2011...Hell or Heaven

We just saw a billboard in LA last week that said "May 11, 2011 will be judgement day. Repent and receive everlasting life before it's too late!"  Normally I don't really give that stuff any attention but this time it made me think. Could it be that fundamental Christianity and the Human Potential Movement are both getting the same message?  It does appear that something really monumental is happening.  At this rate, by that time and certainly by Dec. 2012, life as we know it will be dramatically different.  We are already experiencing climate changes never before seen to this degree. There was ice on my Orlando pool Tuesday for God's sake. LOL The banking and housing industry was brought to it's knees to some extent.  Almost all of Americans have been dramatically negatively affected by the economy.  We have a president that is not pasty white.  Madoff, Enron, etc are being exposed.  We went to a fast food restaurant that served fresh squeezed veggie juices, vegan meals and had nutrition books to read.  Relationships are being tested. Men are admitting to be sexually abused as children. And just today, a son of a dear friend passed away after what appeared to be a common cold after only 4 days of illness.  One group says that hell on earth is soon to come. Another says that heaven on earth is soon to come.  To me it's simple.  It's all about LOVE or ATTACHMENT.  For those that hold tightly to the past, expect the weather to be stable, need the markets to go a certain way, can't handle death(no such thing anyway), keep themselves separated from oneness, numb out with drugs, sex, alcohol, TV, food etc,  these coming months will be hell.  For those who heal the drama and attachment on the inside, the drama on the outside will have much less affect and these coming times will usher in a new age of consciousness.  I'm not saying this will be easy for everyone.  I'm just saying that for those of us who choose love, trust and divine order, the navigation will be much smoother.  May we all choose LOVE over ATTACHMENT.  As they say, the only constant is change and change is happening at light speed.  Peace in the Chaos!!  Happy New Year. It's gonna be a full of fireworks.!! 

Surrender to Sex and Love. The rewards are so worth it!

Over the last 10 years, Angelina and I have been asked many times "what's the secret to your amazing relationship".  Truthfully,  I've never been able to completely put my finger on it.(no pun intended)  We look at so many of our single friends, who truly have so much to offer, and wonder "why is relationship so hard for so many?"  One thing that works for us is something that we rarely see in other couples and most singles are not willing to give it to a mate.  We have surrendered to each other's emotional and sexual desires and needs.  That means when one of us desires emotional presence or sex, we are available.  We may not be that into it. We may be tired. We may be shut down. We may be busy. We may be resentful. We may be angry. We may be whatever, but we realized in the beginning that we were committing to be each other's ultimate source for emotional and sexual fulfillment and with that came a huge responsibility to be there for each other in that way unconditionally.  There has never been a time that one of us gave in to the other where it has not been effective in creating and maintaining intimacy and connectedness.  So often we see couples where one holds back sex or emotional intimacy as a power tool and it creates resentment.  We heard it said years ago that when you do something for your partner when you're "not into it" or it doesn't feel fair, then it's a love gift and we all know that Love Is A Boomerang and when you give it away, it comes right back.  Would you rather be right or happy?  It's time for us all to "take one for the team".  When did the word "sacrifice" become so dirty?  This may sound "codependent" to some.  Well, if that's what it is called when lovers take care of each other and serve each other, we're ok with that. We prefer to think of it as "effective, conscious, romantic love".  Or "love with a happy ending" pun intended.

CAUTION: The moment that any of this becomes a demanded expectation, it loses the "unconditional" surrender and becomes a set up for disappointment.  Also, if either of us give in to the other in order to receive something in return, it is no longer unconditionally loving.
Here's a bonus.  Often when one of us is not in the mood for sex but we make ourselves available to the other, we end up getting in the mood and it's a beautiful thang!

WARNING: This is intended for mature, committed relationships. This does not apply to abusive situations and/or sexual fantasy.

MEAT: To Eat or Not to Eat....that is the question!

Yesterday I woke up with Spirit loudly saying "you are to stop eating meat!".  This was very unwelcome news.  "Are you sure?", I said.  "Yes, you are to stop eating meat!".  I love meat.  I have been eating only organic meat for years.  I buy sustainable fish, blah, blah, blah.  I asked if this was for ethical reasons and the answer I got was "NO, it's not a judgement about whether it's ethical or not to eat meat".  I asked "Is it because it's the Green thing to do?".  Spirit said, "this is not a judgement about whether it's better for the planet!  This is something for you to do now to make you more in alignment with your new consciousness.  "Oh" I said, "not eating meat is more conscious."   "Nope, you just can't let go of the judgement can you? It's what's best for YOU right now!"  I wondered what it would be like eating with Angelina.  "Would she be best not to eat meat too."  "That's not your concern!  She is doing what is best for her. This message is for YOU!" 

