How to Cultivate a Rich Inner Garden

Many of us attach the experience of joy to what is happening in our outer world rather than allowing joy to flow through us. When we attach our joy or any feeling — such as love — to outer events we become dependent on what is happening outside of us in determining how we feel on a particular day.

And the truth of the matter is, when we do this the good feelings of joy, love, wonder and harmony will be fleeting, as conditions of life change moment to moment. Safety and security also fall into this principle, for as our outer world changes one day you feel safe, and the next day you do not. One day you might feel secure in your job, and then the economy changes and your job security might now be at risk. You might start to feel as if you are riding a rollercoaster of emotions.

As the world continues to change, transition and evolve we must engage in a deep inner exploration and find joy, love, safety, security, etc. that permanently live inside of us and are not dependent on the changing outer conditions.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? But it’s not always so easy to do. I don’t have “a recipe” to do this, but I can tell you that setting an intention is key, and surrendering to spirit is also important.

We can see the laughter and the brilliance of light in the eyes of indigenous people who might be living in extreme poverty with nothing tangible that we might associate with happiness. That joy, laughter and light are coming from the depth of an inner well. It is a joy, for life itself with no conditions. This joy comes from having cultivated a very rich inner garden.

It is important to notice, work with and deepen the minute to minute experiences that tap us into our inner well and garden of joy, love, safety and security. Take a walk and just experience the beauty of nature — independent of what is happening environmentally. No matter what is happening the planet is still filled with great beauty.

Think about and reflect on the simple joys of life that are not dependent on what is happening in your life. Sit with this principle, meditate on it, reflect on it, take walks holding your questions and notice if you can begin to find some doorway into the inner core of your being that experiences safety, security, joy and love independent of what life brings to you.

As our lives and the planet keep going through intense changes many of us have been reflecting on the meaning of life. I think at some point we get to a place of feeling that focusing on the outer world does not create happiness. We realize that by collecting more in the material world does not create meaning and purpose. As we grow and evolve, we start to see that true meaning and wealth lies within. I wrote about this in “How to Thrive in Changing Times: Simple Tools to Create True Health, Wealth, Peace, and Joy for Yourself and the Earth.”

As I keep going within and experiencing the wealth of my inner garden, I come to a place of finding meaning in being a channel of love and light — for what else is there as you evolve in your life’s journey?

Here is a practice that you can work with:

  • Put on some nice, relaxing music. Pick some music that has no lyrics that you love to listen to. The music will help to travel within to your inner garden.
  • Lay down or sit in a chair in a room where you will not be disturbed for about 20 minutes. You might want to close the curtains or blinds to darken the room. As you listen to the music imagine yourself traveling within to your inner garden.
  • You can ask to meet a master gardener who can help you inspect your garden.
  • First, experience yourself merging with the earth in your garden. Observe how healthy the soil is by examining the health and strength of the flowers and plants that are growing out of the earth. This will give you some clues to the care that your inner garden requires.
  • Next, observe the seeds that you have already planted through life that contain the thoughts, words, attitudes and beliefs that are growing into strong plants in your garden. Experience what plants need to be weeded out. Start to plant seeds of love, inspiration and hope for yourself and the planet. Imagine the words you use and your daily thoughts as seeds. Plant the seeds you want to see manifested in the world.
  • Next, imagine yourself planting small areas of your garden with seeds of good memories and what you are grateful for. Water the soil so the seeds can take root.

After you have experienced your inner garden just be still, listening to the music. Reflect on the experience you just had. Set an intention to continue to visit your inner garden so that you can continue to nurture the soil, so it becomes rich and fertile. Set an intention to continue to plant the positive seeds you would like to see grow into strong and healthy plants that will produce a true feeling of inner wealth and joy.

When you feel ready, bring yourself back in the room. Take some deep breaths. Experience an inner feeling of peace and an inner smile and let your own internal light flow through you.

Life will continue to bring change. Cultivating a rich inner garden will help you to stay centered and harmonious in the midst of change.

