“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

~Buddha

No one person, place or thing in this life is constant perfection. There is ebb and flow, give and take, constant change in all things.

Living in balance with the disappointment that we feel in any one particular moment of our life is the challenge that we all face as walkers on the path toward connection with spirit.

Remembering our true divine nature, even amidst the ravages of the modern world, is the compass that will guide us to a steady stride on a wobbly path. We have all chosen to incarnate NOW, here in THIS body, in THIS life.

The WHY is not a quest, it is a process. Living to our highest capability, with the most open and loving heart that we can, at all times, is the only thing that will bring us to the answer. And the answer WILL come, at the end of a life well-lived.

Only then can we know the true value of the grievances and graces that have been bestowed upon us by our creator/creatrix, the ALL consciousness that is universal love and awareness.

What guides us is our connection to that divinity, a connection which we each possess, every moment of our life. Nothing external, or internal for that matter, can diminish this sacred connection. All that is diminished is our AWARENESS of the divine connection.

How can we maintain this awareness? How can we be divine even in the most harrowing of moments? By consulting our own inner compass. By checking in with that small, honest voice inside of ourself. This is the spirit, the heart, the higher self, whatever you wish to call it.

This voice of truth, of universal love and spirit is always with us, always speaking. The trouble in hearing it lies only in remembering to listen.

This voice does not have any connection at all to the Ego, that self-preserving, self-aggrandizing voice that comes installed along with our physical body. This “Ego” is a standard option, one that we don’t necessarily ask for but which, nevertheless, we become dependent upon once we start driving the car, so to speak.

True inner voice speaks in tender ways. It is a gentle guide. It does not scream “No!” at us from every corner. True inner voice does not chastise or seek to employ fear as a means of manipulating decision-making.

True self, the inner compass, remains constant and balanced at all times. It is the conscience observer, the neutral witness to all the happenings on the path of your life.

It can understand how YOU think of things as negative or positive, but IT does not hold opinions such as these.

The inner compass can see the benefit in all things, can remain calm and still, remain whole, even when events transpire that attempt to rip the “self” -the Ego- in pieces.

This is why learning to listen, to tap into the voice of the inner compass is so central to spiritual development. Our seeking may be outward but, on a spiritual path, our answers lie inward.

When we act from Ego, without giving the true inner compass a say in proceedings, we are never sure of ourself, never know if the step we are about to take is the right step. Self-doubt, naturally, ensues.

But imagine if you could call on a friend, someone that you think of as wise and fair. Imagine being able to always have an objective opinion, uncolored by desire or emotion, someone who could give you a balanced, unbiased point-of-view on every decision that you were faced with. (A friend who never says “I told you so.”)

That would be so comforting, wouldn’t it? You would feel so much more secure in your decisions then.

Well luckily you have a friend like that, and I do, everyone does. It is the true self, the inner voice, the spirit compass. We can choose to let it guide us any day, in any situation, and it will.

STOP, for a flash of a moment, the troubles (whatever they may be) that are reeling around in your conscious, Ego-centered mind. Let the subtle, true voice of your inner compass say a line. Let the spiritual observer speak for just half of a half of moment.

That one line from your inner self may very well change circumstances, and point your energies in a whole new direction. A direction of peace and acceptance, a realization of the opportunities and options that the universe has laid before you.

Herein lies the lessons that you chose for your delicate soul in this physical plane. Take that inner peace and accept the true value of it.

That is the basis of freedom from suffering.

“What is a cynic?
A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

~ Oscar Wilde, 19th-century Irish Writer & Poet

I am so glad that self-development and spiritual-development are becoming more widely accepted topics, and that so many people are embracing the betterment of their lives through connecting with nature and their true souls.

Myself, I’ve been on this path for over a decade, you could say that I have been on it for my whole life, and I have experienced some fantastic changes and magical occurrences along the way.

That being said, I occasionally still find myself falling into the trap that many modern seekers do. The quest for money…the urge to master manifestation and spiritual thinking in order to create material prosperity.

This is not to say that thoughts of this nature mean that we are losing our spiritual achievements or that we are greedy, evil people of any kind. It is simply a true factor of a modern life.

In ancient times, when humans lived in small, manageable communities, staying in the same place for generations, there was more support for the spirit and the spiritual.

Spiritual leaders, the psychically gifted and those with metaphysical knowledge were honored by the community. These special community members acted as advisers, healers and intermediaries between the people and the spiritual realms. In return they were supported with food, clothing, shelter and love.

But those days and those community ties no longer exist for most of us. Thus it follows that we HAVE to be concerned with our own finances and how to get what we need in this world. The challenge is to learn to balance this with our spiritual development and spiritual outlook, without losing our focus and becoming myopically fixed on the “prosperity” issue.

Being a parent now, I am faced with this issue nearly everyday. You put yourself and aside and instead focus everything on the little being you are now trying to raise. Money does not go far, especially when you are trying to choose between providing the best for them in the present moment or saving for their educational and life expenses of the future.

Here I am, in one of the most historic and ecologically beautiful towns in Eastern Canada, fields and trails and ancient waterways all around me, and I am still worrying about paying the phone bill.

So, walking around with these very thoughts in my head yesterday afternoon, a line from a song that I was listen to caught my attention: “When did the light die?”

And at that very moment it occurred to me that with all of the planning and dreaming and hopes and intentions for success that have been swimming around in my mind lately, along with worry and doubt, I had somehow gotten blinded to the shear wonder of all that I found myself blessed with in this crazy life.

What about the idea of having chosen to incarnate now? As this very spirit that I am? What about wanting to live my life purpose to the fullest?

These things are our true motivation and the only thing that will bring us TRUE happiness. How many vastly wealthy people do we hear about every day who are just a miserable mess?

And why is that? Because they long for spiritual fulfillment and try to fill that hole with possessions and parties.

