Have you noticed some people who are unable to think for themselves and allow others to dictate what they do and how they think? This applies to religions, beliefs, actions of every day circumstances. So many follow ideals because it is easy, it is the path more traveled. The problem is there is very little self-discovery because there is no effort in finding the real answers and no growth in searching for the questions. The real challenge for anyone is to think for themselves, find your own truths, break from dogmas and norms to learn what is 'real' in the vast world. What is real for YOU!

Experiences and inner-transformations are worth thousands of times more than merely reading, hear-say, or reitterating someone elses words or beliefs.

Can you make up your own mind about what you believe and think?

Can you decide what is true for you?

Do you understand that truths can be mutable?

The biggest question, "Why do I think/believe the way I do?"

"The German mystic, Meister Eckhardt, reminds us that love has its being only in our will.. "The man who has more will, he also has more love." As a person develops his or her love for the Self, he simultaneously finds the will to do what is most difficult."

"We know exploration is a less important need than that for safety. We know, for example, that only the person who feels inwardly confident, who has a certain degree of faith in his or her ability to meet the unknown, can venture forth...This type of exploration takes special skills, skills which come with the greater bonding to and trust of the Self."

"The ability to face the conflicts and fears within ourselves, to acknowledge our longing for security, for roots and unending love and approval and yet - at the same time- to remain unswervingly fixed n an uncertrain, insecure path beause we sense it be our right path, is, to my way of thinking, a heroic thing. This is the courage to be."

The courage to be, indeed!

The path of the mystic is never easy and takes great daring to think for oneself.

Dare to think for yourself!

Limited beliefs already are affecting your life and the lives of those around you and this is something you'd probably want to know more about.  It is a very interesting subject indeed and one that can be of great benefit to you and those who take the time to learn about it.

When you were very young, you had wonderful parents who loved you so much that they wanted you to grow up like them. They even wanted more for you to the point that they wanted you to be more than they. This is really the desire of most parents unless they have been severely damaged by others or their parents.

Parents do want the best for their children and they learned of course from their role models which usually included their parents, or guardians that were around them. They learned all that the parents and guardians deemed important to them, and of course, most of what they deemed important to them, was a result of their upbringing and teachings from their parents or guardians that loved them so dearly.

Unfortunately, not all that was said to you was right. Many of these things you grasped onto as truth were not truth, but only a truth to them conveyed to you in the most honorable way to help you. Most of this so called truth you learned from them was just what was parroted to them as young children by their parents or guardians at the time.

One of the greatest things in life one can experience is their own truth so to speak and not what others who have parroted truth from others. This is something all human beings must come to a place in their lives where they find out for themselves what is right for them and what is wrong for them.

You will notice that not all people on earth believe the same thing for beliefs are many times subjective in nature rather than objective. There is nothing wrong with subjective beliefs as long as they serve your highest and best intention of the soul. You will know this as you are aware of your surroundings and the awareness of your individual souls.

Your soul has a spiritual awareness that your body does not possess. Your body has a physical awareness your soul does not know. Both are important to be aware of while on this earthly plane. They are like being in two different planes though. One is as far from the other in its reality and they seem at times to be at odds with each other. They are not; they just seem that way by your subjective analysis.

Part of the goal of your earthly mission is to be able to blend the two into a heavenly harmony of music while on earth. This is the balance that most of you want from a deeper level of consciousness. Once you find this wonderful balance of the physical with the spiritual part of you, you will start to really enjoy all facets of human life.

Getting back to your beliefst, they are only thoughts that you deemed to be emphasized as truth for you. You must come to a place of questioning truth, or so called truth, so that you can find your direction in life. If you accept carte blanche as truth what was told you by your parents or guardians without question, then you will only experience their truth as it were. If you go beyond their truth and find your truth this will be in greater harmony with your soul desire, which is the higher part of you that is always connected to God, your Source.

Questioning your beliefs is not negative, as you have been told by others; on the contrary it is very positive even though others around you including other family members might be in dispute with it.

You are finding out that what you have been taught through religions, parents, guardians, loved ones and others outside of you are not necessarily your best option for you. You have done the same to your children of course, with no animosity or ambition to hurt them of course…but what you taught them was more of what you were taught by others...

So, every one on this plane of earth must find what is best for them. Not what is best for you…for they too are individuals with different desires and intentions than you. This is what you say… “Makes the world go round”.

This is something that is important for you to know…all truth is in evolution until you find a higher truth that fills its place. This seems strange to most of you because you have been taught that truth is solid and unmovable…but it is not…it is based on perception and human consciousness. It will change as you change. Your thoughts will always want to change unless you have told yourself that what you have learned is the truth and nothing but the truth.

Let’s analyze truth for a minute. What is truth to you?

