How to Be Spiritual Without Meditating

I don’t meditate.

I know, I know. I’ve read everything you’ve read about meditation. It’s good for your health, it helps with manifestation, it keeps you young, it enhances your intuition, it increases creativity and productivity … the list of positive benefits is endless, right? And according to our beloved Kris Carr, it’s a prerequisite for Crazy Sexy success!

Ouch. Am I in trouble?

I’ve tried meditation. Yes, I have! While it was supposed to reduce my stress, I found the results to be just the opposite. I did it so wrong so many times that I gave myself quite the head trip. Furthermore, on the days I didn’t try meditating (which were many), I felt guilty. Oh, I thought, if I could just manage that five minutes a day, my life would be completely transformed for the better!

But I couldn’t.

And it wasn’t.

Not one to be deterred, I continued my search for the transformation I was seeking, and, ever so fortunately, I found it.

It all started in a class (a meditation class, might I add!), where I overheard two women speaking about a book that they enjoyed. The title of the book caught my attention, and I mosyed (butted?) my way into their conversation.

“What’s that you say?” I asked.

They gave me the scoop, and what happened next was a long story I’ll make short: I bought the book, called the author, hired her as my life coach, flew to Vermont and spent three transformative days in retreat with her and her husband, twice, I broke through writer’s block after 10 years of trying to do so, worked through a ton of emotional stuff, yada yada yada.

What’s more, I learned all about my past lives and that I have spent multiple lifetimes in meditation. Further, I learned that when we have experienced something enough over the course of many lifetimes, we don’t need to come back and repeat it again. We’re supposed to do some new things. Switch it up.

That means I don’t have to keep pushing myself to meditate anymore.

That might not be the case for you, but there is one more extremely important thing I learned by going through this process, and this one does pertain to you.

I learned about my Soul.

I actually met my Soul (well, ahem, that was in a meditation). I saw what my Soul looked like and I found out its name. I learned what my Soul’s personality is like (yes, our Souls have a personality!). I even learned all about what my Soul brought me into this lifetime to do … aka, my Soul Mission.

Additionally, I learned about Soul/Personality Integration. What that means is I learned how to integrate my Soul’s personality with my own personality in order to become uber-connected at all times.

Whether I’m working, playing, exercising, hanging out, sleeping … you name it. I am in touch with my Soul at every moment, every single day of my life, without meditating.

How can you do that too? I will give you my very top tip, the easiest and simplest one of them all.

Talk to your Soul.

That’s right, just talk to It.

Start asking your Soul questions. You can simply say, “Hi, Soul. What’s your name?” And wait for your answer to come to you intuitively. It may not come to you immediately, but it will come to you, alright.

You can say, “Hey Soul, I need some assistance here. Can you please help me figure this out?” Your help will be on the way, I guarantee it.

You might also say, “I don’t know how to do this, Soul! Will you please do this for me?” Sometimes you can just put things right into your Soul’s capable hands. I do it all the time!

Your Soul is God. It’s a piece of God within you. When you connect with your Soul, there’s a heck of a lot of power that comes along with that.

Guess what else? Your Soul actually wants to connect with you. It wants to be known! It wants you to talk to it and ask it for help. It very much wants to be a part of your life.

And here’s the bonus (at least it was for me): Your Soul is not going to hold you to a strict meditation practice in order to be in a relationship with you. You can be a non-meditator and also be completely soulful.

Try this and see for yourself. It’s utterly mind-blowing, really. Once you get hooked, you’ll never turn back.

As for all those other health benefits you might miss out on by not meditating? Well, for that, I’m relying on green juice.

Kim Patron is a writer, online life coach and soul mission astrologer. To learn more about your Soul, your Soul Mission and Soul/Personality Integration, visit her website at soulestialservices.com.

Photo credit: duncan c

How to be a Manifesting Maven

We are always manifesting. Each thought we have creates an energy flow within and around our physical being. This energy attracts its likeness. So if you’re thinking, “I suck,” then your energy kinda, well, sucks–and you attract sucky experiences.

The opposite experience occurs when you think high-level thoughts like, “I rock!” When you think and feel, “I rock,” you exude an energy of confidence and in turn attract great experiences into your life. Each thought you have informs your energy, and your energy manifests into your experiences. Your thoughts and energy create your reality.

Manifesting Mishaps
Manifestation has become a buzzword lately. Though it’s totally awesome that the Law of Attraction is now trendy, it also can be a bit misleading for folks who are unwilling to do the heavy lifting. If you truly want to use your energetic power to manifest greatness, you must clear all that blocks you from believing in your greatness.

