The truth is – it took me a decade to answer that question for myself. It took me that long because I didn’t have any coaches or mentors, I didn’t think to consult any books, CDs, or videos, and I just tried to do it all on my own.

(I was also too prideful to admit that somebody else might be able to help me learn about my own intuition.)

Now with that in mind – after many years of exploration – what I’ve discovered is that the most distinguishing characteristic for my intuition is that it, on its own, is always just information. My intuition isn’t good nor bad, it doesn’t tell me happy nor sad things, and it doesn’t ever have any fear in it. Intuition at its most basic level is just another source of information.

It’s only after I receive that intuitive information that my mind decides if something is “good” or “bad” or whether or not I should be “scared” or if I should take a specific action.

So next time you’re feeling something you call “intuition” pause and ask yourself: “What is the information here?”

If you can’t separate out the information from the feelings, then it’s possible that what you’re experiencing isn’t even intuition – it may just be your past conditioning, your past experiences, coming up in the present moment.

Or you may discover that your intuition (the information) is accurate, but that your mind has already added on the feelings (the fear, or happiness, or excitement) without you even having time to ask yourself, “What information my intuition is communicating to me?”

That’s just one example of how to distinguish intuition from ‘other stuff.’ As I’ve learned, there are MANY different ways to discover your intuition, and to be frank, it would take me personally probably a few years to bundle up my own experiences with intuition into a way that it would be really useful to you.

Not only that, but when it comes to intuition – though I know a lot and have experienced a lot – I am still learning and continuing to learn more every day.

If you'd like support with developing your intuition, be sure to read this free eBook.

Intuition communicates in many forms… and though I was familiar with only one method of communication (“hunches”), that my intuition was actually communicating to me almost all the time and in many different ways I was unaware of.

“Your intuition can communicate with you in pictures, words, feelings and gestalts of awareness. It may come in hunches, visions, inspirations, urges, voices, flashes of insight, light-bulb moments, epiphanies and so on.” — Aine Belton

Look at that list for a moment, and see if you recognize ANY of those things.

I know that “hunches” is just ONE item in that list… and yet when I reflect back on my life, I realize that I’ve experienced many of those things (I just didn’t call them “intuition”). Until reading that, I assumed that “hunches” was the only way intuition communicated with me.

Another challenge I always had with intuition was that it seemed mysterious, and only came to me on its terms. I often felt a little bit short-changed… wishing that I could communicate two-ways with my intuition. And although amazing answers seemed to appear out of ‘thin-air,’ I was frustrated that I couldn’t “command” my intuition at will.

I used to think that intuition was just something that I either had or I didn’t, and over the years I’ve come to understand that intuition can be developed. and strengthened. In fact, when I talk with people, everybody I know has experienced some form of intuition (even if they were like me and didn’t call it “intuition”).

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of Spiritual Growth Events.

The post How Do I Know If It’s Really My Intuition Talking To Me? – By Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

I read the book, and candidly speaking, I still continued to have unfulfilling relationships that seemed to always end badly. Not that the book was bad… it’s an amazing book… I just couldn’t receive all the wisdom within it.

There was one gift I received from it though, and I’ll sum up that concept very simply for you:

When we have conflict in our lives, it is human nature to want to resolve it as quickly as possible. Our minds search for answers… we want to expel this uncomfortable conflict from our life as quickly as possible. We “want it gone.”

When we are torn between two extremes, such as important decisions to make that go beyond what to eat for lunch (though it still applies), we often become almost desperate for an answer. Our mind races, and we lose connection with our heart and soul in an egotistical attempt to “fix it.”

Thomas Moore suggests that rather than constantly trying to seek an answer or “fix” the situation, we allow ourselves to stay in the uncomfortable zone. He says that by staying in the uncomfortable zone we will naturally discover what the true best answer is for us… because our mind’s desire to get rid of the discomfort will be overridden by what our heart and soul have to tell us.

Since reading his book, I’ve taken that concept in a different, deeper direction. I’ve found that it applies not just to situations if discomfort and conflict; it also applies to life.

