Archive for the ‘Spiritual Transformation’ Category
A Heart Opening Experience
By Rita Rivera Fox
- Monday, March 8th, 2010
Recently, our Life Mastery Dreaming community and a group of wonderful new friends made another memorable journey to Teotihuacán, the ancient Toltec pyramids in Mexico. Each time we go to Teo, another layer of deepening on our path of our self-discovery is revealed: new ways to be more awake in our lives, to be more in touch with the source of energy that we carry within, and to embrace the potential of living from the heart.
As a teacher, I have observed that the more I can bring a person to experience the essence that already lives within them (rather than telling them in words), the more they will be inspired to awaken to that energy. Once they feel this resonance inside, they will want to live from that vibration more and more. That is how it happened for me.
Well, each person on this journey experienced this very real power that lives at the center of our being. Beyond words, beyond description, just pure experience of what we are all connected to, at all times. Reflected in the clear light of the sacred place in Teo, each of us embraced our true selves as we are.
This particular trip was especially focused on opening our hearts to how we perceive and dream our lives. Our mind does the dreaming and our bodies feel the impact of the quality of that dream. If we want our personal dream to bring us happiness and fulfillment, we need to find the courage to look within to our hearts as the guiding force in our lives, and get clear about what we are choosing instead of this.
Our heart center is the portal where we open to feel all that we are. During these days spent together, we opened a space of possibility and came away with a real sense of how to live our lives from more awareness of our connection to life. The time spent there allowed the energy of this opening to be felt as something real in the body. We created and experienced an energetic “groove” that our body remembers.
The energy from our recent retreat in Teo fed and empowered us. It now naturally wants to flow forward and inform our daily choices more and more. After feeling so good, we want to experience this quality of energy again and again.
Now that we are back home, in our familiar dreams, we can quiet ourselves, receive our breath, and focus within on the memory of the sensations of fullness. This allows us tap into our incredible journey again and again. Keeping the heart center open allows us to live more lucidly, more in the flow of life.
Of course we will face challenges in our old dream but we are now better prepared in how we might respond to them. When in the elevated energy of a group in a sacred place, we may notice how clear the choice is to live from our hearts. But what choices are we drawn to make when we are at home? Will we react from our old limited ways of thinking? We might not always be able to make the choice to go beyond what closes our heart and instead choose what frees it. But we can certainly feel the difference.
The choice to open or close your heart to what we face each day is what defines the spiritual path and delineates our practice. We can feel the difference when we choose to live from our hearts. The results are immediate. Our lives and our creations are seeped in a quality that feels like honey – the honey from the heart. We can look around and watch this sweet quality manifest all around us.
So my desire for each of you, for all of us, is to find this golden place within as often as possible, to first give it generously to ourselves, and subsequently to share it with everyone who is in our lives. Then, with pleasure, we can watch it ripple out into the larger world, in waves of uplifting energy sent from our hearts.
Cosmic Smackdown: Transcendence with a Toddler
By Jamie Gilroy
- Friday, March 5th, 2010
You have to strive every minute to get rid of the life that you have planned in order to have the life that’s waiting to be yours. Move. Move. Move into the transcendent. That’s the whole sense of adventure, I think.
- An Open Life: Joseph Campbell in Conversation with Michael Toms
I love this quote (and pretty much anything else Joseph Campbell wrote). When does our “journey” move from resistance to flow? From clinging to the old way of living, from living with an under current of fear in our lives; fear that we aren’t enough, fear of losing what we have, fear of the unknown.
Not paralyzing fear. That’s not what I mean – it’s a subtle feeling, a whisper of a voice in our mind that says, “You can’t live like that,” “You should believe like this,” “You’ll never have that,” “Feeling good is something other people can achieve.” Then February comes along and it’s time to head South.
Each time I travel to Mexico and embrace Teotihuacan and its pyramids, I experience some new revelation. Some new insight that has been buried inside of me. “Move. Move. Move into the transcendent.” Remarkably that always happens in Teo.
And the best part is I don’t really have to do anything to make that process unfold. Well maybe one small thing is necessary. I need to be open to what is. It may take a day or two for my system to register what’s going on, for my mind to release the ideas of what my Teo experience should look like. Since me being a bit hard of head, the Universe does a gentle jack hammer riff on me and eventually some Light seeps in. Eventually I see the opportunity.
So what was the “adventure” for me this time around?
