A Fearless and Powerful Masterpiece

May each of the burdens you carry
show you your strength.
And may you give yourself permission
to let them go.
May each of the trials you have endured
show you your perseverance.
And may you give yourself permission
to abandon them.
May your hardships
show you your resilience.
And may you learn to let these go.
The whittling knife
that shows up in your life
can either be given the power
to whittle you down to nothing--
OR to create a beautiful, fearless,
and powerful masterpiece.
And that choice is yours,
make no mistake.

May each of the trials
and tribulations in your life
reveal to you the courage in your heart,
the grit and tenacity of your soul.
May the burdens and hardships
allow you to see
just how incredibly amazing you are.
But, please be sure to let each one go
once you have seen the truth behind them.

God's Beloved Child

Your will for me, God,
is perfect happiness
and I agree with you, God.
You know me to be
perfect, whole, and complete
and I wish to know
and feel this in my bones.
You know me to be
love, loved, and lovable
and I desire to know
and feel this in my bones.
You know me as
Your beloved daughter,
as your emissary of light
and I want to know
and feel this in my bones.
So, please, Mother, Father, God,
allow me to share Your perception of,
Your vision of me.
Please allow me
to see, accept, and embrace
my divine identity,
my true purpose.

For as Your beloved child
I carry within me,
Your Love and Light.
For as Your beloved child,
I carry within my essence,
Your Grace and Peace.
For as Your beloved child,
I carry within me,
Your Wisdom and Knowledge.
As your beloved daughter,
I carry within my essence,
the vibrations of healing,
of laugher, and ecstasy.

And since there is no place
where I end and You begin,
and there is no place where
I begin and You end,
I always have the power
to share Your consciousness
whenever I need to be reminded
of who I truly am.

I am not just light,
I am Your Light,
I am not just love
I am Your Love,
I am not just grace and peace
I am Your Grace, Your Peace.
And for this sacred Knowledge,
I thank you, God.
I thank you, God.

To Shine Today and Every Day

I affirm in this moment
that with God's grace,
that with God's power and provision,
no one shall again
have the power
to take away or snuff out
the love and light in my heart,
in my soul.
My light shall shine
today and everyday.

No matter the circumstance,
no matter what events
take place in my life,
nothing shall again
have the power
to diminish or undo
all the work I have done
to reach this precious moment.
My love shall shine
today and every day.

No matter how hard the winds blow,
no matter how high the waves become,
no matter how dark the night,
my light shall shine
today and every day.
For with God supporting me
every step of the way,
I know I shall not falter,
I know I cannot fail;
My light shall shine
today and every day.

When the storm rages around me,
I shall still know peace.
When the stars go out,
I shall still see the light.
When the pathway becomes obscured,
I shall still know the way home;
For my love and light shall shine
today and every day.

The Heaven Found in Forgiveness

 As I sit upon my chair,
swaying to the music in my ear,
I feel immersed, totally immersed
in the loving light of God.

He seems to be dissolving
the reality of my body,
showing me the light within.
Reminding me that I have
a larger existence than
that of my slender figure.
Reminding me that this soul
I'm beginning to see
has always been safe
even when my human form
experienced torment and torture.

I feel God living inside me
in this moment,
showing me how it can be easy
to forgive this being
for being my source of trauma.
For He is showing me the depth
of my biological father's
pain and suffering.
He is showing me
the darkness that
has resided in his soul
due to his own torments.

And with the flaming torch
of God's grace, and love, and light
now within me,
I offer a true heartfelt hug to my father
and sense that in this moment
of divine grace and divine forgiveness,
this being begins to heal the darkness
within himself
for the love and light of God
that I carry
is driving out the midnight
in his soul.
And I,
in this moment,
have freed myself from the bondage
of pain and suffering,
and freed myself from the belief
that I had to have been deeply
and innately flawed
for this trauma to have occurred.
The flaws I perceived in myself
were simply a fiction devised by the ego;
it was in fact,
the depth of despair
within this other being
that caused me to suffer.

Knowing this through and through,
knowing this in my heart and soul,
and seeing this bright light
burning within me,
I take the time to forgive all
others, including myself,
for each and every
major and minor transgression.

I forgive myself for withholding
love, compassion, and patience
from myself on this journey.
I forgive the messes I created
when I felt trapped in fear and anxiety
or mired in my misery.
And I take this time
to acknowledge that others
have also made mistakes and
created messes
for the very same reasons as I
and that they should therefore
be readily forgiven.

I Am One

I step out into the world,
feel the wind on my face and
smell the delicate scent of autumn.
And I listen for the wisdom
of the trees and the birds,
the grass and the wind,
of the ocean and the flowers.