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How to Cultivate a Rich Inner Garden – Spanish

Cómo Cultivar un Jardín Interno Fértil

Muchos de nosotros vinculamos la experiencia de alegría con lo que ocurre en el mundo exterior en vez de permitir que la alegría fluya a través de nosotros. Cuando unimos nuestra alegría o cualquier otro sentimiento –como el amor- a acontecimientos externos dependemos de lo que ocurre fuera de nosotros para determinar cómo nos sentimos en cada día en particular.

Y la verdad del tema es que, cuando hacemos esto, los buenos sentimientos de alegría, amor, fascinación y armonía serán fugaces, ya que las condiciones de la vida cambian de momento a momento. La seguridad también se ajusta a este principio, ya que como nuestro mundo externo cambia, un día nos sentimos seguros y al día siguiente no lo estamos. Un día nos sentimos seguros en nuestro empleo, cambia luego la economía y queda en riesgo nuestra seguridad laboral. Podemos sentirnos como en una montaña rusa de emociones.

Mientras el mundo continúa con sus cambios, transiciones y evolución, deberíamos sumirnos en una profunda exploración interna y encontrar la alegría, el amor, la seguridad que viven permanentemente dentro de nosotros y que no dependen de las cambiantes condiciones externas.

Suena bien, no? Pero no siempre es tan fácil hacerlo. No tengo una receta, pero puedo decirte que la clave es establecer una intención y que también es importante entregarse al espíritu.

Se puede ver la risa y el brillo de la luz en los ojos de la gente de las comunidades aborígenes que quizás viven en extrema pobreza con nada tangible que podamos asociar a la felicidad. Esa alegría, esa risa y esa luz vienen de la profundidad de un aljibe interno. Es la alegría por la vida misma, sin condiciones. Esta alegría viene de haber cultivado un jardín interno muy fértil.

Es importante registrar, trabajar y profundizar las experiencias de cada momento que nos trasladan a nuestro aljibe y jardín interno de alegría, amor y seguridad. Sal a caminar y simplemente siente la belleza de la naturaleza, independientemente de lo que está ocurriendo a nivel ambiental. A pesar de lo que está sucediendo, el planeta sigue lleno de gran belleza.

Piensa y reflexiona sobre las pequeñas alegrías de la vida que no dependen de lo que pase en tu vida. Siéntate un momento con este principio, medítalo, reflexiona acerca de él, sal a caminar manteniendo tus preguntas y registra si puedes empezar a encontrar algún portal hacia el centro interno de tu ser donde sientas seguridad, alegría y amor independientemente de lo que la vida te traiga.

Como nuestras vidas y el planeta siguen atravesando cambios intensos, muchos de nosotros hemos estado reflexionando acerca del sentido de la vida. Pienso que en algún punto llegamos a sentir que enfocarnos en el mundo externo no crea felicidad. Nos damos cuenta que acumular más en el mundo material no crea sentido ni propósito. Al crecer y evolucionar, empezamos a ver que el verdadero sentido y la verdadera riqueza se hallan dentro. Escribí sobre esto en “Cómo Prosperar en Tiempos de Cambio: Herramientas simples para crear verdadera Salud, Riqueza, Paz y Alegría para ti y para la Tierra”.

Al seguir metiéndome en mi jardín interior y sintiendo su riqueza, llego a un lugar donde encuentro sentido al ser un canal de amor y luz… pues ¿qué otra cosa hay cuando evolucionamos en el viaje de la vida?

Esta es una práctica con la que puedes trabajar:

-Ponte música linda y relajante. Elige música sin letra que te encante escuchar. La música te ayudará a que viajes a tu jardín interior.

-Recuéstate o siéntate en una habitación donde no te molesten por alrededor de veinte minutos. Quizás quieras correr las cortinas o las persianas para oscurecer la habitación. Escuchando la música imagínate viajando hacia tu jardín interior.

-Puedes pedir encontrarte con el jardinero principal que te ayude a inspeccionar tu jardín.

-Primero, siente cómo te fusionas con la tierra en tu jardín. Observa si el suelo está sano examinando la salud y la fuerza de las flores y las plantas que salen de la tierra. Esto te dará algunos indicios del cuidado que tu jardín interno necesita.

