Tending the Fire of Spiritual Will and Creating the Experience of Union

Are you experiencing a lag in your spiritual life? Have you been practicing for a long time and consider yourself a spiritual veteran, but are lacking in enthusiasm? Are you new to meditation, but can’t seem to commit to a regular practice?

Everyone works with people they like -- and with people they dislike. We dislike some of them intensely. Seldom is there the luxury of working only with people who are friends or who are in total agreement with us. Since conflict cannot be totally eliminated, it is important to learn how to deal with conflicting wants and needs.

Although the majority of people may well wish things were different, the fact is that we live in a dual world here on Earth. Our lives subsume day and night, light and dark, good and evil, hot and cold, male and female, light and heavy, yin and yang, above and below, feast and famine…

The hardest thing that we ever have to learn, even though Jesus said it 2,000 years ago, is to love your neighbor as yourself. Most of us don't have a problem loving other people; the problem we have is loving ourselves. We equate that with selfishness.

In the sixteen-century, people suffered from hunger, disease, hatred, and war. "How could God allow such terrible things to happen? Perhaps," Luria suggested, "it is because God needs our help." When you see something that is broken, fix it...

The outside world, as constructed by the ego, is one gigantic multiple personality disorder. Therefore, disillusionment, or giving up on the world, is an imperative prelude to mystical awareness. American author Dan Millman, in his book Way of the Peaceful Warrior, says that disillusionment is the best thing that can happen to someone...

"According to Spinoza, "Peace is not an absence of war. It is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, trust, and justice." Even if all weapons were to disappear from the earth that would not guarantee peace. We must actively cultivate peace as a virtue...

Years of ongoing shamanic and spiritual training have taught me many lessons. Perhaps the main lesson is that life is a never-ending learning process. Although we reach a certain level in our growth and development, there is always something new to learn, to experience...

While checking out at a grocery store I noticed that a cashier had an unusual tattoo on her forearm. “What is that tattoo?” I asked Ciani. She smiled. “It’s a copy of the EKG of my grandmother’s last heartbeat.” Suddenly the checkout process faded to background. I wanted to hear more.

Maybe that is the problem with the world. Everyone is treating their neighbors (whether individuals or countries) the same way they treat themselves. In other words, if you criticize yourself, pollute your body, and don't take time to respect your own needs -- then your "neighbor" is in for a rough time.

I am astonished and delighted at how the universe works. I am learning more and more about how to live in what I call “The Flow of Grace.” For me, this is learning to allow, rather than push; to accept and receive, rather than hold myself closed out of fear; to expand, rather than contract; and to...

In Africa, Zulu elders teach that there is vital significance in the appearance of the White Lions in Timbavati at this time. As with all the other White Spirit Animals, the White Spirit Lions have come to warn us of dramatic Earth changes, encouraging us to work together in these perilous times.

We carry with us into our future an extraordinary and enormous potential. We have all the equipment that we need to face our breathtaking tomorrows. We have the technology, and the ingenuity to create even greater...

If you were asked to take a moment to observe your choices in life through witness consciousness, what would you find? Do you still, from time to time, use the places you know do not serve you? Do you find yourself looking outside for validation, seeking control over events, and needing to grab and hold?

Approach these conversations exactly the way you would if there were another being sitting next to you, because there is. You have no idea how rich, fulfilling, growthful, and life-changing these conversations will be — and not just for you. Your guides will celebrate this growing relationship right along with you.

Growing up in a traditional Catholic home, my child self got a clear picture that God was a big, powerful, male being out there somewhere and the purpose of my life was to seek and serve Him. A startling yet comforting mystical truth is that we do not initi­ate the search for the Divine...

Keep moving on the spiritual path from the lower truth to higher truth, until you come to that place deep within you, one that is silent, that is peaceful, and that is pure beingness and beyond judgment. As you progress, keep letting go of the many impurities that get stuck to the so-called religious and spiritual paths and “isms.”

No sooner had I made the decision to spend several months in the mountains of northern New Mexico, than my inner knowingness guided me to the timeless, secluded village of Chimayo. Little did I suspect that this idyllic setting would host a gut-wrenching transformation..

The month of Thanksgiving as well as the specific holiday are my most favorite times of the year. I am thankful that I can take the time to appreciate what I never take for granted.

