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Reviewing Changes with Insight from your Life Path

You can look to your Life Path number to guide you in your questions around change, personal fulfillment, fear, curiosity and accomplishment.

Your Life Path is a good place to look when you are feeling stuck or confused when evaluating personal changes. I've provided a list of some great questions to consider, especially when you're looking to create or bring about major change in your life.

Life Path questions:

• Who has encouraged my progression along my Life Path?
• Where have I limited my own progress on my Life Path?
• Where do I need the most support on my Life Path?
• How has my Life Path helped me to make past changes?
• How have you inspired others through your living of your Life Path?
• How have your mentors helped you?

When pondering the above questions, it may help you to focus on all parts of your personality, whether these parts have matured or not. After all, you probably know your own strengths and weaknesses.

Another good step to take is to sit down and record thoughts about your Life Path. How do you feel about it's importance in your life? Spend as much time as you can and write down everything that comes into your mind. After you have answered the questions, you should set them aside and come back to them later. You'll want to have enough time and space to compassionately review your responses. The review process isn't about criticizing yourself in any way. It's simply about being a compassionate observer of your past and present. You may wish to record your answers in a journal, and periodically review past answers to these questions. You may be amazed at how your answers change, or develop, over time. You may also see how certain strengths shine through for you in times when you want to tackle a major challenge.

When answering the questions above you should try to simply write about whatever comes to mind, without thinking about or analyzing your responses. You may want to consider writing about personal traits, abilities and attitudes that have helped you to live up to your Life Path. You may also want to write about those traits that may have hindered or obstructed your pursuit of your Life Path. After you have reviewed your answers you may feel exhilarated, as you come to realize that you have accomplished far more than you ordinarily think about. You have found ways to believe in yourself and to be accountable. Perhaps, you can share your experiences and learning with others, as acting as a mentor can help to encourage others to pursue their own Life Path.

Developing compassion

Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate, means that we need to be passive, to allow others to abuse us, to smile and let anyone do what they want with us. Yet this is not what is meant by compassion. Quite the contrary. Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises out of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation, and to act strongly, with all the skill at our disposal. To develop this mind state of compassion...is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it, with sympathy for all living beings, without exception. ― Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

As Sharon writes here, compassion is not something that we can afford to live without. It’s something that we all need to navigate in the world today. We need it for ourselves, our families, communities and the world. But, it does start with you. Without first developing compassion for ourselves, it can be a struggle to offer true compassion for others. We must first accept that we need it and be willing to incorporate compassion into our lives.

How do you develop compassion? There are many ways you can use, and I’ll only name a few. You might have other techniques that work well for you. Work with whatever options are best for you. If you haven’t worked with any of these choices, then you can pick one or two and try them out. Work with your choice for a period of time and see how you feel.

• Have a kindness practice / Pay it forward practice
• Meditate on compassion regularly
• Do Tonglen on a regular basis
• Volunteer
• Keep a daily journal
• Have a gratitude practice
• Practice forgiveness

In addition to these practices don’t forget about your dreams! Don’t give up on them. Keep working with them and recognize that they’re offering you valuable insights. But, be willing to be gentle on yourself. At times, our dreams may bring a message that is at first hard to hear. But, that can indicate that the wisdom it offers is especially important.

As you begin to open your heart, and look at your dreams with compassion, you may begin to see their message in a new light. You might recognize the dream is indicating that a habit or trait you’ve felt bad about has actually served you in some way. This can be a very powerful understanding, especially if you can use it to mend your life and grow, instead of being defeated by it. For instance, it is one thing to accept that you may have a tendency toward being critical or bossy person. However, it is another thing to use that knowledge to hinder yourself or your spiritual growth. Have compassion for yourself and look to how that trait might help you be an effective leader. Be willing to look at how your perceived weakness can be modified to serve something positive.

I believe that compassion can help us to transform our lives. Also, know that compassion can transform your resistance into openness and acceptance. Being open can help you to live a more fulfilled life, and living in this way can help to transform your world. We are all powerful. We all have a place. We help to build a better world when we utilize our compassion for the betterment of everyone. Having compassion is about accepting that you are part of a connected world. It's about accepting that you are not alone. You actions do matter.

