Thoughts for the Month

February 2010

Fear renders you blind and deaf.  Faith brings with it vision, access, openness, and limitless possibility.  The choice is yours.

Your state of consciousness creates your world.  A change must occur, on an inner level, or no amount of doing will ever fulfill you.  You will only re-create modified versions of the same world over and over again, because your world is always an external reflection of your internal projector.

There is a perfect order at work.  However, many of us lose sight of this when we subscribe to our reactive thoughts and disempowering beliefs as truths.  These concepts often become our sacred religions; we devote ourselves to them completely.  We often forget that those thoughts are spawned by our egos trying to protect us and keep us safe by attempting to separate us from ourselves, our divinity, and others.  Your devotion lies with the perception to which you attach yourself.  There’s no room for any higher power in the equation.  It is when we find ourselves doubting the truth of those thoughts and concepts that our frightened minds begin to unravel.  The knots relax and untie themselves.  This is where you will experience the birth of your light.

Joy does not come from what you do.  It flows into what you do, and thus into this world, from deep inside.

You will enjoy any endeavor in which you are fully present – any undertaking that is not just a means to an end.  Begin to tap into that eternal reservoir of joy that resides within you, this will connect you with the power behind all creation.

Remember, the education you crave is within you.  Trust that.  It cannot be taught; it can only be realized.

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January 2010

What if everything that was happening, was happening for you – for your greater good, for the evolution of your soul?  Wouldn’t that make problems and mistakes obsolete?  Wouldn’t that imply that life was just one adventurous learning experience?

If the paradigm of your life was allowed to shift from problems, challenges, and mistakes to learning experiences, what would be different?  For one, you’d never ever fall short again.  You’d never have the compulsion to create evidence, rooted in blame, fault, victim, and fear, whereby your heart becomes encapsulated in a vat of false self-preservation.  With opposition banished in your world, there would be no desire to foster self-imposed hostage situations and separation from others.  Resentments would vanish.  Without all of your incriminating evidence based in would have, could have, and should have, your license to act out in self-destructive behavior would be revoked.  And, if life was allowed to be a learning experience, you’d finally have the permission to just be.  Can you imagine that?

What would you create?  Who would you be?  How would that feel?  I invite you to find out.

What I have discovered in my journey is that often issues in my life have begun as “problems”.  Many of those problems have morphed into “challenges”, and very often, I’m really not up for the challenge.  However, in my ability to accept what is, to accept (with open arms) whatever is before me, these challenges have morphed into “learning”, carrying extraordinary lessons and serving as my greatest teachers.  I find learning to be invaluable.

In our learning, it is imperative that we celebrate our lives from wherever we may be standing along our paths.  Remember, the world is not here to make you happy; it’s here to make you conscious.  Ask yourself, “What can I celebrate today?”

December 2009

With the holidays upon us, it can be very easy to forget to exhale.  Please remember to check in with yourself, as it is a huge act of compassion and self-love.  Where are you at?  What are you feeling?  What’s true for you?  What best takes care of you?  Is this for you, or are you doing it for love, approval, or applause from others?

It is imperative that I acknowledge, listen to, nurture, and nourish myself.  I find that “dialing in” to myself is unconditionally loving and allows for my love for you to be unconditional, as well.  Isn’t that what life and the holidays are all about anyway – unconditional love?

In this clarity, this heightened consciousness, is it possible for you to be of service to something greater than you?  Ask yourself, “How can I be of the most service?”.  Feel this question with every fiber of your being.  In this alignment, you will welcome bliss and miracles beyond your comprehension. 

Now that makes for a truly joyous holiday season.  By serving you, you serve the world!

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November 2009

Please notice where it is that you are creating your life from.  Is it from a place of blame and fault or a state of worry and doubt where you’ve made fear your higher power?  Or are you consciously connected to a power greater than yourself, where you’re creating your life from a foundation of accountability and presence?  Notice.  Simply notice.

Your state of consciousness creates your world.  If you’re not taking responsibility for your state of consciousness, you’re not taking responsibility for your life.