Bodhi (my almost three year old son). Bodhi. One word conjures up so many images. Why? (Yes you may ask why). I was charged with taking care of Bo while the lovely Dreamers and group participants had their fun at the pyramids. My first reaction was pretty predictable.
How was it that I, a “master,” had been relegated to chasing a toddler around a labyrinth and changing dirty diapers?
Wasn’t I “supposed” to be leading the charge up the Avenue of the Dead?
What the heck was I going to do all day with this little being?
As if that wasn’t difficult enough by default, I suddenly found myself also in charge of playing with Lola & Bella, Lee & Mee’s (the owners of The Dreaming House) little girls. Great. This is exactly what I came to this beloved power spot to do: play “Manny” for a week. This was not my plan for my spiritual enlightenment. Nope.
Ahh dear reader you must anticipate the punch line rapidly approaching, no? The cosmic smack down of Jamie coming fast huh? Yup.
Except it was a beautiful revelation – another brilliant opportunity (isn’t our life packed with them?) to switch from what it should be to what is.
Remarkably I found myself gradually becoming more and more present. Slowly finding the joy of seeing (SEEING!) through the eyes of small children. Playing again with no attachment to what we were playing. During the games, the discoveries, the emotions of these three children shifting and swirling like little dust devils – I found myself totally present.
Let me say that again for effect: totally present in the moment. Wow. Try that for even a minute.
You can’t, I know. I can’t either when I’m plugged into my inner dialogue (especially back in my Bubble of a dream in Marblehead where I live). But some crazy shift occurred without even leaving the Dreaming House grounds.
What a relief, huh? What a gift (yet again, thank you Teo). Really. What I saw was the “adventure” that is called my “process.” We all arrive in Mexico with some sort of discomfort, some nagging pebble in our shoe (chaffing against our soul?) too small to stop and remove, but enough of a reminder to get our attention.
During our stay in Mexico the opportunities are many and constant to release so much that is baggage in our Hearts, so much that is not allowing us to fully shine, be totally present, to live from that drum beating place that IS our Heart. Our innermost Desire, our Dream of Life. To be in service to a feeling. That feeling is Love.
Well the funny thing is the Universe smiled and patted me on the head like a good little boy after my great realization. On our last day of the trip, Bodhi and I entered the pyramid grounds at Gate Five and walked to the base of the Sun. We planned to join the group at the top for the closing ceremonies.
As we approached the base of the pyramid Bo saw his mom (Meghan) across the plaza and casually waved to her. He then said to me, “I want to climb the Sun now.” And climb he did. One step then another without pausing.
When we had climbed to the last flat spot before the top he sat down and said, “Papa, look how high the Dreamers are,” as we looked down at the group gathered below us at the base. We had some water and a snack.
My thought was we would hang out while the group gathered at the very top. I would keep an eye on Bo but we didn’t have plans to join the ceremony. My feeling was we had to get right to the top and start holding the energy. And that’s what we did.
Climbing quickly the rest of the way. Then Bo sat with me as I began to settle into the space at the top of the Sun. He was quiet and I could feel our connection deepening as we sat there. Gradually the group came to encircle the top of the pyramid and a ceremony was created. Meghan sat down and put Bo in her lap and leaned into me.
Of all of my experiences on top of the Pyramid of the Sun this one was so sweet and tender. It felt like heaven.
Each one of you who are reading this knows that Love is transcendent. And I bet you also know that life is an adventure.
So my advice?
Go find a few toddlers. Put your cell phone down. Take off your shoes. Find a ray of sunlight. Connect to that moment. Take a really deep breath and go play.
Thank you Bodhi. Thank you.
Stop Making Assumptions
By Michele Laub
- Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
The Key to Mastering Awareness
Mastering Awareness with consistency is the key to making changes in our lives. The first step to mastering awareness is self-observation—noticing where we focus our attention, and how this focus makes us feel. There are two basic feelings—feel good and getting better, paddling down stream; or feeling bad and getting worse, paddling up-stream. If we are not feeling good, we have the opportunity to focus our attention from another point of view, take another route. Many will say that is easier said then done. With persistence and desire, however, shifting how we feel is simpler when we detach from the stories and assumptions in our heads.
For example, inconsistent, even chaotic and intense weather patterns have recently inundated our lives, effecting appointments, travel plans, and the comfort and safety of our homes from power outages and weather related erosion, and global catastrophes. Instead of assuming the worst-case scenario into the future, the doomsday, fear producing warnings of 2012, we can look instead to the abiding power of the Earth, our responsibility to live in synchronicity with Mother Nature and discover new and better ways to make this happen
We can put our faith into ingenuity and wisdom instead of putting faith into fear, diminishing and constricting our lives. We can experience global climate change as an opportunity to grow in Oneness with all of humanity, while deepening our respect for the events in the natural world.
