Here in the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving Day today. It is my favorite holiday. A day dedicated to gratitude and thanksgiving. What could be better than gratitude and love? Lots of people use it as an opportunity to overeat but I love having people over, cooking, celebrating and truly giving thanks for everything. I am so grateful I have a wonderful home, a great family, friends and each of you. Thanks for allowing me to be part of your life.

As the holiday approached thought about what I wanted to give you. I finally decided I wanted to share a story from my book, The Toltec Way. It is about a village of people who learned the power of gratitude and love. At first I was just going to record it as an audio but then decided to make a video instead. I hope you enjoy it.

Here is the transcript of the story if you want to read along.

From The Toltec Way:

The Villagers Find Abundance

It had been a short, cold summer. The frost had come early and many were afraid that there wouldn’t be enough food for the winter. A heaviness settled over the village and people walked hurriedly, bent over, wrapped in their blankets, not even looking at each other. Fear filled their hearts and tempers were short. The Grandmother was saddened, her heart hurt as she saw the beautiful seeds of love dying.

The talk of war started gradually, first with the young braves. They complained about how their neighbors were killing their deer and picking their berries. At first the others laughed because everyone knew the deer and berries belonged to the Great Spirit. But the talk of war soon took on a life of its own. It was a way for many of the people to channel their fear.

The old women heard the talk and wept silently at night. They knew firsthand the pain of war. They had lost many sons and husbands over the years but war had not visited their village since the Grandmother had come to live with them. One by one they came and sat at the Grandmother’s fire; they talked about their fears, and asked the Grandmother what they could do.

“Forget your fear, walk in love. Look at the way others walk through the village. Walk not in fear. Share your love and your light as you move through the village; look at each person you pass and bless them. Share what you have, know that the Great Spirit will provide.”

The old women left muttering to themselves. It was easy for the Grandmother to say; they knew death waited for all of them this winter. Their hearts were too full of fear to heed her words.

The talk of war continued to spread. People no longer shared their meals and families built their fires alone.

The hunters went out and came back empty handed. They cursed their luck and muttered in anger about the neighboring villages. They knew the spirits of the land were against them and that many would starve during the long winter ahead. The grumbling spread throughout the village.

Finally the elders called a council meeting. The young warriors stood outside, their faces filled with anticipation and fear. War was the answer and they all knew it. They would raid their neighbors, kill them, and take the food that had been stolen from their lands.

The meeting had been going on for most of the evening. The energy of war filled the air and the crowd was thick around the gathering place. There was barely room to move, when suddenly the crowd began to part.

The Grandmother walked slowly and deliberately toward the meeting place. As always her eyes were filled with love but there was a sadness and a determination few had ever seen before.

A murmur went through the crowd of women and young warriors as she lifted the skin covering the meeting room door. Women weren’t allowed in the council meeting but no one dared stop her–she was, after all, the Grandmother.

The men fell silent as she entered. She looked around the room, meeting the eyes of everyone present, and she walked over to the Chief and stood in front of him. She looked deep into his eyes, then turned, and faced the fire as she raised her arms in prayer. The fire crackled, growing brighter by the moment, and the wind outside began to howl.

“I call upon the power of love. May only love be present here and may its light wash away any illusion of anger, hatred, or fear. I call upon the ancestors and all those who have gone before us or will come after us. May their wisdom and light be present here as well.”

The air began to shimmer and the people could feel the loving presence of the Great Spirit. The Grandmother stood in silence, her eyes closed, and her hands open facing the sky.

When she finally spoke her voice was filled with gentleness and power. “What is it you want to create? Why did you gather here tonight? Will war really solve your dilemma?”

Everyone started talking at once. The voices of fear were loud and raucous. The Chief stood up and everyone fell silent.

“Grandmother, you know we don’t have enough food for the winter and our neighbors kill our deer. We must protect our village. We must survive.”

The Grandmother slowly turned and looked at the Chief.

“At what price?”

The Chief began to speak and the Grandmother silenced him. No one silenced the Chief. When he again tried to speak she turned and looked at him. Her eyes were full of fire. His mouth continued to move but he couldn’t utter a single word.

“I said silence. I have enjoyed your loving hospitality for many moons. I have never interfered with tribal matters, but you have gone too far. Do you remember nothing I taught you? Do you so easily throw away the gifts of love? This village has grown and prospered because of the love you so freely shared. Do you love only when you feel safe? Do you turn your back on love as soon as fear starts whispering in your ear? Do you believe your eyes instead of your heart? Everything in your life is a gift freely given. If you try to hold on in fear it dissolves and you are left with nothing but your fear. Is that what you want?”

She looked around and stood before Gray Wolf. He had fear in his eyes and war in his heart.

“What is it you want to create with this war of yours? What is your intent, Gray Wolf?”

“I want to feed my family and take back what is rightly ours.”

“Why do you want to feed your family Gray Wolf?”

“That is a silly question old woman; because I love them.”

“So your intent is to show your love to your family by killing other families?”

She looked deeply into his eyes and touched his heart with her love. For a moment he had seen through her eyes and he saw what was really in his heart. He looked away in shame.

She looked around the circle and the men all lowered their eyes. They too had seen what was in their hearts and they were ashamed they had so easily surrendered to fear.

“If your intent is to love your families, love. Love everyone–especially your neighbors. If you let love be your guide you will always have enough. Fear causes starvation. Love never will. Give thanks for your blessings, bless your neighbor, share your bounty, and live in love.

“Your intent to love must be followed by loving actions. Love expands, fear contracts. If your intent is to love, be fearless in all you do, both in thought and in deed.

“Have you ever seen me want for anything? Have you ever seen me do anything but love? Would love deny you anything? My food barrels are full and yours will be too as soon as you open up your hearts and share. Give in love, without fear, and you will always have enough. As soon as fear infects your thinking you can be sure that scarcity will begin to rule your life.”

The Grandmother turned and walked out of the room. The young warriors were surprised when the Chief emerged a little later and ordered everyone to begin preparations for a great feast. All the villagers returned to their homes and took stock of what they could contribute.

The next day the neighboring villages were all summoned to share in their bounty. Laughter filled the village again, there was plenty of food for everyone, and the Grandmother smiled as the Chief said the blessing. He talked about love and sharing. He talked about always having enough as long as your intent was to walk in love.

The village shared their food with many starving people that winter. Their storerooms were always full. Anyone who came to their village was offered a place by their hearths and given all they could eat. They were sent away with a full stomach, a heart full of love, and all the food they could carry to take back to their families. Many learned the lesson of love and intent that winter.

With love and aloha,
Susan

PS. Watch out for what is coming next!

Suddenly I began to think of rain and what a miracle it is, water falling from the sky. Sometimes clouds are fluffy and white, at other time they share their water with the earth. This morning they were gray and dark yet I knew that the sun was shinning just on the other side of them. Rain gives life to the earth and many people are in need of that life giving water.

Cycles of life

Just think about the all the cycles of life. Plants turn CO2 into oxygen, water recycles, we are born, live and die. What an incredible gift each moment is and if we are willing we can allow a simple act like observing the rain to change our entire perspective and in the process change our life.

Life is miraculous and an experience best savored in the moment….

Just some thoughts on a wonderful, miraculous rainy Friday morning.

With love and aloha,
Susan

PS. The drought in Somalia is devastating. Here is link to some organizations that are helping.

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Perspective Changes Everything

As so many of us do, I carried wounds from my childhood into my adult life. As a young girl I was molested by some boys. At the time I was devastated. I was sure it was my fault, and when the boys told me not to tell anyone or they would kill me I believed them. Before that I never felt like I fit in afterwards I felt like a total misfit. I was sure life was a complex game and everybody except me knew how to play. When I began my journey of self-discovery in my twenties I ran across the concept of forgiveness and with a great deal of anger and judgment promptly rejected the idea. Over the years my thoughts on forgiveness have changed drastically. Now I believe forgiveness is one of the most important steps we can take toward achieving self-acceptance, peace of mind, and happiness.

We are taught to think in terms of duality: right and wrong, positive and negative, good and bad, black and white, you and me. Our society is based on the concept of domination – the society and the individual are seen as separate – the problem and the solution are two different things. As long as we view the world that way judgment and comparison are very much a part of our thought process. Forgiveness seems like we are letting them off the hook – punishment makes much more sense than forgiveness. We aren’t taught to believe that everything in life is one. But in truth we are all one, everything and everyone is part of the great mystery of life.

