Life challenges

Do not get upset just RESET

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Our biggest opposition to living this life fully is the person we have become, which is called the False-Self. When we bring awareness to the False-Self, we can let it go and reconnect with the True-Self. Once again connected with the True-Self we feel the presence of the Divine within.

If this is something you are drawn to, then you only need to begin by bringing awareness to your thoughts and beliefs, pay attention to your actions and question them.

Each time you forget, bring your attention back from wherever it has wondered and start again. This repetition will build a habit and begins to release the False-Self with ease and grace.

If it feels hard, it is because you are resisting in some way. Perhaps you beat yourself up for forgetting or you have latched onto a thought that says it is hard or that you cannot do it. If any thought does not support your intention, then the False-Self has taken over and you only need become aware of this unsupportive thought or belief. Now you have a warning sign for when the False-Self is in control. This is an opportunity, not a problem. There is no need to get upset, just reset and follow your True-Self out of the darkness and into the light.

We are like the Rose

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When you look at a rose what do you see, are you looking at the entire rose? Where is your attention, only on the colorful petals? Part of the rose is its thorns, but how often do you look closely at them instead of the petals? Do you take in the whole plant or are you distracted by the colorful petals?

We are often distracted by what we perceive to be the colorful petals of others and do not see the whole person and yes we are like the rose in many ways. We have thorns, periods of flowering and times we are dormant in this life. Where we differ from the rose is that we often try to hide our thorns and do not want anyone to see them. This is because if they do, they may not like us or worse, not love us.

When our life is dormant, we can feel as though things will never blossom again. However, does the rose stop blooming because it has thorns or because winter came and went? Of course not, and our lives will bloom again if we stay true to who we are and do the best we can at each moment. It does not matter how many thorns we have because that is part of who we are in this life. Resisting our thorns, trying to hide them from others and ourselves only creates more pain. Embrace the entire you, because without the thorns you would not be you.

Turning Your Life Around

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No matter our circumstances or life /body condition, we cannot give up living life to its fullest. What that means is we continually look for ways to heal our circumstances or body and we find ways to live life to its fullest each day within our current situation.

When we recognize that we are guided and helped by something greater than ourselves we no longer feel alone or forsaken. That may mean something different for each of us depending on our beliefs and conditioning.

The most important thing is to use your awareness and condition to learn about yourself and your life. This will allow your life to expand and become more fulfilling even when it may seem more difficult. The more you are able to do this the better your life will become, because now your problem has become an opportunity. Because of this change in perception, your life will be different and it will change completely over time.

 

Awaken to the Present Moment

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Today is your day, your best day. Why, because it is the only day you have for sure. Do not compare today to some place in the past that you thought was worse or better. When you do, you have left the present moment and are now residing in the past. Do not look for your peace and happiness in the future, because once again you have left the present moment.

What you seek already lives within you, whether you seek peace, security, happiness, love or the energy to create. It is here in the present moment and nowhere else.

When we are in a state of worry or struggle, it is because we have left the present moment and stepped into the past or we are looking to the future because this moment does not meet our expectations. When we stay in the moment, our worry and struggle fall away. It is only when we want something different from what is, that we suffer. Accepting what is, along with gratitude, brings peace and allows us to create from the field of all possibilities.

Accepting the truth does not mean we have to like it or that it will be perfect in our eyes. Furthermore, it does not mean that it will always be that way. In fact, things are always changing and once we embody this truth, we will begin to allow and co-create something different with the Creative Energy of the Universe.

We must begin to look into the face of what is and trust that all will be well. If we are unable to do this, then we have lost our faith. I am afraid that faith is one of those things that if we try to live without it, we may find ourselves getting lost in life.

How many times have you been worried, struggling in life or endured difficult times? Remember these times and the struggle you have already experienced. That struggle brought you to this place and made you who you are at this very moment. You survived it all and if you leave your struggle and worry behind you will move through whatever challenges you face going forward in life with more ease and grace.

As long as we look through the eyes of our conditioning, we are guided by the False-Self. However, when we see things honestly and look through the eyes of truth, we are connected with our True-Self.

It is through awareness that we begin to see this conditioning and are able to release it forever. This process of letting go or more appropriately said, waking-up helps us to become more connected to the present moment and our True-Self. We are then able to live our lives more fully, with ease and grace, with more opportunities to create from the field of all possibilities.

 

Being Okay in Uncertain Times

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Many of you are worried; anxious or even downright scared with what you feel is happening in our country and around the world. Yet I can assure you that you will be fine. Let your worry, anxiousness and fear go. You cannot create what you want from this place, besides life is too short to hold onto these feelings. Where has your faith gone?

