by Julianne Kulosa

One of our greatest challenges can show up when our loved ones are suffering.  In our deep care, love and desire to be of service, feelings of helplessness, sorrow, frustration, blame or even anger can arise.  You might notice you want to fix them, lecture them, match their energetic state because you think it will make it better for them somehow, save them or just wrap your hands around their neck and say, “Wake up! Can’t you see how you can feel better?”
 
It’s often easier when a loved one is suffering due to an “external” circumstance: a car accident, a death of a loved one, illness, a job loss, unexpected financial burdens or some sort of stress caused in their external environment.  Personally, I know that suffering is not caused from any situation or experience.  Crappy things happen that don’t feel good, yes.  However, the suffering I am speaking of is not caused from situations, rather from our misinterpretations of the nature of reality and ourselves.  You’ve surely heard many stories of people thriving, loving, laughing, connecting and feeling gratitude and peace in the most painful of situations, such as in concentration camps.  Also, it is also in times of crisis that people shine out most, connecting with their community and families to love and support each other. 
 
Some things to consider when a loved one is suffering:
 
1. Your Loved One is a Master of Their Life.
No one knows better then your loved one how to traverse their own unique path.  You can support them in remembering their own mastery.  You can empower them by gifting them with their own path.  They’ll take your offer of support, help or advice, or they won’t.   It matters not, because it’s not about you, it’s about them.  Your loving attention, your compassion, your belief in their ability to come through their suffering, is the most powerful support you can give them.  If you reflect on your own life, you might notice that it was your greatest challenges that propelled you to rise up, grow, expand and learn.  Don’t you want the same for them?  It’s not easy to watch them suffer, especially when you can see the way out of suffering for them, yet this is the path they’ve chosen, and only they can walk it.
 
2. Forgive Them, They Know Not What They Do.
Forgiveness is a powerful tool.  This means you are willing to acknowledge that someone is absolutely doing the best they know how, given their state of consciousness at any given time.  If you were in their mindset, you too, would behave and experience reality exactly as they are.  This forgiveness is not about their actions, but about authentically feeling compassion for them, even if you completely disagree with their choices.
 
3. Give Your Full Attention.
Put away all distractions and just be present with your loved one.  This means not only external distractions like your phone, but internal as well.  With each passing year of our busy information age, focused attention is becoming more of a commodity.  Listen more.  Talk less.  Your loved one may or may not want to feel better in the moment.  Maybe they just want to vent and complain, and that outlet for their thoughts and feelings might be exactly what they need in the moment.  Did they actually ask you for your advice or opinion?  Notice your own thoughts while listening: are you analyzing, thinking how to fix their situation or judging them?  Take a breath, drop into your heart, and simply give them your full loving attention.  Often what someone needs when they’re in a great challenge or crisis is to be comforted and loved.
 
4. Take Care of Yourself.
Sometimes your own biggest stressor can be in response to a loved one in pain.  While taking care of yourself isn’t “number one” in this list, it may well be your most important move when it comes to supporting your loved one. Take time to notice your own response to the suffering of others.  This could be a loved one, or something occurring locally or globally.   Be honest with your own reactions, thoughts and feelings.   Bring compassion and forgiveness to yourself as the witness of others suffering.  When you feel stressed, you can only contribute so much to your loved ones.  Do whatever you need to shine brightly.  Your calm, peaceful and loving energy will be felt by others without you needing to do or say anything.   Your heart-centered care gives you a clearer ability to use intelligent concern rather than feel reactive or stressed.
 
5. Trust Yourself.
In trying to assist a loved one, it can be challenging to know what your best move is that will support them.  Should you walk away, be positive and optimistic, agree with them, disagree with them, be gentle or a little rougher, help them, or have them do it on their own?  There’s no right answer, for each person needs support in different ways at different times.  Not trusting your own choices certainly won’t support them.  Know that you are a loving, caring, powerful person and you, too, are doing the best that you can.  That is more than enough!
 
Trusting yourself also means standing in your own truth.  Your loved one doesn’t have to agree with you, and you can be radically authentic in your own truth while being loving and compassionate at the same time.  You don’t need to compromise your beliefs in order to help others.  If you know in you bones and heart that they can heal their bodies, find the perfect job or home, thrive and have their dreams come true, you can stay solid in your knowing despite their disagreement or proof that says otherwise.  You don’t need to argue your point or necessarily even say it aloud, but you also don’t need to give it up.  Holding your authentic vision is transformative and of great contribution.
 
6. Envision Their Success.
There are many ways to energetically support a loved one, such as prayer, sending blessings, or using visualization techniques.  Remember that they have their own free will, and your support is not forced upon them, taken only if their souls truly want it. 
 