Truth to me now is something that I believe in or rest my confidence in. Good, very good. And what if you knew that what you were resting your confidence in was morphing and changing so that what you believed yesterday was not what you believed today? I would be okay with it now…although before…I would have felt fear in changing my beliefs.

I want to commend you for this spiritual growth that you have taken on this subject. It has brought you some pain and grief from those outside you but in the long run you are finding it is serving your souls purpose now…and that is what you really want anyway.

You will always get flak from others outside you who do not want to change their ideas or beliefs and are happy and content with what they know now. You are not like this and have never been like this and I want to thank you for taking the higher road instead of the road most traveled by humanity. This does not make you any better than your brothers and sisters on this earth, it only helps you to connect with the higher part of you that exists.

The next thing that is important for one to evolve is to allow all so called beliefs which are adhered to as truths to be moldable. Beliefs are only thoughts that you have made real by identifying yourself with them. When you identify yourself with anything it is so as far as your reality is concerned... for thoughts create beliefs, and beliefs create reality.

That is how you were made…like unto your Source God. God thinks and it is so. You think and it is so. You are what you think and believe and can be nothing more than this…until you think another thought…until you question what you really believe…until you come to this higher place of thought.

You see, God is always changing its thought too. God is always expanding in thought and is never contractive in its thought. You are this way too if you could see your higher self. It is natural for you to change beliefs and thoughts unless you put this invisible fence called a belief in your way.

Invisible fences were created by you in the idea that you are this or that or what you have been taught is the truth. This so called truth becomes a box for your mind to rest in but is not there to trap you or to put you in a place of fear. Take the boundaries off your thinking and please do think outside the box that most people dwell in.

Once you take off the box of your creations, which are thoughts, ideas and beliefs, you will find your natural soul, which transcends all human thinking and boundaries. Take a moment to reflect on this and you will see that your so called truths have been taking changes and different courses throughout your life and they always will if you let them change.

If you only thought as a child thought it would seem strange if you were in a grown up body and yet thought as an adolescent child would think. This is true of you in spirit too…wouldn’t it seem strange to your soul if what you believed as a youth was the same belief you had as an adult?

Each and every one of you chooses your own reality which is part of your belief system. If you entertain just what you have heard from others of who you are, then you deny the possibility of being more than this. You become blocked and stuck in a life that seems too tenuous and hard. If you would just set some of these beliefs aside that hold you down you would begin to rise to the natural state of your soul and spirit that lies within.

And so, it all turns out to be very simple. Who am I? What am I doing here? When am I going to do it? Where am I going? Why?

These are life's Essential Questions. Who, what, when, where, and why?

In my own version I like to expand the fourth question to: Where am I going, and who is going with me?

In the next several installments of this series, we'll take a look at all of these questions, and more. Let's take a look at the first of them now.

There is scarcely a person on this planet who has not asked of him- or herself at least once in their lifetime: Who am I? I've asked it over and over since I was seven. I remember thinking about it many nights in my childhood bedroom. And I recall lying on my back on the second-story porch off of that bedroom, gazing at the stars, wondering about my place in All Of It.

I felt so small then. Even now I feel small when looking at the cosmos. Who doesn't? But now the feeling is different. I may feel small, but I don't feel separate. I don't feel apart from the way I did then.

A lot of things have changed since the days of my most earnest questioning. I don't ask those kinds of questions anymore. Today, I ask other questions. How can I give to others what I have been given? What would it take for all of us to experience the End of Separation? What role can I play in bringing that about?

My questioning about much of life ended when my conversations with God began. Now all I want to know is how I can share with others the answers I have received in a way that they will "get" them. I would like to change the world's ideas about Life, and about who we are. And I would like to change the world's ideas about God.

What a shift in my reality! Even a few years ago I would not have thought of such a thing. Now I can hardly keep my mind off of it! I guess that's how it is when you're given an enormous treasure. All you want to do is share it.

The thing is, I see suffering all over the place, and I know that hardly any of it is necessary. None of it is necessary, in fact, but I understand that I and others would have to reach an extraordinarily high level of consciousness to experience that. But we do not have to reach such a level to get to the point were most of life's sufferings become a thing of the past. That state of being is within reach of all of us. All we have to do is step into Who We Really Are.

So the question Who am I? is not an idle one. How you answer the question will determine how you live the rest of your life. It will determine the quality of your life.

Here's the answer I have found: I am not who I thought I was. I am not my body. My body is mine, not me. The "me" that I am lives with my body, and uses my body as a tool. The "me" that I am lives not even inside my body, but surrounds my body, encasing it.

This allows the Me That I Am to look with my "eyeless eyes" at my own body, at my own self, and actually begin to detach from its experience. Or, to put this more accurately, to have the experience, but to have a different experience of the experience.