When the fog moves in, the sun disappears; however, the sun is still shining everywhere. Whether it is clear or cloudy, the sun is always shining. When you are in the midst of these feelings, they are your fog. With all your attention focused on the fog, you have lost sight of the sun, your faith.

It is important to remember that everything in its simplest form is energy. From the chair you sit on, to the car you drive and all you see around you. This also includes things you do not see, like your feelings, emotions and thoughts. When you feel worried, anxious or fearful that energy goes out into the world and energetically feeds whatever or whoever is bothering you. When you continually or habitually think about what is wrong in your life or you THINK is wrong in your life, you are energetically feeding it. By doing this you can be helping to manifest the very things in your life that you are worried, anxious or fearful about.

“My life has been filled with terrible misfortunes, most of which have never happened.”

-Mark Twain

Anger is one of these feelings and a perfect example of what I am talking about here. Have you ever noticed when you get into an argument with someone, as the other person gets angrier so do you? You are feeding off this energy and they are feeding off yours. What happens when you walk away? How many hours or days do you spend thinking about how angry you are and why you were right and they were wrong? How much sleep do you lose?

Would it be more productive to use all that time and energy toward creating the life you do want? This is why it is so important to pay attention to how you feel and think.

To start, pay more attention to what you feel and think. Once you notice a feeling or a thought that is not congruent with creating what you want, then reframe it, let it go and begin to focus on what you do want. This sounds simple and it is with practice. However, in the beginning it can be challenging. We have spent years honing our skills at holding on, avoiding and resisting. Do not get discouraged if you cannot change overnight. Let go of your expectations to be perfect and just practice. If you forget, it is OK, just start again when you remember. With your unbending intention and ongoing practice, it will become your automatic response. Leading you to a more peaceful and joyful life.

Are You Feeling Overwhelmed

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Are you feeling overwhelmed by life? Maybe you are feeling this way because of the current political changes or all the problems you see in the world. Maybe you have health issues or someone you love is ill. Maybe your job sucks or you are out of work. Countless things can happen in our lives that make us feel this way. We can even feel overwhelmed by our pursuit to discover our True-Self, to awaken, to follow a spiritual or religious path. Perhaps you do not even know why you feel this way, you just do.

In these situations, it is common to feel fearful, anxious, angry or other feelings that we find difficult to deal with over a sustained amount of time. In these states, we always have our attention focused on the wrong thing. It is no longer in the present moment, although we might think it is.  Instead, it is fixated on what we think will happen and not on what is actually happening. It is impossible to stay in the present moment once you have entered into one of these states. Our mind will speculate about future outcomes, which rarely come true. It is important during these times to remember to bring your attention back to the present by letting these thoughts go.

Start with this fact. Know that no matter what is happening in your life or in the world, you will be OK. How many times in your life have you felt that things were terrible or not going your way? Yet somehow, everything worked out in the end and most of those times even better than you expected.

One key is to begin to recognize that you are looking everywhere for what is already in you. We think that we have to pursue our divinity; that it has to be found through workshops, books, church or some type of devotional practice. All of these practices and pursuits can keep you thinking that it is out there somewhere and that you have to find it through someone or something else. I can assure you this is not true. I am not saying that you should not do these things, but they alone will not give you what you want. Because they cannot give you what you already embody.

Many feel as though something dramatic must happen that will change them forever. While it is true that some people may have a dramatic experience, please know that this is not a requirement for finding what you seek. Expecting this or trying to recreate an experience will only slow you down. All that is required is to recognize that you already are what you seek.

Ask yourself if what you are doing is a form of denial of what you seek. Is it saying I am not a spiritual being now? Does it reinforce the idea that you have to do something, to become something different? If it is, then you might want to take a step back and ask, who is thinking this thought that I am not a spiritual being? Who is observing the one who is thinking that thought? Is there a difference between the person having the thought and the one observing the person having the thought? Who are you really?

What I am saying is that if you can see the truth of who you really are, you will live a more joyous life. You will make a greater impact for the causes you choose to support and you will help a greater number of people because you will be living from your True-Self. Your feelings of anger, fear and overwhelm will be transitory events in the beginning and eventually never seen again.

What will you choose the next time you are feeling this way? Will you choose to follow the speculative thought? On the other hand, you could choose to stay in the moment and let the speculative thought go.

The World’s True Enemy

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The world’s true enemy and that of every person on this planet is not who or what you might think. It is not our governments or the lobbyist. It is not the corporations, banks, military or even terrorist.

How do I know this to be true? Because these organizations have one thing in common, they are made up of people just like you. Yes, they may have different beliefs, politics or even religions, but none of them would exist without our part in creating them.