Often we’re told by teachers that “they have the answers” and “they can teach us.” While that is true to some extent ~especially as it relates to technical or how-to kinds of ordinary knowledge~ we have a far deeper capacity to teach ourselves than we give ourselves credit for.

Today I have a quick exercise for you…

Next time you have a question in which the answer is not easily accessible, allow yourself to hold the question without trying to answer it. Instead of using your mind to find the answer, just keep asking the question to yourself.

Let’s use a simple example. It’s lunchtime and you’re trying to decide what to eat (or where to go to eat). You don’t know what you feel like. Instead of trying to force an answer out of yourself, allow yourself to be in that unknown space.

Just ask yourself, “What do I want to eat right now?”

If you don’t get an answer. That’s fine. Pause a moment, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Then ask again. Or maybe ask a body part of yours what it wants. “Stomach, what do you want to eat right now?” “Heart, what food would make you happiest right now?”

That may sound strange, but the truth is we are integrated, whole, connected beings… and that means just as our minds contain wisdom our bodies don’t know about, our bodies also contain wisdom that our minds don’t know about.

I’ve found personally this approach works best when I don’t need an immediate answer ~ when there’s some emotionally challenging situation that needs resolution ~ if I can sleep on it (the more nights the “better”) and revisit asking myself that question periodically, the true, right, best answer for me will arise naturally out of the unknown uncomfortable space I allow myself to rest in.

And to go one step further…

What if the spiritual sages of the ages are right? About all of us being one?

What if we are even capable of answering bigger questions without always needing a teacher?

Think about it.

You don’t have to answer right now.

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of Spiritual Growth Events.

The post What If The Unknown Were A Gift? By Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

“There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

This is the greatest challenge any of us have on the path of personal transformation. How do we live what we believe to be true?

The first step is fundamental: Don’t take anybody’s word for it. Not even mine. Find out what is true for yourself.

Sure, it helps to have insights and pointers. Programs, videos, emails, audio interviews, live seminars, and so on are wonderful ways to get closer to people who have discovered the Truths that you want to embody. Still, all of those are… pointers. Only you can “walk” the path as Morpheus says.

With that in mind, here’s a quick exercise I call “The Truth Walk” to help you discover what is actually true for you. It’s rather simple, and you can do it anytime and every time you’re walking. Here’s how it works.

First, bring into your awareness a spiritual Truth or lesson you’d like to embody more fully. I think that Dan Millman’s “Laws of Spirit” and Deepak Chopra’s “7 Spiritual Laws of Success” are excellent places to find a few key “lessons” or insights.

Once you have decided which Truth to explore more fully, bring it into your awareness. Then go for a walk. If possible, go for an extended walk. And ideally in nature. As you walk, feel your feet with each and every step.

Some people refer to this as a walking meditation. However, the twist is this:

Every time your attention fades away from the lesson you’re exploring, feel your feet stepping on the ground again. Then bring your awareness back to the lesson.

This exercise has a couple of wonderful benefits. The first is that you are practicing being more present and in your body. Since your body is the vehicle by which you live in this world, it’s also the means by which you discover the Truth of your experience. Your mind is powerful and can “know” the path. Your body is your lifeforce, and it’s how you “walk” the path.

(and quite literally in this example!)

The second major benefit of this exercise is this:

When you bring anything into your awareness long enough, and you infuse it with your physical experience, the Truth will reveal itself to you naturally. Maybe you’ll discover that Dan Millman and Deepak Chopra are totally full of crap! ?? Or maybe you’ll transform your life faster than they did, simply because you are benefiting from them sharing their experience with you.

Whatever you discover, it’ll be true for you. And that’s what matters most because when we get right down to it, you’re the one who has to live with yourself twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week… for the rest of your life.

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of Spiritual Growth Events.

The post The Truth Walk – by Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

“If you want more love, why don’t you say so?” – John Mayer

Love is an interesting thing… no matter how much we give or receive it, most of us want MORE of it than we have in our lives, myself included. See, most people describe me as very loving, kind, generous, and grateful. Many people experience me as an expression of love in physical form.

