Carolyn Hidalgo

Do You Know What You Want in 2021? The first time I heard that most people don’t know what they want sounded ridiculous..of course you know what you want! I didn’t understand that knowing what you truly want happens when you can better answer “who am I?” Turns out it takes our whole lives to figure that out! I keep being surprised to discover more aspects of who I am.. I finally watched Heal – the documentary with my family last night. I’ve been wanting my children to understand how the mind-body-soul connection works with disease. I am always more inspired about the power of who I am after watching these cases.  There is a remarkable way our body can heal itself through meditation, energy medicine, EFT, epigenetics, reiki healing, the subconscious mind with our spiritual connection driving it all. If you want to maximize your health in 2021 – it’s worth the watch – just discern for yourself what to take away. It was a good reminder of the natural intelligence we carry in our mind’s consciousness through our beliefs, emotions, and the ‘entanglement’ of energy that exists between us. Who You Are with One Thing is Who You are with Everything Over the holidays I asked my children to pull together all our photos from our last family vacation. I wanted to create one of those photo albums that can be printed. I’d done these in the past and gotten behind! They said, “but mom we already have a video!” My daughter had captured our trip to Costa Rica set to music and captions – it was awesome.  We watched it again on our family room tv chrome casting it from my son’s phone as we were finishing dinner. It was so easy to re-visit all the fun memories! I thought “maybe I don’t need a photo album -WHY do I want that?” But for me, there’s something different about having a variety of photos from our phones (everyone’s perspective) & the camera that I can sit and browse through in a physical book. I had to slow down to notice that.. I prefer reading a book in hand over a tablet although I do both now. I’ve been accumulating Xmas ornaments from far-off places we’ve visited over the past 20+ years. When this time of year rolls back around, I love to unwrap the ornaments because they spark memories. I prefer writing over creating a video. I have boxes filled with old cards and letters from people who’ve touched my life in meaningful ways. I have stacks and stacks of journals filled with writing since I was a teenager. I keep emails alphabetized by first name. I have a binder filled with lots of pieces of my soul-development journey. This is me. Until I see myself clearly, I cannot answer my own WHY for what I WANT? Who are you? What patterns do you notice about the things you like to do that others don’t necessarily do? I used to follow a lot of what was expected by those around me not knowing what I really wanted. When you set a goal for what you want, alot of getting there requires letting go of the outside noise so you can tap into your own deeper WHY bother? Going through a photo album I can relax, slow down and reflect. It’s the same way I love spending time with a friend (now over zoom) having an amazing conversation. It’s the same way I can get lost in a spiritual book seeking out my aha moments. It sparks joy and connects me to my soul. What’s Underneath Your Goals? One of my goals is to reach my ideal weight, which has been ~5 lbs away from where I am (that’s become 7 lbs over the last few days of chocolate, chips, wine, and too many yummy meals!!) It’s the weight where the majority of my clothes will feel more comfortable, and I feel more at home in my body. Another goal is to be healthier, more flexible, and stronger. It means exercising more when I’d rather be doing ANYTHING else! If I really want to achieve these health goals for life – there’s an aspect of me I have to find that connects more deeply to who I am.  Where Your Soul Personality Comes into Play There’s a part of your personality that was “God-given”. It is your POTENTIAL of who you can become to feel aligned, alive, and at peace. It’s you tapping into the dream of you.  If I don’t connect with this POTENTIAL of the higher ME, it’s going to be difficult to reach my goals and stay there. I may change, but transformation requires more than just working hard and getting a result. How I can get there also includes ME engaged with the presence of my divine fragment – the Source of all Creation. This pre-personal aspect of you wants to help you reach your highest potential.  I’ve noticed I receive a lot more divine intervention, insights, and signs & synchronicities show up like crazy whenever I’m engaged with activities that grow my soul. How can you achieve your 2021 goals, desires, and dreams to create your best year ever? By tapping daily into this ‘invisible resource’ – the divine part of you. Something more meaningful gets ignited here that allows you to not only make a change, but transforms the way you show up in life – permanently. There’s a Great Plan you are a part of that is evolving you to live a higher level of experience. It encompasses you living your version of what’s true, beautiful and good for your soul. Robin Sharma says “when you transform your fitness, you transform your business” because you are more focused, have more energy and you feel better. If I can reach more people with my soul work because I’m more focused, energized, and feel even better – that’s my deeper WHY. I feel most alive when …

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How to Pray Effectively When a Loved One Falls I thought prayer was about asking for help, but I was missing some pieces around how, and what is going on behind the scenes. Do you pray or send thoughts when a loved one gets sick, receives a dire diagnosis, or has a terrible accident hoping it will somehow make a difference? Many of us do this naturally without really thinking about how it works. Maybe you don’t need to know, but the more I discovered – the more effective I could be. This week a dear friend was found unconscious on the floor of her condo. It is believed she was there all night and found the next morning. Surgery was performed to add a tube to relieve pressure on her brain. It’s been 6 days now and she is showing positive signs of recovery. It appears she had a stroke. A group email went out to her connections – people who are praying for her – who know her smile, her sense of fun, and tireless energy. When I am calm in my