Walking Out Of The Cave!

How often do we want someone to come in and rescue us? Well, here is the secret. It is you. Most of my life were spent looking for the handsome prince who would ride in and save me. It wasn't until I found myself with cancer that I found the truth for myself. I am the handsome prince and I am here to save myself. I found that giving cancer a great big hug and asking it what it was here to teach me that allowed me to step into the unknown and find my way out of the cave enlightened. Once I found that I was never alone I was able to sit and wait for instruction from within. Once I received that message I was able to move forward with my life.  

Day 46: Cave, one of the many things I tell my clients are if you find yourself in a cave of emotions, call a friend to stand at the edge of the cave to remind you of your brilliance. I find it import to remind myself and others that help does not require that I join you in the dark. When I stand outside holding the light, I am inviting the person in the cave into the warm glow of love and support. Joining them in the cave means that there are now two of us in the dark.

The writing above is from Day 46 of the Seasons of Change. As I reread this reading for the fourth season I am amazing at what is coming up for me. I remembered when I was a young boy that my sister, brother and I shared a room together. My brother and I shared a bed and my sister had her own bed next to ours. There was something so deeply comforting about having them in the room with me. I was extremely sensitive as a boy and my ability to empath were very strong and yet, I didn't understand it or know who to talk to about it.

When I was 6 years old, my family started the remodel of our home. With the remodel meant that we each would have our own bedroom, and we would sleep alone. During the day, this seemed like a lovely idea, yet as we got closer to the evening my fears begin to arise. Mama its dark in there! "I know honey, but be a big boy for mama and it will be fine." Well it wasn't fine. I was in the dark, the unknown and I didn't like it. For what seemed like an eternity I would wake up and go and sleep at the foot of my brothers or sisters bed not be alone. My parents tried everything, nightlight, leaving the hall light on, you name it they tried it. My Granny came to stay with us for a while and she too didn't like to sleep alone so which made us perfect companions for each other. Two of us scared out of our mind in the dark.

It took me a while to work through this process and be able to sleep on my own in peace. No matter how much my mama tried to make this happen it wasn't until I was ready to come out of the cave of fear that my life was transformed. For most of my adult life, I never lived alone and I slept with the lights on. It was while in the Tactile Dome my life really starts to transform. I embraced my fears, and ask them what they were there to teach me. When I was told I had cancer I turned off all the lights and set in the darkness. I walked into the cave of my soul to find the answers I needed. I was in the unknown, the darkness of my life and there was where I found peace. I found the answers that I needed and the truth that I was never alone. I was surrounded by love, I was love and that meant I was never alone.

Today one of my favorite things is to sleep in a dark room with no lights on at all. I feel safe, comforted, and I know that everything I seek is found within myself. My learning to embrace my fears, and the unknown allowed me to turn the light on within my soul and come out of the cave transformed. I still have periods in my life that are filled with the unknown. Today I know that I am safe and all is well.

I love you,

Rev Allen 

We All Have Those Days!

You know the ones where we wish we could stay in bed all day with our heads buried under the covers. When there it can feel deep, dark, and lonely. Being compassionate with ourselves allows us to find the grip hold we need to pull ourselves out of the hole we have fallen into. When you find yourself, in this place the best thing I have found to do is breathe, be patient with myself, and remember that judgement is based on fear. I will need another outlook to get me out of here. Compassion, love, grace serve as really great grip holds to give us the leverage needed to get out of the holes in life.   

Day 45 Hole, look back over the landscape of your life and notice the places in which you have fallen into a hole. Remember your brilliance, your capability, your endurance, and the success of getting out on your own. As you walk on the road of life, there will be opportunities for growth, take it as a sign that it is time to grow.

Over the last week, I fell into the hole of I "should" be further along this path than I am. It is a hole in which is dark, deep, and self made. I have been in this place many times before and have chosen a different road and yet here I am taking an old road hoping that someone as filled in the pot holes, and sink holes that can consume me. What was I thinking? That is my job and if I allow someone else to do it for me, It is guaranteed that I will find new ones until I face my work.

Life is amazing and it is here to assist us in getting where we want to be and where we are destined to be. It is so easy to get lost in the should, would, and could's of life so much that we miss the journey. My mother used to call this the can't help its. I want to express that we all have those days when we feel less inspired that we do on other days. It is important at that moment to breathe, and be compassionate with yourself. Adding more should's doesn't really help us to get out of the space we are in.

When I find myself in a hole, today I really take the time to love and console myself. It's ok we all have those kind of days. What is the best thing I can do right now to help me feel better? How can I love myself at a deeper level than before? When I am ready I ask the big question. What am I learning from this experience?

