Coming out of denial is fun

Coming out of denial is fun. Lies suck and everyone knows it. Most people are in denial. Most people have no idea who they are or what they want. Most people cling to their issues, dramas and illusions.

Get over it.

It's better to be knocked down with the truth, stripped bare, broken to pieces with no choice but to stand up strong in the light of your own power than spend the rest of your life dancing around bullshit.

Stop lying to yourself. You are safe to face the truth. You are safe to blossom. You are safe to awaken.

Awakening is gentle and radiant. You will know it when you feel it, when you see it, when you become it. You will know it when you emerge.

Then you say, my God, I can't believe I was that way. I can't believe I was so caught up in my drama. I can't believe I danced around these illusions like they were viable. I can't believed I screwed up that bad.

Relax, it's ok. You were asleep, now you're waking up. That's all there is to it. Different degrees of awareness, simple as that.

No need to abuse the self. This is never useful. No need to punish yourself for what you didn't know. You've already suffered enough. You might as well allow yourself to relax into a greater knowing, a greater feeling, a greater sense of living. After all, this is what love is, and it's always available to you, at any given moment, at any given time, no matter what. Love wants to see you awaken so bad, to see a perfect realization of itself, to see a light it's never seen before. That's the whole point of all of this. That's the whole point.

Coming out of denial is fun. Love gets to see itself again, another way, another light, emerging whole and fresh.

It's ok. You are safe. All you have to do is wake up, shake off that past, get through and become something true.

Beauty is all around. Beauty is the experience of life in its fullness, in the awareness of the heart. This runs through all things, in the most powerful way. Like a river. When you are in your flow, everything will be amazing.

Find your flow. That'll take coming out of denial. It'll take recognizing things you've been running from. It'll take staring at yourself face on and realizing that you are all you really ever have to deal with. The only war is with your own demons. The greatest joy is victory over them and being who you really are, which is more powerful than anything you've probably ever considered.

Don't worry that it took you so long to get here. Be grateful that you are here now. Celebrate where you are in this journey. Embrace this joy, allow yourself to feel it. Let the river run through you and carry you on to where you are going, in the light of your destiny, your awakening.

Creating your territory

It's important to create one's space, domain, territory. Perhaps this is the most important thing. It's important to have a intimate relationshop with one's tools.

When entering one's territory, you give yourself permission to let anything go that is not yours. It is always best to rely on your own energy, for everything.

How can you possibly know who you are, if you don't have a place to go and seek? You can't wait for the great opportunity to come, the moments of inspiration to strike, the grand vision to emerge, if you haven't effectively cultivated your own personal sacred space.

Space is everything. It is the secret to awakening one's self and growing in authentic power. And essentially, this is what will change the world. More and more and more people awakening to their power, in the light.

The clearer the vision, the more real it becomes. You can't get anywhere without vision.

Self-awareness is about creating the space to blossom, the space to grow, the space to realize. A realized self is not something to be ignored. It is awesome. It is everything. We are all here to realize who we are.

The creation of your sacred space should be your number one priority. Anything that comes in the way of this is an excuse, your own resistance, no matter how serious the demand seems to be. There is nothing that is more important than your awakening. Only then will you be able to give to the one's you love, give to the world and share in your own way.

We are all here for a reason. We all have something to say. And we all have an indelible way of saying it.

Create your space and do the work you are here to do.

Evolving or Dying

Are you growing or dying?

Are you resisting change?

Change is good. Change is fun. Change is progress.

The resistance wants you the same.

"Everything is going to be alright" is not the same as "Everything is going to stay the same."

Humility is always the answer. What you see in others, you have in yourself. What you love, admire, behold in others, you have in yourself. What you resent, what disturbs you, what angers you, you have in yourself.

Work on the self. Grow. Change. Evolve.

Every moment we are either evolving or dying. Every moment is a chance to become or a chance to wither.

Every moment we always have the choice, a chance, an opportunity.

The question is not how to do this thing, what to do, or even where are we going.

The question is always, who am I? By putting attention on this question, you offer yourself a chance to awaken. Simply by noticing, you have an opportunity to blossom.

Fly

I'm going forth, renegade style

I'm letting go, to the great unknown

I'm marching on, to the light of something new

I'm going to be good at it

I'm going to fly

I see a power, fierce, intense, strong as the sun

I see a cliff, I'm about to jump off

I see a path, that's never been forged

I walk fearless through the darkest night

I walk fearless through the thorny patch

I'm emerging

I'm following the feeling

I'm doing it today

Everything has led up to this point

Enough despair

Let's talk about excitement

Let's talk about beauty

Let's talk about doing it regardless of limitations

Let's do it well

with all we have

Let's do it again and again and again

Until we die a sweet and willing death

I don't care what you've been through

I don't care how hard it was

It was hard for a lot of people

It was hard for a long time

I'm talking about hope now

I'm talking about feeling deeply

Even if it hurts

then letting it go

Just let it go

Believe in dreams come true

Believe in angels singing to you

Believe in love

It's time now to be silent

and hear the great calling of your heart

Listen

It rings clear

It always has

And it wants to give so badly

It wants to awaken

What is joy? Delighting in a child's spirit, connecting with a loved one, understanding something for the first time.