In a relaxed and calm state, imagine that your loved one has come through the other side of their challenge.  Use your senses, sight, sound, feeling, to envision in the present moment their success and happiness.  Notice, in the present moment, how they are feeling, talking and acting from this accomplishment.  Notice how you feel witnessing their triumph and things working out for them.  In alignment with their free will and the highest good of all, let that now go out into the universe to manifest, maybe even better than you could imagine on your own.
 
If you’re the type of person (and most of us are!) who wants to fix other people’s problems, this is a great way to use that desire without disempowering your loved one or feeling upset if they don’t take your advice.  We really are all connected, and your powerful ability to create can be used to shift the experience of others if this is truly what their own soul desires.
 
Know that your love is the greatest support you can give to your loved ones.  Your unwavering love, the true greeting of Namaste, that love that sees the beauty and divine perfection of your beloved in all their moods, thoughts and reactions, contributes and transforms their suffering, whether you see evidence of that in the moment or not.

Photo by Cristian Newman on Unsplash

by Julianne Kulosa

Anxiety is a common symptom along the ascension path.  It’s particularly easy to find “real world” reasons for feeling anxious, both personally and globally.  The first step to easing anxiety, is to become aware of those thoughts that create the feeling.  Fears, insecurities and doubts that may be habitual or may be focused toward a particular situation (your finances, relationships, health or state of the world problems) do need to come to light and be seen for what they are: an interpretation or story about yourself and the world.  The ego is sly: it can always find proof of something if it is looking for it.  At the same time, depending on your state of consciousness at any given time, the world, both inner and outer, shift.  One moment you feel like you can’t be with that feeling of anxiety inside, your mind reeling, and after a meditation, exercise, being out in nature, or connecting with a loved one, you feel at ease.  
 
Things To Consider When You Feel Anxiety
 
1. Everything is Energy
The solar flashes and energy that are supporting the transition into New Earth are becoming stronger and more consistent.  Everyone is feeling it, and how they interpret that energy is up to them.  Furthermore, as your body shifts to hold more light, it can be a pretty intense ride.  It’s natural to feel that energy and want to put a reason to it, to find the problem and solution.  It’s also easy to interpret more intense energies, ones that might have you feel buzzy or jittery inside, as nervousness or anxiety.  Even excitement can be easily be interpreted as anxiety instead of passion or enthusiasm.
 
It can be a relief just to remind yourself, “It’s just energy.” 
 
Next, find a way to ground that energy.  Stand barefoot on the grass, hug a tree, take a walk in nature, garden, clean, or exercise in any way you enjoy.
 
I’m reminded of a story from Jack Kornfield.  During lunch at a week-long silent meditation retreat, a participant went, well, crazy.  He began talking and yelling, jumping on the tables and just being pretty nuts.  Jack realized what was happening: this participant was having a lot of energy rise up inside, also known as “kundalini”.  He immediately put the man on a different course of rigorous exercise and shifted his diet to denser foods such as meat.  This assisted the man in grounding the energy that was rising up in his body a bit more quickly than he could handle.
 
Instead of pushing through that anxiety or nervous energy, your body might also be asking for rest and sleep.  A big part of the ascension process occurs while you are sleeping, giving you time to integrate your growth and increased light.  Let yourself rest! 
 
Give yourself space to to play, laugh, dance, sing, make love and have hobbies you enjoy!  Or take that action you are being called to do even if you’re feeling anxious, doubtful or insecure about it.
 
2. You Are a Part of Collective Consciousness
It’s helpful to remind yourself that it’s not just you.  Spiritual growth opens your intuitive awareness, that ability to feel outside your own shell.  We’ve been trained that we are separate, and as those walls begin to crumble, our innate connection to people and the Earth is experienced more strongly. 
 
It’s important to acknowledge your ability to feel others.  We’ve been doing it already, but have built a wall that has given that illusion of separateness.  Suddenly being able to more greatly intuit the pulse of the collective, the feelings or thoughts of your loved ones, can be confusing or overwhelming. 
 
It’s easy to think “it’s just you”, as your loved ones may be quite unaware of what they are thinking or feeling.
 
Acknowledge your growing ability to connect with others, plants, animals and Gaia.  You are opening the to the compassion, care and unconditional love inside of you.  We all affect each other, quite measurably actually, such as seen in entrainment experiments.
 
Setting boundaries will assist you in differentiating “you” from others.  Spending time alone can give you space to get to know you and you.  As you do practices that expand your heart and bring in more light and have you feel centered, you strengthen your ability to know the difference between “your energy” and others.  Yes, we are all connected, yet it is in embracing our uniqueness that unity can occur.  New Earth isn’t about some kind of intense “group mind” where we are all floating around as One without anything to interact with. 
 
