inspiration

our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

it is our light, not our darkness that frightens us.

we ask ourselves, who am i to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

you are a child of god.

your playing small doesn't serve the world.
there's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that
other people won't feel insecure around you.

we were born to manifest the glory of god within us.
it's not just in some of us: it is in everyone.

and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.

as we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

The Invitation

by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

by
Oriah Mountain Dreamer

The Four Agreements

Don Miguel Ruis

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
Speak with integrity.
Say only what you mean.
Avoid using the word
to speak against yourself
or gossip about others.
Use the power of your word
in the direction of truth and love.

DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY
Nothing others do is because of you.
What others say and do
is a projection of their own reality,
their own dream.
When you are immune
to the opinions and actions of others,
you won't be a victim of needless suffering.

DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
Find the courage to ask questions
and to express what you really want.
Communicate with others
as clearly as you can
to avoid misunderstandings,
sadness and drama.
With just this one agreement,
you can completely
transform your life.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
Your best is going to change
from moment to moment; it will be different
when you are healthy as opposed to sick.
Under any circumstance,
simply do your best,
and you will avoid self-judgment,
self-abuse and regret.