There is another way of viewing life, which I call dominion. Symbolically I think of dominion as a huge sphere, a womb that holds everything lovingly within it. How we view events in our life depends upon where we are standing on that sphere. I am not separate from anyone hence no one can do anything to me, they just do it. Viewing life this way makes forgiveness a desirable and understandable component of life. Let me explain. As I embraced the concept of dominion I realized that those boys didn’t do anything to me, I just happened to be in the same place they were when they decided to do something. The boys that molested me dealt with their emotional pain by passing it on to me. It was really all about them. What a gift that realization was for me! Not only was I able to forgive them but I was able to forgive myself and really see the experience for what it was, an opportunity to learn how to open my heart and love at a much deeper level.

I strongly believe that if we learn to live in dominion instead of domination the world would be a much more loving and gentle place to live. In dominion, instead of judging things we embrace them. Life, relationships, and everyday events become an opportunity for us to see our filter system, which is composed of all of our assumptions, agreements, and beliefs. In each moment we have a choice – will I see this through the eyes of my filter system, the eyes of fear and separation, or will I see through the eyes of my spirit, the eyes of love and oneness? In each moment we can choose to either be in domination or dominion.

When I first introduce these concepts to people they usually say I am asking them to be a doormat. They ask me how I can embrace the rapist or the murderer? When they ask that, I share the story of my family. The Nazis killed my great grandmother during the holocaust while a cousin went back to Germany to fight with the Nazis. Dominion allowed me to accept and understand both a brutal murder and murderer. Many holocaust survivors share that they couldn’t make peace with their experiences in the camps until they forgave the Nazis. I believe that as a species we missed a wonderful opportunity after World War II. If you want to get rid of a dandelion, cutting the head off won’t work. If you deal only with what’s on the surface the weed will come right back; if you dig out the root, the weed will be gone forever.

The legacy of Hitler and the holocaust isn’t just about unthinkable cruelty and genocide. Those were just the head of the dandelion. If we have the courage to really examine the root we will find judgment and our need for domination. I believe the questions we ask as a society often define us. What if we had asked ourselves what caused Hitler to have a filter system that allowed him to make choices that resulted in the death of millions of people? What if we had seen judgment as the cause of all that death and suffering and Hitler as the symbol of our collective hatred, criticism, and judgment? What could we have changed as a society? Where would we be today if we had sought to free ourselves from judgment instead of focusing our judgment on what they did?

Everything in life is a process and by definition a process takes time. Getting to the point that we are even willing to think about forgiveness often takes a long time. I believe exploring the concept of dominion expedites arriving there. When we view the world from a place of dominion our perspective changes and we are able to fully embrace the experience. As we learn to embrace the events in our life the problem and the solution become one.

The first step in our emotional healing is allowing ourselves to freely vent our anger and judgment. It is important not to rush through this step. Do whatever is necessary to release the emotional trash surrounding the issue; write a series of letters fully expressing all your thoughts, judgments, and feelings and then burn them; draw pictures; scream and yell; beat on pillows. After all, if we have a lot of emotional trash hanging around it makes it much harder to move toward forgiveness. Once we release the emotions we have attached to the memory we can begin the process of forgiveness and acceptance and then we can begin to see the gift every event in our life contains.

All of our emotions are generated by what we tell ourselves about the events in our lives rather than by the events themselves. As we change what we tell ourselves about an event our emotions will change as well. Our emotions are really signposts that point toward our filter system. Our filter system is composed of our beliefs, the assumptions we’ve made about life, and the agreements we have made with ourselves and our world. We think we are seeing reality when we are really seeing the distorted version of reality created by our beliefs, the assumptions we’ve made about life, and the agreements we’ve made with ourselves and our world; we see our filter system and not the world.

We often say things like, “You hurt my feelings,” or “You really make me angry.” What actually happens is someone does something, then we tell ourselves something about what happened, and those words generate our emotional response. All the events in our lives are emotionally neutral until we attach an emotion to the event by what we tell ourselves. When we realize our emotions are our own creation we can use them to set ourselves free of our limiting beliefs. We can use the events in our life to illuminate our filter system. Instead of focusing our attention on our emotions and trying to change the events in our life we can change the way we think. We don’t want to suppress our emotions, it is important for us to feel them and do what is necessary to release them. That allows us to have an opportunity to see our filter system in a neutral and non-judgmental manner.

After we achieve a degree of emotional neutrality it is much easier for us to see our filter system for what it is – a collection of ungrounded and limiting beliefs. Our mind would much rather be right than be happy. Our spirit is limitless while our mind feels safer within the familiar limits of our filter system. Once we fully embrace that which our mind wants to judge we can then set ourselves free. At that point not only do we forgive ourselves and anyone else involved with the event but we move beyond the need for forgiveness.

As we move beyond forgiveness and toward acceptance we see the beauty of all of our creations. When we view life from the perspective of dominion we begin to see it as a work of art we create moment by moment. Every event in our life is an opportunity to deepen our connection with ourselves, the people in our lives, and with God, the Great Spirit or whatever you choose to call the Creator of this magnificent universe. After we clearly see the role our filter system plays in our experience of life we often want to release it.

Until then we frequently attempt to control things beyond our control so we can be happy or at least comfortable. We try to change the events in our lives instead of how we see them. When we learn to focus on our filter system instead of what ‘they did’ or ‘what happened to us’ we can learn to be happy no matter what is going on in our lives. We can move beyond forgiveness to a deep sense of acceptance of life just as it is. When we finally realize it has been our filter system that has prevented us from being happy we can change how we think about life.

Changing your mind is a process and it can be an easy and enjoyable one or one that is full of pain and struggle, the choice is yours. To make it a more enjoyable experience create an inner sanctuary for yourself, become your own best friend, talk lovingly to yourself, and gently accept yourself just the way you are. Remember, learning to see life through the eyes of dominion and love is a process that takes time. Give yourself the gift of taking as much time as you need.

With love and aloha,
Susan

When I did that I began to remember different events from my childhood. I began to have a happy childhood instead of an abusive one. We create much of our everyday experiences based on our stories about the past so why not rewrite your past? Happy stories create happy present moments. Do you want to hold onto your past or create a joyous life moment by moment? Or as I often ask: Do you want to be right or be happy?

Is the thought of totally rewriting your past challenging?

When I introduce people to this idea the first response I usually get is, “Isn’t that denial?” Remember we never see reality directly, We see our filter system’s version of reality – is that denial? Why not focus on a ‘truth’ that facilitates us creating what we want when we want it?

What do you have to lose by letting go of your “my past is my past and they done me wrong” story? Misery, limitations, being right, blaming others, feeling like a victim, being at affect of the past.

What do you have to gain by rewriting the past? Happiness, freedom, joy, a life of your dreams and the ability to create what you want when you want.

It never is too late to have a happy childhood! When I recapitulated my experience of being kidnapped and molested I got to see my beliefs around being powerless, playing a victim and a variety of limiting beliefs. Once I shifted those beliefs I no longer had a need to judge those boys or feel like it was a negative experience. It was part of my childhood based on some old beliefs. In the context of those beliefs it was a logical outcome. I am free and feel grateful.

At least play with the idea of rewriting what was so you change what will be.

Join me in my free teleclass July 6, 2011 if you have any questions.

With love and aloha,
Susan

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Deliberate Intent

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Suffering is optional

Imagine living your life deliberately

Personal freedom is all about deliberate intent. When we consciously choose our thoughts and actions we can create whatever we want when we want it. We tend to allow our mind to ramble. We think anywhere from 12,000 to 50,000 thoughts per day and today you will think 95% of the same thoughts that you had yesterday. We not only ramble we repeat the same things over and over again.

Our thoughts generate energy vibrations and based on those vibrations we invite events into our life. Our filter system dictates many of our thoughts and generates our attitude about life. We can continue to allow our mind to wander and create our experience of reality or we can begin to choose our thoughts deliberately.

That choice can set you free

Spiritual practices take practice. You can begin to practice being deliberate today, in this moment. Instead of just allowing your mind to wander consciously choose what you think. How many opinions do you have about almost everything in life? Do those opinions help you create what you want or do they just create more of the same old same old?

Our thoughts are either love based and expansive or fear based and constrictive. Energy is always in motion. It is either expanding or contracting. The world is a vast energy system and we are magicians constantly manipulating that energy, creating whatever is consistent with our predominant energy.  When we deliberately set our intent and choose thoughts that are consistent with that intent conscious creation unfolds easily and effortlessly.

Conscious creation happens when we stop our mind from rambling

Imagine your mind getting very quiet and only speaking to you when you ask for its opinion. Our minds are trainable. We can literally install a screen saver on our mind much like we do on our computer. I leave my computer on all day and it goes to sleep when I am not using it. As soon as I touch a key it wakes up and awaits my command. It isn’t demanding and doesn’t tell me what to do unless I ask it to, then an alarm goes off and reminds me of an action that needs to occur.

