Light Rae's Luminous Universe

I Believe.

2011-10-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Photo by Sheamus Vaughan-Warde

The antonym of "skeptic" is "believer".
I am an unabashed believer. I believe in the Divine, I believe in people, I believe money to be unnecessary, I believe in the witness of great people of love and kindness, I believe in infinite potential, I believe in joy, I believe in the grace of forgiveness, I believe in the peace that passes all understanding, I believe there is always another way, I believe that to believe is to live in the space of creation... What do you believe?

From Chaos to Creation

2011-07-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

I am grateful to one of my dear friends Willow, for inspiring this writing through our conversation together. What a profound and glorious thing it is to have friends that open up your soul and spirit...

From bottom to top: Chaos, Control, Creation

Often in the process of something, the beginning is chaos. There can be an anarchy and non-definition that stifles the growth and connection of a thing because of the discord - like that of an explosion blowing something apart. Yet, this chaotic experience is perfection. It is the necessary first step that extends the seeds of creation far and wide, blowing them out in seemingly random and wild abandon. This chaos can, while in it, be experienced as excruciating, exhilarating, painful, brilliant, expansive and simply downright chaos. When experienced in the context of a controlling nature, this beginning can feel very much like the end.

The next phase in the process is the compartmentalizing, the gathering together and controlling of the aforementioned chaos. This step provides cohesiveness, a separate unity so to speak... taking like components and bringing them together, separating them from their differences, and creating a sort of calm compiling of boxes, This would seem like the final destination, but this can actually create a sense of disunity because likes and non-likes are no longer able to experience each other, nor gain knowledge from the other.

Not only can restlessness occur at this stage, but a certain rigidity that promotes itself. It becomes used to the boxed model and to the fact that it was so important to the process of "rectifying chaos" and therefore sees compartmentalizing as "right". What is failed to be seen at this point, is the importance of all the components working together - like and unlike. This is a key component in truly knowing wisdom, in bringing the chaos to connection, and understanding a thing completely. (Complete - "To make whole or entire. Having all parts or elements, lacking nothing, full.")

This is where many are stuck today. As we experience the old models of finance, war, competition, rules, and responsibilities either falling away or falling apart, we find a chaos that comes even within compartmentalizing, even within "control". This is in part because all things are in relationship...

Relationship comes before responsibility and rules... even in the dictionary.

At no point can we have responsibility without relationship first, at no point can we have rules without relationship first. Relationship is there first whether that relationship is good, bad or otherwise... it is always there. No man is an island. All things are relative. All things are related. All things are in RELATIONSHIP.

Rules cannot substitute love because we are simply exchanging a higher form of relationship for a "substitute" based on that which we think can be "controlled". This control, this compartmentalizing, is that which replaces faith, asking instead for a set structure with a known outcome at every turn. If we ask for this, then we exchange a love-based fluid relationship with one that places relationship with rules (or responsibility), above relationship with others. This effectively makes relationships work within the confines of rules versus rules working for the best of a direct personal relationship.

Interestingly enough, you can never actually have a relationship with rules first... we are still having relationship with others first (this is the "isness" of being Human AND spiritual) but instead of relationship we are allowing our experience of rules to shape how we are in relationship, instead of choosing our rules or responsibility based on the experience that relationship brings. (Which by the way is an ever changing process... relationship can never be anything but an ever changing process, otherwise it is experienced as rigid ie: "rule".)

So, chaos is non-functional, and so too becomes compartmentalizing.

This leads to the third part of the process, which is often a slow process of blurring the lines in a sort of two way mirror act - or like looking through a foggy shower door, and slowly moving the door aside. Finally there comes an elimination of the walls of the boxes all together. The process, when done in a way that allows each compartment to connect and experience the other, promotes each thing to find its place among the "unlike" - like a puzzle piece finding its mate. When experienced with resistance and fear, this can be a very unpleasant experience, it can even lead to intense out-lashings of panic and pain. When accepted with faith, the refined dance turns chaos and compartmentalizing into creation!

All of a sudden, new ideas and awarenesses begin to form and the process can now be seen for what it is. From a distance (either time or space distance) it can now be appreciated, it can be seen as part of a whole - none being 'bad'. The chaos led to compartments, which led to creation... all working in beautiful tandem and requiring each other.

This incredible process is none more important than the other. Often when moving through the process of creation, we can get stuck being overwhelmed by chaos, we can be stopped by the seeming perfection or "rightness" of compartments, of control. We can also devalue one part under the other, missing a part of the process entirely. The perfection, beauty and feeling, (the connection our soul makes) lies in recognizing all of the parts and allowing each to have their incredible place in the process. This will then allow you to know that the next creative process you go through is simply in it's own perfect stage.

Let go, surrender, move through the process... create.

Complete Chaos (Speed & Motion) +

Controlled Compartments (Order & Boxes) +

Connected Cohesiveness (Interaction & Connection) =

CREATION!

Peace In This Moment

2010-11-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

I see the peace that is, even if just a small amount.

I feel the peace that is, even if I only feel a tiny bit.

I know the peace that is, even if it passes all understanding.

I remember the peace that is, even if it seems a distant memory.

I accept the peace that is, even if I am afraid and in doubt.

I honor the peace that is, even if I am in the midst of confusion.

I practice the peace that is, even if i feel I am failing at it.

I observe the peace that is, even if it seems far from me.

I am the peace that is, even if i don't know it yet.

I live the peace that is, even if I am not perfect at it.

So it is.

This Is Peace

2010-10-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

"Surrender"

When we let go of the things we make matter, what are we left with? Sometimes there is great emptiness or confusion. Sometimes there is sadness or frustration. Yet, at other times there can be great relief - a calm, like looking at a blank canvas ready to be brought to life. Sometimes in letting go of what matters to us, we make way for new matters to be made - new experiences to be had. This often requires surrender, quiet contemplation, or even stubborn release, either way we open up the opportunity to expand into a new reality and a new form of matter.

