, you will be returned to that dimension, but your experience there will be radically transformed by the level of Presence and Oneness realized in this lifetime. Future incarnations will be radically affected by the level of Presence and Oneness realized in this lifetime.

To be fully present, you will also have to surrender your attachments. You accomplish this by bringing everything that you are attached to into consciousness. Own your attachments. Acknowledge them and confess them. Your attachments keep you imprisoned in the past or future. Your attachments keep you out of Oneness and in separation. Realize that you came into this world alone, and you will leave this world alone. You cannot take anything or anyone with you, but you can take your sense of attachment with you. This will create fear and it will contribute to the soul’s sense of separateness and loss.

In truth, you are the champion of the soul and it is through your awakening into Oneness through Presence in this lifetime that your soul will be restored to immortality. The more present you are in your day-to-day life, the more present you will be in that moment of transition. If you are present, it is truly a moment of great inspiration for those who love you. It is a moment worthy not of grief, but of great celebration.

Owen’s request may be symbolic of a dynamic you and I might employ if we truly wish to bring relief to those we encounter, and to receive healing ourselves. Simple human kindness might bring us greater release from pain than following dogma. We might need understanding and comfort more than concepts of sin, heaven and hell. We might appreciate others just being present with us and loving us as we are, more than prescribing behaviors that will fix us. We might need love more than religion.

Now, before you get all hot and bothered because you believe I am denouncing Jesus, hear this: I think Jesus totally rocks. If there is one spiritual master whose good works I would emulate, it is Jesus Christ. In my opinion he is the penultimate teacher of healing, compassion and forgiveness. If there is one message that the world could benefit from, it is the message of Jesus Christ.

It’s what’s been done in Jesus’ name that has brought fear, pain, guilt and suffering to the masses. More wars have been fought in the name of religion, and more people have been killed supposedly for God than for any other reason. If we removed religious separateness from the equation of humanity, how much more peaceful would our world be?

If Jesus were to come back today, I’m certain he would be appalled at what has been done supposedly for his glory. (Carl Jung declared, “Thank God I am not a Jungian.” What might Jesus say?) The story is told of a black man who applied for admission to a white church in the South. He was refused admission and given a lame reason. The next year he applied again and was refused for a different reason. Each succeeding year the fellow applied, and he was continually rejected. Finally, the man fell to his knees and prayed, “Dear Jesus, I have been trying to get into this church for ten years, and every year they won’t let me in.” Soon the man heard the voice of Jesus answer him. “Don’t feel bad, brother. I have been trying to get into that church for a lot longer than you, and they won’t let me in either.”

I am not against religion. Religion helps a lot of people. Every religion holds a truly spiritual element, which if discovered and lived, brings deep comfort, healing, and awakening to the soul. God bless religions that keep God at their essence. If you belong to a religion and it truly helps you live a happier life, then the religion is serving you as it should, and all is well.

Some elements of religion do not represent the work of God. Guilt is not an attribute of God. It is the invention of the fearful mind. Voltaire noted, “God created man in his image and likeness, and we returned the compliment.” Because we learned fear and punishment from people who felt disconnected from their source of love, we believe that God wields fear and punishment. If God were a person, he would surely need a course in anger management.

Yet, God is not a person with human frailties. God is a spirit, and a loving one at that. I wonder how ministers can stand in front of a church before a huge placard proclaiming, “God is love,” and teach fear. It just doesn’t make sense. I saw a cartoon depicting a preacher standing at the door of a church bidding goodbye to each parishioner as he or she exited the church after the Sunday service. As he shook each person’s hand, the preacher explained, “Nothing personal…Nothing personal…Nothing personal.”

Religion or any spiritual path should be deeply personal. It should touch you where you most want and need to be touched – in the heart. Any spiritual practice should bring you relief and respite from the pain of a world caught in blame and confusion. Going to a church or any spiritual gathering should feel like coming home, not a call to arms. You should be more relaxed about being who you are. There is no need to feel wrong, blameful or that you must change to toe a line set for you by others who could not tow an impossible line themselves. Prayer should be as comforting to your soul as a good massage is comforting to your body. No Jesus, just rub.

Jesus quoted, “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise.” If Jesus himself sat at Owen’s bedside that poignant night, I don’t believe he would have been offended by Owen’s request. I think that he himself, like Owen’s mother, would have smiled, massaged his weary child, and bid him a sweet rest.

Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20)…You could be feeling frustrated by the slow pace of progress this month, as Mercury continues to retrograde in your sign. Instead of bulling your way forward, why not go with the flow? The Universe is trying to help you let go of a major personality pattern (an egoic “need”) that keeps you from the love and success you want.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)…Just because life isn’t moving in a straightforward fashion doesn’t mean you aren’t flowing swiftly downstream toward your intended destination. Don’t fight the current this month! Surprising relationship and career opportunities are on the menu from the 15th to the 30th. But you’ve got to trust your path and stay open!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)…To say this is a pivotal year would be a strong understatement. A huge part of what you’re learning is how to feel your feelings thoroughly the first time – this allows you to return to equilibrium (that powerful place of inner balance) more quickly. Find your calm, inner center and cultivate trust this month; all of this rocking and rolling will pay dividends later in the year.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)…You’re essentially re-visioning your career, life’s work or status goals with Mercury doing his dance at the top of your chart. Remember that what you usually want when you say you want money is the freedom or resources that money can buy. Be willing to shift your focus to what you really want, rather than the steps you think you need to take to get there.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)…Mercury in your 9th House of wisdom is slipping you intuitive shards of self-understanding all month long. You’re not the same person you were 10 or 20 years ago, but you often still act as if you were. Pay attention to the messages you get in dreams, conversations, books and movies – it’s time to act your age and do the work you came here to do!