We like to place blame elsewhere for our problems. Even as much as we would like to THINK it is true, our real opposition never resides out in the world. The real opposition resides within and is often invisible to our conscious awareness. We find ways to distract, ignore and resist the truth. In fact, to hide its very existence, the False-Self convinces us through our thoughts that the problem is always somewhere else; we are never our own worst enemy, “they are”. Who are they? Well it turns out that “they”, are just another human being.

Without careful observation to build our conscious awareness muscle, we will be forever under the influence of the False-Self. Once we start to notice this influence, it is the beginning of awakening. Our suffering increases anytime we resist the call of the True-Self and only follow the guidance of the False-Self.

When you find yourself blaming someone else or something else for your upset, stop and pay attention to your thoughts. This is the only way to shine light of awareness into the darkness. What are you saying to yourself and are these thoughts making you feel better or worse? Do they actually help you resolve the issue or perpetuate your uncomfortable feelings? It will only be through this careful observation that you can awaken to this covert influence of the False-Self and begin let it go.

When our leaders, voters, the people who make up our corporations and military are coming from this alert and conscious place, then we will begin to see the change we wish for in this world. Until then people will be led around by their False-Self. This can only lead to one place, the destruction of our home, Mother Earth and our continued collective suffering.

To those of you who resonate with what is written here, I ask that you continue on your path. Remember to breath and let go. Live your best life. Pray, meditate or practice any pursuit that brings you peace. Then spread this peace throughout your life to those people you meet with acts of kindness, compassion and most importantly love. Forgive yourself when you are not able to follow through on this intention and then begin again. Remember there is no act to small and the collective power of these acts will change your life and the world. We can only do our best each moment of each day. Remember when we know better, we do better. Let us help everyone know better by example, so we can all do better for our children, grandchildren and all the future generations that come after we are gone.

 

Loneliness and Other Difficult Feelings   

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Have you ever felt lonely? Many of us have been conditioned to think that we should never feel lonely and if we do, something is wrong with us. This is simply not true. Everyone at some point in their lives will feel lonely and many of us will feel this way at different times in our lives. What I would like you to know is that this is normal, it is part of the human condition and there is nothing wrong with you if you feel occasional loneliness.

Loneliness is not something you should try to avoid when it shows up in your life. In fact, you should get to know your loneliness. This is how you take the power out of it, by listening to it, learning from it and feeling it. Eventually getting to a place where in the midst of it, you know that you are OK and that what you are feeling is temporary.

Unfortunately, society often teaches us that any feelings that have a negative connotation, like loneliness, we should not have to feel or even experience. With this kind of conditioning, we often feel worse because we think that it is wrong to feel the way that we do. It should never be wrong to feel our feelings, no matter what they are; this is your truth in that moment, so be with them and stop resisting.

The idea that we should always feel happy is so ingrained in our society that even out of concern someone can make you feel worse for feeling the way that you do. We must always remember that what we are feeling is valid and that we should never be made to feel less than, because of what we are feeling.

Our first instinct is to use distractions when we feel uncomfortable. The problem with this tactic is that many of them are self-destructive. We are using our mental and emotional energy to keep up a state of resistance and avoid being with our feelings. This will perpetuate your suffering and lead you further away from healing.

Think about it, what distractions do you turn to in your uncomfortableness? Is it food, candy, alcohol, shopping, binging on TV, the computer or do you find some other way to numb these feelings?

When you find yourself absorbed in one of your distractions, stop and pay attention to what you are feeling. Then take a deep breath, be present with your feelings and begin to let them go. This is how you suffer less in your life and start to awaken.

Where did you get this idea that you should never feel lonely? In addition, do you think that you should never get angry, frustrated, worried or have any feelings that you perceive as bad? When did you first begin to think this way? Can you remember or is it perhaps an unconscious or conditioned belief, leading to automatic thoughts and behavior?

I am not presenting these questions to get you tangled up in your past or your problems. I only present them to get you to wonder and be more inquisitive about why you do what you do. Pay attention, it is the starting point to finding your way out.

Know that you do not always have to figure things out to let them go. The idea that you cannot let something go or heal without figuring it out first is a trap. Having to figure it out, means you will have to hold onto it. You will do this until you figure it out. In many cases, you will never be able to accomplish this, and that means you will be stuck with it. You need to decide what is more important, figuring it out or letting it go. If you choose letting go, trust that if you need to know something you will.

In the end, letting go is always the path to healing, eliminating suffering and awakening to your True-Self. The next time you think you need to figure something out, try the path of letting go and see what happens. You can always go back to figuring out.

