The coronavirus has sent us all home, so to speak, to assess and re-assess who we are, what we are doing, and why we are doing it. It has mandated a break for eight billion of us from our mindless, urgent, spot-light focus on the particulars of our lives and encouraged us to examine our lives with a flood-light, so to speak. It shows us the little things in our lives from a more accurate perspective. They are little things. Why then, do they appear so large, important, and immediate? Time in isolation allows us to explore these things, if we choose, yet there is no such thing as “isolation.”

All of us, all of Life, and everything we encounter, have encountered, and will encounter belongs to the Universe. They are the Universe. We belong to the Universe. We are the Universe. What is there to be “isolated” from? Can wet be isolated from water? “Time in isolation” is time with the Universe. Every time, anytime, anywhere is time with the Universe. The coronavirus is giving us opportunities to investigate this. If your experience at home includes children, that is time with the Universe. If it includes in-laws, that is time with the Universe. If you have no home to go to, that is time with the Universe also.

No matter how much you dwell on the past, you won't change it.

The only way to change the effects of it is to release it.

What you've done in your past does not have to define who you are today.

We are all going to make "mistakes." All of those experiences give us the lessons we need to evolve. Take full responsibility for what happened, make amends, then move on.

In this video, I discuss how to let go of your past. We all have things we regret or offenses we're holding on to or hurt we are harboring.

When you remember that everyone has conditioned thoughts running their lives (including you) it can relieve unnecessary stress from any relationship.

Everyone’s individual unconscious codes and programs hide the miracles and magnificence of who they really are. 

When someone in your life upsets you… 

Ultimately it’s not about the situation or the circumstances, it’s about the unconscious stories and beliefs around them. 

We’re all constantly being triggered by hidden programs that can have us lashing out and saying and doing things that are not kind, tolerant or loving. This leads to feeling separated from love and going into the low frequency codes of guilt, shame and blame.

As they say," It is all in the mind". Your mind is your most prized possession, but it is only of consequence when used wisely.

The world is changing and people have started talking about the "New Earth". Did our minds ever conceive of anything so drastic and dramatic entering the lives of humanity, and then turning it into a Global scenario?  Well, life has changed permanently, although we can still agree with the cliched phrase, which is that "Change is the only Constant" 

Over the years, in the mad rush over materialism, human values had taken a back seat. The stresses of life were mainly, "What what one could, or couldn't buy".And yet, all that mulling over seems to be a thing of the past. We are living in the times of a Pandemic, which has brought the world down to its knees. 

The garden grew this way and

that as a circle of flowers gathered

to discuss the meaning of life. The

tulip leaned toward the peony and

asked, “Is there a purpose to any of

this?” The peony, drooping toward

the ground, replied, “Oh, can’t you

see? Our purpose is to open when

filled with light.” The rose shook

its pistil, pondering, “If this is a gift,

then who is the giver?” The shrubs

and trees fell silent till the iris gently

swayed, offering under the wind,

“The giver is that great force that

causes us to break ground.” A young

boy was listening and thought they

were talking about the fate of young

boys. He told his grandfather who

knew the boy had heard the

secret of all desire.

I recently hosted a Facebook Live session filled with tips on how to cope with the anxiety you’re going through right now with the coronavirus and having to stay at home.

I wanted to check in this week and see how you were all doing. Plus, I thought I’d put my 10 Tips in this blog so you can have them handy. I hope they help to make your time at home a little easier and a little less stressful.

Here they are—10 Tips to Survive Staying at Home:

The coronavirus mandate to “stay at home” has meant different things to different people. For some, it has meant freedom from external-world busyness and distractions and a return to inner peace and quiet. To others, it has felt like unwanted confinement and loss of in-person social contact. Some have lost their jobs and incomes; others, like healthcare workers, have had no choice but to leave the “safety” of home to provide critical services, despite the risks. All of us are suddenly facing issues of life and death. Our entire world, inside and out, has changed radically and continues to do so. In the midst of these huge ongoing changes, what does home mean?

We each discover the Timeless Center through love and suffering. And just seeing the Center burn under everything changes the way we look at the stars, the way we hold the wood we gather. It changes what we see while making love. Once entering this moment, waves of feeling ache close to the bone. I used to think that ache was sadness, and spent many years trying to get rid of it. But now, it is deeper than not getting what I want or losing what I need. Now I feel this ache, the way the earth feels its core grind about that central fire that no one sees. It is the slight burn of being here. Thankfully, we are brought in accord with life by making a covenant with the sweet ache of being here, each of us hollowed, in time, to an instrument of care. It’s how the fire of life that no one sees keeps singing. This is our destiny: to awaken our soul by loving the Center under everything. This is the hard-earned peace, which no one can teach, that keeps the light of Spirit rising in the world.

A Question to Walk With: Describe what it means to you to wake close to the bone. How would you describe the difference between sadness and a feeling of depth?

Have you heard the research from the universities of Chicago and Munich? If you have a regional accent, then it’s likely you could be earning a fifth less than your colleagues with neutral accents. This is huge news for anyone who cares about their financial potential!

The way you speak has a direct effect on your current finances and your earning potential… but wait. I recommend taking this a step farther than just polishing your accent and really dive deep into how you speak.

How Do You Speak?

Have you ever paid attention to the way you speak? Maybe you take time to think about what you say before you say it in a business meeting or job interview, making sure you select the right words so you communicate clearly and effectively, but have you thought about it any deeper than that? Obviously you understand that the way you communicate in certain situations can have an impact on the outcome of that situation, but what else can your words impact?