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)…Friends and professional connections continue to sparkle for you this month. You’re entering a powerful career period in which others are especially receptive to your projects, proposals and creative output. Use the first half of the month to tighten up power – or money-sharing agreements that discourage your creativity.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)…You’re rewriting your personal Book of Love this month. Since you now realize that everyone you attract into your life is a reflection of your inner self, you choose to become conscious of the Shadow patterns that have attracted past unhealthy relationships. Your career mojo continues to burn hotter and hotter, so go for what you really want.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)…Taking better care of your health or getting more organized with your work opens up relationship opportunities. If you’re forging a new business partnership, leave room to renegotiate mutually-favorable terms after Mercury goes direct mid-month. The Full Moon on the 27th puts you in the spotlight and serves as a reminder of how far you’ve come.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)…The incredible pressure you’ve been under starts to ease off this month. This is a temporary break in a very intense year for you, so if things slow down, take advantage now. With Mercury retrograde in your 5th House, you may want to reconnect with an old hobby or art form that can get you out of your head and back in the flow. Relationship luck improves after the 19th.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)…There’s a part of you that just won’t let go in a relationship matter. You keep pushing even when you don’t know why. What you’re feeling is the once-in-a-generation, super-extended transit of warrior planet Mars through your relationship house. Even though this level of confrontation can be embarrassing for you, use it to learn about the things you secretly hate yourself for. Healing these old wounds will make it all worth it in the long run.

Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)…You’ll be reviewing your communication style and strategies in the first half of the month. Retrograde Mercury in your 3rd House of thoughts shows you the places of past disappointment where you’ve gotten mentally and emotionally stuck. Clearing these old hurts opens you to new career abundance near the Full Moon in your 10th House on May 27.

Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19)…Your creativity is off the charts! You can blow out this fiery energy in partying hard or you could use it to bring your own inner Bach or Da Vinci to the forefront. Use the Mercury retro to review your finances; then open your heart and get your love flowing to bring in the money you need for the next step in your journey.

I don’t believe in anything, not in me or the reflection that I am seeing. The mirror is a representation, an image, an illusion of light. In “the Light,” we are told that we are all one; we are reflections of the divine. Many (not all) who deal in this New Age movement and religion spout rhetoric about love, light and gods that isn’t their words at all. As a matter of fact, most of what they say isn’t even their personal experience but simply repeated phrases. Beliefs. People speak about free will and free thought all of the time, yet they are slaves to what they believe and have faith (or fear) in.

What if I said that the bible and books like it are fiction – age-old mythology or comic books for adults? How would you feel? What if we are not reflections of god? What if god is a projection of us, of archetypal human values? Do you identify with this information? Do you reflect it? Do you think that something is the truth because you read it or hear it? Do you question what you see or hear or do you have blind faith in what people say is the truth?

We are told that the world is a reflection of us. What if it is a surface that we are projecting onto and, when you stop, you have the opportunity to see what is really there? Words are representations. Yet, we are not trained to understand or even experience what they represent. So much of humanity stays on the reflective surface of the construct that perpetuates it.

I hear people speak about what they believe and I see how they have become trapped by their own fears and self-imposed limitations. I have been a believer in the past and I experienced the joy and love of it…only to realize later that it was me who put the emotion there. I know now that I created that love and joy and it was not god, or my faith, or anything external. In fact, beliefs get in the way of us simply living, loving, and playing together.

Before you tell children who they are, they all simply play together. So what the hell are we doing? I say shatter the mirror and let it be what it actually is…fragmented, a collection of lies that we tell ourselves, the holder of masks. It’s true that the blind can truly see, for those with eyes are trained to see lies about themselves and others. These lies are often presented in the guise of religion and new age philosophy.

I am tempted to tell so-called spiritual people to shut up when they start spewing rhetoric about what they believe. I find “regular people” refreshing to talk to because I don’t have to hear the myriad of things that uphold the hope and faith-based realities of many involved in religion and spirituality.

I understand that my position is strong. That is my intent, so that those who want to break free of the mirror can, so that they may see beyond the reflection given to them by culture, society, religion, government and so on.

I understand that I am going against the grain of religious, spiritual and cultural protocol, but I should be able to look into the eyes of a child, or a neighbor, or a Muslim woman from halfway around the world, and say “Hello sister” and see myself and not difference. Because there is a common ground. It is not what you believe in. It is not who you’ve been told you are. It is not what you spend time thinking about. It is the look in a child’s eyes just before she laughs or in the leaves of a tree just before the wind blows or in the kiss of an animal or the breath in the air just before the rain falls.

It’s being.

I am this stone, this tree, this blade of grass, the first and last breath that anyone takes…not the reflection, but the thing itself.

Each month, this column features a “Message from Love” with an action step and meditation. Each message gives examples of what Love might say and do in various circumstances. So, whenever you find yourself feeling scared, angry or uncomfortable, instead of letting fear have its way, practice asking yourself:

What would Love Say?
There is nothing wrong with you. You are perfect and whole.

What would Love do?
Feel who you are deep within. Move in life from that space rather than the fearful, negative thoughts in your head.

Meditation for Love:
Sit quietly for 5-10 minutes. Place your hand on your heart and breathe gently in and out. Ask the spirit of Love to join you. Find the place within that feels “wrong” or “inadequate” and bring it to your heart. Send these places love. Let Love wash away the shame. Then, feel who you truly are. Feel the perfection and wholeness that is deep within your spirit.