As with all my obvious guidance, when I follow it, my life improves. It just feels right to stop eating meat right now.  I was already becoming more and more attracted to lighter food, more alive, prana rich sustenance.  Fortunately, the guidance says it's good for me to eat organic eggs from free roaming chickens and raw, organic dairy. Whew! That was close!!   I am type O blood after all. LOL  Whenever I hear anyone promoting vegetarianism from a judgemental place, I always have an inner giggle.  I have heard on many occasions "we will not have peace on earth as long as people eat meat".  My thought is we will not have peace on earth until we stop eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Angelina is the most compassionate, kind, loving, non-judgmental person I know, who has more peace in her life than just about anyone and she loves eating meat, especially caribou.  That's Rudolph's species for God's sake girl!!  And I know plenty of vegetarian, green, tree huggin' folks that are so full of fear, judgment and anger that they don't seem very happy or content with themselves or the world.  Are they promoting peace on earth? Was that a judgment? lol

My bottom line.....everyone needs to take care of their own "little red wagon" and the more you trust yourself and find contentment with your choices, the less you'll condemn those who don't make the same ones!!  Here's a little joke.....a woman is wearing a fur coat and a PETA person says, "lady, do you have any idea how many animals had to die so you could wear that coat?"  She replied...."do you have any idea how many animals I had to sleep with to get this coat?!!!"
Peace and Choices........

Over The Hill and Thankful For It!

On Feb. 15th of this year I started my 50th year of life.  This is often called "over the hill".  One definition is " Past the peak of one's youthful vigor and freshness". While I admit that some shifts have occurred in my body that make excercise, attitude and diet more of a priority these days, in many ways I feel fresher than ever.  I look at the first 50 years of my life as a time of hard work, tilling the soil, selfishness, discovering myself, addiction work, relationship yoga and an overall sense of "what the hell does this all mean".  Now I feel like my garden is bearing rich fruit.  Even my relationship with my beloved twin flame of 10 years truly did not begin to bear the richest fruit until this last year.  Even the passion has become richer which I would never have believed.  I was always under the impression that when the love drugs and romantic intrigue were replaced with security, comfortability and trust, that much of the fire would die.  While I admit, a version of this did occur,  I had no idea what was waiting on the other side of 9 years of conscious commitment.  Holy Canolli!  Our love life reached a new peak and I believe part of it is getting "over the hill"(btw, she still has another year before she starts her 50th).  I like to think of it as riding a bike.  Aren't we all happy to get "over the hill" so we can coast a bit more, enjoy the ride, stop and smell the roses and know what works and doesn't??  Sure a stong apple tree full of energy is a sight to behold, but until it bears apples, it's not near as fulfilling.  "Over the hill" is also the time that many careers become prime. That is unless you're in Hollywood, but even that is changing for the better as the public recognizes the richness of being older.  Most of us are well aware that aging improves wine and cheese. lol  For us, this is the most exciting time of our career too.  "Past my peak??, no way baby, I'm just getting started!!!!!  Here's to embracing being "Over the Hill". Happy Thanksgiving to us all.

Death Penalty: Humane or Sin

Well, I was inspired by the men in my weekly men's group to share my thoughts and feelings on this super-controversial issue.  Obviously there is a lot of energy around this topic.  There are some interesting ironies around the topic. Many "christians" who believe the bible is to be taken literally are super in favor of the death penalty even though one of the ten comandments says "thou shalt not kill".  Many "non-christians" who don't believe in the bible are against it. When I ponder the issue, I ask myself  "what do I believe is best for humanity?"  This is not based upon religion, dogma or the fact that I lean toward the liberal side of politics.  I just go inside and ask my feelings and higher self for guidance.  We just watched a show recently where they talked to the woman that drowned her 5 children a few years back.  She claimed that she did it because she was guided to do so and that she believed that it would be best for her and everyone if she were put to death.  This is obviously a tormented soul who appears to be incapable of rehabilitation. Still, the system keeps her in prison against her will and the will of anyone who believes in the death penalty.  To me it's not black and white AND I feel that anyone in prison who feels a danger to society and would like to "check out" permanently should be given that opportunity. I also am very much in favor of the death penalty for mass murderers ie. Jim Jones, Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Hanibal Lector types since they are a constant danger to other prisoners, guards, wardens etc and I truly believe that anyone willing to take part in that behavior is deeply tormented and would be receiving a favor to be put out of their misery.  I know this may bother some of you AND I'm open to changing my mind if I were enlightened to another view that made more humane sense to me.  Ultimately, I think it's a personal opinion and society as a whole should decide what it feels is the most humane thing to do.  One last thing: there is also an argument that "what if innocent people die because of the death penalty?"  Well, I don't really think that's a fair argument since everything we do has the potential to adversely affect innocent people.  Do we stop putting people in jail because there is the potential for innocent people to go?  Do we stop driving because there is a chance that people will die?  I know I'm putting myself out here but I also believe that 2012 is about transparency so here it is folks.!!!

