Profound insights summed up in a few words... truth is simple yet profound, and I have always loved collecting the most helpful quotes that I can find, from books I've read, films and of course the classic quotes. My favorite of all is by little known Khurshed Batliwala and its truth is exhilarating:

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The essential truth that will set you free is... well, that's for each of us to realize, through inner knowing. It's heart-felt; to read the same thing in words sounds simplistic and makes little difference.

Accompanying article: Discover Infinite Possibilities In The Zero Point Field ~ by Victor Da Ponte
We are innately connected to our own pool of infinite possibilities. We can decide what we want to download from this infinite realm of realities, thereby deciding our own "fate" and life course. A large part of realizing this amazing new connection consists of first clearing your false beliefs about hardship, unnecessary sacrifice and poverty.

We might like to believe myths (widely accepted untruths) - then we can conform and share - but that doesn't mean they're true.

Accompanying article: A Formula For Trusting Your Intuition ~ by Judith Orloff
Now I want you to start listening. Really listening. I guarantee you'll start making smarter choices. Why? You'll be operating from a spot inside that's juicy, core-felt, authentic -- not from an impulse to conform or disown your strength. You won't be seduced by what may look good, but betrays your gut. Intuition is a truth detector.

Removing the cobwebs is easier said than done, of course. So much invested in those old beliefs.

Accompanying article: The Fear of Being Duped ~ by Dr. Margaret Paul
I have found in my work with clients that the fear of being duped or taken advantage of is often in the way of being loving to themselves and others. They are so afraid of being taken advantage of that they close their heart, keeping their walls up to protect themselves from the possibility of being duped.

Realizing a truth that before was obscured can really open the floodgates to change, which is why the establishment status quo goes to such lengths to cover up the truth of things, to protect their investments.

Accompanying article: Thinking Makes It So ~ by Philip E. Humbert, PhD
There is great wisdom in the idea that "we become what we think about most of the time." The human brain is a goal- seeking, problem-solving machine, and the things we think about, focus on, and worry about inevitably shape our destiny. We all know this, and yet most of us completely fail to see (or seize) the opportunity.

The truth is what actually is, end of story. That can be perceived a million ways, through all kinds of filters and from different angles, but it remains as it is.

Accompanying article: Are You Using Meditation to Escape From Life? ~ By Craig Hamilton
Meditation empowers you to face truth and reality without hiding. Practiced properly, meditation will leave you able to relinquish unhealthy attachment and grasping, yet not lose the engagement that makes you productive, creative and generative.

Kindness - compassion - is soul to soul, so it's telepathic.

Accompanying article: Humiliation: No Way to Teach ~ by Linda Sapadin
Some people humiliate, thinking they are being kind. But they couldn't be more misguided. If you've been exposed to the debilitating effects of humiliation, it's time to rectify the damage that has been done. Here's what you must do...

When someone won't listen or refuses to see your point of view, or just doesn't care, then you can get angry... or you can recognize their right to be themselves and let it go. One way, you suffer, the other way you remain your mindful self. Real-life meditation.

Accompanying article: Meditate Your Way Through Anger ~ by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Meditation not only invites us to witness anger, but also to get to know and make friends with ourselves. It gives us a midpoint between expressing anger and repressing it, a place where we can be aware of our feelings and not be swept away by them. Meditation is not going to make all our challenges go away but it does enable us to rest in an inclusive acceptance of who we are.

Plus: How To Transform Anger Into Creativity ~ by Pragito Dove
Filling your mind with gibberish is a better route to go than anger, and as you'll see, it's even an effective kind of meditation!

The purpose of education should be to encourage curiosity and creativity, not to destroy them, turning the victim into a slave of passive entertainment. Those in this state need to find their passion and start taking action, to take responsibiity and make a difference.

Accompanying article: How to Cure Boredom Forever ~ by Ken Wert
Fill your life with meaning and purpose, with service and adventure, with introspection and creativity, with spontaneity and adaptability, appreciation, curiosity and action, and life will hardly slow down long enough to feel bored ever again.

Attachment to an outcome that just isn't happening, maybe can't possibly happen, is very stressful. That can lead you through the chain of emotional states, though anger, fear and grief, to apathy where you just give up. The alternative is acceptance, where you play and enjoy the game, so to speak, but are not painfully attached to the outcome.

Accompanying article: 10 Ways To Snap Out Of Apathy ~ by Barrie Davenport
Apathy fosters secondary emotions like shame, guilt, self-loathing, and low self-esteem. And that creates the slippery slide toward depression. So while you still have your wits about you, focus your remaining energy like a laser on snapping out of apathy. Here are some suggestions...

In releasing we learn to accept emotions, to experience them (in place of suppressing) and to realize they are our creation. Then when it is appropriate, we can let them go. This is quite different from identifying with emotions and embracing them, feeling "I am angry" integral with the ego. There's no mindfulness in that and it is far from awareness of our true self, that is always loving.

Accompanying article: If ~ by Edwin Harkness Spina
The Bhagavad Gita is a classic Hindu scripture, considered to be the distillation of the Veda's ancient wisdom. Noted Indian historian, Khushwant Singh, recently referred to Kipling's poem as "the essence of the message of The Gita in English." Let this poem inspire you to eschew identifying with the temporal emotions that come and go, and instead, EMBRACE your true self.

We're so influenced by the cultural trance and conforming to expectations of others, and tied to our own safe solutions and fixed ideas, and suppressing of true feelings that conflict, so that contacting life directly with our soul becomes rare. But we can change that.

Accompanying article: The Method to Immortality ~ by Raymond Phelan
Awaken within to one's eternal cosmic nature – to your own inner Christ, your higher self; to "present moment awareness" leading to your inner "sermon on the mount" divine revelation status; thereby fulfilling man's destiny of made in the image and likeness of God; that is, to know – in consciousness – the innately present transcendent within you; thereby expressing His pure love and understanding daily in your life.

Accept what is or do something about it. But worry is a huge waste of emotional energy and usually empowered by thought distortions such as intolerance, exaggeration, generalizing, pessimism, and so on.

Accompanying article: Mind Transformation ~ by Raymond Phelan
Health-wise the mind-body state is a reflection of the nature of your habitual thought stream. The body is the physical expression of your silent thinking – the sum ingredients of your mental diet. Toxic thought patterns are similar to mental fat. Thus, toxic, negative thought patterns become like meals of regurgitated lard: leftovers of unattended thought cooking, the thought sludge which you could be digesting over and over in your life. How tasty is your meal?

Karma, not such a threatening thing after all, instead an opportunity.

Accompanying article: May 1st - Global Love Day
We are one humanity on this planet. All life is interconnected and interdependent. All share in the Universal bond of love. Be a part of it. Spread the word. Share the love.

There's no point banging your head against a wall. What you resist persists even more, so if you don't want to suffer, accept what is as it is. Or you have another choice... if you can see a way then take responsibility for making it better, the best you can. That's not complaining about it but doing something constructive. Life gets better this way, and simpler.

Accompanying article: Examining Your Habits ~ by Raymond Phelan
Merely plodding along on the daily conveyer belt of societal or peer expectation in a blind, haphazard, robotic-like manner is an abdication of personal responsibility and consciousness development through undisciplined behaviour. Abdication is when peace, harmony, and love, through natural means, are not being sought and established in your daily life.

If you are true to yourself then your integrity is guided by love, and everybody benefits from that higher consciousness, it's win-win all around.

Accompanying article: Preface to Transforming Your Life ~ by Raymond Phelan
The book sets out to show how to achieve without struggle, the spiritual full mind capacity for a more noble and fulfilling life. It aims at helping you first identify your own particular life situation and how your state of mind – the causes of suffering – came about in the first place and how to permanently eliminate this subconscious conditioning from your mind. It sets out all you need to understand and put into practice so you can achieve abundance in whichever field you choose to express abundance.

The very best way to bring good things into your life is to be grateful for the abundance that you already have. See the exercise at Love is All You Need.

Accompanying article: Adopting a Childlike View of the World ~ by Tomas Tapia
Have you ever thought about how much easier things seemed when you were a child? Logically, that doesn't make sense! After all, children have fewer skills, freedom and choices than adults have. Yet in an intuitive sense, it totally makes sense. Children have a wonder about their world and willingness to be aware of all that is around them.

For a vision or dream to be inspiring and energizing, it needs to be what we really want. Not something designed to please others or to fulfill their expectations. The incredible thing here is that what we actually want, what is true to our highest aspirations, what is an expression of the true nature of our consciousness, is always an expression of unconditional love.

Accompanying article: Which Is It for You: To Be or to Become? ~ by Joyce Shafer
If you aren't clear about and dedicated to your "Why," that is, why YOU (no one else) want to become something, you can't get there from here. You'll start and stop, stall out, and may give up altogether. Maybe it really isn't your Why, after all, which might explain your lack of enthusiasm and dedication.

Attachment in this sense is not being able to be happy without something. "I can't live without you." It's a negative, possessive energy. Positive, loving feelings attract what you want. Telepathic influences on others and their resulting actions cause events to occur and things to appear as if by magic or synchronicity. But it's not really magic, it's cause and effect. Spirit works on matter through mind and actions. Real action needs to be taken to manifest real things.

Accompanying article: How to Become a Manifesting Master ~ by Jafree Ozwald
Manifesting is the science of attracting what you want into your life with effortless ease and joy. Based on the law of attraction which states "like attracts like," and through the power of placing your attention on your intention, you can learn how to effortlessly receive anything you can imagine.

A crystal clear vision inspires and energizes the path of least resistance to your goal. Your current abilities and having are irrelevant to you being able to start creating; that's where you're going and you now - with that empowering vision - have the energy to work through any barriers, and acquire any necessary skills and resources along the way.

Accompanying article: When Will Enough Ever Be Enough? ~ by Joyce Shafer
Any form of not-enough thinking usually puts us into a scarcity mindset. And this bumps right into Law of Attraction's "like attracts like." This mindset invites all manner of "like" into our lives: more fearful scarcity thoughts that feel as though they're actually happening in that very moment (because our body doesn't know they aren't), more scarcity experiences, more of the very things we don't want more of, and especially, don't want to feel.

The Law of Attraction, "like attracts like," is the principle of spiritual connection. You envision the reality you want to create, as if it is in the now... this process gives the feeling that what you want is achieveable, desirable. You feel abundant, and like attracts like. Naturally you participate in the creation and others support you. Synchronicities occur. That's creating from the spark of God that you are.

Accompanying article: The Gift of a Brick ~ by Ton Pascal
God didn't promise us days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

To accept that we still have things to learn and to do - and to wonder what those things are - is the foundation of personal growth.

Accompanying article: It's Not About You: Tips on Widening Your Perspective ~ by Zoe Weil
If you're someone who feels you lack confidence or could use more, or know someone who feels this way, notice that when doing something interesting, engaging, or relaxing, confidence isn't a concern. So when is it an issue? Any time there's concern about what others will think about you.

Walking connects you with your body and with the present time environment; it shifts gears toward the right brain and its intuitive connection with inner knowing.

Accompanying article: Be Your Own Authority - by Owen K Waters
If you're someone who feels you lack confidence or could use more, or know someone who feels this way, notice that when doing something interesting, engaging, or relaxing, confidence isn't a concern. So when is it an issue? Any time there's concern about what others will think about you.

Genuinely be happy to meet others and they will likely fall into step and be as happy to meet you.

Accompanying article: What Confidence Is and Is Not - by Joyce Shafer
Within you is all the insight you ever need to reach wise decisions about every challenge that you ever face. No one on the planet knows more than you about your needs, your situation and your potential to find joy in all of the aspects of your life.

Questions have many answers for one thing, and they remain a question provoking you to open your mind until at last you perceive the truth. So keep asking and listen to your inner knowing above all. You know it's getting near the truth when it starts to align with love. Even when it does it has the big question mark that is the wonder of God.

Accompanying article: Vibrant Love ~ by Harold W. Becker
Have you ever stopped long enough to question your reality or that of the world around you? Think for a moment: is what you are experiencing real or just a limited view of a much larger picture? How do you act and react to daily situations? What limiting thoughts or negative emotions do you carry that create the difficulties you experience each day? How many times do you listen within to your own thoughts and feelings about life rather than reacting or responding to outer suggestions and conditions?

Further article: Bringing Meaning to Life ~ by John T. Goltz
For eons, people have asked themselves the question "what is the meaning of life?" For me, the simplest answer is "unconditional love." But what does that really mean and how does that help in day-to-day existence? How can we apply that understanding to our present state of living on this planet?

