​We are being asked once again, right now, to take a look at things that we had set up earlier in our lives, that are still ongoing, that do not serve us.

This might be family and relationship—for many of you, this is where the hammer is going to hit the nail, soundly on the head. Take a look at your family, your relationships, and ask yourself: “Is this serving me?” Not serving the small me, of ego/personality/fear. But the big me, which is your soul essence.

Is this serving me? If you are in a relationship filled with toxicity, blame, fear—and certainly, if you are in a relationship that is abusive in any way—it’s time to Let Go, and Say No.

If your current challenges aren’t in family relationships, but are around other relationships, such as business, career, groups, associations, friendships, and other relationships such as these, the question is the same: “Is this serving me?”

Not the ego you. Not the you that has goals and ambitions and so forth.

You as Soul.

Now,... when we ask this question, “is this serving me,” the key is to be very clear about your answer. For about 80% of you right now, with the energy as it is, I’d guess the answer is going to be.... NO.

No, this relationship is not serving me.
No, this association is not serving me.
No, this friendship is not serving me.

And when you know this clearly... and you will know it resoundingly, in your heart and soul and gut, the idea is to Let Go and Say No... and... wait for it...:) To do this without fault or blame.

To let go of relationships that are not serving you, and to do so without creating anger, a need to find fault, a need to pin blame.

To just understand that change is the way of the Universe... and that sometimes, we grow out of things when we least expect it...or others grow out of us... or whatever it is. No anger. No fault. No blame. Simply holding boundary, and releasing in compassion.

Take a look today, at what is bothering you, what is stressing you, what is in conflict. And then, meditate on whether the above applies.

I don’t use the word “tribe” very much in my work.

To me, it seems that the word “family” speaks of the soul cluster we’re born into: the one we’ve been with since childhood. Family is where we work out our karma from distant past and through the generations.

Tribe is what we choose: it’s the new family, the true family we seek to create, with people who we share aligned values and understanding with.

But sometimes, if haven’t truly worked out our family stuff, tribe is just a false projection: a group we call “us” even though that’s not really “us.” We’re only part of it, or we only fit in that group for a while.

Eventually, we grow out of all family, and all tribe, and simply become our selves.

On the plane back from California, I sat by a woman wearing Oregon Ducks gear from head to toe. Her first statement to me was “Are you a Ducks or Beavers fan?” to which I mumbled, “Neither.”

When we overalign with family, when we over align with tribe, we miss the true aspect of who we are, which is our Self as Divine being in earth body. We are each unique, yet even more so, we are Soul.

It’s a whole different way of looking at who you are, and why you’re here. 

Joy comes from seva (service) to others.

From a spiritual perspective, seva, or the act of service to others, works because we are all One. When we tend to the least of us, we tend to the all of us. When we bestow gifts, friendship, or help to another this is the same as bestowing it upon ourselves.

None of us are separate. Seva or service allows us to give freely from our selves, and in doing so, we become aware of our infinite and endless connection as souls.

“But I don’t have enough for myself,” you might say. “I’m struggling to make it as it is.” This may seem true upon first glance. But when you look closer, you find that abundance—true abundance—is not found in material STUFF, but in the opening of our hearts into compassion, connection, and love.

Seva, or being of service to those you love, those you don’t even know—and even those you might not be too fond of…. well, it opens your heart. On an energetic and spiritual level, there’s nothing quite like it.
​
Give to someone you know, someone you don’t know, even someone you don’t like. Be of service to the other who is also you.

Notice how your heart busts right out of your body. 

When I’m working with people for the first time, one of the questions I ask is this: What is your spiritual belief system?

Most people are happy to talk very clearly about their relationship to God/One/All/Divine/Universe, or whatever name they might use for the infinite ineffable.

It is lovely to hear profound, well-considered manifestos from people all over the globe:

“I used to be this religion, now I follow my own path.”
“I believe in God, but not the way I learned it as a kid.”
“I know there are Divine beings who help us.”
“I believe I am fully supported by the Universe.”
“I don’t know what I know, but I know there is more than me.”
“Everything is one infinite soul.”
I love these statements of belief!

But my next question: ‘Do you have a regular spiritual practice?’ often meets with a sort of head-hung, I’m-so-ashamed kind of response.

People feel guilty if they don’t meditate every day.
People feel guilty if they have trouble sitting still to meditate.
People feel ashamed if they don’t pray regularly.

