One of our greatest teachers, Jesus Christ, repeatedly emphasized that, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” (And, in fact, he wasn’t the first to say this.) He didn’t say the Kingdom of Heaven is within you, but only once you follow a certain number of steps or once you have internalized enough of this or that truth or studied enough of this or that doctrine. No, he stated it as a simple and universal truth: The Kingdom of Heaven is within you. Period.

What does that mean? Most modern teaching of the concept proposed by Christ rests on an esoteric or metaphysical understanding, which implies that we can, with a certain amount of effort, foster an internal relationship with “God” or a Higher Power. While I don’t argue that this idea is beautiful and possibly true, I would like to offer a different perspective, which I believe was just as much Christ’s intended message as the previous explanation.

The Science of God

From a scientific perspective, we humans are beginning to understand that everything in the entire universe is made up of tiny discrete packets of energy. All of space-time — even that which appears to be empty space — is made of this energy. It is everywhere, permeates everything and is the fundamental building block of all that is, seen and unseen. Physicists sometimes refer to this as the “fabric of the universe”. You and I are made of it, as is the chair on which you sit, the planet on which you live and the galaxy in which you reside. Everything is made of these fundamental building blocks of energy.

Many respected and influential physicists are beginning to believe that this “fabric”, these “energy packets” have intelligence — or mathematical truth — encoded into them. They possess a sort of “universal DNA”, which represents fundamental or universal truth.

Furthermore, on the cutting edge of science, brilliant physicist Roger Penrose has postulated that this universal “intelligence” is what accounts for and gives rise to the experience of consciousness that we are all having. In other words, we (meaning all living organisms) possess a physical mechanism within our cells by which we latch on to this “universal intelligence” and this is what gives rise to our own individual awareness and personal drive. (Search on Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff for more information.)

This intelligence appears to possess some fundamental properties including a drive to thrive. It is “pro-life” at its most basic level and seems to encourage life to spring forth in even the unlikeliest of places and circumstances. Even in the scummiest, darkest most unlikely corners of our planet — the seemingly most “anti-life” environments — life not only springs forth but it thrives. This is amazing, inspiring and breathtaking! At the most basic and fundamental level of our beings, we are encouraged to thrive.

The Science of You

The Kingdom of Heaven is within you because you are made of it. Literally. Your entire being is made of these discrete packets of energy, or this fabric of the universe. This is scientific fact. You are connected to universal intelligence through a quantum connection at a cellular level. In other words, you are made of “God-energy”.

You can debate about whether or not this “fabric of the universe”, or these “energy packets” can be called “God”. However, if, as Roger Penrose (and many other brilliant physicists, beginning with Max Plank) postulates, this universal fabric has some sort of intelligence encoded into it, your debate becomes nothing but semantics. Call it what you like, it is intelligent and you are connected to it, whether you like it (or even admit it) or not.

Where do science and spirituality meet? They meet within you, at the most fundamental level of your being.

As per the law of expansion, this thought grows bigger and bigger, just as thought within your own mind does. It expands upon itself, elaborates, develops, grows. The universe is doing this constantly and this is the purpose of everything  - to contribute to the expansion of the universe. All diversity and contrast in all of its forms comes back to this.

So when you hear a statement such as “a thought becomes its own thinking mechanism” or something similar, this is what it means: The thought that you think gets sent out into the universe, which is simply the culmination of this massive bubble of God’s thought. And your thought takes its own direction within that.

If your thought grows enough and “gathers enough moss”, so to speak, in other words, attracting enough of the same unto it, it can take on a “persona” of its own and even become a life form, in a manner of speaking. This is where expansion comes from. This is how “new souls” are born (which are nothing more than new thought forms). Our population is expanding at an exponential rate, as you can imagine.

Even when you manifest into physical form here on Earth and you feel so real and your persona seems so dominant, you are, in actuality, nothing more than a thought, an idea, which carries out to its logical conclusion through your lifetime, whatever that may be. You are a thought, thought by your own higher self, which, again, is born of thought.