Sometimes we are asked to be in a space that is "limbo". The space of not knowing, that is ruled purely by faith. Limbo is the place where flexibility is stretched to the point where uncertainty arises. This has the potential to be freeing or fearful, either way we have the opportunity of moving out of our comfort zone and practicing this stretch of uncertainty, even for a moment.

When we are faced with the "blank canvas", the end of our world as we have known it, the shift in that which we have understood to matter, it is okay to let go of how we have always believed... how we have always done things. In this space lies the opportunity for great "being". In this space is the opportunity to move into a greater expanse of Who We Are through the act of letting go.

Releasing control allows you to gain clarity, space and connection to that which is open to the answer. This is Peace.

Relationship

2010-10-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

Photo by Julie Shaw

Rules cannot substitute love because we are simply exchanging a higher form of relationship for a "substitute" based on that which we think can be "controlled". "Control" is that which replaces faith, asking instead for a set structure with a known outcome at every turn. If we ask for this, then we exchange a love-based fluid relationship with one that places relationship with rules (or responsibility), above relationship with others. This effectively makes relationships work within the confines of rules versus rules working for the best of a direct personal relationship.

Interestingly enough, you can never actually have a relationship with rules first... we are still having relationship with others first (this is the "isness" of being Human AND spiritual) but instead of relationship we are allowing our experience of rules to shape how we are in relationship, instead of choosing our rules or responsibility based on the experience that relationship brings. (Which by the way is an ever changing process... relationship can never be anything but an ever changing process, otherwise it is experienced as rigid ie: "rule".)

"There is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance." -Einstein

The Discipline of Joy

2010-10-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

In the silence I am both in preparation and receiving.
I am in surrender and full acceptance.
In the quiet I am in emptiness and in fullness.
I am in individuality and collaboration.

Do not be fooled by the voice of the world saying your stillness, your inaction, your unproductivity, your nothingness, your rest, is somehow selfish, unproductive or menial. Do not be fooled into thinking that you don't have the time. This is only true if you believe that other things are more important to do in your time or with your time. Do not be fooled into thinking that your worth is what you do. It is not. From outside appearances this may seem true, it may seem "real" - so how can you prove otherwise?

We see "results" from action and so are led to believe that action is the soul of worth and value. But ask yourself, "DO I FEEL JOY? DO I FEEL FREE? DO I FEEL PEACE?" Here lies the proof that action is not the soul of value. Here lie the keys to something more, something deeper, something in the realms of faith, beyond that which is seen and immediately experienced.

The discipline of quiet will challenge all that is "reality" based, all that is "product", "production", "productive", and move you to a place that is PROCESS. The soul, the root of process is JOY, FREEDOM, PEACE, LOVE... All the things that we think we are accomplishing or trying to accomplish as we go about our day being "productive". If we believe this way of thinking for too long, we come to dis-ease, an expedited end to our life and/or an emptiness in self and relationships that leaves us confused and unfulfilled, wondering where our Joy is when we have been so faithfully productive.

The quiet, the silence, the stillness, is the first step in saying we believe something beyond the value of action. It is the first step of faith that puts us on the path of process and balances it with that which is product. It is the first step of trust that allows us to know something bigger than "this" is releasing its wisdom and voice from the inside.

This practice, these steps of quiet might be challenged by our own thoughts, bringing up feelings of discomfort, unworthiness, and guilt for not being "productive". Allow them to be. Send them grace and understanding. When these thoughts come up, we can gently remind our self that we are practicing process for a bit. We are on a journey of faith in the value of a deeper soul meaning. This quiet, this coming back to our self will not only change us and how we express and experience our joy, freedom, peace, love, etc. in the world, it will change the world.

Nothing

2010-10-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes what is perfect to come through is "nothing".

No-Thing. Just pure light, Divine rest, perfect silence, calming quiet... all of these things are support in the creative process and the birthing of our soul. All of these allow the voice of our spirit to ring clear. These times of "nothing" are the clearing out of space, the de-cluttering of thoughts - the need to have action or answers as a means of worth or "properness".

The No-Thing-Ness is not something wrong with us, our guidance system, or our spiritual voice, it is akin to spiritual laundry day... eliminating the dinge and creating space for us to know the Oneness with ourself and our soul.

The Discipline of Joy

2010-09-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

In the silence I am both in preparation and receiving.
I am in surrender and full acceptance.
In the quiet I am in emptiness and in fullness.
I am in individuality and collaboration.

Do not be fooled by the voice of the world saying your stillness, your inaction, your unproductivity, your nothingness, your rest, is somehow selfish, unproductive or menial. Do not be fooled into thinking that you don't have the time. This is only true if you believe that other things are more important to do in your time or with your time. Do not be fooled into thinking that your worth is what you do. It is not. From outside appearances this may seem true, it may seem "real" - so how can you prove otherwise?

We see "results" from action and so are led to believe that action is the soul of worth and value. But ask yourself, "DO I FEEL JOY? DO I FEEL FREE? DO I FEEL PEACE?" Here lies the proof that action is not the soul of value. Here lie the keys to something more, something deeper, something in the realms of faith, beyond that which is seen and immediately experienced.

The discipline of quiet will challenge all that is "reality" based, all that is "product", "production", "productive", and move you to a place that is PROCESS. The soul, the root of process is JOY, FREEDOM, PEACE, LOVE... All the things that we think we are accomplishing or trying to accomplish as we go about our day being "productive". If we believe this way of thinking for too long, we come to dis-ease, an expedited end to our life and/or an emptiness in self and relationships that leaves us confused and unfulfilled, wondering where our Joy is when we have been so faithfully productive.

The quiet, the silence, the stillness, is the first step in saying we believe something beyond the value of action. It is the first step of faith that puts us on the path of process and balances it with that which is product. It is the first step of trust that allows us to know something bigger than "this" is releasing its wisdom and voice from the inside.