One morning I awoke and realized I had absolutely no plans for the day. The gallery was closed until the weekend, and I was open to anything. I checked in with stillness, trying yet again to hear the “Holy Spirit.” To my surprise, I heard a quiet, still voice within me quite clearly. It was like an inner dialogue...

How do I know that everyone has an inner compass? To answer this question, let's start by taking a look at what’s really going on. Let's take a look at the world, at reality.

For someone so inspired by the poverty and simplicity of St. Francis, it’s embarrassing for me to admit how dependent I am upon my smartphone. I have loads of apps for just about everything. It used to be that my brain was in my head. But now it’s too often in a six-inch-long little metal box with a screen.

This isn’t a new spirituality, but rather all spirituality. It is not exclusive to any person, sect, religion, race, sexual identity, or creed. It simply is. It is right here, right now, and it’s all good, even when it’s not. The importance of being able to “detach from our ideas of how we think it should be and continue to return to the center”...

The flow of time, which appears to us as real as the flow of a river, may be nothing more than an illusion. “The distinction between past, present, and future,” Einstein writes, “is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Past, present, and future may all exist in a single infinitely indescribable moment.

I’m an “equal-opportunity mystic.” I ask for and receive help from masters from many traditions (and I need all the help that I can get!). I often call upon St. Francis when I work with animals who are sick, hurt, lost, or have been traumatized. I feel the quiet, gentle strength of St. Francis’ energy frequently when I am outdoors hiking or meditating.

The possibility for creating peace must begin within each one of us as we become peaceful within ourselves. We are part of the whole. Our task is to heal separation, isolation, and defense of “us” as opposed to “them” within ourselves first; then we can bring that conscious awareness to all...

We are told by spiritual teachers that we must seek enlightenment and that we must become ‘conscious’ and ‘awake’. However the proof of personal transformation is that our service and other actions demonstrate that we believe and understand eternal truths and the nature of...

Although much has been written about angels throughout time, we don’t seem to acknowledge their presence. However, I believe that we all have...

Across shamanic traditions soul loss--the wounding or fragmentation of a person’s soul as a result of trauma, abuse, war, conflicts, and so on, especially as suffered at an early age--is seen as a leading cause of illnesses, immune-system deficiencies, and all-around dysfunction of physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

The way we have been taught to make decisions, through intellect and emotion, is ultimately not our answer. If we can’t trust our thoughts and feelings, then, what can we trust? Are we bereft of guidance, impotent to know what is right for us?

There are signs everywhere to point you in the right direction, guiding you as to whether you are to go or stay put. There are also many that give you the encouragement you may need to keep moving forward. Think of a time that you had a bad gut feeling and...

Here in these passages, is a powerful excerpt from the book, A Journey to Oneness that speaks directly to the dramas we are watching unfold, right now. It’s uncanny that these words of Divine wisdom were written in early 2003. They feel just as relevant to the state the world today as they did back then.

When I think of a spiritual retreat, I imagine a lot of meditation, quiet walks, no computers or media, listening to gentle music, and withdrawing from the busyness of the world. Some of that happened, but a different type of spiritual retreat emerged.

The verb hope means “to want something to happen,” while the noun hope refers to “a feeling of expectation and desire” and, in its oldest sense, trust. When we really expect that something we’ve hoped for will come to pass, it’s enough to lighten both our hearts and our steps...

Imagine for a moment what it's like to have absolute uncondi­tional trust in yourself. That includes trusting your body. Yes, even if it gets sick or if it has pain, can you trust it? No matter what happens...

I observe that most of humanity is feeling a vast amount of fear, stress, and worry in this ending of the Kali Yuga, which involves tremendous change. You cannot cross the bridge of fire and water and endure the storms of accelerated transformation without inculcating deep fearlessness...

To live a spiritual life, you don’t have to give up your job or become a monk or a nun. The spiritual life is where you are, whether or not you have a job, are married or have children. You don’t have to suddenly throw everything away and rush off to join a Tibetan monastery. In fact...

We all desire peace, but most people look for it in the wrong place. We often think of the saying “peace of mind,” but we can’t rely on the mind to give us the peace that is desired from our Souls. Peace is not found in your mind. The mind begs for our attention, but there is no stability or peace if we react to every thought from the mind.

