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“The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” Walter Bagehot

I love this quote. I love doing what people say I cannot do. I’ve been doing it a long time. In fact, I have a little physical emoji of a can that says “I can!” I suspect this thing was made to be one of those pins you stick on your lapel but since I wear very little jewelry and no accessories, this little can is now stuck in the wall in my bathroom where I can see it regularly.

I was thinking about this quote today and realized that it isn’t just people who tell us what we can and can not do, It is also ourselves. We all have those little inner voices that chatter away in the background, telling us “you can’t do that!”

But that isn’t true. We can. It sometimes takes a bit of work. It sometimes takes a change in what we believe to be true about ourselves. For example, do you believe that after you reach a certain age you can’t do certain things? Why do you believe that? Is it because someone told you? It is because the adults in your life modeled it for you? I was lucky, I had a dad who water skied and played professional trumpet till he was in his 80s. Then he retired and hit the road in a motorhome. He modeled for me that we do not have to believe what others, or ourselves, tell us about our age.

We are only as old as we make up our minds to be.

This is just one example of examining our thoughts and beliefs to discover what we believe about a thing, and then asking if it is really true. Or did we just assume it to be true?

Here’s the truth: you can be and do anything you wish. Period. Don’t let the naysayers, whether they are in your own mind or in the minds of others, tell you what you can and cannot do.

You can be and do anything you wish.

#fearlesslyferal

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There is a Force in the universe that is everywhere present.  I suspect you may agree with me on that, even if you call It a different name.  I love the omnipresent feature of Spirit, because if It is truly everywhere present, It is also within me. From the teachings of Science of Mind and from other teachings, I have discerned that this truth has much greater ramifications than simply God is within me.  It also means that God is AS ME.  In fact, I like to think that, as human beings, we are the way that God shows up in the world.  We are God’s opportunity to speak.  I believe that this is what it means when the Bible says we are children of God.  If this is true, then we have both a gift and a responsibility.  The gift is that with God as us, we have all the power and love and joy that God has.  This has great potential for being able to live our lives successfully, with joy and peace.  It is truly a great gift.  The responsibility is that, with God as us, we need to act like it and not allow our fearful humanness to get in the way.  Here is where we can take the love, power, strength, joy, beauty and peace that is attributed to Spirit and make it ours.  If we all live as if we truly believe that we are physical manifestations of God, imagine how wonderful things would be!  So today I sink into the gratitude I feel for this wonderful truth, that God is such a part of me that I have all the power and love and of God as a part of me as well, and today I walk in power and strength, I have unconditional love for myself and others, I feel and appreciate the beauty and joy of life, and I feel at peace.  I am One.

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Henry David Thoreau once said, “if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

Do you have dreams? If not, why not? A good spiritual practice is to sit down and figure out what your dreams are for your life. And I have news for you: always have a dream. Because when we have a dream, the universe conspires for it to happen. Once we discern our dream, there is a giant YES there and everything that happens from that point onward is simply another step to achieving that dream. Sometimes it may not look that way. Have you ever heard that old adage about not praying for patience because you will get something to be patient about? Yeah, that. Just keep going. Handle whatever comes up with dignity and grace and keep moving confidently in the direction of your dream.

What if you have a dream, but you don’t think it is possible to achieve it? Dreams are nice, you might think, but they are just dreams. Not true. There are a lot of definitions for the word dream, but I prefer this one: an aspiration or a goal. Yes, dreams do come true. If you don’t think it is possible to achieve your dream, start there. Why do you not think it possible?

And if you do not have the confidence to advance in the direction of your dream, that is the place to begin.

Ultimately, dreams are good stuff. We have an idea or a dream, and the yes is always there, waiting for our participation in achieving it.

Today, I confidently advance in the direction of my dream.

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I started Fearlessly Feral because I believe, truly and strongly, that people can live wild and free.  Yes, it is possible to live amazing, incredible, lush, luxurious lives free from limitations of any kind.  Yes, even health limitations. 

