Meaning

“What is the meaning of life?” How often have we heard this is the ultimate question in our pursuit of happiness? Beyond this is the question, “What am I meant to do in my life? What is my life purpose, my goal?”


The problem with these questions is that they point to an illusion, that we are sent here with a mission to accomplish one and only one thing. But the truth is, we are not sent, we are allowed, and this, because we choose to incarnate. We select certain tests, certain life lessons to address during our lifetime, and how we approach these lessons determines what other things may or may not happen in our lives.

The simple answer to these questions is that we are to “…love one another…” as we often hear from the time we are children. That is, in fact, the main goal of all humankind. How we choose to show that love creates a rainbow of possibilities, as everyone has a unique gift or ability, whether that involves telling jokes or anecdotes and making people smile, which is the charm we see in children, or feeding the hungry the world over. Each person will approach this with the special insight and gift they brought into the world.

So, why, when we reach midlife, do we find ourselves suffering from so much angst, because we feel that we have not lived out our obligation to be something special, do something special, and make a small fortune doing it? That is the problem. We think we are meant to make money in accomplishing our life lessons. That is not always the case. In fact, it is rarely the case. We have skills that we can use to get by, to make our living and feed and house and clothe ourselves. Whether these are the same skills that we use to show our love to our fellow humans or not depends on us. Perhaps we are just able to volunteer at a soup kitchen or make quilts for the indigent. We may not make money at it, but we are fulfilling a life lesson in showing our love to humankind.

We do not have to broker world peace or win a Nobel prize in order to fulfill our obligation to love one another. But there it is, in all its simplicity. It is no harder than that. You came into this life, into this world, to love. You bring it into your relationships, your work, your thinking, and you have scored highly in the life lesson department.
May you be richly blessed.

Prejudice Kills

I ask you today to look at your prejudices.  We all have them.  Yes, even if you think you don’t see other groups in a negative light, if you are truly honest with yourself, you will find some out group which will cause negative feelings to burst forward in you.  If they are only those who oppose you or your stand on certain values, they are there, and virtually all people will bear some form of prejudice against them.
Why is prejudice such a bad thing?  Let’s first look at what it does in terms of positive aspects.  First, it creates group cohesiveness.  If those like us hate the proverbial them then we are likely to stick together to protect our interests.  There is safety in numbers. Second, our hatred of others makes us feel better about ourselves.  It strengthens our self-esteem.  Prejudice is a self-rewarding system because of this.
To identify the downside of prejudice, we have to examine some of the groups that are victimized by prejudice.  Particular races are the obvious ones, along with the poor, the disabled, the aged, obese people, gay people, people of a different faith, people who have an odor, people from other nations, shy people, intellectuals, the mentally ill, eccentric people, and people with poor grooming. You get the picture.
If you have a particular characteristic that sets you apart from the crowd in any way, there is likely to be prejudice against you.  And if there is prejudice against you, you are likely to fall victim to limitations, restrictions, additional expenses and any other thing that can be created to accommodate your difference, whatever that may be.  Chances are, you have experienced or will experience the effects of prejudice at sometime in your life.
What is the cure to prejudice?  Sometimes it takes Jane Average having to experience the effects of prejudice before she recognizes that she can be put into an out group as easily as the next person.  When her feelings sting for the first time, it may dawn upon her that she should be less judgmental and more accepting of others.  But the key for all of us is to have compassion for those who are different. 
Compassion, really and truly caring for the welfare of others, no matter what they believe, how they look, what they do or don’t do, whether we agree with them, and so on, will help rid our world of the prejudices that we carry with us.  It is essential for the growth of the human race.
May you be richly blessed.

Retaliation

When life seems to be going all wrong and bad things happen to us, it is easy to say, “Someone is doing things to me. I’ve been cursed.” Then we feel justified in doing bad things to other people in retaliation. The problem is, rarely, if ever, are we correct in our assumptions. Most people are too busy in their lives to care about putting bad mojo into ours. Maybe our feelings of having been cursed stem from wanting so much to matter to someone, that we make ourselves important enough to be the recipient of the time and effort needed to put a hex or curse on us. The problem is, we usually are not so important to that person, either as a friend, or an enemy.




