The Importance Of Healing At A Deeper Level

Expanding capacities in you and I may be more possible when we bring healing into our body, into our thoughts and into our heart.  Healing of the old scars of childhood trauma that reside both in the fibers of our body and in the memories of our mind and heart can open us to fresh energy and new inner resources.  Healing of the accumulated struggles and disappoints of life is also needed.

There are many methods of healing across cultures that look at well being beyond the repairing of broken bones and disease.  We are much more than a mechanism that may be in need of some kind of repair.  We are systems of energy, collections of memories and thought, waves of vibration, interactive identities and streams of consciousness.  Medicine falls short of helping us with many of these imbalances and disharmonies. 

Taking the next step in exploring a higher expression of who you are and what is possible within may involve seeking out a person or practice that will liberate your containment of past memories, knots and tensions.  If there are stuck spots/holding patterns that your efforts have little or no effect on, then it is time to change strategies by seeking outside feedback, guidance and/or healing energies.  Change what isn't working and explore new strategies that may work. 

An example of exploring a technique to promote health change is: throughout the month of June I am using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) twice daily to work on releasing old patterns or blockages to a greater flow of abundance and opportunities in my life.  If the results show little or no effective changes than I will go looking for other ways to experiment with.  If the results are encouraging I will continue to explore EFT and other similar energetic responses. 

There are a large variety of resources for healing out there.  Here are a few that I can recommend as worth exploring:

Shamanic Practitioners - the indigenous peoples of the Americas have a rich tradition of healing.  Many in the US have become very adept at using these ancient ways to help people move forward in their healing in mind, body and heart.

Healing Sounds - there are some very interesting ideas being explored in the area of sound healings.  Recent research shows the natural sounds of a babbling brook; crashing waves along a coastline; the neighborhood choir of birds in early morning have the power to alter our state at a deep level.

The Guidance of a Mentor/Teacher/Coach - the blind spots we all have more easily drop away through the direction of an impartial witness to our process.  Old patterns are more easily seen by a keenly observing teacher/coach.  This teacher can invite us towards a life unencumbered by our old ways.  (I am available to coach and mentor others.)  In many of the Eastern traditions a teacher/guru is seen as an essential link to a greater source of wisdom beyond our ego-mind. 

The Ways of Martial Arts or Inner Practices - mediation, chi kung, yoga postures and martial arts practices have long been helpful ways to explore new and empowered ways of being in the world.  Exploring the depth of awareness made possible through contemplation and disciplined movements can be so enriching to a person's experience of living.

Energetic Healing Methods - there has been a number of healing methods developed both the West and the East including, Reiki, therapeutic touch, EFT, Cranial Sacral, Rolfing and other healing modalities. 

Silent Retreats and Vision Quests – these methods have long been used by seekers especially under the guidance of retreat master and other guides.  If we are able to face ourselves in the quiet of our own company and turn towards our fears we can leave lots of old baggage behind.

Counseling and Hypnotherapy – these methods have been very useful in helping with emotional well-being and cognitive processes.  There are numerous counseling methods with a cognitive approach and solution focused being methods I have worked with for many years and can highly recommend.  More recently I have worked with motivational interviewing as a counseling method that I really appreciate.   

This is a brief list and if you want a teacher, counselor or healer then the best way to find the right him or her is to trust the guidance of your quiet wisdom and one may show up just when you are ready to move to the next level of your well-being and higher expression.     



10 Ways Towards The 10% Needed To Transform Humanity

It appears from my writing lately that I am concerned about the future of us and our planet.  Actually the planet will be just fine whether we figure out how to survive and/or thrive or not.  This post is sort of a part two from the Five Changes. . . post on Monday.  These are important times and you and I are important because we are here at this time of human history. 

If we are indeed an important part of what is to happen next, we must further tap into our ability to think beyond our ordinary mind.  These times of evolutionary potential are sped up by the worldwide access to each other provided by technology, the global threat of both weaponry and environmental degradation and the collective consciousness of all those wanting to be awake and aware. 

From my reading and exploration there seems to be some kind of critical mass of awakened individuals necessary to cause a major leap of consciousness on the planet.  This critical mass ranges from 1% to 5-10% to a majority according to different experts.  It is my sense from the studies that 1% of the people awakening to what is possible in them will influence and spread awakening in others.  If 10% of the people awaken to their higher nature and consciousness then this wave of influence will be unstoppable. 

10 Ways to raise the 10% needed to spread the highest consciousness across humanity.

1. Become a student of consciousness by exploring ideas and doing practices help you awaken.
2. Be careful to not let yourself be distracted by the numbing agents of our time: x-box and computer games, web, drugs, food, alcohol, political opinionating, entertainment, and pursuits of the ego.
3. Do what you know is right for you and avoid being run by the need for approval of others.
4. Step out of the comfort zone of your life, break from the habits  driving you, cause a stir; speak up for something you believe in.
5. Every day tune inward and listen as if the world depends on your intuitive guidance because it does.
6. Turn towards the issues and emotions that trigger you and grow bigger as a person who is no longer caught up in being right or in control.
7. Do what you do with intention and focus, move in touch with your center, feel the power of your heart, and believe in yourself as a higher being inhabiting a human body all with a sense of humility.
8. Look around you and sense what is needed, feel the flow of energy that is waiting for you to purposefully explore what it is only you can do to make a difference.
9. Find the light and joy in your body, your eyes, your heart center and your soul and shine it everywhere you go
10. Take time each day to find your inner peace, to find self-love, to find the inner wisdom and sit and fully accept and appreciate who you are and realize these qualities also exist in everyone else.