Once I get to that part of the journey I know that I will find the grips I need to help me find my way out of the hole I have places myself in. Once I am out I take some time to thank myself for a job well done. I take some time to breath and take it all in and I journey on.

Today I know that standing in judgement of where we are, and where we thought we should be is all based on the ego. The best thing I can do is to live in the present and let the rest go. The past is just that gone, complete, done. All I can do is be right here, right now. Let's make the most of it.

I love you,

Rev Allen 

What Am I Holding Onto?

What Am I Holding Onto? Have you asked that question of yourself? Over my lifetime I have been looking at the things I am holding onto and how, it is weighing me down. My mother has advanced stages of Alzheimer. Here is this amazing woman who has been my number one fan my entire life, and today she doesn't know who I am. I have allowed this to create a need to hold onto things she as given me. I had this dish towel that had so many holes in it that it wouldn't even hold water and yet I still held onto it because my mother gave it to me. One day I sat down and looked at the dish towel and stated " You are not my mama!" I released the towel that day and moved on. I had an electric skillet that my mother had got me on one of the last visit she and my dad made to Calafornia. I have packed it and moved it to 3 or 4 places and to use it once. Last month I took it out of the pantry and looked at it and stated "You are not my mama!" I took it to the local value village and released it with the understanding that someone who really wants one would be thrilled to have it. Years ago, when I was with my first partner we didn't have a stove. All we had was an electric skillet and it was the best thing ever. It does my heart, and soul good to let go so that others can have a blessing. What will you release today?

Day 44: Fall is about letting go of old hurts, old wounds, and whatever has been holding you stuck in place. Close your eyes and ask your inner self what shall I release today?

How perfect is it that we are here for the second day of fall when reading this passage from Seasons of Change? I remember the day that I saw that beautiful tree and it glorious expression of life. How many times have I tried my best to hold onto the times in my life that I classified as good while at the same time doing my best to release the bad?

Fall is the perfect reminder that I can let go of everything and trust the process. I can trust the universe to show up and meet me where I am. I can allow this process to transform my life or I can resist and pick up all the leaves in my life and super glue them back on one leaf at a time. That point is really fruitless and might I say a total waste of time. Fall is going to happen whether I am resistant or not. It will continue to show up day after day until I have the willingness to let go of what I am holding on to. I have lived enough life to know this is true. Yet I continue to hold on like it is going to be different this time.

Just like the snapshot of the tree was a moment in the life of the tree. So much of what we hold onto is just a moment, a glimpse of the greater yet to be. When I choose to hold on to anything I am causing a backup in the flow of life. Hold on to enough things and I will find myself with a plumbing issue both internally and externally. Life is like a beautiful river flowing with ease and grace. Also bringing us what we need next. Take some time today and let go. Trust the process. You will feel lighter and more open to the blessing that is coming your way.

I love you,

Rev Allen 

Just Do It!

Just Do It Already! You know when you were a kid standing on the side of the pool with your friends yelling at you. Just do it. Summer is that kind of feeling. I wish to remind you that you can have your summer anytime you like. I tell folks all the time that I am having a personal summer. I am very warm bodied and when I get hot something just has to come off. There is nothing better to me than jumping into the cool refreshing water on a scorching summer day. 

Day 43: Summer, when I step into nature, stop, and be still. I recognize myself in every living thing.

Over the last few weeks, I have had the honor of walking in nature and really taking it in. Standing next to a tree that is over 1000 years old had really impacted my life. It is a reminder that we are part of a magnificent whole just waiting to be expressed through us.

Seeing the waterfall in the rainforest and just taking in its beauty as it leaped for joy over the rock as if to say "look what I can do!" To the quiet sound of a stream as it finds, its way to the ocean. Everything that I have taken in reminds me to fling of anything that I have been allowing to hold me back and go for it. Who cares what I look like? Just have fun along the way!

As I walked along the shore with my feet dancing in waters edge, I didn't care what anyone thought of me. I was fully alive and thriving in my life. I was reminded that life is here to bless me abundantly and I can either stand on the side lines or I can dive in and get soaking wet. Cannonball! I'm getting wet.

Summer is a wonderful season for letting go and going for what you have always wanted to do. Take the vacation, start school, go to the gym, write a book, start a blog, whatever it is just do it. Be free, be daring, be you.

I love you,

Rev Allen 

Express Yourself!

