The Mystic's Message

Anger is like a hypnotic state. 

It consumes the mind like wildfire, looping through the same thoughts, building its case, ratcheting up the heat until it explodes in a blinding blaze. 

Anger has a way of blocking out anything that doesn't support its agenda, undermining any sense of reason or judgement, while shirking any sense of responsibility (see part 2 on this). 

That's a dangerous place to be and you have to ask yourself, "Who is REALLY calling the shots when I'm angry?"

• Your emotio…

There's no shortage of things in our world to be angry about- many of them easily justifiable.

And as tempting as that may be, there are some significant problems that come along with justifying anger...

• You'll wind deeper into this destructive emotion, fanning the fire at great risk to your health and well-being. 
• You'll become righteous in your anger- further entrenched in your own perspective, while remaining blind to more productive solutions. 
• Over time, you'll become dependent on ang…

Anger is a device people use to...

• Control a situation. 
• Get others to pay attention.
• Justify harmful thoughts and actions. 

Truth be told, anger can quite effective toward those ends. It's also high risk. The harm done in anger is often irreparable, sowing seeds of fear, and mistrust.

After all, anger is a sign of weakness, not strength. It's something we use to project strength when we're feeling most vulnerable. 

It is a caustic emotion that destroys the integrity of your cells and …

Those flaws that you see in yourself? 

The physical imperfections, emotional soft spots...the places where one flippant comment can turn the knife and bring you to your knees?

Nobody cares.

Not really. 

But before you start thinking that this is a cold callous world, and it's every person for themselves, hear me out. 

Nobody cares because they are more focused on what you think of them than what they think of you. More concerned with their own flaws, vulnerabilities, insecurities, and an i…

You’re sailing along having a great day with a fresh cup of your favorite coffee in your hand when suddenly…

…you get a phone call…

Bad news! And suddenly, the vibe of your day takes a turn for the worse. You brace yourself for the onslaught.

“What now?!”

“Well, I guess I’m just not going to get anything done today.”

“Could this day gat any worse?”

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking or saying any of those things, you’re already caught in the trap. And if you’re caught in the trap, you …

There will never be a shortage of well-meaning (or otherwise) individuals ready and willing to pull your strings.

After all, a well-mannered, intelligent human, who knows their place can be extremely useful...

...for the one pulling the strings!

Controlling your schedule. Telling you how much you ought to be paid. Letting you know in no uncertain terms how you should act and the choices you should make.

If we take a close look at our lives, and start to recognize the places where we're makin…

There is a battle raging, but it's not where you think. Remember, the outside is a reflection of what's going on inside. 

The more we become hypnotized by this beautiful, chaotic world, the harder it becomes to make a clear decision.

The mind is constantly searching for clues leading to the "right" path, which usually means the safe path. It's also very busy slapping labels on everything it comes in contact with so that everything fits neatly into it's own set of beliefs. 

Things that don't f…

One of the biggest lies we’ve ever been told is that happiness out there for us somewhere.

Seems innocent enough. Optimistic even...

Who would have thought that this lie sets us up for perpetual disappointment. It tells us that happiness is...

• On the other side of our troubles
• When we finally meet our big goal
• When things slow down
• When we __________.

All lies.

Happiness isn’t something you attain. It’s something you decide.

Unhappiness comes down to one common condition. Disconnect…

I was instagramming the other day- that's a verb, right?- when I noticed something curious in the hashtags. 

#morningreflection = 32,400 posts

#morningmotivation = 5,700,000 posts

It seems that people are more interested in getting pumped with motivation, rather than looking inward for reflection. It's no surprise really. We're an extroverted lot, we humans; More concerned with doing, than being. 

But if you've ever lost your motivation when things were just starting to work, or wondered whe…

Truth telling is an art. Like art, there is more than meets the eye. What we don’t often realize is that we tell little lies all the time. Little lies about ourselves, like “I’m just not smart enough,” or “I NEVER seem to get a break.”

We tell little lies about others too. “She’s always so negative.” Really? Always?

These might seem like little things- nit-picky even- but every little lie we tell diminishes our ability to access the parts of ourselves that we treasure most.

Lies destroy your …