This is a lot to explore, a lifetime's worth most likely but there is no time to waste because the critical mass of potential for self destruction is already here.  If you are willing and able to make a commitment to wake up to be all that is possible inside, the forces of higher consciousness will come together in support of your journey.

Peace and intuitive guidance to you throughout your day.



Are We Expanding Or Resisting?

Today I am 21,996 days old (find out your day age here) and there is still so much life and consciousness to explore.  Do we ever stop learning? (Probably not)   Each day of our life is very precious and if we stay fully present to it, we will continually grow in awareness and wisdom.  This life long learning can take on a greater depth if we actively seek to be a more conscious human being. 

Consciousness means: we see ourselves beyond our own interests; we see our connection to each other and all living things; we can think beyond our judging mind; we recognize our relationship with nature and our planet; we think and act global for future generations; we have compassion for the suffering of others; we have a relationship with our higher nature/spirit; we know to follow the guidance of intuition; we respect our emotions and the wisdom of our heart; and more. 

There is lots of energy at this time on the planet of others who like us want to wake up to their own capacities and the potential of all of humanity.  These people and their ideas are nurturing for us to spend time with whenever we can.  Thankfully the web provides us with even more ways to connect with like-minded people and what they are exploring.

There are also powerful forces about control and power who resist change and prefer the status quo.  The old familiar ways are safer for those not seeking to be more aware and conscious.  Fear is a driving force for the rigid and unconscious often damaged by trauma or deep-seated beliefs and conditioning.  Those that fear the future often carry emotional damage of the past.  Closed hearts and minds are often by-products of hurt and suffering.  These are often the people that are drawn to rigid religious and political beliefs.  They can be the forces that hold back needed change as they judge most things wrong and the past as a safer bet.  

So the forces for change and the forces for the status quo both exist and often with some degree of tension.  This tension comes from the natural desire to evolve and move forward and the cautiousness of those who live in fear and blame.  Neither force is good or bad, one wants to move forward, the other struggles with what is and has doubts about what can be. 

There is recognition of a Global Mind these days.  This Mind is the ever-expanding connection of cell phones and Internet and the inclusive and higher thinking that comes from the awareness of us all sharing this planet together.  This global mind is a driving force forward. 

The ways of the past, traditional religion, politics in general, and those controlling most of the resources want to keep things as they are.  They use the global mind for profit but not to further realize their connection to all others.  This narrow mind of the familiar is a force for things to remain as they are now with those in power retaining and enriching what they have.  Many people who are not part of those in power and benefit little from them still are in support because they are run by fear.  Their fear says those in power will keep things from going out of control.  So the status quo seems better than the risks involved in change.

I realized I am throwing a lot of ideas at you.  This is because I am sorting this out as I write.  I have no answers, just lots of questions.  There are so many questions to ask about the world and the times we are in.  Where are we as humanity heading? 

Speaking of asking questions, I watched  a movie titled Loose Change  a film asking what really happened on September 11^th.  It really shakes up the story we have been told about that day.

I have also been listening to the ideas of Peter Russell and Dr Ervin Laszlo both have lots of ideas about consciousness, our planet and where we as humanity are heading.  Check them out at Sounds True, Insights At The Edge, see ad to the right. 

Five Inside Changes To Change the Outside World

It was a rainy weekend in Boulder and I found myself restless about where I was going and what I was doing with my life.  My blog and my relationship with my wife are the two things that feel right and full of life.  Everything else feels like it may be time for a shakeup, for new opportunities for learning and expanding consciousness.  I also have been spending too much time reading about politics and that always gets me feeling like, what can I do to make more of a difference? 

So I decided to look at what each of us could do since I obviously can’t change the world alone.  Here are my five ways to change inside to change the world:

First is to take the time to be fully present in your life; live in the now where everything that matters is happening.  Yes the planning for the future is ok for a short time each day.  Hanging out in the past through your thoughts is mostly a waste of time and you miss out on what is going on in the moment.  Now is where all the opportunities and possibilities reside.  Your mind and emotions can take you forward into the future and back into the past if you are not present to how you feel and what you think.  Being present means you have access to the intuitive knowing of the now.  People present to the world are empowered to make a difference.

Second is to have an open mind.  Closed minds are like parachutes that won’t open, useless and deadly.  An open mind is free to understand, free to be accepting, free to continually learn, free to expand and change, free to be creative, free to be inspired and more.  All beliefs, points of view, and political positions are simply thoughts and nothing more.  An open mind watches thoughts impartially and is not run by a need to judge everything as good or bad.  An open mind has the ability to be flexible, fluid and adaptable.  Open minds have no limits.  If the world was full of open minds there would be no problems.

Third is to have an open heart.  An open heart guides you to love, to have compassion, to be kind and caring.  You are here to love to the best of your ability.  A great place to start with an open heart is towards yourself.  If you are able to love and accept yourself, you can genuinely love and accept others.  Self-confidence and self-esteem come from self-love, which are all essential for you to feel ok about yourself and to have the courage to make a difference.  The love within you and the rest of us is unlimited so we can love everyone.  Compassion is love and understanding which is so needed in the world today.  Love has the capacity to resolve all the troubles of the planet.