With our intent and practice we can have the same sort of a relationship with our mind. It does take training and practice but the results are worth it. Begin by setting your intent, then practice consciously choosing what you want to focus your attention on. Your breath is a wonderful tool to facilitate training your mind. You are a limitless being, a spirit inside your body. Your mind was never meant to be in charge of your life, your spirit was. Breathe consciously, use your breath to deepen your connection to your spirit.

So, practice deliberant intent

Give yourself a gift, think about deliberate intent. Think about thinking deliberately. Practice making that choice in your life and see what happens.

I’d love to hear from you . Do you have any questions, thoughts or feelings?

Until next time ….

With love,
Susan

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The other day I was teaching a class and a woman suggested giving up suffering was dangerous. At first I thought she was kidding but after a short conversation I realized she was really serious. We talked for a while, I made some suggestions and clearly she was very attached to suffering.  I remember making a similar agreement to a therapist I was working with before I began my spiritual journey.

Still attached to suffering?

As I was leaving I said, “I’ll see you next week” to which she replied, “I don’t think I am ready to give up suffering yet.” She wasn’t in class the next week but as luck would have it as I was driving home I stopped to pick up a hitchhiker and it was my suffering lady. The look on her face was priceless as I am sure was mine when she opened the door.

It was about a long ride so we talked. I started by asking her how she was doing with suffering. At first she looked defensive but after a few minutes she relaxed and we talked.  She explained why she believed in suffering, because it was inevitable. I shared some of my thoughts about perspective, emotional neutrality and paradigms and she got very quiet.  Then she smiled and said maybe I don’t have to suffer after all.

Change is part of life – suffering is a choice

Change is an inevitable part of life, suffering is always optional depending upon what we tell ourselves. I have had lots of conversations about Japan lately. The tsunami caused incredible devastation. If I tell one set of stories about it I have one experience. Since the world is a vast energy system I can launch a tidal wave of grief, sadness and feelings of despair. If I choose to see it differently I can launch a wave of hope, joy, love and expansion. The question is what do we want to create more of?

But how do we watch the news and not react to the stories we see? How do we talk about life to our friends? Recently Masaru Emoto sent out a prayer request for the water around the nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan. After that when I thought of the tsunami I thought of that prayer and sent out an expansive energy instead of one of sadness or fear.

When you talk about anything set your intent to send out the energy of gratitude, love and expansion. If there is a news story about violence send out a prayer of love to all those impacted by those actions. When we decide to let go of suffering and decide to share love instead, our lives become truly blessed.

What is it I want more of?

We talk, we think, we react and occasional we stop to ask ourselves what we want to create more of …. deliberate intent can be a very powerful force in our lives when we choose to engage it. A wonderful practice is to consciously watch the news and send love. Consciously watch your thoughts and choose to think expansive ones. When you notice an old habitual thought that creates limitations and suffering consciously choose another one.Fully engage your deliberate intent.

Next time more on deliberate intent ….

Until next time

With love and aloha,
Susan

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Humans are basically pack animals, we follow the leader or we are the leader, we gather in groups and feel safest when we know we are part of a tribe. That fear of being alone often drives many of our choices.

I remember watching an episode of the original Twilight Zone. This man wanted to be left alone so he could just sit and read books. There was a nuclear holocaust and he survived. He wandered the streets finding food and then he found a library. He went and gathered all his favorite books as he sat down to start reading he dropped his glasses and they shattered. He couldn’t see a thing without them. Rod Serling commented about the irony of this man’s situation in his dead pan voice.

Do you ever feel like you live in the Twilight Zone?

The Twilight Zone had lots of great episodes that pointed out the irony of our choices. Have you ever felt like you were living in the Twilight Zone? Our filter system often causes us to make choices that create outcomes we would rather avoid. If we make choices based on fear the best we can create is more fear. If we make choices based on love we create more love. Seeing the world though the eyes of love takes practice.

I am scheduled to go to Japan and teach classes in June so I have been following the news about the nuclear reactors very closely. It is an opportunity to practice. Back in the 70’s I wrote an article for an alternative newspaper about nuclear energy. It was far from loving and very judgmental.

How do you see through the eyes of love?

When I connect to my spirit seeing through the eyes of love is much easier. When I am connected to my spirit I know I am one with everyone and everything. I was teaching a class the other day and a woman wanted to know why people would make the choice to build nuclear reactors in such a seismically active location. A wonderful question to catch the attention of our filter system and keep us disconnected from our spirit.

Seeing through the eyes of love is facilitated by asking questions that deepen our connection to our spirit rather than questions that feed our filter system, questions that I call mind candy.

What is mind candy?

Our minds are such busy creatures. Virtual thought machines, endlessly thinking, random thoughts, often fear based, filled with limiting beliefs, certain of its version of reality and that it knows the truth about everything. Mind candy feeds that belief and helps solidify the mind’s limited awareness of reality.

Any thoughts that feed that limiting perspective is what I call mind candy. ‘Why’ questions are a wonderful source of mind candy. They allow us to think and think, go round and round with why without arriving at a new behavior or a more expansive version of reality. Anything that allows us to argue for our limitations is also mind candy. It is addictive and helps us stay miserable.

Connect with your spirit and you ARE NOT alone

The antithesis of mind candy is anything that deepens your connect to your spirit, anything that allows you to connect with your limitless nature and expands your awareness. When you connect with your spirit you know you are one with everyone and everything. The more you open up to that reality the more you feel loved, feel the love and know you are lovable.

Once again polish up your bookends, meditate, listen to guided meditations, look in the mirror and say I love you, pray and just remind yourself you are one. You are never alone, you can’t be you are a spiritual being that is infinite so you are one with the entire universe. Allow yourself to be loved.

With love and aloha,
Susan

To All People Around the World

Messenger of Water

With love and aloha,
Susan

Angels are everywhere just open your mind and your heart to the signs.

Make Angels on Your Shoulder part of your daily routine and share it with a friend!

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Japan, and the tsunami, and the earthquake, and 2012. Is the end near? No. Not in my opinion anyway; 2012, I think, is the year between 2011 and 2013. It’s entirely up to us what we create.

As I’ve been watching the news from Japan there have been times where I’ve been brought to tears. One of the scenes that I found most touching was a rescue worker and an old man. They came together and they said a prayer. He was looking for his family. It really, really touched my heart, and seeing news stories of little girls selling their toys to send the money to Japan. I saw one little girl that did all these art projects and was trying to sell them to send money.

This week we’ve had the opportunity to come together as a community and reach out in love to Japan. There are many ways to live life, two major ways: Aligned with your spirit, or aligned with your mind, with your filter system—totally different experiences of reality.

If we change our point of creation from our mind to our spirit, everything changes and nothing changes. Our experience of life totally changes. From the perspective of our spirit we can really see the perfection in everything. We really see everything as an opportunity for us to expand our awareness, to share love, to have an experience and then decide what we’re going to do with it.

So if you just practice shifting your point of creation from your mind to your spirit you’ll really be able to see the perfection in events like Japan.

The earth is going through some changes. I think as a species we’re having an opportunity to go through another evolutionary shift. There have been many. When we first inhabited the planet we were hunters and gatherers, and then we began to grow our own crops and we began to become an agricultural society. Then there were the dark ages—not necessarily an upbeat shift, but a different shift. Then came the Renaissance. After the Renaissance there was the industrial age, and now, I think, we’re having an opportunity to make another evolutionary shift.

When we change our point of creation from our mind to our spirit, when we align ourselves with the energy that gives life to our body, rather than aligning ourselves with our body, from that perspective we’ll create an entirely different world, an entirely different experience of life.

In the coming years I think there will be changes. The financial reality has been getting a bit dicey. There seems to be a little bit more unrest in countries. I don’t think it has anything to do with 2012. I just think it has to do with some things just aren’t working, and it’s time to do something different.

In the great depression there were more millionaires than at any other time in history. If you align yourself with your spirit the coming years will be a time for you to savor and enjoy, and have great experiences, and help others, and just really have fun.

If you align yourself with your filter system and you just follow along like a lemming, you might not enjoy the experience as much.

I’m sure there were some people in Japan that weren’t home when the tsunami hit and are still alive. I’m sure there were probably some people that meant to be some place else but were caught up in tsunami.

When we really align ourselves with our spirit, we’re not around when disasters happen.

So give yourself that gift. Give yourself the gift of beginning to really, consciously set your intent to align yourself with your spirit. See what happens. I know my life has improved dramatically as I have.

