Warriors of the light are not perfect. Their beauty lies in accepting this fact and still desiring to grow and to learn. —Paulo Coehlo from The Warrior of the Light

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” is an axiom found in just about every spiritual tradition, all claiming it as their own. This truth is a gateway to our potential and a promise by the universe that we are all guided as we travel this journey called life.

We have experienced this: our teachers seemingly appear out of nowhere to provide answers and lessons when we are mentally, physically, and emotionally in a place to recognize these lessons. A verse in a song, a blog that we read, a line in a movie, or a voice in your head are all sublime teachings from unsuspected teachers.

Every experience has a lesson for the living. Living is learning. It is only a body without life that does no learning. Life is a classroom filled with nontraditional, informal teachers. Learning takes place in every moment-life happens in this moment. When we take ourselves out of this moment to wander into our past and future, we miss the teachers in the here and now. When we lock into ego positions of right, wrong, and how things should be, we miss the teachers in our midst.

How often do we tell the beggar to go get a job and the talkative child to be quiet? How often do we view the less educated as limited? How often do we use our positions of authority to silence those for whom we have stewardship. How often do we use expertise in one area to fake knowledge in another area. These ways of being affect our readiness for our teachers.

The beggar can teach us humility, the talkative child teaches us patience and reminds us of the delight in our world. The seemingly ignorant can show another way. This life is a treasure hunt for wisdom and wisdom is tucked away in the most unexpected and unusual experiences.

When the student is ready, the teacher appears. Are you ready? Your teachers are waiting.

He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye. —Buddha

Yesterday we had the privilege of lifetime, to be conscious of a pivotal point in the history of the world. Yes, it was that big!

On the surface we witnessed a man of African and American descendants assume the most powerful political position in the world. We witnessed the spirit of a nation rise over the circumstances of it fears. Yes, yesterday was that big. Congratulations world we are awake! At least, awaken to the reality that form and function are separate; that is, it’s unimaginative to think that because of the package, the content is no good. We lifted these anchors of prejudice and hope reigns.

So now here we are, the party is over, the clean up crew has served us well. It is time build; to answer a call placed by the man we have manifested to represent us to each other. You see, Barack didn’t work his magic. There was no charismatic voo doo (or obeah if you are Jamaican). In this day, at this time in our evolution, our collective consciousness created the way for Barack to emerge as the spokesperson for love, unity, and service with the latter being the manifestation of the former.

The call that Barack bellowed was to go and serve each other; that we are our brothers and sisters keepers—a knowing that struck me in the most profound way upon completion of my book Reminder to Self. I realized that all we have ever done, all we will ever do is serve each other. The teacher serves the student and the student serves the teacher; the parent serves the child and the child serves the parent; the President serves the people and the people, the President. Even disservice is service. We become resilient and develop survival mechanisms in the face of disservice. Eventually we leverage disservice for service (the disservice of slavery has now produced a President, arguably the leader of the free world.)

If what we have done has always been service, then a call to service is a call to consciousness. A call to mindfulness where we do what we have done with a new understanding. An understanding that the outcome of how we serve will affect our brothers and sisters. An understanding that we manifest joy or pain. That is, upon the many faces of the people we serve, we place a smiles or frowns; tears of joy or tears of pain. And we know that joy is better.

The call to service doesn’t require radical shifts necessarily, it simply requires responsibility. It requires that we release goodness of thoughts and deeds. And it requires that we begin right where we are. The journey of a thousand miles begin with one step but let me offer three. The first step is to be where you are. Magnify yourself if where you are is where you want to be. The second step is to know where you are. Get in to where you are or get out of it. Finally, the third step in your thousand mile journey is to begin where you are, it’s the only place from whence to start. If we consciously serve with our gift, talent and abilities, then we have answered the call of our new President.

From DailyOM

October 22, 2008
Finding Answers Within
You Have All the Answers

Many of us seek the answers to life’s questions by looking outside of ourselves and trying to glean advice from the people around us. But as each of us is unique, with our own personal histories, our own sense of right and wrong, and our own way of experiencing the world that defines our realities, looking to others for our answers is only partially helpful. The answers to our personal questions can be most often found by looking within. When you realize that you always have access to the part of you that always knows what you need and is meant to act as your inner compass, you can stop searching outside of yourself. If you can learn to hear, trust, and embrace the wisdom that lives within you, you will be able to confidently navigate your life.