-Luego, observa las semillas que ya has plantado a lo largo de la vida que contienen los pensamientos, palabras, actitudes y creencias que se convirtieron en fuertes plantas de tu jardín. Observa cuáles plantas debes desmalezar. Empieza a plantar semillas de amor, de inspiración y de esperanza para ti y para el planeta. Imagina las palabras que usas y tus pensamientos diarios como si fueran semillas. Planta las semillas que deseas que se manifiesten en el mundo.

-Luego, imagínate plantando pequeñas áreas de tu jardín con semillas de buenos recuerdos y de aquello por lo que estás agradecido. Riega el suelo para que las semillas puedan echar raíces.

Después de sentir tu jardín interno simplemente quédate quieto, escuchando la música. Reflexiona sobre la experiencia que acabas de tener. Establece una intención para continuar visitando tu jardín interno de modo que puedas continuar nutriendo el suelo para que se haga rico y fértil. Establece una intención para continuar plantando las semillas positivas que quisieras ver convertidas en plantas fuertes y sanas que producirán un verdadero sentimiento de riqueza y felicidad interna.

Cuando te sientas listo, vuelve nuevamente a la habitación. Haz algunas respiraciones profundas. Disfruta un sentimiento interno de paz y una sonrisa interna y permite que tu propia luz interna fluya a través tuyo.

La vida seguirá trayendo cambios. Cultivar un jardín interno fértil te ayudará a permanecer centrado y armonioso en el medio del cambio.

How to Cultivate a Rich Inner Garden – Turkish

Zengin Bir İçsel Bahçeyi Nasıl Yetiştirmeli

Çoğumuz sevinç deneyimini, sevincin içimizden akmasına izin vermek yerine, dışarıdaki dünyada olup bitenlere bağlarız. Sevinci veya herhangi bir duyguyu –sevgi gibi- dışsal olaylara bağladığımızda belirli bir günde nasıl hissettiğimiz dışımızda olup bitenlere bağlı hale gelir.

Ve meselenin aslı şu ki, böyle yaptığımız zaman, yaşam şartları andan ana değiştiği için sevinç, sevgi, uyum gibi güzel duygular da anlık olacaktır. Güvenlik de bu kategoriye girer, zira dışımızdaki dünya değiştiği için bir gün güvende hissederken diğer gün hissetmezsiniz. Bir gün işinizin güvende olduğunu hissederken ekonomi değişir ve iş güvenceniz tehlikeye girebilir. Kendinizi inişli çıkışlı duyguların içinde bulabilirsiniz.

Dünya değişmeyi, dönüşmeyi ve evrilmeyi sürdürdükçe, dışsal olaylara bağımlı olmayan ve sürekli içimizde yaşayan sevinç, sevgi, güvenlik vd.bulmak için derin bir içsel keşif içinde olmalıyız.

Kulağa ne güzel geliyor, değil mi? Ama bunu yapmak her zaman bu kadar kolay değil. Bunu yapmak için bir “tarif”im yok ama size niyet etmenin işin anahtarı olduğunu ve ruha teslim olmanın önemli olduğunu söyleyebilirim.

Bizim mutlulukla bağdaştırabileceğimiz elle tutulur hiçbirşeye sahip olmayan, aşırı yoksulluk içinde yaşayan yerlilerin gözlerindeki parıltıyı ve kahkahalarını görebiliriz. O sevinç, kahkaha ve ışık içsel bir kuyunun derinliklerinden geliyor. Bu yaşamın kendisi için duyulan ve hiçbir koşula bağlı olmayan bir sevinç. Bu sevinç, çok zengin bir içsel bahçeyi yetiştirmiş olmaktan geliyor.

İçsel kuyumuz ve sevinç, sevgi ve güvenlik bahçemize yararlı olacak anlık deneyimleri farketmek, onlarla çalışmak ve derinleştirmek önemlidir. Yürüyüş yapın ve yalnızca –çevresel olaylardan bağımsız olarak- doğanın güzelliğinin farkına varın. Ne olursa olsun gezegen hala büyük güzelliklerle dolu.

