There is a lot of discussion these days about the rights of individuals within a society. So many people are upset about one thing or another—masks, vaccines, voting rights, human rights, economic inequality. Beliefs can divide as well as unite. At times it becomes “self” vs. “others,” “me” vs. “them”; some people start to believe in conspiracies. There is often fear in these conflicts—fear of difference, fear of the world beyond the self. When people are frightened, they close doors and claim their “sovereignty.” Or they fall into the trap of hating others, and this is how wars begin. If people opened their hearts and arms, we could live in a world where everyone has both freedom and rights (without infringing on others’ rights).

Is this possible? How do we respond to the anger and fear arising now? Perhaps we could begin by focusing on empathy and kindness. These basic human values are sometimes forgotten along the way. What do we want, as a people, as a planet? Peace on Earth? As long as we are trying to convince someone else that our way is “right,” we will never live in a peaceful world. Nothing is just one thing. And no one person can stand alone and survive without the support of a caring community. You and I may not agree on anything, but can we accept that and expand into something greater, like the willingness to allow difference? Universal peace begins in each of our lives, in each of our hearts.

I've Been Thinking...

A friend said to me the other day, “You know, Maria, some people are deeply committed to their unhappiness. They don’t want to change, and there is nothing you can do about it. It is what it is.”

Wow, I thought to myself. Is that really true? Are there people out there who choose to be unhappy? People who have resigned themselves to believing that joy and happiness are out of reach for them?

Although the word karma has firmly entered common speech, its importance and value is rarely understood. The Sanskrit word karma simply means “action,” but the word implies actions that have consequences. In itself that’s not a foreign concept—in fact, saying that actions have consequences expresses an everyday idea. But the Indian concept of karma is much more subtle and profound. The doctrine of karma includes the following implications:

• Every action leads to a result, however unpredictable.
• These results are calculated by a kind of cosmic computer that balances everything in Nature.
• The consequences of your actions are not randomly good or bad—they are organized in an evolutionary way to move your forward.
• “Good” karma actually means evolutionary karma. “Bad” karma is the opposite—it suspends or delays your forward motion or growth.
• Karma exists to preserve the memory of the past so that nothing is lost.
• No karma is random

If you put these ideas together, they form a doctrine that goes far beyond “everything happens for a reason.” The reason is evolution. This in fact is why the doctrine of karma originated, so reveal that despite the ups and downs of everyday life and the random reactions we have to everything that happens to us, there is a larger karmic pattern.

In difficult times life seems to be full of risks and attempting to avoid threats is the only strategy anyone seems to follow. We fear worst-case scenarios, and almost automatically worst-case scenarios become a habitual way of looking at the world. No matter how much you try to avoid risks, however, and minimize threats, happiness is degraded by anxiety. If you grow old and look back on your life saying, “I was extremely careful,” that’s not the same as looking back and saying, “I created a happy life for myself.”

Your soul is a fundamental part of you and it’s constantly feeling and listening to everything that’s happening in and around your life. It’s almost like a best friend standing by your side. If your soul sees that something’s not right or you’re heading for a negative turn, it’s going to do something about it.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “follow your passion”. It sounds like wonderful advice.

But when it comes to creating a life you absolutely love, and making your dreams come true…

Following your passion doesn’t work. It won’t make your life better.

The advice sounds good, in theory. You think, “If I follow my passion, it will take me where I want to go.” You believe that following your passion will mean the entire journey will be happy. It’s also advice that you hear all the time. 

You have to know that you are fully capable of meeting whatever is happening in your life. At some point, your confidence and your belief in yourself began to erode away. It was probably about the time you began asking people how you were doing. 

Energetically you are in a constant state of change, this offers endless opportunities to refresh your life story. Now, truly is the perfect time to not just discover, but drop any unhealthy beliefs you have been loyal to. With a little discipline these narratives can be rewritten. Keep reading and discover how to update your life story by changing your mindset.

I love this analogy of how much influence each of us has on the consciousness of our planet:

Imagine a beautiful clear pool of water. Imagine that every time someone is negative, mean, or harmful to themselves or others, a drop of black water is dropped into the clear beautiful pool. With enough people whose energy is dark, it doesn't take too long before that clear pool starts to get darker and murky.

Now imagine that every time someone is kind and caring with themselves and others, and every time someone is joyful, a drop of crystal-clear water is dropped in the pool. With enough happy, kind, and caring people, the water begins to clear. 

Often there are very subtle threads that hold us to life and to the belief that everything is ultimately worthwhile. They reveal themselves in sometimes overlooked daily details: the smell of freshly baked bread from the kitchen, the way the sun highlights the red amaryllis on the dining room table, a snatch of song from a neighbor’s apartment. All these make up life’s tapestry and fill us with delight if we are able to fully receive them. They balance out any sadness or dismay about how things are unfolding and uplift us at the most unexpected moments. This is the magic of allowing your life to carry you to the heart of all experience: Heavenly gifts are always arriving.

The landing of astronauts on the moon on July 20, 1969, led to a photo that changed civilization … a picture of Earth on the Moon’s horizon. The photo of the blue-green Earth suspended in space radically changed the public’s consciousness of the Earth as being a planet of unlimited resources. The first time the public saw the distant Earth, as a small gem isolated in the massive blackness of empty space, it changed humanity’s consciousness. No longer was the Earth viewed as a vast planet, for it was now perceived as a small “spaceship” hurtling through space.

I've Been Thinking...

The other morning while I was still in New York City, I met up with my cousin and her husband for coffee. We got to reminiscing about the past—back when we were younger, when our kids were still little (her daughter just had a baby), and when life just felt, well, simpler.

Whether you call it personal growth or spiritual evolution, it would be helpful to disentangle the threads of advice, myth, mysticism, outworn traditions, and stubborn conditioning that block a person’s progress. For that purpose, there is one thing needed for personal growth and also spiritual evolution. With this one thing, the experiences of daily life can be easily sorted out and underlying reality revealed.

The name of this one thing is second attention, and even if the term is new to you, you already have second attention. The issue is how to use it. First attention is directed at any experience you might be having. Whatever you are paying attention to right this minute occupies first attention. Reading this post will lead to another experience, perhaps getting up to stretch or have a cup of coffee, and then you might make a phone call, and in this way first attention guides you through your day.

There’s so much talk in spiritual books about giving up your expectations.

Consider this instead: Give up your expectations that you should have no expectations.

It’s not always your expectations that cause you suffering but the degree to which you are attached to them.

The expectation that you will have no expectations is sure to cause you much suffering as its not realistic.

As humans, we tend to love anything that helps us glean more about our personalities. Whether it be the Myers Briggs test, horoscopes, Strength Finder test, or astrology, these can all help us gain an insight into our deeper selves and how we operate best in the world. In this article, I want to introduce you to a modality called Human Design, which uses your birth information to reveal your genetic design. 

Maria Shirver's Sunday Paper

I've Been Thinking...

This past Wednesday, I sat in my hotel room in New York and watched President Biden deliver his one-year anniversary speech. 

During his address, Biden spoke about what he felt he had done well during his first year in office (including passing the infrastructure bill, getting 63 percent of the country fully vaccinated, and reducing unemployment). He also spoke about what had surprised him (like Republicans not really wanting to help him at all) and where he felt he could do better (including communicating with the American people, getting out of D.C. more, and reducing inflation).