This is what I call the Creative, rather than the Reactive, experience. In truth, I should be able to detach from the reactive experience of my own body almost as easily as I am able to detach from the reactive experience of yours. In actuality, I am not there yet-but some days and some moments I feel am very close.

When your body reacts to something-say, a pain, or a feeling of sadness-my body cannot have that same reactive experience. I can imagine the experience that you are having, and I can create something in my body that is perhaps very similar, but I cannot have the same reactive experience that you are having. You can tell me all you want about how you are suffering with the headache you are having, and I cannot suffer it. You can describe in minute detail all the sadness you are feeling, and I cannot feel it. I can feel my own sadness at the sadness that you are feeling, but I cannot feel yours.

You do not have to feel yours, either. Neither do you have to suffer. That is the extraordinary insight that came to me with the news of who I am. The truth is, my body's responses to the events it is experiencing are reactive because I allow them to be. Sometimes, when I stand by in consciousness and "watch" my body react in certain ways to certain circumstance or events, I step in there and literally change my mind about how I want to experience that. In that moment I become a creator rather than a reactor. In that moment I become Who I Really Am.

Who IS this that is changing my mind? That is the question that every thinking person must ask. I thought I was my mind. Now here "I" am, changing it! Who is the "I" that is changing the "me" that I am experiencing?

Asking this question gets us very close to the Prime Inquiry-and the Prime Answer.

You are the Unmoved Mover. You are the Unwatched Watcher. You are the One Who Has Made You the Way You Are-and the One who will continue to make you the way you are every single moment of your life-both in your present body, and beyond.

You are YOU, and your body is not YOU. Nor, for that matter, is your mind, because it is YOU who are changing your mind! So this YOU that you are exists outside of "you." It exists outside of your body, and it exists outside of your mind. The YouThatYouAre is pure consciousness. It is awareness. You are a bundle of awareness. A gathering of energy that is aware of Itself.

So that's the news you can take from all this. The real YOU is out of your mind!

Who You Are is not who you may have thought you were. And Who You Are is separate from nothing.

Today, The Big Bang Theory of modern physics states that prior to the existence of space and time, the manifestation of the universe began with a huge explosion. Space and time came into existence and the material world expanded in size and complexity at an exponential rate, reaching out to create a huge universe filled with galaxies - size unimaginable, and still expanding. The seed or source of that entire process is referred to as the Unified Field. Einstein was the first to theorize its existence. It is the one thing out of which all else came into existence. It is the source of The Big Bang.

It is fascinating to note that a number of the leading modern physicists whose focus is this Big Bang Theory speculate that the Unified Field is, in fact, nothing more than consciousness. The more they study the qualities, nature, and characteristics of the Unified Field, the more they realize the Unified Field is nothing other than consciousness itself.

Throughout history, the manifestation of our universe has been pondered. An interesting common thread exists between many, if not all, of the most time-honored of those theories. That common thread is expressed in shamanism by saying, "This is all a dream." Hindu philosophy refers to all of this as "maya," that is to say, illusion. The ancient Vedic seers similarly claim, "This is all just a play of consciousness." These ancient philosophies go on to say that the entire manifest universe is born of, and sustained by, consciousness. Consciousness, from within its own inherent nature, gives birth to the structure of the entire universe.

Remarkably, many modern physicists are speculating that what the ancient seers insisted, is in fact correct-consciousness is the underlying source and basis of all existence. Now, for a moment, let's assume they are correct and take a moment to reflect. A question comes to mind. Quite simply, what is it that we know about consciousness? At first glance, it may seem self-evident to say that consciousness, by its very own nature, is conscious. But with a little further reflection about the Big Bang Theory and the manifestation of existence, we are prompted to ask another question: "Before anything existed, what could consciousness possibly have been conscious of?" Remember, we are speaking here of a time that existed before time and of a place that existed before space. It was a time of no "thing-ness," pure nothingness. Consciousness could be viewed then as pure "is-ness" before anything actually was. So what could consciousness possibly become conscious of? The only thing that existed-itself. Consciousness, by its own nature, became conscious… of itself.

By putting all of this together, we arrive at a compelling perspective on the Big Bang Theory. Consciousness viewed itself as "other." Duality was born of oneness. It's a little like when you are brushing your teeth in the bathroom and you catch your own reflection in the mirror out of the corner of your eye. For a moment, you have the experience that another person is there with you. Though really, it is only your own reflection. Because consciousness by its own nature is conscious, it becomes conscious of that duality, those two things. Then consciousness, the observer, observed the duality that was created. In that moment, it was as if a third thing was born. Consciousness, in turn, became aware of those three things and gave birth to a fourth. That process cascaded out into infinite multiplicity in a nanosecond. It is similar to holding two mirrors up in front of one another. Instantly, an infinite number of mirrors come into view.