What is the better way to deal with such a situation? First, take a good look at the way you do the business of your life. Do you have an addiction? Do you feel victimized by the behaviour of those close to you? Are you mean-spirited in general? If you answered “yes” to any of these, then your first order of business is to clean house. I don’t mean vacuuming and dusting, rather, cleanse your chakras, get into balance, and accept the responsibility for your own interactions. No one makes you act in a certain way. That’s on you. So the only person who can do anything about it is you. Fix it. Take classes, meditate, go to AA, do something to show that you understand that you are in charge of your own life, not the people who actually might be your friends if you’d let them.
Second, talk to the person/persons who you feel are out to get you. Tell them what you’ve been thinking and why. Be honest. Most people will be forthcoming that you haven’t been hexed or cursed, and that they have been too busy to think about you. By the time the conversation is over, you would have healed a friendship and probably will laugh about what you thought was an imposition.

Third, spend some time deepening your Spirituality. When you meditate and spend time with deity, you have little time yourself to worry about what someone might be doing to you. You feel more successful, more complete, more competent. Give thanks to the Source of All Things and keep the bridges from burning.
By looking at yourself, talking to others, and strengthening the Spiritual bond, you can rid yourself of the negativity that you feel others are sending your way.

May you be richly blessed.

The Higher Calling

I am often asked what an individual’s mission in life is meant to be. This is a well-considered question, but the answer is much simpler than one might think. Our Life Lessons approach us as we come across each individual with whom we have an arrangement to learn lessons and balance karma. These are the difficulties that we experience in life, what the Buddhists call suffering. We can experience these in many ways, and as the human life span becomes longer, the likelihood that we have more time in which to solve these lessons is assured. We may fail the lesson the first time, but if we are diligent, we will have the opportunity to repeat the lesson, perhaps more than once. However, it is equally likely that we will pass the lesson. Then we have the opportunity to go onto something else in a spiritual sense. It is usually this position in which people find themselves confused and at a loss for what they are meant to be doing with their lives, and they can think of nothing but their higher purpose.


In ages past, people would cross over when their lessons had been passed or failed. Today, we continue living. So what is one to do when the life lessons have been done and there is no further agreement on which to work? We are free, at this point, to do something that expresses spirituality and compassion toward our fellow beings. Although it is not financially valued except for the expression of sheer genius in this day and age, Art is a valuable and fulfilling pastime that may help us along our spiritual path. Many of us believe that we are not artistic, but we can relate that when we were young, we enjoyed, and perhaps were talented, in creating beautiful things through Art. Creativity and Art don’t just refer to painting or sculpting, but include singing, the playing of musical instruments, sewing, writing poems or stories (as well as the telling, thereof), and various crafts. Accomplishment in this regard is very satisfying and having the time to create or express something of beauty establishes harmony within the soul.

We may find that our hearts are filled with love and compassion when we enter this phase of life. We are more patient, giving, understanding, and loving. Our lives, indeed, become the expression of Art and Grace. We truly feel the Unity of ourselves with all others and value each person as well as ourselves. We triumph over egoism and realize the worth of all people, all things in nature. This is a lesson in itself, but one in which those who are at the Crossroads of a New Life are likely to find themselves.

It is no longer necessary to die at the end of our Life Lessons. We can move seamlessly forward to a New Life of our choosing whenever we feel the impetus to do so. We will know by the restlessness in our hearts that it is time to reach higher and touch with our spiritual essence, which is Art.

