It is essential that we learn how to harness and manage our own personal energy.  It is time to pull back from all distractions.  Politics, education systems, world events, gossip, drama, and sensationalism.  These are Caverns of Crap.  When we choose to put our attention, conversations, entertainment, and especially family moments into these areas, we are losing the self.  Completely.

Look at this realistically: what can you possibly do, as one person, to be so extended in all ways on CNN, etc. knowing every angle of every situation?  Even if you convince your friends, co-workers, and family members of your perspective, then what can you all possibly do?

What energy do these conversations create?  For me I have become frustrated and negative over my limitations... knowing that what I see or believe can not change our society.  Angry, Frustrated, Limited... that is NOT the energy that any of us can bear to hold.  What is happening is that this collective negativity is bottling up creative flow and possibilities in our country and our world.  

We are missing the solutions that are floating by.  We think that the old ways of change will bring about revolution.  We are not in need of revolution right now we are in need of transformation.  The ONLY way this can happen as a person, family, municipality, country and world is to pull back within.  

We have SO many modes of perception.  Hearing, seeing, knowing, understanding, smelling, feeling, and intuition are some.  Those are powerful ways that you can access creativity and clear guidance.  So you want to know the best politician to vote for?  Pull back within and use those powers of yours to fully determine what seems right to you then allow every one else to do the same.  It is not our right to convince people of our views.  Coming from a centered place, you can be unwavered in your approach and then your can be a guide, teacher, a motivator without even sometimes saying a word.  You can create change silently and actively.

Your energy needs to be focused on your self.  I perceive the ripples of water that extend out from a rock.  You are the rock.  Next is the family that you have chosen to have or that has chosen to have you.  Then it extends out to friends and family and community.  A ripple never starts from outside of the rock... ever.  Our energy cannot do that either but we extend it so and that is where much of our suffering lies.   

There are people in this world with names that we may recognize that have chosen roles in which they push our buttons.  Pull back within, close the curtain on their show and thrive.  Master your own happiness, revitalize from the flow of energy that you can keep for yourself. Notice how you are more present with your kids, spouse, and loved ones.  Start sleeping better.  The more individuals who can find this power and balance, then the collective energy of true power and balance grows, then creativity expands to offer us new ways to live, educate, and care for each other.  Then check your face in the mirror and chances are you will see a smile.  

If we know that we live forever, even those with the utmost spiritual faith, then why is it so hard to accept when someone close to us dies?  Is that the reason why we often choose to not have faith in the Divine who asks us to live and to breathe love, peace, forgiveness and faith?  Is it hard to swallow scripture, messages and words of encouragement when pain grips relentlessly from within?  Yes it is.  It is very hard.

It is a courageous and brave way to allow our self to trust that Spirit connects us in all ways and that we live eternally and completely before, during, and after death.  It is faith, an intangible personal experience that defies the mind and rationality.  While the mind searches for proof and credibility, faith from the heart only asks to be transformed through its openness.

Ghandi, Budhists, and Carl Jung are some of many that believe that each person is made up of all others.  Aspects called the shadows, archetypes and masks of the human, are beneath each of our exteriors no matter how pure the package may seem.  Psychologists have argued for years about what cocktail of nature and nurture comprise the person's experiences, inner self and potential.  Twins reared separately who are given different life situations sometimes may follow a similar path and share uncanny interests while siblings living in the same home dynamics for years may choose very different "ways out" into the world.  Our perspectives make up our personal truth.  A grand TRUTH does exist with which we can only see through our own lens.

A teacher recently explained to me that a meeting was held with a small group of people.  In this group was a doctor, a fireman, a comedian, a teacher, and a lawyer.  A person shared their experience and each person in the group had a varied perspective of the story.  The doctor commented on the person's health and lack there of that may have contributed to the outcome; the fireman, being very protective, was concerned for the prolonged safety for this person and family; the comedian laughed and made light of the experience to ease everyone's feelings; the teacher talked about how the experience is a wonderful learning experience; and the lawyer focused on the cause, effect and fault that could have allowed the situation to occur in the first place.  This person left the group with many different perspectives that were quite polarized by the personal experiences of each member.  Each member; therefore, sharing a personal truth.  Each personal truth being a Perspective of the TRUTH.