Just for this moment express yourself as only you can. Be the best version of you that you can at this now moment. Live so presently in this now moment that it is all that you can imagine life being about. Fling off anything that is restricting you from expressing yourself in brilliance. Dance with abandon and allow your body to move with the beat of the music that you hear from within. Now doesn't that feel really good?  

Day 42: Spring, where in your life today will you focus all of your attention, and express yourself as only you can?

Spring is really about rediscovering who we are in the world. It is the moment when you have completed your work and you look deeply in the mirror of life and say I am ready to express myself to the world. Though out the winter months, you have been focused inward and now that spring is here it is time express yourself. That can be totally scary and feel a bit vulnerable.

It is easy to stay tight in the bud waiting for what seems like the perfect moment. It is what I feel when a painting is wanting to be expressed through me. The moment the first brush stroke hits the canvas I know that there is no turning back. I am going to express myself as only I can. What I have noticed is that during the process of expression that expression is what it is all about. The sharing with others comes later. The process of blooming and painting is about revealing what has been inside of me all along. I find for myself that the fear comes when I realize that others are looking at what I have expressed.

While I am in the art of expression I am living in the flow. I just go with it. I express what is desiring to be expressed through me. Once that is complete is when I have a choice, do I dance with the divine in me and celebrate? Or do I dance with the ego in me and judge? The realization that judgement is always based in ego has helped me understand that it not part of my divine process. Expressions, however is, it is the moment when I am free, thriving, and unfolding what I know to be my truth.

Express yourself most brilliantly each day. Know that the rest of the stuff is really none of your business. What others think, feel about you and your process is really more about them than you. Do your best each day to live, love and express from a place of self love and acceptance and the rest will take care of itself. Know that you are loved deeply for who you are.

I love you,

Rev Allen 

Where Is Idle In Your Life?

Where is idle in your life? You know when you are sitting at the signal light of life is your internal engine racing, or is it enjoying the moment of rest. So much of our lives is spent getting us from point A to point B. All the time missing the journey along the way. Over the last few weeks, I have felt this deep and abiding call from my heart to slow down and enjoy where I am verses wishing I was somewhere further along life's hi-way. You know that moment when you are on a road trip and you are more than half way there wishing you were sitting at the beach sipping a beverage with an umbrella in it. What I understand at this moment is that it is in those moment we can transform the perspective and enjoy the moment for what it has to bring. Like being on the beach thinking about what all you have to do at home when you get back. By being here, now I can enjoy each moment for what it has to offer and when I get to the next moment simply repeat the process all over again. 

Day 41: Rainbows, yes, there are indeed times in which we will go through a rainstorm, but the beauty that follows can take our breath away. It really all depends on where we have our focus. So many times, after it rains we are too busy complaining to enjoy the rainbows.

Wow, this is amazing and sums up the life lessons that I have received over the last few weeks. How many times do I miss the rainbow complaining and comparing my life to others? How much of my life goes into telling the story about the rain rather than on the rainbow and how that experience transformed my life.

Over the last few weeks, I have seen some of the most beautiful expressions of love happening before my eyes. 1000 year old trees, beaches, waterfalls, rainbows just to name a few. Underneath that lesson is the lesson that I want to talk about today. The miracles in our everyday live that we totally miss wishing we were further along than we are.

I have felt the call of my heart asking me to really look deeply at how I see my life. Be a virgo paying attention to detail is a fact that I know all to well. Yet there are times when I can shift that perspective from detail to bliss and find that life is so amazing and I am wasting it due to the fact I want to be further along that I am. How many people have I talked to that are living the lives they want to live that said the moment they enjoyed where they were their lives just opened up. Yet I am so driven that I just keep pushing myself to be more.

Nature does its best each day and then enjoys the view. Just ask the orchard in our kitchen. I can want it to open it blooms NOW but only it knows the perfect time to do so. Does it stop the miracle or the beauty of the other blooms? Not at all. Yesterday I had the honor of being in a Reiki circle with the most amazing group of people. It was one of those moments. I have been dreaming of for years. I had a choice I could spend all my time wishing I am further along and being unhappy about who was missing or sit in the midst of this amazing miracles just taking it in. I chose to be still and watch as each bloom opened and shared it magnificence.

I totally could have missed that being focused on something else. When I follow the call of my heart, do my work, I experience miraculous rainbow expressions each and every day. Take a moment and look at where your perspective is.