“A Course in Miracles” teaches that on some level, you’ve asked for everything that happens in your life. Your intentions create your reality. There’s no need to beat yourself up: simply recognizing how your low-level thoughts negatively affect your life is the first powerful step toward changing your experiences. Begin your manifesting process by getting honest about how your low-level thoughts, energy and feelings of disbelief block you from receiving what you desire. Once you get clear about the blocks, you can begin to clean them up to clear space for positive manifestations to occur.

Many people, when trying to manifest, focus too much on the outside form rather than the internal condition. From A Course in Miracles’ perspective, what’s important is our internal experience: whether we choose to experience love or fear. When we commit to our internal experience of love, we begin to attract more love. Many people approach manifestation from a place of “How can I get something to feel better?” Instead, the focus should be: “How can I feel better and therefore be an energetic match for attracting more greatness into my life?” The emphasis must be placed on healing the internal condition, not getting a hot new car or boyfriend.

The Five Principles for Manifesting Your Desires
Below are my five key principles for genuine manifesting. When practicing these steps, make sure to stay committed to the goal of feeling good first and attracting stuff second. Continue to remind yourself that when you feel good you energetically attract goodness into your life. When your primary function is to be happy, then whatever comes to you is irrelevant. Happiness is your true manifestation.

Principle One: Clear Space
Before you begin the manifestation process you must take the necessary time to release all your disbelief in your power to be happy. One of the best ways to clear the blocks of disbelief is to pray for release. Begin a daily prayer practice of asking the Universe to set you free from all the limiting beliefs that block you from believing in your greatness. Stay open for signs from the Universe and show up for the assignments that are brought to you. Universal assignments come in many forms. Maybe you’re guided to the relationship that brings up all your shit so that you have to finally heal your fear. Or maybe you lose your job so that you can learn the lessons of self-reliance and strengthen your self-love. Trust that these assignments, however tough at times, are incredible opportunities for you to clean your energy and clear space to call in what you desire.

Your job in this step is to pray for guidance to clear all that blocks you from believing in your greatness. Then allow the Universe to help guide you to whatever assignments you need to aid in the healing process. Show up for the assignments and trust that the more you clean your thoughts and energy, the more positive experiences you will attract into your life.

Principle Two: Get Clear
Clarity is king when it comes to manifesting your desires. You must have clear intentions for what you want to call in–otherwise you can manifest a lot of what you don’t want. Focus on what you desire and then make a list of all that goes along with it. If you’re getting clear about the job you want, make a list of all the things about the job that make you happy: the office, the people, the salary, etc. Be unapologetic about what you want. This list helps you clarify your intentions and access a vibrant mental picture of what you desire.

The most important part of this step is to clarify how you want to feel. When you get clear on how you want to feel, you can begin to access that feeling. That feeling is what makes the manifestation come into form. You can write a thousand lists and make a million vision boards, but if you don’t clearly feel what you want to experience, it will never truly manifest into form.

Principle Three: Think It, Feel It, Believe It!
Now let’s put these steps together. Take your clear intention and spend time every day sitting in the feeling of what it is that you desire. You might access the feeling through meditation and visioning exercises. Or call on the feeling when you’re in nature or doing a form of exercise you love. Let the thought inform the feeling and let the feeling take over your energy. The more you feel the feeling of what you desire, the more you believe it is on the way. From a metaphysical perspective, if you believe it then it is already here. So make time for contemplating, thinking, feeling and believing.

Principle Four: Chill!
The next step is crucial to the manifestation process. In order to truly manifest your desires into form, you gotta chill out! A Course in Miracles teaches: “Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait and wait without anxiety.” Take this message with you and allow your faithfulness to guide you into the belief that what you desire is on the way. Also trust that the Universe has a much better plan than you do. Though you are clear about what you want, you cannot control the timing or the form in which it comes. Stay calm, relax and trust that the Universe has your back!

Principle Five: Know the Universe Has Your Back
When you’re in the know you’re deliberate about what you want. When you’re in the know you no longer vibrate energy of fear or disbelief. You just know. As your disbelief wilts away, wanting is replaced by knowing. Getting into the know happens naturally. When you diligently practice steps one through four, you will clean house, get clear and feel happier. This process is healing and powerful, and it leads to a deep inner knowing that you are right where you need to be. Accepting your greatness in this moment, right now, is what manifests more greatness. Being in the know helps you accept that you already are living in your desired manifestation. When you feel it, you live it–regardless of what is happening on the outside. In time, the Universe catches up with your energy and your desires come into form. This process of allowing the manifestation to follow your internal faith is the true process of co-creation.

