Be a Force For Love

When love informs your world view, you step into a world of infinite possibility.
“You may protest if you can love the person you are protesting against as much as you love yourself.”
~Ram Dass~  

The higher your level of consciousness, the more expanded your vision. Consider the limitations of hatred or fear. Both states of being create filters which distort one’s interpretations and create a self-made prison. Only love can dissolve the bars that enslave so many.

Our role is to demonstrate a different way of being. Those who wish to create change must guard against becoming the very thing they are seeking to transform. Consciousness calls upon us to be mindful, to communicate with kindness and to project our vision of a new earth. The moment is Now and what you do today matters.

The idea of global transformation may seem daunting; however, your life creates ripples that spark change all the time. Even though you may not bear witness to the end results of your loving actions, never doubt that your light has the potential to plant seeds of awakening in all those who are touched by your life.

 

Transcending Obstacles

Loon represents the reawakening of old hopes and dreams.

“To recognize one’s own insanity, is of course, the arising of sanity, the beginning of healing and transcendence.”
~Eckhart Tolle~  

When a challenge arises, it is often a pivotal moment that leads to inner transformation. We get derailed from comfortable patterns and turn inward for answers. We seek solitude and peacefulness and ultimately emerge with a new way of seeing and being.

Breath is a wonderful tool for accessing varying degrees of consciousness. Have you ever noticed that you often forget to breathe when caught in stressful situations? This tendency creates a blockage of energy, though fortunately one over which we have complete control.

Bring your awareness to your breath. Create a slow, consistent flow until you feel yourself fully anchored within the body. This present moment focus slows time and opens you to receive the insight that is waiting to be experienced. New possibilities are open to you now.

Going Deeper Through Detachment

Detachment allows you to explore all the facets of life.

“True detachment isn’t separation from life but the absolute freedom within your mind to explore living.”  
~Ron Rathbun~   

Attachment creates suffering in our experience; therefore, detachment creates peace in our experience. Worlds away from apathy, detachment is genuinely being at peace with whatever unfolds without layering the situation with expectations, must-haves or the perception that something is or was wrong.

When you experience the present moment with an open heart, it allows you to see see more clearly. A quiet mind is the beginning of freedom. Rather than living a repetitive pattern, we learn to break free and just be.

No matter how it appears, everything in your life situation is pointing you to this truth. Practice with daily application: When you send a text, release all expectation about when you will get a response. When you let someone know what is important to you, release the need to be immediately understood or heard (sometimes others process information more slowly). Notice the small ways that attachment creates disharmony and choose to utilize that moment of awareness to do things differently.

The smallest breakthroughs in habitual behavior create dramatic changes. Infinite gifts await your discovery.

Another World is Possible

We are in the midst of a collective awakening.
“I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.”
~Kahlil Gibran~ 

On the global stage, there are those whose soul purpose is to create disruption. Energetically, they behave in a way that antagonizes and ignites chaos in order to bring repressed dysfunction to the surface. In the Tarot, this movement of energy is represented by the Tower and is presented through the symbology of the goddess Kali.

Kali is the goddess of destruction and cataclysmic change. Structures and ideas that are weak or outgrown are shattered by events that seem to spiral out of control; however, everything works to our collective highest good. Once the intensity ends, we can assess the damage, clear away the rubble and see what survived the physical, emotional and psychic earthquake. What remains is our new foundation. Upon this we can rebuild, learn, change and evolve.

The Tower is never easy to live through but it a vital aspect of our experience. When we refuse to change, the Universe will often set change in motion for us. Even those who experience resistance will eventually emerge out the other side.

We must allow old forms to shatter in order to be transformed. Let awareness open you to receive the gifts of awakening. Tend to yourself, help one another and walk forward with the knowledge that these moments of change and uncertainty are powerful transitions that we have all agreed to experience together.

Come Home to Yourself

Awakening is seeing through illusion to the truth of who you are.

“May all that is unforgiven in you be released.
May your fears yield their deepest tranquillities.
May all that is unlived in you blossom into a future graced with love.”  
~John O’Donohue~  

Many have forgotten their divinity. They lived tossed about by life and become deeply entangled within the illusions of the physical plane. As consciousness expands, perception broadens. What was once one-dimensional and stark becomes beautiful, nuanced and layered with gifts waiting to be discovered.

We can honor each path as sacred and still see it clearly. Old souls have a responsibility to teach others in some way. Often, our lives becomes the message. The awakened soul can demonstrate love, empowerment, forgiveness and compassion through their words and actions. Imagine yourself as a beacon of peacefulness and joy that shines in the darkness.