This is a time of Great change.  Change occurs in an effort of finding balance.  When one aspect of self is strengthened or weakened in any way, the rest of the self shifts immediately to harmonize the system.  Our reactions can confound these shifts and to look from a removed perspective, we can better allow these changes to occur.  When there is injury in some part of our Self, the rest of Self continues to find balance and harmony.  Again, using a detached perspective we are able to flow with more ease and strength.  Think of a boat that has a hole in it.  This boat is in the middle of the ocean.  Those in the boat cannot only consider the hole, but MUST consider the wind, the rigging, the sails, the direction, the stamina of the people, the water level that may or may not be rising in the boat’s belly as well as an endless list of things to insure the overall health of the situation.  A captain with a mastery of attention, intuition, emotions, physical strength, faith, and hope for a positive end while remaining detached to habit and others’ opinions is in the position that no matter what the result, the best was done.

My heart was broken last week.  A friend of mine experienced a significant loss that so touched my inner self that I sobbed and sobbed for days.  The sobbing came with the simple thought of this family’s pain.  The pain became mine in the way I could best relate and feel.  What I have realized since this moment is that this pain opened my heart in a very beautiful way.  My heart became soft, malleable, I was punchy and juicy, I felt things more deeply...  not outer irritation but inner moving.  I really felt alive.

I believe that one key to being Human is to be so aware of what opens our heart so that we can expand the openness and bridge all situations.  Heartbreak can occur in Joy as well as sadness because both emotions crack the shell that forms over time and complacency.  These emotions and circumstances become Gifts from the Divine because they allow our hearts to be moved and grow.  Hearts grow through compassion, service, and gratitude as well as sadness, pain, and hurt.

I have been creating and officiating spiritual wedding ceremonies for over five years now.  More and more couples are discovering that what they want to express in their wedding ceremony is the Spirit of their love.  Spirituality is something that extends beyond religion.  It can be found in religion and it also can be found in nature, experiences, family, friendship, and love.  When a couple chooses to get married it is because they love each other in such a way that calls for a celebration and a moment where they pledge promises of devotion and faith to each other.

I have been teaching a lot lately.  I have had a blast getting into elementary school classrooms and meeting the kids where they are.  I don't know who I will meet each day and what I will be doing and I am learning SO much from them.  I love every age.  They each have something to challenge me on.  It really is exhilarating!  Yes, it is True that I get to leave at the end of the day and hand over the darlings to their full-time teacher, but I KNOW that if I do not learn the lesson and gain strength in these areas then other children will certainly see what I am made of!

I was watching my kids fly kites a while ago and I was fortunate to have a visit from a hawk.  Hawks have been one of my totem animals for the past year and I always have stopped what I was doing to tune into any messages that I may receive from Spirit.  That afternoon I noticed how a Hawk or any bird for that matter, flaps its wings when it is going against a draft or breeze.  Once the hawk gets itself some momentum, it can move into and go with the flow of a draft.   Flight is about inherently knowing and reacting to when one is flying within an air stream or is working through all other.  Both equally as important as it allows the bird to soar and descend with ease and grace.

This past weekend was Summer Solstice, and something to do during these markers through out the year is to take inventory of the things in one’s life. I recently read someone’s suggestion for me to write a list of things that I may want to manifest in the next 6 months. Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year. The most sunlight! Although, here in Rhode Island, I saw the sun only between the hours of 2 and 4! Even though the clouds were center stage, I know the Sun’s light and energy was still behind the scenes pushing all of our lives along in remarkable and unseen ways. The day is one of Joy and Fun as we bottle up as much of this light to carry us through until December 21. Take it all in I say!

So while I now present to you a few of my favorite things that I want to manifest more of, I know that the arms full of Sun’s “Make things happen”, and “Joy and Fun” energy will allow the manifesting to move right along!

I was rereading my blogs the other day and I noticed that most of what I write is very positive.  That's a good thing I think; although, I became aware that when I am in the mix of things that are tough, I tend to not be in the mood to write blogs.  I write in my journal but not the blog.  I told myself to write during one of my WTF moments, but see, it's already been 3 days.  I am going to try my best to get back into the sinking gut feelings I had Thursday as I tackled a fear of mine so that I can share this experience that balances the HIs and LOs of life.