Unconditional Love

I believe that one of the best ways to learn is to teach someone else.  We teach best what we most need to learn.  I believe being authentic, being real, being vulnerable is my true self, my best version of my self.

We are all an aspect of unconditional love.

We must close the human gap.  We must become known.  We must renounce the belief in separation and reclaim our unity consciousness.

We are unique and different from on another.  We are not separate.  We are hard wired to connect.

"Oneness is not a characteristic of life.  Life is a characteristic of oneness."

- Neale Donald Welsch

Focus on unity

Speak your truth

Practice integrity

Work for the common good

Forgive

Understand

Share your abundance

Share your gifts

Practice balance

Love each other

Love and respect the earth

Eat healthy

Be your best self

Be grateful

Express unconditional love

Pray

Meditate

Listen to the "still, small voice"

Togetherness

"You know the first moment of dawn has arrived when you look into the eyes 

of another human being and see yourself."

- Talmud

This spiritual experience is what human beings were created for.  We are hard wired for connection.  Empathy is our birth right.  We are more alike then we are different.  In the masters courses I teach, I love to explore everything that everyone in the class has in common.  I also love to celebrate our differences.  I find that when we celebrate our differences, we learn from each other.  We get excited and often want to explore something that is unique to someone else.  I believe in unity consciousness.  I will continue to devote my life to helping each of us find our common humanity.

With my glasses, I can see with precision.  I find it is more important to see with kindness.  Integrity tells me I need to continue to strive to make sure my actions are both accurate and kind.

Life has shaped each of us.  Our view of the world is based on our past experiences and core beliefs.  We bring our feelings and emotions to every experience that touches us today.  Every action we take is a statement of who we currently are and how we currently feel.

Self reflection allows us to see how the world has shaped us.  Our emotions fill us with textures and colors that move us to continue to feel and act or shut down and retreat.

The blending of integrity, vulnerability, and courage allows us to see each other from the inside.

Purpose

When we are no longer driven by the need for approval or fear of judgement...when the light of unconditional love in all humanity shines through our eyes...when we are on purpose...we will be aware that, Providence opens all opportunities, even where we did not previously see any possibilities.  The universe listens and fulfills our dreams.

"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.  Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be."

- Patangali

Open your heart...

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."

- George Bernard Shaw

Follow your "still small voice."  Allow yourself to be moved by what you really love.  "Follow your bliss." Joseph Campbell offered this sage advice to all of his students.  Science has now proven that our heart sends measurable signals to the brain, which respond to this message of love.

We must open our hearts to achieve our full potential.

The fullness of life is found in following our hearts desire.  We must follow our passion.  As we stay connected to our heart, we are connected to life.

There is always a choice...

"We can not eliminate hunger, but we can feed each other.  We can not eliminate loneliness but we can hold each other.  We can not eliminate pain, but we can live a life of compassion."

- Mark Nepo    

We are not powerful enough to change the world.  We can change our attitudes and behavior.  We choose to be kind, loving and compassionate.  We are responsible for everything we think, feel, say and do.  We live in an experience of endless choices.  As long as we live, we can choose again.  We can choose to comfort the uncomfortable, express our feelings, release the joy within our life, give and receive love.  There is always a choice.

A thought...

The only sane, satisfying and sustainable option for humanity

is to live with compassion, empathy and kindness.

Heart

True intimacy is being aware of and meeting the
needs of the those we love without losing connection to our own needs.  

To be truly intimate is to be authentic, vulnerable, courageous,
and compassionate with each other.

"Whatever we touch bears the mark of our heart, because our hands and heart are forever connected.  I was amazed to learn recently that as we form in the womb, the first sign of our arms, known as arm buds, grow directly out of the heart.  Before we even arrive, our arms are small branches stemming from our heart.  This is why when we feel love, we have the impulse to reach and touch.  This is why when speaking from the heart, we tend to speak with our hands.  And when having a heart attack, we feel the pain in our arms."