own quiet moments, I’ve been reflecting on all the ways her spirit has impacted my life. It brings in the connection we share energetically that I can use, and you can use in your prayers with loved ones. What difference has this person made in your life? What have you learned because of their presence? There’s an invisible circuit you create with those you love and care deeply about. This is the avenue for prayer. One of the best ways to help someone heal is to connect your energy with theirs from this knowing connection you share – the way you’ve always talked, laughed, listened, and understood one another. The trust you’ve built and bond you’ve established is a powerful one. Even if it’s infrequent or seemingly small. Consciousness is All Around Us As you interact and have experiences in any relationship, you are building personal circuits with someone through your experiences together energetically. Your thought patterns form an evolving collective consciousness. It’s this ‘consciousness field’ you are accessing when you pray. Your conscious thoughts can reach their consciousness even if someone is not in an awakened state. It’s the same way you hear about people sensing ‘something’s wrong’ from a distance, and somehow being bang on accurate. They are tapped into a circuit they share. When you ask for anything, behind it is your conscious intention. You’re taking your free will, and exercising it to create something you envision. Music is a strong part of my life, so Spirit uses this “music connection” often to reach me through our shared consciousness. Have you ever felt like the exact song plays with words you need to hear? That’s your spiritual guides trying to reach you. As I was finalizing this article, I was ‘nudged’ to play this song during my morning routine… Many nights we prayed With no proof, anyone could hear In our hearts a hopeful song We barely understood Now, we are not afraid Although we know there’s much to fear We were moving mountains Long before we knew we could There can be miracles when you believe… ~Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey Honestly, other than believing I didn’t realize this song was about praying, and being able to move mountains! These 2 parts are very important in the process of prayer: Believing Not Being Afraid Miracles don’t just happen, you have to believe they will. Believing does not guarantee a miracle will happen, but it is a pre-requisite for the possibility of one. How can you have a genuine intention for someone to be healthy if you cannot see this reality being possible? Your power of visualization stems from your capacity to imagine your own beliefs. Intention, belief, and visualization all comes down to your energy, the frequency you hold, and it’s resulting vibration will match that out in the field of consciousness. “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” ― Nikola Tesla Part 2: Not Being Afraid If you are worried sick about someone, you’ll be coming from the energy of fear, which as you can imagine isn’t a very high vibration. Worry creates stress, which affects our body negatively. It feels heavy with little room to move let alone create miracles. It’s similar to the idea of putting the oxygen mask on yourself first before you can help someone else. The Biggest Missing Piece with Prayer: Faith in Who You Really Are When you are “praying to God”, remember that a fragment of the Creator Source lives in you and also lives in your loved one. This concept requires faith. None of us are seeing God, but many have experienced our moments of Grace. It’s like your fragment of God is talking to their fragment of God trying to heal and come back to the whole Oneness using your free will. There is not only a circuit that exists between you and a loved one, but also between you and your “indwelling spirit of God”. When you step into faith with good intention, and your belief in something greater – you are asking to see your loved one as God sees them: whole, perfect and healthy. You are accessing the higher power in you to help heal someone. Your Signs and Synchronicities I practice living in faith whenever I see 11:11. It’s like an invitation to believe in something more. My experience is the feeling of AWE because it happens in the most unbelievable ways. Pay attention to your “coincidences” – they are often ‘signs’ with a message for you. Just a few days ago it was on a legal document I needed to sign with someone who I am grateful to have in my life. She takes care of some properties I invested in, which allows me to spend more time doing what I love. As I clicked to …

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What’s on the Other Side after You Die? I’ve been asked this question a lot lately, and it’s not an easy answer. As I began answering it, I realized there were certain key books that helped put some of the pieces together. What I can tell you is that your soul continues to have a journey on the other side that is more complex and mind-boggling than you can imagine. The more I discover, the more I’m left in pure awe. What I understand is there are 7 Mansion Worlds you will ascend through initially (“in the house of my Father, there are many mansions..”). However, it’s not a straightforward path to your resurrection (normally after ~3 days) on the first Mansion World based on those who have crossed over..and then came back. There are common experiences on the other side.  Sometimes you will just see what’s happening to your body as people try to save you or you’ve lost physical consciousness, but if you travel further, you’ll see a light, spirit guides (light beings), and passed loved ones. You may experience a life review where we get the opportunity to look back at your life through a lens of being in the shoes of those lives you touched for better and for worse. Essentially you become the judge of your own life experience but with a lot more awareness! If you come back, it simply wasn’t your time to leave.  You have unfinished business. Your soul needs more experience on this earth plane for reasons we don’t have all the answers for. What We Do Know There are thousands of documented stories of Near Death Experiences (NDEs). This term was coined by Dr. Raymond Moody, MD.  