Facts are static when viewed alone; they come to life when aligned with a vision, creating new possibilities.

Accompanying article: The Secret to Igniting your Ultimate Creative Capacity ~ by Jafree Ozwald
Success is not about luck or lucky genes; it's about learning appropriate skills, then using them to create the life you truly want. I've often written that a great life is actually easier than living a complicated, confusing or mediocre life, and I'm convinced it's true. Keep it simple. Keep it focused. Play by the rules and learn to win the game of life.

Playing safe is not to play the game of life at all. And not to stretch the mind at all is to allow it to decay.

Accompanying article: The Four Engines of Life-Long Success ~ by Philip Humbert
Most people believe that there are only a few gifted creative individuals born in this world, while the rest of us unlucky folks tend not to be so creatively endowed. The truth I've found is much more empowering and radical. I've discovered a technique that that enables a person to access a limitless resource of creative juice that will fuel them forever, helping them to access the power they need to manifest anything their heart desires.

The two essential qualities of conscious evolution.

Accompanying article: Seven Ways to Accelerate Your Evolution ~ by Craig Hamilton
It's no secret that the ego is a major obstacle for any of us who are attempting to live a conscious, awakened life, because the human interior hasn't caught up with the complexities and opportunities of modern life. Although humankind has evolved in many remarkable ways, we remain driven by ancient, outmoded software driving impulses that long ago ceased to be appropriate or necessary.

Same the other way around too. But strong also means a generous listener, not a big ego.

Accompanying article: Are You Too Nice? ~ by Joyce Shafer
Being nice can be relaxing, as long as it's genuine, that is. False niceness isn't nice at all, nor does it feel good the way genuine niceness does. It's better to go for politeness based on empathy than false niceness. Genuine empathy and false niceness are both energies that will be picked up on by the recipient. The first one creates connection; the second one does not and cannot, and may, in fact, create more conflict.

Fortunately some people don't turn their backs to others in need, as they have enough compassion to overcome that barrier. It's equally important that we take responsibility for our own health and start to implement changes in our habits that need to be made; time will catch up with us if we take the path of denial.

Accompanying article: Get Real About What You Can Actually Expect of Yourself ~ by Stephanie Marston
The truth is, you have to come first, at least some of the time. I know this probably makes you uncomfortable since it goes against everything you've been taught. Yet, the reality is that it's only to the extent that you love and care for yourself that you're truly able to love and care for others.

Preceded by communication and followed by understanding, resulting in compassion. Caring about others is the basis of social behavior. It's of mutual benefit and in my opinion should be the number one quality fostered by education. Certainly reading the best novels offers insight into others' minds, far more so than films and TV.

Accompanying article: We're All Doing The Best We Can... ~ by Mike Robbins
When I remember that we're all doing the best we can given whatever tools and resources we have, and the circumstances and situations we're experiencing, it usually calms me down and creates a sense of empathy and compassion for the people I'm dealing with and for myself.

It's never too late... to create your masterpiece, to join in love, to invent the unimagined, to explore and discover, to express your true self.

Accompanying article: Destiny is Variable ~ by Owen K Waters
Destiny is an influence that comes from your inner plan. There is nothing absolute about your destiny. It's a pressure which constantly seeks the best route to unfold into manifestation.

Step outside of your safe space and you tend to be a bit lost, but that's where the action is. It's all down to you, what you make of the opportunity, which direction you choose to go. Enjoy exploring and learning; then there will be no room for fears to enter your new space. See which new possibilities excite you the most and remember, always act from love and you can't go wrong.

Accompanying article: Seven Steps to your first Out-Of-Body Experience ~ by D. Scott Rogo
Out of body experience is something that everyone should experience at least once. The experience is unlike anything else. But, even individuals who have been meditating for years find it difficult to achieve this state. Here is how it's done...

Splitting everything into two's... love/hate, beautiful/ugly, good/bad, etc. is an aspect of left-brain analysis - the judging ego. But it's in quite the opposite direction to the spiritual tendency to accept without conditions - the loving compassion that recognizes oneness. Oneness and separation also make a whole; neither are therefore 'good' or bad' as such, they are part of the human condition that we incarnate to experience.

Accompanying article: Enrich your Life with a Daily Spiritual Experience ~ by Jafree Ozwald
A wonderful thing happens when you make the decision to step into a more spiritual way of experiencing your life. It's as if a brilliant light starts shining into your future and guides you forward through each day.

Hate, anger and resentment are heavy walls we erect, which destroy our peace of mind and limit our reach. Love has no such liabilities; it is empowering and liberating.

Accompanying article: When To Let Go ~ by Deepak Chopra
The crucial times to let go are when you feel the strongest urge not to. We all hold on tightest when our fear, anger, pride, and distrust take over. Yet these forces have no spiritual validity.

It's rare to be fully awake, mindful and conscious through all the peaks and troughs of life, but meditation can help to develop that capacity.

Accompanying article: Why We Don't Change and How We Can ~ by Craig Hamilton
Why is it that so few of us get the results our spiritual practices are designed to deliver? I would like to suggest that the supreme and lofty goal of profound, life-transforming spiritual liberation is not only possible in this lifetime, but is in fact well within reach for anyone of reasonably sound mind and stable character. But the reason it is not happening for the vast majority of those who are seeking it is that...

Then we see they are perfect just as they are; like a flower, each one unique and special. Who would want such a person to be other than they are?

Accompanying article: What's in Your Heart? ~ by Rick Hanson
Sometimes people worry that being loving will make them vulnerable or drained. But actually, you can see in your own experience that love itself doesn't do this: it protects and nurtures you when you give it. While you're loving, don't you feel uplifted and stronger?

Life takes place right now, the only moment that truly exists, outside of memories and expectations. "There's no time like now," because creation happens in the Now.

Accompanying article: How to Be Outrageously Happy ~ by Jafree Ozwald
The more present you can be in whatever action you're doing, the more you'll be absorbed by the NOW moment. When this happens you instantly access your true divine nature, your real authentic self, where you stop worrying about the past or future completely.

If we follow a path too single-mindedly, we can fail to see if it's leading the wrong way. Be determined but always retain an open mind; there may be a better way to arrive at your goal.

Accompanying article: Two Sides To Every Story ~ by Linda Sapadin
Of course you're smart enough to know that there are two sides to every story. But is that what you're focused on when you're in the midst of a heated argument? I doubt it!

In play, the barriers come down. Emotions are raw and unfiltered, the real person comes through. A bit like when you wake someone up; how do they respond before they have had time to put on their social mask.

Accompanying article: Are You Controlling? (Quiz) ~ by Deepak Chopra
How much resistance are you in now? Our psychological defenses are extremely good at hiding this from us; by definition, stored-up emotions are the ones we can't feel. However, resistance gives rise to a telltale behavior pattern - control.

We learn better from putting principles into practice, with all the inevitable mistakes, than from any amount of theory on its own. Education works alongside training to develop skills. An Arabic proverb: "Ask the experienced rather than the learned."

Accompanying article: Training and Education Lead to Prosperity ~ by Dr. Alan Zimmerman
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. To all those people and organizations who want to cut back on their education and motivation, you would be well advised to listen to the words of the great philosopher Aristotle. Even though he penned these words more than 2000 years ago, they still ring true today. He said, "The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." In other words, it may cost you some time and money to keep on learning, but the results are always worth it.

I feel this positive approach is empowered by the love that is the nature of our being, and is effective in creating peace and happiness. The alternative - applying resistance, judgment, antagonism and hatred - is to be ruled by fear, which is to deny one's essence, and has the effect of empowering that which one opposes.

Accompanying article: Why Being and Feeling Authentic Can Be Challenging ~ by Joyce Shafer
Whatever you pursue in your outer life will never fill the inner void created by feeling inauthentic; you have to fill it yourself, and first.

True life purpose, which lights the fire in your heart, is always aligned with the common good.

Accompanying article: How Do You Really Feel About Yourself? ~ by Joyce Shafer
Self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-love and acceptance are about the level of belief you have in yourself, which comes from knowing yourself. If these are low, there's a good reason: your true identify was messed with.

Are we stealing our children's future? Are we willing to be the generation that will shoulder the responsibility of paying back for the generations that have passed away?

Accompanying article: Jem and Coral ~ Introduction to the book by Chantal Heaven
The theme is... "A loving heart can help cure the ills of this world." It is a parable about mankind's relationship with the natural world and the need to work with nature in order to protect, nurture and maintain the world's fragile eco-system. The novel is aimed at those aged 12 to 18 - plus all those adults who are still young at heart - and looks at the challenges of youth and the fight to preserve nature in an ever more complex and inhumane world.

"I can't stand this awful rainy weather" or "Just what we need, nice bit of rain to freshen things up." Attitude, and our power to choose our response, is everything. Frankl was able to find motivation to survive in circumstances where most could see no sign of hope.

Accompanying article: Does Your Attitude Have You Stuck? ~ by Joyce Shafer
Your choice of thoughts and words are influenced by your attitude, and your attitude is influenced by your thoughts and words, a sort of yin/yang situation. Stay the same, and you travel in a circle or loop. Tweak this, and you leave the loop for the evolving spiral that can carry you forward.

Hard to have have empathy for a person who would enjoy picking holes in another person's creations. But some offer their opinions helpfully and constructively, and their insight is valued.

Accompanying article: 7 First Class Responses to Second-Class Put-Downs ~ by Linda Sapadin
People blame and criticize all the time - and that's on their good days! On their bad days, they throw in insults, curses, ridicule and humiliation. When you're on the receiving end of such put-downs, how should you respond?

They are more likely to be wondering what we think of them.

Accompanying article: 7 First Class Responses to Second-Class Put-Downs ~ by Linda Sappadin
There are many things in this world you can't control, but you always have control over your own thoughts. Use them wisely to begin creating a more confident, happy, and satisfied "you" today.

A no-risk person achieves little and is a stranger to fulfillment. That's too high a price.

Accompanying article: The Dilemma
Only a person who takes risks is FREE.

Without giving and receiving love, our life is barren. Fortunately, we can turn this around by starting to be generous with compassion and understanding, first and foremost with ourselves. We are made of love, we can do it.

Accompanying article: Love and Freedom ~ by Harold W. Becker
What we do each moment has a powerful impact on life. Each choice we make, and each we ignore, adds to the collective experience. Where we place our attention and what we contemplate becomes our reality. The power of our mind is amazing, yet nothing compares to what we can do when we come from our heart.

If we are willing to experience painful emotions completely, without resistance of any kind, after a short while - and if we are willing to let them go - they dissolve. We are more likely to want to embrace positive emotions, however, since they empower enthusiastic action, understanding, compassion and love.

Accompanying PDF download: The Power of Emotion ~ by Institute of HeartMath
Doc Childre founded the Institute of HeartMath, leading research into the power of emotions and heart-centered consciousness. In this booklet, you will learn about emotions that lead to judgments and blame, and emotions that take us beyond the "blame game" to insight and resolution. The "blame game" runs society, causing untold stress. With a little understanding of how to direct the power of emotion, we can find new solutions to our problems and more joy in life.

Many of us believe that we need to keep a tight lid on our emotions. We fear that if we ever allow these emotions to be expressed, they will do harm - the painful ones will be overwhelming to experience or lead us to bad behavior; the positive ones won't last and they'll leave us with a loss, another painful emotion. The only thing that keeps painful or unwanted emotions alive within you over long periods (whether conscious or subconscious) is unwillingness to acknowledge them, experience them, accept them and then let them go. Resistance just leads to persistence. Besides, we're missing out: emotions are the life energy of experience, and when we suppress emotions we also make intuitive knowing inaccessible since both pass through the right brain.

Accompanying article: Letting Go Emotionally ~ by Deepak Chopra
There is a law in the unconscious that whatever you avoid will come back, and the more you avoid it, the stronger its return. Painful emotions don't come back for external reasons. They return because they are part of you; you created them before pushing them away. Every emotion you experience is yours.

Why courage to listen? Because we are opening up to alternative ideas and as a result our precious beliefs and fixed ideas may be threatened and our ego rightness put in question. But without genuine listening there is no chance of real progress being made. Great men and women - and our best leaders - are not afraid to speak from the heart nor to listen generously.

Accompanying article: The Right to Lead ~ by John Maxwell
What gives a man or woman the right to lead? It certainly isn't gained by election or appointment. Having position, title, rank or degrees doesn't qualify anyone to lead other people. And the ability doesn't come automatically from age or experience, either. No, it would be accurate to say that no one can be given the right to lead. The right to lead can only be earned.