And why does your higher self think the thought that is you? For the same reason that any of us ever thinks a thought: to enjoy, to grow, expand and ultimately, to get to the next level – to make that quantum leap to higher and better and newer thought. And therein lies the raising of “universal consciousness” and the expansion of all that is.”

Words like “money”, “wealth” and “prosperity” don’t mean as much to the Universe as you may think. I’d like to explain this to you but, in order to do so, I need to give you a brief history of “money”.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MONEY

You may have heard it all before, but it’s important to understand “money” in order to grasp the concept of this article.

Originally, “money” was simply the easiest way to exchange goods and services. It had to be something which everyone agreed had value, but which was easy to transport at the same time. Usually, this took the form of coins made from precious metals. They were easy to carry, but had intrinsic value in themselves. The metals could be melted down and used for many other purposes.

Eventually, financial institutions realized that they could write “notes in lieu of” gold or other coins. These notes were easier to carry, but were backed by the word of the financial institution. The idea, of course, was that the financial institution was actually in possession of that amount of gold in its vaults, which could be claimed by the bearer of the note.

As time passed and people began to believe in and have faith in the “bank notes”, financial institutions realized that they don’t really need to have the gold reserves (or the value in any other form), because people simply had faith in the notes. At this point, money became nothing more than a concept that we all agree represents value. The paper is worthless, except that we all agree to and believe in its value.

To take things even further, money is now no longer even a concept on paper – it’s a number on a computer screen. Money is now virtual. It is a non-tangible representation of value.

I don’t wish to start a lengthy discussion about complicated economics and inflation. I simply wish to illustrate the idea that money isn’t actually real – it’s a concept, a virtual representation of value. As long as we all believe in it, it works.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH YOU?

Firstly, it’s important for you to understand that the word “money” is meaningless to the Universe, except in its original form, which is actually “value”. When you say, “I want money” or “I have money” or “money loves me”, what the Universe hears is “I want value”, “I have value”, “value loves me”.

Secondly, creation begins with being. This is a feeling Universe. You need to feel what you want and feel as though you have it now in order to manifest it into reality. So, if you want money, you need to BE value and FEEL of value. Let me say that again: you need to be value and feel of value!

Listen, my friend, if you’re trying to create wealth, and you do not truly believe in your own value, then you may have a long road ahead of you. You must be in alignment with your desires in order to manifest them and, in this case, that means you need to be in alignment with your own value.

WHAT TO DO NOW?

Start by beginning to believe in your value. From now on, instead of affirmations like:

• I am wealthy
• I have money
• I attract abundance

Say:

• I AM VALUE!
• I HAVE VALUE!
• I ATTRACT VALUE!

Begin to think about how you can be value in your life. Shift your focus from what you can get to what you can give. Wherever you go, show up as value. Ask yourself, “How can I be of value here? What could I do that would be of value?”

You are of unfathomable value to your higher self and to all that is. You need to get in touch with that and begin to feel it and live it daily. If you struggle with it, if you feel out of sync with it, then take 5 minutes a day to quiet your mind and focus inward. Your higher self wants nothing more than to convey to you your own value if you will be quiet and allow it.

Creating wealth is actually easy. Getting in touch with your own value – not as easy. The Law of Attraction dictates that you can only attract what you are sending out. Learn to believe in and send out your value. This is the language of the Universe and, by universal law, it absolutely must come back to you!

The Billboard Analogy and The Hidden Message We May Have Missed

Imagine there is a very large and imposing billboard advertisement along your route to work. The advertisement is for a local fitness center. It depicts a very athletic looking person and the caption reads, “Join Our Gym and You’ll Be BUFF, Like Me!”

Any person with even the most remote understanding of reality will know that there are a few steps missing between the “Join Our Gym” and “You’ll Be BUFF” statements. First, you will have to get up and go to the gym, regularly. Second, once you’re there, you will actually have to get on the equipment and do some sweating.

But, at an even more fundamental level than the above two steps, and before a person ever joins the gym, he or she should ask a crucial question: “Am I really going to commit to improving my health, well-being and physical fitness?” Without this crucial first step, none of the rest matters much.

