On Giving:

Giving recognizes oneness.

Giving is love.

Giving is abundance.

Giving is joy.

Giving is divine.

Giving is wealth.

Giving is change.

Giving is release.

Giving is understanding.

Giving is cooperation.

Giving is sharing.

Giving is selfless.

Giving is caring.

Giving is compassion.

Giving is strength.

Giving is gratitude.

Giving is fearlessness.

Giving is kind.

Giving knows no borders.

Giving knows no color.

Giving knows no gender.

Giving is passionate love.

Giving is the recognition;
Of the UNITY of ONE.

Giving is the recognition;
Of the UNITY of ALL.

Love to give…. Give to love.

by Lori Fields
Self-motivation flows from the importance we attach to today.

I am reading this amazing book called, “100 Ways to Motivate Yourself” by Steven Chandler and each chapter is a HUGE nugget of thought provoking, spirit lifting, energizing inspiration. This morning I randomly open the book to this entry, “Make today a masterpiece.” Chandler says that most of us live our lives hypnotized, thinking that we have all the time in the world to do what we want. When we live this way we end up sleepwalking past life’s finest opportunities. He states that the key to personal transformation is in your willingness to do very tiny things – but to do them today. Today is a microcosm of your ENTIRE life. What would happen to our behavior if we started thinking that each day when we wake up we have been “born” and each night when we go to sleep we “die.” In this way we only have each day to live our best life. We only have each day to create our masterpiece.

I am certainly guilty of wasting my moments and instead of creating a masterpiece I allow things to flop. I put off doing the laundry, I am distracted online instead of focusing my energy on my work, I veg out in front of the tv instead of paying more attention to my husband. I get caught up in my thoughts, overwhelmed by all the tasks I need to complete instead of taking action. I put off writing my blog bc I am not feeling at my best. But what if today were the only day I had to perform at my best? Well, I still might put off doing the laundry and cleaning the kitchen floor, but I certainly wouldn’t waste my energy on distractions and I wouldn’t waste an opportunity to be fully present for my daughter, my husband, and my passion.

So while I can’t promise that for the rest of my life each day will be a complete masterpiece, I can (starting today) really show up for myself. I can fill my spirit with an unstoppable internal motivation. Today I am going to live as if each moment represented my entire life. I will live each moment with my eyes wide open so as not to miss an opportunity. I will try to live hard so that I go to bed thinking “today, I was at my best.”

What will you do to create your masterpiece today?

Share it with us at www.realbeautyis.com

Author’s Bio
Lori Fields, clinical social worker and founder of the website www.realbeautyis.com
Expert in woman’s issues and on the beauty of embracing your imperfection. Has helped countless women increase their self-esteem and live the life they imagine.

The Real Beauty Is website brings together in one place the latest news, articles and inspiring stories. Our interactive forum allows women to overcome the obstacles to feeling good and to celebrate their beauty. At Real Beauty Is we are on a mission to help women let go of body conflicts and limiting beliefs about themselves.

By Denika “Kelarius” Laurie
For many months I have been working with individuals who are not in their bodies – meaning they are not fully connected to the awareness of their mind – men and women alike, from all nationalities. At first, I thought it was only those individuals who had experienced severe trauma in their lives. I could see how the pain from the past and the fear of trauma happening again was keeping these individuals from staying connected. Sadly enough I have come to realize that it is not only traumatized individuals, but any individual that has ever been hurt in their lives.

Most people are living their lives with a closed heart. It opens from time to time but it doesn’t stay open. People generally feel happy maybe during special occasions if things go the way they anticipate. They may also feel happy and have an open heart when they fall in love, when they have sex, when they get a large sum of money, etc. In this sense, opening ones heart and keeping it open are purely based on the belief system of the subconscious mind. One now has to have a reason to keep their heart open. And of course, we all know that one’s emotions are directed by the thoughts, which determines the course of satisfaction one experiences. If there is no satisfaction then there is no happiness at heart. If there is no happiness at heart, then there is nopeace. And without peace their dwells the world of discontent.

A Closed Heart is A Closed Mind

When people are discontent, they generally complain, judge, and criticize themselves as well as others they know and don’t know. The ego (big and little) has to control everything it can as a way to protect itself. The problem with this is that this way of living has been accepted as a natural state of mind. It is rather more of a “normal” state of mind. In other words, it is not how God intended things to be for us. This is what we chose and this is what we created.

