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I woke up with the thought, "What if I was just totally open and supportive to my friend?” Then, a part of me pulled back and thought, “I will wait to do that after I see if another piece falls into place in our friendship.” I continued the conversation with myself: Hold on, why not just offer my openness and love regardless? It is not going to make the chances of things falling into place any less. In fact, it would seem to increase the chances of that happening. It suddenly

A vision is when you experience a specific possibility as a potential for yourself. It has to have the element of it being possible for you. It may come in the form of an idea, a dream, or a realization such as an "aha experience." Vision is direct communication from Life itself. In addition to serving you personally, vision is critically important to the culture that you are a part of. It was standard practice in many Native American and aboriginal cultures to receive and sh

The notion of the big world came from interacting with my cat when I lived in Oceanside, California. There was a fenced-in area on my patio that she could be outside but still protected. But if she went out the gate she was in the Big World. There were coyotes out there. While she liked the safety of the fenced world, but she was always happiest and seemed most alive when she was out in the Big World. Walking with your heart open requires you to live in the Big World. Life is

We tend to adjust who we are and what we say based on the people and setting that we are in. We often segment ourselves by allowing some parts of ourselves and excluding others in various interactions. We may dumb ourselves down or become more sarcastic to fit with the folks that we are with. We do things that are out of character. This inevitably causes conflict with ourselves. At some level, we know that we acted outside of our wholeness and integrity. Historically in oppre

People have issues with you. Ironically, the more character you have, the more issues people likely have with you. But never forget whose issues they are. It is their issue with you. And keep in mind, they really believe it is your issue. Your choice is to take on other people's issues with you or let them have them. Many people have a preconception and expectation of how you need to be. This is usually based on what role they believe you should take with them. People have un

Now is the only time you have to experience this moment. It is the only time you will have this exact blend of your awareness and what is happening. Are you allowing yourself to feel it? If you do, there is richness and beauty that is totally fulfilling. If you do not, you may tell yourself it is no big deal, but part of you will always know that you did not allow yourself to fully feel what just happened. There is a sense of loss. The easy way to illustrate this is to say th

Openness is the most fundamental element of establishing a natural way of being in our culture. But being open takes courage as it leaves us feeling vulnerable. Many follow the lead when someone offers us openness, but hesitate with being open when others are not. We are selectively open. This makes sense if you do not have the skills to walk openly, but we need people to model openness when it is not the norm. Finding a place that is safe to express and experience your heart

Science fiction has long worked with the idea of there being alternate realities. In my recent Developing Your Personal Practice class, I used the notion of an alternate reality to describe what it is like to be separate from the experience that you are in. In the absence of being open and allowing the energy of the experience in, we are not truly part of the actual experience. We, therefore, do not directly experience and know what is really going on. Rather, we are separate

“Let your prayer come to you.” It is what I tell people all the time when we are doing ceremony. The intent is to get beyond your intellect and pray from your heart. This also works for acting from your intuition. Intuitive knowing comes to you when you allow the energy of the experience in and then let your intuition come to you. And if nothing comes to you, there might not be much to say. So you continue to listen. I first learned of this when I was interpreting dreams. My

People are reading many great spiritual teachings. This is a boon for increasing awareness. But for the majority of people I encounter, these teachings are kept at a conceptual level. For teachings to truly make a difference, they need to be integrated into your life. Most know the teaching of being present in the experience that you are in. I have heard this in countless intellectual discussions. But how many of us integrate it into our lives? Are we willing to look at what

People are either strong enough to accept you as you are or they are not. If you found the courage to be yourself, they can find it in their heart to embrace you as you are. If they can't, it is not a good place to share your heart- at least that aspect of yourself. In close relationships (romantic, family, or friendship), you are a package deal. Like everyone else, you have strengths and challenge areas. You may continue to grow and develop your challenge areas, but right no

We all have or have had dreams for our life. It might be to have a family, start a business, or live more simply on some acreage. Our dream often starts with a vision. We create an idealized picture of how it will be. This allows us to create an intention and blueprint for our dream. From our intention and our willingness to take action, doors and possibilities begin to unfold. Our dream or vision begins to take form. It intersects and collides with other people such as famil