They come in all different shapes and sizes. Some have been here longer than four score and seven years; others are newbies, barely out of their mothers' wombs. Like the cavalry riding to the rescue of a beleaguered fort, they arrive at our darkest hour from the faraway places they used to call home.

They have many names: Starseeds, because the distance between their home and the Earth is often measured in thousands of light years; Wanderers, because they have crossed boundaries of consciousness to get here; and simply Planetary Servers. Yet the most widely used term for these exquisite beings is Lightworker, signifying their task of helping humankind to lift itself out of the darkness of its own making.

Whatever they choose to call themselves is of little importance. What they do here is vital. These are the beautiful souls, the highly evolved beings, who have lovingly taken human form to be of service as this planet transitions into the next octave of creation. They have come from other dimensions and from distant places in this and other galaxies to work, play, and live among us as fellow humans.

Lightworkers are located all over the planet and number in the tens of millions. Yet most of them remain unaware of who they actually are or why they're here - so thorough is the memory-blocking effect of the Veil of Forgetting, the energetic filter one must pass through to take human form. Many of them are living dual lives - partly in the mainstream of society, partly on its fringes. They frequent new age expos; they attend and often lead workshops; they meditate, pray for peace, and forward emails with poignant messages of love, gratitude, forgiveness, and hope. Above all, they have a gnawing feeling that they've come to serve, that something major is happening and they have some part to play in it.

They may even wonder each day if they are one of the Lightworkers and, if so, what a Lightworker is supposed to do. The handiest answer is a new twist on a popular new age commandment: "think cosmically, act locally." Mother Teresa may have said it best. When she was asked, upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, what we can do to promote world peace, her response was clear and unequivocal: "Go home and love your family."

What extraordinary wisdom, a perfect acknowledgment of the holographic oneness of creation - "as above, so below." Whatever takes place in one portion of the creation reverberates throughout its whole. Psychologists confirm that children mimic the actions of their parents and others in their immediate surroundings. Those enveloped by love ultimately return it a thousandfold to those they encounter throughout their lives. People touched by that love pass it on to others, causing this energy of light to ripple out to all humankind and from there to our solar system and the galaxy, eventually reflecting back to the All That Is.

Being a Lightworker is not about carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders - there are too many instances of well-intentioned beings stumbling badly while trying to affect great global changes because they haven't yet put their own lives in order. Rather, it's about making a difference on the small scale, where one has some direct influence. As Benjamin Franklin so aptly put it, "Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves."

Defining Lightwork is easy. In energetic terms, every interaction has three possible outcomes: (1) you can bring positive, supportive, affirming energy and leave the situation more buoyant and lighter, opening the door to infinite possibilities; (2) you can emit negative, argumentative, judgmental energy and leave the situation heavier and darker, thereby closing off creative options; or (3) you can be totally neutral, like a hidden video camera, and have absolutely no effect on the situation whatsoever.

Here is a simple exercise that will not only change your life, it will trigger a cascading effect that begins transforming all those you encounter and, through them, help shift the consciousness of humanity. Whether you are interacting with others or with yourself, be keenly aware of the flow of energy. Is the net effect of the interaction positive, negative, or neutral?

Let's say you are waiting in a supermarket checkout line behind an overweight lady with two chubby children in tow. She's slowly unloading a grocery cart overflowing with starchy desserts, cases of cola and beer, ice cream, chips, and a host of other foods that would make any naturopath grimace in pain. What are your thoughts as you watch her?

Just as her final item is scanned and she is getting ready to pay, she suddenly remembers her coupons - which happen to be dispersed randomly throughout her voluminous handbag. She presents them to the clerk one by one, hoping they match some of her items. Minutes pass like molasses. What thoughts are now running though your mind? What if you actually voiced those thoughts as they arose? What effect might they have on the woman and everyone else in this scene?

Now consider the fact that a thought has almost as much power as a spoken word. Though they are rarely perceived consciously, thoughts are received subconsciously, bombarding the recipient's psyche with their energy. These energies not only directly affect everyone within range but, through them, ultimately impact the entire universe. Knowing you have the free will to choose: will you send out positive, negative, or neutral thoughts?

If the lady in the checkout line evoked judgmental, unkind thoughts from you, consider how she probably prompts similar thoughts from others on a regular basis - how over her lifetime she has triggered perhaps thousands of such thoughts from family members, acquaintances, and strangers. She may unwittingly be leaving a trail of poisonous negative energies in her wake that ripple into the lives of everyone she touches - an anonymous Typhoid Mary adding a tiny increment to the many degrees of separation that keep us from loving one another. Now that you are aware of this mechanism, and if you were a Lightworker, what might you do with your own thoughts to help shift the old pattern?

Every moment of your life is simply another version of the supermarket checkout aisle scene. As a human being, you are inherently empowered to determine the energies of your thoughts: positive, negative, or neutral. As a Lightworker, you fully appreciate the consequences of each decision and the effect it will have on this planet. What will you choose?

Copyright © 2007 Jean-Claude Koven / All Rights Reserved.
Jean-Claude Koven is a writer and speaker based in Rancho Mirage, CA. He is a featured weekly columnist for the UPI (United Press International) Religion and Spirituality Forum and the author of 'Going Deeper: How to Make Sense of Your Life When Your Life Makes No Sense,' recipient of both the Allbooks Reviews editor's choice award and the USABookNews.com award for the best metaphysical book of the year. For more information, please visit Going Deeper.org.

Daring to be Yourself The aim of the new book, Daring to be Yourself by Peter Shepherd, is to help you achieve a 'wide-awake' state of consciousness, with integrated use of left and right brain abilities, forming the bedrock for breakthroughs in personal consciousness and spiritual insight. The practice is based on the premise that we have learned disabilities that set boundaries to our action and knowing. But no one need accept that they must remain as they were shaped by their hereditary body-mind and by the conditioning of their childhood and culture. This 264-page, $8.95 digital eBook is like a "best of" the Trans4mind site, all brought together for your convenience. But much more than that, it's also an incredibly powerful program for personal growth. Remove the barriers to self-knowledge and reveal your full potential with this step-by-step approach... Daring to be Yourself Our Blog features excerpts from the book plus current news, views and links. "I realize many people use praise in ways that sound frivolous...but I must tell you that your book has changed my life AND I mean that in all ways. I found the entire work wonderfully upbeat, readable and valuable! It really was quite a wakeup call. In the midst of my "trials and tribulations" I had failed to be "me." Anyway, this "talk with you" really did change my life. Thank you! I needed this kind of "kick in the pants." It worked. WOW! You made a huge difference in my world."–Becky, USA A digital copy of Daring to be Yourself is included with purchase of the Start a New Life! home-study course - which is effectively the practical "workbook" that accompanies the book by Peter Shepherd. Working through this course enables you to dare to be yourself and design a brand new life. Expressing your true needs, wants and feelings, you can start to live your life's purpose! After you have purchased the course, Peter Shepherd is available whenever you wish by email, to guide you every step of the way from where you are now, until you are established in a brand new life - the life that you have designed... Start a New Life!