When you find yourself angry, when you find yourself really arguing from your limitations, take a deep breath. Ask yourself, “How could I see this through the eyes of my spirit? What would love do?” Asking questions like that will make a really big difference in your life.

So, thanks for tuning in. Just remember, you are loved. That’s all that real. You are loved. You are lovable because that’s all there is.

I send you my love and my Aloha, and I hope you have an absolutely wonderful day—unless you have plans otherwise.

So, until next time, Namaste!

With love and aloha,
Susan

The theories about current events

I have gotten emails about magnetic shifts, God punishing humanity and a lot of ‘I hope you are okay messages.’ My theory about life is it just is and what matters to me is what I do with what is. When the first earthquake woke me up the news was on and I found myself watching images of the earthquake in Japan. My first thought was to pray and call upon the angels. I know they were already there helping out but a burst of extra love couldn’t hurt.

I emailed the people I work with in Japan and other than being tired (they couldn’t go home because the subway wasn’t  running) they were all fine. Why is all this happening? Because it is. To me the why is irrelevant. What matters is what I do and the energy I project out into my world. I was so happy my first thought upon awakening was to send love instead of becoming fearful, judgmental or anger.

Love or fear

I often tell my students understanding is the booby prize. Focusing on why and trying to understand the reasons things happened seldom helps us open our heart, deepen our connecting with our spirit or love more. Why questions are often futile attempts to avoid our fear and a desire to control life so we feel safer.

Questions like:

How can I see this through the eyes of the angels and love?
What would love do?
How can I be of service?

These question help me deepen my connection to my spirit, add love to the planet and I am better able to see the perfection in everything. I hope you will join me in sending love to the earth, Japan and all the people affected by this event. Imagine love and light flooding the area and say a prayer for everyone’s deepening connection to their spirit and emotional and physical healing.

Life is an awesome adventure, best savored in the moment.

With love and aloha,
Susan

Let me tell you a little story about water lilies that is really all about life, creating what you want, surrender, acceptance and a whole lot of other useful things.

The ponds, the lily and life

I have several ponds with lotus in them. One pond has pink lotus and the other yellow lotus. For several years I tried to grow a white lotus. Last year I nurtured a white lotus plant for months when a huge bud began to grow I was so excited until the bud finally opened and it was pink. It was beautiful but I was disappointed, I wanted a white lotus. I called the man I bought the white lotus from, he apologized and he offered to replace the pink lotus.

A few months later he called and told me he had a white lotus plant for me. When I went over to get it I bought a few other water lilies and I saw this beautiful peach colored lily. He reached into the pond, pulled out a piece of the lily and gave it to me as a gift. It had very fleshy roots and when I took it home my chickens ate most of its leaves before I got a chance to plant it.

I never thought it would survive. One day I went up to the pond and it was in full bloom but the while lotus didn’t have a single leaf and sure looked dead to me. I simply planted the lily and trusted the process with little or no attachment to the outcome. The white lotus I had struggled with (killed several), really , really wanted one, worried about it and fussed with it.  The light came on!

Energetically, what was I feeding these two plants? One I was feeding love, gratitude and joy while the other I was feeding fear, judgment and control. I thought about it, realized lotus plants are very hardy and let go. This is the time of year lotus are dormant and as soon as I let go I notice 4 tiny leaves (well tiny for lotus leaves) then five and at last count 8. Love, trusting the process, surrender and joy sure is a lot better growing medium!

Letting your life blossom and grow

The moral of the story you ask? Life is a vast energy system and much like a garden. If you send out love you get love back. If you keep your garden fertilized (love) and weeded (choosing loving, expansive thoughts) your investments comes back multiplied and filled with beauty, wonder and grace.

Moment by moment you really have only two choices: love or fear. Love and fear manifest in a whole assortment of shapes and sizes, stories, agreements, assumptions and actions but no matter how we disguise them they are still either love or fear.

Perspective makes such a difference

I never cease to be amazed how drastically life can change when we change our perspective and get clear about what we want to create. Once we clearly choose love life becomes so magical and filled with miracles, grace and ease.

These are two photos of the same water lily from different perspectives. How else could you see what is going on in your life and the world? How could you choose love? And what is it you REALLY want to create?

With love and aloha,
Susan

PS. I have opened my apprentice class for the first time in years for a brief time – check it out!

Are the Holocaust victims at fault?

I recently had a woman say “I spent a few days trying to reconcile inviting things like this into our lives.” and another person asked me. “How can I say that the victims invited such a catastrophe into their lives and could they really make it all go away by thinking happy thoughts?….what am I missing?”

When we look at life from the perspective of our mind we see good and evil; right and wrong; life and death. The idea of life being perfect and everything being pono (right place, right time, absolutely perfect) is an impossible concept. It is hard to even imagine no less embrace. Of course the Holocaust victims aren’t at fault.

From the perspective of our spirit

However, when we see life through the eyes of our spirit we see a totally different world. We see the world as a place we all come together, experiment, play and see the three dimensional version of our beliefs, agreements and assumptions. Death is simply part of the game, certainly not final because we are an immortal, infinite and eternal spirit. We go on even after the game ends.

I had a vision after 9/11 of all the people that died on that day showing up in the after life at the same time, looking at one another surprised and say, “What a hell of a ride that was!” Events like war, the holocaust, rape and murder are all indicative of people that are living their lives from their filter system, immersed in their mind’s perspective and certainly not from a connection to their spirit.

The chance World War II gave us

I firmly believe at the end of WWII we had an incredible opportunity to really change our paradigm from one of judgment and fear to one of love. At the end of World War II we had an opportunity to ask ourselves questions about what allowed the Nazis to flourish and the holocaust to happen but instead we did what we always do, react. If we had looked at the real cause we would have realized it was judgment, fear and a collective belief in separation. When we live from our spirit we realize, “you are me, I am you and we are one.” How could we judge from that perspective? There are choices made in love and ones based in fear. Fear leads to judgment and violence while love leads to acceptance and more love.

What if instead of blaming and punishing the Nazis we as a species looked, sincerely looked at what judgment, fear and a belief in separation has created throughout history. What if we looked for ways to overcome our judgmental nature. Realistically, I don’t think we are ready do that as a society but we can do that individually.

Next time you have a judgment, listen to your heart instead

Asking the question: How can I see this through the eyes of love or the eyes of my spirit? will change your perspective if you are willing to listen to the answer.  A question like this,”How can I say that the victims invited such a catastrophe into their lives?” is based on judgment. The words victim and catastrophe have an emotional charge based on a belief that is fear based.  What you say! Of course there are victims and victimizers.

Stay with me for a minute. If you step back and see the world from the loving, expansive perspective of your spirit there are no victims, just spirits having an experience, granted not necessarily a loving, light-hearted, fun one but it is just an experience. Life is emotionally neutral. No event in life has an emotion inherently attached to it. Death can be tragic, grief laden or simple a transition or a joyous return home. Based on your story you have an experience.

I see every event in life as an opportunity to deepen my connection with my spirit or my filter system. If I judge or react in fear from my filter system (my beliefs, agreements and assumptions) gets thicker and my life becomes more limited. If I choose to deepen my connection with my spirit I move closer to my true, limitless nature.

There are certainly events that require more acceptance and love than others. It is easy to be loving when everything is going well. We have a choice to choose how to act or we react based on our perspective. Choosing to act feels so much better than reacting.  Seeing the Holocaust through the eyes of love and compassion allows us deepen our connection to our spirit, we feel better and have a more expansive perspective. If I judge the Holocaust I feel sad, angry and afraid.

Look at the world fear built

We have been practicing judgment and fear for centuries. What if we gave love a chance? I could write books and am working on a book about this paradigm shift so I imagine you have some thoughts or feelings. I’d love to hear from you and the comment section is waiting!!

With love and aloha,
Susan

Related Posts:

Mosques at ground zero and 9/11
Being Responsible versus Being at Fault
Ripples

With love and aloha,
Susan

I have long been an advocate of random acts of kindness. This is an opportunity to be of service for a whole year to perform 25 acts of service in 2011. Service is the antithesis of fear, helps improve the quality of your life and is sure to chase the blues away.

Give yourself and your community the gift of being of service. Spread love and help the world have more love.

With love and aloha,
Susan

She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate ) and radioed an
environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

I pass this on to you, my friends, in the same spirit.

It’s a good life!

One of my students sent me this and it really touched my heart especially since next month I am taking a group of people to Baja to spend several days with the whales.

With love and aloha,
Susan

Today I started that process for myself. First I will review 2010. What was my intent for 2010 and what did I actually create? Are there any patterns? How can I use 2010 to make 2011 an incredible year? When viewed through the eyes of love what did I discover about myself and my filter system?