So the Big Bang that gave birth to the entire universe is nothing more than the dynamic interaction of consciousness with itself. It has a structure of complete mathematical precision, profoundly complex, yet totally harmonious and seamlessly integrated within the dynamic of its own self-interaction.

Imagine visualizing this structure geometrically. It would appear similar to the image in a kaleidoscope, but multidimensional and far more complex. It's easy to imagine there are a myriad of identifiable patterns within this structure. Like that, different patterns can be identified within the structure of existence. Each pattern describes the structure of the universe in its own terms. Modern physics represent one example. The yin and yang theory, five element theory, and nine graha theory represent other examples. They are each representing a unique pattern which describes the structure of existence.

To give a sense of the depth and breadth of implications here, imagine we were to find a an old 33-1/3 RPM record in a time when we no longer had record players and had forgotten that records ever even existed. Scientists could analyze and document every etching on that piece of plastic. Formulas recording the size and shape of every scratch on the surface could be created. And the scientists could then conclude they had thoroughly determined the nature of that piece of plastic. However, when the record is played, it takes on a whole new meaning. The nature of existence embodies a similar tale. Finding one pattern that describes its nature, though of value, does not fully embrace its grandeur. Each identifiable pattern carries with it a unique expression, offering new insights and understanding. As Einstein said, you can describe a sunset in terms of pure physics, but if you do, it loses its meaning. Each identifiable pattern gives expression to some of the meaning, but no one pattern gives expression to the full depth and breadth of all possible meanings.

The implications of this new perspective on The Big Bang Theory are vast. The technologies available are without limits. Each identifiable pattern carries with it a unique technology. The key to many unopened doors is contained within this understanding, offering commonsense insights into many age-old questions including the meaning of life, the free will versus predetermination paradox, and the age-old quandary, "If there's a God, why does he allow people to suffer?"

Ignorance means to ignore. To rigidly adhere to one paradigm and ignore the others is a state of ignorance. Finding truth and meaning in a broad spectrum of paradigms is the portal to wisdom.

Words and intention have power.  Every one of us has the ability to bless each other.  This is generosity at its finest.  To bless, intend, wish well and want the best for each other can change the world. It also resonates with the Law of Attraction.

Each one of us has Divine power within.  We are all sparks from our Creator.  By aligning our will with the Universe we become co-creators of miracles in our lives and in the lives of others.  A Blessing is the act of one who blesses, and is anything promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being or prosperity.  At the heart of offering blessings to others is generosity.  Feeling generous can be challenging, especially if  things are not going well in our lives as we see it.  It is worth the inner work to get to the point where you feel the love in your heart and soul and offer blessings to others and as you give you shall receive.

Heart centered generosity produces miraculous results. The key is to unblock and unlock your heart center as you unleash this powerful force you will find yourself abundant and happy.

The Universe can’t be fooled. Sometimes we believe that we are being giving and generous. If we stop and examine our motives and cultivate awareness about our intentions, we may see “our gifts” in another light.

That is good news. It is very easy to fool ourselves or even lie to ourselves about the nature of our actions. There may be people in our lives that don’t respond to our generosity in kind. We may consider them to be ungrateful. I believe that the soul speaks— not the words or even actions. Intention is everything. The good news is that once you become aware of what you are putting out into the Universe, you will make better choices, and receive back abundantly.

There are several blocks to receiving blessings and ways to transform these blocks.

One block to receiving abundantly is "giving to get back."  The consciousness behind this is scarcity consciousness. Somewhere in our thinking we believe that we do not have enough and if we give to someone, we must get back to replace what we have given them. We may have a sort of checklist that says underneath: "You owe me." The problem with this thinking is that the receiver can feel this energetically on a subconscious level and feel resentment. With this feeling of resentment they will feel less inclined to give back. This can create a vicious cycle.

Another block can be giving out of obligation or guilt. There may be people in our lives that give to us endlessly. That is fine if they are giving from their heart center that is not expecting repayment. Often we may give out of obligation or guilt. We feel that we owe them. When we give back under these conditions we are not truly giving. We are feeling obligated. The Law of Attraction does not respond to giving out of obligation or guilt. If we have people in our lives that give a lot, we may be better off choosing to receive and let it be. If we choose to give, may it be because we choose to, out of love, not obligation.

When it comes to The Law of Attraction I have discovered three ways that resonate with the Universe  

1. The first is to give and let go:  True giving is something you can feel. It comes from a place of self care. It is pure in that your intention is to give without receiving anything back. This can take some inner work, to feel so filled in yourself that you don’t even need a thank you. Your intention is to give and let go. It is freeing.
   