Yet I still want to experience more love. Chances are you do also, but the signs aren’t always obvious…

For example, a while back I had shared about my new commitment to working out. The reasons I shared for that were all legitimate and real, yet still somewhat on the surface. At the root of that commitment is a desire to express my love for myself and others more completely and more vibrantly! Self-care is just one of many forms of love.

In fact, when you look at the majority of our thoughts, beliefs, and actions in the world you will notice that underneath all of them is, somewhere, somehow, a well-intentioned desire to experience more love in your life.

(regardless of whether that’s to love yourself or others more)

All of the greatest spiritual masters have talked about the importance of love, and some go as far as to say love is the ONLY thing that truly matters in this world. And with all of that in mind, the quote above from John Mayer asks an important question:

If you really want more love in your life…

What’s stopping you?

Most of us don’t love ourselves enough to feel worthy of actually asking for more love (regardless of whether we’re asking ourselves for self-care or asking others to express love more authentically, frequently, or differently).

It doesn’t have to be that way though.

When you love yourself unconditionally, from the inside-out, and for no reason at all… that’s when your life TRULY shifts. I’ve already been making this shift progressively, and it seems that with each little positive shift I make in that direction my experience of love multiplies.

In fact, there is current scientific research, ancient wisdom, proven techniques, and real-world experience that supports what I’ve already been experiencing… and that's what Marci Shimoff has taught for nearly a decade.

One important topic Marci tackles is how to open your heart fully and experience deep love from the inside, even during challenges. This is especially relevant with so many major and difficult changes going on in our world.

In fact, if it weren’t for me having that kind of “love fortitude” in my own life, I wouldn’t have been able to so easily pick up and move again. Yes, that’s right… I did move to Texas, and now I’m living in California. That means I had lived in 4 different states in just 7 months (Washington, then Oregon, Texas, and now California).

Sure my life was a bit crazy, yet at the heart of it has been about LOVE… and specifically, a love for my son. Ever since my divorce at the end of 2009 (after being laid off from my job, and after foreclosing on my home and watching my financial life spiral downward, there’s been a lot of challenges I’ve juggled.

Yet at the center of it has been a love for my son to be with him and support him during these changes… and secondly, a love for myself to be with myself, to continue transforming my life, and to continue supporting myself during this time.

So yes, when Marci talks about unconditional love being a way to cope with major changes, I say “YES” I get it.

What I’ve learned to do is to experience more fulfilling relationships with myself and others. Also, more and more frequently I’ve learned how to ‘switch’ my mindset from stress and anxiety into love. Sometimes it’s as simple as me asking myself, “What would love do?” and other times it is a little more difficult for me.

Now here’s a personal secret I don’t think I’ve ever actually told anybody…

As you may know from some of my previous emails or videos, when I was a youth the one thing I wanted more desperately than anything else was to be LOVED. I just wanted a woman to love me.

As a child, I would pray to God:

“Star Light, Star Bright… First Star I See Tonight. Wish I May, Wish I Might, Have This Wish I Wish Tonight.”

When I was four, I prayed for “Siamese Twin Sisters.” (I didn't know what Siamese meant, I just thought it meant twins… and what would be better than one sister? TWO!)

Well, that's not the secret part. This is…

In my teens and 20’s, every single night when I saw the star, I instead prayed for this:

“I wish to experience TRUE LOVE forever and ever.”

Sure, at the time I thought I was talking about romantic love… that’s where my mind wanted to fill a deficiency so that I could feel “complete.”

Yet in hindsight, I see now that my HEART and the UNIVERSE were collaborating on my behalf. They heard my wish, they worked together, and now I do experience true love more in my life than ever before… because it comes from inside me and is not conditional ~ the world doesn’t determine my happiness, I DO.

(and it only keeps getting better)

If this kind of experience and expression of love resonates with you, if it’s something you’d also like to experience more of in your life, then you'll love Marci’s entire approach to creating miracles in our lives. Click here to join Marci's free online class, “3 Secrets to Living a Miraculous Life.”