It can be very helpful to set your intention and focus for your day, especially if you are in a service or healing position.  If you walk into work without intention, you are open to the twists and turns that the energy of any person coming your way puts out.  On the other hand, if you set your energy in the morning with that intention, such as to be of loving service or to be calm and at ease, this keeps you centered, without need to give away your energy or take on the energy of others.
 
3. Bouncing Back and Forth from 3D to 5D Perspectives
As you try to be a good and right person, you might be finding that what you were taught about reality just isn’t matching to what you’re sensing inside.  Yet, you still need and want to function in the traditional world, drive your car, interact with those who aren’t interested in “spiritual awakening”, or pay the bills.  Part of you thinks you should be focusing on getting a traditional education or career, make good money, be of service in a way that puts others first and you last, and act a certain way so that others expectations of you are met and so that they feel good when they’re around you.  At the same time, you are committed to your spiritual awakening and might be having profound and strange heart-opening and dimensional shifting experiences.  You might be drawn to be more authentic, to take care of yourself inside first so that you can shine out your light to the world in service, set boundaries, or take an unconventional heart-inspired path that has no known outcome like success in career or finances.
 
When challenges around money, health or relationships arise, important decisions need to be made, it’s easy to wonder if the traditional perspective is the correct one to take.  You read articles and ask for advice, often solidifying the old reality you are waking up from.  This doesn’t have to be an either/or choice.  The collective is still primarily in this old reality, and therefore grounded choices do need to be made.  Do you need to go to the doctor or is this just an ascension symptom?  It’s okay to take both perspectives – if you’re called to go to the doctor, go!  You might know you’re done with your current job and are being called to something new, but it’s okay to keep going to that job to be able to pay your bills right now. 
 
Ease up on your process and awakening – it can be a little rocky, up and down, and life paces your process in a way that you can best handle holding more light.  Open to the possibility that you are multi-dimensional.  This means that you have the ability to shift your consciousness in any moment.  One moment you could be communing with nature and talking with the trees, and the next moment be very grounded as you traverse a rocky trail carefully.  One moment you are in absolute presence of the bliss of the Now and the next, you need to take care of a time-sensitive task like going to an appointment. 
 
It’s okay to feel tossed around a bit.  You’re learning about centering into and opening to your authentic nature!  Return to breathing into your heart and know that as your untapped potential is awakening, you’re learning how to navigate it.  Your process is about integration.  Sometimes it will be sudden changes, endings, shifts, forgetfulness, fogginess and lack of focus or sharp memory recall.  Trust that when you really need that focus or memory, like to do your job, it will be there.  Have faith that life and the universe, have your back and are supporting you fully, even if it doesn’t look or feel the way you think it should.
 
4. Opening to New You
Things are changing, inside you and globally, and they’re changing fast. We naturally seek stability and comfort.  We are trained to set goals into a future we are creating.  During your awakening, you are being asked to let go of what you thought was “you”, and opening to a greater Truth of who you are.  Life has a way of assisting you if you resist, as external shifts (in work, home, relationships, health) may force a new perspective for you.  
 
A lot of anxiety can come with the change in your consciousness occurring that is actually such a higher Love Light vibration and a deeper truth about reality.  Letting go of who your think you are and your understanding of the world, especially as much of the collective, especially family or friends, still operate in the old density of 3D, can cause a lot of turmoil inside.  Do you know what’s true, right or real anymore?
 
You may be finding yourself at a loss, with old interests falling away yet nothing new showing up.  You’re supposed to be active and busy, aren’t you?  That active busy feel at odds with an unknown next step could definitely have you feel anxious.
 
With your new perspective, you might wonder if your loved ones will come with you.  If you change, will they still want to hang around with you?  The truth is, we never know how long relationships will last or change over time, and this is no different.
 
Be open, just willing, to acknowledge and experience death.  It is part of the great cycle of change, and one most of us don’t want to confront.   It’s uncomfortable and the great unknown.  Be compassionate about your natural inclination to want to hold onto those things and relationships that you love, and for your desire for stability and things to “get back to normal”.  Relax into the knowing that with death always comes the promise of new life.
 
Study the stages of butterfly, as the caterpillar spends its time wrapped in the darkness of the cocoon.
 
