Monday night I was in a car accident - a four car collision that was pretty dramatic and even traumatic. Other than a mild concussion and some back pain, I'm good. My car on the other hand...not so much, but it's just a car.

I was on my way to meet my boyfriend for some dance lessons at a local studio where the voluptuous blond owner refers to her Latin partner in business and in life, "papa." We were looking forward to taking some spins on the dance floor, but our fun was derailed for a time.

Some say there are no accidents in life. To be honest, I'm not sure about that, but in this case I was willing to ask myself what the lesson was for me.

I heard, "Be grateful." Not once, but about ten times - something that happens to me when I receive guidance from my higher self. It must know I'm a little dense, so repeats important messages over and over.

It just so happened that Joel Olsteen was delivering a sermon on television that night on seeing things with a different perspective - encouraging us to look for the silver lining in every situation. I NEEDED TO HEAR THAT MESSAGE. I had become complacent and dare I say, negative? Maybe that's too extreme, but I temporarily forgot how incredibly blessed I am.

It's difficult for me to view the accident with anything other than gratitude. I'm not seriously hurt. My baby girl (now a tween, but I can't stop calling her that) was not in the car, and therefore did not experience the fear and emotion that comes from such an event, and everyone around me rallied with love and support. Indeed I am blessed, and am grateful for the reminder to always focus on the silver lining rather than the dark clouds.

My beautiful sister Michelle sends me Abraham Hicks videos from time to time. There are hundreds of them on YouTube on every subject you can imagine. They are very good and always get me thinking.

One of their teachings involves bridging the gap between where we are and where we want to go. When there's a lot of disparity between the two, both vibrations attract energy and grow. When the gap or disparity gets too large or too ingrained, reaching our desired destination becomes very challenging.

I was contemplating this on my run the other day (thank goodness my iPod ran out of juice so my higher self could get a word in edgewise!) and realized that feelings of despair arise out of hopelessness that comes from a sense of inner disparity.

This is why baby steps are so important. When we set our sights on unrealistic goals, we unwittingly reinforce our current situation because the contrast is so big. Acceptance of our current situation - without making it our identity - is also important. Accepting what is, with a view toward the next step bridges the disparity gap.

The energy of acceptance is love in action. Loving ourselves and our circumstances creates the conditions for change and transformation to occur.

Growing up in Phoenix, I never gave too much thought about the mythology associated with our city.

The other day I saw a picture of the Phoenix bird and became struck by the symbolism. The story is that this great bird lives a happy and strong life, and when it is time for death, he sets himself aflame, and then arises from the ashes.

I believe this myth is real - that new life does emerge from death. I've personally experienced this many times, including recently -not fun, but necessary for us spiritual warriors, or perhaps crazy fools:) The secret to inviting this powerful myth into our own lives is to be willing to let go of attachments when we are being guided to do so.

When we courageously let go, life can burn off the part of us that needs to die so that the essence of who we are can be born anew.

I've been reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. His sub-title is "The Power of Thinking without Thinking."

Gladwell tells of an experiment where participants were asked to pick from a red and blue deck of cards, with each card winning or losing money. What the participants didn't know is that the red cards were designed to make them lose instead of win. After picking 50 cards, they started to figure it out, and could pretty much explain what was happening after 80 cards.

The interesting part is that the researchers hooked up monitors to test the stress response in the palms of the hands of the participants. What they found is that after only 10 cards, the stress response was activated when someone picked a card from the red deck. Participants also began unconsciously favoring the blue decks.

This is intuition. Our bodies know things before we do. Sometimes it takes a long time for the unconscious/intuitive knowledge to creep into our awareness, and when it's something we don't want to hear, it takes even longer.

Paying attention to the subtle clues in your body and gut is a good start, but acting on this information prior to it being totally integrated into your conscious awareness is the tough part. Maybe we don't need to act on it before feeling total conviction, but simply make a commitment to pay attention regardless of whether or not we like the information that's rising to the surface.

According to A Course in Miracles, repeating the affirmation, "I am determined to see" will help us learn to listen and trust this incredible guidance system.

"Your internal condition, always and forevermore, is most important of all, for a peaceful and faithful heart creates a more peaceful and graceful life, and therefore a more peaceful and grace-filled world."

This quote comes from my friend Ann Alber's newsletter. I really loved it when I read it and wanted to share it with you. Check out Ann's newsletter to read the whole thing: http://www.visionsofheaven.com/AAngels/newsletter_2010_1030.html

She goes on to say, "When your heart is not at war with your head, you create a vibration of peace in your world."

The idea of your heart and head being in sync is so powerful. We tend to think of them as separate, but experiencing heart/head alignment is the most peaceful feeling we can imagine, plus it raises the strength of the vibe we send into the world a hundred fold.

I just got done with my first fasting retreat. Everyone who participated commented on how clear their head was the day after the fast. This is heart/head alignment. A couple of them also shared feeling super patient with their children - something that happens when our heads are not rushing to the next thing, but rather resting in the present moment firmly anchored in the heart.

To quickly establish heart/head alignment, have a conversation with your heart. Connect with your breath and simply ask your heart questions. It will answer! After, you will feel peaceful and a sense of gratitude emanating from your heart. It's as if it's thanking you for listening.