The Purpose of Life

How often have you wondered if there is some purpose behind your life?
Sometimes when we have challenges that we cannot seem to overcome such as  loss of loved ones, financial troubles, self-limitations and so on, we begin to scratch our heads and wonder just what the Universe is thinking and why we have so many stumbling blocks along our path.
 What is happening here is that the ego tells us that no person should have to go through what we are dealing with.  The ego tells us that we are a good person, a worthy person, and indeed, there is truth in that.  Every person on the planet, whether you like him or her or not, is a worthy soul that deserves the best that life offers.  The problem comes from feeling that we are getter less than others, when the ego gets that feeling of entitlement, rather than expecting to have to work for what it gets.  If we resent others whom we perceive having more than what we feel they should have, we are putting blockages all over our Life Path, not to mention, unnecessarily causing grief in our own lives, as well as the lives of others.
 Our purpose in life is to spread the love of the Universe.  We are here to help others, to lighten their burdens, and in so doing, we lighten our own.  But our giving, our caring and sharing must be done unconditionally and without resentment.  If this is a no-brainer, you will readily understand it.  If it doesn’t seem to compute for you, it is because your ego is getting in the way, and you will continue to have blockages along your Life Path.
 Please keep in mind that this goal of unconditional giving and sharing is the purpose for every person on earth.  It has nothing do with how many lives you have lived, what karma you have accumulated or not, or any other such matter you wish to use as an excuse for not believing that this is the truth.  Until you know in your heart that you are meant to spread love to everyone you know, you will not know peace and harmony and you can expect chaos in your life.
May you be richly blessed.

Healing the Heart

Healing the Heart

Healing of the heart can be challenging. Sometimes, we carry the burden of guilt and unforgiveness over many years. Anger may collect in the heart as a result.

As we feel anger, we may project it outward to whomever seems to be the best fit to take the burden. If the person is weaker than we are, we may become a bully. If the person is stronger, we may become bitter, resentful, passive-aggressive and disrespectful. The important thing to recognize is that the object of our anger, no matter how we act it out, usually has nothing to do with the actual, true cause of the anger we hold in our hearts throughout our lives.

So how do we let go of the anger and start to realize that in order to move forward with life, we need to forgive? First, the anger must be released from where it is bottled up by identifying the true source of the anger. Second, anger can be released through visualization and meditation. Visualize yourself throwing the heavy bricks of your anger into a clear pond to be cleansed and released forever.

Once you have released all of the pent up anger and unforgiveness, it is possible to see your situation in a new light. You are able to let go of the blame, see and recognize that the obstacles placed before you on the path are for your learning and healing.

Releasing anger and forgiving also requires communication. One must respect and understand the viewpoints of other people, accepting that not everyone has the same viewpoint or agenda as oneself. Sometimes we get carried away and think that our truth is the only one. We believe that what is right in our eyes is what is right in everyone’s eyes. This is often what causes the feeling that brick walls are placed between us and our goals. At this point, we must attempt to see the viewpoint of others by going within and touching with Spirit to feel the Oneness of all people and recognizing the Light that each person has in them. In this way, too, we can let go of the anger and frustration that is built up inside us.

At this point, we are better able to communicate with others from the point of love and respect. We can hear what they are saying because we have freed ourselves from our ego-perspective. We are seeing things from the point of view of Spirit and from the point of view of the whole. We are ready and able to heal.

As we heal, we think of the process as finding whatever is blocking us from reaching our goal. We can go to a Spiritual place to discover what our challenges are doing to our bodies, hearts and souls. We re-examine our Life Path. We accept the ability to re-create ourselves. Allow ourself to get lost in daydreams to see the possibilities that lie within each challenge. Disconnect from the moment to take a step back and see them objectively, from more than one angle and be free!

Being Who You Are

Suffice it to say that we all tend to wear masks, special masks for each person in our lives. We tailor our words for each different mask with the desire to present only that part of ourselves that we feel comfortable in showing to a particular person. In a way, it is a lie to do so, but for whatever reason we wear the mask, it is because we want to be loved.

There is no special solution to the problem, though it is only a problem when we compromise ourselves and our feelings to accommodate what we believe people want from us. When someone doesn’t love us for who we truly are, or we perceive that someone won’t love us for who we are, the situation becomes complicated and messy. It is our fear of rejection that perpetuates the use of masks, hiding and sometimes, even shame.

What really becomes the important thing is that everyone practice unconditional love. When there isn’t that fear of being rejected, when we can freely say what we think and feel, do what is foremost in our own hearts, we can clear away the masks, peel away the onion, and be the person we truly feel we are in reality.