We shout “hey, I can do what I want to do and it is my choice because I am an adult.” Of course we are absolutely right about this. However, in doing so, we have removed ourselves so far away from our divinity that we have forgotten the truth as to whom we are. This state is much like a rebellious child that is out to prove a point to his parents. The child says “Don’t tell me what to do and I don’t need your help.” Then they storm off quickly, tripping themselves up quite a bit. In fact, they continue tripping themselves up so much so that they decide to stop “storming” off so they don’t fall down and scrape up their knees any more. Now, the difference between the modern day adult and the rebellious child is that there is a greater chance the child will return to their parents to seek advice. The modern day adult has calculated and created an alternate route to stay in control because things are safer that way. They will reason their shortcomings, master their manipulations, and accept the ways of the world and say to themselves that this is just how things are.

In order for one to accept the fact that they need help or they need to do things differently, they must be willing to surrender their ego. Because the majority of people are dealing with fear: fear of rejection, fear of getting emotionally hurt, fear of losing control, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of pain, etc. It comes in many forms. Many people are not sure what to expect sometimes. Most do not like the unexpected and this is why they work so hard at staying in control. It makes one feel vulnerable and because of our disassociation with our true divine nature, we have forgotten how to tap into the inner knowing. Either way it goes, it is still fear based and regardless of how we would like for things to be, vulnerability always exists on some level so long as the heart is closed.

When we were children, we had an open heart. We loved freely. If someone close hurt us, we forgave them. If it took a discussion to forgive them, then that would be all it would take and that same day we would be laughing and playing together again. As a child, we were open to experience and learn about life and things and other people. We would never fathom the idea of having to emotionally protect ourselves so that we wouldn’t get hurt. Protection became a learned behavior because we were taught that it was not wise to be “open like a book.” We were taught that it was not wise to be so trustful and forgiving. Our innocence was considered a weakness and once we “lost” it we either believed it was impossible to attain once again or that there was no need to attain it again.

Innocence is what keeps one humble. It is what keeps one in a non-judgmental state and it helps you to express unconditional love. Unconditional love is expressed in this state of mind because that is all you know to exist. When one feels the love flowing through their heart at all times all they know is to express it. The parameters for that expression do not even exist. Think of all the times you experienced falling in love. That person could do no wrong in your eyes. We even say things like “love is blind.” Think about when you had your first child. You would love that child so much so that they would “want for nothing.” For these things and many more that are not mentioned here, some of us have decided to be unconditional while others stand by and criticize the unconditional love that is expressed. Some of us ignore the criticism while others give in to it.

Because of the current conditioning of our states of mind, we have convinced ourselves that the only way we can experience love safely is under our own terms and conditions. On top of that, we believe the only way we can feel and experience love is through another person, a circumstance, or a situation. Yet, the energy of love is available at all times because it is the very thing that sustains all life. The only reason you are unaware of this is because you have conditioned yourself to open and close your heart on a regular basis, like a light switch. This is why one minute you are in love and the next minute you are not. You have refused to keep it open out of pain and fear.

When the heart stays open, the heart chakra that is – which is only ONE of the centers of the body that contains the love energy – one feels love every moment of the day. It is this love that assists you with your emotional and self development. It is this love that helps you to understand your purpose in life and how to respect other people’s purpose in life. It is this love that truly allows you to accept people for who they really are without trying to change them. It is this love that helps you to define your own success and how to attain it. It is this love that teaches you how to raise your children with knowledge and wisdom. It is this love that helps you to accept your image and self-expression. It is this love.

With a closed heart, one cannot even mature into the divine spiritual being that they are (yes, you are more than physical). One becomes trapped in experiencing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree produces things of a feel good nature. All things are based on self-gratification. Self-gratification tends to create illusions around that state of mind. This is the world that most live in and this is why most daydream a lot. It removes you from the reality that you are currently in. You are either daydreaming because of what you would like to experience or because of what you do not want to experience. This is that part of you that has not accepted the truth about what is really going on inside of you and your life.

