Update: March 8th–The Journeys Out of the Body Giveaway has closed. Congratulations to Goldie of California and Leah Moore of Grayson, Kentucky–they each won a copy of Journeys Out of the Body. I’d also like to thank everyone for entering. Please sign up for e-mail updates (on the left side of the page under “Subscribe”) or keep checking back, as a new giveaway will be posted very soon.

Though I still haven’t been working on writing any new spiritual or self-help blog entries for Wind of the Soul, I’ve desperately wanted to get back to hosting uplifting and consciousness expanding giveaways. And, in the coming months, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing. I have some ideas for a Wind of the Soul – “Pay It Forward” type project in 2010, with the uplifting giveaways being a major part of that project. So, to kick this first giveaway off for ‘10, I’m giving away two, brand new copies of Robert Monroe’s seminal work on astral projection: “Journeys Out of the Body.”

While the book isn’t necessarily a how-to on OBE, it does provide fascinating details into Mr. Monroe’s early excursions along the astral plane. And, it gives great insight into his mindset during those initial experiences; back when he was a stranger in a very foreign land.

Journeys Out of the Body provided an enormous amount of education and comfort for me during my initial out-of-body experiences and I can’t recommend it enough.

If you plan on entering this giveaway (and I hope you do), I only ask one thing – here’s where the pay it forward part comes into play. I’m asking that you find at least one person in need of some assistance, and you provide it for them.

Sounds simple enough right? If you’re interested in the type of subjects I’ve written and podcasted about, then you probably already help others on a regular basis anyway. However, I’m presenting this more as a challenge than a request for doing what you’re already accustomed to doing.

The “challenge” is for you to get outside the box of your normal good deeds and do something very different. Naturally, I’m not suggesting you put yourself in harm’s way or do anything crazy, but I am saying it should be something beyond what you usually do. For example, I usually do nice things for people whenever I’m out in public, such as holding doors, smiling, giving someone my grocery cart, letting someone go ahead of me in line, lifting something heavy for a person, etc.

Yet, in doing that, I’ve grown very comfortable in my routine and I rarely challenge myself to do a radically different kind of good deed. Basically, I’m talking about doing something that takes more than thirty seconds of our time. I’m talking about getting involved in something that may take ten, twenty or even ninety minutes, and possibly even days.

Now granted, this may seem like a lot to ask just for entering a giveaway, but wait until you see what I’m going to ask the winners to do! Just kidding.

But seriously, if more of us would start putting this concept into practice, I believe a single good deed (especially a “big one”) has the potential to change our world for the better. It’s like a reverse domino effect; instead of knocking them over, we’re picking them back up.

Likewise, in challenging myself, I’ll keep you guys periodically updated on my own pay it forward experiences, which will be extending outside of my comfort zone.

Please, only one entry per household. Duplicate entries from the same IP will be deleted. This helps to make it fairer for everyone. There’s no catch here, everything is free – including payment of shipping and handling for “Journeys Out of the Body” – I cover all costs. To be entered, leave a comment below, showing your interest.

Depending upon the volume of entries, comments may only be displayed under this post for a short time. As entries grow, I may remove comments to make it easier for visitors to scroll to the comment box and enter. However, I guarantee all entries will be saved in the order they are received.

When leaving a comment, be sure to include your correct e-mail address and be certain to keep track of your spam or bulk folder after the drawing closes, just in case. Each winner of Journeys Out of the Body will be contacted through the e-mail address that’s registered with their comment. I will never share addresses, provided by entrants, with any third parties and you’ll never receive unsolicited mail when entering.

The “Journeys Out of the Body” contest will end at 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on March 8th, 2010. All legitimate entries will then be assigned a number in the order they were received. Two numbers will be randomly drawn to determine the winners.

Both winners will then be notified, via the email addresses they provided, no later than March 10th. If one, or both don’t respond (with their shipping information) within two weeks, then one (or two) more number(s) will be drawn to determine the new winner(s). Upon receiving their permission, both winners’ names will be featured at the top of this post.

Posts Related to Out of Body Experiences

Q & A: Out of Body Experiences & Dream Symbols
Q & A: Out of Body Noises & Sensations
Astral Projection & the Big Bang
My Astral Experience With A Tribal Shaman
Experiences Out of the Body – Part 1
Experiences Out of the Body – Part 2

Inner Peace is the title of the 13th Wind of the Soul podcast installment. This episode features a reading of the blog post: 8 Tips for Achieving a More Secure Peaceful State of Mind, along with further thoughts on several of the ideas contained in the entry. This episode’s running time is 10:52 and file size for download is 9.95 MB. It can be played via the embedded player in the Audio section, or on your media player by following the Inner Peace link, or in the embedded You Tube players below.

Thanks for joining me for this installment. I appreciate the continued feedback regarding the podcast series.

Related Posts

Self Truths: Part 1
Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization
Blazing Your Own Trail
8 Tips for Achieving a More Secure Peaceful State of Mind

If you’ve been following my posts for a while or have dug into the archives at this site, you’re probably aware I also spend a lot of time working on my other site, Season of Shadows. SOS, as I like to call it, represents a celebration of my favorite time of year, Halloween/fall and it delves into the paranormal.

At first glance, this website and SOS may seem like polar opposites, but they’re really not. At both locations, I spend time exploring states of awareness along the spectrum of consciousness, whether these states are being expressed in this physical plane of existence or in paranormal terms. Primarily, my writing at Wind of the Soul is based on theoretical exploration of our conscious capabilities and doing my best to help empower others through this exploration. However, recently I’ve decided to devote the majority of my time to obtaining what I feel represents actual evidence of the power of consciousness and its capability to exist outside the physical body.

Together, my mom and I have been collecting data on the phenomenon of EVPs. EVPs, or electronic voice phenomena, appear to represent communication from individuals who have crossed over to the other side. For lack of a better description, they are messages from ghosts or spirits that are imprinted on recording devices. The evidence has been compelling to say the least. And, I would have to agree with the consensus of most paranormal enthusiasts: the messages we’ve received appear to be coming from the “afterlife” or the astral plane. If you’re interested, all of our evidence is being posted in the Paranormal Video section at SOS.

So, where does that leave my theoretical and philosophical exploration at Wind of the Soul? I would have to say, it leaves it where it’s always been; it will all stay right here and when I feel inspired to share my feelings, I will absolutely create a new entry. I’ve never wanted my writing to feel forced and I’ve always refused to be a “chucker” type blogger, meaning I won’t post or throw something up just for the sake of posting – even if it causes people to visit this site less frequently.

So, the purpose of this entry was to update everyone on my recent activities during my absence, to thank you all for your wonderful gestures of kindness and to let you know you are more than welcome to get in touch with me regarding questions you may have on any of the subjects I’ve discussed. I look forward to communicating with you, both here and hopefully at SOS.

-I love you Jeff, and we miss you.-

Due to the growing amount of interest in my work on astral projection, I wrote this entry to share a few more of my thoughts on the subject. The following ten tips are a combination of topics I’ve yet to address and frequent questions I receive via email and messages. This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive:

1. OBE shortcuts? Just like any other form of achievement, experiencing astral projection consciously and soberly (minus the aid of any drug) takes consistent practice and work. There are no OBE shortcuts. Though I fell into astral projection “accidentally”, the experience is rarely (if ever) automatically there for the asking. The only exception to this is when I’m occasionally awakened by the vibrational state during a dream.

I still have to consistently practice if I want to have a fully conscious experience and even then, I may not encounter a projection. In roughly 99 out of 100 attempts, I only get as far as the pre-projection symptom stage. I don’t believe there is any strategy which will substitute for consistent practice of commonly known techniques. Astral projection techniques need to be routinely explored and tailored to fit the individual.

2. Out of body experiences aren’t a form of magic. While they absolutely contain the most amazing mystical feeling, they’re still a part of our conscious awareness. This awareness just happens to be in an altered state from that which we are primarily accustomed to experiencing. Robert Monroe (author of the “Journeys” Trilogy of books) said it best, when he described astral projection as a movement or shift along the spectrum of consciousness.

When we are focused on our physical body, we are experiencing one very specific point on the full spectrum of consciousness. Once we experience an altered state, such as astral projection, we are encountering another point along the spectrum. Who knows how many different ways and means are available to us for interpreting reality?

3. Out of Body or never in the body to begin with? This next point differs greatly from the ingrained concept of the soul or consciousness being seated within our physical vehicle. I don’t personally feel consciousness is contained by the body. I feel consciousness flows through the physical shell, but it’s not housed by it, as if it’s separate from all other things. For all intents and purposes, there’s no “out there” or “in here” – it’s all one gigantic flow of energy.

During many of my projections, I’ve received feedback, indicating out of body experiences are a journey deeper into consciousness and that very consciousness is all that exists. I feel OBE’s have less to do with becoming a displaced “ghost” and more to do with tuning into different aspects along the spectrum of consciousness (as mentioned in number 2). Retuning and shifting our interpretation of the web of interconnectivity is the primary function of projecting. We’re not trying to become a spectral traveler, but instead a communicator with the conscious cosmos.

4. Fear. Outside of what’s rummaging around in our own mind, there is absolutely nothing to be terrified of during astral projections. I know there are a slew of books that state otherwise, however, I never buy into new-age fear based talk.

One of the main themes in my writing is personal empowerment through exploration and getting outside the box. Though OBE’s seem far removed from the box of “normal” thinking; we still must move beyond another box – the one that exists in the metaphysical community. My personal exploration of the out of body state has never revealed anything that could pose a serious threat.

On the other hand, if someone has a pre-existing medical condition that can be seriously aggravated by fear or stress levels, then I highly recommend that person doesn’t attempt astral projection. While there’s nothing that can harm us, it’s still quite natural to experience a moderate degree of stress as the experience can feel so foreign and bizarre.

