In 2007, I attended a weekend retreat at Omega Institute with six Nobel Peace Laureates.

During this retreat, the 800+ people in attendance were updated about various situations that were currently occurring in the world. I listened to Nobel Laureates’ stories and felt their experiences and pain, as some described how they had risked their lives for the greater good of humanity.

At first, I questioned if I, Temple Hayes, was even making any difference at all for humanity. As I listened and processed what was shared, I became angry about our cultural values that condone greed and need. However, when I reflected and allowed myself to look at these talks from an Enlightened Rebel perspective, I began to see a common thread. I realized the “missing” within our society today is we have become desensitized to Life Rights. We are forgetting to teach our children the value of life in all living things. We need to engage ourselves in teaching our children the value of nature and life. We have policies that dominate over principles. We are bombarded with similar and repeated events in the news media that can leave even the most Enlightened Rebel feeling powerless, overwhelmed, and apathetic.

Everything can truly be on earth as it is in heaven, when the time of separation is over and the time of unification is at hand. Unification with God, unification with all others, and with every living thing. This is what God has come to tell us once more through the messengers of today. You will know them as God’s messengers because they will all be bringing the same message: We Are All One. This is the only message that matters. The fact that you have so far failed to receive it (you have heard it often, but you have failed to receive it) is what has caused every misery, every sorrow, every conflict, every heartache in your experience. It has caused every murder, every war, every rape and robbery, every assault and attack, mental, verbal, and physical. It has caused every illness and dis-ease, and every encounter with what you call death. The idea that we are not One is an illusion.

The human race has been living with illusions for a long time. This is not because the human race is stupid, but because the human race is very smart. Humans have understood intuitively that illusions have a purpose, and a very important one. Most humans have simply forgotten that they know this. And they have forgotten that their forgetting is itself part of what they have forgotten – and therefore part of the illusion. Now it is time for humans to remember.

The Solstice is an especially opportune time for us to begin to recognize that we are the light. We are that which is revealing.

Life is not about seeking, it's about revealing. What is here for us to reveal is pocketed away in the darkness, which is the space where we come into contact with the rest of who we are.

We're here to bridge the languages of the light and the dark so that we bridge the worlds of the known and the unknown.

As we step into the wholeness of our being we no longer hold those worlds of light and dark as separate from each other. When we steward our creativity, an aspect of us beyond the logical, thinking mind, we allow the miraculous to occur with every breath, and step, that we take.

You recognize that you can't do it wrong, you can only take longer to consciously reveal the Essential Self. As you learn to trust the Self, you begin to step into your creative essence and live as you are intended to live – as Creator.

This is our time to shine. It is your moment to come forth as the light that you are and weave it into the canvas that is your life.

Some experiences and moments in our lives seem to just stick to us like dirty gum on the bottom of our shoe. 

If you’ve ever had an ex you just couldn’t get over, a fight you couldn’t get out of your head, or an experience or resentment that has stayed with you for years, you know what I mean. 

Sometimes we become energetically tied to another person or a situation from our past, and we have to find a way to reclaim our energy and regain our sense of sovereignty. A cord cutting ritual is the perfect way to do just that. 

When you know you’re ready to release, but the old pain, old thoughts, or old patterns keep haunting your mind, and still feel real in your body, these rituals can offer you some freedom. They will help you bring your energy back to yourself and finally move on for good. 

Why we get stuck with old memories or resentments 

It’s natural that certain experiences or people stick with us and are hard to shake. Some relationships transform us and make us who we are, certain memories mark pivotal moments, and some experiences become part of the way we define ourselves. 

Is there really such a thing as good luck? Why do some people have all the good fortune, while others seem to miss it? Is there some sort of secret formula for drawing luck into your life?

Let me set you straight! There’s a force that works through your soul determining what’s possible or impossible, showing you the difference between success and failure and above all, helping you discover who you are. This force has no limits to what it can do for you—it’s the power of your belief.

I wasn’t sure whether I needed to set my clock forward an hour or back an hour. After he so confidently gave me his answer, I questioned him, “Are you sure?” Being the subtle character that he was, my dad said to me, “Why did you call me if you did not plan to believe the answer I gave to you?” This experience has stayed with me most of my adult life, for I reflect about it
in a deeper way now. He was right, of course. Why would I call upon him if I did not have faith and trust in his answer? From various experiences with him in my youth, my father had rarely witnessed my total trust in him. I had seen him respond to so many events in such a reactive and insane way that I could never completely relax, let go, or be myself around him.

