"To be or not to be."  How many times have we heard these words throughout our lives?  We ponder this words with much insight and time.  Have had many discussions about their meaning and our own meaning.  Only to come to one conclusion,  You Are.

May 24, 2007 Looking Deeply The Good In All Sometimes we find it difficult to see the good in people, places, or situations that aren’t to our liking. We focus on the things we don’t like in our lives as a way of fueling our efforts to create change. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, and it is one way we make progress. However, if we get too caught up in this way of looking at the world, we lose touch with our ability to sit back and simply say yes to everything on our plates, which is the true starting point for all successful activity. Sometimes what we really need is to encourage ourselves to look deeply into all things in our lives to see the inherent goodness at the heart of everything. At the core of this inquiry is the practice of unconditional acceptance, which can be scary because we feel as if we are being asked not to change the things we don’t like. But when we think this way, we are still operating on the surface of our lives. In order to feel the beauty and warmth of full acceptance, we have to be willing to sink deeper into the stratum underlying the external manifestation of our lives. This deeper place of being is the origin of all lasting change, yet its paradox is that when we are in it, we often don’t feel the need to change anything. From this place, we experience the pure beauty of the process of being alive, and we see that all things change in their own time. We don’t need to force anything. If there are things that we do need to change, from this place of serenity we create the shift easily, our hands guided by an energy that resides at the very center of our hearts. In our active, goal-oriented culture, we learn to distrust stillness and to engage in busywork on the surface of life. This tendency can blind us to the good that lies at the heart of all things. But all we have to do to see again is stop for a moment, let go of our preconceptions and our agendas, and settle into the very center of our hearts, remembering that it is only from here that we can truly see.

May 21, 2007 As Good As Your Word Promises Ever since human beings could speak to one another, they have been making promises and keeping them or not keeping them. Those who keep their promises are regarded as people of integrity, while those who don’t keep their promises are regarded as people who at best can’t be taken seriously and at worst can’t be trusted. Sometimes we forget how powerful our words are, and we use them haphazardly or unconsciously, creating expectations that are never fulfilled, leaving disappointment and distrust in our wake. On an even deeper level, there are promises we may have made to ourselves that we don’t remember because they have slipped into our unconscious. An early heartache may have been followed by a promise never to trust love again. Without realizing it, we may be fulfilling that promise and wondering why our love life looks so grim. At an even deeper level, many people who recall past lives become aware that they made a promise lifetimes ago that they are still keeping. For example, a vow of poverty taken in a lifetime as a monk may be holding someone back from fulfilling his earning potential now. Upon realizing that we have made a promise we no longer wish to be beholden to, we can perform a ritual of requesting release from that bond. In doing so, we clear ourselves of outmoded connections and patterns, returning ourselves to a clean slate. Then we can resolve to remember that our word is sacred and to be very conscious of any promises we make to ourselves or to others. We may ask to be released from any promises made to ourselves or others in our present, past, or future lives, consciously or unconsciously, that are holding us back from fulfilling our greatest good. We may ask that love, light, and healing be sent to any souls who have suffered from our inability to be true to our word, including ourselves. We can ask for the wisdom to do our best and from this point forward to be true to our word, promising only what we truly intend to deliver. The resulting clear conscience and liberated energy will illustrate this truth: We are only as good as our word.

Blessed are those who know the light. Blessed are those who feel the light. Blessed are those who see the light. Blessed are we, for we are the light.

Looking around the room was an incredible experience
   Everything was in such vivid colors that I had never seen before
   The feeling of universal love was indescribable.
   There was a oneness with every molecule that exisisted.
   The warmth from the light was as pure as the light its self.
   How was it that I never noticed this before?
   Does everyone else see and feel this way too?
   I never want this to end.
   Maybe I am the only one who can see the light.
   Maybe I am the light.
   Maybe I have created it.
   I set up in bed, only to find that I could see, but was still blind.

Have you ever been lying in bed and heard your heartbeat?  Ever heard your lungs fill with air and then release it?  Why is it that we don't hear these sounds all the time?  Everywhere around us is sound, we surround ourselves with it.  Many of us can't be without it, not even while we sleep.  Why do we need to immerse ourselves in outside noises?  Why do we seek and find comfort is them?  Ever heard anyone say "it's to quite" ?  What's wrong with being quite?  With feeling the stillness?  If we can't hear the sounds that are inside us, that comfort us, that make us, how are we to ever hear what's outside?  Ever been so close to someone that you could hear their heartbeat? You just shared life with them, stillness with them, oneness with them.  You just became them, even if it were for only a moment.  How did that feel?  Comfortable silence is being able to hear your heartbeat in the middle of a crowded room.  When you can hear your own, now listen for everyone else's.  When you can hear your own, you ARE hearing everyone else's.

When we place expectations upon others, they are unfair at best. Most of the time, the expectation is unknown to the other person and therefore, can never be met. When we place expectations upon ourselves, it's saying that we do not respect ourselves.

When we are at peace with ourselves, we understand that we are all one. We are not seperate from each other or anything else. Love is the only way.