I know how confusing the spiritual search can be, and I know how hard it is to get straight, personalized answers from today’s spiritual teachers. That is exactly why I am offering this service to any who wish it. Simply fill out the form below.

If you would like me to call you, include your phone number and the best times to call (we’ll pin down the time in a follow up email).

Whether you desire a phone or email conversation, please be sure to describe your question as clearly as possible.

I do not charge for this service.

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Example

The Issue

Not sure if this can be answered, but maybe sharing this experience will be useful to me all the same. I sometimes suffer from over-sensitivity.

For example, I was in a boat on a lake, and the smell of the gas was strong to me. I thought about how my actions were causing unnecessary suffering–the gas was bad for the creatures in the lake, and I was in part a cause. Of course stepping back, I can see that worrying about these things was imposing a kind of suffering on myself (as well as my poor companion who was with me, as I was in such a sorry mood!).

In general, a great part of me is uncomfortable with the way things are done in this world (from a nature lover’s perspective), yet I live in this world and need to be fully in it. Thus my conflict.

My Reply

Hi S___. Thank-you for your email.

Today, I opened one of those tuna lunch packages, you know, the kind with the tuna, mayo, relish and crackers? You mix it all up and have a nice, light lunch (breakfast in my case). When I came to the individually wrapped mint, I couldn’t get the wrapper off, it just wouldn’t tear very easily. Rather than get frustrated, I just tossed it out.

What has this got to do with your question?

Imagine if you had NOT gone on that boat ride…
- You would NOT have felt like you were contributing to the pollution of the lake.
- You would NOT have felt guilty for the suffering of the aquatic life.
- You would NOT have strained any relations with your boating companion.
- You would NOT have felt “untrue” to your nature.

The Light/Beloved/God/Spirit that I often talk of moves through each of us. The more we resist Her, the more solid and clunky and inauthentic we feel. The more we open to the Light, the more peace and harmony we feel.

Resistance, guilt, and inner conflict should be thought of as SIGN POSTS, not avoidances. Use them as guides to help you find your way through this complex life. Use these “negative” feelings to help you live true.

There are always alternatives. Canoes, kayaks, even inner tubes offer a much more personal, intimate, and even romantic experience of the Beloved. Listen to your heart. Even though she only whispers–and rarely offers rational reasoning–she’ll never guide you wrong.

And, as you and your friend float happily upon the lake, other’s will see you and think to themselves, “Huh, that looks like a lot more fun than this stinky, noisy boat!”

By living true and acting as an EXAMPLE to others as a person living practically and in harmony with Nature, you contribute to the greater good of Mother Earth.

Sometimes the promise of the dessert mint (a boat ride with a friend) isn’t worth those stubborn wrappers (guilt, frustration, etc.).