Mastering Awareness is learning to focus our attention on what is propelling us to think and act and feel the way we do. We have the option to stop making choices from conditioned responses, addictive behaviors, and the distortions in our programmed minds.
The key to living in Awareness is to stop making assumptions, repeating stories in our heads and sharing them with others, assuming the future will be a continuation of the past, and presuming that we will always experience life in the way we have. Defending our point of view, justifying our behavior, and rationalizing our perception of the world, expecting others to be and do exactly what they have done in the past is out-dated. Our obligation as a humanity to create in the present, relinquish assumptions based in the past projected into the future has never been clearer. This shift, like any other begins with each of us.
Make a commitment to watch your mind and be your observer. Notice the myriad of assumptions you make every day. Focus light on your assumptions. Cast doubt on what you believe, ask questions and even more important ask follow-up questions, gather information, be quiet and notice your feelings, and make space for options and innovative approaches. Free yourself from making assumptions and enjoy the result of living feely in the present moment.
Emotional Awareness: Alchemy
By Ellen Luksch
- Monday, January 25th, 2010
Alchemy
Place every feeling that arises
in the mortar of your awareness.
Raise the heat of your attention
as you breathe.
Trace the patterns of your sensations.
Watch as the base metal dissolves:
Thoughts try to coagulate meaning,
Ideas insist on their validity,
Vibrations intensify,
Panic may arise,
as an option.
Breathe deeply,
and observe as illusions melt,
wisps of smoke,
chimera.
Notice the glimmer round the edges.
Feel the energies unleashed and flowing.
Breathe deeper.
Accept, allow, release.
Continue the expansion that
concentrates pure peace.
This is the gold worth mining.
This is the treasure that you are.
ecluksch 01/14/10
Spiritual Transformation: Your Divine “Avatar”
By Ellen Luksch
- Sunday, January 24th, 2010
I have seen the movie Avatar twice. Both times there was much applause in the theatre and even a young group of people voicing their approval from the back. It seems to be quite a phenomenon and is playing to sold out theatres where I live after three weeks. It also appears to be inspiring many points of view generally and among the young people I work with specifically.
As often in such genres, good is confronting evil once again. The evil is clearly drawn with healthy doses of greed, hostility and ignorance. The good is misperceived as “less than” and subjected to a healthy dose of torment. And in the middle of that old formula is a theme of union, the Na’vi people are capable of joining their consciousness to the natural world all around them, to their ancestors and to the planet they inhabit. One human gets to fully explore this possibility through the use of an “avatar”, a genetically engineered Na’vi body that can be inhabited by his human consciousness.
I wonder, can we as viewers allow ourselves to see our humanity reflected through all of the mirrors of the characters and the emotions that we experience in this film? We cheer for the Na’vi and feel a reflection of our own communion with our mother Earth or the reflection of our desire for a greater sense of union with our planet and with each other. We leave the theatre feeling empowered, or asking questions, or incensed or with a sense of longing. The movie even falls flat for some whose critical thinking gets hooked into noticing the flaws of plot. These are all aspects of ourselves. We are the Na’vi and we are the “jarhead clan”. We feel, we criticize, we attempt to control, we have trouble letting go, we surrender, we are jealous, we grow, we love and we are connected to each other in so many ways.
When we allow ourselves to see all these aspects of ourselves, we can begin to move away from seeing other points of view as “weird” or “dumb” or “less than”. Can we even move to embrace all these aspects of ourselves rather than idolizing some and demonizing others? Can we really begin to move toward union by seeing the root cause of our separation: our rejection of aspects of ourselves? Our self- rejection then projects our disowned “self” out onto others. “They” are the problem and they need to be fixed. If they cannot be “fixed” then they need to be cast out or annihilated. And so we project our internal drama out into the world over and over and over once again.
At the root is the fear of not being enough; of needing to adopt a certain identity to count, to matter, to be worthwhile. I am if I can prove you are not. And that is what we say to all those “less than” parts of ourselves. I am worthy if I can control my fears, my anger, my jealousy, my “weaknesses”. I can feel superior and perceive my group, my nation and my planet as superior. What is out of reach, though, is a deeper sense of worth and belonging, a sense of connection to the force of Life that flows through everything, even Colonel Quaritch. He is a reflection of the darker side of our own fear and of our need to manage and control so we feel safe. He is the security officer. He simply takes it to the extreme so that we can feel the tension of living on fear and observe the results of that dream of separation. Perhaps, the more we take responsibility for our angry feelings and the need for control in our own mind through the process of acceptance, the less need there will be for the external mirror. Unity is the result of creating union within, from accepting all that we are with compassion and forgiveness.