In case you’re not familiar with Marci yet, she’s the New York Times best-selling author of “Happy For No Reason” as well as co-author of SIX books in the phenomenally popular Chicken Soup For The Soul series. Her books have sold more than 14 million copies worldwide in 31 languages… and she’s also one of the featured teachers in the movie “The Secret.”

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of Spiritual Growth Events.

The post Do You Want More Love? By Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

The thing to understand is that sometimes what we need most is something we may not like. Our preferences are not always indicators of what is truly best.

Therefore, we have to use different criteria than ‘Like’ and ‘Dislike’ to know if rejecting something is truly in our best interests. For example:

• ‘I don’t like meditation.”
• “I don’t like eating healthy foods.”
• “I don’t like exercising.”
• “I don’t like my experience right now.”

The list goes on. And when we reframe it back in the context of raising children, it’s even easier to see the fallacies inherent in assuming that because we don’t like something, that is a valid reason to reject it.

Kids reject all kinds of things that are good for them… just because the kids don’t like them.

(And so do we)

A natural response is to cite examples where this doesn’t seem true.

For example, not liking “negative” people, grease or slime, being overworked and underpaid, etc.

But in those examples, the rejection is not actually related to Liking or Disliking. The Like / Dislike is actually a resulting consequence of something deeper. It's that underlying feeling that you are being pulled away from your True Nature.

At the heart of the matter, I’m not suggesting we suddenly just accept or be okay with all the things we Dislike. That would be both foolish and potentially dangerous.

What I am suggesting and encouraging is that we use a different set of criteria other than “Like” and “Dislike” to decide whether or not rejecting something is the best course of action.

Let's look deeper, let's take a long-term view, let's pursue the truth of the moment. Then, and only then, can we truly know if rejecting something is in or best interests.

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of Spiritual Growth Events.

The post Not Liking Something Is Not A Valid Reason to Reject It – by Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

One morning, it was time to transfer the chrysalises from their shipping cup and into the container. They were all attached to a piece of paper that was to be pinned to the side (so they could continue hanging). One of them fell off and into the original cup.

It was coming out prematurely. This little caterpillar maybe was scared from all the motion and falling, and it had broken its chrysalis. It was dying.

I picked up the paper and pinned it to the side successfully so that the remaining for chrysalises could grow as intended. The last one, the fallen one, I placed it on a paper towel in the bottom of the large mesh container.

The next day, it had broken out of the chrysalis. What looked like wings were flatted on paper towel. So were the antennae. A little wormlike body strugged to crawl but it couldn’t. After much struggle, the caterpillar finally gave up and died. The red blood and lack of motion were clear indicators.

Death is just a part of life.

It happens. Fortunately there were four more chrysalises. Four more opportunities to see the caterpillars transform into butterflies. We hoped.

When we came home a few nights later, I noticed something interesting in the mesh container. Four chrysalises and one butterfly. It hadn’t died! I was immediately reminded of the quote:

“Just when the caterpillar thought it was dead, it became a butterfly.”

In that moment, I truly understood the quote. I truly thought the caterpillar had died. I truly thought that something had gone wrong, when in fact, everything went exactly right.

Butterflies. People.

Perhaps we’re not all that different?

And calling it “my caterpillar” is a bit if a misnomer. Not because it was intended for my son, but rather, because I don’t presume that I can “own” another being.

…Instead, I like to think of “my” as an indicator of preciousness.

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of SpiritualGrowthEvents.com

The post The Death of My Caterpillar – by Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

For several weeks in a row, my son wanted me to read that story every night. I did, and he listened intently.

Then one day he started reading it to me. Never mind that he doesn't know how to read; he was telling me the story.

However, it became quickly clear when he'd say certain words that didn't match, that he wasn't actually reading. He was reciting from memory the story. He had associated certain pictures with certain sentences and was able to correctly remember the context of the sentences and got about 90% of the words correct.

