>     Much of what I write concerns a “higher ground” approach to living life. As a firm believer in an ever-expanding Consciousness that underlies reality as we know it, I am forever seeking the highest message we can take from each day’s events in order to elevate the quality of the world we co-create anew each day. And while I always find that message, and always promote that we follow it’s teaching, I think it’s worth a few moments to reflect upon what’s needed to transition from fear-based thinking to love-based action.
    It takes patience.
    We’re not long on it these days, mainly due to the rate of speed the technology has us “operating” at. We are all so rushed in trying to keep up with all the demands upon our time and attention that patience has pretty much become an historical concept to most people. And so, when I suggest changing the way your are in the habit of both thinking about and living your life, this can seem an insurmountable task for which you have neither the time nor the patience.
    However, if you devote your time anywhere, it should obviously be devoted to ways that improve your immediate world and the world in general. Because I’m certain you get that part of the process, I feel no need to belabor it. We know the truth when we hear it. Whether or not we choose to follow or act upon it is what Free Will is all about.
    The patience piece, however, deserves a little time and attention.
    I’m no harder on you than I am on myself. I strive each day to be better than I was the day before, and to actually apply and live these “higher principles” that I write about. One key piece of advice that I want to share from experience is the need to be patient with yourself as you change the way you see and respond to reality.
    Expanding your Consciousness is no different than developing your biceps. If you were to set out to build up your biceps, you’d approach it in the following way:

    1) Begin a regular program designed to do effect your goal.
    2) Regularly participate in that program.
    3) Anticipate some discomfort as the previously un-worked muscles are
strained in the toning process.
    4) Allow a reasonable amount of time to assess progress.
    5) Re-evaluate your progress and your goal.
    6) Set a new goal.
   
    Elevating your Consciousness fundamentally requires the same approach. However, when it comes to changing our thoughts and behavior, it’s Step #4 that can most easily cause us to abandon the mission.
    Not only are we impatient with ourselves and the process, but we have a tendency to think that because we are trying the results should be immediately recognizable. Worse yet, we don’t allow for “two steps forward and one step back.”
    We have a harder time focusing on our progress than our shortcomings.
    My personal experience with applying all of these expanded Consciousness principles is that one begins to live in two realities simultaneously…or at least alternatively. One reality is the one that you have been comfortably, albeit unsuccessfully and unconsciously, living in most of your life. You are familiar with it but it has brought neither peace nor profound joy to your existence. The other reality is the one that you now experience through your expanded awareness of the possibilities for synchronicity, harmony and congruence in relation to everyone and everything. And while this new reality is exhilarating and empowering, it also seems fleeting.
    The point at which you are unable to stay in that heightened state is when you need to draw on patience to allow for the fact that you are strengthening a new muscle as sure as if you were developing that bicep. When you not only lose your grasp on that higher reality, but also find yourself back in the former one behaving in ways that baffle you in light of your new awareness,…again, patience! in allowing yourself the human experience of how growth occurs. It’s not always a dramatic growth spurt. More often than not it’s a transition from one state of being to another, with a significant amount of overlap throughout the transition process. So throw a little patience into the mix and remember that 1) you have a goal and 2) you are determined to achieve it.
    If you’ll permit me, a little extra piece of advice.
    Forgive yourself for behavior that appears to be backsliding. It’s really just residual “stuff” on it’s way out as you ascend into a state of Being where there happens to be no room to carry the “stuff” you’re so perfectly leaving behind.
    Patience and Forgiveness on the road to Oneness.
    Sounds almost biblical.