Being present means living without control and always having all of your needs met.  Can you fathom that?  You already have everything that you need.  How do I know that?  Because, you do.  It couldn’t be any other way in this exact moment.  It is what it is.  In the acceptance of having what you have (having what is before you) you come to the understanding that you’ve always had everything that you’ve needed in any given moment.  Anything else in addition to that is just a gift from above.  It’s icing on the cake.

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October 2009

Do you want to be right, or would you rather be happy? Begin to pay attention to your reactive thoughts, disempowering beliefs, and the stories that you tell yourself that keep you feeling separate from you, from us, and from your higher power.  I know that you have all of the evidence that you need to prove your case, but what if it isn’t true?

Please examine your addiction to perfectionism – that symphony inside of your frightened mind that holds you hostage.  Are you certain that you’re always supposed to know what to say, what to do, how to act, and how to behave?  How much longer is this unrealistic expectation of bondage going to be the barometer for your lovability and worth?   Again, do you want to be right, or would you like your life back?

What if you weren’t meant to know everything?  What if you could be a student of yourself, where avoiding feeling embarrassment or humiliation didn’t deter you in your journey from joy and elation; where you lived in wonderment, awe, and discovery?

The luminosity that’s intrinsic to your being is always available.  Just like the sun, it’s shining all the time.  If you’d like to be right about something, why not be right about your divinity?  Now that’s living.

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September 2009

As we begin to have what we have and accept whatever is before us, we cannot be disappointed.  People will do what they do, and upon that you can depend.  Nothing is ever out of order.

When you begin to love whatever is before you, your perception shifts, and you get your life back.  It is no longer you against the world.   You live knowing that everything is happening for your greater good and for the evolution of your soul.

To love is to recognize yourself in another.  Dare to love beyond measure.  Live in that open space, within which everything comes to you.

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August 2009

It has been in times of my toughest tribulations that I've felt the closest to my Higher Power.

Life will give you the exact experience that you need for the evolvement of your consciousness at any given time.

How do you know that the experience you're having is meant to guide you in your spiritual evolution?   Because you are experiencing it.   Everything that is happening is always occuring in order to lead you to the next level of evolvement for yourself.

Life will always give us everything that we need to go deeper.   Trust.

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July 2009

No one else will ever understand you.  With this realization comes freedom.  No one else will ever understand you – not once, not ever.  Even at our most understanding, we can only understand our ideas of who you are.  The only true understanding of you is your own understanding of yourself.

Understanding you is your job.  As you understand yourself, please teach us how to love, respect, and support you.

You're the only one who can understand you.  You're the only one who needs to understand you.

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June 2009

Everyone is doing his job.  No one is more valuable than another.  The things in the world that we think are so terrible are actually great teachers.  No mistakes are being made, and nothing is lacking.

We will always get what we need, rather than what we think we need.  We will come to see that what we have is not only what we need, but also what we want.  We then come to want our lives exactly as they are happening, because we know that they are happening this way for us.  With this trust, no matter what happens, we always succeed.

What if success was measured by the amount of joy and fulfillment in the journey, and not by the outcome?  How would that alter or reshape your perception of the experience?  What will it feel like to get to live your life with this much freedom and creativity?

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May 2009

Self-realization is exemplified by a constant state of gratitude.

This gratitude is not something you can seek and locate. It comes from within, and it takes you over completely. It's so vast that it can't be glazed over or dimmed.

When you live your life from this place of gratitude, you've come home.

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April 2009

Love joins everything without condition.  Love says “yes”.

Pain begins when you believe the thought that someone should love you.  The only person who needs to love you is you.

Love is what you already are.  Love doesn’t seek anything.  It’s already complete.  It doesn’t want, doesn’t need, and has no shoulds.  It already has everything it wants; it already is everything it wants, just the way it wants it.

So when I hear people say that they love someone and want to be loved in return, I know they’re not talking about love.  They’re talking about something else.

Seeking love is how you lose the awareness of love.  You can lose the awareness of love, but not love itself, because love is what we all are.  That is immovable.

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March 2009

Honest communication begins with you communicating with yourself.  It means responding with what is true for you, regardless of how someone may react to your answer.  First, you must discover what is really true for you.  A dishonest "yes" is a "no" to yourself.