I’m not suggesting we journey into the astral state minus respect for the process. But it is helpful to understand we are the playwrights for the process. As FDR once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” That’s especially true of astral projection.

We can always address the fear of projecting with this thought: if death is an OBE with no return ticket, then we’re going to have to face it anyway. If projecting at death is inevitable for us all, then what could possibly be waiting to harm us?

5. OBE spying missions. There seems to be a major interest in using the out of body state as a means for spying or peeping at others. Far be it from me to suggest this is inappropriate. I’m not here to judge what people do, yet humankind already uses and manipulates one another in the worst way on the physical plane. Why would we want to take more of the same and apply it during beautiful, mind-expanding experiences? This is tantamount to camping at the most pristine location in nature and then throwing our garbage in the lake.

I believe astral projections provide us with the means to understand more about our capabilities and possibly even our origins. There are infinite opportunities to explore without attempting to use our time for trying to get the goods on someone else.

6. Astral sex. Sex in the out of body state is absolutely possible. Astral “sex” (from my experience) does not resemble its physical counterpart. It tends to feel more like an incredible exchange of energy or an electrified form of dance. For lack of a better way to describe it – I often equate it to having my energy “dipped into.”

Similar to using the out of body state for our own personal spying game, I don’t advise anyone to wander the astral plane hungrily looking for sex partners. The experience I had with so-called astral sex, happened naturally in a totally unassuming way. I’ll be discussing sex (both physically and out of the body) in future posts.

7. Out of body experiences and the brain. One of the arguments against the legitimacy of astral projection is that the experience is said to stem entirely from the brain. I don’t argue that point because I can’t say for certain if it does or doesn’t. Similarly, we can’t say for certain whether or not the entire physical experience isn’t just a simulation by the brain as well. Yet, we still fully believe physical reality is legitimate. The same holds true for the astral state.

Whether the brain creates the occurrence or not, OBE’s have an extremely valid, legitimate feeling associated with them. In my opinion, the brain is the linkup between our physical self and our awareness. It is not the source of awareness.

8. Astral projection and subjective reality. While I personally feel our external reality is more subjective than objective; out of body experiences are extremely subjective in nature. Your mood, attitude and mindset are responsible for shaping your experience, almost instantaneously.

You want to talk about thoughts becoming things – astral projection is the most thought responsive environment you’ll ever encounter next to the dream landscape. Though there does appear to be portions of the astral plane which are built by general consensus, your primary feelings will be responsible for coloring almost every aspect of your experience.

9. The myth of the silver cord. The silver cord is said to be the lifeline between the astral body and the physical body. If severed, the individual is thought to pass away during a projection.

I’ve never encountered a silver cord during any of my experiences. That doesn’t mean it’s not real, but my bet is that it falls under number 8. When we are dealing with an extremely belief/thought responsive experience, there are no hard-and-fast rules regarding descriptive characteristics. In other words, one person’s projection is never going to be exactly identical to another person’s.

10. Astral projection and god. Will we see god or any other religious or spiritual deity during a projection? This question also falls under number 8. Similar to the near death experience, if a spiritual avatar is encountered during an OBE, the avatar seems to be dependent upon the belief or faith of the individual: Christians find Christ, Muslims find Mohammed, Buddhists find Buddha, etc.

Not surprisingly, I’ve never met a well known spiritual teacher during my experiences. I personally believe all that exists is the physical and non-physical representation of the source awareness and there’s no separation between us and that which is referenced as god.

The beauty in these findings (both through astral projection and near death experiences): they should help teach us tolerance of the beliefs of others. If everyone is right, thanks to thought-responsive, subjective realities (especially in the “afterlife”), then no one can be wrong. I hope these ten thoughts and strategies help with your adventures into the out of body state. If you have further questions, you’re always welcome to contact me.

If this post has been beneficial, please consider sharing it via the links below the related posts section.

Posts Related to Out of Body Experiences

Q & A: Out of Body Experiences & Dream Symbols
Q & A: Out of Body Noises & Sensations
Astral Projection & the Big Bang
My Astral Experience With A Tribal Shaman
Experiences Out of the Body – Part 1
Experiences Out of the Body – Part 2

There are currently 106 blog posts contained at Wind of the Soul. The majority of these are devoted to encouraging the individual to follow their inner-wisdom, explore their creative passion, break free from the ranks of limiting social concepts/expectations and be wary of chasing external “happiness.” While I usually don’t post videos, I was so moved by this three minute and thirty second clip, I wanted to share it. In his 1999 speech, Terence McKenna captured the majority of my thoughts and feelings in the most concise and rapid manner I’ve ever witnessed.

Terence was a poetic genius and wordsmith who consistently stretched the concepts and paradigms of reality. Though he’s passed on, I’m sure his consciousness continues the journey down the rabbit hole, freeing more minds as he goes.

Whether you agree or disagree with McKenna (or me for that matter), the material is thought provoking and causes us to take a step back and examine our existence. Once we stop exploring; stop questioning; stop examining – that’s when we are in trouble.

I can’t vouch for the website featured at the end of the clip, as I’ve never been there, nor have I ordered any of their products.

This video can also be accessed by visiting the You Tube page.

Posts Related to Free Your Mind

Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization
Blazing Your Own Trail
Blazing Your Own Trail: the Techniques Part I
Intentionally Reclaiming Our Power
Evoking Change Through Uplifting Action

This installment features a narrative of the blog entry: It Takes a Conscious Village. The episode explores ways to become more conscious and aware during our interactions with children. It’s extremely important we take into consideration the impact our actions have on their development. It’s the development during their formative years which will shape their mindset as adults – in turn, creating an impact on all of society.

This episode’s running time is 6 minutes, 4 seconds and file size for download is 5.56 MB. It can be played via the embedded player in the Audio section, or on your computer’s media player by following this link, or in the embedded You Tube player below. Thanks for joining me for this installment. I appreciate the continued feedback regarding the Wind of the Soul Podcast Series.

Posts Related to It Takes a Conscious Village

8 Tips for Achieving a More Secure Peaceful State of Mind
Evoking Change Through Uplifting Action
Forgiving our Past: Key to Unlocking a Joyful Present
Releasing Attachments to Judgmental Labels
Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization
Universal Law of Reciprocation

By now, you’ve probably figured out I’m primarily a nonconformist when it comes to my views on personal development, concepts pertaining to metaphysics and life in general. Some of the traditional teachings in these areas of thought resonate with me, but overall, I tend to be more of an independent thinker. This is why the whole theme of Wind of the Soul pertains to following your own guidance, not someone else’s, no matter their clout or level of so called expertise.

I intend for my writing to stand as a reminder; a sign post of sorts along the way. It’s not meant to be a rule book of tired, old, cookie cutter self-help strategies. I would never expect anyone to follow my thoughts or ideas as a code to live by, nor would I want them to. Because of that, my work may not be the most popular, but I’m not trying to win any contests here.

We learn nothing when we follow someone else’s rules. Sure, we become skilled at being “good little citizens/robots” who hope to make our parents, teachers, spouses, friends, employers, country (and let’s not forget about god) proud. But most good little citizens end up unhappy because they’ve spent a lifetime ignoring their own voice and beating down their own inner calling. Often times, they’ve convinced themselves that the desire to change for the “better” is their own, when in actuality it’s stemming from those around them.

Our greatest experiences come when we get outside of living under policies and guidelines, no matter who dictates them. This is when we finally become capable of learning who we are. Now, I’m not at all advocating a life of delinquency or treating people like dirt – I’m talking about getting out from under someone else’s rules as they pertain to our spiritual development, our personal expansion and the course of our life.

So, what does it mean to grow in your groove? Growing in your groove is everything I mentioned in the above paragraphs. Specifically, for the purpose of this entry, however, it pertains to seeing beyond the often cliché advice of breaking out of our comfort zones.

While exposing ourselves to uncomfortable situations can contribute to our growth as well as having new experiences, my problem with people always teaching this concept is, it fails to take into consideration we are all unique. There’s not one individual on this planet who interprets life in the exact same manner as another. When we enter into any experience with the assumption it’s fairly identical for everyone, no matter what, we’re completely off course.

I believe there is a current or a flow to each of our lives. Anytime we force ourselves or challenge ourselves to do something we really have no interest in doing (all for the sake of supposedly overcoming our fear), we are fighting against that flow.

Now, if you have a desire to follow a pursuit, but you feel trepidation about taking action, then extending outside your comfort level is great. However, I don’t believe we should ever take action toward something we have no interest in pursuing, simply because others are pressuring us into doing so.

My dad was in the military, so I spent all of my childhood challenging my levels of comfort. In fourteen years of public school (counting pre-kindergarten) I attended twelve different schools – talk about living in an almost constant state of discomfort and anxiety.

I tend to be more of an artistic, creative, sensitive individual. Each and every time I have worked to break out of my comfort zones, my creativity and my natural abilities become stifled for weeks to months at a time. Only after some semblance of comfort (stability) once again returns, do I feel able to be myself.

For me, my groove is all about maintaining a fairly stable lifestyle (within reason). I grow and thrive in relative stability, not in undesired challenges. In stability I’m more in tune, grounded and aware. My creativity flows and I’m at one with my surroundings. In spiritual terms, I consider these conditions optimal for nurturing growth.

I believe the same can be observed in nature. Of course, nature goes through major upheavals in which everything is out of its comfort zone for a length of time, but as that happens – most things in the affected niche aren’t flourishing. It takes an indefinite period of calm and serenity for many living things to thrive in their natural environment.

I don’t resist change. I understand change to be an integral part of life and the evolution of the Universe. However, I’ve found the more simplistic I keep my life, the better suited I am to embrace change.

