“Resistance is futile.” This is what the Borg in the Star Trek universe are always telling the people of the civilizations that they are seeking to assimilate into their collective. I love this phrase because I feels true to me, but not in the sense that the Borg mean it, which is basically, “Stop fighting because we are superior to you and we are going to assimilate (absorb) your species into our collective organism through overwhelming numbers, advanced technology, and intellectual superiority.

What I mean by the phrase is a bit different. What I am talking about is the recognition that I am one with everything and everyone throughout the cosmos, and all of its dimensions and aspects. If there is no gap or separation between who I really am and who everyone else really is and what everything else really is, then it really is futile for me to resist anyone or anything because it is like looking in a mirror and denying and resisting the image that I see reflected back to me as not me, or as unreal in a fundamental way. It is insane to deny that there is any truth to my perceptions whatsoever.

I am very excited about the “occupy” movement that has swept around the world. It is powerful sign of the massive and unforeseen changes that are sweeping the planet and that will continue to grow and accelerate over the coming years.

One thing that I would like to share with everyone, no matter what percentage of the world’s population they think they represent, that we are all part of the 100% of cosmic life. There is no gap or separation between what we identify as being ourselves and what we perceive as any kind of separate other. Separateness is an illusion of particular interpretations of sensory inputs. It has very little to do with what is ultimately true and real.

What does being part of the 100% of all life mean to me? I am responsible for everything I perceive, because for me to perceive it, makes me one with it. If I were not one with it, I would not be able to perceive it. And so I am responsible for every single percentage that exists. What is would not be if I were not able to perceive it as I perceive it. In some interpretations of quantum mechanics the “observer” causes what is called the “collapse of the wave function,” meaning that it may be human decisions that cause things to appear as they do, and this means everything, including any perceptions of problems that come into our awareness.

Whether we see it yet or not, we are not separate. We are not at war. There is no real conflict. There is only the illusion of these things. The pain and suffering caused by these incomplete perceptions of conflict will eventually lead us to perceive more and more clearly.

We are one. If I perceive a problem, there is no one to blame. Yet I choose to perceive that I am responsible, even if I do not fall within certain percentages quoted by people to differentiate themselves from other people. I am one with Life in all of its forms, including humanity. In my experience accepting anything less than this will lead to suffering not only for me but to further infliction of pain upon everyone and everything else through indulging in the illusion of the reality of my false or incomplete perceptions.

Let us recognize our deep unity. Let us perceive what is not being perceived right now and what has not been perceived very well for a very long time. As we do so, everything will be transformed. As we do so, peace will be the norm, life will flourish, and the deep unhappiness that has taken possession of so many people will be erased like a virus-infested computer file that has possessed  our species and caused us to to repeatedly crash our civilizations over and over again throughout recorded and unrecorded history. When we accept what is real and lasting, what is false and temporary will fade away.

I am the 100%. I am 100% responsible. I am the I am.

Peace.

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Where there is life, there is change. Any attempt to keep things static leads to death which is just stuck energy being redistributed according to the law of love. The universe is a sea of energy with infinite currents and waves and flows. By opening and developing our abilities to receive and act upon inspirations and intuitions, we can continue to grow and develop as individuals and as a group. The only thing that creates stuck energy is fear, and fears are only energetic patterns that disconnect us from Love. Love is life. Love leads to change because love is the Power of Life. Our challenge is to constantly increase our connection to Love so that we do not allow fear to hold us back from fulfilling our destinies as cells of love in the body cosmic.

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Most of us, most of the time, go through life, clinging to what we are afraid to lose. While we do this, most of us wonder why we have so many challenges experiencing more of what we want in our lives.

Check out this video for a little more perspective on why we must let go in order to receive what we truly desire.

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On the day of the funeral of a dear friend, colleague, and mentor, I have a few thoughts to share that I would like you to dwell upon in your heart.

If any of these ring true for you, remember that each and every moment, we receive opportunities to make new choices, to go after our dreams, to act upon the love that is at the center of who we really are. Dreams are not just for dreaming. Dreams are for doing.

I wanted to travel to an exotic place, but I was afraid I couldn’t afford it.

I wanted to go to an amazing event, but didn’t want to go alone, so I didn’t.

I wanted to do something wild and crazy just to see what would happen, but I was afraid of what people might think.

I wanted to tell my child how proud I was of her, but I was afraid she’d get a big head.

I wanted to create something inspirational, but it was easier to watch TV after a hard day at work.

I wanted to start my own company, but I was afraid that I might go bankrupt.

I wanted to dance, but I stopped when I thought about how I couldn’t dance as well as other people.

I watched carefree children playing with abandon, and I wished I were like them again.

I wished that I could love unconditionally like my pet, yet I couldn’t shake the need to uphold the illusion of my own self-importance.

