When we step beyond fear, we step into a realm where anything is possible. This new territory can feel unfamiliar, even uncomfortable at first.  There is so much space where we are used to feeling fear and doubt.  As we allow ourselves to fall into this newfound freedom, our ego-self reaches out to grab onto anything it can hold on to.  But we breathe. We remember that this is what our soul has been yearning for.  There are things we want to do, places we want to go, people we want to interact with - all that exist beyond the barriers our fears erected.  We have tired of running up against these walls in disappointment or doubt.  We are ready to bring these walls down and align with our deepest and truest self.  We are ready to step into our power.  

Doubt your doubts and they vanish.

Feel your fears and they fade.

Let go of your worries and they fail to materialize.

What will it take for us to really get it that life is about letting go?

-Baron Baptiste

Detachment does not mean isolation. It does not mean to be devoid of emotion or enjoyment.  Detachment means living with out attachments that hold us back from our living to our fullest potential.  Attachments to expectations, attachments to patterns, attachments to outcomes and results, attachments to the stories we tell ourselves, attachments to emotions.  We've carried this all around with us for so long, mostly unbeknownst to us. By recognizing these attachments, we can begin to see how they serve us.  Do they leave us feeling empty and disappointed? Do they keep us yearning for more; an insatiable quest for fulfillment? If so, it's time to let go. 

Most of our attachments are so ingrained is us we don't know they are there, and most of these attachments are rooted in fear.  When we take the time to explore where we hold on and why, we reclaim the power to create the reality we desire. 

Explore. Notice. Breathe. Surrender.  You have the power to create the reality you desire.  Your intentions are rooted in the Greater Good and by living to your fullest potential you are making the world a better place.  The time is now.  Step beyond fear into the limitless possibility of your deepest desires. 

What if we let go of fear?

What if we stepped beyond what we've always done?

What if we stopped telling ourselves the same stories?

What if we let go of where we've been and what we've done?

What if we let go of anger? Resentment? Hatred?

What if we let go of where we want to be and what we want to be doing next?

What's left?

Limitless possibility. 

The secret to life is to live without fear.

I recently learned how to ride my bike with no hands.  To some this may seem trivial, but I must ask...have you ever tried?! I have always been under the impression that riding with no hands was simply something I could not do.  I'd see people cruise by without holding on, looking so relaxed and comfortable and I'd think to myself, "it looks fun, I wish I could do that!" I did try a few times, with no success. I'd get going a comfortable speed, feel very balanced, but the time would come for me to let go of the handle bars and all of a sudden I got scared, and the slightest wobble had me back to a white-knuckle grip. 

Recently, I was sitting with a friend and an arms-free biker cruised by and I commented on how I wished I knew how to do that.  He laughed and said, "well of course you know how to do that. It's really no different than riding your bike holding on.  It's not a matter of balance, you just need to have the courage to let go."  Those words sparked something within me as I realized how often I am reminded what is possible when we have the courage to let go. The following morning as I biked into the sunrise, I decided I'd give it a shot.  I reminded myself that the only difference between hands on and hands off, was courage. I picked up some momentum, let go of the handlebars, and cruised for several blocks relishing in the feeling of CAN.

I find myself in the same inspired state of paralysis on my yoga mat.  I watch as other students gracefully glide up into Birds of Paradise, or fearlessly flip themselves upside down balanced on their heads.  I tell myself, "maybe someday I'll be able to do that. After more practice, once I become a really yogi. But I can't do that now, I'm not ready." Well, similar to my bike-riding breakthrough, something finally clicked within me. I had been attempting Crow Pose for a while, but still wasn't able to get both feet off the ground. I would be so close, and just as I was about to lift off I'd tell myself, "no! I can't! I'll fall forward, I'll break my wrists!" Once again, I would convince myself I can't. Finally, after class one day, I decided to ask for help.  I had always wanted to seek out some individual instruction, but again, always seem to come up with a reason not to - "I don't have time." "She's probably to busy." or "I don't want to be embarrassed when I still can't do it, even with the help."

Back in the studio, with no other students around, the place felt different. Still. I was guided through some preparation and then started to get into the posture.  I moved slowly and I listened to my body. I realized that Rachel, my kind teacher, had no doubt that I'd be able to get into the full pose.  She guided me confidently one step after the other, and I felt her confidence flood out my own fears. I placed my knees on my triceps, engaged my core, and tilted forward. Shifting my gaze in front of me, lifting one than both feet off the ground . Nothing hurt, I didn't fall. In fact, I felt completely amazing as my body took this shape for the first time.

What these moments of sheer and simple brilliance helped me to realize, is that often times we confuse our ability with our willingness. There really is nothing standing in our way of what we truly want, besides our own fears. However, we sometimes get caught up in the same old stories we've been telling ourselves our whole lives.  Stories rooted in old fears of failure, disappointment, or pain.  Stories that have etched themselves into such familiar grooves, that we don't even realize they are there. Friends, what I'd like to remind you is that you have the ability to change these stories.  There is no reason why we should convince ourselves to hold back.  No harm will ever come to us if we consciously choose to move beyond our edge, in the direction of something that will serve us to be better, stronger, kinder, more compassionate human beings. Learning to trust ourselves and our abilities is something we owe ourselves and each other! Imagine if everyone lived to their full potential?