For others, they may thrive by constantly piling challenges upon themselves and placing themselves far outside their comfort zones, but we aren’t all that way. Get in touch with your unique nature and never, ever allow anyone to define how that should be for you – not even me.

If it feels good to you, then follow it, if it doesn’t – forget about it. Learn to respect others and their right to either grow in their groove, outside their groove or to simply just groove, minus any major growth. There’s never been one right way to get to where you’re going and there never will be.

Posts Related to Grow in Your Groove: Comfort Zones

Spiritual Hermits
Spiritual Winds of Change
Moving Beyond Fear
Blazing Your Own Trail
Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization

This installment features a narrative of the blog entry: Economic Recession = Rebirth. The episode explores the ability, afforded to us by financial downturn, to reconnect with purposeful, conscious action and intrinsic value. By reconnecting and becoming more conscious, we stop reacting and we lessen our dependence on external items and circumstances for sustaining or inspiring our happiness.

This episode’s running time is 8 minutes, 25 seconds and file size for download is 7.71 MB. It can be played on your computer’s media player by following this link, or via the embedded player in the Audio section, or in the embedded You Tube player below. Thanks for joining me for this installment. I appreciate the continued feedback regarding the Wind of the Soul Podcast Series.

Many years ago, when confronted by the question, “Are you happy?” I distinctly recall my reaction. Though the individual posing it was being completely sincere, I felt it was a ludicrous thing to ask. How could something so simple seem like such a strange query? As she awaited a response; my mind, only partially aware of the ever increasing lull in the conversation, was desperately trying to piece together some semblance of a reply. I stumbled around a bit and timidly answered with, “I guess”. After that, the rest of the exchange was a blur.

Looking back on it now, I understand why I reacted in that manner. It was a subtle form of shock. There I was, in my early twenties, never having contemplated whether or not I was truly happy at the deepest level of my being. In fact, up until that point, I don’t think I even considered happiness an option or an emotion associated with living life. Sure, I had fleeting moments of joy, but real, concrete happiness always seemed to be a nice fantasy reserved for someone else.

For me, life at that point had become completely unintentional. I lived to get things done and that was that. I was working and going to college, but all of my experiences were devoid of passion, drive, purpose, clarity and meaning.

Other than the emotion of fear, I had little reason to get out of bed in the morning. Fear and anxiety became my sole motivators for living. I stayed at a job where I was underpaid and under appreciated because of the fear of trying something new. I went to school, not for myself or because I enjoyed it, but because I was scared of what my family would think if I didn’t go and terrified of what would become of me without a degree.

I engaged in one unhealthy relationship after another because I was fearful of having something worthwhile and someone who honestly cared about me. My relationships (both friendly and romantic) were a reflection of how I felt about myself on the inside. I didn’t believe I was worthy of sincerely being cared for in anything more than a superficial manner, so I found people who were more than willing to oblige and second that sentiment.

Even my exercise program was driven by fear. I worked out to the point of seriously injuring myself on more than one occasion (through extreme forms of weight training) because I was fearful of the alternative: looking “normal” or “average.”

When you have an extremely rigid, fear based mentality, concerning the majority of your interactions and experiences, it’s easy to see how someone can become cynical and devoid of joy. While I wasn’t super successful in terms of material gain and financial wealth, during this phase in my life, I did obtain many of the things we’ve been led to believe induce happiness, yet I was far from living in that state of being.

The “happiness question” planted a seed within me. Though it didn’t sprout overnight, to this day it continues to be the inspiration for everything I pursue in my life. Real, concrete happiness is a state of being which can only be internally realized (not possessed) through the lack of attachment to any outcomes or circumstances, but it has to begin with a realization. I believe that realization is the moment we grant ourselves permission to feel, explore and find out who we are; not the person our family, friends, co-workers, customers, or even strangers expect us to be, but who we are.

If we aren’t granting ourselves permission to explore our true nature, then the majority of our relationships are built on false pretenses anyway. How often do we play a deceptive role or diminish ourselves just to fit in or to make someone else feel content and not threatened by our choices?

When exploring this concept, I’m reminded of a quote by Nelson Mandela:

“Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of god that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people the permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I was miserable because I was conforming to what others expected of me; primarily trying to please people who didn’t care about me; trying to entice people to care about me who were as devoid of joy and meaning as I was; performing unfulfilling tasks for empty paychecks; engaging in pursuits I derived no value from, and attaching myself to every outcome and circumstance – all because I was unable to grant myself permission to find my true nature and break free from the fearful role I was playing. I conformed and played the part I was expected to play, while becoming little more than a scared, twisted-up-knot of misery.

Our light doesn’t shine when we “play the game” that’s expected of us. The game itself is built on fear and the system thrives (while the majority of humanity suffers) as we are playing small and in fear mode. Our light shines when we grant ourselves permission to tear down the walls of conformity; when we take chances; when we throw the rules out the window and grow through self-exploration and unique, individual expression.

None of this is meant to be an excuse to treat others poorly. As we begin to engage in a sincere, honest relationship with ourselves, all of our other relationships will benefit because we will be truly connecting. Some relationships may fall away, but that’s only natural as we grow and make major life changes.

Each and every stage of growth begins with that first step of granting ourselves permission. And, each and every stage of moving closer to recognizing real happiness begins with the same step.

If this entry has been beneficial to you, please consider sharing it with others via the email and social bookmarking links below.

Posts Related to Granting Yourself Permission

Believing in Yourself
Blazing Your Own Trail
Self Truths: Part 1
Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization
Realizing Your Purpose

Last night, as part of a regular series called “Jessica’s Interactive Report”, Wind of the Soul was featured on Albuquerque’s Fox news affiliate – KASA 2. The report highlights a variety of bloggers’ sites from New Mexico and around the internet. After receiving my email, Jessica Garate was kind enough to add Wind of the Soul to the segment. You can check out the Interactive Report in the embedded player below – a huge thanks to Jessica and KASA 2.

Anyone familiar with the proverb (or Hillary Clinton’s 1996 book): “It takes a village to raise a child”, will recognize my play on words in the title of this entry. While I don’t have children of my own, the psychological well-being during a child’s formative years is a cause that’s very close to my heart. I suffered with severe forms of depression, obsessions and compulsions throughout my childhood. It’s a child’s development, for better or worse, which will continue to impact them throughout the remainder of their lives, far beyond their formative years. I know, because I’m still working on healing my past.

I often talk about changing the world. If it’s true we must be the change we want to see, and I believe it is; shouldn’t that change be directed primarily towards the youngest of minds, as they will come to have the greatest impact on the direction of humanity?

The majority of psychological issues faced by most adults were exacerbated during their childhood. The sad fact: as a nation, the United States has more children with mental health issues than ever before. I’m not talking about institutionalized conditions. I’m talking about “common”, “ordinary” issues like depression, eating disorders, emotional issues, body dysmorphia, etc. If our ways of raising, educating and socializing children are working so well, why are we seeing an increase in psychological trauma?

The argument could be made that we now have more forms of communication which create a heightened sense of awareness about such issues. It also could be said doctors are label happy when it comes to making a diagnosis. While these factors could be contributing to the perceived increase, there still seems to be legitimacy to the statistics. Children are experiencing far more emotional and psychological anguish in their lives than ever before.

I believe the true cause of this resides in “our village” moving farther away from taking conscious, uplifting action as it raises children. We’re all hell bent for leather on taking action this way and that way, but how many times does that action reflect the greater good of the child?

How often are the actions we take primarily for forwarding our own blind agendas, instead of relating to children as human beings and taking into consideration their input? How often do we focus on their perceived shortcomings, instead of providing positive reinforcement of their strengths? How often does our educational system treat them like numbers or cattle, herding them through the system and stuffing uninspired curriculum down their throats? How often are they treated like property, instead of like little people who simply haven’t had a wide range of experiences?

How often is it believed they are resilient and will recover from anything because they are kids? How often do we assume they are similar to one another, regarding how they relate to life and their perceptions of the world? How often do we sell their potential short when it comes to the insights they possess? How often do we teach them to have a competitive mindset? How often do we teach them happiness is only achieved externally? How often does the educational system relate to them as “recruits” who need to be broken so they will conform?

I’m not suggesting we do away with discipline or educating children; though these two areas, as they currently stand, need large amounts of reform and change. I am suggesting we set an example in which we treat them in the exact same manner we would want to be treated. Is it that difficult to let love provide the way in which we “allow” our children to grow and flourish while we simultaneously raise them, whether we are parents, educators, coaches or mentors?

I’m suggesting we’re present with them and we be there for them in the moment (when the moment is available). I’m suggesting we allow them to feel their true feelings, instead of teaching them to bottle everything up inside and to push it all down. I’m suggesting we help them to understand how to empower themselves through feeling their emotions. I’m suggesting we show them how to lift up others instead of beating them down.

I’m suggesting we help them to understand the impact their actions can have, without always resorting to heavy handed punishments. I’m suggesting we teach by example, how to sincerely connect, instead of being fragmented and scatter brained. I’m suggesting we set an example of living life through honesty and sincerity instead of living a life based on false pretenses.

I’m suggesting we allow them to follow their own unique calling (at home and in school), rather than overlaying our own expectations about their future. I’m suggesting, more often than not, we allow them to be and we appreciate them for who they are without requiring any outcome. I’m suggesting we celebrate the unique beings that they each are. And most importantly, I’m suggesting we learn to truly love ourselves, so we can show them how to give love, accept love and be love.

This, I believe, is how our village can become more consciously connected when it comes to raising children.

While these suggestions are not cures, they would go a long way in helping our youth to once again value who they are and to know their self-worth.

If this entry has been beneficial to you, please consider sharing it with others via the email and social bookmarking links below.