Fourth is to explore your unique purpose.  You and only you have your purpose.  No one can do what you are here to do.  Your purpose will become clear to you by tuning in and paying attention to what gives your life meaning, what makes you feel alive, what gives you energy, and what intuitively feels you are here to do.  If you express your purpose to the best of your ability the world will be a better place; if you don’t everyone of us will loose out.  If you set your intension every day to live on purpose, your light will shine bright.  The world needs everyone living their purpose as fully as we all can.

Fifth is to realize your spiritual nature.  You are human but actually more truly spiritual.  Who you were before this body came along and after it passes is your spiritual nature.  Your spiritual nature is one with The Guiding Spirit of the Universe.  Your higher nature has no limits and can create the world you know is right for you.  As you quiet and tune inward and explore your spirit within, you set yourself on a journey of awakening to what is possible for you in this life.  Meditation, quiet contemplation, prayer and many other practices are ways to enter into a relationship with your spiritual self.  If you open to a life guided by spirit it will be extraordinary.   Imagine a world in which you and I were tuned into our spiritual nature, that light would change the world for the good.

Love Is All We Need

Today I wanted to write about love because it seems so needed on our planet.  There is so much stirred up and so many angry people who live to blame and judge.  How has the ability to have an open heart gotten so lost by so many?  Where is the capacity to love is those that hate minorities, gays, people who think differently etc.  How can people call themselves Christians/religious if they are closed to compassion for others?

Love is a very powerful force that is available to everyone always. Love has the capacity to heal all of us and rid us of all of our problems. 

• If love guided our economic system all would share in the abundance of the planet.  There would not be those that have and those that do not.
• If love guided our relationships with other nations there would be no war because we would all have compassion for each other.  If our hearts were open we would not feel the need to have power over others.
• If love guided our corporations there would be no abuse of the planet, no unfair taking advantage of the workers, no risky business that would cause oil spills, no profits based on hurting anything, no people at the top taking all the profits etc.
• If love guided our government there would be honesty, transparency, programs that help those who need help, there would be no torture, there would be no need for lobbyist, there would be respectful debate, there would be people trying to figure out how to do what is best for all.
• If love guided our education system there would be no failure, there would be no dropouts, there would be an environment of nurturing and kindness, there would be only compassionate and caring teachers, there would be innovation to bring out the best in every student.
• If love guided all of our relationships with family, friends, and co-workers there would be compassion for each other, there would be the desire to support and encourage each other, all conflicts would be resolved easily because love would be the guiding force.
• If love guided our justice system, there would be equal justice for all, there would be many fewer prisons and prisoners and instead compassionate rehabilitation centers for the troubled.  There would be caring and understanding police and judges who saw their work as making a positive difference.  

The following are some love quotes I thought might be inspirational by people that have inspired me:

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. Dalai Lama

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. Mother Teresa

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope. Maya Angelou

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Martin Luther King, Jr.

All you need is love. John Lennon

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. Jimi Hendrix

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. Rumi



Vibrant As A Roaring River

On my morning bike ride yesterday I rode along a stream swollen by the remnants of winter and semi-regular blasts from thunderstorms.  At one point I stopped at a bridge to enjoy the energy of the rushing water.  There is something in my core that relates to water in noisy flow maybe it is because I am (we are) made up of something like 80% water.  Or maybe it is that a stream is a metaphor for a life that is vibrant and alive.  There is a book called Siddhartha written by Herman Hesse about a person's life journey in which a river is a great teacher.

This powerfully flowing stream stirred up in me a soothing and invigorating response that was uplifting.  As I rode on and even as I write now many hours later I can still feel the influence of that moving body of water.  Walking along the ocean has a similar affect in a less directed way.  Streams are very focused and they just go where they are meant to go.  There is no questioning direction, no self-doubt in a stream.

Maybe I am jealous of the easy clarity of the stream, which seems so sure where it is going.  I too wish I was in an abundant flow of life.  Maybe I am and don't appreciate it?  (See the questioning that comes up never happens in a stream.)  It just says lookout, here I come and if you get in my way I will just flow around you because I can't be stopped.  There does seem to be that longing to flow freely in my life but without as much clarity and force as this stream has.

Sometimes I feel trapped in the confines of where I am at, yet the stream is fully alive within the boundaries of its banks.  It is as if I am meandering too much and not getting to where I want to go.  The stream meanders when it is less full but even then it is on point to where it headed.

If I could be just like a stream, I would flow as fast and full as I could toward the outcome I was seeking.  I would not look back but instead always be anticipating the opportunities ahead.  I would be sure of where I was heading and thereby less uncertain about what to do next.  I would welcome the rich flow with no question of deserving.

What ways do you get in the way of your own flow?  Do you find yourself looking too often in the rearview mirror of life?  Is it ok for you to have strength, power and clarity? 

Take the next few days and explore where the flow is in you and where is not.  See where the stream of abundance and well-being is dammed and where it roars on through.