Moody was a pioneer and spoke to over 1000 people who’ve had NDEs. His groundbreaking book Life After Life in 1975 woke people up to the idea that a part of us lives on after we die. There are also thousands of documented stories of past life memories. Together these can help put some of the pieces together of what happens after you die. You don’t really die. Your soul transitions or “graduates” from this life. Becoming a past life practitioner has given me the privilege to be with the emotions of clients having detailed visions of past life memories to explore and heal current struggles and pain. The insights and positive shifts that can occur in these sessions feel sacred, and life-transforming. Your Soul Growth is Key You are responsible for your soul’s growth. What you experience on the other side depends on how you grow here with the way you interact, and treat others. The bottom line: it all comes down to love. Your life path here and on the other side is a reflection of the energy, frequency and vibration of the light and love you become. The accumulation of experiences you have a hand in creating with the thoughts you choose to think and the actions you choose to take affect your soul growth – the light of who you are. I believe we need to care for our soul the same way you care for your child or any loved one. To nurture, listen, and connect with this part of you is essential to your eternal life. It needs as much attention as your body needs exercise and healthy food. Your soul health is the most part of your growth here and the hereafter. What you feed your mind with – what and who you choose to read, watch, and listen to, forms your consciousness, which becomes part of your developing soul. Together, your mind, and body need direction by a healthy soul to bring you experiences here to help create “Heaven on Earth”. 10 Stories that Gave Me a Glimpse into What Happens on the Other Side 1. Many Lives, Many Masters, 1988 – Dr. Brian Weiss (psychiatrist). This life-changing account of one patient who had memories of 80 different past lives was the first book I read that gave me the reality of master spirit guides sharing divine messages. I was in my 20’s living at home, and as I was coming to the end of this book, my bedside lamp started flickering in a very particular way. Ever since, I’ve had increasing signs and synchronicities from spirit (seeing 11:11 or having the exact thing I need show up) as I tapped into my own spirituality; a common experience for many soul seekers. Our true spiritual nature follows a much bigger pattern of nature that comes from the Isle of Paradise: “There is too much black-or-white thinking.  All or none.  This is not the way of nature.  In nature there is balance.  Beasts destroy in small amounts.  Ecological systems are not eliminated en masse.  Plants are consumed and then grow.  The sources of sustenance are dipped into and then replenished.  The flower is enjoyed, the fruit eaten, the root preserved.” ~a master spirit, Many Lives, Many Masters 2. Embraced by the Light, 1992 – Betty Edie This was one of the first NDEs I read that felt like I’d slipped into another world, and had to come back when I turned the last page. “An important purpose for mortality is to help us learn to recognize and to choose the positive even though the negative more fully surrounds us. We make this choice consciously or unconsciously in every moment of the day, and these millions of tiny choices create the foundation of our identity. We are what we think. We are what we say, what we do, what we fill our lives with. Ultimately, every being creates himself by these countless, crucial choices.” ~Betty Edie What I know so clearly today is how powerfully your thoughts shape your reality. 3. Heaven is for Real, 2010 – Todd Burpo Todd Burpo’s 3-year-old son Colton had an NDE during an emergency appendectomy. The movie gave me a chance to share the awareness of the soul with my children. The connection between spirituality and …

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Let’s talk about how getaways can nourish your soul I wasn’t planning any trips this summer given Covid, but found myself on 3 unexpected short getaways last month – space away from my regular pattern at home.  In the past, vacation getaways were new adventures with ‘relief’ time NOT having to deal with home responsibilities. Today, getaways feel different. They nourish my soul. And, they can nourish your soul too. Having new adventures makes your soul come alive, but when it’s less about escaping and more about being present a new level of soul growth happens. It required my home life to become a sanctuary that integrated work with family in a way that flows. There’s a different kind of balance inside of me with the rest of my life that no longer ‘needs a vacation’, but still looks forward to them! Creating flow and ease is what you can take with you on getaways. I learned how to let go of expectations, ways I used to manage everything…I don’t check the weather.  There’s more space to notice, play, experiment, be spontaneous, and stay open to explore and enjoy with a minimal agenda. I used to need so much more structure. Life Before Soul Awareness When I first stepped on this path of understanding the soul, I would jump on a plane literally to getaway. I’d savour reading uninterrupted. I wanted a place to learn what fascinated me, and connect with like-minded people. It felt like an escape to a different world where I could be myself, but then have to re-adjust when I’d return home. Leaving my hubby and 3 young children to fend for themselves was not easy. Detailed instruction lists were mandatory! Our roles were completely split – me: home, finances, kids; him: a corporate job with long hours and traveling, “fun dad” on weekends. Busyness, communication challenges, and frustration was what every mom seemed to be facing. I figured it’s “just the way it is”. When I discovered life coaching – my kids were in pre-school & I slowly began making different choices as a parent even if it wasn’t what “everyone else” was doing. For example, I stopped trying to find “natural consequences” which seemed to be punishment in disguise. It was the eventual soul work I can say for certain totally shifted something else in me for how I approached life: As I write this, all 3 of my children – now young adults in their University years are happily cleaning up the kitchen after dinner (it’s every night!), laughing and joking around. Music is always playing. There’s dancing in my kitchen. No nagging, no conflict. It’s our ‘new normal’. There’s a respect and support for each other that astounds me at