Then I set my intent for the coming year. What is my intent for 2011?

As I sat by the pond this morning I was deeply moved by how much my life has changed over the years. My life used to be chaotic and now I have this incredible place of peace. The sun was just starting to hit the pond, the birds were celebrating the morning with their songs, the fish were feeding and my cat was running up and down a tree.

I could attribute my feelings of joy etc to the surroundings or realize I created those feelings within myself first and then my world reflected them in physical form. I have been getting lots of emails from people who have lost their jobs and some have been looking for work for several years. How do you feel abundant, joyous and grateful when you are about to lose your home?

When I was living in chaos, hiding my car from the repo man and not sure where my next meal was coming from I realized I had a choice. I could focus on what was currently happening in my life and create more of that or I could decide what I wanted to create and allow myself to be grateful for already having it. Some people think of that as denial. I think of it as shifting gears or changing my energy state so I can more easily create what I want.

What is your intent for 2011? Feel it, know it and resonate with it no matter what is going on around you. If you don’t have a job do something each day to create one and then go volunteer some where, help others instead of worrying. Share love and watch your life fill with more love.

With love and aloha,
Susan

The same thing can be true of our lives. With some time and effort anything can be changed. As I sit by my pond and reflect on how it continues to grow I have a feeling of wonder and gratitude. I just bought several more colors of water lilies and look forward to them adding their unique essence to the vista.

It is almost 2011. What is it you would like to create in your life? Are you willing to take the necessary time and exert the effort to make it so? A year from now you will be a year older and if you keep acting and thinking in the same way your life will be the same. If you take the time to modify your thinking you could instead create the life of your dreams.

In February I am taking a small group of people to Mexico. We will spend 5 days with the magnificent Grey Whales. It will be an awesome time of fun and transformation. I heartily invite you to come along. Once you look into the eye of a whale your life will change forever.

With love and aloha,
Susan

As I sat here today I was amazed by how much my life had changed. I reflected back to when I began my journey. I had just lost two businesses and had just gone bankrupt. I was miserable and suicidal. I certainly had no idea that someday I would own this beautiful piece of paradise and have this wonderful pond to sit beside and meditate. I clearly never envisioned blogging about my life because at that point there was no internet!

I share the contrast as a reminder that anything is possible. I still have some friends whose lives are still pretty much the same. During the holidays we reconnect and I listen to them talking about the same things every year. The only difference was I was willing to do whatever it took to deepen my connection with my spirit and to clear out my filter system.

Another new year has begun here in the Northern Hemisphere, yesterday was the winter solstice. I use today as a day of reflection and a day to decide what it is I would like to create in the coming year. What is it you would like more of or less of in your life this year? What is it you would like to create and are you willing to do whatever it takes to do so?

2011 is almost upon us. What will you see a year from now when you reflect back on your life?

Until December 31st I am offering a special on my Art of Allowing video class. Choosing to spend a year with that class would certainly make 2011 a year of deep personal transformation and healing.

With love and aloha,
Susan

Number 1 all time favorite has to be Richard Bach’s book Illusions.

A friend gave me a copy of it, I looked at it, had a negative judgment about it and immediately put it away on my bookshelf.

Several months later I was in the midst of a huge drama in my life and picked it. I knew I needed to read it and there was a message in there for me. I kept skipping the handwritten part in the beginning of the book. After reading it several times I finally read the story about the creatures clinging to the side of the river and found an answer to my problem. I love this book and suggest you read the WHOLE thing many, many many times!

My next favorite book is by Jane Roberts. I was so glad when they rereleased these three books in one  volume. They are the story of Oversoul Seven, three novels that explain the nature of physical reality in an enjoyable and easy to understand manner.

The first book i ever read about human potential was Jane Robert’s The Nature of Personal Reality. I would read a few paragraphs and sometimes it would take days to understand or digest the ideas. Now it is how I live but in the 70’s it was ‘way out there.’

When I was really hitting bottom emotionally I found this book or it found me. I was living in Nantucket at the time and remember reading it on the ferry. It was a stormy day and I remember looking out the foggy window wondering if I could ever love myself. Healing my life and having a wonderful life was beyond my capacity to believe at that time. When I look back I am so grateful I actually did the exercises and deciding to change my life. Louise Hay is an amazing woman. Her life is a shinning beacon for millions.

This book really touched my heart. Years later I was privileged to be a workshop leader with her in Egypt. She was such a warm and caring person, very real and living her life based on these concepts. No mater what the question LOVE is always the answer. I was deeply touched by her spirit as well as her words.

I Come As A Gentle Brother is just a wonderful reminder of a loving way to see life. Its subtitle says it all – all we have to do is focus on what is real (the love) and see the illusions (limitations and fear) for what they are reflections of our false beliefs.

These are just a few of my favorites. I will add more in the coming days. Enjoy!

With love and aloha for you,
Susan

I am creating an Amazon bookstore with all my favorites if you’d like to check them out.

At least gratitude created miracles in my life. When I began my journey I was so busy focusing on external events I seldom took the time to be grateful. I kept waiting for a burning bush, the perfect lover or the big score financially then I would be happy and perhaps even grateful.

I was working from the outside in instead of the inside out. The world is a perfect reflection of our filter system so expecting the world to bring us happiness is like putting the cart in front of the horse. My life really changed dramatically when I began to focus on gratitude. When I am grateful fear dissolves and happiness begins to filter into all areas of my life.

The simple act of deciding to be grateful for whatever was in my life totally transformed my life. There is always something to be grateful for even if it is just gratitude for our next breath.

In the United States today is Thanksgiving Day. If you want to live the life of your dreams I suggest you make everyday Thanksgiving Day.

With love, aloha and a lot of gratitude,
Susan

Check out my free video series on the Art of Allowing

With love and aloha,
Susan

By being loving we feel better

By offering love instead of fear we make our corner of the world a little bit better

Life is all about change, we can embrace it or fight but regardless change happens

Happiness is always just a thought away

We can think that thought no matter what is happening in our lives

Choosing happiness takes practice

Life is and then we tell ourselves a story, our experience is based on our story

We can change our stories

Life is a grand adventure and a fatal disease (our bodies all die we don’t)

You are an energy that gives life to your body

You are a spirit, a ghost from the ethereal realms meant to have fun

There are no tests in life just opportunities to connect with our spirit or our mind

We are limitless, all of our limits arise in our minds

Our choice is love or fear, love gets more enjoyable results

You are the creator of your life

You are one with everyone and everything

Life can be elegantly easy and effortless (I love the sound of that)

Care to add a few of your own?

With love and aloha,
Susan

Well I just had one recently . . .

I am leaving for Lithuania in a few days and I was trying to get everything done before I left. One of those things was opening up my favorite program, Mastering Life.

I’ve been re-working this apprenticeship program for a while now. As I was going through the class material, I suddenly had a flash. I’m really enjoying the updating process and getting excited about these updates, but I’m feeling really pressured to move faster and try to get it done immediately.

Then my little voice suddenly piped up and said, “Allow yourself to fully savor reading and editing this material rather than just getting it done.”

What a relief. Now, while I spend time in my favorite place in the whole world (next to my home in Hawaii) I will savor re-reading and editing, tweaking and changing.

I was amazed that because I wanted to get things done I forgot to take time to smell the roses. Life is after all a journey best savored in the moment. So I am back to savoring and all is well in my world.

With lots of love and aloha,
Susan

If we decide to move away from fear we create fear to move away from but if we consciously choose to move toward love instead we create love to move toward. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which method would create a more pleasant experience.

Yet, our habitual, knee jerk reaction is to run away from fear. Our bodies are even hardwired to do that but you can begin to make a conscious choice moment by moment until moving toward love becomes your default setting.

How do we do that? The first step is to notice fear from a place of emotional neutrality. “Oh, I notice fear is present.” Just notice, avoid judging or reacting, just observe.

The next step is to make a new choice. How can you celebrate or appreciate whatever is seemingly creating your fear? You may not be able to do it at first but with practice you will be able to do it with ease.

It helps if you begin the practice of gratitude and appreciation before fear shows up. Take you top ten fears and find something the appreciate and celebrate about each one.

Examples:

Fear of death – I can use that to appreciate each moment of my life, stay in the moment and to be grateful for everything I do have

Not enough money – when you get a bill you can celebrate it’s arrival (This one takes practice), give thanks that someone trusted you to pay this bill, give sincere thanks for the money to pay this bill and really feel that. I actually made a special box for my bills decorated with hearts, dollar bills, fairies and angels. I displayed it on my desk and before long my finances changed.