P.S.   Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>     I was recently in Barnes and Noble, doing what I often do, browsing. I just love walking through those aisles, lingering here and there to take in all that shared knowledge. What struck me during my most recent foray was the proliferation of titles that, in one way or another, proposed or promised direction in “Finding Your Life’s Purpose.”  Such books abound and so do their sales numbers.
    There are no accidents. I live by this belief.
    So the recent calling to all of these writers to develop the topic of finding one’s Life purpose indicates two truths: 1) a lot of people are being “guided” to disseminate a specific message at this time and, 2) a lot of people are ready for that message.
    Let’s explore the message, why it’s so important and why, until now,  it’s received so little attention.
    The message that each of us has a unique Life’s purpose implies that there’s a specific job that each of us is to perform in our lifetimes. If each of us has a job that can only be accomplished by that individual, then to not “show up” for that job is not only to miss the reason we are alive but also to leave unattended a necessary component in the ongoing process of evolution.
    Recently I spoke to a group of high school sophomores on the topic of depression and attempted suicide. I presented them with a history of my life including an attempted suicide 26 years ago. I showed them had I not survived that attempt and gone on in search of my Life’s purpose, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all of the remarkable things I’ve achieved since that time. Since each of those accomplishments was built upon the one that preceded it, all of them combined had brought me to be standing before them sharing my message. That speech…that day…before those specific children…was an appointment in My Life that I was able to keep because I have identified my Life’s Purpose.
    I spread Hope and Inspiration.
    Throughout the day, after my presentation to each class, several students would approach me with tears or heartfelt gratitude for my sharing the intimate details of my journey. My message to them was, and remains, that had I not survived and gone on to find My Life’s Purpose, I would not have been there to provide them with what they needed. When we don’t “show up” for our Life’s unique purpose, no one else does.
    And that makes all the difference in the world.
    Literally.
    Now that we know why it’s vital to find your Life’s purpose, how about examining why something so important has received so little press throughout the ages?
    I think the answer lies in the dark corners of the desire to power over and control others.
    If I know that I have been created by a Creator who has given me an indispensable assignment for which I am fully equipped to successfully complete, and that I am carrying within me seeds of that Creator’s energy, who or what would I defer to in making My Life’s decisions or in pursuit of My Life’s Purpose? No one and nothing.
    Such a conscious and awakened individual leaves no room for it’s manipulation by others or external events.
    Now, knowing that you have a unique Life purpose, and that the absence of that knowledge has been the source of all of your pain and suffering, you can go forward from this moment with the certainty that your job awaits your arrival. It’s compensation is incalculable in monetary terms but priceless in abundance of spirit. Your contribution, through your work is not to a 401(k) plan but rather to repair of the world’s suffering from the pain of separation. Your retirement will not be to Florida but to an eternally flowing river of Consciousness that nurtures All That Is and All That Ever Will Be. Such are the rewards of living You Life’s Purpose.
    To Thy Own Self Be True.
    I suspect Shakespeare knew exactly what he was talking about.

P.S.   Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “TOO MANY SECRETS”

        >It’s a good time to recall the old adage that goes something like this: “90% of what we worry about never happens.” With the sub-prime mortgage market having gone south, consumer prices rising, two ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with both China and Iran developing nuclear weapons, and a whole host of other challenges closer to home in our daily lives…well…I know I could use the reminder. How about you?
   But let’s take it one step further. Let’s move beyond not worrying because “things worried about are not likely to occur”…to the next step of actually thinking, instead, about good things that likely are.
   Why? Because thoughts are things and dwelling on them, combined with the power of emotion behind those thoughts, is a sure-fire way to manifest those thoughts into action.
   Now I know that to many of you this concept is all New Age Spiritual Feel Good Who Ha. Mainly because you’ve tried it without result. You’ve thought about something positive. Perhaps some “thing” you’ve wanted to acquire or some event you’d like to occur…yet to no avail. You never got the “thing” and the occurrence never happened. And so, you write it all off as so much nonsense.
    But what if you actually did get the “thing” or have the occurrence… just not in the time frame you anticipated. You see, we all think that positive thought means instant gratification. And perhaps at some highly advanced application of the principle, with clear intention and lasered focus, it does. But for us ordinary folk, two things tend to get in the way of the results we seek.
    The first is Time. We assume that when we focus on wanting something and it does not immediately show up, well then, we and it have failed. However it’s necessary to leave some “wiggle room” for Time to close the gap between where you are and where the thing or event may be at the moment you call it forth.
    The second thing is doubt. When you focus your thoughts on what you want and it doesn’t immediately show up, you doubt both your ability and the process, withdrawing the focused energy from your goal. This withdrawal of focus effectively cancels out your intention, guaranteeing disappointment.
    So when you think about it, what really gets in our way is Us. With a little knowledge and even less faith in what we know, we self-sabotage where it is we want to go and what it is we want to accomplish.
    Rather than worry about the unlikely, or short circuit the possible, how about if we just keep our eye on the ball. The ball is the best we are capable of and certainty that we know how to Be It.
    If we have a choice today, and we always do, let’s choose to let go of the fear and disaster scenario and instead focus on how to See and Be the best of humankind.
    Oh, yes. As you practice this approach, remember to get out of your own way.
   

