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ANGER/HATRED
Let's face it, sometimes it's just more fun being angry, and it's easier to blame anyone other than ourselves when things don't go our way.
The only war to end all wars is the one that's waged and won within. And anyone who's tried to fight it knows, it aint pretty
Fear, worry, anger-these gut reactions that make our adrenaline rush are weapons in our arsenal which we rely on for earthly survival. But if they are not used properly, they cut us off from being happy…Yet, if we were to accept right now that everything is as it should be, there would be no cause to be angry or unhappy no matter what happened. Ironically, it's only when you don't need these emotional weapons that you are qualified to use them.
BEING HUMAN
The process of thinking followed by action is a working model for our creative universe. Master this art and nothing is impossible.
All the false beliefs, shaky doctrines, scary scenarios, and allegiance to outside authority have to go. When we're true to ourselves, we're in touch with the divine. We might be called heretics, but at least we won't be hypocrites.
As humans, we need something to push off of, sort of like a springboard, when we want to make changes in our lives. So why not choose to rebel against something worth rebelling against? How about your ego, your pain, judgment in any form. Become a kick-ass spiritual revolutionary and stop blaming your bad luck, your boss, or your relatives. Dig for the deeper meaning.
Until we know who we are, we can't recognize anyone else for who they really are.
CAREER/LIVELIHOOD
The people who get what they want out of life know that they are one hundred percent responsible for what happens to them…They know that-as difficult as it may be to accept on the bad days-no one stops us from "making it" or "getting ahead" except ourselves.
We tend to ignore our childhood dreams because they are, well, childish. But, in many ways, our childhood behavior is the purest expression of who we are.
It's time to break free of the people-pleasing routine, and do what we really want to do. Other people might not like it at first, but they'll get over it. Hey, they might even start doing what they really want to do too. Now that's spiritual.
CULTURE/SOCIETY
The real danger of scientific advancement comes when we scare ourselves into thinking that we are not complete without technology-that we are not eternal without plastic surgery or organ transplants, or that we cannot connect to each other without the Internet.
Imagine for a moment that we couldn't remember what anything was called, and that we had lost all preconceived notions of how things are supposed to be…We'd have to refrain from speaking about subjects that we don't understand well enough to describe, which would eliminate the need for cocktail parties worldwide.
Maybe we call ourselves consumers because the process of managing and trying to fulfill our many wants is all-consuming.
DIET/HEALTH
We think that if we can just eat low fat, no fat, or fat killed a certain way, we can protect ourselves from harm.
There's nothing inherently wrong with keeping kosher, eating fish on Friday, or meditating six hours a day, but it doesn't increase our chances to get into the kingdom of heaven or to reach nirvana-because we're already there. We're just too busy performing rituals to realize it!
Accepting that we're already perfect as we are just might start a chain reaction that could result in enhanced physical well-being.
ENLIGHTENMENT
Despite the enduring myth that enlightenment can somehow be instantly bestowed upon us at the feet of a master, it usually takes real life to wake us up to who are, how things actually work, and what it is we're here to do.
A fistfight may be as necessary for one person's enlightenment as another person's college education.
Sooner or later we have to drop the false notion that wisdom must be imparted from someone else, and learn to draw from the well of our own experience. Then, and only then, will we be in a position to see things as they really are.
When it comes to seeking enlightenment, intelligence is overrated.
FOLLOWING THE PATH
Conflict, lack of support, and even loneliness are actually the result of not following our own paths. It's like when you're a kid in Junior High trying so hard to fit in with the crowd, but your efforts to conform only reinforce how different you feel.
The spiritual path is a way of life; it's not a vacation. So, if you're having second thoughts, great! Let's celebrate! Second thoughts are exciting evidence that our old concepts are beginning to break down.
If all we're doing right now is sitting around waiting for deliverance, then it can't hurt to try and "save" ourselves. At the very least, we'll have something to talk about with the messiah when he or she finally gets here.
Positive thinking alone will not get you what you want. You must also speak positively, act positively, and, most importantly, you must believe that it is possible to change your reality at will.
Despite the prevailing belief that every situation requires some form of action, sometimes the best resource we have is our ability to wait patiently.
FREEDOM
Always wanted to sing? What's stopping you? You have a shower, don't you?
Is life a maximum security prison? Well it sure as hell feels like it when you're not living the life you want to live. Like it or not, we play the roles of the jailor and the jailed at the same time. (But) We're free to walk out of the prison any time we choose. So put yourself on parole.