times! What siblings get up at 5 am to watch the sunrise together? Their beds all made before they leave. Who willingly tutors their sibling for hours and enjoys doing that? Even I wonder – how did we get here? I attribute it to the soul work…yes there’s alot to navigate through, but mostly through conversations, and with your “Cosmic Compass”, you’ll keep moving in the right direction and avoid all kinds of unnecessary stress and heartache. The Most Important Connection is Within You Our mind holds a divine “thought adjuster” or ‘fragment of God’ that carries the potential to “adjust our thoughts” in alignment with a higher force. One that will bring the highest good in any situation. It’s the most powerful capacity we have to create what we want. I found this summary (from Paper 111 of the Urantia Book) profoundly helpful: “Mind is your ship, the Adjuster is your pilot, the human will is captain.” “The human personality is identified with mind and spirit held together in functional relationship by life in a material body. This functioning relationship of such mind and spirit does not result in some combination of the qualities or attributes of mind and spirit but rather in an entirely new, original, and unique universe value of potentially eternal endurance, the soul.” Your experiences of value are ‘collected’ in your soul that will continue helping you grow on your ascension path. Your soul is entrusted in the care of your guardian angel who’s responsible for ensuring your eternal survival (that’s the very simplified version). By connecting with your “divine adjuster”, you begin to “spiritize your mind”, and a very important relationship grows. Personal Getaways that Can Nourish Your Soul Get Away # 1 Mom and Daughter When my daughter asked “could just me and you go to the cottage?” it felt a little strange – we usually go as a family. Summers at our family cottage are normally filled with a lot of people coming and going. Covid of course changed all that. 2 of us could stay in our boathouse keeping my parents at a safe distance in the main cottage and we were off on our first getaway together! On our way up, we visited my grandmother (2 visitors instead of 1 were finally allowed). She will be 101 this December. Being quarantined for months in her nursing home took its toll on her mind and body, and we had to move her to a new room that with more support. I pray she transitions in her sleep knowing her soul will be much happier. She’ll reunite with my grandpa whom she was happily married to for 50 years, and whose spiritual presence she feels a lot more these days. There’s been dreams of her mom for the first time. Indications she’s closer to the other side. I’m so mindful of the quality of time we have with loved ones these days. How quickly it comes and goes. Did I spend my time wisely? Was it meaningful? Who am I impacting? In a world where it never feels like there’s enough time in a day, am I making the most of this moment? My daughter had a quiet space to engage in deeper conversations …

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Your Incredibly Creative Soul… Everybody has a creative soul. In fact, it is the storehouse for your creativity. I did not grow up thinking I was creative – at all. I had mistakenly associated creativity with something only more artistic people who had talent could do. Painters, dancers, film makers, story tellers…you know those people : ) When my twin girls auditioned and got accepted into a musical theatre program in high school (an hour commute!), I was thrilled for them, and a little panicked. I had no idea how to support what I assumed was an ‘arts approach’ to education, and I wasn’t ready for the idea of them traveling downtown on public transit at 14. I had to remind myself I took public transit for an hour commute when my mother decided attending a private all-girls high school at 14 was better for my education. The Artist’s Way That’s when I remembered a book collecting dust on my shelf called “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron & figured it might be valuable now! It was one of many synchronicities to remind me that you have exactly what you need in mysterious ways. It turned out to be a 12-week course on how to get out of your own way by following a spiritual path to higher creativity. I couldn’t believe this book had been there all along just waiting for me to be ready. I completely devoured it. Did the exercises, tasks, journaled. It was a big missing piece I was seeking: Everybody possesses a creative soul and it comes from our spiritual nature!! For you to become a creative soul and get creative ideas need space. A deep PAUSE is required away from the external noise in our busy minds. The creative process connects you to your spiritual ‘well within’ filled with ‘living water’ that never runs dry. Your Divine Fragment There is a part of everyone that’s creative. I call it your Cosmic Compass. It’s also known as your mystery monitor. Others call it your intuition, higher self, divine self, or pilot light. When the pandemic hit, and all my children were back home, their creative juices of these spiritual seeds I’d been doing my best to plant – began sprouting! I wanted them to follow their own sense of purpose and somehow help elevate the consciousness knowing that each of us is a divine part of our collective reality. It had to come naturally from within their creative soul. I’ve been sharing shorter spiritual lessons with them to help remind them of their creativity this summer.. Stillness Compose yourself, clear your mind. Don’t think about anything. Don’t think about not thinking. I like to use the example of the water in the glass. The more you try to calm the water, the more it is stirred. Just allow it to fall into the bottom and come to rest naturally, and you will find that there is a stillness which has great vitality. Those who can find meaning in the empty spaces are truly on the right path. – Will I explain how when we try to control something that’s bothering us, the more resistance you will get, and it will become an uphill battle. The space of stillness creates flow when they are calm. Insights show up here. There is a light they can find that will have them experiencing signs and synchronicities. It’s not only signs like the 11:11 time prompts to confirm they are on the right path and surrounded by unseen guidance, but creative ideas that can arrive inconveniently in the middle of