Simplifying Life, Spring Cleaning The Past

Spring cleaning is something you might consider before the summer rolls around in the next week or so.  At so many levels we can get congested with the build up of the past.  This congestion can block our forward movement and keep us stuck in ways that can be frustrating.  If we find ourselves unable to move in a direction we want to go; if we find the flow of life waning; if we just don’t have much enthusiasm about living any more; or if things stay stuck no matter what we do, then it is time to do some serious spring cleaning is all areas of life.

Spring cleaning probably needs to take place in our bodies, in our minds, in our hearts, in our relationships, in our work life, in our homes, and even in our spiritual life.  A thorough cleansing in the following areas will make us feel much lighter and more open to the flow we have been searching for:

• In our body we can carry the stuff of old memories, the holding patterns of adaption and tightness of disempowering experiences.  We can trust the feedback from the body.  If it says it is uptight or under functioning, then it is.  Finding the source of the holding, of the residuals of the past will allow us to be more aware of the choices we need to make to bring us to greater well-being. 
• Our thoughts are too often jammed with: what should have been, blaming others and circumstances, the learned self-condemnation, and the hurry and worry of these times.  We often limit ourselves in multiple ways by our past conditioning and negative thinking.
• Our hearts contain the scars of past hurts and too often a shield of protection to keep us safe.  If we can’t feel hurt or sadness we can’t feel love.  An open heart is vulnerable, vibrant and able to expand in compassion and kindness to self and others.
• Our relationships contain closets full of unexpressed feelings and the resentments that go along with that.  It can be very healing to release all of the past and become present to those we love.  If we reside in the resentments of the past we miss out in the love of the present.
• Our soul/spirit has gotten buried under layers of human beliefs that have little or nothing to do with our infinite nature. Religious beliefs can be barriers to a more direct experience of the divine.  Sitting quietly and entering into a relationship with our spirit will give us direct access to the creative force and source of the universe.
• Our homes are cluttered with stuff.  Many have garages full of stuff and no room for the cars anymore.  Take a look around and give lots of stuff away.  There are many who can use what sits unused.  Clearing space opens us to a greater flow and that always feels good. 

There is no past except what we carry forward with our thoughts and our collected junk that we think we need to save.  Maybe it is time to let go and move on to what is possible when we are fully open?



Expanding Capacities Part 13 - Raising Your Personal Vibrations

If we are to expedite our evolution, expand our consciousness and express more fully what is possible within us, we need to vibrate at a higher level.  We can view ourselves as energy and information that hums along at the rate we need to function in ordinary life.  This vibration of living goes mostly unnoticed.  At night as we sleep our vibrational rate slows.  In times of high stress that rate may be disrupted.  If we want to expand what is possible in us and our life, we must vibrate at a level more reflective of a being less weighted down by the material nature of our body and the density of our thoughts.  This reminds of a quote that fits here: "Angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly."

Raising our vibrations will alter the way we experience ourselves and the way we interact with the world around us.  Try these following vibrational upgrades and see what happens:

Sit quietly, tune in and listen

Be fully present to the moment where the action is

Allow what you want to happen

Let go of the struggle and flow downstream

Feel what you feel and watch it transform

Let you heart open and encompass all beings on the planet

Breathe in deeply and notice the life force that flows through you

Make contact with your spiritual nature, your soul

Follow what brings you joy

Pray without ceasing in ways that uplift you

Sing mantras of divine devotions

Practice meditation daily

Learn from the lessons of life that are presented to you every day

Sit back relax and feel the force of aliveness within

Notice the higher pitched hum when you listen inward, ride it deeper

Let go of the past; release everything that has been holding you back

Sit in the presence of a highly evolved being and match their vibration

Explore sound and mind technology that is designed to alter your state

Let yourself be fully present to another

Find the core of your being and dissolve all limits that reside there

Explore the teachings of nature; sit and listen to the lessons of a stream

Read the brown section of Be Here Now or The Book of Secrets By Osho

Let yourself be drawn to great spiritual texts to read and study

Sit and listen to a crow and watch yourself expand beyond you normal states of seeing

Follow the guidance of your intuitive knowing

Imagine that you are in full alignment with the collective consciousness of the planet

Explore the realities that exist on the parallel plane to the one we live in

Walk slowly and mindfully until your sight expands and the colors around you become vivid

Feel what it feels like to join with all that surround you; explore unity consciousness

Play, have more fun and think of life as a comedy not a drama

Be fully present to whatever you are doing

Let the flow of inspiration flow through you and out into the world

Find the source of light within or around you and soak it up until you shine

If you truly explore these ideas you will be happily surprised by the results.  Please share any experiences you think will benefit us all.

What’s In Store For Our Future?

How should we think of the future?  I was listening to Barbara Marx Hubbard a futurist and fascinating thinker over at Sounds True about her thoughts about what the future has in store for us.  For over 40 years she has been in gazing into the crystal ball of science, of human behavior, of advancement in evolutionary theory and consciousness and she is both excited and concerned.

I have had the great privilege over the years of hearing her speak and being uplifted by her ideas of what is possible.  Like others who forecast what is to come, she shares the idea that there are two powerful forces out there evolving and bound to greatly affect what happens in the future.  The one force has the power of technology and the determination to control.  The other force is about expanding consciousness and the collective power of the heart and the soul.