This practice, these steps of quiet might be challenged by our own thoughts, bringing up feelings of discomfort, unworthiness, and guilt for not being "productive". Allow them to be. Send them grace and understanding. When these thoughts come up, we can gently remind our self that we are practicing process for a bit. We are on a journey of faith in the value of a deeper soul meaning. This quiet, this coming back to our self will not only change us and how we express and experience our joy, freedom, peace, love, etc. in the world, it will change the world.

Express Yourself

2010-08-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

What power there is in amazing creative expression! The song that makes you light, the painting that touches you deeply, architecture that takes your breath away, the book that brings you to tears, an amazing meal that stays in your memory, an interesting design that makes you stop and pause... all of these things and infinitely more.

They are gifts of love, expressions of the soul, the voice and words of our spirit in outward shape and form. What a magnificent thing when we allow our self to create, to let flow through us that which wants to be said in more than typical words - when we open up to the voice of our spirit and pour out that which is coming through us.

With these expressions, not only do we change our self, we change our entire world.

The power to create is the power to change.

What's driving your super power?

2010-05-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

Doing what is "normal" versus our natural Divine state, means that we are often creating from a place that is subconsciously tied into contracts and boundaries that form a program that we follow. At the same time we often try and program new thoughts, ideas and "positives" into our mind.
The trouble with trying to change our way of thinking is that often the underlying program is still running, many times for our own good, though it may be expressed and experienced as "negative" occurrences, choices and patterns. The key then is to release the attachments that bind our creative power to our "negative prompts and patterns". These "negatives" are usually mistaken as either complete separateness (disconnected from our creative power), a necessary occurrence, or both. And most often they are created in a consciously disconnected state.
Co-operative tools that are used in connection with the true Source of our power are different than enabling tools that we are attached to as a means to reach our power. One sees our power inside of our self, the other sees our power somewhere else.

These enabling or "negative" connections can be very powerful and very effective in facilitating some powerful things in our lives. This is one reason why it can be difficult to simply re-pattern this connection with positive affirmations or sometimes even therapy. There is a deeper spiritual connection going on, that when revealed, can change how we are facilitating our positive power.

Just the simple act of awareness around these connections can change the way that we see our power from that moment of awareness on. Like turning on the light briefly in a dark room that seems full of monsters. Even if the lights are turned back off again, from that point forward you know that what you thought was a monster in the corner is actually a rocking chair. From then on weather in darkness or light, your perspective has changed.

Are you interested in Connection Facilitation? Contact Rae - Rae@LightRaes.com to find out more. Connection Facilitation is an intuitive process to assist you in seeing the "negatives" that may be connected to serving you positively, but also have adverse or unwanted side effects. This process helps you identify these negative to positive connections, release them, and then connect with more conscious positives in alignment with your heart.

Light Rae's

Creative Source Coaching

and Connection Facilitation

www.LightRaes.com

To thine own self, do unto others...

2010-04-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

"To thine own self be true" is the same thing as "Do unto others as you would have done to you". When you let your light shine, you are in a space that allows you to also see the light in others, and to appreciate that each light is as unique and beautiful as a snowflake.

You give others back to themselves and allow them to see their true light and brilliance by seeing and listening and expressing and loving your own brilliance. We shine best by knowing our inner brilliance is already within, with no need for others to be any certain way in order for us to shine. In this way we can see other's infinite potential no matter how they may be acting in this moment.

Your love, your light recognized and appreciated within your self is your truth... The best way to do unto others is to know and own this truth fully. In this way you also allow others to be Who They Are, dropping your expectation of who you think they should be, and allowing you to trust that their light is perfect as it is, in this moment, and yours is too.

Being Observer

2010-02-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

Simply being in awareness of ourself, our actions, our fears, our voices, being an observer with no judgement or opinion, is an amazing act. In being the observer, aware of ourself from a place "above" ourself, we actually go inward to that deep place that is not bound by space, but is Source itself.

This observation, this awareness creates a space between our personality, our feelings, our experiences and our Higher self. In this space, compassion lies. A deep unsurpassable, infinite compassion that creates the seed of a new "us" and allows it to take hold from our "Higher Self" to the other side.

I Get To...

2010-01-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

I get to remember what is inside of me. I get to uncover and recognize my Divinity. I get to take what may seem like challenge and see the amazing contribution it has for me. I get to walk in the steps of greatness, knowing that even if I don't feel great in this moment, I Am.

I get to know the freedom of love. I get to share it, even in the face of what may seem like disgust. In sharing my love I am bouncing light from deep within to the depths of the Universe, beyond and back. There is nothing I need that is not already inside of me. It is there waiting for me to see it, to appreciate it, to use it, to activate it simply by my recognition.

There is nothing that can cover my knowing if I choose to know it. Once a thing is known, it is come alive. It is as if it is birthed into a place of existence and power by the act of remembering it and claiming that it is known.

There is nothing I must find, there is nothing I must seek, there is nothing I must have... for that which I have, I have. That which I remember, I remember. That which I know, I know.

It is so.

Negativity as Shift and Balance...

2009-11-18T13:57:00.000-08:00

There are times when what our spirit is asking for most, seems to be in great conflict with our mind. The perception that we bring to, "what life should look like", disconnects us from seeing what we need to be Who We Really Are. This perception is the key in not only seeing things differently, but in understanding a new purpose in why we have drawn "difficult" things into our life in the first place. This can happen on a personal level and on a societal one as well.

We are constantly in a space of various quantum levels of change. From the tiniest cells in our bodies, to our personal part as a collective consciousness here on the planet. In shifting how we view the "negatives", we effect change on an infinite amount of levels.

Often the things that we respond to in moments of what we would call "contentment" are the things that we deem "negative". Yet, what is the "contentment"? What is the "negative"? Perhaps on a soul level, our contentment was truly a form of numbness, a disconnection that at its time felt like peace.