the night. Awake at Night.. Music for a song will suddenly pop into my daughter Leah’s mind at 3 a.m., and she has to get up and write it down. It’s the same way ideas show up for my writing – smack in the middle of the night! There really is a part of you waiting to connect within that is FULL of insights you want to know about, and ideas you’re looking for. It can happen watching the sunrise. With journals in hand, this early morning of stillness witnessing the beauty of nature is perfect for creative flow. I’m a big believer in listening and following the yearnings of your soul. Where a will exists to make a genuine difference in whatever creative way feels right for you – a way will show up! I wanted to share some “results”, which I think of more as “outcomes” of how creativity flows from your soul that my children have been creating this summer. We often only see the ‘end result’ without understanding the process of what went on all along…that’s the silent journey of your soul. Leah – an aspiring Composer When Covid hit, she and her sister decided to watch every Disney Princess movie in order from the beginning..her twin sister Makayla suggested she create a medley out of the Princess songs. Leah arranged a duet by ear arranging each piece and teaching her sister one by one. It was hard not to notice the evolution of Snow White waiting passively with “Someday My Prince Will Come” in 1937 to the independent, adventurer of Moana’s “How Far I’ll Go” as she set sail across the ocean in 2016. That led to a Disney Villain’s medley, and a you tube channel – she’s nearly done another medley! In elementary school, Leah wanted to quit piano after discovering the guitar. She was composing music since grade 7, so I encouraged her to keep taking lessons, but cut back on how often to make space for the guitar. It was her decision, but she’s grateful I explained how piano is helpful if she wants to continue composing music (find their WHY)! I encouraged them to play whatever they wanted (whatever lit up their soul) and the nuts and bolts of the Royal Conservatory Program was secondary to whatever grade they wanted to pursue. Grade 4 and 5 were plenty, and …

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Today, I wanted to discuss how your soul connects to social sustainability… I first heard of the term “social sustainability” at a workshop in 2011. The purpose was to teach us the practice of ‘listening within” to that still small voice of your inner knowing. Without the leading of this divine voice (our impersonal fragment of Deity) that embodies truth, beauty and goodness, we may not be discerning what’s right from wrong for our own experiences here. Instead, the vast majority of your truth will come from the outside, and alot of what goes on externally that lacks inner foundation isn’t sustainable. $$ and power can exist without integrity and create tragic social issues. Thought Leaders who lead from Within I’ve been paying attention to the newer thought leaders who wake me up to the kind of world I am hoping for: a sustainable one where our future feels more hopeful than what we are currently facing. Living judgment-free create soul moments and has been a ‘soul practice’ of how not to get offended while standing up for what’s right or against what’s wrong for ourselves when we follow our own truth. In the media, and our social networks, there’s so much that feels like it’s missing the soul, and you have to dig to find deeper truth that aligns with your own values. I am constantly discovering young thought leaders who are applying spiritual principles in their work and practices that are sustainable for humanity. It gives me hope for the future. These voices keep me and my 3 young adult children on our toes around what’s happening in the bigger consciousness, which affects our consciousness and decisions we make here at home, and within our circle of influence. Here are some thought leaders I’ve been following lately: (1) Dr. Zach Bush is one of the few medical minds who has integrated spirituality into his work. In this eye-opening interview, he shares a different take on Covid-19 that may surprise you, raise questions, and have you seeking very different ways to sustain your health. I’ve picked up Restore to take as a gut health supplement. (2) My son introduced me to Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Wow. He addresses controversial issues and woke me up to alot going on behind the scenes in our world.  Blown away by his smart delivery & humour to get some tough points across. This ‘Hip Hop” episode gave me a totally different appreciation of how popular music gets out and mixes with politics and movements that can have both ups and downs. Anything creative is really coming from our higher place within. This talk on fast fashion brings you up close and personal with how we are destroying our planet in both the manufacture and shortened wear of clothing. It’s scary the somber reality we face here. Reading labels on the clothes I buy has become mandatory. I’ve embraced thrift shopping, and recycled fabrics – it feels good to help move in the direction of sustainable clothing. Humour disarms our judgment and we’re more open to raising important new questions on tough subjects like the influence of billionaires. When people act in ways that are offensive, and hurtful over controversial topics – here’s what I genuinely feel underneath: CONFUSED. What are they thinking? Doing? Choosing? Seriously – I don’t get it! This is the space (being confused and asking questions) that Hasan creates for us. You see more here, and can feel his underlying view searching for what’s right for humanity from a place we all are wondering about. (3) Biodynamic farming is a completely sustainable, pesticide-free approach that integrates nature’s circle of life. It arrived 2 decades before organic farming and has its roots in spirituality. How it works can be seen in the “Biggest Little Farm” on netflix (or their website here). The founder of biodynamic agriculture was Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). an Austrian-born lecturer, author, architect, social activist, and a spiritualist! He was so far ahead of his time, and I believe we need to embrace his ideas a lot more. He was also the visionary behind Waldorf Education, an independent education system based on the spiritual values of truth, beauty and goodness. Here’s a snapshot of his education model: Birth to 7 years The goal to teach children that the world is GOOD. This stage centers on imaginative free play, drawing, painting, songs, games, stories, and practical tasks eg. cooking, cleaning, gardening. There’s an emphasis on identifying with nature. 