From Abuse to Freedom

Today we watched another Oprah show on male childhood sexual abuse. Amazing statistics of 1 in 6 males.  It was painful and inspiring to see 200 men come out and reveal their painful secrets.  I revisited my own physical and emotional abuse by my primary childhood caretakers and was humbled by how much less trauma I experienced since my abuse was so much less severe. Still,  all abuse appears to have the same effect of instilling an unworthiness in it's "victims".  I believe that part of 2012 is this exposure as all lies are coming to the surface fast.  Forgiveness of the perpetrator, and ultimately one's self, seems to be the biggest challenge AND affords the greatest healing.  In the old testament we were told "AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH". Well this just left everyone blind and toothless.  Then we were told "TURN THE OTHER CHEEK". but this often feels like enabling and co-dependent.  I"ve always thought that we need to learn to firmly say "NO", "turn the other cheeks" and leave the abusive situation.  Unfortunately, children don't often have that opportunity since they have been convinced to feel so much shame and self blame and often are not believed when they come forward.  Forgiveness is the antidote for shame, especially self-forgiveness.  I always thought I could do it on my own but realized later that I needed help in order to find a way to release the shame, guilt, vindictiveness and anger towards the person that most hurt me.  I felt so afraid of her that I just wanted her to die.  I had been working on this for 14 years with only partial success until I signed up to take the Hoffman Quadrinity Process.  Somehow that work was able to short circuit my faulty DNA so I could let go of the old patterns, thoughts, emotions and feelings that prevented me from fully forgiving.  I was finally able to "let go of the hope that the situation could have been different".  Now my former foe is one of my best friends.  I convinced her to take the process, funded it with Angelina and now miracles happen with her and me almost every day. 

May we all realize that we are innocent.  May we all realize that we have nothing to be ashamed of. May we all realize that there are no "bad people" just people that are taking out their pain and shame on others.  They too need healing.  May we all recognize how WORTHY  we are to experience Heaven On Earth NOW! May we all "heal the shame that binds us".!

Monogamy vs Polyamory. Religion or Spirituality?

For those of you unfamiliar with the term "polyamory", it's often referred to as "responsible non-monogamy". Unfortunately, I've rarely experienced polyamory as truly responsible. Just as I've rarely seen monogamy free of control and jealousy.  Let me start by saying that I don't believe in either of these lovestyles any more than I believe in the rightness of any  religion.  I believe in Spirituality and Relationship and the forms these take is to me, purely personal. 

Since I was 18, I pretty much related to the polyamorous lifestyle.  This was in part because of my ability to love romantically more than one woman at a time and my desire to conquer jealousy. It was also mixed with an inability to commit intimately to anyone and because of what I realized later had become a full blown addiction to the highs of new relationship and romantic intrigue.  Again, I'm not saying anything derogatory about any lovestyle or spiritual choice, only that when it becomes a religion, it becomes suspect. 

Most of what I've seen from people that strongly identify as monogomous or polyamorous is fear based.  This was certainly true for me.  It took me until June 15th of 2007 to realize that if I were to pursue my deep desire for intimacy with Angelina, enjoy freedom from addiction and have the joyous, simple, peaceful relationship that I had glimpsed, I'd have to let go of my need for romantic freedom and replace it with real love which is always about choice.  I chose monogamy not because I believe in it but because I believe in Angelina and the love we are capable of.  Sure I could go into all the reasons that she "needs monogamy" but that's not my job.  My job is to look at my stuff and do the inner work.

Similary I choose "New Thought" as my spiritual choice not because I believe in any particular religion but because New Thought allows me to explore MY spirituality in an open inclusive way.  Are there New Thought Fundamentalists that have made it a religion that separates?  Of course, but is is not my job to fix that anymore than someone should reject their connection to Islam because of the radical extremist terrorists that identify as Islamics. 