Of all the people who pass that billboard every day, the majority will never join the gym. Many people will initially become enthusiastic and join the gym, however, failing to have made that first crucial commitment, will quickly forget their memberships. Others still will join the gym, but will become distracted by other things and will only ever achieve a mediocre level of fitness at best. A few people, however – a very few – will join the gym and they actually will become physically fit.

The Parable of the Sower Sowing Seeds

As I write the above analogy, I can’t help but think of the words of one of our greatest teachers, Jesus Christ. He told the story of a farmer who went out to sow seeds.

As the farmer threw the seeds to the ground, some seeds fell by the wayside and the birds came and ate them. Some seeds fell on rocky ground where they couldn’t take root. They sprang up immediately, but were scorched by the sun and withered because they had no root. Other seeds fell among thorns where they began to grow, but were choked by the environment. They were therefore never able to grow into their full potential. Some seeds, however, fell on good ground and were able to flourish into robust plants that brought forth fruit.

The question, “Are we really any better off for the film “The Secret”?”, is in fact inappropriate. It’s just a billboard – no more, no less – hailing to passers by, reminding them that they could be empowered if they so choose. The commitment involved is only implied.

The appropriate question is this: “What kind of soil are you?” Are you the wayside, the rocky ground, the thorny ground or the rich, fertile soil? Luckily, the choice is yours and no one else’s.

The important hidden message that the film “The Secret” only implied, but didn’t state explicitly, is that the Law of Attraction is a spiritual journey. In my own experience, this is an inescapable fact. It is about a relationship – the one between your conscious self and your Godself (or spirit, or Source or whatever you wish to call it). And, in fact, this relationship IS the payoff! The other stuff is just icing on the cake.

1) Why the need to surround oneself with people with similar karma?

2) Self-history of victim of incest and abuse, now emergent pattern in my child’s life as well. How do we both break free?

3) Is there a transformation of negative karma possible through doing good for others who suffer similarly?

I want to thank the reader for contacting me (and apologize that it’s taken me so long to address these insightful and thought provoking questions). I intend to address these questions in this article, but first, I want to make two things clear.

First, I will share from my own personal life and reveal that I too experienced the violation of incest from an immediate family member as a child. I say this only to assure you that I do know what you have been through – not just from a conceptual level but from an experiential level. This article is therefore written from a place of understanding and deepest humility.

The second thing I want to make clear is that I do not claim to supply the universal end all and be all answer to any question. That is not my intention (and if it were, I would stop reading now if I were you). My intention is to inspire you to your own new thought, to help you find a key that will unlock a new door in your mind.

Only your own new thought can take you to the next level or give you the growth and expansion you seek. And, only you can unlock that new door. No one outside of you can supply your ultimate answers because they are unique to you. I simply hope to inspire you to that new thought (whether you agree with the words in this article or not).

So, with that out of the way, let’s dig into those questions:

1) Why the need to surround oneself with people with similar karma?

In fact, you do not need to surround yourself with people with similar karma. You are attracting people with similar vibrations to your own. When your predominant vibration is one of “victimhood”, “violation”, “damage”, “blame” or any other thing (positive or negative), this becomes the predominant message that you are sending out into the universe and the universe absolutely will reflect the parallel back to you. This is inescapable due to the law of attraction. It is an absolute and you can count on it!

2) Self-history of victim of incest and abuse, now emergent pattern in my child’s life as well. How do we both break free?

This may be the hardest one for you to hear, but in my own experience, there is only one path to true freedom: You must completely let go of the illusion of “victimhood” – and even the “survivor” mentality – and drop the “blame cycle” entirely. As long as you are “blaming” or holding someone outside of yourself responsible for anything in you life, you can’t truly progress. Period. You must take full responsibility for everything in your current reality.

This is tough to hear and even tougher to do. (Believe me, I know!) But the good news is, if you can embrace this message, you will not believe the empowerment and freedom that lie ahead of you! It is like a magic wand that will transform you into something you didn’t know was possible. Really! (And, by the way, the most powerful thing you could do to help your child at this point is to demonstrate doing just that!)