Another take on being in the moment, with a quiet mind. Meditation sessions help, but the best meditation is when you practice being mindful as you go about your daily life, with all the buttons that presses. And it's not to suppress the response, it's to simply recognize and accept what actually is, without resistance, and let those fears and resentments just float on down the river of time and out of your life.

Accompanying article: Spiritual Medicine ~ by Karen Wright
The problems that confront us - the large ones that assault our core beliefs and the minor ones that engulf us like swarming mosquitoes - these are our spiritual medicines. How so? The situations we face that we don't want are truly just situations - neither good or bad. It is WE who label them good or bad and then react to the label we just bestowed.

It's easy to be discouraged by failures and even to consider them inevitable. What one needs to remember is that success is indeed usually preceded by failures along the way, as those are the learning experiences that enable the breakthroughs, but if you quit you don't get to find that out.

Accompanying article: Five Steps to the Future You Desire ~ by Philip Humbert
We have dreams and goals, we want "more" and we hope the future will be better than the present. We want great things for ourselves, and better things for our children. And yet, we forget that every day--right now as you read this--we are creating our future.

What you attract reflects your unique image. When you know what you want and that light shines brightly, so will your opportunity.

Accompanying article: Your Best Power Tool for Navigating Today's Crazy World ~ by Dr. Neala Peake
Intuition is your most powerful inborn natural power tool for living at the highest level in today's modern world, and the greatest inventors, creatives, artists, leaders and happy people throughout history will agree with this.

Dignity reflects how you value yourself, your self-respect, and does not depend on what anyone else thinks. Do what you know and feel is right and you'll always have dignity, which others will come to respect even if they don't at the moment.

Free course in 30 lessons: The Positive Approach ~ by Peter Shepherd
The foundation for a positive approach is not just saying positive things and denying how you really feel. That doesn't work. A genuine positive approach is based on truthfulness and self-knowledge. It is based on self-respect and integrity, liking and being true to one's self - one's real self, not a version designed to appease or manipulate others, or to hide away from the challenges of life.

Change yourself inside and everything changes outside.

Accompanying article: When or How Do You Know It's You Who Needs to Change? ~ by Joyce Shafer
Are you able to be aware of when you need to change or adjust something about yourself? Or is it easier or more comfortable to think others and life are the ones that need to change?

We can do, perhaps... but will we? Plenty of capable people are more in touch with their fears than with their passion and compassion, and their actions therefore do not reflect their true nature. Harry Potter knew himself well enough - had the integrity - to never flinch from his responsibilities.

Accompanying article: Love is a Choice ~ by Harold W. Becker
In these amazing times of great change, we are faced with an overwhelming amount of choices on all levels of significance. In order to make clear decisions in line with our personal goals and highest good, it is important to maintain our inner balance and harmonious center point. That source of genuine strength, wisdom and ultimate potential is held within us every moment as unconditional love.

You need books and stars to understand the world, but when it comes to you, and spiritual truth in general, the answers are to be found within.

Accompanying article: Reconnect with the Real You! ~ by Stephanie Marston
It's time to remember what's most important in your life. It's time to remember your hopes, and dreams. It's time to discover your deepest yearnings. Yet in order to do this you must embark on a psychological search-and rescue mission to comb back through your life and recover your joy, wisdom, passion, enthusiasm, self-confidence, vitality-the threads of your true self you lost along the way.

The illusion is that your country defines who you are... or your company, your profession, your town, your team. The reality is that finding out who you are requires self-searching and self-knowledge. You are more than any identification.

Accompanying article: Identities that Poison the Soul ~ by Ken Wert
We often put stock in things that undermine our own lives. Believing the insignificant to be significant undermines opportunity, confidence and happiness. It will be that proverbial poison that shuts down the immune system, corrupting heart, mind and soul as it spreads through your psychology as you drink of the following poisons of identity.

Same for opponent and critic, or on the other hand supporter and listener... they stick with you. The reactive ego tends to be negative, the mindful presence to be positive. Which is the shadow of fearful others? And which is the true you?

Accompanying article: Unconditional Gratitude ~ by Harold W. Becker
When we remain present in the moment and embrace the good with the less than good, we are coming from our heart that knows all is in order. In these moments, we notice the truly important things and allow our journey to be one of experiences without the judgment of right or wrong, good or bad. This automatically places us in a higher understanding of life that incorporates the big picture.

Practice until easy. Then one step further...
Make that love unconditional (no judgment, includes one and all) and you've found your spiritual home.

Accompanying article: Love is the New Lens ~ by Owen Waters
This poem by Dean is to help people see and actualize the many possibilities of life.

At the edge of catastrophe, action now is essential for survival and growth. There are many such situations in the ecologies, economies and politics world-wide... the courage to act must derive from our sense of connection and caring. We each have a responsibility to find ways in which we can make a difference; this includes senior citizens, who have retired from their career and whose wisdom and experience are so much needed.

Accompanying article: A call to duty ~ by Dean Roberts
Looking through the lens of the heart, everything has a different perspective. Instead of providing an understanding of the emerging New Reality from a simply intellectual viewpoint, this lens engages your higher feelings and the New Reality becomes a personal experience, not just a mental concept.

Attitude is everything and a change of mind away. But that jump for many is a wide chasm. It takes courage to drop the safe solutions of the past and try new ways, to break conformity and the expectations of others - and it takes persistence to gradually install new habits and ways of being. And we'd better remain flexible and open-minded, or we jump from a frying pan into the fire.

Accompanying article: How To Keep A Positive Attitude ... When You Don't Feel Like It ~ by Dr. Alan Zimmerman
There simply is no substitute for a positive attitude. It keeps you going when others quit. It releases an abundance of energy ... an energy you don't even know you have ... and gets you through the toughest times. As novelist Karen Traviss puts it, "Faith keeps you going when there's no logical reason to. In its way, it keeps life going."

It's easy to agree. So easy to just say "Yes." But then the tricky bit... That requires motivation that is true to your soul: who you really are, and what you really want. Get a clear picture of that and then action will naturally follow. Otherwise life just stays the same.

Accompanying article: Is Your Life Really the Same Old Thing? ~ by Joyce Shafer
Do you ever say or get the response to the question about how things are going, "Same old, same old," or something similar? What does this really mean?

How often do you strive to keep everyone happy? How often do you end up feeling resentful and tired, as if everyone's needs and desires matter apart from yours? It's possible to spread yourself so far and wide so that nothing's left for you. Instead, try making your needs known, first and most importantly to yourself. Put those needs first and then you will be far more empowered to be of service to others.

Accompanying article: The Craving for Approval ~ by Peter Murphy
When you constantly seek outside approval and are willing to do nearly anything to obtain it, you'll find yourself feeling empty and invalidated. In other words, you're questing after a prize that will never bring you a complete sense of satisfaction. Knowing who you are and valuing what you have to offer as a friend, family member, employee, neighbor or colleague is much healthier.

All too often we find ourselves trapped in the unhappiness and bitterness of our past, which impact in turn on the here and now. If we want to make positive changes, the first step is to choose to become what we want to be. And then act on it.

Accompanying article: Questions to Ponder ~ by Charlie Badenhop
Have you noticed that you tend to have an habitual way of responding to the world that stops you from responding in a more solution oriented manner? How would changing your beliefs change some of your habits?

Gratitude is the key to happiness, whatever the circumstances. Appreciating all that is, the flow of the moment, the magic of being here, the gift of others… that's enough.

Accompanying article: The Art of Receiving ~ by Dr. Neala Peake
It takes energy to give, and it takes energy to refuse the kindness and giving nature of others. When we allow our beings and souls to be fed by the world around us, then and only then can we give.

Like the Hindu greeting "Namaste," which Ram Dass translates... "I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one." Wouldn't it be absolutely amazing if we could relate to every person who comes into our lives in this way?

Accompanying article: Compassionate Listening ~ by Dr. Steven Farmer
Incorporating these very simple steps into your daily interactions with others can bring profound changes in your relationships and happiness and peace for all involved...

We project on others what we try not to think about or are keeping secret ourselves. The truth that we find hard to suppress just slips out easier that way, especially in the context of a joke at another's expense. On the esoteric side, this is similar to how imagination is often based on past-life experiences.

Accompanying article: The Relationship Mirror ~ by Jafree Ozwald
Relationships serve you like the most perfect armor piercing mirror and here's how: Eventually after you feel comfortable with someone, the guard inside you comes down. You start to really relax, be your real self and stop trying to interact in a way that is socially acceptable. Sometimes it takes hundreds of hours with another human being before this happens, yet eventually it does and the deep dark issues start to bubble up to be seen.

Open minds, I would add, encompass all these dimensions and try to obtain some much-needed perspective to the people, events, and ideas that shape the world around us; to help make sense of the complexity, anxiety, and turbulence that surrounds our lives; and to create new initiatives that help evolve the world in a better direction.

Accompanying article: Ending the Violence ~ by Karen Wright
Each thought you have is your contribution to the world's condition. You can end violence by stopping it in you first.

Believe without doubt and it will happen; that is manifestation. Because you believe, you join in, you do your part, you take responsibility in oneness with life. You embrace the vision with love; and this light exposes your fears as unnecessary, so any doubts are released.

Accompanying article: Top 5 Regrets of the Dying ~ by Bronnie Ware
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Forgiveness means letting go of anger and resentment... because who do they hurt, really, other than oneself? Compassion then naturally fills the place of judgment.

Accompanying article: Forgiveness - Breaking the Cycle of Resentment ~ by Lori Radun
Each of us makes mistakes in life. At one time or another (probably more than one time), we will hurt another person. Maybe it will be an accident, or perhaps it will be a purposeful reaction to someone hurting you. When this does happen, do you want to be forgiven? Do you want another chance to make amends?

Comforting someone, by simply listening and caring, is something we can all do. We can also do a whole lot more to express ourselves in loving service but we may lack the confidence, inspiration, contacts or know-how... However, it's never too late to remake your life so that at the end you can answer, "Did I really live? Did I really love? Did I really matter?" with "YES!!"

Accompanying article: Are You One of the Walking Emotionally Wounded? ~ by Joyce Shafer
We can decide to continue as we have been or to heal, starting with ourselves. Our own Self healing practice will create healing ripples in our familial, local, and global communities. We have to start sometime, somewhere. Why not here and now? It's a good practice, one you'll appreciate.

This clearly applies in the world of technology, but also to ourselves. We can develop, evolve and remake ourselves so that new things are possible..

Accompanying article: Celebrating Your Greatness in 2013 ~ by Philip Humbert
The start of a new year is traditionally a time for taking inventory and committing to new and better things in the year ahead. Rather than "resolutions," I prefer to make plans, design strategies, make clear commitments, and then execute them on a daily basis. It works better for me.

The truth threatens the status quo, it threatens to expose our hiding hole, it threatens our old solutions, it may threaten our profits and vested interests; above all it exposes our ignorance, and therefore threatens our authority.

Accompanying article: I Am, Therefore I Think ~ by Gangaji
Gangaji guides readers in recognizing that while their life stories follow universal patterns of human suffering, by uncovering and speaking the truth of these stories, they can open the doorway to the possibility of living freely and in truth.

When you have nothing more to lose, when the old ways have arrived at a brick wall, it provides a kind of freedom: a period when you can finally afford to change, to look at things completely afresh, and indeed transform your life for the better. It's happened to me several times and I'm grateful.

Accompanying download: "The Ituri Forest"
Chantal Heaven is married to a cousin of mine, and I recently met both of them at a delightful family gathering over Christmas; plus I learned that Chantal subscribes to our daily quotes service! Chantal teaches Drama and English part-time but tells me she has always written vast tomes of unpublished 'fiction' plus published non-fiction in the days when she worked as a sub-editor in the furnace of Fleet Street back in the 1980s. Chantal has kindly made a short story called The Ituri Forest available for us to download... It's a moving picture of one of those "couldn't be worse" times that we do, indeed, recover from and hopefully learn a lot and become stronger.

Optimism is required for any kind of achievement... otherwise, why even start? Your vision provides inspiration and energy. Pessimists have neither. Living in a dream, on the other hand, is unproductive - one needs to continually compare current reality with the vision, as that shows what remains to do. And equally important, compare the current reality with where you began, as that shows what's been achieved.

Accompanying article: Practical Happiness: A Goal for 2013 ~ by Philip Humbert
I've always figured that if I have several thousand great DAYS in a row, one after another, that may be pretty darn close to living a great life. Something like that seems to go on with happiness, too. Being happy for 10,000 days in a row seems pretty darn close to being a happy person and living a happy life!

