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Archive for the ‘Love’ Category

Love is Easy

Posted in Love, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on December 3, 2013|

Spiritual love is easy. Resisting it is hard. But resistance is what we’ve been taught. It’s what we settle for and plan our lives around.

Resistance means trying to control things by defining them, before they’ve even been experienced. It means denying what we go through before we have seen the lessons there. This is the detrimental consequence of resistance. It keeps us from actualizing what we came here to experience. It squanders the opportunities of our human lives.

In your own life, every time that you ignore an experience, you resist what is asking to be felt. Every time that you measure a human being, you resist the love that is waiting to be known. And when you focus on what you aren’t getting from what’s around you, you end up limiting your very self. Because the judgment that you inflict upon the world begins and ends with you.

The truth is that it takes tremendous work to perpetuate limitation. It is endlessly exhausting to constantly judge your little world. But you can decide to let this thinking go and expand your consciousness. You can open your magnificent heart and feel the ease of love instead.

Of course, opening your heart can be scary. There’s a lot you have buried in there. But once you acknowledge how you really feel about what you have been through, you can let it go. It finally stops defining you.

And then you will feel a peace you may have forgotten, perhaps for a very long time. You may even begin to feel ecstatic, as you let love flow through you again. This is the love that you come from. It is who you really are.

You see, love is easy. Resisting it is hard. You are here to remember this and to act with love instead. That is why you are living as a human being – to heal yourself by surrendering yourself to effortless spiritual love.

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Thanks to You

Posted in Love, tagged , , , , on November 19, 2013| 13 Comments »

At this moment, your life is giving you experiences that your soul ardently desires. Everything that you are going through is prompting you to grow in ways that you have always wanted to. And during these intense times, you are being asked to grow more than you ever have before.

At this moment, you are being challenged to stop the human madness of resisting love. You are being reminded to summon the infinite love that has always been within you. When you do, you open your all-accepting heart, and you grow your very soul. Not only that, but you inspire all of us to do the same in this frustrating, limiting world. You show us that limits are to be overcome, so that we can grow more than we thought possible.

Oh I know how impossible the task can seem! I know just how unforgiving life can feel. And that is why you are such a brave adventurer. You are so courageous to be a human being.

But you have everything you need to break through your challenges with love. You have the exact situations and relationships that will perfectly get you there. When you do, what seemed impossible becomes almost easy. In fact, you become grateful for everything you’ve ever had to endure.

And this gratitude isn’t about repenting or feeling unworthy. It’s not about feeling guilty because you haven’t been grateful before. It means loving all life without condition, including yourself. It means seeing that this love is integral to you.

When you feel fully grateful with love, you behold the beauty in all things, and then you recognize that same beauty in yourself. You remember that you are made of the haunting magic of creation, and yet your stardust is absolutely unique. Your part is essential in the dance of life, and it always, undeniably has been.

If you’d like to experience more gratitude, try this simple exercise:

One by one, think of the people who have touched your life in both “positive” and “negative” ways. Reflect upon what each person has taught you and the myriad ways they have shown you yourself. Think about what you have gained by knowing this human being and how pivotal they’ve been to your growth. Thank this person in your heart, and tell them what they mean to you.

Now view yourself in this same light. Think about everything you have been through in your life and the epic ways you have grown. See that your challenges required brave choices – in fact, every choice you ever made was brave because it created invaluable experience. This led you closer to recognizing the divine truth about you – that you are utterly exquisite to the core, and the universe is infinitely grateful for you.

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Trust

Posted in Love, tagged , , on May 21, 2013| 14 Comments »

Trusting your growth can seem so difficult, but your soul is asking you to choose this. Your soul wants you to trust because this is what allows you to experience spiritual love. But in order to trust, you have to stop resisting what you want deep inside. You have to heed what calls you the most.

Your soul created a plan for your life before you ever got here, and your job is to trust that plan instead of denying it. Your goal is to give yourself all of the experiences of love that you long to have and all of the growth you want to know.

Thankfully, your life plan is constantly making itself obvious, as is the voice of your soul. All you have to do is notice and listen, and do what you really feel called to do – not what feels safe and manageable. Otherwise, you are letting fear take over your life.