What if you were to allow your emotions to become devotion, instead of being suppressed?

When the thinking mind is overworking, we have a tendency to generate a life of rigidity and fixed emotions. Our actions in the world become mentally driven, and we lose touch with the essence of what matters most in life.

We are in the midst of the Holy Days, a time of year when light is more easily accessible and, no matter our specific circumstances, we are each gifted with this light. We get to choose to receive this delight, joy, love, and presence that is so available to us now. 

Joy is present as we embrace all emotions – even the ones we don’t typically like to feel – because they are an attempt to ground the Self. All emotions are expressions of love trying to organize into a system of flow. Each is equal and necessary for your wholeness to land here, in a body.

Through the power of free-will choice, forgiveness, and our creative capacity, we each have the ability to take any energy – maybe you're experiencing life circumstances that feel black and white, rigid, or dull – and open into a full-color life experience. 

Meditation is often understood as learning how to “not think”, but many find that they quickly lose focus after just a few minutes (or seconds) of trying.

However, when done correctly and intentionally, meditation can have a great deal more power and potential than simply emptying your mind. The practice of meditation can change your energy, shift your frequency, and act as an empowering spiritual reset.

In this post, you’ll learn what your “frequency” is, how it influences your emotions, and what you can do to turn meditation into a life-changing practice that isn’t just about counting your breaths and closing your eyes.

As a result, you’ll learn how to raise your vibration more easily, more consistently, and with more control so you can welcome each day with more confidence, calm, and clarity!

Of what use is our endless struggle to adapt and even achieve some of the more common culturally-valued prizes, knowing (as all of us do) that nothing we can ever possess has the power to stave off our own inevitable passing? 

The following quotation that I just love is from Vernon Howard, a great twentieth century mystic, that  not only helps to put this idea that we’re looking at right now into proper perspective for us, but as we’ll see, it also hints at a far more appealing possibility at the same time. He said, “It is wise to seek immortality, for time defeats all other ambitions.”

I remember the first time I heard that. I just knew that he was alluding to something that required my full attention, because obviously, everything that we do… or I should say conversely, nothing we do, that we win from this world… we can take with us. But apparently there is another order of life, another order of our self, that we can enter into that allows us to have the best of both worlds but never fear losing what we have won in time on this planet.

Your spiritual journey and your life journey are actually one and the same. There is no such thing as a journey without Spirit (even if you don’t believe in it – you have a soul, and that alone is an important thing to note!). We are all spiritual beings here to have a human experience. If you’re a spiritual seeker, it simply means you’ve chosen to walk through your life with a conscious awareness of yourself and your relationship to your Higher Power and all that entails. 

On the path of personal growth and spiritual awakening, it’s natural to have questions! There are so many different ways to invest in your self-discovery and growth. Each new tool, concept, or practice can help you live a fulfilling, Spirit-led life. 

Recently, I reached out to our community to find out the burning questions you have about spirituality, personal growth, and all things woo-woo. Today I want to share my answers and insights with you to some of the most common questions I received. 

Why do you fear connecting to others? Have you noticed that your life is more enjoyable when you stay in your comfort zone and never put yourself out there? I know you might be wondering how to overcome your fear of connecting to others. 

I'm here to help! First, let's start by defining this fear and what it means for your life.

Fear is a natural human emotion that can protect us from danger or hurt. It helps us avoid situations where we feel vulnerable and unsafe, but sometimes it tends to go hand in hand with anxiety.

Fear can be defined as a "powerful emotion that makes you afraid or anxious about something harmful, unpleasant, or threatening." When we feel fear, our heart rate increases and adrenaline flows through our bodies. This feeling in the body is a natural response to danger. 

The problem with fear is when it becomes an overused reaction to situations. Because of this, many people have developed post-traumatic stress disorder. They are being exposed to too many trauma-related stimuli without time to process their feelings about them. 

A couple had two little boys, ages eight  and ten, who were excessively mischievous.

The two were always getting into trouble and their parents could be confident that if any mischief occurred in their town, their two young sons were involved in some capacity. The parents were at their wit’s end as to what to do about their sons’ behavior. The parents had heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children in the past, so they contacted him and he agreed to give it his best shot. He asked to see the boys individually, so the eight-year-old was sent to meet with him first.