So, having realized the misalignment of my thinking with my core values, I have readjusted my viewpoint. And now looking at it from a spiritual perspective, I see very clearly that the same issue of needing value (ie. cash- as this is the object of value in the modern society) can be addressed in a way that is in line with my vibrational values and the nature of the universe.

Many, many times I have had ideas and concepts for ways that I can build my career, for valuable content that I can offer the world. Usually one of two things stops these great impulses cold: the opinion of others or, more often, the realization that the time I put in will probably NOT pay off monetarily.

What to do then?

What I now realize is that, in keeping with reciprocity, if there is no outflow their can be no inflow. You must give value to the world if you expect to receive value from the world.

Constantly sitting around willing the universe to bring you prosperity, while at the same time being paralyzed by the lack of it (ie. taking no initiative on your own behalf) is like a potter begging for someone to fill his cup and buy his bowls, when he hasn’t even bothered to sit down and make any yet.

From this point forward, when I get the impulse to create I will go with it as a gift of inspiration, a gift of value that I can give to the world. Whether others agree with me or not, whether the creation flops or not, is irrelevant. It is in the giving of it to the world that the energy of the value is released to the world. And the outflow will naturally attract inflow, I leave it the universe to decide how value is repaid, but I create value regardless.

How I intend to live my life from now on, is to ask, answer and act on these three questions every day:

3. What value can I provide to the world today?

I invite you to shift your own thoughts from desiring to giving, and see what the ever-creating universe blesses you with in return.

The Tao Te Ching said:

The Great Tao is universal like a flood.
How can it be turned to the right or left?

All creatures depend on it,
And it denies nothing to anyone.

It does its work,
But it makes no claim for itself.

It clothes and feeds all,
But it does not lord it over them:
Thus it may be called “the Little.”

All things return to it as their home,
But it does not lord it over them:
Thus it may be called “the Great.”

It is just because it does not wish to be great
That its greatness is fully realized.

And so this is how the spiritual attempt to live out their life purpose. Giving freely without expecting return and becoming great through the lack of desire for greatness. Ram Dass, who inspires me greatly, learned to live this core truth, to be more like the Source Creator from which all came.

I aspire to use my gifts, my words and my light, to give others inspiration and hope on their own spiritual journeys. If I were to become financially wealthy, yet fail to live up to this aspiration, there would be no joy in my heart, even if my bank account did rival that of Bill Gates.

Therefore my true value lies within my true soul purpose, not within my wallet.

Provide value and you will have value.

“You must see your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out for them. Hold them in your mind until they become second nature.”
~Les Brown, Author & Motivational Speaker

It seems like everyone is trying their hand at intentional manifestation these days. And I couldn’t be happier to hear it. Because, as we practice at focusing our intent for optimum manifestation, we each become more aware of the negative messages that we are sending out in our daily lives. And, in so doing, we tend to lessen the number of those messages that we are broadcasting, which can only result in the evolution of a more positive world.

What isn’t positive, however, is the frustration that many of us can often feel when we work to manifest something and it doesn’t seem to turn out properly. Try as we might it seems that the focus of our intent on one positive thing, long enough to bring it into manifestation for ourself, is something that we just cannot achieve.

Many people determine, prematurely, that the power of intention simply doesn’t work or, that their own thoughts are too hopelessly negative to allow them to use this power. But this is not necessarily the truth.

We live in an externalizing society. We are taught to believe that all that we could or should be doing to better ourselves is something outside of ourself. Thus the internal and natural abilities which are involved in intentional manifestation, the imaginative and visualization skills we need to employ, have not been properly nurtured or developed in our lives.

In developing the skill of focusing our visualizations on our intent, and seeing it as real, we can become more and more gifted at the actual manifestation of our deepest desires.

Here is a Visualization Focusing Exercise that you can practice at to strengthen these abilities:

First, choose a solid object that is about the size of your hand, but not bigger than you can hold in your hand. Make sure that the object doesn’t have too many colors or too many sharp angles or jagged edges. *The classic item used in this type of exercise is an apple.

Next, sit comfortably, as if you were preparing to meditate. Hold the object in both hands and stare at it. Examine it and how it feels in your hands. Look at its different attributes and slowly turn it, touching and observing the look and feel of all of its sides.

Continue memorizing its features. Feel its weight, its texture. Observe any nicks in its surface and how the light reflects off of, or casts shadows, upon it. Sit with it for as long as you feel necessary to really know what holding it looks and feels like.

Now, set the object down on a table or the floor in front of you. Place it so that you can clearly see it but cannot touch it. While looking at the object, place your hands in the same position that they would be in if your were holding the item.

Here you begin to visualize (ie. pretend or imagine) that you ARE still holding the item. Feel its weight, see its color and shape in your hands. Allow yourself to imagine running your hands over its surface. Feel its texture against your skin.

You may close your eyes, if the “feeling” sensation is easier for you. Or keep them open, if the “seeing” sensation is easier for you. DO NOT mistake looking at the actual object in front of you for actually visualizing it in your hands. You may glance at it in front of you but the point is to SEE and/or FEEL it still in your hands.

You can sit with this exercise for as long as you like until you feel some measure of success. And you can begin again by picking up the object and following these same steps as often as you like. Don’t give up, your ability will improve with time and frequency of practice.

Use the same object every time, or change objects when you wish, the choice is yours. Changing objects may make it more difficult but some people like a challenge.

Once you succeed and are comfortable with your ability to feel or see the object still in your hands for a long while after setting it down, you can then move to setting it out of sight and trying to achieve the same level of visualization.

After you get really good at it, keep practicing at further distances. Sit with the object in the morning before leaving the house and then try the visualization while on your lunch break at work.

Then, once you master a simple, hand-sized object, you can try your hand at smaller objects, like keys and buttons, or more jagged and complicated objects, such as a banana, a wrench, a Rubiks cube or a dvd case. Maybe you will be able to sit on a motorcycle or a bicycle and then use your visualization abilities to recreate that sensation long after you finish your ride.