3) Is there a transformation of negative karma possible through doing good for others who suffer similarly?

Again, this may be a little tough to hear, but very empowering once fully embraced: You do not need to “transform” anything negative. What you need is to shift your focus away from “negative” to “positive”.

You are growing, evolving and reaching for more. That’s why you are here on this planet right now. You can call this “transforming” if you like, but it isn’t about focusing on something negative until it becomes positive. (In my experience, this is a waste of energy.)

As I said in the original article, “Reliving painful experiences of the past, whether in this lifetime or the last, doesn’t help us!” Focus on where you want to go from here, what you want to grow into and give that all of your energy.

Now, it’s fine to help others who “suffer similarly”, as you say, if you resonate with that, but be careful not to align with the “suffering” part, because that’s what you’ll attract! It isn’t about paying a debt or making right a wrong, it’s about growth, expansion and forward movement, for you and for us all – for our global consciousness.

Feeling trapped in a cycle of negative karmic debt is one of the most disempowering and limiting beliefs that exist. If you feel you are paying some sort of karmic debt or experiencing karmic retribution in this life experience – if  you feel that your past lives are somehow messing up your here and now – then I invite you to begin to step into your power by taking one small baby step right now: forgive yourself for anything you think you’ve done wrong and accept your unfathomable value – to your higher self and to all that is.

To recap, aligning with your desires on a spiritual or energetic level will increase your manifestation power exponentially. Trying to align with the physical form of your desire without paying attention to the spiritual or energetic level can meet with much resistance. The reason for this is that you have many attachments, associations and limiting beliefs operating around the physical form of what you are trying to manifest – especially if it is something big or important to you.

Focusing on aligning with your desire on a spiritual or energetic level is more effective because that is where all creation begins and is therefore the logical starting point. In addition, you have far less resistance on the spiritual level because there is no form, therefore no association, no attachment. There is simply energy and potential.

In fact, on the spiritual level, manifestation is instantaneous. However, it takes consistency, cultivation and nurturing to bring this into the physical. Your manifestation already exists in the spiritual. You just need to align with it deliberately, regularly and consistently!

I have developed a very simple yet powerful technique for bypassing the physical and aligning directly with the energy or spirit of my creation. I call it my Creation at Source Technique and I want to share it with you now.

This is actually the third module of a 3-part meditation I do. The first module is a detachment exercise to center myself and get perspective.  The second module is connecting and aligning with my higher self. (You can’t intentionally manifest ANYTHING in this physical world very well if you are not in alignment with your higher self!).

You don’t have to do these first parts of the meditation but I do recommend that you center yourself and find calm detachment before you do the Creation at Source Technique. Otherwise you may still encounter resistance. (If you don’t have a good detachment technique, try my Stepping Back Technique. You can find it here.)

I also recommend that you seek alignment with your higher self regularly in any way you see fit. Otherwise any deliberate manifestation may be an uphill battle!

The Creation at Source Technique is as follows:

Close your eyes and imagine a large movie screen in front of you in your mind’s eye. On that screen, I want you to see an image that represents your desire. It doesn’t matter what the image is. It could be completely abstract to anyone else. The important thing is that it represents your desire to YOU. (If you are not a visual person, then just FEEL the essence of having your desire.)

Enjoy that image / feeling for a while or as long as you can before your resistance sets in or your ego begins to snap at you. Now, imagine the essence of your image lifting off the screen in the form of a golden cloud – ONLY the essence, not the physical form (or just feel it for you non-visuals). Allow the screen with the physical image to recede into the far distance until it disappears.

This golden cloud is a mass of energy – of subatomic particles vibrating and popping into and out of existence at lightening speed. Remember, it already exists in the spiritual! This energy is as radiant and warm as the sun itself. Allow it to be devoid of any physical representation other than a cloud of energetic light.

Allow this cloud to float towards you, enveloping you, bathing you in warmth and light. As it engulfs your body, you can feel the tickle of the vibrating energy moving over your skin. You are now completely immersed in this ball of energy and light. Allow it to soak in and saturate your skin. Breathe it deeply into your lungs. As you do so, you can feel it enter your bloodstream and carry this vibration to every cell of your being. Allow every cell in your body to align with and take on this vibration.