This isn’t pie in the sky stuff.  It isn’t wishful thinking and it isn’t airy fairy.

I use myself as an example in my work because I live a Fearlessly Feral life.  Not because I’ve had it easy.  On the contrary, I used to think there was no road to get from the life I was living to the life I live today. I was right.  So I built my own damn road.  They said I should have died.  They said I couldn’t function in society without drugs. They said I would suffer my entire life. They said all sorts of things.  I didn’t believe any of it.  I set out to prove them wrong and in the process discovered a way of living that is so beautiful I want to share how I did it with all of you.

Does it take work?  You betcha.  It takes work of the kind that most people think can’t be done, because it involves changing the way we think and believe.  It involves changing who we are at deep fundamental levels. And I’ll be honest, it is one of my greatest frustrations that so many people balk at that.  But it is also one of my greatest rewards that so many other people are willing to move toward it.

I am moved to write this today because lately I’ve witnessed so much limitation in people’s lives. I watched one man walking down the street the other day.  I’ve known this man for years. He walked slowly, a little hunched over, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.  I got so sad that he was living the way he is living.  I want to see him at his full potential, enjoying life.  And he isn’t.  Regularly I have conversations with folks who are experiencing some sort of limitation in their lives.  They hate their jobs, they are in unsatisfying relationships, they have some pretty gnarly health issues. And I know that all of that is not necessary, and I affirm their good for them.  But when I was in the studies that showed me how to do the stuff I do, they taught me that I must meet people where they are at.  Perhaps. I’ve never been satisfied with that.  Oh, I can meet them there, and do, because if I don’t they can’t hear me or any of the messages sent their way.  Because I know they are getting messages from other areas besides myself.  But I can also encourage them to move from where they are at to a better place, and I begin doing that fairly quickly.  

And so I do.  And we are now back full circle to Fearlessly Feral.  This is why I speak.  Why I write.  Why I do the podcasts.  Why I do the workshops and the retreats.

Because I believe it is possible for everyone to live Fearlessly Feral.

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Quotes for today that are tickling my fancy:

Alan Watts: “If we cling to a belief in god, we cannot likewise have faith, since faith is not clinging but letting go.”

Joseph Campbell: “… to worship a god, you must become that god. No matter what you call the god or think it is, the god you worship is the one you are capable of becoming. The power of a deity is that it personifies a power that is in Nature and in your nature. When you find that level, then you are in play. That is the work of art in general, because art really is a worship.”

Me, yesterday, in conversation with a friend: “instead of going with the flow, I want to take it deeper. I want to TRUST the flow.” Because trusting the flow means I can truly let go. Sometimes, when I’m just going with the flow, I’m still attempting to control or manipulate it. Truly letting go takes trust. Which then means I must explore what it is I am trusting.

Then there is this, from Obi Wan Kenobi: “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.”

The Force is, for me, what god is.

And lest you scoff at me quoting fictional movie characters, I’ll just say that the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, studied Science of Mind. It is my personal opinion that the concepts in the Star Wars movies are great illustrations of this wonderful teaching that has so effectively allowed me to live an even greater life than I ever imagined.

So here I am, trusting, embodying, having faith instead of belief. Asking myself, what does that look like in every day life? It is an interesting exercise in self reflection. If I trust, then I must also accept. Oh, and here’s another comment, made by me when asked by my horse trainer/equine therapist, as she does after every lesson “what did you learn today?”: “allow but continue on.”

This means I must allow what is happening (which for me means I don’t resist it, judge it, try to manipulate it, or attempt to control it) but also continue on with my mission in life. Whether that mission is to continue the horse back ride or to continue doing my minister work in the world or continue doing the laundry or continue to know the good for myself and others. I must allow but also continue on. And that takes trust, and embodying, and having faith.

Such are my thoughts today as I move out into the world to get a massage and do a wedding. And see the completion of the derockifying of my riding trail. WEEHAW! Can’t wait to ride on it!