This process can and will lead you to being able to stand in an empty field and see that dream home being built, or stand on a stage and feel the 20,000 people cheering for you.

Focus on developing your hidden skills and strengthening your belief in your powers of imagination and intention. If you want it, you will get there!

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
~Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973, Spanish Painter and Sculptor

—————————————————————————————–
This article is a repost from our old blog – originally dated May 2008.
—————————————————————————————–

Recently I wrote about my experience with shamanic healing and how it made me feel. I knew at the end of it that something had changed in me, in my energy field.

It took a few days to understand what that thing was and for the advice that the healer gave me to be really processed.

But, once I had settled a bit and could see and feel the whole thing objectively, it became apparent that the shift in me was the return of my inner child. Or rather the acceptance of that piece of energy in conjunction with the rest of my energy.

We do not ever deliberately release or deny our inner child, it is something that simply happens. It is gradual, the loss of our innocence and our playful side. This is the part of us which is most like spirit, for the child is not very far removed from the raw soul, having only been in flesh for a few short years.

This innocence and optimistic playful side is what many people search for in their daily lives, that hidden something that they feel is missing. Some people even perpetrate awful things against children in order to try and reconnect with, or get close to, that lost part of themselves.

What each of us really wishes for is the feeling of being complete, whole and perfect, just as we are. I now feel that the reintegration and acceptance of our child-like nature is a key step in achieving this feeling of wholeness, and thus freedom and joy.

What occurred to me after this healing is that Little Vera had come home, desiring to reconnect with me on my journey towards lightness and ascension. There was a slight tingling, a glow of sorts, in my stomach near to my solar plexus.

And I remembered that Jay, my shamanic healer, had suggested that I put my hand on that region each morning upon awaking and welcome the part of me that had returned. That I should give that energy tender and loving thoughts throughout my day.

The energy was definitely a playful one, one that wanted to dance and sing like no one was watching!

These observations, along with the fact that this same part of my energy seemed to have a withdrawing reaction to any conflict, anxiety or stress, made me realize that it was a child. My inner child, the true me, who I remember being before the care for others opinions, and the need to “behave properly” in order to please the adult world, ever set in. So I call it: “Little Vera.”

I decided right then and there that I would love her and protect her, embrace her and let her play, a little bit every day. I would not judge her on her impulses or try and make her conform to my will. I would not make her promises that I cannot keep or speak harshly to her. These are things that made her shrink and run away as I grew up.

Now that I knew what I wanted to do, to keep this innocent and magical part of me alive and intact, I had to go about figuring out how to do that.

It was easier than I thought, because as I lay, with my hand on my abdomen, breathing in deeply and speaking to Little Vera, I asked her what we could do together that would be fun for her.

She answered and gave me several different clues. First we could color and draw together. The ballet fairy that she drew as a result was very fun and colorful indeed, the kind of thing that your parents would hang on the fridge when you were small. (Which is where we hung it in our flat.)

I try to take Little Vera for a walk everyday, we watch butterflies and smell flowers and listen the birds sing.

There are days when my concern for the adult world has me forget to spend time as the spiritual child within me, but I place my hand on my abdomen before bed and feel that energy fill me up, lest I lose it again. If you hold your inner child close to you, they will hold you close to them in return, reminding you of the magic and joy in this world.

There are therapies out there that involve connecting with your inner child and re-parenting it, as you should have been parented but perhaps were not. It is a way of soothing your wounded spirit and of releasing the negative patterns that effect your ability to feel happy and confident as an adult. I do feel that I may be able to benefit from this approach, but perhaps now it is not necessary.

What we should do, as responsible adults, is to remember that we are all children inside, because time is now, there is no past, or future, all occurs simultaneously. We should be mindful always that children recoil and become upset by any forms of violence, conflict, anger, stress and worry.

When we find ourselves in these situations, the most important thing that we can do is to pause for a moment, put our hands on our stomach and tell “Little Brian” or “Little Emily” that it is going to be okay, that they don’t have to worry, that we will take care of things and that they are safe.

You will find that the more consideration and comfort that you give to that spiritual inner child of yours, the more comforted your adult self will feel and the more considerate the world will become.

I do not know if this approach to spiritual wholeness can bring healing to all of our physical and emotional ailments. And I do not know if this behavior can bring a lasting world peace.

What I do know is that we can find a greater measure of inner peace for ourselves by being whole, by accepting and integrating every aspect of ourselves. This is the only true balance and peace to be found, within yourself.

We can each benefit immensely by spending a little more time in our “child mind,” from playing and not worrying about the opinions of others, from dancing to some silly music, singing “I’m a Little Teapot,” drawing a fairy or just climbing a tree.

You do not have to have inner dialog with your child self, but it helps. If this is too weird for you, here are some suggestions for active ways to reconnect with your own inner child:

- Play dress up, even if its not Halloween
– Lay in the grass and make shapes of the clouds
– Dance like no one is watching, even when they are
– Draw a frog, a rainbow or a puppy
– Eat cookies for breakfast, occasionally
– Sing a childhood song, in a child’s voice
– Color on a sidewalk with chalk
– Use a straw to blow bubbles in your drink
– Swing from a tree and make Tarzan sounds
– Make a sand castle, so what if you’re 42?

Happy Playing!!!

“The only real valuable thing is intuition. ”
~Albert Einstein, Physicist, Philosopher and Author

Intuition is the holy grail of the Self-Development movement. There are so many books out there promising to help you find your inner voice, trying to teach you how to trust what your inner self tells you.

But it is not always that simple. It can take years to distinguish what the Quakers call “that still small voice within.” And the hearer can go back-and-forth between believing and not believing that what they are hearing has real value.