It may feel scary at first, trusting that another person is truly there for us. It may play on our fear of abandonment. But you will only know if the honest pronouncement of your inner self works for you if you put out your toe and test the waters. Start small, certainly, but never feel as if you need to hide your true self. If you are left behind when you do so, could those around you be worth the trade-off? The people who love you, unconditionally, will always be there, through thick and thin. The ones who aren’t, just aren’t worth your time.

Making You Happy

Many of us have the tendency to go through life hoping that the right person will come along and make us happy. We put out to the Universe that we want someone with X, Y, or Z characteristics, and then hang our hat on the thought that a perfect someone will come along and all our worries will go right out the window.

I am here to tell you that this is an impossible dream. Happiness is not something that comes from outside of you. Happiness is a state of self-fulfillment, sometimes even a conscious choice. If you are not a whole person, in and of yourself, you will not be happy regardless of the circumstances. If you are expecting someone to come along on a white horse and take you away to paradise, you need to be healed from the inside. No one has control over your emotions, your state of mind, or your self concept, but you.

Taking the bull by the horns and declaring yourself happy is one thing, but truly feeling it, truly knowing in your heart that you are okay in all aspects, takes a bold warrior. You have to be willing to allow the negative behaviour of others fall off you like water off a duck’s back. You have to be strong enough to understand that whatever people say, especially if it hurts your feelings, is not a reflection of who you are. You determine who you are, just as you determine how you feel. You have to be strong enough to allow for that.

This is not to say that you don’t or shouldn’t consider the feelings of others, if you have hurt them, and apologize when you are wrong, but it does mean that you don’t have to take insults and degrading remarks at face value, allowing others to put you on the defensive for no legitimate reason. The point is that you don’t have to act like a sponge and automatically allow the hurtful things you are told to wear you down and destroy your happiness.

When you take responsibility for your happiness, you are able to take actions to do what you want to do, without taking the same right from others. You don’t have to destroy someone’s day. You don’t have to insult others or detract from their talents. You have your own gifts. You can be proud of yourself, though you don’t have to broadcast it to make yourself feel good.

True happiness comes from within. It comes from being satisfied with what you have in life and if not, then doing something about it, recognizing and being confident in your own capabilities. And if you are not capable, asking for help, just as you have helped others when they have needs.

May you be richly blessed!

Life's Path

Each step along Life’s Path, contrary to popular belief, is not mapped out for us to tap into the higher power to be delineated for us. Instead, we must select a route on our own, by first allowing ourselves to utilize the talents we have nurtured within us and express the goals that reside in our hearts.

The problems come when we decide to step off our Life Paths, and let someone else take the responsibility for determining who and what we shall be. We may try to bend our identities to suit peer pressure, our parents a lover, our teachers, or perhaps an advisor. Whoever we have placed as our priority, if we relinquish our rightful responsibility to say who we are and what we will do with our lives, we begin to lay out a path full of thorns: hurt, dissatisfaction, even anger.

In truth, you are the only person who has a right to plan where you will go in your life. If you have given up that right to someone else, you set yourself up to inner conflict, resentment, perhaps even feelings of failure. And these feelings will be with you until the point where you are willing to stand up and declare the path you want to take.

If you feel stuck, consider taking a backward view of life. That is, try to project yourself onto the end of your Life Path, not to imagine how you will pass, rather to take a look backward and see what you want to have accomplished in your life. Imagine giving your own eulogy. Will you report that you were a loving parent, sister or brother? Did you help the poor? Did you create things that brought beauty into the world? Did you do a thankless, but necessary task for society? Did you keep people safe? Did you teach new things? Did you ease someone’s pain?

The bottom line for what you are meant to do, is to help others. The how is entirely up to you. We don’t live in a vacuum. We receive by giving. Our payment is the smile on someone’s face.

This is not to deny that each person has needs to be fulfilled: needs for food, shelter, sleep and needs of the body. These are biological and come with powerful drives. But these can be dealt with as we pursue our goals for self-expression.

Choose your path, but realize it is yours and no one else’s. That is the key to real fulfillment.

Never Give Up!

