Spiritual practice requires an openhearted acceptance of whatever unfolds in your experience. Resistance causes pain. Begin with the premise that everything works toward your highest good and plays a specific role in your soul’s awakening. Embrace the present moment, and through it, consciously explore the infinite facets of your infinite, Divine nature.

You can live an awakened life and stop inflicting suffering on yourself or others. It begins here and now. How will you choose to communicate today? What will you focus upon? Can you bring the best version of yourself to each and every interaction?

Empowerment comes from taking full responsibility for everything in your life. It’s not about blame or self-directed anger or frustration, rather; through acceptance, we discover that we have the ability to transform any situation by transforming ourselves.

Several years ago I worked customer service for a financial company. As you can imagine, most calls were fraught with anger, frustration or fear. Money can often trigger ego-generated issues regarding self-worth and safety so many people were in a heightened state during our transactions.

It was during this period that I discovered the value of being joyful and balanced while bringing a conscious awareness of how people easily attack or blame when frightened. In order to direct the energy of the call, I began each conversation as upbeat as possible. Many of you who have spoken with me have heard my standard response to someone asking “How are you?”…

“I am splendid and delightful!”

This was so disarming to someone who expected to hear the typical, “Fine, and how are you?” that it pulled them to a higher level because my answer took them to a new script. Over time I discovered that no matter what unfolded in my life, I was authentically and consistently splendid and delightful. My words created my reality.

It’s important to remind yourself that nothing is more important than your happiness and every challenge contains a gift. Pay attention to your words. Choose to bring joy to every conversation. Don’t waste your precious energy complaining about life or expressing fear about the future. Rather, spend the day being splendid and delightful in every interaction and see where it leads you.

Pay attention to the repetitive circumstances that you experience. Life is a reflection of our innermost beliefs and expectations. These operate from subconscious levels and can often be challenging to recognize. Once you observe a pattern, drop all judgment around it and simply notice the various ways that it is woven throughout your life. The light of consciousness transforms all that it is shined upon.

Purposely choose to change the mental scripts that play in your mind. These habitual thoughts are nothing more than energy based upon past programming. As a conscious co-creator, you can purposely write a new story and create the life of your dreams.

“Expecting an epiphany – some single moment of insight that will forever banish the experience of fear, anger, neediness – may prevent us from noticing the slow and almost imperceptible ways spiritual practice subtly transforms us. With patience and perseverance, our habitual reactive patterns slowly erode, until one day we find ourselves in a situation that had always made us anxious – and we notice the anxiety is simply gone.” ~Ezra Bayda~

As you walk in the world, it’s important to express gratitude for all that unfolds in your experience. Everything and everyone is your teacher. See the potential within each person and situation through the eyes of love – recognizing the divinity, fulfillment and sacredness of the present moment.

This conscious approach to life sets the stage for perfection. Coincidences and synchronistic energies merge to provide whatever experience your soul needs most for your growth. A simple “thank you” acknowledges your recognition of the love and support that accompanies you each and every step of the way.

Be the change you wish to see. Embody compassion, kindness, joy and gentleness, expecting the very best from all that you have drawn into your experience. You are a master in the process of awakening.

Living a spiritual life is not some distant perfection that you will someday experience. It is the daily practice of bringing a sense of peace and inner purpose to your daily journey as best as you can, from where you are with what you have. As we awaken, we naturally cultivate more tools and a greater ability to navigate through the challenges and beauty of life.

Trust your inner wisdom. You will draw in the teachers and experiences that are most appropriate for your journey. See each moment only as an opportunity to shine. The infinite gifts of love are waiting to be discovered.

Today my intention is to be a living, loving expression of the Divine.

but the love that is the nature of our being.
~Ezra Bayda~

To enter into love is much, much more than the desire to be loved or to fall in love with another. As we realize our true purpose, it becomes possible to fall madly in love with life itself. The dance of experience becomes a flow of passion that seeks to embrace all that it sees – the colors and textures, the artistry and music, the unique beauty of every living being, the whispers of nature and the still voice of the Divine.