They remind me that
I am one with the trees and the birds,
with the grass and the wind.
I am. I am. I am.
They assure me that
I am one with all of Mother Nature,
with all the stars in the Universe.
I am. I am. I am.
They tell me that
I am one with the music of the ocean,
with the sweet scent of flowers.

I close my eyes, place my hands over my heart,
and can almost hear the ocean pulsing inside me.
I can almost make out the starlight against my eyelids.
A feathery breeze gently caresses my cheek
as if I were a daughter of the Wind.
And the birds are singing comforting tunes
as if they know how to ease my troubled mind.

To Be Made New Again

Mother, Father, God, Great Spirit, Our Creator, I invite you, I invoke you to please continue working with me as I learn to embrace my higher self. As I learn to have her and keep her at the wheel in the Ego's stead.

Mother, Father, God, Great, Spirit, Our Creator, I invite you and I invoke you into my mind, to relieve me of my worries and doubts.

I invite you and I invoke you into my heart, to relieve me of all my blockages to love.

And Mother, Father, God, I invite you and I invoke you into my energies so that I may be relieved of all my past patternings that I have clung to & that would hold me back.

Mother, Father, God, please help me break my addiction to the Ego's company.

Dear God, please aid me in releasing the empty lies of the Ego, so that I may again be grounded by the truth. The truth that I am your beloved daughter. The truth that I am perfect, whole, and complete. The truth that all is forgiven, yet there is nothing to forgive. The truth that you make all things new again & therefore I can be made new in this moment.

And I thank you God. I thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you.

To Accept Your Divine Identity

MOTHER, FATHER, GOD, GREAT SPIRIT, OUR CREATOR,
I INVITE YOU, I INVOKE YOU
TO ENTER INTO MY CONSCIOUSNESS
TODAY AND EVERYDAY,
TO ASSURE ME THAT
I AM STILL YOURS,
TO ASSURE ME
OF MY DIVINE IDENTITY
FOR I STILL RESIST.

MOTHER, FATHER, GOD, GREAT SPIRIT, OUR CREATOR,
THERE ARE STILL PLACES WITHIN ME WHERE I 
BELIEVE MYSELF TO BE DEEPLY
PROFOUNDLY, AND EVEN
INNATELY FLAWED AND I ASK
THAT YOU PLEASE LIFT THIS FALSEHOOD,
THIS FICTION FROM MY CONSCIOUSNESS.

MOTHER FATHER GOD GREAT SPIRIT OUR CREATOR,
PLEASE LIFT FROM ME
THE PATTERNINGS IN MY ENERGY,
IN MY MIND, IN MY BODY
THAT CAUSE ME TO 
RENOUNCE MY DIVINE IDENTITY. 

MOTHER, FATHER, GOD, GREAT SPIRIT, OUR CREATOR,
I STILL FIND THAT WHENEVER
SOMETHING GOES WRONG IN MY LIFE,
I SEE IT AS PROOF THAT I AM
NOT A DIVINE BEING,
THAT I AM NOT YOUR DAUGHTER.
I ACKNOWLEDGE THIS AS FALSE AND GIVE IT TO YOU.

WHENEVER I MAKE A POOR CHOICE,
I SEE THAT AS PROOF THAT I AM
NOT A DIVINE BEING,
THAT I AM NOT YOUR DAUGHTER.
I ACKNOWLEDGE THIS AS FALSE AND GIVE IT TO YOU.

WHENEVER MY FAMILY STRUGGLES
WITH HEALTH, WELLNESS, PROSPERITY, HAPPINESS,
I SEE THIS TOO AS PROOF
THAT I AM NOT A DIVINE BEING, THAT I AM 
NOT YOUR DAUGHTER.
I ACKNOWLEDGE THIS AS FALSE AND GIVE IT TO YOU.

PLEASE, FATHER, MOTHER, GOD,
ASSURE ME,
PLEASE REMIND ME THAT THIS IS FALSE.
THAT WHAT HAPPENS AROUND ME,
THAT WHAT I CHOOSE TO DO OR NOT DO
DOES NOTHING TO MAKE ME
LESS YOURS OR LESS DIVINE.

MOTHER, FATHER, GOD, GREAT SPIRIT, OUR CREATOR,
PLEASE REPLACE MY ANXIETY AND FEAR WITH FAITH AND TRUST.

MOTHER, FATHER, GOD, GREAT SPIRIT, OUR CREATOR,
PLEASE FREE ME FROM THE FICTIONS OF THE EGO.
THAT WOULD HAVE ME BELIEVE
IN MY POWERLESSNESS,
IN MY NOT ENOUGHNESS,
IN MY UNLOVABILITY.