The clergyman sat the boy down and asked him sternly, “Where is God?” The boy made no response, so the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, “Where is God?”

Have you ever noticed that the more negative you get, the more difficult everything about your life becomes, including being able to do the simplest things?

Even your intention to work spiritually in some way -- to develop and transcend yourself -- now sits in the hands of a very negative self, a dense level of self that sees nothing but darkness ahead of it. 

This dense sense of how impossible life seems when we’re negative is the direct expression of a certain kind of resistance that wells up in certain “dense” parts of us when life suddenly says ­-- usually in the form of some unexpected and unwanted event -- “Would you like to live in a larger world, without as much fear? Would you like to be less resentful, worried, or angry? Do you want the power to be more at peace with yourself?”

I’ve always felt a special bond with Dr. Joan Borysenko. I remember watching her on PBS and learning about her groundbreaking work on how our mind and body are connected and how the power of our mind can greatly improve our health. I was thrilled when I got to see Joan live on stage back then at the old Harvard Theater in Cambridge.

Little did I know that years later, I’d be fortunate enough to share the stage with Joan at many conventions and events during our days at Hay House. We’ve done so many shows together, I feel like we’ve become true soul friends!

Empowerment is a term used to describe the process of becoming stronger and more confident in one's abilities, often through gaining knowledge or experience. Some people believe that we are all born with an innate power inside of us and it is up to us as individuals to tap into this power and use it for good rather than evil. 

Whether you call this ability God-given or something else entirely, there is no denying the fact that some people have an easier time "tapping" into their powers while others struggle greatly. The following steps will help you discover your own inner strength and learn how best to use your power for good! 

​​There is a quote by Albert Einstein that says "If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there; you must go beyond them." This is very true when it comes to tapping into the power within yourself and using it in all aspects of life.

You are born with an amazing power that is not given to anyone else in this world. You have the ability to create your own reality, your destiny and career. Sometimes we get so consumed by what others say or do that it takes away from our true potential and power. The only one who can limit you is yourself! Let's tap into your power and unleash the greatness within you. 

Who knew anger could be so good for you? The Enlightened Rebel, of course.

This path is infused with fire and whenever you walk it, you travel to the beat of a different drum. You are a rebel with a cause paving the way for others. And when you get to where this part of the journey leads you, understand intuitively the door will open for you. (No need to break it down).

The Enlightened Rebel travels South in the direction of summer. Along this path we learn how to live from a full, clear, strong, and open heart that is filled with compassion and fused with fire.

Tapping into the truth has the power to not only transform you, but it will also transform the world. So many of you have a hard time with what’s going on in the world, and yet you participate in it. Your participation is at the level of your pain – emotional pain specifically. 

The illusion, or suffering, requires the recycling of emotional pain through the human experience. The very second you become aware of the fact that you are contributing unconsciously to the emotional pain in the world that is the root cause of suffering, you stop. Life then begins to show you where you still have this emotional pain in your vibrational system, specifically in your chakras. 

As you begin to give this emotional pain your attention in your awareness, when life happens, it begins to transform. However, the commitment you have to make in order for it to transform, is to think, move and act from peace.  

Meditation offers an array of benefits for your body, mind and spirit. Enthusiasts claim the practice can do anything from easing chronic pain to helping you touch divinity.

However, you need an appropriate location to spread out your mat. Here are five steps to creating a peaceful place for meditation.

1. Find a Quiet Place

It isn’t always easy to carve out a space to hear yourself think. The problem compounds if you share an apartment with noisy roommates or have several littles making nonstop pitter-patter with their little feet. However, you can get creative even in a studio by insulating an area to find your zen.

My Holiday Gift Guide for the Woo Person In Your Life

The holiday season is officially upon us! No matter what part of the world you’re in or what traditions or holidays you celebrate, there’s no doubt that this time of year holds a spirit of generosity & giving. 

If you have a friend or family member who loves all things woo-woo, mystical, or spiritual, why not get them a gift that’s as magical as they are this year? Gifts are a beautiful way to share our love and show the people in our lives that we see and appreciate them.

It might feel difficult to find the best gifts for a spiritual person in your life, which is why I’m going to share 11 of my favorite gifts for anyone with an affinity for the mystical. I hope you enjoy it!