Breathe

Our breath is a connection between our physical selves and the Unmanifested.

Our breath and our states of mind are irrevocably tied. If we are stressed, our breath is short and shallow. If we are relaxed, our breath is long and deep. If we change our breath, our state of mind will change and vice versa.

We can release our stress by becoming aware of our breathing and allowing ourselves to fully breathe in and out.

Let's be aware of our breathing and the connection between our breath and Spirit.

Transparency

It takes an enormous amount of energy to play different roles in different situation. It also causes stress. We act differently to our friends, our parents, our bosses, strangers, etc. We play the role that we think is expected of us in that particular context.

We are afraid to be transparent in every situation. Being transparent means that we have no hidden thoughts and agenda. People see us as we truly are. We are afraid that who we are is not good enough or that we will hurt someone's feelings or not be accepted.

It is far more relaxing to always be ourselves. It is true that there may be some friction when we make the transition and we may also lose some of our friends and relationships. We should ask ourselves whether we want to remain friends with people who will not accept us as we really are. Those relationships were based on false premises and were holding us back.

When one door closes another one opens. Although we may lose some friends, we will find others whose vibration is more aligned with ours.

Let's be authentic in every situation.

Faith

Faith has nothing to do with following systems of beliefs offered by religions. It has everything to do with allowing ourselves to trust in the sacred energy that flows through us.

It is frightening to release the false comfort that our beliefs give us. These beliefs are our connection to the groups that give us an identity. We are afraid that if we give up these beliefs, we will have no identity and will be lost. The opposite is true. Only by giving up what we think we know can we establish a connection to the divine.

Faith gives us the courage to release our firmly held beliefs and surrender to a greater Wisdom. This Wisdom is what we are. We experience it by bringing our attention to the present moment.

Let's have faith that by letting go and surrendering to the void, we will find peace.

Now

Our point of power is the present moment. The present is all that exists. The past and the future are illusions created by our minds. We convince ourselves that the illusion is real.

If we surrender to the present, we merge ourselves with our greater Selves. By giving up "control," we access the wisdom, love and joy that is our fundamental nature.

We no longer have to think about what decisions we need to make or what these decisions should be. We are connected to the natural flow that will guide us to act in our own best interest, as well as the best interests of all concerned.

We do not have enough information to determine what our best courses of action should be. We try to push life in directions which we think are in our best interest. This approach does not create fulfillment and often causes frustration.

By allowing life to take us where it wants us to go, we realize there is nothing we have to obtain or achieve to be satisfied. We may still work towards a goal, but we lose the desperation and frustration if things do not go exactly the way that we have planned.

When we become aware that we have been lost in thought about the past or the future, that is not a reason to chastise ourselves for not living in the present. On the contrary, it is an awakening into the present. The more that occurs, the more presence takes over our lives.

Let's surrender to now.

Joy

Happiness is by its very nature fleeting. The happiness that we experience when we obtain something we desired will fade sooner or later. The unhappiness we experience when we are disappointed or frustrated will also fade.

Happiness does not exist without unhappiness. They are irrevocably tied. We can break the cycle of happiness and unhappiness. We can break the cycle of fear and desire which underlies it.

Our natural state is joy. We can return to joy by surrendering our addiction to thought and releasing our unconscious attachment to fear and desire. Our identity is defined by our thoughts and emotions, our fear and desire. It takes courage and discipline to release our long held beliefs about who we are.

Let's surrender to joy.

Grace

We are one. We are a part of divinity. Words are inadequate to describe what is.

However, we can experience Unity, Grace and our connection to the Divine. It has nothing to do with religion. Religion gives us more stories of who we think we are and what we think reality is.

The light of awareness is attention without judgment. It is also the spark of Divinity. Words are not important. They cannot begin to describe it.

The time is now to release the chains of our unconscious behavior and embrace what we truly are.

Freedom

When we bring awareness to our thoughts, we become aware that 99% of them are gibberish. Desire, regret, worry, guilt, envy, frustration. We think, if we only had [insert object of desire here], we would feel [insert desired quality here].

These thoughts and emotions are attempts to cover up our feelings of inadequacy, lack and emptiness. We attempt to fill or cover up the hole in our lives by attempting to add things on to our selves.

The hole that we feel can never be filled because there is no hole. Our compulsive thinking creates the belief that there is something missing from our lives. This belief was created a long time ago and is constantly reinforced by societal belief structures (e.g., media, religion, family traditions).

We can dissolve the hole that we feel by releasing our desires and beliefs and surrendering to freedom. We are not in this alone. If we take the first step, our greater Self will meet us halfway. It will do so because we and It are one and the same. The integration of our self with our higher Self is inevitable.

Let's release our identification with thought and material things and choose freedom.

Peace

Peace is what we are, our natural state. If we do not feel peaceful, it is because we are telling ourselves stories of who we think we are. The stories often involve worry about the past or dread of the future. We tell these stories to people that we encounter and people repeat these stories back to us. The cycle of reinforcement (and conditioning) started when we were babies and continues until we wake up to what we truly are: love, peace and joy.

How do we break the cycle of addictive thought? By bringing awareness to our thoughts, our emotions and our actions. The light of awareness will allow us to release our stories and surrender to our natural state, which is peace. What is the light of awareness? It is simply attention without judgment.

Let's be aware of our conditioned thoughts and beliefs, look at them without judgment or labels and let go of our stories, which are boring anyway.

Let's return to what we are. Let's embody peace.

Gratitude

There is no action that we have to take to achieve peace, love, wisdom and fulfillment. It is our natural state, only requiring our attention.

We receive what we focus our attention on. We have a choice. When we are frustrated, we can choose peace. When we are angry, we can choose love. When we feel lack, we can choose gratitude. By acknowledging that we have what we need by being grateful, we will, in turn, receive what we need.

Let’s be grateful, because we have so much to be grateful for.