Krishna Das on chanting

Chanting is a way of deepening the moment, of deepening our connection with ourselves, the world around us, and other beings. The Sanskrit chants that we sing—recognized for millennia as the Names of God—come from a place deep within each of us, so they have the power to draw us back within. If we go deep enough, we will all arrive at the same place, our deepest Being. Krishna Das ~ Chants of a Lifetime

The number 12

As we approach the new year, there seems to be significant vitality and importance being placed on the 12/12/2012 and 12/21/2012 dates. I find that it's very intriguing that the number is 12 featured so prominently, and has worked its way into our lives in many different ways.

• We have 12 months.
• The twelve signs of the western zodiac.
• In the Chinese horoscope there are 12 animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Cat, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Cock, Dog Pig.
• The number 12 is used 189 times in the Bible
• The number 12 is used 7 times in the Koran.
• In the Islamic religion, there are the twelve imams.
• In the Japanese cosmology, the Creator is sat on twelve sacred cushions.

The potential of these dates expands well past two mere days. Part of the call of these dates is to come to an understanding of what 2012 has been calling for us to do. The Universal Numerological theme for 2012 is related to connecting with the mystery, magic and mystical in your life. It's about allowing your life to take on deeper meaning, and making space for connecting with your own inner mystery on a regular basis. You might do this by meditating, or by paying attention to your dreams and the wisdom they bring.

Connecting with your body

Sit or lie down and relax into a comfortable position. Feel your body slowing down, and any tension you might have being released.

When you're ready, take your hand and move it to a spot that is just above your body, preferably your heart/chest area. Notice if you feel any sensation at all. Perhaps, you'll feel some light tingling, prickling or heat. If you don't feel anything, move your hand out about 2 feet. Then, slowly pull it back toward your chest. Pay attention to where you want to stop. What do you notice?

If you don't notice anything this is still okay, just keep pulling your hand back, until it rests on your chest, or you feel a sensation of some kind. At first, you might not notice anything. Be careful not to dismiss anything. Over time you, with practice, you may begin to recognize sensations or see imagery as you do this exercise.

When you do get to the point of recognizing something, you'll want to record the feelings and sensations that come up. It might be that you do feel or see something, but you don't recognize it's importance for you.

Perhaps, you'll remember something from the past. Perhaps an image of someone you miss will appear in your mind. Just be open to allowing the sensations or imagery to come. However, don't feel like you have to see or feel any particular thing. We are simply hoping to catch a glimpse of something that may be connected, at a deep level, to our heart.

You might begin the exercise by asking:

• What have I truly been yearning for?
• What would I feel inspired by doing?
• How can I better connect with my passion?

Dr. Larry Dossey on entering into the mystery in our lives

Mystery irritates; it demands solutions. Perhaps this is because we are so intolerant of ambiguity, generally preferring things in black or white without shades of gray. When faced with mystery, we often engage in desperate attempts to solve it.

The desperation is apparent, as we’ve already seen, in the effort to explain away the occurrence of severe illness in spiritually enlightened individuals— anything to preserve our preferred theory that good people don’t get sick. - Dr. Larry Dossey / Healing Words

Quote ~ W Clement Stone

"To solve a problem or to reach a goal, you don't need to know all the answers in advance. But you must have a clear idea of the problem or the goal you want to reach.”

Quote ~ Sharon Salzberg

In order to live with integrity, we must stop fragmenting and compartmentalizing our lives. Telling lies at work and expecting great truths in meditation is nonsensical. Using our sexual energy in a way that harms ourselves or others, and then expecting to know transcendent love in another arena, is mindless. Every aspect of our lives is connected to every other aspect of our lives. This truth is the basis for an awakened life. When we live with integrity, we further enhance intimacy with ourselves by being able to rejoice, taking active delight in our actions. Rejoicing opens us tremendously, dissolving our barriers, thereby enabling intimacy to extend to all of life. Joy has so much capacity to eliminate separation that the Buddha said, "Rapture is the gateway to nirvana."

Your Unfolding Senses

Please join me on my new show "Your Unfolding Senses" at AwakenedRadio. I'll be talking about opening to your intuition. First show is 10/18 at 8PM-EST - It will be every Thursday, 8PM EST. Please join in on the conversation! You can join in via the chat room or call in with skype or your phone.