A Distinct Direction

Often times we have sort of a hazy idea of where we would like to go in life and what we’d like to do, but sometimes the haze is just so thick and dense we don’t know which way is up. With all of life’s distractions coming at us a zillion miles an hour, it’s no wonder we find ourselves off course every now and then. 

How do we get out of this rut when we find ourselves in this particular scenario? Try asking yourself a few of these power questions to get the ball rolling. Just a few minutes of contemplation will help steer you back to your dreams.

1. What do you want? Seriously. What do you REALLLLLLY want?

2. Truthfully acknowledge the direction you are headed. No judgment, simply acknowledge.

3. Close your eyes, breathe, and see it happening in your mind’s eye. Do this every day for at least 3 minutes. Feel it unfolding just the way you’d like it to. You are the co-creator here, so what do you want to create?

4. What are 1-2 things that you can do today to move towards your desires?

5. If you find yourself making excuses, write them down and then put them in a bowl and burn them to pieces. They are useless to you and don’t serve you in any way.

6. Only FOCUS ON WHAT YOU DO WANT! Don’t talk about all of the stuff you don’t want and don’t hang around others that do that either. This just creates more resistance and pity parties. 

7. Check in: Are your thoughts, words and actions still in alignment with your vision? 

8. Raise your chin, let go of everything that’s happened before this moment and go forth in Confidence. No one can take away your dreams unless you let them. 

9. Do one thing this week that you wouldn’t normally do, just for the FUN of it! It doesn’t have to have anything to do with your dream, but it should be FUN!  

10. Be light about it and go forth in your Joy! It’s about the journey, not the destination. 

 

Sending you cheers as your dreams unfold with Grace – – – 

 

Namaste,

 

AK

Worry Much? Just Say “NO!”

Are you one who tends to err on the worrying side of life? Or are you one to dip into the ole worry worry jar even occasionally? I find myself falling into this old annoying habit from time to time and it just feels awful. My conscious mind knows better than to indulge in this insanity, but sometimes it feels as though I am being sucked directly into the ole gloomy glooms.

REWIND: Last night. 12:30 a.m. For some odd reason, it was taking me awhile to fall asleep. (A rarity, I promise you.) It quickly became annoyingly obvious that my mind was adamantly looking for something to do. Argggggghhhhh! I wanted to go to sleep, not engage in a plethora of incredibly useless and worrisome thoughts. I even had the thought that I should get up and write. I talked myself pretty easily out of that one. Well, it’s no surprise that my ole monkey mind finally figured out something that it does really well: worrying. Oh we scaled many topics together and each of them had horrendously scary outcomes.  So with each subject that was being hemmed and hawed over, the sane part of me started to carve out a pathway to the Light side.

“NO,” the Light side declared.

Yep, that’s all it took. Every time my mind would start to go onto another freakishly terrifying thought or outcome, I would instantly and firmly say, “NO.” Voila. The worry would go away IMMEDIATELY and I would be instantly catapulted into the Present moment.  No ifs, ands or buts. Now that was for THAT worry. My obedient mind would obey my command and then – – –  creatively find another lovely topic to worry about. Once again, I would adamantly declare,“NO.” Poof, again. Peace. The amazing thing is that after each “NO,” this huge feeling of relief would waft over me and I was all of a sudden bathing in some incredible Zen-like energy. Wow, this “NO” stuff was working. I couldn’t help but think, “That was so…easy. All I had to say was NO?”

I should of thought of this a long time ago.

To Love is the Why

If you are wondering what you can do today to make a difference, think no more.

LOVE.

Why? To LOVE. That’s it.

LOVE is the sole fabulous reason why we’re here on this planet. Despite what the media spouts, or what the ego insists upon, it’s all really very simple. LOVE. It is the most powerful remedy for all that ails on this earth. It doesn’t cost a thing – except the ego, it’s pride – and it actually feeds not only the person receiving the LOVE, but the giver. It is a win-win situation when one submits to feeling good and allows the light to shine in. For then that light is reflected outward in ways that the human mind can not even comprehend or imagine. LOVE is vast, and it never stops giving.