We have all experienced flashes of inspiration from time-to-time: A quick knowing that tells us we should slow down while driving, only to come around the corner and happen onto a fresh accident scene. A twinge in our mind that someone is untrustworthy only to find out later that they stole our credit card when we weren’t looking. The little voice that says “Take your umbrella” on a day that was supposed to be sunny, to then find your lunch break smack dab in the middle of a hail storm. These are certainly not mere coincidences.

Our mind and, more importantly, the spirit that powers our mind, are rare gifts and possess abilities that we simply cannot fathom. At the beginning of our journey, when we are trying to focus on building a connection with our own unique gifts and faculties, it is understandable how much emphasis is placed on cultivating a trust in your intuition.
Techniques abound, though I find that the non-imposing information provided in Shakti Gawain‘s work is the best starting point for many people. In her book, The Path of Transformation, she outlines ways to overcome some of the common blockages to inner guidance:

*Don’t make the process a bigger deal than it is. Stop trying to make anything amazing happen.

*Try identifying the different voices inside of you by asking yourself a question and then writing down the different tones of voice in different colors of pen.

*Try not to get caught up in needing an immediate answer. Inner guidance usually just lets us know what we need in the moment. It seldom gives us long-term information.

*Try not to confuse your intuitive feelings with other emotions or impulses.

*If you feel blocked for a really long time you may need to do some emotional healing work. It can be difficult to contact our intuitive feelings when we are holding our emotions inside us.

*Remember that developing inner guidance is a lifelong process that goes in cycles of flows and lulls. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

The more that we listen for our the voice of our intuition, the louder that we will hear it. That is simple truth. But what about the other voices in our heads? (No, not the schizophrenic type of voices.) What about the ego? What about the inner child? How can we distinguish exactly which voice we are listening to?

This very problem arose when I was counseling a woman just beginning her self-development journey. She was recently divorced, had left her job and moved several states away from where she had lived. It was her first time away from family and the very first time in her life that she had been alone with her own thoughts for more than a couple of hours.

On the surface, she knew that her marriage had been painful, that it was not leading where she wanted her life to go and that her ex-husband had been lazy and abusive. But she kept contacting me with worries and loneliness, kept reaffirming to her friends and family that she missed the past, that she missed the dream of that marriage. It is fine to feel hurt and lonely after a break-up. It is fine to feel confused about the future. But this was something more.

She was letting her discontentment with who she was in the present moment color her version of the past. We all have done this, at one time or another.

But, rather than trying to see this process as simply that, a process, and viewing it as an observer to her own growth, she kept on doubting whether or not she had made the right decisions in leaving her ex-husband and striking out on her own. (They say that the devil you know is better than the devil that you don’t.)

In order to validate the feelings that she was having, she convinced herself that it was her intuition that kept plaguing her with the wrongness of her decision. “My gut keeps telling me that there was something in that relationship for me and that I was too blind to see it.”

She would call me and tell me that she should go back to him. She felt that she knew it was the right thing, because she kept coming to that decision over-and-over again in her mind. Since it was so persistent, it must be her intuition.

But the intuition is subtle, much more fluid than that. It is not a force that knocks hard against a brick wall, it simply looks for another way around.

The only way to gauge for ourselves whether or not we are talking to our inner guidance, whether or not we are making our decisions based on our true intent and our true inner knowing is to ask. More specifically it is to question. By constantly questioning ourselves, by constantly holding ourselves and our motives to our own highest and best intentions, we begin to build an inner compass. As this questioning of our own motives becomes more automatic we can begin to sense whether or not the choices we make seem true to us intuitively.

This in itself is a process. We begin by simply asking ourselves what is the right path for us to take and listening or feeling for the answer in our gut. Intuition does not usually go through many long thought processes to explain and justify the decision that it chooses, it simply flashes the answer at you with seemingly no grounds whatsoever.

In this woman’s case I simply asked her, “What does this voice that you are currently hearing say to you?”

She replied in a very emotional manner, “It says that I am suffering now because I made the wrong choice. It says that things with him really weren’t all that bad and that now that I have left him I will never get to have children. It says that I should go back and try to rekindle the flame with him.”

To me it was obvious that this was a voice that spoke out of fear rather than truth or possibility. Then I asked her, “Well, is there another voice? Do you sometimes hear a gentler voice, one that doesn’t seem to have any fears?”

“Yes,” she said.

“And what does that one say?” I asked, “Does it say something along the lines of ‘I know that I have been brought here for a reason. I know that I can make a go of it in this new location and that I can create anything I want for my future. I feel free to be myself for the first time in my life and, since there is a reason for everything, I know that I am moving in the right direction?’”

“Well, yes,” she finished, “That is almost exactly what the other voice says.”

“That voice,” I explained, “is your intuition. It has nothing to base its beliefs on, it just knows.”

So, what was going on here? Was she developing split personalities? Not at all, she was as sane as anyone else. But it can sometimes be so easy to get caught up in the feelings of the moment. To desire an answer so strongly that we mistake the voice of Self Doubt for the voice of Intuition.

To discern the difference we need only ask ourselves if this is truly our intuition, and we will usually sense the answer. Intuition is a gentle force. The voices of the ego and friends are much more forceful. These other voices want you to come around to their way of thinking, whereas the voice of intuition would be happy if you’d just hear it.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
~Anthony Robbins, Author and Motivational speaker

Everyone is all abuzz about the law of attraction. It’s about time…since us magically-types have been clued into this concept for ages. No….literally…..AGES.

For some the concept is perfect, all on its own. Easy. For others the concept is just a little too big, or too basic, depending upon how you look at it. And then for others the concept is just too small, too narrow of an outlook.

How you look at it is not important. And, to be perfectly honest, the term itself, “Law of Attraction” can be enough to put some people off of even looking into it. Sounds too pretentious, sounds too exclusive.

So for my purposes here I’ll call this the Power of Positive Intent. “As your intentions go, so goes your life.” (That’s my new phrase, based ever so loosely on the whole voting and Ohio thing.)