I love you,

Rev Allen

Something Doesn't Feel Right

Something doesn't feel right. How many times have I said this to myself and just kept going. I am learning that when I feel this way it is best to stop, check in with myself, and choose what I want to do next. It is a lot like being lost in the wood and keep wondering around hoping that the next tree, rock, or water you see will lead the way home. As you will read below I am learning to embrace my feelings knowing that they are they GPS from my internal wisdom guiding me in the direction of my heart. Unlike the GPS in our cars it doesn't automatically reroute. It does however continue to send out the signal to let me know that the direction we am heading is not in our best interest. The best thing I can do it stop, pull over, and plot a course in a direction that feels peaceful.  

Day 40: Sand, in life we can focus on the irritant or we can shake them off and move on with our lives. It really is up to us and our perception. How do you choose to live life?

Today is Seasons of Change I ask us to list one thing that has been an irritant and create a plan for how you will discard it. The beach and the sand are one of my happy places in life yet when I have some sand or a tiny pebble in my shoe it just doesn't feel right. How many times in life do we just keep going in the same direction knowing it just doesn't feel right?

Last evening my beloved and I were invited to the most lavish dinner overlooking the water from a Pent House in downtown Seattle. It was one of the most amazing views and the friends that invited us are the most wonderful people. Earlier in the day, I had one of the most outrageous headaches I have had in a long time. I knew that I didn't want to take that with me to the dinner party. I created a plan. I rubbed the back of my neck with something to release the stress of the muscles. I took 3 Advil. I lay down and rested for about an hour. I didn't push back and fight the headache I leaned into it. I knew that it was my body's way of asking for what it needed. I choose to honor it. By the time, we headed to the party my headache was gone.

How many times in the past have I taken an unwanted guest to the party and allowed it to create an atmosphere that was something that I didn't want because I refused to give into the issue? With some minor adjustments I was able to create the even that I wanted and take in the amazing people, views, and the wonderful breezes that were blowing. I am so happy that I took the time to lean into and create the evening that I desired rather than just pushing through and creating something mediocre.

Like sand in your shoe it is best to stop, release the irritant, and then move on with your life. How it got there is not the important question. How you choose to resolve it speaks volumes about the quality of life you choose to live.

I love you,

Rev Allen 

Where did all these weeds come from?

Where did all these weeds come from? It is much like noticing you have a tire that is low on air thinking I will check it tomorrow. Only to find out the next morning you then have a flat tire. It seems that we are unwilling to look closely at our lives only when they are producing things we don't want and then we ask why did this happen? When I stop for a moment and think about it I know that if I want carrots I need to plant carrots. I can hope they will magically appear, yet if I really want carrots I need to be responsible and plant them, love them, nurture them, and enjoy them. Look at your garden today put your gardening gloves on and invest in you.  

Day 39: Flower Garden, take some time today to examine the five people that you're spending the most time with and ask yourself this question: "Are they living the lives that I want to live?" If not perhaps, it's time for some weeding.

The first time that I heard of this I thought I can't weed my friends. That is so unloving and unkind. The more I looked at nature the more I realized that this is not only necessary if I was flowers to grow it is also necessary if I want to grow as well. It can be quite easy to live in the status quod not moving forward, and not moving back. The word I use with my clients is "stuck." When I stop and look at it from a gardening perspective verses friendship I get it.

One of the things that I remember today that I was unwilling to know back then was that in order for someone to change they have to want to. It can be really easy to live the life of a martyr as well where we hang out with others in order to help them, or save them from themselves. No one needs to be saved, and no one needs to be fixed. We are all on a path of self discovery and we are doing the best we can at this given moment.

Ego likes living in the status quod because it is really easy to judge others and feel superior or inadequate. Anytime we start to value ourselves on a better/worse standpoint we can be assured we are living in ego at that moment. When we can step back and ask ourselves if we are living the lives we want to live? Then base our weeding on that decision rather than "value" we find that not only do our gardens transform our lives do as well.

Weeding someone from our lives doesn't mean that we are discarding them it simply means we recognize that we are on different paths at the moment and we support and love them enough to allow them to follow the path they are on. It also allows us to move from the status quo into responsibility for who and what we want out of live.

I look at like this. If I had a garden and it was the only means of food that I had to eat I would do everything in my power to nurture it and love it to fulfillment. My wellbeing is dependent on how well I garden. Yet in life we allow attachments to govern how we garden our lives. This is your life and you are responsible for what is growing in your garden. Take some time today and look at what you are growing in your garden and go from there.

I love you,

Rev Allen 

Look for the Miracle!