The deeply rooted need to be saved is fundamental to many of the world's great religions. While we're waiting to be rescued we fall deeper and deeper into spiritual desolation until we have the equivalent of a spiritual heart attack and cry out "Help! Help! Is there a Messiah in the house?"
True freedom comes from feeling and using our power as spiritual beings; it does not depend on other people. So why would we burden ourselves by attaching our freedom to another who may seek to walk an entirely different path? It's a practical truth-if we want liberty, we've got to give it freely to others.
GOD/GODDESS
The problem for many of us is that we intuit that there is a Creator but have a hard time finding proof of its existence or feeling its presence in our daily lives.
Eventually we'll be able to see what we've been the whole time-perfect little indestructible sparks of God.
God is the power of life in action.
DEALING WITH GRIEF
Grieving is not for the dead, it's an indulgence for the living. While mourning a loved one may be a psychologically necessary step in our psychology, let's not add to the stress by pretending we owe it to the person who died to cry and disrupt our lives for an extended period of time. This might look like disrespectful behavior on the surface, but on a deeper level it shows profound respect and love for life, which, like it or not, includes the eventual death of the body.
The weight of the world lessens only when we acknowledge our own power to effect even the smallest change, and focus our energy on doing so.
It is through surrender that we experience the One Life and learn that, despite appearances, there is no death.
HAPPINESS
Happiness, just like anger, is a choice. Next time you're angry, do a little dance and see what happens.
Most of us don't realize the extent to which we're hypnotized to believe that our happiness and self-worth come from having an abundance of material things. And, even those of us who do realize it, don't do much about it.
Laugh at the idiots who used to make you crazy and give yourself a kick in the butt when maintaining appearances keeps you from doing what your heart desires.
HELL
The good news is that hell isn't some subterranean torture chamber run by demons with pitchforks. The bad news is that it's a whole lot closer to home. Jean-Paul Sartre said, "Hell is other people." And he's right, in the sense that other people mirror our own state of mind back to us.
Hell is a moment-by-moment choice-not a location.
Want to live in hell? If you lived there, you'd be home now.
INTUITION
The only way to learn to use your intuition is to listen to it, take its advice and see what happens as a result.
Because we're all made of the same stuff, we're all intuitive, whether we realize it or not.
When we begin to deal directly with causes, rather than effects, our intuition naturally develops without any conscious effort on our part.
JESUS CHRIST
It's not easy to get psyched about walking in Christ's footsteps if getting nailed to a cross is the big reward that waits at the end of the road…But once we realize that the crucifixion was not about pain and suffering, but about freedom, we might be able to believe in resurrection as a new life in Spirit, liberated from the incessant demands of the ego and material reality.
The field of comparative religion has shown striking similarities between the Christ story, the Osiris/Dionysus myth, the accounts of Buddha and Krishna, and the life of Apollonius of Tyana. As a result, more and more people are seeing the Christ story as a myth, an allegory, or a symbolic representation of the universal spiritual journey.
KARMA
Karma is simply the ever-present law of cause and effect that governs all aspects of creation. What we put into life, we get out of it.
Karmic payback's a bitch--only if you act like one.
LIFE
Life is impartial. It only takes on meaning when we decide how to direct it.
When we give ourselves permission to experience and feel all the aspects of life, the ups and down, the joys and challenges, we accept our magnificent role as co-creator and life becomes a spiritual adventure.
We alone are responsible for our lives, whether our mother (or fathers) were there for us or not. This idea may not be comforting, but it's intensely liberating.
Life doesn't necessarily give us what we want, but it usually gives us what we expect.
No matter how well intended, when we interfere in the lives of others, we bind them to us, and not always in a good way. Offering unsolicited advice, even if it's accurate, imposes our expectations on other people and may very well interfere with their natural progression in life.
LIVING PEACEFULLY
Once you decide to live a more peaceful life, the first thing you notice is that most people around you are not on the same wavelength…they're probably a bit pissed off that you're not the same miserable person they used to commiserate with.
If you're really serious about living more peacefully, then you have to deal with others more peacefully by adapting to the fact that they have a different way of doing things.
If we want peace in our lives and in the world, we have to stop finding fault and start looking for what's right. Now, get out there and do it. We dare you.