Being abandoned – give thanks for the reminder to spend time opening up to your connection to your spirit and really feeling the sea of love you swim in.

I think you get the idea. Have a love fest instead of a marathon running from fear.

With love, an awareness of fear and choosing gratitude,
Susan

Impatients by the pond

Plumerias, they smell so sweet

Bananas almost ready for picking

With incredible gratitude for life,
Susan

With love and aloha,
Susan

Title: Solstice Ceremony
Time: Monday, June 21st at 9:30pm Eastern
Listening method: Phone + Web Simulcast

To attend, visit: http://attendthisevent.com/?eventID=13606896

I love doing ceremonies and this one sort of sneaked up on me. I have been so focused on daily life I lost track of the date. So I hope even with the late notice you can attend. I will be using the energy to send love and healing to all the planet but especially the Gulf region.

This is a wonderful time to set your intent to allow magic and miracles into your life.

And here is the replay of last week’s free webinar:
Personal Freedom: Creating the Life You Deserve

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=13014192

I also thought I’d let you know that a project I have been working on for two years has finally spread its wings and flew.

I’ve just opened charter membership to the brand new Art of Allowing Video Learning Series. You can learn lots more here:

http://www.artofallowingclass.com/join

Note that charter membership rates will end at midnight on June 27th(PST)

With love, aloha and a sense of excitement,
Susan

She and I have journeyed far together and I have decided my next book will be all teaching stories. Here is the first of many to come.

The Grandmother, the chief and omens

Grandmother pulled her robe closer as she looked up at the stars. It was a cold night for early spring and she wondered what the crops would be like this year.  She loved sitting outside watching the village sleep. She heard the gentle stirring of the wind as it began its morning journey across the land. Off in the distance the coyotes sang and an owl flew overhead.

She felt his presence as he stepped out of his Hogan, silently said his prayers and began walking toward her. Something was deeply troubling him. Perhaps he too felt the quiet whispers of the changes to come.

The horizon was just showing the first signs of light as he approached. Grandmother’s cooking fire was just springing to life as he settled onto the bench he had made for her as a boy.  What a gift watching him become a man. She was grateful he had turned into such a kind and loving leader. Grandmother handed him a cup of tea and slowly stirred the porridge.

They sat in silence, comfortable in each others company. Grandmother heard the owl again and pulled her robe a little closer. Death was in the wind or was it?

“What troubles you my son?”

“I feel the presence of death in the village. I am afraid someone I love will die. What if my wife or my son dies? I know I shouldn’t fear death that it is part of life but I just can’t shake this feeling. The feeling of darkness haunts my every step.”

“Are you sure it is death you fear? Did you talk to the darkness before you gave it a name?” The young man looked at Grandmother for the longest time.

“I am not sure what you mean. I feel the presence of death.”

The old woman poured another cup of tea and looked at the horizon slowly showing signs of the sun’s arrival. He followed her gaze and was struck by the beauty of this valley. He was filled with a familiar feeling of gratitude and peace.

Grandmother smiled as she looked at her young friend. They both sat in silence as they watched the sun come over the horizon. In winter and early spring the light always illuminated Grandmother’s place first, at her age she needed the extra warmth. A hawk flew overhead, circling three times before he screeched loudly and landed on a branch not too far away. He looked directly at Grandmother and began to clean his feathers.

“Each new day is an opportunity. We can fill the day with love and laughter, we can share our light and open our hearts to the gifts so freely given or we can walk with fear.  When we walk with love we have no choice but to see the perfection in all of life. No matter what is happening in the moment we can celebrate or deny the experience and bemoan our fate.

“When I was young I was asked to leave my village. I left in disgrace, failing to see the gift and walked with fear for many seasons. One night an old woman came to me and helped me see life through the eyes of love. She changed my life and shortly after that I came to this village where I was welcomed with love.  Since I met her I see the gift and the love in everything. I have learned to talk with the spirit of all things and am no longer so quick to name things. Once named, they are limited.  Did you talk to the darkness or just name it death?”

He thought for a moment before he replied. “I felt something I did not know. It was strange, like nothing I had felt before. It felt dark and ominous so I named it death. My fear spoke loudly and I forgot to talk with my spirit. Yes, Grandmother I named it before I spoke with it.”

“Really listening to our heart, taking time to connect with our spirit and listening is so important in our lives. I watch people read the omens and watch for signs but not take the time to go within. It is by going within that you will find the answers. If you read the signs, if your definition of the omens comes from an external source they may lead you astray.

“The hawk visited us and if I tell you what that means I rob you of the opportunity to ask your spirit what it means for you in that moment. We often deny our wisdom by projecting the past on the present moment. What you learn from someone else is knowledge. When you listen to your spirit you gain wisdom, a wisdom that comes from the heart of the Great Spirit that is filled with love and will only bring you joy.”

He bowed his head and gently kissed her check. “Thank you Grandmother. I will always remember your words and hold them close to my heart.”

He walked rapidly toward the path that led to the top of the cliff. She knew he would spend the morning there finding the voice of his spirit returning with the wisdom of love.

If only more people would take the time to do that what a wonderful world this would be.

With love and aloha,
Susan

With awe, love and inspiration,
Susan

Today if you can’t help financially say a prayer, imagine angels bringing clean, clear water to every person on this beautiful planet. Perhaps forgo a cup of coffee and help the people in Haiti and the world today.

Haiti and the aftermath of the devastating earthquake has been in the news a lot. Here is a video from Charity: Water. Wouldn’t it be  nice if every man, woman and child had clean water on this beautiful planet we call Earth?

With love and aloha,
Susan

Soon the lotus and water lilies will be in bloom and the butterfly Koi will be lazily swimming along.

Enjoy!

With love and aloha,
Susan

Too much time is spent complaining about what is wrong in our community and not enough time is spent lifting up what is good and thanking the people that are doing good.

When was the last time you came across a letter to the editor that was positive? Why are our days filled with the sounds of people complaining? And are we guilty of adding to the chorus?

Make a commitment that starting today and once a week for the rest of your life you will sit down and hand write a note to someone somewhere thanking them for what they have done. It could be your child’s team coach or their teacher, it could be the person that waits on you at your favorite restaurant, and it could even be the government official that did something you were pleased with.

Be the change you want to see in your community by also being the person pointing out the good that is happening everyday around us.

One note, the thank you MUST be hand written and sent through the mail, an email or computer generated note will not do. Some of you must be there in the words of gratitude.

With love, gratitude and aloha,
Susan

With love and aloha,
Susan

I just finished the a tele-ceremony for All Hallows Eve. If you would like to listen to it just click here. I do it as a guided meditation so you can listen to it and participate at the same time.

I hope you enjoy it.

With love and aloha,
Susan

I am in Lithuania enjoying some beautiful sunny weather and biking along the wonderful bike paths in the morning. As always the classes here are very powerful and I enjoy working here very much.

Here are some images from my morning bike ride. I hope you enjoy them! They are wonderful images to just allow yourself to be with and perhaps allow yourself to feel the energy of the place and the joy I was feeling when I took them.

With love and aloha,
Susan

For the past five years I have gone to Lithuania in September to teach workshops for a month. This year I am going earlier because Latvia has asked me to come. When they asked me to come the first time I had no idea where Lithuania was or anything about the people or the country. I just knew they were literally half way around the world from me. I absolutely love going there and have fallen in love with the country and the people.

It takes me a long time to get there. I will leave tonight and won’t get there until Thursday. I learned the hard way to stop half way there and rest. Lithuania was the first country to break away from the Soviet Union. Latvia and Lithuania are the only two Baltic countries that still have their original languages.

The first time I went to Lithuania I was deeply moved by people’s openness and desire to connect with their spirit. There was one woman who carried a photo of an angel that helped her survive WWII. Over the years I have brought home many angels that were lovingly given to me, long before I wrote my book on angels.

They are amazing people. When they became independent their economy was in ruins and they had to reinvent themselves and their country. I have learned so much from watching them change and grow and look forward to sharing some of that love and wisdom with you in the coming weeks.

With love and aloha,
Susan

Several years ago I watched the movie Pay It Forward and really enjoyed it. The other day I was thanking someone for an act of kindness they had done and they said, “That’s okay I was just paying it forward.” I did some goggling this morning about pay it forward and was really happy about the results.

I infuse my teaching of the Toltec tradition with the idea of living from a place of dominion and people always ask me how do I do that in a world based on domination. I now have a great answer – pay it forward. Believe me paying it forward will change your life and it really feels good!