Trusting your inner wisdom may be awkward at first, particularly if you grew up around people who taught you to look to others for answers. We each have exclusive access to our inner knowing. All we have to do is remember how to listen. Remember to be patient as you relearn how to hear, receive, and follow your own guidance. If you are unsure about whether following your inner wisdom will prove reliable, you may want to think of a time when you did trust your own knowing and everything worked out. Recall how the answers came to you, how they felt in your body as you considered them, and what happened when you acted upon this guidance. Now, recall a time when you didn’t trust yourself and the results didn’t work out as you had hoped. Trusting your own guidance can help you avoid going against what you instinctively know is right for you.

When you second guess yourself and go against what you know to be your truth, you can easily go off course because you are no longer following your inner compass. By looking inside yourself for the answers to your life’s questions, you are consulting your best guide. Only you can know the how’s and why’s of your life. The answers that you seek can be found when you start answering your own questions.

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I often get information that must be shared, this is from DailyOM:

October 9, 2008
Answering The Call
Taking Responsibility For Your Destiny

There are those of us who believe that our lives are predestined and that we should resign ourselves to our lots in life. Yet the truth is that it is up to each one of us to decide what that destiny will be. While each of us is born with a life purpose, it is up to us whether or not we will say yes to fulfilling it. And just like when we choose what to eat, who to keep company with, and whether to turn right or left when we leave our home everyday, choosing to say yes to your destiny is a decision that can only be realized when you take action to make that choice a reality.

Whether you believe it is your destiny to be a parent, an adventurer, an artist, a pioneer, or a spiritual guru, saying yes to your destiny is only the first step. While manifesting your destiny starts with knowing what you want and believing you can attain your goals, there are then the actions that must be taken and the decisions to be made before your destiny can truly happen. When you take responsibility for fulfilling your destiny and begin acting with the intention of doing so, you not only take fate into your own hands, but also you become the hands of your own fate. Doorways inevitably open for you to step through, and every choice you make can be a creative act toward realizing your goals and dreams. You begin to follow your instincts and intuition, recognize opportunities when they are presented to you, and seize those golden moments. You also begin to recognize the decisions that may not serve this greater picture and can more easily push them aside.

Remembering that the decision to fulfill your destiny is always a choice can be empowering. Knowing you are fulfilling your destiny because you want to, rather than because you have to, can make a huge difference. When you are freed from obligation, obstacles in your way become challenges to be overcome, and the journey becomes an adventure rather than the obligatory steps you are being forced to take. Your destiny may be waiting for you, but whether or not you meet your destiny is up to you. Your fate is in your hands.

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As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

Carl Jung
Swiss psychologist (1875 – 1961)

Like many, I have struggled with the purpose and meaning of life questions. I am not sure if I am conscious of all the answers but I know they are within me and when I am ready for them, they will come.

One of the truths that was brought to my awareness, my consciousness at the end of writing Reminder To Self is the role of service in our lives. Service is our only purpose for being. It is a big statement; it is a strong statement; and it is truth.

Human beings as instruments of service is not a new concept-nothing is new (another blog someday). Religions have seen us as God’s instruments for millennium. If you are not religious though, it seems like another brainwashing argument by men and women of the cloth. If you are religious, the argument makes sense whether you’ve thought about it or not. Faith takes care of that but let’s leave religion out of this. My knowing comes from a spiritual realization not from a religious one.

Everything has a purpose and human beings are no different. Purpose in its basic sense can be thought of as function-the fundamental reason for the existence of a thing. The purpose or function of a hammer is to bang nails. The nail’s purpose is to hold things together. Hammers have other uses such as breaking a coconut but the fundamental purpose of hammer is to hit  a nail over its head. The fundamental purpose of the human being is to serve each other. Service to each other is as vital as the air we breathe, without either we couldn’t exist.

There has never been or will ever be a life that has not served another or has not been served by another. Herein lies the proof, it is true because it is. My two year old taught me that. I asked her why she drank my smoothie and she replied, “because (I did)!”

When a mother nurses a new born child it is obvious to see that she  is providing service to the infant-she is feeding it. A mother also provides the baby a sense of security through attachment and bonding. What is not so obvious but equally as important is the service of the newborn to the mother. The new born, by relieving the mother of milk, triggers the recovery process. When a mother nurses, hormones are released that help during post partum-the emotional, mental state after delivery (my wife helped me with this part). Breast feeding helps the uterus contract pulling it back to its position of origin. Mothers who nurse also return to pre-pregnancy weight much more quickly than mothers who do not. We are all a part of wonderful and simple circular mutual dependence of each other where in giving service we receive service, and in receiving service, we give service.