As you do this, you may feel a real buzzing through your body. Your heart rate and breathing may increase and you may even feel a need to release energy physically by shouting or clapping your hands or stomping your feet, etc. Go ahead and do this. It doesn’t mean the energy will dissipate away. On the contrary, you are actually beginning to move it into the physical through physical action.

Soak in this sumptuous energy with the same blissful, relaxed, detached attitude you would have soaking in the rays of the sun on the beach – with no further agenda or intention than to feel wonderful in this moment. Enjoy it right now in this moment.

Allow yourself to return to calm, but still entirely saturated with this warm vibration. Go into your day with the intention of maintaining this vibration in every cell of your being. Intend to feel good.

I hope you have found this blog entry useful. Please leave a comment to let me know if this helped you or to make a suggestion about something you want me to write about. For now, I wish you peace and joy.

But here’s the deal: manifestation ALWAYS begins on the spiritual level and, in fact, is instantaneous on the spiritual level (or “energy” level, if you prefer). By the power of your desire, a seed is planted in the spiritual, which, if nurtured, will bring forth fruit into the physical. Now, the truth is, you are planting these seeds constantly, most of the time unconsciously. Simply by desiring something, you plant a seed. Focusing intention on your desire is the deliberate planting of the seed.

The biggest problem is that most of us are trying to align with our desires on a physical level, completely bypassing the spiritual (energetic). Now, this can work for some of us, if we don’t have too much resistance to what we’re trying to manifest or if we have found a way to overcome our resistance. However, for many of us it’s a difficult way to go about it because our resistance to the physical version or representation of our desire just gets in there, causing misalignment.  Our resistance is just too strong.

It’s actually also completely backwards. Trying to align with your desires on the physical without aligning on the spiritual is like trying to find ripe tomatoes on the seedling. I suppose it can happen, but it really isn’t the best way to go about it.

Consciously and intentionally bringing yourself into alignment with your desires on a spiritual or energetic level is not only the deliberate planting of the seed, it is the nurturing and cultivation that will bring your manifestation forth into its fullest blossom. And the good news is, it’s easier than consciously trying to align with the physical form of your desire!

Watch out for my next post, because I am going to share with you an awesome technique for easily aligning with your desire on a spiritual level. It’s relaxing, fun and only takes 5 or 10 minutes! So STAY TUNED!

I hope you found this blog entry useful. Please leave a comment to let me know if this is helping or make a suggestion about something you want me to write about. For now, I wish you peace and joy.

To your magnificent journey!

Hi everybody and THANK YOU for all the awesome comments you are leaving on my blog!! I have spent the past several months focusing on another project and, as a result, have left this blog on the back burner. But your wonderful comments call to me and I am eager to get back to contributing here.

As this blog is entitled “Change Your Paradigm”, I want to talk about just that – changing your paradigm!

I recognize that this entire life journey in which we are taking part is an evolution – a journey of growth and expansion, with no particular destination other than to come out the other side further, broader, at a higher level of understanding than before. And hopefully to encourage others along the way, so that we may raise global consciousness while we are here and leave this place a little better than we found it – for everyone. This is a marvelous undertaking

As I seek to move forward on my own journey, as I seek expansion, enlightenment, growth, as I seek to “uplevel” myself, I seek out those truths around me that align with my inner knowing and pursue them. Of course,“truth” is d ifferent for each of us. This leads to “contrast”, meaning we will be presented with things that are “truth” for another, but which do not align with us.

This can become a gritty and, at times, even painful process as we sift through the contrast looking for truth. As you find things that expand your knowing, you are sometimes challenged in your belief system. Growth, by definition, means that you MUST stretch beyond that which you have been up to this point. This can feel uncomfortable as belief systems are challenged, as those things that you have clung to up until now must be released in order to make room for the new.