The Opportunity Pain Presents

/ Tim Custis / 2 Comments

Our greatest opportunity to let go and heal is when we are in pain. I am referring to both physical and emotional pain. This is true because when we are in pain, what we need to let go and heal is accessible. During other times, it is often unavailable or hiding from our conscious awareness.

For example, on a physical level sometimes a client will come in with a particular pain. When describing the pain they say, when I do this it hurts. Of course, I just tell them not to do that anymore, problem solved. OK, so we know that will not actually solve the problem. However, what I have found over the years is that if I find a way to work on them in that position, where they feel the pain, I have greater success than when I work on the area in a neutral position.

The same is true around emotional issues. When our emotions are up, they can be seen clearly. If we pay attention, we have a real opportunity to let them go for good and heal. When our emotions are calm, we think that we have resolved the issue or everything will be OK in time. This is also true with pain in the body. When the pain is gone, we think the problem is gone and that we are fine. However, have you ever had a pain or emotional issues that you thought was resolved reappear?

Most people will answer yes to the previous question. In fact, many clients have thought that they had resolved their emotional issue through some other form of therapy, only to find out that there were remaining parts stored in the body. They thought it was resolved because they were not having the usual agitation. Yet when the remaining part was released from the body, there were noticeable changes in their lives.

Know that your physical and emotional pain will leave behind energy from unresolved issues in the body. This energy can affect your everyday life by influencing your choices, mood and behavior. We are usually not aware of this influence because it is happening beneath our conscious awareness. Our mind will point to something in the moment as the cause to further the deception and make us think it is something new.

However, if you feel the emotion, pain or energy as it arises, you can let it go and heal. There are many ways to bring this energy up like Spiral Release Bodywork, yoga and meditation. This process does not require you to figure the problem out or even understand it. It only requires a willingness to feel your pain and/or emotion, something we are used to resisting and have been conditioned to avoid.

It is time that we begin to recognize that the world is interconnected through energy and whether we mean to or not our current state affects the people around us, even though we might not realize it.

Remember that emotional healing does not just take place in the mind.
We just THINK it does.
Remember that letting go in the body can heal emotional issues.
Remember that letting go of emotional issues can heal the body.
Remember that there is a direct connection between the body and our emotions.
Remember that there is a direct connection between our emotions and the body.
Remember your body stores unresolved experiences energetically.
Remember to allow your pain to serve a positive purpose in your life.

Finally, remember that pain is not a problem it is an opportunity. If you adjust your perception and attitude toward pain, then your life will change dramatically for the better.

The Only Surefire Way to End Gun Violence

/ Tim Custis / 2 Comments

What I am about to tell you can change your life forever. In fact, it can change the world! On the other hand, you can let your ungoverned thinking stop you before you read another word and just go about your business. That means you and your life will remain the same and so will the world. At some point, each one of us has to take responsibility for waking-up to the real issue of gun violence. What is the real issue? Well, it is not what you might think, but first let’s look at current talking points and why they have not worked.

We could say that a majority of adults, including gun owners, support common sense gun control such as background checks, bans on assault weapons, and bans on high-capacity magazines. We could say that gun control laws will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns or breaking laws.  We could also say that the Second Amendment was intended to protect the right of militias to own guns, not the right of individuals or that the Second Amendment was intended to protect gun ownership of all able-bodied men so that they could participate in the militia to keep the peace and defend the country if needed. [1] The argument here is that this was before we had the military.

Many argue that eliminating guns will solve the problem, but this is just not realistic and will never happen at our current level of consciousness. Thinking that adding more background checks will solve the problem is also not a complete solution.

When we reach a place where all sides have valid points and we are unwilling to see the other side, it becomes polarizing and this makes it impossible to move forward. Therefore, we have to find another way, because we have not made any real progress in years. Gun violence is getting worse and not just in the US, but in many places around the world.

“Peace is not an absence of war. It is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, trust, and justice.” – SPINOZA

So again, what is the answer? Now be careful because this is where your thinking and conditioning might raise objections. The true answer is that this is a spiritual problem and it will take some inside work to solve it. Logic alone and outside blame will not work. If they did, then I would have no need to write this article because there would be very little — if any — gun violence in the world today.

We have to recognize that the problem is not what we think it is and we have to approach the solution from a different place. Then and only then will we be able to find a solution that works.

When we look at our problems, we often look at what we think we need to change in the world; this means, outside of ourselves. We point at this person or that thing as being the problem. We do not see the real problem, because we are too busy placing blame elsewhere; we think it is out of our control or we feel so removed from the problem that we do not engage.