The force wanting power is represented by mega corporations and heartless governments wanting to control all the resources.  This force is run by greed and cares little about the future and may even support those who warn of the coming apocalypse because it serves their “take it all now,” attitude.   The Earth only matters for how it can enrich them.  These are people more traditional in values and claim to be religious but more obligatory with little or no connection to their higher nature or heart.

Then there are those who can see the bigger picture, care about future generations, live by the values of compassion and consciousness and are always seeking to awaken more to what is possible within.  Yes this is you and I because that is why I write this blog and you stop by and read.  We are more spiritual than religious, more open than closed, more creative than compliant, and more aware than blaming.

If the power group continues to run government as they do now we the people will more and more loose out.  War will continue because there are profits to be made and land to grab.  The technology will be used to create more destructive power and to dominate.  Fear will be the dominator mindset and rationale.  These are not innately bad forces but the ego is king here and the goal is for the strong to rule.

Consciousness and compassion are two of the most powerful forces on the planet because they represent what most of us who are waking up feel inside as to what should be.  We know that all problems can be resolves by compassion towards each other and by us all moving towards a truly kinder and gentler world. 

Barbara and other forward thinkers understand that we all have much power.  Will our future be driven by those who want more power, or by those guided by compassion? 

Yes each of us does matter because where we align ourselves will greatly shape how things work out.  Please let’s all join together and awaken to the intuitive knowing of our hearts and the guiding spirit within us.  The time is now to stretch ourselves from ordinary to extraordinary and that won’t happen in the comfort zone of our lives.



The Quiet Power Of Kindness

If we are here as many say to learn to open our hearts, then kindness is one of the best ways to show what the heart can do.  These days kindness is rarely talked about and never shown on the evening news.  Can you imagine: The Kindness Network, a channel totally focused on showing the brighter side of human nature.  Wouldn’t it be inspirational and uplifting to watch television shows about people who are full of compassion, kindness and are guided by their heart’s wisdom?

Kindness is about people going beyond themselves and making a difference for others.  Kindness is love in action.  Kindness is the light of a person shining on another.  When we are involved in the act of kindness we are enriched by our own actions as well as those who benefit from our giving.  This is giving that comes from the place of love within us.

It seems the world would be a better place if there was more kindness, doesn’t it.  If we watch much of regular TV programming especially the news we would think kindness has lost out to the fearful, angry and the ever-judging mind.  Yes kindness does exist out there and it is quietly thriving in most communities.

Let’s spread some kindness in the world because it is needed and because we will feel our life is greatly enriched by doing so.  Make a commitment to be kind in some way every day.  Here are ways worth trying:

• Get to know your neighbors and find out who needs help and would appreciate you checking in on them
• If you know what your partner really dislikes doing, can you help he or she out at least once in awhile by relieving them of this duty.
• Maybe there’s a co-worker that is having a difficult time and you can kind things to make their life go better
• Everyone likes to be appreciated so take time each day to appreciate those around you
• Sometimes the simplest act of kindness can be kind words and taking the time to check in with others.
• Genuinely listening to another is a real act of kindness, to be heard can be so healing
• Breathe in peace as you drive and breathe out a smile, become a kind driver for your own peace of mind
• Give of your time to a Human Services agency because there are many who benefit greatly from you acts of compassion and kindness
• Look around you throughout the day and be awake for opportunities to help others
• Being patient with others is an act of kindness
• If you are blessed with an abundance of resources than you can give money to causes that are all about kindndess
• Sit quietly in the silence of your own knowing and be kind to yourself

Kindness is a wonderful practice that feels good on so many levels.  Have a good week. 

Sunday Comments About The Nature of The World

Yesterday I missed posting my blog because we stayed over night in Pueblo for a friend’s birthday party.  It is always interesting getting together with other people some who are good friends and others we don’t know.  The party was fun but there was little time for meaningful conversation and frankly that is what makes getting together with friends really interesting.  So we arranged a time to get together later this month.

It is a beautiful day here in Boulder.  I just got back from a long run up in the mountains where the wildflowers are out and there is purple and yellow everywhere.  This is why it is my favorite time of year because it is warm and beautiful here in Colorado.  This is the time of year that I enjoy living here.

The disaster oil spill in the Gulf is killing many of the naturally inhabitants of the area and kill commerce.  If you or I spilled oil that killed natural inhabitants or hurt business in our community we would face criminal charges.  It seems there needs to be some very strong action against BP.  This also indicates there is a big need to provide more checks on the oil industry and on corporations in general.  Corporate power is much too dominate in our world.  Even the president of the United States seems hesitant to take strong action against this corporation.

On the road Friday and back Saturday we listened to some more podcasts from Sounds True.  One was about exploring our spiritual nature, another program was from a person who had lost all of her savings because of Madoff and how she feels more enriched because of it, and the other was talking about the need to have a spiritual teacher to get past our own blindspots.  Each podcast was so informative, thought provoking and awareness producing.  Go to the Sounds True advertisement here at my site to find out more and to be greatly enriched.    



Where Does Our Inspiration Come From?

It was a long day at work yesterday with meeting and clients and I am feeling the energy to write ebbing but in the moment I want to see what inspiration and energy will be made available to me. Inspiration is an interesting thing because I don't know where it comes from most of the time.  Often times a word or idea will send this cascade of ideas flowing through my brain.  