7-14 years The goal to teach children that world is BEAUTIFUL by introducing a curriculum of study that included a healthy balance of the arts & sciences (including mythology, mineralogy, astronomy as well as nutrition). 14-21 years The goal to teach children that the world is TRUE. This stage included the importance of critical thinking and analysis, intellectual understanding, and developing the capacity for abstract thought and conceptual ideas to develop discernment. On top of farming, and education, Rudolf also worked with pharmacists and MDs to create a holistic approach called “anthroposophic medicine” that integrated conventional medicine with medicines from plants, minerals and animals, art therapy, massage, counseling & psychotherapy. So much needs to change with the food supply and education systems, and health care is divided instead of integrated. We all know now that our overall health and well being requires care of our highly integrated mind, body, and soul. I consider Rudolf to be a pioneer of social sustainability taking spiritual principles, and applying them to our social systems. (4) I wasn’t sure what to expect seeing High School Musical’s main star Zac Efron hosting a documentary! His “Down to Earth” launched this month reminded me of Michael Moore’s “Where to Invade Next” that also wakes you up to powerful sustainable ways hitting every major social issue – healthcare, workplace, justice, prison reform, food, and education. The Costa Rica and Puerto Rica episodes really touch your soul & open your mind to new ways of thinking! (5)  28 year old Harvard graduate Nas (Muslim) alongside his girlfriend Aylne (Jewish) showcase hopeful short videos like this one where religions are finally living side by side in a country in the Middle …

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Let’s talk about the Practice of Stillness… Our soul is our personal key to life. It is the source of our creativity. It’s our divine compass that gives the guidance we need to feel alive, on purpose, and loved unconditionally. In her book, “Living in the Light”, Shakti Gawain describes her own realization about the soul, and how it connects to creativity: “As I explored the process of creating my own reality, I gradually began to realize that the creative power I was feeling was coming from a source other than just my personality…I began to realize that “it” (my soul, or higher self) seemed to know more than “I” (my personality self). I saw that it would probably be smart to try to find out what that inner guidance was telling me, and follow it.”  Shakti Gawain also wrote the phenomenal bestseller “Creative Visualization” used by millions worldwide. Unless you believe your mind can not only imagine but create the reality of it – it’s difficult for that experience to manifest. There’s ‘seeing is believing’, but ALSO ‘believing is seeing’. You attract (create) from a “higher part” of you that’s within you…being the change effectively gets down to understanding the being of your soul. This idea has been around since 1937 when Napolean Hill wrote “Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve.” in his classic ‘Think and Grow Rich’. Our Key to Life is What Lives in Your Mind: Your Soul Your ‘inner guidance’ that exists in your mind holds the moral values of ‘truth, beauty and goodness’, which is our cosmic compass’ for life, and our source of divine creativity. What is your truth? What do you believe is of beauty? What good are you bringing to yourself and to others? Any problem, challenge or issue you experience can be resolved when you go into stillness and allow yourself to be guided because you have the answers literally living within your soul. This is your ‘right mind’. It’s a commitment to your soul health and a way to create whatever you want in your life. It may feel opposite to the way you think life works: that life is happening, and you have to control it, fix it, or make it happen. It’s the way most of us have been taught. Get an education and that will open doors. Yes – this may be true, but it’s only part of the picture, and limited to that single door. Education represents what is already known. Your experience coming from a deeper part of your soul throws open infinite doors to create what’s true for you – not just one door based on other’s people’s truth. This understanding applies to all relationships with the people in your life that you are growing with.  But relationships are a 2-way street so you are also dealing with someone else’s relationship to their soul. Tapping into our soul allows us to become more in tune with our choices around our thoughts and energy with others. Below are the steps to a soul practice to consciously connect to your highest self for guidance and creativity: STILLNESS. The best time is early in the morning. 5:00 a.m. is ideal – it helps to imagine yourself awake and connected at this time. Notice if you hear 5 a.m. whether you just thought “Whoa – that’s too early, and not possible for me…” Shifting Your Energy to What Works for You These reactive thoughts, along with every complaint, worry, and negative feeling you focus on creates energy that works against what you want. We are experts at justifying and explaining WHY things aren’t going the way we want, what we don’t like, and what isn’t working instead of focusing on what we want to allow that energy to flow through us. It’s the difference from getting somewhere as an uphill battle filled with stress and pressure or a downward slope filled with ease, signs, and synchronicities. Slowing down during this pandemic I believe has many people closer to stillness naturally, and what was previously allowed: injustice. It no longer feels acceptable when you are connected to your higher source, and speaking up collectively for what’s true and good is suddenly being felt everywhere stronger. When each of us holds the energy of light not darkness with our voice, actions, and how we show up – we can change the consciousness to move forward. Those who criticize or judge others for ‘not doing enough’ or proclaim what they are doing with the intention for others to feel guilt or shame adds to the problem they are trying to resolve. It’s ‘misaligned energy’ – energy against others that keeps us from progressing. The 11 Steps to Finding Stillness 1. Sit Comfortably in a quiet space Close Your Eyes & take a deep breath in and out & relax Here are some free guided meditation scripts for different situations I encourage recording your own voice to listen to these! Note: I think of meditation as the practice of clearing your thoughts from all the ‘inner noise’ to be in the present moment, while stillness is the practice of first being present and from here connecting with your higher self. 2. Ground Yourself Physically survey and release all tension from your body until you feel totally relaxed 3.  