Finally, a word about the longing many people feel for an experience of unity and communion like that of the Na’vi. You are that which you long for. You have a remarkable heart that emits an electromagnetic field that is experienced by everything around you: plants, animals and the earth itself. Your heart is an intelligence waiting to be tapped. It is your link to communion with yourself and your surroundings. When that heart field is filled with unconditional acceptance of all that we are, that heart field is unified and all of Life feels that energy. This website is filled with heart wisdom and a community that delves deep into the possibilities that are experienced when we surrender our notions of less than/better than and open to the flow of Life that we are. When we surrender our opinions and drop deeply into the wisdom of our hearts and feelings, we embody the Avatar of our awareness and union is the result. “I see you” takes on a whole new meaning.
AWAKEN The Film Premier
By Rita Rivera Fox
- Thursday, December 31st, 2009
We live in a time where our spiritual quest is actively being supported and inspired by mainstream media like, books, magazines, TV and film. More of what inspires us to be committed to our inner discovery is easier to access, allowing us to bring into our everyday lives the mystical aspect of life. The idea of “awakening” is one that has inspired many of us. The words itself whispers that there is something more to be discovered about ourselves and our place in the world.
Awakening can elude to the image of one who suddenly opens their eyes and comes out of a dream of sleep and in this process our life takes on new meaning, insight and purpose. We can see ourselves in a new way that brings more consciousness forward that we then create our lives from. The every day and the mundane become infused with the mystery and a certain delight that leaves us wanting more. Imagine that we each desire more awakening, more awareness, more self realization and more community to share this with and this becomes what moves us into interaction with life. What could be the results of such a desire?
It is with this desire that a group of very unique individuals, myself included have come together to create a documentary film on how we each are inspired and moved by the sheer idea that we are magnificent beings, here to express the infinite spirit that moves through each of us and love sharing that message with others. I have the honor of being one of the five spiritual teachers featured in the new film “Awaken” which will have a premier in Los Angeles in the spring.
“Awaken” documents the spiritual wisdom teachings of five teachers, sages and shamans from, diverse spiritual background’s about how to awaken to a higher consciousness amidst the current energetic shift on Earth. Collectively featured in the film through a series of individual teachings, each of the master healers share the significance of this present time of planetary evolution and guide the viewer to embrace the current global crisis as an impetus to awaken to becoming more responsible in their choices. Each sage communicates their unique message and energy to assist on the personal journey of self discovery and remembrance that is available to each one of us at this fortuitous time in our human evolution.
I have had a wonderful experience in the process of filming this project. Danisa Perry, a former student of mine had shared with me over 10 years ago her vision of the film she wanted to make. At that time we were both living in LA, she was studying film making and Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica. When she shared her dream of the film, I must admit I was very skeptical, especially since she was talking about an energy that would come through and beyond the visuals and the spoken words to touch and inspire the audience.
At that time, before I had any real evidence of the power of transformational energy to be transmitted through electronic media, I thought her vision was a bit of a fantasy. Then several years ago Danisa found me on the east coast and shared how the film was underway and invited me to be a part of it. Most importantly, she shared with me the means she had discovered that allowed each teacher direct, energetic contact with the audience through the filmed media. That her priority in the making of the film was to have the viewer “experience” the energy of the master teachers, beyond their personality, but more as a direct channel of wisdom that could create a transformative experience akin to being in the presence of the sage.
Danisa, in all her courage and with the power of her vision, brought her film crew to Amy’s Healing Center in CT in 2007 and I was able to experience first hand her brilliant method for creating the film of her dreams….and soon to be mine as well.
Last spring it became clear to me that the interview and teaching that I had filmed a year earlier was outdated and no longer was the energetic quality that I wanted to convey. So I asked Danisa if I could re film my piece. She gladly agreed and invited me to come to Santa Barbara to where she and Pablo Diaco, the co-director were going to be filming Barbara Marx Hubbard who had just signed on to be our “elder master.”