Thus, the the secret to life is truly no secret at all. It is simply a state of mind. When we choose to stop listening to old beliefs and do that which we have not done before, we grow. Change. Inspire. Teach. Learn. 

You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to the world around you to live to your fullest, deepest potential.  Right now, in this moment you have everything you need to do whatever it is you want.  Trust yourself.  Have courage. Let go.

~With love and gratitude~

 There is a pleasantly rich wisdom in every moment, we are just usually too distracted to notice it. 

This evening I had a wild breakthrough while I was combing my hair out. I usually rush through this task,  taking a brush and yanking through the clumps of hair that have tied themselves together over the course of the day, pulling a lot of it out while I do this.  Tonight though as I picked up the comb I was reminded of a concept that has been weaving itself ever more deeply into my life: conscious awareness. Tich Nhat Hahn explains this with a beautiful example in his book, The Art of Power. He tells of his Guru asking him to go do him a favor, but when he opens the door to leave the room, his Guru calls him back and asks him to open the door again, but this time to do it open the door consciously. I had to really chew on this awhile, initially feeling like it was beyond me to attempt to bring such a level of conscious awareness into my life.  Things happen too fast! Even at a deliciously slow pace of life, I can still catch myself too distracted and busy to open doors consciously. Still, I tucked this piece of wisdom away and of course, it began to show up.  

Tonight, as I combed through my hair I decided to think about only that, combing through my hair.  I let go of anything else I had been doing up to that point and anything I would go on to do next. I relaxed most of my body, except the parts that I was using (arms, legs & core to stand). I focused on the simple task at hand, combing through my hair. With this very deep awareness, I actually had an entirely different experience with task. I found a sense of enjoyment out of pulling through each knot, slowly without yanking any hair out. I didn't think that was possible! I realized that by taking only little bits of hair at a time, the comb seamlessly pulls through the knots without pulling too hard and leaving all my hair attached. I continued that patter, of slow, conscious combing all the way around my head and finished with a soft, silky head of hair.

What I realized is that by cultivating a sense of conscious awareness to this very simple and routine task, helped me to slow down and actually enjoy what I was doing. This awareness helped me to recognize a pattern I sometimes fall into, which now that it has been brought into the light, I can practice shifting.

Maybe this all sounds a bit silly, getting so excited about combing my hair.  But let me tell you, when you're able to feel contentment and joy out of such a simple task as combing your hair, life can be a pretty blissful experience. When conscious awareness is cultivated into our every interaction, every movement through the day, our transitions from one task to the next and into the tasks themselves, only then do we start to become active participants in our own lives.  

I consciously and graciously choose to actively participate in the raw, authentic experience that life offers me . 

Only when we are completely present, can we be truly fulfilled. 

Slowly, clarity engulfs me.  Ebbing and flowing like the tides of the ocean, tickling the shores of my soul, reaching into the darkness, into the places I have felt confused, uncertain or insecure.

The places I have felt paralyzed by the unknown, are slowly being opened up into the light.  By choosing to turn within, the wisdom I have discovered has begun to answer the questions I have been carrying around for so long.

 In places I feel a lack of direction, I am navigated by this deep-seeded sense of guidance.  I realize more and more each day that by turning within myself, it all makes sense.  By giving my body, my mind and my spirit just what it needs - nothing more, nothing less- they come into balance and perform at the most optimal level.  When this balance tips, this is manifested in some feeling of discomfort, pain, or dissatisfaction. I notice these feelings without shame or guilt.  I take time to explore these feelings unattached to judgment of Self. 

The beauty of Nature, the beauty of Life, is that this force is always working to maintain balance. 

We can always come back to a state of balance. Balance in mind, body and spirit. Balance with the environment around us. And ahh, if we all worked to achieve this balance wouldn't this world be beautiful?

When we are aware, we are alive.

I've had the same screen saver on my desktop for almost a year.  It's a picture of the boys who lived at the orphanage in Nepal with Goma, the house mom.  They are lined up in the backyard, which was really a concrete lot with some dirt and patches of grass. I look at this picture every time I open my computer, yet I can't remember the last time I actually saw it. It happened tonight, without even meaning too.  I stopped for an extra second and took time to see t it.  I allowed myself to go back to those moments when I was there.  I felt the warm, moist air, heard the laughter, smelled the scent of burning garbage mixed with incense.  I looked at each of the faces in the picture; the uniqueness of each boy captured in the photograph. I realized that the boys probably look so much different now.  A year does a lot to you at 8 years old. A year. Can it be? These precious moments could have been easily missed had I not taken just one extra second to look.  This makes me wonder, if I applied this level of awareness to each of my interactions with the world around me, how different would my experience be? 