LOVE
The best way to find out what you really believe about love is to try and become your version of the perfect lover. If you can't become what you want to attract, you have two choices: get real or get moving. Either way you come out ahead.
When we allow ourselves to love, we surrender to life and experience the oneness of existence.
Most often what we think of as love, is a knee-jerk reaction triggered by our own fears and designed to protect our own interests.
MEDITATION
Meditation and concentration are two sides of the same coin.
Meditation is not a technique-it is simply the state of being completely alive each and every moment.
Each time we acknowledge a thought and let it go without analyzing it, we train ourselves to be guided by instinct and perception. These faculties put us in touch with the universal power within. And that's what meditation is all about.
NATURE
Merge with a tree-it's pretty cool, and not that weird or far out.
If Nature-another name for God-didn't like risk-takers, we'd all still be single-celled organisms swimming in the primordial soup.
Gurus, swamis, lamas, Zen masters, shamans, priests, priestesses, rabbis, ministers, university professors can provide us with interesting information. But so can the ocean, the stars, the wind, mountains, children, animals, your family, your friends, and your enemies.
NEGATIVITY
Most of us, whether we realize it or not, have a negative view of life. It's not really our fault; we've been trained that way since infancy.
Only by ridding ourselves of hate entirely can we know love, live lovingly, and fulfill our destinies as spiritual warriors. Your ego will consider it an act of war. We guarantee it. Are you ready to fire the first shot?
Positive thinking alone will not get you what you want. You must also speak positively, act positively, and, most importantly, you must believe that it is possible to change your reality at will.
ONE-LIFE PRINCIPLE
There is a single underlying power in the universe, but it's expression takes many forms-baseball players, puppies, exotic dancers, Supreme Court Justices, rocks, trees, even criminals.
According to the One-Life Principle, the universe is a giant mirror so all we see are our own reflections.
What is compassion? Well, it's not some namby-pamby term for letting people get away with murder, that's for sure. It's a state of mind, a perspective, a window on reality that comes from living in conformity with the One Life Principle. Compassion is the process of identifying how energy is being expressed at any given time and then aligning our actions with our highest potential as spiritual beings.
Before accepting the One Life Principle…there were good people and bad people, right decisions and wrong decisions, happy times and sad times. We tried like hell to avoid pain and experience pleasure by rationalizing our flaws and blaming others for our unlucky breaks…Then we found relief in a new set of beliefs that proclaimed that freedom was within reach. We didn't have to change the world all we had to do was change ourselves.
PERSONAL POWER
It's amazing how quickly our feeling of personal power goes out the window as soon as something doesn't go our way…"Forget about that 'spiritual crap'-this is serious!". But obstacles are not punishment. They represent an internal conflict that we need to work out…
The trick to effectively using our spiritual power is not to get too cocky…We've got more knowledge and experience than ever before. Spirit has always been whispering in our ear. Now, if we listen, we can hear it.
We all have a source of power that nourishes us throughout our lives, like a fetus is fed through an umbilical cord. If we are aware of this, we can choose to connect our cord to something great. Who or what is at the other end of your umbilical cord? You are part of a big powerful universe, and some of that power just may be flowing into your navel right now.
Positive thinking alone will not get you what you want. You must also speak positively, act positively, and, most importantly, you must believe that it is possible to change your reality at will.
REALITY
Compassion is not about letting another person off the hook or about ignoring the consequences of hate crimes…When we love those who hate us, we identify with the creative energy of the universe, not with the circumstances we might face. The next time we're confronted with hateful people or conditions, we have to make a decision. Will we allow ourselves to create our own reality or will we let reality create us?
If we pay close attention to the contradictions of our so-called reality, the illusion starts to break down…The creative principle is what's real, the rest is smoke and mirrors, a hologram that can be arranged and rearranged as we change our concepts. When we understand this, the seemingly irreconcilable begins to make sense…The next time you are confronted with cold, hard reality, remember that life isn't always what it seems. Behind the illusion is the power to change the world.
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
All matter contains electrons, which generate electricity, cannot be destroyed and are therefore eternal. While there is clear correspondence between the scientific observation of electrons and our conception of Divinity, one intriguing question still remains. Did God make electrons, or are the electrons God?
The real danger of scientific advancement comes when we scare ourselves into thinking that we are not complete without technology-that we are not eternal without plastic surgery or organ transplants, or that we cannot connect to each other without the Internet.
