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.

The Obstacle is the Path

The obstacle is the path. When life presents our darkest moments, we have the opportunity to rise above. Know that your soul is ready to face whatever life offers – and realize that challenging situations only come into our experience when we have the tools and ability to handle them.
Obstacles provide an opportunity to cultivate new skills. They show us how far we have come on the path of awakening and allow us to discover our true potential. Bring a sense of adventure to the challenges of your life. Seek to find unique ways to face the hurdles you encounter, keeping a consistent, positive attitude to the best of your ability. There is nothing you can’t handle.
The only blockages we carry are limiting beliefs about our worthiness, strength, ingenuity and vision. Challenges provide the opportunity to leave behind the baggage, take action and break through to new levels of enlightenment.
Spirit has creative ways of propelling us into growth. Life occasionally takes a screaming left turn into the unknown and we must either face it or give up. Fortunately, the tendency of the soul is to evolve. Left with no other option, fear dissipates when we choose to walk forward.

Taste the Nectar of Life

“Bees are a recurring symbol of the Merovingians and the humming or buzzing sound of bees is likened to supersensible “sounds” experienced by many Sufis as they enter spirit realms.”

~Laurence Galian~

In many cultures, bee represents the importance of drinking the nectar of life. They taste through their feet and dance from flower to flower, pollinating, creating, and ultimately creating sweetness to share.

Allow joy to emanate from the eternal, timeless, spark of life within you and infuse it in your work and passions. Don’t be so consumed by time and desire that you forget you are eternal.

You are a master in the process of awakening, a beautiful masterpiece coming alive, each line drawn through the gift of experience. When you quietly do your inner work and allow the infinite energy of the Divine to flow through you, your actions will be guided by love, kindness and joy. Work, done for the joy of the moment, ceases to feel like work. It becomes a living expression of your vibrant and beautiful energy.

Once you discover your purpose, give your heart to it. Immerse yourself within the moment, be led by love and enter the realm of pure potential.

Wholeness

“On this sacred path of Radical Acceptance, rather than striving for perfection, we discover how to love ourselves into wholeness.”
~Tara Brach~

Beyond the dualities of life resides a unified space of Wholeness born of the endless dance of awakening that we share. The mystical union of grace and strength comes from walking through our challenges with conscious awareness… always seeking to discover the lesson and blend it into our unique way of experiencing the world.

Repeating patterns will always show you the aspects within you that are ready to be healed. Step into the role of observer – detached, clear and calm – and be a loving witness to your own growth. You have the ability to stop playing the tape of limiting thought and recognize that those feelings of doubt are lingering baggage from the past.

The only way to blend all the sparkling facets of who you truly are is to go inward. At the center of your being lies an infinite and powerful connection that can only be rediscovered after experiencing the illusion of separation. Integration of all that you have learned allows you to reach new levels in your own awakening. And the best part of playing in a Universe of infinite possibility? We are always at the beginning with limitless potential to explore.

Nothing to Excess

“Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds’ wings.”
~Rumi~

In a world filled with contrast we learn by experiencing the highs and lows, gleaning wisdom from both sides of the equation. Within karma too, there is a delicate balance that teaches compassion and understanding through exposure to opposites. Every action, pursuit, emotion, passion or grief can swing the personality wildly into extremes and it can sometimes be challenging to follow our bliss while remaining firmly grounded.

As an “all or nothing” personality, I’ve discovered that it easier to be completely immersed or completely detached; however, the road to enlightenment calls upon us to be mindful of our choices, to listen to our bodies, to pause and to be deeply aligned with our true nature, yet forgiving of the moments when we may miss the mark.

Simply notice when excess becomes a distraction and use that, too, as a tool for growth. Gently move with the energy at hand. Without extremes, enjoy the balancing power of Presence.