With an open heart, pain and suffering does not even exist. The body and the individual only feel bliss. The individual is very clear about what is illusionary and what is not. They are aware and feel the connection of their state of oneness with God. There is no worry or frustration. They feel the harmony with all life. The body opens up and feeds from the Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life dwells within the human body. It is the blueprint for our spiritual anatomy. Spiritual Anatomy is something that we have not accepted because we cannot see or feel in the spiritual realm as easily as we use to – so we deny it. When one takes time to exercise their spiritual bodies just like they do with their physical body, then this seeing and feeling gradually returns. As one begins to heal and release past pains and judgments, they become lighter. The Tree of Life is ready for activation. There is no need for a bishop, pastor, or priest to activate this or to help you to understand how to open up to Love. This is so because the Book of Life is written within your heart. You possess what is called an Energetic Signature on your heart. In fact, there are several Energetic Signatures and there are several Heart Centers on the body that hold high frequencies of the Love Vibration. Since you have been accustomed to experiencing emanations of light known as emotions, you have to reacquaint yourself with the different types of energy that exist in and around you.

Emotions are emanations of light whose expression is determined by one’s belief system. The emanations are the spectrums of light that shine forth from the presence of God. The emotion is seeking an avenue through which to express itself as it must continue in motion. Keep in mind the definition of expression in this sense refers to the energy or the emotion being able to leave (continue to flow) out of the body and this is why they are temporary. If the emotion does not continue to flow, then the heart begins to close. If the heart closes, then the rest of the body begins to shut down. The energetic heart functions very similar to that of the physical heart. The body has to gradually be opened up again to love. Love carries a very high vibrational frequency and the majority of humans are functioning at a very low frequency because of the emotions they are holding on to. The ascent into the power of the Tree of Life requires first working with Light energy. The Light energy is not the emanations of light that one is used to, but the Light itself that the emanations come from. It is the prelude to the flow of love energy entering the heart. Think of it this way: let’s use hot water as an example. Let’s say when you use water, you generally keep it at a moderate temperature. You can only stand the water being so hot. Now, if you were to gradually increase the temperature of the water every day, eventually you would be able to stand a higher degree of that frequency. The frequency in this case is heat. The thing to remember is that you had an adjustment period. The human body will adapt to whatever you expose it to. So if you have been dealing with lower emotions it will adjust whatever it needs to in order to sustain itself. This is especially true when dealing with your spiritual anatomy as it is all based on energy.

Now, the more you take in light energy, the lighter you become because you are vibrating at a higher frequency. As you take in more light, the body will circulate the stagnant energy (heavy/negative emotions) so that much higher vibrating energy can come in. It naturally understands what you are doing since this is its original state. During this time, many things will come to surface from the subconscious mind that requires resolution. Resolution can come through directly removing and replacing the negative/limiting beliefs or it can come through conscious shifting.

Conscious shifting is what creates the healing in the mind. Consciousness is what holds the body of beliefs within the mind. Once this occurs, the body will respond and the old way of thinking will no longer exist as well as certain physical conditions. When the heart is open, the body will heal itself on all levels. It is the mind that holds all vibrational frequencies. The mind is throughout the body as each organ thinks and feels (see PNI – psycho neuro immunology which explains this). Each part of the body holds a state of consciousness that corresponds to the Tree of Life or the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. You are either dealing with the lesser light or the greater light. As you go through your conscious shifting, the entire body goes through the transition as well. You will continue to experience many different uprisings of unresolved issues as healing happens one layer at a time. As these layers are removed, elevation will occur. The elevation takes place through consciousness.

As the layers are removed, one’s consciousness expands and the awareness is increased. It is in this state that you become more aware of your divine nature. You are able to hear and communicate with your angels and other beings of light. You learn more about your spiritual anatomy and the multi-dimensional bodies. For each state of awareness, there is a body that holds that level of consciousness. We call these Light Bodies. Within each body lies another set of energy systems. As each body of light is awakened or activated, the individual is able to take in more light and different kinds of light energy such as Star energy or rainbow energy.

Star energy secures the emotional frequency needed to allow the love energy to prepare one for the changes happening in the earth. It removes negative forces of light from around people. Star energy opens people up to the possibility that they are more than what they think they are. It is a prelude of transition into angelic form. Rainbow energy is used in combination with Star energy as it helps with development of the mental body into higher conscious states. It alters the consciousness of the mind. If you ever make it to this point, you will be working very closely with Angels and Arch Angels and you will be able to see them very vividly with your inner vision or 3rd eye. More specifically, you will be working with the Angels of Light and the Star Light Angels.

Open your Heart Chakra's Energy!

If you remain consistent with the work, your Angels will attune the Christ Light vibration to your chakras. The Christ Light will break down the illusions. It will also transform disease/illness (mental/emotional/physical) into a light body that will receive love energy. The body will go through different stages of taking in more intense levels of the love vibration. As you progress, each stage goes deeper and deeper into the subconscious mind. It will bring to light all things that you need to let go of through forgiveness. Forgiveness is necessary to keep the heart completely open at all times. Forgiveness is also necessary to enter into the holier realms of light or Heaven as we call it.