Where this flow comes from must be a place beyond the ordinary mind, which is often overloaded or bogged down in the repetition of the same thoughts that seem on a never-ending noise loop. So much of what we ordinarily think about is the same stuff from the day before that goes way back to childhood.  It is like an LA Freeway of the same thoughts, going the same road, in a massive traffic jam that never ends except this flow of words is at high speed.  

Inspiration comes from some place else.  Is it my higher nature or the flow of spirit within me?  Is it my expanding awareness or the endless books I read?  Is it what I learn from my work, my peers, and my clients?  Is it the rich resource of podcasts, articles, DVD's and CD's that I explore?  Is it my intuition and what is the source of that?  Is the collective human consciousness that I have figured out how to tap into?  Is it past lives?  Is it the Creative Source of the Universe guiding me?  Maybe it is all of these or none of them?

My inspiration doesn't seem to be my personality, which feels like too limited of a container.  It also isn't my ego, which lacks the openness to let so much flow through me.  My heart could be source of inspiration as I talked about in yesterday's post but even that seems to be more energy than information.  

Where does your inspiration come from?  What opens you to higher ideas, to being uplifted?  If you want to be inspired where do you go or what do you do?

As I wrote this first draft last night I am still running on the inspiration of a round of golf that went until it was dark.  I guess that means physical activity can be inspirational.  I know when I got home my dog Pax was so happy to see me that inspired me and so too did my wife who was also happy that I was home.  

So maybe inspiration can come from much of life if you and I are open to receive it, if we are in a positive and receptive state?

“Cease trying to work everything out with your minds. It will get you nowhere. Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be Revelation.”

Eileen Caddy

“Inspiration is God making contact with itself.”

Ram Dass

Hope you have a fantastic, fruitful and fulfilling Friday.



Expanded Capacities Part 12 – The Magnetic Power of Passion and Desire

On Monday the first of June I made a suggestion here at the Explore Life Journal that you have some fun this month opening yourself to more of what is possible in life.  I suggested a video to watch that is about Tapping/EFT which is a technique used to dissolve past ideas, beliefs, suggestions etc. that are getting in your way from having a greater abundance of what you want in life.  Here is another EFT video that is a little more clear in what he is doing and saying.  Brad Yates has a sense of humor in this one and if you notice he has a number of other videos worth checking out. 

The important thing is that you find a practice session to follow along that works for you or you create your own.  30 days of practice will breakdown even the oldest and most rigid of your (and mine) self-imposed limits    

Now more to the topic of the day about how to become a stronger attractive force for what you want by being more of what is possible within you.  The key ideas to plant inside your mind today are that you would do best to live with passion and follow your desires.   Yes I know desire in many belief systems is warned against so there must be something powerful about it. 

Desire from what I can see is inside of you for one reason and that is because you want to be more of what is possible.   Desire arises because innately you want to expand, to be more of, to seek to realize your potential.  Desire is in fact a driving force to be more of what you want to be.   

Passion is the heart telling you that this is what you love and this is what makes your heart sing.  Passion is a magnetic force drawing to you what you heart knows is right.  Doing life with passion will make you shine and inspire all those who get to watch you in action.  Passion also means you life is on purpose. 

When desire and passion work together they are powerful attractors and what they attract is more of you at a higher vibration.  You come alive when your head is wanting (desire) and your heart is expressing (passion).  You can’t help but expand when these energies are activated in you.  The other benefit of this dynamic duo is that when they are activated the ideas and dynamic flow causes very inspired results both internally and in the material world. 

Find what desires within are calling you and what passions are alive and seeking expression.  



A Life Of Self-Reflection

How do we keep growing? 

How do we move towards more success? 

How do we get better in our relationships? 

How do we continue to open our hearts? 

How do we expand our self-esteem? 

How do we align with our purpose?

How do we become more conscious?

How do we find inner peace?

How do we create more happiness in life?

How do we get more in touch with our spiritual nature?

These are just a few questions that can be answered through self-reflection.   Self-reflection is a necessary part of any human being who wants to grow, be more successful and live a meaningful life.  Without self-reflection we trudge down the old path of the familiar bored by our own shadow.  With ongoing reflection of self, life is always interesting because we are alive and fully present to it. 

The following are few ideas to support your self-reflection in daily living:

• Taking time to notice what is going on inside of you throughout the day, notice thoughts, feelings, sensations and what they tell you about yourself
• Slow down in the midst of being busy and feel your body and mind energized, stressed, inspired, distracted or whatever is going on inside
• Break from a routine and notice what gets activated in you when doing so.  Staying with the familiar is always safer and provides little if any reflection
• As your evening winds down, take a few minutes to explore what you have learned about your strengths and abilities this day
• Notice how much you do or don’t care about what others think and how that may or may not control your actions
• Sense when you are around others or in situations if you are opening or contracting.  Opening means you feel comfortable being present; contracting means something inside of you is holding back or closing down
• And the simplest practice of self-refection is to notice what is stirring in you as you breathe with awareness in the moment

 Each day is full of opportunities for self-reflection; use at least a few of the moments to enliven your life



Welcome To June, Time to Go With The Flow

It’s June and time to play but I had a different kind of play in mind.  These times of economic uncertainty and the stress of a world that seems obsessed about what’s wrong and whose to blame for it, isn’t it time to play, let’s do life, in a more fun and rewarding way?  Here is my idea, let’s play with life and have fun and get out of our own way and make what we want to happen more effortlessly.   Are we open to that?