Now, the general gist of Positive Thinking is just that: Positive Thinking. Of course some things are easier to be positive about than others. Its relatively easy to be positive about going on vacation, not so easy to be positive about receiving a foreclosure notice on your house.

The proof is in the pudding (Boy, I’m just all phrases and cliches today – note to self: Stop watching Amelie so much!)

SO…you don’t have to feel positive about the foreclosure.

But once you are over the initial shock, you need to give the situation a positive spin: “This is an adventure. I am now free to experience a new place. This means that a better living situation is out there for me, one that will enrich me and help me grow.” (For why else would the outside world come in and FORCE you to move your butt?)

You need not beat yourself up about being irresponsible, being unfortunate or any other low-vibration thoughts. You have learned whatever lesson you needed to learn and can now move on to life’s next leg of the journey.

What we all need to do is twofold: Keep positive vibes in everyday situations. (ie. that very slow cashier, the mechanic who didn’t fix it right, our nosy aunt) And also keep positive vibes flowing toward our specific goals. (Keep saying “It will never happen for me.” And, guess what? It never will.)

With goal intentions, some of them can seem too big, too intimidating. It is easier to focus intent on wanting a new bike, on meeting new friends or on getting that zone 10 plant to grow in your zone 4 garden. It is not as easy to focus intent on larger or more abstract things such as buying a 200-acre farm, opening a million dollar recording studio or curing yourself of Parkinson’s Disease.

So what I offer is a more bite-sized approach to this process, for the manifestation of any intent is always a process. The initial positive thought is the seed. But, as I am learning, you can’t just plant a seed and walk away. Come back and you find all kinds of problems that need addressing for that plant to reach maturity and give off the glorious bloom.

You have to water it. Talk to it. Think positive thoughts at it. Take the weeds out of the way. All the while knowing that you can’t force it.

The bloom will happen in its own time, not with you staring at it from the kitchen window while biting your nails and wondering to yourself if it was all for nothing…if that thing has gotten as big as its going to get and may never bloom.

It will bloom. You’ll walk out the front door one day and it will be standing there beautiful and perfect.

The more positive you are about its becoming what it was always meant to be, the quicker it will happen, the bigger it will be when it comes to fruition. And, as a consequence of your not biting your nails at the kitchen window, the more you will enjoy it and be able to revel in it when it does come. Because instead of relief (that it wasn’t as bad as you thought) you will have confirmation (that it is even better than you knew it would be.)

So in order to focus your everyday intent in a way that benefits the “big intent” you can try using what I call a Goal Map. Some call it a “treasure map” and you can too if you like.

Let’s take an imaginary woman named Erica: She is a college student at present and has exactly $0 to her name. Her parents have no cash either so she has to take charge of her own goals and try to make them happen. We begin with her goal: Live in a log cabin, owned and built by her, with a nice relaxing fireplace in it, located on a nice rural piece of land. (Sound familiar to any of you lightworkers out there ? ;))

Erica decides to use the Goal Map method for manifesting her intent. It works by breaking down the goal into a smaller set of goals which lead in a semi-logical progression toward the ultimate goal. If you want to build a log cabin and you don’t have any money (or even if you do have the money) there are several steps to get to that finished log cabin with you sitting sipping tea in front of the fireplace.

Most people focus easiest in a visual way, so I recommend getting images or photos that best represent a concept and placing them on a piece of paper. They can be really little images or much bigger ones. So your Goal Map can be as little as a piece of printer paper or as large as a bed sheet…it doesn’t matter. (Bed sheets will need to be hung in a place of prominence with your big images pinned to them, a piece of paper can have the images glued to it and can be carried around in your car’s glove-box.)

So you are drawing a map. Think of it like the Game of Life by Hasbro but instead of adding in the hurdles and pitfalls you are going to deliberately include pictures that show you overcoming any perceived obstacles, no problem.

You can chose whatever shape for the map that you like: ovoid, spiral, zig-zag etc… I like spiraling inward so we’ll say that Erica’s map will be a spiral. Erica is still in college so her progression toward goal would likely start there.

She would need to begin with

(1) graduation, then…

(2) finding a job,

(3) enjoying her work,

(4) saving money,

(5) picking a log cabin floor-plan,

(6) locating a nice piece of land,

(7) either buying the land (if she has the money) or applying for a loan (if she doesn’t),

(8) getting approved for that loan,

(9) hiring a contractor to build her foundation,

(10) overseeing delivery of the log cabin kit (if it was a kit house,)

(11) watching the initial construction take place,

(12) hiring an electrician and/or plumber to do the finishing touches,

(13) getting the keys and moving into her log cabin,

(*14) feeling the happiness of being there, sitting by her fire and relaxing in the power of her own positive intentions.

(Of course you could break it down even further by getting into stuff like having the town grant your building permit and getting the building inspector to approve the house for occupancy…but its more fun the way that I’ve laid it out. Include whatever you feel may be an obstacle, if you wish.)

Begin by choosing the current mini-goal. Look intently at the goal image for at least five minutes, once or twice a day. You can add as much ritual or as little to this process as you wish.

But don’t just look at the goal image. See it happening for you. See all of your inner resources striving for it. Know that the energies of the universe are listening and already beginning to manifest this goal in your life. Feel how all the people and situations in your life are participating, pushing you directly towards the achievement of that goal.

As you complete this process briefly allow the entire structure of your Goal Map to enter you mind and acknowledge your progress towards the ultimate goal.

You can carry the current goal image with you in your wallet or taped to your car dashboard or work desk to remind you to put positive action and mental focus into it throughout your day.

With this process even the most seemingly insurmountable goal will be possible.

But in the end you must know that size doesn’t matter. Really. The same Power of Positive Intention that can bring you a new pair of sneakers can also bring you a Tuscan villa. The one is really no bigger than the other.

Happy Manifestations to you all!

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.”
~Margaret J. Wheatley, Writer and Management Consultant

Meditation is a contemplative state which one enters in order to relax the waking consciousness. There are many reasons that people take up meditation and there are numerous benefits to incorporating a regular practice of meditation.