We sing a song at theAmor Spiritual Center that states I'm looking for a miracle. I love what it brings up within me today. Miracles are around me at every turn if I take a moment to look for them. So much of our lives could best be summed up with a song entitled I'm looking for flaws in you. One of the greatest lessons I have learned on this journey is being aware of where I am placing my focus in life. No matter what others are doing I am still responsible for what I see, feel, and experience in this world. It is so easy to be pulled into other's dramas rather than inviting them into our miracles. Each day is based on thousands of tiny miracle that happen one of which is you. How many will you notice today?

Day 38 Dandelions, take some time today and look at what you are grounded in. What do you believe in? Where are you planting your roots? It is important to know yourself and what you believe.

It is amazing when you look within what you will find. I had no idea that you could make tea out of dandelions until I had a talk with my friend Torito. I am reminded that all medicine was at one time nature based. Growing up in the country, I was amazed at the things my grandparents would give us to help us feel better. A great deal of those things have been replaced with over the counter remedies and we have left behind the things that are freely given in nature.

It is important to be open to new ideas and the willingness to shift our beliefs as we know more. I am amazing at how the knowledge that dandelions has medicinal qualities has effected how I see them. I took the time this morning to look it up and I was amazed at the qualities that it possesses. A great deal of them are things I could really benifit from. (Funny how that works)

How many times in life do we judge something based on the outer appearance? For years, I worked in retail and was taught to look for the people who are ready to buy. Today I know that what I was really being taught was judgmental, and prejudice. Today I am happy to say as a result of this work and going within that I now see the the face of love when I look at others.

I had the honor to meet a young man the other day who was looking for food and asked could I spare a dollar. I usually don't carry cash with me so I asked could I get him some food? He said that the person before me has purchased him a sandwich and he was good but he could use a hug. I opened my arms and we embraced. We were both changed in that moment. He was able to find a safe space within me to cry and I was able to see the divine in him. We both walked away transfromed by the experience.

How much of life do we miss standing in the judgement of others? One of the greatest life lessons I have learned on this journey is about my hidden beliefs. So many of which are not even my beliefs but rather something I picked up along the way from others. That is why it is important to stop, and look at what you are thinking, feeling, and what fear is coming up in us. Fear is a dis-ease that is growing in our community, county, and world. The only cure for fear is love. In order to release the disease I must surrender to the moment and go within to transform the current condition into that which I want to see.

Today not only do I see a thousand wishes when I see the dandelion I see the miracle it holds within. I think I will look inside to see what miracles I hold within myself today. How about you?

I love you,

Rev Allen 

Shall We Dance?

We so often do our best to hide the shadow side of ourselves in fear others will find out our deepest secrets and run away. It is not them that we are afraid of it is ourselves. The deeper I learn to love and dance with myself and embrace the whole of who I am. The more joyous my life becomes. To live in lightness or darkness all the time has me living out of balance. Nature is here to show us how to love ourselves more deeply. Just like the sun and the moon dance in love so we can dance through life knowing that standing still is what causes the most discomfort and disease. When we choose to flow and keep on moving we can find the The reason and rhythm of life to be a beautiful embrace.  

Day 37: Sunset, at the end of your morning gratitude list, create and evening thank you list for yourself for a job well done. Remember to include things like washing your big toe, getting dressed, saying I love you to yourself, opening the door for a stranger, and so on.

On Tuesdays, we have medication at Amor Spiritual Center. It is one of my favorite things that I get to do as a Spiritual Leader. Yesterday was extremely exciting to me based on the share from yesterday in Seasons of Change . As I guided us through meditation, I got this wonderful visual. That at the beginning of each day and the end of each day the sun and the moon embrace. It is a deep and beautiful embrace that recognizes the beauty, love, and divine in each other.

So often we look at darkness as bad, when in fact it is the balance of light. I know that I sleep much better in a dark space as I am triggered by light. I had a friend who used to say I slept in a bat cave. For those who know me they find that really hard to believe as I am the king of mood lighting. When I rest I need and desire darkness as it puts my soul at peace. I love the thought that darkness is really the unknown and that is one of the reasons we fear it so. Like the sun, I have come to understand that balance is needed in all things. If I were to walk around in the light all the time I would miss the perspective that darkness brings. If I were to live in darkness all the time I would miss the perspective that lightness brings.

For me meditation, sleep, contemplation is some of my most productive times and they are most often spent in darkness. Darkness is where my soul rest and I find replenishment for myself and connect more deeply with the greatness of the Divine. Yes it is so easy to get lost in the fear, that I miss the wonder and the beauty of a new experience. As the days get shorter here in the Northwest a great many people dread the gray days of winter that lay ahead. For me it is one of my favorite times of year. It is the time in which I go within deeply and connect to what I wish to do next in life. I step boldly into the unknown knowing that everything I have been wanting is on the other side of fear.