As you know, this is close to my personal philosophy of life, "Be true to your core self, and therefore guided by love and intuitive inner knowing," and it's working so very well for me. I wish for you too.

Accompanying article: Choosing Love Over Fear ~ by Gabriella Kortsch, Ph.D.
Choose love. Choose it for you, your loved ones, your neighbourhood, your community, your nation and your world. We are all in this together and we can all contribute to making this change. All it takes is all of us choosing love over fear. Remember that we are all one and that what affects one of us, affects us all.

John Robson comments… Many of us believe that we need to keep a tight lid on our emotions. We fear that if we ever allow these emotions to be expressed, they will do serious damage. The only thing that keeps emotions alive within you over long periods is your unwillingness to acknowledge them.

"To manage our emotions is not to drug them or suppress them, but to understand them so that we can intelligently direct our emotional energies and intentions.... It's time for human beings to grow up emotionally, to mature into emotionally managed and responsible citizens. No magic pill will do it." ~ Doc Childre

If we summon up the courage to truly feel our emotions, we discover that they don't last. The monster in the closet turns out to be a pussycat. In fact, if we are willing to experience our emotions completely, without resistance of any kind, they burn themselves out in only a few minutes. Discover a whole new way of working with life's challenges with the Higher Awareness online Self Healing Workbook with 30 days of email support. Clear blocks and transform your life.

Accompanying article: Talking to Yourself - A Sign of Sanity ~ by Dr. Linda Sapadin
Whether you're living by yourself or living with others, you're always living with yourself. So, don't leave yourself out of the equation. Converse, chatter, communicate respectfully with yourself. It's not a sign of insanity. It's a sign of good health.

We have nothing to fear from the changing times, so long as we remain mindful of our spiritual connection with the universe and all consciousness. That connection is made of empathy, understanding and compassion. With love in our hearts and an open mind we can never go wrong.

Accompanying article: What Do You Imagine Beyond December 21, 2012? ~ by Joyce Shafer
The conversation about December 21st is certainly not a new one; modern books about it have been in print for decades. What it means for humanity is to be seen; what it means for you individually is a matter of choice.

The way I perceive it, the opening of heart chakras that has already begun in 2012 will expand to an opening of the crown chakra for many people, enabling them to ascend their vibrations if they have pure intent. This could really open up the game as manifestation will 'work' more easily and such ascended people will have great influence toward a better world.

So continue to open your heart at every opportunity as Caroline Adams suggests; recognize the gains you have made on your journey; anticipate the increased effect you will be able to create in manifesting your purpose; and get together with supportive friends to celebrate this new potential. All power to you!

Accompanying article: The Truth About Galactic Alignment ~ by Edwin Harkness Spina
Much has been written about December 21, 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar. Most people recognize that it does not mark the end of the world, but rather the disintegration of outmoded ways of thinking and the beginning of a new heart-centered consciousness. It is a gradual process.

There's nothing like the security of an understanding and empathic ear, and it's even more special when that can be found within the family.

Accompanying article: Help Your Children Grow Into Exceptional Adults ~ by Gabriella Kortsch, Ph.D.
You have so many gifts to give your child. No one expects you to be perfect. But you can start the road towards the goal of growth, self awareness, and loving yourself by beginning today with the first step. That first step is simply remembering to be conscious, and when you forget, forgiving yourself for forgetting, but praising yourself for at least having remembered that you forgot to remember to be conscious. And then doing it all over again...

Just get 'em out there, and that will unblock the way for true inspiration to strike.

Accompanying article: The Power of Ideas ~ by Chuck Gallozzi
Treasure new ideas, for once we gain new insight, we never see the world the same way. To expand your horizon and elevate your consciousness, all you have to do is be receptive. Reach out and embrace the ideas that surround you and are ignored by others.

There's always a solution, and usually it simply requires perceiving what IS with new eyes, an open mind.

Accompanying article: Courage in the Age of Fear ~ by Philip E. Humbert, PhD
Live the life you truly want and leave the small thinking, the fear and hesitancy to others. Resolve to do one thing that makes you happy, and do it today! Laugh more. Love more. Have more fun and live with more daring!

Like the man who was aware of being one with the whole universe... He said, "Wow, I get it," but then realized that he was only a grain of sand as soon as the 'I' showed up. You are God when you don't think you are God; when you are simply in your heart and silent, you are in all hearts, all cells, all atoms, all spaces, all times.

Accompanying article: Alone In A Crowd ~ by Owen K Waters
The Christmas and New Year's Holidays are often a time of gathering together for friends and relatives. The holidays can also be a time when spiritually-aware people feel a certain aloneness, even in the midst of a crowd.

The New Reality is the state of consciousness that Owen envisions humanity as a whole is starting to move into, in these times, influenced and lead by those who shine the light of unconditional love from their hearts.

Accompanying article: True Wealth ~ by Owen K Waters
Old Reality consciousness was based in the solar plexus chakra, focusing on competition and the development of basic intellect. In the Old Reality, the pursuit of wealth had a purely financial focus which resulted in a predictable set of experiences about life.

Owen comments: For countless generations, people have been disempowered by the idea that, "It's only your imagination." This demeaning action against your greatest God-given creative power takes the spark out of life. It turns people into sheeple who spend their lives meekly following somebody else's idea of what they should be doing. With the creative power of your imagination, you can reach for your greatest potential and fill your life with an amazing sense of achievement.

Accompanying article: Gaining Intuitive Insights ~ by Owen K Waters
Be more aware of your own intuitive information. Be open to it. Then, it will flow right into your conscious mind along with the visual information that your conscious mind is receiving. The power of intuition works to give you all the insights and inside information that you need to make a great success out of everything you seek to achieve.

Faith in this context means giving new possibilities enough hope and conviction that they have the time and opportunity to prove themselves out in your life.

Accompanying article: Spiritual Faith ~ by Owen K Waters
Faith in the spirituality of life is what makes your spiritual path possible. With spiritual faith - an open heart and an open mind - we can discover more about today’s New Reality and what it means to humanity. Discovering more about life expands our view of reality and evolves our belief systems.

Due to an influx of energies from the centre of our galaxy, because of the astrological alignment on December 21st, I believe the opening of heart chakras that has already begun in 2012 will expand to an opening of the crown chakra for many people, enabling them to ascend their vibrations if they have pure intent. This could really open up the game as manifestation will 'work' more easily and such ascended people will have great influence toward a better world. That's the promise of December 21st: as Owen Waters calls it, the Shift.

Accompanying article: Your True Inner Self ~ by Owen K Waters
Your inner self is your complete self. Often referred to as your soul or higher self, your inner self includes all aspects of your consciousness as an individual.

Life reflects the way you are; if you want a better life, make more of your potential.

Accompanying article: Nothing Will Change Until You Do! ~ by Philip Humbert
Many of us are using really dumb strategies. We have goals or desires or dreams, but we are pursuing them with strategies that have almost no chance of success. And yet, too often, we keep on doing the same things in the same ways, year after year. That's probably not very smart.

We can grow and evolve and open up... or try to remain in the same familiar territory. If that choice is ruled by fear, though, we become a shadow of our true selves and can say goodbye to an adventurous, fulfilling life.

Accompanying article: Extraordinary Success Comes With the Right Beliefs ~ by Dr. Alan Zimmerman
Take a moment to identify some of your self-limiting beliefs. What beliefs do you have that are holding you back? Think about them. Remember, most of your self-limiting beliefs have no basis whatsoever in fact. They are based on information and ideas that you accepted as true, sometimes in early childhood, and to the degree you believe them, they are holding you back.

The blocks along the way have a purpose; they give us a moment to get our breath back, to learn from what's happened and to reassess the best path to go forward; and to realize again why we are on this path. Our vision renewed will inspire and energize us.

Accompanying article: Look Back to See How Far You Have Come ~ by Betsy Chasse
Breathe and be patient. Sit still and quiet your mind. It is when you create silence that you will see the beliefs and programming that have been holding you hostage. Ask yourself, "Are they serving me?"

To change, shift your perspective... put an issue far into the past or future, or look at it through someone else's eyes. Notice each of your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears... each one, just let it go, change your mind, you don't need it any more.

Accompanying article: How to Transform Your Tears Into Laughter ~ by Jafree Ozwald
When your deepest sadness is welcomed and fully felt, it can empty out your entire basement of horrors. All the incomplete feelings you've had in your life of being abandoned, betrayed, lonely, lost, or isolated can come flooding through. By opening up to your emotional basement you bring the light of awareness into the darkness.

The heart is where the soul resides, and its essential quality is love. The lessons of love, i.e. universal truth, are to be found there... and other people will understand as they see their reflection in you.

Accompanying article: The Stranger Who Changed My Life ~ by Dan Robey
I have a saying that goes like this: "There are over 6 billion people on this planet and I can learn something new from EVERY ONE OF THE THEM including strangers." It is a true statement, you can learn something new from everyone on the planet... but only if you put forth the effort.

Rick further comments...
It takes many inches to make a mile. We can only move by inches, one inch at a time. It's when we look miles ahead and wonder "how are we going to get so far?" that we fail to move forward at all.

We can choose to live life fully focused on the moment at hand and live happily, making great progress, moving by inches. Or, we can keep staring "in the rear view mirror," stuck with thoughts of what could have been, instead of what can now be.

Most important, we must always keep in mind that anytime we suffer a setback while moving forward, it will always be just a matter of inches, never miles.

Music by Rick Beneteau: Download MP3

Accompanying article: Our World at Peace ~ by Rick Beneteau
I close my eyes, and a single strand of pure light runs through the soul of every citizen of the world.

If I die tonight in my sleep: let me have hugged and told my children that I love them, and let me have told my partner how much s/he is loved and appreciated.

Music by Rick Beneteau: Download MP3

Accompanying article: The Parents Creed ~ by Rick Beneteau
I recognize and honor that being a parent is the most important role I will ever play in life, and that I have the opportunity to be the most influential teacher in the life of my child. So I affirm...

Imagination is where the real magic of life exists. When partnered by loving service it is the architect of all great progress.

Accompanying article: My Prayer For You ~ by Rick Beneteau
May the light that is You burn as an even brighter beacon to illuminate all in the world that is right and just.

Are you a leader? Will your walk through life leave a trail?

Accompanying article: If I Were... ~ by Rick Beneteau
If I were a mountain path, I'd be the trail you blaze.

Behind every success is a succession of failures. It's inevitable because failures and mistakes present the ideal learning process... not just theoretical but real-world practical, with a thump and a bump to make sure it hits home!

Accompanying article: Poplar Fellers ~ by Rick Beneteau
Steve operated as most true experts do - with total confidence. The pictures I captured in my backyard attest to the kind of confidence required for such a profession because his life hangs, literally, in the balance every minute of every day he performs his airborne magic. On one of his few breaks, Steve told me the average death-per-worker statistic in Canada was 3 in 1,000. In his profession, it's 20. Much more reason to respect what he so skillfully does, day in and day out.

What raises our vibration more than anything is selfless service. It's not just "being enlightened" - it's how you feel toward others and what you do in your life activities to demonstrate the compassion and togetherness that you feel. This determines the vibrational level that you attain on the other side of the valley of death and it also works to influence the degree of consciousness of humanity during our lives.

Accompanying article: What Ascension Means as We Move Into 2013 ~ by Peter Shepherd
The desire to make loving service a central theme in our lives all of sudden seems to be shared with many others too, friends, family and Internet contacts alike. This ties in with what lightworkers have been anticipating as we move toward the Dec 21st galactic alignment and the start of a new cycle of the way life is lived and felt on this planet, what they call Ascension.

Our destiny is something that we each create. If we don't, we can't complain about being a victim of circumstances or being trapped. We always have choices; just be true to your self and what you can offer of value and all will come well... even though it may be a scary ride it will be an exhilarating one.

Accompanying article: Capital Q ~ by Karen Wright
It occurred to me today that what I'm most afraid of is the Question. The one with a capital Q that haunts my mind like a foreign voice murmuring words that I know are important, but I can't understand. It's the Question that interrupts my sleep and draws my attention away from things I know I must do. It churns in my stomach. I hide best I can, but it pursues me relentlessly.

We create our internal experience of reality by choosing our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Each moment is a new opportunity to think differently, regardless of all the moments that came before it.

Accompanying article: Appreciating Against the Tide - by Joyce Shafer
Are you clear about how to connect with that feeling of genuine appreciation? For me it isn't about trying to convince my ego-mind to feel it, but to recall a time when I did. It doesn't matter that it's based on a memory; it's the feeling that matters. You can call up more than one such memory, but one will do it. Just feel that feeling for as long as you can or choose to, before you have to get back to whatever you're doing. The more I've practiced this, the easier it's become to go into that feeling at will; and sometimes the feeling just happens, with no thought or effort on my part.