   
2. The second way is to align your will with the Universe:  Think "how can I serve?" Allow people to be themselves. When you give with detachment while not taking anything personally, you are giving from your whole heart centered Self.
3. The third way to unlock blessings is to attract is to want more for others:  You realize that the Universe is truly so abundant that someone else having it all does not mean that you will not. There is more than enough love, prosperity and abundance in the Universe for everyone. When you want more for others, this is pure generosity.

True giving, blessing one another will create a vacuum, a space within which the Universe will pour in its gifts abundantly. That is not why we do it, it just happens naturally.

Often, the most difficult hurdle to overcome in a spiritual practice is the hurdle of beginning. For even though one has the best intentions to improve the quality of life and to deepen one's relationship with Spirit, it is in starting that a space must be made among many other competing priorities so that what did not exist before can be given room to grow and flourish.

The challenge of beginning lies in this: It must seem centrally important to the self to move in the direction of spiritual deepening and greater awareness in order to make the sacrifices needed to do so. While spirituality remains an area of interest or of curiosity, this degree of inner necessity may not be present. Reading about spiritual subjects or attending lectures or workshops may be sufficient. But when the longing grows to experience something more of a different way of living, to transform life, or to experience God and one's higher Self directly, then more than reading or learning on a mental level is needed. Then, actual 'on-the-job' training is called for.

This is what a spiritual practice does. It offers an invisible step-by-step program toward heightened awareness, greater peace, and a spiritually-based outlook on life. To integrate this awareness into everyday life, one must have daily contact with the source of this new experience. This contact occurs not through the mind, but through the body and its spiritual senses, and through the heart and its deeper intuition. One cannot 'think' one's way into a new life. One must have experiences in order to do this.

The sacrifice needed in order to begin a spiritual practice may be that of letting go of another activity or another use to which time has been put. Or, it may be that one sacrifices the comfort of ordinary conversation and time spent with others in order to pursue something more solitary whose rewards are yet to be seen. The willingness to engage in something whose outcome is unknown can be exciting, but it can also demand courage and commitment from the self and a willingness to say "no" to other demands that are also placed upon one's time.

Having determined to begin such a practice, the first step required is to:

Be simple. Do what you can do, and do not strive to do what seems impossible to do or very difficult to do. Later on more difficulty can be added.

For example, if it is not possible to set aside twenty minutes a day to sit in a meditative way, then set aside ten. Begin where you can begin, and determine to make your time a regular daily practice, for in this regularity lies the means for growth and improvement.

Secondly: Be creative. What is most important in establishing contact with the indwelling Spirit and with the spiritual around oneself is to be in a place that feels sacred - a place that communicates a sense of the higher realms and of the Invisible, not a place that is ordinary or filled with the vibrations of others.

Allow your creativity to find a way to define or locate a sacred space in which you can create an altar that will represent your commitment to your spiritual practice. This altar can be very simple. It can be constructed out of a wooden shelf, a small table, or anything that will hold a single candle that can be lit during one's practice. That is all. For the altar to resonate with a sacred vibration, however, it must not be used for anything else – neither to put other things on, nor as part of a different purpose, other than its sacred one.

Third: Be committed. Be willing to sit in front of your altar and breathe quietly with your hand over your heart center in the center of your chest, allowing your mind to let go of thoughts as best as it can. In beginning, there is no more needed than this: to sit, to breathe, to bring energy to your heart center, to try to empty your mind.

Regular practice of this very simple kind, whether for ten or twenty minutes a day, will begin to make an inroad into your body's knowledge of what is actually taking place. It will begin to open the lines of communication between your everyday physical self and your soul-self that exists as another layer of your being.

Seeking to join these two parts so that they become one is the purpose of a spiritual practice – a holy endeavor whose goal is that life be lived more fully and with greater sacredness within the framework of everyday reality, and that the perception of oneself shift from that of personal and biological history to the deeper knowing of oneself as a child of God.

Part 2 – Creating an Altar
An altar does not belong to any one religion or practice.  An altar is a place to which one comes in order to honor the sacred, by whatever name the sacred is perceived, and to deepen one's experience of the latter. 

The purpose of an altar is to act as a window to the Divine – to open the channels of communication to the world of Spirit by virtue of the purity of its intention and the use to which it is put. 

Altars can include objects that are perceived to be holy or sacred,  however, all that is really needed is a space containing a shelf, table, or other surface that is clear of everything else, and a candle which can be lit during the time one sits before it.  The candle may be thought of as a symbol of the light of God which is always present that one seeks to invoke through prayer, meditation, or attunement to the higher realms.  Yet, the candle is more than this.  It is also a direct descendant of the spiritual light that one seeks, for one manifestation is not separate from another.  The flame of the physical candle partakes of the flame of the Eternal.