Stay Committed to Happiness
Stay committed to this five-step process and trust that you’re exactly where you need to be. Is your main desire to feel good? Trust you will be given everything you need to create that feeling. Know that feeling good is the true manifestation–and everything else is the icing on the already delicious cake!

Do you want to deepen your understanding of the manifestation process? Join Gabrielle Bernstein on April 27 in NYC and Livestream video for my awesome Manifest Your Desires lecture. Get the details: http://gabbyb.tv/manifest-your-desires-lecture

Photo credit: Walt Jabsco

Losing Judgment, Gaining Bliss

We all come from very different places – different countries, religions, families. We are all unique with individualized beliefs and values. Certainly we are environmentally conditioned as children, but as we grow and learn, our thoughts change and develop into opinions. Eventually, as adults, we become one-of-a-kind beings with the ability to live blissfully.

So … what is stopping us?

A new study has revealed that only 25 percent of Americans consider themselves emotionally healthy. What is at the root of our unhappiness, and how can we turn this around?

A crucial piece of the puzzle, according to ancient and modern wisdom, is our incessant need to make negative judgments about others. We are all guilty of it, and it often begins from a young age and quickly becomes habitual.

One of my favorite quotes is from a lesson in the book, “A Course In Miracles.” The words are, “Today I will judge nothing that occurs.” The concept is simple, but implementing this proves to be challenging for people around the globe. We judge eachother’s cultural differences, child-rearing styles, appearances and lifestyle choices, to name a few. We even judge ourselves if we feel as though we haven’t lived up to our own standards.

Do not feel alone if you are recognizing this behavior in yourself; there are very few individuals who live their lives judgment-free.

Overall, it may seem harmless to behave this way, but ask yourself, what are you truly gaining from condemning others? Some inadvertently praise their own ego by putting others down. Then there are those who have a belief system that makes them feel they are morally superior. Many times, judgments stem from one projecting their inner conflict on another. Wayne Dyer wrote, “When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.” Regardless of where your judgment stems from, it does not have to define who you are today.

Recognizing that you have been spending too much time judging is the first step in the process of ending the habit. Stepping outside of yourself, to examine where the judgments are coming from, is next.

I experienced my own awakening recently when I spotted a woman smoking in front of a store, in a non-smoking area. Knowing I would have to walk right by her with my young children left me annoyed and frustrated. How could she be so oblivious to a law? My immediate reaction from deep within was to walk over to her and inform her this was a non-smoking area, and make it clear that her actions were unacceptable by storming by with my children.

I quickly recognized my inner reaction as a judgment and calmed myself to the point where I was able to see this woman for who she truly is. My mind did not take into account that she was likely a kind human with a different set of beliefs and values, and perhaps she simply did not see smoking in front of the store as an issue. Certainly she did not want to offend me or harm my children. I simply walked further away so that my children were not exposed to the secondhand smoke. I continued my day with a mild sense of inner peace that I had not had beforehand.

Once I experienced this “judgment awakening,” it allowed me the ability to recognize future instances where I placed my values or beliefs on someone else or a situation. As Eckart Tolle has written, “Awareness is the greatest agent for change.” There are still times that I fall back into my old habit of negative judgment, but the most difficult walls have been torn down.

The final step, after recognition and learning the possible root of the problem, is actively seeking out ways to end the reaction when it occurs. There are many options for overcoming this challenge.

First, I believe it is vital to seek out one person with whom you can have open lines of communication to discuss such topics. Whether it be a spouse, a friend or a therapist, it is helpful to dialogue your thoughts to help you work through them. This person could also point out certain things to you that you may not see yourself.

Another important aspect is to spend time reading about the topic of judgment. There are many spiritual authors, speakers and religious texts that put into words the different methods for helping us through our internal struggles. This can be individualized as well, depending on your beliefs, and can help you grow further than you could ever imagine. Perhaps this is the catalyst to push you toward inner growth so you can have a deep sense of joy and gratitude in your life.

Lastly, I believe it is important to find or develop a carefully formatted statement, similar to a daily affirmation, to help guide you to a conscious perspective. For me, it is a Deepak Chopra quote: “It helps if you remember that we are all doing our best from our own level of consciousness.” It completely puts things into perspective for me. How could I possibly judge another human being when they are living the only way they are capable of at the present time?