What raises our vibration more than anything is selfless service. This is the time for ascension and that is how it works, nothing more esoteric.

Accompanying article: Rich Kids, Jaded Kids ~ by Linda Sapadin
You may own the best of the best and still feel inadequate. You may have an abundance of experiences and still feel empty. You may have been raised on praise and still feel unworthy. You may have every luxury, yet lack empathy for others. This is true not only for the heirs of the "One Percent" but also for those families with enough wealth to give "everything" to their kids.

We tend to identify with and become attached to things we have, and to fear their loss, and this includes our knowledge and beliefs as well as relationships and physical things. That's part of the survival game, but we do well to accept impermanence with equanimity and to retain an open mind, willing to review and evolve.

Accompanying article: Abundance, Gratitude and Ambition ~ by Philip Humbert
Do we live in a world of abundance, or a world of lack? It's a very personal decision, based on your own perspective. I can't give you the answer, but I'm convinced how you answer that question does make a difference. It changes you attitude, your self- image, and your view of the world around you. Personally, I see a world of abundance, but that's just me.

If we can see who we really are, we can come into a state in which we are one with everything, which means we feel connected with life, we feel a love of what happens, but we also feel we want to be of service and ameliorate the suffering of life.

Accompanying article: Waking Up to the Wonder of Life ~ by Timothy Freke
If we wonder deeply enough, we spontaneously start to awaken. If you wake up to wonder, you'll come to life... it's as simple as that.

Most of us have this sense that our deep self is the same now as when we were much younger. We are a timeless awareness witnessing our form's journey through time.

Accompanying article: An Experience of Big Love ~ by Timothy Freke
My understanding of love is that love is how one must feel when we see through the veneer of separation that seems to divide us and connect with somebody (or with some thing or place or activity) as one with that person or thing. We experience this in our body - there's chemicals, there's good feelings, it's an embodied thing - and it comes from this recognition of oneness.

The ego is a character in the dream of life around which the life-dreamer weaves a cracking tale. You can both become conscious of the oneness of being and feel empowered as a separate individual to be the hero of your life adventure.

Accompanying article: The Hero of the Story ~ by Timothy Freke
If we want to awaken, we don't need to eradicate the ego, we simply need to be conscious of the deep self as well.

Both sides of a dichotomy in life (yin and yang, light and dark, good and bad, individual and integrated, etc) form a whole; both apply at the same time, neither can exist without the other, like the two sides of a coin. We can be human beings and enlightened spiritually all at once - not just one or the other as is often implied. In practice, mindful awareness accompanies the body-mind and ego, and provides the invaluable missing context.

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Accompanying article: Take a Risk on Life ~ by Timothy Freke
Life is amazing but can also be very cruel. There are good reasons to be hopeful and good reasons to be fearful. Both play a role in helping us live well. We need to sometimes be cautious and prepare for the worst. But let's err on the side of hope ... because that is what pushes us forward rather than pulling us back.

It's like the "light that is one though the lamps be many." The "light" is love. Love is caring and connection. Love is what we feel when we realize we are one - two separate players in the game of life but joined together in essence, sharing our space. When we realize that everyone is connected at Source, we may experience love without limits, inclusive of those who may appear to be hostile or indifferent by outer appearances.

Accompanying article: The Wheel of Life ~ by Peter Shepherd
The Gnostic teaching - as found all the way back to the most ancient of literature, such as the Indian Vedas - is not a set of rules that we must follow to become 'good.' It is about discovering our own essential nature, which is good already, so that we can live spontaneously. The Gnostics taught that we can liken the truth of our situation to a wheel, with many spokes and an outer rim. Each spoke is an individual. Where we connect to the outer rim is our interface to the physical world, this is our Ego. At the hub of the wheel is Source, a unified quality of creative love. The center symbolizes God the father and the outside symbolizes the Goddess, mother nature.

Truth is always aligned with unconditional love, and that is also our essential nature, so universal truth is integral to the higher self.

Accompanying article: Follow These 12 Secrets All the Way Home ~ by Guy Finley
Letting go is the journey and it never ends. Never. It only begins -- over and over again -- each time we can glimpse something higher than our own painful certainty over who we think we are.

With blinkers on there's very little light. Like our Trans4mind motto - "Minds, like parachutes, function better when open" - so open them parachutes. And then get among people who recognize the real you, who support you and love you as you are.

Accompanying article: Success without Stress ~ by Guy Finley
Learning is a correction process. Real correction, at any level, always purifies the matter and so leaves it less confused and thus in a higher state. Taking this beautiful idea one step further reveals to us the promise that self-elevation always follows self-correction.

What "stands in your way" is what you created, personally or as member of a group, consciously or subconsciously, so the way forward is accepting what is and taking responsibility for that creation as part of the whole of your and everyone's life.

Accompanying article: Self-Correction is Self-Elevation ~ by Guy Finley
Learning is a correction process. Real correction, at any level, always purifies the matter and so leaves it less confused and thus in a higher state. Taking this beautiful idea one step further reveals to us the promise that self-elevation always follows self-correction.

You can't take down barriers if you don't know they are there. We take these things for granted, such that they become invisible. That's why we need to constantly look afresh and question our motives... "Is this guided by love? Is this what I truly want?" Once realized, we can let limitations go.

Accompanying article: Take Your Self to a Higher, Happier Level ~ by Guy Finley
Human beings are a unique creation in the cosmic scheme of things. Unlike the untold billions of other life forms teaming on the Earth -- whose nature is an open and shut case -- human nature is not fixed. What does this mean to you? Only everything!

We need to search for truth about ourselves and welcome it; and seek to expose and release the lies we have become identified with. Truth is expansive whereas lies are belittling.

Accompanying article: Freedom from Self Defeating Behavior ~ by Guy Finley
To help you strengthen the spiritual YES in you, learn to put Truth first, last, and always in your life. This grand YES will grow to have greater and greater meaning to you as you put it into practice.

Low self confidence can make life tricky. You don't get the best from opportunities that come your way and you may even avoid certain situations because you simply don't believe you can cope as well as other people. You can put this behind you if you begin to feel more optimistic and positive about life - no longer torment yourself with 'what ifs' and instead start doing more things that you find rewarding and uplifting. The Believe in Yourself Hypnosis Download is a great help in this process.

Accompanying article: Perfectionists: Listen Up! ~ by Linda Sapadin
Being a perfectionist is a more perplexing matter than simply striving for the best. If you are a perfectionist, the way you deal with tasks is neither ideal nor pragmatic. For despite investing considerable time and effort in whatever you do, you're frequently upset with yourself and your work. This is no way to live. You deserve better...

Love is always your best guide. But sometimes we block the flow of love, fearing to express it in case we are rejected, or fearing to accept it in case it is later withdrawn. Break down these walls with the help of hypnosis: get the wonderful audio download, Accept Love. Open up to love again... because the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Accompanying article: How to Accept Love When It's Offered to You ~ by Mark Tyrrell
Nearly all of us try to keep up a front. We like to give the impression that we are strong, confident, in control, managing our lives okay, and generally don't need anybody, thank you very much. But inside, we are all much softer and more vulnerable than we may appear. We long for acceptance and love, and rejection cuts very deep. Sometimes so deeply that we resolve never to expose ourselves to the risk of it again. It doesn't have to be this way. No matter how long you have lived according to this pattern, you can reconnect with your innate capacity to love and be loved.

Learning is one of the main functions of living, and to do that we need to ask questions, experience and listen, remain open minded and include our inner knowing. Then we indeed have hope.

Accompanying article: Destiny and Free Will ~ by Owen Waters
You are never left alone to fumble in the darkness of a purely physical life. Your inner being is always there with you, expressing itself through the quiet whisperings of intuitive information. Thanks to this inner compass of knowing, you can always sense which choice feels right.

Listening to negative self-talk is one of the reasons why we may have difficulty creating success in our lives. We give up after spending a week dieting and exercising because we suddenly decide it isn't worth it, perhaps we'd do better at something else, let's just switch the channel... Our inner critic has put us off. Whatever we're trying to achieve we need to have a broader perspective, to validate what we have achieved so far and to energize ourselves with the vision that initially inspired us.

Accompanying article: How Good Is Your Relationship with Yourself? ~ by Joyce Shafer
Many of us think we have a reason to feel good and think well of ourselves, and speak well to ourselves, ONLY if and when the outward appearances of our life match the (often) ambiguous model in our mind created from bits and pieces from others, like a patchwork quilt thrown together at random by people not in alignment. This confusion leads us to self-criticism that isn’t deserved or useful, in good times and especially in not so good times. When life is difficult or challenging, it’s more important than ever to say encouraging, loving statements to ourselves. Why is this so difficult for us?

And as Chief Seattle says, "Humankind has not woven the web of life; we are but one thread in it. What we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

Accompanying article: The Art of Stillness ~ by Andrew Cohen
When you choose not to identify with the movement of thoughts and emotions, sooner or later you will have the profound experience of your own Self standing free from the mind - free from the compulsive habit of conceptualization and personalization. Your awareness will become so vast that it embraces all things, while simultaneously being the experience of freedom from all things.

It's never too late to remake your life so that at the end you can answer, "Did I really live? Did I really love? Did I really matter?" with "YES!!"

Accompanying article: Changing in Time ~ by Jeanie Marshall
Change is about choice. Life doesn't happen to you; you happen to it. If you do not like how you are feeling, change how you are feeling. If you do not like the situation you are in, make a change. You can change your situation; you can change your thoughts; you can change your feelings; above all, you can change yourself.

To realize life is a dream, you need to become more conscious, to discover yourself within the dream and become mindful that it is your creation. Very good practice for that step in consciousness is learning to dream lucidly, to become conscious and causative whilst dreaming and yet still remaining in the dream.

Accompanying article: Truth: Collective Consciousness ~ by Paramahamsa Nithyananda
Man as such cannot handle too much of truth. If the truth is up to 30% or 40%, he can handle it well. But beyond that, the truth starts transforming him. He feels that the ground on which he is standing is moving away. To tell you honestly, none of us really wants to know the truth. If truth were to be given out honestly, there would be no one willing to accept it, except for a few teachers. The moment honest truths are given, people begin to get frightened. This includes both the teacher as well as the listener!

An ethical leader of a group will see themselves as a servant of that group and will act accordingly, working to meet their needs and better their position. Only when service for a common good is the primary purpose are we truly leading. As William Arthur Ward said, "We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead."

Accompanying article: Servant Leadership ~ by Jim Hunter
Jim Hunter speaks about how hard it is to actually change and put into action the principles of servant leadership, and what he's discovered through his 30+ years of work as a trainer in organizations about what supports the change process. Also Jim talks about the importance of authenticity in creating genuine community, and about love in organizational life.

Fear and doubt are mental attributes, especially of the survival-focused human being. Trust and compassion are spiritual attributes, especially of the heart-centered spiritual being.

Accompanying article: Trust your Future ~ by Jafree Ozwald
The secret to mastering trust comes from the practice of learning to trust yourself. There is always that little voice inside you that knows. Your sixth sense is real, and can naturally perceive and know things that are about to happen. It is the all-seeing aspect of your soul and it will forewarn you if you are listening. The key is tuning into it on a regular basis so that you are used to hearing what is coming your way. The more you practice opening your senses (being more sensitive) and quieting your mind, the easier it is to hear. The more you let go, relax and trust the guidance within, the clearer the messages from your intuitive self become.

Nothing more stressful and depressing than going to work when it just doesn't cut it anymore... if it doesn't align with your values, doesn't utilize your potential, or you are simply overrun repeating the same old formula. If it doesn't light your fire, look for something better. However, many people are trapped in circumstances; in which case they can learn to appreciate what they are doing as much as possible, and in spare time express those talents that are hidden at work. One is more likely to attract opportunities that way.

Accompanying article: What About The "Real" World? ~ by John Earle
I think we can all agree that the "real" world as described above is created and shaped by people. And for the world to change, since we are the ones creating it, it seems obvious that "we, the people," need to change. We need to move beyond the beliefs that are binding us to the same old patterns and worn out solutions. Changing the laws, changing the type of government, changing the leaders, changing the monetary system and other retreads are not working.

I have found that beautiful music is a great aid to dissipating and releasing emotions that are not serving me, or that are getting in the way of a heart-felt high vibration (fulfillment and gratitude), the state of being that attracts abundance.