Today I trust, embody the good, and have faith. Oh, and I play today. And because I also want to play a bit, because play is always a part of things in my life, I’m going to include an oldie but a goodie meme I made three years ago. Because it takes trust, embodiment and faith to do things that are considered crazy, delusional and ambitious. And that, my friends, is what a life looks like when one lives in trust, embodiment and faith.

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Jeff Anderson: "It's the nature of things to orbit!"
Ernest Holmes: "Every person should take time for this inner communion…"

I believe there are stages in life, and I also believe that we need to honor those stages. In doing so, we honor ourselves. I used to be a highly social person…I fed off of social situations and enjoyed them immensely. I was ok being alone, but given a choice of a night with people, no matter what we were doing, or a night at home alone, I chose to be with people. Now….given that same choice, I will usually choose to be at home alone. I still enjoy social situations, and I work with the public and love them believe it or not. But I have these urges that say, "let's just stay home." I believe this to be a stage. I don't know how long it will last, nor do I care. What I do know is that my job is to listen to my inner callings, and honor them. In doing so, I respect and honor my personal journey through life. I am not recommending that you stay home and sleep or eat junk food, especially if you are in a depression. What I am recommending is more of a personal self awareness practice so that you can know your own truth and honor it. Be kind to yourself. Above all, be kind to yourself. You are the one who gets to determine whether being kind to yourself means staying home, or going out. Know thyself is the message of today's reading. What do you do to know thyself?

Affirmation: Today I take time to know myself, and to honor and respect myself.

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Calls for change come in many forms.

We may be presented with a health challenge. Or our spouse asks for a divorce. Or we experience a loss. Or we switch jobs. Or some person place or thing really just pisses us off, on a regular basis, and a pattern emerges.

These are all calls for change. These are all nature demanding that we change in order that we may advance.

The reason for the call then becomes irrelevant. The story: the health challenge, the divorce, the loss, the job switch, or whatever is pissing us off, it is all irrelevant. What is important is the call for change resulting from those things. What is important is that we heed that call. It isn’t an invitation. It is, as Holmes calls it, a demand.

In heeding the call, we do what is necessary to change our own thinking, our own beliefs. The action will then seamlessly follow. And healing will occur. And then we will become grateful for the call to change.

This is how life works. It has been proven to me over and over again.

So when I read words of wisdom such as these, from Ernest Holmes, found of Centers for Spiritual Living, I take comfort for I know that I have taken advantage of all the calls to change, and I have. I hope you have as well.

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Today I’m thinking of the joy of living. What makes it possible for us to live joyfully? And what do we do when things would attempt to get in the way of joyful living?

Ernest Holmes says in his book called 365 Science of Mind: “I know that in my true self I am joy, for I am God-Life.“

So joy isn’t something we experience. Joy is something we ARE. And yes, we know we are joy when we have that feeling of experiencing it.

But Holmes tells us that we can only receive as much as we will allow, and we can’t be joy unless we allow it. The truth is that we are joy all the time, we just allow life stuff to get in the way of that knowingness sometimes.

So if we aren’t feeling the joy, what do we do about it? I believe a clue exists in what Holmes said, we ARE joy. So if we are joy but are not feeling it, then maybe the place to begin is in knowingness. In believing that what he said is true. The we are inherently joy. Then the task becomes to go within and examine what within us is getting in the way of that. If it is physical, perhaps a lifestyle change is in order, in what we eat or how much we exercise. If it is in relations with another human, since we cannot do anything about them and their behavior, we look within to our own stuff and examine what within us is asking for change? If the block to joy is in a lack of faith, a lack of knowingness, if we simply do not believe that we are joy, then the invitation is to examine that. If we aren’t joy, then what are we?

