What if what we were seeing in or about another person wasn’t accurate? What if what we were seeing was being seen through a filter of our interpretation?

Imagine having something over your eyes where you could still see, however, what you were looking at had a tint of color, brown, blue, pink, any color, that changed the appearance of what you were looking at.

Picture looking at a white rabbit through a rose or brown filter. In reality, the rabbit is white and not to you. It’s absolutely rose or brown.

Consider that there are things you see differently than before; the judgment or strong opinion about what was wrong with that person is no longer present. What might you be seeing now that could change if you changed your filter of seeing?

The journey of Awakening, is an experience of attitudinal healing, of becoming a clear human being. The filters of perception drop away and we see that the rabbit is indeed white.

May We All Walk in Beauty

You see what you believe.  

If you are not clear about what you believe, notice what you are seeing in your life, relationships, and the world as a whole. This is not necessarily an easy task.

In this age of communication, we are familiar with sayings, quotes, even sutras. So familiar, we think we know what they mean.

Some folks embrace, to see it is to believe it. Many have become more aware of how their beliefs, patterns and thoughts determine their experience in life.  So, more aware folks think in terms of, what we believe we see.

The challenge is that knowing what you believe is often unclear. In this context, the term believing, refers to your view of life; of you, of others, how you think things should be and should not be; what you consider right and wrong, good and bad. Our life experience reveals our beliefs.

I often witness folks feeling challenged when considering what they believe; oh, wait, let me think about it, hmmm, well…… Or, they think they believe something and a little probing brings realization that no, that’s how I used to believe or that’s what the people I grew up with believe. Now I have a different experience and with that the old beliefs fall away.

We need go no further than our daily life experience to discover our beliefs. If we find need for change in what we are seeing (we want different outcome), we look to see how we can change our perspective and have a new way of believing so we see something new and better.

So, which is it for you? Seeing is Believing or Believing is Seeing?

May We All Walk in Beauty

Every day, every person, every experience is a lesson for us about us. We need look no further than ourselves. Even small new perspectives can greatly change our experience in a most empowering way.

For example, there was a time not long ago when I was extremely tired. Really consistently tired. While this distinct tiredness finally healed, I noticed there were still times I felt tired for no explicable reason. In hindsight I realized I habitually grabbed a label, “feeling tired”; then, of course, I became more tired.

Recently I had an epiphany. What if I was mislabeling my experience?

I thought of my teenage granddaughter when she comes downstairs first thing after waking up in the morning. When greeted, she always replied, “I’m tired.” One day, I asked her if she would consider that what she was labeling as being tired, was in fact not yet being awake. Some folks wake up quickly. Some don’t. She agreed that was indeed the case.

I realized that what I had continued to label as tired, was, in reality, a calling to be not engage in anything external.

What I was labeling as tired was a strong pull to be quiet and still.  I was able to make the distinction between being tired and this experience I labeled as being tired. I’m not so tired anymore.

This small new awareness has made me even more aware of how labeling anything creates our experience. So, I am asking myself what I might reframe or relabel in order to have a new more empowering experience. The process of discovering can be subtle; the discoveries can bring freedom.

Consider what you might reframe or relabel?

May We All Walk in Beauty.

I watch the invisible movement as the vines thread their way up the trellis. One moment they are here, the next moment there. These are vines of unknown origin, untamed and untethered. They came uninvited; their sole purpose is to climb.

The vines made me think of my own journey. Without disciplining the vines in the direction of the trellis they will go every which way, at times their tendrils grabbing onto something that takes them down instead of up. Or they get entangled in whatever is around them and fade into a non-descript existence; not being seen for themselves.

The vines remind me of our human journey. Climbing is instinctual ~ deep within us is the innate desire to be the best version of ourselves ~ sometimes we call it being happy and fulfilled. Sometimes we call it being Awake. Yet, like vines we need guidance to go in the direction that will bring out that best version of ourselves ~ to become Awake.

May We All Walk in Beauty.

I can see patterns of behavior and perception I passed down to my children. I see my children’s patterns passed down to my grandchildren. I can see the patterns of my parents passed along to me. There’s some good stuff and some not so good.

It has taken me a lifetime to know which patterns served me and which ones I needed to transcend. My children will need to do the same ~ and their children.