I wished that I could be there for people when they needed me, but I’ve just got too much of my own stuff going on to help.

I wish I could accept myself as I am, but I just can’t forgive myself for all of the mistakes I’ve made.

I wanted to give a hug to someone when they needed it, but I was afraid that they might be offended. 

The most precious time is now. The only moment that counts is this one. Let’s do a little better each moment to let go of our fears and choose the way of Love. And when we stumble, let’s have compassion upon ourselves, get up, dust ourselves off, and keep moving in the direction that Love leads us.

My friend was one of the most generous people I have ever known. I am blessed to have known him. I would not be who I am today without his kindness, generosity, and support.

Thanks, Mark, for everything! I’ll see you later!

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I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about inspiration. When I look at my own life, in many of its finer aspects, it has been a search for inspiration. It has also been an attempt at becoming a channel of inspiration. When I think about my life-all of it-I think in many ways inspiration seems to be at the center of everything for me.

Sure, I have sought money, influence, pleasure and other such things along the way, and yet as I look at them now, they really seem to me more like handholds, images, or reflections of something more magnificent that I have desired deep-down: inspiration.
What is inspiration? For me this world is about connecting with a reality that is so much larger than what our conscious awareness is usually experiencing. It is about experiencing the sublime that currently peeks into our realities every now and then.

For me, inspiration is not just supposed to be an every-now-and-then-the-angels-sing-and-the-sky-lights-up-like-a-million-suns kind of a moment. I believe that we are all being called, guided, and led to live inspiring lives. Not lives where details distract us and bring us down, but where every aspect of our lives radiates goodness, truth, and beauty as a matter of course. Inspiration is about connection to more of who we really are, to more of who we are to each other, to more of the Source from whence we come.

Just because we haven’t perceived inspiration on a constant basis does not mean that it is not constantly available. I believe that our current Inspiration Quotient (I.Q.?) is only a reflection of our current openness to it, not to the amount that is available. I like to think of it as an infinite, untapped resource of incredible power with more than enough to transform everything for the better, beyond our abilities to imagine.

I think inspiration is basically about two things: what we receive and what we release. Receiving and releasing are partners in the dance of life. For as we receive inspiration, we are empowered to release more of what keeps us from perceiving it. As we release the fear-based programming that dulls and limits our perceptions, we are even more open to experiencing the inspiration that surrounds us like the air we breathe. And so these two aspects: receiving and releasing form a potential cycle of renewal that we can participate in as we seek to move from living according to our fears to living according to inspiration as it breaks into our souls, hearts, minds, and bodies.

There is so much more for us to experience. There are unlimited possibilities just on the other side of our fears and doubts. Let’s receive power and release fear and together discover a new fire within and amongst us that burns ever and ever brighter.

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Today is All Saints’ Day, and it feels appropriate to share a bit of my perspective with you on this day.

I’m not going to relate my perspective to the historical developments related to this day or to any particular theological or religious traditions. I’m just going to share a few thoughts that are occurring to me today.

To me, All Saints’ Day can help us to remember those people that have touched our lives in ways that have helped us to connect to more of who we really are as Children of God. These could people we know directly or that we are aware of their influence more indirectly. We may not even be aware of their influence or existence at all!

These people could still be incarnate, or may have moved onto another phase of existence. Actually, many of these people we may have never known in the flesh, only knowing that spirit beings have been assisting us as we have been working through the challenges of our lives.

To me a saint is someone who in their own unique way helps us to connect to the Power of Love which makes life worth living. Some saints are hard and crusty and not a whole lot of fun.Some are serious. Others are soft and fuzzy and warm and cuddly. Others make us laugh, while others are good at making us think. Each of these souls are helping us to experience and discover the power of love in their own unique ways.

All Saints’ Day (for me) is a special time to remember who we really are to each other despite the trappings and illusions that might help us to forget what is real and meaningful.

People are people with their bodies and without them. Saints come in a wonderful variety of forms. Not that I tend to think of things in this way, but who is to say that animals, plants and minerals may not also be manifestations of love that also help us to experience more of the truth as well?

Every moment of our lives is a fresh opportunity to experience greater love and therefore express even greater gratitude for those who have helped us expand our perspective.

I am very aware that there have been a multitude of souls seeking to help and support me on my trek. For a long time I thought many of them were crazy, foolish, or even non-existent. I have actually come to recognize that I would not be where I am today if it were not for the love, faith, and prayers of a great multitude of souls in the flesh and beyond the flesh who chose to support me despite my great and many shortcomings and limitations.

I’m so grateful for the many people who believed in me when I could not believe in myself. I would not be alive today if it were not for their love and faith. Of this I am certain.