As you go into the state of expanding your heart and sustaining greater amounts of Love energy, you release all things that you no longer wish to experience. Understanding what happened with any particular situation or person becomes instant as you are now attuned to the All Knowing. What seemed like an eternity of sorrow and sadness now leaves the body. All of the energy channels of the body will open and will stay open. The energy will flow much better now. You will feel like your whole body is breathing. People will no longer be able to “vamp” off of your energy as now they are receiving love through you from God. Finally, the circuit is complete. You see the circuit was originally created where the Love of God goes into the planet and the inhabitants thereof and then that love energy circulates through the planet and the inhabitants and returns to God. Even being in love with someone or sharing and expressing love is suppose to be from this point – the love comes into you and is exchanged between you and the other person. This is what being “in love” really meant – that is being in the flow of the Love energy.

What is interesting in all of this is that when you finally make up your mind to open your heart and attune to love, you will realize that it has been there all along. They say it is the mind that gives the illusion that one is removed from the presence of God and here, in this sense, we can come to understand how. No longer do we have to sit and wonder how to “let go and let God.” No longer do we have to try to figure out how to let go of things that are sorrowful to the heart. We don’t have to have broken hearts, which actually means that the flow of love energy into the heart has been disrupted. We can return to our divine state if we choose to.

I believe the greatest secret kept is that we are walking around with the keys to heaven in our hearts and we have never used them. Some of us think we have to die in order to experience eternal bliss, but this is not so. You can experience heaven NOW. Being in heaven now does not mean you don’t get to enjoy life, it makes life MUCH better! I’ve gone through everything in this article that I have written and much more and I can tell you that everything I have ever gone through in my life was worth it – simply because it brought me to this point. I cannot tell you how there were some things that I was emotionally hysterical about. I held on to deep sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment, and discouragement. The more I opened and expanded my heart, the more love I am able to sustain and feel throughout the day.

I feel this is something everyone should experience. Everyone has the right to chose to experience love all the time. Everyone has the right to use the tools to change their circumstance. People respond to the energy inside of you. They respond to how you feel and the energy you are giving off. If you have a lot of negativity inside of you that you have not resolved, then you tend to have a lot more drama in your life. If you have a lot of positive energy inside of you, then you tend to attract nicer people and have more pleasant experiences. Yet still, when you open your heart and expand it to God’s love, you trigger the opening of the heart in others. You activate their body’s innate intelligence to commune with the Love of God and to bring it forth in their lives. This is the greatest gift that we could give to one another and the planet. Love creates love and is contagious.

On March 1, 2010, I will be launching The Heart Expansion Project. The goal of this project is to get at least 1% of the world’s population to daily engage in a 20-minute Heart Expansion exercise for 1 year. The way to bring about change in your community and the world we live in starts with yourself. Until you use your power to change your inner world, you will never have the power to change the outer world of experience. The way topeace and everything else is through the heart. If you are not in agreement with war, famine, genocide, and other maladies and if you are ready to live life differently, then I encourage you to participate in the Heart Expansion Project.

Author’s Bio
Denika “Kelarius” Laurie is a passionate spiritual healer this is a Light Worker, Theta DNA Practitioner, Reiki Master/Teacher, Ordained Minister, Speaker and Author. She runs a membership site that is focused on Heart Consciousness and Light Body Development. She also travels the country and teaches women about Womb Wellness.

www.yourenergywellness.com
www.eternalkween.com

Above, is my friend Matt.  He was working an overnight shift at a twenty-four hour cafe when I snapped this shot.  Let me tell you he was grateful for that clove cigarette when he was smoking it, even though it was the middle of winter in Michigan, freezing and damp.  Since, he has quit the habit of smoking and is thankful for much more in life.  Matt is a good friend of mine, and not only do I admire him, I am grateful for him and endebted to him. Gratitude, is it a sentiment, or central to our spiritual wellbeing?  

I believe the more gratitude speaks in our lives, the less we have to really say.  Should gratitude be a passing senitment in our experience, we have lost a guiding force.  Therefore, it follows that gratitude is central to our spritual well being. We may act out of gratitude, we may feel grateful and we are grateful for things.  But do we know gratitude? Do we understand gratitude? Spiritually speaking, gratitude is the forces of kindness, compassion, love, understading, humility, tolerance, faith, acceptance, fortitude, guidance, teachability, honor, trust and decency working together to conjure a manifestation of true feeling or emotion in the workings of human kind.