If you trust with all of your heart, your fears will be released, and love will flood in, unencumbered. You will finally let yourself live out loud! And this is when you truly come alive. This is when the world gets to see just how amazing you are.

Now I know that it can be hard to trust after the way this human experience has treated you. I know that your mind might hum with practical details that sabotage love. It is so easy to resist what you really want and to rationalize why you shouldn’t have it. It is so tempting to settle for convention that confines your perfect soul.

All too often, you might let your ego tell you what you want. Or you might judge your most precious dreams to be too dreamy for this world. But your heart knows that dreamy really means magic, and to leap for magic is what you want more than anything! It is one of the fundamental reasons you came here. So no matter how much your mind resists, trust what you know in your heart – that enacting your dreams is more important than anything else in your life.

In my own life, the most important skill that my spiritual journey has taught me is to hear my soul at any moment and heed its call above all else. This heeding is the ultimate trust because it is faith. It is spiritual trust that underlies all life.

So have faith, brave friend, and let your life completely bloom! Let it become a garden that mirrors the bold and breathtaking beauty of you.

 

 

*Writer Sean Lathrop has created an inspiring Peace Pledge here. It’s all about trusting your own ability to change the world. And the exciting truth is that we are doing so, right now, one beautiful soul at a time.

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Open Your Heart

Posted in Love, tagged , , , , on April 16, 2013| 9 Comments »

I talk a lot on this blog about opening the heart, but what exactly do I mean? I mean allowing yourself to feel more unconditional love than you ever have before. When you do, you will see just how beautiful life is.

For a long time as humans, we forgot about unconditional love. We lived in survival mode, and love became a luxury we couldn’t afford. But without love, we are only half alive.

Love allows us to thrive, and in my own life I have been deeply reminded of this. I have been given the highest unconditional love that has shown me what my heart is capable of. In trusting the immensity of this gift, a chain reaction has occurred, leading to yet more love all around. Now, I adore every human being on this planet, and I have new eyes to see the world. I am in love with life, and my heart is opened for good.

Last week, I walked through the airport and saw every human being through the lens of unconditional love. I saw each person’s struggles as though they were my own. I thought how beautiful and courageous each one of us is and how much love we long to hold, if only we would allow ourselves to. I realized that I believe deeply in each of us here and how pointless my ego is. All my cold judgment melted away, and my fear became meaningless. Everything made sense that used to puzzle me before.

Pondering the ills of the world, it’s so clear that all anyone needs is to be loved. It is that simple. And when someone receives unconditional love, they come alive to who they really are! Everything that used to hurt begins to heal more rapidly than the mind can believe.

You see, the truth is that we settle for problems but none of them are really real. They are created out of limitation that has simply forgotten love.

Unconditional love has no limitation. It has no requirements or deficiencies. You don’t have to feel “worthy” of this love because you already, emphatically are it. And once you accept this love, you realize how easy it is. Life used to seem so difficult, but now it is effortless and pure.

Each gorgeous human being who crosses your path is asking you to feel unconditional love, and in so doing, fully love yourself. They are trying to get you to open your heart as you so deserve to do. Your soul is asking you to do this right now – to love bigger than you ever thought you could. And all you have to do is let yourself be as you naturally are. Once you experience the fullness of love, you won’t ever want to go back. You will see that all the time before you simply forgot how you’re meant to live.

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Checking In

Posted in Love, Self, tagged , , on July 31, 2012| 8 Comments »

We are each here in this human life to glow with more light than we ever have before. This light is spiritual love, and every time that we choose it, our internal flame grows more luminous.

Notice, as you go about your day, that sometimes your firelight might seem to dim. You might suddenly feel discord while interacting with someone or feel inharmonious as the hours slip away. There is a basic yet invaluable practice that can help you when you feel this way, and it is to simply check in with yourself.

Stop and ask yourself, “Does what I’m doing right now value myself and others? Does it and the situation I’m in respect and honor me, as well as those around me, in elevated ways?” Checking in like this allows us to pause from judging, reacting, or letting our egos take over the ship. It puts you in the present moment and re-prioritizes what really matters – honoring the sanctity of all life.