MAY I INSTEAD KNOW MYSELF AS THE PRECIOUS GIFT THAT I AM.
MAY I INSTEAD SEE MYSELF AS TREASURE.
MAY I INSTEAD SEE MYSELF AS A VESSEL OF YOUR LOVE AND  LIGHT, AS A BEACON
AND A REFLECTOR OF YOUR LOVE AND LIGHT, AND AS A VORTEX OF YOUR LOVE
AND LIGHT.

May you ALL know the precious gift that you are.

To See Oneself Through the Eyes of God

Mother, Father, God, Great Spirit, Our Creator, please help me to see myself through your eyes so I can accept my true identity.

Mother, Father, God, Great Spirit, Our Creator, please guide me when I become lost, please fix my vision when I begin lose sight of who I truly am.

Mother, Father, God, please don't let me stray too far or for too long while I attempt to discover, accept, and embrace my divine identity.

Please remind me that I am your beloved child whenever I begin to question myself or my purpose.

Remind me that as your beloved child, I have the divine inheritance of prosperity and abundance.

Please remind me that as your beloved child that I am deserving of joy & peace of mind, that I am deserving of my greatest good.

Mother, Father, God, Great Spirit, Our Creator, please remind me that I am enough and that I always was enough, that I am loved and was always loved.

Please remind me that I am yours and was always yours. Remind me that I am perfect, whole, and complete, and that this was always so.

To Rest in God

Mother, Father, God, Great Spirit, Our Creator,
please allow me to rest peacefully in your loving arms.
Mother, Father, God, Great Spirit, Our Creator,
please allow me to rest peacefully in your loving embrace.
Please allow me to rest here a while
so that I may again become a clear channel
of your love and light
and so that I may anchor
that love and light
onto the Earth to share
with my brothers and sisters.

Please allow me to rest peacefully in your loving embrace
so that I may again share from a place of overflow.
Mother, Father, God, Great Spirit, Our Creator,
please allow me to rest blissfully,
to slumber soundly
within your loving arms
as a newborn would be held
by their mother or father.
Please allow me to rest joyfully,
allow me to rest contentedly
in the divine knowledge
that all is well and all will be well.
All is well and all will be well.

Wise Woman

As I lean back in my chair,
careful to keep my spine straight,
I gently close my eyes,
and place my hands over my chest.
Calming my mind,
I take a deep breath
and listen intently
for the guidance of my heart,
of my inner Wise Woman.

Before long I hear,
with every beat of my heart:
RISE. RISE. RISE. RISE.

A subtler voice beneath
these beats
is whispering:
You were born for this!
You mustn't be afraid.
Please, lean on us,
trust us to guide you;
For you were born for this!

RISE. RISE. RISE. RISE.
Born for this!
RISE. RISE. RISE. RISE.
Mustn't be afraid.
RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE!
Lean on us.
RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE!
Trust us.
RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE!
For you were born for this!
RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE!
Trust us.

The Purpose of Empathy

I have spent my whole life
believing my empathy
to be a breach of privacy.
So I'm taking the time now,
to ask myself:
what is the real purpose
of empathy?

It seems to me
to be my constant reminder
that we are all one,
that what happens to one,
happens to us all.
It seems to me
that my empathy
helps me hold myself
accountable for
how I treat others.

Come Home With Me

It is not given me to change myself.
It is not given you to change yourself.
But...
it is given me to become more myself.
It is given me to find my true self.

This is what we came here to do.
To remember who we are,
who we truly are;
To re-write our story,
our reality.

And how on Earth,
you might ask,
are we supposed to do that?
It is both easier and harder
than you think.
For it involves sitting in silence
which is easy for some
and hard for others.
It involves setting
the following intentions:
NOW, I shall seek and find the Peace of God.
NOW, I shall seek and find the Love of God.
NOW, I shall seek and find the Grace of God.
NOW, I shall seek and find the Light of God.

There is a quote from the Bible
perhaps you've heard it:
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven
and all else shall be added unto you."
You will be relieved to discover
that the Kingdom of Heaven
is actually inside of you,
inside all of us.
How can that be, you ask?
Well, ask Christ,
ask the Buddha,
ask the gurus...
They all knew
and know it to be true.