More here: MindPower Music promo
Feel the doubt and fear dissipate in your body as your vibration rises, and release them as you breathe out. The right music is a great accompaniment to your meditation sessions, and some of the best music for this purpose is provided by the MindPower MP3 audios.

We need to examine all the thoughts we have, the considerations and beliefs, and find out what's true and what isn't. And what actually belongs to somebody else... something somebody else told us and we've accepted. What's been imprinted or programmed, in other words. Stripping that stuff off (and letting go of the accompanying painful feelings and misguided behaviors) and finding what is our own inner truth. Because it comes from inside us it is pure and our inner knowing, from each of us as a spiritual being. It's based on universal knowledge, i.e. knowledge that is free of any kind of conditioning. The perspective is unconditional love.

More here: The Insight Project
Trans4mind's advanced course, The Insight Project, is about upgrading your perception from blindfolded or blinkered 2D through to 20:20 vision in multiple dimensions... clearing all that obscures insight - your inner vision - the wisdom of your Higher Self, which is founded on Love.

Initiation used to fill this role, to pass down wisdom from one generation to the next. As John explains further, "Many of us have become disconnected from the natural world and our own spiritual nature. We keep driving around in our bumper cars, hoping that everything will be explained someday, and sooner, rather than later, would be preferable. But this is not how it works. To truly know our inner nature we are required to express ourselves." We have to tread through the mud and jump in the river, see where it takes us.

Accompanying article: Learning to Speak Our Truth ~ by John Earle
Because we are beings of discourse, of speech, and because we live in a world of constant communication, the ability to speak our truth without judgment or blame is as important today as it always has been. When we take up the journey into consciousness, when we determine to discover what our life is trying to teach us, we necessarily arrive at the seventh initiation. The action of speaking the truth without expectation, or the anguished imperative for change, is a great adventure in itself. It is one way we discover the nature of our personal truth as well as our self-deception.

Once aware that we are in the process of behaving reactively, we can put on the brakes and move into a different gear, moving off again in a more empowering direction, that both ourselves and the people we are dealing with will benefit from.

Accompanying article: Make It So! ~ by John Earle
All of our awareness, personal responsibility and inner work do nothing really until we bring them into reality through action. As the British commanders used to say when presented with a good idea from a subordinate, we need to, "make it so." With scholarly work we can all become great pundits but, in order to learn what life is really about, and in order for the changes we want in our lives to take place, we are definitely required to take action.

It is tempting to offer someone an insight that you feel is just out of their reach, but to do so is to deny them the empowerment of discovery, especially the discovery of their own inner truth - which may turn out to be a different insight from your own in any case.

Accompanying article: Developing Deservingness ~ by John Earle
How can we discover our basic goodness or essential perfection, our "OK"ness? One powerful way is to develop the practice of speaking to our self in the language of these true conditions. We nourish and enhance our self-esteem by talking to ourselves in a loving and supporting manner, replacing the voice of the inner judge, the "merciless rider", with the voice of the heart, the voice of wisdom and compassion. For many of us this is like learning a new language.

It is tempting to offer someone an insight that you feel is just out of their reach, but to do so is to deny them the empowerment of discovery, especially the discovery of their own inner truth - which may turn out to be a different insight from your own in any case.

Accompanying article: Deep Listening ~ by John Earle
Many of us want to be of service in the world, and are inspired to make our lives and our work useful to others. The desire to help others is noble, however, our most effective and powerful service is offered from detachment rather than based in fear. The detachment we speak of here is defined by Angeles Arrien as "the capacity to care deeply or maintain compassion from an objective place."

Excerpt from: Waking Up, Learning What Your Life is Trying to Teach You

Mindfulness reveals the way fear shapes our perceptions and behavior; awareness gives us the ability to see the connection between our emotions and our habitual reactions. When we choose to stop instinctively reacting to uncomfortable situations, we realize that we have control over our connection with the world; we are not victims of circumstance.

Accompanying article: Learning from Our Fears ~ by John Earle
We can start working with fear by becoming aware of the thousands of tiny fears we live with each day. We fear peer opinion. We fear the voices in our heads, which say, "You should do this" and, "You must do that." We fear financial troubles; we fear encounters with certain people; we fear authority; we fear the future and the past. We fear for our lives and we fear death. We fear pain. We even fear quiet. We fear that we will never have enough. We fear the judgment of strangers; friends and spouses. We fear loneliness and anger. And the list goes on. For each of our fears we have developed one or more strategies, of avoidance, indulgence, smothering or denial. In addition, many of our most unskillful behaviors come from fear.

Excerpt from: Waking Up, Learning What Your Life is Trying to Teach You

People do what seems best from their own perspective, which looks through filters of fears and doubts, unmet needs and stuck attachments, fixed beliefs and conditioning, bad experiences and false information, pessimism and desperation ... or the clear spectacles of hope and faith, understanding and optimism, and love and compassion.

Accompanying article: Living with BS also Known as Belief Systems ~ by Joyce Shafer
Every belief system (or BS) colors experience in a different way, rosy-red or gloomy black or some unique personal flavor…. We can all see how other people’s BS makes them blind and "stupid" at times, but we find it very hard to notice how our own BS is doing the same to us…. The world is not governed by facts or logic. It is governed by BS (belief systems).

As Ali Akba Khan said, "Music is like food. When you need it you don't have to explain why, because it is basic to life." Singing is a divine gift, a birthright for all of us - not just those people we call "singers." The voice connects the body, the inner and the outer world - it can explore and express, transcend and heal.

Accompanying article: Living with BS also Known as Belief Systems ~ by Joyce Shafer
The singing voice is a vehicle connecting us with the flow of life that gushes through our being at full force. The singing voice, through the media of breath and sound, supports the process of transforming energy patterns, creates measurable beneficial effects in the physical body, and influences consciousness more efficiently than any other form of sound. Like no other sound, the voice becomes a link with our spiritual life by revealing deeper aspects of the Self.

That's the law of attraction described best, no more, no less. Life is as you make it; your heart emanates love (pure intent) and the universe reflects those vibrations back, multiplied in every way imaginable.

Accompanying article: How To Be Positive About Everything ~ by Jasmuheen
The mind is like a parachute, when it opens up it will save your life. With an open mind you don't have to try so hard to only think positive thoughts. You can allow for any life experience to show up and simply open your mind to seeing the positive outcome out of it. It is a constant moment to moment choice to have an open positive mind. If you can just choose to have an open mind, you'll be able to manifest anything and everything you want in life.

So much better to recognize and respect our differences than to criticize and judge, which only leads to loneliness and separation.

Accompanying article: The Art of Resonance ~ by Jasmuheen
Without our willingness to channel the best, we cannot even begin. Whether it is creating a new life, or a new world, or a piece of art or music or writing, it all begins with being open.

When we love ourselves, the more we are open to discovering our ideas; and the more we love others, the more we are open to sharing them.

Accompanying article: Willingness ~ by Jasmuheen
In their desire to improve the quality and/or length of their life, many individuals today are following inner guidance to cleanse themselves – not just on a physical level, but also on an emotional and mental level. They are eating less, preferably light food. Emotionally, they are also 'processing' and letting go of emotional baggage – emotions of fear, hate, guilt, worry, anxiety, anger, etc. – which, when unresolved, are stored in the various organs of the physical body.

If love is the unconditional acceptance of what is, then fear is the non-acceptance of what is, leading to resistance. Where there is love, oneness naturally exists; where there is fear, understanding and compassion go missing.

Accompanying article: Jiddu Krishnamurti on Fear
Do we now know what fear is? Is it not the non-acceptance of what is? We must understand the word 'acceptance'. I am not using that word as meaning the effort made to accept. There is no question of accepting when I perceive what is. When I do not see clearly what is, then I bring in the process of acceptance. Therefore fear is the non-acceptance of what is.

We can't help but have relationships, however whether they are empowering or drag us down depends on the quality of communication - the way we bounce off people. In particular, we need the kind of respect that leads to listening without prejudice and judgment.

Accompanying article: Jiddu Krishnamurti on Relationship
If there is real relationship between two people, which means there is communion between them, then the implications are enormous. Then there is no isolation; there is love and not responsibility or duty. It is the people who are isolated behind their walls who talk about duty and responsibility. A man who loves does not talk about responsibility - he loves. Therefore he shares with another his joy, his sorrow, his money. Are your families such? Is there direct communion with your wife, with your children?

It is people like this who have progressed furthest in their spiritual development, not necessarily those who use advanced methods of meditation, attend expensive seminars or have mastered psychic tricks.

Accompanying article: Jiddu Krishnamurti on Love
Sympathy, forgiveness, the relationship of possessiveness, jealousy and fear - all these things are not love. They are all of the mind, are they not? As long as the mind is the arbiter, there is no love, for the mind arbitrates only through possessiveness and its arbitration is merely possessiveness in different forms. The mind can only corrupt love, it cannot give birth to love, it cannot give beauty. You can write a poem about love, but that is not love.

It's all too easy for us to be focused on the world that closely surrounds us, pressing problems and relationships stresses, and our work speciality... and forget we are also part of something infinitely greater and totally amazing.

Accompanying article: The Doorway to the Meaning of Life ~ by Owen Waters
At some point in your life, you look up from the hypnotizing clamor of daily existence and seek meaning in that which is above the physical realm of existence. In that moment, when your attention is focused on whatever higher consciousness may bring, you are receptive to new ideas and new information.

The real problem, then, is not fully understanding the situation, not perceiving with an open enough mind - there's something in this apparent problem that we're just not seeing, at least not yet (the solution). Check out: what am I intolerant of, unsure about, ignorant of, assuming, believing, anticipating, suppressing, invalidating, not acknowledging, not taking responsibility for?

Accompanying article: The Gift of Problems ~ by Philip Humbert
Consider the amazing gifts problems give us, free of charge! Problems challenge us. They stretch us. They make us creative. They teach us things and force us to learn from or collaborate with very smart people. Sometimes I think of problems as God's gift to the human race!

'Living in the present' as we are often encouraged to do, means to perceive what is as it is, without judgement and prejudice, with acceptance and gratitude, with an open mind that is not governed by fears and unhelpful old solutions. But it doesn't mean to forget past helpful lessons nor to abandon creating an exciting future.

Accompanying article: A Different Form of Stress and Management ~ by Joyce Shafer
Our mind can use us or we can use it. We can believe we are our mind, that we are our thoughts. We aren’t, but we often act as though we are. Practice watching your mind think. Then practice realizing that you are the watcher, the observer, watching the mind think; that you are not the same entity. If you were your mind, you couldn’t watch it from an observer’s point of view. The mind is a tool for us to use; it is not the Being we truly are, just as your car assists you to go places but you are the driver, separate from the car.

Or we can do nothing and go the way of the 'dodo.'

Accompanying article: Why Do You Pursue Spiritual Evolution? ~ by Joyce Shafer
The way to evolve, to expand awareness, is to open to it; to put what we learn into practice; to observe and assess the before, during, and after aspects; and to appreciate what we witness, including and especially at the feeling level, because this holistic or multi-faceted process teaches us about ourselves, Source, and what's possible for us. How we develop an intimate connection with Source is as individual as we are. This relationship, if nurtured and experienced, can calm any and all discontent or insecurity... because we can absolutely know who we are and can behave, act, and create from there... more often than not, and as we evolve.

The opening of our hearts is the greatest hope for the evolution of Mankind as we move into critical times. It's the focus of an in-depth interview I recently gave with Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby, which you can listen to, read or download the PDF transcript to print out - see "The Path of Love - by Peter Shepherd."

It's impossible to feel grateful and in the same moment depressed, angry or afraid. If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, your heart will soon be filled with love and understanding, a feeling that nurtures the soul. As Meister Eckhardt says, "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."

Accompanying article: 6 Ways To Be Happier and More Grateful ~ by Dr. Alan Zimmerman
One of the secrets of true happiness is gratefulness. When gratefulness rules in a person's heart and is evident in his/her attitudes, then crazed ambition, greed, entitlement and negativity are eliminated. Bottom line, the more gratefulness you exhibit, the more positive and productive ... and yes, happy ... you're going to be. Here are six ways to build your senses of gratefulness...

If you believe you can do something, then you almost certainly can, provided you are open to learning. Simple as that.

Accompanying article: The 3 Rs That Guarantee Success ~ by Dr. Alan Zimmerman
If you want more of anything ... greater productivity in your organization, higher morale in your department, better communication in your family, or more of anything else ... you've got to make some changes. Period! There is simply no way to get around this "fact of life." You can't do the same old thing the same old way and expect to see any improvements in your work or personal lives. The good news is ... positive, productive change is entirely possible if you follow a three-step process....