It reminded me of something that we often do with our inner work…

A teacher tells us about a spiritual Truth, we like it, and we adopt it as our own. We start reciting it like a mantra or affirmation, perhaps even teaching it to others, without having the experience to know it's true -for us- specifically. It's in our head, but not our hearts.

It should be no mystery I'm a huge fan of finding out what is true for myself. That's why I encourage you to do the same.

So what good does it do to recite to ourselves spiritual Truths like “Pain is an illusion” when we're in the middle of a debilitating disease, an emotionally traumatic situation, or a severe injury?

It does us no good. That just becomes a denial. It's another version of “The Lie About Positive Thinking.” It lacks compassion and denies us important aspects of our humanity such as our vulnerability and our potential to grow.

Spiritual Story of The Zen Monk Whose Child Had Died

I am reminded of a story about a Zen Monk whose child had died. He was weeping uncontrollably for days… for weeks. He was in a state of terrible sorrow and completely inconsolable.

One day a student of his came up and said to him, “Pain is just an illusion.”

I don't know about you, but in that situation, if somebody said that to me, I'd find it hard to stay kind, compassionate, and not step into a state of anger.

Anyway, do you know what the Zen Monks said?

“Yes. But the death of a child is the greatest illusion of all.”

This is the reality of life. It's a tough road. The teachings are not here to be adopted and recited… they are here to guide us towards the Truth of our experience.

I find similar challenges with all spiritual teachings. It's easy to read a book that teaches us “We are all one,” and some of us are privileged enough to have at least a brief experience or two of living it.

“We are all one” sounds great. It's a wonderful principle to guide us act more compassionately in the world.

But do we really feel like one when we're facing life challenges like having our heart broken, being betrayed by a coworker, or when people project their anger onto us? (or us onto them??)

It's not so easy at those times. That's when we have to practice the Truth… and often at the same time, accept the times when we feel unable to live the Truth.

It's really no difference than my son “reading” his story to me. He's reciting just a piece of what his mind knows, without him having the experiential understanding of what it means to read.

On that note, next time you hear a spiritual Truth that sounds good…

Next time you read a book, email, or quote that seems to resonate…

Put it to the test.

Don't just listen to the words. Let them land with you. Try it out in your life. Live the teaching and see what you discover. Then practice living it more with each passing day.

Maybe you'll discover that we are all one. And perhaps you'll also discover what blockages you have to living that every moment of every day. You might find yourself deepening into that Truth and experiencing it more with each passing day.

Or perhaps you'll discover that we're all separate beings, living separate lives, uniquely. Unable to connect.

I don't know what you'll discover. What I do know is this:

“Adopting other peoples' opinions as your own is like seeing fire on a TV and being scared that it's going to burn you.” – Chris Cade

And for the record, no cheetahs were injured during the writing of this blog post.

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of Spiritual Growth Events.

The post “Pain Is An Illusion. We Are One.” Is This Actually True? – By Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding about ourselves.” – Carl Jung

As long as somebody else’s words or actions can upset us, then that means our own enjoyment of life is dependent upon other people. Our happiness is never our own, but rather, ‘belongs’ to the people who upset us.

In order to move past this difficulty, we must choose to become self-aware, even at the most difficult times. Therefore, every time we are upset by somebody else, it would help to ask ourselves, “Why does this upset me?” When we have an answer, again ask “Why does that upset me?” The intention is to discover the root cause of why that person’s behavior upsets us.

For example, if a partner leaves their cups around all the time, we might be upset. But why? Well we say “It’s disrespectful.” Is it really? Why do we believe it’s disrespectful? We might discover that it is what one of our parents did as a child. We may remember all the fights our parents had over the exact same issue.

By seeing that, we then understand that the real reason we are upset by our current partner leaving the cups out has nothing to do with disrespect. Instead, we see it is a reminder of all the past arguments from our parents.

Another example: Your partner comes home late. You’re upset and say they’re disrespectful and inconsiderate. But when you feel your body, you notice you feel scared, so you ask yourself why. What you discover is that somewhere inside you, there is a fear of being abandoned… and when they come home late, it makes you worry they might be leaving you. And maybe you discover that’s because as a child you never knew when one of your parents would come home, or perhaps your parents divorced, or perhaps one parent left for a regular routine trip and never came home (died, ran away, actually did abandon you, etc).

