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.

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