It's not till you try it yourself that you realize how demanding it is to parent a child. Then at last you can understand things from the parent's point of view, as well as from your own inner child's eyes.

Accompanying article: How to Use a Family Meeting as a Discipline Tool ~ by Michelle LaRowe
Many of the skills children need to regulate their behavior and navigate the challenges they face every day are taught and practiced in the family meeting. They learn to listen to others respectfully, they get to see and be a part of the problem solving process, they experience the value of a cooling off period before tackling an issue, they come to understand that accountability is an important part of moving past mistakes, and they see cooperation between children and adults in action.

Our vision pulls us toward its fulfillment. It gives us the energy to do whatever's necessary... so anything is possible if we believe in our dream and refuse to let it go.

Accompanying article: Success is Three Rules and a Big IDEA ~ by Philip Humbert
Change is a journey into the unknown. It means creating a "new you!" Of course there will be doubts, surprises, set-backs, and failures along the way. What did you expect? If your goal is worth doing, it's going to be difficult at times. When you find that something is harder than you dreamed or didn't work like you expected, you'll need internal motivation that pulls, pushes, and drives you forward! You need to pick yourself up, brush yourself off and try again. Only a heart-felt DESIRE will do that! Discipline and determination, even pride, are not enough. Only DESIRE will keep you going forward.

Too often we think of listening as waiting for the other person to stop talking so we can get our opinion, feelings, or thoughts expressed. Of course, this isn't listening at all. To listen properly, generously, keep an empty mind, focus solely on understanding what the other says, without judgment. Be one with the other; they will thank you for it.

Video: Generous Listening ~ a video by Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen
Rachel shares how we can use "generous listening" to deepen our connection with patients - and those we care for - with this simple, yet profound technique...

That's what Oneness is about. And to quote John Muir: "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." And Albert Einstein: "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

Accompanying article: Out of My Mind and Into Grace ~ by Debbie Milam
As I step out of my door, I step out of my mind. The mind that can be so full of day to day concerns, the ever pressing need to fix what is problematic, the desire for things to be different than they are. But as I step out into nature, I invite God to walk with me. I welcome him to show me the gifts that can only be embraced in the present moment...

The truths of life are simple. The reasons why are frequently complex, a combination of many factors and logic, that can easily become misdirected, conflicting and and confusing, even within our own minds. And yet despite this, truth can often be intuitively discerned. This is universal truth that we can all access if we are in touch with our inner nature.

Accompanying article: The Doorway to the Meaning of Life ~ by Owen Waters
At some point in your life, you look up from the hypnotizing clamor of daily existence and seek meaning in that which is above the physical realm of existence. In that moment, when your attention is focused on whatever higher consciousness may bring, you are receptive to new ideas and new information...

At some time we each have to face up to the fact that our mortal body will eventually die; nothing we can do about that. But we may not choose to face up to the fact that our relationship is in a mess, that we are in the wrong job, or that we have not been doing a good job bringing up our kids. In this state of denial, things just carry on the same, whereas if we faced up to the truth, it's likely a lot could be done to improve the situation.

Accompanying article: How to Master Anxiety and Worry ~ by Matt Clarkson
Do you ever worry beyond reason? Does your mind tend to overestimate the risks of life and underestimate the powers and resources you have to handle those risks? Do you feel a subtle, yet persistent, sense of anxiety that runs like an undercurrent just beneath your conscious awareness? If so, you're not alone. Most of us have some of that going on. Let's talk about what you can do about it...

Love illuminates prejudice, bigotry and partisanship because they are seen to cause separation; this is in stark contrast to the communication, empathy, understanding and resulting compassion brought about by love.

Accompanying article: 10 Ways You Are Spiritual ~ by Deepak Chopra
Without our willingness to channel the best, we cannot even begin. Whether it is creating a new life, or a new world, or a piece of art or music or writing, it all begins with being open.

For many people work is drudgery, but when you're doing something worthwhile, according to your own values, the situation is transformed. Then production = morale. The more you get done, the better you feel.

Accompanying article: The Joy of Good Work ~ by Philip Humbert
Too many of us believe "work" is something to be avoided, and these people dream of a path to instant wealth, because then they would "never work again." I suspect that's why the universe makes sure most of them never achieve the success they desire! I see work as a great honor and source of fulfillment, although clearly there is both "good" and "bad" work. I also believe the difference between "good" and "bad" work is one of the most important distinctions in life! It makes all the difference between a life of success and fulfillment, and one of disappointment.

Tabitha's mother, Margaretha Du Toit from South Africa, provides the commentary today:

Before you can conquer your fears you first have to open your eyes and look at the monster objectively to realize its size and its impact before we can decide how best to face and diminish it. Sometimes we are not even willing to look because we cannot handle what we see. Looking in the dark entails seeing that there is always a way out, there is always a door or a window open somewhere, we just need to close our spiritual eyes for a few moments and evaluate the situation, then when we open our eyes again... everything will be brighter and easier to see. It is about realizing that we CAN see I in the dark! Even in the midst of the greatest storm of our lives, we can still see if we would only look because it is only our fears and inhibitions that blind us. We are not really blinded in the dark, it is just a perception.

Accompanying article: The Battle of Fear and Faith ~ by Karen Wright
How do you make a decision? You just do. There are no logical processes or rational models to substitute for pure courage, faith, and trust. That's what this life is all about. Choosing and acting on your choice. And then choosing again. It's impossible for me to choose wrong or live my life wrong. There is no correct way that someone has already outlined for how to live my life. It's my life - one that has never been lived before. It's my choice - and mine alone.

Barbara Norby (of Life of Learning Foundation) responded to yesterday's quote... "Isn't it amazing how people everywhere hold the same false beliefs and hear the same destructive voices in our heads? We can call that the lower self. That in itself shows that we are all basically one consciousness, albeit based in physicality and duality.

"But to the bright side, there is also a higher consciousness, a Oneness, we share. We can wake up to that lower self, see that it has never served or protected us, and let go... into the Silence and Stillness where there already exists the freedom and peace we long for."

Audios: Seven Steps to Oneness ~ by Guy Finley
When all is said and done, there is only one freedom that cannot be diminished, and only one place where its abiding peace can be found: all that your heart longs for lives within your True Self.

I'm not good enough; you can't change the way you are; I don't need anyone; I can't trust anyone; if I am not in control, something bad will happen; I am a victim; I am superior to others; if I am vulnerable, I will get hurt; I am bad; I am stupid; I must be perfect; I'm a loser; I am my flaws; whatever I do won't be enough; I don't deserve to be happy; when bad things happen, it is my fault; others can but I can’t; I deserve to feel bad; my needs are not important; if I give in to others, I will lose my point of view; there's something wrong with me; you're stuck with your beliefs; I'm not worthy of love; I have to do everything perfectly; I shouldn't show my true feelings; I am responsible for how others feel; I must be in control; having problems means I don't have it together; success is for better people than me; I won't succeed so why bother trying; I have to do as I am told - and a thousand others likewise, and that's just those relevant to personal development. We learn these things in childhood and they are contagious from person to person. And false.

Accompanying article: Reduce the Drama in Your Life and Become Your Own Healer ~ by Joyce Shafer
Do you make a genuine effort to process through and beyond negative emotions? If you don't, and these emotions get stuck in your energy field, life can become one drama after another. You're here to live and to learn from your day-to-day experiences. You can allow your experiences to be toxic to you energetically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and bodily, or you can transmute your experiences into opportunities, especially to expand conscious awareness and Knowing.

Loving service brings fulfillment like nothing else. And that doesn't need to be a big deal, in the news or on a huge scale. It's also simply looking for opportunities to be helpful, to cheer with a smile, to do the right thing with no thought of reward. People like that warm the hearts of everyone they meet. And a surprising number of people - from every conceivable background - are like that.

Article:Gratitude Keeps Happiness Growing ~ by Jeanie Marshall
The world is a mirror, reflecting whatever you send out in your thoughts and words and actions. If you complain, everywhere you go, you will meet resistance, anger, hostility, and plenty to complain about. When your heart is filled with gratitude, your thoughts and words and actions are kind and loving and helpful. Your thoughts open doors.

Only you know whether you are living a life that is true to your values. Less is hypocrisy and self-deceit. But if you are you will naturally be confident and fearless.

Accompanying article: Your Personal Power Principles ~ by Philip Humbert
What are your top values? Do you have a list? Is it written down? Do you review it frequently? Have you shared it with loved ones, your closest colleagues and friends? And perhaps most importantly, do you have a system for measuring your progress? Does your actual behavior reflect your top priorities in terms of time, effort, thought, and investment? Are you closer to living the life you value today than you were a year ago?

Through self-acceptance without judgment - instead of feeling that we aren't good enough - then we can start to respect ourselves. Through self-respect - instead of trying to please another's expectation - then our true potential can start to shine.

Accompanying article: The 'Stay In The Present, Be Here Now' Thing ~ by John Earle
With awareness we are able to see when we have left the present, and we have the opportunity to come back to it. The present is right in front of us, what is happening right now. When we enter the present, we simultaneously let go of our fear filled fantasies, negative thoughts, worries and ancient resentments for a moment. This in turn brings inner peace. And here is a bonus. Wayne Dyer says that, "To be immersed and surrounded by peace is a great definition of enlightenment." Awareness is looking even better!

Love, and loving service to our fellows, connects us so we do not live isolated lives and life becomes meaningful. Jesus once said that the care we offer to even the smallest child or the weakest old man is received as if it were offered to God. When societies and governments are no longer at the loving service of all people, then arrogance and exploitation risk snuffing out true human development and fulfillment. Only by loving and serving others, even with the simplest of gestures, will humanity regain a sense of happiness and hope.

As humanity evolves, we have to earn the raising of our vibrations in our etheric soul through good works and selfless service. Maslow said that self-actualizing individuals are motivated to continual growth. They are also aware of their primary goals in life and are devoted to fulfilling them, both for their own benefit and as service to others.

Accompanying article: What is Personal Development and Why Bother? ~ by Peter Shepherd
We all have a variety of ways that we guard and protect ourselves from getting hurt. The fortress built around the heart which protects us from the slightest possible pain, is also what's blocking the softest, sweetest, most gentle healing energy from finding its way in. When our inner fortress remains too rigid and strong, it can push away those who are trying to give us love. When this occurs these walls no longer serve our highest good and its vital that we dismantle them. It's only through dissolving these wounded walls that we can truly relax, lighten up and become receptive again to let in love.

This is the simple truth - opening the heart - that I feel is the basis of the current rise in human vibration and evolution of consciousness.

Accompanying article: The 5 Secrets to Letting In Love ~ by Jafree Ozwald
We all have a variety of ways that we guard and protect ourselves from getting hurt. The fortress built around the heart which protects us from the slightest possible pain, is also what's blocking the softest, sweetest, most gentle healing energy from finding its way in. When our inner fortress remains too rigid and strong, it can push away those who are trying to give us love. When this occurs these walls no longer serve our highest good and its vital that we dismantle them. It's only through dissolving these wounded walls that we can truly relax, lighten up and become receptive again to let in love.

Dreams are powerful. Robert Fritz describes this power as structural tension, pulling you like a stretched rubber band between your perception of current reality toward your inspired vision. Like an artist is inspired and energized to create the envisioned picture. This is the basis of intention that works, almost irrespective of the state of mind of the creator... Van Gogh's mental illness didn't prevent him repeatedly manifesting his vision in reality.

Accompanying article: Three Keys to Manifestation ~ by John Robson
If we study our existence, it seems that moment to moment, we are either experiencing or manifesting life. We dance these 2 steps continuously. We are touched by life and then we respond and touch life back. Let's review the basic 2 steps in our dance through life...

Left and right brain, in practice - through which the mind and soul are expressed.

Accompanying article: How Your Mind Can Fool You ~ by Dr. Linda Sapadin
Defense mechanisms protect us from everyday hurt. We all use them. However, rely on them excessively and you distort 'what is', leaving yourself totally unprepared for the day that reality catches up with you.

Unless we take risks we get nowhere; it's a dilemma...

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out for another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk rejection
To place your dreams before a crowd is to risk ridicule
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds
is to risk failure

But risks must be taken
because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing
does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrows,
but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow, or love.
Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave -
he has forfeited his freedom.

Only a person who takes risks is FREE

Accompanying article: 3 Keys to Navigating Life's Storms ~ by Dr. Terry A. Gordon
As a cardiologist, Dr. Terry Gordon dealt with life-and-death circumstances on a daily basis. He learned that life is precious and tenuous; it can change in an instant. Such a dramatic shift occurred when his son, Tyler, was involved in a car accident, sustaining a severe spinal-cord injury that left him paralyzed. Leading his family through the experience, Terry’s journey resulted in a spiritual awakening to a clearer understanding of life and the truths it has to offer.

