Articles from November 2009 ↓

Through the Gates of Fear

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Fear lives within you. It breeds in the warm liquid of your flesh feeding on your spirit. Fear is the real original sin. It perverts your true perception.

And the truth is: your world is a marvelous miracle of interconnection and unification. Observe nature and you will know that this is so. Every seemingly separate aspect of nature forms powerful interdependent relationships. That unity is the essence of nature’s success and it can be the essence of your success. If you desire to master your life then, you must accept that you are part of nature, and subject to its mechanics and laws.

But fear wants none of this. Fear’s strength lies in its ability to separate. It positions itself–and you–outside of this unified field of relationship-based all-encompassing thinking. Fear wants you to think about life in linear fashion: this then that; he then she; us then them; I then you. Even reading the words fear generates is stressful, because it just isn’t true; it isn’t natural. Continue reading →

On Friendships and Secrets

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Today I am here for my friend. I want to support him through his troubles. My friend was sexually abused as a young man by a Catholic priest. My friend (we’ll call him Robert) has finally quit running from the dysfunction of his life and he is bringing himself — and this priest — to accountability. As a result he is going through some dark nights of the spirit.
Continue reading →

The Beauty Within You

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A misty sundown drifts into your senses on salt air. You ride on this soft breeze into another, gentler life. The wet firm sand of the ocean’s edge caresses your toes as you walk along the shore. You see a small flower; a wonder of nature; so beautiful. It grows between some rocks and it makes you happy just to see it.

You walk further through the cleansing ocean air. You see a beautiful woman, or a beautiful man. You are in awe of everything. Your heart swells and you say to yourself, “this moment is beauty; life is beauty; I am beauty.” Continue reading →

Empowerment: The Courage to Be Yourself

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Empowerment takes courage. It is difficult to be yourself in a world that shouts the personal power message, but really just wants to sell you something.

What is empowerment anyway? How do you find it? Does paying a thousand dollars for a one day workshop empower you, or does it just demonstrate the depth of your dependence on others?

Building self confidence and personal power is an especially tough task, because you must make empowered decisions on how to be yourself, from a weakened living-for-others perspective.

It is a classic example of trying to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. That is why you seek guidance to empower yourself.

But… Continue reading →

Whose Self Concept is it Anyway?

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Self concept: the wording would imply that it’s a concept about you, by you.

But that’s not entirely true. Other people define you all the time. That might be fine if they kept it to themselves, but they don’t. People you know unconsciously project their opinions about you, onto you. And just as unconsciously you absorb their feelings, subtly reinforcing or altering your self concept.

What if everyone you work with held a negative opinion about you? Would you not feel that? Over time, wouldn’t their feelings cause you to believe that they may be correct, even if they weren’t?

Why do we create concepts about ourselves, or anyone else for that matter? Continue reading →