5. Trauma, Programming and Emotions Bubbling Up
There are few people that get enthusiastic about the idea of their shit coming up.  I’m certainly still practicing embracing it.  “Woo hoo! There’s another fear, victimization, attachment, insecurity, expectation, belief, automatic reaction, or unresolved experience I get to feel and look at!  Ooh, and isn’t it awesome to see how I treat others or myself when I get triggered!”  Yeah, a tough one to look forward to, but there it is, asking for your loving attention.  It’s been hidden away in the darkness, wanting to return to the One with your loving awareness, your gratitude for its lessons, and your compassion.
 
This is where setting time aside can really assist you.  Once you are going about your day, interacting with others, it can be challenging to give the kind of attention and space that these feelings and memories are asking for.  Furthermore, often when things bubble up, you’re in a space where you forgot that what you’re feeling or thinking may not actually be true.  A dark cloud can come over you, and as you try to unravel those reactions or feelings, it only serves to solidify them and increase your anxiety.  This might be a time to take a break, to put your attention on raising your vibration through any means possible, such as connecting with a friend, watching silly cat videos, taking a walk in nature, getting a massage, drinking more water, completing a needed task like housecleaning or paying bills, doing volunteer work or assisting a friend – anything that feels calming, brings you peace of mind, has you feel good about yourself and life.  Yes, it could look like deep breaths or your “spiritual practices”, but sometimes it just means shifting your attention to the good in life and the service that you are to the world, which is plentiful.
 
By setting aside time to “go there,” you are practicing being able to be aware and loving throughout your day.  Setting time aside means starting by doing your practice you are most drawn to right now.  Maybe it’s noticing the breath, doing mantras, visualizing, prayer, connecting to your heart, bringing in light and merging with Source and Gaia, calling on divine support, doing yoga, or a myriad of other practices and methods available.   You’ve now set the space to be able to address those things that are coming up to be seen and released, not just for yourself but also for the collective.  You can now take that loving perspective, hold the space for those things to come up, and see more clearly.  Personally, I like to journal.  You might like to share with a friend, share with your guides or angels, or use some kind of healing technique on your own or through a practitioner.  All you need for your journey is in you and around you, and as you give space to “go there”, the support you need will be right in front of you in that moment.
 
6. Feeling the Acceleration of the Shift Occurring
It’s just the Shift speeding up, and the Universe is asking you to slow down and center. It’s just energy, and you have choice in how you interpret what it means. 
 
Notice that sped up energy, the thoughts that say you should be doing more, that say you have no time.  Notice the habit of pushing through when your call is actually to rest or sleep. 
 
Or, you may want to allow yourself to have this be a challenge you can live up to!  The opportunities when the energy and changes are accelerated is an time you can lift up quickly.  You can rise to the challenge while you keep your practices in place that keep you centered, grounded and trusting your intuitive guidance.    
 
You have a time-shifting ability you may not be aware of.  The ancient Egyptians had a temple devoted to the study of time, from the perspective of how man moves through time.  Things can go slower or faster depending on your state of consciousness.  You know the “in the zone” feeling when things are flowing and you’re doing what you love – that can make time fly like when you’re doing some artwork. Or when you really want something, enthusiastically but calmly and without attachment – space opens up, time opens up, traffic lights are all green.  When you’re feeling anxious, that can make things move quickly yet have things take longer than necessary.  I’ve learned that too many times! 

Modern science has added another layer to time called “vertical time”.  In any given moment, all possibilities exist.  Tap into your ability to open to the present moment of vertical time, as compared to the stress and anxiety of living only in horizontal time, always rushing impatiently toward a future or looking back toward what has past.  Use your inner natural ability to do so by using your intention, focus in when you slow down into each moment, and choose the possibility of ease, peace, flow and trust in the universe and Divine Plan.
 
7. Information Overload
This can be both internal and external.  As waves of energy and higher frequency come in, you might have insights, guidance, creative ideas and new perspectives appear one after the other.  It might feel like there’s so much to remember and do.  Creativity is the nature of the universe, and one of the ways to know how creative you actually are is to see all those “unfinished” projects you have – a sign of all those creative ideas! 
 
You are co-creating this New Earth with others.  If you have an idea, know that someone else does to.  You don’t have to be the one to implement it.  Maybe you just plant the seed, or support others in their projects energetically or physically.
 
Also, know that you don’t need to do everything at once.  You can write down your insights, and then just breathe into the moment and do what’s next to be done in this moment, which might be integration through rest and sleep, making dinner, meditating, connecting with others, or being of service out in the world.  One step at a time, with cultivating feeling peaceful and centered a priority.
 
Externally, there is also so much information available more than ever before.  You may want to deliberately turn off your phone, stop reading or watching the news, or just take a break from all electronics all together.  Getting out into nature is one of the greatest ways to relax into the present moment.
 
