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I wish I was writing this over a really good glass of Pedro Ximenez sherry or Icewine, but, alas, I just downed a glass of magnesium, so, I guess that will have to do.

I just wanted to emote about being committed to witnessing life as a non-dual experience, as Dr. Dr. Shefali, Suzi Kesler Lula, and others have taught us.

Despite my broken leg, having to be reliant on others (really challenging for me), intermittent discomfort, having to send my children to their grandparents for the foreseeable future, etc., I am so filled with gratitude.

I am grateful for my dogs who follow me around as if they are worried about me. I am so grateful I am still able to hobble around the kitchen and prepare myself nourishing, healing food (I hope no one’s watching, because it’s a bloody circus act). I am so thankful for the handful of kind Uber drivers who have helped me limp down my walkway, lift me up my front step, and who so openly share their own stories of pain and healing.

This to me is the non-duality of life. Yes, life can be painful, confusing, and frustrating, but at the same time there is so much beauty all around us. This is not a Pollyanna perspective; it’s true. If we want to see the beauty, it’s there all the time, even amidst the pain. And actually, is it really pain we’re experiencing? We might process the event or message as such, but, really, it’s just neutral. It’s just an event. 

And further, if we accept that we are always connected to the Divine, this event derived from them sacred universal truth, so it’s only pain or pleasure if we label it as such. 

To acknowledge the non-duality of life is to choose to live with clarity and neutrality. This is the life journey of the observer, student, and the righteous warrior.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-robcast/id956742638?mt=2&i=1000393561799

“If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.”

-Pema Chodron

Life is hard. Sometimes we think we are in a righteous battle, well prepared and set on a sure course to victory. We know we’re strong, smart, and believe we have the angels on our side. 

But then we falter. We don’t succeed in the way we expected to. Maybe our opponent gained points by playing unfairly. Perhaps he even “won” the game at others’ expense.

We are stunned. We ask how injustice can persist and even succeed?  We feel crazy because we failed, because integrity doesn’t seem to matter, because sometimes people with unhealthy and unkind and victim-mentality motives actually win.

So then what? We have two choices. We get angry and bitter and cynical, blaming the “system” and all the idiots in it. Or we take ourselves out of the game entirely for the moment. We detach and ask, What’s the bigger picture here? What is the lesson I need to learn? 

Unfairness and injustice and people who make us crazy are here to teach us if we allow them. Ultimately, our happiness and wholeness are not determined by the consistent vanquishing and conquering of the crazymaking outside ourselves. 

They are determined by how clearly we see ourselves; how open our hearts are; and how fully we understand that although sometimes crazy in others reflects the imbalances in us, we are able to heal, embrace light and goodness, and in our clear-sighted wholeness, detach and elevate ourselves from the confusion and madness of the world.

Once you know who you really are, being is enough. You feel neither superior to anyone nor inferior to anyone and you have no need for approval because you’ve awakened to your own infinite worth.

-Deepak Chopra

According to The Law of Pure Potentiality in Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of success, each of us is pure consciousness, capable of limitless possibilities.

This week, while continuing on my own journey at The Chopra Center, this Law resonates with me more than ever. 

Although some may judge and criticize, I know who I am. I don’t need approval from others, and I don’t need to defend my feelings, thoughts, and actions.

I am following the course my spirit, my consciousness, is meant to travel. My life is open to limitless possibilities. My potential has no boundaries, and my continual rebirth propels me forward with the promise of transformation.

Cast your intention into the womb of creation.

-Deepak Chopra

All the answers you need are within you; they have been all this time.

Ours is the Hero’s Journey. Painful life events have shown up because we have much to learn. Once we realize this, that life happens for us, rather than to us, we loosen our grip on control, expectations, and defending ourselves. 

If we follow the path of the hero, we will expand and learn and gain a clarity of purpose. 

We will come to know ourselves and ultimately become the masters of our own lives.

We will rise victorious, honoring ourselves as the heroes of our own life stories.

The art of the warrior is fully being present and fully detaching.

-Dr. Shefali

I arrived at the Omni La Costa resort late this afternoon to attend the Journey into Healing conference at The Chopra Center.

The program doesn’t begin until tomorrow, but I’m already feeling like I’m on my journey.

I am spending time alone. I am absorbing the beauty of the resort and the solitude of my room. I ordered room service and am watching one of my favorite British mysteries on my laptop.

I am still feeling the tremors caused by the ongoing noise at home and the worry and sadness I experience for my children. This is, to a large extent, my reality. It is unsettling, but right now, at this moment, I accept it.

I choose to live in the present and accept what is, rather than push against and resist it. And while accepting what is true and real, I also choose to detach from this and live in the present in another way as well.

This is non-duality. This moment is full of pain and joy; worry and calm; energy and stillness. And in detaching from my thoughts and emotions, I step into the truth of myself. I am an empathic and passionate seeker. I walk the path and assume the stance of the warrior.