Meditation can be used to cultivate a deeper awareness of one’s relationships and surroundings. Calming the ego-consciousness (the judge) that lives within our waking mind and opening ourself up to receiving peace, allows us to recognize and, with diligence, to access a higher state of consciousness.

Why should you want to reach higher consciousness?

That is a very good question and yet, one that is very difficult to answer. You may want to reach higher consciousness for the changes that it makes in how you use your life. You may want to reach higher consciousness to develop new abilities. Or perhaps you would enjoy having a higher consciousness because of the differences your actions may make in the lives of others.

What can be said is that, through the regular practice of meditation, you will come to realizations, values and talents that you are very unlikely to arrive at without the aid of meditation. I say unlikely, I do not say never. Meditation is a tool, like a key to a door. It is not the key that makes the wondrous thing behind the door exist. That thing always existed, all that the key did was make it easier to reach.

The realization and changes that develop in you over time, while practicing meditation (things like, mindfulness, calm, spiritual oneness, empowerment) are subtle shifts in your level of awareness that will help you to, among other things:

-Form more healthy romantic relationships
-Fulfill your internal life purpose
-Expel toxins and illness from your body
-Speak and act with true integrity
-See the beauty in all things
-Cope better with change and challenges in life
-Build self-esteem
-Look and feel more youthful
-Gain spiritual awareness / inspiration from the divine
-Walk lighter on the Earth
-Appreciate the gifts that you have in your life
-Serve yourself and others with deep kindness
-Channel positive creativity through your unique self

So I suppose that the question is not why you should want to reach higher consciousness, but why you should not want to?

What does meditation mean exactly? I have heard so many different things about it.

Meditation means many different things to many different people. There are several approaches to meditation, several layers of consciousness to explore and different levels of difficulty.

There are those who follow an accepted course of some kind, like Kabbalistic meditation or Transcendental meditation. And there are those who are more drawn to moving forms of meditation, such as Yoga or Tai Chi. Most are just looking for more inner peace and a connection with the natural world in which we live.

It would take pages to list here the myriad forms that meditation can take. Some examples are: breathing meditation, walking meditation, guided meditation, trance, sound healing, affirmation, tantric, chakra, crystal, visualization etc, etc…

What is common to many forms of meditation is the component of sitting and maintaining a relaxed pose in a place of silence. This, of course, is an oversimplification, but it is not as simple as it may sound. The difficulties that people tell me of, and that I myself am no stranger to, are the very reason that meditation can be so life-changing for us.

The realization that staying mindful of our walking, or maintaining mental silence for a few minutes, is so difficult, when we humans are supposed to be the masters of our physical world, is one that leads many people to realize their own potential for growth. This is why acheiving the simple acts of maintaining silence of the mind and awareness of our reality, empowers us and shows us our connection all other life.

Gaining this place of silent connection is the true meaning of meditation, no matter what form that meditation takes.

How do I learn to meditate?

Ah. That is the question!

The approach is a very easy one. The mastery is not always so.

To begin with, you need to find a comfortable position that you can rest in. Most people use a cross-legged position. Lying down, though comfortable, is not the best position for learning meditation. Lying down signals sleep to your mind, and if you try to relax the mind in this position, you will inevitably end up asleep.

I always suggest that beginning meditators sit on the floor, this helps to ground you and also to release any fears that you may relax too much and fall off of your chair.

So, you are most likely to begin by sitting cross-legged on the floor (or on a nice cushion, on the floor.) I always begin this way, with my back straight, supported by a wall.

The intention here is to relax your muscles, rest your eyes and release all worry from your mind. There may be an overall intention to astral project, meet your spirit guide or gain psychic abilities, but that is not the point of each individual meditation. Release these desires, be the beginner, be the student.

Doing meditation is called “practicing” just as in Yoga or in doing magic. That is because we are always the student, these are abilities that have no end, that continually grow and evolve, presenting new challenges along the way. We are always learning.

So now you sit in quiet contemplation, keeping your mind empty (or focused on your own inner body perceptions and mental perceptions) for as long as you can.

A fifteen or twenty minute meditation can change the entire energy and outcome of your day. But in the beginning, allow yourself to practice for only three, four or five minutes. Do not worry if you cannot stay still or carefree for longer than that.

If you have thoughts come barging in during your meditation time, simply thank your mind for its contribution and then release the thoughts and return to clear mindedness.

Once you become comfortable with the general concept and practice of meditation you can feel free to try adding instructive aids of some kind. These may be counting techniques or similar approaches learned from a book. They may be sentences or affirmations that you say to yourself repeatedly throughout your meditation. You may also find guided meditations, either audio or video, quite helpful.

I myself learned meditation, guided by a friend, using the simple tree meditation, which I eventually memorized and I still use variations of it regularly.

But I can’t meditate, I am so frustrated by my failed attempts. I thought this was supposed to be relaxing!

It is indeed meant to be a relaxing and comforting activity. If it isn’t, then it is probably one of three things… let’s look at the three most the common roadblocks to successful meditation.

I can’t sit still: You are most likely a person with high levels of energy (ie. anxiety) and teaching your brain that it is okay to relax and not be always doing is something that will take time. Begin by setting a stop watch and observe how long you can sit still for. Then slowly increase it in ten-second intervals. Force your body to just BE. Eventually you will not need the stop-watch or the forced increases anymore. Go slow and you will get there.

My mind will not stop thinking: This is the most common reason that people decide they are unable to meditate and give up trying. They can only seem to keep their head clear for 30 seconds or so, but the minute that they begin to relax into a meditative state, another thought pops into their mind. When this happens ten or more times, each and every time that they attempt meditation, it is not surprising that they become frustrated.

I was this person! I swore to my meditation teacher that I would NEVER be able to meditate, and I was truly convinced of that fact. But it wasn’t a real truth for me. And it isn’t for you either.

