This morning in meditation I had an awareness of what attachment looks like energetically.

When we express ourselves passionately life energy flows from us, magnetically attracting whatever we need or desire. This supports ongoing expression, which is our purpose.

Attachment to a certain form or outcome slows the flow of energy and constricts it into the form or thought template of the attachment.

Remaining focused on expressing our passions without getting stuck on what we will get or how it will look is an act of surrender - a leap of faith - yet another layer of control released....

What are your thoughts on how to move toward world peace?

As synchronicity would have it, the question of how to achieve world peace came up multiple times from completely different sources this week.

Each time, I shared my belief that a grassroots movement focused on healing the split within our individual psyches is necessary for real change to occur.

As the days go by, pieces of the puzzle keep coming together in my mind about this movement - as does a feeling of urgency.

The vast majority of us are walking around with a split in our psyche: an inner battle, if you will. THIS is what is being played out in the world around us.

Individual inner peace is step one toward world peace. Each day my personal mission of bringing more light into the world one person at a time becomes more meaningful.

I found this beautiful little yellow book called, The Velveteen Principles: A Guide to Becoming Real. It is based on the children's story the Velveteen Rabbit in which a child's stuffed rabbit becomes real once it's loved enough.

She contrasts being real with objectification - where we aspire to be perfect shiny objects so we will have value. The only problem is that there is no value in this because one's soul is always abandoned in pursuit of perfection.

This book tickles me... It is along the same lines as the "essentialization" definition I received in my sleep a couple weeks ago - shed layers of socialization and be yourself!

My spiritual development group ended last night after twelve weeks. We finished with a ritual that involved each person telling one member at a time about their strength and beauty - a bombardment of love. It was both sacred and overwhelming.

Receiving is often harder than giving. I'm still integrating the experience and smile frequently as I think of different things that were said.

The group was amazing. Each of us opened up more to ourselves - to life - and subsequently to others and the world. Last night before I fell asleep I pictured each of them as a bright colored balloon that I was releasing into the sky as a bouquet.

The "earth angel" was pink with a silver ribbon, the "bad ass" was red with a blue ribbon, the "sunflower" was a yellow balloon with an orange ribbon, the "calm, yet brilliant" one of us was a blue balloon with an earth colored ribbon. The "Teacher" was a purple balloon with a blue ribbon, the "compassionate transformer" was a dark blue balloon with a red ribbon.

We are all unique. We are all beautiful. We are all here to love ourselves and others and to bring more light into this world. I will miss this group immensely.

Friday night I saw Maya Angelou speak. She was brief - she spoke for about an hour, but I don't think there was a person there who felt short changed or that she could have said more.

Her presence said it all - powerful, grounded, wise. She shared this African Quote: "Beware of a naked man who offers you the shirt off his back." It reminded me that we need to love and nourish ourselves in order to truly give to others.

There are so many ways to fill ourselves up on any given day. Simply being present is nourishing - fully enjoying a beverage or the sunset will do. Being kind to ourselves in the privacy of our own minds is good too.

Perhaps just taking a moment to read this entry was nourishing - now go enjoy a beverage!

The other night in my sleep a dictionary definition appeared. It looked something like this: "The process of embodying one's essence - Essentialization."

Essentialization is the opposite of socialization. It involves shedding the many layers wrapped around us that dull our presence and keep us from feeling the euphoric energy of life.

Shedding is a form of alchemy. Spiritual energy is the main ingredient necessary for this process to unfold. We bring this energy into our bodies through a daily practice of connecting within and mindful breathing throughout the day. The energy propels you into a state of inner transformation, which burns off these layers to the point that they can be released.

This is an entire book - but I thought I'd share the essence:)