Thoughts From The I AM: Happiness Is A Choice

The instant we release self-judgment we are incapable of judging anyone else. We can only judge ourselves if we have not accepted ourselves unconditionally. Every experience is an equally valid expression of life and as such we cannot judge it. True, justice is the allowance of all that is.

These are the instructions for the meditative practice, The Gate of Forgiveness, from The Alchemy of Stones, Chapter 13: Forgiveness.

Twelve beliefs and practices for you to cultivate as you develop your abilities to manifest miracles in your life. I use the terms spiritual and non-spiritual in the sense that a spiritual being has a conscious awareness of both the physical and the invisible dimension, while the non-spiritual being is only aware of the physical domain.

It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher may physically appear and guide them in their transformation until the time when the teacher is seen everywhere. As a result of working with a Sufi teacher, enhanced perceptions and awareness bring about deep understanding, inner contentment, healing and...

Spiritual progress is painfully slow and uncertain until the eyes of discernment are opened. Without discernment, we too often mistake the inward promptings of our small self for the voice of the higher spirit of Truth.

The message of "Living in the Moment" was given greater depth when shortly before the writing of this book was completed; my own journey brought me to a fork in the road. A beautiful voice, one that I was familiar with, spoke to me. "Are you ready to come home?" It said, as clear as if someone were sitting beside me...

When we start to do something meaningful, excuses come up that prevent us from giving it our whole heart and attention. We can fritter away days and nights on mindless diversions, but when it comes time to meditate, suddenly all sorts of obligations, false expectations, or doubts arise...

The seven directions and the seven chakras reveal seven paths to God. Although we will discuss these paths in a sequence that may seem linear, one path is no more "advanced" than another. They are simply different expressions, distinct rays of energy that each of us embody.

There are many important things we do here in this life, like loving and being loved by others, or finding meaningful ways to help people and the planet. But the most important thing is our spiritual connection, our relationship to our Source, our higher power, divine love, the life-force of the universe.

I argue that the lesson at the heart of the movie is that because we can never count on tomorrow, life must be lived fully in the present, not just for oneself, but also for others. Ultimately, “Groundhog Day” gives us a lesson in mindfulness.

“God” is a loaded word. Can we use it without stirring controversy? I’ve turned it into an acronym: G.O.D. This seems to help.

I have believed all my life that there is a necessary interaction that occurs between a person and the Divine. This interaction does not come only to great spiritual masters, it comes also to us: ordinary people in our ordinary lives...

A book of spells claiming that: “You may fascinate a woman by giving her a piece of cheese” and, while proffering a lump of cheddar may seem like an unusual way of attracting a possible mate, Paulsen’s book draws on a long history of magic. It’s a history that has quite a lot of cheese in it.

Meditation is like doing mental push-ups that strengthen the muscles of awareness and choice. While it's not a practice that most people are willing to adopt for life, even several weeks of meditation can help train your mind and change your attitudes. If you should decide to keep it up, the benefits for the body are just as positive.

We’re constantly filling our ears with noise, TV and radio news, podcasts, and, of course, the multitude of sounds that we create nonstop in our own heads. Think about it: How many moments each day do you spend in total silence? The answer is probably very few.

The cognitive study of religion has recently reached a new, unknown land: the minds of unbelievers. Do atheists think differently from religious people?

I want to invite you to breathe in and breathe out, and as you breathe in and breathe out, become aware of your heart as a portal. This multidimensional door has pathways that lead to infinite places, which lead to infinite sacred sites, which lead to infinite realms of consciousness.

It has been tremendously helpful for me to understand the difference between consciousness and spirituality. Spirituality is one type of energy — the energy that links us to our deepest essential nature and to the universal source. Consciousness is the awareness of all of the energies within us..

Signs left by the angels are meant to help stir and awaken our intuitive nature so that we can expand our conscious connection and deepen our relationship with a higher power. The power is not within the sign itself; the power is within the message that the sign reveals...

I was very close to my father, and very upset when he died. A few days after his death, I turned over in my bed, supposedly still in mid-dream, when a shadowy form appeared. He, for I assumed the figure to be such, was similar to those dark depictions of the spirit...

We all desire happiness, and yet happiness seems to be just beyond our reach. However many 'how to be happy' books might appear, human beings are still largely beset by the same problems as their ancestors. The poor seek wealth, the sick yearn to be healthy, those suffering from domestic strife...

Many people in the West interpret Buddhism as a path of meditation leading to enlightenment. What many may not know is that this interpretation differs vastly from its practice in East Asia.

“Any time gone by was better,” wrote the Spanish poet Jorge Manrique in the 15th century, perfectly capturing what a powerful emotion nostalgia is.