When Spirit notices something about your behavior that needs to evolve, it in-spires you to make a change for the better. All changes that are being willed by life-centered Spirit—as opposed to changes being willed by your self-centered ego—are born with ease and are cultivated with grace.

Whatever life has been, Alzheimer’s changes it. It slows certain things down. It changes one’s ability to focus. It turns life review into a visceral recapitulation. We are not just reviewing our life in our thoughts, our brain and body are reviewing each developmental step we made...

Every morning after we walk our dogs, two of them chase each other around the living room coffee table. It’s quite entertaining to watch these exuberant spirits tease each other, bark, and run around in circles. The little one eggs the larger one on and keeps slightly ahead of him in the chase...

Spiritual wisdom is not simply meant to be philosophy, some ambiguous jargon, or blank promises. It is meant to be relished, and used practically in every action and in every millisecond of life.

I wonder whether “not harming” or not hurting other people — near and far — feels more reasonably within reach than loving them? As you think about it now, does it seem more realistic to affirm that you could refrain from harming, rather than “loving” others?

Many people think miracles are reserved for saints and gurus. According to this belief, the majority of humans are unworthy of miracles. However, the Red Sea parted for Moses and the Hebrews, not to prove their worthiness, but to help them escape Pharaoh’s slavery...

We have been warned from ancient prophecies of these times we live in today, but have also been given a very important message about a solution to turn these terrible times. 

We can all make the world a better place for everyone by developing our own unique talents to the fullest, becoming the best people we can be, and sharing ourselves – and what we have to offer – with other people, out of love...

For spiritual growth to take place in your life, you must change. You must let go of some areas in your life and personality -- especially the areas that are not working well or are out of balance -- and allow them to heal. This process is not always easy and often takes courage -- but the rewards are more than worth the effort.

While traveling on my world tours and meeting people of all walks of life I have observed a common idea that causes people so much distress. This idea says that the spiritual and the material are two separate things.

Growing up, I was taught that we all have higher selves, and that this aspect of self is aware of far more than our everyday self. Through our dreams, meditation, and mo­ments of inspiration, we strengthen our sense of knowing. I was taught that in life, we are meant “To learn, to love, and to make a difference.”

It is one of the most difficult passages: not to turn away from injustice and not to be dehumanized by the righteousness that injustice invokes. The question becomes: is it justice or healing that we need? The myth that the angel of justice needs to be blind...

Reciting these powerful, energizing prayers lifts the frequency of your aura dramatically. To practice these prayers, center in your heart. Breathe into the heart and begin saying the prayers audibly in a normal speaking voice.

However many books are written about our spirituality, we have to come to terms with the fact that nobody has all the answers. Discovering our own spiritual truth is a lonely road and yet one that is largely dependent on others we meet on the way.

Humanity has become enmeshed in a dysfunctional global system. It has become anesthetized by a cultural conditioning that begins at birth, by those who themselves have been conditioned by the generations before them.

In the deepest place in your spirit, the place of wounds and hope, you know that the earth is speaking, and that the time has come to listen to all of her voices. You can only hope that for the sake of your children, and all the children of the world...

Very often people cannot understand why they should live the Spiritual Life. It is a natural question: “What do I get out of it?” It is important to understand that if you follow through with the Path you’re going to get a lot out of it...

Our lives feel complicated at times, or stressed; often­times we even feel unable to handle whatever is head­ing our way, certain that this time it may be beyond our capacity to withstand or understand. However...

After the publication of Conversations with God, the question that I was asked more often than any other was: “Why you? Why did God pick you?” And, always, I’ve responded with, “God did not pick me. God picks everyone. The question is not, to whom does God talk? The question is, who listens?”

Our words reveal to everyone what we’re feeling and thinking. Our favorite expressions reveal what we believe, and they shape our experiences. The principle that words have great force is an ancient and powerful one.

The Duality/Scarcity Global Economy has entered its final death throes at the same time as the Unity/Prosperity Global Economy begins its labor pangs. The waters have broken. Adjustments are being made and tweaks in the consciousness to alleviate the speed with which the switch-over will happen.

The deepest truth of human longing is that each of us yearns to be free to love and be loved. Everything we keep hidden and everything we distort keeps us from the deeper truth of our longing, the hunger we have had since time immemorial. This deep longing lives as a seed in the heart of every human...