Posts Related to It Takes a Conscious Village

Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization
Blazing Your Own Trail
Blazing Your Own Trail: the Techniques Part I
Intentionally Reclaiming Our Power
8 Tips for Achieving a More Secure Peaceful State of Mind
Releasing Attachments to Judgmental Labels

Have you ever had an experience in which you honestly felt you weren’t fully responsible for making the decision or the choice to engage in a set of circumstances or an event – it just sort of slipped up on you? This line of thinking is not my normal approach with regards to taking full responsibility for everything in our lives. However, I’m willing to entertain such a thing because I felt something similar regarding my “choice” of becoming a vegetarian in 2008.

Prior to this last year, I had always been a meat eater. That’s not a fact I’m proud of, but it’s something I’m willing to admit. Though I was raised in a household where my mom was a vegetarian, I still consumed meat. Even after embarking on the path of becoming more consciously aware and respectful of all living things, I continued to consume meat.

The contradiction in that last sentence should have been obvious to me at some point, but it wasn’t. Just like so many of the issues I’ve had to face in becoming more self-actualized, my “taste” for meat (as a young adult) was motivated by my own issues of low self-esteem.

As a teenager, I was constantly teased for being painfully thin. This situation only compounded an already burgeoning state of insecurity. By age 18, I began a very serious bodybuilding and weight training hobby, with the hopes of shedding my old appearance. I had grown to hate the body I saw in the mirror and was willing to do almost anything to permanently alter or change it, even if it meant hurting myself in the process. My motto was: “I can’t do anything about my face, but I can certainly do something to fix my body” – somewhat empowering, yet simultaneously self defeating, wouldn’t you say?

Because of my strong desire to outgrow my old body, I began devouring any and all bodybuilding literature, videos, conversations in the gym, etc. Everything pointed in the same direction with regards to a muscle building diet: animal protein and more animal protein. I submersed myself in the lifestyle and lost sight of the consequences of my actions. While this post isn’t about body image (that’s coming up in a future entry), it’s important to point out how easy it is to make unconscious decisions when we’re suffering emotionally. The dietary habits I formed during that decade of self-destructive bodybuilding had become ingrained. Throughout my late twenties and early thirties I continued to eat meat.

However, in 2008, this practice came to a screeching halt. While I’ve been completely aware of the vegan and vegetarian lifestyle for years, my personal change had nothing to do with intentionally emulating these admirable actions (at least it didn’t feel that way). I don’t actually know how to explain the manner in which I became a vegetarian. This takes me back to my statement in the opening paragraph: I didn’t feel fully responsible for making the decision.

I woke up one day, and it was as if my taste buds for meat had been removed. It began with beef in March of last year and worked its way down the list of the other animals (e.g. chicken and fish) I was consuming. Honestly, I attribute this change to absolutely following the wind of my soul, whether I was aware of it or not.

Based on my current path, becoming a vegetarian was the next logical step in my development and evolution. It appears “something” knew that better than I did. Feel free to call it whatever you like: a subconscious motivation, a conscious choice that I chose to overlook, or some form of soulful intervention; all I know is that I’m currently far more satisfied with my food choices, by no longer being responsible for contributing to the slaughter of animals. My dietary intake still includes large amounts of protein, but they now come in the form of protein powders, dairy and soy based products only.

I’m not here to judge anyone’s choices when it comes to eating or not eating meat. Just as I had to go through my own experience of waking up, so will others and I respect that.

However, in closing this post, I will leave you with this concept: if an animal is killed in a violent manner (name a slaughterhouse in which that’s not the case) and a person chooses to eat its meat – that same animal’s molecules are melding with the molecules of the individual; this includes everything the animal felt, coursing through its veins, at the moment of death.

We compound the poisoning of our own vibrational state, by first killing and then eating that which has been violently killed. Yet, if we’re already in a place of psychologically poisoning ourselves on a daily basis, what other actions would be fitting to take, if not those which mirror our own internal turmoil? I’m not defending the killing or carnivorous action; only understanding the lack of awareness in why it’s committed, because I used to be there.

If you enjoyed this post or found it beneficial, please consider sharing it with others. Thanks for supporting Wind of the Soul.

If you’ve looked at the sidebar lately (to the left, about a quarter of the way down), you’ve noticed I’m including an rss feed from Twitter. I was inspired to include it after seeing Steve Pavlina’s updates in his blog. Thanks for the idea Steve. Twitter is a sort of micro or mini-blogging and social networking service. People gather there for a variety of reasons, but the catch is you only have 140 characters to state your business. Basically, it’s a way of talking about what you’re currently doing in short snippets.

Initially, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it, but after being pretty long winded in my blog posts, it’s nice to be a lot less so. Each day, I try to include a Twitter update of what I’m doing, along with sprinkling in some of my own feelings and ideas on reality, consciousness, and my journey through life.

After being on Twitter for about a week, and enjoying the format, I got to thinking, “Why only blog fairly lengthy posts at Wind of the Soul?” “Why not make smaller, even more consistent posts, and just add in some lengthier, meatier selections when I feel like it?” So, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. If I can leave shorter, more concise tidbits of my own inner feelings on spirituality and self-help at Twitter, then I can surely do the same thing right here. Relatively speaking, many posts are going to be small, but they will still be a lot larger than 140 characters.

I’d love to have you as a friend or Twitter “follower” (I don’t like that term) as they’re called. If you’re interested, please check out the Wind of the Soul Twitter Page.

The Conversations With God Giveaway has closed. I’d like to congratulate Steven Labella of San Diego, California, Kirk Ray of Florida, and Ryan Brenny of Hilo, Hawaii. They each won a brand new copy of “Conversations With God.”

“I am not concerned about your worldly success – only you are. You are not to worry about making a living. True masters are those that have chosen to make a life, not a living. Go ahead, do whatever you really love. Do nothing else. You have so little time. Why would you want to waste it doing something you don’t want to do? That isn’t a living – it’s a dying.” – Neale Donald Walsch, “Conversations With God”

The above quote is one of my favorites from the film and it brings us to the second Wind of the Soul giveaway. In this second installment, I’m giving three brand new DVD copies of Conversations With God to three separate winners.

The film, directed by the Co-founder of Spiritual Cinema Circle, was meant to be a screen adaptation of the series of best selling books by the same name. Though the movie doesn’t represent the unfolding of the books – it does impart much of the same spiritual wisdom, as we follow Neale (played by Henry Czerny) through some extremely turbulent experiences.

Neale, like so many of us, prior to discovering the connection to his own divine nature, unconsciously battles his way through life. He has to scrape rock bottom before discovering the inner knowledge, which leads him out of the depths of his despair. And, that’s why this movie is so endearing to me. Granted, it has some very sad and depressing sequences, but the ultimate realization and self-awakening is what’s so inspirational.

Whether or not Neale was/is truly conversing with “God” in a verifiable way is a nonissue for me. If we are capable of quieting the mind and recognizing the creative, energetic, consciousness which flows through us, then in essence we are all conversing constantly with our own inner god or goddess. It’s up to us what we choose to do with those conversations. Neale chose to apply them in a manner which created benefit and value in his own life as well as the lives of millions of others.

Each of us has the same option. It’s up to us if we wish to allow it to work toward that which is most beneficial and advantageous for ourselves and humankind. This shouldn’t be motivated by or stem from a standpoint of following a contrived set of rules, but rather from the perspective of feeling for the inner dialogue which is most fulfilling, loving, nurturing, uplifting and translating it into action. To me, that’s what conversing with god and living life as creative, expansive beings is all about.

I wish all the best to everyone who enters.

Please, only one entry per household. Duplicate entries from the same IP will be deleted. This helps to make it fairer for everyone. There’s no catch here, everything is free – including payment of shipping and handling of “Conversations With God” – I cover all costs. To be entered, all you have to do is leave a comment below, signifying your interest.

Depending upon the volume of entries, comments may only be displayed under this post for a short time. As entries grow, I may remove comments from the post to make it easier for visitors to scroll to the comment box and enter.

When leaving a comment, be sure to include your correct email address. Each winner of “Conversations With God” will be contacted through the address that’s registered with their comment. I will never share email addresses, provided by entrants, with any third parties and you’ll never receive unsolicited mail when entering.

The Conversations With God contest will end at 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on March 28th, 2009. All legitimate entries will then be assigned a number. Three numbers will be randomly drawn to determine the winners.

All three winners will then be notified, via the email addresses they provided, no later than March 30th. If one, or all three don’t respond (with their shipping information) within a week, then one (two or three) more number(s) will be drawn to determine the new winner(s).

If this post has been helpful to you, please consider sharing it with others. Thank you for supporting Wind of the Soul.

If you would like to see your spiritual or self-help business promoted through Wind of the Soul and you have some appropriately themed items to distribute in a giveaway, please contact me.

Posts Related to Conversations With God

The Evolution of Spirituality
Ineffable States of Enlightenment
Discovering the Truths of Your Existence
The Intelligent Mind of All That Is
Our Conscious Origin

Though, I’m a huge advocate of being vigilant concerning where we place the majority of our attention, I also understand the importance of being aware of the current economic reality facing this nation. I’m not an economist, nor do I pretend to have the slightest grasp of fiscal expertise. But, perhaps I possess something else which qualifies me to write this post: I’ve had an experience with a situation that’s currently happening to many people. And, in my opinion, I represent a real world example of coming out the other side better off for having experienced it.

Seven and a half years ago, I was displaced from my job of almost a decade (along with roughly one thousand others) when my employer filed for bankruptcy. We were union; I was vested and building on a decent little pension, not to mention having amazing medical, dental and vision coverage. My hourly rate of pay was almost five times that of minimum wage (in 2001).