Humility and humbleness aid us in our mission to understand gratitude.  Here in this 7 billion + human race we sometimes enjoy taking advantage of each other.  This is the opposite of gratitude. Imagine the following: I am your friend.  I follow you through you darkest moments and days of revelry.  We have much to be grateful for.  Then I start to lie, I steal from you, I use you vainly and for the sole intent of personal gain.  All of the spirituality between us has vanished in a cloud of resentment.  All because I took the friendship for granted.  I discounted it.  I took advantage of you and your good nature, and our firendship. Gratefullness is something that is know in Human-ness.  We experience gratitude on a daily basis but, I feel we overlook it.  Just like the above story.  We assume all the good in our lives will always be good and the bad will just fix itself.  

Gratitude is one of those things where we misplace it until we really need it most. Today’s assignment?  I suggest that we all compile a gratitude list of things that we are grateful for in our lives today.  Should you wish, compile it in the comment section of this blog post and I will start one now. I am grateful for another day. I am grateful for my mistakes, flaws and character defects as they are my biggest liability and best teachers. I am grateful for my work. I am grateful for oneconsciousness.org I am grateful for you. I am grateful for life. That is a short list but I don’t want to tie up all your time with my gratitudes.  

However, should you make a daily meditation on gratitudes, you will carry around a lot less resentment toward  yourself and others.  By keeping gratitude central we may push out the unwanted or unhealthy spiritual properities.

If you’re not relating with God at the level you’d like, or if you’re just plain “stuck” when it comes to praying, below are some suggestions you may want to consider. If you wish, you can incorporate one of these suggestions into your current prayer practice, or you can use one or more of the suggestions to help you begin talking with God if you haven’t already done so.

Here are a few suggestions to help you talk with God and deepen your relationship.

* Begin with gratitude. Tell the Divine about those things in your life you’re really grateful for.
* Express yourself wholly and fully to the Divine. Don’t leave anything out. Hint: If you feel you need to keep something from God, that’s a great item to tell God. Don’t worry, you won’t be hit by lightning; God already knows anyway, but just wants to hear it from you!
* Be highly communicative. In other words, don’t say to God, “I’m mad.” Tell God how you got so mad, how you feel about being so mad, what your anger makes you want to do, etc. And if you’re mad at God, be sure to mention that little tidbit as well.
* Listen closely. Allow the Divine to reveal itself to you. Put yourself aside for a few minutes and just allow yourself to be fully absorbed with God. Learn more about God, like you would when forming a new friendship with another person. (I have to laugh, because in my first draft of this article I accidentally typed “unlearn” instead of “learn.” I think there may be merit in that typo. As a child, what did you learn about God that keeps you feeling distant from the Divine? Be open to “unlearn” childhood beliefs that no longer make sense today.)
* Allow for spontaneity in how you pray and talk to God. What feels good one day may not be your best choice the next day.
* Bring all of you into your conversations with God, not just your mind and your thoughts.
* Pray in a way that you enjoy the time you spend with God.

And here are just a few more thoughts from me to you about prayer:

* Your prayers and the way you pray do not have to comply with the wishes or expectations of others.
* Choose or create “prayers” that help you feel one with–or at least closer to–the Divine, not prayers that inflict more feelings of separation between you, the Divine, and your own inner Divinity.
* Prayers that come spontaneously from the heart are wonderful and every bit as valuable as carefully crafted prayers, including those written by others/”experts.”

In summary, prayer does not have to be hard; it can be a very natural process. Prayer is simply the process of letting God get to know you better, while you get to know God better.

Remember, God wants to be with you. You are not a bother–no matter what you choose to talk about. No subject is off-limits. Interact with the Divine frequently, and trust your relationship will grow and unfold naturally. Expect to hear/see/experience God in your life. Expect it as the norm, not the exception.

And above all, remember that anybody can talk to God. There is no reason for you to feel you can’t. No matter what “you’ve done” or “not done,” God is still there for you!