Sometimes people think that having a spiritual practice means having a consistent, daily practice: prayers and study at dawn, yoga every day, a particular diet or routine. This is a path for some.

Others think that having a true spiritual practice leaves no room for anything else. That to be spiritual means to live as a renunciate: to leave behind family, friends, interests and move into monkhood high in the Himalayas. This is a path for some.

But for most of us, spiritual practice is the aspect of life that we somehow squeeze into the hubbub of everything else in our lives. We’re “householders,” in the Hindu term: doing our dharma in the every day of work, family, chores, community… the big ALL of life.

Now, my question is never meant to invite shame or guilt over what we’re doing or not doing the “right” way.

And it is true: some people are very consistent in their habits: Some do yoga at break of dawn, every single morning. Some read daily, studying the teachings of the great mystics, saints, and sages. Some are true bhakti: they sing and dance and celebrate daily, a regular part of their lives. Some go to community services weekly or more.

But for most of us… spiritual practice is often catch-as-catch-can. And I’d like to say—with one small caveat—that this is a fine way to run your spiritual practice.

That caveat?

That instead of thinking about your spiritual practice as something you “should do,” or as something that must be done “a certain way” or at a “certain time,” instead consider your spiritual practice as your way of being.

Not something separate from yourself. But how you show up in the world.
Not what you do at a certain time or in a certain place. But how you are all the time, everywhere.
You are Divine, all of the time.

In this way of being, of living from consciousness, of living as a luminous, radiant, being of love, you would naturally be drawn to all the practices that help you to open and expand: studying, reading, praying, meditating, walking, journaling, singing, dancing, being in nature… all of it… because these are all the ways that help us open our true Self, and become One with our oneness.

You would naturally be drawn to connecting with the Divine beings and helpers who are continually surrounding us in other dimensions, layers, and levels of Universal vibration.

You would naturally be committed to learning the language of the cosmos, because this is the language of living from Soul.

You would naturally be curious about ways to “open” into more presence.

And of course, in leaning toward the Light, you automatically notice yourself leaning away from the dark.

You would naturally begin to turn away from all those things that shut down consciousness: many habits of modern society, so many old belief systems that belong to others and to you, and certainly anything that brings you shame or guilt or unworthiness.

When you begin to think of spiritual practice as the way you are being in the world, it becomes a great joy to create space for things that help you to feel yourself as one of One.

​Have you ever been in a situation where you don’t possibly have enough time to get somewhere, do something, experience something—and then suddenly you do?

Or, conversely, have you had the sensation of losing time, or not experiencing time: you do something so involving, or so trance inducing, you actually can’t remember what you did?

For the last few years, I have been noticing with more and more regularity, how time seems to expand or contract to meet my needs or desires. And furthermore, the more conscious I am: the more awake, aware, luminous, and fully present... the more this happens.

Is this a shift in the Universe? We have certainly been shifted since 2012. Or is this a shift in my own experience? Certainly, my own ability to hold presence and to stay in the moment has increased exponentially greatly over the last few years. Or, perhaps it is a combination of both.

In any case: it seems clear that there is a new wrinkle in time.

We already know we can move beyond the veil, or into other vibrational dimensions where we can easily sense and communicate with guides, the angelic realm, and our beloved ancestors. We also can move beyond the veil of time: back to the past, forward into the near future.

Now, it seems our experience of time has also changed, depending on how present we are; how engaged we are in the moment.

I believe that our absolute surrender to what is, instead of forcing what's supposed to be, and our absolute engagement of the miracle of what's in front of us… by paying attention to all of it, all at once, fully being there…

Changes time.
Or we change.
Or maybe both.

​We are always invited to take off our armor:

We can stop hacking away at time and its impossible demands.
We can stop fighting chaos and the drama of the world.
We can set down our swords and let the battle rage on without us.

Whenever we so choose, we are granted reprieve... especially in the summer. And if we are wise in this season of relaxation and fun, we take ourselves to quiet green places and plunge our bare feet into cool streams, and we slow down and open up and REMEMBER why we’re on this planet.

We are here to enjoy, and in summer this may mean that you:

Live “en plein air” as much as you can.
Rise early, with the birds.
Notice the air on your skin.
Eat plant foods with vital force.
Forest bathe: just you and the trees.
Begin to observe the first sunsets of summer.
Marvel at how much Light is arriving into the world.

The world, with all its cares and worries, can wait. In summer, the Light increases and extends, so we can WAKE UP from the illusion of worldly pressures, and experience the essence of life.