What gets in our way?  The answer is that “we do” because we have a subconscious mind that is cluttered with old limiting ideas and beliefs.  We don’t hold onto these past ideas intentionally but it happens because one - we don’t know they are there and two - is that they are deeply grooved because these false ideas have been repeated over and over again in our thoughts and self-talk since childhood.  These limits continue until we put the light of insight on them and replace them with healthier suggestions.

There is a form of therapy that I was introduced to a number of years ago called EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques).  At first I had many questions about how this therapy could make a difference.  I am now much less skeptical and instead looking at it as a way to get at the inner barriers we have in the subconscious mind.  There are a number of positive claims about EFT also known as Tapping so I thought why not give it a whirl because it can be fun and simple to do and if it works as they claim it does than why not benefit.  I have been taking it for a spin the last couple of days and I can feel myself being uplifted as if some of the old barriers are beginning to dissolve.

In June my intention is to do EFT every day (best in the morning to start the day or at night to end the day or both) to see if I can maximize positive results in my life by releasing myself from any limiting past ideas, suggestions, beliefs, and decisions going on inside.   There are a number of video’s at You Tube about EFT/Tapping and the one that seems the most fun is by a Brit named David Childerley.  I plan to Tap along with David every day.  Go to his website and explore all he has to offer.          

My hope, and please join with me if it interests you, is to open up to the flow of what is possible in my life and have a good time while I am doing it.  I will focus on several areas in my life that would benefit from a greater flow.  These areas include: money and prosperity, health and well-being, more awareness and higher consciousness, more freedom in my day, and more compassion for self and others.  Do any of these seem relevant for you also?  Now keep in mind this is to be done with having fun in mind.  Happiness is a powerful attractor in life.    

If you want to join me exploring the EFT/Tapping and other ways of opening to the flow this month please do so and let me know what is working for you and I will do the same.   



Memorial Day: The Dead Are Not Gone

Memorial Day is to honor those that have passed.  They have left their bodies, but whom they were, still is.  Each of us has a soul/spirit that existed before we came into this life and will continue as our body ends.  Those we have loved who have died are still around on a spirit level.  Most traditions have ways of contacting those on the other side.  The simplest method is to quietly in your own way enter into a conversation with those you miss since their passing.  Be open to how that may happen because it may be direct in the form of words or it may be feeling sensations or images.  The other side is not the far away and really nothing to fear.

This fear of death is a powerful force in many.  Death is only a transition out of the body.  The spirit of who we are is not disrupted by our leaving our body.  We existed before the body and continue afterwards.  Many spiritual traditions share the belief in the ongoing journey of our soul.  The transmigration of the soul is beyond a physical place of heaven or hell because those are more of what we create in our lifetime here in this body.  The soul is like a seed of the Divine that plays out it potential in an infinite number of ways.  We get to keep on doing what we do until the spirit in us no longer wants to be individuated from the Source.  Then we join like the drop of rain as it falls into the ocean of consciousness.

Be at peace today and honor those you miss and your own timeless journey 



$1,000,000,000,000 Now Spent On War

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost our nation one trillion dollars.  Let’s be honest, these wars never needed to happen.   What would our economy be like if this money was used for the good of the nation?  Wars as I have probably stated too many times are about the ego’s need for control.  Men who let their egos run them rather then their higher mind and heart start all wars.  Wars are all political and about seeking power.  We have now spent one trillion dollars in the pursuit of the ego’s needs rather than what is better for humanity.  

These seem like important questions about war and our human condition we need to keep asking until we come to a higher level of consciousness and awareness:

What will it take for us to move beyond the control needs of the ego and end all wars? 

When will we evolve past the use of fear to rationalize the ego’s needs?

When will we stop electing leaders who’s egos get us into war? 

When will we take leadership of the nation from a place of wisdom beyond the needs of our ego?

How come Congress in more willing to spend money on war than on extending the unemployment benefits for those out of work?

When will we wake up enough to be guided by our higher wisdom and consciousness? 

How much money do we have to spend and how many people have to die in war before we see the insanity of all wars and stop them? 

How come we can’t sit down and figure this all out without bringing our ego’s to the table?  

How come we have not evolved past the need to control each other rather than talk with them and help meet their needs? 

Who benefits from war (weapon systems and war making corporations) and how come they have so much power and can we refocus these corporations on alternative energy and the good of our nation?

What inside can we do to find our own peace of mind so we can spread peace in the world?

What will it take for the higher values of compassion, connection to each other, creative solutions, understanding, and peace to guide the actions of our nation and all nations?

How can we remove the politics of seeking power as a driving force for more wars in the future?

How will we rise to the needs of the nation and put an end to the wars as soon as possible?

Is this ending of war the president’ responsibility, ours or both?

Memorial Day is tomorrow.  Let’s honor the dead and awaken the living.



People Are Much Better Than The News

This weekend is the Bolder Boulder a 10k race that will have over 50,000 runners participating.  If you have never run/walked in a big race like this, you have missed out on humanity in motion.  In the past I use to run in big races sometimes with over 100,000 and it feels like a zoo of humanity.  The interesting thing is how well it all works and how well we all get along. 