We are all one. When you are in Oneness your heart is totally open. Your Illumined Self gives freely, receives gratefully, is utterly compassionate and em­pathetic. You accept everyone exactly as they are with glowing love in your heart. You are the heartbeat of the universe.

Slot machines, as outrageous as it might seem, are a powerful vehicle to help you learn how to keep your heart open. Since the brain and, in fact, the entire body, is a package of electrochemical impulses, it shouldn't seem so far-fetched that we can influence electronic devices.

Each of the major religions has the same goal: to provide us with a way to know and experience God. The only difference lies in the instructions for accomplishing this knowing. It's very hard to know where to focus my attention to find peace. I am sad to discover that I can't find it in my morning New York Times.

Consciousness itself actually can never be healed, as it is the foundation of healing itself. It is rather that our state of incomplete, separate con­sciousness is what needs to be repaired, mended, reconnected or made whole—brought back into the state of Oneness. This is known as the State of Being.

“Dear God!” I wrote, “I know the vows I want! I want vows to me, to my self, to my soul, to You!” And with that declaration, my divine voice and I began long, intense conversations, diving deeper and deeper together into the well of my soul to find my true vows.

Pure love is totally undemanding and accepting. It extends its energy to everything but you only feel it when you are in the moment. Whenever you give or receive pure love the angels step in and pour their light through you.

As the Lord’s Prayer indicates, forgiveness plays a part in settling spiritual debts, and in helping to prevent new ones from being established. Forgiveness provides great protection for the self, as well as helping others. It ends vicious cycles of action and reaction.

A friend of mine--a much-loved teacher of Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion--told me about the day he became vegetarian. Becoming vegetarian had less to do with health than realizing consciousness is active in all creatures big and small.

Everyone wants to feel peaceful, don’t they? People go out of their way to avoid stressful situations, or to bring about their dreams, in the hope of finding peace. Would it surprise you if I told you that feeling peaceful has nothing to do with your current personal situation?

The first three steps of the twelve step program for recovery from addiction have to do with asking for help, knowing that we are powerless without help from a higher power, and trusting that this higher power can restore our lives greater than we could even imagine. I have seen these twelve steps work miracles...

I am realizing for myself that there are ultimately only two spiritual paths. And both are equally important! “We are human beings on a spiritual journey, and we are spiritual beings on a human journey.” Herein lie the two spiritual paths...

Material answers may come, often unexpectedly, in offers of supply or immediate practical help. But what about answers, like I needed now, for the next actions or decisions? I have found that these come inside, especially when we open our mouths—that is, our consciousness—and just ask.

After witnessing the overwhelming popularity of Star Wars, director Francis Ford Coppola told George Lucas he should start his own religion. Lucas laughed him off, but Coppola may have been onto something.

December marks the beginning of whale season in Hawaii. Around this time majestic humpback whales appear in Hawaiian waters, having traversed 3,000 miles of deep blue sea from offshore Alaska. The whales stay through the winter, mating and bearing their young. To watch them cavort is a spectacle for the senses and the heart.

Great prophets, gurus, spiritual leaders, and teachers across the world encourage us to search for the Great Light and find this mysterious thing they call "enlightenment". Many people begin their spiritual quest with one major mission: to become enlightened. But what is enlightenment and how can we truly reach it?

Do we want to get well — give up our complaining and blaming, our image of a sick self, to do what we protest we can’t? Or do we love our deprivation and misery? Do we keep repeating that the world is against us, that others have all the luck? Does our poor-me status make us feel special?

What helps us to let go is that appearances change so completely. Nature is kind in that way — we can't say we haven't been warned. Most leaves wither and fade before they fall, fulfilling every bit of their purpose. My mother came to visit after she'd had two rounds of chemo for ovarian cancer. She didn't look like my mom, but she was still my mom...

An angel letter is a powerful technique that enables you to receive higher spiritual guidance. Writing a letter to your guardian angel will certainly help you to strengthen your communication with each other. The actual process of writing the letter will allow your intuitive mind the space to clearly receive angelic guidance...

One of my favorite things to do is to imagine a divine hand upon my head blessing me in my life and letting me know that I am cared for and loved. I do this especially when I feel insecure or stressed. Once while in the emergency room with a badly broken leg and ankle, I closed my eyes and just imagined this other-worldly hand upon my head reminding me that everything would work out alright.