During this All Saints’ Day may we take a moment to express our gratitude in joyful ways for those who have helped, supported, guided, and loved is us in our journeys. There is not a single one of us who does anything worthwhile by ourselves. We are supported in visible and invisible ways with the thoughts, prayers, love, and faith of many, many others, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

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I don’t know whether there are really creatures that are like the vampires of myth and legend. The point of this post is to help you recognize the vampires in your life so you can move toward living a vampire-free lifestyle.

There are two basic types of vampires: internal and external. Both of these types of vampires do not drink our blood (most of the time!) What these vampires are good at is draining our energy, our very life force. Blood is one of the universal symbols of human life energy. When a people lose enough blood, they die. Internal and external vampires drain us of our essential life force and thus hasten our demise as well.

External vampires are people who drain our energy in a multitude of ways: manipulation, blackmail, addiction, extortion, guilt, shame, blame, anger, fear, passive-aggressive behavior patterns, physical abuse, ad infinitum.

Internal vampires are those fear-based programs that have us focused on what we do not want. And these programs lead us into disempowered ways of being and doing. These vampires block us from fully-connecting to our magnificence and also cause energy to leave our bodies in unproductive ways.

For most people, most of the time, both of these kinds of energy vampires are draining us of our life force constantly without our being conscious of what is really going on. Usually things have to get pretty bad before we do something about either of these vampires. The kinds of phrases that come up at times like these are: “That’s the final straw,” “I’ve hit rock bottom,” “I’ve had enough,” etc.

I’m going to give away a major secret of what it takes to rid ourselves of the many vampires that drain us of our vital live force. While we are usually more aware of the external vampires in our lives, the fastest and most effective way to set ourselves free from the tyranny of vampires is to clear out the internal ones first and foremost.

The truth is that nothing outside of ourselves can drain our energy without our permission. And the only way that external vampires succeed in draining our energy is because we have internal vampires that are already draining our energy in ways that work in harmony with the tactics of external vampires.

For example, someone else can only “make” us feel guilty if we already have a guilt vampire operating within us. If we didn’t have an internal guilt vampire, we would not tend to attract guilt vampires. If we did happen to encounter a guilt vampire, we would not buy into their particular energy addictions or psycho-emotional control dramas. And not getting their fixfrom us, they would move on to other victims. In this way we would remain powerful in the presence of various energy addicts as we release/heal more and more of our internal energy vampires.

Vampires are not bad. They are just addicts (external) and addictions (internal) that are looking for their next fix because they have become disconnected from the true Source of Life Energy. These dysfunctional patterns are based on the false assumption that people must manipulate and control other people to get the energy they need to survive. Let us have compassion upon ourselves and others afflicted by these debilitating patterns. And in so doing, we will begin to experience a whole new life of freedom, love, peace, and joy.

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Everybody has skeletons in their closets. We tend to think that there are some people with skeletons in their closets and other people who don’t have any.

Everyone has them. Actually, most of our life closets are so full of skeletons that if we open the door, we will be buried in an avalanche of bones. If you are consciously aware of many of your skeletons, you’re ahead of the game! Congratulations! If you’re not aware of your skeletons, here are a few hints on how to become more conscious of our skeletons this Halloween season.

If there are any circumstances in our lives that we don’t feel good about, every single one counts as a skeleton. If it is something that haunts us from the past, that’s a skeleton. If something is happening right now that has us troubled, that’s an indicator that there are skeletons in our closets that we have been afraid to face. If we fear anything in the future that we do not want, these are all unconscious projections of skeletons that are still stinking up our inner life closets.

Here are a few thoughts that might inspire us to clear up some of our skeletons. (It’s not pretty, but it’s the truth from my perspective!)

We only have skeletons in our closets because we took a corpse of a past experience that we interpreted from a fear-based point of view. To locked the dead body of our fears in a small dark place “out of sight.” And yet, it is not out of mind. It is there, putting this stench in our inner houses. We now have storage spaces that are not available for anything (except maybe storing more corpses). Plus we will either never let other people in our homes (hearts and lives). And if we do we will have to burn all kinds of incense and lock the closet door to keep our guests from discovering the truth. If we do allow people into the home of our lives, we will live in fear that people will discover our skeletons. We won’t be able to enjoy our guests. We will be on our guard, wondering who is going to discover our deep, dark secrets.

When we have an opportunity to move into a gorgeous mansion that has been gifted to us, we turn down the opportunity to live the life of our dreams. Why? We don’t want to disturb those skeletons in our closets. If we leave our old house behind, someone may discover what we don’t want them to know about our past. (By the way each and every moment is pregnant with these kinds of opportunities!)

And so this is how most of us live our lives. Afraid to accept the gift, the mansion, the inheritance, the money, the job, the relationship, et cetera, et cetera. And we wonder why things don’t get much better for us over time. It’s because we would rather clinging to moldy old bones out of fear. We are fully capable of letting go of the corpses to embrace more and more love and life.