With such difficult financial times, job woes strike many people. Over the past few years, many manufacturers and high tech firms have found less expensive labor pools by forming overseas programs to do their work. This has left such a job shortage here in the U.S. that people are not finding work that suits them. New businesses are out there, but their reach is small. What is anyone to do?

The first thing is to not lose faith in yourself. You may not know it all, but you do have a unique set of abilities that are gifted from the Creator. You are meant for something important. Realize that and stay firm in your belief in yourself.

Second, open your options a little wider with regard to the work you are willing to do. It is unfortunate, but we do have to do things that we don’t always like. If you don’t have a job at all, it may be a short time before you find the perfect job, so bite the bullet and take what you can get for the moment. It is always easier to get a job if you have a job, that is, you have a third party who says you are a good worker.

Third, keep trying. Now is not the time to be a gracious loser. Now is the time to strut your stuff and speak up about your qualities. Be persistent, be confident, and present yourself in your best light. Dress the part for whatever kind of work you are applying. Speak clearly, meet the interviewer’s eye, and show an interest in the type of work the company does. Soon, you’ll be cashing in that big paycheck.

May you be richly blessed!

The Point

What is the point of all the things people are trying to learn at this time? What is the point of Spirituality? For the most part it comes down to valuing every life, appreciating and honoring the life in all things: people, no matter who they are; animals, regardless of their contribution to the world; and plants, because they are a part of Mother Earth.

We tend to be regulated by the greater good which intends to be the greater good for the greater amount of people. In other words, good for more people than just me, good for more people than just my family. Does this require resources? Yes, but resources include much more than just money. Resources include our intellect, our physical strength, our free hours, and so on. We may not have money to donate to a soup kitchen, but we probably have time that we can lend a hand there. As we progress along our life paths, we should acknowledge that we have so much more that we can contribute to make the world a better place.

Let’s think of one more resource that we have a great deal of control over: our love. We live in a time when unconditional love is in, but we tend to be critical toward whom we give that unconditional love. We are happy to give love to “in” groups: the attractive, healthy, slender, prosperous people who grace magazines or could if they wanted that lifestyle. But what about those who don’t fit that scheme of things? And if we do extend our love to those outside that bill of fare, can we resist the desire to change them, so they do fit in that little ballpark? Acceptance of others, no matter their attitudes, beliefs, lifestyle, challenges or limitations is the greatest way to show love. Helping with the things they need or want help with, instead of putting our own desires for them in front of them is another way to show love, even if our way is better or for their own good. We may have to give up the notion that we know what’s best for others, and that is hard for us. But love means allowing them to take the steps along their life path their own way.

May you be richly blessed.

Negative Thinking Creatiing Blockages?

Life is uncharacteristically difficult for many people because of the mismanagement of the economy over the last decade. The wealthy have used their management styles to downsize businesses, leaving many people in the lurch, high and dry. Small businesses have folded because they cannot compete with national chains. In other cases, individuals must dig up all the creative abilities they can muster to form their own businesses and deal with dwindling finances to do the best they can.

We are guided by such movies as The Secret to declare our desires, believe we can receive, visualize our good as happening, and then giving thanks when we achieve our desires. One of the metaphysical mainstays to problem-solving is the use of affirmations: saying what you want in the positive, first person, such as, “I have a shiny, new, red sports car.” In many instances, these methods do work. They create in us the positive frame of mind that draws energy to us because as you put energy out into the Universe, you receive back. But what happens when you repeat those affirmations, visualize, and believe, but nothing happens?

You want to see some results. You feel as if you are trying so hard, but when nothing happens, you create a wall that stands between you and your good. How can this be? This often happens with individuals who are accustomed to getting a tangible result from the effort they put out. They are uncommonly grounded in the physical. So they believe that result should equal effort. They believe that just because they are going through the motions of saying affirmations that the Universe should respond in kind. But it is the pressure of this energy remaining inside them that creates a blockage to receiving their desires. The blockage is the result of not understanding the connection to the Universe, the metaphysical, the unseen, in which the mental process, the visualization, creates the positive energy that says we deserve to have whatever we want, whenever we want it.