We fail to see that the real problem does not reside out there, but instead it resides within us. This is the last place we want to look, but I have learned it should be the first. No matter what the issue is, if we trace it back to the real source, we will find it has something to with one or many of us.

For example, we want to blame Monsanto, the pharmaceutical industry, our government, or a terrorist group. What do these examples have in common? Individuals, just like you and me make them up. We can always lay blame at someone else’s feet, but it is only when we awaken to our own participation or lack thereof that we will begin to find our way to the truth. Ignoring something that we are aware of is indirectly participating in the problem and therefore, not a valid excuse for not getting involved in some way.

Getting involved means that we look inside first, which makes this a spiritual issue. Once we recognize it is a spiritual issue, we will eventually see that it is rooted in fear. We keep it alive by not questioning our lives or taking the steps to let go of who we have become. Too many of us are stuck in routine and mediocrity; this of course leads to being passively involved in the problems of the world. We feel our lives are too overwhelming and life is complicated. This is not because we are not capable of more, because we are all capable of living happy fulfilling lives. However, we have stopped going deep into our own lives; we live on the surface, repeating habitual patterns in our daily lives. We are too afraid to let go of the person we have become and we are too conditioned to see, feel and connect with our True-Self completely.

Once we become connected with our True-Self, we would not want to shoot other people, take their money, seek power for personal gain or do anything that was not supportive of the whole. It is simply not a possible or a soulful action.

Is it OK for a Christian to shoot another person or a Muslim to blow people up in the name of religion, personal gain or even protection? I ask you, would Jesus or Mohammad do these things? Of course not, they would forgive and they would act from love. Furthermore, this is the only place we would act from if we were connected more deeply to our True-Self.

We are mistaken to think that peace will come to the world through outer pursuits and at some future time because of these pursuits. The only way to have true peace in the world is to be peaceful ourselves and this will only happen when we wake up to the peace that already resides in us, which will only occur when we let go of who we have become.

This is not some lofty idea. This is in fact the only way. Some of you will immediately become angry, defensive or think I am just another kook who does not know what he is talking about and people like me are the problem. I would only ask if you feel this way to stop and question why you are thinking this thought; where did this belief come from and is it still valid? Likewise, if you agree, ask yourself the same question. Find a way to go deeper and do not move on so quickly to the next thing, just because you agree or disagree with someone.

As long as you are on this planet, you can connect more deeply with your True-Self. Be grateful and know that no matter your situation there is always something to be grateful for in your life. Know that you can create what you want in this life without doing it at the expense of another person. In fact, being of service to another or to the world in some way will bring you your greatest blessings. Follow your heart, be kind and act from your True-Self. Some day when enough of us do this consistently, we will put an end to gun violence and all the things we see and experience in this world that do not come from love.

Remember, problems like terrorism, human trafficking, war, and of course, gun violence, will never be solved as long as we perceive the problem to be out there. Just look back through history, the landscapes may have changed, but the problems have been here for centuries and as Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”[2]

I say, that we will never solve these world problems with thinking alone. In addition, as long as we are led around by our egos seeking power, greed and control, we can never live in the kind of world where we give more than we take or want. Since you cannot fix someone else, the only thing that you can do is become more awake yourself. If you are on this planet, then you are actively or passively participating in our problems. We are all good people at heart and everyone is doing the best that we can at their current level of awareness. However, you can always wake-up to a greater level of awareness. So I ask you to take an honest look at your life, what part are you playing in your current level of evolution? Are you actively involved or just passively letting life go by?

Healing is an inside job, so look there first before you point the finger somewhere else. Always ask what you can let go of to become more connected to your True-Self. Ask how you can be more loving, kind and accepting. We all have purpose and we all come from the same source; so no one deserves to be killed, mistreated or unloved. A tall order I know, because our conditioning runs so deep, but one we are all capable of doing better and when we know better, we do better. That is a fact!

We say, “Oh, Can’t we all just get along!” However what we really mean is, “Just do things the way I want.” Then we will have world peace. Do you think that conformity is what creation has in mind for us? If that were true, then everyone and everything would be the same. Would that be a fun world to live in?

Remember, the only solution to this problem is a spiritual solution. We need to let go of who we have become by becoming more aware of our thoughts, questioning our beliefs and letting go of those things that we recognize are no longer true for us. We need to make choices that are not only in our best interest, but also in everyone else’s best interest. This is how we end gun violence and improve our lives individually and collectively. This is how every problem that started in the past, that still exists today is finally solved. Moreover, it is the only way that we will not create problems for future generations and avoid self-destruction.

[1] http://gun-control.procon.org/ [2] http://www.thequotepedia.com/