When we choose to LOVE, separation is instantly banished. There is no more righteousness. There is no more greed or taking sides. When we LOVE, we are actually choosing to clean up our soul-full heart-print and eradicate all insinuations that the ego even exists. This is the magic pill that we’ve all been looking for. It’s not outside of ourselves. The answer does not lie in watching the news. That just feeds the ego. The answers are not going to come from electing the “best” politician. For we all have more power within us than any one person we could possibly elect. This radiant, all encompassing goodness is pulsating within us at any given time. We just have to choose it. Ego or LOVE?

Start pooling the LOVE together from within us all and that’s when little droplets of change become massive tidal waves of healing on this plane. Search for similarities in one another vs. differences. Yes! Actively search! Focus on the intended outcome, the well being of the planet and all of it’s inhabitants – and then let the collective consciousness take the pilot’s seat. You don’t have to “do” anything. Simply allow thoughts that feel good and let the power of LOVE wash over your heart daily.

Then go out into the world and spread it around.

Purposeful acts of Loving Big.

THIS is what is going to heal the world.

One heart at a time.

Namaste,

AK

What Are You Waiting For?

Does this scene look familiar to you in any way? Are you habitually sitting on the sidelines of life wondering what to do? Wondering and wondering and wondering until your head feels like it’s about to EXPLODE? Analysis is paralysis, so stop thinking so much, get out of that head of yours and make a move! It can be any move, but just get out of the stagnant state and take a step.

The good news is: ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

Isn’t that exciting?!? Do you really believe that? Check in and notice if there is resistance to that statement. If so, bless it. For now your Spiritual work has been revealed. What other subconscious beliefs are swooshing about that mind of yours? All it takes is a commitment to make some kind of change in your life and then decide to do so. No evidence that it can be done is necessary. You get to create something out of nothing…and ENJOY the process of creating!

Your life is happening right NOW and these passing moments will never happen again. EVER. 

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to be an artist but keep telling yourself you don’t know how to paint. Take a class, buy a DIY book, start visualizing your end masterpiece. Are you one to consistently blame your outer circumstances for the current state of your life? All it takes is a shift in perception regarding any given situation and kaboom! You’ve got your POWER back! Then there’s the question of: Do you even want your POWER back? Some subconsciously don’t because then they would have to take responsibility for the choices they’ve made. All victimhood is then banished. Hey, there is no right or wrong here, but there IS a path to feeling better and it involves accessing the power of right NOW. This is where all of the freedom is!

What movement are you going to take today towards your dreams?

Whatever it is, do it with Love. 

Do it with Joy.

Do it just to do it.

Then notice where you’ve landed and take it all in.

And – thank yourself – profusely.

Namaste ~

AK

A New Day!

Autumn is officially here – thank Heavens! – with all of it’s encompassing charms that are ready to bless us faithfully, once again. Beauty and change are happening externally on our planet and within all of us, individually, as our own unique imprints. It’s time to slow down. Reflect. Renew. Begin again. Soak up the autumnal beauty and receive all of the Good that’s waiting to shower us – one miracle at a time. It’s time to get ourselves ready for the new autumn light. Soft. Sweet. Muted. Beautiful. 

This photograph is an entire metaphysical book in itself. Check out those thick dark storm clouds. Are these familiar in your life? Go within and reflect. Might you be harboring any dark and heavy thought patterns that are weighing you down and stopping your Flow? Do you tend to know in your heart that there is always light behind the clouds? Or does it feel impossible to see the light even though it’s there? Are you WILLING to see your pink lining of possibilities? And if you don’t notice your possibilities right off the bat, are you willing to look for them? Where is your habitual focus? Is it on what’s not happening or is it on your desire that you would like to manifest?