Yaşamınızda olup bitenlere bağlı olmayan basit sevinçleriniz hakkında derinlemesine düşünün. Bu prensiple oturun, meditasyon yapın, derinlemesine düşünün, sorularınızla birlikte yürüyüşe çıkın ve yaşamın size getirdiklerinden bağımsız olarak güvenlik, sevgi ve sevinç deneyimleyen varlığınızın içsel merkezine bir geçiş kapısı bulmaya başlayıp başlamadığınızı farkedin.

Gezegenimiz ve yaşamlarımız yoğun değişimlerden geçmeye devam ederken, çoğumuz hayatın anlamı hakkında derin düşüncelere dalıyoruz. Düşünüyorum ki, bir noktada, dışsal dünyaya odaklanmanın mutluluğu yaratmadığını hissettiğimiz bir yere varıyoruz. Büyüdükçe ve geliştikçe, gerçek zenginlik ve anlamın içimizde yattığını görmeye başlıyoruz. Bu konuyu “Değişen Zamanlarda Nasıl Büyümeli: Kendiniz ve Yeryüzü için Gerçek Sağlık, Bolluk, Barış ve Seviç Yaratmak için Basit Araçlar” kitabımda yazmıştım.

İçime doğru gitmeyi ve içsel bahçemin zenginliğini deneyimlemeyi sürdürdükçe, sevgi ve ışık için bir kanal olmakta anlam bulduğumu farkettiğim bir yere vardım. Yaşam yolunuzda evrildikçe bundan başka ne var ki?

Aşağıda çalışma yapabileceğiniz bir uygulama var:

  • Güzel ve rahatlatıcı bir müzik çalın. Dinlemeyi sevdiğiniz sözsüz bir müzik seçin. Müzik içsel bahçenize yolculuk yapmanıza yardımcı olacak.
  • 20 dakika boyunca rahatsız edilmeyeceğiniz bir odada uzanın veya oturun. Daha karanlık olması için perdeleri kapatmak isteyebilirsiniz. Müziği dinlerken içsel bahçenize doğru yolculuk ettiğinizi hayal edin.
  • Bahçenizi incelerken yardımcı olması için uzman bir bahçıvanla tanışma isteğinizi belirtebilirsiniz.
  • İlk olarak, bahçenizdeki toprakla bütünleştiğinizi deneyimleyin. Topraktan çıkan çiçek ve bitkilerin ne kadar sağlıklı olduklarını inceleyerek toprağın sağlığını gözlemleyin. Bu size içsel bahçenizin ihtiyacı olan bakım hakkında ipuçları sağlayacaktır.
  • Sonra, yaşamınız boyunca düşünceler, sözcükler, tavırlar ve inançlarınızı ekmiş olduğunuz ve güçlü bitkiler olarak büyümekte olan tohumları gözlemleyin. Hangi bitkilerin ayıklanması gerektiğini deneyimleyin. Kendiniz ve gezegen için sevgi, ilham ve umut tohumları ekmeye başlayın. Kullandığınız sözcükler ve gündelik düşüncelerinizi tohumlar olarak hayal edin. Dünyada gerçekleştiğini görmek istediğiniz tohumları ekin.
  • Sonra, kendinizi bahçenizdeki küçük alanlara güzel anılar ve şükran duyduğunuz şeyler için tohumlar ekerken hayal edin. Toprağı sulayın ki tohumlar kök salabilsin.

İçsel bahçenizi deneyimledikten sonra sadece müziği dinleyerek durun. Az önce yaşamış olduğunuz deneyim hakkında derinlemesine düşünün. Toprağın zengin ve verimli hale gelebilmesi için içsel bahçenizi ziyaret ederek toprağı beslemeye devam etmek için niyet edin. Güçlü ve sağlıklı bitkilere dönüşmesini istediğiniz, gerçek içsel zenginlik ve sevinç duygusunu üretecek pozitif tohumlar ekmeye devam etmek için niyet edin.

Kendinizi hazır hissettiğinizde odaya geri dönün. Birkaç derin nefes alın. İçsel bir barış duygusu ve içsel gülümsemeyi deneyimleyin ve içinizdeki ışığın sizden akmasına izin verin.