When we are in disconnection, we are off balance in our spirit. Generally, (unless we work very hard at staying off balance) our spirit will rise up and ask for change - ask for balance and reconnection. If we do not listen to it's urgings, we may be in for a "negative" shift that brings us back to ourselves.

The more that we disconnect from the negative, turning away and calling it "bad", the more challenging getting back into balance may be. In order to connect with our Higher direction, with ease and grace, (ease not meaning "easy" but rather "with less force") it may be necessary to shift our perspective.

In shifting away from what is happening that we don't want and towards the new direction that we do want, we are able to see the "negative" as simply a tool of balance. We are able to see it as a means of direction, helping guide us to our Higher purpose and possibly even finding a place of gratitude in our hearts for it.

In this way, we connect our spirit and mind in a new direction, working together with new perspective and balance. The things in life and our world that are opening our eyes to our new direction are to be blessed and used as a means for a new creation.

Let's not waste energy on what we don't want. Let's use it as a catalyst to go within and really see clearly what our spirit is asking to bring forth... a new greater version of ourselves!

Questions...

2009-11-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

"Questions are the practical way to get into the realm of possibility." M. Benicki

The brain cannot help but answer questions, in fact it is very driven in it's desire to answer a question, or at least contemplate the answer. The brain does not discriminate in answering questions either, it will try and answer a negative question as much as a positive one.

One of the tools that can help change our patterns of sabotage and overwhelm is to shift our negative question asking. Instead of asking something like, "How could I be so stupid?!" state the feeling instead. Sometimes we really need to feel what is coming up and it may be very valid to say, "I am feeling really stupid right now." This way we can truly get in contact with our feelings, whether negative or positive, without creating more negative chaos.

Making a statement allows you to feel the emotions coming up without continuing the creative process of a question. Sometimes we need to express negative thoughts in order to "express" or get them out. This is truly an opportunity to see them and allow for healing, growth, or change.

You can further the process by asking a neutral or "positive" question after stating your feeling... "How can I be more compassionate with myself?" or "In the big picture is this really important?"

Knowing that questions are creative, whether negative or positive can shift the way that you use questions. Don't forget to use statements as a way to really look at your feelings and then choose where you want to go with them next. In this way you are really hearing yourself and allowing for a new way of creating yourself through awareness, healing and then more questions.

Questions are the amazing tools that are brain uses to create!
What do I want to create? What questions do I want to ask today?

A New You

2009-11-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you have to disconnect from who you are, which is no longer "you", in order to connect to who you are becoming.

This means that sometimes pieces begin to appear that feel completely foreign to your identity, and yet feel somehow "right".

You may struggle to keep these things in check or to "get back to normal". The thing is, normal is no longer "normal".

Center is now different because Who You Are has shifted. This can seem scary and bring up every control mechanism that you have used in the past to keep yourself sturdy and safe... trouble is they no longer work. And if they do, they no longer satisfy or have the depth of numbing ability that they had before.

If you can begin to let go of all that you think you are, you open up to let the soul through. Believing yourself to be a thing from your head is much different than being a thing from the depths of your spirit. If you can't get out of the safety of your identity, how about simply imagining it? How about allowing a shift of just 5%? Any allowance is a sign to your spirit that you are ready to be open to change.

I ask myself today, "Is this a choice that is feeding an old need, or is it feeding my soul?"

Power in Being

2009-10-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

The moment that we stop thinking is the moment that we free ourselves to change our thoughts. There is power in being, in holding space, in trusting the holy and whole-y perfection that is our Divine nature.

We breathe without thought to it, we blink without thought, we often smile without thought. The simplest things can be the most difficult to prioritize, partly because they are not valued by us or the societies in which we are raised.

Stopping to listen, getting quiet with no expectation, waiting - but not for anything, breathing with purpose and intention, being a thing instead of using thought to create it...

Being is the greatest "action" we can use to create our lives. It is a place of all creation, of all matter and non-matter alike. "Be" is a place of "Is-ness" - an allness that encompasses the very center and heart of what creation is, and expands it outwards.

There is power in being, and I am remembering what it is.

Giving Back

2009-10-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

Remember, you are giving people back to themselves... you do this by being you. Not your diploma, your title, your credentials or lack there of. The true you - your ears for listening, your eyes to see, your heart being open, your soul as it is expressed. All of these things make up you, and when you allow that to shine through - all of the money, poverty, degrees, job descriptions, failures, etc. - you allow others to see themselves.

What we give we are receiving. Openness leads to being open. Loving leads to being loved, joy leads to being joyful, listening leads to being heard. Whether it is from the person you are giving it to or not. The key is to let go of the expectation, let go of how we think it should show up. Let go of what we think it should look like in exchange for what it could be. Just give of yourself and your creations with abandon and faith. The key is to give for the express purpose of giving (even the word express means to give up or purge) of sharing, for giving people back to themselves, as this is how you uncover you.

By getting out of the mind frame of how incapable we are at the beginning of a thing and into the knowledge that we are more connected to wisdom than we could even imagine, it lets us be 'us'. Connection does not require a school degree, it requires a degree of trust, of knowing that no matter what, we are loved and therefore can never truly be injured.

Thank you for your light, Thank you for your creation. Thank you for giving my back to myself.

Easy Does It...

2009-10-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

We have trained ourselves to believe that easy equals painless. In most cases, easy only means seemingly painless for the moment - because we are not making the connection between the onset of pain, whenever that may happen, and the thing we turn to as "ease".

Remaking the connection between our ease and our pain can change our whole world.

It may be easy to have this job now and put off our dreams. It may be easy now to eat this food. It may be easy now to sit on the couch. It may be easy now to keep running and keep busy. It may be easy now to stick with this way of looking at things.

Yes, we must be compassionate with ourselves. Yes, we must release judgement. But, there comes a time when we must look at the connections between things... for this is the process of creation. This is how we create! If we deny the connections, we deny that we are creators of our own life, our own relationships, our own world. If we refuse to see our connections, then we only see our pain as "evil" - that it is somehow outside of our own ability to transcend, create, connect.