May the actions you take be guided by your inner truth. May your words be uplifting. May your dance be an authentic expression of the Divine. May your presence be a gift to those who grace your life.

 

The Ultimate Teacher

Everything in your experience offers an opportunity to awaken.
“We need a warriors heart that lets us face our lives directly, our pains and limitations, our joys and possibilities.”  
~Jack Kornfield~  

Everyone’s journey is unique and ultimately, each of us is responsible for our own experience. As our awareness expands we can reevaluate old perceptions with a new interpretation. Awakening is often presented as a spiral of energy – we revisit the same issues from various levels of consciousness. Each insight layers upon the old perfectly, often transforming our perceptions and breaking us free from outmoded beliefs and patterns.

We can learn through the sharing of experience, compassionate listening or by holding space for another. Collective awakening calls upon us to lift one another up in love, and that expression, too, is unique from person to person. Follow the promptings of your soul. Live authentically. Your light can be transformative in countless ways.

 

The Transformative Power of Gratitude

You have the power to transform your life experience.

“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”  
~Robert Holden~   

Challenges are our greatest teachers. They draw awareness to the changing aspects of your spiritual growth and call upon you to find the very best in yourself.

When faced with doubt or anxiety, stop immediately and briefly take a walk. Give thanks for the challenge. Ask the Divine for clarity in order to recognize the gifts that lie within, and most importantly, remind yourself that you always have the strength to face whatever unfolds in the present moment.

At times it’s easy to become overwhelmed; yet everything can shift with a shift in perception. Support yourself by acknowledging how far you have come. Love yourself enough to create a space in which you can receive the messages of life. Seek answers by beginning with gratitude.

Every situation has something to teach. The awakened soul can transform the messages of life into guidance that lifts the spirit. We spend our entire lifetime delving into this process in order to explore the various layers of enlightenment.

Holding on to Unworthiness

When someone doesn’t believe they deserve joy, they often sabotage their own efforts.
“We cling to our beliefs, even when we know they cause us suffering. We maintain our illusions, even when they make us miserable. We know this, but we refuse to act on it.”  
~Ezra Bayda~ 

When you interact with someone who seems to consistently find fault with the present moment, respond compassionately. Do not move into their playground by becoming defensive or attempting to change their point of view. Since the mind is controlled by ego, your actions, energy and love will have a greater impact than words, logic, ideas or concepts.

Unhappiness is an addiction. It blocks us from experiencing an authentic connection with one another because it causes our interactions to be ego-driven rather than soul-driven.

Everyone struggles with unworthiness at some point in their journey. The ego will find a reason to hold on to frustration rather than experiencing the present moment joyfully. Don’t wait for life to fall into place before you choose to be happy. You have the power to create whatever experience you wish.

Enlightenment is Now

When you strip away the cacophony, love is speaking through the stillness.

“Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness.”  
~Eckhart Tolle~ 

Practice listening. Observe without mentally labeling what you see. Choose to experience the sacred energy which flows through all life. It sounds simple, but active listening and observation call upon us to break free of thousands of years of human conditioning.

We have a role to play in the transformation of our collective consciousness. The moment you choose to approach situations differently, you create an opportunity for growth. This can only be accomplished by being present. If your mind is elsewhere – worrying about the future or carrying the past – you’ll be too distracted to see clearly.

Each of us is responsible for our own state of consciousness. In this moment, how peaceful are you? Resistance creates anxiety while acceptance opens us to receive grace. Cultivate your ability to accept what is and respond to life with inner awareness. Enlightenment is not something that you’ll experience at some point in the future. It is here Now.

Indicators of Transition

Unexpected challenges are meant to wake us from the sleep of illusion.

“Spiritual practice includes learning how to open-heartedly receive the shocks of life – the things you don’t like, the people who criticize you, the job that goes wrong, the partner that leaves, the health that fails you – whatever shakes you up.”  
~Ezra Bayda~
When you are ready to break free from old patterns, you may notice that they increase in intensity. You may experience resistance from those around you because your changes cause a definitive shift in relationships and how you choose to respond to your life situation. See the resistance and chaos as indicators that the changes you are making are significant and push forward.
Personal change is akin to cleaning out a closet. First you must take everything out to determine what to keep and what to discard. This process often makes other rooms appear cluttered and can be momentarily overwhelming. But as you purge and reorganize, everything eventually becomes calm once again and you can see the results of the action you have taken. Intensity is part of the process of transformation.
Sometimes life forces change upon us. Know that you are able to handle anything that occurs in your experience. It would not unfold without explicit permission from your higher self. These moments of awakening have the potential to lift you to higher states of consciousness.