Yaşam değişimler getirmeye devam edecek. Tüm değişimlerin ortasında zengin bir içsel bahçeyi yetiştirmek, merkezinizde ve ahenkli kalmanıza yardım edecektir.

How to Create a New Vision for the Planet

Ever since I was a child I was fascinated with creation and manifestation — how we could manifest a planet filled with joy.

I read many esoteric texts that taught principles of creation. The teachings became a focus of the work I teach and what I wrote about in my books, “Medicine for the Earth: How to Transform Personal and Environmental Toxins” and “How to Thrive in Changing Times: Simple Tools to Create True Health, Wealth, Peace, and Joy for Yourself and the Earth.”

There is so much change occurring politically and economically, and in the environment it is important that we hold a good and positive vision for the planet. To do this you must be able to imagine the world you wish to live in. You can do this by engaging all your senses of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting. For you must be able to fully imagine yourself living in a world that embraces love, light, harmony, beauty, peace, abundance and equality for all.

Imagine what it would be like if people around the world focused together to use their imaginations in a way that created a return to a harmonious way of life:

— What would the world look like? Imagine the scenes you would see. See yourself living in a world filled with love, peace and abundance for all.

— Listen to all the sounds of life around you coming from such a joyful bright state. Listen to the sounds of children laughing, birds singing, etc.

— Feel the joy flowing through you as you live in a world filled with love, peace and harmony. How would it feel to walk on the earth and touch all that is alive?

— Smell the fragrances of the clean, fresh air and taste foods cooked with love.

— Experience this state as if you are living filled with radiance, love, joy and peace right now.

To project a new vision for the planet we must be able to engage the depth of our senses fueling our imagination and creative abilities. As people feel worn down by life, we move into a place where our senses become deadened. The media provides images for us instead of allowing new beautiful and vivid images to arise from inside of us. We listen to music on mp3 players and iPods and we do not allow our inner music to play through us.

The key to using our imagination to create is to be able to engage our strong inner senses with our own vivid images, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings. We need to be able to create our own powerful movies with each of us living in the movie, instead of simply watching the movie. And we need to fuel our senses with intense enthusiasm. We need to stop allowing the outside world to write our script, and our new script must be born from our inner world. And we must use the depth of our senses to make our creations real.

I think that people operate as flat-screen TVs. Where is the depth of our own senses? We are fed so much from the outer world. We need to allow our senses to bubble up through us.

If we cannot get in touch with the true power of our own vivid images, our own internal songs of creation, the beauty of the fragrances we wish to smell, the taste of healthy food grown and cooked with love and the feeling of touching the beauty of life, then there is no power in our creation. If our creation is not fueled by passion and enthusiasm, there is no power in what we project into the world. And the world molds superficiality back to us, as our creative work is superficial and lacks depth and power.

I feel so strongly that this is a vital missing piece. The creative work of so many of us simply lacks passion and depth. But at the same time, we must have compassion for ourselves and find patience with this process. As many of us live disconnected from nature and surround ourselves with so much input from TVs, computers, DVDs, CDs, etc., our own ability to get in touch with the depth of our senses is hidden.

Think about how many years we have been deadening our senses. We need to have the patience to awaken the depth of the wealth of our inner senses. We need to revive our passion and remember times in our life when we felt passion for something where enthusiasm fueled our lives.

Find times in the day when you can go within yourself to bring up your own vivid images and your own songs. Really try to focus on fragrances that you love and tastes that you enjoy. Imagine yourself walking around and touching with your hands different things that you love. Make your inner senses tangible. Do this a few minutes before you go to sleep or when you wake up. The intensity with which you can experience the senses in your inner world will directly affect your ability to create what you want in the world you live in.

It is important to keep up our spiritual work to hold a good vision no matter what we see happening in the world. We are living in a time where the fabric of reality is unraveling, for it is time for us to create big changes as we continue to look at what is not working in our lives and the world. Our dreams create the new healthy fabric of reality.

We use our imaginations throughout the day, but oftentimes we imagine the worst of outcomes. Instead, let us use our imagination to embrace a positive vision.

The spiritual work we engage in is where we all have power to create positive changes in the world we live in. Let us join together as a global community to envision a healthy planet for all of life.

