Pain, confusion and depression are all attempts by the mind and ego to hold us a prisoner against the truth.

The ego uses unconscious pain to distract us from the simplicity of our awareness, drawing the mind into endless self-judgment and criticism of our choices and beliefs. It ties the hands of our mind, emotions and thoughts into a ball of despair, until it is coated it with self-pity.

Eventually, the mind strangles itself with its own deceptions. This can either set us free, or slowly drive us to madness, too proud to surrender to awareness.

Namaste.
CJ and Robert

**If you enjoyed this post, please share it!
email Robert: robertcosmar@gmail.com
email CJ: cjheck60porsche@gmail.com

David James Lees, Guest
Waking Times

As we usher in the New Year I’d like to share with you a powerful spiritual coaching method and mindfulness meditation that will rebalance, harmonise and empower you for the year ahead.

A New Year Pause, Reflect and Review

This is the time of year when you traditionally pause, spend a few quiet moments reviewing the past twelve months and contemplate the year ahead by making your New Year resolutions.

This process can be very helpful and, if undertaken mindfully, mirrors a simple Taoist meditation technique that I use every day. A pause and review can be an invaluable way of connecting to your ‘Yin‘ spirit centre of authentic inner wisdom and insight, and the harmonious ‘Wu Wei’ balance of your Yin and Yang energy – this is the Way of the Tao.

Josh Richardson, Prevent Disease
Waking Times

If you are to connect more with anything this year, let it be nature. It will not only allow you to connect more to yourself but others as well. It is fuel for the soul. Increased vitality exists above and beyond the energizing effects of physical activity and social interaction that are often associated with our forays into the natural world.

There are many ways to connect with ourselves and others, but nature is certainly one of the best ways.

“Nature is fuel for the soul,” says Richard Ryan, lead author and a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. “Often when we feel depleted we reach for a cup of coffee, but research suggests a better way to get energized is to connect with nature,” he says.

We can’t help but notice that two very important words to you – guidance and abundance – contain the word dance. When you see these words, think of us extending our hands to you, inviting you to dance with us. We are here, always, to guide you and co-create with you, in a myriad of ways. All you have to do is accept our invitation. ~Archangel Gabriel

Written by Wes Annac, The Culture of Awareness

2015 is here, and with each New Year we meet, we’re usually compelled to ask what we want to do differently to make it more enjoyable and fulfilling than the last. Personally, my goals for 2015 are to step into a greater open-mindedness (and openheartedness), make spirit a more consistent part of my life and let the love flow to everyone who crosses my path.

I mentioned in a previous article that I’m ready to step into a more refined, authentic version of myself who can express love freely and creatively flow with no problems. I’m ready for the spiritual aspects of life to reveal themselves to a greater degree, and I’m ready to explore my consciousness even more than I have so far.

Spiritual evolution is all about growing and refining our consciousness until we reach a flowing, perceptually advanced state of mind and heart that fills us with the spirit and inspires us to use our inner love to bring our reality into a higher vibration.

Written by Wes Annac, The Culture of Awareness

I’d like to give my opinion on the potential spiritual benefits of consuming cannabis, which, despite that I haven’t written much about it, is something I’ve been interested in ever since I started writing and blogging about spirituality.

Almost everyone has used cannabis at one time or another, and most people see it as little more than a drug that can cause a temporary euphoria and, in some people’s opinions, create laziness and a depleted drive to contribute to society with any degree of intelligence.

Our governments have used stereotypes to keep us from considering that cannabis can be used sensibly or for a deeper purpose, and a lot of people believe it has a wealth of spiritual uses that can help us tear down our mind-driven barriers and raise our vibration – as long as our purpose in using it is clear.