Credit: Nathan Smith (Univ. of Colorado), et al., SSC, JPL, Caltech, NASA


Heart is a word that refers to many different levels of our being. Essentially,it is the love aspect of soul, capable of making direct, intuitive contact. Soul love is not emotional; it is highly impersonal and intelligent, capable of grasping the essence of someone or something without any projection on our part. Appreciation significantly turns on the heart. Appreciation is not an emotion that arises spontaneously, but a soul quality we can choose. The more often we choose to be appreciative, the easier this choice becomes and the more frequently our heart opens to give and receive love. “If you open your heart, love opens your mind.” -- Charles John Quarto

Heavy thoughts bring on physical maladies;
when the soul is oppressed, so is the body. -- Martin Luther

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do. -- Mother Teresa

For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Credit: Earth science and Image analysis lab, NASA


Watch for those times when you perceive yourself to be separate from the rest of the world. When you find yourself feeling uncomfortable, threatened or isolated, remember Neale Donald Walsch’s words: "there’s only one of us in this room." When we perceive differences in thinking and behaving, we might remember that these are merely different expressions of the one universal life force. We can release judgment as to whether those differences are right or wrong or good or bad. We can drop the labels that divide the world into pieces, and simply appreciate the rich variety of ways that energy can manifest as form. "If we are to achieve a rich culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place." -- Margaret Mead

Let-go is one of the most beautiful spaces. You simply exist, doing nothing, sitting silently, and the grass gross by itself. You simply enjoy the songs of the birds, the greenness of the trees, the multidimensional, psychedelic colors of the flowers. You don't have to do anything to experience existence; you have to stop doing. You have to be in an absolutely unoccupied state, with no tensions, with no worries.--Osho

If you can smile wholeheartedly, hold somebody's hand and smile, then it is a creative act, a great creative act, just embrace somebody to your heart and you are creative. just look with loving eyes at somebody...just a loving look can change the whole world of a person. -- Osho

You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are! -- Eckhart Tolle

Spiritual teachings sometimes counsel a need to let go of the ego. In our view,though, ego and personality are essential players in our theatre of life. Personality is the vehicle for Spirit to evolve through form. Soul sparks the potential that exists within the personality. We don’t want the ego to disappear – we want it to open to divine guidance so the two may work together in alignment. And so the path of personality aims to build a healthy, skilful ego. Ironically,only a strong, mature ego can take responsibility for carrying the consciousness of soul. “How do we nurture the soul? By revering our own life. By treating it as supremely important. By reaching for the best within ourselves. By learning tol ove it all, not only the joys and the victories, but also the pain and the struggles.” -- Nathaniel Branden

The first step in awareness is to be watchful of your body. And as you become aware, a miracle starts happening: many things that you used to do before simply disappear. Your body becomes more relaxed, your body become more attuned. -- Osho

"The world is not to be put in order; the world is order, incarnate. It is forus to harmonize with this order." -- Henry Miller

"Don’t get your hopes up!" Were you warned of this as a child? What does this say? It says that life is bound to disappoint you. It says, don’t aim high because you’re not likely to get what you want. It says that we can’t expect good things to happen to us. As our thinking creates our reality, this kind of thinking dooms us to a mundane existence. It’s time to change our stories. Why not focus the immense power of our hearts and minds on bringing to fruition the very best life has to offer?Allow yourself to hope and believe in all possibilities. "Hope is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles." -- Samuel Smiles

The 80/20 rule says that on a list of 10 tasks, only 2 of those tasks will return 80% of the value of the entire list. Look at your ‘to do’ list for today.Which tasks are directly related to what you most want in life? Find the 2 high value items on your list and tackle them first. These tasks are the ones that really move us forward. Many of us actively avoid the top 2 priorities because they are more challenging than the rest. If they are to lead us to worthy goals, they are undoubtedly asking us to move into new territory in thinking and acting, and this can be scary. But this is also REWARDING! “Don’t kid yourself: it’s because you’re doing all those C’s (low priorities) and NOT because you haven’t any time, that you don’t get to do your A’s.” -- Alan Lakein

Our minds are incredibly powerful. We put that power to work for us when we consciously set an intention to be or do something. Get into the practice of consciously setting an intention for every activity in which you are involved. Your intention might support efficiency – for example, to complete a job or project by a specific time. Your intention might support your personal growth, e.g. , to undertake a task that scares you. Or it might support more soul connection, e.g., to see beauty in the chaos of your day. When we make an effort to set an intention, no matter how trivial it may appear,we are taking the time to choose what we want for ourselves. And clearly, this is essential for our growth – to actively, thoughtfully choose what we want for ourselves. “By becoming a conscious choice-maker, you begin to generate actions that are evolutionary for you.” -- Deepak Chopra

I have found there’s a very different quality to my action when it springs from a sense of abundance as opposed to a feeling of being impoverished. When I sense I’m not good enough or that I don’t have enough, I feel driven to be better and to have more. Whatever I do takes effort – there’s an element of struggle involved. And this makes sense because there’s no fuel – I’m working on an empty tank. When I’m feeling abundant, I act out of my own inspiration. I’m rich and full and so the energy flows naturally. This action at times feels almost effortless. It's important to remember that we don't need money to be abundant. All we need is appreciation of all that we have. “ ...what I focus on in life is what I get. And if I concentrate on how bad I am or how wrong I am or how inadequate I am, if I concentrate on what I can’t do and how there’s not enough time in which to do it, isn’t that what I get everytime? And when I think about how powerful I am, and when I think about what I have left to contribute, and when I think about the difference I can make on this planet, then that’s what I get. You see, I recognize that it’s not what happens to you; it’s what you do about it.” -- W. Mitchell

Who are you?
How deeply can you answer this question? Please realize that you are the only one who can answer it. No one else can tell you who you are. You must discover this for yourself. And the challenge of knowing ourselves is no easy task. We hope this question excites rather than intimidates you. There’s so much more to you than you know at present! Isn’t this intriguing? Perhaps it’s time to go exploring…. “Mysterious and intimidating to contemplate, the human brain is the most complex thing there is and the most difficult task it can undertake is to understand itself.” -- David Noonan

The sages all say that the path to liberation is found in entering the stillness within. To experience that stillness, we need to be willing to regularly stop the activity for a while. How do we do this in a busy life? We set our priorities. Perhaps it means giving up a TV program or using a coffee break to grab a few moments of solitude.Perhaps we have to ask our partner, relative or neighbour to give us 30 minutesof time away from the kids. If we really want something, we can make it happen. "Learn to pause... or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you." -- Doug King