What about a bigger feeling? What about a greater awareness? What about an inner knowing that will support you, as far as you're willing to go?

Delight vs. Contentment. Delighting in the simple things in life, having a good time, sharing stories, memories, feelings.

Then there is you. There is what you create. There is something only you know, feel and understanding. That is what will bring you peace. That is what will bring you deep satisfaction. That is what will bring you ease.

You should always look for the people that reflect this greater self, the greater understanding, the greater destiny. Seek these people, and simply walk away from the rest. No need to be distracted. No need to lesson yourself to make others feels better. No need to deny yourself all the things you already know.

As Marrianne Williamson says, "It is not that we fear we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure..."

What makes you feel powerful beyond measure? Perhaps this is what will bring you joy. Perhaps this is what will bring you deep inner peace. The idea is to be who you are.

Escaping from what? Your pain, or your power?

Escaping from what? Your pain, or your power?

Conversations Outside of the Fish Bowl

Within the fish bowl are all the things in life that are insignificant. The traffic, the divorce, the paper work, the parking tickets, the fees, the bullshit...

For lack of a better word, let's call it bullshit. I'm not afraid to say bullshit, and I don't think you should be either.

Somehow, I got outside of the fish bowl. Once you are outside of the fish bowl, you can't ever go back. There's no possible way.

Within the fish bowl are the "silly things", the "illusions", the stuff that doesn't matter.

Outside of the fish bowl is truth, laughter, love, passion, integrity, power, stuff that matters.

I'm interested in talking to you outside of the fishbowl. I'm interested in knowing how you feel, what you have to say, what enlivens you. I'm interested in laughing with you, outside of the fishbowl.

Life is moving too fast for anything else. I don't think there's time, for anything else.

It's time to make a decision. What are you going to pay attention to? Who are you going to listen to? Your voice, or the little fish swimming around the same tree. The same tree. The same tree. The same tree.

The water is stale, in the fish bowl. The trees are plastic. Little goldfish, float to the top.

Outside the air is clear, and the trees so big, the sun bright and you and I are laughing.

Dreams vs. Decisions

What matters is that you make a decision. Dreams don't count. They are as good as excuses. Meet the power of resistance in your big dreams. Meet the chains of procrastination in your big dreams. Meet death, in your big dreams.

It's kind of like death. It really is.

The truth is, we have no idea what's going to happen. We never will. That will never change. All we can do is start something today, not tomorrow, not next week, not if and when [X], [Y], and [Z] happen.

Today. Just today. No matter what's going on around you, no matter what resources you have, no matter how you feel.

Now is the only time you have. Yes right now. Life is in the doing, in the figuring out, in the mystery of failing and experimenting and risking... something, for the love of God, anything.

It's about making a decision, putting your attention on it, breathing life into it, feeling yourself in it. It's not about your wishes for the future, your alibis, your grand tales...

Spin the tales in your mind and that's what you'll always be, an illusion, a great escapade of nothing...

Do something. Do anything. For the love of God, make a decision.

Watch the paint splatter. Let it go who knows where. Watch the words form, saying, what? Watch the chords stream together, isolated notes finding each other like lovers from ancient times, some future that may or may not happen, but my God it sounds good now, today, this moment...

It sounds good.

It looks good.

It makes sense.

It's working.

You're creating. You're making something out of nothing and that's all that matters.

Don't Make Plans

Don't make plans.

Why make plans? So you can break them?

Plans don't work. No matter how figured out you think you've got it, the future will never be like what you expect. Making plans limits your experience of what's going on all around you right here and right now.

Set intentions. Set clear intentions. Act on your intentions. Deliver your best with the resources you have in the present moment. But don't make plans.

Plans will create expectation that can hold you back if you cling to them. Plans will set you up for failure if you put too much pressure on meeting them. Plans will kill your joy.

Intentions vs. Plans. I think it's important to know the difference.

What if you only got one shot at life? What if what will happen next will be nothing like what's in front of you right now? What if you wake up one day and realized that you've lived your entire life by rules and assumptions and plans and expectations and you don't know why, or what happened, or what it all meant? What if you could have been more alive, more present, more radiant?

I say kick the plans. Claim your life, live in the present moment, and enjoy your experience.

Trust some cosmic flow and allow it to reveal to you. It's an active engagement, a dance with the unknown, a chance like nothing else.

The universe is cunning if I've learned anything. Plans might deceive you into believing something else. Don't bother. Enjoy the dance.

Love Is

Love is a funeral pyre.

Love is awareness.