When I think about how nature embraces all aspects of itself I am reminded I can indeed do the same. Just as the sun and the moon love each other and dance together each morning and at dusk, I am reminded that I need all of myself in order to be the person I am today. Each life lesson, each joyous moment is needed to assist me in the expansion of my life. I think I will ask myself to dance, what about you?

I love you,

Rev Allen

What beauty is waiting for you to discover it?

What beauty is waiting for you to discover it? What wonderful quality do you have that you overlook focused on what you don't have? What experience is showing up to remind you to follow your heart today and take in all that life has to offer. Not everyone has a near death experience that serves as a wake up call. Most of us move through life looking at the latest thing that we are sure are going to make us happy. All the time missing the wonders that surround us in people, places, and things. When was the last time that you just stopped for a minute and took it all in? You did nothing but just look, feel, experience what life was showing you? Stop right now! Just for one minute and look around and see what you see, feel, and what you notice.  

Day 36: Sunrise, take your gratitude journal on a field trip. Set an intention to write down everything you are thankful for today as it happens. What impact does this have on your day?

I love how this work is living itself out in me. On Saturday, I had this deep desire to go to Seahurst Park near our home and take pictures. I wanted to be near the ocean again and I wanted to see what nature had to offer in the form of miracles. I was not disappointed. It was amazing and while looking through the lens of the camera I was forced to take the in the beauty that surrounds me everyday. With each picture I was taking in another snap shot of the amazing gift that nature has for us each day.

The day started with a most beautiful sunrise I was in the office writing and I could feel it calling me. So I got up opened the front door and took it in. Not only did I take a picture of it, I just stood there and enjoyed the moment. There was only one of that precise moments and I wanted to enjoy it rather than looking back and saying oh, I wished I had slowed down and enjoyed the sunrise this morning. As the sun began to shine with all of it brilliance I went out again, just to see what was new and different. I was not disappointed. The Sun shinning through the leaves as they begin to change color, and the juxtaposition between the deep green of the evergreens and the oranges of the trees as they change hue. Wow, I could have missed that miracle had I stayed inside.

Later that day my beloved and I took a walk in Seahurst Park and it was one miracle after another. The way the roots of one tree was wrapping itself around the stump of a tree that was no longer there as if hugging it, and thanking it for its strength and beauty. The way the ivy grew up the and circled around the trunk of a tree as if saying I love you. The way the fern's danced in the wind and the way the light gleaned through the leaves and touched the foliage below. One great dance of nature is reminding me that we are all interconnected, part of one great whole.

The way that the end of one life experience is the beginning of another. The way it fades into itself as if to say. Take it easy you can't get it wrong. It is all just a journey and you make it up as you go along, living each moment to the fullest. I might have missed all of that had I decided not to listen to the call of my heart. Take some time today and listen to your heart, go where it leads you!

I love you,

Rev Allen 

It All Starts With A Drop of Gratitude

Why is it that we think things have to be so hard in order to have this massive impact on our lives? As you will see below the practice of gratitude on a daily basis has helped me to create the life that I want to live. Gratitude has been the doorway through which I have passed that has allowed me to find the good in all of those places that before I had been unwilling to do. It had been through gratitude that I have learned to live more present in the now moment and just bask in the goodness that life has to offer. It has been with this simple practice that I have transformed my life more completely that all the work I have ever done at the gym, or dieting. Thought gratitude I have found once again just like nature when I stand in the current moment, look for the good, and do my best to express myself in that moment my life is filled with JOY! Sure I have my days and yet even when those I know that a drop of gratitude will help me transform any situation into the expression that I want to live. Get a group of friends together, start a gratitude game and see what happens. If you would like to join our group message me and let me know. You will be amazed at how it will transform your life.

Day 35: Stream, write down three things you're grateful for and if you really want to manifest what you want in life start a gratitude journal today that will continue on until you arrive at your destination.

Today's activity in Season of Change has had a profound impact on my life. For years, I have kept a gratitude journal and was amazing at the way it opened up my life. Only to find myself missing one day and then three and going back to my old habit of not being grateful at all. What if I miss a day? I have missed more than a couple of days doing my daily logging of the Seasons of Change. It is so easy to get lost in the business and think yeah. Yeah this is nice but I want something that is really going to change my life. I want to do something that I know it going to work.