If you have the thought to do something such as stretch, take a walk, meditate, or make that phone call, and think, “I don’t have time!” this might actually be exactly the time to do so.
 
8. Opening to All Viewpoints and The Void
As your heart opens more and more, you’ll find a desire to respect and honor all viewpoints.  It's not that you take them on as your own, but you allow others to have their unique perspectives.  Being so open to the new, to change, to different possibilities, might have you feeling like – what the heck do I know anyway?  When the dependability of who you thought you were and what you thought reality was starts to break apart, you might wonder what you even have to offer to the world.  Furthermore, it can be challenging when you need to make an important decision yet see the validity of different viewpoints.
 
When your knowledge isn’t fact but merely one possibility, when you know there are so many ways to look at any situation, it can really trigger the insecurity of how you fit in and belong.  Someone asks for you advice, and what comes to mind are dozens of ways you could answer their question.  There’s not just one correct answer anymore, so what “expertise” do you have to offer anyone?  Here’s the cool thing:  knowledge really is power, just in a different sense. Being open to so many viewpoints allows you to trust that your mind has taken them all into account and you can now more easily drop into the intuitive, tapped in, higher vibrational intelligence of your heart.  Being open might feel empty, yet it is in that emptiness where all pure potential exists. 
 
Being in the present moment in the space of pure love can also feel like a nothingness, an emptiness.  It is a sublime space of pure potential, yet with that drive to understand what you’re supposed to be doing, to be productive and responsible, it can be a very uncomfortable space to feel.  This is zero point, and just know that each time you experience the present moment fully, you are opening to all possibilities and learning about the true nature of reality and your divine human potential to co-create the world you wish to live in.
 
Opening to new viewpoints is a wonderful thing! You are embracing diversity and opening your compassionate heart. 
 
In your heart is also your ability to take that mental knowledge, all those perspectives into account, and then use the intelligence of your heart to choose your next step, big or small.  You can place your hands on your heart and breathe into your heart, breathing in ease, centering back into the wisdom and intelligence of your heart.  This allows better coherence between your heart and your brain, giving you clearer love-based directives. 

When you're opening to all viewpoints, let it empower you to most importantly honor your own, to live by your values and trust your choices.
 
9. Higher Guidance Delivered Through the Ego
I love this one, thanks to Matt Khan.  Your soul, your higher self, your guides and angels, all connected to the guidance of Source, are always guiding you toward your highest good, in returning to love, joy and peace.
 
Let’s say your higher self is supporting you by nudging you to care for your body more.  It whispers incessantly, “Eat more vegetables,” or “go for a walk”.  What you hear instead it, “Your diet is terrible and you need to lose weight.  You have no willpower.” or “You’re so lazy. You really need to get more exercise, loser.” 
 
So each time you have the thought about something that is actually loving guidance to assist you, it only stresses you out and has that anxiety come up that says, “You should be doing more, better, different…” This is because the message from higher guidance is actually being delivered from your ego.  Your ego can be kind of harsh and controlling, speaking in rough and bossy tones that just don’t feel good.  You might be used to that kind of rough communication, since your parents used it on you as a child to get you into action.  As an adult, surely you don’t appreciate being spoken to that way anymore, from a boss, spouse or otherwise.
 
While your ego really does have your best interest at heart, its controlling nature isn’t serving to motivate you on your spiritual path so much.  You can thank your ego, and ask it to be gentler in its communication.  When you get that guidance to do something and notice you feel anxious, you can wonder, “If this were a communication from someone who loved me unconditionally just as I am, wasn’t trying to fix me, punish me, or make me feel bad or wrong, what would that communication be?”
 
Final Words
You always have choice in how you interpret your feelings and experiences.  Just know that you are truly expanding and a part of the shift occurring, and the process you are going through is natural and not always easy.  Take care of yourself along your journey.  When you feel that anxiety, know it will pass.  It’s time to be brave, to take new actions that may seem scary, but do them anyway, for the world needs and is ready for New You!

Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash

Many of my clients share their challenges, burdens and suffering with me, be it external or internal, from the experiences life throws at them, the internal chattering mind, physical pain, or overwhelming emotions. 
 
Despite the situation, the question is often the same: “When will this end?!!”  This might also lead to the question, “It will end right?  Things will get better?”
 
While all our challenges are unique, the nature of them is completely different than in the past.  We have an opening now, a new reality to step into.  In this reality, anything that we do for ourselves, we do for the entire collective on the planet, not just now, but throughout all timelines, past, present and future.   How amazing is that?  Can you even wrap your mind around it? 
 