One of the great masters, Jesus Christ once said that you can not put new wine into old wineskins, lest the old skins break and all will be lost – both the skins and the wine. We go around trying to fit new truths into our old or existing paradigm so that we can still cling to what is comfortable, so that we can still feel in control. But at some point, this won’t work any more. If the old paradigm is stiff and inflexible, it will eventually shatter and at that moment, we can feel very lost for a time – out of control.

Whenever you are in the throes of contrast, when you feel like you don’t know which way is up anymore, REJOICE, because you are on the verge of a breakthrough! Try to hang on to that thought. You are growing.  When you feel lost, simply seek comfort from your Higher Self. Give it over to your Higher Power and LET GO! When you let go, you can release needing to know. And when you can release needing to know, then, like an innocent child, you can simply be open to the wonder that unfolds in front of you without being tied to an “agenda”. The miracle unfolding in front of you is YOU!

I hope you have found this blog entry useful. Please leave a comment to let me know if this is helping or make a suggestion about something you want me to write about. For now, I wish you peace and joy. Please know that no matter who you are, no matter what you have done or manifested in your experience, YOU ARE a perfect expression of God.

Does the ego have an “agenda” of its own? Does it actually have a mind of its own so that we must bring it into submission lest it sabotage our experience? To begin to answer this question, we must first talk about what ego is and what it isn’t.

Ego isn’t something that truly owns you, overpowers you or takes possession of you, although it may very much feel that way at times. You always have dominion over ego, but you do have to take this dominion and assert it. I’ll explain.

Let’s talk about what ego is. Ego is the veil or shroud over your (spiritual) eyes that perpetuates the illusion of “reality” around you. Think of ego as a set of “virtual reality” goggles that you have put on to experience some sort of fantasy – where the “you” is your Higher Self and the “fantasy” is this life experience. These virtual reality goggles were created by Universal Mind (of which you are a part, or a droplet) so that It (through you) may experience.

You should know that without the goggles, this experience, or game, wouldn’t work. You should also know that you have chosen to put them on and participate in this game and you continue to choose to participate in this game, otherwise you wouldn’t still be here.

Now, ego is very powerful indeed. It is so by design. The game wouldn’t work otherwise. As you buy into the illusion that this reality is real – that you can actually be threatened, that you are your body and that “danger” is real (which is a thrill, admittedly) – it can certainly feel like the ego has a mind and agenda of its own – and that agenda is to have dominion over you.

However, even the idea that ego could have a mind of its own and rule you is an illusion. It is as impossible as the idea that your virtual reality goggles have come to life and taken you over (very much Doc Oc style from Spiderman). You always have dominion over ego and, in fact, you could take the goggles off if you so choose. This is what meditation is for. It’s not to bring ego into submission so much as to let the goggles slide down your nose for a moment, peer over the top and remind yourself, “Whew, oh yeah, this is a wacky virtual trip!”

So, you can choose to hate ego, curse it, see it as the enemy and try as you may to bring it into submission, but that’s kind of silly. Smarter is to remember that you chose to put ego on for the ride and embrace it for what it is – a trippy ride. And while you’re at it, thank Universal Mind for this awesome day out at the fun fair!

I hope you have found this blog entry useful. Please leave a comment to let me know if this is helping or make a suggestion about something you want me to write about. For now, I wish you peace and joy. Please know that no matter who you are, no matter what you have done or manifested in your experience, YOU ARE a perfect expression of God.

And, I know, as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, that he inevitably will go through adolescence and he will become a teenager, and then an adult. This will happen in what will seem like the blink of an eye.

He makes passing comments to me like:

• Whew, my armpits stink, I think I need to start wearing deodorant!
• Hey, I think my voice just cracked! Did you hear that?
• Gosh, look, aren’t the hairs on my legs starting to turn black?

I take him in my arms and smile and say, “Yes, you are growing up so fast!” while my heart aches, wishing I could tell him, “Enjoy the journey, enjoy the journey, enjoy the journey!”

And, while scheming away on my plans for magnificent manifestations, I can feel my Higher Self, nestling me into the bosom of the Universe and saying the same to me, “Enjoy the journey, enjoy the journey, enjoy the journey!”