We created a gratitude group at Amor Spiritual Center here on Facebook. It is a private group and we can share daily what we are grateful for. I started this daily practice with the desire to live the life that I talk about within the pages of this book. I wanted to live my life from a place of gratitude rather than from a place of lack, and fear. When I first started I really didn't notice that much. It was nice I was playing along with the rest of the group it was easy enough to do and it was easy not to do as well. I had made a commitment to myself and I intended to follow through with it.

Just like the stream that starts with a drop of water, so did my appreciation and gratitude for my life. I began to be more grateful for my beloved, in the way we look at each other, the way we talk to each other and the way we love each other. I began to see friends in a new light, and to be grateful for having them in my life. I began to be grateful for the lessons and that I had somewhere safe to process them and share what I was grateful for in the process. I realized I was no longer in the stream but was now living a grateful life that had depth, and that I was in a river of gratitude. How did that happen? When did that happen? Yet I kept on writing gratitudes and being grateful. Each day I would get up, and do the work that was easy to do and not to do. Each day I would take the few moments to start my day with gratitude and was amazed at the impact it was having on my life.

Here I am one year later living a life filled with gratitude willing to take on change knowing that it is the threshold through which new life comes. Having the willingness to dive in head first looking for things to be grateful for. Do I have my days where I miss, or I just don't want to be grateful? Yes, it is on those days however I find the greatest joy. Gratitude is like water once you get it going it really starts to flow. Before you know it you will be in an ocean of gratitude and love for yourself and those around you.

You are well worth the investment.

I love you,

Rev Allen

The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It!

It is so easy in life to focus on what is missing rather than what is staring you right in the face. For years, I was looking at what everyone else was doing, or not doing and didn't notice that I had, or have the same within myself. I was just so focused on the weeds that I couldn't see the amazing lawn that I had. I was so concentrated on the work at hand that I didn't take time to enjoy laying on the lawn and taking it all in. I talk with couples all the time about watering the grass in their lives rather than looking at my life comparing the two. Their relationship will never be like my beloved and mine because they are not us. Maybe you donot like grass, maybe you want a lawn filled with roses, wildflowers, or moss. What ever it is give it your best and water the lawn that you have. 

Day 34: Grass, just like nature that which I put into the earth, and my daily life will be exactly what is made manifest in physical form. When you plan an acorn, you get an oak tree. When you plant tomato seeds you get a tomato plant. When you plant grass seeds you get a beautiful lawn. Nature puts all of its energy into manifestation that which is put into it. What are you going to plant in your universal garden today?

This passage from Seasons of Change today is very powerful. It is a reminder that what I put in is what I will get out. I am often asked how my beloved and I have such a successful relationship. We are so in love with each other and how do we do that? My answer is simple we work at it every day. We plant seeds of love in each others hearts knowing that is what we will harvest. Love, joy, abundance all of those things that we strive for in life we must look for the places in us where we are blocked or resistant to that which we want.

For a great deal of my life, I was resistant to love. I know that I said I wanted it yet I was closed off to the possibility of it. When I started to sow seeds of love in my mind, body, and soul, which allowed me to open my heart to love. It was a short period of time before love showed up all around me. When I met my beloved I was relocating and he gave me a safe space to figure all that out with no pressure. In the midst of all that he invited me to look at other options. Today six plus years later we are deeper in love than ever before. Each day we sow seeds of love knowing that we will get that which we plant.

One of my favorite lines is "the grass is greener where you water it." Each day I wake up with the intention to water the lawn of love that is my life. Remove, and release any weeds of resentment, fear, judgement, and allow the water of love to flow and strengthen the roots of love in my life. What will you plant today?

I love you,

Rev Allen 

The Light Within!

One of my favorite places to meditate is in our garage. I love it because it is dark and it allows all of my senses to rest and allows me to go within. I remember once while sitting in the darkness that I had this deep understanding that I am the light. I am never alone. I am the light that I am seeking. It was in that moment that I understood that had I called for help, had I turned on a light, had I looked outside of myself I would not have found the answer that I needed.  

Day 33: Moon, meditate in a dark room for 5 minutes. Light a candle and meditate for another 5 minutes. Share your experience.

I was once asked if a friend was in a dark cave would I go in after them? My answer was no. I would stand at the cave entrance and shine a light and call them to come out. Many times I have been questions about my cruelty and that I was abandoning my friend in time of need. I take that moment to remind each person they are welcome to see that any way they would like. I however see it as a loving response.

If I have a friend in a cave, it is because they chose to go into the cave knowing there was a chance of getting lost. How are two people being lost going to help the situation? When I stand in the doorway holding a light I am in fact inviting them into a world of freedom rather than joining them in a cave. I am responsible for my choices and choosing to go in the cave to save anyone limits them, and myself.