Author’s Bio
Arleen Hannich, MA, is a Spiritual Facilitator. She provides Divine Presence, Inspirational Messages From Spirit, and the Oneness Blessing to individuals worldwide who wish to live authentically and joyfully. To receive her Free Ezine “The Divine Connection” and her Free Guide “Feel Your Emotions and Create a Life You Love,” visit her website at http://www.ArleenHannich.com

For as long as I can recall, it seems that I have felt that I am to share great truths to the world. At times, I sit with doubt as to why I would be such a messenger. To those who know me, my personality is one of keen wit and hilarity. I love a good laugh. Some have even called me a “bullshittapotomus”. And I embrace that side of me. But, as I move down the path of life, I feel myself beginning to embrace the wisdom and knowingness of this great universe.

As much as I try to fight the spiritual side of my being… it is there. It is what we are. We are spiritual beings having this human experience. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the day-to-day mundane chores of life, that we fail to recognize the greatness that lies within these cells.

We have to realize that we are here for something greater than getting by, paying the bills, surviving and hoping there is enough money at the end of the month. We were meant to prosper, to love, to share, to grow and to teach.

We weren’t meant to sit on our collective asses and watch as much television as we do. Numbing the mind and spirit in the process. I figure that I currently only watch about 1-2 hours of television shows a week. There are very few good shows on TV worth spending hours of your waking life and youth glued to the edge of your seat for. My indulgence is a bit of sport, NFL, baseball and college hoops. (Although, with college basketball season approaching, I’m sure my television consumption will rise.)

As a civilization, we have more information available to us, than ever before. Still, if you gaze out at the amazing stars at night, you can not help but feel to be a very small piece of it all. This does not mean we are insignificant. On the contrary, we are very important. Our thoughts and actions have a huge impact on our own world and environment. Our collective consciousness has to change from that of lack and of war… to the belief that we are all part of this great creation of God’s.

We know more than ever before… but sometimes, it seems as if no one has learned a thing.

This blog post was inspired by a divine audio snippet by Neale Donald Walsh in his Conversations with God, Book 3. I want you to take 17 minutes of quiet time and listen to the words within. It feels me with joy to hear this… and of all of the media that I have… 10s of thousands of mp3 tracks… this was the random one that came to my attention… and I feel that I should bring it to your attention.

Neale Donald Walsch talking with God in a 17 minute dialog about the afterlife, Satan, the Cosmic Wheel, sex and other interesting thoughts. [right click and save to disk]

If you aren’t familiar with the Neale Donald Walsch Conversations with God book trilogy, I’d suggest borrowing it from your library or snagging it from Amazon. It truly is an interesting work.

I am going to make a point to post more thoughts more frequently. This One Consciousness site has had the potential to be great. There have been some amazing thinkers posts their wonderful words on this site, and we are blessed to have them share. If you feel like sharing your thoughts on this site, with a blog post of your own… feel free to get an account and create your words for all to read.

Namaste, In La ‘Kesh and Temet Nosce

Travis Wright

Make Sure You Stop to Notice the Blessings All Around You! Original Photo @2006 by Amethyst Wyldfyre

Blessings like butterflies come to us and often catch us unawares. How many times have we heard the words “Count your blessings!”? When we take the time to become consciously aware, to slow down, to breathe, we are able to make the space in our lives to truly acknowledge all the many ways that we have been blessed. As we count our blessings we automatically create an energetic link to Spirit which activates an infinite feedback loop that garners us greater and greater blessings to count.

The Universe is filled with raw un-manifest energy, where our attention flows that is where the energy goes. This concept called Ma Te Ah in Hawaiian is a wonderful idea to hold in our consciousness. When we think about our blessings we create an incredibly powerful force field or strange attractor as it’s known in physics that begins to both spin and magnetize more of the same to us.

Along with counting our blessings we also have the opportunity to take a moment to express our gratitude to the Universe for each and every one of them. Gratitude is the currency of the Universe and of course currency is gratitude in action. When we draw upon these powerful forces of good, naturally more good will manifest in our lives, in many forms, including financially.

As we garner greater and greater good it becomes vitally important to maintain the flow of acknowledgment for our blessings and gratitude for what we have received. It is wise to have awareness that what we have to work with is to be used and stewarded wisely for the greatest good of all concerned and not squandered haphazardly to satisfy the whims of the ego. Humility and an understanding that we have the capacity to harness these forces through the grace of Spirit is important to cultivate as is a state of balance in how we manage our resources.