Taking a traditional perspective on our pain, suffering and challenges works as well as it does.  We think, “One day, when I’ve overcome or gotten rid of this problem, then I’ll be happy.”  In this day and age, the problems of the world require solutions outside of our traditional thinking. 
 
I know you want reassurance that it will get better, and soon.  I know it not only can, but will.  However, it is you and you alone that has the choice and power to have the experience that it will, and can, get better.
 
Yes, sure, if you’re reading this you’re looking for me to give you the answer.  My answer is that YOU have the answer, the power, the strength, the courage, trust, love, breath, the soul and spirit, to have anything that you want.  It is your destiny, like it or not!
 
Why wouldn’t you like it?  Because your “get better” lies in the present moment of your experience.  It’s not one day – some day, when my finances are handled, I have the perfect relationship, vibrant health, ideal weight, unending positive thoughts, everlasting joy, unbridled passion, cool spiritual experiences, superpower intuition, complete freedom to be, clarity of life purpose, or “add your own here.”
 
You were born to thrive, and born to grow, expand and learn from any experience you are having.  Can you imagine a world crumbling around you, pain and suffering all around you, death, destruction, even fire and brimstone, and there you stand, in the center of it all, in peace, in trust, with an open heart and truly knowing all is well?
 
It’s time to let go of, or at least soften our grip, on the reins of what we think reality is supposed to be, feel and look like.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, is the boss of you.  YOU are the master of your reality.  You hold the magic wand and elixir of everlasting life.  It’s YOU! 
 
How do you get to the space of remembering that? By absolutely being committed to remembering and living the truth of who you are.  You are not your circumstances, your pain, or your suffering.  They call you to remember, just as a nightmare screams at you to get your attention so it can share an important message.
 
If your circumstances don’t equate to your quality of life, what does? 
 
It is your consciousness, your state of being, that determines the quality of your life.  It’s each choice in action that is aligned with your soul’s calling.  Oh, don’t worry, you know your soul’s calling.  It calls you to love, enjoy, bless, and appreciate.
 
The other morning, I noticed I felt anxious upon waking.  I did my simple practices, such as breathing in peace and breathing out blessings of peace for all.  It took just a minute, and there I was, in peace at that moment.
 
Know that things really are intensifying.  It’s not just you.  Whatever is personally happening for you, you can choose to breathe and know that there is a rapidly increasing intensity of the shift happening.  Fighting against it, waiting for the challenge to be over, will not speed up your personal process. 
 
Changing the way you view yourself and your life is what is called for in this moment.  This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.  It calls to you again and again to choose a new way of being that transforms any circumstance in your life.  That way of being is one of connection, love, abundance, peace and joy. 
 
In any moment, you can choose to say, “I am committed to this shift happening inside and around me.  I choose to see myself and my life as a gift, as a game, as a opportunity to cultivate a new way of being.” 
 
I know, I know, you might be thinking, “How could you possibly see your pain, frustration, financial challenges, illness, anxiety, loss, confusion, or upset in your relationships as a gift?”
 
There are some gifts that we want, and some gifts that we need.  Anything that is occurring in this moment is a gift. 
 
How can you access the gift in your situation?  By ACCEPTING it. 
 
Say, “Yes, thank you for this gift!”  It doesn’t mean that you have to like it, or that you’re not disappointed, or that you wouldn’t prefer to have a gift you’ve been really wanting. 
 
It does mean that you say, “I accept this gift.  I know that this is what serves me most right now, as crazy as I think that may be.   I trust that this gift is one that serves my absolute highest good and growth, and is more powerful than I could ever imagine.”
 
Once the gift is accepted, it can unfold its magic and miracles.  It will call you to take actions that are for your highest good and well being, and the highest good of all people everywhere.  The best gifts don’t always come in pretty packages. 
 
It is your conscious choosing to see all of your experiences as a gift, with thankfulness and gratitude, with trust, that can have you stand at the center of absolute chaos and destruction and feel centered and peaceful. 
 
It’s ok that you find yourself wanting things to be different, to be better.  Please take heart that you have the power to do this right now, despite any circumstance. 
 
Accepting that this moment is your greatest gift, without trying to get rid of, fix or change it, allows movement in your life.  Change occurs most easily when we surrender to what is occurring right now, when we choose to believe that right now is exactly where we are supposed to, how we’re supposed to be, and are divinely destined to be.  It allows us to breathe and lighten up! 
 
May you be blessed with the joy, laughter, peace, relief and love that is accessible to you at any moment.

Taking action on the desires and guidance of your heart can be scary and confusing.  This kind of guidance resides outside the norm of time and space, where we plan, research and use our logic and intellect to make responsible decisions.  When we follow our hearts, there is no apparent safety net, no rules or time-tested measurable results we can count on.
 