How to Heal Toxic Energy

One night I had a powerful dream. I was standing around a water cooler with a group of coworkers. Our conversation seemed to be cordial, but I became aware that some of the workers were sending psychic/invisible “punches” to the others. I would say to one who’d been punched, “Are you okay?” And then to the other, “Did you see what you just did?” I was shocked by how unconscious people were of their behavior.


My dream showed the power of our invisible interactions. When we observe how people behave, there may not seem to be any hostility. We may see a smile on the face of someone listening to us. But what is happening on an invisible level?

We have an invisible dimension that we call spirit — an aspect I call “who we are beyond our skin.” We can’t see this part of ourselves, but together with body and mind it makes up our whole being. Whenever we interact with others in the physical world an invisible exchange of energy is taking place too.

Here are some common phrases we use to describe the behavior of others:

I felt beaten down.
He was kicked when he was down.
She stabbed me in the back.
I felt like there were daggers coming out of his eyes.
The group was held hostage by his behavior.
The room was filled with explosive energy.
I made a suggestion but I was shot down.

The energy of violence acts on an invisible, psychic level, but it impacts both our physical and emotional health. The energy is palpable. We simply do not feel well on any level when we live and work in an environment that is filled with anger or fear.

 

All indigenous cultures understand the difference between sending energy, such as anger, and merely expressing it. When someone expresses anger he or she is simply acknowledging the feeling of anger, but the anger has no force or movement that could cause harm to another. In our culture, where we only acknowledge what is happening on a visible level, we deny this other level of awareness, so we send our thoughts like “poison arrows” unconsciously, not realizing the harm we do.

We use the term “sending thoughts” but what kind of thoughts are we sending? Are the thoughts we send to others filled with love, compassion, kindness, and forgiveness? Or are they filled with hate, anger, and fear?

It is important to understand that having emotions and expressing emotions is part of the human condition. We know from research conducted that when we don’t express our emotions illness can occur. As human beings it is our right to have and express the range of feelings from joy and love to fear and anger. Expressing our emotions makes us feel alive.

At the same time it is important for us to look at what kind of situations and interactions trigger us. We must stop the reaction and learn how to express our thoughts and feelings while at the same time transforming the energy to positive energy that is healing energy for the planet.

Throughout time spiritual teachings have taught that our outer world is a reflection of our own inner state of consciousness. When we look at the environmental pollution and the state of the world today we are seeing a reflection of our own inner world. If we want to change the world we need to focus on changing ourselves. And this includes the need to be more conscious of the thoughts we send out.

Here are some simple ways that you can work with to transform energy:

Breathe: Breathing is one of the simplest ways to transform energy. When you are in a state of reaction your breathing becomes shallow. By breathing deeply you naturally transform your reactive state.

Set An Intention: When you feel upset just say the following statement to yourself: “I need to express how I am feeling right now, and I ask that the energy of my feelings be transformed into love and light so I am feeding the world with love.”

Think Of A Precious Image: The energy behind your emotions goes out to all living beings. If confronted by someone who evokes strong emotions think of a loved one and impose his or her image on the face of the person challenging you. For example, you might work with the face of a baby kitten, puppy, or your favorite flower. What thoughts do you want to send to those you love?

Use The Power Of Words: Spiritual traditions teach that words are vibration and the words we use effect our lives. As children many of us used the phrase “abracadabra”. This is actually an Aramaic phrase “Abraq ad habra” and means, “I will create as I speak.” Use words throughout the day that remind you of the energy of love.

Be Grateful: Think about what you are grateful for. Being grateful always transforms your current state of consciousness.

Project Strength: Don’t pity others whom you perceive as suffering–this only pushes them deeper into a hole. When you see people in their divine light and perfection you help give them the strength they need to deal with their troubles.

Connect With Nature: Water can wash away your pain. As you wash visualize negative energy flowing from you and being transformed into light. As you stand in the wind imagine the wind carrying what needs to be released and being transformed into light. Light a candle and imagine the fire transmuting your intense feelings. Or you can bury your troubles in the earth with the intention that the energy be transformed to love.