It is this awareness that will allow us to see the true 'ease' in that which serves our end purpose, our end creation, our next step. It is the connections we make that serve our higher good and take us to a place of power and not of victim hood.

Have compassion for your choices, and yet let your ultimate practice be connection. Practice is the ongoing action of process. You don't need to push yourself to be perfect, however when you stay within the process of creating connection and being aware of connection, your world changes.

What 'ease' are you paying for today? What could you be easing into to create your dreams instead?

Get It Wrong

2009-10-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

You have permission to get it 'wrong'. You have permission to mess up. You have permission to not have the answers. You have permission to be a 'failure'. You have permission to not even be close to perfect. You have permission to do something 'wrong'. You have permission to make multitudes of mistakes.

This and more will lead you to your healing. This and more will lead you to your recovery. This and more will lead you to your opening. This and more will lead you to compassion. This and more will lead you to patience. This and more will lead you to forgiveness. This and more will lead you to understanding. This and more will lead you to connection. This and more will lead you to trust.

You must not try and get it 'right' all the time, for 'right' is only relative within the context of your perception. Each moment is the right moment to have compassion, to forgive, to lend, to create, to LIVE... The moments that we see our failures, our wrongs, our imperfections, are the moments we can practice love, patience, wisdom, compassion, understanding, connection. We may in our failure and imperfection, fail to love. We may in our messes and wrong-doing, fail to forgive. And yet even in our failing via failing, we are given the gift of another moment, of a life giving breath... and another, and another...

This process, this failure, this renewal, this circular motion - this is the beautiful way in which we experience life and creation in context. To be in process is to be in failure. Failure than is a catalyst, a way of creating the world anew the next moment... a way of directing us to the next great 'failure', which as it turns out, is really just Divinity...

The Power of Small Steps in Creating and Maintaining Relationship with Spirit...

2009-10-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons that small steps work to help us create our dreams or at least to help us through the creative process. The reason that I would like to focus on here is "maintaining relationship". Whatever it is we are looking to create in our life - from weight loss or more money, to an art piece or a book - one small step after the next build and combine together to create change. Not only does the 'project' or 'goal' change with small steps, our brain changes... we change.

Throughout this process and the process of change, there is an ongoing relationship with Spirit, our Higher Self, our Source, that changes and grows as well.

So how do small steps help create and maintain this relationship with Spirit?
The more we are able to be present to each step in the process and the more we are in faith that no matter where the small steps take us, the end result will be perfection. This means that we don't have to be attached to the outcome! We can trust that even if what we think something should look like changes, our steps are being guided by our relationship with Spirit. This release from attachment, this trust in the process, this act of faith through the choosing to be present to the step and not the goal - allows our relationship to blossom and grow. The more we trust, the more we grow through small steps. The more we grow through small steps, the more we trust ourselves, the process and Spirit.

This makes the process much more enjoyable and rewarding. What if the weight loss is more about self-love than a goal? What if money is more about your relaionship and releasing old patterns, than about a number? What if the piece of art you are working on is simply a vehicle for something more? What if you let go of what your book should be, and it turns into an entire series?

Allow yourself to be in relationship with Spirit while being present to each step without being connected to the outcome. This will allow miracles to be created. (Aren't miracles just being open to a bigger plan anyway?) Through this, we will have the opportunity to challenge and let go of control, to see that mistakes and failures are simply fertilizer for the creative process and to know that in choosing faith and relationship, we are choosing our own growth and expansion.

Every person has their own personal path. It becomes easier to choose what is your expression, your personal light, your contribution of beauty, when you are in relationship to your Spirit. Small steps allow you to feel this relationship, to interact with it, to move within it, to trust the change of process that will ultimately be for your own good - if not simply for the sake of an incredible relationship with self and Spirit.

Why not be present to one small step today? Know that Spirit is speaking through our steps if we are willing to listen and let go of what we think an 'outcome' should look like.

My first small step? Breathe...

Just Show Up

2009-10-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

Just show up! There are days when just showing up is the most power filled thing you can do. Being where you know you are called to be - in front of the page or canvas, in a quiet space of meditation, at the gym or in nature - just showing up. Often we bring an expectation of what that time and place should look like, and then wonder why blocks start to come up.

Allowing yourself to be part of a Spirit directed process without expectation is very powerful! Enjoying the fullness of nothingness, of no idea formed, of the great void with potential for everything... these are the fertile soils of creative expression. Expectation and comparison are the vices that squeeze the life from creative potential, which in turn bring great walls made of blocks. These blocks are both a detraction from the creative process and a protection. They stop the creative process from happening, but the creative process might also be at play in using the blocks. These blocks may very well aid us in the awareness that we are trying to drive our creativity with whips, directives and expectation.

What would happen if you just showed up to whatever creative venture you would like to express and experience? What if you trusted that something great and wonderful were coming through you, even if it looked otherwise on the "page" or place in front of you? What if the great and wonderful had more to do with the process of being open than it did with the application or the "look" of your creativity?

The more that you allow yourself to show up, dropping judgement and expectation, the more you say yes to the flow of inspiration that is not based in the ideas that you have about what should be, but instead in the ideas that are yet to be - not based in the seen but the unseen - the less you create blocks of distraction and protection ...so let it all go and just show up!

Honoring the Process

2009-09-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

There are times when things become much clearer for a moment... much clearer than you have ever seen them before. It may be a small thing, or a compounded event, encompassing time, space and experience. It might even be a very brief moment of some non-descript clarity that is like a piece to a puzzle.

Sometimes when this happens, you realize how far you have come and how far you have yet to go - all in one moment. It is as if the Universe opens up inside of you and gives you a glimpse of the infinite possibilities of your soul. These awareness's work to crack open the soul just a bit more - making its presence known in increments that sometimes are only grasped in minute pieces, as the brain works in tracks that are analog and familiar to itself.