If we watch the nightly news we would never believe people could congregate in such large numbers without shouting and exchanges of anger.  The news gives us a really mixed up picture of what is going on out there in the world.  Most of us get along well even in big crowds doing very strenuous activities. 

People in general are nice, friendly, considerate and civil (maybe not as much when they drive).  They get along with each other and often are encouraging and compassionate.  The people we see in the news are the ones that stand out for their unhealthy behavior.  News is often not even news because it is so full of talking heads who are great examples of the ego-mind in charge.  So the people in the news and those who claim to be news people give us a skewed idea of who is out there. 

Most of us are not raving political types although politics is very frustrating to most.  Most of us are not blind to higher values like the people who make the news for their greed or lack of compassion.   Most of us don’t go ranting around the nation finding fault with everything (Palin, Rush, Beck, Fox News etc).  Yes there are real problems out there, however we tend to observe and make our own decisions in the quiet of our homes.

We are civilized people, with hearts that care and minds that think bigger than just self needs.  We want the best for each other and we know in general most people are doing the best they can to make life go as well even in the midst of struggle.  None of us are free of difficulties yet we manage to find pockets of joy and happiness and waves of love and compassion.  We even try to eat better and get more exercise because we know in the long run we will feel better for doing so.    There is much to love about humanity if we take the time to know each other.

Have a fun Memorial weekend; this to me is the beginning of summer and my favorite time of year.  I am going to be out there having fun.  Join me and turn of the news and lets find out what our fellow citizens are thinking, feeling and doing. 



Instead Move Towards The Struggle

Most times the best thing to do is to turn toward the difficulties.  The natural response to struggle is to move away or avoid what is going on.  The tightness in our body we feel when things are not going well is often caused by the view we are holding in our thoughts not the reality of the situation.  Those wanderings of the mind loose their power when we move toward what is not working and instead become present to what is.  This becoming present means we enclose what is complicated with the compassion of our own heart and the light of our awareness. 

Let’s look at this idea a little more in depth.  From early in our development as children we are taught through the examples of others to avoid the difficulties of life because they feel unpleasant.  After awhile what feels unpleasant becomes something we fear and do all we can to avoid.  This leaves us in fear of ourselves at several levels: we fear our own emotions because they can be difficult; we fear our thoughts because they make us uncomfortable; we fear our bodies because they may suffer from illness; we fear intimacy because of possible loss and more.  The truth is that living in fear of the difficulties of life is not necessary at all.

Here is an experiment for you to try next time you feel a struggle in you or your life that you want to avoid:

Instead of moving away from the fear you feel, move towards that fear and feel impartially what is going on inside.  Allow what is going on to be what it is, feel it, acknowledge it, being with it without judgment and have a curiosity about it.  As you go with what is going on it automatically begins to transform to something else.  So the fear of failure for example becomes an old story you recognize from your thought stream that needs to be update or revised.  Another example could be that you notice you always contract around the word “love” and with simply being present to that contraction you remember a past event that still colors every possibility of a loving relationship.

Instead of moving away, this moving toward or into what challenges us allows us to break for our old ways, to see the liberation that is present in the now of what is going on beneath the surface of past experiences and limiting thoughts and beliefs. 

In reality all that arises within us is workable.  There is nothing we can see or experience from a deeper knowing, from the place of added light or insight that we cannot handle and in fact transform to enrich our life. 



Seeking Guidance From The Universe

Often placed before us are decision points that will shape our lives sometimes dramatically and sometimes more subtly.   These crossroads are a gift for us to unwrap and an opportunity for us to choose to live more boldly or remain within the comfort of the familiar.  This kind of opportunity is most likely waiting in our laps right now or just around the corner.  The universe is a giver of possibilities continually and it also provides us with the guidance to make the best choices for our highest expression.  

These provided possibilities and the available guidance seems a given to me, is that your experience?

There is a crossroads being presented at this time in my life for my wife and I.  We have to let the people we are renting from know by Tuesday whether we will sign another year lease of not.  It seems there are other things to do and that we don’t want to be tied to this place for another year but the place is comfortable and reasonable.  Yet we both feel a strong urge to break from the familiar and to instead expand our lives out into the world more.  Maybe an extended road trip is right for us to talk to people about their fears, about how to make the world a better place, methods for finding inner peace, and exploring ways of waking up more fully to what is possible in each of us.

So the next step is to put it out to the universe to guide us in what to do next.  By the universe I mean that the higher guiding forces out there beyond you and me.

My experience is that when I am open, guidance comes from a variety of sources often unexpected including: intuition, images, feeling senses, the synchronicity of things and events, paying attention to the flow of energy, and even signs that come from songs, message we hear from others and all sorts of other possibilities.  If I stay open there is much information made available.

Trusting that there is a greater sorce of wisdom and guidance beyond our ego mind is very important.  Our thoughts are a limited channel of knowing because the ego is running them.  A higher knowing resides in our spirit, or our higher self, our wise mind, our consciousness, source energy, or whatever words we apply to this higher wisdom.   You and I obviously are the not the creators of the universe so there has to be a greater knowing than us.  The collective wisdom of all living things is greater than the individual knowing.  The question is: how do we remain open to what is wanting to show us the way?

What do you want guidance about?  Are you ready to experiment and be available to what guidance is showing up in your life?  I will share with you the guidance that comes our way.