Due to the great benefits and the literal amount of blood sweat and tears I had invested in my position, I was devastated when our location was unable to escape a wave of closures that rocked the company. There were “rescue” buyout negotiations occurring all around us, yet we weren’t among those being saved.

Furthermore, our fate wasn’t strictly decided in a corporate boardroom. We were also at the mercy of a judge. He ruled in favor of allocating all of the funds earmarked for employee severance packages (mine was worth several thousand dollars) to two individuals brought in by the corporate office. They each cleaned up with close to a quarter of a million for “helping” the company stay afloat for an additional two or three months – so much for doing right by the employees who had helped sustain the company for years.

The weeks following my layoff, initially, were extremely dark and depressing, yet somewhere within the somber mood I recognized that the situation afforded me with a fantastic opportunity to begin anew. Though I had gained great experience from my job and could have probably found a position rather quickly in the same line of work, I realized I wasn’t being fulfilled by that form of employment. I also began to realize I wasn’t living up to my potential, based on my own natural abilities.

Sure, I was surviving, but I was no where near experiencing the feeling of thriving at work or in life. I wasn’t passionate about my choice of vocation, nor did I feel I was providing the type of benefit and service I was truly capable of providing. Deep down, I knew I wasn’t doing something that was important to me – making a major difference in people’s lives.

Though I always gave 110% during my shifts, my talents were being stifled by staying onboard. The company’s Chapter 11 issues couldn’t have come at a better time. The closures forced my hand into taking action. I had reached what I felt was the first major crossroads of my life and it was time for me to choose the path less taken; the one that existed just outside my proverbial comfort zones.

When we, as individuals or as a collective group, experience drastic changes like those accompanying a massive layoff or a nationwide recession, it’s always an opportunity for the individual, as well as the group, to rebirth and reinvent itself. And, while I’m sure there are a million and one surface reasons being put forth to explain why this economic recession has occurred; I believe none of these explanations address the core cause.

A surface issue is always the physical development of that which is brewing deeper within the psyche of an organism. In the case of a recession, the organism just happens to be an entire nation. Inner turmoil (be it consciously or subconsciously) always leads to the external manifestation of choices and options. It’s up to us as to how we choose to respond to the current situation facing this country. We can either consciously act or unconsciously react.

For years, the collective American psyche, predominantly, has selected external accumulation, status and achievement over internal happiness (a form of unconsciously reacting to social conditioning) or else has mistakenly confused these things with happiness. This mentality has helped usher in the all too common physical practice of short changing fellow human beings, in terms of services rendered, for a shoddy, often times overpriced and even unnecessary, end product or outcome.

The more we devalue our own existence through a gluttonous, achievement/status only mindset, whether as suppliers or consumers, we develop a belief in needing to acquire more and more of what we feel is an extremely limited set of resources. Not only are we potentially hurting others, but we are also hurting ourselves by living or functioning outside our means, spiritually and/or financially. As we begin to selfishly pursue and acquire more “things”, we simultaneously find more ways to cheat one another in order to continue acquiring even more.

Ultimately, a nationwide, financial downturn is actually society’s way of unconsciously restoring balance. On the surface it seems like an extremely horrible thing, but I believe there is absolutely a method to what seems like total madness.

Internally and emotionally speaking, I believe a financial crisis occurs because of a loss in faith – not faith in money – but faith in one another. When we no longer trust the majority of those that are providing their services, we become fearful and we constrict our energy flow. This energy flow can be represented in many ways, money being one of them. Unfortunately, some that are providing a true increase in life, through their services, may also be impacted along the way. However, I believe, they will weather the storm or even potentially thrive because they have made valuable service their priority. This is exactly why certain individuals thrived during the great depression. They didn’t excel because they were shrewd, they excelled because they were sincere in their pursuit of service.

It’s for good reason, during times of economic crisis, that people invariably bring themselves back to an awareness of only focusing on what truly matters, e.g. the necessities in life. As we get back to the basics and we focus on necessity, it naturally brings us to a better understanding of intrinsic value. This is what helps lead us to our rebirth and reinvention, if we can eventually see it in that manner.

When we zero in on what really matters (our relationship with our self, our families, our friendships, and our health) and we strip away the rest of the material fluff, we come back to a true understanding of what it means to be joyful for the sake of being joyful. This place of being happy and whole, for the sake of being is what allows us to consciously act instead of reacting to our current circumstances, whether we’re prospering or not.

As I have always stated in a large percentage of my posts – there is absolutely nothing wrong with being extremely wealthy or acquiring possessions. It’s when these things are pursued at the expense of developing our own amazing potential for being loving, joyful, peaceful beings (internally and externally) that we encounter an imbalance.

When we all find the means to channel these beautiful emotions, along with our relative resources and physical talents, into a way for sincerely providing valuable, worthwhile, uplifting service (a form of taking conscious action for the greater good), I believe economic recessions, on a grand scale, could be a thing of the past. Whether they become extinct or not, if you begin living more consciously and sincerely (acting instead of reacting) and you consistently provide and invest your resources in real service for others, you’ll weather any financial storm and even better, you’ll help others do the same.

Related Posts

The Magic of Giving
8 Tips for Achieving a More Secure Peaceful State of Mind
Evoking Change through Uplifting Action
Believing in Yourself
Spiritual Winds of Change

This episode is an audio narration of my latest blog entry, Evoking Change through Uplifting Action. It covers embracing internal love, peace and acceptance, for the purpose of following through with uplifting, life-changing physical action. It’s this action which leads to profound personal (as well as global) change.

You can access this episode in several ways: through the audio section’s player, the embedded You Tube players below, or via the following link: Episode #10.

“Evoking Change through Uplifting Action” runs for 12 minutes and 35 seconds. File size for download is 11.5 MB.

Part I

Part II

As is customary for me, when PBS goes into pledge drive mode, my TV spends more time on than it does off. During these pledge drives, you’ll find public television airing more personal development and spiritually based programming. Several days ago, they featured a self-help seminar, titled: The Traveler’s Gift, by Andy Andrews. I first became aware of Andy through his book, Storms of Perfection, in which he shared the personal success stories (which stemmed from the repeated “failures” and persistent drive) of many well known celebrities, athletes and business people.

The point of Andy’s PBS special was to reinforce the idea that each and every one of our actions, no matter how trivial they seem, create an impact; not only in our life but in the lives of so many others – even to the point of reaching future generations.

As Andy stated, “There are generations yet unborn, whose existence depends on the choices you make and the action you take. Because everything you do matters – every move you make, every action you take; not just for you; not just for your family or hometown – everything you do matters for all of us, forever.”

After shutting off the television, I began feeling for how Andy’s words resonated with me and how I’m applying them in my own life:

When we take any action, it not only has a direct impact on that which we are acting upon, but it also has an impact upon unknown or unseen (to us) variables, far removed from our immediate vicinity. For example, let’s take a look at a small derogatory action, such as someone throwing the finger to a fellow driver in traffic.

We assume a gesture such as that only has a direct, relevant impact in that very short moment in time. Rarely do we contemplate the kind of negative momentum that action may create in the life of the recipient, and in the lives of each individual the recipient comes into contact with after that moment, and in turn, each person those people come into contact with. Such a simple gesture can affect the mood and mindset of an individual in a manner far greater than we realize and that mood and mindset will determine their follow-up actions towards others. During the course of a single event, our activities have the potential to impact anywhere from a handful of people to thousands or even millions.

Every one of our actions and deeds creates a ripple effect throughout humanity and the Universe itself, sometimes enacting small outcomes, and at other times enacting greater ones, but the point is they all create an impact and they all count. When we take that into consideration, it becomes more important to consistently perform more conscious acts.

It may seem silly to think something as insignificant as gesturing with our middle finger can change the course of events for a multitude of individuals, but that (in a way) is exactly what it does. You see, the web of existence is so interconnected and intertwined that there is not one single action or deed which can escape causing an impact in our lives and in the lives of so many others. Everything was designed that way for a very good reason: to show us just how our choices can either benefit us greatly as we recognize and promote our unity, or else how they can harm us immensely as we react from a fear based belief in separation.

So, we have to ask ourselves, are the majority of our actions spurring on something positive in others or are they eliciting the opposite response? Of course, we each have to take responsibility for our deeds. Just because we perform a rude gesture doesn’t grant the recipient of that gesture cart blanche for treating anyone they encounter badly. But, it does need to make us more conscientious of our own behavior, whether we are the recipient or the giver. And, once we understand this principle and how far reaching it can be, we owe it to ourselves and others to be more conscientious. Another beautiful thing about embracing this knowledge is the fact we naturally become less reactive (more on this later) when we are on the receiving end of a rude gesture or unkind act.

Coming to the understanding of this concept was not difficult for me, but actually knowing it in my core has taken a while longer; not because I didn’t care about what I did to others, but, because I spent many years not caring about myself. I used to suffer from extremely low self-esteem. As a child, it was so bad; I heavily identified with the character Little Jackie Paper from “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

That may sound sort of humorous, but in essence, I felt paper thin and ineffective, so I assumed my actions and deeds counted for very little and had almost no impact on anyone else. This assumption was derived from my own internal views and judgments about my worth. Since I didn’t care about myself, how could I assume someone so “unimportant” could ever impact others (who I believed to be more alive and consequential)?

Developing an understanding, regarding the impact and brevity of the actions we take, is a natural byproduct of learning to love and respect ourselves and appreciate who we are. Our actions can only be as beneficial or as detrimental as the beliefs we retain in our internal landscape. As we strive to experience more internal growth, through self-love, forgiveness and understanding, we will naturally feel the desire to primarily perform positive external acts and deeds; not because it’s “right” or in abidance with social or religious law, but because it feels natural. In fact, it will become second nature to us, without trying to force it or even having to think about it because it will be a reflection of who we are internally.

