The only impossible journey, is the one which you never start. You have to take that first step! And then you have to keep taking steps even if they're really small, in fact surrender to the idea that they will all be baby steps. All journeys are constantly changing. Some days you'll be flying down … Continue reading Worry only about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.
How closely do you live to what your soul wants to express? So many of the actions we take are motivated by fear. When we live our lives with a focus on avoiding all the potential problems we see, then we remain operating on the same level as those problems, always fighting for survival. While … Continue reading What would the world look like, if we were all motivated by the expression of our souls?
It's so easy to experience the world as a hostile place. In a world saturated with negative headlines and endless streams of disappointing news, it's almost difficult not to develop a cynical worldview. We scroll through social media, watch the news, and witness humanity's capacity for harm, sometimes leaving us feeling disconnected from the very … Continue reading It doesn’t always help us to love the world. But it does prevent us from hating the world.
A regular practice of silence is like medicine, and the long term healing properties of meditation are becoming increasingly clear through modern science. Recently, meditation researchers have investigated how meditation impacts what is called the brain's default mode network (DMN), which includes the self-talk that constantly chatters in the background as you go about your … Continue reading A study on negative self-talk.
Since humans first began to write, has there ever been a topic more written about than love? Trying to understand, explain, describe with words something that we all have some knowledge of, and still seems so elusive? My favourite interpretation of love is: “... to become acquainted with the essence of what you are, and … Continue reading Love: You’re not meant to wait for it.
The world around us is in a constant state of change, and if our "being happy" is dependent upon things always being the way we like it, then it is likely that we will never actually be happy. If happiness is something that is waiting for you around some distant corner somewhere in the future … Continue reading Let your inner-being be your grounding and your guidance.
For a moment, bring to your mind the image of a flower in full bloom. Notice just how ready you are to exclaim "perfection!" Yet when you turn that same gaze inward, do you view yourself through this lens of appreciation and wonder? Do you look through this same lens when you look at YOU? … Continue reading Take repossession of your Self, and you will rise to a level of greatness that has been yours all along.
In a social media driven world, we are constantly advised on how to curate our image and carefully craft our words, while the most basic ingredient of true connection is ignored… the courage to simply be honest with everyone we encounter. Matt Kahn invites us to re-understand honesty as the superpower that helps us master … Continue reading This kind of honesty is disarming, and invites honesty in return.
In the natural world organisms don't exist in any kind of isolation, but live within a dynamically changing environment. Biology describes environment as the space that encompasses everything surrounding a living being, and survival depends on the ability to respond to ever-changing conditions. As humans, we face the same fundamental challenge: we live in an … Continue reading A gem cannot be polished without friction.
For each of us, our responsibility is to focus on doing our own inner work, tend to our own garden and keep our opinions out of the gardening of others. However, none of us live isolated on an island. Our human experience is deeply intertwined through shared connections to the humans around us. While we … Continue reading How to maintain strong boundaries and also be kind.
Body and soul - two sides of the same coin while we’re having our human experience. The first is impatient, often loud, always demanding attention because it is concerned with the very important work of staying alive. The second is slower, found in silence, always present because there’s nowhere else to run to in the … Continue reading You can live for the survival of this body, or you can live for the full expression of this soul.
The world around us is a swirling vortex of events, most of which are completely beyond our control. Yet we often find ourselves desperately trying to shape the world to our liking, it’s almost as if we think that we can grasp at the reins of a dozen wild horses and make them listen to … Continue reading Don’t jump into reaction mode at the first appearance of negative energy.
Your inner world and outer world are in constant conversation. The thoughts and beliefs you carry don't just live in your mind, they tend to ripple outward in your words and actions, shaping the life around you. You might think that you are just reacting to the circumstances that are already there, but every circumstance, … Continue reading Keep changing your inner reality and watch as your outer reality starts changing as well.
The only things that EVER hold you back, are the thoughts that you have about yourself. I want you to really get this… there is nothing else standing in your way but the way that you see yourself, but here’s the real issue - the way you see yourself doesn’t even belong to you, you … Continue reading The beliefs that you decide to cultivate from today, will shape your tomorrow.
Today’s message starts in a completely different place than any of the previous ones… Minecraft! If you’ve raised young kids during the last decade or so you’ll know all about it, but here’s a rundown if you’re unfamiliar - Think of Minecraft as a digital Lego set on steroids. But instead of building houses and … Continue reading Are you living in survival mode or creative mode?
