Mastery is not about perfection Dear One, or doing, being or creating something that is the best or better than anyone else.

To achieve mastery is to achieve a state of being fully present, of being fully aware of what is happening around you and within you, and what is available to you in each and every unique moment of your life, acknowledging it, taking it in, allowing it to inspire, inform, motivate, shape, and influence your thoughts, actions and beliefs from moment to moment.

Masters are not superior beings Dear One, they are not better people than everyone else.  They are simply more practiced at living in the now and taking advantage of all of the gifts that are available to them in the present moment.

They don’t try to create exceptional, superior, or richer work, but being fully present, they have  a deeper, richer, more connected productive and fruitful experience of each moment, and that experience gets expressed, gets translated into all that they do.

If you want to achieve mastery Dear One, don’t try to be better at what you do, try to be more present while you are doing it, and you will be on  your way.

While you are the process of learning something new Dear One, it is not the right time to be hard on yourself.

It is the time to be kind, loving, patient, forgiving, encouraging, nurturing, compassionate, and generous with yourself.

And since you are pretty much in the process of learning something new all the time…..

The right time to be hard on yourself, is, well, never.

Do you want to know how to find to your center Dear One?  Do you want to know how to move towards a greater state of balance?

Look for, seek out, create, move towards, spread, allow yourself to experience joy, as much of it as you possibly can.

Love, laugher, happiness, compassion, contentment, joyful feelings, are all expressions of balance.

• The more joy you  experience, the better you will feel, the closer you will be to a balanced state.
• The more balanced you are, the more balance you will bring to the world.
• The more balance you bring to the world, the better off we all will be because of it.

You should know Dear One, that joy is at the center of balance for us all, and that your experience of it serves a far greater purpose than just making you feel good.

So just in case you were wondering if feeling better, if going in search of your center, in search of balance is really worth all of the effort, we want to reassure you, that it is.

Choosing to change can be hard enough Dear One, so why not choose to leave the judgment out of it.

Make change a judgment free zone.

What does that mean?

• It means no beating yourself up for wanting, needing or having to change in the first place, for not doing it sooner, perfectly, or as good as, or better than anyone else.
• It means no harsh or negative self-talk while you in the middle of it (or at any other time either for that matter).
• It means no could have’s, should have’s, or would have’s if only I had……
• It means not using someone’s else’s path, experience, or success as an opportunity to diminish your own.

It means being loving, kind and nurturing to yourself throughout the process.   It means reassuring yourself that you are worth it, that you will, figure it out, that it will get easier, that you will feel better, and that you are not in it alone.    It means celebrating, honoring and cheering yourself on for making the decision to change in the first place and for being on your way.

Think about how much more energy you will have available to you to dedicate to your work, to yourself, to the changes that you are trying to make Dear One, if you left the judgment out of it.

Trust us.  It’s a lot.

Decide right now Dear One, before you do anything else, how you are going to approach this day.

Are you going to react to it, and all of the people, circumstances and events in it, or are you going to intentionally create it? Are you going to approach it with confidence or with fear?  With trust or with doubt? With excitement or with dread?  With self-pity or with gratitude? With an open heart or a closed one? With a belief in limitations or in endless possibilities?

Think carefully about your answer Dear One, choose it very consciously, because whatever you decide right now, is going to impact every other decision that you make today, and every single experience that you have as a result.

If you want to experience real change in your life Dear One, change.

Make a different choice, take a different route, try a different approach, eat a different breakfast.

If you don’t know how to do that, if you don’t know what to change to make things better, ask for help.

If you don’t know who to ask, if you don’t know who to turn to, ask us, through prayer, mediation or even email.  Whatever works best for you.

But know Dear One, that no matter what, if you are ready to choose it, change is always available to you.

We have two requests for you today Dear One.

1. Choose words, thoughts, actions, activities, projects, and relationships that make you happy, over those that don’t.
2. Forgive yourself immediately if you needed the reminder to do so.

When you are unsure Dear One, about the decision you are about to make, take a minute and ask yourself this question:

• Will this choice, will this action, will engaging in this relationship, will moving forward in this direction, will investing my energy here, serve my greatest good?

And then don’t think about the answer, listen for it, and then you will know.

Make all of your decisions today as if there was someone standing beside you, holding your hand, encouraging you, supporting you, loving you, believing in you, cheering you on, every step of the way.

Because there is.

You have no idea just how big of a support system you’ve got working for you Dear One.

Use it.