Individual achievement, competition and the belief that we are separate from each other are prevalent in our society. The reality of the situation is that many of us are striving for the same thing: happiness. You can move into a state of peace and pure joy only by investing time and effort into a new way of thinking and living.

Mother Teresa’s eloquent words said it best: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Ask yourself, how do you want to spend your time?

Heidi Oran is a freelance writer, and founder of “The Conscious Perspective,” a blog that focuses on educating readers about current events, personal growth, and holistic living. She resides outside of Toronto, Canada, on an organic hops farm with her husband and two young sons.

Photo credit: tiff_ku1

What Would Your Life Be Like If You Did Only What Was Easy?

This is an exclusive sneak peak from THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS by Danielle LaPorte. Prepare for some soul sizzle…

What would your life be like if you did only what was easy? 
Let me repeat the question:
What would your life be like if you only did what was easy? 

It’s almost unsettling to go there, isn’t it? When I try to answer that question for myself I squirm a bit. Lazy dilettante. As IF. What would I do with all that extra time I’d have if I just did the easy stuff? Hmmm . . . maybe I’d have more time to enjoy what I’ve got and get more of what I want. Maybe things would be . . . easier.

Ease. The concept confounds most of us. Here’s why: 

Pay your dues. Put in your time. Prove yourself. Check the right box. Stay the course. Meet expectations. Soldier on. Nothing worthwhile comes easy. Good things come to those who wait. Blue collar,  white collar, hard work pays off. No pain, no gain. Thomas Edison put it this way: There is no substitute for hard work. 

We’ll call these, collectively, the Myth of Endurance: a concept that you can choose to believe in, in varying degrees, or not. “Easy” is also a concept that can be just as useful to you. The easy way is a direction that leads to spacious places.

Choosing easy is smart, efficient, elegant; a fantastic form of self-compassion; giving yourself a break and getting out of your own way. Choosing easy is letting inspiration be your compass. Choosing easy is allowing for the things that you’ve been asking for to enter your life. Now, let’s be clear, there are two types of easy. Quality easy and cheap easy. We’re aiming for Quality, with a capital Q.

THE QUALITY KIND OF EASY 
Quality easy has a sense of fluidity to it. There’s a gravitational pull forward. Quality easy relies on his inner strength. Quality easy has an abiding respect for herself. Quality easy has fewer things on the to-do list and is a brilliant delegator. Quality easy trusts the timing of things. He knows it’s better to hold out for what’s right than to deal with the mess of extracting himself from a bad compromise. The minute resentment and irritation set in to a task, Quality easy goes on red alert. She steers clear of aggravation, annoyance, and repetitive misery. Over time,

Quality easy gets comfortable saying no, thank you, to things that are just too complicated and too distant from what she really wants. She is willing to let it go, get over it, and walk  away— because she
has better things to do with her life energy. It’s that simple, most of the time. Quality easy brings a sense of expansion to things. Quality easy is
compelling—because when you say yes to grace, you’re saying yes to the natural flow of life. You lift your face toward the divine, like flowers lean into the light.

THE CHEAP KIND OF EASY 
Cheap is a sucker for a discount. Cheap easy can’t see that some losses are gains. Cheap easy stays in a stifling relationship because it seems easier than facing the heartbreak and dividing up the furniture. Cheap easy is frequently in a rush, a smidge desperate, and usually scrambling for options. Cheap easy tells little white lies to get things done. The path of least resistance isn’t about shortcuts, cutting corners, or being clever. And it’s certainly not about making mediocrity acceptable. It’s about optimizing the truth. It’s about casting your seeds on the most fertile soil for your best chances for success.

START WITH THE EASY STUFF 
Easy is sublimely logical. Consider all of the things you want to create, produce, accomplish, put out in the world, and  experience—so many roads that could lead to satisfaction. Start with the project or the aspect of the project that is the easiest. What do you already know the most about? Where are there already ambassadorship and alliances? What are people already asking you for?

The same goes for creating satisfying relationships. What’s already going well that you can lean in to? What do you adore about the other person that you can focus on? The easy stuff is right in front of you and totally doable: simple kindnesses freely given day to day. Start there and you can approach the big hairy issues with some lightness.