Being a living, breathing organism on Earth means that we will be in constant contact with an ever changing environment around us. And what sets us clearly apart from all other organisms is how we have access to a lot more choice in our ability to respond to our environment, but only if we actually … Continue reading First find the calm-clarity within you before choosing how you will respond.
A part of our psyche is naturally deeply invested in the survival of this flesh and blood body. We could call it 'Small-self', 'Ego', or perhaps our ‘scared parts'. Since before you were born, your sub-conscious has been recording all of the details of everything you have ever experienced. And more importantly, it’s been keeping … Continue reading Since before you were born, your sub-conscious has been recording everything you have ever experienced.
How do you see your SELF? When you look at yourself, what do you see? Do you realize that what you see when you look at yourself is most likely to be a story that you were told over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over … Continue reading How do you even know what your name is?
Today’s conversation is about coping mechanisms, and especially the masks we find ourselves reaching for in order to feel like we're being accepted by the humans around us. A “coping mechanism” is not a moral failing, it’s just the scared part of a human trying hard to deal with what can sometimes feel like too … Continue reading It will drag you for days like a broken man behind a farting camel.
Have you ever witnessed the profound impact of simple human kindness? A small gesture, a compassionate word, or even just a silent presence can illuminate another's world in the darkest of times. It's a reminder of our inherent capacity to offer love and support without expectation of return. There is a profound beauty in this … Continue reading Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky…
Our teacher for this week is the Persian poet Hafez (another common spelling of his name is Hafiz) who’s pen name means “the memorizer, the safe keeper”. He was born in 1325 in what is now known as Iran. To this day his works are often found in the homes of Persian speakers, who learn … Continue reading Celebrate everything that you want to see more of!
In 1623 English poet John Donne wrote down the words, "No man is an island" - even in those moments that we may feel ourselves to be utterly alone, the truth is we are surrounded by other humans. Nothing is created - nothing comes to fruition - unless humans cooperate to bring it into existence. … Continue reading How we react to our differences, determines whether we make war, or find strength in our diversity.
The human condition so often finds itself gripping on tightly to what it perceives as a sense of safety, while violently resisting the things that scare it. Stretched thin - between clinging to what is fleeting, and resisting what is inevitable - leaves us with no energy to take action where we are actually effective. … Continue reading In this space of surrender the water is calm and therefore clear.
Our teacher for this week is Hermann Hesse, a Swiss/German author who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1947. I really love his work and looking into whatever the week ahead might bring, here are some thoughts that help me set up my week. Life is a tapestry into which threads will be woven … Continue reading I CHOOSE what to take seriously, and I will laugh at the rest!
Today’s message from Elizabeth Gilbert is a reminder of the divinity that you are as a spiritual being. Have you discovered what resides within you? "'Om Namah Shivaya', meaning, I honor the divinity that resides within me." - Elizabeth Gilbert It's a powerful statement, a declaration of self-worth and a recognition of the sacredness of … Continue reading The universe buries strange jewels deep within you.
Elizabeth Gilbert is our teacher for this week, and today’s message really is a two for one! Her wisdom is a refreshing antidote to our culture’s obsession with perfection. She reminds us that creativity, far from being the exclusive domain of artistic geniuses, is an inherent human capacity, and we can infuse everything we do … Continue reading Life is like a dropped pie sometimes.
The power of NOW... "Being present" has such a spiritual connotation that its pure practical application is often missed. It's a shame because "being present" is simply the most effective way to apply your effort. Dealing with what this moment makes available to you right NOW, is the only place where you have any power … Continue reading When we see reality as it is, action becomes simple.
Mooji’s words might just be the most beautiful description of doing "inner work" that I've ever come across. It's natural for any of us to look at our own "worst" qualities and want that to change, but when we judge or punish ourselves for it, we become involved in an inner war. And while this … Continue reading The ice cannot resist the melting.
Imagine - for a moment - a mountain. Immovable, steadfast, and grounded. This is the powerful image evoked by today's meditation, "I am the mountain." It's a concept that invites us to tap into our inner strength and resilience, allowing us to weather life's challenges with grace and equanimity. We’re kicking off today’s message with … Continue reading Are you running about like a frightened ghost?
Let's jumpstart the week! The alarm clock blares, pulling you from the dream world. A new week unfolds, a canvas waiting for your brushstrokes of intention and action. But here's the question that will determine everything: will you spend this week wasting your energy on trying to control what's uncontrollable, or will you choose something … Continue reading Take a look at your week ahead and exclaim loudly: “I choose to expand!”