Balance Your Emotions survey and release all negative emotions until you feel peaceful and in a state of serenity 4.  Centre Yourself Mentally notice and release any negative thoughts your holding of stress, worries or fears and move into a state of calm by releasing these 5.  Connect spiritually to your Indwelling Universal Presence  come up with a name for this pilot light, Cosmic Compass, divine self, or higher self that is part of your soul A name makes this inner connection personal, and more powerful — it is the way we identify with each other in any relationship, and our experiences with others are what hold eternal value address & acknowledge this part of you to be …

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Your Higher Purpose for Being Here When you think of purpose, most people think “what am I supposed to DO with my life”? What you believe you’re meant to be doing is your outer purpose. It’s living the actions you take in a career, calling or what you perform in the roles you currently occupy. Your inner purpose asks “who AM I meant to become in order to live the life I envision?” Who you are as a human being is led by and sculpts your character as an evolving soul and is sparked by all the ways you feel most alive. What brings you joy, meaning, and connection? These lead to your inner purpose. It’s a sense of being called towards something meaningful or drawn to someone where you feel an authentic soul connection you can grow from. Your inner purpose (being) is the compass for your outer purpose (doing). Being Guided from Within Have you ever worked really hard at something, got the results you wanted, but something still felt missing or wasn’t quite how you envisioned you’d feel? Being courageous enough to go after what really touches our soul is the road less traveled.  It’s not that we won’t face challenges, difficult times, or struggle, but if these hardships don’t lead to your experience of an amazing life, then it’s a great opportunity to dig a little deeper. What can help is taking a good hard look at how you live the values that encompass the divine part of your soul: truth, beauty, and goodness. Are you living true to yourself? Are you living from the beauty of what you are drawn towards – even if it’s outside the crowd? Are you living from the goodness of your highest self with the people you love and serve? Every way you are internally is what moves you towards the external life of your dreams. If you’re feeling stuck, unfulfilled, or like something feels missing – you may not have quietly connected with your own sense of inner purpose. You’re aiming for a feeling of alignment  – it doesn’t just feel good, it feels resonant. There’s a feeling of AWE when you living from your purpose. It’s literally a vibration you’re holding that’s aligned with you, and the higher part of you that IS true, beautiful and good. You know and trust it from your experience. As you venture inward towards your own most resonant vibe, you’ll begin noticing signs and synchronicities that after a while become ridiculously frequent. It’s a nudge from your spiritual guides that you’re on the right – the ‘light’ path or as Gabrielle Bernstein says “the Universe has your back”. Some examples are finding the exact right thing in the moment you need it. You’ll be thinking “wow – that was strangely handy!” Little things, big things, and unbelievable things will come your way in perfect divine timing. You’ll happen to bump into someone you were just thinking of or they call you.  You surprisingly receive exactly what you need without seemingly doing anything to get it. It’s like your internal vibrational signature is creating external experiences that show up to reflect yourself. These ‘magical moments’ are validation you’re living your inner purpose. There’s a grounded, visceral sense of bliss, gratitude, and experience that you are deeply loved. We don’t just have an inner purpose and outer purpose – we also have a universal purpose. The Universal Purpose We are here for one thing: to learn to love one another and have the experience of soul growth towards higher and higher ‘perfection’.  Divine love that is both unconditional and non-judgmental is the experience we’re seeking. Here’s how one celestial teacher describes divine love: “When you experience a tender moment with someone who you really love because of their unconditional love, kindness, patience, non-judgmental acceptance for who you are and what you believe—someone who is there for you, who has helped you through a trial in life or has taught you how to overcome and rise above the confusion of the world.  It is in these ones that you hold so dearly in your heart that the divine signature is made manifest to you.  They have opened themselves to the channel of divinity and have let it flow through them and out into the world.  When you sincerely say, I love you with heartfelt reverence to some person, you are acknowledging the experience of divine love coming through that person and into you.” ~Opheilus & the Circle of 7 Love is the most powerful force in the Universe, and this is our playground to figure it out – to experience what it means to love and be loved, and lead our lives from here. You carry a divine fragment that is the very essence of divine love. It is often referred to by many names that first begins with recognizing your intuition. This “6th sense” evolves to understanding you have a ‘higher self’ separate from your own voice. It’s been called by different names: your inner pilot light, divine fragment, mystery monitor, and a new term I really like: your Cosmic Compass! I grew up on a street called Cosmic when I turned 11. One of my favourite spiritual sources of revelation is the 196 Papers of the Urantia Book, which I discovered in 2011. I was guided here after repeatedly seeing the prompt 11:11. It was at a time when I really beginning to recognize how both “seeing is believing” AND “believing is seeing” provided a far more complete picture of reality. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”. “Hebrews 11:1 Here’s how the Urantia Book elaborates on the importance of faith: “Genuine spiritual faith (true moral consciousness) is revealed in that it: Generates profound courage and confidence despite natural adversity and physical calamity. Maintains a mysterious poise and composure of personality in the face of maltreatment and the rankest injustice. Contributes to …