In this, you discover that your partner coming home late upsets you not because it’s disrespectful, but because you have a fear of being abandoned.

This logic is true of all things which upset us.

It happens to varying degrees… some smaller than others. Sometimes it’s so minor we won’t even notice it, such as us being frustrated that a little child has stepped on our toes again. Or maybe it is a huge issue, one which has come up in a relationship (personal, or professional) many many times and is never resolved.

Whatever it is, if you want to experience more peace in your life, just be like a child again… remember to ask “Why?”

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of SpiritualGrowthEvents.com

The post The Real Reason Why People Upset You – By Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

In a nutshell, it seems like each newsletter publisher knows “the one true” secret why the Law of Attraction doesn’t work for you and that they can show you exactly how to make it work.

Let’s get real for a second…

If that were true, why would we have poverty in the world? Why would there be war?

After all, if anybody really knew ‘The Secret,’ wouldn’t they just manifest infinite money and world peace?

While I am able to manifest a lot of incredible things in my life (like swimming with wild dolphins and living in service to you each and every day), I won’t pretend that I’m a Law of Attraction guru. What I can do is contribute to the conversation and offer my own experience and story to support you on your own path.

I believe the biggest reason why the law of attraction doesn’t work for many people is because they’re often focusing on what they don’t have instead of what they do have. I don’t mean this in a literal sense (i.e. focusing on lack of money instead of gratitude), but rather in a spiritual sense.

I’ve noticed that when I look outside of myself for things like material possessions they rarely come true. This is most often true when I have an idea about what I want and why I want it. If you notice the feeling of want is coming from your head / mind, then there’s a good chance it won’t come true. This is where so many law of attraction teachings take us away from the Truth, and ultimately they take us away from ourselves.

The thing is, when I tune into the feeling in my heart about what I want, and really feel it, I know there’s a much bigger chance of it coming true. The mind often speaks from a place of deficiency. The mind focuses on what it didn’t get, what it doesn’t have, and why it deserves to have what it wants. The mind often takes on a voice of entitlement.

The heart on the other hand, simply says “I want,” and while the heart may have a reason, it doesn’t always.

When I wanted to swim with wild dolphins, I didn’t really know why I wanted it. It was a wish that just appeared in my heart rather suddenly. I held that wish for years, and even when certain opportunities came up that seemed “perfect,” I didn’t take advantage of them. You might be wondering: Why would I decline the “perfect” opportunity to manifest my heart’s wishes?

The reason is because I felt it was perfect in my mind. Logically those opportunities made sense. Even though I had a heart’s wish, when those opportunities came up it was my mind telling me it was “perfect” and my heart telling me “Whoah there buddy. Wait just a second. Are you sure this is right?”

When I paused within and felt both my heart and mind, I was able to see that the timing wasn’t right. I saw the Universe was actually testing me to see if I would stay true to my heart’s wishes, or if I would become a slave to my mind’s lies.

Then a few months later I received a specific email about a wild dolphin adventure, I felt with my entire body “YES. This is it.” I knew it 100% without a doubt that the time had come. It wasn’t until after that feeling when my mind set in with fear about how I didn’t have the money, couldn’t afford it, and other negative self-defeating thoughts.

I tuned back into my heart again, and I was certain it was time for me to go on this trip. I didn’t know how I would come up with the money to go on the trip, so I just put down the first smallest deposit allowed. I told myself:

“The Universe wants me there. I can feel it with my entire body. The Universe will find a way to get me there.”

Time came and went, and it was time for me to pay for the rest of my trip, the lodging, and trip insurance. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t afford the trip due to the many recent challenges in my life, so I waited. I waited until the last possible date I could, I put it all on my credit card, and I told myself:

“The Universe wants me there. I can feel it with my entire body. The Universe will find a way to get me there.”