Driving up the coast of Southern Oregon recently I enjoyed delicious moments of clarity, as I shared deep gratitude for the beauty of Nature.  I was alone in the car and didn't have a camera on me.  I had no way of capturing the breathtaking views or someone else to share in the experience. I found myself completely present with each bend in the road, the rolling waves, the vast, turquoise Pacific.  There is no way to describe the feeling of being next to a tree that is 2000 years old. My words will not do justice the dramatic coastline dotted with sea stacks that mark a time long before the planet was in a state of such imbalance. There were times when it felt like I was the only human for miles and miles.  This evoked a feeling of safety and freedom, and at the same time was a bit overwhelming. I had lots of breakthroughs on this drive, my mind free to wander wherever it pleased and my soul feeling nourished and expansive.  Presently aware of the environment around me, not distracted by the task of attempting to capture it and hold on to it for later, I actually saw it. I felt it. I was there for it.  The wisdom of the trees, the power of the ocean, the perfection of nature; this system that exists in perfect harmony with every being that is a part of it.  This awareness that I chose to cultivate, allowed me to have a deeper, more intimate experience with what was unfolding around me.  Free of expectation, letting go of the worries that attempted to be a part of it, I saw the Divine in everything.  I was reminded of how blessed we are to be part of such a perfectly intricate system. This reminder washed away my petty concerns and replaced them with a sense of hope.  Hope for humanity. Hope for a time when we come together as one.  Hope for our children and future generations. Hope.

Awareness is a tool that will open your heart and awaken your mind.  Awareness is cultivated by being present in the Now. Finding a moment of stillness. Taking a conscious breath. Awareness will help us to not just look at what's around us, but to see it; not just hear what is going on around us, but to listen to it; not just be a part of what is unfolding around us, but to participate in it. We each have a very important role here, and if anyone has tried to convince you otherwise, it's time to shift that belief.  We each have an incredibly important job here on this planet.  As one of the most highly evolved species, we have done a piss-poor job taking care of our Earth. Taking care of ourselves for that matter.  We place this responsibility on others. Other systems, other people, other. Yet, the responsibility is our own.  To care for our bodies, our minds, our spirits and our planet.  By bringing awareness into your every moment, you will begin to find yourself caring at a level deeper and more rewarding than before.  Awareness is a huge part of rising consciousness, and at this point, with the planet in the state that it is in, we all need to be raising our consciousness.

Breathe. Awareness is a tool that is at your beckon call.  Use it wisely, use it often.

Journey with me...

I'm in a meadow on top of a hill.  It's sunny and warm and the grass is soft.  The sky is vibrant blue and there is a slight breeze that whispers through the surrounding trees.  From over the ledge of the hill I can see the tops of other hills and mountains in the distance, and as I take in the view I notice a set of stairs leading down the hill. The stairs are made of stone and they look worn and inviting. Without a seed of doubt I approach the top step.  From below I can hear the sound of the ocean and smell the salty air.  I feel the warmth swell up and take off some layers I feel are no longer necessary.  More comfortable, I step down another step.  Here I empty some parcels out of my bag to lighten my load.  With each step down I continue to peel off layers and unload my burdens until at the very bottom I am holding on to nothing and completely exposed.  The beach is bathed in an orange light as the sun hangs low over the horizon.  The sand is soft and as I walk to a place to sit down I leave small footprints.  The dramatic cliff behind me wraps around this beach creating a safe cove.  I am filled with a sense of being completely exposed while feeling deeply at peace. In this vast place of safety and trust I begin to pull from within me the thoughts, things, experiences, people, and places that cause me to feel tense. Nervous. Scared. Unworthy. Incapable. I take these pieces from within me and I spread them out on the sand around me.  With each piece the feelings accompanied with them surface as well. At first I feel myself contract and want to go racing back up the stairs where I never had to look at these things.  But I come back to my breath. The warmth of the sunshine. The sound of the waves. I feel myself open and relax.  Warm tears slide down my face and the feeling of relief rushes through me as I allow myself to just be.  Be with the pain. Be with the discomfort. Be with the fear. Be. There is nothing I need to do, nothing I need to work on.  As I sit there in the sand, I am aware of everything I need to know. I'm aware that I have everything I need and I am able of letting go of everything I do not need.  In this moment I cultivate the power within myself to accomplish my deepest desires.  I cultivate the power within myself to find peace with who I am, where I am, and what I am doing.  Right now.  I notice a rising sense of gratitude.  It engulfs me with warm radiance.  Gratitude for this moment. Gratitude for myself. Gratitude for my journey. Gratitude for all the teachers in my life. Gratitude for all the wisdom that Life delivers to me. Deep, deep gratitude.  I know when to get up from my seat, slowly and with intention.  Not because a certain amount of time has gone by, for there has been no sense of time at all here in this sacred space.  I get up when I feel nourished and complete.  I bow to Mama Ocean in her vast, deep, mysterious beauty. I walk back up to the bottom steps and peer back over my shoulder.  The waves reach up and wash away what I've left behind on the sand.  My footsteps are the only remnants of my presence there. I begin to climb the stairs back up the hill, choosing to pass by what I took off on my way down.  Not feeling the need to pick up my parcels,  as I am equipped with newly cultivated treasures of power and gratitude, knowing this is all I need.  

We all have a sacred place to visit.  A space where we can lay out our Truth and expose our whole selves.  A space where we can let go. 

The power within you is waiting to be cultivated.