Both theoretical scientists and the great mystics travel beyond language and current knowledge to explore new frontiers, and then struggle to describe that which is indescribable. The "quark," for example, is a label given to a theoretical concept that cannot, as of yet, be directly observed; the word heaven describes not a place, but a potential state of being not yet experienced by the majority of people.
SEX
It's ironic, but when we die, we also surrender. Maybe that's why the French call the orgasm "the little death".
We are a severely conflicted species. We talk about the importance of a healthy sex life, yet, as children, most of us were distracted from masturbating, brainwashed to fear physical intimacy and encouraged to "just say no." Could "just say no" be a part of the problem?
When the masculine and feminine principles are not in cooperation, within ourselves, among groups, or even between nations, we end up with a metaphoric battle of the sexes.
SPIRITUALITY/FAITH
Everything is spiritual-even stuff we don't like or don't agree with.
Spirituality means infinite abundance, not deprivation.
Working at the computer, mowing the lawn, or making love are valid spiritual activities.
One's faith can never be invalidated by the actions of another.
Spirituality is not a consolation prize for living a life without toys or fun.
To be spiritual we only need to observe how our actions affect us and those around us.
Let's be clear, the spiritual path is about power-heavy duty, revolutionary, life-altering power. When used constructively, this power can transform a barren desert into Shangri-La; it can create heaven on earth.
Spirituality is the awareness that we are connected to Life with a capital "L".
Spirituality is not about holding back on our desires. It's about living our dreams any damn way we want. Hallelujah.
Keeping everyone else happy at the expense of our own well being is not the recipe for a fulfilling life, and here's the real shocker-it's not "spiritual".
SUFFERING
It is impossible to be human and not suffer. But what does "suffer" really mean? One definition is "to feel pain or distress," as in, "I am suffering from cancer." …There is another definition of the word suffer that means "to experience, feel, or undergo," as in "everyone must suffer the consequences of their actions."
In a real sense, "to suffer" is shorthand for the law of cause and effect. When we focus all of our attention on pain and distress-either by glorifying it or avoiding it-we create more of the same.
To be blunt, the quest for perfection by identifying, analyzing, and cataloguing everything that is "wrong" aligns us not with good but with evil, which is why external reality (on both the personal and global levels) never seems to improve, no matter how hard we try…the solution is not to try to make things better, but to see things more clearly.
THE RATIONAL MIND
Time is not a real thing. It's a clever tool we invented for making plans with other people, as in "let's meet for drinks at eight."
Free will is a funky concept: we have a brain that allows us to analyze a situation and act accordingly. However, our brain can only work with the raw data that has been entered into it through education, ancestry, and our own life experience. If deep down we are insecure, its' going to be hard to ignore a critical person or have the confidence to tell them off. So, in some sense it is our destiny to suffer through these types of experiences until we learn to conquer them.
If we deliberately seek out experiences where we can be patient, understanding, and forgiving, then we will have some data to draw on the next time we are confronted with a volatile situation.
TRUTH
If a message is true, valuable and worthy, then we can use this information even if it is delivered by prisoner #4528 on cellblock B.
When we are true to ourselves, there may be some people who don't understand us, but we will always find others who will help us along in life.
Being truthful means speaking of what we know-not what we believe or have heard a million times on television. The only thing we can claim to know is ourselves, and even that knowledge seems a bit shaky at times.
Instead of telling other people "how it is", see if there is a way you can help them experience their truth for themselves, to learn their own lessons, which are the ones that really stick. Truth will be revealed naturally, in its own time, even if we don't say a word.
What's your secret? Come on, you know you have one. We may think we are being clever by not revealing our self-destructiveness, our lack of understanding, or our hidden pain, but aren't we just blackmailing ourselves out of fear that we will be abandoned, or worse? It's time to let go of the secrets. The truth will set us free.
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
A rubber squeeze toy in the shape of a Buddha working on a laptop computer sits in the Chicks' office. Some might call this an example of the modern world "corrupting" our spiritual existence, but we think it's just the opposite.
Spirituality is not beyond real life; it is real life.
Spirituality is not a consolation prize for living a life without toys or fun.
Laugh at the idiots who used to make you crazy and give yourself a kick in the butt when maintaining appearances keeps you from doing what your heart desires.
Our life structures take a while to erect, and almost as long to tear down, but we shouldn't be afraid to rebuild if we find that we unwittingly crystallized ourselves around something unattainable, illogical, or no longer desirable to us.
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