Our hearts call us to make choices that bring us closer to our true divine nature. 
 
We didn’t grow up being taught about our true divine nature.   In fact, as we grow up, we become more and more separated from our natural ability to live in the moment and experience life through the eyes of our divine selves and the higher dimensions.
 
We are taught that we cannot trust our hearts, for it is our hearts that have led us astray in aspects of our lives like relationships and finances.  Someone says they are following their heart, and we see how they are about to crash and burn.  The experiences you have witnessed, in others and yourself, where following your heart led to pain, is a misinterpretation both of the heart and of pain. 
 
Taking action from a heart desperate for love, for fulfillment, for joy and connection, actually blocks your heart’s natural ability to inform your mind of the next step to take.  The desperation or frustration you feel is informing you that you are not actually in your heart in that moment.  Desperation and yearning are forms of lack, of not enough.  We want something we think we cannot have right now.  Your heart lacks nothing, filled with a depth of love that connects you to an unending stream of joy, connection, abundance and peace.

Keys To Trusting Your Heart’s Desire
 
1. Cultivate Heart-Based Emotions
Your heart is your power source, plugged into unconditional love and radiant light.  You get to strengthen that power by connecting more to your heart, or weaken it by unplugging your heart from your mind and ego.
 
In order to follow your true heart’s desire, you must practice living in your heart. 
 
Take some deep breaths, and imagine your inhale going into your heart and your exhale coming out from your heart.  This begins to anchor your awareness in your heart, allowing it to inform you.  The easiest heart-based feeling to cultivate is gratitude and appreciation.  This can be for anything: any person, any item in your room, any experience that you can authentically feel gratitude for in this moment.  Other heart-based emotions include peacefulness, calmness, joy, and harmony.
 
2.  Build Self-Awareness
 Following our hearts without self-awareness is often what people think of when judging others who follow their hearts as irresponsible and dumb.  A lack of self-awareness results in following your heart blindly.  Love does not make us blind.  Our lack of practice in knowing our thoughts, motivations and fears do. 
 
We’ve all had friends who say they are “following their hearts,” and from your view, you see they are being foolish and know the end result will be bad for them.  This seems to happen most often around money and relationships.  What’s up with that?
 
They say love is blind.  On the highest level, it is; for love does not judge and sees all as divine.  But as you know, the saying “love is blind” usually implies choices made that result in negative outcomes.  Blindness comes from unwillingness to take an honest look at yourself or simply a lack of education or experience in being self-aware.  Self-awareness naturally extends to awareness of others.
 
When you make choices or take action without taking a look at your motivations, beliefs, doubts and fears, you are using more wishful thinking than your heart’s guidance.  You want more prosperity, so you invest in something that in the end is a scheme or doesn’t work out.  You want more love, and wind up in a relationship that is manipulative or abusive.  What is happening is that you are actually being guided by your ego, the one who wants what they want and wants it now, the one who is so painfully lacking the experience of love, attention, abundance, and vibrant well being you want now.  
 
Getting to know yourself is a path of compassionate awareness.  You might take on a practice such as meditating in the morning.  Remember that self-awareness isn’t just those 5 minutes or an hour you set aside.  That is your “practice” time that enhances your ability to have that awareness 24/7, any moment you remember to, with an attitude of loving attention as opposed to if you are doing it right or wrong.
 
3.  Be Committed to Opening Your Heart
When we begin to cultivate heart-based feelings, often all the excuses, feelings and experiences that are not of the heart surface.  Normally we try to push those aside, especially when we are committed to a spiritual love-centered path.  Even when our goal is to be positive and loving, it’s easy to think that our job is to remove, destroy or ignore anything that is “not” that.  Your fears, pain, doubt, guilt, anger, grief and frustration do not go away when you push them aside.  They surface to ask for the loving attention of your heart.
 
It is the brave warrior that is willing to open her heart and say, “Yes!” to what is presenting in the moment. 
 
Notice the ways you escape what you are being called to notice and love, such as through eating, watching television, shopping or drugs.  Be gentle on yourself, especially in challenging and stressful situations.  Know you really are doing the best you can in the moment!
 
As we open our hearts, what we are really doing is melting away the blocks of protection we’ve put over our already-open hearts.  You might feel palpable sensations in your heart, whether pressure, chest pain or changes in your heartbeat.  Always seek medical attention if you are drawn to, and also be open to the possibility that your heart is simply opening.  
 