Surround Yourself In Light: If you feel someone is being energetically hostile toward you, imagine a protective light surrounding you. Some people think of being surrounded by white light. I imagine being enclosed in a translucent blue egg. Find a color that works for you.

 
Suomi (Finland)

How to be Harmonious in a Changing World

As we continue to experience change to the Earth due to climate changes, it is important for us to shift our perspective about what is happening. We are also witnessing deterioration on political and economic levels.

Today many people talk about the change in consciousness and evolution that humans are going through. And at the same time all of life — all species and the Earth herself are going through a change.

The landscape of the earth is evolving and changing as it has done throughout time. Land masses have changed over time and will continue to do so.

The destruction that we experience is hard on the people and animals who suffer loss of home and lives.

And at the same time we must recognize that the Earth is evolving and changing into new landscapes just like human consciousness is evolving into a new landscape.

One way we can work is to look at how we can work on a physical, mental and spiritual level — body, mind and spirit.

Body:

We have a body and the Earth is a body. And the Earth with all the elements air, water and the sun support our life here on this planet. All of life is part of nature. And to live a healthy life we must live in harmony with nature.

Everything that exists goes through constant change and dies. And death is not an end — it is a transition. We must learn how to honor life, as it is so precious, and at the same time learn how to let go. There is always new birth that comes with all change and transition.

We are also being asked to learn to work in partnership in our local communities. There are now many different projects to create community gardens. This is a wonderful example of how we can come together to work in partnership to create the food needed for all where we live. Local communities are also joining together to help rebuild after destructive events occur. And there is also some wonderful work being done in communities to help the youth create a vision of a positive future for themselves and the world. These are just some of the examples.

Mind:

We need to be aware of what energies we are feeding with our thoughts. Indigenous cultures teach that thoughts are things.

Are we directing our thoughts towards what we desire to create in the world? Or are we directing our thoughts towards sabotaging our dreams? I think the phrase that we use “train of thought” is such a powerful key to our work. For a train ends up at a station. We must be more conscious about where our train of thought is leading us. We must start to replace sabotaging and defeatist thoughts with thoughts that will help to lead us towards the dream of the world we wish to live in.

As with any garden we must begin to look at what plants have strong roots that are overtaking our garden. If we have seeded our garden with thoughts of defeat then we must go to the core of the garden and do some weeding. For what you plant and nurture will grow.

If you think of your thoughts as seeds what thoughts do you nurture throughout the day? Those are the thoughts that will grow into healthy plants.

Our thoughts are made up of words. And words have power.

Reflect on what you create throughout the day with your words. Reflect on your thought process throughout the day and you will get real insights into the life and world you are creating.

Our thoughts and words make up our daydreams. Shamans around the world have been saying we are dreaming the wrong dream.

We dream new dreams with our imaginations. Where is your imagination focusing? Are you using your imagination to focus on what is not working? Or are you imagining with all your senses the dream you would like to see manifest for all of life?

Our future is created by what we are doing in the present. It is time for us to examine and be aware of what is growing in our inner landscape and bursting forth into the world.

Spirit:

When you go beyond the body and mind, you find that you are spirit. This aspect of spirit is divine and is a reflection of the creator.

Our spiritual nature is light which radiates from us and naturally transforms and heals. This spiritual light also creates unlimited possibilities of what can happen versus the limitations our minds put on things.

The sun shines light that is absorbed by all of life. The sun does not decide that since things are going “badly” in the world it won’t shine today. The sun shines each day.

We must make a choice to shine our light and allow that light to radiate no matter what is going on in the outer world. We can’t go back and forth deciding one day to feed the light and then one day to feed fear and anger. This going back and forth detracts from the focus and concentration of spiritual energies needed right now to create true change.

Let go of judging your work by what is happening in the outer world. Let go of the outcome. Your role right now is to do the work you are called to do and the universe will provide a pathway for the outcome to be achieved.

Think of a camera. If you keep moving the camera back and forth between your feeding a dream of hope and creating a healthy and abundant world and feeding a dream of anger, fear, and hopelessness you will never be able to produce a picture. To get a clear picture you have to keep your focus and keep the camera still.