The teacher serves the student by teaching her and the student serves the teacher by being available and receiving the lessons. If there were no students there would be no teachers. Conversely, if there were no teachers there would be no students. As we are able to provide service that is connected to our unique constitutions and our individual dispositions, we find meaning in life.

So the fundamental question of purpose of life is answered: we are here to serve each other. Meaning in life is derived from how you execute the purpose of life. That is, how you serve your fellow man or woman. Although we are more similar than dissimilar, we are each as different as the tips on our fingers. We are the result of our mental, physical and spiritual presence. Meaning life is derived from the full creative expression of self, mentally, physically and spiritually in the service of others. We can only serve how we can serve that is, you are how you are.

A few years ago there was a commercial on T.V. by Nike with the jingle, “. . .if I could be like Mike (Jordon.)” The message of that jingle was in direct conflict with our essence, in particular our spiritual essence. We are not here to be like anyone else, that’s impossible! If we find that we have a similar disposition and tendencies as someone else, then we can learn from them-not to do as they have done exactly but to discover what we can do precisely.

The tapestry of life is a mosaic of individual souls yearning to be expressed in a meaningful creative way. The only way to find meaning in life is to be in alignment with your soul’s journey. A way of being where you express yourself through your skills, gifts, and talents in the service of others and God. Life is a journey of remembrance; we explore, through our experiences, ways of being until we find fulfillment through service.

“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we have learned here. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts.”

— Marianne Williamson: Spiritual activist, author, lecturer

I have been thoughtless about whether love and hate can occupy the body at the same time. That is, at the same moment. I have been “thoughtless,” because I have accepted without questioning the idea that if I don’t have love, I have hate. That’s as ridiculous as saying if I don’t have apples, then naturally somehow, I have bananas. Essentially by virtue of not having apples, I have bananas? By virtue of not having love, I have hate? Or deceptively, by virtue of have I not hate, I have love?

Love and hate have never been on the same continuum. Love is the fuel for goodness and hate is the fuel evil. If you have no love then you have nothing, you do nothing, you are nothing. Love is life, movement, growth, and community. Love is the thread that holds humanity together. We are the beneficiary and the benefactor of a universal love that is our oneness. If you have no love, you are lost but it doesn’t mean you hate. It does however leave you vulnerable to filling the void with hate.

Hate is the fuel of darkness. It is a breeding ground for evil and ill towards yourself and your fellow human beings. If your cup is not full of love there is empty space for hate. Love and hate are both contagious and can displace each other. Hate is insidious and preys on the gentle disposition of love. But love is not weak and can only be displaced if is not grounded in God.

When you have God’s love you have light and laughter, you have commitment and purpose, and you are compelled to share it even with a simple smile. Without love you have nothing that love brings. When we are conscious of this love, we recognize that it belongs to all of us. When this love is self-directed, we have self-love. When we have self-love, we become messengers of love. The only way to know love is to show love to self, others, and God. Self-love is the seed of our greatness. Self-hate is the seed of our demise. Love leads to goodness-the light in all things. Hate leads to evil-the darkness in all things.

Love and hate can never be friends. They can exist at the same time in one body no more than light and darkness can exist at the same time in the same space. You can bring light to a dark room without trickery but you can never bring darkness to light without trickery and deception. Ekhart Tolle said, “instead of blaming the dark, bring in your light.” Bringing hate to hate produces more hate (such as the war against….well, anything.) Your love can displace hate just by its mere presence. Love is the universal method of correction, it will always displace hate.

So there you have it; the world is organized to love unless tricked. Even then, you bring the light of your love and the trickery wilts under scrutiny. So who tricked you? When? Whatcha gonna do now?

So that you can shine your unique light and be a part of the puzzle that you are here to complete

Debbie Ford tells a story about a teacher who in preparation for her kindergarten class purchased a puzzle with the exact number of pieces as students in her class. The teacher wrote the name of each student on the back of each puzzle piece and placed it on each child’s desk. As she began her class she noticed from an empty desk that a child was missing. This was a problem because the lesson that she wanted to teach was that the students are all individual pieces that made up the puzzle of her class. Intuitively, she made the point that the students are all as unique as the pieces in a puzzle, and when one is missing the puzzle is incomplete. That’s the way life is; we need each other to complete this puzzle of our world, and when one of us is missing, the world is incomplete. Each one of us is a resource for the next, and each one is a teacher to the other.

Whether you are a carpenter, a doctor, a professor, a student, a homemaker, a singer, a dancer, or a garbage collector, each one of those roles is as critical as the next