The moon reminds me everyday that people will say, do, and insinuate many things about me in my lifetime. They can only diminish me when I allow them to. The ego wants us to put the blame outside of ourselves when in fact the responsibility for diminishing comes from within. Yesterday I spoke about this at Amor Spiritual Center. Each day of my life it is my work to look within and look for the spaces where I am diminishing myself. When I choose to free those places up, I am illuminating myself from within.

We all journey inward and we all sometimes feel alone and isolated. Many times we call a friend for support, and sometimes we hold others responsible for where we are. Today I know that in order for me to find happiness, joy, and to thrive in life. I must do the work. One of my favorite buddhist saying is "once you reach enlightenment, you must still chop wood, and tote water."

Today I know that I am responsible for my illumination and that like the moon how others see me is really none of my business.

I love you,

Rev Allen

This light of mine I'm gonna let it shine

This light of mine I'm gonna let it shine. It was some years ago that I started singing this song again without the word little in it. It was a reminder that my life is brilliant, and that there is nothing little about my light, my life, and who I am in it. To diminish myself is not why I am here. I am here to expand and grow and that is what I intend to do. Be yourself today and shine your light of love.  

Day 32: Sun, today when my ego fills my mind with thoughts of inadequacy. I remind myself of my truth. I am made of stardust and I was created to shine. So many times in life it is really easy to believe the bad things that others have told us. It is in those moments that we must reach into our core, stoke the fire and shine with brilliance. I love this passage from Seasons of Change today. I wanted to share it as it inspires me to shine and I want us all to remember that we are responsible for the light that we hold within.

We are entering that time of year here in the North West where we see the sun less and the clouds more. I am conscious that the sun is still very present on those cloudy days yet at times it is easy to focus on the clouds rather than the truth that underneath it all I am brilliant, magnificent, and shine like the sun.

What we choose to do on those days when the clouds cover the sky is of the utmost importance. It is in those moments we define who we are and what we believe about ourselves. It is really easy on the bright sunny days to see the brilliance of who we are. Yet, on cloudy days is when all of the things others have said about us come up within us. When we feel those thoughts arising it is time to go within like the sun drawn in our greatness and expand. When everything else is telling us to play small, we choose to expand anyway. Living life fully requires that we are willing to expose ourselves and show our greatness even when others may not see it.

When I can go within and find my power, shine, and carry on it is in that moment that I remember who I truly am. I am a brilliant light of love and who I am makes a difference in the world.

Go out and shine today!

I love you,

Rev Allen 

What do you intend to experience today? Where will you put your focus? At the end of the day what will you remember about today and what will you tell others about? Will you share the experiences that caused you to be angry, happy, mad, or the ones that filled you with love? Life like the clouds is filled with wonderful things waiting to be shared. It doesn't matter what the weather is doing, what really matters is what I intend and where I have my focus.

Clouds, sit in a quiet space, close your eyes. What thoughts arise? Allow them to blow in and out with ease.

Over the last few days, I have had the most amazing celebration of my birth. My beloved took me on a trip to ocean shores in Washington State. On the day, we arrive it was cloudy and very overcast. None of that mattered I was at the beach. I heard the ocean roar and I was able to walk on the sand and enjoy the day. For this reason, I create a happy list. It is the one thing that reminds me of what it is that I love when I am stuck in a not so good mood.

It is funny how we can feel that we will be stuck in this mood forever when in fact just like the clouds it will pass and once again we will be on the beach of life. What I learned from nature this week as I watched the clouds roll in was to look for the beauty in everything. We had the honor of driving through the rain forest on one of the days and one minute it was sunny, the next it was overcast, and the next it was raining. It was beautiful. I could focus on the weather but instead I focused on the love that I was receiving from my beloved and the 1000 years old tree. I sat nessled in the tree and sent it love for being here to remind me that today is temporary and this moment regardless of how good it may feel or how sad I may be is only here for a moment. Grow roots that are strong, deep, and embedded in love. Stand tall and look for the good in all things.

A few miles down the road was this magnificent water fall. It was cloudy and raining yet none of that was important because my focus was on the beauty of the moment and this magnificent expression of nature showing me how to live. Show your beauty everyday. Get up and go with the flow and take adventures as often as you can. Allow life to excite you and follow your heart it knows the way.

Watching the clouds as they rolled in and out reminded me of this reading and that regardless of what is happening in this moment I have power. I have power to choose where I put my focus and what I choose to see. Clouds can be what ever I want to make them and today I choose to see good.

I love you,

Rev Allen