Take some quiet time in your own sacred space today and let us begin to count the many blessings that we possess. Perhaps you will start your list with the physical: Are you healthy? Do you have a warm snug home? Are you well fed and clothed?  When you have exhausted all that you are blessed with in a physical way then move on to your emotional world: Are you loved? Are you surrounded by a supportive group of friends? Are you involved and connected with your family? Is your neighborhood or community a breeding ground for goodness? Moving on from there take a mental inventory: Are you well educated? Do you have access to books, literature, theatre, art, culture, and music? Are your colleagues mentally stimulating? Does your work enrich and excite your mind? Finally let’s look at the Spiritual: Do you have freedom to worship as you choose? Are you intimately connected with your inner world? Does Spirit speak to or through you? Are you free to share what you believe with others?

During the holiday season our many blessings become more obvious as we create outward displays of our celebration of the season and exchange gifts and spend time with our family and friends. It’s vitally important to remember that this time is a time for celebrating and sharing with others and that material goods are meant to be a small symbol of the deeper underlying energy of our feelings for each other.  Now that the season has passed and the focus has shifted we sometimes need to be reminded that these blessings are still here with us!

Blessings come in many shapes and sizes, sometimes those that appear to be the smallest in the end turn out to be the most valuable. The blessing of an open heart, a compassionate ear, the hug of a small child, a sunshiny day, a beautiful flower, a delicious ripe tomato, the mundane, everyday tasks that make up a life like fresh sheets on the bed, hot tea on a cold afternoon – everywhere you look there’s another blessing. By truly choosing to pay attention, to attend to that with which you are blessed you will discover a whole host of blessings surrounding you each and every moment. So the next time you feel down, sad, angry, lost, hurt, or fearful take a moment, take a breath, count five things right in front of you that are blessings and watch yourself become lighter and clearer before you know it! Thank you for blessing me with your attention today. The light within me recognizes the light within you and we are one – and blessed!

Amethyst Wyldfyre is a multidimensional shaman, healer, artist, author, blogger, performer, speaker and psychic who lives and works in the Merrimack Valley of NH.  She can be reached through her website or blog for more information.  She can also be followed on Twitter at @AWyldfyre.  (This article was originally published online by Aspire Magazine Dec./Jan. 2008)

How the journey of your soul been?

There is a philosophy called HUNA from ancient Polynesia… it is a fabulous study on the way things work in the universe and its several thousand years old. One of the things they say is “Everything is Working Out Perfectly” or EWOP.

When you tie this into what you read in the book, Journey of Souls, by Michael Newton. You realize that you CHOSE this path prior to coming to Earth, and that you have some big lesson or lessons that you are here to work on. Some major purpose.

As we all know, our purpose is NOT to just get by and to make ends meet, but to excel and to move forward down our spiritual paths.

Apparently, in the end, we all become spiritual teachers on the journey for souls that aren’t as far down that path as we are… and eventually we get to a point in which we no longer reincarnate on Earth as our souls progress to higher levels of understanding… of course, with each life, comes harder lessons… but we choose this in advance.

So, it boils down to the fact that all of our existence is a divine creation… a path that we CHOSE to take. It’s not easy, but once we learn this, it seems to make the journey a little lighter a whole lot less stressful… less stress…. less worry. We just need to glean the lesson from within.

Sounds wild, eh? But it feels like the truth… I’m WAY less stressed than I used to be… it seems to take some of the edge off, knowing how the universe actually works!

P.S. You can preview the book and read most all of it at Google Books

Much Love & Light

Travis Wright

During the holidays, it is a good time to reflect to find the true meaning of Christmas and to find the true meaning of your existence.  Christmas is an over-publicized, over-hyped time of year certainly, but it is a great time to reflect with your family, friends and loved ones.  It gives us the opportunity to reach out and share with one another.

Christmas is about giving, and feeling the connection with your loved ones.    The new year is right around the corner, so the next few days will really best be spent in meditative reflection.   The spirit of Christmas can last all year round… it doesn’t have to be just 1/365th of the year.  :-)

-Travis Wright

Gratitude - Count your Blessings!

The most revolutionary thing we can do to increase peace is to LIVE IT. As AJ Muste, a committed nonviolent peace activist said, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.” The more we practice peace, the more peace becomes our lives. We can live peace in every moment.

I’m not talking about some abstraction, or idea, of peace. I’m not speaking of the absence of conflict. Even in the midst of intense conflict, we can be peace.

One of the best ways to create peace in your experience of the world – in your world, your home, your life, your heart – is to practice, invest in, and engage with gratitude. In addition to a host of physical health benefits from stress relief to heart health, recent studies posit that gratitude decreases both depression and loneliness.

Gratitude can also become a path of service that leads to acts that benefit humanity. Grow gratitude, and offer future generations a more beautiful world.