Here is a short quote from the book by Catherine Ryan Hyde:

“You see, I do something real good for three people. And then when they ask how they can pay it back, I say they have to Pay It Forward. To three more people. Each. So nine people get helped. Then those people have to do twenty-seven.” He turned on the calculator, punched in a few numbers. “Then it sort of spreads out, see. To eighty-one. Then two hundred forty-three. Then seven hundred twenty-nine. Then two thousand, one hundred eighty-seven. See how big it gets?”

Here is a neat video about a woman paying it forward by being a foreclosure angel.

What three small things could you do to pay it forward today?

With love and aloha,
Susan

With love and aloha,
Susan

My dad died Tuesday. At times he was a difficult man. I used to have a story about my childhood that was filled with abuse and violence. Then I began my spiritual journey. I worked the twelve steps of a 12 step program and I used the tools of awareness, transformation and intent as I moved beyond forgiveness and into gratitude, wonder and awe. Life is an amazing journey in which we get to see our filter system and if we choose to pursue personal freedom let it all go and step into love.

Life is and then we tell ourselves a story. As I sat at my dad’s bedside watching him slowly transition I had many insights. Perhaps the most profound was the fact that all he ever wanted was to be loved.

What a gift it was to be able to see my dad as he truly was rather than how I had learned to think he was. He wasn’t a cruel man but rather a gentle loving soul struggling to live in this crazy world. He never had the gift of realizing life is an illusion and that all we ever experienced is our filter system until the very end.

I am so grateful I can now see my dad’s love and his gentle spirit and totally release all my stories about anger and abuse. Perhaps next time I want to react it will be far easier to respond from love instead. Life is too precious a gift to hold onto stories about the past that only hurt us. It really is never too late to have a happy childhood.

My childhood sent me in search of freedom and the ability to love and it taught me to find true happiness instead of settling for the illusion. That is an incredibly precious gift and I thank you dad for helping me find it!

With love, gratitude, happiness, joy and sadness,
Susan

Well, almost wordless Wednesday….

I am off to Sedona to create an incredible, magical experience for all the people that signed up for my retreat. Here is a gorgeous photo taken by Georgia at Raw Elements Photography

With love and aloha,
Susan

I’ve gotten a few questions about what exactly the art of allowing
is and I thought the best way to explain and help you with this and
similar concepts I teach would be to do it in a live webinar.

I’ll talk more about this concept and how you can use this idea to
have greater peace and joy in your life.

You’ll find out more about some of the following concepts and I’ll
be answering questions about:

Unconditional Self Love
How to Follow Your Passion
How to Allow for the Possibility
How to Stay Centered in the Midst of Fear

And anything else you have a question about that we can cover in
about 1 hour. There is a box on the the link where you can leave a question ahead of time. I will answer as many of them as possible.

If you’ve been wondering what the art of allowing is all about,
join in on Sunday when I’ll be teaching about allowing and loving
and so much more . . .

EVENT: The Art of Loving and Allowing
DATE & TIME: Sunday, May 31st at 8:00pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=7653207

With love and aloha,
Susan

P.S. I’d love to hear your comments and suggestions on the blog:
http://artofallowingclass.com/video/

I am currently sitting at the airport watching people as I wait for my flight to Mexico City. Airports are such a fascinating place. To think that flight was thought impossible for eons and here I sit watching planes land and take off. There are people going to places all over the globe.

What do you think is impossible in your life that you would enjoy experiencing? On my home computer I have iGoogle as my home page. Yesterdays quote was something to the effect that failure is just the opportunity to deepen your understanding of what doesn’t work so you can make better choices in the future. In other words we can expand our awareness and make choices that are more in alignment with what we do want.

Where would you like to go? What places would you like to visit on this incredible planet and in your inner world? Watch yourself and decide if you are the person you want to be, with loving acceptance and not judgment.

I am looking forward to helping people deepen their understanding of this world, to really experience everything as a vast energy system. As we travel around Mexico for the next few weeks they will have many opportunities to experience lots of different energies. I never thought I would be leading sacred power journeys when I was a child. And the adventure all began by me taking the suggestion to expand my awareness by watching people.

When I return from Mexico I will upload some of the images from this incredible trip. In the mean time practice watching people through the eyes of love and see what happens in your life!

With love and aloha,
Susan

The Grandmother and the children sat at the edge of a large stand of tall pine trees. She looked out over the land.

“We are the land’s caretakers and we must always plant more than we use. If you cut a tree you must plant at least two more. The Mother will always provide for us but in thanks for her love we must also care for her just as we care for one another.

“When we share with each other there is always more than enough, yet when we are afraid of sharing there is never enough.

“In one village the people had learned to live in gratitude, generosity, and love. They were all seated at a huge table full of food. The bowls were always full and overflowing. Everyone had spoons with long handles attached to their arms. They were all laughing and joyously feeding one another.

“In another village the people lived in fear. They had spoons with long handles attached to their arms and they couldn’t reach their own mouths. When they tried to feed themselves the food fell uselessly to the table. Their bowls were overflowing but they were all starving to death.

“We can live in heaven or hell. Where we live depends upon what we tell ourselves. If we live in fear we will live in hell. If we remember the power of love we can live in heaven.

“Look at your world. What do you see? Are you eager to be an adult or are you enjoying being a child? Do you wish you lived in another village or are you grateful for the home you have?

“If you listen to your mind’s endless list of wants you will never be happy. Learn to listen to your heart and you will always find joy. Let your heart guide your choices.

“Let nature teach you how to quiet your mind. Listen to the wind, sit by a stream, and listen to the water or watch the light move on its surface. Watch the clouds. Sit close to a tree and let its spirit teach you. Pay attention to your senses. Feel the magic of life as it flows through your body and your mind will grow still. Feel, taste, touch, smell, and see. Be in the moment rather than thinking about being there.

“Let nature show you the silence of your mind. Be still and watch the love grow. It is in the silence that we see that heaven is a place that lives in our hearts and in our minds. You don’t have to go anywhere to find heaven. It is always just a thought away. ”

With love and aloha,
Susan

I’m very excited to tell you about something brand new that I’ve never done. And also, yesterday was the 20-year anniversary of the real beginning of my spiritual journey!

It was 20 years ago yesterday that I decided to do whatever it took to clear out my filter system. When I look back at my journey it seems there is no way I could have gotten here from where I began. Yet here I am!

I had studied with numerous teachers, read every book I could find and was dedicated to changing my life, but nothing changed. I kept creating more of the same old same-old.

Then I had a profound ah ha, began doing some of the simple actions I will share with you in these videos and my whole life transformed. I’m not special, I just took concrete actions and you can too.

I recently started making videos and am absolutely loving it. It is such a creative way to share these awesome teachings. Some of my friends thought I was crazy for giving these videos away, but my commitment is to help you achieve personal freedom and create the life of your dreams.

These videos are my gift to you. When you learn to manifest exactly what you want, and understand how you
interact with where you are in your life, you increase your peace and ease and can completely change your circumstances.

I’m thrilled to make this available and excited to hear about how it works for you! Go here and watch the first in a series of videos that will teach you about manifesting your perfect reality…

http://masteringlifeprogram.com

If you like it and want more, you can join the free, Mastering Life video training series on this page. I’ll be publishing many more videos during the coming month…

http://masteringlifeprogram.com

With love and aloha,
Susan

Whatever you focus your attention on you get more of
So focus on love and gratitude – see what happens!
http://susangregg.com/meditation/meditation1.htm

I never cease to be amazed by the beauty, wonder and power of nature, especially on this island because we have all of the world’s climate zones except one. I can float in the ocean and look up at the snow clad mountains.

I love this time of year and enjoy the magic of the season. I love all the holiday lights and the solstice. For those of you that missed the Solstice ceremony you can click here and listen to it now

May 2009 be the year that you allow yourself the gift of following your bliss.

With love and aloha,
Susan

I would have them write on letter with things they wanted to release and another with what they want to create in the coming year. I loved watching as the fire consumed their writings and transformed them into light.

Watching the faces around the circle, so filled with love and limitless possibilities was an incredible gift. I remember one year watching a woman’s letter being snatched up by the fire, thrown in the air and the deposited back on the beach unharmed.

This year, thanks to new technology I am able to invite all of you to participate in my Solstice Ceremony, no matter where you live! I think of the Winter Solstice as the beginning of the new year. It is a time to let go of whatever isn’t working in my life and set my intent for the coming year. It is a symbolic day with great meaning in many indigenous cultures.

I’d like to invite you to a very powerful ceremony this Sunday, December 21st at 8:30 PM, EST.