There’s no such thing as a perfect situation that would generate the “best” patterns. We are an ever-evolving humanity and we learn as we go. I think in many ways we are getting better ~ more conscious of what works and what does not work. There is more conversation about discovering patterns of behavior and having the ability to change them.

No matter how great a parent you want to be. No matter that you don’t want to do some of what your parents did, you will at least do some.

In my own journey I came to appreciate my parents even more as I had my own experiences in life, including being a parent. I could see how certain of their values empowered me and others limited. Those patterns passed down to me may not have limited my parents, however, because those patterns were not my truth they limited my expression.

So, while the lessons come from our experiences in growing up with parent’s patterns, it’s not about our parents; what they did right or wrong. It’s about knowing ourselves.

At some point in our maturation we have to get over it; the “it” being that disempowering pattern we picked up from our parents.

I got to thinking about this when a question came up in a workshop for healers I recently delivered. The question was what was best thing they could do to serve God and humanity. My answer is always the same ~ get to know yourself. What really makes you tick? What inspires and motivates you? What upsets you? What causes you grief and worry? What are your strengths? What are your liabilities ~ those areas where if you could change them would create a greater version of you and your life experience?

This takes a lot of self–inquiry and processing of issues. And in the end, it is the most beneficial. We need to be clear in order to assist others to clarity. We need to have the inner peace that comes from being a clear human being so we can contribute to peace in the world. We cannot contribute what we do not have.

I like to think my parents did a better job than their parents; that I did a better job than them. I know in many ways my children are doing a better job than I did. And none of it is perfect; it’s not supposed to be. At least perfect in the sense that there are no challenges, nothing to transcend, learn and grow from.

Bottom line is we are all on a journey of awakening and that means we each have to get to know ourselves. In that knowing ourselves we can correct what is not working about us and we can acknowledge our strengths and greatness.

May We All Walk in Beauty

Imagine watching a movie. The protagonist is crawling across a vast desert, fingers digging into the hot sand to move forward, clinging to the last thread of hope that help is just over the next rise ~ only to see the endless down and up of more sand dunes mocking him.

We can see on the screen that the hero of the story is one rise away from sliding down into the oasis. Victory.

But our hero can only see what is right in front of him ~ the endless obstacle of sand. The defeat and pain of his journey overshadow his will. We can see him giving up. He stops crawling. He feels only failure and lays his head down.

Our hands grip our chair arms. We think, No!  Keep going. You are so close. Just keep going; your victory is over the next rise!  We are rooting for him. Don’t give up! We know something you don’t know. We know there is an oasis.

This is one of those movies written with alternate endings. You choose. And like our own hero’s journey, we have alternate endings. Life is a play of consciousness and we write the script.

May We All Walk in Beauty

We can ask ourselves, is what is going on for me right now going to matter in a hundred years?  The answer is likely, no.

However, what does matter in a hundred years is how we respond to what is occurring now. We create our Destiny. This is of course if one believes in evolution, cause and effect (karma) and reincarnation. If there is no belief in these concepts then perhaps it doesn’t matter except for our immediate experience.

Our immediate experience is important though. Cause and effect are always at play whether you believe in a long-term consequence or not. So, whether you feel what is occurring now will matter in a hundred years isn’t relevant. What is, is what you can do in the moment to create a better response that brings you peace instead of suffering.

If we consider that when we ask ourselves will this matter in a hundred years, we can step back from what is occurring and realize we are likely making something more important than it really is. In the larger picture of our existence, is this thing that is occurring paramount to my existence. Or is it simply an experience from which I can learn and grow?

May We All Walk in Beauty

Often a fitting answer to a question is, It’s complicated. It’s a mystery. While that could be my answer because I really don’t know, it is often my answer because we human beings are complex mechanisms.

Just do this, whatever is being prescribed as a solution, might be the one answer that is needed in a moment, however, to evolve Wholistically (body, mind, soul, spirit, emotions) takes a balancing of processes and focused inner work.

Ultimately we need to do something in the moment that assists us to move toward wholeness; versus sitting in pain and suffering and asking “why?”.

The journey of Awakening is not easy. It requires enormous amounts of self-effort, letting go of being comfortable and the willingness to embrace the apprehension and inconveniences of change.