P.S.   Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>    It’s a good day for justice. Mark Jensen, the Wisconsin husband convicted of poisoning his wife with anti-freeze then suffocating her to death was sentenced to life in prison without parole, and Bobby Cutts, Jr. the 30-year-old former Illinois police officer who killed his pregnant girlfriend was sentenced to life, as well, with the possibility of parole to be considered at age 60.
    The “lucky run” era of O.J. Simpson-like escapes from justice appears to be over. Which supports two of my basic beliefs: 1) there are no secrets and 2) the winds of profound change are in the air.
    Let’s look at these two beliefs a little more closely.
    There’s another story out today claiming that a report to the Pentagon by Marine technology expert Franz Gayl states that “casualties could have been reduced by half among Marines in Iraq if
specially armored vehicles had been deployed more quickly in some
cases.” Gayl found that if the mass procurement and fielding of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles had begun in 2005 in
response to the known and acknowledged threats at that time, as the
United States Marine Corp (USMC) is doing today, hundreds of deaths and injuries could have been
prevented.” What’s this got to do with “no secrets?” Well, apparently Gayl had previously made some pretty damning allegations around this very matter so the USMC gave him the opportunity, on government time, to prove his allegations. And apparently, that’s just what he’s done.
    Now combine this with the fact that David Walker, head of the Government Accounting Office since 1998 has resigned to become the head of a new $1 billion dollar private research firm. What is stunning about Walker’s resignation has been his very recent public appearances and statements regarding the “three sets of books” the U.S. government is keeping as well as his warnings that without radical changes to “business as usual” the U.S. economy is a train wreck in the making. Note that Walker was appointed and confirmed by George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George Bush. Walker has no political ax to grind.
    These are two of many recent examples that support my belief that we
are moving into a phase of consciousness evolution where deception will be unmasked every time it’s tried.
    There is no longer time or place for behavior that will not support the highest good for all concerned. Even esoteric writings that have been the purview of a select few throughout history have begun to surface, becoming available for all who wish to know their content.
    All of these events, and more, are why I say “There are no secrets.”
    As for my second belief around the winds of change, what could be more obvious than the rapid ascent of Barack Obama (literally predicated upon the word “change” itself) and the simultaneous repudiation of the type of politics practiced by Hilary Clinton?
    While this phenomenon is intriguing, it’s critical that we look beyond the surface and see what it is that people are actually seeking.
    Yesterday, I was being interviewed by Carolyn Firestone of WBZ radio in Boston. Carolyn Hosts “Women’s Watch” and she asked me what I thought about all the despair that appears to be so widespread. My reply was that I am actually encouraged because I do not see despair any longer. What I now see is dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction is a vast improvement over despair because despair is immobilizing. It is where we have been. But dissatisfaction has an active component that moves people to action. The very vocal clamoring for “change” that is in the air is, in fact, that active component.
    What we must stay conscious around, and present with, are the types of changes we seek and the means by which we intend to effect those choices. Change for change sake, without a conscious awareness of where we are, and where it is we wish to go, opens the door to a usurpation of our inherent power as individuals by those who wish to power over us. This has been our history. It will not be our future.
    Each of us needs to get our thoughts and our actions in alignment with our intentions and then commit to the tough work ahead that is necessary to manifest those goals.
    So, having looked at the news today I am heartened. We are on the right track. No more secrets and the winds of meaningful change.
    It’s a great day in America.

P.S.   Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “TOO MANY SECRETS”
    