Taking positive, impactful action is not about being a people pleaser or doing it for attention. Performing “good” deeds to please others or to show off and garner praise also stems from an inner place of doubting our own value. Performing uplifting, life affirming action should come from a place of truly wanting to make a difference and help others, while simultaneously respecting yourself.

One of my favorite lines from the book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior states: “A [peaceful] warrior acts, only a fool reacts.” The same can be said of creating positive action. If we are already in the internal place of peace and love, then we will act without being prompted (from social pressure) into doing so. People pleasing and performing good deeds for attention are not conscious action; they’re an unconscious reaction propelled by the fear of not fitting in or not feeling worthy of the attention we hope to gain from those we are trying to please. The same can be said of performing a negative or vengeful, detrimental deed – it’s not an action, but a reaction from a very fearful place.

As I speak of making a positive impact, I’m not necessarily referring to huge gestures. They can be extremely small, yet extremely effective. Just as something as seemingly miniscule as throwing the finger can negatively impact others in a big way; a smile, wave, pat on the back or a kind, sincere word can have a pronounced, beneficial impact on the life of the recipient and the lives of those he or she comes into contact with. Imagine the sort of change we would see if each of us received and passed on that type of interaction, with everyone on a daily basis.

Most people think it’s ridiculous to assume each one of us can actually change the world through caring, uplifting gestures (both big and small). I’ll say this: it takes just as much (if not less) physical effort to generate a beneficial act as it does to carry out an action full of anger or hate. The amount of effort required is not what’s preventing us from completely shifting the current world paradigm at the grand scale. Nor is the change slow in coming because we are pinned down by a lack of sufficient supplies.

Everything we need to accomplish this goal already exists in abundant quantity (be it material items or our own kind words). The woman/man power is there. The resources are there. The infrastructures are there. What’s missing is the internal decision (on the part of each person) to move toward that which is represented by love, peace and an uplifting spirit. If we choose to not be internally responsible for how we feel about ourselves and others – as it’s represented by the actions we take – we will never see beneficial change in our own lives or in the planet at large. It all starts from within.

The size of the gesture is a relative thing. If we each do what we can (and then just a little bit more) from where we are, the rest will take care of itself. That’s the beauty in this interconnected web of existence.

Andy Andrews is absolutely right – “…everything you do matters – every move you make, every action you take; not just for you; not just for your family or hometown – everything you do matters for all of us, forever.”

Posts Related to Uplifting Action

Forgiving our Past: Key to Unlocking a Joyful Present
Universal Law of Reciprocation
The Magic of Giving
8 Tips for Achieving a More Secure Peaceful State of Mind

The Louise Hay: You Can Heal Your Life giveaway has closed. I’d like to congratulate Bonnie of Redding, California and Melissa of Oakdale, Minnesota. They each won the extended edition copy of You Can Heal Your Life. Don’t forget to check the Uplifting Prizes section, in the sidebar, for ongoing giveaways of self-help and spiritual items.

It’s been six months since Wind of the Soul first went online. And, ever since its inception, I’ve been planning to host uplifting giveaways. However, for a variety of reasons, the timing didn’t seem right, so I kept putting the project off. Well yesterday, while viewing Louise Hay’s movie, You Can Heal Your Life, I felt the urge to begin. Anytime I’m positively impacted by that visceral or gut feeling, I follow it.

This first giveaway features two DVD sets of You Can Heal Your Life: The Extended Edition to be given to two separate winners. The extended edition contains four hours of additional interview footage not included in the original version of the film.

You Can Heal Your Life follows a young woman along her journey to reinvent herself through the harnessing of her thoughts and actions. Her trials, tribulations and ultimate successes are mirrored in the dialogue of several spiritual and self-help teachers, throughout the film, including Louise Hay.

Along her path, she’s presented with opportunities, in the form of uplifting messages printed on index cards. Each card contains a piece of wisdom meant to embolden her spirit. The cards concentrate on three key points: change, forgiveness and love. The movie also outlines seven major steps for healing your life: the internal landscape of change, affirmations, challenges you may face along the path, testing the depth of your commitment, forgiveness, the hidden treasures at the center of yourself and learning to accept with gratitude.

I can honestly say I enjoyed the entire film immensely, but my favorite parts were when the speakers touched on the difficulties they’ve overcome in their own lives. I always find such stories to be inspiring and extremely uplifting.

While the movie features noted teachers like Wayne Dyer, Gregg Braden, and Esther Hicks; I was particularly drawn to the philosophies of several of the “lesser known” individuals, like Elon Bonami and Cheryl Richardson.

Cheryl made this poignant statement at one point in the film: “We all go through an evolutionary process, in our growth, where we start out wishing and hoping and believing the Universe is like Santa Claus. And, all you have to do is write your list up and you get what you want. But there’s a commitment to consciousness and action that’s necessary to be able to manifest the things that we affirm or we intend.”

Another great quote from the film was by Doreen Virtue: “People don’t realize their greatest potential because they think it’s from an outside source – when it’s so divinely ordained from within.”

Cheryl’s and Doreen’s statements are examples of what makes You Can Heal Your Life different from films like The Secret. The focus is more on consciousness and our inner power than it is on acquiring things. It’s implied that the “things” are a natural byproduct of the internal changes we make, but they shouldn’t be our sole reason for striving to make those changes. You Can Heal Your Life also focuses on Louise’s work to help others overcome life threatening illnesses, and includes the story of how she healed her own manifestation of cancer.

Good luck to everyone that enters. I’ll leave you with Louise’s initial words of wisdom from the film:

“All of us our on a journey, whether we know it or not. We are all on a journey of learning to express our full potential in this world. Most of us have learned to view our thoughts as a reflection of the outside world; a reflection of what is happening to us. But what if that’s not how the Universe works?

“What if you are creating the story of your life with the very thought you are thinking now? Then perhaps, if we are willing to change the way we think, wondrous new possibilities would begin to reveal themselves to us. And our lives would move in a whole new direction. It all starts with taking the first step.”

Depending upon the volume of entries, comments may only be displayed under this post for a short time. As entries grow, I will remove comments from the post to make it easier for visitors to scroll to the comment box and enter.

When leaving a comment, be sure to include your correct email address. Each winner of You Can Heal Your Life will be contacted through the address that’s registered with their comment. I will never share email addresses, provided by entrants, with any third parties and you’ll never receive unsolicited mail when entering.

The Louise Hay: You Can Heal Your Life contest will end at 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on January 19th, 2009. All legitimate entries will then be assigned a number. Two numbers will be randomly drawn to determine the winners.

Both winners will then be notified, via the email addresses they provided, no later than January 21st. If one, or both don’t respond (with their shipping information) within a week, then one (or two) more number(s) will be drawn to determine the new winner(s).

If you would like to see your spiritual or self-help business promoted through Wind of the Soul and you have some appropriately themed items to distribute in a giveaway, please contact me.

If this post has been helpful to you, please consider sharing it with others and/or making a donation. Thank you for supporting Wind of the Soul.

Posts Related to You Can Heal Your Life

Forgiving our Past: Key to Unlocking a Joyful Present
8 Tips for Achieving a More Secure Peaceful State of Mind
Podcast #4: The Law of Attraction
Podcast #6: Law of Attraction – the Techniques
The Law of Attraction & Natural Progression
Effortless Passionate Creativity
The Magic of Giving
Universal Law of Reciprocation
Realizing Your Purpose
Manifesting Desirable Results Through Balance
Discovering the Truths of Your Existence

We’ve all heard the adage – “good things come to those who wait”. I believe that phrase to be true, but there are far more components involved in any accomplishment than just waiting around for the passage of time. However, there’s no denying time is a huge part of the equation. It takes time + emotions + thoughts + consistent, persistent action to = results. If we can develop the capacity to understand the concept of patience, through understanding time’s role in the natural progression and processes of all living things, we will have made great strides in short-circuiting the “I want it now” mentality. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting something to occur faster, it’s important we don’t make that our constant modus operandi.

So very often, in the natural progression of life, rapid manifestation doesn’t occur and for good reason. Just as a sapling doesn’t become a giant sequoia overnight and a ten year old child can’t become a thirty year old adult in a week; neither can our hopes and dreams become instantaneous reality in an unreasonable amount of time. If we constantly expect instant gratification, yet it ceases to come at the rate we demand, we will continue to feel disappointment and frustration; eventually removing all of the necessary components from the above equation. And when that happens, there also will be very little sitting on the right side of the equal sign.

Instead, we must learn to focus on progress and the long term development of that which we intend to accomplish; paying close attention to the subtle changes along the journey. Small, subtle changes indicate momentum and progress towards that which we desire. While the sapling doesn’t immediately become a towering tree, it does develop noticeably throughout each and every year of its life. These smaller, but observable, measurable changes, accruing over time, are what lead to its eventual colossal state.

Thinking in the short term is almost always a recipe for quitting. When we think in the short term and things don’t initially develop in the manner we had hoped, we’re much more likely to give up. When we give up, we settle. The short term mindset causes us to trade in our dreams for something that appears to be a “sure thing”, albeit a diminished version of our initial hopes, because it’s only supplying us with a fake form of quick gratification. It’s quick because it’s convenient and it’s gratifying (only at first) because it appears to come easily.

A person, thinking primarily with a short term mindset, assumes why should I apply X amount of time, physical, emotional and thought energy toward achieving my dreams, at a future date – when I can have a facsimile of what I originally wanted to achieve right now? After all, my dreams were probably unrealistic anyway, right? This is the way in which so many of us talk ourselves into accepting dead end jobs, living in locations where we don’t truly want to live, walking around uncomfortable with our bodies, spending time in unhealthy relationships, settling for less income than we deserve, living with large debt looming over our heads, etc.