How do we remedy this situation? We must go back to square one. Say the affirmations while visualizing ourselves receiving what we want. Cut pictures out of a magazine if you need help, then spend time each day looking at the pictures, so that you have the positive image. Hold the images of a pot of gold in your hand. Look at that shiny, red, sports car. Believe you will get what you want. Don’t just give it lip service and then become jaded after a few days. You have to change your thinking. Truly change it. Then and only then will the boulders be cast away from your path.

May you be richly blessed!

The Way

Many people are asking what is the lesson brought to their Life Paths at this time. There are many things that face us, not the least of which is our fears. So much noise in the background that 2012 is the end of times may be shaking us to our roots.

One lesson we have hopefully learned, however, is that Love replaces fear. If we truly love our enemies, meaning that we truly wish them well, in the face of their negativity, their hatreds, their actions that cause us grief, we will benefit in more ways than we can imagine. Not only will it help to raise their consciousness, but it will put us on a firm footing in our own faith. And faith is what is going to be needed to conquer that fear in the long run.

Another lesson that we need to know is that we must allow each person to be who he or she is, without judgment, without condemnation, without fear. Once again, this takes love: love of our fellow human being, love of the fact that we all face challenges, love that we are not so different from each other, love that we want everyone to stand on an equal footing and have the good that we have.

This latter idea is a difficult one for us, especially in the U. S., because we are brought up on the notion that if someone doesn’t have what we have, it is because they have not worked hard enough to get it. This is not at all true. Each person does their very best to live with the cards he or she is dealt. Whether the challenges are physical, emotional, socio-economic or what have you, we don’t start on a level playing field, and some have it much harder than others. What is true that we is that we tend to idolize and idealize those who start from nothing and create an empire. Look at Fred Meijer and Sam Walton. Or on another scale, look at Susan Boyle. These are folks who, in one way or another, came out of nowhere to express amazing gifts. We thank the Creator for the blessings they have brought into the world, and hope that those who would like to do similar miracles will be inspired by their efforts. But not all of us are that fortunate. This doesn’t mean that we should stop trying. That is what makes the biggest difference: trying. And perhaps that is the lesson that this time brings us as we face huge financial challenges around the world: don’t give up, but keep your faith that the Creator will provide for us in one way or another, if we don’t set our limits to a narrow field and accept what good comes our way, with a thankful heart.

May you be richly blessed!

Baby Steps

We are still in the early days of 2012, an infant who can coo and gurgle, but little more. We, on the other hand, have all of our lives to lean back on, see where we have been, the people that we have been, and the things we wish to change. This is not so much a time to resolve old problems, rather a time to learn to avoid them altogether in the future.

The most important thing to remember at this time is who we are. We are not our job, not our house, not our money. We are a person who interacts with other people, and in so doing, one who creates the possibility for genuine, gentle, loving interactions. This is not something merely to be said, then left to lie in the dust. It must be lived to have any effect at all. If we strive to be genuine—doing and saying what we truly think and feel—then others can count on us when we say we’ll be there. They will learn that we are trustworthy, that we care. Our actions will align with our words and we will receive in kind what we give. Love begets love. Live it, breathe it, share it.

The Turning Point

Today is the turning point of the New Year. We step boldly forward into a time that has been predicted to be raucous and frightening. Much press has been given toward warning that this is an end time. But one thing we know about energy: It is not ended, it merely changes form. So let us take that as our motto: To change form. Things that we may have thought just a short time ago to be impossible, within our lives, within our country, within our world, all these things are changing shape to allow the individual to have a better life. People are joining hands in ways we may never have imagined before, so that some far-away voice of autocracy is shaken to its roots and made to bend to the vine of the people it oversees. Freedom is a word that is being touted around the world, and people are making sure that it happens for them.

So as we enter 2012, that renowned year that has carried such shadows along its predestined path, let us be aware that while the Tower of Doom is being torn down, the Light of Freedom is being raised to take its place. Doing so will not call the strong, iron hand of the Universe to crash down, rather, there will be resounding “YES” and instant joy, because the good of the entire world is at stake, and more people are understanding their personal power, their Light.

May 2012 show you the way to the Light of Freedom!