Choose to express love as much as you can throughout the day. Begin within, employing supportive and empowering self talk. Then, extend it outwards, speaking only words that lift others up and finally express joyful hope for the future. All that you speak sends waves of energy throughout the Universe which will return to you in miraculous and surprising ways.

“When difficulties arise, one of our first reactions is to ask ‘Why?’ We want certainty, logic, simple causality. We think this kind of knowing is necessary to alleviate our discomfort. Yet, most often, the reasons we come up with to explain why we think and behave the way we do are at best only marginally accurate. In reality, everything affects everything else, everything relates to everything else. The complexity of this interrelatedness defies description, and our subjective filters make explanation even more dubious. Yet we still look for simple explanations to account for what we see, unaware of the blinders obscuring our vision. Deep understanding never lies in the cognitive world of why, but in directly experiencing the ambiguous complexity of the present moment.”
~Ezra Bayda~

To take a step beyond the world of why, we must rise above thought. When we dance in the realm of pure potential holding the knowledge that we are right where we need to be, all struggle stops. Being fully present and open to life allows direct access to our inner wisdom. Choose to view your journey as an adventure. See your challenges as opportunities to shine. Go beyond the world of why into the power of the present moment. All that you need is already here.

As we practice the art of being aligned with what is, it becomes apparent that we can’t drop all egoic resistance simply because we want to. Resistance is human nature – resistance to change or negative experiences, self-deception, blaming, complaining. However,  through conscious awareness, it can be transformed into a powerful aspect of spiritual awakening.

“The specific practice is to more toward, and to fully reside in the physicality of our discomfort, allowing the fear, the sadness, the grief, to be breathed directly into the center of the chest. In the darkest circumstances, breathing into the heart is the one thing that will always be a genuine response to the moment. The process of surrender is to take it all in – the distress, the resistance, the breath into the heart, the environment – and to feel it all fully.”
~ Ezra Bayda~

This process allows us to discover the paradoxical duality of existence, how everything is intertwined, the beauty to be discovered within all movements of experience, and ultimately, empowerment and a greater sense of compassion for others who struggle with resistance and fear in their own lives.

What remains hidden silently runs our lives. Facing our fears by bringing them into the light of day and allows us the ability to live from love.

“When life presents difficulties we can crumble or we can learn. Aspiring to be free tips the scales toward learning. The willingness to open to life difficulties does not depend on liking them.”

~Ezra Bayda~

To bring yourself present in the midst of a challenge, observe that fear has arisen and recognize that is a by-product of ego-driven thought. When faced with a situation that requires immediate response, we simply move into action. When the mind takes over, we become paralyzed by confusion, “What should I do? What if I make the wrong choice? What if I fail?”

Act from the heart and allow circumstances to unfold as they will. You will either move the energy forward, learn something new or get clarity regarding your true motivations or attachments. See life as the patient and loving teacher it is.

You are far greater than the sum of your experiences or imprinting. The soul seeks to break free of limitation and to expand into the realm of infinite possibility. Continually drop the limiting story line of “me” and explore the world around you with the knowledge that you are loved, guided and supported each and every step of the way.

Today my intention is to release every negative, destructive, fearful idea and thought from my mind and my life.

“See if you can give more attention to an action, rather than the result that you want to achieve through it. Give your fullest attention to whatever the moment presents. This implies that you also completely accept what is, because you cannot give your full attention to something and at the same time resist it.” ~Eckhart Tolle

When we attach our happiness to a specific end result, we give away our power. The ego loves to delay joy by planting the idea that “when so-and-so is mine, I’ll stop feeling so alone” or “when I have this job or this much saved in the bank, I’ll finally be able to feel safe.” All of these ideas treat the present moment merely as something to get through in order to experience some better moment in the future.

You are responsible for your own joy. Feel it Now. No matter what you desire to accomplish, joy in this moment is the key to manifesting the life of your dreams. Plans fall apart from time to time, people may do the opposite of what you wish they would do, you may miss the mark… the only thing over which you have any control is how you choose to respond.

Treat this moment as sacred. Whatever you choose to do, do it with complete mindfulness and bring a sense of playfulness into your experience. Your willingness to take conscious action is far more powerful than allowing your actions to be led by anger or fear.