It’s a snowball effect that continues to grow, while we opt for less and less and less. We’ve done it so frequently (sometimes since childhood) that we eventually convince ourselves it’s wrong to want more and to have more and/or we just don’t deserve it. The short term mindset, coupled with a lack of belief in one’s self, unfortunately, is what puts far too many people on the fast track to a miserable existence. By trading in their dreams, they sacrifice their passion and succumb to coping and existing, instead of living intentionally.

When I speak of wanting more or our ability to feel deserving of it, I’m not necessarily referring to material items. I’m actually referring to our state of joy and our quality of life. The material items are only there as a form of enhancement, once we have regained the power over how we feel and have chosen to consciously apply that power through our thoughts, emotions and actions. They are by no means a substitute for it.

In thinking from the long term, I believe, we quite naturally develop many of the following unstoppable characteristics of a spiritually/physically successful human being: living with passion, finding ways to follow our bliss, removing most forms of negativity from our lives, steadfast determination, staying true to ourselves, creating a niche where none previously existed, shifting the paradigm, overcoming fears, never giving up, embracing our power, thriving even in an economy that occasionally focuses on lack, realizing there are no true roadblocks keeping us from that which we desire – only momentary impediments, and wanting to uplift and give back to others in whatever form that may take.

Now, I know my above commentary may sound contradictory to one of my main themes at Wind of the Soul: “Each one of us is responsible for creating our reality.” And, if we choose to believe our goals and dreams will take large amounts of time to accomplish, then aren’t we setting ourselves up for that exact scenario to unfold?

I’m not saying we should assume our dreams will take many years to become a reality. In this post, I’m juxtaposing our dreams against the manner in which all living things naturally progress in our Universe and driving home the importance of never giving up. It’s through this juxtaposition that we can begin to understand why we need to think more from a long term mindset. Apply this mindset (i.e. the realization of time’s proper place in the equation) with the other components, and results will undoubtedly show.

One more thing pertaining to living in this manner, as it applies to achieving our hopes and aspirations: long term doesn’t mean we forsake the moment of now. It means we stay present in our current moment, doing all that we can towards accomplishing our goals, while realizing each moment will eventually stack on top of the next, until we find ourselves looking out atop that giant sequoia.

Related Posts

Persistence
Believing in Yourself
The Wisdom of Wind
Podcast #5: The Inspiration Behind Deliberate Creation
Effortless Passionate Creativity
Blazing Your Own Trail

I just wanted to let everyone know I appreciate their kind, consistent feedback pertaining to my writing and podcasting here at Wind of the Soul. During my one month absence from adding content to this site, many of you have sent emails supporting my work and reinforcing my understanding that older articles are still resonating with visitors. And, speaking of my recent absence – I probably won’t be writing or podcasting until a week or so after Halloween. As the haunting season is upon us, my other website has the majority of my focus.

I absolutely appreciate your continued support of Wind of the Soul. And, even though I’m not currently writing or recording content for this site, I do consistently check for emails and for any comments which may have been left on blog posts. I hope you have a great Halloween and if you’re in the spirit, I hope you’ll join me at Season of Shadows.

A Wind of the Soul visitor sent me a great email just a few days ago. He had listened to my law of attraction podcast and was specifically interested in the segment where I discussed receiving two pennies through seemingly mystical means. In his letter, he asked if I fully believed in my abilities to manifest financial wealth and abundance, without the need to take any physical action. He also was curious to know whether or not I was capable of realizing my true power and if so, why I would choose to continue pursuing my online businesses for bringing in income, if I indeed was in tune with my capabilities?

I love all of the feedback I receive from my visitors, but I truly appreciate it when someone asks probing questions, such as these. I’m not at all offended or put off by such questions, as they help me to consider new ways of looking at the subjects I frequently discuss. They also provide me with some insight into what my visitors are taking away from and bringing to my blog posts and podcasts.

In honestly answering his questions, I stated I do not believe enough in my power of instantaneous materialization to remove the need for taking all physical action. Over time, I have developed a belief in a balance and a synergy between my thoughts and my required actions for manifesting those thoughts.

However, I do believe there is a small amount of people, on this planet, which have the ability to materialize (any and all) items from thin air. They’ve either developed and honed this ability or never were taught to associate materialization with action, hence their lack of requirement for doing so. There are numerous accounts of such individuals residing in remote locations of the globe. While some may in fact be fraudulent claims, I do believe the ability honestly exists in some. My encounter with the very strange appearance of two pennies does provide me with a small glimpse into this phenomenon; while helping me to grasp its validity.

The irony in all of this – even if I awoke tomorrow with the complete ability to instantaneously materialize any object I chose (including money), from thin air; I wouldn’t stop taking physical action regarding my income generating pursuits. This is primarily due to the fact I so thoroughly enjoy everything I do, that I would do it all for free, but it is also because I believe we are residing in a physically based environment for a reason.

At least, during this point in our spiritual awareness, most of us are meant to be a part of the cause and effect link between thought, action and manifestation. To initially create with our minds and then allow our bodies to follow suit, bringing forth what we mentally conceive, is so thrilling and joyously satisfying. I believe it is a large part of why source chooses to experience itself through us in this specific plane of existence. Just because some appear to be capable of “overcoming” physical action does not mean they are more spiritually advanced than others who have not.

There are plenty of non-physical planes where the energy of all that is can consistently experience instantaneous manifestations of thought forms, minus any physical action. But to be in this physical place, at this moment, where our actions count for so much, is no accident. I know some believe this “level” of existence is some sort of practice arena in which we are meant to hone our abilities of manifestation. It’s often believed the earth plane is for those that aren’t yet responsible enough to exist in pure thought environments.

Where this line of thinking emerges from, I am not sure. But I am certain every single one of us transitions, immediately after this physical experience, into pure thought environments anyway. So, why do we all suddenly attain this so called worthiness after we pass on, yet it wasn’t granted to us while we are physically focused?

I view our spiritual existence slightly differently. I don’t believe the Universe is set up with levels of reward or punishment that are independent from us. I believe we are all equally gifted creators, because we are THE creator, no matter what plane of being we are occupying in the moment of now. Our experiences are simply that. They are not about achieving a specific degree of responsible behavior, to be rewarded by advancing to the “head of the class” in future dimensions.

I believe those types of ideas are conceived from the human mind, where we fret over competition and status. We are meant to create and emotionally experience our creations from our current standpoint (no matter where that may be), not devise means for achieving levels of advancement. All of our experiences and the environment we occupy, in this moment, represent the resources we draw upon for creation. Physical manipulation of energy happens to be one of those resources. We are where we are for a reason and I feel that reason is to experience a physical vehicle and all of its physically creative capabilities.

So, where does this leave me concerning the meaning of the two pennies? I believe they were providing a glimpse into how powerful our intentions can be and they were a representation of my consistent thoughts of abundance.

Are we completely dependent upon physical action to provide financial stability or anything else for that matter in the physical Universe? Maybe not- maybe mass consciousness will eventually know how to perform instantaneous materializations, at a grand scale, even in the physically based Universe. But imagine what we would be missing if we could choose to eliminate a large portion of physicality from the physical world. I believe that would be defeating the purpose of being here in the first place.

Once again, I want to thank the individual for sending their email. In this post, I was not at all making light of their questions or trying to retaliate. Rather, their questions stimulated something deeper within me which I felt compelled to write about. For that I’m extremely appreciative. Their email provided me with another angle for viewing my own physicality and honoring it in a way I frequently neglect.

If this post has been helpful to you, please consider sharing it with others and/or making a donation. Thank you for supporting Wind of the Soul.

Related Posts

Podcast #4: the Law of Attraction
Items Materializing From Thin Air
Manifesting Desirable Results Through Balance
The Law of Attraction & Natural Progression

As is customary for me, every time a public television pledge drive comes around, I have to tune into their broadcasting. Throughout the year, PBS normally has a variety of great programming, but around pledge time they really bring out their “A” game. This is when you can expect to see programs featuring people like Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra.

So on Saturday morning, shortly after waking, I turned on the TV to see what my local public television channel was airing. They were already forty five minutes into a show called, The Artist’s Way at Work, with Mark Bryan. Now, even though I was only able to catch the last fifteen minutes of the program, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I always find myself enthralled when watching and listening to what inspires the creative process in artists (or anyone). Perhaps there’s nothing that peaks my interest more than hearing about that which gets the creative juices flowing. To learn what stirs and drives others always tunes me into my own inspiration to create.

During the last quarter of the program, Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills and Nash fame was discussing what prevents him from stagnating as an artist. He was talking about how versatility and variation are often the keys to inspiring his creativity.

I have found the same to be true of my inspiration for being creative. My muse is definitely the variety in my pursuits. This is why I write and record audio programs here at Wind of the Soul, yet I also build Halloween artwork, take photographs, brainstorm gift giveaways and make videos at Season of Shadows. I’m passionate about everything I do or else I wouldn’t do it. And, even though each project is exciting to me, the consistent variety always provides freshness to my work and to my life.

Now, when I speak of creativity I’m not strictly referring to artwork, writing, crafts or music. Each and every one of us is a creator in our own unique way. We are constantly in different stages of creation, even if we are thinking thoughts which have yet to manifest through our physical actions.

Just because you may not pick up a brush and touch it to canvas, doesn’t mean you can’t be inspired to continually create in new ways through variety and versatility. It’s for this reason I’m hesitant to ever limit myself to one primary pursuit. I think it’s far too easy for us to slip into a solitary role and see ourselves as “that person” for the rest of our lives- whether the role is defined by a philosophy, a job, our career, hobby or a relationship. While there’s nothing wrong with inhabiting the skin of that somewhat singular character, I think there is something extremely important about taking creative “risks”. Creative risks are the backbone of every journey and their end product.