- Mark Nepo

Happiness

"Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.  And several times in the last week, 

God himself has even come to my door, asking me for your address!"

- Hafiz

Everyday is a day for thanksgiving.  It is an opportunity for gratitude.  Expressing our gratitude paves the way for happiness.  Happiness is the loving joy of God impacting our life.  The innocence of happiness can be found in a toddler's infectious laughter, a puppy playing in the snow is pure joy.  Otters playing in the water, bear cubs sliding down a hill or squirrels chasing each other from branch to branch.

Laughter is great medicine.  Healing chemicals are released from the brain into the body when we laugh.  Serotonin and Oxytocin feed the body and joy heals the soul.

"We are created by a love that couldn't contain itself, 

so it spilled over into expressions of itself as us."

- Rev. Katherine Saux

Thank you for being with us

Every day when I go for a walk, I breathe in the fresh air and appreciate the sunlight on my shoulders.  I consciously smile and or say hello to everyone I see passing.

It has become very important to me, especially now, to say something kind, to be kind, to let people know that there is emotional safety in the world.

I experience my heart physically and emotionally.  I want to be as authentic and real as possible as I walk along the path.

When I see old friends, I embrace them.  When I return home, I hug my beloved wife reminding her of all the joy and love she brings into my life.

I want love and affection to pour from my eyes the way the sun warms my shoulders.

I want to continue to learn from children.  I want to continue to care deeply for my friends.  I want to sing, write poetry and remind everyone we are children of God.  We are all evolving.  We are all becoming.

When I awake each morning, I stop in our daughter's room.  I adjust the feeding tube and her monitors, bend down and kiss her head and whisper in her ear "I love you!  I love you!"  I make the sign of the cross on her forehead and thank her for being with us.

I want to thank everyone for being with us.  I love you.

Be the first...

                                                    The first to apologize

                 creates courage

                                       The first to forgive

                           creates understanding

                                        The first to forget

                   creates happiness

Gifts

"There are so many gifts still unopened from your birthday.  There are so many hand-crafted presents that have been sent to your door by God."   - Hafiz

The Divine has given each of us countless gifts.  We are all blessed with gifts and talents.  Our only task in this life is to discover and use in service, all that we have been blessed to share.  What gifts do you share?  Song, dance, writing, activity, organization, speaking, teaching, mentoring, counseling, dreaming, healing, comfort, detail, expansion, investment, conversation, faith, patience, passion, compassion, laughter, love, science, discovery, invention, respect, responsibility, relationship, friendship, integrity, authenticity, vulnerability, peace, unity.

The Divine is one with us and whispers ... "Everything I have is yours."

                                                                                                                                   - Hafiz

Give the gift God created you to be.

Kindness

Be kind and forgiving with no expectation of reward, knowing that one day someone will do the same for you.

Presence

"...I believe that vulnerability- the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome- is the only path to more love, belonging, and joy."

  - Dr. Brene Brown                   

Our challenge is in "showing up," being fully authentic.  For me, this includes being afraid, not knowing the answer, sometimes not even knowing the questions.  Being authentic, showing up, being real, entails loving the process.  Fully engaging in the process of life with all its insecurity.

I have always valued being fully present.  Presence for me is soul awareness.  This soul awareness, this presence involves deep levels of listening, to myself, to others, to nature, to the "still small voice."  Presence involves staying open to learning beyond my current identity, beyond my preconceptions of what is and is not, what should and what should not be.  Presence involves letting go of my ego and my ego attachments.  It involves letting go of control.  Being fully present invites me to participate fully in the miracle of life.

Recipe for a Miracle

For a miracle, take one act of compassion, throw in a pinch of kindness, a grain of forgiveness, and a handful of gentleness.  Add a little bit of peace, a cup of serenity, and it will happen.

For miracles are here, always, waiting to be discovered.  Waiting patiently it sits in the center of your life, eager to be unmasked.