What are your dark clouds? Certain destructive thoughts about others or yourself? Old habits that are growing you old before your time? Self limitations that simply are not the truth? Perhaps looking at the clouds from a different perspective might provide some relief. Investigate your perception of the “darkness.” Maybe it’s not even really darkness. What a concept! Maybe whatever is happening right now is really GOOD. Find the beauty in whatever is happening in the moment and glob onto it. For this is what IS. Divine Order unfolding as it should. 

As it was meant to be.

Happy Autumn~

AK

 

 

 

Have You Seen This Chicken???

Chicken Alert: Does this shifty eyed beautifully feathered chicken look familiar to you? Has he crossed your path in a somewhat crafty manner within the last 24 hours? Have you heard his crows of “Believe me, I’m telling the truth!” over and over again? If there was a lost rooster sign in your neighborhood, would you be the first to know where he is? Finally…is this chicken YOU?!?

If so, then it is officially time to EMBRACE THE CHICKEN WITHIN. Yep, chicken dance and all.

You know what you’re afraid of. You know what you’ve been putting off. You know your excuses better than anyone. Enough of the self judgement, let’s get on with things already. Bless the fear and then put one foot in front of the other…towards the direction of your dreams.

It’s time to let the flow of life flow again. Surrender your resistance to doing new and different things and watch how your life will blossom IMMEDIATELY. Go within and see what part of your life is desperately wanting to change, right NOW. Fear is all illusion. We make it all up! Fear is not concrete, unless we believe it and welcome it into our lives as “reality.” It’s False Evidence Appearing Real. FALSE evidence. Our egos would like for us to believe the evidence is true because it believes that it’s true. But if we believe our fears and our egos…and yes, that is so easy to do sometimes…then we’ve just floated ourselves down the river without any sunscreen.

So bless the chicken within and make a new and different choice in this new moment. Comfort zone be gone! It’s a new day and a new dance is waiting…

Er Er Er Er Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Fear forward!

May blessings shower upon you now and always,

AK

 

 

 

 

Life Happens – Suffering is Optional

Walking towards the Light.

Up, down, around, backwards, belly up, upside down, sideways. Weeeeeeee! Yep, such is this thing called Life.

As a spiritual being having a human experience, this journey can be quite a trip. There are so many unexpected and expected twists and turns. The laughable thing is that we try to plan for them, protect ourself from them, guesstimate when things are going to happen – if they ever even do, and often we even take huge unnecessary precautions to try and safeguard ourselves from the inevitable…pain. How long we experience the pain, now that’s up to us entirely. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude certainly is a huge gift to ourselves and everyone else around us. Gratitude dissipates so much of the pain, instantly.

One sure thing about life is it’s unpredictability. Having a strong and balanced body, mind and spirit definitely provides a solid foundation for when life takes it’s turns. Freeing ourselves of addictions – physically, mentally and emotionally – is such a huge part of our work here on the planet. Shedding all that is not vibrant, loving, peaceful and compassionate inside of ourselves will definitely propel us faster and farther along the Spiritual path.

One addiction that is viral on planet Earth = suffering. We are so creative! We are brilliant masters of this pain game. We have cultivated countless ways of suffering…so many, it’s hard to even count. Our systems can somehow tolerate gigantic amounts of misery because we are so used to it. Shockingly enough, we don’t even realize most of the time that we are suffering. Our tolerance for the blues has simply become the norm. The question is why are we tolerating when we could be beaming with joy?

Suffering alert: If you feel icky more than you feel Joyful, then you might have an addiction to suffering.  

Here’s a fun an interesting challenge: Notice today what emotional path you are going down the most. Then notice once you’ve gone down the given path if you are choosing to camp out there or move on. Is your usual path one of  Joy or is it one of Suffering? Refrain from self judgements about this. That’s just more suffering. Just notice.