And remember, we all have skeletons. No one in this world can stand in judgment of us without condemning themselves. This goes for us as well as for others. So if someone actually does condemn you for your skeletons, know that they will only do so because they are afraid of people discovering their own bone collections.

And in case anyone is wondering, The Divine Source has no interest in judging or condemning us for our skeletons. The Source’s main desire is that we accept enough Love to let our skeletons go so that we can be free to live and love without limit.

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I had a revelation recently. I haven’t really put a lot of time, thought, or energy into Halloween since I was a kid. I had pretty much chalked up Halloween to a day when people get to put on masks and costumes and pretend whatever they want to pretend.

My thinking has really taken a change recently, and I want to share a few of those thoughts with you here.

For one thing, there is a lot of resistance around Halloween from religious fundamentalists and other people who are afraid of the so-called “Powers of Darkness.” If you fall into this camp, “For the Love of God, let it go!” You’re giving way too much power to things that will not last. Resisting anything just makes it stronger and gives it more power. Instead, let’s choose to love Halloween for its potential gifts.

Here are a few of those gifts that I believe Halloween can give us if we choose to celebrate it intentionally:

1. Halloween is the most popular holiday dedicated to things like darkness, death, evil, fear, and other such things that people would rather not think about most of the time. Let’s really milk this season for everything it’s got. Instead of just playing around with the images of these deep dark shadows, let’s really explore them. Are they real? Are they powerful? Are they lasting? Where do they come from? What are the deeper messages and truths behind these things? What are the power and messages of love behind the scary masks of fear, evil, and death? What are the deeper and higher truths available to us on the other side of darkness?

2. Instead of playing at the whole fear thing and mostly avoiding it, let’s really go there-all the way. Let’s spend some time entertaining our darkest nightmares related to annihilation, abandonment, condemnation, despair, hopelessness, chaos, meaninglessness, absurdity, existential anxiety, and other such perceptions. Most of our persistent thoughts, feelings, and behaviors have been specifically developed unconsciously to help us avoid facing these kinds of fears. These patterns are commonly called addictions, distractions, or drama to name a few. Living out these unconscious patterns keeps us from facing the deeper and darker things we would rather not look upon. Until we really face them and bring them into the light, we will continue to be dominated by them whether we want to or not.

3. We could really look at the evils in the world and our lives and instead of bemoaning them, fearing them, resisting them, or other such unproductive activities, we could actually develop and implement plans for becoming better people, doing better things, telling more truth, giving more love, healing more people and realtionships, etc. During this season, we could recommit ourselves to do our best to serve the interests of light, love and goodness instead of the hungry shadows of fear and its many ugly stepchildren: sadness, anger, jealousy, lust, greed, despair, etc.

If we really face these kinds of issues directly during the Halloween season, we might discover that on the other side of these things we resist, avoid, deny, and suppress is a brighter more constant light, a more lasting tone of beauty, and a stronger and sweeter fragrance, than those of darkness, fear, and death.

Perhaps if we allowed ourselves to more fully explore the dark side of our individual and collective souls, even if for just one season each year, we could move that much closer to releasing the visible and invisible fears that keep us in chains, holding us back from the destinies for which our souls were created. In a world that is currently and temporarily ruled by fear, perhaps celebrating Halloween in this way could help us to dethrone this particular tyrant, leading us into a glorious and peaceful transition to a world where love reigns mightily within the hearts of all people.

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Again, this is some information I shared with a local non-profit as part of a compasssion fatigue workshop:

In life, we receive in response to our giving. So when we ask a question, we are giving a question, and so will receive a response to that question, always. To ask more empowering questions, here are a few principles:

Ask open-ended questions based on the assumption of infinite possibilities, not limitations. These kinds of questions usually begin with a “What…?” or a “How…?”

• Let’s do our best to believe, trust, know, expect that the person we are asking the question of actually has access to good responses to those questions. (This includes those questions we ask ourselves and our Divine Source!)
• When seeking to empower others through asking questions, let’s “hold the space” for the other person to respond. We empower others to the extent that we allow them to come up with their own responses to the questions that we ask. And if a response doesn’t make sense, let’s keep asking questions for the sake of clarity until things do make sense to us and to the other person.
• If we cannot ask a question from a genuine place of love, respect, and curiosity, let’s not ask it. Sometimes people have no interest in being coached or mentored. Sometimes we aren’t in a good space to offer assistance without attachments. It’s all good. And it’s all good enough for now.

I sincerely believe that the quality of our lives is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions that we ask and our openness to receiving the responses to those questions. The more empowering the question, the more empowering the response.  Just because we ask a question believing that it relates to some kind of objective reality, does not mean that it actually does. So an apparent non-response to a question could mean that we anre not dealing with reality at all, only the projections of our emotional addictions.

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