Since the purpose and use of an altar is holy, its purpose is diminished if the space in which it resides is used for other activities as well, or if things that do not carry a sacred vibration are placed on it or near it.  In relation to spiritual attunement, the energy within and around things is singularly important.  This is because the experiences that come from the realm of Spirit are often subtle and can be covered over or missed entirely if there are other distracting energies present, or if the altar is not kept in a pure state. Often, some thought needs to be given to this requirement, since in many homes space is limited, and it may not be possible, at first, to find a unique corner in which to create a sanctified space.  In such instances, it may be possible to create a covered altar – one that is screened from view during the ordinary activities of the day, but that is taken out or opened up when one wants to sit in front of it.  The privacy and deliberateness of such a gesture can accompany the prayer of a sincere heart which seeks an experience of the sacred, and one's relationship with such an altar can be preserved by this intention.

One's heartfelt relationship with an altar is the single most powerful feature that gives to it its ability to act as a conduit for energies of light and holiness, and that makes of it the center of a sacred space.  This relationship is built out of several things:

• the regularity of a sitting practice which displays one's commitment to reach out to the Divine,
• the heart's emotional involvement with what is taking place,
• the sense of importance given to the altar-time and the willingness to let go of both past and future thoughts and activities. 

Since the feelings and longings of the heart carry a vibration of their own, these feelings, when activated by prayer or within a meditative silence, give to the altar an aura which remains during the time in between sittings as well.  This can be of great benefit to the rest of one's living space which then moves into a higher vibration.

In relation to spiritual life, the presence of a physical altar in the home is not a necessity but a very helpful support for maintaining a sacred consciousness and for being able to connect with Spirit throughout the day. Such support enables an easier transition into the realm of the sacred by creating a bridge to the higher realms which can operate in two directions: In one direction one crosses over it into the realm of the holy.  In the other direction, energy from the higher planes enters the physical realm to infuse all of life with its blessing.

As a window to the Divine, a sacred altar carries an energy of invitation that remains as a light and beacon that can be returned to over and over again.  With each return, the light becomes stronger, and the path of return is made easier.

Have you ever felt as though there were two opposing forces inside of you, each pulling in opposite directions? Below are Seven Keys to cultivating a stronger relationship to Spirit that leads to full self-expression, freedom, joy, peace, and fulfillment.

Spirit vs. Ego
Spirit simply loves life and people and is endlessly curious about exploring and experiencing the world. This energy force is alive and free, creative, expressive, abundant, and playful. This part of ourselves guides us calmly and adeptly through new and challenging experiences. Its guidance doesn't come from the “head's thinking”, IT is much more powerful, wise, clear, and knowing than the mind. Intuition, heart, inspiration, love, joy, and peace are associated with this energy. When we access IT, we feel warmth, serenity, centered, and connected to the world. Life flows. We're fulfilled, fully self-expressed, and every moment is a magic moment. When we live from Spirit we know all is well and life is a joy.

Ego is more practical, cautious, judgmental, and protective. It wants to look good to others or, at least, avoid looking bad. Ego likes to control, although pretends that it doesn't. It views the world as a potentially harmful place, fears being hurt and exposed, and thus remains separate, isolated, and closed from others. It blames, criticizes, compares, and makes excuses. “Should“ is one of its favorite words. Ego energy looks for answers from its mind -- although it often confuses reality with something made-up. It is self-righteousness and holds a “better than attitude,” protecting the insecurity that lies just beneath the surface. Living isolated within the confines of the body, ego mostly just wants safety and independence.

Spirit is the life force energy about experiencing, creating, expressing, and connecting in this world; Ego is a bodyguard or tour guide. Its job is to keep the physical body safe and guide spirit through the journey of life. However, it often oversteps its duties and responsibilities.

Most people don't realize the nature of these two individual forces and continue to struggle between the two energies. Sometimes it feels like we have split personalities but rest assured, this is part of the human design. The Ego is much more forceful when it comes to being in control and thus plays a more dominant role in our lives -- often suppressing our true self. For many people, Spirit shows up sporadically when we let go of our thinking minds, spend time in nature, engage in something creative, meditate, or seek assistance. Have you noticed as soon as you surrender solutions appeared? When you become more conscious about the nature of these forces, you can learn to access this all-knowing, wise, and powerful force more consistently. The result is a life with more peace, joy, love, abundance, and creative flow, and less stress, scarcity, and fear.

Both Spirit and Ego are always there to access. And as human beings, we need both to exist.

Distinguishing Ego from Spirit
Since the Ego can be sneaky in its expression, it's important to recognize its nature. I've included a list below of Ego characteristics and its Spirit counterpart.  Separation is the common theme to each word set below. The Ego strives to keep you separate from the world, separate in relationships, and separate from your Spirit and its full self-expression, joy, and inner peace. It does this through resistance, restriction, blame, self-righteousness, and fear. The Ego also expresses itself as neediness, which is a form of separating from self (from your power) -- believing that to be complete you need something “over there.”