So come home with me.
Join me as I make my way
to God's Kingdom.
I invite you to re-write your story,
your reality, as I re-write my own.
Fill your story with the love and peace of God,
with the light and grace of God.
I invite you to become more yourself,
to find your true self as I do the same.
See for yourself if this process
doesn't fill your heart with love and joy
and your mind with peace and ease.
You will find that each of the mountains
in your life will begin to look like molehills.
Not because the problems will have gotten smaller,
but because you will have become
bigger and mightier than the mountains.
For as you approach the Kingdom of Heaven,
as you continue to dismiss the distractions of the ego
that would lead you astray,
on this journey back home,
you will gain access to more spiritual power
than you ever knew you had.

And as WE approach the Kingdom,
we will feel more united
and supported by our unity.
And when we come home at last
as the prodigal sons and daughters
of Mother, Father, God,
we shall know how to celebrate together,
how to mourn together,
how to mend our heart-break as one
and to lift each other up as we never have before.
When we come home at last,
everyone shall share an embrace
with everyone else.
When we come home at last,
everyone will know deep and profound love
and compassion for all of humanity,
for all life forms,
and for our beautiful provider,
Mother Earth.

So please, won't you come home with me?

The Unraveling of Wings

All is well within my soul.
All is well within my soul.

For I feel,
in this moment
that my heart is opening...
opening in a way
it never has before.
It feels as though
it can carry more love,
more compassion,
more patience.
Not only for all of you,
but for myself, too.
I can feel,
in this moment
that my heart is growing,
stretching wide.
So wide that it may,
eventually,
carry the whole world
upon the newly manifested
ocean of love held within.

All is well within my soul.
All is well within my soul.
For I feel,
in this moment,
that my third eye
has opened to receive
the wisdom of the universe.
For I feel,
in this moment,
the truth that God,
that Source,
that the Universe,
They're all on my side and
in this moment
I can truly feel their
unwavering support
bolstering me, inspiring me,
leading me along....
Along a clear and easy path.
And though I know not yet where it leads,
I am certain this inspiration
will bring me to a place
beyond my wildest dreams.

All is well within my soul.
All is well within my soul.
Despite the serenity of the trail...
or perhaps because of it,
I feel the desire to take it slow
and to fully savor this
beautiful journey
I have finally decided
to embark upon.
As I quietly amble down
my newly discovered path,
I feel an unusual sensation.
Something so extraordinary,
I quietly gasp in surprise.
My expanding heart
and freshly attuned third eye
seem to be busy
unfolding,
unraveling,
unveiling
a pair of majestic
metaphysical wings
sprouting from
my shoulder blades.

All is well within my soul.
All is well within my soul.
For it is beginning to expand
into its infinite form.

Healing the Unknown

How can you tell whether you have
healed your heart-ache
or simply learned to bear it with ease?

When the source of your pain,
of your wounds
is veritably unremembered,
it is easy to assume
that you have recovered
quite well and quite fully.
Which means the wounds
received in childhood
are often brushed aside,
ignored, or forgotten
before they ever
have a chance to heal.

Children, teens, and adults of all ages
can all carry emotional baggage
without ever knowing
what it is made up of,
without ever knowing
why it's so damn heavy
or even
how they came to own it.

So again this begs the question:
How can you tell whether you have
healed your heart-ache
or simply learned to bear it with ease?

Sit quietly and consider
whether your last celebration
was tinged with sadness or bitterness.
Sit quietly and try to recall
if your happiest moments
involved proving someone wrong.
These are signs that
you may have walls up
to protect an already broken heart.

If you are afraid to be happy,
if you are suspicious of success,
if you find that you are
as tired of being invisible
as you are reluctant to be seen;
these are all signs
that you still carry the pieces
of a broken heart.

So, how can we heal,
how can we put the pieces
back together while
dismantling the walls?

With time and patience.
But firstly,
you must believe that you
can heal the unknown.

With love and compassion.
Believe it or not,
loving your wounds
and having compassion for oneself...
These things act as a balm, as a salve
thus alleviating
the irritation.

With your intention.
"Energy flows
where attention goes."
Every day,
and this is important...
every
single
day
set the intention
to heal yourself.

I don't think people realize that the wounds we carry from childhood, either heart-break or trauma are often mistaken as healed when in reality we simply got used to the pain. There have been three separate occasions in which this phenomenon has been brought to my attention; I had felt fine, felt fully recovered and then someone came along who was able to point out that I am not and then I feel that, indeed the weight is still there.

The Things I Wanted to Be

I want to have the strength to stand tall,
even when I feel broken. 
I want others to see me as strong and brave
even if I see myself as small and weak.
I want others to see me as bold and fearless
even if I see myself as broken and scared.

This has been my journey;
to climb mountains,
to travel the world,
to run races,
all as a way to prove
to myself that I had strength,
that I had fearlessness,
that I could be bold and daring.