Grow Your Gratitude, in Three Steps:

1: Invoke and Embody The Presence of Love

Make love real. The big, big love that lives at the center of all things. Agapic love. The flame that burns “in every heart of man, and in the core of every star.”

“How is one to realize, or remember, this love?”, you might ask. The practices are many, the goal one. Gratitude practice, asking powerful questions, inducing positive states, prayer and meditation are all ways to invoke love. So is looking at your child, or your beloved. So is smelling a flower, or looking at your favorite piece of art. For some of us, listening to music, dancing, or running is an easy way to find the way to the love nested inside of us.

With a little bit of practice, or for some even without, wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, we can invoke and embody the presence of love.

For now, an easy way to manifest the presence of love is to think of something that makes you feel a love beyond limits, unconditional, eternal. The perfect love. I find this love at the heart of deep prayer, in the arms of my beloved, sharing a smile with my child.

Feel it. Ahhhh. There it is. Now feel it even more. Let your heart, your whole being, glow with this love. Let each breath expand it, each heartbeat ground it in your being.

2: Grow Your Gratitude!

Gratitude heals the heart. This is true on multiple levels. Of course it makes sense on the metaphorical level – how could becoming grateful NOT heal a broken heart? When we experience loss, healing comes from realizing that the sum total of the impact of any experience was for the best. When we get this, it becomes easy to be grateful for the experiences we encounter.

In addition to the metaphorical, gratitude also heals the actual physiology of your heart. This is metaphorically wonderful, and scientifically true! Gratitude practice is recommended as part of many heart surgery and heart disease recovery programs.

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How does it work? Gratitude is the antidote for stress, anger, anxiety and many other ills. Stress, of course, is a huge contributor to both heart disease and heart attack.

Gratitude offers a rest to our physiological systems. For instance, say you’re standing in line at the grocery store, and the people in front of you are taking forever. You may be late getting to wherever you’re going, but is stressing out about it going to change the fact that you’re stuck in line? Not a chance!

The one thing you CAN change is how you are experiencing the moment. So, instead of obsessing about your situation, thinking of the negative outcomes, giving in to the stress, take the time as an opportunity to cultivate gratitude.

Even starting small will work. You can be grateful that you have the money to buy food. You can be grateful that you have a chance to read those scintillating headlines on the trashy mags in the rack. I often get really simple with it, and remember to be grateful that I have a moment to be in stillness and silence. (Waiting in line is a perfect opportunity for a moment of standing meditation.)

This choice is affecting you, and as a true believer in systems theory, I posit that perhaps, in some subtle way, it affects everything. Your stress is not just your stress.

Your gratitude is the same way. As you choose relaxation and gratitude instead of stress, the effect ripples outward. Your interaction with the cashier is going to be different. His or her interaction with the next person in line may well be different, too.

Even on the purely personal level, the benefits are too many to mention. Gratitude is SO much nicer to hold in our cells than the alternative.

Another wonderful bonus is that because our minds sort for, and we notice, that which we expect, when we start practicing gratitude, we start noticing more and more to be grateful for.

Gratitude practice, just like any other practice, becomes easier the more you do it!

3: Make Love a Verb; Gratitude in Action!

Love and gratitude become more powerful by far when put into engaged action. Engagement is the final step of this process. Take your love and DO something with it.

That something might be sitting in prayer, but think of how much more prayer you’d bring if you were to host group prayer nights at your home.

When you find gratitude for the food on your table, let it remind you that you can cause suffering to be reduced by offering food to those in need. Make a meal, box it up, and offer it to a local homeless person you’ve seen around.

While you’re at it, have a conversation with this person.

At a Season for Nonviolence gathering I attended in 2007, Dr. Arun Gandhi, the fifth grandson of the Mahatma, pointed out that compassion is very different from pity. I paraphrase the esteemed man here; pity offers the food and hopes the person will walk away with it. Compassion offers the food, asks the person how they ended up on the streets, witnesses the story, and does it’s part to cause an end to the reasons that this person and others end up without.

Namaste.

About the author:

LaSara FireFox, MPNLP, is a master practitioner/trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming/Patterning, life coach, educator, and professional speaker. LaSara helps her clients to find balance in their lives, and alignment with their personal and family-held values.

In addition, she’s a mother of two, a successful author (Sexy Witch – nonfiction, self help, Llewellyn, 2005), coach, and educator. She teaches and coaches internationally.

For more information, please visit www.lasarafirefox.com.

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