For those of us who live in the northern hemisphere it is the
shortest day of the year and it also signifies the returning of the light, the sun begins its return and the days lengthen. Please join me as we celebrate this time of new beginnings and pave the way for a life full of magic and miracles.

As my gift to you this holyday season, for all of your love and support over the years I have decided to open up this, regularly members-only ceremony to anyone who would like to attend.

The ceremony takes place in only 2 days, so if you would like to attend, just follow the link below on Sunday at 8:30 PM, EST:

Click here to join the ceremony (You will also be able to go to this link and listen to a recording of the ceremony afterwards)

Finally, I have a question for you… if you could have a private conversation with me, what two questions would you would like to ask me?

Send your questions to me at susan@susangregg.com

With love and aloha,
Susan

With love and aloha,
Susan

Since the truth is totally relative and I believe once we realize there is no ‘it’ to get we are a lot happier I will just pass the award onto some blogs that I like to read.

Years ago one of my employees would wait for me to read the comics before she would talk to me. After I had a good laugh she said I was much easier to be around. I have a feeling the world would be a very different place if everyone had a good belly laugh or at least smiled broadly several times a day.

So my five picks are:

Daisy the Cat
Random Ramblings
A Changing Life
Christy Dekoning
Postcards From Myself

I have been so busy taking care of my dad I had let my blogs take a back seat. I miss posting and connecting with my readers. So hopefully I am back to sharing regularly.

With love and aloha,
Susan

(from Hawaii where it is always warm)

With love, gratitude and aloha,
Susan

Imagine learning a new language. You thoroughly learn the vocabulary but totally ignore the structure, grammar and syntax of the language. You try to talk to natives of that language using your old grammar with the new vocabulary. Communicating complex concepts would be next to impossible.

The world created by the language of our mind is based on domination and the experience that we are all separate entities. The world inhabited by our spirit is based on dominion and the experience that we are one, part of a greater whole that is expansive and limitless. They are totally different languages, totally different ways of being in the world.

When living life from dominion the concept of right and wrong no longer applies. An event just is, until we tell ourselves a story about it, then our story creates our experience.

When I look back at my childhood some of the most ‘abusive’ events produced some of my most profound insights later in life. Once I used those events to deepen my connection to my spirit they became incredible gifts. Had I continued to tell myself the story that I was victimized and emotionally wounded I would have missed the gifts. If I chose to focus on suffering instead of expanding my awareness I would be a very different person today.

So it comes down to a simple choice: What do I want to create? Do I want to hold onto my story and be right? Do I want to deepen my connection to my spirit? Do I want to continue to experience what I am not, fear or experience myself as I really am, a limitless being of love and light?

Here is an excerpt from my book, The Toltec Way about dominion and domination that might help:

The Concept of Domination

I think you’ll agree that our society is based on the concept of domination, in which we seem always to be in opposition to something. Domination requires that someone is better than you or inferior to you, that events or actions are right or wrong, and people are richer or poorer. It is almost impossible to feel safe or to relax when the world is your opponent. This paradigm pervades society and contaminates most of our thinking, leading us to a limited concept of reality.

Whenever you judge yourself or someone else, or you find yourself comparing yourself with others, or in some way measuring anything in your life against an external source, your thinking is based on domination. In domination we don’t feel safe so we try to control the events in our lives, other people, or ourselves. Domination causes us to make our decisions based in fear. The best result we get when our decisions are based in fear is to generate more fear.

A society based on domination creates some very limiting beliefs about conformity and about shame. There is no room to embrace pain or limitations; you must overcome them; you must win. The very nature of domination requires us to struggle.

Living in a world founded on conflict, we feed ourselves a daily diet of insecurity. If you are honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you sometimes compare yourself to others, or even the media version of who and what you should be. You are better than or less than, you do not have enough or are not successful enough, you are too fat or too thin. You feel pressured to conform. This type of thinking is very narrow and polarized. Domination can be symbolically represented as a line.

The Concept of Dominion

If, instead, we shift to a paradigm of dominion, our vision of life becomes expansive. In dominion, everyone is part of a greater whole, everyone is an equal and integral part of the circle of life. We are no longer residing in an either/or situation; the whole and the person become one. A person truly living in dominion cannot make a choice that will harm another. Rather than being fear-based, dominion is based in love, unconditional love for the self and all other beings great and small.

Within the context of dominion, the people in our lives become our assistants instead of opponents. The idea of competition no longer makes sense nor does it have any value. It is a totally different way of viewing the world, one in which peace of mind becomes a way of life. Viewed from this perspective, life becomes limitless. We can afford the “luxury” of treating everyone and everything with compassion, love, and equality. We are able to embrace everything in our lives because we no longer need to struggle against anything–we are accepting of who we are as we are. A person is honored for merely being alive; no one is ever judged. This kind of thinking is expansive. Dominion can be symbolically represented as a sphere.

We aren’t trained to think in terms of dominion, so the concept seems frightening to many people. How do you live in a world based on domination and yet get your needs met if you remain in dominion? Won’t people just walk all over you? Well, sure, perhaps some will. However, I believe that for the most part, we receive what we give. When we are loving and non-judgmental, we are treated in a loving, non-judgmental way.

Finally, when we perceive our lives as lived in dominion, the process of our personal transformation takes on a sense of gentleness and safety. As you work through the Toltec Masteries you will learn who you really are and to love that person unconditionally. This will be extremely difficult if you remain in a judgmental state of domination.

So is abuse okay? I choose to look at it as an event that is neither right or wrong. It is an event in which two spirits come together and do a cosmic dance. They both take part in a cosmic play and they both get to write their own ending.

So what endings do you want to write to all of your cosmic plays?

With love and aloha,
Susan

With love and aloha from Lithuania,
Susan

In Hawaii there is a word for trauma and drama that I love,  it is pilikia. When I get home there could be much pilikia. My dad’s Alzheimer is progressing and he has always been an angry man. As I was writing I thought about the world as an energy system and I know the only thing that is real is that energy of creation, I think of it as love. Not human, conditional love but rather love that is the essence of incredibly beautiful, limitless, expansive energy of pure creation.

So, I thought about my dad and realized that once I let go of the story, which is after all what creates the pilikia, I can simply experience the energy of creation. In the midst of anger and domination I can experience love and dominion just by allowing it to be so. What a wonderful opportunity for me to practice!

When you watch the news and hear a doom and gloom story about the economy you could remind yourself only the love is real or get caught up in the fear. The universe is totally, absolutely abundant, there is no scarcity. Actually in the 1930′s during the height of a world wide depression, there were more millionaires made than in any other time in history and only 75% of the population was unaffected! Whatever we focus on we get more of, so the question is: do you want to focus on your limitless nature or on fear? Do you want to focus on abundance and create that or fear and create lack?

I know my dad is a limitless spirit, at the essence of his being he is unconditional love and we have ‘history.’ I remember how scary he was when I was a young child and he would go into a rage, I remember what it felt like a few years ago when he told everyone I abused him and stole his money and I know when I put him in a care facility he will once again ‘hate’ me and think I am evil. The question is: what do I want to experience, love or fear? I can choose to see only love, even in the presence of his anger.

Every moment in life is an opportunity for us to practice deepening our connect with our spirit or with our filter system. We always have that choice, it is just that by habit, we often choose to see only our story and forget the love that gives the story the illusion of being reality.

So moment by moment ask yourself: What do I want to create? What do I want to see, love or fear? Do I want to be right and reaffirm my story or be happy and connect with my spirit?

With love and aloha,
Susan

I would decide to meditate, journal, do yoga, and recapitulate all before I went to work in the morning. I would quickly get overwhelmed and wind up doing nothing. The easiest way to retrain our thinking and improve our lives is by doing something consistently and finding something you will consistently do!

I have been suggesting a lot of mini practices lately. Something that only takes a few moments, that you can easily do frequently throughout the day.

Here are a few of the mini practices I have suggested:

Set a timer and when it goes off just pause, take a deep breath and remind yourself how wonderful you are.

Whenever you find yourself upset ask yourself:

How could I see this though the eyes of love?
What would love do?
Do I want to be right or happy?

Take long. slow deep breaths frequently and allow yourself to deepen your connection with yourself.

Take a five minute meditation pause.

Whenever you are in the bathroom take a moment to look at yourself and say something loving.

Smile at a stranger.

Help someone in need.

Look at the clouds.

Feel your body.

Pause and remember you are a spiritual being in a wonderful vehicle called your body.

Celebrate and savor the moment.

Make a gratitude list.

Hug yourself.

Maybe use this list as a starting point and add one more thing every week and feel free to share it with everyone in the comment section!

With love and aloha,
Susan

Photo Rys Jones

Snow on the Big Island of Hawaii