Instant gratification has gotten a bad rap. I’m all for it. Why would you want to delay gratification? Within the constraints of morality and maturity, you should do whatever you need to do to feel gratified in the moment. It may be as subtle as choosing a more positive thought or reminding yourself to smile. Maybe it’s taking two minutes in your car or at your desk to do nothing but just feel into the day. Maybe instant gratification is fifty sit-ups for an adrenaline rush, ordering dessert first, giving an unexpected hug, signing the lease, or telling your boss to shove it. You can be responsible to those around you while creating immediate pleasure for yourself.

Pleasure makes everything easier. Gratification builds the momentum, motivation, and muscle for you to choose the work ahead of you that will require more patience and stamina. It warms you up
to shine. Easy does it.

For more by this author, visit DanielleLaPorte.com

Detox to Divinity

Fasting has been prescribed in most ancient traditions as a tool to cleanse and purify one’s mind and body in order to achieve inner purity and find the path to divinity. It was believed that when thoughts of preparing food and feeding were out of one’s mental schemata, one could focus without hindrance on mantra, prayer or devotion. Fasting was considered a tool in aiding devotees to disconnect from the physical realm as they turned deeply inward.

Spiritual awakening is awareness of a higher source. And it means looking at life as not just a constant unfolding of events, but stepping back and out of the box of our lives, to look at all of creation as part and parcel of a grand plan, a great mystery. It beckons us to develop trust in ourselves, to cultivate faith so that we can accept with grace and dignity the many things that happen in our lives, especially when they are beyond our understanding and not according to our own “plans.”

You don’t have to be religious or even spiritual to know that when you accept certain unpleasant events as they are, then they appear less threatening. When you create that distance between yourself and events in life, you gain a totally different perspective. You begin to understand that challenging circumstances are just that: challenges. And you start developing strategies to handle those situations, instead of reacting and creating an emotional web of discontent around your life. You start thinking with clarity and make better decisions as you plan to work through the challenges. You arm yourself with objective knowledge of the situation and are then able to handle it with less interference from conflicting emotions.

It’s akin to becoming a spectator, watching a sport in the stadium that is your life. That distance allows you to look at things objectively instead of reacting to circumstances.

What is the connection between this clarity and fasting or detoxing? The first time I heard the saying, “God is in your gut,” it was during my first yoga teacher training. Since then, I have encountered this saying in books I have read on both spirituality and physical health. And what it means is that when your physical body is cleansed, it then becomes a breeding ground for positive thoughts, higher aspirations and an overall lighter sense of being. Once the cobwebs are cleaned out, light can shine more brightly within. Processed and fatty foods clog not just our arteries, but our colons, our guts and our faculty to think clearly. Small wonder that these days with the world being so sick of falling sick with inexplicable diseases, many doctors and health practitioners have turned their attention away from traditional Western medicine and have begun imbibing the ancient wisdoms of the East.

One such wisdom is that of fasting. Modern medicine has proven that it is only in rest that our body begins a deep detoxification process, a process which is beyond just the daily elimination of waste matter. When we rest our bodies from the effort of digesting and breaking down food, our bodies then begin the real work of pulling waste matter from the organs, where it has been accumulating over the years, made worse as a result of modern industrial living. It is this accumulation of waste products and stress on the organs that ultimately results in disease. And allowing the body to fast occasionally creates an environment of less taxation on the digestive process, which then enables the body the space and time to begin the deeper cleaning of the guts and all the other organs.

This cleansing through fasting makes for a balanced body that fuels a balanced mind. In a balanced mind, divinity can exist. In a stressed and toxic environment, divinity will look for a quick escape. Only negativity and darkness will breed.

There are different kinds of fasts out there in the organic world now. Religious fasting generally cuts out all solid foods and, in some cases, devotees eat or drink nothing at all for a set number of hours a day. Western doctors often prescribe a juice fast or a smoothie fast in which you drink teas, juices and smoothies, as they are much lighter on the body since the breaking-down process of the food has already occurred in your blender. This taxes the digestive system far less and speeds up the process of absorbing nutrients into the body, thus resulting in giving the body freedom to begin the deep detoxification process.

I personally like Dr. Alejandro Junger’s “Clean” detoxification diet, or Kris Carr’s green-juice fasting suggestions found in “Crazy Sexy Diet” and her digital book, “Crazy Sexy Juices & Succulent Smoothies.” Both have carefully weighed in on the value of the greens and fruits they recommend and have experimented on themselves with glorious results.

Tania Kazi is a yoga teacher, a meditation guide and a mom. She is also an activist working toward empowering the indigenous peoples of the developing world. Tania resides in Manhattan.

Photo credit: elana’s pantry