Perhaps, you are dragged out of your meditation by every creaking floorboard, passing ambulance siren or barking dog. I was too. But I promise you that this is just a stage. Your conscious mind, the ego, does not want to release control and will amplify every thought, worry, sound and itch to try and maintain that state of control. But it does eventually loosen its grip, if you stick with it. You will not fail, unless you give up and stop trying.

I don’t think that I am doing this right. I don’t feel anything: You have probably come to meditation with some unrealistic expectations of what you would experience. There is no wrong way to meditate.

The intention with meditation is to build a stronger, more open connection with your true inner self. There are as many methods for achieving that connection as there are individual people.

If you feel like this time is your own, than that is enough. What matters is that you take the time to stop, be at peace and listen to yourself. If you are giving time to practicing meditation, you are already doing it right.

So what does it all mean?

Well, as you can see, meditation is not just about the health benefits. The process of learning to meditate also involves developing patience and perseverance, two skills which we as modern humans tend to have less and less of. This benefit alone is worth the early struggles.

But you are also making time for yourself. Taking a few minutes to spend with yourself everyday (even if you never meet Elvis on the astral planes) has been shown to lower your blood pressure, relieve anxiety, heal depression and cure insomnia. And these are just some of the benefits that meditation can have for you.

If it benefits each individual practitioner in such meaningful ways, imagine what your own self-improvement can do for your friends, family, colleagues and the planet as a whole!

“Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.”
~Marianne Williamson, Inspirational Author

————————————————————————————-
This article is a repost from our old blog – originally dated January 2009.
————————————————————————————-

Wow. A new year already. The numerology seems to suggest that this year will be the beginning of a new life, for everyone.

Sorry it’s been a while since I posted, my focus has finally shifted wholeheartedly to writing my book and I am finding it hard to concentrate on the blog articles at present.

But this one, or perhaps the invitation for this one, simply arrived in my scope of vision. A relative of mine asked for a bit more info on intuitive development which made me realize that this is indeed most likely to be what draws people to this blog. It is not just simply my stories of spirituality and psychic experiences, but a desire to have these things become an integral part of your own lives.

Now, this person asked for more info on developing intuition. I, of course, read way too much into things and become over excited, always wanting to help increase the vibration of this planet by guiding others to spiritual awareness and enlightenment. (Total Light-worker Syndrome.)

Anyhow. I have decided to create a multi-approach and multi-subject list of good reading materials for moving you along your path toward intuitive abilities and spiritual awareness.

There are beginner, intermediate and advanced books here. They deal with many facets of energy and spiritual awareness. Some will be too weird or too heavy for the absolute beginner. This does not, however, preclude you from being able to read them. The beauty of reading in these subject areas is that you know when you are ready for a book, by whether or not you like and understand what you are reading when you pick it up.

This is about intuitive development so, as Serge suggested while I was writing this, just scan the list of subjects and titles. Use your own intuitive vibe to choose which few books you’d like to read first. Then see where that reading leads you to next. I suppose you could call this “going with the flow.” When something is right, you just know.

My belief is that two things are essential to the development of intuitive gifts:

1) Meditation, lots of it, in many and any forms.

2) A shift in awareness, a willingness to look at things from a new point-of-view, I would call this “mindfulness,” the act of becoming consciously aware of all the multitude of things that we do mindlessly in our modern world. (Such as speaking, eating, bathing, buying, judging others and being entertained externally, in ways that disengage us from our spirit and our environment.)

Have a look below and see how you can begin developing the necessary spiritual awareness to connect you to our natural energies and intuitive abilities…

Spiritual Awareness
The Power of Now
The Book of Secrets
There is a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem
A New Earth
Being in Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires
The Way of the Wizard
**Awakening: A Daily Guide to Conscious Living

Beginning Intuitive
Developing Intuition
**Trust Your Vibes
The Time Has Come to Accept Your Intuitive Gifts
**Personal Power Through Awareness
**Living With Joy

Intermediate Intuitive
Psychic Pathway
Awakening Your Psychic Skills
Living in the Light
Spiritual Growth: Being Your Higher Self

Contacting Spirit Guides
Ask Your Guides
Opening to Channel
Contact Your Spirit Guides To Enrich Your Life

Meditation
**Meditations: Creative Visualization and Meditation Exercises to Enrich Your Life
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Meditation for Beginners
**The Miracle of Mindfulness
How to Meditate: An Illustrated Guide to Calming the Mind and Relaxing the Body
Teach Yourself to Meditate in 10 Simple Lessons

From the blog front page, if you want more topics and materials click here:

Audiobooks & Meditations (these are a mix of the subjects throughout this post)
**Unlocking Your Intuitive Power: How to Read the Energy of Anything
Developing Intuition: Practical Guidance for Daily Life
Guided Meditations: For Calmness, Awareness, and Love
**Guided Mindfulness Meditation
Stress Reduction and Creative Meditations
The Essence of Being in Balance
**Meditations for a New Earth
Spiritual Growth: Vol 1 Raising Your Vibration
Spiritual Growth: Vol 2 Being Your Higher Self
Becoming an Intuitive Healer: A Professional Development Course for Health Practitioners
Guided Visualization Series Vol. 1
Living the Light Body
**How to Meditate with Pema Chodron: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind

Earth Spirituality (ie. Paganism, Native Ways and Wicca) * I am in no way stating that this spirituality is the only path to developing psychic skills, only that its openness to individualization and its balance between masculine and feminine divinity has led me to my own development of these innate gifts.*

Contemporary Paganism: Listening People, Speaking Earth
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
The Elements of Natural Magic
The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess
Spirit of the Witch

Oneness & Light-working
Oneness
The Calling
Family of Light
Bringers of the Dawn
Earth: The Pleiadian Keys to the Living Library
Affinity: Reclaiming the Divine Flow of Creation