>    The last question posed and answered last night in Austin, Texas by the Democratic contenders was for them to share how they had handled the most significant “crisis” of their lives. Hilary Clinton seemed to strike a cord when she explained that while she had clearly experienced many crises in her life, some quite public, these paled in comparison with the “suffering” that ordinary Americans routinely experience in their lives. As example, she cited a Veteran’s rehabilitation center in California. There, she said, she witnessed the filing in of single and double amputees, wheelchair bound and even gurney bound soldiers who were determined to hear she and Senator John McCain speak at a dedication.
    I think the cord Senator Clinton’s answer struck was that, in Life, there are no exceptions from suffering. Neither the rich nor the famous nor the powerful are able to escape the most fundamental characteristic of growth.
    Pain.
    Nor should we.
    I have a friend who likes to say,”No pain. No gain.” However, she always follows that up with,”To heal you have to feel.” She’s right. It’s the feeling part that we so often try to circumvent on our way to inner peace and it’s the absolutely unavoidable reality of Life.
    There is a difference between acknowledging suffering and wallowing in it. Each of us has a unique set of challenges in our lives and in order to move beyond them it is vital that we allow ourselves to feel the feelings that will necessarily accompany them. Acknowledging and experiencing the pain of growth can be a temporary challenge or it can be a state of mind we never move beyond. Like everything else in life, the choice is ours.
    I have often said that everyone’s suffering is the greatest because it’s theirs. And because that’s so, in a sense we are all equally challenged to learn this lesson.
    I do not speak in a vacuum or without empathy.
    I married at age 41 and, as a former divorce lawyer, thought it was a wise choice that would last this lifetime. Now, with a 14-year-old daughter, we are divorcing. I believe myself to be a mystic forever on the road to spiritual growth. Divorce certainly challenges that belief. Some days I am more gracious and spiritual than others to my soon-to-be ex-husband as we continue to live in the same house through this wrenching time. The challenge is to simultaneously feel the suffering associated with this loss while at the same time see the beauty of his Soul and what we have gifted each other on our individual journeys toward growth. Anyone who has ever been through a divorce knows the pain of which I speak and the magnitude of what I propose.
    Each day affords me the opportunity to either wallow in the suffering or transcend it by feeling the pain and then allowing myself to move beyond it. Every time I do just that, feel and allow movement, I experience a kind of peace and feel a kind of love that is new and wonderful.
    This new feeling holds the promise of healing.
    We are living through difficult times in almost every sector of our lives. It is a time of transition. There seems to be little relief from the pressures that accompany our transit. There was a time when I would have said,”I wish I knew the answer to relieve your suffering.” 
    What I will say today is that while I empathize with your suffering I would not want to relieve it but rather hope that you learn how to move through it, fully conscious.
    “To heal you have to feel.”
    I’m lucky to have such a wise friend.

P.S. Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>     Last night I listened and
watched both Barack Obama and John McCain give “victory” speeches
following the primary votes in Maryland, Virginia and the District of
Columbia. The contrast was stunning. And while I
continue to have my hesitations about Barack Obama, mostly around his
lack of experience and relationship to Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr.,
there is no denying that the content and delivery of Obama’s speech was
stirring. He has a gift for using language and passion in a way that
inspires and uplifts. These are qualities for which Americans are
hungry and this, I believe, is the core of his appeal.
    Last
night he spoke about “hope.” I find it fascinating that former
President Bill Clinton, husband of Obama’s rival for the nomination,
also rode to the Presidency on the same word. It was Bill Clinton’s
“The Man From Hope” carefully produced video retrospective of his life
(referring to Hope, Arkansas where he was born) that moved and inspired
many. But the hope that Bill Clinton held out was a Hollywood
orchestrated production lacking in a core truth that ultimately gave us
a national scandal and deep disillusionment of character.
    The hope
that Barack Obama spoke to last night was the real thing. It wasn’t a
play on words or a political web he was weaving to obscure the truth of
the matter. The hope he spoke of reaches into the heart and uplifts the
Soul. It is the hope that enlivens people and makes them want to be the
best they can be. He isn’t promising anything other than that each of
us will have to be fully engaged and part of the solution.
   
Obama is laying out the recipe for change, although there are many who
are missing what is being set before them. I hear them in the media every day,
talking about his lack of policy or, worse, his disastrous policies. We
have had leaders with great policies in theory who could neither
inspire nor lead. In the end, I do not think these criticisms will be
enough to obstruct his path to the White House. At the moment, he is a
man on a mission who appears to have a destiny.
    There are two common theories about leadership. The first is that great men (and hopefully someday women) lead
the governed where they  see a nation wanting to go. The second is that
people get the leader they deserve…one that reflects the times. Under
either theory, Barack Obama’s rise is encouraging. If nominated and
elected, the challenge for him will be to keep nourishing the seeds of
hope that he now speaks to and engenders. Faced with the realities of
the world and the temptations of power, this itself is a daunting task.
    I am heartened by Obama’s presence and the vision he paints. We as
a nation have, in many way, misplaced hope. It is important to be inspired and reminded of all that is possible when one puts their heart and soul
into creating something good.
    What Obama is reminding us is that each one of us is an aspect of a greater One. He bears the message that when we as individuals are joined by both heart and purpose we can, together, co-create something greater than the sum of our parts.
    This has always been this nation’s message.
    Now, let us hope.