Checking in helps you to have awareness about the things that trigger your pain instead of blaming them with a blind eye. It enables you to hear yourself.

Everyone wishes to be heard, respected, and valued, and we each deserve this without asking for it. You deserve this at every moment of your life, and when you check in with yourself, you remember this, and you build the fire within.

You are never going to find this light outside of yourself, but rather you must fan the flames inside. You must give yourself love when you are in pain instead of reacting outwardly at others.

You can also strengthen your inner flame through meditation. Simply visualize your inner light building until it extends far beyond your body. When you fully feel this light, you feel the immensity of love. And when you radiate this light into the world, you inspire all of us to do the same.

The harmonious truth is that we are all one. There is no need to harbor the discord of separation. By tapping into your inner light, you access this intrinsic one-ness. And you remember your unique contribution to us.

We need your light and your love, in the uniquely beautiful ways that only you can give them. Remember to check in so that you become increasingly responsible with your energy and can contribute the immense talents you have to offer. Ask yourself, “What will matter one, five, ten years from now?” Only that you gave more love.

I know how hard it can be to do this, and I am challenging myself to love deeper in my life. Let us build this fire together and remember that it is the firelight of God incarnate. It is the blissful, contagious and all-embracing love of us, and to bask in its glow feels sublime.

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Grace

Posted in Love, tagged , on March 27, 2012| 6 Comments »

How does one describe that ethereal quality called grace? We know what it is so well, but it can be difficult to define.

I think grace is reverence and thankfulness, and elegance of the soul. It is living poetry that calmly smiles and inspires with beauty beyond compare. Grace is that high divine quality that overcomes the human condition, granting respite amidst our endless difficulties. Grace elevates this rough and tough experience by waving the magic wand of love – the love that we share at the core.

To me, grace is not mercy, because we don’t need to be pardoned. We are already divinely perfect, and grace knows this with pure acceptance. It forgives the mistakes we have come here to make because it understands that we are learning on purpose. Life is hard for good reason, but it’s how we handle it that matters. Often, the best that we can do is to move forward with grace. I feel this is a momentous accomplishment. Indeed, it is why we are here.

I am so incredibly moved by how humanity perseveres with grace every day. You, yourself, inspire me to no end with your strength as you shine your light amidst the dark, illuminating the way for us all.

Grace is the ultimate forgiveness. It frees us with unconditional love and lets everything problematic melt away. Oh I know all too well how hard it is to forgive! But what a holy experience this affords. Eventually, we realize that the people in our lives have been reflecting our own issues, just as we asked them to.

I pray that I may walk forward with the greater awareness of grace and receive this shining gift from above. And when I lose my way, and feel very separate and alone, may grace guide me back to our one reality of love.

Grace is who we really are and where we truly come from. The other day, I had a sudden vision of grace and I immediately knew it was a memory from heaven. There we all were, going about our real lives and feeling so fulfilled with love. There was a clear sense of compassionate purpose, and we felt such immense joy. We were embodying the most beautiful kind of grace and carrying ourselves from one high, creative task to the next. We were continuing to work on our growth and living harmoniously with each other in deep support.

I will carry this reminder with me as we embrace the next age. It is time to bring heaven to our human experience and build our new golden world with grace.

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Unconditional Love

Posted in Exchange, Love, tagged , on February 14, 2012| 3 Comments »

When our first baby was just a few hours old, my husband and I looked across the room at him sleeping, and simultaneously realized that we had fallen in love with him. Completely. This tiny being had illuminated our world with a love so deep that it changed our lives in an instant. The love we felt was unconditional and transformative in its power. And it was forever.

While watching our children grow up, we have experienced a deepening of this love. We have seen our sons emerge as whole little people, complete with the brightest light as well as hidden shadow. In fact, we love our children all the more for their human-ness, because in their eyes we see ourselves. Even negative behavior can be endearing, because it reflects the human journey of finding one’s way.

Most of all, we recognize our sons beyond shallow definitions. We are aware of their souls that transcend their human beings.

In reflecting upon this love, can we try harder to emulate it in other relationships? Can we strive to love the fullness of each person, with all of their light and shadow? I see that I often expect too much from people who are navigating their way, just like me, through this difficult human experience. And to love only the surface “good” in another is limited, incomplete, and unreal. But if I love deeper, I receive deeper love. When I am grateful for the wholeness of another, I am more accepting of myself.