• Separation vs. Connection                
• Mind vs. Heart
• Victim vs. Taking Responsibility
• Excuses vs. Results
• Shoulds vs. Inspiration
• Resistance vs. Acceptance
• Restricted vs. Freedom
• Confusion vs. Clarity
• Suppressed vs. Fully Self-Expressed
• Worry vs. Anticipation
• Stuck vs. Creativity
• Stressed vs. Peace
• Frustrated vs. Resourceful
• Protection vs. Vulnerable
• Fear vs. Love
• Laziness vs. Nurturing
• Doubt vs. Trust
• Scarcity vs. Abundance
• Shut-down vs. Open
• Shame vs. Acceptance
• Apprehension vs. Courageous
• Struggle vs. Flow

Take the first word in each pair. Perhaps you already recognize how familiar they are to you -- as it is for most human beings. Imagine living your life predominantly from separation, shoulds, confusion, restriction, resistance. How would that feel?

Get Present
When we're truly in the present moment, we have great access to Spirit. When we're focused on the past, feelings of regret, pain, and turmoil can overtake us, cutting us off from Spirit. When we're focused on the future, we often get distracted in feelings of worry, hope, and fear. Starving our energies from creating now. It is in the present moment where we find peace, joy, and connection to Spirit.

Choose High Vibrations
Consciously choosing peace, joy, love, appreciation, and generosity strengthens connection to Spirit and deflates the Ego. Anyone who teaches about manifesting abundance always emphasizes the focus on higher vibration feeling states. Like attracts like. Power vs. Force quantifies energetic qualities on a scale of 1 to 1000 and outlines ways to raise your energetic vibration through movement and exercise, drinking water, practicing random acts of kindness, meditation, laughing, and contributing to others.

Take Responsibility through Conscious Choices
Your Ego likes to play victim and lead you to believe that you're not powerful or have a choice. No matter what the circumstance, there is always a powerful, responsible choice available. What do you need to ask for? What do you need to let go of? Whose help could you request? What's the next step you could take? What is your ultimate outcome? When you take responsible action, you are responding to Spirit. Don't be a victim, make a conscious new choice.

Radically Reduce Thought
For most people, this is a tough one. Our human Ego-dominated minds like to run non-stop. Are you doing the thinking, or is Ego thinking you? Even the most intelligent minds must ultimately learn to break free of thought and find stillness because this is where true freedom lies. It is only in the stillness of the mind where our connection to Spirit comes alive.


Humility
Ego is about being right, criticizing, and judging. Stepping into humility is the fastest way to release the Ego's grip. Admitting critical, judging, or self-righteous behavior is liberating. Stepping into not knowing is more powerful than being right.

Listen to Spirit
How do you tell the difference between the Spirit voice and the Ego voice? The Ego voice is almost always associated with feelings of angst, resistance, doubt, fear, questioning, guilt, and confusion. Spirit's voice is clear, wise, knowing, precise, and brings peace; it more often serves your Greater Good.


Soulful Challenge:
One of my favorite practices is to just act on Spirit's voice. Throughout the day, consciously listen for Spirit to guide your decisions. Clear your head, ask for guidance, and listen. Then act before your Ego can jump in and start analyzing Spirit's request. Just trust and go with it. If Spirit doesn't respond immediately with direction, just wait, an answer will show up. Often it doesn't make sense in the moment, but then becomes clear later. Try this for one week. The gifts are incredible.

Commit to the Process
To cultivate a deeper relationship to Spirit and radically reduce the control of Ego in your life is a process. You'll notice yourself getting stuck, being fearful, resisting life, and blaming others. But, as you deepen your commitment to the process, you will find you're able to recognize the destructive and unconscious patterns in your life more quickly and make responsible, conscious choices leading to empowering action.

What am I thinking?

Are you enjoying life to the fullest? Are you realizing your potential? Before you can answer this question, you have to know what I mean by realize, or live up to, your potential. To live up to your potential is to be inspired by your own accomplishments, to take delight in every decision you make, and to live with exuberance and joy.

Moreover, it is to do this despite any chaos that may be swirling around you, despite any hurdles thrown your way, and despite any irritants and pain that may be forced upon you. No, let me reword that. It is to find life exhilarating not in spite of any difficulties you may face, but BECAUSE of them. For they provide the opportunity to express courage, acceptance, patience, perseverance, determination, and strength.

It is your problems that allow you to prove to yourself and the world that you are powerful. After all, they provide you with the chance to experience victory. Victory over your own thoughts. For it is your thoughts and their accompanying feelings that lead to your actions. The unfoldment of your life is nothing more than the consequences of your earlier actions.