You will notice that it’s possible to love without condition, even when your answer is "no".

Clear, open, honest communication expands and rebuilds trust.

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February 2009

An open heart is only possible with an open mind.

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January 2009

When we realize that every stressful moment we experience is a gift that points us to our own freedom, life becomes very kind.  Come to recognize what’s true for you.

In the discovery of our truth, we cultivate our own personal integrity.  From this expansion, our self-esteem takes flight.

Willingness opens the doors to all of life’s possibilities.

December 2008

You always have every answer you need inside of you.
What a marvelous discovery it is that the one you've been waiting for is yourself!

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November 2008

The end of the war with myself and my thoughts is the end of the war with you. It's that simple.

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October 2008

The single greatest thing that you can do today to change your life is to start being grateful for what you have right now.  This puts you in the present moment.  Ask yourself, “What can I be grateful for in this moment?”

The more gratitude you possess, the more you receive for which to be grateful. Gratitude is its own energy field that attracts abundance.  When you acknowledge and are grateful for whatever you have, your vibrational frequency changes, literally, allowing more to be drawn to you.  The ability to be grateful for your current situation changes your reality; it changes the way you experience life; and it changes your world.

The language of gratitude has the ability to bypass the brain and plunge straight into the heart.  It nourishes the soul, eliminating decades of deprivation.  When you can accept what is, your level of gratitude can deepen and expand to encompass any situation that arises.

Gratitude keeps us connected to our higher power.  Gratitude allows us to grow in grace.  Gratitude is life-changing and transformative.

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September 2008

When you can laugh, without ridicule, at your own silliness; acceptance of your humanity can follow. In this acceptance, you grow and learn. When used properly, laughter fills every fiber of your being with light. It is what you are doing when you laugh – surrendering your being with multihued energy. Feel that around you more. Allow yourself to be filled with joy, and you will be closer to your source.

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August 2008

When you're having a hard time understanding a concept, trying to figure it out isn't always the best thing to do. Sometimes it's great to just relax into the mystery of being a human being.

I don't think that we're ever going to figure it all out, and using the mind to try to make sense of the mind just gets you into a mental cul-de-sac that is very difficult to escape. Listen. Sit still. All will reveal itself in its own divine time.

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July 2008

Focus on what's right in the world, as opposed to what's wrong in the world.

Focus on who you are, instead of who you are not.

Be kind to yourself and to others – live in a field of gratitude.

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June 2008

What do you believe that the world is withholding from you? Whatever your answer, it is actually you who is withholding that from the world.

Whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you are withholding from the world.

Be as warm to other people as you would like for them to be with you. Be giving. Be as generous to others as you would like for them to be with you. Listen, listen, listen. Listen to others. Listen to others as you would like to be heard. Love as strongly as you would like to be loved.

As you develop your giving muscle, be in a state of watchful gratitude. Serendipitous miracles are on the way.

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May 2008

Life is a gift. Live everyday as a thank you note.

Thank you Lord for all of the love and for the vast feeling of abundance that lives within my being.

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April 2008

I believe that Creation takes place on its own timetable, and that you and your life are unfolding in divine order. All that you require will be provided in an unhurried fashion. Allow your dreams to come to you in perfect order with unquestioned timing. Be in a state of watchful gratitude.

Visualize, visualize, visualize.

Feel, feel, feel.

I believe that there's a silent destiny always at work and that everything is on time under heaven's net. Let go and let God...and let life come to you. This takes a great amount of trust and faith, which is already incubating inside of you – right now – your levels, your depth of trust and faith are expanding immensely every day. God bless you. This takes a great amount of vulnerability, courage, and awareness. Get quiet. Get still. Listen to the silence. It will guide you to what best takes care of you; what brings you the most peace; what brings you the most joy; where you can be of the most service. It will guide you to what's next; it will show you where to go.

Keep breathing. Keep shining. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep being. Have faith.

You're a star.

All my heart,

Michael

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March 2008

Give yourself permission to be perfect, even with all of your seeming imperfections.