I never used to think overly much about how I spoke. I didn’t ask myself if the way I was speaking was genuine for me rather than how I’d been raised and convinced to speak. I didn’t examine my words to see if they built me up or tore me down. I didn’t really take the time to think if I was speaking like me, presenting myself accurately, or inviting what I really wanted through my words.

I didn’t yet understand what a huge impact my words have on my life.

I was asking Spirit what topic I should write about and I heard: “Talk about the one you’re in” and I smiled. So … I am writing about SURRENDER!  I recently spent the entire morning working on surrender as I rescheduled our trip to Peru. It is such a bummer, and at the same time totally necessary right now.

The day before, around 6:30pm, I got a call from my travel guru who said, “We must decide on Peru – in like 36 hours. Everybody who has signed up for the trip has to make a decision, not just us.” My heart sunk as I realized we would have to contact over 35 people and get an answer within the next 36 hours.  We had been asking for information for three weeks as to what we could do and what the options were … and they were not great. And of course, we all want to go.

The trip to Peru was scheduled for late June, which of course seems so far away; but the reality of it is, as far as international flights go, we could not wait any longer.  So, we had to make the decision very, very quickly to reschedule what dates we could reschedule during a time when the travel industry in general is closed. Hotels are closed, employees are on furlough … so the connections were sparse.

It has been really challenging. And I know this travel situation is not something that is new. It is happening for everyone. So, I am not complaining about it. To try to reschedule things and work on all this stuff without being able to get contacts, emails, responses, and communication within a foreign country was not an easy thing. So, that morning, I surrendered.

In my heart I knew everyone was going to be disappointed, but at the same time I held onto the thought that we still get to go. We just bump it out a year. That was the first surrender. It was certainly a challenge for me and my sense of responsibility because it is my group. I am taking 31 people to Peru. It is my responsibility, my risk, my people. They are MY responsibility. And at the same time, my hands were tied in a lot of ways and I did not have control. I’m not able to just snap my fingers and change it or figure it out or force it. Like there is nothing in my ability to do besides surrender. And so that is why I thought this would be a great topic to write about … because that’s how I started.

I had to sit in the energy of surrender … versus what is the other option?

Just give up?

Just quit?

Cancel everything and just shut down and go hide away and hide under the blankets and be depressed?

That is an option as well.

BUT it is not an option for me.

So, I surrender.

In India, spiritual seekers come across the Sanskrit term sacchidānanda, that is,consciousness, existence, and bliss as experienced when encountering Ultimate Reality, or Brahman.

In our journey overview video for our February 2021 journey: Shiva Dancing: Sacred South India With Andrew Harvey, Andrew states: “We are children of divine joy. If we build that joy and nourish that joy, it will grow and grow and finally, it will open into total liberation.”

Andrew is the founder of Sacred Activism, a merging of the passion for God and the passion for activism. His statement on being “children of divine joy” is important to think about when considering a journey through India, a foolproof way to water this divine joy so might it blossom into “total liberation.”

Here’s how to best connect with the soul of India. This is critical for connecting with the soul of who we ought to become if we are to cast light through the perilous shadows currently pervading the world.

Embrace the Soul With Monastic Life In an Ashram 

A Question to Walk With: Describe a simple detail that carries the essence of a significant relationship in your life. What does this detail represent? Honor this detail by talking about it and its significance to the person it involves.

This excerpt is from my book of poems in progress, Elsewhere.

Did you truly choose this path?

The Practice:
Find your own way.

Why?

The human body has about 100 trillion cells (plus another ten quadrillion microscopic critters hitching a ride, most of them beneficial or harmless). Each one of your cells has aims – goals, in a sense – controlled by its DNA: cells conduct processes aimed at particular functions, like building bones or gobbling up harmful invaders. Cells also work together in larger and larger assemblies in pursuit of broader goals, such as the 100 billion neurons in your brain that run the nervous system, which as a whole is itself the master regulator of the body.

In effect, there are layers, hierarchies, of goals in the body – and a similar architecture of aims in the mind. For example, operating right now is the goal of moving your eyes over these words, which serves the goal of understanding them, which serves larger goals such as desires to learn new things, new skills, and to be truly happy.

In short, whether in the body or the mind, there is no life without goals. Trying to “transcend” goals is itself a goal. The only question is: Are your goals good ones? In other words, do they lead to happiness and benefits for you and others rather than suffering and harms?

Bette Davis spoke this classic line in the film All About Eve, and it’s certainly apropos for the world we are currently in.

Unless you are in deep denial, the fact is that the rug has been pulled out from under all of us and it’s going to be bumpy for quite some time.

As we adjust to being in a collective dark night of the soul, we are individually figuring out how wrap our heads around the fact that right now there are no real answers: no one can say when/if the virus will end; when/ if certainty and stability will return; or if life as we once knew it will return.

Whether you are suffering through this process or are doing great with it (or bouncing between happiness and misery), most of us are now learning to adapt to “being with not knowing.”

Times are tough for a lot of people right now. I get that’s an understatement but I am fortunate to be able to continue to serve and keep my business doors open so I feel I am in a position of privilege and can help people, and so I am, in any way I can.  The other day, I felt moved to send money to an old friend whom I know is out of work right now, just as a gift. We’ve known each other for years and had attended a woman’s group together when I lived in the US full time. She posted on Facebook that this happened to her. So my spidey senses went ding ding and I sent it.

When she received it, she called me and said, “Oh, Colette I can’t believe you did this.  Thank you, but I really can’t accept this. I’m good. I just know Spirit is going to look after me. I am really tuning in to manifesting something.” 

I paused and thoughtfully said, “Well, how did you think that was gonna happen? Maybe Spirit just told me to send you cash because you’re not working. You’re a single mom with small kids and no job! That is pretty darn good manifesting!”

All she could say was, “…Oh!”