A creative risk can be a tough thing to undertake if we doubt our abilities and fear what others will ultimately think. However, without the willingness to venture into those unchartered waters, our creativity and our creative abilities can become stagnant. As we stagnate, we tend to lose even more faith in what we’re capable of accomplishing.

Now, I’ve never been a huge advocate of the face your fears ideology, in spite of the tremendous anxiety and terror you’re feeling inside. I’ve tried it many times and I will admit it can help in certain situations, but there are many more circumstances in which it only reinforces and exacerbates the original fear. Instead, I believe we must re-examine our fear and get a better understanding of why it’s there before we move forward to challenge it, but only if the pursuit is indeed something we consider worthwhile. In doing so, our emotions won’t be so out of control and we won’t be so overly attached to the fear as it rears its head.

I only mention I’m not a full on “face your fear” advocate because I don’t want anyone to feel bad if they’re afraid to employ variety and take creative risks. Again this comes back to finding what you’re passionate about. Once passion fuels your drive, then it’s obviously a worthwhile pursuit and it becomes easier to release the fear involved with taking the creative risk.

The beauty in embracing variety is that it allows us to try so many different endeavors. It seems like a common misconception that we should stick to one thing (get really good at it) and not divide our time among multiple pursuits. Again, that’s fine if someone has a singular interest. But for those of us that have a strong thirst for many different things, it’s comforting and inspiring to know many other creators do as well. Not only do they have multiple interests but their creativity actually flourishes by keeping their pursuits varied. Variation creates a beneficial, synergistic effect among all of their endeavors which continues to further inspire their creative genius.

If this post has been helpful to you, please consider sharing it with others and/or making a donation. Thank you for supporting Wind of the Soul.

Related Posts

Effortless Passionate Creativity
Podcast #5: The Inspiration Behind Deliberate Creation
Exploring and Creating Our Reality
Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization
Believing in Yourself

I’d like to take an opportunity in this post to briefly discuss my blogging style, since I have been receiving some questions regarding how frequently Wind of the Soul will be updated. Although this website is only a couple of months old, the content does date back to May of 2007. If you scroll through the archives page, you’ll find a wide variety of update patterns. At times I have written two posts over the course of three days and at other times I have gone as long as ten or twelve days before adding content.

This fluctuation is due to a couple of reasons. The first is because I don’t ever want to mechanize my writing or my audio recordings. Since I’m blogging about spirituality and self-help topics, which stem from my inner-personal perspective, I don’t believe in timetables or forcing the flow of the work. The second reason is because I divide my time between Wind of the Soul and Season of Shadows (my Halloween and paranormal site). As October 31st draws closer, I tend to get even busier with my Halloween preparations.

In the world of blogging, it’s generally accepted that updates should be very consistent in order to build large amounts of traffic. I will admit I have, at times, felt that kind of pressure to conform. But every time I get caught up in that mindset, my writing (along with my well being) suffers.

I’ve done my best to unplug from the commonly accepted ideas pertaining to building a [financially] successful blog because my measures of success don’t hinge primarily on money. I don’t believe in performing or making Wind of the Soul perform. I believe in effortlessly, passionately feeling for my work and creatively expressing it when the time is right. And I also believe in embodying what I write about.

My measures of success come from being sincere, honest, helpful and as genuine with my visitors as possible. Do I hope to consistently bring in a profit from this site, to support myself, while helping others? Absolutely, however, my lifestyle is so extremely simplistic and minimalistic (because I prefer it that way); I don’t require record breaking income levels.

Since my inspiration for writing does not stem from always trying to bring in more and more traffic i.e. money, money, money, you won’t find me beating you over the head with blog updates which represent nothing more than glorified “fillers”. I would rather go a substantial amount of time between updates, than waste your time with consistent repetitive fluff that adds little or nothing beneficial to your life.

I can’t ever promise how frequently you will find new content added. However, I can promise new content will always eventually be added and will only be posted when I believe it to be worthwhile. With that being said, you’re more than welcome to subscribe via email to Wind of the Soul by using the subscription box at the top left hand side of any page on this site. In doing so, you’ll always know when the blog has been updated. The folks at Feedburner will never share any of your information and the emails you will receive (each time I add a new entry) include the entire blog post, minus any large amounts of html or advertisements.

Thanks for your continued support of Wind of the Soul.

I just found out a recent acquaintance of mine passed away. We weren’t friends. We actually spoke only briefly a couple of times. But the fact our last conversation occurred a few days prior to her passing is what prompted me to write today’s entry. It never ceases to amaze me how our consciousness can be physically focused one minute and then “gone” the next. I suppose no matter my state of comprehension, regarding the subject of death, I will always be taken aback at that one simple realization.

Many years ago, I spent a lot of time pondering over whether or not we even survive the process of dying. After much soul searching and exploration into the subject, including my own personal experiences with astral projection, I came to the conclusion that a form of our awareness does continue on. Just what that form may consist of and if it’s indeed eternal with regards to our individual personality, I can’t say for certain.

In fact, I don’t believe anyone can ever unequivocally answer those questions from their current physical position, no matter how spiritual, psychic they are, or “who” they may be capable of channeling. Thankfully, developing a broader perspective and a deeper, more conscious understanding does not hinge on the necessity of being able to completely answer those questions. I believe our own inner knowledge may eventually negate the need to find those answers anyway, but that is something I’m still discovering.

Now, I don’t concern myself with these topics because I’m fearful of losing my identity when death washes over me. Rather, I do it because I’m intrigued with the mystery and am interested in trying to obtain some form of deeper understanding, if possible. This is why I continue to conduct my own experiments into altered states of consciousness. These states allow me to have a better appreciation for consciousness itself, as well as providing me with the ability to find new interpretations on our existence.

I believe our best method for not only trying to understand death, but to also release much of our fears associated with it, is through exploring and utilizing wider aspects of consciousness. Consciousness appears to be the only constant, whether we’re physically focused or not. If anything can provide us with some form of insight into the afterlife, it would have to be the further development of our own awareness of the here and now.

In my opinion, that specific form of awareness is not typically developed through ordinary interactions and so called social obligations, such as going to school, to work, shopping, dining out or watching television. While we are (somewhat) active in those situations and we may even be learning something new, we are usually utilizing rudimentary levels of our conscious abilities. It’s these cursory levels scientists are referring to when they speak of human kind only using ten percent of their brain potential.

In scientific pursuits there has to be something quantifiable and measurable. Scientists can’t measure or test for the source of consciousness so they don’t give it any attention, but they can measure the manner in which the brain fires and at what capacity. Since I tend to view the brain as the link up between the body and soul, as opposed to seeing it as the source of consciousness; I believe we can take these scientific findings and apply them to that which is metaphysical. In other words, as most of us are going through the typical, average, ordinary motions of our lives, we are only tapping into and allowing a fraction (10%) of our soulful consciousness to flow.

Here’s the thing, though: despite how it may feel, there are no typical, average moments in life. It’s not the fault of the tasks we undertake or what’s happening in each second that causes us to utilize less than ninety percent of our potential. Instead, I believe it’s the way we consciously (or unconsciously) process the moments in which those events are occurring.

We have been trained and programmed to view our experiences through an extremely narrow lens. The narrower the lens is, the smaller the percentage of consciousness that’s being utilized. This has little to do with intelligence. Someone can be highly intelligent, but still employ very little of their potential for conscious expansion.

When I initially decided to write this post, I considered stating more of my opinions about what may be waiting for us once we cross over. In fact, I actually wrote two pages pertaining to my ideas regarding the after life, but I decided to erase them. When I started writing this entry for a second time, I began using the process I’m encouraging in this post.

I made a conscious decision to try and employ more than the ten percent my opinions (as seen through my narrow lens) would have afforded. My impressions and ideas about something as enigmatic as what awaits us beyond death will do very little to help you find your own answers. In striving to empower you, the reader, by speaking of methods to enhance and expand upon the way you interpret each moment of your life experience; I feel I’m utilizing a larger portion of my conscious abilities. I believe the best way to understand death is to more clearly and presently experience life, instead of barely thinking and acting from automation or rote. Blindly following other people’s interpretations of life, as well as death, is what places so many of us in primarily an “unconscious,” disconnected state throughout our lives.

So, what does an enhanced, conscious clarity of physical existence have to do with better understanding death? As we continue walking around in a daze about our role in life and who we are, we stifle our emotions and become disconnected from feeling our feelings and actions. We eventually shut down deeper modes of understanding and limit our perceptions. As our perceptions become more and more dulled, it’s natural to transfer those same limiting views over to our ideas concerning death. If we are already living a stifled form of life, there’s no way we can have a broader more aware take on the mortality of our physical vehicles. This is why the statement: “many people have died years before they’re actually buried” is so true.

To become fully aware throughout your day; seeing events and experiences through “new” eyes and finding ways to think and feel that have quite possibly never been accessed before is the most empowered form of living. I believe this in turn helps us to become more empowered in our views on death and dying.

If we have the ability to truly feel what our consciousness is (it’s definitely not automation) and what’s it’s capable of, then we will know it is impossible for something so immense to be snuffed out when we pass on. As we begin to see our unlimited potential unfold while we are seizing not only the day, but each moment of it, it becomes easier to grasp how that which flows through us will always continue on in some way and in some form.

I have written several articles contained here at Wind of the Soul which go into great detail regarding techniques for becoming more consciously aware and present. Several of these can be accessed through the links in the related posts section.

If this post has been helpful to you, please consider sharing it with others and/or making a donation. Thank you for supporting Wind of the Soul.

Related Posts

Stepping Into the Awareness of Now
Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization
Our Conscious Origin
Self Truths: Part 1
Releasing Attachments to Judgmental Labels
The Evolution of Spirituality
The Intelligent Mind of All That Is