Recognize yourself first and foremost as a creation of God, which is your perfection.

Surround all of your seeming imperfections that you dislike or judge about yourself with love. Tranquility will arise organically.

Your seeming imperfections are absolutely your perfection.

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February 2008

I allow freedom to be my guide.

All I have to do is show up – God takes care of the rest.

I let go and let God.

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January 2008

Greatness is every person's heritage.

Laugh. Have fun. Dance with joy.

Trust in your own greatness.

December 2007

Love. When in doubt, give love.

Love as much as you possibly can – especially yourself.

Equally nourishing – allow yourself to receive love from others.

Stay as close to love as you can.

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November 2007

One of the things that I've learned and that I continue to learn in my life is that "life keeps life-ing." It always has, it always will. It's my reaction (or non-reaction) to whatever is happening that I'm constantly observing.

I have a grandmother who's been greatly ill for some time. We had to put her into a convalescent home last year. It breaks my heart. She is one of my top five favorite people on this planet, and it just breaks my heart. I can't imagine not having her here with me on this earth. She has been my rock for over 43 years. Again, "life keeps life-ing." I could go on and on with many examples of this in my life.

Usually my reaction brings me deep upset, anger, resentment, and a host of other feelings. All of these are important vital teachers for me to notice myself and what triggers the buttons that are inside of me that I'm not totally conscious of yet. I call this "God shining light on my blind spots," and he's always doing that for me. I'm grateful that he keeps shining light on my blind spots so that I can live having even higher levels of consciousness and more and more peace within myself.

It's about me being able to be with as many different feelings as I can from a non-judgmental, accepting, observational, neutral place within myself. The more that I can be with these feelings, the less power they will have over me. The less power they have over me, the less of a trigger or button they will be. The less of a trigger or button they are, the less of a reaction I will have. The less of a reaction I have, the more present I will be in each and every moment to create and have as much joy as possible in each and every moment. The more joy that I can live in and create in each and every moment, the more acceptance I can be and have for myself and the rest of the world – plain and simple – the more my vision of world peace comes to fruition. It all starts with me. It always has, and it always will. It is the same for each of you – it all starts with you.

Now, what are you going to learn from your reactions? You can keep running, doing, and moving a million miles a minute to stay one step ahead of these feelings. When you do that, I promise you – they'll just keep coming back, knocking on your door louder and louder and louder to be heard. Or you can begin to trust and be with these feelings more so that they can begin to dissipate and dissolve and not wreak as much havoc. You will be freer to create the life of your dreams, your vision.

Always know that whatever is happening within us is just great information for us to learn more about ourselves, to live with a higher level of consciousness, and to eventually and gradually have more and more peace within ourselves, within our being. God bless us all. We're all doing the best that we can with the tools that we have.

Also, there is no right way and wrong way in my book. There's only the perfect way, and whatever way you choose is perfect for this time and place in your journey. Please be as kind, gentle, loving, and compassionate with yourself as you can be – at all times.

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October 2007

God lives within you. Our relationship with God is our relationship with ourselves, and each relationship is unique because each of us is unique. Faith is, therefore, intensely personal. How you relate to God or the Universal Creative Force or to the big bearded guy that lives in the sky is truly up to you, and that relationship is the foundation of your authentic self and the chief variable that determines the quality of your life. Faith is a big deal.

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September 2007

Almost every time you learn something valuable, that learning is preceded by a time when you were stuck. Celebrate "stuckness." It means something extraordinary is coming.

However, it might not be what you think. Sometimes a trial or a period of adversity results in becoming stronger. Sometimes it doesn't – but who's to say that stronger is always better? In a powerful wind, the oak tree will break. The bamboo, weaker than the oak, will surrender to the wind, be blown about, and survive. We live in a culture of yang, of strength, of action, of progress; but there is value in yin, weakness, stillness, and silence.

Stuckness is the feeling of not learning a lesson. In reality, you are learning, just not at the conscious level. Stuckness is a state of preparation. Once we're ready to pursue a new path, the path reveals itself.

If we can agree that feeling stuck is an inevitable part of life, the question becomes how to be with it. I call this process "percolating."