Expansion can feel foreign.

Seeing where we've come from and where we're going from a point of spirit is part of being in process. Really there is no beginning and no ending, but a series of steps and days, and experiences and memories. Life is process and yet somehow we treat it as if life were goals. The whole is equal to the sum of its parts. A whole without its parts is not a whole. So too are goals and process. A goal is equal to the sum of it's process, not greater than.

A goal cannot happen without process ...Honor your process.

How SMALL and CRAPPY changed my life...

2009-09-22T22:04:00.001-07:00

Many of you have heard me say that SMALL and crappy has been a life changer for me. As a recovering perfectionist and equal left brain - right brain thinker (my tests always come out equal), I have found a range of processes that are both easy and difficult at the same time. The battle of the dueling brain. At the same time like most creative individuals, I have a nice smattering of rebellion to boot. (Okay, a large portion - thanks in part to strict religious upbringing mixed with highly creative and rebellious blood relatives.)

As a "HIGHLY CAPABLE PERSON" with a "HIGH STANDARDS EXPECTED" parental voice in my head, I have often found myself either stuck, or bouncing around finishing one creative thing after another, but not always getting to "the thing that I feel calling in a still small voice." Long story short, I have been called to write for many years now, have stopped and started, mulled and practiced, been inspired and frustrated, doubted, cried, have experienced profound miracles and ultimately remain with my faith in tact, carrying the knowledge that my book is coming through me exactly when, where and how it should. Kaizen Muse Creativity Coaching has been a tremendous part of this miraculous process.

Taking my own spin on the tools that help you move through perfectionism and procrastination, I created my motto, "SMALL and crappy." (SMALL is big because it has emphasis.) The book that I am currently writing initially experienced many excuses... most of which many of you are familiar with, either because you know me, or because you experience them yourself. Again, long story short, as soon as I began to give myself permission.. . no actually insistence... that I simply take 2 minutes out of my before bed routine and create a space for Spirit to come through, with no judgement for how crappy I may have thought the words were - my life changed. Not only did I say "yes" to my Source, to creative juice in the rawest of forms, but I began to create a habit. (You can find out more about this and how powerful it is if you want to contact me for coaching or to simply chat.) It became more uncomfortable for me to not show up to my "SMALL and crappy" sessions, then to say no.

One of the incredible things that I found was, when I looked back at my writing, very little of it was "crappy" and a "SMALL" amount built up quickly in a BIG way! It was as if just opening the door for Spirit to flow through me, getting out of my own way and backing off from what I thought "things should look like", had created a miraculous combination of "MONUMENTAL and DIVINE"! "Oh ye of little faith!" says I to myself. I guess I never believed that it was the showing up that counts, and if I did, I thought that showing up perfectly was the necessary way for it to count.

For me this is about a spiritual journey of surrender, be-ing, faith and re-membering. The creative process is a releasing of the soul by becoming what you know yourself to be after you have forgotten it. In other words, you get to create who you are through creating.... you get to unlock all of the things that have progressively become locked for many years under the guise of safety, protection and "right living". All of this then is the dance, the music, the painting, the child, the book, the film, the coach, the angel, the Divine... all of this is the process we call life. None of it is ever "SMALL and crappy", and so my anchor is one of Divine intervention. .. a way to dance with my ego and get it to loosen the reins of protective power.

Well, I could go on and on, I have many more pages of how and why the process of small and crappy has worked for me - and me for it... but I guess you'll just have to wait for the book. ;)

The Rainbow

2009-09-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

You did a great job today! You followed leads, listened to yourself, took small steps, and when it felt scary, "did it anyway"! I'm proud of you! Feel the moment and appreciate yourself. Appreciate the journey as it is now in this moment. You may be tempted to move faster or not acknowledge the work you have done here, in exchange for 'the next step', for 'more', for a 'goal down the road'... don't exchange the process for the product.

You have an amazing opportunity to pay attention, to feel this moment as the power it is, regardless of how small it may seem. Power is in the small things, in the little steps and the minute details. If you cannot feel the little things now, you will not be prepared to feel the big things later. You will either have trained yourself to go for the next even bigger thing in order to feel and recognize your worth, or you will deny the process all together in a never ending journey to the goal, the product, the elusive end of the rainbow.

The point is to enjoy the rainbow itself. This is true connection. The end of the rainbow is the middle, the side, the beginning... it is whatever you connect with and feel. It is the gift that you give yourself within the mess, the 'daily grind', the nondescript. These are all shining and glowing if you see them that way - if you see you that way!

Give yourself credit for this day, this moment. You deserve it, because the next moment will feel that you appreciate it as well - and the world will open up in a flood of rainbow color...

The Circling Mind and Spirit

2009-09-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

As is the powerful way of the Universe, there have been several threads weaving through my life lately that coincide with each other... whether through conversations coming up with others, tele-conferences, or newsletters like this one. These "co-incidences" (which of course we know they are not ;) underscore the brilliance of being present and listening, seeing the patterns and intersections through our experiences.

As a creativity coach with an emphasis in creative purpose and spiritual connection, I have had the opportunity to visit some of the questions and thoughts that have to do with why we struggle with negative patterns, set backs and depression. You may have read about our connection with Source and about how choosing purpose and inspiration over the material as a means of connecting with our Truth, (versus our idea of what truth should be because of what someone else says it should be) can be the shifting factor in our recognition of true joy.

From a psychological and physiological perspective, there are some very interesting things going on in the brain in regards to emotional turmoil, lack of inspiration or a general feeling of being in "down time". Although I am neither an expert in the psychological realm, nor a trained therapist or qualified professional on the matters of clinical depression, I have had the opportunity to hear some incredible and life shifting thoughts on this subject from an amazing man Dr. Robert Maurer. (He is an Associate Clinical Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and a behavioral health instructor at the Canyon Ranch Health Spa in Tucson, Arizona and has worked closely with the coaching model I am involved with - Kaizen Muse Creativity Coaching.)