In my personal experience when confronted with my own fears, worries or doubts, there have been times when I feel I can’t breathe.  I feel pressure on my chest as if my lungs are closing, my throat feels blocked, and as like I'm going to have a panic attack.  I think, “I can’t stay in this body! Let me out!”  Each time this has occurred and I choose to stay with my experience, breathe into my fears and trust my process, my heart has opened to love more than ever before.
 
Please remember that what you do for yourself you do for the entire collective of people on the planet. While our experiences are personal, they are also a part of what is happening to everyone and we are feeling it all.  I acknowledge and thank you for being brave, for being committed to love despite your fears, and for transforming the entire world through your own practice. 
 
4.  Examine Your Heart’s Desire
Being willing to be honest about all your thoughts and feelings will give you clarity about your true heart’s desire.  Take a piece of paper out and make two columns.  At the top of the left column write the words, “My Heart’s Desire” and at the top of the right column, “My Fears”.  The more you’ve practiced cultivating heart-based emotions, the easier it will be to know the difference between your heart and your head or ego.  Our job isn’t to get rid of the ego, but to live first and foremost in our hearts, allowing the heart to inform the mind and ego. 
 
Example:
 
         My Heart’s Desire                                                                My Fears
Be in romantic loving relationship                            I like my independence.
                                                                                             I’m too old, ugly, fat, poor…
                                                                                             I don’t want to get hurt again.
                                                              
Have the career of my dreams                                     I can’t make money doing that.
                                                                                             I have responsibilities.
                                                                                             I don’t have enough experience.
 
Take a look at your fears column and notice that most of them are based on your past experiences, your assumptions about your life and reality, and on what is lacking or “not enough”.  You’re not good enough, no job or person is good enough, there’s not enough money, not enough time, etc.  In order to protect yourself, you must stay in the same spot you are in now.  Even if it is painful, at least you’re surviving.
 
Consider that if you want to follow your heart, then you must honor your fears by respecting them.  Ask them how you can serve them.  Thank them for trying to protect you.  Let them know you are there, to simply love them and honor them.
 
5.  Notice Your Heart’s Desire Right Now
Once you are aware of what is not your heart’s desire, you can open up to what is.  Your heart’s desire comes from a place of pure love, where trusting yourself and a feeling of peacefulness and enthusiasm for life reside.  It has no set future plans, meaning that it is in the timeless place of the present moment.  Your heart nudges you, in this moment.
 
It is so easy to navigate your day on automatic pilot.  This is often experiences as a constant to-do list in your head.  It is a list of “shoulds”, of judgments about yourself and what you or others should be doing.  We rush around, keeping busy, shutting out the quiet guidance of our hearts.
 
Your heart’s guidance most often arises as a gentle feeling, a soft voice or image in the background of your busy mind.  It might nudge you to stop and enjoy the scenery around you, take a walk, drink some water, or give loving attention to a friend.  Your true heart’s desire is to have the life of your dreams right now, in this moment, and you can!  All you desire, nothing lacking, resides in your heart.  Your future does not hold the place of your dreams fulfilled.  Right now, this moment, does.
 
Your heart knows that you are perfect just as you are in this moment, and so is everyone else, even with all your fears, judgments and shortcomings.  This means that you have the choice in this moment to enjoy your life just as it is. 
 
Your heart gives you power in any situation, for if there is nothing to fix or fight against, then all that is left is to take the most loving action, for yourself and others, in the moment.
 
It might assist you to think of someone whom is the most loving being you know.  It could be someone in your life, someone like Jesus, Buddha or Mother Theresa, or your divine guides and angels.  Ask yourself, what would the angels do?  What would Jesus do?  What would my true divine self do?
 
6. Be Willing to Make Mistakes
Let’s say you want to have a better relationship with a friend or partner.  Your heart’s desire is to have more love present, more understanding, connection or better communication.  You’ve noticed that you have a list of fears:  They don’t care about what I have to say. They’ll leave if I am honest about my feelings or opinion. They’re just like that and are never going to change.  I’ve tried that before and it made it worse. 
 
When you take action from those fears, that action often seems to backfire.  However, consider that even if you choose to take action when aware of your fears that are still present, it is movement in the direction of your heart’s desire.  You are practicing!  You have committed to practicing self-awareness (see #2).  You can begin to unravel the difference between your fears and your heart’s desire.  You don’t have to wait.  Every experience can teach you how to live in and trust your heart more and more. 
 
Living a life trapped in the box of fearing rejection, upset or failure may have us feel safe, yet at the same time closes us off to the stream of possibility that our hearts offer.  We all want more freedom, self-expression, joy, pleasure, abundance and connection.  We can have more when we choose to trust our heart’s desire and take action from that desire.