That's what I do when I'm stuck, or rather I should say, when I feel stuck. I sit with the problem or issue and allow it to drench me over and over until the information and the experience absorb and re-absorb into different levels of my being, until I've got it deeply enough that I learn something. Sometimes, I have an insight. Sometimes, my perspective on a relationship or an issue changes completely. This is the gift of stuckness – the opportunity to learn something new.

In times of tribulation, I ask myself two questions:

• What is the lesson for me to learn in this opportunity that I've created for myself?
• What would love do here?

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August 2007

Everything I need comes to me. All opportunities present themselves at the perfect and appropriate time, and they are always perfect and in alignment with the ease and flow in my life. I attract just what I need in the moment.

Opportunities are everywhere and I graciously accept the ones that are appropriate for me.

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July 2007

Dream bigger. Dream larger. Dream grander.

Appreciation accelerates manifestation.

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June 2007

Acknowledgment for humans is like sunshine for a plant.

We can always give ourselves more self-acknowledgment!

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May 2007

I empower others by allowing them to take care of themselves.

By taking care of myself, I take care of others.

By serving myself, I serve the world.

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April 2007

Celebrate you, for you are the gift.

What best takes care of you? What brings you the most peace? What celebrates you most in this moment?

Listen to your heart, it always knows.

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March 2007

Comparing you to yourself in days gone by is mental masturbation that puts limits on who you can be now.

We compare ourselves to other people, because our eyes face out. So that's where we look. We look outside of who we are in the moment, we compare ourselves to this or that, we get jealous, we measure and re-measure, and it doesn't work because our true identity lies inside, not outside. We can only love, accept, and stand in our own uniqueness. There's no comparison to make.

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February 2007

Our lives are truly full of opportunities for pleasure. Treat yourself.

I discovered that by celebrating myself first, others around me felt permission to celebrate themselves as well. And by celebrating myself, I get to celebrate others with so much more unconditional love.

Can you find a job or create work for yourself that is a celebration of who you are? Can you be in a relationship where you each celebrate the truth of the other? What nurtures you? What fills your heart? What makes you sing?

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January 2007

Leap and the net will appear.
(Zen saying)

December 2006

I believe that feeling loved is so important. Loving and being loved is euphoric and satisfying. It's like eating a great meal when you're hungry or falling asleep after a hard day's work or being held when you're crying and afraid. Feeling loved is more important than being with people who are supposed to love you. For that reason my family includes close friends and certain clients and mentors as well as many of my biological relatives.

The people I keep close to me – my family – see me, love me, and appreciate me for who I am. Who have you chosen to be a part of your family?

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November 2006

I see everything as an opportunity — an opportunity to deepen our capacity of love, faith, compassion, understanding, acceptance and gratitude.

Everything that happens is happening for you, not to you. Trust.

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October 2006

In noticing ourselves, we must allow for the possibility that we will notice something new. We discover nuggets of valuable information, energy, and personal resources hidden deep within. As we practice observing ourselves without judgment, accepting any feeling or thought we have without reservation, we begin to know ourselves better. This is why making neutral, non-judgmental observations is so important — because novelty disappears in a context of judgment.

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September 2006

You are not normal. You are special. Your opportunities to contribute to this world are unlike any other. When you can learn to see yourself as the magnificent being you are, all the changes you desire will not only be possible, they will already be manifesting. Have faith to create the world behind your eyes; that is where the true gold lies.

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August 2006

An automatic life is about doing. When we compare ourselves to others in order to evaluate our own worth, when we value external achievement more than internal well-being, we are living from an automatic place. We are seeking what we have been taught to seek: love, approval, money, power, and beauty. Like so many other human doings, we are racing to get the right clothes and the right products and striving to think the right thoughts and feel the right feelings. In general, we are occupied with fulfilling the conscious and unconscious demands of the world.

An authentic life is about being. It's about each of us giving ourselves permission to be the totality of who we are with no apologies, reservations, or limits. You see, our opportunities to contribute to this world are unlike any other. When we can learn to see ourselves as the magnificent beings we are, all the changes we desire will not only be possible, they will already be manifesting.