Commonality of Spirit

When we seek magic in unexpected places, get inspired by coincidence, feel the goosebumps or spontaneous tears that signal truth has been spoken, healing and evolution are accelerated. Enthusiasm in the present moment creates an openness that is unparalleled. It facilitates action and commitment as new energy flows through our experience.

Small things often begin to take on greater meaning. I love perusing the bookshelves and decor of new acquaintances only to discover a bond  through shared authors, teachers, art, music and ideas. Little signs spark greater connection. Something beautiful happens when people acknowledge commonality of spirit and, together, consciously enter Presence.

What if, instead of amplifying differences between people, cultures, belief systems or interpretations of experience, we chose instead to see the Other as sacred and interesting? And instead of feeling separate, we begin to recognize how the sharing of perception and events transform all those involved into multi-dimensional expressions of spirit?

The threads that connect us are many, some years in the making. Through openness and exploration we often gain a new perspective about the perfection of life and the events that connect souls together. No matter how it appears, love is ultimately at the core of everything.

I Am Consciousness

What you see and experience is about 1% of what is truly occurring at any given moment. We are infinite beings living a temporary human experience. Threads of energy connect all things and light is constantly flowing through those connections, weaving a tapestry of exquisite design.

You are consciousness experiencing itself through human experience. Within that realm of existence the goal is to expand until we recognize our true nature. No matter how it appears, love is waiting to emerge in every situation and you are supported and guided every step of the way.

Shakespeare once wrote “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” For any play to be successful, the actors must embrace and lose themselves within the part, creating belief through their interpretation of the role they have been given. Thus is it with the human experience. Everyone is playing his or her role perfectly, ultimately contributing to our collective lessons. As an awakened spiritual being, it’s important to learn how to participate while also recognizing your infinite nature, seeing beyond appearances and limitation.

Observe your life experience. Open your heart to what life is trying to teach you in the present moment. You are awakening.

Unlimited Movement

You are meant to live an unlimited life. To live without limitation means that you allow room for surprises, movement and passion. The Tao speaks of purposefully being like a river – endlessly moving, flowing with ease, alive to life itself. When life is too predictable, there is no dynamism and we become stagnant; therefore, the soul craves and creates movement to ensure that we are consistently in the process of allowing the Divine to express itself through us.

Infinite possibilities await. Within the contrasts of all that we experience lies the wisdom of the ages. As we become more conscious, our ability to flow becomes more profound. We choose how we respond to life, how we think and act, and how we process new information. Those who are still unconscious have no knowledge of this ability – to them, life presents experience and they are in a constant state of reaction, fear or regret. Allow your choices to be led by love.

Start being blissful now, don’t wait. Live each moment as if it were your last – embrace the gifts, share your light and celebrate the uniqueness of your journey with the knowledge that nothing is more important than your joy.

Embody Love

Embody the love, presence and freedom that is the essence of your true nature by finding simple ways to quiet the mind and open your heart. All change begins within.
There is a wise passage through life… one that calls the awakened to walk its journey. As we cultivate the peace that is found in mindfulness, generosity, loving-kindness and integrity, our lives become living examples of how to create an atmosphere of safety and trust in an all-too-often frightened world.
The human experience is meant to connect each one of us in compassion learned through the commonality of experience. At some point, we have all known love and loss, joys and sorrow, life and death, hopes and fears, ultimately discovering the thread of understanding that connects us all. This takes lifetimes to achieve and leads to freedom and liberation.
When you can find the joy within the sorrow, the beauty within the challenge and the light of communion with the Divine in your interactions, then you are playing within the paradox of being a spiritually awakened human. Trust your intuition and begin with actions that best serve your heart. As you transform your perspective, the world around you is transformed.

Love What Is

“The ego says, ‘I shouldn’t have to suffer,’ and that thought makes you suffer so much more. It is a distortion of the truth which is always paradoxical. The truth is that you need to say yes to suffering before you can transcend it.”
~Eckhart Tolle~

The human experience is paradoxical. Through anger we discover peace. Limitation teaches how to expand. Hatred transforms into love. Judgment paves the way for compassion. By immersing ourselves in whatever unfolds in the present moment without resistance, we can begin the process of loving what is. This shift becomes more fluid when we approach our daily life situations with conscious awareness rather than reactivity.

When you are ready to shift something in your experience, honor it with gratitude and proceed with the knowledge that it has taught the lesson or cultivated the new attribute for which it was meant.

To honor your path as sacred means to understand that everything plays a valuable role in your awakening. Nothing is dismissed as unimportant or “not spiritual.” On the contrary, all you encounter becomes meaningful and worth your loving examination. Self-reflection is the key. Turn inward, bring yourself into balance and experience life with an open heart.