You probably have someone close to you in your life whom you feel pure, unconditional love for. Be it a child, a partner, a parent, or friend. You love their whole human self, with all of their greatness and faults, including vulnerabilities and strengths. In fact, their vulnerabilities make them all the more lovable; the love that you feel is deeper because it is so real.

Think of this person now, and try to look at everyone in a similar way. Each of us is so much more than we might notice, if only we look deeper beneath the surface.

You have probably received unconditional love from someone in your life as well. With this person, you feel trusted, fully loved and always supported, regardless of your human difficulties. Reflect upon this feeling now, and turn to it with the other relationships in your life. I know how hard it can be, but imagine if we could give unconditional love to all of the people we know. What magic this would bring! To give this love reminds us of the place we come from – the place that reflects who we truly are.

Love is unconditional. We don’t have to need, want or ask for it. It is already ours. You are embodying it right now in your spectacular self.

The greatest gift that we can give to others is the greatest gift that we can give ourselves, and it is remembering unconditional love. The most important thing that we can do while human is to put this love into action, especially now as we create our new world.

When your life is over, what will matter most will be the times when you gave unconditional love – the times when you chose this all-encompassing grace over getting swept up in negativity and judgment. Remember, life on earth is so full of judgment because it is an excellent place to learn more about unconditional love. We are learning through contrast here, and although our lessons might be beyond comprehension to the human mind, they will always make sense to our hearts. They are lessons of love, and love needs no explanation.

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The Love Within

Posted in Love, tagged , , , , , on February 7, 2012| 2 Comments »

So many of us can feel like we’re not good enough in life. Our egos might scramble to prove otherwise, but so often, self-defeating thoughts lurk in the back of our minds. These sabotaging beliefs take a heavy toll on us, but we have the power to change them. We have the ability to take charge of our beings.

To fully love oneself within the human condition is undoubtedly a challenge, but I believe that it is one of the main reasons we are here.

Now self-love is entirely different from pumping the ego up. And self-love is the key to spiritual growth. See, when we don’t love ourselves enough, we act selfishly. We never get enough validation from within, and so we seek it outside of ourselves with a hunger that negatively impacts our relationships.

You see, how we treat ourselves is how we treat others. When we think so little inside, we tend to not see the value in those around us. But, when we completely value and love ourselves, we can completely value and love others. When we build love from within, we create a solid foundation from which to live.

This is how we become centered and whole, and able to contribute our strongest gifts to the world. This is how we flourish and shine.

Every person deserves this. You deserve this, beautiful friend. Because if you don’t already know it, you are so spectacular and limitless, and love is your truest nature. You are so incredibly loved in this universe, and God wants you to know it, and to fully believe this for yourself.

Everything starts from within, and when we truly love ourselves, we remember that love is who we are. Love is the everlasting answer to everything. It is like a network of light that connects us, and when one soul brightens, the rest surge as well. We are one after all, and this becomes obvious when we love.

Your life is a grand mirror of yourself that is reflecting your inner world. Your beliefs and thoughts are being shown back to you so that you can really see them and really grow. This is the golden opportunity that your life affords.

Your spiritual journey is a path of self discovery that is leading you to expand the love within. When you shift by completely believing in yourself, and overcome the external challenges telling you otherwise, you accomplish what you came here to learn.

You are here to learn how to love yourself more. You are going through this human experience to become ever brighter in this way. When you do, you shine out with a radiance that no one can deny.

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Silent Night

Posted in Love, tagged , , , , , , on December 18, 2011| 10 Comments »

This winter holiday, I wish to experience all the profound peace that the season holds. I wish to unplug from incessant scheduling and electronic distractions, and feel what is magical again. I want to hear the quiet of nature, and in that stillness, remember the sacred in everything.

Let us listen to the silent night together, and feel a thrill in our hearts for the gift of life! May we receive all the spiritual riches we are being given. May we realize that we are a luminous part of it all.