Knowing of Barbara and having great respect for her work, I was on my way to California with great excitement and anticipation. Meeting Barbara and discussing at length our views on spiritual awareness, community, and our work was beyond anything I had experienced in terms of the quality of vibration that was present as we spoke. I had a very clear moment of experiencing what the true collaborative spirit is about. A moment in which sharing ideas and visions that inspired us, opened up and new information, a more clear version of our former ideas, for us both, came through. She was a mirror in a new way for me and I for her. At any rate, the current film reflects this lovely energy of collaboration and clear communication. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a diverse and lovely family and I hope our desire to share with the world our message and our love comes through for each of you as you view the film.
A west coast premier is in the planning. The film makers are actively looking at retreat, and spiritual centers as locations to premier Awaken, so please let me know if you know of such a place. The DVD will also be on sell on the website. www.awakenthefilm.com
The Charles Schultz Philosophy
By Meghan McChesney Gilroy
- Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
My brother-in-law Roger sent this to me. I found it to be a wise reminder of what is truly important in life. Enjoy!
The Charlie Schultz Philosophy
Scroll through slowly and read carefully to receive and enjoy full effect…
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the ‘Peanuts’ comic strip.
You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.
Just read straight through, and you’ll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the head liners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies..
Awards tarnish…
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials… the most money…or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most.
How will you show that you care today??
”Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!”
Be Grateful for the Ordinary/Extraordinary Aspects of Your Life
By Michele Laub
- Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
For nearly a year, I facilitated a Gratitude Phone Call each morning. The simple format promoted extraordinary changes in the lives of participants, including my own– enlivening the age-old wisdom, “You always teach what you need to learn”.
The call began with focused deep breathing, a guided meditation followed, then each participant spoke his or her gratitude, and after a silent gratitude minute, an inspirational quote concluded the call.
Be Grateful for Your Breath
Spotlighting gratitude provides an opportunity for living in-sync with the abundance that supports life. When we focus on the big picture, we see that the Universe abides by natural laws ~ inevitable, repeatable and understandable laws. For example, during respiration, plants and animals consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide. Incidentally, that same photosynthetic process which takes place in the oceans also removes carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere. In fact, the oceans, which make up about 75% of the world’s surface are the single largest CO2 reduction system in the world. This phenomenon is the very essence of life itself. You don’t have to be aware that this phenomenon is happening, or that it even exists. It is always happening whether you are aware of it or not.
Make the decision to start each day with this vast, yet simple awareness and watch gratitude expand. BE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR BREATH. You will simply not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks, appreciation and gratitude each day for your breath.
Before you get out of bed, before you are fully awake, focus on your breath. Take a slow deep breath in and hold it Then let the breath go even more slowly. Repeat this five times and feel gratitude in your heart for your breath. Then let your mind return yesterday and focus on three events, circumstances or people for which you have gratitude and smile. Then focus on today and decide the quality that you will bring to your day. Make it a happy day, or a day filled with activity, or a contemplative day, or perhaps a day filled with unconditional love. You decide. Be grateful that you have the choice to create the quality of your day.
Now you are in the best mind frame to have the best day. Repeat this morning ceremony for 21 days creating a pattern in your brain, Then master that pattern and repeat it for another 21 days. As you watch your life change, you will know there is so much to be grateful for. This is just the beginning. But, you already knew that.
Join the morning Gratitude Call at 7 AM Eastern.
Dial in number: 1-218-862-7200
Access code: 893741
Discover Power Journeys
By Barry Schwartzbach
- Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Why would anyone want to go on a power journey? Why take the time, spend the money, leave the country to do spiritual practice? Can’t it just as well be done from home?
Well, yes, certainly spiritual practice can and should be done at home. Home is where we put into action our highest intentions, where all our inspiration is played out in the context of our daily lives. For many reasons, however, I have found spiritual journeys to be a key component of my path on this Earth.
First of all, on a journey, you get out of your normal routine. All the energy that you otherwise would spend at work, with the family, in the world, can be gathered and focused for self-reflection.
Next, you are with like-minded people. The leaders and other participants are there for the same reason you are, to grow in spirit. The group energy grows exponentially when all the members are pointed in the same direction. This energy is a treasure that you can put in your pockets to bring home. Also, in terms of energy, the sacred places are continuously charged by the faith and yearning of all those who visit that place. Some of this power also travels home with you.
Additionally, the intention with which the place was built can act as a boost to your own intentions and as a mirror to clearly see that which may be veiled in your life. I have been to Teotihuacan many times and every single trip, I have gained insight into something in my life that needs attention or should be left behind.