Find Your Zen

“To stay present in everyday life, it helps to be deeply rooted within yourself; otherwise, the mind, which has incredible momentum, will drag you along like a wild river.”
~Eckhart Tolle~

It’s easy to be Zen when sitting in meditation, spending quiet moments in nature or surrounding yourself with people whose beliefs completely align with yours. It’s a bit more challenging to remain in a state of peace when facing someone in the grip of anger, dealing with the intensity of modern life or when finding yourself triggered by things you had thought long healed.Our spiritual journey is accelerated when we bring a sense of inner awareness and consciousness into whatever the present moment has to offer. Rather than only setting aside specific moments for your enlightenment, scatter them all throughout your day. View consciousness as important as breathing until it becomes second nature. These moments of deep connection align you with the miraculous beauty of life.

Periodically look around you and choose to fall in love. Honor yourself and your expression of the Divine as sacred. Open the crown chakra to receive the love, light and laughter of the Universe.  You are the bridge between the sacred and the mundane. Seeing this clearly is enlightenment.

A New Dawn

“It’s as though, knowing that everything is possible, suddenly nothing is necessary.”
~Diana Gabaldon~
There are moments when life goes quiet. In the gap between what is and what could be lies a world of infinite possibility. There is nothing quite so beautiful as immersing oneself within the embrace of stillness.
We humans can cause ourselves so much pain. Excessive thought fills these spaces of pure potential with clutter that is then carried into day to day life. Everything becomes too much and the overload causes reactivity, which leads to additional conflict and drama.
Each journey is unique; therefore, there isn’t one “right time” to enter stillness. Those seeking to expand their consciousness must experiment with different ways of engaging the mystery. One thing to remember: it exists for everyone. We can access stillness in the midst of chaos and be at peace, even within the cacophony of experience.
When you discover your own way of going deeper into the present moment, make it a priority in your life. Find ways to work it into your daily routine until it becomes your natural way of being the world. There will come a time when this magnificence, this expanded vision is simply who you are.

Labels Create Limitation

“I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Once we drop mind-made labels of race, religion, sexuality, health, politics or heritage, we can explore life more fully. Labels create limitation that is often expressed throughout our varied interactions. Righteous judgment or reducing others to one dimensional entities is the ego’s way of creating division. Judgment and love cannot coexist in the same space; therefore, we evolve more quickly by choosing to love our way through challenging situations.

Many feel the need to belong or explain the tendency to act in a particular way; however, there’s a fine line between understanding ourselves and managing to a particular belief about a diagnosis or way of being. Rather than adopting an identity based upon one aspect of yourself, know that you are multifaceted, infinite and ever-evolving. Should you be working through a particular challenge, you may find it helpful to say, “I am working on becoming more balanced and present” rather than repeating the label and managing to it.

Work consciously to expand your vision. There are infinite aspects to explore and the willingness to drop limitation is required. Each person’s story is unique and through them, we can discover new ways of viewing the world and cultivate greater compassion. By giving up  preconceived ideas about others, we open to the love that already connects us.

Be Still

The human condition provides lessons through the perception of separation. While the soul seeks to awaken, the ego seeks to distract; therefore, it will constantly plant seeds of division. Those seeds are sown with judgment, hatred and fear and they grow into barriers that block us from seeing the sacredness of another.

Once division occurs, the next level of distraction comes from constant fighting. Whether external or internal, the ego busies the mind with stories of victimhood and blame and the personality (seeking to belong) will find others with similar fears or beliefs in order to reinforce the walls. Brick by brick, layer by layer, the illusion is woven into the fabric of the life experience.

Throughout the process of awakening we begin to dismantle the beliefs that create separation. Stillness cultivates the ability to see through illusions created by the mind. In that space, in the gap of infinite possibility, we can perceive the love that connects us. It’s amazing to observe the change as one moves from fear to enlightenment. Stillness becomes the foundation upon which we build.

Be still. Receive inspiration. Laugh often. Recognize your own sacredness and walk forward accordingly. The way will make itself known.

See Yourself Bathed in Love

I awoke from a vision of the energy of love streaming down upon us from the higher dimensions. One concept blazed through my mind – see yourself bathed in love. This directive seemed so imperative that I simply remained still and allowed images from my spiritual guidance to flow.

In certain aspects this is easy to visualize, of course. The light from the sun is a beautiful example of unconditional love – shining down on everyone equally, holding back nothing, demanding nothing. Easier still, we discover the energy of love within a kind word, laughter among friends, the smile of a dog, the art of creation, music, meditation, the peace of a mountain hike, or by hugging a tree.

But what about man’s inhumanity to man? How can we find love in the desolation of once beautiful places, the destruction of the resources of our sacred mother earth or the poisoning of the mind with hatred? This is where spiritual practice and higher frequencies of awareness come in. If we hold the concept that all things have love at the core and we are the recipients of whatever is needed for our souls growth, we begin to look for love, even in the unlikeliest of places… and by looking for love, we are assured that it will be found.

From the higher perspectives – love, joy, peace, enlightenment – this is more easily perceived. We can appreciate the weaving of the tapestry of our existence together in a new way and thus, cease being reactive or falling into judgment. In this way, we become active participants in our collective awakening.