There are many things we can do and the most important is to create Stillness, so the mind and emotions do not run us. First, we begin with quiet, moving into silence and then the Stillness comes.

One way to do that is to simply sit without distraction and observe your inhalation and exhalation. When thoughts come do not engage them. Just go back to watching your inhalation and exhalation,  focusing your attention on your breathing ~ in and then out, in and then out… relax in the moment of watching your breathing.

You will notice that you become calmer. The system relaxes, your mind relaxes ~ you become more relaxed and present. Awakening comes from being present…not trying to figure out anything…not trying to accomplish anything…just staying present to your breathing.

While there may be one simple answer to Awakening, such as Love Yourself, Pray, Have Faith and on and on…  how one accesses that must be developed for the ultimate unfolding and expansion of Higher Consciousness.

Awakening comes from the Stillness within that reveals that you are okay, everything will work out, solutions become clear, all is well in your world, God dwells within you as you.

May We All Walk in Beauty.

Shamanism and Shaman are pretty mainstream terms now; even overused like the word Guru.  This has happened as Ancient and Ageless teachings have become available for anyone who wants to learn.

This interest and curiosity bring many misconceptions. A Shaman, for example, is someone who has gone through some form of a Rite of Passage and has learned how to easily navigate between ordinary reality and non-ordinary reality for the benefit of others.

A Shamanic Practitioner is someone who has studied Shamanic healing skills in order to grow as a human being and to serve.

There is also a conversation of stealing something meant only for the indigenous peoples. I can understand that, although what the indigenous peoples have cannot be stolen. Shamanism isn’t even a word they may use; however, the principles of Shamanism are theirs ~ secular, ingrained and lived. In our evolution as a humanity it is time for these wise teachings to be shared with the world.

What you gain from Shamanic study is deep and personal if approached correctly. The viewpoint of ourselves and the world changes forever when seen through a Shamanic lens. Perception expands. Intuition heightens. Personal Power increases.

Shamanism is on my mind right now because we are launching a new schedule of Shamanic Courses. The Shamanic perspective is my way of walking through life. It is congruent with all I have studied in Eastern Occult Doctrine, Advanced Metaphysics, and even Human Potential. Once one goes deep it is not difficult to find the common thread of congruence.

Shamanism is very Taoists; it’s concordant with Natural Law and Nature as Teacher. It’s impossible to embrace Shamanism and not experience transformation. Our way of seeing the world, our relationship with it, our way of seeing ourselves and the ability to co-create with compassionate, benevolent allies and Great Spirit is beyond measure.

Life changes for the better because we change for the better ~ we become clearer human beings, we develop our intuitive wisdom, we become more connected to the God of our heart and our Higher Self, we are more empowered and self-expressed.

Shamanism is a dynamic way of seeing, inclusive, individual; it compels and empowers us to contribute as we walk gently and powerfully on Mother Earth.

May We All Walk in Beauty.

It can be enticing to consider or hear about who one might have been in a past life. Maybe someone important or someone who suffered greatly.

Considering who one might be in a future life can be motivation to pay attention this life or it could become hopeful dreaming.

While having some knowledge of past lives could assist you to understand yourself better, and looking forward to a future life as a better version of you, there is a caveat. Spending too much attention on past lives or future lives can be avoidance for present life.

The thing to consider is that past lives contributed to this present life and this present life contributes to future lives. Destiny and free will work in concert.

When we are born we bring in knowledge and patterns. Some serve us and some do not. That’s what our journey is about; each lifetime brings us an opportunity to learn more, evolve and become greater versions of ourselves.

I am including a link to an article about money and spending because noticing our behavior around those two can increase self-awareness. Finances are a wonderful way to learn about you. Quite often buying things is a subconscious way to try to fill a void. So, one step to learning about you and grow in self -awareness is to notice your spending buying patterns. Click here to read the article.

The concept is simple ~ we pay attention to what is occurring in our life experience, we can become clearer about what we need to address in order to create a better life this time (and next time). What needs to be changed to be a better version of ourselves. Once we get the hang of learning about ourselves and getting to know ourselves better, the journey becomes lighter and we feel more empowered.

So, if you are a seeker of Enlightenment, begin where you live…in your daily life…in your patterns.

May We All Walk in Beauty.