Research has found that there are several emotions that have been identified as the underlying fallback "programs" for the human brain, worry, anger, disappointment and several others. What they have found is that the brain from a very young age learns to use these emotions as the default or fall back place. It gets used so frequently that it becomes the natural neural pathway. (Usually because of family patterns... if your Mom was a worrier, your Dad was angry all the time, etc. these become your "go to" emotions) Disappointment has been found to be the most insidious, usually arising from a situation in which you never felt things were ever good or good enough. Perhaps your parents were alcoholics and so you were left to raise yourself and your siblings experiencing let down after let down, or maybe your parents were perfectionists and nothing you ever did was good enough... the report cards with all A's and one B, only the B was focused on, etc.

What happens in the brain is that our "emotion program" becomes the natural and so comfortable place to be. Enter the amygdala. As you may know, this is the fight or flight center of the brain. Anything that is not comfortable can trigger the amygdala, especially anything in the cerebral/pre-frontal cortex (creativity, our "higher thoughts" and more spiritual selves are accessed from this part of the brain). When we start down the path towards a more spiritual and purposeful life, or even something physically uplifting like weight loss, we know intellectually that we are beginning something wanted and healthy and empowering. Why than do we experience so many "negatives" come up? Again, from a physiological and psychological point of view, what is happening is that the amygdala is being triggered. Anything that says "comfort" or "progress", especially to the disappointment program, gets read as a foreign invader... hence self-sabotage - the brains way of trying to make it's way back to it's comfort zone... ie: "normal".

Author Neale Donald Walsch writes about the difference between "normal" and "natural". Normal being what we have come to know in our brains as a place of neural comfort, and natural being a higher spiritual realm that is Who We Really Are. Many people are confused as to why they experience so many "blocks" or so called "random events" come into play when they feel they have done the work to eliminate the negative thinking. On a deeper level, the emotional programs and amygdala are at play. The brain is constantly trying to get back to what feels normal and comfortable... where it grew up and what it learned to use as a means of safety and at the time the ability to survive... and perhaps in some instances even used it to thrive. Even people who know they are on their life's true path will have this old patterning come up. One of the first keys to changing it is awareness. Sometimes the simple act of just being in awareness can change our whole perspective, and so our choice, and so our lives.

As light workers, people often think that they should somehow "be through" with the lows that come in, that they should not struggle with negative thinking or lack of inspiration. These are actually the things that keep us connected... that make us look at the old patterns and know that there is a reason to reach out and connect. Just knowing that these "emotion programs" exist and that when we are using our higher brain it can trigger the amygdala to "fight or flight" can be profound. Knowing that there is nothing innately wrong with you, but that the brain is simply looking for "normal" can help one to be compassionate and compassion leads us to "natural" - our Higher Selves. When someone is confused about why they are in a low spot, or why they seem to be back at a place of sabotage, just knowing that it is the brains way of finding what it is used to, what had become comfortable and normal, can be a profound awareness.

The amazing process of the brain mixed with the journey of the soul then combined with the power of our awareness and choices is an elixir for miracles - it can also be a scary set up for expectation and a sense of failure. Just knowing that we all experience these bouts of "normal" and "natural", knowing that others struggle as well and that underneath the struggle is beauty and innocence, is profound. I know that Spirit has granted us the gift of these "emotion programs" so that we could then know ourselves in full glory... 'for you cannot experience that which you are, without first experiencing that which you are not'.

As you can probably imagine, there is even more to the research of these programs, especially disappointment - the self-sabotage emotion. It has been found to run in three particular areas: Health and body, career and finances, and relationships. It can manifest in one area as a lower form of self-sabotage, or at a high degree in all three. It can also cross over, for instance someone who finally was able to create a stable, loving relationship and now finds themselves gaining weight and eating poorly... the brain may be compensating for the "comfort" it is not used to in the area of relationships.

I am passionate about this process and about the wholistic spiritual connection that we have with our brain and body. There are so many incredible things that can be brought up to the level of conscious choice when we have the tools and gifts of awareness that sharing and teaching bring. Even after awareness into the process of acceptance and then on to small steps... Small steps are life changing! Then to the habits those small steps create...
We constantly circle between mind and spirit until the moment when we realize that it is all connected. This is the amazing process of change and experience - more to come...

"Living is being born slowly. It would be a little too easy if we could borrow ready-made souls."
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Flight to Arras, 1942

Be Time

2009-09-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

How can being aware and conscious of 'being' change your life?

The more you are present to what you are being, the more you understand why you are doing.

Being isn't something you figure out, it is something you become aware of and something that you can call forth. It is a creation of the soul that can then provide the blueprint for the next step which is the doing of the mind and body. (Though the mind and body can experience being first as well... this is a topic for another discussion.)

If you are floating on water and I ask you... "What are you doing?" You would most likely say, "I am floating on water." But what if I ask you what you are being? Are you being a boat floating on water? A leaf? A log? Ice? Water itself? Are you being something else and floating? This can make a great difference in why you are floating on water and if you choose to continue.

You are being first all the time.
Being is always the beginning of doing, even if you aren't aware of it. Being is not only an underlying director, it is an action. Taking the time to stop and be has a powerful and profound effect on what you are be-ing. What you are being in the beginning is what you are being in the end unless you change what you are being! The first step in change is simple awareness. Awareness is most simply reached through taking time to listen and connect to your Source and to the inner parts of who you are. How do you know who you are being and who you want to be if you don't stop and simply be?
It is amazing how little bits of time being, meditating or simply just experiencing stillness are compounded to create a rippling effect through our day and through our life. Even small bits can shift us into a place that changes how we go about the rest of our day. Taking this time can help us uncover what we are being, and lead us to a better understanding and rememberence of why we are doing. This leads us to re-evaluate what we are doing and how we are doing it. It may be that we are over-doing out of simply being in the habit and not from any other sort of being!
Be time allows you to assess Who You Are, where you want to go and what you are being and so the direction of your doing.
"Being is not created as a result of certain conditions, certain conditions are created as a result of beingness. Beingness precedes experience and produces it."
-Neale Donald Walsch

Ever notice that there are amazing things that you just don't do? Insead you are being them!
Patient, Kind, Happy, Inspired, Worthy, Creative, Immersed, Faithful, Amazed, Alive, Amused, Responsible, Funny, Loving... Can you think of more?