Becoming aware of what we emanate the most is key to expanding and shifting our consciousness. If your dominant intent is to feel Good, then look for things that make you feel Good. Taking in nature, beauty, hanging out with joyful people, contributing your gifts and talents, giving and receiving love, etc… These thing have a way of upping our feel Good factor quickly.

Doh! Stop the misery train! Refrain from indulging the ego in that negative conversation. Turn off the toxic “news.” Stop checking out that accident that’s holding up traffic. Halt any habitual obsessing about the past, present or future. Connect to the present moment and take in all of it’s wonders. When we do this, that’s when we are going to attract the Good stuff. When we feel Good, we are vibrating with our higher power. Feeling Good = Attracting Good stuff. Always.

Hey, be easy on yourself!  You’ve probably been operating, like most of us, a certain way for a very long time. It takes a vision, some time and determined effort to switch over to the path of Light. Once you start practicing feeling Good, it will become your new habit. Your new way of being. 

And when you hit a bump of suffering, you can remember: Hey, wait…this suffering stuff is Optional!

One smile at a time.

Enjoy the journey.

It’s why we’re here!

Blessings,

AK

Love is Here – Right Now

This photograph was taken in Pasadena as I was holding a stray cat outside of our window. As you can see on their faces…total BETRAYAL. Ouch!

As I write this morning, I find that I am bookended by two enormously loving fuzzballs…aka…gigantic cats. One is on each side of my chair, securely guarding their Mom while oozing mucho protective energy. When I came out of meditation and looked down at this hilarious scene going on by my feet, something pretty profound occurred to me:

I am surrounded by soooooooo much Love. WE ALL ARE.

Miss Demeanor is even touching my chair with her paw, just to make sure that we have some sort of contact. They don’t seem to be moving anytime soon either. I also have the sweetest husband in the world who brought me a hot cup of green tea so when my eyes opened after meditation, it would be waiting for me. What an angel. I am so Blessed.

Think about this. Do you know or even realize how much Love is surrounding you every single day of your life? We become so busy and immersed in our hectic daily lives that we forget what is right in front of our face. Are you aware of your physical angels in this life? You know, those who are there for you no matter what. Is there someone right in front of your face whom you know loves you to pieces but they’re always there so you don’t even think about it? If so…today is your day to tell them.

Every moment is an opportunity to give and receive Love.

Who’s in your life that could use some Love today?

Maybe it’s Yourself….ohhhhhh, that’s a good one. Yes, YOU. If this resonates with your soul, then what are you going to do for yourself today? It doesn’t have to be earth shattering or time consuming. It could be a meditative walk, a pedicure or taking the time to read a chapter of your favorite book. Perhaps it could be paying an overdue bill, doing some de-cluttering or calling up an old friend for some reminiscing and laughs. Whatever feels Good and loving, decide to do it for your sweet self, TODAY.

Hey, why not?

Today is all we’ve got.

Love it up, ya’ll!

Light Vs. Dark – Where Do You Go?

This view was absolutely breathtaking this morning. What an awesome way to wake up…with a heart full of Gratitude.

With all of the um, ‘interesting’, things happening on our planet right now, we are being given a plethora of opportunities to choose what we’re going to focus on. When you look at this picture, where do you automatically focus? Do you think about a storm or bad weather that might be on the way? Do you lean towards the light and see the good that is bursting into existence? Maybe you might notice the stark contrast and that illicits immense Gratitude for both?

There is no right or wrong here. It’s just a great opportunity to become aware, once again, of our vision and what we’re choosing to see. Immediately after taking the picture, a pretty inspiring thing happened. I was standing in the midst of a glorious symphony of birdie voices. Joyous birdies were chirping, singing and hopping around happily. Then out of nowhere came loud sirens at the exact same time.