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Discovering Your Soul’s Personality Your soul includes what you’re most familiar with –  your personality. It’s that unique piece that makes you – the only you! Understanding the soul has been the mysterious ingredient to allow joy, ease, $$, freedom, and most of all…love and connection to flow in. Digging deep into answering the age-old question – who am I – a spiritual quest begins to unravel. From here you can create your own reality. It’s an exploration that requires letting go of judgment around old beliefs we may be carrying, and keep an open mind where you tune into what resonates for you. I’ve been getting a wave of spiritual input these days, which seems to be exploding since facing this global Coronavirus pandemic. The signs and synchronicities have been off the charts, and new insights keep showing up. Perhaps we are all looking for deeper answers within? I was recalling the words of Thomas Moore in his book “Care of the Soul”… “The great malady of the twentieth century, implicated in all of our troubles and affecting us individually and socially, is loss of soul…the root problem is that we have lost our wisdom about the soul, even our interest in it.” Today, more than ever, I believe your soul carries wisdom, creativity, and a way to lead you through life’s greatest challenges towards what most matters to the heart and soul of you. It’s our individual soul progression that will collectively pave the way forward for humanity. This is far from a new idea. Lately, I’ve gone back to deepen my application of the 10 principles found in “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, which promises a spiritual path to higher creativity. Creativity and our soul progression are very much aligned. Like most spiritual teachings – these ideas illuminate as you evolve. Its goal is to get you out of the way so you can learn how to connect to your higher self. It requires stillness to digest these ideas so I encourage you to print these out, and when you can find a quiet moment…take time to savour, digest, and allow your consciousness to notice what the words mean for you. Trust me, these words change over time! Just a caution that when you start diving into the soul, you’ll inevitably bump into the word “God”, which depending on your beliefs means different things for each of us. I tend to think of that eternal “Source of Everything” as a unified “Universe Creator Father/Mother” – mere words can be so limiting! On our recent bi-weekly Monday evening Soul Conversations Series with my colleague Binu Dhindsa (you can find the 5-part series here) we talked about the 3 parts that make up the soul: 1. your personality directed by your free will 2. a fragment of the Divine Creator 3. the I AM creative expression of you aligned with your divine fragment Discovering Your Personality The unique way you are in the world represents your soul signature, and that comes down to self-awareness around your personality style. We have patterns of character traits found in ‘personality tests’ used successfully in companies for decades. A popular one is the Myers-Briggs test that forms 16 personality types based on the work of Carl Jung. I first encountered this test when my husband took it through a recruitment firm looking to fill an executive role. It came down to him and one other candidate, but because his type was exactly the same as the President, my husband did NOT get the position. Diversity of characters is a strength, and that goes for building an executive team. But I got to read the detailed summary of my husband’s personality type! What blew my mind was how accurately it nailed down the way he behaved with me. I have to admit – I didn’t have much faith in personality tests back then. Myers-Briggs measures the way you respond to people and situations, but we may grow and change over time so today my husband’s personality type is no longer the same. How do I know? There is a free online personality test based on the Myers-Briggs system called 16personalities.com. It’s a great starting tool to get a sense of your personality style today. Here’s an overview of the 16 Personalities: Becoming aware of your personality style gives you more choice about how you want to show up. Will you continue to respond in ways that describe a personality style that seems to best fit you or will you choose a different path? There are 2 indicators on each of the 4 personality styles  – which side do you lean towards? Is that working for you? These become choices you can make until you land upon a style that aligns with your best self. Your soul is the part of you that grows from your experiences when you become aware of yourself this way. You’ll find a lot of cool validation about yourself, and may discover ways you don’t want to be especially with your loved ones! It’s helped me honour the different ways I respond to my family (it helps to know their current types) without taking it personally. If your ‘personality’ can change — the question is — does this measure your personality or just your current behaviour that describes a personality based on how you currently respond to your environment? I believe the personality part of your soul does not change, and that’s where a different assessment layered on to this one gave me much deeper insight into who I really am. Your True Personality is an Energy Vibration: The Enneagram There’s a part of you that remains constant and can be measured by a personality test I use called the Enneagram (Ennea is Greek for 9 -number of interconnected types). It’s a much older system that gets to the heart of your energy vibration, and closer to what I call your soul signature. It also highlights your blind …

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