I have spent all of this energy,
all of this effort and
all of this time
to simply prove myself
to myself.
For I just had to know,
with absolute certainty,
that I could be
all the things I wanted to be.

Where I am now, it is possible for me
to know myself to be strong and brave
even if others see me as small and weak.
I can know myself to be bold and fearless,
even if others see me as broken and scared.
And I know I have the strength to stand tall,
even when I feel broken.

To Be the Embodiment of Love

Mother, Father, God, Great Spirit, Our Creator,
Please reignite the flame within my soul,
Please reignite the fire within my heart,
So that I may be a beacon of light and hope for others.

For I wish to be the embodiment of love.

May I embody love so fully
that my intentions can never be mistaken.
May I embody love so fully
that my mere presence provides others comfort.
May I embody love so fully
that it gleams brightly in my eyes for all to see.

I wish to be the embodiment of peace and of grace.

May I embody peace so fully
that the words I pour onto the page
provide my readers with peace of mind.
May I embody grace so fully
that those who might call themselves 'sinners'
can feel forgiven in my presence.

I wish to be the embodiment of joy and laughter.

May I embody joy so fully
that those around me can't help but smile.
And may I embody laughter so fully
that those around me share my ecstasy.

May I be the embodiment of love and light;
May I be the embodiment of joy and laughter;
May I be the embodiment of peace and grace,
so that I may bless everyone I meet
with my presence,
with my words,
with my prayers.

I wish for all of this
and that I remain free
of judgements and conceit.

Wanting Creature

 The following piece uses a couple lines from Kabir Das, a 15th century mystic.

"I said to the wanting creature inside me"
What can I do for you?

And I heard a faint whisper,
'You can be silent and listen'.

Of course I thought to myself,
But I have done this before,
surely there is something I must do.

The creature and I
sharing one mind,
it responded
'That may be so,
but you have not listened
long enough
or carefully enough
to hear my secret.'

What do you mean?

My secret cannot be divulged
while your ego listens in.
It is not possible to hear
my whisper while your ego
has the other ear.

So what would you have me do?

You must therefore
allow your ego
to part ways with you
so you can learn
to listen fully
and to trust what you hear.

Anything else?

Yes
You must not wander;
do not go off somewhere else.
For you need
to show me your commitment
before we take this journey
together. 

To Gather Moon Beams

As the parting sun
drains the color from the sky,
the full moon reassures us
with a twinkle in her eye.

Tonight I hope to open the love window.
I've been assured it's easy,
but I seem to lack the key.
I place my hand upon the glass,
tell the moon my deepest yearning
and send up a silent prayer.
I tell the moon I no longer wish
to remain isolated from the world.
That I want to learn to speak
the languages of love,
to learn to walk
as a light between the shadows.
The light of the moon 
washes across my face,
leaves a kiss upon my cheek
erasing my despair.

With the burdens of my heart,
now among the ethers,
my window opens in a cinch.
It's now I understand,
one cannot unbolt the love window
when sorrows weigh upon their heart.
With the barrier removed,
I reach my arm into the moonlight,
hoping to gather a few moon beams
to place beneath my window
so I can keep
the glass partition open,
so that my love can always flow
in and out as one
with the moon,
the stars,
the souls.

Who Am I To Speak

I speak for all the wounded,

each with their unspoken sorrows,

who have long sought out

places and hearts of comfort.

Who am I to speak for the wounded?
I am a wounded warrior,

whose scars are inconspicuous,

whose limp you cannot see.

I speak for the weary and the heart-broken,

for those who have all but forgotten

the feelings of joy and peace,

and for those who toil nightly

to simply fall asleep.

Who am I to speak for the weary?

For the heart-broken?

It's true I may be young,

but youth does not preclude grief;

I know well the strain of heart-ache.

I speak for the wanderers

who can feel aimless yet joyous,

who wish to see all corners of the world.

Who am I to speak for the wanderers?
My wounds have caused me

to search the world over
to reclaim my power

and my peace of mind.

I speak for those who carry the burdens of the world

as if they were their own.

I speak for those who carry self-doubt,

and for those who are afraid of being seen.

I speak for those who are still learning self-love,

and for any who still search

for their place within the world.

I speak for the wounded, heart-broken, wanderers

who carry the burdens of the world

along with all their own.

I speak for the aimless, joyous youth

who know not yet where they belong.

And no matter how my journey goes,

I shall never forget all the time I've spent

toiling and plowing through my woes.

I speak also for the children

who never knew their parents' love,

who grew up in broken homes--

and with broken hearts.

I speak for all the children

who believe they must become

someone or something else

in order to be loved.

I speak for all the children

who feel lost--

lost in the bewildering

darkness of the world.