It was one of the Greek philosophers who first said everything was made of atoms. Now we say atoms are made of positive and negative charges of electricity — pure energy. No one has seen them, but out of that which we do not see emerges that which we do see. The biggest thing in the universe is just made up out of the littlest things.

From a spiritual perspective there is no such thing as disappointment. What we call disappointment, Spirit sees as opportunities for learning. We are spiritual beings having a human experience, and disappointment feels unequivocally real.

What keeps us from reaching that state of continuous expansion and joy? What stands in the way of experiencing that place of no separation? What gets in the way of experiencing ourselves filled with light? What stops us from living life with gales of laughter?

Let's look at some of the obstacles to our spiritual growth. Let me ask you this: have you ever been stuck in traffic and thought to yourself, “If it weren't for all these other cars on the road, I would get to work (or home) much faster”? Well, spiritual development is similar to that.

This story is about a seemingly small event in my life that took on miraculous significance because of the lessons that came with it. I’m not a theologian; in fact, I’ve found most of my spiritual sustenance outside traditional religion...

Nowadays, many of us consider ourselves to be on a spiritual path. Whatever it is we do to enrich this area of our lives, we always want to make sure that it is producing a desired outcome. For example, has your spirituality led you to be more honest with yourself? Are you digging deep within and uncovering...

The need for whatever it may be that we’re drawn to is the yet to be realized presence within us of that very thing to which we are drawn. This means that no matter how distant seems our guiding star, or how isolated we may feel in our journey towards its light...

The vehicle that enables us to live as who we are—that is, as individual personalities in finite bodies who are simultaneously manifestations of Spirit beyond life and death—is the human ego. While problematic in its unhealed state, the ego in its healed state is the best vehicle we have for bringing us to the gate of enlightenment.

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.

This truth is of an order beyond all that appears so solid and real in our world. It throws everything into sharp relief as it reflects back to us the fleeting nature of anything which we dare to call ‘mine’. For there is no possession, no ownership, in this place of truth...

The battle between the Lower Self and the Higher Self is an internal battle, fought every day in the minds and hearts of all men and women. The challenges that these internal battles create in our lives exist regardless of our beliefs, religion, culture, or race...

The first practice of living in the fifth dimension, which is a permanent state of peace, bliss, love, and joy, is to do as you would be done by. Constantly think how others feel and would like to be treated. So if you see someone...

Along with working through my emotional baggage and caring for my physical wellbeing I began looking into what I needed to do for my spiritual health. Following are a few of the steps I took.

Clearing and opening the throat chakra releases issues relating to an inability to find and speak one’s truth; this results in authentic and eloquent self-expression. You naturally stand in your highest Self, and your speech expresses the coherence of your whole being. It has the...

Despite what some may say, and certain texts may set forth as gospel, I can attest to the fact that the sacred journey to Oneness is not all a bed of roses. The peaks and valleys of the roller coaster ride to Realization continued to swerve and dip, even as...

I house two voices in my mind. Of course you have them, too. Our access to either voice is always just a decision away. My introduction to the existence of these two voices, the one that is soft and kind and loving and helpful and the one that is abusive and controlling and angry...

True seekers, my parents were constantly questioning how and where they could feel closer to God. As dysfunctional as my family was, my parents understood that spiritual nourishment was as essential to their individual and family’s well-being and health as good nutrition and exercise. In fact, sometimes their focus...

Selfing, is a very accurate description of how we are creating and maintaining the shell-like falsehood of who we are. If we look into a mirror, what do we say? “Oh, I don’t like my hair.” This is selfing. Then we talk to someone: “Oh, I don’t like this person.” We are engaging in this mental compulsion, this constant selfing.

While it is important to accept and learn from our pain and suffering, what can we do to stop creating so darned much of it!? Webster’s defines illuminate as “to give light to; to light up; to make clear.” The very next entry down the page, we find the word illusion...

White Eagle urges us to always be prepared in our hearts for the call to service, for we never know when we will be needed to help another. Currently, it is one of my most important prayers to ask that I be used to help others. But it wasn’t always my prayer.

It is important to realize that enlightenment is totally dependent upon your own effort. It is not something that a teacher can give you or that you can find outside yourself. Your mind has an enlightened nature which can...