For example, if every time I steal, I'm thrown in jail, and I don't like to be in jail, the solution is simple: I need to stop stealing! The next time I'm tempted to steal, the next time I think about stealing, I need to stop and W.A.I.T. That is, I need to stop and ask myself, "What Am I Thinking?" For if I don't like what I'm experiencing, all I have to do is change my thoughts, which change their resultant feelings, actions, and consequences. Here's what Catherine Ponder has to say on the subject: "Thoughts of your mind have made you what you are and thoughts of your mind will make you what you become from this day forward."

When we stop and W.A.I.T., when we stop and think before we act, we are both experiencing and controlling life. But when we act without thinking, we become automatons, robots, muddling through life, unaware of our destructive actions and bewildered by their painful consequences. Isn't it time we discovered the enemy is not 'out there,' but within? The enemy is in our head; it is our thoughts, our limiting beliefs, our negative interpretation of events, and our false conclusions.

Whenever we feel unpleasant, we need to stop and W.A.I.T. Discomfort and pain are signals that we're doing something wrong. When listened to, we can change course and regain a firm footing on the right path. Sometimes the change we have to make before we can move on is not a change in the situation, but a change in our thinking, a change in our perspective. After all, many times we are better off accepting discomfort than avoiding it. Ironically, the more accepting of unpleasantness we become, the more pleasant life becomes. Conversely, the more we resist unpleasantness, the more unpleasant life becomes.

So, it makes sense to learn to live with discomfort, for the higher our threshold of pain, the greater the likelihood that we can remain happy under all circumstances. On the other hand, those who get upset at the slightest irritant, find it impossible to enjoy life. Here is a little story of a monk who did not let pain get in the way of his purpose and the enjoyment of life.

Two monks were washing their rice bowls in a stream when one noticed a scorpion had slipped off a leaf and was now drowning. The monk reached out, plucked the scorpion from the stream, and gently placed it on the bank. While doing so, he was stung. Moments later, the scorpion fell back into the stream. Once again the monk rescued it, only to be stung again.

"Master, what are you doing?" asked the junior monk. "Don't you realize that it is the nature of scorpions to sting?"

"Ah," replied the master, "and it is my nature to help those in need, even if it causes me pain."

Here is another story to illustrate today's lesson, which is to stop and W.A.I.T. before acting.

A group of young mothers were chatting in the park. A man that was strolling with a baby carriage, left the path and sat down on a bench nearby. After awhile, his baby started crying. The man got up, picked up the baby, and could be heard gently saying, "It's okay Charlie, everything will be okay. Calm down, Charlie, everything is fine." After a short time, the baby stopped crying and was placed back into the carriage.

The women marveled at the man's patience. So, when the baby started to cry again, one of the women walked over to the baby carriage, and while tenderly patting the baby said, "It's okay, Charlie, everything will be okay."

The man than said, "That's not Charlie. His name is Tommy. I'm Charlie."

Here is a third story to remind us of our unlimited potential and the power of thought.

In medieval Japan, a mighty general had a final battle to wage. His troops were greatly outnumbered by the enemy that waited less than a mile away. Yet, the general believed that his and his followers' superior fighting spirit would lead them to victory.

When they came to a shrine, the general stopped to pay homage. Then, facing his troops outside, he reached into his garments, pulled out a coin, and held it high. "This coin will forecast our destiny," he shouted. "I will flip this coin. If it is heads, we will be victorious. If it is tails, we will be defeated. Yet, heads or tails, we shall proceed to battle and fight valiantly. Do all agree?"

"Yes!" roared his band of followers.

"Well, then," the general yelled, "I flip the coin and seal our fate!"

There was a great silence as the coin soared high into the air, glittering in the sunlight. After what seemed like many seconds, the coin finally landed in the gravel with a soft clink. Everyone circled the coin, and as the small cloud of dust cleared, they saw it was heads!

There was a great uproar as they all eagerly charged into battle and easily defeated the enemy.

After the battle, a lieutenant whispered to the general, "No one can change destiny."

"How right you are." the general said, showing the lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.

You see, destiny is not something that happens to us, but something we create. We carry a coin with us. The coin most people carry has heads (positive thinking) on one side and tails (negative thinking) on the other side. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can choose to carry a double-headed coin. We can choose to always look at the bright side. But some are so blinded by the light they cannot see it. Yet, if we always look for the good and live with the premise that all people are decent, we will win every battle.

Don't let the behavior of others annoy you, for half the time it is caused by their personal problems and weaknesses and the other half it is caused by your misperceptions. Consequently, people are worthy of our compassion, not our anger. When you allow yourself to become upset over someone, you rob them of their dignity and rob yourself of peace of mind and happiness.

Finally, keep this in mind, if we have to struggle through life, why struggle and lose? Why not struggle and win? Whether we choose victory or defeat, the price is the same!