Ultimately, I'm just ME learning each day to open my heart more, get more humble and appreciative And remember to put my Spirituality and Humanity first and all shall be added unto me.

George W and Oprah together again!

Last night we watched GW being interviewed on the Oprah show.  We were blown away by the mutual respect. The same mutual respect occurred when Sarah Palin was on the Oprah show months ago. I have not been a GW fan.  I have judged him and his actions.  Last night I became a fan.  Not the politics, not the opinions but the intrinsic nature of him as a fellow american, child of the Universe, man/husband/father with human frailties.  As I watched I thought, "what would I think if I hadn't eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil".  I realized that I would actually like him, find him funny, humble, passionate and caring. Even authentic which I hadn't seen before. He made fun of himself a lot and that really turns me on.  I realize that the more I accept my "complete self", the more I am able to accept everyone else completely.  I also realize I have no f'ing clue as to what it would be like to be him, afraid for the wellbeing of America and having to listen to so many advisors etc, holding the blame for every action the government took during his 8 years and now even much of what is happening now.  Knowing that every man and woman that gave their lives in Iraq are somehow on his conscience.  I feel compassion for him.  His family seems very kind and they love him.  He must be much more than my small mind imagined.  As we move into possibly the most uncertain, powerful times of our lifetime, I believe we are being called upon to find the areas that we are connected to others, letting go of our differences.  This is often called the "vesica pisces" since it is the place where two circles meet.  I commit to opening my heart to more conservative view points.  I commit to realizing that intelligent folks are on all sides of the political, moral fences and that none of it is black and white.  I commit to seeing the Christ/Buddha/Beloved in all of humanity even though many of them think I'm insane and idealistic. 

The Power of WHY!

I am so enthused about a wonderful tool that I learned from a dear friend.  She put it in an audiobook called "Orchestrating the Symphony of our Cells" that is available on our website.  Anyway, I wanted to share the basic premise so people may start benefitting from this tool that Angelina and use daily and has added much joy and manifestation into our lives.  Have you ever noticed that everyone that uses the phrase "why me?" seems to attract more of what they are asking about?  I certainly have noticed that when I stopped asking why unpreferred things happened to me and started focusing upon what I loved and desired, everything shifted in my world for the better. That leads me to believe that WHY has amazing power.  Anyway, according to OTSOOC, there is a wonderful way to use the amazing power of "WHY" to create more of the life we desire.  So we started saying "why is there so much harmony in our lives?" "why is money flowing so easily to me?" "why do we deserve to have all our dreams come true?" "why our our computors working so smoothly?' etc.  Anyway, not only do we feel immediately more at peace just saying positive things after WHY, we also noticed overwhelming evidence that it was actually enlisting parts of our brain and the law of attraction to answer the question in manifestation and support. Why is that? lol

2012 The Time of Enoughness

Well, this was my very first blog and I'm excited to share it again. Today I got another strong message that we are being called to step into our "enoughness".  This is on a personal and material level.  How can we move into a new era of consciousness if we are still holding on to old patterns of "not enoughness"?  Whatever it takes for us to realize that we are one with the infinite and are and have always been "good enough", MUST BE DONE.  It's also time to let go of the constant pursuit of more stuff.  I find these two are very tied together. The less we feel enough, the more stuff we try to acquire to compensate for this emptiness.  Angelina and I often look at what we have in our lives, check to see if it meets our needs or is superfluous.  In Joe Dominguez' amazing book, "Your Money or Your Life", he clearly shows how more material possessions, after reaching one's "fulfillment peak", actually usually decrease one's fulfillment. Angelina and I have found that less stuff, which often leads to more freedom and savings, adds up to more peace.

On her last year on the air, Oprah had several guests that struggled for 40 years or more with not enoughness and how liberated they were when they fully accepted themselves for who they are.  Notably Ricky Martin, Portia De Rossie Degeneres, and Jane Fonda. Please join us as we embrace "Enoughness" and regain our priorities of health, happiness, simplicity and relationships.  Your comments are always welcome.

Since I wrote this, we have had to reduce our expenses by 40% to compensate for our reduced income. This was very challenging because we had become attached to the money, giving and lifestyle we had enjoyed for a decade. We are now realizing more than ever what truly is "enough".  We have recommitted to the idea that: our committed relationship is enough; our income is enough; our church and event career is enough, regardless of how many people show up or how much money we make; our physically changing youthfulness is enough;  our simple home and material possessions are enough; our savings is enough. In summary, we are embracing more and more that WE ARE ENOUGH!!