Live Your Truth

Let your life be your message.

“The path to love requires open-hearted attention to the very things that seem to block our way to it.”
Ezra Bayda
Like water eroding rock, the awakened life is one of gentle, consistent, conscious actions. Attempting to force change, whether in yourself or others around you, is akin to a flash flood that temporarily wreaks havoc and leaves destruction in its wake. Living your truth; however, is a series of small actions that can transform even the most challenging of situations.
Everything plays a role in your awakening. Seeing your judgments and the fears out of which they arise allows you to choose a different response, one that brings you greater peace. Doubt is another path that opens the door to new ideas and insight. Anger points the way to repressed energy. Rather than wondering “why?” when things go wrong, seek understanding through direct experience rather than wandering aimlessly in an intellectual playground.
The key is to accept what is. Bring a greater awareness to how you choose to experience the present moment. When you take responsibility for your own state of consciousness, your actions will reflect empowerment and kindness.

Partnership, A Gift

The most loving gift that you can give another is the space to explore their unique journey.

“When you cling to how your partner (or your children or anyone) should be, you create the circumstances of long-term suffering. Your partner does not want to be controlled; they want to be loved, seen, accepted, held in your heart and honored and respected and blessed by your love.”
~Jack Kornfield~

All relationships ultimately lead you into a greater union with yourself and with the Divine. As we learn to provide consistent, loving acceptance for those who grace our lives, we experience the joyousness that results from watching them discover their unique way of being in the world.

All too often we greet one another with preconceived requirements or expectation. Each interaction is laden with ideas of how we’d like that person to respond and it’s easy to become so distracted by those mental projections that we miss the beauty of who they truly are.

Acceptance allows those you love the freedom to shine. In the present moment we can choose to give support and affection with a peaceful, open heart, and in that openness honor the riches and inspiration the other has to offer.

Love with a gentle strength. Love in a way that expands your own heart and you’ll discover that the well never runs dry. Allow compassion, kindness and gratitude to create a foundation for healthy, supportive relationships. Honor every path (including your own) as sacred.

 

Celebration

How can you transform this moment into one of celebration?

“It is this open and tender heart that has the capacity to transform the world.”
~Lama Chogyam Trungpa~

Each time we choose to celebrate life, we honor the Now as sacred. In essence, celebration allows the Divine to recognize itself as it flows through you experiencing the world of form.

No matter what you choose to do, do it mindfully. Take a moment to enjoy the uniqueness of your journey, your preferences, those who grace your life with their presence and all that you’ve discovered thus far. We have much to learn from these simple moments of connection.

Eventually, you’ll find yourself living outside the cycle of story and drama and treasuring the Oneness you’ve discovered within your experience. Life opens up into new dimensions when we put down the burdens we have carried and become attentive to the mystery.

Spiritual awakening and raising ones consciousness is a process. Sometimes it comes bursting through our experience as an insight or revelation, while in others, it manifests as a gentle, subtle flow that goes unnoticed until life presents a situation to demonstrate how far we’ve come.

You are here to make a difference. You are here to bring peacefulness into the space you inhabit. You are here to awaken and share your gifts. Your life is meant to be one of discovery, a book in which you write the story of your choosing. We reside in a wonderful world of choice – will you choose to resist or celebrate?

Vast oceans of truth lie unexplored before you. In this moment, you can choose to dance in the light, love and laughter of the Universe.

Change Comes From Within

The world is your reflection.
“Strong emotional reactions always signal the need to look more deeply at your beliefs.”
~Ezra Bayda~
No matter what challenges you face, you hold the key to transformation. As we learn to embrace new ways of being and thinking, our experiences change. The higher your consciousness, the greater your perspective.
Remember this: when your ego tries to tell you that you’ve tried everything and nothing works, you haven’t. There is always something new to learn and freedom awaits. Persistence on the spiritual path will eventually lead you to discover the ease and grace that comes from living with an open heart.
So, if you’d like to love your work (or relationship or living condition), begin by changing the thoughts that create anxiety or displeasure. Choose to create joy in your own experience and love where you are. Two things will happen: you’ll have more peace and clarity in the present moment which may help you to see that your situation is actually more pleasant than you thought or you’ll have a positive attitude and better energy which can be focused on creating a new situation.
The only human error is to complain without positive action, thus creating a prison. When we discover the prisons of our own creation, the most empowering thing to learn is that we hold the key… and the door was never locked.

Soul Contracts

Intensity in our interactions with one another ultimately teaches us Oneness.

“Karma is an emotionally intense experience which causes a sense of imbalance in the participants. Part of being on the physical plane is having intense experiences so you can learn from them.”
~From Michael, The Basic Teachings~

Karma is neither good nor bad. It allows the opportunity to experience both sides of a situation so that we can learn compassion for one another, ultimately achieving balance and unconditional love. It can take many lifetimes to complete a karma. For instance, in one life you may have helped someone to find shelter in their time of need. Several lifetimes later you meet a realtor who works tirelessly to find you the perfect home. During the process you feel intensely connected and at the end of the transaction, you feel peaceful and complete.

If one was responsible for taking a life as a young soul, they might find themselves in a situation as an old soul where they rescue that person (perhaps losing their life in the process), thus balancing the energy.

We have free will regarding whether or not we’ll initially engage in a particular karma; however, once it is in play, the participants must see it through until the end. Emotional intensity is the indicator that the soul is working on a lesson. Once complete, all involved will feel a sense of neutrality and balance.