I recently returned from a power journey to Peru. At many places along the journey we performed ceremony. Sometimes there was a local Shaman; sometimes we were on our own but at each ceremony our overall intent was to leave behind that which no longer served and to open to the light of spirit. This twin intention, of releasing and at the same time gathering, is one of the main benefits that can be realized when traveling to sacred places.
Finally, power journeys, spiritual journeys, are an adventure of the heart. All of the many journeys I have taken in my life have sprung from an inner urge to experience the mystery and magic of these sacred places. These are not just tourist trips; these are journeys where I have gained insight, energy and power to continue the quest at home.
At the same time, using the power of these places and my own intent, I have been able to see many of my limiting beliefs that have robbed me of my power and covered up that blazing spirit that I truly am. When I have been able to leave these beliefs behind and filled the space they used to occupy with the light of Spirit, I have truly felt the power of a power journey.
Within the next few months, Life Mastery Teachers will be leading Power Journeys to Mexico and Egypt.
The trip to the pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexico will be from February 11 – 16, 2010. Teotihuacan is the ancient city of the Toltec, specifically built as a place for transformation. The name Teotihuacan, roughly translates as ‘the place humans go to become God’. See details on our Featured Journeys page
The journey to Egypt will take place from March 8 – 21, 2010. The itinerary includes visiting the Valley of the Kings, Abydos, Dendara, and the Temples of Karnack and Luxor. There will be a five day Nile cruise to visit the Temples of Edfu, Kom, Ombo and Phalie. The ‘grand finale’ will be private time in the Great Pyramid and at the Sphinx on the Spring Equinox. Egypt Flyer
The Gift of Gratitude
By Michele Laub
- Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
It has been said that to experience joy is our purpose in life. If you want to know if you’re going in the right direction, follow your bliss, do what feels good to you. And when you feel joy and happiness, whether you go searching for it or stumble upon it inadvertently, delight in it. Like attracts like. Joy multiplies quickly if given attention. Focus on gratitude and the abundance of things to be grateful for will deepen and multiply. Sounds good, but is it possible?
Even when we are focusing on joy and feeling gratitude for life, sometimes stuff happens, and we are thrown off our joyful course into fear, anxiety, tension, and stress. (FATS) The events that create this shift in feeling can be as temporary as the failure of the computer’s operating system, as constricting as the economy going deeper into the red, or as permanent as the loss of a cherished relationship through death.
And yet aren’t these feelings that billions of people share— emotion (energy in motion). Isn’t it wonderful that human beings throughout the planet, though often misguided by their conditioning and mind-chatter, can connect through the experience of “feel good” and “don’t feel good.”? From powerless to un-conditional love, each of us knows the truth of how we feel. When we have gratitude for that unity of the human experience, we have gratitude for life itself.
In The Circle of Fire Prayer, don Miguel Ruiz writes “… I will live my life with gratitude, love, loyalty and justice/ beginning with myself and continuing with my brothers and sisters…” Ruiz begins with gratitude because gratitude, he writes, is one of the most beautiful expressions of love. When we live our lives with love, we will love ourselves unconditionally no matter what, no matter what! We will live our lives with loyalty—loyalty to ourselves —we will never go against ourselves or betray ourselves again. When we live our lives with justice, we will no longer judge ourselves– creating shame, guilt and self- abuse. Of course, we must begin with ourselves so we know how living this way feels, and then we will choose to “continue with our brothers and sisters. ”
I remember a Toltec Dreaming Retreat when forty people repeated The Circle of Fire Prayer at three-minute intervals from midnight till dawn. Needless to say it was a very long night. In retrospect, however, since that night, my outlook has progressively shifted from fear and worry to faith and gratitude. The words of The Circle of Fire Prayer are tattooed in my cells. Practice makes the master.
The more we practice gratitude beginning with ourselves, the more we see and experience more to be grateful for. Live with gratitude, just for being alive; embrace and give gratitude for the richness of being human—especially for human feeling. Have gratitude for the breath of life itself. To master gratitude is the blue-print for a joy-filled life in which there is always so much to be grateful for.
To learn about Toltec Dreaming go to click here. To purchase Prayers by don Miguel Ruiz go to Amazon
To join a Gratitude Call at 7 AM Eastern M-F call 641-715-3625 pin 938854
To join a Gratitude Call at 10 AM Eastern Wednesday only call 712-775-7300 pin 404-459-1592.
To create your own daily Gratitude Practice listen to these Gratitude Meditations.
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