Harmony in place of conflict is achieved by being true to your inner self, the loving part of you.

Accompanying article: 10 Basic Coaching Steps ~ by Jolandar Molenaar
"The last months I have been working to finalize the 10 Basic Coaching Steps in English. These steps give you the opportunity to live a life of your own. You start with your current reality, followed by fully cleaning up your past and present life. Then after you get tools to really design your own life how you like to imagine it. Does this sound good to you? Take a look at my website and read and apply Coaching Step #1 FOR FREE! Enjoy your life!!!" ~ Jolanda

Our solid, physical world - home of the human animal - is based on duality. Our souls come from the afterlife dimension where there are levels of consciousness, from a less solid duality rising through to oneness, but we can taste oneness here and now through love.

Accompanying article: The Wisdom of the Real People ~ by Keith Varnum
The aborigines celebrate no holidays in our yearly manner. Morgan writes, "They do honor each tribe member sometime throughout the year--not on a specific birthday, but rather to acknowledge the person's talent, his contribution to the community, his personal spiritual growth. Everyone is recognized by a special party, but it has nothing to do with age or birth date. It is in recognition of uniqueness and contribution to life."

They believe that the purpose for the passage of time is to allow a person to become better, wiser, to express more and more of one's BEINGNESS. So if you are a better person this year than last, and only you know that for certain, then you call for the party. They do not celebrate getting older. What they do celebrate is when someone is becoming better. The Real People say, 'We celebrate if we are a better, wiser person this year than last. Only you would know, so it is you who tells the others when it is time to have the party.'

Sometimes, though, in-between achievements, getting off the bike is a good idea, to look at things with a more objective, less involved perspective. To reflect, learn lessons and plan. Left brain and right brain need to be in balance. Reach and withdraw. Being "in the flow" is not the whole of life.

Accompanying article: Recognize What's Important - by Stephanie Marston
One of the cornerstones of reducing your stress is to know what you value-what's most meaningful in your life. Yet when our life is all about completing the millions of tasks on our "to do" list we often lose our perspective. We lose our ability to discern between what's important and what's not because everything feels equally urgent - equally critical. No matter how frantic life gets, no matter how much frenzy seems to be present, the most successful people are able to rise above the pandemonium and maintain their perspective.

It's still all to play for. Life is an adventure, a grand game. If we're writing the book of our lives, best make it a good one with plenty of reversals, ups and downs, triumph and tragedy sometimes, and preferably, a brilliant ending that makes sense of all that comes before.

Accompanying article: Moving Through Puddles, or the Puddle Theory of Personal Development - by Jeanie Marshall
It's still all to play for. Life is an adventure, a grand game. If we're writing the book of our lives, best make it a good one with plenty of reversals, ups and downs, triumph and tragedy sometimes, and preferably, a brilliant ending that makes sense of all that comes before.

Empathy is easier if we recognize the other person's experience within our own. Empathic communication is the basis of understanding, so this is fundamental to relationships.

Accompanying article: Communication: The #1 Key to Relationship Management ~ by Alan Zimmerman
Most day-to-day talk in work and home relationships does not strengthen the relationship. It is merely "functional" talk, such as "Customer Y needs that product shipped today ... We've got until this afternoon to finish the project ... The kids will be home at 5 ... and ... Let's have pizza for dinner." It gets a job done, but it does not increase the excitement level or bring the people any closer together. To build strong relationships, to manage all your relationships for the better, you've got to get beyond the fluff and the superficial. You've got to ask and answer brave questions. You've got to get to the real meat ... and you will be blessed with teams that work and relationships that work.

"Be true to yourself" is ages-old wisdom. We are each of us unique and special. If we don't allow our special qualities to be drowned out, we can become a master in our individual sphere.

Accompanying article: Become A Master in Your Individual Sphere ~ by John Earle
We are all masters of our individual sphere. Every person we meet; every interaction we have is an opportunity to open the heart. We know what this means without any special training. We need no degree, or religion or special education. Kirpal Singh once said, "How can we tell if we are developing spiritually? We can tell by how well we tolerate others."

We may find ourselves dwelling on such matters as our career paths and our vocational satisfaction, feeling trapped and unhappy yet afraid to break out and try something different. Take heart from Eleanor's words. We are stronger than we believe; however desperate circumstances may seem, there is a path forward whereby all things remain possible.

Accompanying article: How I Overcame My Fear of Public Speaking ~ by Marc Tyrrell
I want you to believe that we can all learn to master fears and present more creatively to amuse, inspire, even captivate any audience. At one time I couldn't even imagine presenting with confidence; now I can't imagine presenting without feeling supremely self assured. You can too. Begin your journey to powerful presentations today - you can be a charismatic, memorable, confident presenter sooner than you think.

We may find ourselves dwelling on such matters as our career paths and our vocational satisfaction, feeling trapped and unhappy yet afraid to break out and try something different. Take heart from Eleanor's words. We are stronger than we believe; however desperate circumstances may seem, there is a path forward whereby all things remain possible.

Accompanying article: I Choose ~ Commentary by Rev. Pamla Ashlay McPherson
It is important to remember no two people will ever have the exact same experience, because they are both bringing different back grounds to the table. No two marriages are the same, no two divorces are the same, no two ways of raising children are the same; and no two spiritual paths are the same. That is why we must explore many paths to find the one that resonates with us; the inner us; our soul. You must follow your own truth, for that is the only way you can live your authentic life.

The human animal (body-mind) experiences life as duality, and the human soul (when fully awakened) as non-duality. At the same time. And that's OK... You don't have to stop being a human when you are awakened to Oneness. You don't have to give up your life and live in an isolated cave in order to be enlightened.

Accompanying article: What Movies Can Teach Us About Spiritual Growth ~ by Edwin Harkness Spina
Philosophers refer to this principle as the Hegelian Dialectic: Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis. It is the process of arriving at Truth from two opposing viewpoints. It is not a debate where each side tries to win the other over to its point of view. Rather, it is an attempt to use reason to determine the best possible solution to two seemingly irreconcilable alternatives. Oftentimes, a "third" way is discovered - a synthesis of the two opposing viewpoints. This is more than just a simple storytelling device - this is the basis of all growth and creation. Without an opposing force or viewpoint, nothing happens!

Mindfulness isn't about being self-conscious. Instead, you have practiced implementing a principle into your life, such as being aware when behavior becomes reactive. Like a deliberately programmed habit that then becomes unconscious. So then alarm bells ring when you're being carried along - feeling, thinking and acting reactively - and immediately you get back to being yourself. But that self is then in the moment, in the flow, enjoying life and not self-conscious.

Accompanying article: Act on What You Know Is True ~ by Guy Finley
Truthful principles can only act as agents of change for us when we choose to enact them. Their capacity to restore self-command, grant us a mind at peace, or deliver us from fearful dark states is only as great as our willingness to call upon their powers. That’s why we must do the personal work it takes to put higher principles into practice. Napoleon Hill, one of the early great pioneers of personal development, asserts: “We can become complete masters of ourselves, if we so desire. The main thought to hold in mind is first to gain the knowledge, and secondly to act upon it.” And then act upon it! Wisdom is the seed of freedom, but only in action do we see it flower.

Our Soul is essentially a powerful source of love; that's true for each and every one of us. Love is the light of truth. When you accept truth as your being, it immediately exposes the Shadow, all the other parts of yourself that are not guided by love. The light exposes their lies. But we depend on those other ways of being, as we created them to solve problems in life, albeit in fearful ways: to justify, make excuses, blame, rationalize, be right, avoid, and so on - rather than the braver path of communicating empathically and taking responsibility. So courage is needed; the way out is the way through. But it's worth it as bringing light to the misguided solutions of the past - understanding why they were made and loving their creator - is the ultimate learning experience and enables us to embrace our wholeness.

Accompanying article: Jungian Analytical Psychology ~ by Gregory Mitchell
Jung saw in unconscious material, especially dreams and fantasies, an unfolding of a process of individuation - the idea of continual, lifelong personal development. The barriers to individuation which we must seek to explore and resolve are contained in our 'Shadow' personality: those qualities that one would rather not see in oneself, as well as unrealized potentials. The Shadow of beauty is the beast. Because they're repressed, such beliefs and feelings are typically unconscious; they influence our entire lives, tell us what we can and can not do, and drive our behaviors. Even when we're conscious of them, we tend to hide them because we're ashamed or embarrassed. We don't want anyone to know that we feel unworthy of love or that we're not good enough so we try to suppress such beliefs and deny them.

After all that we have attained, the point of view and perspective are different and a new vision appears. After this life is finished, we begin anew, but now with all we have learned.

Accompanying article: Inter-being ~ by Sean McKenzie
We are a collection of tens of trillions single celled animals that inter-be. How then are we alone? What is this sense of separation we have been conditioned to cling to and assume is real, and why this simultaneously dichotomous stance of superiority and entitlement? It is all simply a lack of awareness.

So easy to get involved in something we don't really want to do, just making it less likely we'll get where we really want to be. So if you don't like the view, don't waste your time continuing to climb that ladder.

Accompanying article: Using Empathic Listening to Collaborate ~ by Stephen R. Covey
The late Stephen Covey became a household name when "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" was published in 1989. The book summed up his philosophy in seven behaviors such as taking personal responsibility ("Be proactive"), having a road map or mission ("Begin with the end in mind") and defining one's priorities ("Put first things first"). He presents a pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity - principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates. Click the link above for an excerpt.

Says it all, don't you think? Love is the source of universal truth, therefore the perfect guide in our lives, and we each have an unlimited supply within us because it is who we are.

Accompanying article: Ever Expanding Love ~ by Harold W. Becker
Love is such an amazingly simple, elegant and universal expression of the very nature of life itself. It is present in every life-giving heartbeat and intrinsic in nebulas swirling with potential in far distant galaxies. It is felt in the beauty of each sunrise and in the gentle embrace of a smile. It is the sublime connection that does more than connect. It is the essence of all that we experience and in that which we have yet to imagine. Love knows no bounds and creates no conditions. It is what it is.

We are naturally afraid of the unknown, or of forces that may overpower us, or things that may go wrong. But equally we can face these fears, when we are sufficiently motivated to "do it anyway." The attitude we adopt is our choice and determines whether our thoughts, and corresponding emotions and actions, are empowering or self-defeating. Our motivation may include success, power, pleasure, possession, control and so on. But the highest motivation is love, and that light will erase the shadows of fear and take us through all the world can throw at us.

Accompanying article: More Courage, Less Fear ~ by Linda Sapadin
It's strange that we live in an age in which we're healthier, wealthier, safer and living far longer than previous generations ever dreamed of; yet, it doesn't seem that we feel more secure. Indeed, the more we know, the wealthier we are, the longer we live, the more fearful many of us become.

Nothing and everything at the same time, two sides of a golden coin... the big Zen paradox that has fooled thinkers for millennia, because it can only be experienced. It is the insight of enlightenment, beyond duality. We are spirit, not a material thing, and simultaneously we are not separate from any physical thing, nor from each other. Both spirit and the universe are simply expressions of Love.

Accompanying article: The Dichotomy of Preference ~ by Jeanie Marshall
This is a wonderful world of duality. Sometimes it doesn't feel so wonderful when confusion or negativity seems to prevail. However, the physical world as we know it could not exist and grow, nor could our consciousness expand, without duality. It is essential that each one of us makes an individual choice for the light.

Meaning of Namaste: "I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you, which is of love, of truth, of light and of peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one."

More and more people are feeling this, and really it's our hope for the future that this becomes the New Human, and the old mentality of fear and hate no longer has a place in our societies. And it's not just humans, it's sheep and fields and trees too... a true Oneness we can experience. Brings tears to the eyes... that's OK, tears are liquid love.

Accompanying article: How to Become a Hug-a-Holic ~ by Jafree Ozwald
One of the most challenging and rewarding things you are here to do on this planet is to learn how to truly connect with people. This means being able to engage freely with others on the deepest emotional, spiritual, mental and physical levels. When you are connecting with others in these intimate ways, you open up new energies of love, lightness and power within yourself, and this allows you to explore the most hidden and mysterious aspects of your being.

These insights can inspire us to awaken and see the world differently,
with new motivation and possibilities for success...

"Be grateful for whoever comes, because each
guest has been sent as a guide from beyond" –Rumi