Love is interdependency.

Love breaks you down, beats you to a pulp, takes away everything, and leaves you alone to emerge, reluctant, on your own two feet, carrying nothing but a flame of truth.

Love forces you to have courage on your own.

Love is a tear.

Love is a song, a timeless melody.

Love does not care about your stories, your complaints or your hesitations.

Love says go, now.

Rise, now.

Tear down the walls, now.

Burn through illusion, now.

Open your eyes, now.

Go boldly, now.

Breathe deeply, now.

You are safe, now.

Gandhi

Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem.” - Mahatma Gandhi

1. Change yourself.
2. You are in control.
3. Forgive and let it go.
4. Without action you aren’t going anywhere.
5. Take care of this moment.
6. Everyone is human.
7. Persist.
8. See the good in people and help them.
9. Be congruent, be authentic, be your true self.
10. Continue to grow and evolve.

Integrity and Self-love

Today is Christmas. I am reminded of the beauty all around me. It all inspires my life. It is all infused in my work, like a thread that keeps me alive. I am reminded to admire, to trust and to notice. It's all there, right now, right here.

I have a theory that all that is really important are two things:

integrity and self-love

That's all that's important. I seek to dedicate my life to the understanding of these two things. That's all I want. I allow the rest to dissolve. I release myself from the dream that is life, the dream that is history, the dreams that were passed on to me, shared with me, molded into my consciousness. I seek to be a master of my dream, a master of my life, a master of my heart. For this I believe is what will change the world. More people awakening to the power of their lives, to the power that is them, to the power of themselves, to the power of life, inside their minds.

I believe in love and happiness and magic. It is all around us. This is a very special day. I'm glad I'm a part of it.

“All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.”
- Buddha

Follow Your Passions

You might fall in the gutter and die from some things, but it won't be because you followed your passions.

Your heart does not lie. Your body does not lie. The years go by so fast... trust that you have the right ingredients, for a reason.

Follow your passions.

"Leap and the net will appear." --Julia Cameron

What do you notice?

It's December in Charleston. The most unusual plants are growing from the sidewalk. I notice. I am reminded to step back and observe.

Hey Ladybug

I saw a ladybug walking through Charleston. I just wanted to say, "Hey Ladybug!"

Courage

I am reminded to breathe in, and to breathe out.

I am reminded to focus on the daily work, and to never give up.

Whatever happens, this is what I say to myself: Do not ever give up. Always hold in your heart and in your soul and in your body the seed of hope and know that you have in any given moment the will and the power, and yes, the courage, to rise.

Rise. It’s a matter of choice. It’s one thing to know the way, but it’s an entirely other thing to live it.

To live it, takes courage.

Take a step back and absorb

Take a step back and absorb. It is the week before Christmas. I am observing my life, reflecting on the past year. Just observing. Just reflecting. Absorbing.

Take a step and absorb. Just watch. This is a healthy practice. Let the emotions pass, let the storm pass, let the rush pass... It is growth and life and you have arrived here, for a reason.

Take a step back. Breath. Practice breathing.

Watch yourself. What do you notice? What do you feel? What do you need?

Keep it simple.

Today

Today

Today I saw a rainbow, in the midst of what I don’t know. It reminded me of the one thing I do know. I am ok.

Today I saw a flock of blackbirds flying through the gray sky. They reminded me of everything I want, freedom and humility, everything that I am now, ready and present.

Today I put a jade necklace around my neck. It reminded me of what I finally am, sure and grounded, manifested by the calm in my heart.

The rainbow was mercy, the birds, audacity, the jade necklace, peace, all good omens to the future. They spoke to me. Let me know I am ok. Let me know I am just where I need to be.

Today I thought, "Sometimes it seems there is no reward for your effort. That the struggle is endless, the well of darkness deep, the broken heart remains broken, buried beneath the years, longing and your unrealized self. You’d rather disappear than deal with this recognition. You’d rather run, run straight to another illusion that will only leave you with the same debt, the same reckless fog, the same empty dream. You don’t want to be reminded of what was lost, what never was, and what still is not”

The rainbow reminds me to trust, to simply trust, that what was lost, remains lost, only to lead me to where I am now, living for an uncommon dream.

Today, I am reminded that I don’t believe in happy endings. I never did. I don’t think its that easy. The dissatisfaction is divine, like the jade around my neck, a reminder to keep going, one foot after the next, the warrior’s life is the only path of true exhilaration. Anything else would be death at this point. Jade never dies. It is resilient. It is strong and indestructible, the gold of my soul. It is the light that I see as the rainbow reminds me of what I seek, as the blackbirds take me home, the jade is who I am.

Today, I have simplicity, a home in my heart.

To take wherever I go.

Love is the Greatest

1 Corinthians 13

Love Is the Greatest

¹ If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;^[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

⁸ Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages^[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! ⁹ Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! ¹⁰ But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.^[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.