It became incredibly apparent to me that at that moment I had a choice. Wanting peace and beauty, I chose to focus on the light-the joy-the symphony-the Heaven. This put me in a space of total bliss and high vibration, despite the contradicting background noise. It literally felt like I was in another dimension…in between two worlds. When I chose the peace filled world…at that very moment… all sounds of sirens ceased. Hell dissipated instantly. There were no sirens to be heard. There weren’t even trailing siren sounds wafting off in the far distance. Instant peace.

It makes me think, once again, about what would happen on the planet if all of us focused on the Good things happening?

There’s a new world waiting to be discovered, celebrated and savored.

THIS is the new paradigm.

Let the sun shine. Let the sun shine in…

Feel Good Now – The Sky’s The Limit!

Expansion of Consciousness alert!

This just in from the front lines of Operation Transformation 2011…

It’s no secret that many of our greatest spiritual teachers today are talking about our thoughts and how important it is to be aware of what we’re thinking. It’s said that if we don’t like our current reality, we need to change our thoughts. However, during these 3 years of vigilantly exercising this wisdom, a piece of the puzzle has been missing for me.  My mind is well aware of the truth that our thoughts create our feelings. But I haven’t been able to figure out how to change my thoughts if my mind is going a million miles an hour. Where to begin?

First of all, it is important to remember that we have behaved certain ways our entire lives and these behaviors have formed patterns. Then boom! All of a sudden we learn something reality shattering that totally contradicts everything we’ve ever known. We learn that we don’t have to believe our thoughts. WHAT A CONCEPT! A thought is just a thought until we believe it. Only then it becomes a belief. Our thoughts are just…thoughts. If you don’t like what you’re thinking, change your thought.

I wrestled this whole concept to the ground on most days and it became apparent to me that I was the classic flip flopper. Some days I was successful during certain moments and on other days, I felt completely overwhelmed and unequipped to create my own happiness. There’s nothing more frustrating than knowing the wisdom that can propel us out of hell, but not being able to apply it because of…well, we don’t freakin’ know why!

I worked this whole new ideology inside and out, up, backwards and down. The word “worked” should of been my first clue. There wasn’t a lot of play involved. I was very intent about getting this whole thing “right.” In other words…I was trying wayyyyy too hard. I knew something was off by observing my external reality: My Life. I could not make this ideology work consistently and my life reflected that.  Up, down. Up, down. I couldn’t get happy by simply changing my thoughts. At least, I couldn’t STAY happy. However, now I think by trial and trial, I have finally figured out the key. This is a moment-at-a-time Spiritual practice. Let me also say this: MASSIVE self discipline is required.

IT’S THE FEELINGS WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO.

The thoughts create the feelings, clearly. But rather than trying to change all of our zillions of thoughts, do this: Pay attention to the FEELINGS that your thoughts are generating.

If you feel off the mark, which is what ‘sin’ means, literally…when you think or express a certain thought…change it.  STOP TALKING. Stop telling that horrible story. Stop that complaint that so badly wants to be heard. Stop watching the news. Stop talking about what you don’t want to happen. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else on the planet. Bite your tongue, pinch your wrist or do whatever you have to do.

Next order of business: latch onto another thought…a thought that makes you feel Good. It doesn’t matter what it is or how you get there. It can be recalling a joyful memory. It can be savoring the amazing smells wafting through the air at that exact moment. Try talking about what you DO want to manifest in your life and why! Or simply connect to your breath and be Grateful that you have the ability to breathe and breathe deep at that. Anything that gets you from point B – the icky feeling, back to point A – the feeling that just feels Good. No one has to know your process. It’s nobody’s business what gets you back to Heaven…only yours.

I am no spiritual master, obviously. Heyyyy, wait. Delete that thought. Saying that instantly made my energy go down. Believing that made me feel like I’ve got a longgggggg way to go. Take two: I am a Master in the making. Yes! There it is. Hey, why not? My vibration was instantly raised by thinking that thought.

What thought feels Good for YOU to think right now?

Are you willing to allow yourself to feel Good?

Come on…you deserve it.

Oops, there it is!