Hermetics & Power of Intention
The Kybalion: A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece
Spiritual Alchemy
The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent
Path of Alchemy: Energetic Healing & the World of Natural Magic
The Law of Attraction
The New Hermetics: 21st Century Magick for Illumination

Energy-Healing
**Hands of Light: A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field
Vibrational Medicine
Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine
Intuitive Wellness: Using Your Body’s Inner Wisdom to Heal
Plant Spirit Shamanism: Traditional Techniques for Healing the Soul
True Balance: A Commonsense Guide for Renewing Your Spirit
Energy Work: The Secret of Healing and Spiritual Development
Plant Spirit Healing: A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness

There are of course many more specific and advanced subjects that people may choose to study, or may naturally develop, along their own path of intuitive development and spiritual awakening. These include, by aren’t limited to, Astral Projection, Trance Channeling, Aura Reading, High Magic, Astrology, Divination, Herbal Medicine, Yoga, Hypnotherapy, Reiki, Feng Shui, Acupuncture, Aromatherapy and many others.

However, many spiritually aware people are happy to just develop an intuitive relationship with their spirit guides and their higher self. This is what enriches life and makes it a full and rewarding experience. All else is just icing on the spiritual cake.

~

To my relative who inspired this informative post, I love you. I love you not just because you are family, I love you because I know the curiosity, and joy, and excitement, and trepidation, that run through you when you begin looking into the limitless and beautiful world of things that can be felt but are unseen. I want you to know that I will help in any way that I can. And I love you because, in general, I aspire to love all people, and I can see how we are all one, at all times, no matter the form or the circumstance.

I am not yet completely altruistic. I don’t claim to be a bodhisattva, to have achieved Buddha mind, I am far too opinionated on world matters and personal behaviors to be that yet. But I am sending light energy and peaceful support to all spiritual seekers in this changeable place that we call Earth.

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

~Will Rogers, Cowboy, Comedian and Actor

In our hectic everyday lives it can be so easy to become complacent about things that bother us and about the things that we know we are supposed to do. A deep lethargy can set into us, and do it so slowly and subtly that we don’t even realize we have fallen asleep on our own life.

We can be sitting in a pile of junk, knowing that we would feel better if it were only clean. But yet we seek out that one clear corner and cower in it day-after-day. Or we can be feeling depressed knowing that our self-esteem would improve, if only our backside didn’t have so much cellulite, but we never get on that treadmill. Or maybe we are wanting a change in career, knowing that we should learn a new skill, but never seeming to implement that thought into action.

When we have a big task to complete or a large challenge to overcome, it can seem so overwhelming that taking it past the point of realization and thought is virtually impossible.

Well, I have been there, I have faced the place of hopelessness, daydreaming and inaction so many times in my life. After all those false starts, after living through the periods when something that could have taken me two weeks wound up taking me two years, I have finally mastered the ability to face that lethargy monster and move it out of my way quickly and efficiently.

You’ve heard the old adages: Make hay while the sun shines. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. No time like the present. Just do it.

The truth is clear, if you want to have the energy to complete something, if you ever want to manifest your desire in your life, all you have to do is start! And that is always the hard part. Whether it is something pleasant or something harrowing, the best way to move beyond it, to achieve it, to get it out of your life or whatever, is to just do it! Can’t argue with that logic.

Things which seem very difficult at first glance tend to grow into absolutely terrifying obstacles the longer that you procrastinate on them. I don’t care if it’s a paper that’s due, a room that needs painting or getting that lump in your breast checked, it is always more stressful, more frightening and more depressing when you choose to live with the knowledge of it instead of simply doing it now. Honest.

So instead of ignoring that skeleton in the cupboard until it rots away or instead of trying to swallow a whole pie at once, a great approach for making that guy seem less threatening and less daunting is to gift yourself with five minutes of action.

Here is how it works. You are watching t.v. and some hot guy (or chick) comes on the tube. You instantly look down at your not-so-svelt abs and feel a momentary dislike or discomfort about yourself. BOOM. Stop right there.

You don’t have to feel bad about yourself and then reach for the chips and turn back to the t.v. Sure, you can do that but, what will that change? Nothing at all. You will keep feeling those glimpses of derision and continue subconsciously piling them up upon yourself. All of which is in no way going to lead you to the happier result.

So you stop at that moment, when you feel dislike for your current circumstance. Now, you don’t have to turn off the t.v., throw away the bag of chips and tie on your sneakers for a ten-mile run. Just gift yourself with five minutes toward achieving your positive goal. You can just mute the t.v. and set down the chips for five minutes. Only five minutes is all that it takes!

Now, get up and use that five minute gift to jog in place, or do jumping jacks, or walk around your house, or throw a ball with your dog. Then, when you have used up your five minute gift, go back, un-mute the t.v. and unroll that bag of chips, if you choose.

There is now an elevated vibration about you. You feel better about yourself and your life. You can continue what you were doing before, without feeling guilty and bad about yourself. Whether the feeling lasts for five minutes or five hours, you know that you are taking right action on your own behalf.

Do this every time you catch yourself consciously feeling bad about something that you could be taking action on. We feel bad only when our actions are not in alignment with our own highest goals and desires. By following this simple habit, at the end of the week you may have done 30 minutes of exercise or cleaned ten square feet of that pile of junk or written half of that paper that’s due.

Marathon runners don’t just wake up one day and decide to run 26 miles, so you don’t have to either. Run the 1/4 mile that you can squeeze into your five minutes. That is a start. And, instead of the low vibration of depression, you will have the heightened vibration of knowing that you have taken some action for your own betterment.

Eventually you may find that, when your five minutes is up, you are actually not wanting to stop. Instead you may find yourself just getting up when you see something that needs doing and bringing it to instant completion. Imagine how good that would feel!

Even if you never find yourself on such a roll, at least there will be positive progress towards your goals. And, when you achieve them, you can say that you did it all in just five minutes.