So often, we deny ourselves our own worth. We can so easily feel like we are never enough – like the next teacher or book will hold answers that only we can give. Even the New Age world can leave us feeling inadequate. But the truth is that we are so incredibly special and so loved.

Do not doubt yourself, brave soul, but sing the unique song you came here to sing! Sing it out loud for all to hear. You are so very brave as you get back up again and again in this shining opportunity called life. Remember that you do it to grow with love.

Now, in our human evolution, you are getting to a place of inner knowing without words. And it comes naturally to all of us – even those who aren’t “spiritual.” This knowing is simply love.

We love each other so much. Stop and listen, and see that this is everywhere. Love is the eternal message delivered by illuminated masters through the ages. It is the message of the story of Christmas, delivered by a newborn who came to remind us of our true essence.

I think the nativity scene beautifully explains the unconditional love that we are capable of. Because this is what we feel for our own children. It is what we are at heart. Unconditional love teaches us how to relieve our suffering and how to find our true selves. It is always the answer.

May we each of us on this earth forgive ourselves for our human struggles, and realize how beautiful we are – indeed, how spectacular and eternally loving! May we feel the immaculate peace within our souls in the silent night, amidst the natural beauty of winter.

It is dusk as I write this, and the woods paint a fitting scene. The trees are bare, reaching with elegant branches that slumber and yet are vital with life. They are pregnant with the buds of spring. The tree trunks form arches that link together, making a kind of graceful architecture. They have built high windows that frame the setting sun as it turns scarlet! And before my eyes, they transform into a magnificent cathedral, graced with stained glass in all the colors of fire. Before my eyes, the woods have become a glorious temple to God’s love – to our love that is burning with increasing intensity that no one can deny.

We have been dormant on the earth for but a brief time. Now, we are waking up to birth what has always been in our hearts. We will find ourselves starstruck by this love that we hold. And then we will know that it has always been within us, simply waiting to be born.

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Gratitude

Posted in Exchange, Love, tagged , , , on October 2, 2011| 7 Comments »

The spiritual concept that comes most easily to me is gratitude. Gratitude feels natural and authentic, and creates a beautiful view. It gives me a kind of heaven on earth amidst my human lessons.

Gratitude builds a light filled world that renews itself every time I appreciate life. Gratitude is my dearest teacher on this journey, and I keep her close always.

I have so much to be grateful for, and remembering this opens my perspective and lightens my step. I find myself sincerely amazed at all that people do to give of themselves, and from my heart I want to thank them. This thankfulness allows me to recognize what really matters. It shows me that there is so much more than just my story and my wants. It reminds me that the positive is always beside the negative; abundance always lies beneath appearances of lack.

Gratitude builds upon itself and provides an endless reservoir. It brings grace and love to challenging days. It has the power to cleanse the past, to teach us to rise above our fears, and to transform life beyond what we think it can be. Most of all, gratitude strengthens our connection to each other.

So often, the jobs that we do for others go unacknowledged or are just expected, but with gratitude, we pause to say thank you. We remember to appreciate one another through life’s trials, amidst our personal embarrassments and triumphs. This is all that really matters.

Gratitude holds unfathomable depths. Last week, I experienced them when my eight year old son had emergency surgery. All through a long uncharted night, my husband and I felt the most intensifying gratitude for our child. On the hospital stretcher, surrounded by the sights and smells of his newborn days, our son looked so much like the baby we had welcomed to the world – the infant we had fallen in love with. I was reminded a hundred times what an honor it is to take care of him, but he was in immense pain that our hands could not fix. When he came out of surgery safely headed for a full recovery, our spirits soared in gratitude! I gathered flowers from my garden for his hospital room, to celebrate all that he is, and tears fell shining in the September sun. My heart overflowed with thankfulness for gifts I could only begin to understand, and for the omnipresence of love. Gratitude held my hand that quiet afternoon and healed a thousand worries with the radiance of one soul – the light of my child, the brightest in my heaven on earth.

Carrying this gratitude with me, I see the sacredness of life. I feel the connections that echo what an honor it is to be given each light that walks among us. With a grateful heart, I say thank you God for each other, for benevolence and mercy, for thankfulness unbounded, and most of all for love. May I walk forward appreciating these immeasurable gifts.

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