While this may sound all lovely, it should be noted that some of the intuitive clarity has come from sitting amongst chaos.  This part has been like walking through mud and has been incredibly messy at times.  Upon the suggestion of a trusted spiritual friend, I have begun using candles in my meditation.  It was also suggested to use a mantra.  After a few sittings, a message came to me “Be the Light, See the Light.”  This during a time when parts of my life were feeling dark and dank.  Hmmm I thought, light is just what I need in so many ways.  Just like the warmth of the candle I was holding, the mantra made my body exhale a little deeper.  What if the light was always right there but I was just having a very difficult time seeing it?  What might it be like to truly be the change you want to see?  As I began to integrate this mantra, it felt like it started to breathe new life into me.  As a therapist and a person whose passionate about happiness research, it’s easy to say that happiness is a choice..  It is much harder to make that choice for yourself in times when faced with adversity.  But as I begin to make that conscious choice more often, I started seeing the rays of light shining through the cracks.  It is all about the lens you are looking through.  Life has problems but it also has beauty.  As we discussed in our last chat Lessons Learned when conditions are sufficient things manifest and when they are not, they withdraw.  Beautiful wisdom from Thich Nhat Han’s book “No Death, No Fear.”  Sufficient conditions more often mean a shift that needs to occur from within before the external shift can occur. Before you can see the light, you must be the light.

So you may be thinking “ya that sounds all hearts, flowers and butterflies but how the hell does that happen?”  Well for me, it has occurred by going to more yoga classes.  I practice yoga at home but my heart truly opens and shines when I am in my community.  Nothing feels quite like practicing with others for me.  Getting to my yoga studio at out of the ordinary times for class has made a big difference.  Making homemade herbal tea from the variety of dried herbs I bought at this beautiful little shop, Soluna Garden Farm http://www.solunagardenfarm.com/ in Winchester, MA.  They are the best, truly!  Reaching out and making new friends in the world of holistic health has also helped me feel more solid on my path.  There are a ton of other little things that have begun to allow the light to grow within over the past couple of weeks.  I like to think of all of us as prisms that radiate a wide variety of colors along the spectrum of life.  When I turn my light on within, it helps me to see everyone’s beautiful colors even the people who seem to radiate dull, dark and low vibrationally.  It becomes less of a challenge to see the light in others when I feel my own light radiating brightly.  What helps you to Be the Light?  What types of things can you do for yourself to allow your light to shine brighter?  Maybe in doing so, it will allow you to see the light in all of creation even the parts of creation that feel the most dim.

Best wishes along the journey towards the light!
Cheers!