Then literally just a few weeks before my trip, I received an unexpected check for nearly $2,000. I’ve always heard about people saying this kind of thing happened to them, but this was the first time I had experienced it happening to me. That’s when I knew, as Paulo Coelho says in the Alchemist, that the Universe was conspiring in my favor.

Ironically, I still had no idea why I was supposed to go on this trip. I only knew my heart wished for it. Literally days before the trip, I found out from my bookkeeper I had very recently hired (who again I couldn’t afford to hire, but I also realized I couldn’t afford to be clueless about my business finances either), that she found something in my accounting that would reduce my taxes by enough to cover the rest of the trip.

I was astounded. Actually, it was more like disbelief at the time.

Yet I knew deep down, that if I had merely wanted to swim with wild dolphins because of some idea I had about how it should be, it probably wouldn’t have happened. It was a heart’s wish, a very personal wish, a deep down wish, something I cherished and didn’t even know why, and so I trusted the Universe to act in my highest good.

Circling back to the challenge I asked: If all these law of attraction gurus and experts know ‘The Secret,’ why would we have poverty and war?

I believe the answer is because we have ideas that our world should be free of poverty and war. Our mind has ideas about how our world “should” be so. If we really want to manifest most effectively then we have to get personal.

Tune into your own experience, your heart, and your desires. Manifesting isn’t about what you can give to the world, or even what the world can give to you.

Manifesting is about being totally present with yourself and trusting that your heart knows best, moment-to-moment, even when you don’t understand why it wants what it wants.

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of Spiritual Growth Events.

If you're curious, here's a couple of pictures from that wild dolphin swim..

The post The “One True Secret” to Manifesting – by Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

“You are complaining every time you silently wish for anything other than what you are immediately experiencing in the present moment.”

James replied in a way that really brings to light both:

• The challenges we have in seeing that silent wish as complaining
• Choosing a new thought pattern once we recognize we're complaining

James concerns represent a part in all of us to truly understand how we can live deeper teachings when we are planted in a world that is, generally speaking, not supportive of living an authentic, peaceful, joyful life.

James asked: “Where does action fit in to all of this?”

Be present with the action. This is easier said than done because our minds constantly pull us away from our immediate experience. Our minds tell us what we need to “get done” so that we can eventually “get” the future we wish for.

Therefore, being present with taking action is a daily, moment-to-moment practice. Things still need to get done in our world. Certain things need to be done “now” to prepare for the future. That's normal and expected. Just don't live in the future. Live in the now while being present with that preparation.

Questions to ponder as you're reading this:

• Do you notice the parts of your body that make contact with the ground?
• Do you feel your feet on the ground or your butt in the chair?
• Do you sense where your hands make contact with something?

The more you can orient yourself towards your sensations while you take action, the more present you can be in your daily actions.

James also asked: “So what positive process is it that facilitates change? Are some things not worth ‘complaining' about? Suppose you were ill and I wished you were healthy?”

It's helpful to be curious: “Why do I have this wish? What is this wish truly about?” In this way, you are actually in this moment with your wishing.

The moment we start focusing on the object of our wish is the moment that we are… no longer in the moment. And thus, we are silently complaining. We are quietly saying to ourselves: “This moment is not good enough. So I must wish for it to be different.”

In theory this idea of focusing on the wish (not the object) is nice. Maybe even a “fluffy” pie-in-the-sky spiritual teaching. In practice, it becomes extremely difficult when we encounter suffering either in ourselves or in others, such as:

• Natural disasters
• World hunger
• War
• Rape
• Murder
• Famine
• Abuse
• Terminal illness

Even then, we only have one true option: to be present with out experience. To be honest with ourselves about how we feel (even if those feelings are rage, despair, indifference, or other). There is a misperception that if we don't “wish” for things to change that they cannot and will not change.

What you will notice when you practice this will be quite the opposite:

By being Present, even with pain or your wish for something to change, then your depth of Presence will lead you to naturally want to take actions in the ways that are most appropriate and needed for that particular moment (which may or may not be to alleviate the suffering of another Being).

The post How to Live a Complaint-Free Life – By Chris Cade appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.