The Present

2009-09-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Releasing time and being present is much deeper than we think. Beyond the ability to feel and appreciate the journey as NOW, there is an infinite expansion that we open up to in the eternal present. The more we live in the past or future, the more we solidify the illusion of time. Not that time is a 'bad' thing. In certain applications it has its place - it allows us to actually experience the present because it is that which the present is not.
Too often however, we use it as an absolute that disconnects us with our Source. Plugging into the present is a way of be-ing that is independent from everything except that which is created through and by us NOW.
This undeniable present, when practiced on a regular basis, leads us to experience the vast openness that is neither time nor space, but the presence of God. This presence is no-thing, no time, no place - but IS.

God is always present. The question is, are we? Another way to process this is to ask, "Am I content right now?" Being "content Now", is a proclamation to the Universe that "nothing matters"... that all drama, disconnection, pain, distraction, etc., are not our Source. Essentially stating the truth of our be-ing - present and connected in the power of love... the Truth of Who We Are. "Content Now" then means we recognize the illusion and see only the Source. Anything other than contentment is getting lost in the experience (the illusion of past or future) vs. remembering the truth of Who We Are and of the gift that we have been given to create this present Now.

Deciding what is true for you Now is deciding what is true for you in the future.

"I AM HAPPENING NOW."

Being You

2009-09-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Recently I found one of the best descriptions of meditation that I have ever read... "Do not get caught up in labels or ways of doing things. Do not create a label or set of rules around this. What you call meditation is nothing more than being with your Self - and thus ultimately, being yourself. You can do this many ways. For some of you it may look like what you call "meditation" -sitting quietly. For others it may look like walking alone, in nature... ...Service can be a deep form of meditation. Just stop. Stop all your doingness. Stop all of your thinking. Just "be" for a while. Even for only a moment. It can change everything." ND Walsch

I have found that since I work from home, I needed to "reframe" my meditation and be-ing time. My reframe is to let myself know I am "checking in with the Boss". This works for me because I am able to bypass any guilt that may come up about not working. Any job would require you to check in with the boss! Now, the guilt has been replaced by a deep sense of understanding the importance that this quiet time has on my work. -The work of my soul, my mental, physical and spiritual health, as well as my business. All aspects have been deeply affected in positive and miraculous ways, simply by taking the time to create quiet space.

Being is a form of relationship to your spirit and your Source. It is the interconnection and flow, the intertwining and fluid partnership that simple doing in regulated action cannot create. Though doing plays an important part in the process of relationship, you must practice being (the action of be - be as a creative force by not doing through active being) in order to really connect and feel the power of your light and your oneness with your Source.

Being in the quiet and silence allows you to empty yourself in preperation for powerful things to move through you. Our Source speaks at all times, we don't have to be perfect at listening - not even close to perfect. But the daily practice of trying, of giving it a consistent space, brings clarity and focus of power through restraint of commotion. The silence and stillness become the "speakers of Spirit"... the quieter you get, the louder you turn up the volumne of Source. Tuning in, in this way, has a profound effect and impact on our creative experieces. Underneath all doing is being.

"In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness." - Mahatma Gandhi

Light

2009-09-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

How do you share your light with the world? When you look around at others, what stands out about those who seem to be 'glowing', 'luminous' or 'a bright light in the world'? Have you wondered what makes this so? Since we experience what we focus on, lets go deeper...

Do you ever feel light? Whether it is rarely or frequently what is it that allows you to tap into your internal light and feel it?
Certain music?
Humor and comedy?
Hugs and snuggling?
Creating art?
Taking time for self-care?

Take a deep breath into your belly and let it out...

Now see if you can catch the essence of one of these times - not as an external source, but as a tool that allows you to feel the light inside.

Light, unlike talent, work, or something tangible, cannot be judged. Light is about opening to your true Source allowing it to break through and shine on others in a way that requires no feedback. This connection, this tapping in, is pure relationship - our relationship and connection between ourselves and our Source.

Your light is such a gift to yourself and the world! Sharing it however, can feel scary and unfamiliar at times - especially if we have had past experiences where hiding has been a safer option. A step that you can take towards shining your light safely is to allow imperfection. Allowing yourself to experience imperfection creates a relationship with Source that allows us to be who we are right now - in this moment. The more we try and 'fix it' first before shining our light, the more we distance ourselves, become guilty or shameful for our perceived failure. See if you can give yourself the permission to shine despite your 'faults'. This then passes on permission to the rest of us as well!

I commit to shining my light imperfectly this month... the Luminous Universe is becoming a reality because I am practicing allowing myself to put this out to the world even though I am still learning. Please help me celebrate any typo's, imperfection and my light with you!

RESPONSIBILITY

2008-10-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

If I say,
"You are responsible for all that happens to you!"
What do you say?

Here in lies the power...
Responsibility is your "Response" to what has happened in your world - to you, by you, for you or otherwise. If you choose to not be responsible for what has happened in your life (to you or otherwise), you are choosing to take your response and give it away to someone else. They will in turn be the one's responsible for your actions and thereby the creation of your life. Taking responsibility means taking back your power of response. It means awareness, instead of living in the past or the dark.
It means choice, choosing your response based on what you would like to create versus choice based in reaction (acting again and again) from a place of someone else's choice in your life It means creation and re-creation (and recreation = joy!). The constant movement and power of creating your world from your choice of response, from your RESPONSIBILITY = the ability to respond!
Do not give this power to someone else if you would like to create your life!