As for me, today, I needed to remind myself of joy and the reminders showed up freely in my life. This morning I got to see the sky change color as the earth tilted to allow the sun to greet us. It’s a beautiful warm spring day here in Northern Nevada and after the long challenging winter, that right there is enough to allow me to experience joy. And when I get right down to it, I need no outer “joy fixes” because I do believe that I am joy. There is simply no other way to be. The outer joy fixes are simply evidence of that, because I would not be able to see and appreciate them if that quality were not already inside of me.

So today, I affirm: Today, I am joy. I know this because I see it and I feel it and I would not be able to do so if it weren’t already inside of me.

About the photo: this is a cell phone shot of the inside of a tulip. I found this little guy nestled in a perfect place, open shade, with light bouncing off the wall to give it “pop.” It was growing at a friend’s house and I was filled with joy to see these tulips lining the walkway to her front door. I did a bit of editing and cropping in photoshop to focus on the details of the inside of the flower. Sometimes mother nature’s intricacy fills me with awe. As well as with joy. Feel free to share the meme, but please do not alter it in any way.

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Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day so I thought I would offer up a suggestion. Whether you are in partnership or not, I think this time is an excellent time to refresh, renew, power up or begin a self compassion regime. This is the ultimate in self care. Be nice to you. Don’t say mean things to yourself. Don’t belittle yourself. Be kind to yourself. And most of all, honor your feelings. Even the yucky ones.

Recently, I’ve come to the realization that I’ve had a bit of a dark night of the soul. Perhaps you have too. After all, it hasn’t been easy to live in a world filled with dissension, strife, violence and covid. At least it hasn’t for me. If you have a self awareness practice, you may be aware of this. Furthermore, you may also be aware that there have been some feelings cropping up that maybe, just maybe, you’ve been fighting. There might be some self judgement, some shoulding, some resistance to what you are feeling.

Today I am here to say don’t fight it. The way out is through. Those dark feelings won’t hurt you. But fighting them only makes them stronger. Just allow them. Throw a hissy fit if you have to. Have a good cry session. Just take some time to honor what is going on inside of you with kindness and love and compassion.

I recently published a podcast about this, and I hope you will listen in.

Be nice to you on this Valentine’s Day. And if you are in partnership, be nice to them as well. I hope you have a wonderful day!

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Let’s talk self care shall we?  There are many different forms of self care but the one I want to discuss today is based on a quote by anonymous that I just came across:  “Be prepared for rejection if you refuse to be manipulated.”  So much packed into this one little sentence!  First of all, refusing to be manipulated implies that one knows what manipulation looks like.  I will admit, it took me years to learn the various ways that people in my life had manipulated me.  When I finally figured it out, I got sad with that new awareness.  For a while.  Then I moved out of victim mode and empowered myself by setting boundaries.  And refused to allow those people to manipulate me anymore.  And yeah, there was rejection.  But good self care begins with us knowing that we deserve good in life, we deserve to treat ourselves well and we deserve for others to treat us well.  It begins with learning to recognize manipulation.  I began to learn what manipulation looked like from my mentors.  So really the first step begins with getting good mentors.  Start there.  Find someone you admire, someone who lives the kind of life you strive for.  Find someone you can talk with.  Then ask.   It is really that simple. Just ask.  All they can do is say no, and if they do, move on.  Remember that there is a Thing Within Us that knows a bigger picture, and you can trust that with that guidance of the Spirit within you, the right person will show up.  And then begin to talk with them.  REALLY talk.  Start small, but talk.  This person won’t try and “fix” you because you don’t need fixing.   They won’t try and hold you accountable because you are a big boy or girl and perfectly capable of holding yourself accountable.   Good mentors are people who listen with a compassionate heart, and then offer their own perspective on what is going on in your life.  Such perspective comes from their own experience and wisdom.  They might guide you to a book, or a spiritual practice.  As the relationship builds, it will morph into something very valuable to the both of you.

Your affirmation: Today I do good self care, because I deserve it.

Want more? Listen to the podcast, available on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and here: Fearlessly Feral Podcast

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