When you find yourself in the midst of intensity, do your best to remain conscious so that you can move through it more quickly. Recognize that these sacred contracts have a purpose and will ultimately teach you exactly what you are ready to learn.

Everything is Energy

Everything emits a unique energetic vibration.

“Spirituality is one type of energy – the energy that links us to our deepest essential nature and to the universal source. Consciousness is the awareness of all of the energies within us.”

~Shakti Gawain~

Pay attention to the vibrational frequency of the people, ideas, emotions, experiences and things that fill your life. It’s important to ensure that your surroundings complement your unique energy and intentions. Incongruity can detract from your feelings of balance and harmony.

For instance: consider how challenging it would be for your focus to be on creating clarity and balance when you have a pile of old paperwork piled up in the corner of your bedroom or office. Each time you notice it, thoughts may arise – “I should go through those” or “I hate how that looks…” – whether at the forefront of your mind or hovering in the background, the clutter has an impact of your overall state of being.

It’s the little things that bring us joy; therefore, fill your life with mini-blessings. Handle things as they arise when they are small and manageable. Imagine how wonderful you feel when the spiritual, physical, mental and emotional aspects of your life experience are in balance.

Accepting What Is

Learn to recognize the perfection in the imperfection.

“The possibility of stepping into a higher plane is quite real for everyone. It requires no force or effort or sacrifice. It involves little more than changing our ideas about what is normal.” 
~Deepak Chopra~

Each of us is responsible for our own joy. When faced with situations that disrupt your peace of mind, choose to look beyond the superficial. Your willingness to seek the perfection in the imperfection ignites your inner wisdom. Rather than reacting to a challenging situation, you can choose to observe and learn from it; thus, transforming the encounter from resistance to acceptance.

The more conscious you are, the more peacefulness you will experience. Utilize your life situation as a barometer. As you awaken, you’ll discover yourself responding differently to the challenges that arise. Like any experienced adventurer, you’ll navigate the storms of your life with a wealth of knowledge and confidence in your own abilities.

You, too, are perfect. Don’t allow your ego to tell you otherwise. You are an expression of the infinite source of all life, temporarily manifesting itself as a human… and you are beautiful.

Harmony

Discover your truth and live it to the best of your ability.

“The birds have flown to freedom,
the cage lies empty.
Your happy songs bring to me
the scent of heaven.
Please keep singing.” 
~Rumi~

We experience harmony when our thoughts, words and actions are aligned. To know one’s truth is to know grace. Your life becomes an expression of that truth as you discover and express your unique way of being in the world.

In your wanderings, you will connect with many beautiful souls, each of whom longs for you to be your authentic self. All of life supports your dance of awakening and when you live with an open heart, life becomes easier.

You have incredible potential. Allow each challenge in your experience to refine the various facets of your soul until you shine with the light of a thousand suns. Visualize yourself as the embodiment of joy and walk through the world with the knowledge that you are loved, supported, protected and guided in more ways that you can imagine.

Act with integrity, do your best, accept what is

Trust the processes of your awakening.
“When you have the exquisite combination of acceptance, responsibility and defenselessness, you will experience life flowing with effortless ease.” 
~Deepak Chopra~
Of all the aspects we discover on the Path of Transformation, one of the most powerful is surrender. The spiritual knowledge of surrender as power flies directly in the face of the logic of the ego which cries out for action.
The initial reaction to any obstacle is the desire to find a way around it or through it. We look for solutions and finding none, become stressed and lose vital energy in frustration. Moving into acceptance or surrender does not meet throwing up your hands in despair or apathy, giving up the moment you are thwarted. Instead, it can be consciously utilized as a moment to put your spiritual knowledge into practice knowing that all things happen for you… not to you. This moment is one that you can use to accelerate your soul’s evolution.
That movement from frustration to empowerment is the path. Instead of experiencing ongoing ego-related reactivity or falling into old stories and patterns, we can choose to observe what arises and begin to look inward for the purpose behind the challenge.
Make any necessary choices from a space of love rather than from one of fear. My favorite mantra to utilize in these situations is:
Act with integrity, do your best, accept what is.
You may find that a new way to move forward presents itself. Assistance may arrive in forms that you had never imagined. You have the opportunity to discover the power of surrender and allow the mysteries of the Universe to unfold all around you.

 

Accepting Change

Change creates a space in which something new can occur.

“I am safe in the world. I am comfortable with change and growth.”  ~Louise Hay~

Repetitive patterns are meant to be broken. As old beliefs and behaviors become outmoded, our soul will seek new experiences. The mind, fearing the unknown, will create obstacles, reasons to procrastinate or “what if?” scenarios that paralyze. Sometimes, a thunderous shift will occur in one’s experience that forces a change. In those moments, the awakened soul will turn and greet it with conscious awareness knowing that resistance creates needless pain and confusion.

Acceptance allows us to see more clearly. Rather than getting caught up in the mechanisms of the mind, we look within to find the lesson, inspiration and insight. Walking forward, we have an opportunity to expand into new levels of consciousness.

“There is a great value in doing new things, not just for diversion or escape, but in order to help us awaken. When we put ourselves in a new or foreign situation, that very act awakens our senses, our awareness, our presence. Sometimes we have to take a leap in order to experience and heal the fear that holds us ever at the edge of familiar safety. Our task in awakening is to go against the grain of our mechanical tendencies.”  ~Ezra Bayda~